by Rue Volley
Jonah paused and looked at all the rogues at the table.
“I apologize to all of you, his ignorance of our history is forcing me to share things of which you may be aware. Indulge me, I implore you.”
All the rogues at the table nodded and glanced at Bailey, who had started to take his seat. Jonah grinned and continued on.
“Well, a war finally broke out in Valon… some silliness with this or that. A belief can cause such drama if you allow it to… I will not go into that, but that is when our spineless parents decided to run. They dragged Lily and I out into the night… not wanting to be in harm’s way… For at that time, it was virtually impossible to know who believed one way or the other, whatever side. I felt relief, really, that we would be able to find a new home… perhaps leaving our parents behind.”
Jonah paused and looked at his hands. He looked up at Lily and she sat there with a soft look on her face. He shook his head and carried on.
“Well, it was not to be. We did find a home, but it was the same if not worse. At night my mother would wail and Lily would cry out, as that pig sweated away on top of her. I finally had my moment. I snuck into our mother’s room and stood there staring at her on her knees, wailing and praying to herself. I stood behind her and said one thing, ‘I release you demon.’ She looked back at me and grinned as I cut her head off. Now as you all know, cutting a protector’s head off is simply an inconvenience. Healing is something that should be quite simple to do. I did not feel enough mercy for her to place her head back on her body. I simply picked up her head and carried it towards Lily’s room. I stopped and held it up to my face and grinned at my demon mother. I slammed my foot into the door and found my father raping Lily as usual. I held my mother’s head up to him and made her see her demon lover for the first time in action. She tried to mouth something, but I dropped her head on the floor and stepped towards my father as Lily scrambled off of the bed and into the corner. He rose slowly, grinning at me and glancing at my mother’s head on the floor. ‘You are useless to me, an abomination… You and your whore of a sister,’ he said. I laughed and held my blades out in front of me. He flashed towards me and I quickly showed him my skill with a blade. I dispensed of his head and it rolled to Lily. She stared at it and picked it up and turned it to me. My Father was trying to speak, but you know… the lack of a neck will hinder you in that way.”
Bailey had picked up his glass and his hand trembled. He tried to relax and take a drink.
Jonah smiled at him and stepped towards him.
“Lily and I could have destroyed them both easily, but instead we placed their heads together on the dining room table, leaning against one another, as we hacked up their bodies in the kitchen. We cooked their bodies and then sat down to dine with our family. The first peaceful meal and I can recall… You agree, Lily?” Jonah said as he looked at her.
She nodded to him and looked at Bailey.
“Well, after dinner, we both took a head and walked to the lake; we threw their heads into the water. I am sure that they are still there, forever rotting in the water… no body to return to… no daughter to rape… no children to abandon. I would say that it has helped me sleep better for at least eight thousand years.”
Jonah stopped behind Bailey’s chair and leaned down to him.
“Do you still find me boring?” he whispered in his ear.
Bailey shook his head and looked around the table as everyone stared at him. Jonah smiled and stood up bumping his chair. Bailey jumped from his chair and ran to the side of the tent. He held his hand out to Mia and she shook her head ‘no’ to him. Jonah smiled at the girl and looked at Bailey.
“You are to leave us now, Bailey. I find you quite boring and unneeded in what is to come for us all. There is only one true master of this camp and that would be me.”
Bailey ran from the tent and Jonah looked at Lily and smiled. He held his hand out the girl and grinned at her. She took his hand and stood up. Jonah leaned down to her.
“You would be mindful of eating small things, as you seem to be small yourself,” he said to her. She frowned and he laughed at her.
“Come, eat… everyone eat. Tomorrow we prepare for greater things, things that will change our condition forever.”
***
The train had been slowing for quite some time. I guarantee that I was probably the only one who noticed each time it shifted to a slower speed. I looked out the window and then smiled as I looked at Sam. She looked up at me and tilted her head at me.
“What?” she said.
“I’m just glad to see you that’s all,” I said as I stared at her.
I really was. She smiled back and looked down at her magazine.
“Well, I’m glad to see you too,” she said.
I placed my chin on hand and looked back out the window.
“What do you think school will be like?” I asked her.
She lowered her magazine and looked at me.
“I guess, whatever you want it to be,” she said.
“Oh, I want it to be exciting and new…” I said, all dreamy, as I stared out at the trees passing us by.
“Well, I would think that anyone who loves books like you do would find it just great and exciting,” she replied.
I pushed myself up and walked towards the bathroom.
“I have to pee,” I said.
She snorted and waved her hand at me.
“Why you feel like you have to announce it is beyond me,” she said.
I stepped into the bathroom with a grin on my face. I didn’t really have to pee. I wanted to taste some more of whatever was in the bottle. I closed the door behind me and opened the cabinet up, reached back, and pulled it out. I unrolled the towel and looked at the bottle, wondering what it could possibly be that drew me to it. I sat down on the toilet and held it in my hands, rolling it over. No label… not a good sign I would guess. I started to unscrew the cap and almost dropped it when Sam tapped on the door.
