Ch. 10

RPOV

Songs: Paradise Circus - Massive Attack, The Sky is a Neighborhood - Foo Fighters

I felt paralyzed. I was an emotional wreck after just seeing Mason and had momentarily let my guard down. I was trying to block out her thoughts, but they were winning out. Eddie's form in front of me started to blur and the room shifted from red and gold patterned duvets to black cherry leather lounge chairs, crisp white linens, and dainty tea candles.

The scene was a perfect combination of old and new; modern Renaissance. Lissa was impatiently strumming her blood red nails on a white tablecloth. I could sense that she was waiting for someone. There was only an hour or so left before daylight and the bar was mostly empty, except for a few workers and another Strigoi standing behind her who was built like a lumberjack. By the look of his physique and attention to the details of the room, he was most likely a Guardian in his former life. Eventually, an anxious Moroi man shuffled his way over from the bar and sat at the table in front of her. His smell was overwhelmingly intoxicating. Lissa brought a finger to her mouth as she tilted her chin and eyed his neck. I unconsciously licked my lips.

The Moroi nervously adjusted the collar of his pastel pink button-up shirt and sank further back into his seat. His uneasiness didn't seem to bother Lissa in the least and she flashed him a fanged smile. "So," she started. "Am I to assume you have accepted my offer? Unless there is some other reason you thought important enough to risk bringing me here?" Her words hissed off her tongue like an enchanting serpent. She picked up a black book of matches with the word Zavlekat' printed in gold on top and absentmindedly flipped it between her fingers.

"Da," He looked directly at her as he spoke, and I could see the reflection of her scarlet eyes in his. His black hair was slicked back, and his thick beard was neatly trimmed. I didn't recognize him, but there was an air about him that hinted he was royal. A glimmer from his right hand caught my attention and I noticed he was wearing a gold ring with a strange emblem on it. Lissa's eyes flitted from his throat to his face. "I have spoken to my organization here in Novosibirsk and we have agreed to accept your...insurance policy." His accent was thick, the foreign, English words rolling heavy off his tongue.

Lissa clasped her hands together under her chin and beamed at his response. "I'm so very pleased to hear that Grigory. You and your associates will be welcome additions to the coalition." She flicked her pale hair behind her shoulder and stood to leave. She walked towards Grigory's side of the table, dragging her crimson claws on the linen cloth, and slowly leaned into him so that her lips were close enough to his ear to brush a soft kiss against it. I could almost feel his pulse racing and anticipated the possibility of her tasting his blood. "I hope we will be seeing each other very soon." Her hollow laugh echoed in the close space between them as she lifted her hand and ran a fingernail down his neck.

She flashed Grigory a quick wink and turned with unnatural speed, waving towards the tall brut standing behind her. "Come now Nikolay. Let's go."

Just like that, I was pulled back into my own body feeling lingering aftereffects of want and frustration. My mouth felt dry and my skin was crawling.

"Rose! What the hell happened?" Eddie's panicked voice snapped me back to reality and I shook my head to normalize myself.

"She was in a bar. There were matches, ugh what did they say," I pressed the palm of my hand to my forehead. "It was something like sauerkraut, but more Russian. Zavalask? Zavlekat'! There were Moroi there too." He eyed me skeptically. "She spoke to a man. Grigory. We have a lead Eddie!" I was confused why he wasn't as enthused as I was.

"That's good Rose. Really good actually. But what I meant was what happened with you?" There was a look of concern on his face. I wasn't sure what he was getting at. He knew about the bond before Lissa was taken, and I had explained everything else in the church library. "You had this look on your face. I've seen it before. It was like," he struggled for the right words. "It was like you were ravenous, and at the same time ready to kill something. Like Isaiah." Eddie absentmindedly touched the place on his throat that the Strigoi had fed from for days.

I gulped and looked down at my bed, suddenly feeling ashamed and extremely dirty. "I...I need to shower." I jumped up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom, avoiding Eddie's scrutinizing gaze. I cranked the shower to high heat and stripped down, plunging in before it had time to warm up. I stood under the freezing water letting it cascade down me and roughly scrubbed my limbs while the water slowly heated. Steam filled the room as I let the water scorch my skin, hoping to wash away the feelings the bond had forced upon me. I felt her desire to feed on that Moroi man, and for a moment that insatiable yearning threatened to consume me. I wanted her to indulge. For her to sink her teeth into him and devour his blood.

I felt faint for a moment and threw my forearm against the wall to steady myself. I turned down the heat and inhaled a few deep breaths. I could hear Dimitri's voice calming me: Just breathe Roza. Just breathe.

"You can do this," I spoke out loud to myself. Lissa Comes First. Lissa Comes First. When my head finally stopped spinning and my breathing calmed, I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off.

When I exited the bathroom, Eddie was sitting at the hotel computer, typing away. "I talked to Ivashkov and turns out Zavlekat' is a Moroi bar not too far from here. I'm just looking up photos of the perimeter now," he called over his shoulder. I could tell he was still a little concerned, but he knew when to give me my space.

"It's almost daylight now so we'll have to wait until dark to head out. You should try to get a couple more hours of sleep before we figure out our plan of action." I started to argue with him but knew he was right. If we were going to possibly be fighting Strigoi tonight, I needed to be in top form.

"Okay," I replied. "But just a couple of hours. Wake me up before 7." He nodded, still working at the computer and I went to my duffel to grab a change of clothes before retiring to my bed.

