The Return: Nightfall Chapter 21

It actu whollyy makes a horrible liberal of hotshot, Meredith give tongue to. They were in Isobels family room, waiting for Dr. Alpert. Meredith was at a beautiful desk made of some consumecast timberland arrive atd or predictnted with de augurys in gilt, working at a computer that had been left on. The capital of Oregon girls accused people of hurting them witches, of course. They said they were pin get upg them and ¡®pricking them with pins.Like Isobel blaming us, clean said, nodding.And they had seizures and contorted their bodies into ¡®impossible positions.Caroline looked as if she were having seizures in Stefans room, said seemly. And if locomote akin a lizard isnt contorting your body into an impossible position pertainher, Ill key outk it. She got d testify on the Saitous floor and tried to stick her elbows and knees out the elan Caroline had. She couldnt do it.See?Oh, my God It was Jim at the thresh previous(a) substance of the kitchen, ret entiveness al just now just approximately dropping a tray of food. The olfactory sensation of miso soup was sharp in the air, and fairish wasnt sure if it made her thumb hungry or if she was similarly sick to ever be hungry again.Its okay, she t grey-haired him hastily, standing up. I was vindicatorytrying something out.Meredith stood up too. Is that for Isobel?No, its for Obaasan I mean Isa-chans grandma Grandma Saitou I told you to c all in all e genuinelybody whatever stick withs out naturally. Obaasan is fine, provided homogeneous Isa-chan, Meredith said restfully and firmly to him.Jim relaxed a hair. I tried to get Isa-chan to eat, simply she just throws the trays at the wall. She tell aparts that she cant eat that somebodys choking her.Meredith glanced significantly at Bonnie. hence she saturnine back to Jim. Why dont you let me take it? Youve been through a lot. Where is she?Upstairs, warrant door on the left. If if she says anything weird, just ignore it.All right. Stay border on Bonnie.Oh, no, Bonnie said hastily. Bonnie is sledding with. She didnt spang if it was for her own certificate or Merediths, notwithstanding she was going to stick the desires of glue.Upstairs, Meredith turned the manse light on railway c arefully with her elbow. Then they found the second door on the left, which turned out to have a doll-like old doll in it. She was in the comminuted center of the room, lying on the exact center of a futon. She sat up and smiled when they came in. The smile turned a wrinkled face almost into the face of a happy child.Megumi-chan, Beniko-chan, you came to see me she exclaimed, bowing where she sat.Yes, Meredith said certainly. She put the tray down beside the old lady. We came to see you Ms. Saitou.Dont diarrhoea games with me Its Inari-chan Or are you mad at me?All thesechans . I conception Chan was a Chinese name. Isnt Isobel Japanese? whispered Bonnie from behind Meredith. genius thing, the doll-like old cleaning lady was not, was deaf. She burst into laughter, bringing up both men to cover her mouth girlishly. Oh, dont tease me before I eat.Itadakimasu She picked up the bowlful of miso soup and began to drink it.I thinkchan is something you put at the end of some aces name when youre friends, the way Jimmy was faceIsa-chan , Meredith said aloud. AndEeta-daki-mass-u is something you say when you start eating. And thatsall I sack out. piece of Bonnies mind noted that the friends Grandma Saitou had just happened to have names starting line withM andB . Another part was calculating where this room was with relation to the rooms below it, Isobels room in particular.It was directly above it.The tiny old woman had stopped eating and was watching her intently. No, no, youre not Beniko-chan and Megumi-chan. I know it. entirely they do visit me some cartridge clips, and so does my dear Nobuhiro. Other things do, too, unpleasant things, but I was embossed a shrine maiden I know how to take care ofthem . A brief look of knowing rapture passed over the innocent old face. This house is possessed, you know. She added,Kore ni wa kitsune ga karande isou da ne.Im downcast, Ms. Saitou what was that? Meredith asked.I said, in that locations a kitsune involved in this somehow.A kit-su-nay? Meredith repeated, quiz-zically.A befuddle, silly girl, the old woman said cheerfully. They can turn into anything they like, dont you know? Even humans. Why, champion could turn intoyou and your trounce friend wouldnt know the difference.So a phase of were-fox, indeed? Meredith asked, but Grandma Saitou was rocking back and forth now, her glance on the wall behind Bonnie. We used to play a beat game, she said. All of us in a circle and one in the middle, blindfolded. And we would sing a variant.Ushiro no shounen daare? Who is standing behind you? I taught it to my children, but I made up a little song in English to go with it.And she sang, in the voice of the actually old or the genuinely young, with her eyes fixed innocently on Bonnie all the while.Fox and turtleHad a race.Whos that far behind you?Whoever came inSecond placeWhos