I wont lie.

Walking into a room and seeing your girlfriend reading a baby-name book can kind of make your heart stop. Im no expert, I began, choosing my words carefully. Well actually, I am. !nd Im pretty sure there are certain things we ha"e to do before you need to be reading that. #ydney #age, the aforementioned girlfriend and light of my life, didnt e"en look up, though a hint of a smile played at her lips. Its for the initiation, she said matter-of-factly, as though she were talking about getting her nails done or picking up groceries instead of $oining a co"en of witches. I ha"e to ha"e a %magical name they use during their gatherings. &ight. 'agical name, initiation. (ust another day in the life, huh) *ot that I was one to talk, seeing as I was a "ampire with the fantastic yet complicated ability to heal and compel people. +his time, I got a full smile, and she lifted her ga,e. !fternoon sunlight filtering through my bedroom window caught her eyes and brought out the amber glints within them. +hey widened in surprise when she noticed the three stacked boxes I was carrying. What are those) ! re"olution in music, I declared, re"erently setting them on the floor. I opened the top one and un"eiled a record player. I saw a sign that some guy was selling them on campus. I opened another box full of records and lifted out &umours by -leetwood 'ac. *ow I can listen to music in its purest form. #he didnt look impressed, surprising for someone who thought my ./01 'ustang which shed named the I"ashkinator was some sort of holy shrine. Im pretty sure digital music is as pure as it gets. +hat was a waste of money, !drian. I can fit all of the songs in those boxes on my phone. 2an you fit the other six boxes that are in my car on your phone) #he blinked in astonishment and then turned wary. !drian, how much did you pay for all that) I wa"ed off the 3uestion. 4ey, I can still make the car payment. 5arely. I at least didnt ha"e to pay rent, since the place was prepaid, but I had plenty of other bills. 5esides, I"e got a bigger budget for this kind of stuff, now that someone made me 3uit smoking and cut back on happy hour. 'ore like happy day, she said archly. Im looking out for your health. I sat down beside her on the bed. (ust like Im looking out for you and your caffeine addiction. It was a deal wed made, forming our own sort of support group. I 3uit smoking and cut back to one drink a day. #hed ousted her obsessi"e dieting for a healthy amount of calories and was down to only one cup of coffee a day. #urprisingly, shed had a harder time with that than Id had with alcohol. In those first few days, I thought Id ha"e to check her into caffeine rehab. It wasnt an addiction, she grumbled, still bitter. 'ore of a . . . lifestyle choice. I laughed and drew her face to mine in a kiss, and $ust like that, the rest of the world "anished. +here were no name books, no records, no habits. +here was $ust her and the feel of her lips, the ex3uisite way they managed to be soft and fierce at the same time. +he rest of the world thought she was stiff and cold. 6nly I knew the truth about the passion and hunger that was locked up within her well, me and (ill, the girl who could see inside my mind because of a psychic bond we shared. !s I laid #ydney back on the bed, I had that faint, fleeting thought I always did, of how taboo what we were doing was. 4umans and 'oroi "ampires had stopped intermingling when my race hid from the world in the 7ark !ges. Wed done it for safety, deciding it was best if humans didnt know of our existence. *ow, my people and hers 8the ones who knew about 'oroi9 considered relationships like this wrong and, among some circles, dark and twisted. 5ut I didnt care. I didnt care about anything except her and the way touching her dro"e me

