Chapter Twenty Seven - Into Battle

The next day came sooner than anybody wanted, especially me. When I woke in the strong, comforting embrace of the man I loved most, my entire being wanted nothing more than to stay there for the rest of eternity. His arms tightened around my midsection, as if sensing my alertness, and he buried his nose into the back of my neck. "Morning, Malýshka."

The absence of the word 'good' did not escape my notice as I turned around in his arms to face him, placing my hands on his bare chest. I think we both knew that this morning was neither 'good' or any other variation of the word. I smiled feebly up at him, giving him a sweet closed-mouth kiss. He must have sensed my hesitation, because in an instant I was being curled against his body. "Everything will go fine." He whispered, kissing the top of my head.

"We hope so," I muttered sarcastically, closing my eyes as I focused on the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.

"I will be by your side no matter what." He reminded me. Late the evening before, some of us had held a meeting to discuss precise strategies for the attack today. Janine, Dimitri, Alberta and myself had been there, alongside Pavel, Alicia, and a few other Mazur Guardians.

There would be 24 Guardians attending, including myself. Most of them would be Mazur Guardians, since Abe seemed to have a surplus of them. Serena and Grant had wanted to attend, too, but Alberta had insisted they stay with Lissa, Adrian, Eddie, Christian, and Abe, back at the house.

Five vehicles, each with a 'head' of their party. Janine had attempted to force herself into my group for extra protection, however it had been Alberta to suggest that perhaps it would be better if Dimitri protected me. After all, if anything went south, we knew how to fight together. I'd never fought alongside my mother, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take professional orders from her.

Dimitri and I's group consisted of three other Mazur Guardians who I had vaguely seen in passing around the complex. The plan was that our vehicle would be driving first into the designated zone where we were expecting to find the Strigoi, with the other four in various positions surrounding us. If the Strigoi attacked, the Guardians were to act, though I was under severe orders not to join in the fighting unless necessary.

It was frustrating, knowing that I could have helped, but at the same time I understood. It was me who they were after, and we couldn't give them the opportunity to get their hands on what they wanted. Dimitri was ordered to stay beside me at all times, whether we were hidden in the car from the Strigoi or if we had to run to escape the bloodshed. No matter what, he would be there.

That had given me some comfort, since I would be able to keep an eye on him at all times. I knew he was technically supposed to be guarding me, but that didn't mean that I didn't worry about him in the battlefield. This way, with him besides me, I would know if he was in danger...

The entire day had consisted of preparing the vehicles and ensuring that everybody was sufficiently supplied with weapons and communications devices. We would be setting off just after sunset, giving us enough time to reach the location by the time it was completely dark.

"Roza," I was outside checking the tires on our SUV when I heard Dimitri behind me, and I turned to see him walking out the house with a box in hand. I knew immediately what was inside it, and I let out a deep sigh. "I know you and your mother aren't on speaking terms right now, but you need to be well armed."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be fighting." I smirked, leaning my back against the door with folded arms.

"You're not," he chuckled, placing the rectangular box in my hands. "But I need to know that you can still defend yourself if you're directly attacked. I know you said that Strigoi in the woods said they wanted you alive, but that doesn't mean they won't try and hurt you to get what they want."

I sighed, nodding, before opening up the box. The two silver stakes gleamed back at me almost tauntingly, egging me on to use them. I picked them out from their satin beds and armed myself with both. I was wearing the leather jacket Christian had gotten me for my birthday, so I used the pocket inside the left side for one of them, and placed the other up the sleeve of my right arm. It was slightly uncomfortable, but Abe's Guardian Alicia had taught me that she found it a useful place to put her primary stake due to the ease of being able to grab it.

By the time the rest of the Guardians made their way outside, the sun had just begun to set, and I knew it was time to go. Eddie, Lissa, Christian, and Adrian were all stood besides the front door as well, looking around at them skeptically. "I don't think I've ever seen so many fully trained Guardians in one spot." Christian said as I approached them, before focusing his gaze on mine. "I mean, I know St Vlad's has a lot of them, but for some reason they're not as scary looking as these guys."

I laughed, folding my arms as I also looked around at the older Guardians. "I know what you mean. They're all decked out to the nines in weapons with the most high tech gear. You don't really see that back at the Academy."

"Are they certain this is going to work?" Lissa sounded concerned, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. "What if they get hurt? What if you get hurt?"

