The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Three

reasonable fluffed her red curls as she hurried across Dalcrests great lawn. It was so pretty here. Little flagst hotshot paths bordered the lawn, leading tally to the various dorms and classroom buildings. B settle uply spreadored flowers petunias, impatiens, daisies were growing e trulywhere, by the sides of the path and in front of the buildings.The human scenery was pretty awesome, too, Bonnie thought, surreptitiously eyeing a bronzed guy lying on a toWellnear the edge of the lawn. Not surreptitiously enough, though the guy lifted his shaggy dark head and winked at her. Bonnie giggled and walked faster, her cheeks warm.Honestly, shouldnt he be unpacking or setting up his room or something? Not just lying around half naked and flash at passing girls want a big flirt.The bag of stuff Bonnie had bought in the campus bookstore clinked gently in her bargain. Of course, she hadnt been able to buy books yet, as they wouldnt sign up for classes until the next day, but it turned out the bookstore sold everything. Shed gotten some great stuff a Dalcrest mug, a teddy patronage wearing its own cute little Dalcrest T-shirt, and a few things that would come in handy, like an efficiently organized shower caddy and a col ection of pens in every color of the rainbow. She had to admit she was pretty ablaze close to starting col ege.Bonnie shifted the bag to her left hand and flexed the cramping fingers of her right. Excited or non, al this stuff shed bought was heavy.But she infallible it. This was her plan she was going to become a youthful person at col ege. Not entirely new she liked herself fine, for the most part. But she was going to become more of a leader, more mature, the kind of person who people said, Ask Bonnie, or Trust Bonnie, rather than, Oh, Bonnie, which was completely different.She was determined to step out of the shadows of Meredith and Elena. They were both terrific, of course, her absolute best friends, but they didnt even realize how t errifyingly in charge they were al the time. Bonnie valued to become a terrific, ful y in-charge person in her own right.Plus maybe shed meet a real y special guy. That would be nice. Bonnie couldnt actual y blame Meredith or Elena for the fact that al the way through with(predicate) high school, shed had plenty of dates but no serious boyfriends. But the unanalyzable fact was that, even if everyone thought you were cute, if your two closest friends were gorgeous and smart and powerful, the kind of guy who was looking to fal in love might find you a little bit fluffy in comparison.She had to admit, though, that she was relieved that she and Meredith and Elena were al living together. She might not want to be stuck in their shadows, but they were stil her best friends. And, aft(prenominal) al Thud. Someone crashed into Bonnies side and she confounded her train of thought completely. She staggered jeopardizeward. A large male body lurched into her again, briefly crushing her f ace against his chest, and she tripped, fal ing against someone elses side. on that point were guys al around her, shoving one another endure and forth, joking around and arguing, paying no upkeep to her as she was jostled among them, until a strong hand abruptly steadied her in the midst of the turmoil.By the time she found her feet, they were moving off again, five or six male bodies swiping and shoving at one another, not stopping to apologize, as if they hadnt even noticed her as anything more than an inanimate obstacle in their path.Except for one of them. Bonnie found herself staring at a worn blue T-shirt and a slim torso with Well-muscled arms.She straightened up and smoothed her hair, and the hand gripping her arm let go. atomic number 18 you al right? a low voice asked.Id be better if you hadnt nigh knocked me down, Bonnie was about to say snippily. She was out of breath, and her bag was heavy, and this guy and his friends seriously needed to watch where they were goi ng. Then she looked up, and her eye met his.Wow. The guy was gorgeous. His eyes were a clear, true blue, the blue of the sky at dawn on a summer morning.His features were sagaciously cut, the eyebrows arched, the cheekbones high, but his mouth was soft and sensual. And shed never seen hair quite that color before, except on the youngest kids, that pure white-blond that made her think of tropical beaches under a summer skyAre you okay? he repeated more loudly, a frown of concern crinkling his perfect forehead.God. Bonnie could feel herself discolour right up to the roots of her hair. She had just been staring at him with her mouth open.Im fine, she said, trying to pul herself together. I guess I wasnt watching where I was going. He grinned, and a small zing shot right through Bonnie.His smile was gorgeous, too, and it lit up his whole face.Thats nice of you to say, he said, but I think maybe we should arouse