Shadow Kiss Chapter 24

Twenty-fourTHE exclusively WORLD WAS politic. At this time of dark, at that place were no birds or anything, unless it beed quieter than usual. Even the wind had locomote silent. Mason looked at me pleadingly. The nausea and prickling increased.Then, I knew.Dimitri, I said urgently, in that location be Strig in addition late. Dimitri and I saw him at the same time, but Dimitri was closer. Pale face. Red eyes. The Strigoi swooped toward us, and I could some look he was f fable, notwithstanding analogous vampire legends used to say. notwithstanding Dimitri was just as fast and intimately as strong. He had his s construct a real maven, not a practice whizz in his hand and met the Strigois attack. I think the Strigoi had hoped for the element of surprise. They grapp direct, and for a present moment they seemed suspended in time, neither gaining make on the an separate(prenominal). Then Dimitris hand snaked stunned, plunging the interestingness into the Strigois heart. The red eyes widened in surprise, and the Strigois body crumpled to the basis.Dimitri rancid to me to make sure I was any good, and a thousand silent messages passed between us. He turned a look and scanned the woods, peering into the darkness. My nausea had increased. I didnt understand why, but approximatelyhow I could champion the Strigoi around us. That was what was reservation me receive sick. Dimitri turned back to me, and there was a look Id never seen in his eyes.Rose. Lis hug drug to me. prompt. Run as fast and as hard as you can back to your dorm. Tell the guardians.I nodded. t darther was no questioning here.Reaching emerge, he gripped my upper arm, gaze locked on me to make sure I unders everywherelyd his next words. Do not stop, he said. No matter what you hear, no matter what you see, do not stop. Not until youve warned the others. Dont stop unless youre directly confronted. Do you understand?I nodded over again. He released his let.Tell them bu ria.I nodded again.Run.I ran. I didnt look back. I didnt regard what he was exit to do because I already knew. He was exit to stop as spelly Strigoi as he could so that I could entrance help. And a moment later, I heard grunts and hits that told me hed found other. For only a heartbeat, I let myself take several(prenominal)what him. If he died, I was certain I would also. But consequently I let it go. I couldnt just think slightly one person, not when hundreds of lives were depending on me. there were Strigoi at our school. It was impossible. It couldnt happen.My feet hit the ground hard, splashing through the slush and mud. Around me, I theory I could hear voices and shapes not the ghosts from the airport, but the monsters Id been dreading for so long. But nothing stopped me. When Dimitri and I had inaugural begun training to pissher, hed made me run laps alone day. Id complained, but hed stated over and over again that it was essential. It would make me stronger, he had said. And, hed added, a day could accompany when I couldnt fight and would realise to flee. This was it.The dhampir dorm appeared forwards me, about half its windows lit. It was near curfew people were personnel casualty to bed. I burst in through the doors, tonus ilk my heart was going to explode from the exertion. The first person I saw was Stan, and I nearly knocked him over. He caught my wrists to steady me.Rose, wh Strigoi, I gasped out. There are Strigoi on campus.He stared at me, and for the first time Id ever seen, his mouth seriously dropped open. Then, he acquire himself, and I could immediately see what he was thinking. More ghost stories. Rose, I dont lie with what youre Im not barbarian I screamed. Everyone in the dorms lobby was staring at us. Theyre out there Theyre out there, and Dimitri is fighting them exclusively. You take hold to help him. What had Dimitri told me? What was that word? Buria. He said to tell you buria.And like that, Stan was g one.I had never seen any drills for Strigoi attacks, nevertheless the guardians must have conducted them. Things go too fast for them not to have. Every guardian in the dorm, whether theyd been vigilant or not, was in the lobby in a matter of minutes. C in all(prenominal)s were made. I stood in a hemicycle with other novices, who watched our elders organize themselves with awesome efficiency. Glancing around, I completed just aboutthing. There were no other seniors with me. Since it was Sunday night, all of them had returned to the field hold out to protect their Moroi. It was oddly relieving. The Moroi dorms had an extra line of defense.At least, the teenage Moroi did. The elementary campus did not. It had its conventionalism guardian protection, as well as a lot of the same defenses our dorm did, like gratings on all the first- home windows. Things like that wouldnt keep Strigoi out, but they would slow them down. No one had ever done too much more than than that. There d been no essential, not with the wards.Alberta had joined the group and was sending out parties throughout campus. few were sent to secure buildings. Some were hunting parties, specifically seeking out Strigoi and trying to figure out how more were around. As the guardians thinned out, I stepped forward.What should we do? I asked.Alberta turned to me. Her eyes swept over me and the others standing behind me, ages ranging from fourteen to just a little younger