I HAD A WEIRD FEELING about today. I couldn't exactly explain it, but when I rolled out of bed that morning, shivering the chilly winter air, I just knew it wouldn't be an ordinary day. Then again, when your best friend is a Vampire Queen (in particular, a Moroi, a living vampire in possession of incredible elemental magic) and a Spirit user, you kind of get used to weird stuff. I hesitated a moment in front of my dresser, unsure as to whether I should put on my formal Guardian outfit or just regular clothing. Six months. It'd been six months since Lissa had been crowned Queen, and I still wasn't quite sure. Six months, and I was still caught off Guard by all the events that had happened in the past year.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. I looked down at myself and, deciding there was nothing wrong with them seeing me in pajama bottoms and a "Love never dies" tee shirt (how ironic, considering), I went over to the door and opened it. Outside was one of Lissa's other Guardians – I wracked my brain for a name. Something Abernathy. Something similar to Steven. Stefan. That was the name. Stefan Abernathy. Beside him stood an Alchemist, but not one I recognised. Messy blonde hair, uneasy and disdainful grey eyes, and of course that golden lily that marked them all. I looked at Stefan in confusion, hoping he'd give me an answer.

"Did we wake you?" Stefan asked, I shook my head, yawning and cracking my back.

"Nah," I replied, "I was already getting up. Deciding what to wear, actually." I glanced back at the silent thus far Alchemist once again, "Guardian Abernathy, why is there an Alchemist here? Is something wrong?"

Stefan shook his head, long black hair slipping out of its ponytail holder. His hair was longer even than Dimitri's. Almost as long as mine, in fact. It was an odd sight, to me, but I never once pointed it out. He had kind eyes – a shade lighter than Christian's winter blue. More like glacial silver blue. It was a stunning combination, I had to admit. I was sure that his Moroi parent had to be an Ozera. There really was no explanation otherwise. "I told you," Stefan chuckled, "we're all friends here. We all protect the Queen. Call me Stefan."

Problem was, I had a habit of forgetting my co-workers' names. Oh well. "Right. Sorry about that. Anyways, the Alchemist." I turned, once again, to the Alchemist in question. "I'm Guardian Hathaway," I paused, "Rose Hathaway. Call me Rose." I said, offering my hand to the man. He hesitated, his fingers reaching up to brush what I would assume a cross necklace underneath his button up white shirt. It was something I had grown to expect with my experience among the Alchemists. Which, really, wasn't that much. I only really knew one. Well, except for that Ian guy, but I had barely spoken to him. Alchemists don't really like our kind.

Still, his manners held out and, hesitantly, he shook my hand before moving to wipe it on black slacks, as if he was afraid of catching my dhampir germs. I'd almost let that offend me if I didn't understand the Alchemists. "Corey," he finally stated. His hair, golden blonde with hints of brown, was in desperate need of a trim and his eyes, smokey grey, clearly expressed his desire to be anywhere but here, "Corey Goodwin."

"Are you friends with Sydney?" I had to ask. It was the only explanation I could come up with. He had a boyish face, but I knew looks could be deceiving. He appeared to be a little older than Sydney. Between her age and Adrian's. Maybe about... nineteen? Twenty? Around that. The Alchemist shook his head in reply to my question, holding out an envelope with my name on it. There was no return address.

"Weird," I frowned, taking the envelope. I was careful not to touch his hand as I took it from him, something he seemed – almost – grateful for. I had to use my teeth to open it, annoyingly enough, but when I did, a letter fluttered out.

"Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway.

Dear Rosemarie. I trust you are well. There is a task you must complete. Corey here will be taking you and a few others to a house. There, you will receive further instructions. Enclosed is a list of items you must bring with you. Wear comfortable clothing.

Love, The Author."

Just as it stated, there was a list of items. A list including pajamas, my toothbrush and toothpaste. It was basically a checklist of all the things you would take in a go bag. This set off alarm bells in my head – why do I need to bring a go bag? And where was this house? Who had this letter come from? Who was "The Author"? I didn't understand. And I didn't like it when I didn't understand. I sighed and nodded, glancing back up at Stefan and Corey.

