In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I fly pass the corn, pass the fighting kids and pass the snarling monsters.  

"Stop the stimulation," Sasha screams, close behind. "Ruby's hurt! Stop the stimulation!"  

I crash into the dirt next to Ruby, where she is losing blood faster than my eyes could keep track.  

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," I murmur, freaking out as bad as Eric was before. "Aunt Nelly!" I scream at the lit-up sky. "Aunt Nelly, stop the stimulation!"  

Nothing happens, and I almost double over from panic. The throbbing in my stomach worsens, both from the pain on the outside and the fret in the inside. 

"It's okay, Ruby," I begin babbling. "You're going to be okay, you hear me? Can you look at me? Can you see things properly? How's your heart rate?" 

She doesn't answer, and clutches the weapon buried deep in her chest. Sasha kneels down, and begins sobbing. I clamp down on my trembling jaw. 

Ruby lifts her head slightly from her bowed over position. All the blood has drained from her lips, leaving them chalk white. 

Her words earlier suddenly hit me. 'I will die soon and your sibling will become the Oracle.' Did she know she would meet her demise? Is that why she didn't move? 

"Listen," she suddenly rasps.  

"Don't talk," I immediately interrupt. "Save your energy. You're getting out of here." 

I lift my head to scour around for some way out. The landscape all looks as real as it can be. I realize with a start that Jesse and Eric have been keeping the shadow monsters away, which is why none are bothering us. I give a nod of gratitude as Eric glances my way. 

"Please, listen," Ruby wheezes. "The journey won't be easy. You will succeed, but you've got to read the little clues." 

I desperately wanted her to stop talking. Mostly because this felt too much like one of those final death goodbyes, and also because she is making her Oracle powers obvious.  

I focus on the icicle stuck in her chest. It has been pushed through with the force of a dagger, and does a similar amount of damage. Blood soaks everything that touches her skin. I find myself biting back sobs as wetness coats my cheeks and blurs my vision. 

"You're going to be okay," I keep saying. "They have to stop it. They have to." 

But of course, if they thought Ruby was Nephilum, they wouldn't. I let out an actual sob at his realization. Something deep in my gut tells me she isn't the Nephilum. She can't be. And she is dying. How can they be so cruel?  

Ruby clutches my arm, her fingers weak.  

"Read the little clues. Read. The. Clues." 

Why does she keeps repeating that? She can't... she can't mean she wants me to read her mind, does she? 

I stare at her wide-eyed, and a glint of approval finally appears in her dying eyes. She turns towards Sasha. "You were an awesome friend, Flames. Don't do anything brash."  

"Stop it!" Sasha chokes. "You're not dying."  

I focus on Ruby's thoughts, and already I can feel the weakening pulse, the dull nodes giving up on a connection. The wavelengths are faltering, but her single thought hits me like she is concentrating on it only.

Your namesake is not as common as you think, she chants to me continuously. Repeating it over and over in her head so I will know. I meet her eye, confusion and bewilderment brewing deep. What did she mean? Before I can register fully, another thought is repeating itself in her head.