Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Bloodlines, or any of its characters. All rights go to Richelle Mead.
"There has been an attack."
I'm not sure what shocked me more: Abe's words, or the fact that he was dressed like a normal, functioning member of society. He had forgone his usual outlandish wardrobe, and was dressed in a pair of plain black slacks and a white button down. There was no scarf or pocket square, not even a gold chain. I hardly recognized my own father.
"You can't start a conversation off with 'there's been an attack,' old man," I told him. "You're going to have to give us some specifics."
Dimitri didn't seem to agree with my statement though because I turned to find him already pulling on his boots and that ridiculous duster. I was still a little flustered over Abe having interrupted my tryst with Dimitri, but I knew Abe wouldn't have left Nepal unless there was a real emergency.
"I'll explain on the way," Abe told me. He gave me a once-over and pursed his lips. "You might want to change."
I glanced down and realized that my white T-shirt wasn't scoring me any modesty points. It was practically see-through and I only remembered that Dimitri had so kindly removed my bra just minutes earlier when I saw it lying on the kitchen table in plain view. Abe followed my gaze and once he realized what I had, his eyes snapped back to meet my own. I'm not sure who was more embarrassed; me, or Abe.
"Studying," I blurted out.
"What?" he asked, a little dumbfounded.
"We were studying…when you knocked…that's what we were doing." My words tumbled out and I knew Abe could see right through them, but I couldn't stop myself. I guess he and I had a lot of awkward father-daughter moments to make up for.
He waved a hand at me, and I turned on my heel and practically ran to the bedroom, snatching up my bra as I went.
A few minutes later Dimitri, Abe, and I were speed-walking across the lush green lawns of Court. Abe had yet to reveal any specifics of the attack he had mentioned earlier. His exterior was cool and collected, but he was obviously agitated.
"Alright, old man, spill."
"There was an attack," he said again.
"You already said that part," I told him incredulously. "Who attacked some one?"
"Strigoi," he said darkly.
My blood rain cold and I felt Dimitri tense beside me.
"Like when the Drosdovs or the Badicas were attacked last year?" I asked.
Abe shook his head at me.
"Who was attacked then?" asked Dimitri.
I was beginning to wonder the same thing. If it had been Lissa, I would already know about it. Court would be in lockdown and Mynor would have found me by now. I also didn't think that a random Strigoi attack would warrant Abe's return to Court. Whatever happened was serious, but Abe wasn't exactly being forthcoming. He glanced around and made sure that no one would be able to overhear his next words.
"The Palm Springs group," he said in a low voice.
"Is Jill okay?!" I practically yelled.
Abe shot me a stormy look, and I remembered that no one was supposed to know where Jill was.
"Everyone is fine," he hissed. "We'll talk specifics once we get to Guardian HQ."
I bit my tongue, it took all of my self-control not to interrogate Abe on the spot. There were Strigoi in Palm Springs? I felt the familiar feelings of being overwhelmed by my duty to protect Moroi creep over me. I was torn all over again. I was a guardian of the Dragomir line; and that meant I was sworn to protect Jill too.
I gulped.
Jill is safe, I told myself.
Headquarters was buzzing with activity when we arrived. I noticed that despite all of the movement, no one was frantic or talking about an attack. Guardians moved about with purpose and efficiency. I had to assume that whatever had happened in Palm Springs was being kept a secret, even from the guardians. Even Mikhail behaved as if nothing was wrong as he instructed us to meet Hans and Lissa in the room where we usually held guardian council sessions. Guardian Mynor stood at attention outside of the double doors of our destination. He nodded at our approach and gestured for us to enter.
The walls of the guardian council chambers are no where near as elaborately decorated as the one where Lissa usually held her sessions, but it was still nice. The ceilings were high and the walls were brilliantly white, almost blinding. The furniture was sleek and modern, giving the room a professional and businesslike feel. Lissa sat in a rolling chair at the head of a black marble table, and drummed her fingers against it impatiently. She shifted uncomfortably and the black leather squeaked beneath her as she did. Hans stood about five feet away from her with his hands behind his back. He stared at the floor behind her as he paced back and forth. Both of their heads snapped toward the door as our entourage entered the room.
"Finally," said Lissa, rising to her feet. "Guardian Croft wouldn't tell me what happened until you guys were here."
It wasn't like Hans to defy the queen, and as I studied his demeanor and took in his disheveled appearance, I realized he was probably incredibly stressed. I couldn't blame him. It seemed like a new threat to our society popped up every other day. It was a wonder his hair hadn't turned a similar shade to the walls of the council chambers we had gathered in.
"What we have to discuss is complicated," said Hans uneasily. "I don't want to explain myself more than once, and how quickly we take action following this meeting is critical."
Hans' words were sobering.
Lissa slumped back into her chair and folded her arms across her chest protectively. I took a seat to her right and Dimitri sat beside me. Abe and Hans took positions across the table from us. I noticed then that Hans had been holding a thick file folder. He slid it across the table to me. I flipped it open and began sifting through its contents. There were a lot of pages of text, and I decided I would rather get the summary version from Hans or from Abe. I flipped through a few more pages, but stopped abruptly once I'd reached a bunch of photos clipped together with a paperclip. The first image was startling.
I recovered from the shock quickly and began analyzing the photo. It was of an apartment, and there was blood everywhere. If all that blood belonged to the same person, then that person was most certainly dead. The next few photos were of bodies; three in total. The first two were of what I thought had to be the Strigoi. They were both female and looked to have sustained stake related injuries. The last photo was of another body – a Moroi. He had soft, dark curls and his eyes were wide as they stared out of the photo. He seemed so familiar, but it took me a moment to place where I had seen him.
