Cursed (9 page)

“Sophie!” Gabe exclaimed, surprised by her presence.

“Expecting someone else?” she asked sharply.

“What?” Gabe thought he had prepared for all possible options.
 
It was clear he had not prepared for this one.

“Do you think I’m stupid, Gabe?”

“Umm, well I wouldn’t have said stupid, but I am starting to wonder if you might be crazy.
 
What on earth are you talking about?
 
Who else would I be expecting?” Gabe felt an overwhelming sensation of drowning as the questions flew out of his mouth.

“I went back to the library and worked most of the night away trying not to think about it.
 
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the image of the two of you, arm in arm, out of my head.
 
Urgh!
 
If that little slut were here right now, I would tell her exactly what I think of her.”

“Oh my God!
 
Sophie, what has gotten into you?
 
I don’t even know who you are talking about.”
 
Gabe looked intensely at Sophie as he spoke to her.
 
Just as she was about to say something, Gabe thought he saw a flash of red flicker in her eyes.
 
As he saw the unsettling color change, Gabe felt his knees go weak.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sophie demanded at the sight of Gabe’s stumble.
 
Her voice was lacking all compassion.

“I don’t know.
 
I thought I saw…” Gabe paused as he tried to collect his thoughts.
 
He told himself he had to be imagining things.
 
Sophie was not a demon.
 
There was no way her eyes could have flickered red.

“What?
 
What did you see?” Sophie barked, her voice even more commanding.

“I don’t know, Sophie.
 
I think I need to go to the infirmary.” Gabe quickly suggested, trying to change the focus of their conversation.

“I don’t think so, Gabe.
 
You are not getting off that easy.
 
You and I need to talk about this.”

“Talk about what, Sophie?
 
I still have no idea why you are even angry.” Gabe pleaded.

“You and I are meant to be, Gabe.
 
Some little slut is not going to come in and destroy our destiny.” Sophie replied with an aggressive anger Gabe had never seen before.

“Slow down.
 
Who are you talking about?” Gabe tried to calm Sophie by holding her wrist, but it just seemed to make her angrier.

“That girl from your class, err.
 
Don’t act like there is nothing going on.”

“Are you talking about Neru?” Gabe asked, shocked by Sophie’s harsh depiction of this innocent girl she didn’t even know.

“Whatever her name is.” Sophie snapped, rolling her eyes in disgust.

Gabe grabbed both of Sophie’s shoulders tightly, forcing her to look into his eyes.

 
“Sophie, I promise there is nothing going on with Neru.
 
I just met her and she is simply a nice girl who happens to be in my class.
 
I actually spent most of my time with her talking about you and how much I love you.
 
You are what I think about, Sophie, do you understand?”

“Oh Gabe,” Sophie threw her arms around Gabe’s neck and began to hug him wildly.
 
“I’m so sorry,” Sophie whispered between the dozens of tiny kisses she planted all over his face.

Gabe pulled himself free of Sophie’s grasp and gave her a confused glare.
 
Her attitude had changed to the complete opposite in a moment’s time.
 
Gabe was stumped by what to make of her odd behavior.

“Sophie, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Of course, silly.
 
Why wouldn’t I be?” Sophie cuddled up close to Gabe’s cheek.
 
Gabe couldn’t explain the feeling he had inside, but he knew something wasn’t right.
 
This was not the way Sophie behaved and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“You seem to be all over the place.
 
One minute you want to kill me and the next you are kissing me all over.”
 
Gabe explained.

“Would you rather I be mad at you again?” Sophie asked, attempting to be flirtatious.

“No, of course not.
 
Oh never mind,” Gabe added, deciding he would simply keep a close eye on Sophie for the time being.

“Well, if we’re all right, I guess I better get to class.
 
I wouldn’t want Raimie and Dina to worry.” Gabe said, trying to once again pull himself free from Sophie’s grasp.

“I wouldn’t worry about them too much.
 
I doubt if they are even there,” Sophie muttered as she took a step back.

“Huh?
 
Why wouldn’t they be there?” Gabe asked.

“Wait, you didn’t hear about what happened last night?”
 
Sophie said with a smirk curling at the end of her lips.

“Last night?
 
What are you talking about?” Gabe felt completely lost.

“You really don’t know?
 
I thought everyone heard that drama.
 
It pissed Michael off something fierce.”
 
Sophie continued.

“What did?” Gabe asked, starting to get frustrated about being kept in the dark.

“Apparently a lover’s quarrel.”
 
Sophie explained with a grin plastered from ear to ear.
 
Gabe felt unnerved by her reaction to their friend’s dilemma.

“Raimie and Dina?”
 
Gabe asked in disbelief.

“Oh yeah.
 
They went at it pretty good in the cleric’s garden last night.
 
Apparently it wasn’t long until tempers were heated and accusations were not the only thing being thrown around.”

“Wait, no!” Gabe gasped.
 
“They cast against one another?”

“Oh yeah!” Sophie exclaimed.
 
“And there were no safety spells on.
 
They meant business.”

“That makes no sense,” Gabe said, shaking his head.

“Maybe Dina thought Raimie was being unfaithful.” Sophie’s words almost sounded like a warning to Gabe.

