Chapter 13:

People stood up and shouted, everyone wanted their opinion to be heard. As it was, most of them held the same view: Tasha was wrong. 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 said that Tasha was siding with the Strigoi.

I stood up at the sound of the Moroi making Tasha sound like a traitor. “You might as well leave. Nothing useful’s going to happen now.” I told both Rose and Mason.

Mason and Rose stood up, but I shook my head when they started to follow me out.

“You go on.” Mason said. “I want to check something out.”

I could hear Rose pause before she said over the rising noise. “Good luck.”

It was surprising that I hadn’t talked to Rose in a while. Stepping out into the hall with her, it felt like it had been years. Being with Tasha had been amazing, but seeing Rose, standing next to me, made my heart beat faster, my knees go weak, and my body shudder with excitement. Something Tasha would never bring out in me.

I found myself wishing that I had said no to Tasha’s offer. I could never be happy with her like I could be with Rose. But then again, that won’t be for another few years, and my heart ached for how long I had to wait. Even though I vowed to leave Rose alone with Mason.

Rose put a hand to her hip as she looked up at me. “Shouldn’t you be in there protecting Tasha? Before the mob gets her? She’s going to get in big trouble for using magic like that.”

I raised an eyebrow, curious what road she was taking me down. “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…”

This took me aback. Not to mention how calm she talked about it. Still I had no idea how she knew about that. I wanted to keep it a secret from her, until we got back from the trip. “Where did you hear that?”

“I have my sources.” She stated matter-of-factly. “You’ve decided to, right? I mean, it sounds like a good deal, seeing as she’s going to give you fringe benefits.”

That hit home. “What happens between her and me is none of your business.” I snapped.

Rose’s face fell, hurt in her eyes. But the hot tempered Rose bounced back a second later giving me a level and calm look. “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.”

I could feel my heart tighten at the cruelness of her words. I still cared for her yes. But she was way out of line. “Yes. You are. And every second this conversation goes on, you only prove how young you really are.”

Her jaw dropped at that. And when I saw the astonishment flash in her eyes I was full of regret. I realized how harsh I had been to her. But I couldn’t let that show. As well as my undying love for her. I knew I had to forget her, and I didn’t come this far to let her bring me down with her.

“Little dhampir.” A voice suddenly said nearby.

Adrian Ivashkov stood behind Rose, she turned around and he smiled at her. He nodded to me out of respect but I didn’t nod back, he may be close to my age, but that didn’t stop me from disliking him for his past.

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.”

I looked at Adrian disapproving. If there was one person I’d fight for Rose it was him. Rose must have seen this because she gave him one of her best smiles and walked over to him, putting a hand on his arm.

This unnerved me. Making my body shake with rage and jealousy. “I’ve got time now.” Rose gave me a nod and steered Adrian away, walking so close to him I would have ripped his head off if he wasn’t a royal. “See you later, Guardian Belikov.”

I continued to stare Adrian down until they turned a corner and were out of sight. Mason I was okay with, but Adrian. He was bad news, and would never love Rose the way Mason does. And for a short moment I felt sympathy for Mason. He must be in hell right now seeing Rose all over Adrian.

Shaking my head I dismissed Rose’s love life. She could do whatever she wanted with the both of them. Although Adrian was an adult, they could get in serious trouble if caught doing something out of line. And for a second I considered the idea of turning them in. But dismissed it immediately, if Rose was happy then I’d have to learn to be as well.

Sighing I walked back into the main room that was a mass mob. Pushing my way through people I found Tasha in the center of the stage smirking at all her haters. Rose’s actions still stung. But I willed it down as I made my way up on the stage and next to Tasha.

She whispered in my ear, “I think I’ve started something that will change Moroi history forever.” I could barely hear her over the angry sounds coming from the mob below our feet.

I nodded. “Yes, but let’s get you out of here before you try more offensive magic on innocent people.”

She scoffed at that but let me drag her through the room, out into the hallway and all the way back to her room. We, or rather Tasha, got a lot of stares, some even went out of their way to glare and “bump” into her.

