Hi guys! So I know it has been forever since I've last updated, like literally FOREVER. I am so sorry! Anyway, I started writing again today and finally finished with a fresh, new chapter for you all! Thank you for putting up with me and for reading this story. It means the world to me!

So, enough talking. I hope you enjoy!~ :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does. I only own the plot and some characters.

Chapter 8

Pain

**Rose's POV**

Shit.

The door to this hellhole swung open and two strigois walked in, their red eyes locked with mine and they smiled, showing off their sharp fangs.

"Look who we've got here." one snarled, "If it isn't the famous Rose Hathaway..."

"Why, are you afraid of me?" I asked, distracting them while I try with all my might to free myself from the handcuffs tying me to the damn pole.

"From the way I see it, you are the one handcuffed." Another said thoughtfully. "So you should be afraid."

"See that's exactly what I mean. Free me and then we can fight. There's two of you against me." I suggested. "Or are you afraid?"

A hand shot out and slapped me across the face. "We are the ones in charge here so you'd better watch that mouth of yours."

The side of my face that was slapped stung, but I forced myself to laugh. "Go ahead then. Be a coward and kill me while I'm tied to a fucking pole. That must make you feel so powerful"

The handcuffs behind me started to loosen. Bingo.

"Shut up and tell us what we want to know." the strigoi warned. "Or else no one is going to be able to save you from joining us."

With my fingers I tried to pry the metals apart. "And what is it you want to know? You can just ask nicely, you know."

The strigoi moved closer and was now staring me straight in the eyes. "Tell us where we can find Dimitri Belikov."

Something about that name sent a jolt through my entire system. There is something about that name—Dimitri Belikov—that I can't quite explain. I feel as if I am having a flashback moment but instead of flashing back on a random moment in the past, the emotion I got was so strong that after the moment passed I was gasping for breath.

Whoa. "What was that about?" I thought out loud.

The strigois stared at each other for a moment, confused. And in that exact moment my handcuffs broke apart, freeing my hands.

Instinctively, I shot up and bolted to the door. I almost yelled in relief when I found out it was unlocked. I swung the door shut and dashed out into the dimmed hallway.

"Get her!" I can hear them shouting from behind the door.

I didn't care I just kept running and running until a hand caught my wrist and yanked me back.

I whirled around just in time to catch a punch in my stomach.

I groaned. "You bastard."

Another strigoi caught up with us and suddenly I have the weirdest feeling of de javu. I feel as if I've been in the same situation before but in the memory, I was fighting the strigois—killing them. Instead of doing the same thing now, my whole body froze. My hands, that should have been throwing punches, froze. My legs, that never missed their target, stayed frozen on the ground. My head, that was usually coming up with different moves, was totally blank. And instead of dodging the blows of my opponents, I just stood there numbly.

What are you doing?! Fight them! A distant voice screamed at me.

But how?

You know how. Think hard! It's in there.

Not having other choices, I tried thinking. I really did try but despite all the effort, I couldn't come up with anything. And that made me even more frustrated.

Refusing to just stand there and do nothing, I started throwing kicks and punches in every direction, not really hitting any target.

The strigois looked at each other, their brows furrowed.

"You know, I've heard you were a much better fighter. You are ruining your own reputation." said one of them as the other advanced on me easily.

Before I know, my hands were up against my back, trapped. Shit.

"Tell us what we want to know." the strigoi snarled into my ears.

"I don't know what you are talking about, okay? Dimitri Belikov? Who is he? I've never heard of that name before in my life!"

Instead of letting me go, I received another hard punch in my stomach. I cried out. "Fuck you all!"

After that it was a blur. I remember catching a few more hits in the same sore spot and then when they knew I could no longer fight, I was dragged back into the room I first woke up in, my hands tied even more tightly.

Tears of frustration blurred my vision. What was wrong with me? Why can't I fight? What was happening?

"Something about her is seriously messed up." I heard one of the strigois said. Then their footsteps came to a stop in front of me.

A hand grabbed my face roughly, jerking my chin up so we were staring at each other. "We are going to ask you one more time. Where is Dimitri Belikov?"

