by Rue Volley
“Get up Theodore!” he yelled at him.
Theodore looked like a baby; he had his pillow hugged and laid on his side in a fetal position. Johnathan stared at him and shook his head. Panic was about to set in. He ran to Sam and Kai’s room and they were sound asleep too. He looked towards the front door and realized that he was on his own this time. He flashed upstairs and grabbed his blades. He decided to skip the white leather. He didn’t think that he could blend in, wherever he was going. He knew that the train went North and South. It had been built years ago and he had travelled it before when he returned to school. He ran down the hallway and glanced at Rue’s room.
“Where the hell are you?” he asked. Johnathan grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.
He leaned over the table and scribbled a cryptic note.
Woke up… couldn’t wake any of you up. Rue was on the news, with some boy, looks like she is on a train. I will get her.
Johnathan
He left the note on the table and flashed to the door. He looked back and hoped that he would return with her. He hoped that they would all wake up. He would stay and try, but he felt that Rue was at the top of the to-do list. Nothing personal.
***
Elin stepped out of Lily and Jonah’s tent. She caught her breath. Truth was she didn’t know if she would. They promised to change her. She hoped it was true. She had just aligned herself with the least likely of creatures. They had to be the most evil and conniving of the breed.
She looked to the right and saw that everyone was starting to stir. The carnival only had two more days in this spot and then they would have to move on. The destruction it left in its wake was only saved by the randomness of its location. Caine knew that, so she wasn’t quite sure what he was waiting for. Did he have a plan of attack? Maybe, but he would never tell anyone. Even her.
She walked towards the breakfast tent and paused when she noticed that it was pretty quiet. Normally everyone chattered as they entered. No one was. Perhaps the life had been sucked out of this place, just like every place that Caine resided. She had hatred for him before, but now it was like a cancerous growth in her body. She adjusted her dress and stepped into the tent. She scanned the room and it was pretty bare so far. Only a few had gotten up and made their way in. She took her regular seat and she looked at Caine’s empty chair. She looked around the table at the rogues who had made it in for the morning meal.
Jonah and Lily walked in arm and arm. Jonah took his seat and looked around the table. Lily sat down on his lap and grinned. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. Elin filled her glass and placed it to her lips as she glanced at them. She was nervous, hoping that she hasn’t been betrayed before she could even try to execute a plan.
Caine stepped in and had a young girl with him. She smiled as she looked around the room. Jonah’s eyes darted to her, as well as everyone else’s. Caine held her hand and led her to Sara’s chair. Elin looked up at her and then glanced at Caine. She had no idea who the girl could be; she could only hope that Caine would forego his usual secrecy and share her identity with the room. Elin wondered where Sara was for a moment and let it go. She didn’t like her anyway.
Caine raised his glass and more rogues piled in, ready to get their share of the morning’s blood. Caine cleared his throat and stood up. He looked down at the girl and then glanced at Elin. He looked happy, unusual for him.
“I would like everyone to welcome Bridgette. She is also a rogue, which I am sure that you all could smell when she entered. She has wonderful news.”
Elin looked at her and the girl nodded. She might have looked young, but Elin could tell that she was probably centuries old. Bridgette stood up and scanned the table.
“I am pleased to see that so many are gathered together here. I have been on this earth for a very long time. I am part of a small group who reside to the north. We do not roam around, living in different places; we ride transportation to find our food. It is much easier, if they don’t get suspicious.”
Jonah stood up and bowed to her.
“You are welcome here Bridgette,” he said. She nodded to him.
“I appreciate the hospitality. I had the opportunity to stumble on a most curious creature last night. I had falsely hurt myself to pull at a human’s heart strings and a girl came to my aide.”
She looked around the room and then at Caine.
Caine held his hand up to let her know that she should continue.
“Well, the girl touched me and I knew that she was a protector, one that I have never known before. She is not yet twenty-one and yet she is receiving her power… it radiates from her like a beacon in the night.”
Elin looked at her and her heart started to sink. She had not killed Rue, had she? Elin just knew that without her help she would not be able to drag Caine to memory… with the hope of trapping him there for an eternity. Caine looked at her and she took a drink. It was so fortunate that he couldn’t read minds. She grinned at him, making sure that her heartbeat stayed steady. If it did happen to jump, she could always play it off as a reaction to the demise of Rue Volley.
Caine cleared his throat and stood up.
“It seems that my love has made our jobs easier. I have been unable to break the protection spell on this town and we are almost ready to move, so Bridgette here had done the impossible for us. I need her retrieved and brought to me immediately.”
Elin looked up at him.
“I want to go, please allow me the opportunity, my Lord,” Elin said as she crossed her fingers under the table. Caine looked down at her and touched her chin.
He must be in the best mood ever. He is never so gentle.
“Yes… you will go, along with Bridgette and Jonah.”
Jonah looked up and Lily turned to him. She shook her head, “no”.
He rubbed her hand and looked at Elin.
“I would be delighted to encounter that little beast again,” he said. Caine stared at him.
“She is to be brought to me unharmed in any way. I will not tolerate it,” he said to him.
Jonah tipped his hat.
