The Ruby Circle

  “Nice Irish name,” I said.

  “It would work,” Adrian conceded. “Declan Adrian Sinclair.”

  “Declan Neil,” she corrected.

  I wondered how Neil would feel about having someone else’s child named after him. In the nonstop chaos that had ensued since we’d arrived, there’d been no opportunity to talk to Olive about the circumstances that had driven her here to the commune. And as we continued our anxious vigil, it seemed unlikely we’d discuss matters anytime soon. Conversation dried up as time passed. All we could do was watch and wait. The sounds outside eventually quieted, and I didn’t know whether to be reassured or more alarmed. Equally disconcerting was that Olive’s contractions kept getting more frequent. I wondered if we should be boiling water after all.

  The door opened again, and I nearly hurled the fireball at the newcomer until I saw it was Rose. Her face was streaked with blood and dirt. “We got them,” she said. “None of our people died, but there are a lot of injuries. Their doctor’s away right now, and we were wondering, Adrian, if you could . . .”

  She couldn’t finish, but I knew what she wanted. Adrian did too. He turned from her to me, his face full of pain.

  “Sydney—”

  “She said no one’s dead,” I interrupted.

  “Some might be close,” he countered. “Especially if the doctor’s away.”

  I glanced back at Rose. “Are there people who might die?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know. Some are clearly in pretty bad shape, though. I saw a lot of blood when I was back at their infirmary.”

  Adrian began moving toward the door. “That’s it, then. I’m going to help.” He paused to look back at Olive. “She needs someone too. Right now. The baby’s coming. Sydney—”

  “No, I’m coming with you. I know basic first aid,” I said, though my true motivation was to keep an eye on Adrian. “Rose, can you help Olive? Or get someone who can?”

  The look on Rose’s face showed she felt as completely unprepared for that as I was, but she gave a quick nod. “I’ll try to find someone who actually knows what they’re doing. There must be plenty of people who’ve helped with that before. But Sydney, are you sure you want to go? There’s an Alchemist on the way to help destroy the bodies.”

  “An Alchemist?” Olive gasped out.

  I froze, and suddenly, a whole new sort of panic took over. “On the way?”

  “Not here yet,” Rose concurred. “I think they said his name was Brad or Brett or something. Works out of Marquette.”

  “Don’t risk it,” Adrian told me. “Stay here.”

  I hesitated, knowing that was the smart thing to do. It would be idiotic to risk myself now after everything I’d done to avoid recapture by the Alchemists. Yet, at the same time, I was just as afraid of what might happen to Adrian if I left him alone to wield spirit. I shook my head. “Brad or Brett isn’t here yet. I’ll keep out of sight when he shows up.”

  Adrian’s face told me he didn’t like that plan, but Olive spoke before he could. “Is he like you?” she asked, more concerned than I would have expected. “An ex-Alchemist?”

  I shook my head. “Not likely. He’s probably the standard, analytical kind that thinks vampires are freaks of nature.”

  Olive looked even more alarmed, and I recalled her fear when she’d seen me earlier. Rose gave her a reassuring smile. “I know they don’t always have the greatest personalities, but this one might be able to help with cleanup. Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. And in the meantime, I’m going to send someone to help with that baby.” She fixed a hard look on Rand. “Wait with her until someone else gets here. Come on, you two.”

  Adrian and I followed her out into the darkened commune, and a feeling of dread settled over me, entirely different from what I’d felt during the Strigoi attack. The lanterns along the path made everything look extra sinister. We saw little evidence of the Strigoi until we reached Lana’s cabin, where they’d gathered the injured. A dozen dhampirs were there, bloodied and beaten, but being tended to as best they could. Dimitri hurried over to us when we arrived.

  “Thank you for helping,” he said. “I know it’s hard for you.”

  “It’s not hard at all, actually,” Adrian replied.

  “Adrian,” I warned. “Be smart about this. Only tend to the truly critical.”

  He gazed around, taking in all the dhampirs on makeshift cots. Rose was right that there was a lot of blood. Moans of pain filled the air.

