NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy (44 page)

Gabriel continues cradling Merrifeather, ears
unhearing.

“Stand!” The order is sharper and louder this
time.

Limbs shaking – tear soaked turquoise eyes
staring down at his owl – Gabriel stands up. He does not look at
his fellow wizard. Nor does he acknowledge him any further.
Instead, he continues petting Merri’s gorgeous white plumage.
Refusing to believe those huge amber eyes have closed. Forever.

On the ground, I see something that looks
like a compass. I pick it up. A Vampass. Must have rolled from the
Releaser’s pocket when he fell. Opening the device, I see the
familiar, sharp-toothed needle swinging around everywhere. Until it
comes to a stop pointing behind me. Strange.

“Look at me, Gabriel,” the Releaser orders.
“Look at me!”

Finally, Gabriel looks up, the turquoise of
his eyes sodden. “You killed my best friend,” he says quietly.

The Releaser talks over him. “You share my
profession, Gabriel White,” he says, his voice loud and serious. “I
know the Bureau of Beast Control assigned you to Washington. Being
a Releaser yourself, you can be expected to know our code and our
license. We have a license to kill, maim, and torture sub Purids.
And
wizards
who have committed murder against a fellow
wizard!”

I don’t like where this is going. Not at
all.

“Kellan and I were assigned to find you,” the
Releaser continues. “It came to light at the Bureau you were
engaging in sexual relations with an Immagical. Upon investigation
here,” he adds, looking at me, “I recognize that’s
not
the
case. That charge is dropped. But now you’re charged with murdering
a fellow wizard. So – by lawful permission with the license granted
me by the Bureau of Magic’s Bureau of Beast Control – I am going to
execute you. Gabriel White, you are being executed for the murder
of Kellan Wiley. May peace find your soul!”

The Releaser raises his wand. “Anni –”

It rips from inside me.

An unrestrained fury.

And an unrelenting thirst.

Gabriel saved my life once. I must save
his.

Dropping the Vampass, I throw myself on the
Releaser and sink my teeth into his throat. He screams, dropping
his wand. Blood pours from his throat, drenching both of us and
finding its way to my mouth.

It’s so,
so
delicious!

So incredibly tasty!

And I’m so hungry! Like I haven’t eaten in
years.

Next thing I know the Releaser is writhing on
the ground, clutching his throat and yowling in pain as though
poisoned. I awake in my own body, realizing what I’ve done.
Turning, I stare into Gabriel’s face.

Fucking shitballs!

A stampede of disbelief is running across his
features, his expression incredibly aghast. Oh no! Oh no! I can’t
believe I did that! Can’t believe this is happening to me! Can’t
believe any of it!

But I do believe it.

And Gabriel will have to.

I told Jack my blood tastes good.
I would
know…

Gabriel is stunned. Disbelieving.
Shell-shocked all the way to his core. Annihilated. “You
can’t
be,” he says quietly, turquoise eyes never leaving
mine. “Your eyes. Your smell. They – they aren’t…”

“Vampire,” I breathe.

I think somewhere – extremely deep down –
I’ve always known. Since I arrived at Evergreen. The knowledge grew
closer with every meal I skipped and every second of pained nausea
I experienced, till the lone ingredient making me hungry became
blood – whether on sheets or in a dream or anywhere – didn’t
matter.
Doesn’t
matter.

“The Vampass,” Gabriel states. “Broken. Both
of them.”

I realize aloud, “These aren’t my real eyes.”
Lifting my fingers, I swipe out my contacts – both of them.
Blurring my vision.

Gabriel gasps.

I know what he’s seeing. The strange,
luminous brightness of my eyes. The brightness I first noticed a
week or two before school began. That must have been when Jack bit
me. I have no memory of his attack.

“Perfume,” I explain to Gabriel’s incredulous
gaze. “It covered my scent. Gabriel, I’m not even an Immag!” I’m
wiping blood from my mouth. “That’s why he said they got it wrong.
I’m
not
an Immag! I’m a vampire!”

A long pause.

A longer pause.

An extremely long pause.

Part of me can’t believe I’m a vampire. Part
of me can. Both halves are hoping Gabriel will accept me. That he
will realize not all vampires are evil, parasitical creatures that
must be destroyed. All of them. The men. The women. The children.
Because I need Gabriel. I need him because I love him.

At long last, Gabriel puts Merri’s body to
rest in the loam. Standing tall, he looks at me. “Run,” he tells
me.

