The Nightwalkers Saga: Books 1 - 7

by Candace Wondrak

  This pain was odd. I’d felt it before, in the exact same place, too. And it wasn’t just a headache. I had enough of those to realize when it’s a simple headache. No, this was something much more than a dumb headache.

  “Kass.” A male’s voice called my name as he entered my room. Gabriel.

  I could see him kneeling by my bedside, looking worried in the moonlit room. His blonde hair went every which way. It was cute. Not that it’s normally not cute—not that I thought it was normally not not cute…

  Oh, God. What was happening to me?

  It was that other Gabriel. He did this to me.

  I prayed that Gabriel hadn’t heard those thoughts, that he was following the rules I set before him. My thoughts were my own.

  “Are you okay?” was his question. When I didn’t answer, he grew even more frantic. “Kass!” Gabriel sounded urgent, shaking me to make sure I wasn’t dead.

  And I was not dead. Although, after that dream, I wasn’t feeling too alive, either.

  “What?” I sneered as only a grumpy, sleep-deprived person would. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” He put a comforting hand on my arm, that was covered in sweat. Just like the rest of me. It was disgusting.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” I told him seriously, wishing he would get the picture and go back to bed. His own bed. “I just had a weird dream, that’s all.” I imagined his eyebrows furrowing as he brought the hand that was resting on me closer to his face. “It’s just sweat, Gabriel. Welcome to the ugly world of Kass.”

  He said not a word as he rose it up, letting the moonlight hit it impeccably…and making me see the dark liquid that layered his hand. “This isn’t sweat.” Gabriel’s eyes shone. “It’s blood.”

  “What?” I said, reaching for the lamp and flicking it on. The scene that laid on my bed was a murder scene. Gallons and buckets of blood, everywhere on my sheets. None of it came from me; no cut wrists this time.

  My arms began to shake as I eyed them up and down. Every inch of my skin was soaked. “Gabriel,” I said, more confused than scared. I didn’t scare easily. A bed full of blood wasn’t going to change that.

  The boy kept quiet as he tore the rest of the sheets off me and picked me up, precisely how one would carry a newborn baby. He carried me to the bathroom, kicking open the door and placing me in the shower, in a standing position. Gabriel turned the dial and soon a stream of cold water smacked me in the face, immediately waking my bloody butt up.

  I watched him watch me, my body exhausted. “Gabriel,” my voice came out low and high-pitched, meaning that even though I was mostly calm, I was ever so slightly freaked out. “That blood’s not mine.”

  “Then who…” Gabriel paused as I gagged on some watery blood that made its way into my mouth.

  “I don’t know,” I replied, praying that the blood didn’t have any diseases in it. “I don’t—” I collapsed on the opposite tile wall, hugging it to keep myself standing. I should be wondering how it got there, why I didn’t wake up when the blood appeared, but all I could think of was my sheets. I loved those sheets. They somehow survived John’s slashing of my wrists, they most definitely weren’t going to survive this particular night.

  I felt a hand on my arm. As I glanced down at the tattooed hand, Gabriel moved me to the side. In seconds, his muscular arm was wrapped around me, and he was guiding me to sit and lean on him.

  Figuring I couldn’t fight him, I went with it.

  Gabriel didn’t get up and let go. He stayed sitting in the bathtub, with his arms around me, with the shower pelting us both, and with me in his lap. Ignoring the bizarre circumstances, it was kind of nice.

  I turned my head. Some would say I was snuggling into his chest, which just happened to be at the same level of my face. And those people would be right.

  But now wasn’t the time to get all comfy, cozy. Not when blood still flowed off me in a steady rate and not when twenty gallons of blood was in my bed. Moving my head off his chest, I whispered, “We should get Michael.”

  Sighing slowly, Gabriel moved a piece of hair that had recently gotten in my face to its rightful place. A small smile crossed his handsome face as he tightened his grip on me, saying, “Michael can wait for a little bit.”

  I bit my lip, trying to stop my own smile that was beginning to form.

