“Why can’t you portal us into the Other Place”, I asked, questioning his plan.
“I would like to, but the palace wards are too strong for me”, his voice was a whisper, reminding me we’re not out of danger yet. Being with him made everything possible. There was a feeling of safety when I was with him—
Are you mistaking love with safety?
—Is there a possibility that you’re shutting up for once?
“It only works outside the palace”, he continued, slightly out of breath.
We crossed a room with a giant red throne and the emblem of the familiar double-headed eagle. At this time, the palace was still deserted, almost. The sentinel with the old-fashioned uniform stood guard in the front. He noticed me and saluted once more. I forced myself to a smile, giving the poor ghost at least some recognition. Ghost-hood must be the most boredom existence ever.
Our feet echoed over the polished marble and with it swung the fear they would give us away. Now I praised my decision from last night after dinner to change Tat’s stunning royal blue dress she’d lent me and the matching stilettos against a pair of white sneakers and red dress of hers, short at the bottom, exactly how Dimitri liked it. Anyway, finding a garment Dimitri liked wasn’t hard in Tat’s walk-in-robe. That girl wasn’t doing in jeans.
The room gave way to another room, then to a colossal marble staircase with a landing, descending over a red runner down to a spacious foyer, which was flanked by a dozen high pillars made out of the same marble as the stairs. From here I would have found the way. We were right at the entrance, where I’d fainted so gracefully the other night. The other night… it felt years ago.
Dimitri led the way, but came to a skidding halt at the bottom of the stairs. Protectively he positioned himself between me and the foyer.
“What?” I asked to his back, my heart started pounding heavily. The question was answered by a figure stepping out from behind a pillar, his skin the same colour as the marble.
“Edward”, I breathed out in horror. He looked dangerously beautiful in his black armour; his hair tousled, hanging low over his long dark eyelashes.
“I knew you would come back, Dimitri. Let’s finish it.”
Dimitri turned to me. “Stay!” And before I could breathe an answer, he was gone, brandishing his sword.
I did as he said, petrified gazing at the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. Dimitri attacked with all the force he could muster, swinging the sword with both hands in deadly precision at his target. Edward reacted in a counter; the vampire was quicker than my eyes could comprehend, with a left-right combination he brought Dimitri out of balance and drove him backwards.
Jake put a protective arm around me and shoved me out of the way. John followed with Vicky. Meanwhile Dimitri was forced up the stairs, getting out of breath quickly, his parries were coming less focussed, his arms got seemingly heavy and numb.
He’ll lose, Anastasia spoke out my fears.
“Help him”, I muttered to Jake, but he just gazed at me in confusion. “Help him.” My pleading climbed in volume.
“You have to be kidding”, Jake brushed through his hair in embarrassment of his cowardice. “I told you the plan was doomed right from the beginning.”
“Jake is right”, his twin added. “We should get you two girls out of here as long as the two are busy.”
“Or”, I said and poked my index finger into his chest, “You go up there and help Dimitri. You’ve the dagger, go! Go or give me the damn weapon!”
With horror in his eyes, he looked for help at Vicky. She nodded and his horror changed into a frown. Nevertheless, with insecure steps he moved up the stairs. Dimitri had already made it up to the landing. He faked a step to the left and swung a counter strike to the right. The response took Edward off guard and Dimitri took over the offensive again. For a moment it looked as he could win, he circled Edward in a blur, stabbing after him from all directions. John came to his aid, the dagger raised high, but just before his intervention, he hesitated, the moves of the two contestants too quick for his human eyes. He made a decision; the dagger came down and… ended in Dimitri’s backside shoulder. My heart stopped. Dimitri stumbled forwards and plummeted onto the red carpet. At the last moment he turned around and avoided a vertical stab from Edward’s blade. Edward pursued in his campaign, stabbing in rush sequence at Dimitri, who crawled backwards away from the scene. I was already up the stairs, overtook a petrified John, who could just hold the dagger in his hands, blood dripping from the tip of the blade, Dimitri’s blood. Right then I couldn’t have been more panic and angry at the same time.
