Happy Wednesday! I hope you're all staying safe in this craziness happening. Thank you all so much for your kind words. I'm am so beyond happy that you like my story. Here is chapter 10!
"What the hell are you talking about, Adrian?" I was getting really, really annoyed with him.
"You have a heavy cloud of compulsion surrounding you. Your aura literally looks like fog. Every now and then I can see colors trying to break through." Adrian moved around me, staring at the air around me, much like Lissa had. "I've never seen an aura like this before. I noticed it the day I met you, and it became clear pretty quickly you had no idea what you were. Though, I think someone is blocking you from remembering. I don't think you grew up believing you were human."
I threw my hands in the air. "That makes no sense! Why would anyone ever want to make me forget?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, but we're going to figure out a way to cancel out that compulsion and make you remember."
"And how exactly are you going to do that? Whoever did it must be really strong for it to make me completely forget." I still wasn't sure I believed him, but the part of me that was curious dominated the rational thinking. My curiosity often killed the cat.
"You're right." Adrian stopped his pacing and stood in front of me. "Whoever did it is very good. But they had to have been compelling you quite often for it to stick. It's fading. Slowly, but I can see the cloud lightening up. Your memories are going to be coming back soon, but I don't know how soon. That's why I would like to bust you out as soon as possible."
"Lissa looked at me the exact same way you are right now. Do you think she noticed, too?" I said, thoughtful.
"Vasilisa Dragomir?" I nodded. "Interesting." He murmured. I'll have to have a chat with her." Adrian reached out and brushed his hand against my cheek. "Get some rest, Little Dhampir. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." With a wink, I was back in my room, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, I waited for Dimitri to show up for practice. The woods behind the upper class school were thick, heavy with branches and golden leaves. The sun was still up, and the air was warm despite the crisp autumn wind. I began my stretches, taking advantage of the extra time. The birds singing through the trees made the scenery even more serene. I tilted my head up to the sunlight and closed my eyes, welcoming the first sense of calm I felt in days. I let out a content sigh. I missed the sun. I couldn't help but resent the nocturnal schedule I was forced into. A soft rustle in the trees broke me from my trance.
Dimitri stood before me, watching me. His mouth held a hint of a smile, and his eyes sparkled. I held his gaze for several moments. Our eye contact sent warmth through me, warming me better than the sun ever could.
"You're late." I mimicked his tone from the same lecture he gave me.
"No, not late. You're just early." He chuckled. The sound thrilled me. Stop it, Rose. I chastised myself. "I have to say I'm a bit surprised."
"Yeah, well, I needed some quiet. I miss the sun, and since it will be up for a while I thought I would take advantage." I got off my ground, wiping the dirt off my thighs.
"Understandable." Dimitri nodded. He set his duffle bag down next to a thick tree trunk. "It's still a bit early for that."
I shrugged. "I'm not really sleeping anyway." I played with a thread on my tank top, breaking our eye contact.
Worry flashed across his face. "Because of Sonya?" he stepped closer to me.
"Sonya. My mom. Other things." I frowned, recalling the weird dream encounter with Adrian.
"What is it?" Dimitri asked, noticing the change in my voice.
I shook my head. "It's silly. And Impossible." I forced a smile. "Let's just forget it and get on with the lesson, okay?"
"Rose-"
"Really, Dimitri," I cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it. Not now." Dimitri reluctantly accepted he wasn't getting any more out of me, and we began practice.
"A lot of what will determine whether you get yourself killed or you stay alive depends on you knowing your surroundings and being able to tell when something is off." Said Dimitri. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blindfold. I raised my eyebrows. I so wished I could raise one like Dimitri could. I tried many times, failing miserably.
"Don't tempt me with a good time, Comrade."
His face stayed impassive, but I saw the amusement in his eyes. "Put his on and stand still." He handed me the blindfold and I tied it around my eyes. "With your heightened senses, you are able to hear and see things that humans can't until much later. I want you to listen carefully for any threats around you." Dimitri's voice was behind me, coming closer and closer until he was talking directly in my ear. "Open up your senses to everything. Listen to the wind, the birds, the ground. I will be testing your concentration. Try to avoid my attacks by listening for me."
I nodded, but stayed silent. I let myself open up to the nature around me. The songs the birds sang flowed in my ears. The wind against the leaves, the wind dancing through the air. I was beginning to relax a little too much when I heard a twig snap to my left. I snapped to attention, a few miliseconds too late. I sidestepped to the right. Wrong move. A heavy body slammed into me, sending me flying backwards. My head hit the ground, and then it happened.
My mom hit me, hard. I flew backward, landing on my back. My head smacked the hard floor beneath me and stars danced in my vision. She knelt down beside me and looked over me. I wanted to wipe the smirk off her face. For someone over a half foot shorter than me, she could kick me ass with no issues.