“So what happened?” Gabe asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“I guess they had banged each other up pretty good by the time Michael got there.
 
I don’t think I have ever seen Michael that angry.
 
He took them both back to his chambers and last I heard, nobody has gone in or out of his office since.”
 
Sophie took a step forward and punched Gabe lightly in his arm.
 
“Crazy, huh?

“Yeah, I guess.”
 
Gabe replied, still puzzled by Sophie and now his friends’ behavior.

Just before they parted ways, Sophie leaned in for a kiss, but all Gabe could think about were Dina and Raimie in trouble and the red flicker he had seen earlier in Sophie’s eyes.

“I better get going,” Gabe said as he turned to walk away.

“Ok, bye sweetie,” Sophie said waving cheerfully.
 
Gabe wondered if he were in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Gabe walked to class.
 
The entire way his thoughts were consumed by what Sophie had just told him.
 
Raimie and Dina had one of the closest and well-functioning relationships he had ever witnessed.
 
Prior to the last couple days, he couldn’t recall a single argument they had had in front of him.
 
The idea of them actually engaging one another in a magical battle was inconceivable.

Gabe’s thoughts shifted to Sophie and her reaction as she told him the story of Raimie and Dina fighting.
 
She almost took pleasure in it,
he thought.

Coming to a stop outside of the classroom door, Gabe glanced in and saw that indeed, Raimie and Dina were nowhere to be found.
 
Looking up and down both halls, he huffed when he realized Sophie might have in fact been right about what had transpired the previous evening.

Shoulders slumped, Gabe entered the classroom and took his seat at the empty table.
 
The next three classes dragged on.
 
What was only a few hours, felt more like ten.

Gabe was consumed by thoughts about his friends.
 
He also didn’t dare speak to Neru after Sophie’s reaction.
 
Avoiding her had proven somewhat easy.
 
Gabe waited until just before each class was about to begin before sneaking in and sliding into a seat near the exit.
 
Neru had attempted to get Gabe’s attention at one point, but he pretended not to hear her.

At last, he decided he was not going to another class until he got some answers.
 
He wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was evident by the behavior of Sophie and his friends that something was in fact not right at Rampart Manor.
 
As the professor dismissed the students, Gabe scooped up his books and bounded from the room on his mission.

“Gabe!”
 
The tiny voice called out behind him.

Gabe’s thoughts were still filled with worry over Sophie and his friends.
 
He seemed to not notice the beckoning.

“Gabe, wait!”
 
The voice called out again in a stern tone, breaking through Gabe’s mind.
 
Gabe turned around and quickly stopped to watch as Neru approached.

He felt his stomach ache.
 
This poor girl was only trying to be nice.
 
But just by speaking to her, Gabe seemed to be enraging Sophie.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Neru asked, the concern plain on her face.

“Yeah, I just need to go check into something.” Gabe said, trying to dismiss her concern.

“Your girlfriend seemed pretty mad last night and now you’re avoiding me.
 
Look, I didn’t mean to start any problems between the two of you.”
 
Neru continued, even though it was clear Gabe wanted no part of the conversation.

“Neru, it’s fine.
 
Sophie is just… stressed out.
 
She’ll get over it.
 
I just have a lot to do, alright?”

“Well, maybe I can help,” Neru added.

“I doubt it.” Gabe said, becoming agitated by the delay.

“Did I do something wrong?
 
I’m just trying to be a nice person here.” Neru said, looking down at the ground as if she were ashamed.
 

Gabe realized that, even though Sophie was jealous, it was not a rational feeling and surely not Neru’s fault.
 
He regretted making Neru feel like she was somehow responsible for anything that was going on in his life at the moment.

“No, Neru.
 
You didn’t do anything wrong.
 
My friends all seem to be going crazy.
 
It's got me on edge.”

“Do you mean Raimie and Dina?”

“What?
 
You know about them?”

“Who doesn’t, Gabe?
 
I think everyone was there last night for their fight.”

“Everyone except me, apparently.” Gabe grumbled.

“Seriously?
 
You missed that?” Neru asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I went to bed early.” Gabe wanted to kick himself now for that decision.

“I don’t know how you could have possibly slept through that.
 
I was in the dining hall when it started and I heard it.
 
I have never seen two Guardians go at each other like that.”

When Neru said those words, Gabe thought of the last two Guardians he had seen fight.
 
The result had been Anthony’s death.
 

“What did Michael do?” Gabe asked, thinking about the emotions it must have stirred in his mentor.

“I don’t know exactly.
 
Just as Dina was about to attack Raimie again, Michael swooped in, dissolving her cast.
 
He is so powerful.
 
It was quite amazing to watch.
 
With just the swipe of his hand, he brought them both to their knees.”
 
As Neru retold the events, Gabe grew even more frustrated that he had slept through the entire thing.

“You start to realize how powerful he is when you see that he can move you around like rag dolls.” Neru said in awe of their leader’s strength.

“Yeah,” Gabe said, nodding.
 
He had seen Michael’s power first hand when he turned Anthony into a pile of ash on the beach all those months ago.
 
“I have to go.”

“Wait, are you going to see Michael?” Neru asked, following Gabe as he turned and walked away.

“Yeah,” Gabe replied, not slowing his pace.
 
“I have a few questions I need some answers to.”