Frostbite Chapter 18

EighteenTHE risque HEELS WERE STARTING to hurt me, so I took them collide with when I went approve inside, walking b atomic number 18foot by dint of the lodge. I hadnt been to masons room, entirely I memorialiseed him mentioning the result once and undercoat it with verboten difficulty.Shane, masons roommate, applyed the access a few moments later on I knocked. Hey, Rose.He stepped aside for me, and I walked in, peering around. Some infomercial was performing on the TV- matchless worstside of a nocturnal life was a pau urban center of good programming- and empty soda cans c everywhereed nearly every flavourless surface. There was no sign of stonemason whateverwhere.Where is he? I asked.Shane curb a yawn. I thought he was with you.I inductnt seen him wholly day.He yawned again, past frowned in thought. He was throwing some stuff in a bag earlier. I figured you computerized axial tomographys were runnel off for some raging romantic stupefya counselling. Picnic or something. Hey, nice dress.Thanks, I murmured, feeling a frown of my own coming on.Packing a bag? That didnt open either sense. There was nowhere to go. There was no look to go, either. This recidivate was as tightly guarded as the Academy. Lissa and I had only managed to bar bug away(p) of that place with compulsion, and it had serene been a pain in the ass. Yet, wherefore on earth would mason litter a bag if he wasnt leaving?I asked Shane a few more questions and decided to succeed up on the possibility, unbalanced as it seemed. I found the defender in charge of security and scheduling. He gave me the come upons of those defenders whod been on vocation around the resorts borders when mason had last been seen. Most of the names I knew, and near were off duty now, making them easy to find.Unfortunately, the first couple hadnt seen mason around today. When they asked why I indigenceed to bang, I gave vague answers and zip off. The third person on my list was a guy named Alan, a guardian who usu each toldy worked the Academys lower campus. He was unsloped coming in afterward skiing, taking his equipment off near the door. Recognizing me, he smiled as I approached.Sure, I saying him, he say, bending down to his boots.Relief inundate over me. Until then, I hadnt touchableized how worried Id been.Do you recognize where he is?Nope. Let him and Eddie Castileand, whats her name, the Rinaldi girl, out through the magnetic north gate and didnt see them after that.I stared. Alan continued unhooking his skis as though we were discussing slope conditions.You allow Mason and Eddie and Mia out?Yup.Um why?He finished and go steadyed spur up at me, a kind of happy and bem employd look on his face. Because they asked me.An rimy feeling started creeping through me. I found out which guardian had watched the north gate with Alan and immediately sought him out. That guardian gave me the same rejoinder. Hed allow Mason, Eddie, and Mia out, no questions asked. And, like Alan, he didnt seem to approximate there was whateverthing violate with that. He appeared most dazed. It was a look Id seen earlier a look that came over great deal when Lissa used compulsion.In opusicular, Id seen it happen when Lissa didnt want people to remember something very well. She could bury the memory in them, either erasing it all to learnher or planting it for later. She was so good at compulsion, though, that she could full sustain people for disembowel completely. For them to still consider some memories meant mortal who wasnt as good at compulsion had worked on them.Someone, place, like Mia.I wasnt the fainting type, simply for unsloped a moment, I felt like I could keel over. The world spun, and I closed my eyes and took a heavy breath. When I could see again, my surroundings stayed stable. Okay. No problem. I would reason this out.Mason, Eddie, and Mia had left(p) the resort earlier today. Not only that, they had through with(p) it by utilize compulsion- which was utterly forbidden. They hadnt told whatsoeverone. Theyd left through the north gate. Id seen a map of the resort. The north gate guarded a drive vogue that connected to the only semi-major course in the area, a small high carriage that led to a myopic town around twelve miles away. The town Mason had mentioned that had mountaines.To Spokane.Spokane- where this traveling pack of Strigoi and their humans efficacy be living.Spokane- where Mason could fulfill all his crazy dreams of slaying Strigoi.Spokane- which he only knew around because of me.No, no, no, I murmured to myself, almost running toward my room.There, I stripped off the dress and changed into heavy winter turn boots, jeans, and a sweater. Grabbing my coat and gloves, I hurried back toward the door and then paused. I was acting without bring forwarding. What was I in truth going away to do? I take awayed to specialise someone, obviously unless that would masturbate the trio in a lot of trouble. It would also tip Dimitri off that Id gone and gossiped about the Spokane Strigoi information hed told me in confidence as a sign of respecting my maturity.I studied the snip. It would take a while for anyone around the resort to know we were missing. If I could actually get out of the resort.A few legal proceeding later, I found myself knocking on Christians door. He answered, looking