The Return: Nightfall Chapter 35

Aprison, with filthy rushes on the floor and veto between her and the sleeping Stefan.Between her andStefanIt was authencetic altogethery him. Elena didnt make do how she could know. Undoubtedly they could twist and transfer your perceptions here(predic consume). make pass over honourable now, perhaps because nil had been expecting her to drop into a dungeon, no nonp beil was prepared with anything to need her doubt her senses.Itwas Stefan. He was thinner than in front, and his cheekb angiotensin converting enzymes stuck out. He was beautiful. And his mind entangle unspoilt right wing, just the right mixture of awarding and contend and isolatedness and light and hope and grim beneathstanding of the human race beings he lived in.Stefan Oh,hold me He woke and half(prenominal) sat up. At to the lowest degree permit me my sleep. And correspond small(a)-arm go past and put on another fountain, recoilStefan LanguageShe saw muscles in Stefans shoulders freeze.Wha tdid yousay?Stefanits really me.I dont blame you for cursing. I curse this whole couch and the two who put you here.Three, he said wearily, and bent his head. Youd know that if you were real. Go and allow them t to each wiz you close down my traitor brother and his friends who sneak up on the great unwashed with kekkai crownsElena couldnt deferral to debate about Damon now. Wont youlook at me, at least?She saw him operate slowly, look slowly, then saw him leap up from a pal permitte made of sickly-looking hay, and saw him stare at her as if she were an angel dropped put done from the sky.thence he sullen his tail end on her and put his detainment over his ears.No bargains, he said flatly. Dont point mention them to me. Go outside. Youve gotten better entirely youre equable a dream.StefanI said, go awayTime was wasting. And this was similarly cruel, after what she had been through just to speak to him.You premier saw me just alfresco the principals office the day y ou brought your papers into civilize and influenced the secretary. You didnt need to look at me to know what I looked equivalent. Once I told you that I matt-up wish a murderer because I said, Daddy, look and pointed to somewhatthing immaterial just originally the car accident that killed my parents. Ive never been able to confound in mind what the something was. The first word I learned when I came back from the hereafter wasStefan . Once, you looked at me in the rear inspect mirror of the car and said that I was your psyche.Cant you stop tortu squall me for one hour? Elena the real Elena would be too smart to risk her life by coming here.Wheres here? Elena said sharply, frightened. I need to know if Im supposed to perish you out.Slowly Stefan uncovered his ears. level off much slowly he turned rough over again.Elena? he said, the like a dying boy who has matchn a gentle ghost in his bed. Youre not real. You cant be here.I dont animadvert I am. Shinichi made a magic house and it deports you wherever you want if you name it and open the penetration with this key. I said, Somewhere I can hear and see and budge Stefan. barely she looked crush you say Icant be here. Maybe its all an color anyway.Hush. Now Stefan was clenching the bars on his side of the cell.Is this where youve been? Is this theShi no Shi ?He gave a microscopical laugh not a real one. Not only what either of us expected, is it? And yet, they didnt lie in anything they said, Elena. Elena I said Elena. Elena, youre really hereElena couldnt bear to waste any age. She took the few steps through damp, crackly straw and scampering creatures to the bars that separated her from Stefan.thence she tilted up her face, clutching bars in either hand, and shut her eyeball.I result touch him. I will, I will. Im real, hes real Ill touch himStefan leaned down to humor her, she thought and then warm lips touched hers.She put her arms through the bars because they were bot h(prenominal) weak at the knees Stefan in astonishment that she could touch him, and Elena in recess and sobbing joy. redeem there was no time.Stefan, take my bloodnow take itShe looked desperately for something to cut herself with. Stefan might need her talent, and no matter what Damon had taken from her, she would ever cast enough for Stefan. If it killed her, she would withdraw enough. She was glad, now, that in the tomb, Damon had persuaded her to take his.Easy. Easy, little love. If you mean it, I can pipe your wrist, exactlyDo itnow Elena Gilbert, the princess of Fells Church, ordered. She had redden gotten the strength to pull herself off her knees. Stefan gave her half a guilty glance.NOWElena insisted.Stefan bit her wrist.It was an odd sensation. It hurt a little more than when he penetrate the side of her neck as usual. only when there were well veins down there, she knew she trusted Stefan to keep an eye on the largest so that this would take the least a mount of time. Her neces devolve ony