Last Sacrifice (6)

by Richelle Mead

  With them gone, I decided I really would check in with Lissa. Iʹd said it more as an excuse, but truthfully, it beat the alternative—going back out and socializing. I didnʹt want any more people congratulating me, and apparently, Joshua had read my ʺmaybeʺ and acceptance of the bracelet as a real commitment. I still thought he was devastatingly cute but couldnʹt handle seeing his adoration.

  Sitting cross-legged on Angelineʹs bed, I opened myself to the bond and what Lissa was experiencing. She was walking through the halls of a building I didnʹt recognize at first. A moment later, I got my bearings. It was a building at Court that housed a large spa and salon—as well as the hideout of Rhonda the gypsy. It seemed weird that Lissa would be going to get her fortune told, but once I got a glimpse of her companions, I knew she was up to something else.

  The usual suspects were with her: Adrian and Christian. My heart leapt at seeing Adrian again—especially after the Joshua Incident. My last spirit dream had been too brief.

  Christian was holding Lissaʹs hand as they walked, his grip warm and reassuring. He looked confident and determined—though with that typically snarky half-smile of his. Lissa was the one who felt nervous and was clearly bracing herself for something. I could feel her dreading her next task, even though she believed it was necessary.

  ʺIs this it?ʺ she asked, coming to a halt in front of a door.

  ʺI think so,ʺ said Christian. ʺThat receptionist said it was the red one.ʺ

  Lissa hesitated only a moment and then knocked. Nothing. Either the room was empty or she was being ignored. She held up her hand again, and the door opened. Ambrose stood there, stunning as always, even in jeans and a casual blue T-shirt. The clothing hugged his body in a way that showed off every muscle. He could have walked straight off the cover of GQ.

  ʺHey,ʺ he said, clearly surprised.

  ʺHey,ʺ said Lissa back. ʺWe were wondering if we could talk to you?ʺ

  Ambrose ever so slightly inclined his head toward the room. ʺIʹm kind of busy right now.ʺ

  Beyond him, Lissa could see a massage table with a Moroi woman lying face down. The lower half of her body had a towel over it, but her back was bare, shining in the dim lighting with oil. Scented candles burned in the room, and a calming kind of New Age music played softly.

  ʺWow,ʺ said Adrian. ʺYou donʹt waste any time, do you? Sheʹs only been in her grave a few hours, and youʹve already got someone new.ʺ Tatiana had finally been laid to rest earlier in the day, just before sunset. The burial had had much less fanfare than the original attempt.

  Ambrose gave Adrian a sharp look. ʺSheʹs my client. Itʹs my job. You forget that some of us have to work for a living.ʺ

  ʺPlease?ʺ asked Lissa, hastily stepping in front of Adrian. ʺIt wonʹt take long.ʺ

  Ambrose looked my friends over a moment and then sighed. He glanced behind him. ʺLorraine? I have to step outside. Iʹll be right back, okay?ʺ

  ʺOkay,ʺ called the woman. She shifted, facing him. She was older than Iʹd expected, mid-forties or so. I guess if you were paying for a massage, there was no reason not to have a masseuse half your age. ʺHurry back.ʺ

  He gave her a dazzling smile as he shut the door, a smile that dropped once he was alone with my friends. ʺOkay, whatʹs going on? I donʹt like the looks on your faces.ʺ

  Ambrose might have radically deviated from a dhampir manʹs normal life, but heʹd had the same training as any guardian. He was observant. He was always on the lookout for potential threats.

  ʺWe, uh, wanted to talk to you about . . .ʺ Lissa hesitated. Talking about investigations and interrogations was one thing. Carrying them out was another. ʺAbout Tatianaʹs murder.ʺ

  Ambroseʹs eyebrows rose. ʺAh. I see. Not sure what there is to say, except that I donʹt think Rose did it. I donʹt think you believe that either, despite whatʹs going around. Everyoneʹs talking about how shocked and upset you are. Youʹre getting a lot of sympathy over having been tricked by such a dangerous and sinister ‘friend.ʹʺ

  Lissa felt her cheeks flush. By publicly condemning me and renouncing our friendship, Lissa was keeping herself out of trouble. It had been Abe and Tashaʹs advice, and Lissa knew it was sound. Yet, even though it was an act, she still felt guilty. Christian stepped to her defense.

  ʺBack off. Thatʹs not what this is about.ʺ

  ʺWhat is it about then?ʺ asked Ambrose.