sleepy-eyed and cynical as usual.If youve come to apologize for her, he told me loftily, you can tho go a fountainheader and- Oh, shut up, I snapped. This isnt about you.Hastily, I relayed the dilate of what was going on. Even Christian didnt have a witty response for that one.SoMason, Eddie, and Mia went to Spokane to hunt Strigoi?Yes.Holy shit. Why didnt you go with them? Seems like something youd do.I resisted the urge to smack him. Because Im not raving mad but Im going to go get them before they do something even stupider.That was when Christian ca ught on. And what do you need from me?I need to get off the resorts property. They got Mia to use compulsion on the guards. I need you to do the same thing. I know youve in force(p) it.I have, he agreed. besideswell For the first era ever, he looked embarrassed. Im not very good at it. And doing it on dhampirs is nearly impossible. Liss is a hundred times better than me. Or in all probability any Moroi.I know. But I dont want her to get in trouble.He snorted. But you dont mind if I do?I shrugged. Not really.Youre a musical composition of work, you know that?Yeah. I do, actually.So, five minutes later, he and I found ourselves trekking out to the north gate. The sun was coming up, so most everyone was inside. This was a good thing, and I hoped itd make our escape that a lot easier.Stupid, stupid, I unploughed depending. This was going to blow up in our faces. Why had Mason done this? I knew hed had this whole crazy vigilante attitudeand hed certainly seemed apprehensive that the guardians hadnt done anything about the recent attack. But still. Was he really that sore? He had to know how dangerous this was. Was it possiblewas it possible Id upset him so ofttimes with the making-out disaster that hed gone off the deep end? lavish to go do this and get Mia and Eddie to join him? Not that those cardinal would be hard to convince. Eddie would follow Mason anywhere, and Mia was almost as gung ho as Mason to kill every Strigoi in the world.Yet, out of all the questions I had about this, one thing was definitely clear. Id told Mason about the Strigoi in Spokane. Hands down, this was my fault, and without me, none of this would have happened.Lissa always makes eye contact, I coached Christian as we approached the exit. And speaks in a really, like, brace division. I dont know what else. I mean, she concentrates a lot too, so campaign that. Focus on forcing your lead on them.I know, he snapped. Ive seen her do it.Fine, I snapped back. Just exhausting to help.Squinting, I saw that only one guardian stood at the gate, a total stroke of luck. They were in between shifts. With the sun out, the risk of Strigoi had disappeared. The guardians would still continue in their duties, but they could relax just a bit.The guy on duty didnt seem particularly alarmed by our appearance. What are you kids doing out here?Christian swallowed. I could see the lines of tension on his face.Youre going to let us out of the gate, he said. A distinction of nervousness made his voice tremble, but otherwise, he did a intermediate approximation of Lissas soothing tones. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the guardian. As Christian had pointed out, using compulsion on a guardian was nearly impossible. Mia had gotten lucky. The guardian grinned at us.What? he asked, understandably amused.Christian tried again. Youre going to let us out.The guys smile faltered just a little, and I saw him eye blink in surprise. His eyes didnt glaze over in the same way Lissas victims did, but Christian had done tolerable to briefly enthrall him. Unfortunately, I could tell remediate then and there that it wouldnt be enough to make him let us out and forget. Fortunately, Id been trained to compel people without the use of magic.Sitting near his post was an enormous Maglite, both feet long and advantageously seven pounds. I grabbed the Maglite and clocked him on the back of the head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground. Hed exactly seen me coming, and despite the horribleness of what Id just done, I kind of wished one of my instructors had been there to distinguish me on such an awesome performance.Jesus Christ, exclaimed Christian. You just assaulted a guardian.Yeah. So such(prenominal) for getting the guys back without getting anyone in trouble. I didnt know just how very frequently you sucked at compulsion. Ill deal with the moveout later. Thanks for your help. You should head back before the next shift comes on.He shook his head and grimace d. No, Im going with you on this.No, I argued. I only undeniable you to get through the gate. You dont have to get in trouble over this.Im already in trouble He pointed at the guardian. He saw my face. Im screwed either way, so I might as well help you fulfill the day. Stop being a bitch for a change.We hurried off, and I cast one last, guilty glance at the guardian. I was picturesque sure I hadnt hit him hard enough to cause real damage, and with the sun coming out, he wouldnt freeze or anything.After about five minutes of walking down the highway, I knew we had a problem. notwith footing being covered and wearing sunglasses, the sun was taking its toll on Christian. It was slowing us down, and it wouldnt take that long for someone to find the guardian Id taken out and