by Rue Volley
“You.” Johnathan said as he gritted his teeth.
Caine laughed and it caused Johnathan to tighten his jaw even more so than it already was.
“And you… my son.” Caine said as he stood his ground.
“I am no son to you… as you are no Father to me.” Johnathan said.
“You cannot choose, for it is life.” Caine said.
“Oh thank you for the deep observation.” Johnathan said.
Caine grinned.
“You are not unlike me, I see you have a sharp tongue.”
“Why would you care?... remember? I am a wasted effort.” Johnathan said.
Brooke looked up at Johnathan and squeezed his arm. Johnathan did not take his eyes from Caine’s.
“I fear that the human blood in you has made you more emotional than intended.” Caine said as he took a step to the right and stopped, looking up at the skylight… covered in vines.
“Thank god that I at least have that.” Johnathan said.
“Oh.” Caine said as he looked back at him.
“Well, good… I am glad that you embrace and accept your weakness.”
“It is not a weakness to me, the only weakness I have is the part of me that came from you.” Johnathan said.
Caine sighed and turned back to his chair; he stepped towards it and sat down, kind of dropping into it, more than sitting down.
“I fear that this is not going to be the triumph over evil that you dreamed of… I am dying, as you can see.” Caine said as he slumped back into the chair and relaxed.
“What? You cannot die… you are immortal, just as I am.” Johnathan said.
“Is that concern I hear in your voice?” Caine said as he half laughed.
“Far from it… you lie, you always lie.” Johnathan said.
“True… I have been known to lie, but I speak only truth now, I have nothing to lose.”
Johnathan stepped towards him and Brooke grabbed him and whispered.
“Don’t… he lies, you said it yourself… we need to run.”
“Oh Brooke… what a curious human you are, so in love my son and yet so angry.”
Brooke looked at him and stepped forward.
“Listen to me you freak of nature, you had me tied down on a bed not a day ago… trust me, I would love to see you dead.”
Caine laughed and leaned forward in his chair.
“Well, perhaps this will help you in your quest.”
Johnathan, Brooke and Alandra stepped back quickly as Caine flung his blades out to them and they hit the floor and slid to Jonathan’s feet, kicking up dust and decaying flesh in the process. Johnathan looked down and stared at his Father’s blades and leaned down, taking them both into his hands. They immediately started to pulsate with his heartbeat as energy surged through them.
“Please… do as you have dreamed of, take my life and send me to memory.” Caine said as the light from the blades lit up Jonathan’s face.
“Do it.” Alandra whispered behind him as Brooke shot her a look.
Brooke looked back at Johnathan and shook her head.
“This may be a trick… we should run… now.” Brooke whispered.
Alandra pulled Brooke back and Brooke huffed at her as Alandra stepped up next to Johnathan and stared at the glowing blades in his hands.
“Do it… kill him.” She said.
Johnathan looked at her and started to lower the blades. He looked up at Caine, looking weak and weathered in his chair and shook his head.
“Let him rot.” Johnathan said as he looked away from him.
“Oh for fucks sake.” Alandra said as she jerked the blades from Johnathan’s hands and flashed towards Caine, who straightened up and opened his shirt to expose his chest to her. Alandra flipped into the air and came down on him, straddling the chair on both arms with her feet and slammed both blades deep into Caine’s chest. She cried out as the light flash brightly from his body and he cried out in Latin, it echoed through the room. Brooke ran to Johnathan and buried her head deep in his chest and he hugged her as he shielded his eyes from the blinding light and wind that whipped up in the room. Alandra cried out and jerked the blades back, jumping from the chair and landing gracefully in front of Johnathan, breathing steadily, with blood all over her face and shirt. The blades dripped in blood too and the light pulsated on the metal. Johnathan looked past her and watched as Caine floated above the chair and then with one sonic boom, exploded into dust that blew out over the room and started to settle on everything, coating it with his remains. Alandra grinned, breaking up the solid red that her face had become from all the blood that had splattered on her and her teeth looked blindingly white because of it. Johnathan turned, still holding Brooke close to him and watched the doors open and four children entered the room, the boy leading them, clapping and calling out as he entered. Alandra flipped the blades in her hand and the blood splattered on the stone at her feet and she stepped back as the children approached them all.
“Oh my… look what a mess you made!” The boy said as he passed by Johnathan and Brooke peeked at him. He stopped next to Alandra and smiled.
“I would take it that you got bored?” he said to her.
Alandra smiled and he kissed her. Johnathan crinkled his eyebrows and watched.
“What the hell Alandra?” he asked her.
Alandra slowly took her lips from Vons and looked at him.
“I thought it was fun…didn’t you?” she asked him.
Johnathan stepped back and bumped into someone, he turned to see a girl standing there with blades in her hands and stepped away from her.
Alandra stepped toward Johnathan and Brooke and smiled.
“I do like you… otherwise you would be dead.” She said.