"Hey," I placed a hand on her arm to settle her nerves, forcing her to look into my eyes. "Everything's going to be okay." I promised, pulling her into a tight hug. "We're Guardians - getting hurt is an occupational hazard. I promise, I'll be back before you know it, fully in tact."

"Novice Hathaway," I heard Alicia's voice calling me from behind as I pulled away from my best friend, and I turned my attention to her. "We better get going. Get to your vehicle." I nodded, turning back to my friends.

"Kick some Strigoi ass," Eddie grinned as he nudged my shoulder with his fist, and I laughed.

"You know it, Castille." I winked sassily as I started walking backwards, waving to the four of them collectively. "Stay safe. Don't let Abe scare you too much while I'm gone."

With one last final glance at them, I climbed into the back of the car with a heavy sigh and a heavy heart. Dimitri immediately wrapped an arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my temple. "You alright?"

"Of course." I grinned confidently up at him despite the nerves in my stomach. "I'm ready to get rid of these pests once and for all."

He looked between my eyes with a scrutinising expression for a few agonisingly long moments, before seeming content in what he saw. He faced the front again and placed his hand on the back of the driver's seat. "Askoy, let's go. Let's get this over with."

It was a little over half an hour journey to where we were supposed get to, and for most of that journey the five SUV's traveled pretty close together. Once we were about two miles away, Dimitri spoke to the others through the walkie talkie installed, instructing them to scatter and surround the place.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Truth be told, the moment he told them to scatter, was the moment everything seemed all too real. I pressed my cheek against the window as I looked out into the night time, seeing only trees and foliage covered in light flecks of snow. I wondered how many Strigoi were out there, waiting for us... I shivered at the thought, backing up to lean against Dimitri for comfort.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. "This will all be over soon, Roza." He whispered into my ear, placing a light kiss there. "We'll find the Strigoi responsible and we'll destroy them. You won't have to hide anymore."

I swallowed hard and nodded, wanting to believe him more than anything. But there was a knot in my stomach, a knot I only had when something was about to go wrong. I'd only ever felt it twice in my life - moments before the Dragomir crash, and the moment I saw Mason at Spokane.

"This is the place." I heard the driver, Guardian Askoy, say once we'd come to a stop. I glanced out of the window again to see we were in front of a large, derelict building. It looked as if it once would have been rather attractive with it's redstone exterior and fancy marble carvings surrounding the window frames, but judging by the broken windows, it hadn't been used in years.

"Alright," Dimitri let out a loud sigh as he reached forwards for the walkie talkie again, bringing it to his lips. "Belikov here. We have arrived at the Lusino Guardian Transit Camp. Upon first glance there appears to be no visible Strigoi's. Update immediately."

He kept the machine balanced on his chin as we waited in silence for a few seconds, before a voice I recognised as Pavel's spoke. "Guardian Pavel. Stationary in a spot one-hundred-metres from the Camp on the South side. No movement here."

"Same here. Alicia Peron on the North side. There were a few humans about a mile back, but I have no reason to suspect them of anything."

"Okay, thank you the pair of you." Dimitri spoke into the walkie talkie. "Hathaway? Petrov? What about you?"

We waited for almost a solid thirty seconds, and there was no answer from either vehicle. I sat up straight, the nerves settling in as I realised something may have happened to them already. Dimitri glanced between the three other Guardians in his car before talking into the walkie talkie again. "Hathaway, Petrov." He said sternly. "Do you hear me?"

There was some crackling coming through the radio, followed by the faintest of words that sounded something along the lines of 'stupid fucking radio'. There was silence again, before a voice finally came through loud and clear. "Belikov? It's Guardian Hathaway. There was a diversion along the route we were taking and we had to go through a tunnel. Communications have only just came back online. We're almost to the West side, but so far everything is clear."

I let out a sigh of relief as I heard my mother's voice, relaxing back against the door of the car. As much as I hated her the past week, I wasn't sure what I would have done if I found out she'd been attacked.

Everyone was still on edge, having not heard anything from the fifth and final vehicle under the leadership of Alberta. Dimitri closed his eyes and tapped the walkie talkie against his chin as he tried to think of what to do, before looking back up at the Guardians. "Muller and Valastro, both of you head towards the East where Petrov should be. Keep your Comms on and keep everyone updated on the situation."

