"Roza," I moaned, rolling away from the teasing beauty and her attempts to wake me to try and get a few more minutes of sleep. What with the long drive from New York and the christening of our new accommodations, I was swamped. I figured she would be too, but I was wrong.
"Come on, Comrade." She chuckled kissing my shoulder blade. "We've got work to do, and I'm sure that Sydney is already awake."
I released another moan but threw the blankets off my naked body before moving into the bathroom, hoping a cold shower would wake me up. Much to my enjoyment, Roza joined me, though, much to my displeasure, she wouldn't let me do much other than gently caress her body. She seemed rather intent on getting straight to work.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked as I stepped out of the shower at a normal pace whilst she rushed to her duffle to retrieve clothing.
"The sooner we start on this mission, the sooner we find the lost Dragomir, the sooner we get to go back home." Roza listed, pulling on black shorts and a red tank top. From the teasing way she wiggled her hips getting into the shorts, she also seemed to be torturing me.
I growled from my position in the bathroom doorway but controlled myself enough to walk to my duffle and dress myself. I'd barely begun pulling my shirt over my head before Roza flung the door open and rushed out into the hallway.
I still didn't understand why she was in such a big hurry. A few more minutes of sleep or a few distractions in the shower weren't going to stop a full day's work from being accomplished. We didn't even know where we were starting in our search, so it wasn't going to hurt to slow down and think things through all the way, but she was more eager to begin than to listen to me.
She'd already descended the stairs by the time I made it out of the room. Adrian emerged from his room down the hall looking sober but less-than-thrilled to be awake at a decent hour.
"How is she moving so quickly?" He muttered, running a hand over his face before blinking a few times, after which he looked much more awake than he had previously.
"She's eager to start and complete our mission. She works faster when there's something for her to accomplish." I said with a shrug and started my way downstairs. I knew that she would need to eat soon before her stomach started sounding like a tiger, or worse, mine started sounding like hers.
As a Dhampir, I was accustomed to the regular hunger that we would have to endure before it was socially acceptable to eat another giant meal, but sharing Roza's hunger has been an enlightening experience. I can honestly say that I have no idea how she survives more than a few hours with her stomach twisting into itself. She'd probably consume mass quantities every other hour if she could.
As Roza had suspected, Sydney was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop, ignoring stimulus around her, but Roza sat patiently beside her, her foot tapping as she waited for Sydney to find anything. I had a feeling that she'd be sitting there for a while.
A few minutes later, Adrian came down the stairs looking much more awake, though he did make a direct line for the coffee machine. He also seemed to be anxious as he sat at the table on the other side of Sydney with his cup of coffee, but that could have been withdrawal symptoms.
Adrian had vowed to stay sober through this entire process. Roza was impressed, as was I, but when she reminded him that this could take months, I saw a little fear seep into his expression. However, since his declaration, he hasn't had a drop of alcohol and that was over a day ago.
The kitchen was well stocked, a feat I don't know how Sydney managed, and was ready for me to make the four of us breakfast. Switching back to human time wasn't hard for Roza, Sydney, and me, but for Adrian, it would probably take him a few days.
Sydney had managed to find us a cabin in the middle of the Appalachians of West Virginia. It had a very modern feel to it, lots of windows to allow light filtered by the canopy. The wood was rich and warm with stone accents to give it a more rustic feel. The cabin had two levels. The first level was the living area, half bath, a full bath, kitchen/dining room, and a single bedroom. The upper level had the master suite (which Roza and I were sharing) that contained its own bathroom, a third bedroom, a full bath, and a large balcony area with a dining area.
Being tucked away in the woods, there wasn't anyone out here to disturb us and it was unlikely any Strigoi in the area would stumble across it. If that should become a reality, Roza and I would be more than equipped to deal with a few stray Strigoi. There was a large enough clearing around the cabin that Roza and I could use it as a workout space, and I always enjoyed running through the woods more than running around a track, more obstacles to dodge.
