Red Dawn (8 page)

“Next time we should do this in my room,” he says, standing up gracefully. “Or anywhere else.”

Chapter Ten

“Where are we going?” I ask, letting impatience get the best of me. I never was good at surprises and this one is killing me. Nik’s got something up his sleeve, and judging by the smug look on his face, he’s not going to share until he’s good and ready. Typical.

“You’ll see,” Nik says, smirking. He’s enjoying this a little too much. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“It’ll still be a surprise if you tell me now,” I argue, hurrying to keep up as he veers off the path and into the woods. I have no idea what he’s up to, but the last time we ventured into these woods together it ended in bloodshed, so I feel justified asking for an explanation. “I’ll even look totally shocked, just for you.”

“Promises, promises,” Nik teases. He grabs my hand and I remind myself that technically, this is a date, so maybe I should try to be a little more patient. Rumor has it there
are
some things worth waiting for.

Nik and I make our way through the dense brush in comfortable silence. It’s a beautiful day. The bright rays of the afternoon sun cut through the treetops, casting shafts of light on the forest floor. The air is crisp and cool and the scent of snow is in the air, hinting that the first storm of the season might be rolling in. I have the vague feeling of recognition, like maybe I’ve been here before, but then again, there are hundreds of acres of forest and it all looks the same to me. With my sense of direction, it’s just as likely I’m imagining it.

After a couple of miles, we break into a clearing and Nik’s secret is finally revealed. It’s so romantic that I can hardly believe what I’m seeing. Before us is a picnic, answering the age old question ‘What do two teenage vamps do on a first date?’

I have to give Nik points for creativity. I don’t know too many guys that would dare drag a girl into the forest in thirty degree weather on a first date. Then again, most girls can’t handle the cold like I can. Or appreciate a good hunt. What I wouldn’t give to throw caution to the wind and take down a few woodland creatures this afternoon. The idea of sinking my teeth into something warm and furry practically has me drooling. But it’s against the rules and I can’t afford any more trouble with Pratt right now.

“What do you think?” Nik asks quietly, leading me to the blanket that’s been laid out on the frozen grass.

“Why, Nikolai Petrov, I think that underneath that cocky air of yours, you might just be a hopeless romantic,” I muse. “Who’d have thought?”

“Yeah, well, just don’t let it get around,” he says, giving me a half smile. I let Nik pull me down on the fluffy blanket without another word. “Besides, you haven’t even seen the best part yet.”

“Oh?” I ask, watching curiously as he reaches for the basket in the center of the blanket. I’m hoping it’s got a quart or two of blood stashed inside. “And what would that be?”

Nik flips the top of the basket open and reaches inside. I’m completely mortified when he pulls out a small chocolate cake topped with a single pink candle. Hell’s bells! How did he know?

“Happy Birthday, Katia.” Nik sets the cake down between us and delves into his pocket for a lighter. I watch silently as he lights the candle. The little flame burns bright, flickering fiercely against the sharp winter breeze. “Make a wish.”

Make a wish? Where to start? There are so many things I want, and yet I feel guilty wishing for any of them. It seems selfish. Besides, isn’t it a little childish to believe in the power of a wish? Still, it’s a sweet gesture and I don’t want to hurt Nik’s feelings, so I humor him and blow out the candle.

“What did you wish for?” he asks, smiling impishly.

“Can’t tell you,” I respond quickly, relying on the rules of childhood fantasy to avoid answering his question. “It won’t come true if I do.”

“You don’t believe that,” Nik challenges as he leans back on the blanket and studies me.

“Maybe I do,” I counter. “How did you know it was my birthday anyway?”

“I have my sources,” Nik teases, laughing deviously. It’s hard to be annoyed when he flashes that dimple of his. Besides, it really is a sweet gesture, despite the fact that I stopped celebrating birthdays when my parents died. It just didn’t feel right without them.

“Blaine?” I guess, rolling my eyes. I should have known. A birthday is nothing compared to all of the other dirt he’s dug up on me.

“I thought we should celebrate,” Nik tells me solemnly. “You deserve it.”

