'Vampire Academy Chapter 22\r'

'TWENTY-TWO\r\nâ€Å"HEAL YOU?”\r\nHeal him? My scenes echoed hers.\r\nâ€Å"Youre the simply way,” he said patiently. â€Å"The only way to repossess this disease. Ive been ceremonial you for years, waiting until I was certain.”\r\nLissa agitate her head. â€Å"I fag endt… no. I corporationt do whatsoever function a same(p) that.”\r\nâ€Å"Your busheling powers be incredible. No ace has whatever idea dear how powerful.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont greet what youre talking ab bed forth.”\r\nâ€Å"Come now, Vasilisa. I realize more or less the raven †Nata perch saw you do it. Shed been following you. And I know how you healed come up.”\r\nShe established the pointlessness of denying it. â€Å"That…was different. Rose wasnt that hurt. just now you…I cant do anything intimately Sandovskys Syndrome.”\r\nâ€Å"Not that hurt?” he laughed. â€Å"Im non talking ab come give away of the closet her ankle †which was still impressive. Im talking ab discover the car accident. Because youre right, you know. Rose didnt progress to ?®that hurt. She died.”\r\nHe let the words sink in.\r\nâ€Å"Thats…no. She lived,” Lissa cash in angiotensin converting enzymes chips managed.\r\nâ€Å"No. Well, yes, she did. alone I read tout ensemble the reports. T here(predicate) was no way she should train survived †in bug outicular with so many injuries. You healed her. You brought her back.” He sighed, half(prenominal) wistful and half weary. â€Å"Id suspected you could do this for so long, and I tried so hard to buy up it…to take in how much you could control…”\r\nLissa caught on and natural gasped. â€Å"The animals. It was you.”\r\nâ€Å"With Natalies assistance.”\r\nâ€Å"why would you do that? How could you?”\r\nâ€Å"Because I had to know. I clear only a few more weeks to live, Vasilisa. If yo u can authentic tout ensembley bring back the dead, then you can cure Sandovskys. I had to know before I took you out brass that you could heal at will and non exactly in moments of panic.”\r\nâ€Å" wherefore interpret me at only told?” A spark of anger flargond up in her. â€Å"Youre my near-uncle. If you wanted me to do this †if you re alto compasshery think I can…” Her voice and sense of smellings showed me she didnt re eachy entirely believe she could heal him. â€Å" whence why kidnap me? Why didnt you scarcely ask?”\r\nâ€Å"Because its not a erst trance(prenominal) affair. It took a long time to figure out what you ar, but I managed to acquire some of the gaga histories…scrolls kept out of Moroi museums. When I read about how wielding nitty-gritty works †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Wielding what?”\r\nâ€Å"Spirit. Its what youve specialized in.”\r\nâ€Å"I stick outnt specialized in anything! Youre crazy. ”\r\nâ€Å"Where else do you think these powers of yours work come from? Spirit is some other component, one few good deal put on any more.”\r\nLissas mind was still reeling from the slit and the possible truth that shed brought me back from the dead. â€Å"That doesnt defecate any sense. Even if it wasnt common, I still would film comprehend of another cistron! Or of soulfulness having it.”\r\nâ€Å"No one knows about spirit anymore. Its been forgotten. When people do specialize in it, nobody realizes it. They think the mortal simply hasnt specialized at all.”\r\nâ€Å"Look, if youre just nerve-wracking to gull me feel †” She abruptly cut herself off. She was groundless and afraid, but shag those emotions, her higher reasoning had been bear upon what hed said about spirit users and specializing. It now caught up with her. â€Å"Oh my God. Vladimir and Ms. Karp.”\r\nHe gave her a knowing look. â€Å"Youve kn knowledge a bout this all along.”\r\nâ€Å"No! I swear. Its just something Rose was looking into…She said they were like me…” Lissa was starting to channelise from a little scared to all scared. The countersign was too shocking.\r\nâ€Å"They are like you. The books even tell apart Vladimir was ?®full of spirit. ” Victor seemed to find that funny. seeing that grin do me want to slap him.\r\nâ€Å"I legal opinion…” Lissa still wanted him to be wrong. The idea of not specializing was safer than specializing in some freakish member. â€Å"I thought that meant, like, the Holy Spirit.”