by Rue Volley
“Get out,” I said.
He straightened up and grinned.
“I like you Rue Valon. You remind me of your Mother, Grace,” he said.
I looked at him. “You knew my Mother?” I asked him as my eyes softened.
“Yes, very well...she was full of rudeness, not unlike yourself.”
“My Mother was not rude,” I said, defending her.
“I meant no harm, she was enjoyable to watch,” he added.
“I didn't know her that way. She was different to me,” I said as I looked at my hands.
“Such a shame, Grace gave you nothing of who you are. She should have told you of your bloodline.”
He moved toward me and placed his hand on my face, I blinked as static welled up behind my eyes. I started to feel weak. Erik helped me lay down onto the bed. He sat on the side of the bed looking at me. My eyes felt heavy but I was fighting to stay awake.
“I fear that you will not last long here if you do not feed Rue. You see this is Valon, as a protector your natural need to feed yourself is a necessity, whether you want to or not.”
Erik pulled his blade out and sliced it across his palm. He held it up to my face. I reached up and knocked it away from me. He laughed. “So stubborn... like your mother,” he said as he stood up and walked towards the door.
“We will see how long you will refuse.” He opened the door and closed it.
I barely recognized the sound of lock, before I fell back to sleep.
I dreamed of riding my horse. His muscles tightened underneath me and I squeezed my legs against him. We rode fast across an open field, through the moonlight. I raised my hands up and stretched them out, letting the icy airflow in between my fingers. I let my head fall back and saw streaks of blue trailing behind us in the dark, as we raced forward. I leaned forward and laid my head against his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck. My white breath puffed out of my mouth in unison with his.
He started to slow and I sat up to see why. We stood at the top of a hill looking down. He stood still, I thought I saw something flash across the bottom of the field and I pushed him to run after it. We raced through the grass until it was so high I could reach down and feel it in my hand. I sat up and watched as the sky started to brighten, the sun rose in front of us.
We stopped at the edge of a forest, and I heard someone call out my name. I squeezed my legs against his sides and he ran into the forest. We twisted and turned, avoiding trees, we finally came to a clearing and he slowed down. He walked slowly through the flowers and I watched as he kicked them up, the petals slowly rose and floated all around us. I reached out my hand and let them fall into my palm, they slowly soaked into my skin and I watched a small spark light in my hand. I raised it to my mouth and breathed it in, it tasted like sweet honey. I closed my eyes and heard my name.
I looked down and Josh stood next to my horse, he raised his hand to me and I put my hand in his. I slid off of the horse and Josh held me close, as he slowly lowered me down. I rubbed against him as he placed me in front of him. He held me there staring down at me. I held onto his arms and looked up into his eyes.
“Josh,” I whispered.
He grinned at me and let go, taking my hand into his, he turned and pulled me with him. I followed and he looked back once, a smile on his face. He brought me to a place by the water. I looked down as he knelt down and raised water to his mouth and drank it. I leaned down and put my hands into the water. I scooped some into my hands and raised it to my mouth. I closed my eyes and drank it in. It felt warm in my mouth. I opened my eyes as Josh looked to me. He raised his hand and brushed his fingers on my mouth. I sucked in my breath and grabbed his hand, holding it... I lowered it to my heart and pressed it against me. He tilted his head and leaned in toward me...
***
I sat straight up in the bed. I looked around the room and squinted my eyes, the sun shined in so bright I thought I might be right next to it. I looked down and realized I was dressed in my white leather. It disturbed me that I had been undressed, dressed and bathed, and had no memory of it.
I pulled the sheets completely off of me and looked at my chest. All the dried blood was gone. I reached down to my leg quickly, my phone was gone too, awesome. I heard my door opening and I looked up. A boy walked into the room, he looked as if he was my age. I stared at him as he brought a basket in and sat it down on the table. I looked at it. It looked like it was filled with fruit and bread.
