The Blood and Light Series (Six Books Boxed Set)

by Rue Volley

  “You are in trouble,” she said to me.

  We heard the sirens and knew that the fire department was on the way.

  I looked up at her and shrugged my shoulders.

  “He should not kill something just because he doesn’t want it,” I said to her.

  She leaned down and looked at me.

  “You’re right,” she whispered.

  My Dad came through the door and looked at me.

  “So,” he said.

  I looked at Mom and then at him.

  “I guess that he won’t kill anything else now, huh... at least not here?” he asked me.

  He looked at my Mom. She smiled.

  I looked at both of them. They didn’t yell at me, instead they looked at me and my Dad held out his hand.

  “I don’t want you playing with fire, got me?” he asked me. I nodded.

  “Okay then. Let’s go find you a dog,” he said.

  I stood up in a jump and stared at him.

  “I mean it, Rue… no more fire… got me?” he said.

  “I promise,” I said as I crossed my heart.

  No police came to our house. I didn’t know it then, but my Dad had disposed of the gas can. He probably flashed it into the woods so deep, no one would ever find it. The man’s house was saved; he was fine. He moved away. The day his movers came, he drove by real slow as I pet my puppy on the porch and stared at me. I know that he had his suspicions about how there was a fire in the backyard. He never said anything though. I sat there petting my dog and lifted his little paw. I waved it at him. He turned his head and drove away. I smiled and kissed my puppy on the head. That puppy stayed with us until I was fifteen. He got out one day and ran into the woods. He never came back. I cried, but I always imagined that he found another little girl and made her feel like the most important person in the world. Sounds like a fantasy, maybe… but it was better than thinking that he’d died.

  I walked down the hallway and searched for any emergency boxes. I didn’t really see any. We needed to get off of this train. I could probably just jump, but Blake wouldn’t make it. I’d kill him in the process. I turned to him and winked.

  “We need to cause a small emergency,” I said in a whisper.

  “What kind?” he asked me.

  “Do you have a lighter?” I asked him. He raised his eyebrows at me.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked me.

  “Well… let’s go to end of the train and start a little fire,” I said.

  “Oh my god, Rue… no way,” he said as he shook his head at me.

  I reached to him and touched his arm. He looked at my hand and back up to me. I don’t know what I feel like to humans when I touch them, but from the look on his face… it must be good.

  I smiled at him. “No one will get hurt… I promise.”

  He nodded at me and I pushed past him. He ducked into cabin 37 and grabbed Colin’s coat. He pulled out a lighter and smiled. I looked at him.

  “Bring his jacket,” I said.

  We started to walk quickly, we passed people walking through the hallway… chatting and laughing. We kept going until we finally reached a door with a gold sign on it. “Employees Only” was staring at me. I grinned and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. Crazy.

  We stepped in and looked around. It was only the first car of three… we would have to go undetected through two more cars. We stepped forward and heard a voice. We looked at each other in a panic and scanned the room for a hiding place. I ran to a closet door and opened it. It was small, filled with towels and cleaning supplies. We heard the voice getting closer and I grabbed Blake’s hand and dragged him into the closet with me. I closed the door and hoped that whoever was coming was not in charge of cleaning. The closet was not big at all. Blake faced me, about an inch from my face. I looked at the door as I listened. I turned my head and he was right there, staring me down.

  “Oh,” I said. He smiled.

  “Hi,” he said in a whisper. I rolled my eyes.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” I said quietly.

  He leaned in and kissed me. I pushed him back, there was nowhere to go.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said in a whisper.

  I pointed my finger at him and then put it to my mouth. There voice was in the room. I shook my head at him and kept my finger to my mouth.

  “I’m eating breakfast, nothing happens back here anyway,” a voice said.

  “If we get fired I’m gonna kick your ass,” another voice said.

  “Oh shut up… they never even come back here. We’ll be back in like a half hour,” the other voice said.

  I grinned. Awesome… we have slackers at the helm.

