Midnight Blood (Born Immortal) (3 page)

Shayna went to the back stairs. “Mel,” she yelled, “Dinner!”

“Coming!” was the response that was yelled back.

Shayna went to the cupboard, and got the plates to set the table.

“How is your project coming Shay?” Sarah inquired.

“Good.” Shayna answered. “Beside the fact, of not much snow this year, but I can still capture the waterfall. I can’t wait until spring is over and I can draw the final stage.

“Mmm, I can’t wait to see it,” Sarah replied.

Shayna never showed anyone an unfinished project. She felt it was bad luck.

“Smells great mom,” Melina said as she thundered down the stairs.

The two girls sat down at the table in the dining room and Sarah brought the food in. She placed the spaghetti and garlic bread on the table and headed back to the kitchen. The smells of the food seemed overpowering to Shayna, it smelled so delicious.

“Is your registration for NYU completed and ready for this fall?” Sarah asked when she returned.

“Almost,” Shayna swallowed a bite of spaghetti, “I still have to send in my transcripts.”

“And when are you doing that?”

“Mrs.Wade in the office told me she would have everything ready for me by the end of the week,” Shayna smiled.

“Just can’t wait to get out of here can you?” Melina accused.

“Like you would miss me!” Shayna said  teasingly.

“Shay,” Melina looked at her sister. “Just because you’re boring and we don’t hang out, doesn’t mean I won’t miss you.”

“Awe shucks, Mel,” Shayna pretended to be embarassed, and smiled, “You’re a peach.”

They talked about the girls plans for college the rest of dinner. Melina had plans to go to Michigan State University to major in Journalism. She loved gossip. Shayna was going to New York University to major in art. She wanted to illustrate novel covers. They weren’t like most students at the Art Acadamy, most of the students weren’t even from Michigan, let alone the US. They never understood why they had to attend the academy, but their father had insisted.

When dinner was over, Melina went to the living room, and sprawled out on the couch, remote control in hand. Shayna helped Sarah clean up the kitchen. They worked in silence, Shayna too busy thinking about Cain to start a conversation, and Sarah sensing Shayna in deep thought, and not wanting to interrupt.

When they were done, Shayna went upstairs to run herself a bath. She went to her room, and grabbed
Utopia
out of her backpack and her robe and went to the bathroom. She turned on the water and poured some vanilla oil in the water, and lit an inscent stick. The inscent seemed stronger than ever to her tonight, everything smelled stronger to her tonight. Was the change already happening? She thought. Is this part of it? Shayna took off her clothes and slid into the big clawfoot tub. She left
Utopia
on her robe on the bathroom floor, and sank back, closing her eyes.

The creek babbled over the waterfall, splashing onto the rocks below. It was spring. Shayna had come to the waterfall to be alone and think about her father. He was missing everything. Her eighteenth birthday, graduation, everything. A tear fell down her cheek. He had written in the letter she found, in
Utopia
two years ago, that he would return to her before her eighteenth birthday. If he didn’t that he was truly dead. She would be in this alone.

Suddenly a familiar feeling swept through her. She looked up to the top of the waterfall. There he was, not her father, but her dream boy, standing at the top of the waterfall smiling down at her. She stepped towards him, and he started to walk down the jagged path next to the waterfall, toward her. As he got closer he held out his hand to her, he was so beautiful. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She slowly reached her hand out to him waiting for the touch.

“Shayna,” she heard from above, right as their fingertips were about to touch. She recognized that voice, a different voice, a soft and musical voice. She looked up again to the waterfall. It
was
Cain. What was he doing here? What was going on?
With his eyes, he smiled down at her. Her heart melted, and her stomach swam. “Shayna,” he said once again. Her name sounded beautiful when he said it. She remembered the other boy and looked back to him. To her dismay, he was gone. She couldn’t believe she lost her opportunity to to feel his touch. She had waited so long. She didn’t care if it was just a dream. Why had she been getting so close to him now? She thought. She returned her gaze up to Cain. He smiled at her and whispered, “I’m here for you now.” She could not look away from his eyes, she almost felt like she was in a trance, they were so mezmerizing. He said her name again, but it was another voice that came out of his lips.

