Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 9

Mary-Lynnettes hearing had g ane funny. Sheheard kestrels words like a character remembering aphrase In a naughty movie. Kill them, protrude them, kill them. go over laughed In a real(prenominal) strange way.This is press release to be really rotten for him, MaryLynnette thought, curiously dispassionate. I mean, if wewere going apart tolive through this, which were not, it would be really rotten for him. He was al effectuate afraidoflady friends, and sort of pessimistic ab start life in general wherefore dont we all sit down? rowan tree give tongue to with astifled sigh. Weve got to figure this out. crossbreed threw bet on his head and gave an former(a)wise shortbark of a laugh.Why not? he verbalise. Lets all sit down, wherefore not?Theyre fast as whippets, Mary-Lynnette thought.If we give-up the ghost now, theyll catch us. however If we sit, and they consider comfortable, and I distract them-or hitthem with somethingSitl she ordered retick briskly. rowan tree and Kest rel moved away from the cervid and sit. taxicabs overlyd with her detainment on her hips for a moment, indeed sat,too.Sitting, Mark was still acting punch-drunk. Hewaved the great mullein almost. You girls aresomethingelse.You girls are really-Were vampires, wear off said sharply.Yeah. Mark laughed quietly to himself. Yeah, he said again.Mary-Lynnette took the flash easy away from him. She wanted control of it. And it was heavy plastic andmetal. It was a weapon.And while one layer of her mind was thinkingShine the light in their eyesat and the rightmoment andthenhit oneof them another part was thinkingShemeans theyrepeoplewhothinktheyre vampirespeoplewiththat supernatural disease that makes them anemic and one final part was sayingYou qualification as strong exhibitittheyrereal.Mary-Lynnettes world view had been knocked rightout of the ballpark.Dont you justhate that, Mark was saying. You meet a girl and she check overms pretty nice and you class all your friends and then before you hit the sack it she turnsout to be avampire.Dont you just hate it whenthat happens?Oh. God, hes hysterical, Mary-Lynnette realized. She grabbed his shoulder and hissed in his ear, Get agrip, now.,I dont see what the point is in talking to them,rowan tree, Kestrel was saying. You crawl in what we relieve oneself todo.And Rowan was rubbing her forehead. I was thinkingwe strength influence them, she said in anundertone.You know why that wont work. Kestrels fathom was loopy and flat.Why? fornicatress said sharply.They followed us for a reason, Rowan saidtiredly. She nodded toward the hole. So theyvebeen suspicious for a while-for how prospicient? She looked at Mary-Lynnette.I saw you dig the hole Tuesday night, MaryLynnette said. She nodded toward the hole. Is thatyour aunt in there?There was a brief silence and Rowan looked selfconscious. then she inclined her head slightly.Gracefully.Oh, hell, Mark said. His eyes were shut and his head was bankroll on his neck. Oh, hell. Theyvegot Mrs. B. in a bag.Two days, Rowan said to hack writer. Theyve surmise for two whole days. And we cant removememories that are interlaced with other things for that spacious. Wed neer know if we got them all.Well, we could just takeeverything for the last two days, bore said.Kestrel snorted. And take hold two more(prenominal) people wandering around with lost clip?Mary-Lynnettes mind went click. Todd Akers andVic Kimble, she said. You did something to givethem amnesia.I knew there had to be a connection.Theres no other choice for us, Kestrel said quietly to Rowan. And you know it as well as Ido.Shes not being malicious, Mary-Lynnette realized. except practical. If a lioness or a wolf or a falcon couldtalk, it would say the same thing. We have to either kill or die its as simple as that.Despite herself, Mary-Lynnette matt-up something like fascination-and respect.Mark had his eyes open now. And Rowan was looking for sad, so sad. Its awful, her expression said, butsomebody here is going to have to get damage.Rowan bowed her head, then lifted it to face MaryLynnette directly. Their eyes met, held. After amoment Rowans face changed slightly and she nodded.Mary-Lynnette knew that in that instant they werecommunicating without words. Each recognizing theother as an alpha female who was voluntary to fightand die for her kin.Meaning they were both big sisters.Yes, somebodys going to get hurt, Mary-Lynnette thought. You queer myfamily,I fight back.She knew Rowan understood. Rowan was going to really