A/N: I wrote about half of this chapter one night then the next morning my brother comes up to me and says I don't know what the hell I did but Warcraft is no longer on the computer! And Warcraft was in my folder where all of my stuff is, and I mean EVERYTHING. Not only did he delete Warcraft but my folder was completely gone including this chapter. So it's his fault that I haven't UD this chapter before.

I almost threw him out the window.

Onward with the story….

Disclaimer: I don't own VA, only own the plot and a few characters.

Chapter 19

"OW!" Adrian wailed.

"Scream out one more fucking time and you'll lose your tongue," I warned, my eyes piercing his with such ferocity he became silent. Better.

Lissa sat beside me, assessing my every movement as if she was sensing I was about to strike. Considering my fellow neighbor knocked on my door and asked what was going on, I was in no mood to play it nice. So I made the Moroi princess answer the door as I tended to douchebag's wounds, caused effortlessly by me. I inwardly smiled at that thought.

"Is she always so nosey?" Lissa asked after she returned to her spot.

I gritted my teeth. "No more nosey and pestering as the two Moroi in here."

After that she hadn't said a word. Was it her fear of me going wacko on them or the fact she couldn't come up with a comeback, I didn't know or cared. As long as I got rid of them a.s.a.p., I'll hang on to the little sanity I have. I had no bandages so I used the bed spread sheet and secured it with a needle and thread.

Adrian's eyes every so often would look between me and Lissa, other than that he kept a firm eye of his arm and the needle I carried.

Please. My fangs are sharper than the needle.

The questions I wanted to bark at them where on the tip of my tongue. First of all, how in the world did they find me?

That's what got to me the most. What, did the Moroi install a tracker in me whilst I was a dhampir? Seems like a suss thing for them to do considering I was loyal to the Moroi. Now, not so much. If I didn't know Lissa and Adrian, they'd both be my dinner. I hope they realized that. Judging from Lissa's expression, I assumed she did.

Considering Adrian had lost a fair bit of blood, he needed blood to heal his injury quicker. And unfortunately there was none in the fridge. I pinched the bridge of my nose before getting up and walking to the door.

"I'll be back."

Five minutes later, I dragged a human into my apartment and set her down on the couch. Lissa was in the middle of letting out a scream when I forcefully threw a pillow at her from the couch; making her tumble backwards.

"It'll be your fault if my neighbor comes in here a second time and her heart suddenly stops. Understand?" I barked.

Still unable to recover from the fact that I just used a pillow as a weapon, she was speechless. She crawled next to Adrian and stared at him with wide eyes, mirroring his.

Yeah, don't wanna mess with this crazy bitch.

I grabbed a crystal champagne glass from the cupboard and set it down on the bench. I retrieved a needle from the first aid-kit and grabbed a hold of the human's wrist. After I took her blood, I then squirted it into the glass. Lissa and Adrian watched in horror.

"Be glad I'm not letting you hold her as you feed," I said in a bored tone.

When the glass was filled, I walked over to Adrian and held it before his lips. Without any form of a complaint or struggle, he gulped it down in a matter of seconds. His wound slowly healed but at a much faster rate than if he had been a human. I repeated the procedures twice before handing Lissa a glass. She shook her head.

"I've already feed," she protested.

Bond or no bond, I knew she was lying.

"Nice try. Drink it."

After a few more treats to cut off all her hair and shave off her eyebrows, she finally complied, glaring at me while she reluctantly drank. I returned a polite grin making sure my fangs were in clear site.

"It's time to tell me why you're here," I said sternly, my eyes cutting into theirs.

Lissa set down the glass with over exaggerated slowness. She made sure that all contents of blood were gone from the inside of her mouth before she answered.

"We came because we need your help," she said softly.

I looked between them, wondering which to punch first.

Seeing that look, Lissa quickly went on. "St Vladimir's isn't exactly safe at the moment. No school is. Nor is the Court. It came under attack."

I didn't shift my position nor looked like I really even cared.

"By Strigoi."

My eyes widened with mock horror. My hand flew to my heart. "My goodness, thank God. I thought you were going to say the Court was under attack by wild floating pigs. 'Tis a tragedy!"

