32. Out of Time

(Sonya POV)

I was officially out of time. In less than forty-eight hours, Victor Dashkov was expecting to sail in to St. Vladimir's Academy and leave with a pair of personal spirit donors to keep his sickness at bay. But I had no intention of making it so easy for him.

The old Sonya would have panicked. She would have hidden and scratched and given in to the darkness, but that wasn't me anymore. I knew who I was, what I was capable of, and above all, now I had something – someone – to live for. Thinking of the promise of a future with Mikhail gave me the inspiration to reach beyond my fears, and I clicked into action mode.

It was 1:00pm – Vasilisa and Rose would be fast asleep in their dorms and I knew trying to contact them at this hour would only raise suspicion. There were a few other tasks I needed to do before I could leave The Academy, so I decided it would be better to let the girls have one last proper sleep – I had a feeling they were going to need it.

After Misha got injured and it was clear that he wasn't going to be back for a while, I'd ordered a beautiful Gucci travel bag online. It looked more like an oversized handbag than a suitcase so I hoped it wouldn't draw too much attention if somebody saw me leaving campus. Scanning over the list of essentials I'd made earlier, I began to pack, folding my clothes carefully so I could fit everything in as I thought through my escape plan.

Obviously we had to distance ourselves from Victor Dashkov, so St. Vladimir's and the Royal Court were out. I believed the prince had a holiday residence somewhere along the border of Wyoming and South Dakota, so travelling east wasn't the best option. West. West is best. We could start by heading over to my parents' place at Mt Baker – it would take nine or ten hours to get there by car but then we could bunk down for a rest and discuss plans for the next leg of our journey. I thought Seattle would be safe enough for a few nights, then we could work our further way south and find somewhere to hole up until Misha could join us and keep us safe – maybe Portland or even Sacramento.

Grabbing my phone, I pressed '1' on the speed-dial to organise my first day's accommodation.

'Mom?' I spoke as soon as she picked up the phone. 'How are you?'

The Torma household ran on human schedule so I knew she would be awake.

'Sonya?' she sounded surprised. 'This is very late for you. Are you out clubbing?' I heard her chuckle at her own joke. She knew I hated crowds and dancing – exactly the opposite to her when she was younger. Sometimes I think she couldn't believe I was actually her daughter.

'Ha-ha,' I replied drily. 'Are you going to be home for the next few days?' I asked, moving the conversation along. 'I was wondering if I could stay a night or two at your place. Maybe bring a friend?'

'Ooh. A handsome one I hope,' came her excited reply. 'I've been waiting for this day for years. Hold the phone – I've got to tell your father.' She put her hand over the receiver and called out to her husband.

'MOM!' the edge of exasperation in my voice was clear enough for her get the phone back to her ear.

'What?' she asked innocently.

'Sorry to ruin your fun, but it's not that kind of friend,' I set her straight. 'We'll just be staying briefly before I need to head back to work. Is that okay?'

'Of course, sweetheart,' she sounded slightly disappointed but tried her best to cover it. 'You know you can come home whenever you want, and you're welcome to bring any friends you like. I can't wait to see you.'

'Thanks Mom,' I breathed a sigh of relief then paused indecisively before adding one final comment. 'If it makes you feel better, there is someone special I'd like you to meet but he's tied up with work at the moment… maybe we can organise something in a few weeks' time? Anyway, I'll see you soon.'

The sound of her happy squeal brought a smile to my lips but I hung up quickly, tucking my phone and charger in the front pocket of my bag as I mentally checked off the things I still had to do.

While I hoped there might be a way to resolve the Dashkov problem, I had to assume I wouldn't be coming back to The Academy, so I began a careful search of my apartment to make sure I didn't leave anything important behind. The ball gown I'd worn to the royal banquet was hard to part with but it would have taken up too much space in my bag. Instead, I folded the lace gloves in tissue paper to keep as a memento, then moved to scour the bookcase for one or two favourites to take with me. Eventually, I decided on a collection of short fiction by Oscar Wilde and a first edition copy of Flower Fables, which my father had read to me when I was a little girl – the rest I could replace later. I didn't wear a lot of jewellery but I selected a few special pieces to keep, squashing my clothes down further to make room for the small box of treasures before zipping up the bag and placing it next to the door.

By the time I'd prepared some snacks for the road and watered all of my plants, the afternoon was wearing on but it wasn't quite late enough to wake Rose and Vasilisa yet. I set an alarm and fell into the armchair, hoping a quick nap would charge me up for the next stage of my plan.

When my alarm went off at 5.30pm I got up and showered before dressing in a pair of dark jeans, a long-sleeved scoop-neck shirt and a loose, hooded poncho. I slipped the silver ring Mum had given me for my 21st birthday onto my finger, then pulled on a pair of ankle boots and headed for the door. Walking across the empty school grounds, I tried to calm the nervous fluttering feeling in my stomach, keeping my mind busy by rehearsing the conversation I was about to have with the girl I was essentially planning to kidnap.

