Woah! Fast update! Just a warning for you, this chapter is a bit fast-paced, so I hope you won't hold it against me! I definately wouldn't recommend skimming through this one!
"How long was that, Rosemarie, half an hour, to find us? I would have expected more from you."
The overwhelming realization that I am almost certainly going to die prevents me from talking, I simply clench my jaw shut.
Dimitri puts a protective hand on my shoulder. "What are your intentions, Viktor? What do you want with Rose?"
His thin lips curl up into a sickly smile, causing Dimitri to grip my shoulder a little tighter.
We are severely outnumbered, at least ten to one. I've always been determined, and the optimist in any fight, but even I know there is no way we can get out of this alive. Ironic, how my whole life, I had been prepared to die to protect those around me, but even after intensive training, I was in no way ready to give it all up. Not really.
I was shadow kissed, and well aquainted with death, but that didn't mean I wanted to die. It didn't mean I was ready to see what was on the other side, whatever is out there. I want to live. I still have so much, so much I could have done, so much I needed to say.
I needed to tell Adrian that although I didn't love him, he still meant the world to me. I needed to tell Lissa that I would always look out for her, no matter where I was. And Dimitri. Perhaps I should tell Dimitri that I don't really hate him after all.
A thin, trembling Moroi is stationed at Viktor's side, silent, nervous.
Robert Doru.
"What do you want with me, Viktor?" I demand, hearing the unhidden force in my voice. "Why have you been targeting me and my friends? And what do you want with Adrian?"
Viktor simply smirks once more, and crosses one thin, boney leg over the other. Robert stands to his right, gripping the back of his chair.
"Rosemarie, how many times must I tell you? The boy is simply a tool for persuasion. I need Vasilisa. And, Rosemarie, to be quite honest, I only want you dead."
Now that caught me by surprise. It takes me a minute to swallow my shock. "Dead?"
"Hence the train crashing. I was attempting to get rid of you and your Moroi lover," he kicked Adrian at his feet. "And make it look like an accident, as well as make the whole fiasco a big enough event that there would be no suspicion whatsoever of foul play, and the bodies would take quite some time to locate and recognize, so Vasilisa wouldn't suspect anything. And if it weren't for your cradle-robbing ex-lover, I would have succeeded. Perhaps the old saying is true, after all. If you want something done right, you must do it yourself."
My head is swimming, my heart pounding. He wanted to destroy me and Adrian?
"What role does Ivashkov play in this?" Dimitri demands, speaking for me. His hand has crept from my right shoulder to the left, his arm crossing my neck in a protective hold. Smart, since he probably knew I would shove him back if he tried to stand between me and Viktor. Oddly enough, I appreciated the comfort.
"Vasilisa is fragile, and depends on many people. You and Lord Ivashkov, for instance. And if he was taken care of, then I wouldn't have to worry about him angry and seeking revenge for your death." Viktor threads his spidery fingers through Adrian's hair, forcing his head upwards, gripping him and clenching his fingers. Adrian squirms in his bounds, his cries muffled by the fabric gag.
Viktor's eyes flick towards Dimitri, who has instinctively pulled me back against his chest. "Perhaps I should have been more concerned about Belikov. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have to worry about him, Rosemarie, after he so cruelly abandoned you. Lucky for you, for if he didn't come crawling back, you and young Ivashkov here would have perished in that train disaster. Tell me, Belikov, did you decide to start caring for young Rosemarie again before or after Vasilisa and Christian Ozera began dating once more? Did she choose him over you?"
Although I knew nothing had happened between Dimitri and Lissa, I still felt the familiar pang. Dimitri, on the other had, had gone unnaturally stiff, his grip on me bordering on painful.
"It's not true," he whispers hoarsely in my ear. "Rose, it's not true. It's not true. I would never... You know that-"
"I know," I answer, never taking my eyes off of Viktor. "I know. Don't let him get to you."
But Viktor continues with his abuse, pushing Dimitri too far. "And she moved on so quickly. It couldn't have been more than a few weeks after she came back to America that she started dating Lord Ivashkov. Then again, I'm sure what happened between the two of you in Russia was something poor Rosemarie would have liked to forget."
Dimitri's breathing had sped up, and I could feel his pulse beating against my shoulders. "I encouraged her to move on. It's what I wanted for her," he hissed evenly, despite his shaking body.
Viktor only smiled. With a wave of his hand, an army of his dhampirs step forward. Dimitri tenses for a fight, beginning to wrap his arms protectively around me, but I shrug him off.
"No. No, you don't have to force me into your sick plans. Tell me what you're trying to do. Tell me what you want with Lissa."
Viktor stands shakily, and Robert dives to assist him, only to be gently brushed off. "My patience is wearing thin, Rosemarie."
"Tell me!"
He grits his teeth together. "I am making a... collection of sorts. Gathering together Spirit users. Vasilisa will be most helpful, and the most powerful, yet. I need Vasilisa, but you are much stronger than I give you credit for, as always, and will stand in my way until you breathe your last breath. So I'm proposing a trade. Vasilisa for Ivashkov's safety and Belikov's life. Maybe this method will prevent you from standing in my way."
The only relief I recieved was knowing that Viktor didn't know about Adrian's abilities in Spirit. I couldn't lose them both. This was my only advantage in this situation, I just didn't know how to use the information. Not yet, at least.
"How," I inquire. "Do you expect me to choose between them? Lissa is my charge." Sort of...
