Chapter Twenty-One
I made no attempt to hide my trail of the Guardian convoy, knowing full well that they would never stop just to tell me to cease my reckless behaviour. They made their way out of Palm Springs when another four black SUV's fell into the group, beefing the numbers for the rescue attempt. After about thirty minutes, they finally pulled up outside a fairly impressive looking industrial complex, which was well hidden by dense forest. I parked just behind them and before I could even put the hand brake on, Dimitri was standing outside my car window. I contemplated just ignoring him, but I was stupid enough to leave the car door unlocked, so he was quick to rip the door open, luckily not pulling it straight from its hinges.
"Seriously Adrian? Do you ever do what you are directly ordered to do? Not only have you put yourself in danger, but you being here now takes one Guardian away from the rescue, someone needs to stay behind and watch your selfish, arrogant arse. Do you think Sydney would want you here?". He was almost shaking with rage, I could see his fist clenched with anger.
I stood from the car and slammed the door behind me. "Dimitri, for the first time in my life, I am acting selflessly. I do not need a Guardian to babysit me, just get in there and get them out. I will sit here, and wait. I swear on my life that I will not go anywhere near that complex, but you of all people know that there was no chance I was going to sit around at home and wait for you guys to come back. And please do not act for a second like you know what Sydney would want. You and your team of Guardians are the ones who lied to her and did not trust her enough to include her in on the operation, so do not pretend that you know her. Just go in there and get her". I squared my shoulders and stood to my full height, which was still almost half a foot shorter than Dimitri but for the first time since I had encountered the Russian, he looked back at me with what almost appeared to be respect. He shook his head hesitantly and then walked over to where the other Guardians had grouped.
Dimitri commanded attention from his fellow Guardians, and they all stood around, hushed and alert as they soaked in every word he spoke. They broke off into smaller groups and made their way into the wooded forest. Eddie looked back at me with determination, his face serious and primed for battle until he caught my eyeline. He nodded slightly and in that moment we shared the same thought, just get them out of there.
The Guardians moved fast and silently, leaving me alone completely with only my thoughts for company. The time passed by slowly, each minute seemed like an hour and in the distance I could faintly hear gunfire and glass breaking. I hoped to god the gunfire was coming from the Guardians and that neither Sydney nor Sonya was caught up in the crossfire. The faraway commotion lasted for only a short while and then I was back to nerve racking silence. I paced the length of all the cars, unable to keep still. My finger shook, begging for a cigarette, my body ached for a good whisky to calm my nerves. After what seemed like a lifetime, I caught sight of the first Guardian, retreating from the woods. Eddie streaked forward, carrying an unconscious Sonya in his arms, almost seeming like she was weightless. I rushed towards them, sensing Sonya was relatively unharmed, just drowsy due to the tranquilizers the Warriors had been pumping her with.
"She is fine, we got there just in time. Two more minutes and it would have been a very different story. They didn't believe Sydney, Adrian she really tried but they did not listen to her. They actually had a sword to her throat, they were going to cut her head off". Eddie's face went ashen, as if he was imaging Sonya's headless corpse. He carried her over to one of the SUV's and lay her down softly on the back seat. He rushed back over to the retreating Guardian's, helping any of the injured. I watched as I saw every Guardian excluding Dimitri return to the cars and Sydney was not with any of them. Finally Dimitri came rushing from the treeline and there was still no sign of Sage.
I ran over to Dimitri, with pent up rage and fear coursing through my body. "Where is she?" I demanded, speaking with so much ferocity I almost scared myself.
"She isn't here?" he asked, slightly out of breath, his eye's searching all the people surrounding us.
"What do you mean? You don't know where she is? She is still in there with those monsters?". I lashed out and pushed Dimitri with all the strength I possessed and the Russian brick wall faltered slightly. His face was washed with regret and fear, as if he had assumed Sage has escaped.
"We were separated when we located Sonya but she exited the arena through another door, I just assumed she had made her way to the other Guardian's" he all but whispered and I flew into a fit of rage.
"Assumed? You assumed? You are meant to be the best of the best and you assumed? You sent an unarmed human into the belly of the beast and then you just assumed she would make her way out safely on her own? It's all about the mission with you isn't it? You don't care who gets hurt in the process, as long as the Moroi are safe. Now Sage is stuck in that compound with sword wielding physcopaths". I went to push him again but his Guardian sensibilities took over.
"Stand down Adrian. Sydney willing went in there weaponless, if you remember correctly. She-" and before he could finish, I took off sprinting for the woods in the direction that Guardian's had retreated from. I am in no way a star athlete but when it called for it, I could run like the best of them. The compound came into view and I could see a few Guardian's at the fence, fighting the warriors in hand to hand combat.
