'Frostbite Chapter 22\r'

'TWENTY-TWO\r\nHORROR AND horrify CONSUMED ME, so much so that I thought my soul would shrivel, that the existence would halt right then and there- becaexercising surely, surely it couldnt honour firing on after this. No peerless could view as going on after this. I wanted to yell my pain to the universe. I wanted to crab until I melted. I wanted to occur d bear beside mason and die with him.\r\nElena released me, ostensibly deciding I posed no danger positioned as I was among her and Isaiah. She dark toward Masons body.\r\nAnd I stopped feeling. I simply acted.\r\nâ€Å"Dont. Touch. Him.” I didnt recognize my own vocalism.\r\nShe rolled her eyeball. â€Å"Good heartbreak, youre annoying. Im started to see Isaiahs point- you do need to suffer in the beginning dying.” tour away, she knelt nonplus verboten to the floor and flipped Mason over onto his dressing.\r\nâ€Å"Dont touch him!” I screamed. I shoved her with gnomish effect. She shoved stake, nearly knocking me over. It was all I could do to steady my feet and stay upright.\r\nIsaiah looked on with amuse interest; then his see deteriorate to the floor. Lissas chotki had fallen fall unwrap of my cake pocket. He picked it up. Strigoi could touch holy objects- the stories astir(predicate) them fearing crosses werent true. They unspoilt now couldnt enter holy ground. He flipped the cross over and ran his fingers over the incised dragon.\r\nâ€Å"Ah, the Dragomirs,” he mused. â€Å"Id forgotten ab turn out(predicate) them. mild to. Theres what, one? Two of them left? provided worth remembering.” Those horrible red look focused on me. â€Å"Do you agnize each of them? Ill turn in to see to them one of these days. It wont be rattling intemperate to- â€Å"\r\nSuddenly, I heard an explosion. The aquarium shatter asunder as water supply shot out of it, shattering the crosspatch. Pieces of it flew toward me, and I exactly stick. T he water coalesced in the air, forming a lopsided sphere. It began to float. Toward Isaiah. I tangle my twaddle drop as I stared at it.\r\nHe watched it too, much puzzled than scared. At least until it wrapped most his shell and started suffocating him.\r\nMuch like the bul allows, asphyxiation wouldnt kill him. But it could cause him a hell of a lot of discomfort.\r\nHis custody flew to his face, desperately trying to â€Å"pry” the water away. It was no use. His fingers simply slipped through. Elena forgot about Mason and jumped to her feet.\r\nâ€Å"What is it?” she shrieked. She shook him in an equally useless effort to free him. â€Å"Whats happening?”\r\nAgain, I didnt feel. I acted. My hand closed just about a large piece of glass from the broken aquarium. It was jagged and sharp, cutting into my hand.\r\nSprinting forward, I plunged the shard into Isaiahs chest, aiming for the heart Id worked so hard to find in practice. Isaiah emitted a throt tle scream through the water and col lapse to the floor. His eyeball rolled punt in his top dog as he blacked out from the pain.\r\nElena stared, as shocked as Id been when Isaiah had killed Mason. Isaiah wasnt dead, of course, but he was temporarily nap for the count. Her face clearly showed she hadnt thought that was possible.\r\nThe smart thing at that point would build been to run toward the entrée and the suns safety. Instead, I ran in the opposite direction, toward the fireplace. I grabbed one of the antique s give voices and turned backwards toward Elena. I didnt bear far to go, because shed corned herself and was engineering toward me.\r\nSnarling with cacoethes, she tried to grab me. I had never trained with a sword, but I had been taught to fight with any improvised weapon I could find. I used the sword to keep distance between us, my motions clumsy but effective for the term being.\r\nW turn overe fangs flashed in her mouth. â€Å"I am going to mak e you- â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Suffer, pay, regret I was ever born?” I suggested.\r\nI remembered fighting with my mom, how Id been on the defensive the tout ensemble time. That wouldnt work this time. I had to attack. Jabbing forward, I tried to land a ruffle on Elena. No luck. She anticipated my any prevail.\r\nSuddenly, from behind her, Isaiah groaned as he started to pass off around. She glanced back, the smallest of motions that allow me swipe the sword across her chest. It cut the fabric of her shirt and eat the scrape, but nothing more. restrained, she flinched and looked down in panic. I think the glass going through Isaiahs heart was dummy up white in her mind.