I saw the mirror staring back at me
And it told me I'm a self machine
It said I gave you these scars
And I gave you these wounds
I told you the false
And I showed you the truth
-Self Machine by I Blame Coco
Zoe Sage was not going to cry. She was not a baby, not anymore, and today was the day she was going to prove that. Her older sister, as much as she loathed to admit it, had been right. She'd been clinging to her for dear life ever since she arrived in Palm Springs, but that was over now. Technically because Sydney had left her barely with so much as a "see ya later, don't screw things up" before running off to collect more monsters for them to deal with. She didn't understand her sister, sometimes. What was it like to be that brave in the face of danger? Zoe was no wimp, but compared to Sydney she felt like one. And here she thought she was the one who'd done all the changing in the time they spent apart. She'd been diligent, she'd been obedient, she'd done everything her father said. She'd worked herself sick preparing for the promotion to be a full time Alchemist. And then she finally got it. She remembered the way her heart had been hammering when she was about to get her tattoo and the overwhelming surge of pride when she got to see herself in the mirror for the first time afterwards. It was beautiful, the tattoo, that is. She didn't want to cover it up. But because Sydney had been here first, and people had already seen hers, she supposed it only made sense for her to do so.
Zoe turned her head to the side, allowing herself one last reverential glance at her shiny new badge of honor, and then very gingerly patted some make up over top of it. When she was finished, she looked at herself again, and frowned. Now she was back to being plain old Zoe. Average ordinary girl. Living in her sister's shadow. She sighed. She loved her sister, Sydney, more than anything. But she also sometimes hated her just a little bit. She was just so...perfect. At everything. She never messed up. She never said the wrong thing. She was their father's favorite. Even when she'd gotten in all that trouble for helping that crazy Dhampir girl, she'd managed to talk her way out of it and come out looking even more perfect than she had before. And seeing her now was like...Zoe didn't know how to explain it. Something was different about her. Sydney had always been a confident person, but now she seemed to be dripping with it. It radiated off of her like invisible beams of light. Even the vampires seemed to enjoy Sydney's presence. They smiled when she spoke to them and even acted downright friendly on more than one occasion Zoe's sister was so perfect in every way that even soulless monsters, who Zoe knew through her teachings hated their kind, didn't mind being around her.
There was a knock at the door and Zoe's heart flipped in her chest. She glanced down at her watch. It was showtime. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. You can do this. She told herself. You may not be Sydney, but you are a Sage. You can do this. You have to do this.
She twisted a plastic smile on to her face and walked with purpose to her door, opening it to reveal the Dhampir girl, Angeline, who used to live with the Keepers, a community of vampires and humans who lived among each other. Just thinking about them made her feel dizzy with nausea. And with her, of course, was Princess Jillian Dragomir, the reason any of them were in Palm Springs in the first place.
The princess smiled brightly at her. Zoe noticed she couldn't see her fangs when she smiled. How vile, she thought. The way it was so was for her to mask her true nature.
"Good morning, Zoe." she said, looking toward the Dhampir girl uncertainly. She nudged her and Angeline rolled her eyes.
"Morning," she yawned, rubbing at her eyes. Though Dhampirs were only half vampire, which mean they didn't have fangs or drink blood or wield any elements, they were almost worst than the Moroi, in some ways. Not only were they the unholy offspring of vampires and humans, but there was something about them that just seemed so...human. So normal. But they weren't. They were the farthest thing from it. She resisted the urge to shudder.
"Good morning Princess Jillian..." her throat muscles involtunarily tightened. She nodded briefly toward the Dhampir. "Angeline."
"Um...where's Sydney?" The Princess asked, looking behind Zoe.
Of course. Where's Sydney? Everyone's favorite person. Zoe sighed. "Sydney had to pick up Dimitri Belikov and Sonya Tanner from the airport. They're in town to continue Sonya's study of spirit."
"But didn't Sydney's car get totaled?" Angeline asked.
"Yes, she went to Lord Ivashkov's apartment, to pick up his car."
The princess's face lit up. "Oh! No wonder I'm in such a good mood today." she laughed slightly, like she just told a joke.
Angeline turned toward her, one eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"
Zoe never thought she'd be agreeing with a Dhampir, but she was just as confused. "Pardon me?" she asked the princess.
There was an odd silence between the three girls. The princess was looking at her wide-eyed, then her bright smile returned. "Uh," she said, blushing slightly. "I'm just really excited to see Dimitri. He's my friend."
"Since when?" Angeline scoffed.
"Since always," the princess cut Angeline a sharp look.
Zoe looked between the two of them, sensing there was something about the conversation she was missing. She shrugged it off, not particularly caring what sort of dramas vampires had among themselves.
"So, um, it's just us today?" the princess asked.
She nodded once. "Yes, I'll be the only Alchemist on duty for today."
Angeline snorted and the princess nudged her again. "That's cool," she said to Zoe. "Are you ready to go?"
She nodded again. "Yes, I am." She walked a few steps backwards into her room to pick up her things for school. She had an irrational fear of turning her back when she was around them. They probably wouldn't attack her unprovoked, she knew that. But still, you could never be too careful.
The rest of the day went by quite smoothly, that was until lunch time, as Zoe walked aimlessly through the courtyard, not sure where she should sit. There weren't any empty tables. She didn't really know anyone at school yet. Usually she sat with Sydney and her friends, Kristin and Julia. But she didn't see either of those girls, plus it would be awkward and lame to sit with them without Sydney present.
