NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy (19 page)

“Time to hunt?” I ask him.

Gabriel doesn’t answer for a moment. Instead,
turquoise eyes follow the movements of his owl – still circling in
the near trees, waiting for us to follow. He seems to be thinking
hard about something. But as I watch him, I notice his expression
change from elated to somber and serious.

“Time to hunt.”

He’s off. Striding through the tree fringe,
Gabriel follows his owl at a swift pace. I stare after him for a
moment, my brain dizzy with excitement. Then – remembering myself –
I hurry to catch up with him. Nearly stumbling over a rock in the
loam, I right myself and keep following.

Geez, he can move when he wants to!

“Wait up!” I call.

Gabriel turns back, his hand rising to swipe
his blond hair to the side of his forehead. The expression on his
face is of strained patience. Swooping in circles overhead, amber
eyes judge my slow progress. My companion waits till I’m by his
side before striking off again through the underbrush.

“Sorry,” I say, “I got distracted.”

He’s silent. I notice his whole body seems
tense, as though waiting for an invasion at any moment. Or else
wanting to move faster than my clumsy steps will allow. I
understand – hunting Gabriel and regular Gabriel are two different
people. Now, as we plunge through the undergrowth behind
Merrifeather, his senses seem outsourced. Prying as they are into
the surrounding trees.

Several minutes of silence. Following the
owl, our path obscured by root and branch, we travel onward.

My thoughts left unchecked, I feel a conflict
rising in me. Not long ago I defended vampires. Saying they don’t
deserve to die, yet here I am assisting in the hunt. I wondered how
many murders Merri assisted. Here I am doing the same thing!

Shut it, Nora
, my alter ego
orders.

No, I won’t!
I exclaim.
I need to
be more self aware!

She retorts,
Stop lying to yourself. You
know you’re having fun.

Geez, she’s right. I am having fun!

Gabriel halts without warning. I look up at
him in confusion. It takes Merri another moment to realize we’ve
stopped. She’s forced to circle back, hooting lightly. The owl must
think we’re painfully slow.

“What is it? Why are we stopped?”

Gabriel doesn’t answer. His gaze is settled
in the distance, a frown afflicting his face. Is he seeing
something? Hopefully not a vampire.

Finding the pocket of his cordovan robes,
Gabriel brings out a familiar sight. A device appearing exactly
like a compass. When he opens it, a lone, blood-stained tooth is
laying where the needle should be. The tooth swivels in all
directions confused, like a road sign caught in a high wind.

“Fuck,” Gabriel says. He snaps the Vampass
shut again. “Still broken. Sometimes a charm goes lame then comes
back,” he tells me. “We’re not so lucky. Looks like Merri will have
to be our eyes and ears for now. In any case,” he adds, his
turquoise eyes calculating, “keep
yours
open.”

“I will,” I say.

Stowing the Vampass back in his pocket,
Gabriel continues along our unmarked path. I follow in his wake and
overhead Merri pipes a hoot of recognition and swoops back into the
lead, her snowy white plumage obvious against the trees. My hunting
companion has fallen silent once more.

Afternoon is falling into evening. If we stay
out much longer it will be dark. It will be me and Gabriel, alone
in the woods at night with Merri. But if anyone can make me feel
safe it’s my wizard friend. No doubt his wand can fend off most
big, muscular creatures. At least I hope it can.

“Am I in danger?” I ask.

Gabriel looks at me, his expression
impermeable. “Yes,” he answers. “I told you that you would be,
remember? I said hunting is dangerous and you still wanted to come.
How could it not be dangerous, Nora? We’re trying to kill them,
after all. Naturally they will be trying to kill us back.”

“
I’m
not trying to kill them,” I
correct. “That’s all you.”

Turquoise eyes glare at me. “I see. You’re
determined to be the innocent bystander, are you? Let me tell you
something, Nora. There is no such thing as innocence in this world.
It does not exist!”

I’m taken aback by the force of his words.
For a moment he looks scary – his jaw set, turquoise eyes flaming.
Where is the sweet, charming boy who was with me at the tree
fringe? Gone. I wonder if he has multiple personality syndrome or
whatever it’s called. He’s at least a likely candidate.

“I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “I think
innocence
does
exist. And I wasn’t going to be a bystander.
I was just going to, to –”

Eyebrows rise. “Yes?”

Oh shitballs!

