Chapter 12:

The next day I got called in early to help guard the ski resort. Which I didn’t really mind, except for the fact that it meant I couldn’t see Tasha. My mind was lingering on last night. The way she felt right in my arms, the way she sent trembles in my body whenever she laughed. And that hair, which was dark and thick. It wasn’t as soft as Rose’s but that didn’t stop me from wanting to run my fingers through it.

As I arrived at the west side of the gate, three guardians stood there like statues. The night air was chilly and it was a wonder how they could stand there without shivering. I nodded to one of them, giving him the okay to leave.

I took his place in the snow, facing the ski slopes without saying a word to the other guardians. I had never seen them before, and they didn’t look all that friendly either. One was tall with bright blond hair. That was so light it could easily be mistaken as white if not for the snow surrounding him. The other had dark skin and hair. He was very short, although I wouldn’t doubt he could kick someone’s ass as easily as me.

As the day wore on so did the snow. It drifted slowly in the wind, and as the lamp’s light hit the small flakes one would think it was light out. I gazed beyond the vast white land towards the ski slopes. My eyes lingering on two skiers.

They were going down the slow and easy slopes, and by the looks of their height and muscles I could tell they were dhampirs. Only they were much too old to be going down easy slopes like that.

I saw a flash of red hair as one of the skiers out of the two slid under the light. And immediately I knew who the red hair belonged to. Mason.

The dhampir that followed him was a girl no doubt. But even my vast eyesight could barely make out her face. Until she too skied under the lamp post’s light, revealing herself to me.

The dark hair was unmistakable, as well as her laugh. And I felt my numb body tense up as I took Rose in. Just the sight of seeing her was too much for me. And I recapped on the last time I had seen her on the plane, with Mason.

 She looked so happy with Mason. Laughing and punching him playfully in the arm. Something even I couldn’t bring out without getting us in trouble. I despised Mason for that. He could laugh and play with her whenever he pleased, and I had to stand here and watch her; watch her fall in love with other boys and leave me behind.

Which was the exact same thing I was doing with Tasha.

Maybe it was best to leave Rose for Tasha. Since that’s what she had in mind with Mason. It could work; I could avoid her now without feeling guilty for doing so. The thought of this brought a smile to my lips. Never again will Rose have to be alone, she has Mason now.

After a while Rose and Mason walked back towards the ski lodge. They were about to open the door when a snowball flung at Mason, hitting him in the face.

Rose turned around, the way she always had in the gym when I was about to attack. Her muscles were tight ready to lunge at any threat thrown at her.

But there wasn’t one, only sounds of cheers from the opposite side of the ski lodge. I repressed the urge to smile as a fight broke out.

 Snowball fights weren’t allowed in the Academy, as well as here, but they were having fun. And if an activity brought a smile to Rose’s face then I approved of it. Right or wrong.

One of the guardians picked up his walkie-talkie ready to report the problem. I had to hold back the urge to jump him as I carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.

Shaking my head I explained, “let them have their fun, they never do.”

The guardian gave me a wary look but finally dismissed it and put his radio back in his pocket. A few minutes passed before someone came out and yelled at the kids for being disrespectful. Laughing and covered in snow Rose and Mason started to walk back to the ski lodge hand in hand. But not before Rose leaned in and kissed him.

My whole world shattered before my eyes.

It wasn’t just a sweet and short kiss either, it was long and desirable. Just like it had been in the gym when Rose kissed me. Seeing this, Mason and Rose kiss, set me on edge. How could she do something like that when she had made it clear how much she cared about me in the gym? I started to feel queasy and weak at the knees. It felt like a stake had been plunged into my heart.

It must have showed on my face because one the guardians turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?”

I stared at him with as much control as I could muster. “Fine.”

Tasha came a short time after to retrieve me. I embraced her in a hug before we walked back inside. I let one tear slip before I hastily wiped it away. Rose had hurt me bad, whether she knew it or not. But I didn’t want to ruin whatever relationship she had created with Mason. I had vowed not to hurt her anymore, and that meant letting her go. No matter how much it hurt me.

But if she wanted to date someone else, then two could play at that game.

After a long night of talking and laughing with Tasha I finally went to bed. I refused to recap on what happened between Rose and Mason. She must never know that I knew. If she did she would feel bad and hurt poor Mason’s heart. I had to forgive her; she was a kid and had a lot of growing up to do.

 A loud knock pulled me out of my dream. Answering the door in only my pajama bottoms Janine Hathaway stood there stiff and guardian like.

“There has been another Strigoi attack.”

This sprung me to action. Grabbing whatever outfit I picked first I put it on and was soon in Janine’s room. It was filled with guardians milling around, moving in and out, and discussing strategy. Soon we were all crammed and huddled in one spot.

