I'll read next," Olena smiled at Sonja. The book was quickly passed on to her, Olena took a breath. she like everyone else wasn't in the mood to read, but she wanted to get past the bad parts of the book.
Twelve
I WAS OUT OF BED in a flash. We found the entire lodge abuzz with the news. People clustered in small groups in the halls. Family members sought each other out. Some conversations were conducted in terrified whispers; some were loud and easy to overhear. I stopped a few people, trying to get the story straight. Everyone had a different version of what had happened, though, and some wouldn't even pause to talk.
"That is another problem," Alberta shook her head, she didn't understand why it was so hard for people to just stick with one story.
They hurried past, either seeking out loved ones or preparing to leave the resort, convinced there might be a safer place elsewhere. Frustrated with the differing stories, I finally -reluctantly-knew I had to seek out one of the two sources who would give me solid information. My mother or Dimitri.
"Smart move," Ivan nodded.
It was like flipping a coin. I wasn't really thrilled with either one of them right now. I debated momentarily and finally decided on my mother, seeing as how she wasn't getting it on with Tasha Ozera.
Adrian, Mason and Christian laughed at Dimitri while Ivan just hit Dimitri again.
The door to my mother's room was ajar, and as Lissa and I entered, I saw that a sort of makeshift headquarters had been established here. Lots of guardians were milling around, moving in and out, and discussing strategy.
"Well, that is nothing new," Abe and Alberta shook their heads at Janine.
A few gave us odd looks, but no one stopped or questioned us.
"Why?" Christian asked looking at Janine,
"They had more pressing matters, so two teens weren't a problem," Alberta sighed.
Lissa and I slid onto a small sofa to listen to a conversation my mother was having. She stood with a group of guardians, one of whom was Dimitri. So much for avoiding him. His brown eyes glanced at me briefly and I averted my gaze.
"Oh, that must have hurt," Ivan smirked.
I didn't want to deal with my troubled feelings for him right now. Lissa and I soon discerned the details. Eight Moroi had been killed along with their five guardians.
Olena froze, no one knew what to say or to do. They didn't know what they were going to do with the information that Strigoi were working in larger groups with humans as well.
Three Moroi were missing, either dead or turned Strigoi. The attack hadn't really happened near here; it had been somewhere in northern California. Nonetheless, a tragedy like this couldn't help but reverberate within the Moroi world, and for some, two states away was far too close.
Everyone nodded understanding how worried everyone would have been.
People were terrified, and I soon learned what in particular made this attack so notable. "There had to be more than last time," said my mother. "More?" exclaimed one of the other guardians. "That last group was unheard of. I still can't believe nine Strigoi managed to work together -you expect me to believe they managed to get more organized still?" "Yes," snapped my mother. "Any evidence of humans?" someone else asked. My mother hesitated, then: "Yes. More broken wards. And the way it was all conducted...it's identical to the Badica attack."
"This is not good," Tatiana said worried for her subjects. Alberta and Dimitri were making notes about the attack hoping that they would be able to find a way to prevent it from happening.
Her voice was hard, but there was a kind of weariness in it, too. It wasn't physical exhaustion, though. It was mental, I realized. Strain and hurt over what they were talking about. I always thought of my mother as some sort of unfeeling killing machine, but this was clearly hard for her. It was a hard, ugly matter to discuss …
Everyone nodded, Abe looked at Janine sadly before looking away. He knew that being a guardian was hard and he loved her for being so fearless, but he was still mad at her.
-but at the same time, she was tackling it without hesitation. It was her duty. A lump formed in my throat that I quickly swallowed down. Humans. Identical to the Badica attack. Ever since that massacre, we'd extensively analyzed the oddity of such a large group of Strigoi teaming up and recruiting humans. We'd spoken in vague terms about "if something like this ever happens again ..."
"And now it was happening again. This is not going to end well," Alberta shook her head. Abe nodded looking at Tatiana wondering how she was going to handle this siltation.
But no one had seriously talked about this group -the Badica killers-doing it again. One time was a fluke-maybe a bunch of Strigoi had happened to gather and impulsively decided to go on a raid. It was horrible, but we could write that off. But now...now it looked as though that group of Strigoi hadn't been a random occurrence. They'd united with purpose, utilized humans strategically, and had attacked again. We now had what could be a pattern: Strigoi actively seeking out large groups of prey. Serial killings. We could no longer trust the protective magic of the wards.
That was the one thing that made everyone the most worried. Their society had grown to use to the wards, they depended on the wards just as much as the guardians, and now not only were they losing their guardians but their wards as well.
We couldn't even trust sunlight. Humans could move around in the day, scouting and sabotaging. The light was no longer safe. I remembered what I'd said to Dimitri at the Badica house: This changes everything, doesn't it? My mother flipped through some papers on a clipboard. "They don't have forensic details yet, but the same number of Strigoi couldn't have done this. None of the Drozdovs or their staff escaped. With five guardians, seven Strigoi would have been preoccupied -at least temporarily-for some to escape. We're looking at nine or ten, maybe."
Everyone moved closer together, scared.
"Janine's right," said Dimitri. "And if you look at the venue...it's too big. Seven couldn't have covered it." The Drozdovs were one of the twelve royal families. They were large and prosperous, not like Lissa's dying clan. They had plenty of family members to go around, but obviously, an attack like this was still horrible. Furthermore, something about them tickled my brain. There was something I should remember ... something I should know about the Drozdovs.
