Hey Iknow its been a while but I had a case of slacker syndrome and I have a school project coming up thats gonna take all March to do! UGH! I'll up date after i finish that.
Anyway on to the story tallyho
I own nothing by... uh... LJ Smith
God, it stank
That first sentence seemed to ease the tension in the room because everyone busted out laughing.
Once the laughter had died down and James caught his breath he started reading again.
Rashel Jordan had seen a lot of vampire liars in her seventeen years, but this was probably the most disgusting. She held her breath as she stirred the nest of tattered clothes with the toe of one boot. She could read the story of this collection of garbage as easily as if the inhabitant had written out a full confession, sighed it, and posted it on the wall.
Almost like an archeologist reading the story of the discoveries they find. Hannah thought.
One vampire. A rouge, an outcast who lived on the fringe of both the human world and the Night World.
Some of the Night People curled their lip at the rouge vampire
He probably moved to a new city every few weeks to avoid getting caught. And he undoubtedly looked like any other homeless guy, except that none of the human homeless would be hanging around a Boston dock on a Tuesday night in early March.
He brings his victims here, Rashel thought. The pier's deserted, its private, he can take his time with them. And he can't resist keeping a few trophies.
"It's vampires like that, that give us a bad name." James said looking up from the book.
"I've seen some of the worst kinds of vampires, but maybe not all of them are bad." Rashel said quietly. This was strange her beliefs had always been that all Night Worlders needed to be destroyed, yet sitting in this spell bound house with Night People that didn't seem so bad, though she wouldn't put it over some of them to change their viewpoints over humans just yet, her beliefs were changing not gone yet just shifting and she could tell the others way of thinking was starting to, too. Starting with the made vampire next to her.
James nodded and went back to reading.
Her foot stirred them gently. A pink-and-blue knit baby jacket, a plaid sash from a school uniform, a Spiderman tennis shoe. All bloodstained. All very small.
The girls sucked in a breath. Poppy's and Mary-Lynette's eyes filled.
"Who is this Spiderman" Delos asked his third question.
Jez rubbed her temples "Maggie were putting you in charge of his questions" she said
"Uh, alright" Maggie agreed, the she started to tell Delos of the fictional superhero.
There had been a rash of missing children lately. The Boston police would never discover were they had gone-but now Rashel knew. She felt her lips draw back slightly from her teeth in something that wasn't really a smile.
She was aware of everything around her: the soft splash of the water against the wooden pier, the rank coppery smell that was almost a taste, the darkness of the night that was lit by only a half moon.
Even the light moisture of the cold breeze against her skin.
Good instincts, Keller thought, to good to be purely human. As she looked at Rashel, she saw how much the looked alike, miner differences separated the fact that they almost looked identical. Her eyes widened, and she felt other eyes on her Keller turned, her older self was watching her look at Rashel. Keller smiled at her younger self and turned back to listen. Keller shook her head and resumed listing.
To bad I can't tell her, Keller thought to herself.
She was aware of it without being preoccupied with it-and when the tiny scratch sounded above her, she moved as smoothly and gracefully as of she were taking her turn in a dance.
She pivoted onher left foot, drawing her bokken in the same motion, and without a break the movement, she stabbed straight into the vampires heart.
Rashel gained some wide-eyed stares.
She's great thought Jez, who wasn't a run of the hill vampire hunter either.
Interesting, Quinn thought, she is a remarkable fighter
"And I thought vampire hunters didn't exist" Rowan said.
Rashel raised an eyebrow, "Why is that," she asked.
"We live on an island." Kestrel said " we don't get much information on the real world, but" Kestrel smiled "we know more about it than he does" she said pointing to Delos, who was asking Maggie something else.
Rashel nodded
She drove the blow from her hips, exhaling in a hiss as she did it, putting all her strength behind it.
"Gotta be faster than that," she said
The vampire, skewered like a hot dog, waved his arms and gibbered. He was dressed I filthy clothing and his hair was a bushy tangle. His eyes were wide, full of surprise and hatred, shining as silver as animal's in the faint light.
His teeth weren't so much fangs as tusks: fully extended they reached almost to his chin.
