by Kade Cook
“There is no game here,” he barks at her, ceasing his march, and places his hands on the edge of the counter, leaning into them, head down while pressing his eyes close to dull the taste of hatred upon his tongue as he continues. “She is Boragen. A Borrower.”
“So?” Rachael’s face contorts, twisting unnaturally into an ugly pose. She raises her hand, fingers reaching upward, accentuating her probe into his prejudice. “Just because she bares the gift of Boragen does not make her evil!”
Shane crosses the room and hovers over Rachael, his chest rising visibly from his quest to contain the fury within. His eyes wrench within their sockets and bore down on her like a dark, cold forest encompassed in crimson-laced skin, inflamed by the fiery rage just beneath the surface. “It was the Boragen who killed my parents. She is one of them.”
“Yes, she may be of Boragen descent, but she did not take their life. It was a group of rogue Vampires that ambushed your parents on a hunt. Your parents were outnumbered and deceived into believing they could contain the situation. And besides, that was a long time ago—long before Gabrian. She had nothing to do with it. You cannot continue to condemn her for what someone else did or for what fate gave her. Up until a couple of months ago, she thought she was a human. She was dragged into this world as what she is, it’s not like she had a choice.”
Shane laughs in her face.
Rachael clenches her fists, wanting desperately to smack him so hard it would knock the smug look off his face.
“If you could just get past your Shadow Walker I-am-above-anyone-else self-righteous attitude for just a second, you might realize that she is trying really hard just to fit in and do right by the Covenant. The only thing she had holding her together was just ripped from her arms, leaving her alone to fend for herself from all the monsters and now, the one who is supposed to be protecting her from them cannot be bothered!”
Shane stands in front of her, silent, unable to find the words to defend his actions.
“It doesn’t matter what she is. What matters is that you took an oath to protect her as a Shadow Walker. Maybe it is time that you started acting like one.”
Angry at Rachael for calling him out, he growls at her but knows her words are the truth, and he does not argue. He glares at her as he grabs his coat off the counter and heads for the Veil to find Gabrian.
Chapter Forty-Five
I Love the Nightlife
GABRIAN WEAVES HER way across the dance floor and steps in front of the source of attention. She lets the vibration of the music move her body, mirroring the girl’s own actions. Sensing the girl’s desire, Gabrian pulls her in close, caressing her on the small of her back. Delighted with this wanted attention, the girl does not resist.
From behind, a tall muscular man slinks up to Gabrian’s back—too close for her liking. Put off with his forwardness, and not wanting to be disturbed while dining, she turns to face him. His blurry eyes wash over her body slowly, and he gives her a wink—licking his thin-lipped mouth as he does. Gabrian tilts her head as she meets his intoxicated gaze and grins at him. She raises her arm and stretches it out, gently resting her hand just under his jaw to cup his chin, coaxing him to give her his full attention. Her eyes widen. The center of her pupils flicker and spark, bleeding into her irises to make them appear entirely black.
The Shadow in her eyes bends inward in a subtle pulse as her mind begins its Magik. “Be a good lad now and bugger off,” she says sweetly to her new would-be admirer then turns her back to him to refocus on her girl. The interaction is seamless. Confused but completely obedient, the stranger wanders off into the darkness.
Now, with her male suitor out of the way, she is able to concentrate on what she is there to do. Gabrian sways to the music, feeling its rhythm stir through the crowd, and hungers for the girl in front of her. Relaxed and totally naïve about what Gabrian really wants, the girl swoons in close to touch Gabrian’s waist with no desire to leave.
Gabrian twists the girl around. Her back is pressed up against Gabrian’s chest, and she holds her firm with her right arm, swaying still with the music in a hypnotic dance. She begins to pull at the girl’s luminous aura, watching it move and sway around her.
