This story is set two years after Spirit Bound. After Dimitri said 'Love fades, mine has,' Rose disappeared and was never heard from again. A few months after her disappearance, Lissa felt the bond break and that is when everyone came to the conclusion that Rose must be dead. This is my first ever story that I have been thinking of writing for quite some time now and I am hoping that I have the motivation to actually continue and complete it. I hope you all enjoy and please give me your thoughts on what you think!
Hans Croft sat at the head of the table at the Guardians Headquarters, waiting for the others to join him. To say he was stunned was an understatement. He didn't know how long he sat there, going over everything he just watched in the surveillance video. Hans thought he had seen it all, but that was far from the truth now.
He looked up at the sound of knocking on his door.
He pulled out of his thoughts, and called out, "Come in."
One by one, they started to come in. The only people who might be able to help him make sense of what he just saw: Guardian Janine Hathaway and her charge Ibrahim Mazur, Guardian Edison Castile, Guardian Alberta Petrov, Lord Christian Ozera, Princess Vasilissa Dragomir, and Guardian Dimitri Belikov.
There were other guardians in the room as well, but he knew this group might be able to help him. He gestured for them to take a seat before continuing.
"Thank you for joining me today. I know it is out of character for non-Guardians to be present during these meetings, but I believe what I am about to show you all is very crucial and something I hope you can all help me with." The group looked at one another slightly confused before turning back to Hans and waiting for him to continue.
"Recently, a large number of dhampir and moroi girls were taken from Novosibirsk by a group of strigoi. We have reason to believe that they will be using the women for their own personal uses along with making a profit off of them." Hans paused his speech to let what he said digest with the group. He could see Princess Vasilissa pale at what he said, probably worrying over the poor girls that were taken.
He continued. "Through some extensive research, we were able to find the location of where the girls were taken. They are currently being held up in Michigan. An alchemist was able to go in under false pretenses of being a buyer and set up hidden cameras around the building. We have been watching them for the past week and setting up an attack plan to rescue the girls."
At this, Dimitri, Eddie, Janine, and Alberta nodded in understanding. They knew of the raid coming up and Dimitri and Eddie had been recruited to take part in the mission.
Hans took a deep breath before continuing. "This morning, our footage showed us something that um," he stuttered and tried to find the right words to continue. In all the time the group had known Hans Croft, they had never seen him so flustered and lost for words. "It seems that there will be no need for a raid after all." He finally said after a long pause.
"And why is that," Alberta asked.
Hans looked down again and tried to find the right words to help him continue. Finally he looked up at the group of people sitting in front of him. The group who had changed drastically in the past two years that he had known them. Pain does that to a person, he thought.
Taking a final deep breath, Hans finally answered.
"Do you believe in ghosts?"