Hi guys, thanks for all your responses. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. There's some weird stuff going on in this chapter but I wanted to tie it into the story line. Let me know what you think :)
Abe was up early the following night. Mom must have still been in bed since she wasn't in the conference room. I was still feeling pretty sleepy myself, and my body was still exhausted from the earlier activities Dimitri and I had done before we slept. The thought brought a smile to my face, but I tried to keep things discreet. If Dimitri was feeling the same way, he didn't give anything away as he put on his guardian mask.
"So," Abe began, tapping his fingers on his laptop, "we've been tracking Tasha's credit cards and we found some activity. Somewhere in Minnesota, she took out five hundred dollars in cash from her account. We haven't seen any more activity in her bank account since."
"Why would she take out that much cash?" I wondered.
"Probably to pay for things without being caught," Abe assumed. "Food for one, but most of it is probably for gas. She was spotted on surveillance cameras at a few gas stations in North Dakota. Her last appearance was in Minnesota, but she could be somewhere else now."
"From Montana to Minnesota...wait." Dimitri sat down in one of the chairs, processing his thoughts. "She travelled that far within just a few days. Do you think she could be heading to court? Maybe she knows Rose is here."
"It's a possibility," Abe speculated, "but we don't know yet. If we find more suspicious activity, we'll have to move Rose somewhere else. Tasha fled the academy before we did, so I doubt she knows anything."
"If you do notice anything else, let us know," Dimitri said. "Worst case scenario, we'll move somewhere more secluded. The court is highly secured, but it's also an easy place to target."
Abe nodded, pressing his laptop screen down. "She's highly wanted and at the top of our radar list. Guardians have tried to track her down with what we have. I'll let you know if we find anything."
I nodded, yawning for the fifth time this morning. I rose from my seat and what was on my way out when Abe stopped me by the arm.
"Wait," he said, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a credit card and I immediately pushed it away when he tried to give it to me.
"Dad—"
"Just take it, Kiz," he said, forcing my palm open and placing the card in my hand.
"I can't accept this!" I declined, turning the card over as if it was foreign.
"Well, you're going to have to. This is nothing, just take it." Abe sounded more insistent and I figured he wasn't going to stop until I accepted it, so I sighed and slipped the card into my pocket.
"Thanks," I said, still feeling guilty for accepting his money.
"Your ass is mine, Comrade! I told you I'd win!" I squealed as I took him down to the ground, straddling his lap with a fake stake on his chest. We had gone to one of the gyms around the court where they also had sparring rings. Guardians occasionally came in here if they had some time off to practice, but Dimitri and I were able to find an empty room tonight.
Dimitri was panting underneath me, his face gleaming with sweat and his lips slightly parted as he fought to catch his breath. "This time."
I smirked and tossed the fake stake away as Dimitri sat up and put his arms around my waist. He pressed his lips to mine, kissing me softly before pulling away and looking me over with pride in his eyes. "You don't know how much you fascinate me. No matter how many times we spar, you always make me proud. If you were a guardian, you'd have one of the best rankings."
"Like you," I pointed out, wiping a drop of sweat from Dimitri's forehead.
"Honestly, I think you might be better than I am," he admitted. I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him again.
"No. We're equals," I finished. The fact that he might have thought I was better than him without feeling insecure about himself just proved how confident he was as a person. I loved that about him.
"Would you still be proud of me if I told you I didn't want to be a guardian anymore?" I asked, feeling anxious to hear his answer.
"You can't be a guardian," he reminded me. "You're qualified, and I think you'd be an amazing one, but given your circumstances and the queen's orders—"
"I know," I interrupted. "But even if I was allowed to guard, I don't think I would want to anymore. It's not that I don't care about it, but after being taken away, my views changed. Dhampir women get put down all the time, yet moroi rely on them to protect them with their lives. I don't think that's fair."
"Sadly, that's true," Dimitri agreed, leaning back on his palms. "I don't agree with it, but it's just the way our society works. We've all been taught that they come first."
"I hate those words," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "We're taught from the start that our life is less valuable than a moroi. We're forced to live in shitty conditions compared to them, and yet we get no appreciation for protecting them with our life. Dhampirs might as well be slaves."
"I know. Guarding always felt like a duty to me and I've always been dedicated, but I was never happy with what I was doing until I started guarding you. I was finally looking at things from the outside. Being a guardian is a lot more fulfilling when you're protecting someone you love and care about."
"And someone who doesn't disregard your feelings," I added. Dimitri smiled and pulled me close again, this time going for a strong hug that let us both relieve some stress. I'd never get tired of his hugs.
"Are you up for another round?" I asked him, scratching his scalp as he kissed my shoulder blade.
"Let's see whose ass gets kicked this time," he teased, pulling me up to spar with me again.