"Weird" Poppy said
Some of the other nodded
"I know," Rashel said "You really, really wanted to kill me. Life's tough isn't it?"
The teens snickered.
"No mercy." Said Quinn. It wasn't a question.
"None to those who don't deserve it" Rashel answered.
The vampire snarled one more time and then the silver went out of his eyes, leaving only the look of astonishment. His body stiffened and slumped backward. It lay still on the ground.
Grimacing, Rashel pulled her wooden sword out of the chest-
"Why do you have a wooden sword," Gillian asked.
"Wood is one of the few things that can kill a vampire," Quinn said.
"Great why don't you tell them what can hurt us," Morgead said sarcastically.
"Its not like they won't find out" Quinn shot back.
While the two shot glares at each other James went on reading.
She started to wipe the blade on the vampire's pants, then hesitated, peering at them more closely. Yes, they were defiantly little crawly things. And the blankets were just as repulsive.
Oh, well use your own jeans.
It won't be the first time.
She carefully wiped the bokken clean. It was two and a half feet long and just slightly, gracefully curved, with a narrow, sharp angled tip. Designed to penetrate a body efficiently as possible-if that body was susceptible to wood.
"That's not something you want to mess with," Galen said. The teens turned to him they had forgotten he was in the room.
"Definitely not" Jez agreed, she was scanning Rashel wondering who this girl could be.
"It be best to remember that if you ever try to fight her," Rowan said glancing about the room.
The wood slipped back into its sheath with a papery whisper. Then Rashel glanced at the body again.
Mr. Vampire going mummified. His skin was now yellow and tough; his staring eyes were dried up, his lips shrunken, his tusks collapsed.
"Gross," Poppy said. Then glanced at James
"Sorry" she said
"Its okay it's what happens when we die" he said, smiled, then went on reading.
Rashel bent over him, reaching into her back pocket. What she pulled out looked like the snapped off end of a bamboo backscratcher- which it was exactly what it was.
Very precisely, Rashel drew the five lacquered fingers the vampire's forehead. On the yellow skin five brown marks appeared, like the marks of a cat's claws. Vampire skin is easy to mark after death
The Cat! Rang through Quinn's head, he had heard of marks like that appearing on dead vampires around different states they symbolized the mark of The Cat. He glanced at the girl sitting next to him he knew she was a vampire hunter but not the vampire hunter. He hoped the others wouldn't find out or a fight would break loose.
But Jez knew she had heard of The Cat no wonder she knew how to fight, Jez thought.
"Why did you mark the vampire," Gillian asked.
"She-" Quinn turned a cold gaze on Jez and she shut up.
"Its just something I've done since I killed my first vampire" Rashel said cautiously, she looked at Quinn and Jez something seemed to be passing between them.
"This kitten has claws," she murmured. It was a ritual sentence; she'd repeated it ever since the night she killed her first vampire at the age of twelve.
Eyes widened around the room but no said anything.
In memory of her herself at age five, and all the innocence she'd lost. She'd never be a helpless kitten again.
"I don't think you were ever helpless," Theirry said, "You were able to scare and run off Hunter Redfern that's no small feat"
Rashel didn't seem convinced she hadn't been able to help Timmy or her mother.
Besides, it was a little joke.
Vampires… bats. Herself… a cat. Anybody who'd grown up with Batman or Catwoman would get it.
There was no snickering this time only full out laughing.
"You have an interesting imagination when you're hunting" Keller said
"Well its true Batman and Catwoman were always corralling." Mark said. Jade looked at him funny and he answered her questions about the super heroes.
"Two races always colliding," Quinn said. Rashel stared at him, he turned to her and something in her stomach turned, his eyes were black and bottomless, also they held something she couldn't pinpoint. Rashel looked away.
Well. All done. Whistling softly, she rolled the body over and over with her foot to the end of the pier. She didn't feel like carting the mummy all the way to the fens, the salt marshes where bodies were traditionally left in Boston. With a mental apology to everybody who was trying to clean up the harbor, she gave the corpse a final push and listened for the splash.
She was still whistling as she emerged from the pier on to the street. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go…
"You must have watched a lot of Disney when you were little," Hannah commented.