Eager to sample the essence and see how it tastes, Gabrian commences the extraction and inhales. She gently lures the fragments to break away from the girl. Twisting and swirling around, heading straight for her, she opens her mouth and lets it touch upon her tongue to taste the light, savoring the distinct sweetness of pure untainted energy.
Remembering to only take a small amount at a time as to not draw attention, she releases it, setting it free to flow easily around the girl again.
Shane manages to locate Gabrian’s energy trace and arrives at the Club. Resting just within the Veil, he searches the crowd for her. In the mix of people, he notices that there are a lot of members from very distinct Fellowships out tonight—particularly, Borrowers, with their Grey auras openly on display.
Curious about the actual ongoing interactions of the members in the establishment, he begins to study the crowd more closely. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he relaxes a bit and watches the different Realmfolk as they intertwine on the overcrowded dance floor, resuming his search for Gabrian.
The DJ changes the song and the tempo of the music switches to a faster beat, causing the crowd to go into a wild rhythmic frenzy. Finding Gabrian now seems like an impossible chore for Shane, but from the middle of the dance floor, he sees her.
Her arms sway about in time with the music, her eyes hiding behind closed lids, and her body rocks slowly at half-tempo with the song. Her alluring presence has entranced him, and his eyes are glued to her every move on the dance floor. She is careless and free—like the first night he saw her in Bar Harbor and made her dance with him at Geddy’s. He has been so caught up in being miserable with her that he has forgotten how beautiful she actually is.
Lost in his reflections, his heart lightens for an instant, and he allows himself to smile.
Gabrian opens her eyes and gazes upon the dancing girl before her and licks her lips. Hungry for more of her essence, she pulls her in close—tightly, and up against her stomach, careful not to hurt her.
They sway to the music in unison, and Gabrian inhales once more. The light fragments break away more quickly this time. She opens her mouth to taste the light and her eyes close once more, allowing her to enhance her senses and truly savor her prize.
Her mouth begins to salivate, and she clenches her teeth in efforts to maintain control of herself. But as her tongue touches the edges of her teeth, she gets an intense sensation of wanting to bite. The soft sweet-scented flesh of the girl’s neck beckons to her, driving her closer to madness. Gabrian opens her mouth, no longer wanting to resist. She coaxes the girl to lay her head to the side and runs her tongue along the length of her neck.
Gabrian feels her own pulse quickening, trying to convince her conscience that she needs this. All she has to do is give in. She runs on desire now. Gabrian leans her head back. Her instincts scream at her, telling her to bite, to tear, to taste.
Suddenly realizing what Gabrian is about to do, Shane emerges from the Darkness of the Veil beside the main bar—no longer smiling and no longer reminiscing about their first encounter. He marches straight forward—barreling into the crowd on a mission.
Her eyes flare open wide as she feels a familiar presence—an angry familiar presence, plowing its way through the dancers like they are weightless and invisible. Gabrian looks at the girl who is still caught up in the euphoria of their exchange, oblivious of what is happening between them, then she looks back at Shane. His eyes are wild and piercing with anger.
What Gabrian was just about to do hits her like a lightning bolt.
“What the Hell do you think you are doing?”
Gabrian looks around the bar in panic, searching for her accomplice, but Ayden is gone. He dissolved himself as soon as he caught sight of Shane.
Shane follow
s her stare, trying to find what she is looking for, but he does not see anything. What he does notice though is that all the Grey auras of the Boragen, which had been so freely out on display a few moments ago, are now no longer anywhere to be found. All traces of their heritage have been cloaked and camouflaged as humans.
Feeling betrayed and alone, by both Ayden and Shane, Gabrian surges with anger. The budding warmth at the tips of her fingers intensifies quickly. The delicate edge of her jaw bulges as she stands alone to face Shane’s wrath, gritting her teeth to hold in her contempt. She drowns any guilt she had about her own actions to the side.
“Go away!” she snarls and tries to walk away from him, dismissing the girl.
“You need to come with me.” He reaches out for her wrist to gently coax her to come with him, but she whips her arm around and away from him before he can grasp it.
