PART 5: BATTLE LINES
"Let there be no more war! And straight away at the word, along the Mediterranean shore, the call to arms is heard." I spoke the familiar words I knew, unprepared for another confrontation with Eddie as he sat down beside me." We were all preparing for another night of strategic placement, and Strigoi watching.
"I don't want to fight with you, Eddie." I whispered, folding my hands together at my lap.
I listened as he took in a deep breath. "I don't want to fight either, Bells. I want to apologize."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to go into a possible fight, already having a fight with someone I love. And because you were right."
"About what?" I stood, walking a few steps away.
"You were right about keeping me from this fight. I have trouble separating our Mason from this present evil one. He was like a brother to me. He was once the closest person to me. But if I had to choose between him and Jill, I would choose her every time. For years we've had our questions go unanswered and now with the possibility of finding answers, I don't know if I want them anymore.
Eddie and I sat, whispering in conversation a little longer, trying to still determine where we stood with Mason and his undead reappearance, but we had no concrete answers. I was startled when my phone rang, swearing I had set it to vibrate, and if it were anyone else, I might not have answered.
"Are we too late?" I heard Yuri's concerned voice ask as soon as I picked up.
"We?"
"Jesse and Sophie are here, along with Aaron and Mia."
"You're not too late. We finished up multiple sweeps of the area again today and mapped out a new perimeter. It's five here, so we'll wait another few hours, and see if we can't get anything. We are still competing with the Opera Ball."
There was a sudden rustling on the opposite end of the phone call before a new voice started to talk.
"Bells." His voice was a comfort to me now, but I could still sense his worry, his fear, and it was drilling little holes into me.
"Jess, calm down. Your anxiety is too much for me." I pleaded with my Moroi. "Have a seat, hold Sophie's hand, listen to Yuri, and do not worry."
I could almost feel him inhaling and exhaling as I listened. It was similar to the times I could put my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.
"Have you gone through reciting all of your quotes yet?" He questioned my pre-training and pre- battle routine. "Because I found a statement you could add to them." I said nothing, unsure of what to expect from Jesse. But I listened. "I hated every minute of training, but I said 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'"
"I like it." I returned finally. "Whitman? Tennyson?"
"Muhammed Ali."
I laughed with Jesse, our moods lightened marginally, taking in my own deep breath as the other Guardians and Christian all started to gather a distance away from where I sat.
"I have to go Jess. I'll call back soon. Kiss Sophie for me."
Christian and I made sure that we were seen again. It was close to nine, and the city center of Vienna was packed with people in their finest Opera wear. Tonight was the main event, and no less than three- thousand people were in attendance. We didn't exactly blend into the scene, but fortunately formal wear was optional. The lights around us flickered once or twice as we sat at an open café across the street from Hofburg Palace. Dimitri was a few yards behind me and Christian; close enough to grab and dash if need be. We still had a few hours before the crowds would thin out, and the Ball would come to its nightly end, so I relaxed. While I would not allow him to take part in the battle, Eddie did have a perfect view of any and everything that might occur from where he hid in position as well. I'd tactically positioned Stef and Shane inside of another building on the opposite side of the square, both waiting for hours before I would give any kind of signal. By midnight, I had gone through three cups of very strong coffee, and still we saw nothing. Alberta was in charge of the security cameras, watching video of each city center section that cameras recorded, not only looking for Mason, but any Strigoi on the hunt.
"Let's take a walk around the square." I suggested to Christian, knowing that we were well watched, and that Dimitri would manage to follow at enough of a distance. I took Christian's hand, crossing the now more vacant street, walking with him in silence. My heart was racing, and my eyes surveyed every direction, every corner, and every dark shadow I could see without being obvious, hiding my own fear and concern from Christian as he seemed to observe my alarm.
Our relationship had changed many times in so many ways since my arrival at St. Vladimir's, and I could sense another one of those changes coming. Things were still a little strange between us since the reversal, and to my own surprise, it was me not Christian who was having trouble adjusting.
