The Golden Lily Page 0,95

was such confidence and strength in the way Dimitri spoke that I had a feeling that we'd believe him even if a group of Strigoi were invading, and he said, "It's fine, you're safe."

"If what you're saying is true," said Sonya, "I'm the one that's in danger." She seemed much calmer than I would be in that situation.

"They're not going to hurt you either," said Dimitri sharply. "Especially if you don't leave this house."

"The research - " she began.

" - is nothing compared to your safety," he finished. There was a look in his eyes that said he would tolerate no arguments. "You need to get back to Court. You were planning on it anyway.

Just make the trip early."

Sonya didn't look happy about that. "So I leave the rest of you in danger?"

"Maybe we aren't," said Eddie, though the tension in his body said otherwise. "From what Sydney said - and their mini-manifesto - their focus seems to be Strigoi, not Moroi." He glanced over at Jill. "Not that we can let our guard down. If they've mistaken Sonya for a Strigoi, who knows what other craziness they might do? Don't worry. I won't let them near you." Jill looked ready to swoon.

"That's a good idea," I said. "They still think the Moroi are a threat but not as much as the Strigoi."

"Kind of like the Alchemists," said Adrian. He was sitting in a corner armchair and had been quiet this whole time. I hadn't seen him since the night of the dance or had any communication with him, which was odd. Even when he wasn't sending me pathetic e-mails about the experiments, he almost always had some witty quip to pass along.

"True," I admitted, with a smile. "But we're not trying to kill any of you. Not even Strigoi."

"And there's the problem," said Dimitri. "These warriors are convinced Sonya used to be a Strigoi and is using some trick to disguise herself."

"Maybe they have some tracking or inventory system," Sonya mused. "They keep tabs on various Strigoi in the country and then try to hunt them down."

"And yet they didn't know about you," I pointed out to Dimitri. His face stayed neutral, but I knew it was hard for him to be reminded of his Strigoi days. "And from what I know... you were much more of a, um, notable figure than Sonya." He'd essentially been a Strigoi mobster.

"So, if you're off their radar, they probably don't have an international presence - or at least not a Russian one."

Angeline leaned forward, hands clasped, and regarded Clarence with a smile sweet enough to justify her name. "How do you know about them? How did you first run into them?" At first, he looked too terrified to answer, but I think her kindly attitude soothed him. "Well, they killed my niece, of course."

We all knew Lee had killed Clarence's niece, but the old man didn't believe this any more than he believed Lee was dead. "Did you see them when they did it?" asked Angeline. "Did you ever see them at all?"

"Not when Tamara died, no," he admitted. His eyes got a faraway look, as though he were staring straight into the past. "But I knew what signs to look for. I'd run into them before that, you see. Back when I was living in Santa Cruz. They like California, you know. And the Southwest.

Goes back to their sun fixation."

"What happened in Santa Cruz?" asked Dimitri.

"A group of their young ones began stalking me. Trying to kill me." The rest of us exchanged glances. "So they do go after Moroi," said Eddie. He actually moved closer to Jill.

Clarence shook his head. "Not usually. From what Marcus told me, they prefer Strigoi.

These were young, undisciplined members of their order going off on their own, without the knowledge of their superiors. I assume it was the same type who killed Tamara."

"Who's Marcus?" I asked.

"Marcus Finch. He saved me from them a few years ago. Fended them off during an attack and later got in touch with their order to keep those ruffians away from me." Clarence shivered at the memory. "Not that I stayed around after that. I took Lee and left. That was when we moved to Los Angeles for a while."

"This Marcus," I said. "Was he a guardian?"

"A human. He was about your age then. He knew all about the hunters."

"I suppose he would if he got in touch with them," Dimitri speculated. "But he must be friendly to Moroi if