“Leave me alone.”
“Come on, Gabrian, the party is over. I think it is time to go.” He tries to reach for her again. This time it is with more force, but she moves too quickly for him and catches his arm, deflecting it. She pushes him backward, hard. Not prepared for her retaliation, Shane has to take a couple steps backward in order to keep himself from falling.
“I said, leave me alone,” she growls, staring him down. Her eyes show no fear, only anger. “It is what you are good at, right? Leaving me alone.”
Gabrian’s eyes bore a burning hole through Shane as she glares at him then rips her eyes away from the sea-green reflection, and her focus darts haphazardly around the bar. She drags her hands through her tangled hair and clasps them behind her head, wound in a messy knot while her emotions run amuck all over the place. She cannot decide which she is more—angry with him for showing up and trying to boss her around or hurt that Ayden just up and abandoned her. She calls it a draw.
“Just go. Leave me alone,” she says, walking away from him again with more fire in her step, quicker this time in an attempt to lose him in the crowd.
Shane had hoped to quietly convince her to come back to the house with him, but he gets the feeling that is not going to happen. Now he has to be a little more creative in his attempts to retrieve her. He rubs his hands through his loose curls of brown in frustration and growls.
“I was hoping that I would not have to resort to this but...” He follows behind and stops her, turning her around to face him. “Just remember, I tried to do this diplomatically, but you would not have it. So you only have yourself to blame for what I am about to do. You left me no choice.”
“What are you...?”
Shane bends down and picks her up at the waist, heaving her over his left shoulder. Gabrian twist and pulls at him, trying to get away, but he tightens his grip on her just enough to keep her from escaping.
Everyone on the dance floor stops what they are doing to stare at them, but no one bothers to come to Gabrian’s rescue. Mostly due to the fact that the majority of the people there tonight are from the Realm, and they know exactly what he is. Not wanting to be the one involved with interfering in Shadow Walker business, they turn a blind eye.
Gabrian screams at him to release her. She continues to pound on his back with both her fists, but he keeps walking straight ahead, heading for the exit. The vulgar bouncer that had welcomed her in only moments ago quickly gets to his feet from the stool he is perched on seeing his damsel in distress being carried out.
“Hey, buddy, what do you think you are doing? I don’t think that the lady wants to go with you!” he states, stepping out in front of Shane.
Shane continues on route, changing his direction a step to the left without missing a beat. He extends his right arm out with lightning speed, giving the bouncer a swift push in the chest that sends him flying through the air into the wall behind him. Without slowing, Shane walks past the other bouncer who does not want to end up like his friend and keeps true of his mission moving forward toward the exit.
Gabrian looks down at her knight in sweaty clothing, who is now out cold, crumpled into a big heap of disgusting flesh on the floor and smiles, thinking to herself that at least the night was not a complete loss.
Chapter Forty-Six
Meet in the Middle
“WHY DID YOU follow me to the bar tonight?” Gabrian asks, crossing her arms across her chest and scowls at him through the faint glow of the dashboard lights—still perturbed that Shane had pulled such a barbaric move on her and carried her out of the bar over his shoulder. I will never be able to show my face there again.
He reaches over and turns down the music on the car stereo so that he can hear her better. He glances at her briefly then shifts his eyes back in front of him to watch the road—one near accident is enough for him.
“I came there tonight to try and keep you out of trouble, and it is a good thing I did from the looks of it.”
She contorts her face at him and turns toward the passenger window, pretending to look out at the night. “What do you care anyway?”
“Because I am your Guardian.”
“Ha!” She scoffs sarcastically at his words. “Since when? You have been gone for days, or should I say weeks. Is that how Guardianship works? You just come and go as you please, checking in whenever it is convenient for you?”
Shane rolls his eyes and sighs, knowing he deserves the backlash she serves him. “I know, I know,” he says softly. He turns to look at her. “And I am sorry I have not been around much.”
