Chapter One –The Lily Tattoo
I woke to the sound of two short knocks on my door. Quickly I untangled myself from my sheets and ran to the door. I opened it carefully to find my father standing outside. He ran his eyes along my ratty sweatpants and top.
"Zoe . . ." he said and I heard the disapproval in his voice. I bit my lip, my face burning and waited for him to tell me what was going on. "I want you in my office looking presentable" he emphasized the 'presentable' and my cheeks flushed crimson "In no less than ten minutes" he continued.
"Yes Sir" I said quickly and nodding he left in the direction of his study. I was hit by the déjà vu of the moment. The last time I had been called out of bed was when Sydney was assigned to look after the Moroi Princess Jill Dragomir. Although she had made me look bad in front of so many influential alchemists, I was relieved she went instead of me. At the time I was nowhere near ready to live as an alchemist when I couldn't check with my father to make sure I was doing everything right. No, not right, to make sure I was doing everything perfectly. There was no room for mistakes in this profession.
I pulled on a navy pencil skirt, one of Sydney's hand-me-downs, and leaving the bright tanks I wanted to wear with it, I added a blouse and a blazer, a very Sydney like outfit. I shuddered, thinking of the other reason I was glad it was Sydney and not me on the job currently. Not only did Sydney have to look after the Dragomir princess, she also had to room with her and pretend to be siblings with not one but four vampires! Two were Moroi and two were Dhamphirs. I didn't really know much else about her assignment but I knew it must be hard having to live so close to that many vampires. Pinning back my bangs in a way I knew made me look older I walked quickly to my father's office, being careful not to wake my mother. I slipped in the door and noted that I had been right about one thing. This was definitely Alchemist business. I felt my father's eyes rake over me but he didn't comment, a fact that gave me a sense of satisfaction. He couldn't find fault with my appearance today. I quickly examined the other three Alchemists in the room. I knew one of them, Tom Darnell fairly well but the others I had only seen on occasion.
"Zoe," My father began and channeling my inner Sydney, I assumed the business posture she always used when talking to other Alchemists. He motioned to the women next to him. "This is Donna Stanton." He nodded at her and she turned to me, extending her hand,
"I believe we've met before." She said smiling, I took her hand,
"Always a pleasure ma'm" I replied, keeping the handshake firm and formal. She released my hand and stepped back.
"I suppose you're wondering why you are here." She spoke softly but exuded power. I returned her smile but stayed silent. "You see Zoe" she continued "We now only have one Alchemist in Palm Springs" her gaze flickered to Tom Darnell who look pained but maintained his professional expression. I instantly felt bad for him.
There used to be two Alchemists in Palm Springs, Keith Darnell, Tom's son who was the official alchemist and Sydney who was in charge of the mission protecting the Dragomir Princess. Except then Keith did the unthinkable and actually worked with some Moroi doing something that I assume was completely and utterly wrong which made his coordination with the Vampires that much worse. It was bad enough to get to friendly with the evil creatures of the night but to actually work with them on something that wasn't even right to begin with. Well Keith had landed himself with a one way ticket to re-education.
Sydney now had Keith's job and also maintained her job on the mission. Donna continued to explain what they wanted me for, "Sydney is undoubtedly doing a great job but we think she is stretched too much." I nodded; it couldn't be easy doing two jobs although Palm Springs couldn't be the hardest place to be stationed. With all the sun, there were barely any Strigoi, the undead, doubly evil vampires, hanging around. "We don't want her overworked and to have things start falling through the cracks. If anything were to happen to the Dragomir girl while Sydney was taking care of Alchemist business, we would end up with a Moroi civil war on our hands." I winced, if that were ever to happen there would be no way we could hide it from the humans.
The younger man in the room stepped forward.
"Jared say's that you are absolutely ready to start your first job." I looked to my father, surprised at the compliment. He shrugged,
"Ideally I'd like her to have a little more training and background knowledge." He began slowly, "but there isn't really much else she can learn here. She needs proper experience in the real world." The man turned to me.
