by Rue Volley
I felt the blood enter my throat then my stomach. It tasted sweet, and I did not fight the humming in my hands and it slowly crept up my legs… in fact I welcomed it. I felt the power of it and held it in me, not allowing myself to feel ashamed of what I am.
I am a vampire. Blood makes me stronger and closer to what I truly am.
A light flashed from me, a perfect circle of power… it rolled out from me with a sonic boom and it slammed into all the rogues fighting us off. They dropped one by one, like a pesticide had been released into the air. I took a deep breath and looked around. Theo, Sam and Kai stood in different places in the field… then I spotted Josh, leaning over something on the ground. I flashed to him and stopped dead… dropping my blades and falling to my knees.
Johnathan lay there… black veins creeping their way up his arms and neck. It slowly reached his face and started to form cracks. I leaned in and looked at him.
“Tell me what to do?” I asked him.
Johnathan reached up and took my hand.
“Win.” He said.
Josh reached down and jerked him to his feet. Johnathan moaned and Josh smiled at him.
“You don’t think that I am gonna let you go out the hero, do you… you asshole?” he asked Johnathan. Johnathan shook his head and took a breath and I could feel him. He was fading, but Josh held him up next to him and I turned to look at the gates… so close now that I feel her, Gracie… inside the walls.
“This is it.” I said.
Just as I took a step towards the gate, it opened slowly and a light started to invade the land. I narrowed my eyes and saw them for the first time. Angels. Wings spread, bright as the sun. They stepped out into the field and it hit me, this was just practice…now the war begins.
Josh charged… Why would I be surprised? He held onto Johnathan tightly. Sam followed him and I did too. Kai followed as well as Theo and as we raised our blades, side by side, a flash of white hit us all and suddenly we were in Valon… in the tower room. We all rolled and then came to a stop and I took a breath and pushed myself up. The room looked as it had to me before, bright, filled with sunlight… the open windows letting in sweet air and much needed sun. I took a slow breath and smelled it… flowers. It filled the room thick and heavy, almost too much so. Like someone had sprayed too much perfume everywhere. I looked to my right and Josh rose up too. He looked as he had on the battlefield. Jaw hardened, blood splattered and I looked down at myself, and I too looked as if something had dumped blood all over me. I stood there and looked around the room and then I saw her. Gracie, standing on the edge of the deep well. She was facing away from us, but it was her as I remembered her. Five years old. Tiny flowered dress, her favorite. I took a step towards her and Josh flashed to me, placing his arm up to stop me.
“Gracie?” I said as it echoed in the room.
“Mommy?” she said as she turned to face us, teetering on the edge of the well.
“Gracie… come down.” I said.
Josh tilted his head and stared at her.
“I miss you Mommy.” She said.
“I miss you too Gracie, come down… we need to leave.” I said.
“I can’t Mommy, they told me to go into the black water.”
“No.” I said as I tried to step towards her.
Josh looked at me and shook his head.
Sam, Kai and Theo stood up behind us, and Sam reached out her hand to Johnathan and pulled him to her. She took his arm and put around her neck and he grinned and then they all looked up to see what we saw.
“What?” I whispered to him.
“Who am I Gracie?” Josh asked.
“Daddy.” Gracie said.
Josh lifted his blades and stared her down.
“Oh… am I?” he asked her.
Gracie grinned and started to walk the rim of the deep well, holding her hands out to her sides. My stomach clinched up, hoping that she would not fall. She lost her footing for a second and regained her balance as I cried out and reached upward.
“Don’t.” Josh said.
I looked at him and shook my head.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked him.
“It’s a glamor.” He said as he waved his blades and the image waved like water.
Suddenly Gracie grew, she transformed into a young woman…sixteen perhaps. I stood there and narrowed my eyes. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled.
“Nice.” She said as she jumped down from the well and looked at us. Josh pushed me back and I leaned to see her.
“That’s what I thought.” Josh said as he stood his ground.
“Why couldn’t you accept me Joshua?... Oh wait, I know… does Rue?” she said.
I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows.
“You know why, as do I.” he said.
“Wanna share?” I said.
“Not so much.” Josh said as he gripped his blades.
“Oh come on! Let’s have some fun. We have been here before… this very spot, let’s just enjoy the moment, I gave you that when you passed through the light Joshua, gave you the truth of what you are.” She said.
I looked at her and tilted my head.
“There is nothing fun about this Gracie… we need to go, now.”
She laughed, sounded foreign to me.
“What a pain in the ass you are.” She said.
I placed my blades on my back and put my hands on my hips.
“You do not talk to me that way Gracie.” I said.
“What?” she said as she started to walk by the well, running her fingers along it.
“You… I am your Mother.”
“Oh this?” she said as she waved her hand over herself and she changed… from my daughter to that of someone I would of never expected to see.
I leaned in and narrowed my eyes.
“Sara?” I said.
She grinned and looked at her hands, inspecting her nails.
“Yep.”
“What the fuck did you do with Gracie, Sara?” I asked her.
“Oh girlie, you are getting good with the cussing.” She said.
