Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 6

Whydidnt we precisely kill her? Kestrel asked. rowan and Jade looked at each other. T here were few things they agreed on, but 1 of them was by whole odds Kestrel.. First of altogether, we agreed not to do that here. Wedont use our powers-And we dont feed onhumans. Or kill them, Kestrel finished the chant. But you already employ yourpowers tonight you called Jade.I had to let her k directly what story Id just toldab sur lay out Aunt Opal. Actually, I should live plannedforthis earlier. I should have realized that people are going to get laid and ask where Aunt Opal is.Shes the exactly one whos asking. If we killed her-We cant just go killing people in our new home,Rowan state tightly. Besides, she said she had familywaiting for her. be we going to kill all of them?Kestrel shrugged.We arenotgoing to start a blood feud, Rowan said even more tightly.But what intimately influencing her? Jade said. Shewas school term with Tiggy in her fortify, kissing thevelvety portentous to p of the kittens head. Making her forget shes suspicious-or making her think she sawAunt Opal?That would be fine-if it were just her, Rowansaid patiently. But its not. ar we going to influenceeveryone who comes to the house? What to the highest degreepeople who call on the phone? What aboutteachers?You two are supposed to start school in a couple of weeks.may chanceing well just have to miss that, Kestrel said without regret.Rowan was shaking her head. We need a permanent solution. We need to find some reasonable rendering for why Aunt Opal is gone.We need to move Aunt Opal, Kestrel said flatly.We need to get rid of her.No, no. We might have to produce the body,Rowan said.Looking likethat?They began to argue about it. Jade rested her chin on Tiggys head and stared out the multipaned kitchenwindow. She was thinking about Mark Carter, who had such a olympian heart. It gave her a pleasantlyforbidden thrill just to picture him. Back home there werent some(prenominal) humans wanderi ng around free. Shecould never have been tempted to break NightWorld law and fall in love with one. But here yes, Jadecould almost imagine falling in love with Mark Carter. plainly as if she were a human girl.She shivered deliriously. But just as she was tryingto picture what human girls did when they were inlove, Tiggy gave a sudden heave. He twisted out of her arms and hit the kitchen floor running. The fur onhis back was up.Jade looked at the window again.She couldnt see anything. But she felt She turned to her sisters. Something was out there in the garden tonight, she said. And Icouldnt smellit.Rowan and Kestrel were still arguing. They didnt hear her.Mary-Lynnette opened her look and sneezed. Shed overslept. Sun was shining around the edges of herdark blue curtains.Get up and get to work, she told herself. But instead she lay rubbing sleep out of her eyes and tryingtowake up. She was a night person, not a morningperson.The room was outsize and painted twilight blue. Mary-L ynnette had stuck the glow-in-the-dark starsandplanets to the ceiling herself. Taped onto the dresser mirror was a bumper sticker saying I BRAKEFORASTEROIDS.On the walls were a giant relief map of the moon, a poster from the Sky-Gazers Almanac,and photographic prints of the Pleiades,theHorsehead Nebula, and the total eclipse of 1995.It was Mary-Lynnettes retreat, the place to go when people didnt understand. She always felt safeinthenight.She yawned and staggered to the bathroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on the way. She was brushwood her hair as she walked down the stairs when she comprehend voices from the living room.-252Claudines voice and a male voice. not Mark weekdays he usually went to his friend Benshouse.A stranger.Mary-Lynnette peeked by the kitchen. Therewas a guy sitting on the living room couch. She couldsee only the back of his head, which was ash blond. Mary-Lynnette shrugged and started to open therefrigerator, when she heard her own name.Mary-Lynnet te is very full(a) friends with her, Claudine was saying in her quick, lightly accentedvoice. I remember a few years ago she helped her fix up a goat shed.Theyre public lecture about Mrs. B.Why does she keep goats? I think she told Mary-Lynnette it would help since she couldnt get out thatmuch anymore.How strange, the guy said. He had a lazy, careless-sounding voice. I wonder what she meantbythat.Mary-Lynnette, who was at once peering intently through the kitchen while keeping absolutely still,sawClaudine give one of her slight, charming shrugs.I suppose she meant the milk-every day she has fresh milk now. She doesnt have to go to thestore. But I dont know. Youll have to ask her yourself. She laughed.