When Spirit Shows It's Thorns
Chapter 5
I awoke laying on the couch still wrapped tightly in Dimitri's arms. There was a blanket tucked suffocatingly over us and we were both stripped down to our under clothes. "Rose?" I heard Lissa whisper. She was sitting in the floor, her head resting on the edge of the couch and her hand on my shoulder. "Thanks Vlad, I didn't think it would ever stop." She sounded so drained.
"Where are we?" My throat was dry and itchy. I could have really used something to drink.
"Somewhere over the Pacific," she answered. "We dropped the Guardians from Court back in San Francisco when we stopped to refuel. We refueled again in Hawaii. You've kind of been out of it since we left Harrisburg. It was just awful, Rose. Do you feel my emotions like that?"
"What do you mean, Lissa?" I was fully alert now and began to sit up. Dimitri's hold slipped away. He sighed and then brought his arm around my waist and keeping me still held tight against his chest. I glanced back and saw that he was sleeping.
"You went berserk when you saw the Guardians, yelling and screaming. Rose you tried to attack your mom. You wouldn't let anyone explain. You just kept screaming and screaming like a caged, dying animal. Dimitri was able to drag you over to the couch and hold you here, but then you were just despondent. I never experienced anything like it. I sat on the couch over there with Christian," She said pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. I looked beyond her to see Christian himself still sleeping on the couch. "And it was like I was paralyzed in terror. Worse than terror, I really have no way to explain it. I was suffocating, Rose. Not like when Ken-Kenneth was using air on me. I knew I was breathing, but it was like trying to breathe water or something. Between the two of us, everyone was frightened. Abe wasn't even going to leave the airport. He wanted to call in a medic."
"Please tell me he didn't?" I cut in.
"No, No, he didn't. You're mom said you were just in shock and if he did so, you might be startled again. No one could take that type of screaming again. It was horrible Rose; I can't even explain how horrific it was. After you calmed down some, when I couldn't move anymore, I was able to get Christian to help me over. Dimitri and I kept you wrapped in our arms for a while and you finally fell asleep. Every time one of us would try to move away, you would start whimpering again, so we've been laying like this for almost the whole flight." Lissa paused. I was trying to wrap my head around everything. Why was she paralyzed? Did someone do something to her? "I was so scared, Rose. It was like the darkness back at St Vladimir's, except it was thousands of times worse. It wasn't an angry darkness either, it was just, just," Lissa was stuttering now, tears falling down her face. "It was full of so much pain and nothingness."
"How could you know that, Lis? The bond is one way." I whispered more to myself than her. "That is how I felt, but how could you feel it, Lissa? I asked again, bringing my eyes to look directly into hers.
"I don't know. Adrian said," she began, but I jerked back.
"Adrian? Is he here?" I whispered.
"No, he met us in San Francisco, but didn't stay long. In Hawaii he took a bottle of Abe's Vodka, mumbled something about auras saying it all, and left to find a plane back to Court with the Guardians. While he flew with us though, he said that your aura was just a swirling black mass. He had never seen it so dark before. He said there was so much darkness in your aura that instead of you being able to take it from me; you were feeding everything back into me through our bond." Lissa stopped talking, inhaled, and looked as if she was unsure how to continue. "He said I was so weak with using so much Spirit and already having so much darkness, that when you started pushing even more darkness into me, that you blew the bond wide open."
I gaped at her. How was I going to protect Lissa now? I always took the darkness from her, but if I couldn't do that anymore, then Lissa was going to go insane. "There's more." She stated after another minute. I sat looking at her, waiting. I don't think I could form the words to ask what else there could be. "Adrian said that he could see that everywhere Dimitri was touching you, your aura was beginning to lighten. That's when we laid you down and had Dimitri lay behind you. We gave you as much contact as possible without stripping either of you down. It still wasn't enough, so when we landed in Hawaii, Abe kicked everyone but you, Dimitri, and me off of the plane while it was being refueled. Dimitri stripped you both down as much as he could without your parents throwing a fit. Adrian was still pissed; and I mean royally pissed."
She paused again, but continued after a couple of breaths. "I think that is why he left after they all boarded the plane again, but no one could deny the peace that began to fall over us both, once you and Dimitri had to skin to skin contact. It was like your auras meshed together and his healed yours. It took a while because once your darkness started to lighten up some; you started taking it from me again. Dimitri and I both have been scared to leave your side. Even when you finally relaxed into some sort of peace, we stayed next to you. We all must have fallen asleep a few hours ago."
"More like six." I heard Dimitri's voice rise from beside my hip. "You both slept when we refueled in Japan. We should be nearing Novosibirsk very soon." Dimitri sat up, careful to keep the blanket covering our bottom halves. "How are you feeling, Rosa?" he asked as he looked into my eyes, then, "Is anyone else awake yet?" as he pulled the blanket to cover my chest.
"It doesn't appear like it."
"I'm not really sure." Lissa and I answered together, as she glanced around. Everyone seemed to be sleeping, so he reached for our clothes that lay folded on a table beside us. Lissa catching his train of thought gave my hands one last squeeze and went to lie down in front of Christian, closing her eyes.
Dimitri helped me into my uniform, and then dressed himself. He grabbed a couple bottles of water from a mini fridge not far away and settled back on the couch at a sideways angle. Handing me a bottle of water, he then used his free hand to help pull me into his lap. "You scared me Roza." He murmured against my ear before placing a gentle kiss along my temple.
"I'm sorry." I said breathlessly and tucked my head into the crook of his neck and shoulder before closing my eyes. I relished the feel of him for a few moments as I replayed Lissa and my previous conversation. I still had so many questions, especially about Adrian. I wondered who had called him. I know I had forgotten to. Oh Adrian, what was I supposed to do? The way Lissa talked, it seemed he already knew I was about to break his heart. "Dimitri," I began, "about Adrian."
"Shh, Rosa, we need to talk, and we will, but for now, let's just rest." He interrupted softly. I nodded my head against his neck and closed my eyes, waiting for the others to begin to stir into wakefulness. We didn't wait long. It seemed a little suspicious when my mother and Abe began to stretch and yawn awake just a minute or two later. It may have just been coincidence, but I had a feeling they had been awake for at least a little while and had given the three of us the illusion of privacy until our conversation had completed. Maybe they weren't so bad after all, but I wasn't going to just let things go either.
I blinked several times as I watched my mother give one last stretch and bring her eyes to look upon me. See my gaze on her, she slowly stood and walked over. "Rose," she worriedly said as she sat down on the edge of the couch. She grabbed the blanket and began fidgeting with it. Oh, what was this? The great Janine Hathaway was out of words and punches? "I'm sorry, Rose." She finished as her eyes settled on the floor.
"A phone call in warning would have been nice, Janine." That sounded even ruder than I intended.
"Rosemarie." She warned in exasperation. "I know I upset you, but that tone is not needed. I am still your mother, but you're correct. Abe or I should have called you."
I didn't really have an understanding of what had all happened and until I had all the answers; all I could do was nod. My mother realizing it was too soon to attempt reconciliation went to sit back down next to Abe. Abe just sat looking at me with question in his eyes. I chose to ignore him and let my mind wander through my conversation with Lissa again.
