The Blood and Light Series (Six Books Boxed Set)

by Rue Volley

  Josh grinned and turned to her. “You want to fight? Now?” he said.

  Sam grinned and flashed back from him, pulling out her other blade, she held them at her sides, turned them in her hands. Josh looked at her and smiled.

  “What Sam? Is this your version of therapy?” he asked.

  She crouched down and bit her lip. He flashed to Theodore and grabbed his blades. He flashed down and stood in front of her with the blades in his hands. Sam tilted her head and lunged towards him so he flipped the blade in his hand and hit her in the ribs just as he turned away from her. She skidded to a stop and took a breath as she grabbed her ribs. She raised her head and looked back at him.

  “Low blow, dick,” she muttered.

  She rose up and came at him, metal screeched as they countered each other, with every hit. Josh’s skin started to swirl with black as they fought. He swiped his blade at her and she flipped her blade in her hand hitting him in the mouth. He stumbled away from her and raised his hand up to his face. He lowered it with blood on his fingers then started to move forward when Theodore stepped in between them. They both looked at him. Both were sweaty and their chests were moving quickly, as they sucked in air. He looked at them both, in turn.

  “Better?” he asked them. They both nodded.

  “Okay then… we have work to do, so put away your toys,” Theodore said, as he waved his hands at both of them.

  Josh and Sam both started to laugh so hard, that they had to hold their sides. Josh looked at her and grinned.

  “You are a bitch,” he said, as he handed the blades back to Theodore.

  “And you are a whore,” she said, as she put her blades on her back.

  “Whatever,” he said as he flashed into the house.

  Josh stopped as Kai stood up and stared at him. Josh grinned at him.

  “Dude,” Kai said as he stepped forward. “Impressive,” Kai said as he gave him the fist bump.

  Josh looked at him and shrugged his shoulders. Kai smiled.

  “You messed Elin up man!” he said. Josh tilted his head.

  “It’s a talent I have,” he said to him.

  Sam stepped in behind him just in time to here Josh’s declaration of talent. She looked at Kai.

  “Don’t talk to him about that, Kai,” Sam said as she headed for their bedroom.

  Kai looked at her as she passed by him. He smiled at Josh and followed her.

  Josh called out to him. “She is in a pissy mood, Kai.”

  Kai didn’t stop. He stepped to the door just as Sam slammed it in his face. He turned back to Josh.

  “Could you guys leave the house?” he asked him.

  Josh sighed. “Listen ass… we need to get a large mirror and get to the woods. We don’t have time for your hormones.”

  Sam opened the door up and had on her battle gear. Kai looked her up and down and grinned. “Don’t,” she said to him as she pushed passed him.

  He sighed and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. Sam looked back at the door and yelled at him.

  “Get dressed, don’t play with yourself,” she said as she winked at Josh.

  Josh rubbed his head and ran upstairs. He dressed quickly and flashed to the front door. They all stepped outside as Theodore continued to look at the sky. It was getting blacker by the minute. He looked back at them.

  “A storm is coming,” he said to all of them.

  “No shit,” Josh said as he flashed into the woods.

  ***

  My eyes started to flutter. I didn’t remember pulling myself from the water, but I must have. I rolled onto my side and liquid pooled out of my mouth. I sucked in air and it burnt my lungs. I looked down at the mud and pushed my hand into it. It was cold and slimy.

  “Gross,” I muttered. My voice sounded foreign to my ears. It cracked as I tried to speak.

  I pushed myself up, my arms felt heavy. I felt my stomach fold in on itself and I hurled black water into the mud. Light flowed out of my mouth. It hit the ground and inched its way back to my hands. I watched as the light slowly absorbed into my skin. I looked up, mud all over my face and saw horse hooves standing still in front of me. The black horse knelt down and licked my face.

  “Oh god,” I muttered as I wiped the spit from my face. The horse made a low noise and stamped his hooves into the mud.

