There's nothing worse than being impatient in times like these. Because even five minutes can seem an eternity. In those first few minutes I was going crazy on the inside. Building up as much magic as possible inside my chest. It flowed evenly but it felt like any little thing could set me off. This was what being stuffed with food felt like. Only more tingly. And warm. Well, let's face it. It brought a whole new kind of meaning to the term 'being full'. I sighed as I watched Dimitri looking down at his watch. His open hand held in the air. I was still waiting for it to drop any minute now. Because as soon as his hand dropped we were going to be surrounded by God only knows how many Strigoi. And it was up to me to finish them all. I had only myself to blame for this task. It was my idea after all.

"Yea, I'm just a straight up genius," I said to myself. And that was due to the fact that everyone was either waiting for the signal or covering from my hopefully effective magic blast.

Then it happened. It felt like it was all in slow motion. His hand cut through the air in a blur of a heart beat and he looked up. His eyes connecting with mine. My heart thumped harshly caused me to put a hand to my chest. He noticed and just nodded.

Noise filled the air. Whoops and yells of threats filling the empty halls. I think Eddie's voice was the loudest. Or maybe he was just trying harder than the others. I couldn't really think about it too much. I was still trying to hold all the magic in. It was a rush just trying to control it.

It took just a second before the first door shot open. But that didn't silence my comrades. They kept yelling. Which caused even more doors to burst open. Strigoi were stepping out and looking around at us like we were both insane and slightly entertaining.

One laughed out in an ugly hoarse tone. "What the hell is this?"

I grinned at him, "Is this all you got?"

He gave me a looked that showed he was intrigued, "Are you calling us all out? That's brave. Very stupid, but admittedly brave." His smiled was cold and wicked. It made my skin crawl.

I nodded, "Sometimes I can barely tell the difference between the two. Now is this everyone?"

That only made him laugh out loud. He calmed just enough to utter between laughter, "You are really something else, Angela!"

My heart skipped a little. We're still in our disguises. I smiled inside, "So I've been told. Just not by that particular name."

His smile dropped, "What?"

I shrugged, "Just wanted to make sure you knew who you were dealing with before I kill you all."

I shut my eyes. There was laughter echoing throughout the hall. It was uncomfortable and made me mad. Pissing me off actually. I was at the point where I just needed this over.

So I let my heart take way and pressured the magic into my entire body. I remembered that night I did the same technique. All the pain and anger I was feeling. All the hate and need to destroy the evil. They had tried killing my Dimitri. They had tried to kill me. These creatures weren't mortal at all. They were just evil trying to kill the world. Feeding off the living. Unnatural beings of the night. And I want them all dead.

With that I forced all the magic out of my body in one hard burst. There was a bright flash of light filling everything within sight. And it disappeared just as quickly as I had casted it. My body felt instantly lighter. There was a tingling in my limbs. It resembled the tingle you get in your foot when it falls asleep. The world was rocking. I tried to take a step but fell to my knee. I shook my head trying to make everything stop moving. That didn't work.

I saw Dimitri get up from the floor and started running to me. He caught me just as my body gave in and dropped. He pulled me against him and shook me lightly, "Roza. Can you hear me?"

I wanted to say something, anything to reassure him I felt okay. But my mouth wouldn't move. No words would come out. I felt my eyes fill with tears. I wanted to reach out and touch his face but my hand felt so heavy. I don't even think I could move a finger. I felt a tears spill over and run down my face.

He pressed me to his chest, "You're going to be okay. It's okay." He turned away and pointed at Eddie, "Get Adrian. We need him."

Eddie's mouth was hanging open as he stared. He nodded and quickly darted out of there. I saw him round the corner and disappear.

My eyes were starting to feel extremely heavy. I opened my mouth and this time my voice finally made out a sentence. "I'm so tired."

He smiled, "I know. I know. But I need you to stay with me, Roza. Please."

But I couldn't help it. I wanted sleep. I wanted rest. My body was starting to ache for it. So I let my eyes shut and darkness engulfed me. The last thing I heard was Dimitri calling out my name.

It felt like seconds had passed when my eyes fluttered open again. I was meant with emerald green eyes and a warm grin. "Hey, little dhampir."

"Adrian?" My chest tightened. "Where's Dimitri?"

His smile dropped a little, "Fighting. We're stuck on the the second floor."

"The second floor?"

He nodded, "You've been out for a while. We carried you down here while we were trying to leave. But there were still some Strigoi down stairs."

My mouth felt so dry but my body felt rejuvinated. "What about the Strigoi on the third floor? Did it work?"

He smirked, "Of course. How dare you doubt yourself."

I sat up and pushed away from him, "I have to help. Where are they?"

"The stairs. It's narrow so not many can attack at the same time." He gripped my shoulders, "Stay back. They are handling it."

