'Assembling the Troupes'
Rose's POV
I rested my head against the headrest on my seat. The plane felt like it was taking forever to arrive in Russia and my nerves were growing by the second. I tried to go into Lissa's head again, but it wouldn't work. I hoped she was just sleeping a dreamless sleep. I couldn't – wouldn't – think anything else had happened.
Oliver sat next to me, looking alert already. He'd been tense since I'd informed him of the situation. Lissa was the last in the Dragomir line. Every Guardian in every country knew of her importance…and now Strigoi had taken her. That was not a good thing at all, especially not for a royal like her.
My conversation with Dimitri lingered in my mind. The sound of hope in his voice had crushed me. I didn't want him to view me coming back as an opening for us to fall in love and be together again…I just needed to find my best friend before she met her death…or something so much worse. Wouldn't that be great for the Strigoi? To convert a royal into one of their own. Killing her would be bad enough. I just hoped they weren't twisted enough to awaken her too.
"We'll find her." Oliver reassured. He'd already taken it upon himself to call in as many reinforcements as he possibly could. A Princess was missing, so he'd managed to wrangle a lot. I was so grateful to have a friend like him. I was ashamed to say I felt like a wreck. Lissa was like a sister to me, and despite the fact that we weren't speaking didn't diminish her importance to me. I needed to save her. If I couldn't then I would blame myself for the rest of my life.
I shouldn't have left her.
Dimitri's POV
An abandoned warehouse was the base of our operations. It was located just outside of Moscow. So far a dozen Guardians had arrived, with a lot more on the way. They were periodically arriving, filing in one by one to be debriefed. We needed to formalize a plan, but before we could do that we needed to figure out where Lissa was taken. So far no one knew, but Adrian had been attempting to enter Lissa's dreams all day and I knew Rose would be trying to discover Lissa's location through the bond.
Rose. Her voice had made my heart stop.
I didn't expect her to call. I hadn't known Lissa had left. I was glad she was returning, but I was terrified of her leaving again. I hoped I could fix everything before she decided to leave again…but I knew now wasn't the best time to dwell on our relationship. Her best friend was missing, so the last thing she needed was more drama, especially of this variety.
"Guardian Belikov." A man approached, his hand extended. "Guardian Tetrov. Nice to meet you." He was an older man, slightly greyed hair and steel blue eyes. Wrinkled marred his face, yet he still managed to hold some youthfulness in his expression.
"Thank you for coming." I replied. We'd asked anyone who could be spared to help get the Princess back. Thankfully a lot of Guardians had replied to our request, and surprisingly some Moroi. Christian had contacted his Aunt who knew of some magic-users in the area who could help. We needed every edge we could get.
I spent the next few hours greeting the new Guardian as they arrived, and sent them to be debriefed. They all seemed patient, which was good. Who knew when we'd be able to launch our rescue mission, it could take days.
Rose's POV
Maps. That's the first thing I noticed upon entering the Warehouse. A wall of maps, marked with pins. No doubt it marked Lissa's last known whereabouts. My stomach had been in constant turmoil since I found out where she was. How could she be so stupid? She knew how dangerous it was out in the real world, especially without protection.
I took a deep breath, glancing nervously at Oliver. Suddenly it dawned on me that Dimitri and the others might think Oliver was…well more then a friend. I hadn't even considered what drama bringing Oliver would cause. I hadn't given it a single thought.
Christian noticed me standing there and rushed over, panic on his face. "Is she okay? Tell me she's okay!" I could hear the panic in his voice. The love of his life was missing, and he was distraught. I noticed his eyes were blood-shot and his clothes were crinkled and messy. He clearly hadn't slept since he found out.
"She's okay for now." I answered.
Lissa's POV
The cloth blindfold dug into my skin, and the gag they'd shoved in my mouth prevented me from complaining, and breathing. I had no idea what was going on, or where I was. But I would occasionally hear muttering voices, which oddly comforted me. I wasn't alone. Though when I heard the distinctive sound of a hiss I was once again on edge. Yes, I wasn't alone. But I was trapped somewhere with a large group of Strigoi. Strigoi who most likely wanted to rip me limb from limb and impale my head onto a sharp post for the entire Moroi world to see. Wouldn't that just be great?
If I wasn't gagged I would have let out a sigh, but alas I couldn't do much of anything except sit in an uncomfortable chair and stew in my guilt and regret. Finding Rose was important, obviously. But why the hell didn't I consider the danger of going out alone, especially in when the place was renown for their Strigoi population. I was stupid, and there was no denying that. I just hoped to god my stupidity wouldn't end in my death. I couldn't stand the thought of Christian hurting the way I had when I lost my family. And Rose…she was like a sister to me! She'd be forever changed if anything happened to me, despite our fight.
Suddenly I heard movement, and what sounded like a lot of it.
I couldn't see them, but I could feel them. When one approached a shiver ran through my spin. It was crazy. I felt like this was some sort of horrible dream…
Fingertips brushed the hair from my neck, and I could hear a low growl. My heart stopped. I knew how much danger I was in…and it seemed like they'd finally decided to kill me. The fingertips retreated from my neck, but they were replaced with something else…a nose maybe?
Yes, a nose. I could tell when I heard them sniff me…
And then it happened.
The Strigoi ripped into my neck with a deep growl.
The gag strangled my screams.
My neck felt like it was being torn apart. I couldn't remember the last time I'd ever felt pain like this. I thought a Strigoi bite was supposed to be blissful…it was supposed to be like a drug. It was not supposed to feel like this…
My chair tipped over, though I barely registered it. It made a loud crashing sound as it hit cement…and suddenly the teeth were gone.
I heard a voice in the distance, which sounded like the Strigoi man who took me. He screamed "No!"
I suppose he didn't want me dead quite yet.
But I could already feel life leaking away…drip by drip.
I would soon be nothing but crimson spread thin on cement. Skin and bones, lifeless, useless. I would be nothing but a shell of who I was.
Christians face flashed in my mind, probably for the last time.
It has been a while since I updated, so please review so I know who is still interested in this story! If people are I'll be updating again, frequently. Sorry for the long absence…