  I pushed myself up slowly and swayed a little. My head felt light and my hands were tingling. I looked out, hoping that I wasn’t standing at the edge of tall grass. I wasn’t. The land looked familiar to me. I turned back to the water and leaned over it. I scooped it up in my hands and splashed it on my face. I stopped, as my reflection started to come into view. I reached up and touched my hair. It was blonde. What the hell? It was longer then I remembered it. I shook my head and splashed more water on my face. It rolled off of my face and the mud swirled in the water. I looked at myself again and could see the dark circles under my eyes. I looked older, I felt older. The horse made another noise and I looked at him as I felt a vibration in my hands. Color started to swirl in the air and I knew that trackers were onto me. I stood up and looked at the horse.

  “We have to run,” I said to him.

  He knelt down and I grabbed his hair and pulled myself up onto his back. He stood up and I leaned forward. My vision was starting to blur. We have to get out of here before I lose consciousness. I felt weak, obviously poisoned. I grabbed at my stomach and pressed on it, as I felt a sharp pain inch through it. I leaned forward and whispered to the horse.

  “I need for you to take us home; I may be asleep before we get there,” I muttered.

  He took off at the speed of light, and I held on as tightly as I could to his hair. He ran straight into the forest and started to dodge trees, everything looked like a blur going by me. I tried to hold onto him as tightly as I could, but my hands started to feel like I had slept on them. I pressed my legs against his sides and fell forward. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on. We had to get close enough for me to attempt sending a bubble.

  We broke through the forest on the other side and he ran across the field as fast as he could. I started to feel like I was floating, I reached up and pressed my nails into my arm, the blood flowed from under my nails. I hissed from the burn. I looked up and saw a cliff in front of us. I held onto him as tightly as I could. He was going to jump with me in tow. I held on as we jumped from the edge and hurled towards the water. I lost my grip and we hit, separating us from each other. I closed my eyes as I felt water invade my lungs.

  I tried to concentrate on my thoughts. I saw a light glow in front of me under the water, and I pushed it out with one person in mind, Josh. It flashed from me and I hit the bottom of the lake and hit my head on a rock. The horse kicked in front of me as my vision went to black.

  ***

  Josh stopped dead and Kai hit him in the back, they rolled onto the ground and Josh rolled onto his feet, with the grace of a cat. He stood up quickly and sucked in his breath.

  “Rue,” he whispered. Kai pushed himself up.

  “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

  Josh ignored him and flashed towards the lake. He stopped at the edge and looked out as the water started to churn in the middle. He dove in and started to swim. Kai skidded to a stop at the edge and yelled out to him.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Josh swam as fast as he could towards the rolling water in the middle. Suddenly a horse broke the surface, thrashing his legs. Josh stopped and dove under kicking his legs as hard as he could until he reached the bottom. He looked around until he spotted her, grabbed her arm, and started to kick towards the surface. He pushed her head up and started to swim towards the shore. Kai saw them and jumped in, he kicked as hard as he could until he reached them. He grabbed her other arm and they dragged her to the sandy shore.

  Josh grabbed her face and held it in his hands. He leaned down and put his head to her chest. He heard nothing. He rose up quickly and pulled his blade. He cut his palm
and pressed it against her lips and got no response. He cried out as Sam and Theodore flashed up and looked at her body, lifeless in the sand. Theodore reached down and pushed Josh out of the way. Kai stood up and looked at Sam, in a panic. Sam leaned over us and looked down. Her skin was gray, her lips white. Sam backed away and looked at Kai grabbing his hand and squeezing it. Josh sat there staring at Theodore.

  “Do something!” he yelled at him. Theodore placed his hand on my face and looked back at him.

  “She is gone Joshua, we are too late,” Theodore said as he held my hand.

  Josh lunged forward and pushed Theodore out of the way.

  “Bullshit!” he screamed.

  Josh pulled his blade and cut her palm, the blood barely pooled in her hand. He cut his own hand and pressed it firmly to her then he leaned over and started to whisper in her ear.

