Rumor Has It

At the time I had been irritated with Dimitri for preventing me from seeing Lissa, but now that I wasn't with him, I longed for his touch and I nearly turned back. Instead, I settled with glancing over my shoulder until he was out of sight. I heaved a sigh, forcing myself in the direction of the church.

I had a feeling there were would be some people who would go to the church to pray almost immediately after the attack. I just didn't expect as many as I saw when I entered the church. There were nearly as many people as there would be for a Sunday morning service.

I quickly found Lissa sitting near the back with Christian and Adrian. I shuffled through the pew, careful to avoid tripping. Faceplanting onto one of the pews just after fighting the biggest battle of my premature career didn't sound too appealing at the moment.

Lissa attacked me with a hug. Being caught off guard, I stumbled back and nearly fell down. I pat her back a few times and said, "I'm fine, Liss. No need to crush me to death…"

She stepped back and glared at me. "That's not funny, Rose."

"Wh—" I replayed my words in my mind, frowning when I realized what I had said. "Sorry. I guess it's not time for jokes just yet?" She shook her head. Which reminded me... I carefully felt along my ribcage to check if any of them were broken from the side blind attack earlier. I winced at a small pain.

"Rose? Are you hurt?" Lissa reached out, her thoughts screaming at me that she wanted to help by healing me.

I took a step back. "I may have a broken rib or two, but that's it. They'll heal soon. Don't waste your energy on me."

"It won't be a waste," she defended. "Let me heal you."

I shook my head. To avoid further argument, I looked around the church, but didn't find who I was looking for. I frowned. "Where's Eddie?"

Adrian replied this time. "He left to help fight a little while ago. I'm sure he'll be back soon." His gaze met mine and I had the feeling everyone's auras were getting to him just by the hollow look in his eyes. "Christian said it was chaotic out there..." His eyes narrowed slightly, inspecting my aura. "Are you okay, Rose?"

I blinked, surprised he called me by my name. I eventually shrugged in response. "I've been better, but I could feel a lot worse than I do."

"…I take it Belikov is doing just fine," Christian added.

I glared at him. The tone of my voice turned low and dangerous. "Watch it, Ozera. You're lucky we're in a church right now."

He rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't do anything to me. You can deny it all you want, but I'm important to you."

"Oh, you're my favorite," I said with a smile that left my cheeks aching. "Once we leave here, I'll show you just how I treat my favorites."

"Bring it, Rosie," Christian replied with a smirk.

"She most certainly will not," a voice said from behind me. Seeing as how we were in the church, I let my guard down immediately; hence my jumping at this new voice.

I looked over my shoulder to see my mother standing there. Until that moment I had never been relieved to see her, but battle changes people. Before I could register what I was doing, I fully turned around and hugged her. She pat my back a few times before stepping out of my embrace. I frowned at her being stoic at that moment.

"What? You're not happy to see me?" I asked.

Her face softened, but if I hadn't been watching so closely, I wouldn't have noticed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course I am, especially after I saw you drop your stake." She leaned to the side to look at Christian. "You're lucky Lord Ozera showed when he did. Speaking of—"

"Before you say anything, Guardian Hathaway," Christian, standing behind me now, said, "it was my choice to help Rose. She tried to send me back here, but I refused. She's not to blame for my life being in danger."

Janine coolly raised an eyebrow. "I was only going to mention how brave it was for you to go out there. I'm sure Natasha will be proud to hear about what you've done." She dropped the stoic façade completely after that and she even smiled a little. "I'd also like to thank you."

I think I flinched. Never before had I bore witness to my mom being sincere. I thought it was more likely to meet my father than to see her let down her guard. I guess I was wrong. But with everything that was new to me going on, who knows? Maybe I would meet my father soon. I was brought out of my daze when someone lightly shoved my shoulder.

"Rose, are you all right?" Janine asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're being nice. What's going to happen next? Are you going to surprise me by having me meet whoever my father is?" And there I go again, voicing my thoughts aloud. Dammit.

She frowned. "Rosemarie."

"What?" I blinked. "I'm vulnerable to shock right now."

