NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy (26 page)

The wizard shakes his head. “They are
parasites! Killing one doesn’t do anything. You must slaughter the
lot. In as short a time as possible too, before they can run off
and spawn demonic offspring!”

His words remind me. “Did you see it?” I ask
him, “The Newborn?”

The manic expression sliding from his face,
Gabriel shakes his head. “I did not, Nora. But I only saw a few of
them. If I’m right, there should be twelve of them living together.
Perhaps thirteen if they have accepted the Newborn as one of their
own. Daredevils. They must want a fight!”

“So
that’s
what a wizard is doing in
the area,” Wolf remarks dryly. “Your lot has finally caught wind of
the Newborn, huh? Took you long enough! We’ve known for weeks and
weeks. We’re naturally better at –”

“How come it’s still alive, then?” Gabriel
interrupts angrily. “Have you been twiddling your paws and risking
the slaughter of innocents? Isn’t your crowd sworn to protect
humans? You’re a sorry excuse for a –”

Balling his fist, Wolf steps forward. “How
dare you, wizard!”

Gabriel aims his wand. “Withdraw, dog! I have
a license to kill sub Purids,” he hisses. “I’m pleased to say that
includes ugly, stinky werewolves! If I murder you I’ll face no
charges! On the contrary, I’ll be rewarded!”

My brain explodes in panic. I have no time!
The scene before me is about to be lethal. I’m the only mediator,
the only referee. “Well,” I say loudly to the pair of them, “I
guess you both will have to stay behind while I go hunt
vampires!”

It works.

They’re staring at me. Wolf’s fist lowers,
matching Gabriel’s wand. Two sets of eyes – one black and one
turquoise – are fixed on me. Both blank. I have to keep them
preoccupied so they don’t kill each other.

“What the hell are you talking about?”
Gabriel says.

The werewolf growls, “Don’t talk to her like
that!”

The wizard raises his wand. “I can talk how I
like!”

“Why?” Wolf barks, “Because you’re a
wizard?”

“Shut the fuck up!” I scream. Okay, good –
they’re gaping now. “Shut it!” I yell at Gabriel who’s opening his
mouth to comment. “Listen to me! Now I don’t know about you two
idiots, but
I
want to find the Newborn before it murders
humans. I’m going to their lair and doing the job. If you want to
help that’s fine. Otherwise, shut the fuck up. I – unlike you
nimrods – have a job to do!”

I’ve never seen a wizard and werewolf looking
so stung. That said, I haven’t seen many wizards and werewolves.
Fewer together. It takes them a moment to find their mouths again.
Gabriel manages it first.

He lowers his wand. “I’m coming.”

“Me too,” Wolf says at once.

Gabriel tells him, “No you’re not!”

“Yes he is!” I say.

The werewolf looks menacing. “I don’t want
him
coming. I don’t trust him!”

I shrug apologetically. “He has to, Wolf.
Sorry – he’s the only one who knows the way. There is no other
way.”

“Yes there is!” Wolf says delightedly. “I
know the way, too – I’ve been there!”

I continue before Gabriel can interrupt.
“Fine, then,” I tell them. “You’re both coming! But I have one
condition.”

“Of course you do,” Gabriel remarks.

Wolf bares his teeth at the wizard. “Are you
always this big an asshole?”

“Let me speak!” I yell. “Are you
listening?”

They look at me. “Yes!”

“Here’s my condition. You both
have
to
get along during our raid. You can hate each other all you want in
your free time. But when we’re hunting, we
have
to have each
other’s back. Got it?”

They look at each other.

My dorm is a mess,
like I left it.

Books and papers are strewn everywhere. My
co-written essay with Wolf –
Werewolves: the Sworn
Protectors
– is lying on the floor, scrawled B at its top. My
iPad is on the desk, safe from harm. My backpack along with my
many, many items of clothing cover the unmade bed.

But I’m not looking at my junk. I’m looking
at Kiri’s naughty smile, caught between her rimmed glasses and half
turned body.

Oh shit!

I know what she’s thinking.

Wouldn’t you be thinking the same?
my
alter ego asks.

I suppose
, I answer her.
But at
least I’d get the facts before raising the roof!

Kiri swipes at her bobbed hair. “So – um –
how was your night last night?”

Awkward!

“It’s not what you think!” I say too
quickly.

