by Rue Volley
Johnathan tilted his head and stared her down.
“With what?” he asked as he continued to climb.
“Dead blood… we are both going to die.” She said.
“Fantastic.” Johnathan said as he continued to climb. “Well, not before I put my foot in that demons ass… I guarantee you that.” He said.
Alandra hissed and tried to laugh as her hands become shredded from the sharp metal littering the wall. Johnathan reached the top and pulled himself over the edge… the last of the razor blades cutting into his thighs. He rolled over and touched the tops of his legs and hissed.
“Son of a bitch.” He muttered.
Alandra's bloody hand popped up on the other side of the opening and he took her hand and pulled her up. She cried out and he covered her mouth with his bloodied hand and he leaned her back on the ground.
“You have to be quiet, okay?” he whispered.
She nodded as he slowly took his hand from her mouth. He doubled over and coughed as he felt the poisoned dead blood start to inch its way through his system. He blinked his eyes and held his stomach.
“We have to find a mirror.” He said.
“There are no mirrors that work in Valon, they have all been cracked.” She said.
“Sweet… okay then, we need to leave, like now.” He said.
“Okay… this way.” She said as she pulled herself up and stumbled forward. She dropped to her knees and grabbed her stomach. Johnathan leaned over her and shook his head.
“I know it hurts, but we can get the poison out… we just have to move okay?” he asked her.
Alandra looked up at him and he stared at her face. She was beyond pretty, the kind of timeless face that you see once in a lifetime. He blinked and shook the vibration off that welled up in his hands.
“Um… do you need to be carried?” he asked her.
She pushed herself up and started to fall. Johnathan caught her and scooped her up, trying to keep himself upright also. He looked down at her and she grinned.
“You are nice… for a demon.” She said as her eyes rolled in her head and he blinked from the fact that she could feel what he was.
“Okay.” He said as he adjusted her and started to walk… hell-bent on leaving Valon and finding Josh’s old house. He was certain that he had blades there and at that point it was their only hope for survival. If he could cut them both with the blade, he could draw out the poison and spare them an agonizing death. One he didn’t plan on doing… not yet, not with knowing that Sara was in danger… in turn putting the rest of his family in danger also. Not acceptable, not in any way shape or form.
Chapter 7
Water Isn’t So Bad
Sam and Gracie stood at the foot of the tree house and looked up its old and far-reaching branches. Gracie grinned and Sam squeezed her hand. She leaned down and looked at Gracie.
“Now listen, your Daddy is going to mad about this… I just know it.”
Gracie smiled, showing her teeth and Sam grinned looking at her teeth, which so reminded her of her brother.
“You know you look a lot like him and your Mommy, it is like someone stirred them up in a bowl and poured you out.”
“Like soup?” Gracie asked.
“Yeah, kinda like that honey.”
Sam looked up and then sighed.
“I think it would be best if you get on my back.” She said.
Gracie flashed to the tree and started to climb it like she always knew how to do it. Sam ‘oh’d’ and followed her quickly, catching up to her and getting right behind her.
“Gracie, how do you know how to climb a tree?” she asked.
Gracie giggled and kept going, moving gracefully up the side of the tree, probably a better climber than any of them put together. Sam reached the top, and pulled herself onto the platform. Gracie stood there, rubbing her hands as she stared at the small door in front of her. She looked back at Sam and grinned.
“Mommy’s tree.” She said as she walked to the door and grabbed the doorknob. She pushed on it and Sam walked up behind her and nudged the door open with her shoulder. The air smelled old, mixed with old books and paper. Gracie’s eyes widened as she stepped in and looked at all the books stacked in the room. Sam took her hand and stepped into the room, careful not to step on anything.
“Okay then… we need to find some books.” Sam said.
Gracie flashed to a stack and started to touch the books slowly. She smiled as she stopped on the fifth one down and looked back at Sam.
“This is Mommy’s book.” She said.
