237Threshold of Shadows
A continuation from Shadow Kiss. The mission was a success. Dimitri not turned, but not unharmed. With the threat of the Strigoi gone the Academy begins to settle back into normality, but things are not as peaceful as they seem. There is a storm brewing and one thing becomes very clear: not everything that is to be feared is outside the Academy... RxR
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or anything surrounding it (but I do own this plot :D)
… Her face was veil'd, yet to my fancied sight
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin'd
So clear as in no face with more delight.
But Oh! as to embrace me she inclin'd,
I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night.
[John Milton, Sonnet 23]
RPOV
'The third Strigoi grabbed Dimitri. In all the time I'd known him, I'd never seen Dimitri falter. He was always faster, always stronger than everyone else. Not this time. This Strigoi had caught him by surprise, and that slight edge was all it had taken.'
I had done a lot of reckless things in my life – from putting hair removal cream in Stan's shampoo to running away from the Academy to protect my best friend, I was on for some sort of record. But, out of them all, and believe me when I say there was a lot, this certainly topped the list. Aforesaid Guardian Alto had tried and failed to hold me back, subsequently receiving something that I wanted to do for a very long time. And might I add what a good right hook it was. His moment of distraction was my moment of opportunity; I plunged myself back into that shrouded abyss, not particularly caring that I could die at any given moment. I only had one mission and I was determined to see it through.
The indecision that had graced my mother's features only seconds before vanished the moment I decided to run back towards the mob of Strigoi before us. She ran after me. Something vaguely resembling satisfaction surfaced in that moment, over, of course, the sheer terror and horror of seeing the man I loved being pulled to the ground by some merciless bastard. I could see that blonde monster through the shadows. He had released Dimitri: self-preservation had his attention distracted towards the few guardians who now were flooding back into the caves. He looked pretty pissed to have been interrupted but was not nearly as pissed as me. With the sun fast approaching its demise, I knew had to move quickly. I gripped the cool metal of my stake and saw the last of the sun's rays flash against the silver hilt. In a speed I didn't know I possessed, I quickly disposed of the first Strigoi in front of me: his heart was so foolishly open to my advance and I struck without mercy. Another came and another and another. I killed them all. I felt like the monsters I was dispatching but I could not stop myself. All my anger for the world, for my mother, for myself, it was all unleashed upon this heartless cavern of sinners. Removing my stake from the decapitated throat of a female Strigoi, I turned my attention to the blonde one; his lecherous smile taunting me, teasing me. Any fatigue that I had gained from the previous battles was forgotten as I readied my attack.
Only I never got to unleash it.
My mother, having spent a good while wrestling with a Strigoi twice her size, had finally won victory – using her speed and entire body weight to shove the un-dead beast into the cave wall. The impact of such a force was too much. It crumbled. The echo pulsed through the narrow passage and ruptured through the stone. Dhampir and Strigoi alike ceased and warily looked about themselves for a second before the first stone fell.
The others didn't wait for an invitation. The cave began collapsing in on itself; Strigoi bolted out only to be met with the awaiting steel of the guardians that lingered outside. Panicked, those that remained retreated into the cave complex, all the while more rocks kept tumbling down. I staggered backwards, watching as the blonde Strigoi vanished into the depths of the stony earth. Another rock-fall. I heard my mother's voice like a bass line to the roaring melody of the cascading cave screaming my name, urging me out. I found myself choking on the dust, my vision obscuring and my strength failing. I tried to guide myself towards my mother's voice, but the noise of the collapsing cave left me disoriented and confused.
But through my haze, I saw him.
With all the chaos that surrounded me, I had blanked my original intent in running back in here. Dimitri lay, slumped on the ground on his back surrounded by collapsing rock. I struggled towards him quickly, tugging against his limp arm. When had he fallen unconscious? Not important. I gripped his hand and tried to move him, but he would not budge.
"Come on, come on, come on," I urged, chanting, begging, him to move. The cave continued to crumble around us, the dust of shattered rock dominating the slowly depleting air. "Please!" I screamed and I felt him move. I glanced down in my shock, hoping he had awoken, only to see another pair of hands gripping his other hand. I followed the arm up but the revelation did nothing to end my confusion.