  Lissa jumped in, worried Christian and Adrian might upset Ambrose and make it difficult to get answers. ʺAbe Mazur told us that in the courtroom, you said or, uh, did something to Rose.ʺ

  Ambrose looked shocked, and I had to give him points for being convincing. ʺDid something? What does that mean? Does Mazur think I, like, hit on her in front of all those people?ʺ

  ʺI donʹt know,ʺ admitted Lissa. ʺHe just saw something, thatʹs all.ʺ

  ʺI wished her good luck,ʺ said Ambrose, still looking offended. ʺIs that okay?ʺ

  ʺYeah, yeah.ʺ Lissa had made a point to talk to Ambrose before Abe could, fearing Abeʹs methods would involve threats and a lot of physical force. Now, she was wondering if she was doing so great a job. ʺLook, weʹre just trying to find out who really killed the queen. You were close to her. If thereʹs anything—anything—at all youʹve got that can help us, weʹd appreciate it. We need it.ʺ

  Ambrose glanced curiously between them. Then, he suddenly understood. ʺYou think I did it! Thatʹs what this is about.ʺ None of them said anything. ʺI canʹt believe this! I already got this from the guardians . . . but from you? I thought you knew me better.ʺ

  ʺWe donʹt know you at all,ʺ said Adrian flatly. ʺAll we know is you had lots of access to my aunt.ʺ He pointed at the door. ʺAnd obviously, it didnʹt take you long to move on.ʺ

  ʺDid you miss the part where I said thatʹs my job? Iʹm giving her a massage, thatʹs it. Not everything is sordid and dirty.ʺ Ambrose shook his head in frustration and ran a hand through his brown hair. ʺMy relationship with Tatiana wasnʹt dirty either. I cared about her. I would never do anything to hurt her.ʺ

  ʺDonʹt statistics say most murders happen between close people?ʺ asked Christian.

  Lissa glared at him and Adrian. ʺStop it. Both of you.ʺ She looked back at Ambrose. ʺNo oneʹs accusing you of anything. But you were around her a lot. And Rose told me you were upset about the age law.ʺ

  ʺWhen I first heard about it, yeah,ʺ Ambrose said. ʺAnd even then, I told Rose there was some mistake—that there must be something we didnʹt know. Tatiana would have never put those dhampirs in danger without a good reason.ʺ

  ʺLike making herself look good in front of all those terrified royals?ʺ asked Christian.

  ʺWatch it,ʺ warned Adrian. Lissa couldnʹt decide which was more annoying: her two guys teaming up to spar against Ambrose or them throwing barbs at each other.

  ʺNo!ʺ Ambroseʹs voice rang throughout the narrow hall. ʺShe didnʹt want to do that. But if she didnʹt, worse things were going to happen. There are people who wanted—still want—to round up all the dhampirs who donʹt fight and force them into it. Tatiana passed the age law as a way to stall that.ʺ

  Silence fell. Iʹd already learned this from Tatianaʹs note, but it was shocking news to my friends. Ambrose kept going, seeing he was gaining ground.

  ʺShe was actually open to lots of other options. She wanted to explore spirit. She approved of Moroi learning to fight.ʺ

  That got a reaction from Adrian. He still wore that sardonic expression, but I could also see faint lines of pain and sorrow on his face. The burial earlier must have been hard on him, and hearing others reveal information you hadnʹt known about a loved one had to hurt.

  ʺWell, I obviously wasnʹt sleeping with her like you were,ʺ said Adrian, ʺbut I knew her pretty well, too. She never said a word about anything like that.ʺ

  ʺNot publicly,ʺ agreed Ambrose. ʺNot even privately. Only a few people knew. She was having a small group of Moroi trained in secret—men and women, different ages. She wanted to see how well Moroi could l
earn. If it was possible for them to defend themselves. But she knew peopleʹd be upset about it, so she made the group and their trainer keep quiet.ʺ

  Adrian gave no response to this, and I could see his thoughts had turned inward. Ambroseʹs revelation wasnʹt bad news, exactly, but Adrian was still hurt at the thought that his aunt had kept so much from him. Lissa, meanwhile, was eating the news up, seizing and analyzing every piece of info.

  ʺWho were they? The Moroi being trained?ʺ

  ʺI donʹt know,ʺ said Ambrose. ʺTatiana was quiet about it. I never found out their names, just their instructor.ʺ

  ʺWho was . . . ?ʺ prompted Christian.

  ʺGrant.ʺ

  Christian and Lissa exchanged startled looks. ʺMy Grant?ʺ she asked. ʺThe one Tatiana assigned to me?ʺ

  Ambrose nodded. ʺThatʹs why she gave him to you. She trusted him.ʺ

  Lissa said nothing, but I heard her thoughts loud and clear. Sheʹd been pleased and surprised when Grant and Serena—the guardians who had replaced Dimitri and me—had offered to teach Lissa and Christian basic defense moves. Lissa had thought sheʹd simply stumbled onto a progressive-thinking guardian, not realizing she had one of the pioneers in teaching combat to Moroi.