She suddenly felt a wave of emotions rush over her. Annoyance at her sister for leaving her by herself like this, embarrassment that she hadn't made any friends herself yet, and panic because she didn't know what she should do.
"Zoe!" A voice called loudly from behind her. "Hey, Zoe! Over here!"
She spun around and saw Princess Jillian standing on the bench of a table with her hands cupped around her mouth. She smiled when she saw Zoe looking at her. "Come sit with us!" she called, waving her arms wildly.
She swallowed. What would be worse? Eating lunch on the ground by herself? Or sitting with a group of unholy creatures? She debated this predicament over in her head for a minute, then walked with numb legs over to the princess and the rest of the vampires that came with her. Namely, Angeline. And her two guardians, Eddie and Neil. She noticed there was someone else with them, a red-headed boy who looked to be about her sister's age. She wondered what a human boy was doing hanging out with them. She couldn't leave him to fend for himself, she thought to justify her actions.
She paused when she reached the group, unsure of where to sit down. Panic spiked through her again.
The human boy scooted closer to Princess Jillian. He patted the empty spot next to him. She could have genuflected right then and there. She hurriedly plopped down next to him, grateful she wouldn't be sandwiched between any of the vampires.
"Nice to meet you," he flashed her a brilliant white smile. "I'm Micah."
"Likewise," She stuck her hand out immediately for him to shake. "I'm Zoe S-" she stopped mid sentence, "Melrose."
"I heard there was another Melrose running around," Micah shook his head, laughing. "Is today your first day?"
"No," Zoe spoke uncertainly. "I just um, I usually sit with my sister, Sydney, and her friends but Sydney had to take care of um, some family stuff today." She tried to smile.
Micah paused, throwing a curious glance toward the princess. "I thought you said she was your cousin."
Oh no. Zoe had forgotten. She was here under the pretense of being Sydney's cousin. It didn't make any sense, nor was it fair, that the vampire princess got to say she was Sydney's sister and Zoe didn't. She opened her mouth to amend her statement, but the princess was already speaking for her.
"Zoe was basically raised with us, she's totally like one of our sisters." she shrugged. "You know how it is, it's a girl thing."
Micah turned back to Zoe, his smile making a second appearance. "Ah, I get it. Well, we're glad to have you here at Amberwood. You liking your classes so far?"
She shrugged. "They're alright, I suppose. It's certainly interesting to be in classes with different teachers and other people. It's vastly different from my experience in homeschooling, but the curriculum overall leaves quite a bit to be desired."
Micah just stared at her. Across from him, one of the princess's guardians, Eddie, snorted.
She looked back and forth between them as they exchanged an amused glance.
"Did I say something funny?" she asked.
Eddie smiled at her. "It's just...you sounded exactly like Sydney, just then."
"Yeah," Micah agreed. "It's uncanny."
She stared back at him, not knowing how to respond.
"It's a compliment," Micah added, elbowing her gently. She suppressed a blush.
"Thank you," she mumbled, looking away. Being compared to her sister was not something Zoe was unfamiliar with. But it wasn't usually in a positive light.
The conversation drifted to other things. The boys dove into a conversation about a teacher they all found particularly grating. The princess and Angeline were giggling about some mean girl's tragic hairstyle. She caught Angeline looking Eddie's way a few times, then whispering closely to the princess. Eddie seemed to be pointedly ignoring her. She was taken aback by how...normal it was. She watched them all, talking and interacting, just about normal, everyday things. It was the strangest thing in the world. Because they weren't normal. They weren't human. Well, apart from Micah. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel. Eddie and Micah seemed to be close, almost like best friends. She wondered if he...knew. No, of course he couldn't. She felt a pang in her chest for him, then. He had no idea these people he thought were his friends weren't even people at all. She felt an even bigger pang as her thoughts drifted to Sydney. What was she doing right now? Was she alright? She still didn't like the fact that she'd gone by herself to get the ex-Strigois.
"Hey, you okay?" She looked up to see that the princess's other guardian, Neil was looking straight at her. Soon, everyone was looking her way.
She blinked. "Yes, fine."
He frowned. "You sure? You look a little pale."
What did a random Dhampir care if she looked pale or not. She'd heard Sydney talking about how this one was a bit overzealous when it came to his job as a guardian, but her well-being certainly wasn't any of his concern.
"I'm just uh," she cleared her throat. "I'm still getting used to the weather out here." Great save, Zoe.
Neil sort of slowly nodded and then went back to his food. She rolled her eyes, annoyed for the unwanted attention he'd dumped on her. Thankfully everyone else seemed to forget about the whole thing a moment later, back to their mundane high school conversation topics. She reminded herself not to dwell in self-pity. It's not something that Sydney would do. And wherever Sydney was right now, Zoe knew her sister had to be 10 times more miserable than she was.
Sydney felt lighter than she had in weeks. She was practically skipping as she helped Dimitri and Sonya with their bags once they'd reached a nearby hotel they were to be staying at.
"We really appreciate the lift, Sydney." Sonya smiled.
"It's no problem, at all." she smiled back. "You know I don't mind helping out." She didn't mention her ulterior motive to "helping out" had been to squeeze in much needed alone time with Adrian.
