by Rue Volley
“No you do not,” Sophia said. “It is a shame that you do not even consider returning with me Johnathan. I am your only true family now. Valon is your home.”
Johnathan squeezed my hand. “This is my family now,” he said.
Sophia held her hands out and a light began to glow faintly in her palms.
“No, they are not. I wanted to be kind, but I am not asking you to return Johnathan. I am telling you that you will take your place among us, you belong nowhere else but Valon. It would be unwise of me to allow you to wander.”
I watched as Josh started to slowly pull his blades from behind him. He kept them gripped in his hands. Sam also started to pull her blades. Theodore still stood there, without reaching for his. Maybe he thought there was still time for diplomacy.
“Sophia, please…there is no need for this. We have no intention of a battle with you. We will be no trouble to Valon, you have my word.”
Sophia laughed and looked at her guard. “You claim peace Theodore...? Was it not you who ran at the gates of Valon with Grace and William, with hatred in your heart?”
“I had no hatred I assure you of that. I simply made a choice to leave, all Protectors do not have to live within her gates Sophia.”
“Oh, I see...! And what of Mikah?” She asked. “Who of you...drove your blade into her heart?”
Josh pulled his blades to his sides. “That would be me,” he said.
Theodore grunted.
“Ah...Joshua Barrington…! You could have been a shining example of a new age for our people, but instead you raise your hand in battle against your own... You are a waste.”
Josh stepped forward and Theodore put his hand up, stopping him. “Do not,” he muttered at Josh.
Sophia waved her hand, the guard surrounded us in a flash. I looked around to see that they had formed a large circle.
“Oh god,” I whispered.
“I am not wasting any more time,” Sophia said. “Bring Johnathan and Rue to Valon,” she said as she returned to her carriage. “Bring the rest, if they survive.”
299
The horses pulled her carriage away from us with no driver. I could only guess that they knew their own way home. I let Johnathan's hand go in mine.
“Well, good job on the talk Theodore,” Josh said, as he started to crouch down towards the ground.
“Be quiet,” Theodore said to him.
“Well you heard her, she didn't say to bring any of us, so I guess we fight,” Josh yelled out, as he flashed forward.
“Joshua!” Theodore yelled after him.
“Damn it!” Sam cried out as she flashed forward.
Theodore looked to the three of us behind him. “We will make a hole, when you see it, run...as fast as you can!” he muttered, as his blades glowed bright as the sun in his hands.
Kai pulled out his blades and I did too. I didn't want to run.
Suddenly I felt a flash up behind me and I swung around with my blades up. I felt metal came in contact with my blade in my right hand and the strike almost staggered me. I pushed forward and knocked the girl away from me.
Another protector guard flashed up to us and knocked Kai away. I screamed as I lunged forward slicing my blade through the air.
I felt someone grab me around the waist and jerk me back. “Settle down!”
Josh yelled at me. “Let me go Josh!” I yelled as I struggled to get free. He pushed me to the ground as he hunched over me. He brought his blade up, just in time to stop a boy from bringing his blade down on him overhead. Josh quickly brought his other blade up and the boy yelled out as Josh's blade sliced across his chest. Blood welled up over the white leather on his chest. Josh slammed his palm into his chest and the boy flew away from us screaming. I watched him hit the ground and lay still.
I pushed myself up as I saw Kai with his hands up, a protector was standing over him with a blade ready to strike. I flashed toward the boy and ran my blade down his back. He hunched down and I felt a glow well up in my hands.
I looked down and slammed my palm against the cut on his back, he cried out and rolled to the side. He came back up almost immediately, and came at me.
Sam flashed in between us and quickly brought her blade across his chest. He spun in place and dropped to the ground. She flipped on top of him and I saw a bright flash at his chest and he laid still.
I heard Johnathan cry out, I turned my head just in time to see a girl binding him with light. I pushed myself up and ran at her. She turned to me with her blade glowing in her hand. Johnathan fell to his knees with a glowing light binding his hands together. I sliced my blades at her and she countered me. She had no intention of letting me get to him. I cried out and I felt my feet sink into the ground. She was chanting something at me, I could not understand her, but with each word I felt myself sink another inch.
I cried out. “Josh!” Josh was fighting off a girl who looked as if she had every intention of killing him. Maybe he dated her too.
The girl kept chanting and I kept sinking. I was almost to my waist. I dug my fingers into the ground and felt a vibration start to well up in me, stronger then 300
anything I had ever felt. She turned and grabbed Johnathan and started to drag him with her.
I became furious. I don't think I have ever felt so much anger. I cried out and I started to rise out of the ground. My head felt like it had a current of electricity going through it.
I looked at Johnathan as he struggled to get free of her.
I saw Kai laying motionless on the ground.
Josh was fighting off two protectors and I could see cuts on his arms and one gash across his back.
Sam had flashed a few feet in front of me and gave me a quick look and then another protector, a boy with golden blonde hair came up behind her and she fell on her knees before me, the boy raised his blade and I saw that Sam's blood dripped from the tip of it.
I looked down and saw the watch that Kai had given to me on my birthday.