"What now?" Abe asked worriedly, but no one could answer him.
While part of my mind puzzled that out, I watched my mother with fascination. I'd listened to her tell her stories. I'd seen and felt her fight. But really, truly, I'd never seen her in action in a real-life crisis. She showed every bit of that hard control she did around me, but here, I could see how necessary it was. A situation like this created panic. Even among the guardians, I could sense those who were so keyed up that they wanted to do something drastic. My mother was a voice of reason, a reminder that they had to stay focused and fully assess the situation.
All eyes were on Janine, they didn't know what to say or to do. They were just thankful that she was there keeping everyone calm and showing Rose how to act. They just wished Janine had never hit Rose because most of them were still mad about that.
Her composure calmed everybody; her strong manner inspired them. This, I realized, was how a leader behaved. Dimitri was just as collected as she was, but he deferred to her to run things.
"Well, she's older and has more experience," Dimitri said before anyone could ask why.
I had to remind myself sometimes that he was young as far as guardians went. They discussed the attack more, how the Drozdovs had been having a belated Christmas party in a banquet hall when they were attacked. "First Badicas, now Drozdovs," muttered one guardian. "They're going after royals."
"That is nothing new," Ivan shook his head. He got the feeling that they were missing something.
"They're going after Moroi," said Dimitri flatly. "Royal. Non-royal. It doesn't matter." Royal. Non-royal. I suddenly knew why the Drozdovs were important. My spontaneous instincts wanted me to jump up and ask a question right now, but I knew better. This was the real deal. This was no time for irrational behavior.
Janine, Abe, Alberta and Dimitri smiled proudly while Ivan wondered what would have happened if Rose had acted that way.
I wanted to be as strong as my mother and Dimitri, so I waited for the discussion to end. When the group started to break up, I leapt up off the sofa and pushed my way toward my mother. "Rose," she said, surprised. Like in Stan's class, she hadn't noticed me in the room.
"Well, she is getting good at sneaking around," Abe smiled proud of his daughter.
"What are you doing here?" It was such a stupid question,
"Agreed," everyone said at the same time.
I didn't try to answer it. What did she think I was doing here? This was one of the biggest things to happen to the Moroi. I pointed to her clipboard. "Who else was killed?" Irritation wrinkled her forehead. "Drozdovs." "But who else?" "Rose, we don't have time -" "They had staff, right? Dimitri said non-royals. Who were they?" Again, I saw the weariness in her. She took these deaths hard.
"All guardians do," Alberta shook her head.
"I don't know all the names." Flipping through a few pages, she turned the clipboard toward me. "There." I scanned the list. My heart sank.
"Who is she looking for?" Alberta questioned, she couldn't remember Rose being friends with any of the Drozdovs or their servants.
"Okay," I told her. "Thanks." Lissa and I left them to go about their business. I wished I could have helped, but the guardians ran smoothly and efficiently on their own; they had no need for novices underfoot. "What was that about?" asked Lissa once we were heading back to the main part of the lodge. "The Drozdovs' staff," I said. "Mia's mom worked for them..."
"Oh," everyone said shocked.
Lissa gasped. "And?" I sighed. "And her name was on the list." "Oh God." Lissa stopped walking. She stared off into space, blinking back tears. "Oh God," she repeated. I moved in front of her and placed my hands on her shoulders. She was shaking. "It's okay," I said. Her fear came to me in waves, but it was a numbed fear. Shock. "It's going to be okay." "You heard them," she said. "There's a band of Strigoi organizing and attacking us! How many? Are they coming here?"
"Well, that took a while to sink in," Ivan said worried, he didn't want to see what would happen if Lissa freaked out.
"Yeah, but Rose is going to handle it. She always handles Lissa's little episodes," Mason said wondering how the guardians were going to handle the attacks.
"No," I said firmly. I had no evidence of that, of course. "We're safe here." "Poor Mia ..." There was nothing I could say to that. I thought Mia was an absolute bitch, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone, not even my worst enemy -which, technically, she was.
"Well, she is a lot more mature than I was," Abe said thinking back to when he was Rose's age. Alberta was going to say that Rose had Dimitri in her life, but she had a feeling that Abe would not handle that fact well.
Immediately, I corrected that thought. Mia wasn't my worst enemy. I couldn't bear to leave Lissa's side for the rest of the day. I knew there were no Strigoi lurking in the lodge, but my protective instincts ran too strong. Guardians protected their Moroi.
"No that is the bond," Mark smiled, looking at Oksana lovingly.
Like usual, I also worried about her being anxious and upset, so I did my best to diffuse those feelings.
"Well Rose could have used Christian for that," Mason and Eddie chuckled.
The other guardians provided reassurance for Moroi too. They didn't walk side by side with the Moroi, but they reinforced lodge security and stayed in constant communication with guardians at the scene of the attack.
"That is good," Alberta breathed, relieved that they had been able to avoid a panic.
Information flowed in all day about the grisly specifics, as well as speculation about where the band of Strigoi was. Little of this was shared with novices, of course. While the guardians did what they did best, the Moroi also did what they -unfortunately-did best: talk.
