Dangerous Lives

Chapter Six

APOV

It had become impossible to get into Rose's dreams. I'd been trying for the last month to no avail. I was worried about her. What if she... no. I wouldn't go there. But what if I tried the daughter. I wasn't sure exactly what she looked like but from what Rose had told me I had a pretty good idea. I was lying on the couch. Lisa and Christian were some place else. It was better that way. I didn't need the distractions. I first tried Rose but once again, she was unavailable. I took a deep breath. If it was the wrong person I'd end the dream immediately. I decided the best place for a five year old to be was my grandmother's garden.

A little girl was huddled against a tall oak tree. Her head shot up when I approached.

"Wh-who are you?" She muttered. Kneeling down, I brushed a strand of brown hair out of her face. She flinched. That was definitely evidence of abuse.

"My name's Adrian." You're Alexandra, right?" She looked to her left then to her right. She didn't answer me.

"This is a spirit dream." How in the world did she know that? I nodded slowly. "You're a Spirit User." That was a statement. Again I nodded. "My momma taught me all about Moroi and our abilities." I realized she had a Russian accent. I was hanging out with Dimitri too much. Then I realized. She had an accent. She was probably allowed outside. Why hadn't Rose told me? Alexa sniffed. She was crying.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. She shrugged and wrapped her little arms around her legs.

"My daddy hit me again." She said quietly. "I'm used to it." No one should be used to that. I studied her little hazel eyes and the bruises on her forearm before sitting down cross-legged in front of her. I smiled softly.

"You should not be used to it, Alexandra." I said softly taking her little hand in mine. She shrugged. "Can I ask you a question?" She shrugged again. "Where do you live?" Rose would never tell me. Every time I'd asked her she'd changed the subject. She knew. She knew because she went out often. She bit her lip.

"A large white zdanie." She said. Yes, she definitely spoke Russian. "It's far away from people." She smiled slightly. "Mommy drives me into the city once a week. We get lunch. I always get mac and cheese. Its my ljubimyj." I laughed.

"It's your favorite?" She nodded vigorously.

"I like you Adrian." She said, a huge smile replacing her earlier frown. She surprised me by jumping into my arms.

"Your mother's told me a lot about you." Her eyes lit up.

"You know mamma?" I sighed.

"Listen, Alexandra-"

"Alexa," She said. "I like Alexa,"

"Ok, Alexa." I said smiling. "It would probably be a good idea if you didn't tell your mom that we talked." her brows furrowed. So I added. "It wouldn't be good if your dad found out." She paled.

"Okay," She said slowly. "But I tell mamma everything. I won't tell her about you." She snuggled in my lap. "Do you know what time it is?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"4am," She bit her lip.

"Mickey Mouse will be on soon." She had access to a TV. I smiled.

"I'll let you go then." I said. "But I want to ask you one more question." Alexa bit her lips and waited. This had been eating away at me from the moment she'd mentioned this was a Spirit Dream. "You said that your mother taught you all about Moroi and our abilities." She nodded. "That doesn't explain how you knew this was a Spirit Dream." She just stared at me. I decided to ask a different way. "How did you know I was dream walking." After a few minutes she took a deep breath.

"I'm not allowed." She muttered. "Mommy doesn't want daddy to-" She stopped. I touched her arm.

"I'm your mom's friend." I kind of sounded like a guy luring a kid with candy. I shook that thought out of my head. "Why would I tell Nathan? I don't even know him." Alexandra studied my face before sighing.

"Will you come back Adrian?" Ok. I needed to be patient here. And Sympathetic. She was a child. A child that had a rough life. However I was getting anxious. "Your eyes are pretty." I smiled.

"Thank you and yes I can come back." She smiled.

"I-I'm a Spirit User." She said. "That's how I know." All I felt was shock. It made no sense that she had Spirit. Rose was damphire. Nathan was Strigoi. I'd always assumed that Alexandra was like a Moroi because her father was a Strigoi. Maybe... maybe she wasn't a Moroi but something else. Another species of Vampire.

I had to talk to Lisa. However, whenever I brought up the child, Lisa always found some way to change the subject. She was more focused on finding her best friend. I had to find a way to get her to listen.

"So.." I started. "What can you do?" She shrugged.

"Dream walk... like you. I've healed Momma before but she doesn't like me to because she's worried Daddy will see. I can also control people but mine doesn't wear off like compulsion." I put my hand up.

"Why don't you do it on Nathan?" She shrugged again.

"It doesn't work on him. I've done it to Galina though. I told her to leave Mamma alone. She stopped hitting her. I also did it to a kid in the store today. There were these shoes that I wanted but the girl had my size. I made her give them to me." Alexandra had a dark side. I wonder what would've happened if her father had been nice to her. Maybe it was a good thing. "I can also move objects." I smiled.

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked. She nodded.

"I'd like that." I started to end the dream. I had a lot of things to think over. "Oh and Adrian." Her little voice piped up. "Thank you for talking to me." She did not sound like a five year old at all.

"You're very welcome." I opened my eyes as the door slammed shut. It was only Lisa. I moved my legs off of the couch just in time for her to sit down. She rubbed her temples.

"This is such a large city." She muttered. "We're never going to find her." Dimitri came in and sat down in the recliner. Where was Christian?

"Maybe she doesn't live in the city." I said pulling out a cigarette from my pocket. She gave me a corner glance.

"Come on Adrian," She said like I was stupid. "It's twenty miles of nothingness in any direction."

"But then why are there so many Strigoi attacks here? Where do they all go?" This time she turned to glare at me. Maybe I should've just stuck with acting dumb. It seemed to work for me.

"He mankes a point." Dimitri said, actually taking my side. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Why would they allow her out if they're holding her captive." She snapped. "Being Rose, wouldn't run the second she got the chance? I mean, seriously!" In that moment I decided that telling Lisa about Alexandra was probably not the best idea.

"Maybe they compelled her." Christian said walking in with a coffee and some kind of candy bar. Eddie followed him and stood by the door. Lisa burst into tears. "Come on Lis, we'll find her." Christian said sympathetically. She shook her head and sniffed.

"We are not leaving this city until we find her." She said.

AHPOV

I woke up hungry. When was the last time I had food? I jumped off the couch and walked to the counter, staring up at the cabinets. Mommy couldn't get me anything. I tried hopping but I couldn't reach the top. I sighed and flipped by wrist, opening the cabinet where Momma kept the gummy bears. They were almost in my hands when the front door flew open. I jumped and the bag fell to the ground. Gummy Bears were all over the floor. Daddy appeared behind me.

"What the hell did you just do?" I dropped to the floor and started picking them up.

"Sorry." I said quietly. He watched me until every bear was picked up. "I-I'm sorry." He shook his head and walked madly to the bedroom. At least he hadn't hit me. I grabbed the bag and walked back to the couch. Mickey Mouse was on. I kept thinking about Adrian. I hoped I could meet him again.