Please, tell me what you think! This is the entire first chapter of Vampire Academy, but written from Lissa's perspective.
Fear pulsed through me as dark images ran through my sleeping mind. Fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures in my mind were suffocating. I could feel my body thrashing, feel myself screaming. Andre, my parents, death, this inescapable nightmare that was just as present in reality.
I felt firm hands shaking me.
"Liss," I heard. "Liss, wake up."
I stopped screaming, and began to let out soft, sorrow-filled whimpers.
I could feel Rose standing over me.
"Andre," I moaned. "Oh, God."
She helped me sit up.
"Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."
I waited a minute, then cautiously opened my eyes.
My breathing slowed, and I leaned into her.
She ran a hand through my hair.
"It's okay," she said. "Everything's okay"
"I had that dream"
"Yeah. I know," she said.
We sat there for a few more minutes while I tried to calm down, knowing that my emotions were affecting her just as strongly.
She soon turned on the lamp, though I could see just fine without it.
Our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the window sill.
From there, he jumped on my bed, avoiding Rose, and rubbed his head against me, purring.
I loved cats, so his warm friendliness further calmed me as I smiled and scratched his chin.
"When did we last do a feeding?" she asked.
I'd been hoping to avoid this subject, so I felt self-conscious as she studied me.
"It's been like…more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?" she said. I shrugged and looked down, wanting to drop the subject.
"You were busy. I didn't want to- ."
She cut me off.
"Screw that"
She scooted closer to me, and Oscar quickly returned to his perch on the window sill.
"Come on. Let's do this," she said
"Rose—,"
"Come on. It'll make you feel better."
I watched doubtfully as she flipped her hair back, exposing her neck.
At first, I hesitated, not wanting to weaken her. But the sight of her neck and the thirst it promised to quench was way too tempting.
I parted my lips slightly, feeling the tips of my usually hidden fangs poking at my bottom lip. It was sort of a relief to expose them, after having to conceal them so often from the humans.
I brought my lips closer to her neck and sensed her pulse quicken the flow of blood through her veins.
I bit in, and almost pulled back when I heard her cry of pain, but I continued as she calmed and settled into the bliss of it.
The bite of a vampire feels good to humans and dhampirs, or so I've been told, so I didn't feel too guilty about taking my friend's blood.
I almost sighed in relief as the rich, metallic warmth gushed into my mouth and spread throughout my body, making me feel whole and alive.
I didn't want to weaken her too much, so I stopped early.
I wiped my hand across my lips, and watched her with concern.
"You okay?"
"I…yeah."
She lay back on the bed, looking dizzy and weak.
"I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine." She said.
Unconvinced, I stood up and started for the door.
"I'm going to get you something to eat," I said, then left before she could protest.
I bounded down the stairs two at a time, newly refreshed from the rush of energy that the blood gave me.
I reached the small house kitchen, and smiled at our housemate, Jeremy, who was sitting at the kitchen table, staring sadly at his calculus homework.
The vein in his forehead was throbbing, and kept nervously cracking his knuckles.
"Hey, don't strain yourself," I said jokingly.
He looked up, gave me an exasperated smile, and then returned to his work.
I thought about easing his troubles, it would be so easy to compel him, to
erase his doubts and let him work in peace.
I sighed, knowing that pulling a stunt like that would probably cause a huge drain my energy, and I didn't want to ask Rose for more blood for a while. Of the two of us, it was more important that she remain strongest.
Sighing, I walked over to the fridge started rummaging through it, trying to find something she would like.
Just as I grabbed a juice box and energy bar, I heard Rose come up behind me.
I turned toward her, surprised.
"You shouldn't be up."
"We have to go. Now."
At first, I didn't get what would make her so intense. And then it clicked.
Oh, god. Not again.
They were here; they were going to take us back.
"Are you…really? Are you sure?"
She nodded, I felt my stomach drop.
"What's wrong?" I heard Jeremy say.
I stared at Rose.
"Liss, get his car keys," she said.
He looked back and forth between us.
"What are you--?"
No time to worry about an energy drain now.
Fear pounded through me, but I knew Rose would take care of everything.
Everything would be fine.
I smiled and gazed deeply into Jeremy's eyes, emptying my mind so I could pull his consciousness into mine.
His eyes quickly glazed over, and he regarded me with pure adoration.
"We need to borrow your car," I said, gently. "Where are your keys?"
For me, it was easy to compel humans, but Jeremy seemed to be especially susceptible.
He reached into his pocket, and handed me a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain.
"Thank you," I said. "And where is it parked?"
"Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown."
I did the mental math, it was four blocks away.
"Thank you," I said again, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight." He nodded, and I gave him an extra mental command to relax.
"Come on," Rose said. "We've got to move."
We started off toward the corner, moving quickly.
I had to support Rose as we ran, she was still dizzy from the recent blood loss.
Anxiety dominated my mind.
"Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?"
"They won't," she said with a ferocity that contradicted her weak state.
"I won't let them."
"But if they've found us—,"
"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."
Could it really be that simple?
No, nothing about this lifestyle was simple.
Running away from all we'd ever known, our family of sorts.
But it was for the best, and Rose always knew what to do.
I could always count on her.
We'd been friends since kindergarten, and ever since then she's been looking out for me, my guardian. Well, unofficial guardian, but she took her job seriously.
I heard footsteps approaching.
"Do you hear that?" I said.
She tilted her head toward the sound.
They were getting closer.
"We've got to run for it," she said, grabbing my arm.
"But you cant—,"
"Run." She demanded.
How? I thought. She was so weak.
She clung to me as we ran as fast as we could.
Usually she was so strong, it felt strange for me to be the one supporting her.
The footsteps grew louder, as Jeremy's Honda grew closer.
Oh, god. We're almost there! Just a few more steps.
A tall man stepped in front of us, and we came to an abrupt halt. Rose jerked me back by my arm.
He was huge, and hulking.
And a guardian.
Crap.
The rest of them closed in on us.
There was no way to escape them now.
There were almost a dozen of them.
I relaxed, accepting defeat, and I expected Rose to do the same.
Instead, she pressed up to me, keeping me behind her.
"Leave her alone," she said. "Don't touch her."
What was she doing? Was she trying to get herself killed?
She and I both knew that there was no chance she could get past one of these guys, let alone twelve.
"I'm not going to—," he said, taking a step forward.
What happened next was so fast, I almost couldn't believe it'd actually occurred.
Rose, acting on instinct, sprang out at him. He knocked her aside, and I winced as she flew toward the sidewalk. But, just before she hit the cement, he grabbed her arm and steadied her.
Then he started staring at her neck.
Knowing what he saw there, I blushed and looked down.
He knew I'd been feeding from her.
Using her.
Rose, covering her neck with her hair, backed toward me.
Oh god, she was not trying that again.
"Rose," I said, catching her hand. "Don't."
I sent calming thoughts towards her mind.
It wasn't through compulsion, but something else, and bond that linked our minds. We don't know how it started, or why. Most of the time, it was a pain. But, it proved useful in times like these.
She sagged in defeat.
The man, convinced she wasn't going to try anything, turned his attention to me.
He swept me a bow, and my throat tightened.
"My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said with a light Russian accent.
Oh great, I thought. Here it comes.
"I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."