Thirst No. 3 by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page B

one point I didn’t like. You changed the rules of the mythology. Vampires can’t function during the day. If you’re going to do something like that, Ithink the werewolf has to know ahead of time. To be fair.”
    “But I was fair. At the start I said the vampire was wise, and you interpreted that to mean he had an ace up his sleeve he wasn’t showing. You were right. The werewolf and the man underestimated their foe. And that’s why they both died.”
    “I wish the vampire had let the man live,” Teri complains.
    “The man made himself the vampire’s enemy,” Matt said, staring at me with fresh appreciation, nodding. “You’re right, Alisa, it’s a great story.”
    “Thank you,” I reply.
    Teri smiles. “I guess it takes a genius to recognize a genius.”
    Matt continues to stare at me.
    “That’s true,” he says, and I know I have won him over.

FOUR

    On the ride back home, I feel the effects of the six Scotch and Cokes I drank. I have to focus on the road to stay on it. But a much more powerful cocktail plagues me: the mixture of happiness and guilt I feel in my heart.
    Sitting with Matt and Teri, drinking, talking, eating, listening to Matt play his music, simply being in their company, made me feel like I was with family. What a strange and wonderful experience. It created a mysterious bubble. Even though the club was packed, it was as if the three of us spent the evening alone around a delicious fire. Most of all, it made me feel we belong together.
    So says my heart, while my head shouts,
Beware!
Nothing good can come from interfering with their lives. Plus there is nowhere for the relationship to go. In the end my energy wouldoverwhelm them, my money, my immortality. I am too much of a boss—long ago I recognized this flaw in my character—to hold back from directing their lives. Already I want to call people I know in the entertainment industry and arrange auditions for Matt. He has the talent—he just needs a break.
    How easy the fantasies roll inside. How rich his life would be if he was able to work full-time in a field he loved, producing beautiful songs, selling millions of copies while making millions of dollars. Teri wouldn’t have to sleep in a dorm, but could have a house of her own. She could go to Harvard for her undergraduate degree and then go on to Yale Medical School.
    Yet all the glorious things I imagine I can do for them are exactly why my brain shouts for me to stop. A young man like Matt could lose his inner confidence by not struggling for success. And Teri’s humble beginnings molded her into the sensitive human being I love. It is difficult for most people to realize, especially parents when it comes to their children, but suffering is often a great gift, not the curse most humans assume it is. The people I admire most have all suffered.
    There is a spiritual dimension to struggle as well.
    Krishna once said that few people focused on him intensely except when they were in pain. Of course, the remark was impersonal. Krishna was not referring to his form, the events of his life, or even his words when he spoke of himself. He was not a god in need of praise. His idea of worship was infinitelyflexible; he saw all deities as himself. Nevertheless, he felt pain gave humans the greatest incentive to focus on the supreme.
    It helps me, simply to remember Krishna.
    I suddenly feel more balanced.
    I come to a compromise inside. I’ll see Teri and Matt for a few years, maybe ten, no more, and then I’ll vanish from their lives before they realize I’m not aging. Under no circumstances will I ever let them know who I really am. Also, I’ll limit how much I spoil them. They’ll never enjoy their success if they don’t have to fight to get it.
    By the time I reach home, I feel I can make the relationship work.
    I’m fifty yards from my garage when I hear a faint whistle sound.
    I throw myself lengthwise across my front seat.
    My back and front window explode in a shower of