Gabrian’s eyes shoot toward him, but her face screws up into a scowl. His display of compassion throws her off guard.
“I had a few issues that I needed to work out in my head about all this.”
Her face remains twisted, deepening the lines around her eyes as she continues to stare at him in distrust.
He notices that she is not showing him any amount of sympathy toward his confession so he tries to think of something to bargain with her.
From somewhere deep inside of her, a curtain lifts revealing her logical, more calm side, and she lets go of some of the anger raging around inside of her head.
“I went to a bar in Bar Harbor the first time because I wanted to find someone to hurt, like I was hurting inside.”
Shane turns to her briefly, not expecting her confession. He engages sincerely as she begins to talk. “And did you?”
“No,” she says softly, biting gently on her thumb while staring out into the darkness. “I did use them though. I took some of their essence.” She looks over at him, meekly. “I stole it.”
Without saying anything to her, he nods his head in acknowledgement.
“It was just a small amount, but it silenced all the voices screaming in my head, and it numbed the pain. It let me take all the suffering to a place that was tolerable. At first, I felt guilty about it and told myself that I would not do it again,” she admits, knowing that with this confession to a Shadow Walker, he can turn her in to the Elders where she would be sent to trial for breaking the Covenant’s rules. She gives up the fight and continues to tell him anyway.
“But then the pain returned. Once the rapture of the light was gone, it came back and seemed crueler than before. It was the only thing that seemed to stop the pain.” Her voice cracks.
Shane glances over at her and sees a tear roll down the curve of her cheek as she confesses.
“And in those few precious moments while I was drowning within the euphoria of distraction, I was able to forget.”
Shane’s left hand unwraps from his grip on the steering wheel and rushes to clutch the cloth above his chest as the flood of guilt rushes through his conscience, thrusting a jagged dagger through his heart. Because of his selfish choice of absence, and lax of duty, he is partly responsible for her acts of treason to the Realm.
He pulls the car over to the side of the road and kills the engine. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere and Northeast Harbor, they sit quietly in the dark. With both hands now on the wheel, Shane stares out into the night. He turns to face her. His eyes gleam in the darkn
ess, looming over her and boring dauntingly into her soul. Her heartrate accelerates, worrying that he is about to ditch the car, pull her into the Veil, and head straight for the Covenant of Shadows to turn her in.
“How about we make a deal? Let us call a truce.”
Exhaling in a loud huff, she sits still, quietly pondering his words—not expecting this kind of response—and wonders if he actually means it or if this is just another game of his.
“How about this…I promise to watch out for you like I should have been doing all along, and you pull it together.”
She pumps her hands to flex in and out of fists while she tries to take in what he is saying.
“You go back to training with Ethan or enroll at the academy in Bar Harbor until you decide what your next move is going to be, and I will not mention anything about your few moments of indiscretion.” Still staring her down, he extends his large strong hand out to her, as an offering of collaboration of sorts, and patiently waits for her decision. “How about it? We can go see Ethan tomorrow and figure things out. Alright?”
Searching his mind for some clue to as why he has suddenly had a change of heart toward her, she finds traces of shame littering his thoughts, betraying his facade of being nauseatingly righteous. She comes to the logical conclusion that this accord is good for the both of them.
She places her small slender hand in his. A wave of heat blazes through her on contact with his skin. Gabrian ignores her reaction to his touch and shakes his hand in agreement to the terms of truce. Awkward silence swallows them up. Gabrian’s reaction to their touch is not isolated to her alone. Shane’s veins burn like fire as he forces himself to let her hand go.
Shane exhales and reaches for the keys to turn the ignition then pulls the car back onto the highway, heading for home. Shane’s eyes keep finding their way over to Gabrian. She looks so small and fragile, but he knows that without guidance—if she were to turn into a hunter—this small and fragile girl with her beauty and her brain would become lethal.
