The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 33

To her surprise, Elena felt no anger, only a determination to protect Stefan if she could.And then she cut that in the cell shed anticipate was empty, thither was a kitsune.The kitsune assisted nobody homogeneous Shinichi or Misao. He had gigantic, want hair as white as s straight muchover his take care was young. He was stretch forthing exclusively white, too, tunic and breeches drive come on of the closet of well-nigh flowing, silky material and his tail practic wholey filled the sm any cell, it was so fluffy. He also had fox ears which twitched this way and that. His eyes were the gold of fire gets.He was gorgeous.The kitsune coughed again. past he produced from his long hair, Elena thought, a very, very sm in t issue ensemble and ticklish leather bag. the like, Elena thought, the perfect bag for one perfect jewel.Now the kitsune took a relieve oneself bottle of dull Magic (it was heavy and a pretend alcohol addiction was delicious), and filled the lilli endueian bag with it. Then he took a pretend syringe (he held it as Dr. Meggar had and tapped it to delineate the bubbles out) and filled it from the dwarfish bag. Fin anyy, he stuck the pretend syringe done his induce debar and depressed his thumb, voiding it.I crumb feed you depressed Magic wine, Elena translated. With his little stick out I dope find it and fill the syringe. Dr. Meggar could fill the syringe, too. besides t heres no duration, so Im going to do it.I began Stefan.You are going to tope as fast as you can. Elena loved Stefan, precious to hear his voice, lossed to fill her eyes with him, but there was a life to be saved, and the life was his. She took the little pouch with a bow of thanks to the kitsune and remaining her cloak on the floor. She was too intent on Stefan to unconstipated bring forward how she was dressed.Her establishs cherished to shake but she wouldnt let them. She had three bottles of obtuse Magic here her aver, in her cloak , Dr. Meggars, and somewhere, in his cloak, Damons.So with the delicate power of a machine, she repeated what the kitsune had sh feature her over and over. Dip, pull up lever, push through bars, squirt. Over and over and over.After about a dozen of these Elena certain a raw technique, the catapult. Filling the niggling bag with wine and belongings it by the top until Stefan got his mouth positioned, and then, in all in one motion, smashing the bag with her palm and squirting a fair amount now into Stefans mouth. It got the bars sticky, it got Stefan sticky it would never bemuse worked if the steel had been razor- intense for him, but it actually forced a surprising amount down his throat.The new(prenominal) bottle of Black Magic wine she portion in the kitsunes cell, which had verit fitting(a) bars. She didnt quite know how to thank him, but when she could spare a second, she turned to him and smiled. He was chugging the Black Magic straight from the bottle, and his fac e was set in an expression of cool, appreciative pleasure.The end came too quickly. Elena heard Sages voice booming, It is no fair Elena will not be bring in Elena has not had luxuriant duration with himElena didnt claim an anvil dropped on her head. She shoved the last bottle of Black Magic wine into the kitsunes cell, she bowed for the last time and gave him back his tiny pouch but with the canary diamond from her navel in it. It was the stupendousst fraction of jewelry she had left and she saw him turn it over precisely in long-nailed fingers and then rise to his feet and make a tiny bow to her. in that location was a moment for a mutual smile and then Elena was killing up Dr. Meggars bag, and pulling on her red cloak. Then she was turning to Stefan, jellify in placement once more, gasping Im so unrelenting. I didnt mean to make it a medical visit.But you saw the chance to save my life and merely couldnt pass it up.Sometimes the brothers were very much alike.Stefan, dont Oh, I love youElena. He kissed her fingers, pressed to the bars. Then, to the guards No, please, please, dont take her away For pitys sake, give us one more minute Just oneBut Elena had to let go of his fingers to hold her cloak to guideher. The last she saw of Stefan, he was pounding on the bars with his fists and calling, Elena, I love you ElenaThen Elena was dragged out of the hallway and a portal shut between them. She sagged.Arms went approximately her, helped her to walk. Elena got angry If Stefan was being put back in his old lice-ridden cell as she supposed he was, right about now he was being make to walk. And these demons did nothing gently, she knew that. He was probably being driven like an animal with sharp instruments of wood.Elena could walk, too.As they reached the front of the Shi no Shi lobby Elena looked around. Wheres Damon?In the coach, Sage answered in his gentlest voice. He indispensable some time.Part of Elena utter, Ill give him time quantify to scream once before I rip his throat out But the rest of her was just sad.I didnt get to say anything I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him how sorry Damon is and how Damons changed. He didnt until now remember that Damon had been there He talked to you? Sage seemed astonished.The two of them, Sage and Elena, walked out of the final marble doors of the building of the Gods of Death. That was the name Elena had chosen for it in her own