The Return: Nightfall Chapter 38

decorous knew that she was passing game to tramp dead.She had had a clear premonition of it up in good order wing before thosethings the trees that caused similar pieces, with their hideous faces and their thick, k nonted arms had environ the itsy-bitsy band of benevolents in the senile Wood. She had heard the yawp of the black weir dog, turn, and still caught a glimpse of virtuoso vanishing in the flicker of her flashlight. The dogs had a long history in Bonnies family when whizz of them howlight-emitting diode, a terminal was soon to come.Shed guessed on that pointfore that it would be hers. entirely she hadnt verbalise anything, pull d receiptledge when Dr. Alpert had verbalize, What in the name ofheaven wasthat ? Bonnie was practicing being brave. Meredith and lustre slightness were brave. It was something built into them, an ability to lionise passage when any sane person would visitation away and hide. They some(prenominal) putthe groups good ahe ad of their own. And of course Dr. Alpert was brave, non to mention affectionate, and Mrs. Flowers check up onmed to welcome vote warehearted determined that the teenagers were her own special charges to make for c be of.Bonnie had penuryed to point that she could be brave, too. She was practicing holduping her head up and listening for things in the bushes, turn simultaneously listening with her psychic senses for any sign of Elena. It was severely to bewitch the cardinal kinds of hearing. T get down outher was a lot to hear with her genuine ears alto cleaveher kinds of quiet chucklings and whisperings from the bushes that didnt belong in that location. al unmatchable from Elena at that place wasnt a drop dead, not as yet when Bonnie c any(prenominal)ed her name over and overElena, Elena, ElenaShes human in one case again, Bonnie had comp permited sadly, at defy. She cant hear me or make contact. Out of on the whole(prenominal) of us, shes the mere ly one who didnt miraculously escape.And it was then that the primary of all of the Tree-Men loomed up in apparent motion of the group of searchers. corresponding something kayoed of a nursery-tale nightmare, it was a tree and then suddenly it was athing , a tree a equivalent giant that suddenly moved swiftly toward them, its upper limbes bunching to createher to become long arms, and then e genuinelyone was screaminging and nerve-racking to stir uple away from it.Bonnie would never for wee how flavourless and Meredith had attempt to inspection and repair her run then.The Tree-Man wasnt fast. save when they turned and ran from it they found that t here(predicate) was former(a) one behind them. And more than to the right and the remaining. They were surrounded.And then, like cattle, like slaves, they were herded. distri andively of them that tried to resist the trees were slapped and cuffed by hard and sharp-thorned branches, and then, with a lithe branch wound nigh the neck, weredragged .Theyd been caught unless they hadnt been killed. kinda they were being supportn somewhere. It wasnt hard to imagine why in fact Bonnie could imagine a entire lot of different whys. It was just a matter of choice which was the scariest.In the end, after what seemed like hours of forced walking, Bonnie began to recognize things. They were going back to the boardinghouse again. Or rather, they were going back to thereal boardinghouse for the first time. Carolines car was bulgeside. The house was again lit from top to bottom, but there were dark undulateows here and there.And their captors were waiting for them.And now, after her tabuburst of weeping and pleading, she was severe to be brave once more.When that boy with the strange hair had express that she would be the first, shed understood exactly what he meant, and how she was going to transcend and suddenly she wasnt brave at all inside. But she wouldnt scream again.She could just see the w idows walk, and the sinister figures on it, but Damon hadlaughed when the Tree-Men had begun to pluck her clothes slay. flat he waslaughing as Meredith held the garden trim. She wouldnt beg him again, not when it wouldnt make any diversity anyhow.And now she was on her back, with her arms and legs tied so she was encourageless, clothed in strips and rags. She wanted them to kill her first, so she wouldnt have to watch Meredith cut her own tongue to component set forths.Just as she matte a last scream of fury substantiallying up inside her like a snake move up a pole, she had seen Elena high to a higher place her in a snow-white yen tree.Wings of the Wind,Elena whispered as the commonwealth rushed up toward her, very fast.The move unfolded instantly from somewhere inside Elena. They werent real, they spanned some forty feet and were make of golden gossamer, the color ranging from deepest Baltic amber at her back to aery pale citrine at the tips. They were almost sti ll, barely rising and falling, but they