The Blood and Light Series (Six Books Boxed Set)

by Rue Volley

  “So… what do you think you are doing?” Mikah asked as Joshua stopped and hunched his shoulders. She waited and he turned to her and lowered his bag to the ground.

  “Well, you are up early.” He said as he rubbed his neck.

  “Listen, I don’t like you either and trust me… if Sophia had not asked I would not be here because you are a dick I could do without.” She said.

  “Not what you said last month…” he said under his breath and she stopped and closed her eyes. She turned on one foot and stared him down.

  “I guess you think you are it for women huh? Like no one else exists or could satisfy someone then?”

  “No… I mean listen, you don’t want to be here and I don’t really need the help so why not take a holiday and I will just say you went and it’s all even.” Joshua said as he tried to grin and not look mean.

  “No.” Mikah said and started to walk again as Joshua picked up his bag, slung it across his chest and followed, hating every single step.

  They walked without saying a single word for miles, in fact, 5 hours went by before Mikah stopped and held up her hand, making symbols with a fist and then a swipe and a bunch of stuff Joshua narrowed his eyes at and shook his head. She glanced back at him and raised her eyebrows and he nodded like he understood her military style crap she was sharing. Why she felt it necessary to make up this kind of stuff was beyond him and as they had trained side by side she had tried to share this stuff with him, but her breasts distracted him at the time and had no memory of anything she had said. She suddenly flashed ahead and Joshua reached up and then sighed, not knowing why or what was happening. He then heard a scream and he flashed ahead so fast it was not detectable to the human eye and as he came to a stop Mikah had a woman held up by the throat and a man lay on the ground at her feet, bleeding badly from the throat. Mikah pulled her in close to her face and Joshua opened his mouth up and then decided to just say it.

  “I have food.” He said and Mikah stopped mid bite and looked at him.

  “You have blood?”

  “Yes, this is not necessary at all.”

  “Pity she saw.” Mikah said and she tore into her throat and drank her dry in a fraction of a second. She dropped the body like trash and turned to Joshua, licking her fingers.

  “You eat, I am full now.” She said and Joshua looked at the two bodies and shook his head again as he felt sick from the sight of it.

  “I can wait.” He said and he walked past her as she sighed and glanced at the humans on the ground. She caught up to him and wiped the last bit of fresh blood from her chin and licked her hand.

  “You are a mystery to me.” She said and Joshua kept his eyes trained on the path ahead of them and kept walking.

  “I mean, you are the Lord of Valon.”

  He interrupted her.

  “I will be the Lord, I am not the Lord yet.”

  “Okay, will be… still happening. You cannot think that eating donor blood or collecting energy is going to sustain you as you protect the city and all of our kind.”

  Joshua stopped and looked at her.

  “From what?”

  “What?”

  He looked around them. “From what? I mean what I am going to protect us from exactly? There is not a creature on this planet that we have not been able to subdue so why the protection?” he asked her.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You better watch your thoughts Joshua Barrington, that could be considered treasonous.”

  “Oh really? Why? I mean I am certain there was a time that a LORD of Valon was a necessity, but now? Times have changed Mikah. The only thing that has not are those who are stuck in old ideas.”

  She looked him over and then laughed, it was quiet at first and then got louder and more obnoxious with each second that passed them by. Joshua crossed his arms on his chest and waited for her to stop.

  “Really? You? I cannot believe it… you are a coward.” She said and he relaxed his arms and stared her down.

  “I am no coward.”

  “Oh I do believe that you are, I swear to you if Valon allowed women to be Lord’s which will happen someday, I would challenge you and gladly show the world just how worthless you really are.” She said as she stepped up into his face.

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes… really.”

  “Mikah, there is nothing in you that would allow you to be what it takes to be a Lord, you lack conviction and skill.”

  “Ha!” she said as she stepped up even closer.

  “Like you can talk to anyone about skill!” she said as she looked him over and he raised an eyebrow.

  “I can vouch for your lack in the bedroom.” He whispered and she lifted her hand and tried to slap him, he caught her hand and she kissed him hard on lips and jumped up onto him as he moaned at her lips and stumbled backward. They fell together and rolled down an incline, kissing the whole way until the hit the bottom and he cried out as his back slammed into a large rock protruding from the earth. She growled and ripped his white leather chest piece open as he looked down and ripped hers open too, exposing her ample breasts and he cupped one and leaned in as she threw her head back and looked up into the sky. The sun was just starting to streak colors across the sky and as she gripped the back of his head and pulled on his hair, he slammed her down on top of him and she moaned as he kissed her softly at first and then biting into her lip and tasting her blood, sending them both into a new frenzy with the taste of blood. He rocked her back and forth as she tore some of his hair out, which quickly grew right back and tore her nails into the leather on his back, leaving thin cuts laced with red from his blood. He hissed as the pain felt exquisite but his body quickly mended taking the pleasure away before he wanted it too. She flipped him up onto the large flat rock and climbed on top of him, settling down and wrapping one hand on his throat and the other on his wrist. She squeezed until the bone cracked in his hand and he looked at it and laughed, she arched her back and moved quickly until she screamed out his name and he flipped her onto her stomach and took her to places she had never been. He growled into her ear and asked her to climax and it was then that she did as he requested, not something she was known to do for anyone…

  Joshua adjusted his leather chest piece and closed the straps on it as Mikah did the same. He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes and started to walk off.

