I'd seen someone die once, but I'd never seen death of this magnitude. After almost a minute, Dimitri finally removed his hand, but he stayed close behind me. I didn't want to look anymore, but I seemed unable to drag my eyes away from the scene before me. Bodies everywhere. Bodies and blood.

Finally, I turned toward him.

"It's daytime," I whispered. "Bad things don't happen in the day."

I heard the desperation in my voice, a little girl's plea that someone would say this was all a bad dream.

"Bad things can happen anytime," he told me. "And this didn't happen during the day. This probably happened a couple of nights ago."

Frostbite

-Richelle Mead

Bonds Of Time

Chapter Thirteen

Beyond The Veil Part 1

It was early December and the snow continued to fall. The nights were cold and long, but the daylight was when I really came to life. It was in these bright hours that Dimitri and I could steal away to the gym and have some time alone. We usually just talked or sparred while listening to his crazy ass 80s music that I had learned to love. Okay, not love, but I tolerated it. Every great once in a while we would listen to something newer, like 90s music. And for Dimitri that was epic. He had even started liking Pearl Jam more than Prince, which was kind of a scary thought.

We hadn't had made love since the night of the Equinox dance and although it kind of bothered me. I got it. Dimitri had been wracked with guilt and had barely spoken to me for days afterward. It didn't help that I had been attacked by three Moroi boys the night of the dance just hours after he and I had done the deed. It was even worse that I still had classes and meals with them in the room. But I wasn't afraid. If I hadn't needed to breathe I was sure that I could have kicked all three of their asses in two seconds flat. But Dimitri was worried that our fledgling relationship would be discovered and that I'd be looked down on. Not to mention that he would lose his job at the Academy. He also worried constantly about how it would affect us as a couple when we both had to guard Lissa. But I knew it would all work out fine. Dimitri had even begun letting me spar with the other novices on the good days when the darkness hadn't been bothering me.

And the darkness was always lurking at the edge of my senses waiting for me. In my dream there had been times when the darkness had even worked to my advantage and the ghosts had helped me defeat Strigoi. There was almost a symbiotic relationship between it and I. But right now it was too disorganized and jumbled. The ghosts seemed hell bent on making me lose my mind before I could do anything useful.

Another issue I had was Adrian. He had visited me every single night since the dance. We would talk or just sit there and enjoy each others company while playing card games or putting puzzles together. Sounds boring, I know, but it worked for us. He kind of felt like the older brother that I never had. Well, now he did. There was that one awkward night about a week or so back when he caught me off guard, and the results were not pretty.

"I own Boardwalk, bitch!" I laughed as he pursed his lips in frustration. "Pay up!"

Adrian kneeled and reached across the table to make change at the same time I went to straighten my little tipped over hotel. We almost collided and our faces were inches apart and then he closed the gap and full on the mouth kissed me. He kissed me like his life depended on it. And all I felt was the sensation of his lips on mine.

And then he lurched back eyes wide and intense confusion washed over his face. "That was gross!"

"Excuse me!" I said hotly. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know." Adrian grimaced. "But I wished I wouldn't have. That was like accidentally kissing my mother!"

"You've kissed your mother?" I couldn't help but laugh as he squirmed under my stare.

"Not intentionally!" Adrian argued as he stood up and started pacing. "I don't get it."

"Me neither." I said seriously. "Your mom's kind of hot."

"What? No!" Adrian stared at me in disbelief. "I just thought that I would kiss you and that you would feel the same way about me as I did for you."

"You mean like a brother?" I clarified. And, well, lied.

"No!" Adrian grabbed his hair and pulled. "Since the first night you appeared in my dreams I thought that you were a sign from the gods that I was meant to be with you. I've loved you over these past months and have hoped that you would feel the same about me. And now I kiss you and it just feels wrong."

