After slapping Trey, I did feel a little bad. Just a little. I'd never slapped anyone before, but it did feel kind of good at the time as well. I couldn't believe that he never even bothered to mention that we were at a party full of Moroi. Now that I thought about it some more, I realized how stupid I was. Yes, me Sydney Sage, stupid. I didn't even think about how everyone in that party had such fair skin, and were all tall and slim. Also known as the Moroi body.
"Ouch." Trey complained. "I can't believe you slapped me."
I glared at him. "You deserved it. Now I am leaving, what you did was unforgivable."
With that, I opened the SUV door and got out. Getting out was a little tricky, what with the dress and all, nevertheless, I managed. Walking away from him didn't really help my anger, but it did clear my head a little. I pulled out my cell, and saw the time, it was already 3:45. I had to change and then go to meet Ms. Terwilliger. On the way to my room, I also noticed that I had a few more text messages.
JILL:
Thank god ur OK. Come to my room when u get back.
I guess that was going to have to wait until later. My friends didn't exactly know about my magic with Ms. Terwilliger. Adrian found out before, but he probably still thought that I was just a beginner and had only done those few spells. Speaking of Adrian, he also texted back. I couldn't just ignore it...
ADRIAN:
R u okay? Call me after. Please.
Maybe Adrian thought that the alchemists had discovered something about us. If they had, they wouldn't have waited a month to do something. Still not wanting to speak to Adrian, I texted Jill to tell her to tell Adrian that I was fine, and not to worry. And that I had to meet with Ms. Terwilliger to transcribe some things before I could go to Jill and the others.
I quickly reached my room, and changed clothes, putting on a skirt going down to my knees, and a ruffled, yellow top with no sleeves, that buttoned down the front. After doing all of this, I raced over to meet with Ms. Terwilliger.
I arrived at Ms. Terwilliger's office, a minute late.
"You're late." I heard her voice coming from behind a pile of books on the desk. "And you skipped all day. I spoke with your teachers, saying you were doing an errand for me, so you were excused. I hope that you were doing something productive, Ms. Melrose."
I sighed in relief. I guess I was more worried about skipping than I realized. "Thank you and I was doing something productive, I promise."
I met her around the desk. She was reading through a familiar book, written in Latin. It was one that I had previously transcribed for her weeks ago.
She looked up at me. "Well take a seat then. We don't have all afternoon."
I found the chair and pulled it towards the desk. "What exactly are we doing today?"
"I wanted to work on charming a ring for you." She answered. "The incantation is a bit difficult, but it doesn't require a lot of time to perform."
"What's the purpose of the spell?"
"The wearer, you, would wear it until you need it. You say a few words, and that releases the spell. The spell allows you to gain strength at a time that you are weak, basically giving you energy."
That could come in handy, considering how exhausted I had been lately. Also, with the danger that that Elliot guy had told me to be weary of.
"Okay." I replied. "Let's start then."
"The first thing I need is your blood."
"My blood?"
"Yes. For the spell to work, specifically for you, your blood must drop onto the ring. This binds it to you, and only you. So the energy will not drift off to others around you."
"Fine, I guess. Do you have a needle, a clean one?"
"It must be done with this knife." She then pulled out a golden dagger.
I gasped. "No way."
"It's the only way, Sydney. Or else the spell won't work."
"Giving blood is one thing, perhaps one thing too many. But the knife, that is just unsanitary and going a little too far. You know how I feel about magic. And this is just a little much."
She sighs. "I thought you were ready for this. You have been doing so much."
"I still don't feel right about it. You know that."
"I suppose I do." She seemed to think about something. "What if we clean the knife?"
I frown. "Still doesn't change the procedure. It's all just a little too creepy, too much after the day I've had."
"And what exactly happened during your day?" She asks curiously.
I could have slapped myself, the way I had with Trey. "Nothing. Just a long day."
"Ms. Melbourne," She starts, using my real fake family name. "You can tell me things. I'm your teacher, and you are my pupil. But I do care about you, you know."
I sigh. "I went with Trey to a party, he was looking for a former Warrior of Light." I could see her expression taking it all in. I went on. "We got there, and it was a Moroi party, which I hadn't really realized until we got back from it."
"Well you are around Moroi a lot, are you not?" She asks me, not understanding.
"Yes." I reply. "But, being in a room full of them, ones I don't know...Well, it's different."
"Are you afraid of them?" She asks me, point blank.
My immediate answer would be no, but I knew that was supposed to be the wrong answer. I consider my words carefully. "It's not that, exactly. I'm an alchemist, being in that situation is supposed to make us feel out of place, wrong."
"And you did?"
"Not exactly."
Her eyes pour into mine. "And that scares you?"
I really don't know how to reply, so I simply say, "I don't know."
She takes in a deep breath. "Well, I think you should be making these decisions for yourself, not based on what the alchemists believe you should feel. I mean, you are your own person, are you not?"
