Before I could think or react, the burly Strigoi advanced upon me at the ridiculous speed they were capable of. I threw myself against the tight corridor wall and threw my right elbow out and up behind me as the Strigoi stopped behind me, clocking him right in the jaw. Without hesitation, my right hand clenched into a tight, hard fist and I spun in my sneakers throwing a right hook at his face hoping to catch him off guard. Hoping and not succeeding. He grabbed ahold of my wrist and tightened his grip as his blood thirsty eyes worked their way up my form before resting on the part of my neck which was visible.
"Keep dreaming cowboy.." I pushed my body away from the wall with all the strength I could muster and threw myself into him, which probably wasn't the wisest tactical move but it was the one that came to mind. His body hit the wall but the sound of the impact was drowned out by the club's music. I pulled my wrist from his iron clad grip and took a step back before throwing my body into his once again, only this time I pulled the stake from the back of my jean pocket and stabbed him in the abdomen with it, having to use a lot of force to push past the layers of flesh his body used as a shell. He screamed out in pain.
"Ok... now we're gonna do this my way." I twisted the silver stake in his gut so that he could truly feel how serious my intentions were. "Is that understood?"
He bit down on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out again and nodded once to show that we had an understanding.
"Where's Lissa?"
The Strigoi's brow furrowed with ignorance.
"The blonde you've been keeping in the basement the past couple of days," I sighed getting easily frustrated with his lack of co-operation. I quickly pulled the stake out from his gut and watched as his body convulsed and his breathing quickened as his body rapidly began to recover from the wound. My grip tightened on the stake as I moved the stake three inches up and stabbed him again, ripping through the layers of flesh and blood. He cried out louder than before. "You don't seem to understand how this works... you talk, my friend the silver stake stays back... you don't talk and I keep stabbing you until I hit something which will make you non existent, comprendi?"
"They took her.. twenty minutes ago." His breathing was labored and his chest was heaving as he was trying to control the pain that the silver stake was causing.
"Where?"
"The Dashkov compound."
My eyes widened in response and my grip on the stake loosened ever so slightly which was enough of a distraction apparently. The Strigoi grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled the stake out from his body before knocking my hand with such a force that it caused me to completely lose my grip on the stake. The silver stake dropped to the floor just as Christian jumped up to his feet.
"Rose stand back..."
"Christian don't..."
But he didn't listen. A wicked grin touched his lips as he did a one figure salute to the Strigoi before unleashing a set of deadly flames onto the unsuspecting Strigoi. The Strigoi threw himself onto the floor and began to roll around, trying to put on the flames. The fire alarm sounded followed by the sprinklers being activated.
"Opps." Christian frowned.
The sprinklers began to put the flames out on the Strigoi who stopped struggling on the floor, it was only a matter of minutes before he started to regain his strength. I swooped down and picked the stake up before slamming it hard just below his rib cage, before thrusting it up at an angle hitting my desired spot; his heart. His body went limp as the life drained out of him.
I dropped the stake, sat down on the wet floor and ran my hands through my damp hair. I closed my eyes and took in a several deep breaths. It was never easy taking a life especially knowing that the majority of Strigoi were once Moroi or Dhamphirs, turned Strigoi against their will.
"You ok?" Christian went down on one knee beside me and touched the bottom of my chin, causing me to open my eyes. "Rose... you ok?"
I looked down at his hand and then up into his eyes. We had never really been so close to one another before, I had never seen how bright his light blue eyes were from up close...well I had but it had always been from Lissa's perception. I raised a brow, "I'm fine.. or I will be when you take your hand off of me."
He pulled his hand back and grinned, "Always the bitch, never the victim."
"Always the ass.. no that's it!" I grinned at my own retort. I pressed my palms down against the wet tiled floor and pushed myself up. Bending down I picked the stake up and tucked it down the back of my jeans again.
"Wonder where lover boy is, I'm surprised he hasn't charged in here to protect you.. oh wait, I forgot this is Adrian Ivashkov we're talking about." Christian grinned at his own little quip knowing full well that his snide comment wouldn't effect me in the slightest but getting in a quick verbal jab at who he on occasion thought was his competition for Lissa's affection.
