"It's wrong! All of this. Breaking and entering, and compulsion..." I shivered, despite the sweltering heat. "It's immoral. Controlling someone else's mind. You know it! Your people and mine both agree."
"Eh, no harm done." He climbed to the top of the pool and stood on its edge, surveying his kingdom. The sun brought out chestnut glints in his brown hair. "Believe me, that guy was easy to control. Weak-willed. I barely had to use compulsion."
"Adrian - "
"Come on, Sage. Not like we're going to hurt anything. Check out this view." I was almost afraid to go up there. It was so rare for any of the Moroi here to use their magic that it was easy for me to pretend it didn't exist. Seeing Adrian use it - the most insidious kind - made my skin crawl. As I'd told Ms. Terwilliger in our charm discussion, no one should be able to control another like that.
"Come on," Adrian repeated. "You're not worried I'm going to compel you up here, are you?"
"Of course not," I said. And I meant it. I didn't know why, but some part of me knew Adrian would never, ever harm me. Reluctantly, I went to join him, hoping that would encourage him to leave. When I reached the top, my jaw dropped. The intimate pool hadn't seemed that high, but it gave us a stunning view of the mountains off in the distance, rugged and majestic against the blue of the sky. The larger pool glittered below us, and the waterfall made it look like we'd entered some mystical oasis.
"Cool, huh?" he asked. Adrian sat down on the small pool's edge, rolled up his jeans, and took off his socks and shoes.
"Now what are you doing?" I asked.
"Making the most out of this." He put his feet in the water. "Come on. Do something bad for a change. Not that it's really that bad. We aren't trashing this place or anything." I hesitated, but the water was intoxicating, as though it too could wield compulsion. Settling down, I copied Adrian and dipped my bare feet into the water. Its coolness was startling -
and wonderful - in this intense heat.
"I could get used to this," I admitted. "But what if the owners come home early?" He shrugged. "I can talk us out of it, don't worry."
That wasn't exactly reassuring. I turned back to the gorgeous view and lush property. I wasn't always the most imaginative person, but I thought back to what I'd said about living another life. What would it be like to have a home like this? To stay in one place? To spend days by the pool, soaking in the sun, and not worrying about the fate of humanity? I fell into daydreams and was so caught up that I lost track of time.
"We have to get back to the shop," I exclaimed. Glancing over, I was astonished to see Adrian watching me, a look of contentment on his face. His eyes seemed to study my every feature. Seeing me notice him, he immediately looked away. His usual smirky expression replaced the dreamy one.
"The mechanic will wait," he said.
"Yeah, but I'm supposed to meet Brayden soon. I'll be - " That's when I got a good look at Adrian. "What have you done? Look at you! You shouldn't be out here."
"It's not that bad."
He was lying, and we both knew it. It was late afternoon, and the sun was merciless. I'd certainly felt it, though the coolness of the water had helped distract me. That, and I was human.
Sure, sunstroke and sunburns were concerns, but I loved the sun and had a high tolerance for it. Vampires did not.
Sweat poured off Adrian, soaking his shirt and hair. Pink blotches covered his face. They were familiar. I'd seen them on Jill back when she'd been forced to play outdoor sports in PE.
Left unchecked, they'd turn into burns. I jumped to my feet.
"Come on, we have to get out of here before you get worse. What were you thinking?" His expression was astonishingly nonchalant for someone who looked like he would pass out. "It was worth it. You looked... happy."
"That's crazy," I said.
"Not the craziest thing I've ever done." He smiled as he looked up at me. His eyes grew slightly unfocused, as though they were seeing more than just me. "What's a little crazy here and there? I'm supposed to be doing experiments... why not see which is brighter: your aura or the sun?"
The way he looked at me and spoke unnerved me, and I remembered what Jill had said, how spirit slowly drove its users insane. Adrian hardly seemed insane, but there was certainly something haunted about him, a definite shift from his usual sharp wit. It was as though something else had seized hold of him. I remembered that poem line, about dreaming and waking.
"Come on," I repeated. I held out my hand. "You shouldn't have used spirit. We need to get you out of here."