"Well, that is insulting," Adrian glared at the book,
"But it's true," Abe smirked at him.
With so many royals and other important Moroi at the lodge, a meeting was organized that night to discuss what had happened and what might be done in the future. Nothing official would be decided here; the Moroi had a queen and a governing council elsewhere for those types of decisions.
"But the Queen would hear about it," Christian said looking at Tatiana who just nodded.
Everyone knew, though, that opinions gathered here would make their way up the chain of command. Our future safety could very well depend on what was discussed in this meeting.
"Now that is a terrifying thought," Mason and Eddie said at the same time.
It was held in an enormous banquet hall inside the lodge, one with a podium and plenty of seating. Despite the businesslike atmosphere, you could tell this room had been designed for things other than meetings about massacres and defense.
That got a few smiled.
The carpet had the texture of velvet and showed an ornate floral design in shades of silver and black. The chairs were made of black polished wood and had high backs, clearly intended for fancy dining. Paintings of long-dead Moroi royalty hung on the walls. I stared briefly at one of a queen whose name I didn't know. She wore an old-fashioned dress -too heavy on lace for my tastes-and had pale hair like Lissa's.
"What are the chances that she was one of Lissa's ancestors?" Eddie asked
"Not much, light hair is not just a Dragomir trait," Tatiana said thinking about it. There had been many Dragomir kings and queens but Rose's description was too vague to be sure.
Some guy I didn't know was in charge of moderating and stood at the podium. Most of the royals on hand gathered at the front of the room. Everyone else, including students, took seats wherever they could. Christian and Mason had found Lissa and me by that point, and we all started to sit in the back when Lissa suddenly shook her head. "I'm going to sit in the front." The three of us stared at her. I was too dumbfounded to probe her mind. "Look." She pointed. "The royals are sitting up there, sitting by family." It was true. Members of the same clans had clustered near each other: Badicas, Ivashkovs, Zekloses, etc. Tasha sat there as well, but she was by herself. Christian was the only other Ozera there. "I need to be up there," said Lissa. "No one expects you to be there," I told her. "I have to represent the Dragomirs."
Tatiana nodded proudly, she just hoped that Christian would stay by Rose or his aunt.
Christian scoffed. "It's all a bunch of royal bullshit."
Tatiana glared at Christian who looked proud of himself. Abe nodded agreeing with Christian.
Her face set into a determined expression. "I need to be up there." I opened myself up to Lissa's feelings and liked what I found. She'd spent most of the day quiet and afraid, much as she had when we'd found out about Mia's mom. That fear was within her still, but it was overpowered by a steady confidence and determination. She recognized that she was one of the ruling Moroi, and as much as the idea of roving bands of Strigoi scared her, she wanted to do her part.
"It's good to see that a little bit of Rose is finally rubbing off on Lissa," Alberta smiled
"What do you mean?" Tatiana demanded
"Lissa is becoming stronger, more confident in herself and it's because of Rose. She has always shown Lissa how, now finally Lissa is seeing it," Alberta explained.
"You should do it," I said softly. I also liked the idea of her defying Christian.
Christian glared at the book as Adrian chuckled.
Lissa met my eyes and smiled. She knew what I had sensed. A moment later, she turned to Christian. "You should join your aunt." Christian opened his mouth to protest. If not for the horribleness of the situation, seeing Lissa order him around would have been funny. He was always stubborn and difficult; those who tried to push him didn't succeed.
"Another thing you and Rose have in common," Ivan smirked at Christian who looked like he hated the idea of having anything in common with Rose.
Watching his face, I saw the same realization I'd had about Lissa come over him. He liked seeing her strong too.
"Not a word," Christian glared pointing his one finger at Adrian who was about to say something. Adrian looked at the finger pointed at him and laughed.
He pressed his lips together in a grimace. "Okay." He caught her hand, and the two of them walked off toward the front. Mason and I sat down. Just before things started, Dimitri sat down on the other side of me, hair tied behind his neck and the leather coat draping around him as he settled in the chair.
"Jealous?" Ivan asked looking innocently at, Dmitri who just glared at him.
"He probably just wanted to reassure himself that Rose was fine," Karolina smiled at her brother who was still glaring at his chuckling best friend.
I glanced at him in surprise but said nothing. There were few guardians at this gathering; most were too busy doing damage control. It would figure. There I was, stuck between both of my men.
A few chuckled were heard while Abe and Adrian just glared at Mason and Dimitri.
The meeting kicked off shortly thereafter. Everyone was eager to talk about how they thought the Moroi should be saved, but really, two theories got the most attention. "The answer's all around us," said one royal, once he'd been given leave to speak. He stood by his chair and looked around the room. "Here. In places like this lodge. And St. Vladimir's. We send our children to safe places, places where they have safety in numbers and can be easily guarded. And look how many of us made it here, children and adults alike. Why don't we live this way all the time?"
"Because not everyone gets along, and there would be too many fights between the royals and non-royals," Abe shook his head.
"Plenty of us already do," someone shouted back. The man waved that off. "A couple of families here and there. Or a town with a large Moroi population. But those Moroi are still decentralized. Most don't pool their resources -their guardians, their magic. If we could emulate this model..." He spread his hands out. "... we'd never have to worry about Strigoi again."
"Let's not forget how big of a target that would make," Dimitri shook his head.