-252Not going to be easy, Mary-Lynnette thought. Now, why would some strange guy be here askingquestions about Mrs. B.?Of course. He had to be police or something. FBI.But his voice made her wonder. He sounded tooyoung to be either, unless he was planning to infiltrate Dewitt High as a narc. Mary-Lynnette edged outlying(prenominal)therinto the kitchen, getting a better view.There-she could see him in the mirror.Disappointment coursed through her.Definitely not old enough to be FBI. And much asMary-Lynnette wanted him to be a keen-eyed, quickwitted, hard-driving detective, he wasnt. He was only the handsomest boy shed ever seen in her life.He was lanky and elegant, with long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles cut through under the coffeetable. He looked like a big amiable cat. He had deancut features, slightly tilted wicked eyes, and adisarming lazy grin.Not just lazy, Mary-Lynnette decided. Fatuous. Bland. Maybe even stupid. She wasnt impressed bygood looks unless they were the thin, brown, and interesting kind, like-well, like Jeremy Lovett forinstance. Gorgeous guys-guys who looked like bigash-blond cats-didnt have any reason to develop theirminds. They were self-centered and vain. With IQs barely high enough to keep a seat warm.And this guy looked as if he couldnt get awake orserious to save his life.I dont care what hes here for. Ithink Ill go upstairs.it was then that the guy on the couch lifted onehand, wiggling the fingers in the air. He half-turned. Notfar enough actually to look at Mary-Lynnette,but far enough to make it dear he was talking tosomebody behind him. She could now see his profilein the mirror. Hi, there.Mary-Lynnette, is that you? Claudine called.Yes. Mary-Lynnette opened the refrigerator doorand made banging noises. Just getting somesuccus. Then Im going out.Her heard was beating hard-with embarrassmentand annoyance. Okay, so he must have seen her in themirror. He probably thought she was staring at him because of the way he looked. He probably hadpeople staring at him everywhere he went. So what, big deal, go away.Dont go yet, Claudine called. Come out here and talk for a few minutes.No. Mary-Lynnette knew it was a childish and stupid reaction, but she couldnt help it. She banged abottle of apricot juice against a bottle of Calistoga sparkling water.Come meet Mrs. Burdocks nephew, Claudine called.Mary-Lynnette went still.She stood in the cold air of the refrigerator, lookingsightlessly at the temperature dial in the back. Thenshe put the bottle of apricot juice down. She twisted a Coke out of a six-pack without seeing it.What nephew? I dont remember hearing about any nephew.But then, shed never heard much about Mrs. B.s nieces either, not until they were coming out. Mrs. B.just didnt talk about her familymuch.So hes her nephew. . . thats why hes askingabout her. But does he know? Ishe in on it with those girls?Or is he after them? Or .. .Thoroughly confused, she walked into the living room.Mary-Lynnette, this is ash. Hes here to visit withhis aunt and his sisters, Claudine said. Ash,this isMary-Lynnette. The one whos such good friends with your aunt.Ash gotup, all in one lovely, lazy motion. Just like a cat, including the stretch in the middle. Hi.He offered a hand. Mary-Lynnette t ouched it withfingers damp and cold from the Coke can, glanced upat his face, and said Hi.Except that it didnt happen that way.If happened like this Mary-Lynnette had her eyeson the carpet as she came in, which gave her a goodview of his Nike tennis shoes and the ripped kneesof his jeans. When he stood up she looked at hisT-shirt, which had an obscure design-a black floweron a white background. Probably the emblem ofsome rock group. And then when his hand entered her field of vision, she reached for it automatically,muttering a greeting and looking up at his face justas she touched it. And This was the part that was hardto describe.Contact.Somethinghappened.Hey, dont I know you?She didnt. That was the thing. She didnt know him-but she felt that she should. She also felt as ifsomebody had reached inside her and touched herspine with a live electric wire. It was extremely notenjoyable. The room turned vaguely criticise. Her throat swelled and she could feel her heart beating there.Al so not-enjoyable. But someways when you put it alltogether, it made a kind of trembly dizziness like Like what she felt when she looked at the Lagoon Nebula. Or imagined galaxies gathered into dustersand