"Hathaway, move!" the unmistakable voice of Guardian and tormentor Stan Alto bellowed through the dusty haze as the very same man helped me lift the man I loved up from the group to carry through the imploding cave. In that moment, I found wider sense had failed me – I was just running on autopilot. In this case, the running was quite literal: Stan and I sprinted as fast as we could with Dimitri's limp form hung between us, my shoulders aching under his weight and causing my feet to drag across the ground. They cried out with every thundering stomp against the solid cave floor, the shockwaves creating shattering ripples up my worn calves. As a result, both I and my feet were separately relieved when we reached the veritable cushioned surface of the grass. Dimitri still hung limply between us, but he was safe from the horrors of that cave and really, that was all that mattered. I dared to look behind us and watched as the last of the rocks fell, effectively sealing the cave shut and trapping the Strigoi inside.
But I could not bring myself to be relieved. Not until we were at least over the threshold of the wards and even still, deep into the heart of the Academy.
I could see as Stan struggled under Dimitri's weight, but he forced himself forward, a grunt escaping from his lips as we finally stumbled over the ward boundary.
The relief that came over me was indescribable and incomparable; if I hadn't been so immersed in my own autopilot, I would've probably collapsed there and then. But my legs kept going, only faltering when Stan's grip loosened, and Dimitri was plucked from my grasp by the oncoming medics. I hadn't noticed how close we now were to the academy: my vision slowly came back from its focused haze to see the concerned expression of both Alberta and my mother, both of whom looked as though they were about to march over and give me a very long and detailed lecture on what I had just done.
Sensing that my window was brief, and getting shorter by the moment, I seized the opportunity and turned to Stan, who stood hunched over with his hand resting on his weary back. "Thank you." I breathed through as I continued to gasp for air, pretty sure it was the only time I ever said anything that wasn't sarcastic to the man.
He looked over at me with a frown, most likely thinking the very same thing, before exhaling and shaking his head, waving off my gratitude. "That man has saved my ass too many times to mention."
I don't know what surprised me more: whether it was that Stan had a moral conscious or that he had just said the word 'ass'. Whatever my surprise may have been, it was certainly short-lived as Stan had barely managed an acknowledging nod before I was ambushed, though this time, not by Strigoi.
"Rosemarie Hathaway!" When my mother raised her arms, I honestly thought she was going to slap me (add another injury to the previous black eye). What I did not expect was a hug. "Don't you ever do that again…" she said, a tremble breaking through her usually steadfast Glaswegian accent. So shocked I was to find myself in this situation, I froze and just stood there as she held me tightly, unyielding and unwavering. I knew that our relationship was on the mend, but I hadn't realised we were at the 'hugging' stage. Yet I did not begrudge her, I couldn't. After a moment more than I was comfortable with, she pulled back and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before reopening them to find mine. "We will be discussing this later. For now, go make sure you are okay."
In her complete defence, this was not an unreasonable request. The fact she had taken some restraint on the matter only made me surer of it. Not to mention that even I knew what I had done was reckless. And so, I did not dispute. Nodding, I headed towards the infirmary without protest.
The Academy was still in quite a state. Even walking through, the chaos around us was clear. Attempting to focus my gaze, I tried to find Mason again - desiring to know if it had all been worth it. But he did not come. If this was born of his choice or my weakness, I could not say, but the latter was in my power to address and so I did.
Dr. Olendzki greeted me with her usual smile, one which harboured a balanced mix of affection and disbelief, but today - despite her efforts to conceal it - that balance was upset.
"You heard, huh?" I said once my voice and breathing had returned to a vague vestige of normality.
She did not look up from stitching my arm where a tumbling rock had sliced through the flesh and left a jagged wound but replied all the same. "Yes."
Of course. "Word travels fast," I muttered a little more resentfully than I meant. Thankfully, she did not take offence. "I take it you disapprove," I said as a statement, having a feeling that this would be the consensus.
Still, she continued to look at her stitches, but her response did surprise me. "Of saving another life? No," she said, looking me in the eye as she cut the excess thread off. "But of risking your life in the process…" she trailed off.
I sighed. "I couldn't watch him die," I said before I could properly assess the consequences. My love for Dimitri, however real and good it was to me, was still very much illegal in the eyes of the Academy, so any mention of it was strictly forbidden.
"You care for him."
My head snapped up and I looked at the good doctor in fear. Shit.
Seeing the look on my face, she smiled. "Not like that." I resisted the sigh of relief at her ignorance of the matter. "He is your mentor and you are a compassionate person, Rose: no matter how much you may deny it. Of course, you could not watch your mentor die."
I nodded, staying quiet for a moment more as Dr. Olendzki applied the band-aid. I dared to ask. "How is he doing?"
Her intake of breath was noted, and I felt a rush of despair run through me. "Officially, I am not at liberty to say."
"Unofficially?" I pressed a little further, reading into her implication.
She swallowed. "I cannot say anything for sure."
