The planning session for our next mission went by extremely fast. Chrstian insisted he could be more helpful if he was allowed to use fire on all the targets, and I agreed with him. It would be a huge advantage to have him distract the strigoi with flames while we attacked. He gave me a smug look from across the table as I said this, and it took everything in me to do nothing more than just roll my eyes before the meeting continued.
Since the group didn't have a permanent residence, we knew we would have to lure them out at night. That meant posing as college students going bar hopping. Sydney reminded me that none of us exactly had "going out clothes", something we would have to get in order to fit in our surroundings. Because we were attacking at night, the element of surprise would be crucial. The customary guardian blacks would tip them off immediately.
That meant after our session we had to make a trip into town. We took Christian to get his feeding before heading to the nearly dead mall in the center of town. Most of the stores were closed, so our options were severely limited. However, I think we were all slightly relieved knowing we wouldn't be stuck shopping all day.
Finally we wandered to the only department store left in the entire mall. Sydney and I wanted to split off from the boys to look for our own clothes, but they were nervous they wouldn't pick out the right things. None of us knew what to wear in a "college bar", but I figured between the five of us we should be able to pick somewhat decent outfits.
We started in the men's section with Mikhail. Since he was a little older than the rest of us, we wanted to make sure he had an outfit that wouldn't draw much attention to him. Sydney and I took charge and picked him out a pair of medium wash jeans, a white shirt, and a red and black buffalo plaid flannel to go overtop of it. It was a classic look, one that men of any age could pull off easily.
Next we moved onto Eddie. He looked like he could be a member of the football team, and he desperately wanted to dress like one. He picked out a hockey jersey of a team I didn't know, khaki joggers, and a baseball hat. He was most excited to get to go into a bar, and that happiness was contagious as we moved onto Christian.
Mr. Emo Boy insisted he didn't need any new clothing, but there was no way we could let him go to the bar looking like he was a member of the debate team. It wasn't the right vibe, so we set to work despite his protests. He was the toughest to choose for, seeing as his style was black, black, and more black. We had to make him look cool with a limited color palette. We settled on a Nirvana band t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a new pair of burgundy Vans for a pop of color. He grumbled as he accepted the ensemble, but I knew he was secretly happy with our picks.
We offered to let the boys go to the food court while we picked our clothes, but they insisted on repaying the favor and helping us find our outfits. Sydney and I shared a look, confusion and amusement passing through as we made our way to the women's section. The boys immediately started grabbing everything they could get their hands on while shoving us towards the fitting rooms.
Sydney refused to try on any of the dresses they picked out for her, and agreed only to try on a pair of jeans. Sydney was way more of a khaki girl, but when she came out of the dressing room she looked damn good in them. I had chosen the top for her, a baby blue long sleeved crop top. She crossed her arms around her middle as she showed us, unsure of the shirt.
"Is the crop top necessary? I think I can blend in fine with a regular sized shirt," she huffed as she looked over at all of us, who were standing there clearly amused.
"I don't know Syd. You wouldn't want to blow our cover, would you?" I teased, knowing she would never want to put the mission at risk.
"It's just... it's so unprofessional!" She exclaimed, rushing back into the fitting room to change.
"We're not supposed to look professional. We're supposed to look like normal college kids having fun. I vote crop top!" Eddie shouted over the door. We all chimed in our agreement.
I ended up picking a similar outfit to Sydney. I opted for a pair of nice looking leggings and the same crop top Sydney had, but in red. I grabbed a leather jacket on my way out, knowing I would need someplace to keep my stake.
We quickly wrapped up our little shopping trip from there, checking out together with our Court issued credit card. We all seemed a little bit giddy as we grabbed our bags. For a second it was easy to pretend that we actually were kids getting ready to go bar hopping, but that illusion was shattered as Sydney made a detour at the post office, explaining that she had fake ID's made by the alchemists sent to a P.O. box here. We also stopped and picked up a burner cell phone, knowing we might need it to communicate when we were out.
The next day we left for the college, which was a six hour drive to Ohio. On the way, Mikhail coached us all on how to act in a bar. He gave us tips on interacting with the bouncer, what to do inside, and how to order a drink, although none of us would actually be drinking. He also told us it was important to know the information on our ID's, so we all took some time memorizing the details and repeating them back to each other.
