Here's Chapter 6!!!

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DISCLAIMER: Characters etc. belong to Richelle Mead. Except for my own little plot here.

-Deni

I started walking. I had nowhere to go. I just stopped and looked back. I had only walked about 5 metres from the academy's gates.

After a few moments out of the wards, a small headache arrived. Then an image appeared before me. It was all too familiar. The brown hair. The beautiful brown eyes. The soft lips. The long coat. It was Dimitri, but not in the flesh. It was his soul. Did every Strigoi's soul wander the earth before their Strigoi self was killed?

He just stared at me, with sadness overpowering his beautiful face. I fell down to my knees and started crying. I looked up at him; he was still staring at me. My heart felt like something stabbed it.

"Dim-Dimitri. Is it really…" He nodded. I stood up. I tried to throw my arms around him but he just phased through them. I cried even more.

What was he doing here?

"Are… are you here to help me?" He nodded.

"You're here to help me find your Strigoi self?" He nodded again. I sighed. At least I had a new lead. The guardians at the gates would've thought that I was crazy, talking to myself, but I didn't care.

"Ok…so what do I need?" Woops silly question. He couldn't do much than nodding or shaking his head. He looked like he was trying to speak. He looked so frustrated and was trying really hard.

"Ma… ma… map." He finally said. He was just like Dimitri, always had a plan before taking action. Wait, he was Dimitri! Well some form of him at least…

I dug through my bag; I knew I had a map somewhere.

"Ah ha!" I shouted triumphantly while pulling out the map. Dimitri was still depressed. My weird behaviour had no effect on him.

"So… where are you Dimitri? Well, your Strigoi form?" He pointed to some woods about a kilometre away from us. Great. I finally knew where his Strigoi self was.

I wanted to get there straight away so I picked up my bag while still holding the map.

"Can you still keep up with me?" I asked him. A hint of a smile was appearing on his face, but it seemed like the wind blew it away.

"Ok then." I smiled at him.

I ran off, but he suddenly disappeared. I couldn't wait for him so I kept going. I sprinted for a couple of minutes while following the map. Just as I was about to stop 10 metres away from the Strigoi, Dimitri's ghost appeared in front of me.

"Hey! That's cheating! You used your ghost abilities!" I whispered to him. Then a real smile appeared on his face. I was happy that he finally had one.

All of a sudden, arms came out of nowhere and pulled me away from Dimitri's ghost. Dimitri disappeared. Great. He left me in my time of need. Was this a trap? Was Dimitri's ghost evil as well? Was he trying to get me killed so I could be with him in the spirit world?

I looked back at my enemies and they were Strigoi. Damn, they must've spotted me running towards them. I tried to break free but they were too strong. They restrained me, gagged me then put a bag on my head. It all happened too fast.

"What should we do with her?" I heard a male voice say.

"Take her back to the warehouse. Let the other elders decide what happens to this bitch." I recognised that voice. It was the female Strigoi that knocked me out in that alley. I wished that I could just stake her and twist it several times, causing her more pain.

I felt a blow to my head. It hit the wound I already had. I was out.

…

"Good job Darcy. You caught the famous Rose Hathaway." I heard a male voice say. Where was I? I slowly started to wake up and the bag was still on top of my head, I was still gagged.

"Nothing to it. So what should we do with this bloodwhore Mark?" Darcy said. Darcy. That was the name of that annoying female Strigoi from the alley. I hated her guts.

"We should hold a meeting. Let all the elders, including us, decide what we should do to her." Do what to me? Kill me? Turn me? Eat me? I was panicking. I could feel the sweat building up on the back of my neck, the hairs were probably also standing up. I was terrified.

No! I'm Rose Hathaway! I couldn't be terrified of these… monsters. My destiny was to 'kill that of which is undead', I would have to live to fulfil it. It was also very odd, Strigoi were normally too evil and dark to be this organised. They were going to summon all their elders in their group and hold a meeting to decide my fate.

I had to escape. I didn't know how to yet, but a plan was coming to me soon… hopefully.

They took the bag off my head and ungagged me. I looked at their horrible faces with disgust. Then I looked around me. I was sitting in a chair in an empty room, with my hands bound together at the back. The room only had one door. Damn it.

