Shadow Kiss Chapter 10

TenTHE NEXT DAY, MY guardian duties with Christian resumed. champion judgment of conviction again, I found my own life put on patronise for aboutone elses.How was your penance? he asked as we walked crosswise campus from his dorm.I subdue a yawn. I hadnt been able to sleep well last night, both because of my feelings for Dimitri and because of what Father Andrew had told me. Nonethe little, I kept a sharp eye surface. This was the arrangement where Stan had attacked us twice before, and besides, the guardians were sick and twisted e no.gh to come aft(prenominal) me on a twenty-four hours when I was so exhausted.It was okay. The priest permit us go early.Us?Dimitri came and helped me. I think he tangle bad about me being stuck with that work.Either that or he has zilch else to do in a flash that hes non doing your extra sessions.Maybe, exclusively I inquiry it. All in e genuinely(prenominal)(prenominal), I guess it wasnt that bad a day. Unless you considered cult ivation about spiteful ghosts bad.I had a great day, verbalize Christian, the sm solelyest summation of smugness in his voice.I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. Yeah, I shaft.He and Lissa had taken advantage of their guardianless day to take advantage of each other. I supposed I should be glad theyd held finish off until Eddie and I werent approximately, more all over in a lot of ways, it didnt matter. True, when I was awake, I could block out all(prenominal) of the details, but I tacit knew what was going on. A turning of the jealousy and anger Id felt up from the last time theyd been to pushher re dour. It was the very(prenominal) problem all over again Lissa doing all the things I couldnt do.I was dying to go eat breakfast. I could smell French drink and hot maple syrup. Carbs mop upped in to a greater extent carbs. Yum. hardly Christian precious blood before we ate solid food, and his needs trumped mine. They come maiden. Hed appargonntly skipped his daily b lood dose yesterday probably to maximize his romanticistic time.The feeder room wasnt crowded, but we still had to wait.Hey, I say. Do you love Brett Ozera? Youre related, right? After my encounter with Jill, Id finally put some pieces together. Brett Ozera and Dane Zeklos had reminded me of how Brandon had verbal expressioned the day of Stans first attack. The disaster of that attack had made me completely forget about Brandon, but the coincidences here suddenly stirred my curiosity. All three had been beat up. All three had been in denial.Christian nodded. Yeah, in the way were all mannikin of related. I dont know him that well hes resembling a tertiary or fourth cousin or something. His branch of the family hasnt had much to do with mine since well, you know.I heard something weird about him. I thus related what Jill had told me about Dane and Brett.Thats weird, agreed Christian. yet people get in fights.Yeah, but at that place are some weird connections here. And royals arent usually on the losing ends of fights all three of these guys were.Well, by chance thats it. You know how its been. A lot of royals are acquire pissed off that non-royals require to change how guardians are appoint and learn to start fighting. Thats the whole point of Jesse and Ralfs stupid little club. They want to make accredited royals stay on outstrip. Non-royals are probably getting save as pissed off and fighting back.So, what, some kind of vigilante is out making royals pay?Wouldnt be the weirdest thing thats happened some here, he pointed out.Thats for damn sure, I muttered.Christians name was called, and he peered ahead. Look at that, he said happily. Alice again.I dont get your fascination with her, I detect as we approached the old feeder. Lissas of all time kind of frantic to see her too. however Alice is nuts.I know, he said. Thats whats so great.Alice greeted us as Christian sit down beside her. