A/n; Don't own, don't sue.

Chapter 10

"Where would you go?" He asked curiously, "if you could go anywhere in the world."

"Rome." She answered without pausing to think. It was true, although if she ever returned to conscious existence there wasn't much chance she'd ever see it. She went where she was told, when she was told.

Adrian smiled, he sat on her bed, legs crossed, holding her hand and studying the patterns her saw there. Her skin was smooth, only a small scar crossing between her knuckles on her third and fourth finger broke the perfection; he ran his thumb over the raised skin. "Where did you get this?"

A shiver ran down his spine and he suspected that his body wasn't nearly as peaceful as his mind. "In Russia." She answered, putting an accent of then name which made him smile.

He linked his fingers with hers; every touch from him seemed to distract her from her fear just a little more, "Did you fight Strigoi, Sage?" he lifted her hand and bushed her fingers to his lips.

She shook her head, for a moment there was a distracted look in her eye, like she was somewhere else, then, "Just a sleazy human guy."

Adrian laughed, "You were right, you don't need my chivalry." Sydney took her hand back, looking at the scar perplexed.

"I couldn't punch then…" She trailed off, remembering Eddie's lessons.

There was a few moments silence as Sydney sat trapped in thought and Adrian watched her, finally he stood from the bed and offered her his hand with a handsome grin. "So Rome, huh?"

She looked up at him curiously and nodded slowly.

"Then Rome it is."

And the world changed.

Rose gripped her stake with white knuckles, the weapon may not have mystic power over humans as it did Strigoi but it would more then kill them, in her other hand, she carried a weapon she had only a few weeks experience with, a gun.

It felt heavy and thuggish in her hand, its shape and structure had none of the finesse of her usual weapon of choice, but it was loaded and deadly and that was all she needed.

The car beneath her feet was smooth; she sat surrounded in the back of the van by three other Dhamphirs, her mother one of them, and two other curious additions, humans.

Rose studied them out of the corner of her eye, their tanned skin, stout bodies and bright eyes masked their hard muscles. They carried guns as well, also, curiously, weapons she had almost no experience with, knives.

The eldest of the pair, a young man with blue eye and bite scars covering his neck, so many they practically merged together into one big white blur on his skin caught her eye and grinned. He was exited.

Rose wasn't, couldn't fathom it. Her stomach had been rolling with fear ever since the court had been contacted and they'd been told of Dimitri and Adrian's predicament, now she was just tense, only the calming presence of Janine Hathaway gave her any strength.

They had returned from the Keepers in record time and Adrian and Dimitri hadn't yet to wait three days but every second still burned Rose's mind, like a ticking time bomb counting down to destruction.

The problem had been of course, convincing the backwards elders of the Keepers to help their most hated enemies, the Tainted, although Dimitri may be a friend to them, the fact that he was no longer a fugitive but a fierce protector of the Tainted Queen didn't help his case and Adrian himself was a royal and a reminder of everything the Keepers stood against.

It had almost come to blows, between Stan and Rose and Angeline's father, when an unusual force had stepped in.

The Alchemists.

Rose's eyes had narrowed as she recognised the lily tattoo, the man in a crisp suit, seemed vaguely familiar in some way Rose couldn't place but as he spoke and threatened to remove the Alchemists assistance to the Keepers continued existence as well as the promise of more rewards she had begun to trust him. If only because his help was getting her closer to saving Dimitri.

A deal had been struck and the man had left without even a word to them, as he passed, his eyes moved over Rose and there was something that was hidden in his expression. He nodded at them; it seemed the Alchemist's allegiance lay with the Moroi again, although the mystery of Sydney still hung over their trust like a cloud.

That brought her worries for her friend to the front of her mind and she shifted, uncomfortable in her seat as the van rumbled towards their destination. She could only hope Jill was leading them in the right direction.

Angeline had been unconscious after the accident and therefore had been unable to give them any clues. With the Alchemists keeping quiet and Adrian still MIA, they had little to no clues to their thousands of questions.

The road and the car had shown signs of premeditation, if they're enemies were indeed Vampire Hunters as they suspected, then why would Sydney, a human, also be taken? Was it because she was close to them and had protected Dimitri before? Or some other reason?