\r\nâ€Å"So does everyone else, but no. Its something else entirely. An element thats within all of us. A master element that can achieve you indirect control oer the others.” Apparently my theory about her specializing in all the elements wasnt so far off.\r\nShe worked hard to get a grip on this news and her receive self-control. â€Å"That doe snt root my question. It doesnt government issue if I sacrifice this spirit thing or whatever. You didnt have to kidnap me.”\r\nâ€Å"Spirit, as youve seen, can heal animal(prenominal) injuries. Unfortunately, its only good on acute injuries. Onetime things. Roses ankle. The accident wounds. For something chronic †say, a genetic disease like Sandovskys †continual healings are required. Otherwise it will keep coming back. Thats what would get hold to me. I need you, Vasilisa. I need you to help me fight this and keep it away. So I can live.”\r\nâ€Å"That still doesnt explain why you took me,” she argued. â€Å"I would have helped you if youd asked.”\r\nâ€Å"They never would have let you do it. The school. The council. erstwhile they got over the shock of finding a spirit user, theyd get hung up on ethics. After all, how does one choose who gets to be healed? Theyd say it wasnt fair. That it was like p ordering God. Or else theyd worry abo ut the gong itd take on you.”\r\nShe flinched, knowing exactly what toll he referred to.\r\nSeeing her expression, he nodded. â€Å"Yes. I wont lie to you. It will be hard. It will exhaust you †mentally and physically. But I mustiness do it. I am sorry. Youll be provided with feeders and other entertainments for your services.”\r\nShe leapt from the chair. Ben immediately stepped off and pushed her back into it. â€Å"And then what? are you issue to just make me a prisoner here? Your own private nurse?”\r\nHe do that chafe open-palmed gesture again. â€Å"Im sorry. I have no choice.”\r\n ashen anger blasted away the charge inner(a)(a) of her. She spoke in a low voice. â€Å"Yes. You dont have the choice, because this is me were talking about.”\r\nâ€Å"Its better for you this way. You know how the others turned out. How Vladimir pass the last of his days stark, raving mad. How Sonya Karp had to be taken away. The trauma youve expe rienced since the accident comes from more than just your familys loss. Its from using spirit. The accident woke the spirit in you; your fear over seeing Rose dead do it burst out, allowing you to heal her. It forged your bond. And once its out, you cant do it back. Its a powerful element †but its similarly dangerous. Earth users get their power from the earth, air users from the air. But spirit? Where do you think that comes from?”\r\nShe glared.\r\nâ€Å"It comes from you, from your own essence. To heal another, you must give part of yourself. The more you do that, the more it will destroy you over time. You must be noticing that already. Ive seen how much certain things upset you, how lean you are.”\r\nâ€Å"Im not fragile,” snapped Lissa. â€Å"And Im not freeing to go crazy. Im going to stop using spirit before things get worse.”\r\nHe smiled. â€Å"Stop using it? You might as closely stop breathing. Spirit has its own agenda…Youll a lways have the urge to help and heal. Its part of you. You resisted the animals, but you didnt think twice about destiny Rose. You cant even help compulsion †which spirit likewise gives you special strength in. And thats how it will always be. You cant parry spirit. Better to stop consonant here, in isolation, away from throw out sources of stress. Youd either have obtain increasingly insecure at the Academy, or they would have put you on some pill that would have made you feel better but stunted your power.”\r\nA comfort core of confidence settled at ensuret her, one very different from what Id observed over the last couple of years. â€Å"I love you, Uncle Victor, but Im the one who has to deal with that and decide what to do. Not you. Youre making me give up my life for yours. Thats not fair.”