NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy (7 page)

I stare at him in surprise.

You knew he was crazy and the proof has
arrived
, my alter ego says.
Run for your life.

Gabriel and I are stopped on the path. His
hand has found my arm and our eyes are locked. “I don’t know what
you mean,” I tell him, feeling scared. “Why should anything strange
be happening?”

“It shouldn’t be,” he answers. I can see he’s
let down. Damn, he really wanted my help for a moment there. “There
have been reports in the area of – of having issues with… it’s
complicated,” he deems. “Nothing to worry about. Just wanted to
know if you’d seen anything. You’ll keep an eye out?”

“Yes,” I tell him slowly, my eyes never
leaving his, “of course I will. Though I’d be more inclined to help
you if you’d even attempt to tell me what’s going on. What’s the
matter? What should I be looking for?”

“Nothing,” Gabriel says, “it’s nothing, Nora.
Forget I said it.”

“I can’t!”

He closes his eyes in frustration. “Try, at
least.” And pulling me forward by my arm, Gabriel leads me further
along the wooded path. The sunlight doesn’t penetrate the tree
branches here, making the space beneath dark and ambient. “You must
have got a lot of textbooks,” Gabriel says dryly.

I nod. “English major. Seriously, I don’t
mind carrying that.” I reach for the backpack knowing full well he
won’t let me carry it.

“No need,” Gabriel says, stowing my hand,
“let me just…” Reaching for the pocket of his plum robes, he pulls
forth the short, thin stick. Pointing it at the backpack, he says
“Featheretta!” The bulges near the bottom of the backpack soften
and the entire bag seems to lift an inch off his back.

“What did you –?” I gasp, staring at him.
“What –
what
happened?”

Gabriel stares back at me as though surprised
I was watching at all. “Oh, that. Pay it no attention, Nora, we
have other matters to discuss. I just wanted to make your bag
lighter while we walk.”

I shake my head frantically, hoping to knock
some sense back into my consciousness. Am I losing my mind? Has
Gabriel already lost his? What is happening to me – around me? My
world is playing host to madness. But I don’t have long to reflect
on my weakening mental state for we’ve arrived.

The light growing brighter and brighter,
Gabriel and I reach the end of the tree line and see before us an
expanse of encapsulated beauty. Trees abound in all directions
around the inlet, hugging the water whilst waves wash upon sandy
shores, sprinkling our ears with the sound of eternity.

Gabriel and I gaze silently at the beauty
surrounding our steps, our solitary thoughts forgotten. Then he
starts walking out toward the water. I follow him. His long plum
robes billow behind him as he walks, their folds caught in a high
wind. Gabriel is staring off in the direction of the horizon.

I join him. “It’s stunning.”

“Yes,” he agrees, pointing off to where the
water disappears. “See there, Nora? That’s where Puget Sound pours
down into here – into Eld Inlet. Makes for a quiet getaway, doesn’t
it? It would be great to have a cabin here,” he continues
conversationally, smiling into my eyes. “So beautiful.”

“True,” I agree. “But then there’d be a cabin
here.”

Turquoise eyes regard me. “I like you, Nora,”
he says, surprising me. “You amaze me. You have so much depth and
character for an Immag.”

What the fuck?

“Thank you,” I say, not sure I was even
complimented. “What’s an Immag again?”

He reveals white in a smile. “I can’t tell
you what an Immag is
again
if I didn’t tell you what an
Immag is to begin with.”

“You know, I’m getting tired of your word
games,” I tell him. “Why can’t you just say something certain for a
change, or answer one of my freaking questions! What the hell is an
Immag, Gabriel?”

Unable to stow his grin, Gabriel swipes his
blond hair to the side of his forehead. “You’re really making me
want to tell you. Better stop it.”

“I’m serious,” I say, “I want to know!”

He folds his hands under my backpack. “Know
what?”

“Everything!” I exclaim, gesturing my hands
wildly on the beach. “What’s happening around here, who you’re
looking for, who
I’m
supposed to be looking for, why you
dress the way you do, why you have an owl back in your dorm, what a
Vampass is, and what the fuck an Immag is!”

Gabriel gazes out over the calm water.
“That’s a lot.”

“So?” I push, panting. “I want to know!”

“I know you do,” Gabriel says
matter-of-factly. “But there’s a problem.”

“What? What’s the problem?”

