Since Belikov was apparently stuck playing babysitter, Adrian tossed him the remote—at least now the Russian could finish watching his damned John Wayne movie. He lit up a cigarette, ignoring the dramatic cough that came from the man. Slowly he paced the area behind the couch—God forbid he walk in front of the T.V. screen, Belikov might smack him—trying not to notice that with each series of strides, the space between his body and the bar against the far wall became more and more narrow. He was leaning towards his alcohol stash the way Rose leaned towards her cradle-robber. Surely, one little drink wouldn't hurt—

No. He couldn't chance it. Maybe Lissa could come back over—they could try again. He pulled out his phone and stared at it, wondering how much darkness would flood Rose if Lissa succeeded in reading his memories. Damn it. Could this get any more difficult?

"I'm gonna take a shower." He headed towards the bedroom, not bothering to wait for a response. Belikov was already entranced in the television; he probably didn't hear a words that had been said.

The hot water loosened his tense muscles, while the steam soothed his aching lungs. If he could just find a way to clear his mind and pull out the nightmarish images from his dream, life would be grand. Wrapping himself in an over sized towel, he wiped the fog off the mirror, staring at his reflection. Something was tickling the back of his mind—something about a flowing current, from one into another then back again. But what the hell did that have to do with the problem at hand?

The ticklish feeling faded, slowly replaced by a strangedisorientation. Staring into the mirror, the first tendrils of madness reached out, gently caressing him. Was that his image? He cocked his head, studying the man. Were those his green eyes? His dark hair? No. He didn't look like that. He—

FUCK.

It was happening too rapidly; he couldn't stop it—not without having outside help. Racing into the bedroom he grabbed a bottle off his nightstand, hands shaking as he broke the seal and unscrewed the cap. The familiar burn as the liquid warmed his insides filled him with relief. He wouldn't go insane. He knew who he was—Adrian Ivashkov. He forced himself to stop after the first few swallows. Too much and he'd be useless, unable to help anyone. He'd drink just enough to keep the beasties at bay, to keep the claws out of his mind.

Dressing, he made his way into the living room, sinking down on the opposite end of the couch from Belikov. The Russian glanced over at him, offering a faint smile before returning his attention to the movie. Adrian sat back, crossing his arms over his chest as he settled in for another long night of boredom. Maybe when he fell asleep, the horrifying dream would come.

One minute he was listening to Belikov chuckle softly, the next he was surrounded by blackness. The room started to slowly reform around him and he sat upright, shocked. He was in a spirit dream, but not one he'd consciously constructed. Glancing to his left, he saw Belikov, his head drooping forward, eyes closed. What the hell?

"Belikov." The other man didn't stir.

"Belikov." A bit louder this time. Still nothing.

"DIMITRI!"

Adrian's use of his first name must have caught his attention, maybe because he'd never used it before. The Russian lifted his head, groaning as he cracked his neck with a quick flick of his head—Adrian winced at the sound. Belikov looked over at him, confused. It lasted for less than a second before his brown eyes narrowed and his face became angry.

"I told you to stay out of my head!"

Adrian held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't do it! All I did was fall asleep!"

"Then what the—"

The rest of the sentence was lost, because the visions slammed into Adrian, more detailed than before. A cold, chilly breeze brushed against him, he was standing on the darkened campus, in a small copse of trees. Rose stood before him, a look of fear on her face, as she yelled out a warning to the Ozera kid.

"Get down!"

Christian dropped to the ground without hesitation. Two Strigoi came out of nowhere, throwing themselves at Rose. One slammed her into the tree right beside Adrian, and he gasped at the dazed look on her face. As quickly as it appeared it vanished, and she shoved the female Strigoi back. The male reached for Rose but she ducked, quickly avoiding him. She seemed to be outmatched, both were taller than her, filling him with an intense fear for her safety. She feinted toward the male then struck out towards the female, moving as quick as a cobra, slamming a silver stake into the monster's chest. She'd just pulled the stake out when the other Strigoi backhanded her, snarling and baring his fangs like an enraged dog. Rose staggered but kept her balance. It looked almost as if she was sizing her opponent up and finding him… lacking

They began to circle each other, Rose leaped forward, kicking out at him. He reached for her, and somehow, again she managed to dodge him. He immediately attacked again, this time knocking her to the ground and pinning her arms. She struggled to push him off, and Adrian reached out, trying to aide her, but his hands went through the Strigoi as if he were no more than a phantom.

