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Stefan. "You'd think that the graveyard was the perfect place to kill; you'd have complete privacy. And I
knew you wouldn't be able to resist bragging about what you'd done. I was hoping you'd tell Meredith
more about the other killer, the one who actually threw Sue out the window, the one who cut her so you
could drink fresh blood. The vampire, Tyler. Who is he? Where is he hiding?"
Tyler 's look of venomous hatred changed to a sneer. "You think I'd tell you that? He's my friend."
"He is not your friend, Tyler. He's using you. And he's a murderer."
"Don't get in any deeper,Tyler ," Matt added.
"You're already an accessory. Tonight you tried to kill Meredith. Pretty soon you're not going to be able
to go back even if you want to. Be smart and stop this now. Tell us what you know."
Tyler bared his teeth. "I'm not telling youanything . How're you going to make me?"
The others exchanged glances. The atmosphere changed, became charged with tension as they all turned
back toTyler .
"You really don't understand, do you?" Meredith said quietly. "Tyler , you helpedkill Sue. She died for
an obscene ritual so that you could change into thatthing I saw. You were planning to kill me, and Vickie
and Bonnie too, I'm sure. Do you think we have any pity for you? Do you think we brought you up here
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to be nice to you?"
There was a silence. The sneer was fading fromTyler 's lips. He looked from one face to another.
They were all implacable. Even Bonnie's small face was unforgiving.
" Gervaseof Tilbury mentions one interesting thing," Stefan said, almost pleasantly. "There's a cure for
werewolves besides the traditional silver bullet. Listen." By moonlight, he read from the book on his
knee. "It is commonly reported and held by grave and worthy doctors that if a werewolf be shorn
of one of his members, he shall surely recover his original body. Gervase goes on to tell the story of
Raimbaud of Auvergne , a werewolf who was cured when a carpenter cut off one of his hind paws. Of
course, that was probably hideously painful, but the story goes that Raimbaud thanked the carpenter 'for
ridding him forever of the accursed and damnable form.' " Stefan raised his head. "Now, I'm thinking that
ifTyler won't help us with information, the least we can do is make sure he doesn't go out and kill again.
What do the rest of you say?"
Matt spoke up. "I think it's our duty to cure him."
"All we have to do is relieve him of one of his members," Bonnie agreed.
"I can think of one right off," Meredith said under her breath.
Tyler 's eyes were starting to bulge. Under the dirt and blood his normally ruddy face had gone pale.
"You're bluffing!"
"Get the ax, Matt," said Stefan. "Meredith, you take off one of his shoes."
Tyler kicked when she did, aiming for her face. Matt came and got his head in a hammer-lock. "Don't
make it any worse on yourself, Tyler."
The bare foot Meredith exposed was big, the sole as sweaty asTyler 's palms. Coarse hair sprouted
from the toes. It made Meredith's skin crawl.
"Let's get this over with," she said.
"You're joking!"Tyler howled, thrashing so that Bonnie had to come and grab his other leg and kneel on
it. "You can't do this! You can't!"
"Keep him still," Stefan said. Working together, they stretchedTyler out, his head locked in Matt's arm,
his legs spread and pinned by the girls. Making sureTyler could see what he was doing, Stefan balanced
a branch perhaps two inches thick on the lip of the tomb. He raised the ax and then brought it down
hard, severing the stick with one blow.
"It's sharp enough," he said. "Meredith, roll his pants leg up. Then tie some of that cord just above his
ankle as tight as you can for a tourniquet. Otherwise he'll bleed out."
"You can't do this!"Tyler was screaming. "You can't dooooooo this!"
"Scream all you want,Tyler . Up here, nobody's going to hear you, right?" Stefan said.
"You're no better than I am!"Tyler yelled in a spray of spittle. "You're a killer too!"
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"I know exactly what I am," Stefan said. "Believe me, Tyler. I know. Is everybody ready? Good. Hold
on to him; he's going to jump when I do it."
Tyler 's screams weren't even words anymore.
Matt was holding him so that he could see Stefan kneel and take aim, hefting the ax blade aboveTyler 's
ankle to gauge force and distance.
"Now," said Stefan, raising the ax high.
"No! No! I'll talk to you! I'll talk!" shriekedTyler .
Stefan glanced at him. "Too late," he said, and brought the ax down.
It rebounded off the stone floor with a clang and a spark, but the noise was drowned byTyler 's
screaming. It seemed to takeTyler several minutes to realize that the blade hadn't touched his foot. He
paused for breath only when he choked, and turned wild, bulging eyes on Stefan.
"Start talking," Stefan said, his voice wintry, remorseless.
Little whimpers were coming fromTyler 's throat and there was foam on his lips. "I don't know his
name," he gasped out. "But he looks like you said. And you're right; he's a vampire, man! I saw him drain
a ten-point buck while it was still kicking. Helied to me,"Tyler added, the whine creeping back into his
voice. "He told me I'd be stronger than anybody, as strong as him. He said I could have any girl I
wanted, any way I wanted. The creep lied."
"He told you that you could kill and get away with it," Stefan said.
"He said I could do Caroline that night. She had it coming after the way she ditched me. I wanted to
make her beg but she got out of the house somehow. I could have Caroline and Vickie, he said. All he
wanted was Bonnie and Meredith."
"But you just tried to kill Meredith."
"That wasnow . Things are different now, stupid. He said it was all right."
"Why?" Meredith asked Stefan in an undertone. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]