by Shayn Bloom
I blink my confusion. “I don’t understand,” I tell him. “Why should the Bureau care if there’s one more vampire? Why is that reason enough to send you here when the werewolves have it under control?”
Gabriel frowns. “Obviously they don’t,” he remarks, “if a human has been attacked. For each state there’s a vampire limit the Bureau of Beast Control deems cannot be exceeded. Washington State, while always vampire infested because of the Peninsula, has fallen short of the limit till now. Till this most recent Newborn. The Bureau sent me to sort the situation out. Kill the Newborn,” he adds, cracking his knuckles.
“Why do you have to kill the Newborn?” I ask nervously. “Can’t you kill any vampire you come across until the limit is no longer exceeded?”
Gabriel shakes his head. “Newborns, Nora, are among the most deadly of vampires. They have a tendency to get terribly, terribly thirsty. If there is a Newborn in the area, he must die.”
I shudder. The expression on Gabriel’s face is crazed. Frightening. Best distract him. “What is the limit, anyway?”
“Twelve vampires,” he answers, “for Washington State. The limit is set by the Bureau and depends on the geography and size of the region. Washington has been at twelve forever. The coven up north has a history of killing the thirteenth vampire to keep the Bureau away. They fear us,” he says with satisfaction. “I guess thirteen got away this time. Now they will feel my wrath.”
“You’re going to kill more of them?”
Turquoise eyes are aflame. “Do you know me at all, Nora?” he asks, but doesn’t wait for an answer. “I have a license to kill, maim, and torture sub Purids – that’s any living thing that’s not a Purid blood wizard or witch – given to me by the Bureau of Beast Control. It means I can kill all the vampires I want,” he says, looking delighted. “I intend to! I want to kill them all, Nora. Not just the Newborn. All of them.”
Blood is running cold through my veins. The force of his hate is enveloping our steps. I feel it in the ground. I feel it in the air. I feel it inside me, pumping through me like my own, chilled blood.
“I’m sure not all vampires are bad,” I say. “Think about it. Not all could have wanted to become vampires. For some it was an accident – they got bitten and couldn’t help it. Do they deserve to die?”
“Yes,” Gabriel answers at once, not missing a beat. “There is no such thing as an innocent vampire. Almost all of them have attacked a human. Whether they are smart enough to finish the human off or let him become the thirteenth vampire is a different matter. Lack of oversight is stupidity. Vampires are beyond stupid, Nora – they’re an evil, wretched, parasitical creation! Our world must be rid of them!”
I shake my head. “You’re a hypocrite.”
“How?” he asks in frustration, gazing over at me, eyes flashing. “How am I a hypocrite?”
“When we were going to the beach,” I begin, “you told me you think it’s terrible the Puridite Movement has made efforts to segregate wizards from Immags. You said it’s imperative for the races to join or else wizards will die out in the United States. Yet here you are denouncing a separate race for their supposed failings! For their unwilled victimization! How can you not see it?”
“That’s different!” Gabriel says angrily. “Immags are not beasts. They are lesser than wizards, but –”
“Oh, I see!” I exclaim, stopping and raising my voice to match his. “We humans are lesser thans? I guess we’re included in that ‘sub Purid’ category of creature you have a license to kill, maim, and torture?”
“You are, actually,” Gabriel says. “But I didn’t mean –”
I’m not listening. He’s clearly lost his head. “I think I finally get you,” I tell him. “Every other creature – Immag, vampire, werewolf – is subordinate to your race. You really believe that, don’t you?”
We stare each other down.
“Yes,” he says.
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “You’re wrong,” I say. “You’re so wrong, Gabriel.” I turn away. “I’m going home.”
“Wait!” Gabriel says, catching my arm. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, Nora!”
His turquoise eyes are apologetic. Mine are unforgiving. “You’re a bigot,” I tell him. “Admit you’re a fucking bigot and I’ll stay.”
Gabriel gestures wildly, upset. “I – you – fine!” he says, flustered. “Fine! I’m a bigot! Have it your way! Will you stay now?”
I’m trying not to appear too pleased. “For the time being,” I say. “No promises later. Now take me to whoever we’re meeting. I’m losing patience with you!”
