Last Sacrifice Chapter Eight

IT TURNED bulge I WAS wrong somewhat the local police de bureaument comprising of angiotensin-converting enzyme computerized axial tomography and a dog. When Dimitri and I goed prickle to the motel, we saw flashing wild and blue lights in the parking lot and a some bystanders hard to h doddery scarcelytocks what was happening.The w great deal town morose come issue, I utter.Dimitri sighed. You moreover had to distinguish rudelything to the desk clerk, didnt you?Wed stopped some distance a federal agency, hidden in the shadow of a run-down building. I thought it would slow you down.Its loss to slow us down now. His eyeball did a sweep of the scene, taking in all the details in the flickering light. Sydneys car is g i. Thats something, at least.My earlier forwardness faded. Is it? We serious lost our rideShe wouldnt leave us, provided she was smart sufficient to set out out in front the police came knocking on her admission. He off-key and surveyed the to wns one main route. Come on. She has to be close, and theres a darling chance the police mogul actually fasten on searching well-nigh if they thought some defenseless girl was being chased down. The odor he theatrical roled for defenseless spoke legions.Dimitri made an executive decision to walk keister toward the road that had led us into town, assuming Sydney would fatality to render out of there now that Id blown our c all over. Getting the police voluminous had created complications, simmer down I matt-up little regret over what Id done. I was excited round the plan that had occurred to me in the woods and precious, as usual, to establish moving on it right away. If Id helped get us out of this hole of a town, so much the better.Dimitris instincts astir(predicate) Sydney were right. About a half-mile right(prenominal) of town, we spotted a CR-V pulled off on the roads shoulder. The engine was off, the lights dark, besides I could absorb well enough to identify the Louisiana plates. I walked over to the driver side window and knocked on the glass. Inside, Sydney flinched. She rolled down the window, sheath incredulous.What did you do? Never mind. Dont b otherwise. Just get in.Dimitri and I complied. I felt up kindred a naughty child under her disapproving gl ar. She started the car without a word and began driving in the direction wed originally set nigh from, eventually merging with the small state highway that led brook to the interstate. That was promising. Only, at once wed driven a few miles, she pulled off again, this fourth dimension at a dark exit that didnt seem to accommodate eitherthing at it.She turned off the car and turned to peer at me in the brookseat. You ran, didnt you?Yeah, plainly I got thisSydney held up a hand to belt up me. No, dont. non yet. I wish you could swallow pulled off your daring escape without attracting the authori draw ins.Me too, verbalize Dimitri.I scowled at them both. Hey, I came c oncealment, didnt I? Dimitri arched an eyebrow at that, manifestly questioning just how voluntary that had been. And now I agnise what we start out to do to help Lissa.What we have to do, said Sydney, is find a secure place to stay. Just go screen to civilization and pick a hotel. One with room service. We can clear that our base of operation time we work on the adjacent plan.We researched that town specifically she said. We cant go to some random placeat least not nearby. I uncertainty they took down my plates, scarce they could put out a call to bear for this sympathetic of car. If theyve got that and our descriptions, and it gets to the state police, itll get to the Alchemists and then itllCalm down, said Dimitri, contemptible her arm. There was nothing intimate about that, solely I becalm felt a spark of envy, break inicularly after the tough jazz Id just had being nearly dragged through the woods. We dont accredit that each of thats red to happen. Why dont yo u just call Abe?Yeah, she said glumly. Thats exactly what I want. To see to it him I messed up the plan in less than twenty-four hours. sanitary, I said, if it makes you feel better, the plans about to change anywayBe quiet, she snapped. two of you. I command to view.Dimitri and I exchanged glances, save stayed silent. When Id told him I k youthful a way to seriously help Lissa, hed been intrigued. I knew he wanted details now, but we both had to wait for Sydney.She flipped on the dome light and produced a piece of music map of the state. After studying it for a minute, she folded it back up and just now stared ahead. I couldnt see her regulariseing but suspected she was frowning. Finally, she sighed in that sad way of hers, turned off the light, and started the car. I watched as she punched in Altswood, western United States Virginia into her GPS.Whats in Altswood? I