Sam walked to her and moved the four books on top of the one Gracie had touched and pulled it from the stack.
“Your Mommy and Daddy do not know that you don’t have to read to see the books, do they?” Sam asked.
Gracie giggled and stared at her.
Sam blew dust from the cover and wiped it with the side of her hand.
“This is the first book your Mommy wrote honey.” Sam said.
Gracie looked at the book and then at Sam.
“Now listen Gracie, I need you to find the other ones, and we need to see if there are any more books that we didn’t know about.”
Gracie flashed through the room and within minutes she had located the other three. She stood there and tilted her head as she stared at the wall of the tree.
Sam noticed and looked at the spot on the wall.
“What is it Gracie?” she asked her.
“Book.” Gracie said as she pointed.
Sam walked to the wall and pulled her blade. She placed her hand on the wall and slowly felt it. She noticed a hairline crack and grinned.
“I’ll be damned.” She whispered. She looked at Gracie and nodded.
“Stand back okay?” she asked her.
Sam’s blade started to glow a bright green and she quickly stabbed the tree wall and then pried at the crack, it popped open and papers fell out onto the floor. Sam smiled and looked at the mess.
“Someone didn’t bind this one.” She said.
Sam leaned down and started to pick up the papers. She looked at the first page and it was blank… she flipped it over and nothing. She let page after page fall to the floor, all blank.
“What the hell?” she asked out loud.
Gracie leaned down and picked up the paper, the page started to glow and words glitched on the page. Sam looked down, noticed the glitching… and she leaned down and smiled.
“Are you doing that?” she asked Gracie.
Gracie grunted and all the words disappeared. She frowned and looked at Sam.
“They don’t want to come.” Gracie said.
“Oh baby, it’s not you… it’s the book.” She said.
Sam scooped up the papers and rolled them tightly.
“We will take them back to your Uncle and see if he can possibly weave some magic, okay?” Sam said.
Gracie clapped her hands together and smiled.
“Magic!” she yelled out, making it echo in the room. Sam twisted her finger in her ear and laughed.
“You wouldn’t think that something so small could be so loud.”
“Inside voice.” Gracie said as quietly as she could, which was still close to yelling. Sam laughed and tucked the papers into her jacket.
“I think when your parents get home we should tell them that you don’t have to read books, you can just touch them and know the story Gracie, I think that they would love to know that, don’t you?”
“Magic.” Gracie whispered as she grinned and wiggled her fingers.
“Yes, it is honey… it is.” Sam said.
***
I lay in the tub and stared at the skylight. Clouds continued to roll over slowly and the first of the rain started. It made light tapping noises on the thick glass at first and I closed my eyes and let the sound relax every tense muscle in my body. I am tense and nervous, nervous about Johnathan and Josh, nervous about leaving my child behind, nervous about the party. The party being the least of it.
I opened my eyes up and the rain started in, now the tapping noise is being replaced by a steady hum of water begging to be released from a London sky. London… holy crap, I was really there. Too bad it is for a bad reason, or maybe not so much “bad” as just sad. I mean Brooke dead? That really sucked. She is, or I guess I mean ‘was’ part of our family, although she remained human. Maybe that is why I liked her so much. Jealousy, perhaps? I know it sounds funny, someone like me… an immortal being, all wishing that I had human blood coursing through my veins, but it was true… the things you want most are the things you cannot have. I thought that I was human, so I never considered anything else. I never thought that I would live forever, I never thought that I would settle into being a Mother, I never even thought about being with someone forever… and yet that was me, the real definition of what I was and will always be. But Brooke… no Brooke is rotting as the world does, as everything except for me and all who are like me. We are the proverbial ‘cockroaches’ after a nuclear holocaust… although that was a myth, cockroaches would also die… I saw it on something, maybe a history channel.