She rolled her eyes. "Is it really that surprising that I care for my daughter's wellbeing?" At my extended silence, she let out a sigh. "I suppose it is."

Once upon a time, I would have loved to have caused this reaction from my mom as a form of retribution for not being part of my life. It just wasn't as great as I thought it'd be. In fact, I felt horrible.

I quickly shook my head. "No, no... I just didn't even expect you to be here still. I thought Lord Szelsky was leaving soon."

She shrugged. "He is, and he has other guardians. I'm needed here, so I'm not leaving."

I was going to comment, but I became speechless when Dimitri walked in looking grief-stricken. I felt a lump in my throat and it wouldn't go away. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. As if feeling my gaze, Dimitri turned to look at me. His lips twitched in the slightest, but he didn't fool me. I excused myself from my mom and my friends and made my way over to my mentor.

He was now seated in the furthest pew in the back. I sat down next to him, careful not to hold his hand. I simply sat in a position facing him. "Is everything all right?" I asked. Granted, it wasn't the greatest question to ask, but what else could I say? It certainly wasn't the time to make jokes…as proven when I first got to the church. Dimitri's mouth fell into a thin line as he glared at the front of the church. I sighed. "Dimitri?"

"Viktoria's missing," he murmured. He closed his eyes and deeply exhaled. "It hasn't been that long, but no one has seen her. If we can't find her…"

I caught myself reaching out to grab his hand. I quickly balled both my hands into fists. "We'll find her. Even if we don't, Viktoria's strong. I'm sure she'd be able to make her way back here. Or she'll fight, find her way to safety, and contact you or the academy."

"And what if she doesn't?" He frowned. "I'm supposed to look after her and look what happens. I don't know if I'll be able to live with myself if she doesn't show up."

I bumped his leg with my knee. "Stop beating yourself up. She'll be just fine." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, but he just muttered to himself in Russian. I grimaced. To Hell with being inconspicuous right now. I cupped his chin and forced him to look at me. "It's not your fault. She'll be back and in perfect health before we know it. We can…go find her…" I felt my face soften as I suddenly had an idea. "Are the wards up yet?"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "They were put up at the first sign of sunlight. Why do you ask?"

"Wow, I feel like an idiot. Why didn't I think of this before…?" I was talking to myself now, and if the look on Dimitri's face was any indication, I'd say he was worried for my mental health. Not that I could blame him. If he started talking to himself, I would have almost immediately suggested a psychiatrist or something. Maybe search through an online auction site for a straitjacket.

"I think she's hysterical. Let me slap her and see if it helps," someone suggested.

I glared in their direction, not surprised in the least to see it was Christian who made the comment. "Lay one finger on me and it will be the last thing you do."

Christian smiled widely. "Oh, at least I would have lived a happy life."

I tried to pull off the one eyebrow thing but to no avail…I ended up grimacing. "What are you implying?"

"Not something I can mention in a church," he replied smugly.

I think my jaw dropped. With my mother nearby? In a church?

Well, no. I shouldn't have been too surprised. I mean, his romantic escapades with Lissa take place in the church's attic. Why should he worry about making a sexual innuendo in the middle of the chapel? However, Lissa still gasped and smacked Christian on the arm.

I didn't pay attention to their banter after that. I just focused my attention back on Dimitri. "Do you think you could get me outside the wards for just a few minutes?"

Dimitri's eyes moved from side-to-side as he looked at me as if he was trying to figure out what I was implying. "I don't think that'd be wise…"

"In broad daylight? A stake on hand? Wards just a few feet away?" I rolled my eyes. "Who are you kidding? I'll be perfectly safe if we go now."

"Rose…" His jaw clenched, but there was a glint in his eyes that told me he had no argument.

"See? I win. Now let's go." I stood up, quickly grabbing his hand and trying to pull him up from his sitting position on the pew. Considering I was only a fraction of his weight, I was having difficulty. "C'mon, Dimitri. Please."

He sighed as he stood up, pulling his hand out of my grasp as he did. I don't think he'd admit it, but he was petrified of my mother. When she was on high alert, telling her about our relationship was by far the last thing we needed. Our worrying wasn't wholly necessary, however. My mom had wandered up to the front of the shirt to talk to a guardian I didn't recognize.

