"Get inside. NOW!" Guardian Odell barked, instantly backing up with Tasha and Lissa behind him. Eddie grabbed Lissa's wrist, and Christian dropped her hand, shaking his head, "I'll help."
"Get inside, Christian," Rose hissed, not taking her eyes off Lara. The woman was watching them, appearing not to have a care in the world. Smug bitch.
"No time, Christian," Dimitri insisted, pushing him back towards the mall. Rose took a few steps back, feeling Adrian's body behind her, "Go inside, Adrian. Hurry."
"Leaving so soon, Ivashkov? Very well, it's not you I came here for. This time," Lara's singsong voice sounded through the parking lot. Rose narrowed her eyes, and the woman laughed, "Your not slow, are you, Rosemarie Hathaway?" Dimitri tensed beside her, and Rose felt Adrian's body disappear from behind her, moving towards the mall. She thanked all the gods she could think of that he had listened this once. Just as she heard the clink of the doors closing, she glanced back, seeing Eddie and Odell standing at the door, watching with serious expressions. The Moroi were steps behind them, standing together, watching with worried faces. Suddenly, a wave of nausea had her turning sharply.
"LEFT!" She yelled, as two Strigoi raced at them from the other side of the parking lot. Just as she noticed them, she heard Dimitri yell the number three, meaning three more Strigoi coming at them from the other side. Outnumbered, Rose ducked, going instantly on the defensive. She grabbed for her stake as a Strigoi with lengthy blonde hair aimed her strikes at her. She ducked a swipe, and raked her stake up the Strigoi's chest, causing her to let out an angry scream. Rose took the advantage, shoving her stake into her chest without a second thought. Pulling it out quickly, she turned to the trucks, but the woman with red hair was gone. Damn it.
Interrupting her musing, a huge Strigoi came at her with deadly speed. She relied on his size to impair him long enough for her to make her move. She heard a yell behind her, an agonizing Dhampir yell, and tried not to pay it any heed. The Strigoi clamped his arms around her mid-section, squeezing viciously. She kicked, but he was too hard to take down, so she did the only thing she could think of. Lowering her head forwards, she used his momentum from squeezing her to slam her head backwards, straight into his nose.
When he let her go with a howl, she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Turning fast, she had her stake pointed and ready as he threw himself on her, and straight onto her chest. Large, but not very bright, she thought with disgust. Blood sprinkled her clothes and skin, and Dimitri's voice hissed, "Roza!" She turned sharply, and shook her head, "His, not mine. Got my ribs pretty hard though. You guys okay?" He nodded, but Rose saw Guardian Mercer laying on the ground, choking out heaving breaths, a pool of blood around him. She stared for a second, seeing his throat ripped open, and looked away quickly as Dimitri knelt beside him, murmuring a prayer in Russian as he helped him move along from this life.
"Get the others, I'll bring an SUV. We'll fit into one," Dimitri said, in a distant voice. Rose nodded, not daring to look back at someone who had been training next to her for three years, laying on the pavement in his final resting place. Rose raced to the doors, and saw Eddie and Odell step out with the Moroi. It was almost fully dark out now, and Eddie stepped out first, hissing a curse at the blood covering Rose's clothes.
"Not mine," She rambled off quickly, watching the Moroi file out, and felt a breath of relief release from her chest when she saw Adrian unharmed. Their eyes met instantly, and Dimitri pulled up, screeching tires, "There's more out there- Get IN!" Odell threw the doors open, practically throwing Lissa and Tasha into the SUV. Eddie and Rose put their backs to the Moroi, watching for any incoming attacks. As Christian climbed in next, she saw a flash of bright red coming towards the group.