An entire week had passed and there hadn't been any signs of Tasha so far. Her face hadn't been spotted anywhere and there was no activity in her bank account recently. She must have gotten rid of her phone too. We'd had no luck in trying to track her phone and even Christian hadn't been able to get a hold of her. It seemed like she was just hiding away at this point. If she wanted to hurt me, she would have tried to get through court already.
It had been a few hours since Dimitri and I had fallen asleep when I felt myself being pulled into a dream. By the looks of things, I knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant one. My nightmares were dissipating more and more, but they still happened on occasion.
I expected to get abused by my tormentors again, but instead, I found myself lying on the floor of an empty room. I recognized it instantly—it was the room I had been locked in after I was awakened. I wore the same dirty undergarments I always wore at the house and my hair was a tangled mess. Even though I was dreaming, everything here felt so real. I almost believed I was really there again.
"You know, Sebastian told me you were going crazy when you were here."
I spun around, feeling a bolt of anger surge through me when I heard the voice. The person standing there made me even angrier. This couldn't be possible.
"I killed you," I said in disbelief, staring at the pale girl in front of me.
"Yes, you did. It sucks, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have it coming," Avery said casually, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Honestly, I don't blame you for losing your mind in this room. I can only imagine what it's like to be stuck in here for an entire week as a newborn. Complete isolation, boredom, no food, no water, and no blood. Hell, you didn't even have a bathroom! That must have been so humiliating—"
"I killed you," I repeated, ignoring her degrading words. "You shouldn't be here."
"Death won't stop me from haunting your dreams," she said, taking a step closer. "I paid your friend Damian a visit. He's still watching; trying to spend every second he has left here protecting you. You know what's so funny? He tried to keep me away from you, but for crying out loud, we're ghosts! Every punch he swings just goes straight through my body and all I can do is watch him trip and fall—"
"Shut up!" I screamed, hoping I would wake up in real life. Hearing Avery rant was miserable, especially about Damian. I could only imagine how helpless he was as a ghost.
"The other side isn't pretty, Rose. Because of you, I have to suffer now."
"Because of you, everyone else had to suffer," I growled back. "You can rot in hell for eternity for all I care. My nightmares might go away, but you...you're going to be living your worst nightmares over and over again in an endless loop." I was backing her towards the door at this point, and for the first time, she looked intimidated. She knew I was right. From what I knew, spirits eventually moved on into the afterlife once they found peace—but for someone like her, there was no peace. She could end up in a very dark place for the rest of eternity for the horrible things she had done.
"You're invading my head because you're scared to go in alone, aren't you?" I taunted, watching her face falter more and more. There was a sudden gust of wind that came from behind me and I was tempted to look, but something else caught my eye. Behind Avery where the end of the hallway had once been was now a dark void. It was pitch-black, but strange sounds were coming from inside. It almost sounded like screaming souls and it would have made me terrified if I knew they were there for me.
"What are you doing?" Avery asked angrily. In all honesty, I wasn't doing anything and I had no idea what was happening. I didn't possess magic and I couldn't control dreams.
"I'm not doing anything." The wind got stronger and she fell back, getting dragged towards the terrifying void by some kind of supernatural force. Meanwhile, nothing was happening to me.
"Stop it!" she shrieked, trying to crawl forward. Her attempt was futile and she only got pulled back again. White arms started to protrude from the darkness, grabbing her limbs to pull her in. It was a terrifying sight to say the least, but those souls—evil or not—were not there to hurt me. They were taking Avery away and even if I wanted to help her, I couldn't. If there was one thing I'd learned from being able to see the dead, it was to never mess around with them.
"I can't help you," I whispered. Although I had never been a believer, I was beginning to think she really was going to hell. I had never seen her look scared before, but she did now. I almost felt sorry for her when I saw the look of realization cross her face as several arms grabbed her body, and she screamed as they pulled her into the dark pit.
And then it was gone. The hallway looked the same as it did before. There was no trace of darkness, no soul that had lingered. I wondered if that was the last time I would ever have to see Avery again. What had caused her to go in the first place? It wasn't me and it certainly wasn't her. I hadn't called for the other side to help me either.
"Adrian?" I called. He was the only person that I knew could invade people's dreams. There was no response, so I called Lissa's name too. While she hadn't visited me in my sleep yet, she was practicing and I wondered if she had gotten through. Unfortunately, there was no response from her either.
"Mama," I heard. I froze, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. That couldn't be. No way. Maybe this whole dream was just my imagination instead of one being controlled. Avery couldn't have been real—and neither was the little girl behind me.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her fingers fidgeting together. She was dressed in a long white t-shirt, looking just as dirty as the first time I had met her here.
"Nev," I breathed, running a hand through my hair. Yep, I was officially crazy.
"Come," she said, grabbing my wrist. She tugged greedily, pushing a door open. There was a flash of light and I shut my eyes, covering my face with my arm until it died down.
