The ownership of all characters related to and involving the novels of The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series remain the sole property of Richelle Mead, the Penguin Group and any affiliates.

No copyrights have been infringed on maliciously.

A/n: Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone! (And no, I'm not going on another hiatus)

A Conflict of the Soul

Chapter Eleven

Motionless at Dustin's grimly delivered words, it was shock that hit me first, but it was followed so quickly by fury, that it burnt it from my brain and set my blood boiling. Rigid with it, I could barely make my jaw move to ask. "When…how?"

"Last night, according to what I've been told." Frowning deeply, Dustin's bushy brows met over his nose. "As to the how, the details are still a little sketchy, but best as they can tell, he was smuggled out during a laundry run."

"A laundry run?" Konrad snorted, shaking his head in disgust. "Jesus, how could they have let that happen? It's Tarasov, for God's sake. Not some holding cell. They should have only allowed in the approved services, and even then, they should have been watched the whole time."

"They did let in the approved services," Dustin confirmed, looking just as incensed. "The laundry agent was the same one that had been awarded the contact for the past three years. Day in and day out, they are monitored and verified, and that didn't changed last night, only this time, the crew was different from the personal normally used. Their credentials were checked, as per the security protocols, and they were cleared for entry."

"Which means that it was an inside job."

"Yeah, Dimitri. It looks that way." Looking more wary now than angry, Dustin rubbed at his bristly jaw. "The guards doing rounds were deliberately re-routed for just long enough so no one would notice anything out of the ordinary, and the camera's experienced a technical glitch at exactly the moment needed to sneak the bastard out."

"Are any of the guards missing?" Gregor asked; his expression dead-panned as normal.

"Yeah, two of them. Both senior guards. They won't tell me who they are, of course, but we're all thinking the same thing: they were paid off by Dashkov in return for a comfortable retirement." Expression altering from wariness to troubled, Dustin knew what this would mean. We were all already under so much scrutiny after the attack that this would focus even more unwanted attention on us…especially the older guards. They were the one's meant to be respected and honoured, now they would be villainized.

"Where would he have gone? Where's the nearest town, the nearest airport, train station? They must have some idea on how to track him, Dustin."

"They don't, Alberta, because he could have gone anywhere. If he was organized enough to plan the break-out, he would have been organized enough to plan a get-a-way vehicle of some kind, and from there, he could have gone anywhere. All of the obvious places are being monitored, but he's not going to use them because he knows that's where he would be looked for first. My guess is that he'll stay under our radar for as long as possible until he feels its safe enough to travel freely. Where he goes to from there, is anyone's guess."

Looking at me, Dustin didn't say it, but he didn't have to. We all knew where he would be going, and who he would for heading straight for.

Lissa.

His obsession with her was too entrenched, too dogmatic to ever give up. We should have known, all of us, that he never had any intention of spending what little remained of his short life behind bars. Even then, in the holding cell at Court, he had been plotting, planning to escape, but I had been too angry to see it. It all made perfect sense now: taunting Rose and I, all his veiled threats, the threats he had actually carried out, approaching Lissa at his hearing…he had been baiting us for a reason.

And now he was free…free to come after her again.

Anger flaring again, I listened with only half an ear to the others as I fought against the urge to destroy something, to vent. I had to stay focused and rational where Victor was concerned, no matter how I felt, because he already had an advantage us, so now it was time to start thinking like him.

He was too smart to make his move on Lissa whilst she was still within the academy grounds, so this was obviously the safest place for her, but we couldn't keep her here indefinitely, and once his condition began to worsen, he might become desperate enough to try anything. He obviously still had contacts that were easily bribable and could simply pay for information on where she was and then make his move, which meant when she did leave the grounds, for whatever reason, her protective detail would have to be increased.

Under any normal circumstance, it normally was, but never to the point of being obvious. That was about to change. In addition to Rose and I, at least four other guardians would now be involved in her protection as near and far guard, and from the moment Lissa saw them, she would suspect that something was wrong.

So that left us all with the same question: should Lissa be told?

