Anne Brontë Nightwalker

Chapter 47

I race through the night, dodging trees and stumbling over stones. The moon has risen in the sky but the night is dark as pitch and I can barely see. Disoriented, I stop to gain my bearings. I must calm myself and think. Momentarily, I close my eyes, straining to hear the sound of Webb's approach, but the woods are deathly silent. I long for the saber I left behind then realize with a start that I'm still gripping the Leatherman. Quickly, I clip it to my belt and begin running toward town, panting for breath, and shooting like a falling star straight into Webb's arms.

I fight as hard as I can to free myself, but he is a Day Walker and compared to him I am little more than a starving girl.

"Fight all you want," he says, grasping my face, forcing me to look at him. "I like to fight. It's so much more fun with you than with mere mortals, though I must say, you're almost as weak."

I try to pull his hands off me, but his arms are thick and unyielding. The wound above my eye is open and bleeding again. Blood trickles down my face, biting at my vision. "I'll never go with you," I hiss. "Kill me here. I will never live with you."

He runs a finger over my lip as if he wants to kiss me. "Killing you is not my intention. With a little sustenance in you, no doubt you'll see things more clearly. I have plans for you. For us." He releases me and holds out a hand. The world tilts to a blur. "I truly don't wish to hurt you, Anne."

"Liar!"

His eyes shift into a softer blue, slightly less arctic, and I sense the desperation concealed beneath their edge, a deep aloneness spilling out to touch me. He kneels like a white prince and takes my hand, his voice a fierce whisper. "You have no idea how I restrain myself for you. I want you to choose me, but you must know I am in charge. In your body, in your bones, you must know it so you will never leave me."

I pull away but he gives me a tug and I'm tipping into his arms. He picks me up and sets me on a fallen tree, then takes a knee so that his face is near mine. He leans in and I freeze as he draws his tongue over the flesh above my eye, licking the wound clean like a mother tending her pup. My heart turns to ice. I'm repulsed. He's an animal. How did he ever pass for human?

"Come with me, Anne." He takes my good hand, so pale and small in his. "We are alike. That's why we seek civilization. We're not made to be alone. Give me a chance, Anne. One chance, and I promise I'll take care of you."

"You're ruthless." I try to extricate my hand, but he won't let go. "You kill little girls."

"Only so that others may live. I can give you the sun on your face and a million colors you have forgotten. Light. Heat. I can give you a family, whatever you want: animals, children, luxury."

"Children?"

His eyes spark. "Babies." He whispers the word, drawing it out like a blessing.

"You're lying. It's not possible."

"There's no reason it shouldn't be. We're the same species. We are the same, Anne."

I shake my head. "It's impossible. I don't bleed. There are no children of our kind. To do this to a child, condemn them to murder and darkness and blood. It's insane. You're insane."

He grips me by the shoulders, his eyes shine in the blood-red light of the moon. "That's what they always call those who have broken free from their cages. I have a vision others are too afraid to see. Open your mind, Anne. If we have the courage, we can do anything we want. Man's rules don't apply to us. We aren't like other people. We're special. Better. Ubermen. We create our own reality."