Chapter 20
"Heal you?" Lissa asked surprised. "You're the only way," he said patiently. "The only way to cure this disease. I've been watching you for years, waiting until I was certain." Lissa shook her head. "I can't . . . no. I can't do anything like that." Lissa said. "Your healing powers are incredible. No one has any idea how powerful." Victor told her. "I don't know what you're talking about." Lissa denied. "Come now, Vasilisa. I know about the raven -- Natalie saw you do it. She'd been following you. And I know how you healed Rose." He said and she realized the pointlessness of denying it. "That . . . was different. Rose wasn't that hurt. But you . . . I can't do anything about Sandovsky's syndrome." Lissa told him. "Not that hurt?" he laughed. "I'm not talking about her ankle -- which was still impressive. I'm talking about the car accident. Because you're right, you know. Rose didn't get that hurt. She died." He let the words sink in. "That's . . . no. She lived," Lissa finally managed. "No. Well, yes, she did. But I read all the reports. There was no way she should have survived -- especially with so many injuries. You healed her. You brought her back." He sighed, half wistful and half weary. "I'd suspected you could do this for so long, and I tried so hard to repeat it . . . to see how much you could control . . . "
Lissa caught on and gasped. "The animals. It was you." She realized his entire plan now. "With Natalie's help." He said with a smile. "Why would you do that? How could you?" Lissa asked horrified. "Because I had to know. I have only a few more weeks to live, Vasilisa. If you can truly bring back the dead, then you can cure Sandovsky's. I had to know before I took you away that you could heal at will and not just in moments of panic." He explained. "Why take me at all?" A spark of anger flared up in her. "You're my near-uncle. If you wanted me to do this -- if you really think I can . . ." Her voice and feelings showed me she didn't really believe she could heal him. "Then why kidnap me? Why didn't you just ask?" She asked him. "Because it's not a onetime affair. It took a long time to figure out what you are, but I managed to acquire some of the old histories . . . scrolls kept out of Moroi museums. When I read about how wielding spirit works --" Victor told her. "Rose was right!" she gasped out. I was insulted that she didn’t believe me. "Rose? She knows about this?" Victor said surprised. "She has been doing research," He looked impressed, I felt more insulted. Having to live down Rose's reputation was not easy. "So Vladimir and Ms. Karp? Rose said they were like me; Ms. Karp was driven crazy because she didn't have what me and Vladimir had. A shadow kissed guardian." Victor looked intrigued. "What else had Rose told you?" Lissa glared at Victor, and he seemed disappointed not being able to hear more information. "Spirit is an element that's within all of us. A master element that can give you indirect control over the others. It can also heal physical injuries. Unfortunately, its only good on acute injuries. One-time things like Rose's ankle. The accident wounds. For something chronic -- say, a genetic disease like Sandovsky's -- continual healings are required. Otherwise, it will keep coming back. That's what would happen to me. I need you, Vasilisa. I need you to help me fight this and keep it away. So, I can live."
"That still doesn't explain why you took me," she argued. "I would have helped you if you'd asked." "They would never have let you do it. The school. The council. Once they got over the shock of finding a spirit user, they'd get hung up on ethics. After all, how does one choose, who gets to be healed? They'd say it wasn't fair. That it was like playing God. Or else they'd worry about the toll it'd take on you." She flinched, knowing exactly what the toll he referred to was. Seeing her expression, he nodded. "Yes, I won't lie to you. It will be hard. It will exhaust you -- mentally and physically. But I must do it. I am sorry. You'll be provided with feeders and other entertainments for your services." She leapt from the chair. Ben immediately stepped forward and pushed her back into it. "And then what? Are you going to just make me a prisoner here? Your own private nurse?" He made an annoying open-palmed gesture again. "I'm sorry. I have no choice." White hot anger blasted away the fear inside her. She spoke in a low voice. "Yes. You don't have the choice, because this is me, we're talking about." Lissa said angrily. "It's better for you this way. You know how the others turned out. How Vladimir spent the last of his days stark raving mad. How Sonya Karp had to be taken away. The trauma you've experienced since the accident comes from more than just your family's loss. It's from using spirit. The accident woke the spirit in you; your fear over seeing Rose dead made it burst out, allowing you to heal her. It forged your bond. And once it's out, you can't put it back. It's a powerful element -- but it's also dangerous. Earth users get their power from the earth, air users from the air. But spirit? Where do you think that comes from?" She glared.