"My little friends didn't want to die," A simpering, sexy voice whispered, and suddenly, within a second Lara was in front of Eddie and Rose. Rose hissed, instincts going almost feral as she ran through all the ways she could possibly take her down. Another second passed, and Lara stroked Eddie's face, right in front of him. Rose tensed and released her fingers on her stake, weighing her options. She was freakin' fast. No wonder the Queen warned her. Adrian was just climbing into the SUV, and Lara had her hand on his shoulder before Rose could blink, other hand ripping his head to the right, baring his neck. Lissa's screams, the other guardian's yells, every sound was all but silent to Rose when she heard Adrian's painful gasp. It was like her vision went from multi-coloured to red - she slammed her body into Lara's, and into the side of the van. She registered a scream from within the SUV this time as Lara hissed, turning back and backhanding Rose. She flew through the air, and braced herself, smashing into a brick wall behind her. She saw stars for a minute, and as her vision slowly calmed down, she watched Lara sink her teeth into Adrian's neck, causing him to let out a painful groan as he tried to fight her off.
Quickly, Lara was caught up in the bloodlust, sucking eagerly on Adrian's perfect neck. Jumping up, Rose used her whole body, shoving her stake into the first accessible place, Lara's back. Her goal was to distract Lara long enough to get Adrian to safety. It embedded deeply, and caused the Strigoi's eyes to pop wide open, her teeth ripped from Adrian's neck. Fast as lightning she faced Rose, screaming in fury of her meal being interrupted. She looking a lot less human then she did a second ago, and Rose found herself summersaulting backwards, fending off blows at close range. She could feel a sharp pain in her side as claws raked through her skin, but she kept fighting, the image of Lara and Adrian sending her into an anger like she had never experienced.
"You little BITCH," Lara hissed, but the stake was starting to make her weak. Falling back, Rose blinked, and suddenly Lara was gone. With a curse she looked around, and saw Adrian's neck openly bleeding, a large wound ripped open from Lara's fangs. Eddie was attempting to stop the blood flow, Lissa's soft sobs heard from inside the van. Dimitri was climbing out of the drivers seat, keeping track of the movement in the area.
"Christ, Adrian," Rose said in a shaky voice, as she hurried over, "Are you okay?" Adrian nodded, a dizzy and distant look on his face, "Y-yes, I am. Just give me a minute."
"Lord Ivashkov, we need to go. Hatha-" Odell started, but Lissa cried, "Rose!" They all turned from Adrian to Rose, who upon making sure Adrian was okay, had started to sway. She put her hand to her aching side, and when she lifted it away, it was stained bright red with her warm blood. Her legs buckled, entire body suddenly feeling light and heavy at the same time. A pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the concrete, and the last thing she remembered was a strong smell of aftershave.
When Rose opened her eyes, she was blinded by bright lights. Clenching her eyes shut again, her fingers twisted in the blanket covering her as a sharp pain in her side made her gasp.
"Don't move," Adrian's soft voice said, "I'm going to get Dr. Vallencourt." She didn't even open her eyes, just laid there breathing until she heard the door open again, and two sets of footsteps enter.
"Guardian Hathaway," Dr. Vallencourt nodded, checking her clipboard at the end of her bed, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I missed the Strigoi and staked myself," Rose grumbled, painfully forcing herself to sit up. She was wearing a blue robe, and had an IV hooked to her forearm. Frowning, she said, "What happened?"
"When that Strigoi - Lara," Adrian started explaining softly, his eyes big and very green, "When Lara slashed your side, there was a poisonous toxin in the polish on her nails." Dr. Vallencourt nodded in agreement, "It gave your body quite the shock. You should have felt it instantly - though other guardian's claim you fought for another five minutes without even realizing you were hurt." Rose shrugged, "Adrenaline, right?" The doctor nodded, and said, "Will you undo your robe for a second? I want to check the stitches. They are tricky to know when to remove, what with Dhampir's healing so well." Rose gave Adrian a wary glance, and Adrian grinned, "You must be feeling better, if your still concerned for your virtue. Very well." He turned, and Rose did, looking down at her side. She had two cuts running along her side, closed together with ugly looking stitches.
