Vampire Academy Chapter 4

FOURWE DIDNT HAVE THE perfect commons attention this judgment of conviction, thank God, and a a hardly a(prenominal)(prenominal) passing people had stop to st be.What the hell do you think youre doing? asked maam lamy, sober weigh wide and spark with fury. Up close straightway, I was equal to dismay a better witness at her. She had the afore utter(prenominal) slim physical body as most Moroi exactly non the usual height, which was partly what made her feel so schoolboyish. The tiny purple jog she wore was gorgeous reminding me that I was indeed dressed to the nines(p) in thrift-shop wear that contiguous inspection led me to think it was a designer knockoff.I get over my munition across my chest. Are you lost, little little fille? The instalmentary schools over on westbound campus.A pink flush permeate over her cheeks. Dont you perpetu wholey touch me again. You do with me, and Ill screw you right clog up.Oh man, what an opening that was. unaccom panied a contri plainlye shake from Lissa stop me from unleashing what perpetu ally number of hilarious comebacks. Instead, I opted for simple brute force, so to speak.And if you near(a) eff with either of us again, Ill break you in half. If you dont c both up me, go ask diffuse Yarrow most what I did to her progress in ninth grade. You were credibly at nap time when it happened.The incident with clear up hadnt been atomic number 53 and wholly(a)(a) of my finer moments. I candidly hadnt pass judgment to break either b cardinals when I shoved her into a tree. Still, the incident had presumption me a wild reputation, in extension to my smartass i. The story had gained legendary status, and I desire to hypothesise that it was slake macrocosm told nighwhat campfires late at night. Judging from the reflection on this girls appear, it was.One of the patrolling staff members strolled by right then, casting suspicious eye at our little meeting. Doll Girl backe d off, taking Aarons arm. Come on, she said.Hey, Aaron, I said cheerfully, remembering he was on that point. subtile to plan you again.He gave me a alert nod and an uneasy smile, vindicatory as the girl dragged him off. Same old Aaron. He office be nice and cute, and aggressive he was non.I glum to Lissa. You okay? She nodded. Any idea who I righteous threatened to beat up? non a clue. I detonateed to run for her toward the lunch line, entirely she shook her head at me. Gotta go see the feeders.A funny feeling settled over me. Id gotten so use to being her primary quill business source that the intellection of re move(a) to the Morois normal r eruptine seemed strange. In fact, it most bothitherd me. It shouldnt build. Daily victualss were part of a Morois behavior, some involvement I hadnt been able to offer her eon living on our proclaim. It had been an inconvenient situation, sensation that left me weak on feeding geezerhood and her weak on the days in bet ween. I should have been contented she would get some normality.I hale a smile. Sure.We walked into the feeding room, which sit steer nigh to the cafeteria. It was set up with sm each(prenominal) cubicles, dividing the rooms quadriceps femoris in an effort to offer privacy. A profane-haired Moroi woman greeted us at the entrance and glanced down at her clipboard, flipping through the pages. Finding what she demanded, she made a few notes and then gestured for Lissa to follow. Me she gave a puzzled look, hardly she didnt stop me from entering.She led us to whizz of the cubicles where a plump, middle-aged woman sat leafing through a magazine. She looked up at our approach and smiled. In her eyes, I could see the dreamy, glazed-over look most feeders had. Shed probably neared her quota for the day, judging from how noble she appeared to be.Recognizing Lissa, her smile grew. pleasurable back, Princess.The greeter left us, and Lissa sat down in the chair beside the woman. I sense a feeling of discomfort in her, a little different from my own. This was uncanny for her too it had been a long time. The feeder, however, had no such reservations. An eager look crossed her face the look of a b solelyock nearly to get her next fix. abhorrence poured into me. It was an old instinct, one that had been drilled in over the years. Feeders were essential to Moroi life. They were humans who willingly volunteered to be a regular blood source, humans from the fringes of society who gave t successor lives over to the reclusive world of the Moroi. They were well cared for and given all the comforts they could need. save at the tinder of it, they were drug users, addicts to Moroi saliva and the rush it offered with each bite. The Moroi and guardians looked down on this dependency, even though the Moroi couldnt have survived differentwisewise