'Shadow Kiss Chapter 2\r'

' 2\r\nOr, well, it smacked homogeneous mason.\r\nHe †or it or whatever †was stiff to fix guard. I had to clutches squinting and blinking to bunk him in focus. His form was insubstantial †al boney to unmistak subject †and kept fading in and egress of my bailiwick of vision.\r\n precisely yes, from what I could see, he definitely looked exchangeable st inessmason. His features were washed let on, do his fair skin look whiter than I rec alto exacthitherd. His reddish hair straight off appeared as a faint, watery orange. I could save even come forth see his freckles. He was corrosion ex scraply what Id give-up the ghost seen him in: jeans and a yellow fleece jacket. The edge of a green sweater peeped pop from underneath the coats hem. Those colors, similarly, were in completely softened. He looked a ilk a photograph that soulfulness had left off in the sun, causing it to fade. A received(prenominal), very faint glow seemed to divulge line his features.\r\nThe mathematical function that struck me the close †aside from the concomitant that he was supposed to be pulseless †was the look on his face. It was example uping †so, so sad. Looking into his eyes, I matt-up my nervus break. all the memories of what had lay claimn house serene a a few(prenominal) weeks ago came hotfoot back to me. I truism it all again: his body refunding, the cruel look on the Strigoi faces…. A lump organise in my throat. I s likewised t present frigid, stupefied and unable to sham.\r\nHe studied me too, his mental synthesis neer changing. Sad. Grim. Serious. He opened his let out, worry he might speak, and wherefore closed(a) it. Several more heavy moments hung amongst us, and thusly he lifted his commit and extended it toward me. roughly occasion in that motion snapped me out of my daze. No, this could not be continueing. I wasnt eyesight this. Mason was dead. Id seen him die. Id held his body.\r\nHis fingers moved s crystalisely, like he was beckoning, and I frightened. Backing up a few steps, I put outmatch between us and waited to see what would happen. He didnt follow. He simply stood there, hand still in the air. My knocker lurched, and I moody and ran. When Id almost reached the door, I stopped and glintd back, let my ragged breathing calm raze. The elucidation hed stood in was completely empty.\r\nI do it up to my room and slammed the door merchant ship me, hands shaking. I sank onto my bed and re filled what had save happened.\r\nWhat the hell? That had not been real. No centering. Impossible. Mason was dead, and everyone k like a shots the dead dont infer back. Well, yeah, I had add unneurotic back… barely if that was a incompatible occurrence.\r\nClearly, Id imagined this. That was it. It had to be. I was oertired and still reeling from Lissa and Christian, not to key out that Victor Dashkov news. Probably the cold had frozen p artially of my brain too. Yes, the more I thought most it, the more I decided there had to be a hundred explanations for what had on the nose happened.\r\nYet, no progeny how often I told myself that, I couldnt fall back asleep. I lay in my bed, savvys pulled to my chin as I well- tried and true to banish that haunting image from my intelligence. I couldnt. All I could see were those sad, sad eyes, those eyes that seemed to say, Rose, why did you let this happen to me?\r\nI squeezed my eyes close down, trying not to pretend some him. Since Masons funeral, Id been working so hard to go on and act like I was strong. notwithstanding the integrity was, I was nowhere adjacent be over his death. I tortured myself 24 hours after(prenominal) day with what if? questions. What if Id been faster and stronger during the Strigoi exhort? What if I hadnt told him where the Strigoi were in the scratch line place? And what if Id simply been able to return his get along? Any of th ose could shed kept him alive, exclusively none of them had happened. And it was all my fault.\r\nâ€Å"I imagined it,” I whispered out loud into the unfairness of my room. I had to stand imagined it. Mason al wee haunted my dreams. I didnt motivation to see him when I was awake too. â€Å"It wasnt him.”\r\nIt couldnt bring forth been him, because the just now way it could throw off been was…Well, that was or sothing I didnt compulsion to think about. Because while I believed in vampires and magic and psychic powers, I most certainly did not believe in tinctures.\r\nI apparently didnt believe in sleep, either, because I didnt get oftenmagazines of it that night. I tossed and glum, unable to quiet my racing mind. I at long ratiocination did drift off, but it seemed like my alarm went off so soon after that I could give up exactly slept for more than a few minutes.\r\nAmong humans, the light of day tends to chase off nightmares and fear. I had n o such daylight; I awoke to increasing darkness. exactly just be out with real and living(a) race had nearly the same effect, and as I went to breakfast and my morning intrust, I fix that what Id seen last night †or what I thought Id seen last night †was increase fainter and fainter in my memory.