The Return: Midnight Chapter 2

Elena couldnt nominate been by for more than a few seconds.When she came to, every topic was the same although she wonde ablaze(p) how she hadnt lethal y excision her own throat on the knife.She knew that the tray with the dishes and cup had g unrivalled flying into the olive-drabness in that number one flash lamp when she couldnt help flinging out her spikes. exactly now she recognized the grip, she recognized the scent, and she unders excessivelyd the reason for the knife. And she was glad that she did, because she was virtually as proud of fainting as able would brace been of doing it. She wasnt a fainterNow she wil ed herself to sag in Damons arms, except for where the knife was. To show him that she was no threat.Hel o, princess,a role like black velvet express into her ear.Elena matte an inner shiver plainly not of fear. No, it was more as if her insides were melting. provided he didnt intensify his grasp on her.Damonshe said huskily, Im here to help you. Pl ease let me. For your sake.As abruptly as it had come, the iron grip was withdrawn from her waist. The knife stopped pressure level into her flesh, although the sharp, stinging feeling at her throat was quite enough to remind her that Damon would have it ready. Substitute fangs. at that place was a click, and of a sudden the room was excessively b unspoilt.Slowly, Elena saturnine to control at Damon. And up to now now, even when he was pale and rumpled and haggard from not eating, he was so gorgeous that her heart projectmed to plummet into darkness. His black hair, fal ing every which way over his supercilium his perfect, carven features his arrogant, sensual mouth right now compressed into a brooding lineWhere is it, Elena?he asked briefly. Not what. Where. He knew she wasnt stupid, and, of course, he knew the benevolent race in the boardinghouse were hiding the booster bal from him deliberately.Is that al you have to say to me?Elena whispered.She saw the helpless soft ening in his eyes, and he took one step toward her as if he couldnt help himself, but the next instant he looked grim. Tel me, and then maybe Il have more.Isee. Wel , then, we do a system, cardinal age ago,Elena said quietly. Everyone draws lots for it. Then the person who gets the paper with the X trails it from the magnetic core of the kitchen table and everyone goes to their rooms and stays there until the person with the star bal hides it. I didnt get the lot today, so I dont know where it is. just you canister try to test me.Elena could feel her body cringing as she said the last words, feeling soft and helpless and easily detriment.Damon reached over and slowly slipped a give way beneath her hair. He could slam her head against a wal , or throw her across the room. He could solely squeeze her neck between knife and hand until her head fel off. Elena knew that he was in the mood to take out his emotions on a human, but she did nothing. Said nothing. Just stood and loo ked into her eyes.Slowly, Damon bent toward her and brushed his lips so quietly against hers. Elenas eyes drifted shut. tho the next moment Damon winced and slid the hand back out of her hair.That was when Elena gave another thought as to what must have become of the food she had been bringing to him.Near-scalding coffee seemed to have splashed her hand and arm and soaked her jeans on one t full(prenominal). The cup and saucer were laying in pieces on the floor. The tray and the cookies had bounced off screw a chair. The plate of steak tartar, however, had miraculously landed on the couch, right side up. There was miscel aneous cutlery everywhere.Elena felt her head and shoulders droop in fear and pain.That was her immediate universe right now fear and pain. kindle her. She wasnt familiar y a crier, but she couldnt help the tears that fil ed her eyes.Damn Damon thought.It was her. Elena. Hed been so indisputable an adversary was spying on him, that one of his many enemies had tracked him down and was setting a restrictsomeone who had dis cover chargeed that he was as weak as a child now.It hadnt even occurred to him that it susceptibility be her, until he was holding her soft body with one arm, and smel ing the perfume of her hair as he held an ice-slick blade to her throat with the other.And then hed snapped on a light and saw what he had already guessed. incredulous He hadnt recognized her.He had been outside in the garden when hed seen the door to the storage room fend for open and had known that there was an intruder. But with his senses degraded as they were he hadnt been able to tel who was inside.No excuses could cover up the facts. He had hurt and terrified Elena. He had hurt her. And instead of apologizing he had tried to military force the truth out of her for his own selfish desires.And now, her throatHis eyes were drawn to the thin line of red droplets on Elenas throat where the knife had cut her when shed jerked in fear beforehand co l apsing right onto it. Had she fainted? She could have died right then, in his arms, if he hadnt been fast enough in whipping the knife away.He unplowed tel ing himself that he wasnt afraid of her. That he was just holding the knife absentmindedly. He wasnt convinced.I was outside. You know how we humans cant see?he said, knowing he sounded in diametric, unrepentant. Its like being wrapped in cotton al the time, Elena We cant see, cant smel , cant hear. My reflexes are like a tortoises, and Im starving.Then why dont you try my blood?Elena asked, sounding unexpectedly calm.I cant,Damon said, toilsome not to eye the dainty ruby necklace flowing down Elenas slim white throat.I already cut myself,Elena said, and Damon thought, Cut herself? Ye gods, the girl was priceless. As if shed had a little kitchen accident.So we energy as wel see what human blood tastes like to you now,Elena said.No.You know that youre going to. I know you know. But we dont have much time. My blood wont flow fo rever. Oh, Damon later everythingjust last week He was aspect at her too long, he knew. Not just at the blood. At the glorious golden knockout of her, as if the child of a sunbeam and a moonbeam had entered his room and was harmlessly bathing him in light.With a hiss, narrowing his eyes, Damon took hold of Elenas arms. He expected an automatic recoil like the one when hed grabbed her from behind. But there was no movement backward. Instead there was something like the leap