So after completing a second chapter for this series, I've decided that I'm going to continue with it. Writing Strigoi Rose and Dimitri was just way too much fun, and I also have a lot planned for Lissa and Adrian.

I do not own Vampire Academy, or any of its characters. All rights go to Richelle Mead.

APOV

Avery was a spirit user.

I had been preparing to turn the full force of my powers on whoever had tried to interfere with my work, but hadn't been prepared to find Avery standing behind me. I most certainly hadn't expected to find a golden aura radiating from her either. A person's aura was one of the few things that allowed me to distinguish spirit users from the rest of the Moroi population. Lissa's, and I assumed my own, both shared similar qualities; they were bright and full of life, streaked with other colors. Avery's aura was definitely gold, but there was something wrong with it. The brightness flickered, like a lightbulb with only a few minutes of juice left in it. Something was off about the expression she wore on her face too. Her normally pretty and demure features were distorted by rage and disgust.

"You shouldn't have done that, Adrian," she said, shaking her head as she spoke.

"Done what? I saved Lissa's life! You let her jump out of a window for Christ's sake! What were you two thinking?"

The magic swirling within me had begun to die down, but roared to life when I mentioned Lissa's death.

Lissa.

Avery's sudden appearance had nearly caused me to forget what had happened just moments earlier. I whipped around and nearly sagged in relief when I noticed her stirring on the ground below me. I ran over and knelt by her side. She was pale, even for a Moroi, but she was breathing. Breathing was enough for me, for right now.

"What's going on here?"

I looked up to find Reed standing next to Avery.

"Why are you two just standing there," I yelled. "Go find help!"

They both ignored my question, instead Reed starting spewing out a bunch of bullshit.

"Are you sure that will work? Both of them?"

What the hell? What was he even talking about, what –

There. I could see it in their auras. They were bonded, how could I have been so stupid? I recognized the same phenomenon that I had witnessed take place between Rose and Lissa on multiple occasions; the transfer of darkness between bond-mates. What was happening here? Why would she have gone to such lengths to cover up her abilities, and why was she so angry now?

"Can we handle both of them?" Asked Reed.

"Simon will be here soon," she told him matter-of-factly.

Something was wrong. I heard Lissa's breathing beside me become more rapid and shallow. I had healed the worst of her injuries, but what if it wasn't enough? I had to get her out of here, and it didn't seem like the Lazaar siblings were going to be any help. In fact, their reactions to the current situation made me think they were going to do the opposite of help. I slipped my arms beneath Lissa's frail frame and attempted to lift her into the air. I had considered myself pretty well built for a Moroi up until this moment, but lifting the dead weight of a teenage girl turned out to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I settled for dragging her towards the entrance of the nearest building.

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," Avery had made her way over to me.

She bent down, locking eyes with my own.

"Stop it, Adrian. She's fine."

Was she right? Was Lissa fine? I looked down at the girl in my arms. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted as tiny gasps attempted to escape them. Lissa was not fine, why was Avery lying to me? She had lied to me about everything, how had I believed a word she'd said?

Compulsion.

I snapped my eyes shut, realizing that Avery's deceit ran much deeper than what I had been able to figure out so far. I continued to drag Lissa's body toward the door, but it was a slow going process. I didn't know what Avery's intentions were, but they weren't good. So I did the only thing I could think of. I started screaming.

"Help! Strigoi, there's a Strigoi on campus!"

It was a lie. But I figured it would be the quickest way to call anyone to action. I only hoped that it would be a guardian.

As it happened, a guardian did come. I felt a strong hand clamp over my mouth, muffling my shouts.

"Simon! There you are! We don't have a lot of time, this idiot has nearly ruined everything," Avery said, gesturing in my direction.

I struggled against Simon's hold, but it was no use. I felt Lissa stir in my arms, and I tried not to think about whether or not either of us would survive the night.

"What are you doing? Release him!"

I never thought I would ever be happy to see Guardian Alto, but right now, I could have kissed him. He had given Rose a hard time on a number of occasions and was just an overall unpleasant person to be around. He had come running from around the corner of one of the buildings that contained guest housing, probably on perimeter patrol.

I felt Simon twitch from behind me. His muscles were tensed and he seemed like he wanted to release me, but couldn't.

"Stand down!" Shouted Alto.

Avery whipped her head around to stare at where Alto now stood. She was going to compel him, I realized. I could feel her channeling her powers into compulsion, and at the same time, I felt Simon's grasp on me falter. She was drawing strength from Simon too. Holy hell, was there anyone left on campus that Avery wasn't bonded to? It didn't matter, I seized the opportunity. I let Lissa slip from my grasp and whirled around to meet Simon's gaze head on.

"Go to sleep!" I shouted, mustering every ounce of spirit I could manage.

Healing Lissa had drained me, but despite that expense of power, I could feel spirit and adrenaline coursing throughout my body. Simon's eyes had begun to glaze over but I could feel him fighting the compulsion, so I repeated the command, drawing on even more power. Simon's eyes fluttered, and then shut completely as he slumped to the ground.

I heard Avery let out a scream from some where behind me. Apparently her attempt at using compulsion on Alto hadn't gone over very well. That must have prompted Reed to attack Alto, but it hadn't gone his way. He now lay sprawled on the ground, with his arms pinned behind his back.

"Stop resisting! I want to let you go, but I need to know you're not going to try anything like that again."

The man was obviously confused. He was used to protecting Moroi, not dodging their flimsy attacks. Avery looked up, having realized I had incapacitated Simon. She was livid.

"You!" She screeched. "We could have had everything! You did this!"

Her aura flared to life as she strode toward me, she was brimming with spirit and was preparing to unleash it in full force. I prepared to do the same, but realized my magic supply was all but depleted. I summoned what I could and locked eyes with Avery, preparing to battle it out. She should have overpowered me almost immediately, but to my surprise I was able to hold my own. She was trying to compel me to sleep, but it wasn't working. I was trying to do the same and soon Avery was gritting her teeth as she struggled to fight my control. I was strong, much stronger than I should have been. From some where in my peripheries, I noticed that some one had come to stand beside me.

Lissa.

She was drawing on her own powers to compel Avery, but to do what, I wasn't sure. I could feel the magic swelling within Lissa, but it was different magic. Darker magic. There was none of the warmth that I usually felt when some one used spirit around me. Lissa took another step toward Avery, she was practically vibrating as the magic pulsed through her. She stared down at Avery, and with that one look, Avery fell to her knees.

She brought her hands up to either side of her head and let out a blood-curdling scream. Reed started screaming too, and Alto quickly released his hold on the young Moroi. Behind me, Simon was thrashing. Their screams filled the air, and then as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. Avery just sat there, wide eyed and dumbfounded. Both Reed and Simon had stopped moving. Alto looked just as confused as Avery, but I had no time to deal with either of them. I had barely enough time to rush forward as Lissa collapsed into my arms.