wild, e"en as her calm and steady presence soothed the storms that raged within me. +hat didnt mean we flaunted this, though. In fact, our romance was a tightly guarded secret, one that re3uired a lot of sneaking around and carefully calculated planning. :"en now, the clock was ticking. +his was our weekday pattern. #he had an independent study for her last period of the day at school, one managed by a lenient teacher who let her take off early and race o"er here. Wed get one precious hour of making out or talking usually making out, made more frantic by the pressure bearing down on us and then she was back to her pri"ate school, $ust as her clingy and "ampire-hating sister ;oe got out of class. #omehow, #ydney had an internal clock that told her when time was up. I think it was part of her inherent ability to keep track of a hundred things at once. *ot me. In these moments, my thoughts were usually focused on getting her shirt off and whether Id get past the bra this time. #o far, I hadnt. #he sat up, cheeks flushed and golden hair tousled. #he was so beautiful that it made my soul ache. I always wished desperately that I could paint her in these moments and immortali,e that look in her eyes. +here was a softness in them that I rarely saw at other times, a total and complete "ulnerability in someone who was normally so guarded and analytical in the rest of her life. 5ut although I was a decent painter, capturing her on can"as was beyond my skill. #he collected her brown blouse and buttoned it up, hiding the brightness of tur3uoise lace with the conser"ati"e attire she liked to armor herself in. #hed done an o"erhaul of her bras in the last month, and though I was always sad to see them disappear, it made me happy to know they were there, those secret spots of color in her life. !s she walked o"er to the mirror at my dresser, I summoned some of the spirit magic within me to get a glimpse of her aura, the energy that surrounded all li"ing things. +he magic brought a brief surge of pleasure inside me, and then I saw it, that shining light around her. It was its typical self, a scholars yellow balanced with the richer purple of passion and spirituality. ! blink of the eye, and her aura faded away, as did the deadly exhilaration of spirit. #he finished smoothing her hair and looked down. Whats this) 4mm) I came to stand behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. +hen, I saw what shed picked up and stiffened< sparkling cuff links set with rubies and diamonds. !nd $ust like that, the warmth and $oy Id $ust felt was replaced by a cold but familiar darkness. +hey were a birthday present from !unt +atiana a few years ago. #ydney held one up and studied it with an expert eye. #he grinned. =ou"e got a fortune here. +his is platinum. #ell these, and youd ha"e allowance for life. !nd all the records you want. Id sleep in a cardboard box before I sold those. #he noticed the change in me and turned around, her expression filled with concern. 4ey, I was $ust $oking. 4er hand gently touched my face. Its okay. :"erythings okay. 5ut it wasnt okay. +he world was suddenly a cruel, hopeless place, empty with the loss of my aunt, 3ueen of the 'oroi and the only relati"e who hadnt $udged me. I felt a lump in my throat, and the walls seemed to close in on me as I remembered the way shed been stabbed to death and how theyd paraded those bloody pictures around when trying to find her killer. It didnt matter that the killer was locked away and slated for execution. It wouldnt bring !unt +atiana back. #he was gone, off to places I couldnt follow at least not yet and I was here, alone and insignificant and floundering . . . !drian. #ydneys "oice was calm but firm, and slowly, I dredged myself out of the despair that could come on so 3uickly and hea"ily, a darkness that had increased o"er the years the more I used spirit. It was the price for that kind of power, and these sudden shifts had become more and more fre3uent recently. I focused on her eyes, and the light returned to the world. I still ached

for my aunt, but #ydney was here, my hope and my anchor. I wasnt alone. I wasnt misunderstood. #wallowing, I nodded and ga"e her a weak smile as spirits dark hand released its hold on me. -or now. Im okay. #eeing the doubt in her face, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. &eally. =ou need to go, #age. =oull make ;oe wonder, and be late for your witch meeting. #he stared at me with concern a few moments longer and then relaxed a little. 