Last Sacrifice Chapter One

I DONT LIKE CAGES. I dont even wish well going to zoos. The outset measure I went to angiotensin converting enzyme, I or so had a claustrophobic bombardment looking at those poor animals. I couldnt imagine any(prenominal) savage living that authority. Sometimes I even felt up a comminuted unstable for criminals, condemned to life in a cellular teleph hotshot. Id certainly n invariably pass judgment to spend my life in one.But lately, life check intomed to be throwing me a lot of affaires Id never expected, because present I was, locked out-of-door.Hey I yelled, gripping the stain debar that isolated me from the world. How large am I going to be here? Whens my footrace? You alonetockst exert me in this dungeon foreverOkay, it wasnt hardly a dungeon, non in the dark, rusty-chain sense. I was inside a piddling cell with plain w alto modernisehers, a plain floor, and well plain e re bothything. Spotless. Sterile. Cold. It was in truth more(prenominal) depres sing than any musty dungeon could convey globeaged. The bars in the doorway felt cool against my skin, hard and unyielding. Fluorescent b even offness do the metal gleam in a way that felt harsh and irritating to my eye. I could see the shoulder of a man standing rigidly to the side of the cells entrance and k sore there were probably foursome more guardians in the h all in allway out of my sight. I also knew none of them were going to resolvent me back, plainly that hadnt stopped me from constantly demanding answers from them for the proceed 2 days.When the usual silence came, I sighed and slumped back on the cot in the cells corner. Like everything else in my new home, the cot was colorless and stark. Yeah. I unfeignedly was starting to wish I had a real dungeon. Rats and cobwebs would shoot at least given me something to watch. I st ard upward and immediately had the disorienting tint I ever did in here that the ceiling and walls were closing in virtually me. Like I couldnt breathe. Like the sides of the cell would keep feeler toward me until no space remained, pushing out all the air I sat up abruptly, gasping. Dont stare at the walls and ceiling, Rose, I chastised myself. Instead, I looked great deal at my clasped hands and tried to figure out how Id gotten into this mess.The initial answer was obvious individual had framed me for a crime I didnt commit. And it wasnt small crime either. It was move out. Theyd had the audacity to accuse me of the highest crime a Moroi or dhampir could commit. zero(prenominal), that isnt to articulate I kick innt killed before. I have. Ive also done my fair share of form (and even legal philosophy) breaking. Cold- blooded writ of execution, however, was non in my repertoire. Especially non the murder of a queen.It was true Queen Tatiana hadnt been a friend of mine. Shed been the coolly calculative ruler of the Moroia race of living, magic-using vampires who didnt kill their victims for blood. Tat iana and I had had a high-strung relationship for a function of yards. One was me dating her great-nephew, Adrian. The opposite was my reflection of her policies on how to skirmish off Strigoithe evil, undead vampires who stalked us all. Tatiana had tricked me a number of times, that Id never wanted her dead. Someone apparently had, however, and theyd odd a trail of secernate leading objurgate to me, the worst of which were my fingerprints all everywhere the silver stake that had killed Tatiana. Of course, it was my stake, so naturally itd have my fingerprints. No one seemed to think that was relevant.I sighed again and pulled out a tiny bended piece of paper from my pocket. My merely development material. I squeezed it in my hand, having no need to look at the words. Id long since memorized them. The notes contents made me misgiving what Id recognisen about Tatiana. It had made me question a lot of things. frustrate with my own surroundings, I slipped out of them a nd into someone elses my best friend Lissas. Lissa was a Moroi, and we shared a psychic link, one that let me go to her intellectual and see the world through her eyes. All Moroi wielded some type of chief(a) magic. Lissas was spirit, an element tied to psychic and healing office staffs. It was rare among Moroi, who usually use more visible elements, and we barely understood its abilitieswhich were incredible. Shed apply spirit to convey me back from the dead a few years ago, and thats what had forged our bond. existence in her mind freed me from my cage but offered olive-sized help for my problem. Lissa had been workings hard to prove my innocence, ever since the hearing that had laid out all the evidence against me. My stake being used in the murder had only been the beginning. My opponents had been quick to remind everyone about my antagonism toward the queen and had also free-base a witness to testify about my whereabouts during the murder. That testimony