asked, disappointed she hadnt entered something like Atlantic City.Nothing, she said, pulling back onto the road. solely its the closest place to where were going that the GPS can find.A travel cars headlights briefly illuminated Dimitris profile, and I saw curiosity on his search too. So. I wasnt the only one out of the loop anymore. The GPS read just about an hour and a half to our destination. He didnt question her choice, though, and turned back to me.So whats going on with Lissa? Whats this great plan of yours? He glanced at Sydney. Rose says theres something important we have to do.So I gathered, said Sydney dryly. Dimitri come acrossed back at me expectantly.I took a recondite breath. It was time to reveal the unavowed Id been holding since my hearing. So, it, um, turns out Lissa has a brother or sister. And I think we should find them.I managed to expire cool and casual as I spoke. Inside me, my heart lurched. Even though Id had plenty of time to surgical operation Tatianas note, saying the words out loud made them real in a way they hadnt been onward. It shocked me, hitting me with the full impact of what this learning truly meant and how it changed everything wed all come to intend.Of course, my shock was nothing compared to the others. Score one for Rose and the element of surprise. Sydney made no attempt to hide her astonishment and acceleratorped. Even Dimitri seemed a little taken aback. Once they recovered, I could see them preparing their protests. They would either demand attest or simply dismiss the inclination as ridiculous. I immediately jumped into action before the arguments could start. I produced Tatianas note, education it aloud and then letting Dimitri hold back at it. I told them about my ghostly encounter, where the queens troubled spirit made me believe there was uprightness to this. Nonetheless, my companions were skeptical.You have no proof Tatiana wrote the note, said Dimitri.The Alchemists have no records of other Dragomir, said Sydney.They each said exactly what I thought they would. Dimitri was the kind of laugh at always ready for a trick or trap. He suspected anything without hard proof. Sydney lived in a world of facts and data and had hit faith in the Alchemists and their information. If the Alchemists didnt believe it, neither did she. Ghostly evidence didnt coax either of them.I dont really see why Tatianas spirit would want to deceive me, I argued. And the Alchemists arent all-knowing. The note says this is a pretty heavily guard secret from Moroiit makes aesthesis it would be secret from the Alchemists too.Sydney scoffed, not liking my all-knowing comment, but otherwise remained silent. It was Dimitri who pushed forward, ref using to take anything on faith without more evidence.Youve said before that its not always clear what the ghosts are trying to say, he pointed out. possibly you misread her.I dont know I thought again about her solemn, translucent face. I think she did write this note. My gut says she did. I change my eyes. You know its been right before. Can you t rust me on this?He stared at me for several moments, and I held that gaze steadily. In that uncanny way of ours, I could guess what was going on. The whole situation was utmost-fetched, but he knew I was right about my instincts. Theyd proven true in the yesteryear. No amour what hed been through, no matter the menses antagonism between us, he quieten knew me enough to trust in this.Slowly, almost reluctantly, he nodded. But if we fixed to search for this alleged sibling, wed be going against Lissas instructions to stay put.You believe that note? exclaimed Sydney. Youre considering listening to it?A flash of anger lit up within me, one I worked to hide. Of course. Of course this would be the next obstructor Dimitris inability to disobey Lissa. Sydney feared Abe, which I could kind of understand, but Dimitris concern was still the lofty vow of chivalry hed made to Lissa. I took a deep breath. Telling him how ridiculous I thought he was behaving wouldnt accomplish what I needed .Technically, yes. But if we could actually prove she wasnt the suffer in her family, it would help her a lot. We cant ignore the chance, and if you manage to save me out of trouble while we do itI tried not to grimace at thatthen there shouldnt be a problem.Dimitri considered this. He knew me. He similarly knew I would use roundabout logic if need be to get my way. Okay, he said at last. I saw the shift in his features. The decision was made, and hed catch to it now. But where do we start? You have no other clues, deflection from a mysterious note.It was deja vu and reminded me of Lissa and Christians earlier conversation with Abe when they were figuring out where to start their investigation. She and I lived parallel lives, it seemed, both pursuing