I reached up to grab the fence when I giant hand knocked me flat on my back. "I swear to god, you have a death wish. The fence is electrified". I looked up to see Dimitri's face standing over me and I cursed silently. Getting to my feet, I brushed off the dirt that had covered me and looked around, hoping to find another way to enter the enclosure.
"So how did you guys get in?" I asked, desperate to find a way in. "That section over there was temporarily switched off, it is still inactive, if you had just waited one minute instead of rushing off in typical Adrian fashion, you would have heard me explain that there was no way I had any intention of leaving without Sydney but we cannot simply rush in there without a plan, there are too many of them and they are heavily armed. I do not want or need any casualties today. There is no way in hell you are going into that compound, I will restrain you if I have to. Can you please be patient and give me five minutes to forge a plan, then I swear on my life, I will get her out of there". Dimitri looked at me dead in the eye and I nodded in quiet agreement. He stalked off towards the other Guardians and turned his back to me.
I walked over to the fence and in the far distance, I could see Sydney's golden halo of hair and her purple tinged aura shining bright, even though the dark night had decended upon us. I looked back at the Guardians but they were so caught up planning over a map that they paid very little attention to me. It was now or never. I jumped up on the fence, praying to god it was still switched off and luckily for me, I was able to climb without being electrocuted. I scaled it to the top before Dimitri noticed, and he rushed over just as I dropped down on the otherside.
"Adrian, I swear to-" but his voice faded into the background as I crept off silently, trying to stay in the shadows of the buildings. Sydney was looking around nervously, lost in the dark of the night but my vampire eyesight helped me navigate my way towards her without alerting anyone to my presence.
She had not noticed that I had almost crept up behind her and without thinking I grabbed her tense shoulder and she screamed in fear. "Easy there Sage, I'm not some gun-toting crazy guy. Crazy, well yes. But not the rest".
She stared up at me in disbelief, whispering my name in shock. I grabbed both her shoulders, steading her shaking body, desperately wanting to wrap my arms around her to reassure her she was safe.
"It is you. How did you find me?" she asked softly, her body sagging in what I hoped was relief.
"You're the only human out with a yellow and purple aura, so your kind of easy to spot". I made light of the situation but I saw her face cloud over in confusion.
"No! I mean how'd you find me here? At the compound?". She had not noticed, but I was still holding her by the shoulders, not wanting to take my arms from her until I had her safely locked away in my mustang.
"I followed the others" I said nonchalantly. "They told me not to but well… I don't follow directions very well. And when I saw Castile come out with only Sonya and the other Guardian's babbled about how you had gone out some other door, well thought I would come have a look around. I don't think I was supposed to do that either but the Guardians were kind of busy".
She looked up at me, anger crossing her delicate face. She knocked my hands off her shoulders in frustration. "You are crazy, the Warriors are so mad that they'd probably kill a Moroi on sight if they saw you". Her face also conveyed what I hoped was worrying and fear for me.
I looked down at her tensely and grabbed her small hand in mine. "Then we had better get out of here" and I turned to the direction I had just come from. I ensured we stayed in the shadows as we made our way back to the exit strategy part of the fence. I was glad to see she had not removed her hand from mine. Even in such a high pressure situation, the feeling of her skin touching mine, sent shocks through my body that I am sure could only be matched by the fence that I was hoping was still inactive.
"Where are we going?" Sage whispered softly, as we made our way along the property lines. "The Guardians assembled near the back side of the compound, so they could not be spotted. That part of the fence is deactivated- if you can climb it?" I asked her softly, not stopping moving.
She scoffed at me, "Of course I can climb it, I am basically a prodigy in P.E. The question is, can you Mr Smoker?". I squeezed her hand softly, appreciating her banter. We stopped alongside the fence, and I could see the trepidation in her eyes.
"You're sure it's still off?" she asked, looking up at me for confirmation. "It was when I came in" I responded with fake certainty which I am sure she saw straight through. I looked around me for some object to test the fence with. "Can we throw a stick at it?" I asked, and she shook her head softly.
"Wood doesn't conduct" she said whilst rifling through her purse and producing a steel tipped pen, complete with a rubber grip. Before I could stop her, she ran the pen along the deactivated part of the fence and breathed a sigh of relief when she was not instantly thrown across the yard with an electric shock.
"Looks clean. I guess we are good to- ah" we both looked up as a bright light shone down upon us, Illuminating our figures in the night. I saw two hulking warriors start heading towards us, menacing expressions coating their faces.
"It's the girl. And one of them…". The both moved in towards us, but I could not see if they were brandishing any weapons, although their size alone was enough to make me want to cower in fear. "Don't move, your both coming with us. Back inside" one of the warriors commanded.