And so the turning point in our relationship began. Because even in my dream, I had never been able to fully give my heart to Adrian. I loved him dearly, but he was not the one for me. Nor was I the one for him. And after taking a couple days of dreamscape free nights to get over it, we went back to our old routine of games and easy chats, only Adrian never made another pass at me again.

The day started like any other, at the early - in vampire standards - hour of two in the afternoon, I made my way to the gym. Only this morning I didn't go straight in. I ran ten laps around the track first. My muscles were beginning to get back to the way they should have been all along. The situation with the bleachers and the psi-hounds had set me back a good bit, but I was determined to be at the top of my game before Christmas. And it was working.

"Get inside," Dimitri caught up to me on the track, "there has been a change of plans."

We jogged together to the doors in silence as the snow floated down in lazy waves. It had been like that for days and the temperatures never came up enough for it to melt.

"What's going on?" I asked the second were in the warm dark room. "Has something happened?"

"No," Dimitri said cryptically. "You missed your Qualifier exam while you were gone with the Princess. I am to take you today to complete it."

The images of the massacred Moroi and guardians flashed in my mind. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you're ready." Dimitri hesitated. "Dress warm. There's a possibility that the storm will get worse."

"Give me twenty minutes." My mouth felt dry and my hands shook. "I'll meet you in the garage."

Dimitri narrowed his eyes at my reluctance but didn't comment as I took off out of the doors and back across the snow covered campus. Lissa was asleep when I walked back into the room. As quietly as I could manage, I put on a set of warm yet practical clothes and grabbed my heaviest jacket from the hanger. My tattered old messenger bag was hanging on the chair by the door and on instinct I grabbed it too. There were times in life when you needed prepared for anything and I wasn't about to set out on this quest without my Ipod.

"You're early." Dimitri noted as I walked up to the garage doors. "Are you nervous?"

"Nope, not nervous." I gave him my best not nervous look.

He wasn't fooled. "Get in the truck, Roza."

We piled into a rather old but sturdy looking Ford Bronco and I stared at the dash in a moment of teenage angst. There wasn't an auxiliary jack or even a freaking CD player. But by gosh there was a tape player. And Dimitri had a shoebox full of cassette tapes just waiting for us. But it wasn't the thought of really old music or even the cold that had my hands shaking like crazy. It was the thought of riding through those iron gates, of passing through the wards and into the darkness. It was the main reason why I had taken one of my left over pain pills before I started getting dressed and packed the rest of the bottle.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Dimitri said seriously as he turned on the truck and we headed out into the snow covered grounds. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"Not yet." I replied as honestly as I could. "Who's guarding Lissa while we're gone?"

"Guardian Alto will be keeping an eye on her." Dimitri said quickly. "Is there something wrong? We can go back. Arthur wasn't expecting us until the middle of the week. I just thought today would be easier since it's the weekend."

"No!" I said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. I was just making sure."

Dimitri had rescheduled the trip earlier than in my dream. There was still time. There was still hope.

We reached the gates and I cringed, but nothing happened. There was no fog of ghosts or spirits or Strigoi. There was only the open road and the two of us sitting side by side in an older SUV. A wide smile started growing on my face the further we went past the gates without anything dark and scary jumping out at me. I was freaking out it was so nice. So nice that I popped a cassette into the tape player. Dimitri almost looked frightened to be trapped in the vehicle with me.

"I made a promise I wouldn't sing, comrade." I said as Creedence Clearwater Revival played over the ancient stereo. "I keep my promises."

"You can break it just this once." Dimitri smiled at me as he reached for the dial. "As long as I can sing too."

"So what book are you reading now?" I asked curiously. "Let me guess; Danielle Steele."

"No," Dimtri chuckled, "I'm still on The Shadow Riders. I haven't had much time to read lately."

"Did you bring it?" I asked him with a smile on my face.

"Yes, but I can't read it now." Dimitri said as he looked at me in suspicion.

"Get over here and read." I put the puppy dog eyes on and hoped it would work. "I'll drive."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Dimitri said even though he started to slow down.

