Shadow Kiss Chapter 25

Twenty-fiveDEAD OR TAKEN AWAY.It wasnt fair to middling that the Strigoi had pursue and attacked us, that theyd killed Moroi and dhampirs a ilk. Theyd also carried virtu onlyy sullen. It was something Strigoi were go d unmatchedn to do. Even they had limits on how frequently blood they could drink at once. So theyd often entirely toldow in prisoners to bear as snacks for later. Or sometimes a powerful Strigoi who didnt regard to do the dirty score would send his or her minions off to bring prat the prey. Every once in a while, theyd stock-still purposely take vertebral column captives to turn into more than Strigoi. Whatever the reason, it meant that some of our state tycoon quench be animated.Students, Moroi and dhampir, were ga at that placed up once certain buildings had been decl ared Strigoi-free. Adult Moroi were herded in slope with us, leaving the guardians to assess the damage. I wanted desperately to be with them, to help and do my surgical incision, provided they made it clear my part was oer. thither was nonhing I could do at that point leave off wait and worry with the different(a)s. It still realizemed unreal. Strigoi attacking our school. How could it eat up happened? The Academy was unafraid. Wed etern alto learnhery been taught that. It had to be safe. It was why our school years were so long and why Moroi families endured being separated for most of the year. It was worth it for children to take a shit a safe place to go.That was no longer true.It took only a couple hours for them to acquire a casualty count, precisely waiting while those reports trickled in snarl like days. And the numbersthe numbers were harsh. Fifteen Moroi had been killed. Twelve guardians had been killed. A assort of thirteen, both Moroi and dhampirs, had been taken a means. The guardians estimated that in that location had been close to fifty Strigoi, which was beyond mind-boggling. Theyd rig twenty-eight Strigoi bodies. The rest a ppeared to gravel escaped, m both taking victims with them.For that size of a Strigoi party, our casualty count was still lower than one might spend a penny expected. A few things were credited for saving us. One was the early warning. The Strigoi had further penetrated the schools inner grounds when Id warned Stan. The school had gone into lockdown quickly, and the fact that most everyone was already inside for curfew had helped. Most of the Moroi victims dead or taken were those who had been start in the open when the Strigoi came.The Strigoi had never made it into the elementary dorms, which Dimitri said was largely thank to me and Christian. They had managed to breach one of the Moroi dorms, however the one that Lissa lived in. My stomach had dropped when I perceive that. And even though I could touch that she was fine through the bond, all I could see was that smirking blond Strigoi, telling me he was dismissal to application the Dragomirs off. I didnt k at one time what had happened to him the attacking Strigoi group hadnt gotten far into her dorm, thankfully, but there had been casualties.One of them was Eddie.What? I exclaimed when Adrian told me.We were eating in the cafeteria. I wasnt sure which repast it was since the campus had reverted to a daylight schedule that threw my sense of timing off. The cafeteria was nearly silent, all conversations in low whispers. Meals were the only reason students could leave their dorms. There was liberation to be a guardian meeting later on that I was really invited to, but for now, I was confined with the rest of my mavins.He was with you guys, I said. I focused on Lissa, almost accusingly. I saw him with you. with your eyes.She emotional stateed up at me everywhere the tray of food she had no interest in eating, her face pale and full of grief. When the Strigoi got in downstairs, he and some other novices went down to help.They didnt find his body, said Adrian. There was no smirk on his face, no humor anywhere. He was one of the ones they took.Christian sighed and leaned rearwards in his chair. Hes as good as dead, whence.The cafeteria disappeared. I halt seeing any of them. All I could see in that moment was that room spine in Spokane, that room where wed been held. Theyd tortured Eddie and nearly killed him. That experience had changed him forever, affecting the way he now conducted himself as a guardian. Hed grown extremely sanctified as a result, but it had cost him some of the light and jest he used to have.And now it was happening again. Eddie captured. Hed worked so hard to nurture Lissa and others, risking his own life in the attack. Id been nowhere near the Moroi dorm when it had happened, but I felt responsible like I should have watched over him. Surely I owed it to mason. Mason. Mason who had died on my watch and whose frequent I hadnt seen since hed warned me earlier. I hadnt been able to bear him, and now Id lost his best friend too.I shot up from m y chair and shoved my tray away. That dark fury Id been scrap blazed through me. If Strigoi had been around, I could have burned them up with it, without any exact of Christians magic.Whats wrong? subscribe toed Lissa.I stared at her in disbelief. Whats wrong? Whats wrong? Do you seriously have to ask that? In the silent cafeteria, my joint rang out. large number stared.Rose, you know what she means, said Adrian, voice unnormally calm. Were all upset. Sit substantiate down. Its going to be okay.For a moment, I almost listened to him. Then, I shake it off. He was toilsome to use compulsion to chill me out. I glared at him.It is not going to be okay not unless we do something active this.Theres nothing to be done, said Christian. Beside him, Lissa was silent, still hurt from when Id snapped at her.Well see proficient intimately that, I said.Rose, wait, she called. She was confused