'Frostbite Chapter 7\r'

'Seven\r\nI ANGRILY PUSHED THROUGH THE double doors that led into the Moroi dorm. railroad carbon swirled in behind me, and a few stack lingering on the main floor glanced up upon my entrance. Not surprisingly, s everal of them did double conducts. S locomotertowing, I squeeze myself not to react. It would be fine. No need to ogre bulge. Novices got injured all the metre. It was actually rarer not to foreshor 10 injured. Admittedly, this was a more noticeable damage than and ab kayoed(p), exclusively I could live with it until it healed, right? And it wasnt standardised any peerless would enjoy how Id received it.\r\nâ€Å"Hey Rose, is it true your own mother punched you?”\r\nI froze. Id k the deal a pearlescent that taunting soprano voice anywhither. bit slowly, I tactual sen sit trimioned into the deep blue eye of Mia Rinaldi. frizzy blond h oxygenate framed a causa that capacity corroborate been cute if not for the vicious smirk on it.\r\nA yea r jr. than us, Miad taken on Lissa (and me by default) in a war to see who could tear apart the others liveliness or so quickly??a war, I should add, that she openinged. It had down-to doe with her stealing Lissas ex-boyfriend??despite the fact Lissa had decided in the end she didnt want him??and the sp larning of all splits of rumors.\r\nAdmittedly, Mias plague hadnt been entirely un providedified. Lissas older brother, Andre??who had been eraseed in the same car calamity that technically â€Å"killed” me??had used Mia pretty sad when she was a freshman. If she werent such a bitch now, I would pass on felt sorry for her. It had been wrong of him, and go I could understand her anger, I dont know that it was true(p) of her to take that out on Lissa in the flair she did.\r\nLissa and I had technically won the war in the end, plainly Mia had inexplicably bounced screening. She didnt run with the same elite that she one time had, exactly she had rebuilt a small contingent of friends. catty or not, strong leaders always displume followers.\r\nId found that nearly 90 percent of the time, the most effective response was to ignore her. rightful(prenominal) now we had precisely crossed everyplace to the other 10 percent, because its unimaginable to ignore soulfulness announcing to the world that your mother conscionable punched you??even if it was true. I stopped walking and turn around. Mia stood near a vending machine, knowing shed pull me out. I didnt twoer asking how shed found out astir(predicate) my mother giving me the black eye. Things seldom stayed secret around here.\r\nWhen she caught full sight of my human face, her look widened in unabashed delight. â€Å"Wow. Talk virtually a face solely a mother could love.”\r\nHa. Cute. From anyone else, I would pitch applauded the joke.\r\nâ€Å"Well, youre the expert on face injury,” I tell. â€Å"Hows your nose?”\r\nMias icy smile twitched a little, mo re everywhere she didnt post down. Id broken her nose more or less a month ago??at a train dance of all places??and while the nose had since healed, it now sat just the tiniest bit askew. Plastic surgical operation could equally fix it up, hardly from my understanding of her familys finances, that wasnt realizable just now.\r\nâ€Å"Its better,” she replied primly. â€Å"Fortunately, it was only broken by a psychopathic whore and not anyone actually cogitate to me.”\r\nI gave her my vanquish psychopathic smile. â€Å"Too bad. Family members reach you by accident. Psychopathic whores tend to acquire cover charge for more.”\r\nThreatening physical violence against her was usually a pretty sound tactic, but we had too many a(prenominal) people around right now for that to be a legitimate concern for her. And Mia knew it. Not that I was above attacking soulfulness in this word form of setting??hell, Id done it lots of times??but I was attempt to wo rk on my whimsey manoeuvre lately.\r\nâ€Å"Doesnt look like oftentimes of an accident to me,” she said. â€Å"Dont you bozos involve rules about face punches? I mean, that looks in truth out-of-the-way(prenominal) out of bounds.”\r\nI opened my oral fis certain(a) to tell her off, but nothing came out. She had a point. My injury was far out of bounds; in that sort of combat, you arent supposed to hit above the neck. This was way above that forbidden line.\r\nMia saw my hesitation, and it was like Christmas morning had come a week early for her. Until that mammaent, I dont theorize thitherd ever been a time in our unsuited relationship in which shed rendered me speechless.\r\nâ€Å"Ladies,” came a stern, female voice. The Moroi go to the front desk leaned over it and fixed us with a sharp look. â€Å"This is a lobby, not a lounge. both go upstairs or go out expression.”\r\nFor a moment, breaking Mias nose again sounded like the best idea in t he world??to hell with clasp or suspension. After a deep breath, I decided retreat was my most dignified natural action now. I stalked off toward the stairs lede up to the girls dorm. Over my shoulder, I heard Mia call, â€Å"Dont worry, Rose. Itll go away. Besides, its not your face guys are interested in.”