I expected to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep as soon as I laid my head down, I was mentally drained from the recent hauntings from my two best friends. However, when I closed my eyes the room started to shift again. My heart raced for a moment, thinking I was being pulled back into Lissa but when I noticed it was daylight out, I knew she couldn't be responsible for the interruption. The warm rays soaked into my skin and I could hear soft waves breaking nearby.

"Hey there Little Dhampir. Miss me yet?" Adrian stood, casually leaning against a palm tree nearby with a cocky smirk on his face. I walked over towards him slightly annoyed.

"Let me guess, Eddie called you in to check on me?" I crossed my arms over my chest feeling skin on skin contact and noticing for the first time what I was wearing I admonished him, "A bathing suit? Really Adrian? I'm in Siberia for crying out loud." It was the same bikini top I wore at the ski lodge party he had invited me to at court, but with a pair of shorts on bottom.

"I wouldn't say 'check on' exactly, just somewhat concerned. And technically you are on the beach, not in a brittle wasteland." He smiled, gesturing from the white sugar sand to the clear blue sky. I looked around for a minute, admiring the scene he had created for us.

Remembering my earlier frustrations, I tugged on the ends of my loose hair and rolled my eyes. "I don't need a babysitter you know?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Adrian replied with a feigned hurt tone. "As kinky as it sounds," he added with a wink. I couldn't help but let out a small smile at his playfulness. With all of his faults, he was pretty good at finding ways to lighten the mood.

"So, I hear you had a visit from our dear friend Lissa. Care to talk about it?" His face turned slightly more serious, but he still held onto his light tone. I briefed him on the conversation I had witnessed in the bar through the bond but left out the disturbing feelings it had aroused within me. We walked along the shoreline as I spoke, the feeling of sand between my toes helped settle my swirling emotions. When I finished, Adrian appeared to be deep in thought.

"I can't believe a Moroi would actually agree to meet with her knowing she is Strigoi. It would be different if she had given him false pretences, but he seemed well aware of what she was beforehand. And the whole 'insurance policy' thing, what's that about?"

"I'm not sure Rose, I'm as lost as you on that one. Was there anything else about him that stood out? Maybe I can ask around and find out a little about who it is we are dealing with," I tried to think back and focus on every little detail of the Moroi. He had seemed very well dressed and well kempt, his cufflinks alone looked like they cost more than our car, indicating he was wealthy and most-likely royal. There was nothing distinctive about his look other than, "His ring. He had a gold ring with a weird symbol on it. It was like a sun, but the rays were jagged like lightning bolts."

Adrian's eyes seemed to light up at this. "What? Do you know that symbol," I asked.

"I just might. But I'll have to double check something first. I'll hopefully have more answers tomorrow. Until then, I've sent over a few...necessities to help with your journey to Zavlekat'." There was a mischievous tone in that last statement that made me skeptical of these so-called necessities.

"What do you mean Adrian?" I made no attempt to hide my skepticism in my voice.

"Don't worry Little Dhampir. Just a few things to help you fit in. After all, Zavlekat' does mean 'allure'. I only wish I could be there to see it." He was wearing a full-on grin at this point.

"Adrian, what the hell are you—" The beach around me started to shudder and I could feel myself being pulled away. I opened my eyes to find myself in the sunlit hotel room with Eddie again.

"Rise and shine Hathaway!" Man, I hated cheerful people in the morning. I groaned at him in response.

"Don't worry, I come bearing gifts." He pushed a tray of assorted breakfast food towards me, the smell caused a resounding growl from my stomach. I hadn't realized how famished I was and immediately dug into the food. "When you're done, there's something over there from Ivashkov. Just arrived."

After practically licking my plate clean I headed over to the open closet Eddie had pointed to with a face still full of food. There was a vinyl garment bag and a black box tied with a red ribbon beside it. I noticed an open box similar to mine on the floor. Assuming it had been Eddie's I asked, "Wah ith it?"

"English, Rose."

I gulped down my food and wiped my face with the back of my hand. "What is it," I repeated, my eyes fixed on the mysterious gifts.

"Supplies for tonight," Eddie said as he walked over to the desk. I slowly unzipped the garment bag and pulled it open to reveal something completely unexpected: a gorgeous deep green velvet dress. Touching the material, I was surprised to find it was much lighter than I initially thought. It was sleeveless with a modest scoop neckline, but when I turned it around to get a look at the back it was completely missing. "Really Adrian," I muttered to myself. Around the hanger was a long diamond chain necklace that glimmered in the early morning light. It looked expensive, extremely expensive.

Turning away from the 'evening gown barbie' scene in front of me, I turned my attention to the lone, black box. I lifted it off the shelf, noticing how deceivingly heavy it was, and carefully pulled the red ribbon off. The inside was covered with dark plush lining, a freshly polished silver stake resting on top. I ran the tips of my fingers along it, admiring its craftsmanship. Beside it was a black holster used to strap my new weapon around my thigh. I grinned at the beautiful sight before me...this was going to be a good night.

A/N: Lissa's back! What do y'all think of her so far? There will be more of her fabulous, creepy self coming soon.

I cannot express how excited I am about the next chapter! It is probably my favorite chapter in this story so far and is jam-packed with all sorts of goodies for you guys. Our Dhampir duo is about to go on one hell of a ride ;)

Thanks a mil to everyone reading!