“I would not dream of it,” Jonah said.
Caine sat back down and took a long drink from his glass. He set it down and looked at Elin.
“Take them and bring Rue back to me,” he said. Elin nodded and looked at Bridgette.
She was the only weakness here, obviously Caine had promised her something. Elin needed to find out and make a better offer, or they could attempt to kill her. Jonah stood up and looked at them.
“Shall we ladies?” he asked them.
Elin stood up and so did Bridgette. Jonah walked out of the tent and Bridgette followed. Caine grabbed Elin’s wrist and pulled her down to him. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“See to it that Jonah does not return,” he said to her.
She stood up and stared at him. She nodded and glanced at Lily, who sat at the end of the table. She looked back at him and he let her wrist go.
“Go now and bring my mate to me,” he said. Elin nodded and walked out of the tent.
***
Johnathan flashed through the woods and dodged tree branches and rocks protruding from the ground. He stopped when he heard heartbeats in his ears. He crouched down and pressed his hand against the ground. It felt like Elin. He stayed down, hoping that she wouldn’t detect him.
Elin felt a vibration in her hands and she stopped flashing behind Bridgette and Jonah. She looked to the right and knew that Johnathan was wandering around. She rubbed her hand and Jonah flashed back up to her, Bridgette followed. Bridgette tilted her head. Rogues were not good at tracking, everything was jumbled to them.
Elin grinned and looked to her right. Jonah smiled.
“Have you found us a snack?” he asked her. Elin shook her head at him.
“No… it is Johnathan Graph,” she said. Jonah scanned the forest.
“Caine’s son?” he asked her. Elin smiled.
“Yes… he is probably
looking for Rue; he can find her easily. Let me approach him and I may be able to persuade him to help us.”
Bridgette stepped forward. “And what if he will not?”
Elin looked at her.
“If he will not, then I will kill him myself,” she said to her.
Bridgette laughed.
“You would kill Caine’s son? You must be joking.”
“I won’t have to, he loves Rue,” Elin said as she glanced at Jonah. Jonah nodded to her.
“You go and make your offer love,” he said to her. Elin grinned and flashed towards him.
Johnathan stood up and scanned the forest. He could feel her, but not see her. Bad place to be. Suddenly Elin flashed up, with her blades drawn. She couldn’t go in defenseless; she did not know what he would do. She stopped and stared at him. Johnathan pulled his blades to his sides and glared at her.
“What are you doing, Elin?” he asked her.
“I am trying to save your stupid ass,” she said as she glanced behind her. Johnathan laughed.
“You are trying to save me? That’s a joke right?” he said as he looked behind her.
“Listen to me… I assume that you are looking for Rue right?” she said.
He nodded, surprised that she knew that Rue was missing in action.
“You saw her on the news too?” he asked her. She glared at him.
“No… you idiot, I have been at the carnival. I have been sent out to get her.”
Johnathan gripped his blades and crinkled his eyebrows.
“You went back to Caine? You are the idiot,” he said to her, not believing that she could be so stupid.
“Shut up and listen to me for once,” she said as she stepped towards him.
Johnathan gripped his blades and held them out in front of him. He would never trust her… never. Elin looked at his blades and sighed.
“I am going to find her. I have two rogues with me… one ally and one potential enemy. We were sent to retrieve Rue and bring her to the carnival.”
“Oh that’s just freakin awesome, Elin,” Johnathan said as he kept his eyes on her.
“No, you don’t get it, I want to find her and give her back to you guys. If I have too, I will kill the girl with me, Jonah is on my side, I think.” Johnathan laughed.
“You are kidding me,” he said.
Elin flashed up to him and knocked him on his back. She pinned his arms down and held her blade to his throat.
“I don’t have time for your crap. Where is everyone else?” she asked him.
Johnathan struggled under her, completely disgusted that she had him at a disadvantage. He grunted as he tried to push her up. She pressed down on his arms with her legs and he groaned.
“Okay Elin!” he said to her. She grinned, as she looked as his face.
“Where are they?” she asked him again.
“At the house, Elin… they are all asleep; I cannot get them up.”
“Shit,” Elin said as she stood up. Johnathan sat up and rubbed his arms.
Elin looked down at him.
“We need to get them up.” She smiled as she looked around. “I need you to hang out with Jonah and Bridgette, while I go to the house,” she said.
Johnathan shook his head, “no”. Elin shook hers, “yes.”
Johnathan stood up and brushed his pants off.
“Do not be a girl about this, Johnathan,” she said as she smiled and pointed her blade at him.
Johnathan stood there and crossed his arms.
“Why does everyone say that? I am not a ‘girl’ about stuff.”
Elin flashed to him and grabbed his hand. She started to drag him with her. She grabbed his blades and tossed them into the forest; Johnathan watched them fall out of site.
“What the hell?” he said to her.
She continued to drag him along with her. They broke through a clearing and Jonah turned to them and Bridgette stood up and stared. Johnathan looked at both of them and gave them an awkward smile. Jonah smiled and walked towards them. He walked around them in a circle and Johnathan kept his eye on him. Jonah stopped in front of them and bowed.
