"I'm not talking to you, Kolya." Denis's eyes were still on me. "I'm just trying to figure Rose out. She kills Strigoi but doesn't work for the guardians.
She's clearly not like the rest of you soft people in this town. Maybe she's more like us."
"She's nothing like you," Viktoria snapped back.
I got it then, and a chill ran down my spine. These were the kind of dhampirs that Mark had been talking about. The true unpromised ones. The vigilantes who sought out Strigoi on their own, the ones who neither settled down nor answered to any guardians. They shouldn't have unnerved me, not really. In some ways, Denis was right. In the simplest terms, I really was like them. And yet... there was an air about these guys that just rubbed me the wrong way.
"Then why are you in Russia?" asked one of Denis's friends. I already couldn't remember his name. "This is a long trip for you. You wouldn't have come here without a good reason."
Viktoria was picking up her sister's anger. "She came to tell us about Dimka."
Denis eyed me. "I think she's here to hunt Strigoi. There are more in Russia to choose from than there are in the States."
"She wouldn't be in Baia if she was hunting Strigoi, you idiot," returned Viktoria evenly. "She'd be in Vladivostok or Novosibirsk or somewhere like that."
Novosibirsk. The name was familiar. But where had I heard it? A moment later, the answer came to me. Sydney had mentioned it. Novosibirsk was the largest city in Siberia.
Denis continued. "Maybe she's just passing through. Maybe she'll want to join us when we go to Novosibirsk tomorrow."
"For God's sake," I exclaimed. "I'm right here. Stop talking about me like I'm not. And why would I want to go with you?"
Denis's eyes gleamed with an intense, feverish light. "Good hunting there. Lots of Strigoi. Come with us, and you can help us go after them."
"And how many of you will come back from this?" Karolina asked in a hard voice. "Where's Timosha? Where's Vasiliy? Your hunting party keeps getting smaller each time you return here. Which one of you will be next? Whose family will be the next to mourn?"
"Easy for you to talk," retorted the friend. Lev, I think his name was. "You stay here and do nothing while we go out and keep you safe."
Karolina gave him a disgusted look, and I recalled how she was dating a guardian. "You go out and rush into situations without thinking. If you want to keep us safe, then stay here and defend your families when they need it. If you want to go after Strigoi, go join the guardians and work with those who have some sense."
"The guardians don't hunt Strigoi!" cried Denis. "They sit and wait and cower before the Moroi."
The unfortunate part was, he had a point. But not entirely.
"That's changing," I said. "There's a movement to start taking the offensive against the Strigoi. There's also talk of the Moroi learning to fight with us. You could help be a part of that."
"Like you are?" he laughed. "You still haven't told us why you're here and not with them. You can say what you want to the rest of this group, but I know why you're here. I can see it in you." The crazy, eerie look he gave me almost made me think that he could. "You know the only way to rid the world of evil is to do it on our own. To seek out the Strigoi ourselves and kill them, one by one."
"Without a plan," finished Karolina. "Without any thought of the consequences."
"We're strong and we know how to fight. That's all we need to know when it comes to killing Strigoi."
And that was when I understood. I finally got what Mark had been trying to tell me. Denis was saying exactly what I had been thinking since I left St. Vladimir's. I'd run off without a plan, wanting to throw myself into danger because I felt I had a mission that only I could carry out. Only I could kill Dimitri. Only I could destroy the evil within him. I'd been giving no thought to how I'd pull it off-seeing as Dimitri had beat me more often than not in fights when he was still a dhampir. With a Strigoi's strength and speed now? The odds were definitely against me. Still, I hadn't cared. I'd been obsessed, convinced I had to do this.
In my own head, what I had to do made sense, but now... hearing those sentiments from Denis, it sounded crazy. Just as reckless as Mark had warned. Their motives might be good-just as mine were-but they were also suicidal. Without Dimitri, I honestly hadn't cared much about my own life. I'd never been afraid to risk it before, but now I realized there was a big difference between dying uselessly and dying for a reason. If I died trying to kill Dimitri because I had no strategy, then my life would have meant nothing.
Just then, the priest walked over and said something to us in Russian. From his tone and expression, I think he was asking if everything was okay.
He'd mingled with the rest of the congregation after the service. Being human, he probably didn't know all the dhampir politics afoot, but he could undoubtedly sense trouble.
Denis offered him a simpering smile and gave what sounded like a polite explanation. The priest smiled in return, nodded, and wandered off when someone else called to him.
"Enough," said Karolina harshly, once the priest was out of earshot. "You need to go. Now."
Denis's body tensed, and mine responded, ready for a fight. I thought he might start something then and there. A few seconds later, he relaxed and turned to me.
"Show them to me first."
"Show you what?" I asked.
"The marks. Show me how many Strigoi you've killed."
I didn't respond right away, wondering if this was a trick. Everyone's eyes were on me. Turning slightly, I lifted the hair off the back of my neck and showed my tattoos. Little lightning-shaped molnija marks were there, along with the mark I'd gotten for the battle. From the sound of Denis's gasp, I was guessing he'd never seen that many kills before. I let my hair go and met his gaze levelly.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"You're wasting your time," he said at last, gesturing to the people behind me. "With them. With this place. You should come with us to Novosibirsk. We'll help make your life worthwhile."
"I'm the only one who can make anything of my life." I pointed down the street. "You were asked to leave. Now go."
I held my breath, still bracing for a fight. After several tense moments, the group retreated. Before turning around, Denis gave me one last piercing look.
"This isn't what you want and you know it. When you change your mind, come find us at 83 Kasakova. We leave at sunrise tomorrow."
"You'll be leaving without me," I said.
Denis' smile sent another chill down my spine. "We'll see."
Chapter Fourteen
The encounter with Denis left me even more confused than before. It was a shocking illustration of Mark's warning, an omen of what I too might become if I wasn't careful. I wasn't really the same as Denis, was I? I wasn't aimlessly seeking danger. I was seeking danger... well, for a reason. I had to fulfill the promise I'd made to find Dimitri. Maybe it was suicidal and I was only deluding myself into thinking it was noble.
Viktoria left me little opportunity to ruminate. Later that evening, as the family was settling down in the living room after way too much food, she glibly asked Olena, "Can I go over to Marina's? She's having a party before we go back to school."
Wow. It looked like Abe and the Alchemists weren't the only ones keeping secrets around here. I glanced between Olena and Viktoria's faces, curious as to how this would play out. Olena and Yeva were both knitting, but Yeva didn't look up. Viktoria had spoken in English. Olena's face turned thoughtful.
"You have to leave early tomorrow to go back to school."
"I know. But I can sleep on the bus. Everyone else will be there tonight."
"'Everyone else' isn't a convincing argument," scoffed Olena.
"They'll all be tired tomorrow too," replied Viktoria, grinning.
"You'll miss your last night with Rose."
"I'll hang out with her after I get back."
"Great. And stay up even later."
"Not that late. I'll be back by two."
"Absolutely not. You'll be back by midnight." Olena returned to her knitting. But that had been permission if I'd ever heard it.
Viktoria looked at the clock. It was almost eight thirty. Her face told me she wasn't happy about the curfew, but she apparently decided to take what she could get. Karolina gave us an odd look as we left the room but remained silent. Sonya and Paul, engrossed in TV, barely noticed our departure. I had to find out what was going on.