Turning around in her chair, Kiri hugs its
back, laying her head on it sweetly. “Nora! It’s
me
! You
don’t have to lie to
me
of all people. Save it for your
parents! I happened to notice you didn’t come back last night and
really? You couldn’t bother calling? I assume you were
preoccupied…”

I look around hastily. There it is – on the
bureau. I point to it. “Sorry, Kiri – I left my phone here. Totally
forgot it,” I say honestly, hoping she’ll drop the subject. I know
she won’t. I’m not delusional.

“I don’t care about the fucking phone! Tell
me about last night! How was it? Please tell me you were safe! Was
alcohol involved?” She looks so cute with her head resting on the
chair back and her raised eyebrows I can’t help smiling at her. “I
knew it!” she gasps. “You
did
– you had sex!”

Going to my bed, I shove clothes aside and
sit down, feeling glum all of a sudden. “I didn’t,” I tell her. “We
didn’t have sex, Kiri.”

Her grin fades. “Oh,” she says. “Did you try?
Did he drink too much? Tell me
exactly
what happened! I want
the blow by blow!”

“Nothing happened!” I exclaim, gesturing her
away. “We didn’t drink. Didn’t try to have sex – nothing. I mean
it,” I add seriously, staring her down.

Geez, the last thing I need around here is a
reputation.

Raising her eyebrows higher, she looks
disbelieving. “Just one question,” she squeaks, “do you count oral
as sex? Because –”

“We didn’t do anything!” I gasp, blushing
furiously. Oh geez, red cheeks aren’t going to convince her. “No
oral, no actual – nothing! Like I said. I swear it, Kiri,” I follow
up, because she appears doubting.

“Okay,” Kiri remarks. “I believe you. It
doesn’t matter. I want you to know you can trust me with anything,
okay? You’re my friend. I don’t hear about kissing and tell. I just
kiss and tell!”

I’m playing with my hair so as to avoid her
eyes. “I’ll try and remember.”

“You know,” Kiri begins, “I’m glad you didn’t
have sex last night.”

Dissonance.

What the fuck?

Didn’t she just finish telling me what good
friends we are? Why on earth would she not want me to have sex with
Gabriel? Does
she
want him for herself? Is that what this is
about? How dare her!

Shut up, idiot
, says my alter ego.
Think! She’s never met him!

Geez, that’s right
, I reply.

“Why not?” I’m trying to sound lighthearted
instead of furious.

Nodding at me, she says, “Because you’re a
total
mess. Have you been in front of a mirror? Spare it, I
beg you!”

“Funny,” I say. Relief flooding.

She leans forward. “Is that a leaf in your
hair?”

“Probably,” I say quickly, jumping to my
feet. “Sorry – got to shower!” Grabbing my toiletries bag, I dart
into the bathroom before she has another chance to inspect me. I
rarely move so fast.

Oh… wow. Okay. Not good.

I’m staring in the mirror. Unfortunately, the
mirror is staring back. I have not one but several leaves in my
hair! Even without the forest debris my hair would be terrible.
It’s twisted in every direction and full of knots. I appear as
though I’ve lived in the jungle since age seven. How
embarrassing.

Oh fuck!

What if Kiri thinks this is my just-fucked
look?

Geez, I hope not!

I must right the situation.

Turning on the water faucet in the shower, I
let the hot water flow over my hand for a moment. Glorious. I strip
off my dirt-ridden clothes and toss them aside. How many washes
will it take to get rid of the smoke smell? Twenty, probably. I’m
better off throwing them out. What a waste.

Peeling back the curtain, I step into the
shower. But not before I’ve grabbed my hairbrush from the sink. The
soothing caress of hot water is fantastic on my body. But I have my
work cut out for me.

Lathering my body in soap, I wash off the
smoke smell. Had to go. I take a liberal amount of shampoo and soak
my hair in it, rubbing furiously. Forest flotsam falls to the
bottom of the tub. Washing away the shampoo, I use a generous
amount of conditioner. Washing this out, too, I take my hairbrush
to my head, wincing as I pull out knots.

I relax under the hot water a while after
I’ve finished. I know it’s wasteful, but it’s so good… finally, I
finish. Drying off amid the steam-filled bathroom, I marvel in the
sensation of being clean. Geez, it’s crazy how much a shower can do
for the spirits. I feel like whooping. I hold it in.

Instead, I go to the sink and take out my
contacts. Boy did they need to come out. I soak them in water for a
few minutes and then replace them carefully, making sure not to
scratch my strangely bright corneas. I spend the next twenty
minutes blow drying my hair. I’m sorry – I
have
to do it. I
can’t go walking around with wet hair. It’s icky. Wrapping myself
in a towel, I head back to my dorm.

