Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Rag & Bones: Death
    Rag & Bones: Death
    Rag & Bones: Death
    Ebook309 pages4 hours

    Rag & Bones: Death

    By Juliet Boyd

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Some people believe that death is not the end. Ellie is dying. That might be an easy problem to solve when your best friends are vampires and you have a witch you can call on to help. But what if you don't want to live forever? Rag and Bones struggle with that concept. Both are torn about what to do. Could their past hold the answers?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJuliet Boyd
    Release dateApr 9, 2015
    ISBN9781311703118
    Rag & Bones: Death
    Author

    Juliet Boyd

    Juliet lives in Somerset in the south-west of England. She used to work in administration, but now writes full-time. Her main writing interests are fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, horror and flash fiction. Details of her work are available on her website.

    Read more from Juliet Boyd

    Related to Rag & Bones

    Titles in the series (7)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Silence Speaks Volumes

      Aug 4, 2022

      Silence Speaks Volumes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 21, 2020

      One critic described The Lightness as the love child of Donna Tartt and Tana French, and that’s a pretty good description. Sixteen-year-old Olivia has run away to The Levitation Center, a remote retreat and the last place her father had been to befo

      5 min read

    • Article

      A new CHAPTER

      Jul 29, 2020

      A new CHAPTER
      3 min read

    • Article

      Reading Corner

      Sep 25, 2023

      An antenatal group solves bumps in the night! Book of the week Hilarious and wildly improbable, there is so much to love about this novel. With a Midsomer Murders vibe, it’s a mashup of chick-lit and crime. The story follows a group of heavily pregn

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Words In The Woods

      May 30, 2023

      The Words In The Woods
      6 min read

    • Article

      Mighty Mila

      Jun 15, 2023

      Mighty Mila
      4 min read

    • Article

      Tanya Reynolds

      Sep 9, 2021

      Tanya Reynolds
      3 min read

    • Article

      Rich, Collective Life: Naima Coster on ‘Halsey Street,’ Gentrification, and Writing

      Jul 2, 2018

      After her aging father takes a life-threatening fall, Penelope Grand returns to her childhood hometown of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to keep a closer watch on him. She finds both her father and her neighborhood much changed. He’s become withdrawn and wistfu

      7 min read

    • Article

      READER Reviews

      Oct 6, 2020

      by Renée Watson, illustrated by Mechal Roe Bloomsbury Children’s Books, £6.99 Review by Esmeralda, age eight Ways to Make Sunshine is about a girl called Ryan – her name means ‘leader’ – who has recently moved house because the house that they

      5 min read

    • Article

      Reading Room

      Jul 17, 2019

      Described as Me Before You meets PS, I Love You, have a box of tissues at the ready as you read this and be prepared for your emotions to go through the wringer. Medical researcher Allie Culpepper discovers an intriguing photograph in her grandmother

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Chicken Line

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Chicken Line
      14 min read

    • Article

      Decisions, Decisions

      Feb 16, 2022

      Decisions, Decisions
      2 min read

    • Article

      Page-turners

      May 22, 2020

      If you’re looking for a bit of escapism to get away from the lockdown blues for a while, this is a good option. It will make you work hard to keep up with the changing timelines but also keep you engaged with the mystery as you try to figure out exac

      2 min read

    • Article

      Daisy’s Day In The Sun

      Jul 12, 2022

      Daisy’s Day In The Sun
      8 min read

    • Article

      Searching for Complexity: Motherhood in Fiction

      Jul 19, 2017

      I’m on a quest to surround myself with complex mothers. I’m going to seek them in novels, in stories I can enter during months when my own complexity seems to shine brighter. The women I’ll turn to can’t hear me when I talk back to them, but they can

      7 min read

    • Article

      Stay and Fight

      Jul 9, 2019

      Stay and Fight
      16 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 17, 2023

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Little Islands of Faith: The Millions Interviews Tupelo Hassman

      Aug 14, 2019

      To my mind, Catholicism has many of the prettiest and most satisfying ways of evidencing faith. Because we want to touch it, don’t we? The post Little Islands of Faith: The Millions Interviews Tupelo Hassman appeared first on The Millions.

