Next Generation Dhampirs

Rookie Mistake

The next day, Dimitri woke me up around 5 to get ready. I wasn't as tired as I expected to be. It was supposed to be just the two of us and Rose.

They briefed me on the mission and we left. There weren't supposed to be more than a few strigoi, so we planned on just sticking together to take them out. However, when we got there, nothing went according to plan. They ambushed us just as we neared the entrance to the cave, encircling us in a ring of living dead.

My grip on my stake tightened, and my free hand made its way to Dimitri's arm. I clutched it as if I were afraid of losing him, which, I guess I was.

Once one of them lunged, it was a free-for-all. I was killing strigoi left and right. I was barely aware of anything other than the task at hand. It wasn't until Rose gasped in pain beside me that I realized we had cut through most of them. I lost count of how many I had been responsible for, but when I looked over, it didn't matter.

Holding her by the soldiers, a strigoi stood, bent over her neck. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing: he was drinking her blood. I didn't react fast enough, and by the time I had pried it off her, she had lost too much blood.

"Take her back!" ordered Dimitri, "Get her some help."

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"I'll be here when you get back. There'll be plenty more strigoi for you to get your hands on," after he said that, he shoved the strigoi he was battling against a tree and thrust his stake into its heart, "Now go! Don't waste too much time! I'll be right here!"

I felt really bad leaving him, but I knew that Rose would die if I didn't get her any help. I helped her back to the gates of Court and instructed the guardian to take her to the hospital, then I sprinted back to Dimitri.

He was struggling against two strigoi, and that looked to be the last of them. I took care of one of them, stabbing it from behind where it couldn't see me.

Dimitri killed the last one and was panting by the time the body hit the ground. When he looked at me, he smiled, seeming almost proud about what had happened.

"Do you know how many strigoi you killed?" he asked.

"Oh right! I was supposed to count! I think maybe six-"

"Eleven," he interrupted, "Your first assignment, and you killed eleven strigoi. Do you know how many I killed?" I shook my head. "Twelve," he supplied.

"How do you know how many I killed?" I asked.

"Because I know how it feels. Your first mission with this many strigoi and dhampirs, you pay more attention to what you're doing than how many strigoi you've killed. I counted for both of us, but we both get stars either way."

"Well that's a relief," I sighed, "I didn't want to have to get eleven molnija."

Dimitri smiled the put his arm around my shoulder. "Let's get you home," he said and we started walking.

When we got back, before anyone would let us do anything, Dr. Lawler made us wait while he got us all cleaned up. I had a sprained ankle from running on uneven terrain and Dimitri had a few cuts and scrapes, but he deemed us fit to leave, with the promise that I wouldn't use my right foot too much. He even gave me a crutch to use.

We went to see Rose, who was in much better condition than before. She sat up in the hospital bed, and a man sat next to her, holding a tattoo gun to her neck.

"How many do you get?" I asked.

"Five," she said proudly, "You guys?"

"We did 11 and 12 so we get stars," Dimitri explained for me.