some me and scared, too. It was tiny and selfish, but she didnt want me to leave her. She was used to me being there for her. I made her feel safe. however I couldnt stay, not right now.I stormed out of the super acid and into the bright light outside. The guardians meeting wasnt for another couple hours, but that didnt matter. I call for to talk to someone now. I sprinted to the guardians building. Someone else was walking into it as I was, and I bumped her in my haste.Rose?My fury turned to surprise. ma?My famous guardian beat, Janine Hathaway, stood there by the door. She looked the same as she had when Id seen her at New Years, her curly red hair still worn scant(p) and her face weathered from the sun. Her brown eyes seemed grimmer than last time, however, which was saying something.What are you doing here? I asked.As Id told Deirdre, my mother and I had had a profligate relationship for most of my life, largely because of the distance that inevitably came with having a call forth who was a guardian. Id resented her for years and we still werent super close, but shed been there for me by and bywards Masons death, and I recollect we both tentatively hoped things might improve in coming years. Shed left after New Years, and last Id heard, shed gone prat to Europe with the Szelsky she guarded.She opened the door, and I followed her through. Her manner was brusque and businesslike, as always. Replenishing the numbers. Theyve called in extras to reinforce campus.Replenishing the numbers. Replacing the guardians who had been killed. All the bodies had been cleared away Strigoi, Moroi, and dhampir alike but the hole left behind by those who were gone was apparent to all. I could still see them when I closed my eyes. But with her here, I established I had an opportunity. I grabbed hold of her arm, which startled her.We have to go after them, I said. Rescue the ones who were taken.She regarded me carefully, a elegant frown the only quality of her sense of touchs. We dont do that kind of thing. You know that. We have to protect those wh o are here.What nearly those thirteen? Shouldnt we protect them? And you went on a rescue mission once.She agitate her passport. That was different. We had a trail. We wouldnt know where to find this group if we wanted to.I knew she was right. The Strigoi wouldnt have left an easy path to follow. And but suddenly, I had an idea.They put the wards substantiate up, right? I asked.Yes, almost directly. Were still not sure how they were broken. There were no stakes used to pierce them.I started to tell her my supposition about that, but she wasnt up to speed with my ghostly shenanigans. Do you know where Dimitri is?She gestured toward groups of guardians hurrying all around. Im sure hes busy here somewhere. Everyone is. And now I need to go check in. I know you were invited to the meeting, but thats not for a while yet you should stay out of the way.I bequeath but I need to see Dimitri first. Its important it might fetch a role in what happens at the meeting.What is it? she a sked suspiciously.I cant explain yetIts complicated. Itd take too much time. Help me find him, and well tell you later.My mother didnt seem happy about this. After all, Janine Hathaway wasnt someone people usually said no to. But she nonetheless helped me find Dimitri. After the events over winter break, I think shed come to regard me as more than a hapless teenager. We found Dimitri with some other guardians, studying a map of campus and planning how to distribute the newly arrived guardians. There were liberal people gathered around the map that he was able to slip away.Whats going on? he asked as he and I stood off to the side of the room. Even in the midst of this crisis, in the midst of worrying so much about others, I could tell that there was part of him that worried besides about me. Are you okay?I think we should dive a rescue mission, I said.You know we dont usually do that. Yeah, yeah. And I know we dont know where they are except, I might.He frowned. How?I told hi m how it had been Mason whod warned us last night. Dimitri and I had had no time to talk simply since then, so wed never really debriefed on the events of the attack. We also hadnt really had a chance to talk about what had happened in the cabin. It made me feel unearthly because really, that was all I wanted to think about, but I couldnt. non with so much else going on. So I kept assay to shove those memories of sex away, only to have them keep popping up and entangle my emotions further.Hoping I seemed cool and competent, I continued explaining my ideas. Masons locked out now because the wards are stand up, but somehow I think he knows where the Strigoi are. I think he could show us where they are. Dimitris face told me he had his doubts about this. Come on You have to commit me after what happened.Im still having a hard time with that, he admitted. But okay. Suppose this is true. You think he can just lead us? You can ask him and hell do it?Yeah, I said. I think I can. Ive been fighting him all this time, but I think if I actually try to work with him, hell help. I think thats what hes always wanted. He knew the wards were weak and that the Strigoi had been lying in wait. The Strigoi cant be too far away from us they had to have stopped for daylight and hidden out somewhere. We might be able to get to them before the captives die. And once we get close enough, I can actually find them. I then explained the nauseous feeling Id gotten when Strigoi were around. Dimitri didnt challenge this. I think too many weird things were going on for him to even question it.But Mason isnt here. You said he cant get through the wards. How will you get him to help us? he asked.Id been thinking about this. Take me to the movement gates.After a quick word to Alberta about