After a few moments, she took a deep breath and stood up.  She had to go wake up Chenoa for the next period.  Heading down the hall, she looked at the floor to observe the shadows.  Maybe their movement was something to do with the sun or something.  Maybe they moved on their own normally and people just didn’t usually notice.  Yet the few shadows in the hall were still and unmoving. 

Entering the nurse’s office, Gabby stopped dead in her tracks.  The nurse had her head down on her desk and appeared to be sleeping.  Chenoa slept soundly on one of the cots, her body seeming to shimmer with light with each intake of breath.  Shadows seemed to be surrounding her, but all of that didn’t seem as strange as the man standing over her. 

 It was the man Gabby had seen before. The man was so perfect-looking that it hurt to look at him directly.  The man who had made her heart stand still for a moment, not out of desire or attraction, but for a strange, unexplainable reason like she was looking at something greater than herself.  He was standing next to Chenoa’s bed, looking down at her with an unusual look. His right hand was extended down towards Chenoa with his fingertips barely a breath away from her forehead.  A light that looked like navy blue and bright midnight blue threads woven together seemed to be flowing out of his body and spiraling down his arm towards Chenoa.  When it touched her forehead, the different color strands split apart and seemed to writhe around her forehead. 

Stunned Gabby felt her voice stick in her throat. Barely managing a small squeak, Gabby forced herself to take a step forward.  Snapping his head up, the man’s eyes were sharp until he saw it was Gabby.  Placing the index finger of his left hand to his lips, the man grinned wolfishly at her.

“What are you doing to her?” she gasped, her feet stuck to the ground.

“Shhh,” the man said softly.

“Leave Chenoa alone!” Gabby said a little louder this time.

“Shhh!” the man said in a harsher tone.

He snapped his fingers on his left hand. Pain radiated in Gabby’s jaw as she felt it snap shut.  It felt as if metal straps bound around her jaw, smashing her bones and teeth together.  Gabby clawed at her own jaw, trying to find what was binding it.  Running her tongue along the back of her teeth, Gabby felt like her teeth had somehow sealed together seamlessly. 

“I told you to be quiet,” the man said in a soft voice that felt like velvet to Gabby’s ears.

The lights were still flowing down his arm, writhing around Chenoa’s s face. Her skin looked pale, but her face was calm.  Gabby had an internal fight of fear and wanting to help her friend.  While she didn’t know what the man was doing to Chenoa, she knew it couldn’t be good. 

Forcing her feet up and forward, Gabby felt as if hundred-pound weights were strapped to her legs, dragging her down as she tried to get to her friend.  The perfect man frowned and waved his left hand at her.  The weight seemed to double, pulling on her muscles, but still Gabby tried.  If he was doing this to her, somehow, then he had to be hurting Chenoa.

“Stubborn mortal,” the man growled.

Gabby was forcing him to focus on her instead of Chenoa. When it became apparent that Gabby wasn’t going to give up, the man removed his fingers from Chenoa’s forehead, turning to Gabby.  His whole body seemed to glow with the braided blue light.  Gabby realized she was in danger and no one was coming to help her.  Her mind screamed for help as he advanced. 

Looking behind him, Gabby saw Chenoa’s pale, sleeping face.  Just as Gabby had been the only one around to save Chenoa, now Chenoa was the only one around to save Gabby.  Screaming out Chenoa’s name in her mind, Gabby begged for her to wake up. The scream became desperate as the man held out his right hand and the light shot at her, lifting her into the air a few feet.  Smiling, the man held her there as her body convulsed painful muscle spasms.

“Chenoa!” Gabby screamed in agony in her mind.

Chenoa’s eyes snapped open, though they were wide and unfocused, open but unseeing.  Her body blazed like a torch, making the rest of the room seem dim.  The blaring of color around her body was a braiding of burgundy and blood red.  The light seemed to crackle with energy, drawing the man and Gabby’s attention.  They both stared open-mouthed until a ball of the red light smashed against the man.  Both Gabby and the man were sent flying.  Gabby slid on the floor until she hit the wall next to the nurse’s office door.  Meanwhile, the man hit the ceiling and crashed to the floor.

