When Rose is shot by Tasha Ozera in Last Sacrifice, both Lissa and Adrian use all of the Spirit they can wield to try and bring her back. In a shocking turn of events, Rose is not only healed, but somehow ends up somewhere she never could have imagined. Canon up until Time-Travel. Rated T for language. First multi-chapter fic.
The hound backed up, still compelled to follow Victor's orders, though also clearly afraid of the fire. Its companion, the fourth hound, circled away from the torch and came up behind Christian. Smart little bastard. It sprang at Christian, hitting him back first. The branch flew from his hands, the fire immediately going out. Both hounds then leapt onto his fallen form. I finished my hound—again feeling sick over what I had to do to subdue it—and moved toward the other two, wondering if I had the strength to take on these last ones.
Vampire Academy
-Richelle Mead
Bonds Of Time
Chapter Nine
Heavy In Your Arms
"Stop!" Lissa cried out in desperation. "Please, just stop!"
"I've told you, dear." Victor walked toward her. "If you heal me, I will let you heal him. But not a moment sooner."
Lissa lifted her head and stared Victor straight in the eyes. "You're going to let all of us go right now!"
Victor laughed and then ended up coughing loudly. Natalie darted forward and helped him sit into a nearby chair. "Are you okay, daddy?"
"I'm fine, sweetie." Victor patted her head and looked up at her. "Why don't you go find something useful to do while I talk to Vasilisa."
Natalie kissed her father's cheek with a dazed look on her face. "Okay, daddy."
"Dear," Victor turned to Lissa with an irritated expression, "you think that you can compel me? My own brother was a spirit user like you. I know the signs and I also know how to protect myself from it."
Victor held up a medallion that hung on a chain around his neck. "All of my men wear them too, so don't get any ideas."
Victor gestured for his guardian to step forward. "Show the princess what happens to useless people."
The guardian pulled a fire poker away from the fireplace. Lissa shut her eyes and prepared herself for the pain as the guardian pulled the piece of iron back like it was a golf club. There was a sickening crunch as the metal hit flesh and tore through tendon and bone alike.
Lissa opened her eyes when the pain never came. She looked up to see that it wasn't her that the guardian had hit, but Christian. Lissa screamed in rage and moved to help him, but the guardian grabbed her around the middle and tossed her onto the couch.
"Are you ready to help me now?" Victor asked her as she sat up.
My heart broke as Lissa broke down crying and held her hand out to Victor. "Just please don't hurt him anymore."
I pulled out of the bond and took off down the road as fast as my feet would take me, mentally forgiving Adrian for abandoning me when I felt just how comfortable and practical the boots were on my feet. By the time I got close enough to see the lights coming from the small cabin the situation had changed drastically.
The bond pulled me in and I could feel Lissa's anger and fear. Victor looked thirty years younger and I knew that I had taken too long to get there. A loud commotion and argument was held between two of Victor's men. A guardian had been found dead on the back porch and they were debating the merits of either leaving or staying. When the other five followed Victor to check out the body, Lissa jumped out of her chair and placed one hand on Christian's knee and the other on the side of his face. She was weak, tired and hungry, but still she used what little strength she had left to heal him.
Christian woke with a start and looked around the room in confusion. "What the hell?" He exclaimed, examining his tattered and blood stained clothes, but not finding a single wound.
"We've been kidnapped." Lissa whispered tiredly. "We need to leave now while the guards are gone."
Christian opened the window on the far side of the room tossing the curtains to the floor to get them out of the way. Lissa was right behind him as they quickly stepped out. It was barely a three foot drop and neither of them had any problems with it. As soon as Lissa's feet touched the ground, Christian grabbed her hand and the two of them took off running into the surrounding forest, leaving the sounds of fighting in the cabin behind them.
Back in my own mind, I had a terrible choice to make. I could either follow Christian and Lissa into the forest to protect them from the psi-hounds Victor had roaming around the grounds or I could go help Dimitri fight Victor's guardians and possibly leave Christian to a very painful death. I knew that the dog-like creatures wouldn't hurt Lissa. Victor needed her and he wouldn't let an oversight like that happen.
Events were playing out exactly as they had in my dream and it pissed me off to think that I hadn't changed anything. But I wouldn't go down without a fight. I ran as the sun started to cast an orange glow over the treetops and hoped that I wouldn't be too late.
