“It’s horrible, but makes sense”, Dimitri finished his report, leaning casually against a bookcase of the manor’s library, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Hmm”, it escaped Victor. The old scholar was parading up and down behind his large desk, hands folded behind his back, his shoulders slightly crooked, deep in thoughts.
Tatiana and I exchanged a glance. Both of us hadn’t had much to contribute so far. It turned out the master planner Dimitri had it all under control. If I had feelings of guilt for luring him into this investigation before, the guilt was gone. I hated playing the bait, especially if my part in the story wasn’t even elaborated with me beforehand.
Well, he did tell you.
Yeah, ‘You won’t like it.’ That doesn’t qualify for telling at all, I argued with myself.
Later he’d promised. My fingers turned to fists, my nails digging deep into my skin. Izzy, you’ve a boyfriend.
Well, my God of a boyfriend never bothered saving my life so far.
I knew that was hardly fair. Jake was a commoner. No one could expect some supernatural stuff from him. Nevertheless, I had problems taking my eyes off Dimitri, remembering the fireworks his touch unsettled insight me. Jake’s touch had none of that. No sparks, nothing.
Don’t compare, Izzy.
I wasn’t sure for how long I could keep those feelings locked up. I wanted his hands back on my hips, feel it again, him on top of me, our lips almost touching… later… he’d promised.
“It makes perfectly sense”, Dimitri repeated and pulled me out of my daydream. “They keep the prisoners where we would never look. And who would suspect the consul as leader of the Guild?”
“No one said anything about Wayland being the leader of the Guild”, I reminded him and shifted in the leather armchair. The chair was so comfortable and since the adrenaline had drawn off, I was dog-tired. I barely could keep my eyes open.
“Wayland isn’t the person who takes orders from someone, but himself”, Tatiana argued, crossed her leg over the other and whipped with her foot forth and back. “In addition, the wards of the Winter Palace can only be lowered by someone in the inner circle.”
“But why?” Dimitri surrendered his spot at the bookcase and came over to us, resting both his palms onto the massive desk. “Why would he betray his kind?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Victor had stopped walking up and down, finally, he was making me nervous and the squeaking floorboards were doing no good for my erupting headache either. “We’ve to be careful, very careful”, he said at last. “Any actions from our side without knowing his true intentions might end fatally.”
I jumped out of my seat. “I take it you don’t want to rescue my friends.” The words came out harsher than intended, but after such a night, I was sick of having another dinner party and elaborating theories. Theories were not bringing my friends back.
He nodded in understanding. “We’ll rescue your friends, my dear. But first, we need some allies.”
“Allies?” we three asked in unison.
Victor raised his hands in defence. “We can’t march into the Winter Palace with only the three of us. It would be a very short encounter.”
“I know the Winter Palace best”, Dimitri said, playing down the argument. “I know every entry, corridor, secret passageway.”
“There is only one guard at the entrance”, I supported his words. “We three managed six Berserker demons tonight.” I hold out the number six with my fingers to underline my statement.
Tatiana pulled a face. “I took four, Dimitri two, you tried one, I’ll give you that.”
“Fine, but I helped, I wasn’t useless. Anyway, what is one guard against the two of you? I saw you fighting three times now and… alright, I’m impressed. Batman and Robin are nothing against you two.”
Confusion washed over Tatiana’s face. “Do I need to know those gentlemen?”
I bit on my lower lip. “Seriously?” Sometimes it was frustrating. I thought I might never say this, but those two needed urgently some TV hours in their curriculum.
Dimitri took a deep breath. “There is not just this one guard at the entry. If that would be the case, we wouldn’t need even weaponry. Tatiana in a short skirt would be enough to take him out.”
I rolled my eyes. “What is it with you and short skirts?”
Tatiana shook her head. “I told you, it’s the testosterone. I should have slept with him.”
“Tatiana!” Victor slammed his fist onto the desk.
“What? I’m just stating the truth. Obviously I’m the only person willing to do something against it.”