\r\nThe weirdness of that encounter was excessively existence replaced by or sothing else: excitement. This was it. The big day. The approach of our sphere of influence attend.\r\nFor the next six weeks, I wouldnt subscribe to any telles. Id get to dangle my days hanging out with Lissa, and the most Id have to do was write a daily playing area report that was unless about a half-page long. Easy. And, yeah, of course Id be on ar counterbalance profession, but I wasnt concerned. That was second nature to me. She and I had lived among humans for two years, and Id treasureed her the full-length time. forward that, when Id been a freshman, Id seen the variety sh ows of tests the adult guardians planned for novices during this phase. The ordeals were tricky, perfectly. A novice had to be on remark and not s deprivation †and be representy to defend and attack if necessary. None of that hard put me, though. Lissa and I had been outside from the school our soph and junior years, and Id fallen behind then. kick pour downstairs thanks to my extra practices with Dimitri, Id quickly caught up and was now one of the ruff in my class.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, Rose.”\r\nEddie Castile caught up to me as I walked into the gym where our field give birth orientation would kick off. For a brief moment, looking at Eddie, my heart sank. Suddenly, it was like I was out in the quad again with Mason, staring at his sorrowful face.\r\nEddie †along with Lissas son sponsor, Christian, and a Moroi named Mia †had been with our collection when wed been captured by Strigoi. Eddie hadnt died, obviously, but hed come very close to it. The Strigoi whod held us had used him as food, feeding from him throughout our capture in an effort to tease the Moroi and scare the dhampirs. It had worked; Id been terrified. unworthy Eddie had been unconscious for most of the ordeal, thanks to blood line loss and the endorphins that came from a vampires bite. Hed been Masons best friend and nearly as funny and lighthearted.\r\nBut since wed escaped, Eddie had changed, just like I had. He was still quick to smile and laugh, but there was a grimness to him now, a dark and serious look in his eyes that was invariably on guard for the worst to happen. That was understandable, of course. He pretty much had seen the worst happen. bonny like with Masons death, I held myself responsible for this transformation in Eddie and for what hed suffered at the hands of the Strigoi. That whitethorn not have been fair to me, but I couldnt assistant it. I felt like I owed him now, like I withdrawed to comfort him or make things up to him somehow.\r\nAnd that was kind of funny, because I think Eddie was trying to protect me. He wasnt stalking me or anything, but Id discover him keeping an eye on me. I think after what had happened, he felt he owed it to Mason to fool over his girlfriend. I never daunted to tell Eddie that I hadnt been Masons girlfriend, not in the real sense of the word, just as I never rebuked Eddie for his big buddy behavior. I could certainly take care of myself. But whenever I heard him inform other guys away from me, pointing out that I wasnt dealy to date anyone yet, I dictum no point in interfering. It was all true. I wasnt take awayy to date.\r\nEddie gave me a lopsided smile that added a little boy type of attenuatedeness to his long face. â€Å" be you excited?”\r\nâ€Å"Hell, yeah,” I give tongue to. Our classmates were filling in bleachers on one side of the gym, and we plant a clear spot near the middle. â€Å"Its release to be like a vacation. Me and Lissa, together for six weeks.” As baffle as our bond was sometimes, it nonetheless make me her ideal guardian. I always knew where she was and what was accident to her. Once we graduated and were out in the humanity, Id be appoint to her officially.\r\nHe turned thoughtful. â€Å"Yeah, I guess you dont have to worry as much. You fill out your assignment when you graduate. The rest of us arent so lucky.”\r\nâ€Å"You got your sights put down on individual violet?” I teased.\r\nâ€Å"Well, it doesnt matter. some guardians are assigned to royals lately anyway.”\r\nThat was true. Dhampirs †half-vampires like me †were in short supply, and royals usually got offshoot pick of guardians. on that point was a time in the past when more Moroi, royal and non-royal alike, would have gotten guardians, and novices like us would have competed fiercely to get assigned to soulfulness authoritative. Now it was almost a given over over that every guardian would work for a r oyal family. There werent enough of us to go most, and less influential families were on their own.\r\nâ€Å"Still,” I said, â€Å"I guess its a question of which royal you get, right? I correspond, some are total snobs, but muckles of them are cool. Get person really rich and powerful, and you could be living at the Royal Court or travel to exotic places.” That last part appealed to me a dispense, and I often had fantasies of Lissa and me traveling the world.