by Shayn Bloom
Duh, stupid, says my alter ego. Magic!
There she is.
“I could tell you,” Gabriel says, his wand held aloft. “But it’s pretty obvious. For one thing, it involves you.”
I stare at him.
Oh fuck! I should have guessed!
“I’m the bait,” I say. No trace of a question.
Gabriel doesn’t smile, but the corners of his mouth quirk up. “You were always going to be,” he says. “Why do you think I allowed you to come? To stress me out more? No thanks! You’re here to help me. But,” he adds upon seeing my dejected expression, “I promise you won’t get hurt.”
“I better not get hurt,” I tell him. “Or else you’ll be sorry!”
Mercifully he does not laugh.
“We’re not staying out all night, are we?”
His expression is noncommittal. “Don’t worry,” he says. “My wand can give us light. We’ll be fine.”
I gesture my dissonance, my voice turning to a whine. “I have class tomorrow! There’s studying I haven’t done yet! I – I don’t like the woods at night,” I add quickly, blushing scarlet. “It scares me.”
Turquoise eyes glance in my direction. He’s going to laugh at me. Please don’t laugh at me, Gabriel! He doesn’t laugh.
Instead, he takes my hand. Squeezes it once.
“You’re safe with me, Nora,” he says warmly. “Believe me. I didn’t study my ass off for five years at Magasant and another in Scotland so you can be afraid. I’ll protect you from vampires and the dark.”
Blushing fit to burst, I smile at the ground. “What’s Scotland like?” I’m asking to distract him from my tomato face.
“Cold,” he answers, leading me forward – one hand grasping his wand, the other mine. “Cold and old – the history there is breathtaking. Not centuries but millennia. It’s hard to imagine in the states. I loved my years at Magasant more than anything. But our school can’t compare to the majesty of –”
“What was that?” I gasp.
He squeezes my hand anxiously. “Where?”
“Up ahead. Movement in the trees!”
We’re silent, staring ahead. Nothing happens. Nothing appears. Gabriel is tense. I feel it through his hand. I realize it’s not a false alarm. Merri is nowhere in sight. It will be the two of us against what awaits.
I look into turquoise eyes. They’re not worried. They are excited. Determined. “It’s here,” Gabriel whispers. “The vampire is here. It circled back to avoid Merrifeather. Keep moving, Nora,” he instructs, pulling me forward by the hand. “It can’t know we know. Not yet.”
I can’t help but notice Gabriel fails to belittle the tracking abilities of his owl. I respect him for it. “What are we going to do?” I whisper as we walk, pretending to be unawares. “What’s the plan?”
A moment passes. “We’re going to play a little game.”
“What kind of game?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Gabriel says, winking down at me. “I’m thinking something similar to capture the flag. We’ll put a flag out in the open and wait for the devil. When it comes for the flag, I’ll attack.”
Dread fills me. Because I know the answer to my question. “Gabriel, what’s going to be the flag?”
“You,” he says.
I’m right. “I’m not sure I want this,” I tell him. “It sounds dangerous.” Actually – I can’t say why – I’m not afraid for some reason. Not afraid of being attacked. Not afraid of being bitten. I’ve gone insane.
“You will be fine,” Gabriel says, failing to make eye contact with me and instead looking into the trees. “We need to get you properly positioned. Ah,” he adds, pointing ahead, “a clearing. Perfect!”
Despite my recent spout of bravery, Gabriel is clearly more relaxed than I am. The casualness with which he talks of me being an offering is something to be admired. Its loftiness I could never achieve.
“Are you sure the vampire doesn’t know you’re with me?” I ask Gabriel. “Seems like he would have noticed.”
“He’s noticed,” is the quiet answer. “The trick is to make him think I’ve gone. We need to get you set up with a campfire. Make it look like you’re setting yourself up for the night. Then he’ll come. He’ll wait till you’re cozy and less alert. Then pounce. But so will I,” he reassures me.
“You better.”