  The blood on my bed probably already ruined it, so I knew there was no hope to save my bed and sheets. Michael could wait, because as long as Gabriel was here with me, I was all right. I could face anything.

  Chapter Eleven – Kass

  “Are you sure you want to go to school today?” Michael fixed his glasses and stared at me intently.

  I sighed and nodded for about the millionth time this morning. Chances were that I’d have to do it at least ten more times until Koath arrived. Ever since last night’s whole blood debacle, Michael acted very cautious and concerned.

  Which, as it turned out, wasn’t too different from the normal Michael.

  “Are you—”

  “Yes, Michael,” I said exasperatedly, running two hands through my clean and blood-free hair. “I’m sure. I’m going to school.” Anything to get me out of the house, really, and away from Michael.

  Gabriel pranced down the stairs, looking good. His bleached blonde hair was spiked effortlessly, in a way that no one would know it actually took him fifteen minutes to style. His legs were covered in dark jeans that fit his long and muscular figure. He chose a tight, white shirt. Something that only guys with great bodies could pull off.

  Michael ran his fingers on the rim of the newspaper, too edgy to read the articles just yet. “I just don’t understand how…how that much blood got there.” His fretful eyes rested on Gabriel, who was busy shoving a bowl of cereal in his mouth. “And you checked her to make sure she had no wounds? The windows were all locked, doors still locked…you two should have woken me straight away.”

  The boy, who sometimes acted mature and other times like a two-year-old, decided now would be a good time to act the latter one. Gabriel opened his mouth, dribbling the milk and cereal out slowly.

  Michael stared at him with his mouth open and an I-can’t-believe-you-just-did-that expression on his face. I chuckled but quickly subsided, because that was sheer grossness right there. Nobody wanted to see chewed-up food.

  For some reason, Gabriel chose not to answer. Maybe, after the minute-long waterfall of milky cereal from his mouth, he forgot the question. I couldn’t believe him as he scooped up another spoonful and put it in his mouth as if Michael didn’t even ask anything.

  Michael snapped his finger. “Earth to Gabriel. Are you in there?”

  Two blue eyes shot up in his direction. Gabriel hung his head low so that he didn’t have to travel as far with his spoon.

  “I asked you if you checked her for any wounds,” Michael repeated his inquiry with increased pressure and intensity.

  “Oh. Yes.” Gabriel looked from Michael to me. “Well, no. Not really a no, though. Maybe a yes. Kind of. Like a half-half sort of thing. You know—a yeah-no?” He tried, unsuccessfully, to combine the two words.

  Michael threw his hands in the air, having enough of Gabriel’s negligence.

  “Well, it’s not like I frisked her, for God’s sake,” Gabriel was quick to say, “but I did make sure she wasn’t bleeding. I patted her down, her arms. Well, just that one spot, really…”

  A car honk interrupted the conversation, causing Michael to say, “You should’ve woken me up. Good thing he’s here early.” He stood and hurried us to the door.

  Gabriel grabbed hold of the doorframe, sending a critical glance Michael’s way. “Why?”

  Michael’s thin shoulders fell. “One can only take so much of you, Gabriel, before going completely insane.”

  The ride to school was definitely not as intense as yesterday’s. Nothing really happened at all. Small talk was plentiful. Jokes were had. You know, the usual.

  I wondered if Koath knew about what happened
last night. Maybe Michael called him and told him everything. Or maybe not. Since he wasn’t my Guardian anymore, Michael didn’t have to tell him anything. Maybe that’s why he acted so normal; because he didn’t know.

  I hated it. All these things were happening that I didn’t understand, and I had no one I could talk to about it. I was alone. I was as alone as ever.

  Gabriel set his hand on mine. I was temporarily stunned, so all I did was stare at the hand that radiated warmth like it was its job. Was this his way of saying I wasn’t alone? Probably. That also meant he read my thoughts.

  Jerk.

  I shook my head as I got out of the car and walked to the school. Koath hurried to my side, pointing to my neck. Right. He wanted me to wear the necklace proudly and display the thousand-dollar necklace like I bought it on a clearance rack at Target.