"We have decided that you will take up an internship with Sydney in Palm Springs." He said and I was stunned. Me? Being an actual Alchemist? "Palm Springs is probably one of the best places to go when you are first starting out, especially as this case is dealing with Moroi assassins rather than Strigoi themselves. I made a face,
"They're bad enough." I said, trying to hide my disgust and the other Alchemists laughed softly.
"Strigoi are infinitely much worse though" Donna said still smiling, "at least these ones, despite their barbaric habits, are capable of reason." I agreed.
"What will my task be?" I asked, curious of how I would fit into the 'family' at Amberwood. Sydney already had four 'siblings' although Keith had left now. Donna's smile faded and my heart rate picked up a little.
"You will be the adopted sister of Angeline who is playing cousin of the Melrose's." Melrose was the fake last name Sydney and the vampires used. I frowned, "Angeline is your age and a guardian" Donna added like she thought I was confused. 'Guardian' was the term used for Dhampirs, the breed of half-human half-Moroi. In a way, they were even worse than the Moroi. They weren't meant to exist. I shuddered delicately. What human in their right mind would want to get that close to a Vampire! They had fangs!
"I won't have to room with Angeline will I?" I was panicking a little now. The other alchemists looked shocked.
"No of course not!" Donna exclaimed, "She is one of the princess's guardians and rooms with her. You will be rooming with Sydney." I relaxed,
"Ah, that's okay then." I said earning smiles and a couple of giggles from around the room. I noticed the younger man silently setting up supplies in the corner of the room. He noticed my stare and held up the tube of gold ink.
"We're going to ink you tonight and you will be on the plane in the morning." He explained, "Sydney has been notified and will pick you up from the airport." I grinned, barely able to contain the excitement. I was going to be an Alchemist. My father said I was good enough. I would have the golden lily on my cheek just like Sydney and I would do as much good for humankind as she had. We were going to be partners in helping keep the world good and pure.
My father motioned for me to lie down on the table the man had set up. I recognized him now as the man who had re-inked Sydney a few months ago. I lay down wriggling with anticipation. He grinned at me.
"Stay still Zoe." I froze, red creeping into my cheeks.
"Sorry." I apologized sheepishly and he winked at me. I gasped when the needle first touched my skin. I hadn't imagined it would be painful. Which now that I think about it was really stupid. Despite the ink having magical properties, I was still getting a tattoo. On my cheek. These things hurt apparently. I gritted my teeth together and tried to stay still. It felt so much longer than when I had watched Sydney getting her first tattoo. I wondered if he was doing it super slow just to annoy me. But just as I thought that the needle left my skin and he started to pack up. I sat up slowly and looked in the mirror. The gold of the tattoo changed my whole look. There were suddenly golden streaks in my brown hair and my green eyes now had more prominent brown/ gold flecks. I liked it. I looked older and more mature and I loved what the new lily on my cheek stood for.
My father gave me a smile then told me to go upstairs and pack. There would be a car ready to take me to the airport in an hour and there were still a few details they needed to go over. As I packed I watched the hills slowly start to light up with gold like my tattoo. I would miss home so much. And although my father thought I was ready, was I really? Living with Vampires! It was something I couldn't fathom. I wondered how Sydney had managed it all these months. Maybe she would help me deal with actually being in the same room as them. I returned to my abandoned suitcase. I knew the weather would be warm but I didn't have many Alchemist appropriate summer clothes. I packed mostly my own clothes in the bottom along with a few Sydney inspired outfits to wear in case we met other Alchemists. I left my outfit on to wear on the plane but put a pair of jeans and a tank top in my carry on to change into on the plane. California was going to be hot.
I went outside to wait for the taxi. I was given my plane tickets and an Alchemist credit card. Our cover story was that I was an adopted sister of Angeline Dawes or Angeline McCormick as she was known at school. We were the same age but didn't look enough alike to be twins and it would be suspicious anyway to suddenly have a twin showing up partway through the year. Angeline and I were cousins of Sydney and the other Vampires which explained why we all knew each other already. The Alchemists had also made sure I was in all of Jill Dragomir's classes so that someone was always with her. Ideally it would be a guardian but Angeline didn't have adequate education to be in some of Jill's more advanced classes like I did.
