Before we noticed, the replacement guardians came, and we left Lissa's to pack. She hugged me tightly, and I felt my heart sink as we were leaving her room. I couldn't shake the feeling that I wouldn't see her for a long time.
I took a supply of clothes that would be enough for a week. I figured there had to be a washing machine somewhere in case we would stay longer. I packed it into a travel bag, as did Dimitri. My bag was much bulkier - I didn't bother folding my clothes nicely, earning a raised eyebrow from Dimitri as he regarded my packing process. The situation was not improved by the fact that I had to sit on the bag to close it.
Dimitri carried our bags to the garage, where one of the guardians was waiting to take us to the airport. We got in the back. Dimitri kept his hand on my knee, drawing slow, reassuring circles as I texted Eddie. I informed him that we would be joining their team in about ten hours hopefully. Suddenly I felt Dimitri's hand freeze.
"Why aren't we heading for the Court's airport?"
"Didn't Hans tell you? The royal planes won't be available for the next twenty-four hours so you have to catch commercial flights from Pittsburgh."
"Excuse me?" I exclaimed. "I hope you're joking. This trip has the highest priority! We should have planes available for such an occasion."
"I guess we weren't rated as a top priority," Dimitri muttered quietly, looking significantly at the guardian who drove us. I grimaced, angry at myself. We weren't supposed to say anything about this mission to the other guardians. No information was safe when there was an informant in our ranks. "But it seemed to me that we needed to be at the designated place as soon as possible."
The guardian just shrugged his shoulders.
"You can try calling Hans. I'll start driving towards Pittsburgh, but I can always turn back."
Dimitri called Hans and tried to fight for our case, but he had to let go when Hans told him that it was not an option. I wanted to pick up the phone myself and keep the discussion going, but Hans hung up, saying that tickets in our names were already waiting for us at the airport. I didn't even have time to tell him a single warm word I had already prepared.
There was nothing left for us to do but to accept our fate. I arranged with Eddie that I would write to him during our transfer with a message about what time we would land in Palm Springs, and he would set up someone to pick us up. Dimitri read the documents regarding this mission and everything related to Jill during the ride. As the most experienced guardian, he was to be our commander since arriving in Palm Springs. He was to be responsible for every decision made, so he wanted to be as prepared as he could. And my Dimitri was anything but thorough.
"In this context, our conversation yesterday about inadequate security takes on even more meaning," he said under his breath, handing me one of the documents. My teeth clenched angrily when I saw Eddie and Angeline's names under the heading "guarding team".
While he was reading, I got into a conversation with our driver, who had been working at the Court for years as it turned out, either on guard administration or doing such minor tasks as delivering guardians to their desired destination. Puzzled by his role, I inquired whether he was getting tired of such a (boring in my opinion) function, but he was quite happy with it. I thought I didn't envy him right now.
Dimitri finished reading just before arriving at the airport, where we parted ways with our driver. With his natural sense of direction, he led us through the airport, which was crowded despite the late hour, to the ticket counters. It was approaching ten o'clock at night, but the airport was bustling with travelers.
We were immediately directed to a special personal control unit. Especially for such occasions, we had human papers prepared, certifying that we were high-ranking human officers and authorized to carry all the weapons we had with us. At the very least, we did not intend to go without the proper armaments.
When we had gone through all the procedures, we learned that we still had an hour until departure. We sat down in a cafe, where Dimitri bought coffee and chocolate for me. He discussed with me what plan he had drawn up in his mind about taking care of Jill and distributing our forces.
We agreed that we would move Jill from the private school dormitory to an apartment where we would all be living. At school and later, I was to accompany her constantly and keep her safe. Angeline was then to be my helper more than the person responsible for watching over Jill. In turn, in the evenings and at night, he and Eddie were to stand guard. I thought our initial plan was very reasonable.
It was approaching midnight when our plane began circling the runway. I was reviewing his corrections in the documents when I saw that he had gazed out the window and he visibly relaxed. Since we heard about the mission, he was this intimidating, lethal, focused guardian who was ready to spring into action and deal with any danger on his way. Now I could see the slightest, most subtle signs that the tension was leaving his body.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked with a slight smile. He realized I was watching him and smiled gently. "You seem relaxed. Something is not right."
