When Spirit Shows It's Thorns

Chapter 3

After two rings I heard, "Little Girl?" as Abe answered my call. "What pleasure do I owe for this call?"

"I need help and I don't know where else to go. If your reputation upholds, you are my only hope right now." I said, my words coming out quickly in one shaky breath.

"I see." Abe responded and then the phone filled with silence. I tried to get my emotions under control. I wasn't really sure how to explain what I needed to tell him. After several more heartbeats, Abe broke the silence. "Perhaps, you should start at the beginning, Rose."

"We found my old mentor, Dimitri and Lissa restored him. The Guardians still wanted to kill him, and I don't think it will be much better back at Court. We need a place to hide." I told him as I stared at the head rest of the seat in front of me.

"Rose, are you still having nightmares? Did they," Abe's voice dropped and was laced with a concerned mortification. Great, he thinks I have completely lost it. "Have they caused you…..Rose, those are legends. Is Adrian with you? Lissa? Let me speak to her, if she is nearby."

"Lissa is with me, but she is asleep right now, in Dimitri's lap. I have not become unhinged if that is what you are thinking. It wasn't a legend. It's true. It happened." I spoke with my eyes now closed, trying to keep my emotions under control.

"Rose." He started, and then paused. "Where are you?"

"You won't let anyone know? You'll help us hide?" I asked, barely able to keep the fear from my voice. "You won't even tell my mother?"

"I won't if it means that much to you. Where are you?" Abe was sounding much calmer, but I wasn't sure if he really believed me.

"Christian, what's the next town?" I asked.

"Pleasant something," He started. "Corners. Pleasant Corners."

"Did you hear that?" I asked Abe.

"Yeah, give me a minute." He said softly and then I heard muffled talking in his native language. I really needed to start learning something other than English, I thought to myself. "Can you make it to Harrisburg?"

"Christian, can you get us to Harrisburg?" I asked. Christian nodded, claimed we would dump the car in Pleasant Corners and go from there. We were pretty sure that the Guardians had backed off from chasing us because there was bound to be some sort of tracker in the SUV. Why chase us, when they could just wait for us to think we were safe and far enough away? "Yeah, we can get there."

"Go to the airport, I will have a plane waiting. Don't go through Customs, go to the private tarmac. I'll see you soon," was all he said before the line went dead. We drove around Pleasant Corners for a bit until we found a car that would look inconspicuous. The house was set away from the others, and if the pile of unretrieved newspapers were a sign, no one had been home for a while. After waking Lissa, Christian said he would drop us back at a diner, go park the SUV a few miles away from our chosen vehicles, and would meet up with us behind the diner. No one had a better idea. At least no one that would speak up, Dimitri was sitting statue still and not speaking. It appeared he would be no help.

Dimitri, Lissa, and I walked into the diner and moved to sit in a booth in the far corner. I was hoping if we sat further from the windows, we would be harder to spot by anyone that might happen by. A tired looking, but overly peppy woman came over to our table asking if she could get us anything. "Just coffee for all of us." I told her. With Lissa's head resting on my shoulder and Dimitri slumped over with his head resting on his hands over the table on his side of the booth, she probably thought we were just a few road weary travelers. She gave me a half smile of understanding and flitted away, returning a few minutes later with three mugs of coffee. "I'll give you guys some time to rest and wake up. If you need anything just give me a wave." She said before walking off to chat with a couple at another table across the room.

We finished the coffee, I tossed a ten dollar bill on the table, and we walked out of the diner and around to the back. Staying in the shadows, we waited just a few minutes before Christian pulled up. Lissa slid into the passenger seat, leaving Dimitri and I to file into the backseat. "How long before we get to Harrisburg?" I asked quietly to no one in particular.

"This car has GPS," Christian stated. "If we go by that, about an hour and a half." I nodded, and he slowly pulled onto the road. We rode in complete silence for the next ten minutes.

Unable to take it any longer, I unbuckled my seat belt and slid over to the center of the seat, placing my hand on Dimitri's thigh. "Dimitri," I whispered. He didn't say anything, and he didn't look at me. I felt a broken sigh leave my lips and just as I was about to pull my hand away, I felt his slide over mine. He didn't really grasp my hand, just left his resting over mine. I wasn't going to push for anything more. The fact that he was giving me this small physical contact would do for now. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.

I awoke somewhere out of Hanover Heights to my seat belt wrapped snuggly around me and my head resting against Dimitri's arm. Opening my eyes, I was met with Dimitri's. He was looking down at me as if I was a Christmas miracle. I blinked once, forcing my eyes to focus once more, and then taking in his whole face. He wasn't smiling, but his face seemed much calmer than it had been all day. I wanted to tell him I loved him, that I was so happy and relieved to have him back. But, hesitant to break the spell of his gaze, I simply sat with my eyes locked on his. I am not sure how long we sat like that, but Dimitri blinked and the loss of seeing the wonder in his eyes brought me out of their hold. Taking in his face again, I saw how tired he looked. I stroked his cheek and whispered, "Rest, Dimitri. You're safe. We are safe. I won't leave your side. Not ever again, I promise."

I am so sorry, Roza." Dimitri began, his voice raspy and full of sadness, but I placed my fingers over his lips before he could say anything else.

"You don't need to apologize. It doesn't matter anymore." I supplied. "I love you, Dimitri and love does not leave room for grudges. It wasn't really you anyhow. You have nothing to be guilty for. It was just another speed bump for us. We will overcome it, just like all the others."

"Oh, Roza," Dimitri softly murmured before softly taking my lips into his. "When did you start practicing 'Zen Wisdom'?"

"Well Comrade, it was around the time that my Zen Master decided to act all grumpy on me for a change." I quipped back with a hopeful smile. Dimitri gave me a half smile of his own before gently moving his arm to wrap around me and resting his head on top of mine. I exhaled in relief, closed my eyes and relished the feeling of being wrapped in his arms for the first time in months. Dimitri's body relaxed and his breathing slowed. I knew he would wake up with a sore neck, but I couldn't wake him to allow for a more reasonable sleeping position. I wrapped my arm around his waist and watched the world go by through the windshield.

Catching Christian's eyes through the rearview mirror, I saw relief pass through them. I noticed his hand slightly tighten around Lissa's. The next thing I knew, he was gently waking all of us up. "We're at the airport, where to from here?" He asked me.

"The private tarmac, my father has a plane waiting." I answered, fully alerting to everything around us. I placed my lips gently on the corner of Dimitri's mouth and whispered that I loved him. "I promise this will all work out." I murmured, not sure if I was trying to convince everyone else or myself. It didn't take us long to navigate through the airport traffic and when we began to draw closer to a mid-sized private jet, my breathe left my body. Standing at the base of the stairs going into the open and awaiting door were both of my parents and at least two dozen Guardians.