"Give me a few moments to change and get my things," I sighed. Might as well see where this took me, "I assume you know what you're supposed to do?" This was to the Alchemist. He nodded, seeming even more uncomfortable. I glanced back down at the letter, giving it another cursory read but gleaned no further information. "Wear comfortable clothing" it said. Well. I assume that meant my formal Guardian clothing was out. "Stefan, take Corey to the kitchen. He could probably use a drink. And... keep him away from the others as much as possible. Y'know. For his comfort." I shrugged, shutting the door behind me.

I packed quickly, my go bag already half full. Lissa and I had only just gotten back from LeHigh the other night. It was winter break, thankfully enough. I had forgotten how much I didn't like school – at least, not the ones where you sat down and did a lot of writing. My Guardian training classes, however? I had always liked those. Of course, I had liked my trainings with Dimitri much more. I couldn't help but grin, remembering back to when life was simple. Ish. Life was never really all that simple for me. Lissa and I had a habit of getting into trouble no matter where we went. Still, things were pretty good. Lissa had gone to meet up with Christian, which meant that I had gotten to meet up with Dimitri, considering he was Christian's guardian. Skype calls and texts – I had finally gotten myself a cellphone – were fine and all, but they weren't the same. To make things even better, Lord Szelsky was at Court, which meant I had gotten to meet up with my mother. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Who knew, I was actually excited to meet my mother. Times had changed.

As a last minute thing, I tossed my Guardian outfit in the go bag anyways, clipping my earpiece in. I tied my hair up, brushing my fingers against the miriad of molnija marks – little jaggedy lightning bolt exes that marked how many Strigoi I'd killed. I couldn't remember how many Strigoi I had actually killed. They didn't bother to tattoo me anymore. Instead, after an attack on St. Vladimir's back in my novice days, they had given me a different tattoo. A star-like thing called a zvezda, which was basically just their way of saying "oops we lost count." The last tattoo I'd gotten was a curvy S like thing, wrapping around the molnija marks and the zvezda; the promise mark, the tattoo that meant I had graduated. That I was a Guardian. I slipped my gun into my holster, not that I'd really need it, as well as the beater stick for just in case. I rarely needed either of those. Sure, Guardians were sometimes used as dhampir police people, and so the beater stick was something for crowd control. And yeah, if I needed to take down a threat, I suppose I could have used the gun. But really, that was only part of the job description. Not even half. The most important weapon that a Guardian could own was a silver stake charmed with all four elements. This stake was to be used to kill the Strigoi, evil undead vampires hell bent on killing... well, everyone. But especially the Moroi. And, being as I was Guardian for the Queen and my best friend... yeah. Strigoi really wanted to take her out. Especially since she was one of the last two in her line, the Dragomirs.

Slipping my stake into its leather holster always made me feel a little better. I hadn't actually had to deal with any Strigoi yet since Lissa became Queen, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I did and, having this on me, I always felt a little better. It'd be nice to carry two, just in case something happened to this one, but that would have been a little inconvenient. Not to say we didn't have enough stakes. I'm pretty sure that, with how low the Guardian numbers were these days, there were more stakes than there were Guardians. But still.

I walked down to the common room, slipping into the kitchen. As I expected, Stefan and Corey were still there but, to my surprise, so were a few others. My eyes fell immediately to the two most important people in my life: My best friend and charge Queen Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir, and the love of my life, Guardian Dimitri Belikov. I felt my lips spread into a grin of their own accord and, after only a moment's hesitation, I went to give Lissa a hug. As much as I loved Dimitri, They come first. "Morning, Liss," I greeted, fighting a yawn. I felt Dimitri slip his arms around my waist as I greeted Lissa, and my grin widened. I leaned back into him, closing my eyes for a moment as the intoxicating scent of his aftershave hit me. God, I'd never get over that. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good," she grinned as Christian, her own boyfriend, moved to slip an arm around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. Yeah. Definitely didn't miss that bond of ours. Well, sometimes I did, but I didn't miss watching – and experiencing vicariously – their sex life. "Do you know what this is about?" I assumed she meant the Alchemist. I shook my head.

"Not really. But I guess we'll figure it out." I shrugged, reaching for a box of Oreos.

Corey shook his head, "I've been informed that there's food at the place we're going to," he said, taking a hesitant step back. Whether it was conscious or subconscious, he had backed himself into a bit of a corner, as if it would protect him from all us scary dhampirs. My stomach growled, causing Dimitri to chuckle, but I shrugged.

"Alright," I said, "well, let's get this over with."