Dimitri and I excused ourselves and left the church. It was like a silence spell was casted over us. He was pondering over where he went wrong in looking after his little sister and blaming himself for her disappearance. I, on the other hand, was thinking about how to rescue everyone who was taken away.

Being preoccupied with devising a plan, I didn't even notice we'd arrived at the front gates. Not until Dimitri all but shouted at me and shook me by the shoulders. I blinked a few times, regaining focus on the world around me. Dimitri was at eye level with me, concern etched in his face.

Even though leaving the safety of the wards for even the slightest of moments was my idea, it didn't mean I was looking forward to facing any ghosts. I decided to put as much of the Rose Hathaway bravado into my comment as possible. "Calm down, comrade. I was only deep in thought. I'm fine."

Until that moment, I hadn't noticed the hollow look in his eyes from the disappearance of his sister. My reassurance that I was okay physically and mentally—enough to appear confident when in fact I wasn't—gave his eyes a little life but nowhere near enough. Despite being out in the middle of campus, I took his hand in mine and gently squeezed. "I told you. She'll be fine."

He smiled sadly. I'd never seen him in a vulnerable state, but his emotions had to be overwhelming him and I couldn't blame him for that. I was upset by her disappearance, too. I mean, she's his sister, first and foremost, but she's also someone I had gotten to know and become close friends with since she transferred to St. Vladimir's. The only reason I decided not to dwell on her disappearance was for Dimitri's sake. I knew he'd try to bottle up his emotions and hide behind that guardian mask of his, but I knew him. His grief was too obvious to me.

Our moment ended when he finally chose to speak. "So what is so important that you were willing to drag me here?"

"Not here. Right outside the gates, out of the wards," I corrected.

"Rose, what could possibly—"

"I came up with a theory and I'd like to test it while it's safe to be away from the protection of the wards." He eyed me skeptically, causing me to groan in frustration. "Come on, Dimitri! I think this could possibly help us find Viktoria and everyone else! Please!"

Some emotion flashed in his eyes, though it was gone before I could figure out what it was. But if the brief, miniscule upward curve in his lips was any indication, I'd say it was along the lines of hope or gratitude. His guardian mask fell back into place as he released my hand and left to go discuss something with one of the guardians posted by the gates. As he did this, I stood there, rocking back and forth on the heels of my feet while admiring the colors cast by the dawning sun I so rarely saw.

Dimitri returned a few minutes later, almost, what seemed to be, instinctively intertwining his fingers of his right hand with the fingers of my left. I flashed him a small smile at the gesture just as he began leading me through the now-open gates.

Not a word was said until we stopped around a hundred feet from the gates. He exhaled deeply before he fixed his gaze on me. "Now what's this theory of yours?"

I was a little wary about telling him that it involved the ghosts, but telling him beforehand was better than leaving him to put two and two together when I started speaking to the air. At least that's what it'd look like.

"You know how I've been seeing ghosts?" I began. His jaw clinched and he nodded. Obviously he still didn't want to believe I was seeing ghosts. "I think it has something to do with the magic of the wards when one will appear? Stakes are infused with defensive magic, right?" It took him a moment, but he nodded again. The look on his face clearly showed the wheels were turning in his head. That was enough for me to continue. "When those students were taken away, they were practicing defensive magic. More or less, they were right on top of the wards. I don't think it was enough to cancel out the wards' magic like a stake usually would, but I think it was enough to weaken them for Strigoi to get onto campus and carry away those few students."

"It makes sense." He took hold of my other hand as well as he studied me, trying to decipher where I was going with this, but I could practically hear the click in his head when he understood. "Are you sure?"

I shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. I mean, Mason showed up right before the attack, and he obviously knew what was going to happen. Maybe he knows where the Strigoi are hiding until nightfall."

Dimitri didn't say anything after that. He simply pulled me closer to him, making the space between us that much more intimate. His facial expression was stoic, but that same emotion from earlier was there again. I don't think he'd admit it, but that hope was for me to be right, to have a lead in saving Viktoria.

