Rise of Xavia

by Tara Chau

  I stumble back from him due to a rough hand on my back.

  “You know what?” Anne says innocently. “Why don’t you go to my room Di, and I’ll have a real quick chat with Gabe, okay?”

  “Wait, Anne, wait,” Gabe says seriously. “Why does Di smell like… alcohol?”

  “Busssteedd,” I say guiltily.

  “She-she…” Anne starts. “She was beating herself up over the mission earlier today. Literally. She has the bruises to prove it.”

  I nod helpfully, showing Gabe my purple fists. "I was only trying to get her mind off things. I had no idea she would get drunk this easily,” Anne defends.

  "Anne, how much did Dianna have?" Gabe asks. He looks so mad right now that I start giggling. Why is he so upset?

  “It was only a small cup, Chip,” I input with a broad smile. Noting that I sound like a guilty five-year-old, I giggle to myself again.

  “It was a pretty big cup,” Anne corrects regretfully.

  Stepping forwards, I stumble slightly and right myself with a grin. "I…"

  “Can’t even walk,” Gabe finishes as he swoops me up, holding me like a baby.

  "Take her to my room. She can sleep it off there,” I hear Anne say, although it’s slightly muffled by the sounds of my constant hiccupping.

  "Right, I'll walk her home when she wakes up. Let's go. She needs as much sleep as possible. I'm pretty sure she's never had a drink before,” Gabe’s voice is flat, and I can’t read what he’s feeling.

  He is purposefully hiding his emotions. I am gonna get all hell about this after, but right now, I can't seem to feel anything but giddy. I squirm around in his arms as we reach the halfway point.

  “I wanna walk myself!" I squeal.

  “Be quiet,” Gabe says sternly. Not another word is exchanged until we reached Anne's room. He lies me down on the bed, and I sit up again.

  “Go to sleep,” he says soothingly.

  “I-”

  "Go to sleep. I'll be back to take you home later,” Gabe lightly pushes me down and walks towards the door. I see Anne peeking around the corner.

  “Good night,” I said, beaming. I curl into a ball as the door clicks closed.

  * * *

  “Wake up.”

  Someone shakes me awake, and I slowly sit up. I groan softly at the aching pain that is screaming from the back of my head. It takes a worrying amount of concentration and will to be able to hold the weight of my head up. Which honestly feels like a bag of sand, currently.

  “Why do I feel like I was hit in the head with a rock?” I ask huskily, my throat burning with pain.

  “Because you were reckless and got yourself drunk.” I look up to meet an extremely annoyed look from Gabe.

  “I-I’m-oh god,” I mutter, realising how crazy all this is. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.” I jump off the bed and lose my breath, my head spins out of control, and I fall back to a sitting position on the bed. Rather violently.

  “Come on, try again. It’s six forty, I gotta get you home,” Gabe says, he hoists me up by my arm, and I land beside him.

  We start to walk slowly down the hall, up the stairs, and out into the early night. Every step I take causes a sound in my head to thump loudly, making me cringe, pained. I take a deep breath in, taking with it all the interesting smells of city air. Suddenly, I feel an overpowering urge to puke. A fowl taste makes its way up my throat, and I become extremely thirsty. Letting go of Gabe's arm, I rush behind a tree, letting all the food I've had in the past twenty-four hours resurface and spill out. It feels like acid burning through my throat, much worse than vomiting without alcohol in my system. I retch till there's no food left and then continue to puke liquid and everything else till I feel empty.

  “Di?” I hear Gabe’s footsteps coming around the tree and stumble further away.

  “No, don’t… no,” I gasp desperately, my voice croaky and useless.

  “Okay, I’ll wait on the footpath. You’ll be, okay?” I hear him say.

  "Yeah, I'm coming. Just give me a second." My eyes begin watering, and I wipe at them fiercely.

  I can still taste the foul acid in my mouth, burning my gums. Trying to breathe in as much fresh air as possible to wash it away, I straighten up and rub my eyes clear once more before walking out from behind the tree. I come up beside Gabe and smile at him weakly.

  “I had a feeling that would happen,” he admits.