"Why hello Rose. Do you mind if I have a taste?" Mark said, looking deep into my eyes with his red ones full of evil.

"Don't you dare!" I shouted at him with all the scariness I could pull out. It didn't work, he didn't even flinch. I spat on his shoe. He flinched at that though. A smirk appeared on my face.

"You disgusting little bitch!" Mark shouted at me.

"I'm going to enjoy this." He said with his own smirk appearing, mine disappearing. He tilted my head up, revealing my neck and he bent down.

His teeth sank into me. It hurt like hell but then it felt so good. I couldn't help but let out a little moan of satisfaction. I couldn't believe that I missed these bites. Maybe I really was a junkie after all. He pulled away and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Wow. You really are a bloodwhore." A grin showed up on his ugly face. I was too woozy to argue. My head was spinning from the loss of blood.

"Darcy. Assemble the others now." She nodded. He gagged me again and put the bag over my head. I fainted.

…

I woke up. Where was I? I was being dragged somewhere. I was still too weak to walk, let alone fight.

I could hear so much commotion around me. What was happening? All I could see… was nothing. Just utter darkness. I realised that I was still gagged. Ugh.

I had a pain in my head that wouldn't go away. I was done for. I hadn't completed my mission. I couldn't save Dimitri. The Strigoi were going to kill me, either way. I knew it. They put me down to my knees. My hands were still tied to my back.

"Quiet, quiet!" I heard a male Strigoi shout. Everyone fell silent.

Suddenly, someone lifted the bag from my head and took the rag out of my mouth. I looked around me. The room was in darkness, but my dhampir eyes could still see. I was surrounded. I had absolutely no chance of escape. I was doomed. There were Strigoi everywhere, most sitting on chairs behind me and 5 sitting in front of me. The Elders. The Elders were in an even darker spot in the room. Weird. I couldn't see their faces, but I could still faintly see their bodies, just no faces.

"We are here to discuss the matter of Rose Hathaway." The same male Strigoi announced. I heard someone gasp. Who was that? Were they surprised that they finally caught me? I was. Everyone started talking at once again. I didn't want to say anything, I was too concerned with their final verdict.

"Silence!" The male Strigoi bellowed from his chair in the centre of the room. He must've been the overall leader of this pack.

"Mark will announce his suggestion first." The Elders were going from left to right from where they were sitting. The Elders were sitting in a semi-circle. It was kinda funny to see Strigoi this organised; they could even sit in a semi-circle. I was shocked. We underestimated them too much, I realised. We as in the entire Moroi and Dhampir society!

Mark stood up, out of the shadows. I saw his ugly face again. He was an old Strigoi; he must've been turned when he was nearing death. He had a very strict look on his face. If I weren't in such a tough scenario, I would have thought that he was a perfect match for Kirova, if he wasn't a Strigoi, that is.

"I say, that we elders should feast on this bloodwhore. She let me have a taste already. After all, she is shadowkissed. Who knows, she could do wonders for us. I already feel stronger." He looked at me hungrily. Dirty old man, I thought. How did he know about that? How did he know I was shadowkissed?

The commotion started again. I heard many voices shout out different things. I didn't bother to look back at them.

"That's not fair!"

"Yeah! Why don't we get a bite?"

"Silence!!!" The Strigoi leader shouted, stopping the uproar.

"It's ok Derek." Mark replied. So the Strigoi leader was Derek.

"People, the decision is not final. Darcy, you may begin." Mark shouted the first part at the audience. Ha. He said people. They weren't. They were murderers. Then I realised. Darcy was also one of the elders. No wonder she knocked me out of my senses.

Darcy stood up out of the shadows as well. Mark sat back down. Darcy looked slightly younger than Mark but was still probably ancient.

"I say, we should just kill her! One less troublemaker to deal with!" She shouted and looked extremely proud for making me shiver.

"Yeah! She killed Rupert!" I heard a couple voices agree.

"There. Since everyone agrees then…" Darcy was cut off.

"Not everyone agrees! Shut your mouth Darcy!" Derek shouted at her. I giggled. Derek looked at me.