Reaching the clearing we come to a halt. “Step back,” he instructs. “I want to do this neatly.” Pointing his wand at the ground in the middle of the clearing, he murmurs some spells. “Scalio, Nimballa, Hytholay, Safina,” among them but I lose the rest. The words sound strange and foreign.
Rather than try and decipher their meanings, I watch what happens. For it’s something to see. Rocks – big rocks, small rocks, tall rocks, flat rocks – are flying at us through the woods from every direction, circling us. I watch the circle get smaller and smaller until it’s a circle on the ground.
A fireplace.
“Torgi,” Gabriel says, pointing his wand at the fireplace. A fire erupts, showering the clearing with light. A good thing, too – we were nearly out of it. I have a sudden impulse to clap. I fight it off. It’s important I don’t look like a massive idiot right now. Not when Gabriel needs me.
Suggestively, Gabriel sits down by the fire. He stares at me till I realize I’m supposed to do the same. I sit next to him, wanting to feel the hot fire appreciatively. No sooner do I reach my hand to the flames than Gabriel intercepts it, squeezing me lightly. Turquoise eyes envelope my consciousness.
“Welcome to the magical world.”
I’m enraptured by him. He can’t know. “You haven’t shown me anything yet.”
He kisses me.
Not a wet, tongue kiss. A simple kiss on the lips. At the same time it’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life. The turquoise of his eyes so close. The blond of his side swept hair closer. The red of those lips tasting mine… So present. So wonderful. So intense.
His electricity filling me, I move backward an inch the better to look into his eyes. “Why did you stop?”
Because you’re ugly, answers my alter ego.
A plague on your house! I yell at her.
Turquoise eyes dart over my head to survey the tree line. Absentmindedly, he swipes his blond hair to the side of his forehead. “We’re still in enemy territory,” he tells me, eyes traveling my flushed face. “No matter what we must be careful. The vampire will wait till our guard is down.”
My voice is a whisper. “Is he watching us?”
Gabriel smoothes my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. “I think so but I’m not sure,” he says, his voice a murmur. “I can’t see him. But I’m getting that old feeling of being watched.”
To an observer, it looks like Gabriel and I are merely two lovers camping. But the subject of our conversation is deadlier than S’mores. I imagine a pair of eyes staring us through the darkening trees.
“Will you stay with me?” I beg him.
He shakes his head, continuing to play with my hair. “You know I can’t. The devil will never present itself with me here. Don’t worry, Nora – you will be safe. Vampires have a nasty habit of playing with their dinner. It won’t be an instant kill,” he explains, his voice soothing as though this is calming.
“I –”
“Shh,” Gabriel murmurs, raising his wand. “Never mind. Water?”
Geez, waiting around is not helping my anxiety!
“Position your hand as though holding a glass,” he instructs me. “A little more,” he says, adjusting my fingers, “Perfect. Aqui!” A glass appears in my ready hand and fills with water. “A useful spell,” Gabriel says, grinning at my amazed expression. “I can make any drink at all. How about something stronger?”
If there’s ever a time to binge it’s before getting mauled by a ferocious vampire. But I shake my head. Raising the glass to my lips I drink deeply. Am I ready for this? I’m not sure. Time is slipping by. Gabriel seems to b
e waiting for something. “What are we waiting for?” I ask nervously.
“Nightfall,” he answers, gazing into the sky. “When the stars reveal themselves I will leave you. Not really,” he adds quickly, interpreting my alarm. “I will be close at hand. Always. In any case, you still have a friend – and a protector – nearby if you run into trouble. Can you guess who?”
My eyes are wide. “No idea.”
“Merrifeather,” Gabriel says. “She’s been just in the woods for the last ten minutes. Waiting. Staying hidden. She can protect you, Nora. One piece of advice,” he begins grandly, obviously trying to cheer me up, “Never – I mean never – underestimate Merri. She’s been known to pull eyes from sockets two at a time. She only does that to vampires,” he explains with a grin.
I can’t think of a response. So I drink more water.
“Are you scared?” Gabriel asks.
Setting my glass beside the fire, I look into his face. “No. But I still don’t want you to leave me. Is there any other way we can do this? Maybe circle around and chase his tail or something? Anything?”