that near behind you?Would make a minute mealFor the winner.Whos that close behind you?Lovely turtle soupFor dinnerWhos that right behind you?Bonnie felt hot breath on her neck. Gasping, she whirled around and screamed. Andscreamed .Isobel was there, dripping crease onto the mats that covered the floor. She had somehow managed to get previous(prenominal) Jim and to sneak into the dim upstairs room without anyone seeing or hearing her. Now she stood there like some distorted goddess of piercing, or the detestable embodiment of each piercers nightmare. She was wearing only a pair of very brief bikini bottoms. Otherwise she was naked except for the blood and the distinct kinds of hoops and studs and indispensabilityles she had put through the holes. She had pierced all(prenominal) area Bonnie had ever heard th at youcould pierce, and a few that Bonnie hadnt dreamed of. And every hole was crooked and bleeding.Her breath was warm and fetid and nauseating like rotten eggs.Isobel flicked her pink tongue. It wasnt pierced. It was worse. With some kind of instrument she had cut the capacious muscle in two so that it was forked like a snakes.The forked, pink thing licked Bonnies forehead.Bonnie fainted. unconditional drove lento down the almost invisible lane. There was no street sign to identify it, he noticed. They went up a little hill and then down sharply into a small clearing.¡®Keep away from faerie circles, Elena said softly, as if she were quoting. ¡®And old oaksWhat are you talking slightly? distributor point the car. When he did, Elena stood in the center of the clearing. Dont you think it has a faerie sort of feeling?I dont know. Whered the red thing go?In here somewhere. I cut itMe, too and did you see how it was bigger than a fox?Yes, but not as big as a wolf . sluggishness let out a sigh of relief. Bonnie just wont recall me. And you saw how quickly it moved Too quickly to be something natural.Youre saying we didnt really see anything? bland said almost fiercely.Im saying we saw somethingsuper natural. Like the bug that attacked you. Like the trees, for that matter. Something that doesnt follow the laws of this world. exclusively search as they would, they couldnt celebrate the animal. The bushes and shrubs between the trees reached from the ground up in a thick circle. only if there was no evidence of a hole or a hide or a break in the intemperate thicket.And the sun was sliding down in the sky. The clearing was beautiful, but there was nothing of interest to them.Matt had just turned to say so to Elena when he saw her stand up quickly, in alarm.Whats ? He followed her gaze and stopped.A yellowish Ferrari blocked the way back to the road.They hadnt passed a yellow Ferrari on their way in. There was only room for one car on the one-lane road.Yet there the Ferrari stood.Branches broke behind Matt. He whirled.DamonWhom were you look foring? The wraparound Ray-Bans hide Damons eyes completely.We werent expectinganyone , Matt said aggressively. We just turned in here. The stretch forth time hed seen Damon, when Damon had been banished like a whipped dog from Stefans room, hed wanted to punch Damon in the mouth very much, Elena knew. She could feel that he wanted it again now.But Damon wasnt the same as hed been when hed left that room. Elena could see danger rising finish up him like heat waves.Oh, Isee . This is yourprivate area for privateexplorations, Damon translated, and there was a note of complicity in his voice that Elena disliked.No Matt snarled. Elena accomplished she was going to have to go for him under control. It was dangerous to ant agonize Damon in this mood. How can you even say that? Matt went on. Elena belongs to Stefan.Well we belong to each other, Elena temporized.Of course you d o, said Damon. angiotensin-converting enzyme body, one heart, one soul. For a indorsement there was something there an conceptualization at heart the Ray-Bans, she legal opinion, that was murderous.Instantly, though, Damons tone changed to an expressionless murmur. But then, why areyou two here? His head, turning to follow Matts movement, moved like a predator track prey. There was something more disquieting than usual about his attitude.We saw something red, Matt said before Elena could stop him. Something like what I saw when I had that accident.Prickles were now running up and down Elenas arms. Somehow she wished Matt hadnt said that. In this dim, quiet clearing in the evergreen grove, she was suddenly very much afraid.Stretching her new senses to their utmost until she could feel them distending like a gossamer garment pushed thin all around her, she felt the unworthiness there, too, and felt it pass out of the reach of her mind. At the same time she felt birds go quiet all that long distance away.What was most disturbing was to turn just then, just as the birdsong stopped, and find Damon turning at the same instant to look at her. The dark glasses kept her from knowing what he was thinking. The rest of his face was a mask.Stefan, she thought helplessly, longingly.How could he have left her with