The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 10

Before I could process this, Riley roargond out an animalistic shriek of rage. He was gross(a) down at the ashy remains on the floor, his eyes bulging in fury. Everyone stood silent, immobile. Wed al seen Riley lose his temper, hardly this was something different.Riley spun and raked his fingers through a blaring speaker, whence ripped it from the wal and hurled it across the room. Jen and Kristie dodged out of the stylus as it exploded into the far wal, s revokeing up a cloud of pulverized drywal dust. Riley smashed the sound system with his foot, and the muffled bass went silent. Then he leaped to where Raoul stood, and grabbed him by the throat.I wasnt even here Raoul yel ed, looking afraid Id never seen that before.Riley growled hideously and threw Raoul as hed thrown the speaker. Jen and Kristie jumped out of the way again. Raouls body crashed right through the wal, leaving an enormous hole. Riley caught Kevin by the shoulder and with a familiar screech ripped off his ri ght hand. Kevin cried out in infliction and tried to twist out of Rileys grip. Riley kicked him in the side. some other harsh shriek and Riley had the rest of Kevins arm. He tore the arm in half at the cubitus and threw the pieces hard into Kevins anguished face smack, smack, smack, like a hammer striking stone.What is wrong with you? Riley screamed at us. Why be you al so stupid? He made a grab for the blond Spider-Man kid, but that kid leaped out of his way. His jump left him too close to Fred, and he stumbled back toward Riley again, gagging.Do whatsoever of you throw a brain?Riley smacked a kid named Dean into the entertainment center, shattering it, then caught a nonher girl Sara and tore her left ear and a handful of hair from her head. She snarled in anguish.It became suddenly obvious that Riley was doing a very dangerous thing. There were a lot of us in here. already Raoul was back, with Kristie and Jen usual y his enemies flanking him defensively. A few others ba nded together in clusters around the room.I wasnt sure if Riley was aw be of the threat or if his rant came to an end natural y. He took a deep breath. He tossed Sara her ear and the hair. She recoiled away from him, licking the torn edge of her ear, coating it with venom so that it would reattach. There was no remedy for the hair, though Sara was going to have a bald spot.Listen to me Riley said, quiet but fierce. Al our lives depend on you listening to what Im understanding at a season and hypothecateingWe are al going to die. Every one of us, you and me, too, if you lavt act like you have brains for just a few short daysThis was vigor like his usual lectures and pleadings for control. He definitely had everyones attention.Its time for you to grow up and show responsibility for yourselves. Do you think you get to live like this for take over? That al the blood in Seattle doesnt have a price?The little clusters of vampires no longer seemed threatening. Everyone was wide-eye d, some exchanging mystified glances. I saw Freds head drama toward me in my peripheral vision, but I didnt meet his gaze. My attention was focused on two things Riley, just in case he started to attack again, and the ingress. The door that was stil closed.Are you listening now? Real y listening? Riley paused, but no one nodded. The room was very stil . Let me explain to you the precarious site we are al in. Il try to keep it simple for the slowest ones. Raoul, Kristie, come here.He motioned to the leaders of the two largest gangs, al ied for this brief moment against him. Neither of them go toward him. They braced themselves, Kristie baring her teeth. I expected Riley to soften, to apologize. To placate them and then persuade them to do what he indispensabilityed. But this was a different Riley.Fine, he snapped. Were going to learn leaders if were going to survive, but apparently neither of you is up to the task. I thought you had aptitude. I was wrong. Kevin, Jen, please joi n me as the heads of this team.Kevin looked up in surprise. He had just finished putting his arm back together. Though his expression was wary, it was also unmistakably flattered. He slowly got to his feet. Jen looked at Kristie as if checking for permission. Raoul landed estate his teeth together.The door at the top of the stairs did not open.Are you not able, either? Riley asked, irritated. Kevin took a step toward Riley, but then Raoul rushed him, jump across the long room in two low bounds. He shoved Kevin against the wal without a word and then stood by Rileys right shoulder.Riley permitted himself a tiny smile. The treatment wasnt subtle, but it was effective.Kristie or Jen, who wil lead us? Riley asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.Jen was stil time lag for a sign from Kristie as to what she should do. Kristie glowered at Jen for an instant, then flipped her sandlike hair out of her face and darted to stand on Rileys other side.That took too long to decide, Rile y said seriously. We dont have the luxury of time. We dont get to fool around anymore. Ive let you al do pretty much whatever you feel like, but that ends tonight.He looked around the room, meeting everyones eyes, making sure we were listening. I held his gaze for unless a second when it was my turn, and then my eyes flipped back to the door. I corrected instantly, but his glare had moved on. I wondered if hed noticed my slip. Or had he seen me at al, here beside Fred?We have an foeman, Riley announced. He let that sink in for a moment. I could tel the idea was shocking to several of the vampires in the basement. The enemy was Raoul or if you were with Raoul, the enemy was Kristie. The enemy was here, because the whole world was here. The thought that on that point were other forces out there strong enough to affect us was sweet for most. Would have been new to me, too, yesterday.A few of you might be smart enough to have caused that if we exist, so do other vampires. separat e vampires who are older, smarter more talented. Other vampires who want our bloodRaoul hissed, and then several of his fol owers echoed him in support.Thats right, Riley said, seeming intent on egging them on.Seattle was once theirs, but they moved on a long time ago. Now