Bleeding Heart (Bloodlines)

Chapter 7

Jill fell at the exact moment he did and both Dimitri and Angela caught them, supporting their full weight. The doors opened and I almost panicked, but seven guardians entered and I relaxed, a feeling of safety washed over me. "Eddie!!" a voice shouted and I saw a familiar young guardian running to Eddie's side. Rose. Dimitri's eyes flew to her and he trusted Adrian in the arms of two of the arriving guardians. He went to her and she spoke to him professionally, though I saw her eyes sparkling. The only sign of affection was a quick peck on the cheek as she jumped up and came to my side. "Sydney. Long time no see huh?" she laughed airily. I nodded. "I'm guessing you haven't killed anyone lately. If you had I'm sure I'd be the one cleaning it up." I grumbled, pushing myself up on my hands. I groaned as my entire body ached. I suddenly realized I was lying in a pool of blood. My own blood. I gasped. "Adrian healed you, right? Dimitri said that but I never thought..." she trailed off, openly examining me. I began to feel a little self conscious. "Umm, so what happened to him?" I asked, the concern in my voice not well concealed. Rose shot me an odd look, but answered me. "according to what Dimitri told me and what i see here, You're injuries were severe enough to be near death when Adrian came to help. It wasn't like there was only one big affliction for him to heal, there was a multitude of them. It drained him. It was close to the amount of energy it would take to bring back the dead. But you weren't dead. It's sorta complicated." she replied. Although I hadn't exactly followed her, I nodded. "Come on, let's get you up." She said offering me her hand. Despite the fact that my arms felt like lead, I managed to reach upward and grasp her arm. With little effort, she pulled me to my feet. Every muscle in my body groaned in protest and my legs caved beneath the weight of my body. Rose was so quick, I barely saw her wrap her arm around my waist to keep me from falling. "Thanks," I mumbled looking away in embarrassment. She flashed me one of her annoyingly brilliant smiles, amusement dancing in her eyes. "No problem," she said. I found myself suddenly envious. She was so graceful and petite, yet strong and determined. She was the perfect balance of all characteristics any guy would die for. Her beauty almost resembled that of a Mori. Rose was true perfection. What was I? I was clumsy, uptight, and hardly anything worth remembering. I understood what Adrian saw in Rose, but me? I was insignificant. "Sydney?" I blinked and found Rose staring at me curiously. "Sorry, I zoned out." I mumbled, looking away from her once again. Movement across the room caught my eye and I remembered where I was and what had happened. Adrian was being carried out of the room and a dazed Jill was arguing weakly about remaining with Eddie as a flurry of activity surged around his limp form. The room was a wreck and guardians were efficiently handling the situation. They were so organized and impassive. For some reason, however, the order seemed like chaos. My head began to pound and my vision swam. None of it made sense to me anymore. I heard my name being called, but it sounded like I was underwater. Nothing seemed real anymore and that was when the darkness encompassed me.