Ello My Loves, Sorry this took me all night to get up, I wound up on closing shift and wasn't able to work on it much today.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy, and for those who celebrated Thanksgiving last week, I hope it was wonderful!

All My Love to You All!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dimitri

Six and a Half Years Ago…

"Focus, Dimitri!" Galina barked, landing another punch to my left shoulder.

We had been sparring for over an hour and I had yet to pin her once. Normally, we were pretty evenly matched, my height and reach countering her speed and flexibility. She was a wisp of a woman, only five foot nine and a hundred forty pounds soaking wet, but she is a force to be reckoned with.

I watched her moves, knowing them like the back of my hand after training under her for four years, but today I couldn't get ahead of them. When she planted her back foot, I knew a kick was coming, but I couldn't get my limbs to react fast enough to block the impact. Her front leg shot out, kicking me directly in the gut, sending me backward onto my ass. Her body weight landed roughly on my hips, hands covering my heart.

"Dead, again," she yelled, albeit louder than necessary. "What has gotten into you today?" She stood up and offered me a hand, which I took and rose with her. I answered with a simple shrug of my shoulders. "Is it the trials? Graduation? Allocations? What?" Her voice no longer angry, but concerned.

"What if I am not good enough? What if I can't protect him? What if I see a Strigoi and I freeze, letting everyone around me, including myself, get killed because I am not as good as I thought." I hated confessing my fears, especially to her. I have been training with her since freshman year. Three hours, every day, seven days a week. But I couldn't help but think all of it is for nothing. I have never seen a Strigoi, other than the training films, what if my first encounter kills me, and Ivan.

"You are one of the best fighters I know, and that is saying something." she smiled, "Strigoi...well, the first time is a bit unreal. You just have to remember that it is what you trained your whole life for. You have to think of them as the monster they are, not the people they used to be."

"Have you ever faced anyone you used to know?"

She gave a sad nod, "My brother, he had been turned while guarding a Drozdov Lord. I almost couldn't do it, but when he looked at me, he didn't even know who I was. He didn't see his sister, he saw an enemy. So I looked at him the same way."

"Did you feel bad?"

"No. We had always said if we were to be turned, we would hope someone would kill us. We never wanted to live in that state. Being a Strigoi turns everything in you, twist your emotions into something evil. No one, and nothing matters anymore. Only blood, power, and death. It's not a life I want to live."

"I couldn't agree more."

Present Day….

Gravel crunches beneath the tires, echoing through the cabin of the Tahoe, the sound surrounds me, drowning out my rambling thoughts. The fear of never seeing my girlfriend again, never meeting my child. The anxiety of facing the Strigoi version of my mentor, will I have what it takes to kill her?

I preached to Roza when we first started training that you can not hesitate, you can not allow yourself to see them as the people they once were, just as Galina had taught me. I have never had to face the monster of someone I used to know, this will be the ultimate test of my skills- my own teachings. Will I fail? Or will I be victorious, making it home to see another day?

Turning right on the main road, I headed toward Montrose where the Conta house is located. After looking through the photos the last two months, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, the Guardians missed something in their initial sweep. Not that I doubted their thoroughness, but for my own peace of mind, I needed to walk the scene. What might have been insignificant to them, could be a red flag for me.

The drive would take just under an hour, leaving me with empty silence to overthink this whole situation. The general idea was simple, put me outside of the wards, alone, and hope to be spotted. Once Galina knew I was outside, she would stalk me, make sure she wasn't being set up. I know the way she thinks- or at least I did before she was turned- and she will not confront me if she sees the army we have acquired.

Abe called in his additional Guardians that reside back in Siberia and they would be arriving tomorrow morning. Fifteen total, plus the seven he has with him at Court- Pavel included- and myself. Twenty-three Guardians against an unknown amount of Strigoi, I pray the odds to be in our favor. But for now, I drive alone, and not even the sound of Queen, Bon Jovi, or Duran Duran is enough to occupy my mind.

Over the last several months we have encountered curveball after curveball. I, by no means, am a baseball expert, but I do know that you can only watch so many curves fly by before you strike out. Lucky for us, a few managed to escape the strike zone, giving us another shot to knock it out of the park, only by my count now, we are loaded and have one shot left. Question is, will we strike out, walk the base, or send it to the stands?

Who knows. Nevertheless, I will stand at the plate and prepare for what the world throws at me next, starting here at the Conta home.

Pulling in the driveway, I killed the engine and flipped through my folders one more time. First and foremost, I took in the exterior of the home- two stories, white panel siding, the front porch that wrapped halfway around to the back, and several windows on the bottom floor- multiple access points. Exiting my vehicle I began walking the perimeter. The east side of the residence faced a forest of sorts, which is most likely the direction of travel they used to approach the home. It's also where Guardian Austin was taken by surprise- his neck snapped before he could process what was happening.

The windows on this side looked into the kitchen and living area, where Guardian Clayton had been standing against the staircase that leads upstairs. Guardian Crain was stationed at the top, watching over the family while they slept.

Entering the front door, I ran my fingers along the frame, stroking the fractured wood from the force of a size ten shoe to the door. Other than the scent of death still lingering in the air, and the dried blood on the white carpet of the living room, the room appeared untouched. Furniture, trinkets, pictures remained where they always had.

Odd.

Guardian Clayton had numerous defensive wounds, bruising and minor lacerations, from the fight- yet the scene shows no signs of a struggle. Did they clean up afterward? Galina had always been a bit OCD, everything needs order, she told me time and time again, but would that quality transfer over in her undead state?

Continuing through the living room, I inspected the photos along the wall. Family portraits, Graduation photos of the children- typical momentoes that you would see in any family home- and a beautiful painting of a waterfall on top of the mantel.

Taking a closer look at the picture, I could tell it hadn't always been there. It wasn't hung like the rest of the photos, instead, it was set there leaning against the red brick of the fireplace. Walking around the living area once more, I located it's original home, above the reading chair. The wall behind where the picture sat looked clean and bright, whereas the surrounding area had faded over time. Why would they move it?

Picking up the framed scene I turned it around, not finding anything amiss with the framing or picture itself and put it back in place. Making my way through the rest of the house, nothing else jumped out at me. All of the bedrooms showed to be in order, other than the bedding having been removed, just like the living room- leaving me feeling a bit disheartened. I had hopes of finding something to point me in the right direction, a hint to tell me where I should be looking for her, or at least where to put myself to be seen.

Snapping a quick photo on my phone of the waterfall, I closed up the house and made my way to the Holiday Inn where Abe had reserved a floor of rooms. Tonight we would discuss a bit of strategy, and tomorrow we would begin the hunt. I wanted this over as quickly as possible, so I wasn't wasting time on theories.

Arriving at the hotel I retrieved my room key from the desk and headed straight for the shower. Once clean, shaved and dressed for a quick nap, I laid back on the plush white comforter. I have to admit, having a rich father in law has its perks. I don't recall ever sleeping on a mattress that felt this good.

I settled in just as the exhaustion really began to weigh on me, having been awake for over 24 hours now will do that to a person. But I couldn't go to sleep just yet, I still had one last thing to do.

Dialing her number, I waited patiently for the line to connect, feeling the weight of the world lift ever so slightly from my shoulders when she answered.

"Dimka! How are you, Son? It's been so long since you called."

"I am well, Mama, I am sorry for not calling sooner, but I need a favor…."