Johnathan shook his head.
“So you… you ah.”
“Oh god… he is in shock Alandra, you must have played your role well.” Von said as he looked around the room and waved his hand in the air.
“I did… I guess.” Alandra said as she glanced at Johnathan and back to Von.
Von looked at Johnathan and grinned.
“Don’t be hurt, she has broken many a heart… she is so innocent looking that you would never suspect her of her true treachery.”
“What the hell are you?” Johnathan asked as Brooke looked back and saw them all standing in front of them now.
“Oh…well, let’s see. You are a demon, well a half ass demon of sorts… with traces of human and protector blood… you smell very good, by the way.” Von said.
Johnathan narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t need a tutorial on what I am, I am aware of where I come from.”
“Really? Well, you see this city was stolen.” Von said.
“What?”
“Stolen… surely you understand English.” Von said.
“Yes… you dick, I do.”
“Oh there we go!... there is that fighting spirit!” Von said as he paced back and forth. He stopped and held his hand up to him.
“I cannot completely hate you…seeing that you are a bastard to the protector race of sorts… so I guess I will tell you.”
Alandra looked at him and shook her head.
“You don’t need to tell him anything.”
Von looked at her and smiled then he looked back to Johnathan.
“Bitch… isn’t she… I just love that.” He said as he smiled and Alandra rolled her eyes and walked towards the chair. She brushed it off and sat down, kicking up left over dust from Caine’s body.
“Anyway… as I was saying… Valon was stolen from us.” He said.
“Us who?” Johnathan said.
“Why Angels… of course.” Von said as he crossed his arms on his chest and squared his shoulders.
Johnathan laughed, in fact he laughed so hard Brooke moved away from him and stared at him, and then she glanced at Von.
“Johnathan… maybe you shouldn’t laugh.” She whispered to him.
Von laughed to and look
ed back at Alandra who raised her hands up and smiled.
“I take it you don’t believe.” Von said.
Johnathan caught his breath and looked at him.
“Angels?” he said.
“Yes.” Von replied as he grinned.
“Okay… we are leaving now.” Johnathan said as he grabbed Brooke’s hand and started for the door. The smaller of the two girls started to follow and Von held his hand up to her and then he flashed in front of Johnathan and Brooke and they stopped dead. Von tilted his head and grinned.
“I am afraid you cannot leave yet.” He said.
“Oh yea… watch me.” Johnathan said.
Von held his hand up and bright light flashed from his palm and hit Johnathan in the chest, it knocked him to the floor and pushed him all the way across the floor and he hit the bottom step of the center circle. Brooke cried out and Von smiled at her.
“You dick!” she yelled as she ran back to Johnathan, who was slowly pulling himself up as he touched his chest and hissed from the symbol that glowed on his now burnt skin.
“Damn it.” He muttered as Brooke reached him and touched his arm.
“You okay?” she said, as he looked up at her rolled his eyes.
“Does it look like it?” he said as she frowned at him.
Johnathan looked up and saw Von walking towards him with his hands up.
“Listen to me… we can do this all day, or you can listen… and save yourself some pain.” Von said as he stopped and lowered his hands to his side.
“I don’t like you very much.” Johnathan said and Von laughed.
“You don’t have to like me… I find you repulsive, the stink of human on you makes me nauseous and your little friend here makes my head pound.”
Brooke looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
“You are supposed to, good,” she said.
Von smiled.
“Oh as in all winged and full of salvation?” he said.
“Angels are protectors.” Brooke said.
“Oh! And the monkey hit it right on the head!” Von said as he walked towards them and leaned down in her face. Brooke didn’t move…probably out of anger. Von grinned and touched her nose and she jerked her head away from him. Von stood up and looked at Johnathan.
“We are protectors…true protectors, seems we kind of lost our jobs when you cockroaches crawled out of that wretched tree and decided to start throwing your weight around… but we are here to set things right, as they should be… as in the beginning.” He said.
“Like Adam and Eve?” Johnathan asked him.
Von laughed.
“No, as in when we ruled the earth and everything that resides on her.” Von said.
“That is not in the book.” He said.
Von looked at Alandra and she stood up and walked up behind Johnathan and leaned in his ear.
“You mean the book written by man?” she said.
Johnathan looked back at her and raised his eyebrows.
“You cannot be serious.” Johnathan said.
“Why is it so hard to believe… I would think that you would understand, seeing that you have demon blood coursing through your veins… if there are demons, why can there not be angels?”
Johnathan looked at Brooke and then back to Von.
“I just thought you would be different.” Johnathan said.
“What?... all fluffy and nice?... well we are warriors, not unlike yourself. This city was ours and then she came and we were driven out.” Von said.
Alandra walked to him and shook her head at him.
“Don’t.” she said.
Von sighed and looked at Johnathan.
“Listen to me… you can either be a guest, or a prisoner… you choose.”
