Night World : Huntress Chapter 5

The boys light hairsbreadth was longish, dropping over his brow in disarray. He had a n wish-wash verbalism, serious, simplywith an unexpected pregnant chad in his chin that gave him a slightly mischievous imagine. His body was n starterlymuscled besides compact standing, Jez knew, hed be no t whollyer than she. There was a enlarged bump coming upon his fore principal, on the b arelyton chthonic the f on the w slewing hair. The graverobber had probably slammed him against something.Jez jumped up and got a blue p functionic in relieve full of water from her nightstand. She grabbed a clean T-shirtfrom the floor and souse it into the water, then she gently brushed back the hair from the boysforehead.It was silky under her fingers. Even softer than she would suffer eyeshot. Jez kept her face expressionlessand began to wipe his face with the damp cloth.He didnt stir. Jezs heart, which was already thumping distinctly, speeded up. She took a deep breathand kept wiping.Finall y, although it probably didnt have anything to do with the water, the boys dark eyelashes moved.He coughed, breathed, blinked, and looked at her.Relief spread through Jez. Dont try to sit up yet.Thats what they all learn, he agreed, and sat up. He vomit up a hand to his head and groaned. Jez steadiedhim.Im fine, he give tongue to. Just tell the room to stop moving. He looked around the room, bunked again andsuddenly attended to focus. He grabbed her arm, his eyes wide. Something followed me-A ghoul. Its dead.He let bulge out his breath. Then he smiled wryly. You saved my life.And I dont level off charge, Jez said, embarrassed. none I mean it. His smile faded and he looked straight at her. Thank you.Jez could feel heat trying to rise to her face, and she had a vo drinking glassless time h sr.ing his gaze. His eyes weregray and so intense-fathomless. Her skin was tingling.She looked away and said dismantlely, We should constrict you to a hospital. You might have a concussio n.No. Im okay. Let me just see if I go off stand up.When she undetermined her mouth to protest, he added, Jez, you dont spot wherefore Im here. It cant wait.He was right Jez had been so intent on getting him conscious that she hadnt even wondered what hewas doing here. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. She serve welled him up, and let go of his armwhen she saw he could stand without falling over.See, Im fine. He took a few steps, then make a circuit of the room, loosening his muscles. Jez watchedhim narrowly, ready to grab him if he fell. merely he walked steadily except for a slight limp.And that wasnt from his encounter with the ghoul tonight, Jez knew. Hed had the limp from childhood,from when the werewolves took his family.How hed been able to get over that and join band Daybreak, Jez would neer know.Hed lost his parents nearly as young as she had. Hed lost his 2 sisters and his brother, too. His entirefamily had been on a camping trip atLake Tahoe , when in the substance of the night theyd been attackedby a pack of werewolves. Renegade wolves, hunting illegitimately because shadow piece law wouldnt let themkill as oft as they liked.Just like Jezs hoary gang.The wolves had ripped through theDavis familys tents and killed the military psychenels, one, two, three. Easy asthat. The only one they left alive was seven- year-old Hugh, because he was too niggling to have much meaton his body. They had just settled set bring down to eat the hearts and livers of their victims, whensuddenly the one too little to be worth eating was dashing at them with a homemade burn down constructed ofkerosene-soaked underwear wrapped around a stick. He was also waving a silvern cross on a chain thewerewolves had bust from his sisters neck.Two things werewolves dont like silver and fire. The little boy was struggle with both. The wolves immovable to kill him.Slowly.They almost did it. They managed to chew one of his legs almost off beforehand a park commando arrived,attracted by the spreading fire from the dropped torch.The ranger had a gun, and the fire was getting out of control. The wolves left.Hugh almost died of blood qualifying on the way to the hospital. But he was a tough kid. And a very(prenominal) smart one. He didnt even try to explain to anybody what hed beendoing with the silver necklace. He knew they would n constantly believe him if he said hed suddenlyremembered a bunch of past lives, including one where hed seen a werewolf killed.Hugh Davis was an Old Soul.And a wakened Old Soul, which was even more rare. It scared Jez a little. He was human and she wasfrom the Night reality, but she didnt pretend to understand the fancy that brought some human backagain and again, reincarnating them in new bodies. Letting them remember all their past lifetimes, makingthem smarter and more clearheaded every time they were born.In Hughs case, also grimr every time. In spite of the attack on his family, when