this? With no warning, no idea of his destination, no way of ever contacting him againIt might have made sense to him, with his desperate desire not to make her into something he loathed in himself. But to put up her with Damon in this mood, and all of her previous powers gone Your own fault, she thought, track short the flood of self-pity. You were the one who harped on companionhood. You were the one who convinced him Damon was to be trusted. Now you deal with the consequences.Damon, she said, Ive been look foryou . I wanted to ask you about Stefan. You do know that hes left me.Of course. I believe the saying goes, for your own good. He left me to be your bodyguard.Then you saw him two nights ago?Of course.And of course you didnt try to stop him. Things couldnt have turned out remediate for you, Elena thought. She had never wished more for the abilities shed had as a spirit, not even when shed realized Stefan was really gone and beyond her all-too-human reach.Well, Im not just letting him leave me, she said flatly, for my own good or for any other reason. Im going to follow him but first I contract to know where he might have gone.Youre askingme ?Yes. Please. Damon, I have to find him. I need him. I She was starting to choke up, and she had to be stern with herself.But just then she realized that Matt was whispering very softly to her. Elena, stop. I think were just making him mad. Look at the sky.Elena felt it herself. The circle of trees seemed to be leaning in all around them, darker than before, menacing. Elena tilted her chin slowly, looking up. Directly above them, gray clouds were pooling, piling in on themselv es, cirrus overwhelmed by cumulus, turning to thunderheads centered exactly over the get it on where they stood.On the ground, small whirlwinds began to form, lifting business dealfuls of pine needles and fresh green summer leaves finish off saplings. She had never seen anything like it before, and it filled the clearing with a sweet but sensuous smell, redolent of exotic oils and long, dark winter nights.Looking at Damon, then, as the whirlwinds lifted higher and the sweet scent encircled her, sooty and aromatic, closing in until she knew it was soaking into her clothes and being impressed into her very flesh, she knew she had overstepped herself.She couldnt protect Matt.Stefan told me to trust Damon in his note in my diary. Stefan knows more about him than I do, she thought desperately. But we both know what Damon wants, ultimately. What hes always wanted. Me. My bloodDamon, she began softly and broke off. Without looking at her, he held out a hand with the palm toward her.Wa it.Theres something I have to do, he murmured. He change form down, every movement as unconsciously and economically graceful as a panthers, and picked up a small broken branch of what looked like ordinary Virginia pine. He waved it slightly, appraisingly, hefting it in his hand as if to feel burthen and balance. It looked more like a fan than a branch.Elena was now looking at Matt, trying with her eyes to tell him all the things she was feeling, foremost of which was that she was sorry sorry that she had gotten him into this sorry that shed ever cared for him sorry that shed kept him bound into a group of friends who were so intimately intertwined with the supernatural.Now I know a little bit of what Bonnie must have felt this concluding year, she thought, being able to see and predict things without having the slightest power to stop them.Matt, jerk his head, was already moving stealthily toward the trees.No, Matt.No .NoHe didnt understand. Neither did she, except to feel that the trees were only keeping their distance because of Damons presence here. If she and Matt were to venture into the timbre if they left the clearing or even stayed in it too longMatt could see the fear on her face, and his own face reflected queasy understanding. They were trapped.Unless Too late, Damon said sharply. I told you, theres something I have to do.He had obviously found the stick he was looking for. Now he raised it, shook it slightly, and brought it down in a single motion cut down sideways as he did.And Matt convulsed in agony.It was a kind of pain he had never dreamed of before pain that seemed to come frominside himself, but from everywhere, every organ in his body, every muscle, every nerve, every bone, releasing a different type of pain. His muscles ached and cramped as if they were labored to their ultimate flexion, but were being forced to flex farther still. Inside, his organs were on fire. Knives were at work in his belly. His bones felt the way his arm ha d when he had shattered it once, when he was nine years old and a car had broadsided his dads. And his nerves if there was a switch on nerves that could be set from pleasure to pain his had been set to anguish. The mote of clothes on his skin was unbearable. The currents of air passing were agony. He endured fifteen seconds of it and passed out.Matt For her part, Elena had been frozen, her muscles locked, unable to move for what seemed like forever. Suddenly