Part 10
It was almost dark by the time he'd arrived at the small town. In the middle of nowhere in Oregon. He wondered how she'd even managed to find this place at all. There was an aura about the town...something...different...about it...
A Night People town? Could be. There were Night People there. He could sense them.
His gaze drew to the old dilapidated house on the edge of town, only a dirt track leading to the main road that led into town. Supposedly deserted, but there was a light on in the top window.
His attention was momentarily distracted s he wondered who was in the house. Maybe a little mystery he'd have to solve once he was done with his task.
*She* was in this town. His lip curled. She thought she could run. Hide here. Blend in with the humans. She lacked one major thing - she wasn't human in the slightest. She may have all their characteristics, but she wasn't one and never would be one.
Neither would he, for that matter. He would never be human again.
And he would make her pay for that.
* * *
Juliana stood in front of her mirror, wondering vaguely if she should change for her date with Brandon. She wasn't all too sure about rituals for humans this time round. She should have paid more attention than panicking because of the unexpected vision. She knew the basics about what humans had to do every day, but wasn't too clear on how they interacted.
The only resources she had on how human teenagers acted came from TV shows, and books and magazines. The books were okay, she wasn't too sure about the magazines; they didn't really provide a lot of info not unless the person was someone famous, and famous people tended to act different from regular people. The constant commercials on the TV annoyed drove her nuts. They were every five damn minutes! It was way too irritating for her.
She would just have to learn by trial and error she supposed. When she had been a girl she had only needed to learn simple things that her mother taught her, never needing education. Girls reading was frowned upon. They were supposed to marry a rich man and maintain a household.
Boring.
It had been her sister's lust for a more interesting life and adventure that had been their downfall...
She shook her head abruptly, not wanting to think about her memories of her past. It was dead and buried, let it rest in peace.
She decided she might as well change. If it was wrong it was wrong.
But the question was what to wear? Juliana was jus used to wearing dark clothes and blending in with the shadows. But maybe it was that, her deliberate darkness that gave her an aura of darkness and differentness that made people stare.
This was too hard. Maybe she should just say the hell with it and go back to hiding. Maybe she wasn't cut out for human life after all. Why not just go back to being who she was *before* the Hunter had interrupted and face him once and for all...
No. Another bad idea. She hadn't killed a human since....
She sighed heavily, wondering why now she was suddenly being plagued with all these memories. It wasn't fair. She had never asked for any of this. She'd just played the hand that had been dealt to her.
She finally settled on a hot pink top with a sparkly gold design across the front and blue jeans. Should be okay...She eyed her reflection doubtfully. Did she stand out too much? She wondered how human girls managed to do this.
She was debating on the possibility of putting on makeup, but before she could decide either way the doorbell rang. She picked up her purse and took a deep, steadying breath. Glancing through the peep-hole she could see it was the tall blond guy she'd met at lunch.
He hadn't changed, she began to think she'd done something wrong, but there was only one way to find out. She opened the door and managed a weak smile. The smile he gave lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle. She could feel a warmth beginning to spread inside.
"Hi," he said. "You ready?"
"I guess." She stepped outside, locking the door behind her. The sky had darkened to an inky blue, and the stars had come out. Just being out in the night air made her feel so much better and more relaxed in her own element.
He started leading her to a soft-topped black car parked by the curb and opened the door for her. At least he was being polite. She slipped inside, impressed with the comfort of the leather seats.
As he got in himself and started the engine Juliana wasn't sure why she was suddenly getting goosebumps all down her arms. She didn't have body temperature, so what was it?
She was also getting the impression of being watched again, and didn't like it.
* * *
It was almost dark by the time he'd arrived at the small town. In the middle of nowhere in Oregon. He wondered how she'd even managed to find this place at all. There was an aura about the town...something...different...about it...
A Night People town? Could be. There were Night People there. He could sense them.
His gaze drew to the old dilapidated house on the edge of town, only a dirt track leading to the main road that led into town. Supposedly deserted, but there was a light on in the top window.
His attention was momentarily distracted s he wondered who was in the house. Maybe a little mystery he'd have to solve once he was done with his task.
*She* was in this town. His lip curled. She thought she could run. Hide here. Blend in with the humans. She lacked one major thing - she wasn't human in the slightest. She may have all their characteristics, but she wasn't one and never would be one.
Neither would he, for that matter. He would never be human again.
And he would make her pay for that.
* * *
Juliana stood in front of her mirror, wondering vaguely if she should change for her date with Brandon. She wasn't all too sure about rituals for humans this time round. She should have paid more attention than panicking because of the unexpected vision. She knew the basics about what humans had to do every day, but wasn't too clear on how they interacted.
The only resources she had on how human teenagers acted came from TV shows, and books and magazines. The books were okay, she wasn't too sure about the magazines; they didn't really provide a lot of info not unless the person was someone famous, and famous people tended to act different from regular people. The constant commercials on the TV annoyed drove her nuts. They were every five damn minutes! It was way too irritating for her.
She would just have to learn by trial and error she supposed. When she had been a girl she had only needed to learn simple things that her mother taught her, never needing education. Girls reading was frowned upon. They were supposed to marry a rich man and maintain a household.
Boring.
It had been her sister's lust for a more interesting life and adventure that had been their downfall...
She shook her head abruptly, not wanting to think about her memories of her past. It was dead and buried, let it rest in peace.
She decided she might as well change. If it was wrong it was wrong.
But the question was what to wear? Juliana was jus used to wearing dark clothes and blending in with the shadows. But maybe it was that, her deliberate darkness that gave her an aura of darkness and differentness that made people stare.
This was too hard. Maybe she should just say the hell with it and go back to hiding. Maybe she wasn't cut out for human life after all. Why not just go back to being who she was *before* the Hunter had interrupted and face him once and for all...
No. Another bad idea. She hadn't killed a human since....
She sighed heavily, wondering why now she was suddenly being plagued with all these memories. It wasn't fair. She had never asked for any of this. She'd just played the hand that had been dealt to her.
She finally settled on a hot pink top with a sparkly gold design across the front and blue jeans. Should be okay...She eyed her reflection doubtfully. Did she stand out too much? She wondered how human girls managed to do this.
She was debating on the possibility of putting on makeup, but before she could decide either way the doorbell rang. She picked up her purse and took a deep, steadying breath. Glancing through the peep-hole she could see it was the tall blond guy she'd met at lunch.
He hadn't changed, she began to think she'd done something wrong, but there was only one way to find out. She opened the door and managed a weak smile. The smile he gave lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle. She could feel a warmth beginning to spread inside.
"Hi," he said. "You ready?"
"I guess." She stepped outside, locking the door behind her. The sky had darkened to an inky blue, and the stars had come out. Just being out in the night air made her feel so much better and more relaxed in her own element.
He started leading her to a soft-topped black car parked by the curb and opened the door for her. At least he was being polite. She slipped inside, impressed with the comfort of the leather seats.
As he got in himself and started the engine Juliana wasn't sure why she was suddenly getting goosebumps all down her arms. She didn't have body temperature, so what was it?
She was also getting the impression of being watched again, and didn't like it.
* * *