"It comes from you, your own essence. To heal another, you must give part of yourself. The more you do that, the more it will destroy you over time. You must be noticing that already. I've seen how much certain things upset you, how fragile you are." He explained to her patiently. "I'm not fragile, and I am not going to go crazy. Rose said she knows a way to save me, she has been helping me. Taking my --" She cut off and Victor was now very intrigued. "Well, it seems that I have underestimated Rosemarie." He said thoughtfully. "I love you Uncle Victor, but I'm the one who has to deal with that and decide what to do. And I won't do that to Rose. You're making me give up my life for yours. That's not fair." She frowned at him. "It's a matter of which life means more. I love you too. Very much. But the Moroi are falling apart. Our numbers are dropping as we let the Strigoi prey upon us. We used to actively seek them out. Now Tatiana and the other elders hide away. They keep you and your peers isolated. In the old days you were trained to fight alongside your guardians. You were taught to use magic as a weapon. Not any longer. We wait. We are victims." As he stared off both Lissa and I could see how caught up in his passion he was.
"I would have changed that if I were King. I would have brought about a revolution the likes of which neither Moroi nor Strigoi have ever seen. I should have been Tatiana's heir. She was ready to name me before they discovered the disease and then she would not. If I were cured . . . if I were cured, I could take my rightful place . . ." His words triggered something inside of Lissa, a sudden consideration for the state of the Moroi. She'd never contemplated what he'd said about how different it might be if Moroi and their guardians fought side by side to rid the world of the Strigoi and their evil, it reminded her of Christian and what he said about using magic as a weapon too. But even if she did appreciate Victor's convictions, she did not think it was worth what he wanted her to do, what would happen to her and me if she did. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for you. But please don't make me do this." She pleaded. "I have to." She looked him straight in the eye. "I won’t do it." She said stubbornly and he inclined his head, and someone stepped forward from the corner. Another Moroi. Walking around behind Lissa he untied her hands. "This is Kenneth."
Victor held his hands out toward her free ones. "Please, Vasilisa. Take my hands. Send the magic through me just as you did with Rose." She shook her head. "No." His voice was less kindly when he spoke again. "Please. One way or another, you will heal me. I'd rather it be on your terms, not ours." She shook her head again. He made a slight gesture to Kenneth. And that's when the pain started. Lissa screamed. I screamed. In the SUV, Dimitri's grip on the wheel jerked in surprise, making us veer. Casting me an alarmed look, he started to pull over. "No, no! Keep going!" I pressed my palms to my temples. "We have to get there!" From behind my seat, Alberta reached forward and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Rose, what's happening?" I blinked back tears. "They're torturing her . . . with air. This guy . . . Kenneth . . . he's making it press against her. . . into her head. The pressure's insane. It feels like my -- her -- skull's gonna explode." I took a few deep breaths; this was not happening to me. I have to focus. Dimitri looked at me out of the corner of his eye and pressed the gas pedal down harder. Kenneth didn't stop with just the physical force of air. He also used it to affect her breathing. Just like Ralph did to me.
