Bloodlines Page 0,133

suddenly the little differences between humans and Moroi became negligible. Only one difference mattered, the difference between the living and the dead. It was the line that divided us, the line that Adrian and I firmly stood together on one side of - facing those who stood on the other.

I had seen Strigoi before. Back then, I hadn't been immediately threatened by them. Plus, I'd had Rose and Dimitri on hand, ready to protect me. Now? There was no one here to save us. Just ourselves.

There were only two of them, but it might as well have been two hundred. Strigoi operated at such a different level than the rest of us that it didn't take very many of them to tip the odds. They were both women, and they looked as though they'd been in their twenties when they became Strigoi. How long ago that was, I couldn't guess. Lee had zealously gone on and on about how being Strigoi meant you were "forever young." Yet in looking at these two monsters, I didn't really think of them that way. Sure, they had the superficial appearance of youth, but it was marred with evil and decay. Their skin might be wrinkle free, but it was a sickly white, far whiter than any Moroi. The red-ringed eyes that leered out at us didn't sparkle with life and energy, but rather an unholy sort of reanimation. These people weren't right. They weren't natural.

"Charming," said one, her blond hair in a pixie cut. Her facial structure made me think she'd been a dhampir or human before being turned. She was eyeing us the same way I'd often seen my family's cat watch birds. "And exactly as described."

"They're soooo pretty," crooned the other, a lascivious smile on her face. Her height said she had once been Moroi. "I don't know which one I want first."

The blonde gave a warning look. "We'll share."

"Like last time," agreed the other, tossing a mane of curly black hair over one shoulder.

"No," said the first. "Last time you made both kills. That wasn't sharing."

"But I let you feed from both afterward."

Before she could counter back, Lee suddenly recovered himself and staggered forward to the blond Strigoi. "Wait, wait. Dawn. You promised me. You promised you'd awaken me first before you do anything."

The two Strigoi turned their attention to Lee. I was still frozen, still unable to move or really react while being so close to these creatures of hell. But somehow, through the thick and overwhelming terror surrounding me, I still managed to feel small and unexpected pity for Lee. There was a little hate there too, of course, considering the situation. But mostly I felt terribly sorry for someone who truly believed his life was meaningless unless he sacrificed his soul for hollow immortality. Not only that, I felt sorry for him for actually thinking he could trust these creatures to give him what he wanted. Because as I studied them, it was perfectly clear to me that they were deciding whether or not to make this a three-course meal. Lee, I suspected, was the only one who didn't realize this.

"Please," he said. "You promised. Save me. Restore me to how I was."

I also couldn't help but notice the small red patch on his face where I'd hit him. I allowed myself to feel a bit of pride over that but wasn't cocky enough to think I possessed any noteworthy fighting skills to battle my way out of this situation. The Strigoi were too close, and our exits were too few.

"I know where more are," he added, beginning to look uneasy that his "saviors" weren't immediately jumping in to make his dreams come true. "One's young - a dhampir."

"I haven't had a dhampir in a while," said the curly-haired Strigoi, almost wistfully.

Dawn sighed. "I don't really care, Jacqueline. If you want to awaken him, go for it. I just want these two. He doesn't matter to me."

"I get the dhampir all to myself, then," warned Jacqueline.

"Fine, fine," said Dawn. "Just hurry up."

Lee turned so radiant, so happy... it was sickening. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much! I've been waiting so long for this that I can't believe it's - ahh!"

Jacqueline moved so quickly that I hardly saw it happen at all. One moment she was standing in the doorway, the next she had Lee pinned against the recliner. Lee gave out a semi-muffled scream as she bit into his neck, a scream that