Lissa looked at me disapprovingly. "We came because you're the only one that can help and has mostly seen the complete inside of the Court being a….dhampir at that time."

"What about Eddie?"

"He's been missing for three months."

"Meredith?"

"She….fell," Lissa said gravelly.

I bit out a harsh sigh. "Lissa, I'm a Strigoi. Why would it affect me if my 'species' attacked a bunch of fat, non-intellectual, bratty aristocrats? Hmm? Considering I'd rejoice at the moment when my eyes fall upon the site of Strigoi smacking Tatiana."

"They've taken over the Court! The wards are broken, there are more and more dhampirs and Moroi coming into the Court day by day without knowing what has happened or what is to become of them once they step foot inside!"

"Majority of the royals at the time…were able to…. escape, but the dhampirs…" Adrian broke off, unable to look at us.

My brow furrowed. Strigoi really have taken over the Court?

"Must have been a pretty big coven. I was part of one but we led by different rules and never were going to interfere with the Court unless proven otherwise," I said dully, letting my mind drift away thinking about my family.

Lissa leaned forward, resting her chin on her fists. "Last thing we saw was Queen Tatiana being pushed into a car by her guardian before it sped off. A little while later a car burst into flames and exploded. I assumed it was her car but-"

"She is not dead," Adrian spat, his eyes darting to hers with a glare.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" I asked before they tore each other's heads off.

Lissa turned back towards me, but not before casting Adrian a sideward glance.

"We're under the assumption that the Strigoi may be holding prisoners-"

"Are you seriously that uneducated in the Strigoi department?" I said exasperatedly. "Strigoi don't keep prisoners. Unless for blood and that isn't for a long period either. Trust me I've seen it. If they're smart, they wouldn't keep anyone important alive."

"What if they're wiling to bargain?" Adrian said, his eyes were far away, deep in thought.

"Bargain what exactly?" I said sarcastically.

"Gold?" Lissa suggested.

"Uh, no," I concluded. "They don't need us as they're gold dealers. It's called stealing."

"What about a person?" Lissa said

We both looked at her as if she was an alien.

"Ok, let's just assume we're trading someone to get Tatiana. One, Tatiana is the queen. The shiz niz, the ultimate mega bitch of the-"

"Get to the point," Adrian said, impatiently gesturing to move on.

"We'd have to get someone with a seriously high profile among the Strigoi for them to even consider trading."

"But who?" Adrian asked.

"Obviously a royal," Lissa said, rolling her eyes.

The fact that they were both royal and were suggesting to trick one of them into trading for someone who's captured was hysterical. Then the thought occurred to me.

"Wait, are you saying you know who was captured? Or has the possibility of still being alive?" I asked suspiciously.

Adrian glanced at Lissa with sorrow clear in his eyes. Lissa looked down at her hands. A few moments went by before Lissa summed up the courage to speak.

"Adrian and I were in a restaurant at the time of the attack. We were accompanied by your mother at the time," I briefly flinched at the mention of my mother, "Jill was on her way to meet us there to have coffee when…it happened." A tear fell and Lissa visibly lost it. She was shaking severely as the sobs erupted from her. On instinct I reached out a hand at the same time as Adrian putting an arm around her shoulders and letting her soak his shirt with her endless amount of tears. Instead, I put my hand on her knee hesitantly.

I motioned for Adrian to continue on from where she left off.

"We heard screams coming from the main building at the Court. Your mother was instantly alert and she sprung up just at a group of Strigoi entered the restaurant. She told us to run and if we didn't she'd stake us herself. "

Wow, how like Mum. Gotta love her weird sense of humor.

"So we slipped under the plastic protective covering around the outside of the restaurant and sprinted to the nearest parking lot where I high jacked a Hummer. As I was reversing, we realized one thing. That Jill was still situated in the Court somewhere," Adrian went on solemnly.

Lissa, seeming a lot calmer than before, picked up from where he left it.

"As he was reversing a girl was sprinting out of the entrance to the main building and tried to outrun the four Strigoi on her tail. They dragged her back in. All I remember were the screams coming from inside," she sobbed the last word.

Realization hit me.

"It was Jill," I whispered.

Adrian nodded slowly, looking as if he was about to cry as well.