6kay. 5ut if you need anything I know, I know. 2all on the >o"e ?hone. +hat brought her smile back. Wed recently ac3uired secret prepaid cell phones that the !lchemists, the organi,ation she worked for, wouldnt be able to track. *ot that they regularly tracked her main phone but they certainly could if they thought something suspicious was happening, and we didnt want a trail of texts and calls. !nd Ill come by tonight, I added. !t that, her features hardened again. !drian, no. Its too risky. !nother of spirits benefits was the ability to "isit people in their dreams. It was a handy way to talk since we didnt ha"e a lot of time together in the waking world and because we didnt spend much time talking in the waking world these days but like any use of spirit, it was a continual risk to my sanity. It worried her a lot, but I considered it a small thing in order to be with her. *o arguments, I warned. I want to know how things go. !nd I know youll want to know how things go for me. !drian Ill keep it short, I promised. #he reluctantly agreed not looking happy at all and I walked her out to the door. !s we cut through the li"ing room, she paused at a small terrarium sitting near the window. #miling, she knelt down and tapped the glass. Inside was a dragon. *o, really. +echnically, it was called a callistana, but we rarely used that term. We usually called him 4opper. #ydney had summoned him from some demonic realm as a sort of helper. 'ostly he seemed to want to help us out by eating all the $unk food in my apartment. #he and I were tied to him, and to maintain his health, we had to take turns hanging out with him. #ince ;oe had mo"ed in, howe"er, my place had become his primary residence. #ydney lifted the lid of the tank and let the small golden-scaled creature scurry into her hand. 4e ga,ed up at her adoringly, and I couldnt blame him for that. 4es been out for a while, she said. =ou ready to take a break) 4opper could exist in this li"ing form or be transformed into a small statue, which helped a"oid uncomfortable 3uestions when people came by. 6nly she could transform him, though. =eah. 4e keeps trying to eat my paints. !nd I dont want him to watch me kiss you goodbye. #he ga"e him a light tickle on the chin and spoke the words that turned him into a statue. >ife was certainly easier that way, but again, his health re3uired he come out now and then. +hat, and the little guy had grown on me. Ill take him for a while, she said, slipping him into her purse. :"en if he was inert, he still benefited from being near her. -ree of his beady little ga,e, I ga"e her a long kiss goodbye, one I was reluctant to let end. I cupped her face in my hands. :scape plan number se"enteen, I told her. &un away and open a $uice stand in -resno. Why -resno) #ounds like the kind of place people drink a lot of $uice. #he grinned and kissed me again. +he escape plans were a running $oke with us, always farfetched and numbered in no particular order. I usually made them up on the spot. What was

sad, though, was that they were actually more thought-out than any real plans we had. 5oth of us were painfully aware that we were "ery much li"ing in the now, with a future that was anything but clear. 5reaking that second kiss was difficult too, but she finally managed it, and I watched her walk away. 'y apartment seemed dimmer in her absence. I brought in the rest of the boxes from my car and sifted through the treasures within. 'ost of the albums were from the sixties and se"enties, with a little eighties here and there. +hey werent organi,ed, but I didnt make any attempts at that. 6nce #ydney got o"er her stance that they were a wasteful splurge, she wouldnt be able to help herself and would end up sorting them all by artist or genre or color. -or now, I set up the record player in my li"ing room and pulled out an album at random< 'achine 4ead by 7eep ?urple. I had a few more hours until dinner, so I crouched down in front of an easel, staring up at the blank can"as as I tried to decide how to deal with my current assignment in ad"anced oil painting< a self-portrait. It didnt ha"e to be an exact likeness. It could be abstract. It could be anything, so long as it was representati"e of me. !nd I was stumped. I could"e painted anyone else I knew. 'aybe I couldnt capture that exact look of rapture #ydney had in my arms, but I could paint her aura or the color of her eyes. I could ha"e painted the wistful, fragile face of my friend (ill 'astrano 7ragomir, a young princess of the 'oroi. I could ha"e painted flaming roses in tribute to my ex-girlfriend, whod torn my heart apart yet still managed to make me admire her. 5ut myself) I didnt know what to do for me. 'aybe it was $ust an artistic block. 