Chapter 18

I was in motion before Rose could even finish. Moving faster than I ever had before, I yanked on some clothes and tossed something over for Rose to wear. 'Get dressed,' I ordered, already moving along the hallway. I flew down the stairs, taking four steps at a time, then stormed toward the guardian headquarters. Rose couldn't keep up, but I couldn't slow down for her now. Lissa was my charge, and now she needed me.

As soon as I relayed the warning, the guardians started making calls and shouting orders. Rose caught up, her chest heaving beneath her borrowed shirt. Standing to the side, she was practically jumping on the spot as we waited for the headmistress and others to arrive. When they did, things didn't move along nearly as fast as they should have.

'Hurry up!' Rose yelled, her frustration spilling over. She was frantic with worry. 'You need to do something!'

As more guardians spilled in, I relayed Rose's tale to Kirova. 'The princess has been taken. And Ozera is hurt. The abductors—'

The look the headmistress gave me then was infuriating. She didn't believe Rose's story. Looking at the other guardians' faces, it was clear they didn't either. Their prejudice against Rose was one thing, but their ignorance over the bond was beyond gall. For such a powerful connection to be ignored and discarded...

Still, Ozera was a royal, and the moment his name left my lips, guardians were dispatched to retrieve him. When he came stumbling in, supported by Stevens and Lazar, at least one part of Rose's story could be corroborated. As Dr. Olendzki treated his injury, Christian relayed what he could recall of the attackers. Unfortunately, it was precious little.

'How many Strigoi were there?' Stevens asked Rose instead, finally realising she was their only source of information.

'How in the world did they get in?' added Lazar.

Rose looked at them both as if they were stupid. 'Wh—? There weren't any Strigoi.'

There was a moment of silence as we all stared at her. All guardians were nonplussed. But my head was spinning. If not Strigoi, then...who? Whoever had been stalking Lissa, sending her those animals?

'Who else would have taken her?' asked Ms. Kirova primly. 'You must have seen it wrong through the...vision.'

Rose shook her head. She was still out of breath with fear, but the next words were resolute. 'No. I'm positive. It was...they were...guardians.'

All guardians looked at each other, until Christian added, 'She's right.' He nodded to himself, remembering. 'Guardians.'

'That's impossible.'

'They weren't school guardians,' Rose explained, rubbing her head. Her hands seemed to vibrate with tension, and her next words were more irate. 'Will you guys get moving? She's getting farther away!'

Kirova was still not having it. 'You're saying a group of privately retained guardians came in and kidnapped her?'

'Yes,' Rose replied through gritted teeth, still clutching her head. 'They...'

And her eyes faded, the way they always did when her mind went to Lissa. Kirova and the others didn't understand what had happened, so I quickly filled them in. 'She's having another vision.' Kirova looked as if she were approaching her last nerve with this, but I gave her a firm look. She had to take this seriously. I saw her visibly rein in her impatience.

'They work for Victor Dashkov,' Rose gasped out at last, refocusing on Kirova. 'They're his.'

'Prince Victor Dashkov?' asked another guardian with a snort. I shot them a sharp look too, but they didn't notice it.

'Please,' Rose moaned, her hands gripping her head tighter. The desperation in her voice tore at me, knowing that whatever was happening to Lissa was very, very bad. 'Do something. They're getting so far away. They're on...' she paused, 'Eighty-three. Headed south.'

'Eighty-three already?' Stevens asked, his eyes narrowing. 'How long ago did they leave? Why didn't you come sooner?'

Rose's eyes turned to me anxiously. I felt my heart drop through my chest, but there was no room for hesitation. I knew what the necklace had been. 'A compulsion spell,' I said slowly, my chest nevertheless twisting over the lie. I wanted to leave it at that, but I knew I had to elaborate. 'A compulsion spell put into a necklace he gave her. It made her attack me.' A flash of memory over that "attack" replayed in my mind, but I shoved it away. There was no time to agonise over that now.

'No one can use that kind of compulsion,' exclaimed Kirova. 'No one's done that in ages.'

'Well, someone did,' I stated flatly, keeping my face carefully blank. 'By the time I'd restrained her and taken the necklace, a lot of time had passed.' I preyed no one would question the story further. I saw Rose's anxious expression in my periphery but didn't look at her. What she thought of this quick fabrication was impossible to tell.

But no questions were asked. Kirova was silent for a moment, until her jaw locked with decision. 'Too much hinges on this. Send a party, and find the princess.'

