A bunch of streets nestled at the foot of the mountains on one side of the I-90, there was no way to get lost in Sheridan! Meredith and I walked up from the motel on East Fifth Street to Main Street, wandering up and then back down the main drag. It was your bog-standard regional center, although I did think the historic part of town was quite pretty.
I looked at my phone. 2:45 pm and we'd already covered all the highlights. As I'd expected, Meredith had needed to bitch about her trip with Stan and Blake. Apparently, Stan had used the time as a 'teaching opportunity'; quizzing her and Blake about various aspects of Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection.
"It was hell, Rose," Meredith groaned. "Blake knew nothing, so Alto delivered a six-hour lecture, asking Blake questions all the way through. I've never been so bored in my life!"
I suppressed a grin. It made riding for six hours with my mother sound like a treat!
"Where did Geoff end up?" I asked, referring to Meredith's Moroi boyfriend.
She sighed. "He's at Court with his family attending the Moroi school there. He said he's looking forward to catching up when I come to Court to get allocated..." She didn't have to explain. Moroi/Dhampir high school relationships had a natural expiry date; graduation. Or in this case, the closure of the Academy.
"Do you miss him?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, and no. I knew it was coming. It was just nice to feel special for a while, you know?"
I did know. Not that Dimitri and I were free to show it, but it was wonderful to feel that someone noticed and cared.
"How are you going to be with your Mom?" she continued.
"Vlad knows," I said. "Things are better than before, but then they've never been particularly good, so that's not saying much. I just wish it was easier."
Meredith nodded. She'd seen my black eye at Christmas and was in class when Stan kicked me out during my mother's presentation. We walked in silence back to the hotel. Opening the door to our room, I saw Mom resting on our bed. I jerked my head to one side, silently showing Meredith we should leave her to rest. We knocked next door where I'd seen Dimitri and Eddie take their bags. Eddie opened the door and looking past him I could see Dimitri reclined on the far bed reading a Western.
"Is it ok if we hang out here? We've just been out for a walk and Mom's sleeping in our room. I didn't want to disturb her."
Eddie looked at Dimitri who nodded, straightening up a little on his bed.
"Sure thing, come in," Eddie said, stepping aside.
"Thanks, Eddie," Meredith said. Following her into the room there was only a single chair, so the three of us flopped onto Eddie's bed. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri watching us. More than anything I would have liked to lie on his bed with him and cuddle, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Much in town?" Eddie asked.
"Drugstore, supermarket. All the usual stuff," I answered.
"Anywhere interesting to eat? Your mother said we'd be dining out this evening," Dimitri said, putting his book down to join the conversation.
"There was a diner that looked ok," Meredith answered.
Eddie was flicking through the motel's service directory. "Says there's Subway, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco John's and heaps of restaurants."
"I don't care where we go, but I'm not sitting near Blake. He chews with his mouth open," Meredith said with a shudder.
The four of us ended up watching a movie while we waited for Mom to wake up. It was close to six by the time she knocked on Eddie and Dimitri's door.
"You guys ready to find some food?" she asked. "I thought we could walk up and see what's open?"
Eddie fetched Stan and Blake, and the seven of us walked the few blocks up to the main drag. We were walking as a group, but Mom ended up talking with Dimitri, so I chatted with Eddie and Meredith while Blake dolefully walked with Stan, the latter occasionally firing off a guarding question. Eventually, even Mom got the shits with it.
"Leave off, Alto. That's an order. The rest of us don't need to hear you bringing Ayett up to standard. You can resume after dinner." After that, Stan and Blake walked in silence.
We ended up at a pizza place, ordering one family-sized pizza apiece. You could tell the human waiter thought we were crazy, as the family-sized pizzas were enormous. But between us, we got through them all! I was sitting between Dimitri and Eddie, so hidden by the table I was rubbing my foot against Dimitri's. He was intentionally paying me very little attention, so I couldn't tell whether or not he liked it. Thinking he didn't give a shit, either way, I stopped; but a few seconds later his foot nudged mine, so with a brief smile I started up again.
The walk home was pleasant. It was dark, but the street was well lit, and it seemed unlikely a group with three Guardians and four Novices would run into any trouble in such a sleepy town. Back at the hotel, we went to split up into our separate rooms.
"Rose? I've checked, and sunrise is 7:00 am. Meet me out the front of your room then for training. We'll run and see if we can improvise for some of your exercises."
I nodded my head, internally thrilled at the prospect of an hour alone with my love.
"You can join them, Ayett," Stan directed with a sneer. "Your fitness isn't what it should be. You don't mind, do you, Belikov?"
A glint in my lover's eye told me he minded every bit as much as I did, but there was nothing to be said. Tomorrow morning there'd be Dimitri, Blake, and me. Sigh. Just when I thought I couldn't hate Stan any more than I already did.
"That's fine, but be prepared to work hard Novice Ayett. I have no time to waste with a Novice who can't keep up." I felt a little sorry for Blake. I had a feeling tomorrow morning would be the hardest workout of his life! With a final apologetic look, Dimitri disappeared through his hotel door, Eddie following. Stan and Blake walked into the next room along while Mom, Meredith, and I went into our room.
