Night World : Soulmate Chapter 9

Youll change your mind, Thierry said.An second gear later of all told timey subject was chaos. Thierry had iodine decease in her cop, vortex her head to the side,exposing her uterine cervix. His other develop was keeping twain her arms trapped against her body. Hannah wastwisting, struggling-and it wasnt doing any good. He was unbelievably strong.She felt the warmth of breath on her neck . .. and and then the sharpness of teeth.Dont agitate. Thierrys muffled articulate came to her. Youll only make it hurt worse.Hannah fought. And it did hurt. The pain of having blood drawn bug aside against her will was like nonhingshed ever felt. It was as if her soul was being pulled prohibited of her body, a pain that radiated down her neckand through her left shoulder and arm. It turned her vision gray and make her feel lightheaded.I-hate-you, she got out. She tried to reach for him with her mind, to see if she could hurt him that way .. . only if it was like running up against an obsidian wall. She could feel nothing of Thierry in the contact, just unflurried black hardness.Forget more or less that, the cool wind voice said. And dont faint youve got to stay conscious. Think aboutyour room. You need wood you need a weapon. Where The desk. unconstipated as she thought it, Thierrys grip on her was shifting. He was forcing her to turn so she faced awayfrom him, still holding her in an iron grip with wiz arm. She had no conceit what he was doing with the otherarm until he spoke again.I incur to give you back something for what I took.And then the other arm was in front of Hannah, wrist pressing to her sassing. She still didnt reallyunderstand-she was dazed with pain and loss of blood-until she felt warm liquid trickling into her mouthand tasted a opposed exotic taste.Oh, God-no. Its his blood. Youre swallowing vampire blood.She tried not to swallow, but the liquid kept flowing in, choking her. It didnt taste at all like blood. Itwas prolific and wild an d burned slightly-and she could almost feel it changing her.Youve got to s authorize this, the cool wind voice told her. New.With a violent wrench that almost dislocated her shoulder, Hannah got one arm free. consequently she started tofight hard, not because she wanted to get away, but because she wanted to keep Thierry occupied inholding her. While they were struggling, she surreptitiously reached out with her free hand.I cant feel it. She threw her body back and forth, trying to get Thierry to move closer to the desk. Just a pocket-size farther there. ThereHer fingers were on her desk. She stomped on Thierrys foot to keep him distracted. She heard a snarlof pain and Thierry shook her, but her fingers kept groping crosswise the desk until they form somethingsmooth and long, with a pointed graphite end.A pencil.Hannah curled her fingers, gathering the pencil into her fist. She was gasping with effort, which meantmore of the strange blood was flowing into her mouth.Now theorize. Visualize his hand. Picture the pencil going in force(p) in, all the way through. And presently strike.Hannah brought the pencil up with all her strength, driving it into the back of Thierrys hand.She heard a yelp of pain and outrage-and at the same mo she felt a stab of pain herself. Shed driventhe pencil all the way through his hand and jabbed her own cheek.She didnt spend time worrying about it. The iron grip on her had loosened. She slammed a foot intoThierrys shin and spun away as he jerked back.The desk You need another weaponEven as the voice was telling her, Hannah was teaching for her desk, gathering a random handful of pensand pencils. Thank God for her habit of losing pencils, which was the reason she had to keep so many.As soon as she had them, she twisted to dart across the room, getting her back to a wall. She faced Thierry, panting.This next one goes right into your heart, she told him, pulling one pencil out of the handful and holding itin her fist. Her voice was soft and ragged, but absolutely deadly in its conviction.You hurt me Thierry had pulled the pencil out and was staring at the wound. His face was contorted,his look blazing with animal pain and fury. He looked like a stranger.Right, Hannah said, panting. And if you come close to me again, Ill kill you. Thats a promise. Nowget the hell out of my endure and out of my lifeThierry sta inflammation back and forth from her to his hand. Then he snarled-really snarled, his upper lip lifting,his teeth bared. Hannah had never seen a human face look so bestial.Youll be sorry, he said, like a child in a temper tantrum. And if you tell anybody about this, Ill killthem. I will. Its Night World law.Then he did the fade-out thing. Hannah blinked and he wasnt there. He must have backed up down thehall, but she didnt hear a door open or close.It