Rashel just nodded.
She was in a very good mood. The only disappointment was the constant one, that it hadn't been the vampire, the one she'd been looking for ever since she was five years old. It had been a rouge, all right- a depraved monster who killed human kids foolishly close to human habitations. But it hadn't been the rogue.
Rashel would never forget his face his face. And she knew that someday she would see it again.
And now that I know who it is I'm going to find hi, Rashel thought to herself.
Meanwhile, there was nothing to do but shish-kebab as many of the parasites as possible.
"Parasite?" Quinn asked, he looked almost hurt.
"You feed off other peoples blood" Rashel answered, for some reason she felt bad about the nicknames vampire hunters used, but the feeling was squelched "You call us vermin" she stated.
Quinn didn't answer, he didn't want to answer her, although she was right.
"Okay," James said awkwardly, Poppy was looking at him wondering if he thought of her that way, as vermin.
James read her mind and shook his head, Poppy smiled.
She scanned the streets as she walked, alert for any sign of Night People. All she saw were quit brick buildings
"Well I don't think they would be talking" Morgead muttered under his breath
And streetlights shining pale gold.
And that was a shame, because she was in terrific form tonight; she could feel it. She was every blood sucking leech's worst enemy.
Is that true. Ash thought sarcastically
Yes. Quinn answered him braking into Ash's barrier for a moment. The younger vampire looked startled. Quinn smirked.
She could stake six of them before breakfast and still be fresh for chemistry first period Wassaguscus High school
Jez snorted "Is that really the name?" she asked
Rashel sighed "Sadly, yes"
Rashel stopped suddenly, absentmindedly melting into the shadow as a police car cruised silently down the cross street head. I know, she thought. I'll go see what the Lances are up too.
Uh, oh, Rashel thought. The Lancers were a vampire-hunting organization; Rashel glanced around the room the Night Worlders were watching James read, she didn't want to expose who the Lancers were or where they were to any of the Night People in the room.
"Who are the Lancers" Hannah asked
"No one" Rashel said. She got some strange looks from irritation to confusion.
If anybody knew where vampires are, they do
"No one, huh" Ash said
"Shut up" Rashel growled, she was reaching for her bokken to try and slice the book in half, even if was her future.
Keller appeared in front of her with in human speed "I wouldn't try that, the books have wards on them they're indestructible try it and who knows what could happen." It closed her throat to talk to her sister like that but she didn't want Rashel doing anything she would regret.
Well that stopped any plans of destroying the books, she could try to hit the vampire but right now there were to many by standers and other Night People trapped in the house of one was killed they would never get out.
Rashel saw James had stopped reading and everyone was staring, Rashel didn't like being the center of attention she slide the sword back in its sheath and sat back. Keller went back to were her and Galen were sitting. James shook his head and went back to reading
She headed for the North End. Half an hour later she was standing in front of a brownstone apartment building, ringing the buzzer.
"Who's there?"
Instead of answering, Rashel said, "The night has a thousand eyes."
"And the day only one," came the reply from the intercom.
Great it even mentions the codes to get in, Rashel fumed at the book.
"Hey there, girl. Come on up."
Inside Rashel climbed a dark and narrow to a scarred wooden door. There was a peephole in the door. Rashel faced it squarely, then pulling off the scarf she'd been wearing, It was black, silky, and very long. She wore it wrapped around her like a veil, so that only her eyes showed, and even they were in shadow.
She shook out her hair. Knowing that the person on the other side could see. A tall girl, dressed like a ninja, all in black, with black hair falling loose around her shoulders, and green eyes blazing. She hadn't changed much since she was five except in height. Right now she made a barbaric face at the peephole and heard the sound of laughter behind the door as bolts were drawn.
She waited until the door was shut behind her again before she said, "Hi, Elliot."
Elliot was a few years older than she was, and thin, with intense eyes, and little shiny glasses that were always slipping off his nose. Some people would have dismissed him as a geek. But Rashel had once seen him stand up to two werewolves while she got a human girl out the window, and she knew he practically single handedly started the Lancers- one of the most successful organizations of vampire hunters on the east coast.
