Chapter Ten
The ear splitting scream startled us both but due to my hightened sense of hearing, it pained only me. Sydney turned to rush inside ahead of me, not stopping or pausing to worry about her own personal safety. Once in the apartment, we saw the blonde girl sat up on the couch staring at the dark haired Moroi who had gone even more deathly pale then she already was. Her phone was clutched in her hands and fear was halting her voice.
Realising that we were not in any immediate danger, Sydney was first to speak "What's the matter?".
Carla, or at least the girl I thought was named Carla went to respond to Sydney but did a double take, seemingly forgetting that Sydney was human. I walked over and to reassure the girl that it was ok to speak. "It's ok Carla, she knows about us. You can trust her".
And this was all the reassurance she needed. Throwing herself into my arms and crying uncontrollably she managed to speak through muttered sobs. "Oh Jet, I can't beleive it happened to her. How did it happen?".
The blonde girl now rose to her feet, obviously upset by her friends breakdown, "What happened?".
I decided to use very light compulsion on Carla to see if I could not only calm her down but someone get out of her what had happened. "Tell us what happened Carla" I said softly whilst peering into her eyes.
"I'm Krissy" she said whilst sniffling, and i tried my hardest to avoid Sage's judgemental glares. "And our friend, our friend" Krissy tried to explain but her emotions were getting the better of her. "I just got the call. Our friend, another Moroi who goes to our college, she's dead". She looked over at her friend and cried out "It was Melody, she was killed by Strigoi last night".
Both girls gasped and sobbed whilst I looked to reach Sydney's eyes. We might not have known this girl but this was serious. Having Strigoi nearby endangered not only the mission but all of our lives.
Before she could stop herself, Sydney's Alchemist training got the better of her. "Where? Where did it happen?".
Krissy looked at Sydney with disgust, "West Hollywood, behind some club". A silent breath of air excapes my lips, at least it was not in our immediate vacinity or Jill's. Don't get me wrong, this was a terrible tragedy but Jill's safety is my number priority and I could see by the look of relief on Sydney's face, she felt the same.
"At least they didn't turn her" Krissy said forlornly. "She can rest in peace. Of course those monsters couldn't rest without mutilating her body".
Sydney's face had gone completely white and fear took her over. "What do you mean?" She was barely able to ask.
"Melody. They didn't just drink from her, they slit her throat". Krissy was now inconsolable and Carla raced to take her from my arms. Sydney and I both knew there was nothing we could do to help the situation so we both expressed our condolences and headed out to the car.
As I sat in the passenger seat, I could not even bring myself to talk with Sydney. This Melody had been killed in the same way Clarence's neice had been killed. I had overheard him talking about it several times and how he was convinced it was Vampire Hunters and not Strigoi. It was extremely possible that it was the same Strigoi who had attacked both women, maybe one with serial killers tendancies, one that liked to leave a calling card. I did not like thinking that Strigoi were lurking so close to us, so I tried to clear my mind. It had to be just a coincidence.
I glanced over at one stage and I could see the wheels inside Sydney's mind spinning into overdrive. She is a very annalytical thinker, all Alchemist's are by nature and I sincerely doubted that Sage beleived in coincidences.
I was not ready to go back to Clarence's, to be alone and luckily for me I think Sydney must have sensed that. She pulled up to Amberwood and signed me in as a guest to the school. The campus was new and modern, making St. Vladimir's look like something from a horror movie.
Jill sensed that Sydney was bringing me to her, so she and Eddie were waiting at the front entrance to their dorm for me. Jill smiled and flung herself into my arms, engulfing me in a hug that I most definately did not deserve. When we seperated she shot Sydney a greatful smile, appreciating her rescuing me. Eddie on the other hand was not quite as forgiving. Although he did not say a word, from the exasperated look on his face, he did not need to. Fun was not a word in Castille's vocabulary and I am pretty sure he judged anyone who dared to live a little.
"I was so worried" Jill exclaimed. I ruffled her hair and laughed. "Nothing to worry about Jailbait. As long as the wrinkles come out of this shirt, there's no harm done". Sydney looked like she wanted to explode. I knew she was angry at me for putting myself in a situation with other girls whilst Jill could see into my mind. Jill was young but she had always encouraged me to not put my life on hold.
"Now" I continued, "If Sage would be kind enough to play chauffeur, I'll take us all out to lunch". I knew I was seriously pushing my luck but I could not stomache the idea of spending the day alone.
Sydeny looked over at me and sneered "I thought you did not have any money?". Nothing got past this girl did it?
"I said I don't have much money" I jibed back. I certainly did not have enough money for everyone to have lunch but I was not about to admit that.
Jill and Castille exchanged a quick glance, "We, um, were going to meet Micah for lunch" Jill said.
"Bring him along, he can meet the family". I requested, it was probably time I met the guy that had gotten Sage in such a state.
We waited in the shade for Micah, who showed up soon enough. He was a nice looking guy and immediately shook my hand whilst introducing himself, which I always appreciated. He just looked so familar. Too familiar.
"Now I see some family resembelence. I was starting to wonder whether Jill was adopted but you two look kind of alike". Being related had nothing to do with our similar looks.
"So does our mailman back in North Dakota" I joked quickly, trying to deflect away from our lack of family similarities. I was standing there, feeling pretty impressed with my quick thinking when Sydney snapped "South". Realising my foul, I looked up to see that luckily Micah had not caught onto my mistake.
"Right" I said quickly, but still not being able to shake the sense of familarity I got from Micah "There is something familar about you, have we met before?".