When we got there, Sydney checked us into a hotel just a few blocks away from the bar we knew moroi liked to hang out at. Our hotel room was a large suite with two different bedrooms and a shared living space, giving us plenty of room to spread out. We had about an hour before it would be time to hit the town, so we spent some time getting ready before we met up to go over the plan. Sydney and I actually put on makeup and did our hair, and even the guys spent some time making sure their outfits looked perfect.
"Okay guys, just some reminders. We wait in the bar and see what we can find. If we find one, Christian and Eddie will lure them to the alleyway. Mikhail and I will follow behind, and Sydney waits in the bar until clean up time," I told them, turning to Christian as I spoke, "If one comes directly at you, incinerate it. Otherwise just use your fire to distract them and one of us will make the kill," he nodded in response.
"I know this is a bigger group than we had last time, but I know we can handle it. I couldn't trust another group more. Each and every one of us is a badass, and we are going to go out there tonight and make sure these strigoi know it," I smiled and watched everyone else break into a grin at my speech.
I soon wrapped up my pep talk and we made our way to the bar. We were all on high alert as we examined the surroundings of the bar. I stopped briefly by the alley, taking a good long look before we joined the line to get inside. I was a bit nervous to walk into the bar, but I managed to shake it off. I turned and looked at Sydney, who it seemed was having the same issue. She looked downright terrified as she clutched her ID to her chest. I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked at her.
"Relax. Pretend like we do this all the time. They won't let you in if they suspect you're using a fake," I told her.
"I am using a fake! Something that is against the law!" She screeched. I shot her a look and squeezed her shoulders. We took a few deep breaths together before making it to the front of the line. One by one we handed our ID's over and got in without a hitch. Even Sydney was able to pull herself together and look like she was a regular. I was proud, knowing Rose Hathaway was rubbing off on her.
Once we were inside, we realized how small the bar was. It was clear we wouldn't be able to move around as a group, so we had Christian and Sydney sit with Mikhail as Eddie and I walked around, checking things out. I could spot several moroi and their guardians, although like us they tried to blend in with the humans. As far as we knew the strigoi wouldn't come in here under these conditions, so they were known to wait outside until some tried to leave. An ambush was way more their style.
I tried to stay close to the walls, hoping I could sense strigoi through them and know when they came around. I knew we would have to stay for at least an hour to not blow our cover. It was hard trying to blend in and stay vigilant at the same time. I watched some of the other guardians, trying to get a sense of how they were doing things.
Eventually, Eddie and I headed back to the table after ordering drinks. He pointed out that it would be weird for us to be in a bar and not drinking, so I paid cash for five vodka and redbulls. It was the drink recommended by the bartender, and I gave it just a little taste as I sat down. Mihkail shot me a look and I shrugged, noting how good I thought it was. We all cradled the drinks close, taking micro sips for anyone that might be looking in our direction.
At one point in our night, a girl came up to our table and asked Eddie to dance. He blushed and tried to avert his eyes. I made sure to catch his gaze and nodded, letting him know one dance was okay. I didn't want her to go back to her friends and talk about the weird group in the corner who wouldn't leave their seats. He came back to us flustered, and I laughed at how out of place he looked.
Suddenly, my good mood was ruined by a swirling feeling in my stomach. Strigoi were near. I wished my sixth sense was able to tell me how many so we would know what we were walking into. I signaled to Christian that it was time, and he stood up with Eddie to leave. I gave Sydney a hug and told her to go take a seat at the bar to blend in. In my head I counted to thirty, enough time for them to be halfway to the alley, and at that Mikhail and I quickly walked out of the bar and followed the boys.
The sense got stronger as we walked, and I saw Chrstian putting on a real show ahead of us. He was heavily leaning on Eddie as if he was drunk, and Eddie stumbled along with him. They looked like easy prey to me, and I could only hope the strigoi agreed.
Once they paused at the entrance of the alley, we took off running. I could tell someone was there by the way Eddie snapped to attention and charged in. It took us only a few seconds to catch up, and by then I could see there was definitely more than one in the alley. It looked like we were going to have to take on all four at once. Game on.
Eddie had immediately locked on the closest target, and Christian made quick work of starting little fires on all four shoulders. Some tried to ignore the fire, but one closest to me screamed and tried to put it out. I quickly lunged forward and staked her before she knew I was there. Something hit my back and I spun, kicking out at my next target. This strigoi was a lot larger than me, and I knew it would take some serious maneuvering to stake him.
I crouched low, trying to bait him into jumping after me. He stood tall, instead opting to try and stomp me out. I changed tactics and danced around him, faking left before striking out on the right side. Eddie soon came up behind him, and I knew he must have dispatched his target. He grabbed the guy's shoulders and I was able to get a straight shot at his chest. He crumpled to the ground and I spun, looking for the next strigoi.