I felt I could burst into tears, but realising that it would do nothing for me, I elected to sulk instead. Dr. Olendzki finished up and let me go and I decided to avoid my mother as a more pressing issue came into my mind.
Literally.
I felt Lissa's fear flood into my skull. It hit me with a force that rivalled the darkness. She was scared, nay, terrified. Clearly, the news of my unformulated plunge back into the cave had reached her periphery and out of the subsequent horror, her mind reached for our bond in a desperate attempt to draw me in. I felt my step increasing and soon found myself in a full-out sprint across the Academy grounds, completely ignoring Dr. Olendzki's instruction to 'take it easy'. I bolted, no hesitation or restriction in my movements, towards the common room, pushing past the looks and whispers from the students who saw my approach. Within the common room sat a few huddled groups, one of which contained my friends: Christian, Eddie and Lissa. No sooner had I entered the threshold was I immediately engulfed in my best friend's embrace.
"Rose," she whispered, holding to me tight.
Looking around, I could see the lingering stares around us and I pulled out of her arms to wave them away. "Oi! Do you mind?" I shouted and they scattered. I felt a wave of heat spread from where Dr. Olendzki had stitched my arm and I snapped my head round to see Lissa's hand extended over it. "Hey, you don-"
"Shut up, Rose," she said, her voice wavering with both concentration and tears. "Let me help you."
I did but caught her hand as she was about to pull away. "Hey, I'm okay. We're all okay."
She broke, a sob escaping her lips, she brought me into her arms. "When I heard, I thought…"
"I know. I'm sorry." Behind Lissa, I saw both Eddie and Christian. The former took me into his arms as Lissa released me, whilst the latter remained where he was; his hands found his pockets and he shifted nervously on his feet.
"So, you really ran back into a cave full of Strigoi?" he said.
I sat down on one of the chairs and all but Christian joined me. I nodded and replied as evenly as I could. "Yeah: sort of an impulse decision."
He scoffed. "Clearly."
"Christian!" Lissa chastised.
"What?" he said. "You think Rose was the only one affected by what happened in Spokane? We nearly died at the hands of those lunatics, and you ran back." his voice not hiding his disbelief.
I swallowed, feeling the weight of my actions grow and grow as the minutes ticked on and it was certainly not a feeling I enjoyed. Spokane was still a frequent acquaintance of my thoughts, exacerbated by the infrequent sightings of Mason's ghost, and each time I found myself falling deeper into what I could only describe as a pit of my own emotional turmoil: one which I very much struggled to get out of. Yet this fear of what had happened in Spokane was matched and sometimes overpowered by my fear of losing Dimitri. "I couldn't let him die, Christian…" I said.
Christian responded with a nod and a sigh, settling down to bury his hands into his palms. "Yeah. How is Belikov?"
At this, Eddie perked up. "You ran back for Guardian Belikov? Jesus Christ."
I frowned. "Why'd you think I went back in there?"
Eddie shook his head. "I heard it was that you went on a mad killing spree. I didn't believe it," he assured.
"Thanks," I muttered with a slight smile. "And I don't know." Turning back to Christian. "Dr. Olendzki wouldn't tell me anything." I suddenly found myself back in that pit.
Lissa put her hand over mine and drew closer. "The important thing is that you are out and so is he - it's his best chance in the hospital."
Feeling the sombre mood within me rise, I decided on a subject change. Looking around, I frowned and asked. "Where's Adrian?"
"Never far from you, little dhampir."
Well, there was that answer.
Rolling my eyes, I turned around and retorted back with no little sarcasm. "Ha, funny."
Adrian smiled, but there was a certain edge to his expression that conveyed his worry. "I hear you ran back for your mentor. You okay?"
"Yeah, just a few bruises," I said.
"Good" was his reply which came a little too quickly to go unnoticed. I commented not and accepted his hug. I found my senses smothered under the scent of his cloves cigarettes as he held me tight; in spite of his grip, he courteously let me go without protest and spoke again. "As much as I like to see you, I am afraid I come with a message from above…" he said, trailing off a little.
I smiled. "Alberta?"
"Mhmm." he hummed.
I sighed. "Well, I suppose I knew it was coming," I said.
"You'll be fine, Rose," Lissa reassured, not needing the bond to know where my troubled thoughts had turned.
I nodded. "Thanks, Liss," I said with a smile. "I'll try not to get kicked out."
"Rose…" she said, sighing over the word.