The only problem with being so secluded was the nearest town being over a half-hour away, meaning if we needed anything urgently, it probably wasn't going to happen.
"Did you settle on a place to start looking?" I asked, the question directed at Sydney, breaking the silence that had formed over the sound of sizzling bacon.
Her head moved quickly to acknowledge my presence and to notice that Roza and Adrian had taken positions on either side of her.
"Yeah. I started thinking about how I could possibly track a lost child and decided that I probably couldn't track the child, but I could track the parents. Since we already knew one of them, we would just have to find the biological mother and then the kid." She stated.
"So, what does that mean?" Adrian asked, his coffee cup running dangerously low, and he still didn't look fully awake.
"I'm tracking Eric Dragomir's movements to figure out where and when he might have had this affair. I don't know if you remember, Rose, but a while back I called you asking about some files that had been accessed thinking that you were the one that hacked the Alchemists."
"That wasn't me!" Roza said, holding her right hand up to further validate her statement.
"I know it wasn't, but at the time you seemed to be the only one I could think would tamper with these specific files. The files were on Eric Dragomir. Someone was probably trying to figure something out about him or hide something about what he did. However, since all of our files are digitalized now, there's no way for them to be lost or damaged completely." Sydney said, looking back down at her laptop. "I just found some suspicious activity with Eric's bank account and I'm going to try to track the transactions. They're just transfers, so it's probably some sort of child support."
"How do you know he's not just paying off some sort of loan or something?" Adrian asked, getting up to refill his coffee.
"Because that would be tagged in the transaction, but the descriptions for these transactions are vague and nondescript. If anyone was looking closely enough, this activity would be highly suspicious, but given the amount of money the Dragomirs had, this transaction amount isn't really all that suspicious." Sydney explained, gesturing to her computer screen, probably to point out the aforementioned money transactions.
"Well, can you see where the money was actually going?" Roza asked, leaning closer to look at the screen, though from the squint of her eyes, she didn't really know what she was looking at.
"Yes, but it will take a little bit of time accessing the other bank's information. Whoever this is was smart and used a bank that Moroi wouldn't usually. The Alchemists maintain access to banks that multiple Moroi use just to make sure nothing seedy is going on." I could almost see the pointed look that she gave Roza at the mention of seedy Moroi business. I wonder why the Alchemists hadn't done anything about Abe's business ventures. "However, the Moroi that Eric had the affair with seems to have known a little about the Alchemist way and went with a bank that wasn't monitored by us. I can do it, but it will take time."
"That's fine. We don't want to rush anything right now." I interjected, turning off the stove and pulling plates from the cabinet. "Breakfast is ready, and before you do anything else, you will all eat."
I felt slightly old for having to keep track of who is eating or not. I knew Roza would eat, but I'd known Sydney to skip a few meals because she got sidetracked with something. She did seem to look a little disappointed, but after a pointed look from myself, she put her laptop to the side and fixed herself a plate.
"Would you like to go for a run after breakfast, Comrade?" Roza asked with her mouth full of bacon. I chuckled at the look on her greasy face before answering.
"That would be fantastic, Roza. Both of you are welcome to join us, if you'd like." I said, extending the invitation. Sydney quickly shook her head, gesturing with her hand to the laptop as she chewed her food. Adrian seemed to contemplate the notion for a long time, looking between Roza and Sydney before shrugging and giving a slight nod.
"But don't expect me to keep up." He said squinting outside. Even with the cover the trees provided, I knew the sun wouldn't make things easier for him. "Perhaps I could do yoga on the front lawn."
Roza snorted at the thought but didn't make a remark, which was probably a good thing considering her mouth was overflowing with toast and eggs. I simply gave a shrug, and we finished our meal in silence.
It was no surprise that Sydney finished first. Not only did she eat the least, another surprise considering there was a Moroi at the table, but she also ate the quickest, probably wanting to get back to her task as soon as possible.
Nothing seemed to faze her as the three of us tidied up the kitchen and moved outside. Roza and I stretched while Adrian laid down on the grass.
