It was hardly appropriate to leave three students by themselves, well technically two students and Adrian, a college student on the longest sabbatical ever. Not to mention leaving behind one of the black duffel bags containing lackluster weaponry but weapons all the same; a silver stake and silver bullets. Sure I didn't have a gun to fire those little bad boys off but I was pretty mean with a stake, or at least I thought I would be since technically this was the second time I had ever held a stake without 'adult supervision.'
"So tell me little dhamphir, why we can't wait..." He looked down at his expensive italian watch and then back up to me "thirty five minutes for Robin Hood and his band of merry men to get back?" Adrian asked throwing himself down in one of the leather airplane seats, clutching onto a half filled bottle of brandy. His tone was lined with a sneer that was clearly aimed at the object of my affection...not him.
I took a deep breath out of frustration more than anything else, sure it would make sense to wait for the others with strength in numbers and well, overall strength really but time wasn't on our side. I wasn't sure how long they would keep Lissa in the basement of that club, for all I knew from the lack of updates via our blood bond she could have already been on the road. Grasping the stake slightly harder with that thought, I tucked it into the back of my jeans letting out a small gasp when the cold metal touched my skin. Without a gun the bullets were obviously useless... unless... I took five of the perfectly manufactured silver bullets and popped them inside my jeans pocket. "We're what... ten minutes outside of the city?" I guessed, at most fifteen. I turned and faced Adrian and readjusted my black zip jacket. "By the time they get back and we finally leave to go into the city, we could have found the nightclub and"
"Saved the day?" Adrian finished my sentence with a raised dubious brow. "Let's be realistic, what are the chances of that happening?" He frowned and uncapped the bottle, taking a drink.
"When do you ever like to live in the real world?" I snapped unintentionally. Usually I was the realist but tonight I was more optimistic, I had to be. The more time we wasted here the more time Victor had of meeting up with his own band of merry men...and Lissa. "Look if you don't want to come you don't have to, you can stay here and relay the message and be a good little errand boy." I was being mean and I knew it, but I wasn't in the mood to play games. "Christian's out getting us a car...we can do this with or without you." I said kneeling down so that I was at eye level with him, "And as much as I hate to admit it, I would prefer it if you were with us."
Usually when I flattered his ego and made eye contact he perked up immediately, but not tonight. The frown remained in place and his eyes were deeply trouble. He leaned forward so that I could taste the alcohol on his breath. "I want to help, I do... but I want you to be safe."
I swallowed the trapped air inside of my throat from his admission. Sure in the past we'd flirted and even shared a quick kiss or two which had been because I was impaired thanks to my old, dear friend Vodka. "You don't need to worry about me," I said in a light tone to ease us away from wherever it is we were heading. "I'm a badass novice remember." I grinned and stood on my feet just as a horn beeped three times.
Stepping off of the plane, I looked at the car Christian and acquired for us. I wasn't a big car enthusiast but I knew that if a car looked sporty it was generally going to be fast.
Christian rolled down the window and waved his hand at the black sports car. "Well what do ya think?" His grin was mischievous, but then again he had just compelled some poor car park attendant to hand over the keys to an expensive looking car.
I grinned in-spite of myself and the moment. "Great, so I can add grand theft auto to my long list of defiances." I joked. If only Kirova knew that she had unintentionally played a part in committing a felony, I highly doubted she'd had been so willing to let us leave the campus. Walking around the side of the car to the passengers side, I looked up and saw Adrian approaching us. "Don't want to be the errand boy?" I asked playfully.
His somber look from before had completely gone and he was back to being his usual charming self. "Someone's gotta watch your ass especially if they want it at some point in the not too distant future." He opened the car door to the back seat and jumped in.
Just as I opened the passenger door the cell phone Dimitri had left with us started to vibrate in my jacket pocket. I really wished Adrian had just kept ahold of it, at least then I could plead ignorance later. I stepped into the car, opened the window and motioned for Christian to drive as I reached in and pulled out the cell phone. "Hello?"
"Rose?" Dimitri asked, "Are you okay?" It shouldn't have been his first question and he certainly shouldn't have been asking me when Davies and Tasha Ozera were most likely in ear shot. Obviously Adrian had told him that I had passed out to an extent from my encounter with Lissa.
"Yeah, I'm fine.. I was with Lissa." As I mention her name, the car sped. "She's in the basement of a club in downtown. I couldn't get a location but I highly doubt that most clubs in Missouri are playing cheesetastic eighties music."
"Could you.." He paused on the other end of the line and sighed into the phone. "Are you in a car?" Damn him and his super enhanced hearing abilities, lately I could barely tell when someone was sneaking up on me for an attack but then my hormones were on the fritz. "Rose..." His voice held that disapproving tone he only used when I was being 'reckless.'
