The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Five

Initiation night for the newest members of the Vitale hostelry had arrived at last. The cavernous stylus of life was lit exactly by golden candlelight from immense tapers set(p) approximately the space and by the fire of high-flaming torches once more(prenominal)(prenominal)st the wal s. In the flickering light, the animals carved in the wood of the pil ars and arches close to getmed to be moving. gym mat, dressed in a immorality hooded tog worry the other initiates, gazed around proudly. Theyd worked gruelling, and the room looked amazing.At the front of the room, beneath the highest arch, a long table had been placed, draped in a dense red sitin cloth and looking like few winsome of altar. In the center of the table sat a huge enigmatical stone bowl, approximately like a baptismal font, and around it roses and orchids were set. much flowers had been scattered on the floor, and the scent of the crushed blossoms underfoot was so strong that it was dizzying. The pl edges were lined up, eventidely spaced, in advance the altar.As if shed picked up on his pride at how allthing had turned push through and through, Chloe pushed her dark hood buttocks a bit and leaned toward him to mutter, Pretty fabulous, huh? two-dimensionality smiled at her. So what if she was dating someone else? He stil liked her. He requireed to stay friends, even if that was al on that point could be mingled with them.He tugged at his robe self-consciously the fabric was heavy, and he didnt like the way it blocked his peripheral vision.The latest robeed members of the Vitale ordering wove silently among the pledges, handing push through goblets ful of some kind of liquid. languor sniffed his and smel ed ginger and chamomile as well upas slight familiar scents so this was where the herbs had been used.He smiled at the young woman who gave it to him, but got no response. Her eyeball laughingstock the mask slid everyplace him neutral y, and she moved on. Once he was a ful member of the Vitale Society, he would know who these current members were, would see them without their masks. He sipped from his goblet and grimaced it tasted strange and astringent.The softish rustlings of cloak treeed figures moving across the floor were quieten as the last of the goblets was handed out and the dissemble Vitales quietly retreated under the arch git the altar to watch. Ethan stepped forward, up to the altar, and pushed cover charge his hood.Welcome, he tell, attribute out his hands to the assembled pledges. Welcome to true top executive at last. The candlelight flickered over his face, twisting it into something strange and some sinister. Matt twitched nervously and took another swal ow of the bitter herbal medley.A toast Ethan cal ed. He raised(a) his own goblet, and before him, the pledges raised theirs. He hesitated for a moment, then said, To moving beyond the veil and discovering the truth.Matt raised his goblet and drained it with the other pledges. The mixture left a gritty feeling on his tongue, and he scraped it absently against his teeth.Ethan looked around at the pledges and smiled, locking gazes with one after another. Youve al worked so hard, he said affectionately. Each of you has reached his or her personal inflorescence of intel igence, strength, and leadership ability now. To findher, you are a stuff to be reckoned with. You have been meliorate.Matt managed to politely forbear himself from rol ing his eyes. It was nice to be praised, of course, but some periods Ethan was a exact too over the top perfected? Matt doubted it was even possible. It seemed to him that you could always strive to be a little more, or a little less, something.You could always wish to be better. that even if he could, after al , be perfected, he suspected that it would take more than a few obstacle courses and group problem-solving exercises to do it.And now it is time to at last discover your purpose, Ethan continue d. Time to bring to pass the final stage in your transformation from cut-and-dry students into true avatars of power. He took a clean and luster silver medal cup from the altar and dipped it into the deep stone bowl in front of him.With every step forward in evolution, there moldiness(prenominal) be some sacrifice. I regret both pain this wil cause you. Be comforted by the knowledge that al permiting is temporary. Anna, step forward. in that respect was a slight uneasy stirring among the pledges.This reprimand of suffering and sacrifice was different than Ethans usual fierceness on honor and power. Matt frowned.Something was wrong here.But Anna, looking tiny in her long robe, walked without vacillation up to the altar and pushed book binding her hood.Drink of me, Ethan said, handing her the silver cup.Anna blinked uncertainly and then, her eyes on Ethan, tipped back her take and drained the cup. As she handed it back to Ethan, she licked her lips automatical y, and Matt t ried to peer more closely at her. In the flickering candlelight, her lips looked violent y red and slick.Then Ethan led her around the side of the altar and into his arms. He smiled, and his face twisted, his eyes dilating and his lips pul ing back in a snarl. His teeth looked so long, so sharp. Matt tried to shout a warning but realized with horror that he couldnt move his lips, couldnt draw the breath to cal out.He knew, suddenly, that he had been a fool.Ethan sank his fangs deep into Annas neck. Matt strained, trying to unthaw toward them, to attack Ethan and throw him away from Anna. But he couldnt move at al . He must be under some kind of compulsion. Or perhaps something in the drink, some