A Guardian's Promise

Chapter 6 - Lies

Sasha's guardian was talented, and with Dimitri and I, the strigoi was nothing. As it turned out, and as I had suspected, the strigoi was tailing Sasha, following her until he could strike. The molnija mark went to her guardian, as he performed the actual kill, but it didn't matter. All we needed was knowing that Sasha was safe. She was an extremely valuable asset, being specialised in spirit and all. I had gotten a way of contact with her and promised to get in touch with Mark and Oksana for them, so they could chat about their bond. Dimitri and I were currently on our way to Baia, and I could tell his nerves were settling in. He was always so strong and tough, it was hard to see him like this. I hated seeing him this anxious, and it was about seeing his family. Hardly anything to be anxious about.

Unless your family thought you were strigoi.

I reach over and take his hand in mine. I squeeze it tightly, but not dhampir tightly. Human and moroi strength. "It will be fine I promise you." I say.

It felt weird reassuring him. Usually it was him doing the reassuring. He never seems to be nervous, upset or angry. He smiles at me, but from his expression I could tell he had high doubts. His eyes flick back to the road ahead of us. Last time I travelled to Baia, I had taken a train with Sydney. But this was Dimitri's country, and he knew how to get there better than anyone I knew, so we hired a car for our trip. Plus, Dimitri had to have somewhere to stay until it was time and we couldn't really rent a hotel room for four hours.

"Rose!" Olena Belikova says when I show up at her door. She acted like I was family, and I just might just be such thing soon. She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. "Why are you all the way out here?" She asks, holding me at arms length and inspecting me as if a mother would to her child she hadn't seen in a while.

"I am in Russia to take care of a few things, so I just wanted to visit and see how you all are doing." I lie. I hated having to lie to them, but it was all part of the bigger picture, and it was partly true, besides the being here on business. I knew if I was in Baia, she would let me stay in her home. "And I was hoping I could stay here for a couple of days while I do what I need to do."

"Of course you can stay here!" She ushers me inside, and I see out of the corner of my eye, the rental car drives off. Dimitri was going to stop somewhere else nearby where no one could see him, but he had stayed until I went inside in case something happened, like if they turned me down when I showed up. Obviously Olena wouldn't do such thing, but with my falling out with Viktoria, I really didn't know what would happen. I look around, taking in the familiar setting. The house was exactly like it was the last time I was there.

"Viktoria, can you go and ask around because we are going to have a gathering tonight." Olena calls out. Viktoria mutters something and I hear the door close as she goes out. I hope Mark and Oksana were going to be invited, because I needed to tell her about spirit, and its role in bringing strigoi back. Of course they would be coming. Pretty much every dhampir here was friends with Olena and the rest of the Belikovas. My own nerves kick in, and I could only imagine how Dimitri was feeling. I had left on bad terms with Viktoria, and Dimitri promised me that as soon as everything was sorted and explained, he would talk to her. But until then, I had to deal with any remarks, or just plain ignorance. The gathering was a great way for Dimitri to make his comeback.

"Are you hungry?" Olena asks, interrupting my thoughts. It was late afternoon. I hoped the gathering started before it was completely dark, but if not, we had enough evidence that he wasn't strigoi.

"No, I just ate, but thank you." I reply. I had forced Dimitri to eat since he hadn't had anything at all today, so I ate too. On the topic of Dimitri, I had to let him know about the gathering, so he could prepare himself. Olena goes off to start preparing food for tonight, so I take this opportunity to text him.

Your mom is having a gathering of such tonight, I don't know how many people are going, but it might be good if Mark and Oksana are there because of her spirit use.

I wait, watching the screen until a reply pops up.

Okay, does that change any of the plan?

I smile. Oh Dimitri, always thinking of the bigger picture.

No, but other people could tip off your presence and it won't be much of a surprise.

A reply comes almost instantly.

Oh well that isn't that big of a deal.

It really wasn't.

No not really.

I reply. I turn off my phone just as Olena enters the room again.

"Do you need help?" I ask, wanting to do something useful.

"No, it is all sorted, but I want to talk to you Rose." She says. Oh no. I can't let her know anything. I try and tell myself that Dimitri is still and everything since he had turned back didn't exist. It kind of works, hopefully enough to convince Olena.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" I ask. Olena sighs.

"How are you going since, you know..." She trails off. I fake a sad kind of expression, and ready myself for a lying spree.

"I am getting there, slowly." I say sullenly. Her expression almost matches mine, but I could tell hers wasn't fake. I felt so bad for lying, and I knew I had to apologize to her once everything was done and sorted.

"Oksana!" I say greeting her. She had helped me and Lissa to fight another spirit user, Avery Lazar, who was controlling Lissa with compulsion.

"Rose! How are you?" She asks.

"I am fine."

"And Lissa?" She smiles knowingly. I frown.

"About that... something happened to our bond and it is gone, but she is fine. I will explain later tonight after I deal with some things." I grimace. Oksana looks confused, but lets it go for now. I am sure she will be asking for answers later. The sun was setting, and a pang of realisation hits me. There would be no way Dimitri could make his entrance in daylight. Everyone had arrived and were sitting in a circle outside. The back gate was unlocked, much to my surprise. With the amount of strigoi in Siberia, I would have kept it locked. Honestly, I was tempted to go and lock it if it wasn't for the plan Dimitri and I had in place. Since everything was settled, and there was just casual chatter, mainly in Russian, I saw no point waiting any longer. I get my phone and alert Dimitri.

I am starting the plan, be ready.

I close my phone, not waiting for a response. My heart raced, while I go over every single detail of the plan. I couldn't let Dimitri down with my impulsiveness. I take a deep breath and prepare for the unknown.

Word Count: 1282