than me. Something flashed across her face. Sadness, I thought.You conciliate here in the dorm, she said. No one can leave the whole campus is under lockdown. Go up to the floors you live on. There are guardians there organizing you into groups. The Strigoi are less likely to get up there from the outside. If they get in on this floor She scanned around us, at the door and windows being monitored. She shook her head. Well, well dish with that.I can help, I told her. You know I can.I could tell she was about to disagree, but so she changed her mind. To my surprise, she nodded. Take them upstairs. Watch them.I started to protest being a babysitter, but consequently she did something really astonishing. She reached interior her coat and handed me a silver stake. A real one.Go on, she said. We need them out of the way here.I started to turn away but then paused. What does buria mean?Storm, she said softly. Its Russian for storm.I led the other novices up the stairs, directing them to their floors. Most were terrified, which was perfectly understandable. A few of them the older ones in grouchy looked like I felt. They treasured to do something, anything to help. And I knew that even though they were a year from graduation, they were still deadly in their way. I pulled a couple of them aside.Keep them from panicking, I said in a low voice. And stay on watch. If something happens to the older guardians, itll be up to you.Their faces were sober, and they nodded at my directions. They understood per fectly. There were some novices, like Dean, who didnt always grasp the seriousness of our lives. But most did. We grew up fast.I went to the second floor because I figured that was where Id be most useful. If any Strigoi got past the first floor, this was the next logical target. I showed my stake to the guardians on duty and told them what Alberta had said. They respected her wishes, but I could tell they didnt want me to be too involved. They directed me down a wing with one small window. Only someone my size or smaller could likely fit through, and I knew that particular section of the building was nearly impossible to draw near up, due to its outside shape.But, I patrolled it anyway, desperate to know what was going on. How more Strigoi were there? Where were they? I completed then that I had a good way of finding out. Still keeping an eye on my window as best I could, I cleared my mind and slipped into Lissas head.Lissa was with a group of other Moroi on an upper floor of h er dorm too. The lockdown procedures were undoubtedly the same across campus. There was a chip shot more tension in this group than with mine, probably due to the fact that even while inexperienced, the novices with me sound now had some idea how to fight Strigoi. The Moroi had none, despite those adamant Moroi political groups wanting to instigate some sort of training sessions. The logistics of that were still being figured out.Eddie was near Lissa. He looked so fierce and so strong like he could single-handedly take on every Strigoi on campus. I was so glad that he among my classmates was assigned to her.Since I was completely inside her mind now, I got the full might of her feelings. Jesses torture session seemed meaningless now compared to a Strigoi attack. Unsurprisingly, she was terrified. But most of her fear wasnt for herself. It was for me and Christian.Rose is fine, a voice nearby said. Lissa glanced over at Adrian. Hed apparently been in the dorm rather than guest h ousing. He had on his usual lazy face, but I could see fear masked behind his color eyes. She can take on any Strigoi. Besides, Christian told you she was with Belikov. Shes probably safer than we are.Lissa nodded, wanting desperately to believe that. But ChristianAdrian, for all his bravado, suddenly looked away. He wouldnt meet her eyes or offer any conciliatory words. I didnt need to hear the explanation because I read it from Lissas mind. She and Christian had wanted to meet alone and talk about what had happened to her in the woods. Theyd been supposed to sneak out and meet at his lair in the chapels attic. She hadnt been fast enough and had been caught by curfew just before the attack, meaning she remained in the dorm while Christian was still out there.It was Eddie who offered the words of comfort. If hes in the chapel, hes fine. He really is the safest of all of us. Strigoi couldnt enter holy ground.Unless they combustion it down, said Lissa. They used to do that.Four hund red years ago, said Adrian. I think theyve got easier pickings around here without needing to go all medieval.Lissa flinched at the words easier pickings. She knew Eddie was business about the chapel, but she couldnt jar the thought that Christian might have been on his way back to the dorm and been caught in the middle. The annoy was eating her up, and she felt helpless with no way to do or find out anything.I returned to my own body, standing in the second floor hallway. Finally, I really and truly grasped what Dimitri had said about the importance of guarding someone who wasnt psychically linked to me. Dont get me wrong I was still worried about Lissa. I worried more about her than any other Moroi on campus. The only way I wouldnt have been worried would have been if she were miles away, ringed in wards and guardians. But at least I knew she was as safe as she could be right now. That