After I'd composed myself, Alberta and I went next door to check on Artyom. He was pale, but the wound at his neck had been bandaged, and he would live. Elizaveta was still sitting at his bedside, holding his hand and weeping. Before Alberta and I came in, I'd worded her up on Elizaveta's battle-freeze, explaining how she'd completely frozen and outlined how her brother nearly died trying to get her into the car and away to safety.
"You have some nerve showing your face in here," Elizaveta growled furiously as soon as she saw me. "Artyom could have died because of you!"
"Excuse me?" I asked, genuinely perplexed. If I hadn't intervened, Artyom would have died while his sister stood there watching a Strigoi feast on his neck. I wasn't expecting a brass band and a key to the city, but a simple 'thanks' would have been nice!
"I want her charged!" she shouted to Alberta. "My brother nearly died because of that bitch!" she shrieked.
Alberta's perplexed eyes met mine. Neither of us knew what to make of this.
"Calm down Novice Vitsin," Alberta said calmly but with unmistakable authority. "If there's been a breach of Guardian protocol it will certainly be investigated. Everyone needs a good sleep, and we'll tend to our wounded. We'll look into everything further when the reports are written up."
"It's all her fault," Elizaveta said bitterly, giving me a scathing look. "Artyom wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for her!"
I canted my head, letting Alberta know I'd wait for her outside. I wracked my brain wondering why Elizaveta thought I was responsible for Artyom's injury.
Sure I'd ordered him to take his sister to the car, but it was the best option in the situation. I didn't think Elizaveta would have moved for anyone bar him, and even with the benefit of hindsight, I stuck by my decision.
Maybe she blamed me for not escorting them to the vehicle as I had with Stan and Mom? I doubted she'd been with it enough to notice me doing that, though. Besides, Stan was completely vulnerable when he'd been carrying Mom, so an escort had been necessary. Artyom had still been able to fight – and I needed to take over battling his Strigoi to give him a chance to get his sister away.
"Elizaveta wants to stay with her brother," Alberta said meeting me outside Artyom's room. "I'll have them bring in a bed for her. When she wakes, I'll ask the staff to let Meredith know. I'll task her with showing Novice Vitsin around while she's here."
"Ok," I mumbled. It wasn't like I was itching for the opportunity, but I was still perplexed by Elizaveta's reaction.
"Cafeteria is closed now there are no students and staff on campus, so all meals are in the Guardian's Lounge. You and the others are welcome there. In the meantime, you might want to go get cleaned up?"
Glancing down, my clothes were covered in blood, and torn in several places. Feeling weary as hell, I wanted a hot shower, followed by some fresh clothes and some cuddles with Dimitri.
"I think I'll do that," I agreed with a small smile. I followed Alberta out of the infirmary, stopping at the front desk to leave my cell number and asking for an update as soon as Mom was out from having her bone set, while Alberta issued her instructions for Artyom and Elizaveta.
I walked up the stairs to the third floor where the female Novices were housed. Far from full at the best of times, tonight only Meredith and I would be sleeping here. It wasn't until I got half way down the hallway I remembered my keys were in my bag that I'd left in the SUV, but looking down the corridor, I saw my duffel sitting neatly beside my door.
Dimitri, no doubt. It was the sort of thoughtful, loving thing he'd do.
I picked up my bag, rummaging within until I found my keys. Letting myself into my room, I found it completely undisturbed. It was exactly as I'd left it seven weeks ago. It was the same. It was me who was different.
Suddenly I felt alone. I didn't want to be here in this cold, lonely dorm room. I wanted to be with my man. Quickly choosing some clean underwear and clothing, plus my wet bag and a fresh towel, I shoved them all in a small backpack and made my way across to Dimitri's room. I wouldn't be able to stay overnight with him – it was just too risky – but maybe he'd let me use his shower? Hell – maybe he'd even join me?!
I made it to Dimitri's room unobserved. Knocking quietly, the door opened almost immediately.