The other warrior looked at Sydney with a surprising expression of fear. "Slowly, and don't try any tricks" he barked at her but through my peripheral vision I could see that Sage was already up to something. She had snuck the pen back into her purse and had pulled out a small wooden bracelet. I had hoped the bracelet would turn into some weapon because we were about to be in some serious trouble.
Before I could think any further, Sydney broke the bracelet in half and threw it down on the ground whilst shouting in a language that I could only assume was Latin. Immediately both of the Guards became incompacitated and Sage pushed one of them to the ground. I was just about to sing her praises when my world shook around me.
I fell back into the fence, my legs unable to hold the weight of my body any longer. I was disorientated and my vision became blurry. "Sage, what the hell did you do to me?" I cried out, desperate clawing at the fence to keep myself from falling onto the dirt.
"Oh, sorry" she mumbled, surprised her magic had affected me as well. "Sorry? My legs don't work" I cried, unsure now if we were actually going to be able to escape.
"It's actually your inner ear. Come on. Grab the fence and climb. One hand in front of the other". I used my hands to turn myself around and with her help, we slowly made our way to the top. In any other circumstance, feeling Sage's hands hold my body in such a way would have been exhilarating but right now, it seemed like a life or death situation. Once we had reach the top, Sydney worked my body into position so that I would be able to climb down smoothly.
"Good, now just reverse what you were doing, one hand in front of the other" she instructed but before I could follow her instructions, my hands slipped from nervous sweat and I fell to the ground. Luckily the fall was not far and my body was limp from the spell so no damage was done. "Or you can take the short way down" she muttered as she swiftly climbed down the fence after me.
She rushed over to help me stand and slipped her arm around my waist. I summoned any strength I had within and tried to help her as she shouldered my weight and began to move through the trees. We were moving slowly and I could sense Sydney faltering underneath me. Without warning, the spell subsided and we both almost tumbled down as our weight distribution changed.
"You okay?" she asked, whilst letting go. I shook my head to clear the last of the cloudy effects. "I am now. What the hell was that?" I demanded, shocked that my dream girl was able to incompacitate me so easily.
"It's not important. What is important is that those guys have recovered too. Maybe I knocked them down hard enough to slow them down. But run anyway". And without needing a second glance, I took off with her beside me. She was infact a star athlete, navigating the woods like a professional but with my long legs, I more often than not, streaked ahead. I turned back to grab her hand, urging her to move faster towards the safety of the clearance of the trees. We heard the shouting of the warriors behind us and Sydney switched off the flashlight which she had somehow acquired.
"There, see the cars?" I shouted and her human eyes adjusted to the low light, dark night sky. Even in the dark I could see her rolling her eyes when she noticed the bright yellow mustang in the company of all the black SUV's. Just as I was about to release a sigh of relief that we were in the clear, a man emerged from the darkness and grabbed at Sydney. What he had not been expecting, was for her to kick back at him in such a precise fashion that even Wolfe would have been impressed. The warrior fell to the ground but not before his companion shoved Sage so hard she fell in a heap. Before I could turn to counter attack, three Guardian's pounced upon us, ensuring our safety.
"Get out of here. You know where to meet- we will cover you. Drive fast, they will probably be on the road soon" Dimitri shouted as he effortlessly threw one of the warriors to the ground in spectacular fashion.
I helped Sydney to her feet, seeing that she had injured her ankle in the fall. Again we were running, this time I shouldered her weight upon me, relishing the fact that we were almost in the clear. I opened the passenger door to the mustang and ushered her in, seeing that she was trying to cover the fact that she was actually in more pain than she cared to admit.
I raced to the driver's side and slid into the seat, starting the car before I had even shut the door. The engine roared to life and I peeled onto the road in a speed far above the legal limit. We had been driving for ten minutes before we reached the highway and it was evident that we had escaped without a follow. I looked over at Sydney as she relaxed into the seat, the tension of the last few hours escaping her with a loud sigh of relief.
She turned to face me, "Okay, so how did you guys find me?". I gulped loudly and concentrated heavily on the road ahead of me. I was reluctant to answer any questions, knowing that my heroic actions were now going to be forgotten and the lies I had told were now going to result in an argument.
"Eddie put a tracking device in your purse, back at my place" I muttered, unable to look at her. "What?" she almost screeched. "He couldn't have. They searched me". Even though I did not dare look at her, I could sense her anger through her aura.
"Well, I am sure it did not look like one. I don't know what he ended up getting. He got it from your people actually. As soon as Trey confirmed the meeting tonight, Belikov was on the phone with every Guardian in a two hour radius, trying to recruit backup. He called the Alchemist's too and convinced them to share some tech".
She was silent for a minute, letting everything sink in. "The earrings. That's where they came from. The tracker must be in one of them. I would never have guessed". I looked over and saw her face fall, anger and disappointment marring her beautiful eyes.