"He could be a dangerous enemy," Theirry muttered.
"Don' think about hurting him, leech," Rashel snapped.
Theirry held up his hands, as if to surrender "I wouldn't think about it. I simply meant that if this Eliot started such a successful organization, he could be a threat to the Night World not to mention he actually knows about the Night World. Punishment is death he posses a threat to himself for just knowing" Theirry retorted.
Rashel fixed him with a cold glare then turned for James to finish.
"What's up, Rashel? It's been a while."
"I've been busy. But now I'm bored. I came to see if you guys had anything going." As Rashel spoke, she was looking at the other people in the room: A brown haired girl was kneeling, loading objects from boxes into a dark green backpack. Another girl and a boy were sitting on the couch. Rashel recognized the boy from other Lancers meetings, but neither of the girls were familiar.
"Lucky you," Elliot said. "This is Vicky, my new second in command." He nodded at the girl on the floor. "She just moved to Boston; she was leader of a group on the south shore. And tonight she's taking a little expedition out to some warehouse in Mission Hill. We got a lead that there's been some activity out there."
"What kind of activity? Leeches, puppies?
Some of the Night Teens snickered at the were- wolves nickname ignoring the parasite comment.
Elliot shrugged. "Vampires definitely. Werewolves maybe. There's been a rumor about teenage girls getting kidnapped and stashed somewhere around there.
This is a problem, Quinn thought, they know about the girls.
The problem is we don't know exactly were, or why." He tilted his head, his eyes twinkling.
"You want to go?"
"Isn't anybody going to ask me?" Vicky said, straighting up from her backpack. Her pale blue eyes were fixed on Rashel. "I've
never even seen this girl before. She could be one of them"
"I don't like her" Rashel mumbled, Quinn glanced at her.
Elliot pushed his glasses higher on his nose. He looked amused. "You wouldn't say that if you knew, Vicky. Rashel's the best."
"At what?"
"At everything. When you were going to your fancy prep school, she was out in the Chicago slums staking vampires. She's been in L.A., New York, New Orleans… even Vegas.
The Night Worlders glanced at her they wondered how far in Vegas she went or what she knew about it.
"Wow, you've been everywhere" Mark said
Rashel just shrugged.
She's wiped out more parasites than the rest of us put together." Elliot glanced mischievously at Rashel, then leaned toward Vicky.
"Ever heard of the Cat?"
Oh, great, James thought, he shouldn't have read that part.
Eyes turned to Rashel; some widened others narrowed. Morgead and Ash jumped up and looked ready to fight. Rashel got to her feet grabbing her bokken on the way. Jez was trying to get Morgead to sit back down but he wouldn't listen.
"You're the Cat." Ash said.
"Right "Rashel said watching both vampires for any sign to say if they were about to strike.
"Who's the Cat?" Maggie asked looking warily at the three teens, which were staring each other down.
"The Cat," Galen started "is a vampire hunter who is wanted by the Night World for killing so many vampires, she the best." Galen knew he and Keller should step in like before but this was something that would help this pair, Rashel and Quinn, of young soulmates. To see what they would do now, with the principle just taking effect, stand by or help?
A hushed silence fell over the room the kids sitting down watched vampire and vampire hunter watch each other to see who would strike first, knowing it wouldn't do much to get involved. Jez was still trying to get Morgead down, Mary-Lynette was trying to stop Ash, Eric and Thea sat looking at this disapprovingly, James shook his head Poppy stared glad her brother wasn't there he would be acting as a psychiatrists, Theirry was getting up about to stop this when Keller caught his attention she slightly shook her head he sat back muscles till tense Hannah wasn't sure how to intervene, Gillian let her hair fall in front of her face again David looked down at her, Delos was watching interested while Maggie wanted this to stop, Quinn looked from Ash to Morgead watching and waiting, the three sisters watched their brother, Mark was trying to assist Mary-Lynette, Keller and was ready to take shape when ready, Galen was wondering if he should try to take a shape to help.
This was getting hazardous.
