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hunched now, his head thrust forward, and there was an exultant leer on his
lips.
"Let me go,Tyler . You're hurting me!" Panic flashed down all Meredith's
nerves at the feel ofTyler 's flesh against hers. But the hand only gripped
harder, grinding tendon against bone in her wrist.
"This is a secret, baby, that nobody else knows,"Tyler said, pulling her
close, his breath hot in her face. "You came here all decked out against
vampires. But I'm not a vampire."
Meredith's heart was pounding. "Let go!"
"First I want you to look over there. You can see the headstone now," he
said, turning her so that she couldn't help but look. And he was right;
shecould see it, like a red monument with a shining globe on top.Or not a
globe. That marble ball looked like& it looked like&
"Now look east. What do you see there, Meredith?"Tyler went on, his voice
hoarse with excitement.
It was the full moon. It had risen while he'd been talking to her, and now it
hung above the hills, perfectly round and enormously distended, a huge and
swollen red ball.
And that was what the headstone looked like. Like a full moon dripping with
blood.
"You came here protected against vampires, Meredith,"Tyler said from behind
her, even more hoarsely. "But theSmallwoods aren't vampires at all. We're
something else."
And then he growled.
No human throat could have made the sound. It wasn't an imitation of an
animal; it wasreal.Avicious guttural snarl that went up and up, snapping
Meredith's head around to look at him, to stare in disbelief. What she was
seeing was so horrible her mind couldn't accept it&
Meredith screamed.
"I told you it was a surprise. How do you like it?"Tyler said. His voice was
thick with saliva, and his red tongue lolled among the rows of long canine
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teeth. His face wasn't a face anymore. It jutted out grotesquely into a
muzzle, and his eyes were yellow, withslitlike pupils. His reddish-sandy hair
had grown over his cheeks and down the back of his neck.A pelt. "You can
scream all you want up here and nobody's going to hear you," he added.
Every muscle in Meredith's body was rigid, trying to get away from him. It
was a visceral reaction, one she couldn't have helped if she wanted to. His
breath was so hot, and it smelled feral, like an animal. The nails he was
digging into her wrist were stumpy blackened claws. She didn't have the
strength to scream again.
"There's other thingsbesides vampires with a taste for blood,"Tyler said in
his new slurping voice. "And I want to taste yours. But first we're going to
have some fun."
Although he still stood on two feet, his body was humped and strangely
distorted. Meredith's struggles were feeble as he forced her to the ground.
She was a strong girl, but he was far stronger, his muscles bunching under his
shirt as he pinned her.
"You've always been too good for me, haven't you? Well, now you're going to
find out what you've been missing."
I can't breathe, Meredith thought wildly. His arm was across her throat,
blocking her air. Gray waves rolled through her brain.If she passed out now&
"You're going to wish you died as fast as Sue."Tyler 's face floated above
her, red as the moon, with that long tongue lolling. His other hand held her
arms above her head. "You ever hear the story of Little Red Riding Hood?"
The gray was turning into blackness, speckled with little lights. Like stars,
Meredith thought. I'm falling in the stars&
"Tyler, take your hands off her! Let go of her, now!" Matt's voice shouted.
Tyler's slavering snarl broke off into a surprised whine. The arm against
Meredith's throat released pressure, and air rushed into her lungs.
Footsteps were pounding around her. "I've been waiting a long time to do
this,Tyler ," Matt said, jerking the sandy-red head back by the hair. Then
Matt's fist smashed intoTyler 's newly grown muzzle. Blood spurted from the
wet animal nose.
The soundTyler made froze Meredith's heart in her chest. He sprang at Matt,
twisting in midair, claws outstretched. Matt fell back under the assault and
Meredith, dizzy, tried to pushherself up off the ground. She couldn't; all her
muscles were trembling uncontrollably. But someone else pickedTyler off Matt
as ifTyler weighed no more than a doll.
"Just like old times,Tyler ," Stefan said, settingTyler on his feet and
facing him.
Tylerstared a minute, then tried to run.
He was fast, dodging with animal agility between the rows of graves. But
Stefan was faster and cut him off.
"Meredith, are you hurt? Meredith?" Bonnie was kneeling beside her. Meredith
nodded she still couldn't speak and let Bonnie support her head. "I knew we
should have stopped him sooner, I knew it," Bonnie went on worriedly.
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Stefan was draggingTyler back. "I always knew you were a jerk," he said,
shovingTyler against a headstone, "but I didn't know you were this stupid. I'd
have thought you would have learned not to jump girls in graveyards, but no.
And you had to brag about what you did to Sue, too. That wasn't smart,Tyler ."
Meredith looked at them as they faced each other. So different, she
thought.Even though they were both creatures of darkness in some way. Stefan
was pale, his green eyes blazing with anger and menace, but there was a
dignity, almosta purity about him. He was like some stern angel carved in
unyielding marble.Tyler just looked like a trapped animal. He was crouched,
breathing hard, blood and saliva mingling on his chest. Those yellow eyes
glittered with hate and fear, and his fingers worked as if he'd like to claw
something. A low sound came out of his throat.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to beat you up this time," Stefan said. "Not
unless you try to get away. We're all going up to the church to have a little
chat. You like to tell stories,Tyler ; well, you're going to tell me one now."
Tylersprang at him, vaulting straight from the ground for Stefan's throat.
But Stefan was ready for him. Meredith suspected that both Stefan and Matt
enjoyed the next few minutes, working off their accumulated aggressions, but
she didn't, so she looked away. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]