Night World : Soulmate Chapter 14

Stay hither, Rashel said sharply, but Hannah ran with the rest of them toward the seem of the house. Shecould list a uncivilized snarling and barking sur casefulside-a in truth familiar sort of reasoning(a).Nilsson and the different CIA guys were running approximately. They looked grim and efficient, moving fast but non frantic eachy. Hannah realized that they knew how to do this sort of amour.She didnt debate Lupe.The snarling outside got louder, building to a volley of short barks. at that place was a yelp-and then ascrambling noise. After a moment of silence there came a sound that lifted the hair on Hannahsforearms-a wild and eerie and beautiful sound. A wolf howling. Two other wolf utterances joined the first,chording, rising and falling, interweaving with each other. Hannah gear up herself gasping, her entire skinshivering. Then there was virtuoso long sustained note and it was over.Wow, the tiny blond called Gillian whispered.Hannah rubbed her bare arms catchy.Th e front door easyed. Hannah mat up herself looking toward the ground, but nothing four-legged came in.Instead it was Lupe and two guys, all disheveled, flushed, and grinning.It was just some scouts, Lupe said. We ran them off.Scouts from Maya? Hannah said, feeling a tightness in her stomach. It really was true, then. Maya wastrying to storm the house to pull in to her.Lupe nodded. Itll be okay, she said close gently. only if I think all of you better stay inside today. Youcan watch movies or play games in the game room.Hannah spent the day talking with the Circle Daybreak members. The more she found out about them,the more she kindredd them. Only one thing made her uncomfortable. They all appeared to put rearward to her-as if,somehow, they expected her to be wiser or better because of her former lifetimes. It was embarrassing,because she knew she wasnt.She try to keep her mind off Thierry and Maya. alone it wasnt easy. That night she found herself walking restlessly th abou t the house. She wound up in a puny anteroom on the second floor that looked d experience on the enormous living room.Cant relax?The unoccupied murmur came from behind her. Hannah turned to see Ash, his lanky elegant consistence proppedagainst a wall. His eyeball looked silver-tongued in the dimly lit room. no really, Hannah admitted. I just wish theyd find Thierry. Ive got a naughtily feeling about it.They stood for a moment in silence. Then Ash said, Yeah, its hard to be without your soulmate. at one timeyouve found them, I mean.Hannah looked at him, intrigued. The way he said thatShe spoke hesitantly. This morning Thea said you were all here because you had human soulmates.He looked across the room at French doors that led to a balcony. Yes?And-well by chance shes dead, Hannah thought suddenly. Maybe I shouldnt ask. And youwant to know where mine is, Ash said. I didnt mean to pry.No. Its okay. Ash looked out at the evil beyond the French doors again. Shes waiting-I want. Ive got some things to put right before I see her.He didnt seem scary allmore, no matter how his eyes changed. He seemed-vulnerable.Im incontestable she is waiting, Hannah said. And Ill bet shell be glad to see you when youve put thingsright. She added quietly, I know Ill be glad to see Thierry.He glanced at her, startled, then smiled. He had a very nice smile. Thats true, youve been in her shoes, buildnt you? And Thierrys certainly tried to make up for his past. I mean, hes been doing good worksfor centuries. So perchance theres hope for me after all.He said it almost mockingly, but Hannah caught an odd glistening in his eyes. Youre standardized her, youknow, he added abruptly.Like my-like Mary-Lynnette. Youre both wise.Before Hannah could think of something to say to that, he nodded to her, straightened up, and went blanket into the hallway, whistling softly through his teeth.Hannah stood alone in the dim room. For some reason, she felt better suddenly. More optimistic aboutt he future.I think Ill be able to sleep tonight. And tomorrow, maybe Thierry will be here.She clamped down hard on the rush of hope that filled her at the thought. Hope and concern. Afterall shed said to him, she couldnt be absolutely sure how Thierry would conform to her. What if he doesntwant me after all? Dont be silly. Dont think about it. Go outside and agitate a breath of air, and then go tobed.Later, of course, she realized just how stupid she had been. She should have known that acquire a breathof fresh air only led to one thing in her life. except at the moment it seemed like a good idea. Lupe hadwarned her not to open any outside doors-but the French doors only led to a second-floor balconyoverlooking the backyard. Hannah opened them and stepped out.Nice, she thought. The air was just cool enough to be pleasant.From here she could look across unlighted stretches of grass to flood-lit palm trees and softly splashingfountains. Although she couldnt see Thierrys people, sh e knew they were out there, stationed virtually thegrounds, watching and waiting. Guarding her. It made her feel safe.Nothing can get to the house with them around it, she thought. I can sleep just fine.She was about to turn and go back inside when she heard the scratching.It came from to a higher place her. From the roof. She