The two vampires never looked away from Rashel but she knew they were communicating telepathically then the deadly silence was broken. Eyes went silver, fangs came out, and they lunged Rashel moved instinctively heading toward Ash she put her sword up not cutting just blocking holding this position with an angry vampire on the other side. She was prepared to throw him back and handle Morgead but his attack never came, confused Rashel glanced behind her there was Morgead angry as ever with Quinn holding him by the shoulders keeping him away from Rashel. She was still confused but a little glad for the help, but she didn't need his help.
"I don't need your help," she said through gritted teeth.
"To bad" Quinn argued.
Rashel scowled then swung the sword forward putting all her weight into, like baseball player, it and knocked Ash back. This was enough proof the principle was working, Galen looked at Theirry, Theirry nodded and jumped up as Ash backed onto the couch Theirry moved behind it and clamped onto Ash shoulders and pushed him back into a sitting position holding the struggling vampire down. Quinn threw Morgead back with somewhat ease Jez grabbed him and held him still on the couch.
"Are you crazy?" Jez hissed at him
"That's enough" Quinn almost yelled, "That was irrational and just idiotic!"
"You could have hurt any one in this room" Keller chided.
The two vampires glared venomously, eyes still silver.
"She's the Cat" Morgead argued, " She killed lots of us and the Night World is looking for her. How can you just let her stand there?" pointing to Rashel, near the middle of the floor.
"Your impatient!" Keller snapped "We've killed her people too," she admitted knowing they wouldn't like but said it anyway we need her you'll see soon" her anger seemed to be fading, and then her face-hardened, again " If you pay attention you two will actually learn something while we're reading!"
The two vampires stopped struggling Theirry and Jez let go keeping a trained eye on the two. And the two kept an eye on Rashel.
Rashel and Quinn were sitting back down when there shoulders hit each other stringer than before, and Rashel felt another jolt not unpleasant just…different. But that wasn't the strange part her mind was somewhere else a dark, cold place with some panic she realized it was Quinn's mind. With another shock she realized he was in her mind too.
She knew him what he was,
"What's happing?" she questioned not happy about being in the vampires head.
"I don't know," he growled, not to happy with the arrangement either but amazed at the same time. And Rashel could feel that. They stayed like that not looking at each other and their minds open, not sure how to close the link.
James picked up the book again.
Hostility still showed clearly in the room.
He took a breath and read.
That was the only thing that closed the link between the two minds.
The severed link was almost saddening to the two.
Vicky's head snapped up. She stared at Rashel. "The Cat? The one all Night People are afraid of?
Morgead and Ash rolled their eyes, sure, they thought
The one they're offering a reward for? The one who leaves a mark-"
Rashel shot Elliot a warning look. "Never mind," she said. She wasn't sure she trusted these new people. Vicky was right about one thing: you couldn't be too careful.
And she didn't like Vicky much, but she could hardly turn down such a good opportunity for vampire hunting.
"Of course you couldn't" Ash said spitefully.
Well he got smacked and electrocuted. (a/n not a hard guess as to who hit him) The two jumped again and Gillian turned to look at them, they looked away guilty.
Not tonight, when she was in such terrific form.
"I'll go with you- if you'll have me," she said
Vicky's pale blue eyes bored into Rashel a moment, then she nodded. "Just remember I'm in charge.
"I don't like her" Maggie said, thinking of her brothers new girl friend, Sylvia.
Many nodded in agreement.
"Sure," Rashel murmured. She could see Elliot's grin out of the corner of her eye.
"You know Steve and that's Nyala." Elliot indicated the boy and girl on the couch. Steve had blond hair, muscular shoulders, and a steady expression; Nyala had skin like cocoa and a far away look in her eyes. as if she were sleepwalking. "Nyala's new. She just lost her sister a month ago," Elliot added in a gentle voice. He didn't need to say how the sister had been lost.
Rashel nodded at the girl. She sympathized. There was nothing like the shock of first discovering the Night World, when you realized that things like vampires, werewolves, and witches were real, and that they were everywhere, joined in one giant secret organization. That anybody could be one, and you'd never know until it was too late.
"Everybody ready? Then lets go." Vicky said, and Steve and Nyala got up. Elliot showed them the door.
"Good luck," he said.