Gabriel looks back at me. “The problem is I
can’t answer any of your questions without answering all of them. I
– I’ll agree to answer one of them, but I know that answering it
will lead to answering more. And you won’t stop. You’ll keep coming
at me until you know everything.”

Sounds about right
, my alter ego
quips.

Shut the fuck up
, I tell her.

“Me, come at you?” I repeat, annoyed. “You’ve
been coming at me, Gabriel! Finding
me
everywhere! I
wouldn’t have found you once since we met if you didn’t want me to.
You’re always sneaking up on me!”

“Beside the point,” he tells me. “The point
is it’s a slippery slope of information we’re on and I can’t share
everything.”

“Why not? What have you got to hide?”

Turquoise eyes watch me carefully. “Many
things, Nora. There are many things to hide from not only you but
others, too. I could be in serious trouble if I ignore certain laws
pertaining to what I’m allowed and not allowed to tell an Immag.
Actually, I think I’ve already crossed the line. But they have to
understand, don’t they? I’ve never been among your kind before. I’m
alone. Lonely.”

My heart of ice melts. “Gabriel, you didn’t
tell me you were lonely. But I don’t understand – what do you mean
by ‘your kind’?”

Putting his hand in the small of my back,
Gabriel gestures me forward. “Come – let’s walk along the beach.”
With the sun hiding behind clouds and the trees waving in a brisk
wind, we journey together on the sandy shore. “I’m not like you,
Nora.”

“I know,” I begin, but Gabriel holds up a
hand.

“Let me finish,” he says. “Yes – I’ve been
lonely. I’m used to being surrounded by my own kind. Not to sound
arrogant, but I’m exemplary among my peers. I’m used to their
company and praise. Reverence is like a drug, I’ve been without it
for only two days and already I’m depressed. But I can’t be
depressed. I have work to do here – in Washington. I must finish it
before I go home.”

“To Boston?” I squeak, afraid he’ll quiet me
again. “To Magasant?”

“To Baltimore,” Gabriel responds, looking at
me sideways. “I’m from Baltimore, Nora. I was only in Boston to
attend Magasant. You see – well – there’s only one school for my
kind in the country. That is not uncommon for our wider community
around the world. We are a sparse breed.”

“What are you?” I ask him, humor heightening
my tone. “A vampire?”

Gabriel stops dead, turning to me with his
eyes on fire. “No!” he rasps, “I do not belong to that filthy breed
of immorals. In fact, I’m employed in no other occupation than the
extermination of their race!”

My blood freezes, chilling me to the bone.
“Oh,” I gasp, “but – but then you’re saying vampires actually
exist!”

“Exist?” Gabriel repeats, walking again. “Oh
yes. Not only do they exist, but we are very close to one of the
most vampire-infested parts of the country: the Olympic Peninsula.
It’s famed for its rabid collection of the beasts. They go there to
escape the sunlight that burns their skin. They are why I’m
here.”

“To hunt them?” I gasp.

Gabriel nods. “To hunt them. To kill them.
And they aren’t easy to kill, either. They look and act like
regular human beings, but they have the impermeability of a rhino.
I would’ve liked assistance here, but my kind isn’t supposed to go
around in large numbers or else we’ll be noticed. So I’m here
alone.”

I blink at him in confusion. “How will you
fight them?”

Gabriel stares at me for a second before
smiling wickedly, his turquoise eyes shining from beneath his mop
of blond hair. “I have a secret weapon, Nora. My entire existence
is a secret weapon.”

“What’s your weapon?”

He snorts. “I just told you, Nora. Me. I’m
the secret weapon.”

I rephrase the question. “Fine, then. What
are
you
?”

Stopping on the beach, Gabriel stares
unflinchingly into my eyes. “I
will
tell you, Nora. But you
must swear to keep my secret hidden. Do you swear?”

Excitement is pinging inside my head. “I
swear!”

Gabriel closes his eyes. “Nora, I’m a
wizard.”

“A what!”

“Shh!” Gabriel shushes me. “Not so loud!”

I stare at him. “A wizard? You can’t be! They
don’t exist!”

“They do exist,” he says, “I’m proof.”
Reaching for the thin stick in the pocket of his robes, Gabriel
pulls it forth. “Bloomio rosa,” he murmurs, pointing it at my
hand.

Scared, I gaze in shock at my hand. Except
it’s no longer just a hand, but a hand holding roses. Three stalks,
each without thorns and all with glistening white buds. I stare in
amazement at the flowers before looking back at Gabriel. “This is
terribly unnatural,” I say to him, my heart thrumming in my
chest.