glanced up and got the infract of this particular lifetime.There was a bat hanging from the roof.A bat. A bat.A huge bat. Upside down. Its leathery opaque wings were wrapped around it and its small red eyes shoneat her with reflected percipient.Wild thoughts tumbled through Hannahs mind, all in a fraction of an instant. Maybe its a decorationno, idiot, its alive. Maybe its somedead body to guard me. God, maybe its Thierry.But all the while, she knew. And when the instant of paralysis passed and she could command her bodyagain, she sucked in a deep breath to scream an alarm.She never got the chance to make a sound. With a noise like an umbrella opening, t he bat unfolded itswings suddenly, displaying an amazingly large span of black membrane.At the same moment something like sheet lightning seemed to hit Hannah, a blinding surge of pure cordialenergy. She saw stars, and then everything faded to darkness.Something hurt.My head, Hannah thought slowly. And my back. In fact, she hurt all over. And she was blind-or she hadher eyes shut. She tried to open them andnothing changed. She could feel herself blinking, but she could only see one thing. Blackness. Utter,complete blackness. She realized then that shed never seen real darkness before. In her bedroom atnight there was always some easy light showing at the top of her curtains. Even outdoors there wasalways moonlight or starlight, or if it were cloudy, the reflection of human lights, however faint.This was different. This was solid darkness. Hannah imagined she could feel it pressing against her face,weighing down on her body. And no matter how wide she opened her eyes or how fixedly she stared,she couldnt see even the slightest twinkling breaking it.I will not panic, she told herself.But it was hard. She was fighting an instinctive fear, hardwired into the brain since before the stone Age.All humans panicked in complete blackness.Just breathe, she told herself firmly. Breathe. Okay. Now. Youve got to get out of here. First things first. atomic number 18 you hurt?She couldnt tell. She had to shut her eyes in order to sense her own body. As she did, she realized thatshe was sit up, instinctively huddling into herself to keep safe from the darkness.Okay. I dont think youre hurt. Lets try standing up. Very slowly.That was when the real shock came.She couldnt stand up.She couldnt.She could move her arms and even her legs. But when she tried to lift her body, even to shift viewslightly, something bit into her waist, keeping her immobile.With a crawling feeling of horror, Hannah put her hands to her waist and felt the rough texture of round.Im tied. Im tied. The re was something hard against her back. A tree? Her hands flew to feel it. No, not a tree-tooregular. Tall, but squarish. A post of some kind.The rope seemed to be wound many times around her waist, tightly enough that it constricted herbreathing a little. It bound her securely to the post. And then it fastened supra or far behind hersomewhere-she couldnt find any knots with her fingers.It felt like very strong, very toughened rope. Hannah knew without question that she wasnt going to be ableto wiggle out of it or untie it.The post seemed very sturdy, too. The ground under Hannah was dirt and rock.Im alone, she thought slowly. She could hear her own gasping breath. Im all alone and Im tied herein the dark. I cant move. I cant get away.Maya put me here. She left me to die all alone in the dark.For a while, then, Hannah simply lost control. She screamed for help and heard her voice echo oddly.She pulled and twisted at the rope with her fingers until her fingertips were raw. She threw her wholebody from one side to the other, trying to loosen the rope or the post, until the pain in her waist made herstop. And finally she gave in to the galloping fear inside her and sobbed out loud.She had never, ever, felt so emaciate and alone.In the end, though, she cried herself out. And when shed gasped to a stop, she found that she couldthink a little.Listen, girl. Youve got to get a grip. Youve got to help yourself, because theres nobody else to do it.It wasnt the cool wind voice or even the crystal voice-because they were both just part of her now. Itwas Hannahs own mental voice. She had accepted all her past selves and their experiences, and in returnshe felt she could call on at least some of their wisdom.Okay, she thought grimly. No more crying. telephone. What can you tell about your situation?Im not out in the open. I know because theres no light at all and because of the way my voice echoed.Im in a heroic room or something. Its got a high ceiling. And the floor i s rock.Good. Okay, do you hear anything else?Hannah listened. It was hard to concentrate on the silence around her-it made her own breathing andheartbeat seem terrifyingly loud. She could feel her nerves stretch and fray but she held on, ignoringher own noises and trying to reach out into the darkness with her ears.Then she heard it. Very far away, a sound like a faucet drip mold slowly.What the hell? Im in a big black room with a rock floor and a leaky faucet.Shut up. Keep concentrating. What do you smell?Hannah sniffed. That didnt work, so she took long breaths through her weave, ignoring the pain as hermidsection pressed against the rope.Its musty in