Despite my general assumption, Dimitri didn’t even blink with an eye, and certainly not at me. No sign of embarrassment. “Forget about this one security person, Tat. Even your legs are no match to the Guard.”
“I agree”, Victor nodded thankfully. It seemed at least one of his wards understood the full danger of the mission ahead.
Tatiana sunk back into her armchair and mumbled something incompressible about her legs and his hips. Honestly, some stories should never be told.
“The Guard?” I asked, gazing from one to the other as if I was the only one having no clue.
“The army of the Council”, Victor explained, scratching the back of his head. “There are times, when trackers are not enough. In those cases, the Consul has a private army at his disposal.”
“How convenient”, I whistled out.
Victor shrugged his shoulders apologetically. “Don’t tell me your president has none.”
Tatiana crossed her arms behind her head, which made her breasts look even bigger. I was so jealous of that witch. Why did she need magic, if she had those? “The Guard comes in very handy in the rare case of a sorcerer opening a door to the underworld by accident”, she said with a yawn.
“Tonight”, Dimitri added, “the element of surprise was on our side. Also, there are worse entities of hell than Berserkers.”
“Fine”, I brought out, desperately trying to readjust my skinny dress to get the same effect as Tatiana. Unluckily, in vain. So I gave it up. “Anyway, what’s the plan?”
Victor’s index finger pointed at me. “Leave that to me. It’s time to catch up with some old friends. There is an old alliance among mentors and if we plan an attack on the Winter Palace, we need allies.“
Dimitri nodded in approval.
Tatiana rose out of her chair. Once more suppressing a yawn. “Whatever, uncle. Not anymore tonight. I’m going to bed and you”, she pointed at Dimitri with a frown, “you owe me two new dresses.”
“What’s wrong with the one you’re wearing?”
“Every kid knows, demon blood leaves stains behind.” She pointed at some black marks at the hem of her dress and also to my chest, which showed some drops of the dark fluid. Oops, I didn’t even notice so far.
“Shopping it is”, he followed Tatiana to the door and I staggered behind them. I couldn’t wait, taking off those shoes, having a bath and surrendering to bed.
“Yeah, you pay”, Tatiana proclaimed. “And I buy you a new shirt too.” You could call her an evil witch sometimes, but you have to grant her that she was taking care of him… like a girlfriend. The thought tasted bitter on my tongue. I wanted to be that person buying the stuff for him. That’s what girlfriends do, which was even weirder as I never felt the urge buying clothes for Jake. My headache was growing.
“Miss Elisabeth?” Victor called me back. “A word in private, please.”
I turned back. “Does it have time till tomorrow?” There was a pleading in my voice, but his expression was merciless. So I tried again. “I was nearly killed tonight, a demon had the intention of getting intimate with me and Tatiana tried to kill me during fight training. And if that isn’t enough, those heels Dimitri made me wear, kill me. Ever tried those?”
“God beware, no. Anyway, please have a seat. I believe it’s time we have a one-on-one.”
“Alright”, I sighed
and let myself fall back into the armchair. Victor came around his desk and closed the door.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m not insulting your hospitality, am I? In fact, I’m very grateful for what you’re doing for me. All of you.”
He took Tatiana’s chair and pulled it closer to mine. Then he reached out for my hand and patted the back of my hand encouragingly. “You’re doing fine, actually, much better than anyone could have asked of you under such circumstances. It’s just time for a little… talk.”
“Tonight was my fault. I’ve persuaded Dimitri into this mission. It was reckless and foolish.”
“Yes, it was, but it was also his decision. There are always two parties involved. On the other hand, we’re now in the possession of vital information. Nevertheless, I would have preferred you two would have conversed your plans with me. To say the least, it was outright dangerous and you should feel gratified being alive.”
“Am I grounded?”
He shook his head. “There is no point grounding you as you have a tendency to escape my care anyway. I’m not keeping you prisoner, Miss Elisabeth.”
“So, why am I here? I hope my actions didn’t bring Dimitri into trouble. I take the full responsibility for tonight’s events.”
