Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1)(23)

"Everyone is at the campfire." Del a started walking.

Kylie moved in step with her, not an easy task since Del a's pace wasn't for wimps. "Do I real y smel good to you?"

Del a didn't look at her. "Do you want me to lie so you'l feel better? Or do you want the truth?"

"The truth ... I think."

Del a stopped and her tone came out huffy. "There's blood in your veins, I real y like blood, so yes, you smel yummy. But it doesn't mean ... Let me put it like this. Imagine you're hungry and you go into a hamburger joint. Every table is fil ed with people and their plates of big juicy hamburgers and greasy fries. The smel is ambrosia. So ... what do you do?"

"Hurry and order," Kylie answered, not getting the point.

"You mean you wouldn't go steal any food off anyone's plate?"

"No," Kylie said.

"Okay, so if stealing someone's lunch is bad, you can imagine stealing a few pints of blood might create a tad more of an issue than swiping a Big Mac. I'd have to be real y starving. Or real y angry before I'd do that."

The girl came off pretty dang angry. Kylie asked, "Do you get really angry a lot? Have you ever got that mad?"

Del a let out another exasperated huff. "I've never kil ed anyone that I can remember. Is that what you want to hear me say?"

"Yeah." Kylie smiled. "So vampires real y aren't a threat to humans?"

"I didn't say that," Del a said.

"Meaning?" Kylie asked.

"Meaning just like there's good and bad humans, there are good and bad vampires. And real y bad vampires who belong to gangs and purposely try to cause havoc everywhere they go."

"What kind of havoc?" Kylie asked.

"Let's just say they'd steal your Big Mac. Or worse."

"Okay," Kylie said, pretty sure she knew what "worse" meant, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Then there are the betweeners," Del a continued.

"Betweeners?"

"Like humans who have been known to get into some trouble, but aren't total y bad. Vampires can be like that, too."

Kylie nodded. They started walking again and her curiosity grew. "What are your gifts? If ... you don't mind me asking?"

"Heightened senses. Heightened strength. And-oh, shit! I just remembered your gifts." She came to an abrupt halt. "There aren't any ghosts around here, are they?"

Kylie did a quick check for coldness. "Nope. But seriously, I don't think I'm real y gifted."

"You don't want to be gifted, do you?" Del a asked.

"No," Kylie answered, coming close to lying. Then she remembered Del a was a human-make that a "nonhuman"-lie detector. Kylie realized they were heading into the woods; a spray of clouds passed over the moon and darkness cloaked the area. That's when Kylie heard it again, the deep roar of what sounded like a jungle cat.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"You mean the white tiger?"

"The what?" Kylie reached out and grasped Del a by the elbow. The coldness of her skin had Kylie letting her go even quicker than she grabbed her. The roaring stopped but the temperature of Del a's skin sent a chil up her arm. Were vampires real y dead? She didn't think she could ask that question.

Del a looked back at her as if she knew the coldness repulsed her. Kylie looked down and tried to pul free a twig that had clung to her jeans, hoping to keep Del a from seeing too much.

When Del a started moving again, Kylie remembered what they'd been talking about. "This is Texas. We don't have white tigers."

"You do at wildlife parks. There's one a few miles from here. It's both a refuge and a park. Like a zoo. Visitors can drive through and even feed the tamer animals."

"I went to one once," Kylie said. "I just didn't know there was one here."

"Yup." Del a raised her nose in the air and sniffed. "And most of the animals need their litter boxes cleaned. Stuff stinks. Especial y the elephants'

crap."

Kylie inhaled, fearing the stench, but only the scent of the woods, of moist earth and green vegetation fil ed her nose. She supposed having a heightened sense of smel wasn't always a good thing.

Each step took them deeper into the woods. Thorn bushes caught on her jeans. She had to speed walk to keep up.

"Where is the bonfire?" Kylie asked, feeling winded.

"About a fourth of mile. A little farther than our cabin."

"Why didn't we take the trail?"

"It's quicker this way."

Maybe for a vampire. They continued on for another three or four minutes without talking. Kylie thought of al the questions she'd like to ask Del a, but didn't know if she would be offended.

Concentrating on the ground to avoid the largest thorn bushes and stumps, Kylie plowed right into the back of Del a.

"Sorry-"

Del a swung around so fast, Kylie only saw a blur, but there was no mistaking the girl's cold hand pressing over Kylie's mouth. "Shh." Del a's fierce expression added a menacing touch to her warning. Then she swung back around, her head tilted as if listening. Kylie tuned her own ears to hear. But like earlier, when Kylie had just awakened, only silence fil ed the woods-no insects, no birds. Even the trees held their breath.