The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Five

The sun was way too bright wing. decorous shielded her eyeball with one hand and glanced anxiously round as she walked across the quad toward the bookstore. It had interpreted her a long era to fal dozy after getting patronize to their room the night before. What if some na employmentous person was stalking the campus?Its broad daylight, she told herself. on that point are people allwhere. I have nothing to be afraid of. altogether if bad things could go during the day, too. Girls got lured into cars by horrible men, or hit over the head and taken to dark places. Monsters didnt moreover lurk in the night. After al , she knew several(prenominal) vampires who strol ed around during the day al the time. Damon and Stefan didnt scare her, not anymore, besides there were opposite daytime monsters. I besides fate to flavor safe for once, she thought wistful y.She was coming up on the commonwealth the patrol had been searching the night before, stil blocked take out wit h yel ow tape.Students were standing near in groups of two or three, talking in low voices. decorous spied a reddish-brown stain across the path that she thought qualification be blood, and she walked faster as she passed it.There was a rustling in the bushes. average sped up thus far more, picturing a wild-eyed assailant hiding in the lowgrowth, and glanced around nervously. No one was looking in her direction. Would they help her if she screamed?She risked another look back at the bush should she just take hit running? and stopped, embarrassed by the furious thumping of her heart. A cute little squirrel hopped hesitantly from under the branches. It sniffed the air, then hie across the path and up a tree so-and-so the police tape.Honestly, Bonnie McCul ough, youre a moron, Bonnie muttered to herself. A guy passing her in the other direction overheard her and snickered, making Bonnie blush furiously.By the time she got to the bookstore, shed gotten her blushing under co ntrol. Having the typical redheads complexion was a pain everything she snarl was broadcast by the flush or paleness of her skin. With any luck, though, shed be able to handle a simple trip to buy books without humbling herself.Bonnie had started getting acquainted with the bookstore when shed had her shopping spree yesterday, just now she hadnt real y investigated the book side of the store.Today, though, she had the book list for the classes shed registered for, and she necessitate to stock up for some serious studying. Shed never been a coarse fan of school, alone by chance col ege would be different. With a unyielding squaring of her shoulders, she turn determinedly away from the shiny stuff and toward the textbooks.The book lists were solemn y long, though. She found the fat Intro to Psychology textbook with a mother wit of satisfaction this would decidedly give her the terminology to diagnose her friends. The neophyte English seminar she was assigned to covered a slew of novels, so she wandered by means of the fiction section, pul ing The Red and the Black, Oliver Twist, and The Age of Innocence off the shelves as she passed.She go a recession in search of the rest of the Ws, intent on adding To the Lighthouse to her growing stack of books, and froze.Zander. Beautiful, beautiful Zander was draped urbane y next to a bookshelf, his white-blond head bent over a book. He hadnt knock againstn her yet, so Bonnie this instant ducked back into the previous aisle.She leaned against the wal , breathing hard. She could quality her cheeks heating up again, that awful tel tale blush.Careful y, she peeked back around the corner. He hadnt noticed her he was stil reading intently. He was wearing a gray T-shirt today, and his soft-looking hair curled a bit at the nape of his neck. His face looked sort of sad with those gorgeous blue eyes hidden beneath his long lashes and no sign of that fabulous make a face. There were dark shadows under his eyes. Bonnies depression instinct was to sneak away. She could wait and understand the Virginia Woolf book tomorrow it wasnt like she was going to read it today. She real y didnt want Zander to think she was stalking him. It would be better if he byword her somewhere, when she wasnt paying attention. If he approached her, shed know he was interested.After al , maybe he wasnt interested in Bonnie. Hed been kind of flirtatious when hed run into her, but hed nearly knocked her down. What if he was just being friendly? What if he didnt even remember Bonnie?Nope, better to take off this time and wait til she was better prepared. She wasnt even wearing eyeliner, for heavens sake. Making up her mind, Bonnie turned firmly away.But, on the other handBonnie hesitated. Thered been a companionship between them, hadnt there? Shed felt something when her eyes met his. And hed smiled at her like he was real y seeing her, past the fluff and fluster.And what just about the resolving power shed mad e the day before, walking to her dorm from this very same bookstore? If she was going to become a terrific, confident, stepping-out-of-the-shadows kind of person, she couldnt run away every time she saw a boy she liked.Bonnie had always prize the way that Elena managed to get what she wanted. Elena just went after it and nothing got in her way. When Stefan had first come to Fel s Church, he hadnt wanted anything to do with Elena, certainly not to fal into her tree branchs and start some kind of amazing eternal romance. But Elena hadnt cared. She was going to have Stefan, even if it kil ed her.And, Well, it had kil ed her, hadnt it?Bonnie shivered. Bonnie shook her head a little. The point was, if you wanted to find love, you couldnt be afraid of trying, could you?She stuck her chin determinedly into the air. At least she wasnt blushing anymore. Her cheeks were so cold, she was probably as white as a snowwoman, but she definitely wasnt blushing. So that was something.Before she cou ld change her mind again, she walked quickly around the corner back into the aisle where Zander stood reading.Hi she said, her voice squeaking a trivial bit. Zander He looked up, and that amazing, beautiful smile spread across his face.Bonnie he said enthusiastical y. Hey, Im real y glad to see you. I was cerebration about you earlier.You were? Bonnie asked, and immediately wanted to reverberate herself at how too enthusiastic she sounded.Yeah, he said softly. I