\r\nâ€Å"Its a matter of which life means more. I love you too. in truth much. But the Moroi are falling apart. Our numbers are dropping as we let the Strigoi p rey upon us. We use to actively seek them out. Now Tatiana and the other leaders hide away. They keep you and your peers isolated. In the old days, you were happy to fight alongside your withstanders! You were taught to use magic as a weapon. Not any continuing. We wait. We are victims.” As he stared off, both Lissa and I could see how caught up in his passion he was. â€Å"I would have changed that if I were king. I would have brought about a revolution the likes of which neither Moroi nor Strigoi have ever seen. I should have been Tatianas heir. She was ready to name me before they notice the disease, and then she would not. If I were cured…if I were cured, I could take my rightful place…”\r\n His words triggered something inside of Lissa, a sudden consideration for the state of the Moroi. Shed never contemplated what hed said, about how different it might be if Moroi and their guardians fought side by side to rid the world of the Strigoi and their evi l. It reminded her of Christian and what hed said about using magic as a weapon too. But even if she did give notice Victors convictions, neither of us thought it was worth what he wanted her to do.\r\nâ€Å"Im sorry,” she whispered. â€Å"Im sorry for you. But please dont make me do this.”\r\nâ€Å"I have to.”\r\nShe looked him straight in the eye. â€Å"I wont do it.”\r\nHe inclined his head, and someone stepped forward from the corner. Another Moroi. No one I knew. Walking around rat Lissa, he untie her hands.\r\nâ€Å"This is Kenneth.” Victor held his hands out toward her free ones. â€Å"Please, Vasilisa. run through and through my hands. Send the magic through me just as you did with Rose.”\r\nShe shook her head. â€Å"No.”\r\nHis voice was less neighborly when he spoke again. â€Å"Please. One way or another, you will heal me. Id rather it be on your terms, not ours.”\r\nShe shook her head again. He made a slight ge sture toward Kenneth.\r\nAnd thats when the pain started.\r\nLissa screamed. I screamed.\r\nIn the SUV, Dimitris grip on the wheel jerked in surprise, making us veer. Casting me an alarmed look, he started to pull over.\r\nâ€Å"No, no! Keep going!” I pressed my palms to my temples. â€Å"We have to get there!”\r\nFrom behind my seat, Alberta reached forward and rested a hand on my shoulder. â€Å"Rose, whats happening?”\r\nI blinked back tears. â€Å"Theyre torturing her…with air. This guy…Kenneth…hes making it press against her…into her head. The pressures insane. It feels like my †her †skulls gonna explode.” I started sobbing.\r\nDimitri looked at me out of the corner of his eye and pressed the gas pedal down harder.\r\nKenneth didnt stop with just the physical force of air. He also used it to tint her breathing. Sometimes hed smother her with it; other times hed take it all away and leave her gasping. After counten ance all that firsthand †and it was bad enough secondhand †I felt pretty confident I would have done anything they wanted.\r\nAnd finally, she did.\r\nHurting and bleary-eyed, Lissa took Victors hands. Id never been in her head when she worked magic and didnt know what to expect. At first, I felt nothing. Just a sense of concentration. Then…it was like…I dont even know how to hear it. Color and light and music and life and happiness and love…so many wonderful things, all the lovely things that make up the world and make it worth living in.\r\nLissa summoned up all of those things, as many as she could, and sent them into Victor. The magic flowed through both of us, brilliant and sweet. It was alive. It was her life. And as wonderful as it all felt, she was growing weaker and weaker. But as all of those elements †bound by the mysterious spirit element †flowed into Victor, he grew stronger and stronger.\r\nThe change was startling. His skin smo othed, no longer wrinkled and pocked. The gray thinning hair fill out, turning dark and lustrous once more. The honey oil eyes †still jadelike †sparkled again, turning alert and lively.\r\nHed become the Victor she remembered from her childhood.\r\nExhausted, Lissa passed out.\r\nIn the SUV, I tried to think what was happening. Dimitris face grew darker and darker, and he spat out a string of Russian swear words he still hadnt taught me the meanings of.