"I've missed you, Bellamy." He sat on the edge of a large circular fountain, holding both of my hands as I stood in front of him, absent from the moment. "What's going on in your head right now? What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing Chris. Really." I lied, trying to suppress each of the ten-thousand thoughts going on in my mind.
"Bellamy, I can always tell when you are worried about something. Dimitri is right. Your eyes still give you away."
"Fine, I am worried." I sat down with him, keeping his hand linked with mine. "But I was thinking that it isn't so difficult for me to understand why Yuri and Lissa might be somewhat apprehensive about you and I teaming up like this, instigating trouble or violence from Mason all over again.
"Yuri is worried too?" Christian asked, and it made me think that he and Lissa may have had more than one conversation about this plan.
"Yes. Yuri is worried too. Jealousy is a useless emotion in our relationship, but before we left Court, Yuri asked if my feelings for you had resurfaced. I clearly explained that he will never have reason to worry, and neither will Lissa."
"Yuri is an extremely lucky man."
"I happen to agree, but I think that I got the better deal."
"Sure. Whether it's at Court or anywhere else, he is your husband, and you get to be his wife." I wasn't sure if the comment Christian made was to me, or one of those thoughts we accidentally have out loud. I let him go on, wondering however, which road his thoughts were taking him down.
"That is the way it will always be seen to everyone around you.
And it hit me, clear as day, in the face. Even ignoring his last name, and the stigma his parents and Aunt Tasha left with him, things were not the same with him and Lissa. Even if his surname were different, the Moroi Court would always see Christian as one thing. Lissa was Queen, so there was only one word that was used to describe Christian. Consort. It was a word with just as many stigmas attached. While he could petition for the title of 'King Matrimonial', the Moroi Council likely would not agree. Even if Christian and Lissa were to marry, even if they produced children together, and proclaimed their love every day for the rest of their lives, it would not change Christian's new title.
"Chris, Lissa loves you more than anything. In her eyes, you are everything. Nothing compares, and nothing could replace you in her life."
"In her eyes, yes. In your eyes, in Dimitri's, Rose, Yuri's too. But to everyone else…"
"Screw everyone else. The lot of them."
I watched him lower his head, and exhale. "It was the same when you and I were together years ago." He mentioned. "I was never actually seen as the one you were in love with. No one else knew how much you really loved me, and how much I loved you."
"Why should that have mattered?"
"I knew. You knew. Others assumed they knew, but I was the consort then, and I am the consort now. Story of my life."
"Stop it Chris." I demanded quietly as we walked. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're being ridiculous. These resurfacing emotions are confusing you. You love Lissa and she loves you. That is the only thing that should ever matter. If Yuri and I weren't married, it would make no difference. I love him and he loves me. That is all we need to know. The rest of the world doesn't concern me."
"I hoped I might see you here soon." My conversation with Christian was instantly halted as we both heard the words spoken from the shadowy area to my right. "Which would imply you've been looking for me. And I see you brought your boyfriend." Slowly, he stepped out into the moonlight, and all of my inner strength waned.
My knees weakened and my breath caught in my throat. I could hear Dimitri in my ear, telling others to keep their positions. Chris and I were not the only ones to have spotted and heard Mason.
"Are you ready?" Mason was speaking directly to Christian as I kept pulled him around to my back, looking for any opportunity to attack. "Are you ready to take your place with us, and-"
My arm kept Christian in one place, unable to shift in either direction around me. "You don't want to try this." I was only going to warn him once. "You don't want to try getting between me and Christian. You'll never make it to him. I will enjoy the fight, and I am not so inclined to kill immediately."
Mason laughed a rougher and sinister laugh. "You always were arrogant, and you were always so protective of this Moroi." This was not Mason's voice. It wasn't him I kept telling myself. This was evil, coming to tear apart my family and all we'd built.
"Did you run right to him?" The question hit me and Christian. "When I was gone, did you run straight to the Moroi you love? Did you wait even a day before I was out of the picture? Poor Vasilisa." Mason antagonized. "I bet she never saw you coming."
