The Ruby Circle

Chapter 8 Syndey

“OLIVE?” I REPEATED STUPIDLY. I was a little addled myself, having been woken out of a deep sleep by Adrian’s cries. “What are you talking about?”

He shook his head, regret on his features. “I’m sorry, Sydney. I didn’t mean to. Nina found me in a spirit dream, and I got pulled into looking for Olive. And this time we got to her. She was pregnant.”

I was so stunned to hear that he’d gone through with the dream that I couldn’t process the rest of what he was saying immediately. But the regret on his face was so sincere, I believed that it had been against his will. “She can’t be pregnant,” I said at last. “I mean . . . I guess she can. But I thought she was involved with Neil. If she’s pregnant, then . . .”

Adrian swallowed and slowly seemed to be recovering himself. “I know, I know. If she’s pregnant, then it was by someone other than Neil.”

Soap opera drama with Olive wasn’t dire in the grand scheme of things—especially when compared to what was happening with Jill—but it was still a surprise. Olive and Neil had seemed so close. “Do you know for certain she is?”

He gave a shaky nod. “We did it. Nina and I broke through Olive’s defenses and saw her as she truly is in the waking world. No question—she was pregnant. I guess that’s why she kept trying to hide herself in the dream.” He paused to consider. “I guess that’s why she’s hiding herself in real life too.”

“I suppose I can understand her wanting to hide from Neil . . .” I began, my mind spinning. Because she was a dhampir, only a Moroi could have gotten her pregnant. Well, a human could have as well, but most people in the mainstream Moroi world weren’t taking after Adrian and me. “But why Nina? Especially since they were so close? Unless . . . oh.” My heart sank. “Maybe . . . maybe whatever happened wasn’t consensual.”

It took Adrian a moment to catch on, and anger darkened his features. “If some Moroi forced her, then why wouldn’t she tell Nina? And everyone else?”

I laced my fingers through his. “Because unfortunately not all girls think like that. Look at my sister Carly, when Keith raped her. She thought it was her fault. She was mortified at the thought of anyone finding out and judging her.”

“Nina wouldn’t judge her,” said Adrian adamantly. “Olive should know that. Nina might be crazy, but—”

I did a double take at the alarm that suddenly filled his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nina.” He reached over and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. I could just barely hear the sound of ringing and eventually voice mail picking up. “Nina, it’s me. Call me. Immediately.” When he’d disconnected, he turned back to me with a sigh. “What we did . . . whatever happened to break through to Olive, it didn’t go so well for Nina. She took control from me and ended up wielding most of the spirit. I’m not entirely sure what happened to her—it was just a sense I got before the dream disbanded, but I feel like something went horribly wrong. Like she got injured.” He glanced at his phone, as though staring long enough might make her call back.

“She might still be asleep,” I warned. I wouldn’t say so aloud—and I hoped Nina hadn’t been harmed—but a part of me was relieved Adrian hadn’t wielded all the spirit he’d planned. “She’ll probably be fine when she wakes up. And you’ll have a lot to tell her.”

Adrian sighed. “Not sure I will. I mean, I suppose I could tell her the pregnancy part. But the rest? I’m still not sure where she is. She was dressed strangely . . .” He got up and found a pen and some inn stationery. After some quick sketching, he showed me a drawing of a circle filled with abstract designs. “Does this mean anything to you?”

I studied it with a frown. “No. Should it?”

“Olive was wearing it on a necklace. I thought it might mean something.” He sat back beside me and stifled a yawn. “I hope Nina and I haven’t gone through all of this and not found any way to help Olive. Worse, if we don’t get any answers, I’m afraid Nina’s going to keep doing it.” He cast another anxious glance at his cell phone, but there was still no response from Nina.

I put an arm around him and drew him near. “Just hope for the best. That symbol may mean something to her. Be patient until she gets back to you.”

I tried to keep my tone light and hide the fear within me. I wasn’t afraid for Nina. I worried Adrian would help her again, putting her and Olive’s needs above his own, no matter the dangers. My heart clenched at the thought, and conflicting emotions stirred in my chest. I admired Adrian for wanting to help them. But I also loved him and selfishly wanted to protect him.