superclusters, bigger and bigger, until size confounded any meaning and she felt herself falling.She was falling now. She couldnt see anything except his eyes. And those eyes were strange, prismlike,changing color like a star seen throughheavy atmosphere. Now blue, now gold, now violet.Oh, take this away. Please, I dont want it.Its so good to see a new face around here, isntit? Were very boring out here by ourselves,Claudine said, in completely normal and slightly flustered tones. Mary-Lynnette was snapped out of hertrance, and she reacted as if Ash had just offered her a mongoose instead of his hand. She jumpedbackward,looking anywhere but at him. She had the tinge of being saved from falling down a mineshaft.O-kay, Claudine _ said in her cute accent.Hmm. She was twisting a stran d of curly dark hair,something she only did when she was extremely ner vous. Maybe you guys know each other already?There was a silence.I should say something, Mary-Lynnette thoughtdazedly, staring at the fieldstone fireplace. Im actingcrazy and wound Claudine.But what just happened here?Doesnt matter. Worry later. She swallowed, plastered a smile on her face, and said, So, how long areyou here for?Her mistake was that then she looked at him. Andit all happened again. Not sort of as vividly as before,maybe because she wasnt touching him. But the electric shock feeling was the same.Andhelooked like a cat whos had a shock. Bristling. Unhappy. Astonished. Well, at least he wasawake,Mary-Lynnette thought. He and Mary-Lynnettestared at each other while the room spun andturned pink.Whoare you? Mary-Lynnette said, abandoning any vestige of politeness.Who areyou? he said, in just about exactly the same tone.They both glared.Claudine was making little clicking noises with her tongue and cl earing away the tomato juice. MaryLynnette felt distantly sorry for her, but couldntspare her any attention. Mary-Lynnettes wholeconsciousness was focused on the guy in front of her on fighting him, on blocking him out. On getting ridof this fantastic feeling that she was one of two puzzle pieces that had just been snapped together.Now, look, she said tensely, at the precise moment that he began brusquely, Look-They both stopped and glared again. Then Mary-Lynnette managed to tear her eyes away. Somethingwas tugging at her mind .Ash, she said, getting hold of it.Ash. Mrs. Burdockdid say something about you about alittleboy named Ash. I didnt know she was talking abouther nephew.Great-nephew, Ash said, his voice not quite steady. What did she say?She said that you were a bad little boy, and that you were probably going to grow up evenworse.Well, she had thatright, Ash said, and his ex pression softened a bit-as if he were on morefamiliar ground.Mary-Lynnettes heart was slowing. She found thatif she concentrated, she could make the strange feelings recede. It helped if she looked away from Ash.Deep breath, she told herself. And another. Okay,now lets get things straight. Let go of what just happened forget all that think about it later. Whats important now?What was important nowwas that 1) This guy was the brother of those girls 2) He might be in on some(prenominal) had happened to Mrs. B. and, 3) If he wasntin on it, he might be able to help with someinforma tion. Such as whether his aunt had left a will, and if so, who got the family jewels.She glanced at Ash from the side of her eye. He definitely looked calmer. Hackles going down. Chestlifting more slowly. They were both switching gear.So Rowan and Kestrel and Jade are your sisters, she said, with all the polite nonchalance shecould muster. They seem nice.I didnt know you knew them, Claudine said,and Mary-Lynnette realized her stepmother washovering in the doorway, petite shoulder against thedoorjamb, arms crossed, dishtowel in hand. I toldhim you hadnt met them.Mark and I went over there yesterday, MaryLynnette said. And when she said it, somethingflashed in Ashs facesomething there and gone before she could really analyze it. But it made her feelasifshe were standing on the edge of a cliff in a cold wind.Why? What could be wrong with mentioning shed met the girls?You and Mark . . .and Mark would be-yourbrother?Thats right, Claudine said from the doorway.Any other brothers or sisters?Mary-Lynnette blinked. What, youre taking a census?Ash did a bad imitation of his former lazy smile. I just like to keep track of my sisters friends.Why?To see if you enjoy or something?Actually, yes. He did the smile again, with moresuccess. Were an old-fashioned family. Veryold-fashioned.Mary-Lynnettes jaw dropped. Then, all at once,she