"Are you doubting my driving skills, comrade?" I put a look of mock hurt on my face. "Come on, I rarely get to drive anymore."

"Just for a little while." Dimitri sighed as he parked the truck on the side of the road.

My seat belt was stuck and I had to fiddle with it for a moment to get the buckle to unfasten. Dimitri had opened my door, book in hand, as he waited to help me out. Determined not to be helped, I stepped down onto the pavement without taking his hand. The steep grade of the road caught me off guard and my feet went out from under me, sending me sliding into the soft powdery snow. My hands covered my face as I could feel it burning in embarrassment. It didn't help that Dimitri was laughing at me as he helped me to my feet and led me back to the Driver's seat.

The day would forever be etched into my memory. My ribs hurt so bad from laughing that I thought that I was going to die. But it was the best day I had ever had. Especially when Dimitri's hand crossed the seats and grabbed my own as his low sweet voice filled the cab. I felt like the smile would never wear off. That is until we pulled into the Badica's driveway. I could feel the darkness starting to close in, it wasn't really bad, not like it had been when the Orbis de Vigil was under my bed, but still bad enough that I was instantly on edge.

"Come on, Rose," Dimitri opened his door and pointed to the gray house, "Arthur's waiting."

Our footsteps crunched through the deep snow and I made a mental note to thank Adrian for the warm boots he had sent. My eyes traveled as far as I could see, looking for signs of the wards being tampered with, but all was well. The darkness had subsided as soon as I was within fifty feet from the door. So at least I was confident about where the wards were placed.

"Belikov!" A tall and well muscled man was standing in the doorway, waving us in, "Get in out of the cold."

His voice was very soft and kind, something I didn't expect from the world renowned Strigoi killer. We walked into a small room and cleaned our shoes and then followed Arthur into the dining room. He gestured for us to sit and I automatically obeyed. The man was not only a legend, but he held the power to pass or fail me on the Qualifier. His face and arms were lined with scars from the many battles he had been in. It made me wonder if I would ever make it long enough to have that many.

"I've heard very impressive tales, Miss Hathaway," Arthur leaned forward and stared at me, "all about you. You've gotten quite the reputation."

"Can't always believe hearsay." I smiled at him. "It's always exaggerated."

"Modesty!" He laughed quietly. "I like that. It's a great trait to have in a guardian. But tell me, Rose, did you really escape the Academy's best guardians for a full year with the Princess without being detected?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded my head in confusion. "But they found us."

"And you took down three fully trained guardians, while injured, trying to free the Princess?" Arthur asked with a glint in his eyes and I could tell this was part of his test.

"Yes, sir." I answered again, wondering where he was going with the questions. "But she stopped me before I could get to the other nine."

Arthur laughed again, "That's what I like to hear, child. But still, you always have to know when to fight and when not to."

Our conversation was interrupted by a horde of little footsteps. Three small children came running into the room and stopped when they saw the three of us sitting around the table.

"What are you kids doing up so early?" Arthur said as he glanced at the clock that showed seven in the evening. "Your parents aren't going to be happy."

"We heard talking!" The little girl said as she stared from me to Dimitri. "Are you guardians? Will you be coming to live with us too?"

"Rose," Arthur pointed at me, "is a student at the Academy. She is training to be a guardian. And this is her instructor Guardian Belikov. She is taking a very important test right now."

The little girl walked up to Dimitri and held up her arms for him to pick her up. He smiled and didn't hesitate to set her on his lap.

"I like you, you're tall." The little girl told him as she felt his hair.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. It was such a childlike thing for her to say, but it was so great to see these children alive and whole. The little boys who couldn't have been school age were both staring at me with wide eyes. My eyes had crossed and my tongue poked out during our staring match. Both of them broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Go on upstairs, you three." Arthur told them kindly. "If you give us a little more time maybe they can join us for breakfast."