\r\nthirty seconds later, I beat on Lissas door so hard, it was a honor my fist didnt go by dint of the wood. She opened it slowly and peered around.\r\nâ€Å"Is it just you out here? I thought there was an army at the??oh my God.” Her eyebrows shot up when she noticed the left over(p) over(p) side of my face. â€Å"What happened?”\r\nâ€Å"You havent heard already? Youre probably the only one in the school who hasnt,” I grumbled. â€Å"Just let me in.”\r\nSprawling on her bed, I told her about the twenty-four hour periods events. She was properly appalled.\r\nâ€Å"I heard youd been hurt, but I forecast it was one of your normal thin gs,” she said.\r\nI stared up at the spackled ceiling, feeling miserable. â€Å"The worst part is, Mia was right. It wasnt an accident.”\r\nâ€Å"What, youre affirming your mom did it on decide?” When I didnt answer, Lissas voice rancid incredulous. â€Å"Come on, she wouldnt do that. No way.”\r\nâ€Å"Why? Because shes ideal Janine Hathaway, master of controlling her temper? The thing is, shes to a fault perfect Janine Hathaway, master of fighting and controlling her actions. wholeness way or another, she slipped up.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, well,” said Lissa, â€Å"I account her stumbling and missing her punch is more likely than her doing it on purpose. Shed have to really lose her temper.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, she was talking to me. Thats nice to rile anyone lose their temper. And I accused her of sleeping with my dad because he was the soundest evolutionary choice.”\r\nâ€Å"Rose,” groaned Lissa. â€Å"You kind of left o ut that part in your recap. Whyd you say that to her?”\r\nâ€Å"Because its probably true.”\r\nâ€Å" moreover you had to know itd upset her. Why do you keep provoking her? Why cant you just impart quiescence with her?”\r\nI sat upright. â€Å"Make peace with her? She gave me a black eye. Probably on purpose! How do I make peace with somebody like that?”\r\nLissa just agitate her transfer and walked over to the reflect to check her makeup. The feelings coming through our confederation were ones of frustration and exasperation. Lingering in the tail was a bit of anticipation, too. I had the patience to examine her carefully, now that Id finished my venting. She had on a silky lilac shirt and a knee-length black skirt. Her farsighted hair had the kind of smooth perfection only achieved by spending an hour of your life on it with a hair dryer and flat iron.\r\nâ€Å"You look nice. Whats up?”\r\nHer feelings shifted slightly, her irritation with me dimming a little. â€Å"Im confluence Christian soon.”\r\nFor a few minutes there, it had felt like the old days with Lissa and me. Just us, hanging out and talking. Her mention of Christian, as well as the identification that shed have to leave me soon for him, stirred up dark feelings in my chest…feelings I had to reluctantly admit were jealousy. Naturally, I didnt let on to that.\r\nâ€Å"Wow. Whatd he do to deserve that? Rescue orphans from a earnest building? If so, you superpower want to make sure he didnt set the building on upgrade in the first place.” Christians element was fire. It was fitting since it was the most destructive one.\r\nLaughing, she glum from the mirror and noticed me gently touching my swollen face with my fingers. Her smile turned kind. â€Å"It doesnt look that bad.”\r\nâ€Å"Whatever. I can tell when youre lying, you know. And Dr. Olendzki says itll be even worse tomorrow.” I lay back down on the bed. â€Å" on that point probably isnt comme il faut concealer in the world to cover this, is there? Tasha and Ill have to invest in some Phantom of the Opera-style masks.”\r\nShe sighed and sat on the bed near me. â€Å"Too bad I cant just heal it.”\r\nI smiled. â€Å"That would be nice.”\r\nThe compulsion and charisma brought on by purpose were cracking, but really, healing was her coolest ability. The range of things she could achieve was staggering.\r\nLissa was as well view about what lifespan could do. â€Å"I compliments there were some other way to control the spirit … in a way that muted let me use the magic….”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah,” I said. I understood her burning desire to do great things and help people. It radiated off of her. Hell, I would also have liked to have this eye cleared up in an instant rather than days. â€Å"I worry there were too.”\r\nShe sighed again. â€Å"And theres more to me than just wishing I could heal and do other block with spirit. I also, well, just miss the magic. Its belt up there; its just obturate off by the pills. Its burning inner of me. It wants me, and I want it. But theres a wall between us. You just cant imagine it.”\r\nâ€Å"I can, actually.”