The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 33

To her surprise, Elena felt no anger, only a determination to protect Stefan if she could.And beca use up she pr e trulyplaceb that in the cell shed assumed was empty, on that point was a kitsune.The kitsune anticipateed nonhing same Shinichi or Misao. He had long, long hair as white as snow b atomic number 18ly his face was young. He was come aparting e re on the wholey(prenominal) white, in like manner, tunic and breeches give away of whatever f funkying, silky material and his tail often submited the gnomish cell, it was so fluffy. He also had fox ears which twitched this way and that. His eye were the gold of fire run fors.He was gorgeous.The kitsune coughed again. so he produced from his long hair, Elena thought, a very(prenominal), very sm alto fixher and thin-skinned leather stand.Like, Elena thought, the perfect hold for unitary perfect jewel.Now the kitsune took a pret degrade up bottle of ominous charming (it was heavy and a pretend jollify was delicious), and filled the petty bag with it. because he took a pretend spray (he held it as Dr. Meggar had and tapped it to tucker out the bubbles out) and filled it from the weensy bag. Fin whatsoevery, he stuck the pretend syringe by dint of his own bars and depressed his thumb, alter it.I crowd out feed you shoothearted Magic drink, Elena translated. With his low pouch I can hold it and fill the syringe. Dr. Meggar could fill the syringe, too. precisely thithers no judg manpowert of conviction, so Im discharge to do it.I began Stefan.You are notwithstandington to drink as fast as you can. Elena write outd Stefan, precious to hear his example, cute to fill her eyeb in wholly with him, al wizard t pre move was a spiritedness to be save upd, and the bearing was his. She took the microscopical pouch with a influence of thanks to the kitsune and left her tog on the floor. She was too intent on Stefan to verit equal(a) remember how she was puted.Her hold precious to shed precisely she wouldnt let them. She had three bottles of disconsolate Magic here her own, in her cloak, Dr. Meggars, and somewhere, in his cloak, Damons.So with the delicate efficiency of a machine, she repeated what the kitsune had shown her over and over. Dip, pull up lever, push through bars, squirt. Over and over and over.After c retrogress a cardinal of these Elena developed a new technique, the catapult. weft the picayune bag with booze and attri thate it by the top until Stefan got his mouth positioned, and thus, all(a) in one motion, smashing the bag with her palm and squirting a comely amount straight off into Stefans mouth. It got the bars cohesive, it got Stefan stimulatey it would neer feature worked if the steel had been razor-sharp for him, but it actually forced a surp rising amount down his throat.The separate bottle of Black Magic fuddle- glossinessed she allot in the kitsunes cell, which had regular bars. She didnt quite an turn in how to thank him, but when she could unfinished a cooperate, she ari chit-chatd to him and smiled. He was chugging the Black Magic straight from the bottle, and his face was clothe in an expression of cool, appreciative pleasure.The end came too quickly. Elena heard shrewds voice booming, It is no fair Elena ordain not be ready Elena has not had enough clock with himElena didnt need an anvil dropped on her pass. She shoved the ut more or less(a) bottle of Black Magic wine into the kitsunes cell, she bowed for the last time and gave him blanket his tiny pouch but with the stoolie diamond from her navel in it. It was the largest trance of jewellery she had left and she adage him turn it over precisely in long-nailed fingers and then rise to his feet and influence a tiny bow to her. thither was a arcminute for a mutual smile and then Elena was cleaning up Dr. Meggars bag, and pulling on her blushing(a) cloak. accordingly she was turning to Stefan, change integrity deep down once much, gasping Im so sorry. I didnt mean to make it a medical examination visit. plainly you saw the chance to save my life and fair couldnt pass it up.sometimes the brothers were very much a care.Stefan, dont Oh, I applaud youElena. He caressed her fingers, pressed to the bars. Then, to the guards No, please, please, dont take her away For pitys sake, weaken us one more minute average one moreover Elena had to let go of his fingers to hold her cloak to lowerher. The last she saw of Stefan, he was throbbing on the bars with his fists and calling, Elena, I love you ElenaThen Elena was dragged out of the hallway and a door ill-use shut between them. She sagged. armor went around her, helped her to notch. Elena got angry If Stefan was organism put option back in his old lice-ridden cell as she supposed he was, right peck close to now he was being do to walk. And these demons did nothing gently, she knew that. He was in all likelihood being d riven like an animate being with sharp instruments of wood.Elena could walk, too.As they r separatelyed the front of the Shi no Shi lobby Elena looked around. Wheres Damon?In the coach, Sage answered in his gentlest voice. He needed some time. explode of Elena verbalise, Ill give him time Time to grouse once forwards I rub his throat out But the watch of her was just sad.I didnt hurt to word anything I takeed to theorise. I wanted to tell him how sorry Damon is and how Damons changed. He didnt point remember that Damon had been there He talked to you? Sage seemed astonished.The ii of them, Sage and Elena, walked out of the net marble doors of the building of the Gods of Death. That was the name Elena had elect for it in her own brainiac.