The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 13

Fred raised an eyebrow and relaxed sound slightly. I glanced freighter us. What had Riley been looking at?Nothing had changed just some family pictures of dead people, a smal mirror, and a cuckoo clock. Hmm. Was he checking the time? peradventure our creator had given him a deadline, too.Kay, guys, Im exhalation erupt, Riley verbalize. You dont have to be afraid today, I promise.The light burst into the basement through the open door, magnified as only I knew by Rileys skin. I could see the bright reflections dance on the wal .Hissing and snarling, my coven backed into the corner opposite from Freds. Kristie was in the very back. It looked give c are she was trying to use her gang as a kind of shield.Relax, everybody, Riley cal ed cumulus to us. I am absolutely fine. No pain, no burn. Come and see. CmonNo whiz go proximate to the door. Fred was crouched against the wal beside me, eyeing the light with panic. I waved my hand a tiny bit to get his at ten dollar billtion. He looked up at me and measured my sum calm for a second. Slowly he straightened up next to me. I smiled encouragingly.Everyone else was hold for the burn to start. I wondered if I had looked that sil y to Diego.You get it on, Riley mused from above, Im curious to see who is the bravest one of you. I have a good fancy who the first person through that door is going to be, hardly Ive been wrong before.I rol ed my eyes. Subtle, Riley.But of course it worked. Raoul started inching his way toward the stairs almost immediately. For once, Kristie was in no hurry to postulate with him for Rileys approval. Raoul snapped his fingers at Kevin, and both he and the Spider-Man kid reluctantly moved to flank him.You r divulge out hear me. You drive in Im non fried. Dont be a bunch of babies Youre vampires. Act like it.Stil, Raoul and his buddies couldnt get farther than the foot of the stairs. none of the others moved. After a few minutes, Riley came back. In the indirect light from the front door, he shimmered just a tiny bit in the doorway.Look at me Im fine. Seriously Im embarrassed for you. Cmere, RaoulIn the end, Riley had to grab Kevin Raoul ducked out of the way as soon as he could see what Riley was thinking and drag him upstairs by force. I sawing machine the moment when they make it into the sun, when the light brightened from their reflections.Tel them, Kevin, Riley ordered.Im okay, Raoul Kevin cal ed down. Whoa. Im al shiny. This is crazy He laughed.Wel done, Kevin, Riley said loudly.That did it for Raoul. He gritted his teeth and marched up the stairs. He didnt move fast, but soon he was up thither sparkling and laughing with Kevin.Even from therefore on, the process took longer than I would have predicted. It was stil a one-by-one thing. Riley got impatient. It was to a greater extent than threats than encouragement now. Fred shot me a look that said, You knew this?Yes, I mouthed.He nodded and started up the stairs. There were stil about ten pe ople, mostly Kristies group, huddled against the wal . I went with Fred. Better to come out right in the middle. Let Riley sympathize into that what he would.We could see the shining, disco-bal vampires in the front yard, staring at their hands and each others faces with rapt expressions. Fred moved into the light without slowing, which I thought was fine brave, al things considered. Kristie was a better example of how wel Riley had indoctrinated us. She clung to what she knew regardless of the inference in front of her.Fred and I stood a little space from the others. He examined himself careful y, thus looked me over, then(prenominal) stared at the others. It struck me that Fred, though real y quiet, was very observant and almost scientific in the way he examined evidence. Hed been evaluating Rileys words and actions al on. How much had he figured out?Riley had to force Kristie up the stairs, and her gang came with her. Final y we al were out in the sun, most people enjoying how very pretty they were. Riley rounded everyone up for one more quick practice session mostly, I thought, to get them to way again. It took them a minute, but everyone started to realize that this was it, and they got quieter and more fierce. I could see that the idea of a real labour of being not only al owed but encouraged to rip and burn was almost as exciting as hunting. It appealed to people like Raoul and Jen and Sara. Riley focused on a strategy hed been trying to dril into them for the exit few days once wed pinpointed the yel oweyes scent, we were going to divide in two and flank them. Raoul would charge them frontal while Kristie attacked from the side. The plan suited both their styles, though I wasnt sure if they were going to be adequate to(p) to fol ow this strategy in the heat of the hunt.When Riley cal ed everyone together after an hour of practice, Fred immediately started walking opposed toward the north Riley had the others facing south. I stayed close, though I had no idea what he was doing. Fred stopped when we were a good hundred yards away, in the shade of the spruce trees on the fringe of the forest. No one watched us move away. Fred was eyeing Riley, as if waiting to see if he would notice our retreat.Riley began speaking. We leave now. Youre intemperate and youre ready. And youre thirsty for it, arent you? You burn down feel the burn. Youre ready for dessert.He was right. Al that blood hadnt slowed the return of the thirst at al . In fact, I wasnt sure, but I thought it might be coming back faster and harder than usual. Maybe overfeeding was counterproductive in some ways.The yel ow-eyes are coming in slowly from the south, feeding along the way, trying to get stronger, Riley said. Shes been monitoring them, so I know where to find them. Shes going to meet us there, with Diego he cast a significant glance toward where Id just been standing, and then a quick let down that disappeared just as quickly and we wil hit them like a tsunami. We wil overwhelm them easily. And then we wil celebrate. He smiled. Someones going to get a jump on the celebration. Raoul give me that. Riley held out his hand imperiously. Raoul reluctantly tossed him the bag with the apparel. It seemed like Raoul was trying to lay claim to the girl by hogging her scent.Take another whiff, everybody. Lets get focused concentrate on the girl? Or the fight?Riley himself walked the shirt approximately this time, almost like he treasured to make sure everyone was thirsty. And I could see from the reactions that, like me, the burn was back for them al . The scent of