Stefan took us out to the garages and, after a quick conversation with Dimitri, we quickly devised a plan. Well, not that quickly. We both wanted the passenger seat. He argued that, with his height, it was probably a better idea. I argued that, with his height, he'd probably scare the poor Alchemist shitless. I looked less threatening. He stated that the passenger seat was the deadliest part of the car – and it was. In accidents, the person in the front passenger seat was usually the one who recieved the worst injuries. If they didn't die. I stated that, if we put Lissa behind the driver, she was in the safest spot, which meant that by me sitting in the passenger seat, I could keep a better eye on her. In the end, I lost. Dimitri got the passenger seat, much to Corey's terror. I, being the shortest, was stuck in the middle seat between Lissa and Christian. Stefan remained there.

It wasn't that long of a drive. Twenty minutes at most. Still, I had to wonder; what did that letter mean? What task did we have to perform? How were the Alchemists involved? I met Lissa's eyes, but she, like I, didn't seem to have a clue. We were all in the dark. That bothered me. After twenty minutes, we pulled off onto a side road. If you could even call it a road. We were in rural Pennsylvania, after all, and had gone the opposite direction of LeHigh. When we finally arrived at our destination, I found myself even more confused.

The path was illuminated by little street lamps. Or, no not street lamps. Garden lamps. It lead up to a moderate sized house, bigger than Sonya Karp's had been back in Kentucky, but smaller than the Badica house back when I'd gone for my Qualifier. However, unlike then, the path was cleared and salted for ice. Dimitri got out first, followed by Christian and I. Christian, I didn't really want following me, but he had fire magic, so if anything came after us, at least I knew he could defend himself. "Stay in the car," I told Lissa and Corey. After a moment, I turned to Christian, changing my mind, "you too."

He opened his mouth to argue and I glared, "we are out in the middle of nowhere. Dimitri and I are going to scout. If anything happens, you need to stay here and use your fire magic to protect Lissa. Surround the car with flames if you have to. But don't let anything happen to her. Do you understand?" He closed his mouth and nodded. Dimitri and I met eyes, every nerve on fire, every sense straining for the slightest hint of danger, every muscle taut with anticipation. Silently, we devised a plan. Dimitri, being taller and stronger, would take the back side of the house, more towards the forests. I would take the front.

He headed off towards the back of the house and I surveyed the front, stepping carefully on the path. Just because it was salted didn't mean there wasn't still ice. I looked up at the chimney, relieved and yet alarmed at the same time. Smoke. That meant someone was here. That could be a good sign, or a very bad one. My enhanced hearing could detect voices inside the house, but I couldn't pick out any specific ones. All I knew was that they were familiar to me. I stepped onto the porch, feet light, and peered into the windows. I couldn't see anything through the black out curtains but shadows. From the right side, opposite of the one Dimitri had gone, he reemerged, gesturing for me to return to the car. His posture, though still tense, had relaxed slightly and I took that as a good sign. Whatever was waiting for us, it wasn't Strigoi. At least, not as far as we could tell.

"Nothing?" I whispered to him, stepping close to him. He shook his head.

"Large fence in the back half, like Sonya's. Big garden, though it's barren due to winter. One door. Black out curtains."

I nodded, "there are people inside, but I knew the voices. I don't know who they are, but I don't think it's Strigoi. Still... I don't think we should drop our guard just yet." He nodded and planted a kiss on my head, making me smile a little. I gave a brief nod to Christian, letting him know it was – more or less – safe. He stepped out, followed by Corey the Alchemist and Lissa.

"What is it?" Christian asked. I shrugged, moving so that I could see both him and Lissa, the door, and the right part of the woods. Dimitri stood on the opposite side, facing me, so he could do the same for the left portion of the woods.

"Not sure," I admitted, "but it doesn't appear to be Strigoi. Not as far as I can tell, anyways."

Just then, another car pulled up. To my surprise, Mia, Eddie, Sonya, Mikhail, and my parents came out. My eyebrows raised – both of them, unfortunately. I still couldn't arch just the one – what were they doing here? I didn't like this. Still, I turned to my fellow Guardians and decided to inform them of what we'd figured out, ushering the Moroi into a sort of protective circle. And the Alchemist, unfortunately for him.