She would be terrified when she learnt of his escape, because for all she knew he was no longer a threat to her, and that was about to change. Naturally none of us wanted that for her, but to be kept in the dark would be just as dangerous and very, very stupid. The decision wasn't really mine to make, and I would wait to see who would say what, but if they chose not to, then I would. She deserved to know.

Also, she wouldn't appreciate, or thank any of us for it if we kept it a secret…and neither would Rose. Catching her in the corner of my eye, her brow was creased with concern as she stacked and moved mats into the store-room without making it obvious that she was trying to kill time. Time, I had told her to kill before I had even known the gravity of what I was about to tell her.

Fuming silently, I couldn't tell her now; not with so many people around us, and privacy was what we needed for this. Her reaction to Victor's escape wasn't going to be as controlled or clinical. She would know instantly that he was coming for Lissa and would want nothing short of wrapping her hands around his neck and squeezing the life from him. She would stop at nothing to protect Lissa, would do whatever it took, including putting herself in the line of fire.

Cold fear replaced the heat of anger in my blood as I thought of the lengths she would go to and it resurrected an earlier fear…a fear created by my grandmother.

Was this the danger that Yeva had warned me about? An indirect risk that she would involve herself in directly, because it was for Lissa? All of us knew that Victor wasn't above using whatever means at his disposal to get what he wanted, and that would involve hurting, or ridding himself of anything or anyone in his way.

Right now, that meant Rose. He already had a personal vendetta against her for ruining his earlier plans. That much had been obvious in the Court's holding cells, despite his pleasant manner. If he had the chance to take vengeance on her again, there was no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't hesitate to do exactly that.

Breathing deeply as my stomach twisted sharply in panic, the thought that he could hurt either of them made my hands clench into fists at my sides. I wanted it to be my own hands wrapped around his neck. I wanted it to be my own hands that squeezed the life from him…to watch him writhe in pain, to watch him die, then maybe it would stop feeling like a mistake that I hadn't used my contacts to get rid of him before he had escaped.

I hadn't been exaggerating to Rose when I said that there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to keep her safe.

"Should the Princess be told?"

"No! Absolutely not." Gregor barked, frowning at Kon's question as I made myself refocus on the thread of conversation. "She needs to be protected from this."

"This isn't something that's going to be kept a secret, Gregor, especially here." Dustin argued. "All the guardians have to be told so that they're on the lookout for anything remotely connected to him, which means they will talk amongst themselves, and someone will overhear. How quickly do you think it will spread around the campus from there? And even if she doesn't get to hear about it, she'll know when she leaves the campus and suddenly she has twice as many guardians hovering over her that something isn't right. What do we tell her then?"

"Nothing. It's our job to protect her. We downplay everything."

"She's smarter than that. It will only be a matter of time before she figures out the reason for it." I reasoned quietly, resenting that he was still treating her like a frightened little girl and not someone who had already survived so much.

"So what are you suggesting, Belikov?" He sneered. "That we tell her? Terrify her?"

"She's stronger than you think."

"She's been through too much already."

"That's not your decision to make."

"It's not yours either."

"Alright, enough," Alberta interrupted as she saw the argument between us begin to escalate. "This decision isn't any of ours to make. The council will inform the Queen, and from there the decision to tell her will be made. That might take days, or weeks. Right now, we need to focus on the immediate problem, and that is Victor Dashkov. All senior guardians will be informed, but the senior novices don't need to be. When and if the news circulates the campus, then they will be told."

Eyeing me for a second, Alberta turned to speak quietly to Dustin and Gregor whilst Kon shuffled up beside me. Seeing my expression, his own matched. "You don't agree with that, do you?"

"It's not my place to question it, Kon," I answered just as quietly, even as I seethed on the inside. It was the same mentality employed before and after the attack. How many times did something have to be proven wrong before change could be made…before more lives were lost?

Snorting, Kon grinned at my answer, but said nothing more; he knew I didn't agree with any of what was happening. Following the group as they began to walk to the exit, I lingered, wanting them to leave so that I could go to Rose, but the hard look Alberta gave me made me stay still. Ushering them out the door, she spoke softly to Gregor before he left. Walking back to where I stood, a wry grimace pulled at the skin of her weathered mouth.

