Saving Souls
He grabbed Dimitri and pulled him to the ground. They grappled, strength against strength, and then I saw those fangs sink into Dimitri's neck. The red eyes flicked up and made contact with my own.
I heard another scream- this time, it was my own.
My mother started to double back toward the fallen, but then five more Strigoi appeared. It was chaos. I couldn't see Dimitri anymore; I couldn't see what happened to him. Indecision flashed across my mother's features as she tried to decide to flee or fight, and then, regret all over her face, she kept running toward us and the exit. Meanwhile, I was trying to run back inside.
I saw Eddie appear at my side, I thought he was back at the school. Worry and distress were all over his face. His eyes flickered to me and slight relief crossed his features. But he also saw the distress on my face.
"What happened?" He asked over the fighting and screaming.
"A Strigoi took Dimitri. I have to get him back." I cried. Anger took over Eddie as we ran back into the caves. We both had a stake and I had a secret one stashed on me. As soon as we entered the caves, we were attacked by three Strigoi. Two came down on me; a male and a female. The male attacked me first; lunging at me. I dodged easily; this had to be a new Strigoi. When he wasn't one of the undead he was a Moroi. He didn't fight well and his build was slim. He tried to land a hit on the side of my head, which I blocked almost. The hit still caught me a little.
I could feel Lissa using some magic through the bond; and it wasn't good magic. Someone had hit Christian, which knocked him out, so she made them see everything they were scared of. I took every bit of darkness away from her; it was going to be useful right now.
I focused back in on the male Strigoi. He had a smirk on his face for no apparent reason, and then I felt it. I stinging sensation on my thigh. The bastard cut me.
The darkness I kept under wraps came out suddenly. The Strigoi reached out to hit me again, but this time I grabbed his wrist, bent it inward, and pushed. Shock flickered over his face as he launched to the far wall.
"Samuel!" The female screeched. She attacked me. I laughed coldly because she faltered and I got my stake into her heart. She screamed for a moment before the light left her eyes.
Eddie had already finished his Strigoi and killed the one I launched across the room. He looked at me and saw that I was unharmed except a few cuts and bruises. I nodded at him and we continued to find Dimitri.
We went a little further until I saw Dimitri lying on the floor. I wanted to run to him, but that could cause a death for me, him, and Eddie. His eyes were open, form what I can tell, but he was keeping them closed enough to feign sleeping. The blonde Strigoi was standing not far from him but facing the other direction away from me. There were four other Strigoi besides him; they looked like they were waiting for the sun to disappear.
I looked at Eddie to see if he saw the opportunities I did. He would go right and kill the two on the farthest end while I would go left and kill the other three.
He saw my look and nodded. I looked back over to Dimitri, who hasn't realized we were here yet. The bite on his neck was starting to dry up and his eyes still had a slightly dopey look in them.
I sneaked slowly against the wall until I was behind the blonde Strigoi. He still hasn't attacked me, so I'm guessing he doesn't know I'm here. I already had a plan for him. The darkness I took from Lissa was still in me, so I used the extra I got from it. I got my secret stake and kept hidden well in an easy to access spot. I was barely breathing at all, scared that that would ruin it. I had an evil grin on my face, ready to kill him.
I glanced in Eddie's direction and saw him ready, he was just watching me. When he looked at the Strigoi I was about to kill, hatred and venom filled his features.
My attention went back on track. I had my regular stake ready in my hand and I focused on the spot I was going to hit. Before I even realized what was happening, the blonde one turned around. I didn't even think I just did. I plunged my stake into his flesh right below his heart. He looked down surprise but didn't make a sound. The pain was evident on his face. I pulled the stake back out and grinned. I plunged the stake back into his body, this time hitting his heart. This time he screamed.
His body dropped to the ground and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie jump into action.
"Thank you." The Strigoi muttered before going completely still.
By now all the Strigoi were fully aware of our presence. Two males jumped on me and a male got to Eddie. He had already killed the other one.
