I'm so so so so sorry for not updating sooner!! Please forgive me. I've had a bit of writer's block, plus I've been super busy. I know I said I was trying to finish this story before summer ended, but I decided to expand on it a bit. Thanks to all who've stuck with me! Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: It belongs to Richelle Mead :)

Chapter 8

One month. We've been here for one month. And we're not going back to the academy yet. Why, you might ask? Because Guardian Hathaway just had to be a big mouth and tell the Queen about the strange occurrences that keep happening. Haven't people realized yet that those things only happen to me!?!? I'm sure the rest of the moroi and dhampir race will be okay.

So now we're stuck here until we figure out what the hell's going on around here. I wish the moroi would get to it and switch over to be a democracy like the rest of the country. That'd get Tatiana out of everyone's faces. I thought almost smugly.

It was Wednesday evening and I was jogging around our yard. Which was quite large, I might add.

I missed the second pair of feet, jogging beside me. I missed the heat, that seemed to radiate off his body. My hand went to my necklace. I hadn't taken it off since Dimitri had given it to me. Even though it was long and a little sharp, it never bothered me. I knew it would keep me safe.

I suddenly came to a halt. In front of me was all that was left from the strigoi break-in a few weeks ago. They had broken in at the corner of our estate. Janine had gotten the fence fixed immediately, but the bushes and undergrowth were still trampled. I was about to move on, when something shined in my eye. I moved toward it and knelt down. There, partially covered by some dead leaves, was a dog tag necklace. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. The tag had a lightning bolt on it that looked like it was made of diamonds (A/N pic of dog tag on my profile). It looked strangely familiar, like I'd seen it before. I turned it over to find two foreign words carved into the back. немертвый and Власть.

"So what does it mean?" I asked Janine.

I was sitting on one of the plush love seats in her office. Janine Hathaway was pacing in front of me, the necklace clutched in her hand. Shortly after discovering the mystery necklace I had run home and showed it to her.

"Undead and power." She muttered, still pacing. "It's Russian for undead and power." It was obvious that she wasn't paying me any attention. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head, her mind going a mile a minute.

"It must have been from the break-in." I added, stating the obvious. I stood up and held my hand out to her, she handed me the necklace and looked at me questioningly. "You know, I think I've seen this somewhere. I don't remember where though."

"Somethings wrong with this place..." Janine whispered, staring out the window. "It's almost like someones going after you."

"I wouldn't be surprised." I laughed ruefully.

She looked over at me and smiled softly. "Get some sleep Rose, we'll talk some more about this later."

The next day at school was excruciating. All I could think about was the necklace. Have you ever had the feeling that you're forgetting something, but you can't remember what that something was? It was gnawing at the back of my mind!

I was in the girls bathroom, fixing up my make-up. The old Rose would laugh and point at any bimbo who would fix their make-up several times a day. But since coming here, I had definitely changed. I would even go as far as saying I'd soften up a bit. I kept telling myself that the second I go back to the academy I'll go back to my hard, boyish ways.

But the truth was that I liked looking nice. I admired shoes and cute tops as much as the next girl. My life as a novice had no room for any of that though. I had to treasure this freedom while I had it.

"Cute outfit Rose!"

I looked up to see Brianne Henshaw standing beside me, fixing her hair. I haven't seen much of her since my first day of school. It turned out I was wrong about her. She really wasn't that bad, aside from the giggling and designer clothes. Not that I was one to talk, my own closet only consisting of Marc Jacobs, Gucci, and Delia's.

"Um, thanks. You too." I gave her a small smile.

Today she was wearing a baby pink sweater set and denim skirt that went to just above her knees. Her strawberry blond hair was in a ponytail with a few wisps around her face. She reminded me a lot of Lisa. Maybe that's why I tolerated her.

The bell rang and we headed to class. I had English, the class I liked to call Rose Down Time. I sat in the very back, behind some giant. I'd be surprised if the teacher even knew I was there. I was about to have my daily snooze when the teacher, Ms. Hillman, announced today's topic.

"Mystical creatures!" She said in that booming voice that all teachers use. "Can anyone give me an example?"

I perked up, waiting for a certain "mystical creature" that was sure to come up.

"Vampires!" Someone answer.

Bingo.

"Ah yes, the bat shape shifter." Ms. Hillman said.

I silently snorted. I've never really considered what humans thought of us. I had seen a few vampire movies in the past, all of them dealing more with strigoi than moroi. I knew that humans thought we were evil creatures.

For the next hour I sat quietly while the class discussed the peachy world of make-believe. I had my own discussion in my head though. If vampires existed, why not mermaids or Big Foot. Who's to say they don't existed, for that matter.

The final bell rang and everyone gathered their books. But before anyone could leave Ms. Hillman announced one more thing.

"Your homework is to write a story about your mystical creature of choice. You have no limits, so be creative. Take your time to make it good. It's due next week."

As I was walking out I thought about my story. Should it be about vampires? It would be extremely easy. I could write about a battle that we learned about in Stan's class. I guess it would technically be cheating... what the heck. It'll make my life so much easier.

