o_18vdqvms01tdp1ck54q91frg17mg2d.pdf
the guardians hadn't done anything about the recent attack. But still. Was he really that unhinged? He had to know how dangerous this was. Was it possible…was it possible I'd upset him so much with the making-out disaster that he'd gone off the deep end? Enough to go do this and get Mia and Eddie to join him? Not that those two would be hard to convince. Eddie would follow Mason anywhere, and Mia was almost as gung ho as Mason to kill every Strigoi in the world. Yet, out of all the questions I had about this, one thing was definitely clear. I'd told Mason about the Strigoi in Spokane. Hands down, this was my fault, and without me, none of this would have happened. "Lissa always makes eye contact," I coached Christian as we approached the exit. "And speaks in a really, like, calm voice. I don't know what else. I mean, she concentrates a lot too, so try that. Focus on forcing your will on them." "I know," he snapped. "I've seen her do it." "Fine," I snapped back. "Just trying to help." Squinting, I saw that only one guardian stood at the gate, a total stroke of luck. They were in between shifts. With the sun out, the risk of Strigoi had disappeared. The guardians would still continue in their duties, but they could relax just a bit. The guy on duty didn't seem particularly alarmed by our appearance. "What are you kids doing out here?" Christian swallowed. I could see the lines of tension on his face. "You're going to let us out of the gate," he said. A note of nervousness made his voice tremble, but otherwise, he did a fair approximation of Lissa's soothing tones. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the guardian. As Christian had pointed out, using compulsion on a guardian was nearly impossible. Mia had gotten lucky. The guardian grinned at us. "What?" he asked, clearly amused. Christian tried again. "You're going to let us out."
The guy's smile faltered just a little, and I saw him blink in surprise. His eyes didn't glaze over in the same way Lissa's victims did, but Christian had done enough to briefly enthrall him. Unfortunately, I could tell right then and there that it wouldn't be enough to make him let us out and forget. Fortunately, I'd been trained to compel people without the use of magic. Sitting near his post was an enormous Maglite, two feet long and easily seven pounds. I grabbed the Maglite and clocked him on the back of the head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground. He'd barely seen me coming, and despite the horribleness of what I'd just done, I kind of wished one of my instructors had been there to grade me on such an awesome performance. "Jesus Christ," exclaimed Christian. "You just assaulted a guardian." "Yeah." So much for getting the guys back without getting anyone in trouble. "I didn't know just how much you sucked at compulsion. I'll deal with the fallout later. Thanks for your help. You should head back before the next shift comes on." He shook his head and grimaced. "No, I'm going with you on this." "No," I argued. "I only needed you to get through the gate. You don't have to get in trouble over this." "I'm already in trouble!" He pointed at the guardian. "He saw my face. I'm screwed either way, so I might as well help you save the day. Stop being a bitch for a change." We hurried off, and I cast one last, guilty glance at the guardian. I was pretty sure I hadn't hit him hard enough to cause real damage, and with the sun coming out, he wouldn't freeze or anything. After about five minutes of walking down the highway, I knew we had a problem. Despite being covered and wearing sunglasses, the sun was taking its toll on Christian. It was slowing us down, and it wouldn't take that long for someone to find the guardian I'd taken out and come after us. A car—not one of the Academy's—appeared behind us, and I made a decision. I didn't approve of hitchhiking in the least. Even someone like me knew how dangerous it was. But we needed
- Page 136 and 137: I looked at Mason questioningly. It
- Page 138 and 139: attle strategies. The fact that she
- Page 140 and 141: FOURTEEN TWO GUYS I'D NEVER MET bef
- Page 142 and 143: The guy clenched his fists and look
- Page 144 and 145: "My boyfriend," I said. "Sort of."
- Page 146 and 147: "Hey yourself, cousin," he returned
- Page 148 and 149: "It's okay," he said. "I have a goo
- Page 150 and 151: "I'm just telling you the truth." "
- Page 152 and 153: FIFTEEN I WAS TRYING TO PAINT my to
- Page 154 and 155: "I'm returning these." I hoisted th
- Page 156 and 157: The rest of us just sort of stared.
- Page 158 and 159: My anger and snarkiness dried up. T
- Page 160 and 161: "You can't keep doing this," she gr
- Page 162 and 163: He stopped walking. "We could go."