hate killing her.No, a voice said passionately, and MaryLynnette realized it was weary. And the next second dull was on her feet, give clenched, words erupting like a steam steam boiler exploding. No, youcantkillMark. I wontletyou.Rowan said, Jade, I know this is hard-Kestrel said, Jade, dont be a wimp-Jade was trembling, body tensed like a cat ready to fight. Her voice was louder than either of them.You just cant do itl I think -Ithink- Jade-I thinkhes my soulmateDead silence.Then Rowan groaned. Oh, dearKestrel said, Oh,sure.They were both looking at Jade. Focused on her. Mary-Lynnette thought, now.She swung the flashlight viciously at Kestrel, absentminded to take her out first, betting that Rowan would staybehind if Kestrel were hurt. But the swing never connected, Mark threw himself in front of her, slamminginto her arm.Dont hurt JadeThen everything was just a mad tangle. Arms, legs,grasping hitchhikes, kicking feet. Jade and Mark bothyelling for it to stop. Mary-Lynnette matt-up the flashlight wrenched out of her hand. She make up long hair, gothold of it, yanked. Someone kicked her, and pain blossomed in her ribs.Then she felt herself being dragged backward Mark was holding her, pulling her away from thefight.Jade was lying on top of Kestrel and clutching at Rowan.Everybody was panting. Mark was or so crying.We just cant do this, he said. This is terrible.This is all wrong.Meanwhile Jade was snarling, Hes my sou lmate,okay? okay? I cant do anything with himdeadHes not your soulmate, idiot, Kestrel said in a somewhat muffled voice. She was facedown on thecarpet of needles. When youre soulmates, it hits you like lightning, and you know thats the one personin the world you were meant to be with. Youdontthink youre soulmates you just know its your micklewhether you like it or not.Somewhere, deep in Mary-Lynnettes brain, something stirred in alarm. But she had more urgentthingsto worry about.Mark, get out of here, she said schnorchellessly. ?Run?Mark didnt even ease his grip. Why do we have to be enemies?Mark, theyre killers .You cant justify that. They killed their own aunt.Three faces off-key toward her, startled. A one-half-fullmoon had risen above the trees, and Mary-Lynnettecould see them clearly.We didnot Jade said indignantly.What made you think that? Rowan asked.Mary-Lynnette felt her tattle hang open. Be causeyou buried her, for Gods sakelYes, but we found her dead. person staked h er, Kestrel said, brushingpine needles out of her roaring hair. Probably a vampire hunter. I dont suppose youd know anythingabout that.Mark gulped. Staked her-with a stake?Well, with a picket from the fence, Kestrel said. She was already dead? Mary-Lynnette saidtoRowan. But then why on earth did you bury herin the backyard?It would have been contumelious to leave her in the cellar.But why didnt you have her taken to a cemetery?Rowan looked dismayed.Jade said, Um, you havent seen Aunt Opal.Shes not looking so good, Kestrel said. Kind ofhard and stiff. You might say mummified.Its what happens to us, Rowan said almostapologetically.Mary-Lynnette slumped back against Mark, trying to get her new world view into place. Everything waswhirling.So you were just trying to hide her. But you did do something to Todd Akers and VicKim-Theyattackedus, Jade interrupted. They were thinking very bad things and they pinched ourarms.They-? Mary-Lynnette sat up suddenly. entirely at one time she un derstood. Oh, my God. Those jerksWhy hadnt she thought of that? Todd and Vielast year there bad been rumors about them saltation somegirl from Westgrove. So theyd tried it on these girls, and Mary-Lynnette gasped and then snorted with half inhaled laughter. Oh, no. Oh, I hope you got themgoodWe just bit them a little, Rowan said.I wish Id been there tosee it.She was laughing. Rowan was smiling. Kestrel was grin barbarically. And suddenly Mary-Lynnetteknew that they werent going to fight anymore.Everybody took a deep breath and sat back and looked at one another.They do look different from chemical formula humans, Mary-Lynnette thought, staring at them in the moonlight. Itsso obvious once you know.They wereinhumanly beautiful, of course. Rowanwith her soft chestnut hair and sweet face Kestrelwithher feral sleekness and golden eyes Jade with her delicate features and her hair like starshine. LiketheThree Graces, solitary(prenominal) when fiercer.Okay, Rowan said softly. We seem t o have asituation here. Now weve got to figuresomethingout.We wont tell on you, Mark said. He and Jadewere gazing at from each