"I'd hoped you'd come," he said, his voice tired but affectionate. He hadn't yet changed, and he looked as exhausted as I felt.
"Thanks for my bag, Comrade," I said shyly, closing the door, putting my backpack down and slipping my arms around him.
"You're welcome," he said leaning his cheek on the top of my head as we embraced.
We stood in the middle of his room drawing strength from one another. It had been a long, long day!
"Are you hungry?" he asked, breaking our silence.
"No. But I'd kill for a hot shower," I said looking up at him from under my lashes.
He growled softly, my unspoken suggestion not lost on him.
"Would you like me to join you in the shower, Roza?" he crooned huskily.
"I would," I said, taking his hand in mine and leading him across to his bathroom.
"So she blamed you for what happened to Artyom?" Eddie asked, his nose wrinkling in confusion.
"Apparently," I said, shrugging. I was sitting in one of the armchairs in the Guardian's lounge, legs tucked up under me, talking with Meredith, Eddie, and Blake.
"She's feral with me, so Alberta's going to get you to take care of her and show her around," I mentioned to Meredith.
After showering together, and lots of cuddling, Dimitri had braided my hair, and we'd walked down here together. We were transitioning back to Moroi time, so we were trying to stay up as late as possible to start resetting our body clocks.
"It's weird seeing this place so quiet," Blake observed, meaning the lounge as well as the school. All the students except us were gone, and the only staff left were the Guardians and a small complement of kitchen, hospital and service staff.
"It's only for a day or two," I said, trying not to be obvious about watching Dimitri over the other side of the room where he was chatting with Alto and some of the other Guardians. "Then it's off to Court. We should probably start on our reports," I grumbled, indicating the ancient PCs lined up on one side of the room for just such a purpose. "If we do them now, it's less to do later, and you know Alberta will want to see them."
"Good idea," Eddie groaned, sounding as enthusiastic about it as I was.
The four of us each sat in front of a PC, navigating through the file system to find the correct proforma. Typing in the attack details, we'd occasionally interrupt each other to clarify minor points. It was Blake's first time doing a Guardian report, so the rest of us helped him.
"Doing your reports? Good idea," Alto said from behind us. "I can read through them if you like?" he offered. Guardian reports were a tedious business, and there was definitely an art to them. He skimmed over each account, asking questions and making suggestions where relevant.
By 1 am our reports were submitted and we were all starting to flag.
"I'm going to bed," Meredith announced. "I can hardly keep my eyes open."
Dimitri was sitting on a sofa nearby reading one of his westerns. I would have loved to sneak away with him to spend the night in bed together, but it wasn't to be.
"I'll walk up with you," I said, grabbing the backpack with my dirty clothes and wet towel. "Night all," I said, giving Dimitri a small smile when he looked up from his book.
"How's your Mom going?" Meredith asked as we walked in the same direction up the stairs to our floor.
"Good. She made it through surgery, and the bone was pinned, but she was knocked out, so they said not to visit until later. They're going to transfer her to Court where she can get better medical care."
"I'm glad she's alright."
"Thanks. So am I. She might be a bitch, and we might fight like cat and dog, but she's still my Mom."
I let myself into my room, flopping onto the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as the one at the Alchemist's property, but I was that tired I barely noticed. I fell asleep almost as soon as I closed my eyes.
"She looks so peaceful when she's asleep…" I heard in the periphery of my consciousness.
"You can wake her up, then," another voice suggested.
"I'm not scared!" a third voice declared.
"You should be!" I snapped, grabbing Blake's hand and twisting it up behind his back as I simultaneously sat up in bed, glaring at the three Novices standing in front of me, and a very tall, dark and handsome Guardian leaning against the doorframe, his lips curved in a knowing smile.
"Sorry, Rose," Meredith said. "We were knocking for ages, and you didn't answer, so we asked Guardian Belikov to come and open your door."
"Man, you sleep soundly," Blake said backing away now I'd relinquished his arm.
