moments to figure out what the resemblance was because they looked nothing alike. This woman was short- probably human before becoming Strigoi- and had brown hair with a bad highlighting job.
Then it hit me. This Strigoi was a new one, much as Natalie had been. It didn't become obvious until I compared her with the Strigoi man. The Strigoi woman's face had a little life in it. But his ... his was the face of death.
His face was completely devoid of any sort of warmth or gentler emotion. His expression was cold and calculating, laced with malicious amusement. He was tall, as tall as Dimitri, and had a slender frame that indicated he'd been Moroi before changing over. Shoulder-length black hair framed his face and stood out against the bright scarlet of his dress shirt. His eyes were so dark and brown that without the red ring, it would have been almost impossible to tell where pupil ended and iris began.
One of the guards shoved me hard, even though I'd been silent. He glanced up at the Strigoi man. "You want me to gag her?"
I suddenly realized I'd been hunching into the back of my chair, unconsciously trying to get as far away from him as possible. He realized this too, and a thin, toothless smile crossed his lips.
"No," he said. His voice was silky and low. "I'd like to hear what she has to say." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Please. Continue."
I swallowed.
"No? Nothing to add? Well. Do feel free to pipe up if something else comes to mind."
"Isaiah," exclaimed the woman. "Why are you keeping them here? Why haven't you just contacted the others?"
"Elena, Elena," Isaiah murmured to her. "Behave yourself. I'm not going to pass up the chance to enjoy myself with two Moroi and ..." He walked behind my chair and lifted my hair, making me shudder. A moment later, he peered at Mason and Eddie's necks as well. "...three unblooded dhampirs." He spoke those words with an almost happy sigh, and I realized he'd been looking for guardian tattoos.
Strolling over to Mia and Christian, Isaiah rested a hand on his hip as he studied them. Mia could only meet his eyes for an instant before looking away. Christian's fear was palpable, but he managed to return the Strigoi's scrutiny. It made me proud.
"Look at these eyes, Elena." Elena walked over and stood beside Isaiah as he spoke. "That pale blue. Like ice. Like aquamarines. You almost never get that outside of the royal houses. Badicas. Ozeras. The occasional Zeklos."
"Ozera," said Christian, trying very hard to sound fearless.
Isaiah tilted his head. "Really? Surely not..." He leaned closer to Christian. "But the age is right...and that hair..." He smiled. "Lucas and Moira's son?"
Christian said nothing, but the confirmation on his face was obvious.
"I knew your parents. Great people. Unparalleled. Their deaths were a shame... but, well... I daresay they brought that on themselves. I told them they shouldn't have gone back for you. Would have been wasteful to awaken you so young. They claimed they were going to just keep you around and waken you when you were older. I warned them that that would be a disaster, but, well..." He gave a delicate shrug. "Awaken" was the term Strigoi used among themselves when they changed over. It sounded like a religious experience. "They wouldn't listen, and disaster met them in a different way."
Hatred, deep and dark, boiled behind Christian's eyes. Isaiah smiled again.
"It's quite touching that you should find your way to me after all this time. Perhaps I can realize their dream after all."
"Isaiah," said the woman- Elena- again. Every word out of her mouth seemed like a whine. "Call the others- "
"Stop giving me orders!" Isaiah grabbed her shoulder and shoved her away- except that the push knocked her across the room and almost through the wall. She just barely threw her hand out in time to stop the impact. Strigoi had better reflexes than dhampirs or even Moroi; her lack of grace meant he'd completely caught her off guard. And really, he'd barely touched her. The push had been light- yet it had packed the force of a small car.
This further enforced my belief that he was in another class altogether. His strength beat hers by magnitudes. She was like a fly he could swat away. Strigoi power increased with age- as well as through the consumption of Moroi blood and, to a lesser extent, dhampir blood. This guy wasn't