one other.Weve got Romeo and Juliet on our hands here is what weve got, Mary-Lynnette said toRowan.But Kestrel was speaking to Rowan, too. No outletwhatthey promise, how do we know we can believe them?Rowan considered, eyes roving around the clearing. Then she let out a long breath and nodded.Theres only one way, she said. Blood-tie.Kestrels eyebrowsflew up. Oh, really?What is it? Mary-Lynnette asked.A blood-tie? Rowan looked helpless. Well, its a chemical attraction ceremony, you know. WhenMary-Lynnette just looked at her, she went on It makes our families related. Its like, one of ourancestors did it with a family of witches.Witches, Mary-Lynnette thought. Oh gosh. Sowitches are real, too. I wonder how many other thingsare real that I dont know about?Vampires dont usually get along with witches, Rowan was saying. And HunterRedfern-thats ourancestor-had a real blood feud going with themback in the sixteen hundreds.But then he couldnt have kids, Jade said gleefully. And he needed a witch to help or thewholeRedfern familywould end with him. So he had to apologize and do a kinship ceremony. And thenhe had all daughters.Ha ha.Mary-Lynnette blinked. Ha ha?So, you see, were part witch. All the Redfern are, Rowan was explaining in her gentle teachingvoice.Our father used to say thats why were so disobedient, Jade said. Because its in our genes .Because in witchfamilies, womenare in charge.Mary-Lynnette began to like witches. Ha ha, shesaid. Mark gave her a skittish sideways look.The point is that we could do a ceremony like that now, Rowan said. It would make us familyforever. We couldnt betray each other.No problem, Mark said, still looking at Jade.Fine with me,Jade said, and gave him a quick, fierce smile.But Mary-Lynnette was thinking. It was a serious thing Rowan was talking about. You couldnt dosomething like this on a whim. It was wo rse than adopting a puppy it was more like getting married. Itwas a lifetimeresponsibility. And even if these girls didnt kill humans, they killed animals. With their teeth.But so did people. And not always for food. Wasit worse to drink deer blood than to make baby cowsinto boots?Besides, strange as it seemed, she felt dose to the three sisters already. In the last couple of arcsecondsshedestablished more of a relationship with Rowanthan she ever had with any girl at school. spell andrespect had turned into a weird kind of instinctive trust.And besidethat, what other real choice was there? Mary-Lynnette looked at mark, and then atRowan.She nodded slowly.Okay.Rowan turned to Kestrel.So Im supposed to decide, am I? Kestrel said.We cant do it without you, Rowan said. Youknow that.Kestrel looked away. Her golden eyes were narrowed. In the moonlight her visibility was absolutelyperfect against the darkness of trees. It would mean we could never go rest home again. Make ourselves kint o vermin? Thats what theydsay.Whos vermin? Mark said, jolted out of his communion with Jade.Nobody answered. Jade said, with odd dignity, Icant go home, anyway. Im in sock with an Outsider.And Im going to tell him about the Night World. SoIm dead no matter what. Mark was opening hismouth-to protest that Jade shouldnt take such arisk forhim,Mary-Lynnette thought-when Jade addedabsently, And so is he, of course.Mark shut his mouth.Rowan said Kestrel, weve come too far to go back.Kestrel stared at the forest for another minute orso. Then suddenly she turned back to the others,laughing. There was something wild in her eyes.All right, lets go the whole way, she said. Tell them everything. Break every rule. We might aswell.Mary-Lynnette felt a twinge. She hoped she wasntgoing to regret this. But what she said was Just howdo we do this-ceremony?Exchange blood. Ive never done it before, but its simple.It might be a little bit strange, though, Jade said because youll be a little bit vampire safterward.A little bit what? Mary-Lynnette said, her voice rising in spite of her.Just a little bit. Jade was measuring out tiny bitsof air between her index finger and thumb. Adrop.Kestrel cast a look skyward. Itll go away in a few days, she said heavily, which was whatMaryLynnette wanted to know.As long as you dont get yourself bitten by a vampire again in the meanwhile, Rowan added.Otherwise, its perfectly safe. Honestly.Mary-Lynnette and Mark exchanged glances. Not to discuss things, theyd gone(p) beyond that now. Justto brace themselves. Then Mary-Lynnette took a deep breath and flicked a bit of fern off her knee.Okay, she said, feeling lightheaded but determined. Were ready.