CH 4

That night, I dreamt of Dimitri. Not of the creature that he surely was, but of what he used to be. Even in dreams, his touch sent charges up my spine, electrifying me with pleasure. His strong, comforting arms held me close like he would never let me go. Whispering sweet words and promises to me, muttering my name in Russian. I wanted nothing more than him to touch me, to be as close to me as possible.

But suddenly, he vanished and I was left alone in an empty room by my self. His voice echoed around me.

"Save me, Roza, save me."

I awoke with tears running down my face. It took all of my self-control to repress the earth-shattering sobs that loomed within me. I didn't want to wake or worry Faina.

Restless, I rose from the bed and tiptoed across the room to the door. I could hear Faina's heavy breathing in the room across from mine and knew she was sleeping. Slowly opening the door, I lurked into the dark hallway. My Dhampir eyes let me see perfectly in the bad lighting, and I moved over to the door next to mine.

I quickly entered the room and shut the door. It must have been awhile since Dimitri had been here, but his room still smelled strongly of his aftershave. The smell comforted me.

The room was even smaller than Sasha's, and had only a bed with a long footlocker resting at the end. Books covered the floor, the name Louis L'amour on nearly every cover. On the wall above his bed, a poster from the old movie Stagecoach looked down, John Wayne staring off obliviously, smirking. For some reason, I wanted to tear down that smile. Why should he be happy when my life was going to hell?

I sat down on Dimitri's rumpled bed that he hadn't bothered to make on his last visit. Behind the door, hanging from a hook, was a duster identical to the one he had always worn. I went to fetch it, then flopped back down on the bed again, my face buried in the fabric.

I smiled, the smell of him filling my nostrils. Feeling content, I fell asleep.

Sun light shown on me through the window, blazing directly in my eyes. Waking up with a groan, I tumbled off the bed.

Startled, I leapt to my feet. Faina was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and eye brows raised. I rubbed my forehead and refused to meet her gaze. She must think me a silly child for sneaking into her son's room.

"What time is it?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't question my whereabouts.

"Almost two thirty," she replied, clearly amused.

"In the afternoon?" I cried. I had planned on leaving hours ago. Now I was behind schedule, not that I really had one.

As I darted past Faina going through the door, I realized I was still clutching Dimitri's jacket. I moved to toss it back inside, but Faina held up a hand.

"Keep it," She spoke softly, a tiny smile playing across her face. In her eyes, I could see she knew. She knew how I really felt about her son, that he meant more to me than just a teacher. "I'm sure he would like you have it."

"Thank you," I murmured. It felt odd knowing someone I wasn't especially close to knew my secret, especially Dimitri's mother.

I quickly went to the next room to collect my bag. I was burning daylight, which was one thing I couldn't afford to lose. Even though I had no idea where I was going, I couldn't stay in one place for very long. Every minute I wasted was another Moroi the thing that was Dimitri could have killed. And I couldn't let that happen, for both of us.

I pulled Dimitri's duster over my sweater, resting my stake carefully inside one of the hidden inner pockets. Then I felt a hand on my arm and I turned.

"I don't have much of an idea to where he could've gone, exactly," Faina whispered. "But I know that whenever Dimitri was lost or confused, he always returned to the place that brought him the most comfort. And right now, I know he must be very lost. But I know you can help him find himself again." She placed a small red, leather-bound volume in my hands. Etched into the cover were the words ''vosstanovlenie vampira''.

"What is this?" I asked. I knew the word vampira meant vampire, of course, but I had no idea what the other word said. Flipping quickly through the faded yellow pages, I saw the whole thing was written in Latin and Russian Cyrillic, and other languages I couldn't name.

"Aleksander picked it up on one of his travels," Faina answered, her eyes remaining glued to the book, unwavering. She seemed almost unwilling to part with the tome. "I have only been able to read a part of it myself, but if what this book says is true, then it could be of quite some use to you. It is called Restoration of the Vampire."

Restoration of the Vampire? I thought. But what does that have to do-

Suddenly it came to me, and I looked up at Faina. "You mean-"

She smiled knowingly, bowing her head slightly. "Yes, if it's true. But who knows," the Dhampir said, leading me closer to the door. "It might turn out to be a great load of nonsense."

Faina, my lover's mother, opened the door for me, and I stepped outside into the cold. It was snowing again, and it seemed as if the thick grey clouds had swallowed up the sun.

"But I shall pray every night that it is not, and I will pray for your safety and that you deliver my son from evil." Her face became solemn again, and she turned away from me, not willing to let me see her cry again. As the door closed, I was already several feet away. There was no time to lose.

Because now I had something that I had lost the day Dimitri was taken; Hope.