by Rue Volley
***
I wiped the blood from my lip and stared into the mirror. I narrowed my eyes and hated myself. I totally did at that moment. I mean I hated to feed, I hate the fact that I had to live on breathing things to survive and I kind of hated Johnathan too. His smug acceptance of what we were and his willingness to keep bringing these things to us… one human after another, willing to move on so that we can remain. I sighed and threw the tissue in the trashcan and then quickly pulled it back out… staring at the blood smeared on it. I couldn’t leave that there… good god. I shoved it into my pocket, feeling more like a criminal hiding evidence, than a girl ready to finish her trip. But I was not just a girl, as I wished that I was… and Johnathan was so not just a boy. I turned the water on and splashed my face; I leaned in and bit my lip as I looked at myself. I looked normal enough. Normal enough to blend in, but I was a freak of nature. God… my stomach ached and the pain started up in my head again… perfect. I grinned… or tried to anyway. I mean must I always feel this hate? But for the life of me, my memories are still jumbled like soup. I turned when a light tap came on the door and I sighed. I knew it was Johnathan and I just needed to get myself together, I do.
I opened the door and looked at his face. He looked soft, no anger. I could smell the blood on him and my stomach growled loud enough for him to notice. He looked down at my stomach and grinned.
“You did not eat enough as usual.” He said.
“No… no I ate enough, no worries.” I said.
He reached up to touch my face and I stepped back. His facial expression did not change, and for a moment it bothered me… he looked robotic, causing me to feel a slight tinge of guilt, like I lived to annoy him… or to punish him for what we are.
“Well… time to leave. I have taken care of the business downstairs and we need to get going.” He said as he turned from me and left the room. I hesitated for a moment and then had to mentally slap myself out of my stupor. I had to stop… had too. I had one person in the whole world that was like me… and he loved me, I could feel it coming off of him in waves. I just wished that I felt the same, but I didn’t. Sad.
I walked down the stairs with my backpack on and stopped when I saw him holding a picture in his hand. He quickly placed it in his pocket and looked up at me.
“You did not need to pack, you know that we have people to retrieve our things and ship them home.” He said.
I didn’t know that… or I didn’t remember. I smiled and slipped the backpack off and sat it down on the floor. Not really wanting to leave it, but knowing that he was right. I was sure that he had people… or I mean… we had people who took care of things. You see we didn’t worry about money. Johnathan was an heir and he had more money than needed to sustain us forever, plus… I would guess that we do collected money from our food. Not in a stealing way, but in a donation way. A final donation made by sorrowful people wanting to die, and giving us the last “thank-you” for helping them along. Sick business I know, but to survive is not always a pretty business. Anyway, Johnathan held his hand out to me and I took it. I had no real choice anyway. I was slowly remembering things as they were, but the memories came as I thought about things. Weird and I had every intention of getting Johnathan to explain to me the extent of my mysterious injuries, because I believed tit had affected my memory to the worst extent.
We stepped out and a car sat idle, waiting on us. The driver leaned up and flipped his half smoked cigarette into the street and blew the smoke out over his shoulder. He quickly opened the door up and I slid in first, Johnathan slid in next to me and the door closed. I looked around the car and smelled the newness of it. It smelled of leather and money… Johnathan’s favorite. I leaned back and looked at the cashmere-lined ceiling of this Rolls Royce.
“You like?” he asked me.
I glanced at him and shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s pretty… as cars go.” I said.
“Oh! Seriously Rue… I need for you to appreciate the car for what it is… a working piece of art.”
I laughed.
“A working piece of indulgence.” I said.
“So artsy of you to say.” He said as he leaned up and looked at the back of the driver’s head.
“Chealsee 221.” He said.
The driver peeked at us in the mirror and nodded.
“I take it… that is her parents address?” I asked.
Johnathan leaned back and took my hand in his, pulling it up to his mouth and kissing my palm. It felt wrong and I tensed up. He looked at me and grinned.
“You hate her… even in death.” He said.
I rolled my eyes and sat up, I started to play with the cigarette holder, made of pure silver… pushing the button, making it rise.
“I do not hate her.” I said.
“Huh.” Johnathan said as I could still see him staring at me from the side.
“Stop it… it’s rude.” I said.
“Stop what?”
“Staring at me, like you are going to get me to react to you.” I said.
Johnathan laughed and placed his finger on a button to his right and the window rose, separating the driver from our view. He turned to me and grabbed my hand.
“I love you.” He whispered.
I cleared my throat and continued to play with the cigarette holder.
“Did you hear me?”
I looked at him and bit my lip.
“I heard you.” I said.
“Funny… you will confirm but not acknowledge.” He said as he leaned back and looked out his window.
“Confirming and acknowledging is the same thing.” I said.
He smiled and looked over at me.
“No… that it is not. You say you hear me, but you will not say the words.”
“What words? You know that I care about you.” I said.