  I simply nod because I don't trust myself just yet to speak in case I vomit again. A few minutes pass, and I'm finally starting to walk straight again. Taking a deep breath, I speak.

  “You upset at me?” I ask.

  “No, just slightly disappointed,” he says flatly.

  “Yeah, I guessed that," I say defeatedly. “So, I guess that this isn’t the ideal time to talk about-”

  “No, believe it or not, I would like to talk to you about it when your sober,” he replies harshly.

  Yeah, talking about emotions and kisses while recovering from being drunk may not be the brightest of my ideas.

  “I-I-okay.” I feel so bad right now.

  I’m thirsty and tired, plus Gabe’s guilt trip is not helping at all. When we reach my house, Gabe boosts me over the fence and jumps over after me. I stumble, falling to the damp, dewy grass, groaning as Gabe hauls me up, not bothering to be gentle. We both walk silently in through my balcony door, Gabe closing it tightly behind him.

  “Stay here,” I order. “I’m just gonna let my dad know I’m home.”

  Gabe nods and sits on my desk chair, draping his leather jacket over my bedpost.

  I walk out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen. Making a huge glass of water for the two of us, I shout out. "Dad? I'm home, I'm super tired, so I'm gonna do some homework and go straight to sleep.” I wince as a sharp pain jabs at my head.

  “Alright,” he calls back. “Sleep well. Love you, darling.”

  I’m pretty sure that he is working in his study, so I don't go to hug him. Making my way slowly to my bedroom, I walk slowly so as not to spill any water that I had just poured. Kicking the door open, I rest one glass in front of Gabe and start to drink my own.

  “Thanks,” he says gratefully.

  I look at the clock. It reads seven pm. I feel so tired already. Maybe having an early night would be good. I do have school tomorrow, and I most definitely do not want to be hungover for that. Putting down the empty glass on my bedside table, I stand up.

  “I’m going to go brush my teeth and get dressed,” I say quietly, walking out to the bathroom.

  I come back dressed in my purple unicorn head PJs to find Gabe still here. He smiles at me broadly, chuckling to himself at the sight of my clothes.

  “Don’t laugh at my unicorn heads,” I accuse. “They’re adorable.”

  Gabe laughs again, and I smile. It feels like ages since I've seen him smile, let alone laugh.

  “You are adorable,” he says, eyes alight.

  "Why, thank you, kind Sir,” I say as I climb into bed, drawing the covers over me.

  Gabe stands up and walks over to me. He ruffles my hair annoyingly and starts to walk towards the glass door. Since my lamp is the only source of light in my room, it’s obvious when a bright blue light flashes from Gabe.

  He shudders and slows down as he reaches the handle. I watch him as he stands there shivering involuntarily and silently curse the vampires who gave him that stupid mark.

  “Stay with me tonight?” I ask.

  I'm not sure if he'll pretend that he's fine and walk off or break down right in front of me. Gabe does neither. He simply nods and walks over to sit on the edge of my bed, removing his shoes. Stealing a pillow from beside me, he drops it onto the floor, walks over to my cupboard, and pulls out the blanket I assigned to him weeks ago. Gabe sits on the floor and draws the pillow in front of him before lying down.

  “Come here,” I say, shuffling over so Gabe can slide into my bed next to me.

/>   “You’re drunk,” he says simply. “You can’t control what you’re saying.”

  "I can, believe me, or not. I'm at least half sober. Now come on, we can sleep head to toe,” I suggest.

  He takes a short breath and picks himself and the things up off the floor. Folding the blanket and placing it neatly back into my cupboard, he hastily gets into my bed. Even though his head is at my feet, I still shudder at how close we are and that I'm sharing my bed with a guy that I really like.

  “Don’t be afraid to fall asleep. I’ll be here if you need me, Chip,” I assure.

  “Alright,” he sighs contently. “Good night.”

  “Yeah, good night.”

  I turn the lamp off; the only light left is the pulsing blue glow emanating from Gabe. The only sound being his deep laboured breaths.