- Page 164 and 165: I was kissing Mason, but in my head
- Page 166 and 167: SIXTEEN LISSA FOUND ME LATER IN the
- Page 168 and 169: She eyed me. "How much do you know?
- Page 170 and 171: along with their blood, but they di
- Page 172 and 173: Intrigued gazes turned her way agai
- Page 174 and 175: He laughed. "Of course you are. I c
- Page 176 and 177: SEVENTEEN WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE
- Page 178 and 179: there, and several people had witne
- Page 180 and 181: spreading rumors about her? I'd had
- Page 182 and 183: EIGHTEEN THE HIGH HEELS WERE STARTI
- Page 184 and 185: Someone, say, like Mia. I wasn't th
- Page 188 and 189: to get to town fast, and I prayed C
- Page 190 and 191: Dimitri sighed and leaned back on h
- Page 192 and 193: "No, but the school's guardians can
- Page 194 and 195: T D V L D Z S I Some had lines and
- Page 196 and 197: We turned and walked down a narrow
- Page 198 and 199: NINETEEN I HATE BEING POWERLESS. AN
- Page 200 and 201: each other's gaze for several momen
- Page 202 and 203: framed his face and stood out again
- Page 204 and 205: Isaiah smoothed his shirt—not tha
- Page 206 and 207: "Rose!" exclaimed Mason. I ignored
- Page 208 and 209: TWENTY WE NEEDED AN ESCAPE PLAN, an
- Page 210 and 211: "Honestly, I don't know. Everyone h
- Page 212 and 213: "No!" exclaimed Mason. "Use me." Is
- Page 214 and 215: "They're like … bands of light ar
- Page 216 and 217: "You just said you could." "I can
- Page 218 and 219: I held his gaze, willing him to und
- Page 220 and 221: One of the guards shoved Christian.
- Page 222 and 223: in my combat class. He grunted at t
- Page 224 and 225: He sighed. "I hope … I hope when
- Page 226 and 227: "Children, children," crooned Isaia
- Page 228 and 229: We all turned at the new voice, a v
- Page 230 and 231: Suddenly, I heard an explosion. The
- Page 232 and 233: "Rose! Rose!" Through my hate-fille
- Page 234 and 235: The sword fell out of my hands, lan
The guy's smile faltered just a little, and I saw him blink in surprise. His eyes didn't glaze over<br />
in the same way Lissa's victims did, but Christian had done enough to briefly enthrall him.<br />
Unfortunately, I could tell right then and there that it wouldn't be enough to make him let us out<br />
and forget. Fortunately, I'd been trained to compel people without the use of magic.<br />
Sitting near his post was an enormous Maglite, two feet long and easily seven pounds. I<br />
grabbed the Maglite and clocked him on the back of the head. He grunted and crumpled to the<br />
ground. He'd barely seen me coming, and despite the horribleness of what I'd just done, I kind<br />
of wished one of my instructors had been there to grade me on such an awesome performance.<br />
"Jesus Christ," exclaimed Christian. "You just assaulted a guardian."<br />
"Yeah." So much for getting the guys back without getting anyone in trouble. "I didn't know<br />
just how much you sucked at compulsion. I'll deal with the fallout later. Thanks for your help.<br />
You should head back before the next shift comes on."<br />
He shook his head and grimaced. "No, I'm going with you on this."<br />
"No," I argued. "I only needed you to get through the gate. You don't have to get in trouble over<br />
this."<br />
"I'm already in trouble!" He pointed at the guardian. "He saw my face. I'm screwed either way,<br />
so I might as well help you save the day. Stop being a bitch for a change."<br />
We hurried off, and I cast one last, guilty glance at the guardian. I was pretty sure I hadn't hit<br />
him hard enough to cause real damage, and with the sun coming out, he wouldn't freeze or<br />
anything.<br />
After about five minutes of walking down the highway, I knew we had a problem. Despite<br />
being covered and wearing sunglasses, the sun was taking its toll on Christian. It was slowing<br />
us down, and it wouldn't take that long for someone to find the guardian I'd taken out and come<br />
after us.<br />
A car—not one of the Academy's—appeared behind us, and I made a decision. I didn't approve<br />
of hitchhiking in the least. Even someone like me knew how dangerous it was. But we needed
Change language