“Not as you should.” He said. He was right. I didn’t feel the same as him. I guess I should, but I didn’t. It must hurt him, to know that the only creature built just like him does not feel the same passion as he does. I mean, who the hell else would love me? No one I would guess. I mean how could they? I am a freak of nature, perhaps the future, but here in the now… living amongst humans that I do not want to harm but cannot live without. But… hated to say it but I actually thought that I might hate him… and that was bad. Bad for me, bad for him and bad for everything that has yet to come. The car stopped and so did my heart. The reason for this ill-fated trip was winding to an end. The collection of whatever it was that Brooke had left to Johnathan, important enough for us to travel. The driver stepped out and then the door opened. The sunlight filled the car and I took the drivers hand and stepped out. Johnathan followed me and he leaned into the driver’s ear and whispered something. I was too busy staring up at this old house, Victorian in style… stretching into the sky. I felt Johnathan place his hand in mine and once again I allowed him to lead me, although the urge to run jerked at every muscle in my body. Johnathan stopped and opened the wrought iron gate and I stepped through, looking up a walkway flanked with beautiful green vegetation and old world cobblestone at our feet. I stepped forward and Johnathan closed the gate behind us. It creaked and moaned from being moved and I stood there wanting to approach the house, but waiting for Johnathan to push me to do it. He stepped up next to me and grinned.
“Beautiful, is it not?” he asked me.
“The garden or the house… because I would say both.” I said.
Johnathan smiled and started to walk towards the house, pulling me along, as I knew he would. We stepped up and climbed the stairs to the front door and stood there, I guess I expected some big speech from him, something to ease the blow but nothing. He simply shifted his feet, let go of my hand and knocked on the door. I stood there suddenly feeling like a third wheel, someone who should not be here… completely out of place and uneasy. Just as I considered flashing away from the house the door opened and a small woman, perhaps in her fifties, stood there… staring the two of u
s down. I looked at her face and she looked sad and pale, as if she never knew sunlight… never knew joy. She wore all black. Not your typical housekeeper gear, but a button down black shirt and a pair of pants. Even her shoes were black. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, almost making it look as if it was holding her skin in place. I looked at Johnathan and he kept his eyes on her.
“I am Johnathan Graph. I am expected. This is my travelling companion… Rue Volley.”
I looked at him and the ‘travelling companion’ crap kind of irritated me. I mean he wanted us to be together and yet here, at Brooke’s parent’s doorstep, he was dismissing me as a simple tag along.
“Hello Mr. Graph… you are expected.” She said as she backed up, allowing Johnathan to step into the dimly lit house. I followed only because I felt kind of irritated and I guess curious too. Now that I was there, I wanted to be in the house. I mean I had come this far… why muck it up now? You know ‘muck it up’ with some girlie crap that was so not me.
We followed the small thin woman through an entryway and she peeked back at us, beckoning us forward. It kind of irritated me that Johnathan walked ahead of me. Suddenly I did feel like an outsider. I mean he was always so concerned with me that I guess for him to shed me is awkward. He rounded a corner ahead of me and my head hurt again. Like I had seen him leave me this way before. I stopped for a second and looked to my right. A tall wooden grandfather clock stood there, draped in black. I lifted the black veil and saw that it was not running. The time had been stopped. I heard a throat clear and looked up to see the housekeeper staring at me. I felt a little embarrassed about being nosey, but no need to apologize. That would only make things weirder than they already were. I let the black veil drop and followed her, around the corner and into a large room with a fire roaring. I immediately felt the heat of the fire when I entered the room, which was a strange sensation to have. The air felt thick and the room was dimly lit. Although the sun was shining brightly outside, the floor to ceiling curtains were drawn as if to block out the time of day. I looked across the room and saw Johnathan, down on one knee, holding a hand that was protruding from a high backed chair. I stepped in and he glanced at me and slowly stood up, holding his hand out to me. I couldn’t help but look around the room… it was filled with large pieces of furniture… old leather. Obviously money ran deep in this family. A large oil painting sat over the fireplace. A man, a somber look on his face… a woman with a beautiful but calm face and Brooke. A family portrait. I swallowed and walked to Johnathan as I tried to not look around anymore. My curiosity could be taken as rude, and this visit was strange enough without adding more strangeness on top of it. I stepped up to Johnathan and looked down. A woman sat there, with a blanket over her lap. She looked tired and lifeless and I felt no real energy coming from her. It was almost as if she was exhausted to the point of not living. Just an animated shell of what she probably was. I recognized her; Brooke had her eyes and mouth, as well as her blonde hair. Johnathan sighed and looked to her and then at me.
“This is Rue.” He said.
The woman raised her eyes to me, cold and hallow and half grinned… perhaps just a left over from someone who knew how to properly greet someone.
“Hello Rue… I have heard many things about you.” She said.
I took a breath and glanced at Johnathan.
“I am sorry for your loss.” I said, not knowing what else to say to a woman who had lost her only child. God knows that I would never be the same if I was in her shoes.
Both Johnathan and I turned as we heard a man’s voice and my eyes immediately left him and looked in front of him.
