7
I rested my head on my desk once Dimitri had shut my office door and let out a huge sigh. How had my life gotten so complicated so quickly?
I decided the best course of action would be to take the afternoon off to re-ground myself, after all, I was no use as a guardian if I couldn't concentrate.
I quickly sorted through all the paperwork on my desk, completing the things that couldn't wait and leaving the rest until another time. I grabbed my empty coffee mug and the rest of my things and headed out of the office.
When I had taken 6 months off to re-build myself, one of the things I found most effective was walking. I decided that going on a hike would help me sort through my emotions, and so I picked up a small rucksack, packed some food and a waterproof coat, put on a pair of walking boots and headed to the garage to get a car.
One of the perks of my position was that I had free access to cars, a perk that came in useful when I needed to get away from everything. It was still only lunchtime and so the court was bustling with busy people going about their day. Thankfully, they were too busy to notice me.
"Hey, can I get a car for the rest of the day please?" I called to a nearby guardian as I approached, flashing my ID even though they probably knew who I was.
The guardian, a young man that looked fresh out of an academy, gave me a startled look and nodded hurriedly before dashing into a booth to get the necessary paperwork. He came out with it and a pen and handed it to me to fill out.
"If you just want to fill out your..."
"It's ok," I said, halting is words. "I've done this many times before".
I didn't mean for the words to sound so short, but I was in a rush. I wanted to be home not too late ready for my guarding shift. I had to start super early tomorrow.
The young guardian kept silent as I filled in the form, and then handed me the keys once I was done, eager to let me leave.
I took them from him and jumped into the driver's seat, letting out a sigh of relief at finally being alone and invisible.
I set the radio to an upbeat pop station and started the car, before driving out of the gates and letting out a sigh of relief. When I used to leave ward boundaries I had to make sure I had a mental wall up to stop the ghosts. It seemed like the opposite now. I had a mental wall up when at court or on show to keep myself sane and slightly detached, yet when I left the place I could drop all that. Nobody would see me where I was going, I would be miles away from civilisation.
I kept an easy pace on the quiet roads, not needing to rush. One of the major perks of being on a different schedule to humans was that the roads were always quiet for us as they were all in bed. After about 20 minutes, I reached my destination.
The scenery around the court was flat and green, with a lot of farmed land. I stumbled on this gold-mine by chance when I went walking once and it quickly became an escape for me.
I got out of the car and surveyed the land around me. You couldn't see them yet, but a little further ahead were a set of rolling hills that stood out against the flat landscape. You had to walk to them because of the dense forest surrounding, but once you got to the top of the largest you could see around for miles. You could see the outline of court even and all the wildlife that lived in the forest.
Shutting my door, I moved around to the back of the car to grab my rucksack and re-adjust my boots ready for the walk. It normally took me just under an hour to get to the top of the hill. I glanced at the time on my phone.
1:12 am.
I had plenty of time before I needed to set off home and I would still get a good nights sleep. Honestly, I loved my job because I was able to do this. I wondered if I would be able to slip off for an afternoon every now and then in my new job?
I set off walking as I mused, listening to the sounds of birds and the crunching of my feet on the ground as I entered the forest. I could feel the tension leaving my body with each step and my mind grew clearer.
I looked up at the moon, a full moon casting a silver shadow on the trees and smiled. Sure, I liked the feeling of the sun on my face, but a full moon and a starry, cloudless sky were almost as good.
I carried on walking at a comfortable pace, not pushing myself, and retreated into my thoughts. Thoughts of Dimitri and his mixed messages, thoughts of Vasily and our budding relationship and thoughts about my new job. It was calm, it was peaceful.
All of a sudden, a cracking twig behind me startled me out of my thoughts.
Too late.
A dark-haired strigoi reached for my neck, presumably in an attempt to snap it and take me out of commission, but I ducked and twisted and her blow caught my shoulder instead.
The shadow-kissed strigoi alarm really would have been a useful tool to keep.
I recovered my footing and turned to face my enemy, or rather enemies.