"Saint Sydney strikes again," Christian's voice said from behind her. She turned around to shove him playfully.
"I thought you'd like the alliteration," he laughed, rubbing the spot where she'd shoved him.
"We really do appreciate it, Sydney." Dimitri nodded toward her graciously. He and Sonya turned to enter the hotel.
"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute!" Christian called to their retreating figures. He turned to Sydney, smiling. "So. Hey."
"Hey, yourself." she said, unable to stop herself from returning his smile tenfold. His unexpected presence had a sort of euphoric effect on her. She didn't know how she knew it, but she just knew without a shadow of a doubt that his being here was the best possible thing that could have happened. For one thing, he knew about her relationship with Adrian and was supportive of it. Maybe he'd be able to shed some insight on how she could work more alone time with Adrian into her schedule without Zoe knowing about it.
And for another thing, he was her friend. He was the only friend she had that didn't come with an asterisk. Jill was her friend, but the bond-thing with Adrian always made things a tad awkward. She had Kristin and Julia, but she could hardly tell them about the real goings on in her life. But Christian...she could tell him anything. The only other person she felt like that around was Adrian. But it was a different sort of feeling with Christian. There wasn't anything romantic there, obviously. Just unconditional friendship. And it meant the world to her.
"Everything good?" he asked, looking at her with sincerity. "You kind of went silent after you got home. I was worried you had died. Or worse, decided you didn't want to be my friend anymore."
She laughed. She and Christian had kept in touch fairly regularly after the wedding, but when life started going crazy with Ms. Terwilliger and Adrian and everything else, they'd sort of stopped talking. "I'm sorry," she sighed heavily. "A lot of things happened."
He nodded. "It's all good. I understand." He shifted his weight awkwardly. "You get the weekends off school, right? Maybe we could, you know, hang out." The suggestion came out sheepish, like he wasn't sure what he was saying.
She brightened. "We could hang out now, if you want. I took the day off school and Adrian's going to be in an art class for most of the day, so..."
"Wow such short notice..." Christian smirked, "But I guess I can fit you in to my busy schedule."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm honored."
"Well, actually," Christian gave her a pained look. "I may not be up to it right now. I uh...I sort of need," he dropped his voice low, "some blood in my system."
"Oh!" Sydney said, suddenly seeing that he did look paler than usual, and his eyes were a little sunken. "Of course."
"Dimitri said there was a feeder nearby, they're gonna rent a car so they can take me to feedings while we're here."
Sydney nodded. "Well, if you need to go right now, I can take you."
He seemed surprised by her eagerness. "Are you...sure? I mean, doesn't that stuff sort of squick you out?"
She laughed, then shrugged. "Not really anymore. I mean, I don't really want to witness it first-hand or anything...but like I told you, a lot has happened."
He gave her an appraising look. "I'm impressed, BSB."
"I think a lot about me would impress you these days."
His look turned sincere again. "I don't doubt that for a second."
Christian left what few belongings he'd brought with him at the hotel and then they were off to Clarence's. Dimitri was going to call him while they were en route so he'd be expecting them.
"So," Christian said with a mischievous glint in his eye, "How sails the good ship Sydrian?"
It took Sydney a moment to remember that was the ridiculous "power couple" name he'd thought up for her and Adrian. She shook her head, but couldn't help but to smile. "Things are good. Very good." She frowned, "Well, they were, anyway."
"Oh no," Christian said. "Iceberg?"
Sydney shook her head. "Worse. Little sister."
Christian raised an eyebrow. "Your little sister? What about her?"
"She's here." Sydney sighed. "in Palm Springs."
Christian's eyes widened. "You don't mean she's..."
"An Alchemist." Sydney said flatly. "Yeah. That's exactly what I mean."
"Shit." Christian winced, looking genuinely upset on her behalf. "I'm sorry, Sydney."
She just shrugged. "What's done is done," she said, echoing Adrian's words from earlier. "She's here. It's happened. So all I can do now is focus on how to undo all that's been done to her."
Christian nodded. "Good attitude. I'll help in any way I can. We can call it Operation Iceberg."
Sydney burst out laughing. "Oh my God."
Christian gave her a strange look. "I didn't think it was that funny."
"It's just that," she said when she managed to stop giggling. "Earlier, when I was thinking about what I was going to do...in my head I was calling it Operation Un-brainwash Zoe."
"Damn," Christian shook his head. "It's good I got here when I did. That's the worst name for a covert operation I've ever heard."
"I'm really glad you're here," she said as they pulled up in front of Clarence's house.
"Yeah," Christian smiled. "Me too."
Christian wasn't more than 10 or 15 minutes inside Clarence's house before he was jogging out of it to return to the car. He slid in with a slightly bewildered expression on his face.
"That guy's a little kooky, huh?"
"Clarence?" Sydney asked. "Yeah, but he's harmless."
Christian nodded. "I think he was reciting poetry to me. And he kept calling me Chad."
Sydney laughed. "Looks like you've made another friend."
Christian snorted. "Alright, now that I'm refreshed and ready to take on the world, fill me in on everything that's happened."
"You sure you want to know everything?"
"Hit me with it," he said, leaning back against his seat.