He tried calling Nina one more time and then finally heeded my words when I said we should try to get some rest while we could. I hated seeing him so worried and worked up, and at last, he managed to put his worries aside and relax. We fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms and were jolted awake a few hours later by a phone ringing. Adrian grabbed for his, nearly falling out of bed in the process, and stared at the screen in dismay. “Crap. My battery died. I forgot to charge it.”

“It’s my phone,” I said, making my way groggily to my purse. A jolt of panic helped push me awake as I braced myself for news from Ms. Terwilliger. But when I picked up the phone, I was surprised to see Sonya’s name on the display. “Hello?”

“Hello, Sydney,” came her familiar voice. “I trust you’re doing well.”

“Yes,” I said cautiously, puzzled as to why she was calling me. We were friendly, but usually she dealt with Adrian. “How about you?”

“I’m fine. I can’t say the same for Nina Sinclair,” she replied, making my heart stop. “I tried calling Adrian, but it went to voice mail.”

“His phone’s dead,” I explained. “What’s wrong with Nina?” At that, Adrian jerked his head up.

“I figured you two would already know, seeing as she was found in your rooms at guest housing.”

“We stepped out,” I said uneasily. “What do you mean, ‘found’?” It was the kind of terminology you used when people died.

“She’s alive,” said Sonya, guessing my thoughts. “She’s been taken to the medical center, but she’s practically comatose. The one time she did come to, she babbled incoherently before lapsing back into unconsciousness. The doctors haven’t been able to rouse her since. Perhaps you’d like to come by and see her.”

“Um, I’ll have to talk to Adrian and see when we can get a chance to—”

“Save the subterfuge, Sydney.” There was something both weary and exasperated in Sonya’s voice. “We know you aren’t here.”

“Well, yeah, like I said, we stepped out—”

“We know you aren’t at Court,” she interrupted. “After Nina’s fit, a Court-wide search was conducted, and then Daniella Ivashkov finally caved and admitted you both were gone. She won’t tell us where you are, though, and I think she’s trying to confuse us by giving us some outlandish story about you turning into a cat.”

I really didn’t know how to respond to any of that.

“A number of people would like to speak to you,” Sonya continued. “Both of you. I don’t suppose you have the means to do a video call?”

My eyes fell on Adrian’s laptop bag, which he’d brought along. “We do . . .” Honestly, I was kind of afraid of what this conference call might entail, but I could see Adrian was having to restrain himself from tearing the phone away from me to get answers about Nina. A group call might be the best solution, especially since our cover was blown. There was also a good chance we could be traced by such a call, but I wasn’t quite as nervous about the Moroi finding us as the Alchemists.

When I disconnected with Sonya, I found Adrian was in agreement. He was dying to know more about Nina, and we decided it’d be worth the risk. We were both still naked, so the first order of business was hastily tossing on some clothes so it wouldn’t be entirely obvious what we’d been doing.

Adrian eyed me wistfully as I searched for my shirt. “If we made sure only our heads were in the shot, I don’t think anyone would notice.” I answered him with a warning look, and after a great deal of dramatic sighing, he reluctantly put on his own clothes too.

We still stayed on the bed, however, opening up the laptop there. Once we had everything set up and connected, we leaned in together over the laptop and found Sonya’s worried face looking back at us. Before Adrian could even ask her about Nina, Sonya moved away, and another face filled the screen.

“Really, Adrian?” Lissa exclaimed, outrage written all over her. “How could you guys do this to me? You begged me to protect you! I risked the wrath of my own people and the Alchemists to take you in, and this is how you repay me?”

She looked truly frustrated, and uneasily, I wondered just how much trouble we might have caused. I forgot sometimes what a precarious position Lissa was in, constantly being pulled in different directions as she worked hard to do the impossible and please everyone. Adrian and I had done what we needed to do for ourselves—but hadn’t considered the fallout for others.

“It was for Jill,” Adrian said resolutely. “We had to go after her.”

Lissa shook her head angrily. “And I told you, as much as it’s appreciated, we don’t need you out there looking for Jill. We’ve already got people on it.”

“No, no . . . it’s not like that,” Adrian protested. “It wasn’t just some impulsive trip. Sydney had a real lead.”

Lissa’s green eyes focused on me expectantly. I launched into a retelling of what I knew so far, about how Alicia was behind Jill’s disappearance and how my contacts in Palm Springs were currently looking for leads. As I spoke, I saw Lissa’s expression grow more and more incredulous.

“How am I just learning about this? You guys should have told me immediately!”

