Chapter 8
The three of them stood there in shocked silence. Finally Rose spoke.
"I have to go after them. You two stay here and don't let Dimitri know what is going on. I should be back with them soon." She ducked into her tent, grabbing her water canteen and first aid kit. She wasn't sure what state she would find Eddie and Mason and wanted to be prepared.
Christian stared at her, still unsure who she was. Throwing on his normal cocky attitude he teased her. "I'm guessing that you are really Jamie, aren't you?" She glared at him.
"If you don't want to end up on fire, you will keep your mouth shut about that." Rose hissed. "Now we need to focus. I have to find Eddie and Mason, it's my fault they are gone. Dimitri is protective of girls and wouldn't let me out of his sight if I wasn't with Adrian. So I have to sneak off and Adrian has to pretend that I am here."
"Princess, don't worry about it. I'll handle my cousin. You and Christian go. You might need help." Adrian started pushing her and Christian towards the back of the camp.
"Thanks Adrian I owe you." Rose took off on a circle of the camp, heading back to the last place she'd seen Mason. Back to where it all went wrong.
Christian struggled to keep up with her. Finally they reached the tree line and Rose started looking for clues.
"Light please?" She whispered to Christian, not wanting to give away her position if anyone was around.
Christian held a ball of fire in his hand, standing next to her.
"Look at that branch. It's broken. Should we try that way?" He asked Rose, not knowing what else to say to her. He didn't want to admit it but, she was beautiful. In her own way of course. He thought back on all his chats with Jamie, trying to put the two together.
Rose nodded, "Yes, we'll head that way." She again took off into the woods. After about an hour of stopping and adjusting their path based on tracks they arrived at the edge of a ravine. They could hear noises coming from just down the ridge. Cautiously they crept forward.
Christian help up both hands full of fire, and Rose gripped her stake in her left hand and her right hand was held in a fist, ready to strike out if needed. Stepping around a tree, they could see someone walking towards them in the dim light.
"1…2…3" Rose jumped out, her fist snapping out to make contact with the face of the person standing there.
"OUCH!" Eddie yelled. "What was that…Christian? What are you doing here? Rose?" Rose starting frantically apologizing and demanding to know where Mason was.
"Mason, the loveable idiot, ran straight off the edge of the ravine. He's currently stuck on a ledge. I was looking for something to get him with and I found a branch that should work. Come help me."
Eddie lead them to Mason. Leaning over the edge, Rose called down to him.
"Mas, you ok? Eddie, Christian and I are gonna get you out!" Eddie lowered the branch the 10 feet down Mason was and Mason used it to climb out, with the other 3 holding the branch steady.
"Thanks, there were no hand holds to be found Don't fall down there! Now, let's go find Jamie. He can't be too far away." Mason brushed past Rose, completely ignoring her.
"Mason, I'm right here." She said, reach out to grab his arm, trying to get him to listen. "I'll prove it. Here. Look at me. Watch." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her ring. Taking a deep breath, she slid it back on her. She watched the boys' eyes squint, trying to understand what they were seeing. It looked like Rose had an image laid over top of herself, it was fuzzy and wobbled in and out of view.
"What kind of magic is this?" A voice rang out from behind them. Standing in the shadow of a tree, was another Strigoi. "Well, it doesn't matter, it's not every day that three dhampir and a Moroi wander so close to our home. Please, join us for dinner." The Strigoi smirked and gestured to the group, as if he really was extending an invitation of welcome to honored guests. Laughing, more Strigoi stepped into view, surrounding the group of friends.
Rose gripped her stake, trying to think of a way out of this mess. All she could do was hope that Adrian would realize something had gone wrong and send in the cavalry. At a signal from the first Strigoi, the group surrounding them leapt. Rose kicked out and lashed with her stake, hearing a reassuring grunt of pain. Before she could get into position to stake one though, something hit her hard on the back of the head, the world fading into darkness.
SUPER short chapter, sorry about that. I'm also sorry it has been so long since I last updated. I'm hoping to be able to update again soon, but no promises. College is kicking my butt- If you can, get at least most of your schooling out of the way before having kids! I'm doing online classes and my 3 year old and my 1.5 year old are driving me crazy! Haha hope you enjoy this little chapter!