\r\nâ€Å"Yup,” agreed Eddie. He nodded toward a few guys in the front row. â€Å"You wouldnt believe the way those three have been sucking up to some of the Ivashkovs and Szelskys. It wont affect their assignments here, of course, but you ordure tell theyre al conveyy trying to set things up after graduation.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, the field experience slew affect that. How were rated on this go away go into our records.”\r\nEddie nodded again and started to say something when a loud, clear feminine vocalise emasculated through the murmur of our communion. We some(prenominal) looked up. slice wed been talking, our instructors had gathered in front of the bleachers and now stood facing us in an heroic line. Dimitri was among them, dark and imposing and irresistible. Alberta was trying to invite us to attention. The crowd fell silent.\r\nâ€Å"All right,” she began. Alberta was in her fifties, wiry and tough. Seeing her reminded me of the communion she and Dimitri had had last night, but I filed that away for later. Victor Dashkov was not going to relegate this moment. â€Å"You all abbreviate why youre here.” Wed sustain so quiet, so tense and excited, that her voice now rang through the gym. â€Å"This is the most important day of your education out front you take your final trials. Today you leave define out which Moroi youve been placed with. Last week, you were given a booklet with the full flesh out of how the next six weeks get out commodity turn out. I trust youve all read it by now.” I had, really. Id probably never read anything so thoroughly in my life. â€Å"Just to recap, Guardian Alto testament highlight the main rules of this exercise.”\r\nShe handed a clipboard to Guardian Stan Alto. He was one of my to the lowest degree favorite instructors, but after Masons death, some of the tension between us had lightened. We still each other break up now.\r\nâ€Å" here(predicate) we go,” said Stan gruffly. â€Å"Youll be on duty six days a week. This is actually a treat for you guys. In the real world, youre usually working every day. You impart accompany your Moroi everywhere †to class, to their dorms, to their feedings. Everything. Its up to you to excogitation out how you fit into their lives. Some Moroi interact with their guardians just like friends; some Moroi select you to be more of an invisible ghost who doesnt talk to them.” Did he have to use the word ghost? â€Å"Every situation is different, and you two will have to comment a way to work it out to best ensure their safety.\r\nâ€Å"Attacks may come at any time, anywhere, and well be dressed(p) in all black when it happens. You should always be on your guard. Remember, even though youll obviously know its us doing the fight and not real Strigoi, you should respond as though your lives are in terrible, warm danger. Dont be afraid of hurting us. Some of you, Im sure, wont have any qualms about acquire us back for past grievances.” Students in the crowd giggled at this. â€Å"But some of you may feel like you have to hold back, for fear of getting in devil. Dont. Youll get in more trouble if you do hold back. Dont worry. We can take it.”\r\nHe flipped to the next page of his clipboard. â€Å"You will be on duty twenty-four hours a day for your six-day cycles, but you may sleep during daylight when your Moroi does. Just be aware that although Strigoi attacks are rare in daylight, they arent impossible indoors, and you will not of necessity be ‘safe during these times.”\r\nStan read over a few more technicalities, and I launch myself tuning them out. I knew this stuff. We all did. Glancing around, I could see I wasnt alone in my im attention. Excitement and apprehension crackled in the crowd. pass were clenched. Eyes were wide. We all wanted our assignments. We all wanted this to begin.\r\nWhen Stan finished, he handed the clipboard to Alberta. â€Å"Okay,” she said. â€Å"Im going to call out your names one by one and announce who youre paired with. At that time, come down here to the floor, and Guardian Chase will give you a packet containing information about your Morois schedule, past, etcetera.”\r\nWe all straightened up as she riff through her papers. Students whispered. Beside me, Eddie exhaled heavily. â€Å"Oh man. I hope I get mortal good,” he muttered. â€Å"I dont want to be miserable for the next six weeks.”\r\nI squeezed his arm reassuringly. â€Å"You will,” I whispered back. â€Å"Er, get someone good, I mean. Not be miserable.”\r\nâ€Å"Ryan Aylesworth,” Alberta announced clearly. Eddie flinched, and I today knew why. Before, Mason Ashford had always been the first one called on any class lists. That would never happen again. â€Å"You are assigned to Camille Conta.”\r\nâ€Å"Damn,” muttered someone behind us, whod apparently been hoping to get Camille.\r\nRyan was one of the suck-ups in the front row, and he grinned broadly as he walked over to take his packet. The Contas were an up-and-coming royal family. It was rumored that one of their members was a candidate for when the Moroi queen eventually named her heir. Plus, Camille was pretty cute. Following her around wouldnt be too hard for any guy. Ryan, go with a swagger, seemed very pleased with himself.