"You're going to tell both of them, aren't you?"

Grinning, I nodded. There really wasn't any point in evading. "Yes. They both have the right to know…and I think you agree with that."

"Publically, I can't agree with that."

"But privately…?"

Sighing, Alberta looked over her shoulder quickly before turning to me again. "I do agree with you. They both need to know, but if you're going to tell them, you need to control Rose. I can't have her flying off the handle, Dimitri, or inciting the other seniors. She needs to keep it just between the three of you."

"Four of us, I think. Through Lissa, Christian will know and I'm fairly certain that Rose will tell Eddie, but if I can keep it to just between the four of them, nothing more should be said to anyone else. If this leaks, it won't be because of any of them."

Looking dubious about that, she nodded before frowning. "Fine, but I'm serious about what I said about Rose."

"Understood, but this is going to upset her."

Laughing without humour, Alberta shook her head. "I wouldn't be concerned if she was only going to be upset, Dimitri. Upset, she's still manageable; homicidal, she isn't. She's going to feel helpless to do anything about this and it's going to drive her crazy."

"I think the next part will help with that."

Scowling, Alberta crossed her arms over her chest. "What next part?"

"I want permission for Rose and I to train Lissa and Christian."

When Tasha had jokingly suggested it over dinner a few nights ago, I hadn't really given it any serious thought. Training Christian was one thing. He already had formidable offensive abilities and experience, so it would be relatively easy, but training Lissa was another thing entirely. She had no experience and her abilities were entirely defensive. She was also the Dragomir Princess. Training her for combat went against everything I had ever been taught, but this was an unusual circumstance, so maybe I needed to be more open-minded about it.

Eyes widening at my request, Alberta's expression of outrage suggested that she wasn't going to be as open-minded as I was trying to be. "You want permission to train a Moroi Lord and the Dragomir Princess?! Have you lost your mind?"

"I want permission to tactically train them, Alberta…and no, I haven't lost my mind."

"For what purpose?"

"Self-defense."

"They don't need to learn how to defend themselves, Belikov…that's what we're here for!"

Knowing that Alberta was an advocate for some change in our world, but not all, I had to be careful on how to convince her. "There may come a time when we aren't. There already has been a time when we weren't. I'm not asking to train them in anything advanced, Alberta, or leave them undefended, I'm merely asking to train them so that they have a fighting chance. Christian is already more than capable of taking care of himself. It's Lissa we need to concentrate on, especially with Dashkov again posing a threat to her."

"We don't know that Dashkov will come for her."

"Maybe not now, but he will eventually. What other choice does he have? He's dying."

Groaning, Alberta closed her eyes and ground her teeth together. Opening them with a glare, she skewered me with a dangerous look. "Tell me exactly what you're going to do."

Outlining my plan to build Lissa's ability for self-defence, whilst strengthening her physically, I watched Alberta's impassive face, trying to judge what she was in agreement to and what she opposed to, but she wasn't giving me much to work with. I was very careful not to mention stakes of any kind, though it was certainly something that I would like to teach her to eventually wield. She could use compulsion against dhampir and Moroi, but not against Strigoi.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Alberta looked to still have concerns, but I didn't think that she was going to object. "Fine, I agree to allowing you and Rose to train them, but with conditions. One, this stays within the five of you. Two, no one else can know about this. If it gets back to the Council, we're both going to be deported. Three, you start out slowly with them. Remembering that they're Moroi, not dhampir. They don't have the same stamina and strength. Four, if I feel that this is in anyway harmful to them, I'm pulling the plug, without argument. Understood?"

"Understood. There is something that I need from you, though."

"What is it?"

"Permission to be able to fetch them from housing during unusual hours. If we're going to train when no one is around, then it has to be between normal hours. I want to start tomorrow morning. The sooner the better."

"Fine, I'll send out a memo to the lobby monitors this afternoon so that there won't be any issues. Just make sure that when they leave housing, they're dressed normally and not for training of any kind and that you pull them on random days, so that nothing resembles a routine. Will you have them training in the dhampir gym?"