I’m staring. “What?”

“Run,” he says, louder this time. “
You
are the Newborn.
I
am a Releaser.”

This isn’t happening. Can’t be happening.
It’s madness brought on by grief for his owl. Gabriel can’t kill
me! Of course he can’t! Can he? Panic is filling my every pore,
soaking me with adrenaline.

My tears are stronger. “Gabriel, I –”

“Run!” Searching around the smoldering tree,
he finds his wand. He aims it at me, the turquoise of his eyes
blotching red with tears. “You get a ten minute head start,” he
says to me, “then I’m hunting you.”

“It’s me, Gabriel!” I scream at him. I can’t
keep the tears back. Great huge drops are falling to my cheeks.
“It’s Nora! Your Nora! You can’t kill me! You said you would never
stop loving me!”

Turquoise eyes glisten and I realize he’s
crying anew. “I – I did,” he gasps. “But you’re not you! You’re one
of them! One of my archenemies!” He wipes his tears resolutely. “I
– I can’t love a vampire!”

I’m shaking my head. No. This isn’t
happening. Can’t be happening. Not to me! It’s a nightmare.
“Gabriel, please!”

“Run!” Gabriel screams in my face, his wand
held high. “Run from me before I kill you! Run! Run!”

So I run.

For my life.

Or from it.

I can’t tell.

But I run.

* * *

Weeping uncontrollably, I run through the
trees. My tears are endless, drenching me. I run and run and run.
Never looking back. Doing my best to avoid obstacles despite my
blurred vision. I can’t believe any of this happened.
Is
happening. The pain is too much. Too much for me to handle.

For I know now. I understand the truth. The
life I dreamed us having is impossible. Always has been. Gabriel
can’t love a vampire let alone marry her. Even if I’m carrying his
unborn child. Getting into Magasant School of Magic – a pipe dream
from the beginning – will never happen now. Even though I can do –
and
did
– some magic. I would need Gabriel’s blessing.
Despite the magical moments Gabriel could have given me, none of it
boils down to the cold, hard truth.

The spell that hurts the most is his
love.

No charm will heal me from its loss.

I know that now. Always will.

My feet pound earth as I run. My breath is
coming in rasps and I’m clutching a stitch in my side. I have to
stop. I’m exhausted. Emotionally and physically. Emotionally,
mostly. Coming to a halt, I breathe the forest air.

Geez, that Releaser tasted good. Wish I could
have finished him.

Will Gabriel finish
me
? Can he murder
somebody he loved?
Loves
… I can’t know. Can’t begin to
answer the question. I dearly hope he can’t. Supposing he can… I
need to get moving again!

It comes.

A sound crashing through the forest behind
me. No! Don’t kill me, Gabriel!

Charging forward, I bolt around trees and
over bushes. No curses issue forth – no purple, no red, and most
thankfully, no white. Despite this, I hear my tracker gaining speed
behind me, his movements growing louder with each passing second.
Not daring to look around, I throw on an extra burst of speed. I’m
sprinting now. Running for my life. I can make it! I can make it! I
can –!

Hands grab me around the middle.

“No!” I scream. “Please don’t kill me!”

I’m whirled around by my chaser. “Nora!” Wolf
exclaims, his bark turning to a laugh. “I lost Jack but I’m glad I
found you! I would never dream of killing…” His words trail off,
dropped by an astonished russet face. Black eyes are staring into
mine, tearful and luminous in the failing light.

Closing bright eyes, I wait for it.

I can’t escape him. I’m caught in his
muscular grip. At his mercy. Will he kill me? Werewolves, too, are
the mortal enemy of vampires. But they only kill vampires when the
vampire has killed a… Oh no! I’ve done it! The deed! The future of
my life is in Wolf’s hands. Literally.

Full maroon lips open wide, revealing sharp
teeth. “Run…”

“Away
with me.”

Holy geez…

I’m staring at him.

Through blurred vision.

Russet hands still grasping me.

“What?” I ask in disbelief. He can’t have –
couldn’t
have meant what he just said. Not Wolf – not after
Gabriel… well, not after Gabriel reacted how he did. I must have
misheard him. Must have. There’s no other explanation. “What?” I
ask again.

“Run away with me!” Wolf repeats, black eyes
alight, his cheeks burning. “Before he finds you. He’s not going to
like this!”

“Who?” I gasp, knowing the answer.

