Ch. 9
RPOV
Songs: Stylo - Gorillaz, Two of us on the run - Lucius, If I had a Heart - Fever Ray
The pitter-patter of rain on the windshield had a calming effect on my nerves. I watched as the drops splashed onto the glass momentarily blurring the world in front of us, just before they were swiped away leaving a clear view of the road ahead. The same process repeated over and over as the time passed. The storm didn't let up for at least the first few hours on the road. It was almost as if it was an omen to our departure from St. Vlad's and the murky journey ahead of us.
I ran my fingers along the cinnamon colored seat as the smell of new leather warmed my senses. Eddie had insisted on driving, of course. I had been on the run with Lissa when novices had participated in driving lessons, and it appeared that I would never live it down.
Adrian had proved that with insurmountable amounts of money, anything was possible. I used my abrupt withdrawal as a brief distraction, putting more attention on me as I walked out the front gate rather than Adrian, Eddie, and Christian at the other end of campus. When I met up with them after I finished the necessary paperwork, Adrian had two Dodge Challengers waiting for us. I immediately went for the red but was denied since the guys had apparently already rock paper scissor'd for them and Eddie and I would be taking the black. My disappointment only grew as I was forced into the passenger seat while Eddie took pleasure in roaring up the engine of our hot new ride.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he accelerated, his grip on the steering wheel tightening causing a small smile to creep up his face. If I had to guess, he was picturing himself as Vin Diesel in some cheesy racing movie. The sight of Eddie so carefree and relaxed reminded me of a younger, more naive version of him. I thought of him wearing a lazy smile with Mason's arm draped over him as the three of us walked to class, teasing each other over who would be the first to hit the mat in our next sparring matches.
After seeing the monsters we were up against in Spokane and losing Mason, Eddie's demeanor had drastically changed. He was more focused and took our training even more seriously. I was proud of him for understanding the severity of our work outside the academy and for taking action to make himself the best Guardian he could be. However, it still saddened me that his innocence was ripped away in that manner and that there was a possibility his happy-go-lucky attitude had died in that room with Mason.
His face behind the wheel of that car gave me some hope that despite all the death and misery we had seen recently, Eddie was still young at heart. His mood was contagious, and I let out a slight smirk mirroring his.
It was short-lived, though as my thoughts wandered to the last time I fled St. Vlad's. Lissa was with me then, and I was doing everything in my power to keep her safe from those who sought to drive her insane and use her magic for selfish wants. Now I was leaving to hunt her down and possibly kill her if needed—the irony of our situation hadn't escaped me.
I turned my attention to the map as he drove, mentally noting each exit we passed, and kept a sharp lookout for any possible tails. We headed south towards Salt Lake City where we would catch a flight to our next destination. There was an airport in Missoula that could have taken us where we needed to go, but we wanted to avoid the detection of any Guardians that might be tracking us. Adrian and Christian headed in the opposite direction towards Seattle to seek out their first lead.
It seemed Eddie's mood had turned pensive as well and he looked deep in thought, his eyes slightly squinched and fixated on the road ahead. I wondered if he was considering the full consequences of what we were doing. Lissa was my motivation for completing my training. I had been working extra hours each day with Dimitri to make sure I was fully prepared to protect her from our enemy. But now, the reasons for it all were lost in my new goal of removing her from this evil state she was trapped in. Eddie still had a career ahead of him to work towards, and this escapade would leave a deprecating mark on his record making it extremely hard for him to land a decent charge—that's if we even made it out of this alive.
"It's not too late Eddie," I finally broke our silence.
"Huh? What was that?" He blinked a few times, pulling his thoughts back into our car.
"I know how much you are giving up and I want you to know it's not too late to change your mind. Once we get to the airport you can drop me off and go back to the Academy. If you tell them I asked you for a ride out of town and you wanted to see me off, you might get away with just a slap on the wrists for breaking out for the day."
"Rose, I said it back at the church and I meant it. I'll do whatever it takes to help you." The serious look on his face made him look years older. "It might not make much sense, and I know it was just a training exercise, but she was my responsibility and I can't sit back and do nothing." The funny thing was, I knew exactly what he meant. I had felt the same way about Christian when the fight at St. Vlad's broke out.
"Plus," he continued. "I...I know what it's like to lose your best friend. Mason and I may not have had a bond like you and Lissa, but I still miss him every day. If there was even the smallest chance to save him, I would take it, no hesitations." Eddie's face turned somber for a moment as he thought about our lost friend.