was something.But Christian I had no idea. I had no link to tell me his whereabouts or to ev en let me know if he was alive. This was what Dimitri had meant. It was an alone different hazard when you didnt have a bond and it was a scary one.I stared at the window without seeing it. Christian was out there. He was my charge. And even if the field experience was hypothetical well, it didnt change things. He was a Moroi. He might be in danger. I was the one who was supposed to guard him. They came first.I took a cloudy breath and wrestled with the decision before me. Id been bemusen orders, and guardians followed orders. With the dangers around us, following orders was what kept us organized and efficient. performing rebel could sometimes get people killed. Mason had proven that in going aft(prenominal) the Strigoi in Spokane.But it wasnt like I was the only one who faced danger here. Everyone was at venture. There was no safety, not until all the Strigoi were gone from campus, and I had no clue how many there were. Guarding this window was invade work, meant to keep m e out of the way. True, someone could invade the second floor, and Id be useful then. And true, a Strigoi could try to get in through this window, but that was unlikely. It was too difficult, and, as Adrian had pointed out, they had easier ways to get prey.But I could go through the window.I knew it was wrong, even as I opened the window up. I was exposing myself here, but I had conflicting instincts. Obey orders. Protect Moroi.I had to go make sure Christian was okay.Chilly night air blew in. No sounds from outside revealed what was happening. Id climbed out of my rooms window a number of times and had some experience with it. The problem here was that the stone beneath the window was perfectly smooth. There was no handhold. There was a small ledge down by the first floor, but the distance to it was longer than my height, so I couldnt simply slide down. If I could get to that ledge, however, I could walk off to the corner of the building where some scalloped edging would let me cli mb down easily.I stared at the ledge below. I was going to have to drop down to it. If I fell, Id probably break my neck. Easy pickings for Strigoi, as Adrian would say. With a quick prayer to whoever was listening, I climbed out of the window, holding onto its sill with twain hands and letting my body discharge as close to the lower ledge as I could. I still had two more feet between it and me. I counted to three and released my hold, dragging my hands along the wall as I dropped. My feet hit the ledge and I started to wobble, but my dhampir reflexes kicked in. I regained my balance and stood there, holding the wall. Id made it. From this point, I easily travel to the corner and climbed down.I hit the ground, barely noticing Id skinned my hands. The quad around me was silent, though I thought I heard some screams in the distance. If I were a Strigoi, I wouldnt mess with this dorm. Theyd get a fight here, and while most Strigoi could probably take out a group of novices at once, t here were easier ways. Moroi were less likely to put up a real fight, and anyway, Strigoi preferred their blood to ours.Still, I moved cautiously as I set out toward the chapel. I had the cover of darkness, but Strigoi could see in it even better than I could. I used trees as covers, looking every way I could, wishing I had eyes in the back of my head. Nothing, save more screams in the distance. I realized then that I didnt have that nauseous feeling from earlier. Somehow, that feeling was an indicator of nearby Strigoi. I didnt entirely trust it enough to walk off blindly, but it was reassuring to know I had some benevolent of early alarm system.Halfway to the chapel, I saw someone move out from behind a tree. I spun around, stake in hand, and nearly struck Christian in the heart.God, what are you doing? I hissed. nerve-racking to get back to the dorm, he said. Whats going on? I heard screaming.There are Strigoi on campus, I said.What? How?I dont know. You have to go back to the c hapel. Its safe there. I could see it we could get there easily.Christian was as reckless as me sometimes, and I almost expected a fight. He didnt give me one. Okay. Are you going with me?I started to say I would, and then I felt that nauseous feeling creep over me. Get down I yelled. He dropped to the ground without hesitation.Two Strigoi were on us. They two moved in on me, knowing Id be an easy target for their combined strength, and then they could go after Christian. One of them slammed me into a tree. My vision blurred for half a second, but I before long recovered. I shoved back and had the satisfaction of seeing her stagger a little. The other one a man reached for me, and I dodged him, slipping out of his grasp.The pair of them reminded me of Isaiah and Elena from Spokane, but I refused to get caught up in memories. both(prenominal) were taller than me, but the woman was closer to my height. I feinted toward him, and then struck out as fast as I could toward her. My st ake bit into her heart. It surprised both of us. My first Strigoi staking.Id barely pulled the stake out when the other Strigoi backhanded me, snarling. I staggered but kept my balance as I sized him up. Taller. Stronger. Just like when Id fought Dimitri. Probably faster too. We circled and then I leapt out and kicked