"And Moroi could never interact with the rest of the world again," I muttered. "Well, until humans discovered secret vampire cities sprouting up in the wilderness. Then we'd have lots of interactions." The other theory about how to protect the Moroi involved fewer logistical problems but had greater personal impact - particularly for me. "The problem is simply that we don't have enough guardians."
"And who's fault was that," All the guardians in the room asked at the same time.
This plan's advocate was some woman from the Szelsky clan. "And so, the answer is simple: get more. The Drozdovs had five guardians, and that wasn't enough. Only six to protect over a dozen Moroi! That's unacceptable. It's no wonder these kinds of things keep happening." "Where do you propose getting more guardians from?" asked the man who'd been in favor of Moroi banding together. "They're kind of a limited resource." She pointed to where I and a few other novices sat.
"Oh, she better not, their still kids," Alberta glared at the book. Tatiana tilted her head to the side like she had heard an interesting idea.
"We've got plenty already. I've watched them train. They're deadly. Why are we waiting until they turn eighteen? If we accelerated the training program and focused more on combat training than bookwork, we could turn out new guardians when they're sixteen."
Mason and Eddie nodded agreeing with the book while the guardians in the room looked horrified at the idea.
Dimitri made a sound low in his throat that didn't seem happy. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands, eyes narrowed in thought. "Not only that, we have plenty of potential guardians going to waste. Where are all the dhampir women? Our races are intertwined. The Moroi are doing their part to help the dhampirs survive.
"Sure," All the Belikov woman said at the same time.
Why aren't these women doing theirs? Why aren't they here?" A long, sultry laugh came as an answer. All eyes turned toward Tasha Ozera.
Dimitri and Christian smiled while Ivan just glared at the book.
Whereas many of the other royals had dressed up, she was easy and casual. She wore her usual jeans, a white tank top that showed a bit of midriff, and a blue, lacy knit cardigan that came to her knees. Glancing at the moderator, she asked, "May I?" He nodded. The Szelsky woman sat down; Tasha stood up. Unlike the other speakers, she strode right up to the podium, so she could be clearly seen by everyone. Her glossy black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, completely exposing her scars in a way I suspected was intentional.
"To show strength," Christian smiled proud of his aunt. Tatiana was glaring at the book hoping that Tasha wasn't going to do something she would disapprove of.
Her face was bold and defiant. Beautiful.
Everyone looked at the book questioningly. They wanted to ask but had no idea how.
"Those women aren't here, Monica, because they're too busy raising their children -you know, the ones you want to start sending out to the fronts as soon as they can walk. And please don't insult us all by acting like the Moroi do a huge favor to the dhampirs by helping them reproduce. Maybe it's different in your family, but for the rest of us, sex is fun. The Moroi doing it with dhampirs aren't really making that big of a sacrifice."
"I hate to agree with her but she is right," Ivan said pained. He hated agreeing with Tasha and here she was making sense.
Dimitri had straightened up now, his expression no longer angry. Probably he was excited that his new girlfriend had mentioned sex.
It was fair to say Dimitri got another hit for that.
Irritation shot through me, and I hoped that if I had a homicidal look on my face, people would assume it was for Strigoi and not the woman currently addressing us. Beyond Dimitri, I suddenly noticed Mia sitting by herself, farther down the row. I hadn't realized she was here. She was slumped in her seat. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face paler than usual.
"Poor girl," Alberta said feeling bad for Mia, she didn't like her but that didn't mean she wanted her to lose family.
A funny ache burned in my chest, one I'd never expected her to bring about. "And the reason we're waiting for these guardians to turn eighteen is so that we can allow them to enjoy some pretense of a life before forcing them to spend the rest of their days in constant danger. They need those extra years to develop mentally as well as physically. Pull them out before they're ready, treat them like they're parts on an assembly line -and you're just creating Strigoi fodder."
Tatiana glared at the book but accepted what Tasha was saying. And at that moment Tasha got a few more people to like her.
A few people gasped at Tasha's callous choice of words, but she succeeded in getting everyone's attention. "You create more fodder still if you try making the other dhampir women become guardians. You can't force them into that life if they don't want it. This entire plan of yours to get more guardians relies on throwing children and the unwilling into harm's way, just so you can -barely-stay one step ahead of the enemy. I would have said it's the stupidest plan I've ever heard, if I hadn't already had to listen to his."
Almost everyone was happy that Tasha had taken the podium, they were just hoping that whatever plan she had would be well received.
She pointed at the first speaker, the one who had wanted Moroi compounds. Embarrassment clouded his features. "Enlighten us then, Natasha," he said. "Tell us what you think we should do, seeing as you have so much experience with Strigoi." A thin smile played on Tasha's lips, but she didn't rise to the insult.
"She better not do that I think she's going to do," Tatiana warned the book, while Christian hoped she would do it.
"What do I think?" She strode closer to the stage's front, gazing at us as she answered his question. "I think we should stop coming up with plans that involve us relying on someone or something to protect us. You think there are too few guardians? That's not the problem. The problem is there are too many Strigoi.
Everyone nodded.