We were no longer in that frightening house. We were in a room that held looked like it held no place for evil or fear. The walls were a shade of light pink, and there were fluffy cushions and pillows fanned out across the floor. There were at least a hundred stuffed animals in here, one being the teddy bear that Dimitri and I had gotten her which she wasted no time in grabbing.
"This is so you," I murmured. Nevaeh dragged me to the center of the room and made me sit on one of the cushions before pulling out a soft blanket from under a pile of toys. She draped it around my shoulders and placed one of the stuffed animals in my lap even though I hadn't asked for one. It seemed to make her happy though, so I didn't resist.
Nevaeh looked down at me, looking around as if she was missing something. "Almost done, just one more thing..." I watched her curiously as she opened the door again and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. I was definitely imagining things. "Aha! There you are!"
"What am I doing here?" Dimitri asked, looking around the room before his eyes landed on me.
"I'm wondering the same thing," I told him. Nevaeh dragged him inside, forcing him to sit next to me on one of the cushions. He looked dazed and confused at what he was seeing.
"I've had weird dreams, but this is a first," he admitted, looking totally out of place in the pile of cushions and toys. This definitely wasn't Dimitri's scene.
"This is my happy place," Nevaeh said lightheartedly as she plopped down on a big pillow and faced us. I was still thinking about what happened earlier with Avery.
"Did you see...what happened?" I asked her.
"I did that," she said, making me even more confused.
"What?"
"I made her go away," Nev clarified. "She won't hurt you anymore."
"What do you mean you made her go away?" I wasn't even sure why I was asking. None of this was real. I was imagining everything.
"I saw her in my dreams. She said she was going to hurt you, so I stopped her," she explained.
Dimitri sighed and pulled a toy out from under his leg, chucking it away. "Can someone please explain what's going on?"
"Avery was dream-walking me. I don't know how, but she was. I think she wanted to hurt me, but some kind of dark void pulled her away."
"The ghosts helped me send her away," Nevaeh added. Dimitri closed his eyes for a second before lying down, his head landing in a pile of toy bunnies. Needless to say, it was funny to see him like that.
"I have to wake up before I lose my mind," he muttered to himself. "This keeps getting weirder."
"But it's true," Nev pressed, poking his stomach to grab his attention. "This is real. It's all real."
"Don't be absurd," I scolded. "You're not a spirit user from what I can see and even if you were, you wouldn't be able to invade people's dreams like this." Why was I even explaining this to her? This was all just my imagination. Dimitri showing up wasn't real either.
"My birth mom could do it," she mentioned
. A small frown formed on my face and Dimitri propped himself up on his elbows as she elaborated. "I just miss you both sometimes. I don't know how, but when I think really hard, I can see your dreams. I tried to go in...but I couldn't until now."
"Why now?" I asked.
"I dunno. I was really scared for you." She shrugged, putting her elbow on her knee and resting her cheek on her hand. There were a few moments of silence and I glanced at Dimitri who was still slightly confused but trying to understand.
"You're my mama," Nevaeh said, grabbing my hand. Her next words sounded more serious than I had ever heard her speak, especially for someone so young and innocent. "And nobody hurts my mama."
I was in awe. Nevaeh was always protective over me and Dimitri, but I never thought she would go as far as sending Avery away into a pit of dark souls and demons or whatever they were. I wanted to think it was real. I wanted to believe Avery was really gone—and, as strange as it was to be in a room like this of all places, it was a real comfort. It made me forget things. It was a safe space for our forming family.
"Thank you," I whispered to her, pulling her in for a tight hug. She fell into my lap and I wrapped us up in the blanket, snuggling her against my chest.
"Hugs!" Nevaeh demanded. Dimitri laughed and sat up, moving forward to wrap his arms around us. His embrace felt so warm. It almost made me forget that I was dreaming. Being in this room with the two of them made me feel like nothing could ever hurt us.
"This all feels so real," Dimitri voiced out loud. "I don't want it to end."
"Me too," I concurred.
"Me three." Nevaeh's head poked out of the blanket and Dimitri chuckled at her words, planting a kiss on her head. I could see his hand slowly start to fade out, indicating that he was going to wake up. Or, that I was going to wake up since it was my dream. Everything else started to fade too and I knew our lovely time here was coming to an end.
"I love you," was the last thing I heard from Nev's mouth. The next thing I knew, I was back in my bed at the royal court, still lying next to Dimitri. I opened my eyes, shifting slightly and looking around the dark room. Beside me, Dimitri shifted too and I saw him sit up, rubbing his eyes. I thought it was a coincidence that we had woken up at the same time, but the look he gave me proved otherwise. Dimitri and I hadn't woken up at the same time by coincidence, and everything that had happened in that dream wasn't just my imagination.
"It was real, wasn't it?" Dimitri asked, sounding like he didn't believe his own words. "The dream was real."
I know the last bit was a little strange on Nev's part, but I wanted to add her new abilities to the story. I had been thinking about it for a while so I hope you liked it!