It was the screams that gave their position away. Loud, gut wrenching pain filled screams that made my heart rate spike with a rush of adrenaline. Spinning around, I searched for the source of the noise, but found nothing but trees within sight. I ran into the middle of the clearing as brilliantly blinding sunlight assaulted my eyes. Sounds of growling caught my attention and I turned to see Lissa trapped against the trunk of a large oak tree with two psi-hounds circling her like sharks.
"Rose, what are you doing here!?" Christian Ozera ran toward me from the other edge of the clearing, appalled as his girlfriend cringed in fear at the enormous beast.
I pointed at a small and sturdy oak tree and hoped that my plan would work better this time. "Climb up to the tallest branch you can manage. Use fire to distract them. I'll get Lissa."
"Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly. "We can both try to rush them and scare them off."
"Oh, sure," I scoffed, "Psi-hounds aren't scared of much. Especially a few unarmed teenagers. Just get your ass in the tree."
Turning back around, I was now faced with a larger problem. Two of the hounds had heard me and were crouched low to the ground, stalking toward me with teeth bared. Without taking my eyes off of them, I reached down and slowly picked up a large branch. At least now flame boy was out of the danger zone.
"Flames, Sparky!" I yelled at him. "Or are you waiting for the e-vite?"
"Oh!" He exclaimed, shooting a baseball sized fireball at the hound nearest to me. It yelped and jerked back, but was only stunned for a second before it came back madder than ever. It's pack mate was not so inclined for caution. It sprung from the ground like a cat and leapt at me, claws and fangs bared. I rolled to the right, just in time too. Christian sent a much larger and less controlled burst of fire right where I was previously standing. It hit it's mark with astounding accuracy. The hound howled in rage and fear as it was engulfed in flames and I had to look away as it took off running in pain.
"That almost hit me, Flamer!" I said, mainly to keep him talking, I needed to keep track of him. "I lose an eyebrow and you'll lose something that will mean no little Ozeras running around…. ever!"
He let out a strangled laugh from high up in the tree and sent smaller shots of fire at the hounds. We couldn't keep this up for long. Using magic at this rate would drain his energy before we could escape this mess. Lissa already looked like she was going to fall over. So soon after healing Victor, healing Christian had drained her and there was nothing left but a hollow emptiness in her soul.
Like a low fog, the darkness was creeping in more and more and no matter how much I pulled it away from her it kept growing like a thundercloud. The fog circled around Lissa and started flowing outward. I kept my link to the bond open and kept pulling the darkness to myself.
The other hound took my momentary distraction as an opportunity to attack. It's long canines buried into my thigh, ripping and tearing tendons and flesh. I think I may have screamed, but I couldn't be sure. Rage overpowered my senses, and knowing it wasn't my own, I chanced a look at Lissa who was furiously swinging a branch at the two hounds in front of her and screaming for me. I clocked the hound attached to my leg over the head with the branch I was holding. It was futile as the beast didn't let go. In a moment of fury, I did something both incredibly painful and stupid. I reached into the hounds mouth and pried it's jaws apart, not caring that it's sharp teeth were burying into the soft flesh of my fingers. My strength surprised even myself when I heard the audible popping sound of the Psi-hounds jawbone snapping under the pressure. I flung the now injured creature away from myself, grabbing the branch and jumping to my feet without delay.
The branch in my hand pounded into the muscled back of the third hound of it's own volition. I felt as though I was unable to control my own actions and was helplessly just sitting back and watching myself pound this animal into a pulp. I have no idea how long this went on, only that I didn't stop until I felt Lissa's hand on my shoulder.
The whir of helicopter blades and the soft popping sound of a silenced gun being fired sounded around me, but still I didn't stop. I was on the fourth hound like a possessed person. The sharp end of the stick stabbed into the meaty hide and the creature yowled in pain. And I kept going.
"It's dead, Rose." She said, squeezing my shoulder. "Like, really dead."
My pale, albeit slightly sunburned and green tinted, best friend swayed on her feet. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her hard, holding her up. Other than looking physically and emotionally exhausted, she was unharmed and safe. I almost couldn't contain a hysterical laugh that I felt bubbling up. That moment only lasted for a brief second, because as soon as I heard the snapping of a branch behind me, I spun around into a defensive crouch in front of Lissa, ready to protect her once again.
