Eight
Rose
December 18, 2000
"Look," Rose hissed. She held her paper airplane surreptitiously to the side of her desk, letting Mason look at it.
"Nice. I wonder how much lift it can get."
"We'll try it..."
"Miss Hathaway, Mister Ashford," Mr. Thomas interrupted, his voice pitched low. He had appeared behind them with no warning. "Pay attention or you will both be serving detentions when class resumes." He held out his hand to Rose. With a groan, she placed the paper plane in his hand. "Listen to Miss Ozera read the end of the story."
"Yes sir," they both replied.
At the front of the room, a Moroi senior was reading the end of A Christmas Carol. She had black hair and big blue eyes. Christian Ozera, who was seated near the front of the room, was her nephew. Rose forced herself to pay attention, but she thought the entire story was boring. At least this reader was better than the others had been.
Rose quietly tore another sheet of paper from her notebook and began folding.
"Rose!" Lissa scolded. "The story is almost over."
"It's so boring," she groaned.
"Do you want detention?"
Rose glared, laying her hands upon her notebook. She looked at the clock. This was torture. Literature was the last class of the day, and this was the last day of classes before the holiday break. She was excited for the trip she would be taking with the Dragomirs this year. They would leave in a few hours for Florida.
She began doodling on her notebook. She drew a picture of the beach and the sun. Not that she would see much sun with the Dragomirs, but maybe she could convince their guardians to take her to the beach in the mornings or early afternoon.
She clapped with the rest of the room when the story was finished, more excited for the class to be over than she was for the happy ending.
"Sorry about the plane," Mason said.
Rose sighed. "It's ok. I'll make a better one later."
Janine
December 31, 2000
Ivashkov Estate- Rome, Italy
Strigoi had been spotted nearby, too close for comfort. Janine was one of the guardians sent to investigate the report.
"Hopefully we get this over with fast," Mike said.
"Hoping for no Strigoi?" Janine replied.
"Yes. As soon as the bells toll for the new year, we won't be able to find anything out here."
She gave him a small smile as they walked toward the location. They kept alert for any sign of threat. They watched people pass- humans celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It would be the perfect place for Strigoi to lose themselves and pick up a drunken reveler to kill.
Janine, Mike, and Steffan walked several paces apart through the crowds. They maintained regular eye contact as they scanned. Janine saw Steffan shift his stance. The hairs on the back of Janine's neck stood on end. She saw the Strigoi on the far side of a fountain. Mike drew close to her, also seeing the creature.
So far, the Strigoi hadn't sensed them. It was unsurprising, given the number of people in the crowd.
The three of them drew together.
"We can't just fight him in this crowd," Janine hissed.
Mike scratched his beard. "We can watch him. He won't make a kill in public. We can follow him when he moves."
They agreed, and for the next several minutes they watched and waited. They moved closer, but not too close to the Strigoi. He began to move away, a female human on his arm. The girl appeared to be very drunk, which meant that the Strigoi hadn't needed to compel her.
Janine, Mike, and Steffan followed the Strigoi as he entered an alley. When they reached the alley, the Strigoi had the young woman pinned against the wall, his teeth in her neck. He dropped her to the ground as they surrounded him.
The Strigoi smiled, blood dripping from his lips. He lunged toward Mike. Mike dodged, sidestepping the Strigoi's hands. Janine and Steffan took positions around the Strigoi, assisting Mike as much as they could. Though they outnumbered the Strigoi, they couldn't get cocky.
The alley was narrow, maneuvering was difficult. The Strigoi backhanded Steffan, causing him to shout in pain. Janine and Mike both landed hits on the Strigoi with their stakes, causing the monster to flinch and fight back. None of them managed a critical strike, the Strigoi was too fast.
How old was this monster? He was faster than any Janine had faced before, except for the one who had nearly killed her. Janine also suspected that he had been a guardian before being turned, his moves were too well honed.
Mike landed a hit in the Strigoi's back. As the monster screamed in pain, he opened his chest. Steffan rushed forward, slamming his stake up into the Strigoi's heart.
Panting, they let the monster fall to the ground. Janine checked on the human. The woman was unconscious but alive. Mike called the local Alchemist while Steffan pulled the monster into the shadow of a stairway.
"It'll be awhile before the Alchemist can get here, too much traffic. How's the girl?"
"Alive, thankfully." Janine stretched, standing up from the girl.
A moment later, the bells of the city began to ring and fireworks were launched into the air. They looked at one another, smiling. "Happy New Year."