So, this is chapter ten of 'Where Are You?', and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, because this one may not be all that great.
A few questions did come up from the last chapter.
To rosemarieheathwaybelikov:
Dimitri and Rose aren't Strigoi, but they aren't Dhampirs either. The confusing combination of Rose being Shadow Kissed, getting Strigoi blood in her system, dying, and then being healed by Spirit turned into a hybrid of both. She has the strength, speed, and battle smarts of a Strigoi. But she also has he complete humanity, and she eats and sleeps, though not as often anymore. She has no need for blood, but because she would rather crave Strigoi blood, she is the natural enemy to the Strigoi.
As for Dimitri, he was 'turned' by Rose's blood. Because she was healed by Spirit, almost like being double Shadow Kissed, her blood has magical properties. Dimitri is the same as Rose, in almost every way, but his physical may change and surpass even hers. After all, the student can only surpass the teacher for so long ;) Make sense? Still confused? You know how to ask!
So, I know I mentioned that the story was going to end by chapter 10, but, you know how it is… One thing leads to another and by the end of it all you have twice as many chapters as intended. Oh well. The show must go on! The story will end – or it should anyway – before chapter 15, so count your blessings, because it's coming to a close fast.
Anyway, here's number 10…
Rose's POV
"Are you ready?" I asked Dimitri.
He slid on his duster, adjusted it slightly then nodded.
"Are you sure you're okay with going in alone?" Lissa asked, always the worried one.
Practically everyone had gathered to see us off, even my mother and father who looked as worried as everyone else. Probably because they were worried it would be the last time they saw us. Psh – Please! I've taken out hundreds of Strigoi in one night; hunting down a mad man shouldn't be too much different, provided there aren't too many Strigoi with him. And, then again, I had the Strigoi blood in my system then, so I felt invincible. Right now I felt exhausted despite the sleep I got, and determined to get my daughter and goddaughter back.
It was going to be a long day.
I nodded. "I'm sure. There's no way we could put any of you in danger. And with us gone," I motioned to Mason and Eddie, "those two are your only Guardians left to protect you. We'll be fine, Lissa, I promise." I think this is about the third time we were having this conversation. I know she's worried about us, but I could see the anxiety to see her daughter safe in her eyes.
I pulled her into a hug. "I'll bring them back safe, okay?"
I heard her swallow back a sob. Though she wasn't crying, she was still hurt, and it wasn't something I enjoyed seeing. Whoever did this to us, to our families, will pay dearly, and they will most certainly not get away with it.
"Be careful, Little Dhampir," Adrian said, holding his little one on his hip. He also had Sydney under his other arm, though she looked like she'd rather not be there.
I flashed him a look. "Isn't it about time you stopped calling me that?"
He shrugged. "The name stuck to you, and there it will stay."
"Adrian has a point, Rose," Sydney commented. "Even though I didn't know you before…that night, you're still the exact same person you were before it all started. And the same for you, Dimitri." She smiled at the both of us, to which we returned. Sydney wasn't a hugs kind of person, so this was her way of saying good-bye, and good luck.
My father then stepped forward, holding a medium sized box under his arm. I thought maybe he was going to say something to me, but he was looking right at Dimitri. Well, then.
"Guardian Belikov," my father started, making Dimitri almost automatically step forward, "I may not like the idea of you being with my daughter, or the fact that you have had child with my daughter." Oh, great. We were going to do the 'you-better-now-hurt-them-speech' right now? "But, seeing as thought my grand-baby's life is in danger, and I know you and Rose are going after her, I thought I'd have something crafted for you as I've done for Rose."
My eyes widened. "You customized stakes for Dimitri, too, Old Man?"
He flashed me a smirk. "Not quite." He then held the box out to Dimitri, motioning for him to open it. Dimitri looked from him, to the box, to me, and then back to the box, wondering if it was really okay. I guess he came to a decision because he reached up with one hand and flipped the lock on it.
"You didn't have to, Lord Mazur," Dimitri said kindly, clearly not sure how to accept the gift.
My dad groaned. "God, never call me that. Even 'sir' makes me feel older than I am. Call me Zmey, if you have to, but never that."