"What are you doing?" Roza asked with amusement in her voice.
"I'm doing yoga," Adrian replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"It seemed like you're going back to sleep." She quipped, folding her arms across her chest and cocking a hip.
"It's called the corpse pose. It's supposed to be very regenerative." Adrian informed, opening one eyelid slightly to give her a cocky grin. I chuckled at the interaction while Roza just rolled her eyes.
With a shared nod, the two of us set off into the woods. The sun had been over the horizon for a few hours but was still rising steadily into the sky. You could hear birds chirping and the chatter of squirrels in the distance, but as we approached the noise died off as the critters scattered.
There was already a slightly worn path leading further into the woods, but Roza jumped over the brush to the left and started her own course, the steadfast pounding of her feet against the earth encouraged me to follow in her wake.
Despite the season, it was relatively cool, but that could also be due to us being nestled in a valley of the mountains.
"Would you really consider going back to Court should they allow sanctioned Guardian hunting parties?" I asked, breaking the silence and causing Roza to stumble in her stride. She recovered quickly, though her face had adopted a thoughtful, worried expression.
"Would you be alright with it?" She asked cautiously. "That's one of the reasons I left Court, aside from the obvious, but hunting is my calling. While looking for you in Russia, my time spent with the rogue Dhampirs was enlightening. Not only was I ridding the world of evil, but I was also keeping people safe. Being their makeshift leader of sorts ensured that they stayed safe."
"So, you would want to lead one of the hunting parties?" I asked.
"I want us to lead a hunting party. If Lissa can really accomplish what she suggested, we could be spearheading a group of Guardians. I'm not prepared to lead a group of Guardians by myself." She responded, looking over her shoulder to see my reaction before focusing her attention back in front of her so she wouldn't run into anything.
"Do you know what this could mean for the Moroi world?" I asked, still considering leading a hunting party that consisted of more than Roza and her friends.
"It means that we could bring the Strigoi numbers down. It could instill fear in Strigoi, making them think twice before they consider attacking any Moroi or Dhampir." She said, going for the obvious answer.
"It could also mean that more Dhampirs become Guardians. Should this program take effect, there could be more Dhampirs completing their Guardian training in order to join a hunting party." I pointed out, thinking of the rogues she'd met in Russia while looking for me. "The possibility of fewer rogues means there would be fewer Dhampir deaths because of senseless attacks on superior Strigoi by Dhampirs that didn't graduate because they didn't want to dedicate their lives to ungrateful Moroi."
"I never thought about that." She said slowing her pace. Her direction had shifted back toward the cabin as we started our way back.
"However, you do know that Lissa will be needing more protection than ever once we find her sibling, right?" I questioned cautiously.
"I know." Came the flat response.
"Would you stick around to provide her protection? Or her sibling?" I asked, knowing that it was a difficult question with a complicated answer.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I know that if Lissa was in immediate danger, I'd step in to provide protection in a heartbeat, but this…this is all circumstantial. We don't know that she'd become a bigger target. For all we know, she could be welcomed with open arms! As for the sibling, I'd still protect them, but stepping in when the danger is right in front of me is one thing. Waiting is another thing entirely, and it's something I'm not very good at doing."
"You are one of, if not the, best Guardians to exist in the current moment. Your protection alone could serve as a deterrent for a would-be assassin." I provided, not necessarily trying to sway her decision, but I'd seen how her friends reacted to the news of her death, even if it wasn't true. She was loved and needed. Her friends needed her, and they couldn't have her if she just wanted to go off killing Strigoi on her own.
I understood the calling. I had it. I didn't realize I had it until Roza offered it to me, but I had it. It's what I'm meant to do, but I'm also meant to keep Roza happy. Her happiness was doing what she loved and being with those she loved. She didn't just love me. She loved her friends too.
"The best answer I can give for now is a 'maybe,' Comrade." She sighed, slowing to a walk as we neared the edge of the clearing leading back to the cabin.