I slumped against the couch, unable to take it all in. Bloody great, these two hooligans turn up and now they need my help to save Lissa's stepsister.

I put my head in my hands and sighed, then growled harshly.

"Why am I so damn good at being good!"

"Alright, Lissa, you're the bait," I informed her.

She was halfway between zipping up her black leather jacket and abruptly stopped, casting a horrified look at me.

"You came here for my help and the only way you're going to get it is if you follow my plan," I said in a tone which stated I wasn't taking no for an answer.

After buying three tickets to Pennsylvania, we quickly shoved our belongings in our separate bags. I put in my green contacts and made a disgusted face afterwards making Adrian laugh.

When night arrived we stole a newspaper delivery van, which was parked around the corner of my building. I drove like a madwoman to the airport and horribly parked at the closest car park. We must have created quite a stir as we passed the humans inside. What were the chances of seeing three incredibly good looking people in the airport? So far there were no Moroi or dhampirs in sight, to my relief. Moroi were gullible. Dhampirs, not so much.

A group of giggling girls, close to my age, passed suspiciously close to Adrian. The one closest to him tried to 'unintentionally' intentionally brush passed him. Adrian, who saw it coming, grabbed my hand and twirled me around effortlessly, making me bump into Lissa in the process. The ordeal saved him from being touched by the girl and also made us erupt in laughter when we saw her pout.

Once on the plane, we all sat together, Adrian being in the middle. Momentarily, we didn't let what happened to us affect us at the present. All we did was look up weird videos on youtube of cats mucking around and falling off tables and jumping on the ceiling lights. Our laughter boomed through the plane and at some points the flight tenant requested us to be quiet. What a fun sponge.

When we landed in Pennsylvania it was early in the morning.

"Fuck," I breathed.

Lissa had closed the window slider during the night before she fell asleep. Thank God for that. And thank God we were in a larger plane and able to walk into that portable walkway (A/N: I have no idea what its called so don't laugh haha) and not have to walk in broad sunlight to the building. We scrambled ourselves off the plane in a hurry and quickly made our way to pick up our luggage. Before we left Paris, I made Lissa and Adrian take out ten thousand dollars each out of their bank accounts and in cash so at least if anyone was trying to track us, they'd have to start in good old Paris.

At any time I was exposed to sunlight through the windows, Adrian would protect me with his body. I was grateful to have him here with me and Lissa….slightly. I knew I couldn't get used to having them with me. That wasn't an option. I was a danger magnet. Last thing I needed was another death that happened because of me.

Again we were forced to steal a car. So unfortunately I had to stay in the boot of the car while Adrian drove to the nearest hotel. After booking a room for one night, Adrian handed over the cash to the cheery and mesmerized receptionist and we went up to our room. Lissa closed the curtains quickly.

After awhile of talking and planning, I made them go to sleep. Unlike me, they need rest. In a way, I envied them. They get hours of escape, not having to be stuck in reality 24/7. I watched over them, thinking to myself that they need this escape before facing the Strigoi. Considering they took over the Court, they must be a big coven. Huge. So big, that it was probably double the size of my coven. Three against probably fifty? Great.

When the sun went down I woke them up. As always, Lissa bed hair was hysterical but I forced myself not to crack a giggle. We had to be professional now. This is when it starts getting serious.

While they slept I got changed into my clothes and strapped my weapons into their places. Lissa was the second to get dressed and after she existed the bathroom, Adrian went in.

We all had bulletproof vests on with a leather jacket to hide its bulginess. We all wore black to be less visible at night even though we were going to be arriving just after sundown. That way they'd be slightly caught off guard.

After easing to another stolen car, we were off again. I had put towels on the back windows, completely shutting out the sunlight on me. As Adrian gunned it, I noticed Lissa looked extremely agitated. I grabbed a firm but comforting hold of her shoulder.

"It'll be fine," I assured her.

I noticed she tried to discretely look sideward at Adrian without me noticing. I settled back in my seat watching her closely. Does she have feelings for him? What happened to Christian?

My eyes bulged when I realized I had forgotten an unanswered question.

"Where's Christian?" I asked her.

