if what everyone said was true, I wasn't going to find many Strigoi here in Baia. Somehow, I couldn't picture Dimitri, wandering the road and farms for the occasional prey. Even as a Strigoi -and it killed me to think those words-Dimitri would have a purpose. If he wasn't returning to the familiar sights of his hometown, then he would be doing something else meaningful-inasmuch as a Strigoi could. Sydney's comment in the note had verified what I kept hearing over and over:
Strigoi were in the cities. But which one? Where would Dimitri go?
Now I was the one without a purpose. On top of it all, I couldn't help but replay Mark's words. Was I really on an insane vigilante mission? Was I foolishly rushing to my death? Or was I foolishly rushing into... nothing? Was I doomed to spend the rest of my days wandering? Alone?
Sitting on my bed, I felt my mood plummet and knew I had to distract myself. I was too susceptible to dark emotions as long as Lissa used spirit; I didn't need to further encourage them. I slipped on the ring that Mark had given me, hoping it would bring some sort of clarity and tranquility. I felt no noticeable difference, though, and decided to seek peace from that same place I always did: Lissa's mind.
She was with Adrian, and the two were practicing spirit again. After some initial bumps in the road, Adrian was proving a quick study at healing.
That had been the first of Lissa's powers to manifest, and it always irked her that he made more progress on what she had to teach him than vice versa.
"I'm running out of things for you to heal," she said, setting some tiny potted plants onto a table. "Unless we start cutting off limbs or something."
Adrian smiled. "I used to tease Rose about that, how I was going to impress her by healing amputees or something equally absurd."
"Oh, and I'm sure she had a smartass response for you each time."
"Yes, yes, she did." His face was fond as he recalled the memory. There was a part of me that was always insanely curious to hear them talk about me... yet at the same time, I always felt bad at the grief my name seemed to invoke.
Lissa groaned and stretched out on the carpeted floor. They were in a dorm lounge, and curfew was swiftly approaching. "I want to talk to her, Adrian."
"You can't," he said. There was an unusual seriousness in his voice. "I know she still checks in on you-that's the closest you'll get to talking to her.
And honestly? That's not so bad. You can tell her exactly how you feel."
"Yeah, but I want to hear her talk back like you do in your dreams."
This made him smile again. "She does plenty of talking back, believe me."
Lissa sat up straight. "Do it now."
"Do what now?"
"Go visit her dreams. You always try to explain it to me, but I've never actually seen it. Let me watch."
He stared, at a loss for words. "That's kind of voyeuristic."
"Adrian! I want to learn this, and we've tried everything else. I can feel the magic around you sometimes. Just do it, okay?"
He started to protest again but then bit off his comment after studying her face for a moment. Her words had been sharp and demanding-very uncharacteristic for her. "Okay. I'll try."
The whole idea of Adrian trying to get into my head while I was watching him through Lissa's head was surreal, to say the least. I didn't quite know what to expect from him. I'd always wondered if he had to be asleep or at least have his eyes closed. Apparently not. He instead stared off at nothing, his eyes going vacant as his mind left the world around him. Through Lissa's eyes, I could see some of the magic radiating off him and his aura, and she tried to analyze each strand. Then, without warning, all the magic faded. He blinked and shook his head.
"Sorry. I can't do it."
"Why not?"
"Probably because she's awake. Did you learn anything by watching?"
"A little. Probably would've been more useful if you'd actually made the connection." Again, Lissa had that petulant tone.
"She could be anywhere in the world, you know, on any schedule." His words were smothered by a yawn. "Maybe we can try at different times of the day. I've been getting her... actually, close to this time. Or sometimes I catch her really early in the day."
"She could be