Here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter Four: New Weapons

About a week after Rose's visit, several shipments of supplies arrived, all of which were from the Alchemists. They were mostly heavy rifles and shotguns, human weapons of course, but they were also accompanied by specially made ammunition.

"You are lucky we managed to develop this, you have been pushing our people too hard. Be very lucky we were willing to help you do this.", the Alchemist in charge of the shipping team was obviously mad, but his team had brought us the first experimental version of their Strigoi poison. "Test subjects were all dead within seconds of exposure, and it isn't lethal or harmful as far as we can tell to humans, Moroi, or Dhampirs. It is like an acid, but the chemical structure makes it target Strigoi blood, burning them alive from the inside out."

The ammunition they provided was loaded with the poisons, if you hit a Strigoi with one of these bullets, it would infect them and burn them alive from the inside out within a minute or two. Thing is, a small handgun wouldn't pack enough punch to get through the likely bulletproof combat uniforms they wore, so we needed weapons that hit hard. The shotguns could send them on their backs for a few seconds, and a well placed rifle shot could go clear through their head. We had also considered using land mines, but the explosions would have been ridiculous, and they were too expensive.

"So, we just shoot them and they should burn to death? Is that it?", Alberta was a little confused as to how these weapons could have been effective at all.

"You may need more then one shot, if all else fails, spray some of it at them, if it gets in their eyes or mouth, it will work. And we have given you plenty of it. We are trying to ship it to other homes, but it is difficult to arrange such shipments overseas without the government questioning what you are up to. The weapons in particular are almost impossible to move out of the country, but the poisons are simple to make and easy to move." The Alchemist decided it was time to leave, so he and his team packed up extra equipment and left.

I left to see Lissa again, and when I got to her room, she was no where to be found. I decided that I should find her, so I went to see if Alberta or anyone else had seen her. When I got to the Guardian's building, I heard Alberta yelling.

"What do you mean! They want to discuss what? Terms of surrender?! You tell them that you would rather die than surrender to them! You are actually considering it, well then, commit your people to death then. Surrender would be death with the Strigoi, and you know it! No matter what, you cannot surrender or stop fighting. Alchemists have perfected the poison for use against the Strigoi, they are trying to ship some of it to you. I will be sure to inform them that a daytime delivery is needed. Alright then, good. Report again tomorrow evening." I heard her slam the phone down and walked in.

"What exactly was that about?", I asked, a but of fury in my tone.

"It is one of the old Courts, over in Europe. The Strigoi have attacked them every night for the last four days, and while they are taking low losses compared to other battles, the losses are still really heavy. Their guardians are determined, but the Captain there appears to be a bit of a coward. The Strigoi took advantage and offered him a ceasefire if they let him take all of the Royal Moroi they have. They said they would leave the non-royals, but I know it is a trick. He wants to take it, but I think I will have to have him relieved of duty.", Alberta looked equally angry and frightened.

"Relieve him then, if he is even considering it, then we shouldn't trust him to keep it together. How did he end up as Captain anyways?"

"Dimitri, this isn't just any normal Guardian, it's Harkin."

I froze. Andrew Harkin was another legend among the Guardians. He had been captured by Strigoi and presumed dead in his first two weeks of service. He returned to the Guardian Council six months after his capture, reporting that he had been held by three separate groups of Strigoi, and that he had killed every single one. Nobody could validate his claims, until he gave the locations of their corpses and Alchemists were dispatched to remove them. He had been decorated with a dozen or so Molnija marks and reassigned to a group of Dashkovs living in Canada somewhere. Two years later, they had been attacked by a group of twelve Strigoi during a small party at their home. He had organized a counterattack against nine Strigoi with only six Guardians, they had won without a single loss. He himself had killed three of them. He had been decorated for his bravery and elected to the Guardian Council for a two year term starting at age 22. It made him the youngest Guardian to ever be elected to the Council, and he had earned it well. During his term, he developed the modern "Pair Guarding" technique, and his battle strategies had been responsible for saving countless Moroi and Guardian lives. After his term was over, he had gone back to guarding the Dashkov family, before finally retiring after over forty-two years of Guardianship. He had stated he was tired of death and just wanted to relax, but before he could really start doing so, he had been re-drafted since the war had started.

"I can't believe Harkin would want to accept surrender. Word is though, he is under a lot of stress, and hasn't been in a good state of mind since he retired. I think we should have left him in retirement."

I looked at her with a very hard look, "Maybe you should have. We don't need a mentally unstable guardian working out there, let alone leading troops."

She sighed, "I'll revoke his authority to give orders and make sure his people keep fighting till the end. Anyways, was there something you wanted?"

I realized why I had come here, "Yes, I was wondering if you knew where Lissa was at, she isn't in her room."

Alberta smiled, "Yes, she said you might come looking for her. She took a walk around campus to meet some of the Novices, she figured meeting such an important person would boost morale."

I smiled and felt proud she had done that, "Where is she now, when will she be back?"

Alberta sighed and leaned back in her chair, "She was looking for Novices, so maybe she will visit your class.", she looked at her watch, then pointed to the clock on the wall, "Which starts in five minutes."

I gasped, then laughed, "Well, I'd better go, see you later."

I left the room and wondered if Harkin was acutally capable of fighting anymore, or if he was just given a leadership position too soon, cowardice was not in his nature. Hopefully though, this whole thing would not blow up in our faces. As I walked to class, I began to think back to what Rose had said about her husband, "He does things with me you never would, including commit and marry me.", I began to feel anger towards Rose, and I felt a desire to do something very odd.

Taste her blood.

I have a few questions:

1)What do you think of Rose's marrige? (Late question, I know.)

2)Why do you think Guardian Captain Harkin is looking to Surrender?

3)Why do you think Dimitri wants Rose's blood?

Be sure to R&R, thanks for reading!

-Nueemann