The Luxor Casino, Las Vegas, NV | Saturday Afternoon
They were staying in a pyramid. When going to Las Vegas, you might as well, Rose supposed, but concentrating on the weirdness of the fact they were staying in a pyramid kept Rose afloat and able to push back the after-effects of the huge amount of spirit Lissa had used in the prison break. Mostly at least, she could feel the impending rage shake her every time she looked at Victor. Luckily he had seemed to cooperate - calling his half-brother and setting up a meeting for that afternoon.
Waiting was the hardest part - not that that would be a surprise to anyone who knew Rose. Kyle seemed perfectly fine with it, and even Lissa had relaxed a little bit, but by the time they met Robert Doru and Victor bullied him into agreeing to help Rose and Lissa, Rose could barely frame the question she’d been trying not to obsess over for months.
Robert Doru
"What do you want to know?” Robert asked, his instability and paranoia obvious even over the hero worship of his brother that made him agree to the request.“
Rose Hathaway
Rose took a breath, glancing over at Lissa. Feelings of disapproval and worry were pulsing through the bond though she gave no outward sign of it. “We heard you freed a Strigoi once,” Rose said finally. “You were able to bring him back to - his original state.”
If she’d been in a better state of mind, the surprise that flashed over Victor’s face would have been funny. Always-composed and all-knowing Victor Dashkov finally got startled.
Kyle Reese
He wasn’t the only one startled. Kyle knew that there had to be something bigger going on for Rose to risk Lissa the way she had, but if he was understanding right, this was beyond big.
Robert Doru
There were always pauses before Robert spoke as he tried to form some sort of answer. “Her,” he managed finally.
Rose Hathaway
Rose stared. “What?”
Robert Doru
“She was a woman. I freed her,” he said, focused on spinning the glass of water in front of him.
Rose Hathaway
She couldn’t breathe. They were pretty much masters of what was impossible now between Fandom and everything else, but this - she couldn’t quite allow herself to process the answer.
Lissa Dragomir
“There’s no way to save a Strigoi,” Lissa said slowly. “When they’re gone, they’re gone. They’re dead - undead - forever.”
Robert Doru
“That which is dead doesn’t always stay dead...” Robert sounded more unhinged now as he looked up at Rose. "The spirit-blessed and shadow-kissed should know that."
Rose Hathaway
Rose shivered at the statement. “So how did you do it?”
Robert Doru
“A stake. She was killed with a stake and so came back to life.” He seemed to anticipate an immediate objection and continued. “Not any stake. A special one.”
Lissa Dragomir
Lissa gasped, the connection becoming clear to her. It really might be possible after all that. “A stake charmed with spirit.” Stakes were already charmed with the other four elements, and spirit healed - if she infused a stake with her magic in addition to the others...
Robert Doru
“Clever, clever girl,” Robert replied, smiling slyly at her. “Clever and gentle and kind. I can see it in your aura.”
Kyle Reese
Robert, Kyle decided, was the reason the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. He didn’t like the way Robert was looking at Lissa. His face remained stern like it had been the whole time, and really it was hard not to look that way with all of these people around, but just underneath the surface he was ready to hold Robert down while Rose made Robert’s nose into a crunchy mush.
Rose Hathaway
“So...” Rose felt Lissa’s surge of understanding and finally allowed herself to nearly hope. “It’s that easy?”
Robert Doru
Robert snorted scornfully. “It’s not easy at all.”
Rose Hathaway
“You just said we need a spirit-charmed stake. And then I kill a Strigoi with it,” she argued. It sounded easy to her. She’d staked enough Strigoi already. It was just a different type of stake, but that shouldn't affect the process, right?
Robert Doru
“You can’t do it,” he replied, an amused smile curling the corners of his lips.
Rose Hathaway
“So who...?” Rose couldn’t finish her sentence as she realised what he meant. “No.”
Robert Doru
“Shadow-kissed don’t have the gift of life. Only those blessed by spirit,” Robert explained. He looked at Lissa, an odd mix of cunning and amusement on his face. “Is the Gentle Girl capable of doing it? I would guess so, gentle and kind.”
Rose Hathaway
“No,” Rose repeated sharply, feeling her entire dream of saving Dimitri shatter. It had been far-fetched anyway and she’d tried not to hope, but the utter devastation of knowing it wasn’t possible after all hurt more than she’d imagined. “Even if it was possible, she can’t do it. I won’t let her.”
Lissa Dragomir
Furiously, Lissa spun towards her guardian. “Since when do you tell me what I can do?” she snapped.
