Thanks for all the reviews guys! I was so happy at all my new messages :D

Once again I feel as if I've dug myself into a rut because I have no idea where to continue… but I always do, right?

And so…

Disclaimer: Iway amway otnay Ichelleray eadmay.

I pushed open the doors out into the dark, quiet street, holding back tears. I was heartbroken over leaving Dimitri and in a numb shell of disbelief that I was walking towards my death. The end. No fighting chance. I know that I'd done this before, many many times, but this was different. More… final in a way. I'd die without putting up a fight. That was the deal. And it hurt. But at least I'd go out with the fresh memory of how it felt to be held by Dimitri. My brain told me that the situation was badly placed out. Dimitri was drunk and probably driven by the force to do whatever he could to make me stay, even if it meant pretending for a night and breaking my heart all over again the moment I was safe from myself. My heart pulled in a different direction.

I forced myself to not regret leaving him when I so recently just got him back.

I walked down the brightly lit streets, it being quite late out there wasn't any taxi's that I could see. Teenagers and young adults ran amok, coming to or from a party or just hanging out, I don't know. They paid me no mind except for the occasional whistle from a group of drunkards. Some asked if I wanted to join them tonight. Said it would be a "grand night on a grand bed." The sight of drunken men and their easy give ins shot another arrow through my heart.

I tried to get the wind to cool my still flushed cheeks but no such luck. At least I could blame it on the lighting even though no one probably cared about a blushing Rose walking the streets, alone, late at night. With a stake in her pocket, of course. Step after step, I walked along the twisting unfamiliar roads of Denver, attempting to find my way around to the address given to me. The longer I spent searching, the higher risk I posed of having Dimitri wake up and come stop me. I couldn't have that. And the longer I kept worrying, the more nauseous I was making myself feel. Finally, I gave in and walked up to a couple that was about twenty five at most. "Excuse me?" I said as I walked up to them.

They looked over at me. "Yes?" The girl asked pleasantly. She was just a bit taller then me and had shoulder length, black hair that turned a blood red in the lighting from the movie rental store's lights just behind her. A shiver ran up my spine, making my stomach gurgle unpleasantly.

"Can you point me in the direction of this building?" I gave her the piece of paper while eyeing her boyfriend, who was eyeing me. His hair was cropped short around his ears and his gaze made me want to throw up. Literally. He was much taller than me but had a thin build. I tried to look into his eyes but it was too dark. There were no more people on this street. The eerie silence was punctuated by a whistling gust of wind that rattled some lone garbage. A can clanked across the sidewalk.

She smiled, not showing her teeth, her red lips curling creepily. "Absolutely. It's just over here. We can show you if you want." She unconsciously gave me a full smile at the end, showing a good view of her pearly white fangs that seemed to practically glow in the dark. I bet she used white strips. My nausea now explained, I shoved it out of my mind and took a fighting stance, pulling my stake out of my belt. "Oh, a Guardian?" She and her boyfriend, probably just a temporary hunting partner, mirrored my position. Looking closely at them I could tell the she had once, too, been a Guardian. It was sad to come across such a rare find. He on the other hand just looked like he had been a Moroi.

"Oh, don't play games with me. I know you sensed what I was before I even turned the corner."

She smiled again. "Very true. But we don't like making scenes. We get most of our good catches here. Lots of young Moroi on vacation. Seeing blood deters them. But not for too long." And she lunged.

I quickly moved out of the way, not taken off guard in the least. I was prepared for this kind of stuff. The male snarled at me, circling my back as the female moved in front. Two on one. Easy peasy. My hair wasn't swept up into a pony tail so it might prove a slight distraction. But harder to be grabbed by them. I took a quick step towards the girl, quickly swiping my stake and just barely nicking her arm. Still, she hissed at me and returned with a full body attack. I held my fist at the ready so when she came close enough, I hit her in the temple while her nails racked down my left side since my arm was no longer protecting it. Ignoring the piercing pain, I followed with a quick right kick, spinning myself to have access to the male and gave him a left hook. He wasn't as fast, not as skilled, and took the blow to the top of his head after trying to bend down to dodge.