At this she tensed. She stiffly pretended she was trying to crack her neck but I knew her too well. If Lissa was good at anything it was stalling.

"I-I don't know."

I bit my lip. "Do you think he's been captured, or…?"

"We aren't sure what happened to him. He wasn't at the Court at the time," Adrian answered.

So he could be one of those helpless Moroi to stumble into the Court and not realize what's inside. I shook my head. This was a nightmare.

Staying positive and calm about the mission was harder than it seemed. My mind shifted between thoughts of my family and the Strigoi I'm about to face. Could they be kidnapped and held hostage somewhere? Surely Raiden was lying and determined to get a reaction out of me.

Hours passed before I had a slight recognition of where we were. My lips were tightly compressed as we neared the Court. I looked below me where my feet were cramped against cardboard boxes. Our little surprise for the Strigoi.

I heard tapping and looking over to see Lissa texting someone on her iPhone. Not meaning to pry, I accidentally read her message.

We're almost there.

My eyes narrowed. Was she texting Jill? And was Jill that stupid to carry a phone on her? I raised my eyebrows, impressed. Jill must have been able to hide a phone from them, which was stupid on the Strigoi's part.

"It's good that she's still alive," I said.

Lissa didn't answer.

For some reason, I didn't feel so good. Not in a sick way, just got a suspicious feeling that this wasn't going to go down so well. I was starting to think that there was something that they weren't telling me, when the gate to the Court came into view. I looked up into the towers and saw five Strigoi in each then watched as three descended down and walked over to the car. Night was almost here.

They didn't conceal their identify, which I found most promising. I took out my contacts and sighed with relief.

Lissa's window went down as a Strigoi approached her. Another one stood beside him noticing the towels.

"What-"

I kicked my door with all my might and it collided with him completely taken off the hinges. I sprang out and beheaded the one at Lissa's side as Adrian went in the back to retrieve the bazooka. After loading it, he balanced it on his shoulder and fired at the left tower. The tower exploded and debris fell everywhere along with crushing the Strigoi inside. By then I already killed the other one. I sprinted to the gate and climbed up quickly before jumping into the right tower. It all happened in a blur and before I knew it they all lay at my feet. I went to the edge and jumped out and fell to the ground in a crouched position. I kicked the gate open for Lissa to drive in as Adrian called shotgun.

After getting in, Lissa gunned it up the driveway and passed the car park and sped unto the grass. I grasped her shoulder.

"Remember to jump out," I joked before swinging up onto the roof. She opened her door ajar and I ripped it off along with Adrian's door. We nearer the glorious building and Lissa changed up a gear and before the car collided into the building, Lissa and Adrian swung out frantically. Knowing that their reaction time wouldn't be as quick I swung off easily from the roof and grabbed hold of Lissa and threw her as gently as I could further away from the building. With Adrian, I had to put more force behind my throw because he was obviously bigger.

Just as I tumbled along with them down the steep hill, the car exploded along with the dynamite we stored in the boot. The entire wall caved in and spat debris everywhere. Little shards hit my back before I struggled to my feet, turning to see Adrian and Lissa covering their ears with the body curdled on the ground in a protective position. I ran over to the waving my arms around.

"Now you run-"

But it was too late. I could see it in their eyes. They were disoriented from the explosion, a high-pitched sound ringing in their eyes. It didn't affect me nearly as much as it did them but I knew they'd be like this for a few minutes.

A few minutes I couldn't spare.

I glanced towards the hole in the wall and knew it was crazy to pursue inside and leave them out here defenseless. I couldn't hide them in a car in the parking lot because the distance was unreal. I gritted my teeth just as Lissa lifted up her head, her eye unfocused and darting everywhere.

"Go…Rose…we'll hide… somewhere," she forced out.

"If they get to you and kill you, I'll find another spirit Moroi to bring you back so I can kill you myself!"

My threat was apparently hilarious to her and she sluggishly laughed.

It was hard turning my back on them but before I looked away I saw regret and sadness in her eyes. Now she thinks it's a bad idea to come here? I sighed, exasperated.

I whipped around and darted into the building before any Strigoi could escape. I unzipped my jacket and scanned the area. What I saw was both surprising and shocking. It seemed almost unrealistic. How they were positioned and kept in the closest building.