He’s eyeing me warily. “No more talk of dominant races, I promise.”
“Hey!”
“I said dominant – not better than!” he states quickly, a trace of a smile gracing his lips. “Relax, Nora!”
“You’re the one who needs to relax,” I tell him. “Relax your excitement for murderous rampages. You sound like a lunatic, Gabriel.”
He guides me forward. I let him despite being incensed by his comments about Immags. For the time being I let it go, because I am curious about whom we’re going to meet. Could it be another wizard? Or a witch – he said she. I can’t know. My excitement is unrestrained as we press on.
The tree fringe is long and winding. To the left are school buildings and students bothering to travel on designated walkways. We’re too cool for that. I glimpse Red Square coming up. Here’s where we turn right if we’re going to the beach. Evidently we’re not going to the beach.
Silence. Gabriel is in a ponderous mood. Maybe he’s punishing me for my outburst. I don’t blame him – I did call him a bigot. He is a bigot. Still, my heart reaches out for my stoically silent companion.
Reaching my hand, I take his. It tenses on contact, then relaxes to the feeling of my touch. I gaze into turquoise eyes, my own forgiving. Offering me a sideways grin, Gabriel shakes his head and continues on, his hand calmly and contently holding mine. I’m so glad he didn’t pull away.
Passing the Daniel J. Evans library, we arrive at the western-most tree fringe. Here Gabriel stops and pulls his hand from mine to swipe his blond hair to the side of his forehead. I gaze around, puzzled.
Why did he bring me here?
“I dare say I’ve brought you to meet somebody you’ve already met,” Gabriel says. “I want to reinforce the point we wizards are crafty creatures – not disabled, like you so callously suggested. When you inferred wizards need magic to right a handicap I took it personally, Nora. We’re here to disprove you.”
“Gabriel,” I sigh, “I didn’t mean –”
“It’s okay,” he interrupts, holding up his hand. “I know you didn’t. I wanted to show you, anyway.”
Sticking fingers in his mouth, he adjusts them before letting forth a long, low whistle. The sound is eerie. It makes me want to run for fear a monster will arrive. My fears are misplaced. A monster does not arrive. But an animal does.
Merrifeather, the snowy white owl, comes swooping out of the trees to rest on Gabriel’s outstretched arm. Turning to face me with the owl firmly planted, Gabriel beams at me. “Expecting someone else?”
“Merrifeather?” I gasp in surprise, staring into huge amber eyes. “Merrifeather is who you brought me to see?”
Nodding once, Gabriel reaches into the pocket of his cordovan robes and pushes his wand aside to find some owl treats. “For a while I was keeping her cooped up in my room,” he explains. “Letting her fly at night. But you know Merri – she hates hunting at night. You’re a weird owl, aren’t you?” he asks her adoringly, stroking her snowy feathers. “Yes you are! Yes you are!”
Staring at them together, I almost want to laugh. I hold it back. Instead, I approach the owl gingerly and pet her fine feathers. “So now you’re letting her be a free owl?” I ask him. “Or do you collect her every night?”
“Free owl,” he answers. “Except when I need her.” He feeds her an owl treat, which she hastily gobbles up.
> “What do you mean?”
His boyish charm seems replenished by the owl – the deadly, murderous Gabriel of ten minutes ago nowhere in sight. “I’m glad you asked me,” he says. “Merri is an example of the genius of wizards. She is nothing less than a trained hunting owl. She’s brilliant at finding vampires. She tells me where they are,” he adds delightedly. “Comes in use when your stupid Bureau gives you a broken Vampass.”
Amber eyes close as I pet her feathers. “Does she also hate vampires?” I ask, stressing the word. “Animals can’t be as unjust as wizards.”
“She doesn’t hate them like I do,” Gabriel says, unabashed. “She doesn’t like them, either. She’s too adept at finding them for me for that,” he explains. “Merri’s also a Releaser, indirectly speaking.”
“How does she find them?” I wonder aloud. “I guess flight helps.”
Swiping his blond hair to the side of his forehead, he nods. “Flight helps. But there are other ways. Vampires have a strong scent and she picks it up. Oh, and their eyes are a dead giveaway. Obvious.”
