A/N: Hey everyone! Wow, so many reviews :D I'm just so amazed by how much you guys love the story already! I wasn't sure how you guys would feel about it, but you guys are so supportive of me and my writing! You guys have so much faith in me, and I hope I'm deserving of it!
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) it was fun to write!
~I Heart Herondale Boys~
~ Chapter Two: Escape ~
ALL THROUGHOUT THE PARTY, I was on edge. I just wanted night to come so that Julian and I could make our escape.
When it was time to leave, it was light out. Everyone in my house was fast asleep, and I'd received a text from Jules saying that he was all clear to leave.
I quietly packed a bag, tucking my father's shirt in, along with the photos mom had given me earlier.
That's why I felt bad for leaving.
After the party, Mom pulled me aside to talk to me.
Flashback
"Annika, could I talk to you in my bedroom for a minute?" Mom asked.
I sighed. "Yeah, sure," I replied.
I followed her up the stairs to her room and plopped down unceremoniously on the bed.
She shut the door behind her and sat beside me. "Annika, I'm sorry for my major freak-out earlier. It's just hard for me to talk about him, let alone see all of his stuff," she began quietly. "You have a right to be curious about him, Anni. I shouldn't have stopped any of you from learning all that you could about him. It was wrong of me, and I'm so sorry."
"It's all right, Mom. I understand where you're coming from. I'm still mad, but I now that I know why, I'm not even half as mad."
She hugged me tightly. When she pulled back, she got up and went to her closet. She pulled out photos and the jewellery I'd found earlier, along with a long, skinny box.
She opened the box first, revealing a beautiful silver stake.
"I gave this to him for Christmas," she said, smiling ruefully. "I was still pregnant with you, Skylar and Aleksandr at that point."
"Wow . . . can I hold it?" I asked.
"As long as you're careful," she replied.
I reached out and gently picked up the beautiful stake, examining it. I admired the designs, as well as the elegant writing of the inscription.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
She gently took it from me and put it back in the box. "I'm giving it to Alek for when he graduates." She reached down and picked up the lovely necklace with the diamonds and amethysts and placed it in my hand. "I want you to have it, Annika. I got it for Christmas from him that same year, along with the charm bracelet. I'm going to give that to Skylar."
I fastened the necklace around my neck and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Mom."
She smiled. "You're welcome, peanut."
End of Flashback
She'd given me many photos of the two of them, explaining the stories behind them. I'd laughed at all of the things they'd done, and she'd laughed with me.
While I felt bad for leaving, my conviction was more firm. I would find him for Mom.
With a glance at my sleeping sisters, I slipped out of my second-floor window, using the vines as handholds.
I met Julian outside, and we set out silently for the gates.
A hand grabbed me, and I nearly screamed.
"Hey, now, you guys didn't think that you could leave us out of the party, did you?" Alek asked, grinning. He, along with Skylar, Nicole, Tristan, Meaghan and Mason must've followed us.
Nicole pulled her platinum blonde hair into a ponytail, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "You guys think you're all stealthy, but you're really not. It's really kind of disappointing," she joked.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I glared at Alek. "Never, ever do that again. You almost gave me a heart-attack."
He grinned. "Sorry, sis."
Mason cleared his throat. The breeze blew his golden hair around, and he squinted his hazel eyes against the sun. He was Eddie and Mia's oldest, and he was one of my best friends. "Are we just going to stand here, or are we actually going to leave? Because, really, I'm completely fine with going back to bed."
Meaghan rolled her eyes. "God, Mase, is sleeping the only thing you think about? We're going on a quest to find my uncle. You don't have to come."
Mason grinned lazily at her. "Mags, come on. I was joking, you know that."
"Everyone shut up. We really need to get a move on if we're going to go," Tristan said.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and we soon made it to the gates. Nicole and Julian handled the guards, using their compulsion to make them let us through. They also made them forget we'd been there, and then we were off.
~VA~
"Can we stop somewhere? I feel like I've been walking for days," Nicole complained, but I could see where she was coming from. As a Moroi, it wasn't good for her to get so much sun. We'd been walking for five hours, and we were in some small Pennsylvania town.
"We might as well check-in to a hotel for the night," I announced, sighing.
"How are we going to pay?" Tristan asked, running a hand through his sweat-dampened caramel colored hair.
I grinned and pulled out the credit card Gramps had given me. "With this, my dear cousin."
"Can't they trace those?" Meaghan asked.
"Normally, yes. But you guys know how shady Gramps is. He made our credit cards untraceable," Skylar explained, grinning.
"Thank you Abe," Mason said, chuckling.
We checked in to the nearest hotel, which was a grungy old motel. We got two rooms with two double-beds each.
"I'm sharing a bed with Skylar!" Mason said.
"Don't think you're gonna get lucky, Mase," Skye replied.
"Ah, babe. That hurt."
"That's why you love me," she trilled.
He pulled her close, pecking her on the lips. "Yeah, you're right."
I made gagging noises at them, earning two eye rolls.
"Mags, you're with me," Nicole announced.
"Okay," Meaghan replied.
Tristan glanced at Alek. "You cool with sharing a bed?" he asked.
"Sure, man," Alek replied.
Oh. My. God.
That only left Julian and I.
Julian grinned down at me. "Guess you're with me, Nik."
"All I ask is for you to please aim your butt away from me. I don't need to be farted on."