magic ingredient, had do them al docile and stil . He watched helplessly as Anna struggled for a few moments, then went limp, her eyes rol ing back in her head.Unceremoniously, Ethan let her body drop to the ground. Dont be afraid, he said kindly, gazing around at the horrified, polar pl edges. Al of us he gestured toward the silent, masked Vitale behind him went through this initiation recently. You must brace yourself to suffer what is only a smal , temporary death, and then you wil be one of us, a true Vitale. Never maturation old, never dying.Powerful forever. Sharp white teeth and golden eyes shining in the candlelight, Ethan reached out toward the next pledge as Matt struggled again to shout, to fight. Ethan continued,Stuart, step forward.Elena smel ed so good, rich and smart like an exotic ripe fruit. Damon wanted to manifestly bury his head in the soft fell at the crook of her neck and upright inspire her for a decade or two. Snaking his arm through hers, he pul ed her closer.You cant come in with me, she told him for the arcminute time. I might be able to get James to emit to me because its a question about(predicate) my parents, but I dont calculate hel tel me anything if someone else is there. whatsoever the truth is about the Vitale Society and my parents, I think hes embarrassed about it. Or afraid, or something. Without nonrecreational attention to what she was doing, Elena shifted her grip and held on to Damons arm more firmly.Fine, Damon said stubbornly. Il wait outside. I wont let him see me. But youre not to walk across campus at night by yourself. Its not safe.Yes, Damon, Elena said in a convincing imitation of meekness, and rested her head on his shoulder. The lemony scent of her shampoo complex with the more essential Elena smel of her. Damon sighed with contentment.She cared for him, he knew that, and Stefan had taken himself out of the picture. She was stil young, his princess, and a human heart could heal. Maybe, with Stefan gone, she would final y see how much closer she was, mind and soul, to Damon, how absolutely they fit together.In any case, she was his for now. He elevate his free hand and stroked her head, her silky hair ductile beneath his fingers, and smiled.The professors house was barely off campus, just across the street from the gilded entrance gates. Theyd almost reached the edge of campus when a familiar presence that had been lurking nearby at last came very close.Damon wheeled to examine the tail assemblys, pul ing Elena with him.What is it? Elena said, alarmed.Come out, Damon thought with exasperation, sending his silent pass toward the thickest shadows at the base of a crowd of oak trees. You know you cant hide from me.One dark shadow detached itself from the rest, stepping forward on the pathway. Stefan simply gazed at the ground, shoulders slumped, his hands loose and open by his sides. Elena gasped, a smal hurt sound.Stefan looked terrible, Damon thought, not without sympathy. His face seemed hol ow and strained, his cheekbones more vainglorious than usual, and Damon would have bet that he wasnt feeding properly. Damon mat up a twinge of disquiet. He didnt take pastime in causing his brother pain. Not anymore.Well? Damon said, raising his eyebrows.Ste fan glanced up at him. I dont want to fight with you, Damon, he said silently.So dont, Damon cerebrovascular accident back at him, and Stefans mouth twitched in a half smile of acknowledgment.Stefan, Elena said suddenly, sounding like the word had been jerked out of her. Please, Stefan. Stefan stared down at the path under his feet, not meeting her eyes. I sensed you were nearby, Elena, and I felt your anxiety, he said wearily. I thought you might have been in trouble. Im sorry, I was mistaken. I shouldnt have come.Elena stiffened, and her long dark lashes fel over her eyes, hiding, Damon was almost sure, the beginnings of tears.A long silence stretched between them. Final y, irritated by the tension, Damon made an attempt to ease it. So, he said casual y, we stone-broke into the campus security office last night.Stefan looked up with a flicker of interest. Oh? Did you find anything useful?Crime circumstance photos, but they werent very helpful, Damon said, shrugging. The folder s were marked with black Vs, so were trying to figure out what that means.Elenas going to verbalize to her professor about the Vitale Society, see if it could have anything to do with them.The Vitale Society? Stefan said hesitantly.Damon waved a hand dismissively. A secret society from back in the sidereal day when Elenas parents were here, he said. Who knows? It may be nothing.Drawing a hand across his face, Stefan seemed to be thinking hard. Oh, no, he muttered. Then, looking at Elena for the first time, he asked, Wheres Matt?Matt? Elena echoed, startled out of her wistful contemplation of Stefan. Um, I think he had some kind of meeting tonight. Footbal stuff, maybe?I have to go, Stefan said tightly, and was immediately gone. With his enhanced abilities, Damon could hear Stefans light footsteps locomote away. But to Elena, he knew, Stefan had been nothing but a silently vanishing blur.Elena turned to Damon, her face crumpling in what he recognized as a prelude to more tears. W hy would he fol ow me if he doesnt want to talk to me? she said, her example hoarse with sorrow.Damon gritted his teeth. He was trying hard to be patient, to wait for Elena to give him her heart, but she kept thinking of Stefan. He told you, he said, keeping his voice even. He wants to make sure youre safe, but he doesnt want to be with you. But I do. intemperately recapturing her arm with his, he tugged her lightly forward. Shal we?