Dimitri –

"Do you have a minute?"

I glanced up from my novel to see Sonya leaning against the frame of the doorway to my bedroom at Clarence's. She was covered in a light sheen of sweat and wore a plain white T-shirt that was smudged with dirt. Her red hair was piled on top of her head, and her cheeks were tinged with pink from the sun. Sonya had been spending more and more time outside this week, nursing Clarence's ailing garden back to life. Our experiments were getting us nowhere, and I think that she was using the gardening as more of a distraction than for her pleasure. She smiled at me, but it did nothing to hide the dejection that was written across her features. I retrieved the worn out photo strip that I used as a bookmark from my nightstand and placed it between the pages of my book.

"Of course," I told her, offering up what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "What's on your mind?"

She shifted her weight from one side of the frame to the other. "Blood," she said flatly, and then held up one delicate finger. It was wrapped in what looked like toilet paper, and was stained with red.

I sat up a little straighter in the arm chair I had been lounging in. "Sonya, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "I just pricked my finger outside, but it got me thinking. So far, most of our experiments have been dependent on aura observations, and the results have been…" Her voice trailed off.

"Unsatisfactory?" I finished for her.

She folded her arms across her chest, tucking her injured finger away. "Right, and now that Mikhail and I have secured the venue for the wedding, I won't be here much longer, and all we will have managed to accomplish is a comprehensive aura study" she admitted. "And while a person's aura can be very telling, they're still just energies, just manifestations of a person's personality and emotions."

I nodded along, trying to follow her words, but I couldn't help but feel that this conversation was about to go beyond my understanding of Spirit and auras and the like.

"What if the effects of a Strigoi restoration are more…physical?" Her eyes had brightened a little with a mixture of curiosity and wonder.

"Physical?" I asked. "Like a scar?"

The only scars I had left over from my days as a Strigoi were emotional. The same Spirit magic that had restored me had also healed me. There wasn't even a mark over my heart from where Vasilisa had staked me.

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that. In the Alchemist's report of what happened with Lee Donahue, I read that the Strigoi commented on the foul taste of his blood…"

I could picture the report; I had practically memorized it and new which part she was referring to.

"And you think it might have something to do with him having been restored?"

"I know my theory is…reaching, but – "

"No," I said, rising from the chair and setting my book down on the table. "I think it's a good idea."

I did think Sonya was on to something, but that wasn't my only reason for supporting her. I was sick of feeling like I had nothing to contribute to our research. I had spent the past few weeks sitting on Adrian's couch, staring at pictures, listening to music, doing whatever Sonya and Adrian asked, but it had gotten us nowhere. I couldn't help but feel personally responsible for our lack of progress. I wasn't a Spirit user, I couldn't make aura observations, but I could help with this.

A look of relief washed over Sonya. "We could start with blood samples," she said, not wasting any time. "One from you, and one from Eddie. Then we could compare them to each other in a lab setting."

"How soon can we draw the blood?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"I have a kit downstairs; it's with the research in the parlor." She motioned over her shoulder as she spoke.

I strode toward the doorway where Sonya stood. "Eddie and the others will be here soon for Jill's feeding, we can ask him for a sample then. In the meantime, you can take mine."

Sonya smiled, and this time it was genuine. She followed me out into the hallway and together we descended the gilded staircase. Despite the fact that the outside of Clarence's home looked like it was designed by Stephen King, the inside was sleek and modern. Sonya and I were discussing the possible implications of comparing blood samples, when we reached the bottom of the stairs and found our host waiting for us.

"Guardian Belikov," he said, his eyes beaming. "I was hoping that I would run into you."

Clarence always addressed me by my formal title, despite the fact that I had told him on a number of occasions to call me Dimitri. He also usually greeted me as if I hadn't been living in his home for the past month, and that finding me here was a pleasant surprise.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Donahue?" I asked courteously.

He clasped his hands together in front of him. "I was hoping that perhaps you would be willing to take a look at the place. I fear that my home is susceptible to an intrusion, the window locks are awfully old and probably need to be replaced." He fixed me with a grave expression. "The hunters would make quick work of it."

This was not the first time Clarence had asked me to do a sweep of his home, and I knew it would not be the last. "Mr. Donahue," I said, trying to decide if I should indulge him, or find a way to brush him off. "I would be happy to."