"This is Clarence's son!" I said, my fingers clutching around the photo. "He was the one who was attacked?"
Hans and Abe both hesitated and met each other's eyes.
"Clarence as in the Moroi man in Palm Springs who has a feeder?" Asked Lissa, fear lacing her every word.
Abe nodded, "That is Lee, yes…but he wasn't the one who was attacked."
I looked back down at the photo and then back up at Abe. I hoped the look I was giving him conveyed how ridiculous that was.
"If Lee wasn't attacked, then how did he end up looking like this?" I said bluntly, turning the photo around for everyone else at the table to see.
Lissa visibly flinched at the sight.
"That's the complicated part," said Abe.
"Who were the victims of the attack?" asked Dimitri.
"The alchemist and Prince Ivashkov," replied Hans.
I blanched at his response. Sydney and Adrian had been attacked, but Lee was the one who was dead? I struggled, trying to figure out how all of the pieces fit together.
"What happened?" I asked them urgently.
Hans nodded in the direction of the papers that lay spread out before me, "That report comes to us courtesy of the alchemists, it will explain everything."
"Give me the short version," I retorted. I didn't have time to read through the stack of papers, and if it came from the alchemists it was probably incredibly thorough and detailed.
"Lee Donahue wasn't attending college in Los Angeles like he claimed," started off Abe. "In fact, from what Adrian has told me, he spent a lot of time at his father's home in Palm Springs. He and Jill had a…" He paused, searching for the right words. "An ongoing flirtation, apparently he was quite taken with her."
Lissa stared daggers into Abe as he spoke, "A college-aged man was interested in my kid sister?" She spat.
Lissa's tone was protective, and I was almost proud of her for taking on such a role, but I was mostly surprised.
Abe ignored her and continued. "According to Sydney's report, Lee was turned Strigoi a while back, but was restored by a spirit user."
Lissa opened her mouth to speak, but Abe anticipated her question.
"We don't know anything more about this mystery spirit user. We do know that Lee was unhappy with his restoration."
I could feel Dimitri go rigid in the seat next to me. I gingerly pulled one arm under the table and rested it on his leg. I squeezed it reassuringly and I felt his own fingers entangle themselves in mine.
"Included in that," started Hans, gesturing to the folder, "Are a number of reports from guardians, alchemists, and the human police. They document a string of murders, all committed by Lee Donahue."
My heart hammered in my chest. Lee had seemed so sincere, so kind. I should have noticed something was off about him. There had to have been some kind of sign, some kind of indication that he was actually a psychopathic murderer.
"Lee was trying to return to a Strigoi state," said Hans. "He killed his cousin – a Moroi, a Dhampir, and a human. He drained them and then slit their throats to cover up the wounds inflicted by his fangs."
My stomach rolled, and I felt bile rising in my throat.
"What do you mean was trying?" Asked Dimitri, his voice on edge.
"For whatever reason, he was unsuccessful. Draining and killing his victims didn't turn him Strigoi," said Abe. "He convinced himself that it was because he needed special blood, magical blood – alchemist blood."
"Sydney," I breathed.
Abe's mouth was formed in a tight line across his face.
"Lee followed the girl alchemist to Keith's apartment, another alchemist," said Hans. "Where he revealed he had killed those girls and his true purpose for being in Los Angeles. Prince Ivashkov followed her to the apartment where they were both held at knife point by Lee while he called for two Strigoi to meet them."
I glanced at Lissa; she had gone pale, even by Moroi standards.
"Lee allowed himself to be drained by one of the Strigoi. She in turn fed him her blood, but Lee stayed dead. The two Strigoi then turned on the alchemist and Prince Ivashkov. They were able to fight them off until Eddie arrived and staked them," finished Hans.
My head was spinning and I tried to figure out where Eddie had fit into all of this. Jill would have sensed all of this happening through her bond to Adrian, she had probably told Eddie and had saved Adrian's and Sydney's lives.
"Are they okay?" I asked. "Sydney and Adrian?"
"Adrian sounded fine on the phone when I spoke to him," said Abe. "A little shaken, but they will recover."
"I want her back."
We all glanced up at Lissa, her pretty features were distorted by a mixture of fear and anger.
"Your majesty?" Asked Hans.
"I. Want. Her. Back." She paused between each word for emphasis. "Jill is no longer safe in Palm Springs."
"Castile was able to neutralize the threat," said Abe. "The presence of Strigoi in that area is still highly unlikely. Those two were only there because Lee called them. It was a fluke."
"You know what else is a fluke?" Asked Lissa coldly. "The fact that no one knew about Lee's past! Also the fact that, Jill Dragomir, the only other living member of my family was allowed to get close to some one like him!"
Dimitri's hand went limp in my own at her words. I knew she wasn't referring to Lee being a former Strigoi, but it had probably sent a dagger through Dimitri's chest all the same.
"As far as we know, Lee had no idea who Jill was," said Abe, returning Lissa's icy tone.
"As far as you know?" She snorted and didn't bother masking her disdain. "Apparently that isn't much."
"Liss," I said softly. "Abe is right, this was all a coincidence."
A horrible coincidence that had almost resulted in the death of people I loved, but still a coincidence. I didn't need the bond to sense Lissa's emotions, I could practically see her vibrating with darkness and rage.
"Palm Springs is still the safest place for her," said Hans sternly. "Although we will be increasing her guardian detail."
"Send me."