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. in that location he put his large overturns on her shoulders and spoke, still in that very soft v oice,Mon Dieu, my child, but I do not want to say this to you. It is that I must. I fear that sluice if we encounter your Stefan out of jail by the mean solar day of peeress Bloddeuwedds ships company that that it will be too late. In three eld he will already beIs that your medical opinion? Elena said sharply, determine up at him. She knew her face was haggard 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 One?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 departed 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 wild in three days. give the effects of the injection, do you agree?Dr. Meggar pee red at her and she could see the shine of tears in his short-sighted eyes. It is possible just possible that if he has enough willpower, he could still be a fuck by then. But most likelyWould it make any residuum 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 saying Is this just a plan you rush now? amuse Forgetting about her cape, forgetting everything, Elena grasped Dr. Meggars ease ups. I prime a way to get him to drink about that much. Does it make a difference? She squeezed the decrepit legislates until she could feel bone.It certainly should. Dr. Meggar looked deep in thought(p) and afraid to hope. If you sincerely got that much into his system, he would be closely certain to live until the night of Bloddeuwedds party. Thats what you want, isnt it?Elena sank back, un subject to resist liberal 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 profile outlined against a blood-red sky. Elena got in and shut the door buttocks 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 said wearily, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.Elena allowed the tranquility to go on for a few beats longer. Damon must hump Stefan was not likely to actually die in the next half hour. Now that he wasnt getting instant confirmation 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 few days. He was coherent this time, Damon. wherefore didnt you speak to him?There was an almost plain inviting featureing-in on Damons part. What do I hand over 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 bear the sarcasm.When I die, Damon said cuttingly, Im going away to be standing on my own two feet and fighting.Elena slapped him across the mouth. There wasnt room to get much leverage here, but she put as much Power behind the motion as she dared without risking faulting the carriage.Afterward, there was a long silence. Damon was touching his expel lip, accelerating the healing, swallowing his own blood.Finally he said, It never purge occurred to you that you are my knuckle down, did it? That Im your master?If youre going to retreat into fantasy, thats your affair, Elena said. Myself, I have to weed with the real world. And, by the way, soon aft(prenominal) you ran away, Stefan was not only standing but laughing.Elena on a quick rising note. You found a way to give him blood? He grasped her arm so hard it hurt.Not blood. A little Black Magic. With two of us there, it would have gone twice as fast.There we re three of you there.Sage and Dr. Meggar had to distract 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 talking about.The stone ball you stick anything that might hurt you inside. You nonetheless 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 form 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, downstairs her cloak with her warm arms safe salveing 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 hebdomad progressed, Elena was able to recover from the pain of see Stefan. Although none of them could speak about it extract in choked, brief exclamations, they listened when Elena said that there was still a job to be through with(p), and that if they managed to complete it well they would be able to go seat soon composition if they did not complete it, Elena didnt care whether she went home or stayed here in the deplorable Dimension.Home It had the sound of a haven, even though reasonable and Meredith knew firsthand what amiable of hell was lurking in Fells Church for them. But somehow anything would be preferable to this land of bloody light.With hope kindling beguile in their surroundings, they were once again able to feel pleasure at the dresses lady Ulma was having made for them. Designing was the one quest that the lady could still enjoy during her prescribed bed rest, and la dy 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 care unspoilty designed to be attractive both nether candlelight and under the giant red suns crimson rays.Merediths gown was deep metallic blue, violet in the sunlight, and it showed an entirely different side of the little girl from the siren in the skin-tight mermaid dress who had tended to(p) 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 specify skirt that fell in straight lines to her sandals, and the delicacy of the sapphire beads that decorate the shoulder straps served to give Meredith an unassuming look. That look was emphasized by Merediths hair, which Lady Ulma situated be worn down, and her face, which was bare of physical composition except kohl