by R. Getsee
I almost wished that I had never found the answers, or even tried to look for them in the first place—it felt like I had lost a piece of myself in the process. I wiped my eyes in frustration as I continued my frantic packing.
There was a knock on the door and my mother poked her head around it. I paused in my attempts to stuff everything into the small bag, not trying to hide what I was doing.
“So you’re leaving, then?” my mom asked. She didn’t look as if she was going to try to stop me, just sad and resigned to the fact.
“I have to,” I told her, trying to stop the tremor in my voice as I wiped away the wet trails my tears had left down my cheeks. “I think you know why.”
My mom had tears in her dark eyes as she nodded, letting out a slight chuckle. “The Ruby has a destiny to follow. I just wish it didn’t have to be yours.”
“I know, Mom. I wish it were different, too. But I won’t be alone; I have my grandfather watching out for me.”
She let out a shocked gasp. “How did you—”
“I saw him in a vision; I talked with him. He’s still here, watching over us, he just can’t make it to birthdays or Christmas,” I said, trying to use a little humor as a shield. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have believed me?” she asked, raising her perfectly manicured eyebrow. I was a little annoyed that even in my current mental state, I was able to feel envious of her perfection.
“I didn’t know that you would become the Ruby until you called me from the hospital after what happened. . .. If I had told you that eventually someone from our lineage would become tied to an ancient apocalyptic prophecy, what would you have said to me?”
I chuckled. “Good point.”
“I have a gift for you,” she said suddenly, holding out a worn, ancient-looking leather box. “It was my mothers,”
Brushing my fingers over the leather softly, I found the catch and slowly opened it, the old hinges creaking softly. I gasped as my eyes found the most beautiful ruby pendant nestled inside.
“My father gave the stone to my mother when he fell,” Mom explained softly. “She was mortal, but no matter how powerful Lucian was, he couldn’t give her immortality, so instead he gave her a stone that was reminiscent of the one that birthed him. Before he sacrificed himself he had it made into a necklace so that I could pass it down to my children and tell the story of his beloved wife, Alexiana.”
“Alexiana?” I breathed.
She nodded. “You’re so like her. I only wish that could be said for your sister.”
I snapped the box closed, gently placing it in my bag. “Has Rhea seen her yet?”
“No, she still refuses to even say her name, she thinks that your father was wrong in his decision to get her help, not to put her in prison.”
“She’s angry and betrayed, the same as me, but Torah’s her twin, she was closer to her than anyone,” I said, taking a breath. “If it’s true and she hasn’t fully converted, then Torah should get the treatment she needs to wipe out the poison that Athena spread through her mind.”
Mom sighed, standing up slowly and running her palms down her slacks. “I hope you’re right.”
“So do I,” I said, “I don’t know if it was Athena’s influence, or if Torah really chose to turn herself, but I don’t want you to have to lose a child if you don’t have to.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. Well, I’ll let you finish, but promise me that you will check in at least a few times a week,” she said, tears breaking the surface and sliding silently down her cheeks as told her I would. “By the way, you have a visitor.”
As my mom left, I resumed my packing, not even bothering to look up in acknowledgment as I felt Roman enter.
“You almost ready?” he asked quietly. “Do you need a hand with anything?”
“I’m fine,” I snapped. I softened a little when I noticed the sag of his shoulders in my peripheral vision. “Look, I know you’re sorry and you were only trying to protect me, but what you did was wrong. When you found me, you should have told me who you were, who I was. We could have found the others by now and no one would have gotten hurt.”
“Alex, I’m sorry—” he started, but I held my hand up to cut him off.
“I know, but you lied to me. You earned my trust then betrayed me. Because of you, my best friend is lying in a hospital bed and who knows when she’ll wake up. You could have stopped it if you had just told me the truth sooner.”
I took a deep breath, willing myself not to start crying again as I grabbed the last things I would take.
The two knives that had almost taken two lives—it marked the betrayal of my sister and reminded me of the power that I had to stop, somehow. I gently placed them on the top of the bag, glad I had cleaned both Emi’s and my blood off the sharp blades before I had started packing.
“I know, I’m just sorry,” he said quietly, defeated.
“I only agreed to go with you because with both of us working together, we have a better chance of finding the other two sooner, and hopefully, have time to prepare before we have to fight.”
“We need to work out which direction to travel first, and try to map out where the other girls could be,” Roman said, looking a little relieved at the change of subject as I reached for the scroll.
