"Why?"
"Because it was too awful. No, don't ask me," Thea added as Rosamund's interest level immediately shot up. "I'm not going to tell you. It's not a subject for kids.'
"What, what? If you don't tell me, I'm just going to imagine even worse things."
Thea sighed. "It had to do with babies, okay? And blood. But that's not the point of this story-" "They killed babies?"
"Not Hellewise. Maya did. And Hellewise tried to stop her, but-" "I bet she drank the blood." Thea stopped and looked hard at Rosamund. Human kids were ignorant, but not dumb. "Okay, yes, she drank the blood. Satisfied?" Roz grinned, nodded, and sat back, listening avidly. "Okay, so then Maya became immortal. But the thing was, she didn't know until afterward the price she'd have to pay. She would live forever-but only if she drank the blood of a mortal creature every day. Otherwise, she'd die."
"Like a vampire," Rosamund said with relish. Thea was shocked for an instant, then she laughed at herself. Of course humans knew about vampires- the same way they knew about witches. Silly legends filled with misinformation.
But that meant Thea could tell her own story without fear of being believed.
"Just like a vampire, actually,' she said impressively, holding Rosamund's eyes. "Maya was the first vampire of all. And all her children were cursed to be vampires, too."
Roz snorted. "Vampires can't have children." She looked doubtful. "Can they?"
"The ones descended from Maya can," Thea said. She wasn't going to say the word "lamia" to a human. "It's only the kind who get made into vampires by being bitten that can't. Maya had a vampire son called Red Fern and she bit people. That's the story, you see-Maya wanted to make everybody like her. So she started biting people in the tribe. And eventually Hellewise decided she had to stop it."
"How?"
"Well, that was the problem. Hellewise's tribe wanted to fight with Maya and the other vampires. But Hellewise knew if they did that, they'd probably all get killed. Both sides. So Hellewise challenged Maya alone to a duel. Single combat."
Rosamund pushed the mattress over with a thump. "I'd fight a duel with Mr. Hendries-he's the boys' trekleader." She jumped on the mattress and attacked a pillow with hands and feet-and teeth. "I'd win, too. He's out of shape."
"Well, Hellewise didn't want to fight, but she had to. She was scared, because as a vampire Maya was a lot stronger now."
For a moment, Thea thought about it, visualizing the old story the way she had as a child. Seeing Hellewise in her white leather shift, standing in the dark forest and waiting for Maya to come. And knowing that even if she won the fight, she'd probably die-and being brave enough to keep standing there. Being willing to give up everything for the people she loved, and for peace.
I don't think I could ever be that brave. I mean,
I'd certainly hope I would be, but I have a terrible feeling that I wouldn't.
And then a strange thing happened. At that instant, she seemed to hear a voice, not her usual mind-voice, but one that was urgent and almost accusatory. Asking a question as if Thea hadn't just decided on the answer. Would you give up everything? Thea shifted. She didn't usually hear voices. I suppose that's what Hellewise must have been thinking, she told herself uneasily.
"So what happened? Hey! Thea! What happened?" Rosamund was war-dancing on the mattress.
"Oh. Well, it was a terrible fight, but Hellewise won. She drove Maya away. And the tribe was left in peace, and they all lived happily ever after... um, except Hellewise. She died of her wounds."
Rosamund stopped dancing and stared in disbelief. "And you're telling me this to make me feel better? I never heard such a lousy story." Her chin began to tremble.
Thea forgot she was dealing with a human child. She held out her arms the way she had to Bud the puppy, the way she would have to any creature in pain-and Rosamund threw herself into them.
"No, no," Thea said, anxiously cuddling. "You see, the point is that Hellewise's people lived on, and they were free. And that may seem like a little thing, because they were just a little tribe, but that little tribe got bigger and bigger, and they stayed free. And all the witches in the world are descended from them, and they all remember Hellewise and honor her. It's a story every mother tells her daughters."
Rosamund breathed irregularly for a moment. "What about her sons?"
"Well, her sons, too. When I say 'daughters' I mean 'sons and daughters.' It's just shorter."
One green eye looked up from a mop of shaggy hair. "like 'he' and 'him' are supposed to mean 'she' and 'her,' too?"
"Yeah." Thea thought. "I guess maybe neither is the best system." She shrugged. "The important thing is that one woman's courage kept us-them- all free."
"Look." Rosamund straightened up, staring through the hair. "Are you just jerking my chain or is that a true story? Because frankly you seem like a witch to me."
"That's what I was going to say," an amused voice behind Thea said.
Thea's head snapped around. The door was open a few inches and a woman was standing there. She was tall and lanky, with little glasses and long silky brown hair. Her expression reminded Thea of a look Eric got sometimes, a look of very sweet puzzlement, as if he'd suddenly been struck by one of life's overwhelming mysteries.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was a stranger. An Outsider.
A human.
Thea had been blurting out the secrets of the Night World, the history of the witches, and a human adult had been listening.