The next morning I gathered the others in the living room to explain what had happened the day before. I needed them to understand why I had let Sonya escape, and give them the option to opt out of the dangerous next steps of my plan with no hard feelings from me. I wouldn't allow any of them to be put in the kind of danger a mission like this would contain. I gave them all a small smile before I explained.
"I know things didn't go how we planned yesterday. That's on me. I didn't know who we were going up against," I started, only to be interrupted by Sydney.
"Should I know who that was?" She asked. I had gotten so used to spending time with her that I forgot she wasn't always around, and wouldn't know Ms. Karp's history.
"She used to be a teacher at our school. She was a spirit user who turned to get rid of the darkness," I said simply, not wanting to get into her business in front of Mikhail.
"So why did we just let her go? That wasn't part of the mission," she pushed back at me. I nodded.
"You're right. I should have killed her... but I made a promise that if I ever found her, I would do everything in my power to restore her like I did for Dimitri," I took a deep breath before continuing, "I know this is dangerous, and stupid, and breaking the rules. But I intend to keep that promise, and I don't want anyone else to go down with me."
Everyone kept their faces expressionless, and I couldn't gauge the temperature in the room. I pushed on despite this development, and hoped they wouldn't hate me too much. It was something I felt I had to do, even if it meant going at it alone.
"I love you all like family. I've gotten closer to you four than almost anyone else in my life. I will be forever grateful to each and every one of you. So that's why I'm taking you all back home and going after her myself."
I saw Eddie and Christian glance over at one another, messages passing between them with just a look. Mikhail kept his head down, eyes locked on the empty floor. Sydney was staring at me like I had just completely lost my mind. I held my breath and waited for a response.
"We talked about this last night. We're with you. There is no way you're leaving us behind, Rose," Christian said.
"You don't understand how serious this is. We would be going against direct orders from the Queen. I don't know how to come back from that," I said.
"Not necessarily. There's no protocol for an escaped target. Maybe she would want us to track her down," Sydney said. I considered her words carefully, and thought she might be right.
"It's not going to be easy," I countered.
"Nothing ever is with you, Hathaway," Eddie joked. It was nice to have his support, even if he had to tease me to give it.
"Just tell us the plan already! We're ready," Christian added.
I looked over to Mikhail, who had been silent during this entire exchange. He looked up at me with a mix of wonder and surprise. I don't think he ever imagined I would keep my promise. I gave him a smile, letting him know I had no reservations about saving her.
After that, I had to explain to them that I didn't have a solid plan yet. I told them about the dream visit from Lissa and Dimitri, and that he could potentially track Sonya. Christian's eyes widened, and I knew he was impressed that Lissa's work on dream walking had paid off.
"What does that mean?" Mikhail finally spoke up.
"I don't exactly know. Lissa wasn't able to hold the dream for very long, so I would have to talk to him again to get specifics," I explained, "after that, we have to actually find and capture her. Then, we have to find a spirit user willing to do the restoration."
"Where do we start?" Eddie asked earnestly.
"I think we head back to West Virginia first. I can try to get the Queen to send us after her so we don't draw any suspicion this way... yet. Then I need to talk to Dimitri, and see what he can do for us."
Everyone agreed, and we didn't spend another minute in the strigoi house. The ride back went by quickly, and we slipped easily into our roles once we were back home. Sydney and I worked together to come up with an explanation for the escape in our reports. We wanted to make sure we had the same story in case they were ever compared. Afterwards, Christian made dinner and we spent some more time playing video games.
"I have something to show you guys," Christian said after we played our last game.
He left the living room and came back a few minutes later, notebook in hand. He flipped a few pages before settling on one. On the page was an intricate drawing of a rose and a lily tangled together and engulfed in flames. It had a long stem with thorns running down the length of it. Having to describe it in words makes it sound kind of cheesy, but the intricate details throughout the design made it anything but.
