Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 11

I dont understand, Eric verbalise pitifully as Thea towed him toward the bleachers. good, thats reasonable.Blaise needs to talk of the town to me alone and you want me to do it.Thats right. Thea hadnt realized it was possible to sound glinting and bleak at the same time. I told you shed probably go subsequently you-And you told me to be frightful of her. You do the point very strongly.I cheat. Its safe Thea searched for an explanation that wouldnt be too much of a lie and clutched her feeding bottleful of Evian water. She didnt need to ask him if he had the protective charm with him- she could smell impertinent Hampshire pine needles.Its middling that I think its better to conk things settled, she utter fin every(prenominal)y. One way or the m whatever former(a). So maybe if you talk to her opposite well, you can decide what you want, and we can get this everywhere with.Thea Eric stop, forcing Thea to stop, too. He intented in all bewildered. Thea-I dont retire wh at youre thinking, scarcely I dont need to talk to Blaise to know what I want. He localise his hands gently on her upper arms. cryptograph she can say could attain all difference.Thea looked at him, at his clean, true(p) features and his expressive shopping centres. He approximation things were so simple. consequently you can alone tell her that, she tell, difficult to sound optimistic. And the whole thing will be resolved.Eric shook his head, but allowed her to guide him onward.Blaise was leaning against a concrete trap by the baseball diamond. When they were ab prohibited ten feet outside(a), Thea stopped and nodded at Eric to stay on on liberation.He walked to Blaise, who slowly straightened with the leisurely grace of a snake uncoiling.Thea put her thumb into the Evian bottle and jiggled it gently.Thea said you wanted to talk to me. Erics voice was polite, but not encouraging. He looked back at Thea after he said it.I did, Blaise said in her liquid, persuasive voice. further to Theas surprise, she addressed the ground, as if she mat up awkward. But now well, I tactile property so embarrassed. I know what you probably think of me-trying to say something same(p) this while your miniscule little girl is rest there.Well Eric glanced back at Thea again. Its okay, he added, his voice softer. I mean, its better to say whatever it is in front of her than behind her back.Yes. Yes, thats true. Blaise took a deep breath as if steeling herself and past lifted her head to gain Erics eyes.What on earth is she doing? Thea stared at her cousin. Where did this scene come from?Eric I dont know how to say this, but I care ab come to the fore you. I know how that sounds. Youre thinking that I have dozens of guys, and the way I palm them I cant possibly care rough any of them. And I dont send you if you only when want to walk away right now, without even audition to any more. Blaise fiddled with the zipper at her throat.Oh, look, Im not pass ing to walk away. I wouldnt do that to you, Eric said, and his voice was even more gentle.Thank you. Youre being so nice-much nicer than I deserve.Absently, as if it were the most fooling of movements, Blaise reached for the zipper at her throat and pulled it downward(a).The necklace was revealed.Dont look directly at it, Thea told herself. She stared instead at the back of Erics light-h disseminateed head-which suddenly went very hush up.And you know, this is going to sound strange, but most of those boys dont very identical me. Blaises voice was soft now-seductive but vulnerable. They just-want me. They look at the surface, and neer even try to beguile any deeper. And that makes me feel so lonely(prenominal) sometimes.In Theas peripheral vision, gold stars and moons were shifting and flowing. Yemonja root and other dainty scents wafted toward her. She hadnt even noticed that the first time shed been too deep in the necklaces spell to analyze it. And a faint, high resona nce hung in the air-two or three notes that arrestmed to shimmer to the highest degree above the threshold of get winding.Singing crystals. Of course. Blaise was assaulting both sense, weaving an inescapable golden web and the whole thing was tuned to Erics blood.all(a) Ive ever wanted is a guy who cares enough near(a)ly me to look deeper than the surface. Blaises voice had a slight catch now. And-well, before I knew Thea care you, I guess I thought you might be that guy. Eric, disport tell me-is that completely impossible? Should I just totally cast up hope? Because if you say so, I will.Eric was standing oddly now, as if he were crippled. Thea could see his breath coming faster. She didnt want to see his face-she knew what it would be care. Like Lukes. Blank wonder changing into slow adulation for Blaise. meet tell me, Blaise said, raising one hand in a gesture full of pathos. And if you say no, Ill go away forever. But if if you think you could care about me even just a little She gazed at him with luminous, vehement eyes.I Erics voice was thick and hesitant. I Blaise He couldnt wait to get started on a sentence.And no wonder. Hes muzzy al cause.Certainty seduce Thea, and she stopped shaking her plastic bottle. Her little Elixir of Abhorrence didnt stand a chance against Blaises magic. Eric was hooked and Blaise was reeling him in.And it wasnt his fault. Nobody could be expected to hold out against the figure of enchantment Blaise was using. Enchantment and psychology so beautifully mingled that even Thea found herself half believing Blaises story.But she had to try anyway. She couldnt let Eric go without a fight.With one final, violent shake, Thea took her thumb out of the bottle neck. Colorless liquid skyrocketed, spraying up and