The one Strigoi grabbed me from behind and tried to lock my arms behind my back, but the darkness was still running on a high. I elbowed him in the face and grabbed his arm. I used both arms and all my strength to flip him over my head. He hit the ground with a surprised scream. I used this chance to my advantage and staked him.
Now the other Strigoi decided to help. He lunged at me using full force of his body, which was a mistake on his part. He left a wide open space for me to stake him. Once my stake was in his heart, he fell on me.
"Rose!" Eddie called, he was running towards me, "Oh, God not her, too."
I knew instantly that he was talking about when Mason was killed. He meant everything to me and Eddie, and he was killed.
"I'm alive Eddie; just get this brute off me!" I said quietly. I saw some tears that had left his eyes. He rushed over and rolled the Strigoi off me. Once the weight was gone I could breath, which ended when Eddie pulled me into the biggest hug ever.
"I thought you were dead, Rose. I thought I lost you too!" He sobbed into my shoulder.
"Its okay, Eddie. I won't ever leave you." I reassured him with a tear slipping out of my eyes. I've never seen Eddie like this. He was never the type to break down over something simple.
We stayed like that for a moment but I realized we needed to get Dimitri out of here.
"Eddie, can you check the bodies here to see if anyone else is alive?" I pulled back and asked him.
"Yeah." He sniffled. We both got to what we needed to do. The guardians already retreated and I could feel Lissa crying because they told her I was dead. We needed to get back to the Academy and fast.
"Dimitri," I said softly. His eyes were wide open, staring at me with shock and disbelief.
"Roza," He replied using the same tone.
I lunged forward and hugged him. He winced at my touch. His body was still hurt and he needed medical attention.
"Can you walk?" I asked while assessing his bones.
"Yes, probably." He whispered.
"Then get up. You have no broken bones so far, maybe some ribs or fingers but that's all." I told him with authority.
He obeyed silently and stood up slowly and wincing whenever his stiff muscles stretched a little.
"Eddie," I called, "Report!"
"One guardian alive but just barely, everyone else is dead." He replied solemnly.
"Okay is the guardian awake?"
"A little, but she's trying to keep it that way." Eddie said in concern. There was a strong possibility that she would die before we even reached the wards.
"We need to get back to the school, they think we're dead. And some asshole told Lissa that. Plus, this cave is starting to freak me out." I said with a slight growl.
"I'll take the lady and you take Dimitri. I pretty sure he'll hold up until the wards." Eddie said, looking Dimitri over.
We left the caves in the same direction we had come in. The nausea had gone away completely when the last Strigoi fell. I was started to sleepy and hurt, but I pushed it away. We needed to get back to the school.
About ten minutes later, I could see St. Vlad's. It was still a good distance away but there are good chances of us making it. By now I was getting really tired. I was aware of every single place I had hit or cut; and it hurt like hell. I was limping and blood was flowing from the cut on my leg. Lissa better have enough energy to get rid of this. Dimitri was getting tired too; I was practically dragging him along. Apparently, the woman in Eddie's arms was Guardian Alvaraz, someone Dimitri was friends with. She was completely past out by now. Eddie on the other hand was wide awake and alert.
"C'mon, Rose. Don't give up yet. You can pass out when we get there." Eddie promised.
"I know." I said in a slurred tone.
We got to the edge of the wards on the outside in five minutes, which seemed like eternity. I was now dragging Dimitri to the school. He collapsed about three minutes ago. Eddie was now getting a little tired and he should be. He helped me kill those Strigoi and drag two guardians back to the Academy after he had been kidnapped and bitten.
A large group of people were standing right inside the wards. Moroi and dhampirs rushing around helping those who need it and comforting those who lost loved ones. I could see Lissa, Christian, and Adrian crying in the middle of the crowd. My mother was angry, stomping around. Alberta and Stan were talking to each off to the side.
All I could see was Lissa. She was crying with her eyes closed. She shouldn't hurt this much over something that isn't true.
Her jade green eyes opened and looked directly into mine. They widened further than could be humanly possible, but she's not human. Then she screamed. Louder than ever before. All heads turned towards her in shock.
