The Descendants Series Vol. 2

Part One - Chapter 1

I got up from the mattress slowly, trying not to wake Lyric.  I found my leather jacket slung over the back of one of the old broken chairs and put it on over my tank top, covering up my curves that I knew I had, just didn’t wish to show everyone else.  Next were my boots, which were sitting next to the chair.  Then I went over to the dresser with the broken mirror to get my most prized possessions:  my knives and my blue sapphire necklace.

My father had given me knives for my eighth birthday.  He was in expert in fighting and taught me everything he knew.  I taught myself other things after he died, though.  I had to or I wouldn’t have been here today.  I had three of them.  Two went on either of my boots and the last went on my waist.

The last thing was my necklace.  It was a sapphire stone that hung on a silver chain.  It belonged to my great-grandma, who passed it on to my grandma.  Grandma Cora didn’t have a daughter, so when my mom and dad got married, she gave it to my mom.  I’d gotten it for my eighth birthday and I hadn’t taken it off since.

“There,” my mother had said when she’d given it to me.  “You look so pretty and grown up with it on.  It matches the color of your eyes perfectly.  They’re the same pretty blue that your great-grandfather had and the same as your grandma’s also.  And your dad’s.”  She looked at me in the eyes.  “You need to take care of this.  It needs to stay in the family, especially with you.  You’re going to need it when you’re older.”

I looked in the cracked mirror and gazed at the dark pink scar going down the left side of my face.  It started right above my eye and trailed down to about a centimeter away from my lips.  It’d been there for seven years now, so I didn’t mind seeing it every day.  In fact, people knew me by my scar.  Well, and that I was probably capable of killing them if they messed with me also.  They’d seen me in action multiple times.

“Rayney?” I heard from behind me.  Lyric’s eyes were open slightly and she was staring at me. 

“It’s okay, Lyric,” I said, walking toward her and tucking the covers around her more.  “You can go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” she yawned, turning over and falling asleep again.

I made my way out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen.  I could smell potatoes on the wood-burning stove.  And when I got into the kitchen, Grandma was just setting the plate of them down on the table.  I sat down and took a bite.

“Good morning,” she said.  “Or can you not say that anymore either?”

I swallowed.  “Yes, I can say that, just not …”  I looked away from her and back at the potatoes.

“Rayney,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder.  “Honey, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.  You were only nine.”

“I could have,” I said, looking up at her.  “I…”

“Rayney, no.  You couldn’t have.  You need to get over it.  It’s been over seven years now.”

I stabbed one of the potatoes with my fork.  “Is it wrong that I still blame myself?” I asked.

“You shouldn’t,” she said.  “There was nothing you could have done about it.  Just…try to get over it.  You need to.”

It was silent for a moment.  “I’m having the dream again,” I said.

“Still?” she asked, sitting down beside me.

“I don’t know why,” I said.  “It’s been happening for the last couple of days.”

“Is it the same, or different?” she asked.

“It’s the same.  It’s like I can hear his voice calling me, wanting me to come with him.”