  By the time Gabe wakes up, I'm already packing my bag. Two apples, two water bottles, and three muesli bars. A spare T-shirt, my phone, and some extra money along with a torch join the pile. I didn’t get much sleep last night because I had to stay up so I could watch Gabe, a few hours at most. In the end, I ended up forming a plan. Both Gabe and I are going to skip school today and hunt down a warlock who knows how to remove the Skile.

  “Hmm.” Gabe sits up and blinks away the sleep from his eyes.

  I chuck a pillow at his face and smile warmly. “Get up,” I demand, turning back to my packing. “We’re leaving soon.”

  Realisation blooms across Gabe’s face as he jumps out of bed and runs over to me, eyes wide. “Shit! What time is it? We have school,” he cries in dismay.

  “Nup, well yes, we have school. But we're going to skip it,” I tell him. Jumping up to ruffle his hair as I pass him, I shove the black shirt that he lent me over the top of my white singlet.

  “Ah, care to elaborate?” he asks, eyebrow raised.

  “We are going to track down a warlock who will take the Skile off you."

  Walking back over to my desk, I spy Gabe's horror-filled face. "That would be a no,” he finally says.

  "Well, I've already called in sick to the school, and my dad knows I'll be out late tonight. I told him that if I'm not here when he gets back from work, then I was feeling better and would be going to the gym with Anne,” I explain. “So, I don’t know about you. But I’m going to go find a magical and quite possibly, dangerous warlock.” I turn around to face him and smile sweetly.

  "No, I'll take Anne and Ty, and we can go. I’ll get in so much trouble if Daniel finds out that I let you hunt warlocks instead of going to class,” he says professionally.

  “So, don’t come,” I say simply. “He can’t get you into trouble if you aren’t involved.”

  "Yeah, but I am, so it's a no. I'll tackle you and lock this room with you in it if I have to. You're not going,” he says strictly.

  “I don’t think you could,” I challenge.

  “I’m not injured anymore; you won’t last one minute.” Gabe lifts his shirt to show me a white scar, perfectly straight. Not one part of his skin is purple or bleeding now.

  “I think you would be surprised.”

  I lunge at my bag and try running for the door. In one fell swoop, Gabe trips me and uses his hands to pin my arms down and his legs to pin mine.

  “I believe that that was less than fifteen seconds,” he says with a proud grin.

  I groan and roll my eyes. “You can let me go now.”

  “Are you still going?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I say with a goofy and annoying grin.

  "My God, will you never give up?" he asks impatiently.

  “You know me too well to ask that question, Chip. Oh, by the way, you took me down easily because I'm still slightly hungover."

  “And who’s fault is that?” he says seriously.

  “Mine,” I say with a proud smirk.

  Gabe gets up, letting me go, and walks over to the mirror to fix his hair. "Fine, let's stop by the Sanctuary and collect some weapons and breakfast,” he gives in.

  “I like you,” I say with a huge grin. “You’re nice.”

  Gabe rolls his eyes and walks over to me. “When can I have my shirt back?”

  "I'm sorry, but I've grown quite fond of it. So, probably never,” I sass.

  “But it’s mine,” he says, mocking me.

  “Well, now it’s mine. At least until I find a better shirt.” I smile.

  “Hmm, as long as you don’t take any of my hoodies, I will kill you if you do,” he threatens.

  “We’ll see, preferably when my internal batteries are at least fifty percent charged,” I think.

  Gabe looks at me wonderingly and then turns around quickly. “Come on, let’s get going. I have a clue as to where we can find some answers.”

  * * *

  "Veronica Vain, four-hundred and two years of age. Said to be a legend, I was on a trip once when I overheard some vamps say that they came across Vain, barely escaped." Gabe walks next to me as we make our way cautiously around bookcases in the local library. "Level eighty-three out of one-hundred, warlock. Vain is super powerful and seriously unpredictable."

  “Alright,” I say, taking in all this information.

  I take out a silver rod. It has vines weaving over the whole body. One of the leaves is more distinct than the others. I press it. Two beautiful long blades shoot out from the pole, long and sharp. It sparkles in the library’s light and mesmerises me. I like this; I like this a lot. The pulsing from my ring brings me back to reality. A thin bronze band wrapped around my wrist; it makes it so that nothing human will be able to see me—a glamour. So long as it pulses, it is working. Nothing mortal will catch sight of Gabe’s bow or my staff thingy either.