When the taxi arrived, my father pulled me aside. He spoke softly and quickly but I managed to catch every word.
"Listen here Zoe. You are ready and Sydney seems to be doing well on her own. So I don't want you or her making mistakes. If you see anything odd then you are to report it immediately. Likewise I expect the same from Sydney. Is that clear? No screw ups or I will personally have you pulled out of Palm Springs and dealt with." I grimaced, thinking of how I could possibly be 'dealt' with.
"Yes Sir. Absolutely. I won't let you down." I told him, hoping he couldn't hear the tremor in my voice. He released me and taking one last look at the house I'd grown up, I left to start my first mission.
The flight was quite long but comfortable. I was filled with a mixture of excitement, nervousness and a little dread at the thought of spending so much time with the creatures I had been brought up to hate. Sydney was so smart and so good at being an Alchemist. The last few months I'd heard little other than how perfect Sydney Sage was; a golden girl to match the golden lily. Not only did she discover a heinous crime, she found the courage to turn the man in despite him being her friend. Sydney Sage had such a strong sense of duty and had helped the Alchemists so much. She also managed to get perfect grades in school despite it being merely a cover story for her. I knew I was going to look so unpolished and stupid next to Sydney. No doubt the Vampires were expecting me to be a perfect mini Sydney and I would completely fail their expectations. Okay on second thought maybe I was feeling more than a little bit of dread about my task.
Near the end of the flight, I quickly changed out of my business attire and into the clothes I'd brought with me. Another thing I couldn't measure up to Sydney with. I just could not achieve her fashion sense. All that Khaki and Beige, it was just so boring! She would never be caught dead in what I was wearing I thought grinning to myself as I checked out my hot pink tank, skinny jeans and flip flops. I braided my hair into my usual style of two messy braids and felt a little more like myself. The captain announced that we would be arriving in less than twenty minutes and a fresh wave of nervousness passed through me. I was going to meet Vampires for the first time. Not just hear stories about them, I was going to actually see the blood drinking creatures in the flesh. I gripped the arm rest as we landed at the airport, half considering staying a begging the Alchemists to let go back and stay at home. I had the tattoo now though, there was no going back. Be brave Zoe I told myself. Sydney can do it, you can do it, everything is going to be fine.
I walked out of the airport and scanned the waiting people. For a second I couldn't see her and panicked but then I noticed a blonde girl in khaki pants and a blazer with a golden lily tattoo on her cheek. I grinned and forgetting I had been mad at her the last time I saw her ran towards her. Her face lit up when she saw me and she held out her arms. I raced into them, squeezing her until she laughed and pried me off.
"Sorry" I blushed, "I've missed you." She squeezed my hand but her attention was focused on my cheek.
"I've missed you too," she replied softly, "Oh, Zoe I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed and I frowned at her. "For them making you become and Alchemist" she clarified, "I told them I didn't need any help! There's no Strigoi activity in Palm Springs and the only work I have is with the mission and . . ." I put my finger on her lips.
"Shut up" I told her "I'm fine, I want this." She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. I took my fingers off her lips and she grabbed my hand. We talked about Mom and Carly while we got my bag and made our way to our car. I was glad the topic of me becoming and Alchemist had been left alone, I'd missed having my sister to joke around with. Once we were leaving the airport, Sydney brought up the mission.
"So," She started and I rolled my eyes, "you know what your role is don't you?" I nodded,
"Yep, Angeline's adopted sister, your cousin. Got it." I replied and she made a face at me.
"Just checking," she said mildly.
"How many of them are there?" I asked, disgust coloring my words. She sighed but answered my question.
"Four. There's two Dhamphirs, Eddie who's my 'twin' and Angeline who's your 'sister'. Then there's Jill obviously who's Moroi and Adrian who is also Moroi but he doesn't go to school.
"Huh?" I was surprised, "No one mentioned someone who didn't go to school."
"Yeah, he's my 'brother' but I guess he's not really meant to be here." She spoke carefully and her face was blank,
"So why's he here then?" I asked bluntly and her mouth quirked into a smile,
"I'm probably not supposed to tell you but he has a spirit bond thing with Jill so he got to come along." I tried to hide my fear and distaste. Vampires were bad enough but thinking about their magic scared me. I tried not to think about it usually.