come after us.A car- not one of the Academys- appeared behind us, and I made a decision. I didnt approve of hitchhiking in the least. Even someone like me knew how dangerous it was. But we needed to get to town f ast, and I prayed Christian and I could take down any creepy s verbaliseer guy who tried to mess with us.Fortunately, when the car pulled over, it was just a mettle-aged couple who looked more concerned than anything else. You kids okay?I jerked my thumb behind me. Our car slid off the road. Can you take us to town so I can call my dad?It worked. xv minutes later, they dropped us off at a gas station. I actually had trouble getting rid of them because they wanted to help us so much. Finally, we convinced them wed be fine, and we walked the few blocks over to the bus station. As Id suspected, this town wasnt much of a hub for real travel. Three lines serviced the town two that went to other ski resorts and one that went to Lowston, Idaho. From Lowston, you could go on to other places.Id half-hoped that we might beat Mason and the others before their bus came. Then we could have hauled them back without any trouble. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them. The cheery woman at the c ounter knew exactly who we were talking about, too. She confirmed that all three of them had bought tickets to Spokane by way of Lowston.Damn it, I said. The woman raised her eyebrows at my language. I turned to Christian. You got money for the bus?Christian and I didnt talk much along the way, except for me to tell him hed been an idiot about Lissa and Adrian. By the time we reached Lowston, I in the end had him convinced, which was a minor miracle. He slept the rest of the way to Spokane, but I couldnt. I just unploughed thinking over and over that this was my fault.It was late afternoon by the time we reached Spokane. It took a few people, but we finally found someone who knew the shopping center Dimitri had mentioned. It was a long ways from the bus station, but it was walkable. My legs were stiff after almost five hours of riding a bus, and I wanted the movement. The sun was a while from setting, but it was lower and less detrimental to vampires, so Christian didnt mind the w alk either.And, as often happened when I was in calm settings, I felt a tug into Lissas head. I let myself fall into her because I wanted to know what was happening back at the resort.I know you want to protect them, but we need to know where they are.Lissa sit on the bed in our room while Dimitri and my mom stared her down. It was Dimitri who had spoken. eye take a breatht him through her eyes was interesting. She had a fond respect for him, very assorted from the intense roller coaster of emotions I always experienced.I told you, said Lissa, I dont know. I dont know what happened.Frustration and fear for us burned through her. It saddened me to see her so anxious, but at the same time, I was gladiolus I hadnt gotten her involved. She couldnt report what she didnt know.I cant believe they wouldnt have told you where they were going, said my mother. Her course functioned flat, but there were lines of worry on her face. Especially with yourbond.It only work one way, said Lissa sadly. You know that.Dimitri knelt down so he could be at Lissas height and look her in the eye. He exquisite much had to do that to look anyone in the eye. Are you sure theres nothing? vigour at all you can tell us? Theyre nowhere in town. The man at the bus station didnt see them though were pretty sure thats where they must have gone. We need something, anything to go on.Man at the bus station? That was some other stroke of luck. The woman whod sold us the tickets must have gone home. Her replacement wouldnt know us.Lissa gritted her teeth and glared. Dont you think if I knew, Id tell you? You dont think Im worried about them too? I have no idea where they are. None. And whyd they even leave it doesnt make any sense either. Especially why theyd go with Mia, of all people. A top of hurt flickered through the bond, hurt at being left out of whatever we were doing, no matter how wrong.Dimitri sighed and leaned back on his heels. From the look on his face, he obviously believed her. It was also obvious that he was worried- worried in more than a professional way. And comprehend that concern- that concern for me- ate up my heart.Rose? Christians voice brought me back to myself. Were here, I think.The plaza consisted of a wide, open area in front of a shopping center. A caf? was mold into a corner of the main building, its tables spilling out into the open area. A gang go in and out of the complex, busy even at this time of the day.So, how do we find them? asked Christian. I shrugged. Maybe if we act like Strigoi, theyll try to stake us.A small, reluctant smile played over his face. He didnt want to admit it, but hed thought my joke was merrimentny.He and I went inside. Like any mall, it was filled with familiar chains, and a selfish part of me thought that maybe if we found the group soon enough, we could still get in shopping time.Christian and I walked the length of it twice and saw no signs of our friends or anything resembling tunnels.Maybe were in the wrong place, I finally said.Or maybe they are, suggested Christian. They could have gone to some other- wait.He pointed, and I followed the gesture. The three renegades sat at a table in the middle of the food court, looking dejected. They looked so miserable, I almost felt condemnable for them.Id kill for a camera right now, said Christian, smirking.This isnt funny, I told him, striding toward the group. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. The group clearly hadnt found any Strigoi, were all still alive, and could maybe be taken back before we got in even more trouble.They didnt notice me until I was almost right next to them. Eddies head jerked up. Rose? What are you doing here?Are you out of your mind? I yelled. A few people nearby gave us surprised looks. Do you know how much trouble youre in? How much trouble youve gotten us in?How the hell did you find us? asked Mason in a low voice, glancing anxiously around.You guys arent exactly criminal masterminds, I told them. Your informant at the bus station gave you away. That, and I figured out that youd want to go off on your pointless Strigoi-hunting quest.The look Mason gave me revealed he still wasnt entirely happy with me. It was Mia who replied, however.It isnt pointless.Oh? I demanded. Did you kill any Strigoi? Did you even find any?No, admitted Eddie.Good, I said. You got lucky.Why are you so against killing Strigoi? asked Mia hotly. Isnt that what you train for?I train for sane missions, not young stunts like this.It isnt childish, she cried. They killed my mother. And the guardians werent doing anything. Even their information is harmful. There werent any Strigoi in the tunnels. probably none in the whole city.Christian looked impress. You found the tunnels?Yeah, said Eddie. But like she said, they were useless.We should see them before we go, Christian told me. Itd be kind of cool, and if the information was bad, theres no danger.No, I snapped. Were going home. Now.Mason looked tired. Were going to search the city again. Even you cant make us go back, Rose.No, but the schools guardians can when I call and tell them youre here.Call it blackmailing or being a talebearer the effect was the same. The three of them looked at me like I had just at the same time gut-punched them all.Youd really do that? asked Mason. Youd sell us out like that?I rubbed my eyes, wondering desperately why I was trying to be the voice of reason here. Where was the girl whod run away from school? Mason had been right. I had changed.This isnt about selling anyone out. This is about postponementing you guys alive.You think were that defenseless? asked Mia. You think wed get killed right away?Yes, I said. Unless youve found some way to use water as a weapon?She flushed and didnt say anything.We brought gold stakes, said Eddie.Fantastic. They must have stolen them. I looked at Mason pleadingly.Mason. Please. Call this off. Lets go back.He looked at me for a long time. Finally, he sighed. Okay.Edd ie and Mia looked aghast, but Mason had assumed a leadership role with them, and they didnt have the initiative to go on without him. Mia seemed to take it the hardest, and I felt bad for her. Shed barely had any real time to grieve for her mother shed just jumped right on board with this revenge thing as a way to cope with the pain. Shed have a lot to deal with when we got back.Christian was still excited about the idea of the underground tunnels. Considering he worn-out(a) all his time in an attic, I shouldnt have been all that surprised.I saw the schedule, he told me. Weve got a while before the next bus.We cant go walking into some Strigoi lair, I argued, walking toward the malls entrance.There are no Strigoi there, said Mason. Its seriously all janitorial stuff. There was no sign of anything weird. I really do think the guardians had bad information.Rose, said Christian, lets get something fun out of this.They all looked at me. I felt like a mom who wouldnt buy her kids candy at the grocery store.Okay, fine. Just a peek, though.The others led Christian and me to the opposite end of the mall, through a door marked staff only. We dodged a couple of janitors, then slipped through another door that led us to a set of stairs going down. I had a brief moment of d?j? vu, recalling the step down to Adrians spa party. that these stairs were dirtier and smelled pretty nasty.We reached the bottom. It wasnt so much a tunnel as a narrow corridor, lined in grime-caked cement. Ugly fluorescent let downs were embedded sporadically along the walls. The passage went off to our left and right. Boxes of ordinary cleaning and electrical supplies sat around.See? said Mason. Boring.I pointed in each direction. Whats down there?Nothing, sighed Mia. Well show you.We walked down to the right and found more of the same. I was starting to agree with the leaden assessment when we passed some black writing on one of the walls. I stopped and looked at it. It was a list of letters. DBCOTDVLDZSISome had lines and x marks next to them, but for the most part the message was incoherent. Mia noticed my scrutiny.Its probably a janitor thing, she said. Or maybe some gang did it.Probably, I said, still studying it. The others shifted restlessly, not understanding my fascination with the jumble of letters. I didnt understand my fascination either, but something in my head tugged at me to stay.Then I got it.B for Badica, Z for Zeklos, I for Ivashkov I stared. The first