  “I need you,” his heart started to flutter.

  Suddenly her body jerked. He sucked in his breath as he stayed by her ear.

  “Take my light Rue Volley. I relinquish my life to you,” he said.

  Black color started to swirl from his skin towards her mouth. Sam lunged forward and Josh pointed his blade at her.

  “I will strike you down if you try to stop me,” he yelled at her. She stopped and looked at Theodore in a panic.

  “Stop him!” she yelled at Theodore.

  Theodore flashed at him and placed his hand on the side of his head. Josh cried out and sliced his blade at Theodore. It cut through his arm and Theodore stumbled back, grabbing at it. He stared at Josh, who had a crazy look on his face.

  “We are bound in blood, but I will strike you down,” he muttered to Theodore. Theodore stared at him and grinned.

  “You love her,” he whispered. Josh sighed and looked into her face.

  “You need to take my light Rue. Hear me!”

  ***

  I felt a vibration in me, a voice started to echo in my ears. I twitched and felt a beat, one thud in my chest. It was my heart fighting to restart. I could see flashes of white light behind my eyes and I trembled as it beat again, this time with stronger force. My eyes started to roll in my head as I tried to focus on the voice yelling at me. I felt my blood start to move in my body. Slowly it flowed through my heart, aching. I sucked in my breath and black mist entered it, it tasted like honey in my mouth. Josh shuddered and gripped my hand.

  I opened my eyes and his face started to come into focus, black water rolled from my mouth and I sucked my breath into my lungs again. It burned like fire in my chest. I looked at Josh as the color started to fade in his eyes. He loosened his grip on my hand and started to fall to his side. I grabbed at him and held his face in my hands then I glanced to Theodore who he had a look of sadness on his face. I looked back to Josh again and called out his name. His heart was slowing in my ears. I turned back to Theodore.

  “What did he do?” I asked in panic.

  “He gave you his light, his energy… to bring you back.”

  I looked at Josh and closed my eyes. I focused on the core. The metal was twisting in my mind. It glowed red. I focused on it until it changed from red to blue. I felt it draw up in me and I bit my lip. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. I bit into his lip and our blood mixed in my mouth. I felt a vibration well up with in me and I moaned in his mouth. Josh jerked and I watched the color start to swirl on his skin. I let my lips leave his and he gasped, as I heard his heart beat speed up in his chest. I grinned as he opened his eyes and looked at me. I stayed close to his face and smiled.

  “Rue Volley… you are a pain in my ass,” he whispered. I hugged him so hard… he grunted. I rose up and looked into his eyes.

  “You are not allowed to die until I say so,” I said to him. He grinned at me.

  “Fine, whatever you want,” he said, as he stared into my eyes.

  ***

  Johnathan opened his eyes and wiped at them. He tried to sit up and grunted as he felt his back lock up on him. He reached around and grabbed at it. It was cramping on him and he looked down at the white slab he was laying on. He looked out and saw that he was in a familiar room. Fire licked up around the stone he lay on. He pushed himself off and held onto the side of it until the blood stopped rushing to his head. He looked out and started to walk towards the door. The floor wasn’t shaking, so he didn’t feel the need to run for his life. He reached for the door and opened it slowly then raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He stepped out onto what looked like a stone porch and looked back. The door closed and he walked down the steps and looked back at his old house.

  He rubbed his hand through his hair and turned around sucking in his breath just as Rue appeared right in front of him. She held flowers in her hand and pulled at the petals, letting them fall to the ground at her feet. He leaned forward and reached for them. She let him smell them. They smelled sweet like honey. Rue looked up at him and smiled.

  “I am so glad that you feel better,” she said, as she reached for his hand. He let her take it, looking down at her and out across the field.

  “Did Josh get out of here okay?” he asked her. She giggled. He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows.

  “Well?” he asked her. She started to pull him along as she walked. She looked up at him and grinned.

  “He went through the mirror. I guess he is okay,” she said.