He sighed. “See, Dimitri would claim the same if he would be here. Because he would do everything for you. Without doubt, he believes you’re his Anastasia. She was in his every thought, every cell of his body. When she died, his world broke together. Her death broke him, broke the human part in him. His demon side took over. He was driven by vengeance and hatred. He killed Bolsheviks in the thousands, no tens of thousands. He even joined the German Weapon SS. They called him the Vernichter, it’s German for destroyer, their secret weapon. The Soviets named him the Hellhound. He was their biggest nightmare. When I found him, he was terribly injured and I had to make the decision to either kill or rescue him. I was that close killing him,” he straddled thumb and index finger by less than an inch. “But then I had a look into his tortured soul and felt pity. So I rescued him. I never regretted the decision. I taught him to control his demon side, slowly bringing his human side back to life. And once Tatiana was born, she really managed his tantrums. What I want to say, going forward, you can’t risk your life that easily anymore. If you die again, many more people will die. His demon side will take over and then there might be nothing left of the Dimitri you know today.”
I had to swallow hard. “No reckless missions anymore, I got that, I truly do.”
“There is more.”
More? You’ve to be kidding.
He took both my hands in his and looked me straight in the eyes. “We don’t know the Consul’s plans yet, but what we know is, he captured the children of three horsemen and tried to get his hands on you too.” He made a pause, unsure how to continue. “Let’s say, even if we can avert the approaching apocalypse, the four horsemen won’t be forgiving. It’s the task of their children to smoother their wrath. The children of War have to deliver a war to their father, Famine’s sons might answer with a plague that kills thousands, Conquest’s usually work closely together with the sons of War. You’ll have to sacrifice something too, Princess of Death.”
I shook my head determined. “I’ve nothing to give? He can’t ask me to kill for him… oh my God, you don’t mean he wants me dead? I should kill myself?!”
“No, certainly not”, he squeezed my hands to comfort me. “Death is your father. He would never ask his daughter to kill herself. But he will ask for someone close to you.”
“That’s hardly fair. My family had done nothing wrong.”
He shook his head again. “It would require the ultimate sacrifice of the heart. Your love to be precise.”
I was confused, my voice barely a whisper when I answered. “Jake?”
“Examine your feelings, Miss Elisabeth. Is Jake your true love?”
A long pause followed. I swallowed hard, knowing the answer, knowing it all along.
“I’ve eyes in my head, Miss Elisabeth. The way you look at him and if you’re truly Death’s daughter, your former self will catch up with you soon. Then there is no denying anymore. What I ask of you is not to give in to the temptation of love unless you’re willing to sacrifice him.”
***
“Please don’t, please”, the girl to my right pleaded. She was kneeling in a long white dress at my feet, the palms of her hands pressed against each other as being in a prayer, in a prayer to me. The girl was surrounded by gravestones, which were covered in aged moss and ivy. Fog was all around us, plunging the environment into complete darkness.
“Don’t, please”, she said again, her eyes filled with tears, running down her cheeks. There was panic in her countenance, as if she was holding on to the last straw that protected her from the plummet into an unfathomable abyss. “Don’t kill him, I love him.” I’ve seen her before, but I didn’t need to remember where, I knew who she was. The other me. Anastasia. She might have been there all my life, sleeping, remaining silent in the back of my head, my conscience. Never had she interrupted my dream world, patiently waiting for the moment when we would become one. The way it was supposed to be.
My focus shifted to the left. There was Dimitri, the very person, who would do everything for me, my saviour, my protector, my love. Yes, I felt the same she felt. Dimitri gazed at me, his dark eyes able to drill through my facade into my soul. I was an open book to him. He knew my every thought before I knew it, my every desire. Because that was what soul mates do. He knew I had to sever that bond, knew it would be for a higher purpose and not because I wanted it. He wouldn’t complain. He wouldn’t argue. Simply do everything for me. All I got from him was a nod of understanding as bare words were superfluous between soul mates.