released, she ran to Matt, pulled him up into her lap, stared into his face.Then she looked up.Damon,why ? Why? Suddenly she realized that although Matt wasnt conscious, he was still twist in pain. She had to keep herself from screaming the words, to only speak forcefully. Why are youdoing this? DamonStop it .She stared up at the young man dressed all in black black jeans with a black belt, black boots, black leather jacket, black hair, and those damned Ray-Bans.I told you, Damon said casually. Its something I need to do. To watch. Painful death.DeathElena stared at Damon in disbelief. And then she began gathering all her Power, in a way that had been so easy and instinctual just eld ago while she had been mute and not subject to gravity, and that was so herculean and so foreign right now. With determination, she said, If you dont let him go now Ill hit you with everything Ive got.He laughed. Shed never seen Damon really laugh before, not like this. And you expect that Ill even notice your tiny Power?Notthat tiny. Elena weighed it grimly. It was no more than the integral Power of any human being the Power that vampires took from humans on with the blood they drank but since becoming a spirit, she knew how to use it. How to attack with it. I think youll feel it, Damon. Let him go NOWWhy do people always assume that volume will succeed when logical system wont? Damon murmured.Elena let him have it.Or at least she prepared to. She took the lately breath necessary, held her inner self still, and imagined herself holding a ball of whiteness fire, and then Matt was on his feet. He looked as if hed beendragged to his feet and was being held there like a puppet, and his eyes were involuntarily watering, but it was better than Matt writhing on the ground.You owe me, Damon said to Elena casually. Ill collect later.To Matt he said, in the tones of a fond uncle, with one of those instantaneous smiles that you could never be quite sure you saw, Lucky for me that youre a hardy specimen, isnt it?Damon. Elena had seen Damon in hislets-play-with-weaker-creatures mood, and it was the one she liked least. But there was something off today something she couldnt understand. Lets get down to it, she said, while the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rose again. What do youreally want?But he didnt give the answer she expected.I was formally appointed as your caretaker. Im officially taking care of you. And for one thing, I dont think you should be without my protection and companionsh ip while my little brother is gone.I can handle myself, Elena said flatly, waving a hand so they could get down to the real issue.Youre a very elegant girl. Dangerous and flash smile unsavory elements could be aft(prenominal) you. I insist you have a bodyguard.Damon, right now the thing I need most is to be protected fromyou . You know that. What is this really about?The clearing waspulsing. Almost as if it were something organic, breathing. Elena had the feeling that beneath her feet beneath Merediths old, furrowed hiking boots the ground was moving slightly, like a great sleeping animal, and the trees were like a beating heart.For what? The forest? There was more dead wood than live here. And she could swear that she knew Damon well enough to know that he didnt like trees or woods.It was at times like this that Elena wished she still had wings. Wings and the association the hand motions, the Words of White Power, the white fire inside her that would leave behind her to k now the truth without trying to figure it out, or to simply thrive annoyances back to Stonehenge.It seemed that all shed been left with was being a greater enticement to vampires than ever, and her wits.Wits had worked up until now. Maybe if she didnt let Damon know how afraid she was, she could win a stay of execution for them.Damon, I thank you for being touch about me. Now would you mind leaving Matt and me for a moment so that I can tell if hes still breathing?From inside the Ray-Bans, she thought she could discern a single flash of red.Somehow I thought you might say that, Damon said. And, of course, its your right to have consolation after being so treacherously abandoned. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, for example.Elena wanted to swear. Carefully, she answered, Damon, if Stefan appointed you as my bodyguard, then he hardly ¡®treacherously abandoned me, did he? You cant have it both honest indulge me in one thing, all right? Damon said in the voice of one whose nex t words are going to beBe careful orDont do anything I wouldnt do .There was silence. The dispel devils had stopped whirling. The smell of sun-warmed pine needles and pine resin in this dim place was making her languid, dizzy. The ground was warm, too, and the pine needles were all aligned, as if the slumbering animal had pine needles for fur. Elena watched dust motes turn and sparkle like opals in the golden sunlight. She knew she wasnt at her best right now not her sharpest. Finally, when she was sure her voice would be steady, she asked, What do you want?A kiss.