Dimitri
I woke up calling for Rose. I swallowed, wasted no time quickly getting dressed and pulling my shoes on. I banged on Aly's rooms door waking Abe and Janine up, running down into the living room and doing the same to wake Sally and Tim. I pulled out my phone and dialed Christian's phone, ignoring the early hours. Christian's phone dialed out three times before he finally answered sounding sleepy.
"What-"
"I need Lissa to keep Aly with her, don't let anyone near her, Christian." I sounded frantic grabbing a few things from the kitchen.
"Dimitri?"
"Christian please, Lissa's the only one to touch Aly. Promise me."
"Okay, okay!" He whispered. "What's going on?"
"I'll explain later. I have to go." I hung up on Christian. Abe, Janine, Sally and Tim walked into the kitchen all looking exhausted.
"What's this about Belikov?" I held up a finger as I called Alberta. She answered must faster than Christian, but still sounded tired.
"Alberta."
"There's a pack of Strogoi heading for St Vlad's." I said as I put Alberta on speaker and threw my phone on the Table. Janine looked up at me.
"An attack?" I nodded.
"Yes, Roza said-"
"You spoke to Rose?" Janine yelled.
"Is she alright?" Abe chimed in.
"She said there's a pack heading to Vlad's to attack tomorrow." I ignored Rose's parents, I wouldn't recommend doing that, especially when you're planning to ask her father if you can marry is only daughter, his only child.
"Alright, I'm on it. Are you heading back?"
"We'll be leaving in ten minutes." I hung up the phone. Sally and Janine didn't say anything, they just grabbed their partners so they could change. I called the Abe's helicopter to meet us in park as soon as possible. I was waiting in the car when everyone piled in three minutes later and drove to the pickup point, not saying a word until we were all strapped into the helicopter and had the headset on.
"She dream walked." I said finally. "She came to me and told me there was an attack heading to St Vlad's."
How-"
"Dream walk?"
"It's something our Spirit Users can do. They can come to people in their sleep and communicate with them as long as the person they're trying to communicate with are asleep."
"But Rose is a dhampir? Only Moroi can control the Elements." Sally put a hand on Tim's knee. It was clear that Tim supported his wife, loved her, wouldn't change anything about her, accepted what she was, what she knew, but it was clear to see that he was still uncomfortable about the whole thing.
"She said it was a long story." I agreed with the strangeness of everything, but I trusted Rose. I trusted her when she said there was going to be an attack.
"Don't you think it's strange?" Sally asked looking at us. "How would she know there's an attack about to happen?"
"Rose has the best instincts of any Guardian. I trust here more than my own most of the time." Janine nodded.
"If she says there's an attack, there's going to be an attack, there's going to be an attack. Unfortunately, my daughter is never wrong about these kinds of things."
"Should we even be going, Sally?" Tim looked at his wife. "We're only humans, from what you told me about these monstered, we can't do anything to help."
"They're working with humans. That's the only way Strogoi can breach the wards. They have to have humans with them. There may be a mole at the school, but they won't be stupid enough to lift the only protection they have."
"You're sure about this?" Sally asked as Janine and I nodded in response. She let out a breath.
"Right, I'll send out a call to Alchemists to come. Maybe we can help with the humans."
"How are we supposed to tell the difference?" Tim rubbed his hand across his forehead.
"It helps that she's shadow kissed, I guess. If she makes it there on time." Janine and I looked over at Sally.
"We never said anything about that-"
"The Alchemists have been keeping an eye on Rose since she was brought back to the academy. There were rumors about her dying and coming back. We needed to make sure she wasn't a danger to the humans."
"You took her in because it was a mission, wasn't it?" Sally looked away, over to Tim who stared at his wife.
"No, we took her in because we wanted to help her, right?" Sally looked away from her husband. "Right?" He repeated.
"You lost the files, didn't you?" Abe said suddenly. I turned to him. "The files you're given when you have new target." Sally looked at her hands. "What was in those files?"