By the time I arrived at the landing, Dimitri and Edward had already disappeared into the throne room. With hasty steps I followed the blood trail. When I entered the room, Edward was just bringing his sword down another time, gazing Dimitri’s neck.
I didn’t waste another second, ran up and jumped on Edward — well, a stupid idea. Jumping upon a vampire was probably my stupidest idea ever, but it was marked by pure desperateness.
Edward turned around and shook me off with a single blow of his hand. I landed hard on the marble and skidded several meters further down. Dimitri tried to get up, but Edward was yet again quicker. With a horizontal blow, he brought Dimitri back to the ground. It followed a scornful series of blows. It was just a matter of time until Dimitri’s defence would break. And this would be fatal. Feverishly I gazed around and my eyes stopped at the sentinel in his old-fashioned uniform and the musket shouldered on his back. Without another thought, I yelled at him. “Shoot him!” I pointed with a shaking finger at Edward, who’d just pushed Dimitri’s blade far to the side and prepared for the final stab.
The sentinel sprang into action, pulled his musket from his back, aimed quickly and BANG!
The bullet hit Edward in the middle of his forehead and escaped on the back, bringing with it a gush of the red fluid. Edward stood there, confusion mixed with pain. Every human being would have died, but Edward wasn’t human. With a gaping mouth, I watched the wound closing slowly. It was barely an inconvenience, which had halted him for a few seconds. But Dimitri didn’t need more. He jumped up and his sword slashed horizontally from left to right. Edward showed no reaction, the blade must have missed him, but then his head started swaggering and finally, it rolled off his shoulders. Edward’s body sunk to his knees, followed by its collapse to the right. Dimitri had only eyes for me and the sentinel, his glance wandering forth and back. “How”, he muttered.
I had no answer. The sentinel made a deep bow, a smirk on his lips, next he dissolved, like the smoke of an extinguished candle.
“I… I… I.”
“Take a breath, Elisabeth.”
“It’s Izzy!” I yelled at him. “Since when are we on formal terms again.”
“Izzy then, let’s go out of here.” But in his voice swung the argument, since you ran back into the arms of your boyfriend.
Chapter XVIII
Going Home
Once we had left the palace, the alarm bells went off. Guards and policemen were swarming out of every side alley, from every door of the palace, from every shadow. Dimitri took my hand and propelled me over the square to the other side, the very spot where we came out the other night, our pursuers in our back. There was no need for cutting himself; his wounds gave him plenty supply of the dark fluid. He was halfway through his incantation, when Vicky joined us with Jake and John.
“Why are we stopping?” she asked in a shrill voice. But there was no time for explanations. The portal opened and I shoved her through before she could argue. Dimitri followed by Jake and John at his heels, both boys heavily complaining.
The portal closed behind us; not a second too soon. I was holding my sides and bending over my knees, desperately trying to get as much air into my lungs as possible. We were standing in a deserted lane in the Other Place, dark grey cobblestones under my feet, polished by years of rain.
“You’re late!” a familiar voice uttered. I jerk
ed up. The street wasn’t as deserted as I thought it was. “Tatiana”, I answered when I recognised her. She’d changed her gear against a tight, darkish grey dress, which revealed more of her curves than it was covering. The type Dimitri liked, I noticed. The dress came with high-heeled boots reaching up to her kneecaps and sure enough harboured an entire weapon shed. Her red hair was falling like a waterfall over her shoulders. She put her hands to her hips, underlying her anger. But her eyes couldn’t hide the relief. That was it when it came to Tatiana. She pretended to be the tough girl, but her family, in this case Dimitri, meant more than anything to her. I couldn’t hold back my joy. With a few quick steps I ran into her and slung my arms around her neck. Slowly and step by step, she returned my embrace. “Are you alright, Izzy?”
Of course I wasn’t, I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. All I could bring out was a hubbub of sobs.