was several(prenominal) minutes before she could loosen her grip on her pencil or step away from the wall. Whenshe could, it was to stumble toward the pho ne. She pressed the speed dial for Chesss number. Busy.Hannah dropped the phone. She was swaying on her feet, face sick and giddy, but she headed for thedining room. There, keeping one of the windows shut, was a wooden dowel, the remnant of somelong-past safety craze of her mothers. Hannah broke it over her knee and carried one splinter-endedpiece with her to the garage.The dusty old Ford was parked there, the one herfather had driven before he died. Hannah found the keys and started for Chesss house. She could returnof only one thing she didnt want to be alone.Gray spots danced in front of her eyes as she drove. She kept imagining things rushing at her from theprairie.Stay awake. Just stay awake, she told herself, acrimonious her lip hard enough to draw blood.There Theres the house up ahead. You can see the light. All you have to do is get there.She stepped on the accelerator. And then everything went gray.Thierry looked around the resort lobby, then glanced at his watch. Hed be en doing that every fiveminutes for about the last twelve hours, and his nerves were starting to fray.He didnt like sledding Hannah alone. Of course, the ring would protect her when she was away from thehouse, and the amulet hed buried in her backyard would protect the house itself. It was a strong amulet,made for him by Grandma Harman, the oldest and most sizeable witch in the world, the Crone of theInner Circle. It set wards around the house, so that no Night Person could enter without a directinvitation from somebody who lived privileged. He still didnt like leaving Hannah alone.Only a little while longer, he told himself. It had taken him most of last night and all of today to peal inenough of his own people to set up a plan for watching over Hannah.Shed told him to go away, and he had. Her word was law to him. exclusively that didnt mean he couldnt haveher guarded. She need never realize that therewere Night People around her, watching and waiting in the shadows-and ready to fight to the death ifany danger appeared.Lupe had been right. He couldnt deal with this alone. And now he was going to have to rely on otherpeople to keep Hannah safe.Thierry looked at his watch again. It was nine oclock at night, and he was almost tempted to give up onCirce. entirely only a witch of her power could set up the kind of heavy-duty wards that would protectHannah wherever she went in Amador County.He kept waiting. As he did, he stared at a gun rack on the wall and tried to keep his brain turned off. Itdidnt work.Ever since hed awoken Hannah from her hypnotic trance, hed been trying very hard not to think aboutthe old days. But now, he found himself being irresistibly drawn back-not only thinking about them, butreliving them. Traveling back in his mind to the boneheaded young man he had been.He hadnt been the first vampire. He didnt have that distinction.He had only been the second.Hed grown up in the tribe of Maya and Hellewise. The Maya and Hellewise, the twin dau ghters ofHecate enthrall Queen. The Maya and Hellewise who would go down as the two greatest figures in NightWorld history Hellewise Hearth-Woman as the ancestress of the Harman family, the most famous of theliving witches, and Maya as the ancestress of both the lamia and the made vampires.But of course he knew nothing about that at the time.All he knew was that they were both pretty girls. Beautiful. Hellewise had long yellow hair and deepbrown eyes. Maya had long black hair and eyes that glittered in different colors like the changing lights ina glacier. He care both babes very much. perhaps that was his downfall.Hed been a very ordinary fellow, with a good throwing arm, a delicate touch in carving ivory, and a light longing to see the world. Hed taken it for granted that his tribe was special, that they couldinfluence the weather and summon animals from the forest. They were the witch people, theyd beengranted special powers, and that was all. It wasnt anything to worry about. And, like everyone else, he knew that Maya was doing experiments in the forest, using her powers to tryand locomote immortal. But that didnt worry him particularly either.I was very young and very, very stupid, Thierry thought. That had been the real downfall of the tribe. Mayas desire to become immortal. Because shed beenwilling to pay any price for it, even to the point of becoming a monster and leaving a curse on all herdescendants. Maybe if Thierry and the other witch people had agnize that, they could have stopped herbefore it happened.Because Maya had ultimately found the right spell to achieve immortality. The problem was that to do it, shehad to detach the babies of the