Sydney pulled up in front of an apartment building.
"Is this the school?" I asked incredulously and she laughed
"Oh, god no, everyone's at Adrian's so it's easier to pick them all up and take them back to school rather than make two trips." I tried not to look scared,
"So I'm meeting the vampires now" my voice betrayed me and I know Sydney could hear the tremble. She reached over and squeezed my hand.
"You'll be fine. I'm here." I squeezed her hand back and tried to ignore the part of me that wanted to rope myself into the car and refuse to leave.
We stood outside the door and Sydney turned to face me.
"Try not to act so scared." She advised, "I've told them you haven't met any Moroi before so they shouldn't expect you to be comfortable around them but they're honestly not that bad." I stared at her. Not that bad! These were evil, bloodsucking creatures that shouldn't exist. They weren't human! How could they possibly be 'not that bad'? I was about to protest but Sydney opened the door and motioned for me to follow her into the room.
"Sage!" Someone exclaimed
"Adrian" she replied and I stepped beside her.
"And mini Sage!" The man I assumed to be Adrian said. I stiffened as I took in the room. The one called Adrian was lounging on the couch smirking. He had dark hair and intense green eyes. He was also extremely hot. Vampires aren't hot; they aren't even human Zoe I reprimanded myself. Sydney took my hand and pulled me further into the room.
"This is my sister Zoe" she announced. "That's Eddie, Jill, Angeline and Adrian" she said to me, pointing to each one in turn. They all smiled at me and I took a step back, expecting to see fangs. None showed however so I relaxed a little. Sydney glanced down at me then spoke to Adrian,
"Zoe's probably pretty tired so we should leave you in peace now." The Moroi girl, Jill Dragomir, jumped up.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't even think of that." Sydney smiled at her and I felt my heart twinge as I recognized the smile she used to give me.
"Don't worry about it." She said but Jill still looked upset,
"We could have got a ride with Adrian or something; you didn't have to come here." She continued, her light green eyes looking troubled. Behind her Adrian snorted,
"Thanks for volunteering my taxi services jailbait." He said and she rolled her eyes,
"You've got nothing better to do." He started to protest but fell silent after she smirked at him. Eddie and Angeline came towards the door, ready to leave. I squeaked and dropped back to examine Angeline from a distance. All these vampires walking towards me was so, unsettling. Angeline had strawberry blonde hair and a cheeky grin. She was curvy unlike the Moroi and looked surprisingly human. I had always imagined that the Dhamphirs would look even more unnatural than the Moroi but now I could see that they looked completely human. If I hadn't known better, I would have never passed them off as some kind of supernatural being.
We all piled in Sydney's car. I was in front of course. There was no way I was playing Zoe sandwich with a bunch of vampires. The ride to Amberwood was mostly silent. Occasionally, one of the vampires in the back made a comment about school or asked me how my flight was. Thankfully we pulled up to the school and I could get out of the car. Sydney got my bag out of the car and after promising Eddie that we'd look after Jill, we finally headed up to our dorm. The school was amazing! I had been homeschooled all my life and never been to an actual school but already I could tell this was one of the best. If the reason I was here wasn't to look after a Vampire, I would probably be dancing with excitement at the prospect of attending school here. However, since I was here to look after a vampire, the dancing was only happening on the inside.
We left Angeline and Jill and went to our dorm. It was quite small but there were no vampires in the next bed so I supposed it was better than when Sydney first came. Sydney came up behind me and closed the door. I opened my suitcase and started to unpack ignoring her gaze. Finally she broke the silence.
"So what did you think of the vampires?" She asked teasingly. I glared at her,
"They were okay I guess. I mean they're vampires." I said. What did she expect me to say? That they were super nice and good looking and I knew we were going to be best of friends? Sydney got up and headed to the bathroom.
"They're not going to eat you Zoe." She giggled as she closed the door. I glared at the closed door. I knew that. God, I wasn't that stupid. I tried to ignore the part of me that still feared that really was what they were after. Pushing my still half packed bag off the bed I collapsed on the soft mattress and fell asleep.