Sydney took a deep breath. And then she told him. Everything. Well, not everything, everything. There were some things that were private. And she didn't tell him about Hopper because...well...she just still really didn't know how to explain she had a demon-dragon for a baby. But everything else, she told him. Marcus, the magic, the tattoo-breaking, Alicia, Zoe, all of it. And when she was finished with her saga, he just looked at her with a look of utter disbelief and said,
"You got detention?"
She gaped at him. "Really? Of everything I just told you, that's what you're concerned about?"
"It was the craziest part of the story!" Christian exclaimed. "Still not sure I believe it."
"It was so stupid," Sydney rolled her eyes. "I had to call the school on the first day back and beg to be at the top of the list-"
Christian nearly knocked his head against the dashboard of the car laughing. "Wait, so you actually called the school..." he gasped for breath, "and requested your detention to be what, like, moved up?"
"I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible," Sydney said. "Obviously."
"I can just see you..." Christian was still laughing. "Calling in all business like and being like 'Yes sir, I'd like one detention, please. I need it at once.'"
Sydney furrowed her brow. "I don't talk like that."
"So what's up with this car?" Christian asked suddenly, as if he'd just noticed what they were in."
"I know," Sydney gushed. "It's gorgeous."
"Yours?" Christian asked, looking around appreciatively.
"Not technically," Sydney said. "It's Adrian's."
He nodded. "I see. Wow. It's really something. I didn't know he was into old cars."
"He's not," Sydney smiled. "I am."
It took a moment for Christian to realize what she meant. When he did, he clutched his chest dramatically. "I'm gonna cry."
She shook her head. "Why are you so obsessed with our relationship again?"
"Because it's adorable," Christian gave her a teasing smile. Then he sat up straight, looking upset. "But how are you guys going to, you know, be together, if your sister's around?"
Sydney sighed, giving him a rueful look. "Yeah, that's something we're all still trying to figure out."
"Filing it away as objective number one in Operation Iceberg," Christian tapped his forehead. "We'll think of something."
"You're really serious about this Operation Iceberg thing?"
Christian looked offended. "You even have to ask?"
She smiled softly at him. "Well, thanks. I need all the help I can get."
He smiled back. "So, where to now?"
"I don't know," Sydney said. "Wherever you want."
"I'm kinda hungry," Christian said. "Would you like to discuss our mission objectives over brunch?"
She laughed. "Yeah, we can do that."
"Where's a good place to eat around here?"
"I'm about as familiar with the area as you are, to be honest." Sydney said, starting the car up.
Christian laughed. "We can just drive around, use context clues."
"Sounds like a good plan," Sydney smirked. "Here," she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket and tossing it to him. "Look up nearby restaurants."
They'd only been driving for a few minutes when Sydney heard Christian gasp, "Oh my God!"
She slammed on the breaks, throwing her right arm against Christian's chest to stop him from flying forward when the car came to a violent halt.
"What?!"
He looked down at her arm, then up at her. He smirked. "Did you just mommy-seatbelt me?"
She could have slapped him. "Did you just give me a heart attack?"
"Sorry!" he pouted, "but look at that!" he pointed animatedly to his right. Sydney squinted in the sunlight and saw a house that looked like it was caving in on itself. The front half was all gutted and blackened from charring.
"Yikes," Sydney hissed. "I wonder why it hasn't been torn down."
Christian smirked. "I bet it's haunted."
Sydney snorted. "Yeah, I bet that's it."
Christian sighed. "When I was little and lived with my aunt, I used to pretend the house we were in was haunted and run around with a vacuum pretending to suck up all the evil ghosts."
Sydney scrunched up her face, laughing. "Why a vacuum?"
"Because, you know, like Ghostbusters!" Christian exclaimed. "Duh."
"Is that a movie?" Sydney asked, confused.
Christian's expression was horrified. "You've never...seen...Ghostbusters?"
"I haven't seen a lot of movies. Especially anything with supernatural stuff in it, my dad wouldn't allow it."
Christian looked distraught. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."
"Tell me about it," Sydney matched his expression, though hers was sarcastic. "And people think you had a bad childhood, they should hear my sob story. I mean I wasn't even allowed to watch Ghostbusters!"
Christian stared at her for a moment, and she realized all at once that what she'd just said was horrible. She was about to apologize when Christian threw his head back and laughed harder than she'd ever seen him laugh. His body rocked as he cackled uncontrollably, and she couldn't help but crack up herself. He was one of those people with an infectious laugh and right now he was in stitches. It was impossible not to laugh along with him.
"Why are we laughing?" Sydney panted, trying to catch her breath.
"I don't know," Christian gasped through his own laughter. "I think we might be crazy."
"I'd say that's a pretty solid theory."
"I say we go investigate the haunted house." Christian's eyes lit up with mischief.
"Now that is crazy," Sydney said. "It could be dangerous."
Christian clucked his tongue. "You sound scared."
"Of brushing up against a rusty nail and getting tetanus?" Sydney raised her eyebrows. "Very."
Christian shook his head. "That's too bad. I feel like I have this really fool-proof plan that will ensure you and Adrian getting to spend more time together, but it's like just out my reach. I think it'd be a lot easier for me to think after I knew for sure there were no ghosts lurking nearby."
Sydney gave him a hard look. "Bribery will get you nowhere with me."
"Okay." He let out a deep sigh, jutting his bottom lip out. His eyes were downcast. She heard him sniff a little.
