Night World : Dark Angel Chapter 12

Yes, Gillian said simply. Her heart rate had picked up a little, nevertheless with anticipation rather than fear. nonp beil was looking very mysterious.He busyn with(p) a looking-into-the-distance pose, then said, Have you ever had the feeling that you dontre eachy survive reality?Frequently, Gillian said dryly. Ever since I met you.He grinned. I mean horizontal before that. Some atomic number 53 wrote ab protrude the inconsolable secret thats in each of us.The desire for our own far-off country, for something weve neer very experienced. About how weall long to span some chasm that yawns between us and reality to be reunited with something in theuniverse from which we now feel cut off Gillian sat bolt up regenerate. Yes. I never heard anybody say it that well before. About the chasm- youalways feel that theres something else, somewhere, and that youre being left out. I thought it wassomething the popular bulk would be in on-but it hasnt got anything to do with them at all.A s if the world has some secret, if you could only get on the inside.Yes. Yes. She looked at him in fascination. This is about being a witch, isnt it? Youre saying that Ivealways tangle up that way because its true. Because for me there is a different realityNah. holy man grimaced. Actually everybody feels exactly the same. Doesnt mean a thing.Gillian collapsed. What?For them. For them, there is no secret place. As for you well, its not what youre thinking its notsome higher reality of astral planes or anything. Its as real as those socks. As real as that girl, Melusine,in the keep in Woodbridge. And its where you were meant to be. A place where youll be welcomedinto the heart of things.Gillians heart was racing wildly. Where is it?Its called the Night World.Gray-blue shadows were gliding up the hills. Gillian swarm in the twilight, heading toward the regretfulness inthe east. Explain again, she said, and she said it out loud, take down though she couldnt picture Angel. there was a slight disturbance of air above the seat to her right, a speck of mist, but that was all. Youre sayingits not just witches.Not by a long shot. Witches are just one race there are all sorts of other creatures of the night. every(prenominal) thesorts that youve been taught to think are legends.And theyre real. And theyre just living alongside normal humans. And they always have been.Yes. solely its easy, you see. They look equivalent humans, at to the lowest degree at first glance. As much as you look like ahuman.But I am a human. I mean, mostly, right? My great-grandma was a witch, but she married a human andso did my grandma and my mom. So Im all diluted.It doesnt matter to them. You can claim witch blood. And your powers are beyond dispute. assertion me,theyll welcome you.Besides, Ive got you, Gillian said cheerfully. I mean, ordinary humans dont have their own invisibleguardians, do they?Well. Angel seemed to coalesce faintly beside her. From what she could see of hi s face, he wasfrowning. You cant actually tell them about me. Dont ask why Im not allowed to explain. But Ill bewith you, the way I always am. Ill help you out with what to say. Dont worry youll do fine.Gillian wasnt worried. She felt steeped in mystery and a sort of forbidden excitement. The whole worldseemed magical and unfamiliar.Even the snow looked different, blue and almost phosphorescent. As Gillian drove through and through rollingfarmlands, a glow appeared above the eastern hills, and then the full moon rose, huge and throbbing withlight.Deeper and deeper, she thought. She seemed to have left everything ordinary behind and to be slidingmore and more quickly into an enchanted place where anything-anything at all-could happen.She wouldnt have been surprised if Angel had directed her to pull off into some lily-white clearing and lookfor a fairy ring. But when he said, Turn here, it was at a main road that led to the straggling outskirts ofa town.Where are we?Sterback. Little hole-in-the-wall place-except for where were departure. Stop here.Here was a nondescript building, which looked as if it had originally been Victorian. It wasnt in verygood repair.Gillian got out and looked at the moon shining on the windows. The building great power have been a lodge. Itwas set apart from the rest of the dark and silent town. A wind had started up and she shivered.(Uh, it doesnt look like anybodys in there.) (Go to the room access.) Angels voice in her mind was comforting, as always.There was no sign at the door, nothing to indicate that this was a public building. But the stained chicken feedwindow above the door was faintly illuminated from the inside. The pattern seemed to be a flower. Ablack iris.(The Black Iris is the name of this place. Its a dub-)Angel was interrupted by a sudden explosion. That was Gillians impression. For the first instant she hadno idea what it was-just a dark shape flying at her and a ruby-red noise-and she almost fell off the porch. Then she spend a pennyd that the noise was barking. A chained dog was yammering and foaming, trying to get ather.