then raining down on Eric. A geyser of loathing.Only one thing went wrong. As soon as the mysterious downpour hit Eric, he cancelled to see where it was coming from. Instead of looking at Blaise when the philos ophers stone squiffy into his climb, he was looking at Thea.She stared back into his gray-flecked eyes with a kind of horror.Twice. Hed been twice enchanted now, once to love Blaise and once to hate her.Oh, Eileithyia, its over.It was a crisis, and Thea responded instinctively. She reached for Eric, to save him, to be saved herself.She flung out a thought the way shed fling out a hand to someone going over a cliff.Eric.A connectionLike dosing a circuit-and that was all it took. Thea felt a wave of something, something hot and sweet, more magical than Blaises magic. Distilled lightning, maybe. The air surrounded by her and Eric was so charged that she felt as though her skin was being brushed with velvet. It was deal being at the intersection of cosmic force lines.And it was all okay. Erics face was his ordinary face. Alive, alert, full of warmth-for her. Not zombi worship for Blaise.Thea.It cant be this simple.But it was. She and Eric were staring at each other in the quivering air and the universe was just one heavy(a) singing crystal.Were right together.A yell shattered the silent communion. Thea looked toward the bunker and saw that Blaise the vulnerable had disappeared.Im wet, Blaise shrieked. Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what water drops do to silk?Thea opened her mouth, then except it again. She felt giddy with the sweetness of relief. She had no idea if Blaise in reality thought the elixir was only water-but one thing was clear. However strong Blaises spell had been, it was rugged now. And Blaise knew it.Blaise jerked the zipper up and stalked off.Shes mad, Eric said.Well Thea was still dizzy. I told you she likes getting mad. She took Erics arm, very gently, and triply to steady herself. Lets go.Theyd only bypast a some steps when Eric said, Thank God you hit me with that water.Yes. Even if the elixir hadnt worked it had in some manner broken Erics concentration or distracted Blaise or something. Shed have to see if she could figu re out what had pass offed to disrupt a spell as male as the one Blaise had created.Yeah, because, you know, it was getting in reality awkward, Eric went on. I kept trying to think of a polite way to tell her there wasnt a chance, but I couldnt. And just when I realized I was going to have to say it and hurt her feelings-well, you soaked us.Thea stopped dead. She stared at him. He was serious.I mean-I know I hurt her feelings anyway. Or she wouldnt have gone away mad. Uh, are you mad now? Thea?She started walking again. Are you axiom you didnt even want to be with her? Not even just a little?He stopped. How could I want to be with her when I want to be with you? I told you that before this whole thing started.mayhap its because were soulmates. Maybe its because hes so stubborn. But, whatever, Id better never tell Blaise. Shell have a whole new reason for killinghim if she finds out her spell bounced off like water off a duck.Well, anyway, its resolved now, she murmured-and at th at moment she really believed it. She was too beaming to think about anything dreadful.Is it? Does that mean that we can in conclusion go out? Like on a date?He sounded so wistful that Thea laughed. She felt light and free and full of energy. Yeah. We could go right now. Or we could go in. Your house, I mean. Id like to see your sister and Madame Curie again.Eric made an ouch face. Well, Madame Curie would probably like that. But Roz lost her case- the court ruled that the Boy Trekkers are a private organization. And she is not-pardon the pun-a happy camper. All the more reason we should go see her. Poor kid.Eric looked at her quizzically. Youre serious? You have a choice of anywhere in Las Vegas and youd like to go to my house?Why not? Thea didnt mention that a world house was more exotic to her than anywhere else in Vegas.She was happy.It turned out to be a modest frame house, shaded by a compeer of honest-to-goodness trees, not palms. Thea felt a twinge of shyness as they we nt inside.Moms still at work. And-Eric checked his watch-Roz is supposed to be in her live until five.Home detention. This morning she microwaved herBarbie dolls.That doesnt sound good for the microwave. Rosamunds door was plastered with home-bakedSigns. DO NOT ENTER. KEEP OUT AND THIS MEANS ERIC. FEMINISM IS THE floor NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE.When Eric opened the door a piggy hope shaped like a skunk came flying toward him. He ducked. It hit the wall and, amazingly, didnt break.Roz-I hate everybody And everybody hates me A hardback book came soaring.Eric closed(a) the door fast. Bang.Everybody doesnt hate you he yelled.Well, I hate them Go awayBang. Bang. Crash.I think maybe wed better leave her alone, Eric said. She gets a little moody sometimes. Want to see my room?His room was nice, Thea decided. Lots of books, some smelling of mildew-I get them at the used book stores. comparative degree Vertebrate Anatomy. Development and Structure of the Fetal Pig. The Red Pony. Most of them were about animals in some form or other.And lots of trophies. Baseball trophies, basketball trophies, a few tennis trophies. I have to switch between baseball and tennis different years. Sports equipment was scattered carelessly around, mixed with the books and some dirty socks.Not so different from a teenagers room in the Night World. Just a persons room.There was a picture of a man on the desk, a man with sandy hair and a glorious, lightning-bolt smile like Erics.Who is it?My dad. He died when Roz was little-a plane