      9 min read

    • Article

      Reading Corner

      Aug 20, 2023

      Reading Corner
      3 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Aug 8, 2021

      A crime writer stumbles on a real-life case to crack Once I was lost in the pages of Lisa Jewell’s fiendishly readable suspense novel, it was hard to tear myself away. This book has so many elements I find irresistible – a big, creepy house, obnoxi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Awesome Adventure

      Nov 6, 2020

      CLOSE your eyes and try to imagine the sight of 200 million books – that’s how many of Jeff Kinney’s novels are in circulation worldwide. Kids can’t get enough of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid author’s stories about the escapades of besties Greg Heffley a

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Rag & Bones

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Rag & Bones - Juliet Boyd

      Chapter 1

      FLYNN WALKED towards the classroom in a daze. Lori held tightly onto her arm as if she were afraid Flynn would fall. That was a distinct possibility. The sudden flood of emotion had weakened her body, especially her legs, and walking was an action only achieved by mind over matter. She wasn't sure if she could face up to being with the other students yet, but there was only one way for her to find out. Perhaps it would be good for her. Being in school would take her mind off everything that was bad about her life.

      There was so much she needed to sort out.

      Too much.

      She now had two mothers, both on the brink of death, and one pretender to the role who could potentially live forever. It didn't seem fair which way round that was. Her birth mother, Adeline, or Nadelie as she had recently been known, was old. It wasn't unexpected that, with a normal life expectancy, she might die soon. Ellie was only in her early fifties and was almost certain to die prematurely. Whereas Carrie, nine hundred years and counting, would potentially live forever.

      If only Ellie were prepared to become a vampire, but she'd been adamant about that. She didn't want to live forever. She preferred to die.

      None of these things were conducive to sitting down in a classroom and pretending you cared about what was being taught, and the last thing she needed was a detention because her mind was elsewhere.

      She was going to have to grit her teeth and get on with it, no matter how much she was crumbling inside, because the rub was, there was no one she could talk about this besides Lori. She couldn't tell the teachers that her real mother had been kidnapped by some demon and that she was now the Keeper. She couldn't tell them that if only her adopted mother would agree to become a vampire she would live. She couldn't tell them that the GCSE History teacher had experienced most of what she was telling the students during her own lifetime.

      Somehow, she also needed to talk to Emilia in private and tell her what had happened. She was her sister, after all. She deserved to know about her mother. But the maths lesson they were due to have together that morning wasn't the right time. Maybe she could speak to her at morning break.

      When Flynn and Lori finally walked in to registration, Poulton was already sitting there tapping his fingers – it wasn't clear whether the action was caused by nerves or frustration. It was probably the former, given his usually timid nature. She saw him mark out the letter L next to both their names, but to give him his due, he did look concerned, and even better, he didn't draw attention to her. She was pretty sure her face looked like a blotchy mess better confined to being viewed only by family and friends.

      What a way to start the week.

      She turned toward the desks where she and Lori always sat, but Lori had stopped moving and the arm of hers that Lori was clutching jolted painfully. She looked back at her friend, now standing stock still, her jaw dropped open, questioning with her eyes, although that might not have been obvious on account of the film of tears that she was just about holding back.

      Lori nodded towards the back of the room. Flynn looked – and nearly choked on her own surprise. There, in the corner, the same as every other morning since she'd started at Midbury Comp, sat Rufus, joking around with his gang of mates, acting as if nothing had happened.

      Surely, the demon didn't think he could pull the same trick twice.

      She tried to take a step forward, because he was, as sure as Ellie was ill, going to get a piece of her mind, but Lori held fast.

      What? she said, forgetting to be quiet.

      Some of the other pupils glanced her way.

      Look, said Lori, much more measured in her tones.

      Flynn looked again at Rufus.

      Look at what? I can see he's there.

      He's not even looking at us.

      It was true. He was paying no attention to them at all, which was either odd or very deliberate.

      So, he's avoiding us. Pretending nothing happened.

      Lori pushed her toward their chairs and they sat down.

      It's not just that. Don't you think he looks different?

      They both turned back once more. It would've been so obvious if he'd been looking their way.

      Different how?

      Different … less cocky, more his old self.