'aybe I $ust didnt know myself. !s I stared at the can"as, my frustration growing, I had to fight off the need to go to my neglected li3uor cupboard and pour a drink. !lcohol didnt necessarily make for the best art, but it usually inspired something. I could practically taste the "odka already. I could mix it with orange $uice and pretend I was being healthy. 'y fingers twitched, and my feet nearly carried me to the kitchen but I resisted. +he earnestness in #ydneys eyes burned through my mind, and I focused back on the can"as. I could do this sober. Id promised her Id ha"e only one drink a day, and Id hold true to that. !nd for the time being, that one drink was needed for the end of the day, when I was ready for bed. I didnt sleep well. I ne"er had in my entire life, so I had to use whate"er help I could get. 'y sober resol"e didnt result in inspiration, though, and when fi"e oclock came around, the can"as remained bare. I stood up and stretched out the kinks in my body, feeling a return of that earlier darkness. It was more angry than sad, laced with the frustration of not being able to do this. 'y art teachers claimed I had talent, but in moments like this, I felt like the slacker most people had always said I was, destined for a lifetime of failure. It was especially depressing when I thought about #ydney, who knew e"erything about e"erything and could excel at any career she wanted. ?utting aside the "ampire-human problem, I had to wonder what I could possibly offer her. I couldnt e"en pronounce half the things that interested her, let alone discuss them. If we e"er managed some normal life together, shed be out paying the bills while I stayed home and cleaned. !nd I really wasnt good at that either. If she $ust wanted to come home at night to eye candy with good hair, I could probably do that reasonably well. I knew these fears eating at me were being amped up by spirit. *ot all of them were real, but they were hard to shake. I left the art behind and stepped outside my door, hoping to find distraction in the night to come. +he sun was going down outside, and the ?alm #prings winter e"ening barely re3uired a light $acket. It was a fa"orite time of the e"ening for 'oroi, when there was still light but not enough to be uncomfortable. We could handle some sunlight, not like #trigoi the undead "ampires who killed for their blood. #unlight destroyed them, which was a perk for us. We needed all the help we could get in the fight against them. I dro"e out to @ista !,ul, a suburb only ten minutes away from downtown that housed

!mberwood ?rep, the pri"ate boarding school that #ydney and the rest of our motley crew attended. #ydney was normally the groups designated chauffeur, but that dubious honor had fallen on me tonight while she scurried off to her clandestine meeting with the co"en. +he gang was all waiting at the curb outside the girls dorm as I pulled up. >eaning across the passenger seat, I opened up the door. !ll aboard, I said. +hey piled in. +here were fi"e of them now, plus me, bringing us up to a lucky se"en, had #ydney been there. When wed first come to ?alm #prings, thered $ust been four. (ill, the reason we were all here, scooted in beside me and flashed me a grin. If #ydney was the main calming force in my life, (ill was the second. #he was only fifteen, se"en years younger than me, but there was a grace and wisdom that radiated from her already. #ydney might be the lo"e of my life, but (ill understood me in a way no one else could. It was kind of hard not to, with that psychic bond. It had been forged when I used spirit to sa"e her life last year and when I say sa"e, I mean it. (ill had technically been dead, only for less than a minute, but dead nonetheless. Id used spirits power to perform a miraculous feat of healing and bring her back before the next world could claim her. +hat miracle had bonded us with a connection that allowed her to feel and see my thoughts though not the other way around. ?eople brought back that way were called shadow-kissed, and that alone would ha"e been enough to mess up any kid. (ill had the added misfortune of being one of two people left in a dying line of 'oroi royalty. +his was recent news to her, and her sister, >issa the 'oroi 3ueen and a good friend of mine needed (ill ali"e in order to hold on to her throne. +hose who opposed >issas liberal rule conse3uently wanted (ill dead, in order to in"oke an ancient family law re3uiring a monarch to ha"e one other li"ing family member. !nd so, someone had come up with the 3uestionably brilliant idea to send (ill into hiding in the middle of a human city in the desert. 