Chapter 27
It had been almost a week since the incident in New York. Gabriel was furious at the Guard for pulling a stunt like that. I'm pretty sure if anyone other than the royal family of vampires had done that, they would be smoldering ashes by now. But since it was the Guard, Gabriel's code and his idea of hierarchy demanded that he respect those in a station above him, no matter how unjust they may be.
When we got back to the hotel, Gabriel's lips were nothing more than a thin line but I could see the anger boiling in him. I moved, slowly, to check his arm but he wouldn't let me. Instead, he held me tight again –almost too tight- and demanded that the next time he tells me to run, for me to run. When I pointed out that I did get one of the werewolves, he pointed out that they were half starved creatures that he could have taken care of on his own but he was busy trying to keep them from me as well as kill them…and keep me from them. He admitted he was nervous to let his instincts dictate his actions after the incident at Sandy Point and didn't want to accidentally hurt me while he was trying to attack the werewolves. I squeezed his hand and changed the subject.
"So sabbatianoi? What does that mean, exactly?" I asked my vampire gently as I went to sit down in the living room of the suite. Gabriel followed me and sat down next to me on the plush velvet sofa. I was still wearing my evening gown and had my hair up although neither was picture perfect anymore.
Gabriel reached out a finger and brushed a few loose strands of hair back up into the bun on top of my head. "Sabbatianoi. It means 'Saturday born'," he told me. I looked at him confused.
"Saturday born?" I repeated. Gabriel nodded slightly and picked up my hand in his again.
"It is of the older legends, possibly from before the Volturi rule," he began. His voice sounded like pure hate when he said Volturi. It made me shiver slightly to which Gabriel threw a blanket over my shoulders before pulling me to him.
"What would bein' born on a Saturday have anythin' to do with me?" I asked. "I was born on a Friday," I pointed out. Gabriel smiled slightly, brushing his hand up and down my upper arm slowly.
"The sabbatianoi were the vampire hunters of ancient lore," he continued. "It was believed that only those born upon that day could see a vampire when she or he was invisible," Gabriel said with a hint of laughter in his voice. "It was also said they could see other invisible entities," he continued, the laughter gone. Other invisible entities?
I hated to admit it but that did sound a lot like me if you took out the whole being born on a Saturday bit. I was a vampire hunter now. Not that I would ever even think of hurting any of my vampires but well, I've got two…and a half. According to the Guard, I was the first one to ever be able to do that. And seeing things no one else could see…uh, yeah, that was me.
I had once told Estelle about how I had seen ghosts and angels. It was written in the Destiny series and that had been an odd section to read. It was even more odd to read about it online and hear how people thought the author had lost it given how grounded I seem to be all the time. The idea of me thinking I see things just didn't fit. But it did fit and I did see things.
I saw the lady tonight before the whole werewolf incident. Maybe it was just another hallucination but ever since I had that one hallucination at six am where I swore I saw a kid cross in front of my truck and I had to move into the next lane to get out of the way…only to find no kid behind me as I passed him, I realized that they may not always be hallucinations. That, and when I got home, I read about how a kid, the exact same description, had died just three days before at that very spot by a hit and run driver. I had seen a ghost and it wasn't the first time. It was just the first time I was able to connect the ghost to an actual event.