"Doesn't look so bad," Rose said mildly. Adrian snorted, still staring at the wall, "It was." She endured the doctor poking and prodding at it, then he left them with promises to return in a few hours. Rose watched the door close, then looked at Adrian, "Well, aren't you needed somewhere?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, "What's more important then keeping my favorite guardian company?" Rose gave him a tight smile, her eyes finding the bandage on his neck, "I should've been faster, Adrian. I'm so -"
"Don't apologize!" Adrian burst, running a hand through his hair. It took it from messy to messier, but still managed to look attractive, and Rose frowned, "Why the hell not?"
"You did a great job. You killed two other Strigoi. That female - she was fast. I barely even saw her come at me." Rose nodded slowly, "She's old." They were quiet for a few minutes, and Rose finally said, "Look, Adrian. Don't feel like you need to sit here."
"Are you kidding?" Adrian grinned, "Someone's got to make sure the patient does what she's told. I always imagined playing Doctor with you, but this isn't really what I expected." Rose laughed, and said, "Me neither, Ivashkov."
Dr. Vallencourt returned eventually, and gave Rose a clean bill of health. The poison hadn't seeped too far, and as long as she didn't train or work out for the next few days, the stitches were well on their way to being healed. Rose changed from the robe to a pair of jeans and a tank top that Adrian had brought over for her, and walked out of the Infirmary beside him.
"Where too, Little Dhampir?" Adrian asked, putting his hands in his jeans pockets. Rose shot him a sideways glance, and said, "I believe your spoken for tonight, Lord Ivashkov." Adrian cringed, and said, "I was hoping you had forgot and wouldn't make me go." Every now and then, Adrian's mother took it upon herself to try to find herself a new daughter-in-law. Every girl she set up for Adrian was young, perky, and very Moroi. Which wasn't always a bad thing, like in Lissa's case, but sometimes Rose wondered how he got through some nights. She often had to accompany him out of the wards on a date, and it was all she could do not to laugh in their faces sometimes, and keep up her guardian mask.
"Hurry, or your mother will have me reassigned," Rose joked, and he stopped her, standing in front of her, "You won't go to the gym, right?"
"Right."
"Do I need to get Lissa to watch over you?" Rose rolled her eyes, but said, "I think I might go over there anyways. Have a good night. Stay on the grounds."
"Yes, mom," Adrian quipped, kissing her forehead, "I promise not to make the poor girl hate me too much. Mother won't be terribly pleased with that, now will she." Rose just rolled her eyes again as he walked away, and she allowed herself a moment to wince at the pain in her side, from walking. She thought she did pretty well hiding it from Adrian - she didn't want him to worry, or to cancel his date. She took the path that led to the front doors to the Moroi apartments, and went straight to Lissa's place. When she got there, Lissa threw her arms around her, holding her tight.
"Hey, Liss," Rose said in a tired voice. Lissa held her back, looking at her closely, "Do you need me to heal you?" Rose hesitated, then shook her head, "I think I want to keep this one, Liss." She frowned, "It will scar, you know."
"I wasn't where I was supposed to be," Rose explained, "I should have been there for Adrian. If I keep this, the scar will remind me not to do that again." Lissa went to argue, but Christian stopped her as he came in from the kitchen, and met Rose's eyes levelly, "A reminder. I get it." Rose nodded, and smiled, appreciating his understanding.
"I was so scared. From now on, online shopping," Lissa stated, and Rose grinned, "Never thought I'd see the day." She sat on the couch, and ended up staying for a few hours, discussing wedding details with Lissa. Christian was smart, and had slipped out earlier, though he came back just as they were going over flower types.
