NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy Page 5

  From beside me I hear a loud, unrestrained sigh.

  * * *

  My next class is History 145: The American Revolution.

  It takes me a while to find the right building, so I’m only just on time. The classroom is bloated with students. There won’t be any choosing my seat this time. I find an empty chair near the back and wait for the professor. Although technically class has already begun, the professor isn’t here yet. Another five minutes pass. People are looking around expectantly, wondering what to do.

  A young, teacher’s-assistant-looking girl walks in with her ponytail and manila envelope. “Class is cancelled!” she announces, dropping her folder to the table in front and opening it. “Dr. Blakely had to undergo emergency surgery. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be life-threatening,” she adds, answering our collectively unasked question. “But before you leave, come grab a syllabus.”

  * * *

  Now that I have all my syllabi I can go purchase my books. A nagging feeling assaults me as I make my way to the student union. I should have purchased half of them yesterday. I have reading due for Victorian Lit class and chapter one of The Great Gatsby is also due tomorrow. I don’t think there will be a quiz, but there’s going to be discussion and I don’t want to look like a complete idiot on the second day of class.

  My problem is I’m kind of a slow reader. For most people getting through a few poems and a chapter of Gatsby would be easy in one evening. But I like to really digest my reading, to understand the entirety of its composure. Hope I don’t get distracted tonight.

  Once at the student union, I find the school store and browse the textbook section. Finding my syllabi, I check and double check the required books before pulling them from the shelves. Hmm – I’ll get some pens, too. And an ink cartridge.

  Geez, they sell televisions here!

  Buy a bigger television, prompts my alter ego, you have enough money!

  True, I agree, but only if I tell my textbooks to go fuck themselves!

  The great thing about being a liberal arts major is the textbooks are cheaper than for the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. I’m out the door for under $250. You may not think that’s cheap but believe me it is.

  I’m leaving the store when a thought strikes me. Bag in hand, I turn back to the cashier. “Excuse me. Where’s the post office?”

  The girl points down the hall. “Down there.”

  “Oh,” I say, “thanks.” Turning on my heel, I head in the direction she indicated. The post office isn’t so much a post office as a student standing behind one of those half-door-half-counter thingamajigs. “Hi,” I say, distracted. The boy behind the counter has prominent ears. “I was wondering if I have a package.”

  “Last name?” He sounds bored.

  “Saynt-Rae,” I answer. The boy stares at me in silence. “What?” I ask.

  “Which is it?” he asks.

  I blink at him. “Sorry, what?”

  “Which is it? Saynt or Rae?”

  “Oh,” I reply, “it’s both.”

  The boy grins stupidly. “You can’t have two last names.”

  “Yes – actually – I can.” This isn’t happening. I can’t be having an exchange this stupid. It’s too early for this, even though it’s well past midday. “My last name is hyphenated,” I explain.

  The boy sighs as though I’m ruining his fun. He goes to have a look on the stock shelf. He returns with a rectangular box about the size of a large book. Shaking it, he holds it up to his ear. “Nope,” he says, “it’s not Legos!”

  “Hey, stop that!” I reach for the package.

  He hands it over. “Wanna go on a date?”

  I gape at him in awe. What audacity! “No, thank you,” I say, trying to sound annoyed. Truth is, few enough guys have asked me out, so I’m ecstatic when anybody does. I slip the package into my bag and head for the door.

  Outside the student union are a bunch of round metal picnic tables. I stop at one of these, deciding to put my plastic shopping bag in my backpack for the walk back. Unzipping my backpack, I put the shopping bag inside. I’m tempted to open Mom and Dad’s package now, but I put it off. Have to practice patience.

  A loud pop sounds beside me. “What have you got there?”

  “Ah!” I exclaim, throwing up my hands. Gabriel has materialized out of nowhere. “How do you do that?” I gasp at him. “Are you stalking me?”

  “Answer my question first,” Gabriel demands.

  I gesture my surrender. “Books – they’re books, okay. I got books. Happy now?”