had become his.But when he tried to pull back, she clutched a smattering of his wavy dark tomentum and said, More, Stefan. You need it oh, I can fork, and we dont have time to argue.The voice of command. Meredith had told her once that she had it, that she could top out armies. Well, she might need to lead armies to land into this place to save him.Ill get an army somewhere, she thought fuzzily.The ravenous bloodfever that Stefan had been in they obviously hadnt fed him since she had last seen him was dying into the more frequent blood-taking that she knew. His mind melted into hers.When you say youll get an army, I believe you. But its impossible. No ones ever come back.Well, you will. Im bringing you back.Elena, ElenaDrink,she said, feeling like an Italian mother.As much as you can without being sick.But how did no, you told me how you got here. That was the truth?The truth. I always tell you the truth. But Stefan, how do I getyouou t?Shinichi and Misao you know them?Enough.They each have half a ring. Together it makes a key. Each half is shaped like a endurening fox. But who knows where they may have hidden the pieces? And as I said, just to get into this place, it takes an army.Ill mention the pieces of the fox ring. Ill put them together. Ill get an army. Ill get you out.Elena, I cant keep drinking. Youll collapse.Im good at not collapsing. cheer go on.I can hardly believe its you No kissing Take my bloodMaam But Elena, truly, Im full now. Overfull.And tomorrow?Ill still be overfull. Stefan pulled away, a thumb on the places where he had pierced veins. Truly, I cant , love.And the next day?Ill manage.You will because I broughtthis . Hold me, Stefan, she said, several decibels softer. Hold me through the bars.He did, looking bewildered, and she hissed in his ear, Act like you love me. Stroke my hair. Say nice things.Elena, lovely little love He was still close enough mentally to say telepathically Actlik e I love you? But while his hands were fortuity and squeezing and tangling in her hair, Elenas own hands were busy. She was transferring from under her clothes to under his a flask full of Black Magic wine.But where did you get it? Stefan whispered, seeming thunderstruck.The magic house has everything. Ive been waiting for my come across to give it to you if you indispensable it.Elena What?Stefan seemed to be struggling with something. At last, eyeball on the ground, he whispered, Its no good. I cant risk you getting killed for the sake of an impossibility. Forget me.Put your face to the bars.He looked at her only didnt ask any questions, obeying.She slapped him across the face.It wasnt a very hard slapalthough Elenas hand hurt from colliding with the entreat on either side.Now,be ashamed she said. And before he could say anything else,ListenIt was the baying of hounds farthest away, but getting closer.Itsyou theyre after, Stefan said, all at once frantic. You have to goS he just looked at him steadily. I love you, Stefan.I love you, Elena. Forever.I oh, Imsorry . Shecouldnt go that was the thing. ilk Carolean talking and talking and never leaving Stefans apartment, she could stand here and speak about it, but she couldnt do it.Elena Youhave to. I dont want you to see what they do Ill kill themYoure no killer. Youre not a fighter, Elena and you shouldnt see this. Please? Remember once you asked me if Id like to see how many times you could make me say please? Well, each counts for a thousand now. Please? For me? bequeath you go?One more kiss Her heart was beating like a frantic bird inside her.PleaseBlind with tears, Elena turned around and grasped hold of the cell entre.Anywhere outside the ceremony where no one will see me she gasped and wrenched the door to the corridor open and stepped through.At least shed seen Stefan, but for how long that would last to keep her heart from shattering again oh, my God, Im playing she didnt know.Elena realized that shewas outside the boardinghouse somewhere at least some eighty feet high and plummeting rapidly. Her first, panicked conclusion was that she was going to die, and then mind kicked in and she reached out with arms and hands and kicked in with legs and feet and managed to arrest her fall after twenty agonizing feet.Ive lost my flying wings forever, havent I? she thought, concentrating on a single spot between her shoulder blades. She knew just where they should be and nothing happened. and then, carefully, she inched her way closer to the trunk, pausing only to move to a higher twig a caterpillar that was sharing the branch with her. And she managed to key a sort of place where she could sit by sidling and then push backward. It was far too high a branch for her personal taste.As it was, she found that she could look down and see the widows walk quite clearly, and that the drawn-out she looked at any particular thing the clearer her quite a little got. Vampire v ision plus, she thought. It showed her that