letter of every royal familys name was there. There were three D names, but based on the order, you could actually read the list as a size ranking. It started with the smaller families- Dragomir, Badica, Conta- and went all the way up to the giant Ivashkov clan. I didnt understand the dashes and lines beside the letters, but I quickly noticed which names had an x beside them Badica and Drozdov.I stepped back from the wall. We have to get out of here, I said. My own voice scared me a little. Right now.The others looked at me in surprise. Why? asked Eddie. Whats going on?Ill tell you later. We just need to go.Mason pointed in the direction wed been heading. This lets out a few blocks away. Its closer to the station.I peered down into the dark unknown. No, I said. Were going back the way we came.They all looked at me like I was insane as we retraced our steps, but nobody questioned me yet. When we emerged from the malls front, I breathed a sigh of relief to see that the sun was still out, though it was steadily drop into the horizon and casting orange and red light onto the buildings. The remaining light would still be enough for us to get back to the bus station before we were really in any danger of seeing Strigoi.And I knew now that there really were Strigoi in Spokane. Dimitris information had been correct. I didnt know what the list meant, but it clearly had something to do with the attacks. I needed to report it to the other guardians immediately, and I certainly couldnt tell th e others what Id realized until we were safely at the lodge. Mason was likely to go back into the tunnels if he knew what I did.Most of our walk back to the station proceeded in silence. I think my mood had cowed the others. Even Christian seemed to have run out of swaggering comments. Inside, my emotions swirled, oscillating between anger and guilt as I kept reexamining my role in everything.Ahead of me, Eddie stopped walking, and I nearly ran into him. He looked around. Where are we?Snapping out of my own thoughts, I surveyed the area too. I didnt remember these buildings. Damn it, I exclaimed. Are we lost? Didnt anyone keep track of which way we went?It was an unfair question since I clearly hadnt paid attention either, but my temper had pushed me past reason. Mason studied me for a few moments, then pointed. This way.We turned and walked down a narrow street between two buildings. I didnt think we were going the right way, but I didnt really have a better idea. I also didnt wan t to stand around debating.We hadnt gone very far when I heard the sound of an engine and squealing tires. Mia was walking in the middle of the road, and protective teach kicked in before I even saw what was coming. Grabbing her, I jerked her out of the street and up against one of the building walls. The boys had done the same.A large, grizzly van with tinted windows had rounded the corner and was headed in our direction. We pressed flat against the wall, time lag for it to go past.Only it didnt.Screeching to a halt, it stopped right in front of us, and the doors slid open. Three big guys spilled out, and again, my instincts kicked in. I had no clue who they were or what they wanted, but they clearly werent friendly. That was all I needed to know.One of them moved toward Christian, and I struck out and punched him. The guy barely staggered but was clearly surprised to have felt it at all, I think. He probably hadnt expected someone as small as me to be much of a threat. Ignoring Christian, he moved toward me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mason and Eddie squaring off with the other two. Mason had actually pulled out his stolen silver stake. Mia and Christian stood there, frozen.Our attackers were relying a lot on bulk. They didnt have the sort of orbit we had in offensive and defensive techniques. Plus, they were human, and we had dhampir strength. Unfortunately, we also had the disadvantage of being control against the wall. We had nowhere to retreat to. Most importantly, we had something to lose.Like Mia.The guy whod been sparring with Mason seemed to realize this. He backed off from Mason and instead grabbed her. I barely saw the flash of his gun before its barrel was pressed against her neck. Backing off from my own adversary, I yelled at Eddie to stop. Wed all been trained to respond instantly to those kinds of orders, and he halted his attack, glancing at me questioningly When he saw Mia, his face went pale.I wanted nothing more than to keep pumme ling these men- whoever they were- but I couldnt risk this guy hurting Mia. He knew it, too. He didnt even have to make the threat. He was human, but he knew enough about us to know that wed go out of our way to protect the Moroi. Novices had a saying grilled into us from an early age Only they matter.Everyone stopped and looked between him and me. Apparently we were the acknowledged leaders here. What do you want? I asked harshly.The guy pressed his gun closer to Mias neck, and she whimpered. For all her talk about fighting, she was smaller than me and not nearly as strong. And she was too panic-struck to move.The man inclined his head toward the vans open door. I want you to get inside. And dont start anything. You do, and shes gone.I looked at Mia, the van, my other friends, and then back to the guy. Shit.