He snorted. "As if I would," he said.
So, he and I were in the room with Mason and Skylar, and the other four took the adjoining room.
"I'm going to take a shower," I announced. "I won't be long."
Julian, Mason and Skye nodded to me.
I let the warm water relax my muscles, which were hurting from walking all day on no sleep.
I finished ten minutes later, towel dried my hair, then used another to wrap around my body.
"I call dibs on the shower!" Skylar yelled, running right in after me.
"Damn," Mason muttered.
"Both of you turn around, I need to get dressed," I said.
"Way to ruin our fun, Anni," Mason joked, turning. Julian turned as well, and I hastily dressed in my pyjamas.
"Okay, I'm decent," I announced, and they turned back to face me.
"I'm gonna see if I can find anything, okay? I might be out for a while," I told them, lying down on the bed.
"Be safe," Julian replied, squeezing my hand.
"You know I will, Jules," I assured him, grinning.
He nodded and let go of my hand. I closed my eyes and levelled my breathing out, going into the familiar meditative state. I had the sensation of floating, and when I opened my eyes again, I was looking down at myself.
"And she's gone," Julian said. I watched as he brushed my hair out of my face and kissed my cheek.
"Dude, you know she's probably watching you right now?" Mason asked.
Julian shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me."
God, what I wouldn't have given to jump back in my body just then. But I had a job to do, and I quickly left before I changed my mind.
Skylar's POV
I got out of the shower fifteen minutes later. I noticed Annika lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
"She sleeping?" I asked, rifling through my bag for some pyjamas.
"Um . . . she's astral projecting," Julian replied.
I stopped dead in my tracks. "What? You let her go in alone?" I asked sharply.
"I'm sorry, I forgot . . ."
I told them to turn around, and I hastily dressed. I ran to the adjoining room.
"Alek, we need to astral project. Annika went alone," I breathed.
His eyes widened, and he jumped off his bed and followed me back to my room.
We laid on my bed and joined hands, closing our eyes. We focused on matching our breathing, and slipped into the meditative state we knew so well.
When we opened our eyes, Annika was nowhere in the room.
"Shit!" I swore.
"Skye, no panicking. It doesn't do any good, you know that," Alek said, squeezing my hand.
"I know, I just worry. You know how she gets, Aleksandr."
"I know. Just use your senses to find her. You're the only one who can."
I nodded and focused on the image of Annika. In a snap, I knew exactly where to find her.
"Come on," I said, running out.
Rose's POV
I awoke to the insistent ringing of my phone.
I pressed it to my ear and hit talk.
"What, Liss?" I said groggily, pissed that she'd woken me up.
"Oh my God, Rose. I don't know what to do! They're gone, and I don't know where they went!" she cried.
"Whoa, slow down. Who?" I asked.
"Nicole and Julian! They aren't in their rooms, Rose. They're nowhere in the house!"
"Just breathe, okay? I'll be right over."
"Hurry!" she said before hanging up.
I rolled out of bed and made my way to Annika, Skylar and Isabelle's room and knocked on the door.
"Girls, get up. We have to go to Lissa's," I called in.
"Mom, I don't know where Anni and Skye are," Isabelle said as she opened the door.
My stomach dropped. "Belle, are you sure?" I asked.
"Positive. Their beds are empty," she replied, gesturing to the messy, unmade beds.
"Annika Viktoria Belikova, Skylar Vasilisa Belikova, answer me!" I yelled.
There was no answer.
"Mom, what's with the yelling?" Jayce shouted up from the first floor.
"Are your sisters down there?" I asked.
"No. Alek isn't here either."
"Get dressed now!"
Once the three of us were dressed, we hurried over to Lissa and Christian's, where we found that everyone else was gathered. None of the oldest kids were present, and I felt like I was going to be sick.
"You too?" Viktoria asked, sniffling. She'd been crying.
I nodded. "What the hell is going on?"
Christian held up a note. "I found this in Julian's room," he began. He started reading it aloud. "'Mom, Dad, if you're reading this, then I've clearly left. I promise that I have a good reason. Yesterday, Annika told me that she wanted to find Dimitri. I went with her, guys. I know that you're both probably worried out of your minds, but we'll be fine. We'll come home as soon as we can.'"
I fell to the floor, a sob escaping my mouth.
"What about the others?" Adrian asked.
"They must've tagged along," Eddie replied. "You know how close they all are. There isn't much that they don't do together."
Christian helped me up and hugged me tightly. "It'll be okay, Rose. They'll come home soon enough," he said softly.
I cried into his chest. "First Dimitri, now them. I don't know if I can do this," I sobbed.
"Shh, Rose. It's okay. You just have to believe in them."
"I'm just so terrified, Chris."
"They know how to defend themselves, Rose. You taught them yourself."
I let that somewhat comfort me. If it came to a fight, I knew that any of the dhampirs could handle it.
But it didn't stop me from wanting my peanuts home, safe and sound.
So, some insight into Rose's POV :) how was it? I really hope you guys liked it...
So, I wanna try to see if we can get to at least 100 reviews! I know how awesome you guys are, so please continue to show it! I love hearing all of your ideas and feedback, it really helps!
Oh, and there was some confusion on ages.
Rose, Lissa, Christian and Eddie are 34.
Mia and Viktoria are 33.
Adrian is 36.
Hope that helped clear any confusion :)
Until next time (hopefully soon!)
~Sar
