10

"Who is Raisa, who's coming?"

"Misha." As soon as she said that her eyes snapped open and for a moment I thought she was going to scream. "He's on his way here personally this time…"

"Who's Misha?" I asked when I noticed how everyone froze.

"You know when we were talking about master Strigoi who aren't exactly nice and that there was a Strigoi outside of this family that we knew of?" Luka asked through gritted teeth. "Misha is a Strigoi who I'd fought and lost against. If it hadn't been for Riya we'd all be dead right now. He's terrifying Roza, none of us are a match for him."

"Wait a second? Is this the same Misha who destroyed hundreds of villages?" Konstantin asked.

"That's right." Riya nodded with a stern expression.

"And you fought him?" Aleksandr asked and Riya nodded.

"We barely survived that fight." Zana shuddered.

"I'm going to call upon a council meeting in town. I want you all there ASAP." Riya commanded. Right now, I saw her for what she used to be. A leader and a legendary guardian. I could tell that this Misha guy was terrifying just from their tones and I could tell that Riya didn't want to fight him, and yet at this moment, she was so collected. So calm. She was a true leader. "Roza get changed and Cain I want you to escort Roza when she's ready to the town hall."

"Understood." Cain nodded.

"K and Alik, I want you two to follow me. Zana I want you to gather together all the guardian families and ask them to set up as many wards as possible. Luka go around the perimeter and see if you can sense him at all, that might tell us how far away he is."

Everyone left and I ran as fast as I could to get changed. By the time I was done Cain had weapons of all sorts wrapped around him. I grabbed the weapons that I smuggled out of the academy and he carried me to the town since it was most likely best for me to preserve my energy.

"How many of you are blood whores?" Riya asked. The entire town looked stunned and shocked. I wasn't sure how much of the conversation I had missed but I knew that they all knew they were in great danger. Almost everyone put their hands up. "Oh come on people, don't lie right now. I realise you might want to help but I need to know how many of you aren't experienced with bites so we know to be careful."

"We're not afraid!" they boomed.

"This isn't about whether you're afraid or not. This is about how much you're willing to offer. If you're inexperienced, you might offer too much and we don't want any deaths around here." Riya reasoned. "Just please answer the question truthfully."

This time about a dozen or more people raised their hands.

"How many are experienced fighters? I'm not just asking for who was specially trained as guardians. I'm simply asking how many know how to fight with a weapon of any sort."

Almost the entire room raised their hands.

"Out of curiosity, are there any Moroi here?" I was surprised to see a lot of raised hands. Riya cursed and frowned. "Raise your hands if you don't want to be fed from." No hands appeared in the air. Even the Moroi were willing to be fed from. By Strigoi. Riya really had changed the views of everyone in this town. They were all prepared to help no matter the cost. "Okay, there are passages underground that Misha can't possibly know about since I built them, they lead to a dozen different towns so don't worry about being trapped should he manage to find a way down there. If you see any Strigoi who aren't us six, I want you to run as fast as you can. Only fight if it's a last resort. Don't try to be heroic or anything. Those of you who read about the Strigoi community will know that Misha is deadly. He kills for the thrill not the thirst. He won't bother drinking from you, he only takes from Strigoi. Don't let him trick you into anything; his compulsion abilities are too high for any of you to deny him. What ever you do, don't look into his eyes. Stare at his feet if you ever see him. Hate to be grim but once you look into his eyes, you're utterly screwed. I want you all to listen to whatever these guys have to say. If they tell you to do something, it's not for the fun of it. Is everything clear?"

"YES!"

"Memorise these faces." Riya pointed at the other five Strigoi. This was it, I thought the fight back at the academy was fierce, if Riya was taking it this seriously, this was the biggest challenge I had ever faced before. "Oh and there's a photo being passed around too. Memorise that face too because he may or may not be here to help."

I knew that she'd be talking about Dimitri. I hoped that he would both be here and not. If he was here he could help me through this situation like last time. But I didn't want him to be here because this Misha guy sounded like a monster. I didn't want Dimitri to be hurt.

"Trust me Roza, neither do I." Riya's voice chimed into my mind and I stared at her. She wasn't looking at me at all, there was no way for her to be talking to me. Maybe I really did start going crazy. "Oh come on Roza, I'm offended. You're not crazy."

Then please explain to me how it is that I'm hearing your voice.

"There are a lot of things I can do." Riya said confidently. "This is one of them. I really want you to be careful Roza, this will be nothing like you'd ever encountered before. Absolutely nothing. Everything you've ever trained for could never properly prepare you for this. I learned that the hard way."

What happened to you with this Misha guy?

"A lot but you don't need to know the details; just that it was really unpleasant. I don't want you to have to meet him Roza, I really don't. He's not something you'd ever want to meet."