"Whoa, girl!" Christian had his hands up in a sign of surrender as he slowly walked toward us, "Can I hug my girlfriend or are you going to try and bite me?"
"You wish, Sparky," was my witty response as I stood up and moved out of his way, "just get yourselves out of the sun before you both end up crispy. And don't let her collapse." I ordered him. "I need to find Dimitri."
I left the two lovebirds to their tearful reunion, knowing that the good Guardians and Alberta were there to watch out for them. They didn't even notice me limping away when they jumped out of the helicopter and focused their attention on the two Moroi.
A lone silver stake lay on the path and I quickly picked it up in case I needed it. Hell, I figured I could at least keep it until I received my promise mark and was given a stake of my own. Sounds of wood shattering could be heard when the cabin came into view. I picked up my pace into a faster stumble, ignoring the sharp pains in my thigh. I hadn't bothered to look at my leg yet. If it looked as bad as it felt, then I already had a good idea that it wasn't very pretty. I burst through the doorway in time to see Natalie standing there in the middle of the living room, white as a sheet and red eyed. She was hiding in the shadows, one of Victor's Guardians dead and drained at her feet.
Victor and Dimitri stood straight ahead of me. They were trapped on the windowless side of the room, a mountain of broken furniture surrounding them, with no way to escape and a Strigoi blocking the exit. Victor had a sad but satisfied look on his face when he looked at his daughter and it made me sick that he had manipulated her into turning into a monster for him.
The entire front room of the cabin was in shambles. Besides the door behind me, there were only two windows in the cabin, separating Natalie from her father in the bright light of day. Obviously Natalie had resorted to throwing things at Dimitri since she couldn't cross the room herself.Amateur.
Dimitri barely glanced, standing defensively in front of Victor. "Rose, go out and come back in through that window. You need to take Mr. Dashkov outside."
"NO!" Natalie screamed at me, fangs bared and chest heaving. "Leave him!"
Her eyes kept going from the blood pouring out of my leg, to the rays of sunshine that poured from the window that separated us, giving me another very stupid idea. Yeah, it seems like spirit dream time-travel addled the brains a bit more than one would like.
Rubbing my fingers across the gaping wound, I brought them up to my lip, staring straight at Natalie as I licked the thick red blood from my index finger. Victor chuckled and Dimitri growled out a curse in response. But it wasn't their reaction that I was waiting for. It didn't take very long.
Whether an awkward Moroi, or a newly awakened Strigoi, Natalie wasn't all that bright. She darted forward into the sunlight, which stunned her long enough for me rush forward, giving me the opportunity to tackle her to the ground. Doing my best to avoid her sharp fangs, I positioned the stake between us. Victor and Dimitri fought each other, creating a distraction that Natalie couldn't ignore, but I paid them no mind. The ground shook beneath us as Victor, another earth user, yelled in rage. But I stayed focused on the task at hand.
Staking a thrashing Strigoi was even harder than before. The tip sliced through her cotton sweater and skin as though they weren't there. But when it hit the strong bone of the chest plate, it was a whole other story. Her nails raked across my face as she fought to get back up. Her skin was sizzling and bubbling in the sunlight, her screams echoing off the walls. Seeing the sheer amount of fear and pain wash over my former friend's face as the silver stake buried into her chest was even worse. My arms shook as I watched her open and close her mouth, but nothing came out but growling and gurgling noises and I forced myself to make it quick. With one last burst of strength I pushed down.
Natalie lay still on the woven rug, blood pooling around us both.
My guilt overwhelmed me. I didn't want to kill her. It had to be done, but it still hurt to have to be the one to do it.
"I'm so sorry, Nat," I apologized, reaching out a shaking hand to close her eyes.
"You will pay for this, Rose Hathaway!" Victor screamed at me, trying and failing to break from Dimitri's iron grip, "I'll see you burn for what you've done! You are a danger to those around you! Being Shadow Kissed is to your own demise and I hope you die from the insanity! You should have stayed dead the first time around and saved Vasilisa the trouble. How do you think people will react when they know that the Princess is a Spirit user and slowly losing her mind? Will they rally for her to become Queen?"
He didn't make it any further in his tirade because Dimitri's fist hit his temple with a loud smack and Victor flopped boneless to the floor. The cabin still shook and I looked down to make sure he had really knocked him out. That's when I realized that it wasn't the floor trembling. It was me.