"Yes, it's the best equipped. There shouldn't be too many questions raised over it. There are other Moroi who use the equipment."

"Mmmm." Pacing a little, Alberta nodded shortly to herself. "Alright. Let's try this. You report back to me on any issues and progress, once a week, every week, Dimitri. After a month, I want a demonstration to check on their progress for myself. If there isn't any progress shown, then we call time on it and label it as a failure, yes?"

"That's fair. Thank you, Alberta. You won't regret this."

"I already do." Glancing balefully at me once more, she left the gym without a backwards glance. Collecting the last of the mats, I walked slowly towards the storeroom, listening for anyone who might come in, but most would already be at breakfast. Pushing open the door, I found Rose perched on top of a stack of mats. Hopping off when she saw it was me, her hair tumbled loosely over her shoulders. Tossing the mat to join the rest, my fingers tangled in the black tendrils as I tugged her closer to kiss her lightly.

Clutching at my shoulders, she rose to her toes to deepen the kiss before pulling away a little. "I could hear you and Alberta arguing, but I couldn't hear what it was about. What's happened?"

I decided to be blunt. "Victor's escaped Tarasov."

Jerking away with a start whilst her hair was still tangled around my fingers, it tugged painfully against her scalp, but she didn't seem to feel it at all. Curling an arm around her shoulders, I nestled her against my chest as I waited for the reaction, but there was nothing more than a single, whispered word.

"Lissa."

Understanding immediately what this meant, I nodded once, a little concerned that she wasn't reacting the way I thought she would and that she might be in shock, but a second later, I was proven wrong. Shaking with primal fury, Rose seethed. "I'll kill him…he comes near her, I'll kill him."

"It's alright, Roza." Hugging her tightly, I could feel the shuddering in her smaller frame, and I tried to absorb some of the rage. "He won't get anywhere near her, ever again, I promise you." Pressing kisses to her hairline, I made a silent promise to myself…he'll never get near either of you, ever again. Running my hands gently over her rigid spine, it took a long time for Rose to gradually relax in my hold.

Turning to rest her cheek against my steady heart-beat, she growled. "How the fuck did they let him escape?!"

Ignoring the language because it meant she was acting more in character, I told her everything that I knew; answering any questions she asked, calming her down again when those same answers enraged her. Explaining that I wanted to tell Lissa, she agreed after a moment, voicing her concerns that this would scare her, but agreeing with me that it was better that she knew.

"What were you and Alberta arguing about? Telling her?"

"No, she agrees that it's for the best that she knows, though we need to keep this as quiet as possible. She'll obviously tell Christian and I think that you would want Eddie involved, but that's it. We don't need the whole academy in a panic."

"Okay…so what was the argument about?"

"Training Lissa and Christian."

Feeling her arms fall away from my waist, Rose looked up at me with a similar expression to Alberta's. The one that said she thought I might have lost my mind, but instead of questioning my sanity, I saw a spark of interest light up the brown of her eyes. Pulling out of my arms, Rose folded her own over her midriff and walked towards the racking at the back wall, muttering to herself. "Train them. Christian…Christian doesn't need much training, but Lissa…"

Swinging around to face me, her brows rose. "How?"

"The same way you were trained when you started as a child."

"I'm dhampir. I'm stronger, faster. I have more endurance. I don't bruise as easily, I heal faster. The Moroi are not like us, Dimitri. They can't train like us."

"No, they can't, so we'll train them like Moroi." Outlining the same plan I had spoken to Alberta about earlier, Rose listened to it absently, nodding every so often when she agreed with what I wanted to do and frowning when she didn't. Adding in her own perspective's, by the time she had finished pacing and returned to my side; we had streamlined and perfected our Moroi training regime.

"Alberta's agreed to all of this?"

"Conditionally."

"Ugh," she grimaced, rolling her eyes. "I hate conditions."

Chuckling, my fingers tangled in her hair again. "Yes, Rose. I know, you don't, but this time, they're necessary. Remember that Alberta is only looking out for the welfare of both Lissa and Christian. Speaking of whom…are they going to agree to this?"