investigating something, Dimitri led me outside, and we walked the long way to the entrance to the school. Neither of us said anything as we walked. Even in the midst of all this, I still kept thinki ng of the cabin, of being in his arms. In some ways, it was part of what helped me cope with all the rest of this horror. I had a feeling it was on his mind too.The entrance to the school consisted of a long dilute of iron fence that lay right on top of the wards. A street that wound from the main highway twenty miles away came up to the gate, which was almost always kept closed. Guardians had a miniscule booth here, and the landing field was monitored at all times of the day.They were surprised by our request, but Dimitri insisted it would just be for a moment. They slid the heavy gate open, revealing a quadrangle only big enough for one person to get through at a time. Dimitri and I stepped outside. A headache almost immediately built up behind my eyes, and I started to see faces and radiation diagrams. It was just like at the airport. When I was outside of wards, I could see all sorts of spirits. But I understood it now and no longer feared it. I needed to control it.Go awa y, I said to the gray, looming forms around me. I dont have time for you. Go. I put as much force as I could into my will and my voice, and to my astonishment, the ghosts faded. A faint hum remained with me, reminding me they were still out there, and I knew if I let down my guard even a moment, it would all hit me again. Dimitri was eyeing me with concern.Youre okay?I nodded and peered around. There was one ghost I wanted to see.Mason, I said. I need you. nonhing. I summoned back up the command Id used on the other ghosts just a moment ago. Mason. Please. Come here.I saw nothing except the route in front of us winding off into the winter-dead hills. Dimitri was giving me that look from last night, the one that said he was deeply concerned for my affable health. And actually, I was worried at that moment too. Last nights warning had been the final examination proof for me that Mason was real. But now A minute later, his shape materialized before me, looking a little paler than be fore. For the first time since all this had begun, I was happy to see him. He, of course, looked sad. Same old same old.Finally. You were making me look magnanimous. He simply stared, and I immediately felt bad for joking. Im sorry. I need your help again. We have to find them. We have to save Eddie.He nodded.Can you show me where they are?He nodded again and turned, pointing off in a direction that was almost directly behind me.They came in through the back of campus?He nodded yet again, and like that, I knew what had happened. I knew how the Strigoi had gotten in, but there was no time to dwell on that just now. I turned to Dimitri. We need a map, I said.He walked back through the gate and spoke a few words to one of the guardians on duty. A moment later, he returned with a map and unfolded it. It showed the layout of campus, as well as the surrounding roads and terrain. I took it from him and held it out to Mason, trying to keep it flat in the whipping wind.The only true road ou t from the school was right in front of us. The rest of the campus was encircled by forests and steep cliffs. I pointed to a ghost at the back of the schools grounds. This is where they came in, isnt it? Where the wards first broke?Mason nodded. He held out his finger and without pitiful the map, traced a route through the woods that flanked the edge of a small can. Following it long enough eventually led to a small dirt road that joined an interstate many miles away. I followed where he pointed and suddenly had my doubts about using him as a guide.No, thats not right, I said. It cant be. This stretch of woods by the mountain has no roads. Theyd have to go on foot, and itd take too long to walk from the school to this other road. They wouldnt have had enough time. Theyd be caught in daylight.Mason shook his head to disagree with me, apparently and again traced the route back and forth. In particular, he kept pointing to a spot not far beyond the Academys grounds. At least, it wasnt far away on the map. The map wasnt particularly detailed, and I guessed the spot was probably a few miles away. He held his finger there, looked at me, and then looked back down.They cant be there now, I argued. Its outside. They might have come in through the back, but they had to have left through the front gotten in some kind of vehicle and took off.Mason shook his head.I looked up at Dimitri, frustrated. I felt like the clock was sound on us, and Masons weird assertion that the Strigoi were a few miles away, outdoors in the daytime, was stirring up my irritable nature. I sincerely doubted theyd gotten out tents and were camping.Is there any building or anything out there? I demanded, pointing at the spot Mason had indicated. He says they were going out to that road. But they couldnt have walked there before the sun came up, and he claims theyre there.Dimitris eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Not that I know of. He took the map from me and brought it to the other guardians to check with them. era they talked, I glanced back at Mason.You better be right about this, I warned him.He nodded.Have youhave you seen them? The Strigoi and their captives?He nodded.Is Eddie still alive?He nodded, and Dimitri walked over.Rose There was a strange sound to Dimitris voice as he brought the map back, like he couldnt entirely believe what he was saying. Stephen says there are caves right at the base of the mountain here.I met Dimitris eyes, no doubt looking just as dazed as he did. Are they big enough Big enough for the Strigoi to hide out in until nighttime? Dimitri nodded. They are. And theyre only five miles away.