Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 3

Shes n oneness expression so good, sparrow hawk read, peering over Rowans shoulder.Rowan give tongue to, Oh,dear, and sit downwardGreat-aunt Opal was a mummy. Her skin was like leather yellow-brown, hard, and smooth. Almostshiny. And the skin was all(a) t here(predicate) was to her, besides a leathery frame stretched over bones. She didnt have both h stress. Her eye sockets were dark holes with dry weave deep down. Her nose was collapsed.Poor auntie, Rowan said. Her own brown eyes were wet.Were difference to look like that when we die, Kestrel said musingly. tire stamped her foot. No, look,you guys Youre both missing it totally. Look atthat She swunga wild toe at the mummys midsection. There, project from the blue-flowered housedress and theleathery skin, was a gigantic splinter of wood. It was almost as long as an arrow, thick at the base andtapered where it disappeared into Aunt Opals chest. Flakes of white paint still clung to one side.Several other pickets were decei tfulness on the cellar floor.Poor old thing, Rowan said. She must havebeen carrying them when she fell.Jade looked at Kestrel. Kestrel looked post withexasper haved sumptuous eyes. There were a few(prenominal) things theyagreed on, but Rowan was one of them.Rowan, Kestrel said distinctly, she wasstaked. Oh, no.Oh, yes, Jade said. Somebody killed her. And fewbody who knew she was a vampire.Rowan was quiver her head. still who would realize that?Well Jade position. Another vampire.Or a vampirehunter,Kestrel said.Rowan looked up, shocked. Those arent real.Theyre on the button stories to f right-hand(a)en kids-arent they?Kestrel shrugged, but her golden eyes were dark.Jade shifted uneasily. The freedom shed felt on the road, the peace in the living room-and forthwith this. curtly she felt empty and isolated.Rowan sat down on the stairs, looking too tired and listless to push back the lock of hair plasteredto her forehead. Maybe I shouldnt havebrought you here, she said pia noly. Maybe its worsehere. Shedidnt order it, but Jade could sense her next thought. Maybe we should go back nonhingcould be worse, Jade said fiercely. And Id die before Id go back. She meant it. Back towaiting on e actually man in bargain? Back to arranged marriages and endless restrictions? Back to all thosedisapproving faces, so quick to condemn some(prenominal)thing different, anything that wasnt through the way it hadbeen make four hundred years ago?We hatfult go back, she said.No, we cant, Kestrel said dryly. Literally. Unless we demand to end up like Great-aunt Opal.Orshe paused significantly-like Great-uncle Hodge.Rowan looked up. Dont even say thatJades stomach felt like a clenched fist. They wouldnt, she said, shoving back at the memory that wastrying to emerge. not to their own grandkids. Not to us.The point, Kestrel said, is that we cant go back,so we have to go forward. Weve got tofigure out what were going to do here without Aunt Opal tohelp usespecially if theres a vampire hunteraround. But first, what are we going to do withthat? She nodded toward the body.Rowan skilful shook her head helplessly. She lookedaround the cellar as if she aptitude find an do in a put one overdr. Her gaze fell on Jade. It stopped there, and Jade could see the sisterly radiolocation system turn on.Jade. Whats that in your jacket?Jade was too wrung-out to lie. She opened thejacket and showed Rowan the kittens. I didnt live on mysuitcase would kill them.Rowan looked too wrung-out to be angry. She glanced heavenward, sighing. Then, looking back atJadesharply But wherefore were you bringing them downhere?I wasnt. I was just looking for a shovel. I was going to bury them in the backyard.There was a pause. Jade looked at her sisters and they looked at each other. Then all third of themlooked at the kittens.Then they looked at Great-aunt Opal. Mary-Lynnette was crying.It was a beautiful wickedness, a perfect night. An inversion layer was retentivity the air over head still and warm,and the seeing was excellent. There was very little light pollution and no direct light. The Victorianfarmhouse just below Mary-Lynnettes hill wasmostly dark. Mrs. burdock was always very consider ate rough that.Above, the Milky Way cut diagonally across the