He widened his smile, lighting up his face so beautifully. I couldn't decide when he was sexier - when he was so focused on the task at hand, with that passion and power radiating from him, or when he was relaxed, smiling, and focused all that killer attention on me.
"You said you enjoyed Palm Springs and I just thought I was glad we were going there. You were there so briefly that you probably didn't get to see everything."
My smile widened, and he gently squeezed my hand. A pleasant warmth washed over me at the thought that, amid all this chaos he thought of me in this way.
"I can't wait to see everything! I bet it's still warm there, perfect for wearing short clothes and sunbathing!"
His smile faltered, replaced by an unexpected seriousness in his eyes.
"I'll be happy to show you the city… but I don't expect it to be such a vacation for us. I suspect we will work more rather than less, needing to be in top form even off duty."
"I know, I know, you buzzkill," I teased, playfully rolling my eyes, "I don't expect a vacation there. Still, we could have ended up in worse places."
"For example, in the Corn Palace," he said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
This made me laugh out loud. I looked at him warmly, remembering our lovely trip around the world in the public library. He smiled too, his eyes filled with tenderness.
"I noticed that you've been excited since Hans said we had to go."
I shrugged.
"Yes it's true, but for many reasons. I'm glad we are taking this matter into our own hands. I was tired of worrying about them constantly. I'm excited about this mission and... I don't know. It might sound bratty, but I'm excited by the prospect of some action, you know? I understand that boredom in the guardian job is a privilege, but lately, we've had a little too much standing around at formal Moroi meetings."
"I know. I think we have more interesting day-to-day tasks than the vast, vast majority of guardians, but... I'm also happy that we're finally getting involved in something serious."
"Wow, I was half-expecting a "appreciate the peace while you can; it may be too late later" kind of response."
"Your faith in me is touching as usual," he said, shaking his head. I laughed again, and he leaned in to kiss my forehead. "But I'm serious. I appreciate our usual peace, but I'm glad we can get involved in this mission."
"You can't fool me, comrade. You're just happy that we're going to such a sunny place for an extended time," I joked, and his smile widened.
"Of course I am. I feel like we never spend enough time together in the sun," his voice drifted off as if he was thinking about something. I knew that besides the warmth of the sun's rays, he had his own much deeper reasons for preferring to spend time in the sun and proving to himself that he was not one of the immortal monsters.
"Well, most guardians in general don't spend time together," I muttered to distract him a bit from his unpleasant thoughts. Dimitri agreed but quickly went back to rereading the documents about the situation in Palm Springs. We went over everything again, and by the time we landed in Houston for a connecting flight, my eyes were practically closing.
We waited about an hour and a half, so we decided to eat something. I reserved seats for us at a dining space, while Dimitri went to get some quick food for us. I noticed a group of girls, very nice looking, who watched him intently, whispering among themselves, until finally two of them approached him as he waited for our order. They chatted with him for a while, but as soon as he got his order, Dimitri politely bid them farewell and headed toward me. The girls watched his every step, and then their eyes rested on me. I smiled with vicious sweetness at them, fluttering my eyelashes as they measured me with cold glances. Dimitri raised one eyebrow but didn't even dare to ask.
I texted Eddie that we would be around eight in the morning, and he wrote back that in that case, Sydney would pick us up while he took Jill to school. After her class, we were to meet at Clarence's house.
Just before we left, we went to the newsstand, where, to my surprise, Dimitri found a western he had not yet read.
"Are these still being published?" I asked in disbelief looking at the cover, but Dimitri took the book from my hands. I thought about buying some magazines, but I was feeling more and more tired and decided that I'd better use this time to take a nap before we showed up for our full-scale duty.
As if especially for me, the seat next to us was empty. Once we were in the air I made myself comfortable by resting my head in Dimitri's lap, who eagerly allowed me to do so. His fingers slid into my hair and began to massage my head in a calming rhythm that lulled me to sleep for the next few hours.
"Rose," his soft voice woke me up when we landed. I sat up sleepily, and he kissed my forehead with a smile. A pleasant warmth enveloped me along with that kiss. I saw that his book was lying in his backpack along with a bookmark on top, which meant that he had read it all.
"How did it end?" I asked, stretching my arms up. "No wait, let me guess. This time, unexpectedly, a cowboy with a tough past but with a noble heart saved defenseless locals from despicable villains?"