“Shayna,” it was Sarah, “Are you alive in there?”

Her eyes slowly opened. She had fallen asleep, and the water was freezing, she shivered.

“I’m alive,” she said through the door. “Barely,” she added.

She heard her mom laugh on the other side of the door. “Good night. I’m going to bed.”

“I’m out,” Shayna told her, and pushed herself up and out of the cold water. “Good night.” Shayna wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the bathtub, careful not to drip water on
Utopia
. She dried off and put on her robe, and brushed her teeth, and went to her room. She stuffed
Utopia
into her backpack and put her pajamas on, which consisted of, a pair of flannel pants, and a t-shirt.

She grabbed her brush and started brushing her long thick hair. As she brushed she couldn't stop thinking about what Cain had said. “I’m here for you now
.
” What did that mean? Shayna put the brush back on the vanity and turned off the light and went to bed. She slept dreamless all night.

Chapter 2

***

When Cain entered the meadow that morning as dawn broke, he was not surprised to see the huge hawk, on a downed tree on the otherside. He knew it was already there.

Cain glared.
Well, well.
He projected.
Definitely not surprised to see you, just surprised it’s so soon

 
He heard the hawk’s voice in his head, it was a familiar voice.
She’s stronger and more pure than the rest, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you away from her.

 She will be mine fool!
Cain slowly took a step forward.
You won’t stop me.

Then so be it.
The hawk yelled in Cain’s head.
I will stop you.
The huge hawk outstretched his wings, and lifted off the ground, and into the sky towards Cain. Cain watched as the hawk headed right towards him. He ducked as it swooped down towards him, then lifted higher and was gone over the tall trees.

Crap, this isn’t going to be easy.
 Cain told himself.

***

Shayna felt different when she woke up. She was anxious to get to school, and she couldn’t believe why. Cain. Cain was the first thing she thought about when she woke up, and for the first time in three years she wanted to stay awake. There was a different boy she wanted to see today.

Shayna had a hard time accepting that she could not stop thinking about Cain. There was only one boy she ever wanted to know so much about, and he wasn’t real. Cain was. She still had thoughts of her dream, in the bathtub, and what he had said.
I’m here for you now.
He was here now. He was real, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

She went to her closet and pulled out a brand new pair of jeans she got for Christmas, and put them on, she loved the way they made her butt look, which is why she never wore them. She put on a red camisole, and pulled a red silken blouse over it. She looked in the mirror that was on the back of her bedroom door.

Sarah was right, she was beautiful. She had her father’s strong Roman features. His mouth, and eyes, and thick curly chocolate hair.

Why was she so stubborn? She could have any boy she wanted. She refused to be like the other girls at the academy, and use her looks, instead of talent, to get her through life.  She wanted to be herself, as long as she was still herself. The exact opposite of the other girls. But yet she found herself in front of the mirror examining her outfit and hair.

She wanted to be disgusted with herself, but only saw Cain’s face. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for being so rude to him. She wanted to pour  her heart out to him, and tell him all of her secrets that she never told anyone else. This did disgust her! She didn’t know anything about him. She wondered how she could feel this way about a stranger. Could he ever accept what I am? She thought. Anxiety swept through her again. She needed to see him. She grabbed her backpack, and ran downstairs, expecting Melina to be waiting in the kitchen for her. No Melina. Shayna looked out the living room window, and saw the Honda sitting in the driveway.

Weird
.
Shayna thought. She ran back upstairs, and knocked on Melina’s door, “Mel,” she said, “Are you coming?”

She could hear Melina moving around on the other side of the door, and then she opened the door, “What?”

“Are you coming?” Shayna asked again.

