Vampire academy va-1

by Richelle Mead

  Needing to distract myself from her troubling behavior, I studied other people as I so often did. Nearby, Christian openly watched Lisa, a troubled look on his face. When he saw me, he scowled and turned away.

  Dimitri sat in the back as usual, for once not scanning every corner for danger. His attention was turned inward, his expression almost pained. I still didn't know why he came to church. He always seemed to be wrestling with something.

  In the front, the priest was talking about St. Vladimir again.

  "His spirit was strong, and he was truly gifted by God. When he touched them, the crippled walked, and the blind could see. Where he walked, flowers bloomed."

  Man, the Moroi needed to get more saints-

  Healing cripples and blind people?

  I'd forgotten all about St. Vladimir. Mason had mentionedVladimir bringing people back from the dead, and it had reminded me of Lisa at the time. Then other things had distracted me. I hadn't thought about the saint or his «shadow-kissed» guardian-and their bond-in a while. How could I have overlooked this? Ms. Karp, I realized, wasn't the only other Moroi who could heal like Lisa.Vladimir could too.

  "And all the while, the masses gathered to him, loving him, eager to follow his teachings and hear him preach the word of God…."

  Turning, I stared at Lisa. She gave me a puzzled look. "What?"

  I didn't get a chance to elaborate-I don't even know if I could have formed the words-because I was whisked back to my prison almost as soon as I stood up at the end of the service.

  Back in my room, I went online to research St. Vladimir but turned up nothing useful. Damn it. Mason had skimmed the books in the library and said there was little there. What did that leave me with? I had no way of learning more about that dusty old saint.

  Or did I? What had Christian said that first day with Lisa?

  Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir.

  The storage room above the chapel.It had the writings. Christian had pointed them out. I needed to look at them, but how? I couldn't ask the priest. How would he react if he found out students were going up there? It'd put an end to Christian's lair. But maybe…maybe Christian himself could help.

  It was Sunday, though, and I wouldn't see him until tomorrow afternoon. Even then, I didn't know if I'd get a chance to talk to him alone.

  While heading out to practice later, I stopped in the dorm's kitchen to grab a granola bar. As I did, I passed a couple of novice guys, Miles and Anthony. Miles whistled when he saw me.

  "How's it been going, Rose?You getting lonely?Want some company?"

  Anthony laughed. "I can't bite you, but I can give you something else you want."

  I had to pass through the doorway they stood in to get outside. Glaring, I pushed past, but Miles caught me around the waist, his hand sliding down to my butt.

  "Get your hands off my ass before I break your face, " I told him, jerking away. In doing so, I only bumped into Anthony.

  "Come on, " Anthony said, "I thought you didn't have a problem taking on two guys at the same time."

  A new voice spoke up. "If you guys don't walk away right now,I'll take both of you on. " Mason.My hero.

  "You're so full of it, Ashford, " said Miles. He was the bigger of the two and left me to go square off with Mason. Anthony backed off from me, more interested in whether or not there'd be a fight. There was so much testosterone in the air, I felt like I needed a gas mask.

  "Are you doing her too? " Miles asked Mason. "You don't want to share?"

  "Say one more word about her, and I'll rip your head off."

  "Why? She's just a cheap blood-"

  Mason punched him. It didn't rip Miles' head off or even cause anything to break or bleed, but it looked like it hurt. His eyes widened, and he lunged toward Mason. The sound of doors opening in the hall caused everyone to freeze. Novices got in a lot of trouble for fighting.

  "Probably some guardians coming. "Mason grinned. "You want them to know you were beating up on a girl?"

  Miles and Anthony exchanged glances. "Come on, " Anthony said. "Let's go. We don't have time for this."

  Miles reluctantly followed. "I'll find you later, Ashford."

  When they were gone, I turned on Mason. "'Beat up on a girl'?"

  "You're welcome, " he said drily.

  "I didn't need your help."

  "Sure. You were doing just fine on your own."

  "They caught me off guard, that's all. I could have dealt with them eventually."