Outside, Vicky led the way to a dark blue car with mud strategically caked on the license plates.
"We'll drive to the warehouse area," she said.
Rashel was relived. She was used to walking the city streets at night without being seen-important when you're carrying a rather unconcealable sword-
"I could imagine it" Quinn said dryly
Rashel rolled her eyes
But she wasn't sure if these other three could manage. It took practice.
"And you've had plenty, haven't you." Morgead said, still angry. Jez clamped a hand over his mouth, the room echoed with the smack.
The drive was silent except for the mummer of Steve's voice occasionally helping Vicky with directions. They passed through respectable neighborhoods and venerable areas with handsome old buildings until they got to a street where everything changed suddenly. All at once, as if they had crossed some invisible dividing line, the gutters were full of soggy trash and the fences were toped with razor wire. The buildings were government housing projects, dark warehouses or roudy bars.
"Nice place" David said sarcastically, Gillian looked up at him, he looked down at her, she turned away.
Vicky pulled into a parking lot and stopped the car away from the security lights. Then she led them through knee-length dead weeds of a vacant lot to a street that was poorly lighted and utterly silent. "This is the observation post," Vicky whispered, as they reached a squat brick building, a part of the housing project that had been abandoned. Following her they zigzagged through debris and scrap metal to get to a side door, and then climbed a dark staircase covered with graffiti to the third floor. Their flashlights provided the only illumination.
"Nice place," Nyala whispered, looking around.
The teens grinned and looked at David. "That's just freaky," he said. Gillian nodded.
"It really kind of is," she said. The others agreed.
She had never seen anything like it before.
"Don't you think maybe-there may be other people here besides vampires?"
Steve gave her a reassuring pat. "No, its okay."
"Yeah, it looks even the junkies have abandoned it," Rashel said, grimly amused.
"You could see the whole street from the window," Vicky put in shortly. "Elliot and I were here yesterday. Watching those warehouses across the street. And last night we saw a guy at the end of the street who looked a lot like a vampire. You know the signs."
Nyala opened her mouth to as if to say she didn't know the signs, but Rashel was already speaking.
"Did you test him?"
"We didn't want to get that close. We'll do it tonight if he shows up again."
"How do you test them?" Nyala asked.
Vicky didn't answer. She and Steve had pushed aside a couple of rat chewed mattresses and were unloading the bags and backpacks they brought.
Rashel said, "One way is to shine a flashlight in their eyes. Usually you get eyeshine back- like an animal's"
The vampires looked at Rashel
"Were not all like animals," Theirry said
"Some of us are good" James stated, not looking at his cousin.
"Well" Rashel started "From what I've seen there are few vampires that actually can be good. Others are like the ones that killed my mother
"True but some of us are good" Theirry tried again.
Rashel looked away before she would have denied every thing Theirry said but things were changing sense being in this room, the starting process was over everyone was changing. Some were still in denial about it but they knew it was happening.
Whether they want it to or not.
"There are other ways, too," Vicky said, setting the things she was unloading on the floor. There were ski masks, knives made of both metal and would, and a number of stakes of various sizes, and a mallet.
"Why a ski mask?" Hannah asked with a confused expression
"You can't let the vampire know who you are or the Night World can track you down and inforce the punishment." Rashel said solemnly
"Oh" said Hannah meekly.
Steve added two clubs made of white oak to the pile.
"Wood hurts them more than metal," Vicky said to Nyala. "If you cut them with a steel knife they heal right before your eyes- but cut them with wood and they keep bleeding."
Rashel didn't quite like the way she said it. And she didn't like the last thing Vicky was pulling out of her backpack. It was a wooden device that looked a bit like a miniature stock. Two hinged blocks of wood that fit snugly around a person's wrists and closed with a lock.
"Vampire handcuffs," Vicky said proudly, seeing her look.
The vampires looked appalled
"Who would create something like that?" Jez asked, she as a vampire hunter herself had seen ways of trapping a vampire but nothing like that.
Rashel shook her head "Apparently Vicky." And in an undertone she added, "and she seems to be the type that would make something like that."
Quinn heard and had to hide a grin.