The blood samples would have to wait.

"Splendid," he said turning away from Sonya and me and then walking off in the direction of the kitchen.

I turned to Sonya and she shrugged, "I guess I'll join you."

Sonya and I spent the next hour pressing our palms against windows and jiggling door handles. Our security check was hardly thorough, but I had checked the locks in the old manor house so many times, that I didn't feel all that guilty about it. Clarence watched us and muttered his appreciation every few minutes or so. The three of us were in the library when Dorothy came in and cleared her throat.

"Mr. Donahue," she said in a polite voice. "Jill and the others are here for their feeding."

Clarence's head bobbed up and down in acknowledgment, but his white hair didn't move at all. "Shall we?" He turned to address his question to Sonya and me.

I stepped back from the window I had been inspecting and tried not to nod enthusiastically. We followed Clarence and Dorothy out of the library, but Dorothy headed off in the direction of one of the bedrooms while the rest of us made our way to the parlor on the other side of the house.

"Did the library seem like it was at risk to you?" asked Clarence as we walked.

"Not that I could tell," I told him assuredly.

"What about the windows?" he asked suspiciously. "Did you check the windows?"

"I checked the windows." I tried to speak as gently as possible, but Clarence's attention was now fixed on the doors at the end of the hallway we were walking down.

The frosted French doors that sealed off the parlor from the rest of the house were closed, but did little to conceal the voices that were coming from the other side. The three of us entered the sitting room together to find Adrian, Sydney, Angeline, and Eddie sitting among the feather pillows that lay strewn on the couches. Sydney, who looked as though she were about to say something to Adrian, clamped her mouth shut as soon as she caught sight of us. She looked slightly embarrassed, but recovered quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Donahue," she said politely. "It's nice to see you again."

"Eh?" said Clarence, squinting around the room, searching for the owner of the voice. "There you are," he said, recognizing Sydney at last. "Glad you could stop by, my dear. What brings you over?"

Despite the fact that Dorothy had just informed us that Jill and the others were here for their bi-weekly feedings, Clarence seemed to regularly forget the purpose of our get-togethers.

"Jill's feeding, sir." Sydney's tone was always kind and respectful whenever she addressed the old Moroi.

"Ah, yes, naturally." He walked over to his favorite arm chair and settled into it. He turned his gaze on Sonya and me. "So you'll be able to fix the window locks?"

I hesitated; searching for an explanation that might put Clarence's unease to rest for good. "I don't believe there's anything wrong with the ones you have. Everything is sealed up pretty tightly."

Clarence's expression darkened. "So it seems, but you don't know how resourceful they are. I'm not behind the times, you know. I know there are all sorts of technologies out there that you can put in. Like lasers that tell you if someone's breaking in."

I was now used to Clarence's vague references to human vampire hunters, who he usually referred to as they, or them. Rose had warned me about Clarence's paranoia, but her words hadn't prepared me for Clarence's frequent requests for security checks, or his ominous warnings.

I arched an eyebrow. "You mean a security system?"

"Yes, exactly," said Clarence. "That'll keep the hunters out."

"I'm not really qualified to install a security system," I told the old Moroi.

I heard Adrian mutter something under his breath, but I ignored him. "You'd have to call professionals," I said, shifting my attention back to Clarence. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want a bunch of strangers coming in and out of your house."

Clarence frowned, and I knew I had successfully deterred him. "That's true. It'd be easy for the hunters to infiltrate them."

I guess I had only been partially successful if he was still going on about the hunters. "I'll do daily checks of all the doors and windows while I'm here – just to be sure."

My offer seemed to pacify Clarence for now. "That would be wonderful. Admittedly, I'm not really the hunters' usual type. Not dangerous enough," he added, chuckling softly. "Still, you never know what could happen. Best to be safe."

Sonya offered him a gentle smile, and their eyes met. "I'm sure everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

It took me a moment to realize what was happening. Clarence's eyes were glossy and most of the tension in his posture had subsided. His lips curled up slightly until they formed a wide grin. Sonya had spun her words with compulsion.

"Yes, yes. You're right. Nothing to worry about," he said, mimicking Sonya's calm demeanor.