  If only he knew how hard that was going to be for me. I nonchalantly plucked the chain out from under my shirt and rested it above. This was one of the first times the necklace saw the light of day.

  “There you go,” Koath laughed, patting me softly on the back as we entered the school.

  We went our separate ways. I headed to my locker, dreading the opening and closing process completely. After what happened last time…I didn’t want to use it again any time soon. In spite of this, I was forced to conform because I needed my stupid textbooks.

  The conformity should be a crime.

  Just when I thought I was in the clear and my locker was opened without sustaining any injury to me or a third party, Gabriel slammed his back against it, shutting it in the process.

  I glared up at him. “What do you want?”

  “Nothing,” he said simply. “Nothing at all.” Gabriel spun on his heel and started walking away.

  Honestly, I couldn’t believe him. He knew I had locker troubles almost daily and yet he still had to come and close it, dashing my hopes and dreams of having a pain-free morning.

  Thankfully, I was able to open it again without injury.

  That’s the moment Gabriel came running back, leaning against my locker (again) and closing it (again). “I did want to ask you something. That’s an awesome necklace. It looks familiar. Where’d you get it?”

  A half grin appeared on my face. He was being so stupid. I hated myself for thinking it was kind of funny.

  “Oh, that’s right.” Gabriel started walking backwards, with his hands in the air, as if saying I’m the king of everything and you know it. “Me. Worship me. I am worship-worthy, I’ve been told.”

  I giggled, watching him ram his backpack into some unsuspecting kid.

  “Sorry, dude” was what he said, even though he ran into a girl. After that he paid no more attention to the love-struck girl.

  What a loser.

  Claire’s big, blue eyes were apologetic. But what for, I was a little hazy.

  Wondering what was on her mind, I sat in my usual physics chair. The backroom was a little more cluttered than usual. There seemed to be more papers lying about. Or maybe there were more boxes filled with kits. Possibly both.

  “Kass,” Claire began, taking a breath. “I wanted to say—”

  She stopped hastily when Mr. Straum, the physics teacher, poked his head in. “Have either of you seen my…” He did a little jump, seeing the thing he was looking for. What that thing was was a mystery to me. Some little gizmo that measured something.

  He smiled and nodded, which was his way of saying to continue.

  Once he was gone, Claire resumed, “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for freaking on you and Steven yesterday. It’s been a long couple of weeks and sometimes I snap.” Her face turned guilty. “Sorry you had to see it.”

  “I get it,” I said, being serious about how I understood. I probably understood better than anyone how long the past few weeks have been. The last few days alone had been torturous.

  “It’s just…” Her bulky hand squeezed the pencil she was holding. “Steven can be a little…weird. I don’t want you to freak because he can be creepy.”

  “Claire,” I added a calming tone to my voice, trying to ease her down, “Steven was fine yesterday. He was nice. He wasn’t weird or creepy.”

  “But he was fine marching around without a shirt. It’s a little much, don’t you think?”

  I shrugged, acting like it was normal for me to have perfectly toned, flawlessly skinned guys inspecting my wounds. I wished it was. “I didn’t mind.”

  “You didn’t mind?” Claire repeated, becoming frantic. “You didn’t mind? Oh, God. This is how it starts. First it’s I don’t mind, then it’s of course I’ll marry you.” She dug her face in her hands, hiding her embarrassment from me. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

  I spoke, “I can tell you right now, I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon.” Me and marriage would never work out anyways, due to my soon-to-be death.

  “Well, that’s how it usually goes,” she muttered. “That’s how it went for my sister. Half-sister. She didn’t plan on marrying Steven. But in the end, she did.”

  “What happened to her, if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked, knowing full well that Claire might have another episode.

  “She…died. Just like everyone else in my family. Just like I will, too,” she said the words with resignation, letting me know that she’d pondered this for quite some time now.

  “Claire,” I gently touched her arm, “nothing’s going to happen to you. You have me now. I’m here for you, though if you ever need anything built, do not come to me.”