"I'm going to help," I tried to pull away from him but his grip was tight. "Let me go, Adrian."

He shut his eyes, "Dimitri told me to keep you back. Please, Rose."

He never used my first time. Unless it was something serious or important. I rubbed my face with my palm, "Ugh! Fine!" I leaned on the wall and slid down to sit on the floor.

He sat beside me, "Don't sweat it. If they need you then I will personally lead you to the group. But for now we have to stay here." He looked at me but his eyes seemed unfocused.

"What?"

He shook his head, "Just checking you."

I nodded, "Right. I just used my magic."

"That's right," he stretched the words. "And you look okay."

I sighed. I hadn't realized just how worried I was about my condition until then. I ran my hand over my stomach, "And the baby?"

"He's doing fine," his expression softened.

"He?"

Then it went got serious, "Oh."

I gave him a confused look, "Oh?"

He pointed behind me and straightened up, "Oh."

I shot up and spun around to see a Strigoi looking at me with distain. And not just any Moroi. It was Maestro. He grinned at me and my heart sank. I looked back at Adrian, "Run."

He shook his head, "What?"

"Run." I took his hand, "Please." I turned back to Maestro only to find that he was standing just inches from me.

"Hello, dhampir." In one swift motion he had his hand around my neck. He lifted me off the ground and snarled in my face. "Such a pretty thing. Shame."

I felt his grip begin to tighten. But suddenly my feet were back on the ground. His grip had slackened. And Adrian had a stake at Maestro's heart. "Release her." He had taken one of my stakes out of its sheaths.

Maestro hissed at him, "You think you can use that on me, boy?"

Adrian pressed the tip on his chest, "I've gotten pretty good at it actually."

He frowned at him, "You're dead."

He had released me and quickly threw a swing at Adrian. And it connected. Adrian went flying into the wall on the other side. He landed with a thud on the floor. He didn't move and I couldn't see his eyes. My heart clenched in pain.

"Adrian!" My voice echoed throughout the halls.

Maestro was staring at him. A cruel smile spread on his face. He turned back to me and frowned, "That guy seemed tougher in theory."

My anger spilled out over everything. How the hell was this guy even alive if I fried the whole third floor? I growled, "That guy just so happens to be my friend!" I leapt at him trying for a punch but he quickly dodged it.

He smiled, "Was your friend." He tried to grab me again but I pulled out my stake and slit his wrist with it. He pulled away and yelled out in pain. "Bitch!"

I drew out a second stake and gripped it backwards in my other hand. I took a fighting stance between him and Adrian. "You should be pretty scared right now."

He laughed, "Is that so?" He stomped at me causing me to tighten and jerk. That only made him laugh more, "You seem like you're the one who's scared."

"Oh yea? That's not going to stop me from driving one of my stakes into your soul-less blackened heart." I went for him again and just grazed his arm with the tip of the stake.

He swiped this hand in the air and caught my face. I felt the warm blood surface and run down my cheek. He licked his finger and smiled, "You'll make for a tasty snack before I devour your friend." He spat the words out.

I cried out and lunged at him. He jumped up and pushed me out of the way. I hit my shoulder on the wall but quickly attacked him again. This time I was able to drive the stake into his ribs from behind. He yowled and started flailing around. He yank it out and dropped it quickly. He gripped his side. "You are starting to annoy me, dhampir!"

I smiled, "It's Rose. Mrs. Rose Belikov. So you can tell death who sent you!" I charged at him but he managed to dodge it. He grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked. I cried out from the pain. Cheap shotting bastard!

"I hope you say your name just as proudly in death," he moved at me with his mouth wide open.

In a quick thinking situation you just do the first thing that comes to mind. And at that time the first thing that came to my mind was my silver stake. I dropped down on one knee lowering myself and was able to jam my stake in his open mouth and down his throat.

He reeled back in pain. Making the most horrible sound I had ever heard. It was partially gargle and half scream. He scratched at his throat and mouth as he tried to pry the stake out.

I ran at him and drop kicked him in the chest. He landed with a heavy thud on the floor. I was walking towards him when I spotted my second stake on the floor. I picked it up and kept approaching him. The stake felt cool in my hand. He was weakening and oozing blood from his mouth.

I leaned down, stake lined up with his heart. His eyes were wide and panicked. It made me feel better seeing him like that. Seeing the fear in his eyes. All his immortality gone. I smiled, "Who's scared now?" I plunged it into his chest. He jerked forward for a split second and then went limp. His eyes rolled back and shut slightly.

I was up on my feet and running to Adrian. He was still thrown on the floor. He hadn't moved. I kneeled beside him and rolled him over. His head rested on my lap. I brushed some hair off his face and put a hand over his mouth. Warm breath met my palm and relief flooded my senses. He was alive.

