12. Lockdown

(Mikhail POV)

As soon as I left Sonya's apartment I set off briskly to carry out my orders. Starting at the library and cafeteria I completed a full sweep of the school, checking that all students and staff had returned safely to their rooms before finishing at the chapel on the far side of the grounds.

The priest was still inside, kneeling before a row of candles under the holy statue of Saint Vladimir, and I slowed my pace slightly so as not to startle him.

'Father Andrew,' I placed my hand on his back. 'You need to return to your quarters. There's been an accident with multiple fatalities and the school is in lockdown.'

The old man turned slowly to face me and shook his head. 'I know child – that's why I must stay here to pray for their souls.'

I started to protest but he held a hand up and stood his ground. 'Your job is to protect the living but my task is to shepherd the souls of the departed into the hands of God. You do your job and let me do mine,' he dismissed me authoritively.

I gave him a curt nod before turning to leave – if Father Andrew felt compelled to stay in the chapel I wouldn't be the one to stop him. My immediate responsibility was reporting back to the Captain of the Guard.

As I jogged towards the front gates there was an eerie stillness throughout the school, but when I entered the guard station that served as The Academy's chief security centre it was bustling with activity. Six guardians were already on duty – twice the usual number – fielding phone calls, typing up reports and discussing options for duty roster changes over the next twenty-four hours. Amidst it all I heard the radio crackle to life and everybody quietened down immediately to listen.

'I'm on my way back from the scene now with two wounded. Open the gates and alert Doctor Olendzki to prepare some beds,' Yuri's voice came through urgently, and less than five minutes later his vehicle approached the barrier, barely slowing down as he headed towards the medical centre.

I couldn't make out any details through the heavily tinted windows but I was just glad that there were some survivors. The moment of relief was short-lived, however.

'Mikhail,' Celeste called to me from her post. 'Alberta needs you to join her at the scene of the accident. They are only a mile or so outside the ward-line but it will be quicker if you take one of the Jeeps. Here…' she passed me a folder. 'Stan Alto has already completed his report on the grounds and perimeter, and I've added the latest information from the guardians at each of the gates. You'll need to fill in your statement on securing the buildings then give all of the reports to the captain when you get there.'

I scribbled down a few notes on a blank form and added it to the folder before setting off at a jog towards the underground carpark next to the main administration building. Within five minutes I'd signed for a set of keys from the guardian at the entrance to the carpark and jumped into one of several black SUVs reserved for guardian use, driving out through the main gates, already dreading what I was going to find when I arrived at my destination.

By the time I arrived at the scene of the accident my adrenaline was well and truly pumping. Parking the Jeep behind a pair of guardian vehicles I approached the scene on foot, following the tyre marks to the edge of the asphalt and climbing down a steep embankment at the side of the road until I was in visual range.

Under the illumination of several floodlights, the silver Cadillac Escalade was barely recognisable – just a flimsy frame of twisted metal wrapped around one of the hundreds of trees that lined the narrow road. Its hood had crumpled back on itself as though it was made of cardboard, and a large tree branch had smashed through the windshield. I held back the urge to be sick as my eyes came to rest on the driver who was pinned lifelessly behind the wheel and another body that slumped awkwardly through the broken glass. A third victim, a woman, was hanging out of the open rear door, the tiny charm on her bracelet swinging in the faint breeze. I couldn't believe anybody could have survived such a horrific crash.

'There's another victim on the other side,' Alberta's voice was strained as she walked up to join me. 'The alchemists have asked us to preserve the scene so we can't touch anything until they arrive.'

It felt disrespectful to leave the bodies there, exposed to the cold night air, but I knew the investigators would want us to leave the site undisturbed so they could determine the specific cause of each death.

'Here are the guardian reports from Celeste,' I handed her the folder, turning my back to the carnage. There was nothing I could do to help the people in the car, and looking at them for longer than I needed to would only haunt me later. 'Who are they?' I asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

'Prince Eric Dragomir, his wife Rhea and their son Andre,' she recounted flatly. 'And Guardian Alexander Novak was killed at the wheel.'

It couldn't be worse. The Dragomir line had struggled to flourish in numbers for at least two generations. It was well known that Prince Dragomir's father, Frederick, had chosen not to run for king in order to raise his family, but after their second child died in infancy there were no more heirs. Now, with Andre gone, the only hope of the Dragomir name surviving rested on the shoulders of one person.

'And the girl, Vasilisa?' I asked quickly. She must have been one of the survivors that Yuri had brought to Dr. Olendzki for treatment. If her injuries were serious there was a risk that an entire royal line could be wiped out in one day.

'Princess Vasilisa now,' she corrected me. 'I'm not certain, but I think she will pull through. The guardians following in the second car said they radioed The Academy for help before coming down to check for survivors. By the time they reached the scene they found the princess passed out a few feet from the vehicle, holding the hand of her friend Rosemarie Hathaway. There was blood on their clothing and Princess Vasilisa seemed to have a concussion, but the guardians couldn't detect any serious injuries.

