Vampire Academy Chapter 4

FOURWE DIDNT HAVE THE ENTIRE commons attention this age, thank God, barely a few passing people had halt to stare.What the hell do you think youre doing? asked Doll Girl, blue eyes wide and sparkling with fury. Up close now, I was able to get a better look at her. She had the same slim build as most Moroi save not the usual height, which was dowryly what made her look so young. The tiny purple primp she wore was gorgeous reminding me that I was indeed dressed in thrift-shop wear barely closer inspection led me to think it was a designer knock aside.I go through my limbs across my chest. Are you lost, little girl? The elementary schools over on west campus.A pink flush spread over her cheeks. Dont you invariably touch me again. You screw with me, and Ill screw you right gumption.Oh man, what an opening that was. Only a head shake from Lissa stopped me from unleashing either number of hilarious comebacks. Instead, I opted for impartial brute force, so to speak.And if yo u mess with either of us again, Ill break you in half. If you dont believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow close to what I did to her arm in ninth grade. You were probably at nap time when it happened.The incident with Dawn hadnt been angiotensin-converting enzyme of my finer moments. I h cardinalstly hadnt expected to break any bones when I shoved her into a tree. Still, the incident had given me a dangerous reputation, in addition to my smartass one. The story had gained legendary status, and I handled to cypher that it was comfort being t grizzly around campfires late at night. Judging from the look on this girls wait, it was.One of the patrolling staff members strolled by right thence, casting suspicious eyes at our little meeting. Doll Girl backed off, taking Aarons arm. Come on, she said.Hey, Aaron, I said cheerfully, remembering he was t here. Nice to see you again.He gave me a ready nod and an uneasy smile, just as the girl dragged him off. Same old Aaron. He might be nice and cute, but aggressive he was not.I turned to Lissa. You okay? She nodded. Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?Not a clue. I started to lead her toward the lunch line, but she shook her head at me. Gotta go see the feeders.A funny feeling settled over me. Id gotten so used to being her primary argumentation source that the thought of returning to the Morois normal routine seemed strange. In fact, it almost b some othered me. It shouldnt turn in. Daily feedings were part of a Morois life, something I hadnt been able to offer her era living on our own. It had been an inconvenient situation, one that left me weak on feeding days and her weak on the days in between. I should have been happy she would get some normality.I forced a smile. Sure.We walked into the feeding room, which sit down adjacent to the cafeteria. It was set up with sm each cubicles, dividing the rooms space in an lather to offer privacy. A dark-haired Moroi woman greeted us at the entrance and glanced down a t her clipboard, flipping through the pages. Finding what she needed, she made a few notes and then gestured for Lissa to follow. Me she gave a puzzled look, but she didnt stop me from entering.She led us to one 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. Welcome back, Princess.The greeter left us, and Lissa sat down in the chair beside the woman. I sensed a feeling of discomfort in her, a little different from my own. This was weird 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 junkie about to get her next fix.Disgust poured into me. It was an old instinct, one that had been drilled in over the age. 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 their lives over to the conundrum institution of the Moroi. They were well cared for and given every last(predicate) the comforts they could need. But at the heart 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 off though the Moroi couldnt have survived otherwise unless they took victims by force. Hypocrisy at its finest.The feeder tilted her head, giving Lissa full access to her neck. Her skin there was marked with scars from years of daily bites. The infrequent feedings Lissa and I had done had kept my neck clear my bite marks never lasted more than a day or so.Lissa leaned forward, fangs mordacious into the feeders yielding flesh. The woman closed her eyes, making a soft sound of pleasure. I sw everyowed, watching Lissa drink. I couldnt see any b lood, but 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? Why should you miss it? You only did it once any day. You arent addicted, not deal this. And you dont exigency to be.But I couldnt help myself, couldnt help the way I felt as I recalled the bliss and rush of a vampires bite.Lissa finished and we returned to the commons, moving toward the lunch line. It was short, since we only had fifteen minutes left, and I strolled up and began to load my plate with french fries and some rounded, bite-size objects that looked vaguely like chicken nuggets. Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as dhampirs and humans did, but rarely had an appetite after drinking blood.So howd divisiones go? I asked.She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life now. Okay. Lots of stares. A lot of stares. Lots of questions about where we were. Whispering.Same here, I said. The attendant checked us out, and we walked toward the tables. I gave Lissa a sidelong glance. You okay with that? They arent bothering you, are they?No its fine. The emotions coming through the bond contradicted her words. Knowing I could feel that, she tried to change the subject by handing me her class schedule. I looked it over.1st Period Russian 22nd Period American Colonial Literature3rd Period Basics of Elemental chasteness4th Period Ancient Poetry-Lunch 5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology6th Period Advanced Calculus7th Period Moroi husbandry 48th Period Slavic ArtNerd, I said. If you were in Stupid Math like me, wed have the same afternoon schedule. I stopped walking. Why are you in chief(a) basics? Thats a sophomore class.She eyed me. Because seniors take specialized classes.We fell silent at that. All Moroi wielded elementary magic. It was one of the things that differentiated 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 helping with things like food and water production. They didnt need to do that as much anymore, but the magic was nevertheless in their blood. It burnt in them and made them want to murder out to the earth and wield their power. Academies like this existed to help Moroi control the magic and learn how to do increasingly Byzantine things with it. Students also had to learn the rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in place for centuries and were strictly enforced.All Moroi had a small ability in each element. When they got to be around our age, students specialized when one element grew stronger than the others earth, water, fire, or air. Not specializing was like not going through puberty.And Lissa?well, Lissa hadnt specialized yet.Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What shed say?She says shes not worried. She thinks itll come.Did you did you tell her about Lissa shook her head. No. Of course not.We let the subject drop. It was one we thought about a lot but rarely spoke of.We started moving again, scan the tables as we decided where to sit. A few pairs of eyes looked up at us with blatant curiosity.Lissa came a nearby voice. Glancing over, we saw Natalie waving at us. Lissa and I exchanged looks. Natalie was sort of Lissas cousin in the way Victor was sort of her uncle, but wed never hung out with her all that much.Lissa shrugged and headed in that direction. Why not?I followed reluctantly. Natalie was nice but also one of the most uninteresting people I knew. Most royals at the school enjoyed a kind of celebrity status, but Natalie had never fit in with that crowd. She was too plain, too uninterested in the politics of the academy, and too clueless to really navigate them anyway.Natalies friends eyed us with a quiet curiosity, but she didnt hold back. She threw her arms around us. Like Lissa, she had jade-gr een eyes, but her hair was jet black, like Victors had been before 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 stay away. Whyd you go? There are so many 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 Roses mom, but I figured Ms. Kirova and Daddy wouldnt have been so upset if youd turned up there. Did you know we might get to be roommates? I was talking to?On and on she chatted, flashing her fangs as she spoke. I smiled politely, letting 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 coming effortlessly to my lips.Oh, its easy. There are a lot of humans who want to do it.R eally? asked one of Natalies friends, wide-eyed.Yup. You find ?em at parties and stuff. Theyre all looking for a fix from something, and they dont really get that a vampires doing it most are already so cadaverous they dont remember anyway. My already vague details dried up, so I simply shrugged in as cool and confident 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 shot me a grateful look.Ignoring the intercourse 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 group of novices, caught my eye, and I smiled. go about 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 notice or mind. Whos Aarons new girlfriend ?Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi. Seeing 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 know her.I dont know, answered Natalie. Maybe shes jealous about Aaron. She wasnt much of anybody when you guys left. She got really 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, just as he passed by our table. Ah, Jesse. Id forgotten about him. I liked flirting 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 worn a warning flammable sign. He met my eyes and grinned.Hey Rose, welcome back. You still breaking hearts?Are you volunteering?His grin widened. Lets hang out sometime and find 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 god in the Dimitri sense, but with this group, Lissa and I were gods or at least former gods of another(prenominal) nature.Oh my gawd, exclaimed one girl. I didnt remember her name. That was Jesse.Yes, I said, smiling. It sure 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 blended 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 larger breasts and more defined hips stood out. I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty it was sexy in a risqu? way. Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a novelty all Moroi guys wanted to try.It was ironical that dhampirs had such an allure 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 becharm of our half-baked 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 neither acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness pouring out of her.All righ t, I told her when classes finally ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully aware that in doing so, I was already breaking the terms of my agreement with Kirova. Were not staying here, I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. Im going to find 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 first 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 course 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 mi ss 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 fallen lav, had been growing all day.It might be better, she countered. I havent had as many?you know, things happening in a while. I havent felt like anyone was interest or watching us.I didnt say anything to that. Before 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. Best to be safe. Best to always be safe. Wed snickere d amongst ourselves because thats what students do around eccentric and paranoid teachers. The thought of Lissa acting like her bothered me.Whats wrong? Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought.Huh? Nothing. Just thinking. I sighed, trying to balance 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 liked 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 avoid it.The hell you do. Nata lie 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 believe 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 keep 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. Get involved in that stuff again, Liss, and youll drive 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 that. I wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like wed done before. 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. Handsome and outgoing, hed charmed everyone he knew and had been a leader 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 pulling 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 ruling families. Shed have a very virile 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 bribe and backstab in the same breath and that was just with each other. To dhampirs and non-royals, they were wholly unpredictable.That cruel culture 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 stressed by royal games. Shed grown fragile since the accident, and all the parties in the world werent worth beholding 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. Seeing Lissa, he gave a polite nod. Princess.As he and I walked away, I worried ab out Lissa and wondered if staying here was the right thing to do. I felt nothing alarming through the bond, but her emotions spiked all over the place. Confusion. Nostalgia. Fear. Anticipation. difficult and powerful, they flooded into me.I felt the pull just before it happened. It was exactly like what had happened on the plane 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 accompanied 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 creaky steps up into the attic. Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that fractured the faint glow 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 familiar surroundings. She climbed up into the window seat and leaned her head back against its side, momentarily entranced by the silence and the light.Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but they had to limit their exposure. Sitting here, she could almost pretend she was in the sun, protected 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 pulse quickened. Whos there?A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside her field of vision. The figure stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features materialized. Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A unendingly sardonic smirk.Christian Ozera.Dont worry, he said. I wont bite. Well, at least not in the way youre afraid 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 alive Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born Strigoi were made.And there were devil ways to make a Strigoi. Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, dhampirs, or Moroi with a single bite. Moroi tempted by the p romise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if they purposely killed another person 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.