5ecause seriously, what "ampire would want to li"e here) It was certainly a 3uestion I asked myself a lot. (ills three bodyguards climbed into the backseat. +hey were all dhampirs, a race born of mixed "ampire and human heritage from the time our races had shared in free lo"e. +hey were stronger and faster than the rest of us, making ideal warriors in the battle against #trigoi and royal assassins. :ddie 2astile was the de facto leader of the group, a dependable rock whod been with (ill from the beginning. !ngeline 7awes, the red-haired spitfire, was slightly less dependable. !nd by less dependable, I mean, not at all. #he was a scrapper in a fight, though. +he newest addition to the group was *eil &aymond, aka +all, ?roper, and 5oring. -or reasons I didnt understand, (ill and !ngeline seemed to think his non-smiling demeanor was a sign of some kind of noble character. +he fact that hed gone to school in :ngland and had picked up a faint 5ritish accent especially seemed to fire up their estrogen. +he last member of the party stood outside the car, refusing to get in. ;oe #age, #ydneys sister. #he leaned forward and met my eyes with brown ones almost like #ydneys, but with less gold. +heres no room, she said. =our car doesnt ha"e enough seats. *ot true, I told her. 6n cue, (ill mo"ed closer to me. +his seats meant to hold three. >ast owner e"en fitted it with an extra seat belt. While that was safer for modern times, #ydney had nearly had a heart attack o"er altering the 'ustang from its original state. 5esides, were all family, right) +o gi"e us easy access to one another, wed made !mberwood belie"e we were all siblings or cousins. When *eil arri"ed, howe"er, the !lchemists had finally gi"en up on making him a relati"e since things were getting kind of ridiculous. ;oe stared at the empty spot for se"eral seconds. :"en though the seat really was long, shed still be getting co,y with (ill. ;oe had been at !mberwood for a month but was in full possession of all the hang-ups and pre$udices her people had around "ampires and dhampirs. I knew them well because #ydney used to ha"e all of them too. It was ironic because the

!lchemists mission was to keep the world of "ampires and the supernatural hidden from their fellow humans, who they feared wouldnt be able to handle it. +he !lchemists were dri"en by the belief that members of my kind were twisted parts of nature best ignored and kept separate from humans, lest we taint them with our e"il. +hey helped us grudgingly and were useful in a situation like (ills, when arrangements with human authorities and school officials needed to occur behind the scenes. !lchemists excelled at making things happen. +hat was how #ydney had originally been drafted, to smooth the way for (ill and her exile, since the !lchemists didnt want a 'oroi ci"il war. ;oe had been sent recently as an apprentice and had become a huge pain in the ass for hiding our relationship. =ou dont ha"e to go if youre afraid, I said. +here was probably nothing else I could"e said that would"e moti"ated her more. #he was dri"en to become a super !lchemist, largely to impress the #age father, who, Id concluded after many stories, was a ma$or asshole. ;oe took a deep breath and steeled herself. Without another world, she climbed in beside (ill and slammed the door, huddling as close to it as possible. #ydney should"e left the #A@, she muttered a little while later. Where is #age, anyway) :r, #age #enior, I amended, pulling out of the schools dri"eway. *ot that I dont like chauffeuring you guys around. =ou should"e brought me a little black cap, (ailbait. I nudged (ill, who nudged me back. =ou could whip up something like that in your sewing club. #hes off doing some pro$ect for 's. +erwilliger, said ;oe disappro"ingly. #hes always doing something for her. I dont get why history research takes up so much time. >ittle did ;oe know that said pro$ect in"ol"ed #ydney being initiated into her teachers co"en. 4uman magic was still a strange and mysterious thing to me and completely anathema to the !lchemists but #ydney was apparently a natural. *o surprise, seeing as she was a natural at e"erything. #hed o"ercome her fears of it, $ust as she had of me, and was now fully immersed in learning the trade from her ,any yet lo"eable mentor, (ackie +erwilliger. +o say the !lchemists wouldnt like that was an understatement. In fact, it was really a toss-up which would piss them off more< learning the arcane arts or making out with a "ampire. It would almost be comical, if not for the fact that I worried the hard-core ,ealots among the !lchemists would do something terrible to #ydney if she was e"er caught. It was why ;oe shadowing her had made e"erything so dangerous lately. 