When Spirit Shows Its Thorns

Chapter 11

My eyes opened to Dimitri's staring into them. "Scared I might to turn into a pumpkin or something, Comrade?"

His eyebrow lifted and he gave me a half grin. "You wouldn't make a pretty pumpkin with that scowl on your face, Roza." His voice was still scratchy with sleep. I couldn't help the smile that formed as he leaned forward to kiss me good morning. "Lissa," I mumbled against his lips as last night's events came back and sat up. Tossing my feet over the edge of the bed, I began to stand when I was pulled into her head.

"Where are you, Lis?" I muttered. I knew it couldn't be in the house. The sound wasn't right. Lissa was scared, not in a dangerous scared, more like a- a getting caught way. She was also kissing Christian. Not this again! I thought, but as they pulled away from one another I could start to make out the room. No, not a room exactly- what in the hell was she doing? "What in Vlad is she doing?!" I gritted out as I came out of the vision.

Dimitri seeing that I wasn't with myself, had slid across the bed and had straddled my legs in his. His arms held me tightly against his chest. "Is she okay, Rose?"

"Yes. No. How could she do something so stupid? She doesn't have a single Guardian with her!" I jumped from the bed, sliding my feet into my shoes.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Dimitri was also standing, placing his stakes back into his slept rumpled clothing.

"Lissa and Christian are flying off somewhere! She left, without a single Guardian to protect her, at that!" I was growing more irritated with each second. "Why would she be so stupid?" I was already marching out of my rooms and down the hallway, Dimitri right at my side. I tossed her bedroom door open and marched to the center of the room. Glancing around I saw the note that was perched upon her pillows. Only Lissa would make up a bed before she ran away.

In three strides, I snatched the note up, read it:

Rose

Please don't be angry.

I have to fix this.

Christian and I will be just fine.

We will go straight to Court.

No need to worry

Lissa

I crammed the note into Dimitri's waiting hand as I rushed past him and back into our room. I grabbed my duffle bag from the closet intent on tracking her down and dragging her back. As I started to step into the hallway, I smacked into a wall of muscle. "Don't you think we need to find out where they are first?" Dimitri asked.

"I don't need to know where they are, I know where they are going." I stressed.

"Do you honestly think I am going to let you out of this house knowing that someone wants you dead, Roza?"

It's Lissa, Comrade, she comes first."

"Not this time Rose. Use the bond; find out which airport they are going to next. You know Abe can send Guardians to intercept them before they ever reach court."

"I have to protect her, Dimitri. They are our friends and our charges, They Come First." I reiterated.

"I know that, Rose, but I cannot allow you to go back to Court. We do not know what threat you, yourself face. Use the bond; find out what their plan is, and if it makes you feel better, I will go to them. I will protect them.

"You can't go. I most likely won't be able to catch them until they reach Court. You won't be able to even reach the gates before they capture you. They want you dead as well, Dimitri." I didn't realize that with each syllable my voice rose higher and higher.

"You're not going." Dimitri's voice rose to meet mine in volume.

"Well you most certainly aren't going either." I screeched as I jabbed my finger into his chest with each word." We stood toe to toe in the doorway staring at one another.

"What has prompted the two of you to scream the walls down, may I ask?" I heard my father's voice cut through the silence that had taken over the argument. I looked beneath Dimitri's arm to see my parents standing in the hall directly behind him. Dimitri dropped his arm and turned sideways, leaning his back against the door frame. Neither of is answered. My mother raised her eyebrows at me her face asked the question before it ever left her mouth.

"I believe your father asked you a question, Rosemarie, and I kind of want to know the answer myself. Or, would you like to explain why I was dragged out of bed from your yelling, Dimitri?" Her Guardian mask dropped for the time being as she sent a look that promised death if he had done something to hurt me.

"Stop it, Mom. It isn't his fault." I cleared my throat. "Lissa and Christian have run off to Court sometime during the last few hours and Dimitri refuses to let me go back." My parents both raised their eyebrows, but stayed silent. "He won't even make it to the gates before they kill him, it has to be me, and he doesn't believe that I am smart or capable enough to take care of myself."

Dimitri snorted at my last comment. Then looking me in the eye, gasped out, "Roza, I never said"

"You implied it." I spat back, interrupting him before he could finish.

"Don't make this about something it isn't, Rose. I never doubted your intelligence or you capabilities. They both are very sound, but I" His voice a couple decibels lower than mine had been.

"If I am capable and soundly intelligent, then why are you fighting me on this?" I hissed, tossing his words back at him.

"Because Roza, you are walking into a threat you don't know all of the details of."

"How is that any different than every time we walk outside of the wards?"

"We anticipate those attacks, we expect them."

"Then I know to expect that someone out there wants me dead. The only difference in this situation is that it is someone that isn't Strigoi."

"We don't know who, though Rose. It could be anyone at this point. What if it is someone you trust? They will be able to get around any safeguards you put around yourself, all because you trust them." His voice had grown flat.