  “It changes nothing.” She said and he raised his hands and shook his head as he watched her walk away.

  “Women.” He said and she yelled out.

  “I heard that, you think you can keep up, we need to retrieve these things and return them today.”

  Joshua flashed to catch up with her and again they walked for miles without saying anything to each other.

  Maggie stood slowly, accepting the help by her trusting clown.

  “Farley, I…”

  The clown shook his head and grinned at her as if to say “don’t”. Maggie grinned back and understood. Farley had been with Caleb and Maggie for years, he was homeless and they had taken him in as they had many, including Jonah and Lily who Caleb had found and never shared the full story of but Maggie knew it was a terrible one as when he returned that night with the two babies, they were drenched in blood and he said only a few words and since had let that night sink into memory as it probably should. Maggie and Caleb always wanted children, but when they lost the one baby they had conceived the ability to have another left them and with it a sadness had settled on the Will & Wonder circus, until Jonah and Lily had come to them, as the miracle she believed it to be.

  “I need for you to promise me to take care of Caleb and the wee ones, tis not a request, I fear it must be an order dear Farley.” She whispered to him and he nodded to her, knowing she was probably in her final days with an illness they all knew to be cancer. This was more than likely the reason she was unable to carry a child, but the short 10 years Jonah and Lily had been with them had made all of the sadness disappear.

  She walked to
the opening and heard the music rise, prompting her to step out and she took a deep breath, touched her tight corset and placed a smile on her face, only thinking of Jonah, Lily and Caleb. She stepped out and you would not know she was ill. Maggie was a true performer, she had been since birth with the circus that she now owns, seeing it was founded by her parents, and probably their parents before them. She glanced to Caleb who stood in the middle of the ring, he removed his hat and placed it to his chest, bowing to her as he had done a million times before, but as he stood up slowly his face studied her and he shook his head slightly as she wiped her nose and saw the small trace of blood on her fingers. Jonah and Lily noticed this too; in fact any blood caught their attention and always had. Each year becoming more of a situation but somehow they controlled it, although they had no idea why they had too.

  Jonah and Lily were at her sides before anyone could process it and some whispered to each other as their sudden appearance by her seemed to be magic and Caleb stared them both down and then turned to the crowd.

  “As I have mentioned before, this is true magic you will witness here tonight and surely get your money’s worth!”

  They started to stand one by one and clapping welled up as Caleb held his hands out wide in his top hat, long black coat and black and white striped shirt. He took his hat back off and spread his arms wide with a sinister grin on his face as the crowd continued to approve.

  “Welcome to Will and Wonder!”

  Maggie walked to the high wire tower and paused as she looked down at Lily who studied her closely. She touched her chin and winked at her.

  “You mind your Father and entertain the crowd love.” She said and she looked to Jonah who looked worried too. She leaned into his ear and whispered lightly.

  “Take care of Lily, she is yours to protect.” And with that she started to climb, half way up she missed a rung and almost fell and the crowd “oh’d and ah’d” and she regained her footing and continued to climb. Once to the top she smiled down on the circus she knew forever, this was her home and to be up so high doing the one thing she did best was right where she wanted to be. She watched as her partner, a younger man who she had trained herself, took his perch and swung out on the bar, flipping backward and hooking his feet into the bar as the crowd below them continued to make noises indicating their fear and total attention.

  She took a breath and jumped out, to her it almost seemed to be in slow motion and she could never remember being able to hear everything so well, she then felt her partners tight grip on her wrists and looked up to him, blood on her teeth as she smiled and he noticed and tried to swing them back to the perch so he could get her down, and then he felt it, her grip lightened and her head fell back and he tried his best to hold onto her but with each swing and her cold and clammy skin made it almost impossible. He cried out to Caleb and Caleb looked up and took his Top Hat off, tossing it to the ground at Jonah’s feet and ran to the tower, climbing with as much speed as he could. He missed some steps and then quickly regained his grip, moving upward faster than he had ever moved in his life. He reached out as he screamed to Maggie but he saw that she was not conscious and then screamed to her partner.

  “Harder! Bring her to me!” and the man looked to him with a panicked expression on his face as the crowd below them started to realize this was not part of the show. The man tried his best to push them harder to get close enough to Caleb and Caleb reached out as far as he could towards them as they swung closer to him. Then the man lost his grip on one of Maggie’s wrists and she dangled by one arm from him as he brought his other hand to her wrist and the blood welled up under his hands from the friction. He cried out as she slipped further and further and Caleb watched with horror as the swung towards him and Maggie opened her eyes slightly and just as he reached out and brushed his fingers against her hair she fell and he fell to his knees and screamed out her name as he watched her fall from him and hit the ground, kicking up dirt from around her body. Jonah and Lily ran to her side and fell to their knees, staring at her and both crying so hard they could not make a sound. Lily fell against her and Maggie grinned as blood trickled from her mouth and Lily looked up and leaned in, so close to the blood she could have stuck her tongue out and tasted it. Something came alive in Lily, something she had been suppressing and yet it bubbled up in her as felt death and smelled the blood. Maggie let out one short breath and her heartbeat stopped. Jonah jerked Lily up as she swiped at Maggie and caught some of her hair and tore it out. She then hit Jonah and knocked him back immediately dropping on top of Maggie and bit into her neck, tearing flesh and chewing like an animal and the circus became silent as Jonah watched her in shock. The feeding helped Lily forget, killed the sadness and shock of loss.

