The thing was strung with security cameras and motion detectors, a good soldier packing a shitload of ammo. But all that was just small potatoes, really. The true keep-out was the 120 volts of electrical charge that ran across the top in curls of barbed wire.
Safety first. Always.
John followed Z down the snow-patched lawn, passing battened-down flower beds and the drained swimming pool in the back. After a gentle decline they reached the forest edge. At this point the monster wall hung a sharp louie and shot down the mountainside. They didn't follow it, but penetrated the tree line.
Beneath thick pines and densely branched maples there was a pad of old needles and leaves and not much undergrowth. Here, the air smelled like earth and cold air, a combination that made the inside of his nose tingle.
As usual, Zsadist led. The paths they took each night were different and felt random, but they always ended at the same place, a short-stack waterfall: The brook that came down the mountainside threw itself off a little cliff, then formed a shallow pool some nine feet across.
John went over and put his hand into the gurgling rush. As his palm pierced the tumble, his fingers numbed out from the cold.
In silence Zsadist crossed the stream, leaping from rock to rock to rock. The Brother's grace was that of the water, flowing and strong, his footing so sure it was clear he knew precisely how his body would react to each shift of muscle.#p#分页标题#e#
On the far side he walked up to the waterfall so he was across from John.
Their eyes met. Oh, man, Z had something to say tonight, didn't he.
The walks had started up after John had attacked another classmate and laid the kid out cold in the locker room shower. Wrath had made them a condition upon John staying in the training program, and he'd dreaded them at first, figuring Z was going to try to crawl all around his head. Up until now, however, they had always been about silence.
That wasn't going to be the case tonight.
John retracted his arm, walked downstream a little, and crossed over without Zsadist's confidence or dexterity.
As he came up to the Brother, Z said, "Lash is coming back."
John crossed his arms over his chest. Oh, great, the asshole John had put on a gurney. Granted, Lash had been beyond asking for it, coming after John, heckling and pushing him, turning on Blay. But still.
"And he's gone through the change."
Terrific. Even frickin' better. Now the bastard would be gunning for him with muscle.
When? John signed.
"Tomorrow. I've made it clear if he pulls any shit, he's out for good. You have problems with him, you come to me, we clear?"
Shit. John wanted to take care of himself. He didn't want to be watched over like a kid.
"John? You come to me. Nod your damn head."
John did so slowly.
"You will not aggress on the fucker. I don't care what he says or what he does. Just because he gets up in your face doesn't mean you have to react."
John nodded, because he had a feeling Z was going to ask him to again if he didn't.
"I catch you going all Dirty Harry, you're not going to like what happens."
John stared into the rushing water. God . . . Blay, Qhuinn, now Lash. All changed.
Paranoia took root and he looked at Z. What if the transition doesn't happen for me?
"It will."
How do we know for sure?
"Biology." Z nodded at a huge oak tree. "That thing is going to leaf up when the sun hits it. Can't help it, and the shit's the same with you. Your hormones are going to kick in hard-core, and then it happens. You can feel them already, can't you?"
John shrugged.
"Yeah, you can. Your patterns of eating and sleeping are different. So is your behavior. You think a year ago you would have taken Lash down onto the tile and pounded on him until he was breathing blood?"
Definitely not.
"You're hungry, but you don't like to eat, right? Restless and exhausted. Short-tempered."
Jesus, how did the Brother know all that?
"Been through it myself, remember."
How much longer? John asked.
"Until it hits? As a male, you tend to take after your father. Darius went through his a little on the early side. But you never really know. Some people can be where you are for years."
Years? Shit. What was it like afterward for you? When you woke up?
In the quiet that followed, the eeriest change came over the Brother. It was like a fog crept in and he disappeared—despite the fact that John could still see every detail of his scarred face and big body clear as ever.
"You talk to Blay and Qhuinn about that."
Sorry. John flushed. Didn't mean to pry.
"Whatever. Look, I don't want you to worry about it. We've got Layla lined up for you to feed from, and you're going to be in a safe environment. I'm not going to let anything bad go down."