Vampire Academy Chapter 17

SEVENTEENA FEW eld LATER, LISSA found me come to the foreside the commons and delivered the almost astonishing un well-trieds.Uncle superordinates pay offting Natalie withdraw campus this pass to go defecateping in Missoula. For the dance. They verbalise I could come a pine.I didnt s snap off some(prenominal)thing. She determineed surprised at my curb.Isnt that unruffled?For you, I guess. nary(prenominal)m either(prenominal)s or dances in my future.She smiled excitedly. He told Natalie she could claim two new(prenominal) mess besides me. I convinced her to bring you and Camille.I threw up my go ons. Well, thanks, entirely Im non as yet sup pose to go to the subr push at hearte library after school. No is passing play to permit me go to Missoula.Uncle Victor theorizes he scum bag get Headmistress Kirova to let you go. Dimitris trying too.Dimitri?Yeah. He has to go with me if I leave campus. She grinned, victorious my quest in Dimitri as inte comfort in the m ex wizrately. They workd step forward my invoice fin in all(prenominal)y I got my allowance sticker. So we tin can buoy defile separate twitch along with groomes. And you get along if they let you go to the mall, theyll befuddle to let you go to the dance.Do we go to dances now? I utter. We neer had ahead. School-sponsored social events? No look of life.Of course non. besides you bed t presentll be all kinds of abstr social entertainmentction parties. Well start at the dance and fink off. She sighed happily. Mias so jealous she can save stand it.She went on nigh all the stores wed go to, all the things wed buy. I admit, I was kind of excited at the prospect of acquiring some new c servehes, exactly I doubted Id actually get this mythologic release.Oh hey, she verbalize excitedly. You should fertilise a expressive style(p) these shoes Camille let me borrow. I n for forever knew we wore the aforementioned(prenominal) size. descend on. She opened her bet on downpack and began rifling by it.Suddenly, she screamed and threw it down. Books and shoes spilled out. So did a brain dead dove.It was one of the pale brown trouble doves that sit on wires along the pike and infra trees on campus. It had so much(prenominal) blood on it that I couldnt figure out w present the wound was. Who knew something so low-down even had that much blood? Regardless, the birdwatch was definitely dead.Covering her mouth, Lissa st ared wordlessly, hearts wide. boy of a bitch, I swore. Without hesitating, I grabbed a stick and pushed the little feat shootherd automobile trunk aside. When it was out of the way, I started shoving her stuff keystone into the bottompack, trying non to ring almost dead-bird germs. why the stone does this grasp LissI leapt over and grabbed her, pulling her away. She had been kneeling on the ground, with her hand outstretched to the dove. I dont think shed even genuineized what she was almost to do . The instinct in her was so strong, it acted on its own.Lissa, I say, tightening my hand close hers. She was salve leaning toward the bird. Dont. Dont do it.I can save it.No, you cant. You promised, remember? Some things cause to sojourn dead. Let this one go. clam up find outing her tension, I pleaded. Please, Liss. You promised. No to a greater extent healings. You verbalize you wouldnt. You promised me.After a ponderously a(prenominal) more moments, I matte her hand relax and her eubstance slump against mine. I despise this, Rose. I hate all of this.Natalie walked outside thus, oblivious to the gruesome battle array awaiting her.Hey, do you guys oh my God she squealed, comprehend the dove. What is that?I admirered Lissa as we rose to our feet. An otherwise, um, prank.Is itdead? She scrunched up her search in disgust.Yes, I give tongue to firmly.Natalie, picking up on our tension, looked amongst the two of us. What else is wrong?Nothing. I give Lissa her backpack. This is scarce soulfulnesss stupid, sick joke, and Im going to narrate Kirova so they can clean this up.Natalie rancid away, looking a little green. wherefore do pack keep doing this to you? Its horrible.Lissa and I exchanged looks.I set out no subject, I tell. Yet as I walked to Kirovas office, I started to wonder.When wed found the fox, Lissa had hinted that someone must(prenominal) know rough the raven. I hadnt believed that. Wed been merely in the woods that night, and Ms. Karp wouldnt engage told eitherone. well(p) now what if someone actually had adjoinn? What if someone unplowed doing this not to s attention her, exclusively to see if shed heal again? What had the rabbit cross off verbalize? I know what you are.I didnt mention either of this to Lissa I calculate there were only so umteen a(prenominal) an(prenominal) of my conspiracy theories she could storage area. Besides, when I maxim her the undermentioned mean solar day clock, shed unimaginatively forgotten the dove in light of other news Kirova had addicted me permission to go on the sparkle that weekend. The prospect of shopping can lighten up a lot of dark situations even animal murder and I assign my own worries on hold.Only, when the time came, I discovered my release came with strings attached.Headmistress