Dimitri nodded once and then opened the box. And I could not believe what I was seeing.
"Guns? You are giving Dimitri guns to bring to a Strigoi fight?" They were two silver guns laying neatly in the box. Pure silver. What was he thinking? "And they're silver. That's cute, dad, real cute."
My father only sent me one of his famous smirks, making me frown. "They are 9mm guns; simple yet elegant. They're also light weight, I made sure of that. Their bullets are tipped with charmed silver, and there is liquefied silver encased inside the bullets. That way, even if you miss a direct hit to the heart, the silver inside he bullet will kill them." The Old Man made a face. "I made a note for that a hand casing was very important, but it seems that memo didn't get through to them."
Outraged, I stepped up. "Seriously?!"
My father smiled in my direction, bringing his attention to me. "Yes, kiz?"
"Oh, don't try being cute with me!" I snapped back, but his smirk never faltered. "You get me two overgrown stakes, and Dimitri gets guns? How sexist is that?"
This made my father laugh. I also heard snickering from my so called friends, but I ignored them. "You had no idea how to handle a gun back then, Rose, and you probably still don't even now. If I handed you a gun before sending you on your way to a dangerous mission, you would have gotten yourself killed; or worse, gotten someone else shot at. Besides, you've handled the stakes I personally designed for you rather well, I even put you initials in the hilt, though I'm sure you hardly noticed them."
I didn't until he mentioned something. To me, the small writing looking like random swirls they mistakenly put on the hilts. But, then again, if I twisted it to make it as though I was holding my right stake in my left, I guess it was my initials. Huh. I'll be damned. Oh, wait, that already happened.
I just crossed my arms and huffed as Dimitri closed the box and took it from Zmey with a thankful nod. I, on the other hand, wanted to take my 'customized stake' and beat myself over the head with it. I was never going to hear the end of it with Dimitri. He would take anything and tease me about it, if given the chance. He's lucky I love him.
"Make sure you don't get lost on the way there, Rose," Mia said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence. "You have a horrible sense of direction, as well as sense of style." She wrinkled her nose, looking at my outfit from top to bottom.
I was wearing a pair of black jeans that fit perfectly. (The red belt hanging loose around my waist was strictly for my stakes.) I had on an off the shoulder red shirt, because I couldn't find a black one that fit me right, and someone wouldn't let me bring all of my old clothes, saying that he could get me new ones now that I didn't have to hide out anymore. My hair was pulled to the side in a loose braid because I was late getting up and felt lazy. I also grabbed a black jacket that went as low as my pant line, clung to my body, and zipped slightly up slightly off to the side. I personally liked my attire, and this was dressing rather fantsy for me, but this is the fashionista we were talking about judging my clothes.
I didn't even bother justifying what she said with a response; I just ignored her, rolling my eyes.
"I wish there were some way I could be with you," Lissa said, wringing her hands together.
I frowned a little. "I said I was going to bring them back, and I plan on keeping that promise, Liss."
She shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just…I hate sitting here and not hearing and seeing everything for myself. I hate getting the stories told to me, rather than telling them for myself. Sometimes I wish I was as brave as you two. Never fearing what lies ahead, even if you don't know if you're strong enough, let alone coming out of it alive." She clenched her eyes shut. "I hate taking a back seat and watching my world fall apart, whether it by to my daughter, my friends, or our entire race. I've fought hard to keep them all with me, but…it gets harder and harder. And…I don't know what else I can do."
I sighed. I felt bad for her. She's lost her parents, her brother, and the last of her family. Even her half-sister, who was struck down and killed on her way to visit her family in Michigan. (So I've heard anyway.) I was about to jump in and comfort her, tell her that she's wrong, but Dimitri stepped around me.
He placed a hand on shoulder, making her look up at him. "You don't have to worry about stuff like that, Lissa. It's because you're our Queen that we as a race have made it this far. It's because you are the kind hearted person that made you save our own Rose from death not once, but twice. It's by your ruling that banished the age law, therefore protecting young lives from being thrown away needlessly. You've done so many things to protect us and you don't even realize it." He smiled gently. "You need to leave the dangerous stuff to us because it's what we are here to do: to protect you and all of those around you, so that you can worry less about fighting, and more about running a nation."
