by Kade Cook
***
TAKING HER COAT off and settling onto one of the high stools, Gabrian perches herself in front of the large window of the Coffee Hound that overlooks Main Street. Wrapping her hands around the tall cup of latte, she takes a long anticipated sip. “This is definitely what Heaven should feel like,” she purrs, savoring its warm euphoria. She stares out into the street and watches the people walk by as she slips into a coffee coma. She is happy to be out and delighted to feel normal, only for a few moments if that is even possible. The word normal just does not seem to fit into her vocabulary like it used to.
Somehow, between watching the sun slowly setting and wondering about the peculiar-looking Raven that has just landed outside the window in front of her, Gabrian’s daydreams lead her mind back to the Covenant of Shadows. Still able to feel the weight of them all staring at her from the high table, she stiffens from the recollection in hearing the judgment of their thoughts. She feels lost in a world that seems Hell-bent in chewing her up and spitting her out. If it was not for Ethan, they would probably already have her locked up somewhere, condemned to live out the rest of her life in confinement.
Her plump lips press hard against each other, deflating their delicacy as her contented gaze hardens over into a narrow glare. Her mind filled with the anger that simmers within her veins. Disheartened about how her gifts are seen through their eyes, Gabrian decides to cloak herself. She will no longer allow anyone to see her as a Boragen, thus eliminating the opportunity for anyone to pass judgment on her because of what she is before knowing who she is. She closes her eyes and concentrates on her essence. Finding its familiarity, she isolates all the Grey aura and pulls it back inside her body—hiding all evidence of Boragen essence that normally surrounds her. Gabrian creates a subtle haze of off-white and expels it from her skin, simulating the same hues that humans do. She hears Ethan’s voice resonate through her mind and recalls his tellings of others that have hidden from the eye of the Covenant. She might not be a rogue exactly, but she will not let them make her a victim either.
Feeling confident about what she has done, Gabrian returns to sipping her latte in celebration of her minor triumph.
The side door of Coffee Hound opens and a tall larger-than-life young man walks through the café. He reaches the cashier counter and orders a coffee. After training for two weeks straight, he is tired and needs a little pick me up before heading home. He pays for his drink and thanks the cashier before heading for his normal perch. He passes behind Gabrian and takes the seat two spots down from hers. He reaches up and takes his black knitted hat off his head then sets it on the counter in front of him, being careful not to spill his drink. His dark brown curls fall recklessly down around the nape of his neck.
Taking a seat and beginning his normal ritual of people watching, he notices a Raven sitting in front of the window. He watches it for a moment. It seems to be staring back in but not at him. Following the direction of its stare, he looks over to his right to see what the bird is oddly mesmerized with. It is a girl.
He turns his head slightly to catch a glimpse of her, curious as to why the bird seems so interested. Then he understands—the girl before him is bewitching. Though he is consciously aware that he is staring at her, he just cannot seem pull his eyes away. His mind etches the shape of her face, the colour of her lips, and the way her dark hair twists gently around and gathers loosely at the top of her head, held only by a pin. Some type of beautiful phenomenon is taking place before him, and he is afraid that if he looks away now, it will vanish, lost in time forever.
Normally he does not pay much attention to humans, but there is something about this girl that has a hold on him, and it refuses to let go. Even his pulse seems to be responding to her presence. He can feel his heart rate increase—beating wildly under his worn black T-shirt.
Gabrian is pulled out of her daydream by a strange sensation, like she is being watched by someone other than the bird. From the corner of her eye, she sees a large figure sitting beside her—staring at her.
Oh, great! What now? she snarls silently.
Trying to be stealthy, she pretends to take a sip of her beverage as she slowly turns to steal a look at him. She is suddenly frozen, stunned by what she finds. Perched on a similar window stool, only an arms-length away is the most perfect creation of man she has ever seen. The raw natural beauty he exudes makes the breath in her lungs hitch, sending a wave of fire burning through her body.
Both of them are still, caught in a trance. It is as if the universe has slowed around them, however briefly, allowing this one encrypted moment between them to become frozen in time.
Shane’s senses tug on him, and his wits return. He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts—causing his untamed curls to sway gently. Gabrian watches his every move and inhales slowly, partly to calm herself down and partly to re-enforce her cloak as she tries to remain in her human facade.
“Hi,” he says in a low, sanded voice. His mouth curves deliciously upward at the edges, revealing perfectly white teeth encompassed by strong full lips.
Gabrian tries to answer, but her mouth is full of liquid, and she begins to cough as she chokes on her latte.
Watching Gabrian gasp for air and spit coffee all over herself, Shane takes pity on her, feeling partly to blame. “Just hold on. I will be right back.” He quickly jumps off of his stool—trying to contain his laughter—and he briskly walks toward the front counter.
Gabrian cannot believe this just happened. The most beautiful man she has ever met in her entire life says hi to her, and what does she do? She spits latte all over herself—nice! Nothing says sexy like coffee flying out of your nose.
He returns with a pile of napkins and sets some of them on the countertop in front of them. The rest are held within the cup framed with fingers the colour of caramel, laced with the trace of intricate blueish painted veins—reaching out toward her. “Here, use these,” he suggests softly.