Red light surrounded and suppressed the blue light around the man, sparking off him like fire.  A few of the sparks hit Gabby who flinched but realized the light didn’t hurt her.  Rather the woven light felt like a warm breeze against her cheek. However, when a spark hit her face, Gabby felt her jaw instantly spring apart. Yet Gabby was too stunned to speak. 

Picking himself up from the floor, the man started to stride towards Chenoa when Cor appeared.  His eyes blazed brighter than normal as he stood between the man and Chenoa.  While her body still glowed, it had turned more into a pulsing light. 

“Who are you?” Cor demanded.

His voice filled every space in the room. Gabby watched in silence, barely able to hear over her own heartbeat.

“Still the perfect little guard dog, huh, Cordis?” the man laughed.

“Do I know you?” Cor growled.

“No, you don’t.”

“Why are you here then?”

“I’m visiting our little girl.”

“She is not yours in any way.”

“Not yet but soon…very soon.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“It’s not up to you…it’s up to her and trust me when I say soon enough she will come to me.”

Cor growled, baring his teeth and seeming much more like his wolf-self.  Gabby had no idea what was going on, but she knew that it was much bigger than she could understand. Standing, Gabby felt her body shake.  Both men looked at her and Cor appeared genuinely surprised.  The perfect man smiled, turning back to Cor.

“Tell our little girl that we will be together soon, and I’ll leave you to clean up this mess,” the man sneered, flicking his eyes back to Gabby before vanishing into thin air. 

Cor sighed, looking very tired and worried.  He approached Chenoa and touched her forehead as if to check her temperature. Finding her normal, Cor closed his eyes and placed his forehead against hers.  She was okay. Swiveling, Cor thought as he observed the terrified Gabby and the sleeping nurse.  Ambling to Gabby, Cor made sure he looked calm so as to not scare Gabby.

“Don’t worry, sweet friend,” he said sweetly.  “You are okay.  Your friend is okay.”

“What are you?” Gabby stammered.

“I am a friend of Chenoa.”

“What is she?”

“Chenoa is still just Chenoa. What she is doesn’t matter…does it?  Long as she hasn’t changed in her personality and heart.”

“I guess it doesn’t…I just don’t get what’s going on.”

“When it is time for you to know, Chenoa will tell you.  She hasn’t learned about it all anyway.  She can’t tell you what she doesn’t know.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Because you won’t remember any of this.”

“Why?”

Tears started pouring down Gabby’s cheeks.  What would he do to make her not remember? Was that even possible?

“Do you really want to remember this?  To remember this and remember that you can’t tell anyone, even Chenoa?”

“No…no…that would be scary and lonely.”

“It can be.  I can’t make you forget unless you want to, Gabriella.”

“You can’t?”

“No, I can’t.”

Chewing on her lip, Gabby wasn’t sure until she looked at Chenoa’s face.  She wouldn’t be able to tell Chenoa about the danger she saw whether she kept her memories or not, but not remembering it would make her feel a lot less guilty about hiding a secret from her best friend.  Nodding slowly Gabby decided to forget.  Before she had even finished nodding her head, Gabby collapsed in Cor’s arms, fast asleep. 

Laying her on the cot next to Chenoa, Cor rolled out his shoulders.  He already felt the stress building up.  Why couldn’t her awakening go smoothly?  With a crooked smile, Cor stared at Chenoa for a long moment.  Naw…it wouldn’t be her if it was easy.  Striding over to the nurse, Cor touched the back of her neck gently and she stirred from her sleep.  Blinking, she stretched and couldn’t believe she had fallen asleep.  Getting up the nurse walked to the window and shut it.  Had it been open before?  She couldn’t remember.   Turning around, she saw two girls fast asleep.  They both were pale and didn’t look great, so she decided to let them sleep.

Outside the window, Cor monitored Chenoa’s sleep.  He remembered the woven light that had come from her body.  It had sparked from the buildup of energy.  Suddenly concerned, Cor worried about her power becoming too strong for her body to suppress.  She…no the world…couldn’t afford for her to lose control of such vast power.