Releasing me, Wolf takes a step back. “The
wizard,” he answers. “Gabriel can’t know you’ve…
Turned
.” He
utters this last word with anguish.

My brain is racing madly. Should I tell the
werewolf I had already talked to Gabriel? That the wizard already
rejected me outright?
No
… I can’t, that would only make the
situation so much worse. For what if Wolf were to change his mind?
What if Wolf, upon hearing about Gabriel’s reaction, decided to
react the same way? Decided to reject me or – so terrible to
imagine it –
kill
me?

Black eyes are boring into me. “Who bit
you?”

I’m staring back blankly, my recent tears
making the skin around my eyes hard and irritated. “I don’t –”

Wolf growls, “It was Amoretta, wasn’t it? Or
was it Mortimer?” Fury is coarsing through his veins. “Why I’ll
–!”

“No!” I exclaim wildly. “It… it was Jack,
Wolf. It was Jack!”

Black eyes grow wide. “Jack?” Surprise is
registering across a russet face, replacing his sudden anger. “You
mean…”

“Yes,” I tell him, unsure of what I’m
confirming. “It was Jack who bit me…”

Geez, I’ve never seen his eyes so wide.

“Nora, I – I’m so sorry,” Wolf tells me, his
entire form deflating in front of me as his eyes search for mercy.
“This is all
my
fault! I lost Jack… I was certain he was
trying to escape. I didn’t know he was still looking for victims! I
figured he was just trying to escape those wizards…”

His words trail off, his ears no doubt
hearing the excuses, the self-justifying tone of his explanation.
He’s left staring at me, looking as forlorn as I’ve ever seen him,
but I’m too distracted to feel sorry for him.

For I realize what he’s saying. Wolf thinks
I’ve been changed
recently
– not months and months ago, long
before he knew me. I have an opportunity now to tell him the truth.
How would he react? Not well, I imagine. I think back to when the
werewolf and I were in The Mousetrap. He seemed angry that I’d kept
Gabriel a secret, even though we’d discussed wizards. Should I
learn from that mistake? But if he’d witnessed the scene with me
and Gabriel.
And
seen me murder that Releaser…

Hey, like being alive?
my alter ego
asks.
If you do, shut your trap!

Gotcha
, I reply.

I meet Wolf’s eyes. “It’s okay,” I say to the
werewolf. “You
tried
to get Jack – tried to track him down.
Gabriel and I got separated and then Jack came and had his way with
me,” I invent hurriedly, too far in to turn back. Strangely, I’m
spurred by the shock in Wolf’s eyes as I go on. “Jack left me on
the ground to turn and ran off. I haven’t seen him or Gabriel since
the attack.”

Wolf collapses to his knees. Horror spilling
from every pore to cover his russet face in a wild sheen, he looks
up at me, dark eyes pleading as he clasps my hands. “Forgive me,
Nora,” Wolf moans, his face sinking. “I –
I
can’t believe
you were raped
and
changed! This is all my fault, look what
I’ve done by letting Jack escape! I can never live with myself
after this, Nora. I’m a failure!”

Oh geez! Now look what
I’ve
done. My
lies are already biting me in the ass.

“Stand up, Wolf,” I say quickly, blushing
madly as I look around the surrounding loam. “It’s okay – I already
told you that. It’s not your fault Jack – uh – raped and bit me. I
mean, Gabriel wasn’t there either!”

Bizarre as it sounds, it feels good to get
back at the wizard. Even in a way as infinitesimal as this. I will
take that wizard down, one lame, irrelevant white lie at a time
until I have my revenge!

Shaking his head, Wolf stands, towering over
me. “It all makes sense,” the werewolf remarks, his eyes glistening
as he stares into me – his expression drenched in agony. “I saw you
were changed, but I didn’t understand the tears… Nora, I’m going to
murder
Jack for what he did to you! I promise!”

The vehemence in his words surprise me so
much I take a step back. But I’m pleased all the same. This is
good. Wolf is so furious about my being raped that he won’t think
about the vampire thing as much now. That was some pretty big news
until
the bigger news came of my being ravaged by Jack.

“I know you will,” I respond, trying my best
to look downtrodden and victimized. Secretly, I’m whooping inside.
Now I don’t have to worry about Wolf killing me! And Jack shouldn’t
prove any trouble later, for he
did
ravage me… in a way. A
long time ago. “I know you’ll bring Jack to justice.”