Then, in an attempt to lighten the dismal mood of the car he said, "And there's no way in hell I'm letting you go to that frozen tundra by yourself." I let out a small smile remembering all the times I had teased Dimitri about Russia being one giant ice cube.
"By the way, what made you decide to start there? Russia doesn't seem like the first place Lissa would go."
I thought back to images from the bond: the detailed filigree designs that bordered the edges of the floor, the antique gold painted table, and the cream carpet luxuriously spread throughout the room. When I had finally managed to calm down, it was easy for me to put the pieces together. Lissa's family had a fair share of European homes before they passed away, and would often spend the holidays traveling to each. I recognized the details of that vision as their home in Novosibirsk, where Lissa had spent Christmas with her family the year before the accident.
"Lissa purposely showed me where she was. It took me a minute to figure out where, but I know she's in Novosibirsk now, or at least she was when she spoke to me. Either way, it's our best place to start."
"Why would she willingly tell you where she was? Doesn't she know you would try to come after her?"
"That's just it...she wants me to come after her." Eddie looked bothered by this. I had basically just admitted that we were possibly walking into the lion's den with the predatory cat fully aware of it. "I'm not exactly sure where the house is, but I'm hoping we can grab more intel once we are in the city."
Eddie nodded and returned his focus to the road. I knew busting down the door of her hideout would be a stupid idea. There was no telling who she was with or how many Strigoi were hiding out there. I sat back in my seat trying to think what Dimitri would say in this situation. You have to examine all of your obstacles. Realize your enemy's motives and look at the outcome of each situation to determine the best scenario.
Even in my mind, his soothing zen voice gave me enough clarity to formulate a plan. I couldn't go in guns a blazing like I traditionally would. I had to be smart about this if we were going to catch Lissa alone.
Since we left the safety of the wards, I had been working extra hard to not only keep the ghosts out but to try and prevent Lissa from getting in as well. I didn't know if my success was credited to my efforts, or if she was just leaving me alone for the time being, but I was glad to be spared from the bond for now and would only use it as a last resort. It appeared in our last encounter that she knew when I had arrived in her mind and I didn't want to tip her off to what we were planning.
The hours in the car droned on until we finally arrived in Salt Lake City. The airport was like nothing I had ever seen before. Granted I had only been to a few strips, mostly small, private ones protected by our community, but I didn't imagine there were many like this one. The airport was surrounded by a range of mountains with snow-tipped peaks and lower passes wearing a thin cloak of greenery. The planes that flew in seemed to appear from nowhere as they breached the bundles of gray clouds hovering near the white mountain caps. I sat at a window watching them fly in and out, imagining the places they were going as I scarfed down my airport food.
Apparently, money didn't just buy you a ride in a sexy sports car and plane tickets to faraway lands, but it could also get you rushed passports with fake identities on them. Eddie and I had easily passed as a 20-year-old named Victoria Grand and a 22-year-old named Chuck Bearns headed to Russia for a spring break Eurotrip. Although Eddie's face still held some adolescent features, his height combined with a strong physique from years of intensive training helped him pass for slightly older. As for me, my vivacious curves had given others the impression that I was years older for quite some time now. I was able to pass as a college student back when Lissa and I were on the run and felt confident that the attendants wouldn't think twice.
Eddie and I practiced our new names with each other on the way in, so when they called out for us to board there was no hesitation. I longingly looked at the first-class seats as we passed by, but we had agreed it would be better to keep a low profile and opted for coach. Luckily there was no one sitting next to us, so Eddie and I could stretch out a bit. We decided to take turns sleeping, unable to let go of our guarding training habits. The flight seemed to drag on forever and I was starting to feel like a sardine before we finally landed. When the wheels touched the ground, I put in a little more effort towards my barriers, remembering the excruciating flight on the way back from Victor's trial.
Our bodies were stiff, and we could both use a shower, so we immediately went to the hotel that Adrian had booked for us. I started to wonder if he had a stream of personal assistants managing all the details and keeping all of his secrets. The hotel was in the center of the city, close to a lot of the action. It was modest and looked like any ordinary hotel in America from the outside, but the lobby and rooms made you aware that you were in another place. The ceilings were literal works of art. Some had elegant patterns molded into them with huge chandeliers hanging down, others were classic paintings or extravagant stained glass, and each room seemed to be separated by giant, granite pillars.
