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What are you doing?" he repeated ferociouslyHis grip was hurting her
"I’iesaid But she was thinking, He’s so strong Stronger than anybody I’ve ever
"I know that! Why?"
"Because it’s easier than carrying it down in ie said But that wasn’t the real reason,of course The truth was that she needed to get temptation out of the way She was so thirsty thatit was a kind of madness, and she was afraid ofwhat she would do if she held onto this cool, sloshing water bagat her with those startling eyes,as if he were trying to pryhis way into her brainAnd Maggie had the odd feeling that he’d succeeded, at least far enough that he knew the real reason she was doing this
"You are an idiot," he said sloith cold wonder "You should listen to your body; it’s telling youwhat it needs You can’t ignore thirst You can’tdeny it"
"Yes, you can," Maggie said flatly Her wrist wasgoing nu involuntarily, and in the wrong place
"You can’t," he said, sory hiss "I should know"
Then he showed her his teeth
Maggie should have been prepared
Jeanne had told her Vampires and witches and shapeshifters, she’d said And Sylvia was a witch,and Bern had been a shapeshifter
This boy was a va was that, unlike Bern, he didn’tget uglier when he changed His face seeoldeneyes burned brighter, framed by lashes that lookedeven blacker in contrast His pupils opened and seemed to hold a darkness that could s aperson up
But it was the ed the mostIt looked even more willful, disdainful, and sullen-and it was drawn up into a sneer to displaythe fangs
I into delicate points Shaped like a cat’s canines,with a sheen on the tusks like Bern’s, but delicate instruie was that although helooked co she’d seen before, completely abnormal, he also lookedcompletely natural This was another kind of creature, just like a huht to live as either of them
Which didn’t htened in a neay, a way ready for action
She was ready to fight, if fighting becaed thatthis valley: fear now made her not panicked buthyper alert
If I have to defend myself I need both handsAnd it’s better not to let hinore your kind of thirst," shesaid, and was pleased that her voice didn’t wobble"But I’ o?"
For just an instant, the brilliant yellow eyesflared even brighter, and she wondered if he wasgoing to attack her But then his eyelids lowered,black lashes veiling the brightness He let go ofher wrist
Maggie’s ardropped froers It landed safely at her feet She rubbed her hand
And didn’t look up a moment later, when he saidwith a kind of quiet hostility, "Aren’t you afraidof me?"
"Yes" It was true And it wasn’t just because hewas a vampire or because he had a power thatcould send blue death twenty feet away It was because of hih in and of hiie said,still rubbing her hand "If you’re going to try tohurt ht back And so far, you haven’t triedto hurt me You’ve only helped me"
"I told you, I didn’t do it for youAnd you’ll neversurvive if you keep on being insane like this"
"Insane like what?" Now she did look up, to seethat his eyes were burning dark gold and his fangswere gone His mouth si people," he said, as if it should havebeen obvious "Taking care of people Don’t youknow that only the strong ones htand if you try to help theie had an answer for that "Cady isn’tweak," she said flatly "She’s sickShe’ll get betterif she gets the chance And if we don’t take care ofeach other, what’s going to happen to all of us?"
He looked exasperated, and for a few minutesthey stared at each other in ie bent and picked up the bag again"I’d better give it to her now I’ll bring your can teen back"
"Wait" His voice was abrupt and cold, unfriendly But this tirab her"What?"
"Followto see if she obeyed It wasclear that he expectedpeople to obey hiover his shoulder
Maggie hesitated an instant, glancing down atCady But the holloas protected by the overhanging boulders; Cady would be all right there for a few minutes
She followed the boy The narrow path that wound around the h and primitive, interrupted by bands of broken, razor-sharpslate She had to pick her way carefully aroundthem
In front of her, the boy turned toward the rocksuddenly and disappeared When Maggie caught up, she saw the cave
The entrance was sie had to stoop and go in sideways But inside it opened into a snug littleenclosure that sht filtered in fro to adjust to the neardarkness, when there was a sound like a match strike and a sie saw the boy lighting some kindof crude stone lalanced back at her and his eyes flashed gold
But Maggie was gasping, looking around herThe light of the little fla shadows everywhere, but it alsopicked out threads of sparkling quartz in the rockThe small cave had become a place of enchant that glitteredsilver In the hush of the still air, Maggie couldhear the liquid, bell-like sound of water dripping
"It’sa pool," the boy said "Spring fed The watees cold, but it’s good Water Soie She took three steps forward, ignoring the boy cos collapsedShecupped a hand in the pool, felt the coolness enco liquid dia asgood as that water No Coke she’d drunk on the hottest day of suh herdry mouth and down her parched throatand then it seeh her body, soothing and reviving her A sort of crystal clearness entered her brain She drankand drank in a state of pure bliss
And then, when she was in the even ed the leather bag under the surface to fill it
"What’s that for?" But there was a certain resignation in the boy’s voice
"Cady I have to get back to her" Maggie sat backon her heels and looked at hi bronze off hisdark hair, casting half his face in shadow
"Thank you," she said, quietly, but in a voice thatshook slightly "I think you probably saved ain"
"You were really thirsty"
"Yeah" She stood up
"But when you thought there wasn’t enoughwater, you were going to give it to her" He couldn’tseeet over the concept
"Yeah"
"Even if it ie pointed out "And I wasn’tplanning to Butyeah, I guess, if there wasn’t anyother choice" She saw hi at her in utterbewilder to explain "It’s like when you take ina cat, or-or it’s like being a queen or so to be responsible for your subjects, you are You owe theolden eyes, just fora er or just a spark of astonishment There wasa silence