My stomach had been growling for the past hour, but the moment he said breakfast a wave of nausea washed over me. And it wasn't because I was sick. There were Strigoi nearby. I could feel it. My stomach rolled as I watched the children run back upstairs. I jumped up and went to the nearest window.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Arthur asked as he watched my face.

"Get everyone to safety." I hissed at Dimitri as I saw the headlights in the distance. "Strigoi."

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked quickly as he followed Arthur to stand at another window.

"Yes," I responded quickly. "They're getting close."

"How can you tell when they are nearby?" Arthur asked with narrowed eyes as he opened a drawer and grabbed a handful of stakes out.

"I just get this weird feeling." I said evasively as reached forward to grab a stake.

"No, Rose," Dimitri grabbed my hand to stop me. "We will go check the perimeter and you will stay here."

"If she is ever to learn how to be a guardian she needs to learn how to check a perimeter herself." Arthur objected. "I'll put the family on alert and she can walk with me."

Although I was grateful that I wasn't being sidelined, I didn't want to let Dimitri out of my sight. With the two of us, there were only a total of five guardians going up seven or eight Strigoi and if my dream could be believed, there were humans with them.

The Badica family and their guest were none too thrilled over having to wake up extra early to get to safety, which in this house was the dusty panic room in the attic that was full of skylights and florescent lights ran off a small generator that was in the attic with them. It wasn't the safest place if you thought about it, but it was better than being in a dark basement that a Strigoi could hide out in for days.

"But it's barely past sunset." One of the other guardians said as he walked out of the patio door with Dimitri. "We're wasting our time. This house is heavily warded and there has never been an attack here."

"Stay close, child." Arthur ordered as we walk out of the front door and into the cold evening. "If you're right, then you have a precious gift."

"Only if precious means possibly vomiting on a Strigoi." I responded and then winced as I remembered who I was speaking to.

"Whatever works." Arthur chuckled quietly as he handed me two stakes. "But these might come in handy."

"Thanks." I smiled at him as I kept a stake in hand.

We didn't have to walk far before I could feel the rage and pain creeping in. I rolled my shoulders as the feelings became stronger. The ghosts were beginning to get restless. I would have been grateful for their warning had it not been painful to the point of debilitating.

"They're getting closer." I whispered to Arthur.

"Yes," Arthur pointed toward a small clearing that could barely be saw in the faint blue-orange glow of the sunset, "They here. Get inside, child. There are too many."

"No," I argued and pointed to the same clearing, "look, they aren't all Strigoi. Some of them are human."

"That's.." Arthur narrowed his eyes as he saw the unsure steps of a human next to that of the fast and swift Strigoi. "You're right. Follow me."

I looked up to the roof of the house where a Strigoi could easily jump. Arthur's expression mirrored my own. There was no way to escape. The road was too bad to travel at anything faster than a crawl. Sunrise was another twelve hours away. We were outnumbered. As he picked up his radio to call in, I followed him quietly back inside the house where we met with the other guardians.

My eyes landed on Dimtri as all five of us stood around the table. He had a grim look on his face and even though he probably thought I didn't notice, he would glance at me every few seconds, as though he was making sure that I was alright. My head throbbed in pain and I wasn't sure how long I could hold up under the intense pressure that the darkness had me under.

"There are a group of seven or more Strigoi surrounding the house as we speak." Arthur said making the other two guardians look at him in fear. "But they are not alone. Humans are with them and they are working with them."

No one spoke as the realization settled in. The power went out leaving us in darkness for a moment before the red tinted emergency lights came on. I felt like I was being cast in the world's scariest porno. The tension was mounting with all of us and I could hear the shuffling of feet and whimpers from the children who were just above us in the panic room.

"The wards are broken." The words left my mouth as the dark fog flooded into the house, surrounding and covering me completely.

"This way," someone grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back, "we'll hold them off from here."

To Be Continued

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