And we've let them multiply and become more powerful because we do nothing about them except have stupid arguments like this. We run and hide behind the dhampirs and let the Strigoi go unchecked. It's our fault. We are the reason those Drozdovs died. You want an army? Well, here we are. Dhampirs aren't the only ones who can learn to fight. The question, Monica, isn't where the dhampir women are in this fight. The question is: Where are we?"
Tatiana looked about ready to kill. Abe and Christian nodded agreeing with Tasha while everyone else just sat forward eager to see how the audience would react.
Tasha was shouting by now, and the exertion turned her cheeks pink. Her eyes shone with her impassioned feelings, and when combined with the rest of her pretty features -and even with the scar-she made a striking figure. Most people couldn't take their eyes off her. Lissa watched Tasha with wonder, inspired by her words.
Christian smiled proud of his aunt.
Mason looked hypnotized. Dimitri looked impressed. And farther past him ... Farther past him was Mia. Mia no longer hunched in her chair. She was sitting up straight, straight as a stick, her eyes as wide as they could go. She stared at Tasha as though she alone held all the answers to life.
"Well, that is a troubling thought," Janine and Alberta said at the same time.
Monica Szelsky looked less awed, and she fixed her gaze on Tasha. "Surely you aren't suggesting the Moroi fight alongside the guardians when the Strigoi come?" Tasha regarded her levelly. "No. I'm suggesting the Moroi and the guardians go fight the Strigoi before they come." A guy in his twenties who looked like a Ralph Lauren spokesmodel shot up. I would have wagered money he was royal. No one else could have afforded blond highlights that perfect.
"Most likely," Adrian nodded thinking about it.
He untied an expensive sweater from around his waist and draped it over the back of his chair. "Oh," he said in a mocking voice, speaking out of turn. "So, you're going to just give us clubs and stakes and send us off to do battle?" Tasha shrugged. "If that's what it takes, Andrew, then sure." A sly smile crossed her pretty lips. "But there are other weapons we can learn to use, too. Ones the guardians can't." The look on his face showed how insane he thought that idea was. He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Like what?"
Tatiana glared at the book while almost everyone else was smiling hoping that Tasha was going to do what they hoped she would.
Her smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "Like this." She waved her hand, and the sweater he'd placed on the back of his chair burst into flames. He yelped in surprise and knocked it to the floor, stamping it out with his feet. There was a brief, collective intake of breath throughout the room. And then ... chaos broke out.
"Done," Olena smiled closing the book.
"Lunchtime," Karolina smiled picking up Paul. Everyone got up and went to the kitchen, this time the men had to make the lunch while the woman kept them company.
~~~~
Everyone took their seats and looked around, they were in a better mood now than before, no one was looking forward to reading the rest of the book. Mason got up and took the book before sitting back down.
Thirteen
PEOPLE STOOD UP AND SHOUTED, everyone wanting their opinion to be heard. As it was, most of them held the same view: Tasha was wrong.
Tatiana nodded agreeing with the book while Christian simply glared at her.
They told her she was crazy. They told her that in sending out Moroi and dhampirs to fight the Strigoi, she'd be expediting the extinction of both races. They even had the nerve to suggest that that was Tasha's plan all along -that she was somehow collaborating with the Strigoi in all of this. Dimitri stood up, disgust all over his features as he surveyed the chaos.
Christian glared at the book, while Dimitri wanted to hit someone. Ivan was torn, he had no love for Tasha but he couldn't imagine her working with the Strigoi.
"You might as well leave. Nothing useful's going to happen now." Mason and I rose, but he shook his head when I started to follow Dimitri out. "You go on," said Mason. "I want to check something out." I glanced at the standing, arguing people. I shrugged. "Good luck." I couldn't believe it had only been a few days since I'd spoken to Dimitri.
Ivan hit Dimitri over the head.
"What was that for? I didn't even do anything this time around," Dimitri complained rubbing his head.
"You didn't go and talk to her," was all Ivan said.
Stepping out into the hall with him, I felt like it'd been years. Being with Mason these last couple of days had been fantastic, but seeing Dimitri again, all of my old feelings for him came rushing back. Suddenly, Mason seemed like a child. My distress over the Tasha situation also came back, and stupid words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"This is going to be fun," Adrian commented with a mischievous smile on his face. At that moment Ivan also wanted to hit Rose, while Alberta merely shook her head.
"Shouldn't you be in there protecting Tasha?" I asked. "Before the mob gets her? She's going to get in big trouble for using magic like that." He raised an eyebrow. "She can take care of herself." "Yeah, yeah, because she's a badass karate magic user. I get all that. I just figured since you're going to be her guardian and all..." "Where did you hear that?" "I have my sources." Somehow, saying I'd heard it from my mom sounded less cool.
Victoria snorted, covering her mouth as she laughed. Janine smiled while Abe just shook his head.
"You've decided to, right? I mean, it sounds like a good deal, seeing as she's going to give you fringe benefits..." He gave me a level look. "What happens between her and me is none of your business," he replied crisply. The words between her and me stung. It sounded like he and Tasha were a done deal. And, as it often happened when I was hurt, my temper and attitude took over.
"Sound like you," Alberta said looking at Abe who smiled, eager to see what Rose was going to do to Dimitri. Abe loved it when Rose would act more like him because it made him feel more connected to Rose.