“Nothing,” he concludes. “This is how we finish the job tonight. You know,” he begins as an afterthought, “back in the day I could have got you a special award from the Bureau of Beast Control for assisting in the killing of a vampire. But you know – since the Puridite Movement – Immags are no longer eligible for wizard awards. You’re considered biologically and chemically inferior.”
Shoving him playfully, I ask, “Why would you tell me that? Why tell me once upon a time I could have got an award but now I can’t? I like awards,” I say randomly. “It’s nice to feel desired.”
Swiping his blond hair to the side of his forehead, Gabriel grins at me. “You are desired,” he says, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck. “By not only me, unfortunately.” His skin is tingly and electric to touch, but nothing – I mean nothing – compared to the thrumming pulse thrilling me when his lips sink to mine for a second time. Oh bliss! You sweet creature!
He kisses me lightly before withdrawing. Turquoise eyes are brighter than the fire they’re reflecting, its heat pulsating inside me. I know what he’s doing. He’s building me up for the real thing. It’s totally working – I can’t wait! But as I look up at the sky I realize with dread that night has fallen.
“It’s time.”
“No,” I murmur, eyes closed, trying desperately to hold onto the feeling of his lips on me. “Don’t leave me.”
Gabriel is lost for a moment, then he pulls himself together. “You have the fire,” he says, standing. “It won’t go out. You have me and Merri nearby under cover. We won’t go out, either. We’ll stay close – within watching distance. You will be fine, Nora. You are so effortlessly brave.”
I have to think about that one for a moment before disagreeing.
Stretching my hands to the luminous flames, I warm them if not my heart. “Go, then,” I tell him furiously.
You poser, my alter ego says. You don’t mind – you’re just being an opportunist.
Damn right I am, I answer.
“Leave me to be bitten and eaten, if that’s what you want!”
“You know I don’t want that,” is the exasperated answer. I find myself staring into angry eyes. “Damn it, Nora,” he says, “don’t you know I care about you? Don’t you realize I like you? Or have I been too secretive?”
I have to smile at this. Yes – I have noticed, actually. Perhaps it has something to do with him kissing me a second ago. “You have my permission to leave guilt-free,” I tell him. “On one condition!”
He’s looking wary. “What’s that?”
I try to control my thumping heart. “One real kiss – with tongue,” I add by way of explanation. “Right here and now before you leave me to die. That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.”
The problem now is to keep my expression confident and determined as he comes to me, my heart rate increasing with his every step. The pocket of his cordovan robes accepts his wand. The turquoise of his eyes bathing me in bliss, he raises his hands to my face – his right circling around the back of my neck and his left brushing my right temple. His breathing is low. Intrepid.
Tightening his grip on me to forestall any escape, he leans in close. Kisses me once on the lips. No tongue. He withdraws. Blushing terribly, I stare into his eyes. I expect to see them dancing with mirth after this little joke. They’re not. Instead, they are serious and as determined as my own.
“We’re not ready. But soon, Nora. Soon.”
I nod silently, staring at him.
He releases me. “Goodbye, Nora!” he says extremely loudly. “I will see you tomorrow. 1:30 at the bluffs, remember?”
Frowning in confusion, I open my mouth. Then close it. Oh, right.
Idiot! deems my alter ego.
“Right!” I say as loudly but far less convincingly. “At the bluffs – 1:30 – got it. Stay safe and warm and, and everything.”
“Will do,” Gabriel responds, smiling hugely at me. “I know you will,” he adds, gesturing to the fire. “Thanks to me, no less. Keep an eye out for dangerous folk! They tend to infest the woods at night!”
The nerve!
“Yeah – fine,” I say. Asshole. “Bye, then.”
A loud pop sounds and he’s gone. Translocated. Or whatever the hell it is. Magicked away, if magicked is a word. I shiver, for despite the roaring fire nearby I feel cold. I underestimated the warmth of Gabriel’s presence. Can’t be helped now. Sitting, I scoot closer to the fire and warm my hands.