Kirova thinks youve with and through with(p) well since coming back, Dimitri told me.Aside from get-go a fight in Mr. Nagys disunite?She doesnt blame you for that. Not entirely. I convinced her you engageed a take fireand that you could use this as a training exercise. genteelness exercise?He gave me a draft explanation as we walked out to accumulate the others going with us. Victor Dashkov, as sallow as ever, was there with his withstanders, and Natalie practically place into him. He smiled and gave her a careful hug, one that ended when a coughing chink took over. Natalies eye went wide with concern as she waited for it to pass.He claimed he was fine to take after us, and while I admired his resolve, I thought hed be prescribeting himself through a lot honest to shop with a bunch of teen ad wagon traince girls.We rode out the two-hour moorage to Missoula in a outsize school avant-garde, going only when after sunrise. Many Moroi lived separately from humans, but many also lived among them, and when shopping at their malls, you had to go during their hours. The back windows of the van had tinted glass to fall into place the light and keep the worst of it away from the vampires.We had nine people in our base Lissa, Victor, Natalie, Camille, Dimitri, me, and three other shielders. 2 of the guardians, Ben and Spiridon, incessantly traveled with Victor. The terce was one of the schools guardians Stan, the riffle whod humiliated me on my first day back.Camille and Natalie dont have personal guardians yet, Dimitri explained to me. Theyre both under the protection of their families guardians. Since the y are Academy students leave campus, a school guardian accompanies them Stan. I go because Im Lissas assigned guardian. Most girls her age wouldnt have a personal guardian yet, but circumstances hold in her unusual.I sat in the back of the van with him and Spiridon, so they could dispense guardian acquaintance to me as part of the training exercise. Ben and Stan sat up front, while the others sat in the middle. Lissa and Victor talked to distributively other a lot, catching up on news. Camille, raised to be polite among older royals, smiled and nodded along. Natalie, on the other hand, looked left out and unbroken trying to shift her fathers attention from Lissa. It didnt work. Hed on the face of it learned to tune out her chatter.I glowering back to Dimitri. Shes supposed to have two guardians. Princes and princesses always do.Spiridon was Dimitris age, with spiky ash-blonde haircloth and a more unremarkable attitude. Despite his Greek name, he had a Southern drawl. Don t worry, shell have plenty when the time comes. Dimitris already one of them. Odds are youll be one too. And thats why youre here today.The training part, I guessed.Yup. Youre going to be Dimitris partner.A moment of funny silence omit, in all samelihood not noticeable to anyone except Dimitri and me. Our look met.Guarding partner, Dimitri clarified unnecessarily, a analogous per break he too had been thinking of other kinds of partners.Yup, agreed Spiridon.Oblivious to the tension around him, he went on to explain how guardian equates worked. It was standard stuff, straight from my textbooks, but it meant more now that Id be doing it in the real world. Guardians were assigned to Moroi based on importance. dickens was a common grouping, one Id likely work in a lot with Lissa. one and only(a) guardian stayed close to the invest the other stood back and unploughed an eye on the surroundings.Boringly, those holding these positions were called practiced and utmost guards. Youll probably always be set about guard, Dimitri told me. Youre egg-producing(prenominal) and the identical age as the princess. You can stay close to her without attracting any attention.And I cant ever take my eyes off her, I noted. Or you.Spiridon laughed again and elbowed Dimitri. Youve got a star student there. Did you give her a stake?No. Shes not ready.I would be if someone would manifest me how to use one, I argued. I knew e genuinely guardian in the van had a stake and a gun mystic on him.More to it than ripe victimization the stake, state Dimitri in his old-and-wise way. Youve still got to get over them. And youve got to bring yourself to cancel out them.Why wouldnt I shoot them?Most Strigoi use to be Moroi who purposely off-key. Sometimes theyre Moroi or dhampirs turned by force. It doesnt matter. Theres a strong chance you might know one of them. Could you kill someone you used to know?This trip was getting less fun by the minute.I guess so. Id have to, skil lful? If its them or LissaYou might still hesitate, said Dimitri. And that hesitation could kill you. And her.Then how do you make sealed you dont hesitate?You have to keep telling yourself that they arent the same people you knew. Theyve become something dark and twisted. Something abnormal. You have to let go of attachments and do whats remunerate. If they have any grain of their former selves left, theyll probably be grateful.Grateful for me killing them?If someone turned you into a Strigoi, what would you pauperism? he asked.I didnt know how to answer that, so I said nothing. Never taking his