sky like a river. To the south, where Mary-Lynnettehad just directed her telescope, was the constellation Sagittarius, which always looked. more like ateapot than like an archer to her. And just above the spout of the teapot was a faintly pink patch of whatlooked like steam.It wasnt steam. It was clouds of stars. A star factory called the laguna Nebula. The dust and gas ofdead stars was being recycled into hot young stars, just being born.It was four gravitational constant and five hundred light-years away. And she was looking at it, right this minute. Aseventeen-year-old kid with a second-hand Newtonian reflecting telescope telescope was controling the light of starsbeing born.Sometimes she was filled wi th so much awe andand-and-and longing-that she thought she might break topieces.Since there was nobody else around, she could let the tears roll down her cheeks without pretending itwas an allergy. by and by a while she had to sit back and wipe her nose and eyes on the shoulder of herT-shirt.Oh, come on, give it a rest now, she told herself.Youre crazy, you eff.She wished she hadnt thought of Jeremy earlier. Because now, for some reason, she kept picturinghimthe way hed looked that night when he came to watch the eclipse with her. His level brown eyes hadheld a spark of excitement, as if he sincerely cared just about what he was seeing. As if, for that moment,anyway, he understood.I have been one acquainted with the night, amaudlin little voice inside her chanted romantically, trying toget her to cry again.Yeah, right, Mary-Lynnette told the voice cynically. She reached for the bag of Cheetos she kept underher lawn chair. It was impossible to determine romantic and overwhelmed by grandeur while eating Cheetos.Saturn next, she thought, and wiped sticky orangecrumbs off her fingers. It was a good night for Saturnbecause its rings were just passing through theiredgewise position.She had to hurry because the moon was rising at 1116. But before she turned her telescope towardSaturn, she took one last look at the Lagoon. Actuallyjust to the east of the Lagoon, trying to come outthe open cluster of fainter stars she knew was there.She couldnt see it. Her eyes just werent good enough. If she had a bigger telescope-if she lived inChilewhere the air was dry-if she could get above the earths atmosphere . . . wherefore she might have a chance.But for now . . . she was limit by the human eye. Human pupils just didnt open farther than 9millimeters.Nothing to be done about that.She was just centering Saturn in the field of viewwhen a light went on behind the farmhouse below. Nota little porch light. A barnyard vapor lamp. Itilluminated the back property of the house like a searchlight.Mary-Lynnette sat back, annoyed. It didnt reallymatter-she could see Saturn anyway, see the rings thattonight were just a delicate silver line bitter across the center of the planet. But it was strange.Mrs.Burdock never turned the back light on at night.The girls, Mary-Lynnette thought. The nieces. Theymust have gotten there and she must be giving them atour. Absently she reached for her binoculars. Shewas curious.They were good binoculars, Celestron Ultimas,sleek and lightweight. She used them for looking ateverything from deep sky objects to the craters on the moon. Right now, they magnified the back of Mrs.Burdocks house ten times.She didnt see Mrs. Burdock, though. She could seethe garden. She could see the shed and thefenced-in area where Mrs. Burdock kept her goats. And shecould see three girls, all vigorous illuminated bythe vapor lamp. One had brown hair, one had golden hair, and one had hair the colourise of Jupiters rings.That silvery.Like starlight. They were carrying something mantled in plastic between them. Black plastic.Hefty garbage bags, if Mary-Lynnette wasnt mistaken.Now, what on earth were they doing with that? inhumation it.The short one with the silvery hair had a shovel. She was a good little diggingger, too. In a few minutesshehad rooted up most of Mrs. Burdocks irises. Then the medium-sized one with the golden hairtook a turn,and last of all the tall one with the brown hair.Then they picked up the garbage-bagged objecteven though it was probably over five feet long, itseemed very light-and put it in the hole theyd just