by Rue Volley
I walked into the living room and looked at Theo.
“You are guessing again? Or are you sure?” I asked him.
“Well, from what I can gather, I believe that it should work,” Theo said as he grinned at me.
I sighed as I looked at Elin, she grinned. Oh, how I hated her.
“Okay, so what? I have to cut her palm and she cuts mine and then ‘boom’ I can read the book?” I asked him.
Theo looked at me, he tilted his head.
“Well, it is a little more than that,” he said to me.
I crinkled my eyebrows. “What does that mean?” I asked him.
“Okay… keep an open mind Rue,” he said to me. I squinted my eyes and my lips pursed.
I looked back at Josh and shook my head at him.
“What is the deal here?” I asked him.
Johnathan stood up and walked out. I watched him go. I am starting to feel like there is a twist coming.
Josh walked up and looked down at me.
“You need to mix your blood with hers in your mouth, it has to be… ummm, like a kiss,” he said.
“You have to be kidding me,” I muttered.
Elin leaned back on the couch and touched her leg. I winced at her.
“No… no… hell no!” I said to him.
I walked to the front door and stepped out. Johnathan sat on the swing looking at me. I didn’t say anything. I walked out into the yard and started to pace back and forth. Josh stepped out and looked at me. Johnathan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him.
“Told you,” he said to him. Josh looked at him.
“Oh shut up,” he said. Josh jumped down and started to pace with me, back and forth.
I stopped and looked at him.
“You knew about this before we went out on a ‘date’, right?” I said to him.
“I did, I thought that maybe it would soften you up a little,” he said.
I hated the fact that he said that.
“So, yesterday was just a bribe then?” I asked him. “To make it easier for me to swallow the idea of making out with Elin?” I asked him.
“At first Rue. I will admit, it was a plan, but I enjoyed it, I did,” he said. I started to pace again.
“Uh huh,” I muttered to him. He stopped me from pacing and leaned towards me.
“I did,” he whispered to me.
I wanted to believe him. I really, really wanted to. I grumbled to myself and pressed on my palms. I looked up at the house.
“Oh my god this sucks so bad,” I said.
He looked at me and tried to touch my face. I backed away from him.
“Do you realize that you are asking me to make out with a girl that you… you know?” I said. He shook his head.
“I know,” he said.
I bent over and held my stomach. He leaned down and looked at me sideways.
“You gonna hurl?” he asked me.
“Shut up,” I muttered to him. I stood up and took a breath. “How important is me reading this book?” I asked him.
“Well, Theodore thinks that it will help him figure out how to protect us from the rogues, maybe.”
I looked at him and pulled my hair. “Oh my god… he ‘thinks’!” I yelled out.
Josh held his hand out to me. “Theodore’s guessing is better than most,” he said to me.
I looked up at the sky and up at Johnathan, who had stood up at some point, watching me freak out. I shook my head at him and pointed my finger. He started to grin at me.
“Listen… I will do this, only because I believe that it may help us all.”
Josh grinned at me.
“Don’t,” I said as I started to walk towards the house.
“Wait,” Josh said. I turned around and looked at him.
“What?” I said to him.
“Ummm… you need to be a little flustered before you do this,” he said to me.
I tilted my head at him. “I am flustered already Josh, I am pissed.”
“No… not mad, Rue… umm.”
It hit me, he meant that I needed to be like “flustered”… in a bad way.
“You are kidding me!” I yelled at him.
He flashed up to me and I turned away from him.
“No… no… no,” I said as I walked onto the porch. Johnathan stood there smiling. I looked at him. “What are you smiling about?” I yelled at him.
His smile faded and he looked at Josh. Josh shot him a look and returned to me.
“Rue… please,” he said. I lowered my head. Then I looked back at him.
“Why do I feel like I am about to be in a bad porn?” I asked him.
He laughed at me. “You have seen porn?” he asked.
I tilted my head. “Well… Sara had this tape… oh never mind. What do I have to do here?” I asked him. He shook his head at me.
“Well, do you want to make out?” he asked me.
I looked over at Johnathan and realized how bizarre this situation was really becoming.
“You know what? I think that Johnathan should kiss me,” I said as I crossed my arms on my chest.
Josh stared at me and made a noise that sounded more like he was disgusted then mad.
I smiled up at him and Johnathan shrugged his shoulders. Johnathan looked at Josh.
“Well, if I have too… then I guess I will just have to suffer through it,” he said.
I raised my hands up. “Oh, that’s just perfect,” I muttered.
I opened the front door and stepped back into the house. I looked around the room and Sam grabbed Kai’s hand and pulled him up. He stumbled as she dragged him to the door then turned and looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She pulled Kai out the door and he tried to look back at me.
“What’s the deal?” he said as she pulled him out the door.
I watched the door close and looked back at Johnathan. I held my hand out to him and he took it as he looked at Josh. I sat him down on the chair and looked over at Josh.
“Are you just going to linger?” I asked him.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said as he crossed his arms.
I shrugged my shoulders at him and sat down on Johnathan’s lap.
