《6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命》第26章

at。　“This　is　going　to　be　hard　to　process；”　he　warned。　“I　don’t　understand　it；　but　I’ve　seen　it　for　myself。　These　old　vampires　have　gone　so　soft　that　they　actually　keep as　a　member　of　their　coven a　pet　human。” His　revelation　was　met　by　blank　silence。　Total　disbelief。 “I　knowhard　to　swallow。　But　it’s　true。　We’ll　know　it’s　definitely　them　because　a　human　girl　will　be　with　them。”　
Page　108
“Like…　how？”　Kristie　asked。　“You　mean　they　carry　meals　around　with　them　or　something？” “No；　it’s　always　the　same　girl；　just　the　one；　and　they　don’t　plan　to　kill　her。　I　don’t　know　how　they　manage　it；　or　why。　Maybe　they　just　like　to　be　different。　Maybe　they　want　to　show　off　their　selfcontrol。　Maybe　they　think　it　makes　them　look　stronger。　It　makes　no　sense　to　me。　But　I’ve　seen　her。　More　than　that；　I’ve　smelled　her。” Slow　and　dramatic；　Riley　reached　into　his　jacket　and　pulled　out　a　small　ziplock　bag　with　red　fabric　wadded　up　inside。 “I’ve　done　some　recon　in　the　past　few　weeks；　checking　the　yelloweyes　out　as　soon　as　they　got　near　the　area。”　He　paused　to　throw　us　a　paternal　look。　“I　watch　out　for　my　kids。　Anyway；　when　I　could　tell　that　they　were　moving　on　us；　I　grabbed　this”he　brandished　the　bag　“to　help　us　track　them。　I　want　you　all　to　get　a　lock　on　this　scent。” He　handed　the　bag　to　Raoul；　who　opened　the　plastic　zipper　and　inhaled　deeply。　He　glanced　up　at　Riley　with　a　startled　look。 “I　know；”　Riley　said。　“Amazing；　right？” Raoul　handed　the　bag　to　Kevin；　his　eyes　narrowing　in　thought。 One　by　one；　each　vampire　sniffed　the　bag；　and　everyone　reacted　with　wide　eyes　but　little　else。　I　was　curious　enough　that　I　sidled　away　from　Fred　until　I　could　feel　a　hint　of　the　nausea　and　knew　I　was　outside　his　circle。　I　crept　forward　until　I　was　next　to　the　SpiderMan　kid；　who　seemed　to　be　at　the　tail　end　of　the　line。　He　sniffed　inside　the　bag　when　it　was　his　turn　and　then　seemed　about　to　hand　it　back　to　the　kid　who　had　given　it　to　him；　
Page　109
but　I　held　my　hand　out　and　hissed　quietly。　He　did　a　double　takealmost　like　he’d　never　see　me　beforeand　handed　me　the　bag。 It　looked　like　the　red　fabric　was　a　shirt。　I　stuck　my　nose　in　the　opening；　keeping　my　eyes　on　the　vampires　near　me；　just　in　case；　and　inhaled。 Ah。　I　understood　the　expressions　now　and　felt　a　similar　one　on　my　face。　Because　the　human　who　had　worn　this　shirt　had　seriously　sweet　blood。　When　Riley　said　dessert；　he　was　dead　right。　On　the　other　hand；　I　was　less　thirsty　than　I’d　ever　been。　So　while　my　eyes　widened　in　appreciation；　I　didn’t　feel　enough　pain　in　my　throat　to　make　me　grimace。　It　would　be　awesome　to　taste　this　blood；　but　in　that　exact　moment；　it　didn’t　hurt　me　that　I　couldn’t。 I　wondered　how　long　it　would　take　for　me　to　get　thirsty　again。　Usually；　a　few　hours　after　feeding；　the　pain　would　start　to　e　back；　and　then　it　would　just　get　worse　and　worse　untilafter　a　couple　of　days it　was　impossible　to　ignore　it　even　for　a　second。　Would　the　excessive　amount　of　blood　I’d　just　drunk　delay　that？　I　guessed　I’d　see　pretty　soon。 I　glanced　around　to　make　sure　no　one　was　waiting　for　the　bag；　because　I　thought　Fred　would　probably　be　curious；　too。　Riley　caught　my　eye；　smiled　the　tiniest　bit；　and　jerked　his　chin　slightly　toward　the　corner　where　Fred　was。　Which　made　me　want　to　do　the　exact　opposite　of　what　I’d　just　been　planning；　but　whatever。　I　didn’t　want　Riley　to　be　suspicious　of　me。 I　walked　back　to　Fred；　ignoring　the　nausea　until　it　faded　and　I　was　right　next　to　him。　I　handed　him　the　bag。　He　seemed　