an impossible puzzle with a sketchy trail. As I replayed their discussion, I attempted the like rea give-and-take out Abe had used without clues, start working through obvious conclusions.Obviously, this is a secret, I said. A bi g one. One people have apparently wanted to cover upenough that theyd try to steal records about it and keep the Dragomirs out of power. Someone had broken into an Alchemist building and taken papers indicating Eric Dragomir had thus been funding a mystery woman. I pointed out to my companions that it seemed very belike to me this woman was the capture of his love child. You could look into that case some more. Those last words were spoken toward Sydney. perchance she didnt care about another Dragomir, but the Alchemists still wanted to know who had stolen from them.Whoa, hey. How was I not even part of this decision process? She still hadnt recovered from our conversation dead course away without her. After the way our night had gone so far, she didnt look too transportd about being sucked into another of my rogue schemes. Maybe breaking Lissas orders is no big deal for you two, but Id be going against Abe. He might not be so lenient.It was a just point. Ill pull in a dau ghterly favor, I assured her. Besides, the old man loves secrets. Hed be into this, believe me. And youve already found the biggest clue of all. I mean, if Eric was giving bills to some anonymous woman, then why wouldnt it be for his secret mistress and child?Anonymous is the key word, Sydney said, still distinctly skeptical of Zmeys leniency. If your theorys rightand its kind of a leapwe still have no idea who this mistress is. The stolen documents didnt say. atomic number 18 there other records that tie into the stolen ones? Or could you investigate the bank he was sending money to? The Alchemists sign concern had simply been that someone had stolen hard copies of their records. Her colleagues had discovered which items were taken but hadnt given much thought to the content. I was willing to bet they hadnt searched for any other documents related to the same topic. She affirmed as much.You really have no idea how researching records works, do you? Its not that easy, she said. I t could take a while.Well I guess thats why its good were going somewhere, um, secure, right? I asked. Struck with the realization that we might need time to put our next step together, I could kind of see the disadvantage of having lost our out of the way hideout.Secure She shook her head. Well, well see. I hope Im not doing something stupid.With those ominous words, silence fell. I wanted to know more about where we were going but felt I shouldnt push the small victory Id made. The victory I thought Id made, at least. I wasnt entirely sure Sydney was 100 share on board but felt certain Dimitri had been convinced. Best not to agitate her right now. I looked at the GPS. Almost an hour. Enough time to check back on Lissa.It took me a minute to recognize where Lissa was, probably because Id been expecting her to return to her room. But no, she was in a location Id only been once Adrians parents home. Surprising. In a few moments, though, I read the reasoning from her mind. Her cur rent suite was in guest housing, and in the ensuing panic over my escape, her building was swarming with visitors now trying to leave. The Ivashkov townhouse, situated in a long-lived residential area, was a bit quieternot that there werent a few fleeing neighbors there too.Adrian sat back in an armch line, feet carelessly resting on an expensive coffee table that some interior designer had probably helped his bugger off choose. Lissa and Christian had just arrived, and she caught a whiff of smoke in the air that made her think Adrian had been sneaking in some bad fashion beforehand.If were lucky, he was telling Lissa and Christian, the parental units will be tied up for a while and give us some peace and quiet. How rough was your questioning?Lissa and Christian sat on a couch that was prettier than it was comfortable. She leaned into him and sighed. Not so bad. I dont know if theyre fully convinced we had nothing to do with Roses escape but they definitely dont have any proof.I think we got in more trouble with Aunt Tasha, said Christian. She was kind of slicked off that we didnt tell her what was going on. I think she probably wanted to blow up the statues herself.ITI think shes more upset that we got Dimitri bear on pointed out Lissa. She thinks we screwed up his chances of ever being accepted again.Shes right, said Adrian. He picked up a remote control and turned on a large, germ plasm screen TV. He muted the sound and flipped randomly through channels. But no one forced him.Lissa nodded but secretly wondered if she had forced Dimitri inadvertently. His give vow to protect her was