I slowly shook my head. "I... I know. I know it's not him. I know he's a monster, but we can save him... if we can do what Robert was telling us about...."
Eddie's eyes widened, and for a moment, he was dumbstruck. "That's what this is about? Rose, that's ridiculous! You can't believe that. Strigoi are dead. They're gone to us. Robert and Victor were feeding you a bunch of crap."
Now I grew surprised. "Then why are you even here? Why have you stuck with us?"
He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Because you're my friend. I stayed with you through all of this... breaking out Victor, listening to his crazy brother... because I knew you needed me. You all did, to help keep you safe. I thought you had a real reason for getting Victor out--and that you were going to return him. Does it sound crazy? Yeah, but that's normal for you. You've always had good reasons for what you do." He sighed. "But this... this is crossing a line. Letting Strigoi go in order to chase some idea--some idea that couldn't possibly work--is ten times worse than what we did with Victor. A hundred times worse. Every day Dimitri walks the world is another day that people are going to die."
I collapsed against the wall and closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. Eddie was right. I had screwed up. I'd promised myself that I would kill Dimitri if I faced him before we could pursue Robert's solution. It all should have ended today... but I had choked up. Again.
I opened my eyes and straightened up, needing to find a new purpose before I burst into tears in the middle of this casino. "We have to find the others. They're out there unprotected."
It was probably the only thing that could have stopped Eddie's scolding just then. Instinctual duty kicked in. Protect Moroi.
"Can you tell where Lissa's at?"
My bond had kept me connected to her during our escape, but I hadn't allowed myself any deeper probing than confirming she was alive and okay. I expanded the link a little further now. "Across the street. At MGM." I'd seen the ginormous hotel when we ran into this one but hadn't realized Lissa was there. Now I could feel her, hiding out in a crowd like us, scared but not injured. I would have rather she and the others opted to hang out in the sun, but instinct had driven her to the shelter of walls.
Eddie and I spoke no more about Dimitri as we headed out and crossed the busy road. The sky was turning peach, but I still felt secure out there. Far more secure than in the Luxor's hallway. With the bond, I could always find Lissa, and without any hesitation, I led Eddie through MGM's twists and turns--honestly, the layout of these places just got more and more confusing--until we saw Lissa and Adrian standing near a row of slot machines. He was smoking. She spotted me, sprinted over, and threw her arms around me.
"Oh my God. I was so scared. I didn't know what had happened to you guys. I hate that one-way bond."
I forced a smile for her. "We're fine."
"In a bruised kind of way," mused Adrian, strolling over. I didn't doubt it. In the adrenaline of a fight, it was easy to not notice injuries and pain. Later, when the battle lust faded, you started to realize just what you'd put your body through.
I was so grateful to see Lissa okay that I missed what Eddie had already noticed. "You guys, where are Victor and Robert?"
Lissa's happy face crumpled, and even Adrian looked grim. "Damn it," I said, needing no explanation.
Lissa nodded, eyes wide and distraught. "We lost them."
Chapter Eleven
WELL. HOW PERFECT.
It took us a while to decide our next course of action. We tossed around a few feeble ideas to track Robert and Victor, all of which we eventually shot down. Robert's phone was a cell, and while the CIA could trace those kinds of things, we certainly couldn't. Even if Robert's address was listed in the phone book, I knew Victor wouldn't have let them go back there. And while Adrian and Lissa could spot a spirit user's aura, we could hardly go wandering aimlessly in a city and expect to find something.
No, we were out of luck with those two. There was nothing to be done now but head back to Court and face whatever punishment awaited us. We--I--had screwed up.
With sunset approaching--and seeing as we no longer had a known criminal to get us in trouble--my group glumly decided to head to the Witching Hour to make our travel plans. Lissa and I had the potential to be recognized over there, but runaway girls weren't quite in the same category as fugitive traitors. We decided to roll the dice (no pun intended) and hang around guardians rather than risk more Strigoi attacks before we could get out of Vegas.
The Witching Hour was no different from any of the other casinos we'd been to--unless you knew what to look for. Humans there were too interested in the allure of the games and glitz to notice that a lot of the other patrons were uniformly tall, slim, and pale. As for the dhampirs? Humans couldn't tell that we weren't human. It was only the uncanny sense Moroi and dhampirs had that let us know who was who.
Sprinkled throughout the cheering, chattering, and--at times--wailing crowd were guardians. As in demand as guardians were, only a handful could be allocated full-time to a place like this. Fortunately, their numbers were reinforced by the wealthy and powerful who'd come to play. Excited Moroi whooped over slot machines or roulette while silent, watchful guardians hovered behind them, keeping an eye on everything. No Strigoi would come here.
"What now?" asked Lissa, almost yelling over the noise. It was the first time any of us had spoken since deciding to go here. We'd come to a halt near some blackjack tables, right in the thick of everything.
I sighed. My mood was so dark, I didn't even need any spirit side effects. I lost Victor, I lost Victor. My own mental accusations were on an endless loop.
"We find their business center and book tickets out of here," I said. "Depending on how long until we can catch a flight, we might have to get a room again."
Adrian's eyes were scanning the action around us, lingering longest on one of the many bars. "Wouldn't kill us to spend a little time here."
I snapped. "Really? After everything that's happened, that's all you can think about?"
His enraptured gaze turned back to me and became a frown. "There are cameras here. People who may recognize you. Getting hard proof that you were in this casino and not Alaska is a good thing."
"True," I admitted. I think Adrian's typical blase air was masking discomfort. Aside from learning why I'd really come to Las Vegas, he'd also run into Strigoi--Dimitri among them. That was never an easy experience for any Moroi. "Though we've got no alibi for when we were actually in Alaska."