  “You guess?” Johnathan asked as he stopped walking, and her hand fell from his.

  She looked at him and bit her lip. She looked like a child. Well… she was a child. She looked up at him and held her hand out to him.

  “Don’t be mad,” she said. Johnathan tilted his head at her and she grabbed his hand squeezing it in hers.

  “Why would I be mad?” he asked her. She leaned down and picked up a flower. She smelled it and put it in her hair. She then turned to him.

  “I just wanted you to stay. I didn’t know that you would be that sick if you did,” she said.

  Johnathan dropped the flowers and knelt down in front of her.

  “You made Caine appear didn’t you? You wanted me to help you so that I would be trapped here, right?” Johnathan said calmly.

  Rue grinned and looked at the flower as she pulled the last petal off and let it float to the ground.

  “Maybe,” she said as she dropped the stem at her feet.

  Johnathan stood up and looked at his surroundings. “Freakin great,” he muttered.

  Rue looked up at him and a white light started to glow in her palms.

  “You didn’t want to stay with me, did you?” she asked him as she clinched her fists.

  Johnathan weighed his options. She controls everything here and she likes me a little too much, he had to choose his words carefully.

  “Yes, I want to stay with you. Didn’t I prove that to you when I tried to save you from Caine?” he said without feeling. She looked at him squinting her eyes.

  “Yea, you did try to save me so I guess you like me too,” she said tilting her head. Johnathan sighed.

  God, this is awesome. He thought. Now he had to maneuver around a twelve-year-old girl with her hormones getting ready to rage. He couldn’t imagine her at thirteen. He looked at her with a nervous grin. She grabbed his hand again and pulled him along with her. Johnathan felt the ground vibrate and looked around. Suddenly a library started to take shape in front of them across the field. He looked at the building and then at Rue. She smiled.

  “I think that I want you to read to me,” she said.

  He looked at her as she started to run towards the library, a perfect replica of the one from town, the old one… before the battle. He started to walk towards it and felt another vibration under his feet. He looked behind him and the house sank. He looked back at the library.

  “She can only create one building at a time,” he muttered. Rue stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked back at him.

  “Come on!” she yelled out to him.

  He started to walk towards her, happy that sh
e wasn’t older. It would drive him crazy to be with Rue at her age now. He didn’t know what would happen if they were stuck here both being seventeen. He bit his lip as he felt a vibration in his chest. His heart ached for her.

  “Rue,” he whispered, as he started to run towards the library.

  He ran up the steps and stopped at the doors. They looked the same as they had in reality. Old wood, one long crack in the right door. He reached for the silver handle. A lion was at the top of it, mouth open. He sighed and pulled on the door. It opened and they stepped into the huge room. The smell of books filled his nose. He scanned around and then called out.

  “Rue?” he said as it echoed through the room.

  Rue peeked over the upper railing. He looked up at her and she backed away. He headed for one of the two stairs leading up to the second floor. He reached the top and looked around. He spotted her, standing at the far wall, looking up at a large picture on the wall. He slowly walked up behind her and looked up. The picture of Caine looked just as daunting now as it had when he was a child. Rue looked back at him and back at the picture on the wall.

  “This is where I learned about him and you,” she said.

  Johnathan stepped up beside her and looked down. She stood there rubbing her hands slowly as she stared at Caine. He looked back up and a pain went through his head. He grabbed at his temple and pressed on it. He felt Rue take his hand and squeeze it. Opening his eyes up he saw the picture had changed to his face. He stumbled backward, away from it. Rue stood there staring at it and then turned to him.

  “You look like him you know,” she said.

  Johnathan stared at her as he grabbed at his stomach. It started to churn. It made him nauseous. He cleared his throat and looked up at himself in the painting.

  “I am nothing like him,” he muttered. Rue grinned.

  “Well, of course you are, you are the mirror image of him,” Rue said as she took a step towards him. Johnathan backed away from her.

  “I am not,” he whispered.