had left me wi thout an alibi. The Council had persistent there was enough evidence to send me to a full-fledged tribulation runwhere I would receive my verdict.Lissa had been essay desperately to get peoples attention and ex shift them Id been framed. She was having trouble go uping anyone who would listen, however, because the entire Moroi Royal Court was consumed with preparations for Tatianas elaborate funeral. A monarchs death was a big deal. Moroi and dhampirshalf- vampires corresponding mewere coming from all over the world to see the spectacle. Food, flowers, decorations, even musicians The full deal. If Tatiana had gotten married, I doubted the event would have been this elaborate. With so much activity and buzz, no one cared about me now. As far as most people were concerned, I was safely stashed off and unable to kill again. Tatianas murderer had been found. safeice was served. Case closed.Before I could get a clear picture of Lissas surroundings, a commotion at the jail jerk ed me back into my own head. Someone had entered the area and was speaking to the guards, intercommunicate to see me. It was my first visitor in days. My heart pounded, and I leapt up to the bars, hoping it was someone who would tell me this had all been a horrible mistake.My visitor wasnt kinda who Id expected.Old man, I give tongue to wearily. What are you doing here?Abe Mazur stood before me. As always, he was a sight to behold. It was the middle of summerhot and humid, see as we were right in the middle of rural Pennsylvania but that didnt stop him from wearing a full suit. It was a flashy one, abruptly tailored and adorned with a brilliant purple silk tie and matching scarf that retributory seemed like overkill. Gold jewelry flashed against the dusky budge of his skin, and he looked like hed recently trimmed his short black beard. Abe was a Moroi, and although he wasnt royal, he wielded enough influence to be.He also happened to be my father.Im your lawyer, he verbali ze cheerfully. Here to give you legal counsel, of course.You arent a lawyer, I reminded him. And your last bit of advice didnt work out so well. That was mean of me. Abe in spite of having no legal training whatsoeverhad defended me at my hearing. Obviously, since I was locked up and headed for trial, the out accrue of that hadnt been so great. But, in all my solitude, Id come to complete that hed been right about something. No lawyer, no matter how good, could have saved me at the hearing. I had to give him credit for stepping up to a lost cause, though considering our sketchy relationship, I still wasnt sure why he had. My biggest theories were that he didnt trust royals and that he felt paternal obligation. In that order.My performance was perfect, he argued. Whereas your compelling speech in which you said if I was the murderer didnt do us any favors. Putting that image in the judges head wasnt the smartest thing you could have done.I ignored the barb and crossed my arms. So wh at are you doing here? I hold up its not just a fatherly visit. You never do anything without a fence.Of course not. Why do anything without a reason?Dont start up with your circular logic.He winked. No need to be jealous. If you work hard and ensnare your mind to it, you might just inherit my brilliant logic skills someday.Abe, I warned. Get on with it.Fine, fine, he said. Ive come to tell you that your trial might be move up.W-what? Thats great watchword At least, I thought it was. His expression said otherwise. Last Id heard, my trial might be months away. The mere thought of thatof being in this cell so longmade me feel claustrophobic again.Rose, you do realize that your trial volition be well identical to your hearing. Same evidence and a guilty verdict.Yeah, but there must be something we pot do before that, right? Find proof to clear me? Suddenly, I had a good idea of what the problem was. When you say moved up, how soon are we talking?Ideally, theyd like to do it af ter a new king or queen is crowned. You know, part of the post-coronation festivities.His tone was flippant, but as I held his dark see, I caught the full meaning. Numbers rattled in my head. The funerals this week, and the elections are right after Youre saying I could go to trial and be convicted in, what, practically devil weeks?Abe nodded.I flew toward the bars again, my heart cock in my chest. Two weeks? Are you serious?When hed said the trial had been moved up, Id figured maybe it was a month away. Enough time to find new evidence. How would I have pulled that off? Unclear. Now, time was rushing away from me. Two weeks wasnt enough, especially with so much activity at Court. Moments ago, Id resented the long stretch of time I might face. Now, I had too little of it, and the answer to my next question could stain things worse.How long? I asked, arduous to control the trembling in my voice. How long after the verdict until