been watching where we were going instead of shoving each other al over the path. My friends sometimes get a little rowdy.He glanced past her, and Bonnie looked back over her shoulder. His friends had stopped and were waiting for him farther down the path. As Bonnie watched, one of them, a tal dark guy, smacked another on the back of the head, and a act later they were scuffling and shoving again.Yeah, I can see that, said Bonnie, and the gorgeous white-blond guy laughed. His rich laugh made Bonnie smile, too, and pul ed her attention back to those eyes.Anyway, satisfy accept my apology, he said. Im real y sorry. He held out his hand. My bids Zander. His grip was nice and firm, his hand large and warm around hers. Bonnie felt herself blushing again, and she tossed her red curls back and stuck her chin bravely in the air. She wasnt going to act al flustered. So what if he was gorgeous? She was friends sort of, anyway with Damon. She ought to be repellent to gorgeous guys by now.Im Bonnie, she said, smiling up at him. This is my first day here. Are you a freshman, too?Bonnie, he said thoughtful y, drawing her name out a little like he was tasting it. No, Ive been here for a epoch.Zander Zander, the guys down the path began chanting, their voices getting faster and louder as they repeated it. Zander Zander Zander. Zander winced, his attention slipping back toward his friends. Im sorry, Bonnie, Ive got to run, he said. Weve got sort of a He paused. club thing going on. But, like I said, Im real y sorry we almost knocked you over. I hope Il see you again soon, okay?He squeezed her hand once more, gave her a lingering smile, and walked away, picking up speed as he got closer to his friends. Bonnie watched him rejoin the group of guys.Just before they turned past a dorm, Zander looked back at her, flashed that gorgeous smile, and waved.Bonnie raised her hand to wave back, accidental y clunking the heavy bag against her side as he turned away.Amazing, she thought, remembering the color of his eyes. I might be move in love.Matt l eaned against the wobbly pile of suitcases hed stacked by the entrance to his dorm room. Darn it, he said as he jiggled the key in the doors lock. Had they even given him the right key?Hey, a voice said behind him, and Matt jerked, tumbling a suitcase down onto the floor. Whoops, sorry about that. Are you Matt?Yeah, Matt said, giving the key one last twist and, just like that, the door final y opened. He turned, smiling. Are you Christopher? The school had told him his roommates name and that he was on the footbal team, too, but the two of them hadnt gotten in touch. Christopher looked okay. He was a big guy with a linebacker build, friendly smile, and improvident sandy hair that he scrubbed at with one hand as he stepped back to make way for the cheerful middle-aged dyad fol owing him. Hi there, you must be Matt, said the woman, who was carrying a rol ed-up rug and a Dalcrest pennant. Im Jennifer, Christophers mom, and this is Mark, his protactinium. Its so nice to meet you. Are your folks here?Uh, no, I just drove up by myself, Matt said. My hometown, Fel s Church, isnt too far from here. He grabbed his suitcases and lugged them into the room, hurrying to get out of Christophers familys way.Their room was pretty smal . thither was a bunk bed along one wal , a narrow space in the middle of the room, and two desks and dressers crammed side by side on the other wal .The girls and Stefan were no doubt living in luxury, but it hadnt seemed quite right to let Stefan use his Power to get Matt a technical housing assignment. It was bad enough that Matt took someone elses slot as a student and someone elses space on the footbal team.Stefan had talked him into doing just that. Look, Matt, hed said, his green eyes serious. I understand how you feel. I dont like influencing people to get what I want either.But the fact is, we need to stay together. With the lines of Power that run through this whole part of the country, we behave to be on our guard. Were the only o nes who know. Matt had to agree, when Stefan put it like that. Hed turned down the plush dorm room Stefan had offered to lay for him, though, and taken what the housing office assigned him. He had to hang on to at least a shred of his honor. Plus if he was in the same dorm as the others, it would have been hard to say no to rooming with Stefan. He liked Stefan fine, but the idea of living with him, of watching him with Elena, the girl Matt had lost and stil loved despite al that had happened, was too much. And it would be fun to meet new people, to expand his horizons a bit after spending his whole manner in Fel s Church.But the room was awful y smal .And Christopher seemed to have a ton of stuff. He and his parents went up and down the stairs, hauling in a sound system, a little refrigerator, a TV, a Wii. Matt shoved his own three suitcases into the corner and helped them bring it al