NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy (41 page)

And that’s not all…

The double wooden gates are wide open, swung
outward and revealing what’s inside. Fire pits are here and there
on the gravely ground and a longhouse type structure is set against
the back palisade wall. That must be where the vampires live. Or
lived
.

I see no one. Anywhere.

“It’s abandoned,” I breathe, disappointment
etching my every pore. “It’s abandoned, Gabriel! We’ll never find
the Newborn now!”

Wolf is beside me, his hand squeezing my
shoulder. Black eyes gazing at the stockade, his maroon lips are
parting in thought. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” he says finally,
looking at me. “This may be a trap! An ambush. I wouldn’t put it
past vampires. We need to be careful whatever we do.”

“I would,” Gabriel says from my other side,
his hand finding my free shoulder. “I
would
put it past
them, Wolf. I’ve made this point! Vampires are primitive,
non-intelligent beings. They do
not
have the mental
fortitude to construct a scheme of this magnitude. They prefer
charging you with teeth!”

Now both their hands are on my shoulders I
feel pressured. Why do I have to decide who’s right? This is a
lose-lose for me. If I
had
to decide, I think I’d be with
Wolf on this one. Caution is a good default position. Except when
having sex. Or dating wizards. Or hunting vampires. Or… never
mind.

The werewolf shakes his head. “Your arrogance
will be your downfall,” he says to the wizard. “Perhaps it’s
narcissism. I can’t tell. Keep in mind, Gabriel, there’s a human
with us. She’s far more vulnerable than you and me. Would you risk
her
life on your own bigoted, condescending hunch?”

Wolf’s black eyes widen in surprise when
Gabriel smiles back, unperturbed. “Absolutely,” the wizard answers
him, “because the fact is it’s not a hunch. It’s the truth.
Vampires are physiologically, chemically, biologically,
psychologically, and intellectually inferior to wizards. This is
not bigotry, Wolf, but undisputed scientific fact. I invite you to
research the topic.”

“Yeah?” Wolf growls. “I invite you to stuff
your head up your –”

“Enough!” I exclaim, pushing them both away
from me. “Enough of this buffoonery! There is one way to decide
what to do.
I
will decide whether we go in or not. Can we
all agree to that?”

Gabriel swipes his blond hair to the side of
his forehead, then nods.

“It’s your choice,” Wolf tells me. “But I
think it’s a trap!”

“I think,” Gabriel begins menacingly, staring
into black eyes, “the lair is empty and we’ll have to continue
looking for the Newborn. In which case we don’t have all day! So
please, Nora, do us the honor.”

Merri hoots her approval of her master’s
words, amber eyes wide. “See?” Gabriel adds. “Even Merri
agrees.”

“Of course she agrees with
you
,” Wolf
steams, his tone lilting and obvious. “She’s your owl, Gabriel!
Merrifeather should peep in there for us. That way we don’t have to
worry about being ambushed.”

“Brilliant!” I exclaim.

But the wizard isn’t having it. “That’s not
how we roll,” he says, looking into huge amber eyes. “We face
dangers together, Merri and me. Always have. She’s not a
lesser-than. Not a mannequin to throw curses at.”

“Go figure,” Wolf exhales. “The owl is his
equal.”

Gabriel responds, “She isn’t
just
an
owl, Wolf. Merrifeather is a trained Releaser’s owl. She’s a
vampire hunter herself. Merri – like me – has endured serious and
intensive training. Most owls can’t do it. But Merri can and did.
She’s frightful when she wants to be – she finds the bright of
their eyes and the odor they shed. Two biggest giveaways of a
vampire – their scent and their eyes. Merri
always
finds
them. Better than the best, most expensive Vampass ever,” he adds
lovingly, stroking her feathers.

They’re so right together! I can’t help the
thought.

An idea! “Gabriel, can’t you translocate in
there to look around? If there are vampires, you can translocate
right out!”

Wolf scowls. “He could what?”

“That’s a fantastic idea,” remarks the
wizard. “I’m happy to, Nora – I’m happy to journey alone into their
compound. Seeing as how our werewolf here is frightened, it appears
to be the only option!”

“I’m not frightened!” Wolf exclaims. “I’ll go
by myself! Unlike
him
,” he adds to me furiously, “I don’t
need magic to keep me company!”

Beseechingly, I gaze into black eyes. “Wolf,
please let Gabriel go in alone. He can translocate, Wolf!”

“Impossible,” says the werewolf. “I’m
going.”