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed over my ch est. Feeling uppity, I said, Alice, the scenery hasnt changed. Its precisely the same as last time.She turned her muzzy eyes on me. Patience, Rose. You must be patient. And prepared. Are you prepared?The scourge in subject threw me a little. It was like gabbleing to Jill, except less sane. Um, prepared how? For the scenery?In what had to be a prime flake of irony, she looked at me as though I were the one who was crazy. Armed. Are you build up? Youre going to protect us, arent you?I reached inner(a) my coat and pulled out the use stake Id been given for the field experience. Got you covered, I said.She looked immensely relieved and simply couldnt tell the difference between a real stake and a fake one. Good, she said. at once well be safe.Thats right, said Christian. With Rose armed, we apply vigour to worry about. The Moroi world can rest easy.Alice was oblivious to his sarcasm. Yes. Well, nowhere is ever so safe.I concealed the stake again. Were safe. Weve got the best guardians in the world defend us, not to mention the wards. Strigoi arent getting in here.I didnt add what Id recently learned that Strigoi could get humans to break the wards. Wards were invisible lines of power that were constitute of all four elements. They were created when four Moroi, each one operose in a different element, walked around an area and set the magic in a circle upon the ground, creating a prophylactic border. Moroi magic was imbued with life, and a strong field of it kept out Strigoi, since they were devoid of life. So wards were frequently laid around Moroi dwellings. Tons of them were laid around this school. Since stakes were also imbued with all four elements, driving a stake through a ward line in the ground pierced the ward and canceled out the protective effect. This had never been much of a concern because Strigoi couldnt touch stakes. However, in some recent attacks, humans who could touch stakes had served Strigoi and broken some wards. We bel ieved the Strigoi Id killed had been the ringleaders in that group, but we still didnt know for sure.Alice studied me closely with her cloudy eyes, close as though she knew what I was thinking. Nowhere is safe. Wards fade. Guardians die.I glanced over at Christian, who shrugged in a sort of what did you expect from her? kind of way.If you guys are through with your girl talk, can I eat now? he asked.Alice was more than happy to comply he was her first hit of the day. She soon forgot about wards or boththing else and simply lost herself to the ecstasy of his bite. I forgot about wards too. I had a one-track mind, really I still wanted to know if stonemason had been real or not. The priests frightening explanation aside, I had to admit Masons visits hadnt been threatening, only if scary. If he was out to get me, he was kind of doing a half-assed patronage of it. Once again, I started putting more stock in the stress-and-fatigue theory.Now its time for me to eat, I said when Christ ian finished. I was pretty sure I could smell bacon now. Thatd probably make Christian happy. He could wrap it around his French toast.Wed barely stepped out of the room when Lissa came running up to us, Eddie trailing lav. Excitement lit her face, though the feelings in the bond werent exactly happy.Did you hear? she asked, a little breathless.Hear what? I asked.You have to stimulate go pack your things. Were going to Victors trial. Right now.Thered been no warning at all about when Victors trial would even occur, let alone that someone had apparently decided we could go. Christian and I exchanged brief, startled looks and thitherfore hurried off to his room to gather our things.Packing was a breeze. My hold was ready to go already, and Christian only took a minute to agree his together. In less than a half hour, we were out on the Academys get strip. Two private jets sat in attendance, one of which was fired up and waiting to go. A couple of Moroi hurried about, doing last -minute things with the carpenters plane and the runway.No one seemed to know what was going on. Lissa had simply been told that she, Christian, and I were going to register and that Eddie could come a massive to continue his field experience. Thered been no explanation as to why things had changed, and a weird mix of eagerness and apprehension crackled around us. We all wanted to see Victor locked away for good, but now that we were actually faced with the reality of the trial and of seeing him well, it was kind of scary.A few guardians lingered near the steps going up to the plane. I accepted them as the ones who had helped capture Victor. They were probably going to do double duty and serve as witnesses and as our protection. Dimitri hovered near the outskirts, and I hurried over to him.Im sorry, I gulped out. Im so sorry.He turned toward me, his face schooled to that perfect get a line of neutrality that he was so good at. Sorry for what?For all the fearful things I said y esterday. You did it you really did it. You got them to let us go.Despite my restiveness about seeing Victor, I was filled with elation. Dimitri had come through. Id known all along that he really cared about me this just proved it. If there hadnt been