Chapter 8

First Lesson, Don't Hesitate…Dimitri's words rushed through me. Don't Hesitate. But this was Lissa. I couldn't kill her. I love her. But I love Dimitri and I wanted to kill him now that he was Strigoi. But that was because that's what he wanted. Lissa and I had never talked about turning.

Mike had tackled her and was so close to staking her. It was then I realised I was fighting off Mike. He was so confused. Eddie was tyring to get me off Mike and eventually succeeded. "Rose…" Her words were cold, different. No one is the same after turning Rose. His voice was killing me. Trying to make me kill my best friend. The person I am supposed to be protecting.

Eddie was holding me back from Mike and since he realised Lissa wasn't attacking us, and that clearly, we knew each other, he backed off her. Than Eddie let me go once I swore not to touch Mike. He had hurt Lissa because she was already bruising. But her fragile skin always bruised easily.

"Let the Strigoi go." Eddie told Mike to make sure he wouldn't touch Lissa again. "I know her." He finally realised. "Lissa Dragomir. The Dragomir Princess. My best friend. The Mor-Strigoi I am bonded to." He finally got it. Lissa was running away at this point. I wanted to run after her, to make sure she was OK.

But even I knew I couldn't do that. Eddie and Mike would stop me anyway. I was getting nothing from the bond either. I tried to slip into her mind, but I couldn't. The I realised what was going on.

When I fell to the floor in pain, she was turned. When she was turned, she lost her spirit ability and everything that went with it. The super-compulsion, the healing, the auras but most importantly, our bond was gone. Through one bite. I was still shadow-kissed, but without my bondmate.

I still had my nausea Strigoi alarm and the seeing ghost ability thing. They were the only things I had from the bond between Lissa and me. Well that and the memories of us. When we met, when we grew up together, the crash, the run-away, our return to the school, the whole spirit thing, the parties, her capture with Victor Dashkov, and now, when she turned.

They will all just be memories. Nothing more. Christian. He'll be heartbroken. We'll have just one more thing in common. Losing the person we love. Just like Eddie and me now have something in common. Losing our best friend.

The next thing I knew, I had blacked out. I'd slipped in and out of consciousness on our way back to campus. One of those times we were in a car, one I was being carried out somewhere and the last one was at campus. One thing that did wake me up a little more, was the constant stares I felt.

I opened my eyes and looked up at who was carrying me. Mike's eyes looked down at me when he felt my head move against his chest. I saw worry in his eyes and as much as I wanted to say I was OK, I just couldn't. My eyes shut again without my hesitation, and the next time I woke up, I was in the med clinic.

Dr. Olendzki was standing in front of me babbling about what had happened to me to someone. I didn't really take much notice until I realised who it was. Christian. I coughed twice and they both looked at me. Christian had relief that I was awake, which came to me as a surprise, but then again, he was here waiting for me to wake up.

"Can we have a minute?" He interrupter her and she nodded and walked out of the room. "Hey," Even in his voice you could hear relief. "Hey." I replied in a crackly voice. "You were crying when you came in. What happened?" I was crying? Damn. I hope to god that not many people saw me crying. The bigger issue is that he wasn't told what happened to Lissa and I didn't want to be the one who tells him. So I'm going to try to change the subject.

"When did I get back?" I asked him ignoring his question. "About an hour ago." He looked at the lock and nodded again. "How long have you been here for?" I asked again looking at the clock. "Since you got in." I gave him a thankful smile. It was hard to smile. Very hard. He nodded in response. What was with people and nodding?

"So, do you want to talk about it?" He obviously knew something was wrong since I came in crying. I wanted so badly to say no, but I had to tell him Lissa got turned. He took in my silence and asked me one more question. "Where's Lissa? I didn't see her come in with you."

I couldn't look at him. So I looked at my feet instead. My eyes began to get teary before I let them fall down my cheek. I could feel his gaze getting stronger and more worried and confused. "What happened to Lissa?" He sounded demanding. "Ask someone else." I said through more tears. "No Rose, you tell me. I'm asking you." He demanded again.

I still didn't look at him. "And I said ask someone else." I said also starting to get angry at him. I was fighting back more tears as he left without a word. I was left alone in the med clinic. I cried myself to sleep, hoping no one was watching me.

Just like I expected, Adrian was in my dream. "I'm so sorry Rose." His hands were cupping my face. We were in his grandmother's garden again. We were sitting on the chairs near a flowerbed. "I wish I could say I understand your pain, but I don't. And I know that's probably the last thing you want to hear, but it's the truth." Silence was all around us in the dream. He pulled me closer to him, resting my head on his chest, he held me in the dream until I woke up.

He was there, in font of me. Waiting for me to wake up. "Hey Little Dhampir." He placed his hand over mine. "Hey." I sighed. "You so strong Rose. I'd never survive losing the two people I love." I'm not strong. I broke down in the cave. I could have been attacked. In fact I attacked Mike. The guardian who was protecting us.

"No I'm not." I managed to say clearly. He gave me a smile before disagreeing with me. "You're the strongest person I know Rose. You lost Dimitri and Lissa. Your boyfriend and best friend." He kept on telling me how strong I was and how proud of me he was.

I still didn't want to speak any more so I listened to his stories all night. He'd bought me food and drinks all day. He had actually bought me good food. Not the standard med clinic food.

Dr. Olendzki walked in and told me I was free to go. I don't exactly know why I was kept here all day, maybe because I just lost my best friend in a Strigoi cave attack. Maybe because I attacked Guardian Simon.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight? They said you don't have to do the field experience tomorrow." I gave a small nod knowing the last thing I wanted was to be alone. I normally loved to be alone when losing someone, like when I lost Dimitri. All I had wanted then was to be alone. But now, losing Lissa, it was the last thing I wanted to do.

We walked back to guest housing and I was surprised the guards let me stay the night. I guess they heard about what happened. Bu the looks of all the students, they had as well. "Everyone knows, right?" I looked up into his green eyes. The same green eyes that Lissa had. I had to look away and yet I couldn't. It made me realise, that he had lost Lissa as well.

He had lost his 'cousin', that was what they always called each other. And he had lost the only other spirit user he knew. Without her, he had a lot of work a head of him spirit wise. And now, him and Eddie are my closest friends. It was a hard topic to accept, but I knew the sooner I accept it, the easier life will get. The last thing I remember is Adrian saying to me was that this is the new beginning.