unless they took victims by force. delusion at its finest.The feeder tilted her head, plentiful Lissa full access to her fill in. Her skin in that respect was marked with scars from years of daily bites. The incomparable feedings Lissa and I had done had kept my neck clear my bite marks neer lasted more than a day or so.Lissa leaned forward, fangs biting into the feeders yielding flesh. The woman come together her eyes, making a soft levelheaded of pleasure. I swallowed, watching Lissa drink. I couldnt see any(prenominal) blood, only when I could imagine it. A surge of emotion grew in my chest longing. Jealousy. I averted my eyes, staring at the floor. Mentally, I scolded myself.Whats wrong with you? wherefore should you miss it? You only did it in one case e really day. You arent addicted, not equal this. And you dont motivation to be. moreover I couldnt help myself, couldnt help the stylus I felt as I recalled the gladness and rush of a vampires bite.Lissa finished and we re dour to the commons, locomote toward the lunch line. It was short, since we only had fifteen transactio ns left, and I strolled up and began to load my casing with french fries and some rounded, bite-size objects that looked mistily exchangeable chicken nuggets. Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as dhampirs and humans did, scarcely rarely had an appetite after beverage blood.So howd classes go? I asked.She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life promptly. Okay. oodles of stares. A lot of stares. Lots of questions almost where we were. Whispering.Same here, I said. The attendant check us out, and we walked toward the tables. I gave Lissa a squinty glance. You okay with that? They arent b othering you, are they?No its fine. The emotions feeler through the bond contradicted her words. K nowadaysing I could feel that, she tried to c coheree the sphere by handing me her class schedule. I looked it over. beginning(a) Period Russian 2second Period American Colonial belles-lettres3rd Period Basics of elemental Control4th Period antiquated Poetry-Lunch 5t h Period puppet Behavior and Physiology6th Period good Calculus7th Period Moroi gardening 48th Period Slavonic ArtNerd, I said. If you were in dumb Math kindred me, wed have the same afternoon schedule. I stopped walking. wherefore are you in elemental basics? Thats a sophomore class.She eyed me. Because seniors select specialized classes.We trim silent at that. All Moroi wielded elemental invocation. It was one of the things that propound living vampires from Strigoi, the dead vampires. Moroi viewed magic as a gift. It was part of their souls and connected them to the world.A long time ago, they had used their magic openly averting natural disasters and component with things desire food and water production. They didnt need to do that as a good deal anymore, exactly the magic was still in their blood. It ruin in them and made them want to distort out to the earth and wield their actor. Academies a similar this existed to help Moroi control the magic and demand how to do increasingly complex things with it. Students withal had to learn the rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in gear up for centuries and were strictly enforced.All Moroi had a venial susceptibility in each element. When they got to be approximately our age, students specialized when one element grew stronger than the others earth, water, fire, or air. Not specializing was like not press release through puberty.And Lissa?well, Lissa hadnt specialized yet.Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What shed judge?She says shes not unhappy. She thinks itll come.Did you did you tell her or so Lissa shook her head. No. Of campaign not.We let the subject drop. It was one we thought about a lot plainly rarely speak of.We started moving again, see the tables as we decided where to sit. A few pairs of eyes looked up at us with blatant curiosity.Lissa came a nearby utterance. Glancing over, we power dictum Natalie waving at us. Lissa and I change looks. Natali e was sort of Lissas cousin in the way Victor was sort of her uncle, only when wed neer hung out with her all that much.Lissa shrugged and headed in that direction. Why not?I followed reluctantly. Natalie was nice however also one of the most prosaic people I knew. Most royals at the school enjoyed a kind of honor status, tho Natalie had never fit in with that crowd. She was too plain, too uninterested in the politics of the honorary society, and too clueless to very navigate them anyway.Natalies friends eyed us with a quiet curiosity, alone she didnt hold back. She threw her munition around us. Like Lissa, she had jade-green eyes, but her hair was jet black, like Victors had been ahead his disease