My chest burned with anger, sadness, confusion, guilt, and provocation. I recalled the day, the exact moment that Bridgette told me that Mason was gone, but I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing what his death had done to me.
"Stop."
Mason took a step closer, and I felt Christian trying to shift. My hand grasped his, keeping him at my back, and quelling his anxiety and fear.
"Do you expect that you can hurt me at this point? You think I'm unprepared for what you might say? I got over you and moved on long ago."
"I can see that."
I ignored his baiting comments.
"Nothing you say or do is going to make me run. And nothing you say will change what I have to do."
"Good to know." Mason took another step towards us.
Even now I could read his body language. I could still read his thoughts in a fight.
"Christian." I whispered his name, and he was ready to do what needed to be done.
It was fantastic coincidence that Chris and I shared a room, rather than Chris and Dimitri. It gave the two of us a chance to discuss any contingency plans of our own, away from other Guardians. In a split second, he was at my side again, our hands still linked. We were going to save ourselves, surrounding the two of us in a ring of fire, daring the Strigoi to come closer to either of us. Mason growled, and it was feral, coming from a place deep within him. It was predatory and merciless. He was positively irate. In fact, I was surprised that he wasn't willing to attempt jumping through fire to get to us.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid?" Maybe Mason couldn't bait me, but I could still provoke him in return.
I did, giving Shane and Stef the opportunity to use stealth as they moved out of the building they were positioned in for hours. The two made it halfway to us before being detected. Mason twisted his neck back to me.
"So, you did bring the troops with you." He was taunting. "Didn't think you could handle me on your own?"
I smirked, giving a nod to the two Guardians. Mason's attention was on Shane, his outrage and challenges giving me a chance to drop my magic to literally get Christian out of the fire.
"Chris, go now." He and I were weakened after our use of magic, but Dimitri was not far. He's snuck up closer to us, moving in and out of his own light and shadows. "Run straight back until you run into Dimitri. Go."
He did not argue with me this time, and I was thankful. His fingers touched to my waist once, and he was gone, disappeared into the night. I wanted to look back, to see that Dimitri had him, but Mason's attention was on me again, and my magic was drained.
"Is that your plan, Bellamy?" He sounded overconfident. I had incited a riot within the former Dhampir. "I am faster. I can get to him through any of these dark shadows, or alleys."
"You think so?" I threatened him right back. "You think I'd be irresponsible enough to let Christian Ozera run off into the crowded or vacant streets of Austria at night without a Guardian or two ready to defend him?"
Stef tried to get closer, his hand on his stake, but Mason kept him back, away from me. I was the one Mason really wanted to kill. Oh, he'd take others, but only to get to me. And after me, he would find Jesse. I was not going to let that happen.
"You think I don't have Guardians placed all around this square, inside buildings, watching every bit of CCTV footage in real time?
"I don't believe you." His voice rose.
"Run." I offered. "Run in any direction. I dare you." Sure I bluffing, but unlike Christian, Mason could never fully see through my poker face. I was taking a risk as he looked around the square, attempting to decide if he should run or fight. "Christian is safe." I said, still trying to mask the uncertainty I felt about the statement until I could see Christian again. "You most of all should know that no one gets to him without going through me." I lifted an eyebrow, wondering if my challenge worked.
Half a beat later, I didn't have to wonder. Mason lunged forward, giving me no time to think. I fought him the same way I had any other Strigoi. He captured my arm in his hand, gripping tight. I was stuck briefly, but Shane was ready to move into the fight. He had Mason in a usually inescapable hold, but Mason twisted down and around, going directly for Shane. Stef and I attacked again from both sides.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I shouted. "Get him to the ground!"
The three of us were no longer in and out of this fight. We fought together as one, and eventually the two men had Mason pinned, struggling as I pulled out my stake, hoping I had made the right decision to trust that spirit in my stake was enough. I also hoped that my magic would not do more harm than good if mixed with the magic used to save Mason. Bringing my weapon down, it plunged hard and solidly into Mason's chest. Spirit rippled through the two of us first, blasting out in one earthquake of magic. Mason slowly started to return, and my stake dropped to the ground as Stef caught me seconds before I collapsed.