Rose Hathaway
The anger flooding through their bond shocked Rose into near-calm. “Since I don’t remember you ever becoming a guardian and learning how to stake a Strigoi,” she replied, forcing her voice to be even. An odd memory of arguing with Dimitri about Lissa learning how to fight popped up. “You threw a punch, yeah, but it’s nothing like staking a Strigoi. Plus you have to get in range without getting bit or your neck snapped. You couldn’t do it.” And Rose wouldn’t let her.
Lissa Dragomir
“So I’ll learn,” Lissa replied sharply, absolutely determined. If she could learn how to do this, she could heal beyond what she’d imagined. She had to do this - not (just) for Rose, but because it was possible.
Rose Hathaway
“We’ll finish this later,” Rose snapped, just as determined not to sit here and fight in front of a visibly amused Victor and his brother.
Lissa Dragomir
Disregarding Rose’s words, Lissa leaned towards Robert. “How do you charm a stake?”
Rose Hathaway
Rose opened her mouth to argue but surprisingly thought better of it. Maybe just the stake would work. Maybe if Liss focused on learning how to charm a stake, she’d forget about learning how to fight. That part sounded 100% better to Rose.
Robert Doru
“I'd need one to show you,” Robert replied, glancing up at Rose. “You must have one to lend me.”
Rose Hathaway
“Not in public,” Rose replied instantly.
Kyle Reese
“Even humans will get it’s a weapon,” Kyle added.
Victor Dashkov
Victor raised an eyebrow at the little human’s contribution. “So we go back to the room after dinner.”
Rose hated following any suggestion of Victor’s, and she could feel the same distrust of him coming from Lissa, but even considering the source, it wasn’t a bad plan. There were a ton of risks in taking them to a private place, but between her and Kyle, she thought they could manage it.
What they couldn’t seem to manage were the crowds flooding the casino as they tried to get the Moroi back up to the room. Rose realised vaguely that she was working with Kyle almost as well as with another guardian as they used glances and nods to try to usher the three Moroi through the mass of humans towards an exit. If the stairs they found hadn’t been alarmed, everything that happened next might have been different.
A wave of nausea washed over Rose and her hands were already pulling her stake as she screamed to Kyle to stop. There were Strigoi between them and the casino. “Get out of here,” she yelled to the Moroi, springing towards the nearest Strigoi with her stake flashing.
[Some dialogue stolen from Ms. Mead again. For weetinyreese and guardian_god]
Waiting was the hardest part - not that that would be a surprise to anyone who knew Rose. Kyle seemed perfectly fine with it, and even Lissa had relaxed a little bit, but by the time they met Robert Doru and Victor bullied him into agreeing to help Rose and Lissa, Rose could barely frame the question she’d been trying not to obsess over for months.
Robert Doru
"What do you want to know?” Robert asked, his instability and paranoia obvious even over the hero worship of his brother that made him agree to the request.“
Rose Hathaway
Rose took a breath, glancing over at Lissa. Feelings of disapproval and worry were pulsing through the bond though she gave no outward sign of it. “We heard you freed a Strigoi once,” Rose said finally. “You were able to bring him back to - his original state.”
If she’d been in a better state of mind, the surprise that flashed over Victor’s face would have been funny. Always-composed and all-knowing Victor Dashkov finally got startled.
Kyle Reese
He wasn’t the only one startled. Kyle knew that there had to be something bigger going on for Rose to risk Lissa the way she had, but if he was understanding right, this was beyond big.
Robert Doru
There were always pauses before Robert spoke as he tried to form some sort of answer. “Her,” he managed finally.
Rose Hathaway
Rose stared. “What?”
Robert Doru
“She was a woman. I freed her,” he said, focused on spinning the glass of water in front of him.
Rose Hathaway
She couldn’t breathe. They were pretty much masters of what was impossible now between Fandom and everything else, but this - she couldn’t quite allow herself to process the answer.
Lissa Dragomir
“There’s no way to save a Strigoi,” Lissa said slowly. “When they’re gone, they’re gone. They’re dead - undead - forever.”
Robert Doru
“That which is dead doesn’t always stay dead...” Robert sounded more unhinged now as he looked up at Rose. "The spirit-blessed and shadow-kissed should know that."
Rose Hathaway
Rose shivered at the statement. “So how did you do it?”
Robert Doru
“A stake. She was killed with a stake and so came back to life.” He seemed to anticipate an immediate objection and continued. “Not any stake. A special one.”
