"I'll beat you both apart!" She screamed once again. "I'll take you both together!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Roza stated rolling her eyes. The flailing Strigoi in the back seat not causing her the slightest disturbance, other than her constant yelling, of course. "You've been using the same four lines since we stuffed you in this car. 'I'll kill you for this!' 'You'll regret the day you were born!' 'I'll take you both together!' You'd think after all these hours you'd have created something more original to threaten us with."
"Release me from your magic and I'll make good on my threats," Sonya growled once more. I, personally, was getting more and more annoyed by her routine threats. I would have thought she'd wear herself out by speaking almost nonstop, but I suppose with the quick healing of a Strigoi she never wore out her vocal cords, much to our disappointment.
"Now, where would the fun in that be? I enjoy watching you struggle more. Besides, I think you've been enough of a hassle for us. In the time it took for us to extract any useful information from you, we could have had this whole ordeal done and dusted." Roza commented nonchalantly, a sweet smile living on her face.
"Roza, if you stop talking to her, maybe she'll be quiet for once," I mumbled, knowing full well that Sonya could still hear what I said. Even if she was starved for a few days, she was still Strigoi.
"We tried that already, Comrade," Roza said, looking over to give me an exasperated look. "In case you forgot, it didn't work. Case in point."
Her hand waved toward the back where Sonya was now directing her venom on me specifically. It seemed that my comment to have her be quiet didn't sit well with her.
"We haven't tried in a while, maybe it will work this time." I offered, reaching in between us to turn the music up. While it did drown out some of the screaming, it also caused her to scream louder.
"I don't think it's working!" Roza yelled out above the music and the screeching Strigoi.
"We only have a couple more hours until we reach the cabin!" I yelled back, knowing the headache that was building from the steady drumming of the bass wasn't going to get better for the next two hours.
"They'll probably hear us coming from miles away at this rate." Roza pushed through the bond. Her soft voice was soothing to my mind, and the headache eased slightly.
"Then she'll be Adrian's problem to deal with." I scoffed receiving a slight chastising gaze from Roza. "You know I'm kidding. We'll hold her down, and I'll probably help get her adjusted after the transformation. However, I honestly think that another Spirit user will do her some good when she's back."
"I agree, but I also think she's going to need someone who's been through what she's gone through. You're the only one that has lived that life and come back from it. She needs to see that she can come back from it. That there's hope."
With a small smile on my face, I reached over with one hand to take bring her hand up to my lips for a loving kiss. Over the blaring music and the screaming Strigoi, I heard a contented sigh escape her lips as we rode the rest of the way in silence.
Pulling up to the cabin, Sonya started in on another loud rant about killing us.
"If you were going to kill me, you should have done it in my own home!" She screamed, thrashing about like a fish out of water. "Isn't it a little cliché to kill me in a cabin in the middle of the woods?"
"Why would that be cliché?" Roza asked, whirling around in her seat, her eyes narrowing in careful observation.
"Don't cabins have a little significance to the two of you?" Sonya questioned, her voice sounding too innocent for a Strigoi, but her smile gave a sinister feeling that tingled down my spine.
"How could you possibly know that?" Roza asked, her eyes narrowing further as she tried to connect the dots.
"Don't worry, dear, I wasn't there. I just heard through the grapevine that you two were fooling around before the attack on St. Vladimir's, and that's why there was more than enough time to breach the wards."
"That's not true," I growled, feeling Roza's unease growing. "We were not to blame for that attack. It was an unfortunate sequence of events that let the Strigoi breach the wards that night."
"You keep telling yourself that," Sonya grumbled menacingly, and she finally stopped talking, looking at the house when we stopped. Sydney and Adrian were already making their way out of the cabin, Adrian's arm out pushing Sydney back behind him.
I expected Adrian to be wearing her down while we were away, but I didn't think that he'd make that much progress. To my surprise, Sydney was clinging to him just as much as he was clinging to her.