Scoffing, Rose pulled at a crease in my t-shirt. "Are you kidding? Christian will jump at the chance to be taught this kind of stuff, and to impress his aunt, and as for Lissa…I don't know. She's never shown any interest in it before, but that will probably change when she learns about Victor." Frowning, Rose sneered. "I still can't believe he's out."

Covering her hand over my chest, I squeezed her fingers tightly in comfort, but her features contorted as another thought formed. "Do you think he knew the whole time and was just screwing with us?"

"Yes."

Twisting her fingers into the t-shirt this time, Rose butted her head against my chest, before pulling away to look up at me. "When do we start training them?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I'll talk to both of them over dinner tonight, when Eddie will be with us. If I tell them early, it will ruin everyone's day and upset Lissa more. What time tomorrow morning and where?"

"5am. I'm on border patrol at 6am, so we'll start off slowly with half hour sessions to assess first." Smiling at her grimace at another early morning start, particularly one that was on a Saturday morning, I answered the rest of her question. "I think the best place to train is in the woods around the cabin. They're thick enough there to keep the sun from penetrating too deeply and there is enough cover from bordering trees to get both of them back indoors without it being a problem."

"Good as place as any, but how are you going to get us out of housing without it looking suspicious?"

"Don't worry about that; I've already arranged everything with Alberta. Tell Eddie that he can have his work-out gear on; it won't look strange to anyone, but Lissa and Christian need to have theirs on beneath regular clothing. I'll pick them up first, then you and Eddie…and also…I think we should involve Tasha in the training."

I hadn't told Alberta about my thoughts on this because to her mind, the more involved, the riskier it became, but it didn't really seem fair to exclude Tasha from this. Not only was Christian her nephew, but she herself had extensive training and would be able to help. The only real problem I would have to deal with was Rose. I had never spoken to her about what Tasha had suggested over dinner, and despite my reassurance that there was nothing between, I really didn't know how she was going to react to this.

Shrugging at the suggestion, Rose's expression remained calm. "Fine by me. When are you going to talk to her?"

Confused by how calm she was, I didn't trust it. "This evening. I'm on duty for most of the day. You're sure, you're okay with this?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason." I backpedalled quickly; alarmed by the dangerously placid look she gave me. There was nothing remotely docile about Rosemarie Hathaway, and if there ever was, it was usually a trap.

Grinning at my expression, Rose clasped her hands together at the nape of my neck and pulled me down for a quick kiss that lingered longer as she whispered against my lips. "Relax, comrade. I'm not going to act like a bitchy girlfriend unless there's a reason to, and you've already told me that there's nothing to worry about with Tasha. It's actually a really good idea. She can help, especially with Lissa."

Relieved that she had so easily agreed, I deepened the kiss for moment. "So you want Tasha to help you train Lissa and not me?" I teased. "Maybe I should be concerned?"

"No, I'm not."

"No, I'm not what?"

"No, I'm not going to train Lissa…you are."

Doubting my own ears for a moment, I gently pushed her away whilst holding onto her shoulders. Raising a brow at me, Rose cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"Did I just hear you say that you don't want to train Lissa?"

"You did."

"Why not?"

Sighing, Rose threw me a withering look. "Seriously? I would make the worst combat instructor. I have little to no patience and a hair-trigger temper. Lissa and I would be at each other's throats within ten minutes of our first session, which makes you the obvious choice. You're patient, controlled and have had to teach me for the last six months, so we all know that you're obviously not far off sainthood."

Laughing softly, I brought her back into to the circle of my arms. "If I was anywhere near sainthood, Roza, I would have been able to resist you."

Smirking, she shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have. I'm irresistible, remember?"

"Yes, you are." Kissing the tip of her nose, I organized my thoughts. "So let me see if I get this straight. You want Tasha and I to train Lissa, whilst you and Eddie train Christian?"

"Exactly.

"For no reason other than you think you'll make a horrible teacher?" Eyeing her suspiciously, I was sure that wasn't the only reason. "I think you have an ulterior motive here, moye Serdtse."