"Well, I'm sure you guys'll be happy together. She's just your type, too -I know how much you like women who aren't your own age. I mean, she's what, six years older than you? Seven? And I'm seven years younger than you." "Yes," he said after several moments of silence. "You are. And every second this conversation goes on, you only prove how young you really are."
"Good, then move on," Abe smiled at Dimitri who was just shaking his head at his book counterpart.
Whoa. My jaw almost hit the floor. Not even my mother punching me had hurt as badly as that. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw regret in his eyes, like he too realized just how harsh his words had been. But the moment passed, and his expression was hard once more. "Little dhampir," a voice suddenly said nearby. Slowly, still stunned, I turned toward Adrian Ivashkov.
"That is a nice nickname," Adrian smiled while Abe and Dimitri glared at him. The Belikov woman just sat back and enjoyed the glaring show.
He grinned at me and gave a brief nod of acknowledgment to Dimitri. I suspected my face was bright red. How much had Adrian heard? He held up his hands in a casual gesture. "I don't want to interrupt or anything. Just wanted to talk to you when you have time."
"No, you should turn around and walk away," Dimitri glared at Adrian who just winked at him.
I wanted to tell Adrian I didn't have time to play whatever game he was into now, but Dimitri's words still smarted. He was looking at Adrian now in a very disapproving way. I suspected he, like everyone else, had heard about Adrian's bad reputation.
Dimitri nodded, he didn't want Adrian near his Roza or his sisters.
Good, I thought. I suddenly wanted him to be jealous. I wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt me lately. Swallowing my pain, I unearthed my man-eating smile, one I hadn't used to full effect in sometime. I walked over to Adrian and put a hand on his arm. "I've got time now." I gave a nod of my own to Dimitri and steered Adrian away, walking close to him.
Smirked, he knew Rose was using him but he loved the look of betrayal on Dimitri's face at the moment.
"See you later, Guardian Belikov." Dimitri's dark eyes followed us stonily. Then I turned away and didn't look back. "Not into older guys, huh?" asked Adrian once we were alone. "You're imagining things," I said. "Clearly, my stunning beauty has clouded your mind."
"Definitely," Adrian smiled.
He laughed that nice laugh of his. "That's entirely possible." I started to step back, but he tossed an arm around me. "No, no, you wanted to play chummy with me –now you've got to see it through." I rolled my eyes at him and let the arm stay. I could smell alcohol on him as well as the perpetual smell of cloves. I wondered if he was drunk now.
"Definitely," Adrian nodded.
"Nope I like you more than I like him," Abe said pointing at Dimitri then Adrian.
I had the feeling that there was probably little difference between his attitudes drunk or sober. "What do you want?" I asked. He studied me for a moment. "I want you to grab Vasilisa and come with me. We're going to have some fun. You'll probably want a swimsuit too." He seemed disappointed by the admission of this. "Unless you want to go naked."
Abe glared at Adrian while Dimitri looked like he was about ready to kill him.
"Dude what the hell she has a boyfriend, back off," Mason glared at Adrian.
"What? A bunch of Moroi and dhampirs just got slaughtered, and you want to go swimming and 'have fun'?" "It's not just swimming," he said patiently. "Besides, that slaughter is exactly why you should go do this." Before I could argue that, I saw my friends round the corner: Lissa, Mason, and Christian. Eddie Castile was with the group, which shouldn't have surprised me, but Mia was as well -which certainly did surprise me.
"Oh hell no, you should leave that girl behind, she is nothing but trouble," Alberta shook her head, she didn't want to imagine what would happen if Mia joined their group.
They were deep in conversation, though they all stopped talking when they saw me. "There you are," said Lissa, a puzzled look on her face. I remembered Adrian's arm was still around me. I stepped out of it. "Hey, guys," I said. A moment of awkwardness hung around us, and I was pretty sure I heard a low chuckle from Adrian. I beamed at him and then my friends. "Adrian invited us to go swimming." They stared at me in surprise, and I could almost see the wheels of speculation turning in their heads. Mason's face darkened a little, but like the others, he said nothing.
Mason was glaring at Adrian.
I stifled a groan. Adrian took me inviting the others to his secret interlude pretty well. With his easygoing attitude, I hadn't really expected anything else. Once we had swimsuits, we followed his directions to a doorway in one of the far wings of the lodge. It held a staircase that led down -and down and down. I nearly got dizzy as we wound around and around. Electric lights hung in the walls, but as we went farther, the painted walls changed to carved stone. When we reached our destination, we discovered Adrian had been right -it wasn't just swimming. We were in a special spa area of the resort,
The girls looked at the book longingly. They wished they could have a peaceful day at the spa.
one used only for the most elite Moroi. In this case, it was reserved for a bunch of royals I assumed were Adrian's friends. There were about thirty others, all his age or older, who bore the marks of wealth and elitism.
"And you wanted to bring my daughter there. Are you crazy? Why would you bring Rose there without some of her friends do you have any idea what your friends would have thought she was," Abe glared at Adrian who had suddenly gone pale. He had not thought about that.
The spa consisted of a series of hot mineral pools. Maybe once they'd been in a cave or something, but the lodge builders had long since gotten rid of any sort of rustic surroundings. The black stone walls and ceiling were as polished and beautiful as anything else in the resort. It was like being in a cave -a really nice, designer cave. Racks of towels lined the walls, as did tables full of exotic food. The baths matched the rest of the room's hewn-out décor: stone-lined pools containing hot water that was heated from some underground source. Steam filled the room, and a faint, metallic smell hung in the air. Sounds of partygoers laughing and splashing echoed around us. "Why is Mia with you?" I asked Lissa softly.