I wonder how many vampire murders Merrifeather has assisted Gabriel in committing. Actually, I don’t want to think about it. Unpleasant to think a creature so beautiful and appearing so gentle could be so vicious. Putting it from my mind, I ask, “Why are vampire killers called Releasers?”
“Simple,” Gabriel says. “We release a vampire’s soul into the void to go where it will. Free it of its wretched cage. Our title came under scrutiny after the Puridite Movement. Many argued vampires don’t have a soul, so it can’t be released. I happen to agree, but I’m not making a fuss about it.”
“It’s kind of insensitive,” I tell him.
He laughs, making Merri’s head swivel around. “Insensitive?” he repeats. “I think vampires are more incensed by being killed in droves than by the title of their killers. But who cares. They get what they deserve.”
He says it with no reserve, no self doubt, and no inclination that he might be wrong.
Sounding a low hoot, Merri launches from her master’s arm. She flies into the trees before circling back slowly. Gabriel is staring at his owl, the expression on his face one of impulsive excitement.
“What is it?”
“She wants us to follow her. She’s found something.”
I gasp the autumn air. “A vampire?”
“Could be,” he answers. “Probably. She rarely leads me to anything else. I told her to look around.”
I feel hot. The blood running through my veins boiling. I’m no stranger to this feeling. Excitement! It’s coursing through me, lighting my every synapse. The possibility of this new frontier is upon me, and I can’t wait to see what I’ll find. Or what will find me! Eyes alight, I stare into Gabriel’s.
“Time to hunt?” I ask him.
Gabriel doesn’t answer for a moment. Instead, turquoise eyes follow the movements of his owl – still circling in the near trees, waiting for us to follow. He seems to be thinking hard about something. But as I watch him, I notice his expression change from elated to somber and serious.
“Time to hunt.”
He’s off. Striding through the tree fringe, Gabriel follows his owl at a swift pace. I stare after him for a moment, my brain dizzy with excitement. Then – remembering myself – I hurry to catch up with him. Nearly stumbling over a rock in the loam, I right myself and keep following.
Geez, he can move when he wants to!
“Wait up!” I call.
Gabriel turns back, his hand rising to swipe his blond hair to the side of his forehead. The expression on his face is of strained patience. Swooping in circles overhead, amber eyes judge my slow progress. My companion waits till I’m by his side before striking off again through the underbrush.
“Sorry,” I say, “I got distracted.”
He’s silent. I notice his whole body seems tense, as though waiting for an invasion at any moment. Or else wanting to move faster than my clumsy steps will allow. I understand – hunting Gabriel and regular Gabriel are two different people. Now, as we plunge through the undergrowth behind Merrifeather, his senses seem outsourced. Prying as they are into the surrounding trees.
Several minutes of silence. Following the owl, our path obscured by root and branch, we travel onward.
My thoughts left unchecked, I feel a conflict rising in me. Not long ago I defended vampires. Saying they don’t deserve to die, yet here I am assisting in the hunt. I wondered how many murders Merri assisted. Here I am doing the same thing!
Shut it, Nora, my alter ego orders.
No, I won’t! I exclaim. I need to be more self aware!
She retorts, Stop lying to yourself. You know you’re having fun.
Geez, she’s right. I am having fun!
Gabriel halts without warning. I look up at him in confusion. It takes Merri another moment to realize we’ve stopped. She’s forced to circle back, hooting lightly. The owl must think we’re painfully slow.
“What is it? Why are we stopped?”
Gabriel doesn’t answer. His gaze is settled in the distance, a frown afflicting his face. Is he seeing something? Hopefully not a vampire.
Finding the pocket of his cordovan robes, Gabriel brings out a familiar sight. A device appearing exactly like a compass. When he opens it, a lone, blood-stained tooth is laying where the needle should be. The tooth swivels in all directions confused, like a road sign caught in a high wind.
“Fuck,” Gabriel says. He snaps the Vampass shut again. “Still broken. Sometimes a charm goes lame then comes back,” he tells me. “We’re not so lucky. Looks like Merri will have to be our eyes and ears for now. In any case,” he adds, his turquoise eyes calculating, “keep yours open.”