“Tell me where she is Sara, I am not kidding.” I said.
“Oh.” Sara said as she burped. I blinked and crinkled my eyebrows. Sara rubbed her stomach and grinned at me.
“I seemed to have eaten her… whole.” She said.
I raised my eyebrows and stepped forward. Josh held his hand up to block me.
“No.” I said.
“Don’t… this isn’t about you, it’s about me.” Josh said as he looked at her.
“About you?” I asked him.
“Yes… it’s always been about me.”
Sara laughed and clapped her hands, it echoed in the large room and I stepped back from Josh as he stood his ground.
Sara waved her hands and everyone blew to the outer walls, slamming against them and I spun to see Theo, Kai, Sam and Johnathan moaning as an invisible energy held them high around the circular room. I spun back to face her and she smiled at me.
“This is not your doing any longer, this time I have the power, because you finally did it… both of you, you bore the key… this flesh suit I am in now, Gracie. She allowed me to escape memory and I am thankful… weird enough, that you did it.” She said.
I gritted my teeth and gripped my blades. Sara smiled at me as she waved her hand and Josh fell to the floor. His arms spread out. I cried out and ran towards him and
Sara waved her hand at me and I dropped to the floor, with such pain in my body that I almost lost my vision.
“Nope.” She said as she started to pace and I looked up at her, eyes blurry and watched as she pulled her blades out and stopped, tapping them on her legs.
“I know that I should just....” she said as she flashed over Josh and rose the blades above her, I screamed and she looked at me and grinned.
“Oh what? You see every time we have been here you do this… you kill him, you found out every time but this one, what he is.”
“What? My mate? The sword, Father to my child?” I screamed at her.
“Oh god.” Sara looked up and grinned and then looked at me, waving her blades around like a cheap purse.
“No… Joshua here… he is an angel Rue.” Sara said.
“No.” I said as I touched my chest and looked at him. Josh groaned and turned to face me.
“Oh yes… yes, yes. Joshua here is a powerful angel, but not the best… are you?” Sara said as she leaned in and grinned at him.
“I will kill you Lucifer.” Josh whispered and I looked up quickly and stared at Sara. “You already gave that a shot Gabrielle, it didn’t work out, remember?” Sara said.
“What?” I asked her.
Sara rolled her eyes and kicked Josh in the side.
“Damn it! That was for me to tell… you pig!” she yelled at him.
She smiled and held her blades out.
“Hello… I am Lucifer.” She said, as if she was bored.
“What?... You are supposed to be a boy!” I said.
Sara laughed. “Typo.” She said as she grinned at me.
“You don’t hate Josh… you love him, you wanted him, wanted to have him… and not me.” I said.
“Oh whatever!” Sara said as she looked at him.
I shook my head and looked at Josh on the floor.
“You REALLY know how to pick em’.” I said to him.
Josh looked at me and half grinned.
“Not now.”
“Really?... I mean for fuck sake Josh… way to go!” I said.
Sara waved her hand around and started to laugh.
“I think that you are giving him more credit than he deserves.” She said.
“What?” I said as I looked at her.
“He pursued me, not the other way around.”
Josh laughed and she kicked him again.
“Not how I remember it.” Josh said as he coughed.
“Oh shit… just shut up… both of you.” I said.
I screamed and pulled myself up, feeling as if my flesh was being torn from my bones as I did. But that… knowing what she was filled me with rage and the memory started to flood me… all the times she had slipped into my life… all the lies she whispered into my ear. I clinched my fists and she laughed as I looked at her with such hatred in my heart.
“Oh, I feel that girlie, that little hate thingy you have going on there. I do. It’s good, you should savor that, make it work for you and not against you.”
“Shut up.” I said as I swayed on my feet.
“Oh my! Are we feeling it now? Are we figuring out who we are? I would think maybe yes is the answer to that question.” She said to me.
I pulled my hands up and looked at them, they wavered in my vision but I had to stand, I had to finally put this demon to rest. The one that has plagued me my whole long and drawn out life, the one who has held me locked in memory, unable to step forward. I gritted my teeth and stared her down.
“Hello Creator.” She said to me as she wiggled her fingers at me and that was enough, I had had enough… enough of this, enough of everything and drew in my breath and spoke to her, as I should have all along.
“I rebuke you.” I whispered.
“You what?” Sara asked as she leaned towards me. She leaned forward and slammed one blade into Josh’s wing and he cried out.
“I denounce you and all that you are.” I said.
“Really?” she asked me as she slammed her other blade into Josh’s other extended wing.
Sara laughed and then she touched her chest as she felt something stir in her.
“I am no longer a slave to you and what you represent, I am telling you that I stand here… freeing you of me.” I said as if the words were always on the tip of my tongue.
“Shut up.” Sara said as she stepped back from me. The wind started to pick up in the room and I took a step towards her. I pulled the bag from my shoulder and held it at my side, all my books… my true sword. I pulled the last book out and dropped the bag to the floor. Sara crinkled her eyebrows and took a step towards Joshua and I shook my head at her.
