Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, I wrote it a while back but never got around to posting it, so I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead
Chapter 17
She can tell me she sees me only as a friend all she wants, but kissing me said otherwise, and I wasn't going to stop until I had her.
Ashley POV
It was early when something woke me up. I heard the snap of a branch and some shouting which caused me to shoot up. Quickly I got out of the tent to see what was going on. I looked over to see that Dimitri was doing the same. We made brief eye contact before we heard a scream. Quickly, I ran in the direction that the sound came from and was surprised to find an unconscious Eddie. Blood trickled down from his temple and his left eye was swollen shut. There were many scrapes and cuts that adorned his arms and legs, and I noticed two puncture marks on his neck. I looked at Dimitri, and knew we were both thinking the same thing.
"Strigoi", Dimitri said in a strained voice.
"No", said a new voice, I looked to see that Pandora was limping towards us, cradling her arm, her left wrist bent at an unnatural angle. Blood was running from her nose and her lip was split.
Dimitri and I both ran up to her and we got there just before she collapsed. She was wheezing and her breath was labored I rested my hand on the back of her neck and quickly pulled it back when it came in contact with something wet and sticky. I went behind her to look at the wound and gasped. On the back of her neck was an 'X' mark cut into her skin. The cut was deep, but not deep enough to do any serious damage. I looked over at Dimitri and from the look in his eye I knew that he was livid.
"If it wasn't strigoi, then what was it?" I asked aloud. He looked at me before looking back down at Pandora. She coughed and her eyes fluttered open.
"I don't know, but it wasn't strigoi", said Pandora. "Help Eddie, he got the worst of it," she said in a raspy voice.
By the time Dimitri had gotten Eddie and we made our way back to the camp, nearly everyone was up. The only people missing were Ivan and Rose. I looked to see the expression on Dimitri's face only to find it was blank. His eyes though were filled with rage and fury. He and I both knew what it meant if both Ivan and Rose weren't out with the rest. They were taken.
RPOV
My head was pounding and every bone in my body ached. I opened my eyes only to snap them shut. It was too bright. I again tried to open my eyes, slowly this time. At first, everything was blury, but it all cleared up eventually. I went to move my hands only to find that they were bound behind my back. Panicking, I looked around to see that we were in a room that was similar to the one that Eddie and I had been taken to in Spokane, the same place where Mason died. Just the thought of it made me want to cry, I had to swallow a sob that I could feel coming up from the back of my throat. I tried to remember how I had gotten here but all I could recall was trees, lots of trees and blood. I heard a groan. Quickly, I snapped my head to find the source and discovered that Ivan was behind me, bound in his own seat.
"I think I drank too much last night", he mumbled.
"It's possible, but I have a feeling that that isn't the reason we're here", I replied.
"Rose? What happened?" He asked confused.
"I don't know, I can't remember", I responded. It was then that the sound of a door creaking open made me whip my head over to that direction. In walked multiple people, dhampirs by the looks of it, and one face I thought I'd never see again.
"Nathan", I whispered. He just smiled at me, fangs flashing in the bright light. It was the kind of smile that makes your blood run cold.
"Hello, Roza." He said mockingly.