"I figured it wouldn't take very long once we were out of the cabin," Roza mumbled in my mind.
"Is he really that persistent?" I asked, opening the door for her.
"Well…yes, but they're also made for each other. If you know people like I do, Comrade, you start to recognize who is meant to be with who quite early on." Roza said, giving me a knowing look.
"Fair enough," I said rolling my eyes. She chuckled at me before giving me a questioning look. I nodded my head and straightened myself as I stood behind her, ready to catch a fleeing Strigoi if it should come to that.
With a piercing scream, Sonya leapt from the back seat, her hands still bound in Darkness. She sent a threatening glare at Roza before trying to rush off to the woods. I could hear Roza grumbling about why Strigoi always run before she snaked out a thin vine of Darkness to wrap around Sonya's ankle, bringing her escape to a swift end with a solid thump as she hit the ground face-first.
I heard a groan come from Sonya as she rolled over on her back and huffed in annoyance.
"If you're going to kill me, just kill me already. I'm tired of playing this game." She snarled as Roza and I came to stand above her. I chuckled as Roza rolled her eyes.
"We're not going to kill you, Ms. Karp." She stated simply, using her Darkness to lift the now struggling Strigoi from the ground and bring her in front of the steps leading up the porch.
"You ready, Adrian?" I asked, observing the not-so-casual distance that Sydney and Adrian had placed between themselves. I could see that Adrian was startled by my question as he shook his head to center his focus on me.
"Oh, yeah. Give me a minute to charm the stake first. I'll be right back." He replied, quickly disappearing into the cabin, Sydney following the movement with her eyes.
"So, you are going to kill me," Sonya muttered pensively. Roza ignored her.
"So, Sage. What have you two been up to in our weeks away?" Roza asked, her eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner. Sydney's blush was the answer she was looking for.
"I promise we'll talk about it later, but for right now, can we focus on the Strigoi?" She asked, the blush still on her cheeks, but as her eyes fell upon Sonya, the color drained from her face. "I had no idea that our simulations were actually so life-like. I figured that they were toned down."
"Syd, you've seen dead Strigoi up close and personal." Roza pointed out. "You've also been there to see them in their real undead life."
"Yeah, but that's not what I really remember. By the time I get to them in the field, they're bloody and dismembered. That's what sticks with me. When we programmed them to look like actual people, I thought they were making it easier for the Guardians later on to come to terms with killing someone who looks so lifelike."
"I'll try to make my kills a little cleaner, so you can see how they are as one constant timeline, one not marred by blood." Roza offered, her eyes rolling and her head shaking.
"I'd rather keep thinking about them in a bloody, anatomical way. It makes my job easier." Sydney said, her eyes never once leaving Sonya, who was returning the favor, until Adrian walked out.
The red-rimmed eyes flicked over to the Moroi, and she scoffed when her eyes landed on the object he was carrying. The silver stake glinted in the moonlight as Adrian shifted it in his palm uncomfortably. The air around it was buzzing. Either I'm more in tune with the elements now, or he infused a lot of Spirit into the stake, and from the look on his face, the stake was infused with a lot of Spirit.
"Alright, I'm ready." Adrian declared as his hand tightened around the hilt of the stake.
His eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. He looked slightly deranged, but as I felt Roza's calmness grow, Adrian's shoulders relax, and his face smoothed over into his signature smirk. "Thanks, Little Dhampir."
"Any time, Adrian. Whenever you're ready, she's not going anywhere." Roza said, gesturing to the obviously struggling Strigoi. Sonya's head thrashed about, her fingers twitching, but her arms stayed pinned by her sides.
Her legs were bound tightly with a thick coil of Darkness. A gap in the Darkness surrounding her chest appeared. It was the precise place where Adrian had to drive the stake through to pierce the heart.
With one last adjustment in the hilt of the stake, Adrian raised his hand slightly above his head, his eyes trained on the mark Roza had left for him. I could see his chest heaving as he took the first step down the porch.