"Everything we knew about her, our theories about what she was capable of-"
"That's why they were targeting dhampir women because in those files there were listings of her marks, of what she was, what you thought she could do-" Abe said folding his hands in his lap. "I knew them files at the crash site looked familiar. Alchemists like to keep things the same, including the layout of thier files."
Tim moved Sally's hand from his knee and looked out the window, ignoring his wife. I sucked in a breath as did Janine.
"You caused all this." Janine spoke low, threatening. "No wonder my daughter has trust issues. Everyone she trusts has lied to her in some way."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
We stepped out of the helicopter to Guardians rushing around, handing out stakes to all the novices, giving Guardian's extras. Thier uniforms were clean, crisp, tight so there was no way for a Strogoi to grab at them. Alberta met us off the helicopter a binder in her hands. Her short hair slicked back out of her face and held in place firmly. She was screaming orders as she walked swiftly over to us, ignoring the two extra bodies.
"We're keeping all Moroi and children in the kids' lunch all. All windows have been boarded up on the inside, Christian is coming up with a strategy to keep the Strogoi away by using fake but real looking flames that will be burning until the attack is over. All feeders have been brought it, prioritizing the Moroi that are helping Christian with the defensive non lethal magic. All children are in the center of the room surrounded by the older Moroi and then the noviceS, the older ones taking the edges closest to any entry point in case we can't keep the Strogoi out. Lissa is staying with the children-"
"What about Aly?"
"She's with Lissa. She's saying she has to be with Lissa at all times and Lissa is repeating that."
"How are we approaching this attack?"
Wards have been changed around the school and new wards have been put in place around the canteen and inside it to add more layers of protection. The more skilled Guardian we have will be on the frontlines, going back to the canteen. We have scouts all over weaken points, some are scouting outside the school. We're hiding silver stakes and holy water around campus in case any of our Guardians gets disarmed."
"That's-" Janine looked at Alberta. "A very good strategy actually. I wouldn't have thought of that." Alberta shook her head as we stepped into her office.
"I didn't either." Alberta dropped the binder on the table. The handwriting was familiar. "It's Rose's. She made this after the first attack on Vlad's. Lissa found it."
"Where do you want us?" I asked Alberta. She nodded to Janine and I.
"You two are the most skilled Guardians in this school. Both of you will be on the front lines." Janine nodded, so did I.
"Alchemists are on the way and will be stationed at the wards in case they're breached by humans." Alberta nodded. I sighed.
"I'm going to see Aly." Alberta nodded.
"She's in the canteen right now. Did Rose mentioned a time when this attack was supposed to happen?" I shook my head.
"Just that one's coming soon." Alberta nodded as the others followed. The door to the canteen were opened as we walked closer.
"Papochka!" I bent down and scooped up Aly as she ran towards me, with her arms up. She wrapped her little arms around my neck and buried her face in my neck. I kissed her forehead. Christian and Lissa walked over to us with worry filled expressions.
"Where's Rose?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Mommy's fine now." Aly whispered looked at Lissa.
"Did you know she can dream walk?" Adrian walked up.
"Who can dream walk?" he asked. "You figured it okay?"
"Rose." I replied. "She dream walked to tell me there was an attack coming to Vlad's."
"How-"
"We don't even know." Janine responded.
"Lissa, don't let anyone near Aly." I warned just as Rose had. She had a reason and I trusted it. I put Aly on the floor and crouched down. "I have to work, malyshka, alright?" She nodded and her lower lip trembled. "I love you." She wrapped her arms around me.
"You'll be okay." She whispered, her tears wetting my shoulder. "I love you, Papochka." I smiled at her as she tried to incorporate Russian.
"My clever girl." She gave me a small smile and lifted her arms up for Janine.
"Babushka." Janine bent down and hugged her granddaughter, kissing her forehead.
"Be good for Aunty Lissa and grandpa okay?" Aly nodded. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Janine and I walked out of the canteen, making sure everyone we loved was locked safely inside, everyone but Roza.