  “How can we choose who deserves healing?” Adrian asked softly. “Especially when they all just fought to keep us safe.”

  “I’ll help you triage,” I said.

  Dimitri pointed at the far end of the room. “Some of the worst are down there. Whatever you can do will help. I’ve got to get back out there. Turns out one got away and is out in the woods. We’re going after him.”

  “I’ll go too,” said Rose promptly.

  Dimitri briefly touched her cheek. “I need you here. Help Sydney and Adrian.”

  “Help us later,” I said. “Get someone for Olive now.”

  Rose’s eyebrows shot up at that, and she hurried off to find Lana. Adrian and I settled into helping the injured. I tried to warn him again to use caution with his magic, but it wasn’t easy. All he could focus on was the suffering around him—and how he wanted to fix it. He set into healing, using his spirit generously. He at least started with the critical ones Dimitri had pointed out. As for me, I began doing what I could with basic skills in the hopes that Adrian would see he didn’t need to use spirit on everyone. I patched lacerations and gave water. I even gave pep talks. Most of the patients were conscious, and I worked hard to keep up a good bedside manner, assuring them all would be well. Every so often I’d pause to check on Adrian.

  Mallory was among the injured, and she and another guard were pretty bad off, having lost lots of blood. Mallory also had a number of broken ribs, as well as some internal injuries, according to Adrian’s read of her aura. A Strigoi appeared to have taken a chunk out of the place where her shoulder and neck met, and blood pooled from the wound, despite attempts to bandage it. She was one of the few unconscious ones, and it seemed hard to believe she’d been swooning over Rose and Dimitri only a few hours ago. Adrian made her his first priority, restoring her to almost complete health. I was glad for her but winced at the power that must have required. Wordlessly, he moved on to his next patient.

  When he was halfway through her healing, Rose hurried up to me. “I sent someone to Olive. But you need to come with me now—upstairs. The Alchemist is about to come in.”

  I finished the bandage I was applying and gave one more warning to Adrian about caution. He nodded at me, and I wondered if he’d even heard my words. But there was no time to linger, not with an Alchemist about to walk in who could potentially undo all Adrian and I had done to win my freedom. My heart raced as I followed Rose up to the second floor of Lana’s cabin. I breathed a sigh of relief as we reached it. It was little more than a loft, but it kept me out of sight from those below. Unfortunately, it kept me away from what was happening downstairs as well.

  “Rose,” I said as she started to go, “you’ve got to make sure Adrian doesn’t—”

  A dhampir suddenly appeared in the doorway and beckoned Rose out urgently. I saw them speak in concerned whispers outside the door. Rose looked distressed and glanced my way, then followed the dhampir downstairs. That left me alone for the better part of an hour with nothing to do but pace and worry about what was happening. Finally, Diana came up to tell me the Alchemist had moved on to a different part of the camp and that I could come downstairs, as he had no reason to return to the infirmary.

  I wasted no time in complying and was shocked to see that nearly every single person who’d been lying on the floor injured earlier was now up and about, looking healthy and well. Adrian was just finishing up a heali
ng, and I stared, openmouthed, unable to believe what I was witnessing. “Adrian . . . what have you done?”

  It took him several moments to turn to me, and when he did, I could barely believe the difference in him. He looked as bad as the patients had earlier—pale, sweating, eyes glazed. I caught hold of his arm, afraid he might faint from exhaustion.

  “How many of them did you heal?” I whispered.

  He swallowed and stared around vacantly. “I . . . I don’t know. As many as I could . . .”

  I clutched his hand, filled with a mix of anger and fear. “Adrian! You didn’t need to do that!” Glancing around, I noticed some people who’d had only light injuries—a few scratches or bruises—were completely unmarked now. I turned on him incredulously. “That was a waste of your energy! Most of these people would have healed on their own.”

  He seemed to be recovering a little of his bearings. “I could help them . . . why not? Once I started, it was just so hard to stop . . . what’s the harm?”