"You know that this is the right thing to do. I mean how many clubs are having an eighties night in downtown Missouri on a Tuesday night?" It was a rhetorical question, the answer was most likely one, two at best. On the weekends it was a free fall but during the week clubs tended to have themed nights and they didn't like to compete for the same crowd.
"And what exactly is your plan for once you get to the bar?" He asked, questioning my reasoning. "What happens if there are guards at the doors? You don't know how many people Victor has at this place and you don't know who is there." Dimitri paused, "What if there are strigoi there, what are you going to do?"
"Um burn their asses and then stake them." I spoke as though it were the easiest thing in the world, like it had been an every day occurrence for me. Christian turned and looked at me from the corner of his eyes for the briefest moments. "Yes I plan to use and abuse you." I retorted to his look.
Dimitri sighed through the phone, undoubtedly figuring out that I had gone snooping through the left luggage on the plane. "Don't go into the club until we get there...do surveillance and call us with the name of the club and the location." He paused for a moment, his tone changing with his next words. "I mean it, Rose. Don't go in there." It was an order, one that I would have had to obey... if I was still on the school grounds...which I wasn't.
"Fine, surveillance it is." I lied. "I'll text you the location when we get there." I closed the cell phone and turned to look over my shoulder as Adrian tutted at me.
"Surveillance?" Christian asked skeptically.
I turned and looked at him, his hands on the wheel tightening causing the muscles in his forearm to become more distinct... ha, who knew he had them? "I'm not going to jump into a situation when I don't know what's waiting on the other side." I frowned at myself being rational, too rational for my liking. "But that doesn't mean I'll be twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the others to come either."
--
The wonderful thing about modern technology is that the world is in the palm of your hand, literally. I stared down at the cell phone amazed by the things it could do. We weren't allowed to have cellular phones on campus and there really was no point, the students were allowed to make long distance phone calls for free which came in handy when people wanted to contact their family members. My mother and I weren't particularly exchanging friendship bracelets but I sometimes would pick up the phone and call her, you know.. on christmas or... well christmas was generally the only time I used a phone.
"Did you know that you can google things on this?" I asked amazed, most likely sounding like an old lady out of time with today's youth.
"I hear you can even play music on them now too..." Adrian joked from the backseat, he of course had the newest iPhone available but rarely used it, I gathered like me, he wasn't into playing catch up with his family either.
"Yeah well it also has an interactive map and according to the beauty that is the internet," I smirked feeling positive for the first time in the past couple of days. "The only club playing eighties music in Missouri tonight is called The Chosen Ones," Which was kind of ironic considering the situation we were all in. The majority of the other clubs were playing alternative music, which must have been the rave now. It was a consequence of living on campus in the middle of nowhere - to be out of the loop on the latest music and latest trends. "And its three streets down, on Bond Street."
Christian slowed down and took the third turning onto Bond Street. He pulled up to the side of the road and parked on the curb. It was a no follow through street, a dead end with a buzzing night club situated right at the bottom. "So how do we do this?"
"We blend in.." Opening the car door, I stepped out onto the cold dark street feeling the bitter breeze against the side of my face. I unzipped my jacket and took it off. I pulled my black v neck jumper up and over my head to reveal the tight fitting black tank top which was currently showcasing my perfectly rounded assets.
"I think we should party together more often, little Dhamphir." Adrian grinned as he unzipped his black leather jacket and ruffled up his hair to make it have that unkept but trendy look that suited him. "You'll just have to blend into the background." Adrian threw Christian a smirk.
I took the cellphone and placed it my jeans pocket. "Seriously enough of that crap or you can both wait in the car." I considered pulling the stake out of the back of my jeans- it was going to be too noticeable considering the fact my entire curves were practically on display in hip hugging jeans and a skin tight tank top. But neither Christian or Adrian could carry it because it was silver, so it meant I had to get a little creative.. I walked around the car and took Adrian's hand and placed it on the small of my back so his arm was covering the outline of the stake. Once we were inside it would be dark and thanks to the push up bra from Victoria's Secret I was wearing, I doubted anyone was going to be looking at my back. "Touch my ass, I'll break your face." I grinned up at him.
The three of us made our way down the street towards the night club. Outside there were three bodyguards on the door, each dressed in a smart and expensive looking suit and all with ear pieces. Security was tight, at least it seemed to be but the good news was that they were human. To the left there was a velvet rope blocking a line of mostly underdressed women and smartly dressed men waiting to get inside. I wasn't going to wait in line.
"Rose what are you.." Before Christian had a chance to finish his question, I walked up to one of the security guards and battered my eyelashes in a subtle but obvious way at the same time.
"Hey..." I bit on my bottom lip and gave the guard a slow once over with my eyes, it made me feel dirty inside considering the fact he was at least thirty and looking at my boobs and not my face. "Do you think we could bypass the line, some of our friends are already inside and I'm missing out on dancing to Like a Virgin..." I was hoping that my boobs and the mention of sex were going to give me a 'collect two hundred and jump to go.'