I wore it everyday, but I never even noticed it. I gripped it in my hand and felt a shock of electricity leave my body and surge into it. The Sun and Moon started to glow within it and I broke it from my neck and threw it into the air. A bright white flash came from it and I watched it hover, I looked around and everyone was suspended in motion. I walked forward and took the blade from the boys hand before he could strike at Sam. I looked around and flashed to Josh, pushing him out from in between the two protectors who were attacking him. Then I looked to Johnathan. He was being drug away. He had a strained look on his face and the girl who had him in her grip, was emotionless. I pulled my blade and stabbed her in the heart.
Everything went back into motion and she dropped on her knees in front of me. I slammed my hand to her chest and she cried out. I felt a surge of energy run up my arm and when it reached my heart it caused it to flutter in my chest.
My head fell back and I held my arms out. I felt like I was lifted off the ground and my toes were the only thing touching the earth. I fell down onto my knees and Johnathan looked at me, not with fear, but a new look I had never seen from him, maybe one of not knowing who I am.
I spun around and cried out at the top of my lungs. The sound that came out of me caused everyone to hold their ears to shield them from the volume of it.
I held my blades above my head and I felt white light release from it. It shot up over me in the form of a large tree and returned, shooting through my body and into the ground. The light raced out in a circle around me and turned the earth black. All guards still standing cried out as the light ran under them. They fell, one by one and a bright flash came from each of their bodies. All the light raced back to me. I screamed as it all hit me in a wave and I dropped to my knees.
Everything was silent. I sat on my knees trying to clear my vision. I felt like I had been hit by lightning, or what I would guess it would feel like. I finally pushed my blade into the ground and pushed myself up. Josh stood before me. I looked at him and he grinned.
“What the hell did you do?” he said to me.
I looked at the blades in my hand and back to him. “I just protected what meant the most to me,” I said.
301
Theodore flashed up to us. “We need to get back to the house, more will come.”
Josh and I looked at each other. Johnathan, Kai, and Sam flashed to us, and we all headed away from the charred circle, I had just created.
302
Chapter 14
Want and Need
303
I guess when I was a little girl, the one thing I did remember was the fact that I always knew, when a storm was coming. I thought maybe it was just something that everyone knew. The sky would blacken and the trees would turn their leaves over. You could stand outside and just feel it on the wind. My parents never let me stay outside, even on the porch. I know my mother must have warned me a thousand times about the danger of lightning. I never knew why, but every time it cracked through the sky I never jumped, I just watched it lace the air. I would sit in my room and run my finger along the glass on the window, following it's pattern.
At the age of eight, we had taken in a stray cat, and I would sit in my room at night, petting it. One night, during a pretty nasty storm, I sat there petting that cat and I happened to look down, small blue sparks were coming from my fingers every time I lifted my hand from it's fur. It didn't meow, didn't leave my lap...it just sat there letting me pet it. When I woke up the next morning the cat was gone. I ran down stairs looking for him, after searching every where I could think of, I asked my parents to help me. My dad told me that the cat never belonged to us and that it had simply passed through our lives. I missed that cat, but over time it faded from my memory. Now I guess I understand what he said to me that day.
At the time, I was upset about that cat leaving me. I thought it belonged to me...but come to find out, we don't own anything, and no one owns us... We choose to share ourselves with whoever we want and I guess when the time is right, you leave, or they leave you.
******
I felt a squeeze on my hand and I looked over. Johnathan was smiling at me. I looked back out the window and watched as the clouds were slowly turning gray.
We drove the rest of the way home, although I did ask why we didn't just run. Come to find out our energy is not endless, we have to eat...or for some...
feed. Once we reached the house, Theodore jumped out and ran inside. He had every intention of strengthening all spells he had placed on this town and over us. I don't think I've ever seen him shaken, but the combination of Noble and Sophia had him spun into a sense of urgency that I had not seen from him before. I stepped out and looked at the sky.
“I think it is going to storm really bad tonight,” I said out loud.
No one responded to me. I watched as everyone, except Johnathan, went into the house.
“You need to eat Rue,” Johnathan said, as I continued to watch the sky.
“I miss my cat,” I said, half to myself…not really to him.
“What cat?” he asked.
I looked at him and smiled, as I headed for the door.
We entered the house right in the middle of a conversation. “You are an idiot Josh,” Sam was saying to him.
304
“Listen...if you want to just sit here and wait that's fine, but I am not a coward,”
Josh said as he was jamming stuff into a bag. I looked around the room, not knowing what was going on.
“Josh?” I said. “What are you doing?” Josh didn't even look up at first, but when he did, he did not look at me, he looked at Johnathan.
“I am going to end this once and for all,” he said.
I walked to his side and placed my hand on the bag, temporarily stopping him from shoving things into it. He didn't look at me at first, but then his eyes lifted to mine.
“What are you doing Josh?” I asked in a whisper.
“Sometimes you have to go to the fight Rue, I'm not going to sit here and wait for Noble...or Elin, to find a way in here… It's not how I live, I don't hide.”
