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Frostbite Chapter Three
I woke up a few hours later to the ring of my cell phone, I quickly answered since usually when I got calls this early they were about Rose getting into some sort of sordid situation.
I was surprised to hear Tasha Ozera's voice then, "Hey Dimitri! I hope I didn't wake you."
"You didn't," I lied, "How are you?"
"I'm great actually. And guess what –you are too –because guess who you're spending the holidays with?" she asked teasingly.
My hand, I thought, but answered, "I don't know, the Academy."
"No –you're spending it with me! I'm coming to the ski lodge where all the students will be staying and you better make time to hang out with me or else I'll kick your ass," she said gleefully.
"What ski lodge?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear? All the students and their families are invited to the Ski lodge which is all rented out for us, which means, you won't have to be on alert the whole time with your Guardian duties, and I'll get to actually spend time with you, not like last time," she said.
"Oh wow that sounds great! I guess I over slept, I was up for over 24 hours yesterday because of the Badica incident and hadn't heard the news," I explained.
"Oh, well, you better get your ass up because I plan on seeing you as soon as I can and I'm sure you want to look your best for me," she teased.
"Alright then, I better get up," I answered.
"So you had been sleeping! Hah! See you soon," she added.
"No I wasn't," I lied pointlessly like an immature teenage boy.
"Whatever see you soon," she said before hanging up.
That was astonishing. I hadn't seen Tasha Ozera in almost a year. She'd always been a great friend, a beautiful woman and a huge flirt. It was weird since she was seven years my senior, but it sort of worked in a way.
She was no Rose Hathaway, but she wasn't bad to stare at either, even with the scar on her face that she received when her sister and brother-in-law, Christian's parents, attacked her to try to steal Christian and possibly turn him. I admired that much devotion, not many Moroi would ever get their hands dirty, but Tasha was exceptional.
I had to meet Rose in about an hour at the gym so I quickly showered and dressed for the highlight of my day.
When I reached the gym later I noticed Rose wasn't there and decided to walk around. I saw her talking –no flirting –with that idiot Ashford, the one she went to the dance with.
Fucking bastard.
Okay Dimitri –she does not belong to you –try to act like a sane person, the good conscious spoke to me.
I tried to cool down, but it didn't mean that I couldn't stop their flirting, Rose should be practicing, not listening to carrot top basically drooling all over himself.
I caught the end of their conversation, as Rose teased, "Boy, it sure is going to be sad when I make you cry. I kind of feel guilty already."
My glum mood suddenly perked up… can I watch! I'd love to see that, except, there was a little voice in my head telling me that she was just teasing and that she wasn't really going to hurt him unfortunately.
Mason saw me behind Rose and stopped himself from saying whatever smartass remark he had planned and preceded to sweeping a stupid lame bow and saying, "Your lord and master. Catch you later, Hathaway. Start planning your ski strategies," and then disappeared, clearly afraid I was going to kick his ass.
Just kidding, I was getting a bit delusional.
Ahh, so she really wasn't going to hurt him…damn.
Rose turned around and followed me to the gym then.
I had something special planned for today and for Rose Hathaway –today would feel like Christmas.
I knew it the minute she walked in and saw the practice dummies on the far wall; I could already see the wheels spinning in her head.
"Sweet!" Rose exclaimed. I smiled; unable to help myself… she was just so cute sometimes.
I held a silver stake in my hand and I pulled a trick –not completely trying to impress her –by casually leaning against the wall and tossing the stake in one hand, spinning around and catching it hilt first. It actually took me a while to learn that, but it was worth the idolizing look Rose gave me then.
"Please tell me I get to learn how to do that today," she said, excitement pouring out of every word.
I laughed –she was always jumping head first into things, "You'll be lucky if I let you hold it today," I teased.
Rose looked at the stake longingly. I was ready for some whiney begging on her part, but she surprised me by taking off her backpack and coat and crossing her arms.
"You want me to tell you how they work and why I should always be cautious around them," she announced. Smart-ass. She makes me sound like an old Chemistry teacher before labs.
I stopped flipping the stake then –ahh –so this was her tactic to try to get the stake –speed through my lesson. Guess she's not getting it today.
"Come on," she laughed. "You don't think I know how you work by now? We've been doing this for almost three months. You always make me talk safety and responsibility before I can do anything fun."
"I see," I answered, "Well, I guess you've got it all figured out. By all means, go one with the lesson. I'll just wait over here until you need me again." I tucked the stake back into the leather sheath from my belt and got comfortable against the wall.
She waited to see if I was serious, but after realizing I was, she just shrugged and continued, "Silver always has powerful effects on any magical creature –it can help or hurt them if you put enough power into it. These stakes are really hard-core because it takes four different Moroi to make them, and they use each of the elements during the forging. Well, except spirit. So these things are supercharged and are about the only non-decapitating weapon that can do damage to a Strigoi-but to kill them, it has to be through the heart."
"Will they hurt you?" I questioned.
She shook her head, "No. I mean, well, yeah, if you drive one through my heart it will, but it won't hurt me like it would a Moroi. Scratch one of them with this, and it'd hit them pretty hard –but not as hard as it'd hit a Strigoi. And they won't hurt humans, either."
Rose continued with explaining things to me, and I would clarify or nod or ask a question. Finally, ten minutes before practice, I decided that she'd earned getting to touch it; I didn't want to tease her with a something and then not give it to her.
"Where are you going to put this?" I asked as I took out the stake and handed it to Rose.
"In the heart," she answered with unnecessary attitude, "I already told you that like a hundred times. Can I have it now?"
I smiled, "Where's the heart?"
She gave me the patented Rose Hathaway –Are you fucking serious look and then pointed, with over dramatic emphasis to the left side of the dummy's chest.
Here was the most important thing to know –and she had no idea.
However great I thought she had carried on throughout the lesson caved here, if she didn't know where the heart was, how was she expected to kill a Strigoi?
"That's not where the heart is," I told her.
"Sure it is. People put their hands over their hearts when they say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the national anthem."
I stared at her hoping she would remember her physiology class and take back her idiotic comment.
"It is here?" she asked, pointing to the center of the dummy's chest.
That was definitely not good enough, "I don't know, it is?" I asked. Rose wouldn't appreciate the comment but hey, tough-love –she really should know this.
"That's what I'm asking you!" she shouted with attitude filled in every word. Geeze was she on her period –it's not my fault she doesn't know when to pay attention in class.
"You shouldn't have to ask me. Don't you all have to take physiology?" I asked.
"Yeah. Junior year. I was on 'vacation' remember? Can I please touch it now?" she said, letting that whiney teenager side emerge. I wasn't having any of that though.
"I want you to tell me where the heart is the next time we meet. Exactly where. And I want to know what's in the way of it too." She gave me glare which I think that was supposed to be mean –but honestly –to me she looked like a cute kitten who thought she was a tiger. But that didn't excuse her attitude or her incompetence.
Later I went to bodyguard theory –Rose's period –because there were some Guardians on campus today that were going to share their adventurous stories. I joined because they were always fun to hear...and keeping an eye on Rose didn't hurt either. I then noticed who was there.
Janine Hathaway. For some reason, I felt this wouldn't turn out so well.
Rose and Janine seemed like too loose cannons. And they were about to share the confined space of a classroom.
Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentleman, it's about to be wild ride.
