The Accidental Strigoi

Chapter 9

Percy's POV

I reached the giant gardens of court at around dawn. I had roughly two hours to find and kill Lissa, maybe take down some of her guardians along the way. After that, I could go home and have some more 'fun' with Evangelista without anyone else interrupting us. I was prepared to finish this off once and for all. For the first part of my plan, I had brought along a human I had found in a dark alley and offered him immortality. He hadn't even listened to my terms before he agreed to help me. I was going to say that as long as he did everything I said for a while but then I realized, why be so lenient? What if I didn't change him? What if I just used him as a servant for a while and then killed him? I mean, his life meant nothing to me. So, I went with my new idea.

I stepped back as he used the silver stake I gave him to break the wards at the borders of court so that I could enter. After the wards were broken, I killed the human who thought I was going to 'magic' him into immortality. Nope, that's not how I worked. Staying on the main footpath, I walked towards where Lissa would be living. The royal quarters, located to the left of the actual court. I had previously thought that this would have been an easy in and out but apparently that bitch must have gotten a message through while I was gone because rows upon rows of guardians were waiting for me outside the building. I sighed, annoyed. It was going to be tricky but this would only be a minor setback.

As soon as I finished here, I was going straight home to punish Evangelista. She was causing too much trouble for me and it was getting tiring. Her use would soon come to the end and she may die much sooner than I had originally planned. The first guardian I came across was someone I didn't know from the academy. Judging from her fully tattooed neck, she was probably a highly respected guardian. But for a Strigoi like me, she wasn't really so tough. I was filled to the brim with anger and revenge and needed to let some out. Quickly snapping her neck, I took her out easily and kept moving towards Lissa's direction, killing any of the guardians who stood in my way.

Evangelista's POV

I could hear the commotion going on outside the infirmary. That could only mean one thing. Percy was here. I hated myself for it but a small part of me wanted to crawl up in a corner and hide from him. But I willed myself to stay put. Then where was another part of me that wished I could do something to help, but looking at my current condition... it was almost impossible for me to fight. I hated it so much, this feeling of being helpless was one that really drove me crazy. "Evangelista? Are you okay?" I turned and saw who had spoken, "Rose?" I asked, surprised she was even here. "Shouldn't you be with Lissa?" I asked but she didn't answer me.

"What happened?" she asked, her usual snarky, humorous attitude gone. She looked truly concerned and scared for me. "If only I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that." I joked trying to get a smile out of her. I'd almost never seen Rose with a straight face like that and it was scaring me a little. Her continuous straight face and silence made me re-answer my question. "Percy happened to me. He's a Strigoi now." I said. This made her face morph into an expression of surprise. "That's not possible. The wards..." She began but I cut her off, not wanting to keep her. "They were re-warding. He got me then." I answered as she nodded in understanding. "Knocked me out and took me to some house and kept me in the basement." I continued as she nodded.

Following her gaze, I realized what she kept looking at was actually all of my cuts and bruises. Just then Lissa walked in. "What's the worst one?" She asked. I shrugged and lifted the covers off, pointing to the large bandage on my leg. "Oh my god. What did he do?" Rose whispered as Lisa winced. Some blood had leaked out and Lissa was probably fighting the urge to drink it judging from the way she was chewing her lip and the paleness of her skin. I quickly wiped it away and put on my 'it's not so bad' face. I really didn't want to elaborate again but I guess I owed them some explanation.

"When he found out I was talking to Lissa in my dreams he shot me in one foot and then broke my other leg." Neither girl said anything. They just stood there with shock all over their faces. "Rose, Lissa...he's here. You have to leave right now. He's already killed a ton of guardians up front. Find Christian and Dimirti and run. As far as you can." I said as Lisa shook her head. "I'm so sorry." She said as I tried to stop her. "It's my fault. I should have just sucked it up instead of being a big baby." I said as Lissa shook her head. "Give me your leg." She said as I somewhat stuck it out. She put her hands on it very gently and closed her eyes and soon, the numbing pain I felt was gone. She retracted her hands and sat in the chair across me, panting.

One leg good, one more to go. "Lissa, you've got to go!" I said as I explained how Percy coming to kill Lissa specifically. "Evangelista, she'll be fine." Rose said to me as she helped her best friend up. "Dimitri and the other guardians are protecting her. The rest is on you. You have to promise to stay out of the way. Lissa will never get over it if something happens to you." Rose said to me as she walked Lissa out of the room, pausing for a minute. "Rose, wait!" I called out, making her turn back. "Take Eden with you. I can't protect her like this. Please." I pleaded but Rose was already helping up Eden from where she had fallen asleep aside my bedside.

Now, when she turned to leave, there was a look of frustration on her face. "I'm going to kill this guy. He can't mess with my friends like this." She said angrily as she escorted the two Royal Moroi out of the infirmary. I sighed, trying out my newly fixed foot, twisting it and shaking it. I didn't know what to do right now. I absolutely could not stand being on the sidelines, unable to help like this. I took a deep breath and laid down in the cot. "There has to be something I can do to help them." I thought to myself as I racked my brain. "Just stay out of the way. She will be fine." Rhydian had said. But really? From the commotion I heard outside, he was wrong and I had to do something.