make.They began to shovel dirt back into the hole.No, Mary-Lynnette told herself. No, dont be ridiculous. Dont be insane. Theres some mundane, perfectly commonplace explanation for this.The worry was, she couldnt think of any.No, no, no. This is notRear Window,we are not in the Twilight Zone. Theyre just burying-something.Some sort of ordinary What else besides a dead body was five-feet-andsome- odd-inches long, rigid, and needed to bewrapped in garbage bags before burial?And, Mary-Lynnette thought, feeling a rush ofadrenaline that made her heart contract hard. And.AndWhere was Mrs. Burdock?The adrenaline was tingling painfully in herpalmsand feet. It made her feel out of control, which she hated. Her hands were shaking so badly she had tolower the binoculars.Mrs. B.s okay. Shes all right. Things like thisdonthappenin real life.What would Nancy Drew do?Suddenly, in the ticker of her panic, MaryLynnette felt a tiny giggle try to escape like a burp. NancyDrew, of course, would hike right down there and investigate. Shed eavesdrop on the girls from behind abush and then dig up the garden once they went back inside the house.But things like that didnt happen. Mary-Lynnette couldnt even imagine trying to dig up a neighborsgarden in the dead of night. She would get caught and it would be a humiliating farce. Mrs. Burdockwould walk out of the house alive and alarmed, and Mary-Ly nnette would dieof embarrassment trying toexplain.In a book that might be amusing. In real life-she didnt even want to think about it.One good thing, it made her realize how absurd her paranoia was. Deep down, she obviously knewMrs. B. was just fine. Otherwise, she wouldnt besitting here shed be calling the police, like any sensi bleperson.Somehow, though, she suddenly felt tired. Not up to more starwatching. She cloged her watch by theruby shining of a red-filtered flashlight. Almost eleven-well, it was all over in sixteen minutes anyway. Whenthe moon rose it would bleach out out the sky.But before she broke down her telescope for the trip back, she picked up the binoculars again. adept onelast look.The garden was empty. A rectangle of fresh darksoil showed where it had been violated. Even asMary-Lynnette watched, the vapor lamp went out.It wouldnt do any harm to go over there tomorrow, Mary-Lynnette thought. Actually, I was goingto,anyway. I should welcome those girls to the n eighbor stumper. I should return those thin out shears Dadborrowed and the knife Mrs. B. gave me to get my gas cap off. And of course Ill see Mrs. B. there, andthen Ill slam everythings okay. change reached the top of the winding road andstopped to admire the blazing point of light in the south.You really could see more from these isolatedcountry towns. From here Jupiter, the king of the planets, looked like a UFO.Where have you been? a voice nearby said. Ivebeen waiting for you for hours.Ash answered without turning around. Wherehave I been? Where have you been? We were supposedto meet onthat hill, Quinn. turn over in his pockets, he pointed with an elbow.Wrong. It was this hill and Ive been sitting righthere waiting for you the entire time. But forget it.Are they here or arent they?Ash turned and walked unhurriedly to the open convertible that was parked just beside the road, itslightsoff. He leaned one elbow on the door, looking down. Theyre here. I told you they would be. It was theonly place for them to go.All three of them?Of course, all three of them. My sisters always stick together.Quinns lip curled. Lamia are so wonderfully family oriented.And made vampires are so wonderfully . . . short, Ash said serenely, looking at the sky again.Quinn gave him a look like coloured ice. His e-mail, compact body was utterly still inside the car. Well,now, I never got to finish growing, did I? he saidvery softly. One of your ancestors took care of that.Ash boosted himself to sit on the hood of the car,long legs dangling. I think I whitethorn stop aging this yearmyself, he said blandly, still looking down the slope. Eighteens not such a bad age.Maybe not if you have a choice, Quinn said, his voice still as soft as dead leaves falling. Trybeingeighteen for four centuries-with no end in sight.Ash turned to make a face at him again. Sorry. On my familys behalf.And Im sorry for