Rosemarie Hathaway
I don't know how to explain it. One second I wanted Dimitri so much that I had no other thoughts but to give myself to him fully. The next, was like waking up from a dream too suddenly as what we were about to do slammed into my mind so ferociously that I was left winded. Without mercy I was pulled into Lissa's head before I could really ponder what had almost happened. "Rose, Help!" She kept screaming in her mind over and over.
"Dimitri, we have to find my mother now!" I yelled at him as I began to pull on my clothing. Dimitri stood still looking at the bed in shock. "Hey, everything is okay, but we need to find my mom, Lissa is in trouble. Someone's taken her." I told him as I laid a hand on his arm. That seemed to pull him from his thoughts as he quickly began to dress. He had no sooner gotten his shoes on when I tossed his door open, uncaring if the hall monitor caught me. We ran side by side downstairs and into the Moroi evening.
I knew my mother could be just about anywhere on campus, so I decided that Alberta would be my best choice. "Alberta, you have to call my mom! You have-"
"Hathaway, Belikov, what are you doing out after curfew?" Alberta interrupted me.
"It's Lissa, she's in danger. Someone has taken her." I continued, ignoring her question.
"Are you sure?" She asked, my words taking hold.
"Yes. I was pulled into her head. She's really scared, Alberta."
"There haven't been any alarms, how could Strigoi have gotten on and off campus without being detected?" Alberta said more to herself than anyone.
"It wasn't Strigoi. It was Guardians. I could see their clothing, but not their faces." I explained in a hushed voice.
Alberta gave me another questioning look, but busied herself in calling in my mother and other Guardians that could assist in creating and executing a plan to bring Lissa back.
"We have it from here; the two of you can head back to your dorms now." Alberta said as a knock sounded against the door.
"I'm going Alberta." I stated, leaving no room to argue. "I can see through Lissa. I will be able to help you get to her much faster."
Alberta seemed to mull over the idea as she called out for whoever was knocking on her door to enter. Seeing my mother, I ran into her arms. "We have to get her back, mom." I cried out.
"Hush now, Rosemarie. We will, don't you worry." She steered me back into my seat and turned her attention to Alberta. "What do we know?" she asked.
"Only what Rose has told us. Princess Dragomir has been taken off campus by what Rose says is Guardians."
"Guardians, Rosemarie, are you sure?" Janine said as she spun her entire body in my direction.
"Yes, mom, it was guardians."
"Do you know what they wanted? Where they were headed, perhaps?" She continued to ask.
"No, I was able to pull out of her mind and rush over here." I told her. Her eyes fell to Dimitri, but before she could say anything more, other Guardians piled into the office. Alberta asked that I once again try to find out more information through the bond.
I settled into my chair and nervously closed my eyes, when I felt a warm hand wrap around one of my own. Peeping down, I smiled as I saw Dimitri's hand holding mine comfortingly. "They are heading east out of town. I think I know that Guardian from somewhere. It's – it's" I came back to myself as I shuddered in confusion.
"Rosemarie, who took Lissa," my mother asked me as she laid a hand on my shoulder.
"It was Victor, I mean Prince Dashkov." I near whispered into the silent room.
"We have the cars ready out front." One of the Guardians told Alberta.
"We should leave before they can get any further." Alberta said. "Novice Belikov, return to your dorm and please, do not speak to anyone of this until we know what's going on. Novice Hathaway, you will be coming with us. We will need you to guide us along. I feel that with the assistance the bond will give us, it will defuse the situation much quicker." She added the last bit when an audible gasp was heard from one of the Guardians.
Dimitri gave my hand one last squeeze before standing up and leaving the room. I missed his presence immediately once the door closed behind him. I felt a shudder go through my body and had reached my hand up, wrapping it around my mother's hand that still rested on my shoulder. Uncharacteristically she kneeled down in front of me. "Rose, we will get the Dragomir Princess back. You will be okay. Help us get there, we will do the rest." She assured me. At the clearing of a throat, she glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing that several Guardians were witnessing the infallible Janine Hathaway share a tender moment with her daughter. Her guardian mask slipped back in place and with a gentle pat to my hand, she stood up and moved to stand in attention at my side.