I waved them all goodbye and made a start on the journey to Alberta's office. Adrian offered to walk me, but I managed to shut that down before it could go any further. As much as I needed a little levity, Adrian's particular brand of senseless flirtation was certainly not on the cards. Though it certainly countered the nervousness that both Christian and Eddie exhibited even as I left the room. I sighed again. I mean, I couldn't really blame them. I couldn't blame anyone, save perhaps the merciless mob of Strigoi which had rendered us all thus. Bastards. I thought as I rounded another corner. I caught sight of Jesse Zeklos and immediately spun around and took the longer route to Alberta's office.
You know, the Academy's policy of having 'most' disciplinary issues handled by Kirova, as I discovered during the course of this year, was up for some serious debate; particularly as I found myself more and more in Alberta's office. Granted, the last time was for a massive oversight regarding the field experience, but there was no denying the increase in the frequency which I frequented her office.
She sat as she usually did: stern and focused behind her desk which in itself was spotless to the point where the polish on the wood shone so well that in actually reflected the light that glared from the almost interrogatory lights from above. Her eyes latched onto me in a second and she straightened up, rising to leave her seat and come round where two chairs sat in opposition.
Damn. This was not going to be good.
"Apologies for keeping you up so late," she said once settled in the chair. It was encroaching on nearly ten in the morning, but I had barely noticed. The Academy was so shaken up that I highly doubted if anyone was sleeping. "I promise to be as quick as I can," she assured all the same. "What you did, Rose, was beyond reckless." she said flatly, finding no need for the false pretence of 'Miss Hathaway' as my preferred name had just the same kick with the eerie stoicism of her tone. I felt my stomach churn as I knew of the onslaught that was about to come. "You ran back into extreme danger, after having assaulted a member of staff and a fellow guardian, putting not only your life but the lives of others in severe peril, all in stark opposition to a direct order." she surmised with no little severity. "In normal circumstances, an action such as this would be met with the highest form of punishment: complete and irreversible expulsion from the Academy with no chance of a reference or graduation to be placed in desk-bound occupation for the foreseeable future."
I found myself paralyzed in my seat, praying to any and all deities for a 'but' to come out of Alberta's mouth.
"However,"
Not quite a 'but', but I took it.
"Rose Hathaway, you are not a normal circumstance. I do not say this to flatter you, nor does it let you off this abominable act of disobedience, but your overall situation has put you in a category wherein I believe it would do more harm than good to bench you from the duty of safety and protection which we are called to do indefinitely. As a result, you will not be expelled: you will continue attending classes so that you graduate, but under the watchful supervision of a Guardian at all times. Your movements will be monitored, you will be allowed limited recreational pursuits, all of which will be supervised and all in the confidence that this will provoke a better degree of self-control, restraint and ability to follow orders. Are we clear?"
I still felt paralyzed but managed a shaky nod.
Alberta's stern expression softened, but only a little. She leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes. "Good." Reopening them, she met my gaze again and put aside my file that had rested in her lap. "Off the record, I understand why you did what you did. And further off the record, I appreciate it: Guardian Belikov is not just an asset, but a dear friend of us all here at St. Vladimir's. But you must realise the severity of what you did today: how such actions are the very antagonist of our work."
"You honestly think I don't?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.
I saw Alberta smile. "No, not for a second. Unfortunately, this was the best we could do: we cannot allow this kind of disobedience to be tolerated, and I can only imagine how much worse it will be when word of this reaches Tatiana's Minister for Education." her face fell into her palm and the exhaustion that she truly felt broke through her stoic mask.
I nodded again. A vague feeling of déjà vu ran through me as Dimitri's voice echoed in my skull. Take what you can get. I swallowed, surprised and a little perturbed at how well my mind mimicked his beautiful Russian lilt, making it seem like he was right there with me. Only he wasn't. He was on the other side of the school, concealed behind white coats and clinical procedure, while I sat in utter ignorance as to the development of his condition or if he still even had a condition to develop. It occurred to me that Alberta might know. As Captain of the guardians around here, she was bound to know of what state Dimitri was in. I hesitated for a moment, asking myself if I even wanted to know, before mentally slapping myself silly: of course, I wanted to know - I couldn't just sit in blissful ignorance and just pretend he was fine, however good my ability to mimic his accent was. And so, I leaned forward and dared to broach the subject. "How is Dimitri? I mean, Guardian Belikov." I corrected, hoping that proper decorum would further my case.
Alberta cast her gaze back towards me and considered my question. Her brow furrowed as she sat for a good moment in contemplative silence before resolving: "Guardian Belikov is naturally both strong and resilient, however, his present condition is far from good." she said and I felt my heart skip a beat as I realised she wasn't finished:
"They have had to put him in a coma."
Hehe, here we go!
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