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I dont own Vampire Academy.
Rose POV


When we made it back to our rooms, Lissa went straight to her computer and went to work. She's tracing the plate number from the car that left the dead flowers from Ezekiel. The Queen has pulled some strings and got us access to information not usually available to the general public. The address that the car is registered under is in Stroudsburg in the Pocono Mountains, not too far away from here. The Poconos is really popular for tourists, especially this time of year. That's probably a big draw for Strigoi. Attacking and killing stupid hikers can be easily blamed on the wild animals that also make the mountains their home.

"Well, I guess we should go check it out. We should leave now, that way by the time we get there, the sun will be up. Safety first." I told everyone.

"That sounds good, but I don't think we all need to go. It's just a scouting mission anyways." Dimitri added. He has a point. With my ability to sense Strigoi nearby, I can easily tell find the house when we get near, like I did when Adrian was first taken.

"Okay, so you and me, and who else?" I ask.

"I think we could use either Christian or Jacob. Just in case. This could all be a trap. He wants us to find him. Why else would he risk exposure just to send you some dead roses." Dimitri says. I agree. It's too easy.

"Why don't we take both of them then, and their guardians. Rose Ann and Alex." He nods at that. Rose Ann seems to like the idea too, since she'll be with Alex. I turn to see Mia a little disappointed she isn't coming along. Time to put my plan in action. "Hey Mia, why don't you and Peter get in a little training before bed. I think things are going to get exciting here real quick and we need everyone in top form." She looks over to Peter and smiles.

"Sure thing, Rose. You up for it Peter?" The look on his face is priceless. He looked a bit shocked. He managed to get out an 'uh huh'. I walk over to him and give him a little nudge.

"Don't worry. Mia will take good care of you." He looks at me like I'm up to something, which I am. He just doesn't know it.
 
 
The six of us climb into one of the Courts SUV and take off for Stroudsburg. Dimitri drives while I sit shotgun. I look over my shoulder to see Alex and Rose Ann holding hands and her head on his shoulder. They look so cute together. She sees me looking at her and I give her a wink. Christian and Jacob are in the last seat, trying to get some rest. I look over to Dimitri in the driver seat and smile. He looks so good sitting there. I wish we weren't interupted earlier after I woke up. I start imagining all the things I was planning on doing to him before the girls found me. He's sees me staring at him, looks at me and smiles that wonderful smile that melts my heart.

"What are you thinking about Roza?" he asks.

"I'd rather show you, but I don't think it would be the best thing to do considering where we are." I waggle my eyebrows up and down and lean over kiss his cheek as he chuckles lightly.

"Seriously, Rose, is sex all you think about? Even I have hobbies." Jacob complains.

"I don't think about sex all the time. When I'm around you, I think about banging my head against a wall." I stick my tongue at him and he does the same before closing his eyes and leaning his head back to get some rest.

Dimitri grabs my hand and holds it tight while he continues driving. After about an hour , we finally get to the house the car's registration lead us to. It is in the woods, about half a mile away from any neighbor and surrounded by tall trees. The trees shade the house and area around it with heavy shade. Perfect place for Strigoi to call home. Immediately when we start driving up the driveway, my nausea starts up.

"There are definitely Strigoi here." I tell them as I look out the window to the surrounding trees to see if there is any danger lurking nearby. The sun has only been up for about thirty minutes, but with all the shade, no sunshine was getting through. We drive up close to the house and decide to case the place and then come back this evening before the sun sets.

"Adrian, are you ready? I might need Spririt if any Strigoi show up?"


"I'm always here for you Little Dhampir. Just be careful."
Aren't I always?

We climb out of the car and start walking around the outer perimiter first. I notice a couple trails that go through the forest, to where I'm not sure. We get closer to the house and I try to peak in a window, but there are heavy curtains covering them so I can't see inside. It would be nice to see how many are in there. It's a pretty big house, two stories. As we are getting back into the car, I look up to one of the upstairs windows and see someone watching us. It looks like a girl with long blond hair. She held up one finger as if to tell me to wait a minute and then disappears back into the room. A moment later, she opens the window and throws something out. Then she closes the window and disappears again. I run over to retrieve what she dropped. It's a book, Dracula. How fitting. I open it and on the title page a note is written.

There are fifteen, including me. He knows you're here. You owe me one.

Is 'he' Ezekiel or Adrian? I show Dimitri the note and he quitely ponders it. He pulls me toward the car and we all get in and take off. No one says anything until we get on the highway. The book has been passed around and inspected for any other clues. Nope, just the first page.

"So, do you think we can trust this girl?" Christian is the first to break the silence.

"Normally I would say hell no, she's Strigoi. But, I don't know, I have a feeling that she's telling the truth. She might have selfish motives if she expects a favor in return, but what else do we have." I tell him. We hurry back to Court to meet the others and plan our attack. When we get there, the others are asleep. We decide to let them sleep and Chistian, Jacob, Rose Ann and Alex go rest too. Dimitri and I stay up to get things ready. Dimitri thinks we need some more guardians to come with us, and I don't want to argue that with Spirit I can handle it, so I reluctantly agree.