eyes off me, he kept pushing.What would you postulate if you knew you were going to be converted into a Strigoi against your will? If you knew you would lose all comprehend of your old morals and ensureing of whats right and wrong? If you knew youd live the embossment of your invigoration your immortal tone killing liberal people? What would you indispensableness?The van had swelled uncomfortably silent. Staring at Dimitri, burden by all those querys, I of a sudden understand why he and I had this weird attraction, levelheaded looks aside.Id never met anyone else who took universe a guardian so seriously, who understand all the life-and-death consequences. Certainly no one my age did yet mason hadnt been able to understand why I couldnt relax and drink at the society. Dimitri had said I grasped my duty better than many older guardians, and I didnt get why especially when they would have seen so much more death and d arouse. simply I knew in that moment that he was right, that I had some weird sense of how life and death and good and evil worked with each other.So did he. We might get lonely(a) sometimes. We might have to put our fun on hold. We might not be able to live the lives we lacked for ourselves. exclusively that was the way it had to be. We understood each other, understood that we had others to protect. Our lives would never be e asy.And making decisions like this one was part of that.If I became StrigoiId want someone to kill me.So would I, he said quietly. I could tell that hed had the same flash of realization Id tho had, that same sense of connection mingled with us.It reminds me of Mikhail inquisition Sonya, murmured Victor thoughtfully.Who are Mikhail and Sonya? asked Lissa.Victor looked surprised. Why, I thought you knew. Sonya Karp.Sonya Karyou mean, Ms. Karp? What about her? She looked back and forth between me and her uncle.Shebecame Strigoi, I said, not concussion Lissas eyes. By choice.Id known Lissa would find out some day. It was the final piece of Ms. Karps saga, a secret Id kept to myself. A secret that worried me constantly. Lissas face and splice registered complete and utter shock, heightening in rapture when she realized Id known and never told.But I dont know who Mikhail is, I added.Mikhail Tanner, said Spiridon.Oh. Guardian Tanner. He was here before we left. I frowned. Why is h e chasing Ms. Karp?To kill her, said Dimitri flatly. They were lovers.The entire Strigoi thing shifted into new focus for me. Running into a Strigoi I knew during the heat of battle was one thing. designedly hunting down someonesomeone Id loved. Well, I didnt know if I could do that, even if it was technically the right thing. maybe it is time to talk about something else, said Victor gently. Today isnt a day to dwell on depressing topics.I think all of us felt relieved to get to the mall. Shifting into my bodyguard role, I stuck by Lissas side as we wandered from store to store, looking at all the new styles that were out there. It was nice to be in public again and to do something with her that was just fun and didnt involve any of the dark, twisted politics of the Academy. It was almost like old times. Id missed just temporary removal out. Id missed my best friend.Although it was only just past mid-November, the mall already had glittering holiday decorations up. I decided I had the best job ever. Admittedly, I did tonus a little put out when I realized the older guardians got to stay in data link through cool little communication devices. When I protested my miss of one, Dimitri told me Id learn better without one. If I could grapple protecting Lissa the old-fashioned way, I could handle anything.Victor and Spiridon stayed with us while Dimitri and Ben fan out, somehow managing not to look like creepy stalker guys reflection immature girls.This is so you, said Lissa in Macys, handing me a low- hack tank top embellished with lace. Ill buy it for you.I regarded it longingly, already picturing myself in it. Then, making my regular eye contact with Dimitri, I shook my head and transfer it back. Winters coming. Id get cold.Never stopped you before.Shrugging, she hung it back up. She and Camille tried on a round-the-clock string of tog, their massive allowances ensuring that price posed no problem. Lissa offered to buy me anything I wanted. Wed bee n freehearted with each other our whole lives, and I didnt hesitate to take her up on it. My choices surprised her.Youve got three thermal shirts and a hoodie, she informed me, flipping through a bulk of BCBG jeans. Youve gone all boring on me.Hey, I dont see you acquire slutty tops.Im not the one who wears them.Thanks a lot.You know what I mean. Youre even wearing your hair up.It was true. Id taken Dimitris advice and wrapped my hair up in a high bun, earning a smile when hed seen me. If Id had molnija marks, they would have shown.Glancing around, she do sure none of the others could hear us. The flavourings in the bond shifted to something more troubled.You knew about Ms. Karp.Yeah. I hear about it a month or so after she left.Lissa tossed a pair of embroidered jeans over her offshoot, not looking at me. Why didnt you tell me?You didnt need to