《6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命》第16章

to　stay？ He　just　held　his　head　on　the　side；　listening　carefully。　
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And　after　a　few　more　minutes　of　patience；　the　low；　romantic　sounds　were　suddenly　interrupted。 “How　many？” The　voice　was　muted　by　distance；　but　still　distinct。　And　recognizable。　High；　almost　a　trill。　Like　a　spoiled　young　girl。 “Twentytwo；”　Riley　answered；　sounding　proud。　Diego　and　I　exchanged　a　sharp　glance。　There　were　twentytwo　of　us；　at　last　count；　anyway。　They　must　be　talking　about　us。 “I　thought　I’d　lost　two　more　to　the　sun；　but　one　of　my　older　kids　is…　obedient；”　Riley　continued。　There　was　almost　an　affectionate　sound　to　his　voice　when　he　spoke　of　Diego　as　one　of　his　kids。　“He　has　an　underground　place　he　hid　himself　with　the　younger　one。” “Are　you　sure？” There　was　a　long　pause；　this　time　with　no　sounds　of　romance。　Even　from　this　distance；　I　thought　I　could　feel　some　tension。 “Yeah。　He’s　a　good　kid；　I’m　sure。” Another　strained　pause。　I　didn’t　understand　her　question。　What　did　she　mean；　are　you　sure？　Did　she　think　he’d　heard　the　story　from　someone　else　rather　than　seeing　Diego　for　himself？ “Twentytwo　is　good；”　she　mused；　and　the　tension　seemed　to　dissolve。　“How　is　their　behavior　developing？　Some　of　them　are　almost　a　year　old。　Do　they　still　follow　the　normal　patterns？” “Yes；”　Riley　said。　“Everything　you　told　me　to　do　worked　flawlessly。　They　don’t　think they　just　do　what　they’ve　always　done。　I　can　always　distract　them　with　thirst。　It　keeps　them　under　control。”　
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I　frowned　at　Diego。　Riley　didn’t　want　us　to　think。　Why？ “You’ve　done　so　well；”　our　creator　cooed；　and　there　was　another　kiss。　“Twentytwo！” “Is　it　time？”　Riley　asked　eagerly。 Her　answer　came　back　fast；　like　a　slap。　“No！　I　haven’t　decided　when。” “I　don’t　understand。” “You　don’t　need　to。　It’s　enough　for　you　to　know　that　our　enemies　have　great　powers。　We　cannot　be　too　careful。”　Her　voice　softened；　turned　sugary　again。　“But　all　twentytwo　still　alive。　Even　with　what　they　are　capable　of…　what　good　will　it　be　against　twentytwo？”　She　let　out　a　tinkling　little　laugh。 Diego　and　I　had　not　looked　away　from　each　other　throughout　all　this；　and　I　could　see　in　his　eyes　now　that　his　thoughts　were　the　same　as　mine。　Yes；　we’d　been　created　for　a　purpose；　as　we’d　guessed。　We　had　an　enemy。　Or；　our　creator　had　an　enemy。　Did　the　distinction　matter？ “Decisions；　decisions；”　she　muttered。　“Not　yet。　Maybe　one　more　handful；　just　to　be　sure。” “Adding　more　might　actually　decrease　our　numbers；”　Riley　cautioned　hesitantly；　as　if　being　careful　not　to　upset　her。　“It’s　always　unstable　when　a　new　group　is　introduced。” “True；”　she　agreed；　and　I　imagined　Riley　sighing　in　relief　that　she　was　not　upset。 Abruptly　Diego　looked　away　from　me；　staring　out　across　the　meadow。　I　hadn’t　heard　any　movement　from　the　house；　but　maybe　she　had　e　out。　My　head　whipped　around　at　the　same　time　the　rest　of　me　turned　to　a　statue；　and　I　saw　what　had　