The two of them nodded and were out of the car in an instant. One was an older man, about forty, while the other was a younger female who appeared to be only a couple years older than I was. They both withdrew their stakes before disappearing into the greenery beyond the car.

"Dimitri," I said quietly, glancing around out of the windows cautiously. "Do you think something's happened to Alberta?"

"We have to assume the worst." He said solemnly, his Guardian mask never leaving his face. "While it could be something simple as it had been with Guardian Hathaway, there is a high chance that it could be something entirely else."

"Belikov!" A female voice came in a whisper-shout through the walkie talkie, and everyone was immediately on alert. "Belikov there are three Strigoi ahead of us towards the West. There's no sight of Guardian Petrov or her vehicle. I don't think they've spotted us yet, but I have a feeling there's more somewhere in this forest."

"Valastro is right." It was Pavel's voice that came through next. "We saw at least two Strigoi running top speed directly for where you are, Belikov. They're coming for you."

"Proceed as necessary," Dimitri said firmly as he shifted to grab the stake out from his left side pocket. "If a Strigoi passes you by, attack with caution. Keep an eye out for Guardian Petrov - we still don't know what has happened to her group. Muller, Valastro, make your way back to the Transit Camp. We need as many Guardians here as possible."

"Copy that," Pavel said before the line cut dead, and there was a deafening silence in the air.

I swallowed hard, looking up at Dimitri. "What now?"

"Now we wait. And if we're attacked, we fight." I nodded at his words, slipping the stake down from my sleeve to hold the hilt firmly in my hands. Immediately I felt more protected, and more sure of myself. While I still feared for what may have happened to Alberta, I knew that my main priority now had to be on surviving.

Askoy climbed out of the SUV with a stake drawn, though kept the door open and the car running, just in case we had to make a quick getaway. He circled the car slowly and methodically, before a rustling sound distracted him. He spun around into a defensive stance immediately, only to be greeted by the two Guardians Dimitri had sent off earlier. "You could have been killed." He huffed in a very thick Turkish accent, swatting the man on the back of the head.

There was no time for further comments after that, as a noise alerted them from the other side of the clearing. Muller and Askoy immediately directed their attention in that direction, only for the former to be tackled to the ground by an unsuspected Strigoi. He shouted in either surprise or pain, I wasn't sure, throwing the Strigoi off him with all the strength he could muster. Askoy was quick to make his way around the back of the Strigoi, staking him from behind before anybody had a chance to react.

"Behind you!" The female Guardian shouted, and my head snapped to the edge of the dirt road we were on. Another Strigoi had emerged, this one a lot larger and tougher than the one before. He had been a Dhampir before, and judging by his stance and stature he had definitely been a Guardian.

My focus was torn from the Strigoi as I heard crackling from Dimitri's radio, and I looked directly at him as he answered. "Belikov here. Two Strigoi attacking the Transit Camp."

"It's Alberta," her voice sounded pained and heavy, and she was breathing quicker than usual. "We were attacked before we could get to our station. Three Strigoi - all four of the Mazur Guardians were killed." I flinched at her words, having known deep down that something had gone wrong with her. "I'm in the SUV heading towards your location."

"Are you injured?" I said before Dimitri could say anything, and he flashed me an unreadable glance.

"Dislocated shoulder and a few cuts and bruises, but nothing terrible. I can still fight." She said firmly, and in that moment I heard the screeching of tires coming from the west. A car skidded into view, and immediately I could see Alberta behind the wheel.

She threw the radio out of her hand and jumped out of the broken door of the car, jumping into action with the Strigoi currently attacking the Guardian Valastro. I could see the dead bodies of the two male Guardians on the floor, one with their neck torn off with blood pooling around their head, and the other with his head against a tree, eyes closed.

I covered my mouth in shock as I realised how preoccupied with Alberta I'd been, those few seconds being more than enough time for this one Strigoi to kill two Guardians.

Before I could say anything, Dimitri had grabbed my wrist and was yanking me firmly out of the SUV on the side that the Strigoi appeared from. I heard screaming, and I saw Valastro's head snap back as the Strigoi wrapped his arms firmly around her neck. In one swift movement her scream was cut short, and he dropped her body limply to the floor.

The adrenaline was kicking inside me, and I started forwards with my stake in hand to kill the son-of-a-bitch. I'd barely taken three steps when I felt Dimitri wrap an arm around my front and yank me backwards into his arms. "Dimitri! No!" I grunted against his arms as I tried to escape, looking towards the Strigoi.