  "Look, don't take being pissed off at them out on me."

  "I just don't like being treated like…a girl."

  "Youare a girl. And I was just trying to help."

  I looked at him and saw the earnestness on his face. He meant well. No point in being a bitch to him when I had so many other people to hate lately.

  "Well…thanks. Sorry I snapped at you."

  We talked a little bit, and I managed to get him to spill some more school gossip. He had noticed Lisa's rise in status but didn't seem to find it strange. As I talked to him, I noticed the adoring look he always got around me spread across his face. It made me sad to have him feel that way about me.Guilty, even.

  How hard would it be, I wondered, to go out with him? He was nice, funny, and reasonably good-looking. We got along. Why did I get caught up in so many messes with other guys when I had a perfectly sweet one here who wanted me? Why couldn't I just return his feelings?

  The answer came to me before I'd even finished asking myself the question. I couldn't be Mason's girlfriend because when I imagined someone holding me and whispering dirty things in my ear, he had a Russian accent.

  Mason continued watching meadmiringly, oblivious to what was going on in my head. And seeing that adoration, I suddenly realized how I could use it to my advantage.

  Feeling a little guilty, I shifted my conversation to a more flirty style and watched Mason's glow increase. I leaned beside him on the wall so our arms just touched and gave him a lazy smile. "You know, I still don't approve of your whole hero thing, but you did scare them. That was almost worth it."

  "But you don't approve?"

  I trailed fingers up his arm. "No. I mean, it's hot in principle but not in practice."

  He laughed. "The hell it isn't. " He caught hold of my hand and gave me a knowing look. "Sometimes you need to be saved. I think you like being saved sometimes and just can't admit it."

  "And I thinkyou get off on saving people and just can't admit it."

  "I don't think you know what gets me off. Saving damsels like you is just the honorable thing to do, " he declared loftily.

  I repressed the urge to smack him over the use ofdamsels. "Then prove it. Do me a favor just because it's 'the right thing to do. "

  «Sure,» he said immediately. "Name it."

  "I need you to get a message to Christian Ozera."

  His eagerness faltered. "What the-? You aren't serious."

  "Yes.Completely."

  "Rose…I can't talk to him. You know that."

  "I thought you said you'd help. I thought you said helping 'damsels' is the honorable thing to do."

  "I don't really see howhonor's involved here. " I gave him the most smoldering look I could manage. He caved. "What do you want me to tell him?"

  "Tell him I need St. Vladimir's books.The ones in storage. He needs to sneak them to me soon. Tell him it's for Lisa. And tell him…tell him I lied the night of the reception. " I hesitated. "Tell him I'm sorry."

  "That doesn't make any sense."

  "It doesn't have to. Just do it. Please? " I turned on the beauty queen smile again.

  With hasty assurances that he'd see what he could do, he left for lunch, and I went off to practice.

  CHAPTER 15

  Mason delivered.

  He found me the next day before school. He was carrying a box of books.

  "I got them, " he said. "Hurry and take them before you get in trouble for talking to me."
/>   He handed them over, and I grunted. They were heavy. "Christian gave you these?"

  "Yeah.Managed to talk to him without anyone noticing.He's got kind of an attitude, did you ever notice that?"

  "Yeah, I noticed. " I rewarded Mason with a smile that he ate up. "Thanks. This means a lot."

  I hauled the loot up to my room, fully aware of how weird it was that someone who hated to study as much as I did was about to get buried in dusty crap from the fourteenth century. When I opened the first book, though, I saw that these must be reprints of reprints of reprints, probably because anything that old would have long since fallen apart.

  Sifting through the books, I discovered they fell into three categories: books written by people after St. Vladimir had died, books written by other people when he was still alive, and one diary of sorts written by him. What had Mason said about primary and secondary sources? Those last two groups were the ones I wanted.

  Whoever had reprinted these had reworded the books enough so that I didn't have to read Ye Olde English or anything. Or rather, Russian, I supposed. St. Vladimir had lived in the old country.

