Ergo, you, Miss Dragomir, will serve two detentions instead of one on behalf of your friend. Stay here when the bell rings, please.»
After class, Jesse found me, an uneasy look on his face. "Hey, um, about that note…you know I didn't have anything to do with that. If Belikov finds out about it…you'll tell him? I mean, you'll let him know I didn't-"
"Yeah, yeah, " I interrupted him. "Don't worry, you're safe."
Standing with me, Lisa watched him walk out of the room. Thinking of how easily Dimitri had thrown him around-and of his apparent cowardice-I couldn't help but remark, "You know, Jesse's suddenly not as hot as I used to think."
She only laughed. "You'd better go. I've got desks to wash."
I left her, heading back for my dorm. As I did, I passed a number of students gathered in small clusters outside the building. I regarded them wistfully, wishing I had the free time to socialize.
"No, it's true, " I heard a confident voice say. Camille Conta.Beautiful and popular, from one of the most prestigious families in the Conta clan. She and Lisa had sort of been friends before we left, in the uneasy way two powerful forces keep an eye on each other. "They, like, clean toilets or something.»
"Oh my God, " her friend said. "I'd die if I was Mia."
I smiled. Apparently Jesse had spread some of the stories I'd told him last night. Unfortunately, the next overheard conversation shattered my victory.
"-heard it was stillalive.Like, twitching on her bed.»
"That is so gross. Why would they just leave it there?»
"I don't know. Why kill it in the first place?»
"You think Ralf was right? That she and Rose did it to get kicked-"
They saw me and shut up.
Scowling, I skulked off across the quadrangle.Still alive, still alive.
I'd refused to let Lisa talk about the similarities between the fox and what had happened two years ago. I didn't want to believe they were connected, and I certainly didn't want her to either.
But I hadn't been able to stop thinking about that incident, not only because it was chilling, but because it really did remind me of what had just happened in her room.
We had been out in the woods near campus one evening, having skipped out on our last class. I'd
traded a pair of cute, rhinestone-studded sandals to Abby Badica for a bottle of peach schnapps-desperate, yes, but you did what you had to inMontana — whichshe'd somehow gotten hold of. Lisa had shaken her head in disapproval when I suggested cutting class to go put the bottle out of its misery, but she'd come along anyway. Like always.
We found an old log to sit on near a scummy green marsh. A half-moon cast a tiny sliver of light on us, but it was more than enough for vampires and half-vampires to see by. Passing the bottle back and forth, I grilled her on Aaron. She'd fessed up that the two of them had had sex the weekend before, and I felt a surge of jealousy that she'd been the one to have sex first.
"So what was it like?"
She shrugged and took another drink. "I don't know. It wasn't anything."
"What do you mean it wasn't anything? Didn't the earth move or the planets align or something?"
«No,» she said, smothering a laugh. "Of course not."
I didn't really get why that should be funny, but I could tell she didn't want to talk about it. This was around the time the bond had begun forming, and her emotions were starting to creep into me now and then. I held up the bottle and glared at it.
"I don't think this stuff is working."
"That's because there's barely any alcohol in-"
The sound of something moving in the brush came from nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise.
"It's some animal, " she said when a minute went by in silence.
That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. The school's wards kept out Strigoi, but wild animals often wandered into the outskirts of campus, posing their own threats.Bears.Cougars.
"Come on, " I told her. "Let's head back."
We hadn't gone very far when I heard something moving again, and someone stepped out into our path.
"Ladies."
Ms. Karp.
We froze, and whatever quick reactions I'd shown back by the marsh disappeared as I delayed a few moments in hiding the bottle behind my back.
A half-smile crossed her face, and she held out her hand.
Sheepishly, I gave the bottle to her, and she tucked it under her arm. She turned without another word, and we followed, knowing there would be consequences to deal with.
"You think no one notices when half a class is gone? " she asked after a little while.
"Half a class?"
"A few of you apparently chose today to skip.Must be the nice weather.Spring fever."
Lisa and I trudged along. I'd never been comfortable around Ms. Karp since the time she'd healed my hands. Her weird, paranoid behavior had taken on a strange quality to me-a lot stranger than before.
Scary, even. And lately I couldn't look at her without seeing those marks by her forehead. Her deep red hair usually covered them but not always. Sometimes there were new marks; sometimes the old ones faded to nothing.
A weird fluttering noise sounded to my right. We all stopped.
"One of your classmates, I imagine, " murmured Ms. Karp, turning toward the sound.
But when we reached the spot, we found a large black bird lying on the on the ground. Birds-and most animals-didn't do anything for me, but even I had to admire its sleek feathers and fierce beak. It could probably peck someone's eyes out in thirty seconds-if it weren't obviously dying. With a last, halfhearted shake, the bird finally went still.
"What is that? Is it a crow? " I asked.
"Too big, " said Ms. Karp. "It's a raven."
"Is it dead? " asked Lisa.
I peered at it. "Yeah.Definitely dead. Don't touch it."
"Probably attacked by another bird, " observed Ms. Karp. "They fight over territory and resources sometimes."
Lisa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasn't surprised, since she'd always had a thing for animals.
She'd lectured me for days after I'd instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. I'd viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. She'd seen it as animal cruelty.
Transfixed, she reached toward the raven.
"Lis'! "I exclaimed, horrified. "It's probably got a disease."
But her hand moved out like she hadn't even heard me. Ms. Karp stood there like a statue, her white face looking like a ghost's. Lisa's fingers stroked the raven's wings.
"Lis', " I repeated, starting to move toward her, to pull her back. Suddenly, a strange sensation flooded through my head, a sweetness that was beautiful and full of life. The feeling was sointense, it stopped me in my tracks.
Then the raven moved.
Lisa gave a small scream and snatched her hand back. We both stared wide-eyed.
The raven flapped its wings, slowly trying to right itself and stand up. When it managed to do so, it turned toward us, fixing Lisa with a look that seemed too intelligent for a bird, its eyes held hers, and I couldn't read her reaction through the bond. At long last, the raven broke the gaze and lifted into the air, strong wings carrying it away.
Wind stirring the leaves was the only sound left.
"Oh my God, " breathed Lisa. "What just happened?"
"Hell if I know, " I said, hiding my stark terror.
Ms. Karp strode forward and grabbed Lisa's arm, forcefully turning her so that they faced each other. I was there in a flash, ready to take action if Crazy Karp tried anything, though even I had qualms about taking down a teacher.
"Nothing happened, " said Ms. Karp in an urgent voice, her eyes wild-looking. "Do you hear me?