  We listened as they continued to gripe at each other and then we heard the door close. I slowly opened the closet door up and stumbled out. I looked back at Blake and he had his hand on his neck.

  “What was that?” I asked him. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that,” he said.

  I shook my head. “What is it with boys and closets?” I said to him as I walked quickly towards the next door.

  “What? You’ve been in a closet before?” he asked behind me. I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh yeah… I just jump in everyone I can find with the hopes of getting kissed,” I said as I slowly opened the door. He leaned in behind me.

  “I said I was sorry, but I am glad I did it,” he whispered. I looked at him.

  “Oh my god,” I muttered.

  We stepped into the next car and the noise from the wheels on the track was getting louder. I knew that we were almost to the end. I walked to the next door and opened it up. Jackpot. We had made it to the end of the train. I grabbed the coat from him and looked around the room. I tucked it in a corner and held my hand out.

  “Lighter me,” I said as I glanced back at him.

  He handed it to me and I flicked it. I looked at the flame and closed my eyes.

  “Sorry Dad… I know I promised, but it’s an emergency,” I whispered.

  I put it to Colin’s coat and watched it catch fire. I stepped back and Blake looked at me.

  “You did this before?” he asked me. I looked at him.

  “Uh huh…” I said. He shook his head.

  “Why?” he asked me.

  I looked at him and grinned. “A guy pissed me off,” I said.

  We looked back as flames started to shoot up. I looked up and realized that the box on the wall was an emergency box. I rolled my eyes.

  “Why the hell would it be all the way back here?” I asked Blake.

  I lunged forward and avoided flames. I broke the glass and pulled the lever. A loud bell rang out and we looked at each other.

  “Oh crap!” I yelled at him.

  We hit the door running. We made it through the first two cars and then I opened the last door. Security was running our way. I looked at Blake and smiled.

  “I hope you make it!” I yelled at him.

  I grabbed his hand and ran back to the last car. I threw the door open and we stepped onto the landing. Blake looked down as the tracks flew out behind us. I looked at him and we felt a jolt as the train hit its breaks. We started to slow down. I lunged forward and dragged him with me. We hit the ground rolling and finally came to a stop. We looked behind us and saw the train barreling away from us, the last car blazing with fire. I grinned at Blake.

  “Okay… well, now we walk,” I said to him.

  I pushed myself up and brushed off dirt. I held my hand out to him and took it. I pulled him up and he brushed himself off. He looked behind us and then at me.

  “That was insane,” he said.

  I started to walk. This was like so regular for me. I never got an easy day. He caught up to me and walked beside me. I looked over at him.

  “This is a normal day in my life,” I said.

  “You kidding right?” he asked me. I kept walking.

  “Gosh… I wish that I was,” I said to him
.

  He stopped and I looked behind me. I walked back to him and held out my hands.

  “What?” I said to him.

  He shook his head at me.

  “I could get used to hanging out with you, Rue, its crazy, but I like crazy,” he said.

  I laughed and messed with my hair. I pulled it up into a ponytail and tied it off. I started to walk again. He caught up with me. He leaned over and tried to look in my face.

  “Do I have any chance at all with you?” he asked me.

  I grinned. So did he. I looked at him.

  “Listen… I am a chaos magnet,” I said to him. “Every crazy thing that could happen does with me.” I said. He shrugged his shoulders.

  “It’s cool,” he said. I raised my eyebrows.

  “No… no… not cool,” I said.

  He grabbed my hand and stopped us. I turned to him.

  “Listen… everything is so predictable in my life. I go to school, come home… go to school. I will run my family’s business someday. My life is mapped out for me. I like not knowing,” he said.

  I tilted my head at him. I got it, honestly I did. I must have seemed like a freakin movie to him, and he didn’t even know that I could flash a tree out of me, or that I glow blue… yadda yadda yadda. He would crap his pants if he knew. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

  “You should be glad that your life is normal,” I said to him.