I stared at the rain as it started to hit the glass in waves and the lightning cracked. I jumped in the tub and the water sloshed over the side and I giggled. Lightning wouldn’t hurt me, but my fear of it is a leftover from being human. Made me smile to know that I wasn’t becoming immune to old habits, I wanted to hang onto those human traits as long as I possibly could. I want Gracie to know how it feels to experience the world and not become numb to the small things. That is all we have that makes us appear to be human anyway.
I lifted the washcloth and rubbed it over my neck and then dipped it back in the water. I looked down and saw my reflection in it and then another reflection came into view and I almost drowned as I ducked and sucked in the water, as I am so good at doing anyway. Water sloshed over the sides and I covered up, as I realized that Johnathan stood there behind me… WTF?
I turned with as much dignity as anyone would, being completely naked and looked at him as I coughed up water. It burnt my lungs and it is a good thing that it is because I would be yelling at him for just walking in here, acting like I am fully clothed.
“Sorry… Oh god.” He said as he tapped me on the back. He grabbed my arms and held them up over my head, to force my lungs to contract and I shook my head and jerked my wrists from his hands as I spit out the last bit of water burning my throat and making my eyes water.
“What… the… (Cough)…” I said as I glared at him and covered up my boobies. Like he hasn’t seen them before.
“I ah, I didn’t know you were taking a bath, I’m sorry.” He said as he stared at me in the tub.
I twirled my finger and shook my head at him and it finally struck him that actually turning away would be a good start to an otherwise awkward moment.
“Seriously... WTF?” I said as I scooted down the tub and sloshed more water over the sides.
Johnathan rubbed his hair and looked down at his feet.
“I swear I didn’t know, I only came to talk… that was it.” He said as he grinned facing away from me.
“Uh huh… Okay, umm. Let me get out and get dressed.” I said.
Johnathan nodded and kept his back to me as I slowly pulled myself out of the tub and walked across the stone floor. I grabbed a big oversized white robe and quickly pulled it around myself, instantly feeling a little better. Johnathan had turned a little and peeked at me while I did this, but I had no idea and I cleared my throat as I tied the band around my waist and tightened it just for good measure. I pulled my hair out of the back of it and sighed as I turned to see him facing me.
“Did you watch me?” I asked him as I squeezed my hair out and water dripped on the floor at my feet and soaked into the porous stone.
“No, I just turned.” He said as he held his expression.
I don’t totally believe him, but arguing about it seems fruitless.
“So what?” I asked him.
Johnathan raised his eyebrows at me.
“I ah, I wanted to apologize.” He said.
“Oh.” I said.
Truth was, I don’t really want to have this conversation. It was awkward and I was all wet and naked under this foreign robe… not exactly ideal conditions to feel like I can focus and say everything that is on my mind.
Johnathan took one step towards me and I know he felt me, my energy shifted. He stopped and grinned at me.
“You are nervous.” He said.
“Nu uh.” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“No, you are… is it me?” he asked.
“What?... No, no I am not nervous about you.” I said.
Johnathan smiled and looked at my feet, water pooling around them a little before sinking into the stone. I looked down and back up at him.
“What?” I asked him as I crossed my arms on my chest.
“Your feet… they are cute and I didn’t expect you to paint your toe nails.” He said.
I looked down at my feet and remembered that I had allowed Gracie to paint them black.
“It was Gracie… Listen, what do you want?” I asked as I looked up at him.
I could see his jaw muscles tighten and release, like he may have found it irritating that I refused to engage him in anything even close to resembling a normal conversation.
“I am going to see Brooke’s parents tomorrow, I wanted you to come.” He said.
I kind of half laughed and looked around the atrium.
“Seriously? I mean you couldn’t ask me that tonight… at dinner?” I asked him.
“I didn’t even think about that.” He said as his eyes shifted to the skylight and he watched the rain for a moment. I looked up and felt kind of sorry for him. I think that Johnathan was truly lost, I really do. He was not acting like himself, doing things that he normally wouldn’t do… reacting in ways that I don’t expect from him. Brooke really has affected him much more than I ever knew possible. I looked back at him and he was staring at me.