Adrian had abandoned his corpse pose in the hour we'd been gone, and was currently in the half-lotus position. I didn't know if he had actually been doing yoga in our absence, but he at least had moved.
"Well, I'll be damned, he's actually done something other than just laying there." Roza quipped with a little chuckle. As we made our way across the lawn, Adrian opened his eyes to observe us.
"You guys are looking very matchy-matchy." He commented when we were close enough. I looked over at Roza to see what she was wearing, but it wasn't even similar to what I was wearing. "Not in how you're dressed. In your auras. They're very complimentary."
"What does that even mean, Adrian?" Roza asked, sitting down across from him and stretching out her legs.
"Well, Little Dhampir, it means that where your aura is mainly dark, his is mainly light. But it isn't overwhelming. When you were bonded with Lissa, the darkness that tinged your aura was threatening and ominous, but now that you're paired with Belikov, it's like your Darkness is happy? It seems a little counterintuitive, but that's the best way I can describe it."
"So, we shouldn't be worried?" She asked, looking up at me as I observed the two from a distance. While I wasn't worried about Adrian's affections toward Roza anymore, I still didn't exactly get along with the man. I had a feeling it was going to take a little while to get used to him, but I'd do it because it would make Roza happy.
"No, I don't think so, but I'll let you know if something changes." He said with a cocky grin and a little shrug.
"Have you been sitting out here the entire time?" Roza asked after a few moments of slightly awkward silence.
"Yep. I decided that I didn't want to do yoga, so I tried meditation. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but I found it extremely promising." Adrian replied, his eyes shining in hope.
"Promising in what way?" I asked, curious as to the hope I saw in his expression.
"I'm hoping that it will help with the anxiety." He stated.
"Like the Darkness-caused anxiety?" Roza asked, her voice full of understanding.
"Yeah. I've always dealt with the Darkness the way that I first figured out I could handle it, drinking. I'm assuming Lissa did the same sort of thing. She found that physical pain helped and stuck with that method. I found alcohol first and have stuck with is ever since, but since I've sworn off alcohol for the remainder of this mission, I needed a different coping mechanism, and I had a feeling that you guys wouldn't take too kindly to the whole bloodletting thing, so I went with this. I've only done it for fifteen minutes, but I'm feeling better than I was this morning, so I'm optimistic."
"That's great, Adrian!" Roza exclaimed, jumping up from her spot and offering a hand out to Adrian. He took it and we all headed inside, hoping that Sydney had found something in the last hour that could be helpful.
"Any luck, Syd?" Roza called out, going to the fridge to grab a bottle of water for herself before tossing me one.
"Kind of?" She responded, looking up from her screen with an exhausted look. I'm assuming that she'd had some progress, but from the look on her face, it wasn't very promising.
"I got access to the bank records, but the account was under the name 'Jane Doe.' Not really helpful. Looking at all the account information, there was a POD listed, but I really don't think it's going to be helpful either." She stated rubbing a hand over her face.
"Is the POD another fake name?" Adrian asked, sitting next to Sydney and looking at the screen for himself. His eyes scanned for a moment before they widened, and his face went white. "Nope…definitely not a fake name."
"Who is it?" Roza asked quickly, not liking Adrian's reaction in the least. "Why won't they be helpful? Please tell me they aren't dead!"
"Not really?" Sydney answered with a little wince.
"Well, if they aren't dead then…oh," I said, understanding exactly what they were saying. "They're Strigoi."
"Yeah," Sydney said, answering the statement as if it was a question. The room chilled slightly as the information percolated. I kept my eyes on Roza, waiting for her reaction. She seemed to be contemplating something, but I hadn't the slightest clue as to what it was. Sydney was also watching Roza, probably waiting for a positive reaction. Adrian was watching Sydney, his eyes scanning her face in admiration. Had I been a better friend to him, or a friend at all, I would talk to him later about his intentions with the spunky Alchemist.
"Who is it?" Roza asked, breaking the silence. She sat down on the other side of the table, her head hung, though her shoulders were pulled back in determination.
"Sonya Karp."