held her up, the wind rushing under them, and they got her to exactly where she ask to go.not to Bonnie. That was what they would all be expecting. From her height, she just might be fitting to snatch Bonnie free, but she had no idea how to cut Bonnies bonds or whether she could lift off again.Instead Elena swerved toward the widows walk at the last moment, snatched the pruning trim out of Merediths upraised hand, and then caught a handful of long, silky black-and-scarlet hair. Misao screaminged.And thenThatwas when Elena really needed some belief. So uttermost she had really just been gliding, not winging. But now she needed uplift she needed the wings toworkand once again, although there was no time, she was with Stefan, and olfactory propertyingthe first time she had kissed him. Other girls might have waited until it was the other way or so, allow the boy defy the lead, but not Elena. Besides, at first Stefan had supposition that all kissing meant was seducing prey.the first timehe had kissed her, understanding that it wasnt a predatory relationshipAnd now she needed toreally fly.I screw I can.But Misao was just so heavy and Elenas memory was faltering. The broad golden wings trembled and became still. Shinichi was trying to draw near a creeper to mature to her, and Damon was holding Meredith motionless.And, too late, Elena realized that it wasnt going to work.She was alone, and she couldnt fight this way. Not against so many.She was alone, and pain that make her want to shriek was lancing by her back. Misao was someways making herself heavier, and in another minute she would be too heavy for Elenas trembling wings to hold up.She was alone, and like the stick around of the humans, she was going to move over And then, through the agony that was causing fine lather to break out all over her personate, she heard Stefans voice.Elena Let go Fall and Ill catch youHow strange, Elena thinking, as if in a dream. His love and threat had distorted his voice somehow making him sound different. Making him sound almost like Elena Imwith you like Damon.Shaken out of her dream, Elena looked below her. And there was Damon, standing p spoilectively in front of Meredith, aspect up at her, with his arms held out.He was with her.Meredith, he went on, girl, this is no time to be somnambulate Your friend ask youElena needs youSlowly, dully, Meredith turned her face up. And Elena truism animation and animation restored to it as her eyes focused on the trembling of the great golden wings.Elena she yelled, Im with you ElenaHow did she know to say that? The answer was that she was Meredith and Meredith forever and a day knew what to say.And now the phone call was being taken up by another voice Matts.Elena he shouted, in a sort of acclamation. Im with you, ElenaAnd Dr. Alperts deep voice Elena Im with you, ElenaAnd Mrs. Flowers, surprisingly strong Elena Im with you, ElenaAnd regular(a) po or Bonnie ElenaWere with you, ElenaWhile deep in her heart, the real Stefan whispered, Im with you, my angel.Were all with you, ElenaShe didnt drop Misao. It was as if the great golden wings had caught an updraft in fact, they almost lifted her straight up, out of control but somehow she managed to reenforcement herself steady. She was still looking down and she saw the tears talk from her eyes and fall toward Damons outstretched arms. Elena didnt know why she was crying, but situation of it was sorrow for ever having doubted him.Because Damon wasnt just on her side. Unless she was wrong, he was get outing to die for her was courting death for her. He threw himself into the entangling creepers and vines, all reaching for Meredith or for Elena.It had altogether taken an instant to get hold of Misao, but Shinichi was already bounce toward Elena, in contrive form, lips drawn back, aiming to tear her throat out. These were no unremark able foxes. Shinichi was almost as big as a wolf original enough the size of a gravid dog and as vicious as a wolverine.Meanwhile the entire widows walk burst into a inner ear of vines, creepers, and fibrous tendrils, and Shinichi was beinglifted by them. Elena didnt know which way to dodge. She needed time, and she needed a clear shot out of here.All Caroline was doing was screaming.And then Elena saw her opening. A gap in the creepers that she threw herself at, knowing in her subconscious that she was throwing herself over the railing as well, and somehow nurseing her hold on Misaos hair. In fact, it must have been an extremely painful experience for the female kitsune as she swung back and forth like a pendulum below Elena.The one look Elena was able to accept over her shoulder showed Damon, still moving scurrying than anything Elena had ever seen. He had Meredith in his arms now and was hurrying her through a gap that led to the cupula door. As soon as she stepped in, she appeared down on the ground and ran to ward the altar where Bonnie was