Dimitri's Point of View
The sound of the bonfire started to fade into the background the further we got into the tree line. I still couldn't believe Rose had agreed to be alone with me, and I knew I had a stupid smile plastered on my face. Rose confirmed as much when she chuckled lightly beside me.
"Smile any bigger and you'll split your face Comrade."
"I can't help it" I admitted, pulling her to a stop and facing me. "You look lovely tonight." A wonderful blush crept across her features, somehow making her even more beautiful. Without thinking, my hand reached out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and she surprised me by leaning into my touch.
"Dimitri…" she started, staring up at me with loving eyes. No more words were necessary between us. I knew what she wanted and I was more than happy to oblige. But just as our lips brushed against one another, we were startled apart by an earsplitting scream, followed by another, and soon the whole forest was flooded with activity. I saw a group of students come flying towards us, total fear plastered across their face.
"Strigoi!" One shouted as he ran past, nearly knocking over another student in the process. Rose spun back around to stare at me wide eyed, when all of sudden her face went completely blank. It was without a doubt the most terrifying minute of my life, seeing her stare off in space with dead eyes, but just as suddenly as it happened, she snapped back into her body, an expression of horror on her face.
"Lissa!" she cried, taking off at a dead sprint in the direction of the bonfire. What the hell was she doing?
"Roza wait!" I called out to her, but she only pushed herself further. Clearly she'd been keeping up with her training because even with my long legs I struggled to keep pace with her. Quicker than seemed possible, we burst back into the open field, and a horrifying sight awaited us. All around guardians were engaged in combat, and several bodies were scattered about the ground. My trained eyes quickly searched for Ivan and noticed he was using his earth powers to shake the ground in front of him, successfully keeping the Strigoi at bay. I caught Sophia's eye and noticed her face contort in fear as her eyes focused somewhere behind me. I spun around searching for the danger when I noticed Rose making her way towards Lissa and Christian.
Both of their guardians lay dead on the ground and Christian was struggling to maintain the protective ring of fire around them. It was clear just by looking at him he wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer. The Strigoi seemed to have noticed it as well because 4 of them were now stalking towards the couple, snarling with malicious excitement. I carefully tore my eyes away from the threat to look at Rose and tried to control the fear coursing through my body.
She was almost directly behind one of the larger Strigoi, a silver stake in hand that she retrieved from somewhere hidden on her body. Just as she reached the monster, he spun around and back handed her sending her flying backwards a few feet. The blow had to have hurt, but with lithe reflexes she was back on her feet in no time, smiling pleased with herself and the distraction she'd created. Without another thought, I quickly jumped into action.
I staked the first Strigoi I came to easily, mainly due to the element of surprise. But as I started to take on the second one, I knew he would be more of a challenge. Clearly he was older than the first, and much better at controlling his movements. He landed a few good blows, but not before I gained the upper hand. With a swift controlled movement, I slide the stake easily between his ribs and pierced through the heart. With two down, I turned my attention back to Rose. She had managed to stake one Strigoi and had taken up a defensive positon in front of Lissa and Christian.
The last Strigoi in their group was a large burley man, and he stalked towards Rose, clearly un-phased by the threat she posed. That was his first mistake, underestimating Rose Mazur. I had learned long ago, Moroi or not, she was a force to be reckoned with. Nearby I heard Sophia scream and my head swiveled around in the direction of Ivan. A Strigoi had her by the throat, and Ivan was lying unconscious on the ground. I looked around furiously, hoping to find anybody who could help. Ivan and Sophia needed me, but could I honestly leave Rose to fend for herself?
"Comrade go!" she screamed at me over the commotion. I stared at the woman I loved torn, and desperately prayed for a miracle.
Rose's Point of View
What was he doing?! If he didn't start moving his ass, we were both about to lose our best friends.
"Comrade go!" I shouted, never taking my eyes off the Strigoi in front of me.
"That's awfully noble of you little girl, sacrificing yourself for your friends. Surely you must know the second you're on your own I'll tear you limb from limb." He sneered, looking a little too smug for my taste.
"You Strigoi are all the same. You should really hire someone to write you some new material." I taunted, carefully calling on all the power within me. I was pretty exhausted from the fighting, but I knew I had enough left for what I needed to do.
Apparently he didn't care much for my comment because he let out a menacing growl before lunging. I had expected a little more pomp and circumstance from him, so the action caught me by surprise. With the force of a bulldozer, he tackled me to the ground, pinning me under his weight while I struggled to get free. I flinched in pain as his fangs sank deeply into my neck.
