Hey guys!

Dimitri

It was decided that we should return to Pittsburgh, because that was our best lead.

Rescue missions almost never happened in the world of Moroi and dhampirs – those who were taken by Strigoi were deemed dead. As such, Lissa, already dealing with the fallout from the disastrous strike against the Strigoi, could hardly sanction such a mission. It had to be done in a way I was pretty used to by now – stealth and deceit.

We'd snuck out of the Royal Court on foot, as it would attract less attention than if we'd driven out. Then, we'd gotten to a nearby town and rented a car, and we drove now on the highway towards Pittsburgh.

Janine in particular was quiet. I couldn't help but glance over her. She was risking more than Christian and I were – I was his guardian, and I knew I'd have a job no matter what happened. Janine, on the other hand, was the guardian of a Szelsky lord. There was no way this would end well career-wise for her – she'd lose her reputation and most likely her job. I knew better than most what it was like to face an uncertain future, and couldn't help but feel sympathetic for her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I offered.

Janine glanced over, and for a moment I thought she was going to ignore my clumsy attempt at conversation. Then, she sighed. "I'm just thinking about Rose, and how I'm going to rip whoever took her in two."

I blinked. I hadn't expected something as ferocious as that. "Wow. Okay."

"I mean it," Janine continued. "Nobody takes my daughter. Nobody."

"Okay," said Christian, "we're all out for vengeance. Shall we discuss battle tactics?"

Janine dipped her head. "Lord Ozera – "

"Why don't you call me Christian," the aforementioned lord interrupted. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together and it's probably best if we're on first name terms."

Janine appeared startled – it probably wasn't very often that royals invited her to use their first names. "Well, Christian, I thought it would be safer for you to stay behind Guardian – I mean, Dimitri and myself. We'll take on the Strigoi."

Christian's face darkened. I knew that expression all too well. "I don't have to be babied."

"I know, I know," Janine said hastily. "It's just that you don't have a lot of combat experience with the Strigoi. If you were to light them up while Dimitri and I attacked – that'd make for quite a lethal combination."

There was merit to her words, and Christian seemed to recognize that. "Okay," he conceded, "you have a point."

"We don't know what we're going to find, though," I reminded both of them. "We don't know if there are Strigoi still hiding out at that house or if they've left. The point is: be ready for anything."

~~Page Break~~

We arrived at the house in Pittsburgh with hours of daylight to spare. We parked in front of it and crept up to it cautiously. There were no sounds from within, but I knew that didn't mean anything – Strigoi could be very quiet when they wanted to be.

Janine and I removed our stakes from our belts and dropped into protective stances in classic guardian style. Christian spread his hands, ready to make fireballs if needed.

"Remember," I reminded them, "be ready for anything."

I'd expected to have to kick the door open, but to my surprise, when we pushed at the door it swung open easily. We crept in cautiously, stakes and magic at the ready, ears pricked for any suggestion of movement or danger.

There was none. All was still and silent in the house. With the blinders down and the curtains drawn to prevent any sunlight from penetrating the inside, it bore an eerie resemblance to something out of a horror movie. I could very easily imagine a poltergeist appearing out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Split up?" Christian suggested.

"No," Janine said. "We don't know what's in the house. There could still be Strigoi, and if there are, we need to stand together and take them down."

Christian nodded. We advanced slowly, agonizingly slowly, to the next room.

At first glance, it appeared to just be a surprisingly ordinary living room, with a TV and a couple couches. It was a terrible reminder to me that Strigoi, for the most part, lived ordinary lives as most Moroi, dhampirs and humans did – except, of course, for the fact that they were twisted and evil and fed on their victims till they died.

I turned to leave, but suddenly, Janine let out a small gasp and pointed with her free hand. Concealed behind one of the couches was a foot.

Motioning for the others to follow, I went to investigate – and stopped dead at what I saw.

A human body, drained of blood. It had belonged to a middle-aged man, who now lay spread-eagled behind the couch where he'd been so cleverly concealed. The puncture marks on his neck weren't healing now that he was dead, and a small trail of blood trickled its way out of the wound. From the enraptured expression he had worn in death, however, the Strigoi endorphins had done their job and made his death painless.

"God," Janine whispered. She and Christian wore identical expressions of disgust. For me, this body was more than just a reminder of the monsters we faced – it was a reminder of what I once had been. Nausea welled up inside me at the thought that I had once been a creature who fed on innocents until they were reduced to drained corpses like this. Once again, that self-loathing that I had worked so hard to overcome threatened to engulf me once more.

My expression must've said it all, because Christian caught sight of my face and reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You're not like that anymore," he said softly. "You're you again."

I saw the hand on my shoulder and thought about how I'd kidnapped him and Lissa, right before Lissa had restored me. My Strigoi memories were terrible, seen through a haze of evil and malice. I closed my eyes, and with a considerable amount of effort managed to forgive myself again – the way Rose had helped me to.

"Let's search the other rooms," I said quietly.

The other rooms were empty – the Strigoi had left this house. They had left it tidy. We scoured each room for a clue, a hint as to where Rose had been, but there was none. They had left nothing behind.

I was about to order that we leave, already calculating our next move to find Rose, but there was suddenly a low cry from a nearby room. Sprinting to the source of the sound, I found Janine and Christian – huddled over another body. A woman, this time, who looked to be in her twenties. Latina, from the look of her.

I started forward, to tell them that we had to go, when I saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest, and the way her eyelids were fluttering.

Janine was speaking to her. "What's your name?" she asked. Her voice was so unlike the cool, guardian tone she used around Moroi – this was a compassionate, worried woman, speaking in a soft, concerned, almost motherly tone. I fought the urge to shake my head – Hathaway women always managed to surprise me.

The eyelids fluttered again, and the lips moved. I strained to hear what she was saying, even with my dhampir hearing: "Maria."

"Maria," Janine repeated. "Hold on, Maria. We're going to get you to a hospital, and you're going to be okay."

Maria gave a soft laugh. "There's nothing that can be done for me now, vampire or human." Her words broke off into coughing, and I knew she was right – she'd lost too much blood.

Maria coughed again. "Such a fool – I should never have served them." She gasped for breath. "But immortality…I should never have trusted them…"

"You can help us now," Janine said, and now her soft tone had taken on an undertone of urgency. "Where did the Strigoi go?"

Maria struggled to form words with what air remained in her lungs. "They said – they were going to awaken me…turn me…"

My stomach turned. This wasn't uncommon among Strigoi – they promised immortality to humans, who in return gave them their servitude. In reality, not many humans got their wish – most were drained eventually, as Maria had been.

With her last breath, Maria choked out, "Atlanta. They went to – Atlanta. To see – the Grand Master…"

Her chest stilled, and her eyes turned glassy. They saw no more.

Janine sat back, her eyes shimmering with tears. I glanced over at Christian, who wore an expression of shock and horror. Then I bowed my head, and allowed myself a moment to grieve for Maria, who had been so terribly misguided, and had only just realized her mistake.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, that you're enjoying this holiday season :) Sorry for the late update. More to come in 2016!