ROSE
Watching the motel, I knew that going in there was a bad idea. I could smell the trap from a mile away. Ten days after I became a Strigoi, Tasha Ozera was needed at Court but had to spend the night in some little dump outside the wards? Subtle, guys. From the moment I'd heard the rumors, I knew that the best thing to do was walk away.
But this was me we were talking about. Of course I wasn't going to walk away. Tasha had done everything she could to ruin my life. When that hadn't worked, she'd shot me. Worse, she hadn't actually been shooting at me, but at Lissa.
It was weird how that still made me mad. My goal in life (Death? Unlife? Whatever.) at the moment was to awaken Lissa, but I still hated the thought of someone else hurting her. She was mine, and no one else was going to touch her.
Which was why I hadn't told the Master about tonight's adventure. I hadn't known him long, but I was pretty sure prudence was his middle name. He'd tell me to steer clear of this trap. And that I couldn't do. Once Tasha served her purpose at Court, assuming she had one beyond luring me out, she'd go back to prison and beyond my reach. If I wanted my revenge, I had to get it tonight.
If I was right and this was a trap, there was a good chance Lissa was in there. I was certain that she'd want to be in on any type of rescue attempt they made on me. And the Master probably knew that too. Which meant that he might want to come along tonight. Or, worse, send Derek. There was no way I was letting that guy awaken Lissa. Not when I'd so thoroughly humiliated him in our death match this past week and a half. It didn't matter what stunt he pulled in the next four days. When the Master called us in to plan our attack on the queen, I would be given the right to her blood. I wasn't going to risk him getting to her first in the confusion of a fight.
"Eight guardians outside. I don't know how many inside."
My thoughts were brought back to the present when one of my goons hissed in my ear. Well, one of the Master's goons, technically, on loan to me, but someday I'd have my own. I was finding them very useful.
I had two of them with me tonight. I would have liked more, but I hadn't wanted to draw Derek's attention to what I was doing. "Four for each of you. Think you can handle it?" Their eager smiles told me all I needed to know. "Let's go."
We made no attempt to be sneaky as we crossed the parking lot and zeroed in on Tasha's room. I was pretty sure we were expected anyways. I barely noticed the guardians who rushed out to meet us. I flicked one out of my path, sidestepped another one and then kicked in the door. It was payback time.
As soon as the door flew open four bodies came hurtling towards me. Nathan actually reached me first. I grinned, him I would enjoy killing. From the look in his eyes, the feeling was mutual. However shocked Dimitri and the others were at actually coming face to face with me, I knew they'd recover and join the fight soon. Best if I could get rid of Nathan quickly.
I had to admit, the guy was good. He feinted a few times and almost got me on the second one. But the third time he struck out at me I managed to grab his arm and swing him around into the wall. I felt his arm snap in my grip. I tossed him to the side with a chuckle and spun to face my other attackers.
Eddie came at me next, that constant sadness in his eyes even more pronounced than usual. As I waited for him to reach me, I spied Tasha tied to her chair. Christian was hovering protectively over her. "Serving her up fresh for me, Sparky? Thanks for that. I'll probably have a nice appetite worked up by the time I'm finished here."
He just swallowed hard and squared his shoulders, looking pale even for a Moroi. Eddie was dancing just out of my range and I realized the dilemma he was in. Apparently they were here to restore me, not kill me. But while guardians spent their whole lives learning how to kill Strigoi, we never spent that much time on capturing one alive.
It occurred to me that if they wanted to restore me, they needed a spirit user. So somewhere nearby…I leapt forward suddenly, taking Eddie off guard and sending him scrambling back. I used that brief opportunity to glance around the room. There she was. "Hey, Liss," I beamed at her. "Quite the little party you threw for me."
She shrank back into the corner, making me laugh. I had to turn back to Dimitri and my mother, who had managed to check on Nathan and form a plan while I toyed with Eddie. Now the three of them came at me in a line, pushing me back towards the opposite corner from Lissa.
"Miss me, Comrade?" I asked as I thought through my options. He didn't reply, but he blanched at hearing his nickname. I remembered how it had felt hearing him call me Roza when he was a Strigoi. "Too bad you can't be reawakened. But it's probably for the best. We'd have ended up killing each other anyways."
When that got no reaction I decided to switch targets. "A mother-daughter team has potential, though doesn't it?" My mom's face was a blank mask as I taunted her. "Just ask Christian, he knows about Strigoi families."
Involuntarily, all three of them turned slightly towards Christian when I said his name. Seizing my chance, I charged out, flinging myself at my mother in a full body tackle. She turned in time to brace for me, but I bowled right through her. I did a complete roll and came up on my feet. Dimitri was right there waiting for me. He grabbed my right arm, trying to twist it behind my back.
I swung out with my left fist, catching him right below the eye. The diamond on my hand caught on his skin, tearing it open. "Should have gotten me a smaller ring," I told him.
I broke free of his hold tried to go for Lissa, but Eddie was in between us. I turned to keep both him and Dimitri in my line of sight as my mother made it back to her feet and joined them again. We paused in a stand off, each party waiting for the other to make the first move.
"I'd awaken you, Eddie," I said. "We could do a lot together. I'd even help you get Jill-" as I had hoped, her name broke him. He charged. I lowered my shoulder, managing to pick him up and throw him at my mom. She dodged, but not enough and they both went down in a tangle.
Dimitri made his move while I was distracted with them. He darted in close, holding his stake up to my face. I froze. "Dimitri," I whined, looking at him pleadingly, "it's me."
He was too smart to really fall for that trick, but it did make him pause for a second. That was all I needed. Teeth bared, I swooped for his neck. And then pain like nothing I had ever imagined seared through every fiber of my being.
I fell to the ground, slumping over on my side. Something sticking out of my back prevented me from rolling any farther. I stared up at my mother in horrified comprehension. She had staked me.