"You really think this weak Moroi is going to be able to get that stake through my chest?" Sonya chuckled, throwing her head back as she directed her amusement to the dark night.
"I wouldn't underestimate him." Sydney sneered as she leaned against the railing surrounding the porch. Adrian looked over his shoulder at her, and she gave him an encouraging smile.
Sucking in a shaky breath, Adrian raised his arm once more, a look of pure determination plastered on his face. His eyes were still trained on the gap in Darkness on Sonya's chest as he descended the remaining two steps.
Roza shifted slightly behind Sonya, her arms extended slightly to catch her when Adrian plunged the stake into her chest. Sonya was still spouting insults and death threats until the last moments. Her scream pierced the night's still silence as the brilliant white light burst from the hole in Sonya's chest.
Not only did I have to shield my eyes from the light, but it erupted from the chest wound with such force that I stumbled back a foot or two before regaining my balance. There was a moment of silence before my ears started to ring as the light began to dim.
When the light vanished completely, Roza was cradling both Sonya and Adrian as they clung to each other at the base of the stairs. Sydney was trying to regain her bearings from her spot on the porch, her arms wrapped tightly around the railing.
The ringing in my ears was quickly replaced by sobbing. Growing up in a house full of women, I knew the different kinds of sobbing. There was a sob for a bad break up, a sob for bad grades, a sob for a lost job, a sob for the lack of sleep, really a sob for anything that could go wrong. But I'd never heard this kind of sob before. The amount of heartache that was condensed in this sob was overwhelming.
Roza released Sonya as Adrian quickly pulled her into his arms. Despite Adrian's soothing embrace and comforting words, Sonya's sobs increased in tempo and frequency. Roza backed further away from the pair, and I quickly moved to help her up from the ground.
"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, my eyes skimming over her features to make sure not one hair was out of place.
"I'm fine, Comrade. You should be worrying about Sonya." She muttered, though the small smile that took over her face told me that my concern was appreciated. She shifted on her feet, a troubled expression crossing her face before she turned back to me. "What was it like, coming back?"
"Overwhelming." I started, thinking about how to explain it. "There isn't really a way to describe what it was like to be brought back. There was a moment that I wasn't sure if I should have been grateful or angry that I was restored instead of being killed."
"Really?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.
"Yeah. I'm not sure that everyone would feel that way. No matter what, the time as a Strigoi is going to haunt her. There's no way that all the bad you do as a Strigoi won't haunt you. I, however, did so much in the time I was a Strigoi that I didn't think that I would be capable of living with my past actions, regardless of them not being under my control. I'm not sure if Sonya had ever done something as horrible as I had done, but I think she'll probably have an easier time coming back from this."
"What makes you say that?" Roza asked, her eyes turning back to Sonya, the sobs having almost vanished by this time.
"She'll have you," I stated plainly.
"You had me, but you still had a hard time adjusting." Roza pointed out, raising her eyebrows to further her point.
"I had a hard time because I pushed you away. If I'd let you help me heal, let you do what you do best, I would have had a much easier time." I explained. "Sonya will have you. She'll have me, and she'll have Adrian. She'll adjust just fine."
Roza smiled up at me before turning her attention back to Sonya and Adrian. Adrian was looking up at Roza with an imploring look. She stepped forward slowly, kneeling down next to them. Sonya flinched away momentarily before looking up at Roza, her eyes shining with tears.
"I'm so sorry." She sobbed, launching herself at Roza, who caught her and held her close.
"It's alright. It wasn't you. You've nothing to apologize for." Roza said in her soothing voice. I felt Roza slowly pulling all the negative from Sonya. Not enough to alert her to Roza's ability, but enough to calm her down and see the truth in Roza's words.
"Why did you bring me back?" Sonya asked, pulling back from Roza and looking at Adrian.