“I don’t know!” I yell. “But I’m not a murder
–!”

A hand quickly covers my mouth. “Shh! Not so
loud, Nora! We are approaching enemy territory.” I moan dully into
his hand and he releases it. “Wizards have the upper hand against
vampires, Nora,” he explains dutifully. “
Unless
ambushed!
Then the tables turn. Not in our favor!”

Sighing, I look up at him. “Sorry. Got
carried away.”

“Me too,” he says. “Let’s kill some vampires
and go home.”

I hear a stick break to my left.

Gabriel whips out his wand.

“What is it?” I gasp. “What’s happening?”

He shakes his head, his wand trained on the
spot where I heard the noise ten yards away. Offering a low hoot,
Merri soars out of sight, leaving us behind. I stare after her
incredulously. How can she abandon us now?

“Where is she going? Why is she leaving
us?”

“She’s not,” Gabriel murmurs beside me, his
eyes never leaving the place of disturbance. “She’s circling around
to attack it from behind. She’s well trained,” he adds, a spot of
dissonance coloring his tone.

“Is it a vampire?” I whisper.

Gabriel shakes his head. Whether he’s telling
me ‘no’ or ‘shut the fuck up’ I can’t tell. Probably the latter.
Unmoving, we wait in silence for another sound. None come. Gabriel
appears unconcerned. His gaze sweeps the woodlands.

Merri comes swooping over the undergrowth
from the direction we heard the noise. Flapping lightly, she
settles herself on her master’s outstretched arm. Amber eyes stare
into turquoise and blink rapidly, her head swiveling around with
dizzying speed. They seem to be communicating.

“She’s picked up a scent,” Gabriel tells me
over Merri’s hooting. “Vampire – she’s sure. It was here a split
second ago. Then gone. Heading northwest. She’s going to continue
tracking it,” he says, raising his arm. “Off with you, my love,” he
says as Merri launches from him to fly over the trees and out of
sight.

I watch her go, my nerves calming. My
excitement, too. The vampire sure didn’t stick around long. Maybe
he didn’t like what he saw. Maybe he knew he couldn’t take on a
fully trained wizard.

It would have been an ambush, though
,
my alter ego observes.

Good point
, I respond.
I wonder
if…

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” I
say to Gabriel. Actually, I have no idea if this is true. “I want
to know what it is. If we’re going to be accomplices on this
mission, I deserve to know!”

Nice little speech
, my alter ego
says.

I raise my eyebrows at her. She’s so rarely
complimentary.

Gabriel is moving, his steps swift. I catch
up to him, determined to know what’s happening. How does he move so
fast through the forest? How come his robes never catch on a branch
or twig?

Duh, stupid
, says my alter ego.
Magic!

There she is.

“I could tell you,” Gabriel says, his wand
held aloft. “But it’s pretty obvious. For one thing, it involves
you
.”

I stare at him.

Oh fuck!
I should have guessed!

“I’m the bait,” I say. No trace of a
question.

Gabriel doesn’t smile, but the corners of his
mouth quirk up. “You were always going to be,” he says. “Why do you
think I allowed you to come? To stress
me
out more? No
thanks! You’re here to help me. But,” he adds upon seeing my
dejected expression, “I promise you won’t get hurt.”

“I better not get hurt,” I tell him. “Or else
you’ll be sorry!”

Mercifully he does not laugh.

“We’re not staying out all night, are
we?”

His expression is noncommittal. “Don’t
worry,” he says. “My wand can give us light. We’ll be fine.”

I gesture my dissonance, my voice turning to
a whine. “I have class tomorrow! There’s studying I haven’t done
yet! I – I don’t like the woods at night,” I add quickly, blushing
scarlet. “It scares me.”

Turquoise eyes glance in my direction. He’s
going to laugh at me. Please don’t laugh at me, Gabriel! He doesn’t
laugh.

Instead, he takes my hand. Squeezes it
once.

“You’re safe with me, Nora,” he says warmly.
“Believe me. I didn’t study my ass off for five years at Magasant
and another in Scotland so you can be afraid. I’ll protect you from
vampires
and
the dark.”

Blushing fit to burst, I smile at the ground.
“What’s Scotland like?” I’m asking to distract him from my tomato
face.

“Cold,” he answers, leading me forward – one
hand grasping his wand, the other mine. “Cold and old – the history
there is breathtaking. Not centuries but millennia. It’s hard to
imagine in the states. I loved my years at Magasant more than
anything. But our school can’t compare to the majesty of –”

“What was that?” I gasp.

