Read Online Night World 1 by L.J. Smith - Free Book Online Page B

think it makes her feel better now —she looked pretty bad in there.”
    â€œBad?”
    â€œPale and shaky. You know Poppy; you know how she gets overexcited about things. You shouldn’t be fooling around with her emotions.” He narrowed his eyes and said, “So maybe you’d better stay away from her for a while. Just to make sure she hasn’t got the wrong idea.”
    â€œWhatever,” James said. He wasn’t really listening.
    â€œOkay,” Phillip said. “We have a deal. But I’m warning you, if you break it, you’re in trouble.”
    James wasn’t listening to that, either. Which was a mistake.

    In the darkened hospital room Poppy lay and listened to her mother’s breathing.
    You’re not asleep, she thought, and I’m not asleep. And you know I’m not, and I know you’re not….
    But they couldn’t talk. Poppy wanted desperately to let her mother know that everything was going to be all right—but how ? She couldn’t betray James’s secret. And even if she could, her mother wouldn’t believe her.
    I have to find a way, Poppy thought. I have to. And then a great wave of drowsiness overtook her. It had been the longest day in her life, and she was full of alien blood already working its strange magic in her. She couldn’t…she just couldn’t…keep her eyes open.
    Several times during the night a nurse came in to take her vital signs, but Poppy never really woke up. For the first time in weeks, no pain interrupted her dreams.
    She opened her eyes the next morning feeling confused and weak. Black dots swarmed through her vision when she sat up.
    â€œHungry?” her mother asked. “They left this breakfast tray for you.”
    The smell of hospital eggs made Poppy feel nauseated. But because her mother was watching her anxiously, she played with the food on the tray before she went to wash up. In the bathroom mirror she examined the side of her neck. Amazing—there was no trace of a mark.
    When she came out of the bathroom, her mother was crying.
    Not floods of tears, not sobbing. Just dabbing her eyes on a Kleenex. But Poppy couldn’t stand it.
    â€œMom, if you’re worried about telling me…I know.”
    The whole sentence was out before Poppy could even think about it.
    Her mother’s head jerked up in horror. She stared at Poppy with more tears spilling. “Sweetheart—you know…?”
    â€œI know what I’ve got and I know how bad it is,” Poppy said. If this was the wrong strategy, it was too late now. “I listened when you and Cliff were talking to the doctors.”
    â€œOh, my Lord. ”
    What can I say ? Poppy wondered. It’s okay, Mom, because I’m not going to die; I’m going to become a vampire. I hope. I can’t be sure, because sometimes you don’t make it through the transformation. But with any luck, I should be sucking blood in a few weeks.
    Come to think of it, she hadn’t asked James exactly how long it would take to change her.
    Her mother was taking deep, calming breaths. “Poppy, I want you to know how much I love you. Cliff and I will do anything— anything —we can to help you. Right now he’s looking into some clinical protocols—those are experimental studies where they test new ways of treating people. If we can just…buy time…until a cure…”
    Poppy couldn’t stand it. She could feel her mother’s pain. Literally. It came in palpable waves that seemed to echo through her bloodstream, making her dizzy.
    It’s that blood, she thought. It’s doing something to me—changing me.
    Even as she thought it, she went to her mother. She wanted to hug her, and she needed help standing up.
    â€œMom, I’m not scared,” she said, muffled against her mother’s shoulder. “I can’t explain, but I’m not scared. And I don’t want you to