"There are two exit points," I said to them quietly, "as far as we can tell, anyways. There are people inside, but they sound familiar. Black out curtains, which could mean either Moroi or Strigoi. A fireplace is going. No scuff marks on the doors, the knobs appear fine. The path has been de-iced and cleared of snow. In the back is a yard, or a garden, enclosed with high fences. A fortress. Dimitri says there's another door back there, with more black out curtains. No Strigoi, as far as I can tell, but that doesn't mean we should drop our guard. I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel like this is just an ordinary house." My mother nodded.

"Belikov, you take the front. Rose, Tanner, you two take the sides. I'll take the back with Guardian Castile." I shook my head.

"I don't know," I murmured. "I think Mikhail and Eddie should take the back. Leave the biggest ones for the front and back, where the most immediate threats will be. And the Alchemist needs to be right behind Dimitri. And then we can take the sides. I want to be right beside Lissa, too. Lissa and Sonya should take the front behind the Alchemist, in case they need to push past him and use compulsion. And that leaves Mia and Abe near the back with Mikhail and Eddie." My mother hesitated but, seeing the logic in it, nodded. She smiled at me.

"You've come a long way."

I grinned back, "well, I've got great genes and had a great teacher."

We said nothing more as our group approached. As I had advised, Dimitri stood in the front, with mom and I on opposite sides and Eddie and Mikhail in the back. All five of us had our stakes out, ready for any sense of a threat. My stomach flipped nervously – though definitely not the nausea I felt (used to feel? I don't know if I still had my Strigoi sensor anymore) when Strigoi were near. After a moment's hesitation, Dimitri knocked on the door. We all held our breath. What we saw was... unexpected to say the least.

"Guardian Petrov?" I gaped, leaning over to get a better view, to make sure I was seeing what I really was seeing, "what're you doing here?"

Alberta shrugged, noting our protective stances. Although her face gave away nothing, her eyes seemed to smile. And then her eyes fell on Lissa and she immediately fell into a bow. Oh yeah. I forgot about that part. After a moments hesitation, Lissa told her to rise, and Alberta moved to answer our question.

"I was given a letter by the Alchemists," she replied, "I'm not the only one here, either. Lord Ivashkov and the Princess are here, as is another Alchemist and three dhampirs. I assume they are related to you, Belikov?"

My mind was reeling. Jill, Adrian and an Alchemist? I only needed to guess that the Alchemist was Sydney. And three dhampirs related to Dimitri? Well, that could have been any number of his family. But for some reason, I knew one of them to be Olena. From where I stood, I could see the corners of Dimitri's lips turn up in a smile, no doubt excited to see his family again. But, first things first. "What can you tell us about the house, Alberta?" He asked.

"There are three bedrooms. One has a "Girls" sign on the door. Another has "Boys" on the door. And another plainly states "The Alchemist." The rooms for Girls and Boys has multiple beds – ten beds in the girls room and six in the boys. There is also a large closet per room and multiple dressers. The bedroom marked "Alchemist" has only one bed, a decent closet and one dresser. There is one bathroom with a large bathtub shower, double vanity, and a toilet. There's a large shelf. A large kitchen, with cupboards full of foods, and a pantry with even more food. Near the kitchen is a feeder room for the Moroi, with three feeders. There's a back door in the living room that leads into the garden. In the living room, there are multiple couches, tables and other seats. There are speakers on the walls in every room. On the largest coffee table is a very large, very heavy box. It says "Do not Open until Rosemarie has read her letter." And, on the box, is an envelope with no return address, addressed to Rose."

I frowned. Another letter? "Any threats that you can tell?" Alberta shook her head.

Dimitri turned to look at the rest of us and, deciding we had no other choice but to follow through on this, I shrugged. Alberta nodded and stepped aside, letting us into the room. As I expected, Olena was one of the Belikovs here. As were Viktoria and, to my surprise, Yeva. Well. Huh. Dimitri's face lit up into a huge grin as he rushed towards his mother and sister, speaking in rapid Russian. I couldn't help but be amused, even as Olena wrapped me in her embrace, holding me as if I was another one of her children. Which, I guess, I kind of was. Now, anyways. And, like I had expected, Sydney stood off in the corner with Jill and Adrian, only half uncomfortable – which, really, was better than her being entirely freaked out, like our friend Corey was. Still, I was glad to note that, whoever was holding us here had thought to give Sydney her own bedroom, so she wouldn't have to sleep with the rest of us evil creatures of the night.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Olena said to me, making me smile, "Yeva told us you were fine, that you had a job to do, but you left so suddenly. You had us worried."