Janine and the rest of us stood, trying to get as much information about the attack as possible. Something moved on my left side and as I glanced over my eyes caught Rose’s. She quickly turned away from me, leaving me with confused and hurt feelings. Although I wouldn’t show it. Not with this many witnesses.

We had learned that Eight Moroi had been killed along with their five guardians. 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. People were terrified.

“There had to be more than last time,” said Janine.

“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.” Janine snapped.

“Any evidence of humans?” Someone else asked.

Janine hesitated then as all eyes turned to her. “Yes. More broken wards. And the way it was all conducted…it’s identical to the Badica attack.”

Her voice was hard, but there was a kind of weariness in it, too. It wasn’t physical exhaustion, though. It was mental. Strained and hurt over what had happened. It was a hard and ugly matter to discuss---but at the same time, she was tackling it without hesitation. It was our duty to.

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 it. But no one had seriously talked about this group---the Badica killers---doing it again. Onetime 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 ward. We couldn’t even trust sunlight. Humans could move around in the day, scouting and sabotaging. The light was no longer safe.

I remembered the day Rose and I had seen the Badica house, she had whispered almost in fear, this changes everything, doesn’t it?

Janine 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.”

I had suspected this. Strigoi working in groups was something everyone of us feared. Even the tough guardians like Janine. “Janine’s right. And if you look at the venue…it’s too big. Seven couldn’t have covered it.” I said.

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, not so much anymore.

I looked around the room, trying my best to avoid Rose. Every guardian looked keyed up and ready to go out there and kill every Strigoi in sight. And if it weren’t for Janine’s voice of reason, that would be the exact thing that’d happen.

We 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 on guardian. “They’re going after royals.”

Every guardian in this room knew he was right. But I refused to let Rose live in fear for the next couple of days. And taking a quick glance at her told me that she was scared for not only her life but for Lissa's as well. “They’re going after Moroi.” I said flatly. “Royal. Non-royal. It doesn’t matter.”

After a while of discussing and getting nowhere the group dispersed. That’s when Rose decided to leap up off the sofa and push her way toward Janine.  I quickly moved out of the room. Deciding to head where everyone else seemed to be going.

I walked slowly to the banquet hall. I never particularly liked the way Moroi handled things. They only discussed and cowered in fear. Unlike us guardians who took action the minute it’s handed to us.

By the time I got to the banquet hall people were still piling in. Although it was pretty packed. Despite the businesslike atmosphere, you could tell this room had been designed for things other than meetings about massacres and defense. 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. Paintings of long-dead Moroi royalty hung on the walls.

I glanced among the sea of heads and found Rose’s in the back. Despite me wanting to avoid her I decided against it. I wanted to show her that I still cared about her, even though she was leaving me for someone else.

I sat down on the other side of Rose, my leather coat draping around me as I settled in my chair, heart beating fast. I saw Rose glance in surprise from the corner of my eye. Although I didn’t acknowledge her. Guardians were rare at these kind of gatherings. Most were too busy doing damage control. So I could only imagine how confused she was.

The meeting kicked off then. 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. 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?”

“Plenty of us already do,” someone shouted back.

The man waved that off. “A couple of families here or 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.”

“And Moroi could never interact with the rest of the world again,” Rose muttered. “Well, until humans discovered secret vampire cities sprouting up in the wilderness. Then we’d have lots of interactions.” I knew she was right, although I didn't acknowledge that

“The problem is simply that we don’t have enough guardians.” 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. “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.”

I grumbled at that. Seeing Rose fight in the gym was proof that they were strong and skilled but not enough to take down Strigoi. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees and rested my chin in my hands.

“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. Why aren’t these women doing theirs? Why aren’t they here?”

I tensed at that, she was referring to the blood-whores. This hit a sore spot in my heart, I was born and raised in a blood-whore community. My mom had been one, and they weren't as bad as everyone made them up to be.

A long, sultry laugh came as an answer. I’d recognize that laugh anywhere. Tasha Ozera. She was dressed up casual for the occasion, whereas the other royals had dressed formal. 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, exposing her scars. Her face was bold and defiant.

“Those woman 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 straightened up at the sound of Tasha defending dhampirs and particularly blood-whores. That didn't happen very often. And I praised her for that.

“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.”

There were a few gasps in the crowd at Tasha’s callous choice of words. But she went on. “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.”

She gestured 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 her lips, but she didn’t rise to the insult. “What do I think?” She strode closer to the stage’s front, so that her audience could get a better view of her. “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. 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?”

Tasha was shouting 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 the scar---she made a striking figure. Most people couldn’t take their eyes off her.

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 shot up. 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 a 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?”

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.

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okay so even though I don't like Tasha I thought that this chapter was one of my favorites of her. Because she stook up for the dhampir's and showed that they didn't have to be afraid anymore. But besides the fact that she did that I still hate her for taking Dimtri away from Rose.. Hope you like this long chapter! Thanks for reading (:

<3LittleDhampir18