"Rose!" Gabe came running in. He was looking around frantically until he saw me. His eyes went wide, "Is he okay?"

I nodded and sniffled. I hadn't noticed I was crying. "Yea, yea. He's alive." I held him just a little tighter.

He kneeled beside me, "Can you heal him?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I... I haven't tried." I looked down at him. His eyes shut and his face so peaceful. I ran my hand through his hair, "He saved me."

Gabe grabbed my arm, "If you're going to heal him do it now. Do it fast. The Strigoi are starting to break through."

It was instant panic, "And Dimitri?"

"He's safe. Sent me in here to check on you. I'll block the hall while you do this," he looked at Adrian and back at me. "Hurry."

I nodded and he got up and ran back into the hall. I looked at Adrian and placed a hand on his chest. "Come on, Adrian," I let the magic flow.

It came into my chest smoothly. It was so easy. I started to make it go into him and flow throughout his body. He definitely had internal injuries. There was at least three broken ribs and some slight internal bleeding. I focused all the magic there. I heard him groan as I mended his bones. I had never tried to fix bone so I wasn't sure how it would feel for him. But his body relaxed once again when I started on stopping the bleeding. I started pulling the magic out of him once he was healed.

I felt a hand caress my face and heard him sigh, "Hey, little dhampir. What happened to your face?"

My eyes opened, "Adrian." I couldn't help a smile, "Welcome back."

He frowned and wiped tears off my face, "Did I die?"

I laughed, "No. Just some ugly injuries."

"Thank God. I wouldn't want to be shadow kissed and stuck in your head," he said as he struggled to sit up.

I helped him, "I don't even think I can do that."

He groaned and held his side, "We still have to run some tests on that."

"Are you still in pain?" I looked him over.

He shook his head, "A little sore."

I pulled him to stand with me. "Come on. Gabe said we had to hurry. The Strigoi are breaking through."

We ran to the end of the hall and saw Gabe fighting a Strigoi. He pressed it up against the wall and stabbed his stake into its chest. He let it go and the body sagged to the ground. He looked up at us, "You ready?"

We nodded. I ran forward, "Where are the others?"

He gestured towards the other end, "Down there."

We all broke into a run. Soon Dimitri and the others were within sight. I made eye contact with him and he looked relieved. But I didn't want to be a distraction. The three of us dove into the fray.

Luckily it was so narrow. There were so many Strigoi struggling to come up at once that they didn't have much room to move. It would have been a perfect set up for a fire user. A Strigoi barbeque. Where's Christian when we need him?

Then I was struck by another brilliant plan. I turned to Mia, "Come with me!"

She shook her head, "We can't leave!"

I grabbed her arm, "Let's go!"

She reluctantly followed me. We went into a room and shut the door. It muffled the sound of the fighting. She looked at me annoyed, "Now what?"

I was busy making my way to the sinks, "Turn on the water."

Her face lit up, "I'll go to the next room and turn those faucets on."

Like that she was out the door. I had just made my way to the second sink when all the water started getting pulled out of the room. If I hadn't known it was Mia a sight like that would have completely freaked me out.

I ran out into the hall and found Mia standing at the foot of the stairs. She was reaching out into the air and pulling at a stream. It seemed to thicken as she continued to combine more water in it. Water was still making its way out of rooms. She just kept collecting it. It was incredible to see. She nodded to the stairs, "Tell the others to head up."

"On it," I darted down the stairs and found the others. They were still laying out Strigoi after Strigoi but they seemed endless. I called out to them, "Hey! Head back up!"

They all turned to me. Confusion written on their faces. Adrian managed to break away and meet me, "Got a plan?"

"Of course," I grinned.

He nodded, "Alright." He turned to the others, "Let's go!"

Adrian and Alek ran past me. Gabe, Eddie and Dimitri were slowly backing away. They stil had to defend their backs. I grabbed Eddie's shoulder, "Hurry. She can't hold out for much longer."

He looked up the stairs and back to me, "Mia? This is her doing?"

"She's got a plan. Well my plan but she's the one that's doing it."

He smiled, "Your plans are scary."

I shrugged, "I know. Now come on."

We had reached the top. Mia was standing there. A huge, wide pillar of water running from her fingertips and all the way down the hall. Eddie passed her and went to stand with Adrian and Alek.

Dimitri and Gabe both spun around and ran up the last few steps. Strigoi nipping just at their heels. I shot out and kicked one in the face as he just missed Dimitri's leg. Dimitri in turn wrapped an arm around me and pulled me with him back off the stairs.

Mia instantly threw her hands forward. The giant pillar of water shot through the air and struck the Strigoi. Some flew over the railing and fell to the ground while others went tumbling down the stairs. Either way it cleared the Strigoi problem momentarily. She then ran her hand in the air causing a wall of water to block the way in. She sighed and sagged in relief. Eddie was quick to be at her side and hold her up.