"What's that?"

"Throwing Christian around, whether it's on a training mat or the forest floor."

Grinning broadly, Rose bit the corner of her bottom lip. "Well, only a little and very gently. Will tonight be the first time you've spoken to Tasha since that dinner?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"If I say no, will you go with to protect me?"

"Do you need protection?"

"Not from Tasha. You sometimes, but never Tasha."

"Ha, ha." Fiddling with the collar of the t-shirt, her fingers brushed against the skin of my neck. "I guess you have the easy part. I have to tell Lissa, and that's not going to be easy." Concerned etched deeply into the smooth skin between her eyes. She would tell Lissa because it was better for everyone concerned that she knew, but she also knew that telling her wasn't going to be pleasant.

Rubbing over her back in long, soothing strokes, I murmured against her hairline. "Do you want to do it together?"

"Thanks for the offer, but it's better if I do it alone." Reaching up to kiss me, her arms looped around my neck as mine wrapped around her waist. "This is the last time we're going to see each other before morning. What are you doing today?"

"Rotational duty on the elementary campus, then paperwork this evening. You've got class for most of your day, but you've got a free period in the afternoon. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know…find some sun, go to the gym. Maybe I'll go visit Adrian. I haven't seen him for a while and I'm sure he'd like the company." Grinning impishly, Rose laughed at my glare. "You know I'm yanking your chain, right?"

"I know." Clutching her tightly, I lifted her off her feet to kiss her hungrily, briefly before setting her down again. "I love you; now go before you're late for breakfast and there's nothing left." I ordered, turning her towards the door and swatting her lightly on the backside. "I'll see you in the morning, but until then, please don't go looking for trouble."

Rubbing lightly at her behind, Rose scowled haughtily over her shoulder. "I love you, too, but I can't make any promises. Trouble usually comes looking for me." Pushing through the door, she missed my troubled expression and the thought that followed it…that's what I'm afraid of.

Standing beneath the pummelling effect of a hot shower a few minutes later, the trouble in my mind revolved solely around Victor Dashkov. The information Dustin had given us was useful, but created more questions than answers. I needed something more than that to go on, so as soon as I had a chance, I would begin making calls…long distance calls.

I didn't doubt that Dustin had told us everything he knew, but there might be those within correctional services who were more willing to talk to me than to him. It might not work; it might create other problems, but I would try anyway in the hopes that any advanced warning on Victor's movements and whereabouts might make the difference.

I would also be phoning home.

Yeva might not be able to confirm if it was Victor that she had seen as a threat, but I knew she hadn't told me everything about what she had seen. Normally, I would have respected her reasons for withholding information; they were usually goods one, but not this time. The lives it impacted were too important to respect her cryptic responses.

Feeling more settled now that I had a course of action, by the time I had made breakfast, the talk about the table was, as expected, about Victor. Talking to as many of the guardians as I could before they left for rounds, I learnt nothing new before I reported for duty, but I hadn't really expected to, so it didn't really matter; I had my plan.

Ten hours, and fifteen unsuccessful conversations later, I had to admit to myself that my plan had failed.

Of the handful of contacts who had answered their phones, none of them had been able to provide any new information and had seemed cagey even confirming the information I already knew. This wasn't something that guardians at large wanted made public. Even phoning home had been a disaster. The line in Baia had been so bad; the connection had never been picked up.

Frustrated that I was no closer to the answers than I was this morning, I wasn't in the best of moods as I crossed over the upper campus in search of Tasha. Dusk had slowly begun to settle over the grounds when I found her sitting on a bench outside of guest housing. Eyes closed, she sat in the fading light of yellows and pinks, enjoying the last of the day's warmth.

Turning her head at my approach, the thick lashes lifted before a broad smile split the skin of her face and pulled at the scar tissues on her cheek. Seeming genuinely delighted at the sight of me, the twist of familiar guilt was expected, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now.

"Dimka…this is a nice surprise."

"Hello, Tasha. May I?"