"I passed Adrian on the way here," Christian finally said, "He was in a pretty foul mood. Said he was going out to the pond for awhile, if I saw you to let you know." Rose nodded, and smiled, "I'll see you guys later, okay?" She slipped away from them, and headed out to a section of Court she wasn't in often. It was more Moroi territory, but Guardian's were allowed to go there. She walked out a pair of French doors and saw the large pond glistening in the moonlight. On a bench near the water, she spotted a lone figure. His hair was standing up, as if he had run his fingers through it a few times. His tie was on, but hung low from an unbuttoned collar. Expensive jacket cast aside on the ground. Definitely Adrian.
"Hey," Rose said, sitting next to him on the bench. He had a scowl on his face, and his eyes weren't bright and happy like they normally were, but dull and narrowed. He flicked them towards Rose, then back at the water, not saying a word. She raised her eyebrows, and said, "Rough date?" He nodded, and Rose sat back, staring at the water too, "Tell me."
"She was barely of age, some little royal Moroi my parents hoped I might get along with," Adrian grumbled, "Brought this little rat of a dog, and ended every sentence with 'you know'." Rose grinned, wrinkling her nose, but she studied him carefully. Something in the way Adrian was acting was unsettling Rose, and she frowned, "Is your neck bothering you?"
"No," was all he replied. She nodded, unsure of what to say next, so opting to shut up. They stayed quiet for awhile, until Rose shivered. Adrian took his jacket off the ground wordlessly, shaking it out and handing it to her. She grinned as she took it, and said, "Aren't you getting tired of being out here yet?" Adrian smiled finally, and said, "Nope, I have all the company I need." Without another word, he grabbed her hips, pulling her into his lap. Rose's eyes met his, surprised, and she laughed, "Well, I'm bored."
"I think I know something that could occupy us," Adrian said, holding her, being careful not to brush her sore side. Rose frowned, "Adrian-"
"Just go with it," Adrian whispered, his face close to hers now. His green eyes were hypnotizing, and Rose's mind had warning bells ringing as her body stopped resisting. Adrian didn't move at first, just looked at her, then he looked down at her lips. Rose knew, just knew he was going to kiss her again. As he shifted closer, she put up a hand, ready to stop him. His lips brushed hers, and the electricity bounced through her body. Warning bells were turning into sirens, but rather then push him away, her fingers brushed down his chest, making him shiver.
"Rose..." His soft lips whispered against hers, bringing more fire and energy into the kiss. His hands gripped her tighter, and Rose heard him make a pleased sound. Realizing it came from her, she snapped back to attention, shoving him away and standing up within seconds. They were both breathing slightly irregularily, and she hissed, "What did you do that for?"
"I wanted to. You wanted to, too," Adrian said, standing, his eyes going dark. Rose shook her head, "No, Adrian. Too far. I'm going to bed." She shrugged his jacket off, and turned to go, but he grabbed her wrist. Without turning, she softly said, "I could break your hand in three places right now, you know."
"You won't." He merely replied, "Why are you running, Little Dhampir?"
"I'm not," Rose growled, turning with angry eyes, "This is not happening. We're not upsetting our balance over stupid hormones. Go to bed, Adrian. I'll see you in the morning." She tried to walk away, but he raised his voice, asking, "Why the hell not, Hathaway? I know you want to. I can read you loud and clear."
"Because!" Rose exclaimed, frustrated they were even having this conversation, "Because of things like today, Adrian. Lara is a serious problem we need to deal with, on a Guardian-Moroi basis. Feelings complicate duty. I need to think of my job first, and my personal life second."
"Why can't they be the same?" Adrian demanded. Laughing, Rose shook her head, "It's not the same for Dhampirs. Its hard for Moroi to understand. Just leave it. We'll pretend this didn't happen." She ripped her hand from his, and turned without saying another word. As she walked away, she heard him say, "I'm not giving up, Little Dhampir." She chose not to reply, and instead escaped back to her room, and reality.
Sorry about the delay in posting - between moving, my baby, and general life I got pretty busy :) I'll try to have the next one up very soon! How are you guys liking it so far?