Dimitri looked at me and ran his hand on my cheek, "Are you okay?"

I nodded feeling my heart sink as I noticed a gash across his side. I reach out to it, "Are you?"

He smiled, "I'll live."

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Adrian smirked.

Eddie was helping the exhausted Mia into the servants' room. "Can we please get the hell out of here now?"

We all made our way into the room. We let Mia and Eddie take the lead since she had just worn herself out. He climbed in and we handed him Mia. She felt so weak in my hands as I passed her on to him. Adrian followed behind them and then Alek. Me, Dimitri and Gabe were still standing in the room.

"You go next," Gabe turned me to the hole.

I started climbing in when I heard the banging on the door. The Strigoi were back and trying to break into the room. I started to rush down the gap. I looked up and saw Dimitri climbing in. "Come on! Hurry!"

Dimitri slid to the side to let Gabe in. Gabe's body suddenly shot in and was pinned to the wall inside the gap. My whole body jumped and something in my chest tightened. A Strigoi had him. And Dimitri was right beside him.

"Gabe!" He reached out and tried to pry him from the Strigoi's hands. But more hands found their way into the gap.

Something trickled in my face. When I wiped it off I was shocked to find thick red blood smeared on my fingers. I looked back up. Gabe was bleeding. The Strigoi that had pinned him didn't use his hands. It was now that I noticed it was a thick piece of broken wood. It poked out of his chest. He held it in his hands tightly. His feet kicked in the air.

"Go, Dimitri!" He tried to push him away.

Dimitri held on to his arm, "No!"

He gave him another shove, "Go! Now!"

"No!" Dimitri pulled out his stake and started swiping at the open, grasping hands coming through the hole.

Gabe grabbed Dimitri's wrist and pulled him closer. I saw his mouth move but couldn't hear a word. And something strange happened. He smiled. A purely genuine and seemingly happy smile. My gut tightened as I noticed the blood on his teeth.

Dimitri dropped his head and nodded. He said something back but from my distance I couldn't hear a thing. And he started climbing down. He was cursing in Russian and there were tears on his face.

He reached me, "Let's go."

"But what about...?"

"Go, Roza."

I looked up one last time. Gabe wasn't moving. His hands had dropped to his sides and his eyes were shut. But that smile. He still wore that damn smile. I had to tear my eyes away from him and start moving down. I felt heavy sobs leaving my lips as we found our way to the others.

Adrian pulled me out of the hole and I stood out in the open air. I collapsed to the ground. He wrapped an arm around me. "Rose!" He turned my face to look at him but I just couldn't. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. Everything was crumbling down around me. "Rose, talk to me. What happened?"

Dimitri crawled out of the wall and knelt beside me, "We have to go."

"Where's Gabe?" Eddie looked back at the hole and then at Dimitri.

He shut his eyes tightly, "He... he didn't make it."

I cried out again and covered my face. There was a insanely painful feeling in my chest. I clenched my shirt in my hand and tried to gain control of myself. Arms wrapped around me and pulled me to stand. I looked up and into those deep brown eyes.

He wiped my face, "We have to go."

I shook my head, "How could you... how could you just leave him there?"

Dimitri's face fell. His eyes watered and he placed a hand over them. He took in a deep breath and let it out a heavy exhale. He looked back at me, tears streaking his face, "He told me to. I made him a promise."

"A promise?" If things go bad in there you have to run. No matter what. My heart ached as I recalled those words. I shut my eyes and got to my feet. I had to keep my promise. And if they took him from us it was only right to take them from this world. I looked back at Dimitri, "You're right. We have to go." We started running.

We had gotten past the fence when Alek grabbed Dimitri's arm, "You cannot just leave him there!"

He pulled out of his grasp, "He is gone! There is nothing we can do for him!"

Eddie stammered, "What about magic?" He turned to Adrian, "You could bring him back, couldn't you?"

Adrian shut his eyes, "I've already used too much. I don't think I'd have enough strength to pull him back."

"And we can't go back in there," Mia said through broken sobs.

I raked my fingers through my hair, "We have to keep running. Dimitri, you still have the detonator?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"You're going to blow the place up with his body still in there?" Eddie looked upset by the idea.

"He told me to. His last words were, 'blow them to hell'." Dimitri pulled out the cell phone looking device and held it in his hand.

He looked up at me. There was a sadness there. I could barely believe this was all happening. I wanted to yank my hair out of my head. I wanted to scream from the top of my lungs. I wanted to have to strength to run back in there and slaughter the whole army of Strigoi. Anger and sadness mingled within me.

"Do it." I looked back at the place. Strigoi were peaking there heads out the window. One was already trying to climb out of the hole in the wall that we had made.

Dimitri looked down at the device. He slowly punched in some number code and clicked send.

By Shadow Kissed Mori