Chapter 20

I'm rising up
I've had enough
I'm feeling invincible tonight
I'm alive
Take a look into my eyes

-Invincible by Adelita's Way

The house appeared vacant. I was crouched in the woods, just outside of where the wards would've been. I hadn't seen any guardians. Although it was technically night time on a vampire schedule, there still would have been guards patrolling the perimeter of the property, just as they had been when I was staying there. But I saw no one. It was a bad sign. That meant that Vasilisa, Adrian and Christian had actually run away. I had held on to some faint glimmer of hope that they hadn't really left and that Rose had created that dream as well. Such was not my luck, apparently.

I cautiously crept towards the house, approaching the rear side. There was a large patch of bushes and I slipped into them, trying to peer through a window. Suddenly, I heard someone.

"Who's there?" a male voice shouted. I ducked down. It was a dhampir—it had to be—and probably a guardian. I stayed as still as possible and tried to get a look at who it was. I could just barely see onto the porch. The man was wearing guardian attire and facing the other direction. He looked familiar, and when he started to turn around my suspicions were confirmed. It was Emil!

I could only hope he wouldn't see me—but I knew better. He was a trained guardian. The likelihood that I would go unnoticed was slim to none. Sure enough, his eyes settled on the bushes. He walked down the steps towards me "You better come out of…" he paused for a second. "Belikov?" I slowly stood up. "You're alive?" He stared at me incredulously. "We thought she would have killed…" He stopped midsentence because I'd punched him out cold. I felt bad for injuring a guardian, but I couldn't have him letting the others know where I was. And he would be fine—I hadn't hit him hard enough to do any real damage.

Feeling guilty, I left him lying on the ground. I wondered if he'd been here alone. I made my way around the side of the house and to the front. There was a black Honda sitting in the driveway, which must've been Emil's. I was curious what he was doing out here—perhaps the same thing I was doing. Even if Adrian, Christian and Lissa weren't here, the guardians might've still been watching the house. I wished I could tell if the wards were broken.

The car was unlocked, so I climbed inside. Emil's laptop was sitting open on the passenger seat. When I moved the mouse, an open document appeared. There were dates listed, all of them three or four days apart. Each was followed by a brief set of notes on the state of the house.

I glanced through them. Most said things like no evidence of activity or all appears secure. But the most recent update, from yesterday, said something different. Wards broken. No evidence of Strigoi on premises. All entry points to building still secure…

So the wards were broken. Yesterday. I wondered, then, why Emil was out here alone. The royal court wouldn't have sent anyone out here if they knew Strigoi could be here. If they were sending guardians they would've sent a whole team—not just one. So what had Emil been doing? I wished I wouldn't have knocked him out, so that I could ask him.

I didn't look through anything else on his computer. I felt too guilty. Emil was a well-respected guardian, and whatever he was doing here, I was sure it was for the sake of trying to stop the Strigoi. Getting knocked out by me was definitely the lesser of two evils compared to what could've happened to him if there were Strigoi here now.

I wasn't sure if Emil had been inside the house. When I had seen him, he was on the wrap-around porch, so he might've just walked around from the other side. I wanted to enter the house, but knowing that the wards were broken, I had to be cautious. Strigoi could be inside. Rose could be inside. I thought through the floor plan. All of the rooms on the first floor had windows. Even with the heavy drapes there would still be too much light for a Strigoi. There were a few closets, but all of them were relatively small, and I couldn't imagine a Strigoi lurking in one of them all day long. The basement gym, however, was another story. Spacious and windowless, it would be an ideal Strigoi hideout.

I figured it couldn't hurt to investigate the house, as long as I avoided the basement. The front door, however, was locked. The back door was locked too, I soon learned. I was about to break a window, when I thought of Emil. He probably had a set of keys on him.

Stepping off the porch, I knelt down next to his body in the grass. He looked like he could've been sleeping.

"Sorry buddy," I whispered as I reached in his pocket. Sure enough, there was a key ring with about a dozen keys on it. The third one I tried worked.

The back door led to the kitchen. What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. It looked as though a hurricane had blown through. Cupboard doors were ripped open. Plates and glasses were shattered all over the floor. A knife was perched ominously on the edge of the counter coated in dried blood.