"He's probably passed out drunk in the club and hasn't even realized that the fire alarm went off." I joked just as the door connecting the corridor we were in to the club swung open with such a force that had me jumping back and standing in an offensive position.
"Hathaway..."
Loosening my tight position I walked forward as Guardian Davies, Dimitri and Tasha Ozera walked into the corridor, each looking around and assessing the situation. Tasha walked up to Christian and took ahold of his face in her hands, examining him.
"Your bleeding.."
I turned my head and looked back at Christian who did have a small cut above his right eye, it was hardly gushing with blood, it was barely even a wound... but it was still a wound, one that I had caused. My face flushed as I turned back and looked up at Dimitri as he approached me and Davies approached the lifeless Strigoi body on the floor.
As Dimitri opened his mouth to speak, Davies interrupted him. "Report Hathaway..."
My eyes met Dimitri's as I spoke, "We found the club decided to check it out as I figured we could be more inconspicuous than you. Adrian knew someone on the door, so we were able to get in without waiting.. Christian and I decided to haul ass to the basement to see if Lissa was there and that's when we encountered Hercules there.." I turned and looked over my shoulder at the dead Strigoi. "We fought, I questioned, he died... that's pretty much the gist." I decided to leave out the fact that I had technically tortured him first so that he would give up information..
"And where's Ivashkov?" Davies asked.
"The fire alarm went off when he was inside the main club area, so I presume he's freezing his ass off outside with his buddy." Davies nodded, and stood up from examining the dead Strigoi.
"I'm gonna go find boy wonder and then we're off."
"Don't you wanna know, if I got anything out of him before he met his demise?" I asked sarcastically, slightly offended that Davies had assumed that my questioning had gotten us nothing. He raised his hands waiting for me to continue. "Victor and his band of merry men skipped out of the club about twenty five minutes ago.. they're taking Lissa to Victor's compound."
"Good job, Hathaway!" Davies tapped my shoulder twice as he passed us. Tasha and Christian followed him out of the corridor.
I went to move past Dimitri to follow too, but he stepped in my way. I tried to side step again, not meeting his eyes but it was a little hard to side step a lean, muscular six foot seven kick ass guardian. "What?" I looked up and finally met his dark troubled gaze.
"I told you to stay outside and work surveillance until we got here.." His tone was disparaging and he shook his head. "Why can't you ever just do as I say?" He asked, clearly frustrated.
My eyes widened a little with shock, it was next to impossible to frustrate Dimitri. His usual cool demure was a hard facade to break through but apparently I had a knack for it. "Because if I did, then we'd always be waiting...in more ways than one." I sighed and raised my hand in the air, to stop him from spewing something about he only makes me wait because he's looking out for me, or something just as wise. "I know.. you only do it because.."
Dimitri's eyes moved to my wrist and he took it in his hand ever so gently. He moved his eyes back up to meet mine and his gaze seemed troubled again.
"Apparently he followed my same philosophy... no doesn't always mean no." I joked, but watched as Dimitri caressed the reddened marks around my wrist with his soft touch. I swallowed some air as his touch set shivers down my spine, the good kind of shivers that caused the butterflies in my stomach to go crazy too.
Busted.
Someone cleared their throat to alert Dimitri and I to their presence. I turned and peered past Dimitri to see Christian standing in the doorway, with his brow raised. "Sorry to interrupt..." His tone was filled with disapproval, crap - completely and utterly busted. "Just thought you should probably know, Guardian Davies can't find Adrian or his friend anywhere outside..."
"What?... Then where the hell is he?" I asked, bewildered.
"I imagine he's on his way to Victor's compound." Dimitri said as he finally turned and met Christian's gaze.
"Well that's just great." The sarcasm dripped heavily off of my voice. It was now a rescue mission for Lissa and Adrian.
--
We were on a highway heading out of the city limits, I figured we were most likely heading back to the academy so that they could consult with higher ups now that we knew were Victor was taking Lissa. I would have asked, but Dimitri, Tasha and Davies were sat up front in the mini van having their own little adult conversation which excluded me.