By the time we reached her room I was practically running. She opened the door, smiling like a maniac. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this.” She turned back and looked up at me, blue eyes full of questions and fire. They way Rose looked at me in the gym the day we kissed. Hastily I pushed that memory away; I couldn’t let her get in between Tasha and me.

I returned her smile. “It’s fine, I just want you safe.”

Tasha giggled at that, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed her laugh. “Well I’m safe now, and really exhausted.”

I nodded. “Of course,” I said and started to back away from her door so she could close it. But her small hand stopped me. “What?”

Tasha smiled brightly at me and gestured inside. “Care to join?”

Oh how tempting that was. Filled with anguish I shook my head. “I’ve got guardian business to take care of.” I wasn’t lying, but I wish I was.

Sadness and rejection masked her features, as she nodded. “Of course, that’s what you have to do.”

I placed a hand on her cheek, right over her scar. And I pretended for a moment that the skin under my hand was smooth and untouched. Without saying a word I leaned down and kissed her, sweet and light. But enough to make my heart race. And when I pulled back I could tell by the way her eyes lit up that I had caught her by surprise.

Without saying a word I left her, standing there confused and awed at the same time.

When I arrived back to my room that’s when I took in a deep breath. Her lips may not have that electric feel Rose’s did, but it was nice. And I found myself wanting more.

Eventually I picked up my cell phone and called the Guardian council. Asking if they had any more information on the Drozdovs incident. They reported back with enough information to get somewhere. Which led me to my next call, the Moroi Government. They reported the same thing and told me that we couldn’t do anything as of right now. Which made me mad.

After talking with both the governments I called Janine. She answered on the second ring. “What is it Belikov.”

I swallowed and cleared my throat. “I have more information on the Drozdovs incident.”

This seemed to perk her up because her voice took on a lighter tone. “What did you find out?”

The way the Guardian and Moroi government worked was different. In order to get more information we had to call them, they never called us. Unless there was a world shattering crisis. Which there never had been.

I reported back what both the Moroi and Guardian government had told me. Janine sighed into the phone. “Yes, of course, thank you Belikov.”

I hung up after, knowing that there was nothing to do but wait for the government’s guidance.

The next morning I decided to go to Janine’s room. I hadn’t figured out everything last night. But something told me to go to her so we could brainstorm on the case. The Guardians may not be able to act on impulse but nothing stopped us from coming up with a plan.

As I was making my way to Janine’s room a familiar voice echoed down the hall. I stopped, stretching my hearing so I could pick up on the conversation. “What are you doing here?” Rose asked.

She sounded sick, or at least in pain. And my instincts kicked in. Although I don’t know how she could be in trouble in a secure place like this.

“What are you doing here?” Asked another voice that I assumed belonged to Lissa.

“Ladies, ladies,” Another voice chimed in. “No need to fight over me.”

That voice, it belonged to Adrian. And just the thought of him made rage boil up inside of me. And the worst part of it was that Rose was there, with him, in his room.

“We’re not. I just want to know what’s going on here.” Rose voice appeared louder as I turned around the corner and stood behind her.

She was outside of Adrian’s room, with him on the other side of the door. And Lissa sitting on the windowsill in his room.

“Me too.”

Rose jumped, spinning around, she looked up at me. Her eyes filled with bewilderment and longing. The way her brown eyes gazed into mine sent a shiver through me. I may be with Tasha now, but we weren’t a done deal. And Rose was making it harder for me to forget her.

But I wasn’t surprised; Rose always seemed to get in trouble, but Lissa. This was new for her, although if Rose was involved in a mix up I had no doubt Lissa would come to her rescue.

“Male and female students aren’t supposed to be in each other’s rooms.” I said looking directly into Adrian’s eyes.

Rose opened her mouth to protest but eventually decided against it. Instead she whipped around to glare at Adrian. “How do you keep doing this?” She asked him, frustrated.

“Do what?” Adrian asked her innocently.

“Keep making us look bad!”