Panic set in. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I darted through the house, looking for anyone. The formal living room was also a wreck—floor lamps lying on their sides, potted plants toppled over on the floor, and more blood staining the once pristine white furniture. But there wasn't a soul in sight.

The rest of the first floor was disheveled—but not as badly. There didn't appear to be anyone here. I speedily checked the second floor. It looked untouched. Lastly, I knew I had to check the basement.

Armed with my stake in hand, I darted down the stairs. There was no time to be cautious. People could be in danger, or injured. But when I reached the bottom of the stairs I found… nothing.

The basement was empty, save the gym equipment, and eerily quiet. Whoever had been attacked here was gone—they'd either escaped or been captured. I wished for the former but suspected the latter.

I searched the basement more thoroughly, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I was about to go back upstairs when I spotted a folded piece of parchment resting on top of a set of free weights. It was another note from Rose.

Hello my dearest Dimitri. It appears you've arrived too late. Nice try though. Maybe I'll reward you for your efforts. By the way, I have your princess and her little friends. Don't worry, they're safe—for now. You'll be thirsty when I awaken you, and I figured you might appreciate a little snack. Do hurry though. I won't wait forever. I look forward to seeing you again, darling.

All my love,

Roza

P.S. The city never sleeps and neither do I…

I swore in Russian and threw the note onto the ground. I started kicking the closest object I could find—which happened to be a treadmill—and continued shouting angrily. She had captured them! And here, of all places. Had they left and come back? Well, it didn't matter now—what did matter was rescuing them. The city never sleeps… She must have been taking them to New York!

I had to get to the city—as soon as possible! Emil's car keys were on the key ring I'd stolen from his pocket. I snatched the note back up, darted from the house, jumped in the car, and started to speed off.

An immediate pang of guilt hit me. I pulled back up to the house, jumped from the car, and ran to the back yard where Emil was still lying unconscious. I picked him up and carried him around to the driveway. I opened one of the back doors to the car and carefully placed him across the back seat. He stirred slightly, but didn't wake. I stomped on the gas pedal and tore out of the driveway like lightening.

Once I reached the interstate, I didn't drive slower than 90 mph. I didn't care what happened. My mind was only focused on one thing—getting to Lissa, Adrian and Christian before Rose killed them. I could not fail.

I peered at Emil in the rear view mirror. I wasn't sure what to do when he woke up. I could certainly use another guardian to help me out. But I didn't want him calling the other guardians too soon and preventing us from getting there in time. I had to be the one to handle this, and the other guardians probably wouldn't let me fight.

Fifteen minutes later, I saw Emil shift and stir. Blinking his eyes a few times, he sat up. I watched him in the rearview mirror.

"Belikov?" he asked. He seemed confused. There was no time for long-winded explanations. That could all be worked out later. They could do whatever they wanted with me. But for now, there was only one thing on my agenda.

"Yes. We're on our way to New York. The princess, Adrian and Christian were captured. By Rose."

"But—but you're not a guardian anymore. You abandoned us. Everyone thinks you're dead. Or Strigoi." Emil's glare was scrutinizing.

"Yes, I did leave. I'm sorry. But I was trying to find Rose to prevent this very thing from happening."

"You're wanted by the Moroi government for endangering Moroi royals," said Emil. "But what's important now is rescuing the Moroi." He paused a moment. "And you knocked me out earlier," he added indignantly.

"Sorry about that. I couldn't let you turn me in before I saw this mission through."

"I ought to call in back-up for us now," said Emil. "It's my duty to report that I've found you. Plus, you're no longer a guardian, so you shouldn't be handling this."

"I was the only one who actually went looking for Rose!" I snapped, feeling angry. "And I will finish this off. Without help." Emil ignored me and pulled out his cell phone. I was caught between paying attention to him and trying to drive. What I did next, I was incredibly ashamed of. But I couldn't let him call anyone. I pulled my gun from my pocket and pointed it at him.

"You will not call anyone," I insisted, using my coldest tone.

"Jesus Christ, Dimitri!" he exclaimed, shocked. "Alright, I won't call anyone." He dropped the cell phone and raised both of his hands. He looked at me like I was a crazy person. Maybe I was. I put the gun back down and focused by eyes on the road. I was most certainly not the calm, level-headed guardian I used to be. I'd thrown Rose's so-called Zen life lessons out the window. Regardless of whether I succeeded in this mission or failed, my life would no longer be worth living. And it was that knowledge that had slowly freed me from following the rules. I didn't fear consequences. Without Rose, things really couldn't get much worse.

