Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 9 - Thanatia

The Queen's abrupt exit sent the spectators into motion. Some immediately left, while others trickled down the stairs to join us by the field. It was oddly exhilarating to see the resolved expressions on the Moroi's faces. They swarmed around Casimir, bombarding him with questions about our ways. Figuring I wouldn't be needed, I began to turn away.

Just then, I felt someone touch my shoulder, and I looked back questioningly. It was a dark-skinned dhampir, with eyes a peculiar, yet striking colour of gold. Behind him I saw that a few more dhampirs had clustered together, regarding me uncertainly.

Natia – talk to them! Casimir thought directly at me, they're too shy to approach you. I braced myself for my designated task.

'Can I help you?' I asked, aiming for an approachable tone. The dark-skinned man's eyes filled with relief, and he relaxed slightly.

'Yes. I'm Trey Clinton. I was hoping... well, I was hoping to learn some new moves, actually.'

I could feel a smile spread across my face. 'You've come to the right person.'

If there was anything I was at ease doing, it was fighting. The few times I felt like socialising with anyone else but Casimir was when I could fight with them.

Trey Clinton turned out to be a formidable novice from a vampire academy called St. Vladimir's. It seemed a group of the novices had been transferred to the Court for early graduate trials. He was only sixteen, a child, really.

He had primly announced that he would likely be selected for the Badica family, since he had a close friend with that name. As if the Badicas meant anything to me. In the end though, as Casimir had insisted many times, it was important that we showed respect to the American Moroi and their hierarchy. Their royal families were obviously nothing in comparison to the five we had back in Scandinavia, but they were regardless points of influence in this society.

'Try it this way instead,' I suggested to Trey, demonstrating a taekwondo technique. 'You should always use your opponent's strength against him, and the best way to do that is by staying in a defensive position. Eventually, you'll exhaust them and be able to incapacitate usually with just one blow.'

'What if I'm stronger?' Trey inquired.

'If you've fought your opponent long enough to be sure of that, then you might want to taunt first. If your opponent is holding back, they might perform to their fullest capacity if you taunt them enough. Only then can you eliminate the risk.'

'I thought we were supposed to finish with a struggle as soon as possible, to quickly move on to the next,' he said.

I stared at him for a moment. 'Trey, what's the first thing your mentor taught you at school?'

'I dunno,' he replied, shrugging. 'Basic defence techniques, I guess?'

'Wrong. That's not the way to do it. The first thing your mentors should be teaching you is how to run.'

'Run?' he repeated uncomprehendingly. 'Why?'

'Because when you first encounter a Strigoi, that's exactly what your first urge will be. And if you are alone, it should definitively be your first course of action.'

'But that's cowardly!' he protested.

I frowned. 'Is it? I suppose you prefer to die foolishly?'

'Of course not!'

'Listen,' I snapped, the irritation brewing in me. 'There will come a day when you are ready. Until then, try not to get killed for stupid reasons.'

Trey must have gotten upset by my words, because his jaw line tightened, and he walked off without a goodbye.

Casimir drifted up to my side, eyeing me analytically. 'How did it go?' he asked, but his eyes flicked up and to the sides, as if he was focused on something else. 'You're like a storm cloud,' he commented.

'Cheery compliment. Look,' I tried to formulate a calm sentence, 'I'm just not suitable for this kind of thing. I think I'll leave the training to you.'

'Natia,' Casimir groaned, his eyes pleading. 'I need you! Can't you at least try?'

'I am trying!' I hissed. 'But how the hell do we help people this stupid?'

'Shh,' he warned, glancing around. 'They're doing pretty alright,' he said placatingly. 'Look how many of them turned up.'

'Cas, I'm not a teacher. I'm not inspiring or patient or any of those things. What I need is a class of extremely dedicated and obedient wannabe soldiers, not these softies.'

'Okay, okay,' Casimir offered in a reconciliatory tone. 'I can fix that. I'll pick out the ones you want and send them to you.'

'The kind I want?' I asked suspiciously.

He smiled. 'Rose Hathaway...I think she might be the kind you want.'

The suspicion didn't fade. 'What makes you think that?'

'She's the Queen's personal guardian! And anyway, did you see her aura? The colours are so vivid, so bright. Been a while since I saw something like that. She's your kind. I'll send her to you.'

'So...it'll be a two-man party? Hardly counts as a training class.'

'Trust me – I can spot a devoted guardian. But Natia, you do know I need to focus on the magic. They're tragically behind. They need a system.'

I sighed. 'Ok ok. I get it. I'll try. Really.'

And I had meant what I said. Casimir needed my help, and when he did, it was my duty to assist him. I left the arena, but instead of heading to the gym, I headed back to our room, undressed and plumped down by a study desk. Casimir had some notebooks and pens stacked in the corner, and I reached for a notebook, rifling through a bunch of his notes until I found a blank page. I tapped the page with my pen, hoping somehow the ideas would formulate themselves.

I decided the best strategy was to simply jot down some self-evident crap to have something to go on. I scribbled words like "target audience", "strategic approach" and "advance guardian programs" on the page.

Just like that, I had an idea.

The very first thing I had to find out was what exactly the guardians were taught in school. How comprehensive was their training in comparison to ours? What were the first things they were taught, and what were the last? I didn't doubt that American guardian training was sufficiently progressive – I had noticed that all experienced guardians carried pistols – but the problem was that it was just not impressive enough to match the growing Strigoi threat in the country. In times of need, people had to adjust. We Scandinavians had, and I knew these people could too.

While I could easily get a hold of papers and other data on how the curriculums in the schools looked, there was something that kind of information would lack – personal experience. And gathering that wasn't too complicated, I just needed to interview some newly graduated guardians. Or at least it was easy for an out-going, social individual. Which I was not.

I thought about the Queen's guardian, the Hathaway girl. She was young, she couldn't have graduated school more than a few years ago. She was also my only point of reference. I could probably ask her if she was willing to let me interview her. It seemed Casimir's dream of us two bonding would come true after all.