The Sleeping Girl

Chapter Six

Peyton, meanwhile, has gone deathly pale on the word "vampire." Almost paler than the vampires themselves, ironically. Her eyes widen, standing out on her snow white skin. She sways slightly, making me worry that she is going to faint.

"Umm..." I say, nervously. "Are you alright? You look rather ill."

"Did you say... vampires?" she asks, almost shaking.

"You know what? I'm gonna let you handle this one, Keela," interjects Ember. "I'll be a little ways away." She wanders off, leaving Peyton and me looking testily at one other.

"There is... magic in this world," I say, finally. At this point I suppose only the truth will suffice. "You have just stumbled upon a fire faery and myself battling vampires. Carmela and I are both in a... group, dedicated to battling dark magic. Vampires, dark fey, werewolves, witches, and so on." I peer at her, trying to gauge her reaction. She seems shocked. But there's something... off. Her aura, which previously was frightened and confused now has a little... hope? Now I'm the one shocked. Why would this news fill her with hope?

I regard her warily. "Why are you even in these woods?" I ask. From what I have picked up lately, most people my age (my physical age, anyhow) do not have much... liking for nature. They would rather be in civilization. Suddenly, I am nervous. This meeting has been to strange for just another normal person.

"I..." She trails off, biting her lip. Finally, she says, "I have to go. I won't tell anyone for now. But you and Carmi have some serious explaining to do." She jogs off in the opposite direction, leaving me staring and wondering in heaven's name is going on.

~~~

When we get back, Amanda is not happy. In fact, she's furious. Quietly angry, though. The most frighteningly dangerous kind.

As I walk into the living room, Amanda stops pacing, abruptly. She eyes me levelly. "What, exactly, was that, Keela?" she asks, looking beyond peeved.

"I felt stifled," I say, truthfully. "We have fewer than six days. Even you must realize how urgent the situation is."

She stares me down. "So you felt that you had to provoke five vampires? Five? I am aware that you are the strongest and most powerful of us right now, especially since you just woke up, but you are not strong enough to overcome five vampires all by yourself. You're lucky that Ember went out to look for you right then, and predicted that you would be in the woods. If she had not found you, I think we can safely say that you would be dead. This isn't games, Keela. Once you die, you're dead. Game over. There are no second chances. You cannot take changes that are not in your favor like that. Not unless you have a death wish. Not unless you have a death wish for all of society. For all of the world. As you so forcefully pointed out this morning, we are relying on you. And you are squandering our time and effort."

I squirm under her gaze. She's right. Of course she is. But I just felt so...

"I apologize," I say. Maybe admitting to being wrong will cool her down. "You are right."

"If you were dead, I think we would all not like that," she says evenly, "If you died, there would be no chance of finding the next Girl. So I suggest, for all of our sakes and not just your own, you try to stay alive."

She turns away from me to take to Ember, so I trudge up to my bedroom, feeling dejected and annoyed. She's making me feel like a little girl when I would receive the "silent treatment" from my parents. That always made me feel worse than if I was yelled at. Although she speaks the truth though, I still do not know why she makes me feel so bad. We did kill the vampires.