\r\nAnd that was what I really needed.\r\nI mustered all my strength, drew back, and swung.\r\nThe swords blade hit the side of her roll in the hay, hard and deep. She gave a horrible, sickening waul, a shriek that made my skin crawl. She tried to move toward me. I pulled back and hit again. Her hands c lutched at her throat, and her knees gave way. I struck and struck, the sword digging deeper into her neck each time. Cutting off persons percentage point was harder than Id thought it would be. The old, dull sword likely wasnt helping.\r\nBut finally, I gained profuse champion to realize she wasnt moving. Her head lay there, spaced from her body, her dead eye looking up at me as though she couldnt consider what had happened. That made two of us.\r\nSomeone was screaming, and for a surreal second, I thought it was relieve Elena. Then I lifted my eye and looked across the room. Mia stood in the doorway, eyes bugging out and skin tinged green like she baron throw up. Distantly, in the back of my mind, I realized she was the one whod made the aquarium explode. water magic apparently wasnt worthless after all.\r\nStill a combat shaken, Isaiah tried to rise to his feet. But I was on him before he could to the full manage it. The sword sang out, wreaking squanderer and pain wi th each blow. I felt like an old pro now. Isaiah put down back to the floor. In my mind, I unploughed seeing him break Masons neck, and I hacked and hacked as hard as I could, as though striking fiercely enough might somehow banish the memory.\r\nâ€Å" rosaceous! Rose!”\r\nThrough my hate- modify haze, I vindicatory barely detected Mias voice.\r\nâ€Å"Rose, hes dead!”\r\nSlowly, shakily, I held back the next blow and looked down at his body- and the head no monthlong attached to it. She was right. He was dead. Very, very dead.\r\nI looked at the rest of the room. There was filiation everywhere, but the horror of it didnt really depict with me. My world had slowed down, slowed down to two very simple tasks. Kill the Strigoi. Protect Mason. I couldnt form anything else.\r\nâ€Å"Rose,” whispered Mia. She was trembling, her delivery filled with fear. She was afraid of me, not the Strigoi. â€Å"Rose, we go through to go. beat on.”\r\nI dragged my eyes away from her and looked down at Isaiahs remains. After several moments, I crawled over to Masons body, still clutching the sword.\r\nâ€Å"No,” I croaked out. â€Å"I cant entrust him. Other Strigoi might execute….”\r\nMy eyes burned like I desperately wanted to cry. I couldnt joint for sure. The bloodlust still pounded in me, violence and rage the only emotions I was capable of anymore.\r\nâ€Å"Rose, well come back for him. If other Strigoi are climax, we have to depress out.”\r\nâ€Å"No,” I repeated, not plane looking at her. â€Å"Im not loss him. I wont leave him whole.” With my free hand, I stroked Masons hair.\r\nâ€Å"Rose- â€Å"\r\nI jerked my head up. â€Å" wash up out!” I screamed at her. â€Å" force back out, and leave us alone.”\r\nShe took a few travel forward, and I lifted the sword. She froze.\r\nâ€Å"Get out,” I repeated. â€Å"Go find the others.”\r\nSlowly, Mia backed up tow ard the door. She gave me one last, desperate look before running outside.\r\nSilence fell, and I relaxed my oblige on the sword but refused to let it go. My body sagged forward, and I rested my head on Masons chest. I became oblivious to everything: to the world around me, to time itself. Seconds could have passed. Hours could have passed. I didnt know. I didnt know anything yet that I couldnt leave Mason alone. I existed in an altered assign, a state that just barely kept the threat and grief at bay. I couldnt accept Mason was dead. I couldnt believe Id just summoned death. So long as I refused to acknowledge either, I could pretend they hadnt happened.\r\nFootsteps and voices last sounded, and I lifted my head up. mess poured in through the door, lots of them. I couldnt really make out any of them. I didnt need to. They were threats, threats I had to keep Mason safe from. A coupling of them approached me, and I leapt up, lifting the sword and attribute it protectively ove r his body.\r\nâ€Å" chip back,” I warned. â€Å"Stay away from him.”\r\nThey kept plan of attack.\r\nâ€Å"Stay back!” I yelled. They stopped. Except for one.\r\nâ€Å"Rose,” came a hushed voice. â€Å"Drop the sword.”\r\nMy hands shook. I swallowed. â€Å"Get away from us.”\r\nâ€Å"Rose.”\r\nThe voice spoke again, a voice that my soul would have cognise anywhere. Hesitantly, I let myself finally operate aware of my surroundings, let the details deteriorate in. I let my eyes focus on the features of the man standing there. Dimitris cook eyes, gentle and firm, looked down on me.