"Remind me, why am I up at this hour?" I growled, noticing I'd fallen asleep in the sweats I'd had on last night. "Actually… what is this hour?"
"It's 6 pm. Alberta's asked to see us all at 8 pm, and I knew you'd want breakfast first," Meredith explained.
"Yeah, yeah. But I want the bathroom before that!"
I pushed them all out of my bedroom, locking the door before scuttling across to the bathroom.
Coming back out, the four of them were waiting in the hallway laughing.
"Come on, let's get you some food," Eddie said with a smile.
"I need to check on Mom first," I argued.
"She's resting comfortably and said not to wake you," Dimitri announced, his chocolate brown eyes immediately reassuring me. "You can see her later."
We walked as a group to the Guardian lounge, Meredith breaking off to fetch Elizaveta.
The selection of breakfast on offer was nowhere near as varied as it was when the full complement of students and staff were on campus, but it was of infinitely better quality. The kitchen staff was looking out for the Guardians left on campus.
"Oh… What a pity. It looks like I got the last doughnuts," Eddie mocked, showing me two perfect choc-glazed mounds on his plate.
"You'd better not have," I warned, my eyes flicking to the buffet, searching for other doughy gifts from the Gods.
"Your funeral," one of the Guardians near us commented to Eddie. My bad temper and love of doughnuts were both legendary.
"Don't think I'll save you," Dimitri laughed, appearing beside us with his own laden plate.
I raised my eyebrows in silent challenge, daring Eddie to take it further. Because if he did, so would I!
"I was just saving them for you," he said backing down, knowing when to walk away.
"Just like I thought," I said with a grin, taking the plate from him and sinking my teeth into the first doughnut, groaning loudly.
"That's truly disgusting," Eddie observed.
"Shut it, Castile!" I pretended to grumble, although I was actually in an excellent mood. Any day that started with doughnuts had to be a good day!
I'd downed the doughnuts and was perusing the buffet with the rest of breakfast in mind when Meredith and Elizaveta appeared, the latter still shooting me daggers. Not wanting my good mood ruined, I ignored her, instead piling my plate high with bacon, eggs, and toast. Knowing Dimitri would be watching me, I also grabbed a bowl of fruit salad in a silent nod to his attempts at getting me eating a healthier diet.
I flopped into a chair beside Eddie shooting him an angelic look while downing the rest of my breakfast.
By eight we were all ready for our briefing with Alberta, trudging into the same meeting room where we'd met when our mission had been announced. Starting with questions about the Strigoi, and anything we'd overhead, she mentioned that they'd come to the conclusion that it was probably a coincidental attack; that the Strigoi had been after food generally and not Moroi or Dhampir specifically.
"We knew there were groups of Strigoi still around the general area," she explained. "The bodies had vaporized by the time the Alchemists got there at first light, but they located a Strigoi camp just inside a cave half a mile from the site. Amongst their belongings was a map, of sorts, of the cave system leading all the way to here. Their schematic was more detailed than anything we have, so they're going to be of great help closing off the cavern's other entrances."
It was a good outcome. Everyone making it out alive, and some valuable intel to boot.
"I'll meet with you individually today; then the plan is to transfer you all to Court in twelve hours from now. Guardian Hathaway will be traveling with you to recuperate in hospital at Court. Novice Artyom Vitsin should be cleared for discharge by then. You will all be debriefed about your mission at Court, and then transported to Academies to continue your training and take your trials."
"Any word where they're sending us?" I asked, giving Alberta my most winsome look. If anyone knew what was going on, she would.
"Not so far," Alberta said, dropping her eyes and failing to meet mine. She so knew something…
Concluding by allocating us our times to meet with her individually, we were dismissed. With a few hours before I needed to see Alberta, I decided to visit Mom.
"How's the patient?" I asked Dr. Olendzki as I walked into the infirmary.
"If possible, even more difficult than you," she laughed. "Now I know where you get it from!"
"…I don't need crutches…" I heard my mother arguing, her outraged voice echoing down the corridor. "Just strap me up, and I'll be fine under my own steam!"
