Vampire Academy: New Generations

Chapter 12

Sleep came reluctantly that night and I tossed and turned for a long time before finally going under. But it wasn't for reasons I thought I'd lose sleep over. My mind was a blur of doubt, unhappiness and maybe even fear. An hour or so later, I sat up in bed, trying to relax and sort out the emotions coming to me. There was no reason for me to feel like this. But Eden... I let myself slip into her and I felt her emotions hit me head first. Scared and upset. Unstable. I thought through last nights events trying to figure out what was making her feel so emotional. But, it was buried within her and she wasn't making it easy for me to help her. I couldn't even slip further into her mind because she seemed to have built up a mental wall. I shivered. There was something else, something else that was terribly wrong.

I climbed out of bed, dressing hastily. I pulled on some shorts and a tank top, as those were the only things I could see in this darkness and grabbed a sweatshirt, pulling it on as I felt the cold Montana breeze freeze me into a human popsicle. I considered my options. I had a third-floor room now—way too high to climb down from, particularly since I had no Ms. Alanza to patch me up this time. I would never be able to sneak out of the main hall. That only left going through the "appropriate" channels. It would take longer, but at least I wouldn't die or be caught going against the rules. Per se. "Where do you think you're going?" One of the matrons who supervised my hall looked up from her chair. She sat stationed at the end of the hall, near the stairs going down. During the day, that stairwell had loose supervision. At night, we might as well have been in jail.

I crossed my arms. "I need to see Veg—Guardian Vegas." I said. "It's late." She said as if it were something I didn't realize. "It's an emergency." I pushed. She looked me up and down, raising an eyebrow at my shorts. Yes, they were too short, but it was either this, or the oversized shirt dress I'd stolen from somewhere. "You seem okay to me." I sighed. Why was she grilling me so hard? "You're going to be in so much trouble tomorrow when everyone finds out you stopped me from reporting what I know." I said, taking the little kid stance. "Tell me." She shrugged. "It's private guardian stuff." I said as I gave her as hard a stare as I could manage. After a minute, I assumed it must have worked, because she finally stood up and pulled out a cell phone. She called someone—Vegas, I hoped—but murmured too low for me to hear. We waited several minutes, and then the door leading to the stairs opened. Vegas appeared, fully dressed and alert, though the fact that his hair was stuck up in different directions made me feel pretty sure I'd pulled him out of bed. He took one look at me and knew what was up. "Eden." I nodded.

Without another word, he turned around and started back down the stairs. I followed. But soon, it was me who led the way, Vegas following. We walked across the quad in silence, toward the imposing Moroi dorm. It was "night" for the vampires, which meant it was daytime for the rest of the world. Mid-afternoon sun shone with a cold, golden light on us. The human genes in me welcomed it and always sort of regretted how Moroi light sensitivity forced us to live in darkness most of the time. Eden's hall matron gaped when we appeared, but Vegas was too intimidating to oppose. "She's in the bathroom," I told them. When the matron started to follow me inside, I wouldn't let her. "She's too upset. Let me talk to her alone first." I said as I looked to Vegas, who nodded in approval. "Yes. Give them a minute." He said as I pushed the door open. "Edie?" A soft sound, like a sob, came from within. I walked down five stalls and found the only one closed. I knocked softly.

"Let me in," I said, hoping I sounded calm and strong. I heard a sniffle, and a few moments later, the door unlatched. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Eden stood before me...covered in the blood of ... Ophelia? I hadn't realized she brought the cat back with us. Horrified, I squelched a scream and almost called for help. But she shushed me. Her eyes were in a wide crazed state and she looked like she might kill me if I didn't do what she asked of me. "Do it. Please." She willed me. She held out the cat for me and waited. I wanted to say no and refuse, because honestly? Ophelia was way too far gone in m opinion. But the combination of the poor dead cat and Eden and my need to use spirit combined was too much. Reaching out, I put my hand in it, refusing to pull my hand back at the feel of the squishy cat's insides. I closed my eyes and concentrated and soon enough, I felt a twitch as Ophelia got up and began shaking her tail. But I wasn't feeling as alive as the cat was. I gasped for breath as I sank to the floor. Air wasn't coming in. And I was hyperventilating. A pounding headache had formed and I closed my eyes, groaning at the pain.