  Gabriel stares at me, his grin faltering. “You – you’re looking very pretty today, Nora,” he remarks, his eyes scanning the entirety of my being. “But you’re too pale and you’ve lost weight since yesterday, I can tell. Why aren’t you eating?”

  Geez, his note taking is kind of creepy.

  “I told you already,” I tell him, “I’m having anxiety issues.”

  “Have you seen a doctor?”

  I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m – um – getting to that.”

  “I hope so,” Gabriel says, taking my backpack from the picnic table and swinging it over his shoulder. “You have to take extra good care of yourself in new surroundings. Come on – I’ll walk you home.”

  I blush. A boy has never offered to walk me home before. Man, I’m on fire today! Maybe I am looking sexier than usual. I’ll have to investigate this claim next time I’m near a mirror. We set off in the direction of dorm building C. No sooner do we start than Gabriel stops dead.

  “Or better yet,” Gabriel says, his gaze finding inspiration in the dark clouds, “let’s go for a walk on the beach. We said we would, didn’t we? Might as well live up to ourselves. What do you say?”

  “How about another time?” I suggest. “You don’t want to carry my backpack all over the place, it’s full of books.”

  “I do, actually,” he replies, his eyes staring into mine without a trace of humor. “I really do. I want to go to the beach now, I’m feeling impulsive. I’ll carry your bag, and if you’re nice I’ll let you come, too.”

  I laugh at his nerve before shrugging. “Fine, have it your way. Sounds like you’re used to that kind of arrangement.”

  “Oh yes,” Gabriel says, “very much so.”

  We set off in a westerly direction toward Red Square. From there I know the beach is due north. Glancing down, I take in my footwear – sandals. Perfect. I’m so used to wearing this red pair that I barely register them as I slip them on these days. I glance over at my traveling companion.

  Gabriel is once again flowing in robes, this time of deepest plum. A thin, short stick emanates from his pocket and though I try, I can’t distinguish his footwear around his swaying robes. His blond hair catches the light wonderfully as we walk. I’m struck by the effortlessness of his beauty.

  “Are you sure you should be going to the beach?” I ask, “dressed like that?”

  “What – oh,” Gabriel mutters distractedly, glancing down. “It’s no trouble. I’m not worried about it.”

  “But you’ll get sand all over your nice robes,” I protest. “Let’s go back to our dorms and I can dump my books and you can change.”

  Gabriel smiles his mischievous smile before shaking his head. “Sorry, Nora, that won’t be happening.” He swipes his blond hair to one side of his forehead as he speaks. “The beach can’t wait, Nora. We must go now. I’ve been meaning to go ever since you’ve been meaning to ask me to take you.”

  I frown in confusion. “Why do you want to go so badly?”

  Gabriel fastens his hands to the straps of my backpack, his thumbs sticking out in front. “It’s not the beach that concerns me. It’s the questions I will ask you there.”

  Oh? Now I’m interested. Actually, I was interested before, but now I’m really interested.

  “What questions?” I ask, breathless.

  “Not here,” Gabriel says, shushing me, “we’re too exposed. Wait until we’re in th
e forest.”

  Reaching the bustling Red Square, we head north. Between the college and the beach at Evergreen State is a tiny forest crisscrossed with pathways. This is my first time trespassing through, and no doubt Gabriel’s too, for he keeps looking around as we walk. Perhaps he’s making sure nobody is listening.

  “How is your search for Peninsula students going?” I ask, trying hard not to sound condescending. “Made any friends yet?”

  “No,” Gabriel answers as he guides me onto a wilder, less traversed path. “That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. I can’t keep going up to people and asking if they’re from the Olympic Peninsula. People get freaked out.”

  “Can’t imagine why,” I say, sarcasm drenching my words.

  He ignores my attitude. “So I wanted to ask you whether you’ve seen anything strange recently on or around campus. Anything in the area – anything at all. Anything, Nora.” He says this last bit very quickly, as though terrified someone will hear us.

  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.”

  Chapter Three

  “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.