I rolled my eyes.
"I'll try and sort her out – but no promises," I said ominously.
Striding into Mom's room, I found my mother in an ugly standoff with a harassed looking Dhampir.
"Mom? Just take the crutches," I ordered.
"I'm not taking the crutches, and that's final!" she grumbled.
"Up to you… I know you don't need them, " I coaxed using reverse psychology, "but Alberta said you'd be on the flight to Court with us at 8 am, and it would be fun to have them to prod Blake and Alto with…"
"Don't be childish, Rosemarie!" my mother snapped, attempting to take a step toward me, but wincing in pain.
She noticed me observing her flinch.
"Fine. I'll take the crutches," she grudgingly acquiesced.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" I said sweetly, sitting on the end of her bed and watching as she used the crutches to make her way back over to sit beside me. "Is there anything you need? Have they let you have a shower, yet?"
"They gave me a sponge bath earlier," my mother said, her gaze outright challenging me to make fun of it.
"Well, that's good, then. Have you got your stuff?"
"It was all here when I woke up."
"So would you like me to get you anything? Have you eaten?" I asked. This conversation was like pulling teeth. I was trying to show I care by offering to help, and she was trying to prove she was independent, and not seriously injured, by refusing it.
"I'm fine, and yes they brought me food earlier."
My eyes flicked to the untouched tray beside her bed. I could see why it was uneaten. It looked completely inedible. While provisions might have generally improved with so few on campus, that did not seem to have extended to the infirmary.
"Mom? I've been in here enough times to know the infirmary food sucks. Let me get you something from the Guardian lounge. It will only take a minute? The bacon and eggs there this morning were good. And I think they had baked beans…"
I saw a flicker of interest in my mother's eyes. I'd recently learned she was a sucker for baked beans at breakfast.
Giving her a knowing smile, I picked up the tray of insipid slop they'd offered her.
"Get into bed – I'll be back with some real food, soon."
I sprinted across to the Guardian's lounge, quickly putting together a plate of all of Mom's favorites. Sure, there was none of her fabled tattie scones or black pudding, but the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, grilled tomato, and mushrooms were appetizing. I even located a proper teapot for two, filling it with boiling water and putting a couple of teabags in to steep, pouring hot water into the cup to warm it, just the way Mom liked.
Six weeks living with my mother had taught me some things about her, even if it hadn't been the information I'd hoped for.
"I'm just taking this across to my Mom in the infirmary," I announced to the disapproving kitchen worker as she watched me abscond with a tray full of food.
Back in her room, Mom was in bed waiting, and her face lit up when she saw the spread I'd brought her.
"It's far too much, Rosemarie," she admonished. "I'll never finish it."
I smiled and pretended to believe her. My prodigious appetite had come from somewhere, and now I'd met Abe, I knew it wasn't him!
I sat on the end of the bed, going through the fight with Mom and answering her occasional questions.
"Elizaveta was completely unable to fight," I said, describing the parts of the fight Mom missed. "Eddie and I both think it was battle-freeze. I'm pretty sure it was her first time seeing Strigoi."
"It happens," Mom said sagely, contentedly sipping her tea now her plate was empty. "She's lucky you were there to help her."
"Well, she doesn't see it that way," I said, outlining Elizaveta's peculiar reaction when I'd seen her in Artyom's room and then again at breakfast. "I swear I didn't do anything wrong, Mom. It's like she hates me no matter what."
Mom didn't say much but looked thoughtful.
"So, more molnija?" she asked proudly, changing the subject. "What will that make?"
"Nine molnija and a zvezda," I said, feeling weird listing them. It sounded boastful, but I knew Mom knew I didn't feel proud of them exactly.
"I was six years out before I had that many," Mom shared, "and that was considered a lot for my age."
"What can I say? We live in dangerous times, Mom…"
"Aye. We do," she conceded, taking my hand and holding it in hers as she closed her eyes and rested.