Dimitri didn't bother to answer. While we were waiting for our luggage I called Sydney, but she did not answer the phone. I tried to reach Eddie but he also didn't pick up his phone. I hesitated before calling Adrian so I bombarded Sydney and Eddie with calls, growing more frustrated with each unanswered ring.
"Is everything all right?" Dimitri asked, having returned to me. He slung both of our bags over his shoulders and looked at me with concern.
"No one is answering. I don't know why," I looked at him with obvious worry in my eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows, clearly concerned about the unusual situation. He put his hand on my back and gently directed me to the exit.
"Come on we'll look around for Sydney at the arrivals, and if she's not there we'll order a cab."
However, before we went outside Sydney called back. As soon as I picked up and said we were in Palm Springs she answered in a shaky voice.
"That's good. We need you as soon as possible at Jill's dorm. We think… we think someone kidnapped her during the night."
I froze and looked fearfully into Dimitri's eyes. He grabbed my arm and looked as alarmed as ever.
Fucking. Hell.
We didn't wait a moment longer. Dimitri went to hail a cab. I questioned Sydney on everything she knew.
Apparently, in the morning Eddie arrived at Jill and Angelina's room to escort them to class. He knocked and called, but neither of them answered, so Eddie kicked down the door and there he found Angeline who was unconscious, Jill's empty bed, and the pungent smell of chloroform throughout the room. Eddie called Sydney to get medical help for Angeline as soon as possible, and he ran to look for signs of Jill.
All this was happening when we landed in Palm Springs because exactly before eight o'clock Eddie was supposed to escort the girls to class. Now Sydney had just left Angeline in the care of doctors at the hospital.
"I'll try to call Eddie right away, we're on our way there," I said, rushing to the cab that Dimitri had caught. He held the door for me as I climbed into the back seat, where he immediately joined me. "Get to us ASAP, we might need to involve the police and others."
"As soon as I finish at the hospital, I'm rushing to you," she said and hung up. Dimitri pressed a tip to the driver to get us there as fast as possible. I leaned into my boyfriend's ear and whispered everything I knew so the driver wouldn't potentially hear.
Dimitri called Hans, who had already been informed by Eddie. Hans said he was sending backup to us, but since there was almost no one in the area, we were to act alone for a while, cooperating with the police. Dimitri promised to keep him informed and to start the appropriate procedure.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I muttered, slowly realizing that we had come too late. Dimitri grabbed my hand but didn't say a word. Only in the glances we exchanged did I see a determination to find Jill as soon as possible.
I reached Eddie and Dimitri instructed him to wait for us at the entrance to the dormitory. He greeted us there with a horrified look as we rushed out of the cab.
"Eddie, what happened?" Dimitri asked immediately. There was not a trace of my sweet, affectionate boyfriend. In front of Eddie stood an intimidating, deadly guardian, ready to tear apart any threat that stood in our way. The expression on Eddie's face betrayed the utmost despair.
Summarizing Sydney's information, Eddie explained that at their usual hour, he attempted to fetch Jill and Angeline to escort them to class or breakfast. With no response, he forcefully entered their room, detecting a strong odor of chloroform. Angeline lay motionless, and Jill was nowhere to be found. Eddie immediately called Sydney for assistance with Angeline and desperately ran outside to search for Jill. Unfortunately, he hasn't discovered any leads since then.
Without a moment's hesitation, Dimitri questioned Eddie about the timeline, any suspicious activity in the last twenty-four hours, and additional observations. Delegating Eddie to interview people in the building who might have been up at night, Dimitri sent me to inspect the area around the dorm, focusing on all exit points. Simultaneously, he went to secure Jill's room and checked for available cameras that might have been recorded the previous night.
Eddie looked at me with unrelenting distress. Just yesterday I asked if he had seen anything suspicious, and he dismissed me. At this point we couldn't judge anything so perhaps he had no way of knowing anything, but it was hard for me not to be a little bitter about what had happened.
I went to look at everything around the dorm, focusing on everything I had learned at the Academy and during my adventures. After checking all the potential entry and exit routes, the parking lot, and the hallway leading to Jill's room I joined Dimitri in the girls' room.
He was talking to Sydney and the police officers, to whom they were relaying the information they had. Adrian stood beside them, looking at Jill's crumpled bed, pale as a wall. When Dimitri noticed me, he asked if there were any clues I noticed. Feeling everyone's gaze on me, I listed them.