Suddenly she knew where this was going. "Oh no," she said, "Don't you dare-"
He turned to her, then. His eyes wide and brows knitted together. His bottom lip quivered slightly.
"Don't look at me like that!" she groaned, trying desperately not to stare directly into his icy blue eyes, which were becoming glassy with tears. She couldn't pull her gaze away. It was like trying to look away from a trainwreck. A pitifully adorable trainwreck.
"Oh my goodness, okay okay, I'll go, just stop it!"
Christian's expression went from kicked puppy to smug victor in less than a second. "Yes!" he snapped his fingers. "Works like a charm."
Sydney shook her head. "You're disgusting."
Christian titled his head back, sighing. "You're making me blush." A second later he was opening the door of the mustang and hopping out. "You coming?"
Sydney sighed, getting out of the car reluctantly and walking over to him. "Just to get a closer look. We can't leave the car sitting for long."
"Oh, come on. We'll be able to see it from the house." he grabbed her hand and starting walking toward the decrepit building, pulling her along behind him.
When they came upon the house, Christian looked even more mystified than he had in the car. "Whoa," he breathed as they both stared at and into the house. "So wild." He ducked underneath an area of the house that was gaping open and slid inside.
"Christian!" Sydney hissed, her voice an inexplicable whisper. "What are you doing?"
"Investigating!" he whispered back. Sydney looked around nervously.
"Hurry it up, this could be private property."
"Will you chill out?" Christian chuckled. "Seriously, you have to see this."
"The view's quite enough from where I'm standing." Sydney said.
"Pleeeaassee?" Christian whined. "I could fall and land on a rusty nail."
"And that would be your fault," Sydney shot back.
"Aren't you supposed to be a big rebel now?" Christian taunted. "I've gotta say, so far I'm unimpressed."
"Oh, give me a break!" Sydney scoffed, ducking her head under the hole Christian had slipped through to glare at him. "Are we done here?"
He smirked when he saw her. "Not until you come in here and investigate with me."
She looked around, but it was hard to see much from her uncomfortable angle. "I can't believe I'm doing this." she grumbled, carefully hiking a leg over the hole and sidling herself into the house. She managed to do so -though less gracefully than Christian's cat-like maneuvering- without hurting herself.
"Wow," she breathed when she stood upright, taking in her surroundings. Christian had been right. It was definitely a sight to see. Half the house, the half they were currently standing in, was all twisted and bent, some parts seemingly frozen in mid-crumble. The whole area black and burnt. The destruction stretched all the way to a wide staircase in the middle of the house, but stopped abruptly right before it reached it. The staircase lay untouched, as did the rest of the house that followed it. She dragged her gaze slowly across the eerily pristine part of the house, an unsettling feeling passing over her.
"Creepy," she shuddered.
"More like awesome!" Christian argued. He took a few steps toward the staircase. "Looks like the upstairs is all intact. You thinking what I'm thinking?" he looked toward Sydney expectantly.
"Absolutely not!" she hissed, walking right up behind him and taking hold of his arm. "You are not going up those stairs."
He just grinned at her. "You know when people tell me not to do something, it just becomes all that more enticing."
"Christian, I'm serious." Sydney said. "We have no idea what's up there."
"Exactly."
"Christian." her voice was a warning.
"The need to see something cool is clouding my judgment," he said, putting one foot on the first step of the staircase and gently pressing his weight down on it. It protested with an ear piercing creak.
"Christian!" she snapped, "Stop. Just..." she looked around frantically, knowing once he'd set his mind to do something he was going to do it, but hoping to find something else that could distract him. But there was nothing but a creepy half-burnt house and piles and piles of ash.
Ash.
"If you stop right there," she said quickly. "I'll show you something cool."
To her relief, Christian stopped. He pivoted on the step and looked at her. "I'm listening."
She bent down in front of her, carefully not to let any part of her body touch anything. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"You mentioned that," Christian smirked.
She rubbed an ashy spot on the ground with her fingertips, then gently rubbed them across her palm. She technically didn't need it, but it would probably make it easier. It wasn't yew bark, but it was still ash that had been brought about by fire. She told herself she would wash her hands immediately after this.
Christian raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know if I'll be able to." she warned. "I haven't really been practicing."
"Practicing what?" Christian's eyes widened. "Is this a magic trick?"
"More or less," she said. She felt the magic energy stirring up inside of her just thinking about what she was about to attempt.
Christian made a high pitched sound of excitement. "What are you going to do?"
"You'll see," she said. "Hopefully."
The energy was steadily building up, but so far no results yet. She looked at Christian who was watching her intently. "Stop staring at me," she commanded. "You're making me nervous."
He brought his hands up over his eyes. "Okay, I won't look."
Sydney took a deep breath and the magic surged through her more intensely. It took longer than it had with the yew bark but after a few moments the space right about her palm flickered into a small swirl of red flame. She smiled, pride swelling up in her, and the flame thrived into a full blown fireball. She almost squeaked with happiness.
She held her arm out at a 90 degree angle. "Okay," she told Christian. "You can look."
Christian lowered his hands and his smirky smile vanished.
"Impressed yet?" she teased, wiggling her fingers underneath the flame. The sensation was still strange. Tingly and warm, but not burning.
Christian just continued to stare at her, his expression oddly blank.
She coughed. "I can't sustain it for too long, it takes too much of my energy. This spell is for combat purposes, really."