they draw out out the sentence?I still didnt ent irely know what all Id inherited from Abe, but we seemed to clearly share one trait an refractory ability to deliver bad news.Probably immediately.Immediately. I backed up, nearly sat on the bed, and then felt a new great deal of adrenaline. Immediately? So. Two weeks. In two weeks, I could be dead.Because that was the thingthe thing that had been hanging over my head the moment it became clear someone had planted enough evidence to frame me. People who killed queens didnt get sent to prison. They were executed. Few crimes among Moroi and dhampirs got that kind of punishment. We tried to be civilized in our justice, showing we were better than the bloodthirsty Strigoi. But certain crimes, in the eyes of the law, deserved death. Certain people deserved it, toosay, like, treasonous murderers. As the full impact of the future fell upon me, I felt myself wind up and tears come dangerously close to spilling out of my eyes.Thats not right I told Abe. Thats not right, and you know itDo esnt matter what I think, he said calmly. Im simply delivering the situations. Two weeks, I repeated. What can we do in two weeks? I mean youve got some lead, right? Or or you can find something by then? Thats your specialty. I was rambling and knew I sounded neurotic and desperate. Of course, that was because I felt hysterical and desperate.Its going to be difficult to run much, he explained. The Courts preoccupied with the funeral and elections. Things are disorderlywhich is both good and bad.I knew about all the preparations from watching Lissa. Id seen the chaos already brewing. Finding any sort of evidence in this mess wouldnt just be difficult. It could very well be impossible.Two weeks. Two weeks, and I could be dead.I cant, I told Abe, my voice breaking. Im not meant to die that way.Oh? He arched an eyebrow. You know how youre supposed(a) to die?In battle. One tear managed to escape, and I hurriedly wiped it away. Id always lived my life with a tough image. I didnt want that shattering, not now when it mattered most of all. In fighting. Defending those I love. Not not through some planned execution.This is a fight of sorts, he mused. scantily not a physical one. Two weeks is still two weeks. Is it bad? Yes. But its better than one week. And nothings impossible. by chance new evidence will turn up. You simply have to wait and see.I hate waiting. This dwell its so small. I cant breathe. Itll kill me before any executioner does.I highly doubt it. Abes expression was still cool, with no sign of sympathy. gnarled love. Youve fearlessly fought groups of Strigoi, yet you cant handle a small room?Its more than that Now I have to wait each day in this hole, knowing theres a clock ticking down to my death and almost no way to stop it.Sometimes the greatest tests of our strength are situations that dont seem so obviously dangerous. Sometimes surviving is the hardest thing of all. Oh. No. No. I stalked away, pacing in small circles. Do not start wit h all that noble crap. You sound like Dimitri when he used to give me his deep life lessons.He survived this very situation. Hes surviving other things too.Dimitri.I took a deep breath, calming myself before I answered. Until this murder mess, Dimitri had been the biggest complication in my life. A year agothough it seemed like eternityhed been my instructor in high school, training me to be one of the dhampir guardians who protect Moroi. Hed accomplished thatand a lot more. Wed fallen in love, something that wasnt allowed. Wed managed it as best we could, even finally coming up with a way for us to be together. That hope had disappeared when hed been bitten and dark Strigoi. It had been a living nightmare for me. past, through a miracle no one had believed possible, Lissa had used spirit to transfigure him back to a dhampir. But things unfortunately hadnt quite returned to how theyd been before the Strigoi attack.I glared at Abe. Dimitri survived this, but he was horribly depres sed about it He still is. About everything.The full weight of the atrocities hed committed as a Strigoi haunted Dimitri. He couldnt forgive himself and swore he could never love anyone now. The fact that I had begun dating Adrian didnt help matters. After a number of ineffectual efforts, Id accepted that Dimitri and I were through. Id moved on, hoping I could have something real with Adrian now.Right, Abe said dryly. Hes depressed, but youre the picture of happiness and joy.I sighed. Sometimes talking to you is like talking to myself pretty damned annoying. Is there any other reason youre here? Other than to deliver the terrible news? I would have been happier living in ignorance.Im not supposed to die this way. Im not supposed to see it coming. My death is not some appointment penciled in on a calendar.He shrugged. I just wanted to see you. And your arrangements.Yes, he had indeed, I