The Ruby Circle
Page 35

I noted all the women’s names and also noted that aside from some of the children, everyone in this community was female. So, it was kind of a shock when I caught a glimpse of a Moroi man walking between a group of cabins set off a bit from the others. Seeing my gaze, Lana scowled and gave a resigned sigh.
“Yes. That’s where the girls who want to ‘entertain’ male guests live.”
“Why don’t you keep them out?” asked Dimitri, his expression dark.
“Because there are some girls who would do it anyway. They’d sneak off, live somewhere unsafe. I’d rather keep everything under my control. Some guys just want a good time, and there are girls who accept that and expect nothing more . . .” As she spoke, Lana watched the Moroi guy I’d seen. A dhampir girl hung on his arm, and they were laughing as they walked past us, caught up in some private conversation. She appeared to be walking him to the community’s exit, and I noted her medallion was ringed in red. Lana turned back to us when they were gone. “Other guys are nothing but trouble. Those are the ones I need to keep an eye on—and sometimes the ones we have to forcibly remove.”
“Any idea what kind of guy Olive was involved with?” I asked.
Lana began walking again, leading us to a section of residential cabins away from the one the Moroi guy had been in. “No. It’s her business, so I haven’t pushed. She hasn’t had any gentleman callers, I can tell you that. Doesn’t seem to have any romantic interests.”
“She’s got a pretty decent dhampir guy interested in her,” I said. “But she cut off ties with him. And everyone else.”
“Damn shame,” said Lana. We came to a halt in front of a cute cabin with green shutters. “But who am I to judge? We’re all fighting our own battles, the best way we can.”
Pretty wise for a backwoods wannabe sheriff, said Aunt Tatiana.
I mulled Lana’s words over as she knocked on the cabin’s door. A dhampir woman with wildly curly hair answered, grinning when she saw Lana. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, Diana.” Lana kissed her on the cheek. “Is Olive around?”
Diana studied our group, her gaze lingering on me the longest. I hated that everyone around here assumed the worst. It was a sad state of affairs when even an Alchemist didn’t get the suspicion a Moroi guy did. “Sure,” she said. “I’ll go get her.”
Diana disappeared inside the cabin. I found I was holding my breath as we waited to see what would happen. Sensing my anticipation, Sydney squeezed my hand.
“I just can’t believe we’re about to see her after everything that’s happened. No lava monsters. No spirit battles.” I had to pause as my voice caught. “I feel like if I can connect with Olive here, help her, then I won’t have failed Nina . . .”
Sydney’s hold on me tightened. “You didn’t fail her, Adrian. She made those choices.”
Maybe if you’d been stronger, maybe if you’d used more spirit in the dream . . . Aunt Tatiana’s voice paused in my head as she let me ponder that thought. Well, maybe Nina wouldn’t be in her current state.
Be quiet, I snapped back to the phantom voice. Sydney’s right. It’s not my fault. Nina made those choices.
If you say so, said Aunt Tatiana.
Olive stepped out onto the porch just then, wearing the same homemade clothes I’d seen in the dream. And also just like in the dream, she was very obviously pregnant. She started to smile when she saw Lana, then froze when she caught sight of the rest of us.
“No,” she said, backing up. “No, no, no.”
Rose leapt forward. “Olive, wait. Please. We want to talk to you. We want to help you.”
Olive shook her head frantically, and Lana put an arm around her. “Honey, you really should talk to them.”
“I don’t want to!” Olive exclaimed. She glanced from face to face, looking like a trapped animal as we all gathered around, and my heart went out to her. When her gaze fell on Sydney, she did a double take. “An Alchemist!”
“I’m not with them anymore,” Sydney said. “I’m here to help you, just like everyone else.”
“You know Sydney,” I reminded Olive. “You can trust her.”
Olive still looked frightened but at last dragged her attention from Sydney. “I don’t have anything to say to any of you!”
“Then don’t say anything,” I said. “Just listen. Take a walk with me. Just me. Let me tell you what’s been going on with Nina. I’ll do all the taking.”
Her sister’s name drew Olive back from where she’d been about to retreat inside the cabin. She brushed long strands of black hair out of her face, peering at me with tear-filled eyes. “Nina? Is she okay? In that dream . . .”
I gestured past me. “Let’s take a walk. I’ll tell you everything.”
After several moments of hesitation, Olive nodded and stepped off the porch. Sydney understood my cautious approach and quietly kept her distance. Rose, on the other hand, clearly wanted to come with Olive and me, but I gave her a quick shake of the head. Dimitri rested his hand on her arm to emphasize the point. I knew Olive liked Rose and Dimitri, and they certainly meant well, but right now, they were too much. Fear of being interrogated by a group was probably the reason she’d sought refuge here in the woods. I gave her a reassuring smile and nearly used a touch of compulsion to calm her but decided against it at the last minute. If she’d grown up around a spirit-using sister, she might recognize the signs and feel like I was trying to take advantage of her.
“Nice place,” I remarked as we set out down a trail between the cabins. Tall trees created a canopy above us, and birds sang to the sunset up in the branches.
“Tell me about Nina,” Olive said, wasting no time with small talk. “Is she okay?”
I hesitated. “Kind of. What she did in that last dream we were in . . . well, it involved a lot of spirit. A lot.” I tried to find a delicate way to put it, without saying that Nina had burned herself out or possibly lost her mind. “That much spirit takes a toll on you. They tell me right now she’s, uh, sleeping a lot and not making much sense. But that may change. She may be fine once she has time to recover.”
Olive stared bleakly ahead. “Why couldn’t she just leave me alone? Why’d she insist on trying to find me? She should never have put herself at risk like that!”