Moroi.

And to my horror they were all dead. The explosion either killed majority of them or they were already dead. Some were lined up on the back wall slumped over each other, blood stains all over their necks.

Instantly, I moved around the bodies careful not to step on them, looking for one person in particular. But as I quickly surveyed all their faces, I didn't find Jill to my relief.

To think that not one Strigoi had gone down the hall sent an eerie chill through me. Carefully grabbing the hilt of my butcher knife, I proceeded onwards with caution.

I went down the main entrance hall where the reception was and saw the receptionist was too, dead. This was too odd to comprehend. It had to be a trap for there not to be any Strigoi here. And if it wasn't a trap, then these Strigoi were the dumbest I've heard of.

My footsteps were silent as a ghost as I continued down the hall, which turned into another room and another, and another. Until finally I was starting to loose my temper. So instead of going the back ways, which were safer, I headed for the ballroom to find it bare.

I bit my lip, thinking of another area when suddenly the door I walked through closed with a loud bang. I whipped around and sinked into a fighting stance when suddenly I recognized the Strigoi. Her dark hair flowed behind her in waves as she walked closer to me. Her regarded me as a threat, but thought she could easily take me on. Well, she's going to be disappointed.

"Hello, Rose. Long time, no see," she said smoothly.

"Jenna," I said, bored.

Suspicions contaminated my thoughts. If she was here, what did that mean? Did she leave her family for another coven?

Unless-

Another Strigoi entered the room along with one other following behind him. The leader dressed in black and his dark hair was smoothed into the hairstyle he usually kept, looking dashingly handsome and yet powerful. He looked intimidating, as if he knew what I was thinking. He looked as dangerous as a viper, but clever like a wolf.

And I was the prey.

"Raiden," I muttered.

His eyes never left mine, making sure to keep the eye contact as intense as it always was. He strode passed Jenna, who immediately stopped as he passed. Tallon, who walked in with him, regarded me with a snide smile. I whipped out a throwing knife and threw it precisely at his mouth. He caught it, the blade cutting into his palm deep and yet he didn't flinch. His eyes were sparkling with amusement.

"Gotten better at aiming," he commented, nodding to himself as he released the blade.

"Oh, I practiced that move just for you," I snarled, giving him my most sneaky smile.

His mouth formed into a firm line.

My eyes darted towards Raiden again, and again I felt like the bait. His red eyes, evidently bright red from a good and recent feeding, glared down at me.

For the first time I noticed the scar on his face. The healed gash went from his eyebrow to the corner of his cheekbone.

"Take a good long look at it Rose," he spoke for the first time, his voice low and dangerous. "Not only did I almost loose my eye, the sharks would have eaten my arm off."

"But no matter," Jenna said easily, walking towards her brother. "We at least have captured her."

"A little too easily, I think," Tallon said, frowning. "To be honest, I'm surprised you weren't suspicious about two Moroi arriving at your door step."

I frowned, seriously starting to loose my temper.

"Not wondering how they found you or if they're story was true," Jenna added.

"The fact that the Court suddenly came under attack-"

"A mysteriously dangerous coven who no one knew about-"

"Who knows everything about every coven and now controls all of the Strigoi," Raiden finished, his eyes blazing with power.

"We now controll the Strigoi. But they're always those who are rogue. To gain what we desire, we needed one thing," Jenna said.

"You," Raiden said lightly.

They're insane. I saw that in their expressions, the way they're acting. They're all bloody insane and I'm stuck in a room with them!

"Your death at our hands would not only surprise every Strigoi but make them undeniably scared of defying us. You are, after all, known in the Strigoi world as one of the best and skilled fighters."

"And what better way to lure you in than send your old friends to collect you?" Tallon said, ending with a dark chuckle.

My blood went cold. Lissa and Adrian were in on it the entire time. The regret I saw in her eyes before coming inside…she knew Raiden was waiting for me. They didn't rat themselves out. They continued with the trap as if it meant nothing.

"And by now Hayley should have mauled them both," Raiden said, his booming laughter filled the room.

A/N: A lot of crap had been happening in my life these passed few months which has made me in a state where I was unable to write because of the stress.

Please review and tell me what you think.