Chapter 15:
Rose
I closed the laptop and was silent. Any residual sexual tention was gone. Now we're just two statues sitting on the bed.
"We can't take Mikhail and Mia." Dimitri said.
I nodded. I knew that. "They won't leave us."
"Then lie." was his response.
"Being the leader sucks." He chuckled, but there was very little humor in it. The council had ordered us to take down that hide-out. Alone. There were no reinforcements coming. Not completing this mission was deserting and we would never be able to go back to guard Lissa. Maybe they would accept us in an Academy or something, where we would rot away.
Besides, they needed to be taken down. Even if it killed us. Even if we take down half, that is still six Strigoi that won't be hurting anyone ever again. It would still be six Strigoi that won't be able to guard that money or count it. Even if we didn't take down all of them, it would still destabilize them.
We had to go.
But Dimitri and I both knew the chances of getting out alive were slim.
"We will get rid of Sonya, Mikhail and Mia. Then we will talk strategy." He turned to me and his eyes were ablaze again. "I just got back, I am not letting my life go this easily. I am not letting you go that easily either."
I cursed my stubbornness right now. We could be having this conversation naked and sweaty, but it won't happen now. The knowledge of our impending doom was hanging over us too much. I wanted to believe Dimitri. I wanted to put my faith in him as I always had. I had believed him a God. Before Mason, before Dimitri, I might have thought we were invincible. Dimitri was the best out there, and I was the best because he had trained me. But I knew how quickly things turned sour. One move of the neck and Mason was gone. One stumble, one moment of not paying attention and Dimitri had died. It didn't matter how good you were, you can't see everything and Strigoi were just too damn fast to stop. Once they had you, you were already gone.
"Let's get our stories straight first and put our game faces on."
He nodded and followed my lead. I slapped myself on the cheeks a few times, hoping to return some color to them.
We walked into the living room, Mia was obviously disappointed. We weren't gone long, and although it had been enough time for a quickie, the look on our faces and the lack of backwards clothing, tousled hair and flushed cheeks certainly gave away our lack of amorous activity.
"What happened?" Mia asked.
"Hans called." She threw her hands up in the air. Almost more frustrated than we were. Sonya smiled a little but hid most of it behind her hand. Mikhail was leaning forward eager to hear what Hans had said.
"We will be meeting up with a team of Guardians from the area to take down the building. But you guys can't be here."
Mia obviously wasn't happy about that. Her frown made her look much older. "Why?"
I sat down on the bed, trying to suppress the shiver as I took in Dimitri's scent. "Because these Guardians are sent by the Council. They don't know you are helping us. And Hans doesn't even know that Sonya is back. So I need you guys to stay safe and get to Lissa's sibling. She passed the final test and so did two others."
"Ariana Szelsky?" Mikhail asked, but I just shook my head. When I checked in with Lissa earlier that day she had been rather devastated to learn Ariana didn't make it. She was debating actually running for Queen. The alternatives were rather poor. But she would still need her quorum. The vote would be in a couple of days. We needed to hurry.
"So, your mission is more important than ever. Let us handle a couple of Strigoi and you save our political system."
"No pressure." Mia joked.
But they started to pack their bags. They would get the car. Not only would it help them get Lissa's sibling back to Court quicker, we really didn't need a car if we were dead anyway.
We helped them carry their bags to the car and said our farewells.
"Tell Lissa," I was starting to say to Mia, but I really didn't know what to say. I shook my head. "Tell her, she would make a wonderful Queen."
Mia looked confused but nodded anyway. Then they drove off. I stood there a few moments before Dimitri ushered me inside.
"We don't have to do this now, Rose. We can call in reinforcements. I still have some Guardian friends - probably- and maybe you can call your father. He has enough men. Or maybe Tasha?"
I shivered at the name of Tasha, but I couldn't fault Dimitri for thinking she was an asset in this fight. She would be. Maybe we could just burn the whole compound to the ground, never stepping foot in there, although that would also burn potential victims. I had also considered calling Abe. He could help.
But the problem with those ideas were- other than the fact that I loathed Tasha for very irrational reasons- that it would take time for them to get here.
"We have to strike now. We don't know how many more Strigoi could come, making the problem bigger. And how many victims will they take in that time? Or worst case scenario and they move the operation because they know they have been exposed. They were already starting to grow suspicious. They might just do it as a precaution. We have to strike and we have to strike now. Unless you have a teletransporter somewhere in that duffel bag of yours we are on our own."
Dimitri sighed, knowing I was right. "Okay, then let's discuss strategy. The place is big, which would be an advantage for us. We can take them out individually. You faced bigger numbers at Galina's."