Christian's eyes went even wider. "Combat purposes?" he finally rasped. "So, that's not like...just an illusion or whatever? That's real fire?"
"Of course it's real fire!" she laughed. She flicked her hand upward and the fireball bounced slightly. "Great for throwing." she frowned at him. "I thought you of all people would be a little more excited."
"I am excited." He blinked a few times. "I'm in shock." he shook his head. "That's...incredible."
The natural high magic always brought along with it mingled with the feeling Christian's awe stirred within her and she felt almost dizzy.
"It'll die down here in a few seconds," she said, and right on cure the flame faltered and she felt a little sad to see it go.
"Here," Christian put his hands out in front of him. "Toss it to me."
"W-what?" Sydney sputtered.
"You said you can throw it," Christian said, "So toss it on over."
"I don't think that's how they work-"
"I think I know a little bit more about manipulating fire than you, BSB." Christian rolled his eyes. "Just trust me."
She did trust him. She lobbed a gentle underhanded toss in his direction and the ball started to dissipate as it sailed but Christian crouched in front of it before it could hit the ground and caught it between his hands, suspending it between them.
"Now that is what I'd call incredible," Sydney said, impressed.
He straightened back up, still holding the ball between his hands. He spread them apart and the ball almost doubled in size. Sydney frowned. "Show off."
"You could do this, too, you know." he said.
Sydney shook her head. "It takes way too much energy. I could never hold it for that long. Or make it that big."
"Do you think I started out doing this?" Christian asked. "Your power will develop over time. There's a lot I could teach you."
Sydney hadn't even thought of that. She smiled. "Would you really?"
"Totally," Christian said. "We can start right now. Lesson Number One: Think Fast!" and the fireball was sailing right toward her.
She yelped in alarm, bringing her hands up instinctively in front of her face, bracing herself for impact. But it never came. She opened her eyes and gasped. The fireball was still suspended in mid-air, right in front of her face, between her hands.
"What do I do?!" she asked in a panic.
"I knew you could catch it!" Christian laughed. "Just hold it!"
She brought her hands down in front of her chest and the ball moved along with them. Sydney squealed. "I'm really doing this!" The giddiness of the magic was overwhelming.
"You're amazing!" Christian exclaimed. "Now throw it back."
She shook her head. "I don't think I can. This is like, huge."
"Don't freak out," Christian ordered calmly. "You've got this. Remember, you're the one controlling it."
Sydney took a deep breath and tried to let his words sink in. She pushed her hands away from her slightly and the ball went with them. "I've got this," she said out loud.
"You've got this," Christian repeated.
"Okay, I'm gonna throw it now." she warned.
"Try pushing it." he suggested.
"What?!"
"I guess uh, I don't know to explain..." he squinted. "Pretend like its a basketball. I know it's hard because you can't really feel the weight of it. But act like your holding an actual ball right there, in front of your chest like that, and just push it toward me as hard as you can."
Sydney took a shaky breath. "Oh God, okay. Here goes nothing."
"Hit me with your best shot."
She tried to follow his instructions, bending her elbows and pulling the ball back toward her chest slightly, then pushed her arms forward with all the energy she could muster. The ball shot through the air and Christian put his hands up at the last minute, halting it right in front of his fingertips. She was amazed at how skilled he was at this. He really could teach her a lot.
"You're still putting me to shame," she laughed.
"I don't think so," Christian said, smiling at her. "I think you're like, the coolest person in the world right now."
"You're one to talk, fire master." she teased. "I'll never be on your level."
"Not with that attitude," Christian tsked. "I told you, you just need to keep developing. I can help you."
Sydney couldn't believe she'd thought this fireball throwing thing was boring when she'd practiced it with Ms. Terwilliger. The thought of Christian helping her hone this skill, and the thought of being able to do the type of things he could do with fire, was invigorating.
"I'll hold you to that promise," she said. "Though to be honest, I'm already starting to feel a little drained. It takes a lot out of me."
Christian nodded. "Class dismissed," he said authoritatively, and clapped his hands together, extinguishing the fireball. He smiled widely at her. "I'm still like...I can't even believe this." He took a few steps toward her, beaming like a proud parent. "You're like me."
She met his gaze and a warm, comforting feeling took hold of her. She looked at him and saw someone so genuine, so understanding, and someone so much like herself. She'd never really had a "best friend" before. That one person who she could go to with anything without fear of being judged, that one person who would always be on her side no matter what. But looking at Christian standing in front of her in that ridiculous half-burnt house, she felt with unwavering certainty that she did now.
"Yeah," she smiled softly at him. "I guess I am."
When they got back to the car, much to Christian's amusement, Sydney pulled a bag of wet wipes of her purse and forced him to wipe down his hands and shoes as she did the same.
"You just have these on hand?" he chuckled.
"I like to be prepared for anything." she said, inspecting him for any dirt or ash before allowing him to get back in the car.
They eventually did find somewhere to eat. One of those 50's inspired diner chains. She was starving from all the energy she'd used up playing catch the fireball with Christian. She didn't really like people watching her eat. But Christian was too consumed with excitedly telling her about the cool stuff they could do together with fire to really pay much attention to her as she wolfed down her food. She felt at ease around him and felt immensely lucky to call him a friend.
