by Rue Volley
I tried to push myself up, but Josh gripped my hand tighter and held me down. I looked at him, thinking maybe I'd get a laugh or something, but the look on his face told me I was screwed. My eyes got wider…
“Josh…what are you doing?”
He leaned his weight against me and Kai and Sam were at me feet. They each took a foot.
“Ummm…guys I'm gonna freak the hell out here!” I said with obvious distress in my voice.
Johnathan came to my side and took my other hand and looked to Theodore.
“This will work right?” he asked.
“Well…yes, but we have to do it quickly… It's moving.”
I leaned up against Josh and peeked down at my leg... Black strands were weaving their way from the cut on my leg…winding around it and moving like seaweed in the water…
I screamed out... “What the hell is that?”
Josh pushed me down and got in my face… “Rue, listen to me…a protector"s blade is laced with poison from the energy they draw into it… This cut is infected.
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Micah had every intention of killing you and she made every effort to succeed, by placing a death spell on her blade, with the worst poison she could.”
“I…what? She put a spell on it?” my voice was cracking in resistance.
“It is feeding on you…draining you of your energy Rue… We have to kill it.”
Just then, the black mass started to grow and Kai lost his grip of my leg as it reached at him.
“Holy Shit!” He ducked and I kicked my leg, almost knocking Sam from my other foot.
“Kai…! Hold her down!” Sam yelled at him.
He grabbed my leg and struggled with it in his hand.
“Theodore…you need to do this now... NOW!” Sam screamed.
Josh leaned down to me… “Just breath Rue…slowly. Just focus please…just listen to my voice… I'm right here…I'm not leaving you.”
“All of you hold onto her and pull back,” Theodore said too calmly.
Johnathan and Josh held my hands up above my head and I lifted my head as much as I could, to see what was going on. It was hideous. Looked like black worms coming out of my upper thigh where I had been cut by Mikah"s blade. It moved as a rolling mass, wrapping around my leg. The mass tightened it's grip on me and I arched my back screaming out, from the sharp pains it caused. “Oh God…please do whatever you have to do Theodore, please!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
I felt both of my hands being held onto so tightly, I was sure my fingers were white from the lack of blood getting to them. Theodore started to chant and his blade glowed brighter than the sun. I closed my eyes and could still see the light coming off of it. Then I felt the blade come down, with such force, I swear I could hear it cutting through the air. I gasped for air. He had stabbed the blade through my leg and it lodged into the wood table under me. Kai leaned down and could see the point sticking through the bottom of the table, with my blood dripping from it.
“That's freakin bad ass,” he muttered.
The mass rolled and screeched out...high pitched, dog ear annoying. The blade glowed bright and it started to be absorbed into the metal, twisting in protest. I was still gasping for air, the pain was unbearable. My eyes fluttered and I muttered something that resembled, “I hate you all...”, then I passed out.
******
I woke up and the moon came into focus. It was so big in the night sky I reached my hand out and I swear I could feel it's surface under my fingertips. I sat up and remembered the black mass that had been eating at my leg. I reached towards it and noticed that I had the blue dress on that Sam had let me borrow for the bonfire. I pulled it up over my thigh and rubbed my fingers over where I knew I had been cut, but nothing. My leg looked completely normal, like it had never been mangled by Mikah"s blade.
The wind blew my hair, it felt so gentle on my skin. I closed my eyes and took a big breath of it in…it smelled like grass. What am I doing outside? I stood 215
up and looked out, long black strands shimmered from the light of the moon. I realized where I was…only I had never been here at night before, only day.
I looked above me and saw branches, thick and strong. I don't know what possessed me, but I started to climb. I moved so easily, you would of thought I did this everyday of my life, but truth was, I had never really been an outdoors kinda girl. I preferred the sanctuary of my room or the library…me being in a tree, was the last place you would ever find me.
I climbed for what seemed like forever. I finally came to a spot where I thought I could rest and I noticed a door… What the hell is a door doing in a tree this high up? I stood up and realized that the branches to each side of me seemed like railings. I made sure I had my footing and gripped them, walking towards the door.
As I approached it, I realized it was blue with white symbols etched into it.
I touched the doorknob and all the symbols started to glow. I had second thoughts about just opening it without knocking, but I tossed my apprehension aside and opened it, stepping through. The room was lit with candles…the walls shimmered of silver and gold. I pressed my hand against it and it felt warm…living. I lifted my hand and saw my hand print left behind, glowing blue. I heard a whispering…not a voice so much as a humming, I leaned forward and could hear it better…it sounded like song. I put both of my hands on the wall slowly rubbed them across the surface… Blue traced behind my fingers, as I moved them slowly across the uneven surface…I could hear strings like a violin. I was causing the music…it sounded beautiful to me. I pressed my whole body against the wall and a symphony welled up, it almost brought tears to my eyes… It was a song, just for me…the perfect song to my ears. Notes mixed all around me and with each chord change. I drew in my breath…feeling like it was playing me, my heart and soul.
