Dpov

I remember coming to this exact same house once when I was younger, much younger, with Yeva. We didnt stay long, she just wanted to drop something off to them, which she made me carry in a backpack... I hadnt been very happy when we arrived and she pulled out some stepping stones for their garden. I knew there was something suspect about the bag to begin with.

But here I was once again, standing in the path leading up to the front door. I wonder if they will remember me? More importantly I wonder if they still even live here... Its been years after all.

Lissa and Christian were infront of me, already climbing the stairs to knock on the door. I glanced around at the garden and around behind me to where Adrian stood looking at the house, his expression was hard to read... He looked like he was concentrating, staring at the front door with an intense look in his eyes, almost like he was looking through it. Eddie and the other two guardians just stood around, surveying the area for threats.

As I turned around I saw Lissa raise her hand but before she could bring it down to knock, the door was yanked open and a women stood there staring at Lissa with a confused expression. She didnt look at all surprised... It was like she knew someone was there but she wasnt expecting it to be...us...

"Can I help you?" she asked, raising one eyebrow ever so slightly at Lissa, then looking past her straight to Adrian, the same confused look passing across her face. She seemed shocked when Adrian strode forward and stopped beside Lissa.

"Youre a spirit user." he stated, looking straight into her wide hazel eyes.

She didnt seem at all shocked by his statement. She folded her arms over her chest before answering, "so are you apparently. But That doesnt answer my question, what are you doing here?"

"we came to ask you about changing a strigoi back to their original form." Adrian said nonchalantly, as if it was an everyday topic.

"so I take it youre Vasallisa." the women spoke looking at Lissa, who nodded And introduced the rest of us.

"Dimitri?" the women who we now knew was Oksana asked, when Lissa introduced me. "are you Yevas grandson?"

I just nodded once to confirm her question.

"I havent seen her in a while, how is she? And your mother and sisters, how are they?" she asked me, uncrossing her arms and relaxing as she spoke.

I smiled at her, "they are all fine."

She invited us into her home now that she knew we werent a threat, introducing us to her husband Mark and offering us all a coffee as we took a seat in the living room.

"so why do you want to learn about the legends of changing a strigoi?" she asked as she sat down in the armchair next to mark. I smiled slightly, she gets straight to the point just lile my Roza used to.

Everyone looked to me to answer, "We need to help someone... A friend of ours, Her name is Rose, there was an attack on court about 2 months ago and she was turned after saving my life, I need to get her back.. For our sons sake..."

"your son?" she asked, seemingly surprised for the first time today, "I see... She has a connection to you too, doesnt she?" Oksana turned to Lissa now.

Lissa nodded her head slowly, "shes shadow kissed... Bonded to me."

Oksana nodded her head as if she knew that already, looking at mark for a second before turning back to us.

"All I can do is tell you what I know... Years ago, when I was first... Discovering... That I was a spirit user, I was approached my a man who seemed to know everything about me... About what I could do. He kind of mentored me for a while, showed me how to heal, how to dreamwalk and how to read auras. He would tell me legends about some of the greatest spirit users. One in particular, was about St Vladamirs daughter, she was a spirit user just like her father."

"Vladamir had kids?" Christian interrupted, looking very perplexed.

Oksana nodded, "he had a few, all sons except one. He named her Anna-maree, named after her mother, Anna. When Anna-maree turned 19 she met a man whom she became really close friends with, he was a dhampir and became her guardian. They fell in love but one night were attacked and he was turned strigoi. Since they were so in love, he became obsessed with getting her to be with him forever, when he eventually captured her, she used his own stake, pushed her own love and healing powers into it through spirit and stabbed him in the heart Believing that it would kill him, but that he would die knowing he was loved, but as he crumpled to the ground and she pulled the stake out he came back to life, and was completely dhampir again." Oksana was so intranced by her story that when it was finished she stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts for a few seconds.

This was news to me, there was nothing about Vladimir having a spirit using daughter in any of the history books, so it definitly wasnt taught in schools. But if what she was saying was true then its possible that we can get Roza back, all we have to do is... Is... Kill her... With a spirit infused stake. I couldnt help the sensation of horror and pain that shot through me, what if we tried it and it didnt work? What if we staked her and she really died... I dont think I can handle that...no, I know for a fact I couldnt handle that... But what if its the only way?

"so... All we need is to infuse a stake with healing spirit?" Adrian questioned, raising an eyebrow at Oksana.

"yes... But not just any stake, it has to be hers, or atleast one she used...And as cliche as this sounds...the actual staking part...it can only be done by her true love... The one who shares her heart." Oksana said looking from Adrian to me and back again.