"The door at the back is damaged, it has a broken lock. I think they broke down the door, entered there, and exited once they had Jill. In my opinion, they weren't difficult to unhinge. I didn't see any signs of a struggle, but I smelled chloroform even downstairs."
He nodded and gestured to the room.
"It stinks here too. They probably put the girls to sleep and captured Jill."
"It's good that Angeline is alive," I said quietly, feeling nauseous. Adrian met my gaze and nodded.
"And the parking lot?" asked the policeman. I shook my head.
"I didn't notice anything in particular. The entrance gate was also intact. Cameras?" I asked hopefully, looking at Dimitri. I saw several monitoring the corridors, the entrance, and the parking lot.
"The whole system was damaged. By a mechanical method," he looked at me significantly.
"This was not a well-thought-out, long-planned action," I said, thinking out loud, "Many of these solutions are forceful, not masterminded. They must have been in a hurry. And today…" Suddenly the truth hit me like a hammer. "Fucking son of bitches! They knew we were coming today. They hurried to capture Jill before our arrival. This was their last chance."
Dimitri closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath, realizing this too. The fury in his eyes was freezing.
"And that means that either Hans or Klara are traitors, or ..."
"... we are bugged," I finished. Dimitri cursed very, very ugly in Russian. Sydney was talking to a policeman, trying to push some kind of bullshit on him, when Dimitri called Hans to warn him about potential wiretaps. My heart froze in my chest. Potentially, this meant that our phones and any communication with the Court were bugged and dangerous. If the enemy knew our every move, we couldn't plan anything. We couldn't surprise him.
Sydney stood with a concerned face close to us. Adrian went to the window in the corridor to light up a cigarette. Sydney and I both grimaced. The policeman turned toward me.
"Officer Belikov mentioned you could use our help. What do you need from our unit?" Officer Belikov was busy relaying information to Hans, but he heard the policeman's question. He nodded at me to let me handle it.
"We will contact our people and try to get as much support as possible. We need to start a search for Jill, maybe footage from nearby traffic cameras, we need to collect interviews of people who work here and we need a geographic analysis. I assume they took her in the car, and K-9s won't be of much use. If you have access to technology we will use everything you have, thermal imaging, and satellite imagery. We also need access to crime mapping and geographic profiling.
The policeman nodded.
"We can also call for our geographic information systems specialists, they can suggest where to narrow down the search area."
"Please do it. We will bring in our forensic specialists right away," I looked at Sydney, who nodded. We didn't want human cops looking at vampire's DNA. Dimitri approached.
"Do exactly as Officer Hathaway said. Castille continues to collect interviews. Sydney, stay here and wait for the team to collect biological material. I and Officer Hike," he nodded to our helpful police officer, "we will go get the footage from the cameras. Rose, you will go to the police station and do predictive modeling."
"I can go with you, Rose," Adrian said, shaking the ash off his shirt, "Maybe the fact that I've been sitting here for months will come in handy."
I nodded, and Dimitri approved as well. I looked at Sydney.
"Let me know as soon as Angeline's awake."
She agreed and stayed to wait for the forensic team while we went our separate ways. I wasn't sure, but I think Dimitri had our luggage bags.
"Can you feel her?" I asked Adrian as we sat in the back of the cab. I whispered quietly enough so that the driver wouldn't overhear us. "Through the bond?"
"I don't feel anything, but I assume that's a good thing. Lissa said she felt clearly the moment she lost her connection with you," he looked at the window, with a grimace on his face.
Until now, I hadn't even had a chance to reflect on the fact that we were seeing each other in person for the first time in months. I'll admit that we had much, much more important things on our minds than my poor romantic relationship skills.
"You can't visit her dreams either, can you?"
"Usually when someone is unconscious mechanically I can't visit them. Only if they fell asleep."
"But you saw me when I was after... bites."
Adrian caught my gaze and I saw a shadow of sympathy in it. But he quickly broke the contract.
"I think it's a little different. These... bites, make you feel more tired and dizzy, but they don't immediately deprive you of consciousness. So I can get into the subconscious of the sleeper. What's different is when that person is completely stunned.
I nodded my head. It made sense.