She looks up at him with crimson flaring on latte-splattered cheeks. His heart explodes, sending an irrevocable rush of venom through his blood knowing that until this day, he has never encountered such a soul that he found so beautiful.
From the counter, the cashier waves her hand in their direction. Shane gets up and walks back to the front of the Coffee Hound. In his absence, Gabrian uses the napkins to clean herself up as best she can. She glances up at him as he returns to the seat beside her. He holds out something in his hand.
“Here,” he says softly, fighting a grin in an attempt to seem sincere.
“What is that?” she says, narrowing her eyes as she pulls the corner of her mouth into a lopsided grin.
“A latte,” he informs her. “It is for you.”
“Oh…um...thanks,” she stutters politely. “But I already have one.”
She holds up her empty latte container and shakes it. Ah, you idiot, what are you doing? she thinks to herself. When a gorgeous guy buys you a latte, just take the damn thing and say thank you.
“You had a latte.” He grins impishly at her then points his finger toward her face. “But then you decided to wear it.”
Gabrian’s faces flushes again. They both grin—engaging in eye contact then burst into laughter.
He holds the latte out to her again. “I thought that you might like a new one.”
One side of her mouth curls slightly upward shyly, and she reaches out to accept his gift. “Thank you…wait a minute. How did you know what I was drinking?”
“I asked.” He grins and lets his green eyes dance forward, toward the cashier.
“Oh,” she says meekly and involuntary scrunches up her nose.
He catches the look and turns to face the window. Not knowing what he is doing, he turns and looks at her again, trying to engage her. “You know, when I say hi to someone, I must admit that this is not the reaction I normally get.”
“No. I suppose not,” she spits out with disdain, retracting her smile and shifting on her stool to face the
window again.
Hearing the condescension in her voice, he realizes how he must have sounded to her.
“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighs and closes his eyes, trying to find the right words. “I normally do not talk to people.” Knowing that those were not the right words either, he gives up trying so hard to sound cool. “I just meant that it was not the reaction I was expecting.” Seeing that she isn’t understanding his meaning, he makes an awkward face—twisting his mouth. “This is not going the way I had played it out in my head.”
Gabrian comes the conclusion that this Adonis making an utter fool of himself is just some kind of nerd stuck in a jock’s body, and is just as nervous as she is. She is tempted to read his thoughts to see if he is sincere or not but stops herself. She made the decision earlier to appear to be human, so human it is. Taking chances and leaving things up to fate is what humans do so she tells herself she can do this. He is only a boy.
Mustering up some courage, he attempts to introduce himself again. “Can we try this again without all the drama?” He stretches out his hand to her. “Hi, I am Shane.”
She smiles and takes a deep breath. Reaching out, taking his hand in hers, she looks up into his emerald eyes and replies, “Hi, Shane, I am Gabrian.” Both of their souls become caught once more in an intoxicating embrace as they sit quietly taking in each other.
“So...” Shane breaks the silence, trying to be serious. “Do you come here often?”
Gabrian cannot help but burst out laughing, almost choking on her coffee again. “Now that is original,” she swoons, loving the fact that he seems to be so cheesy.
Shane replays the question in his head, finding the humor in it, and begins to chuckle too as he wonders what the Hell is happening to him. “No, I mean I come in here at least once or twice a week, and I have never seen you in here before.” His emerald eyes twinkle in the light as he lifts his coffee to take a sip. “Bar Harbor is not that densely populated, especially this time of year.”
She lifts her eyebrows and smiles at him. “No, I am only in town visiting for the holidays,” she informs him then something dawns on her. He is right. Small towns are notorious for everyone knowing everything about you before you do just by mentioning who you are. She feels a sliver of panic run through her veins, remembering the poisonous dislike the Elders expelled about her kind, about her. Not wanting to continue with that game tonight, and knowing the probability of how this conversation will play out, Gabrian comes up with a plan which stops his inquiry in its tracks.
“Hm. Shane, can I ask you a question?” she inquires, turning her shoulders to mirror with his, and her chin lifts—staring at him with widened eyes that glimmer as her lips taunt him with an impish grin.
“Sure, go for it.” He leans in, his stomach fluttering at the closeness.
“How trusting of a soul are you?” The blue in her gaze intensifies as the words cross over her lips.
“That depends on the soul,” he retorts cunningly, switching his brow and narrowing his gaze—revealing a flicker of desire building within his sea-green eyes.
“I would like to propose something to you.” Catching the spark in his eye, her stomach swirls with an onslaught of butterflies and she inhales slowly—willing herself to continue on, maintaining her brave face.
He tilts his head, and nods slowly—squinting his eyes at her, completely at a loss as to what this girl is doing to him, but she has his attention, and he continues to gaze at her, strangely intrigued. “Okay, shoot.”
“How do you feel about experiments?” She blurts out, her eyes deadlocked with his as she throws all caution to the wind.
Now, not knowing where this girl is going with this conversation, Shane sits back in his seat getting a bit of distance.