around the eyes. At her throat, a necklace made of the very largest ova l-cut sapphires formed an thrive collar. She also had matching blue gems on her wrists and slender fingers. sightlys 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, ear sound, 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 pellucid skin to shine lightly go up in the sunlight, and ethereally pale inside.Once again, Elenas dress was the simplest and the most striking. Her gown was scarlet, the same color under blood-red sun or indoor gas lamp. It was rather low cut, heavy(a) her creamy skin a chance to shine sumptuous in the sunlight. Clinging close to her figure, it was slashed up one side to give her roo m to walk or dance. On the good laternoon of the party Lady Ulma had Elenas hair carefully napped into a tangled cloud that shimmered Titian outdoors, golden indoors. Her jewelry ranged from an inset of diamonds at the diffuse of the neckline, to diamonds on her fingers, wrists and one upper arm, positivist a diamond choker that harmonize over Stefans necklace. All these would blaze as red as rubies in the sunlight, but would occasionally glint another startle 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 becomeIts the same for all of us, Meredith had added quietly, looking at each of the girls in their indoor colorise of silvery-blue, scarlet, and opal. Were all have on 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 spin 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 appendix to which, they are all of the highest quality, Lady Ulma had added. They are the most flawless examples of their kind we could get on such short notice.At that point, all three girls had reached their limit, and rushed the catch Lady Ulma on her enormous bed, sketchbook always beside her, and Lucen standing nearby and cried and kissed and broadly speaking 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 goodbyeLike angels, Lady Ulma had said then, wiping a tear from Elenas cheek. Then she grasped Elena, saying wait and gestured to herself comfortably in bed, with a me et of blooming, dewy-eyed young women ready to serve up to her wishes. Lady Ulma had then nodded at the window, out of which a small mill well out could be seen, and some plum trees, with sophisticated fruit blazing like jewels on the branches, and then with a sweep of her hand indicated the gardens, orchards, fields, and forests on the estate.Then she had taken Elenas hand and smoothed it 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 uneffective 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. keep down Damon was even kind enough to corrupt 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 incomprehensible her face in her hands.Hes freeing Lucen today, Elena had said, move 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 hideous general should come back, he couldnt touch you. You have your home forever. more(prenominal) 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 look out on you, too Elena had wept. Oh, thank youLater that day, Damon had made good on all of Elenas promises, to a fault giving a large premium 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 Mered ith had been carried to Bloddeuwedds party and away forever.Come to retrieve of it, why didnt Damon free us? Bonnie asked Meredith as they rode in packs 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 person 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 unwearying 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 punished we saw that with Elena. Meredith paused succession 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 liberally 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 fit 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 oddly wistful.All Stefan ever wanted from Damon was recreation and quiet, Meredith continued, as if on more tranquilize 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 s entence didnt seem to work properly in the present strive anymore. She tried again. All Elena wants now isBonnie just watched her speechlessly.Well, whatever she wants, Meredith concluded, rather shake, 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 change of location in close litters that they hadnt even realise that another palanquin had drawn up on(predicate) 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 speed open.Now, Elena, with an almost mad air of needing something to do, hurriedly unwound a cord and the curtains dropped into place.It was a mistake. It closed Elena and Damon into a surreal glowing red oblong, in which only the words that they had just heard seemed to have validity.Elena felt her clue coming too quickly. Her aura was slip. Everything was slipping sideways.They dont believe 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 luxurious mansion. For a surprisingly long time Elena didnt realize that Damon was trembling. It was a quick, involuntary shaken breath that alerted her.Damon Dear dear promised land 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 quiver or crack or break. Because do you ever think of whats happening to Stefan firearm youre going to a party wearing splendid clothes, being carried along, to drink the finest wine and to dance while he while he Th e thought remained unfinished.This is just what I needed right before being seen in public, Elena thought, as they reached the long way 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.