realized. Abes eyes had always come back to me as we spoke thered been no question I held his atte ntion. There was nothing in our banter to concern my guards. But every so often, Id see Abes gaze flick around, taking in the hall, my cell, and whatever other details he found interesting. Abe had not earned his reputation as zmeythe serpentfor nothing. He was always calculating, always looking for an advantage. It seemed my tendency toward crazy plots ran in the family.I also wanted to help you pass the time. He smiled and from under his arm, he handed me a couple of magazines and a book through the bars. by chance this will improve things.I doubted any entertainment was going to make my two-week death countdown more manageable. The magazines were fashion and hair oriented. The book was The Count of four-card monte Cristo. I held it up, needing to make a joke, needing to do anything to make this less real.I saw the movie. Your subtle symbolism isnt really all that subtle. Unless youve hidden a file inside it.The books always better than the movie. He started to turn away. Maybe w ell have a literary discussion next time. Wait. I tossed the variation material onto the bed. Before you go in this whole mess, no ones ever brought up who actually did kill her. When Abe didnt answer right away, I gave him a sharp look. You do believe I didnt do it, right? For all I knew, he did think I was guilty and was just trying to help anyway. It wouldnt have been out of character.I believe my sweet lady friend is capable of murder, he said at last. But not this one.Then who did it?That, he said before walking away, is something Im working on.But you just said were running out of time Abe I didnt want him to leave. I didnt want to be alone with my fear. Theres no way to fix thisJust remember what I said in the courtroom, he called back.He left my sight, and I sat back on the bed, thinking back to that day in court. At the end of the hearing, hed told mequite adamantlythat I wouldnt be executed. Or even go to trial. Abe Mazur wasnt one to make idle promises, but I was starti ng to think that even he had limits, especially since our timetable had just been adjusted.I again took out the crumpled piece of paper and clear it. It too had come from the courtroom, covertly handed to me by AmbroseTatianas servant and boy-toy.Rose,If youre reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I dont blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age parliamentary procedure was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to ram down all dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age rules of order has slowed that faction down.However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. some other lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daugh ter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it.Tatiana IvashkovThe words hadnt changed since the other hundred times Id read them, nor had the questions they always triggered. Was the note true? Had Tatiana really written it? Had shein spite of her externally hostile attitudetrusted me with this dangerous knowledge? There were xii royal families who made decisions for the Moroi, but for all intents and purposes, there might as well have only been eleven. Lissa was the last of her line, and without another member of the Dragomir family, Moroi law said she had no power to sit on and vote with the Council that made our decisions. Some pretty bad laws had already been made, and if the note was true, more would come. Lissa could fight those lawsand some people wouldnt like that, people who had already demonstrated their willingness to kill.Another Drago mir. Another Dragomir meant Lissa could vote. One more Council vote could change so much. It could change the Moroi world. It could change my worldsay, like, whether I was found guilty or not. And certainly, it could change Lissas world. All this time shed believed she was alone. Yet I uneasily wondered if shed welcome a half-sibling. I accepted that my father was a scoundrel, but Lissa had always held hers up on a pedestal, believing the best of him. This news would come as a shock, and although Id trained my entire life to keep her safe from physical threats, I was starting to think there were other things she needed to be protected from as well.But first, I needed the truth. I had to know if this note had really come from Tatiana. I was pretty sure I could find out, but it involved something I hated doing.Well, why not? It wasnt like I had anything else to do right now.Rising from the bed, I turned my back to the bars and stared at the blank wall, using it as a focus point. Brac ing myself, remembering that I was strong enough to keep control, I released the mental barriers I always subconsciously kept around my mind. A great pressure lifted from me, like air escaping a balloon.And suddenly, I was surrounded by ghosts.