It was still early for most students and teachers at St. Vladimir's, but when I approached the field behind the Guardian Complex there were already several dhampirs out training. A group of older novices were beginning to gather at one end of the oval, dropping their gym bags in front of a covered sports-shed before joining their friends to warm-up as they waited for their instructor.

Hiding in the shadow of the sports-shed, I studied the huddle of novices carefully but it was clear that the person I was looking for wasn't among them. I waited another ten minutes or so, my pulse quickening as each new student jogged down to the group before finally, a few minutes after the instructor arrived to start his class, I spied a girl hurrying towards the oval, her trademark dark ponytail bouncing out behind her as she ran.

'Rose,' I stepped out from my hiding place as she passed me, preventing her from advancing. She was clearly late for training and shifted her flustered gaze from me to her classmates.

'Miss Karp,' she attempted a smile, already turning to leave.

'Rosemarie, wait!' I reached forward to grab her wrist and drew her back into the shadows. 'Princess Vasilisa is in danger. We need to get her out of here. Now.'

The girl's expression changed immediately and I watched in confusion as her eyes glazed over and her face went slack.

'Rosemarie? Are you alright?' There was something very disturbing about that blank gaze. Was she having some kind of fit?

I loosened my grip on the dhampir's wrist and held the back of my hand to her forehead to check for a fever. Her skin was cool but I snatched my hand back in surprise when I saw Rosemarie's dark aura flush with a tinge of gold. A second later, her eyes flickered and she resurfaced from the strange trance.

'What are you talking about? Vasilisa's perfectly safe. She's still asleep in her dorm. You don't need to worry,' Rose eyed me suspiciously, her brows draw together in a tight frown. 'Are you alright Miss Karp? Maybe you should get back inside until the sun goes down.'

Rose had somehow just checked on Vasilisa while standing right in front of me and she thought I was the crazy one?!

'I'm fine Rose, but you have to listen to me. Vasilisa is in grave danger,' I spoke urgently, trying to make her believe me. 'Do you remember the raven?'

She stared at me stonily, waiting for me to explain further – clearly it wasn't the sort of thing you could easily forget.

'You must realise that kind of power is extremely rare, and you've probably already guessed that it's highly dangerous. Using spirit magic comes at a price, and every time Vasilisa experiments with her powers she is putting herself at great risk.'

There was a flash of understanding in Rosemarie's eyes, and I could see she had witnessed the growing darkness in her friend.

'But that's not all, Rose,' I stepped closer to grip her by the shoulders. 'Somebody else saw what Vasilisa did to the raven and they're coming for her. If they get their hands on her, they will force her to use her magic until she's drained of all her power and light. We can't let that happen.'

'How do you know all of this?' the girl asked hesitantly, shrinking slightly from my grasp.

'Because I'm like Vasilisa,' I admitted quietly. 'I'm in danger too.'

The girl raised an eyebrow sceptically but she didn't look away this time – I think I had her.

'You won't be alone,' I assured her. 'I'll go with you – try to keep you safe – but we have to leave as soon as possible. Go and wake the princess. Pack your bags and meet me behind the guardian carpark in half an hour.'

I watched Rose's face twitch uncertainly as she struggled to make up her mind, trying to decide if she believed me enough to act on my crazy escape plan.

'Look, Rose. I could compel you to obey me, but I don't want to waste my magic – we might need that later. And besides, I think you know I'm right. We have to do this to keep Vasilisa safe.'

After the longest moment, the dhampir nodded in agreement and took off at a run, heading in the direction of the moroi royal dorms.

Thank God. One job down, one to go. I returned to my apartment, taking a few minutes to sit and focus before collecting my bag and heading out for the final time, making my way towards the guardian carpark.

'Evening, Ma'am. What can I do for you?' the guardian on duty asked as I approached the carpark's security booth.

I couldn't afford for anybody to find out where I was going so I took a risk and turned on the charm, adding just enough compulsion to ensure he would follow my instructions without question.

'I'd like to book out a car for a few hours. My cousin has stopped into town unexpectedly and wanted me to join her for a coffee. I'm afraid it was a short-notice thing and I had to tell admin I'm sick so I could get the night off. Could you just sign the vehicle out under the name 'moroi staff?' I gave him a winning smile and he nodded compliantly, handing me a set of keys.

'Your secret is safe with me,' he winked, and I thanked him before walking as quickly as I could to the jeep at the end of the row.