“Oh my god... is that food?” I said as I moved towards it.
“Yes, I brought you some of mine,” he said.
“Why?” I asked him.
“My sister said that you did not feed from her, I knew you would be hungry,” he said as he turned to walk out.
“Wait…” I said as I moved towards him.
He stopped and turned to me. “You are different from the others, I thank you for not feeding on her,” he said.
“I do not feed on humans,” I said.
He smiled and walked quickly to the door. He looked at me once more, before he walked out. I didn't hear the lock turn this time.
I walked to the door and turned the knob. It opened.
“You gotta be kidding me,” I whispered.
I ran back to the basket and grabbed an apple. I bit into it and closed my eyes. The juice ran down my throat and my stomach appreciated it. I tore off some bread and shoved it in my mouth. I ran back to the door as I chewed. I stood there and listened for anything, the last thing I wanted to do was open the door and have a guard standing out there.
I slowly cracked it open, as I held my breath. I opened it and peeked out, the hall looked empty to the right, now looking left I took a leap of faith. I opened it more and stuck my head out, looking down the other way. No one... you’re kidding right? I breathed in and opened it up. I stepped out and pressed against the wall.
It was silent. Where the hell was everyone...? I didn't like it.
I reached behind my back and felt my blades. Why do I have my blades...? Maybe that human boy had taken pity on me. Oh my god... if he saw me naked, oh who cares. I raised the bread to my mouth and took a bite. That is, by far, the least of my worries, in fact I'd take any intrusion in my room over this crap any day.
I headed down the hallway and came to a corner. I slowed my breathing, as I peeked around the corner. A door opened and I backed up. I listened, holding my breath. I just hoped that they didn't come this way. I pulled my blades out and gripped them in my hands. No one came, thank god.
I peeked back around the corner, and it was clear. I moved around and headed straight. I knelt down and pressed my hand against the stone. I closed my eyes and focused. It was faint, but I started to hear a heartbeat well up in my ears, and I knew it was Josh. It sounded slow and distant and I could only hope that he was strong enough to help me fight our way out of here.
My horse and I had passed a body of water coming here and if I could only get us there we could portal, I hoped, back home. I could only hope that they had a mirror ready on the other side. I had to believe that they did. It was the only glimmer of survival...
***
Johnathan dropped the phone and turned to Theodore and Sara sitting on the couch. “We have to get a mirror ready now!” he yelled out.
Sara pushed herself up. “Johnathan?” she cried out. “You are dead!” she said with her eyes wide.
“What?” he said.
She stood up and stumbled. “You are dead... or you were dead,” Sara said.
“I don't understand,” Johnathan said to her.
“It was in the paper Johnathan, that's why your Mother and Sophie moved away from here.”
“Well, I'm not,” Johnathan said as he passed her by.
Sara stood there and blinked a few times.
Theodore rose up. “Where do we need to go Johnathan?” he asked.
“To the woods, we need to take a large mirror as a portal for Rue. She said to hurry,” Johnathan said as he ran back up the stairs
.
“Very well then,” Theodore said. “Samantha, Kai!” he yelled out.
They came running out and Sara stood there hanging onto the side of the couch.
“Ummm... excuse me, what is going on?” she asked.
Theodore looked back at her. “You should sleep, love,” he said to her. He flashed up and she sucked in her breath. “No!” she yelled at him.
He stood there and grinned at her.
“What are you smiling about...? Listen, someone needs to tell me what is going on...! I called Rue and she said she was grounded. She asked me to come over and she was lit up like some freaky Christmas tree on her bed. I touched her and now I am here in the living room.”
Sara said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Theodore raised his hand and she stumbled away from him. “No... no more touching me. Now who the hell are you people...? And where is Rue?” she said as she took a few steps backward.
Sam stood there and smiled as she stared at her.
“Listen... Sara, you need to sleep. Trust me, it will be all better if you do.”