  Some piece of this was important, she and I were both certain, though neither of us could make the connection. Lissa puzzled it over, not protesting when Adrian and Christian threw in some questions of their own. Ambrose was still clearly offended by the inquisition, but he answered everything with forced patience. He had alibis, and his affection and regard for Tatiana never wavered. Lissa believed him, though Christian and Adrian still seemed skeptical.

  ʺEveryoneʹs been all over me about her death,ʺ said Ambrose, ʺbut nobody questioned Blake very long.ʺ

  ʺBlake?ʺ asked Lissa.

  ʺBlake Lazar. Someone else she was . . .ʺ

  ʺInvolved with?ʺ suggested Christian, rolling his eyes.

  ʺHim?ʺ exclaimed Adrian in disgust. ʺNo way. She wouldnʹt stoop that low.ʺ

  Lissa racked her brain through the Lazar family but couldnʹt peg the name. There were just too many of them. ʺWho is he?ʺ

  ʺAn idiot,ʺ said Adrian. ʺMakes me look like an upstanding member of society.ʺ

  That actually brought a smile to Ambroseʹs face. ʺI agree. But heʹs a pretty idiot, and Tatiana liked that.ʺ I heard affection in his voice as he spoke her name.

  ʺShe was sleeping with him too?ʺ Lissa asked. Adrian winced at the mention of his great-auntʹs sex life, but a whole new world of possibilities had opened up. More lovers meant more suspects. ʺHow did you feel about that?ʺ

  Ambroseʹs amusement faded. He gave her a sharp look. ʺNot jealous enough to kill her, if thatʹs what youʹre getting at. We had an understanding. She and I were close—yes, ‘involvedʹ—but we both saw other people too.ʺ

  ʺWait,ʺ said Christian. I had the feeling he was really enjoying this now. Tatianaʹs murder was no joke, but a soap opera was definitely unfolding before them. ʺYou were sleeping with other people too? This is getting hard to follow.ʺ

  Not for Lissa. In fact, it was becoming clearer and clearer that Tatianaʹs murder could have been a crime of passion, rather than anything political. Like Abe had said, someone with access to her bedroom was a likely suspect. And some woman jealous over sharing a lover with Tatiana? That was perhaps the most convincing motive thus far—if only we knew the women.

  ʺWho?ʺ Lissa asked. ʺWho else were you seeing?ʺ

  ʺNo one whoʹd kill her,ʺ said Ambrose sternly. ʺIʹm not giving you names. Iʹm entitled to some privacy—so are they.ʺ

  ʺNot if one of them was jealous and killed my aunt,ʺ growled Adrian. Joshua had looked down on Adrian for not ʺprotectingʺ me, but in that moment, defending his auntʹs honor, he looked as fierce as any guardian or Keeper warrior. It was kind of sexy.

  ʺNone of them killed her, Iʹm certain,ʺ said Ambrose. ʺAnd as much as I despise him, I donʹt think Blake did either. Heʹs not smart enough to pull it off and frame Rose.ʺ Ambrose gestured to the door. His teeth were clenched, and lines of frustration marred his handsome face. ʺLook, I donʹt know what else I can say to convince you. I need to get back in there. Iʹm sorry if I seem difficult, but this has been kind of hard on me, okay? Believe me, Iʹd love it if you could find out who did that to her.ʺ Pain flashed through his eyes. He swallowed and looked down for a moment, as though he didnʹt want them to know just how much heʹd cared about Tatiana. When he looked up again, his expression was fierce and determined again. ʺI want you to and will help if I can. But Iʹm telling you, look for someone with political motives. Not romantic ones.ʺ

  Lissa still had a million more questions. Ambrose might be convinced the murder was free of jealousy and sex, but she wasnʹt. She would have really liked the names of his other women but didnʹt want to push too hard. For a moment, she considered compelling him as she had Joe. But no. She wouldnʹt cross that line again, especially with someone she considered a friend. At least not yet. ʺOkay,ʺ she said reluctantly. ʺThank you. Thank you for helping us.ʺ

  Ambrose seemed surprised at her politeness, and his face softened. ʺIʹll see if I can dig up anything to help you. Theyʹre keeping her rooms and possessions locked down, but I might still be able to get in there. Iʹll let you know.ʺ

  Lissa smiled, genuinely grateful. ʺThank you. Thatʹd be great.ʺ

  A touch on my arm brought me back to the drab little room in West Virginia. Sydney and Dimitri were looking down at me. ʺRose?ʺ asked Dimitri. I had a feeling this wasnʹt the first time heʹd tried to get my attention.