  “But what if I don’t want normal?” he asked me.

  I started to walk again. “You should,” I muttered to him.

  He caught up with me and looked over. I must have the ‘shut up’ look on my face. I heard him sigh and we started to walk in silence. I would flash, but I knew that it would shoot out like a beacon to any protector. Maybe rogues too. I certainly couldn’t anyway while I was babysitting ‘Mr. Don’t Want Normal’. Why is it that everyone wants the opposite of what they have...? It’s ridiculous.

  ***

  Josh flashed up to the edge of the town and peeked through the trees. Crap, I’m in my leather, he thought. He needed to change and he had all intentions of just rushing in and kicking butt. Typical Josh planning. He grinned as he saw people walking around.

  “Somebody is getting naked,” he whispered to himself as he spotted a boy, about his size.

  Sam flashed up behind him and looked around.

  “What the hell is Sara doing here?” she asked him. Josh laughed.

  “Oh… you know… shopping,” he said to her. Sam rolled her eyes.

  “You know I am going to kick the crap out of her for this,” Sam said as she stepped forward. Josh held up his hand.

  “Listen… we need to change. I don’t have time to change the memory here and I have no intention of having a news crew rolling up and asking me about my amazing battle gear.”

  Sam blinked and sighed.

  “Oh yes… the world is waiting to find out how you fit into it, Josh.”

  He laughed. “Well... of course,” he said.

  “Okay… so we need clothes now,” Sam said as she peeked through the trees. “What is this...? Some kind of small town festival?” she asked him.

  “Looks that way,” Josh said as he scanned the crowd for the boy with his new clothes on.

  “There we go,” he muttered. Sam looked and smiled.

  “So… somebody is waking up naked again, Josh? That won’t cause him damage.”

  Josh stepped forward and bit his lip.

  “He will be fine. I just need to get him alone.”

  “Oh,” Sam said as she stared at him. Josh turned to her.

  “No… you know what I mean,” he said to her.

  “Sure,” Sam said as she laughed.

  “You are a pain in my ass, you know it?” Josh asked her.

  Sam tapped him on the arm. “Always glad to be,” She said.

  “Whatever,” Josh muttered. He knelt down and pulled Sam with him.

  “Oh it looks like Mr. Romantic is coming into the woods with a girl.” Sam peeked at her.

  “Yep… I can fit into her clothes,” she said. Josh laughed.

  “She is a little skinny,” he said.

  Sam smacked him on the back of the head.

  “Oww,” Josh muttered.

  “I can fit into her clothes, Josh,” Sam said, as she raised her eyebrows.

  Josh looked back at the girl on the boys arm.

  “Yea… sure, oh yes… perfect fit,” he said as he rolled his eyes.

  The boy and girl giggled as they ducked into the woods. Josh held his hand out to Sam, wanting to wait until they went further into the trees. They watched as they started to walk quickly and Josh looked at her.

  “Okay, this can be easy or it can be hard, Sam. I would prefer easy,” he said to her.

  Sam stood up and flashed after them.

  “Damn it,” Josh muttered as he followed her.

  Sam flashed up to the couple and stood there tilting her head. Josh flashed up behind her. The boy’s back was to them as he made out with the girl and she opened her eyes and saw both Josh and Sam standing there in their white leather.

  “Oh crap!” she yelled as she stepped back from the boy. The boy turned around and looked at them.

  He looked Sam up and down and Sam rolled her eyes.

  “We need your clothes,” she said like it was a normal thing to request.

  The boy laughed and looked back at his girl.

  “Ummm, what?” he asked Sam.

  Josh stepped up to him.

  “I don’t have time to mess around with you,” he said to him. The boy took a step back.

  “Dude… I like girls,” he said.

  Josh rolled his eyes at him and glanced back at Sam.

  “I am not wanting to hump you… you ass,” he said to him.

  “Get the hell out of here freak and take your hottie with you,” the boy said as the girl behind him crossed her arms and frowned at him. The boy looked at her and then at Sam.