"I have dealt with that too, or are you forget….."

"Enough!" My mother's single word cut the argument off and I turned to look at her, not believing I had forgotten my parents were standing just a couple feet from us. It went unnoticed that Dimitri never looked away from me. "I am going to go get dressed and then we will all sit down and talk this out, until then, don't do anything stupid or rash, either of you." She turned and walking quickly to her room, my father right behind her.

Dimitri bent his knees, bringing his face even with mine. "I am not letting you past this door, Rose. You might as well just go sit down and wait for your parents to return." Knowing I had lost the battle, I retired to one of the couches in my sitting room. I would concede this round to Dimitri, but if he thought he had won the war, he was just being a little too cocky of himself.

After a couple of minutes, he walked over and sat beside me. "Rose," he began and reached towards me.

"Not now Dimitri." I said as his thumb swiped the tear that was falling down my cheek.

"I'm scared for them too Roza, but for right now they are in a plane. We can't reach them there." His words had softened and no longer held an angry edge to them. "You know Lissa wouldn't have run off without you for good reason. Just sit tight, watch her through the bond, and find out what is going on. Call Eddie; tell him she is on her way back. He will probably be able to reach her before we could. She may have already called him, for all we know."

Pulling me into his lap, Dimitri laid a small kiss on the top of my head. "There is a lot we can do to make sure she stays safe, Roza. We don't need to run out of here halfcocked when your life is in danger. Lissa will be okay for now. She has Christian on her side and you know he won't hesitate to use fire if Lissa's life was endangered." He paused, allowing his words to sink in. "If it helps any, I will sit and hold you awhile; you can use the bond to keep an eye on her."

I nodded against his chest and closed my eyes. Taking a quick peep into Lissa's head, I saw they were still in flight. Leaving her mind, I dug out my phone and sent a quick text to Eddie.

Lissa heading back to Court. Contact her. Find her. Keep her safe. Will join you soon.

"See that wasn't so hard." Dimitri murmured. A quick knock sounded on the door, followed by my parents' slow entrance.

"I see that things have calmed down a bit." My father noted as they took a seat on the only other couch in the room. "Did you two work things out, then?"

"For now," I replied.

"Can we get a clear detail as to what is going on?" My mother asked again. Taking a deep breath I repeated all that I had been able to gather about why Lissa and Christian had taken off to Court. She and my father both took in each detail, never interrupting.

My mother asked a few questions when I was through with my explanation about what I wanted to do now that I had calmed down enough to think up a logical plan. Abe was seating in deep thought as he twisted part of his beard. He really did look like a Moroi mobster in that moment. Throwing his head back slightly, his hand waved through the air before settling back into his lap.

"Yes, Yes, I got it. Neither of you will go to Court." I jumped from Dimitri's lap, ready to argue. "Sit down and listen Rosemarie. You can't shut an idea down if you have not heard it." I slanted my eyes at him, but did as I was told. "Your mother and I will return to Court. I think a week of shopping is due for you, Janine, since you are on leave. While there, I will root around and get my own answers. Janine, do you think that if I took along a dozen or so Guardians would look conspicuous?"

"Why would you need a dozen Guardians?" I asked my father in disbelief.

"Why, not at all, Abe. You are known for being a bit eccentric." My mother giggled at the same time.

"Rose, I do not need a dozen Guardians, but I think Lissa and Christian could benefit from being guarded heavier than usual at this time, don't you?"

"What would Dimitri do? Sit here and just let everyone else protect them? If that is what you think-"

"That is exactly what I think needs the happen." He cut me off.

"Dimitri?" My mother was searching for what he thought of Abe's atrocious plan.

"I think it could work, Janine. Rose refuses to allow me to go, just as I refuse to allow her. Lissa and Christian would be more heavily guarded than the Queen. Rose can still access Lissa through the bond and can help from a distance if needed. If everything else fails, we can always join you at Court at a later date."

"You'll have to hogtie me to this couch if you think I am going to stay behind, Comrade." I challenged. A glint crossed his face and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't even think about it or I will-"

"No worries about that Roza. If I was to ever tie you up, it would be to our beds while I dine on your-." He whispered in my ear. The clearing of a throat brought my attention back to the other occupants in the room. "As, I was saying, I think the plan is a sound one, Janine." Dimitri finished, looking a little pink around the ears. I stood holding my breath and blinking at Dimitri with shock. The idea was not lost to me though.

"Rose, are you okay?" I heard my father ask. "Why Janine she turns the same shade of purple that you do when-"

"Hush Ibrahim!" my mother warned hastily. "I think we are done here for now. We will, uh, we are going to get ready to leave. We'll notify you before we go." My mother stammered as she pulled my father from the room.

"I see you have discovered the secret in how to shut up a Hathaway woman, Belikov. Use it wisely, son. Rose has her mother's temperament and it will come back to bite you in the ass." Abe laughed before closing the door behind him. I only had one thought. EEW!