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startled　Diego。 Four　figures　were　crossing　the　open　field　to　the　house。　They　had　entered　the　clearing　from　the　west；　the　point　farthest　from　where　we　hid。　They　all　wore　long；　dark　cloaks　with　deep　hoods；　so　at　first　I　thought　they　were　people。　Weird　people；　but　just　humans　all　the　same；　because　none　of　the　vampires　I　knew　had　matching　Goth　clothes。　And　none　moved　in　a　way　that　was　so　smooth　and　controlled　and…　elegant。　But　then　I　realized　that　none　of　the　humans　I’d　ever　seen　could　move　that　way；　either；　and　what’s　more；　they　couldn’t　do　it　so　quietly。　The　darkcloaks　skimmed　across　the　long　grass　in　absolute　silence。　So　either　these　were　vampires；　or　they　were　something　else　supernatural。　Ghosts；　maybe。　But　if　they　were　vampires；　they　were　vampires　I　didn’t　know；　and　that　meant　they　might　very　well　be　these　enemies　she　was　talking　about。　If　so；　we　should　get　the　hell　out　of　Dodge　right　now；　because　we　didn’t　have　twenty　other　vampires　on　our　side　at　the　moment。 I　almost　took　off　then；　but　I　was　too　afraid　to　draw　the　attention　of　the　cloaked　figures。 So　I　watched　them　move　smoothly　forward；　noticing　other　things　about　them。　How　they　stayed　in　a　perfect　diamond　formation　that　never　was　the　slightest　bit　out　of　line　no　matter　how　the　terrain　changed　under　their　feet。　How　the　one　at　the　point　of　the　diamond　was　much　smaller　than　the　others；　and　its　cloak　was　darker；　too。　How　they　didn’t　seem　to　be　tracking　their　way　in　not　trying　to　follow　the　path　of　any　scent。　They　simply　knew　their　way。　Maybe　they　were　invited。 They　moved　directly　toward　the　house；　and　I　felt　like　it　might　
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be　safe　to　breathe　again　when　they　started　silently　up　the　steps　toward　the　front　door。　They　weren’t　ing　straight　for　Diego　and　me；　at　least。　When　they　were　out　of　sight；　we　could　disappear　into　the　sound　of　the　next　breeze　through　the　trees；　and　they　would　never　know　we’d　been　here。 I　looked　at　Diego　and　twitched　my　head　slightly　toward　the　way　we’d　e。　He　narrowed　his　eyes　and　held　up　one　finger。　Oh　great；　he　wanted　to　stay。　I　rolled　my　eyes　at　him；　though　I　was　so　afraid；　I　was　surprised　I　was　capable　of　sarcasm。 We　both　looked　back　to　the　house。　The　cloaked　things　had　let　themselves　in　silently；　but　I　realized　that　neither　she　nor　Riley　had　spoken　since　we’d　caught　sight　of　the　visitors。　They　must　have　heard　something　or　known　in　some　other　way　that　they　were　in　danger。 “Don’t　bother；”　a　very　clear；　monotone　voice　manded　lazily。　It　was　not　as　highpitched　as　our　creator’s；　but　it　still　sounded　girlish　to　me。　“I　think　you　know　who　we　are；　so　you　must　know　that　there　is　no　point　in　trying　to　surprise　us。　Or　hide　from　us。　Or　fight　us。　Or　run。” A　deep；　masculine　chuckle　that　did　not　belong　to　Riley　echoed　menacingly　through　the　house。 “Relax；”　instructed　the　first　inflectionless　voicethe　cloaked　girl。　Her　voice　had　that　distinctive　ring　that　made　me　certain　she　was　a　vampire；　not　a　ghost　or　any　other　kind　of　nightmare。　“We’re　not　here　to　destroy　you。　Yet。” There　was　a　moment　of　silence；　and　then　some　barely　audible　movements。　A　shifting　of　positions。 “If　you　are　not　here　to　kill　us；　then…　what？”　our　creator　
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asked；　strained　and　shrill。 “We　seek　to　know　your　intenti