“Izzy!” she said again. “Izzy, you squeeze me to death.”
Oh. Right. We broke apart, my cheeks flushing.
She held me at arms-lengths and scrutinised me for injuries. My lower lip was shaking. “N… not me. Dimitri!” That was all I could bring out. Tatiana understood immediately and careered around me. Meanwhile, Dimitri had leaned with his back against a house wall, his legs slowly giving way to the blood-toll. His skin as pale as Edward’s.
Tatiana literally caught him and helped him into a sitting position with his head and back resting against the wall. “What happened?” She asked. “I knew I should’ve come with you. But no, you wanted to play the hero. I know the palace best, Tat. I’ll be in and out without anyone noticing. Well, how do we call this, Mr. Superhero?”
“Edward”, Dimitri muttered under his breath, his chest moving up and down quickly.
“I’ll kill him!” Tatiana said and undid the chest plate of his leather armour. Dimitri clenched his teeth together.
“Not necessary.” I finally had found my voice back. “Dimitri killed Edward Cullen.”
Tatiana’s forehead wrinkled. “Stick through the heart?”
Dimitri shook his head. “Chopped off his head.”
Her hands touched over his wounds. She shrugged her shoulders. “Works just as good.”
Dimitri’s glance wandered to me. For a moment I felt as if I was standing naked in front of my saviour. “I’m so sorry, Elisabeth.”
There it was again. Elisabeth! “Stop Elisabething me!”
“I knew he meant a lot to you—“
“Dimitri Ivanov, are you completely out of your mind?” I folded my arms over my chest. “What’s wrong with you? You saved my life in any way someone could save a life of someone else and all you’re worried about is, if you hurt my feelings by killing this… this.”
“Bloodsucker?” Tatiana helped.
“Thanks, lowlife of a bloodsucker.”
I was furious. “How could you possibly imagine I would hold his decease against you?”
“In his defence”, Tatiana smirked. “The proclaimed indifference looked differently in the attic, not to say you seemed enjoying getting pinned to the ground by him.”
“You got pinned to the ground by Edward Cullen?” It was Vicky. She’d suddenly turned up at my side. “Gosh, I missed a lot. While they locked me up in a dark and very cold cellar, you’d all the fun with the hottest vampire walking this planet.”
Dimitri shook his head in confusion. “Who is Cullen?”
“Hello, Twilight?” Vicky pulled a face. “Can’t be you never heard about it.”
Dimitri’s face told a different story.
“Don’t ask me!” Tatiana said, when his glance searched hers for explanation.
Jake turned me around rather harsh, anger lurking behind his calm looking countenance.
What’s wrong with him now?
Anastasia translated for me. He might not like the idea of you getting pinned to the floor by a supermodel of a vamp as much as you do.
“Twilight or not, I want to know what’s going on here!”
“And what our next steps are”, John added.
I took a deep breath and gave the two a summary of what happened since the ambush at the lakeside. Some details I left out willingly, such as Anastasia or me being able to see dead people, Vicky’s parents not being her real parents.
Meanwhile, Dimitri and Tatiana were whispering to each other. I tried to eavesdrop while filling in my friends, but could only make out fractions.
“… I told you she made a ghost materialise…”
Tatiana shook her head. “That’s impossible. You can’t bring people back from the dead. Maybe he wasn’t dead.”
“He wore the uniform of the tsar escort. It was only for a moment. He dissolved when his task was done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Crystal.”
“Well, she’s the daughter of Death.” There was a mixture of surprise and disbelief on her face.
And all of a sudden, I’ve become a freak. Princess of Death. If I could change with her the title of Transylvanian witch, I would do so.
“And what’s next?” John asked again. “Should we hide till the end of our lives in this villa you mentioned?”
“If that keeps us safe!” I snapped at him.
“We’ll bring them home”, Dimitri spoke. Tatiana helped him up. He looked much better already.
“But the Guild would certainly find them and hijack them again”, I complained.