The Queen grants us four guardians to come with us and of course with my luck, my least favorite is among them. Guardian Bubbles. He doesn't look any happier about this than I do. I think we are both being punished for the little incident at the diner last night. We take three SUVs and start on our way. Thankfully, Bubbles is in another car.

We get to the house again, but instead of driving up the driveway, we park on the street. We spread out and try to encircle the house as best we can. The sun is still up but with all the shade, it doesn't really matter. Adrian has sent Spririt to me and I am rarin' to go. We are about halfway up the driveway when I get an increase in the nausea, letting me know there are Strigoi really close. I look up in the tree just in time to see one jump in front of me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Chosen One come to take us all down. You're even prettier than Adrian said, but I doubt you're as deadly." he taunts. So he knows Adrian. That's a great sign.

"Is Adrian here? I would love to pay him a little visit." I ask him politely. It worked with Bob so I figure I'd try it again.

"You're going to have to get past me first, beautiful." He immediately lunged at me barely hit me. Being Strigoi makes him fast and strong, but with Spririt, I am just as fast and equally strong. We knock each other around for a minute when he makes a mistake and leaves his chest open just long enough for me to send my stake flying down into his heart. He screams out and then goes silent as I watch the light go out in his eyes. As soon as he is dead, another five Strigoi jump out of the trees and start toward me and the other guardians. Christian and Jacob do their jobs and light them on fire enough to cause them to panick. This gives the guardians there opportuntiy to stake them.

"Okay, that's six down, and according to the mystery girl that leaves nine more. Hopefully Adrian is among them." I tell Dimitri. I hear Bubbles snort when I mentioned Adrian, which worries me.

"Ivashkov is not to be killed. Restrain him, but do not kill him. We need him alive." I order. The other three guardians nod but Bubbles roll his eyes. I really don't like this guy. I walk up to him and get in his face. "Do you have a problem with that order?" I ask with as much authority I can muster. He grits his teeth and scowls.

"No problem." he says. We look around and don't see anymore Strigoi around. They must be inside. We split into two groups, one in front and one in back. Each team has a fire user. Christian is with me as is Dimitri.

"Are we gonna break the door down and go in with brute force?" Christian asks. That's what we normally do, but I think Ezekiel will respond better to something else. So I go right up to the door and knock.

"Rose, what the hell are you doing?" Dimitri whisper yells at me.

"What? In a way he invited us over. Might as well be polite guests." I knock again and the door opens. It's the girl from the window and she has a very amused look on her face. I figure being direct is my best option. "Hi there. Can Adrian come out to play?" She stares at me like I lost my marbles but retreats back into the house. Dimitri wants to storm in now that the door is open, but I shake my head at him. The door opens again and instead of Adrian, Ezekiel stands before me.

"Rose, you got my message. How good of you to come. I see you got through my security alright." he says as he looks at the dead bodies on the ground. I shrug.

"You need to hire better help. That was way too easy." I tell him. He laughs at my little joke. He opens the door wide and motion with his hand, inviting me in. Does he think I'm stupid?

"That's real nice and all, but I think my chances of staying alive are better out here. Why don't you and Adrian come outside with us?" I tell him. He shakes his head and laughs again. Just as he was about to say something, I hear someone walking up behind him.

"Who the hell is unlucky enough to come knocking on our door?" It's Strigoi Adrian. He looks surprised to see me. "Little Dhampir, come back for another kiss? I figured you were a little kinky, but I never would have thought you would be into Strigoi loving. Whatever floats your boat." he says with a smirk while leaning on the door frame. He looks up and sees the others behind me and looks puzzled. "What's going on?" he asks Ezekiel. Apparrently, he was left out. I look over at Ezekiel with raised eyebrows. I still can't do that cool one eyebrow thing, but I try.

"You didn't tell Adrian that you lead us here so we could find him?" I direct to Ezekiel. I then turn to face Adrian. "Adrian, why don't you come out here and talk with me, like old times. I promise not to hurt you."

"I can't make you such a promise Little Dhampir. I want very much to awaken you and have you by my side forever, but I don't think your boyfriend there will take to kindly to my biting your neck and drinking your delicious blood." He has a look in his eyes as he is saying this that is scaring the hell out of me. That must be bloodlust. I start backing away slowly toward Dimitri. It looks like Adrian is about to leap out of the door to come after me when Ezekiel swings his arm and backhands Adrian into the house.

"No! She is mine, and she will not be awakened. She is more use to me as a victim. Can you imagine the strength I'll gain by taking the life of the Chosen One? It will be amazing." He turns to look at me and he has the same bloodlust in his eyes. Oh shit! I back away even more, but ready for an attack. He walks out slowly, never taking his eyes off me. Behind him there are five Strigoi backing him up. When they are all outside of the house I signal to Christian and he lights them up. Ezekeil, being so old, is much faster than the average Strigoi. He dodges the flames and runs at me and grabs me by the neck and rams me into a tree across from the house. Oh God, that hurt. Lissa screams for Dimitri to help me, but he has his hands full fighting. The group at the back of the house comes running to the front to help.