"You know, you never told me your brilliant plan about Adrian and I spending more time together." she said, as she pulled up in front of the hotel he was staying at.
He grinned wickedly. "That's because I haven't got one."
"You're the worst!" she said, punching him on the arm.
"I wasn't lying!" he assured her. "It's just still in the brainstorming stage. Give me a day or two, I'll come through. I promise."
Sydney was about to give him an earful when her phone buzzed and she saw she had a text from Adrian. "Speak of the devil," she said, opening the message. "I've got to go pick him up now."
Christian's smile widened and moved to exit the vehicle. "Well, I certainly don't want to delay any Sydrian lovey-dovey time. I'll see you later."
She shook her head at him. "I'm still holding you to your promises, you know."
"I know, " he nodded emphatically. "Don't worry. You can count on me."
She smiled at him. "I don't doubt that for a second."
Sydney's heart was fluttering with excitement as she pulled up to the building where Adrian's class was being held. She didn't have the patience to wait for him to come to her. As soon as she got there, she walked right up to where he and a few other people she assumed were students were standing and threw her arms around him, kissing him right there in front of God and everyone. In retrospect, not the best idea. But she was too happy to care. He returned her kiss, smiling against her lips.
"I missed you too," he teased, his hands curling around her hips, pulling her against him.
"I'm in a really good mood," she said, the sensation of his closeness almost making her knees buckle.
"Me too," he said, kissing her forehead.
"How was the class?" she asked, her face buried in his neck. People were staring at them. She found it hard to care.
"Pretty cool," he said.
"I want to hear all about it," she said, "But let's get home first. We can continue the conversation in bed."
Adrian's eyebrows raised. "In bed? Just what kind of boy do you think I am?"
"My kind of boy," she said, reaching up to kiss him again.
"You are in a good mood," he said as she dragged him toward the mustang. "Good deeds really get you off that much?"
She laughed. Then she said, "I did magic today."
"Ah," he said as they entered the car. "Quality time with Jackie?"
She shook her head. "I hung out with Christian."
"Christian?" Adrian was surprised. "Ozera?"
Sydney nodded. "Abe neglected to mention he'd be coming with Sonya and Dimitri. But it was a pleasant surprise."
"Wait, so you did magic...with Christian?" Adrian smirked. "Don't tell me you showed him the fireball thing." Sydney couldn't help but laugh.
"I would've loved to see that," Adrian said. "Did he totally freak out or what?"
"Pretty much," Sydney said. "He said he can teach me how to develop the skill."
Adrian frowned. "I'm all for you becoming an even more badass warrior goddess than you already are, but if Ozera thinks he can weasel in on your free time that rightfully belongs to me, he's got another thing coming."
Sydney took one hand off the steering wheel to grab Adrian's. She squeezed it reassuringly. "Time with you is much more important than fire lessons. Christian knows that. In fact, he's going to help us on that front, as well. He told me he's coming up with a plan so we'll be able to see more of each other. You know, without everyone else around."
"What's he getting out of it?"
"Beats me." Sydney shrugged. "He's like, determined to help us be together."
Adrian smiled. "Well, we are a pretty hot couple if I do say so myself."
Once they were in the privacy of Adrian's apartment they immediately started in on the kissing again. Falling onto his couch, grabbing for each other like they hadn't touched in years. Legs intertwined. Hands crept under clothes to graze bare skin. Electricity crackled between them.
"I forgot," Sydney breathed, pulling away from him. "Family time."
Adrian sighed, pulling her mouth back to his. "Just a few more minutes of mommy-daddy time."
She couldn't argue with that. They continued as they had been for awhile longer. A lot longer than a few more minutes. But eventually they managed to untangle themselves and Adrian left to get Hopper. He returned a moment later, carrying a small aquarium with the tiny dragon sleeping inside of it.
Adrian lifted the top off the aquarium and scooped up Hopper gently in his hands. He stroked the dragon's back. "Wake up, little guy. Look who's here to see you."
The dragon's eyes fluttered open and when they landed on Sydney it scrambled out of Adrian's hands and into her lap.
"Aww," Sydney's heart squeezed. "I missed you too."
"I told you he's been miserable without you around." Adrian said, putting his arm around her. "We've bonded over it."
"I'm sorry, Hopper." she said, picking him up and bringing him gently to her chest. "I haven't been a very good mother."
"I wouldn't say that," Adrian said softly. "At least you care."
The dragon clawed its way up Sydney's chest and perched happily on her shoulder, wagging his little dragon tail as he did so.
"You see?" Adrian smiled. "All is forgiven."
The three of them stayed on Adrian's couch for quite some time. Adrian told them all about his art class, how it was mostly just boring introductory stuff, and the wouldn't get to do anything fun until next week. They tried watching TV, but Hopper wasn't very impressed with the History Channel, so they just let him scamper around between them, giggling at his dragon antics.
At 3 o'clock, Adrian dropped Sydney back off at Amberwood and the lighter than air feeling Sydney had spent most of the day reveling in began to dissipate.
"I feel bad about leaving her on her own." Sydney sighed. "She wasn't ready."
"I'm sure she did fine, Sage." Adrian gave her a soft kiss. "She's a Sage, after all. You lot are incredibly durable."
"I bet you say that to all the girls," she teased, leaning into kiss him again.
"When am I going to see you again?" he asked, bringing his hands up to cup her face.