I didn't see any, but that feeling in my gut didn't go away. I quickly counted the bodies, one two three four, and wondered if I was actually just going to be sick. We had taken out four targets, the number Court had given us.
I realized their intel was wrong as three more strigoi jumped down from the roof. They were fast and definitely caught us off guard. A sense of dread overcame me as I saw the hockey jersey fall to the ground as a strigoi stood over him. I didn't have much time to think about it as I heard fangs snapping near my ear.
I turned to face my opponent, and for a second we shared a look. His face brightened up at the sight of me, causing him to hesitate. I knew in that moment he knew who I was, recognition blooming on his face. I didn't give him any chance to voice this, and instead I slammed his body against the brick building as I drove my stake deep into his chest. I was running on pure adrenaline, knowing I couldn't stop moving until I knew Eddie was okay.
I risked a glance in his direction and saw a ring of flames around him and Christian. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw him bend over Eddie, the magic saving them from any attackers. I then had to turn my attention to Mikhail and the two strigoi he was fighting off.
I stabbed one through the back, not a killing blow, but enough to take his attention away from Mikhail. I ripped my stake out and backed myself against the wall, keeping my attention on the creature before me. We were more of an even match, although my adrenaline was starting to run out. I still managed to swipe my stake across his arm, and I surged forward, throwing him to the ground with me on top. That was a little more jarring than I expected, and the stake slipped slightly from my hand. As I readjusted my grip, the strigoi grabbed my neck and pulled me forward. I gasped for air, using the last of my strength combined with the movement to stake him. His grip loosened as I jumped to my feet right as Mikhail staked his strigoi.
The nausea went away and I knew we were safe for the moment. I rushed over to Eddie and Christian let the ring of flames go. I could tell he had used a lot of his energy projecting the magic for so long, and he slumped against the brick wall. I asked if I could text Sydney and let her know it was time and he nodded, taking a burner phone out of his pocket.
Eddie was just regaining consciousness as I got to him. I was thankful he had just been knocked out. I had thought for a moment during the fight that he was going to end up like Mason, and I had to swallow a lump in my throat at the thought. I tried to help him to his feet and he flinched in pain as I grabbed his arm. I quickly realized his shoulder had been pulled out of its socket.
"Mikhail, can you help me?" I asked. He nodded and grabbed the arm, ready to pop it back into place. I grabbed Eddie's face in my hands, trying to reassure him everything would be okay.
"We have to pop it back into place. It's going to hurt, but can you please try to be quiet for me? I don't want to draw any more attention this way," I asked. He nodded, and I saw his eyes go wide as he muffled a scream, Mikhail apologizing as he slid the bone home.
I noticed Sydney from the corner of my eye, quickly dropping her potions onto the body.
"This is more than four," she said matter of factly.
"No shit there's more than four," I responded, pushing Eddie onto Mikhail. He would need help walking back to the hotel. I moved to Christian and put my arm around his waist, letting him lean on me.
"We have to get out of here, I think the bouncer wanted to check out all the sound coming from this direction," Sydney responded. Despite her crop top and lipstick, she was back in business mode.
We made our way as quickly as possible with our injured parties, which wasn't very fast at all. I considered just picking Christian up and carrying him, but I knew he would never forgive me if I did. So we hobbled along and I hoped that anyone looking in our direction thought we were just drunk kids. Thankfully, our group managed to make it to the hotel lobby without being stopped.
"What happened to you guys?" The front desk clerk asked as we made a beeline for the elevators.
"Oh you know, the usual, just a bar fight," I called, trying to sound cheerful. It really must have been the usual around here, because she just nodded and let us continue to our rooms.
When we got inside, I laid Christian on the couch and looked him over to make sure he didn't have any injuries. When I was confident he didn't, I turned to Eddie, who had been put in one of the bedrooms. I knew he probably had a concussion, so I volunteered to stay up and make sure he didn't fall asleep. I ordered Mikhail to get some rest, not knowing what our next move would be here.
I asked Sydney if it was possible to find a feeder nearby. I didn't think Christian would be able to make it all the way back to West Virginia without one, and she went to make some calls. When she had one lined up for tomorrow, I also ordered her to get some rest.
I set myself on the edge of the bed, making sure not to disturb Eddie. He was quiet and reflective after the fight. I sighed and tried to make myself more comfortable. It was going to be a long night.