Indicating the bench, she nodded quickly; the loose curls of her inky-black hair bouncing lightly around her face and shoulders as she moved away a little and I sat. "Of course, please. I haven't seen you for a few days. How have you been?"

"Good. Thank you for asking, Tasha. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to visit."

"Oh, don't apologize," she waved off, pulling her lightweight, fawn-coloured jacket tighter around her. "I understand. It's good to see you. Also…I want to apologize for putting you in a difficult position the other night. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Of course I understand how important duty is to you, and how important Lissa is. I didn't mean to make it seem as though I was asking you to choose."

"No, no. You did nothing wrong, Tasha. If anyone should apologize, it's me. I should have handled it better." I should have. It was something that I would always regret. I hadn't meant to hurt her, yet that was exactly what had happened. "I just need you to understand that friendship is all I'm offering."

Smiling still, it became brittle and a little more forced as she heard the finality in my voice. "Well, at least it's good to see you as a friend, Dimka." Smiling brightly, and mostly for my benefit, I could see the pain it hid and what it cost her to hide it.

"It is, but I'm afraid this isn't a purely social visit."

Hearing something in my voice that caught at her attention, Tasha shifted to face me. "What is it?"

As with Rose, I decided against sugar-coating. "Dashkov escaped Tarasov last night."

Tasha's dark blue eyes widened in shock until they seemed to engulf her entire face. Stunned into silence, I spoke quietly, giving her the details we had on how and when. As expected, her quick mind came up with the same conclusion everyone else had.

"He'll be coming after Lissa again, won't he?"

"No one has any proof of that, but yes, we're all thinking along the same lines."

"He's never going to stop, is he?" Getting to her feet, Tasha crossed her arms over her midriff and paced a bit over the lawns only just starting to sprout new grass. "I want change in our world just as much as he does, Dimka, but not like this. Not at the expense of lives." Turning to face me again, she shook her head sadly. "Not at the expense of Lissa's."

"It's not going to come to that, Tasha. We know he's escaped, we have a fairly good idea of where he'll be going, and we'll be better prepared this time for whatever he's scheming. We won't let him near her again. I won't let him near her again."

"I know you won't, Dimka." Sitting again, Tasha rested her hand on my bare wrist, beneath my jacket sleeve. "And I'm sorry. This must be hard for you; she's your responsibility, and this must feel like it's very personal, especially after what he said about you and Rose at the trial. I can only imagine what you would do to him if you got your hands on him."

Tasha, you have no idea how personal this is for me. "It is very personal. For all of us."

"Does Lissa know yet?"

"No. Rose will tell her at dinner." Using the pretence of checking my watch for the time, I gently shook off her hand. "They're there now. Christian will obviously be told, and so too, will Eddie, but that's it. Alberta doesn't want this spreading through the school."

"That's understandable. Poor Lissa. She's going to be so scared now. You know, it's a real pity that none of you took my suggestion about training Christian and Lissa seriously, Dimka. Giving them some sort of combat training, particularly with Lissa, would go a long way for self-confidence."

"Actually, Tasha, that's I wanted to talk to you about."

Cocking a brow, she was obviously puzzled by the turn in the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to help with training them."

Frowning for a moment, Tasha seemed confused by what I was saying, but in the next, she jumped to her feet so quickly that the bench beneath me shuddered. Reaching out a steadying hand as she almost stumbled over her feet; Tasha latched onto it instead and yanked me off my seat. Grabbing my jacket lapels, she pulled me downward so that we were almost nose to nose.

"You're serious? You're actually serious about this?"

Carefully prying loose her gripping fingers, I nodded with a small smile at the almost child-like excitement lighting up her blue eyes. "I am."

"It's happening, Dimka. The change I wanted, it's finally happening."

"No, Tasha. It's not, so don't get carried away. This is only for Lissa's benefit because of the threat that Victor Dashkov poses, nothing more. Christian's only involved because it's Lissa and he has some experience in combat. Alberta was explicit on this. She wants weekly progress reports from me, and after a month, will personally check on their progress. If she's not happy with it, she'll shut this down. It's not the platform you wanted."

"Not yet, but this could be the start of it."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Like I said, it's at Alberta's discretion to end this before it begins."