A strange silence fell over the room, and I noticed that Sydney seemed to have absorbed Clarence's unease. She looked terribly uncomfortable, and I wondered if it was because she knew that Sonya had just used compulsion on Clarence.

Sonya took a seat on the sofa next to Eddie. "I'm not going to be around much longer," she told us, changing the subject. "A few more weeks at most. I need to go back and work on some wedding plans with Mikhail."

"When's the big day?" asked Adrian.

Sonya beamed at him, "It's in December. There's a huge, tropical greenhouse near the Court that we're going to use. It's gorgeous – not that it matters. Mikhail and I could be married anywhere. All that counts is that we're together. Of course, if we're able to choose why not go all out?"

Sonya always lit up when she talked about Mikhail or their plans to be married. Her musings also never failed to make me consider the possibilities of my own wedding, even though Rose had made it very clear that she wouldn't be marrying anyone until she was older. I tried not to bring up the topic too often, but just because I didn't openly discuss marriage, didn't mean I had never pictured my Roza, all in white, walking down the aisle toward me.

"Dimitri may stay on." The sound of my name pulled me from my reverie. "But it'd be great if we could make some kind of progress before I go. The aura tests so far have been…"

"Useless?" suggested Adrian.

"I was going to say inconclusive," said Sonya.

"So all that time we spent was wasted?" asked Adrian, his tone on the verge of whining.

Sonya didn't answer Adrian. "Dimitri and I were talking and realized there's something obvious we've been missing."

"What's that?" asked Adrian, only sounding vaguely interested.

"Blood," I said bluntly. "Obviously there's something about restored Strigoi that protects them – us. We've looked for magical signs, but the answer might be more physical. And based on the report, the Strigoi had trouble drinking L-his blood."

I had been about to mention Lee in front of Clarence, but had decided against it at the last second. We had tried to talk to Clarence about what had become of his son, but he never seemed to accept our explanations for his absence.

"They complained about it," affirmed Sydney. "But that didn't seem to stop them from drinking it." Sydney spoke with a controlled voice, though I could tell she was uncomfortable discussing what had happened.

"We'd like to take a sample of Dimitri's blood and then compare it to yours, Eddie," said Sonya. "Blood can hold all sorts of magical properties, which might show us how to fight Strigoi. We can send it to a lab for the chemical part and try to read any magical properties off it too." Sydney looked at Eddie apologetically, but he didn't look concerned.

"No problem," he said. "Whatever you need."

Eddie seemed just as eager to contribute to the blood experiments as I was. I could tell being inactive bothered him in the same way it did me. We were men of action, but we were also men of duty and would do what was required of us, even if it mean staring at pictures of kittens all day.

"If you need another Dhampir, you can use me too," offered Angeline. "Me and Eddie could help you. We'd be a team. Sydney wouldn't have to keep coming along, especially now that she's got a boyfriend."

Sydney looked scandalized by Angeline's statement, but Sonya swooped in before anyone could really acknowledge what Angeline had said. "We'll consider it," said Sonya, sounding slightly amused. "For now, I'd rather not take you away from your schoolwork. It's less important for Eddie since he's already graduated, but you should keep up with it."

Angeline looked put out by Sonya's dismissal of her offer, but any protests she might have made were cut off by Jill entering the room.

"Your turn, Adrian," said Jill, walking over to where Angeline sat.

Adrian had been in the middle of yawning and looked startled that someone had noticed he was still in the room. He hadn't been paying much attention to Sonya. He stood up and then paused to glance over at where Sydney sat.

"Will you walk with me a sec, Sage?" he asked her. "Don't worry; I'm not taking you to the feeding. I just wanted to ask you a question."

Sydney nodded without a word and then followed him out of the room.

"Wonder what that's all about," said Angeline with a smirk.

Jill elbowed her in the ribs.

"What the heck?!" exclaimed Angeline. Jill shot her a quelling look. "You don't have to be so rude," said Angeline, rubbing her injured side.

"Eddie," said Sonya, drawing the room's attention away from the spectacle that Angeline was making. "Do you remember anything else about…that night, something about his blood that might not have been mentioned in the Alchemist report?"

