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why Dimitri had even wandered by.

"Speaking of personal lives ... I suppose you were off visiting Tasha, huh?"

I knew it was petty, and I expected a "none of your business" response. Instead he replied, "Actually, I was visiting your mother."

"You going to hook up with her too?" I knew of course that he wasn't, but the quip seemed too good to pass up.

He seemed to know that too and merely gave me a weary glance. "No, we were looking over some new data about the Strigoi in the Drozdov attack."

My anger and snarkiness dried up. The Drozdovs. The Badicas. Suddenly, everything that had happened this morning seemed incredibly trivial. How could I have stood there arguing with Dimitri about romances that might or might not be happening when he and the other guardians were trying to protect us?

"What'd you find out?" I asked quietly.

"We've managed to track some of the Strigoi," he said. "Or at least the humans with them. There were witnesses who lived nearby who spotted a few of the cars the group used. The plates were all from different states- the group appears to have split up, probably to make it harder for us. But one of the witnesses did catch one plate number. It's registered to an address in Spokane."

"Spokane?" I asked incredulously. "Spokane, Washington? Who makes Spokane their hideout?" I'd been there once. It was about as boring as every other backwoods northwest city.

"Strigoi, apparently," he said, deadpan. "The address was fake, but other evidence shows they really are there. There's a kind of shopping plaza that has some underground tunnels. There've been Strigoi sightings around that area."

"Then ..." I frowned. "Are you going to go after them? Is somebody going to? I mean, this is what Tasha's been saying all along.... If we know where they are ..."

He shook his head. "The guardians can't do anything without permission from higher up. That's not going to happen anytime soon."

I sighed. "Because the Moroi talk too much."

"They're being cautious," he said.

I felt myself getting worked up again. "Come on. Even you can't want to be careful on this one. You actually know where Strigoi are hiding out. Strigoi who massacred children. Don't you want to go after them when they don't expect it?" I sounded like Mason now.

"It's not that easy," he said. "We answer to the Guardian Council and the Moroi government. We can't just run off and act on impulse. And anyway, we don't know everything yet. You should never walk into any situation without knowing all the details."

"Zen life lessons again," I sighed. I ran a hand through my hair, tucking it behind my ears. "Why'd you tell me this, anyway? This is guardian stuff. Not the kind of thing you let novices in on."

He considered his words, and his expression softened. He always looked amazing, but I liked him best like this. "I've said a few things...the other day and today...that I shouldn't have. Things that insulted your age. You're seventeen...but you're capable of handling and processing the same things those much older than you do."

My chest grew light and fluttery. "Really?"

He nodded. "You're still really young in a lot of ways- and act young- but the only way to really change that is to treat you like an adult. I need to do that more. I know you'll take this information and understand how important it is and keep it to yourself."

I didn't love being told I acted young, but I liked the idea that he would talk to me like an equal.

"Dimka," came a voice. Tasha Ozera walked up to us. She smiled when she saw me. "Hello, Rose."

There went my mood. "Hey," I said flatly.

She placed a hand on Dimitri's forearm, sliding her fingers over the leather of his coat. I eyed those fingers angrily. How dare they touch him?

"You've got that look," she told him.

"What look?" he asked. The stern look he'd worn with me vanished. There was a small, knowing smile on his lips. Almost a playful one.

"That look that says you're going to be on duty all day."

"Really? I have a look like that?" There was a teasing, mocking tone to his voice.

She nodded. "When does your shift technically end?"

Dimitri actually looked- I swear- sheepish. "An hour ago."

"You can't keep doing this," she groaned. "You need a break."

"Well ... if you consider that I'm always Lissa's guardian..."

"For now," she said knowingly. I felt sicker than I had last night. "There's a big pool tournament going