The Golden Lily Page 0,75

upset?

Was he worried about the Alchemists and me?

Wolfe strolled by. "Nice work, girl." He gave Adrian a teeth-rattling slap on the back. "You were totally unprepared for her."

This seemed to distress Adrian even more, and I could've sworn I heard him mutter,

"That's for damned sure."

Some of Adrian's swagger returned during the car ride home, but he was still quiet and thoughtful. I again tried to figure out his shift in mood. "Do you need to stop by Clarence's for blood?" Maybe the class had exhausted him.

"Nah," he said. "Don't want you to be late. But maybe... maybe you can come by this weekend, and we can do a group trip over there?"

"I've got the dance on Saturday," I said apologetically. "And I think Sonya was going to take Jill to Clarence's tomorrow after school. Probably she can pick you up too."

"I suppose," he said. He sounded disappointed, but one day wasn't that long to wait for blood. Maybe he was afraid Sonya would recruit him for experiments again - which wouldn't be a bad thing, I thought. Suddenly, he straightened up from his slouch. "Speaking of Sonya... I was thinking of something earlier. Something Wolfe said."

"Why, Adrian. Were you paying attention after all?"

"Don't start, Sage," he warned. "Wolfe's crazy, and you know it. But when he was giving all his words of wisdom, he mentioned that stuff about not giving out personal info to strangers and how victims are often staked out in advance. Remember?"

"Yeah, I was there," I said. "Like, an hour ago."

"Right, so. Those guys who attacked you and Sonya seemed to know she was a vampire -

the wrong kind, but still. The fact that they showed up with a sword implies they did some research. I mean, it's possible they just noticed her on the street one day and were like,

'Ooh, vampire.' But maybe they've been watching her for a while." Noticed her on the street... I gasped as a million pieces fell into place in my mind at once.

"Adrian, you're a genius."

He flinched in surprise. "Wait. What?"

"The week before the attack. Sonya and I got dinner, and we were stopped by some random guy who claimed he knew her from Kentucky. She was pretty freaked out because she was a Strigoi the whole time she was there, and obviously, she didn't hang out with humans a lot back then."

Adrian took a few moments to turn this over in his mind. "So... you're saying they've been checking into her for a while."

"Actually, you're saying that."

"Right. Because I'm a genius." More silence as we both considered the implications of Sonya's situation. When Adrian spoke again, his tone wasn't nearly so light. "Sage... last night. You never acknowledged my comment about vampire hunters."

"The Alchemists have no records of modern vampire hunters," I said automatically. "My dad once said that occasionally, some random human discovers the truth. I'd figured her attack was something like that - not some huge organized group or conspiracy."

"Is it remotely possible that somehow, somewhere, the Alchemists might have missed something? And what do you mean by 'modern' exactly?"

Alchemist history had been drilled into me nearly as much as the philosophies that governed our actions. "A long time ago - like, back in the Middle Ages - when the Alchemists were forming, a lot of factions had different ideas on how to deal with vampires. Nobody thought humans should associate with them. Those who eventually formed my group decided the best way was to work with Moroi just enough to keep them separate from humans. But there were others who didn't take that approach. They thought the best way to keep humans free was to eradicate vampires - through any means." I was relying on facts again, my old armor.

If I reasoned away this argument, then I wouldn't have to acknowledge what it would mean if there were people actively hunting Moroi.

"Sounds like vampire hunters to me," Adrian pointed out.

"Yes, but they weren't successful. There were just too many vampires, Moroi and Strigoi, for a group like this to take out. The last records we have of them are from, oh, I'd say the Renaissance. Those hunters eventually faded away." Even I heard the uncertainty in my voice.

"You said that sword had alchemy symbols on it."

"Old ones."

"Old enough to be from the time that splinter group was breaking away?" I sighed. "Yes. That old."

I wanted to close my eyes and sink into my seat. Cracks were appearing in my armor. I still wasn't entirely sure