“I think someone should tell me what is going on here!” she yelled, as she clinched her fists.
“Oh for Christ sake Theodore, put her down already. We don't have time for this!” Johnathan said as he ran down the stairs, fully dressed in white leather.
Sara looked at him and whispered, “Oh... what are you wearing?”
Johnathan passed her by and stood at the front door.
Sam flashed up to Sara and touched her head. Sara started to fall and she caught her and gently placed her on the couch.
“Why does she have memory?” She asked as she crossed Sara's arms on her chest and touched her face.
Theodore smiled. “Seems that she touched Rue, she will retain that memory. I guess we will deal with that later,” he said.
“Oh that's just great ,Theodore,” Sam said as she ran back to Kai's room. She passed Kai who was rubbing his head. “Come on Kai, get dressed!” she yelled at him as she passed him by.
Johnathan stood at the door and stared at Theodore. “We have to hurry,” he muttered.
“We have to find a large mirror Johnathan, where can we find one?” he asked.
“My house. We have a room of mirrors... it's in the basement. It is a studio for my sister, she took dance when she was little,” he said as he inspected his blades.
“That is perfect,” Theodore said as he ran to his room.
Everyone returned fully dressed in battle gear. They looked at Johnathan who flashed out the door. Sara started to stir awake.
“Oh for god’s sake,” Sam muttered. “Just bind the house Theodore.”
“I do not know if that will work with her right now, seems she is not herself. Perhaps Rue shared her energy with her,” Theodore said as they watched Sara sit up.
“I swear to god the next person who puts me to sleep with some weirdo magic is going to get punched,” Sara said as she scrambled to her feet.
“Oh... fine, come with us then,” Sam said as she looked at Sara.
“Are we going to find Rue?” she asked.
“Yes... that is exactly what we are going to do, and hopefully my stupid brother will be with her,” Sam said as she slapped her arms against her legs.
“Oh!” Sara said as she started to smile.
Sam looked at Kai. “Pick her up Kai, I guess we will carry her.”
Kai looked at Sara and then flashed to her.
Sara blinked her eyes, as the air coming off of him blew her hair a little.
“You are fast Kai!” she whispered.
“You have no idea Sara,” Kai said to her as he scooped her up into his arms and flashed out the door.
They ran as fast as they could until they all came to a stop at the gate of Johnathan's old house. Kai came to a stop with Sara clutching to him. She had her face buried in his chest. When she realized that they had stopped moving, she lifted her head and smiled up at him.
“Holy crap Kai, that was cool,” she said.
Sam rolled her eyes. “Listen Sara, you shouldn't even be here so just do what we say.”
“K,” Sara said as she squeezed Kai's neck. “What are we doing?” she whispered to Kai.
Kai looked down at her. “We are getting to a mirror so Rue can portal through it.”
Sara's eyes got really big. “Like Stargate?” she asked.
Sam grumbled, “Oh my god, Kai, the more you tell her, the harder it is going to be to suck it out of her head.”
Kai looked at Sam and grinned. “What...? She asked me.”
Theodore raised his hand and they all crouched down to the ground. “It looks as if the movers are here,” he said as he stared at the large truck in front of the house.
Sam started to rise up, while she pulled her blades out.
“Samantha… no,” Theodore said.
She put them away and lowered back down. “We don't have time. I will be quick,” she said.
“Enough have fallen, Samantha... we will have to be clever,” Theodore said as he looked out across the entryway.
“Sara?” Theodore said.
Sara leaned forward on her knees. “What?” she asked.
“How good are you at flirting?” he said.
“Oh quite good,” she said as she grinned.
“Well then, I need for you to get these boys away from the entrance. Keep them out of the house.” Theodore said, “Go up there and just keep talking, give us time to get into the house.”
“Oh this is stupid, I could have them down in ten seconds,” Sam said.
“We will not cause any more harm. Everything I have is protecting this town right now. I have nothing left for glamor just let the little one here do her magic,” Theodore said as he placed a hand on Sara's face.
