Hey guys, this is the next chapter, nuff said really. I think you have all waited long enough for this so I will shut up. But first the biggest thankyou to my awesome beta ItaSaku1
DPOV
At some point, exhaustion had taken over without me realising, until I was jolted awake by the sound of somebody coughing hoarsely. I lifted my head, feeling the painful strain in my neck muscles caused by the awkward sleeping position. I had been left strapped to the chair in the middle of the room for lord knows how long. I looked in the direction that the sound had come from, straining to see through the darkness. I could see Stan, leaning against the wall, arm gripping his side as he coughed violently.
"You injured?" I asked him in a brisk voice, the way a Guardian was supposed to talk; saying nothing more than what needed to be said. He replied with the same briskness.
"Couple of cracked ribs, nothing life threatening." His voice sounded somewhat strained, but he was right; Dhampirs could take a beating and still keep fighting; part of our nature I suppose.
"Why is he after Rose?" a new voice spoke, I turned my head slightly to see Eddie, a close friend of Rose's, looking at me with a worried expression. Even though no one else had spoken, I knew they would be listening; all wanting to know the same thing. I pondered the question for a moment; I myself wasn't completely sure, there could be several reasons.
"They want to turn her. Everybody knows how strong she is as a Dhampir. As a Strigoi, she'd be unstoppable. She could also be an easy way to get to the Queen, or it could have something to do with her being shadow-kissed," I thought a moment, and then corrected myself, "well, she used to be." As I thought about it, I found that there were quite a few reasons why Rose would be top of the Strigoi's hit list. Eddie thought for a moment, taking in everything I had said.
"And there's nothing we can do to stop her?" he asked, although I think he already knew the answer. I laughed quietly, but it lacked humor.
"No, she is already on her way. I know she is."
RPOV
Getting to the room Dimitri was being held in was a blur; a sickening swirl of blood and death as I entered the room I felt a chill creep down my spine; it had been too easy, too quick as I walked into the basement room, my eyes slowly adjusted to show me Dimitri, strapped to a chair in the middle of the room, hands and legs bound, tape over his mouth. He looked up as I approached. His eyes went wide and he tried to speak against his gag. I moved towards him and he began to struggle. I ripped the tape off his mouth, not sparing a thought for the fact that it would sting like a bitch; neither did Dimitri. He just drew a breath in through his mouth and croaked out,
"GO!" It was quiet yet full of urgency. I reached for my stake, which I had put in the holder on my hip when I had walked in, but my hand found thin air. I saw the shaft of light from the doorway become thinner on the wall ahead of me. I spun around to see a tall figure behind me. A race that had haunted my nightmares for so long stood before me, eyes on fire with anticipation of the battle ahead, blood thirst obvious in his stare. He dangled the pouch with my stake in from its buckle on his forefinger at my eye level, taunting me with it. I knew if I reached for it, he would grab my arm and break it, rendering me close to helpless; the same would happen if I tried to kick it from his hands, and he knew it. I came to the conclusion that I would have to fight with my bare hands, or find another weapon. Something flashed in the Strigoi's eyes. A cold, calculated look which showed he was processing the situation as well; probably a lot faster than me, as he had faster reflexes, faster thought process, faster everything. He was also stronger than me and he knew it. I came to the conclusion that I would almost defiantly die; the odds were stacked against me completely. I found that I wasn't scared at all, just ready to fight like I never had before. If at least one person services this then it would all be worth it. I decided that the best bet of anyone getting out would be if I took as many of those soulless bastards down with me. To say I was facing almost certain death, I was oddly calm. All of my thoughts were so clear and what I was about to do made all the sense in the world. I suddenly remembered that Dimitri sat behind me. I backed up slowly, careful not to turn my back on the evil incarnate that stood in front of me. I backed up enough so that I stood just to the left of Dimitri's chair. I bent down slightly, so that my mouth was in line with his ear and whispered to him,
"I love you. So, so much." then I chanced a look in his eyes. It was like he could see into my soul and could tell what I was thinking. He shook his head slightly, struggling against his restraints.
"No" his voice cracked, his emotions flooded pitiful his eyes and into me. I had to turn away before I changed my mind. I straightened up, looking the Strigoi in the eyes as I walked forwards moving slowly. I knew that there were others in the room; that was why there was so little resistance getting down there. As I had thought, other Strigoi emerged from the darkness, circling around me, blocking all escape. From behind me I could hear Dimitri struggling in his chair, pleading for them to let me leave. I barely heard him though; my whole world tumbled into the red eyes that glowed in the darkness, staring at me. The blonde Strigoi glanced behind me for a second, focusing back on me and with a bored flick of the wrist and told one of his minions that stood behind me to 'shut him up' I didn't register that he was talking about Dimitri until I heard his pained shout after a snapping noise. Then another snap. Then silence. I had no idea if Dimitri was dead, but I refused to look behind; to look anywhere but into the eyes of the one who had taken too much from me. He needed to know how it feels.
