Off to kill the man that I loved.
As soon as I got out of the academy's boundaries I felt the presence of the spirits around me. I tried to push them out of my mind. I didn't want any distractions, I only had one goal. And that was to kill Dimitri, the man that I loved.
I know it sounds pretty crazy. But Dimitri wasn't the Dimitri that I loved and cared about anymore. He had turned Strigoi. He wasn't himself; he had lost everything from when he was dhampir. Now the only thing that he wanted was to kill Moroi, Rather than protect them as he did when he was a guardian. He had once said back when we were just falling in love that if he were ever to turn Strigoi that he would want to be killed.
And I planned to meet his request.
I was following a narrow, gravel road that lead away from the academy. I was like a robot, my feet were moving but my mind was elsewhere. I had no clue where the hell I was going but I had to kill Dimitri. Or rather, the monster that had taken over my Dimitri. I started kicking the gravel as I trudged forward, thinking of the plan that Dimitri had come up with so we could actually be together. See, he and I were my best friend Lissa's guardian before he turned Strigoi. We knew that being together was so wrong. We had to protect Lissa. And us loving each other only made us want to protect each other. Dimitri had come up with the idea that he would quit being a guardian for Lissa and find another Moroi to protect. That way we could still be together and I could still protect Lissa.
The thought of Lissa churned my stomach. We had had a fight before I left, and Lissa was still devastated about my leaving. I had to push her feelings out of my mind. We have a bond, one that is rarely heard of, I could sense all her emotions and sometimes I could see through her eyes. And now I felt the sorrow and betrayal that radiated off of her. A tear slid down my cheek.
"Pull yourself together Rose." I muttered to myself.
I had to figure out a way to find Dimitri, which was all that mattered right now. Who would know where Dimitri was? No one. I was probably crazy going after him with absolutely no idea of where he was.
I froze in the middle of the road.
Maybe I did know someone who knew where he was. Mason, my friend who had gotten killed by Strigoi, had led us to a group of Strigoi that had captured some students at the Academy. Mason had been a ghost and had moved on, but I still could sense other ghosts. Another tear found its way down my cheek at the thought of Mason. It was my fault Mason had died, I had told him where there were Strigoi.
I let my guard down and focused on trying to find a ghost. Pale figures emerged around me and I started getting a headache. I searched franticly for someone who could possibly help me.
One ghost stood out from the rest. He looked about my age and had pale blonde hair.
Just like Lissa.
It was Andre, Lissa's brother. Him and her parents had died in a car accident that both me and Lissa had been it. I should have died, I did die, but Lissa had used her healing powers to bring me back.
"Andre." I whispered.
Andre turned towards me and stared. His face looked sad and he looked like he wanted to say something, as all ghosts do.
"Andre, please help me!" I whispered desperately. "Please! I need to find someone."
Andre opened his mouth as if to say something but nothing came out.
Wonderful.
"I need to find Dimitri, he was a guardian but he turned Strigoi, do you know where he's at?" I asked.
Andre nodded.
I sighed. Maybe it wasn't going to be as hard as I thought to find him. "Which way?" I asked desperately.
Andre pointed off east into the forest.
"Is-is he with other Strigoi?" I stuttered. If he was then the chances of me succeeding were small.
Andre shook his head.
I sighed, score, and asked, "Will you lead me to him?"
Andre hesitated before he shook his head.
"Why?" I squeaked. Maybe not. Maybe it'd be a little harder than I thought.
Andre opened his mouth as if to something but again, nothing came out. Instead, he pointed east, near the forest.
My temper got the better of me. "I've been protecting your little sister ever since the day of the car accident. I've watched over her and lived her life long enough. I'm not living my life anymore. This is her life I'm living. Do you not think that I deserve some sort of thanks for keeping your sister alive? Even if the thanks is in the form of leading me to kill off the man that I love?" I shouted sourly.
Somehow, Andre's face grew even sadder. He lifted his arm and pointed off towards the forest.
"Ugh." I moaned. "I'm so sick of you Dradamirs!" I said as I trudged forward towards the forest.
I knew it was a lie. I was so not sick of Dradamirs'. I missed Lissa so much. And God, it hurt to know that I abandoned her back at the academy. I knew that I lost a part of me when I left her, and a huge part when Dimitri had turned Strigoi. Yet another tear trickled down my face, maybe I could have killed the Strigoi that had attacked Dimitri.
Inside the forest it was very dark, wet, and cold. I shivered. Maybe I should have brought a heavier sweatshirt. My body was telling me how hungry I actually was. But the stubborn girl I am, I ignored my body's requests and tried to hurry through the forest as quickly as I could. The sun was fading through the trees which meant Strigoi were able to come out. The faster I got out of this place the better, besides, this place was starting to give me the creeps.
The farther I got, the more I felt lost. I was surrounded by green. Trees everywhere, some places grass up to my thighs. My eyelids felt like a hundred pounds and I was scared that they might close on me at any given time.
I couldn't handle it anymore. I set my backpack down and leaned against the trunk of a tall tree. I let the rest of the tears that I'd been trying to hold back flow. I sat there crying for over ten minutes until my stomach growled. I dug around in my backpack until I found some granola bars that I had packed. Yum. But not nearly as delicious as the well cooked meals at the academy. My mouth started watering.
Stop it Rose. I scolded. You don't need the academy, you're doing just fine without it, even all the delicious foods and warm beds and-
A nauseas feeling washed over me. The kind that I got when Strigoi were near. I was immediately on my feet and alert, my hand ready to grab my stake at a sudden attack.
A rustling sound came from bushes about 15 feet behind me.
I grabbed my stake and turned towards where the noise was made.
I had died, came back to life, seen ghosts, and watched the man I love get killed, so it took a lot to actually surprise me. But the person who came out of the bushes did.