I stayed fixed in that position, until the music started to fade. I opened my eyes and all the colors that had been in my blade were mixing in front of me on the wall and then they started to sink into it's surface. I reached out to touch it again, but the surface was now cold and the music would not return to me. I sighed, wanting to hear it again, I could have listened to it forever.
I turned when I heard a voice, “It likes you very much… It doesn't give song for just anyone, Rue.”
“Elin?” I said.
There she was, dressed in a long white silk dress. It reminded me of the dresses you would see in a 1940's movie. It had a deep v cut in the front, with a beautiful small silver broach at the tip of the v. It hugged her waist and hips and flowed out at her feet. She had no shoes on. I looked down and realized I was barefooted too. I shifted my feet and could see that blue, in the shape of my feet, were left on the floor"s surface.
“I'm inside the tree?” I said.
She had turned away from me.
“Yes…it is most pleasant, don't you think?” she replied.
I took a couple steps towards her… “It sang to me.”
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She turned around, with a blade in her hand. My eyes immediately went to her blade.
“You sang…not the tree of life. That was your song, we all have one…as independent to each one of us as fingerprints.”
I could not take my eyes off of the blade in her hand, she noticed and responded to my look of fear.
“Oh, Rue…no, I will not harm you… I would never,” she said with a comforting smile.
“Why do you have a blade, Elin?”
“Rue, life is a give and take. We must return what be borrow.”
She lifted the blade to her hand and sliced the sharp edge across her palm. She laid the blade down on the table and knelt down, letting the blood drip onto the floor… It rippled like water and I took a step back, as the ripples almost reached my feet. She looked up at me and put her palm face up to me. My mouth felt dry, I could smell the blood on her skin. I knelt forward and she grinned at me. “Drink Rue…it's okay…I promise.”
I reached out and took her han
d, I looked into her eyes, one more time to make sure she was genuinely offering this to me. I lifted her hand to my mouth and her blood tasted like honey in my mouth. I closed my eyes and let it flow over my tongue and down my throat. I felt her move close to me and her breath was warm on my hand. I lowered her hand from my mouth and she smiled at me. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to mine. It wasn't a kiss of passion, but rather a comforting feeling, like she wanted to thank me for drinking her blood. I opened my eyes and she backed away from me, I felt her place the blade in my hand.
“For every end there is a beginning Rue Volley.”
I didn't even realize until I felt the warmth of her blood flowing on my hand, that she had thrust the knife into her chest.
I gasped… “Oh God Elin…! Why?”
I held her as she slipped to the floor. She didn't speak, but instead had a look of peace on her face. The cut in her chest was slowly pooling outward, turning her dress a crimson red. I stood up and she reached to me.
“Drink,” she whispered.
“Elin…no, please don't ask me to do that, please,” I muttered.
“Rue…you need me as I you, drink now.”
I got down on my knees, next to her and she placed her hand on my face...
“Drink Rue, it is who you are…embrace it.”
I put my face down to her chest and started to take in the honey tasting blood, into my mouth. My whole body hummed, I could feel it from my head to my feet. I felt her heart stop beating and I backed away from her. Her eyes were closed and she had the most peaceful look on her face. I closed my eyes and started to cry. I felt a breeze blow through the room, carrying a whisper... I opened my eyes quickly and saw that she was gone. I stood up looking around the room and there she was, with her back to me…the same place she had been when I came into the room. She turned to me with the blade in her hand. I sucked in my breath… “Elin,” I whispered.
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She smiled at me. I looked at her dress…no blood. She was as perfect as before.
“Elin I thought you had...”
“What died?” she said with a grin.
“Well…your heart stopped beating Elin!”
“You don't understand what death is yet, Rue.”
I stuttered… “Am I dead?”
She laughed and it echoed in the room.
“No…you are far from death…or what you think it is.”
I started to fidget with my hands.
She walked towards me, as if she floated across the floor. “Now it's your turn Rue.”
I looked up at her with confusion, “What am I…?”
She thrust the blade at me and I dodged out of the way.
“Oh my god…! Did you just try to stab me?” I said, with anger in my voice.
She grinned and started to come at me… I turned and ran towards the door. I grabbed the door knob and pulled the door open. I went to take a step out onto the branch and it was gone. I spun around just in time to see the blade coming at me. I lost my footing and fell out into darkness. I felt myself falling…
and falling. I tried to turn myself over and saw the ground coming at me fast.
******
I put my hands over my face and shot straight up in my bed, smacking my forehead against something hard as rock.
“Ohhh…Geezus Christ!” Josh yelled out, as he jumped up grabbing at his head.
I sat there and grabbed my head too… I almost saw stars.
“Oh my god...OUCH Josh…! What were you doing...? Sitting on top of me?”
He staggered around my room, cussing for a moment and settled with a pissed off look on me.
“No, I was not…! I just came up here to check on you and you decided to jump up, out of a dead sleep, and try to kill me!”
“My room Josh…I don't know how many times I have to tell you that!”
“Sorry…I just wanted to make sure…” He kept putting his fingers on his forehead, then bringing them back down, checking his hand for blood. “That you were okay…no fever or anything.”
“Oh...well. Thanks, I guess,” I said with a calmer voice.