In front of me stood a group of 5 strigoi, none of which showing the traits of a newly made strigoi.
My stomach dropped as I thought of my stupidness. I had basically asked for this to happen. Sure, strigoi this close to court were rare, but it happened. I usually only walked this route in daylight when I had a day off, choosing to feel the sun on my face instead of the darkness. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even think about it. This wasn't even a rookie error. Moroi wouldn't make this mistake.
I refocused myself. I could internally chastise and ridicule myself as much as I wanted afterwards. If I survived. If.
One of the strigoi, apparently tired of waiting for me to make the first move as the others were, struck out. He aimed straight for my stomach in an attempt to cripple me in the hopes of an easy kill. I shattered those hopes.
I jumped to the side, dodging him and kept my feet moving so as to be a moving target and it worked. He stumbled because of the amount of force he had put into the hit and I took advantage. I thrust out my stake (I mean I wasn't stupid enough not to have a stake to hand) and it met its target. The strigoi let out a blood-curdling scream and fell to the floor, dead.
The other strigoi paused and looked at me for a second, their red-ringed eyes tinged with surprise and anger. I lunged at one, hoping to take her out before the others stopped me, just like I had the guy before, but they quickly caught on.
"You might as well stop," one said, chuckling slowly in her cold voice. She seemed to be the leader judging by the way she was stood slightly separate to the group. She also seemed the oldest.
I snarled in response and continued my attack. I was making headway on this strigoi, but just as I pulled out my stake to kill her the others grabbed me. I couldn't spin out of the way without exposing my throat to the hits I was getting.
Two strigoi pinned my arms behind me and my kicks were useless. It was like kicking a brick wall. I thrashed and pulled but they weren't letting go. The only way out of this would be to break my arms, but I doubted I would be able to out-run them, and I definitely wouldn't be able to fight with broken arms.
I stopped fighting, my body quivering with the adrenaline pumping through my veins, and I raised my upper lip in a snarl that told them exactly what I was feeling.
"Hush," the ringleader said mockingly. "No matter what you do now, you will not escape us".
My stomach dropped even further. She was right. I stood no chance against 5 strigoi that had gotten the jump on me. Perhaps if I had gotten the jump on them, definitely if I had another guardian with me. I probably could have taken down double the amount with Dimitri, we would have fought back to back. Adding another guardian increased your odds exponentially, adding an unpredictable aspect to the fight that often gave me the upper hand.
But none of that was any use now.
Oh no, now I really was screwed.
I thought of all the crazy and scary situations I had ended up in over the years, and none matched up to this one, because if it had, I wouldn't be here.
There was no way I would survive this.
I struggled against my captors as the leader walked up to me, a cruel smile on her face. She looked to have been moroi when she turned and about 30. She had pale blonde hair that did not go with her pale skin, but the pale eyebrows made her look even more terrifying.
She came so close to my face that I could feel her breath on my skin.
"I need you to do something for me, Rosemarie Hathaway," she whispered into my ear.
I wanted to spit out a reply that I would do nothing for her, that I would rather die, but my feelings got the better of me.
I was no victim here, I fought to the end, but I was scared. Scared, alone and waiting for the end of my life.
"I can smell it you know," the strigoi chuckled. Her face was buried into my neck. Had she been moroi, dhampir or even human, it would have been sexual. I knew, however, that she was just scenting my blood, ready to tear away my life-force and drain me.
"I can smell your fear".
"Well if I'm scared, it's only because of your breath," I snapped. It was an idiotic remark and she didn't even acknowledge it.
I felt her mouth open and I readied myself for the end.
"You will be my symbol," she whispered. "Once they see the great Rosemarie Hathaway taken down, fear will spread. And that fear will be contagious. And it will make my job much easier".
I felt the sharp points of her fangs pierce my skin and as quickly as the pain came, it faded into sweet bliss. I felt a goofy grin fill my face and the only thing holding me up was the arms of the strigoi behind me.
"Once the fear spreads I will conquer the royal court in a way no strigoi has ever tried," she said, pulling away. I would have thought her words were arrogant and rediculous, as strigoi often were, but my brain barely registered them as the strigoi behind me bit into the other side of my neck.