And then of course, how did these hunters even know where to find Adrian and Dimitri in the first place? They're whereabouts had supposedly been top secret.

Rose was snapped from her thoughts as their vehicle rolled over a speed bump, the night outside the windows was dark and they had long left Palm Springs and LA behind. They would be far from the city when everything went down.

Rose spared her mother another glance and the hand on her gun tightened, it carried twelve rounds. She wondered if twelve lives would be worth sacrificing for Dimitri.

These were humans not Strigoi. She remembered Victor suddenly and knew she would do anything to save the man she loved.

But hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Sydney couldn't breathe, she stared with wonder at the space around her, and for a moment she forgot all about magic and was instead caught up in the mystic of the eternal city.

Adrian grinned, loving her reaction as they stood out the front of a gelato shop tucked against the busy street, people all around them milled, speaking Italian, carrying shopping bags and drinking coffee. The sun was overhead but it didn't bother him in the least, swallowing, Sydney managed to get her voice back and turn to him, "How are you doing this?" she whispered.

He grinned, "I've been here." He admitted, "When I was sixteen, my parents came for a trip and dragged me along," he wouldn't mention he'd spent more time studying the local female inhabitants than the architecture. "I thought you'd like it."

She kissed him.

Adrian was a little surprised but reacted none the less, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. Even in the dream their display of affection seemed to have no impact on the Italian patrons, something about them seemed so expected to others.

When she finally pulled back from him Sydney Sage had never smiled so bright. "This place is amazing," for a moment she sobered, "its hard to believe it's all…magic."

He lifted his fingers to her chin, touching her jaw line, "Does that mean you won't stay?"

For a second she hesitated, warring with her ingrained fears and the overwhelming presence of the beautiful city and of him…Adrian, Christ, she didn't want to leave him, wanted to stay here, in his arms for as long as she could.

If they were really in a dream, then it was possible, no threat of the Alchemists or judgements from either of their species. They could just be.

She held him a little tighter. "No, Adrian, I'll stay. I promise."

She didn't know why a shiver ran down her spine at those words.

The Humans would go in first, backed up by the Magical wielding Moroi and the Dhamphirs; hopefully the Homosapiens could disarm their enemies of any potentially vampire destroying weapons.

It was an office building, with various windows and swaths of paint, Jill had said what they were looking for was hidden below. The Moroi princess would be staying in the vans, guarded by three Dhamphirs and one Moroi from the court, the Keepers, Janine had said, with Stan agreeing, couldn't be trusted if they found out her true importance to the Lissa and the throne.

Rose stood with her team, armed and ready, her mother on her left. Janine Hathaway looked just as deadly as her daughter.

It was time to move.

And it was over in a matter of minutes.

They sat on the steps on the Roman Forum, Adrian was playing with a trickle of sand, while Sydney was reading from a guide book, she flipped the page and glanced at him from the corner of her eye, he sat lazily on the steps, legs sprawled, resting on his elbow. He was darned gorgeous and being in Rome surrounded by reminders of his resemblance to statues of ancient conquerors just made it more difficult for her.

"It's rude to stare, Sage." He pointed out under his breath as he dropped the last trickles of sand from his hand and met her eye, his hair looked light brown in the sun.

Normally she would have come up with a sarcastic answer but instead she spoke honestly, a small smile on her lips, "I couldn't help it."

Normally he would have come up with a quippy retort but instead he looked away from her and for a second she could have sworn he was blushing, well, as much as a vampire like he could anyway. She laughed loudly, unhindered by their surroundings. "Does that bother you?"

He looked back at her and there was a smile on his lips, "Kind of." He admitted. "People always look at me, they never see me." His voice was quiet.

It sounded like a spirit induced emotional observation but Sydney could hear the truth to his words. She shifted closer to him. "You're hard to miss Adrian." She replied softly.

"Really?" it was an honest question and she pretended not to hear the hopeful twinge to his words.

She nodded, resting her cheek in her palm and looking at him. "Really."

For just a second his face broke out into a smile, not a smirk or a flirty grin but a true smile and Sydney felt her chest tighten before suddenly he jerked away from her.

