Read Online The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer - Free Book Online
Authors: Heather Brewer
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group that met here at the house—I don’t know their names—and Jasik, but he’s dead now. There was Ignatius ...” Vlad flicked his eyes to his father, guilt filling him. “I mean, my ... my grandfather. He’s also dead. Otis ... killed him. He had no choice. I’m sorry.”
“No need for guilty feelings, Vlad. He was an abysmal monster.” His dad squeezed his shoulder and smiled a small smile. Vlad relaxed some at the sight of that smile. “None of those sound like members. Hmmm ... perhaps they haven’t infiltrated your life. Can you think of anyone else? Someone close to you, perhaps, someone you feel you can trust?”
Vlad searched his memory, sighing. “Let’s see. There’s Vikas, of course. And the vampires in Siberia.”
“I trust Vikas completely. But others in Siberia ... well, let’s just keep an eye out for familiar faces, shall we?” Tomas looked troubled, but determined. “Anyone else?”
Vlad chewed his bottom lip for a moment before answering. “There was Dorian ..”
His dad’s eyes widened in instant shock. “Dorian? You ... met ... Dorian?’
Flashing through Vlad’s mind was every encounter that Vlad had ever had with Dorian. From their initial meeting, where Dorian had tried to force him to give his blood, to the strange conversations in the oddest places, to their last meeting, when Dorian had saved his life by sacrificing his own. Try as he might, he could not block out how Dorian’s blood had tasted on his tongue. He wet his lips and met his father’s gaze. “Um ... yeah. You could say that. You didn’t see him in the clearing that night, the night you came back?”
Tomas shook his head, filling Vlad with dread. Dread because he had to be the one to share the news—news which pained him and would forever. “He’s dead too.”
So much death, all surrounding him. Vlad’s heart sank as he wondered if those vampires would still be alive had they not come into contact with him.
Sometimes he felt like he was poison, infecting everyone around him.
“He jumped in between Joss and me, taking the stake for me. That’s why I was hitting Joss when you came up. I was going to kill him.”
“I know you were. I could see it in your eyes.”
“You stopped me. Why?” Vlad swallowed the ever-present lump in his throat. “I mean, Joss is just a Slayer, right? So why save his life? Why stop me from killing him?”
His dad grew quiet for a moment before speaking. “I stopped you because I thought if you’d killed the boy, you’d never forgive yourself.”
“For all you knew, we were enemies in combat.”
Tomas shook his head. “Wrong. Enemies don’t fight with such determined passion. That kind of focus is reserved for friends at odds with one another.”
After a long, silent moment—one filled with the realization that his dad still understood him, even after all of those years apart—Vlad sighed, returning to the former subject. “Anyway. That just leaves Otis, and Otis would never plot against me.”
There was a pause before Tomas spoke in a distracted, suddenly worried voice. “No... not Otis. He wouldn’t ...”
Frustrated, Vlad ran a hand through his hair. If what his dad was saying was right, his problems had only begun to surface. “What are we going to do?”
Tomas met his eyes. “I need my journal, Vlad. Within it, I’ve contained some useful tools that might help us. Where is it?”
“I think Joss has it. But there might be a problem getting it back. I forgot to grab it from his backpack in the clearing that night, and I couldn’t get it from him at the hospital. And now his parents have taken him away for the summer. So this could take some time.”
Tomas muttered an Elysian curse under his breath before patting Vlad reassuringly on the shoulder. “We’ll get it back. But for now, until we know who we can trust ... this is all between us, okay?”
The back screen door banged shut and Vlad and Tomas lifted their eyes to Otis as he moved
“No need for guilty feelings, Vlad. He was an abysmal monster.” His dad squeezed his shoulder and smiled a small smile. Vlad relaxed some at the sight of that smile. “None of those sound like members. Hmmm ... perhaps they haven’t infiltrated your life. Can you think of anyone else? Someone close to you, perhaps, someone you feel you can trust?”
Vlad searched his memory, sighing. “Let’s see. There’s Vikas, of course. And the vampires in Siberia.”
“I trust Vikas completely. But others in Siberia ... well, let’s just keep an eye out for familiar faces, shall we?” Tomas looked troubled, but determined. “Anyone else?”
Vlad chewed his bottom lip for a moment before answering. “There was Dorian ..”
His dad’s eyes widened in instant shock. “Dorian? You ... met ... Dorian?’
Flashing through Vlad’s mind was every encounter that Vlad had ever had with Dorian. From their initial meeting, where Dorian had tried to force him to give his blood, to the strange conversations in the oddest places, to their last meeting, when Dorian had saved his life by sacrificing his own. Try as he might, he could not block out how Dorian’s blood had tasted on his tongue. He wet his lips and met his father’s gaze. “Um ... yeah. You could say that. You didn’t see him in the clearing that night, the night you came back?”
Tomas shook his head, filling Vlad with dread. Dread because he had to be the one to share the news—news which pained him and would forever. “He’s dead too.”
So much death, all surrounding him. Vlad’s heart sank as he wondered if those vampires would still be alive had they not come into contact with him.
Sometimes he felt like he was poison, infecting everyone around him.
“He jumped in between Joss and me, taking the stake for me. That’s why I was hitting Joss when you came up. I was going to kill him.”
“I know you were. I could see it in your eyes.”
“You stopped me. Why?” Vlad swallowed the ever-present lump in his throat. “I mean, Joss is just a Slayer, right? So why save his life? Why stop me from killing him?”
His dad grew quiet for a moment before speaking. “I stopped you because I thought if you’d killed the boy, you’d never forgive yourself.”
“For all you knew, we were enemies in combat.”
Tomas shook his head. “Wrong. Enemies don’t fight with such determined passion. That kind of focus is reserved for friends at odds with one another.”
After a long, silent moment—one filled with the realization that his dad still understood him, even after all of those years apart—Vlad sighed, returning to the former subject. “Anyway. That just leaves Otis, and Otis would never plot against me.”
There was a pause before Tomas spoke in a distracted, suddenly worried voice. “No... not Otis. He wouldn’t ...”
Frustrated, Vlad ran a hand through his hair. If what his dad was saying was right, his problems had only begun to surface. “What are we going to do?”
Tomas met his eyes. “I need my journal, Vlad. Within it, I’ve contained some useful tools that might help us. Where is it?”
“I think Joss has it. But there might be a problem getting it back. I forgot to grab it from his backpack in the clearing that night, and I couldn’t get it from him at the hospital. And now his parents have taken him away for the summer. So this could take some time.”
Tomas muttered an Elysian curse under his breath before patting Vlad reassuringly on the shoulder. “We’ll get it back. But for now, until we know who we can trust ... this is all between us, okay?”
The back screen door banged shut and Vlad and Tomas lifted their eyes to Otis as he moved
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