your family. The Redferns have been having a little trouble lately, havent they?Lets see if Ive got it right. First your uncle Hodge breaks wickedness World law and is appropriatelypunished-My great-uncle by marriage, Ash interrupted in polite tones, attribute one finger up. He was aBurdock, not a Redfern. And that was over ten years ago.And then your aunt Opal-Mygreat-auntOpal-Disappears completely. Breaks off all contact withthe Night World. Apparently because she prefersliving in the center(a) of nowhere with humans.Ash shrugged, eyes fixed on the southern horizon. It must be good hunting in the middle of nowherewith humans. No competition. And no Night Worldenforcement-no Elders putting a limit on how galore(postnominal)you can bag.And no supervision, Quinn said sourly. Itdoesnt matter so much thatshes been living here, butshes obviously been boost your sisters to join her. You should have informed on them whenyoufound out they were writing to each other secretly.Ash shrugged, uncomfortable. It wasnt againstthe law. I didnt know what they had in mind.Its not jus t them, Quinn said in his disturbingly soft voice. You know there are rumors aboutthat cousin of yours-James Rasmussen. People are saying that he fell in love with a human girl. That shewas dying and he decided to change her withoutpermission. . . .Ash slid off the hood and straightened. I never listen to rumors, he said, briskly and untruthfully.Besides, thats not the problem right now, is it?No. The problem is your sisters and the mess theyre in. And whether you can really do whats requisite to dean it up.Dont worry, Quinn. I can handle it.ButI doworry, Ash. I dont know how I let you talk me into this.You didnt. You lost that game of poker.And you cheated. Quinn was looking off into a middle distance, his dark eyes narrowed, hismoutha straight line. I still think we should tell the Elders , he said abruptly. Its the only way toguarantee a really thorough investigation.I dont see why it needs to be so thorough.Theyve only been here a few hours.Your sisters have only been here a few hours.Your aunt has been here-how long? Ten years?What have you got against my aunt, Quinn?Her husband was a traitor. Shes a traitor now for encouraging those girls to run away. And whoknowswhat shes been doing here in the last ten years? Who knows how many humans shes told aboutthe Night World?Ash shrugged, examining his nails. Maybe she hasnt told any.And peradventure shes told the whole town.Quinn, Ash said patiently, speaking as if to avery young child, if my aunt has broken the lawsof the Night World, she has to die. For the family honor. Any blotch on that reflects onme.Thats one thing I can count on, Quinn said halfunder his breath. ,Your self-interest. Youalways look after Number One, dont you?Doesnt everybody?Not everybody is quite so blatant about it. There was a pause, then Quinn said, And whatabout your sisters?What about them?Can you kill them if its necessary?Ash didnt blink. Of course. If its necessary. For the family honor.If theyve let something slip about the Nig htWorld-Theyre not stupid.Theyre innocent. They might get tricked. Thatswhat happens when you live on an islandcompletely isolated from normal humans. You never learn how cunning vermin can be.Well, we know how cunning they can be, Ash said, smiling. And what to do about them.For the first time Quinn himself smiled, a charming, almost dreamy smile. Yes, I know your views onthat. All right. Ill leave you here to take care of it. I dont need to tell you to construe out every human thosegirls have had contact with. Do a good job and maybe you can save your familyhonor.Not to mention the embarrassment of a public trial.Ill come back in a week. And if you havent got things under control, I go to the Elders. I dontmean your Redfern family Elders, either. Im taking it all the way up to the joint Council.Oh, fine, Ash said. You know, you really ought to get a hobby, Quinn. Go hunting yourself.Youre too repressed.-252Quinn ignored that and said shortly, Do you know where to start?Sure. The girls are right down there. Ashturned east. With one eye shut, he zeroed in withhis finger on a patch of light in the valley below. At Burdock Farm. Ill check things out in town, then Illgo look up the nearest vermin.