"You're going to have to try a hell of a lot harder than that if you're going to be able to face a Strigoi." She held her hand out to me and helped me up. I rubbed the back of my head. "If I was one of them your skull would be crushed. You need to turn your body when you land, and let your side take the impact. It will give you the chance to tuck your head and avoid being killed."
I ripped the blindfold off my eyes and walked backwards on my hands and feet away from it as quickly as I could. My hand flew to my heart. It was pounding, and my breathing was fast and labored. "What the hell?" I exclaimed. Dimitri knelt and picked up the blindfold. Confusion was written all over his face.
"What happened?" he asked. He knew by my reaction that something more than being knocked over was bothering me.
"I . . . " I started, then promptly closed my mouth. "I need to find Adrian." I jumped up and darted past Dimitri. I didn't make it very far, however. Dimitri's large hand easily wound around my small wrist, and stopped me.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what happened." He demanded. He looked at me with so much concern my heart almost shattered.
"Adrian doesn't have the usual specialty in magic like everyone else does. He can do things . . . things that I can't explain." Okay, I was rambling. I needed to get it together. "He came to me in a dream last night. Only, it wasn't a dream. Or it was. I don't know." I ran my hands through my hair.
"Rose, calm down. Take a deep breath." Dimitri set his hands on my shoulders, steadying me.
I did as he said. "He can see auras. I still don't quite know what that means, but he can see them on everyone. He told me mine is, well . . . it's clouded, like it's enveloped in a thick fog. He said it's compulsion, that someone wanted me to forget something. It made no sense at first, and I thought he was certifiably crazy, but I just saw-" I stopped. How was I going to explain what I saw without sounding like a lunatic?
Dimitri eyed me carefully. "You saw what?" I bit my lip and didn't say anything. His voice was calm, patient, but I could still see the worry etched in his features.
I took another deep breath and continued. "I-I don't know how to explain it. I saw my mom and me. We were-we were fighting. Not like an argument, we were sparring. She was giving me a lesson on how to avoid a Strigoi killing me by knocking me down." So many thoughts and emotions were swirling through my head. Then it clicked. It was a memory, breaking through the compulsion like Adrian said it would. If his predictions were correct, there were more to follow. "Oh my God. I have to go!" I tried to run again, and was stopped again. "Would you let me go?" I shrieked. I was nearing hysteria at this point, but I didn't care. I needed to talk to Adrian now.
"Rose, stop!" Dimitri yelled. The power and depth of his voice shut me up real quick. "You are not going anywhere until we figure this out." His hands were holding my wrists tightly, and they were resting against his chest. I could feel his frantic heartbeat under his soft black tshirt. Touching his chest was dizzying.
Defeated, I looked up him. His dark eyes were lined with heavy lashes. The scent of his aftershave and sweat were intoxicating, and his warm breath was sweet.
"I don't know what to say." I whispered. "This is all too much. I know you just want to protect me. I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do." My voice cracked. Man, I needed to get ahold of myself. Dimitri's grip on my wrists softened. I unclenched my fists and spread my fingers over his chest, never breaking eye contact. His breathing picked up. There was a storm in those brown eyes, one that he fighting to get control of. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the confliction was gone. He tightened his grip on my wrists again, and this time he removed my hands. The warmth his touch gave me immediately disappeared.
His voice was gruff when we spoke. "I'm going with you to talk to Adrian." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a silencing hand. "Please, stop fighting me. Let's go."
We began the walk to guest housing. Students were just barely starting to get up for the day, so it was without question Adrian would still be sleeping. We walked in silence, but tension crackled around us. I knew I wasn't the only one who was affected by our contact in the woods. I chastised myself for feeling this way about my instructor, but I couldn't help myself. I was falling, and I was falling hard. How stupid could I be to fall for a man seven years older than me? Yet I couldn't help but wonder how he felt about me. It sure seemed like he had feelings. I sighed. I had bigger and more important things to worry about-like who compelled me to forget what I was and why.
After a solid five minutes of pounding on Adrian's door, sleeping beauty finally arose. He gave me a sleepy smile. His usually styled messy hair was bed head messy, and he was shirtless. I couldn't help but notice how toned his body was. "To what do I owe the honor so early in the morning, Little Dhampir?" he rubbed his eyes.
"I think you were right about me being under compulsion. I think a memory broke through." I tried to keep my eyes on Adrian's. Would it kill him to put on a shirt? "Dimitri and I came to ask for your help." I glanced at Dimitri, who did not seem pleased to be standing before a shirtless Adrian.
"Give me ten minutes. I had a one man party last night and got a little too rowdy." He closed the door and we waited against the wall. Twenty minutes later-much to Dimitri's dismay-Adrian emerged a fresh man. "Alright, start at the beginning." As we walked, I recounted what happened at practice.