FUCK! Where the hell was Belikov? Why wasn't he protecting her?

It was going to go in for the kill, its fangs against her neck—she started to yell at Christian to run, then the Strigoi above her suddenly lit up like a torch. He jerked back, and Rose rolled out from underneath him, her eyes wide with amazement.

Thick flames covered its body, completely obscuring any of the features. It screamed, falling to the ground, twitching and rolling before finally going still. Steam rose from where fire hit the snow, and the flames soon burned out, revealing nothing but ashes underneath.

Rose stared at the remains, emotions racing across her face. Adrian struggled to see her aura, but it was missing—how could she have no… wait, this was a vision of the future. He felt a moment of relief, which rapidly got lost in a wave of full-fledged panic. They were on the school grounds. How in the hell were Strigoi on the campus?

Rose turned to Christian, who was crouched on the ground. "Wow," she said, helping him up.

"No shit," he said. "Didn't know I had that much power."

The vision shifted, the images and colors running together like watercolors, reminding him, for an instant, of Monet's Water Lilies. It was beautiful, drawing him in, and he walked into the colorful swirls, emerging in an entirely different milieu.

The elementary campus. Strigoi and guardians were actively fighting around the entrances to one of the dorms. Rose stood surveying the scene before her. Adrian stared in horror—there were almost twenty Strigoi and half as many guardians. He watched as Rose and Christian launched themselves into the battle. A battered and bruised guardian was near a side entrance, fending off three Strigoi. Rose lunged for one of the three staking it almost immediately. Christian meanwhile set flames to the others. The guardian's face reflected surprise, but that didn't stop him from staking another of the Strigoi. Rose finished off the other with ease.

"You shouldn't have brought him here," The man said as they moved to help another guardian. "Moroi aren't supposed to get involved with this."

"Moroi should have been involved with this a long time ago," said Christian through gritted teeth.

They fought for what seemed like hours, moving from fight to fight, combining his magic and her stake. Not all of the kills were as fast and easy as their early ones had been. Some fights were long and drawn out. The older man stuck with them, and Adrian could not believe the sheer number of Strigoi they took down. She was a killing machine—his little dhampir was absolutely lethal.

He watched a Strigoi with shoulder length blonde hair stalking Rose, watching her with covetous red ringed eyes. When the monster caught her attention, it snarled at her. "I know you."

She swung at him with her stake, but he dodged to the side. Christian was setting a couple of other Strigoi on fire, so Rose was completely on her own.

"There's something strange about you now, but I still remember. I saw you years ago, before I was awakened. You were always with that Dragomir girl, the blonde."

Rose kicked out, catching him in the chest and jerking back before he could grab her outstretched leg. He barely staggered as he stood, smiling at her.

"Her parents wanted you to be her guardian, right? Before they were all killed?"

"I am her guardian," Rose grunted, lashing out with her stake.

"She's still alive, then…There were rumors that she'd died last year…You have no idea what kind of reward I'd get to take down the last living Drag— Ahh!"

He'd dodged the stake from hitting his chest again, but this time Rose outsmarted him, following up with an upwards blow that dragged the stake's tip across his face. He screamed, but it didn't slow him down.

"I'll come back for you after I finish her," he snarled.

"You'll never get near her," Rose growled back.

A different Strigoi slammed into her side, knocking her off balance. Adrian screamed out in frustration as the colors began to bleed into one another, faster this time. He darted though them, praying he'd see Rose safe and sound on the other side.