Moving Objects

Chapter 23

From here I could pretend that he was alive, that he was out here waiting for us so we could go home. But the shadows only deceived me. I knew that what stood before me was a monster with my love's face, with his voice.

"Roza."

I started backing Lissa and I up, pulling my gifted stake from my jacket. Eddie and the others flanked me around Lissa, making a protective circle around her.

Dimitri's laugh filled the empty air, and he took a few steps towards me. With the nausea I was feeling, I knew he wasn't alone, and I whispered that quietly, know that he could hear me too.

"Oh Roza, you made this too easy. I knew where you were, I told you I have eyes everywhere. And by chance, you come out with the Princess. Two birds with one stone as you like to say," he said as he stepped closer to us. I shivered at the sound of his voice and saw the other Strigoi emerge. As Lissa's primary Guardian, he placed himself between Lissa and me, while I took more of the offence.

"That's not going to happen," I growled gripping the gifted stake tighter in my hand. Dimitri smirked and laughed again before giving me a cold look.

"You forgot my first rule. Don't hesitate," he said before advancing on us. I focused on him as he advanced, throwing up a mental wall against him. It didn't stop him completely, but it did slow him down, almost as if he was running through thick snow. I met him halfway and dodged his fist, but he swung out with his other arm at the same time, striking me across the face. It hurt, more than it ever hurt before. But we weren't practicing now, and he had an advantage on me. But he didn't know that I had continued practicing my abilities.

I managed to swipe his cheek with the stake and he growled, gripping my hair and tossing me to the ground. I tried to catch myself and tried to hold onto my stake at the same time. My head hit the ground and I rolled onto my back to get up, but Dimitri was looming over me, kicking the stake from my hand before straddling me. I reared my legs up to kick him but he moved back and then used his weight to pin me down. His forearm pressed down against my throat as he bent his head down. I thrashed under him, fearful that he was going to try to turn me. A strangled "no" slipped through my lips and he chuckled darkly, his lips brushing against my ear.

"I could give you everything, join me, let me awaken you," he said. I shivered as his fangs grazed my skin and I tried to pull out of his grip, but he just pushed down harder. I managed to get a leg up and I tried to kick him off, but he growled impatiently, putting so much weight on my hips that it felt like they were going to break.

"I trained you well," Dimitri mused, replacing his forearm with his hand. I tried again to push him off mentally, but my head was pounding so hard that I could barely focus on his face. His cold eyes stared down at me as darkness started to creep into the edges. I pulled in a choked breath as I felt myself start to slip.

At that moment, I also felt a wave roll inside of me, pure and gold. Dimitri's grip loosened around my throat as he roared in pain and the pieces fell into place. The wave was Lissa drawing her power. I looked up in time to see Dimitri backhanded her, making her sail through the air, and the stake she half-buried in his shoulder clattered to the ground.

I gathered all the darkness looming inside Lissa and jumped on Dimitri, pulling his arms back as much as I could while Lissa got up. He was still on his knees and would be at perfect for her to stake him. The mixture of my own darkness and hers giving me that extra bit of strength I needed. I willed him to stay in place and he knew what I was doing, so he tried to shake me off of him, but I wrapped my legs around him and clenched tightly. I knew now what she was trying to do, she was trying to restore him. This may be our only shot. I used every ounce of will that I had and pushed through my barriers, the ones I had put up to protect myself and others from my abilities. But it was now or never, and I needed to help Lissa at all costs.