"Hey, Liss." I said over hushed whispers, "Seems like nobody can keep me dead. The invincible Rose is back."
We crossed over onto school grounds. I let go of Dimitri's arms and let him lie there on the ground. Eddie put the guardian down next to Dimitri. I stared at Eddie with a smile. He smiled back but with concern. I looked back to the many, many shocked faces. They were surprised to see me alive. Adrian looked overjoyed, Christian looked surprised and happy, Lissa looked like she was going to cry again, my mom looked mad and happy, Alberta and Stan were shocked, and Kirova looked surprised beyond belief.
"You guys miss me?" I asked way slurred this time. I looked back at Eddie and he knew what was going to happen. Before I could pass out, he bent down and swept me off my feet. The last thing I saw before I completely blanked out was Eddie and Lissa telling me everything will be okay. Hopefully they were right.
Invincible Rose
When I woke up, there was a crowd surrounding me. I saw Lissa, Christian, and Adrian, Eddie, Alberta, Kirova, Dr. Olendzki, and my mom. All of them were relieved when my eyes opened.
I saw more people standing at the door including Jill, "Damn, didn't know this many people would show up for my funeral."
Lissa reached over and hit my head, "You scared the hell out of me, Rose. What were you thinking?"
"Sorry, Lissa." I said like I really wasn't sorry, "Shouldn't you be yelling at Eddie? His stupid ass came back to help me!"
"She already got to him," Christian said with a laugh. I laughed too, knowing she let him off easily because he helped me.
"Rose that was really brave what you did yesterday." Adrian said with a serious look on his face.
"Wow, congratulations, Ivashkov. You finally learned my real name." I said with mock excitement. He just rolled his eyes in response.
"Does anything hurt?" Eddie asked me with concern any brother would have for a sister.
"I'm good." I touched his arm lightly to reassure him.
"Rose, you need to tell us exactly what happened." Alberta said from the foot of my bed.
I just sighed and thought back to the caves. It seemed like that happened years ago, but in reality it was just yesterday. Without Eddie's help I probably would be dead, along with Dimitri.
Oh, yeah. That reminds me.
"Where's Dimitri?" I asked suddenly, breaking out of my thought train.
"He's fine. He's in the room one door over." Alberta said, "That's funny, when he first woke up he asked if you were okay."
I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed my head into the pillow on the bed. I closed my eyes and thought about him. I thought about his smile, his laugh, his guardian mask that I hate so much. I already miss his soft brown eyes and look that tells me to stop messing around.
"If I'm going to tell you what happened, let me get out of this place." I wrinkled my nose at my surroundings, "I really don't like the infirmary."
"Fine, let's all sit outside." Kirova said gently.
When she said all, she meant all. Everyone that was in the room with me came outside, even Dr. Olendzki. But before we actually left I and the doctor went to Dimitri's room. He was sitting upright in bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey comrade," I said weakly. He broke his gaze from the ceiling to look at me. Sadness and love filled his soft brown eyes.
"Roza." Was all he could say.
"You're the only one who didn't show up for my memorial service," I joked, trying to be happy after what happened.
He didn't respond. But I think he needs time. What happened was tragic for everyone. Many guardians and Moroi were lost, but the Moroi made it seem like it was only their people who died. It was sick. Only Lissa, Christian, and Adrian weren't bawling their eyes out.
I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me, "You shouldn't have come back for me."
His voice was sad and full of regret. It made my heart want to break into tiny pieces.
"But I did, and I don't regret it." I could tell my voice was slightly harsh and it was only because everyone keeps telling me what I should and shouldn't do. I sighed and shook my head, "I'm glad you're okay. I have a meeting to go to, so I'll visit you again later."
I didn't look at him anymore. I couldn't stand to see him hurt and broken. I was told he had some bad blood loss, three broken ribs, some cuts, and a broken leg. Not that bad of a problem but for a god like him to be stuck in a health clinic for some broken parts, it was odd and sad. My problems had already been fixed. Lissa healed me as soon as they got me settled in the infirmary. I don't know how many injuries I actually had, and part of me didn't want to know.