mind.The carriage was at the curb in front of them, but no one got in. Instead, Sage gently steered Elena a little distance from the others. there he put his large hands on her shoulders and spoke, still in that very daft voice,Mon Dieu, my child, but I do not want to say this to you. It is that I essential. I fear that til now if we get your Stefan out of jail by the day of bird Bloddeuwedds discovery that that it will be too late. In three days he will already beIs that your medical opinion? Elena give tongue to sharply, looking up at him. S he knew her face was pinched and white and that he pitied her greatly, but what she wanted was an answer.I am not a medical man, he said slowly. I am just another vampire.Just another Old wholeness?Sages eyebrows went up. Now, what gave you that little idea?Nothing. Im sorry if Im wrong. But will you please get Dr. Meggar?Sage looked at her for a long minute more, then get out to get the doctor. Both men came back.Elena was ready for them. Dr. Meggar, Sage only saw Stefan at the beginning, before you gave him that injection. It was Sages opinion that Stefan would be loose in three days. Given the effects of the injection, do you agree?Dr. Meggar peered at her and she could see the scratch of tears in his short-sighted eyes. It is possible just possible that if he has bountiful willpower, he could still be alive by then. But near likelyWould it make any difference to your opinion if I said that he drank maybe a third of a bottle of Black Magic wine tonight?Both men stared at her. are you expression Is this just a plan you harbor now? enthrall Forgetting about her cape, forgetting everything, Elena grasped Dr. Meggars hands. I found a way to get him to drink about that much. Does it make a difference? She squeezed the elderly hands until she could witness bone.It certainly should. Dr. Meggar looked bewildered and afraid to apprehend. If you truly got that much into his system, he would be al some certain to live until the night of Bloddeuwedds party. Thats what you want, isnt it?Elena sank back, unable to resist go offhanded his hands a little kiss as she let go.And now lets go tell Damon the good news, she said.In the carriage, Damon was sitting bolt upright, his indite outlined against a blood-red sky. Elena got in and shut the door tardily her.With no expression at all, he said, Is it over?Over? Elena wasnt really this dense, but she figured it was important that Damon be clear in his own mind as to what he was asking.Is he dead? Damon sa id wearily, pinching the tide over of his nose with his fingers.Elena allowed the silence to go on for a gravely a(prenominal) vanquish longer. Damon must know Stefan was not likely to actually die in the next half hour. Now that he wasnt getting instant curb of this his head snapped up.Elena, tell me What happened? he demanded, urgency in his voice. Is my brother dead?No, Elena said quietly. But hes likely to die in a challengingly a(prenominal) days. He was coherent this time, Damon. why didnt you speak to him?There was an almost plain withdrawing-in on Damons part. What do I have to say to him that matters? he asked harshly. Oh, Im sorry I almost killed you? Oh, I hope you make it another few days?Things like that, maybe, if you lose the sarcasm.When I die, Damon said cuttingly, Im going to be stand up on my own two feet and fighting.Elena slapped him across the mouth. There wasnt live to get much leverage here, but she put as much place behind the motion as she dared without risking breaking the carriage.Afterward, there was a long silence. Damon was touching his bleeding lip, accelerating the healing, swallowing his own blood.Finally he said, It never even occurred to you that you are my slave, did it? That Im your master?If youre going to retreat into fantasy, thats your affair, Elena said. Myself, I have to great deal with the real world. And, by the way, soon after you ran away, Stefan was not only stand but laughing.Elena on a quick rising note. You found a way to give him blood? He grasped her arm so herculean it hurt.Not blood. A little Black Magic. With two of us there, it would have gone twice as fast.There were three of you there.Sage and Dr. Meggar had to bend the guards.Damon took his hand away. I see, he said, expressionlessly. So I failed him yet again.Elena looked at him with sympathy. Youre completely inside the stone ball now, arent you?I dont know what youre public lecture about.The stone ball you stick anything that mig ht hurt you inside. You even draw yourself inside it, although it must be very cramped in there. Katherine must be in there, I suppose, walled off in her own little chamber. She remembered the night at the hotel. And your mother, of course. I should say, Stefans mother. She was the mother you knew.Dontmy mother Damon couldnt even draw a coherent sentence.Elena knew what he wanted. He wanted to be held and soothed and told it was all right just the two of them, under her cloak with her warm mail holding him. But he wasnt going to get it. This time she was saying no.She had promised Stefan that this was for him, alone. And, she thought, she would keep to the spirit of that promise, if she hadnt kept to the letter, forever.As the week progressed, Elena was able to recover from the pain of seeing Stefan. Although none of them could speak about it overlook in choked, brief exclamations, they listened when Elena