6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命-第16部分

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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。”　
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　“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　
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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　and　turned　upside　down。　So　Riley　knew　it　was　safe　for　us　to　go　out　in　the　sun。　Or　he　didn’t；　and　our　creator　had　told　him　this　“four　days　a　year”　story。　Or…　this　was　true　and　Diego　and　I　had　lucked　into　one　of　those　days。　Except　that　Diego　had　been　out　in　the　shade　before。　And　Riley　was　making　this　into　some　kind　of　solsticey　seasonal　thing；　while　Diego　and　I　had　been　safe　in　the　daylight　just　four　days　ago。　　I　could　understand　that　Riley　and　our　creator　would　want　to　control　us　with　the　fear　of　the　sun。　It　made　sense。　But　why　tell　the　truth　　　in　a　very　limited　way　　　now？　
　Page　112

　I　would　bet　it　had　to　do　with　those　scary　darkcloaks。　She　probably　wanted　to　get　a　jump　on　her　deadline。　The　cloaked　ones　had　not　promised　to　let　her　live　when　we　killed　all　the　yelloweyes。　I　guessed　she　would　be　off　like　a　shot　the　second　she’d　acplished　her　objective　here。　Kill　the　yelloweyes　and　then　take　an　extended　vacation　in　Australia　or　somewhere　else　on　the　other　side　of　the　world。　And　I’d　bet　she　wasn’t　going　to　send　us　engraved　invitations。　I　would　have　to　get　to　Diego　quick　so　we　could　bail；　too。　In　the　opposite　direction　from　Riley　and　our　creator。　And　I　ought　to　tip　Fred　off。　I　decided　I　would　as　soon　as　we　had　a　moment　alone。　　There　was　so　much　manipulation　going　on　in　this　one　little　speech；　and　I　wasn’t　sure　I　was　catching　it　all。　I　wished　Diego　were　here　so　we　could　analyze　it　together。　　If　Riley　was　just　making　up　this　fourdays　story　on　the　spot；　I　guess　I　could　understand　why。　It’s　not　like　he　could　have　just　said；　Hey；　so　I’ve　lied　to　you　for　your　whole　lives；　but　now　I’m　telling　the　truth。　He　wanted　us　to　follow　him　into　battle　today；　he　couldn’t　undermine　whatever　trust　he’d　earned。　　“It’s　right　for　you　to　be　terrified　at　the　thought；”　Riley　told　the　statues。　“The　reason　you　are　all　still　alive　is　that　you　paid　attention　when　I　told　you　to　be　careful。　You　got　home　on　time；　you　didn’t　make　mistakes。　You　let　that　fear　make　you　smart　and　cautious。　I　don’t　expect　you　to　put　that　intelligent　fear　aside　easily。　I　don’t　expect　you　to　run　out　that　door　on　my　word。　But…”　He　looked　around　the　room　once。　“I　do　expect　you　to　follow　me　out。”　　His　eyes　slid　away　from　the　audience　for　just　the　teensiest　
　Page　113

fraction　of　a　second；　touching　very　briefly　on　something　over　my　head。　　“Watch　me；”　he　told　us。　“Listen　to　me。　Trust　me。　When　you　see　that　I’m　okay；　believe　your　eyes。　The　sun　on　this　one　day　does　have　some　interesting　effects　on　our　skin。　You’ll　see。　It　won’t　hurt　you　in　any　way。　I　wouldn’t　do　anything　to　put　you　guys　in　unnecessary　danger。　You　know　that。”　　He　started　up　the　stairs。　　“Riley；　can’t　we　just　wait　　；”　Kristie　began。　　“Just　pay　attention；”　Riley　cut　her　off；　still　moving　up　at　a　measured　pace。　“This　gives　us　a　big　advantage。　The　yellow　eyes　know　all　about　this　day；　but　they　don’t　know　that　we　know。”　As　he　was　talking；　he　opened　the　door　and　walked　out　of　the　basement　into　the　kitchen。　There　was　no　light　in　the　wellshaded　kitchen；　but　everyone　still　shied　away　from　the　open　doorway。　Everyone　but　me。　His　voice　continued；　moving　toward　the　front　door。　“It　takes　most　young　vampires　a　while　to　embrace　this　exception　　for　good　reason。　Those　who　aren’t　cautious　about　the　daylight　don’t　last　long。”　　I　felt　Fred’s　eyes　on　me。　I　glanced　over　at　him。　He　was　staring　at　me　urgently；　as　if　he　wanted　to　take　off　but　had　nowhere　to　go。　　“It’s　okay；”　I　whispered　almost　silently。　“The　sun’s　not　going　to　hurt　us。”　　You　trust　him　　　he　mouthed　back　at　me。　　No　way。　　Fred　raised　an　eyebrow　and　relaxed　just　slightly。　　I　glanced　behind　us。　What　had　Riley　been　looking　at？　
　Page　114

Nothing　had　changed　　just　some　family　pictures　of　dead　people；　a　small　mirror；　and　a　cuckoo　clock。　Hmm。　Was　he　checking　the　time？　Maybe　our　creator　had　given　him　a　deadline；　too。　　“’Kay；　guys；　I’m　going　out；”　Riley　said。　“You　don’t　have　to　be　afraid　today；　I　promise。”　　The　light　burst　into　the　basement　through　the　open　door；　magnified　　as　only　I　knew　　by　Riley’s　skin。　I　could　see　the　brigh