the shirt do them scowl and snarl. It wasnt necessary to give us the scent again we forgot nothing. So this was probably just a test. Just thinking about the girls scent had venom pooling in my mouth.Are you with me? Riley bel owed.Everyone screamed his or her assent.Lets take them down, kidsIt was like the barracuda again, only on land this time. Fred didnt move, so I stayed with him, though I knew I was wasting time I needed. If I were going to get to Diego and pul him away before the fighting could start, I would need to be near the front of the attack. I looked after them anxiously. I was stil younger than most of them faster.Riley wont be able to think of me for about twenty minutes or so, Fred told me, his voice casual and familiar, like wed had a mil ion conversations in the past. Ive been gauging the time. Even a good distance away, hel feel sick if he tries to find me.Real y? Thats cool.Fred smiled. Ive been practicing, march oning track of the effects. I can make myself total y hidden now. No one can look at me if I dont urgency them to.Ive noticed, I said, then paused and guessed, Youre not going?Fred shook his head. Of course not. Its obvious were not being told what we need to know. Im not going to be Rileys pawn.So Fred had figured it out on his own.I was going to take off sooner, but then I wanted to talk to you before I left, and there hasnt been a chance til now.I wanted to talk to you, too, I said. I thought you should know that Rileys been lying about the sun. This four-day thing is a total crock. I think Shel y and Steve and the others figured it out, too. And theres a lot more politics going on with this fight than hes told us. More than one set of enemies. I said it fast, feeling with terrible urgency the apparent movement of the sun, the time passing. I had to get to Diego.Im not surprised, Fred said calmly. And Im out. Im going to explore on my own, see the world. Or I was going on my own, but then I thought perchance you might want to come, too. Youd be pretty safe with me. No one wil be able to fol ow us.I hesitated for a second. The idea of safety was hard to resist in that exact moment.Ive got to get Diego, I said, shaking my head. He nodded serious-minded y. I get it. You know, if youre wil ing to vouch for him, you can bring him along. Seems like sometimes numbers come in handy.Yes, I agreed fervently, remembering how vulnerable Id felt in the tree alone with Diego as the four cloaks had advanced. He raised an eyebrow at my tone.Riley is lying about at least one more important thing, I explained. Be careful. We arent supposed to let humans know about us. There are some kind of freaky vampires who stop covens when they get too obvious. Ive seen them, and you dont want them to find you. Just persist out of sight in the day, and hunt smart. I looked south anxiously. I have to hurryHe was processing my revelations solemnly. Okay. Catch up to me if you want. Id like to hear more. Il wait for you in Vancouver for one day. I know the city. Il leave you a trail inHe thought for a second and then chuckled once. Riley Park. You can fol ow it to me. But after twenty-four hours Im taking off.Il get Diego and catch up to you.Good tidy sum, Bree.Thanks, Fred Good luck to you, too. Il see you I was already campaign.I hope so, I heard him say behind me.I sprinted after the sce nt of the others, flying along the ground faster than Id ever run before. I was golden that they must have paused for something for Riley to yel at them, I was guessing because I caught them sooner than I should have. Or maybe Riley had remembered Fred and stopped to look for us. They were running at a steady pace when I reached them, semidisciplined like give way night. I tried to slide into the group without drawing attention, but I saw Rileys head liberty chit around once to scan those trailing behind. His eyes zeroed in on me, and then he started running faster. Did he assume Fred was with me?Riley would never see Fred again.It wasnt five minutes later when everything changed. Raoul caught the scent. With a wild murmur he was off. Riley had us so worked up that it took only the tiniest spark to set off an explosion. The others near Raoul had the scent, too, and then everyone went crazy. Rileys harping on this human had overshadowed the rest of his instructions. We were hun ters, not an army. There was no team. It was a race for blood. Even though I knew there were a lot of lies in the story, I couldnt total y resist the scent. data track at the back of the pack, I had to cross it. Fresh. Strong. The human had been here recently, and she smel ed so sweet. I was strong with al the blood wed drunk last night, but it didnt matter. I was thirsty. It burned.I ran after the others, trying to keep my head clear. It was al I could do to hold back a little, to stay behind the others. The close-set(prenominal) person to me was Riley. He was holding back, too?He shouted orders, mostly the same thing repeated.Kristie, go around Move around Split off Kristie, Jen Break off His whole plan of the two-pronged linger was selfdestructing as we watched. Riley sped up to the main group and grabbed Saras shoulder. She snapped at him as he hurled her to the left. Go around he shouted. He caught the blond kid whose name Id never figured out and shoved him into Sara, who clearly wasnt happy with that. Kristie came out of the hunting focus long enough to realize she was supposed to be moving strategical y. She gave one fierce gaze after Raoul and then started screeching at her team.This way Faster Wel beat them around and get to her first CmonIm spear point with Raoul Riley shouted at her, turning away.I hesitated, stil running forward. I didnt want to be part of any spear point, but Kristies team was already turning on each other. Sara had the blond kid in a headlock. The sound of his head tearing off made my decision for me. I sprinted after Riley, wondering if Sara would pause to burn the boy who liked to play Spider-Man.I caught up enough to see Riley ahead and fol owed at a distance until he got to Raouls team. The scent made it hard to keep my mind on the things that mattered.Raoul Riley yel ed.Raoul grunted, not turning. He was total y absorbed by the sweet scent.Ive got to help Kristie Il meet you there Keep your focusI jerked to a stop, froz en with uncertainty.Raoul unplowed on, not showing any response to Rileys words. Riley slowed to a jog, then a walk. I should have moved, but he probably would have heard me try to hide. He turned, a smile on his face, and saw me.Bree. I thought you were with Kristie.I didnt respond.