      I haven't known him long enough to know his two selves.

      He's not even glancing this way.

      So?

      When he was bad Rufus, he took every chance he could to leer and stare at me. Don't you remember?

      I'm having a hard time existing in the moment, Lori. Remembering small details like that is not high on my agenda.

      Sorry. I know. Lori looked like she was about to burst. But, I don't think it's him.

      She knew what Lori meant, of course, which was the exact reverse of what she'd said. She meant that Rufus was no longer a demon. That maybe he'd simply been a puppet in the whole charade. How they would find out the truth, she wasn't sure. If he was still the demon and had decided to play it cool for a while, there was no way either of them was going to be able to pierce his armour.

      They'd tried that before. Literally. The thought of the thick, impenetrable hide made her shudder.

      The bell for class rang out.

      Well, we haven't got time to do anything now.

      And, there were plenty of other things to worry about.

      Sitting through a maths class was worse than she'd imagined it would be. Emilia wasn't giving anything away about whether or not she knew what had happened over the weekend. Her face was as controlled as always, as were her words. More than a few came in Flynn's direction, and not in a good way.

      We really need to get that tutor sorted for you, Flynn, she said, handing back the previous week's homework that looked like it was covered in long-legged red spiders. Flynn's eyes widened. She'd thought the tutoring had been a ruse to get her to the classroom for the little talk they'd had about her past, the one where Emilia revealed that they were sisters and that Flynn was just a tad older than she'd thought she was. She didn't think the suggestion of tutoring had been serious. It'll be good for you. I'll give your mother a ring later.

      A flash of panic ran through her. The last thing she wanted was to bother Ellie with something as mundane as getting her extra tutoring, because she was so rubbish at maths.

      No. I'll tell her. You can give me the details after.

      All right, but as long as you promise to do something about it. I don't want you failing because you didn't put in the work. We might be nearly upon exams this year, but you need to do some serious catch-up over the summer so that you're on target for September.

      They hadn't even finished this year and Emilia was already talking about next? Flynn wanted to scream. Where was that sisterly love?

      It was almost like Emilia had forgotten who Flynn was. Younger sisters didn't usually talk to their older siblings like that. It should've been the other way around.

      But it wasn't. Their familial relationship was so screwed up it could tie you in knots just thinking about it.

      And there was the fact she was a teacher.

      And that nobody else besides Lori, and possibly Rufus, knew that they were related.

      When the class ended Flynn stood up, all set to grab Emilia and pull her to one side, but the moment she did, her head became woozy, and her neck lost all semblance of rigidity. Everything before her was out of focus. It kept mixing and mixing and ….

      She woke up, once again, with Emilia cradling her head as she lay on the classroom floor, except this time there were a multitude of other faces looking down at her as well.

      She's awake, Emilia, said Tash.

      Yes, I can see that, thank you. It was nice to know other people got the curt responses as well. Flynn, are you able to get up?

      Flynn tested the strength of her arms against the floor, then levered herself up to a sitting position.

      Here, said Lori, pushing through the crowd of gawking students, clutching a paper cone full of water. Flynn took it and sipped tentatively. She's been through a lot this weekend, Miss, Emilia. I don't think she should be here today.

      The two of them stared into each other's eyes for an age, it seemed as if they were communicating in some way, which was perfectly possible, considering, but Emilia didn't know about Lori. Or did she?

      Flynn, let's get you up. Do you think you can manage that? said Emilia. Flynn nodded. And the rest of you, it's break time. Shouldn't you be gone?

      Not when there was gawking to do, obviously.

      The pupils began to shuffle out, glancing back at her as they did.

      Lori stayed behind.

      I suppose this is my fault, said Emilia. She sounded resigned, as if maybe her revelations had been the cause of everything Flynn was feeling.

      Yes, and no, said Flynn. You set things in motion, but there's so much more.

      Lori said that Ellie's ill. So, they had communicated. At least it had been silent and it was one thing off the list of things Emilia needed to know.

      She nodded. I'm not hurt. Nothing hurts, apart from my brain.

      That's because I broke your fall. Flynn looked up at Emilia.

      You used … in the school?

      Yes, a little. It was just an invisible cushion. But nobody saw, or if they did, they thought they'd imagined it, said Emilia.