At the police station, I collaborated with numerous specialists who gathered around maps and together we analyzed potential kidnapping locations. Unfortunately, Adrian found himself of little use without the basic military training I had received at the academy. Alongside police officers and specialists, we assessed roads, hiding places, and overall terrain.
Dimitri called after they analyzed cameras from the nearby roads. They had identified several suspicious cars possibly linked to the kidnapping, and we were instructed to check them out. We plotted the information on our maps and, after far too much time, we determined a list of potential locations where Jill might have been captured or seen. Without delay, I sent Adrian home and forwarded the list to Dimitri and Eddie.
We divided into teams and, alongside human forces, reviewed all the potential locations within a few hours. None of us found anything. When Dimitri called me with the news of the latest setback, I felt a lump rising in my throat.
"So what now? There are still a few less likely places on our list," I glanced at the list of places I had compiled. The list of crossed-out names was hard to watch. Pressing the phone to my ear with one arm, I pulled out a pen. Holding the piece of paper on the police car that brought me here, I crossed out the last position on the list of "probable."
"I think that these are dead leads. I'm heading to the police station. Eddie is already there. We'll take another look at the facts we have and expand the search area."
"When will the backup arrive?"
"They're on their way. Now I'm also waiting to hear from the human police officers. I've dispatched them on all roads out of Palm Springs."
"Let me guess, no one found anything?"
The silence on the other side of the phone spoke volumes. I sighed heavily.
"I'll check the less likely places. I'll update you when I'm done."
"Do you have a car?" He asked, puzzled. The policemen had to return to the police station when this trail proved to be pointless.
"No, but he'll figure something out. Let me know if you find something."
"Alright, but let's stay in touch, okay?"
"Okay. Love you, bye," I hung up before he could insist that I join them at the police station.
I felt that if I stopped moving, I would honestly burst. I couldn't afford to stand down, not when Jill's life hung in the balance. So I headed with the policemen toward the police station, and they dropped me off at the first location on my list. They also gave me a spare map so I could find my way to where I needed to be later.
I checked out the first unlikely location, observing my surroundings, studying the people there, and scouring for any signs of a fight. Finding nothing I pulled out my map and searched for the second location indicated by the specialists. I got there on foot but I found nothing that could lead me to Jill. With no word from Dimitri about their progress, I pressed on to the third site.
When the next site proved to be a dead end it hit me, how uselessly I had wasted the last hours of the day. The sun had already set, and all my efforts had led to nothing more than a tour of the most random places in Palm Springs. With no information from Dimitri, it seemed they weren't making progress either. Refusing to sit around at the police station, doing shit, I chose instead to pursue the slim chance that Jill might be in one of the vaguely outlined locations we had marked.
So I went to the fourth location. A low-cost motel. No one took notice of me when I walked in and headed for the cafeteria. I didn't see anyone. As I was leaving, a woman appeared at the reception desk with such dilated pupils that I was positively surprised when she noticed me. I knew fully well that I wasn't going to get any legit information from her, but feeling like a complete idiot, I took out the photo of Jill that we had printed at the police station today and showed it to the woman, asking if she hadn't seen her before. She stared at the photo for a good sixty seconds with her mouth open, until I hid the photo in my jacket and left the respectable establishment.
It turned out that I was not quite alone. In the parking lot, I saw a dark, tall figure leaning against the hood of a car. In an instant, every muscle in my body tensed, but I saw the shape of a duster so familiar to me. So I walked closer to see Dimitri watching me with anticipation. I could also see that he was as tired as I was.
"Rose, let's go back to the others," he said in a firm voice, but I shook my head.
"You can go back, but I don't want to. I'm not tired, I can still look in other places…" Dimitri came up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. I looked into his eyes and realized that I was lying to myself anyway. Jill was not in any of these places. Probably, she was in some ditch. A sharp, involuntary breath escaped my chest, and Dimitri pulled me close and hugged me tightly.
"We will find her. If they wanted to kill her, they would have left her body, otherwise, they wouldn't change anything," he whispered into my hair. I stepped back and wiped away the single tear that slipped out. His words had to be enough for me to function.
"Agreed," I whispered with a strained voice. We got into the car and, unusually, I did not start arguing about who was driving. I couldn't control my hands enough to check my cell phone, let alone hold the steering wheel. I leaned my head against the windshield and looked at Palm Springs, which I wanted to see so badly. I cringed at the memory of our conversation from the plane.