Alberta began giving out orders and soon enough we were walking briskly to the awaiting vehicles. Alberta, my mother and I took the first in line, the other Guardians dispersing into the last three. I slipped into the backseat, but was surprised when I found Christian Ozera tucked into the floor board between the passenger front seat and the bench seat I was now occupying. My mouth flew open as I searched for words as to what he was doing, but he stopped me by placing his finger to his lips along with a pleading look. I simply nodded and seconds later the car began moving forward. I closed my eyes and let myself get pulled into Lissa mind and guided Alberta along the roadways.
"They've passed a third driveway." I told her. "Wait they are turning into the fourth one. Lissa is being dragged out of the car and Victor is definitely behind it." I continued as I watched the guardians place Lissa in a chair. Victor began speaking with her. "Victor wants Lissa to heal him. He's been the one behind everything. The animals they were him. Wait. Who is Kenneth? Does anyone," my question was cut off as it felt like my head was going to explode. Kenneth was an air user and was using air to torture Lissa into submission. I screamed out along with Lissa as the pain become too much to bare. All to soon it stopped, leaving me breathless. "We need to get there now, they are torturing her." I screamed out. I opened my eyes to find my mother looking at me worriedly before her eyes jumped to something behind me.
"Novice Belikov," I heard her begin to question but I was sucked back into Lissa mind before I could begin to comprehend what she wanted to know. It felt like someone was sucking all of the air from my lungs. My chest burned and my throat tightened as if I was being choked. Just as I felt as if I would pass out the feeling stopped and I was left gasping for breath. I forced myself out of Lissa's mind once again.
"Rose! Rose! Roza!" I heard being screamed at me.
"Give her a moment Novice Belikov." My mother shouted. I looked into her face to see her wearing an expression of absolute fear.
"We need to get there now! Wait. Lissa is healing him." I said, ignoring everyone except the need to get to Lissa.
"We are turning into the driveway now." Alberta said.
"When we get there, the two of you are not to leave this car. Am I understood?" My mother demanded.
"Yes Ma'am." Dimitri acquiesced.
"Mom-" I began to argue at the same time.
"Rosemarie. Stay. In. The. Car." She gritted out. I gulped and nodded my head. I had no intentions of actually doing as she said.
Alberta and my mother jumped from the now parked car, and I watched as they joined with the other guardians to split up and begin their rescue raid of the large home. Christian rose from his hiding spot to sit in the seat next to me and I turned so I could look between him and Dimitri, who had hidden away in the third row seating.
"What are the two of you doing? This isn't some game." I yelled at them.
"That is my girlfriend in there. I wanted to help." Christian answered back.
"I wasn't going to let you come alone." Dimitri supplied at the same time.
"First off, I understand that you – love – Lissa, Christian, but you're Moroi. You would just get in the way. Second off, I am not alone, Dimitri. I am with fourteen other Guardians."
"I am not a helpless Moroi. I know offensive magic." Christian answered back. "I can help."
"Are we going to listen to your mom then Rose?" Dimitri asked.
"Hell no," I exclaimed. "Lissa is locked upstairs with a Guardian standing guard in her room and is compelling him to help her escape. She is going to attempt to climb down from the window. I'm going to go get her. The two of you are going to stay here, " I told them. They both began to argue with me. "I don't have time to argue with you. Dimitri, just stay here and keep Christian safe." I told him as I stepped from the vehicle.