My eyes looked straight, focussing on a figure forming out of the fog in the darkness. The figure took shape, a dark hooded robe the colour of deepest night, flapping like a flag in the wind. A skeleton hand was holding on to a long scythe. I couldn’t make out a face underneath the hood, but didn’t need to. I knew who he was. Death had come to claim his prize.
“No, please”, Anastasia sobbed at my side, pulling at the hem of my dress. “I hate you, I’ll always hate you!”
I’ll hate myself, I thought. I turned back to Dimitri. Suddenly I was aware of the long, sharp blade in my right hand. Again he nodded, his eyes never taking off mine. My hand came up and with a horizontal blow, I slashed his throat.
“NOOOOOOO!” I woke, bathed in perspiration, the linen clinging wet to my body; Anastasia’s scream still ringing in my ears. My heart was pounding that hard against my ribcage, I thought it would break free with the next breath.
It was a dream. I hate you. The voice was in my head. Her voice. I buried my face in my hands and started crying bitterly.
To be fair, after all the horror I had seen tonight and the days before that, I should have expected nightmares. Same as every night. But I wasn’t expecting this. And the conclusion was pestering me, I love you, Dimitri.
***
The following days went by with a never experienced slowness. Count Dracula was nowhere to be seen, busy meeting with former friends and forming alliances. It didn’t do any good to me as I really wanted to speak to him about a solution to this problem. Hollywood always came up with game changers, a miracle. There must be something else in place for me and Anastasia, other than not falling in love. It’s kind of hard if you’ve already fallen. Meanwhile, Dimitri persisted on extra fight training sessions. Personalised training sessions weren’t particularly helpful with my unfalling in love strategy, especially when those sessions ended up with me pinned to the mat and him on top of me, only the thin fabric of my tank top and his grey T-shirt separating our pounding hearts from each other.
How did you teach your body not to want what your soul craves for? The wanting got louder in my mind. The more I tried to push him away, the more Anastasia made herself comf
ortable in my thoughts, even fighting me, the very one who tried to save him. And saving him meant saving him from me. I was the enemy he couldn’t fight. She was a nuisance. Couldn’t she see what I was trying to do? And every time I tried, it felt like cutting through my own flesh with a glowing knife.
“Are you even listening?” Dimitri asked when he was lying on top of me, his breath on my skin. It took all my willpower not to raise my head and press my lips onto his.
“You threw me over your shoulder”, I commented innocently, unable to take my eyes off him.
“Yes, but you did nothing to ward me off”, he complained. “Again, that is!”
“Didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t”, it was Tatiana, who observed all my moves for the sake of pointing out every single mistake. Needless to mention, there were many. “Actually, it gives the impression that ending up with the back on that mat was your aim all along.”
I flushed.
Him on top, Anastasia added in thoughts. As I said, personalised fight training didn’t help. Especially if it’s visible in his eyes that pushing him away hurt him as much as me. Whatever I do, I inflict pain.
Then surrender, the voice hammered in my mind. Did I mention I hate princesses? At least one of us had to see reason.
On day three I signed up with Tatiana instead. Getting killed by her appeared less painful than pushing him away. She didn’t show any mercy and my body was quickly covered in bruises.
After a week of bruises the big day had arrived. Count Dracula invited a delegation of other tracker teams to Deerpark Manor. Alfred was busier than ever before serving food, looking after drinks, doing the never ending laundry, he had to be everywhere at once. Three tracker teams and their mentors made themselves felt home in the manor house. It got quite cramped to the point that I was asked to move in with Tatiana. Neither of us favoured the bare idea of sharing accommodation. But something had changed between us. We two couldn’t quite point the finger at it yet. Best to describe it was respect. She didn’t call me Barbie anymore, which helped a lot and I didn’t feel the need sleeping with one eye open in case she remembered the need of killing me. I even got more comfortable with her clothes and she took over my daily makeover into the heartless symbol of all sins men desired.
Princess of Apocalypse Page 17