Moderately true. I was just trying to escape and surprisingly I had Dimitri on my side in my fight with Galina. But here we would have to move deeper into the building, making sure all of them were dead.
"We have the safety of the sun, if things turn badly, we could escape."
Dimitri was thoughtful. "That would only work if we were still close to a window or door and if we actually had the foresight to leave. It is usually a fraction of a second that turns the battle. But… it is better than nothing, we could use doors and windows to separate Strigoi, fighting them in small increments. The building has lots of rooms, so we wouldn't be fighting them all at once."
Most Strigoi were only afraid - well, maybe not afraid- but guarded against other Strigoi. They would mostly lay low during the day. So it was logical that they were scattered across the building. The Guards would probably be guarding the exits.
We hashed out a few more details, debating what would give us the best chance of survival. The best chance was to run away and never look back, but that wasn't an option. But I felt a little better about the plan. I still thought we would die a horrible, horrible death, but maybe we would take most of them with us.
Dimitri
We both got changed silently and separately. I had more faith in this mission than Rose did. Not because our odds were better, but because I believed I was brought back for a reason. And that reason wasn't to die weeks after I was restored. So I put my faith in a higher power. Not God per se, but I refused to believe everything we went through meant nothing.
I put on my cargo pants and a form-fitted shirt with a high neckline, I wasn't going to make it easy for them. I put one stake in one of the upper pockets of my pants, the other one I would hold at the ready when we entered. If I had a third, I would have put that somewhere too. I had half a mind to find an ax somewhere and bring that too- Or maybe a flamethrower. I never understood why Guardians weren't issued a flamethrower too.
Maybe that was something I could do if I ever made it to the age of retirement, make weapons for guardians. Although stakes were always favorites, I wouldn't mind some other variants as well, a small flame thrower should be possible and maybe a gun with silver charmed bullets, although silver would melt in the barrel and it would be very expensive. I wondered how much silver a weapon needed to contain to hold the charms?
When I was done I joined a similarly dressed Rose. She didn't have cargo pants though, but a tight fitted legging, she compensated for the lack of pockets with a thigh strap that held her spare stake. It looked hot.
But that would have to wait.
We cleaned up our stuff and placed our belongings together on the pull-out couch that had turned into a couch again. The hotel room was clean. If we didn't return, the cleaning crew would find a hefty tip and some goodbye letters for our family and friends.
I had written one to my family too. I had debated it countless times, but in the end they deserved to know that I found peace again. That my soul was saved.
Mikhail had taken the car, so we hailed a cab that would take us to the bad part of town, where we either became heroes, or… not.
The taxi driver was hesitant to go to the indicated place, so we let him off a few blocks earlier. We could walk the rest. Even if humans didn't know about Strigoi they certainly knew that the place around here was dangerous. Instinctively they understood they were prey around those streets.
"Are you two sure you want to go there?" He asked as Rose gave him his money. "You hear things, you know, it isn't a safe place."
Rose inclined her head in thanks but we couldn't be swayed from our mission. "Don't worry, it will be a lot safer soon."
The taxi driver looked skeptical and he was grateful he was going in the opposite direction.
We walked the few blocks until we were one block away from the compound. The closer you got the colder it seemed to get. There were no sounds of birds, it was like it was a blackhole where anything and everything was sucked into except death.
"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies." Rose shivered beside me, accurately voicing what I felt on the inside.
"Rose, when this is over, you and I-"
"I know, I know, we are going to have a conversation." She interrupted. I turned around and looked her in the eyes, a sly smile on my face. I think it was the smile that had her startled the most.
"Well, there will be mouths involved, and tongues, but no actual words." I turned back around, not able to bare looking at her flustered face for another second before I did something stupid and widely inappropriate. "Of course. Pleas to deities and begging will be accepted."
And with those last words, promising pleasure after all this death, I put my game face on and Rose did the same. We moved silently towards the compound. They had lookouts at a few windows but Rose and I had learned how to move unseen in the shadows long ago. besides the sunlight would mean they couldn't actually stand at the window.
My memory took me to a house in Portland which seemed so long ago. Rose had caught sight of me in the shadows there, while I was observing her and the Princess. I had been impressed. Even though I am a big guy I could hide myself very well. But I had underestimated her and took too many chances.
