Rumor Has It

“So you’re telling us that you’ve been seeing ghosts?” Christian asked his tone curious. For once.

“Yeah.” I shrugged and carefully avoided eye contact with Dimitri while uttering my next words. “It’s happened twice here at the academy. Once when I was on my way to the gym. The other time was during the fake attack with Stan.”

“So that’s what happened?” Christian raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what I just said.”

“There happens to be a very angry Russian in the room,” Adrian whispered in my ear, drowning out the other voices in the room.

Sighing, I closed my eyes to be a little less conspicuous about getting into Lissa’s mind. Sure enough, Adrian was right. Dimitri’s aura was a brilliant red, despite the emotionless, stoic exterior. A red that made me want to just cower back in the sofa. A red that nearly hid the various pinks, greens, and grays. I quickly got out of her mind, shaking my head as I did. I know that I still wasn’t out of explaining everything as far as Dimitri was concerned. As for the others, I knew I was clear from explaining anything else further.

I just didn’t expect my interrogation as soon as it had come.

“Rose, can I speak to you for a moment?” Dimitri asked.

“What? No pulling her away without warning this time?” Adrian snapped. “Or do—” He quickly silenced himself when he saw the glare he had earned; he muttered an apology.

To quickly put an end to the awkward silence, I scrambled to my feet. “Sure thing, Guardian Belikov.”

Surprise flickered across his face at my formal use of his name, but he kept his composure and walked out of the building without another word. Viktoria and I briefly exchanged glances. She shrugged; I then followed her brother.

Dimitri was leaning against a nearby tree, his arms crossed and his eyes tightly shut. I expected him to make the argument one-sided, so I kept my pace slow.

He knew me too well, though. “Taking your time won’t make this any better,” he stated, not even bothering to open his eyes or move from his stance.

I silently cursed my dreadful ninja skills before picking up my pace. “I already know you’re angry that I didn’t tell you everything, but it’s not like you weren’t going to hear about it.”

His eyes opened, but he stared straight ahead. “All I’m trying to do is help, but you’re making it a lot more difficult that it should be by not telling me your entire story.”

“It’s not like you believe me,” I muttered.

“We’ve already discussed this. It’s not that I don’t believe you; it’s only difficult for me to accept that you’re seeing ghosts. I will try to keep an open mind.”

Well, when he says it like that…I mentally scolded myself. “I’m sorry that it contradicts your beliefs.”

Dimitri smiled sympathetically. “Don’t be. It’s out of your control.” He paused. “Still, I wish you have told me every—”

“The ghost I’ve been seeing here at school is Mason.”

He stared at me blankly. “What?”

“The day you found me outside the gym and during Stan’s fake Strigoi attack…Mason showed up both times. Well, a translucent him anyway…The first time he just showed up and looked as if he needed to tell me something important. The second time, well, he did the same thing and he pointed toward the northern side of campus. I don’t understand why though…”

“The northern side of campus?” he repeated.

“Yes.”

Something must have clicked in his mind, because his fingers firmly curved around my wrist and he began guiding me across the grounds.

“What’s so significant about the north end of campus?” I asked, trying not to stumble after him.

“That’s where it appears the wards were breached,” he answered. “The students were in a rather large group near the wards. Had there been more Strigoi, there definitely would have been ever more students carried away.”

“But how did Strigoi get on campus in the first place? I know that you said there weren’t any traces of stakes like there had been at the Badica house… Are we completely sure that that’s the case? No trace of them at all? Maybe they overlooked something?” I was sure I sounded hysterical. “Have the others been questioned about…what happened?”

“No, not yet.” He sighed. “They’re not ready—”

“By the time they can answer, it will be too late!

Dimitri cursed under his breath in Russian. “We’re trying, Rose, but we don’t have much to go on until they start answering questions.”

“But—”

“Rose, trust me.”

I had my doubts, but Dimitri was one of the few people I could trust. I, obviously, trusted him with my life. That should have been enough to trust his word.

My extended silence seemed to have worried him because he reached over to grab my hand and spoke softly, “Roza?”

“Sorry.” I sighed. “I’m still having trouble trusting the school.”

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and murmured, “Я тебя люблю.”

Judging by his tone, I assumed he was saying ‘I love you.’ I replied in the only other language I knew well enough. “Te quiero demasiado.”

He chuckled. “Only you.”

I flashed him my best smile. “I would have said it in Russian, if a certain someone would teach me the language.”