  “Come on… look at her. You cannot say that she is not hot!” he said. The girl muttered to herself.

  Josh looked at Sam and then back at him.

  “That is my sister,” Josh said to him as he reached behind him and started to pull his blade.

  Sam stepped forward.

  “Just take your clothes off and we won’t hurt you,” Sam said as she touched Josh’s hand and he loosened his grip on his blade. The boy laughed.

  “Listen baby, I know I am hot okay?” he glanced back at the girl. “But you need to step in line, honey.”

  Sam flashed to him and whispered, “Sleep” in his ear. He dropped to the ground like a rock.

  She looked down at him.

  “Listen baby, you couldn’t handle me,” she muttered at him.

  Josh laughed and the girl took off yelling.

  “Shit,” he muttered.

  He flashed up behind her and whispered, “Sleep” in her ear. She fell forward and he grabbed her waist and picked her up. He threw her over his shoulder and walked back to Sam. She stood there staring at the boy on the ground then looked at Josh.

  “I hate… HATE stripping their clothes off,” she said to him.

  He stood there with the limp girl over his shoulder and grinned at her. He lowered the girl to the ground and looked at her.

  “We just saved her from getting raped,” he said as he looked at Sam.

  “Probably,” Sam said as she leaned down and tugged on the boy’s pants.

  “Big day for lover boy here… with me just ripping his pants off,” Sam muttered.

  Josh shook his head and pulled the girls shirt over her head.

  “Oh that’s just disgusting,” Sam said as she stood up with his pants in her hand.

  Josh stood up and walked to her.

  “What?” he said as he looked down. He smiled.

  “Oh… I wonder where he got those?” he asked as he tilted his head.

  Sam stared at the boy’s man pants that read… “You know you want it” right on
his you know.

  Sam looked at Josh and rolled her eyes.

  “If you ever wear those I will kill you myself.” Josh laughed and walked back to the girl.

  He pulled her pants off and stood up. They tossed the clothes to each other and stripped down. Sam pulled up the pants and then lay down on the ground to zip them up. Josh glanced at her and grinned. She looked up at him.

  “Shut up… this girl doesn’t eat or something,” Sam said as she stood up and tried to stretch the pants out.

  “Uh huh,” Josh said as she pulled the pants on easily and then pulled the black t-shirt over his head. Sam pulled on the girl’s shirt and struggled to get it down to her waist.

  She looked at Josh and pointed a finger at him, “I have more boob than she does.”

  Josh nodded and looked out into the woods.

  “Listen, Sara is in a fitting room. She is aging. I told her that it was nothing, but you know what we have to do right?” Josh asked her. Sam nodded.

  “I swear to god, if she hadn’t grown on me, I’d just let her turn to ash,” she said.

  Josh didn’t respond. He knew that the chances were slim that they would be able to feed her enough to get her back to Theodore. Once a human has bonded and fed with a protector it is usually only that protector who can sustain them until the inevitable happens. That’s why he didn’t want to waste his time with Elin. She had bonded with Caine. Not only was it impossible for Josh to sustain her, but feeding her caused him harm… because Caine’s blood flowed through her already. He sighed and shook off the pessimism. Rue wanted Sara to live, so he would do whatever it took, regardless of Sara’s ignorance, to make it happen. Maybe Theodore had some magic from the book that he could use. Who knows for sure?

  Josh and Sam flashed towards the town and hoped for the best.

  ***

  Theodore, Kai, and Elin caught up to Jonah, Bridgette, and Johnathan. Theodore and Kai stayed behind Elin, letting her make contact first. They had stopped by a creek bed to drink some water and let Johnathan rest. He wasn’t really tired, but he faked it. They would believe him… he had human blood in him right? Johnathan leaned down and felt a vibration in his hands. He looked up as Elin came to a dead stop and looked at him. She tossed his blades to him and they fell on the ground at his feet.