Oh my god, 104! Haha, thanks guys! Special thanks to deliciouse, you're amazing! You're the reason Tasha was involved with this in the first place haha you helped me develop the idea!
Rose POV
I heard a crash upstairs, and millions of footsteps. I opened my eyes, and jumped up from my crouched position in front of Christian's bed.
I heard voices that weren't hushed anymore, full of rage and confusion, something rare for a Strigoi; well, the confusion part at least.
"Natasha sent us, for the girl. You can keep the boy, finish Ephraim's job, make him the Strigoi he was meant to be," the voice was so unfamiliar, and yet he knew Christian and I.
"We were going to wait it out, the boy could have killed her," the calm and playful edge he had when he was down here with us was long gone, replaced by rage.
"Well, it's her order, and she paid us pretty well so we're going to get the job done," that was the unfamiliar voice again.
I looked at Christian, who was sitting bolt right up.
"Look," I whispered, my voice soft, "I'm going to try and boost you up through the window, OK?" I pointed to the rectangular opening, carved out of the cement.
His eyes went wide, "No, they're after you, I'll boost you up."
I shook my head, my thoughts playing back to the owl and the bird. The bird didn't have a chance, didn't have a protector, but Christian did. I wouldn't let him die, even though I was pretty sure if we were going to live through this day, that he would go on hating me.
"You're not strong enough," Before he could argue, I pulled him off the bed and made a little step with my hands linked firmly together.
"Come on, go, they're coming," I whispered urgently, the voices had stopped and I could hear footsteps again.
He sighed, gave me a pained look that broke my heart; as if there was anything left for him to hurt.
He put his foot on my linked hands and I winced, but mustered up my remaining strength and he sailed through the window. I heard a dull thud as he hit the ground, and just as he landed, I saw the lock click and scrambled as far away from the window as I could, standing up in the corner. I pulled the silver stake out from beneath my shoe and turned to face about a dozen Strigoi, eyes red, teeth bared.
One of them came forward, "Hello princess, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, you're choice."
I smiled, despite my fear, "The hard way it is."
Dimitri POV
The plane touched down, I was already up with my stakes in my pockets. I was the first one out and unfolded the address I had and found the rental van waiting for us. I waited for the others to get in, and got into the driver's seat.
"Belikov, do you know where you're going?" Alberta asked gently.
My tension was about to break through my mask, and I knew that my agitation would show if I said anything, so I just nodded.
I floored it, and we were dashing out of the airport, cutting through lanes and leaving angry honks and shouts behind.
Roza, my Roza, please hold on, I'm almost there, I thought quietly.
"Belikov, we're going to crash soon," Stan whispered, I looked in the rearview mirror and sure enough, he was clutching the seats as if his life depended on it.
"No," I said, my voice even, "We won't, plus, this helps us avoid unnecessary time loss."
The only thoughts I could reason together were centered on Roza, and how much I regretted leaving her. I cursed Tasha a hundred times over, and I promised myself that if Rose was dead or hurt, then I would do the same exact thing to her; only ten times worse.
Rose POV
I tensed up, adrenaline pumping through my veins, my heart felt like it was going to blow right out of my chest.
I didn't even see them jump on me, they were too fast. Suddenly, I felt pain, stabbing, shocking pain flood through me. I felt their bites and scratches, and I felt their claws rake against my body.
I forced my eyes open and I saw them on top of me. I staked three of them, but instantly more took their place.
I forced my way through them and back away into another corner, I was bleeding from several places and I couldn't feel my left leg.
"We didn't have to do this, we could have just broken your neck and burned you, that way you wouldn't have felt anything," One of them hissed.
I glared at him, and before he could react of move, I threw my stake and it went into his heart. They came at me again, from all directions. My back was against the wall, no where to go but up. I decided to run up the wall. I ran up the wall, grabbed onto the planks of the ceiling and flipped over them. I grabbed my stake from the Strigoi and I was armed again. I was also losing consciousness. I couldn't keep this up much longer.
Dimitri POV
We were rounding the corner when I saw Christian. I screeched to a halt and rolled down the window.