He chuckled. “You guys are the ones who came here.”

This made my rage fume, and it took every ounce of my being not to lose control. “You shouldn’t have let them in,” I scolded. “I’m sure you know the rules at St. Vladimir’s.”

Adrian shrugged that off like it was nothing. “Yeah, but I don’t have to follow any school’s stupid rules.”

“Perhaps not,” I said coldly. “But I would have thought you’d still respect those rules.”

Adrian rolled his eyes at that. “I’m kind of surprised to find you lecturing about underage girls.”

The anger and rage started to boil inside of me, taunting me to reveal its ugly face. I stared at him with as much impassiveness I could muster, clenching my hands into fists to fight off the anger.

Adrian didn’t seem to notice. “Besides, nothing sordid was going on. We were just hanging out.”

The thought of Rose “hanging out” in his room set me off again. Although I managed to keep my voice calm. “If you want to ‘hang out’ with young girls, do it at one of the public areas.”

Adrian laughed just then, a weird kind of laugh that made me want to punch him. “Young girls? Young girls? Sure. Young and old at the same time. They’ve barely seen anything in life, yet they’ve already seen too much. One’s marked with life, and one’s marked with death…but they’re the ones you’re worried about? Worry about yourself, dhampir. Worry about you, and worry about me. We’re the ones who are young.”

The rest of us stared. I don’t think anyone had expected Adrian to suddenly take an abrupt trip to Crazyville.

Adrian was calm and looked perfectly normal again. He turned away and strolled toward the window, glancing casually back at the rest of us as he pulled out his cigarettes.

“You ladies should probably go. He’s right. I am a bad influence.” This took me aback. Never before had I came to similar terms with Adrian.

My mind flashed back to the time when I had met his father. The one who was mean and arrogant, and looking at Adrian now, I could tell that that was where he was headed.

Lissa leapt off the windowsill and she and Rose followed me down the hall towards the lobby.

“That was…strange,” Rose said a couple of minutes later.

“Very,” I agreed. I was confused as to why Adrian made me so mad. Even watching Rose and Mason kiss didn’t get me that upset.

When we reached the lobby, Rose started to follow Lissa back towards their room, but I called to her. Wanting to talk to her about Adrian.

She glanced back at Lissa who had stopped and ushered her on. Finally Rose turned around and stepped off to the side of the room, out of the way of those passing through. A part of Moroi in diamonds and fur swept past us, anxious looks on their faces. Bellhops followed with luggage. People were still leaving in search of safer places. The Strigoi paranoia was far from over.

I snapped Rose out of her haze. “That’s Adrian Ivashkov.” I said, not bothering to keep the harshness out of my voice when I said his name.

“Yeah, I know.”

“This is the second time I’ve seen you with him.”

“Yeah,” She replied glibly. “We hang out sometimes.”

I arched an eyebrow and then jerked my head back toward where we’d come from. “You hang out in his room a lot?”

Rose took a moment to consider this. Then her face twisted as she stared evenly into my eyes. “What happens between him and me is none of your business.” She managed a tone similar to the one I’d used on her when making a similar comment about me and Tasha.

Only this time, that insult wouldn’t work. “Actually, as long as you’re at the Academy, what you do is my business.”

“Not my personal life. You don’t have any say in that.”

“You’re not an adult yet.”

“I’m close enough. Besides, it’s not like I’ll magically become an adult on my eighteenth birthday.”

“Clearly.” I said.

She blushed. “That’s not what I meant. I meant---“

“I know what you meant. And the technicalities don’t matter right now. You’re an Academy student. I’m your instructor. It’s my job to help you and to keep you safe. Being in the bedroom of someone like him…well, that’s not safe.”

“I can handle Adrian Ivashkov.” She muttered. “He’s weird---really weird, apparently---but harmless.” She paused for a moment. Considering something. “Speaking of personal lives…” uh oh. “I suppose you were off visiting Tasha, huh?”

It was very petty of her to ask that. And I figured that just to please her it wouldn’t hurt to tell the truth. “Actually, I was visiting your mother.”