Dimitri traced circles on my palm comfortingly, but we didn't speak to each other. We didn't need to. We were both scared, helpless and frustrated. I called Abe to find out what he knew, and whether his guy here had any information. He knew nothing. Instead, he told me that Lissa and Christian's security had increased a lot, and Lissa herself was sick with worry. I clenched my eyelids tightly, imagining what hell must have been in Lissa's head.
At Clarence's house, we found only Sydney and Adrian talking at the kitchen table. They stopped when we entered, straightening up in a flash. Suddenly I felt as if I had walked into the middle of an intimate conversation even though they weren't even touching.
"Rose, we were starting to worry," Sydney said. She looked exhausted as if only the thing that kept her awake was a cup of coffee that was on the table in front of her. Adrian met my gaze, checking if I was alright.
"I'm fine, but I'm on edge. I can't believe we don't have a single trail after sweeping the entire city," I sat down in a chair near them. "Now we are waiting for the analysis from the city cameras, right?" I turned to Dimitri, who stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Yes. None of the cars we suspected earlier left Palm Springs, so either we find them here or…" he sighed heavily, "...or they switched cars."
I slammed my fist on the table and Dimitri squeezed my shoulders in a supportive gesture
"Son of a bitch!"
"In any case, professional analysis from the city cameras will help us evaluate this. Even if they swapped cars, we may be able to retrospectively look at where they came from and who it was. The roads leaving Palm Springs are also being watched. If we find cars that match our profile, we will expand to California or more states. In any case, we are waiting."
"What about forensic examination?"
"The DNA found in Jill's room wasn't linked to anyone in our database," Sydney said with sadness in her voice. I buried my face in my hands, feeling like my head was about to explode.
"Eddie and Angeline?"
"Eddie found nothing. Angeline doesn't remember anything since they went to bed last night," muttered Adrian quietly. I groaned. Dimitri squeezed my shoulders one last time and walked away to the other room. To the kitchen as I realized.
A cell phone buzzed and Adrian frowned.
"It's probably my mother again. She's been calling all day to make sure I haven't been kidnapped. She continues to hope that my father will pay the ransom if he has to," he got up and picked up the phone.
"And where are Eddie and Angeline?" I asked Sydney.
"Eddie and another guardian who arrived are driving around trying to find anything. Angeline is still in the hospital."
"Is she okay?" I asked.
"She's sleepy and feels sick, but she should be fine."
"Thank God" I looked at the documents spread out on the table. My gaze was caught by the heading "suspicious persons". "Is there really no one we can question? Anyone who has interacted with Jill over the past weeks?
Sydney shook her head.
"Dimitri, Adrian, and Eddie have been to all the most high-profile suspects, everyone we know here. None of them have shown anything special."
"When have they been to these suspects?" I asked surprised.
"When they arrived after checking these potential hiding places. There was no other trail they could have picked up."
I was reading the paperwork when Dimitri returned with three slices of reheated pizza on a plate that he placed in front of me. I thanked him by kissing his cheek, and he smiled.
We discussed our options, but they were limited. The guards sent by Hans were expected to arrive soon. We planned to search the area with them as thoroughly as possible. However if they hid her in some private property, our chances of finding her were slim, regardless of the number of guardians in our ranks.
Sydney went to bed, and Adrian was nowhere in sight. In the living room, I arranged all the documents, adjusted maps, and set up computers. Papers were piled across the coffee table, armchair, and couch where Dimitri and I sifted through everything. Dimitri made himself a cup of coffee and we went through everything meticulously, again and again, exchanging insights, hoping to find another clue, something we could hold on to. We tried to look at everything from new angles praying that we would find something, anything we could use for further exploration.
In the middle of the night, Eddie came to us along with Marcus, a guard from the nearest residence of Moroi. They didn't find anything and it crossed my mind that if I heard this sentence one more time I was going to explode. It wasn't like we were desperate to find anything whatsoever, right? After a whole day of setbacks, anxiety, and tension, I couldn't contain my rage at Eddie, who was standing in the hallway with a pained expression on his face. Could he really not help any of it? Did he really think that the conditions Jill was in were safe enough? Did he trust this environment enough to put her life on the line like this? How could he stand by and let it go on for so long?