  “Lily…Lily…” he said as she reached out to her and fought his own urges. He had never been near death and blood or so he remembered, but something about it made him long to consume it as if that was his true pleasure and meaning in life. Lily leaned up and swallowed, her face covered in blood and Caleb ran to them and screamed as he pulled at his hair and shook his head.

  “Maggie!”

  He reached out and tossed Lily aside and Jonah growled as he retrieved his sister and it was then that he realized the crowd had surrounded them. Lily stood there hanging onto him closely, her face stained in blood and eyes wild. Her beautiful hair a mess, matted slightly with the deep crimson and her outfit torn and damaged. Jonah pushed her behind him as the crowd stared them down.

  “Demon child!” one woman screamed out and others followed. Jonah looked to Caleb who held onto Maggie and rocked her. Lily tilted her head and her body shuddered slightly as Jonah felt her behind him. She hissed and licked the palm of her hand and a man stepped forward.

  “Death.” He said as he raised his fist into the air and Caleb looked up as the crowd rushed them and snatched up Lily first as she screamed and reached towards Jonah. Others picked him up and took him the other way.

  The fire slowly spread, no one can say for sure which of the frenzied crowd started it but as Jonah and Lily were dragged out into the field flanking the circus they could see Caleb holding Maggie just where he had been and then the flames consumed everything as flesh burned, cries floated up towards the starry sky and it collapsed in on itself as if the home they had always known had been but a magic trick and the love they had received a taunting of the worst kind.

  Jonah stood as best he could, cut and bruised as he swayed on his feet and saw Lily lying on the ground, moving slowly as a boot came out of nowhere and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her a yard as she rolled onto her back and watched the sky above her. She closed her eyes as pain almost seemed exquisite and the blood she had consumed settled into her muscles and bones making her heal faster. A cut on her cheek started to close itself as the man leaned over her and cried out “witchcraft!” He then snatched her up and Jonah ran towards them as he wrapped a rope around her neck and dropped her to the ground behind him, dragging her as she kicked her feet. Jonah screamed out and it was then that he found a slight vibration welling up into him, crackling and fizzing in his being as if it had been suppressed and was now ready to be released like the white tiger from the cage. He gripped at the arms to either side of him and tore the limbs off like they were made of paper. The two men screamed out as they dropped and Jonah started to run towards Lily, he flipped over her, landed on the man’s back and bit into the back of his head, spitting out a chunk of bone and let the man drop as he landed softly behind him. The blood in his mouth lingered and then he swallowed it, his first taste of human blood in his life. His 2nd feeding so would seem. His first from his vampire Mother as he had no memory, giving him some power and agility, but the human blood, gave him much, much more.

  Joshua stopped at the sight of the fire raging and shook his head.

  “What the fuck?”

  Mikah sped ahead, flashing so quickly he lost track of her momentarily and he followed her and stopped just as Jonah was raising his hand w
ith a head firmly gripped and amputated from the man who would have been Lily’s executioner.

  “Oh great.” Joshua said as she stepped in between him and the crowd approaching them and he pulled his two Katana’s slowly to his sides, twisting them a tad to let the fire light glint off of the metal, long and strong and etched deeply in beautiful patterns a human would not understand.

  “Step aside!” a man said as he stepped up and then stopped as Joshua squared his shoulders. A cry rang out behind the crowd and everyone turned to see Mikah, climb up a man’s back, slice her swords in the air, decapitate the man and jump off, flicking her swords into the ground and catching the head easily. Everyone stood motionless and in shock as did Joshua at the sight of it.

  “Mikah?” and with that she cried out and bore a death hole through he crowd of humans, slicing, stabbing and rendering all of them dead or dying. Joshua lowered his Katana’s and stared her down.

  “And? Are you kidding me?” he said.

  She grinned and flicked her blades, pointing them at him.

  “Step aside Joshua.” She said in a low tone.

  Joshua looked behind him to Jonah and Lily and then back to her.

  “Ahh no.” he said as he ground his foot into the earth a bit.

  “Joshua Barrington, I am on a direct mission from the head of council here, step aside.” She said.

  “You mean Sophia.”

  “It is not matter who gave the order, it has been given and they must perish here and now.”

  “Sorry, not going to happen, Mikah.” Joshua said and with that he turned, sliding his blades into his leather slits on his back and snatched the two of them up in each arm and flashed away from her as quickly as he could. Being older than she was and a Lord in training he could surely outrun her, but for how long? He had not fed in days and with it his weakness was showing.