He shook his head. "She has a large family.'
I threw up my hands in exasperation. "Could you be any more useless? You keep acting like you know so much, but you're just telling us what we've already found out! You aren't helping!'
"Help comes in many forms, Rose. Have you found Sonya?'
"Yes.' I reconsidered. "Well, not quite. We know where she is. We're going to see her tomorrow and question her.'
The look on Victor's face spoke legions about how ridiculous he thought that was. "And I'm sure she'll be eager to help.'
I shrugged. "Dimitri's pretty persuasive.' "So I've heard,' said Victor. "But Sonya Karp isn't an impressionable teenager.' I sized up a punch but worried Robert might have his force field up again. Victor appeared oblivious to my anger. "Tell me where you are. We'll come to you.'
Once more, a dilemma. I didn't think there was much the brothers could do. But this might present an opportunity to recapture him. Besides, if we had him in person, maybe he'd stop interrupting my dreams.
"We're in Kentucky,' I said at last. "Paris, Kentucky.' I gave him what other info we had about the blue house.
"We'll be there tomorrow,' Victor said.
"Then where are you now--'
And just like last time, Robert ended the dream abruptly, leaving me hanging. What had I gotten myself into with them? Before I could consider it, I was immediately taken to another spirit dream. Good Lord. It really was deja vu. Everyone wanted to talk to me in my sleep. Fortunately, like last time, my second visit was from Adrian.
This one was in the ballroom where the Council had met. There were no chairs or people, and my steps echoed on the hard wood floor. The room that seemed so grand and powerful when in use now had a lonely, ominous feel.
Adrian stood near one of the tall, arched windows, giving me one of his roguish smiles when I hugged him. Compared to how dirty and bloody everything was in the real world, he seemed pristine and perfect.
"You did it.' I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You got them to nominate Lissa.' After our last dream visit, when I'd realized there might be some merit to Victor's suggestion, I'd had to work hard to convince Adrian that the nomination idea was a good one-- particularly since I hadn't been sure myself.
"Yeah, getting that group on board was easy.' He seemed to like my admiration, but his face grew grimmer as he pondered my words. "She's not happy about it, though. Boy, she let us have it afterward.'
"I saw it. You're right that she doesn't like it--but it was more than that. It was spirit- darkness. I took some of it away, but yeah ... it was bad.' I remembered how taking her anger had caused it to flare up briefly in me. Spirit didn't hit me as hard as it did her-- but that was only temporary. Eventually, if I pulled enough over the years, it would take over. I caught hold of Adrian's hand and gave him as pleading a look as I could manage. "You've got to look after her. I'll do what I can, but you know as well as I do how stress and worry can agitate spirit. I'm afraid it'll come back like it used to. I wish I could be there to take care of her. Please--help her.'
He tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear, concern in his deep green eyes. At first, I thought his worry was just for Lissa. "I will,' he said. "I'll do what I can. But Rose ... will it happen to me? Is that what I'll become? Like her and the others?'
Adrian had never shown the extreme side effects Lissa had, largely because he didn't use as much spirit and because he did so much self-medicating with alcohol. I didn't know how long that would last, though. From what I'd seen, there were only a few things to delay the insanity: self-discipline, antidepressants, and bonding to someone shadow-kissed. Adrian didn't seem interested in any of those options.
It was weird, but in this moment of vulnerability, I was reminded of what had just happened with Dimitri. Both of these men, so strong and confident in their ways, yet each needing me for support. You're the strong one, Rose, a voice whispered inside my head.
Adrian gazed off. "Sometimes ... sometimes I can believe the insanity is all imagined, you know? I've never felt it like the others ... like Lissa or old Vlad. But once in a while ...' he paused. "I don't know. I feel so close, Rose. So close to the edge. Like if I allow myself one small misstep, I'll plunge away and never come back. It's like I'll lose myself.'
I'd heard him say stuff like this before, when he'd go off on some weird tangent that only half made sense. It was the closest he ever came to showing that spirit might be messing with his mind too. I'd never realized he was aware of these moments or what they could mean.
He looked back down at me. "When I drink ... I don't worry about it. I don't worry about going crazy. But then I think ... maybe I already I am. Maybe I am, but no one can tell the difference when I'm drunk.'
"You're not crazy,' I said fiercely, pulling him to me. I loved his warmth and the way he felt against my skin. "You'll be okay. You're strong.'
He pressed his cheek to my forehead. "I don't know,' he said. "I think you're my strength.'
It was a sweet and romantic statement, but something about it bothered me. "That's not quite right,' I said, wondering how I could put my feelings into words. I knew you could help someone else in a relationship. You could strengthen them and support them. But you couldn't actually do everything for them. You couldn't solve all their problems. "You have to find it within your--'
The hotel room's alarm clock blared and broke me from the dream, leaving me frustrated both because I missed Adrian and hadn't been able to say all I wanted to. Well, there was nothing I could do for him now. I could only hope he'd manage on his own.
Sydney and I were both sluggish and squinty-eyed. It made sense that she'd be exhausted, since her whole sleeping schedule--when she actually got sleep--had been thrown off. Me? My fatigue was mental. So many people, I thought. So many people needed me ... but it was so hard to help all of them.
Naturally, Dimitri was up and ready to go. He'd woken before us. Last night's breakdown might as well have never happened. It turned out he'd been dying for coffee and had patiently waited for us, not wanting to leave us sleeping and undefended. I shooed him off, and twenty minutes later, he returned with coffee and a box of donuts. He also had purchased an industrial-strength chain at a hardware store across the street "for when we find Sonya,' which made me uneasy. By then Sydney and I were ready to go, and I decided to hold off on my questions. I wasn't crazy about wearing shorts again, not with my legs in this condition, but I was too eager to get to Sonya to insist we stop at a mall.
I did, however, decide it was time to get my companions up to speed.