“I don’t know about that,” I respond, settling down on the blanket next to him. I prop myself up on my elbows and stare up at the sky above. I wonder if my parents really are watching down on me. I wonder if they’d be proud.

“What are you thinking about?” Nik asks, sliding closer until our legs are touching. A shiver that has nothing to do with the temperature runs down my spine and I do my best to look indifferent.

“I was just thinking what a perfect date this is turning out to be,” I tell him. It’s not that far from the truth and I don’t want to bring him down with talk of my past. Besides, I’m still not sure how he feels about the fact that I’m of mixed-blood and this doesn’t exactly seem like the time to bring it up.

“You know, as the birthday girl, I’m pretty sure you’re entitled to one kiss for each year of your age,” Nik whispers as he pulls me close.

“Well, then,” I respond hungrily, “I guess we’d better work on that.”

**********

Sitting in Anya’s office and staring down yet another goblet of blood laced with who knows what kind of vision, I find myself looking for another way to spend the next hour. Almost anything would be preferable to the contents of that glass, and as much as I hate bearing my soul, I do need to talk. Plus, Anya’s one of the few people I can actually talk with openly.

“Anya, can we just talk today?” I ask.

She stokes the flames burning in the marble fireplace. Anya prods the burning logs and a burst of flames leap toward the sky. Shadows dance across her face, distorting her delicate features. The crackling fire is comforting. Perhaps Anya lit it today to help me relax.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asks, studying my face. I suspect she’s trying to determine if I’m sincere or if I’m just trying to dodge Talent Development.

 “I snuck out last week.” I blurt the truth out, bracing myself for the lecture I’m surely going to receive. Anya and I may have an atypical student-teacher relationship, but she’s still an authority figure. She’s kind of obligated to chew me out for breaking the rules.

“Katia! You know better than that!” she reprimands me. “What were you thinking? Do you know what would happen if Pratt found out?”

“It was no big deal,” I assure her as I fidget with my cuff bracelets. “I had to.”

“Really? You had to?” She turns a skeptical eye on me, arching her right eyebrow as if daring me to convince her that it was necessary. “What was so important?”

“I needed to go to Rutland. For the Angel of Hope candle lighting ceremony. I had to be there,” I tell her. “I had to be there when they prayed for the lost souls. I had to see Damian’s parents.”

“Damian?” she asks, tilting her head in curiosity. “That was the boy who died last year?”

“He didn’t die Anya. He was murdered,” I remind her. Anya may be open minded about a lot of things, but she’s still a pureblood and they don’t really value life the same way humans, or even mixed-blood vamps, do. “There
is
a difference.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to make light of it.” She reaches for the untouched goblet in front of me and raises it to her lips. At least the blood won’t go to waste.

“This will be their first Christmas without their son. He would have been nine,” I tell her, remembering Damian. I think of the real Damian; the one with the Spider-Man scarf and rosy cheeks, not the crazed one, warped by blood lust and shrouded in death.

“It’s not your fault, Katia.”

“Isn’t it though?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. I know it’s a defensive gesture, but I don’t care. It happens to be comfortable. “I may not have killed him myself, but I led that monster here. I have to take some level of responsibility.”

“No, you don’t,” she argues. Anya leans across the desk putting on her emphatic face. “It was Luka who murdered those people. He alone bears the blame.”

“I’ve taken lives too,” I remind her. I haven’t gone a day without thinking about it since Aldo found me, since I learned to control the thirst. I’d give anything to take it back, but I can’t. If only there was a way to make it right.

“Where’s this coming from?” she asks quietly. “I thought we put all of this behind us last year.”

“Anya, you don’t kill half a dozen people and just put it behind you.”

I move across the room to stand by the fire. I pass my hands through the flames without thinking. It hurts, but only for a second. My fingers burn bright, blossoming shiny and red, before the skin repairs itself, leaving no trace of the damage inflicted by the fire. My ability to heal instantaneously never ceases to amaze me. If only I could share this gift with the fallen.

“Have you been dreaming of them again?” Anya asks, drumming her fingers on the desk.

“Thankfully, no,” I tell her honestly, drawing a ragged breath. The nightmares that plagued my sleep last year nearly tore me apart. “It’s just…. I just feel so guilty. What right do I have to be so happy when others are dead and grieving as a result of my actions?”