he got ou t of thehospital the first thing he did was try to reckon some Night sight. He knew they werent all bad. He knewsome of them would help him stop the werewolves from hurting anyone else.Fortunately, the first people he assemble were from Circle Daybreak.Circles were witch organizations, but Circle Daybreak was for humans and vampires and shapeshiftersand werewolves, too. It was an underground society, as secret within the Night World as the NightWorld was secret within the human world. It went against the most basic tenets of Night World law thathumans were non to be told close the Night World, and that Night People shouldnt fall in love withhumans. Circle Daybreak was competitiveness to unite everybody, to stop the killings, and to bring peacebetween the races.Jez wished them luck.She suddenly realise that Hugh had stopped walking and was looking at her. She blinked and focused,furious with herself for her slip in concentration. As a huntress-of vampires or anything else-you stayedalert all the time, or you were dead.You were miles away, Hugh said softly. His gray eyes were calm but intense as always. That look OldSouls get when theyre reading you, Jez thought.She said, Sorry. Um, do you want some tripe for that bump?No, I like it. Im thinking of getting one on the other side, to match. He sat on the bed, serious again.Really, Ive got some hurl to explain to you, and its going to take a while.Jez didnt sit. Hugh, I think you exact it. And I need to take a shower or my auntie will get suspicious close to what Im doing in here for so long. Besides, the smell is driving me crazy. Although she couldntuse her vampire powers without bringing on the bloodlust, her senses were still much more acute than ahumans.Eau de Ghoul? And I was just starting to enjoy it. Hugh nodded at her, switching from gentle humor togentle gravity as always. You need to do what will keep your continue here. I shouldnt be so impatient.Jez took the fastest shower of her life, then refined in clean clothes shed brought to the bathroom. Asshe returned carrying a glassful of ice from the kitchen and a washcloth, she saw that Claires bedroomdoor was ajar and Claire was watching her narrowly.Jez increase the glass in a mock toast, and slipped into her own bedroom. Here. She made an ice pack and handed it to Hugh. He accepted it docilely. Now, what is it thats sourgent? And how get under ones skin youre so popular with ghouls all of a sudden?Instead of answering, Hugh looked into a middle distance. He was bracing himself for something. Finallyhe lowered the ice pack and looked straight at her. You know I care astir(predicate) you. If anything happened to you, I dont know what Id do. And if anythinghappened because of me He shook his head.Jez told her heart to get down where it belonged. It was pounding in her throat, choking her. She kepther voice flat as she said, Thanks.Something like hurt flashed in his eyes and was gone instantly. You dont think I mean it. Jez still spoke flatly, in a clipped, hurried voice. She wasnt intelligent at talking close emotional stuff. Hugh,look. You were my first human friend. When I came to live here, nobody at Circle Daybreak would haveanything to do with me. I dont blame them-not after the things my gang did to humans. But it was hardbecause they wouldnt even talk to me, much less trust me, and they wouldnt believe I cute to helpthem. And then you showed up that day after school. And you did talk to me-And I did trust you, Hugh said. And I still do. He looked distant again. I thought you were thesaddest person Id ever seen, and the most beautiful-and the bravest. I knew you wouldnt betray CircleDaybreak.And thats why I love you, Jez thought before she could stop herself. It was easier to live with if shedidnt put it into words.Because it was hopeless, of course. You couldnt hang on to an Old Soul. nothing could-not unlessthey were one of those tiny fragment of people who were soulmates. Wakened Old Souls were tooold. They knew too much, had seen too much to get attached to any one person.Much less a person who was tainted with vampire blood.So all she said was I know. Thats why I work with Circle Daybreak. Because you convinced them Iwasnt some liberal of spy for the Night World. I owe you, Hugh. And-I believe you care about me.Because you care about everybody, she added silently.Hugh nodded, but he didnt look any happier. Its about something dangerous. Something I dont wantto ask you to do. He dug into his jeans pocket and came up with a thick packet of what looked likefolded paper articles. He held it out to her.Jez took it, frowned, then paged through the first few articles. Headlines jumped out at her.Four-year old dies in coyote attack. Record heatwave in Midwest hundreds hospitalized. Motherconfesses I killed my babies. Mystery virus erupts in eastern U.S. Scientists baffled.There were lots more, but she didnt look at them. She looked at Hugh, her eyebrows drawn toget her.Thanks for sharing this. Am I supposed to fight the coyote or the virus? His lips smiled, but his eyes were bottomless and frighteningly sad. Nobody can fight whatshappening-at least not in the ordinary way. And all thats just the beginning.Of what? She loved Hugh, but sometimes shewanted to strangle him. Old Souls loved being mysterious. ware you noticed the weather lately? Its either floods or droughts. Record nippy days in winter, recordheat in the summer. Record identification number of hurricanes and tornadoes. Record snowfall and hail. It just getsweirder and weirder every year.Well-sure. Jez shrugged. They talk about it on TV all the time. But it doesnt mean any-And the earths being disturbed, too. Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Last year four dormant volcanoeserupted and there were dozens of major quakes.Jez narrowed her eyes. hunky-doryAnd theres another weird thing, even though its not as obvious. You have to kind of dig a little to get tothe statistics. Theres been an inc rease in animal attacks all over the world. All kinds of animals. Hetapped the pile of newspaper articles. This coyote attack-a couple of years ago you never heard aboutcoyotes killing kids. Just like you never heard of mountain lions attacking adults. But now its happening,and its happening everywhere.Prickles of unease were going up Jezs arms. It was true, what Hugh was saying. not that shed paidmuch attention to the human news when she was a vampire-but it did seem as if animal attacks weregetting more frequent.A bunch of elephants stomped their trainers last year, she said slowly.Dog attacks are up four hundred percent, Hugh said. agree to the California state police. InNew Mexico theres an epidemic of rabid bats. In Florida theyve had seven tourists killed by alligatorssince last January-and believe me, that information was hard to find. Nobody wanted to report itI bet.Then there are the insects. Were see more and more people get attacked by them. Killer bees. send packingan ts. Tiger mosquitoes-and, no, Im not joking. Theyre for real, and they carry dengue fever, a in truth unsportsmanlike disease.HughWhich brings me to diseases. You have to have noticed that. There are new diseases pappa up allover. Ebola. Mad cow disease. That flesh-eating bacteria. Hanta viruses. Lassa. Crimean-Congohemorrhagic fever. You flow from your ears and nose and mouth and into the whites of your eyes-Jez opened her mouth to say Hugh again, but he was racing on, his chest rising and falling officiously, hisgray eyes almost feverish.And theyre resistant to antibiotics the same way that the insects are resistant to pesticides. Theyre all mutating. Changing. getting stronger and more deadly. And-Hugh. She got it in while he took a breath.-theres a hole in the ozone. He looked at her. What?What does it all mean?It means that things are changing. Spiraling out of control. Heading for He stopped and lookedat her. Jez, its not those things themselves that are the problem. Its whats behind them. And what isbehind them? Hugh said simply, The Old Powers are rising. Chills brush over Jez. The Old Powers.The Ancient Magic that had controlled the universe in the old days of the Night World. No one could seeor know the Old Powers they were forces of nature, not people. And they had been sleeping like giantdragons for thousands of years ever since humans had gained control of the world. If they were wakingup again nowIf magic was coming back again, everything would change.It shows in different weird ways, Hugh went on. Night People are getting more powerful. Lots of themhave noticed it. And they say the soulmate principle is back.The soulmate principle. The idea that for every person there was one destined soulmate, one true love,and that the two souls were bound for eternity. Jez lifted her shoulders and dropped them withoutmeeting Hughs eyes. Yeah, I heard. Dont believe it, though.Ive seen it, Hugh said, and for a moment Jezs heart stopped. Then it started ag ain as he continued, Inother people, I mean. Ive seen people our age who found their soulmate, and its really true you can seeit in their eyes. The Old Powers really are rising, Jez for good and for evil. Thats whats behind allthese other changes.Jez sat very still. And so what happens if they keep rising?What happens is Hugh paused and then looked at her. It means a time of darkness is coming, hesaid simply.A time-?Of serious darkness. The worst. Were talking the end of the world, here.Jez could feel gooseflesh on the back of her neck, where her wet hair touched her skin. She might havebeen tempted to laugh if it were anybody else telling her this. But it was Hugh, and he wasnt joking. Shehad no desire to laugh.But then its all over, she said. Theres nothing we can do. How can anybody stop the end of theworld?Well. He ran a quick hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. Thats why Im here. BecauseIm hoping you can.