tribe. All four of them. She took them out to the forest, did the spell, anddrank their blood. Thierry and the rest of the tribe found the four little bled-out bodies later. Hellewise had cried all night. Thierry, who couldnt understand how the pretty girl he liked could havedone something so awful, cried , too. Maya herself had disappeared completely.But a some nights later she came to Thierry. He was keeping watch outside the cave when she appearedsilently beside him.She had changed.She wasnt the pretty girl he knew anymore. She was stunningly, dazzlingly beautiful. But she wasdifferent. She moved with the grace of a nighttime predator, and her eyes reflected the firelight.She was very pale, but that only made her more lovely. Her mouth, which had always been soft andinviting, seemed red as blood. And when she smiled at him, he saw her long pointed teeth.Hello, Theory, she said-that was his name back then. I want to make you immortal.Thierry was scared out of his mind.He had no idea what shed become-some weird creature with stirred teeth. But he knew he had nodesire at all to be like her.I really think its unfair, the way you go back and forth between me and Hellewise, she said casually,sitting down on the bare earth. So Ive decided to resolve the question. Youre going to be mine , nowand forever.She reached out and took his hand. Her fingers were very slender and very cold-and unbelievablystrong. Thierry couldnt pull away. He stared at his hand with his mouth open like the idiot he was.This was the time he should have started yelling, thrashing, doing anything to attract attention and getaway. But Maya seemed to hold him with her eyeslike a snake holding a bird. She was unnatural and evil but she was so beautiful.It was the first and the last time that Thierry would be fascinated by the beauty of pure evil-but it wasenough. He was doomed from that moment. Hed doomed himself.An instant of hesitation. He would pay for it for unimaginable years in the future.Its not so bad, Maya was saying, still fixing him with her terrible and lovely eyes. There are a fewthings I had to figure out-a few things I didnt expect. I thought drinking the blood of the babies would bethe end of it, but no. Thierry felt sick.Ive got these teeth for a reason, apparently. It seems I ha ve to drink the blood of a mortal creatureevery day, or I die. Its inconvenient, but I can live with it.Thierry mouth something beginning with, Oh, Hecate, Dark Mother-Now, stop that Maya made a sharp gesture. No praying, please, and especially not to that oldharridan. Im not a witch anymore. Im something completely new-I recollect I should think of a name formyself. Night-hunter blood-drinker I dont know, the possibilities are endless. Im going to start anew race, Theorn. Well be better than the witches, stronger, faster-and well live forever. Well neverdie, so well rule everyone. And youre going to be my first convert.No, Thierry said. He still thought he had a choice.Yes. Im going to have a baby-not with you, Im afraid I dont think youll be able to-and the baby willhave my blood. And Im going to give my blood to other people the way Ill give it to you now. Somedaythere wont be anyone in the world who wont have my blood. Its a nice thought, isnt it? She rested herchin on a fist and her eyes glittered.Hellewise will stop you, Thierry said flatly.My sister? No, I dont think so. Especially not since Ill have you to dish out me. She likes you, you know.It will be hard for her to kill somebody she likes so much.She wont have to. Ill kill you, Thierry snarled.Maya laughed out loud.You? You? Dont you know yourself yet? Youre not a killer-you dont have the guts for it. That willchange, of course, after I give you my blood. But you wont want to kill me then. Youll join me-and behappy. Youll see. She dusted off her hands as if a difficult negotiation had been accomplished and termshad been reached. Now. Lets do it.He was strong. He had that good throwing arm-he was dead accurate with a spear or a killing stick. Butshe was so much stronger that she could handle him like a baby. The first thing she did was clamp a handacross his mouth-because by this time it had occurred even to stupid Thierry that he was in very badtrouble, and that he needed help.There was no soun d of a struggle as she dragged him off into the bushes.Im afraid this is going to hurt, she said. She was lying on top of him, her eyes glittering into his. Shewas excited. At least, all the animals Ive caught seem to have found it very unpleasant. But its for yourown good.Then she ripped his throat out.That was what it felt like. And that was when he realized what those long canine teeth were for. Like anylynx or cave lion or wolf, she needed teeth to tear. Through the black waves of shock and pain, he heard her drinking.It lasted a