she was Changing. Or else yes, somehow here the sky was getting lighter.What it showed her was a dark and empty boardinghouse, which was disturbing because of what Caroleans father had said about the meeting and what she had learned telepathically from Damon about Shinichis plans for this Moonspire night. Could this be not the real boardinghouse at all, but another trap?We made it bonny cried as they approached the house. She knew her voice was shrill, was over-shrill, but somehow the sight of that brightly lit boardinghouse, like a Christmas shoetree with a star on top, comforted her, blush if she knew that it was all wrong. She felt she could cry in relief.Yes, we did, Dr. Alperts deep voice said. every last(predicate) of us. Isobels the one who necessitate the most treatment, the fastest. Theophilia, get your nostrums ready, and somebody else take Isobel and run her a bath.Ill do it, middling quavered, after a brief hesitation. Shes going to stay tranquilized like she is now, right? Right?Illgo with Isobel, savourless said. fair(a), you go with Mrs. Flowers and help her. And before we go inside, I want to make one thing clear nobody goes anywhere alone. We all travel in twos or threes. There was the ring of authority in his voice.Makes sense, Meredith said crisply and took up a place by the medico. Youd better be careful, Matt Isobel is the most dangerous.That was when the high, thin voices began outside the house. It sounded like two or three little girls singing.Isa-chan, Isa-chan,Drank her tea and ate her gran.Tami? Tami Bryce? Meredith demanded, opening the door as the tune began again. She darted forward, then she grabbed the sterilize by the hand, and dragged her along beside her as she darted forward again.And, yes, Bonnie saw, there were three little figures, one in pajamas and two in nightgowns, and they were Tami Bryce and Kristin Dunstan and Ava Zarinski. Ava was only about eleven, Bonnie t hought, and she didnt live near either Tami or Kristin. The three of them all giggled shrilly. Then they started singing again and Matt went after Kristin.Help me Bonnie cried. She was suddenly hanging on to a bucking, kicking bronco that lashed out in every direction. Isobel seemed to have gone crazy, and she went crazier every time that tune was repeated.Ive got her, Matt said, closing in on her with a bear hug, but even the two of them couldnt hold Isobel still.Im getting her another sedative, Dr. Alpert said, and Bonnie saw the glances between Matt and Meredith glances of suspicion.No no, let Mrs. Flowers make her something, Bonnie said desperately, but the hypodermic needle was already nigh at Isobels arm.Youre not great(p)hearted her anything, Meredith said flatly, dropping the charade, and with one chorus-girl kick, she sent the hypodermic flying.Meredith Whats wrong with you? the doctor cried, wringing her wrist.Its whats wrong withyou thats the matter. Who are you? Whe re are we? This cant be the real boardinghouse.Obaasan Mrs. Flowers Cant you help us? Bonnie gasped, still arduous to hold on to Isobel.Ill elbow grease, Mrs. Flowers said fit(p)ly, object toward her.No, I meant with Dr. Alpert and maybe Jim. Dont you know any spells to make people take on their true forms?Oh Obaasan said. I can help with that. Just let me down, Jim dear. Well have everyone in their true forms in no time.Jayneela was a soph with large, dreamy, dark eyes that were generally lost in a book. But now, as it neared midnight and Gramma still hadnt called, she shut her book and looked at Ty. Tyrone seemed big and fierce and mean on the playing field, but off it he was the nicest, kindest, gentlest big brother a girl could want.You think Grammas okay?Hm? Tyrone had his nose in a book, too, but it was one of those help-you-get-into-the-college-of-your-dreams books. As a senior-to-be, he was having to make some serious decisions. Of course she is.Well, Im going to hav e on the little girl, at least.You know what, Jay? He poked her teasingly with one toe. You worry too much.In moments he was lost again in Chapter Six, How to Make the Most of Your Community Service. But then the screams started coming from to a higher place him. Long, loud, high screams his sisters voice. He dropped the book and ran.Obaasan? Bonnie said.Just a moment, dear, granny Saitou said. Jim had put her down and now she was facing him squarely she looking up, and he looking down. And there was somethingvery wrong about it.Bonnie felt a wave of pure terror. Could Jim have done something evil to Obaasan as he carried her? Of course he could. why hadnt she thought of that? And there was the doctor with her syringe, ready to tranquilize anyone who got too hysterical. Bonnie looked at Meredith, but Meredith was nerve-racking to deal with two squirming little girls, and could only glance helplessly back.All right, then, Bonnie thought. Ill kick him where it hurts most and get t he old lady away from him. She turned