He was heading straight for us, but before he could even bare his fangs Alberta was on him. She tackled him to the side and they rolled together several times, before she had the upper hand and was straddling him from above. She swiftly daggered him directly in the heart, and he let out an angry growl before collapsing against the ground.

The clearing was silent as Alberta stood from the floor, and I slapped Dimitri's hands away from me so I could run to her. She caught me in her arms as I hugged her tightly, letting out a deep breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. "I thought something had happened to you. Dimitri was trying to contact your SUV for ages and there was no response."

"It's gonna take a lot more than a couple new born Strigoi's to take me down, Hathaway." She said light heartedly as we pulled away, and she looked up to Dimitri. "What's the update?"

"Valastro said there was at least three Strigoi to the west, and Pavel saw two running for here." He glanced at the two now-dead bodies of the Strigoi, letting out a pointed sigh. "I guess these were those two... But there are still more out there. I can feel it."

I could hear the crackling of the walkie talkie from inside our SUV then, and I immediately ran for it and picked up the device. Alberta and Dimitri were quickly behind me, standing outside of the car while I sat in the driver's seat. "Novice Hathaway," I answered hesitantly, not sure of what to do. "What's going on?"

"Rose, we've got three Strigoi on our location." Alicia was shouting fiercely into the device, and I could hear the fighting from her line. "Guardian Kristoff is already dead, taking one Strigoi down with him, and we're doing our best to fight off the rest."

"Alicia," Dimitri gestured for me to turn the radio to him so he could talk into it, which I did. "We've got two dead Strigoi's and three dead Guardians here at the Transit Camp. Alberta is with us as well, and she said all four of her team are dead alongside three Strigoi."

"What's the plan of action?" She said urgently, and both Alberta and I looked at Dimitri hopefully. While he wasn't strictly the leader of the entire operation, it had appeared that that role had automatically fallen to him in the haste of things.

He was very clearly thinking of a plan as his eyes darted around aimlessly, before he turned to Alberta. "Guardian Petrov, I need you to get into your car and drive to the nearest Alchemist camp in Omsk. It's barely a fifteen minute drive at normal speed, so drive as fast as you can without attracting attention to yourself. Tell them of the attack, and tell them there are several Guardian and Strigoi deceased at the location."

She nodded at his words and gave me one last hopeful, silent glance at me, before running off to her car. I watched as she reversed out of the dirt track and drove back the way she came, while Dimitri continued speaking through the radio to Alicia.

"I want everybody to relocate here at the Transit Camp." He said. "If you are under attack, dispose of them as quickly and efficiently as possible, but do not rush. Rush and you'll be dead in an instant. Keep this line open and talk to me if anything goes wrong."

We heard confirmation from every single 'leader' of their group, before the line went dead. I looked up at Dimitri hopefully, who was resting his forehead against the top of the car door. "Janine's group followed some humans that were dangerously close to the transit camp, so she's the furthest away. Alicia is disposing of the Strigoi on her end."

"And Pavel?" I arched an eyebrow, glancing subtly around at the clearing. The large, old Transit Camp was the only thing even mildly significant, and somehow it gave me some sort of comfort. The thought of the amount of other Guardian's that had passed through me made me think it was some sort of safe space, and that perhaps everything would turn out okay.

"He's on his way here with his team." He must have caught my looking around at the place, because he placed a comforting hand on my cheek. "Everything's gonna be okay, Roza. We're gonna track these Strigoi back to where they came from, and make sure they pay for everything they've done."

I cupped my hand over his and looked up at him with the smallest of smiles, nodding. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to believe him.

We stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time, before we heard noises nearby coming from beyond the trees. Dimitri immediately turned around with a stake drawn, and I jumped out of the car to stand besides me. He outstretched an arm in front of me and tucked me behind him protectively. "Careful," he said. "We don't know if it's Pavel or more Strigoi."

Suddenly that knot was back in my stomach, and I felt my entire body tense. One hand held my Stake tightly while the other gripped the back of his shirt roughly, as if I was going to pull him right out of any danger. I heard footsteps far sooner than I think Dimitri did, having to resist the urge to throw him behind my own body as I watched two Strigoi burst from the shadows.

"Watch out!" Dimitri shouted for me as one of them came directly for us, wrapping his arms around Dimitri. He managed to do the same and, with a loud grunt, tackled the Strigoi far away from the car.