Dimitri Belikov. What was it about that name, and why did hearing it bring so much happiness and sadness to me at once?

At the speed of light, a hand flew across my cheek, bringing me back into the room. "Answer the question."

I grounded my teeth together to keep from crying out. The spot where I've been slapped stung. "Fuck you. I have no clue what you are ranting about. Although I am curious, what makes you think I will tell you anything? Even if I have the answer, I'd die before helping you."

Being a smart-ass even in situations like this, yup, leave it to Rose Hathaway.

"Well, I guess she made her choice."

And then after that it was just too painful to remember. I had blood running from my nose and the corner of my mouth by the time it was over. My whole body hurt and I couldn't even lift my legs. There was going to be some ugly bruises later.

I was so angry I felt like I could breathe fire from my nose and burn down the whole town. But the anger was not directed to the strigois so much as it was to myself. And it was seriously the worse feeling in the world. I was a fighter, how could I let this happen to myself? Everything was so messed up. I didn't know what was wrong with me but it didn't matter. Even if I couldn't fight, I'd have to come up with some plans. No way in hell am I just going to sit there and let them use me as their punching bag. Screw them.

"I think you've had enough for today, hmm?" the strigoi said in my face. "But don't you worry, we will be back tomorrow. And if you refuse to cooperate again...let's just say there is going to bean unpleasant surprise waiting for you." they laughed an ugly laugh and left the room.

I sighed in relief. I need to come up with an escape plan and I needed to do it fast. It must be fast and quiet. I couldn't risk getting caught since something was seriously wrong with me and I couldn't seem to be able to fight. I would deal with that later, once I got out of this hellhole.

I tried moving my hands like I did earlier, but I found out that it was no longer a crappy handcuff tying me to the pipe. It was a thick rope tied into some kind of knot that tightened every time I tried to pull my hands free. This is bad, I groaned out loud.

Across the room, the door seemed to be calling to me to escape. But somehow I doubted that after last time they would leave it unlocked again.

Exhausted after everything that had happened that day, I felt myself drifting off to sleep slowly. It's okay, I told myself. I needed sleep to regain my strength. It will be a short nap and then I'll try coming up with a new plan.

As soon as my eyes closed, my mind began wandering. A weird sensation swept over me and the next thing I knew I was crying, tears of happiness flowing from my closed eyes. A distant memory that seemed to be struggling to the top finally resurfaced.

Sometime, somewhere, I was surrounded by so much happiness and warmth that could only mean one thing: love.

The feeling was so strong it made my heart swelled. It surrounded me like an embrace against everything else that was going on in the world, and in that moment I felt whole...I felt loved.

But before I could figure out who was making me feel that way, the feeling started to fade away. No...

This time I could see my surroundings. I was standing in a sunflower meadow. The sun was shining brightly against the clear blue sky, making the yellow flowers appeared gold. Everything about the place was beautiful. Too beautiful to be real.

I looked down at myself and found I was wearing a white sundress, the fabric moving softly with the wind. At first I thought this was just another dream, but then minutes later another form began materializing in front of me.

His brown hair, that seemed golden in the sunlight, was styled in a messy way as usual. His beautiful green eyes lit up the second they landed on me.

Adrian.

I felt like it's been eternity since I last saw him. And it probably was.

"Little dhampir." as soon as those words left his mouth, I felt like I was home.

"Adrian!" I grinned and threw myself at him.

He wrapped his arms around me.

"Long time no see." he murmured against my hair.

Everything about Adrian was familiar and it made me feel like I could finally relax again after a very long time. "I miss you."

I could feel his smile before he spoke up, "Ah, I hate to ruin this but I'm afraid we haven't got much time for a reunion."

It was like having cold water splashed in the face and everything slowly came rushing back to me. "Oh my god."

Adrian pulled back so he was looking at me straight in the eyes. "I just got a very worried call from your mother. Rose, tell me what happened. Where are you?"

It took me a moment to reply. "I was on my way to the airport—they came out of nowhere and now they got me locked up in this bloody room."