  Today I healed the mother of Sava who has long since suffered from sharp pains within her stomach. Her malady is now gone, but God has not allowed me to do such a thing lightly. I am weak and dizzy, and the madness is trying to leak into my head. I thank God every day for shadow-kissed Anna, for without her, I would surely not be able to endure.

  Anna again.And "shadow-kissed. "He talked about her a lot, among other things.Most of the time he wrote long sermons, just like what I'd hear in church.Super boring. But other times, the book read just like a diary, recapping what he did each day. And if it really wasn't just a load of crap, he healed all the time.Sick people.Injured people.Even plants. He brought dead crops back to life when people were starving. Sometimes he would make flowers bloom just for the hell of it.

  Reading on, I found out that it was a good thing old Vlad had Anna around, because he was pretty messed up. The more he used his powers, the more they started to get to him. He'd get irrationally angry and sad. He blamed it on demons and stupid stuff like that, but it was obvious he suffered from depression. Once, he admitted in his diary, he tried to kill himself. Anna stopped him.

  Later, browsing through the book written by the guy who knewVladimir, I read:

  And many think it miraculous too, the power the blessedVladimir shows over others. Moroi and dhampirs flock to him and listen to his words, happy just to be near him. Some say it is madness that touches him and not spirit, but most adore him and would do anything he asked. Such is the way God marks his favorites, and if such moments are followed by hallucinations and despair, it is a small sacrifice for the amount of good and leadership he can show among the people.

  It sounded a lot like what the priest had said, but I sensed more than just a "winning personality " People adored him, would do anything he asked. Yes,Vladimir had used compulsion on his followers, I was certain. A lot of Moroi had in those days, before it was banned, but they didn't use it on Moroi or dhampirs. They couldn't. Only Lisa could.

  I shut the book and leaned back against my bed.Vladimir healed plants and animals. He could use compulsion on a massive scale. And by all accounts, using those sorts of powers had made him crazy and depressed.

  Added into it all, making it that much weirder was that everyone kept describing his guardian as

  «shadow-kissed.» That expression had bugged me ever since I first heard it….

  "You'reshadow-kissed! You have to take care of her!"

  Ms. Karp had shouted those words at me, her hands clenching my shirt and jerking me toward her. It had happened on a night two years ago when I'd been inside the main part of the upper school to return a book. It was nearly past curfew, and the halls were empty. I'd heard a loud commotion, and then Ms. Karp had come tearing around the corner, looking frantic and wild-eyed.

  She shoved me into a wall, still gripping me. "Do you understand?"

  I knew enough self-defense that I could have probably pushed her away, but my shock kept me frozen.

  "No."

  "They're coming for me. They'll come for her."

  "Who?"

  "Lisa.You have to protect her. The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here."

  "I…what do you mean? Get her out of…you mean the Academy?"

  "Yes! You have to leave. You're bound. It's up to you. Take her away from this place."

  Her words were crazy. No one left the Academy. Yet as she held me there and stared into my eyes, I began to feel strange. A fuzzy feeling clouded my mind. What she said suddenly sounded very reasonable, like the most reasonable thing in the world. Yes. I needed to take Lisa away, take her-

  Feet pounded in the hallway, and a group of guardians rounded the corner. I didn't recognize them; they weren't from the school. They pried her off of me, restraining her wild thrashing. Someone asked me if I was okay, but I could only keep staring at Ms. Karp.

  "Don't let her use the power! " she screamed. "Save her. Save her from herself!"

  The guardians had later explained to me that she wasn't well and had been taken to a place where she could recover. She would be safe and cared for, they assured me. She would recover.

  Only she hadn't.

  Back in the present, I stared at the books and tried to put it all together.Lisa. Ms. Karp. St. Vladimir. What was I supposed to do?

  Someone rapped at my door, and I jerked out of my memories. No one had visited me, not even staff, since my suspension. When I opened the door, I saw Mason in the hall.

  "Twice in one day? " I asked. "And how'd you even get up here?"

  He flashed his easy smile. "Someone put a lit match in one of the bathroom's garbage cans. Damn shame. The staff's kind of busy. Come on, I'm springing you."