"Because Lissa has a bleeding heart," Alberta shook her head, she loved how forgiving Lissa was but she didn't like Mia at all.
We were winding our way through the room, looking for a pool that wasn't occupied. "She was talking to Mason when we were getting ready to leave," she returned. She kept her voice just as quiet. "It seemed mean to just... I don't know ... leave her ..." Even I agreed with that. Obvious signs of grief were written all over her face, but Mia seemed at least momentarily distracted by whatever Mason was telling her.
"What are you two planning?" Eddie asked looking at Mason sceptically.
"How should I know?" Mason asked looking at Eddie,
"Right sorry," Eddie rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"I thought you didn't know Adrian," Lissa added. Disapproval hung in her voice and in the bond. We finally found a large pool, a little out of the way. A guy and a girl were on the opposite side, all over each other, but there was plenty of room for the rest of us. They were easy to ignore. I put a foot into the water and pulled it back immediately. "I don't," I told her. Cautiously, I inched the foot back in, slowly followed by the rest of my body. When I got to my stomach, I grimaced. I had on a maroon bikini, and the scalding water caught my stomach by surprise. "You must know him a little. He invited you to a party."
"You would be surprised," Adrian smiled at the book.
"Dimitri you have my blessing. Keep Rose away from Adrian." Abe glared at Adrian. Everyone was shocked at that.
"Abe?" Janine asked shocked
"I'm not old enough for grandbabies," Was all Abe said continuing to glare at Adrian.
"Yeah, but do you see him with us now?" She followed my gaze. Adrian stood on the far side of the room with a group of girls in bikinis much smaller than mine.
"You know that is not going to make Rose jealous," Eddie said shaking his head at Adrian who pouted.
One was a Betsey Johnson suit I'd seen in a magazine and coveted. I sighed and looked away. We'd all slipped into the water by then. It was so hot I felt like I was in a soup kettle. Now that Lissa seemed convinced of my innocence with Adrian, I tuned into the others' discussion. "What are you talking about?" I interrupted. It was easier than listening and figuring it out myself. "The meeting," said Mason excitedly. Apparently, he'd gotten over seeing me and Adrian together. Christian had settled onto a small shelf in the pool. Lissa curled up beside him. Putting a proprietary arm around her, he tipped his back so it rested on the edge. "Your boyfriend wants to lead an army against the Strigoi," he told me.
Alberta hit Mason on the head.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Alberta glared at Mason who looked shocked, Alberta had not hit him like that since he was younger when he made dumb decisions.
I could tell he was saying it to provoke me. I looked at Mason questioningly. It wasn't worth the effort to challenge the "boyfriend" comment. "Hey, it was your aunt who suggested it," Mason reminded Christian. "She only said we should find the Strigoi before they find us again," countered Christian. "She wasn't pushing for novices fighting. That was Monica Szelsky." A waitress came by then with a tray of pink drinks. These were in elegant, long-stemmed crystal glasses with sugared rims. I had a strong suspicion the drinks were alcoholic, but I doubted anyone who made it into this party was going to get carded. I had no idea what they were. Most of my experiences with alcohol had involved cheap beer. I took a glass and turned back to Mason.
"That is not going to work," Mason glared at Adrian who was just smiling innocently. Abe was liking Adrian less and less. Abe didn't like the idea of a boy getting his baby drunk.
"You think that's a good idea?" I asked him. I sipped the drink, cautiously. As a guardian in training, I felt like I should always be on alert, but tonight I once again felt like being rebellious. The drink tasted like punch. Grapefruit juice. Something sweet, like strawberries. I was still pretty sure there was alcohol in it, but it didn't appear strong enough for me to lose sleep over.
"Rose," Janine shook her head.
"Let her be a normal kid for once," Abe said not looking at Janine.
Another waitress soon appeared with a tray of food. I eyed it and recognized almost nothing. There was something that looked vaguely like mushrooms stuffed with cheese, as well as something else that looked little round patties of meat or sausage. As a good carnivore, I reached for one, thinking it couldn't be that bad. "It's foie gras," said Christian.
"What is that?" Victoria asked looking at Christian who was smiling.
There was a smile on his face I didn't like. I eyed him warily. "What's that?" "You don't know?" His tone was cocky, and for once in his life, he sounded like a true royal touting his elite knowledge over us underlings. He shrugged. "Take a chance. Find out."
"You are unbelievable," Oksana shook her head, wondering how Rose and Christian had not killed each other yet.
Lissa sighed in exasperation. "It's goose liver." I jerked my hand back. The waitress moved on, and Christian laughed. I glared at him. Meanwhile, Mason was still hung up on my question about whether novices going to battle before graduation was a good idea. "What else are we doing?" he asked indignantly. "What are you doing? You run laps with Belikov every morning. What's that doing for you? For the Moroi?"
"You should not be so eager to go to battle." Dimitri shook his head.
"We need to do something," Mason said glaring at him.
"No you all are still kids, and you need to train." Alberta agreed with Dimitri.