  Before I could even process that, Rose came up to us with a grave face. “You guys . . . there’s something you should know. Olive’s gone.”

  I was so focused on Adrian’s wiped-out state, I thought I’d misheard. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

  “She sneaked up on Rand and knocked him unconscious. Then she ran away before Lana got there to deliver the baby.”

  Adrian, though dazed, managed to focus on this seemingly improbable change of events. “Olive . . . knocked someone out . . . while she was in labor? How?”

  “No idea,” said Rose sadly. “But she’s gone . . . probably fled out in the woods.”

  “In the woods,” Adrian repeated. A new energy filled him as panic set in. “In labor. In the dark. Is that Strigoi still out there?”

  Rose’s expression answered for her, and Adrian hurried to the door with me fast on his heels. “We have to go,” he said. “We have to go find her now.”

  Rose tried to stop us. “Adrian, it’s not safe to—”

  Dimitri suddenly burst through the door. “We found her. We found all of them. You have to come, Adrian. You have to come now.”

  We followed without question, and I struggled to keep up with the others and their longer strides. Rose came too. “Did you find the Strigoi?” she called as we passed the commune’s center.

  “Yes. There.” Dimitri gestured to two dhampirs dragging a dead Strigoi’s body. They brought it to where three other Strigoi were piled. A human guy knelt by them, pouring the contents of a small vial over the bodies. The Alchemist, I realized. I angled myself so that Rose was between us. Fortunately, he was engrossed in his work.

  “Then what happened?” asked Rose.

  “He got to Olive first,” he explained. “She’d already had the baby—out in the woods. She hid him there. We found him too. He’s fine—small, but fine.”

  Adrian and I were still so overwhelmed by the course of events that we couldn’t respond, but Rose was ready with more questions. “Why are we going to her? Why didn’t you bring her in?”

  Dimitri led us out of the commune and into a wooded area. “I was afraid to move her. I thought it best to leave her where she was until Adrian could heal her.”

  Adrian grimaced. “You guys, I . . . I don’t know if I have enough spirit left to do it. If you can stabilize her until I recover . . . or if she’s not that bad . . .”

  Dimitri made no response as we trekked out into the deep forest past the commune, but his expression said that she was, in fact, that bad. My stomach sank as the implications hit me.

  We finally reached a clearing in the woods. Lana and two other dhampirs stood there holding lanterns. We hurried up to them and found Olive propped up against a tree, a small bundle held close to her with one arm. When I got a good look at her, I understood why they’d been afraid to move her. Her face was so white, she could’ve passed for Strigoi herself. Her arm—the one not holding the baby—was nearly torn from her. The side of her head looked as though it had been slammed hard against something, and everywhere, everywhere, there was blood. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow.

  Adrian focused on her for several moments, and then shook his head, his face full of despair. “I can’t,” he murmured, nearly choking on the words. “I can’t even bring up her aura. I’m out . . . I’m out of magic.”

  Olive’s eyelids fluttered at the sound of his voice. “Is that . . . is that Adrian?”

  He knelt down beside her. “Shh, don’t strain. You need to rest so I can build my magic back up and heal you.”

  She managed a harsh laugh, and a small trail of blood leaked from her lips. “I’m beyond any magic, even yours.”

  “Not true. I just need it back.”

  “No time,” she croaked out. “But I need . . . to talk to you. Alone.”

  “Olive, you need to rest,” Adrian insisted, but the words sounded hollow. We both knew she was right about time. Her life was bleeding out in front of us.

  The baby in her arms began to cry.

  “Go,” Dimitri ordered the others, shooing them away. To Adrian and me, he said, “Give her what comfort you can.”

  I gave a weak nod, but mostly I was trying not to start crying.

  “Take him,” Olive said, when the others had left. She thrust the baby toward Adrian.

  I was pretty sure he’d never held a baby in his life, but as his arms went around the tiny bundle, the baby quieted. I leaned over to get a better look. He was so tiny as to seem unreal. A fuzz of dark hair covered his head, and he looked up at us with astonishingly alert eyes. He was wrapped in someone’s jacket, and Adrian attempted some half-hearted rocking.