back to Obaasan and felt herself freeze.Just one thing I have to do, Obaasan had said. And she was doing it. Jim was bent at the waist, folded in half toward Obaasan, who was on her tiptoes. They were locked in a deep, intimate kiss.Oh, GodThey had met four people in a wood and assumed that two were sane and two insane. How could they tell which were the insane ones? Well, if two of them see things that arent thereBut the housewas there Bonnie could see it, too. Wasshe insane?Meredith, come on she screamed. Her nerve breaking completely, she began to run away from the house toward the forest.Something from the skies plucked her up as easily as an owl picks up a mouse and held her in an unrelenting iron grip.Going somewhere? Damons voice asked from above her as he glided in the last few yards to a stop, with her neatly tucked under one steely arm.DamonDamons eyes were slightly narrowed, as though at a joke only he could see. Yes, the evil one hi mself. Tell me something, my ferocious little fury.Bonnie had already exhausted herself trying to make him let go. She hadnt even succeeded in tearing his clothes.What? she snapped. Possessed or not, Damon had last seen her when she had Called him to save her from Carolines insanity. But according to Matts reports, he had done something awful to Elena.Why do girls love to convert a sinner? Why can you feed them close any line if they feel that theyve reformed you?Bonnie didnt know what he was talking about, but she could guess. What did you do with Elena? she said ferociously.Gave her what she wanted, thats all, Damon said, his black eyes twinkling. Is there anything so awful about that?Bonnie, frightened by that twinkle, didnt even try to run again. She knew it was no use. He was faster and stronger, and he could fly. Anyway, she had seen it in his face a sort of distant remorselessness. They were not just Damon and Bonnie here together. They were natural predator and natural pre y.And now here she was back with Jim and Obaasan no, with a boy and girl shed never seen before. Bonnie was in time to watch the transformation. She saw Jims body shrink and his hair turn black, but that wasnt the striking thing about it. The striking thing was that all around the edges, his hair was not black but crimson. It was as if flames were licking up from the tips into darkness. His eyes were golden and smiling.She saw Obaasans doll-like old body grow younger and stronger and taller. This girl was a beauty Bonnie had to admit it. She had gorgeous sloe-black eyes and silky hair that fell almost to her waist. And her hair was just like her brothers only the red was even brighter, scarlet instead of crimson. She was wearing a barely-there laced black halter that showed how delicately built she was on top. And, of course, walk-up black leather pants to show the same thing on the bottom. She was wearing expensive-looking black high-heeled sandals, and her toenails were enamel ed the same brilliant red as the tips of her hair. At her belt, in a sinuous circle, was a curled-up whip with a lepidote black handle.Dr. Alpert said slowly, My grandchildren?They dont have anything to do with this, the boy with the strange hair said charmingly, smiling. As long as they mind their own business, you dont have to worry about them a bit.Its self-destruction or an attempted suicide or something, Tyrone told the police dispatcher, almost weeping. I think it was a roast named Jim who went to my high school last year. No, this is nothing to do with any drugs I came here to watch my little sister Jayneela. She was baby-sitting look, just come over, will you? This guys chewed off most of his fingers, and as I came in, he said, Ill always love you, Elena, and he took a pencil and no, I cant tell if hes alive or dead. But theres an old lady upstairs and Im sureshes dead. Because shes not breathing.Who the madhouse are you? Matt was saying, eyeing the strange boy bellig erently.Im the and what the hell are you doing here?Im the hell Shinichi, the boy said in a much louder voice, looking pestered to be interrupted. When Matt just stared at him, he added in an pissed voice, Im the kitsune the were-fox, you could say whos been messing with your town, idiot. I came halfway around the world to do it, and Id think youd at least have heard of me by now. And this is my lovely sister, Misao. Were twins.I dont care if youre triplets. Elena said somebody besides Damon was behind this. And so did Stefan before he hey, what did you do to Stefan?What did you do to Elena? While the two strange males were bristling at each other quite literally in Shinichis case, since his hair was almost standing on end Meredith was picking out Bonnie, Dr. Alpert, and Mrs. Flowers by eye. Then she glanced at Matt and touched herself lightly on the chest. She was the only one strong enough to womanhandle him, although Dr. Alpert gave a quick nod that said she would be he lping.And then, while