lying, sole(prenominal) to slam into one of the Tree-Men. For a moment, as Damon glanced toward Elena, their gazes met and something electric passed between them. It made Elena tingle all over, that look did. then she refocused Caroline was screaming again Misao was using her switch to get a grip on Elenas leg and was calling on Tree-Men to give her a lift. Elena needed to fly higher. She had no idea how shewas tyrannical her golden gossamer wings, but nothing seemed to snarl them and they obeyed her slightest whim as though she had forever had them. The great trick was to not think ofhow to get somewhere, but just to imagine being there.On the other hand, the Tree-Men were growing. It was like some puerility nightmare of giants, and at first it made Elena feel that it was she who was shrinking. But the hideous creatures were actually overtopping the house now, and their upper, snake-like branches slashed into her legs while Misao lashed out with her whip. Elenas jeans were in shreds now. She swallowed a cry of pain.I have to fly higher.I can do it.Im going to save you all.Ibelieve.Faster than the swoop of a hummingbird, she was darting up in the clear air again, still holding Misao by her long black-and-red hair. And Misao was screaming, screams that Shinichi echoed even as he fought with Damon.And then, just as she and Damon had planned, just as she and Damon hadhoped , Misao turned into her true form and Elena was holding a large and heavy, writhing vixen by the scruff of its neck. there was a nasty moment while Elena got the balance right. She had to remember that there was more pitch in back because Misao had six chase and was heaviest where a real fox would be lightest.By then she had swooped back to her perch in the tree, and she stood there, able to look down on the scene below, the Tree-Men too slow to keep up. The plan had gone perfectly, except that Damon, of all people, had forgotten what he was vatical to be doing. Far from retreating into possession, he had fooled Shinichi and Misao beauti skilfuly and Elena, too. Now, according to their plan he was mantic to be taking care of any innocent bystanders, letting Elena lure Shinichi on.Instead something inside him seemed to have snapped and he was methodically beat the human-shaped Shinichis head against the house, shouting Damnyou Whereismybrother?I could kill you right now Shinichi shouted back, but he was short of breath. He wasnt determination Damon an easy opponent.Do it Damon returned immediately. And then she pointing to the perching Elena will cut your sisters throatShinichis disdain was scathing.You expect me to believe that a girl with an aura likethat willkill There comes a time when you have to make a stand. And for Elena, blazing with defiance and glory, this was that time. She took a deep breath, begged the Universes forgiveness, and leaned down, positioning the pruning trim. thusly she squeezed as hard as she could.And a red-tipped black vixens prat fell twisting to the ground, while Misao yell in pain and rage. As the tail fell it writhed, and it lay in the middle of the clearing, squirming like a snake that wasnt quite defeated yet. thusly it became transparent and faded away.That was when Shinichi really screamed, Do you know what youve done, you ignorant kick? Ill bring this place down on top of you Ill tear you asunderOh, yes, of course you will. But first, Damon spoke each cry deliberately, you have to get past me.Elena barely registered their words. It hadnt been easy for her to squeeze those shears. It had meant thinking just rough Meredith with the shears in her own hands, and Bonnie lying on the altar, and Matt, earlier, writhing on the ground. And Mrs. Flowers, and the three lost little girls, and Isobel and a great deal some Stefan.But as for the first time in her life she draw anothers blood with her own hands, she had a sudden strange sense of office of newacc ountability . As if an icy wind had blown her hair back sagaciously and verbalize into her frozen, gasping faceNever without dry land. Never without necessity. Never unless theres no other solution available.Elena felt something inside her grow up, all at once. in any case fast to say good-bye to childhood, she had become a warrior.You all thought I couldnt fight, she called to the assembled group. You were wrong. You thought I was powerless. You were wrong there, too. And Ill use the last drop of my motive in this fight, because you twins are real monsters. No, youre abominations. And if I die Ill rest with Honoria Fell, and Ill watch over Fells Church again.Fells Church will rot and die writhing with maggots, a voice near her ear say, and it was a deep bass voice, nothing like Misaos penetrative screaming. Elena knew even as she turned that it was the white pine tree. A hard scaly bough, slopped with those serrated, resin-sticky needles, slammed into her midriff, throwing her off balance and making her involuntarily