“I will,” I say.
Stowing the Vampass back in his pocket, Gabriel continues along our unmarked path. I follow in his wake and overhead Merri pipes a hoot of recognition and swoops back into the lead, her snowy white plumage obvious against the trees. My hunting companion has fallen silent once more.
Afternoon is falling into evening. If we stay out much longer it will be dark. It will be me and Gabriel, alone in the woods at night with Merri. But if anyone can make me feel safe it’s my wizard friend. No doubt his wand can fend off most big, muscular creatures. At least I hope it can.
“Am I in danger?” I ask.
Gabriel looks at me, his expression impermeable. “Yes,” he answers. “I told you that you would be, remember? I said hunting is dangerous and you still wanted to come. How could it not be dangerous, Nora? We’re trying to kill them, after all. Naturally they will be trying to kill us back.”
“I’m not trying to kill them,” I correct. “That’s all you.”
Turquoise eyes glare at me. “I see. You’re determined to be the innocent bystander, are you? Let me tell you something, Nora. There is no such thing as innocence in this world. It does not exist!”
I’m taken aback by the force of his words. For a moment he looks scary – his jaw set, turquoise eyes flaming. Where is the sweet, charming boy who was with me at the tree fringe? Gone. I wonder if he has multiple personality syndrome or whatever it’s called. He’s at least a likely candidate.
“I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “I think innocence does exist. And I wasn’t going to be a bystander. I was just going to, to –”
Eyebrows rise. “Yes?”
Oh shitballs!
“I don’t know!” I yell. “But I’m not a murder –!”
A hand quickly covers my mouth. “Shh! Not so loud, Nora! We are approaching enemy territory.” I moan dully into his hand and he releases it. “Wizards have the upper hand against vampires, Nora,” he explains dutifully. “Unless ambushed! Then the tables turn. Not in our favor!”
Sighing, I look up at him. “Sorry. Got carried away.”
“Me too,” he says. “Let’s kill some vampires and go home.”
I hear a stick break to my left.
Gabriel whips out his wand.
&nb
sp; “What is it?” I gasp. “What’s happening?”
He shakes his head, his wand trained on the spot where I heard the noise ten yards away. Offering a low hoot, Merri soars out of sight, leaving us behind. I stare after her incredulously. How can she abandon us now?
“Where is she going? Why is she leaving us?”
“She’s not,” Gabriel murmurs beside me, his eyes never leaving the place of disturbance. “She’s circling around to attack it from behind. She’s well trained,” he adds, a spot of dissonance coloring his tone.
“Is it a vampire?” I whisper.
Gabriel shakes his head. Whether he’s telling me ‘no’ or ‘shut the fuck up’ I can’t tell. Probably the latter. Unmoving, we wait in silence for another sound. None come. Gabriel appears unconcerned. His gaze sweeps the woodlands.
Merri comes swooping over the undergrowth from the direction we heard the noise. Flapping lightly, she settles herself on her master’s outstretched arm. Amber eyes stare into turquoise and blink rapidly, her head swiveling around with dizzying speed. They seem to be communicating.
“She’s picked up a scent,” Gabriel tells me over Merri’s hooting. “Vampire – she’s sure. It was here a split second ago. Then gone. Heading northwest. She’s going to continue tracking it,” he says, raising his arm. “Off with you, my love,” he says as Merri launches from him to fly over the trees and out of sight.
I watch her go, my nerves calming. My excitement, too. The vampire sure didn’t stick around long. Maybe he didn’t like what he saw. Maybe he knew he couldn’t take on a fully trained wizard.
It would have been an ambush, though, my alter ego observes.
Good point, I respond. I wonder if…
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” I say to Gabriel. Actually, I have no idea if this is true. “I want to know what it is. If we’re going to be accomplices on this mission, I deserve to know!”
Nice little speech, my alter ego says.
I raise my eyebrows at her. She’s so rarely complimentary.
Gabriel is moving, his steps swift. I catch up to him, determined to know what’s happening. How does he move so fast through the forest? How come his robes never catch on a branch or twig?