Eddie shook his head. "He was already…gone when I got there." He glanced over at Clarence, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention to our conversation. "You would have to ask Sydney."

I hesitated before speaking, "I was hoping not to dredge up any memories of what happened to her."

"She's stronger than she looks," said Eddie with a hint of pride. "The Strigoi even tried to feed from her, but they weren't able to."

Sonya tilted her head thoughtfully. "What do you mean they weren't able to? The reports mentioned that the Strigoi had trouble drinking from her, do you know why?"

Eddie shrugged. "Again," he said. "You would have to ask Sydney.

Sonya's eyes narrowed and I could already sense where this was going. "I know she's not a former Strigoi," she started off, "but what if Sydney's blood had some property that makes her blood inedible?"

"That's hardly a cure," said Eddie defensively.

"Perhaps not," I mused. "But it could still help defend against Strigoi."

Maybe it wasn't what we had originally set off to discover, but the idea that there might be a way to take away a Strigoi's food source was too intriguing not to pursue.

"It couldn't hurt to send a sample of Sydney's blood to the labs with the others," said Sonya. "Who knows what it could turn up."

Sydney reentered the room just then, looking slightly flustered, and Sonya perked up immediately.

"Sydney, we just had a wonderful idea."

Sydney eyed the other woman meaningfully, but didn't respond.

"We were just talking about the reports from the night of the…incident. Both the Moroi and the Alchemists said the Strigoi had trouble with your blood too, correct?"

Sydney stiffened. "Yes," she said carefully.

"Obviously you're not a restored Strigoi," said Sonya, not seeming to notice Sydney's discomfort. "But we'd like to take a sample of your blood too. Maybe there's something about it that could help us. A small sample should suffice."

All eyes were on Sydney, even Clarence was paying attention now. Her mouth formed into a tight line and her fists were clenched at her sides.

Sydney swallowed hard. "It was only one Strigoi's opinion," she said mechanically. "And you know they don't like humans as well as…you guys. That's probably all it was."

"Perhaps," said Sonya. "But there's no harm in checking."

"I think it's a waste of time," said Sydney. "We know Spirit is involved, and I have no connection to that."

Sonya looked crestfallen. "I do think it would be helpful. Please," she added.

"I…I'd rather not," stammered Sydney.

Sydney was usually so compliant and so helpful, seeing her so unnerved and unwilling was strange.

I studied her curiously. "It won't hurt, if that's what you're worried about," I assured her. "We don't need any more than what a doctor would take."

Sydney stood her ground. "No."

"Both Sonya and I have training in this sort of thing," I added, "You don't have to worry about – "

"She said no, okay?" Adrian had appeared suddenly in the doorway behind Sydney. "How many times does she have to refuse?"

Adrian's green eyes were alight with rage, and he was showing more concern in this one moment than I had seen him display all week.

"If she doesn't want to, then that's all there is to it," roared Adrian. "This has nothing to do with her. This is our science project. She's here to protect Jill and has plenty to do there. So stop harassing her already!"

I took special care to remain calm in the face of Adrian's outburst. It would do me little good to try and put out a fire with more fire. "Harassing is kind of a strong word."

"Not when you keep pushing someone who wants to be left alone," countered Adrian, his eyes flickering briefly in Sydney's direction. "Stop ganging up on her."

Sonya blanched, and her expression was filled with concern. "Adrian…Sydney…we aren't trying to upset anyone. We just really want to get to the bottom of this. I thought all of you did too. Sydney's always been so supportive."

"It doesn't matter," growled Adrian. "Take Eddie's blood. Take Belikov's blood. Take your own for all I care. But if she doesn't want to give hers, then that's all there is to it. She said no. This conversation is done."

"But – " said Sonya.

"Let it go," I told her softly.

Adrian had disagreed with Sonya and me on several occasions, but he had never cared enough to stand up to either of us. Seeing him so impassioned was a new experience for me, and I decided that it wasn't worth upsetting him or Sydney.

"Adrian's right," I finished.

Adrian looked surprised at my admission, but turned his attention back on Sydney. A loud buzzing noise broke the awkward silence that had fallen over the room, and I realized that it was coming from me. I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jeans and withdrew my cell phone. My heart leapt when I glanced at the caller ID and saw that Rose was calling me.