“Being miserable, even being dead, won’t change the past, Katia. The past is gone, forever unchanging, written in stone,” she tells me. “The future is not.”

I’ve heard all this before. And it never gets any easier. Maybe I would have been better off with Talent Development today.

“You mean my future isn’t written in stone,” I reply. “Too bad Damian can’t say the same.”

I glance at Anya and the look of pity on her face makes me sick to my stomach. I am
not
pitiable. I just have to be tougher. What choice do I have but to suck it up and deal? I just have to figure out how to bear the weight of my sins better.

“You need a break,” Anya decides. “What are you doing for the holidays? Going home to see Aldo and Lissette?”

“I wish,” I respond, returning to my chair. I notice that Anya hasn’t had the torn fabric replaced yet. “He and Lissette are travelling and doing the diplomat thing. I’m going home with Shaye to visit her family in Colorado.”

“That sounds nice,” Anya tells me wistfully, her blue eyes glazing over. “Colorado has such wonderful skiing!”

“Yeah, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Chapter Eleven

“I never thought I’d be so happy to be sitting in one of Pratt’s inane assemblies,” I tell Nik, dropping into the empty chair on his left and propping my feet up on an empty seat.

“You’ve got to be kidding?” He gives me a questioning look. It’s no secret that I have a zero tolerance policy for anything Pratt related. Winter break is over and the assembly is Pratt’s way of welcoming us back to Crossroads.

“I wish I were,” I respond. “That was quite possibly the longest two weeks of my life. Shaye’s family was great, but, well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“They’re all eccentrics?” Nik guesses. He smiles and I’m in heaven. It’s been two whole weeks since I’ve seen that dimple. I can’t help but smile myself.

“You have no idea,” I say, checking to make sure Shaye isn’t within earshot. I’m extremely grateful for her family’s hospitality. It’s not like they had to invite me into their home for the holidays and I certainly didn’t have anywhere else to go. The last thing I want to do is hurt her feelings. But couple their eccentricities with Shaye being sick in bed half the time, and I am more than happy to listen to one of Pratt’s droll speeches.

“And here I thought maybe you were just excited to see me,” Nik says, arching his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re cute, but not that cute,” I tell him, planting a light kiss on his cheek. “Any idea what this is all about?”

“Couldn’t say. Let’s just hope it’s not another revision to the handbook,” he whispers as Pratt enters the room.

“Indeed. Things around here are oppressive enough as it is.”

Pratt steps up to the front of the room looking even more irritable than usual and I make a mental note to stay as far away from him as possible for the foreseeable future. I’m enjoying my freedom and have no desire to go back to scrubbing dishes any time soon. I wish he’d just get on with it. Surprise assemblies make me nervous. In my experience, they rarely mean good news.

“Silence!” Pratt barks. The room falls deadly silent. I shift uncomfortably in my seat as tension fills the room. Why can’t it ever be anything good? Is it too much to ask for a day without classes or a weekend pass?

“It is with great displeasure that I address you today. It has come to my attention that we have a serious problem at Crossroads Academy. One I cannot abide,” he says, scanning the room. What he’s searching for, I have no idea. “We are very clear about the type of student we accept, and despite our rigorous enrollment process and thorough screening, our campus has been breached by the lowest of the low.”

Pratt’s gaze rests on me and I struggle not to avert my eyes. I can’t do anything that might be construed as an admission of guilt. Whatever he’s talking about probably has nothing to do with me. I’ve been keeping my nose clean. Still, it’s comforting when Nik takes my hand. What would I do without him?

“We have in our midst…”

Pratt’s flair for the dramatic has me on the edge of my seat. Surely, this isn’t about a mixed-blood vamp. Surely, it’s not about me. It can’t be. He can’t possibly know, can he? Panic sets in and I wonder if Blaine has broken his promise.

“A thief.” Whispers rip through the room like a tidal wave and I sigh with relief as I slide back in my chair. “A thief and a cheater,” Pratt continues, raising his voice to be heard over the roar of the student body. “Someone in this room is responsible for the theft of numerous midterm exams. Until that individual comes forward, the entire student body will be punished.”