Hey there, Sorry that I'm updating this so late, I got a little swamped today, so I've only just gotten around to it, but to make it up to you I will try and post another chapter tonight :-) thank you guys for all the support as well :-)
Chapter 28.
I felt my stomach turn to stone, as he pushed the cup towards my dry lips. My eyes were wide and frantic as I searched his features, all so familiar, and yet so different, from Lissa's. I choked on the water as I tried to swallow and breath at the same time, causing me to have a coughing fit. He removed the cup and returned it to the sink.
"Why do you want Dimitri?" I wheezed, still trying to stop the coughs wracking my body.
He turned toward me, looking quizzical, "Tell me Rose, the last time you were in Russia, Dimitri held you captive did he not?" I watched him closely, then nodded, "I believe the night you escaped he killed some Strigoi, went on a bit of a rampage so to speak?" I felt my stomach tighten, and nodded hesitantly, my tongue felt stuck to the roof of my mouth. "Some of the Strigoi he killed that night were my allies, they were our leaders, so to speak." my stomach completely dropped, realizing I'd been responsible for some of the deaths that night, not that it mattered, if he killed Dimitri, he was going to end up killing me as well, but he'd sure as hell have a huge fight on his hands if I could get out of these shackles.
"We have been left in some turmoil since then, not unlike what the Moroi are going through back in the United States since the murder of Tatiana." He gave me a knowing look then, "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, aren't you supposed to be on trial for her murder as we speak?" I rolled my eyes at him,
"Listen if I have to stand here and listen to your monologue the least you could do is let me down." I smirked, my words dripping in sarcasm. I was exhausted both mentally and physically. I did really want to be let down, but knowing that wasn't going to happen I couldn't stand the thought of him yapping on and on about me,
"So you guys have been struggling to find a new leader?" I tried to get him back on topic.
The smile he bestowed upon me made me feel like I was covered in insects, "And thus the reason behind me wanting Belikov's head on a spike," his eyes looked like they were glowing, "Can you imagine the coup I could pull if I killed the person that killed our leaders? Not only was he trying to overpower us and become our leader, but he's returned to his Dhampir body and is a guardian once again," I didn't correct him on the whole Guardian thing, it wasn't important in the grand scheme of things.
As he was congratulating himself on the cleverness of his plan, when it suddenly occurred to me he hadn't asked, or made any comments about Lissa, which confused me since Abe seemed to be so certain that it was Lissa he would be following here. Deciding it would be best to leave that particular topic alone until he mentioned it himself I blinked before turning to watch him stalk towards me.
"You know I understand why Belikov wanted to keep you around," Completely changing the subject. I tried to pull away from him as he ran his nose along my wrist, "Every time your heart rate increases I find myself wanting to have another taste." His voice turned husky as he ran his finger across my frantically beating pulse, I was pretty certain I was going to throw up.
"You know it's rude to play with your food Ilia." He chuckled to himself as he ran his tongue across my wrist, grazing the sharp points of his teeth across the tender skin. I couldn't say anything as I tried to pull my arm out of his grip, it was no use, even if I was to get him to free my arm, the chains held me tight.
"But then again, you're no good to me when you're completely out of it, or in a daze. I need you to be coherent so when the time comes you will need to be ready." He pulled away from me, an evil smirk on his mouth. I was grinding my teeth, which was make my already tense jaw hurt even more.
Without saying anything else, he turned on his heel and walked back out the iron door, the metal grinding as he slid the lock into place, and just as suddenly as he'd appeared I was alone again.
I was completely puzzled, why did Abe think that he had been tracking Lissa? Not to mention Dimitri or I even considering this a repercussion of that dreaded night. There was something about this whole thing that wasn't sitting right. I leant against the wall, grateful that he hadn't bitten me again. I could still feel the lingering effects of his last bite, repressing a shiver I decided I should check in with Lissa and see what she was up to, if for no other reason than to pass the time. I didn't know where she was, but it was pitch black. She was outside, but there was no moon, no stars. The atmosphere was thick, she was excited, adrenalin was flowing through her veins. Mia was next to her, as they tip toed their way through a field. Their destination was a huge stone building, some of the walls were crumbling it had obviously been there a while.
I sucked in a breath as I realized that this must be where I was being held. I was trying to work out what Mia and Lissa were doing here, but Lissa's thoughts were jumping around all over the place, flicking from one thing to the next.
"I'll head around the other side of the building and see if there's another way in, you wait here." Mia whispered almost soundlessly as she crept low to the ground around a rock and disappeared out of sight. The darkness made the sounds surrounding Lissa amplify, the crickets and cicadas sounded as loud as jet engines, the restless sheep in the next field were noisy as they shied away from some imaginary threat. Lissa's heart was in her throat, as she listened for something, anything that might alert her to danger. Her thoughts became focused on me, getting me out, they were hoping that they could sneak in and sneak me out. I felt like screaming at them. Didn't they realize that Strigoi would be alerted to their presence just by smelling them, not to mention their hearing. As good as Moroi senses are, Strigoi's are amplified.
"So we meet at last little sister," Lissa and I both forgot to breath. Oh shit.