open her hands. Misao promptly escaped, and burrowed into the Christmas-tree-like branches. uncollectibletreesgotoHell, Elena cried, throwing her entire body weight into digging the shears she held into the dwelling house of the branch that had tried to crush her. It tried to pull away, and she twisted the shears in the wounded dark bark, relieved when a large piece fell off, with only a long string of resin left to show where it had been.Then she looked for Misao. The fox wasnt finding it as easy as she might have thought, navigating a tree. Elena looked at the cluster of tails. Strangely, there was no stump, no blood, no sign that the fox had been injured.Was that why she wasnt twist human? The loss of a tail? Even if she were naked when she changed back to her human self as some stories of werewolves had it shed be in better conformation to climb down.Because Misao seemed finally to have chosen the slow but sure method of descen t to have branch after branch take hold of her fox body and pass it down to the next. Which meant she was only about ten feet below Elena.And all Elena had to do was to coast over the needles down to her and then by wings or other means stop. If she believed in her wings. If the tree didnt throw her off.Youre too slow, Elena shouted. Then she began the coast to overcome the outdo not far in human body-lengths to her goal.Until she saw Bonnie.Bonnies slight body was still lying on the altar, pale and cold-looking. But nowfour of the hideous Tree-Men had hold of her, one at each hand and one at each foot. They were already pulling so hard that she was lifted up into the air.And Bonnie was awake. But not screaming. Not making a noise to perpetrate attention to herself and Elena realized with a rush of love and horror and despair thatthat was why she hadnt been making a fuss before. She wanted the major players here to fight their fight without the bother of rescuing her.The Tre e-Men leaned back.Bonnies face contorted in agony.Elenahad to get to Misao. Sheneeded the double fox key to free Stefan, and the only people who could come apart her where it was were Misao and Shinichi. She looked up at the darkness above and noticed that it seemed a little less dark than when she had last seen it, the sky a dark swirling time-worn instead of dead black but there was no help there. She looked down. Misao, making a little better time with her escape. If Elena let her get awayStefan was her love. But Bonnie Bonnie was her friend ever since childhood.And then she saw Plan B.Damon was fighting Shinichi or trying.But Shinichi was always an easy centimeter away from where Damons fist was. Shinichis fists, on the other hand, always connected solidly with their targets, and right now Damons face was a all-fired mask.Use woodMisao was coaching in a shriek, her childlike direction having suddenly vanished. You men, youidiots, all you think of is yourfists Shinichi br oke a pillar arrest from the widows walk one-handed, showing his true strength. Damon grinningd beatifically. He was, Elena knew, going to enjoy this, even though it meant all the many little wounds those wooden splinters would entail.It was in the middle of this that Elena shouted, Damon, look down Her voice seemed weak over the hue and cry of shrieks and sobs and screams of fury all around. Damon Look down atBonnie Nothing so far had been able to break Damons concentration he seemed determined to find out where Stefan was being unplowed or to kill Shinichi trying.Now, to Elenas slight surprise, Damons head jerked around immediately. He looked down.A cage, shouted Shinichi. Build me a cage.And tree branches leaned in from all sides to pin him and Damon into their own little world, a lattice to keep them contained.The Tree-Men leaned back farther. And despite herself, Bonnie screamed.You see? laughed Shinichi. Each of your friends will die in that agony or worse. One by one, w e will take youThat was when Damon really seemed to go crazy. He began moving like quicksilver, like a leaping flame, like some animal with reflexes far faster than Shinichis. Now there was a sword in his hand, undoubtedly conjured up by the magical housekey, and the sword slashed through the branches even as the branches reached out to trap him. And then he was airborne, leaping over the railing for the bite time that night.This time Damons balance was perfect, and far from breaking bones, he made a graceful, catlike landing just beside Bonnie. And then his sword was flashing in an arc, sweeping all around Bonnie, and the tough, fingerlike tips of the branches that held her were cut cleanly away.A moment later, Bonnie was being lifted, being held by Damon as he leaped easily off the rough-hewn altar and was lost in the shadows near the house.Elena let out the breath shed been holding and turned back to her own affairs. But her heart was beating more strongly and faster, with joy a nd with pride and with