I DECIDED IT'D BE BEST if Lissa and I stayed up late when we
returned to her room, poring over the documents. She was a jumble of
feelings when I told her about my encounter with Mikhail--which I hadn't
mentioned to Mia. Lissa's initial reaction was surprise, but there were other
things too. Fear over the trouble I could have gotten into. A bit of warm
romanticism over what both Mikhail and I were willing to do for those we
loved. Wonder if she would do the same if Christian were in that situation.
She decided instantly that she would; her love for him was still that strong.
Then she told herself that she actually didn't care about him anymore, which
I would have found annoying if I wasn't so distracted.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
I'd sighed aloud in dismay without realizing it while I read her
thoughts. Not wanting her to know I'd been perusing her mind, I pointed at
the papers spread out on her bed. "Just trying to make sense of this." Not
entirely that far off from the truth.
The prison's layout was complex. The cells occupied two floors and
were tiny--only one prisoner per cell. The papers didn't explain why, but the
reason was obvious. It went along with what Abe had said about keeping
criminals from turning Strigoi. If I'd been locked away in prison for years, I
could understand the temptation of cracking and killing my roommate to
become Strigoi and escape. The cells were also kept housed in the very
center of the building, surrounded by guards, offices, "exercise rooms," a
kitchen, and a feeders' room. The documents explained guard rotations, as
well as prisoner feeding schedules. They were apparently escorted to the
feeders one at a time, heavily guarded, and only allowed very short spurts of
blood. Again, everything kept the prisoners weak and prevented them from
turning Strigoi.
It was all good information, but I had no reason to believe any of it
was up-to-date, since the file was five years old. It was also likely the prison
had all sorts of new surveillance equipment in place. Probably the only
things we could count on being the same were the prison's location and the
building's layout.
"How good are you feeling about your charm-making skills?" I asked
Lissa.
56
Richelle Mean
Although she hadn't been able to put as much spirit healing into my
ring as a woman I knew named Oksana could, I had noticed my darknessinduced
temper soothed a little. Lissa'd made a ring for Adrian too, though I
couldn't say for sure if it was what was helping him control his vices lately--
vices he usually indulged in to control spirit.