Now she joined me in the shadows. We stayed low and entered a side door. Mikhail and I had observed earlier that that door led to the kitchen - not that the Strigoi were preparing any food there- which is why it wasn't guarded much and it was left open, because the door was the closest to the carpark and furthest away from the money. Also the rising sun ment the door itself and the window next to it were flooded with sunlight. Most windows were covered with thick blackout curtains, or plywood, but this door was left open, because of a combination of the disuse of the kitchen as an actual kitchen and the frequent traffic through it at night.
We made it inside and snuck towards the first Strigoi. Luckily he was alone. The compound was rather big, so it meant the guards were scattered across multiple rooms and multiple floors. This might save us. Taking on twelve on all at once was suicide, but taking one down twelve times in a row, might be possible.
I grabbed him from behind, putting a cloth over his mouth- one I had specifically packed for this purpose- turned him around so Rose could stake him. It was over in a second and we had done it silently. I lowered the body quietly to the ground.
Wordlessly we communicated which room to hit next. Mikhail and I had been able to map a little of this place through windows and thermal imaging, but mostly we were going in blind when the inner layout of the building was concerned. But Rose and I moved silently from room to room, avoiding the common hallway as much as possible.
We took down another two before we encountered a very well trained ex-guardian. That didn't just mean that we were having trouble taking him down, it also meant we couldn't do it silently anymore. Me crashing into the wall after a kick from the Strigoi reverberated all through the building, making me wonder about the structural integrity of said building.
"Belikov? What are you doing? What…?" Damn, I had hoped nobody here would know me by sight. But that was obviously too much to ask.
"Are you…?" He seemed to have trouble taking in the sight before him. He couldn't really reconcile the knowledge that I was Dhampir again. But his nose was telling him I smelled Dhampir, even though he knew I had been Strigoi before.
But his existential crisis was cut short as he had completely forgotten the other dhampir in the room. Rose didn't hesitate and staked him from behind, not an easy thing to do, but she did it expertly.
She looked at me for a second, knowing this place would be crawling with the remaining seven or eight Strigoi in a minute.
We always knew we wouldn't be able to go around killing them all individually, so in the event we were made we had discussed running towards the enemy. It would take time for them to gather where we were, so theoretically it would mean we could still take out a few individually as they gathered.
We heard them coming down the stairs. Rose and I moved towards the main hall where the stairs came down. It was a big open space and would allow us the most movement. I quickly assessed the situation, counting the number of Strigoi who seemed to be ex-humans or ex-Moroi and who seemed to be ex-Dhampirs. I saw Rose's eyes rapidly moving too, telling me she was making the same assessment. We didn't need to converse or communicate. Instinctively we knew who would take who on.
The first two down the stairs were both ex-Guardians, one shorter and one taller. I took the shorter one and Rose the taller. We had to take them down quickly, three more were coming down the stairs. They were surprised by our choice of target. Normally I would have taken the taller and Rose the shorter. Except that I have been sparring with Rose and Rose with me, so I was used to a smaller target and she was used to a larger assailant. It utilized our talents to the fullest. And honestly we could use every edge we could get.
We got a few good hits in, but the others were already down the stairs. a total of six. I imagined one or two staying behind with the money.
Rose and I went back to back. Three each, simultaneously, would be quite the challenge. We just had to keep moving, switching and using the Strigoi against each other. Rose and I had a strategic advantage. We were used to fighting with each other, we could fight seamlessly, the six Strigoi, on the contrary, were getting in each other's way. It wasn't much of an advantage in light of their speed, strength and rapid regeneration, but still. I would take what I could get.
I groaned as I was hit in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of me and possibly my breakfast as I landed a few feet away. I saw Rose taking a dive to the ground as well. We had made it so far without any major injuries, but we were getting beat up now.
I scanned the room for windows or doors that had blackout curtains, maybe we could separate some with sunlight. But we were in the central column of the building. Not only were there no windows, it also meant any escape route for us was too far away. We would never make it into the sun.
It was taking all my strength just to dodge the Strigoi. I was able to stay alive and relatively uninjured, but I couldn't get on the offensive. And in contrast to the near-immortals I was facing, I would grow tired and didn't heal every injury in a second or two. Rose was having the same problem, she was holding on, but that was about it.
While I only looked at Rose for a split second, it was enough for one of the three Strigoi I was fighting. He tackled me to the ground, making me hit my head hard on the floor. I was a little dazed, but I could clearly see his dripping fangs move towards my neck.
No, I wouldn't let this happen again. I wouldn't die like this again. I was going to die in fifty years when I was old and gray and had seen my family again, had lived again, had been with Rose again. I was going to give her the future she deserved.
Reality was a little different though, because try as I might I wasn't able to get the Strigoi off of me.
That was until he seemed to fly off of me and against the wall.