"What the hell was that back at the club?" Christian whispered into my ear.
I turned and glared at him, nudging him with a hard elbow to the side. We were in a seven seater van with two dhamphirs and a moroi, all of whom were hardly hard of hearing. "Mind your business." I warned him as I sat further back in the chair and folded my arms across my chest. This is just what I needed, Christian to be questioning my ... more than teacher/student relationship with Dimitri.
"No." Christian spoke defiantly against my words. "Have you actually lost your mind? Are you seriously trying to hit on a..." He looked out of the corner of his eyes and then back to me. "On someone who isn't available to you."
I turned and leaned in closer to him, once again having an opportunity to stare into his lighter than the ocean blue eyes. "Leave it alone... I mean it or I'll break your face." I smiled sweetly and turned my head to face the window, watching as we passed tree after tree, after tree.
"You'll get kicked out if they find out.." He paused and he shook his head. "God.. how long has it been going on?"
"Has what been going on?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"The two of you.."
"There's nothing going on.." I lied, trying to cover myself. "It's just a crush."
"Oh come on... who do you think your talking to?" Christian shook his head and leaned in closer. "I'm Lissa, you can't fool me by pretending to like Adrian."
"I do like Adrian..." Just not in the same way he likes me, I added silently. Okay.. well maybe every so slightly. We had a connection, one that didn't even compare to the one Dimitri and I shared but there was definitely a connection there.
"Right..." Christian didn't sound convinced. "What do you thinks gonna happen, Rose? You think your gonna ride off into the sunset with him and live happily ever after?" His snarky and know it all tone was the final straw, I snapped.
"Christian leave it alone" I yelled, which had Dimitri and Tasha turning their heads to look back at us while Davies regarded me in his rear view mirror. I glared at Tasha and frowned, "Would you please remove your nephew from my presence before I decide to test out my ass whooping abilities."
"Rose..." Dimitri warned.
"What's going on?" Tasha asked in a concerned voice.
"Why don't you ask, Rose?" Christian added sulkily.
"Why don't you mind your own business." I turned and glared at him. He turned and met my icy glare with one to match. I stood up from the seat and climbed over him, making sure that I nudged him into the contours of his seat as I went past. I lent forward and leaned against Tasha's seat, looking at both Dimitri and Davies. "Are we going back to the academy?"
"Yes." Dimitri said, matter of factly.
"Fine.. then pull over."
"What?" Davies raised his brow in the mirror at me, confused while Dimitri stared at me with a masked expression.
"Pull over. I'm not going back to that school unless Lissa is with me."
"And what are you going to do? Storm the compound?" Davies asked sarcastically. "Victor Dashkov obviously has influential friends, ones that helped him escape one of the most guarded and fiercely magically protected prisons in the world... and you think you can just what? Sneak in, save your little friend and save the day?"
"Pretty much... except I wont be sneaking in, I'll be ringing the doorbell." I said seriously. I knew that there was no way that I would be able to break into Victor's compound without being detected.. and neither could anyone else. The man had decades of experience with casting spells, making influential friends and being an all round pain in the ass.
"You can't be serious..." Davies laughed out loud at my plan. "And what's gonna happen next?"
"I don't know, but I'll be inside his compound and with Lissa..where will you be? Oh that's right, on the outside looking in, twiddling your thumbs and waiting around like little lost lambs."
"Your not going to Victor's compound." Dimitri said finally, weighing in. He had the whole no nonsense tone going on which meant that I could argue with him as much as I'd like but it was pointless.
"You can't stop me."
"I can.. and I will. The plan is foolish. You won't make it past the front door, they'll kill you as soon as they see you." His eyes were blazing with an intensity that I hadn't seen before.
"Or maybe they won't..." Tasha chimed in. "I'm not saying I agree with Rose's plan, it's thoughtless..." She turned and peered at me with apologetic eyes. "But the method... she's Lissa's best friend, and Victor knows of her impulsive nature..." Tasha smirked as plan was obviously forming in her mind, I however, was feeling a little beyond insulted by her words. "They won't suspect a ruse...but we still need supplies and one hell of a magic wielder."
