the outer door had a different code.
"Numbers. Door. Two." I felt like a caveman.
Inna stared, not quite getting it.
"Door. Two."
Understanding glinted in her eyes, and she looked mad. I think she'd hoped I wouldn't realize the other door had its own code. More cutting with the stake made her scream seven more numbers. Again, I made her repeat them, realizing I had no way to know if she was telling me the truth at least until I tried the numbers. For that reason, I decided to keep her around.
I felt guilty about what I did next, but these were desperate times. In guardian training, I'd been taught both to kill and to incapacitate. I did the latter this time, slamming her head back against the floor and rendering her unconscious. Her expression went slack, her eyelids drooping. Damn. I was reduced to hurting teenage humans.
Standing up, I moved to the door and punched in the first set of numbers, hoping I had them right. To my complete and utter astonishment, I did.
The electronic lock clicked, but before I could open the door, I just barely made out another click. Someone had unlocked the outer door.
"Shit," I muttered.
I pulled away from the door immediately, picked up Inna's unconscious body, and hurried to the bathroom. I set her in the tub as gently as possible and had just shut the bathroom door when I heard the main door open. I felt the telltale nausea that signaled a Strigoi was nearby. I knew one of the Strigoi could smell a human, and I hoped shutting her away would be enough to mute Inna's scent. I emerged from the hall and found Dimitri in the living room. I grinned at him and ran into his arms.
"You're back," I said happily.
He held me briefly and then stepped back. "Yes." He seemed slightly pleased at the greeting, but soon his face was all business. "Have you made your decision?"
No hello. No how are you feeling? My heart sank. This wasn't Dimitri.
"I have more questions."
I went over to the bed and lay down in a casual way, just like we always did. He followed a few moments later and sat on the edge, looking down at me.
"How long will it take?" I asked. "When you awaken me? Is it instantaneous?"
Once more, I launched into an interrogation session. Honestly, I was running out of questions, and at this point, I didn't really want to know the intricacies of becoming Strigoi. I was becoming more and more agitated with each passing moment. I had to act. I had to make use of my fleeting opportunity here.
And yet... before I could act, I had to reassure myself that this really wasn't Dimitri. It was stupid. I should know by now. I could see the physical changes. I'd seen his coldness, the brutality. I'd seen him come fresh from a kill. This wasn't the man I'd loved. And yet... for that one fleeting moment earlier...
With a sigh, Dimitri stretched out beside me. "Rose," he interrupted, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalling for time." Yeah, even as a Strigoi, Dimitri knew how I thought and schemed. I realized if I was going to be convincing, I had to stop playing dumb and remember to be Rose Hathaway.
I put on a look of outrage. "Of course I am! This is a big deal. I came here to kill you, and now you're asking me to join you. You think this is easy for me to do?"
"Do you think it's been easy for me to wait this long?" he asked. "The only ones who get choices are Moroi who willingly kill, like the Ozeras. No one else gets a choice. I didn't get a choice."
"And don't you regret that?"
"No, not now. Now that I'm who I was meant to be." He frowned. "The only thing hurt is my pride-that Nathan forced me and that he acts as though I'm indebted to him. Which is why I'm being kind enough to give you the choice now, for the sake of your pride."
Kind, huh? I looked at him and felt my heart breaking all over again. It was like hearing the news of his death once more. I suddenly grew afraid I might cry. No. No tears. Dimitri always talked about prey and predators. I had to be the predator.
"You're sweating," he said suddenly. "Why?"
Damn, damn, damn. Of course I was sweating. I was contemplating staking the man I loved-or thought I'd