The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Eight

Ugh, I dont think theres a wiz thing on the hot-lunch bar Id ever consider saping, Elena give tongue to to Stefan. Half the stuff I cant scour identify. Stefan watched patiently as she passed on to the salad bar.This isnt much expose, she said, lifting a watery spoonful of cottage cheese and permit it slop back into the container for emphasis. I thought the food at col ege would be more parve than in our high school cafeteria, merely apparently I was wrong.Stefan made a vague respec plank of agreement and looked just about for a place for them to sit. He wasnt eating. Human food didnt take a shit much judge for him now, and hed used his Power to cal down a dove to his balcony that morning. That had provided enough blood to hold him until the evening, when he would privation 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 through him as their minds touched. The familiar affair 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 sent a questioning thought between them, wondering what had happened since theyd instructn apiece other that morning.Elena broke the kiss and answered his unspoken question.Professor Campbel , my history prof, knew my parents when they were in col ege, she said. Her component was calm, precisely her eyes were bright, and Stefan could sense how big this was for her. He was a real y good fri break off of theirs. He can tel me stories al nearly them, parts of their lives I neer knew before.Thats great, Stefan said, pleased for her. How was the class?It was al right, Elena said, beginning to eat her salad.Were talking active the colonial days for the first couple of weeks. She looked up, her fork poised in midair. How more or less you? What was your philosophy class like? Fine. Stefan paused. Fine wasnt real y what he meant. It had been strange to be seated in a col ege classroom again. Hed attended col ege a few times during his recollective 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 misss. But there was an essential sameness to al those experiences. The professor lecturing, the students either bored or eager. A certain shal owness of thought, a shy ducking away from exposing deeper feelings.Damon was right. Stefan didnt pop off 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 have come to col ege without him.Could he say any of this to her? He didnt destiny to dim the excitement in those lapis lazuli eyes, but he had sworn to himself that he woul d 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 chairs on the other end of the table.Stefan closed his mouth and turned his head to listen.Whos Daniel Greenwater? someone else asked.Look, the first girl said, unfolding a theme she held. Glancing over, Stefan byword it was the campus paper.Hes a freshman, and he just vanished. He left the student center when it closed polish night, and his roommate says he never came back to the room. Its real y creepy. Stefans eyes met Elenas across the table, and she raised an supercilium thoughtful y. Could this be something they should look into?Another 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 realise you nurture 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 fork over on the front. A high school yearbook photo smiled up at him, a skinny floppy-haired guy with a slight overbite and friendly eyes. A organization he recognized. He had thought the name sounded familiar.He lives in our dorm, he said quiet 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? in that respect 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 mogul be connect to Daniel Greenwaters disappearance?I dont know, Stefan said tightly, but Im worried. I dont like anything out of the ordinary. He s tood up. Are you relieve oneself to go? Elena nodded, although half her lunch was stil on her tray. Stefan handed the paper politely back to the girls and fol owed Elena outside.Maybe were paranoid because were used to terrible things happening, Elena said, once they were on the path heading back up the hil toward their dorm. But wad disappear al the time. Girls get harassed or attacked sometimes. Its unfortunate, but it doesnt mean theres a sinister speckle behind it al .Stefan paused, staring at a flyer stuck to a tree by the cafeteria. missing Student, the caption said, with a picture of a girl beneath it. Promise me youl be careful, Elena, he said. Tel Meredith and Bonnie, too. And flat. no(prenominal) 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 kindle when they met for lunch, and now that enthusias m had drained away.He wrapped his arm around her waist, wanting to hold her, to redeem 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 stay over tonight? Id feel better if I knew you were safe. Elena looked at him, her eyes suddenly sparkling with laughter. Oh, as long as thats the only sympathy youd want me in your room, she said, smiling. Id hate to think you had designs on my virtue.Stefan thought of Elenas creamy skin and silky roaring 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, bowing 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.Above their heads, Stefan heard a strident cawing and the flapping of wings, and, his lips stil agains t Elenas, he frowned. Elena seemed to sense his sudden tension and pul ed away from him, fol owing his gaze toward the black crow wheel above them.Damon. Watching them, watching Elena, as always.Excel ence. Ethans voice rang out across the outdoor basketbal philander 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. Over 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 discover the skeptical expression off his face. Expecting him to achieve the heights of academic or artistic success, he knew, was a long shot.He wasn t particularly modest, but he was realistic, and he could list his best qualities athlete, good friend, just guy. He wasnt stupid, either, but if excel ing in intel ect and creativity were prerequisites for being part of the Vitale Society, he might as Wellgive up now.Rubbing the back of his neck, he glanced around at his fel ow pledges. It was reassuring to see that most 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 forward to testing their athletic prowess. A low grow ious murmur sWelled among them. Dont sulk, said Ethan, laughing. I promise you, by the time you become 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 truly 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 assist one another. But be aware if you do not complete the run in three hours, you wil not be invited to have-to doe with to the next 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 stretching, wearing situated 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 smokestack 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 today? she asked. I never run unless Im about to miss the bus, and I think Im about to regret that. Her face was so challenge that Matt momentarily felt like hugging her. Instead, he frowned thoughtful y up at the sky. Under these kinds of conditions, he said, the best thing to do is incline your a rms at a fifty-degree fee 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.