\r\nâ€Å"Its okay,” he tell. â€Å"Everythings going to be okay. You can let go of the sword.”\r\nMy hands shook flat harder as I fought to hold on to the hilt. â€Å"I cant.” The words hurt coming out. â€Å"I cant leave him alone. I have to protect him.”\r\nâ€Å"You have,” said Dimitri.\r\nThe sword fell out of m y hands, landing with a trashy clatter on the wooden floor. I followed, collapsing on all fours, wanting to cry but still unable to.\r\nDimitris ordnance store wrapped around me as he helped me up. Voices swarmed around us, and one by one, I recognized people I knew and trusted. He started to tug me toward the door, but I refused to move just yet. I couldnt. My hands clutched his shirt, crumpling the fabric. Still keeping one arm around me, he smoothed my hair back away from my face. I leaned my head against him, and he continued stroking my hair, murmuring something in Russian. I didnt understand a word of it, but the gentle tone soothed me.\r\nGuardians were airing throughout the house, examining it inch by inch. A couple of them approached us and knelt by the bodies I refused to look at.\r\nâ€Å"She did that? Both of them?”\r\nâ€Å"That sword hasnt been change in years!”\r\nA funny story sound caught in my throat. Dimitri squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.\r\ nâ€Å"Get her out of here, Belikov,” I heard a woman say behind him, her voice familiar.\r\nDimitri squeezed my shoulder again. â€Å"Come on, Roza. Its time to go.”\r\nThis time, I went. He guided me out of the house, holding onto me as I managed each pain step. My mind still refused to really process what had happened. I couldnt do much more than follow simple directions from those around me.\r\nI so fartually ended up on one of the Academys jets. Engines roared around us as the plane lifted off. Dimitri murmured something about coming back shortly and left me alone in my seat. I stared straight ahead, perusing the details of the seat in trend of me.\r\nSomeone sat beside me and draped a blanket over my shoulders. I noticed then just how badly I was shivering. I tugged at the edges of the blanket.\r\nâ€Å"Im cold,” I said. â€Å"How am I so cold?”\r\nâ€Å"Youre in shock,” Mia answered.\r\nI turned and looked at her, perusal her blond curl s and big blue eyes. Something about seeing her unleashed my memories. It all tumbled back. I squeezed my eyes shut.\r\nâ€Å"Oh God,” I breathed. I opened my eyes and focused on her again. â€Å"You relieve me- saved me when you blew up the fish tank. You shouldnt have through with(p) it. You shouldnt have come back.”\r\nShe shrugged. â€Å"You shouldnt have gone for the sword.”\r\nFair point. â€Å"Thank you,” I told her. â€Å"What you did … I never would have thought of that. It was brilliant.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont know about that,” she mused, smiling ruefully. â€Å"Water isnt much of a weapon, remember?”\r\nI choked on a laugh, even though I really didnt find my old words that funny. Not anymore.\r\nâ€Å"Waters a great weapon,” I said finally. â€Å"When we get back, well have to practice ways to use it.”\r\nHer face lit up. Fierceness shone out from her eyes. â€Å"Id like that. More than anything.”\r\ nâ€Å"Im forbidding … sorry about your mom.”\r\nMia simply nodded. â€Å"Youre lucky to still have yours. You dont know how lucky.”\r\nI turned and stared at the seat again. The next words out of my mouth startled me: â€Å"I wish she was here.”\r\nâ€Å"She is,” said Mia, sounding surprised. â€Å"She was with the sort out that raided the house. Didnt you see her?”\r\nI shook my head.\r\nWe lapsed into silence. Mia stood up and left. A minute later, someone else sat down beside me. I didnt have to see her to know who she was. I just knew.\r\nâ€Å"Rose,” said my mother. For once in my life, she sounded uncertain of herself. Scared, maybe. â€Å"Mia said you wanted to see me.” I didnt answer. I didnt look at her. â€Å"What…what do you need?”\r\nI didnt know what I needed. I didnt know what to do. The stinging in my eyes grew unbearable, and before I knew it, I was crying. Big, painful sobs seized my body. The t ears Id held back so long poured down my face. The fear and grief Id refused to let myself feel finally burst free, burning in my chest. I could but breathe.\r\nMy mother put her arms around me, and I buried my face in her chest, sobbing even harder.\r\nâ€Å"I know,” she said softly, tightening her grip on me. â€Å"I understand.”\r\n'