“Fine,” I said to him as I looked at Johnathan.
“Okay… kiss me,” I said to him, not knowing if it would even make me feel anything other than grossed out. He looked at me and grinned.
“Don’t make me feel cheap, Rue,” he whispered.
I smiled, I had to. Despite all the crap, Johnathan still had a way about him that made me just love him. No, not ‘love’ so much as adore. I closed my eyes and waited. Johnathan looked at Josh and then at Elin. I guess he didn’t mind having an audience. He touched my face and traced his fingers along my jawline. I felt a little tingle, nothing as intense as before.
He leaned up to my ear and whispered, “I want you.”
I took a breath. Was he messing with me? He leaned forward and let his lips gently press against mine. He grabbed the back of my head and pressed his chest against mine. My heartbeat sped up. I just kept thinking… “It’s Josh. It’s Josh”… over and over. My body started to hum and my hands got tingly. I reached up and grabbed his face, my fingers moved back into his hair and I grabbed it hard. He moaned in my mouth and I squirmed on his lap. He let his other hand touch my neck and it started to move down. He almost reached my breast and I felt a tug on my arm and I was jerked up. Josh looked down at Johnathan.
“Thank you… you can leave now,” Josh said to him.
Johnathan opened his eyes and looked up at me. He grinned. I did too. Josh was so mad the black color swirled on his skin at a wicked pace. I cleared my throat and looked at him, then back at Johnathan.
“You owe me twenty dollars,” I said as I smiled. Johnathan laughed and stood up.
“Ha...! Very funny Rue,” Josh said.
I looked back at Elin and suddenly remembered what was in store for me. I walked over to her and sat down
. She turned to me. I didn’t want to look at her but she touched my face and raised it up to her. She smiled. I still hate her…I do.
She looked at my skin and grinned. I looked down and saw orange color swirling. I didn’t think that it would work with Johnathan; I just thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to stab at Josh. I bit my lip and tasted blood in my mouth. Josh shuffled Johnathan to the door and pushed him out. He looked back at us.
“Okay Elin… get this over with,” he said to her.
She reached down and picked up her blade. She looked at it and her eyes flashed up to me.
“I am going to cut my palm… and then yours… We need to press them together as we kiss,” she said.
I crinkled my nose and looked at Josh. He sat down on the chair and I looked back at her.
“Okay… I guess,” I said.
She lifted my hand and sliced the blade so quickly I didn’t even know it was done. I looked at the blood well up in my palm and a slight glow. She did the same to her hand and made a noise. I looked at her. She bit her lip and I saw the blood. My heart fluttered a little. It grossed me out that I reacted that way. “It’s not her… it’s not her… it’s the blood”, I started chanting in my head. She leaned towards me and I looked over at Josh. He leaned back and my eyes were begging him to say, “Hey… we found another way.” I knew there wasn’t though.
She leaned towards me and I backed away from her. I scooted until I was against the side of the couch and I had no place to go. She grinned and touched my face. I closed my eyes. The faster I do this… the faster I can forget it, I hope. I felt her grab my hand in hers and then I felt a shot of adrenaline surge through me. My heartbeat sped up and I sucked in my breath.
She shoved her tongue in my mouth and she moaned. I felt a vibration in my legs and it started to creep up. I can’t let it reach… well, you know. She grabbed my hair and I rolled off the couch onto the floor. I held up my hand at her.
“Okay… I’m good,” I said to her. She grinned and looked at Josh.
Elin stood up and adjusted her top. At some point she undid the top buttons. I shook my head and pulled myself up. I stood there and caught my balance.
“Would you leave now?” I asked her.
She laughed and walked to the door. I watched her go and then looked back at Josh. She opened the door and walked out without adding insult to injury with some smart-ass comment. I shook my hands out and sighed really hard. Josh stood up and looked at me.
“Thank you,” he said.
I rolled my eyes and called out to Theodore who must have hidden in his room. I am sure that the kissing of two girls would have grossed him out as much as me having to do it. Theodore came flashing in and looked at me. He had the book in his hand. He tilted his head and grinned.
“Thank you so much,” he said to me. I smiled at him.
“Well… I took one for the team,” I said. Josh laughed, I don’t know why.
I stared at Josh. “Do you think that I could have caught anything from her?” I asked.
He held his side as he laughed.
Theodore leaned into me. “Protectors are immune to all disease,” he said.
“Okay… good,” I said.
Johnathan stepped back in and looked at me a little too long. I looked at him too. I kind of regretted kissing him. He walked past us and ran upstairs. I heard a door close and looked at Josh. He shook his head.
“You should not have done that with him,” he said to me. I shrugged my shoulders.
“You deserved it, you ass,” I muttered at him.
He muttered something and I ignored him.
I shook my arms out again and held my hands out to Theo.
“Okay… let me see the book,” I said.
Theo handed it to me and I felt it humming in my hands. I sat down on the couch and opened it up. All the letters on the first page started to shift into place. I waited until the words started to make sense to me. I looked at the first line and started to read out loud.