  “Stay behind me,” Gabe warns.

  I glare at him and march forward confidently. Gabe hissed at me to get back as I rounded the corner. There I freeze. A tall lady about two heads taller than me, who looks to be in her thirties, stands here, smiling brightly at me. She wears a long deep red coat that brushes the ground. Her hair is white as snow and is cut in a short bob. Her eyes are black, like voids ready to trap any who stare for longer than a second.

  “Vain,” I say simply, my voice is strong and determined, I am going to help Gabe, and this warlock is my only way.

  She closes her eyes and grins, breathing in the musty air. “Dianna Iysador.”

  “And I’m Gabriel Jones,” Gabe says, stepping out from the bookcase, “I will kill you if you take another step closer.”

  "Hmm, you really are as confident as they say you are. This will be your downfall,” she says in a sing-song voice. They?

  Gabe comes up to me, taking hold of my arm and drawing me back behind him. “We only came to ask you something,” Gabe says clearly.

  Vain sighs like she's bored and walks to sit in a far-off booth. After a few moments, when I realise that Gabe isn't going to move, I untangle myself from his grasp and walk over to sit opposite her. Seconds later, Gabe slides in next to me, giving me the glare of all glares.

  “Vain,” I start. “We came to ask of you a favour.”

  “Is that so?” she asks with a sly smile.

  “Yes.”

  “It will come at a price,” she says excitedly.

  “I will pay it,” I say. I’m not surprised that she would demand something in return, and I’m not fazed when Gabe snaps his head in my direction; dread and horror were written all over his face.

  “No…” Gabe starts.

  "Oh, no-no,” Vain says with bright eyes, “Iysador has already volunteered to take the price. You can't change it now."

  "I can if I don't tell you what we need you for. That way, you can't help us, and we won't have to pay,” Gabe says desperately, rising from his seat frantically.

  “We need you to remove a Skile from Gabe,” I spit out speedily.

  Vain smiles, Gabe groaning as he slumps back into his seat.

  “Fun,” she says.

  “How will i
t work?” I ask, “Will it hurt?”

  “I don’t think so,” she says with a shrug. “Gabriel must face his fear during a wave of negative emotions, caused by the Skile, of course."

  Gabe simply glares coldly at Vain, fists clenched into tight balls beside him. I can’t speak for Gabe, but I know that he needs to get the Skile off. If it doesn't come off, then he can't be a Protector.

  "Gabe has to face his fear when he's ten times more afraid than usual?" I ask, bewildered.

  “His deepest,” she corrects brightly.

  “Is there any other way?” I ask desperately.

  “Nada,” she says with a wicked grin.

  “You really are evil, aren’t you?” I swear angrily.

  "Darling," she says carelessly. "I'm neither good nor bad. I simply like to win."

  I sigh and look at Gabe. He must do this. Once he snaps out of his anger-induced trance, he'll want to face this. He'll want to face his fear and get the Skile off. I know he will.

  “Alright,” I say with a reluctant nod.

  “No,” It seems that my agreement with Vain has finally snapped him out of his trace. “No,” he repeats. “Dianna will not be paying the price, and I will not be taking your help.” Gabe starts to get up, but I grab him by the shoulder and shove him back down hard.

  “We can do this; we will do this,” I say confidently, not only to Gabe but to myself as well. "When can we start?" I turn to Vain.

  “I am not going to say this again,” Gabe says sternly. "You are not going to risk anything for me, Dianna."

  “Oh my,” Vain says in mock shock, “this young lady is trying to do something very kind for you, yet you repay her by ordering her around? Men these days. Listen, little girl, never let any man tell you what to do."

  I stare up at her in surprise. She sounds half normal right now. Plus, she does have some decent points.

  “Don’t you talk to her!” Gabe snaps. “We’re leaving, now.”

  Gabe stands up and starts to walk towards the front of the library, pausing to look back when he realises I’m not following him.

  “Now, Dianna,” he repeats.