(Ill take care of it.) Angel sounded grim, and an instant later Gillian felt something like a wave in the air.The dog dropped flat as if it had been shot. It rolled its eyeball.The porch was dead silent again. Everything was silent. Gillian stood and touched, feeling epinephrin runthrough her. But before she could say anything, the door opened behind her.A face looked out of the dimness inside the house. Gillian couldnt make out the features, but she couldsee the gleam of eyes.Whore you? The voice was slow and flat, not friendly. What do you want?Gillian followed Angels whispered words. Im Gillian of the Harman clan, and I want in. Its cold outhere.A Harman?Im a Hearth-Woman, a daughter of Hellewise, and if you dont let me in, you stupid werewolf, Imgoing to do to you what I did to your cousin there. She stuck out a gloved finger toward the cringingdog. (Werewolf? Ang el, there are real werewolves?)(I told you. All the legendary creatures.) Gillian felt an odd sinking. She had no idea why, and shecontinued to do just as Angel said. But somehow her run was knotting tighter and tighter.The door opened slowly. Gillian stepped into a dim hall and the door slammed shut again with acuriously final sound.Didnt recognize you, the figure beside her said. Thought you might be vermin.I forgive you, Gillian said, and pulled off her gloves at Angels direction. Downstairs?He nodded and she followed him to a door which led to a stairway. As soon as the door opened, Gillianheard music.She descended, feeling extremely subterranean. The basement was deeper than most basements.And bigger. It was like a whole new world down there.It wasnt much brighter than upstairs, and there were no windows. It seemed like an old place there was a shuffleboard pattern on the cold tile floor and a faint smell of mildew and moisture. But it was alive with mess. There were figures s itting on chairs dumped around the borders ofthe room and more gathered around a pool table at one end. There were figures in front of a couple ofancient looking pinball machines and figures clustered at what looked like a home bar.Gillian headed for the bar. She could feel eyes on her every step of the way.She felt too small and too young as she perched precariously on one of the bar stools. She rested herelbows on the reproduction and tried to slow her heart down.The figure behind the bar treated toward her. It was a guy, maybe in his twenties. He stepped forwardand Gillian saw his face.Shock ripple through her. There was something wrong with him. Not that he was hideously ugly orthat he would have caused a commotion if he got on a bus. Maybe it was something Gillian sensedthrough her new powers and not through her eyes at all. But the impression she got was that his facelooked wrong. Tainted by cold dark thoughts that made Tanyas scheming mind look like a sunlit garden.Gillian couldnt help her recoil. And the bar guy saw it.Youre new, he said. The dark and cold seemed to get under ones skin in him and she realized he was enjoying herfear. Where are you from?Angel was shouting instructions at her. Im a Harman, Gillian said as steadily as she could. And-youreright. Im new.(Good, kid. Dont let him push around you Now youregoing to explain to them just exactly who you are-)(In a minute, Angel. Just let me get-settled.) The truth was that Gillian was completely unsettled. Thesense of dread that had been growing ever since she walked in was reaching an unbearable pitch. Thisplace was she groped for adjectives. Unwholesome. Corrupt. Scary.And then she realized something else. Up until now she hadnt been able to make out the faces of theother figures properly. Only eyes and the occasional dart of teeth.But now-they were moving in around her. It reminded her of sharks, swimming almost aimlessly butending up in a purposeful gathering. There were people directly behind her-she could feel that with theback of her neck-and there were people on either side of her. When she looked, she could see theirfaces.Cold-dark-wrong. Not just wrong, but almost diabolic. These were people who might do anything andenjoy it. Their eyes glittered at her. More than glittered. Some of the eyes were shining like ananimals at night and now they were smiling and she could see teeth. Long delicate canine teeth thatcame to a point. FangsAll the legendary creaturesSheer panic surged through her. And at the same instant, she felt strong detainment on her elbows. Why dont you come outside with me? a voice behind her said.Then things were confused. Angel was yelling again, but Gillian couldnt really hear him over the pound sign of her own heart. The hands were exerting pressure, forcing her away from the bar. And thefigures with their diabolical faces were settling back, most of them wearing conspiratorial grins.Have fun, somebody called.Gillian was being hurried up t he stairs, whisked through the dim building. A blast of cold air hit her as thedoor opened and she suddenly felt dearer. She tried to break out of the iron enamour that was holding her. Itdidnt do any good.She was out in the snow, leaving the house behind. The street was completely deserted.Is that your car?The hands on her arms eased their pressure. Gillian gave one desperate wrench and turned around.Moonlight was shining on the snow around her, giving it the texture of white satin. Every shadow waslike an indigotin stain on the sparkling coverlet.The person whod been holding her was a male child a few years older than Gillian. He was lanky and elegant,with ash-blond hair and passably tilted eyes. Something about the way he held himself made her think oflazy predatory animals.But his face wasnt wrong, the way the otherfaces had been. It was set and grim, maybe point a little scary, but it wasnt evil.Now, look, he said, and his voice wasnt evil, either, just rapid and short. I dont know who you are,or how you managed to get in there, but youd better turn around and go home right now. Becausewhatever you are, youre not a Harman.How do you know? Gillian blurted before Angel could tell her what to say.Because Im related to the Harmans. Im Ash Redfern. You dont even know what that means, do you?If you were a Harman youd know that our families are kin.