"Soon, I hope."
"I could come to you tonight." he said.
"No," Sydney was adamant. "You're on a spirit diet, remember?"
"I haven't used it for anything in awhile. I think it will be fine."
As much as she wanted to give into him, his well-being was the most important thing to her. "No, Adrian. Not yet. We'll find a way to be together in the waking world. Just...hold on for a little while longer. Don't give up on me just yet."
"Never," he promised. They shared one last kiss and then they were leaving each other again for an uncertain amount of time. She wondered if it would ever stop hurting this much. To leave him. She felt like a part of herself wasn't there. She entered her dorm building with a heavy heart, now mixed with the anxiety of hearing how Zoe's first day without her had gone.
She let herself into her room and was surprised to see not only Zoe, but Jill. Side by side, staring out the room's window.
"Uh, what are we looking at?"
The girls jumped and turned around. "Oh, hey!" Jill smiled. "You're back."
"Are you okay?" Zoe took a few steps toward her.
"I'm fine," Sydney said. "Are you okay? How'd everything go around here?"
"It was fun!" Jill said. "Zoe ate lunch with us."
"You did?" Sydney tried to hide the hope in her voice.
Zoe's expression was that of offense and slight disgust. "There was nowhere else to sit."
So much for hoping.
"Have you seen it?" Jill asked excitedly.
"Seen what?" Sydney was confused.
"Oh my gosh, she totally hasn't." Jill nudged Zoe and Zoe looked like she might pass out. She eyed the spot where Jill had touched her like she wanted to douse it in holy water.
"What have I not seen?" Sydney asked, looking between the two of them.
Zoe opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, her phone rang. She groaned. "Hold that thought," she said, pulling it out of her purse and answering. "Hello?"
"Miss Sage! I trust everything went swimmingly at the airport?"
Great.
"A very loose use of that word, but yes." Sydney said, "I picked them up and dropped them off at their hotel. It was fine."
"Wonderful," Abe said. "you really are a stand up young lady."
"Thanks," Sydney said flatly. "Is that all you needed?"
"Ah, no." Abe replied strangely. "Are you alone right now?"
"No," Sydney said shortly.
"Could you be?" Abe asked. "I have something of paramount importance to discuss with you."
"Hold on just one second." She said, then looked toward her sister and Jill. "I'm going to take this outside." she told them, leaving her room before hissing to Abe, "I am not doing you another favor."
"I really wouldn't ask unless it was terribly important," Abe drawled. "And, as you may have already seen, I intend to make it worth your while."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sydney moaned, raking a hand through her hair.
"So you haven't seen it, then." Abe seemed amused.
Was he referring to the same thing Jill had been? She really wasn't up for his games right now. "I suppose I haven't," she said. "Go ahead and enlighten me."
"Where are you right now?"
"Excuse me?" Sydney asked.
"Right now, this very moment, what is your location?" Abe's clarification was laced with amused sarcasm.
Sydney gritted her teeth. "I'm at my dorm."
"Perfect." Abe said. "Just look out your window, then."
"What?" Sydney asked, but she was already stepping back into the dorm, walking past her very confused little sister and Jill, and stood in front of the window. She half expected to see Abe himself looking back at her, but all she could see was a parking lot filled with cars. "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"
"You mentioned your old car was a Subaru," Abe said. "I forgot to ask for the color, so I just went with red. I hope that's not too much of a bother."
Sydney almost dropped the phone. She squinted and sure enough there was a shiny new red Subaru outback parked in one of the spaces. "You're not saying-"
"I had a friend of mine drop off the key earlier. All the papers should be safely tucked inside the glove box. All in your name."
She spun around to see Jill holding up a car key. "Surprise," she said, stepping forward to place it in Sydney's palm.
At this point Sydney was too dumbfounded to walk back outside the room. "You bought me a new car?" she practically screamed into the phone. "I can't accept that."
"Oh, but of course you can!" Abe's voice was as infuriatingly pleasant as ever. "You've proven yourself time and again to be the loyal sort, always coming through when you say you will. I appreciate that, you know."
"Whatever you want me to do," Sydney said, "I'm not doing it. So you can take your car back, because this is ridiculous. Even for you."
Abe just chuckled. "Why don't you let me explain the situation at hand before you make your final decision."
Sydney was still partially in shock, which is the only reason she was still on the phone with him. "I don't-"
"I'm going to need you to do a large amount of lying," Abe said as if she hadn't spoken. "But I assure you it's for the most noble of causes."
"Just get to the point, please."
"I've arranged for a plane to land at the private airport you're now familiar with, tomorrow, at midnight. That plane will be there to collect Mr. Ivashkov and bring him to me. I cannot tell you where I am, nor can you tell anyone where Adrian will actually be. I assume you can come up with a believable cover story. You're a smart young girl. And it's only for one day."
Sydney was rendered literally speechless for a few moments, taking a long time to process what he'd just said. She stormed past Zoe and Jill and out into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.
When she finally found her voice, her tone was clipped. "Okay. Let's just pretend I was actually going to do this. Let's just pretend I was going to play your little secret agent and lie to everyone and drop Adrian off at your 'private airport' to take him God know's where ever you are. Why...on Earth...do you think Adrian would agree to do this?"
"Because, Miss Sage." Abe said simply, "It's not me who is requesting his presence. It's his mother."