I took a deep breath and focused on imagining Mason. I faltered for a few seconds as I realized this had been the first time I'd intentionally thought about my late friend since he literally was killed at the hands of Isaiah. I took another deep breath and murmured his name. I waited.

Nothing.

I tried again, this time a little louder.

My head suddenly ached and multiple translucent faces appeared in front of me. I hardly recognized them, but I knew none of them were Mason. I groaned in frustration. I tried once more, pleading for him to show up and for the others to go away.

And that's what happened. My head was still throbbing a little, but it was easier to ignore now. Mason had appeared somewhere to my left.

I turned to face him and smiled despite his expression was torn when he saw me. Anxiety was getting the best of me, I could possibly be right about being able to find those who were taken away. "Great! You're here!" He just stared at me. I sighed. It was better if I just got right to the point. "There was a mass Strigoi attack..." His face contorted into annoyance and I could have sworn he rolled his eyes, but it was difficult to tell with the sun out. "Don't give me that look. I know you were trying to help, but how was I supposed to know that at the time?"

Mason pointed to Dimitri, who I quickly glanced at. He raised an eyebrow but still said nothing. "Okay, touché. I was lost in my own little world earlier. I'm sorry." I watched as a look of heartbreak overcame Mason's face. I frowned; he was gone, and yet, I still managed to hurt him…But that was an issue for another time. "I really, really need your help, Mase." He went back to staring at me. Whether or not he was annoyed that I was only contacting him for his help was something I didn't question. I couldn't waste any time. "Do you know where the Strigoi went?" He nodded hesitantly.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Dimitri's hands tightened around my own. "He knows! Where are they?" The speed at which the words were said confirmed my earlier thoughts. He was hopeful, extremely hopeful, like it was the best news he had ever heard. To him it probably was.

I couldn't answer exactly where just yet, especially since it was pretty apparent Mason was incapable of audibly answering. I looked sat Dimitri. "Is it possible you have a map on you?"

Dimitri pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, I don't. But there may be one at the gates. I'll be right back."

I watched as Dimitri walked off in the direction of the academy. I felt a quickly pang of loss without him next to me, but I shook it off. I hadn't exactly taken Conversations to Have with Ghosts 101, so I didn't have the slightest clue as to what to ask Mason. I could apologize, but I didn't know where to begin. I had led him on, lied to him…

Thankfully, Dimitri didn't take too long to return, and he had a map in hand. He unfolded the map, taking hold of two corners as I did the same. The map displayed the campus layout and several miles surrounding St. Vladimir's. From what I knew about the recent incidents involving Strigoi and Mason's multiple warnings, they got in through the western side of campus. More than likely that was the direction we could find them.

"Where are they?" I glanced at Mason. He was now hovering beside me and examining the map. There was a short pause, but he then pointed to an area on the left half of the map. It looked like the cartographer was showing there was some rough texture there. I scoffed. "What the hell is that?"

"What's what?" Dimitri asked. Well, shit. It slipped my mind that he couldn't see Mason.

I pointed to where the Strigoi allegedly were. "There. He says that's where they're staying for now."

Dimitri eyed me pointedly before looking at our surroundings. He muttered something about mountains, but I didn't pay close attention…which would explain why I jumped when he finally shouted something.

I frowned at him. "What?"

"Caves," he said, his eyes flying across the details of the map. "They're probably staying in caves."

"What makes you say that?"

The only link I made between mountains and caves was that in someway they involved rocks. Obviously he thought differently. "I'm no expert, but I'd say with the mountains nearby and the general—" I really didn't need a geography lesson.

"Alright, I get it." I looked at Mason again and smiled gratefully at him. Before I could audibly thank him, though, he faded away. I felt my face fall. For what I've put him through, it was safe to say I deserved to feel the sudden heartache I did.

I don't know when we got back to the main part of campus. I was too lost in my own memories of the time at the ski lodge and the house in Spokane. I could apologize to him as a ghost, but it just wouldn't be the same. Suffice to say, when I felt my back press up against a brick wall I was surprised.

"Rose?" Dimitri whispered. I blinked until my vision was back into focus. Dimitri stood before me at my eye level once again. "Are you all right?"