Kiri is tapping away at her laptop. Upon
seeing me, her eyebrows nearly disappear into her bobbed hair. “You
were in there an hour and fifteen minutes,” she tells me, her tone
accusatory. “That’s insanity!”

I shrug her off. “So – why does it
matter?”

“It matters,” Kiri remarks, “because I’ve
needed to pee for an hour and five minutes. An hour and five
minutes, Nora.”

Huffing, she gets up and passes me without
another word, slamming the door behind her. Oh well. Stripping off
the towel, I find a clean pair of jeans and a white camisole. My
typical uniform. Pulling these on, I stare around the room. I’ve
forgotten something. Can’t think of it. What am I forgetting?

Of course! The final touch. Going to my chest
of draws, I find a bottle of perfume. How could I have almost
forgotten? Spraying my entire body from head to toe, I replace the
little bottle. Breathing the smell deeply, I sigh my contentment.
Now everything feels right. I’m home again!

Time to figure out school. The last class I
attended was Dr. Blakely’s. Yesterday. It feels like eons ago.
Since then, I’ve met two vampires – nearly being killed and raped
by both – and unwittingly introduced Wolf and Gabriel. This means
I’ve missed Dr. James’ and Dr. Renaus’ classes today.

It can’t be helped. I never got around to
reading
Sordello
for Renaus. Didn’t start it. Plus, I’m
tired of Dr. James quizzing everybody on pointless events in
The
Great Gatsby
. I wish he’d talk about literary substance. I
would
go to that class. Considering he almost certainly
didn’t do that today, it appears I’ve missed nothing. Hmm… maybe I
should Wikipedia-plot-summary
Sordello
.

Or maybe I should search for cool new apps on
my iPad. I do this instead. Relaxing at my desk – tea cup in hand –
I scroll through the choices. Cool! I like this one – an app
telling you when werewolves are near! I buy it at once. How can I
not? Setting my iPad aside, I sip my tea delicately.

What now? I know what I
should
be
doing. I should be studying. Preparing for Dr. Tuten’s English 301:
The Art of the Essay, and Dr. Blakely’s History 145: The American
Revolution. I have both tomorrow. But I don’t feel like studying.
Partly because I’m exhausted after my night in the forest. Partly
because I don’t want to. I don’t feel like reading
1776
by
David McCullough. I don’t feel like working on the essay about
essays that Dr. Tuten assigned via Blackboard.

Instead, I sit and sip my tea.

I do this for a while, my usually racing
brain glad to have a respite. Soon enough guilt trips me in the
direction of my laptop, so I pull it to me and begin working on my
very,
very
procrastinated essay.

* * *

Later in the evening I decide to call Dad.
Though we usually call each other on the weekend, I feel I haven’t
talked to him in a while and I want to fix that. So – after several
hours of eking out an essay like blood from my veins – I dial Dad’s
number. Two rings and an answer like always.

“Nora Rae,” Dad says.

My smile is unseen. “Hi, Dad!”

“Something wrong?”

Geez, why is this always his first
assumption? Can he hear it in my voice?

“No,” I answer, “of course not! Everything’s
fine on my end. It’s been a while and I wanted to hear your
voice.”

A pause. “That’s what people say when
something’s wrong.”

He always chooses the wrong moment to be
intuitive! I’m not in the mood for a therapy session. “Never mind
me,” I say unconvincingly. “How are you? How’s stuff at home? How’s
work been?”

“Work’s been work,” he tells me. “It’s been
tiring recently. Back’s giving me trouble. Things are slow in
Baring, Nora – very slow. I’m glad I saved up during the summer
when things were busier. If I hadn’t, I would be in a prickly
situation right now. Kudos for thinking ahead, I guess.”

I nod, forgetting he can’t see me. “Have you
– um – heard from Mom? Or her new boyfriend?” I add before I can
stop myself. I didn’t want to bring it up but I can’t help myself.
Too curious.

A sigh from Dad’s end. “They’ve moved
in.”

“What!” I gasp.

Holy bejesus shitballs!

“Yep,” Dad exhales, “I don’t know how your
mother figured out to tell me but she did. She called asking for
the wok she used to cook stir fry in. A $10 wok. She calls me up
and says she wants it. Naturally, I ask why. Says she’s cooking for
two every night. That’s the only reason she called,” he adds
dissonantly, “because soon as she told me she said never mind and
hung up.”