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TWELVE<br />
I WAS OUT OF BED in a flash. We found the entire lodge abuzz with the news. People<br />
clustered in small groups in the halls. Family members sought each other out. Some<br />
conversations were conducted in terrified whispers; some were loud and easy to overhear. I<br />
stopped a few people, trying to get the story straight. Everyone had a different version of what<br />
had happened, though, and some wouldn't even pause to talk. They hurried past, either seeking<br />
out loved ones or preparing to leave the resort, convinced there might be a safer place<br />
elsewhere.<br />
Frustrated with the differing stories, I finally—reluctantly—knew I had to seek out one of the<br />
two sources who would give me solid information. My mother or Dimitri. It was like flipping a<br />
coin. I wasn't really thrilled with either one of them right now. I debated momentarily and<br />
finally decided on my mother, seeing as how she wasn't getting it on with Tasha Ozera.<br />
The door to my mother's room was ajar, and as Lissa and I entered, I saw that a sort of<br />
makeshift headquarters had been established here. Lots of guardians were milling around,<br />
moving in and out, and discussing strategy. A few gave us odd looks, but no one stopped or<br />
questioned us. Lissa and I slid onto a small sofa to listen to a conversation my mother was<br />
having.<br />
She stood with a group of guardians, one of whom was Dimitri. So much for avoiding him. His<br />
brown eyes glanced at me briefly and I averted my gaze. I didn't want to deal with my troubled<br />
feelings for him right now.<br />
Lissa and I soon discerned the details. Eight Moroi had been killed along with their five<br />
guardians. Three Moroi were missing, either dead or turned Strigoi. The attack hadn't really<br />
happened near here; it had been somewhere in northern California. Nonetheless, a tragedy like<br />
this couldn't help but reverberate within the Moroi world, and for some, two states away was far
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