I shrugged, which was a feat at the moment. Not only was I pressed up against a brick wall, but also Dimitri had a near death grip on my shoulders. "I was just thinking again..."

He frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. I was overwhelmed by the guilt caused by my memories from just a matter of weeks ago. "Later," I breathed as I opened my eyes again.

He nodded in understanding. A look of love took over his features, making my heart flutter. We had faced a lot in the past few hours and we were hardly in the proper mindsets to be rational, to have common sense. Nor, I think, did either of us really care.

At least for a very brief moment.

It was light out. Had it not been for the attack, the grounds would have been deserted. Of course, there were plenty of people around to witness any romantic exchange between us. Sure, Alberta granted permission to limited public displays of affection, but there was still one small factor: I was seventeen for one more day.

"Let's go somewhere else," I blurted. At his amusement expression, I huffed. "That way we won't have an audience."

The realization was evident on his face and he quickly took a step back. He looked at his wristwatch. "We have about an hour before we should get to where the meeting's being held."

"There's no way it's been two hours already!" I exclaimed.

"No," he deadpanned, "it hasn't. You should tell Guardian Petrov about what just happened though. She's the only other guardian who knows about your situation…"

I scoffed. He made it sound like seeing ghosts was like a disease…Okay, it may as well have been. I truly didn't want to have the ability and it was repulsive.

"…half an hour before, she'll have some time to think of a possible plan. A raid would give us the upper hand but only for a little while. We'd probably have to go in groups even with how many we killed here already…"

Was he still talking?

I knew that I should have been listening, but I just could not bear to listen to what I already knew. I reached up and cupped his chin with my right hand, my thumb and ring finger lightly pressing into his cheeks. "Shut up," I said slowly.

Dimitri blinked before his gaze hardened. He tried speaking, but his words came out muffled. I suppressed a smile; he had to use his long fingers as makeshift cuffs around my wrists. "Rose—"

"I already know what will happen and why. Can we not focus on that for a little while? Only until I tell Alberta?"

And so, that's what we did. We escaped the stares and our troubles by secluding ourselves in one of the lesser used lounges in the dhampir dorm building. We lay on our sides, my back pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around me, on the couch mostly in silence. Most of the time he would slowly rub one hand up and down my arm. The time alone with him is exactly what I needed.

"What are we going to do about guarding Lissa?" I abruptly asked. It was a topic we had covered briefly in the past, back when we wouldn't act on our feelings. Now that we weren't as inhibited, there was no avoiding it.

I heard him sigh before he kissed the top of my head. "I don't know. It's not completely guaranteed you'll be assigned as Lissa's guardian, even with the bond." He must have sensed my rebuttal, because he quickly continued. "Of course, who your charge is depends on who requests you to be their guardian, record, instructor comments, your trials…I think you will be assigned to her."

"I think your opinion may be just a little bias." I shook my head. "Running away is like a black spot; the council won't overlook it. Not to mention the smaller things I've done…And who knows what I'll do before trials?"

"But you have killed multiple Strigoi already. You know how to keep a vast amount of people safe from harm." I flinched, thinking about Isaiah snapping Mason's neck. Dimitri noticed and pulled me even closer to him. "Plus, you kept Lissa safe for two years. The good outweighs the bad, I promise."

I tightly shut my eyes, doing my best to believe it. He sounded so sure, proud, confident… "And if I do get assigned to Lissa, what will you do? She's my best friend, but I don't think we can avoid always putting her first…" There was a stretch of silence, other than the voices carrying from the nearby lounges.

"I'll ask to be reassigned," he finally said.

Though he couldn't see it I frowned. "What?"

"If you get assigned to her, I'll request to be reassigned to someone else at Court. If they ask why, we can either tell them the truth or we can come up with an excuse."

"I think they would know the excuse was a lie when they saw that we're a lot closer than just a mentor and his student…or friends for that matter."

He chuckled. "I see your point, but let's figure this out when the time comes and after we've discussed this with the princess."

"All right," I said. "That I can live with."

He removed one of his arms from around me. I heard him sigh a few seconds later. "We need to go. We can't keep what you know from Guardian Petrov any longer."