The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Eight

Ugh, I dont retrieve theres a single thing on the hot-lunch bump Id ever consider eating, Elena give tongue to to Stefan. Half the stuff I cant still identify. Stefan watched patiently as she passed on to the salad bar.This isnt much better, she utter, lifting a watery spoonful of cottage cheese and letting it slop back into the container for emphasis. I nonion the food at crack ege would be more edible than in our laid-back school cafeteria, tho apparently I was wrong.Stefan made a vague sound of agreement and assureed around for a place for them to sit. He wasnt eating. Human food didnt withdraw much taste for him now, and hed used his superpower to cal downwards a dove to his balcony that morning. That had provided enough blood to hold him until the purgeing, when he would need to hunt again.Once Elena final y made herself a salad, he led her to the empty table hed spotted.She kissed him before she sat down and a shiver of delight ran with him as their minds touch ed. The familiar impinging between them slid into place, and he felt Elenas joy, her contentment at being with him and at their new, nearly normal, lives. Below this, a touch of excitement fizzed through her, and Stefan move a questioning thought between them, wondering what had happened since theyd seen distributively new(prenominal) that morning.Elena broke the kiss and answered his unspoken question.Professor Campbel , my history professor, knew my parents when they were in col ege, she said. Her express was calm, but her look were bright, and Stefan could sense how big this was for her. He was a real y neat friend of theirs. He can tel me stories active them, parts of their lives I never knew before.Thats great, Stefan said, pleased for her. How was the class?It was al right, Elena said, graduation to eat her salad.Were talking closely the colonial days for the introductory suspender of weeks. She looked up, her fork poised in midair. How around you? What was your p hilosophy class comparable?Fine. Stefan paused. Fine wasnt real y what he meant. It had been strange to be academic term in a col ege classroom again. Hed attended col ege a few times during his long history, seen the changing fads in education. At first, his classmates had been a select number of wealthy young men, and now there was a more diverse mix of boys and girls. nevertheless there was an essential humdrum to al those experiences. The professor lecturing, the students either bored or eager. A received shal owness of thought, a shy ducking away from exposing deeper tinctures.Damon was right. Stefan didnt run here he was just playing a role, again. Kil ing some of his limitless time. But Elena he looked at her, her shining blue eyes fixed on him she did belong here. She deserved the chance at a normal life, and he knew she wouldnt stimulate come to col ege without him.Could he say any of this to her? He didnt trust to dim the excitement in those lapis lazuli eyes, bu t he had imprecate to himself that he would always be honest with her, would treat her as an equal. He opened his mouth, hoping to explain some of what he felt.Did you hear about Daniel Greenwater? a girl asked nearby, her voice high with curiosity as she and her friends slid into the empty c hairsbreadths on the other end of the table.Stefan closed(a) his mouth and turned his head to listen.Whos Daniel Greenwater? someone else asked.Look, the first girl said, unfolding a news publisher she held. Glancing over, Stefan saw it was the campus paper.Hes a freshman, and he just vanished. He left(a) the student center when it closed last iniquity, and his roomy says he never came back to the room. Its real y creepy. Stefans eyes met Elenas across the table, and she raised an eyebrow thoughtful y. Could this be something they should look into?A nonher girl at the other end of the table shrugged. He probably just got stressed out and went home. Or maybe his roommate kil ed him. You kn ow you get automatic As if your roommate dies.Thats a myth, Stefan said absently, and the girls looked up at him in surprise. Could I see the paper for a moment, please?They passed it over, and Stefan studied the picture on the front. A high school yearbook photo smiled up at him, a weedy floppy-haired guy with a slight overbite and friendly eyes. A face he recognized. He had thought the name sounded familiar.He lives in our dorm, he said softly to Elena.Remember him from orientation? He seemed happy to be here. I dont think he would have left, not of his own free wil .Elena stared at him, her wide eyes apprehensive now.Do you think something bad happened to him? on that point was something weird going on in the quad the first night we were here. She swal owed. They said a girl had gotten into some trouble, but the cops wouldnt real y tel us anything. Do you think it might be related to Daniel Greenwaters disappearance?I dont know, Stefan said tightly, but Im worried. I dont like anything out of the ordinary. He stood up. Are you ready to go? Elena nodded, although half her lunch was stil on her tray. Stefan r for each one the paper politely back to the girls and fol owed Elena outside.Maybe were paranoid because were used to grand things happening, Elena said, once they were on the path heading back up the hil toward their dorm. But people disappear al the time. Girls get harassed or attacked sometimes. Its unfortunate, but it doesnt mean theres a sinister p piling behind it al .Stefan paused, pure(a) at a flyer stuck to a tree by the cafeteria. wanting(p) Student, the caption said, with a picture of a girl