How did I get myself into these conversations? "I really don't have a choice. But," I continue. "At the party, there was a woman, maybe she was Moroi." She was taller, but she didn't seem to be Moroi. "She took my hand and it was like I was suddenly in a blizzard, I just felt cold. It was really weird. Then this man, Elliot, he came and stopped her by spilling a drink on her." Which was red wine, with blood in it I suppose. I wonder if that made him a Moroi too. Great, and I was supposed to meet him tomorrow.
Ms. Terwilliger was focussing all her attention on me now. "She made you feel cold?"
I nodded. "Yes, and that Elliot guy, he then told me something about her wanting me and about my life being in danger. He couldn't say much, he said. He is going to meet me tomorrow though and explain things."
"Sydney, what was the woman's name? Do you know?" Ms. Terwilliger's voice sounded more serious than I had ever heard before.
"Cynthia. I don't know her last name though."
When I said the name, it was as though Ms. Terwilliger's body froze. She looked, well, she looked scared.
"Sydney, you didn't tell her where you lived or anything?" She asked sharply.
"No. Just my name." What was going on?
"Good." She looked a little better. "Cynthia, is someone who is very dangerous, I knew her a long time ago. She is a witch, like myself. Only, a different kind. She hunts other witches, trying to convert them over to her side or, if they refuse, she kills them. She must have sensed that you had magic in you."
"What? You mean there are other witches out there?" I guess that was obvious, but I hadn't really thought about it.
"Of course, not as many as there once were, what with her gaining power over the years. I meet with a few every now and then, in secret. Our numbers decrease as time goes on. Which is why finding you was so special for me."
"Because you want me to learn magic to be like you? Or to become your ally?" I didn't like being tricked.
"Both, in a way. The magic we do is considerably different to the magic that Cynthia and her followers do." She explains. "We gain our power through the earth, through herbs and through all of the things that can be found and be extracted from around us. The magic that Cynthia does is darker. She uses energy from others, from evil forces to gain power. It's not right, what she does."
"She's evil then?"
"The magic that she does turns a person into something they are not. Something dark and twisted."
I ponder this. "You said you knew her, right?"
She takes in a deep breath. "Let's just let the past stay in the past. If she has gotten a sense of you, she will go after you. We need to work on protecting yourself. You need to allow yourself to do the charm on the ring tonight. It is a good spell that could come in handy for you, especially now that I know everything."
"Listen, it's not that I don't believe you or anything, but I am not even that powerful of a witch. I highly doubt that Cynthia will be after me. I just don't feel comfortable using my blood with some old, magical dagger. It just doesn't feel right to me."
"You need it though, for protection. And she will come after you, she always does." Ms. Terwilliger rose from her seat. "Give me your hand, Sydney."
I starred at her, not moving. My mind was made up, I couldn't perform this spell. Usually we just used herbs and a bunch of pre-made mixes that I would then have to measure precisely and conjure up to make a spell work. It was sort of like a science experiment, and that was probably how I got myself through it. But using my own blood with a dagger was going overboard, even a science experiment wouldn't call for that. The whole blood experiment that I had done with Sonya Karp had been a different story, that one used a needle and medical equipment. It took me forever to allow her, a Moroi, to take my blood for experimenting on, and that situation seemed nothing compared to this one. At least, to me it didn't.
"No." I told her. "I am not doing this spell."
She stood for a couple more seconds, and then sat back down, landing on her seat with a heavy, defeated thud. "You will regret this, this spell is wonderful."
"There are just some lines that I am not willing to cross." This was true in a number of situations lately.
"Fine, I will respect your wishes. But if you ever come to your senses, I will help you out."
Doubtful. "Thanks." I reply instead. Looking at the time, I had been there for nearly two hours. My stomach was growling loudly. I guess I hadn't really eaten all day. "Is there anything else I can help you with? If not, I really have to be going."
She started to dig into her pocket, and then pulled out a silver key. "I will give you one thing before you go." She then proceeded to unlock one of the drawers of the desk. Opening it up, she pulled out a necklace with an amulet on it and handed it to me. "Put this on, and if there is someone around you that is posing a possible threat to you, it will start to warm up. You will then know that you will have to either prepare yourself to fight, or get out of wherever you are as quickly as possible."
I looked at the amulet. It was a darker shade of blue, and it was shaped into a four pointed star. The amulet was attached to a longer, silver chain, which I then put over my head, securing the amulet in place, right over my cross.
"Thank you." I told her. "It's really beautiful, and I'm sure it took a long time to make."
She smiled at me. "You're right in that, this spell is a little tricky. It can only be performed during a full moon, on a cloudless night because it has to be performed under the light of the moon. And, it takes the entire night to do. Very tricky to get it right."
"What's the name of the spell?" I ask, growing more interested.
"Why, it's named after the stone." She answers, walking me to the door. "It's known as The Indigo Spell."