him. He barely budged. He reached for me, and I again managed to dodge as I scanned for some opening to stake him. My narrow escape didnt slow him down, though, and he immediately attacked again. He knocked me to the ground, pinning my arms. I tried to push him off, but he didnt move. Saliva dripped from his fangs as he leaned his face down toward mine. This Strigoi wasnt like Isaiah, wasting time with stupid speeches. This one was going to go in for the kill, draining my blood and then Christians. I felt the fangs against my neck and knew I was going to die. It was horrible. I wanted to live so, so badlybut this was how it would end. With my last moments, I started to yell at Christian to run, but then the Strigoi above me suddenly lit up like a torch. He jerked back, and I rolled out from underneath him.Thick flames covered his body, completely obscuring any of his features. He was just a man-shaped bonfire. I heard a few strangled screams before he grew silent. He fell to the ground, jerk and rolling before finally going still. Steam rose from where fire hit the snow, and the flames soon destroy out, revealing nothing but ashes underneath.I stared at the charred remains. Only moments ago, Id expected to die. Now my attacker was dead. I nearly reeled from how close Id been to dying. Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to leave this world. I was still in it, barely, and as I looked up from the ashes, everything around me seemed so sweet and so beautiful. The trees. The stars. The moon. I was alive and I was glad I was.I turned to Christian, who was crou ched on the ground.Wow, I said, helping him up. Obviously, he was the one who had saved me.No shit, he said. Didnt know I had that much power. He peered around, body rigid and tense. Are there more?No, I said.You seem fair certain.Wellthis is going to sound weird, but I can kind of sense them. Dont ask how, I said, seeing his mouth open. Just roll with it. I think its like the ghost thing, a shadow-kissed side effect. Whatever. Lets get back to the chapel.He didnt move. A strange, speculative look was on his face. Rose do you really want to hole up in the chapel?What do you mean?We just took out two Strigoi, he said, pointing to the staked and charred bodies.I met his eyes, the full impact of what he was saying hitting me. I could sense Strigoi. He could use his fire on them. I could stake them. Provided we didnt hit a group of ten or something, we could do some serious damage. Then reality hit.I cant, I told him slowly. I cant risk your life.Rose. You know what we could do. I can see it in your face. Its worth risking one Moroi life and, well, yours to take out a bunch of Strigoi.Putting a Moroi in danger. Taking him out to fight Strigoi. It pretty much went against everything Id been taught. All of a sudden, I remembered that sketch moment of clarity Id just had, the wonderful delectation of being alive. I could save so many others. I had to save them. I would fight as hard as I could.Dont use your full power on them, I finally said. You dont need to incinerate them in ten seconds like that. Just light them up enough to pain them, and then Ill civilisation them. You can save your power.A grin lit his face. Were going hunting?Oh man. I was going to get in so much trouble. But the idea was too appealing, too exciting. I wanted to fight back. I wanted to protect the people I loved. What I really wanted was to go to Lissas dorm and protect her. That wasnt the most efficient idea, though. Lissa had my classmates on hand. Others werent so lucky. I thought about those students, students like Jill.Lets go to the elementary campus, I said.We set off at a light run, taking a route we hoped would keep us away from other Strigoi. I still had no idea how many we were dealing with here, and that was driving me crazy. When we were almost to the other campus, I felt the weird nausea hit me. I called a warning to Christian, just as a Strigoi grabbed him. But Christian was fast. Flames wreathed the Strigois head. He screamed and released Christian, trying frantically to put the flames out. The Strigoi never saw me coming with the stake. The whole thing took under a minute. Christian and I exchanged looks.Yeah. We were badasses.The elementary campus proved to be a center of activity. Strigoi and guardians were actively fighting around the entrances to one of the dorms. For a moment, I froze. There were almost twenty Strigoi and half as many guardians. So many Strigoi togetherUntil recently, wed never heard of them banding together in such large numbers. Wed thought wed disbanded a large group of them by killing Isaiah, but apparently that wasnt true. I allowed myself only a moment more of shock, and then we jumped into the fray.Emil was near a side entrance, fending off three Strigoi. He was battered and bruised, and the body of a fourth Strigoi lay at his feet. I lunged for one of the three. She didnt see me coming, and I managed to stake her with almost no resistance. I was lucky. Christian meanwhile set flames to the others. Emils face reflected surprise, but that didnt stop him from staking another of the Strigoi. I got the other.You shouldnt have brought him here, Emil said as we moved to help another guardian. Moroi arent supposed to get involved with this.Moroi should have been involved with this a long time ago, said Christian through gritted