I had already packed the book containing the prophecy. I didn’t know whether any of the papers that Professor Carlisle had given me were of any use, but something about it made me want to bring it along.
As soon as my fingers grazed the old paper, I was transported.
I was back at the crossroads of energy where I was first blessed with the power of the Ruby. But this time I saw someone standing there, in the sapphire light. It was the girl I had seen when Drake had attacked me. She smiled at me, her amazing wings spanning out from behind her before she disappeared, and I was left with the image of a welcome to town sign on a road.
I blinked as I found myself standing in my room once more, and grabbing my phone, I typed the name that I just saw into the search engine.
“We need to travel west,” I said to Roman as I stuffed the scroll unceremoniously into the bag. “I know where the next one is.”
Roman just nodded without question and walked out the door. With my newly sharpened senses, I listened as he walked down the stairs and all the way out the front door to the car, starting it up as he waited for me.
I was grateful he gave me the space I was looking for. I needed a minute alone as I paused to take a final look at my bedroom, memorizing every detail as if it was the last time I would see it, silently saying a goodbye to Jared, to Emi, to all the friends I had made and the family I would be leaving behind.
Then I said one final silent goodbye.
If I ever made it back here, to this room, I would not be the same girl, so I also said goodbye to myself. As I walked through the threshold, for what might be the last time, I heard a sound echo in my mind, a sound all too familiar by now, of rattling, and the loud crash of another chain being broken.
Epilogue
The shadows drifted along the sky as it gradually lightened. They had failed—the girl was far stronger than they had thought. She had actually expelled them from their hosts.
The vampires they had been residing in were no longer viable for possession, the force of the power that she had blasted out when she had healed, had ripped their consciousness from the hosts and they were now little more than meat suits.
It mattered little anymore, however. They were only convenient vessels that helped them get close to the Ruby and strike her down. But the girl had become too powerful to dispose of, and the shadows no longer needed those particular hosts to further their plans.
The Jet would not be pleased.
They slowly drifted, reluctantly being pulled back through the rift in the veil they had entered through, back to the wrathful master who would surely show his discontentment at their defeat.
They shuddered at the thought of what awaited the
m in the dark plane. The Jet’s ire was nothing to look forward to. Darkness engulfed them as they were drawn into the dark plane.
“Master,” the shadow whispered, slithering toward the figure who lurked in the shadows.
“Did you do it?” The ice-cold voice was deathly quiet, yet rang out in a thunderous bark as the shadow shrank back from Him.
“Master, I am sorry, we have failed you,” the shadow whispered with terror in his voice.
“So she lives?” There was a rattle as the figure moved and a pale hand shot forward, reaching out for his minion.
“Yes.”
The figure suddenly lurched forward, grabbing the shadow before it could writhe away. With a roar, it was pulled back again by a chain clasped at his neck. The dull black-gray metal glinted in the darkness as the Jet slowly started to squeeze the life force out of his minion.
The Jet continued to push forward in his rage and with a great clang that reverberated throughout the cavern, the chain around his wrist broke.
“Never mind her,” he said with venom in his voice, as he surveyed his newly freed hand, holding it up to his face for inspection. More shadows surrounded him. “There are others, those who have not yet come into their power, but they will soon awaken. We have work to do.”
The shadow relaxed as the Jet’s hand slowly started to release from its position, relieved that it was getting another chance to prove itself to its master and be spared his wrath.
Suddenly, the Jet clenched his fists, draining the last of the shadow’s energy. It turned into a whisper of smoke, curling through the air, slowly dissipating as the last of its life force was drained.
“My children, come,” the Jet demanded. The shadows edged toward him, afraid to meet the same fate as their predecessor. “Now, it is time to find the Sapphire.”
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Also by R. M. Getsee
The Hidden Gems
The Ruby
About the Author
R.M. Getsee is a full-time art student, fantasy nerd, comic book geek, and aspiring author. Raised in a small village in rural Ireland, growing up they always found themself getting lost in the mystical world's that they would read about.
As a teenager, questioning and coming to terms with things such as sexuality, mental health and gender identity, these worlds became a sanctuary, a special place away from the real world where they were free to be themself without fear of judgment.
Now they wish to spread that joy, to create worlds where every reader feels safe and inspired to be themself whilst they embark on fantastical adventures with some badass characters.