I ran towards Lissa, but stopped at the edge of the trees, when I saw a group of psi-hounds cornering her. Picking up a large stick from the ground, I rushed forward, knocking one back. It turned its attention to me, hunkering down, and readying to attack. Bracing my hold on the stick, I swung toward its head as soon as he was within reach. The stick smacked against the psi-hound sending both it and me flailing backwards. I steadied myself, once again bracing for another attack when I noticed the stick had shattered. The psi-hound launched towards me once again and raising my hands to try and block the attack, I was distracted by movement from my peripheral vision. Dimitri rushed forward and with a single round house kick sent the psi-hound into the air. I nodded in thanks and rushed to stand between Lissa and the two psi-hounds that still had her cornered. They weren't really attacking, just keeping her contained. I glanced between them and Dimitri who was battling it out with the third.
I watched in horror as Dimitri began to wrestle the beast to the ground. He eventually was able to gather the psi-hound into a choke hold and produce a pocket knife from somewhere. He sent the sharp blade into the chest of the animal before pulling it out and slitting its throat. The battle over, a winded Dimitri rolled off of the animal and laid beside it on the ground. It was then that I noticed he had a large gash along his thigh and bite marks along his arm.
I wanted to run to him, but knew that I could not leave Lissa. I yelled out to Dimitri, and was relieved when he answered back. Knowing that he was at least conscious made me feel somewhat better. I took in my surrounding once again and noticed that Victor Dashkov had somehow escaped the rescue party and was heading our direction. Pushing Lissa directly behind me I stood in a defensive pose. He would never lay another hand on her as long as I lived.
"Rose, I only want Vasilissa. Be a good girl and move out of the way. I don't want to hurt you." Victor said as he drew closer to us.
"I don't think so." I yelled at him. "You will have to kill me before you ever lay a hand on her."
"That can be arranged." Victor answered back as he swiftly pulled and steadied a gun in my direction. "Now hand her over. There is no need in any more bloodshed, but I will get what I want. Don't test me Rose."
"You will kill her." I told him. "What you want her to do will kill her. She can't keep healing you forever." I warned.
"I know that, child, but with her healing I can gain what I want. Now move out of the way. This is the last time I will ask." He sneered.
I simply shook my head as I saw my mother and Alberta slip behind him. "Put the gun down, Prince Dashkov." Alberta's told him when she was just a few yards away. Victor sensing he was about to be defeated, grinned manically.
"If I cannot get what I want, then our world will lose the most precious gift they have received." He said almost too calmly. "Attack," He commanded and in under a second I stood frozen in utter fear as I watched the last two psi-hounds launch themselves in the air, their target the gentle Moroi Princess that stood just behind me. Twisting around, I wrapped my best friend in my grasp causing her to fall to the ground. I placed myself protectively around her body, but the attack never came. Time seemed to have stopped as I waited for the viciousness of teeth and claws to rip into my skin.
Instead, time started again all at once. I heard the beasts let out painful whimpers, at the same time as Victor's yell of defeat and a gunshot sounded off. I thought that I would feel the burn of the bullet, but after a moment of no pain, I rolled off Lissa and we sat up to find the horrifying scene in front of us. Christian lay sprawled at our feet, gasping for breath as blood began to cover his chest. The psi-hounds lay just beyond him, both in burnt heaps of skin and bone.
Lissa screamed out for Christian and before I could stop her she was knelt over his body, trying to force her magic to flow between them. "I can't." She whimpered. "Victor took so much from me." Glancing again at Christian, I felt Lissa's feelings for him. They met the same intensity of the ones I felt for Dimitri. I did the only thing I could think of. I yanked my jacket off my shoulder, tossing my hair back, and nodded to Lissa. She gave me a look of mixed sorrow and thankfulness just before she sunk her fangs into me. The endorphins from her bite sent me into a haze of blissfulness and all to soon it was over.
I watched in dazed awe, as she knelt beside Christian. As her magic flowed between them, I felt as we both became more unstable and tried to reach out to her to stop her. I weakly pulled her away from Christian as another dizzy wave began to overtake me. Lissa and I held tight to one another as we both fought to stay alert after the use of so much of her magic, but all too quickly I felt the world disappear around me and succumbed to the darkness beyond as my body finally gave out.