"What's this?" I finally asked, pulling the notebook closer for a better look.
"Remember a while ago when we were talking about making our own mark? Well, I thought maybe this could be it? The flames represent fire magic, the lily and the rose are the alchemists and the guardians, and the thorns can represent strigoi kills. We can even add more thorns as needed," he explained.
Everyone took a turn with the notebook, admiring the details in Christian's work. After a few minutes he sheepishly asked us what we thought.
"I... kind of love it Christian," I started.
"I agree. It looks awesome!" Eddie yelled before hi-fiving Christian and Mikhail.
Sydney had the notebook in her hands, and she was studying the design intently. She was definitely the least likely to get a spontaneous tattoo.
"You don't have to get it if you don't want to, Syd," I told her. She looked up at me nervously.
"Alchemists don't usually get other tattoos..." she trailed off. I nodded, and after a few moments, her expression changed to one of determination.
"I'm in. It's not like I haven't broken rules before," she said seriously. I grinned back at her.
"It looks like we have a badass in our midst guys! Can you believe it?" We all laughed and cheered as we looked at Sydney. I saw her start to blush, and I was proud I could rub off on her a little bit.
The next day when we went into town for Christian's feeding, we made sure to scope out a tattoo shop. We were originally just looking to make an appointment for next time, but there were a few artists who had time to do the tattoos that very day.
We all agreed to get them in the same spot, on the back left shoulder. This way they could stay somewhat hidden, and they wouldn't interfere with our sanctioned guardian tattoos. Eddie and Mikhail volunteered to go first, and the rest of us looked on as the ink bled into their skin. When they were done, Eddie and Mikhail each had two thorns on their stems.
Sydney and Christian went next, getting theirs done without any thorns. I was surprised to see how easily Sydney sat for it. She didn't seem to have any hesitation, while Christian was full of nerves, despite coming up with the design. He also seemed to have the worst pain tolerance of us all, and I made sure to tease him throughout, giving him something else to focus on.
I went last, and I couldn't help but notice my rose had the most thorns, five of them. I passed the time thinking about the missions we had been on. Killing was difficult, even though we were doing it for the right reasons. I knew none of us saw the tattoos as a trophy, but more as a reminder of what we were fighting for. We were all making sacrifices to keep the moroi world safe, and the tattoos were a symbol of that.
The time passed quickly and soon I was finished getting the tattoo. We were on the way home soon after that, all in a great mood after sharing the afternoon together. When we got there, Sydney and I moved to check our emails. I had one from the Queen, the first actual response not given through Guardian Croft.
The message itself struck me as extremely strange. The Queen demanded we go after Sonya Karp and eliminate her. The exact phrase she used was "accomplish the mission at all costs". We were to put everything else on hold until we found her.
This was what I was hoping for, but I didn't expect Queen Tatiana to give it to us so easily. I was suspicious, wondering what she had against Sonya Karp that warranted a search mission to kill her. It didn't sit right with me, and I voiced my concerns to Sydney. She agreed it was strange, and she said she'd look in the alchemist's database for anything on Karp that could be useful to us.
While she started in on her research, I thought I should call Dimitri and see what kind of information he could give me in order to start planning the mission. I excused myself and stepped outside into the backyard for some space. I sat myself down on the back porch steps and looked up at the sky.
I took the phone out of my pocket and set it on the last step in front of me. I hunched over and just stared at it, not willing to make my move yet. His dream words ran through my head like the ones in the church had, and they were stirring up similar feelings.
I wasn't sure how long I was out there before I felt a presence behind me. Make that two, I thought as Mikhail and Eddie took a seat on either side of me. The stairs weren't very wide, and we were all squished together. I couldn't take my eyes off the phone despite the close proximity.
"I don't know if I can do this," I confessed. I felt an arm go around my shoulder.
"You don't have to. I know you want to keep the promise, but I won't hold that against you," Mikhail answered.