“We didn’t know all the facts then,” said Adrian. Despite his outward confidence, I could tell he too was second-guessing our actions. “Still don’t. But Jackie Terwilliger’s good. She’ll turn up something.” He hesitated. “Who knows we’re gone?”

“The Alchemists don’t, if that’s what you’re worried about,” said Lissa. “So far, only a handful of people here at Court know, and you’d better hope it stays that way. The Alchemists have made it very clear to me that Sydney won’t be returned to us if they catch her.” I flinched at the words.

“Enough, Liss.” Rose suddenly pushed her way into the picture, wriggling in beside her friend, like Lissa wasn’t the ruler of all Moroi. “They get it. They screwed up.”

“We didn’t screw up,” said Adrian obstinately. “Finding Jill is the most important thing we can do right now.”

Lissa’s anger diminished a bit. “It is. And I want to find her too. Why didn’t you come to me once you had that box?”

Adrian shrugged. “We only know about the connection to Jill and Alicia now, after going through all those hoops. At the time, it didn’t seem certain, and we honestly didn’t know if you’d let us go. We felt the most important thing was to get Sydney out of Court to go after the lead. Me joining her was an afterthought.”

Surprisingly, Lissa nodded and conceded the point. “You’re right. I probably would’ve wanted more proof if all you’d had was the box with Jill’s picture. And no one I sent would’ve learned what you uncovered, Sydney.”

It wasn’t exactly an apology, but Adrian still took it as such. “Thank you,” he said.

“You still should’ve told me afterward,” she warned.

“Or me,” piped in Rose.

“Now that you’re done scolding me,” Adrian said, “will someone please tell me more about Nina?”

“They can catch you up,” said Lissa, gesturing to those beside her. “I need to go make sure your secret escape from Court stays a secret. Unless you guys plan on coming back and letting Eddie and your human friend handle things? It’s not too late to return to the way things were.”

Adrian and I exchanged glances briefly before turning back to Lissa. We both shook our heads.

“I didn’t think so,” Lissa said, with a small, rueful laugh. “Let me go see what I can do to keep this quiet. In the meantime, please, don’t you guys do anything that’ll get yourselves caught.”

She left the screen, and a moment later, Sonya moved in beside Rose. “There’s not much more to tell than what I already did. Maybe you could help by telling me what happened.”

“It was from spirit use,” Adrian said, casting me an apologetic glance. “I joined her in a dream and helped her blast down the barriers Olive had put up.”

“I suspected as much,” said Sonya grimly.

“Do you know when Nina will wake up?” Adrian demanded. “Will she be okay?”

“It depends on how you define ‘okay,’” Sonya replied. “The doctor thinks her difficulties with waking up are due to exhaustion. She’ll hopefully come around with a little more rest. But as for what state she’ll be in . . .”

“If she’s so worn out, that would explain why she’s not making any sense,” Adrian said quickly. I could tell he very, very badly wanted to believe that. “Hell, you should see me after pulling an all-nighter. I make her sound totally articulate and lucid.”

Sonya didn’t laugh at the joke. “It’s possible . . . but I don’t think it’s that simple. I’ve seen her aura. That tells its own tale, and it’s not a good one. Plus, I’ve spent a lot of time with Avery Lazar, Adrian. I’ve seen what spirit did to her—and this has a very similar feel.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, surprised at the lump in my throat. I didn’t even know Nina that well, but there was something chilling in listening to this grim prognosis—maybe because I feared one day, we’d be talking about Adrian.

Sonya suddenly looked tired, as though she were the one who’d expended so much power and energy and needed to sleep. “I’m saying, when Nina comes around, she may not be the same Nina we knew. What happened? I thought you were going to keep her from using excessive spirit?”

“I tried. I really did.” Adrian leaned against me, and I rested my arm on his back. “I led the dream. I did most of the work when Olive took control—but Nina got impatient and took over. She blew through everything before I could stop her.”

Sonya nodded wearily. “Were you able to talk to Olive at least?”

“Not really,” he said carefully. I kept my own face schooled to neutrality, lest I give away that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. He held up the piece of paper he’d sketched on for me. “Does this mean anything to you?”

“No, I’m sorry.” Sonya looked down and grimaced. “I’m getting a text from the doctor monitoring Nina. They have some more questions for me. I’ll be in touch if I learn more.”