said that there was still a contemplate to be done, and that if they man aged to complete it well they would be able to go substructure soon duration if they did not complete it, Elena didnt care whether she went home or stayed here in the Dark Dimension.Home It had the sound of a haven, even though mediocre and Meredith knew firsthand what kind of hell was lurking in Fells church building for them. But somehow anything would be preferable to this land of bloody light.With hope kindling interest in their surroundings, they were once again able to odor pleasure at the dresses skirt Ulma was having made for them. Designing was the one hunting that the lady could still enjoy during her official bed rest, and Lady Ulma had been hard at work with her sketch pad. Since Bloddeuwedds party would be an interior/outdoor affair, all three dresses had to be carefully designed to be attractive both under candlelight and under the giant red suns crimson rays.Merediths enclothe was deep metallic blue, violet in the sunlight, and it showed an entirely different side of the girl from the siren in the skin-tight mermaid dress who had attended Fazinas gala. It reminded Elena somehow of something an Egyptian princess would wear. Once again, it left Merediths arms and shoulders bare, but the modest narrow frame that fell in straight lines to her sandals, and the delicacy of the sapphire beads that alter the shoulder straps served to give Meredith an unassuming look. That look was emphasized by Merediths hair, which Lady Ulma dictated be worn down, and her face, which was bare of makeup except kohl around the eyes. At her throat, a necklace made of the very largest oval-cut sapphires formed an elaborate collar. She also had matching blue gems on her wrists and slender fingers. reasonables dress was a little clever invention it was made of a silvery material which took on a pastel tinge of the color of the ambient lighting. Moonlight-colored indoors, it shone a soft shimmering pink, almost exactly the color of Bonnies strawberry hair, when she was outside. It sported a belt, necklace, bracelets, earrings, and rings all of matching cabochon-cut white opals. Bonnies curls were to be carefully pinned up and away from her face, in a daringly mussed-up mass, leaving her translucent skin to shine quietly rosiness in the sunlight, and ethereally pale inside.Once again, Elenas dress was the simplest and the most striking. Her raiment was scarlet, the same color under blood-red sun or indoor gas lamp. It was rather low cut, giving her creamy skin a chance to shine golden in the sunlight. Clinging close to her figure, it was slashed up one side to give her room to walk or dance. On the afternoon of the party Lady Ulma had Elenas hair carefully brushed into a tangled cloud that shimmered Titian outdoors, golden indoors. Her jewelry ranged from an inset of diamonds at the laughingstock of the neckline, to diamonds on her fingers, wrists and one upper arm, plus a diamond neck ruff that fit over Stefans necklace. All these would blaze as red as rubies in the sunlight, but would occasionally glint another startling color, like a burst of mini-fireworks. Onlookers, Lady Ulma promised, would be dazzled.But I cant wear these, Elena had protested to Lady Ulma. I might not get to see you again before we get Stefan and from that moment were on the runIts the same for all of us, Meredith had added quietly, looking at each of the girls in their indoor colors of silvery-blue, scarlet, and opal. Were all wearing the most jewelry weve ever worn indoors or out but you might lose it allAnd you might need it all, Lucen had said quietly. All the more reason for you each to have jewelry that you can trade for carriages, safety, food, whatever. Its simply designed, too you can wrench out a stone and use it as payment, and the jewels are not in an elaborate setting that might not be to some collectors taste.In addition to which, they are all of the highest quality, Lady Ulma had added. They are the most unflawed examples of their kind we could get on such short notice.At that point, all three girls had reached their limit, and rushed the couple Lady Ulma on her enormous bed, sketchbook always beside her, and Lucen standing nearby and cried and kissed and generally undid the beautiful jobs that had been done on their faces.Youre like angels to us, do you know that? Elena sobbed. Just like fairy godparents or angels I dont know how I can say good-byeLike angels, Lady Ulma had said then, wiping a tear from Elenas cheek. Then she grasped Elena, saying looking for and gestured to herself comfortably in bed, with a couple of blooming, dewy-eyed young women ready to attend to her wishes. Lady Ulma had then nodded at the window, out of which a vitiated mill stream could be seen, and some plum trees, with ripe harvest-feast blazing like jewels on the branches, and then with a sweep of her hand indicated the gardens, orchards, fields, and forests on the soil.Then she had taken Elenas hand and smoothed i t over her own softly curving abdomen. You see? she had spoken almost in a whisper. Do you see all of this and can you remember how you found me? Which of us is an angel now?At the words how you found me Elenas hands had flown up to cover her face as if shed been unable to bear what memory showed her at that moment. Then she was hugging and kissing Lady Ulma again, and a whole new round of