I stood there, letting it soak into me. Josh had every intention of leaving…I didn't want that to happen, I could not have it happen. I needed him to stay here with us...with me.
“Please...don't leave us Josh, ” I said. He stopped and looked at me, then he looked past me to Johnathan.
“I have to go Rue, you stay here...be safe,” he said to me, as he jerked his bag up onto his shoulder. I swung around and looked at Sam and Theodore.
“Theodore...? Sam...? Do something,” I said to them.
Sam sat down on the couch and Theodore lowered his eyes.
“What...? No one is going to say anything...? This is your brother! He can't just leave, they will probably kill him!” I said, as I felt my heart beat speeding up.
“I am afraid that Josh has made up his mind Rue... He wants to leave, we do not own him,” Theodore said.
I turned back to Josh. “You can't do this,” I said to him.
“Oh, I can...and I am doing it right now,” he said with no compassion.
Josh headed for the door and I followed him. I seemed to be the only one protesting his suicide run. He pushed through the door and I stepped outside. He jumped off of the porch and started to head towards the forest. Rain drops started to trickle down from the clouds and I jumped off of the porch too.
“Josh!” I yelled after him. “Please, don't leave...! Don't leave me,” I said to him.
He stopped for a moment and half turned. I thought that my last plea may have changed his mind, but he turned and flashed away from me. I felt a deep hole well up in my chest and I let the rain mix with the tears on my face.
******
I stood there in the rain until I was completely soaked. I kept my eye on the forest, just waiting for him to pop out laughing at me...making fun of me for crying. I wanted Sam or Theodore to come out and tell me something stupid, like he was only going to get us all pizza, but that wasn't going to happen.
I closed my eyes and felt the ground rumble from a crack of lightning and thunder and pictured that damn cat. He wasn't nice, that stupid cat, scratched me all the time and did the “rub my belly” trick so he could bite me, just when my 305
hand was in range... And I opened my eyes up and realized that Josh was my new cat... he one who pissed me off 90% of the time, but slept with me at night.
Even though I had this weird blue spark flying off of me, he didn't know if I'd hurt him, but he stayed by my side anyway.
I looked back at the house and out to the forest...
“I'm going to find my cat this time.” I whispered to myself and I flashed into the forest.
******
I ran about a mile I'm sure, before I actually started to feel anything at all. I found shelter under a tree from the crazy rain coming down. Cracks of lightening kept lighting up different sections of the forest, and I'd gasp as every now and then. I would see red eyes staring at me from the shadows. I pressed my hands into the muddy ground and closed my eyes, trying to focus on a trail. I opened my eyes and saw a thin trail of silver, traced with what I took as black. It was hard to tell without the occasional strobe of light from the storm.
I wiped the rain from my face and went to stand up, and I felt a hand push me back down. I looked up to see that Josh was above me in the tree, he had reached down and pushed me into a sitting position.
“What do you think you are doing?” he said, as he jumped down in front of me and knelt down on one knee. When his knee hit the mud it splashed up on me, and I ate some dirt. I spit it out and wiped my face.
“I'm going with you,” I said.
“Yea...okay, go home Rue,” Josh said. He stood up and grabbed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder.
“You can leave me if you want, but I will track you,” I said as I pushed myself up.
He dropped his bag against the tree trunk and stared at me.
“I don't think that you get it Rue.
.. I don't want you to come with me…got it?”
“I don't care,” I said, as I picked up his bag and threw it over my shoulder. He pulled it from me and dropped it on the ground.
“Don't make me knock you out and carry you home...because I will,” he said.
“You can try, but when I wake up...I'll just track you,” I said, staring at him.
“Why are you being a pain in the ass?” Josh said as he stepped up to me. I stood my ground, sometimes it's worth fighting.
“I don't want you to leave.” I said.
“You don't want me to leave...right... Go home to Johnathan, Rue, he's probably wondering where you are,” he said as he leaned so close to me I could feel his heart beating. He reached down and grabbed his bag, I grabbed his hand and he stood back up staring at me. I stepped up to him and he started to back away from me.
I grabbed his bag and dropped it. He looked down and back to me. I reached up and placed my hand on his face. “Josh, please…I don't want you to leave...
Please come back with me,” I said.
“Why?” he said as his eyes wandered.
306
“Because I want you too,” I said to him, while I kept my hand on his face. He lowered his head and let my hand fall away from him.
“Well there is a huge difference between „want" and „need" Rue,” he said as he turned away from me.
He started to walk, then he turned back to me.
“I want for it to stop raining... I need to kill Noble, and Elin would be an added bonus,” he said, as he wiped his hand over his face.
“I want normal, but I need you,” I said.
Josh stood still in front of me. I really waited for the comeback... I expected it from him, some twisted reaction to any emotion was so natural for him, but instead he flashed to me.
“You need me?” he said in my face.
I nodded and he placed his hand on my face. I looked up as the rain kept pouring down, the lighting cracked and I could see his face in front of me. It was soft, not pulled in some crooked grin as I so often saw him. He looked as if I had chipped through something, to a place that I didn't know existed in him.