"We weren't going to at first." Adrian started, earning a glare from Roza. "However, Rose knew that you were special to someone and wanted to make sure you two got reconnected. It also helped that you had information on who the missing Dragomir was."
"Oh my gosh! Is Jill alright?" Sonya asked, leaping up from her stop between the two, looking between all four of us. Her sudden movement caused Sydney to flinch, though if Sonya saw it, she chose not to look guilty because of it.
"As far as we know. We haven't gone to check on her, but we will as soon as you're settled." Roza explained, getting up and placing a calming hand on her shoulder, pulling come negative emotions as she did it. Sonya sagged in relief.
"Do you mind if I go with you?" She asked sheepishly.
"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Roza said slowly, her eyes meeting mine over her shoulder. I also thought it not the best idea, but I didn't want to instill a sense of doubt in Sonya.
"But I can help!" Sonya exclaimed, turning her whole body toward Roza and gripping her hands earnestly. "Jill knows who I am, and Emily knows who I am. I'll be able to convince both of them that they should go to Court. It will be easier for Jill if I'm there to tell her the news. I'll be able to persuade Emily to do the right thing and tell Jill who her real father is."
"They both know you turned years ago. It could scare them more if you just showed up on their doorstep." Roza reasoned, though I could see that Sonya was making points that even Roza couldn't dispute for long.
"Then we go during the day. It's the summer, and they live on a mostly human timetable. If I show up during the middle of the day, there's no way that they won't believe I've been restored. Besides, if we're also bringing Dimitri, they'll know it's possible to be restored" Sonya countered, looking more and more sure of herself.
Roza stayed silent, unmoving. Sonya's face still held hope, though it started to fade the longer Roza stayed silent. Roza's hands gripped Sonya's tighter as she pulled her closer, lowering her voice as she questioned Sonya's motives.
"Why do you really want to go with us, Sonya? You know how persuasive we can be. You already know that we know Jill from St. Vladimir's. They know Strigoi can be restored, and Dimitri will be proof enough. Why do you really want to do this?" She asked, the soothing tone returning to her voice. Sonya's hopeful face cracked before she answered.
"I need to make sure I can interact with people from my past life. I need to know that I can do it without feeling the same demon that I felt during my entire time as Strigoi. I need to make sure it's really gone." Sonya answered, looking Roza dead in the eyes before they flicked up to meet mine over Roza's shoulder. "I need to know Mikhail will be safe when I return to him."
I felt understanding and sympathy flood Roza's entire being. While Roza didn't understand what it was like to come back from being a Strigoi, but she does know what it is like coming back from a demonized version of yourself. Before giving in to the Darkness, when Roza was overcome by it, she always felt like it was her fault for wanting to destroy as much as she did.
She used to blame herself for something she didn't have control over, but then she understood where I was coming from and saw what she was doing as hypocritical. She still takes too much blame on her shoulders.
"Alright. I think it will do you some good to come with us, but I don't think we'll be going any time soon. We'll give it a week before we discuss more about this." Roza stated, giving Sonya's hands another gentle squeeze. Sonya looked grateful, more than before, and pulled Roza into a tight embrace.
"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you so much."
"There's nothing to thank. It's our job to help those who need it, and you need help. We're going to help you."
"You make it your job, Rose," Sonya said, pulling back with a large smile on her face. Her eyes glazed over in a look I could only describe as Spirit Madness. "It's who you are that lends itself to what you do. If you weren't such a kind and caring person, you wouldn't help half the people you do. You're truly a one-of-a-kind person."
"You Spirit users are something else," Sydney muttered, turning on her heels to head back inside. Sonya's eyes came back to the present moment and her smile made her entire being glow with warmth.
Roza returned her smile before ushering Adrian and Sonya inside after Sydney. Taking her hand in mine, I pulled her into my arms and gently brushed my lips against hers, earning a soft sigh from her.
"You really are a one-of-a-kind person, Roza," I muttered before losing myself in her kisses.