was. His sky-blue eyes held hers. I was wishing Id gotten your phone number.You were? Bonnie asked again, and this time didnt even worry about how she sounded.Sure, he said. He scuffed his feet against the carpet, like he was a little nervous, and a warmth blossomed inside Bonnie. He was nervous talking to her I was thinking, Zander went on, maybe we could do something sometime. I mean, if you wanted to.Oh, Bonnie said. I mean, yes I would want to. If you did.Zander smiled again, and it was as if their little corner of t he fiction section was lit up with a glowing light. Bonnie had to keep herself from staggering backward, he was so gorgeous.How about this weekend? Zander asked, and Bonnie, feeling shortly as light and delighted as though she could float up into the air, smiled back.Meredith stepped her left hand radix behind her and raised her right heel, move into a back stance as she brought her hands up sharply, fists together, in a blocking black market. Then she slid her institution sideways into a front stance and punched forward with the fist of her left hand. She loved running through a taekwondo wee-wee. Each movement was choreographed, and the only thing to do was to practice over and over until the whole form flowed in a model of precision, grace, and control. Taekwondo forms were perfectible, and Meredith enjoyed perfection.The most glorious thing about them was that once she knew her forms so Wellthat they were as natural as breathing, she could be warm for anything. In a fig ht, she would be able to sense what her opponents next move would be and counter with a block or a kick or a punch without even thinking.She turned swiftly, blocked lavishly with her right hand and low with her left. It was the preparation, Meredith knew. If she was so prepared that her body could sense what move she needed to make without her brain having to get involved, then she would be able to truly protect herself and everyone else around her.A hardly a(prenominal) weeks ago, when she and her friends had been under attack from the phantom and shed sprained her ankle, only Stefan had been left with Power fair to middling to controvert Fel s Church.Stefan, a vampire.Merediths lips tightened as she automatical y kicked forward with her right foot, slid into a tiger stance, and blocked with her left hand.She liked Stefan, and she combineed him, she real y did, but stil She could picture generation upon generation of Sulezes rol ing over in their graves, vow her, if they kne w that she had left herself and her friends so vulnerable, with only a vampire between themselves and danger. Vampires were the enemy.not Stefan, of course. She knew, despite al her training, that she could put her faith in Stefan. Damon, on the other hand However useful Damon had been in a couple of battles, all the same reasonably pleasant and, frankly, out-of-character he had behaved for the last few weeks, Meredith couldnt bring herself to trust him.But if she trained hard, if she perfected herself as a warrior, Meredith wouldnt have to. She travel into a right front stance and, sharp and clean, punched forward with her right hand.Nice punch, said a voice behind her.Meredith turned to see a short-haired African American girl leaning against the admission of the practice room, watching her.Thanks, said Meredith, surprised.The girl strol ed into the room. What are you, she asked, a black belt?Yes, Meredith said, and couldnt help adding proudly,in taekwondo and karate.Hmm, the gi rl said, her eyes sparkling. I do taekwondo and aikido myself. My names Samantha. Ive been looking for a sparring partner. Interested? Despite the familiarity of her tone, Samantha was bouncing eagerly on the bal s of her feet, a mischievous smile flickering at the corners of her mouth, and Merediths eyes narrowed.Sure, she said, her attitude light. Show me what youve got.Samanthas smile broadened. She kicked off her shoes and stepped onto the practice mat next to Meredith. They faced off, assessing each other. She was a head shorter than Meredith, thin, but wiry and sleekly muscled, and she moved as graceful y as a cat.The anticipation in the girls eyes betrayed Samanthas view that Meredith would be easy to beat. She was thinking that Meredith was one of those trainees who was al form and technique with no real fighting instinct. Meredith knew that kind of fighter Well, had met them often enough in competitions. If that was what Samantha thought of Meredith, she was in for a sur prise.Ready? Samantha asked. At Merediths nod, she immediately launched a punch while bringing the opposite-side foot around in an attempt to sweep Meredith off her feet. Meredith reacted instinctively, blocking the blow, dodging the foot, then sweeping a kick of her own, which Samantha avoided, grinning with simple pleasure.They exchanged a few more blows and kicks, and, against her wil , Meredith was impressed. This girl was fast, faster than most of the fighters Meredith had faced before, even at the black-belt level, and much stronger than she looked.She was too cocky, though, an aggressive fighter instead of a en garde one the way shed hurried to strike the first blow set uped that. Meredith could use that cockiness against her.Samantha shifted her weight, and Meredith slid in below her defenses, giving a fast turn heel kick that hit Samantha firmly on the upper thigh. She staggered a bit, and Meredith moved out of range quickly.Samanthas face changed immediately. She was g etting angry now, Meredith could tel , and that, too, was a weakness. She was frowning, her lips tight, while Meredith kept her own face purposeful y blank. Samanthas fists and feet were moving quickly, but she lost some accuracy as she sped up.Meredith pretended to fal back under the assault, feinting to keep her opponent off-balance, al owing herself to be okay toward a corner while stil blocking Samanthas blows. When she was almost cornered, she jammed her arm against Samanthas fist, stopping her before she could ful y extend her blow, and swept a foot under hers.Samantha tripped, caught by Merediths low kick, and fel heavily to the mat. She lay there and just stared up at Meredith for a moment, face stunned, while Meredith hovered over her, suddenly uncertain. Had she hurt Samantha? Was the girl going to be angry and storm off?Then Samanthas face blossomed into a wide, glowing smile. That was awesome she said. Can you show me that move?