As I admired the architecture I naturally thought of Dimitri. He had always talked about how beautiful his home country was. I used to take pleasure in watching his eyes light up as he reminisced, and I couldn't help but think of how happy he would be showing me this place and pointing out every charming detail.
But that was another life. One I didn't have the luxury of having. I needed to focus on our task ahead without distractions. I had let those types of thoughts cloud my judgement before and it had caused irreparable damage. From now on, Lissa came first. Lissa Comes First.
We finally reached our room and as soon as I spotted one of the double beds I plopped down not even bothering to unpack.
"You look racked Hathaway. You go ahead and get some shut-eye, I'm gonna grab a quick shower," Eddie threw his duffel on the bed and started to pull out some clothes. I gave him a lethargic yawn in response and laid my head back. Hopefully, a good night's rest would help me get my mind right. I heard him carefully close the door to the bathroom and let the light sounds of running water lull me into sleep.
...,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,...
A sharp pain in the front of my skull woke me from my dreamless sleep. I sat up, pressing my palm to my forehead trying not to scream. Dark shadows swarmed the edges of my vision as I tried to block them out. Their hollow faces looked like they were screaming, skeletal hands reached towards me trying to pull me closer. My heart was racing, and I could feel myself start to panic, I felt like the darkness of the room would swallow me whole.
Then, suddenly they disappeared.
"Rose. Rose, are you okay?" I guess my brief Emily Rose haunting moment had woken Eddie too. He flipped on the bedside lamp and was looking at me for a response. I peered around the room surprised that the spirits had all fled so abruptly, but wasn't about to complain.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It was just—" No, not all. Over Eddie's shoulder, I spotted it. One ghostly figure still remained. "Mason."
Eddie whipped around to face the direction I was staring in. "He...he's here?" His voice was shaking and childlike. I realized Eddie had heard about my visions of Mason, but we had never explicitly discussed them.
"Yes. He's over there," I pointed to the east corner of the room near the shade drawn windows.
"Wha...What's he doing? What does he want?" Eddie took a step towards the corner.
"I'm not sure." I looked closer at Mason. His figure was more transparent than usual, and his face wasn't polluted by the sad and horrified look I had grown used to seeing. He almost seemed...at peace. "I think he might be here to say goodbye." Eddie turned his head slightly towards me, still keeping his gaze fixed in the direction of Mason's spirit.
"Could you tell him," he gulped. "Tell him I miss him. And that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't do more." Mason's head made a blurred movement towards Eddie before returning his full attention back to me. I could see a small glimmer in his eyes letting me know he had heard.
"He understands," I told Eddie. He reached his hand out towards Mason, his fingers feeling through the air in an attempt to touch his lingering presence. There were so many things I wanted to say to him; to both of them in that moment. But I couldn't find the words. I could only mouth I'm sorry as tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill. My whole life I had been trained to protect those that I loved, and I had fatally failed two of the most important people to me. As if he could read my thoughts through my expression, a sad smile started to form on Mason's face. His figure was fading by the second. This time, more deliberately he looked towards Eddie, back towards me, and nodded. I nodded back to him and translated what I saw to Eddie, "He wants us to watch out for each other. Keep each other safe."
"I will," Eddie promised. "I won't let you down Mase." He spoke confidently, without an ounce of doubt in his voice. At those last words, Mason's figure dissipated in front of me, leaving an empty, lonely feeling behind.
Eddie seemed to sense he was gone as well and plopped down on the edge of his bed running a hand through his hair. His gaze was fixed on the floor with his bare back to me and I reached out to place my hand on his shoulder. As I lifted my arm, a familiar icy chill surged through me and I gripped the bedspread to ground myself. Eddie whipped around as a frightened gasp escaped my lips, his eyes wide and alert.
"What's wrong? Is he back?" There was a speck of hopefulness in his voice that put pressure on my chest.
"No," I replied shakily. The unpleasant coldness started to grow and my efforts to block it out were weakening. "It's her...it's Lissa."
A/N: If any of you are curious about the hotel I used for inspiration check out photos of The Metropol Hotel in Moscow. It's gorgeous. Any thoughts on Mason's farewell? This story has really made me want to dig deeper into Eddie as a character and now that he and Rose are on a mission, you'll be seeing a lot more of him.
On a side note, I recently saw the Gorillaz live and was floored! I had the sudden urge to put one of their songs in every chapter but settled for just one 😉. Picturing Eddie flooring it to Stylo gets me pumped for the road ahead!