The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty-Six

Are you sure you dont want us to cal your p arents, miss? The campus protective covering officers voice was gruff except kind, and his eyeball were worried.For a second, Meredith permit herself propose having the kind of parents he moldiness be imagining unmatcheds who would swoop in to birth their daughter, wrap her up and take her home until the horrible images of her friends death faded.Her parents would bonnie tel her to get on with the job. Tel her that any other reaction was a failure. If she let herself be weak, more people would die.More so because Samantha had been a hunter, from a family of hunters, like Meredith. Meredith k tonic exactly what her father would have said if she had cal ed him. let this be a lesson to you. You are nalways safe.Il be okay, she told the security guard. My roommates are upstairs.He let her go, watching her climb the stairs with a unhinged expression. Dont worry, miss, he cal ed. The police wil get this guy.Meredith bit back her first r eply, which was that he seemed to be aimting a lot of faith in a police force that had yet to find any clues as to the whereabouts of the absentminded people or to solve Christophers murder. He was only trying to protect her. She nodded to him and gave a subaltern wave.She hadnt been any more successful than the police, non even so with Samanthas help. She hadnt been trying hard enough, had been too distracted by the new run, the new people.Why now? Meredith wondered suddenly. It hadnt occurred to her before, but this was the first death, attack, or disappearance that took place in a dorm room instead of out on the quad or paths of the campus. Whatever this was, it came after Samantha specifical y.Meredith recalled the dark figure she follow away after it attacked a girl, a girl who said she didnt remember anything. Meredith recal ed the flash of pale hair as the figure off-key away. Did Samantha die because they got too close to the kil er?Her parents were business. No 1 was ever safe. She needed to work harder, needed to get on with the job and fol ow up on every lead.Upstairs, Bonnies spot was empty. Elena looked up from where she was lying, curled up on her bed. Part of Meredith noted that Elenas face was wet with tears and knew that usual y she would have dropped everything to comfort her friend, but now she had to focus on determination Samanthas kil er.Meredith crossed to her own closet, opened it, and pul ed out a unfathomed dumb satchel and the case for her hunters stave.Wheres Bonnie? she conveyed, tossing the satchel onto her bed and unbuckling it.She left before I got up, Elena answered, her voice shaky. I think she had a study group this good morning.Meredith, whats outlet on?Meredith flipped the satchel open and began to pul out her knives and throwing stars.Whats going on? Elena asked again, more insistently, her look wide.Samanthas dead, Meredith said, testing the edge of a stab against her thumb. She was murdered in her be d by whatevers been stalking this campus, and we need to stop it. The knife could be live wire Meredith had been allow her weapons maintenance slide and she dug in the bag for a whetstone.What? Elena said. Oh, no, oh, Meredith, Im so sorry. Tears began to run down her face again, and Meredith looked over at her, holding out the bag with the stave in it.Theres a smal black box in my desk with little bottles of different poison extracts inside it, she said. Wolfsbane, vervain, snake in the grass venoms. We dont admit what were dealing with exactly, so youd better fil the hypodermics with a variety of things. Be careful, she added.Elenas mouthpiece dropped open, and then, after a few seconds, she closed it firmly and nodded, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands. Meredith knew that her sum mourn later, act now had been received and that Elena, as always, would work with her.Elena put the stave on her bed and found the box of poisons in Merediths desk. Meredith watched as Elena figured out how to fil the tiny hypodermics inset in the ironwood of the stave, her sweetie fingers pul ing them out and working them cautiously open. Once she was sure Elena knew what she was doing, Meredith went back to sharpening her knife.They must have come after Samantha on purpose. She wasnt a chance victim, Meredith said, her eyes on the knife as she drew it rhythmical y against the whetstone. I think we need to assume that whoever this is copes were hunting him, and that therefore were in danger. She shuddered, store her friends body. Samanthas death was brutal.A car tried to run me and Damon down brook night, Elena said. We had been trying to investigate something weird in the library, but I dont know if thats why. I couldnt get a look at the driver.Meredith paused in her knife sharpening. I told you that Samantha and I chased away someone attacking a girl on campus, she said positionful y, but I didnt tel you one thing, because I wasnt sure. Im stil not sure . She told Elena about her impressions of the black-clad figure, including the momentary impression of paleness downstairs the hoodie, of almost white hair.Elena frowned, her fingers faltering on the staff.Zander? she asked.They both looked at Bonnies unmake bed.She real y likes him, Meredith said slowly. Wouldnt she know if there was something wrong with him? You know She made a vague gesture around her head, trying to exhibit Bonnies history of visions.We cant count on that, Elena said, frowning. And she doesnt remember the things she sees. I dont think hes right for Bonnie, she continued. Hes so I mean, hes good-looking, and friendly, but he seems off somehow, doesnt he? And his friends are jerks. I know its a long way from having terrible friends to universe dangerous enough to do something like this, but I dont impudence him.Can you ask Stefan to watch him? Meredith asked. I know youre taking a break from dating, but this is important, and a vampire would be the best one t o keep an eye on him. Stefan looked so sad the other night, she thought distantly. Why shouldnt Elena cal him? Life was short. She felt the blade of the knife against her thumb again. Better. place the sharpened knife down, she reached for another.Elena wasnt answering, and Meredith looked up to see her staring hard at the stave, her mouth trembling. I Stefan isnt talking to me, she said in a little burst. I dont think I dont know if hed help us. She closed her mouth firmly, clearly not wanting to talk about it.Oh, Meredith said. It was hard to work out Stefan not doing what Elena wanted, but it was also clear that Elena didnt want to ask him. Should I cal Damon? she suggested reluctantly. The older vampire was a pain, and she didnt real y trust him, but he was certainly good at being sneaky.Elena sucked in a breath and then nodded briskly, her mouth set. No, Il cal him, she said. Il ask Damon to investigate Zander.Meredith sighed and leaned back against the wal , permit the kni fe drop onto her bed. Suddenly, she was terribly tired. Waiting for Samantha in the gym that morning seemed like a mil ion years ago, but it stil wasnt even lunchtime. She and Elena both looked at Bonnies bed again.We have to talk to her about Zander, dont we? Elena asked quietly. We have to ask her whether he was with her al last night. And we have to warn her. Meredith nodded and closed her eyes, letting her head rest against the coolness of the wal , then opened them again. Tired as she was, she knew the images of Samanthas death would come back to her if she let herself pause for even a moment. She didnt have time to rest, not while the kil er was out there. Shes not going to be happy about it.