Adrian's eyes filled with worry. "Okay, slowly. Who are they?"

"A group of strigois I've never seen before."

He rubbed his eyes, he looked exhausted. "Okay, and do you have the slightest idea where you are?"

I searched my brain, trying to come up with anything that would help. "I remember hearing one of them said something about us being in the middle of a forest where no one would ever come and find us."

Adrian sighed.

"I know that is not very useful but that's all I have...I will try to find out though."

"I'm worried about you." he said, "Did they say what they want?"

That rang another bell. "They wanted information on someone whose name I've never heard of before in my life."

Adrian's grip tightened around her, "Did they hurt you?"

I swallowed, not wanting to lie to him but at the same time not wanting him to worry about something he couldn't help.

Adrian seemed to take my silence as a yes because his facial expression darkened.

"Adrian, don't worry about that, there's nothing you can do. Just... try to find out where I am and get me the hell out of here, okay?" I smiled weakly up at him.

He reached out and tugged a strand of hair behind my ear, "And you don't have to worry about that. I will not rest until I do."

We stayed like that, Adrian holding me, for what seems like forever. I didn't care what was going on with the world because right now with him, I didn't have to be strong. I could let my guards down and it seemed like so long ago since I last did that. But then he broke the peaceful silence.

"You said the strigois wanted information on someone?"

I let out a frustrated sigh, "Yeah and they wouldn't give it a rest until I tell them what they want to know."

"And you have no idea who this person is?"

I remembered how hearing the name sent a jolt of happiness and sadness through my entire system. I also remembered the weird dream, if it is even one, before Adrian visited me. Nothing was adding up. Then there was the problem that I couldn't seem to fight to save my own life. The strigoi was right, something about me is seriously messed up.

Instead of saying any of that, I just shook my head. "No, but maybe you do."

Adrian raised his eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of the name Dimitri Belikov?"

I have never seen Adrian Ivashkov looked more shocked in my life. He was literally gaping at me, his mouth hanging open.

I was just about to start panicking when he blinked and then laughed.

"Wow, Rose. You really got me there." he said after a moment. "Leave it to you to joke in times like this."

Wait. What? I stared blankly at him.

"I am serious."

Adrian frowned. "So you're telling me you don't know who Dimitri is."

Now I frowned. "No, why would I lie about something like this, Adrian? And what aren't you telling me? Am I supposed to know this guy?"

Okay, so not only could I not remember how to fight, now I couldn't even remember a friend? Was that what he was? A friend? If so, was the feeling I got from hearing his name just a coincidence?

Concern was written all over his face and pain filled his green eyes, "What happened to you, Rose?"

I swallowed, "I...Adrian if you know something you must tell me."

Adrian shook his head, "Now it all makes sense. It must be the same group of strigois who turned Belikov..." He muttered to himself.

What. The. Hell? "Adrian! Tell me!"

"Now we've finally got some leads." Adrian touched the side of my cheek softly before stepping away. "Don't worry, little dhampir, I will find you."

What?! "No! Wait—Adrian!" I started, but I could feel everything was already starting to fade away.

Then all that was left was his voice echoing in my ears, "The next time they ask, tell those monsters Dimitri Belikov is coming for them."

And everything went blank.

*Dimitri's POV*

I was on my fourth cup of coffee, going through everything I managed to find, when I got a phone call from none other than Adrian Ivashkov.

"Belikov." I answered.

A snort, "I know who you are. That's why I'm calling you."

I rolled my eyes, "How can I help you, Adrian?"

There was a pause before he spoke, "I talked to Rose." then he added, "I visited her in her dream."

Now he's got my attention.

"Is she okay?"

Eli, who was sitting on the couch opposite of me, looked up.

"No, Beilkov, she is not." then he dropped the bomb, "The strigois got her."

My breath caught in my throat and I froze in place, my hand curled into a fist, the other gripping the phone so tight I was afraid I'd crush it.

This cannot be happening. Please, no.