I'll try to stay out of it then, if I can.

"Thank you, I know you love fighting and all but please understand that this is not a fight you can win if you ever go up against him." Riya said apologetically. "Looks like I'm going to have to apologise to Dimitri later on when I see him again for putting you in such danger."

It's fine Riya, I have faith in you.

"I wish you wouldn't say that." Riya sighed and I seemed to feel her presence leave me.

For the next few days everything was in high alert mode. Guardians patrolled in large groups with one of the Strigoi members. People took turned allowing the Strigoi to feed off them. They all began to look healthier if that word even fitted with the situation. They all seemed to look more beautiful than ever. It was as if they were projecting pheromones or something. As if they were projecting their charms without even realising it.

There actually happened to be a few fire specialists within this town, a few earth, a few wind and a few water. They began training with Zana on special combinations that would work well in any given situation. Many guardians trained with Konstantin and Aleksandr on fighting manoeuvres, even Cain and Luka joined in and the four learned things off each other.

It wasn't until three days after the initial warning that anything actually happened. The first sign was the wave of nausea that crashed over me. The same stomach churning feeling that I always got whenever Strigoi were near. Well, whenever Strigoi who wanted to do me harm anyway. The second sign was the bunch of mindless Strigoi crashing into the town. The third was the beautiful voice that flitted through the air. I watched as many dropped their weapons and started to walk towards the forest surrounding the town. I gripped my stake tightly and fought to keep concentration but it was really hard.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" Riya shouted and everyone halted. I felt rather than saw something wash over me and I found the strength to snap out of it. Riya looked absolutely livid and her eyes looked like flames were burning in them. Her hair was glowing a vibrant red just like flames. Through the onslaught of Strigoi attack us, I saw one figure heading towards us. He walked through all the bloodshed as if it wasn't there at all. He looked as though he was taking a stroll in a park or something. His smile was the most malicious thing I had ever seen and it shook me to the core. I remembered what Riya said and my eyes stopped right on his chest. I couldn't look into his eyes, if I did it would be over.

"Look up little dhampir, look up," a voice commanded and I felt the need to obey. Not obeying hurt so much.

"Leave her be Misha." Riya commanded from behind me. All of a sudden her hand slid over my eyes and blocked everything from my sight. A flutter of comfort spread through me and I fought not to relax against her.

"It has been a while Zarya. Or do you prefer Raisa? We never did have enough time to talk to decide which one you preferred. I intend to rectify that." Misha spoke with a taunting voice that I didn't like one bit. "Is that Rosemarie Hathaway? The one who killed Isaiah with a blunt blade?"

I made some kind of strangled noise at that memory. The one of Mason dying to save me. That was the fight that earned me to molnija marks and also the fight that left me a memory that haunted me for days if not weeks. It still did on occasion but after seeing Mason's spirit depart with a smile, I felt a little more at ease even if he did bring me the worse news possible.

"Well, what would such a fine guardian be doing with you Zarya? Have you finally entered the ranks yourself and turned someone?" Misha taunted.

"What are you doing here Misha? What could you possibly want from this town this time?" Riya played back with a calm voice.

"What do I always want Zarya?" his tone sounded leering, like the voice of a man hungry with passion or in the great want for sex. This guy was lusting after Riya…

"You ain't gonna get it Misha. You couldn't last time, you can't this time." Riya sneered.

"We'll see about that Zarya, you see, I've been experimenting." Misha said. "You will hand yourself over to me."

"Not a chance mate." Riya grunted.

"Rosemarie." Misha's voice flitted through my mind. "Rosemarie, come to me."

"What are you trying to do Misha?" Riya's hold seemed to tighten around me and I knew why. Without my knowledge, my feet were trying to move. Move away from her and towards the enemy. "Roza, stay away from him."

The two commands seemed to fight in my head and a pain stabbed through my mind. They were both so strong, both the commands wanting to be obeyed. I collapsed and that was when I felt rather than saw Misha move. He knocked Riya away and his hands gripped my throat. "I can't understand why Isaiah lost to someone like you. I admit that he wasn't strong but he was not one to be so weak either." Misha stared at me gazing into my eyes. Unlike Riya, he looked feral and I knew that he wanted nothing than to destroy me in the worst possible ways possible.

"Let her go Misha." Riya demanded lunging at us. Misha merely stepped away and tightened his grip on my throat. Riya froze. "Let her go."

"What can you offer that is better than this kill. She means quite a lot to you doesn't she?" Misha taunted. "I don't see why, she is nothing more than another pathetic guardian."

"She's more than you'll ever understand Misha. You no longer understand the meaning of friendship. Some of us do." Riya scowled.

