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Fhea settled on the box springs, not the most comfortable seat "Now, this all happened back in the days when there was still ic, and so could hter of Hecate Witch-Queen-"

"She was a witch?" Roz sounded intrigued

"Well-they didn’t call it that then They called her a Hearth-Woman And she didn’t look like a Halloitch She was beautiful: tall, with long yellow hair-"

"Like you"

"Huh? Oh" Thea grinned "Thanks, but, no Helle-as really beautiful-and she was s, too And when Hecate died, Hellewise became co-leader of the tribe The other leader was her sister, Maya"

Rosamund’s whole head was above thewith fierce, if skeptical, interest

"Now, Maya" Thea chewed her lip "Well, Maya was beautiful, too: tall, but with long black hair"

"Like that girl who came to the vet’s after you"

Thea was briefly startled She’d forgotten Rosamund had seen Blaise "Well-uh, , too-but she didn’t like having to share the leadership with Hellewise She wanted to rule alone, and she wanted soood idea to rowled

"Well-yeah, there’s nothing wrong with being iree Except, see, that it all depends on howme?"

"Nope"

"Well" Thea floundered Any Night Person would know ieous chance they hadn’t already heard the story But of course humans were different "Well, you see, it was a matter of what she had to do No ordinary spell would s, and Hellewise even helped her And finally they figured out what kind of spell would do it-but then Hellewise refused"

"Why?"

"Because it was too awful No, don’t ask me," Thea added as Rosaoing to tell you It’s not a subject for kids’

"What, what? If you don’t tell s"

Thea sighed "It had to do with babies, okay? And blood But that’s not the point of this story-" "They killed babies?"

"Not Hellewise Maya did And Hellewise tried to stop her, but-" "I bet she drank the blood" Thea stopped and looked hard at Rosanorant, but not durinned, nodded, and sat back, listening avidly "Okay, so then Maya beca was, she didn’t know until afterward the price she’d have to pay She would live forever-but only if she drank the blood of a mortal creature every day Otherwise, she’d die"

"Like a vampire," Rosamund said with relish Thea was shocked for an instant, then she laughed at herself Of course humans knew about vaends filled with misinformation

But thatbelieved

"Just like a va Rosamund’s eyes "Maya was the first vampire of all And all her children were cursed to be vampires, too"

Roz snorted "Vampires can’t have children" She looked doubtful "Can they?"

"The ones descended fro to say the word "laetbitten that can’t Maya had a vampire son called Red Fern and she bit people That’s the story, you see-Maya wanted topeople in the tribe And eventually Hellewise decided she had to stop it"

"How?"

"Well, that was the probleht with Maya and the other vampires But Hellewise knew if they did that, they’d probably all get killed Both sides So Hellewise challenged Maya alone to a duel Single combat"

Rosaht a duel with Mr Hendries-he’s the boys’ trekleader" She jumped on the mattress and attacked a pilloith hands and feet-and teeth "I’d win, too He’s out of shape"

"Well, Hellewise didn’t want to fight, but she had to She was scared, because as a vaer now"

For athe old story the way she had as a child Seeing Hellewise in her white leather shift, standing in the dark forest and waiting for Maya to coht, she’d probably die-and being brave enough to keep standing there Being willing to give up everything for the people she loved, and for peace

I don’t think I could ever be that brave I mean,

I’d certainly hope I would be, but I have a terrible feeling that I wouldn’t

And then a strange thing happened At that instant, she seemed to hear a voice, not her usual ent and al a question as if Thea hadn’t just decided on the answer Would you give up everything? Thea shifted She didn’t usually hear voices I suppose that’s what Hellewise , she told herself uneasily

"So what happened? Hey! Thea! What happened?" Rosa on the ht, but Helleon She drove Maya away And the tribe was left in peace, and they all lived happily ever after um, except Hellewise She died of her wounds"

Rosa and stared in disbelief "And you’re telling me this to make me feel better? I never heard such a lousy story" Her chin began to tre with a human child She held out her arms the way she had to Bud the puppy, the way she would have to any creature in pain-and Rosamund threw herself into the "You see, the point is that Hellewise’s people lived on, and they were free And that , because they were just a little tribe, but that little tribe got bigger and bigger, and they stayed free And all the witches in the world are descended from them, and they all remember Hellewise and honor her It’s a story every hters"

Rosaularly for a moment "What about her sons?"

"Well, her sons, too When I say ’daughters’ I hters’ It’s just shorter"

One green eye looked up froy hair "like ’he’ and ’him’ are supposed to mean ’she’ and ’her,’ too?"

"Yeah" Thea thought "I guess ed "The ie kept us-thehtened up, staring through the hair "Are you just jerking my chain or is that a true story? Because frankly you seeoing to say," an amused voice behind Thea said

Thea’s head snapped around The door was open a few inches and a wolasses and long silky brown hair Her expression reot sometimes, a look of very sweet puzzlement, as if he’d suddenly been struck by one of life’s overwhel mysteries

But that didn’t er An Outsider

A hu out the secrets of the Night World, the history of the witches, and a hu

Suddenly her hands and feet went nuray reality "I’, but to Thea the voice seemed to come from a distance "I didn’tthe story-sort of a ht?"

Thea’s eyes focused on another hu, too

"Moreen eyes were apologetic-and intense As if he were trying to make a connection with Thea

But Thea didn’t want to be connected Couldn’t be, to these people She was surrounded by humans, trapped in one of their houses She felt like the rattlesnake in a circle of big creatures with sticks Sheer, raw panic overtook her "You should be a writer, you know?" the hu "All that creativity" She took a step inside the roo Rosa at her-by now, the very walls see in They were alien, cruel, sadistic, terrorizing, evil, not-her-kind They were Cotton Mather and the Inquisition and they knew about her They were going to point at her in the street and cry "Witch!" Thea ran

She slipped between Eric and hiseither of the room, out the door

Outside, the sky was clouded over and it was getting dark Thea only stopped long enough to get her bearings, then headed west, walking as fast as she could Her heart was pounding and telling her to go faster

Get away, get away Go to earth Find hoed, like a fox being chased by the hounds

She was tenher She looked It was Eric’s jeep Eric was driving and his ers

"Thea, stop Please wait" Eric stopped the jeep and jumped out

He was on the sidewalk in front of her Thea froze

"Listen toaway from the jeep "I’m sorry they came, too-I couldn’t stop the please, won’t you co himself Thea just felt numb

"It’s okay I’m fine," she said at randoo away

"Look, we shouldn’t have eavesdropped I know that It was just you’re so good with Rosamund I never saw anybody she liked so randma That’s why you’re upset, isn’t it? That story is so she told you, isn’t it?"

Diht shone At least he thought it was a story

"We have fae of desperation in his voice "My grandpa used to

tell us he was a Martian-I swear to God this is true And then he went to arten Back to School and I’d told all the kids he was a Martian, and they hed, and I felt so bad He was really e Thea’s nuh that she felt sorry for hiain It was his

"Look, Thea," Eric’s mother said Her expression retched and earnest "Everybody knows your grandma, kno old she is, how she’s a little quirky But if she’s scaring you-if she’s telling you any kind of weird stuff-" "Moh his teeth She waved a hand at hilasses were steamed up "You don’t need to deal with that, okay? No kid needs to deal with that If you want a place to stay; if you need anything-if we need to call social services-"