But there was no denying it and there was also no time to waste. With every minute that passed, time was running out for Roza and I just couldn't lose her. I just couldn't.

Slowly I took a deep breath and turned on the speaker phone so Eli could hear. "You talked to her. What did she say? Did you find out about her location?"

I could hear the frustration in Adrian's voice when he spoke, "The only thing she knew was that she was in a forest somewhere."

I mentally groaned. "Okay, we need to figure out why they took her. There must be a reason because normally the strigois kill their victims instantly."

It took Adrian a few moments to reply and it seems that he was choosing his words carefully, "Rose said they asked about you." he paused. "And I've been thinking, what if these are the same group of strigois who turned you?"

Eli, who has begun pacing around the room, nodded. "That would explain their interests in you. I've heard they're pretty angry about you leaving them."

I stared at him, "And where have you heard this?"

Eli just shrugged, "I have sources everywhere and the last I've heard, they've put quite a bounty on your head."

Shivers went down my spine and I was terrified for my Adrian's theory was true, that Rose was captured by the same group of strigois who turned me, then we are dealing with deadly enemies. And if anything—anything at all happened to her, it would be on me.

I got out another cellphone, a disposable one, and dialed the only number programmed in there. "I'll get back to you later, Ivashkov. I've got some calls to make."

**Rose's POV**

They came back again that night—is it even nighttime? I have no idea, I've lost track of time since I was locked up in this hell hole.

"When are you guys going to realized that I have nothing to tell you?" I said sarcastically, "Hmm?"

Red, I think that was his name, hit me across the face with such force that knocked the air out of my lungs and then the bastard yanked me up by my hair. "When are you going to realize that you aren't going anywhere until we get what we want, hmm?"

I forced out a laugh to hide my pain, "You know, you never told me why you want information on this Dimitri Belikov so bad. What did he do to you? Steal your girl?"

That only got me another blow, only this time I tasted blood in my mouth. "You think this is a game?! You will tell us what we want to know. I don't care what I have to do to you. You will tell me where I can find this traitor."

Traitor. Does this mean Dimitri Belikov was once with these strigois? If so then how could he possibly be my friend? Adrian was definitely hiding something huge from me. Before I could think too much about it, I felt pain like I've never felt before as sharp fangs pierced through the skin on my neck.

I bit back a scream. This was different than when Lissa drank from me. This was forced and it was painful as hell. I thrashed and kicked but I can only do so much with my hands tied. Finally Red pulled away, blood—my blood—trickled from the corner of his mouth. He grinned.

Disgusted, I looked away.

"Well, I suppose you didn't enjoy that as much as I did. What a shame." Red smirked.

The other strigois seemed to be having difficulties controlling their bloodlust but Red held them back. "No, not yet. You can all have a bite later if she still refuses to cooperate."

"What do we do now? We are wasting time." one strigoi hissed. "Do you even have a plan?"

Red looked at him and then at me. Then he smiled, "Oh yes, I do have a plan. A brilliant one." Then he turned to another strigoi, he couldn't have been older than sixteen. "Roland, why don't you go get Nadhezda for me? Tell her we have a problem for her to fixed."

I didn't know if it was my imagination or if the other strigois actually flinched. Whoever this Nadhezda chick was, she sure made some reputation for herself.

I wasn't sure if I should be scared since I had no clue what was in store for me. Any rational person would probably be terrified, considered whoever this person was, she scared the bejesus out of the other strigois, who are normally famous for being fearless.

But then again, I reminded myself, I am Rose Hathaway.

I didn't have to wait in suspense for a very long time before the door opened again and Roland walked in. Two seconds later another figure came through and immediately her eyes landed on me.

The dimly-lit room made it impossible to tell what color her eyes are but even from afar, there was something about the girl squinting down at me that was so terrifyingly familiar it sent chills through my whole body.

For one moment there, I couldn't breath.

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't worry, Rose will only be helpless for so long, she is after all, Rose Hathaway. ;-) Leave a review and tell me what you think! Suggestions, anything! I love reading your comments.

So until next time!

Have a nice day,

Prim.