“This house is amazing isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I said, trying to keep the rest of the ‘get the fudge out’ part from just rolling out of my mouth. I mean, he looks like a puppy, on the side of the road.
“I thought my house was huge.” He added as he looked at the atrium.
“Your house is huge Johnathan… no worries, you didn’t lose.” I said, trying to joke with him.
“You remember the party?” he asked me.
I blinked and tilted my head.
“You know, when Kai and Sara brought you to my house the first time?” he added.
“Well… sure, I remember.” I said.
“I should have kissed you, in the kitchen. I wanted too very badly, I almost did… I should have.” He said.
“I don’t… I mean, what does that even matter now?” I asked him as I leaned on one foot and felt like a ‘Sam stance’ was coming on.
“I just, I don’t know… I think if I had, things would have been different.”
“No…it would not have changed anything.” I said.
“Yes… it would have. I would have placed you on that island and done things, things I wanted to do.”
I opened my mouth and nothing came out. In fact I blinked too. I mean he can’t be serious…can he?
“I ah, I don’t…” I said as I suddenly felt strange, like we had just hit the proverbial brick wall that people talk about. I rubbed my hair and then my arm, scratching myself to deep with my fingernails. I looked down and a small line of blood started to well up, so small I narrowed my eyes to see it. Johnathan saw it too and I could feel his energy shift from across the room. I looked up and he stared at me.
“Get out Johnathan.” I said.
“I think that you want me to stay.” He said.
“No... No I don’t, that is why ‘Get out’ just came out of my mouth.”
Josh walked in and stopped as he looked at Johnathan.
“Dude?” Josh said as he stared him down.
“Thanks.” Johnathan said as he looked at me, and I realized that he was attempting a ‘save’. I guess it was smart on his part; Josh would have thrown him through the window no doubt. I nodded, I shouldn’t have. I should have just blurted it out… the whole damn thing from beginning to end. But instead I let Johnathan walk past Josh and leave... giving him his last free pass in weirdville. Josh looked at me and tilted his head as he pointed in Jonathan’s direction.
“What did creeper want?” he asked me.
I pulled my sleeve down; covering up the scratch I had inflicted on myself and looked back up at him.
“Talk… he is upset, he apologized to me, and I think this whole thing with Brooke has made him crazy, I really do.” I said, feeling a little better that I at least told him the truth about that. I did think that Johnathan was freakin' crazy, and if he insists on anymore of this reminiscing about me and him crap, he was going to force me to cut him out of my life… or at least get some help, help that I obviously cannot give to him.
“Huh… well he needs to get over it.” Josh said. Love that about him, I really do. He simply tells people to get over it, without any help. I know that is how Josh handles things, but some people have a harder time at it… doesn’t change the fact that I love him for breaking it down and simplifying things. I smiled and looked at the tub, the water was probably cold by now… thanks to Johnathan’s intrusion.
Josh looked at the tub and his face softened.
“Get in.” he said.
I sighed and looked at it.
“The water is cold now.” I said.
Josh grinned and walked up to it. He placed his hand into the water and light rolled from his skin and seeped into the tub and flowed out around it. Steam started to rise from the water and I grinned.
“You are like a furnace.” I said.
He looked up at me and grinned, without showing his teeth.
“I am whatever is needed.” He said and I sighed as I pulled the robe off and let it fall to the floor. Josh watched me as I walked to the tub and lifted my foot to get in.
He took a breath and I looked down and slipped into the hot water and sank into it. It felt beyond amazing and I was so glad that Josh had shown up when he did. He not only ran Johnathan out, but made this tub thingy exactly what I wanted it to be in the first place. I leaned my head back and Josh moved behind me and I peeked up and smiled at him as he looked down the tub at my naked body just under the surface of the water.