Surprisingly, my thoughts don’t fly to impending doom. They go to a cuddlier subject. How on earth did Gabriel get away with that? I said he couldn’t leave till he gave me a French kiss and he didn’t. He totally didn’t. Then he left anyway. Maybe if I’d been more vigilant. Forced him to stay.
Like you could force him to do anything, my alter ego scoffs. Hardly!
Shut the fuck up, I tell her.
She quiets at once. Now I’m completely alone. With no Gabriel, Merri, or alter ego to keep me company.
Shitballs! How did it come to this? Why me? Why now? Why everything?
Why didn’t he kiss me? It baffles me. ‘We’re not ready’ is what he said. What does that mean? We as in me? Or we as in him? Or we as in both of us? I can’t figure him out. Maybe he’s a hopeless romantic who thinks a date or two should separate a first kiss and a real kiss. Somehow I doubt it.
Holy bejesus fuck!
What if Kiri is right! What if he’s – uh – how did Kiri put it? A strawberry daiquiri? I giggle. It wouldn’t be funny for long. If my wizard friend and potential lover turned out gay. It would totally make our future make out sessions a lot more awkward. Yet he could be gay. He didn’t want to french it with me…
But I can’t imagine Gabriel being gay. He’s not – not something enough. For one thing, he’s too murderous to be gay. Gays appear to be caring, peaceful people. Not Gabriel. He’s not peaceful. Not with his vampire vendetta. Not with his life’s work being to kill every vampire man, woman, and child. Lunacy.
Thoughts swimming in circles, I sit by the fire and bask in its glow. If only I could have all the answers. It would be amazing! Everything would be so simple! Sparks crackle and fly into the night. The far off hoot of an owl catches my ear. Geez, I hope that’s not Merri! That’s way too far away!
The heat of the fire and confusion of my thoughts pounding me, I sink into a stupor. Resting my head on my knee, I wrap my arms around myself and stare into the flames. My eyelids begin to droop.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” I’m staring into pained faces.
Dad pulls a chair out from under the kitchen table. “Best sit down, Nora.”
“Why?” I’m refusing to sit.
Dad is never this somber.
Mom is watching him sit down with a strange expression on her face. I realize it’s jealousy. She should have pulled out the chair. “Just sit down, Nora,” Mom says, her voice cr
ooning exhaustion.
My eyes never leaving the pair of them, I sit down. “What’s wrong?” I know something is. I can’t help the panic in my voice. I can tell something’s wrong from their demeanors. What? What have I done this time?
Mom and Dad are staring at each other expectantly. Mom stares harder. Dad looks away with a sigh. “Your – your Mom and I,” he begins in a soothing voice, “Have… we’ve been discussing –”
“Just say it, Gene!” Mom yells at him.
“No!” Dad shouts across the table. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this, Cindy! We are going to do it the right way!”
Mom never could be outdone.
She turns to me. “We’re getting divorced.”
* * *
“Wake up darling… wake up. Do wake up, sweetie.”
A singsong voice is coming at me through a haze of years. I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to wake up to this world. To a world where parents divorce and homes crumble around childhood bedrooms. I don’t want any part of this world. No – I won’t wake up. I don’t want to.
“Wake up!”
My eyes slam open.
A woman is staring at me from across the fire.
Chapter Seven
The first thing I notice is her eyes. Feverishly bright red. Her face is elegant with sloping cheeks and curved lips. This effect is dulled by the face paint that dances across her expression, making her look mad. She’s wearing a revealing dress made from colorful feathers. The effect is startling.
“You’re all alone aren’t you, sweetie?”
Holy fuck! My murderer has arrived!
I want to look around for Gabriel or Merri but I know I can’t. So I stare back into brilliant red eyes. Trying to give nothing away.
The vampire stares back at me. Cocking her head to one side, she says, “Shame. I’ve been following you all afternoon. Waiting to see if you’d part ways with your wizard friend. I’m so glad you did,” she adds, her face contorting around bared teeth. “Now I have no worries at all.”
“You – you what?” I’m stalling for time.