She watched him concerned, suddenly the world seemed quieter and Sydney looked around to find that they were alone on the steps, the people he had seen and brought to the dream gone.

"Something's wrong." she looked back at him and his eyes were frantic; he caught her arms and crouched down to her.

"Adrian?" There was fear in her voice; the warmth was gone from the world and her head was beginning to throb. Suddenly he caught her face, holding her cheeks with his hands and stared into her eyes.

"Something is happening." He said, "Why are you asleep Sydney?" her head was beginning to get worse, and she couldn't think, she tried to look away from his eyes but he wouldn't let her. "Why? Why have you been asleep for so long? To be here with me. Are you with me out there?" he glanced at the sky and she could see the sun had gone. "Are you with me in the waking world?"

Was she?

She moaned, the pain in her head had just tripled, she leant into his hands, hoping to push the pain away but it only increased, he caught her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. "Sydney," he breathed into her hair. "Are you with me?"

She wanted to answer but found she couldn't, the only words she could fathom were pain, her head gave a dull throb, she clutched Adrian's arms but it had no effect.

And then, just like that, he was gone.

But she wasn't alone.

Rose held him in her arms, her head buried into his chest. Dimitri Belikov looked like he had been to hell and back but he clutched her just as needily. Janine watched her daughter embrace the love of her life and allowed herself to be relieved just for that small moment.

Their raid had been more then successful, several humans had been captured for questioning, and several more were dead. They had been taken by surprise and something about that bothered Janine, the Guardians and the Keepers had been prepared for a fight. Their enemies had up until this point been almost hyper aware of the situation, knowing things that they never should have known, yet, they hadn't expected this.

They hadn't expected to be found.

They didn't know about the bond. The shadow-kissed Moroi princess had led them to Adrian's and Dimitri's whereabouts but the Vampire Hunters, for that's exactly what they were, had not know about the connection between Adrian and Jill and that had been their downfall.

They had know the Palm Springs location, even their schedule since they had planned the road attack ahead of time, had know Sonya's apartment layout and the time of Dimitri's sweeps but this crucial detail they had missed.

Why?

The answer was simple but one that filled the seasoned guardian with dread, she dare not air her thoughts in public. Yet.

The Alchemists.

Working with Vampire Hunters, to what end?

Janine didn't know but Abe would have a few theories.

"Adrian?" her daughters' voice brought her back to reality and Janine looked up to see Rose, still in Dimitri's arms but looking to her for explanation.

"They separated us," that was Dimitri, his voice wad rough, like sandpaper, "I couldn't…" he swallowed not offering an excuse.

Janine gave him a dark look, "Of course you couldn't, don't blame yourself Belikov, we're only human." Janine grimaced at the end of her sentence, because of course, they weren't only human but they certainly weren't gods not matter what the student population of St Vladimir's thought. "I know you would have done everything in your power to protect him."

"How is he?" that was Rose, she was trying to hide how much concern she harboured for the young Moroi but was failing in the task.

"Hurt but fine." Janine nodded, "he's still unconscious from what ever drug they were giving him. They knew about his spirit power and weren't giving him a chance to use it against them like last time."

Dimitri looked at the elder Hathaway, "Then how did they get their answers?"

"Answers to what?"

Dimitri tensed for a moment, but ploughed ahead, "That's what they did, asked me questions, they said they wanted to know if I was a good person or a bad person. And when I didn't answer correctly…" he trailed off and Rose squeezed his hand so tight Janine thought the circulation might cease.

"I don't know," she shook her head; "we'll ask him when he wakes up."

"All clear." The three looked up at the appearance of another vice. Eddie stepped into the room, he had a bandage around one arm and was holding it awkwardly to his side but his stance was strong and his eyes checked, as always, for danger. "We've rounded up the last of their fancy gadgets, and are taking the stuff back to court."

Rose nodded. "Good and we'll be going back with it I suppose." She looked at Dimitri who didn't answer.

"You all will," Janine broke in, "with the vote passed, the mission here in Palm Springs is over, Jill is safe once again, I think Lissa will be relieved to have her back at court." There was a funny note in her tone Rose couldn't understand but she nodded in agreement.

