When Spirit Shows Its Thorns

Chapter 22

Lissa and I spent the next week working on how to block one another out. Since she would only get very sporadic words or visions from me, it made it difficult for me to learn. Lissa was getting better at. Christian or Dimitri would always stay in the room with us, but never at the same time. Each was just as embarrassed as the last. Lissa and I never had really talked about how often I had slipped into her mind. They others knew it happened when Lissa had strong emotions, Dimitri more so than the rest, but they had never gathered that the high emotions from intimacy would pull me in just as quickly as fear. Now not only did everyone know, but Lissa was being pulled into my mind at the most inappropriate times.

"I can't do this." Lissa growled. "The boys are going to have to start talking to one another. I am getting fed up with this silent macho war they have going on. It's not like we can help anything. It's the two of us who should be having a pissing contest. We are the ones who have to deal with seeing one another's partners in compromising ways."

Lissa was right. The only time Dimitri and Christian stayed in the same room for more than a couple minutes were at meal times. Even then it seemed like they had a contest of who could eat the fastest and leave. A week of this behavior was too long. We had gotten our summons to Tasha's hearing. They needed to patch things up over the next four days. We didn't need any rift between us. We had to be strong and united to face her. Christian was going to need every single one of us in his corner.

"I know, but how?" I asked shrugging and plopping down on the sofa.

"I'm not sure. If only there was something they had to set aside their feeling for, not that I want to really be put in danger or such. What about a game night?" Lissa suggested.

"I don't think game night would work. One of them would see the other and they would just refuse to join in. No, it has to be something big." I told her.

Lissa sighed in defeat. "I really need a vacation." She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes.

"That's it, Liss! We are going on vacation. Two days away, we can leave tomorrow and come back the day before the hearing." I brightened at the idea.

"How is that going to help with the boys?" She sat up, questioning me.

"The boys aren't coming. Think of it as punishment. Their sour moods are dragging us down and vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing. We can't have fun or relax if they are being idiots the whole time."

"Rose, do you honestly think we can just slip past Belikov and go on vacation?" She asked narrowing her eyes at me. Lissa knew I was most likely planning something. She also knew that most of my plans ended in one or both of us in trouble.

"Don't worry about Dimitri…or Christian for that matter. I got this covered. Pack your bags, Liss. I changed my mind, we leave tonight." I said patting her hand. First stop, my mother. Second stop, my father, the boys would need to be distracted. Luckily I found them talking together in Abe's office.

"Hey, I have a huge favor to ask." I began as I walked through the door and gathering their attention. Sitting down in a chair next to my mother I continued to explain with exactly what I needed from them. "The boys are driving Lissa and me insane. We've decided to take a little vacation, leave tonight and come back the day before the trial, but we know the boys won't let us go off alone. We want to relax, not deal with their bromance breakdown."

"Their what?" my mother asked.

"You know two guy friends. It doesn't mean they are romantically involved, just that they are close friends." I explained. "Anyways, we need to get away and to do so, we need the boys distracted."

"How are we to help this?" Abe asked as he steepled his hands over his desk.

"I thought mom could invite Dimitri down to the basement to spar. He probably could use a good match to let off some steam. You could invite Christian up here to discuss offensive magic. Lissa and I would slip out then."

"And go where?" Janine asked, already beginning to shun the idea.

"Old man, you have any ideas?" I asked giving him a broad smile.

"Well, I have that cabin a couple hours from Court," he began looking to Janine. "They could go there, with stipulations of course." Janine and I both looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Nothing too drastic, my dears, I promise. If I allow this, you must take three of my Guardians with you. You will also allow Belikov and Ozera to join you on your last night away."

"I'll accept the Guardians, but no to the rest. The point of going away is to have a break from their silent man war." I straightened in my chair.

"You think that it will take them more than a day or two to overcome their feelings and find common ground on leaving to drag you back home?"

"Fine," I acquiesced to his demands and went to pack my own bag and find Lissa. We decided to watch a movie while we waited for my parents to enact their part of the bargain. An hour later all the chips fell in place, and Lissa and I found ourselves placed in the mid-row of an SUV and heading outside of Court. Hopefully the boys would not be too upset with us. I did leave Dimitri a note.

