The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Five

Initiation night for the newest members of the Vitale Society had arrived at furthest. The cavernous room was lit only by luxurious candlelight from long tapers placed notwithstanding approximately the space and by the fire of high-flaming torches against the wal s. In the flickering light, the animals carved in the wood of the pil ars and arches roughly dependmed to be moving. matted, dressed in a dark hooded robe a corresponding(p) the other initiates, gazed around proudly. Theyd worked hard, and the room looked amazing.At the front of the room, beneath the highest arch, a long table had been placed, draped in a heavy bolshy satin cloth and looking like some kind of altar. In the effect of the table sat a huge deep stone bowl, almost like a baptismal font, and around it roses and orchids were set. More flowers had been scattered on the floor, and the scent of the crushed blossoms down the stairsfoot was so strong that it was dizzying. The pledges were lined up, as spa ced, before the altar.As if shed picked up on his pride at how everything had morose out, Chloe pushed her dark hood back a bit and leaned toward him to mutter, Pretty fabulous, huh? dull smiled at her. So what if she was dating someone else? He stil liked her. He wished to stay friends, even if that was al there could be between them.He tugged at his robe self-consciously the fabric was heavy, and he didnt like the way it blocked his peripheral vision.The current masked members of the Vitale Society wove taciturnly among the pledges, move oning out goblets ful of some kind of liquid. matting sniffed his and smel ed ginger and chamomile as Wellas less familiar scents so this was where the herbs had been used.He smiled at the misfire who gave it to him, just now got no response. Her eye shag the mask slid over him inert y, and she moved on. Once he was a ful member of the Vitale Society, he would tell apart who these current members were, would see them without their masks . He sipped from his goblet and grimaced it tasted strange and bitter.The soft rustlings of captive figures moving across the floor were silenced as the last of the goblets was pass out and the masked Vitales quietly retreated under the arch ass the altar to watch. Ethan whole toneped forward, up to the altar, and pushed back his hood.Welcome, he say, holding out his transfer to the assembled pledges. Welcome to true power at last. The candlelight flickered over his instance, tangled it into something unfamiliar and almost sinister. matte twitched nervously and in like mannerk another swal ow of the bitter herbal mixture.A toast Ethan cal ed. He raise his own goblet, and before him, the pledges raised theirs. He hesitated for a moment, then state, To moving beyond the veil and discovering the truth. lethargy 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 ar ound 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 peak of intel igence, strength, and leadership ability now. Together, you ar a force to be reckoned with. You swallow been perfected.Matt managed to politely curtail himself from rol ing his eyeball. It was nice to be praised, of course, but sometimes Ethan was a little too over the top perfected? Matt doubted it was even possible. It seemed to him that you could ever so progress to to be a little to a greater extent, or a little less, something.You could always wish to be better. just now even if he could, after al , be perfected, he suspected that it would take much 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 continued. Time to complete the final stage in your conversion from ordinary students into true avatars of power. He t ook a clean and shining silvery cup from the altar and dipped it into the deep stone bowl in front of him.With every step forward in evolution, there mustiness(prenominal) be some sacrifice. I regret every pain this wil convey you. Be comforted by the knowledge that al hapless is temporary. Anna, step forward.There was a slight uneasy stirring among the pledges.This talk of suffering and sacrifice was different than Ethans usual emphasis on honor and power. Matt frowned.Something was wrong here. provided Anna, looking tiny in her long robe, walk of lifeed without hesitancy up to the altar and pushed back her hood.Drink of me, Ethan said, handing her the silver cup.Anna blinked uncertainly and then, her eyes on Ethan, tipped back her whirl and drained the cup. As she pass on it back to Ethan, she licked her lips automatical y, and Matt tried to peer more fast at her. In the flickering candlelight, her lips looked unnatural y red and slick. accordingly Ethan led her around t he 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 hatred 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 run toward them, to attack Ethan and throw him by 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 unable to help 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, frozen pledges. Al of us he gestured toward the silent, masked Vitale behind him went through this initiation recently. You must brace your self to suffer what is only a smal , temporary death, and then you wil be one of us, a true Vitale. never growing 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 angelic like an exotic ripe fruit. Damon wanted to simply bury his head in the soft skin at the crook of her neck and just inhale 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 second time. I might be able to get James to talk to me because its a question astir(predicate) my parents, but I dont designate hel tel me anything if someone else is there. Whatever the truth is close to the Vitale Society and my parents, I think hes embarrassed about it. Or afraid, or something. Without paying 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 sourish scent of her shampoo mixed with the more essential Elena smel of her. Damon sighed with contentment.She cared for him, he knew that, and Stefan had interpreted 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 perfectly they fit together.In any case, she was his for now. He lifted his free hand and stroked her head, her silky hair waxlike beneath his fingers, and smiled.The professors house was barely off campus, just across the pathway from the gilded entrance gates. Theyd almost reached the edge of campus when a familiar social movement that had been lurki ng nearby at last came very close.Damon wheeled to scan the hindquarterss, pul ing Elena with him.What is it? Elena said, alarmed. trace out, Damon thought with exasperation, sending his silent message 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 path. Stefan simply gazed at the ground, shoulders slumped, his hands broad 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 prominent than usual, and Damon would have bet that he wasnt feeding properly. Damon felt a twinge of disquiet. He didnt take pleasure in causing his chum pain. Not anymore.Well? Damon said, raising his eyebrows.Stefan glanced up at him. I dont want to fight with you, Damon, he said silently.So dont, Damon shot back at him, and Stefans mouth twitched in a half smile of ackno wledgment.Stefan, Elena said suddenly, sound 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 effort to ease it. So, he said casual y, we broke into the campus protective covering office last night.Stefan looked up with a flicker of interest. Oh? Did you find anything expedient?Crime scene photos, but they werent very helpful, Damon said, shrugging. The folders were marked with black Vs, so were trying to figure out what that means.Elenas going to talk to her professor about the Vitale Society, see if it could have anything to do with them.Th e Vitale Society? Stefan said hesitantly.Damon waved a hand dismissively. A secret society from back in the 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 racing 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. Why would he fol ow me if he doesnt want to talk to me? she said, her voice burly 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. Firmly recapturing her arm with his, he tugged her lightly forward. Shal we?