"Christian, where's Rose?" I asked him, my voice urgent. She should have been with him.
He looked up, he looked like he had been crying.
"She's in there with dozens of them, she saved me instead of herself, she's probably dead."
My heart stopped and it didn't seem like it could continue beating. I heard Alberta tell Christian to come in, and I was off. I jumped out of the car, stakes in hand, and ran into the black mansion.
"Excuse me, this is private property," a Strigoi hissed.
I snarled, and staked him. I ran inside, and sure enough, there were screams from the basement.
"Roza," I cried out.
Rose POV
I heard his voice and I stopped, so did the Strigoi. I couldn't move anymore, my body was crying out in pain, and there were still about four of them left. I collapsed onto the hard floor, and I felt the pain begin anew.
I heard the door open, and suddenly, my pain was gone. I didn't bother to open my eyes anymore; I was safe, my Russian god had come for me.
Dimitri POV
I slashed my stakes across their face, while staking the ones behind me. My anger burst out and suddenly, I didn't want them to just die. I wanted them to die a painful death. I wounded many with the stakes, but not enough to kill them, just enough to make them scream in agony. There were only four left, I'm guessing that my Roza took down the two in the corner.
Rose, I thought suddenly, and killed the last two. She was lying on the floor, spread eagle. There was a pool of blood beneath her. I picked her up, and she opened her eyes, pain clouding her features.
"Roza, Roza," I whispered her name over and over again.
"Comrade" She whispered, and smiled, "I knew you wouldn't listen to me."
Her eyes closed, and I ran outside, cradling her close to my chest, letting the blood stain my shirt.
Alberta and Stan saw her first and they both gasped.
"What happened in their Belikov?" Alberta asked, any ounce of control she had before had suddenly vanished.
"No time to explain, I just need her healthy and well again. Don't we have Olendisiki with us?" I asked them, searching for the doctors familiar face.
Alberta nodded, "In the back."
I felt Rose whimper and stir in my arms. I was relieved that she wasn't dead yet.
"Roza, it's ok, everything's going to be fine. You're going to be fine, I love you," I whispered, and kissed the top of her head.
She shook her head, such a feeble gesture, she couldn't speak anymore.
"Roza, I love you, you can't leave me like I left you. I will never do that to you ever again," I whispered, crying now. The tears splattered against her face, clearing away the blood.
We were in the back of the van now. Christian was staring over the seat, horrified.
"She gave her life for me, and I didn't even help her," He mumbled, his blue eyes were swimming with tears as well.
I put her on the stretcher we brought along, and Dr Olendisiki began to take off her clothes. I gasped at what I saw next.
She was covered with bite marks, bruises, and a hell of a lot of blood. I held her hand close to my heart, trying to give her my strength.
It's not use, that annoying logical voice in my head whispered mockingly, She's dead, and it's all because of you. If you hadn't left her, she would be fine. You're basically trying to bring a corpse back to life.
"No," I whispered, arrogant, I looked at Roza again, deathly pale, and cried harder, "You have to stay with me, Roza, stay with me."
Rose POV
I felt his arms around me, and I knew that I was finally home. After those long hours, just being with him for a few minutes would have been enough. He was my angel of mercy, sent to relieve my pain, and it hard worked.
I was slipping into unconsciousness, barely aware that he was running and whispering to me. I only caught three words; but those three words were the words that I would always remember, those were the words that I would later look back on, that saved my life.
"I love you too," I thought silently, but my lips just couldn't seem to form the words.
I was aware that he was beside me, holding my hand, and the pain seemed to start again, but just by touching him made it dim and eventually fade into background music.
"No," I heard him whisper, "You have to stay with me, Roza, stay with me."
That was his voice, so sweet, but full of such pain that it made my heart crack and splinter. I opened my eyes a crack and was staring at the gray carpet in a van. I turned my head and I was suddenly staring into a pair of brown eyes, filled with tears that were pouring out.
"I'll always stay with you," I whispered.
I felt a tug and pull on my back and saw Dr. Olendisiki sewing and cleaning my wounds.