so many people around, I would have hugged him.Dimitris face didnt change. It wasnt me, Rose. I had nothing to do with it.Alberta signaled that we could board, and he turned away to join the others. I stood frozen for a moment, watching him and trying to figure out what had happened. If he hadnt intervened, indeed why were we going? Lissas diplomatic efforts had been shot down a while ago. Why the change of heart?My friends were already on board, so I hurried to catch up. As soon as I stepped into the cabin, a voice called to me. Little dhampir About time you got here.I looked and axiom Adrian waving, a drink in his hand. Great. Wed had to beg and plead to go along, in time Adrian had somehow just glided on in. Lissa and Christ ian were sitting together, so I joined Eddie in the hopes of staying away from Adrian. Eddie gave me the window seat. Adrian moved to the seat in front of us, though, and might as well have been sitting in our row, as often as he turned around to talk to me. His chatter and outrageous flirting indicated hed been sipping cocktails long before the rest of us had come aboard. I kind of wished Id had a few myself once we were airborne. A wicked business concern set in almost immediately after liftoff, and I entertained a fantasy of vodka numbing the hurting.Were going to Court, Adrian said. Arent you excited about it? I closed(a) my eyes and rubbed my temples. About which one? The royal one or the legal one?The royal one. Did you bring a dress?Nobody told me to.So thats a no.Yes.Yes? I thought you meant no.I opened one eye and glared. I did mean no, and you know it. No, I did not bring a dress.Well get you one, he said loftily.Youre going to take me shopping? Im going to go out on a limb and guess they wont consider you a reliable chaperone.shop? As if. There are tailors that live there. Well get you something custom-made.Were not staying that long. And do I really need a dress for what were doing there?No, Id just kind of like to see you in one.I sighed and leaned my head against the window. The pain in my skull was still throbbing. It was like the air was pressing in on me. Something flashed in my peripheral vision, and I turned in surprise, but there was nothing but stars outside the window.Something black, he continued. Satin, I think maybe with lace trim. Do you like lace? Some women think it itches.Adrian. It was like a hammer, a hammer inside and outside my head.You could get a nice velvet trim too, though. That wouldnt itch.Adrian. Even my eye sockets seemed to hurt.And then a slit up the side to show off what great legs you have. It could go nearly to the hip and have this cute little bow Adrian Something inside of me burst. Will you shut the hell up for five seconds? I squall so loud that the pilot had probably heard me. Adrian had that rare look of astonishment on his face.Alberta, sitting across the aisle from Adrian, shot up in her seat. Rose, she exclaimed. Whats going on?I gritted my teeth and rubbed my forehead. I have the worst fucking headache in the world, and he wont shut up. I didnt even realize Id sworn in front of an instructor until several(prenominal) seconds later. From the other side of my field of vision, I thought I maxim something else another shadow darting through the plane, reminding me of black wings. wish well a chiropteran or a raven. I covered my eyes. There was nothing warm through the plane. God, why wont it go away?I expected Alberta to lecture me for the outburst, but instead, Christian spoke She hasnt eaten today. She was really hungry earlier.I uncover my eyes. Albertas face was filled with concern, and Dimitri now hovered behind her. More shadowy shapes flitted across my vision. Most w ere indistinct, but I could have sworn I aphorism something that looked like a skull mixed in with the darkness. I blinked rapidly, and it all disappeared. Alberta turned to one of the flight attendants. Can you get her something to eat? And find a painkiller?Wheres it at? Dimitri asked me. The pain?With all of this attention, my explosion suddenly seemed excessive. Its a headacheIm sure itll go away Seeing his stern look, I pointed to the center of my forehead. Its like something pushing on my skull. And theres pain kind of behind my eyes. I keep feeling likewell, its like Ive got something in my eye. I think Im seeing a shadow or something. Then I blink and its gone.Ah, said Alberta. Thats a migraine symptom having vision problems. Its called an aura. mass sometimes get it before the headache sets in.An aura? I asked, startled. I glanced up at Adrian. He was