"Sorry sweetheart," The guard finally looked up from my cleavage and regarded me seriously. "We're currently at capacity.."
Just as I was about to whisper into Adrian's ear to compel him a twenty something Moroi guy, dressed in a spiffy black suit and red tie walked out from the club and talked to one of the guards.
Well apparently I was going to have to bypass the guard and jump straight to the big man on campus. "Excuse me..."
"Elliot?" Adrian asked.
The Moroi guy turned to face us. He had short black hair slightly spiked up with the brightest baby blue eyes I had ever seen. He was attractive, extremely so and by the well polished appearance he knew it too.
"Adrian Ivashkov." Elliot stepped towards us and grinned, "Man it's been a long time." He leaned over the velvet rope keeping us at bay and patted Adrian's shoulder. "What are you doing in Missouri?"
Adrian grinned, "Visiting the girlfriend." His hand pulled away from the small of my back for a second as he reached down cupped my ass and then slapped it before putting it back in its original position.
Elliot turned and regarded me for the first time. His eyes widened and his mouth parted as he licked his lips. "The girlfriend huh? I hope your not exclusive..." He grinned down at me, extending his hand as his eyes travelled down my curves. "I'm Elliot Bermaunt and you are far too delectable for your own good."
"We're definitely not exclusive." Returning his look and unearthed the man eater smile I had once been known for. "I'm Rose..." I paused briefly, "Ozera... this is brother my Christian." I nodded to my left where Christian stood. I didn't want to give him my last name, the Hathaway name was kind of well known in within the Moroi community mostly due to my mother, partly due to my escapades. And if he was on Victor's payroll, I didn't want him running off and telling the others we were here. He took my hand in his, grasped slightly before leaning down to plant a kiss on it without breaking eye contact.
"Well Rose Ozera," He grinned and stepped back from the velvet rope. "If you promise to save me a dance later, I'll let you down the rabbit hole." He joked, referring to me as Alice in Wonderland.
"Just one?" A smirk played at my lips, sure I had been out of practice for a while but I could still turn on the charm when I needed to. Just as he unclipped the velvet rope to let us pass the cell phone buzzed against my leg. I pulled it out and passed the velvet rope, looking up at Elliot with what I considered dreamy clouded eyes. Flipping the cell phone I open, I quickly spoke into it. "Hey babe, we're at The Chosen Ones just off of Bond Street." I spoke quickly, not giving Dimitri the chance to speak. "I've gotta go, Elliot Bermaunt is an old friend of Adrian's and he's letting bypass the line..I know awesome right, speak soon." I felt stupid playing the ditzy, girlie card but it was to keep up appearances. I closed the cell phone and placed it back inside of my jean pocket. "She's such a talker, best to keep the convo short." I said to Elliot before slipping inside of the club, with Adrian right behind me, his hand still on the small of my back.
"You guys want a drink?" Elliot followed us in and stepped around the three of us.
"Sure, why don't you go and help him... hun." I cringed on the inside as I spoke to Adrian, it wasn't in my nature to play the lovey dovey dopey teenage girl. I was more into physical combat, sexual filled tension and a hell of alot of angst.
Adrian leaned down and planted a soft, sensual kiss on my lips before leaning to whisper in my ear. "Just playing the part."
"Uh huh," I smiled at Elliot and whispered into the nook of his neck. "You're gonna pay for it later." I threatened.
I waved as the two of them stepped towards the bar. As soon as their backs were turned I rolled my eyes, dropped the hand and looked up at Christian. "Ready to go hunting?"
"I'm feeling nauseated from that performance.." Christian's facial expression was a canvas for his disapproving face.
"Well bottle it, let's go get your girlfriend..."
--
"You know he was enjoying that." Christian hadn't stopped talking about Adrian and me since we had left the club floor and made our way backstage. Luckily the back of the club didn't match the front, it was glamourous backstage, paint was falling off of the walls and ceilings, there were no hi-tech security cameras. Apparently the relied on the security the humans were providing which was, well considering this was apparently a Moroi run business... it was plain, ol' stupid. "I mean you could have played it down a little," He continued.
"Christian..." I paused in the hallway.
"What is it?" He stopped and regarded me carefully. "What's wrong?" His voice was laced with panic, maybe he thought I was experiencing one of my 'episodes' where I slipped into Lissa's mind.
But I wasn't. Something wasn't wrong. A pain shot through me but it wasn't from the bond, it was something different. I looked down at my abdomen but there was nothing there. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Rose what's"
Before he could finish, I opened my eyes and threw myself towards him. My hands pressed against his chest and I knocked him down to the floor just before spinning on my left foot to round house the person coming up behind me. Only it wasn't a person.
It wasn't a Human.
It wasn't a Moroi.
It was a Strigoi.
Apologies for the many and by many I mean, billions of mistakes in this chapter. It was written at three o'clock on the morning with drooping eyelids and a very tired brain.