"My dear rose, so glad you could make it, I have waited quite some time for this, quite long enough I think." his voice made my insides shiver, but on the outside I made no reaction; that seemed to annoy him. He struck me with the back of his hand with such force that I fell to the ground, muddling my thoughts and making me see stars as I hit my head on the cement floor. I could hear a distant banging, but couldn't focus my mind on where it was coming from. Other Strigoi around me looked towards the noise, but the blonde's attention didn't even flicker from me. I tried to get up, but his foot smashed onto my neck hard, making me bang my head again and blocking my airways enough to make me gasp for air but not enough to kill me. My vision began to blur and I knew that as soon as I lost consciousness I was as good as dead, this Strigoi would kill me in seconds when given the chance. I knew that I was going to die, and hated the fact that it would be at the same hands as the beast that took Dimitri from me the first time and ripped my soul in half. I hated the fact that he was going to take me away from Lissa and probably kill everyone else that had come here to help me to save those that had been captured. But mostly I hated that he was able to do all if this without me having the chance to fight him: I never had the chance to try to stop him. As my thoughts slowed and eyes began to close I heard a bigger bang than before, followed by a blinding light. The pressure from my neck lifted and I gasped for air, oxygen refilled my lungs and bringing my brain back to life. I sucked in a few deep breathes as I tried to make my brain register what was happening around me. I saw guardians bursting into the room through the large metal door which had been closed behind me. I had been so caught in the moment that I had forgotten that I had not come alone. Adrenaline kicked in again as a renewed sense of hope filled me. Maybe we could get out. The adrenaline worked as a pain relief, making me know that my head hurt and helping me to stand. The blonde Strigoi who had stood on my neck was now locked in combat with none other than Alberta. He had dropped my stake to defend himself from her attack so I took the opening to snatch it back. Another attacker came up behind Alberta, kicking her in the side. The blonde Strigoi turned back to me, but seemed shocked. He probably hadn't expected me to get back up so fast. I took the moment of surprise to make my move. I didn't have a clear shot at his heart but if I could get a good cut into his skin, it would hurt him enough to distract him all I needed was a long enough distraction. I lunged forward, going for the flesh that covered his stomach. My stake sliced cleanly through the skin, and a pained howl erupted from his pale lips as he sunk to his knees. I tried to sink the steak into his heart, but because of the new angle, it was hard to do and the steak didn't go straight in. it had the desired effect though; he fell to the floor and stopped moving. I didn't have time to check if he was surely dead though, as another attacker grabbed me by the wrist and flung me round to face them: it was a young looking woman, maybe in her early twenties. She was uncoordinated and clumsy in her actions, obviously newly turned. I drive the stake which as still in my hand into her heart just in time for another attacker to come forwards. This happened a couple of times until there were only guardians that were left standing. My blood pounded in my ears, my mind racing ahead of me stopping me from thinking logically as I tried to put the thoughts in my overloaded brain back together. I looked at the other guardians, seeing that they were untying captives from around the room. That was like a bucket of cold water being thrown on me. I looked to the center of the room where Dimitri's head slumped to the side. I walked over to him slowly; afraid of what I would find when I looked closer. I was still, so still. I placed my fingers on his neck feeling a wash of relief run over me when I felt a pulse as if he knew it was me touching him, he opened his eyes a slit, lifting his head a little and making a murmuring noise. I brush him, telling him to save his strength and went behind him to free his legs and arms. He tried to say something again this time sounding more urgent. I looked at him, trying to decipher his hoarse words. Then I heard it,
"Not dead," I turned around to see the blonde Strigoi looking up at me. He still lay on the floor, but there was no doubt that he was alive. I was cautious not to make the same mistake twice, so I made sure that my stake was lined up with his heart; this undead bastard was going to die today. I plunged the stake into his heart, making sure that he was dead. I removed the stake and then stabbed him again for good measure. And again and again until strong arms halted my actions. "Roza, stop it's over. It's over." he said helping me stand.
"Not quite yet," said Alberta, "we still have to get out of here." with that we all fled the house. We made it out without anyone stopping us; apparently while I was in the basement the rest of the Guardians had been clearing the rest of the house. We all piled into the two seven seater SUVs that we had come in. I got in with Dimitri, Stan, Eddie and some other guardians that worked at the court as Alberta got behind the wheel. As Dimitri reached out and grabbed my hand, all I could think was; we made it, we're alive.
Thanks guys, feel free to tell me what you think. Next chapter ASAP.