Dimitri stepped over Victor and pulled me into his arms, brushing the hair out of my face. Until that moment I didn't realize how weak I had become, because a soon as I was in his embrace, my legs gave out beneath me. He held me steady as though I weighed nothing. Tremors racked my body and I cold feel a cold sweat start burning me from the top of my head and working it's way down.
"You're going into shock, Roza." Dimitri said quietly. "We need to get you help. Don't close your eyes. Keep looking at me."
"Are you okay?" I asked him, staring up into his deep brown eyes.
"I'm just fine." Dimitri replied in a soft tone, hugging me to his chest.
But the darkness had found me once again. It washed over me, dragging me to the ground. I could hear the shrieks and pitiful pleas for help, begging me to free them from their pain and sadness. Their ghostly hands tugged at my arms and legs and I was helpless to fight them.
"Roza!" Dimitri shouted at me over the sound of the helicopter. "Stay awake!"
My eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice. Someone had strapped me to a stretcher in the back of the chopper. Lissa and Christian sat a few feet away, holding hands and wearing those ridiculous over-sized headsets. Dimitri was standing at the foot of the gurney, head ducked down as his tall ass was too big for the short ceiling.
"You're too tall for this!" I yelled at Dimitri.
His lips twitched as though he was going to smile, but he held back, and turned to say something to the pilot.
I tried to sit up and found that whoever had placed the straps on my chest really wasn't messing around. I was stuck. Despite my doggy chewed fingers, I still made good time in releasing myself enough to sit up. The thick wool blanket that was covering my scantily clad body was suffocating me and I couldn't take it anymore. Lissa and Christian were both shaking their heads at me, trying to tell me that I had to stay lying down, but I feigned deafness and ignored them. If my luck played out like it usually did and the chopper crashed, I was not going to be trapped on a freaking gurney.
"Rose!" Dimitri barked at me when he saw that I was sitting up and poking at the bandages on my leg. "Lay down right now!"
I sent him a glare of defiance that most of the boys at St. Vlads were terrified of, but Dimitri seemed unfazed. So I settled for sticking my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at me and sat down on the floor beside me, putting pressure on my leg to staunch the bleeding. I winced in pain and turned to look out the window to distract myself from looking at it.
The moment the blades stopped spinning, the helicopter was invaded by guardians trying to assist us. Lissa and Christian had unbuckled and were waiting for me to be carried out. Dimitri had released the fastenings on the gurney so that I could be hauled out with my legs still strapped down.
"I can freaking walk." I pushed his hands away and fumbled with the buckles. "I'm not crippled."
"Stop being stubborn, Rose." Lissa said, going to put her hand on my shoulder. "Just let them help."
I moved out of her reach and shook my head in warning. I would be just fine without her using spirit to heal me. That didn't mean that her feelings weren't hurt by my actions, I could see the tears pooling in her eyes as she let her hand drop back to her side. Dimitri gave me an odd look when he pushed my shoulders back down.
Kirova was waiting for us in the clinic when I was carted in on the stretcher bitching loudly about how I wasn't being allowed to walk. She gave Dimitri a questioning look when she saw him snap at me for the hundredth time.
"If you're feeling well enough to carry on in such a way, Miss Hathaway," she intoned, "then the four of you should have no problem recounting what happened to make you pull such an idiotic stunt. Once again you have damaged school property and endangered lives."
Dimitri held up a hand. "Headmistress, Rose has been severely injured. Can we wait until she is with the doctor?"
"She seems fine to me." Kirova shook her head. "Other then her hands, of course. Why is she on a stretcher?"
I sat up and pulled the blanket and bandages back, revealing the mangled flesh that was still gushing blood.
Kirova's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw just how bad it was. Up until then I had tried not to think about it, but looking down at the horrible mess that used to be my leg, almost turned my stomach. It looked as though it had been through the blender. Long thick slashes crisscrossed from the top of my thigh to just above my ankle. I could clearly see the bones in my thigh and the entire top of my shin bone was exposed. My fingers were still bleeding from where the hound's teeth had buried into them. My arms were scratched and scraped, but otherwise okay.
"Well that might leave a scar." I said while my forehead broke out in a cold sweat and I keeled over again.
End Chapter Nine
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