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Fred raised an eyebrow and relaxed just slightly I glanced behind us What had Riley been looking at?
Nothing had changed - just some family pictures of dead people, a s the tiiven hi out," Riley said "You don’t have to be afraid today, I proh the open door, nified - as only I knew - by Riley’s skin I could see the bright reflections dance on the wal
Hissing and snarling, my coven backed into the corner opposite from Fred’s Kristie was in the very back It looked like she was trying to use her gang as a kind of shield
"Relax, everybody," Riley cal ed down to us "I am absolutely fine No pain, no burn Come and see C’ainst the wal beside ht with panic I waved et his attention He looked up at htened up next tofor the burn to start I wondered if I had looked that sil y to Diego
"You know," Riley mused from above, "I’ood idea who the first person through that door is going to be, but I’ve been wrong before"
I rol ed my eyes Subtle, Riley
But of course it worked Raoul started inching his way toward the stairs almost immediately For once, Kristie was in no hurry to compete with hiers at Kevin, and both he and the Spider-Man kid reluctantly moved to flank him
"You can hear me You know I’m not fried Don’t be a bunch of babies! You’re vampires Act like it"
Stil, Raoul and his buddies couldn’t get farther than the foot of the stairs None of the others moved After a few ht from the front door, he shimmered just a tiny bit in the doorway
"Look at me - I’m fine Seriously! I’m embarrassed for you C’rab Kevin - Raoul ducked out of the way as soon as he could see what Riley was thinking - and drag him upstairs by force I saw the htened from their reflections
"Tel them, Kevin," Riley ordered
"I’m okay, Raoul!" Kevin cal ed down "Whoa I’hed
"Wel done, Kevin," Riley said loudly
That did it for Raoul He gritted his teeth and marched up the stairs He didn’twith Kevin
Even froer than I would have predicted It was stil a one-by-one thing Riley got iement now Fred shot me a look that said, You knew this?
Yes, I mouthed
He nodded and started up the stairs There were stil about ten people, ainst the walI ith Fred Better to coht in the middle Let Riley read into that what he would
We could see the shining, disco-bal va at their hands and each other’s faces with rapt expressions Fred ht was pretty brave, al things considered Kristie was a better exa to what she knew regardless of the evidence in front of her
Fred and I stood a little space from the others He examined himself careful y, then looked me over, then stared at the others It struck h real y quiet, was very observant and almost scientific in the way he exa Riley’s words and actions al along How ured out?
Riley had to force Kristie up the stairs, and her gang came with her Final y we al were out in the sun,how very pretty they were Riley rounded everyone up for one et theain It took them a minute, but everyone started to realize that this was it, and they got quieter and ht - of being not only al owed but encouraged to rip and burn - was al It appealed to people like Raoul and Jen and Sara Riley focused on a strategy he’d been trying to dril into them for the last few days - once we’d pinpointed the yel oweyes’ scent, ere going to divide in two and flank thee them head-on while Kristie attacked froh I wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to fol ow this strategy in the heat of the hunt
When Riley cal ed everyone together after an hour of practice, Fred i backward toward the north; Riley had the others facing south I stayed close, though I had no idea what he was doing Fred stopped ere a good hundred yards away, in the shade of the spruce trees on the fringe of the forest No one watched usto see if he would notice our retreat
Riley began speaking "We leave now You’re strong and you’re ready And you’re thirsty for it, aren’t you? You can feel the burn You’re ready for dessert"
He was right Al that blood hadn’t slowed the return of the thirst at alIn fact, I wasn’t sure, but I thought itback faster and harder than usual Maybe overfeeding was counterproductive in so in slowly froer," Riley said "She’s beento lance tohere I’d just been standing, and then a quick frown that disappeared just as quickly - "and il hit them like a tsunami We wil overwhelm them easily And then il celebrate" He set a juive me that" Riley held out his hand i with the shirt It see her scent
"Take another whiff, everybody Let’s get focused!"
Focused on the girl? Or the fight?
Riley himself walked the shirt around this time, almost like he wanted to make sure everyone was thirsty And I could see from the reactions that, like me, the burn was back for them alThe scent of the shirt ive us the scent again; we forgot nothing So this was probably just a test Just thinking about the girl’s scent had veno in my mouth
"Are you with me?" Riley bel owed