Gathering my strength I kicked out and struck him between the legs. I knew that he didn't let me go in pain because he made no sound or gesture that he was hurt. He let me go purely from surprise. He obviously didn't expect me to still be able to think straight let alone have enough strength to hit him. Taking that chance I jumped away from him and Riya acted again pouncing on him this time getting a grip on him.

"Get away from here Roza!" Riya screamed and I ran. Or at least tried to. An indescribably pain erupted in my head and heart. Images of Dimitri dying over and over again repeated in my mind and I crumbled in pain. "ROZA!"

My mind thought back to what Lissa had done to Jesse back then. How she used compulsion to make him think he was living his worse nightmare and suffering through pain that he wasn't really going through. I was going through what he had that time, only this seemed a lot more painful than I realised…

"Roza!" Oh that beautiful voice. That beautiful unforgettable voice. The loving voice that belonged to only one person, Dimitri. I really must've been hallucinating because I was hearing Dimitri now of all times. "Roza, wake up! Snap out of it!" now he was telling me to snap out of something. But it was wrong, he couldn't be here. He was dead. Gone from my life, leaving me alone forever. "Please Roza don't do this." My eyes snapped open and I stared right into the eyes that I recognised so well. Only, there was now a red circle rimming his iris. I wasn't dreaming, or hallucinating. Dimitri was finally back. His eyes shone with such concern it made me love him even more. Tears streamed down my face as I clung to him. Kissing him as hard as I could and for once, Dimitri wasn't hesitating. It finally felt like all was right with the world. Dimitri was back and that was all I cared about. Of course, that was only because I had temporarily forgotten about Misha and the entire fight. The kiss forced the images from my mind.

"Well, well, well. The knight in shining armour appears!" Misha sneered as him and Riya stepped in a circular motion neither breaking their locked gazes from each other.

"Good to see you back Dimi." Riya grinned.

"How many times must I ask you not to call me that Riya?" Dimitri sighed and helped me up. Misha lunged again aiming for me but this time there were two people defending me, both Riya and Dimitri were here for me.

Getting a good grip on my stake, I swung it, taking my aim and brought it down with as much force as I could muster. Misha grunted and glared at me with such fury I cowered. It didn't strike his chest but rather his shoulder. He swung his arm and knocked me away sending me crashing into Dimitri. Misha took hold of the stake and yanked it out. He looked like an animal but a smile tugged at his lips. It was then that I noticed something. His lips were covered with blood. Riya was trying to stay upright with a nasty looking gash on her shoulder. He'd tried to bite her neck and failed but managed to get her shoulder…

It was only then that I also realised how Riya had taken the least amount of blood from the feeders… This was just like the fight back at the tunnels all over again, only this time, I was going to lose Riya rather than Dimitri which was just as bad. Blood was running down the side of her face and she looked like she could barely stand let alone fight. Looking around me all I could see was chaos. Everyone was fighting someone. A large group of Strigoi descended upon me and Dimitri and we immediately took fighting stances. One of them tried to grab for me and I jumped away. My movements were a little slurred from the compulsion Misha had used on me but my mind was clear enough for a fight against normal Strigoi. Or rather these ones.

Swinging my arms again I caught a Strigoi off guard easily staking him while Dimitri tore his head off. Another tried to jump me and I twisted out of its way only to crash into another Strigoi. We were completely surrounded and everything was in such a mess. Strigois were everywhere, there were too many to fight off. Kicking my foot out I forced him to the ground and staked him. Quickly I moved on to another and things seemed to continue that way for a while. I staked while Dimitri decapitated to make sure they stayed down. Of all the reunions I had imagined would take place between me and Dimitri, this was definitely not what I had in mind.

Of all the possibilities, why did we have to reunite in a fight for our lives?! This was so unfair! Seriously, what the hell had I done to deserve this?

Several balls of fire appeared in the air easily distracting the Strigoi while Dimitri and I attacked more of them. This onslaught of Strigoi seemed endless. Just how many did Misha kill and turn to get such an army. I didn't want to know the answer. When this fight was over, if we looked on the news, there would be a lot of people reported missing.

Strigoi after Strigoi we took them down but still they just kept coming. I could feel myself beginning to tire but I had to keep going. If I stopped now, I would die. Somewhere in the back of my mind I saw Riya crumble into Misha's arms. He held a nasty looking needle in his hand and his smile was malicious and filled with victory.

Something dropped and a massive explosion smashed many of the houses apart. The flames obscured my view and Dimitri carried me away from the flames. A whistle sounded throughout the entire town and a large amount of the figures from the town ran out into the forest leaving the fight. It was over but at what cost..?

I know that their meeting isn't exactly perfect but I wanted something interesting to be happening when Dimitri comes back! Saving her like a knight in shining armor seemed to do the trick I hope...