“It is a pleasure to meet Caine’s heir,” he said, as he straightened up and winked at him. Bridgette flashed up to his face and smelled his neck. She looked at Elin.
“He has human blood,” she said to Elin. Elin nodded.
“Caine is not exclusive to his own kind,” Elin said to her.
Bridgette backed up and looked him up and down.
“I am surprised,” she said, as she backed away from him.
Johnathan pulled his arm from Elin and stared at her.
“Surprised at what?” he said, sounding a little irritated.
“That Caine did not eat you himself,” she said, as she glanced at Elin.
Elin stepped in front of Johnathan.
“I assure you that Caine values Johnathan as much he does Rue. So he is off limits to your appetite.”
Bridgette laughed.
“I would not eat him… Caine would destroy me, before I was done.”
Jonah tapped Johnathan on the shoulder.
“Seems we need you,” he said as he walked to a large rock and sat down on it.
Johnathan looked at him and then at Bridgette.
“Well thanks for not trying to make me your dinner,” he said.
Bridgette laughed and Jonah shook his head. Elin stepped up to them both.
“I have to retrieve his blades, he has lost them.”
Bridgette looked at him and grinned. ‘Of course I did.’ Johnathan sighed.
He knew that he would have to look like an idiot, so that Elin could leave.
“I am going to find them, it will probably take a minute. All of you push ahead. I will be able to track you, now that Johnathan is here.”
Jonah looked up at him and then over to Bridgette.
“Oh… you naughty boy,” he said to Johnathan.
Johnathan shook his head and looked at Elin. Elin smiled.
“We have been close,” she said to them.
“Uh huh,” Jonah said, as he stood up and looked at Johnathan. “Well, let’s go,” he said.
They all flashed away from Elin.
She watched until she was sure that they were gone. She flashed to the left and raced toward the house. Time was running out. If she was to guess correctly a ‘sleep’ binding was placed on them and she didn’t know how long it would be until they would be sucked into memory forever, if she wasn’t too late already.
Elin flashed through the forest and retrieved Johnathan’s blades almost immediately. She pushed on until she came to a stop in front of the house. She stepped up to the door and rubbed her hand. It started to ache like she had a cramp in it.
“Damn it,” she muttered.
Now that she had fed from Caine the protection was going to affect her. She grabbed her stomach as a small pain started to well up. She grabbed the doorknob and opened it up quickly. She was not only in a hurry to wake them, but now she would need for them to help her purge the negative energy running through her. She decided to find Theodore first. He would hopefully be the most compassionate to her situation. To wake Josh up first would probably be a monumental mistake on her part.
She walked through the house and rubbed her shoulder as the uneasy cramp was slowly creeping through her body. She would be dead within the hour without help now. She opened a door and saw Kai and Sam lying there. She left that door opened and walked to the next one. She stepped into the room and saw Theodore lying there. She stumbled as she walked towards his bed. She pulled her blade and sliced her palm. She looked down at him and chanted.
“Servo atum,” she whispered. It was an old Latin… meaning to save… protect.
She touched his forehead and it felt ice cold. He was breathing shallow.
She placed her hand on his mouth and closed her eyes.
She chanted, “Sanguis… spiritus.” over and over. It meant ‘blood’ and ‘life’.
&nbs
p; Theodore started to move. His lips moved slowly, but the blood was bringing him back to life. His eyes fluttered and Elin continued to chant. She swayed as he fed and she fought the pain in her muscles. Theodore grabbed her hand and drank as the blood continued to flow from her palm. Elin’s body started to hum with a strong vibration. She would have one shot to pull him out completely, she had to heal him. It will not allow her much time to beg for his help, but she had no other option.
She let the light start to glow in her palms and screamed, “Medeor”.
Theodore sat straight up and sucked in a deep breath. Elin started to slump to the floor. Theodore looked at her and scrambled to her side.
“Elin?” he asked her. She barely had her eyes open.
“Elin… did you just scream ‘Heal’?” he asked her. She nodded at him.
She closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. Theodore flashed to the living room and grabbed the black leather bound book. He flashed back in, as he turned the pages quickly. He stopped and stared at a counter spell. He shook his head and looked at her.
“You may not make it Elin,” he whispered.
He dropped the book on the bed and looked at his hands. A white light started to swirl with flashes of lighting in it. He closed his eyes and focused on her heartbeat. He knew that he would have to hit her in the chest in between heartbeats, or allow her heart to completely stop and then hurl the energy mass into her heart precisely when her heart would have beaten again.
Elin had called upon an old spell, one in which Theodore was impressed that she knew. It was only used in the most extreme cases and normally the protector casting it would perish. He opened his eyes as he focused on her beating heart, it grew quieter in his ears. He nodded his head to the rhythm and decided to take his shot. He hurled the energy into her and she arched her back. She screamed out as she drew in her breath. She sat straight up and grabbed her chest and rubbed it.
“Damn it!” she yelled out. Theodore sat down on the bed and looked at her shaking his head.
“Why would you invoke a death spell for yourself, Elin?”
She looked at him and pushed herself up.