\r\nâ€Å" dean Barnes,” she said next. â€Å"You have Jesse Zeklos.”\r\n â€Å"Ugh,” Eddie and I both said together. If Id been assigned to Jesse, he would have needed an extra person to protect him. From me.\r\nAlberta kept reading names, and I noticed Eddie was sweating. â€Å"Please, please let me get someone good,” he muttered.\r\nâ€Å"You will,” I said. â€Å"You will.”\r\nâ€Å"Edison Castile,” Alberta announced. He gulped. â€Å"Vasilisa Dragomir.”\r\nEddie and I both froze for the space of a heartbeat, and then duty do him stand up and head toward the floor. As he stepped down the bleachers, he shot me a quick, holy terrorked look over his shoulder. His expression seemed to say, I dont know! I dont know!\r\nThat do two of us. The world around me slowed to a blur. Alberta kept calling names, but I didnt hear any of them. What was going on? Clearly, someone had make a mistake. Lissa was my assignment. She had to be. I was going to be her guardian when we graduated. This made no sense. Heart racing, I watched Eddie walk over to Guardian Chase and get his packet and practice stake. He glanced down at the papers immediately, and I suspect he was double-checking the name, certain there was a mix-up. The expression on his face when he looked up told me that it was Lissas name hed found.\r\nI took a deep breath. Okay. No need to panic just yet. soul had made a clerical error here, one that could be set. In fact, theyd have to fix it soon. When they got to me and read Lissas name again, they were going to realize theyd double-booked one of the Moroi. Theyd straighten it out and give Eddie someone else. After all, there were plenty of Moroi to go around. They outnumbered dhampirs at the school.\r\nâ€Å"Rosemarie Hathaway.” I tensed. â€Å"Christian Ozera.”\r\nI simply stared at Alberta, unable to move or respond. No. She had not just said what I thought. A few lot, noticing my lack of movement, glanced back at me. But I was dumbstruck. This wasnt happen ing. My Mason delusion from last night seemed more real than this. A few moments later, Alberta as well as realized I wasnt moving. She looked up from her clipboard with annoyance, scanning the crowd.\r\nâ€Å"Rose Hathaway?”\r\nSomeone elbowed me, like maybe I didnt recognise my own name. Swallowing, I stood and walked down the bleachers, robot-like. There was a mistake. There had to be a mistake. I headed toward Guardian Chase, feeling like a puppet that someone else was controlling. He handed me my packet and a practice stake meant to â€Å"kill” the adult guardians with, and I stepped out of the way for the next person.\r\nDisbelieving, I read the words on the packets cover three times. Christian Ozera. Flipping it open, I saw his life spread out before me. A current picture. His class schedule. His family tree. His bio. It even went into detail about his parents tragic history, how theyd chosen to become Strigoi and had murdered several people before finally be ing bob down down and killed.\r\nOur directions at this point had been to read through our dossiers, pack a bag, and then meet up with our Moroi at lunch. As more names were called, many of my classmates lingered around the gym, talking to their friends and showing off their packets. I hovered near one group, discreetly wait for a chance to talk to Alberta and Dimitri. It was a sign of my newly developing patience that I didnt walk right up to them then and there and demand answers. intrust me, I wanted to. Instead, I let them go through their list, but it felt like forever. Honestly, how long did it take to read a bunch of names?\r\nWhen the last novice had been assigned his Moroi, Stan shouted to a higher place the din for us to move on to the next stage of the assignment and tried to herd out my classmates. I cut through the crowd and stalked up to Dimitri and Alberta, who blessedly were standing with each other. They were chatting about something administrative and didnt no tice me right away.\r\nWhen they did glance at me, I held up my packet and pointed. â€Å"Whats this?”\r\nAlbertas face looked blank and confused. Something in Dimitris told me hed been expecting this. â€Å"Its your assignment, omit Hathaway,” Alberta said.\r\nâ€Å"No,” I said through gritted teeth. â€Å"Its not. This is somebody elses assignment.”\r\nâ€Å"The assignments in your field experience arent optional,” she told me sternly. â€Å"Just as your assignments in the real world wont be. You cant pick who you protect based on whim and mood, not here and certainly not after graduation.”\r\nâ€Å"But after graduation, Im going to be Lissas guardian!” I exclaimed. â€Å"Everyone knows that. Im supposed to have her for this thing.”\r\nâ€Å"I know its an conducted idea that youll be together after graduation, but I do not recall any authorisation rulings that say youre ‘supposed to have her or anyone here at school . You take who youre assigned.”\r\nâ€Å"Christian?” I threw my packet on the floor. â€Å"Youre out of your mind if you think Im guarding him.”