Page　110
pleased　I’d　thought　to　include　him；　he　smiled　and　then　sniffed　the　shirt。　After　a　second　he　nodded　thoughtfully　to　himself。　He　gave　me　the　bag　back　with　a　significant　look。　The　next　time　we　were　alone；　I　thought　he　would　say　aloud　whatever　it　was　he　had　seemed　to　want　to　share　before。 I　tossed　the　bag　toward　SpiderMan；　who　reacted　like　it　had　fallen　out　of　the　sky　but　still　caught　it　before　it　hit　the　ground。 Everyone　was　buzzing　about　the　scent。　Riley　clapped　his　hands　together　twice。 “Okay；　so　there’s　the　dessert　I　was　talking　about。　The　girl　will　be　with　the　yelloweyes。　And　whoever　gets　to　her　first　gets　dessert。　Simple　as　that。” Appreciative　growls；　petitive　growls。 Simple；　yes；　but…　wrong。　Weren’t　we　supposed　to　be　destroying　the　yelloweyed　coven？　Unity　was　supposed　to　be　the　key；　not　a　firste；　firstserved　prize　that　only　one　vampire　could　win。　The　only　guaranteed　oute　from　this　plan　was　one　dead　human。　I　could　think　of　half　a　dozen　more　productive　ways　to　motivate　this　army。　The　one　who　kills　the　most　yelloweyes　wins　the　girl。　The　one　who　shows　the　best　team　cooperation　gets　the　girl。　The　one　who　sticks　to　the　plan　best。　The　one　who　follows　orders　best。　MVP；　etc。　The　focus　should　be　on　the　danger；　which　was　definitely　not　the　human。 I　looked　around　at　the　others　and　decided　that　none　of　them　were　following　the　same　train　of　thought。　Raoul　and　Kristie　were　glaring　at　each　other。　I　heard　Sara　and　Jen　arguing　in　whispers　about　the　possibility　of　sharing　the　prize。 Well；　maybe　Fred　got　it。　He　was　frowning；　too。　
Page　111
“And　the　last　thing；”　Riley　said。　For　the　first　time　there　was　some　reluctance　in　his　voice。　“This　will　probably　be　even　harder　to　accept；　so　I’ll　show　you。　I　won’t　ask　you　to　do　anything　I　won’t　do。　Remember　that I’m　with　you　guys　every　step　of　the　way。” The　vampires　got　real　still　again。　I　noticed　that　Raoul　had　the　ziplock　back　and　was　gripping　it　possessively。 “There　are　so　many　things　you　have　yet　to　learn　about　being　a　vampire；”　Riley　said。　“Some　of　them　make　more　sense　than　others。　This　is　one　of　those　things　that　won’t　sound　right　at　first；　but　I’ve　experienced　it　myself；　and　I’ll　show　you。”　He　deliberated　for　a　long　second。　“Four　times　a　year；　the　sun　shines　at　a　certain　indirect　angle。　During　that　one　day；　four　times　a　year；　it　is　safe…　for　us　to　be　outside　in　the　daylight。” Every　tiny　movement　stopped。　There　was　no　breathing。　Riley　was　talking　to　a　bunch　of　statues。 “One　of　those　special　days　is　beginning　now。　The　sun　that　is　rising　outside　today　won’t　hurt　any　of　us。　And　we　are　going　to　use　this　rare　exception　to　surprise　our　enemies。” My　thoughts　spun　around　a