I looked away and I was suddenly drowning in those brown eyes, like two pools of chocolate. C
He gave my hand a squeeze and planted a kiss on my forehead.
"And I with you, my love, forever."
I nodded, "Forever."
And then my eyes closed and I was drowning under sweet blue green waves of the deepest sea, but I didn't mind because he was with me, hanging onto me, and he would always do that, I realized, protect me, never hurt me, because he loves me.
Dimitri POV
I watched her eyes close and stroked her eyelids with a careful finger.
"Is she going to be ok?" I asked, looking up into two clear pools of blue.
Dr. Olendisiki nodded, "She's a real trooper, Belikov, take care of her."
I nodded, I was going to do more then take care of her, she was my life anymore, I was going to cherish, love, and protect her. Like I had said before, I would stay with her forever.
Eventually, she finished cleaning Rose up and I pulled Rose close, onto my lap, watching her chest rise up and down in a steady heartbeat.
"I love you, so much, Roza," I whispered into her ear.
I smiled as I saw her lips form into a smile. She was asleep, and yet she could still hear me.
"Belikov, you have some nasty wounds yourself," Alberta whispered from the front seat. I looked up and saw her leaning over to look at me.
I shook my head, "I'll be ok, it's just a few cuts, nothing major."
I looked at my arm, and sure enough there was dry blood on it, and suddenly I felt the pain that I had never known was there.
"Don't down play it, you can't protect her if you're going to pass out from blood loss," Alberta murmured and wiped away the blood and put a bandage on it. I smiled, sometimes she was so caring, and sometimes she was just as arrogant as Rose.
"Thank you, Guardian Petrov," my eyes were still fixed on Rose, watching her sleeping form.
She nodded and turned to stare up front again.
The van stopped, and we immediately boarded the jet. I sat in the back, Rose still in my arms, as soon as I sat down, her eyes opened.
Rose POV
"Hey," I whispered, groggy from sleep. My mind wasn't functioning, so I was probably delusional. I barely remembered what happened, but I did remember the Strigoi descending on me. So, I thought, this must be heaven, I must be dead. I was with my love again, my love that should have been in Pennsylvania with his new charge. He wouldn't have come back and abandoned her, he would have stayed with her.
He smiled, and that smile seemed to shatter my world, it was too real, it only made me hurt worse to know that I could never see him smile like that ever again in the real world. I was definitely dead now. I started crying, I missed him so much, and this illusion was just like an exact copy of him, the real Dimitri was with Tasha, and he wouldn't be coming back, unless it was for my funeral.
"Roza," He whispered, whipping my tears away, his fingers were gentle, just as I had remembered. "Why are you crying, my love?"
That only made me sob harder. I would never hear him say that in real life, for all I knew he was going to disappear in two seconds.
"You aren't real, I'm dead," I sobbed. My voice was cracked and full of pain.
His face crumpled with painful memories, not at all how I would have picture him, I pictured him disappearing as soon as I said those words.
"You aren't dead, Roza, you're alive, and you're with me," He whispered, stroking my hair.
I shook my head, "I can't be alive, those Strigoi killed me, I'm imagining things," I whispered, refusing to believe him.
He pulled me up closer to his face, so close that I could have leaned in to kiss him, but I didn't. I didn't want him to disappear, even though it would hurt less when he disappeared later.
"You're imagination isn't so great, you can't imagine this," he whispered and leaned down to kiss me.
The kiss was pure bliss, but it was filled with sadness, and unity. We were finally united, two pieces that fit so perfectly that they molded into one.
I felt my tears mingle with his, and I hung onto him, his arms supporting me and holding me up.
I was the one that broke it, I was overjoyed.
"You're the real Dimitri! I'm not dead," I mumbled in awe.
He smiled, god I loved his smiled, I thought.
"Of course you're alive, you're with me, my love, I will always love you, always," He whispered.
I smiled, "I love you too, so much."
He nodded, "I know," and kissed me again.
OK, this isn't the end people! I made it longer though haha so yeah, this isn't the end of the book