Dimitri and Marcus were discussing how to handle the team of guards scheduled to arrive within the hour. I felt every nerve in my body burning with rage and went out to the kitchen. I started making tea, feeling the need to keep my hands busy. My eyes were already burning, but I wasn't tired enough to have to resort to coffee.
"Rose" I heard Eddie's voice behind me. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. I specifically went out of the room to avoid saying anything unpleasant to him. So as not to burst in front of them. So I didn't hiss, why did he ignore me, when I was reminding him to be watchful every fucking day. Did he think I was an idiot? Was he exactly responsible enough for such an important task?
I turned away with a series of vile words on my tongue, but before they could escape, I froze under his gaze, filled with the world's greatest torment. I was speechless. The thought flickered in my mind that if I took out a gun and shot him in the stomach, I might see less pain in his eyes than I did at that moment when Jill's life was in danger, and he was responsible for it.
I didn't have to ask him anything. I knew extremely well how seriously he took his duty, especially after the first attack on Jill. I knew how much it meant to him to protect others after those tragic events in Spokane. I knew that he gave everything he had to be a good guardian. That he would give up even more for the opportunity to protect her. If all of this could have been remedied, it was beyond Eddie's capabilities as the only professional guardian placed in Jill's protection. Perhaps beyond the capabilities of any of us.
I decided that I would leave the evaluation of his actions for later. Jumping at each other's throats right now wouldn't help any of us.
"We will find her," I declared forcefully, looking into his eyes. I turned to him and prepared two mugs of tea. I chose a calming one and pressed the mug with boiling water into his hand "We'll find her," I repeated.
Eddie swallowed hard and lowered his gaze. He nodded and returned to the living room. I prepared a cup of black coffee for Dimitri, which he gratefully accepted along with a kiss on the cheek when I joined them in the living room.
Dimitri had to stay home to welcome the new guardians, but I went with one of the teams along with Eddie. We were driving through given locations, looking for the car models indicated to us, but of course, to no one's surprise, we found nothing.
When it began to clear in the sky my team returned to report to Dimitri. The hope I had regained when the new team of guardians joined was now shattered. When Dimitri opened the door and saw our sad stares, he only hugged me.
While the rest of the guardians patrolled the streets, I stayed behind, hoping to find any clue in the pile of papers in the living room. Dimitri assisted me while also coordinating the activities of the remaining teams.
At one point, I pulled away angrily from the map I already knew by heart and saw that he had fallen asleep. He had leaned his head back on the couch and his arms were crossed, so I assumed he must have fallen asleep by accident. I gently brushed his unruly hair away from his face, the strands soft against my fingers. And of course, he woke up immediately. He blinked in surprise as if he was surprised he had fallen asleep.
"Go and sleep for a bit, comrade," I said softly, "I will take over."
"Don't you want to rest?" He asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing his eyes. I knew that if I told him I was tired, he would willingly take over the watch, but I wanted him to rest. Plus, my tension kept me wide awake anyway. I shook my head.
"I wouldn't go to sleep even if I wanted to. I'm too tense. Go take a nap, and we'll change later."
He reluctantly agreed, kissed me quickly on the lips, and went for a short nap. Coordinating activities, I jotted down checked locations and observed areas. Simultaneously, I attempted to review all the gathered information. I answered calls that reported failures for several hours.
The sun was already shining high when my eyes began to close, prompting me to rest for a while. I laid my head on the couch just for a second, but then I woke up covered with a blanket and Dimitri, who was sitting next to me, browsing something on the computer.
He sent me to our room for a short nap, giving me an amulet from Lissa so I could sleep soundly. I took him up on his offer, asking him to wake me up in a few hours. There I found some of his T-shirt and my sweatpants and fell on the bed, falling asleep even before my head touched the pillow.
I got up a few hours later. I didn't need an alarm clock. My body was so painfully tense that I didn't even want to think about lying down. It was ten o'clock and I decided that I had slept enough hours. I put on some clothes, my usual weapons (in case I needed them, I thought I resigned) and went out, pinning my hair up in a ponytail, ready for further action.
However, I found no one in the salon. Everything was arranged as I had left it. I went into the kitchen and found Adrian there.
"Oh, hi," I greeted him awkwardly, tensing up even more. He gave me a short nod of his head. I hadn't seen him this exhausted in a while. "Where is everyone?"