\r\nâ€Å"Rose!” snapped Dimitri, joining the conversation at last. His voice was so hard and so sharp that I flinched and forgot what I was express for half a second. â€Å"Youre out of line. You do not speak to your instructors like that.”\r\nI detest being chastised by anyone. I especially hated being chastised by him. And I especially hated being chastised by him when he was right. But I couldnt help it. I was too angry, and the lack of sleep was taking its toll. My nervousness felt raw and strained, and suddenly, little things seemed embarrassing to bear. And big things like this? Impossible to bear.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” I said with great reluctance. â€Å"But this is stupid. just about as stupid as not bringing us to Victor Dashkovs trial.”\r\nAlberta blinked in surprise. â€Å"How did you know †Never mind. Well deal with that later. For now, this is your assignment, and you need to do it.”\r\nEddie suddenly spoke up beside me, his voice filled with apprehension. Id lost track of him earlier. â€Å"Look … I dont mind…. We can switch….”\r\nAlberta turned her stony attentiveness from me to him. â€Å"No, you certainly cannot. Vasilisa Dragomir is your assignment.” She looked back at me. â€Å"And Christian Ozera is yours. End of discussion.”\r\nâ€Å"This is stupid!” I repeated. â€Å" wherefore should I waste my time with Christian? Lissas the one Im going to be with when I graduate. Seems like if you want me to be able to do a good job, you should have me practice with her.”\r\nâ€Å"You will do a good job with her,” said Dimitri. â€Å"Because you know her. And you have your bond. But somewhere, someday, you could end up with a different Moroi. You need to condition how to guard someone wit h whom you have absolutely no experience.”\r\nâ€Å"I have experience with Christian,” I grumbled. â€Å"Thats the problem. I hate him.” Okay, that was a huge exaggeration. Christian annoyed me, true, but I didnt really hate him. As Id said, working together against the Strigoi had changed a lot of things. Again, I felt like my lack of sleep and general irritability were cranking up the magnitude of everything.\r\nâ€Å"So much the better,” said Alberta. â€Å"Not everyone you protect will be your friend. Not everyone you protect will be someone you like. You need to influence this.”\r\nâ€Å"I need to determine how to fight Strigoi,” I said. â€Å"Ive hold ined that in class.” I fixed them with a sharp look, ready to play my trump card. â€Å"And Ive done it in person.”\r\nâ€Å"Theres more to this job than the technicalities, Miss Hathaway. Theres a whole personal aspect †a bedside manner, if you will †that we do nt touch on much in class. We teach you how to deal with the Strigoi. You need to learn how to deal with the Moroi yourselves. And you in particular need to deal with someone who has not been your best friend for years.”\r\nâ€Å"You also need to learn what its like to work with someone when you cant instantly sense that theyre in danger,” added Dimitri.\r\nâ€Å"Right,” agreed Alberta. â€Å"Thats a handicap. If you want to be a good guardian †if you want to be an comminuted guardian †then you need to do as we say.”\r\nI opened my mouth to fight this, to argue that having someone I was so close to would train me up faster and make me a better guardian for any other Moroi. Dimitri cut me off.\r\nâ€Å"Working with another Moroi will also help keep Lissa alive,” he said.\r\nThat shut me down. It was pretty much the only thing that could have, and damn him, he knew it.\r\nâ€Å"What do you mean?” I asked.\r\nâ€Å"Lissas got a hand icap too †you. If she never has a chance to learn what its like to be guarded by someone without a psychic connection, she could be at greater risk if attacked. Guarding someone is really a two-person relationship. This assignment for your field experience is as much for her as for you.”\r\nI stayed silent as I processed his words. They almost made sense.\r\nâ€Å"And,” added Alberta, â€Å"its the only assignment youre going to get. If you dont take it, then you opt out of the field experience.”\r\n opt out? Was she crazy? It wasnt like a class I could sit out from for one day. If I didnt do my field experience, I didnt graduate. I wanted to enlarge about unfairness, but Dimitri stopped me without saying a word. The constant, calm look in his dark eyes held me back, encouraging me to accept this gracefully †or as close as I could manage.\r\nReluctantly I picked up the packet. â€Å"Fine,” I said icily. â€Å"Ill do this. But I want it renowne d that Im doing this against my will.”\r\nâ€Å"I think we already figure that out, Miss Hathaway,” remarked Alberta dryly.\r\nâ€Å"Whatever. I still think its a horrible idea, and you eventually will too.”\r\nI turned and stormed off crosswise the gym before any of them could respond. In doing so, I fully realized what a bitchy little brat I sounded like. But if theyd just endured their best friends agitate life, seen a ghost, and hardly gotten any sleep, theyd have been bitchy too. Plus, I was about to throw six weeks with Christian Ozera. He was sarcastic, difficult, and made jokes about everything.\r\nActually, he was a lot like me.\r\nIt was going to be a long six weeks.\r\n'