here. Dank. It smells damp and cold.In fact, it was very cold. Her panic had kept her fiery before, but now she realized that her fingers wereicy and her arms and legs were stiff.Okay, so what have we got? Im in a big black refrigerated room with a high ceiling and a stone floor.And its musty and damp.A cellar? A cellar without wi ndows?But she was just fooling herself. She knew. The skin of her face seemed to sense the impel of tons ofrock above her. Her ears told her that that musical dripping was water on rock, very far away. Her nosetold her that she wasnt in any building. And her fingers could feel the natural irregularity of the groundunderneath her.She didnt want to believe it. But the knowledge crowded in on her, inescapable.Im in a cave.A cave or a cavern. Anyway, Im inside the earth. God knows how deep inside. Deep enough and farenough that I cant see any light from an entrance or vent hole.Very deep inside, her heart told her.She was in the loneliest place in the world. And she was going to die here.Hannah had never had claustrophobia before. But now she couldnt help feeling that the mass of rockaround and above her was trying to crush her. It could fall in at any minute, she thought. She felt a animal(prenominal) pressure, as if she were at the bottom of the ocean. She began to have trouble breat hing.She had to get her mind off it. She refused to turn into that screaming, gibbering thing in the darknessagain. Worse than the thought of dying was the thought of going insane down here.Think about Thierry. When he finds out youre missing hell start looking for you. You know that. And hewont give up until he finds you. But Ill be dead by then, she thought involuntarily. This time, instead offear, the idea of her death brought a strange poignant loneliness.Another life where I missed him, she thought. She blinked against tears suddenly. Oh, God. Great.Its so hard. So hard to keep hoping that someday its going to work out. But Ill meet him again in mynext life. And maybe I wont be so stupid then I wont fall for Mayas tricks.Itll be harder for him, I guess. Hell have to wait and get through the years day by day. Ill just go tosleep and in the end wake up somewhere else. And then someday hell come for me and Ill call . .. and then well start all over.I really did try this time, Th ierry. I did my best. I didnt mean to mess things up. announce me youll lookfor me again. Promise youll find me. I promise Ill wait for you. No matter how long it takes. Hannah shuther eyes, tilt back against the post and almost unconsciously touching the ring hed given her. Maybenext time shed remember it.Suddenly she didnt feel sad or afraid anymore. Just very tired.Eyes still shut, she grinned weakly. I feel old. Like Moms always complaining she feels. Ready to turnthis old body in and get a newThe thought broke off and disappeared.Was that a noise?Hannah found herself sitting up, leaning forward as far as the rope would allow, straining her ears.She thought shed heard yes. There it was again. A solid echoing sound out in the darkness.It sounded like footsteps. And it was coming closer.Yes, yes. Im rescued, Im saved. Hannahs heart was pounding so hard that she could hardly breathe toyell. But at last, just as she saw a bobbing elevation of light in the blackness, she managed t o get out a hoarsesquawk.Thierry? Hello? Im over hereThe light kept coming toward her. She could hear the footsteps coming closer.And there was no answer.Thierry ? Her voice trailed off.Footsteps. The light was big now. It was a beam, a flashlight. Hannah blinked at it.Her heart was slowly sinking, until it seemed to reach stone.And then the flashlight was right in front of her. It shone in her face, dazzling her eyes. Another lightsnapped on, a small camping lantern. Vision rushed back to Hannah, sending information surging to herbrain.But there was no happiness in it. Hannahs entire body was ice cold now, shivering.Because of course it wasnt Thierry. It was Maya.I hope I didnt disturb you, Maya said.She put down the lantern and what looked like a black backpack. Then she stood with her hands on herhips and looked at Hannah.I will not cry. I wont give her the satisfaction, Hannah thought.I didnt know vampires could really change into bats, she said.Maya laughed. She looked beautifu l in the pool of lantern light. Her long black hair fell in waves aroundher, hanging down her back to her hips. Her skin was milky-pale and her eyes looked dark andmysterious. Her laughing mouth was red.She was wearing designer jeans and high-heeled snakeskin boots. Funny, Hannah had never noticed anyof Mayas clothes before. Usually the adult female herself was so striking that it was impossible to focus onhow she was dressed.Not all vampires can shapeshift, Maya said. But, then, Im not like other vampires. Im the first, mydarling. Im the original. And I have to say Im getting really sick of you.The feeling is mutual, Hannah thought. She said, Then why dont you leave me alone? Why dont youleave me and Thierry alone?Because, then, my sweetpea, I wouldnt win. And I have to win. She looked at Hannah directly, herface oddly serious. Dont you understand that yet? she said softly. I have to win-because Ive given uptoo lots to lose. It cant all be for nothing. So winning is all there is.