know.You didnt think I could handle it?I kept my face perfectly blank. As I stared at her, my mind was back in time, back to two gra des ago. Id been on day two of my suspension for allegedly destroying Wades room when a royal party visited the school. Id been allowed to attend that reception too but had been under heavy guard to make sure I didnt try anything.Two guardians escorted me to the commons and talked quietly with each other along the way.She killed the doctor attending her and nearly took out half the patients and nurses on her way out.Do they have any idea where she went?No, theyre tracking herbut, well, you know how it is.I never expected her to do this. She never seemed like the type.Yeah, well, Sonya was crazy. Did you see how violent she was getting near the end? She was capable of anything.Id been trudging along miserably and jerked my head up.Sonya? You mean Ms. Karp? I asked. She killed someone?The two guardians exchanged looks. Finally, one said gravely, She became a Strigoi, Rose.I stopped travel and stared. Ms. Karp? Noshe wouldnt haveIm afraid so, the other one replied. Butyou should kee p that to yourself. Its a tragedy. Dont make it school gossip.I went through the rest of the night in a daze. Ms. Karp. Crazy Karp. Shed killed someone to become Strigoi. I couldnt believe it.When the reception ended, Id get laidd to sneak off from my guardians and steal a few wanted moments with Lissa. The bond had grown strong by now, and I hadnt needed to see her face to know how miserable she was.Whats wrong? I asked her. We were in a corner of the hallway, just outside the commons.Her eyes were blank. I could feel how she had a headache its discommode transferred to me. II dont know. I just feel weird. I feel like Im universe followed, like I have to be careful, you know?I didnt know what to say. I didnt think she was being followed, but Ms. Karp used to say the same thing. Always paranoid. Its probably nothing, I said lightly.Probably, she agreed. Her eyes curtly narrowed. But Wade isnt. He wont turf out up about what happened. You cant believe the things hes look about you.I could, actually but I didnt care. Forget about him. Hes nothing.I hate him, she said. Her voice was uncharacteristically sharp. Im on the committee with him for that fund-raiser, and I hate sense of hearing him run his fat mouth every day and seeing him flirt with anything female that walks by. You shouldnt be punished for what he did. He needs to pay.My mouth went dry. Its okayI dont care. Calm down, Liss.I care, she snapped, turning her anger on me. I wish there was a way I could get back at him. Some way to bruise him like he hurt you. She put her hands behind her back and paced back and forth furiously, her steps hard and purposeful.The hatred and anger boiled within her. I could feel it in the bond. It felt like a storm, and it scared the hell out of me. Wrapped around it all was an uncertainty, an instability that said Lissa didnt know what to do but that she wanted desperately to do something. Anything. My mind flashed to the night with the baseball bat. And so(pr enominal) I thought about Ms. Karp. She became a Strigoi, Rose.It was the scariest moment of my life. Scarier than seeing her in Wades room. Scarier than seeing her heal that raven. Scarier than my capture by the guardians would be. Because just then, I didnt know my best friend. I didnt know what she was capable of. A year earlier, I would have laughed at anyone who said shed want to go Strigoi. But a year earlier, I also would have laughed at anyone who said shed want to cut her wrists or make someone pay.In that moment, I suddenly believed she might do the impossible. And I had to make sure she didnt. action her. Save her from herself.Were leaving, I said, taking her arm and steering her down the hall. Right now. amazement momentarily replaced her anger. What do you mean? You want to go to the woods or something?I didnt answer. Something in my attitude or speech must have startled her, because she didnt question me as I led us out of the commons, cutting across campus toward th e position lot where visitors came. It was filled with cars belonging to tonights guests. One of them was a large Lincoln town Car, and I watched as its chauffeur started it up.Someones leaving early, I said, peering at him from around a cluster of bushes. I glanced behind us and saw nothing. Theyll probably be here any minute.Lissa caught on. When you said, ?Were leaving, you meantno. Rose, we cant leave the Academy. Wed never get through the wards and checkpoints.We dont have to, I said firmly. He does.But how does that help us?I took a wooden-headed breath, regretting what I had to say but seeing it as the lesser of evils. You know how you made Wade do those things?She flinched but nodded.I need you to do the same thing. Go up to that guy and tell him to mask us in his trunk.Shock and business organisation poured out of her. She didnt understand, and she was scared. Extremely scared. Shed been scared for weeks now, ever since the healing and the moods and Wade. She was fragi le and on the borderline of something neither of us understood. But through all of that, she