looking at me over the top of his seat, his long arms hanging over the back of it.Not that kind, he said, a small smile t urning up his lips. Same name. Like Court and court. Migraine auras are images and light you see when a migraines climax on. They have nothing to do with the auras around people I see. But I tell you the aura I can see the one around you wow.Black?And then some. Its obvious even after all the drinks Ive had. Never seen anything like it.I didnt exactly know what to make of that, but then the flight attendant returned with a banana, a granola bar, and some ibuprofen. It was a far cry from French toast, but it sounded good on my leisure stomach. I consumed it all and then propped a pillow up against the window. last my eyes, I rested my head and hoped I could sleep the headache off before we landed. Mercifully, everyone else stayed quiet.I had drifted off a little when I felt a slight touch on my arm. Rose?Opening my eyes, I peered at Lissa as she sat in Eddies seat. Those bat-winged shapes flitted behind her, and my head still hurt. In those swirling shadows, I again saw what loo ked like a face, this time with a wide gaping mouth and eyes like fire. I flinched.Youre still in pain? Lissa asked, peering at me. I blinked, and the face was gone.Yeah, I oh no. I realized what she was going to do. Dont do it. Dont waste it on me.Its easy, she said. It hardly fazes me.Yeah, but the more you use it the more it hurts you in the long run. Even if its easy now.Ill worry about that later. Here.She clasped my hand between hers and closed her eyes. Through our bond, I felt the magic welling up in her as she drew upon spirits healing power. To her, magic felt warm and golden. Id been healed before, and it always came through to me as varying temperatures hot, then cold, then hot, etc. But this time, when she released the magic and sent it into me, I didnt feel anything except a very faint tingle. Her eyelids fluttered open.Wh what happened? she asked.Nothing, I said. The headaches still going strong.But I The astonishment and shock on her face mirrored what I sensed in her. I had it. I felt the magic. It worked.I dont know, Liss. Its okay, really. You havent been off the meds that long, you know.Yeah, but I healed Eddie the other day without any problems. And Adrian, she added dryly. He was hanging over the seat again, watching us intently.Those were scrapes, I said. This is a five-alarm migraine were talk about. Maybe youve got to build back up.Lissa bit her lower lip. You dont think the pills for good hurt my magic, do you?Nah, said Adrian, head tilted to the side. You lit up like a supernova when you were summoning it. You had magic. I just dont think it had any effect on her.Why not? she demanded.Maybe shes got something you cant heal.A headache? I asked in disbelief.He shrugged. What do I look like, a doctor? I dont know. Just telling you what I saw.I sighed and fixed a hand on my forehead. Well, I instruct the help, Liss, and I appreciate your annoying commentary, Adrian. But I think sleep might be the best thing for now. Maybe its stre ss or something. Sure, why not? Stress was the answer to everything lately. Ghosts. Incurable headaches. Weird faces floating in the air. in all probability cant heal that.Maybe, she said, sounding as though she took personal offense at me having something she couldnt fix. Inside her mind, though, her accusations were turned toward herself, not me. She worried she wasnt good enough.Its okay, I said soothingly. Youre just getting your stride back. Once youre up to full power, Ill go crack a rib or something so we can raise it.She groaned. The horrible part is that I dont think youre joking. After a lovesome squeeze of my hand, she stood up. Sleep well.She left, and I soon realized Eddie wasnt coming back. Hed taken a new seat so that Id have more room. Appreciative, I fluffed and repositioned the pillow while stretching my legs out as best I could across the seats. A few more phantom clouds danced across my vision, and then I closed my eyes to sleep.I woke up later when the plane touched down, the sounds of its engines kicking into reverse startling me out of a productive sleep. To my relief, the headache was gone. So were the weird shapes floating around me.Better? Lissa asked when I stood up and yawned.I nodded. Much. Better still if I can get some real food.Well, she laughed, somehow I doubt theres any deficit of food around here.She was right. Glancing out the windows, I tried to get my first look at our surroundings. Wed made it. We were at the Moroi Royal Court.