"Well" Quinn said recovering from the grin that had threatened to spread across his face "On the South coast those have been reported to be seen on vampires after they had been tortured"
Gasps could be heard around the room.
"That's horrible" Mary-Lynette said
Quinn shrugged "But its hunt or be hunted" he said with no emotion.
"That's not the way it should be" Poppy disagreed
Quinn just shrugged again and on that happy note James started reading
"Made of white oak. Guaranteed to hold any parasite. I brought them from down south.
"But hold them from what? And what do you need all those little knives and stakes for? It would take hours to kill a vampire with those."
Vicky smiled fiercely. "I know."
Oh. Rashel's heart seemed to thump then sink, and she looked away to control her reaction. She understood what Vicky had in mind now.
Torture.
"That's barbaric" Thea said
And Rashel agreed though she didn't voice it having the enemy not attacking while you slowly injured them wasn't honorable.
"A quick death is to good for them," Vicky said, still smiling. "They deserve to suffer- the way they make our people suffer."
James had to keep his voice level reading this. He knew it was true though most vampires did hurt the humans.
"Besides, we might get some information. We need to know where they're keeping the girls they kidnap, and what they're doing to them."
"Good luck with that" Ash said, it was the first time he'd spoken since the showdown.
"Vicky," Rashel spoke earnestly. "Its practically impossible to make vampires talk. They're stubborn. When they're hurt they just get angry- like animals"
Vicky smirked. "I've made some talk. It just depends what you do, and how long you make it last. Anyway there's no harm in trying"
"What's wrong with her?" Maggie asked shaking her head
"I'm not sure" Rashel said " But what ever made her get into the vampire hunting business it must have been hard."
"No offence," Poppy said, " But your entrance in to vampire hunting wasn't to nice either, your mother was killed in front of you."
"True, but I found honorable teachers who taught me about vampire hunting." She saw the looks the vampires were giving her and said, " Well they taught me how to fight honorably"
"And that, torture, isn't right" There her thoughts were out in the open she never thought she would be telling Night People about how she fights and were she learned it. But she also never thought she would be in a book with Quinn, someone she hoped she'd never meet. Maybe that thought was changing too?
"Does Elliot know about this?"
Vicky lifted a shoulder defensively. "Elliot lets me do things my way. I don't' have to tell him every little detail. I was a leader my self, you know."
Helplessly, Rashel looked at Nyala and Steve.
And saw that for the first time Nyala's eyes had lost their sleepwalking expression. Now she looked awake- and savagely glad.
"Yes," she said. " We should try to make the vampire talk. And if he suffers- well, my sister suffered. When I found her, she was almost dead but she could still talk. She told me what it felt like, having all the blood drained out of her body while she was still conscious. She said it hurt. She said…" Nyala stopped, swallowed, and looked at Vicky.
"I want to help do it," she said thickly.
Steve didn't say anything, but then from what Rashel knew of him, that was typical. He was a guy of few words. Anyway, he didn't protest.
Rashel felt odd, as if she were seeing the very worst of herself reflected in a mirror. It made her…ashamed. It left her shaken.
But who am I to judge? She thought, turning away. It's true that the parasites are evil, all of them. The whole race needs to be whipped out.
And Vicky's right, why should they have a clean death, when they usually don't give their victims one? Nyala deserves to avenge her sister.
At least that's what I used to think, Rashel thought grimacing.
"Unless you object or something," Vicky said heavily, and Rashel could feel those pale blue eyes in her. "Unless you're some kind of vampire sympathizer."
Rashel might have laughed at that, but she wasn't in a laughing mood. She took a breath, then said without turning around, "It's your show. I agreed that you were in charge."
"Good," Vicky said, and returned to her work.
But the sick feeling I the pit of Rashel's stomach didn't go away. She almost hoped the vampire wouldn't show.
"That's it" James said, " who wants to read know?"
"I will" Mary-Lynette said retrieving the book from James. When she sat back down Ash asked
"Why would you want to read?" Ash asked.
"Because I'm curious and now I have something to smack you with," she replied sweetly.
The room was full of snickers.
Once that was over Mary-Lynette turned to the next chapter.
Well there it is Ill try to post after the project untill then please review i did my best