“I'm on it!” Sara said as she stood up. She fluffed her hair and brushed at her clothes as she started to walk up the long driveway.
“This better work Theodore…” Sam said as she watched Sara walk towards the house.
“Oh it will. Sara has a charm about her, they will listen.”
Sara started to pick up her pace and she started running toward the house, she got about fifteen feet away from the boys moving heavy things out of the truck and she fell down pretty hard. She cried out.
Sam stood up. “What the hell is that girl doing?” she said.
Theodore stood up next to her and touched her arm. “She is being a siren to the sailors,” Theodore said.
Sam looked at him. “What?”
“Just wait,” Theodore said.
They stood there and watched as the two boys carrying their heavy load sat it down and looked out to Sara, who grabbed at her ankle and cried out. They started to walk quickly to her. They watched as the two boys leaned down to her and spoke. Sara grabbed at her ankle and shook her head. They reached down and lifted her off of the ground. Sara put her arms around their necks and they moved forward. Sam laughed out loud.
“Well, look at that,” she said.
“Yes, very clever girl,” Theodore whispered. He turned to the three of them. “We now have an opportunity to get in, let’s go.”
Theodore flashed up the side of the trees lining the house and flashed behind the truck around to the back side of the house. They all followed him. He crouched down against the back wall. He looked to Johnathan.
“Where do we enter?” he asked him.
“Follow me. There is an entrance to the bottom floor, around the side,” Johnathan said as he flashed forward.
They came to set of stairs that led down to a small door. Johnathan flashed down them and placed his hand, turning the knob. The door opened. He stepped through and into darkness. Sam turned and closed the door behind them, snuffing out what little light was coming in. Suddenly a small glow lit up the stone hallway. Johnathan looked back at Theodore, who had light glowing from his hand.
“Lead us to the room,” Theodore said as he raised his hand up, causing rings of light to form on t
he walls of the hallway ahead of them. Johnathan moved forward and the rest followed him. They came to turn and he stood there looking both ways.
“What are you doing?” Sam whispered.
“Trying to remember which way it is,” Johnathan said.
He turned to the right and walked down another hallway until he came to a set of double doors. He reached for both doorknobs and pulled the doors towards them. He stepped in and looked all around as Theodore's light reflected off of the mirrored room. Everyone looked around them. Johnathan ran over to the wall and flipped on the light. Crystal chandeliers lit up the room. It was enormous, the walls and the ceiling were mirrored... the floor a dark wood.
“Wow,” Kai said as he looked around. “Sophie needed a room this big huh?” he asked.
“Well... my family has never done anything small, it's always big,” Johnathan said as he looked around the room.
“Okay then,” Theodore said as he pulled out a thick piece of chalk. “We have to get the symbols on this room.” He reached into his straps and pulled out chalk. “Here,” he said as he threw one to Sam, she caught it and looked out at the room.
“You know if anyone is right on them, we will have a battle on our hands Theodore.”
“I am aware of that but this is what we have to work with. Johnathan said to find a large mirror,” he said as he flashed to a wall and started to scribble on it.
“A large mirror... not a room,” Sam said as she looked at the ceiling.
“Get started Samantha,” Theodore said without turning to look at her.
She gripped the chalk in her hand and sighed. “This better work,” she whispered to herself.
***
I stood still at the corner for a minute longer, gripping my blade in my hand. I peeked out again and then knelt down, touching the cold stone under me. I closed my eyes and focused on Josh, his heartbeat fluttered. I didn't know if he was in trouble, or had just felt me, I just could not tell. I opened my eyes and a trail opened up to me, swirling black in the air like mist. It clung to the stone and I stood up staring down at it. It had to be him. I started to move forward and watched as it misted under a large door. I reached out and grabbed the doorknob, gently turning it in my hand. I opened it up and looked at stairs leading upward.