“Yea?” I said as I stared at the door and started to roll the bottle back up in it.
“I am running down to see Theo. I will be right back, k?” she said.
“K,” I answered back.
I waited to hear the door close and then I unrolled the bottle again. I stared at it and grabbed the top of it, unscrewing it quickly. I would guess that this would be my only opportunity to drink it before we all went on tour of wherever the train was stopping. I smelt its contents and closed my eyes, letting the sweet aroma fill my lungs. I swear I don’t know what it is, but I love it.
I raised it to my lips and the train jerked. It sloshed up on my lips and I licked them. I felt it running down my chin and I raised my hand and wiped it. It was red, whatever it was. I grinned as I thought it might be blood… No, no way… how silly?
I tipped it back and took a huge swig of it; it flowed down my throat like it lived there… like I needed it to survive. I kept drinking, until I realized that I’d drank it all. I kept it to my mouth and waited for the last drop to hit my tongue. I let it linger in my mouth and then swallowed. I couldn’t believe I drank it all. What now?
I rolled the bottle up in the towel and placed it back under the cabinet and heard the door open. Sam must have come back and there I was still in the bathroom. I stood up quickly and stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I looked at her and shook my head.
“I would suggest that you not go in there,” I said.
She stared at me and placed her hands on her hips.
“That is gross, Rue,” she said.
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
“Sorry, my stomach is funky,” I said to her, completely sacrificing my coolness.
She muttered something and grabbed her bag.
“The train has come to a stop… We are going to get off,” she said.
I smiled. Why I didn’t feel the actual stopping was a mystery to me. I could feel everything else. Maybe it was because I was busy secretly drinking my drug
in the bathroom. I picked up my bag and waved my hand at the door.
“We gotta get off this train for at least a little while,” I said.
“I agree,” Sam said as she grinned at me.
We both headed for the door and stepped out into a sea of people in the hallway. Where they were all hiding is beyond me. I waded through, finally pushing my way to Theo and Johnathan’s door and it opened up. Johnathan stared down at me and smiled.
“Time to shop,” I said.
He nodded and looked out into the hallway.
“Where the hell did all these people come from?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders to him and smiled because he thought the same thing that I did. He so would. He stepped out and shook his head as Theo bumped him from behind.
“Why would you stop...? You were moving and then you stopped,” Theo said.
I laughed and grabbed Johnathan’s hand.
I pulled him out of Theo’s way and he stepped out and looked at all the people.
“Where on earth were all these creatures hiding?” he asked Sam.
She rolled her eyes at him and started pushing her way through them.
“Excuse me… sorry. Oh…ooops. Hey, get out of my way,” Sam said as she pushed around people and made friends.
Somehow, Johnathan cleared a path directly for the door and we stepped out into sweet air and sunshine. I looked up and let the sun warm my skin. Johnathan squeezed my hand and raised it, pointing to shops lining the platform. I smiled and turned as he pulled me along. I couldn’t see Theo or Sam and didn’t really want the regular, “Why on earth did you leave us?” or “Listen, my love… you must be weary of new places,” coming from Theo. But you know what? I just wanted to have some fun and run around with Johnathan for a while.
I let him lead me off of the exit ramp and up the stairs onto a long platform that looked like it went on forever. I stood there and couldn’t decide what to do first. Johnathan made up my mind for me and pulled me along as he bee-lined for a shop that looked like it catered to boys like him. Ones who dress a little conservative with a splash of rebel, I called it. Well, Johnathan really didn’t have a defined style. I think that he just wore what he felt most comfortable in… and I respected that about him. I, on the other hand, change from day to day, depending on how I feel. Makes it hard to guess a gift for me, I would suppose.
I followed him taking one last look behind me for good measure. Just in case Theo and Sam could see me. I hated to throw Johnathan under the bus, but I would just like to avoid the drama. Johnathan pushed the door open and we stepped into the best smell ever. I don’t know what cologne it was, but it made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t even really describe it, but I had this thing for smells… cologne, perfume. Some stink so bad I instantly get a headache, but some… OMG… make me weak. I closed my eyes and felt Johnathan let go of my hand and start to check out the goodies in there. I opened my eyes up and a boy stood in my face with a tray and a small black bottle on it. I looked at it and then at him.
“You seemed as if you liked what you smelled. This would be the source of your euphoria,” he said.
I tilted my head. “Huh?” I said.
He leaned toward me and smiled.
“You dig this smell?” he asked me. I grinned and looked at the bottle.
I picked it up and smelled it. I closed my eyes again and then sighed.
“Yes… oh god, it smells amazing,” I said.
He smiled at me and nodded his head. He looked back at Johnathan and smiled.
“Would make a nice gift for your boyfriend there,” he said.
I rubbed my neck and glanced at Johnathan.
“Oh… he uh, we are ummm… friends,” I said.
Why I was so hell bent on ramming that point home… I did not know.
“Besides… I have no money,” I added.