Mom took the first shower, then Meredith, then me. By the time I came to bed, awkwardly climbing into the queen-sized bed beside my mother, she was sitting propped up reading some Guardian reports.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," I said in surprise.
"Only for reading at night. Old age," she laughed. "I can turn out the lamp if it bothers you?" she offered.
"It's fine," I said. It was 9:30 pm Wyoming time, which made it 11:30 pm in Pennsylvania. "I'm just going to check in with Lissa..."
Mom knew about the bond between Lissa and me, although I don't think she'd seen it in action before. I closed my eyes and let myself slip into Lissa's mind. It was easily done; she was rather distracted as it was her first day at the Moroi school at Court. She was in between third and fourth periods and was walking through a sumptuously appointed corridor to a classroom.
This was nothing like St. Vlad's! This classroom had plush carpet, armchairs, and an honest to goodness fireplace burning in the corner! It looked more like a fancy common room than a place of learning. Lissa stepped into class, holding hands with Christian. She was a little keyed up, but she was comforted to see Camille Conta and Abby Badica already in the room—so at least she knew people.
As I watched, Camille introduced Lissa and Christian to her friends and cousins, then Abby did likewise. Even amongst Moroi, Liss was special. The only Dragomir, she was automatically head of the Dragomir clan and held the title of Princess. Each family had a Prince or Princess who represented their family on the Royal Council, and Lissa was the youngest by at least forty years. While it would mean a lot of responsibility once she graduated, right now it had the benefit that everyone wanted to know her and were predisposed to be friendly.
I slipped back out of her head, opening my eyes to see my mother watching me curiously.
"Um—how is she? Did you talk?"
"The bond is one way, Mom. I can feel her and see through her eyes, but she doesn't know I'm there. She's in class, and everything's ok. Everyone's being nice to her."
"That's good then. It must be hard being away from each other?"
It was the first time my mother seemed to recognize the tie Lissa and I shared, and she didn't know the full extent of how the darkness worked.
"It's ok. It helps to know she's happy and safe," I murmured, trying not to disturb Meredith who looked like she might be asleep. "I'll just text her to let her know I'm thinking of her."
I tapped out a quick message before I plugged my phone in to charge and rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.
"Night Rosemarie," my mother murmured before she turned out the light.
"Night, Mom," I said, already drifting off. In fact, I was probably three-quarters asleep when I realized that the only person to remember I'd turned eighteen today was Dimitri.
I was up early Wednesday morning, slipping into my workout clothes and hoodie, letting myself noiselessly out of the hotel room right at 7:00 am. The sun was just coming up, and white clouds of frost came out of my mouth every time I exhaled. It was chilly, freezing if not below, but the streets were clear and it was relatively still so we should be ok for a run. I'd just started my stretches when Dimitri stepped out of his room.
"Morning Rose," he said in his deep soulful voice, his lips caressing my name tenderly.
"Morning, Comrade," I replied, peering up at him from beneath my lashes. He hadn't shaved yet, so his jaw had a hint of stubble that looked sexy as hell. "All ready to get hot and bothered?"
Dimitri's mouth opened to say something in reply but shut with an almost audible snap when the next door along opened and a bleary-eyed, belligerent looking Blake stepped out.
"It's four past seven, Ayett," Dimitri said coolly. I didn't want to mention he, himself, hadn't appeared until 7:02. "Since it's your first time training with us, I'll go easy on you today. Five miles in half an hour."
I stifled a grin. It had taken me a week or two of training to get up to that time. Sure these days I could do that easily, but Blake would be in a world of pain by the time we got back.
"Five miles?!" Blake gasped. "You've got to be kidding me?!"
"No. That's just our warm-up. Then we train," Dimitri said, intentionally misunderstanding Blake's surprise.
"And you do this every day?" Blake asked me in horror.
"Yep. Every day, twice a day. Most of the time we only run in the mornings, although if the gym is busy after classes, sometimes we run in the afternoons, too."
We stretched mostly in silence, Dimitri occasionally correcting Blake's technique. Then we pulled on our gloves and got going, my Russian God in the middle, Blake and I on either side. We'd barely gone three hundred yards when Blake started to struggle. We were hardly going faster than a jog, and I could see there was no way he would make the distance. Beside me, Dimitri could see it, too.
"Let's start with a warm-up mile," he suggested, pulling out his phone and mapping a one-mile course, ending back at the hotel. He and I both appreciated Blake would be lucky to make even that!
Running along the main shopping strip, we pounded empty sidewalks, Dimitri and I commenting on some stores we passed. Nothing was open, although there were people inside in a few places setting up ready to open at 7:30 or 8:00.
"We'll have to come back later and shop," Dimitri commented as we passed a supermarket. "We've got a lot from the Academy kitchens, but there are a few extra things we'll need."
"What time are we expected at the location?" I queried.