"Rose!" Lissa screamed, giving me the distraction I needed. With one loose hand free I summoned all the energy I could muster, and completely engulfed the bastard in flames. Above me he began to thrash wildly screaming, and I rolled out from under him, trying to put on the fire that had managed to attach to my own clothes. I'd managed to enflame him with enough fire to even surprise me, and within a few seconds, he was nothing more than a heap of charred ash on the ground.
With the threat finally at bay, I succumbed to the full extent of my injuries and finally felt the agonizing pain in my neck. I had a feeling I was losing blood at too rapid a rate, but I couldn't focus on that right now, not if I wanted to stay conscious.
"Lissa" I croaked out, needing to know she was okay.
"I'm right here!" she cried, pressing her hands on my neck to cover the bleeding. Within seconds I felt the familiar tingle of Lissa's magic and I knew she was healing my wounds. As the bleeding on my neck slowed to a halt, I finally let my eyes droop closed, and completely gave in to the darkness.
"Leave him alone!" I cried, as I watched the Strigoi sink his greedy fangs into Eddie's neck.
We'd be stuck in that basement for more than a day, and I could see the toll the blood loss was taking on him. With Christian and Mason tied up nearby, I wasn't optimistic we'd find a way out of this.
"Quiet girl!" The Strigoi snarled, returning his attention back to Eddie. His face was completely blank, and his body hung limply in the chair.
"Please, just stop. Drink me instead!" I pleaded, terrified I was about to watch the life drain out of my friend. The Strigoi turned back to me with an evil smile, and the sight of it made my skin crawl.
"Don't tell me, the sweet little princess of Abe Mazur is nothing more than a blood whore?" I snarled in response to the insult. "Oh and she's quite feisty too. Alas I must inform you that I am saving you for later. You serve a purpose my dear, and are much too valuable to squander on a simple lunch."
Much to my relief, he left Eddie alone after that and the moment the door closed I broke down in tears.
"Shhh, it's okay Rose, we'll figure this out." Mason cooed, trying to sooth my tears.
"How" I cried, feeling utterly defeated. We'd been here for over a day and they still had yet to find us. Internally I cursed Mason and his stupidity for getting us into this mess.
"Rose, I think I know a way out of this, but it's not going to be pleasant." Christian grimaced. At this point I'd chop off one of my own limbs if it meant I could get out of this mess and back to Lissa and Dimitri.
Dimitri.
He must be going out of his mind right now. And after that stupid fight we had, I knew he'd be busy blaming himself.
"Whatever it is, I'll do it." I told Christian, and honestly I meant it.
"We can burn the plastic of the zip ties on our wrists, but that'll mean burning our wrists as well. I'd do it myself if I thought we had enough time, but we don't. We need to work together. You free yourself and then Mason and I'll get Eddie."
When I woke up, I was no longer in the basement of the house in Spokane, and my wrists were no longer on fire. My arms on the other hand were another story. Even with Lissa's healing, I could still feel the slight burns from where my sweater caught on fire. Knowing Lissa she would have happily healed those as well, but we had a long debated agreement that the only healing I would accept was if the injury was fatal. The neck had been a necessary evil but healing minor burns was most definitely off limits.
"Roza" I heard a husky Russian voice call out. Opening my eyes, I was met with the beautiful sight of Dimitri's soft gaze. He was leaning forward in the hard plastic chair next to my hospital bed, gently stroking my cheek with his hand.
"Hi" I croaked, trying not to wince at the pain taking caused me.
"Shhh Milaya, don't talk. Just rest." He encouraged, handing me a small cup of water. I greedily took it all in, and Dimitri smirked when the straw made an empty sucking sound.
"I can get you more if you'd like." He told me as he began to stand up from his chair. The thought of him leaving the room sent me into a panic and I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.
"No Comrade, please don't leave me." Even I could hear the desperation in my voice and coupled with my big pleading eyes, there was no way Dimitri could refuse. The nightmare of my time in Spokane was fresh in my mind, and the idea of being separated from Dimitri right now was agonizing.
"What is it Roza, what's wrong?" Dimitri was always able to read me like a book, and any effort to lie to him would be futile. With a defeated sigh, I turned to meet his gaze.
"I had a nightmare…about Spokane." And with those six words, Dimitri didn't hesitate to climb into my bed. Pulling me carefully to his body, he began lovingly stroking my hair. No more words were needed between us. Dimitri had been there that day, and he already knew what I was feeling. Instead of talking, I simply snuggled closer into Dimitri's chest and let his gentle Russian murmurs lull me safely back to sleep.