Micah shook his head and claimed that he had never been to South Dakota before and turned away from me. "That makes two of us" I muttered to myself but was clearly overhead by Sydney.
Castille being the drill seargant that is said we needed to get a move on to lunch because he had to be back to finish homework this afternoon. What was I saying about this guy being all work and no play.
Seeming my monetary recources were limited and we needed to be quick, we settled on a fast food burger joint. It was a welcome change to Dorothy's gourmet cooking and everyone seemed to be enjoying their meals, except for Sydney and her sad little half eaten hamburger. This was not the first time that I had noticed her avoidance to large and overly processed meals and I was beginning to think that maybe this was more of an issue than just watching her waistline.
"You should have just got a kids meal" I joked. "You could have saved me a lot of money and gotten a toy".
" A lot is an exaggeration, plus now you have leftovers" she countered.
This time I rolled my eyes and snatched a fry from her plate. "Your the one who should take the leftovers home. How do you function on such little food, one of these days you are just going to blow away" I said with a certain seriousness to my voice. It was the first time I had noticed how thin she actually was. Don't get me wrong, Sydney Sage had a killer body and fantastic curves but she was slight and could do with a couple of good meals.
"Stop it" she demanded. This was obviously a sore subject for her and I was the last person she wanted to discuss it with. Plus after our argument this morning, I am sure she did not have the energy to go another round. She had not eaten enough to have the energy for another fight.
"Just telling it like it is, you could stand to gain ten pounds" I said with a shrug. I did not want to push her further so I moved my eyeline over to Jill, Eddie and Micah. As much as I didn't like to think it, Jill and Micah made a decent looking couple. There was a kindness to him that instantly earnt my trust.
"They're kind of cute, maybe Castille was on to something about letting her date at school" I said to Sydney as she groaned and shook her head.
"Kidding, Lee would probably challenge him to a duel. He couldn't stop talking about her when we got back from mini golf. Lee just kept going on about when can we all go out again but yet he dropped off the face of the earth when he was in L.A. and I needed him". It was a bit of a stretch but he had bailed pretty early at the club.
"Had you made plans to meet up? Had he agreed to take you home?" Sydney asked, always being so logical.
"No" I admitted but then asked "But what else was he really doing?". I hadn't thought about it much at the time but Lee had seemed in a rush to leave the club and was not interested in me coming along with him. School did not seem like a huge priority to him so it suprised me that he was in such an agitated state to leave the club. I was probably over playing it in my mind, out of brotherly concern for Jill.
As my mind was wandering, a grey haired man passed by and accidentally knocked into Jill's chair. There was no harm or spillage but Eddie jumped to his feet, ready to protect Jill from the world. The man muttered an apology and Eddie returned to his seat looking a little sheepish.
"Just send him as a chaperone with whoever she goes out with and we'll never have to worry" I said, gestured to Castille. Sydney looked over and was suddenly deep in thought, studying everything about the dynamic between Eddie and Jill. She seems honestly confused and I would have given anything to know what was racing through her mind.
"You seem confused?" I asked, unable to help myself.
She shook her head and sighed "I'm just over thinking things". I did not doubt that for a second but it still made me upset to see her unable to connect all the thoughts in her mind. It was something that I could sympathise with, very often.
I looked down solemly and joked "That's why I try to never do it". Silence filled the air between us but it was not uncomfortable. I was finishing up the last of the fries on Sydney's plate when she looked up suddenly and asked "Hey, how come you told those girls your name was Jet?".
I could tell her the truth, tell her that sometimes being Adrian Ivashkov was the worst thing in the world and I would give anything to be someone else for just one night but it seemed a little overdramatic. "Standard practice if you don't want chicks to find you later Sage. Besides, I figured i was protecting our operation here". I had not thought about that last night but it was definately an advantage to giving the fake name.
"Yeah but why Jet? Why not... I don't know... Travis or John".
I looked up at her and gave her a look of utter dispair. She obviously thought me undeserving of such a cool name. "Because Jet sounds badass".
She looked away down the table to see the others finishing with their food, so we all cleared out to the car to make our way home. I knew better than to suggest extending our outing, so I jumped into the front seat, knowing I was on my way back to Clarence's retirement home for an afternoon of Sunday television.
Micah brought a light and cheerful mood to the car trip, with even Sydney finding it difficult to refuse conversation. It was really beginning to bug me that I could not place the kid's face. We pulled up at Clarence's and I jumped out of the car but before i could even turn around to wave goodbye, Sydney sped off down the street, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. She was obviously still a little sour from our encounter this morning and I could not blame her. She had driven two hours to pick me up from a house where she assumed I had spent the night rolling around in the sheets with the two Moroi girls. And instead of a thank-you from me, we had argued.
I thought back over the argument as I lit a cigarette and sat on the steps on the front porch. Sydney had a fire in her eye's when I challenged that I had not seen before. The purple flashes of her aura were shinning bright and the air between us had been filled with electric tension. I obviously infurriated her and she had a built up amount of anger she needed to release. I was happy to see her release said anger. She needed to be more emotional and less rational. I enjoyed seeing her act human and feel her feelings. The more human she acted, the less she behaved like an Alchemist. And the less she behaved like an Alchemist, the easier it is for me to justify dreaming about her beautful eyes.
AN- thanks again for reading everyone. I hope you guys are enjoying reading Adrian from my perspective. I would love some feedback to know if I am doing justice to how everyone imagined the inner workings of his mind to be. Have a great weekend! :)