Read Thirst No. 5 for Free Online

forgiven me. Because I lied to you then.”
    He goes to protest but stops. “Yes.”
    “I felt I had to lie. I was afraid you’d kill me.”
    “I know.”
    “I had a right to be afraid.”
    He stares at me. “No, Sita, that’s where you’re wrong. Sure, you saw my temper, you heard my threats. But I could never have hurt you any more than I could have harmed Teri.” He pauses. “You don’t believe me.”
    “It’s not that simple. I know I’ll never be as important to you as Teri was. I’m not complaining—I couldn’t have loved her more than I did. But I think—from now on—that it’s important we’re honest with each other.”
    He continues to stare at me. “I am being honest, Sita.”
    He’s a hard one to read. “Fine,” I say.
    Our flight continues uninterrupted. Matt puts the jet on automatic pilot and leaves me in the forward cabin to keep an eye on things. He goes in the back to talk to Brutran, or at least that’s what he says. I could listen in on their conversation, but since he knows that, I doubt he’s going to say anything secretive to her.
    Matt is gone an hour, and we’re approaching the Mississippi River when Seymour knocks on the cabin door and enters. He sits in Matt’s chair.
    “I assume you know how to fly this thing,” he says.
    “All jets have the same basic controls. But this plane is so advanced, it can fly itself. At least until we land.”
    “That’s reassuring.” He looks troubled.
    “What’s on your mind, Seymour?”
    “When are you going to tell me about this veil?”
    “Soon.”
    “Now feels like a good time.”
    “I’ll do it when we’re on the ground and I can get you and Matt alone.” I pause. “Something else is bothering you.”
    “It’s about Paula. You haven’t called her in a few days. She has no idea what’s going on.”
    “Paula’s priority is John. Protecting him. If she was anxious for an update, she would have called me.”
    “What if we need her advice?” he asks.
    “Then I’d call her.”
    Seymour looks out the window. “You’ve never reacted that well to what she has to say.”
    “Well, she can be a bit blunt at times.”
    “But she’s usually right. Let’s face it, the woman’s a genuine psychic. And her son, John, God only knows what he is.”
    “What’s this about?”
    Seymour squirms in his seat. “Matt. He’s in the back, playing that computer game John told us to stay away from.”
    “The one the Cradle installed on the Internet? The one that gave you headaches?”
    “Yeah.”
    “What’s the big deal? You said it didn’t have any effect on Matt.”
    “He said that. On the surface, it didn’t appear to bother him. But just now, when he flipped open his laptop, I got a creepy feeling, and I didn’t even know what he was doing.Then, when I saw he was playing the game, I reminded him what John had said about it. He told me to mind my own business.”
    “Sounds like Matt,” I say.
    “That game’s weird. It’s so addicting, especially if you play it with headphones. Remember the subliminal messages we found on sections of it?“
    I remember. “Is Matt playing with headphones?”
    “Yeah. He acts like he can screen out all the garbage—and maybe he can, I don’t know. I just know the game gives off a weird vibe if you’re in the room with someone who’s playing it.”
    “You’ve only told me a little about how the game works. Give me more details.”
    “It starts off simple. Your character is always a visitor to earth, and your goal is to find a hidden spaceship and fly it to the center of the galaxy. You start with only your hands and feet to defend yourself, but you can pick up weapons along the way. You need them because, like most games, you’re attacked the further you go. You can form alliances with other characters the game creates, and they can help you in tight situations. But just when you begin to depend on them, you usually discover they’re Shadows.”
    “Shadows?”
    “People the