Afterlife

RPOV

I followed Viktoria to the party. I understood Dimitri's reservations. I had known her for about a day and I thought she was a little on the naïve side.

She was bouncing up and down. She was going on and on about this boy who had invited her. The way she made him out to be he was charm itself. But I knew how charming these boys could be. I was once attracted to Jesse for God sakes.

We moved to a part of town I hadn't been to yet. I thought Dimitri had given me the whole tour, and Baia wasn't very big, but somehow he had missed this part. I saw that in these parts the Moroi percentage was higher and I was starting to worry about this party. Although I could take on quite a few Moroi if I needed to.

The building Viktoria took us to wasn't particularly encouraging. It was a warehouse. I suspected that the Moroi part of town would have been nicer. At least if the Moroi who were here were residents. At the door was a Dhampir man. He didn't give me the Guardian feel, he felt more like a bouncer. He was letting in guests to this warehouse. I noticed they were either Moroi men or Dhampir women. And judging by the outfits the girls going inside wore, similarly to Viktoria, I knew exactly what was going on in there. This was the dark side of a Dhampir commune. The blood whore den. What was Viktoria doing here? I was about to ask her to leave when she squealed with excitement. Two Moroi men came up to us and Viktoria practically threw herself towards one of them.

The guy was good looking, I had to give him that. He had his hands all over Viktoria in a second.

"I am so glad to see you again, Vika. I have missed you."

Viktoria's smile could have lit up the night at his words. He had the charm too.

"Rolan, this is my friend Rose, Rose this is Rolan."

He greeted me and gave me a once over. I felt a shiver run down my spine at his attention.

"You staying in town long?" He asked.

"Just for a few more days, I suppose."

"That is too bad."

Another girl came over to our group and attached herself to the other Moroi. Then she greeted Viktoria exuberantly. While Viktoria was occupied with her friend, Rolan turned to me.

"Viktoria is in church on Sunday. If you want I can show you around town. There are many things you might find... interesting."

The way he said it, the way he immediately moved in on me as Viktoria's back was turned told me exactly what I needed to know about this guy.

"Thanks, but I am going to church Sunday too. You might want to join. I hear it is good for the soul."

He scowled, obviously not being used to rejection. But it quickly disappeared as Viktoria turned back towards us. She was pressing herself very close to Rolan and he was responding in kind. He had his hands on her neck and throat and the way he stared at it made me feel very uncomfortable. I had to get her out of here.

"Viktoria, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She reluctantly let go of Rolan and joined me.

"What?"

"Uhm. I am feeling very tired all of a sudden, can we go home?"

I saw her hesitate.

"You can go, Rose, I think I'll stay a little longer. Don't worry, I'll be safe with Rolan. He will make sure I get home safely."

I sincerely doubted that, besides, it was her being alone with him that I wanted to avoid.

"I'll see you later Rose."