Things fell into motion. Kirova didn't want to bring Rose, and neither did the guardians, and I sure as hell wanted her far away from whatever danger we were heading into, but I realized that we needed her. Her visions would guide us straight to Lissa. I said as much to Kirova, insisting when she yet again tried to dismiss me. 'We can't ignore this bond,' I pressed. 'They're connected.'

With her approval, we quickly organised ourselves and were soon in motion. On the way to the parking lot, Rose whispered, 'The necklace. What you said...what was it really?'

I looked at her briefly. This was not a topic I wanted to deal with right now, but Rose deserved to know. She deserved some closure from that whole episode. More importantly, she needed to know that what had happened wouldn't have happened under any other circumstances. 'There was a compulsion spell in the necklace,' I admitted, keeping my voice even. 'A lust one.' Then I shook my head with disgust. 'Victor wanted us occupied, not killed.'

Rose looked thoughtful. 'I've never heard of such a thing. How...how could it affect us like that?'

'It's a powerful magic,' I replied, recalling my revelation earlier. 'A magic that earth users used to practice, but never do anymore.'

She nodded but said no more. I wanted to say how sorry I was, to explain myself somehow...but there was no time for it now.

Three parties filed into the SUV's, with my party in the first. I slid into the driver's seat while Rose jumped into the passenger seat, her face a mix of sweat and struggle. I suspected she was trying to resist the pull of Lissa's mind, and it was taking up all her resolution to stay in the present.

As I drove, the silence grew and the minutes passed. Rose only spoke when she gave a report, and each time she did I pressed the gas pedal down harder. My hands were clutched tight on the wheel as anxiety over Lissa threatened to consume me. I couldn't believe I'd allowed the charmed necklace to affect me so strongly, and for so long. While Rose and I had...I couldn't even think about it. I was supposed to protect them. Lissa was my charge. I couldn't lose her the way I'd lost Alexei. The old mantra sang through my head like gospel. They come first.

'They're still on eighty-three,' Rose said at last, 'but their turn is coming. They aren't speeding. They don't want to get pulled over.'

I nodded, not looking at her. This, at least, was good news. They had no idea we were coming. Once again, I felt immense gratitude for Rose's connection to Lissa. Without it, the princess might have been lost to us.

I could sense Rose's eyes on me now but was too afraid to look back. Seeing her would bring back all those fresh memories that I was fighting so hard to shove away. They couldn't cloud my judgement now. When all this was over...then I could deal with it.

Suddenly, Rose said, 'They're turning. I can't see the road name, but I'll know when we're close.'

I could only grunt in response, and Rose deflated in her seat. Twenty minutes of more tense silence passed. Rose always seemed on the verge of saying something else. I knew she had to be wild with worry over Lissa, and those feelings were probably all confused with what had just happened between us. But she remained silent until her next report.

'There,' she said at last, pointing at a rough road of unpaved gravel. I turned, and the car bumped along the track, gravel crunching under the tires. The dust that it kicked up obscured our vision, and I had to squint to see ahead. Luckily, Rose could guide just as well from memory.

'They're turning again,' she said. Forest loomed up ahead, and as we drove in, the track turned and twisted, and only Rose's steady reports kept us on track.

Finally, we seemed to be catching up. 'We're getting close,' Rose said, sitting up with attention. 'They're outside a small cabin. They're taking her—'

Her voice was abruptly cut off as she was pulled into Lissa's mind.

'Rose?' I called, but she didn't answer. Expressions were crossing her face too fast for me to follow. It made me crazy not knowing what was happening with Lissa, but I had to trust that, as long as Rose wasn't yelling at us to hurry up, things were at least...stable. But I kept peeking at her while I drove, and as I watched, intense concern transformed into complete and utter shock. A revelation. I didn't want to interrupt her now, so whatever was happening would have to become clear later.

But as the minutes passed, my impatience grew. 'Rose?' I called again, nudging her arm. 'What's going on?'

There was no response, but a moment later she flinched. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, I drove even faster, but the jostling never recalled her.

'What's going on?' Alberta's voice called from behind.

'Rose is having another vision. Something's going on with the princess.'

No sooner had the words left my lips when Rose screamed. The sound tore through my heart, causing my grip on the wheel to jerk in surprise and the car to veer. No sound in the world could bring me more fear. The princess all but forgotten, I cast Rose an alarmed look and began to pull over.

