The seats are stiff and uncomfortable. I shift uneasily, gripping the onto the armrests. The last time I had ridden on a plane, Rose had come down with a headache and had begun to scream. That was when she had began to ghosts. I still felt guilty about that, not completely believing Rose when she had told me. But then, I knew it was no use. I still wasn't totally convinced, although I was very tempted to give in. But it wouldn't have made a difference. She would still be gone.
The sun is high overhead, or so I have last seen, since all of the plastic shades have been pulled down for the comfort of the Moroi. Several Guardians line the sides of the plane, more than I have imagined would come. But now that Rose was gone, they needed extra protection. Especially where we're going.
The Princess sits ahead with Christian, Adrian, and Avery, unfortunately. Her father, the future headmaster, got her to go along.
Tasha sits beside me, flipping through a book, but obviously not absorbing the information. I lean back against the headrest and close my eyes.
"What? Why? This could be extremely dangerous at a time like this!" she demands. I sigh.
"Vasilisa received a letter from Victor Dashkov. He won't talk to me, but I have reason to believe he has information that might be beneficial to the Princess." I hand her the Princess's letter, and she scans it quickly.
"If you can pack your things quickly, I will allow you to leave tomorrow. With supervison, of course." I nod.
"Yes, Guardian Petrov."
"Take care of her, Belikov."
"Guardian Belikov? Guardian Belikov?" I snap open my eyes to see the Princess standing beside me. "We're here."
...
We move through the dark, endless halls. The fluorescent lights hum overhead, filling the stark spaces with an echoing buzz. As we approach his cell, I can see the Princess is starting to get nervous. I have never been one for words of comfort, so I stay silent.
When we reach Victor's cell, he is sitting on his bed. His hands are casually behind his head, and his legs are lying one over the other. He looks up as we arrive.
A smile crosses his face, one that makes me want to hit it off of him. This man brings out the worst qualities in me.
"Ah, young Vasilisa." He flicks his gaze to me. "Belikov." I grit my teeth.
"What do you want, Dashkov?" I try to keep my voice smooth and calm. He smirks again.
"You two showed up faster than I expected. And with over 48 hours to spare. Looks you do everything early, Belikov." A growl escapes my throat.
"We're not here to chat, Dashkov. You said you could help the Princess. What did you mean?"
He completely ignores me and turns towards the Princess. "Vasilisa, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of young Rosemarie. Have you begun to feel the spirit's side effects?" She shakes her head, never looking him in the eye.
"No? Well, if you continue to use your spirit, I assure you that you will. Rosemarie is unable to take it from you anymore."
I can't help but blurt out, "Why not?" He glares at me, but answers my questions.
"As I said in my letter, you cannot pass between the line of the living and the dead."
Before I can stop myself, I speak again. "Then why was the bond not broken? Why can Rose still see the Princess?"
"Because Rosemarie is shadow-kissed. She has already crossed the line of the dead. But Vasilisa brought her back."
"So what can I do?" We both turn to the Princess, remembering she is still here.
Victor rises into a sitting position. "Well, since you can't heal the darkness from yourself, perhaps a charmed object may ward off some of the darkness."
What? Vasilisa and I exchange glances.
"Wait, what?" she asks. "Heal...the...darkness? Charmed..."
Victor smiles. "Of course. The darkness she takes is a sickness. An illness of the mind. You could have easily healed it. But now, the darkness will be too much a part of you for you to rid yourself of it."
Her jaw falls open. "But- It can't be that simple! I can just, heal her?" He shakes his head.
"You could have. But Rosemarie is far past that point, Princess." We both flinch at that.
I decide to push my luck of Victor's obvious dislike of me. "What's a charmed object? What does that even mean?" I demand, my words harsh and disbelieving. Victor glares at me.
"A charmed object means," he flicked his gaze back to the Princess. "That an object has been embedded with spirit. It contains traces of your element, and helps to heal."
The Princess gaped. "I can do that?" He smiles.
"Yes, Vasilisa. It doesn't heal as you can, but it does protect the holder in a certain way."
"Wouldn't using her spirit to infuse objects just make her feel the effects faster? Won't it hurt her more?" He glares at me again.
"I'm helping her. And if she figures out how to infuse objects, it will help her in the future."
"Yes, but-"
Victor sighs loudly. "Don't you have a young girl to abuse?"
I take a threatening step forward, but the Princess's voice breaks through my anger.
"We're done here." She turns on her heal and marches out of the prison. I can do nothing but follow.
As we reach the doors, I pass Mikhail.
"Thank you for getting us in here," I whisper, hoping the Princess cannot hear me.
He nods and returns to his post, seeing-without-seeing.
She is waiting for me as I step out of the stairwell.
"I'm going to find Christian, okay?" Her expression is one of hardness and confusion.
We make our way over to a group of small cafès and restaurants. Her friends sit in a row of stools in a dark-lit bar. She takes a seat and dismisses any questions.
"You want a drink, right?" Avery asks, eyeing her expression closely. I wonder if she suspects anything, the deep look she is giving her makes me think that she does.
Vasilisa flicks her gaze towards me, catching my eye long enough to see my disapproving look and small shake of my head. Don't do it, I silently warn.
She turns back to her friends. "Yeah, I could definately use a drink."