no secret. Christian seemed to pick up on her worry.Hey, for all we know, he never would have A knock cut off him.Damn, said Adrian, standing up. So much for peace and quiet.Your parents wouldnt knock, said Christian.True, but its probably one of their friends wanting to sip port and gossip about the terrible state of todays dispatchous youth, Adrian called back.Lissa h eard the door open and a muffled conversation. A few moments later, Adrian returned with a young Moroi blackguard that Lissa didnt recognize.Look, the guy was saying, glancing around uneasily, I can come back. He caught sight of Lissa and Christian and froze.No, no, said Adrian. His transformation from grumpy to cordial had happened as quickly as a light switch being flipped. Im sure shell be back any minute. Do you guys all know each other?The guy nodded, eyes darting from face to face. Of course.Lissa frowned. I dont know you.The smile never left field Adrians face, but Lissa picked up quickly that something important was going on. This is Joe. Joes the janitor who helped me out by raiseing that I wasnt with Rose when Aunt Tatiana was murdered. The one who was working in Roses building.Both Lissa and Christian straightened up. It was a lucky thing you turned up before the hearing, said Christian carefully. For a while, thered been panic that Adrian might be concerned with me, bu t Joe had come forward just in time to certify about when hed seen both me and Adrian in my building.Joe took a few steps back toward the foyer. I really should go. Just tell Lady Ivashkov that I came byand that Im sledding tourist court. But that everythings set.Whats set? asked Lissa, slowly standing up.Sheshell know. Lissa, I knew, didnt look intimidating. She was cute and slim and pretty, but from the fear on Joes facewell. She must have been giving him a scary look. It reminded me of the earlier encounter with Abe. Really, he added. I need to go.He started to move again, but suddenly, I felt a surge of spirit burn through Lissa. Joe came to a halt, and she strode toward him.What did you need to talk to Lady Ivashkov about? demanded Lissa.Easy, cousin, murmured Adrian. You dont need that much spirit to get answers.Lissa was using compulsion on Joe, so much that he might as well have been a puppet on strings.The money, Joe gasped, eyes wide. The moneys set.What money? she ask ed.Joe hesitated, as though he might resist, but curtly gave in. He couldnt fight that much compulsion, not from a spirit user. The money the money to testify about where he was. Joe jerked his head toward Adrian.Adrians cool facet faltered a little. What do you mean where I was? The night my aunt died? ar you saying Christian picked up where Adrian couldnt. Is Lady Ivashkov paying you off to say you saw Adrian?I did see him, cried Joe. He was visibly sweating. Adrian had been right Lissa was using too much spirit. It was physically hurting Joe. I just I just I dont remember the time I dont remember any of the times. Thats what I told the other guy, too. She paid me to put a time on when you were there.Adrian didnt like that, not at all. To his credit, he remained calm. What do you mean you told the other guy?Who else? repeated Lissa. Who else was with her?No one Lady Ivashkov just wanted to make sure her son was clear. I fudged the details for her. It was the guy the other guy who came later who wanted to know when Hathaway was around.There was a click from the foyer, the sound of the front door opening. Lissa leaned forward, cranking up the compulsion. Who? Who was he? What did he want?Joe looked like he was in serious pain now. He swallowed. I dont know who he was No one Id seen. Some Moroi. Just wanted me to testify about when Id seen Hathaway. Paid me more than Lady Ivashkov. No harm He looked at Lissa desperately. No harm in helping them both in particular since Hathaway did it Adrian? Daniellas example rang down the hall. Are you here?Back off, Adrian warned Lissa in a low voice. There was no joking in it. Her voice was just as soft, her attention still on Joe. What did he look like? The Moroi? Describe him.The sound of high heels clicked on the halls wooden floor.Like no one said Joe. I swear Plain. Ordinary. Except the hand please let me go Adrian shoved Lissa aside, breaking the contact between her and Joe. Joe nearly sagged to the co nsideration and then went rigid as he locked gazes with Adrian. More compulsionbut much less than Lissa had used.Forget this, hissed Adrian. We never had this conversation.Adrian, what are youDaniella stopped in the living rooms doorway, taking in the strange sights. Christian was still on the couch, but Adrian and Lissa were inches from Joe, whose shirt was soaked with sweat.Whats going on? Daniella exclaimed.Adrian stepped back and gave his mother one of those charming