“We are third in line for greatness… we Barrington’s. The tree continues to bring life and take at will. We have lost many and still we create more to replace.” I looked up at Theo.
“Your family ate from the tree third then?” I asked him.
He looked at the paper and shook his head.
“I see nothing but gibberish,” he said.
I looked back at the page and the words still looked normal to me.
“I can keep reading for you,” I said. Theo sighed.
I think that he was hurt by the fact that he couldn’t read his own history. I grinned at him.
“Okay… let’s see. We are only able to create two… never has there been a third in a family until Joshua.”
I looked up at Josh and he leaned in to look. He shook his head.
“Looks like some Russian code,” he said. I looked back at the page.
“He is quick, terrifies some, no one trusts his ability but he is made for greatness, I believe it to be so.”
I stopped and looked at Theo. “Should I just look through and see if I can find anything that will help with the rogues?” Josh stepped up to me and looked at Theo.
“Help her read it all at once, Theo.” I looked up at him and over to Theo.
“You mean like speed reading?” I asked him.
“Kind of Rue… here.”
He took my hand and closed the book. I looked at the cover. It was another embossed silver tree. Theo took my hand and looked at me.
“I want you to bite your finger Rue.” I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.
“Okay? Then what?”
“Bite your finger and trace your blood into the tree on the cover.”
I bit my finger and placed my finger into the base of the silver tree, I started to slowly trace my finger up the tree. I watched as my blood filled the tree and it started to glow blue.
“Now… close your eyes and concentrate… I need for you to hear the book… it will call out to you. You will see the words floating in your mind… trap it and draw it into yourself.”
I closed my eyes and started to see the words floating in no particular order. I watched them float around like leaves on the wind. Theo leaned into my ear. He whispered something in Latin and then grabbed my hand and slammed it on the cover of the book. I screamed out, as it all flooded into me, almost overwhelming me. Josh grabbed my arm and Theo placed his hand on my heart, then my head.
Light flashed from his hand and he closed his eyes and we all went flying away from each other in the room. I flipped over the couch, Josh hit the wall, and Theo ended up on the kitchen floor. I shook my head and pulled myself up. I steadied myself on the edge and rubbed my head. I had no idea what the book said. Theo stood up and grinned big. Josh pushed himself up, as Johnathan came flashing into the house, straight to me.
“Are you okay?” he said with a look of panic on his face. Theo laughed, as he entered the room. “I now know everything in the book,” he said. We all looked at him.
“That’s awesome,” I muttered to him.
“Yes… as you say… awesome,” Theo said.
Sam flashed into the house with Kai. She looked around the room and looked like she was upset. I looked at her.
“I’m okay,” I muttered.
I assumed she was thinking that I had gotten hurt, but no… I wasn’t what she was worried about.
“We have a big freakin problem,” she said.
Josh looked at her. “What?”
“Those freaks are setting up outside of town,” she said to him.
I looked at Josh and then to her.
“You mean the carnival?” I asked her.
“Yes… anyone up for a corndog?” she asked.
Josh flashed upstairs and I watched Sam and Kai flash to their room.
I looked at Theo.
“Get into your battle gear, Rue,” he said as he flashed to his room too.
Chapter Eight
Chromium
I ran into my room and looked around, then I remembered that I shed my battle gear in the freak tent. Damn it. I stood there for a moment and wondered how badass I would look with all of them, me in my tennis shoes and a sarcastic t-shirt proclaiming something moronic. I turned to leave and Theodore was standing in my doorway. I looked at him and sighed.
“I lost my gear,” I said, like I knew I was going to get grounded.
He grinned at me and handed me a bundle of white leather. I looked down at it and back up at him.
“Where did you come up with this?” I asked him.
“Samantha as usual… she does everything in twos. I think that she has a problem. I always say to her… ‘Why do you always have to double everything Samantha Barrington?’ And she always replies… ‘Because I am the only one who is always prepared for anything’.”
I smiled at him. He watched as I unfolded it and felt the leather. He looked at me and at the leather.
“You do know that it is a living part of you, don’t you?”
I tilted my head at him. “What? The leather?”
“Yes… it is a breathing thing once you put it on; it shares its energy with you.”
I looked at him and thought about the fact that it was leather… it did come from an animal.
“So… it feels what I do?” I asked. Theodore laughed.
“Well… I guess it does, in a sense.”
I sat down on the bed and started to pull my shoes off. I really didn’t care that Theodore was there with me… he was like having a girl in the room. I looked up at him and flipped my shoe off. It thudded to the floor.
“You know… I’ve been meaning to ask where all this leather comes from… I mean, I don’t know of any fabric shops around here with this stuff just lying around to buy.” Theodore smiled. “Well… Josh has provided some… Sam the rest.”
I thought about that to… and in true me fashion, I just had to ask the million-dollar question.
“Okay… so like they run to the ‘protector fabric store’ and say ‘Hey I need a thousand pounds of white leather’?”
Theodore smiled and walked to me. He placed his hand on my chin and stared at me.
