Blood Promise Page 0,68

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