Chapter 12: Damage Control

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy

RPOV

"Just get the hell away from me will you," I growled shoving the two eager, Moroi, freshman away from me. They'd been drooling at my feet ever since the party started and they were beginning to get a bit grabby. I looked over to where Lissa had been standing and chatting with nearly every Moroi in the entire school all night to find she wasn't there anymore. I sighed and began walking towards the kitchen. She was probably freshening up her drink. The thumping of the base from the speakers in the living room was giving me a headache anyways. Not that it was all the music, mostly my headache had come from playing nice with all the sorority bitches that were here. During the ceremony I'd looked for Stacy, but it seems she changed her mind and or they changed it for her and she hadn't been initiated after all. I was secretly relieved. She didn't need these girls to make her feel worthy. She was so much better than them already.

"They could at least play some decent music," I grumbled to myself as I continued to look for Lissa as she was not in the kitchen. It was so much easier to find her when I could slip into her head. That was one thing about the not having the bond that really sucked, I was so used to having a low jack on her that now I worried whenever she wasn't right next to me. It had really scared me not knowing if she was okay the night we were attacked a few weeks ago. If Dimitri hadn't been there I don't know what I would have done. I continued walking down the hallway checking each room as I went, but there was no sign of her. I told her not to wander away. I was so hoping I wasn't going to have to call for back up.

As I continued to search I heard what sounded like shouting coming from the parlor. I followed the noise and found Darcy and Serena cowering on the floor frantically clawing at their skin. The entire parlor looked like a tornado had plowed through it. There was broken glass everywhere and the furniture was overturned. Could there be Strigoi? How had they gotten past the guardians patrolling the perimeter of the house? I drew my stake and readied myself for battle.

"Get them off of me," Darcy screeched clawing frantically at her face. She had begun to bleed she'd scratched herself so hard. What in the hell was wrong with them? They acted as if they could see something I couldn't.

I glanced to my left still looking for Strigoi and saw Lissa standing on the coffee table her arms outstretched and her eyes wild. Her hair was mussed, her dress was ripped and she'd lost a shoe. I recognized immediately that the darkness had taken over her and that she was the one causing the hallucinations. She looked murderous like that day back at the Academy. This was not going to be pretty. I needed to stop her and fast. I couldn't pull the darkness from her this time.

"Lissa you need to stop," I commanded. She didn't even look at me. In truth I'm not sure she even heard me with the state she was in.

"Lissa!" I cried grabbing her roughly and shaking her shoulders. "You need to stop this. It isn't you. It's the darkness and I can't take it from you. You have to fight it," I tried to get her to hear me. This time her eyes focused a little.

"No Rose! They need to pay for what they did to you!" She sounded entirely insane as she said this. I now realized she must have found out about that night in the woods. This was so not happening only it was.

"Please make it stop," Serena cried out backing into the corner." I had no idea what she was making them see, but the looks of terror on their faces were enough to make me think it wasn't good.

"Lissa, this kind of black magic is not good for you. You need to stay on our side of the line," I tried reasoning with her, but she continued to glared at them with a glint of evil in her eyes.

I needed help. I was in over my head and I was drowning. I didn't want all the guardian's to come storming in it would only draw attention to an already deteriorating situation, so I used my phone to text Eddie. He'd be able to keep it quiet and he already knew about Lissa's darkness, a fact that was not made privy to the rest of her royal guard.

He burst through the door just seconds later. "What the hell?" he cried as he took in the scene before him.

"No time. I need you to clean up the mess in here. The glass, the lamp, the rest make sure it is all in order."

"What about her?" he said pointing to Lissa. His eyes were wide. "And what about them?" He pointed at Darcy and Serena.
"Don't worry I've got it," I told him. I so did not want to resort to this, but I couldn't think of anything else.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, pulled my arm back and swung at her hard, but not full force. My fist made contact with Lissa's chin and she went down like a ton of bricks. I caught her as she screamed in pain.

Oh please don't let me go to jail for assaulting the Queen, I prayed afraid I'd end up in a cell next to Tasha. As soon as Lissa went down whatever hold she had on the girls broke and the screaming ceased.

"Detain them," I told Eddie.

"How?"

"I don't care how." I barked. There was no time and no one could know about this.

"Lissa? Lissa? Are you okay?" I slapped her face a little.

"Rose?" she asked opening her eyes. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"I remember most of it, but why am I on the floor?"

"Don't be mad."

"Mad about what?"

"I hit you," I confessed.

"Oh." She shrugged. "Thanks. I needed it." I looked at her incredulously. I hadn't expected that. She was going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow.

"Can you stand?"

"I think so. Help me up." I grabbed her hand hauling her to her feet.

"What did I do?" she gasped surveying the damage taking in the blood and scratches on Serena and Darcy's faces, chest and arms.

"I don't know what you made them see, but this is not something that can be made public knowledge," I hissed.

"What are we going to do about them?" Eddie asked. He'd tied Serena and Darcy to the chairs.

"I'll take care of it," Lissa said.

"No Liss the darkness," I reached out grabbing her shoulder.

"Rose I have to they can't tell anyone about this. I'll lose the throne." I stepped back realizing she was right.

She stepped forward and looked both girls straight in the eyes.

"The two of you got into an argument and beat each other up. Rose, Eddie and I were never here in this parlor. Forget everything you saw tonight. Go upstairs and go straight to sleep." She compelled them.

Their eyes glazed over and they nodded in agreement walking right by us and up the stairs.

I barely made it to Lissa before she fell over.

"We need to get her back to the dorm and I need to make a call." I told Eddie. He supported her weight as we snuck out the back door. Phillips met up with us once we were outside.

"Is everything okay Hathaway?"

"Yep Liss is just tired and we're going to take her home." He nodded and backed off undoubtedly thinking she'd had a little too much to drink. Hey it was college and it was better than him knowing the truth.

Once we got Lissa back to the dorm she went straight for her bed reaching under it pulling out a pair of boots.

"What are you doing with those?" I asked eying her curiously.

"Don't judge me," she said pulling a bottle out of one of them

"Vodka?" I gasped as she opened it taking a large slug.

She nodded taking another big gulp.

"I know it's wrong, but Adrian was right it does help. The reason it got so bad tonight is because I wasn't able to sneak it at home. Christian would have noticed," She said with a sigh sinking to the ground in shame.

"Oh Liss why didn't you tell me it was so bad? How long has this been going on?"

"For a while," She admitted sadly tears leaking out her jade green eyes.

"You should have told me."

"Right like you should have told me what those bitches did to your hair," she said sarcastically.

I looked down at the floor. "I know."

"How did you grow it back?" she asked.

"Adrian healed it." She nodded.

"We can't keep things from each other it just ends up blowing up in our faces," she said.

I knew she was right. "Well in that case. Those bitches have been making my life a living hell. Can we please not be Delta Gamma's?" I pleaded.

"You got it," she said.

"Now give me the bottle."

"No please Rose, I need it," she begged.

"So do I." I grabbed it out of her hands and took a huge gulp enjoying the feeling of the burn in my throat as it slid down. She laughed. "Don't we make a sorry pair?"

"That we do Liss. That we do."

So this darkness thing is becoming a real problem. What to do what to do? Meditation or medication only time will tell. What do you think Lissa will do to those Delta Gammas now that she knows what bigots they are? Who wants to see some Adrian and Sydney? I think it's about time they got a little physical=) Who did Rose call and why? Review and you'll find out sooner!