Adrian gave a weak nod, and I clutched his hand. I knew he felt terrible, like he was personally responsible for Nina’s state. With Sonya gone from the call too, that left Rose, looking dismayed at the news.

“Well, I’m glad we got a lead on Jill,” she said. “But you guys really should have been more careful about—”

“What was that you showed Sonya?”

Dimitri suddenly joined Rose on the screen. She shot him an amused look. “Easy, comrade. You’ll get your chance to lecture them too.”

“Geez,” said Adrian. “How many other people are there lurking off-screen?”

“What was that you showed her?” Dimitri reiterated, his face hard as he peered at us. Even through a computer screen, he was intimidating.

Adrian held up the piece of paper again. “This?” He leaned forward eagerly. “Do you know what it is?”

“Yes, it’s—” Dimitri bit off his words and glanced at Rose, then back at the drawing. “It’s a kind of marker worn by women in, uh, dhampir communes.”

Rose had no problem stating what his delicate sensibilities had held back from. “A blood whore camp?” Her eyes widened, and suddenly, she turned as angry as Lissa had been earlier. “Adrian Ivashkov! You should be ashamed of yourself, going to a place like that, especially now that you’re married—”

Adrian scoffed. “Both of you, calm down. I’ve never set foot in one of those places, nor do I really want to.” He looked back at Dimitri. “What do you mean, it’s a marker?”

I could tell from Dimitri’s face that it wasn’t a topic he liked discussing, and frankly, I didn’t blame him. Moroi society hadn’t always treated dhampir women well. They could only have children with Moroi fathers, fathers who often viewed those women as little more than playthings. The standard practice for dhampir women who had children was to turn those children over early to one of the schools, like St. Vladimir’s, while the mother returned to guardian services. A lot of dhampir women didn’t like doing that, however. They wanted to raise their own children. Some would go off and blend into human society, but that was discouraged. Even if dhampirs looked identical to humans, dhampirs often demonstrated extraordinary physical abilities that called too much attention to them. Without other options, these dhampir women often banded together in “communes,” some more civilized than others. Some dhampir women found perfectly ordinary ways to survive . . . others turned to more desperate paths, which Dimitri confirmed.

“Members of these communes wear markers that show what their role is,” he explained. “Some are residents, some are guests. Some are women making themselves available to interested men—selling their bodies.”

“Disgusting,” said Rose.

I glanced at Adrian’s drawing, and a horrible, terrible thought occurred to me about Olive. Had she become that desperate? “Do you know what kind this is?” I asked.

Dimitri shook his head. “Not without color. These marks identify which commune it is. There’s usually a color on it to signify the person’s status.”

“It was green,” said Adrian.

“Green marks a guest,” Dimitri said. Both Adrian and I exhaled in relief. “Someone living there temporarily. Maybe visiting a relative. Maybe seeking sanctuary.”

“So not someone selling herself?” I clarified. I couldn’t stand the thought of poor Olive doing that.

“No,” said Dimitri, looking puzzled. Rose did as well.

“What’s this all about?” she asked.

Adrian didn’t answer right away. Instead, he held up the paper again for them to see. “Do you know which commune this belongs to? Where it’s at?”

Dimitri studied the drawing a moment before shaking his head. “No . . . but I could probably find out. Why?”

Adrian hesitated again. “Is Lissa still there somewhere? Or is anyone else lurking?”

“No,” said Rose. “It’s just us. Why?”

Adrian glanced at me, and just like that, I knew what he was thinking. “We’re supposed to be lying low,” I reminded him. “Staying out of trouble.”

“Olive could be in a lot of trouble. And if she won’t talk in a dream, maybe going to her in person is the only option we have,” Adrian said. “That and, I mean, come on. If we can’t help Jackie, we might as well help someone else . . .”

Once again, I was torn. My logic said to stay here and stay safe. But my heart—especially when it feared Olive might have been raped like Carly—wanted to go off and help. “There’s no telling what we could be walking into,” I said. “From what I’ve heard, some of those dhampir communes are like the Wild West.”

Adrian grinned at that. “Good thing we’ve got our own cowboy.”

“Um, hello,” said Rose from the screen, her face lined with irritation at being left out of the conversation. “Do you guys want to fill us in on what you’re talking about?”

Adrian looked up, glancing between her and Dimitri. “How would you two like to take a trip with us?”