What was that doing for me? Making my heart race and my mind have indecent thoughts. "We aren't ready," I said instead. "We've only got six more months," piped in Eddie. Mason nodded his agreement. "Yeah. How much more can we learn?" "Plenty," I said, thinking of how much I'd picked up from my tutoring sessions with Dimitri.
"Thank you," all the guardians nodded while Mason and Eddie simply shook their heads.
I finished my drink. "Besides, where does it stop? Let's say they end school six months early, then send us off. What next? They decide to push back further and cut our senior year? Our junior year?"
Tatiana nodded wondering if that would help. Adrien shook his head and glared at his aunt, he was hoping that she would not do anything that would get her into trouble with the people in the room.
He shrugged. "I'm not afraid to fight. I could have taken on Strigoi when I was a sophomore." "Yeah," I said dryly. "Just like you did skiing on that slope." Mason's face, already flushed from the heat, turned redder still. I immediately regretted my words, particularly when Christian started laughing. "Never thought I'd live to see the day when I agreed with you, Rose. But sadly, I do."
"Well that is horrifying," Christian smiled. Mason just glared at him, he was not agreeing with the book or Christian.
The cocktail waitress came by again, and both Christian and I took new drinks. "The Moroi have got to start helping us defend themselves." "With magic?" asked Mia suddenly. It was the first time she'd spoken since we'd got here. Silence met her. I think Mason and Eddie didn't respond because they knew nothing about fighting with magic. Lissa, Christian, and I did -and were trying very hard to act like we didn't.
"Good, no need to get her hopes up," Tatiana nodded, she was still mad that Tasha had done and Tatiana didn't need a water user thinking she could take on a strigoi.
There was a funny sort of hope in Mia's eyes, though, and I could only imagine what she'd gone through today. She'd woken up to learn her mother was dead and then been subjected to hours and hours of political bantering and battle strategies. The fact that she was sitting here at all seeming semi-composed was a miracle.
"Well she's a lot stronger than I would have given her credit for," Abe said impressed.
I assumed people who actually liked their mothers would barely be able to function in that situation. When no one else looked like they were going to answer her, I finally said, "I suppose. But... I don't know much about that." I finished the rest of my drink and averted my eyes, hoping someone else would take up the conversation. They didn't. Mia looked disappointed but said no more when Mason switched back to the Strigoi debate. I took a third drink
"She needs to slow down," Abe and Janine said at the same time. Dimitri and Ivan nodded wondering what trouble Rose was going to get herself into.
and sank into the water as far as I reasonably could and still hold the glass. This drink was different. It looked chocolatey and had whipped cream on top. I took a taste and definitely detected the bite of alcohol. Still, I figured the chocolate probably diluted it.
"No it doesn't," Adrian shook his head.
"Chocolate is Rose's one weakness," Mason shook his head. Adrian made a small note of that.
When I was ready for a fourth drink, the waitress was nowhere in sight. Mason seemed really, really cute to me all of a sudden. I would have liked a little romantic attention from him, but he was still going on about Strigoi and the logistics of leading a strike in the middle of the day. Mia and Eddie were nodding along with him eagerly, and I got the feeling that if he decided to hunt Strigoi right now, they'd follow.
"You three better not," Alberta and Janine glared at Mason and Eddie.
Christian was actually joining the talk, but it was more to play devil's advocate. Typical. He thought a sort of preemptive strike would require guardians and Moroi, much as Tasha had said. Mason, Mia, and Eddie argued that if the Moroi weren't up to it, the guardians should take matters into their own hands. I confess, their enthusiasm was kind of contagious. I rather liked the idea of getting the drop on Strigoi. But in the Badica and Drozdov attacks, all of the guardians had been killed. Admittedly the Strigoi had organized into huge groups and had help, but all that told me was that our side needed to be extra careful.
"She should not be listening to them in the state she is," Janine said worried, she didn't want to see what a drunk Rose would do.
His cuteness aside, I didn't want to listen to Mason talk about his battle skills anymore. I wanted another drink.
"Bad idea," Adrian shook his head.
I stood up and climbed over the edge of the pool. To my astonishment, the world started spinning. I'd had that happen before when I got out of baths or hot tubs too quickly, but when things didn't right themselves, I realized those drinks might have been stronger than I thought.
"Sweet drinks will get you every time," Adrian smiled.
"Oh, I wouldn't smile if I were you," Abe glared at Adrian. If Rose got hurt while she was drunk Abe was going to harm Adrian.
I also decided a fourth wasn't such a good idea, but I didn't want to get back in and let everyone know I was drunk. I headed off toward a side room I'd seen the waitress disappear into. I hoped maybe there was a secret stash of desserts somewhere, chocolate mousse instead of goose liver. As I walked, I paid special attention to the slippery floor, thinking that falling into one of the pools and cracking my skull would definitely cost me coolness points.
"Oh definitely," Mason nodded laughing,
"She better not do that," Janine said worried, she didn't want Rose to get hurt.
I was paying so much attention to my feet and trying not to stagger that I walked into someone. To my credit, it'd been his fault; he'd backed into me. "Hey, watch it," I said, steadying myself. But he wasn't paying attention to me. His eyes were on another guy, a guy with a bloody nose. I'd walked right into the middle of a fight.
"Well that is just her luck," Mason shook his head and closed the book.