"I thought maybe we could find Lissa and see what she thinks." I said.
Dimitri nodded. "That's a good idea. Maybe between the two of you we can figure out what's going on and how to fix it." Dimitri said to Adrian.
"I myself have been wanting to talk to Lissa and find out what she knows about auras, so this little mission will help us both." Adrian smiled, but I could tell he was just as anxious as I was.
"What kind of magic did you specialize in?" I asked. "I haven't met anyone who can do what you do-besides Lissa."
Adrian shrugged. "I never technically specialized. I have no idea what you would call what I can do."
"I have you ever seen anything like this?" I asked Dimitri.
He shook his head. "This would be a first for me."
We finally found Lissa in the library. She was bent over an open textbook, scribbling furiously in her notebook. She looked up, startled to see three of us staring at her.
She put down her pen and smiled. "Hi, guys. Guardian Belikov." She nodded at Dimitri.
"We need your help, Liss." Adrian and I told her the whole story. Her eyes lit up when she realized Adrian could see auras, as well. I felt excitement radiate through her. Seriously, what the hell was that?
"I agree with Adrian about the fog around your aura. The colors are trying so hard to come out, but they're trapped." She frowned, then turned to Adrian. "How are you with compulsion?"
Adrian snorted. "I could compel the clothes off anyone, easy." Dimitri grumbled something in Russian behind me.
Lissa rolled her eyes. "That's really . . . lovely. I was thinking that maybe if we tried to break the compulsion at the same time we could get through it. I'm good, but this stuff is strong. I'm not strong enough to break it on my own."
"It's worth a try." Said Adrian. "What do you think, Little Dhampir?"
Three sets of eyes turned to me. "I want this shit off of me. Let's do it."
After Dimitri made a call to the headmistress excusing us from classes, we headed somewhere quiet and private. Christian found us after we left the library and insisted on coming along. Dimitri led through the woods. Lissa and Adrian chatted the whole time about their abilities and how they both were believed to not have specialized. After a ten minute walk, a dark silhouette came into focus.
"What is that?" I asked.
"An old guardian outpost." He replied. "Guardians used to stay in these and keep watch for Strigoi when we had more guardian numbers. We have such a shortage now that there's no way we can afford to lose any guardians at the school. Besides, we have the wards." A small, rotting cabin came into view. It was small, only able to fit a small bed and kitchen. The roof was sagging a bit, showing years and years of water damage. The place smelled of moss and dirt.
Dimitri pulled three chairs around the kitchen table over to the middle of the room. I sat in one, and Lissa and Adrian sat adjacent to me. Christian and Dimitri stood back, watching closely.
"The best way to do this will be to link our powers, I think." Said Lissa. She held out a hand to Adrian, much to Christian's dismay. They both reached their hands out to me. As soon as I took them, I felt a low hum, like electricity crackling between the three of us. I met Dimitri's eyes briefly. He had one arm crossed, holding the other. His hand rested against his mouth. He was usually so composed, but not now. He was clearly nervous. Lissa took a deep breath, then spoke. "Are you guys ready?" Adrian and I nodded.
The two focused, their eyes concentrating hard on my aura. The electricity picked up, and the hum got louder. I closed my eyes, wincing at the feeling of my brain being shocked. At first, things started off small. Shadows danced across my darkened vision. Voices came through at a low volume. A hand released mine. I opened my eyes to see Adrian looking even more pale than a Moroi usually was. One hand still held mine. I looked to Lissa. She was drenched in sweat, despite the cool air. The electricity gained momentum. The voices grew louder, moving from a whisper to a soft yell. I squeezed my eyes shut again. The pressure in my head was pushing down on me, and I was sure my brain was going to pop.
And just like that, it was like glass exploding around me, freeing me from whatever cell my mind was trapped in. Clear cut images burst through, playing like a movie reel. I gasped and eyes flew open, but I couldn't see anything in front of me. Only the images. So many images. I heard voices that didn't belong to the people in the pictures, but I couldn't make them out. I saw me as a little girl, finding a silver stake hidden in my mother's closet. Her teaching me to fight. A man holding the sides of my head, telling me sweetly to forget, that I would remember when it was time. My mother stood behind him, tears in her eyes. Then just as suddenly, it all stopped.
The room around me came back into focus. Lissa, Christian, and Adrian stared at me, wide eyed. Sweat dripped off Lissa's pale forehead. Dimitri was crouched down in front of me. "Rose." The voice I heard belonged to him. "Rose, look at me. Roza." He put a hand up to my cheek. I finally locked eyes with his.
"I remember." My voice barely came out a whisper. Only Dimitri could hear me.
"What do you remember?" he asked. His brows were furrowed, making worry lines appear on his forehead.
"Everything." And with that last word, the world turned to black and I gave in, losing consciousness.
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