"They continue the search. Dimitri went with Sydney to pick up Angeline from the hospital. I was supposed to wake you up soon." he said.
I looked at the dark circles under his eyes. "You still can't catch her in her sleep, can you?"
"I try all the time. Either she is unconscious all the time or they don't let her sleep. From what Lissa said, at least I feel that she is still alive."
I nodded, feeling my heart sink. I couldn't bear thinking she might be dead. We had to find her. Desperately.
"We have to come up with something new," I whispered, sitting down next to him at the kitchen table. I buried my face in my hands. Despite my sleep, I felt exhausted, stressed, and tense. "Our protocol is not working."
"No shit."
Adrian got up and started preparing cereals with milk. He asked if I wanted some too, but I shook my head, too nauseous to eat.
"I was hoping for you to come up with some crazy ass Rose-plan when you wake up," he muttered with his back turned to me, pouring cornflakes into the bowl of milk. "One of the ones you used to break Dashkov out of prison, save half the elementary campus, or capture the queen's killer. You know, typical Rose-shit."
I was already opening my mouth to cut him off, but when I thought of saving the academy's elementary campus, the idea suddenly hit me like a hammer. I inhaled air violently and stood up so fast that I knocked over my chair. Adrian turned to me quickly, with surprise painted on his face. My heart started beating fast as I spoke to him.
"Shit, I just may have a Rose-plan after all!"
I ran out into the living room, and Adrian followed after me. In a rush, I began to collect documents from the map spread out on the coffee table.
"Did I ever tell you how we tracked down that cave where the Strigoi took the hostages after the attack on the academy? Where Dimitri... was transformed?" I choked on the word, but I didn't have time to think about it. Adrian shook his head, but I could see that he was intrigued, and in his eyes, I saw hope for the first time. We wanted to act so badly. "I used the help of the ghosts. Mason's help".
I doubted Mason would show up again, but with a little luck, maybe someone would help me. Just like that time at the academy, maybe I can convince someone to show me where Jill is.
I closed my eyes to get a better sense of the barrier between the world of humans and the dead. Long ago I learned to keep it up automatically. It used to cause me considerable problems, but when I went to Russia I learned to protect myself from the ghosts with a barrier of steel that no one could tear down without my will. Now I allowed myself to feel this barrier. And when I felt it, I shattered it.
My lungs ran out of air as I felt the cold running through every nerve, every vessel in my body - from my fingertips, through my spine, through my neck and face to my brain. At that moment, I realized that it was a fucking bad idea.
The ghosts have hated me with redoubled force since I returned to the living, having brushed the world of the dead for the second time. For the first few weeks I couldn't go outside the walls of the Court, and only with the strengthening of my mental barrier was I able to withstand their influence. I thought I had gained control over them, but I was mistaken. Now I didn't have the saving power of the magical barrier surrounding the Court to help me.
I felt their icy fingers on my body, chilling me to the bone. A crowd of angry dead souls blocked my view. They pushed against me from all sides, trying to reach me, to tear me apart. Wherever I looked I saw terrifying faces twisted with eternal fury, from above, from below, from every single angle. They obscured my view so much that I didn't know where I was in space. Which direction was up and down. It was just me and the crowd of angry, bloodthirsty souls.
I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't see anything. The taste of blood lingered in my mouth and I felt it running down my nose. At the same time, there was a blinding, burning headache in my temples. I thought it was going to split my head in half. I felt the ground beneath my knees as I tried to close this passage, to put up a barrier of steel between me and them. But I couldn't do that, not with the screams of the ghosts filling my ears, with their twisted faces flying around me.
I felt their fingers on my shoulders. The cold radiating from them pierced my skin, all the nerves underneath. Finally, the faces parted to show the darkest, stillest blackness between them. Their fingers tightened on my body as if they wanted to throw me into this blackness. I fought desperately, with my arms and legs, knowing that this was a fight for my life. Against this unnatural void filled with coldness, fear, and nothingness.
I knew I couldn't get there.
I resisted the cold touch, the screams, and the wounds inflicted by them. I used every ounce of strength, refusing to succumb to the darkness. And when the spirits began to let go, I began to bring a barrier between us. I had to push each soul mentally to the other side, tearing its cold presence away by force. By my force. When I finally felt the wall stand in place and I was on the side of the living, I breathed a shaky breath and lost consciousness.