"I'm sorry," I apologised, "I didn't mean to worry you. How are the others? Sonya and Karolina? And Paul. Zoya's... one now, right? Has Sonya had her baby yet?"

Olena beamed, "yes, Zoya's one year now. And the baby's name is Anastasiya. She's so beautiful."

I grinned, glancing over at Viktoria. She seemed slightly uncomfortable, which was to be expected, given that the last time she'd seen me she'd been yelling at me. However, she moved to give me a hug, too, and whispered in my ear, "you were right. I'm sorry."

"All's forgiven," I whispered back. Honestly, I was just glad to see that she wasn't – visibly – pregnant. I turned to glance, first at Jill who beamed at me, then at Sydney who smiled awkwardly, and Adrian, who kept his face as neutral as any Guardian, and finally at the oversized box on the table. I sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."

Like Alberta had said, there were only two entry points. This left guarding the room rather simple. Corey, I noted, had already left. Alberta and Mikhail locked the doors and checked all the windows. Then half the Guardians sat on the couch closest to the front door and the other half of us sat on the couch closest to the back door. Dimitri sat on my left and Eddie on my right, closest to the back door. On a cushion in front of us lay Lissa and Christian, sprawled out but together. Olena and Viktoria sat close too, while Yeva sat in a rocking chair, watching us all. I wasn't sure if the others knew she spoke English, but I wasn't about to oust her. Let them deal with her this time. Facing us sat my mother, with Abe beside her, Mikhail and Sonya, and Alberta. Sydney sat closer to me and Lissa, Adrian sat closer to Alberta and away from Dimitri and I. Mia sat in the middle, near Eddie. I noted that there was a fish tank in the corner – what an odd thing to put in a big brother style house. Oh well, at least it meant that if we were attacked, Jill and Mia would have something to work with. With a heavy sigh, I stood and reached for the box, peeling the tape off the envelope. Opening it – again with my teeth, dammit – I began to read aloud.

"Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway," I read, "Welcome to the safe house. I trust you find it to your liking. I have gathered all your friends here to complete a task. A very important task, one that may take some time to be completed. However, there is more than enough food to last you through this task, and I have even been generous enough to set up some place for you to sleep. If you require something that you do not have, you are to make a call to our good friend Corey, who will retrieve whatever it is your heart desires."

"Sounds serious," Mia remarked. I frowned. What the hell was going on? Nevertheless, I continued.

"To put it simply, I have gathered you here to read a series of books. The series consists of six books, all of which will be read aloud amongst your friends. Each book has a name written on it, one for each of you, as well as the order in which you must read the books. You will decide amongst yourselves who will read which chapter." I blinked, "wait. So the person gathered us here for a fucked up sort of book club? Book club of the damned? What the hell is so important about that?"

"Rose."

I glanced over at Alberta and ducked my head. I may have graduated, but she had still been my instructor. Sort of. Anyways. I continued once again, "but these are no ordinary books. These books contain all of the events of your last year at St. Vladimir's. These books contain your inner most thoughts and feelings. Your loves, your losses, your dirtiest little secrets, your deepest desires... they are the books of you... Love, The Author." I looked up, knowing they would see the panic in my eyes. I couldn't do this. My heart was pounding. How had they...?

I pulled the stake from my belt, severing the tape on the box. As promised, there were books. Six books inside their own little box – and there were sixteen, no seventeen, stacks of them. Each with a different name, all in alphabetical order.

Adrian Ivashkov

Alberta Petrov

Christian Ozera

Dimitri Belikov
Edison Castile
Ibrahim Mazur
Janine Hathaway
Jillian Mastrano Dragomir
Mia Rinaldi
Mikhail Tanner
Olena Belikova
Sonya Karp
Sydney Sage
Vasilisa Dragomir
Viktoria Belikova
Yeva Belikova

"Hmph. No titles, I notice," I remarked. Lissa moved to my side, touching my shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"Rosemarie Hathaway, Vasilisa Dragomir, Mikhail Tanner. Not Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, Guardian Mikhail Tanner. Real rude, if you ask me."

"Are you going to be able to do this?" I looked at her. I couldn't lie.

"I don't know, Liss, but we have to. What choice do we have?"