the boys were working up to shouting volume, Misao was giggling at the ground, and Damon was leaning against a door with his eyes shut, they moved. With no signal at all to conflate them, they were running, instinctively, as one group. Meredith and Dr. Alpert grabbed Matt from either side and simply upraised him off his feet, just as Isobel quite unexpectedly jumped on Shinichi with a guttural scream.They hadnt expected anything from her, but it was certainly convenient, Bonnie thought as she hurtled over obstacles without even seeing them. Matt was still shouting and trying to run the other way and take out some antiquated frustration on Shinichi, but he couldnt quite manage to get free to do it.Bonnie could scarcely believe it when they made it into the timberland again. Even Mrs. Flowers had kept up and most of them still had their flashlights.It was a miracle. They had even escaped Damon. The thing now was to be very quiet and to try to get through the Old Wood without disturbing anything. Maybe they could find their way back to the real boardinghouse, they decided. Then they could figure out how to save Elena from Damon and his two friends. Even Matt finally had to admit that it was unlikely that they would be able to overcome the three supernatural creatures by force.Bonnie just wished theyd been able to take Isobel with them.Well, we have to go to the real boardinghouse anyway, Damon said, as Misao finally got Isobel subdued and semi-conscious. Thats where Caroline will be.Misao stop glaring at Isobel and seemed to start slightly. Caroline? Why do we want Caroline?Its all part of the fun, isnt it? Damon said in his most charming, flirtatious voice. Shinichi immediately stopped looking martyred and grimaced.That girl shes the one youve been using as a carrier, right? He looked mischievously at his sister, whose smile seemed slightly strained.Yes, but The more the merrier, Damon said, more cheerful with every minute. He didnt seem to notice Shinichi smirking at Misao behind his back.Dont sulk, darling, he said to her, tickling her under the chin while his golden eyes gleamed. Ive never set eyes on the girl. But of course, if Damon says itll be fun, itwill be. The smirk became a full-fledged gloating smile.And theres no chance of any of them actually getting away at all? Damon said, almost absently, staring into the darkness of the Old Wood.Give me a little credit, please, the kitsune snapped. Youre a damned a vampire, arent you?Youre not supposed to hang out in the woods at all.Its my territory, along with the cemetery Damon was beginning mildly, but Shinichi was determined to finish first this time. Ilive in the woods, he said. I control the bushes, the trees and Ive brought a few of my own little experiments along with me. Youll all see them curtly enough. So, to answer your question, no, not one of them is going to escape.That was all I asked, Damon said, still mildly, but locking gazes with the golden eyes for another long moment. Then he shrugged and turned away, eyeing the lunar month that could be seen between swirling clouds on the horizon.Weve got hours before the ceremony yet, Shinichi said, behind him. Were hardly going to be late.Wed better not, Damon murmured. Caroline can do an awfully good impression of that pierced girl in hysterics when people are late.As a matter of fact, the moon was riding high in the sky as Caroline herd her mothers car to the porch of the boardinghouse. She was wearing an evening dress that looked as if it had been painted on her, in her favorite colors of bronze and green. Shinichi looked at Misao, who giggled with one hand covering her mouth and looked down.Damon walked Caroline up the porch steps to the front door and said, This way to the good sit.There was some bewilderment as people got themselves sorted out. Damon spoke cheerfully to Kristin and Tami and Ava The peanut gallery for you three, Im afraid. That means you sit on the ground. But if youre good, Ill let you come sit up with us the next time.The others followed him with more or less exclamation, but it was Caroline who looked annoyed, saying, Why do we want to goinside ? I thought they were supposed to beoutside .Closest seats not in danger, Damon said briefly. We can get the best view from up there. Royal box seats, come on, now.The fox twins and the human girl followed him, switching on lights in the darkened house all the way up to the widows walk on the roof.And now where are they? Caroline said, peering down.Theyll be here any minute, Shinichi said, with a glance that was both stupefy and reproving. It said Who does this girl think she is? He didnt spout any poetry.And Elena? Shell be here, too?Shinichi didnt answer that at all, and Misao just giggled. But Damon put his lips close to Carolines ear and whispered.After that, Carolines eyes shone green as a cats. And the smile on her lips was the one of a cat who has just put its manus on the ca nary.