"I think your Mom wants to be there by noon. It's a forty-minute drive, so we'll probably check out, have a late breakfast, get the supplies, then make our way there. The idea is to see what's there and I'll pick up anything extra we need when I go to Billings to get the St. Basil's Novices tomorrow."
"You'll be going?" I asked casually, but my Russian God knew the direction of my thoughts. It would be a lengthy round trip. If I went, Dimitri and I could get at least three precious hours alone together.
"Yes. We're not sure about their standard of English, so your mother thought it best I am there to greet them."
"We must be close to a mile?" Blake gasped, struggling now we were climbing a very slight incline.
"Nine hundred and eighty yards," Dimitri said, consulting his phone. "Just over halfway for the warm-up mile."
Blake made a noise that sounded like a stuck pig, which was a rather apt comparison. Still—it wasn't much longer before we did a right-hand turn, starting the slow return to the hotel. Dimitri and I kept up an easy banter as we ran, mostly about what he was planning to cook on his nights on dinner duty.
"Can your mother cook?" Dimitri asked curiously, looking apologetic when he saw my shrug.
"I honestly have no idea. She's never cooked for me."
"Sounds like you don't know your mother at all," Blake said in a decidedly nasty tone of voice.
"Faster, Ayett," Dimitri snapped. "If you can talk, you're not running fast enough!"
Dimitri lengthened his stride, and I followed suit—easily matching his increased speed. Blake, on the other hand, struggled even more than he already was. But Dimitri was right. There was no chance he'd be able to talk now!
The hotel finally in sight, Dimitri suggested a final sprint. He and I took off at top speed, grateful to give our muscles a workout. Blake didn't even attempt to match us. If anything, he slowed down. We waited for him out the front of the rooms, stretching and talking quietly as he caught up.
"That was a pleasant start. Shall we do our five miles now?" Dimitri asked.
"I don't think I can," a beetroot-faced Blake admitted. "That mile has done me in."
"Go inside, shower, then have a hot drink," Dimitri growled dismissively. "And stretch. You're well below the fitness standard I'd expect of a Novice, Ayett. You'll be running every day while we're on this mission—and I worry even with that we'll have not enough time to prepare you adequately."
Dimitri and I turned to start our real run when the door to Dimitri's room opened, Eddie stepping out.
"Ok if I join you?" he asked. "I was about to go for a run myself, but if you're about to head off again...?"
"Sure thing, Castile," I said, concealing my disappointment. I loved my one-on-one training sessions with Dimitri, and it sucked to have one gatecrashed. Twice. But we had to be careful not to appear to be spending too much time alone together. I would give up our time this morning if it helped me score six hours in the car with Dimitri tomorrow!
The run was good, and we completed our five miles within thirty minutes.
"Well done, you two!" Dimitri praised when we returned to the hotel, sweaty but feeling accomplished half an hour later. "Hot shower and a hot drink," he instructed, "and dress warmly. It will be cold where we're going."
After breakfast and shopping, we piled into the vehicles to make the final trip. I'd suggested we should mix things up, so volunteered to ride with Stan. Not that I wanted to, but it would be suspicious if I were always with Dimitri, so I ended up riding with Meredith and Alto, and Blake took my place in the other vehicle.
This time, Mom's car led. She'd mentioned that the road to the property was well concealed, so we'd be moving slowly when we got close. We drove out of Sheridan, heading south into a tiny town called Big Horn, after that we slowly started our climb into the mountains. Dimitri had been right to warn us to rug up. The temperature got colder the further we went. Following Red Grade Road, we trailed Mom's SUV until it slowed right down, finally making a left turn onto an almost invisible dirt road.
We twisted and turned a few times on a gravel track until trees completely obscured the road, then the tires hit a smooth, well-maintained road. Stan drove mostly without speaking. I was riding shotgun as his second, but after I'd performed the initial checks adequately, he seemed content to ride in silence. Checking Google Maps, it surprised me to see there was no hint of the road we were on—even on the photographic satellite images. Either the road was completely obscured by overhanging trees, or someone had enough power to have it obscured on the satellite imagery. Either way, I could not give Stan any hint of how much further we had to go as there was no sign of a road or a house.
Just when I was wondering if we were ever going to stop, the tail lights on Mom's vehicle glowed red, and she pulled up to a stop outside a large stone fence, complete with large wrought iron ornamental gates. Stan pulled up behind the other SUV. We all stayed in the vehicle, as Mom had warned us, and she got out of the vehicle and walked to the gates some twenty yards away.
Standing on the other side of the locked gates was a man. We were too far away to see much, but even from here you could see his body language and that he was wary of getting too close to my mother. They conversed for a moment or two; the man gesturing behind him inside the property. A little more discussion, and then he pushed an envelope through part of the gates, slowly backing away and out of sight. Mom waited until he left before stepping forward to take the envelope.
She walked back to the still-running car, and a moment later the double gates swung open. Then Stan followed Mom's vehicle into the property we'd presumably be calling home for the next three months.