grayed it.Youre back I knew you would be Everyone said you were gone forever, but I never believed that. I knew you couldnt roost away. Whyd you go? There are so numerous stories about why you left Lissa and I exchanged glances as Natalie prattled on. Camille said one of you got pregnant and went off to have an abortion, but I knew that couldnt be true. Someone else said you went off to hang out with moves mom, but I portendd Ms. Kirova and Daddy wouldnt have been so upset if youd turned up at that place. Did you love we cogency get to be roommates? I was talking to?On and on she chatted, flashing her fangs as she spoke. I smiled politely, let Lissa deal with the onslaught until Natalie asked a dangerous question.Whatd you do for blood, Lissa?The table regarded us questioningly. Lissa froze, but I immediately jumped in, the lie approach path effortlessly to my lips.Oh, its easy. There are a lot of humans who want to do it.Really? asked one of Natalies friends, wide-eyed.Yup. You get hold ?em at parties and stuff. Theyre all looking for a fix from something, and they dont in reality get that a vampires doing it most are already so wasted they dont remember anyway. My already faint details dried up, so I simply shrugged in as collected and confi dent a way as I could manage. It wasnt like any of them knew any better. Like I said, its easy. Almost easier than with our own feeders.Natalie accepted this and than launched into some other topic. Lissa accident me a grateful look.Ignoring the conversation again, I took in the old faces, trying to figure out who was hanging out with whom and how power had shifted within the school. Mason, sitting with a meeting of novices, caught my eye, and I smiled. Near him, a group of Moroi royals sat, laughing over something. Aaron and the blond girl sat there too.Hey, Natalie, I said, turning around and cutting her off. She didnt seem to presentment or mind. Whos Aarons new girlfriend?Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi. perceive my blank look, she asked, Dont you remember her?Should I? Was she here when we left?Shes always been here, said Natalie. Shes only a year younger than us.I shot a questioning look at Lissa, who only shrugged.Why is she so pissed off at us? I asked. Neither of us dwell her.I dont know, answered Natalie. mayhap shes jealous about Aaron. She wasnt much of anybody when you guys left. She got truly popular really fast. She isnt royal or anything, but once she started dating Aaron, she Okay, thanks, I interrupted. It doesnt really My eyes lifted up from Natalies face to Jesse Zekloss, sound as he passed by our table. Ah, Jesse. Id bury about him. I wish prickteaser with Mason and some of the other novices, but Jesse was in an entirely different category. You flirted with the other guys simply for the sake of flirting. You flirted with Jesse in the hopes of getting semi-naked with him. He was a royal Moroi, and he was so hot, he should have skeletal a warning flammable sign. He met my eyes and grinned.Hey Rose, welcome back. You still break of serve flavors?Are you volunteering?His grin widened. Lets hang out sometime and get out. If you ever get parole.He kept walking, and I watched him admiringly. Natalie and her friends stared at me in awe. I might not be a matinee idol in the Dimitri sense, but with this group, Lissa and I were gods or at least former gods of another(prenominal) genius.Oh my gawd, exclaimed one girl. I didnt remember her name. That was Jesse.Yes, I said, smiling. It certainly was.I wish I looked like you, she added with a sigh.Their eyes fell on me. Technically, I was half-Moroi, but my looks were human. Id unify in well with humans during our time away, so much so that Id barely thought about my appearance at all. Here, among the slim and small-chested Moroi girls, certain features meaning my big breasts and more defined hips stood out. I knew I was jolly, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than expert pretty it was sexy in a risqu? way. Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a knickknackery all Moroi guys treasured to try.It was ironic that dhampirs had such an bid here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that ideal skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldnt have.Lissa and I got to sit together in our shared afternoon classes but didnt do much talking. The stares shed mentioned certainly did follow us, but I found that the more I talked to people, the more they warmed up. Slowly, gradually, they seemed to remember who we were, and the novelty though not the intrigue of our insane stunt wore off.Or maybe I should say, they remembered who I was. Because I was the only one talking. Lissa stared straight ahead, listening but incomplete acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness move out of her.All right, I told her when classes ultimately ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully mindful that in doing so, I was already breach the terms of my supportment with Kirova. Were not staying here, I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. Im going to f ind a way to get us out.You think we could really do it a second time? Lissa asked quietly.Absolutely. I spoke with certainty, again relieved she couldnt read my feelings. Escaping the number one time had been tricky enough. Doing it again would be a real bitch, not that I couldnt still find a way.You really would, wouldnt you? She smiled, more to herself than to me, like shed thought of something funny. Of year you would. Its just, well? She sighed. I dont know if we should go. Maybe maybe we should stay.I blinked in astonishment. What? Not one of my more eloquent answers, but the best I could manage. Id never expected this from her.I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss that.Its not worth it, I argued. Not if?not if you? I couldnt finish, but she was right. Shed read me. I had missed the other novices. Even some of the Moroi. But there was more to it than just that. The weight of my inexperience, how much Id falle n behind, had been growing all day.It might be better, she countered. I havent had as many an(prenominal)?you know, things happening in a while. I havent felt like anyone was following or watching us.I didnt say anything to that. in the beginninghand wed left the Academy, shed always felt like someone was following her, like she was being hunted. Id never seen evidence to support that, but I had once heard one of our teachers go on and on about the same sort of thing. Ms. Karp. Shed been a pretty Moroi, with deep auburn air and high cheekbones. And I was pretty sure shed been crazy.You never know whos watching, she used to say, walking briskly around the classroom as she shut all the blinds. Or whos following you. dress hat to be safe. Best to always be safe. Wed snickered amongst ourselves because thats what students do around eccentric and insane teachers. The thought of Lissa acting like her fazed me.Whats wrong? Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought.Huh? Nothing. Just thinking. I sighed, trying to match my own wants with what was best for her. Liss, we can stay, I guess?but there are a few conditions.This made her laugh. A Rose ultimatum, huh?Im serious. Words I didnt say very much. I want you to stay away from the royals. Not like Natalie or anything but you know, the others. The power players. Camille. Carly. That group.Her amusement turned to astonishment. Are you serious?Sure. You never wish them anyway.You did.No. Not really. I liked what they could offer. All the parties and stuff.And you can go without that now? She looked skeptical.Sure. We did in Portland.Yeah, but that was different. Her eyes stared off, not really focused on any one thing. Here?here Ive got to be a part of that. I cant stave off it.The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff.Natalie isnt going to inherit her familys title, she retorted. Ive already got it. Ive got to be involved, start making connections. Andre Liss, I groaned. You arent Andre. I couldnt b elieve she was still comparing herself to her brother.He was always involved in all that stuff.Yeah, well, I snapped back, hes dead now.Her face hardened. You know, sometimes you arent very nice.You dont maintenance me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in there who would rip each others throats to get in good with the Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth, and here it is Andres dead. Youre the heir now, and youre going to deal with it however you can. But for now, that means staying away from the other royals. Well just lie low. Coast through the middle. furbish up involved in that stuff again, Liss, and youll adopt yourself?Crazy? she supplied when I didnt finish.Now I looked away. I didnt mean?Its okay. she said, after a moment. She sighed and touched my arm. Fine. Well stay and well keep out of all that stuff. Well ?coast through the middle like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess.To be perfectly honest, I didnt want any of t hat. I wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like wed done originally. Wed kept out of that life for years until Lissas parents and brother died. Andre should have been the one to inherit her familys title, and hed certainly acted like it. plentiful and outgoing, hed charmed everyone he knew and had been a drawing card in all the royal cliques and clubs that existed on campus. After his death, Lissa had felt it was her family duty to take his place.Id gotten to join that world with her. It was easy for me, because I didnt really have to deal with the politics of it. I was a pretty dhampir, one who didnt mind getting into trouble and displace crazy stunts. I became a novelty they liked having me around for the fun of it.Lissa had to deal with other matters. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve judgment families. Shed have a very stiff place in Moroi society, and the other young royals wanted to get in good with her. Fake friends tried to schmooze her and get her to team up against other people. The royals could buy and backstab in the same breath and that was just with each other. To dhampirs and non-royals, they were completely unpredictable.That cruel last had eventually taken its toll on Lissa. She had an open, kind nature, one that I loved, and I hated to see her upset and upset by royal games. Shed grown lean since the accident, and all the parties in the world werent worth seeing her hurt.All right then, I said finally. Well see how this goes. If anything goes wrong anything at all we leave. No arguments.She nodded.Rose?We both looked up at Dimitris looming form. I hoped he hadnt heard the part about us leaving.Youre late for practice, he said evenly. see Lissa, he gave a polite nod. Princess.As he and I walked away, I worried about Lissa and wondered if staying here was the right thing to do. I felt nothing portentous through the bond, but her emotions spiked all over the place. Confusion. Nostalgia. Fear. Antic ipation. Strong and powerful, they flooded into me.I felt the pull just before it happened. It was exactly like what had happened on the monotone her emotions grew so strong that they sucked me into her head before I could stop them. I could now see and feel what she did.She walked slowly around the commons, toward the small Russian Orthodox chapel that served most of the schools religious needs. Lissa had always go to mass regularly. Not me.I had a standing arrangement with God Id agree to believe in him barely so long as he let me sleep in on Sundays.But as she went inside, I could feel that she wasnt there to pray. She had another purpose, one I didnt know about. Glancing around, she verified that neither the priest nor any worshippers were close by. The place was empty.Slipping through a doorway in the back of the chapel, she climbed a narrow set of remiss stairs up into the attic. Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that fr actured the faint impudence of sunrise into tiny, multicolored gems across the floor.I hadnt known until that moment that this room was a regular retreat for Lissa. But now I could feel it, feel her memories of how she used to escape here to be alone and to think. The anxiety in her ebbed away ever so slightly as she took in the known surroundings. She climbed up into the window lavatory and leaned her head back against its side, momentarily beguile by the silence and the light.Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but they had to limit their exposure. seance here, she could almost pretend she was in the sun, protect by the glasss dilution of the rays.Breathe, just breathe, she told herself. Itll be okay. Rose will take care of everything.She believed that passionately, like always, and relaxed further.Then a low voice spoke from the darkness.You can have the Academy but not the window seat.She sprang up, heart pounding. I shared her anxiety, and my own neural impulse quickened. Whos there?A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside her reach of vision. The figure stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features materialized. Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A perpetually sardonic smirk.Christian Ozera.Dont worry, he said. I wont bite. Well, at least not in the way youre hangdog of. He chuckled at his own joke.She didnt find it funny. She had completely forgotten about Christian. So had I.No matter what happened in our world, a few basic truths about vampires remained the same. Moroi were live(a) Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born Strigoi were made.And there were twain ways to make a Strigoi. Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, dhampirs, or Moroi with a genius bite. Moroi tempted by the promise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if they purposely killed another psyche while feeding. Doing that was considered dark and twisted, the greatest of all sins, both against the Moroi way of life and nature itself. Moroi who chose this dark path lost their ability to connect with elemental magic and other powers of the world. That was why they could no longer go into the sun.This is what had happened to Christians parents. They were Strigoi.