“You cannot have him, he is not yours to have and I will take my daughter back… if you don’t mind.” I said as I lifted my hand and felt it, the power that I always had in me… the power to write the story as it should be. I cut my hand and dropped the blade, I dipped my fingers into the blood and flipped the book open in front of me.
“No… no, this is not the way it is. I stab Gabrielle, you scream… ‘Ah’ and I go… Ooops… sorry about that, but I don’t mean it.” She screamed at me.
I shook my head and waved my hand behind me. Theo, Kai, Sam and Johnathan fell to the floor and Sara watched them and looked back at me.
“I put them there for a reason… an audience to the show.”
“Oh they will see a show.” I said. I scribbled, in my own blood on the book and then dropped it to the floor.
I lifted my hands up and Sara stepped back, she lifted her blades and I started to rise off of the floor. I felt it all in me now… the power that I always had. I looked at her as light started to surround me, wrapping in streams of all color. I moved my hands out to my sides and a tree of light started to float upward above me, my cradle and the source of my strength, the tree of creation. Sara screamed out and I waved my hand at her and a stream of light wrapped around her body and lifted her up in the air, the light started to go through her… one long strand at a time, and she didn’t cry out at first, I would guess because she may have enjoyed the pain… but the look on her face slowly started to change, as the light moved at a quicker pace until it was a blur all around her and with a long and ear piercing scream it rolled her in the air as her wings unfolded and she was thrown one way and Gracie… our daughter was thrown the other. Gracie hit the floor and lay still, again looking as I had remembered her. Five years old, my child and then the feeling of being a true protector kicked in for me. I lowered to the ground and flashed to Sara, pulling my blades and I sliced them at her. She rolled out of my way and looked back to see Joshua rise, his wings expanded and he pulled his blades and shook his wings.
“Get Gracie!” I yelled at him as Sara rolled and pulled her blades out to her sides.
Joshua flashed to Gracie and picked her up, cradling her in his arms and turned back just as Sara flashed at me and I had to dive to miss her strike. I rolled on my back and she screamed, wings looking terrifying behind her… shaking with anger. I took a deep breath as she brought both of her blades up over her, ready to strike at my heart and then I saw it, a blade come through her… it stabbed through her heart and protruded out the front and no one looked as surprised as she did. She dropped her blades, and grabbed the metal protruding from her chest. She looked at me and tilted her head as her wings jerked in a strange manner, back and forth. I scrambled to my feet and looked at everyone as the white stone started to fall from the ceiling overhead. Sara cried out and fell to her knees and behind her was Johnathan… he let the blade slip from his hand as she fell. He looked at me and then I pushed myself up as I watched the doorway start to crumble. I scrambled to my feet and then I waved my hand to everyone, towards the one way out…the well.
Joshua leaped up onto the side of the well and I did to. I reached down and took Johnathan’s hand in mine, pulling him up to me. I wanted to say thank you… I really did, but there was no time as Valon was crumbling all around us. Kai, Theo and Sam made it to the edge too and I looked at all of them and then at the black and churning waters below. I glanced back at the books, laying on the floor and wanted to go and get them… for just a split second and then white stone fell from the ceiling and crushed them as we all ducked from the small stone and dust all around us. I looked at Josh, cradling Gracie in his arms and at everyone in the circle and nodded.
We all jumped as more stone fell and each one of us hit the water and disappeared beneath its surface… cold and dark.
***
I blinked my eyes, and felt
it, a hard hit to my back. I coughed and took in a huge gulp of air… it burned like fire in my lungs. I felt myself lifted up to my feet, heard voices and didn’t try to understand it, my mind was swimming anyway. Confused and foggy… bits of memory, but nothing understandable… just as when you wake from a dream. I felt my feet moving… under me, but it felt strange… as if it wasn’t me at all and then back down again onto something soft, and then the comfort of something around my shoulders. I coughed again as I opened up my eyes, vision blurred. A shadow came into focus, a familiar face to me… one I did not expect to see, my Mother. She hugged me so fast and so tightly it made me almost fall back and then I heard my Dad’s voice, strong and clear… yelling and then he appeared through the red and blue flashing lights. I looked at him and shook my head as the feeling started to come back to me. My fingers tingled as did my legs and I swallowed hard as he hugged me too and kissed me on the forehead. I looked at him and then Kai came into view.
“Holy shit!” Kai said as he ran up and hugged me.
I looked at him confused and trying to wrap my mind around it. I knew where I was, and where I had been, and yet there I was with them. I looked down and coughed up some more water and Kai laughed.
“Not funny.” My Mom said as she looked at him.
He tilted his head and looked at me.
“How the hell did you manage this?” he asked me.
I looked out into the chaos and recognized the place. It was the bridge, white stone… a bridge that had stood forever. It actually spanned red river. I shook my head and tried to stand. I looked out as my Dad grabbed my arm and helped me up. I looked out and saw the damage to the edge of the bridge. I stumbled forward and saw my car… half submerged in the ice and blinked my eyes.
“I drive like shit?” I asked… I mean it is a question.
Kai laughed and my Mom and Dad looked at him and shook their heads.