"It's not that. I know I can do that. I want to save her," I replied.
"So what's holding you back?" Eddie asked, pulling me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder.
"When I was dreaming, Dimitri said he could only help me if I let him in... I mean, can I actually do that, after everything that happened?" I said, the hole in my chest growing as I voiced my concerns.
"Do you trust him?" Mikhail asked.
"With my life. Just not with my heart," I answered truthfully.
No one spoke for a while after that. I just sat and enjoyed the boys' company. It was nice to feel like I had people on my side, and I felt like I could draw strength from them. That helped me make my decision.
"I know what I have to do. I just need you guys to help me," I admitted to them.
"You got it boss. The first sign of any mushy talk and I promise to ruin the mood," Eddie declared. He said it in such a proud way that I couldn't help but laugh.
"Me too. Consider your heart well guarded," Mikhail added.
I pulled away from Eddie and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. I asked for a little privacy as I made the call, and they both stood up and walked back into the house. This time I was able to pick up the phone and make the call.
He answered on the first ring, and I had to admit I was a little satisfied with the image of him waiting by the phone for my call. I didn't give my heart a chance to react to the sound of his voice this time, I just dove right into what I needed to say.
"How do you plan on tracking Sonya?" I asked, interrupting whatever he was saying. He took a moment before he answered my question.
"When I was strigoi I had certain... connections. They kept tabs on people. I can reach out and see if anyone knows where she went," he told me.
I was slightly disappointed. I wasn't sure that was going to work. She had fled with nothing, and I didn't know if she would feel safe enough to disclose her location to anybody. I was hoping for info that would allow me to make a concrete plan of action, like a trail we could follow. I didn't voice any of this to Dimitri, though.
"Okay. I can't move forward with a plan until I have her location. Just give me a call if you find anything out," I said, not wanting to drag the conversation out. It would be easier for me if we only talked when absolutely necessary.
"Tell me where you are," he countered. I started to protest, but he didn't let me get far.
"I can't give you any information unless I'm there. I have to know that you're safe," he confessed.
"What's it matter to you? It's not like you cared before. I can take care of myself, Dimitri," I said.
"You have no idea what you're up against. Hunting down a strigoi that wants to kill you? I can't allow that," he stated firmly.
"Newsflash, asshole! I've been doing that the entire time. Half of these strigoi already know who I am," I could tell that stunned him because he went completely silent on the other end of the line.
"Look, it's not just that. You're the only one I trust to take care of Lissa if I can't be there to do it myself," I told him in a lighter tone. He sighed.
"She wants to come with."
"I'm sure she does. But that's not happening," I said.
"I wouldn't underestimate her. She's pretty determined," he responded.
"She may be determined, but I was the mastermind behind all the escape plans. She's not going anywhere," I said firmly.
"Well, I can't give you this information without assurance that you'll be safe," he countered once again. I was getting really sick of the back and forth. He was supposed to be helping me, not negotiating.
"What, you don't think your training was good enough? I staked the god himself as a strigoi, I think I can handle Ms. Karp," I bragged, letting him know just how confident I was.
"I forgot how frustrating you can be," he said, easing into the banter.
"That's not the only thing you forgot," I replied.
"Roza..." he started.
"No. I trust you with Lissa. That's it. I don't trust you to come through for me on this," I told him. I could feel the tears prick at my eyes, but I refused to let him break me again.
"I wish I had done things differently..." he trailed off.
"You can't change the past. You can only move forward. If you want to help me, you have to do it on my terms. Tell me where to find her. Trust that I can do this myself," I pleaded with him, gearing up for another round of arguing.
"Okay," he answered in a quiet voice. I was shocked he was ready to give up.
"Okay?"
"I'll call you when I hear something back," he answered simply. I gave him a small thank you before hanging up the phone.
I stood up from the porch and brushed myself off before heading inside. As of right now, things were starting to come together. That meant I had some serious planning to do.