《6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命》第21章

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were　with　Raoul；　the　enemy　was　Kristie。　The　enemy　was　here；　because　the　whole　world　was　here。　The　thought　that　there　were　other　forces　out　there　strong　enough　to　affect　us　was　new　for　most。　Would　have　been　new　to　me；　too；　yesterday。 “A　few　of　you　might　be　smart　enough　to　have　realized　that　if　we　exist；　so　do　other　vampires。　Other　vampires　who　are　older；　smarter…　more　talented。　Other　vampires　who　want　our　blood！” Raoul　hissed；　and　then　several　of　his　followers　echoed　him　in　support。 “That’s　right；”　Riley　said；　seeming　intent　on　egging　them　on。　“Seattle　was　once　theirs；　but　they　moved　on　a　long　time　ago。　Now　they　know　about　us；　and　they　are　jealous　of　the　easy　blood　they　used　to　have　here。　They　know　it　belongs　to　us　now；　but　they　want　to　take　it　back。　They　are　ing　after　what　they　want。　One　by　one；　they’ll　hunt　us　down！　We’ll　burn　while　they　feast！” “Never；”　Kristie　growled。　Some　of　hers　and　some　of　Raoul’s　growled；　too。 “We　don’t　have　a　lot　of　choices；”　Riley　told　us。　“If　we　wait　for　them　to　show　up　here；　they　will　have　the　advantage。　This　is　their　turf；　after　all。　And　they　don’t　want　to　face　us　headon；　because　we　outnumber　them　and　we　are　stronger　than　they　are。　They　want　to　catch　us　separated；　they　want　to　take　advantage　of　our　biggest　weakness。　Are　any　of　you　smart　enough　to　know　what　that　is？”　He　pointed　at　the　ashes　at　his　feet now　smeared　into　the　carpet　and　unrecognizable　as　a　former　vampire　and　waited。 No　one　moved。 Riley　made　a　disgusted　sound。　“Unity！”　he　shouted。　“We　
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don’t　have　it！　What　kind　of　a　threat　can　we　pose　when　we　won’t　stop　killing　each　other？”　He　kicked　the　dust；　sending　up　a　small　black　cloud。　“Can　you　imagine　them　laughing　at　us？　They　think　taking　the　city　from　us　will　be　easy。　That　we’re　weak　with　stupidity！　That　we’ll　just　hand　them　our　blood。” Half　the　vampires　in　the　room　snarled　in　protest　now。 “Can　you　work　together；　or　do　we　all　die？” “We　can　take　them；　boss；”　Raoul　growled。 Riley　scowled　at　him。　“Not　if　you　can’t　control　yourself！　Not　if　you　can’t　cooperate　with　every　single　person　in　this　room。　Anyone　you　take　out”　his　toe　nudged　the　ashes　again “might　be　the　one　who　could　have　kept　you　alive。　Every　one　of　your　coven　that　you　kill　is　like　handing　our　enemies　a　gift。　Here；　you’re　saying；　take　me　down！” Kristie　and　Raoul　exchanged　a　glance　as　if　they　were　seeing　each　other　for　the　first　time。　Others　did　the　same。　The　word　coven　was　not　unfamiliar；　but　none　of　us　had　applied　it　to　our　group　before。　We　were　a　coven。 “Let　me　tell　you　about　our　enemies；”　Riley　said；　and　all　eyes　locked　on　his　face。　“They　are　a　much　older　coven　than　we　are。　They’ve　been　around　for　hundreds　of　years；　and　they’ve　survived　that　long　for　a　reason。　They　are　crafty　and　they　are　skilled　and　they　are　ing　to　retake　Seattle　with　confidencebecause　they’ve　heard　the　only　ones　they’ll　have　to　fight　for　it　are　a　bunch　of　disorganized　children　who　will　do　half　their　work　for　them！” More　growls；　but　some　were　less　angry　than　they　were　wary。　A　few　of　the　quieter　vampires；　the　ones　Riley　would　have　called　