Sometimes he'd smother her with it; other times he'd take it all away and leave her gasping. After enduring all that firsthand -- and it was bad enough secondhand -- I felt pretty confident that she would have done anything they wanted. Me, I would not give in, I know torture, I have been tortured plenty of times in my lives, I was just too stubborn, I would rather die. Then Lissa healed him. At first, I felt nothing just a sense of concentration. Then it was like color and light and music and life and joy and love.... so many wonderful things, all the lovely things that make up this world and makes it worth living in. Lissa summoned up all those things, as many as she could and sent them into Victor. The magic flowed through both of us, brilliant and sweet. It was alive. It was her life. And as wonderful as it all felt, she was growing weaker and weaker. But as all of those elements -- bound by the mysterious spirit element -- flowed into Victor, he grew stronger and stronger. The change was startling. His skin smoothed, no longer wrinkled and pocked. The gray thinking hair filled out, turning dark and lustrous once more. The green eyes -- still jade like -- sparkled again turning alert and lively. He'd become the Victor she remembered from her childhood. Exhausted Lissa passed out.
In the SUV, I tried to relate what was happening. Dimitri’s face grew darker and darker, and he spat out a string of Russian swear words. I choked back a laugh. When we were a quarter mile from the cabin, Alberta made a call on her cell phone, and our whole convoy pulled over. All of the guardians -- more than a dozen -- got out and stood huddled, planning strategy. Someone went ahead to scout and returned with a report on the number of people inside and outside the cabin. When the group seemed ready to disperse, I started to get out of the car. Dimitri stopped me. "No. Roza. You stay here." He said. "The hell with that. I have to go help her." He cupped my chin with his hands, fixing me with his eyes. "You have helped her. Your job is done. You did it well. But this isn't any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe." Only the realization that arguing would delay the rescue kept me quiet. I nodded. He nodded back and joined the others.
All of them slipped off into the woods, blending with the trees. Sighing, I kicked the passenger seat back and lay down. I was so tired. Even though the sun poured through the windshield, it was night for me. I'd been up for most of it, and a lot had happened in that time. Between the adrenaline of my own role and sharing Lissa's pain I could have passed out just like she had. Except that she was awake now. Slowly her perceptions dominated mine once more. She lay on a couch in the cabin. One of Victor's henchmen must have carried her there after she'd fainted. Victor himself -- alive and well stood in the kitchen with the others as they all spoke in low voices about their plans. Only one stood near Lissa, keeping watch. He'd be easy to take down when Dimitri and the Badass team burst inside. Lissa studied the lone guardian and then glanced at the window beside the couch. Still dizzy from the healing, she managed to sit up. The guardian turned around, watching her warily. She met his eyes and smiled. "You're going to stay quiet no matter what I do," she told him. "You aren't going to call for help or tell anyone when I leave. Okay?" The thrall of compulsion slid over him. He nodded in agreement. Moving toward the window, she unlocked it and slid the glass up. As she did, a tumble of considerations played through her mind. She was weak. She didn't know how far from the Academy -- from anything, really -- she was. She had no clue how far she could get before someone noticed. But she also knew she might not get another chance at escape. She had no intention of spending the rest of her life in this cabin in the woods.
At any other time, I would have cheered on her boldness, but not this time. Not when all those guardians were about to save her. She needed to stay put. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear my advice. I was too keyed up to use Leglimency through the bond. Maybe it would be better if she gets out, I will meet her. "What do you see?" I heard a voice behind me, and I jerked up from my reclining position in the car, banging my head on the ceiling. Glancing behind me, I found Christian peering up from the cargo space behind the farthest backseats. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "What's it look like? I'm a stowaway." He told me. "Don't you have a concussion or something?" I asked him and he shrugged like it didn't matter. What a great pair he and Lissa was. Neither afraid to take on crazy feats while seriously injured. Still, if Kirova had made me stay behind, I would have been right beside him in the back.
"What's happening?" he asked me now. "Did you see something new?" Hastily I told him. We got out of the car. "She doesn't know our guys are already coming for her. I'm going to go get her before she kills herself with exhaustion." I explained. "What about the guardians? The schools, I mean. Are you going to tell them she's gone?" I shook my head. "They're probably already bursting down the cabin's door. I'm going after her." She was somewhere off to the right side of the cabin. I could head in that direction but wouldn't be able to get very precise until I was much closer to her. Still, it didn't matter. I had to find her. Seeing Christian's face, I couldn't resist giving him a dry smile. "And yeah, I know. You're going with me."