Read Online The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - Free Book Online Page A

frustration.
    “Fine. I guess even a little one is better than nothing, if this is the best you can do. And I’m so full now I should be able
     to stop.”
    Riley’s hard fingers had disappeared then and left me alone with the voice. I’d been too panicked at that point to make a
     sound. I’d just closed my eyes, though I was already totally blind in the darkness. I didn’t scream until something cut into
     my neck, burning like a blade coated in acid.
    I cringed back from the memory, trying to push the next part from my mind. Instead I concentrated on that short conversation.
     She hadn’t sounded like she was talking to her lover or even her friend. More like she was talking to an employee. One she
     didn’t like much and might fire soon.
    But the strange vampire kissing sounds continued. Someone sighed in contentment.
    I frowned at Diego. This exchange didn’t tell us much. How long did we need to stay?
    He just held his head on the side, listening carefully.
    And after a few more minutes of patience, the low, romantic sounds were suddenly interrupted.
    “How many?”
    The voice was muted by distance, but still distinct. And recognizable. High, almost a trill. Like a spoiled young girl.
    “Twenty-two,” Riley answered, sounding proud. Diego and I exchanged a sharp glance. There were twenty-two of us, at last count,
     anyway. They must be talking about us.
    “I thought I’d lost two more to the sun, but one of my older kids is… obedient,” Riley continued. There was almost an affectionate
     sound to his voice when he spoke of Diego as one of his
kids
. “He has an underground place—he hid himself with the younger one.”
    “Are you sure?”
    There was a long pause, this time with no sounds of romance. Even from this distance, I thought I could feel some tension.
    “Yeah. He’s a good kid, I’m sure.”
    Another strained pause. I didn’t understand her question. What did she mean,
are you sure
? Did she think he’d heard the story from someone else rather than seeing Diego for himself?
    “Twenty-two is good,” she mused, and the tension seemed to dissolve. “How is their behavior developing? Some of them are almost
     a year old. Do they still follow the normal patterns?”
    “Yes,” Riley said. “Everything you told me to do worked flawlessly. They don’t think—they just do what they’ve always done.
     I can always distract them with thirst. It keeps them under control.”
    I frowned at Diego. Riley didn’t want us to think. Why?
    “You’ve done so well,” our creator cooed, and there was another kiss. “Twenty-two!”
    “Is it time?” Riley asked eagerly.
    Her answer came back fast, like a slap. “No! I haven’t decided when.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “You don’t need to. It’s enough for you to know that our enemies have great powers. We cannot be too careful.” Her voice softened,
     turned sugary again. “But all twenty-two still alive. Even with what
they
are capable of… what good will it be against twenty-two?” She let out a tinkling little laugh.
    Diego and I had not looked away from each other throughout all this, and I could see in his eyes now that his thoughts were
     the same as mine. Yes, we’d been created for a purpose, as we’d guessed. We had an enemy. Or, our creator had an enemy. Did
     the distinction matter?
    “Decisions, decisions,” she muttered. “Not yet. Maybe one more handful, just to be sure.”
    “Adding more might actually decrease our numbers,” Riley cautioned hesitantly, as if being careful not to upset her. “It’s
     always unstable when a new group is introduced.”
    “True,” she agreed, and I imagined Riley sighing in relief that she was not upset.
    Abruptly Diego looked away from me, staring out across the meadow. I hadn’t heard any movement from the house, but maybe she
     had come out. My head whipped around at the same time the rest of me turned to a statue, and I saw what had startled Diego.
    Four figures were