“Then I’m going, too!” I inform them. “We’re
all in?”

The wizard and the werewolf nod in
unison.

It’s time.

Disentangling ourselves from the undergrowth,
we walk out into plain sight of the stockade’s sentinel towers.
Nothing appears in them. No cry of warning or shout to shut the
gates. We are left approaching unscathed and possibly unnoticed.
Hopefully unnoticed. We can’t know. Not yet.

Not till it’s too late.

Together, we walk through the open gates and
into the compound.

* * *

Nobody greets our eyes. The gravely dirt
ground here is sodden and soaked, a victim of the rain. Various
kinds of debris fill the courtyard of the stockade. Especially in
corners. Everything from wood piles to sawn branches to rock piles
surround our steps. The wooden gates remain open behind us. A good
sign. The single door into the longhouse ahead remains closed.

Gabriel’s wand is aloft, his turquoise eyes
narrowed.

Wolf’s fists are balled, his expression
tight.

Merri’s enormous amber eyes are swiveling
around with frightening speed.

I survey the sky. The rain is dying away, the
somber drizzle subsiding. Finally! The rain hasn’t bothered us – of
course – but I’m tired of the ground being squishy. Searching the
compound, I attempt to miss nothing.

Nothing happens. No one comes. Not a sound
issues from anywhere in the stockade. It’s like a ghost town. A
wreck left for thieves and plunderers. Abandoned. Why did they
leave so fast? If somebody tracked us, how come they ran ahead? To
tell the compound dwellers to flee? Perhaps…

I can’t tell what’s happening, but I’m
beginning to not like it.

Merri hoots gently.

This appears to be Gabriel’s signal.
Pocketing his wand, he says, “Well, I suppose I was right after
all. The place is deserted.”

And then…

They’re everywhere.

Vampires!

Flinging themselves from behind wood piles
and debris they charge for our throats. The longhouse door flies
open and vampires pour out of it. Heading for us. Running with
inhuman speed to bite! To kill!

Wolf leaps into the air as a vampire throws
himself at me. Gabriel draws his wand, but Wolf is already the
snarling dog, black eyes narrowed. The vampire careens into the
werewolf and they fight.

“Decimate!” Gabriel roars, pointing his wand
at another vampire. Red light and a sounding explosion as the
vampire is thrown into the air, clear over the stockade wall.
“Annihilate!” The white light misses another. “Nullify!
Decimate!”

I’m huddled to the ground. Defenseless. I
don’t know what to do! But I have to do something! Sprinting to a
rock pile, I throw myself to the ground as a vampire leaps for my
throat. She sails clean over my head and smashes to the ground.
Grabbing a rock from the pile, I aim at her head.

“You’re feisty, aren’t you?” Amoretta
breathes, bright red eyes burning in their sockets. “Kill me!
Nothing can bring me more pleasure!”

I throw the rock at her head, missing.
Cackling wildly, her painted face glistening in the flotsam of the
rain, Amoretta jumps for my throat, teeth bared. “Nullify!” She
smashes into my neck as the purple light strikes, her teeth
dragging against my skin. Pushing her away, I see stupefied eyes.
She splashes to the mud.

“Get them under control!” A voice is
screaming from one of the sentinel towers. “They’re outnumbered
four to one! Jack!”

Ivory robes swirling around him majestically,
Gabriel is sending curse after curse after curse. Red! Purple!
White! “Decimate! Nullify! Annihilate!” Struck by the kill curse, a
vampire falls to the ground at Gabriel’s feet.

“Stop him!” screams the voice from the tower.
“Stop the wizard!”

I can’t keep the smile off my face. Gabriel
is so effortlessly taking them down. I see why he takes so much
pride in being a Releaser. To witness him in his element is
confirmatory, making me realize he’s everything he says he is – an
undeniably fantastic, truly above and beyond average wizard.

But then I see something that makes my heart
burst.

There’s a reason Gabriel’s having an easy
time of it. The vampires are attacking Wolf. His teeth wrapped
around the throat of one vampire and his claws sunk in the chest of
another, Wolf is thrashing madly. At first I think he’s thrashing
to kill his victims, but then I realize he’s thrashing in
agony.

Four more vampires have grabbed him around
the middle and sunk their teeth into fur. Oh my god! No! No! No!
Wolf said he could survive a vampire bite. But four? A volcano of
fury erupts inside me. Grabbing a rock in each hand from the pile,
I charge at the vampires without a second thought.