The way I said it and by the look on Rose’s face, I knew I had said it the wrong way. “You going to hook up with her too”

I knew that quip seemed too good to pass up for her. I gave her a weary glance. “No, we were looking over some new data about the Strigoi in the Drozdov attack.”

Her face fell at that, all the anger and snarkiness dried up. “What’d you find out?” She asked quietly.

“We’ve managed to track some of the Strigoi.” I said. “Or at least the humans with them. There were witnesses who lived nearby who spotted a few of the cars the group used. The plates were all from different states---the group appears to have split up, probably to make it harder for us. But one of the witnesses did catch on plate number. It’s registered to an address in Spokane.”

“Spokane?” She asked incredulously. “Spokane, Washington? Who makes Spokane their hideout?”

I knew what she was thinking. Spokane was about as boring as every other backwoods northwest city. And she should know, that’s where she and Lissa had ran off to. So it shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise that someone would make it their hideout.

“Strigoi, apparently. The address was fake, but other evidence shows they really are there. There’s a kind of shopping plaza that has some underground tunnels. There’ve been Strigoi sightings around that area.”

“Then…” she frowned. “Are you going to go after them? Is somebody going to? I mean, this is what Tasha’s been saying all along…If we know where they are…” I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.

I shook my head, not wanting her to get any thoughts of running out there, revengeful on the Strigoi. “The guardians can’t do anything without permission from higher up. That’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

She sighed. “Because the Moroi talk too much.”

“They’re being cautious,” I said.

Rose’s body tensed an early sign that she was about to lose control. “Come on. Even you can’t want to be careful on this one. You actually know where Strigoi are hiding out. Strigoi who massacred children. Don’t you want to go after them when they don’t expect it?” Revenge burning in her eyes.

“It’s not that easy,” I said. “We answer to the Guardian Council and the Moroi government. We can’t just run off and act on impulse. And anyway, we don’t know everything yet. You should never walk into any situation without knowing all the details.”

“Zen life lessons again.” She sighed. Running a hand through her hair as she tucked it behind her ears. My fingers itched to touch that hair. “Why’d you tell me this, anyway? This is guardian stuff. Not the kind of thing you let novices on.”

I considered my words, my tone softened. She had got to me once again. “I’ve said a few things.. the other day and today…that I shouldn’t have. Things that insulted your age. You’re seventeen…but you’re capable of handling and processing the same things those much older than you do.”

Her face lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. “You’re still really young in a lot of ways---and act young---but the only way to really change that is to treat you like an adult. I need to do that more. I know you’ll take this information and understand how important it is and keep it to yourself.” I had full trust in her with this.

The way she looked up at me with approval and understanding broke my heart. I’m sorry Rose. I care about you, I really do, but you have to move on.

Just as I was about to tell her that a light voice came up from behind me. “Dimka.” Tasha walked up to us. She smiled when she saw Rose. “Hello, Rose.”

I could see her face drop into a scowl as she replied flatly: “hey.”

Tasha placed a hand on my forearm, sliding her fingers over my leather coat. And even with the thick layers I could feel the warmth coming off them. I glanced at Rose and saw her eyeing Tasha’s fingers angrily.

“You’ve got that look,” Tasha’s voice pulled me from Rose.

“What look?” I asked smiling down at her. Looking at her brought me back to last night’s events. I would have recapped that kiss if it weren’t for Rose’s presence. For some reason I thought I owed her that.

“That look that says you’re going to be on duty all day.”

“Really? I have a look like that?”

She nodded. “When does your shift technically end?”

I looked at her ashamed for not finding her faster. “An hour ago.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” she groaned .”You need a break.”

“Well..if you consider that I’m always Lissa’s guardian…”

“For now,” Tasha said knowingly. “There’s a big pool tournament going on upstairs.”

“I can’t” I said still smiling, wishing that I could. “Even though I haven’t played in a long time…”

Her eyes flashed with desire. “Come on, then,” she begged. “Just one