I looked around the beautiful house. It was two stories, with a winding staircase and polished hard-wood flooring. It was huge, though it wouldn't look that big with our stuff in it. Of course, we didn't have that much stuff to begin with. A large, ornate chandelier hung in the middle of the second story ceiling, the walkway wrapping around it so that we could see it from the ground floor. A fireplace dominated the wall to my left, large and beautiful. Just in front of me stood a large archway that led to the kitchen and then to the rest of the house.
Of course, it would be even more beautiful if it weren't for the broken and mangled bodies in the middle of the floor.
Our realtor, a perky blonde woman that looked way to obsessed with Dimitri and I was about to bitch slap, just stared at the bodies, dumbstruck. Or maybe just dumb. Either way, she just stared at them.
I had to admit, it surprised me, too. The people were obviously human, so I wouldn't have any reason to suspect foul play from our world. At least, that's what I thought until I knelt beside them and saw fang marks on their necks. I looked in the eyes of the dead and had to hold back tears. I didn't know this family, but it cut deep, because it looked so similar to what had happened to the Badica's so many years ago. I especially had to hold back tears when I looked into the eyes of the small boy, no older than seven. His life had barely begun and now it was ended in the blink of an eye. He wouldn't go to college, wouldn't get a job and would never learn that it's okay to have fun as long as you responsible at the same time. Never again would his parents tuck him into bed when he was scared. He'd never have his first kiss, never fall in love.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and didn't need to look up to know who it was. It was large and rough, but soft and comforting at the same time. Dimitri. No, I didn't need to, but I looked up anyway to see my emotions mirrored in his eyes. I placed my hand on his, and a silent understanding passed between us. He pulled out his cell phone.
Just then the realtor decided to regain her senses and screamed a blood curdling scream at the scene before her.
I jumped up before Dimitri could do any thing and ran to the woman. I tried to get her to calm down, but nothing worked. That is, until I took the opportunity to slap her. She stood there, stunned at what I had done. I took her shoulders and made her icy blue gaze to meet my warm brown one.
"Listen to me," I started in a very calming tone. It worked, and her shoulders loosened out of their rigid posture. "Dimitri's calling help. They will be here soon, okay? Don't scream, it really hurts my ears." With my Dhampir hearing, her scream had nearly deafened me. I turned my gaze to Dimitri, but kept my hands on the human. "You calling Petrov?" I asked him. He nodded. "Kay."
I turned back to the human with a smile that quickly faded as a growing sense of nausea reached me.
"Dimitri!"
He turned to me and when he saw my face he automatically became tense.
I pushed the human woman into the corner and crouched in front of her in a fighting stance. Dimitri came to stand next to me in a similar position. We crowded around the frightened human protectively. She would only be a liability, but there was no way I was going to let anyone die on my watch, no matter their importance. I pulled my stake out of its sheath on my calf, startling the human. Her eyes were wide as they took in my weapon, and she cowered into the corner even further.
The nausea increased impossibly and I swore out loud. "Buria."
"почему я когда-либо не получаю перерыв?" Dimitri muttered. I had taught myself Russian, so I knew that he had said: why don't I ever get a break?
"Поскольку Вы влюбились в меня," I answered. Because you fell in love with me.
He didn't have time to answer before a Strigoi jumped out of the shadows at me. I could have taken it down easily, but Dimitri had to play the protective lover as he jumped forward and staked the Strigoi mid-flight. It was my turn to play that role as a Strigoi jumped onto his back and I lunged forward and staked it through the back.
We fought like this for a while, jumping in to save each other, until the nauseas feeling in my stomach disappeared completely. I looked up to see the eyes of a very relieved Dimitri, and nodded my head slightly twice. His shoulders sagged, and he probably would have collapsed if I hadn't caught him around the waist in a tight hug. One of his arms wrapped around my waist to tighten the hug, while the other sought out my hair. He held me close to him, reluctant to ever let go. Not that I minded.
"I love you, Comrade," I whispered against his chest.
His grip on me tightened impossibly. "I love you, too, Roza."
I let go of his waist, but his grip tightened again, and I knew he wouldn't be letting me go soon, so I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his. We kissed, long and deep, until I forgot about all the destruction around me.