I expected Lissa to put up a fight and argue her point further, but she just smiled up at him and nodded.
Dimitri turned and gave me a look, smirking in an almost cocky manner as he walked to the SUV and got in the driver's seat. I huffed, he knew as well as I did that if I gave that speech, she would have argued, but for him, she submitted. Convincing jerk.
Then, a thought occurred to me. Maybe Lissa can have what she wanted, as well as staying put here where it was safest for her.
I went to the SUV we were to take and grabbed my bag pulling out the only thing that could make that happen. I walked back to Lissa, and place it in her hand. She looked from me to her hand, and then back again, eyes wide.
"Is…this…?" she (somewhat) asked.
I nodded. "That way, you can be right there with me, but stay here where you can be watched, because I know you'd try something stupid if you didn't get what you wanted."
She smirked a little. "I was quite the spoiled princess in my day, Rose. You of all people should know that I eventually get my way."
I rolled my eyes, but hugged her again. "Whatever you say, my Queen."
She groaned, always hating being addressed that way. Then she pulled away, holding me at arms-length. She looked sad, but she knew it was best this way. "Be careful, Rose, and for the love of God, come back alive."
"Or just, you know, come back in general," Christian said, smirking.
We ignored him.
"Aren't I always careful?" I asked, pulling away and turning to leave.
I heard Lissa sigh as I made my way to the car, hopping in the passenger seat beside Dimitri. Just before I slammed the door shut, I heard her say, "That's what I'm afraid of."
Hunting down a criminal wasn't hard. I used my mad skills to hunt down and threaten any Strigoi within a 10 mile radius, asked 'kindly' if they had seen the man I was looking for or heard where he was, and then sent them on their way. Of course, when I said that I would let them live, I know Dimitri wouldn't be so kind when he caught them, for every time I let one go, I sent them right to him.
Finally, after what felt like days, Dimitri and I traveled several hours away from Court and half way across the state, taking out as many Strigoi as possible. Of course, every one of them that saw me knew how I was. They were throwing around the name Blood Red Rose like it was some kind of dirty secret. In a way, I was a secret. Or, at least, I had been for the last three years. No one in the Moroi world know about me, just those that were part of the undead Mofia. From what I understand, the reason Strigoi didn't turn my existence over to Court is because they wanted any chance they could get at my throat all to themselves. Greedy bastards, aren't they?
Now that Dimitri and I had a general location, we were speeding heavily in that direction, just northwest of Court. Why does that direction sound so familiar? It didn't matter, so long as that last Strigoi wasn't leading us in the wrong direction, I didn't care. All I want is my baby back. And the chance to get at the jerk that tried killing both Dimitri and I.
I was behind the wheel, driving like a maniac. I wasn't worried about cops. I had one of those things that detected their radio-things if they were close installed in the SUV. I don't know what the hell you call them, but they are extremely helpful when you don't want to worry about any cops.
I thought for sure Dimitri would lecture me about my driving, or the very least not be so reckless. But he didn't say a word about it. The only time we spoke it was for him to direct me to the right exit. He wanted Domika back as much as I did. Speaking of getting off at the right exit…
"Dimitri…" his name fell off in a whisper, almost like the sentence I was going to say was too heavy for my lips.
He looked up at me, and then in the direction I was looking: up at the exit sign as it glared back down at us. His eyes widened too, realizing where we were being led. This path we were taking…it was bringing back a few bad memories neither of us wanted to relive.
"You don't think…" He started to say, looking at me again.
I swallowed a lump in my throat. "There's only one way to find out."
I know you're going to hate me, but this is more or less a filler chapter. I guess it could have been a bit longer, considering how long chapter ten was. But you'll just have to accept it and it's short, 5 paged, 2,800 word glory. SORRY! The next one will be better – much better! I promise!
But I had to get this one out there, otherwise the next one wouldn't be any fun for me to write! You'll understand what I mean when you keep reading!
Seriously though, has anyone guessed who attacked Rose and Dimitri that night? Anyone have suggestions or guesses is to who I have planned to be the person behind all of this?
I always want to know what you think. Hit me up with questions or comments!
Thanks For Reading! R&R
-Aly