The girl grabbed my waist in both of her hands, trying to push me onto the ground. Though it put me out of balance, I couldn't afford to have her this close to me on the offensive and took a chance at a quick elbow across her face. She screamed at the stinging impact and loosened her grip so I could take a balancing step back and kick out one of her knees. She howled again, getting the male into gear to attack. I quickly round housed him and staked him, returning my attention to the female. Now on the ground, she still put up a stink of a fight, scratching up my face, arms and torso before I managed to slip my stake through her heart.

Shaking, I sat back against a building and pulled out my cell phone to call Sydney and get some alchemists on their way. The Strigoi were right about one thing, blood and bodies didn't work well with human and moroi society. Instead of calling her though, I sent her a quick text. If I talked at this point she might ask why I was out and then I'd probably tell her and then I'd be back where I started. With an angry Russian and no plans. I placed a hand over the scratches. My face wasn't bleeding much but my side stung like a bitch. I zipped up my hoodie so no one would notice and I wouldn't drip.

After a quick breather, I stood up and rushed back into the street, being careful of my left side. Now, where the hell was I suppose to go again? Which way had I come from? Oh shit, I thought once I realized that I was, in all senses, lost. So much for the special Guardian sense of direction. Guess it didn't come with the job. Damn Denver. I continued to stumble along streets, trying to make sense of them. I saw a gas station up ahead and I felt relief at heaving found a place that would give me directions and not ask for my soul in return. I ran in and walked straight to the counter. The man immediately stood up from his chair that he had been reading a book at and smiled at me. He narrowed his eyes at my scratched up face, took a quick look outside, saw no car and asked, "How can I help you?"

"Um, can you tell me how to get to 53 Denvalle Street?"

He raised an eyebrow, damn him and his eyebrow muscles, and said, confused. "Um, this is 53 Denvalle Street, miss."

"Oh! Well, thank you." I looked around the empty gas station with it's endless supply of colourful candy bars and pops. No Victor. "Um, do you know the time?"

He took a quick glance at his cell before answering, "Three am. You meeting someone here or something?"

"Yes, actually. At six. Guess I'm a bit early, eh?" I smiled, hoping I didn't come off too freakish and have him call the cops. That would be a total plan ruiner.

"Uh huh. What's a fine lady like you meeting at a gas station in the wee hours of the morning?"

Oh, you know, trading my life for vital information pertaining to finding the illegitimate Dragomir child. You happen to know anything about that? "I'm supposed to meet here for a ride back home. A bunch of us took a bus down, you know, high school grad adventure, and we we're getting a ride back from this guys dad. I leave for one night and no one answers their phone. And now I sit here, no where to sleep, waiting for my ride." Smart? Yes, I am. Thank you.

He leaned his arm on the counter. "Sad tale. Well, make yourself at home in this grubby little plot. I was feeling a tad bit lonely."

I smiled. "Well, now you've got company… for the next three hours." He smiled back and pulled up a chair for me.

After I excused myself to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up after an 'unfortunate cat attack' we made pleasant conversation. I somehow managed to keep it together knowing that death was on its way, literally, and he was just happy to have company in the form of a lone, slightly scratched up pretty girl. There were no customers so it was just us and apparently 'free' chocolate bars which he, named Matt, claimed were job benefits. The benefit being the knowledge of where the security cameras were.

I was munching on a Reeses when Victor gracefully walked in, accompanied by his two faithful Guardians. "Rosemarie!" he exclaimed, spreading his hands as if to say 'What are the chances of meeting you here?' "I wasn't sure if I'd see you here or not. Especially not alone." He obviously saw Matt but I knew he meant Dimitri.

"Of course I'd be here. And I lost the others." Had to keep the show up for Matt.

"Well, shall we leave?"

I nodded, waving at Matt, who gave a sad smile back and looked at the time. He sighed realizing he still had a good couple hours left on his shift that he would have to suffer through alone.