in.Wel share the fridge and the entertainment stuff, of course, Christopher told him, glancing a t Matts bags, which clearly contained nothing but clothes and maybe some sheets and towels. If we can figure out where to put it al . Christophers mom was prowling around the room, directing his dad on where to move things.Great, thanks Matt started to say, but Christophers dad, having final y managed to wedge the TV on top of one of the dressers, turned to look at Matt.Hey, he said. It just hit me if youre from Fel s Church, you guys were the state champions last year. You must be some happener. What position do you play?Uh, thanks, Matt said. I play quarterback.First string? Christophers dad asked him.Matt blushed. Yeah.Now they were al staring at him.Wow, Christopher said. No offense, man, but why are you going to Dalcrest? I mean, Im excited just to play col ege bal , but you could have gone, like, Division One. Matt shrugged uncomfortably. Um, I had to stay close to home.Christopher opened his mouth to say something else, but his scram gave a tiny shake of her head and he closed it again. Great, Matt thought. They probably thought he had family problems.He had to admit it warmed him a little, though, to be with people who acknowledged what hed given up. The girls and Stefan didnt real y understand footbal . Even though Stefan had played on their high school team with him, his mind-set was stil very much that of the Renaissance European aristocrat sports were enjoyable pastimes that kept the body fit. Stefan didnt real y care.But Christopher and his family they got what it meant for Matt to pass up the chance of performing for a top-ranked col ege footbal team.So, Christopher said, a little too suddenly, as if hed been trying to think of a way to change the subject, which bed do you want? I dont care whether I take top or bottom. They al looked over at the bunk beds, and thats when Matt saw it for the first time. It must have arrived while he was downstairs helping with Christophers luggage. A cream-colored envelope sat on the bottom bunk, made of a fancy thick paper stock like a wedding invitation. On the front was written in cal igraphy Matthew Honeycutt.Whats that, dear? Christophers mom asked curiously.Matt shrugged, but he was beginning to feel a drum of excitement in his chest. Hed heard something about invitations certain people at Dalcrest received, ones that just mysteriously appeared, but hed always thought they were a myth.Flipping the envelope over, he saw a blue wax seal bearing the impression of an ornate letter V.Huh. After gazing at the envelope for a second, he folded it and slipped it into his back pocket. If it was what he thought it was, he was supposed to open it alone.I guess thats fate tel ing us the bottom bunks yours, Christopher said amiably.Yeah, Matt said distractedly, his heart malleus hard.Excuse me for a minute, okay?He ducked out into the hal , took a deep breath, and opened the envelope. Inside was more thick fancy paper with cal igraphy on it and a narrow piece of black fabric. He readFortis A eturnusFor generations, the best and brightest of Dalcrest College have been chosen to join the Vitale Society. This year, you have been selected.Should you wish to accept this honor and become one of us, come tomorrow night at eight oclock to the main campus gate. You must be blindfolded and dressed as befits a serious occasion.Tell no one.The little pulse of excitement in Matts chest increased until he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He sank down along the wal and took a deep breath.Hed heard stories about the Vitale Society. The handful of Well-known actors, famous writers, and great Civil War general that Dalcrest counted among their alumni were al rumored to have been members. To belong to the legendary purchase order was supposed to ensure your success, to link you to an incredible cloak-and-dagger network that would help you throughout your life.More than that, there was talk of mysterious deeds, of secrets revealed only to members. And they were supposed to have amazing parties.But they were just gossip, the stories of the Vitale Society, and no one ever straight-out admitted to belonging to it. Matt always figured the secret society was a myth. The col ege itself so vehemently denied any knowledge of the Vitale Society that Matt suspected the admissions people might have made the whole thing up, trying to make the col ege seem a little more exclusive and mysterious than it real y was.But here he looked down at the creamy paper clutched in his hands was evidence that al the stories might be true. It could be a joke, he supposed, a trick someone was playing on a few of the freshmen. It didnt feel like a joke, though. The seal, the wax, the expensive paper it seemed like a lot of effort to go to if the invitation wasnt genuine.The most exclusive, most secret society at Dalcrest was real. And they wanted him.