teeth.We spoke little after that. The rest was a blur. Christian and I moved from fight to fight, combining his magic and my stake. Not all of our kills were as fast and easy as our early ones had been. Some fights were long and drawn out. Emil stuck with us, and I aboveboard bewildered count of how many Strigoi we took down.I know you.The words startled me. In all this bloodshed, none of us, friend or foe, did much talking. The speaker was a Strigoi who looked to be my own age but was probably at least ten times older. He had shoulder-length blond hair and eyes whose color I couldnt make out. They were ringed in red, which was all that mattered.My only answer was to swing out with my stake, but he dodged that. Christian was setting a couple of other Strigoi on fire, so I was handling this one on my own.Theres something strange about you now, but I still remember. I saw you years ago, before I was awakened. Okay, not ten times my age, not if hed seen me when he was a Moroi. I hoped his talking would distract him. He was actually pretty fast for a young Strigoi. You were always with that Dragomir girl, the blonde. My foot hit him, and I jerked my kick b ack before he could grab me. He barely budged. Her parents wanted you to be her guardian, right? Before they were all killed?I am her guardian, I grunted. My stake swiped dangerously close to him.Shes still alive, thenThere were rumors that shed died last year There was a sense of wonder in his voice, which mixed weirdly with the malice. You have no idea what kind of reward Id get to take down the last spiritedness Drag AhhHed dodged my stake from hitting his chest again, but this time I managed an upward strike that dragged the stakes jacket across his face. It wouldnt kill him there, but the touch of a stake so filled with life would feel like acid to the undead. He screamed, but it didnt slow his defenses.Ill come back for you after I finish her, he snarled.Youll never get near her, I growled back.Something shoved into me from the side, a Strigoi that Yuri was fighting. I stumbled but managed to drive my stake through Yuris Strigois heart before he could regain his balance. Yuri gasped his thanks, and then we both turned to other separate of the battle. Only the blond Strigoi was gone. I couldnt find him anywhere. Another took his place, and as I moved toward that one, flames lit up around him, making him an easy mark for my stake. Christian had returned.Christian, this Strigoi I heard, he panted.We have to go to herHe was messing with you. Shes across campus, surrounded by novices and guardians. Shell be okay.But They need us here.I knew he was right and I knew how hard it was for him to say that. Like me, he wanted to run off to Lissa. Despite all the good work he was doing here, I suspected he would rather have sunk all his magic into protecting her, keeping her ringed in a wall of fire no Strigoi could cross. I had no time to deeply investigate the bond, but I could sense the important things She was alive, and she wasnt in pain.So I stayed on, fighting with Christian and Yuri. Lissa hovered at the back of my mind, the bond telling me she was o kay. Aside from that, I let battle lust consume me. I had one goal and one alone Kill Strigoi. I couldnt let them get into this dorm, nor could I let them leave this area and possibly go to Lissas dorm. I lost track of time. Only the Strigoi I was currently fighting at any given moment mattered. And as soon as that one was gone, it was on to the next.Until there wasnt a next one.I was sore and exhausted, epinephrine burning through my body. Christian stood beside me, panting. He hadnt engaged in physical combat like me, but hed used a lot of magic tonight, and that had taken its own physical toll. I looked around.We gotta find another one, I said.There are no others, a familiar voice said.I turned and looked into Dimitris face. He was alive. All the fear for him Id held back burst through me. I wanted to throw myself at him and hold him as close to me as possible. He was alive battered and bloody, yes but alive.His gaze held mine for just a moment, reminding me of what had happene d in the cabin. It felt like a hundred years ago, but in that brief glance, I saw love and concern and relief. Hed been worried about me too. Then Dimitri turned and gestured to the eastern sky. I followed the motion. The horizon was pink and purple. It was nearly sunrise.Theyre either dead or have run away, he told me. He glanced between Christian and me. What you two did Was stupid? I suggested.He shook his head. One of the most amazing things Ive ever seen. Half of those are yours.I looked back at the dorm, shocked at the number of bodies lying around it. We had killed Strigoi. We had killed a lot of them. Death and killing were horrible thingsbut I had liked doing what I just did. I had defeated the monsters who had come after me and those in my care.Then I noticed something. My concentrate twisted, but it was nothing like my earlier Strigoi-sensing feeling. This was caused by something entirely different. I turned back to Dimitri.There are more than just Strigoi bodies there , I said in a small voice.I know, he said. Weve lost a lot of people, in all senses of the word.Christian frowned. What do you mean?Dimitris face was both hard and sad. The Strigoi killed some Moroi and dhampirs. And somesome they carried away.