“I’m afraid you’ll use it to insult rather than actually converse.” He kept his tone playful, but it was clear that he was serious.

“Come on, I’m not that brash.”

The corners of his mouth tugged upward. “I’ll think about it.”

“I—What?” Dumbfounded, I glanced over at him only to see him completely smiling now. “Really?”

“I said that I’ll think about it, not that I will.”

I shrugged. “It’s better than any response you would have given me six and a half months ago. I’m rubbing off on you, Captain Fuchsia.”

Dimitri ignored the nickname and released my hand as he gradually came to a stop.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I slowed down as well.

“Observing,” he hummed. His head tilted down, his eyes darted back and forth. I did my best to follow his gaze. And it took a moment to realize that he was looking for any ruptures in the earth. For signs of a stake previously in the ground. As if unsatisfied with what he saw, he crouched down, tilting his head to the side. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I walked a little off to my right to help cover ground faster.

I had only seen wards staked once before and that had been a couple moths before…and in the snow...and at the Badica house. I really didn’t want to relive that day, but it felt necessary. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly, but I assumed the holes would be similar to the ones found in a garden. And the only way I knew that was because of my old rebellious ways and sneaking out of my room—or ditching class. A garden was the last place they’d expect a hormonal raging teenager to hide or sneak off to. So, my previous antics came in handy for once. At least in the guardian department. My love life was a completely different story.

Despite my sudden and unnecessary smugness, I began examining the ground. Before I could even register the dirt that scattered across the grass, I gasped. In my peripheral vision, I saw Dimitri’s head snap up at the sound and him staring at me. “What is it?”

I blinked before slapping my forehead. “Never mind. It’s just an anthill,” I muttered. I continued walking along what I guessed would be the perimeter of the academy.

The longer I looked, the more frustrated I became. There wasn’t even a trace of the ground being ruptured—other than that stupid anthill. I finally groaned in defeat and threw my hands up in the air. “I can’t find anything.” I turned around.

Dimitri, standing next to me now, was still observing the ground whilst rubbing his jaw. “Are you sure he pointed to the northern end of campus, Rose?”

“Well, it’d make sense…” I shrugged. “I could be wrong though. It is difficult to comprehend each detail of a translucent hand.”

Dimitri placed his hands on my shoulders and got down to my eye level. He looked apologetic, which I didn’t understand until his spoke his next words, continuing our earlier discussion. “I think seeing that counselor is a good idea, Rose. It could help.” He sighed when he saw my mouth open to make a retort and he quickly continued. “I’m not saying that I don’t believe that you’re seeing ghosts. I’m only giving you my opinion.”

I scoffed. “You think I’m insane.”

He frowned. “No, I—”

I heard the growl develop in Dimitri’s throat and, though he didn’t respond any more than that, whispered, “Easy, comrade.” When he scowled, I felt my face fall into a frown. Without much thinking my gaze drifted to the ground. “So, you didn’t find anything either?”

“No,” he replied, his tone calm. “It was worth a try, though.”

“But we didn’t accomplish anything…” I sighed.

Dimitri just stood there, silent, for a moment, looking at me closely. I would have punched me had I been in his position, what with having to hear the doubt dripping off my words. It’s a wonder he’s so patient with me. “We need to get back,” he finally said as his hands dropped from my shoulders back to his sides.

“Where the hell did you two go?” Viktoria asked as soon as Dimitri and I reentered the dorm building.

I opted to glare at her as I took my earlier seat between Lissa and Adrian. Our absence would have gone unnoticed by the others in the commons at the time.

Dimitri, on the other hand, was honest with her. For the most part. “Rose had a theory and we went to inspect the wards.” He cut her off before she could even begin, but I never got to hear whatever he told her.

“I wouldn’t mind inspecting your wards, little dhampir,” Adrian murmured.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t count on it. My wards are—how should I say this?—exclusive.”

He grinned mischievously. “Are they?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. “Very.”

Leave it to Adrian to find a sexual innuendo in a serious situation. Of course, I was no better by playing along, which earned me a glare from my mentor. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. And it worsened at the thought of Dimitri being the only one to make me blush, nor did the flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“Enough flirting,” Christian deadpanned, absentmindedly playing with Lissa’s fingers. “I don’t want to hear x-rated conversations.”

“I’m not flirting,” I said at the same time Adrian suggested, “Don’t listen.”