I was expecting a small cabin, but as we drew near, I was surprised to find it nearly filled the small clearing it sat in. Leave it to Abe to own a four bedroom cabin in the middle of nowhere, USA. Lissa and I had just sat our bags inside our rooms and were trying to figure out what to do for food, when my phone began to ring. Glancing down at it I muttered, "Well that didn't take long." I sent the call to voicemail, knowing that Dimitri would be fuming, but I had food to worry about.

Neither Lissa nor I could cook and I doubt we could get pizza delivered this far out in the boondocks. Luckily a Guardian entered the house with several cloth grocery bags. "Is that food? Does it have to be cooked?" I asked getting excited.

"Yes and Yes." The Guardian answered, smiling. "Your mother mentioned you had a big appetite but lacked skill in the kitchen. I'll get this put away and start on some lunch for everyone." He chuckled in my direction.

"Oh, well, I am Rose and this is Lissa. I'm sure you already knew that though, and you, I believe you are my new best friend." I smiled up at him. Lissa scoffed and the Guardian laughed even harder.

"Lance Woods, I'm your designated chef and protector for the next few days, Miss Hathaway." He said as his face become more serious. "Guardian Albright should be returning just before lunch with a feeder, Princess."

"Please, while we are here, call me Lissa." She smiled at him.

"And I am just Rose." I added. Lance made his way into the kitchen so Lissa and I settled into the couch and started discussing what we were sure was going on back at the house in Court. Our phones would intermittently ring out, signaling another call from Dimitri or Christian. I imagine both were foaming at the mouth by now and hoped that Abe could keep them at bay for a while longer.

Guardian Albright did return with a feeder for Lissa just before lunch. Guardian Woods was a decent cook. He had made roast beef Hoagies along with a rich brown gravy. After eating, Lissa and I cleaned our dishes and decided to watch a movie while we painted our nails.

Lissa ran to her room to gather the polish, and I used the time to send Dimitri a quick text assuring him we were safe and would be home on Tuesday. That brought about a slew of texts, followed by a handful of back to back calls from him when I didn't reply. Finally tired of listening to the near constant ringing, I placed both Lissa's and my phones on silent and went to see what was taking her so long.

I found her in her room gathering several small bags. "I thought, 'why stop with just our nails?' I have some facial masks we can use too." She said as I walked through the door. "We don't have anything else to do, so we might as well use the time to beautify ourselves."

"I am sure the boys will appreciate that we look like Goddesses when they arrive to send us to our early graves." I quipped and fell to bed with soft laughter ringing from my lips. Lissa joined me in my laughter and I started going through her bags in search of all the beauty products she had stowed away.

"Well my plan is to look so gorgeous I will stop Christian in his tracks. He can't kill me if he is tripping over his own tongue, now can he?" This sent us both into another bout of laughter.

I spent the next two hours dutifully under Lissa's dictatorship of beauty lessons. I wasn't one to really go all out on skin care and make up, having naturally clear skin, but the girl time was secretly enjoyable. Once our nails had dried and our conversation began to lull, we moved on to watching a couple of movies until supper time. I took a peek at my phone and felt a little queasy at what I saw. There were at dozens of missed calls and texts from Dimitri and Christian. Maybe we had taken things too far.

I used an excuse to go to the bathroom and unlocked my phone listening to the endless list of voicemails. Hearing Dimitri go from furious to defeated, caused my heart to sink in my chest. This might have sounded like a great idea when planned, but with each new voicemail, I realized how childish it truly was. I would call him after we ate and I had retired to bed for the evening.

Entering back into the living room, I caught Lissa quickly setting her phone down. "You too, huh," I asked as I sat beside her. She nodded tears coming to her eyes.

"I haven't ever heard Christian so angry and worried." She said as we leaned against one another. "I think we should call them tonight, give them some sort of peace of mind." I nodded in agreement and stared uninterested at the movie playing. It didn't strike me how quiet and deep in thought we both had sat, until Lance called out that supper was ready. The movie had ended and returned to the main menu without either of us knowing or caring.