"And Vasilisa is destined for great things! She can do so much good in this world, she has so much potential! There is so much that I could do for her, if you'd let her join me! But she is stunted by her youth and her lack of family support. She could lead a revolution! She could lead the dhampirs from near slavery, lead the Moroi from their hiding places! We could create an army! An undying army, backed Spirit users! No battle would be lost, no lives would be lost! Not with the power of magic on our sides!"
My breath caught in my throat, and my stomach sunk so low I felt nauseous. "An immortal army? You're trying to create an undefeatable army? Enslaving Spirit users to heal your soldiers so they'll never die?" I cry, disbelieving.
Viktor stalks forward, that cocky, arrogant air around him returning. "We could save our races. We could defeat all strigoi. We could finally triumph. Imagine it! An army of magic-users! We could be great!"
"What about the dhampirs?" I interrupt, my gut heavy with nausea at the very thought of his ideas. "What role will we play in all of this? Will you just cast us aside? Kill us as well?"
Angered, Viktor takes a threatening step forward, but one young dhampir guarding him speaks up. He looks several years older than me, but I think him naive, clueless. "The dhampirs will be free! Free to choose the path of their own lives!"
I swallow back the hopeless feeling that builds within my throat. I cannot speak. Starting when I sense a presence beside me, I feel the warmth of support when Dimitri threads his fingers with mine, standing beside me. "And what if we want to fight? What place will we have if the path we choose is to fight to protect the ones we love?"
Everyone pauses at his words, but Viktor is the only one who recovers fast enough to answer. "Then they will fight alongside us. Perhaps they will not be quite as useful as a Moroi who can fire flames at strigoi from ten feet away, but their hand to hand fighting can have it's place."
"And what happens," I hiss, "If we fall in battle? How will you choose between the life of a dhampir and the life of a Moroi, if we both need assistance? What if those Spirit users don't have enough strength left? Who gets to live, Viktor?"
His eyes narrow suspiciously, as if he is cautious to fall into the trap I've set. "That is always a difficult choice to make..."
"But they come first, don't they? Didn't you tell me yourself that Moroi could do so much more than simple magic tricks? Don't you think Moroi powers are worth so much more? The dhampirs have nothing but physical strength, and that's why we are chosen to defend the Moroi. Nothing will have changed, not from now. Dhampirs will only see medical attention after all of the Moroi are accounted for. The only difference is you've enslaved these poor Spirit users and will sacrifice them to fufill your mad plans.
"And when will it end, Viktor? When will you stop, once you've defeated the strigoi and are the control centre of an all-powerful army? Who will you fight? Will you take on the dhampirs? Or try to control the human world?"
I am sucking in breath now, the energy drained from my body. He was a monster, truly a monster. He had tried to kill me, kill Adrian, but failed. Realizing my worth, he tricked and manipulated me, knowing he'd have the advantage over Vasilisa. And now he planned to torture the Spirit users, put the dhampirs willing to fight under even worse conditions and more dangerous situations?
Several of the dhampirs turn towards Viktor, waiting, expectant, doubting. He swallowed slowly. "That's not true."
"It's not?" I mock loudly, gaining back my confidence.
"We are out to protect our people!" he roared, his calm exterior collapsing. "You're too young to realize! You're just a child! Naive and stupid!"
Dimitri has stayed quiet for the exchange, only gripping my hand tighter to comfort me. I need to do this on my own.
"I'm not a child, Viktor. Not anymore. I've seen my best friend die, my dignity shattered, the love of my life turned into a monster. No, I'm not a child. I lost any trace of innocence when I experienced first hand the torture of my closest friend and charge, when love became a distraction and nearly cost me Lissa. You took it from me Viktor."
Viktor is now shaking from rage, beyond consolation. Robert slips beside him, gently putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he is violently shrugged off.
"Seize her," Viktor commands. "Seize both of them!"
The dhampirs hesitate, exchanging nervous glances.
"NOW!"
I am wretched away from Dimitri, my hands tied securely behind my back, and pushed roughly onto my knees, at the mercy of my captor. Viktor grips my chin, squeezing my jaw between his cold, boney fingers, forcing me to look at him.
"Where is Vasilisa, Rosemarie? Don't make me kill Lord Ivashkov and your cradle-robbing lover."
Odd, how I'd end up in the same situation as Viktor was in himself. Sacrificing lives, lives that aren't my own, for my own benefit. Avoid torture by revealing Lissa. Keep my best friend and watch as Adrian and Dimitri died. I couldn't choose. I had to come up with a plan, a way to sacrifice myself.
And I had never done anything half-assed.
"I'll make you a deal, Viktor."
He snarls in my face. "I don't play games, Rosemarie."
"It's more than a game. It's a match, a battle. We play to the death."
Viktor raises a brow. "What are you suggesting, Rosemarie?"
Despite his attempts at intimidation, I stand my ground, not letting myself shy away, refusing to feel fear, even though I knew this would most certainly end in my death.
"I'll fight you Viktor. No guards, no extra force. You get to use your advantages, and I'll use mine. You've got magic, I've got nineteen years of physical training. Use your own powers, use Robert's. Use whatever you have. Last man standing, last man living, wins. I win, this is all over. I walk away a free woman. But if you win..."
I take in a shaky breath, letting the full effect of my gamble sink in. "If you win, Dimitri here will tell you where Lissa is."
"No!" comes a roar from behind me, from a struggling, desperate Dimitri.
"Yes, Dimitri," I say bravely. "You have to. A deal's a deal."
Everyone turns to him, staring him down. I beg him, plead with him with hard, cold eyes to trust me. But I don't trust myself.
"Okay. Okay, I give you my word," he whispers.
Slowly, stone faced, I turn my gaze back to Viktor.
"Go ahead. Give it your best shot."
He smiles.
"Let the games begin."