"She won't. Once she sees the progress made, she actually might encourage it. I'm assuming Rose is going to help with this?"

"She is. She wants to train Christian with Eddie's help, and us to train Lissa."

"She doesn't want Lissa?"

"No…conflict of interests is how she put it."

"Smart girl. She knows she won't be able to train her properly because of their friendship." Smoothing my creased lapels, Tasha winced in apology. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning, 5am. I think starting out with half an hour sessions would be best, to assess. Going to gym afterwards to start strengthening shouldn't be an issue. I've already arranged with Alberta to be able to pull them all from housing without it looking suspicious, so I'll pick them up on the way to the woods around the cabin. Will you meet us there?"

"Sure. Oh, wait…tomorrow is Rose's birthday."

"It is. Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just that Lissa and I have been arranging her party and we were going to finalize all the last minute details tomorrow morning." Pursing her lips, she quickly thought through any issues this might create and then shrugged when she couldn't find any. "Should be fine if she's occupied. I'm going into Missoula after breakfast, so I wouldn't be here for the morning anyway."

"Why are you going into Missoula?"

"To buy her a birthday present, silly. You can't have a party without presents."

Thinking of my own resting against my chest, I nodded. "You're right of course. Thank you for this, Tasha. She'll appreciate all the effort."

"Oh, it's nothing. I like Rose, and an eighteenth birthday is a special one. I didn't arrive here under the best of circumstances, but at least this is something to celebrate before I have to leave."

"How long can you stay away from work for?"

"Another week, but that's it. Do you think it will be enough time to help with Lissa?"

"I don't know, but she's smart and has a good reason to motivate herself, so I'm hoping it will be."

"Victor Dashkov shouldn't ever be considered the right kind of motivation, but I suppose, at the end of the day, motivation is motivation. Have you contacted everyone you know about where he might be? You know people in the strangest of places, Dimka."

"I have, and none of them have any idea."

"Which frustrates you, doesn't it?"

Exhaling deeply, I nodded. "Endlessly. I don't like the feeling of being helpless, and that's exactly what it feels like. If I had something to work off, anything to work off, it would at least stop feeling like we were at a complete disadvantage with him."

Lowering her lashes, Tasha lightly tapped my chest with her forefinger. "Maybe I can help with that."

"What do you mean?"

"I have acquaintances that might be able to find out information about Victor that not many others would."

"Acquaintances? What kind of acquaintances?"

"Ones that live on the outskirts of our world but know enough about it to help."

"And where exactly would you know these people from, Tasha?"

"I know them because that's where I also live, Dimka. Dhampir aren't always willing to become guardians and have to look for work – any work they can get." At my frown, Tasha shook her head with a small smile. "You and the others, you lead almost sheltered lives within the academy walls. None of you know all that much about what happens beyond them."

Most didn't, but I did. "Tasha, you need to be careful. Associating with contract killers isn't smart."

"They're not contract killers, Dimitri. Granted, they might not be as above board as you would like, but killers, they aren't."

"Still…"

"Don't worry about me. I've been outside those walls for a while now, remember? And, if it will help in tracking down Victor, I think it's worth the risk."

"Endangering yourself is never worth the risk, Tasha."

"I'll be fine." Patting my chest, Tasha's fingers curled a little as she looked up at me, but when she saw the lack of encouragement, backed away and dropped her hands. "I'll start making calls after dinner."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"My pleasure. Would you like to join me for dinner?"

"Thank you, but no. Alberta is expecting her weekly reports and they have to be in tonight." Taking a step back, the withdrawal was subtle, but obvious. Smart enough to know it, Tasha didn't insist, but instead gave me a gentle smile as she turned to the pathway leading to housing.

"Tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Tasha."

"Goodnight, Dimka."

Waiting until she was safely within the building, I began a slow walk back; my thoughts preoccupied by things other than paperwork. I didn't like the idea of Tasha involving herself with unsavoury characters, but if it meant gaining the upper hand against Victor, then I wouldn't stop her.

Not if it meant more protection for Lissa…and Rose.