As promised, I went to Las Vegas and wandered for days on the Strip looking for him. Days turned into weeks and weeks? They turned into months and well, he never showed up. I was worried that he had gone back on his word until I saw the news that Victor Dashkov had escaped from Tarasov. How perfect? Once turned back, I would only have to worry about protecting him long enough so that he could get away to safety. Robert was probably trying to kill two birds with one stone. I knew that Robert would avoid coming to the city as often as possible, so if Victor has somehow gotten away and gotten in contact with Robert, Robert would come to meet both of us at once.
A few times I thought I saw Rose or Eddie or Lissa, but I passed it off as my imagination because they were at the Royal Court, not fooling around on the streets of Las Vegas. I finally got a call from Robert telling me to meet him in some dark alley, to which I complied. He turned me back, which was a very flashy light show, which in Las Vegas was pretty much unnoticeable. But it was at a huge expense to his mental and physical health. Automatically, I sucked all the darkness out of him as I had always done, feeling his mental fatigue just as much as he did.
"Drink," I ordered, cutting myself.
He was too drained to protest and drank appreciatively, biting me a couple times by accident. His endorphins spread through me, but they were nothing compared to a Strigoi's, so I felt nothing as he drank, although I did feel a bit like a drug addict who had developed a drug tolerance and needed a larger and stronger dose to get high off of.
He stopped after a few minutes.
"Thank you Mirabelle," Robert managed, smiling a little.
"Anything for you," I smiled, "Especially after everything you've done for me."
"You've grown up. You look...different from when I saw you in the dream world," said Robert, sinking back into his dream-like state.
"Yes, let's go meet with Victor and get you some feeders," I nodded, leading him from the alley.
He guided me down the Strip to the prearranged meeting place. So it was obvious, Victor had managed to get in contact with Robert.
We arrived and sat at a table to wait for him. It wasn't long before Victor arrived with an entire entourage and I got to cherish the look of surprise on Rose's face.
"Mirabelle," started Rose, "How–"
I held up a hand, "What's done is done. We're not discussing that. At least not here and not now."
"But that's exactly why I came here. If you had told me you knew Robert I wouldn't have broken Victor out of jail!" argued Rose in a hushed voice.
"You broke Victor out of Tarasov?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I heard that Robert knew how to turn a Strigoi back. That's why it would have gone so much better if you had told me you knew Robert!" said Rose accusingly.
I looked at the rest of Victor's entourage, Rose's companions. Eddie, Lissa...and ADRIAN?!
"You brought two Moroi with you?" I asked flatly.
"Lissa...Lissa wouldn't let me go without her. Neither would Eddie. And Adrian...well he just kind of showed up..." explained Rose, reddening in embarrassment.
"Do you never think what kind of danger you could be getting yourselves into? Do you know what kind of risks you are taking? For Christ's sake Eddie, do you know what you are risking when you agreed to stand by Rose? Explain exactly how two recent graduates from the academy are supposed to protect four Moroi. Neither of you would stand a chance against the kind of Strigoi that would go after you! Considering the attention you've attracted recently Rose and don't forget to take into account your current physical state!" I inquired, getting pretty pissed.
Rose was ridiculous and seriously overestimating her abilities if she thought she could protect four Moroi.
"Four?" echoed Eddie.
"Yea, Lissa, Adrian, Victor and Robert. They are practically helpless. What would you do if a whole legion of Strigoi came and killed them?" I exclaimed frustrated, "And knowing Dimitri, he'd really know how to bring one."
Eddie and Rose were speechless. It didn't happen often that Rose could be rendered speechless and the silence was golden. I wanted them to know the severity of their actions and I really hope it was sinking in; not just Rose thinking up a witty retort.
"Well we have you," said Rose lamely.