5ecause its #ydney, said :ddie from the backseat. In the rear"iew mirror, I could see an easy smile on his face, though there was a perpetual sharpness in his eyes as he scanned the world for danger. 4e and *eil had been trained by the guardians, the dhampir organi,ation of badasses that protected the 'oroi. Bi"ing one hundred percent to a task is slacking for her. ;oe shook her head, not as amused as the rest of us. Its $ust a stupid class. #he only needs to pass. *o, I thought. #he needs to learn. #ydney didnt $ust eat up knowledge for the sake of her "ocation. #he did it because she lo"ed it. !nd what she would"e lo"ed more than anything was to lose herself in the academic throes of college, where she could learn anything she wanted. Instead, shed been born into her family $ob, $umping when the !lchemists ordered her to new assignments. #hed already graduated from high school but treated this second senior year as seriously as the first, eager to learn whate"er she could. #omeday, when this is all o"er, and (ill is safe, well run away from e"erything. I didnt know where, and I didnt know how, but #ydney would figure out those logistics. #hed escape the !lchemists hold and become 7r. #ydney #age, ?h.7, while I . . . well, did something. I felt a small hand on my arm and glanced briefly down to see (ill looking sympathetically up at me, her $ade-colored eyes shining. #he knew what I was thinking, knew about the fantasies I often spun. I ga"e her a wan smile back. We dro"e across town, then to the outskirts of ?alm #prings to the home of 2larence

7onahue, the only 'oroi foolish enough to li"e in this desert until my friends and I had shown up last fall. 6ld 2larence was kind of a crackpot, but he was a nice enough one whod welcomed a ragtag group of 'oroi and dhampirs and allowed us to use his feederChousekeeper. 'oroi dont ha"e to kill for blood like #trigoi did, but we did need it at least a couple times a week. -ortunately, there were plenty of humans in the world happy to pro"ide it in exchange for a life spent on the endorphin high brought on by a "ampire bite. We found 2larence in the li"ing room, sitting in his massi"e leather chair and using a magnifying glass to read some ancient book. 4e looked up at our entrance, startled. 4ere on a +hursdayD What a nice surprise. Its -riday, 'r. 7onahue, said (ill gently, leaning down to kiss his cheek. 4e regarded her fondly. Is it) Werent you $ust here yesterday) Well, no matter. 7orothy, Im sure, will be happy to accommodate you. 7orothy, his aging housekeeper, looked "ery accommodating. #hed hit the $ackpot when (ill and I arri"ed in ?alm #prings. 6lder 'oroi didnt drink as much blood as young ones, and while 2larence could still pro"ide an occasional high, fre3uent "isits from (ill and me pro"ided a near-constant one for her. (ill hurried o"er to 7orothy. 2an I go now) +he older woman nodded eagerly, and the two of them left the room for more pri"ate accommodations. ! look of distaste crossed ;oes face, though she said nothing. #eeing her expression and the way she sat far away from e"eryone else was so like #ydney in the old days, I almost smiled. !ngeline was practically bouncing up and down on the couch. Whats for dinner) #he had an unusual southern accent from growing up in a rural mountain community of 'oroi, dhampirs, and humans who were the only ones I knew of that freely li"ed together and intermarried. :"eryone else in their respecti"e races regarded them with a kind of mingled horror and fascination. !s appealing as that openness was, li"ing with them had ne"er crossed my mind in my fantasies with #ydney. I hated camping. *o one answered. !ngeline looked from face to face. Well) Why isnt there food here) 7hampirs didnt drink blood and could eat the regular kinds of food humans did. 