Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 42 - Rose

'You found her what?' I demanded, pressing the phone closer to my ear.

'Shadow, Rose! We found Shadow. Her horse!?'

'Who cares about the horse, Ash! What about Natia?'

'She's not here.'

'Then why the hell is her horse there?'

'We found a cave guarded by Strigoi. We killed them, and found Shadow chained and holed up inside. We definitely thought she'd be here - that's why we killed the damn Strigoi! We didn't think we'd need to bloody question one!'

I groaned. 'Okay - let's calm down and think this through.'

Ash, poor impatient Ash, had called me as soon as they had found Shadow. Obviously they had expected Natia to be there too. It was therefore natural for them to assume they could kill all the Strigoi. But damn them for doing it, anyway. Now they had no one to question, and no way to figure out where Natia was.

I was practically running towards the hospital by now.

'Rose? Rose?!' Ash screamed in my ear.

'Shut up, Ash! I'm trying to find Casimir!'

'How's that asshole gonna help?' Ash yelled. I could hear Roger and Trey try to calm him down in the background.

I burst into the hospital room, where Casimir stood, dressed and packing. Jenny held his arm, supporting him.

'What the hell is going on?'

'He's discharging himself,' Jenny muttered, with a less than pleased glance at me.

'You're so not ready to be discharged,' I snapped at Casimir, a warning in my voice.

Casimir ignored me. 'I need to be there when Lissa delivers her speech. She-'

'Roseeeeeeeeee? HELLO? What are we gonna do about the damn horse?!' Ash screaming voice interrupted Casimir, who stilled, staring at the phone with his eyes wide open.

Suddenly, the phone flew from my hand into Casimir's. He tapped the loudspeaker button.

'You found her?' he whispered.

Ash groaned. 'You're the last person I want to talk to.'

Casimir's face twisted into an angry grimace. 'Is Natia safe?' he demanded.

'No!' Ash burst out, the pain in his voice coming through loud and clear. 'She's not safe! We have no fucking idea where she is! All we found was her stupid horse!'

'Shadow...' Casimir whispered, and suddenly his face looked triumphant. 'Shadow is the key! He will find her for you. They are bonded.'

'But-'

'Just tell the horse to find Natia for you, Ash. Shadow will find her.'

'You're sure about that?' Ash sounded suspicious, like he didn't dare believe there was still hope. 'What if there's no one to find?'

'I guess we'll find out,' Casimir said, voice deceptively calm.

Ash sighed. 'If she's dead, I'll kill you. I never liked you.'

I gasped. 'Ash!' I snapped. But to my surprise, Casimir actually smiled his usual knowing smile.

'If she's dead, I'll let you. I can't imagine a life without her.'

Now Jenny gasped, staring at Casimir with hurt showing all over her face.

'Hypocrite,' Ash muttered, before ending the call. Casimir stared at the phone for a moment longer, clearly avoiding the situation he now found himself in, before handing it back to me, slowly turning towards Jenny.

Before Jenny could burst into a tears, Casimir put his hands on her shoulders, gazing deep into her eyes.

'She's my guardian, Jenny. I love her.' Jenny shut her eyes, shaking her head. I so did not want to witness this drama. Casimir shook Jenny, forcing her to look at him again. 'She's been with me my whole life, I...I can't lose her. But that doesn't have to end things between you and me.'

Jenny's lip quivered, and her eyes pooled with tears, but she looked like she desperately wanted to believe Casimir. She nodded once. Casimir smiled at her, taking her hand in his.

'Okay,' he said, clearing his throat. He shot me a glance, and I could tell the drama was far from over. But there was no point in upsetting Jenny any further, not with the speech coming up. 'Come on,' Casimir urged, reading the resignation in my eyes. 'We have to find Lissa.'