“Before we pollute this…whatever this is, with small talk about who we know, and where we lived when we grew up, can we try something original?” He gives her a confused look, so Gabrian smiles encouragingly and tries to clarify what she is getting at. “I would like us to be who we are right now in this very moment of time.”
He leans back in toward her and rests his head on his hand. He looks into her eyes and becomes entranced by the way they brighten and sparkle as she speaks. “Okay, I am listening.”
“No baggage. No predetermined prejudices.”
Shane takes a moment to contemplate this concept. He determines that he likes this idea, and that she might be onto something. Not having to navigate around his sordid past is definitely okay with him.
Gabrian moves in closer to him, sliding into the dim light shining above her. He takes in the soft curves of her face and the way the shadows play on her cheekbones, defining them. He swallows, feeling his mouth beginning to moisten as he thinks about kissing her lips.
“Well?” she says, annihilating his daydream.
Realizing that he is staring at her again like a deranged stalker, he gathers his senses. “Fair enough.”
“Then who knows...” she chirps, turning back toward the countertop to pick up her full, warm cup of latte. “Maybe one day, if we feel brave enough, we can unlock the closet doors and let the skeletons out to dance.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I’ve Got a Feeling
THE RAVEN WATCHING Gabrian from the other side of the window gives up its fascination with her once the daylight fades out completely. Shane and Gabrian, lost in the newness of each other, spend the next couple of hours talking about art, literature, likes, and dislikes. They even come up with a few new exciting things to add to their bucket lists. The more time they spend together, the more they both want the night to linger.
Noticing a group of people walk by the front of the coffee house, Shane has a sneaky suspicion as to where they are all headed. He glances over at the clock on the wall, checking the time, and his pouty lips curl upward into a grin. “Hey, do you want to get out of here?”
“Get out of here?” She chuckles, releasing the grip on her latte and flares out the fingers on her upturned palm, questioning. “And do what?”
“Have some fun,” he suggests, standing up and grabbing his hat off the counter. She continues to give him a puzzled look.
“It is seven-thirty on a Friday night,” she explains. “In Bar Harbor.”
His sly grin continues to grow as he takes Gabrian’s coat from her and holds it out to help her put it on. “I know of a little place.” He holds his index finger up and presses it softly over his pursed lips, giving her the most desirable look she has ever witnessed. “Shh! It is a secret.”
She wrinkles her brow, doubtful then thinks to herself, what does she have to lose? She has lived strictly by the book up until now and look where that has gotten her, thrown into a world filled with Witches, Vampires, Borrowers and Shadow Walkers—that is where. While she is at it, maybe she will get lucky and find a portal that will take her back to a dimension where her old life is waiting for her, and where she is a human again. She stops to think about what she is saying. In her old life there probably isn’t a gorgeous guy standing before her, asking her to following him to who knows where. So…never mind!
He picks up the empty coffee cups and tosses them into the garbage then proceeds to gently take her hand. Gabrian fails to resist and trails behind him to the door.
They reach the sidewalk outside, and she points to where she is parked. “We can take my car if you like.”
“Nah, no need to drive. The place we are going is just up there.” He points up the street, but she does not see anything unusual other than two giant lobster claws sticking out of a store called Geddy’s. She is learning that in Bar Harbor, sometimes the unusual is the usual.
“The giant lobster claws?” she asks, narrow-eyed and smirking, her arm outstretched—directed toward the abstract art protruding from their apparent point of destination.
“Yes, ma’am!” he declares proudly.
“Let me get this straight.” She places her hand over her forehead as she tries to unde
rstand the logistics in his plan. “Your idea of having fun is to go hang out in a giant lobster store?”
He takes a deep breath as he looks up at the stars and begins laughing. “Listen to you, little miss ‘experiment.’” Then he bends down, getting closer to her, and takes her hand. “Come on, trust me,” he breathes out in a seductive whisper. He tugs at her fingertips gently with his, pulling her closer to him. She feels her heart flutter and does not resist. Slowly she moves forward, involuntarily giving in to his subtle coaxing. He looks deeply into her blue eyes, and she notices that she has stopped breathing. He is so close to her now that she can feel the heat radiating off of his caramel-coloured skin.
He gives her a cheeky grin and slowly leans in closer, his flesh making contact, then quickly turns back around and walks toward the lobster, dragging her flustered body behind him. Gabrian’s free arm drops to her side flailing behind, her head arches backward as she glares upward at the polka-dotted night sky and groans—exhaling in agony.
On the short walk there, she makes a quick phone call to her mom to let her know she is okay, and that she will not be too late. Shane teases her about the phone call until they reach their destination. They start up the front steps, and he holds the door open for her to walk through though she is still mystified as to what he is up to.
On the other side of the door, she finds a pleasant surprise—a retro-style pub filled with life of all kinds—Human, Eorden, Hydor and a couple of other Fellowships she cannot seem to recall. All of them are inner mingling without any noticeable concerns, conversing and laughing around high set square tables. The pine-board walls are draped with signage and knick-knacks, all fused together in culture, blending of a thousand styles, filling the room with quirky details of adventure. It is amazing.