"Can you stand, Bells?" He asked, helping me to my feet, watching me grab my arm, wincing in pain as soon as I was upright. "I knew you were hurt. What happened?"
"He had hold of my arm, but when he turned on Shane, he…"
"Come here. Let's get you looked at." Stef insisted.
"No." I denied. "Not yet." I spotted Eddie on his way over. He ran to me, pulling me close.
"Do you know how horrible it is to watch you fighting, getting thrown, punched, and hurt? Inspiring but horrible."
Eddie and I twisted around to where Mason was curled up in a ball on the ground still, Dimitri, Shane, and Alberta now all kneeling or sitting with him. My eyes searched the area, spotting Christian only a short distance away, sitting by the large stone fountain. He was safe. He'd found Dimitri, or Dimitri had found him, and he was alive. Eddie was intensely focused on the scene with Mason, as his returned friend was starting to sit up. Dimitri was talking to him, reassuring him quietly the same way he had done with Sonya Karp.
"Stef, see to Christian." I commanded him before Eddie had hold of my good hand, taking slow steps forward.
Mason looked over to us, his eyes now back to their normal color, full of regret, guilt, and possibly the same sadness I'd felt when he was gone. Eddie stopped, frozen in place, squeezing my hand a little tighter as the two men were visually reunited.
"Bells," Eddie's voice was so low I almost couldn't hear him, "I found that disconnection you wanted." He told me. "I have to get out of here. I can't… I can't do this right now."
"Okay." I was not going to argue with him. "We can go." I turned with him, taking him away from the scene, both of us walking away from Mason. "Stef," I walked to him with Eddie held to me, "we're walking away. I won't be forced to deal with this yet, and I won't force Eddie to face it either. We are walking to the monastery…" Out of nowhere, my head felt light, and a pair of hands picked me up before I could register what had just happened.
"Bellamy." Voices called to me.
"I'm fine." I determined again.
"You most certainly are not fine. The magic we used weakened her too." Christian also reacted when I nearly fell. "With all of the stress she has been under, the magic was too much. Her emotions, my emotions, it's all tied to the magic, and her emotions are…"
"Twenty thousand levels of chaos." Eddie confirmed. "Come on. We're taking the car back." He stated, carting me off towards the SUV's as Stef tossed the keys his way.
"Bellamy." Dimitri called over to me.
"I'm good, Dimitri." I assured him too. "We'll talk when you get back to the monastery. He gave a nod, and Eddie and I were off, on our way back to the safety of our temporary home base.
"I have to call Yuri and Jesse."
"That can wait until you're rested." Eddie refused my request, keeping his eyes on the road.
"It really can't." I sat forward, fumbling through a bag I had stashed my phone in. I dialed a number that gave me no difficulty, smiling as soon as I heard the voice on the other end.
"It's finally done. We found him and it's finished." I told Yuri, and he breathed in deep, unsure if by 'done' I meant that Mason was Mason, or Mason was truly gone this time.
"Are you alright?" His concern was expected, and it made me smile again.
"Weak and sore. The fight was much quicker and rougher than I expected. I'll give you a full rundown when I've had a few hours of sleep." I kept my injury silent, fearing he'd have Eddie take me straight to hospital if mentioned.
"Get some sleep." Yuri advised. "The fight may be over, but the battle is just beginning." He said. "The Guardian Council has started arriving at Court. The worst may be yet to come."
I sighed, giving Eddie the news, causing more strife within each of us.
"I will tell Jesse, Sophie, and Aaron that you'll be back soon."
"Tell Jesse I will call him from the plane."
-A FEW DAYS LATER-
DIMITRI
"No!" I heard Bellamy shouting through the doors and walls. I was on my feet, along with Eddie, both of us rushing into the room next door, not bothering to knock.
Bellamy was standing in the middle of the small cell she shared with Christian, cell phone in hand as she listened to what was said from the opposite end. She did not turn, but Christian, trying to comfort and calm his friend, spun at the sound of the Guardian entry.