Im pretty sure I visibly paled...I know its kind of cocky but I knew she was talking about me, Roza was as much part of me as I was of her... I had to be the one who had to do it. I guess its ok though...we did promise eachother that if either of us was ever turned then we would want to be staked, to end the torment of living an undead, soulless life.

"ok...so... We need to find her stake, infuse it with as much spirit as we can... And then Dimitri has to stake her...simple." christian said, sarcasm laced every word but we could tell it was mostly to lighten the mood in the room since everyone had fallen silent.

I didnt want to dwell on the fact that I may have to kill the love of my life, the mother of my son, my other half... So I excused myself from the room, telling them that I would meet them at the house. I suddenly had the urge... No the need, to hold my son. To hold the one piece of Roza that I still had close to me.

I basically ran the whole way across town, untill I reached the familiar footpath and up the stairs into the familiar, comfortable little house.

"Dimka? Youre back early, Where is everyone else?" mama asked as she looked up from the kitchen table, she was, as always, preparing food.

"they are still with Oksana. I needed to come home, to see my son..." I trailed off as I looked into the warm soothing eyes of my mother. I dont know what came over me, its like every hurt, every pain, every fear I had been feeling and hidden away came rushing to the surface, she must have noticed the look on my face because she immediately opened her arms to me and soft "oh Dimka." fell from her lips. I couldnt hold myself together anymore. For the first time in 2 months, since losing my Roza, I lost control. Yes I, Dimitri Belikov, the 6'7 badass guardian, fell into my mothers arms crying. Just letting the pain rip through me and the tears cascade down my face, sobbing into her shirt.

She rubbed circles on my back and murmured quietly in Russian untill I was able to collect myself and calm down enough to take control of my emotions again.

I turned my tear stained face to the door when I heard a slight rustling noise,

"Dimka, you will find the strength... You have to." babushka stood in the doorway watching with her deep, wise brown eyes.

"but she could die... We dont know for sure that it will work babushka." I said, standing up straight and wiping my face with my hands.

"its a risk you will have to take if you want to save her, if she truely is strong enough then she will make it... But you wont know for sure unless you try... She doesnt have long Dimka." she was staring me down now, her eyes boring into mine as if she was searching my soul and then in the blink of an eye her face softened and she turned around and walked away.

I stood there blinking after her, her words buzzing around in my head as I contemplated what I was going to have to do.

There was a knock at the door then, I heard it open and Vikas voice speaking in Russian, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I had to come and see Dimka, I heard that he was here."

I knew that voice, that high shrill voice that has been following me around since I was young...

What was Tasha doing here? Did she follow me all the way to Russia?

"oh, ok, well I dont know if hes home at the moment, he went out with Lissa, Christian and adrian." Vika answered her after a moment, good, maybe tasha would just leave, I really wasnt in the mood to deal with her right now.

"thats alright, ill wait here if thats ok?"

Damn it. Oh well, nothing is on my side today. I decided I would just get this over with so I stood up and walked out into the living room.

"hello Tasha, what are you doing here?" I asked, making it look like I was heading up stairs but pausing slightly at the bottom of them.

"Dimka, I came to apologise for my behaviour... Ive been insensitive about this whole thing, I mean, its only been two months, of course it would still be hard for you..." she started moving towards me as she spoke.

"thats fine Tasha, you didnt have to follow me all the way across the world to tell me that you know. A phone call would have sufficed."

She shook her head, "no. I needed to do it in person Dimka, I needed you to see just how sorry I am, and that I want to help you. I truely do."

I slightly raised an eyebrow at her, I could only guess 'how' she wanted to help me, but of course I couldnt say it to her face, it wasnt the polite thing to do. So instead I just replied "alright, apology accepted. Thankyou Tasha,now if you excuse me I have somethings I need to go and do." I gave her as real a smile as I could before making my way up the stairs and into my bedroom where Alex was laying in his cot, waving his arms around.

"hello my handsome son." I smiled down at him. He was the only one that I felt sane round lately, almost like everything was normal, he was my own little piece of comfort. As I lifted him from the bed, he smiled back and gurgled cutely at me. I smoothed his hair off his forehead and kissed him, before taking him back downstairs with me. It Was almost dinner time, and since we were on a human schedule while we were here the sun was starting to set. I glanced at my watch wondering when the others would be back, and as if on cue Lissa and Adrian both ran in the front door.

Their eyes were wide with fear and they were both panting hard.

"Dimitri... Strigoi... Ambush... Outside!" Adrian beathed out.