"So?" I asked confused... "Your gonna use me as bait?"
"No." Dimitri said.
"Yes..." Tasha nodded and raised her brow at Dimitri's hardheadedness.
--
When we arrived back at the academy Tasha whisked Christian off to the clinic to get checked out to make sure that he hadn't fractured anything, Davies had hustled on over to Kirova's office to inform her of the situation and then contact the Queen to see what course of action she wanted to follow now that her favourite nephew had been abducted, I was warned not to leave the school and to go and rest for as long as possible because of what I was about to endure and Dimitri.... well, like a child who doesn't get what the way, he stomped and huffed his way back to his room as he was no longer on duty.
"Don't worry about him... he'll come around when he realises that it's the right thing to do." Tasha said before she left with Christian. She thought Dimitri's moodiness was due to the fact that Lissa, his charge had once again escaped his grasp.. and in a way I'm sure that definitely played a part in his unusual melodramatic mood swing, but I was pretty sure that it was the fact I was being prepped to skip off into a battle that he didn't think I could win.
I went back to my room and had a quick hot shower to loosen the knots that were beginning to form in my back from today's little encounter and changed into a pair of comfy straight legged blue denim jeans and the grey and blue stripped abercrombie and fitch v-neck sweater Lissa had bought me for my birthday last year. Surely it would seem like an impulsive outfit, when I skipped on over to Victor's place to stage a ruse? I turned and looked at my bed, contemplating getting in a quick nap to re-energize myself before I faced.. god knows what, but instead I did what I probably shouldn't have.
Three taps at the door was how long it took him to open his door. He too had changed out of the clothes he had been wearing earlier, and was now dressed in a pair of black sweats and a black t-shirt that clung to the contours of his biceps ridiculously. His longish black hair was wet and pulled back behind his head. He side stepped and allowed me inside, without questions.
I walked in and quickly examined his room. It looked identical to the last time I had been in here, tidy, the lamp on the bedside table on, bed sheets slightly ruffled.
"Any word yet?" I asked turning to look up at him, making idle chit chat to cover my nervousness about being here.
"We're leaving at dawn, Tasha's found someone who can make up some charms to break down any magical defenses surrounding Victor's compound and a charm to keep you protected..." He paused, "To a point.."
"So I won't be an unstoppable force of nature?" I joked, trying to lighten the thick tension in the air.
"You are an unstoppable force of nature.." He sighed quietly to himself.
"But you dont want me to go." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. "And that's what I don't get..." I paused trying to word it correctly. "You do realise you've been training me for this kind of situation right? One day.. in the not too distant future they're gonna do the unthinkable and hand me my diploma that says I'm a badass, newly qualified guardian..."
He sighed. "I know..."
"Then what's the problem? You don't think I can take care of myself?" I asked, the hint of doubt leaking into me.
"No... I know you can take care of yourself.." He paused and sighed, taking a step closer to me, regarding me seriously. He reached up with his hands and cupped my face. "I don't want to lose you, ever."
"I'm a kick ass novice, remember" I joked, trying to slow my heartbeat down to what I considered was a reasonable pace. "Just like my mentor..."
Dimitri leaned down and kissed me with such an intensity that had me gasping for air. His hands moved from my face, tracing down my sides until his hands rested on my hips as he pulled my body into his. I moaned from the impact and from the intense kisses he was bestowing me with and then gasped into his mouth as his hands moved from my hips and cupped me from behind, lifting me up from the floor in one big swoop.. ala Scarlet O'Hara style and carried me to his bed.
This was it... Oh god...
Author's Note: Big apologies if anyone is still reading this for the ... um, delayed chapter. I've been having trouble finding inspiration for this story and where to take it. I've had an outline for this chapter for quite some time but scrapped it completely today when the mood struck.. so, apologies as always for bad grammar, spelling and so forth.. but I hope you enjoyed.. and I hope my inspiration for this story is back =)