He squeezes my hand anxiously. “Where?”

“Up ahead. Movement in the trees!”

We’re silent, staring ahead. Nothing happens.
Nothing appears. Gabriel is tense. I feel it through his hand. I
realize it’s
not
a false alarm. Merri is nowhere in sight.
It will be the two of us against what awaits.

I look into turquoise eyes. They’re not
worried. They are excited. Determined. “It’s here,” Gabriel
whispers. “The vampire is here. It circled back to avoid
Merrifeather. Keep moving, Nora,” he instructs, pulling me forward
by the hand. “It can’t know we know. Not yet.”

I can’t help but notice Gabriel fails to
belittle the tracking abilities of his owl. I respect him for it.
“What are we going to do?” I whisper as we walk, pretending to be
unawares. “What’s the plan?”

A moment passes. “We’re going to play a
little game.”

“What kind of game?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Gabriel says, winking
down at me. “I’m thinking something similar to capture the flag.
We’ll put a flag out in the open and wait for the devil. When it
comes for the flag, I’ll attack.”

Dread fills me. Because I know the answer to
my question. “Gabriel, what’s going to be the flag?”

“You,” he says.

I’m right. “I’m not sure I want this,” I tell
him. “It sounds dangerous.” Actually – I can’t say why – I’m
not
afraid for some reason. Not afraid of being attacked.
Not afraid of being bitten. I’ve gone insane.

“You will be fine,” Gabriel says, failing to
make eye contact with me and instead looking into the trees. “We
need to get you properly positioned. Ah,” he adds, pointing ahead,
“a clearing. Perfect!”

Despite my recent spout of bravery, Gabriel
is clearly more relaxed than I am. The casualness with which he
talks of me being an offering is something to be admired. Its
loftiness I could never achieve.

“Are you sure the vampire doesn’t know you’re
with me?” I ask Gabriel. “Seems like he would have noticed.”

“He’s noticed,” is the quiet answer. “The
trick is to make him think I’ve gone. We need to get you set up
with a campfire. Make it look like you’re setting yourself up for
the night. Then he’ll come. He’ll wait till you’re cozy and less
alert. Then pounce. But so will I,” he reassures me.

“You better.”

Reaching the clearing we come to a halt.
“Step back,” he instructs. “I want to do this neatly.” Pointing his
wand at the ground in the middle of the clearing, he murmurs some
spells. “Scalio, Nimballa, Hytholay, Safina,” among them but I lose
the rest. The words sound strange and foreign.

Rather than try and decipher their meanings,
I watch what happens. For it’s something to see. Rocks – big rocks,
small rocks, tall rocks, flat rocks – are flying at us through the
woods from every direction, circling us. I watch the circle get
smaller and smaller until it’s a circle on the ground.

A fireplace.

“Torgi,” Gabriel says, pointing his wand at
the fireplace. A fire erupts, showering the clearing with light. A
good thing, too – we were nearly out of it. I have a sudden impulse
to clap. I fight it off. It’s important I don’t look like a massive
idiot right now. Not when Gabriel needs me.

Suggestively, Gabriel sits down by the fire.
He stares at me till I realize I’m supposed to do the same. I sit
next to him, wanting to feel the hot fire appreciatively. No sooner
do I reach my hand to the flames than Gabriel intercepts it,
squeezing me lightly. Turquoise eyes envelope my consciousness.

“Welcome to the magical world.”

I’m enraptured by him. He can’t know. “You
haven’t shown me anything yet.”

He kisses me.

Not a wet, tongue kiss. A simple kiss on the
lips. At the same time it’s the most exciting thing that’s ever
happened to me in my entire life. The turquoise of his eyes so
close. The blond of his side swept hair closer. The red of those
lips tasting mine… So present. So wonderful. So intense.

His electricity filling me, I move backward
an inch the better to look into his eyes. “Why did you stop?”

Because you’re ugly,
answers my alter
ego.

A plague on your house!
I yell at
her.

Turquoise eyes dart over my head to survey
the tree line. Absentmindedly, he swipes his blond hair to the side
of his forehead. “We’re still in enemy territory,” he tells me,
eyes traveling my flushed face. “No matter what we must be careful.
The vampire will wait till our guard is down.”