The second one saw that I was now exposed, and immediately came for me. I ran to the side as fast as I could so that I wasn't cornered against the vehicle, having more space to move. I heard the Strigoi collide with the SUV as I turned on my heels to face him, stake raised defensively.

The boy was still young, maybe mid twenties, and previously Moroi. He was unnaturally pale, even for a Strigoi, which only appeared paler with the light blond hair on his head. He had a wicked smile on his lips, and a menacing glint in his eye as he focused his attention on me. "Rosemarie Hathaway," he hissed beneath his breathe, looking up at me through his eyebrows as he slowly made his way forward. "Dear Lord it must be Christmas."

"So you're one of the Strigoi looking for me, huh?" I said confidently despite the shakiness I felt inside. I readjusted my grip on the stake, feeling it slipping from the sweat building. "I must be some prize for you to send so many of your friends after me."

"Oh, they're not my friends." He tilted his head with a humourless smile. "They're just collateral damage."

He dove for me in an instant, though I was able to grab him by the shoulders before he could get his hands on me. He howled in pain as the stake cut the side of his throat, and I threw him as hard as I could to the side. He was swift as he rolled a couple times on his side, before pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet in one movement.

He came for me again, this time more tactfully as he leaned from side to side to disguise how he would really attack. I wasn't quick enough to spot him going for my right side, having faked left just before swinging the inner part of his leg for my hip. I felt it connect full force and I shouted in pain, tumbling to the floor.

I tried to carry my momentum over so I could get back to my feet, but the Strigoi jumped me before I could even make a move. "Shit!" I screamed to myself as I tried to throw him off me, knowing my natural Dhampir strength would overpower his Moroi strength, though with his Strigoi transformation that would match us as equals.

I reached above me to grab the stake I'd dropped, blindly stabbing it upwards into him in an attempt to get him off me. He grunted and threw himself off me, tearing the stake out from his body as he went since I was holding it firmly. It gave me enough time to roll onto my stomach and get back to my feet, before running a few paces away to get the distance I needed.

A part of me wanted desperately to look and see how Dimitri was doing across the clearing, but the other part of me knew that I couldn't lose focus. Losing focus could cost me my life, and I couldn't risk it.

I ran towards the Strigoi with a fierce warrior cry, clenching the stake tightly in my hand. I threw myself off the ground and held my arms tightly to my body as I launched myself into an aerial kick, kicking his sternum once before wrapping my ankles around his head. My body spun over the top of his as I used my legs to throw him downwards, his body connecting firmly with the dirt track as I stuck the landing on the other side of him.

As I looked up, I could see Dimitri heading directly for us, his black duster billowing behind him. The Strigoi saw him the same moment I did from where he laid on the ground. Instead of attacking me, he got to his feet and ran towards Dimitri with a renewed sense of vigor.

Dimitri was much taller than the Strigoi was, which was somewhat of a disadvantage to him. He swung his arm to strike the Strigoi in the chest, but he was slicker, ducking down below his reach and rugby tackling him to the ground. They collided and skidded together, and I heard a disgusting crack as Dimitri's head connected with the solid floor.

His arm went limp and the stake tumbled from his hand, and I found myself screaming at the scene in front of me. I was running immediately, but my legs were too slow to stop what I saw next. The Strigoi grabbed the stake from the side and thrust it down at Dimitri's body. His back was to me, so I couldn't see it precisely, but I heard the scream of pain that came from the man that I loved.

I jumped on the back of the Strigoi in an attempt to throw him off of Dimitri, fumbling with the stake in my hand. I panicked as he began to stand with my body still attached to his, his sharp and sporadic movements preventing me from getting a clear shot at his heart with my stake. I thrust it into his chest quickly and sharply, and he shouted so loud it echoed off the trees around us.

The Strigoi wrapped his hands around my arms around him, prying my grip from him in one swift movement. He threw his body forwards and slung me off the front of him with as much force as he could muster, and the breath was completely knocked from me as I collided with one of the trees.

My head hit it first, and I screamed at the excruciating pain flowing from that point and down my neck. I could smell the blood as I sat limply against the base of the tree, the corners of my vision going hazy. I could see my stake rolling about a metre away from me, and I willed my arm to move and grab it. Just move!

But it was no use. My body was numb, and I couldn't move anything, the darkness engulfing me with my fingertips just grazing the silver...