Lissa Dragomir
Lissa gasped, the connection becoming clear to her. It really might be possible after all that. “A stake charmed with spirit.” Stakes were already charmed with the other four elements, and spirit healed - if she infused a stake with her magic in addition to the others...
Robert Doru
“Clever, clever girl,” Robert replied, smiling slyly at her. “Clever and gentle and kind. I can see it in your aura.”
Kyle Reese
Robert, Kyle decided, was the reason the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. He didn’t like the way Robert was looking at Lissa. His face remained stern like it had been the whole time, and really it was hard not to look that way with all of these people around, but just underneath the surface he was ready to hold Robert down while Rose made Robert’s nose into a crunchy mush.
Rose Hathaway
“So...” Rose felt Lissa’s surge of understanding and finally allowed herself to nearly hope. “It’s that easy?”
Robert Doru
Robert snorted scornfully. “It’s not easy at all.”
Rose Hathaway
“You just said we need a spirit-charmed stake. And then I kill a Strigoi with it,” she argued. It sounded easy to her. She’d staked enough Strigoi already. It was just a different type of stake, but that shouldn't affect the process, right?
Robert Doru
“You can’t do it,” he replied, an amused smile curling the corners of his lips.
Rose Hathaway
“So who...?” Rose couldn’t finish her sentence as she realised what he meant. “No.”
Robert Doru
“Shadow-kissed don’t have the gift of life. Only those blessed by spirit,” Robert explained. He looked at Lissa, an odd mix of cunning and amusement on his face. “Is the Gentle Girl capable of doing it? I would guess so, gentle and kind.”
Rose Hathaway
“No,” Rose repeated sharply, feeling her entire dream of saving Dimitri shatter. It had been far-fetched anyway and she’d tried not to hope, but the utter devastation of knowing it wasn’t possible after all hurt more than she’d imagined. “Even if it was possible, she can’t do it. I won’t let her.”
Lissa Dragomir
Furiously, Lissa spun towards her guardian. “Since when do you tell me what I can do?” she snapped.
Rose Hathaway
The anger flooding through their bond shocked Rose into near-calm. “Since I don’t remember you ever becoming a guardian and learning how to stake a Strigoi,” she replied, forcing her voice to be even. An odd memory of arguing with Dimitri about Lissa learning how to fight popped up. “You threw a punch, yeah, but it’s nothing like staking a Strigoi. Plus you have to get in range without getting bit or your neck snapped. You couldn’t do it.” And Rose wouldn’t let her.
Lissa Dragomir
“So I’ll learn,” Lissa replied sharply, absolutely determined. If she could learn how to do this, she could heal beyond what she’d imagined. She had to do this - not (just) for Rose, but because it was possible.
Rose Hathaway
“We’ll finish this later,” Rose snapped, just as determined not to sit here and fight in front of a visibly amused Victor and his brother.
Lissa Dragomir
Disregarding Rose’s words, Lissa leaned towards Robert. “How do you charm a stake?”
Rose Hathaway
Rose opened her mouth to argue but surprisingly thought better of it. Maybe just the stake would work. Maybe if Liss focused on learning how to charm a stake, she’d forget about learning how to fight. That part sounded 100% better to Rose.
Robert Doru
“I'd need one to show you,” Robert replied, glancing up at Rose. “You must have one to lend me.”
Rose Hathaway
“Not in public,” Rose replied instantly.
Kyle Reese
“Even humans will get it’s a weapon,” Kyle added.
Victor Dashkov
Victor raised an eyebrow at the little human’s contribution. “So we go back to the room after dinner.”
Rose hated following any suggestion of Victor’s, and she could feel the same distrust of him coming from Lissa, but even considering the source, it wasn’t a bad plan. There were a ton of risks in taking them to a private place, but between her and Kyle, she thought they could manage it.
What they couldn’t seem to manage were the crowds flooding the casino as they tried to get the Moroi back up to the room. Rose realised vaguely that she was working with Kyle almost as well as with another guardian as they used glances and nods to try to usher the three Moroi through the mass of humans towards an exit. If the stairs they found hadn’t been alarmed, everything that happened next might have been different.
A wave of nausea washed over Rose and her hands were already pulling her stake as she screamed to Kyle to stop. There were Strigoi between them and the casino. “Get out of here,” she yelled to the Moroi, springing towards the nearest Strigoi with her stake flashing.
[Some dialogue stolen from Ms. Mead again. For weetinyreese and guardian_god]