      Flynn imagined one of those huge air-filled mattresses that stunt people used. She wondered if she'd bounced.

      Emilia.

      Flynn couldn't quite gel Emilia's two personalities together as the same person yet. Emilia the sister seemed kind, almost sweet, the teacher version was the polar opposite.

      It's not just Ellie. It's our mother as well.

      Emilia shook her head.

      Flynn, you know I can't tell you where she is. It would put all of us in danger. She's—

      I know you can't, because she's not where she was.

      Emilia's brow furrowed. Then, her expression softened again.

      You can't trick me that easily. I've been around the block you know.

      I'm not trying to trick you into telling me. I met her yesterday, in Glastonbury, but now she's been taken by this demon. Flynn took in a deep breath. And that means that I'm the one in charge.

      Emilia didn't speak for a moment, clearly taking a while to process what Flynn had said.

      You have the Mother Stone? Flynn looked towards the door, hoping that Rufus wasn't anywhere within hearing distance. Where's Mum?

      It's complicated. There was this—

      You can leave now, Lori, said Emilia.

      Flynn closed her eyes. I'm sorry. I didn't tell you, did I? She's a vampire too.

      You think I hadn't worked that out already? She's too young. It's not right.

      Tell me about it, said Lori, slumping back into one of the chairs.

      She was there at the weekend, said Flynn, She knows what happened.

      Emilia flicked her wrist in acceptance that Lori could stay.

      So, everyone was there except me?

      Flynn bit her lip. It wasn't as if there had been time, but she knew Emilia hadn't crossed her mind until afterwards.

      Emilia stayed surprisingly calm through the recounting. She flinched a couple of times when their mother was mentioned, but showed little in the way of emotion. It wasn't until Flynn had finished that Emilia turned to Lori.

      Tell me exactly what happened when she disappeared from the car.

      She didn't exactly disappear from the car. The demon ripped back the roof and picked her up. She didn't struggle. It was like she wanted him to take her. He ran off into the distance and sort of … melted into thin air.

      Transportation, mumbled Emilia. She turned back to Flynn.

      And you say he called himself an Overlord?

      Yes.

      And we have a Mage Founder here as well? This isn't good.

      Yes, good old Arthur. Who'd have thought it? Not so helpless, after all. Not so helpful either.

      Convergence. Emilia almost sighed out the word in resignation. But this Arthur, he could've stopped the Overlord. Mage Founders are all powerful.

      Yes, well, he didn't seem to want to get his hands dirty. Mum was a bit like a fan girl in front of him. She would've done anything he said.

      That figures.

      They all sat in silence for a few moments.

      This isn't good, Emilia said again.

      We could've told you that, said Lori.

      And you've got Ellie to worry about. And Rufus. Does he know about me?

      I have no idea. I dou—, said Flynn.

      I might've told him. They turned to Lori. I didn't know what I was doing around him. He had some kind of power over me. Flynn had told me, so I … might've told him. Sorry. Lori lowered her head, avoiding Emilia's eyes.

      Emilia faced Flynn. Do you think you can deal with Rufus? Find out what's really going on with him? I don't want him to know about me if he doesn't already, especially if he's still possessed.

      Yes, we can try.

      Emilia glanced at Lori. The word we seemed to cause her concern.

      Just take it easy. The last thing we need is for you to get ill. You're in charge now, remember? That's a lot of responsibility and you'll find it's something you can never let slip from your mind. If you do, it could mean disaster.

      It wasn't exactly a comforting pep talk, but Flynn knew Emilia was right. Whatever else was happening in her life she needed to keep in mind that she was now the Keeper.

      And I'm really not joking about the tutoring, Flynn. You need to have extra tuition to pass. You need to have something to ….

      Had she really been going to say 'fall back on?'

      Emilia started to stand, but Flynn grabbed her arm.

      Can't you do it?

      She looked surprised.

      You want me to tutor you? I didn't think you liked my teaching methods.

      But you're different outside. And Ellie wouldn't want someone else coming to the house. We can't invite lots of people in. It's not safe.

      So Rag's paranoid about everyone being a, you know?