“Johnathan?” I said, half winded as he left my side and walked to the man, picking up what I had been shocked by.
Johnathan turned to me and smiled.
“Rue… I would like for you to meet Brooke’s and my son… Elijah.”
I sucked in my breath and stumbled, catching myself on the back of the chair.
***
Gracie woke in sweat. Dreaming of fields and faces that seemed so familiar and yet foreign to her. She sat up quickly and her blanket fell, exposing her sheer cami. She took a breath and leaned forward, running her hands through her hair and then looked up. She pulled the blanket up quickly as Alexander sat there, in a chair in the corner of the room. She backed up to the headboard and said nothing. He took a breath and started to rise and her eyes followed him, ready to run if needed.
“I am so glad that you have finally woken.” He said.
Gracie crinkled her eyebrows and stared him down. Alex rubbed his hand on his neck and started to pace.
“I know that you are probably mad.”
Gracie said nothing as she watched him walk back and forth.
He stopped and looked at her.
“Will you say something? Anything will do.”
Gracie shrugged her shoulders and narrowed her eyes.
“What should I say Alex? That you lied, that you tricked me?” she said.
“I did not want to… trust me, knowing your temper I knew that I was taking a risk that you would never talk to me again.”
“You are probably right.” Gracie said.
“About what?” Alex said as he stared at her.
Gracie shook her head.
“Where is Erik? I would prefer to talk to him.” She said.
“He is hunting, they went out to feed.”
“Well then.” Gracie said as she stood up and looked around the room.
“What are you doing?” he asked her.
She grinned and looked at him.
“I am of no concern to you rogue… I am leaving.” She said.
“Gracie…” Alexander started to say as he stepped towards her. Gracie held up her hand and he stopped, moaning and reaching to his throat. Gracie stepped towards him and looked him over.
“You are a beast and a liar and I do not wish to be with you.” She said.
“Grac... ie.” Alex tried to say as she focused on his throat and tightened the invisible grip around it.
“What Alexander?” Gracie asked as she tilted her head.
“I can’t… I can’t breathe.” He stuttered.
The door opened in a flash and Erik grabbed Gracie’s arm. He pun her around to face him and placed his hand on her chest, a light welled up and she cried out as the energy left her. Alexander dropped to the ground, grabbing his throat and coughing. Gracie collapsed and Erik held her there as he glanced at Alex.
“Why do you play with fire?” he asked him.
Alexander looked up with glossy eyes.
“Because I love her.” He whispered.
“You love what would be your end… foolish.” He said.
Alex pushed himself up and stepped up to Erik; he cradled Gracie and placed her on the bed, pulling the covers up over her and sat down on the edge of the bed, touching her face.
“She will never love you… you would have been better off to have killed her when you found her.”
“No… no, she will remember me. I am certain.” He said.
Erik stepped up to the bed and looked at Gracie as she mumbled in her sleep.
“The more time that passes, the more she will remember who she is and what she is here to do.”
“Alex… we all know that you feel compassion for this thing… but the truth remains. Gracie is an angel, entering this world through the two most powerful protectors that have ever lived. She came as a spear… a dagger, to strike at the heart of us. She has nothing but hate in her heart and the idea that you will tame her is beyond ridiculous… she is not a pet and your love will destroy you as well as all of us.”
Alexander sighed and then stepped up to Erik, staring him down.
“Gracie was a beautiful creature in memory Erik; I wish you could have seen her. She was loving, confused and needed me. I followed her here and told her that I would help her destroy the parasites that plagued the planet. I promised her that I would help her re take Valon and restore
it to its former glory.”
“You did this by lying to her; you told her that you were also an angel Alex… that you are not. You are a rogue… sentenced to memory for treachery.”
“And since I was abandoned by my own, I have found a new way Erik. I will return to Valon with her, and if you were smart you would follow and ask for mercy. She will not kill you, any of you if you pledge your loyalty to her and to her brothers and sisters.”
Erik laughed and walked to the door. He stopped and looked back to Alex.
“You will be eaten alive, as soon as she fully remembers who she is, you have already tasted it here… in this very room. They do not care about loyalty, only domination and the destruction of us all.”
“Then tell me this Erik… why do you let her live?”
Erik placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it. He took a breath and turned back to Alex.
“Because I am going to use her to kill the sword.” He muttered.
“What? Joshua Barrington? You are kidding me right?” he asked.
“No… I am not, and when he is finally laid to rest I will kill both of you.”
Erik slammed the door shut behind him and Alex stood there silent.
***
“I swear to god, I am making this as fast as I can.” Sam said as she gritted her teeth and listened to the coffee grind in the machine. The snooty little girl at the counter tapped her fingernails on the wooden counter top and stared her down. Sam raised her eyebrows and gave the girl a look that made her stop and take a step back from her. Sam finished pouring the hot coffee into a cup and shook the can of whipped crème. The girl raised her eyebrows and looked at her.
“I said NO crème.”
Sam slammed the can on the counter and slid the coffee to her. The girl rolled her eyes and started to walk away. Sam yelled out to her.