Gabriel takes a step closer, the turquoise of
his eyes sweeping me. “Terrible – okay, that’s a fair assessment,”
he says. “But unnatural? You’re cruel to say so, Nora. I didn’t
have you pegged as cruel.”

“You don’t have me pegged at all,” I tell
him, gazing down at the delicate white buds. “I knew something was
wrong with you. Something major. Life altering. I couldn’t figure
out what it was. Geez, you’re a wizard, Gabriel. A real wizard. How
did I not guess that right away? I should have figured it out.”

“Should you have?”

“I’m being sarcastic,” I say, gazing into his
eyes and regretting my words. “I – I’m not usually sarcastic.”

“Maybe you’re scared,” Gabriel says, his body
so close to mine I can feel the electricity coming off his
skin.

I roll my eyes. “What – scared of you?”

He nods once, his body tense and serious.

Boy does he have intuition. I am scared,
actually. But I’d never admit it.

“Nah,” I say, trying to sound careless, “I’m
just surprised. I was brought up in a world where wizards and magic
don’t exist. Now you’re here turning everything upside, upside –
upside down…” His proximity is alarming me wonderfully, warming my
body and interrupting my words. Those soft red lips are so
close.

Closing his eyes, Gabriel leans in close,
then opens them again. “You
should
be scared,” he tells me
quietly. “You’re human, Nora, only human. I could kill you so
easily,” he says, his turquoise eyes glistening with humor.
Absentmindedly he begins to twirl the stick in his hand.

Hiding my disappointment that he spoke
instead of acted, I take a step backwards, gesturing to his stick.
“That’s your wand, I suppose.”

“College is serving you well.”

“Shut up,” I say, a reluctant smile breaking
across my face. “I think we’ve already agreed that I’m the sane one
here so
I’ll
be making fun of you, not the other way around.
You’re the one playing with sticks.”

Edging around me on the beach, Gabriel pokes
my bottom with his wand. “Off you go then,” he says. Without seeing
his face I can hear his smirk. “I’ll be right behind you playing
with sticks.” Boy does this boy have a stick up his ass. “Faster,”
he demands as I walk in the direction we came, “we don’t have all
day.”

“We do, actually,” I contradict. “Why are you
in such a hurry?”

Gabriel matches his pace with mine again.
“I’m not,” he says, “I want to make sure you get your studying done
like a good student.”

Oh fuck!
My studying! I’m supposed to
be reading
The Great Gatsby.

“I don’t want you to fail,” he adds. “Not on
my account.”

As we leave the sandy shore, I can’t help but
chance a backward glance. The sun is beginning to set behind the
clouds, turning everything pink. The effect above the water is
stunning. What an oasis – this tiny beach nearly hidden from the
world. I promise myself I’ll return with Gabriel.

“What?” Gabriel asks as we walk among
trees.

Swiping brown hair over my ear, I return his
gaze. “I’m still wondering what an Immag is,” I tell him.

“You’re an Immag,” he says, his hands
collected around his back under my backpack. “An Immag is a
non-magic person, Nora. Most people are Immags. The magical
population is only a fraction of the Immag population. Long ago,
the opposite was true, but magic has slowly been dying out.”

“When will it –”

“Not for a long time,” Gabriel adds,
answering my unfinished question. “By
slowly
, I mean over
thousands of years. I doubt magic will ever truly die, but it’ll
dwindle as time goes on. Especially in the United States.”

“Why especially in the United States?”

He swipes his blond hair to the side of his
forehead. “It’s complicated. Well, maybe not that complicated.
Wizards are allowed to marry and enter into relationships with
other magical people. But there is a school of thought that says
magic people should never enter into marital or sexual relations
with Immags. This movement – called the Puridite Movement – has
taken over in the United States. It’s actually illegal in America
for a magical person to love an Immag.”

“Illegal!” I exclaim. “Why? Who would stop
you?”

Turquoise eyes regard my interest. “We
magical people have leaders, Nora. We have government. Like in the
Immag world, each country has its own slightly different way of
going about things. In the United States, the Bureau of Magic is
the powerhouse. They employ thousands of wizards and witches in
every category of work – teachers, law enforcement, criminal
justice, health, and beast control. I’m in the last category. I’m a
Releaser.”