I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way anybody could have walked away from this crash with only minor cuts and scratches. A niggling thought crossed my mind and I studied Alberta's face more closely, remembering that she had a personal connection to Novice Hathaway.

'How is Rosemarie?' I asked her gently.

The old Guardian flinched at the name and when she looked at me she seemed to be holding back tears.

'Thank God she's alright,' she bit her lip. 'I've been friends with Rose's mother Janine since the day she got her promise mark, and I've practically raised that girl as my own. I could never forgive myself if something happened to her on my watch.'

'It sounds like she was very lucky,' I replied, my eyebrows drawn together in a frown as I glanced back to the four who weren't so fortunate.

Alberta nodded gravely then fell silent.

'I knew him – the driver,' I spoke softly, as if my words might disturb the dead. 'We weren't close friends, but the Dragomirs had a permanent residence at Court and our paths crossed often enough. Alex was a good man – a good guardian. I can't understand how he could let this happen?'

A guardian's sole duty was to protect his charge – to have three charges die while under your care was unheard of, and there was bound to be a royal inquest to find out what had gone so horribly wrong. Guardian Novak wasn't married but his mother would suffer terribly when she learned that her son had died a senseless death – taking nearly a whole royal family with him.

'We will have to leave that question to the alchemists,' Alberta replied tiredly, and on cue the sound of tyres on gravel filtered down from the road. The clean-up team had arrived.

Because the accident had happened outside of Academy property the alchemists had jurisdiction over the scene, and they moved in quickly to photograph the vehicle and the victims who were still inside. They kept to themselves, completely ignoring us and the two Dragomir guardians in attendance, and it was at least an hour before one of them approached Alberta to make his report.

I stood close by and observed the man with deep curiosity. Alchemists were a rare organization of human operatives, sworn to keeping our existence a secret from the rest of the human world. Their tattoos were infused with moroi magic and their training equipped them to dispose of physical evidence such as strigoi bodies or, in exceptional cases, to arrange political matters involving moroi or dhampirs. What fascinated me the most about the alchemists was their paradoxical view on vampires; without our existence they would have no purpose, and yet they viewed us with a thinly disguised scepticism, bordering on hatred, like they secretly despised being forced to work with 'unclean' creatures.

The short, neatly dressed man stood a careful distance away from Alberta, fiddling restlessly with his clipboard. 'We have determined that the crash was not a result of alcohol consumption or excessive speed,' he reported.

Well at least that's something, I thought. If Guardian Novak was not deemed to be at fault then he could be given a proper funeral and be remembered in the guardian records with honour.

'Have you found out what did cause the accident?' Alberta asked him in a carefully measured voice.

'I'm surprised you don't already know,' the man arched an eyebrow with disdain. 'Follow me,' he stalked off towards the car without looking back.

Alberta gestured for me to accompany her and we walked over quickly to examine the area that the alchemist indicated. I noticed a splash of metallic red under the hood of the car and threw the man a questioning look.

'Motorbike,' he said matter-of-factly. 'The driver's underneath. I'm afraid you've left us with quite a bit of paperwork.'

I clenched my fists and breathed deeply to control myself. Five people were dead in front of us and all he was concerned about was red tape?

'Thank you for your time,' Captain Petrov replied, only managing to thinly veil the anger in her voice. 'What do you plan to do with the bodies?'

'We will return the three moroi to the morgue at the Royal Court and make… arrangements for the rider. The dhampir is yours as soon as we've cleared the vehicle,' he said dismissively, leaving without another word.

'That piece of sh–.… ' I began, but Alberta stopped me with a raised hand.

'He's just doing his job Mikhail,' she told me wearily. 'You should head back to The Academy and let the rest of the team know what's going on. I need to stay and speak to the Dragomir guardians before they are cleared to leave. Yuri is on his way back with the other car so I won't be here alone. We will take custody of Guardian Novak's body and return with him as soon as we can.'

I didn't feel like going back to St. Vladimir's but I followed her orders without question, taking one last glance at the devastation before trudging up the embankment to the Jeep and driving steadily back to school, mentally going over the key information so I could give Celeste and her team an update when I arrived.

When the briefing meeting was over I glanced down at my watch – it was only a little past midnight but it felt like I'd been awake for days. I walked slowly back to my quarters, planning on taking a nap or at least making myself a very large coffee, when I suddenly remembered Sonya. It had been over four hours since I'd promised to let her know what was happening – she must be out of her mind with worry. I quickened my pace and took the stairs to her apartment two at a time then waited for her to answer my knock at the door.

Author's Note:

I couldn't really find any details of the crash in the books, and I wasn't particularly impressed with the movie's version (i.e. an entire family of royals driving themselves in a crappy old car without any guards – what the?!)

When I was describing the accident I didn't want it to be too graphic – I hope you can use your imagination to fill in the details (blood, broken bones, etc.). I did have fun working the alchemists into the scene – one of Richelle Mead's best concepts in my opinion.

I considered lots of different reasons why the crash might have happened – hitting a wild animal, intention engine sabotage to cause royal deaths for political gain, maybe even Andre being a learner driver and taking a corner too fast – but in the end the motorbike scenario seemed to fit best.