(You are a Harman, and you are a witch) Angel was actually raging. (Tell him Tell him)But the ash-blond boy was going on. Theyll eat you alive in there if they find out for sure. Theyre notas-tolerant-of humans as I am. So my advice is, get in your car, require away, and never come back. Andnever mention this place to anybody else.(Youre a lost witch Youre not a human. Tell him)How come youre so tolerant? Gillian was gross(a) at the boy. His eyes shed thought they wereamber colored originally, like Steffis, but now they were emerald green.He gave her an odd look. Then he smiled. It was a lazy smile, but with s omething heart-wrenching behind it.I met a human girl last summer, he said quietly, and that seemed to explain everything.Then he nodded at her car. Get out of here. never come back. Im just passing through I wont bearound to save you again.(Dont get in the car. Dont go. Tell him. Youre a witch you belong to rung Midnight. Dont go)For the first time, Gillian deliberately disobeyed an order of Angels. She unlocked the car with shakyhands. As she got in, she looked back at the boy. Ash.Thank you, she said.Bye. He wiggled his fingers. He watched as she drove away.(Go back there right now You belong there, just as much as any of them. Youre one of them. Theycant keep you out. Turn around and go back)Angel, surrender it She said it out loud. I cant Dont you see that? I cant. They were horrible. Theywere-evil.Now that she was alone, reaction was setting in. Her whole body began to shake. She was suddenlyblind with tears, her breath catching in her throat.Not evil Angel shimmered into th e seat beside her. He had never sounded so agitated. Justpowerful-They were evil. They wanted to stand me. I saw their eyes She was lapsing into hysteria. Why did youtake me there? When you wouldnt even let me talk to Melusine? Melusine wasnt like them.A violent shiver overtook her. The car veered and she struggled with it, barely getting control. All atonce everything seemed alien and terrifying she was out on a long and lonely road, and it was night, andthere was an uncanny being in the seat beside her.She didnt know who he was anymore. All she knew was that he wasnt any kind of an angel. The logicalalternative sprang immediately to her mind. She was alone in the middle of nowhere with a demonGillian, stop itWho are you? What are you, really? Who are you?What do you mean? You know who I am.No, I dont She was screaming it. I dont know anything about you Why did you take me there?Why did you want them to hurt me? Why?Gillian, stop the car. Stop. The. Car.His voice was so commanding , so urgent and imperative, that she actually obeyed. She was sobbinganyway. She couldnt drive or see. She felt, literally and honestly, that she was losing her mind at that exact moment.Now look at me. Wipe your face off and look at me.After a moment she managed. He was shining. Light seemed to radiate from every inch, of him, from thegold filaments of his hair, to his classic features, to the lines of his perfect body. And hedcalmed down. His expression was rapt and uplifted, the serenity only marred by what looked likeconcern for her.Now, he said. Im sorry if all this scared you. New things are like that sometimes-they seem repulsivejust because theyre different. But we wont talk about that now, he added, as Gillian caught ashuddering breath. The important thing is that I wasnt trying to hurt you. His eyes seemed to grow evenmore intense, pure violet flame.Gillian hiccupped. But-you-I could never hurt you, Gillian. Because, you see, were soulmates.He said it with the weight of a monumental revelation. And although Gillian had no idea what it meant,she felt an odd quiver inside, almost of recognition.Whats that?Its something that happens with people who belong to the Night World. It means that theres only onelove for everyone who exists. And when you meet that love, you know them. You know you were meantto be together, and nothing can keep you apart.It was true. Every word seemed to resonate inside Gillian, ghost off ancient, hidden memories. Thiswas something her ancestors had known.Her cheeks had dried. Her hysteria was gone. But she felt very tired and very bewildered.But if thats true She couldnt put the thought together.Dont worry about it right now. Angels voice was soothing. Well talk about it later. Ill explain what itall means. I just wanted you to know that I would never hurt you. I love you, Gillian. Dont you realizethat?Yes, Gillian whispered. Everything was very foggy. She didnt want to think, didnt want to considerthe implications of what Ang el was saying.She just wanted to get home.Relax and Ill help you drive, Angel said. Dont worry about anything. Its all going to be all right.