"Excuse me," I said, already halfway to the door. "I need to take this."

I hated to be rude and leave without saying goodbye to Sydney and the others, but Rose and I had been playing phone tag all week and I was on the verge of desperation.

'"Rose," I said, turning to close the French doors of the sitting room behind me.

"Dimitri," she breathed. "God I missed your voice. I'm dying over here." She paused, "and no, I'm not being dramatic."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Are your parents still in town?"

"Yes," she grumbled. "They're being so weird too. First, my mom shows up last week and tells me that she and Abe want to talk to me about something, and then they spend all night chewing me out for not paying attention in school."

"And they haven't mentioned anything about what she wanted to talk to you about?" I asked, walking up the stairs toward my bedroom.

"Not a word," she said, sounding supremely annoyed. "My mom has been hovering over me every chance she gets. When I'm not at Lehigh with Lissa, I'm with her or my d-Abe. I can't escape!"

I reached my door and slipped inside the room. "They just want to spend time with you, is that so bad?"

"Yes," she huffed. "I need to get away."

"Let's get away together," I offered. The idea of running away with Rose was becoming more and more appealing by the day.

"We could go see your family," suggested Rose.

I sucked in my breath, "We could do that."

My family was still a touchy subject for me. Rose had told me how they had mourned for me, how they had considered me dead. It hurt too much to even think about.

"Or we could go someplace warmer," she offered, sensing my unease.

I flopped down unceremoniously onto the bed. "I think I've had enough of the heat."

"I think I've had enough of you being gone," she said with a sigh.

There was a long silence, and then I said, "Me too."

"Dimitri?" she asked. "Do you remember when you told me that it was okay to ask for help?"

I sat bolt upright. "Yes," I said quickly. "What do you need help with?"

"Well," she said, dragging out the word evasively. "Robert Doru found a way to get a message to me, and I was actually about to get on a plane when my mom showed up last week and – "

"Rose!"

"Wait," she said calmly. "Let me finish. I wasn't going to meet Robert. I was going to come see you."

"Oh," was all I managed to say.

"I don't know what to do any more," she admitted. "Robert has to be dealt with and I don't even know where to start."

I knew that Rose asking for help was a big deal, and I searched in vain for the right words to say to her. I wanted to convey how grateful I was that she was coming to me, but I didn't want to make her feel like a child who needed to have their hand held.

"Roza," I said as calmly as I could. "You don't have to be the one to deal with Robert. I know you feel like this situation is resting solely on your shoulders, but that's not the case. I want you to go to Mynor, or to Hans."

"And tell them what?" she snapped. "You know why I can't do that, do you want to see me behind bars again?"

I was suddenly grateful that Roza wasn't there to see me cringe.

"You know that's not what I want. I would die before I let that happen." I told her through gritted teeth.

"I'm not asking you to die. I'm asking you to help me deal with Robert."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't know," she said exasperatedly.

"Roza, I am begging you, do not do anything rash. Do not seek Robert out; do not try to contact him."

"You're not my instructor anymore," she said venomously. "You can't boss me around like that."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "I'm not saying this as your instructor, I'm saying this as your – "

"Boyfriend?" she offered darkly. "My boyfriend shouldn't be telling me what to do over the phone. My boyfriend shouldn't have left me alone in Pennsyl-freaking-vania. My boyfriend – "

"Rose," I interjected, cutting off what was sure to be a very long-winded rant. "You know why I had to come here, we've talked about this. These experiments are important."

"Yeah? And have you actually made any progress yet?"

Her words hit me like a slap in the face.

"Rose – "

"I get it," she said before I could finish. "You'd rather play lab rat in a bunch of failed experiments than deal with me and my problems."

"That's not fair and you know it," I said as I leapt off the bed.

"Don't talk to me about what's fair," she spat. "Don't talk to me at all."

The line went dead.

I know, I'm terrible and it's been weeks, but I promise that I haven't given up on this story. Writing from Dimitri's POV is just so hard for me and I never feel good about posting his chapters. I went back and re-read TGL, so I feel a little better about it now. I'm also really crazy obsessed with my other story. I get these ideas in my head and I can't focus on anything else until I get them down on paper…or on Microsoft word, whatever. Again, I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long for an update.