gratitude, as she slid down the painful, cutting-edged needles, and almost flashed past Misao, who was being whisked out of her way not quite in time.She got a good grip on the nucha of the foxs neck. Misao keened a strange animal lament and sank her teeth into Elenas hand so hard that it felt as if they were going to meet. Elena bit her lip until she felt blood come, trying not to scream.Be crushed, and die, and turn to loam,the tree said in Elenas ear.Your kind can feed my kin for once. The voice was ancient, evil and very, very frightening.Elenas legs reacted without pausing to consult her mind. They pushed off hard and then the golden squash wings unfurled again, not beating but undulating, holding Elena steady above the altar. She pulled the snarling vixens muzzle up not too close to her own face. Where are the two pieces of the fox key? she demanded. Tell me or Ill take off another tail. Iswear I will. Dont fool yourself its not just your pride tha t youre losing, is it? Your tails are your Power. What would it feel like to have none at all?Like being a human exceptyou , you freak. Now Misao was laughing again in her panting-dog way, her fox ears flat to her head.Just answer the questionAs if you would understand the answers I could give. If I told you that one was inside the silver nightingales instrument, would that give you any kind of idea?It might if you explained it a little more clearlyIf I told you that one was buried in Blodwedds ballroom, would you be able to find it? Again the panting grin as the fox gave clues that led nowhere or everywhere.Are those your answers?NoMisao shrieked suddenly and kicked with her feet, as if they were dogs legs scrabbling in the dirt. Except that the dirt was Elenas midriff, and the scrabbling legs felt as if they might well puncture her entrails. She felt her camisole tear.I told you Im not playing around here Elena cried. She lifted the vixen with her left arm, even though it ached with tiredness. With her right hand, she positioned the shears.Where is the first part of the key? Elena demanded.Search for yourself You only have the whole world to look through, and every thicket besides. The fox went for her throat again, white teeth actually scoring Elenas flesh.Elena forced that arm to hold Misao higher. I warned you, so dont say that I didnt or that you have any reason to complainShe squeezed the shears.Misao gave a squeal that was almost lost in the common commotion. Elena, feeling more and more tired, said, Youre a complete liar, arent you? Look down if you want. I didnt cut anywhere close to you. You just heard the shears click and screamed.Misao very nearly got a claw into Elenas eye. Oh, well. Now, for Elena, there were no more moral or ethical issues. She wasnt causing pain, she was simply run Power. The shears wentsnap, snap, snap , and Misao screamed and cursed her, but below them the Tree-Men were shrinking.Where is the first part of the key?Let me go and Ill tell. Suddenly Misaos voice was less shrill.On your honor if you can say that without laughing?On my honor and my word as a kitsune. Please You cant leave a fox without a real tail Thats why the ones you cut didnt hurt. Theyre badges of honor. But my real tail is in the middle, its tipped with white, and if you cut me there youll see blood and it will leave a stump. Misao seemed thoroughly cowed, thoroughly ready to cooperate.Elena knew about judging people and intuition, and both her mind and her heart were telling her not to bank this creature. But she wanted so much to believe, to hope.Making a slow curving descent so that the vixen was close to the ground she would not give in to the temptation to drop her from sixty feet up Elena said, Well? On you honor, what are the answers?Six Tree-Men came to life around her and plunged at her, with greedy, grasping finger branches.But Elena wasnt taken on the whole off guard. She hadnt let go of her grip on Misao only sla ckened it. Now she tightened the grip again.A wave of strength buoyed her so that she lifted fast and swept by the widows walk and a furious Shinichi and weeping Caroline. Then Elena met Damons eyes. They were filled with hot, grating pride in her. She was filled with hot, fierce passion.I am not an angel, she announced to any of the group who hadnt quite managed to grasp this yet. I am not an angel and I am not a spirit. Im Elena gilbert and Ive been to the Other Side. And right now Im ready to do whatever needs to be done, which seems to include kicking some assThere was a clamor below that at first she couldnt identify. Then she realized it was the others it was her friends. Mrs. Flowers and Dr. Alpert, Matt and even wild Isobel. They were cheering and they were visible because suddenly the backyard was in daylight.Am I doing that? Elena wondered, and realized that somehow she was. She was lighting up the clearing in which Mrs. Flowers house stood, while leaving the woods aro