Johnathan sighed and looked at Brooke, who looked as if she about to cry. He looked back at Von and shook his head.
“I guess the smart choice would be guest.”
“And your better judgment has taken hold… well then, Alandra… show them to their room and then return to me… we have things to discuss.”
Alandra looked at Von and then flashed to Johnathan and Brooke.
“Come.” She said.
Johnathan and Brooke followed her as she led them out of the room and towards a room they neither wanted nor deserved… in the one place in the whole world Johnathan never wanted to be... Valon.
Chapter 11
Ravens Fall Like Rain
I remember a story. An old one. One from a book that I once read, “And the seas turned red and all that lived in her washed ashore… dead and dying.”
I sit here at the Vanity, staring at myself and for some reason, I keep thinking about that line, in a book that I had once read over in the library at home. I really didn’t know why I was. I should’ve been happy, perhaps excited about the party and the fact that we had finally travelled overseas… with the added bonus of re connecting with old friends, Jonah and Lily, who had gone beyond what was needed to prepare a beautiful room for us… not to mention all these awesome clothes at our disposal. But my mind was stuck in a loop, of those poor fish, suddenly struck down as they swam along in the open sea and it made me sad. Very sad.
I turned and looked at Josh as I saw his reflection appear in the mirror and grinned. He looked amazing. White shirt, black vest with a tie. So cleaned up and nostalgic in some ways. You would swear he had stepped out of time and into my view. I stood up and grinned as he stared at me and the dress I had chosen to wear. It was black lace over tan, corseted at the waist with a brown leather corset, somewhat weathered looking, but old and soft to the touch. The dress was shorter in the front, but in the back it had a tulle train in black, intermixed with a black sheer material with large flowers in deep green on it. Not something that I would normally choose to wear, but it was so beautiful to me that I had too. He let his eyes slowly go down the front of the dress and I turned, to allow him to see the back, it dipped deep on my back, in a V, exposing my shoulder blades and my spine. I turned back and he grinned, exposing his canine teeth and I grinned back… just knowing that he approved. He shook his head and stepped towards me.
“Are you sure that you want to go downstairs?”
I laughed. “Yes Josh, I didn’t put this on just so you could take it off.”
He laughed to and in one quick flash forward he was in my face, and I had to look up to see him. He touched my cheek and the door opened, Josh closed his eyes and sighed and turned, stepping out of my way so that I could see who had intruded in on Josh’s prelude to trying to seduce me… and of course it was Johnathan. He looked amazing too, and I smiled as I pulled my hair up and flipped it, clipping it with a beautiful vintage hairpiece that had been sitting on the vanity.
“You look…” Johnathan started to say and then he looked at Josh and grinned.
“Pretty.”
“Don’t call me pretty… just because that whole thing happened in the garden does not mean that I am your boyfriend now.”
“Ha ha.” Johnathan said as he looked back to me and I winked at him. I mean what else should I do? It was awkward enough as is.
“Well… the party is starting, and seeing that you two are a third of reason it is happening, I came to retrieve you before Lily has a meltdown.” Johnathan said as his eyes stayed on me.
Josh snapped his fingers and Johnathan looked at him.
Johnathan grinned and turned back towards the door and Josh looked at me and rolled his eyes. I didn’t react to him, if I do it will only invite yet another conversation as to why Johnathan should die… so we will play nice and keep the mouth shut, hope it stays that way.
We stepped out of the room and into the hallway and I looked at each painting on the wall as I walked slowly on Josh’s arm. Johnathan was ahead of us as usual and for a moment I thought about his home, and that long hallway I had followed him down to the kitchen on that fateful night. Thank god I had, perhaps in other instances… I mean as I ping ponged through the timeline… I never went t
o his house that night, not setting anything into motion. It was small moments of memory like that I was thankful for the roads that I had taken to get me to the place I was at, you know with Josh by my side and Johnathan, although a hot mess, still in my life. I grinned and raised my hand to my mouth as I caught myself giggling and Josh glanced at me.
“What?” he said.
I looked at him, shaking my head, getting my goofy giggle under control and cleared my throat. I pointed at my throat and said.
“Frog… in my throat, sorry.”
Josh looked up ahead and Johnathan rounded the corner out of sight and he looked at me again.
“Could we come to an agreement on Johnathan?” he asked me.
He stopped, forcing me to stop to, and I looked at him, all clean and pretty in his white shirt and tie and waited… waited for whatever he had to throw on the table.
“What agreement?” I asked him.
“Okay… I won’t kill him.”
“Oh that’s so nice of you.” I said as I looked down at the fabulous boots I had put on with the dress. I tilted my foot and Josh cleared his throat.
“But…”
I looked up at him. “Of course there is a “but” with you.” I said.
Josh stepped towards me.
“But, I think that he should leave.” He said.
I stood there and stared at him, and knew from knowing him so well that he was serious, no joking… and from the way his eyes looked; he was hoping that I would agree.