richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

It sounded a lot like what the priest had said, but I sensed more than just a "winning
personality" People adored him, would do anything he asked. Yes, Vladimir had used
compulsion on his followers, I was certain. A lot of Moroi had in those days, before it was
banned, but they didn't use it on Moroi or dhampirs. They couldn't. Only Lissa could.
I shut the book and leaned back against my bed. Vladimir healed plants and animals. He could
use compulsion on a massive scale. And by all accounts, using those sorts of powers had made
him crazy and depressed.
Added into it all, making it that much weirder was that everyone kept describing his guardian as
"shadow-kissed." That expression had bugged me ever since I first heard it….
"You're shadow-kissed! You have to take care of her!”
Ms. Karp had shouted those words at me, her hands clenching my shirt and jerking me toward
her. It had happened on a night two years ago when I'd been inside the main part of the upper
school to return a book. It was nearly past curfew, and the halls were empty. I'd heard a loud
commotion, and then Ms. Karp had come tearing around the corner, looking frantic and wildeyed.
She shoved me into a wall, still gripping me. "Do you understand?”
I knew enough self-defense that I could have probably pushed her away, but my shock kept me
frozen. "No.”
"They're coming for me. They'll come for her.”
"Who?”
"Lissa. You have to protect her. The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop
her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here.”
"I…what do you mean? Get her out of…you mean the Academy?”