We ate in silence as if it would be our last meal, not knowing what we would face when we made our calls home. Lissa had finished eating and was watching the moon's descent as she waited for me. Picking up my plate, I stood and went to the sink, Lissa following with hers. "I think I am going to shower and go to bed when I'm done here." I told her in a somber voice.

"Me too," she nodded and turned to fetch our glasses. We finished the dishes and giving her a hug, I retreated to my bedroom. Showering and changing into my pajamas, I crawled into the bed and picked up my phone from the side table. Dimitri answered before the first ring ever finished.

"Where are you?" He snarled through the phone. Oh, he was pissed.

"Whoa Comrade, hold your horses." I said trying to lighten the mood.

"Rose, this isn't a time for jokes. What were you thinking? You took the princess and left the safety of your father's house. Hell, you left the safety of Court." His voice had hardened to steel.

"Dimitri, we had too."

"Do not make light of this Rose. If you think reverting back to some high school antics in order to save the Princess or yourself from something…" He was hissing through the phone.

"What? No. Dimitri we aren't in danger. Please, just let me explain?"

"It better be a good one too Rose. Do you even know how it made me feel to learn from some note that you had slipped off into the unknown without leaving any sort of reason?" His voice still held anger, but I could hear a hint disappointment in it.

"This thing, whatever you want to call it, that you have going between you and Christian. It was toying with Lissa and my emotions too. Dimitri, the stress and worry from it all was driving Lissa and me up the walls. Lissa was beginning to slip into a Spirit depression and I was pulling the darkness of it from her. It got to be too much. Usually it works itself out of my system when we spar or are together intimately."

"Rose, you could have talked to me about it. We could have figured something out. I thought you and Lissa were working on controlling the bond more."

"Yes, this caused Lissa and me to experiment with just that much more Spirit. It caused more Darkness, Dimitri. I tried to work it out, but other than a few chaste kisses, you refused to touch me in other way the last week. You even refused to spar with me, telling me it would be best if Lissa and I spent my time learning to control the bond. You wouldn't listen to me." I sat silent waiting for him to reply but was met with the low hum of an open but silent line.

"I'm sorry, Roza." He said after several heartbeats. "Please come home. We'll figure something out, the four of us together."

"We can't right now. Just give us another day or two. Lissa and I will figure something out, away from all the bad emotions that linger in the house. We just need to have a little peace and quiet."

"Rose, you have until this evening to get back here, or I am coming to you."

"Turning caveman on me, Comrade? I have to admit it's kind of hot."

"Rose, no more jokes. I am still angry with you right now. Come home. I'm not asking."

"Demands don't go over well either." I snapped at him. "Lissa and I will be home on Tuesday, you would have to know where we are anyways in order to find us." I heard Dimitri sigh in defeat. "I love you. I am completely and utterly in love with you. I cannot even begin to explain how much I miss you, but please, give me this time. We are safe, I promise. Abe wouldn't let us leave without bringing another three Guardians with us."

"Your father knew!" He spat. I heard him moving around, the rustling of clothes, and then a door slamming.

"Dimitri. Wait, calm down. Yes my father knew, but I swore him to secrecy. He was going to tell you tomorrow evening so you and Christian could join us." I gushed into the phone. Images of Dimitri standing over Abe's bloody and beaten body filled my mind. Dimitri started talking in quick Russian words and I heard a door close gently near him.

"Rose, just know the only thing keeping me from seeking you out and ringing your neck is my love for you." His voice was nearly mono-toned and still filled with anger.

"I do love you, Dimitri." I murmured to him.

"I love you too, Roza." His voice had lost its angry notes. "I'll see you soon."

"Yes. Goodnight, Comrade." I said, blowing a kiss into the phone.

"Sleep well, Roza." I heard him say and then the call was cut off. I lay back in bed and cried myself to sleep.

I believe this is the longest chapter yet. I hope I have done a fairly good job so far with the story. I am writing and editing all on my own, so if you notice any horrible mistakes I have skipped over in my writing, please let me know. Until next time, Rea