A few moments later, another strigoi stepped up and bit above the first bite.
Then the other.
By the time the fourth strigoi bit me, my head was woozy and my eyes were becoming increasingly hard to keep open. The endorphins running through my blood were like a warm, comforting blanket and once the strigoi had finished I shut my eyes and fell onto the floor in an uncomfortable position. Or, I presumed it would be uncomfortable. I couldn't feel anything. I took one last sigh and fell into unconsciousness, no longer caring that this was the end of my life.
There was a shrill ringing noise. Man, it was annoying. I tried to ignore it but it only made my aching head worse. Why was my head aching?
I slowly opened one eye. I was laid on the floor of some forest. How had I gotten here? What had happened?
My thoughts were slow and painful, I had to extract each one slowly and carefully or it would disappear. I still felt wonderful, I didn't know why, but I was so cold. From my one barely-open eye I could see that my skin was completely white.
Slowly, slowly my brain started fighting through the endorphins and began working again.
The shrill noise of my phone suddenly stopped as it went to voicemail, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I fought through the fog to understand what was going on, and eventually, pieces started coming. I just needed to put them together.
I looked up and saw that it was dusk. Soon the sun would come up and warm me. The sun was good. Why?
Strigoi.
I moved my aching arm to touch the skin of my neck, pulling back fingers coated in slick blood. It was the dark blood, the blood that meant you were in serious trouble. There was a wound on my neck. How had it gotten there?
Strigoi.
I twitched as the memory seized me and despite the endorphins, my body was racked with fear and a lust for life. I had to survive this. It was a miracle I was still alive as it was.
Moving my body hurt and made my head spin but I fought through, stretching desperately to grab my phone from my rucksack. It took several attempts as my bloodloss made my head spin to the point of unconsciousness, but I knew that if I did go unconscious again, I wouldn't wake up. Ever.
My slick hands finally grabbed the phone.
18 missed calls.
The strigoi must have assumed I was dead and just left me with my things. Oh God, if they knew I was alive they would definitely come back to finish me off.
My hands were too slick with blood for my thumbprint to unlock the phone and so I shakily typed in the passcode, all whilst praying to the man upstairs that I would get through this. He hadn't failed me yet.
The phone unlocked with a click and I tapped the 'call' icon, hoping with all my might that I could do this. The blackness in my head was threatening to overcome me again.
I hastily tapped the name at the top of the list, not caring who I would be ringing. My eyesight was so blurry now that I couldn't make out the name.
My breathing was shallow now and I knew from basic first aid that it was a bad thing.
The phone only rang once before someone picked up.
"yebat, Roza. Where the hell are you?"
Dimitri's voice rang through my body and I recognised the Russian cuss word.
"Roza, Roza answer me. Where are you?"
His voice turned calm and insistent and I tried to gather enough energy to speak.
"20 minutes," I rasped, unable to say anything else before a huge, wheezing fit took over my body.
"20 minutes in which direction Roza?" Dimitri said firmly, terror lacing his words.
"North... west," I gasped as my body started jolting.
"Fuck," Dimitri cursed before pausing. "The rescue team have gone south".
I was surprised he wasn't with them until I remembered about the 35+ rule. He wasn't permitted on rescue missions anymore.
I sighed loudly into the phone, knowing that the team stood no chance of finding me in time.
"Its...ok," I said breathily, closing my eyes as I felt the darkness closing in. "I... I love...". My words stopped in my throat as another round of tremors began.
"Just stay where you are Roza," he said. His voice was deep and scary now. It sounded like nothing could ever stop him
I wanted to tell him that it was useless, I couldn't hold on for 10 minutes, let alone the 20 it would take for him to get here. I wanted to tell him not to bother, that breaking the 35+ rule would threaten his new president job, that I wasn't worth it. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I loved Lissa, that I loved the old man. That I wanted to be buried next to Mason at St. Vlads. But I couldn't tell him any of those things as the darkness that had been threatening to overtake me for so long closed around, trapping me inside and telling me everything would be ok.