I don't know why I was thinking about it so much. I didn't come here to write a paper for English class. As I thought about it, I realized that this place was kinda growing on me. I did care about what marks I got in class, which was something I never gave a second thought about. I did care about the new friends I made.

I suddenly stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. Oh. My. God. Who the heck am I? Have I really changed that much!?! I thought in disbelief. As I was thinking this, someone ran right into my back, causing both of us to fall.

I looked at the person who ran into me, to find my good buddy Mark. "Watch where you're going dork." I teased.

He chuckled and started collecting his fallen books. "That goes both ways Hathaway." After he got his stuff in order, he helped me with my books and soon we were both upright again. "Hey, can I hitch a ride with you today?"

"What, your mommy's to busy to come pick you up?" I smirked.

Mark pouted his bottom lip and hung his head "Yeah." He sniffled.

We looked at each other for a couple of seconds before bursting out into laughter. We were laughing so hard that the people around us starting giving us funny looks. I slung my arm around his shoulder. "Come on!" I laughed.

When we reached the parking lot I saw Eddie, Hunter, and Lena leaning up against my baby. I guess I was giving everyone a ride today. As we all filed into the car we decided to go out for pizza since it was a Friday.

By the time we were heading out of the restaurant the sun was already setting and it was getting chilly. I had the radio blasting and we were all singing along to Lady Gaga's "Love Games" loudly. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time. I was tapping my fingers against the steering wheel, when suddenly a wave of nausea hit me. It was like a punch in the gut.

I slammed the brakes, causing everyone to jerk forward.

"What the hell Rose?" Eddie yelled, more shocked than angry.

I didn't pay him any attention. My eyes were straight ahead and I was clutching my stomach. I looked over at Eddie and he instantly understood what was going on. Earlier in the month I had told him about my ability to sense strigoi. He had been skeptical at first, but believed me. Now, his eyes roamed the area around us. Trying to find the cause of my sickness.

I pulled over and turned the headlights off, so that my friends wouldn't see anything... traumatizing, but kept the car running. The car was completely silent. No one even daring to breathe. I didn't know what to do. If I had kept on driving, I could have dropped the three in the back off somewhere, told them we had to do something and come back. But now that I've stopped, there was no going back. Stupid, stupid Rose. If anyone was injured, I would never forgive myself.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Eddie slowly and silently reach under his seat to pull out the stake that was hidden there. I copied him. I looked behind me at Mark, Lena, Hunter. They looked pale faced and confused.

"Rose?" Lena whispered, looking at me with wide eyes. She was so innocent, they all were. I had to keep them safe.

I took a deep breath. "Lock the doors, and don't open it for anyone but me and Eddie." I sounded calm and confident. Hoping to reassure them.

Before they could say anything, me and Eddie got out of the car. I saw Hunter reach over to the front seat to press the auto lock bottom on my door. I knew it wouldn't stop a strigoi, but it made me feel better.

I took in my surroundings. I had stopped on the side of the highway, beside a forest. Great. There were no houses or buildings nearby.

"Stay here and watch the car." Eddie murmured. He started walking to trees. Taking silent, cautious steps.

My heart was pounding. I didn't see anything, which scared the shit out of me. Out of nowhere another wave of nausea hit me and I spun around. I was instantly punch in the stomach, which sent me flying. My back hit the side of my car. I distantly heard Lena screaming, but I couldn't let her distract me. I took a step toward the strigoi but Eddie got there first.

As he fought with the strigoi, I saw something move in my peripheral view. It was fast. I spun toward it and lashed out. I knocked a second strigoi in the head. It didn't seem to faze him at all. As I continued to fight with him, I learned that the strigoi was good. Really good. He must have been an amazing guardian before he turned.

I cried out in pain when he slashed my upper arm with his nails, leaving four long, bloody gashes. I stumbled back, grabbing my injured arm. He grinned darkly at me and licked the blood off his fingers. The image almost made me want to hurl. Instead I fought back, harder. With my stake raised, I threw all my strength into it, looking for some sort of opening. I was finally able to slash the side of his neck, right below the ear. He cried out in pain which gave me enough time to plunge the stake into his chest. It was done.

He crumbled to the ground and laid there, lifeless. The nauseous feeling left me as I stood over him, breathing hard. I eventually looked over at Eddie to find him sitting on the ground, staring at the strigoi that he had killed. I walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Ya..." He breathed. He then looked up at me. His expression unreadable. "That was my very first kill."

"You did good." I offered him a smile. "But we still have bigger problems."

He looked at me questioningly and I nodded my head at my car. Mark, Lena, and Hunter had witnessed everything.

"Crap." He muttered, standing up.

He got that right.

So what'd you think?? Let me know! I'll try my very hardest to update soon! REVIEW!! :)

Kirsty - I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one! I can't say if Hunter's evil or not... how could you even think of something so preposterous!?! HAHA! Australia was great!! Although it wasn't technically a vacation. I was there touring across the country with my dance company, AND I got paid! Great summer job huh? How in the world did you get Blood Promise early? I finished it too and was slightly disappointed. I miss my Dimitri :( Lol. Thanks a ton for all your great reviews love!
*hugs*