Chapter 24 - Finding patterns

Present day - March

Dimitri POV

I was afraid to let Spiridon approach Rose after the incident since I knew that he didn't have the same emotional connection to her as I had. To him, she was just another girl like the one in Romania, and he had a harder time controlling himself. Even if he didn't know all my reasons, he agreed with me and didn't want to be near her at all, not taking any risks after what had almost happened. In all honesty, as much as he joked about it, he really avoided her like the plague ever since he'd lost his control like that. It was clear that it had frightened him, control was expected as a guardian, if not even fundamental to our role as protectors. Galina had drilled control into me but even I had a hard time around Rose, so although I'd been furious with him when it had happened I knew I couldn't hold a grudge.

The very first time I went back into the bedroom Rose had clung onto me, inhaling deeply and letting out a content sigh. I gently pried her hands away, relishing the feel of her smooth skin of her wrists, and forced myself to back away from what had to be my own personal purgatory.

When I'd stepped away from her she had made a whimpering sound, so I leaned forward again to check her fever. When doing so she instead started to smile, sighing in content when my hand grazed her forehead. It puzzled me and the memory of when I had carried her from the car into the cabin came to me, along with the same thought that my scent somehow eased her discomfort. That was when I'd given her a shirt I'd been wearing, hoping it could make up for the fact that I couldn't be near her or do more to help her. My visits were always short, and most of the time I tried not to even wake her up.

Every time I walked into that room it was the battle of the wills not to stay there and explore what more could mean to her, to me, to us. What it would be like to give in to the siren calling me.

But it was wrong, and I knew that. At some point she'd gotten up and taken a shower, which was hopefully a sign that things were moving forward and that this, whatever it was, was finally passing. It was hard to trust what she'd said, that she didn't need medical aid, neither Spiridon nor I had ever encountered anything like this. Except for Romania.

On the second day at the cabin Arthur called on the burner phone that we saved for an emergency situation. This situation was exactly that, in the strongest sense of the word. I picked it out of my duster and held it in my hand. I really wasn't in the mood of hearing other bad news but since Spiridon was away getting us groceries I scarcely had a choice. I took a deep breath and answered.

"Yes?" We never gave away our name in case it wasn't one of our own calling.

"Good to hear your voice Belikov."

"And yours, sir. Do you have more information about the leak and the missing children?"

"They're really gone. Every. Single. One. Of. Them," Arthur said in a harsh tone. "Even the guardians that were sent to Tarasov. I can't locate the leak, but all I know is that Court is somehow involved. Don't ask me to prove it, because I can't, but that's the only explanation."

"I came to the same conclusion a long time ago," I admitted, gritting my teeth.

What Arthur said next shocked me. I knew he was apprehensive of some parts of our society, just as I was, but saying them out loud was a whole different thing.

"You know that my niece was taken, right? And ever since that, everything always seems to point to Court. To the Royals. To the Queen. After the Ardeal Institution, it was clear that our success had been unexpected, and more so unwelcomed. They tightened the leash after that, and drew back most of our jurisdiction. I don't know what leverage they have on Croft, but nowadays he's like a lapdog to them." I stayed silent, processing what he was saying, knowing that I felt the same way. "I know that the Queen assembled the Division, but we're just damn puppets, something to show for, to ward off the suspicion. To keep dhampirs in place. We barely have any resources. Every move we make, every lead we investigate has to be approved by Court, did you know that?" he continued. "According to my orders, I was not allowed to disclose how the Division was run, but they can go to hell for all I care."

"No, I didn't know that, but I've had my suspicions. Especially when you denied our request for back-up for this mission, knowing we were so close."

"The only damn reason we had the full force of the Division when we took down the last Institution was because I didn't report it to anyone. I made sure our move went undetected until we had done what we needed to do."

The news shocked me, I hadn't known that Arthur risked his position like that. "What will happen to the ones we found? When can we return with the one with us?" I couldn't help myself from asking the questions bouncing around in my head even if I really didn't expect any answers.

He sighed deeply. "You can't bring her back to the Division. She'll just disappear again. I've signed the papers which state that you and Spiridon are on a six-month covert mission to buy us some time. Hopefully all of this will be resolved long before that. I can't guarantee that there won't be any problems with Court, but I still have some influence over the assignments and will do everything in my power to keep you from getting into trouble. I know your family relies on you."

"And the others?" My mouth was dry, trying to take in what he was saying. Six months?

"I don't know yet. I'll have to figure that out, and it will involve more unconventional contacts than the ones we've used so far. To be honest, I think the taken one in your custody is more safe than the ones we have, but I will try everything in my power to keep them safe."