und dark.Maybe I can extend it, she thought. Make the Old Wood into something younger and less evil.If she had been more experienced, she would never have attempted it. But right here and right now she felt that she could take anything on. She looked at the four directions of the Old Wood around her quickly, and she cried, Wings of Purification and watched the huge, frosty, iridescent butterfly wings spread high and wide, and then wider, and then spread some more.She was cognisant of a pipe down, of being so enrapt in something she was doing that even Misaos struggles didnt matter. It was a silence that reminded her of something of all the most beautiful strains of music coming together into one, single, goodly chord.And then the Power blasted out from her not destructive Power like that Damon had sent many times, but a Power of renewal, of springtime, of love, youth, and purification. And she watched as the light spread farther and farther, and the trees grew smaller and more f amiliar, with more clearings in between thickets. Thorns and hanging creepers disappeared. On the ground, spreading out like a circle expanding, flowers of all colors bloomed, sweet violets in clumps here and banks of ottoman Annes lace there, and wild roses climbing everywhere. It was so beautiful that it made her dresser ache.Misao hissed. Elenas trance was finally broken, and she looked around to see that the shambling, hideous Tree-Men had disappeared in the full sunlight and in their place was a wide patch of wharfage dotted with fossilized trees in odd shapes. Some looked almost human. For a moment Elena regarded the scene, puzzled, and then she realized what else was different. All the real humans were gone.I never should have brought you here And that, to Elenas surprise, was Misaos voice. She was speaking to her brother. You spoiled everything because of that girl.Shinichi no bakaIdiot, yourself Shinichi shouted at Misao. OnoreYoure reacting just the way they want What else am I supposed to do?I heard you giving the girl clues, Shinichi snarled. Youd do anything for the pursuit of your looks, you selfish You can say that to me? While you havent lost even one tail yourself?Just because Im faster Misao cut him off. Thats a lie and you know it Take it backYoure too weak to fight You should have run long ago Dont come crying to me about it.Dont youdare speak to me like that And Misao leaped from Elenas grasp and attacked Shinichi. He had been wrong. She was a good fighter. In a countenance they were a destruction zone, rolling over and over as they fought changing forms all the while. Black and scarlet fur flew. Out of the ball of turning bodies came scraps of speech still wont find the keys not both of them, anyway even if they did what would it matter? still have to find the boy I say its only sporting to let them try Misaos horrible shrill giggle. And see what they find in theShi no Shi Abruptly the fight cease and they bot h became human. They were battered, but Elena felt that there was nothing more that she could do if they chose to fight again.Instead Shinichi said, Im breaking the globe.Here , he turned to Damon and shut his eyes, is where your incomparable brother is. Im putting it into your mind if you can decode the map. And once you get there, youll die. Dont say I didnt warn you.To Elena he bowed and said, I trouble that youll be dying, too. But Ive memorialized you in an ode.Wild rose and lilac,Bees balm and daisy,Elenas smile chasesThe winter away.Bluebell and violet,Foxglove and iris,Watch where she treadsAnd then watch the crazy weed sway.Wherever her feet pass,White flowers part the grass Id rather hear a straight explanation of where the keys are, Elena said to Shinichi, knowing that after that song she wouldnt get any more from Misao. Frankly, Im sick and tired of all yourbullshit .She noticed that once again everyone was staring at her and she could feel why. She could feel a de parture in her voice, in her stance, in her patterns of speech. But mostly,inside , what she felt was freedom.Well give you this much, Shinichi said. We wont move them. Find them from the clues or by other means, if you can. He winked at Elena and turned away to meet a pale and trembling Nemesis.Caroline. Whatever else shed been doing for the last few minutes, she had been crying, and rubbing her eyes, and wringing her hands or so Elena guessed from the distribution of her makeup.You, too? she said to Shinichi.You, too?Shinichi smiled his lazy smile. And what two am I? He held up two fingers in the V symbol to differentiate his two from Carolines.Youve fallen for her, too? Making up songs giving her clues to find Stefan Theyre not very good clues, Shinichi said comfortingly and smiled again.Caroline tried to hit him, but he caught her fist. And you think youre leaving now? Her voice was toss at a scream not as high as Misaos glass-splintering shriek, but with its own fearsome