Rose looked around herself wildly. 'No, no!' she called, pointing ahead. 'Keep going!' Then her palms pressed against her temples as her eyes squeezed shut. 'We have to get there!'

Alberta reached forward and rested her hand on Rose's shoulder. I was glad she was there to comfort her. I didn't think I could handle both her and Lissa's pain right now.

'Rose, what's happening?'

Rose's voice was thick when she spoke. 'They're torturing her...with air. This guy...Kenneth...he's making it press against her...into her head. The pressure's insane. It feels like my—her—skull's gonna explode.'

Worry threatened to consume me. Rose's pain, Lissa's pain, it all mingled in my mind. And then the only sound that could trump that pain filled the space between us. Rose was...crying. My eyes found her face again. I never expected to hear her sob so desperately. It was utterly heart wrenching. And if the pain was enough to wring tears out of her, I could only imagine how much worse it must be for Lissa. Gritting my teeth, I pressed the gas pedal down harder. Victor would pay for this.

But the torture had only begun. Even when her sobs finally subsided, Rose was breathless and her reports halting. Kenneth was using air to smother them and choke them. Throughout it all, Rose stammered that Lissa was trying to hold strong, but she wouldn't for much longer...and when no more reports came, we knew the worst would soon come. The princess would have to give in to whatever Victor wanted.

When Rose took a deep, sighing breath, we knew something had changed. She hesitated only for a moment, shooting me a final, searching look before she nodded with resolution. When the revelation finally came, it was beyond everything I could have imagined.

'Victor is dying,' she said. 'Sandovsky's syndrome. That's why he wants Lissa's help. She can...heal him. It's her magic, her spirit magic, the fifth element. Nobody knows about it, except her and me, and maybe Sonya...but Victor knows. He's known all this time. The animals, everything...it was him. When Lissa thought she was being stalked...it was him, all along. She's healing him now, but it costs her.' Rose shook her head, more tears spilling down her cheeks. 'It costs too much.'

My mind was reeling. A fifth element. Spirit magic. Healing magic. Like the old saints... But before my mind could form another thought, Rose gasped.

'He's draining her. We have to hurry! She's going to pass out!'

But there was nothing I could do. The frustration and anger boiled over. Curses sprang from my mouth in a string of obscenities. I concentrated all my fury on Victor. When I found him, I was going to put an end to all of this.

When Rose reported that we were only a quarter mile from the cabin, Alberta made a call on her cell phone to pull our convoy over. Guardians piled out and mobilised, guns glistening at their hips. A small party went off to scout and reported back on the number of people inside and outside of the cabin. There was more than enough of us to take them on. They were outnumbered.

When Alberta got out of the car, I waited for the inevitable. Body radiating with the need for action, Rose chucked off her seatbelt and put her hand on the door handle. But I stopped her with a hand on her wrist, meeting her eyes. There was no way in hell she was joining the fray. I couldn't risk that. Not yet.

'No, Roza,' I said softly, trying to telegraph my sympathy with my eyes. 'You stay here.'

But Rose was having none of it. 'The hell with that,' she spat. 'I have to go help her.'

With danger so close, there was no hesitation in me. I cupped Rose's chin in my hands and fixed her reddened eyes with my own. 'You have helped her,' I implored her. 'Your job is done. You did it well. But this isn't any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe.'

Rose opened her mouth to argue further, then abruptly closed it again. She nodded once. Time being short, I nodded back before I released her chin and got out of the car to join the party. With Rose safely behind me, I could take on what lay ahead. I could focus all my efforts on Lissa.

Calling to Alberta that I was ready, she barked a command for us to fan out, and we advanced onward. Walking silently, we slipped into the woods, our dark clothes blending with the trees. The stake had replaced the gun holstered at my hip, and I held it pointing forward, ready for anything. It had been a while since I'd used it, and really I thought them a despicably modern weapon, but in a fight against armed guardians...they were necessary.

The fact that we were about to fight our own dawned on me as soon as I spotted Victor's guardians through a window. Alberta and Stevens had already dealt with the guardians on watch outside. They hadn't been killed, but incapacitated, but the moment we kicked down the door, our silent approach would be over, and it would be life or death.

I knew I would pick life.

When everyone had mobilised by the door, we took our positions and waited for Alberta's call. She would be first in, and I would be second. Taking a deep breath, I met her eyes and nodded that I was ready. She nodded back and counted.

Three...two...one.

We attacked.