  A gentle laugh came from her lips as she opened the physics book. “Thanks, Kass, but what could you do to stop fate? If it were as easy as that, I would have stopped my parents from going out that night. There’s nothing any of us can do. Besides, people in my family have a habit of dying…in very extraordinary ways.”

  Extraordinary ways?

  That didn’t sound good.

  If two people were ever meant for one another, Claire and Max would be the two. They were in love with each other, even though they hadn’t even gone out on a date yet. Not that I could judge. I liked John, even though we never went out on an actual date.

  But John and I were nothing compared to those two. For the first ten minutes of lunch, I sat there and ate, watching and listening to them exchange horror stories about science projects gone wrong. How nerdy Max was for conducting science experiments on his own when he wasn’t purifying. Total dork.

  “Kass,” Claire paused hers and Max’s conversation, “I wanted to tell you in physics that I love your necklace.” Max’s beady eyes followed hers, taking in the pricey piece of jewelry.

  Whoa. A compliment from Claire? I was stunned. A surprised “Thanks” was all I could say.

  Her blue eyes squinted at the diamond-studded cross and heart on my chest, making me a bit uncomfortable. “That looks expensive. Where’d you get it from?”

  I almost choked on my sandwich.

  I knew it. I just knew someone was going to ask me that question. Yeah, it was Claire, so I didn’t mind as much as I would have if it was a total stranger, but still. What was I going to say? Was I really going through with the it’s a gift tagline?

  Rich, eighty-year-old boyfriend here I come.

  “It was a gift,” Gabriel answered for me.

  “Really?” Claire was taken aback. She clearly knew how much this baby was worth. “Who would give a gift like that?”

  Sighing, I scratched my head and said, “Get ready for it.” I knew what was coming, but they didn’t, so I figured I’d give them a warning. Gabriel was strange to some people.

  “The one, the only,” he played the imaginary drum on the cafeteria table, “me.” Gabriel did his signature one eyebrow up expression to me as he burst into laughter.

  “Wait,” Claire cut in, commanding him to stop laughing. “You bought that for Kass?”

  “That’s right.” Gabriel bobbed his head like he was listening to a head-banger song.

&nbs
p; “Are you two—” She motioned to both of us. “—dating?”

  I opened my mouth to react, but Gabriel said first, “Are you and Max dating?”

  Max’s astonished “Huh?” came out the exact same time as Claire’s speedy “What?”

  Gabriel nodded once and shot a superior look at me. “Yep. That’s what I thought. Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think you should date.” He smirked at their dubious expression.

  Claire and Max held their hands up, covering their mouths, and spoke quietly so Gabriel and I were left out in the cold. What jerks. I could only guess that they talked about us.

  “Now look what you did.” I directed at Gabriel, “Are you happy?”

  “Max and I think you two should date,” Claire said with a million-dollar smile on her face. It was good to see that she wasn’t acting all sad and depressed.

  “We’re all in agreement,” Gabriel said louder than he should have. “You and Max will date and so will Kass and me.” Three pairs of blank eyes glared at him. “It’ll be great. We can go on double dates, kind of like we are right now. Don’t get me wrong, the cafeteria’s no place for a date, but it’s a start. Am I right?”

  The bell rang, cutting off my chance to fend the blonde boy off.

  “Come on,” Raphael taunted, “was that all you got? I know you can do better than that, Kass.” He lifted his bandage-wrapped knuckles in the air, basically commanding me to get up and fight him some more.

  And after battling with him for thirty minutes straight, I wondered how much longer I could pull this off. Max and Gabriel were fighting each other, so they weren’t getting beat up as much as me. Raphael was good. Too good.

  So good that I had bruises on my bruises.

  Groaning, I propped myself up using my shaking and abused arms. This was ridiculous. Ridiculous and tiring to the point of death. I was out of breath, muscles sore, and my legs were unsteady. A great combination when fighting Raphael.

  “Raphael,” I managed to breath out, “I can’t.”