“I doubt it”, Dimitri said and the way he said it, I knew he meant it. “Wayland fears the Catholic Church and the church is already investigating. He can’t risk exposure. The church is still too powerful.”
“You’re sending us all home?” My voice reached another climax. The bitter taste of anger had been already on my tongue. “That’s it? You want me to go home after all that talk about me risking the life of my parents—“
“I said them.”
“Oh!”
“Izzy”, Tatiana took a breath. “Deerpark Manor is no place for commoners. We can’t protect them there. Not at the moment with Victor, Dimitri and Alfred injured. You’re not even sufficiently trained yet and I’ll be busy changing the wards every six to eight hours.”
“Brunswick had studied the wards when he was inside our home”, Dimitri said matter of fact. “He decrypted them and delivered them to the Consul on a silver plate. That’s how the Consul could get to you last night.”
“Oh”, was everything I could bring out.
“You can only decrypt wards from the inside”, Tatiana went on. “The new wards won’t be as strong as my mother’s. That’s why I’ll have to change them frequently.”
Dimitri straightened his back. “Right now, the world of the commoners is the safest place for your friends. You’re not a commoner. The same doesn’t apply to you.”
Well, it’s a nice phrase for saying, Listen, you’re a freak.
***
“Make sure your story is lining up”, Dimitri said, when we stepped through the portal into good old Beacon Hills, California. The school’s deserted car park to be precise. It was in the middle of the night, a warm breeze tussled my hair and the familiar smell of lemons hung in the air. The school building was cloaked in darkness, only in the car park the shadows of the night were thrown back by a dozen lanterns.
“And you’re okay with taking the blame?” Vicky asked astonished. “I mean you did nothing wrong. My mom always told me to say the truth and we’re in America. The police won’t believe—”
Tatiana shoved a strand of red back behind her ear. “Listen Barbie, the press and the FBI have already made up their mind about who’s behind the murders and the abduction. Blaming the two of us will just confirm their opinion and not raise any suspicion. Believe me, they’ll buy it.”
“All will be fine as long as you stick to the story”, Dimitri added, but I noticed his lower lip trembling. The story — the cousins from Eastern Europe were psychotic mass murderers, who killed some of their classmates and abducted some others for a
later kill, then got cold feet and brought some of them back to school.
Well, I agreed with Vicky, the story was thin.
“Technically, it is your fault”, John said with a snort. “So we’re not even lying. Who would believe this crap about demons?”
“Anyway, time to say goodbye to your friends, Izzy”, Tatiana said cold, but I didn’t miss the unfriendly undertone in her voice. I didn’t judge her. Sometimes the twins were assholes.
Sometimes? Anastasia laughed hollow in the back of my mind.
My turn. How are you saying goodbye to the people you love? I didn’t need to. Vicky gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek. “Be careful, Izzy. I love you.”
“BFF right?” I asked, my voice dangerously at the edge of breaking into a sob.
“Always”, she whispered in my ear.
“Come with us, Izzy?” John tried, when Vicky and I broke apart. “Think about who your true friends are. We can protect you. Jake and I.”
I shook my head determined. “No, you can’t.” Dimitri was right by sending them away. In a real fight, the twins stood no chance and would be more a hindrance than help.
Jake took both my hands in his, building himself up in front of me. “Please, Izzy. Stay with me. I love you.” His head bent down to mine, his eyes closed, his lips getting closer… “No.” I got my right hand free and pressed my index and middle finger onto his lips before they met mine.
His eyes sprang open, confusion struggled with anger in his face.
“Jake. I know it’s not the right moment, but… this is not working out.”
“What are you saying, Izzy?”
I took a breath. “We don’t work out.”
“Are you breaking up with me?”
I nodded.
He let go of my other hand and pointed his finger at Dimitri. “Is it because of him, the freak?”
“This freak as you call him saved my life. But my decision is mine. Jake, yes, you’re hot, successful; in a nutshell, every girl’s dream, just not mine. It took me a while to realise and if I break your heart now, I’m truly sorry.”
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