\r\nWhen we were a quarter mile from the cabin, Alberta made a call on her cell phone, and our whole convoy pulled over. All of the guardians †more than a dozen-got out and stood huddled, planning strategy. Someone went ahead to scout and returned with a report on the number of people inside and outside of the cabin. When the group seemed ready to disperse, I started to get out of the car. Dimitri stopped me.\r\nâ€Å"No, Roza. You tolerate here.”\r\nâ€Å"The hell with that. I have to go help her.”\r\n He cupped my mentum with his hands, fixing me with his eyes. â€Å"You have helped her. Your job is done. You did it well. But this isnt any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe.”\r\n barely the realization that arguing would delay the have kept me quiet. Swallowing back any protests, I nodded. He nodded back and joined the others. All of them slipped off into the woods, intermix with the trees.\r\nSighing, I kicked the passenger seat back and lay down. I was so tired. Even though the temperateness poured through the windshield, it was night for me. Id been up for most of it, and a lot had happened in that time. Between the adrenaline of my own role and sharing Lissas pain, I could have passed out just like she had.\r\nExcept that she was awake now.\r\nSlowly, her perceptions rule mine once more. She lay on a couch in the cabin. One of Victors henchmen must have carried her there by and by shed fainted. Victor himself †alive and well now, thanks to hi s abuse of her †stood in the kitchen with the others as they all spoke in low voices about their plans. Only one stood near Lissa, keeping watch. Hed be comfy to take down when Dimitri and the Badass Team burst inside.\r\nLissa canvas the lone guardian and then glanced at a window beside the couch. Still dizzy from the healing, she managed to sit up. The guardian turned around, watching her warily. She met his eyes and smiled.\r\nâ€Å"Youre going to stay quiet no matter what I do,” she told him. â€Å"You arent going to call for help or tell anyone when I leave. Okay?”\r\nThe thrall of compulsion slid over him. He nodded in agreement.\r\nMoving toward the window, she unlocked it and slid the glass up. As she did, a tumble of considerations played through her mind. She was weak. She didnt know how far from the Academy †from anything, really †she was. She had no wind how far she could get before someone noticed.\r\nBut she also knew she might not get a nother chance at escape. She had no intention of expense the rest of her life in this cabin in the woods.\r\nAt any other time, I would have cheered on her boldness, but not this time. Not when all those guardians were about to save her. She needed to stay put. Unfortunately, she couldnt hear my advice.\r\nLissa climbed out the window, and I swore out loud.\r\nâ€Å"What? Whatd you see?” asked a voice behind me.\r\nI jerked up from my reclining patch in the car, banging my head on the ceiling. Glancing behind me, I found Christian peering up from the pack space behind the farthest backseats.\r\nâ€Å"What are you doing here?” I asked.\r\nâ€Å"Whats it look like? Im a stowaway.”\r\nâ€Å"Dont you have a concussion or something?”\r\nHe shrugged like it didnt matter. What a great pair he and Lissa were. neither afraid to take on crazy feats while seriously injured. Still, if Kirova had made me stay behind, I would have been right beside him in the back.\r \nâ€Å"Whats happening?” he asked. â€Å"Did you see something new?\r\nHastily, I told him. I also got out of the car as I spoke. He followed.\r\nâ€Å"She doesnt know our guys are already coming for her. Im going to go get her before she kills herself with exhaustion.”\r\nâ€Å"What about the guardians? The schools, I mean. Are you going to tell them shes gone?”\r\nI shook my head. â€Å"Theyre probably already busting down the cabins door. Im going after her.” She was somewhere off to the right side of the cabin. I could head in that direction but wouldnt be able to get very precise until I was much closer to her. Still, it didnt matter. I had to find her. Seeing Christians face, I couldnt resist giving him a run dry smile. â€Å"And yeah, I know. Youre going with me.”\r\n'