“Oh I see,” the boy said as he took the bottle from my hand and walked to the next couple who entered the store.
I looked back at him and frowned.
“Rude,” I whispered.
I mean, I guess this is his job but don’t act like you like me and then shrug me off because I said I don’t have any money. I hated fake sales people anyway. So annoying. If I want to buy it, I will. If I don’t… I won’t. Sometimes people just want to shop anyway. I guess it wasn’t really the sales peoples fault… It was something evil that companies pass down through the ranks, like a disease, and then they wonder why people don’t shop there and their employees hate them. Go figure. Glad I didn’t have to work there. That was why I was going to school for Lit and History… both of which will never ever put me in that position.
Johnathan called out to me and I stepped down off my mental platform.
“Yea?” I said.
“You have to help me,” he said.
I walked over to him and looked at him as he turned with two shirts in his hands. They looked exactly the same, only one was light blue and one was light green. I stopped and shook my head at him.
“They are the same,” I said to him.
“No,” he said as he looked down at them.
“This one goes with my eyes and this one looks good with my hair,” he said.
I shook my head and sighed.
“Really? Did you just ask me to pick ‘eyes or hair’ accessory for you?” I asked him.
He held them up to his face and waited.
“Ummm… blue,” I said.
“I think I will get both,” he said.
I looked at him.
“Why did you ask me then?” I said.
He smiled and placed them over his arm.
“Just wanted to see what you liked.”
I looked back as I heard a girl cry out. She grabbed at her eye and pressed on it.
The guy with her started to yell at the sales boy.
“You sprayed it in her eye, you ass!”
“I am soooo sorry. I didn’t mean too. Listen… it’s my first day, I don’t need you to yell in here,” the boy said as the guy shook his head and grabbed his girlfriend’s arm.
The boy lowered his head as they stormed out and he glanced back at me and rolled his eyes at me. I shook my head at him. I mean, don’t get all bitch on me… you sprayed the girl in the eye. I mean, he should have mastered his one job here… but no. I looked back at Johnathan and he laughed.
“Ass,” he muttered.
I nodded and followed him to the counter. The boy was off to the side with who I assume was his manager. The boy behind the counter started to ring Johnathan up and I glanced over at the boy. He looked like someone had killed his dog. The girl had her finger in his face, saying awful things under her breath to him. His head lowered further and further and suddenly I felt compelled to help him.
I stepped up to them as she was saying, “This isn’t for you… You have to sell, that is your job… the only one. I am starting to see that this is probably not for you.”
I cleared my throat and they both looked at me.
“Excuse me… ummm. When I came in here he did such an excellent job telling me about…”
I picked up the bottle and turned it to read it, “Ummm, ‘toilet passion’.”
The girl interrupted me with her French accent.
“Toil-lay,” she said like she was schooling me.
I almost laughed. I looked at her and smiled.
“Okay…’toil-lay’,” I said.
When did a ‘T’ sound like a ‘Y’? Oh well.
“Anyway,” I said. “He wants one.”
I pointed back at Johnathan and he looked over at me.
“Oh… very good,” the girl said.
The boy grinned at me with his head down and I walked back to the counter. The boy walked up and grabbed a bottle of it from the glass case and set it in front of Johnathan.
“What?” Johnathan said to me.
I looked at the bottle and smiled.
“It smells so amazing, it made me dizzy,” I said.
<
br /> Johnathan looked back at boy.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” he said.
The boy smiled and rang him up.
“That will be one hundred and forty-eight dollars,” he said.
I bit my lip and Johnathan looked at me as he handed his card to him.
I smiled. Oooops.
We walked out and Johnathan opened his bag up and looked at the little bottle.
I looked over at him and tapped him on the arm.
“It is totally worth it,” I said.
Johnathan closed his bag and started to walk.
“I hope so,” he said.
We walked by a few more shops and then I stopped. I looked up and saw the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was a dress. Black of course, mini… with a sheer grey layer over it. It was ruffled in the front like a curtain would be… kind of couture. I had never had anything like it.
I stood there staring at it like it was the only thing that had ever existed. I felt Johnathan grab my hand and pull me into the shop. We stepped in and I looked around. There were three girls working, all in black. They took one look at me and dismissed me as the poor one, I was sure. What saved me was Johnathan. They perked up at the sight of him, of course. I guess I forget how pretty he really was sometimes. One of the girls walked up to us and she eyed me quickly and then looked at him.
“How can I assist you today?” she asked him.
I looked around. I mean this is all girl’s clothing… expensive, obviously.
Why the hell would she ask him and not me?
“Well…” I said as I stepped in between them.
I pointed at the window.
“That dress, I would like to try it on in a two,” I said.
She looked at me, up and down really, and looked at the dress.
“The dress is an import, it is for show. Handmade,” she said.
I looked at Johnathan and did the frowny face.
He looked at her and grinned.
“Get it and let her try it on, please,” he said.
Johnathan pulled out his black credit card. You know the one… the one with no limit.