"She is talking to the Guardian Council again." Christian informed. "A woman named Alicia, and a man. I didn't catch his name. They demanded to hear about the fight with Mason."
Bellamy threw her phone onto one of the beds, and I had to guess that her conversation with the Council had only finished on her end. We all three watched as our friend sank to her knees, hitting the floor. I was sure she would lie down and curl into a ball if not for Eddie's quicker movement, kneeling down with her.
Her voice was little more than a whisper as she relayed the general subject of her conversation with Alicia Jordan. "The Council has made the not so subtle demand that I go and have a conversation with Mason Ashford."
"They can't do that!" Eddie angrily maintained, pulling her close, protecting her the way he often did. "Is it not bad enough that they sent you out to retrieve or kill him?" The two friends were very much in the same boat, emotionally speaking when it came to facing their former friend. This was difficult on both of them. They had questions of their own, they needed answers, but as angry as they were, neither was ready to hear the answers yet.
"It appears that they can do it." Tears fell, hitting her bare legs before she could hide them. "And this decision is not to be argued or refused." She looked up, her eyes meeting mine.
I looked to Eddie, he looked to me, neither of us sure we could say anything sympathetic enough to help. Eddie kept hold of her, letting her cry through her frustration, her returning anger, and confliction. I jumped, not expecting Bellamy to get to her feet so quickly after her short outburst. She was not yet finished venting.
"I was willing to go through with this 'subdue and detain' plan; I was willing to temporarily leave Jesse, Sophie, and Yuri on the Council's orders, but they're asking too much of me now."
"Do not approach Mason this minute." I implored her, unable to anticipate her reaction. "You are angry."
"I am not angry."
"Wait until we are back at Court."
"Neutral territory." Christian was trying to help.
Bellamy shot the two of us a look of disdain, indicating that it was time for us to leave. Christian chose to stay, switching places with Eddie inside of the room. I wasn't sure how much good Christian's presence would do, but if Bellamy didn't argue, neither would I. Instead I hoped that I could calm the impending war that would come once we arrived back at Court. I needed to speak with Mason myself.
I waited until he woke on his own. Having close personal experience with the changes that come with each transformation, I could not help but have a small percentage of compassion for Mason's position. Once he woke, I asked him to meet me quietly. I knew where Bellamy stood with her opinion of him, but I felt it best to get a better idea of Mason's current opinion of Bellamy. I found a place for us to sit, a place that held fewer distractions. It was still a bizarre thing to see the eyes that were once flooded with red, returned to their normal color after Strigoi were returned to their former selves. It was even stranger and more confusing to see the changes in this Dhampir I had once trained. A table sat between us. I was going to get a confession. There had to be more to this story. Mason looked skeptical and suspicious as I slid pens and paper across the table.
"I was hoping we could talk while you write."
"Write what?"
I shrugged. "Whatever you'd like. I will make sure it gets where it should."
He was definitely suspicious of my empathetic gesture, sitting back in his own chair, pushing the materials away.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because I have been in your position." I had his attention now. "I have gone through every part of what you are going through now. I have been transformed, and I have been returned."
"And you are back to the Guardian God you once were?" He sounded far too facetious for my liking. This would be harder than I thought.
"The difference between us is that I was unwillingly transformed.
"That is the only difference?" Mason sarcastically questioned.
"Bellamy thinks that you made a choice to become Strigoi those years ago when you were still novices. But," His eyebrows arched as I made I clear that I was sure there was another answer, "I have the feeling that you were influenced. Which of us is right?"
Mason still said nothing, refusing to answer the question yet.
"We cannot both be wrong either." I was careful not to push him too far. Rage would still be at the forefront of his emotions.
"She told me all about them. She told me about Bellamy and Christian."
I did not respond to his statement, mostly because I did not know what to say. Bellamy and Christian had become as close as two people could without being in a relationship, and I had seen the good and bad moments between them. Still, it was not my place to say what I felt or saw. Instead, I analyzed his reactions, taking note of each movement he made as he spoke about Bellamy.