"What are you laughing about? We're deciding your fate you idiot!" He shouted, while looking at me in disgust. My face became serious again. He'd be the perfect match for Queen Tatiana, I thought. Strigoi or not, the old hag deserved him. A smirk crept onto my face. He ignored it. He then looked back at Darcy with a flash of sympathy crossing his face.

"I know you want revenge over this dhampir because she killed Rupert, but you shouldn't let your emotions get the best of you." Derek said to her in a calm tone. How did this soul-less creature know anything about compassion?

Darcy slumped back down into her chair and the next one got up. He looked evil, so evil. I shivered, he laughed.

"I say, we turn her. She could be a very useful asset. After all, how many Strigoi has she killed so far?" A Strigoi behind me pushed my head forward and looked at my neck. I had my hair in a high bun in case it got in the way, but now I wish that it did, to maybe slow the process. I knew i wasn't going to live for long.

"She's got two molijna marks Sir. But she needs another one… because of Rupert…" It amazed me even more that they had a hierarchy. Elders, Guards then…Hunters. Or whatever the last group was. Well, they did go out to retrieve things… like people to feed on and Royal Moroi.

"Quite impressive for a Novice. Ah, that's right; she's the one who killed Isaiah." The Strigoi elder said. How did they know so much about me? They knew about the Spokane incident. My stomach got all twisted in knots.

"Actually I agree with Darcy. We should kill her." That voice was all too familiar. The last Strigoi elder stepped out from the shadows. I already knew who it was.

Dimitri... But how could he be an elder? He was awakened not long ago. Plus he wanted to kill me. He must've forgotten all about us. My heart froze. It's what I wished would never happen.

"Let's have a vote, eh?" He said to the other elders. Some nodded their heads. This was amazing; maybe he put some order into this place. If anyone could do it, he could.

"Who put you in charge?" The Strigoi before, shouted at Dimitri threateningly.

"Joseph! Everyone has their opinions. Dimitri may not be as old and wise as us, but he has earned his spot up here." Derek shouted and shot a threatening glare to Joseph. Something flashed through my mind. My love earned his spot with them? What?

"Who wants to kill her?" Dimitri asked all of them. They all had hesitation on their faces except Darcy and Mark. They both raised their hands. Derek and Joseph still seemed unsure. Dimitri looked disappointed.

"Now listen, I've met Rose personally and she is a tough one. She will strive to fulfil her mission no matter what it takes. She's stubborn, but she's strong. That's why she has to die. Otherwise, she could destroy us." In a way, he was complimenting me, but it was all for a horrible cause. I was surprised that they didn't even question him about knowing me personally. Wait. What? He said that he knew me personally? He did remember me?

The indecision went away from the Elders' faces. They all raised their hands.

"Ok then. The decision is final. We will kill her." Derek said while nodding at Dimitri.

"But remember, she has one day, to say her final prayers before we execute her. That is, if prayers could actually save her. Plus we need the time to plan out her torture before she dies." Dimitri announced. Everyone around the room snickered. All the Elders nodded. Torture? I was going to be tortured? I thought that I already had enough from my true love turning Strigoi and wanting to kill me!

"Everyone is dismissed." Derek shouted. I felt like I was in a court room. I was gagged again and the bag was put onto my head.

Great. I was going to die. My last day would just be me, sitting on a chair in an empty room in darkness, struggling to cry for help. No-one could help me now.

I was being dragged back to the room. I was still weak. How much blood did Mark drink from me?

They sat me back onto the chair. I was losing hope. I just stayed in the chair and cried for such a long time. It felt like hours. It was also hard to breathe, my nose was all sniffly plus I couldn't breathe from my mouth because of the rag.

…

The door burst open and I heard someone coming in. A strong smell surrounded me. The smell of leather and aftershave.

"It's ok Roza." He whispered. I didn't have time to think before he picked me up over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could. The wind blew the bag off my face.

We were in a corridor. I lifted my head up weakly and Strigoi guards were chasing after us.

"I told you we shouldn't have trusted him so quickly!" I heard one of them say. What did they know about trust anyway?

We burst threw another door and we were outside. It was still night. We were in a forest and I couldn't see the Strigoi chasing after us anymore. I was still baffled. What was happening? Was I already dead? Why was I flying?

"Everything's going to be fine Roza, I promise." My captor whispered to me. I slowly fainted. Again. Damn.

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