Was Rose really more safe with us than with Arthur? I instantly knew the answer. Even if I had failed her once, letting him take her away, I wasn't the same person anymore. It was a decade ago, and a lot had happened during those years. I wasn't the fourteen-year-old boy anymore. I had trained and pushed myself to do exactly what I was facing now. I had done it all so that I would be able to protect her. This time I would make it count.

Yes. She was more safe with us, with me, than with anyone else. The only way I would let any harm come to her was over my dead body, and I'd make damn sure that the ones trying would face a hard time getting to that, whether it was Spiridon relapsing or anyone else. Which perhaps made me the biggest threat to her safety, but I didn't dwell on that. I sincerely hoped that we were past the worst part of her sickness.

"What do you know about the infirmaries?" I asked hesitantly.

"I hate to admit it but not much." his voice sounded distracted as he continued. "Seems like all the taken girls have some sort of sickness, fever of some sorts, but none of the ones from the Ardeal Institution could tell us anything in detail. I think they were compelled to not reveal the nature of their sickness. I know they would lock the girls in the small rooms when they were sick."

"I think what Emil and Vinny did had something to do with that sickness," I carefully suggested. "Did you feel it too when you entered that room?"

Arthur didn't say anything for a long while. "Are you still there?" I asked when the uncomfortable silence stretched on.

"Did something happen? Is the girl safe?" he asked, and I knew he was referring to Rose. I answered as truthfully as I could. "She's safe, although she seems to have the same sickness as the other girls. She got a fever all of the sudden and we started to react to her badly." Understatement of the year. "She said she's been sick all her life and that it's nothing serious. It has taken us every ounce of control to not hurt her, it was a close call" I said and faltered as the wave of self-hate washed over me. I hated how much I struggled not to hurt someone I wanted to protect so much. "It still is a close call, we have to be really careful around her."

"This complicates things. Are you sure she'll be safe with you?"

Even if I had contemplated the same thing minutes ago I got angry at Arthur for implying that there would be somewhere safer for her than with me. "Yes, she's safe. We realized that something was going on so we distanced ourselves from her."

Arthur sighed before he replied. "I was hoping that the girl at the Ardeal was an exception, but it seems that I was wrong. Damn it." I heard his heavy breathing. "What were the first signs? I need to secure the girls and prevent anyone from hurting them."

I explained to Arthur that Rose had slept a lot, that she seemed exhausted no matter what and that she was eventually running a fever. "It wasn't until later that both Spiridon and I were reacting to her in an inappropriate way, and from there things just escalated. It's like she's calling to us, and it seems like we're calling to her. Don't get me wrong, nothing has happened, but it's extremely difficult to stay in control if we're in the same room." A sickening thought crossed my mind. "Do you think the younger ones are also in the same danger?"

"No, two of the girls from the Ardeal Institution were running a high fever when I secured their transfer to a rehabilitation center. They were both under ten, and there was absolutely no similar reaction to what you're describing and what we saw happen to Emil and Vinny. I'm not going to take any risks though until we know for sure. Try to get more information about the sickness and the infirmaries and I'll do the same on my side."

I grit my teeth as I realized something. "Arthur, you know how we never found a pattern? There were never any connections between the taken ones, it seemed to be random. What if it isn't random? This is the third Institution with an infirmary, what if the children were taken because of the sickness? What if the sickness is the pattern?"

"My niece was only eight when she was taken, but I remember that she used to have a fever every now and then. You might be right, but I don't understand why they would target sick girls. And that doesn't explain why boys were taken as well?"

"Maybe they didn't want to draw too much attention by only targeting girls? I don't know, but we'll find out," I said with a tense voice.

He didn't seem to want to discuss this further so I remained silent, until Arthur cleared his throat. "I know we've never talked about this, but-" he trailed off. I tensed, unsure of what he was about to say next. "But?" I asked.

"But, I can't help but ask. Did you find her?" I stayed silent. "I know you were searching for someone."

"How did you know?" I demanded.

"You could've taken any assignment you wanted, but stayed with Zeklos instead of seeking out more important marks. You could've been assigned to the last Dragomir, should you have wanted that. But instead you chose to serve the taken ones, even so with a dedication unmatched by your peers. And I knew for certain when I finally saw what was underneath your guardian mask when you walked over to one of the girls when we were escorting them out of the building. I saw the disappointment as you realized that she wasn't who you thought she would be. So, I ask again, did you find her?"

I only hesitated for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest. "Yes, Arthur. I did. I finally found her."