"I'm not surprised, knowing the way you guys work". She sat silent again, anger building in her, just waiting for her to explode. "You lied to me" she finally exclaimed and it hurt. "All of you. You should have told me what you were doing- that you were tracking me and planning a raid".
She crossed her arms across her body and she was seething. I had known she would be angry and I was obviously going to shoulder most of the blame. "I didn't want to, believe me. I told them over and over they needed to get you in the loop. But everyone was afraid you'd refuse to take the devise if you knew about it. Or that you would somehow slip up and give away the plan to those nuts. But I didn't believe that though".
She turned her head to me angrily, "And yet, you didn't bother telling me yourself?" she snapped at me and I instantly regretted not going with my instinct to avoid this conversation.
""I couldn't. They made me promise not to" I mumbled, angry at myself for how ridiculous I must have sounded. I was head over heels in love with this brave, wonderful girl who respected honesty above everything and I had all but lied to her.
"No one believed that I would be able to talk the Warriors down, so everyone just made contingency plans without me. Someone should have told me". She looked over at me again and we caught eyes. "You should have told me". Her eyes were filled with hurt and it tore me up inside. I wanted nothing more than to take her hands in mine and apologise but I knew now was not the time. I looked back towards the road, concentrating on getting us to the safe house, Clarence's without incident.
"I'm telling you, I wanted to. But I was trapped. You of all people should know what it's like to be caught between groups Sage. Besides, don't you remember what I said just before you got in the car with Trey?". She slunk further down into her seat and I knew the conversation was over, she had nothing more to say.
The drive back to Clarence's was smooth and drama free and as we pulled up, Sydney raced from the car, before I could get out and help her with her injured ankle. I sighed loudly and made my way into the chaos, where all the Guardians, injured or not were gathered in the living room.
I followed her closely, desperately wishing she would let me help her with the pain. "I know better than to offer to heal you. Grab a seat in the living room, and I'll get you some ice". I walked off, not wanting to give her the opportunity to protest. I saw Eddie rush over to her, and by the look on her face, she was about to give him the same lecture I had just received.
I made my way into the Kitchen to see Dimitri standing by the sink, washing the blood and dirt from his hands. He turned instinctively when I entered the room and I could see the trepidation on his face when he realised it was me.
"I was going to get her out" he said, and I believed him but this wasn't about him.
"You do not always get to be the hero Dimitri. I needed her safe, and now she is. That is all that matters". I moved towards the freezer to get some ice.
"She is angry now because she is hurt but she will realise that what we did was for her safety. Then she will be thankful" he said with forced confidence.
"This was not about thanks. This was about her being safe. She is now. If she wants to hate me forever, so be it. She is safe and that's all I care about". I grabbed the ice and a towel and stormed out, not wanting to have to be around that conceited jerk any longer.
I re-entered the sitting room and Sydney had made her way to a lounge chair alongside Clarence. I bent down to place the ice upon her swollen foot softly, knowing it would be so easy for me to take away all her pain. But that would just make things between us even worse.
Dimitri entered the room and Sydney proceeded to give him an earful as well. Usually I would take pleasure in seeing him be knocked down a peg or two but I could not hear the hurt in her voice any longer. I knew she was safe and out of harm's way, so I made my way out of Clarence's and towards my car. I could not be around her when she was so angry at me. It drove me wild with guilt and I needed to escape.
Usually all these feelings inside me would drive me to drink, but for the first time in a while I did not want to. I drove around for a few hours, with the windows down, feeling the night breeze cool my face. I acted selflessly today. I had thrown myself in harm's way. I had acted recklessly but for a greater good than my own pleasure for once. Sure Sydney was angry at me now but I would take a lifetime of her being angry at me over her ever being in danger again.
I guess that is what true love really is, selflessness. I continued driving into the night, enjoying the peace and seclusion it offered.
AN- I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I HAVE BEEN SO REDICULOUSLY BUSY IN REAL LIFE THAT UNFORTUNATELY MY WRITING TOOK A BACK SEAT! I HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THAT CHAPTER, ONLY ONE TO GO, THE MOST ANTICIPATED AND PROBABLY MY FAVOURITE CHAPTER IN THE ENTIRE BOOK SERIES! PLEASE REVIEW AND CAN EVERYONE PLEASE SUGGEST A NEW BOOK SERIES FOR ME TO READ, I AM DESPERATE FOR SOME NEW LITERATURE! ALSO I STARTED A NEW A/U BLOODLINES FAN FIC THAT I WOULD LOVE IF EVERYONE CHECKED OUT. IT IS CALLED KEEPING SAFE AND I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF EVERYONE COULD GIVE IT A GO!