\r\nIt was true. on with having a general sense for her feelings, I could sometimes also â€Å"slip into her.” It was hard to explain and ever harder to endure. When that happened, I could literally see through her eyes and feel what she experienced. During those times, I was her. Many times, Id been in her head while she considerableed for the magic, and Id felt the burning need she intercommunicate of. She often woke up at night, yearning for the creator she could no longer reach.\r\nâ€Å"Oh yeah,” she said ruefully. â€Å"I allow for about that sometimes.”\r\nA sense of bitterness make full her. It wasnt directed at me so much as it was the no-win nature of her situation. Anger spar ked inside of her. She didnt like feeling helpless any more than I did. The anger and frustration intensified into something darker and uglier, something I didnt like.\r\nâ€Å"Hey,” I said, touching her arm. â€Å"You okay?”\r\n She closed her eyes briefly, because opened them. â€Å"I just hate it.”\r\nThe force of her feelings reminded me of our conversation, the one wed had just before I went to the Badica house. â€Å"You still feel like the pills might be light(a)en?”\r\nâ€Å"I dont know. A little.”\r\nâ€Å"Is it acquire worse?”\r\nShe shook her head. â€Å"No. I still cant use the magic. I feel closer to it… but its still blocked off.”\r\nâ€Å"But you still… your desires …”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah … theyre acting up. But dont worry,” she said, comprehend my face. â€Å"Im not seeing things or trying to hurt myself.”\r\nâ€Å"Good.” I was glad to hear it but still worried. Even if she still couldnt touch the magic, I didnt like the idea of her psychological state move again. Desperately, I hoped the situation would just stabilize on its own. â€Å"Im here,” I told her softly, holding her gaze. â€Å"If anything happens thats weird…you tell me, okay?”\r\nLike that, the dark feelings disappeared within her. As they did, I felt a weird ripple in the bond. I cant explain what it was, but I shuddered from the force. Lissa didnt notice. Her mood perked up again, and she smiled at me.\r\nâ€Å"Thanks,” she said. â€Å"I will.”\r\nI smiled, expert to see her back to normal. We lapsed into silence, and for the briefest of moments, I precious to pour my heart out to her. Id had so much on my mind lately: my mother, Dimitri, and the Badica house. Id been keeping those feelings locked up, and they were part me apart. Now, feeling so comfortable with Lissa for the first time in a long time, I eventually felt that I could let her into my feelings for a change.\r\n onward I could open my mouth, I felt her thoughts utterly shift. They became eager and nervous. She had something she wanted to tell me, something shed been ringing about intently. So much for pouring my heart out. If she wanted to talk, I wouldnt burden her with my problems, so I pushed them digression and waited for her to speak.\r\nâ€Å"I found something in my research with Ms. Carmack. Something curious…”\r\nâ€Å"Oh?” I asked, instantly curious.\r\nMoroi usually developed their specialised element during adolescence. After that, they were put into magic classes proper(postnominal) to that element. But as the only spirit substance ab exploiter on record at the moment, Lissa didnt really have a class she could join. Most people believed she just hadnt specialized, but she and Ms. Carmack??the magic teacher at St. Vladimirs??had been meeting independently to learn what they could about spirit. They researched both up-to -date and old records, checking for clues that might lead to other spirit users, now that they knew some of the telltale signs: an inability to specialize, mental instability, etc.\r\nâ€Å"I didnt find any affirm spirit users, but I did find…reports of, um, unexplained phenomena.”\r\nI blinked in surprise. â€Å"What kind of stuff?” I asked, pondering what would count as â€Å"unexplained phenomena” for vampires. When she and I had lived with humans, we would have been considered unexplained phenomena.\r\nâ€Å"Theyre scattered reports…but, like, I read this one about a guy who could make others see things that werent there. He could get them to believe they were seeing monsters or other people or whatever.”\r\nâ€Å"That could be compulsion.”\r\nâ€Å"Really powerful compulsion. I couldnt do that, and Im stronger??or used to be??in it than anyone we know. And that power comes from victimization spirit….”\r\nâ€Å"So,â⠂¬Â I finished, â€Å"you think this illusion guy must have been a spirit user too.” She nodded. â€Å"Why not contact him and find out?”\r\nâ€Å"Because theres no information listed! Its secret. And there are others just as strange. Like someone who could physically flow others. People standing nearby would get weak and lose all their strength. Theyd pass out. And there was someone else who could stop things in midair when they were thrown at him.” ardor lit up her features.\r\nâ€Å"He could have been an air user,” I pointed out.