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Dimitri stopped flipping the stake and stared at me in astonishment.<br />
"Come on," I laughed. "You don't think I know how you work by now? We've been doing this<br />
for almost three months. You always make me talk safety and responsibility before I can do<br />
anything fun."<br />
"I see," he said. "Well, I guess you've got it all figured out. By all means, go on with the lesson.<br />
I'll just wait over here until you need me again."<br />
He tucked the stake into a leather sheath hanging from his belt and then made himself<br />
comfortable against the wall, hands stuffed in pockets. I waited, figuring he was joking, but<br />
when he said nothing else, I realized he'd meant his words. With a shrug, I launched into what I<br />
knew.<br />
"Silver always has powerful effects on any magical creature—it can help or hurt them if you<br />
put enough power into it. These stakes are really hard-core because it takes four different Moroi<br />
to make them, and they use each of the elements during the forging." I frowned, suddenly<br />
considering something. "Well, except spirit. So these things are supercharged and are about the<br />
only non-decapitating weapon that can do damage to a Strigoi—but to kill them, it has to be<br />
through the heart."<br />
"Will they hurt you?"<br />
I shook my head. "No. I mean, well, yeah, if you drive one through my heart it will, but it won't<br />
hurt me like it would a Moroi. Scratch one of them with this, and it'll hit them pretty hard—but<br />
not as hard as it'd hit a Strigoi. And they won't hurt humans, either."<br />
I stopped for a moment and stared absentmindedly at the window behind Dimitri. Frost covered<br />
the glass in sparkling, crystalline patterns, but I hardly noticed. Mentioning humans and stakes<br />
had transported me back to the Badica house. Blood and death flashed through my thoughts.<br />
Seeing Dimitri watching me, I shook off the memories and kept going with the lesson. Dimitri<br />
would occasionally give a nod or ask a clarifying question. As the time ticked down, I kept<br />
expecting him to tell me I was finished and could start hacking up the dummies. Instead, he<br />
waited until almost ten minutes before the end of our session before leading me over to one of
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