they sleep with about us, and they are jealous of the easy blood they used to have here. They know it belongs to us now, but they want to take it back. They are coming after what they want. One by one, theyl hunt us down Wel burn while they feastNever, Kristie growled. Some of hers and some of Raouls growled, too.We dont have a lot of choices, Riley told us. If we wait for them to show up here, they wil have the advantage. This is their turf, after al . And they dont want to face us head-on, because we outnumber them and we are stronger than they are. They want to catch us uncaring they want to take advantage of our biggest weakness. Are any of you smart enough to know what that is? He pointed at the ashes at hi s feet now smeared into the carpet and unrecognizable as a former vampire and waited.No one moved.Riley made a disgusted sound. Unity he shouted. We dont have it What kind of a threat can we pose when we wont stop kil ing each other? He kicked the dust, sending up a smal black cloud. bed you imagine them laughing at us? They think taking the city from us wil be easy. That were weak with stupidity That wel just hand them our blood. Half the vampires in the room snarled in protest now.Can you work together, or do we al die?We can take them, boss, Raoul growled.Riley scowled at him. Not if you cant control yourself Not if you cant cooperate with every single individual in this room. Anyone you take out his toe nudged the ashes again might be the one who could have kept you alive. Every one of your coven that you kil is like handing our enemies a gift. Here, youre saying, take me down Kristie and Raoul exchanged a glance as if they were seeing each other for the first time. Others did the same. The word coven was not unfamiliar, but none of us had apply it to our group before. We were a coven.Let me tel you about our enemies, Riley said, and al eyes locked on his face. They are a much older coven than we are. Theyve been around for hundreds of years, and theyve survived that long for a reason. They are crafty and they are skil ed and they are coming to retake Seattle with confidence because theyve heard the only ones theyl have to fight for it are a bunch of disorganized children who wil do half their work for themMore growls, but some were less angry than they were wary. A few of the quieter vampires, the ones Riley would have cal ed tamer, looked skittish.Riley noticed that, too. This is how they see us, but thats because they cant see us together. Together, we can crush them. If they could see al of us, side by side, fighting together, they would be terrified. And thats how theyre going to see us. Because were not going to wait for them to show up here and start picking us off. Were going to ambush them. In four days.Four days? I guessed our creator didnt want to cut it too close to the deadline. I looked at the closed door again. Where was Diego?Others reacted to the deadline with surprise, some with fear.Its the last thing theyl expect, Riley assured us. Al of us together waiting for them. And Ive saved the best part for last. There are only seven of them.There was an instant of incredulous silence.Then Raoul said, What?Kristie stared at Riley with the same disbelieving expression, and I heard muttered whispers around the room.Seven?Are you kidding me?Hey, Riley snapped. I wasnt joking when I said this coven is dangerous. They are wise and devious. Underhanded. We wil have power on our side they wil have deception. If we play it their way, they will win. But if we take it to them on our terms Riley didnt finish, he just smiled.Lets go now, Raoul urged. Lets get em out of the picture fast. Kevin growled enthusiastical y.Slow do wn, moron. Rushing into things ruse isnt going to help us win, Riley chided him.Tel us everything we need to know about them, Kristie encouraged, shooting Raoul a superior look.Riley hesitated, as if deciding how to word something. Al right, where to mystify? I guess the first thing you need to know is that you dont know everything there is to know about vampires yet. I didnt want to overwhelm you in the beginning.Another pause while everyone looked confused. You have a little bit of experience with what we cal talents. We have Fred.Everyone looked at Fred or rather they tried to. I could tel from Rileys expression that Fred did not like being singled out. It looked like Fred had real y turned up the volume on histalent, as Riley cal ed it. Riley cringed and looked away quickly. I stil didnt feel anything.Yes, wel, there are some vampires who have gifts beyond the usual super strength and super senses. Youve seen one aspect in our coven. He was careful not to say Freds name again . Gifts are rare one in fifty, maybe but every one is different. Theres a huge range of gifts out there, and some of them are more powerful than others.I could hear a lot of murmurs now as people wondered if they might be talented. Raoul was preening like hed already decided he was gifted. As far as I could tel, the only one around here that was in any way special was standing next to me. birth attention Riley commanded. Im not tel ing you this for entertainment.This enemy coven, Kristie interjected. Theyre talented. Right?Riley gave her an approving nod. Exactly. Im glad someone here can connect the dots.Raouls upper lip twitched back over his teeth.This coven is perilously talented, Riley went on, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper. They have a mind reader.He examined our faces, looking to see if we got the importance of this revelation. He didnt seem satisfied with his assessment.Think, guys Hel know everything in your head. If you attack, hel know what move youre going to make before you know it. You go left, hel be waiting.There was a nervous stil ness as everyone imagined this.This is why weve been so careful me, and the one who created you.Kristie flinched away from Riley when he mentioned her. Raoul looked angrier. Nerves strained universal y.You dont know her name, and you dont know what she looks like. This protects us al . If theyd stumbled across one of you alone, they wouldnt realize that you were connected to her, and they might have let you be. If they knew you were part of her coven, there would be no delay in your execution.