'oroi also needed that sort of food, though we didnt need it in nearly the same 3uantities. It took a lot of energy to keep that acti"e dhampir metabolism fired up. +hese regular gatherings had become kind of a family dinner affair, not $ust for blood but also for regular food. It was a nice way to pretend we led normal li"es. +heres always food, she pointed out, in case wed ne"er noticed. I liked that Indian food we had the other day. +hat masala or whate"er stuff. 5ut I dont know if we should go there any more until they start calling it *ati"e !merican food. Its not "ery polite. #ydney usually takes care of food, said :ddie, ignoring !ngelines familiar and endearing tendency to stray into tangents. *ot usually, I corrected. !lways. !ngelines ga,e swi"eled to ;oe. Why didnt you ha"e us pick up something) 5ecause thats not my $obD ;oe lifted her head up high. Were here to keep (ills co"er and make sure she stays off the radar. Its not my $ob to feed you guys. In which sense) I asked. I knew perfectly well that was a mean thing to say to her but couldnt resist. It took her a moment to pick up the double meaning. -irst she paledE then she turned an angry red. *eitherD Im not your concierge. *either is #ydney. I dont know why she always takes care of that stuff for you. #he should only be dealing with things that are essential for your sur"i"al. 6rdering pi,,a isnt one of them. I faked a yawn and leaned back into the couch. 'aybe she figures if were well fed, you two wont look that appeti,ing. ;oe was too horrified to respond, and :ddie shot me a withering look. :nough. Its not that

hard to order pi,,a. Ill do it. (ill was back by the time he finished the call, an amused smile on her face. #hed apparently witnessed the exchange. +he bond wasnt on all the time, but it appeared to be going strong today. With the food dilemma settled, we actually managed to fall into a surprising camaraderie well, e"eryone except ;oe, who $ust watched and waited. +hings were unexpectedly cordial between !ngeline and :ddie, despite a recent and disastrous bout of dating. #hed mo"ed on and now pretended to be obsessed with *eil. If :ddie was still hurt, he didnt show it, but that was typical of him. #ydney said he was secretly in lo"e with (ill, something else he was good at hiding. I could"e appro"ed of that, but (ill, like !ngeline, kept pretending she was in lo"e with *eil. It was all an act for both girls, but no one not e"en #ydney belie"ed me. !re you okay with what we ordered) !ngeline asked him. =ou didnt pipe up with any re3uests. *eil shook his head, face stoic. 4e kept his dark hair in a painfully short and efficient haircut. It was the kind of no-nonsense thing the !lchemists would"e lo"ed. I cant waste time 3uibbling o"er tri"ial things like pepperoni and mushrooms. If youd gone to my school in 7e"onshire, youd understand. -or one of my sophomore classes, they left us alone on the moors to fend for oursel"es and learn sur"i"al skills. #pend three days eating twigs and heather, and youll learn not to argue about any food coming your way. !ngeline and (ill cooed as though that was the most rugged, manly thing theyd e"er heard. :ddie wore an expression that reflected what I felt, pu,,ling o"er whether this guy was as serious as he seemed or $ust some genius with swoon-worthy lines. ;oes cell phone rang. #he looked at the display and $umped up in alarm. Its 7ad. Without a backward glance, she answered and scurried out of the room. I wasnt one for premonition, but a chill ran down my spine. +he #age dad wasnt the kind of warm and friendly guy whod call to say hello during business hours, when he knew ;oe was doing her !lchemist thing. If something was up with her, something was up with #ydney. !nd that worried me. I barely paid any attention to the rest of the con"ersation as I counted the moments until ;oes return. When she did finally come back, her ashen face told me I was right. #omething bad had happened. What is it) I demanded. Is #ydney okay) +oo late I reali,ed I shouldnt ha"e showed any special concern for #ydney. *ot e"en our friends knew about me and her. -ortunately, all attention was on ;oe. #he slowly shook her head, eyes wide and disbelie"ing. I . . . I dont know. Its my parents. +heyre getting di"orced.