“No,” she said, “Take the car.”

Shayna hated driving, “Nah, it’s not bad outside, I think I’ll walk.” Most of the students that attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts lived at the academy, and we’re not from Interlochen, or Northern Michigan, Shayna enjoyed walking to school.

“Whatever,” Melina looked at her twin, “You’re really going to walk?”

“Sure,” Shayna replied, “I better enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.”

“Won’t be long,” Melina told her, and closed the door.

She went downtairs and put her boots on. She couldn’t let her secrets keep her from being happy anymore. She wanted to know more about Cain, he intrigued her. She was anxious again.

She left the house, and clouds covered the sun, casting a shadow over Melody Lane. So much for a decent day
.
She turned onto Innwood, and an eerie feeling crept through her.  The feeling from the previous night, when she felt like she was being watched. A branch broke high above her. Startled, she jumped, and looked up. A massive hawk flapped his wings in the tree above.

Shayna walked below, and the hawk watched her intently. She thought he looked larger than a normal hawk , she couldn’t get over how big he appeared. High up in the tree he seemed as big as a large eagle.

The clouds cleared, and the sun pierced Shayna’s eyes, blinding her. When her vision was clear, and she could see again, she looked back up, but the beautiful creature was gone. How odd, she pondered. She hadn’t even heard him take off. She wondered if she would have heard him.

She continued to school, shrugging off the thought of the hawk. She passed by an old closed down retail shop and noticed something new.  There was a sign in the window.

Grand Opening

January 4
^th

‘Between the Lines’ Bookstore and Gift Shop

She peered in the window. It looked inviting, and very comfortable inside. She took a mental note, to come back and browse around sometime. She hadn’t known Interlochen was even getting a new book store.

Shayna felt a sense of ease and relief as she walked to school. She told herself that it was time to accept the change that was beginning in her life. If she had secrets that she had no control over, then she was going to have to deal with them. She thought of her father and smiled. She knew that she had meant a lot to him. Marcus Verona had loved his twin daughters equally, but Shayna was different. She was special, and she and her father were connected in a way that he and Melina were not.

Shayna knew that something inside of her had changed overnight. She could still not fathom why she felt so strongly for this new boy. Maybe it’s part of the change
.
She thought, and wondered if her emotions and way of thinking would change too.

The art academy came into view, and Shayna thought of Melina.

What am I doing?
Shayna wondered if she should tell her sister how she was feeling about Cain. She wondered if Melina would even care, because she ‘saw him first’. The rule
didn’t
apply to the twins, but Melina could be pretty selfish sometimes.

She tried to tell herself that she shouldn’t pursue Cain. When she thought of Melina upset with her over a boy, she felt embarrassed. She couldn’t betray her sister, even if the two twins barely knew each other anymore. But, as student after student passed her on the side walk in front of the school, she found herself searching for his face amongst them.

First period felt like it dragged on. She could not wait to get out of there, she had to talk to Noah about Cain. She hoped he knew something,
anything
about him. She decided in class to tell Melina that she had an attraction to Cain. She didn’t know what would happen. She didn’t care. For God’s sake, neither one of them even knew him!

When the bell rang she darted out of the biology lab, and went for the stairs, almost running into Derrick Jones at the top. He grabbed her as she stumbled backwards.

“Sorry,” she smiled apologetically, “In a hurry.”

Derrick laughed, “Yeah, I can see that.”

Shayna pushed passed him and contiuned down the hall. Derrick had been Melina’s last victim. He was a nice good looking boy, but not someone Shayna saw her sister with anyway. Shayna felt sorry for Derrick though. He had been new in the fall, and Melina played her little ‘Welcome Wagon’ game, as always, and they had hooked up, but Melina dropped him like a bad habit, right after Christmas, when she found out about Cain moving to Interlochen. Melina disappointed her sister sometimes, Shayna knew that she would never find love and happiness, that way.