We all sat in a circle a little bit away from the school on the grass. It was semi-dark out here, so the sun probably just went down. I had Alberta, Kirova, and my mom facing me waiting for the story.
Alberta looked at me expectantly, but from her look I think she already knew why I went back.
"Where do I start?" I asked slowly.
"Where Eddie appeared." Kirova said pointedly.
"Okay, fine. When Eddie came he thought I screamed because I was dying, but it was because they took Dimitri." I cringed at the memory of the blonde Strigoi sinking his fangs into Dimitri's neck, "He agreed to help me get Dimitri back and safe. We went back into the caves where we were attacked by three Strigoi. Two on me and one on Eddie."
Eddie interrupted me to tell his part right there, "I fought the Strigoi a little before staking it. I was watching Rose fight and…it was like watching the most powerful fight ever. She froze for a moment, I think she was with Lissa," He looked at me and I nodded, "And the Strigoi cut her thigh open during that short moment of time. She seemed to wake of it and when the Strigoi reached to hit her again she grabbed his hand and pushed.He landed on the other side of the room, literally. It was insane."
Everyone looked at me strangely. Awkward silence filled the cool air. Then Adrian burst out laughing.
"I guess I can't mess with Rose now!" He said while laughing. Some people joined in with him, but Lissa, Eddie, my mom, and I stayed silent. Once everyone stopped giggling, we got back to the serious stuff.
"What happened then?" Christian asked from his spot in between Kirova and Lissa.
"I killed the other Strigoi and Eddie killed the one I launched across the cave. We moved further into the cave, being careful to not make too much noise. Once we got a little further, I saw Dimitri on the floor and pulled back." I looked out to the trees and shuddered, that was one of the worst moments of my life, "Eddie and I split apart and took different sides. I went for the Strigoi who brought Dimitri there. Once he was dead the other four attacked. Eddie had already killed the one on the farthest side, so the next should have been easy."
"Yeah, the next one was easy. I was just waiting for Rose to finish. I knew she wouldn't need help, so I stood by." His face looked grim as he spoke.
"I killed my two Strigoi and told Eddie to check for any alive people. I went to help Dimitri. He was awake when we were in the caves but a couple minutes before we crossed the wards, he passed out. Guardian Alvaraz was out nearly the whole time." I finished.
Alberta looked thoughtful at my story. Kirova looked slightly amazed and awestruck. Everyone else was shocked. I and Eddie were grieving. It's horrible to kill people, even if they aren't innocent.
"What was going through your head?" Guardian Hathaway broke the silence, "What you did was incredibly stupid! You could have been killed along with Mr. Castile here!" She practically yelled.
I remained silent. I just looked at the grass and avoiding her eyes. Any other time I would have told her to fuck off, but after what a week I've just been through, I wasn't in the mood for being snappy.
"Answer me!" She demanded, "Tell me why you risked your life for a guardian who was going to die anyway!"
That's when I snapped, I jumped and towered over her, "Don't act like you care! I did what I had to do to protect the people in mylife. I already lost Mason! I can't lose anybody else. Don't you get that? Mason is dead, Dimitri is lying in a hospital bed, Lissa's magic gives me darkness, the Strigoi are coming after me and Lissa, and I have extra things to deal with because I'm shadow-kissed. Losing another person in my life is going to destroy me!" I was shaking by the time I finished. Eddie pulled me down next to him and hugged me close to him, trying to calm me down. I could feel Lissa ready to cry through the bond and everyone else looked shocked at what was actually going one with me.
Christian, Adrian, Alberta, and Dr. Olendzki were trying to comfort me in any way they could, but it wasn't working. I just needed time to think about the stress I've been under.
I looked back over to my mother and saw the shock clear on her face. No one ever spoke back to the famous Guardian Hathaway. No one except the other Guardian Hathaway, the better one. Me.