  ʺHey,ʺ I said. I blinked a couple of times, settling myself back into this reality. ʺYouʹre back. You called the Strigoi?ʺ

  He didnʹt visibly react to the word, but I knew he hated hearing it. ʺYes. I got a hold of Borisʹs contact.ʺ

  Sydney wrapped her arms around herself. ʺCrazy conversation. Some of it was in English. It was even scarier than before.ʺ

  I shivered involuntarily, glad that Iʹd missed it. ʺBut did you find out anything?ʺ

  ʺBoris gave me the name of a Strigoi who knows Sonya and probably knows where she is,ʺ Dimitri said. ʺItʹs actually someone Iʹve met. But phone calls only go so far with Strigoi. Thereʹs no way to contact him—except to go in person. Boris only had his address.ʺ

  ʺWhere is it?ʺ I asked.

  ʺLexington, Kentucky.ʺ

  ʺOh for Godʹs sake,ʺ I moaned. ʺWhy not the Bahamas? Or the Corn Palace?ʺ

  Dimitri tried to hide a smile. It might have been at my expense, but if Iʹd lightened his mood, I was grateful. ʺIf we leave right now, we can reach him before morning.ʺ

  I glanced around. ʺTough choice. Leave all this for electricity and plumbing?ʺ

  Now Sydney grinned. ʺAnd no more marriage proposals.ʺ

  ʺAnd weʹll probably have to fight Strigoi,ʺ added Dimitri.

  I jumped to my feet. ʺHow soon can we go?ʺ

  FOURTEEN

  THE KEEPERS HAD MIXED REACTIONS to us leaving. They were usually glad to see outsiders go, especially since we had Sydney with us. But after the fight, they held me up as some kind of superhero and were enchanted by the idea of me marrying into their ʺfamily.ʺ Seeing me in action meant some of the women were beginning to eye Dimitri now too. I wasnʹt in the mood to watch them flirt with him—especially since, according to their courtship rules, I would apparently have to be the one to battle it out with any prospective fiancée.

  Naturally, we didnʹt tell the Keepers our exact plans, but we did mention weʹd likely be encountering Strigoi—which caused quite a reaction. Most of that reaction was excitement and awe, which continued to boost our reputations as fierce warriors. Angelineʹs response, however, was totally unexpected.

  ʺTake me with you,ʺ she said, grabbing a hold of my arm, just as I started down the forest path toward the car.

  ʺSorry,ʺ I said, still a little weirded out after her earlier hostility. ʺWe have to do this alone.ʺ

  ʺI can help! You be
at me . . . but you saw what I can do. Iʹm good. I could take a Strigoi.ʺ

  For all her fierceness, I knew Angeline didnʹt have a clue about what sheʹd be facing if she ever met an actual Strigoi. The few Keepers who bore molnija marks spoke little about the encounters, faces grave. They understood. Angeline didnʹt. She also didnʹt realize that any novice at St. Vladimirʹs in the secondary school could probably take her out. She had raw potential, true, but it needed a lot of work.

  ʺYou might be able to,ʺ I said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. ʺBut itʹs just not possible for you to come with us.ʺ I would have lied and given her a vague ʺMaybe sometime,ʺ but since that had led Joshua to thinking we were semi-engaged, I decided Iʹd better not.

  I expected more boasts about her battle prowess. Weʹd learned she was regarded as one of the best young fighters in the compound, and with her pretty looks, she had plenty of admirers too. A lot of it had gone to her head, and she liked to talk about how she could beat anyone or anything up. Again, I was reminded of Jill. Jill also had a lot to learn about the true meaning of battle but was still eager to jump in. She was quieter and more cautious than Angeline, though, so Angelineʹs next direction caught me off guard.

  ʺPlease. Itʹs not just the Strigoi! I want to see the world. I need to see something else outside of this place!ʺ Her voice was pitched low, out of the range of the others. ʺIʹve only been to Rubysville twice, and they say thatʹs nothing compared to other cities.ʺ

  ʺItʹs not,ʺ I agreed. I didnʹt even consider it a city.

  ʺPlease,ʺ she begged again, this time her voice trembling. ʺTake me with you.ʺ

  Suddenly, I felt sad for her. Her brother had also shown a little longing for the outside world, but nothing like this. Heʹd joked that electricity would be nice, but I knew he was happy enough without the perks of the modern world. But for Angeline, the situation was much more desperate. I too knew what it was like to feel trapped in oneʹs life and was legitimately sorry for what I had to say.