"I don't expect you to help me," I told Emil after a minute, feeling guilty for dragging him into this. "I didn't want to leave you at the house passed out. You might've been in danger."

"Says the man who just pointed a gun in my face," commented Emil. "But if we're fighting to save the Moroi, then of course I am going to help." I could tell he was irritated, but he was incredibly calm given the situation. If someone had done to me what I'd done to him they would probably be unconscious by this point. "I should tell you something, too," he added after a moment. "No one knew I was out at the house today. I came alone. When we discovered a few days ago that the wards were broken, the queen instructed everyone to stay away from the property. But I thought, if we are ever going to solve this mess, we should be paying attention to what the Strigoi are doing, not ignoring them. So I decided to go have a look around on my own. Needless to say, I didn't get very far."

"I really am sorry, Emil." He shrugged.

"I've had worse. We were both acting against orders. I assume you found something inside the house then?"

"There were obvious signs of a struggle. And a note from Rose saying that she'd captured the princess and the others and taken them to New York."

"Ever since those four got away, the queen has had us searching everywhere for them. But there's no trace of them to be found. They're smart kids."

"Smart kids with a lot of money," I added, thinking of Adrian. And Lissa too, for that matter. "But apparently they couldn't outsmart Rose. She has them now. I wonder why they came back to the house?"

"They were probably seeking the safety of the wards. They couldn't have gone anywhere else with wards without being seen. I'll bet something scared them and they came running back," Emil reasoned.

"But it was too late," I continued. "Rose must have gotten humans to break the wards. She's been getting humans to do things for her, and then changing them into Strigoi."

"I still don't understand why you don't want backup," Emil commented. "We have no idea what kind of situation we could be walking into." I knew he was right, but this was my fight! Mine! This mess was my fault and I needed to fix it!

"Do I need threaten you again?" I growled, sounding angrier than I meant to. Emil looked taken aback.

"No." I could tell he was angry with me—and rightfully so. I thought about just dropping him off somewhere and telling him to get lost. But he was a guardian, and even if I wasn't following the rules, I knew he wasn't going to leave when there were Moroi lives at stake.

I was weaving through cars on the interstate, and making good time. I hoped it would be good enough. I knew I was playing right into Rose's game—but this was the way it had to happen. She and I, one on one. I had made this promise to her and I intended to keep it. It was the last thing I could do for her after I'd failed her so many times. And no one was going to destroy her except me.

"So, have you seen Rose?" asked Emil, after a few moments.

"Yes, I encountered her once. She got away." I didn't want to elaborate or tell the true story.

"You two were close. It must be difficult for you." I was surprised by Emil's sympathy. I simultaneously hoped that he didn't somehow know exactly how close Rose and I had been.

"Mmm hmm," I mumbled in agreement.

"I would have thought you'd rather have someone else take care of this. It's always more difficult when they're someone you used to know."

"She's not who I used to know," I stated with more certainty than I truly felt. "Besides, we had a discussion once—that we'd both rather be dead than exist as Strigoi. I know this is what she would want."

"You could still get someone else to do it—or at least to help. If you fail, then she'll continue on and kill even more people."

"I won't fail. I taught her everything she knows about fighting. I'm probably the only one who can do this." And I loved her. And I already failed her too many times.

"Overconfident," I heard Emil mutter under his breath.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," I retorted. "But at least three Moroi teenagers didn't escape on my watch." That was low, and I knew it. I was being an asshole—but this conversation was too mentally exhausting for me.

"If you need to be reminded, Mr. Belikov, you didn't give them the chance to escape on your watch because you ran away first." At that point, I would've loved to sock Emil in the face again. But since I was driving a car, that wasn't a possibility. So instead I reached over, cranked up the radio full blast, and smashed the accelerator to the floor.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered what had happened to the person I used to be—calm, collected, sane. But if there was one thing I had learned from Rose when she was a dhampir, it was that you didn't always win playing by the rules. Sometimes, you had to fight fire with fire.

And me, well, I was an inferno.