Ezekeil has me pinned against the tree and is leaning in to bite my neck.

"Fight Rose! Don't let him win. Fight!" Adrian is screaming in my head.

I reach my hand up and dig my nails into his cheek as I kick hard into his groin. He wasn't expecting my new strength and is stunned. That gives me the chance to push him away. I swing my stake at his heart but he blocks it. He comes at me again but I jump to one side and knee him in the gut. He wasn't expecting my quickness either. That must have pissed him off because he growled so loud, it gave me shivers. We start circling each other. I try to fake him out by moving to the right but quickly change directions and strike to the left. Yeah, it didn't work to well because I land on my ass when he anticipated my move. I get up and then I hear that Strigoi girl scream his name.

"He left." is all she said. That was enough for Ezekiel to hesitate and for me to find my mark. I slammed my stake right into his heart. I stay right there and watch him die. I pull my stake out and turn to see the girl staring wide eyed at his dead body. "Thank you." she whispers to me. I see Bubbles come running up behind her with his stake raised. I grab her arm and pull her behind me.

"No! Leave her be." I yell. He stops in his tracks and looks like he is about to bust.

"Are you insane? She's Strigoi. She works for him. You know, the guy that wanted to kill you." he yells.

"She helped me. Now I am helping her. She lives, for now." I turn around and face her."We won't kill you now, but if we come across you again, I can't promise your safety." She nods. "Who were you talking about when you said 'he left'?

"Adrian took off through the back of the house when those guardians came to the front to help you. " Shit! Why does he always get away?

"I don't suppose you might know where he would go?" I ask. She thinks for a second.

"There are two possibilities. He could be going to Ezekiel's other house in Florida, or he could go to see his rival in Russia. I don't know her name, but she runs a big operation somewhere in Siberia."

"Thanks..."

"Daphne." she says.

"Daphne can I ask you why you're so willing to help me?" she smirks and answers.

"Because when you finally get ahold of Ivashkov, I want you to make him suffer before you kill him. That bastard awakened me, used me and then discarded me after telling me he loved me. Unfortunatly, Ezekiel wouldn't let me leave, claiming me for himself." she said and then spit on his body. I like her. "If I find out where he is, I'll let you know." She smiled at me and then quick as the wind, she took off.

"I can't believe you let her live. How many people are going to die at her hand because of you." Bubbles spat at me. This guy is really getting on my last nerve.

"We now have a Strigoi spy working for us. Hopefully with her information we can kill more Strigoi than just her." I scream at him. I can feel myself being taken over by the darkness from all the Spirit we used fighting. My whole body starts to tremble and my breathing becomes labored. Bubbles backs away, remembering what happened to him last time. But Dimitri, bless his heart, comes up to me and puts his arms around me and holds on tight. I start to struggle but he never eases his grip while whispering soothing words in my ear. I close my eyes and let his voice calm me down and I feel the darkness fade away. When he feels me relax, he eases up and looks my in the eyes.

"All better now, Roza?" he asks. I nod my head and he leans down and kisses me gently. We look around and see that we have killed twelve Strigoi. That means three escaped, Adrian, Daphne and one other. Someone called the alchemist to come clean up the mess and we got back in the cars and head back to Court. Alex drives so Dimitri can stay in the back with me. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep. When I do, I find myself in Adrian's old room back at the academy. I remember how the darkness effects him and I ready myself for his attack. I look over and see him standing in the doorway to his bedroom dressed in his black silk boxers and nothing else.

"I've been waiting for you Little Dhampir." he says seductively. I see the lust in his eyes as he looks me up and down. I look down to see what I'm wearing and it is a very revealing negligee. I roll my eyes and put my hands on my hips as I look at him.

"Really, Adrian? I'm surprised you bothered with clothes at all." he starts walking toward me, hunger in his eyes. I go and pull him into a hug like Dimitri did to me but he won't stop kissing my neck and touching my ass. Okay this isn't going to work. I decide to lead him to the bedroom and knock him onto the bed. He thinks it's foreplay but I know better. I crawl on the bed and hover over him. I then grab him and flip him over so he is laying on his stomach and pin his hands behind his back. I put all my body weight on him as he begins to struggle. I whisper soothing words into his ear, trying to calm him down. It takes longer to get him back to his old self than it did me because he keeps trying to fake me out so I will let up and he can attack me again. Finally, he manages to release the darkness and calm down.

"I'm so sorry, Rose." he appologizes over and over.

"It's not your fault, Adrian. Now can you put me into some decent clothes?"

"I don't know. I rather like the outfit." I give him my best glare and he puts his hands up in surrender. Next thing I know I'm in flannel pajamas with yellow chicks all over it. Well, it's better than what I was wearing. We decide to watch a movie and eat popcorn on the couch. He put himself in matching jammies too.

"So it sounds like Strigoi Adrian is a lot like the Adrian you used to be. The love 'em and leave 'em type." I laugh. He puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a sqeeze.

"As long as you know I've changed my ways the night I met you, I'm good." he tells me. Oh Adrian, what am I gonna do with you?

Review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks for reading.