“Decimate!” Gabriel yells, pointing his wand
at one of the vampires attacking Wolf. “Nora, no! Run! I’ll get
them! Run for the gates!”

I barely hear him. All I hear is the yowling
whine of the werewolf being tortured. The venom must be fusing with
his blood. “Take that!” I scream, lobbing a rock at one of the
vampires’ heads. It hits spot on, knocking him off the werewolf
with a satisfyingly loud bonk. “And that!” I throw my other rock.
It misses.

Its intended target – a middle aged male
vampire – releases his teeth from Wolf’s fur. The werewolf is prone
on the ground. Unmoving. The vampire is coming for me, picking up
speed. I’ve run out of rocks! Searching, I see Gabriel defending
himself from a vampire attacking from behind.

He won’t find out in time!

Fucking fuck!
I’m dead.

The vampire coming for me breaks into a run.
“You’re mine, juicy!”

Nearly upon me. I close my eyes. Goodbye
sweet life!

A roaring screech. My eyes fly open. I can’t
see the vampire! I can’t see him because white wings have spread in
front of my face, blocking his from view. Merri hovers there. Then
I hear two horrible,
horrible
popping sounds.

Holy bejesus fuck…

Screaming in agony the vampire falls to the
ground, his legs kicking wildly. His hands covering his eyes. Then
– flapping over his body – Merri drops his shredded eyeballs on
him. My scream is unheard as I see the vampire remove his hands
from his face. Empty sockets stare back at me.

“Kill the owl!”

A vampire leaps for Merri, but she flies
higher into the air – out of reach. Settling on the palisade wall,
she gazes down on the proceedings, her huge amber eyes bright. Ten
feet above the rest of us.

“Nora!” Gabriel roars. “Duck!”

I manage in the nick of time. A vampire flies
over my head, his teeth bared and his evil eyes wild. Sprinting
back to the rock pile, I pick up two more as a familiar sight falls
upon me. A vampire nearly identical to Gabriel except bright eyed,
filthy, and dressed in shabby Immag clothes. Jack.

He’s coming for me across the compound at a
fast, determined stride. I see Gabriel barely restraining the
onslaught of vampires with his curses. “Nullify! Decimate!” But the
vampires that were preoccupied with Wolf before are now attacking
the wizard. The werewolf is lifeless on the ground.

Gabriel could be, too.

Not my wizard! Not my werewolf! I have to do
something!

Jack is almost here, his bloody smile
unrestrained. “No!” I scream at him, throwing a rock at his head.
It misses completely. “Get back!” I throw the other and he dodges
it easily. “I’m warning you!” I exclaim, gesturing crazily at him
as I’m backed up to the palisade wall. “Get back! Leave me
alone!”

Jack laughs in my face.

Screeching madly, Merri launches from the
palisade wall above me. Heading for Jack’s sockets. But as she’s
coming in for the landing, he throws himself to the ground and
jumps up beyond her. Merrifeather is forced to right a near crash
landing. Flapping ungainly, she flies off to help Gabriel.

“Abandoned!” Jack taunts, his dirty face
wreathed in glee. “Alone! How could they? It’s almost like they
don’t care!”

I’m panicking. I can’t deny it. My body is
shaking. Gabriel and Merri are attempting to take on eight vampires
single handedly. I can’t count on their help now. The rock pile is
out of reach and I have no other weapons. Wolf remains passed out
on the ground while the wooden gates to the compound remain open.
Damn it!
I should have run when Gabriel told me to. Too
late. No turning back.

Jack advances on me. My back hits the
palisade wall. He’s a foot from me. A dirty hand reaches out for my
face. Touches it. I’m shuddering against him as he drags his thumb
down my cheek, eyes glinting. “Look at you,” he breathes, “alone!
The things I can do to you,” he moans in my ear.

Reaching in the pocket of his dirty coat, he
brings forth a short hunting knife. The kind used for skinning
deer. “I’ll keep it simple,” he says, touching the knife to my
throat. I gulp against the blade. It hurts to do so. Bringing the
knife back into view, Jack reveals a trickle of blood running down
it. “Taste it, Nora,” he sighs, forcing the blade against my mouth.
“Taste your blood!”

I hesitate. “Do it!” Jack roars. Shaking in
terror, I let my tongue slip through my teeth. And taste the blood
on his blade. Taste my
own
blood. “Well,” he asks me,
grinning wickedly. “Do you like it?”