  “Shh, there you go. There you, Declan. Declan Neil Sinclair.”

  “Raymond,” Olive said. She paused and coughed up more blood. “Declan Neil Raymond.”

  “Neil’s last name,” I said.

  “You have to take him to Neil,” she told us. “When I’m gone.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” Adrian said, sounding as though he were having trouble keeping sobs from his voice.

  With her good arm, she clutched Adrian’s sleeve. “You don’t understand. He is Neil’s. Neil’s his father.”

  Arguing dhampir genetics seemed pointless, given her state. Maybe she was so out of it, she believed Neil was the father. Maybe she was speaking figuratively. From what I’d seen at Court, Neil loved her so much, he’d probably adopt the baby as his own anyway. “Of course,” I said gently, simply wanting to pacify her.

  She was fading fast, but a spark of anger glittered in her eyes. “No, I mean it. He’s Neil’s. I’ve never been with anyone else.”

  “Olive,” Adrian said, not unkindly, “that’s impossible.”

  “No,” she repeated. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, I feared the worst. Then they fluttered open again. “I was only with Neil. Just once. And when I found out . . . I was so scared. I don’t know what happened . . . it must have something to do with me being restored. With all the spirit that was in me. I’ve been so afraid if anyone—Moroi or Alchemists—knew, they’d want to take the baby. Experiment on him, like Sonya does. So I hid. Hid from them all. Even N-Nina.” Her voice caught on her sister’s name, and she paused to breathe, which seemed to be causing more difficulty.

  What she was saying was impossible. Two dhampirs couldn’t make a dhampir. It went against the fundamental rules of the world. And yet, if she believed that . . . I suddenly remembered her panic upon meeting me and then later, when she found out another Alchemist was coming. “That’s why you ran,” I said. “You were afraid of the Alchemist.”

  She gave a weak nod and opened her eyes again. “You know how they are. I don’t know how this is possible, but they’d want to know. They’d take him. Please, Adrian. Sydney. Don’t let them. Or the Moroi authorities. Keep him secret until he gets to Neil. Then Neil will hide
him. Neil will keep him safe. But promise me . . .” Her eyes closed, and her head tilted. “Promise me . . . you’ll . . . keep Declan safe . . .”

  “Stay with us,” Adrian said urgently. My own vision was blurred with tears. “A little longer. Spirit’s coming back to me. I know it.”

  Declan stirred in Adrian’s arms and began to cry again. Olive’s eyes open a slit, and she smiled. “So sweet,” she said softly. Her eyelids fell closed again, and all the tension went out of her body as she slumped forward.

  “There,” Adrian gasped out. “I’ve got it . . . a spark of spirit . . . enough to see auras . . .”

  I clutched his arm and felt tears running down my cheeks. “Adrian . . .”

  “The baby’s is so bright,” Adrian said. There were tears on his face now too. “Like a star. But in her . . . there’s nothing. No aura left to see . . .”

  CHAPTER 11

  ADRIAN

  WE WERE STILL STANDING OUT IN THE WOODS, and I was still holding Declan. Amazingly, he’d gone to sleep, blissfully unaware of what a confusing and heartbreaking world he’d just been born into. Sydney leaned against me, and I put an arm around her as best I could while still keeping a firm grip on Declan. Rose and Dimitri stood nearby, watching with stricken faces as Olive was gravely taken away.

  “We need to act fast,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “If we’re going to honor her wishes.”

  Sydney looked up at me and blinked back tears. “You don’t really think—that is, do you believe her? About Neil?”

  I didn’t answer right away. “I saw them at Court. You did too. When this whole thing started, it was impossible for me to believe she’d been with another guy. Now I understand. And when I look at him—at Declan—well, it’s hard to explain, but there’s something special about him. His aura. It’s like he’s got this light dusting of spirit, kind of like what Sonya and I kept trying to create. He’s got it naturally.”

  Sydney’s breath caught. “If that’s the case, a lot of people are going to be interested in him.”