"Finally, no offence Eddie," she nodded at her friend, "but I'd feel a lot safer having Jill back where I can watch her."

The Guardian shrugged, "None taken, the safer the better, but I think Adrian was really starting to like it here."

Rose looked doubtful but wasn't in any position to disagree, "Well at least Sydney will be happy, no more vampires to contend with." Only Alchemists, with suspicious motives, who presented an all new danger.

Eddie's face darkened and he paused for a moment to talk, Dimitri tensed next to Rose and he at least seemed to know what was coming. "About that…I hope the Alchemists weren't lying when they said she'd been re-assigned."

But of course, they were. "Why?" Rose asked.

Eddie looked uncomfortable and Rose wondered if Sydney had managed to make yet another friend from one of the creatures of the night, "Because she's not here, we swept the whole building and not a thing, if these Vampire Hunters were holding her there wasn't any sign."

There was a beat as every paused to let that sink in, very slowly, Rose spoke, "And if they were never holding her?"

"Then who the hell is?"

Sydney woke again or maybe she fell asleep again because suddenly she was in the snow, she shivered and sat up. The world around her was white, she was in what looked like the front yard of a small cabin place, snow was falling in flakes from the sky, a small lake was ahead, frosted over with deceptively safe looking ice.

She was wearing the dress from her date with Trey but she wasn't freezing and it was that realisation that convinced her that she was indeed dreaming again. She stood up, and snow stuck to her body from where she had been lying, she looked across the way to the small cabin, which looked how she pictured Christmas cabins to look, all swathed in snow with warm glowing windows promising comfort.

Sydney walked towards it, taking the steps two at a time, pausing as she reached the front porch. Hesitantly she reached out and knocked.

Adrian answered the door.

He looked truly surprised to see her. "Sydney?"

"Um…hey," suddenly she felt uncomfortable in her revealing dress.

He swept her into his arms pulling her into a hug and into the cabin, standing in the doorway he swung her around happily, finally clutching her to him and laughing, "You're here thank God." She found a vampire thanking God ironic.

"Where is here?" she asked carefully, looking around the room, it was furnished as you'd expect a luxurious cabin to be. Complete with fireplace.

Adrian shrugged, "I don't know, I just come here sometimes, it must be a place for me to spirit dream of it but…" the words spirit dream seemed to remind him of something and he looked back at her quickly. "This is a spirit dream right?" he frowned, "I can't remember…"

Neither could she, the last thing she knew was…steps and him and agonising pain in her head. "Me neither."

He managed a smile for her, "But you're here that's all that matters."

Was she?

"I am." Her words were hopeful but not true, she hugged him again, linking his fingers with hers.

A few hours later they sat on the couch, letting the fire warm them, the snow outside had turned black with night and Sydney had changed clothes somehow, as you often do in dreams, Adrian had his arms around her, she was using his chest as a pillow, every inch closer to him seemed one step away from something…she didn't know.

But it scared her.

Adrian touched in her way it was tangible, like he was testing her for something, testing to see if she was real, something was bothering him too. But as long as they were together it seemed of little consequence. Then, "Sydney, you're bleeding."

"What?" she sat up,, Adrian was staring at his fingers which were indeed dipped with red, he glanced at her and his eyes focused on her neck.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and pressed her palm against the side of her neck, right where her pulse would normally be. She felt it shudder as she clutched a wound. A bite.

Suddenly, she felt nauseous, dizzy. Adrian said something and she tried to look at him but his outline was blurred. "Adrian…" she whispered.

"Sydney." He pressed his forehead against hers, forcing her to look into his eyes, he was the only thing solid to her now, as the cabin, the couch, everything faded around her. "What's happening to you? Out there. Are you okay Sydney?"

Was she?

"No,"

"Why?"

"Ian…" she touched her cheek leaving a red smudge on her golden tattoo, "he…they."

She swallowed, her mouth dry, it tasted like copper. There was blood on her lips. She looked at Adrian, at his angled face, his green eyes and the fear she saw reflected in them and her voice shook. "They think they're doing the right thing." She finally chocked out.

They were trying to save her. From him, from herself, save her soul.

And they would destroy her to do it.