      Believe me, it's not just Rag. We're all pretty stranger averse.

      Emilia huffed out a half-laugh.

      Okay, but you can't tell anyone else that you like me really. I have a reputation to keep up.

      I won't. I promise.

      If that was the only thing she didn't let slip, she'd be doing well.

      Chapter 2

      LORI SAT on Flynn's bed, with the spell book open wide, while Flynn prepared their dinner. Even though Ellie was up and about, and a little colour had returned to her cheeks, Flynn had insisted that she was to do nothing except sit down and relax.

      That seemed like an unlikely thing to happen, but Ellie was sitting down.

      Rag was looking a lot better too. You'd hardly know he'd had a foot almost amputated the day before. The only remaining evidence was a few scars, which he was more than keen to show everyone before they all faded away to perfect skin, even if they didn't ask. What was it about men and ghoulish stuff? Oh no, of course, he had an extra layer of ghoulish. It was called, being a vampire. He was in his room packing a bag. It seemed to Lori like the wrong thing for him to be doing at a time like this, but he had his reasons, none of which she was privy to. Ellie actually seemed happy that he was going, which was odd.

      But none of that helped her with finding a spell that would work on Rufus, so that they could get the truth from him about who, or what, he was.

      She'd rather have been doing the cooking, except that would've been odd in someone else's house.

      Flynn had simply told her to, 'Search through and mark anything useful.'

      When you didn't know what you were looking for, 'something useful' wasn't the most helpful of directions. To top it all, the book had no index, so thinking up relevant key words and going to those pages was not an option. Who created a book like this without an index?

      Flynn had added, as if it made any difference, that she could probably do all the spells now with her extra power. That would be the power she gained from being the Keeper of the Mother Stone that she and Ellie had transported back from Nadelie's former home, while she and Rag had 'lost' Flynn's birth mother.

      Flynn hadn't been brave enough to try any new spells yet to test out the theory.

      Lori started from the back of the book, thinking that it might be better – because of that law that said usually the last thing you looked at was the thing you needed. She also looked at the first few spells in case there was some kind of reverse-psycho-whatsit-thingy going on.

      Flynn should have been doing this. She was the one who could read a whole book faster than a bullet would take to hit the page.

      She started to scan for anything with truth in the title, because getting Rufus to tell the truth was the crux of the matter. Of course, naming a spell as a truth spell, that would've been too sensible. Honesty was the closest she could find. Was it exactly the same thing? Maybe. She looked them up in the dictionary. She'd certainly swap one for the other.

      She read through the instructions. The words themselves were complete gobbledygook to her, but the helpful hints before and after were in good old English. All you had to do was cast the spell, naming your victim in the assigned place, and they would, for a specified period of time, only be able to be honest. No lies. No subterfuge. No stupid Rufus costumes that looked like real skin even though a ten-tonne monster demon was inside.

      It seemed perfect.

      When Flynn came back upstairs Lori had a big grin on her face, and when she explained the premise behind the spell, Flynn looked pleased.

      Okay, you just sit there, said Flynn, picking up the book, which was open on the correct page.

      No way, said Lori, suddenly realising the implication. The feeling of dread was real. She had secrets that she didn't want aired. Who didn't? And she wasn't keen on being a guinea pig. You're not doing it on me.

      Flynn folded her arms, and if you could admonish someone with only a look, she did it then.

      But I have to practise.

      Not on me.

      Flynn crossed her arms across her chest in a very school-ma'am-ish way.

      That's not fair. I can't practise on Bones, because he can't talk, and I'm not doing it on Ellie.

      What about Rag? No, she wouldn't try it on him either.

      Okay, I get why you can't do it on the dog, but why not Ellie? It's no different from doing it on me.

      Because she's ill.

      She's downstairs bored out of her mind.

      She'd never agree.

      She doesn't have to.

      Flynn went silent for the longest ten seconds in the history of the universe.

      No, I couldn't.

      What's more important?

      There was no contest in Lori's mind. Finding out the truth about Rufus was way more important than Ellie getting a little bit angry.

      FLYNN'S HANDS shook as she walked down the stairs, so much so that she had to clasp them together to stop her whole body following suit. Anyone looking at her would've thought

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1