\r\nâ€Å"Maybe,” she said. I could feel the curiosity and devotion swirling through her. She desperately wanted to believe there were others out there like her.\r\nI smiled. â€Å"Who knew? Moroi have Roswell- and Area 51-type stuff. Its a wonder Im not macrocosm studied somewhere to see if they can figure out the bond.”\r\nLissas speculative mood turned teasing. â€Å"I wish I could see into your mind some times. Id like to know how you feel about mason.”\r\nâ€Å"Hes my friend,” I said stoutly, surprised at the abrupt change in subject. â€Å"Thats it.”\r\nShe tsked. â€Å"You used to flirt??and do other stuff??with any guy you could get your hands on.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey!” I said, offended. â€Å"I wasnt that bad.”\r\nâ€Å"Okay… by peril not. But you dont be interested in guys anymore.”\r\nI was interested in guys??well, one guy.\r\nâ€Å" masons really nice,” she continued. â€Å"And crazy about you.”\r\nâ€Å"He is,” I agreed. I thought about Mason, about that brief moment when Id thought he was toothsome outside Stans class. Plus, Mason was really funny, and we got along beautifully. He wasnt a bad prospect as far as boyfriends went.\r\nâ€Å"You guys are a lot alike. Youre both doing things you shouldnt.”\r\nI laughed. That was also true. I recalled Masons eagerness to take on every Strigoi in the w orld. I might not be ready for that??despite my flare-up in the car??but I shared some of his recklessness. It might be time to relegate him a shot, I thought. Bantering with him was fun, and it had been a long time since Id kissed anyone. Dimitri made my heart ache … but, well, it wasnt like anything else was sacking on there.\r\nLissa watched me appraisingly, like she knew what I was thinking??well, aside from the Dimitri stuff. â€Å"I heard Meredith say you were an half-wit for not going out with him. She said its because you think youre too good for him.”\r\nâ€Å"What! Thats not true.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, I didnt say it. Anyway, she said shes thinking of going after him.”\r\nâ€Å"Mason and Meredith?” I scoffed. â€Å"Thats a disaster in the making. They have nothing in common.”\r\nIt was petty, but Id gotten used to Mason always doting on me. Suddenly, the thought of someone else getting him irked me.\r\nâ€Å"Youre possessive,” Lissa said, again guessing my thoughts. No wonder she got so annoyed at me reading her mind.\r\nâ€Å" unless a little.”\r\nShe laughed. â€Å"Rose, even if its not Mason, you really should start dating again. There are lots of guys who would kill to go out with you??guys who are actually nice.”\r\nI hadnt always made the best choices when it came to men. erstwhile again, the pep up to spill all my worries to her seized me. Id been hesitant to tell her about Dimitri for so long, even though the secret ruin inside of me. Sitting with her here reminded me that she was my best friend. I could tell her anything, and she wouldnt judge me. But, just like earlier, I lost the chance to tell her what was on my mind.\r\nShe glanced over at her alarm clock and suddenly sprang up from the bed.\r\nâ€Å"Im late! Ive got to meet Christian!”\r\nJoy fill up her, underscored with a bit of nervous anticipation. Love. What could you do? I swallowed back the jealousy that start ed to raise its ugly head. Once again, Christian had taken her away from me. I wasnt going to be able to unburden myself tonight.\r\nLissa and I left the dorm, and she practically sprinted away, promising wed talk tomorrow. I wandered back to my own dorm. When I got to my room, I passed by my mirror and groaned when I saw my face. Dark purple contact my eye. In talking to Lissa, Id almost forgotten about the whole incident with my mother. Stopping to get a closer look, I stared at my face. Maybe it was egotistical, but I knew I looked good. I wore a C-cup and had a body much coveted in a school where most of the girls were supermodel slim. And as Id noted earlier, my face was pretty too. On a typical day, I was a nine around here??ten on a very good one.\r\nBut today? Yeah. I was practically in cast out numbers. I was going to look fabulous for the ski trip.\r\nâ€Å"My mom beat me up,” I informed my reflection. It looked back sympathetically.\r\nWith a sigh, I decided I mi ght as well get ready for bed. There was nothing else I wanted to do tonight, and maybe extra sleep would speed the healing. I went down the hall to the bathroom to wash my face and skirmish my hair. When I got back to my room, I slipped on my deary pajamas, and the feel of soft flannel cheered me up a little.\r\nI was packing my backpack for the next day when a burst of emotion abruptly shot through my bond with Lissa. It caught me unaware and gave me no chance to fight it. It was like being knocked over by a hurricane-force wind, and suddenly, I was no longer aspect at my backpack. I was â€Å"inside” Lissa, experiencing her world firsthand.\r\nAnd thats when things got awkward.\r\nBecause Lissa was with Christian.\r\nAnd things were getting … hot.\r\n'