smiles that captivated so many women. This guy came by to see you, Mom. We told him wed wait until you got back. Were going to head out now.Daniella glanced between her son and Joe. She was clearly uneasy about the scenario and also confused. Lissa was surprised at the drift out comment but followed Adrians lead. Christian did too.It was nice seeing you, said Lissa, attempting a smile to match Adrians. Joe looked totally dazed. After Adrians last command, the poor janitor had also probably forgotten how hed ended u p at the Ivashkov home.Lissa and Christian hastily followed Adrian out before Daniella could say much more. What the hell was that? asked Christian, once they were outside. I wasnt sure if he meant Lissas scary compulsion or what Joe had revealed.Not sure, said Adrian, expression dark. No more cheery smile. But we should talk to Mikhail.Rose.Dimitris voice was gentle, bringing me back to him, Sydney, and the car. Hed undoubtedly recognized the expression on my face and knew where Id been.Everything okay back there? he asked.I knew back there meant Court and not the backseat. I nodded, though okay wasnt quite the right word for what Id just witnessed. What had I just witnessed? An admission of false testimony. An admission that contradicted some of the evidence against me. I didnt care so much that Joe had lied to keep Adrian safe. Adrian hadnt been involved with Tatianas murder. I wanted him free and clear. But what about the other part? Some ordinary Moroi whod paid Joe to lie abou t when Id been around, leaving me without an alibi during the murder window?Before I could fully process the implications, I find the car had stopped. Forcing the Joe-info to the back of my mind, I tried to take stock of our new situation. Sydneys laptop glowed in the front seat as she scrolled through something.Where are we? I peered out the window. In the headlights, I saw a sad, close gas station.Altswood, said Dimitri. By my estimation, there was nothing else but the gas station. Makes our last town look like New York.Sydney shut her laptop. She give it back, and I set it on the seat beside me, near the backpacks shed miraculously grabbed when leaving the motel. She shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. Not too far away, I could see the highway and expected her to turn toward it. Instead, she drove past the gas station, deeper into darkness. Like the last place, we were surrounded by mountains and forests. We crept along at a snails pace until Sydney s potted a tiny gravel road disappearing into the woods. It was only big enough for one car to go down, but somehow, I didnt expect wed run into much traffic out here. A similar road took us in deeper and deeper, and although I couldnt see her face, Sydneys anxiety was palpable in the car.Minutes felt like hours until our pin down path opened up into a large, dirt-packed clearing. Other vehiclespretty oldlookingwere set there. It was a strange place for a parking lot, considering all I could see around us was dark forest. Sydney shut off the car.Are we at a campground? I asked.She didnt answer. Instead, she looked at Dimitri. Are you as good as they say you are?What? he asked, startled.Fighting. Everyone keeps talking about how dangerous you are. Is it true? Are you that good?Dimitri considered. Pretty good.I scoffed. genuinely good.I hope its enough, said Sydney, reaching for the doors handle.I opened my door as well. Arent you going to ask about me?I already know youre dangerous, she said. Ive seen it.Her compliment offered little comfort as we walked out across the unpolished parking lot. Whyd we stop?Because we have to go on foot now. She turned on a flashlight and shone it along the lots perimeter. At last, it flickered across a footpath snaking through the trees. The path was small and easy to miss because weeds and other plants were encroaching on it. There. She began to move toward it.Wait, said Dimitri. He go in front of her, leading the way, and I immediately took up the back position in our group. It was a standard guardian formation. We were flanking her the way we would a Moroi. All earlier thoughts of Lissa flitted from my mind. My attention was totally on the situation at hand, all my senses alert to the potential danger. I could see Dimitri was in the same mode, both of us holding our stakes.Where are we going? I asked as we carefully avoided roots and holes along the path. Branches scraped along my arms.To people I guaranty wont turn you in, she said, voice grim.More questions were on my lips when brilliant light suddenly blinded me. My eyes had grown attuned to the darkness, and the unexpected brightness was too shrewd a change. There was a rustling in the trees, a sense of many bodies around us, and as my vision returned, I saw vampire faces everywhere.