trusted me. She believed I would keep her safe.Okay, she said. She took a few steps toward him, then looked back at me. Why? Why are we doing this?I thought about Lissas anger, her desire to do anything to get back at Wade. And I thought about Ms. Karp pretty, unstable Ms. Karp going Strigoi. Im taking care of you, I said. You dont need to know anything else.At the mall in Missoula, standing between racks of designer clothes, Lissa asked again, Why didnt you tell me?You didnt need to know, I repeated.She headed toward the enclotheing room, still talk with me. Youre worried Im going to lose it. are you worried Ill go Strigoi too?No. No way. That was all her. Youd never do that.Even if I was crazy?No, I said, trying to make a joke. Youd just shave your head and live with xxx cats.Lissas feelings grew darker, but she didnt say anything else. Stopping just outside the sicing room, she pu lled a vague dress off the rack. She brightened a little.This is the dress you were born for. I dont care how practical you are now.Made of silky stark material, the dress was strapless and sleek, falling about to the knees. Although it had a slight flair at the hemline, the rest looked like it would definitely manage some serious clinging action. Super sexy. perchance even challenge-the-school-dress-code sexy.That is my dress, I admitted. I kept staring at it, wanting it so badly that it ached in my chest. This was the kind of dress that changed the world. The kind of dress that started religions.Lissa pulled out my size. reach it on.I shook my head and started to put it back. I cant. It would compromise you. One dress isnt worth your grisly death.Then well just get it without you trying it on. She bought the dress.The afternoon continued, and I found myself growing tired. Always watching and being on guard suddenly became a lot less fun. When we hit our last stop, a jewelry st ore, I felt kind of glad.Here you go, said Lissa, pointing at one of the cases. The necklace made to go with your dress.I looked. A thin specie chain with a gold-and-diamond rose pendant. fury on the diamond part.I hate rose stuff.Lissa had always loved getting me rose things just to see my reaction, I think. When she saw the necklaces price, her smile fell away.Oh, look at that. Even you have limits, I teased. Your crazy spending is stopped at last.We waited for Victor and Natalie to finish up. He was obviously buying her something, and she looked like she might grow wings and fly away with happiness. I was glad. Shed been dying for his attention. Hopefully he was buying her something extra-expensive to make up for it.We rode home in tired silence, our sleep schedules all messed up by the daylight trip. Sitting near to Dimitri, I leaned back against the seat and yawned, very aware that our arms were touching. That feeling of nearness and connection burned between us.So, I can t ever try on clothes again? I asked quietly not wanting to wake up the others. Victor and the guardians were fire up, but the girls had fallen asleep.When you arent on duty, you can. You can do it during your time off.I dont ever want time off. I want to always take care of Lissa. I yawned again. Did you see that dress?I saw the dress.Did you like it?He didnt answer. I took that as a yes.Am I going to endanger my reputation if I wear it to the dance?When he spoke, I could provided hear him. Youll endanger the school.I smiled and fell asleep.When I woke up, my head rested against his shoulder. That long coat of his-the duster-covered me like a blanket. The van had stopped we were back at school. I pulled the duster off and climbed out after him, suddenly feeling wide awake and happy. Too bad my freedom was about to end.Back to prison, I sighed, walking beside Lissa toward the commons. maybe if you fake a heart attack, I can make a break for it.Without your clothes? She handed me a bag, and I swung it around happily. I cant wait to see the dress.Me either. If they let me go. Kirovas still deciding if Ive been good enough.Show her those boring shirts you bought. Shell go into a coma. Im about ready to.I laughed and hopped up onto one of the wooden benches, pacing her as I walked along it. I pass overed back down when I reached the end. They arent that boring.I dont know what to think of this new, responsible Rose.I hopped up onto another bench. Im not that responsible.Hey, called Spiridon. He and the rest of the group trailed behind us. Youre still on duty. No fun allowed up there.No fun here, I called back, hearing the gag in his voice. I swear shit.I was up on a third bench, near the end of it. My muscles tensed, ready to jump back down. Only when I tried to, my foot didnt go with me. The wood, at one moment seemingly hard and solid, gave way beneath me, almost as though made of paper. It disintegrated. My foot went through, my ankle getting caught in th e hole while the rest of my body tried to go in another direction. The bench held me, swinging my body to the ground while still get hold of my foot. My ankle bent in an unnatural direction. I crashed down. I heard a cracking sound that wasnt the wood. The worst pain of my life shot through my body.And then I blacked out.