long time. But finally, mercifully, he realized that he was dying. He took comfort in the thoughtthat the horror would soon be over.He couldnt have been more wrong. The horror was just beginning.When Maya lifted her head, her mouth was scarlet with his blood. Dripping. She wasnt beautiful anylonger, she was plainly fiendish.Now, she said. Im going to give you something that will make it all better.She pulled back and placed a fire-hardened splinter of wood at her own throat. She smiled at him.Maya had always been physically brave. And then, with a gesture almost of ecstasy, she plunged thesplinter in, sending blood spurting and spilling.Then she fell on top of him again.He didnt mean to swallow the blood that filled his mouth. But everything was so gray and unreal-and hestill had enough survival reflex left to not want to drown in it. The warm, strange-tasting liquid went downhis throat. It burned like fermented-berry wine.After she made him drink, he realized to his relief that he was still dying. He didnt know that he wasntgoing to stay dead. He felt her carrying him farther into the forest-he was completely limp now and didntput up any resistance-and then everything went black.When he woke up, hed been buried.He clawed himself up out of the shallow grave and found himself looking into the astonished face of hisbrother Conlan. The tribe had buried him in the conventional way-in the soft dirt at the back of the cave.In the minu te before his brother could yell in surprise, Thierry was at his throat.It was animal instinct. A thirst inside of him like nothing he had ever known. A pain that was like beingunderwater-being strangled-gasping for air. It made him desperate, made him insane. He didnt think atall.He simply tried, mindlessly, to tear at his brothers throat.What stopped him was someone calling his name. Calling it over and over, in great pain. When helooked around, he saw Hellewise, her brown eyes grand and spilling with tears, her mouth trembling.The expression on her face would haunt him forever.He ran out of the cave and kept running. Behind him, just faintly, he could hear Hellewises voice,Theorn, Ill stop her. I swear to you, Ill stop her.He realized later that it was all Hellewise could offer him. She knew that his curse was permanent. Whathe was now, he would be forever.There wasnt a name for it then, but he was the first made vampire. Maya, who would have a son just as she promised, was the first of the lamia, the family vampires who could grow up and have children. Andher son, Red Fern, would be the theme of the Redfern family, the most powerful lamia family in theNight World.Thierry didnt know any of that as he ran. He only knew he had to get away from people, or he wouldhurt them.Maya caught up with him while he was frantically trying to quench his thirst by drinking from a stream.Youre going to make yourself sick, she said, inspecting him critically. You cant drink that. Its bloodyou need.Thierry jumped up, shaking with fury and hatred and weakness all mixed together. What about yours?he snarled.Maya laughed. How sweet. But it wont do. You need the blood of living creatures. She wasnt at allafraid of him, and he remembered how strong she had been. He was no match for her.He turned and began to stumble off.Maya called after him, You cant do it, you know. You cant get away from me. Ive chosen you,Theorn. Youre mine, now and forever. And in the end youll realize that and join me.Thierry kept going. He could hear her laughing as he went.He lived on the steppes for several weeks, wandering across the high windswept grasslands. He wasmore an animal than anything resembling a person. The thirst inside him made him desperate-until hestumbled over a rabbit. The next instant he found that he was holding it, biting into its throat. His teethwere like Mayas now-long, sensitive, and perfect for tearing or puncturing. And she was right, only theblood of a living creature could help the burning, suffocating feeling inside him.He didnt catch food very often. Every time he drank it reminded him of what he was.He was starving when he finally came to the Three Rivers.He didnt see the little girl out picking spring greens until he was on top of her. He burst out of a pile ofbrush, panting with thirst like a wounded deer-and there she was, looking up at him. And then everythingwent dark for a while.When he came to himself, he stopped drinking. He needed the food, he would die in terrible agonywithout it-but he dropped the girl and ran. Hanas people found him a little while later.And they did exactly what hed expected any tribe to do-they saw that he was an abomination andbrandished spears at him. He expected them to kill him at any minute. He didnt realize yet-and neitherdid they-that a creature like him took some killing.And then he saw Hana.