felt happy. Now she didnt need to think aboutmurders or pink rooms or what this guy knew. All she needed to think about was what she was goingtodo to him.So youre an old-fashioned family, she said, moving a step forward.Ash nodded.And youre in charge, Mary-Lynnette said.Well, out here. Back home, my father is.And youre just going to tell your sisters which friends they can have. Maybe you get to decideyour aunts friends, too?Actually, I was just discussing that.He waved a hand toward Claudine.Yes, you were, Mary-Lynnette realized. She took another step toward Ash, who was still smiling.Oh, no, Claudine said. She flapped her dishtowelonce. Dont smile.I like a girl with spirit, Ash offered, as if hedworked hard on finding the most exceptionable thingpossible to say. Then, with a sort of determined bravado, he winked, reached out, and chuckedMary-Lynnette under the chin.Fzzz Sparks. Mary-Lynnette sprang back. So didAsh, looking at his own hand as if it had betrayedhim.Mary-Lynnette had an inexplicable caprice to knock Ash flat and fall down on top of him. Shed neverfelt that for any boy before.She ignored the impulse and kicked him in the shin.He yelped and hopped backward. Once again the sleepy smugness was gone from his face. He lookedalarmed.I think youd better go away now, Mary-Lynnette said pleasantly. She was amazed at herself.Shed never been the cherry-red type. Maybe there werethings hidden deep inside her that shed neversuspected.Claudine was gasping and shaking her head. Ashwas still hopping, but not going anywhere. MaryLynnette advanced on him again. Even though he was half a head taller, he backed up. He stared at herin something like wonder.Hey. Hey, look, you know, you really dont knowwhat youre doing, he said. If you knewAndMary-Lynnette saw it again-something in his face that made him suddenly look not fatuous oramiable at all. Like the glitter of a knife blade in the light. Something that saiddanger .Oh, go bother someone else, Mary-Lynnette said. She drew back her foot for another kick.He opened his mouth, then shut it. Still holding his shin, he looked at Claudine and managed a hurt andmiserable flirtat ious smile.Thanks so much for all your-GoHe lost the smile. Thats what Im doingl He limped to the front door. She followed him.What do they call you, at least? he asked from the front yard, as if hed finally found thecomebackhed been looking for. Mary? Marylin? Mlin?M.L.?They call me Mary-Lynnette, Mary-Lynnette said flatly, and added under her breath, That dospeak of me. Shed read The Taming of the Shrew in honors English last year.Oh, yeah? How about Mlin the cursed? He was still backing away.Mary-Lynnette was startled. So maybe his class hadread it, too. But he didnt look refreshing enough toquote Shakespeare.Have fun with your sisters, she said, and shutthe door. Then she leaned against it, trying to getherbreath. Her fingers and face were prickly-numb, as if she were going to faint.If those girls had only murderedhim, Id understand, she thought. But theyre all sostrange-theressomething seriously uncanny about that whole family.Weird in a way that scared her. If shed believe d in premonitions, shed have been even more scared.She had a bad feeling-a feeling that things weregoing to happen.Claudine was staring at her from the living room.Very fabulous, she said. Youve just kicked a guest. Now, what was that all about?Hewouldnt leave.You know what I mean. Do you two know eachother?Mary-Lynnette just shrugged vaguely. The dizziness was passing, but her mind was swimming withquestions.Claudine looked at her intently, then shook herhead. I remember my little brother-when he wasfouryears old he used to push a girl flat on her face in the sandbox. He did it to show he liked her.Mary-Lynnette ignored this. Claude-what wasAshherefor? What did you talk about? close nothing, Claudine said, exasperated Justordinary conversation. Since you hate him somuch,what difference does it make? Then, as Mary Lynnette kept looking at her, she sighed. He wasvery interested in weird facts about life in the country. All the local stories.Mary-Lynnette snorted. Did you tell him abo ut Sasquatch?I told him about Vic and Todd.Mary-Lynnette froze. Youre jolting Why?Because thats the kind of thing he asked aboutPeople lost in time-?Losing time.,?Whatever. We were just having a nice conversation. He was a nice boy. Finis. Mary-Lynnettes heart was beating fast.She was right. She was sure of it now. Todd andVicwereconnected to whatever had happened with the sisters and Mrs. B. But what was the fraternity? Im going to go and find out, she thought.