again. And again. I lost track of how many times I slammed that chair into the glass. My hands hurt, and I knew despite my recovery, I still wasn't at full strength. It was infuriating.
Finally, on what felt like my gazillionth try, I looked at the chair and saw the crack had grown bigger. The progress renewed my will and strength. I hit and hit, ignoring the pain as the wood bit into my hands. At long last, I heard a crack, and the leg broke off. I picked it up and stared in amazement. The break hadn't been clean. It was splintered and sharp. Sharp enough to be a stake? I wasn't sure. But I knew for a fact that wood was hard, and if I used enough force, I might be able to hit a Strigoi's heart. It wouldn't kill one, but the blow would stun. I didn't know if it'd be enough to get me out of here, but it was all I had now. And it was a hell of a lot more than I'd had one hour ago.
I sat back on the bed, recovering from my battle with the chair and tossing the makeshift stake back and forth. Okay. I had a weapon now. But what could I do with it? Dimitri's face flashed in my mind's eye. Damn it. There was no question about it. He was the obvious target, the one I'd have to deal with first.
The door suddenly clicked open, and I looked up with alarm. Quickly, I shoved the chair into a dark corner as panic raced through me. No, no. I wasn't ready. I hadn't fully convinced myself to stake him. It was Inna. She carried a tray but didn't wear her usual subservient expression. The brief look she gave me was filled with hate. I didn't know what she had to be pissed off about. It wasn't like I'd caused her any damage.
Yet.
I strode over like I was going to examine the tray. Lifting the lid, I saw a ham sandwich and french fries. It looked good-I hadn't eaten in a while -but the adrenaline running through me had shoved any appetite I might have to the background. I glanced back up at her, smiling sweetly. She shot me daggers.
Don't hesitate, Dimitri had always said.
I didn't.
I jumped at Inna, throwing her so hard against the floor that her head slammed back. She looked dazed, but quickly recovered and tried to fight back. I wasn't drugged up this time-well, not much-and my years of training and natural strength finally showed themselves again. I pressed my body against her, keeping her firmly in place. Then, I produced the stake I'd had concealed and pressed those sharp points against her neck.
It was like being back in the days of pinning Strigoi in alleys. She couldn't see that my weapon was a chair leg, but the sharp points got her attention as I dug them into her throat.
"The code," I said. "What is the code?"
Her only response was a string of obscenities in Russian. Okay, not a surprise, considering she probably didn't understand me. I flipped through the meager Russian-English dictionary in my head. I'd been in the country long enough to pick up some vocabulary. Admittedly, it was equivalent to a two-year-old's, but even they could communicate.
"Numbers," I said in Russian. "Door." At least, that's what I hoped I said.
She said more impolite things to me, her expression defiant. It really was the Strigoi interrogation all over. My stake bit harder, drawing blood, and I forcibly restrained myself. I might question whether I had the strength to pierce a Strigoi heart with this, but severing a human's vein? Cake. She faltered a little, apparently realizing the same thing.
Again, I attempted my broken Russian. "Kill you. No Nathan. Never..." What was the word? The church service came back to me, and I hoped I had it right. "Never eternal life."
It got her attention. Nathan and eternal life. The things most important to her. She bit her lip, still angry, but her tirade had stopped.
"Numbers. Door," I repeated. I pushed the stake in harder, and she cried out in pain.
At last she spoke, rattling off a series of digits. Russian numbers were something I had memorized pretty solidly, at least. They were essential for addresses and phone numbers. She cited seven numbers.
"Again," I said. I made her say it three times and hoped I had it. But there was more. I was pretty sure