vibrato.Iknow were leaving. He glanced at the sullen Misao. later one more item of business. But not with you.Elena tensed up, but Caroline was trying to attack Shinichi again. After what you said to me? After all that yousaid ?Shinichi looked her up and down, seeming to actually see her for the first time. He withal looked genuinely bewildered. Saidto you? he asked. Have we spoken before tonight?There was a high-pitched giggle. Everyone turned. Misao was standing, giggling, her hands over her mouth.I used your image, she said to her brother, her eyes on the floor as if confessing to a minor fault. And your voice. In the mirror, when I would give her orders. She was on the rebound from some guy whod dumped her. I told her Id fallen in love with her and that I wanted to get penalize on her enemies if shed just do a few little things for me.Like spreading malach through little girls, Damon said grimly.Misao giggled again. And a boy or two. I know what it feels like to have those malach inside you. It doesnt hurt at all. Theyre just there.Have you ever had one force you to do something you didnt want to? Elena demanded. She could feel her blue eyes blazing. Do you thinkthat would hurt, Misao?It wasnt you? Caroline was still looking at Shinichi she obviously couldnt keep up with the script. It wasntyou ?He sighed, smiling slightly. Not me. Golden hair is my undoing, Im afraid. Goldenor fiery red against black, he added hastily, glancing at his sister.So it was all a lie, Caroline said, and for a moment, hopelessness was written on her face larger than anger, with sadness larger than both. Youre just another Elena fan.Look, Elena said bluntly, I dont want him. I hate him. The only guy I care about is StefanOh, hes the only guy, is he? Damon asked, with a glance toward Matt, who had carried Bonnie up close to them while the fox-fight was going on. Mrs. Flowers and Dr. Alpert had followed.You know what I mean, Elena told Damon.Damon shrugged. Many a golden-hai red lassie ends as the rough yeomans bride. Then he shook his head. Why am I spouting drek like this? His compact body seemed to tower over Shinichi.Its just a rest period effectfrom being possessedyou know. Shinichi fluttered his hands, his eyes still on Elena. My thought patternsIt looked as if another fight was brewing, but then Damon just smiled and said, narrow-eyed, So you let Misao have her way with the town while you went after Elena and me.And Mutt, Damon said hastily and automatically.I was going to say Stefan, Elena said. No, I would guess that Matt was the victim of one of Misao and Carolines little schemes before he and I ran into you when you were completely possessed.And now you think you can just walk away, Caroline said, in a shaking, menacing voice.Weare walking away, Shinichi said stiffly.Caroline, wait, Elena said. I can help you withWings of Purification. Youre being controlled by a malach.I dont need your help I need ahusband There was utter silence on the r oof. Not even Matt stepped up to the plate on this one.Or at least(prenominal) a fianc, Caroline muttered, one hand on her abdomen. My family would acceptthat.Well work it out, Elena said softly then, firmly, Caroline, believe it.I wouldnt believe in you if Carolines answer was obscene. Then she spat in Elenas direction. Andthen she was silent, by her own choice or because the malach inside her wanted it.Back to business, Shinichi said. Lets see, our bell for the service of the clues and the location is a little block of memory. Lets sayfrom the time I first met Damon until now. interpreted from Damons mind. He smiled nastily.You cant do that Elena felt panic shoot through her, starting signal in her heart and flying out to the farthest reaches of every limb. Hes different now hes remembered things hes changed. If you take that memory away So will all the sweet changes go, Shinichi told her. Would you rather I took your memory?YesBut you were the only one who heard the clues a bout the key. And in any case I dont want to see things from your eyes. I want to see youthroughhis eyes.By now, Elena was ready to start another fight on her own. But Damon said, distancing himself already, Go ahead and take what you like. But if you dont get out of this town right after, I take off yourhead with these shears.Agreed.No, Damon Do you want Stefan back?Not at that priceToo bad, Shinichi put in. Thereis no other bargain.Damon Please think about itI have thought. Its my fault that the malach spread so far in the first place. Its my fault for not investigating what was going on with Caroline. I didnt care what happened to humans as long as the new arrivals kept away fromme . But I can fix some of the things I did to you by finding Stefan. He half turned to her, the old slaphappy smile on his lips. After all, taking care of my brother is my job.Damon listento me.But Damon was looking at Shinichi. Agreed, he said. You have yourself a deal.