Once I'd stashed my bag below the dash on the passenger side, I drove up the ramp and doubled around to the back of the carpark, parking under a tree to wait for my passengers to join me. The compulsion I'd used on the guardian was extremely weak but I already felt a faint headache coming on. I massaged my temples, feeling my skin prickling around the edges of my scars. Don't scratch, I ordered myself, moving my hands onto the steering wheel to avoid the temptation. As the minutes passed, my anxiety rose and I was beginning to think the girls weren't going to show when I heard a click and the back door opened.

'Shove over, Liss,' Rosemarie hissed, and Princess Vasilisa slid across the back seat, allowing her friend to clamber in after her. 'So, what next, Miss Karp?' the dhampir asked briskly, looking at my reflection in the rear-view mirror.

'We disappear,' I replied, turning the key in the ignition, listening to the tyres crunching along the cobblestone pathway as I drove towards the elementary campus. 'We'll take the side exit – less security – then head west. I've already organised a place to stay for the first night and we can discuss our plans there. Now duck.'

I slowed to a halt as we approached the guard station and slid the window down a few inches.

'Good evening, Miss Karp. Where are you off to – don't you have classes today?' I didn't recognise the guardian who leaned over to peer in through the window but he clearly recognised me.

'Just heading out for a few hours,' I smiled, but my patience was already wearing thin. The light throb of my headache increased as I watched him jab his finger at the tablet in his hand.

'I'm sorry, but I don't have clearance for you to leave. I'm sure it's just an administrative error. You're welcome to use my phone to call Madam Kirova – once she gives verbal permission for you to go I can sign you out,' he said efficiently.

Damnit. We didn't have time for this. I pressed the button to slide the window down further and reached out to rest my fingers lightly on the young guardian's hand, looking intently up into his eyes.

'I have permission to leave and you will let me pass.' He tried to resist the compulsion but failed after only a few seconds. 'Once I am gone you will forget we ever had this conversation. You will not tell anybody about our meeting or record it in any way. Now open the gate.'

The poor man nodded seriously then moved to swing the gate open, and I accelerated through without hesitation. By the time I glanced back in the mirror he had already returned to his station. I sighed with relief and the girls popped up from where they had been hiding.

'Holy shit, Miss Karp. That was great!' Rose exclaimed enthusiastically.

Actually, it wasn't great. My head was pounding and I could feel the edges of my vision starting to blur.

'Miss Karp. You don't look so well,' Vasilisa's voice drifted across from the backseat.

'I'll be fine,' I lied and took a few deep breaths before putting my foot to the floor, grateful for every mile I put between us and The Academy.

By the time we'd reached the outskirts of Spokane my headache was so bad I was close to vomiting. There was no way I could drive the rest of the way to my parents' place, and the girls were too young to take the wheel.

'Slight change of plan,' I gasped out, pulling into a bus stop. 'You're going to have to go on ahead without me.'

'What?' Both girls said at once, Vasilisa sounding frightened, Rose sounding annoyed.

I knew they were only kids but I was in no state to help them. I would only slow them down, and the most important thing right now was that they got as far from Victor Dashkov as possible. There was no time to try reasoning with them, so I summoned the last remains of my energy and turned around to look at them, still gripping the wheel with my left hand for support.

'You will forget about me and the details of our escape,' I commanded. 'All you need to remember is that Princess Vasilisa is in peril. Stay away from The Academy, stay away from Court. Don't attempt to contact anyone you know – you'll only put them in danger. Head west – Seattle, Portland, wherever you can blend in. If you notice something suspicious move on immediately - anywhere is better than being caught. Here,' I reached down to delve into my bag and pressed a stack of cash into the dhampir's hand. 'Take care of the princess, Rosemarie. I'll come and join you later if I can. Just keep her safe until then. Now go!'

Moments later I was alone in the car once more, and I let out a whimper of fear and pain as the shadows surged towards me. I pushed them back, realising I had to get away from the bus stop so nobody could connect this place with my car and the runaways. I pulled out onto the road and headed slowly north in an attempt to throw any pursuers off the scent. When I couldn't go any further I veered right, running into a traffic post as I skidded to a stop before turning off the engine and fumbling in the front pocket of my bag. I somehow managed to get my phone out and found the number I was looking for.

'Alberta?' I spoke weakly as the phone slipped from my fingers. 'Help me.'

Author's Note:

SO… I wonder if you agree with my interpretation of how Sonya helped the girls escape? Or maybe you have your own ideas?

This was one significant plot point where the book & the movie were totally different..

In a flashback in the book, Rose said she & Vasilisa left about a month after Sonya may or may not have used compulsion to suggest they should escape from the school. I personally think if Sonya had used compulsion it would have worked immediately.

In the movie Sonya takes the girls to a bus stop then for some reason goes back to The Academy – it was my job in this chapter to explain why she might have returned to the school, even though it was in her best interests to leave.

On a side note, I wanted to paint a clearer picture of Sonya's relationship with her mum in this chapter, and you might also see certain items Sonya took from her apartment pop up again in the near future.