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tamer；　looked　skittish。 Riley　noticed　that；　too。　“This　is　how　they　see　us；　but　that’s　because　they　can’t　see　us　together。　Together；　we　can　crush　them。　If　they　could　see　all　of　us；　side　by　side；　fighting　together；　they　would　be　terrified。　And　that’s　how　they’re　going　to　see　us。　Because　we’re　not　going　to　wait　for　them　to　show　up　here　and　start　picking　us　off。　We’re　going　to　ambush　them。　In　four　days。” Four　days？　I　guessed　our　creator　didn’t　want　to　cut　it　too　close　to　the　deadline。　I　looked　at　the　closed　door　again。　Where　was　Diego？ Others　reacted　to　the　deadline　with　surprise；　some　with　fear。 “It’s　the　last　thing　they’ll　expect；”　Riley　assured　us。　“All　of　ustogether　waiting　for　them。　And　I’ve　saved　the　best　part　for　last。　There　are　only　seven　of　them。” There　was　an　instant　of　incredulous　silence。 Then　Raoul　said；　“What ” Kristie　stared　at　Riley　with　the　same　disbelieving　expression；　and　I　heard　muttered　whispers　around　the　room。 “Seven？” “Are　you　kidding　me？” “Hey；”　Riley　snapped。　“I　wasn’t　joking　when　I　said　this　coven　is　dangerous。　They　are　wise　and…　devious。　Underhanded。　We　will　have　power　on　our　side；　they　will　have　deception。　If　we　play　it　their　way；　they　will　win。　But　if　we　take　it　to　them　on　our　terms…”　Riley　didn’t　finish；　he　just　smiled。 “Let’s　go　now；”　Raoul　urged。　“Let’s　get　’em　out　of　the　picture　fast。”　Kevin　growled　enthusiastically。　
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“Slow　down；　moron。　Rushing　into　things　blind　isn’t　going　to　help　us　win；”　Riley　chided　him。 “Tell　us　everything　we　need　to　know　about　them；”　Kristie　encouraged；　shooting　Raoul　a　superior　look。 Riley　hesitated；　as　if　deciding　how　to　word　something。　“All　right；　where　to　begin？　I　guess　the　first　thing　you　need　to　know　is…　that　you　don’t　know　everything　there　is　to　know　about　vampires　yet。　I　didn’t　want　to　overwhelm　you　in　the　beginning。”　Another　pause　while　everyone　looked　confused。　“You　have　a　little　bit　of　experience　with　what　we　call　‘talents。’　We　have　Fred。” Everyone　looked　at　Fred or　rather　they　tried　to。　I　could　tell　from　Riley’s　expression　that　Fred　did　not　like　being　singled　out。　It　looked　like　Fred　had　really　turned　up　the　volume　on　his　“talent；”　as　Riley　called　it。　Riley　cringed　and　looked　away　quickly。　I　still　didn’t　feel　anything。 “Yes；　well；　there　are　some　vampires　who　have　gifts　beyond　the　usual　super　strength　and　super　senses。　You’ve　seen　one　aspect　in…　our　coven。”　He　was　careful　not　to　say　Fred’s　name　again。　“Gifts　are　rare one　in　fifty；　maybe but　every　one　is　different。　There’s　a　huge　range　of　gifts　out　there；　and　some　of　them　are　more　powerful　than　others。” I　could　hear　a　lot　of　murmurs　now　as　people　wondered　if　they　might　be　talented。　Raoul　was　preening　like　he’d　already　decided　he　was　gifted。　As　far　as　I　could　tell；　the　only　one　around　here　that　was　in　any　way　special　was　standing　next　to　me。 “Pay　attention！”　Riley　manded。　“I’m　not　telling　you　this　for　entertainment。” “This　enemy　coven；”　Kristie　interjected。　“They’re　talented。　
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Right？” Riley　gave　her