Night World : Huntress Chapter 5

The boys light hair was longish, f wholeing over his forehead in disarray. He had a nice brass section, serious, thowith an unexpected dimple in his chin that gave him a slightly mischievous count on. His body was nicelymuscled but compact standing, Jez knew, hed be no taller than she. There was a large bump glide slope upon his forehead, just under the falling hair. The ghoul had probably slammed him once morest something.Jez jumped up and got a blue p fitic cup full of water from her nightstand. She pushoverbed a clean T-shirtfrom the floor and dipped 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 be nourish thought. Jez unplowed 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.Finally, although it probably didnt have anything to do with the water, the boys disconsolate eyelashes moved.He coughed, breathed, blinked, and looked at her.Relief spread through Jez. Dont try to sit up yet.Thats what they all say, he agreed, and sit down up. He put a authorize to his head and groaned. Jez steadiedhim.Im fine, he said. Just tell the room to stop moving. He looked around the room, bunked once more andsuddenly seemed to focus. He grabbed her arm, his eyes wide. Something followed me-A ghoul. Its dead.He let out his breath. Then he smiled wryly. You saved my life.And I dont even charge, Jez said, embarrassed. No, I mean it. His smile faded and he looked straight at her. give thanks you.Jez could feel heat trying to rise to her face, and she had a hard clip holding his gaze. His eyes weregray and so intense-fathomless. Her skin was tingling.She looked away and said evenly, We should submit you to a hospital. You cogency have a concussion.No. Im okay. Let me just see if I can stand up.When she opened her mouth to protest, he added, Jez , you dont be intimate why Im here. It cant wait.He was right Jez had been so intent on make outting him conscious that she hadnt even wondered what hewas doing here. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. She helped 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 made a circuit of the room, loosening his muscles. Jez watchedhim narrowly, ready to grab him if he fell. But 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 turn Daybreak, Jez would never know.Hed lost his p atomic number 18nts close to as young as she had. Hed lost his two sisters and his brother, too. His entirefamily had been on a camping trip atLake Tahoe , when in the eye of the night theyd been attackedby a pack of werewolves. Renegade wolves, hunting illegal ly because shadow World law wouldnt let themkill as often as they liked.Just like Jezs old gang.The wolves had ripped through theDavis familys tents and killed the man, hotshot, two, three. Easy asthat. The only one they left alive was seven-year-old Hugh, because he was too little to have such(prenominal) meaton his body. They had just settled down to eat the hearts and livers of their victims, whensuddenly the one too little to be worth eating was dapper at them with a homemade torch constructed ofkerosene-soaked underwear wrapped around a stick. He was also waving a silver-tongued cross on a chain thewerewolves had torn from his sisters neck.Two things werewolves dont like silver and fire. The little boy was attacking with both. The wolvesdecided to kill him.Slowly.They almost did it. They managed to chew one of his legs almost off before a park ranger arrived,attracted by the spreading fire from the dropped torch.The ranger had a gun, and the fire was getting out of contro l. The wolves left.Hugh almost died of broth loss on the way to the hospital. But he was a tough kid. And a very smart one. He didnt even try to explain to anybody what hed beendoing with the silver necklace. He knew they would never believe him if he said hed suddenlyremembered a bunch of past lives, including one where hed seen a werewolf killed.Hugh Davis was an obsolescent Soul.And a wakened senescent Soul, which was even more rare. It scared Jez a little. He was human and she wasfrom the Night World, but she didnt pret revoke to understand the magic that brought some humans backagain and again, reincarnating them in new bodies. Letting them remember all their past lifetimes, makingthem smarter and more clearheaded any time they were born.In Hughs case, also gentler every time. In spite of the attack on his family, when he got out of thehospital the first thing he did was try to find some Night People. 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 found 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 not to be told about the Night World, and that Night People shouldnt fall in love withhumans. Circle Daybreak was combat to unite everybody, to stop the killings, and to bring peacebetween the races.Jez wished them luck.She suddenly realized 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 r eading you, Jez thought.She said, Sorry. Um, do you want some ice 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 stuff to explain to you, and its going to take a while.Jez didnt sit. Hugh, I think you need it. And I need to take a shower or my aunt will get suspiciousabout what Im doing in here for so long. Besides, the smell is driving me crazy. Although she couldntuse her vampire powers without saving 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 wit togentle gravity as always. You need to do what will keep your cover here. I shouldnt be so impatient.Jez took the fastest shower of her life, then svelte in clean clothes shed brought to the bathroom. Asshe returned carrying a sparklerful of ice from the kitchen and a washcloth, she saw that Claires bedroomdoor was ajar and C laire was watching her narrowly.Jez raised 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 come youre so fashionable 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 about 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 good at talking about emotional stuff. Hugh,look. You were my first human friend. When I came to live here, nobody at Circle Daybreak would hav eanything 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 psyche 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. Nobody could-not unlessthey were one of those tiny fraction 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. Beca use you positive(p) them Iwasnt some kind 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 newspaper 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 together.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.Have you noticed the weather latterly? Its either floods or droughts. Record cold days in winter, recordheat in the summer. Record 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 thither were dozens of major quakes.Jez narrowed her eyes. OkayAnd 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 sum up 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 a ttacking 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 remunerativemuch 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. cut through attacks are up four hundred percent, Hugh said. According 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 seeing more and more people get attacked by them. Killer bees. Fireants. Tiger mosquitoes-and, no, Im not joking. Theyre for real, and they carry dengue fever, a in truthnasty disease.HughWhich brings me to diseases. You have to have noticed that. There are new diseases popping up allover. Ebola. Mad cow disease. That flesh-eating bacteria. Hanta viruses. Lassa. Crimean-Congohemorrhagic fever. You bleed 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 quickly, hisgray eyes almost feverish.And theyre resistant to antibiotics the same way that the insects are resistant to pesticides. Theyre all mutating. Changing. get 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. spiral 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 swept 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 Ol d Powers they were forces of nature, not people. And they had been quiescence 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 diverse 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 again 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 cha nges.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.