Next Generation Dhampirs

Guardian Belikov

When we landed, two men dressed entirely in black took my bags. A third man shook Rose and Dimitri's hands and welcomed them back. He approached me after them and shook my hand, saying, "Welcome to Court, Guardian Belikov."

"That's gonna take some getting used to," I muttered. Dimitri chuckled and led us inside.

Thankfully, it was air conditioned. Dimitri went to an elevator at the end of a long hallway and took it up to the third floor.

"This is where all the dhampirs stay," he explained, "There's a training room in the other wing. I'll show you where it is after you get settled. For food, you can order it to be brought to your room, or there is a variety of restaurants on the grounds."

Once in front of room 384, he stopped and pulled out a key. He turned the lock and the door opened with a soft 'click' letting us inside.

The room was more like a suite, complete with a living room, studio, bathroom, bedroom, and a walk-in closet. The two men who were carrying my bags set them down at the foot of the bed, and, after getting permission from Dimitri, left the two of us.

"Why don't you rest a little?" Dimitri offered, "It's been a long day."

"No," I replied, "I'll be fine. Didn't you say you could show me the training room?"

Without another word, he stood up and handed me the key to the room, then walked out, but stopped to make sure I was following.

When we got to the training room, there was already someone in there. He was a handsome young man, with hair just a bit longer than Dimitri's and piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in black gym shorts and a red muscle shirt, fighting with three other people all clad in black. After a moment, he threw one of them to the ground with a grunt and pinned them there.

"You're getting better," Dimitri commented when the other two left the mat.

The young man saw us walking in and beamed, loosening his grip on his opponent just enough to allow them to scuttle out from under him.

"Thanks. I've been practicing," he said, walking towards us, "So is this her?"

Dimitri nodded, "Yes, James, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is James." James held out his hand to me and I shook it without saying a word. "You should work on defeating all THREE enemies now," Dimitri added, breaking the silence.

James chuckled and responded, "Well, my teacher's never there to help me, so I do what I can." He shot Dimitri an accusatory glance, then his expression lightened, indicating that he was joking.

"Well, now I'll probably be here every day. I need to train Jessica before we can assign her," Dimitri explained.

"I can help with that. I mean, if you want." His gaze turned to me, but something told me he was still talking to Dimitri.

Dimitri put a protective hand on my shoulder and said, "Maybe some other time. I want to show her around a bit first, then show her some of the basics. We're a bit short staffed for tonight, so Lissa asked me to get her ready for her first guarding experience."

"Will she be ready?" James countered.

"I'm right here you know," I interrupted, "And what's tonight?"

"The king's birthday ball," he explained, "Lots of guardians are out on assignments, so we need as many hands as we can get."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for that?" Dimitri asked, "You only have 3 hours."

"Exactly," James answered, "I have 3 hours! I'll stick with you two, then go get changed."

Dimitri sighed, and I detected a hint of annoyance, but decided not to say anything. Whatever happened, I hoped I'd never have to work with James.