  I shook my head. Setting fires was apparently a new sign of affection. Christian had done it and now Mason. "Sorry, no saving me tonight. If I get caught-"

  "Lisa's orders."

  I shut up and let him smuggle me out of the building. He took me over to the Moroi dorm and miraculously got me in and up to her room unseen. I wondered if there was a distracting bathroom fire in this building too.

  Inside her room, I found a party in full swing. Lisa, Camille, Carly, Aaron, and a few other royals sat around laughing, listening to loud music, and passing around bottles of whiskey. No Mia, no Jesse.

  Natalie, I noticed a few moments later, sat apart from the group, clearly unsure how to act around all of them. Her awkwardness was totally obvious.

  Lisa stumbled to her feet, the fuzzy feelings in our bond indicating she'd been drinking for a while.

  «Rose!» She turned to Mason with a dazzling smile. "You delivered."

  He swept her an over-the-top bow. "I'm at your command."

  I hoped he'd done it for the thrill of it and not because of any compulsion. Lisa slung an arm around my waist and pulled me down with the others. "Join the festivities."

  "What are we celebrating?"

  "I don't know.Your escape tonight?"

  A few of the others held up plastic cups, cheering and toasting me. Xander Badica poured two more cups, handing them to Mason and me. I took mine with a smile, all the while feeling uneasy about the night's turn of events. Not so long ago, I would have welcomed a party like this and would have downed my drink in thirty seconds. Too much bothered me this time, though. Like the fact that the royals were treating Lisa like a goddess.Like how none of them seemed to remember that I had been accused of being a blood whore.

  Like how Lisa was completely unhappy despite her smiles and laughter.

  "Where'd you get the whiskey? " I asked.

  "Mr. Nagy, " Aaron said. He sat very close to Lisa.

  Everyone knew Mr. Nagy drank all the time after school and kept a stash on campus. He continually used new hiding places-and students continually found them.

&
nbsp; Lisa leaned against Aaron's shoulder. "Aaron helped me break into his room and take them. He had them hidden in the bottom of the paint closet."

  The others laughed, and Aaron gazed at her with complete and utter worship. Amusingly, I realized she hadn't had to use any compulsion on him. He was just that crazy for her. He always had been.

  "Why aren't you drinking? " Mason asked me a little while later, speaking quietly into my ear.

  I glanced down at my cup, half surprised to see it full. "I don't know. I guess I don't think guardians should drink around their charges."

  "She's not your charge yet! You aren't on duty. You won't be for a long time. Since when did you get so responsible?"

  I didn't really think I was all that responsible. But Iwas thinking about what Dimitri had said about balancing fun and obligation. It just seemed wrong to let myself go wild when Lisa was in such a vulnerable state lately. Wiggling out of my tight spot between her and Mason, I walked over and sat beside Natalie.

  "Hey Nat, you're quiet tonight."

  She held a cup as full as mine. "So are you."

  I laughed softly. "I guess so."

  She tilted her head, watching Mason and the royals like they were some sort of science experiment.

  They'd consumed a lot more whiskey since I'd arrived, and the silliness had shot up considerably. "Weird,

  huh? You used to be the center of attention. Now she is."

  I blinked in surprise. I hadn't considered it like that. "I guess so."

  "Hey, Rose, " said Xander, nearly spilling his drink as he walked over to me. "What was it like?"

  "What was what like?"

  "Letting someone feed off you?"

  The others fell quiet, a sort of anticipation settling over them.

  "She didn't do that, " said Lisa in a warning voice. "I told you."

  "Yeah, yeah, I know nothing happened with Jesse and Ralf. But you guys did it, right?While you were gone?"

  "Let it go, " said Lisa. Compulsion worked best with direct eye contact, and his attention was focused on me, not her.

  "I mean, it's cool and everything. You guys did what you had to do, right? It's not like you're a feeder. I just want to know what it was like. Danielle Szelsky let me bite her once. She said it didn't feel like anything."