beneath it. pact me youl be careful, Elena, he said. Tel Meredith and Bonnie, too. And categoric. None of you should be wandering around campus by yourselves. Not at night, anyway.Elena nodded, her face pale, staring at the picture on the flyer. Stefan felt a sharp pang of regret even through his anxiety. She had been so excited when they met for lunch, and now that enthusiasm had drained away.He captive his arm around her waist, wanting to hold her, to keep her safe. Why dont we go out tonight? he said. Ive got a study group to go to, but it shouldnt last too long. We could go off campus for dinner. Maybe you could tour of duty over tonight? Id feel better if I knew you were safe. Elena looked at him, her eyes fastly sparkling with laughter. Oh, as long as thats the barely contend youd want me in your room, she said, smiling. Id hate to think you had designs on my virtue.Stefan thought of Elenas chromatic skin and silky golden hair, of her warmth, the rich wine of her blood. The idea of her in his arms again, without her aunt Judith or his landlady, Mrs. Flowers, down the hal , was intoxicating.Of course not, he murmured, arching his head toward hers. I have no designs. I live only to serve you. He kissed Elena again, sending al his love and longing to her.supra their heads, Stefan heard a strident cawing and the fla pping of wings, and, his lips stil against Elenas, he frowned. Elena seemed to sense his sudden tension and pul ed away from him, fol owing his gaze toward the black genus Corvus wheeling above them.Damon. Watching them, watching Elena, as always.Excel ence. Ethans voice rang out across the outdoor basketbal court where the pledges were gathered. Dawn was breaking, and there was no one around except for Ethan and the sleepy-faced pledges. As you know from our first meeting, each of you here exemplifies the peak of one or more types of achievement. But thats not enough. He paused, looking from face to face. Its not enough for each of you to have a piece of the best. You can encompass al these attributes in yourself. oer the course of the pledge period, you wil discover worlds inside yourselves that youve never imagined. Matt shuffled his sneakers against the asphalt and tried to keep the skeptical expression off his face. Expecting him to achieve the high gear of academic or artis tic success, he knew, was a long shot.He wasnt particularly modest, but he was realistic, and he could list his best qualities athlete, good friend, honorable guy. He wasnt stupid, either, but if excel ing in intel ect and creative thinking were prerequisites for being part of the Vitale Society, he might as Wellgive up now. guide the back of his neck, he glanced around at his fel ow pledges. It was reassuring to see that or so of them were wearing expressions of barely restrained panic apparently encompassing al these attributes wasnt something theyd reckoned on either. Chloe, the cute round-faced girl hed noticed at the first gathering, caught his eye and winked, just a quick brush of her lashes, and he smiled back, feeling oddly happy.Today, Ethan announced, we wil work on athleticism. Matt sighed with relief. Athleticism he could do.Al around him, he saw faces fal . The intel ectuals, the leaders, the budding creative geniuses they werent looking off to testing their athletic prowess. A low rebel ious murmur crowing among them.Dont sulk, said Ethan, laughing. I promise you, by the time you receive ful members of the society, each of you wil have reached your peak of physical perfection. For the first time, you wil feel what it is to be authentically alive. His eyes glittered with possibility.Ethan went on to outline the pledges task. They were about to embark on a fifteen-mile run, with several obstacles along the way. Be prepared to get dirty, he said cheerful y. But it wil be wonderful. When you finish, youl have achieved something new. You are welcome to wait on one another. But be aware if you do not consummate the run in three hours, you wil not be invited to continue to the bordering step in the pledging process. He smiled. Only the best can become members of the Vitale Society. Matt looked around and saw that the pledges, even those who looked like they had never left the science lab or the library, were retying their sneakers and stretchin g, wearing determined expressions.Holy cow, a voice beside him said. It was a nice voice, with a real twang to it, a voice that came from somewhere deeper in the South than Virginia, and Matt was smiling even before he looked around and saw that it was Chloe. I figure youre about the only person here who isnt going to have a lot of trouble with this, she said.She was so cute. Little dimples showed in her cheeks when she smiled, and her short dark hair fel in curls behind her ears. Hey, Im Matt, Matt said, grinning back at her.I knew that, she said cheerful y. Youre our footbal star.And youre Chloe, the amazing artist, he said.Oh. She blushed. I dont know about that.Id love to see your work sometime, he told her, and her smile widened.Any tips for directly? she asked. I never run unless Im about to miss the bus, and I think Im about to regret that. Her face was so appealing that Matt momently felt like hugging her. Instead, he frowned thoughtful y up at the sky. Under these kinds o f conditions, he said, the best thing to do is deflect your arms at a fifty-degree angle to the ground and run with a light bounding step. Chloe stared at him for a minute and then giggled.Youre teasing me, she said. Thats not fair. I have no idea about this stuff.Il help you, Matt said, feeling good. We can do it together.