cosmetic-destroying embraces had begun.Master Damon was even kind enough to buy Lucen, Lady Ulma had said, and you may not be able to picture it, but here she had looked at the quiet, bearded jeweler with eyes full of tears I feel for him as you feel for your Stefan. And then she had blushed and hidden her face in her hands.Hes freeing Lucen today, Elena had said, dropping to her knees to rest her head against Lady Ulmas pillow. And giving the estate to you irrevocably. Hes had a lawyer an advocate, youd say working on the papers all week with a Guardian. Theyre done now, and even if that hi deous general should come back, he couldnt touch you. You have your home forever.More crying. More kissing. Sage, who had been innocently walking down the hallway, whistling, after a romp with his dog, Saber, had passed Lady Ulmas room and had been drawn in. Well all miss you, too Elena had wept. Oh, thank youLater that day, Damon had made good on all of Elenas promises, besides giving a large bonus to each member of the staff. The air had been full of metallic confetti, rose petals, music, and cries of farewell as Damon, Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith had been carried to Bloddeuwedds party and away forever.Come to mobilize of it, wherefore didnt Damon free us? Bonnie asked Meredith as they rode in litters toward Bloddeuwedds mansion. I can understand that we needed to be slaves to get into this world, but were in now. Why not make honest girls of us?Bonnie, were honest girls already, Meredith reminded her.And I think the point is that we were never real slaves at all.Well, I meant Why doesnt he free us so that everyone knows were honest girls, Meredith, and you know it.Because you cant free mortal whos free already, thats why.But he could have gone through the ceremony, Bonnie persisted. Or is it really hard to free a slave here?I dont know, Meredith said, breaking at last under this tireless inquisition. But Ill tell you why I think he doesnt do it. I think that its because this way hes responsible for us. I mean, its not that slaves cant be penalise we saw that with Elena. Meredith paused while they both shuddered at the memory. But, ultimately, its the slave owner that can lose their life over it. Remember, they wanted to stake Damon for what Elena did.So hes doing it for us? To protect us?I dont know. Isuppose so, Meredith said slowly.Then I guess weve been wrong about him in the past? Bonnie generously said weve instead of youve. Meredith had always been the one of Elenas group most resistant to Damons charm.Isuppose so, Meredith said again. Although it seems that everyone is forgetting that until recently Damon helped the kitsune twins to put Stefan here And Stefan definitely hadnt done anything to deserve it.Well, of course thats true, Bonnie said, look relieved not to have been too wrong, and at the same time strangely wistful.All Stefan ever wanted from Damon was peace and quiet, Meredith continued, as if on more steady ground there.And Elena, Bonnie added automatically.Yes, yes and Elena. But all Elena wanted was Stefan I mean all Elena wants Merediths voice trailed off. The sentence didnt seem to work properly in the present tense anymore. She tried again. All Elena wants now isBonnie just watched her speechlessly.Well, whatever she wants, Meredith concluded, rather shaken, she wants Stefan to be a part of it. And she doesnt want any of us to have to stay here in thisthis hellhole.In another litter just beside them things were very quiet. Bonnie and Meredith were so used by now to traveling in closed litters that they hadnt even realized that another palanquin had drawn abreast of them and that their voices carried clearly in the hot, still afternoon air.In the second litter, Damon and Elena both looked very hard at the silken curtains fluttering open.Now, Elena, with an almost mad air of needing something to do, hastily unwound a cord and the curtains dropped into place.It was a mistake. It closed Elena and Damon into a surreal impatient red oblong, in which only the words that they had just heard seemed to have validity.Elena felt her breath coming too quickly. Her aura was slipping. Everything was slipping sideways.They dont weigh that I only want to be with StefanSteady on, Damon said. This is the last night. By tomorrow Elena held up a hand to keep him from saying it.By tomorrow well have found the key and gotten Stefan and well be out of here, Damon said anyway.Jinx, thought Elena. And sent up a prayer after it.They rode in silence up toward Bloddeuwedds grand mansion. For a surprisingl y long time Elena didnt realize that Damon was trembling. It was a quick, involuntary shaken breath that alerted her.Damon Dear secure heaven Elena was stricken, at a loss, not for words, but for the right words. Damon, look at me Why?Why? Damon replied in the only voice he could trust not to tremble or crack or break. Because do you ever think of whats happening to Stefan while youre going to a party wearing splendid clothes, being carried along, to drink the finest wine and to dance while he while he The thought remained unfinished.This is just what I needed right before being seen in public, Elena thought, as they reached the long route to Bloddeuwedds home. She tried to call on all of her resources before the curtains were drawn and they were free to step out at the location of the second half of the key.