I opened my eyes slowly. The world was different, the trees seemed edged in silver and everything was a bit brighter. I stood up, surprised that my body was fine. I put my hand up to my neck to feel for the blood but there was nothing there. I took a few hesitant steps forward, worried that I would fall because of the bloodloss but I was fine. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this good actually.
Suddenly, I heard a voice calling me in the trees. It was a voice I hadn't heard for a very, very long time. Another voice joined it. I hadn't heard this voice for a few years. Two of the people I loved most.
I turned around to search for them.
How had they found me?
How were they even here?
Mason stepped forward, wearing exactly the same clothes he was wearing when he died, only they didn't seem as worn and washed out here. His auburn hair shone in the bright light, complementing his features.
A huge grin filled my face.
Standing next to him was my mother. Just like Mason, she was wearing the clothes she had died in. To be honest, I had never really seen her out of guardian uniform, so this was no shock. Her red curls looked luscious and bright, and stood next to my mother with their matching red hair, Mason seemed like my brother.
Just how I'd always thought of him.
I ran towards them, my legs slow. It was like running through treacle but they held their arms open wide.
I hurtled into them, both Mason and my mother wrapping me up in an embrace. I knew I was crying, but I couldn't feel the tears on my face. Strange.
"I...I've missed you both so much," I said, pulling away and sniffling. They both smiled.
"We've missed you too Rose," Mason said. "But I've always been there, been with you every step of the way. I knew you'd make one of the best."
My mother stroked my cheek in one of the most motherly actions I'd ever seen.
"I'm so proud of you Rose", she said smiling broadly. "You have exceeded everything I thought possible, everything I wanted for you".
I smiled and hugged her, burying my head into her chest.
"Rest now Rose," she said softly. "When you go back, rest."
Go back?
"Find happiness. You've given enough, achieved enough. Settle down. Its time to put yourself first".
What on earth was she talking about?
"Go back to where?" I asked, confusion all over my face.
She just shook her head gently and smiled, running her hand over my hair.
"Just go back now baby".
I looked at Mason for some more information but he was just smiling too. He reached for my hand and squeezed gently.
"We'll be waiting when the time is right," he whispered before letting go of my hand.
My mother gently extracted herself from me and stood back with Mason, a few feet ahead of me.
"I love you always baby," she whispered. "Go and be happy".
"Come on," a voice screamed in desperation.
Someone was pressing on my chest.
There was a sting in my arm, in my chest, in my neck.
My whole body felt numb, yet it felt like I had a million needles pressing into my nerves
"Arghh" a male voice shouted, loud enough to cause my body to flinch.
"I have a reaction!" I another voice shouted excitedly.
I felt another set of hands join those on my chest
My lungs suddenly felt like they were on fire and I took a huge gulp of air.
"Stop, stop!" The second voice said, and the hands pumping my chest stopped.
I heard the slow beep of a machine.
My eyelids flicked open groggily and I surveyed the scene around me, wincing at the bright sunlight that reminded me of the strange dream I'd had.
I was surrounded by at least 20 people with machines and kit, half of which I didn't even know the use of, and to the left...
To the left of me was the man responsible for saving my life, pacing anxiously. To the left of me was the man who shouted so loud it jolted my soul.
Dimitri's face was red and tear-stricken.
He jumped down next to me and began immediately stroking my hair.
"It's ok Roza," he breathed. "It will all be ok now".
I opened my mouth to try and speak.
"Hush," he said soothingly. "Don't speak. Don't move. Let the team do what they need to do".
I wanted to ask him how this was all possible. I wanted to tell him about seeing my mother and Mason. I wanted to tell him thankyou. But just like before, I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.
He probably wouldn't have heard them anyway because of the mask on my face.
I tried to convey everything in my eyes. In case I died again and they really couldn't revive me this time, I wanted him to know how I felt. How much I loved him. How he was my last thought.
"I know Roza, I know," he whispered resting his forehead against mine.
Ok. Now I could die. Being with him, I could die.