I followed Victor to a sleek black car. One of the Guardians held the door open for me, not meeting my eyes. I slid into the black leather seat. It was very posh for a man on the run. Circular lights on the sides of the seats changed colours every few seconds, making the blacked out windows reflect my face hauntingly in shades of red, green, blue and yellow. If this were a less life threatening visit, I'd say I'd want to borrow it from him for a party. What with the expensive surround sound system and multiple cooler bins. Shaking off such otherworldly thoughts, I looked at Victor expectantly. "So, info."

"Patience, Rose. I know it was never one of your stronger traits but it is good to exercise it at times. Would you like a drink?" he waved his hand in the direction of a dark blue cooler.

"No thanks," I said, even though I was parched. "And um, I'm offering my life for this information. I think I deserve premium treatment."

"Suit yourself," he himself pulled out a can of carbonated lemonade. "So eager to rush towards your death?"

"The sooner I tell Sydney the name and location, the sooner she can get Dimitri to go retrieve him or her."

"Tut tut. Do you really think I'm going to let you contact someone? Just because the deal was no funny business that doesn't mean I fully trust you don't have something up your sleeve." He looked at a Guardian and snapped. I was immediately frisked and my cell phone and stake were removed. I didn't fight it. I was too outnumbered and in too a confined space.

"But how am I supposed to get the information to Dimitri so he can get Lissa's sibling?"

"He shall receive at letter once you have been… taken care of."

"How do I know you will send it?" Can't trust the enemy.

"Because I need Lissa to be on the court if I cannot. She has a lot of the same views as me and can make quite the difference now that Tatiana is gone."

The way he so proudly said that make me suspicious. "And how do you feel about Tatiana being murdered?"

"Oh, I'm the reason she was murdered. Her stupid Guardians were useless under the hands of my brother's compulsion. That poor Guardian who was just coming back from vacation didn't see it coming. Doesn't even know he was the one who did the dirty work." He laughed quietly. "Proved quite adept at the task he had to do. He overdue the framing of you, didn't he? Who would have thought the court to be such fools? It was just too obvious that it was you, I think. You wouldn't be stupid enough to use your own stake but they ate it up like the scared idiots they really are. There's no justice, just the whims of cranky Moroi with no open minds to the way the new world is shaping. But once you are dead, they will calm down and place a new throne. I'd prefer it was me but because of you that will never happen. Lissa shall do though."

"How do you know she'll get the throne?" I was surprisingly not surprised by this news, or even angry. He had somewhat good intentions.

He shrugged. "Who else would? Once your dear lover brings her sister over she'll have every right as every other Royal." So, it was a sister? He didn't seem too bothered by his slip though. "She'll shape the world the way I couldn't because of my disease. What do you think? My brother do a good job? Too bad it can't last forever." He did, in fact, look quite youthful and that pissed me off.

"Yes," I said pleasantly through grit teeth. "Where is he, anyways?"

"Oh, setting up for our arrival." Oh, joy. "We're almost there, don't worry."

Oh, why would I worry? I was only driving, willingly, towards my death. No big or anything. Just another day's work. Well, last day of work. Rose, shut up.

Another chapter! There, there. We all know Rose is stupid and we all hate Victor but at least he takes his victims in style. (after the whole gas station meet up)

And no, no DPOV until the whole story is completed. And then I might do a couple chapters of your guy's choice in his POV.

I'd continue this but I feel as if I dug myself into another hole and need to think my way out of it O_o I dunno how the hell this is going to work out yet. But hopefully I'll figure it out in time to UD tomorrow :D

Anyways, REVIEW YOU MUGGLES (I'm eating a Harry Potter chocolate frog right now, so excuse my wizard-y language)

Oh! And a how to kill off Jas and Adrian story:

Soccergirl21: I would drop them [Adrian and Jas] off in a desert together. No way of escape. They can go die! I'll keep dimitri *hugs Dimitri*

Hey, we can all celebrate the safety of Dimitri and then glomp him and soccergirl21. Sharing is caring :D