crash. He was a pilot. Eric said it simply, but his eyes went dark.Thea said softly, My parents died when I was little, too. Whats sad is that I dont really remember them.Eric looked at the picture again. You know, I never thought about it, but Im glad I do remember. At least we had him that long.They smiled at each other.By the bed was a tank that gave off a pleasant percolating sound. Thea sit down next to it and watched iridescent blue weight sling aro und. She turned off the bedside lamp to see the lighted tank better.You like it?I like everything, Thea said. She looked at him. Everything.Eric blinked. He eyed the bed Thea was sitting on, then slowly sat at the desk. He stuck out a casual elbow to lean on and papers showered to the floor.Oops.Thea stifled a laugh. Is that the U.C. Davis operation?He looked up hopefully from gathering them. It sure is. Want to see it?Thea almost said yes. She was in such a cheerful mood, ready to agree to anything, be open to anything. But a moment of thought changed her foreland. Some things were just going too far.Not right now, thanks.WellHe put the papers back. You know, you still might think about transferring to the zoology class at school. Ms. Gasparro is a great teacher. And youd really like what were studying.Maybe I could, Thea thought. What would it hurt?And if you were ever interested. Dr. Salinger is continuously looking for spear carrier help. It doesnt pay much, but its good expe rience.And what would that hurt? Its not as if I would be breaking any laws. I wouldnt have to use any powers, either, I could just be close to the animals.Ill think about it, she said. She could hear the suppressed excitement in her own voice. She looked at Eric, who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, watching her earnestly. And- thanks, she said softly. For what?For wanting the best for me. For caring. The light from the fish tank threw wavering blue patterns on the walls and ceiling. It made the bedroom seem like its own little underwater world. It danced over Theas skin.Eric stared at her. Then he swallowed and shut his eyes. With his eyes still shut, he said in a muted voice, I dont think you know how much I care. Then he looked at her.That connection again. It seemed to be drawing them together-an almost physical feeling of attraction. It was exciting, but scary.Eric got up very slowly and cover the room. He sat by Thea. Neither of them looked away.And then things just seemed to happen by themselves. Their fingers were intertwined. Thea was looking up and he was looking down. They were so close that their breath mingled. Thea shivered with the electricity.Everything seemed wrapped in a golden haze.Crash.Something hit the other side of the wall.Ignore it its poltergeists, Eric murmured. His lips were an inch from hers.Its Rosamund, Thea murmured back. She feels bad-and its not really fair. We should try and make her feel better. She was so happy that she wanted everyone else to be happy, too.Eric groaned. TheaLet me just go see if I can cheer her up. Ill come back.Eric shut his eyes, opened them, and turned on the lamp. He gave her a pained smile. Okay. I have to water Moms outside plants and feed the rabbits and stuff, anyway. Let me know when shes cheered up enough. Ill be waiting.Thea knocked and ducked as she entered Rosamunds room. Roz? Can I just talk to you for a minute?Dont call me that. I want you to call me Fred.Uh, how come Fred? Thea sat cautiously on the edge of the bed-or not the bed, actually, the box springs. The mattress was across the room, standing on its side in a corner. The entire room looked as if it had been hit simultaneously by a hurricane and an earthquake, and it smelled strongly of guinea pig.Slowly, part of a sandy head appeared above the mattress. One commonalty eye regarded Thea directly.Because, Rosamund said with terrible maturity, Im not a girl anymore. Things have always been this way for girls and they will always be this way and they are never going to change. And dont give me any of that B.S. about how females hear better and do better in submarines and have better fine motor skills, because I dont care. Im going to be a boy now.Youre a smart kid, Thea said. She was strike at how smart Roz was, and at how much she wanted to comfort her. But you need to study your story. Things havent always been this way. There were times when women and men were equals.Rosamund just said, When?Well-in ancient Crete, for one thing. They were all children of Eileithyia, the Great Goddess, and boys and girls both did dangerous stuff, like acrobatics on wild bulls. Of course Thea paused, struck by a thought. The Greeks did come and conquer them.Uh-huh.But, um-Thea wracked her brain for human history-Well, the ancient Celts were okay-until the Romans came and conquered them. And andHuman history was a problem.I told you, Rosamund said bitterly. It always turns out the same. Now go away.Well Thea hesitated.It was the excitement that did it. The giddy feeling of everything being right with the world. It made her overconfident, made her feel as if Night World law were a little thing that could be dispensed with if necessary.Dont, a part of her mind whispered. Dont or youll be sorry.But Rosamund was so miserable. And the golden glow was still around Thea, making her feel protected. Invulnerable.Look, she said. This may not help much, but Ill tell you a story, a story th at always made me feel better when I was a little girl. Only you have to keep it a secret.There was a flicker of interest in Rosamunds green eyes. A true story?Well-I cant really say its true. And thats true-I cant. But its a good story, and its about a time when women were leaders. About a girl called Hellewise.