He stopped walking around and looked at me. He shook his head, “I swear to god, you never cease to amaze me Rue…”
“What the hell made you sit up anyway?” He kept blinking, like he had just been hit in the jaw.
“I…I had a dream… I was falling out of this room.”
“Oh…some rabbit hole stuff, huh?”
I leaned back on my pillow. “Yea…weird stuff I guess.”
He came over and sat on my bed. “Doesn't surprise me…that was some wicked crap you had in you…really bad.”
“Yea… who the hell was she anyway?” I asked him.
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He looked down at his hands and started rubbing the side of his arm. That's new…some Josh fidgeting.
“That was Mikah… She was a protector from Valon, hell of a warrior…one of the best… I knew her a little too well, at one point.”
I raised my eyebrows… “Too well...as in Girlfriend?”
He pressed his lips together and looked like he was thinking. “Yea, I guess you could call her that...loosely.”
I laid down even further in my bed. I had adjusted my legs and I hissed when I felt a pain in my right thigh.
“Ouch…okay so,” I said.
Josh pulled my blanket down and I saw that I was in my jammy shorts... “Hey…
who changed my clothes?”
He looked up. “Sam did…come on.”
He rolled his eyes and looked down at my leg. I looked too. I had a black scar across it, but no stitches, the cut was closed. He gently ran his fingers across the skin above it and I twitched a little.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No…I just…” I grabbed my blanket and pulled it back up and he sat there running his hand through his hair.
“Well, it will probably be sore for a few days... Just don't be flashing around anywhere, okay?”
I gave him a “uh huh”.
“Where is Johnathan?” I asked.
“He went home...said he'd be back tomorrow… His family came home from London this evening, he's dealing with that stuff.”
“Oh,” I said. “I thought they would be gone all summer?”
“Summer is almost over Rue.... Besides he shouldn't be staying here all the time, he doesn't live here.”
I crossed my arms. “You don't either.”
He stood up and went to walk out of my room. “Your right, I don't…thanks for reminding me.”
Josh shut my door behind him and I felt like a turd for saying that to him, I really did. I mean he saved my life today…didn't he.
******
I laid in my bed for two hours. I heard laughter and talk coming from downstairs periodically, but I just didn't feel up to going down there, until my stomach started to ache. It growled and I knew it was a need, not a want, that forced me to get up and stand. I gently placed my foot on the floor and started to put pressure on it... A pain shot through my leg and I winced. God, I hate Mikah…wait, she's dead. I don't need to be hating her, she's worse off then I am.
I hobbled to my door and made it into the hallway. I had to inch my way along it, until I made it to the top of the stairs. I had jumped up and down these stairs so many times, but they looked so daunting now. God, if I fall I'm going to 219
be pissed, I swear. I went to take a step, using my left leg to take the weight and I
“OUCHED” out loud. Josh flashed to me. I sighed.
“What are you doing Rue?” He asked.
“I want to go to the kitchen and get something to eat,” I said…irritated.
Truth was, I really wanted to grab a blade and cut him for food, but something in that refrigerator was going to do. I am not sucking on anyone.
“Let me carry you,” he said grinning.
I waved him off and went to take a step out of anger and started to fall. Josh scooped me up, like
I weighed nothing and carried me down the stairs.
“There she is!” Theodore called out.
Josh gently placed me on the couch. I looked up at him. “Thanks Josh.”
“Well, well...you are looking quite good, all things considered!” I looked at Theodore and tried to manage a smile.
“Yea...sure, minus the crazy girl in the woods, and oh yea…all of you holding me down, while you spike my leg on the kitchen table!”
“Oh my god Rue…I swear that was the craziest shit I have ever seen… When that blade went through your leg and came out the bottom of the table… Shit, that was the best!” Kai said, with way too much excitement.
I rolled my eyes.
Sam hit him in the arm. “Yea…I am sure she just loved that!” She put her arm around me. “Listen, I want you to know that we would of never done that if there had been any other option, but time wasn't on our side and you couldn't be asleep for it, or it might not have worked.”
I looked at Theodore… “That was a GUESS?”
“Oh…point is, it did work Rue and I assure you, I took no pleasure in jamming that blade through you.”
He winked…didn't convince me.
“Well…even though it sucked unbelievably hard on every level... Thank you, all of you, for well…saving my life… ” Josh had gone into the kitchen. He froze waiting with his back to me. “Especially you Josh… You really did save me today.”
He turned in a spin, on one foot.
“Ohhhh...I did, didn't I?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Here we go,” she muttered.
He came back in with a plate full of everything for me.
“I think I am due a favor then.”
I looked up at him…gratitude turning to irritation.
“A favor…what kind of favor?” I asked.
“Oh…I don't know yet…but when it hits me…you will be the first to know.”
Sam leaned over to me. “You don't want to owe him anything Rue,” she whispered.
Josh pointed to her. “I heard that and I resent it all at the same time… You still owe me Sam.”
She stood up. “Oh I know…and I will hear about it for the next fifty years, until you decide you want to collect on that ridiculous bet.”