"It has been so long since I've seen her, and the other night when I …when I returned to me, I almost didn't recognize her when I saw her. The look in her eyes was intense. It was something I have never seen in her. Maybe it was hatred. Pure hatred." Mason reflected on the first time he and Bellamy saw each other after their fight, and after she brought him back from the dead.
Again, I did not say anything about that moment between the two. I sighed and he looked back at me, disappointed. I was hoping he would answer my questions without debate, rather than having to face Bellamy. In her current frame of mind, she would not approach him with as much caution. In fact, I made a mental note to check her for weapons when near Mason.
"If I remember the date correctly," He was now starting to have a real conversation, "it was late December after Bellamy and I ended our relationship, and Rose was on the verge of further breaking my heart again. I was doing everything I could to keep it all together. I was avoiding the subject with Rose, but there was no avoiding the falling out we had.
"That should not have been your reason to run off and…"
"I know. Those girls were not the only reason for my decision." Mason quieted again, but I could tell he was trying to find the best way of explaining his choices, so I listened. "I was already in a bad place emotionally when there was a knock on my door at the lodge we students were kept at. Imagine my surprise to see Natasha Ozera standing in front of me, asking to talk. A short time into our conversation, she let it slip about Christian and Bellamy. She detailed the true nature and the depth of their relationship."
"Tasha should not have done that." I continued to curse the woman who had damaged so many lives while she was still alive. Even in death, she continued to cause trouble. "I also should not be so surprised by her true duplicity. Bellamy has paid a large price for many years because of Tasha's hidden machinations."
"Natasha convinced me that Bellamy used me, and that she was…" His voice trailed off, giving me the opportunity to defend Bellamy too.
"She loved you Mason. Those of us who were still with her, saw what your death did to her. She was not the same after you died. She is still so changed."
Mason scoffed then. "You are still protecting her." His tone had turned accusatory in seconds. "She was lying to me. She was seeing Christian Ozera too." Mason leaned forward, placing his elbows to the table. "He knew about me and Bellamy, so he is equally as guilty as she is."
My eyes travelled briefly to the side of the room. Bellamy, Christian, and Eddie were now on their way outside, all quietly laughing together. I wondered what it would do for Mason to see the three getting along so well. It would save for a later day. Now was not the time to reveal that change. I had to keep questioning and listening.
"When you say that you and Bellamy ended your relationship, what you meant to say was that you ended things between the two of you long before you heard anything about her and Christian." I had to protect my half-sister, letting Mason know that I knew more than he assumed.
"I guess Bellamy would've told you about that too." Mason's disdain had since disappeared, but he was still fairly defiant about the truth. "You two were close back then. I assume you still are f…"
"Mason, do not assume anything about me and Bellamy. We are still close. She is my…" Mason had missed so much over the last several years. "She is my sister. My half-sister. And I have been Christian's Guardian since he graduated from the Academy."
"You'd think that might surprise me more. Hell, for that matter you'd think that you and Rose ending up together would surprise me too."
"You know about me and Rose?"
Mason met my eyes, glaring back with what I thought was jealousy. "I know more than you think I do. I was told about you two. I was also told that she went after you."
We were silent for some time, Mason picking up the pen I'd offered him, tapping it to the table between us over and over again, the rhythm quick, sounding more like a hammer pounding to the ground.
"Bellamy disappeared for a few hours last night. When I stepped outside, I heard her on her phone. She was talking to…"
"Jesse." I mentioned, reluctant to start with the subject of Bellamy first. "She has called him each night since your capture to reassure him of her safety."
"They must be close at this point. I mean there's really only one reason she would choose to be his Guardian."
"There is much you don't know about Jesse and Bellamy. They have had their ups and downs, but Bellamy has always put Jesse first. All of her sacrifices have been to benefit her Moroi, rather than herself. And for a long time, they had only each other to rely on. Bellamy has said that these days, Jesse is the person who knows her best." I reflected on previous conversations, musing about the Guardian relationship Bellamy held with Jesse Zeklos.