of an eager flame in those wide malachite eyes. Elenas lips parted involuntarily.He knew it was involuntarily. Hed had many years to study young womens responses. He knew what it meant when her gaze went first to his lips before lifting to his eyes.I cant kiss her again. I cant. Its a human weakness, the way she affects me. She doesnt realize what it is to be so young and so impossibly beautiful. Shes going to learn someday.In fact, I might accidental y teach her now.As if she could hear him, Elena shut her ey es. She let her head fal back and suddenly Damon found himself half-supporting her weight. She was surrendering al thought of herself, showing him that despite everything she stil trusted him, stil stil loved him.Damon himself didnt know what he was going to do as he bent toward her. He was starving. It tore at him like a wolfs claws, the hunger. It make him feel blind and dizzy and out of control. Half a thousand years had left him believing that the only(prenominal) thing that would relieve the starvation was the crimson fountain of a cut artery. Some dark voice that might have come from the Infernal Court itself whispered that he could do what some vampires did, ripping a throat like a werewolf. Warm flesh might ease the starvation of a human.What would he do, so close to Elenas lips, so close to her bleeding throat?Two tears slipped from under the dark lashes and slid a little way down her face before dropping into golden hair. Damon found himself savouring one before he coul d think.Stil a maiden. Wel , that was to be expected Stefan was too weak to stand yet. But on top of the cynical thought came an image, and just a few words a mettle as pure as driven snow.He suddenly knew a different hunger, a different thirst. The only place to ease this need was close by. Desperately, urgently, he sought and found Elenas lips. And then he found himself losing al control. What he needed most was here, and Elena might tremble, but she didnt push him away.This close, he was bathed in an aura as golden as the hair he was touching gently at the ends. He was pleased himself when she shivered in plea received, and he realized that he could sense her thoughts. She was a strong projector, and his telepathy was the only Power left to him. He had no idea why he stil had it, but he did. And right now he essentialed to tune into Elena.The wench She wasnt thinking at al Elena had been offering her throat, rightfully surrendering herself, abandoning al thought but that she wanted to aid him, that his wishes were hers. And now she was too deeply enmeshed in the kiss to even make plans which was extraordinary for her.Shes in love with you, the tiny part of him that could stil think said.Shes neer said so Shes in love with Stefan something visceral answered.She doesnt have to say it. Shes showing it. Dont pretend you havent seen it beforeBut Stefan Is she thinking about Stefan in the slightest right now? She opened her arms to the wolf-hunger in you. This is no one-day stand, no quick meal, not even a steady donor. This is Elena herself.Then Ive taken advantage of her. If shes in love, she cant protect herself. Shes stil a child. I have to do something.The kisses had now gotten to the point that even the tiny voice of reason was fading. Elena had lost her ability to stand. He was either going to have to put her down somewhere, or give her a chance to back out.Elena Elena Damn it, I know you can hear me. respondDamon? faintly. Oh, Damon, now do you understand ?Too well, my princess. I Influenced you, so I should know.You? No, youre lyingWhy should I lie? For some reason my telepathy is as strong as ever. I still want what I want. But you might want to think a minute, maiden. I dont need to drink your blood. Im human and right now Im ravenous. But not for that mess of bloody hamburger you brought me.Elena broke away from him. Damon let her go.I think youre lying,she said, meeting his eyes directly, her mouth kiss-swol en.Damon locked the sight of her inside the boulder ful of secrets he dragged near with him. He gave her his best opaque ebony stare. Why should I lie?he repeated. I just thought you deserved a chance to make your own choice. Or have you already inflexible to abandon little brother while hes out of commission?Elenas hand flashed up, but then she dropped it. You employ Influence on me,she said bitterly. Im not myself. I would never abandon Stefan especial y when he needs me. There it was, the essential fire at her core, and the fiery golden truth. Now he could rally and let bitterness gnaw at him, while this pure spirit fol owed her conscience.He was thinking this, already feeling the loss of her dazzling light receding when he realized he no all-night had the knife.An instant later, horror just catching up with his hand, he was snatching it from her throat. His telepathic blast was entirely self-referentWhat in Hell are you doing? Killing yourself because of what I said? This blade is like a shaveElena faltered. I was just fashioning a nick You almost made a nick that spurted sextuplet feet highAt least he was able to speak again, despite the constriction of his throat.Elena was back on stable grounds too. I told you I knew you knew youd have to try blood before youl try to eat. It feels as if its flowing down my neck again. This time, lets not mess up it.She was only tel ing the truth. At least she hadnt seriously hurt herself. He could see that fresh blood was flowing from th e new cut shed so recklessly made. To waste it would be idiotic.Utterly dispassionate now, Damon took her again by the shoulders. He tilted up her chin to look at her soft, rounded throat. Several new ruby cuts were flowing freely.Half a mil ennium of replete(predicate) told Damon that just there was nectar and ambrosia. Just there was sustenance and rest and euphoria. Just here where his lips were as he bent to her a second timeand he had only to taste it to drinkDamon reared back, trying to force himself to swal ow, determined not to spit. It wasntit wasnt utterly revolting.He could see how humans, with their degraded senses, could make use of the puppet varieties. But this coagulating, mineral-tasting stuff wasnt blood it had none of the perfumed bouquet, the heady richness, the sweet, velvety, provocative, life-giving, ineffable attributes of blood.It was like some riddle of bad joke. He was tempted to bite Elena, just to skim a canine over the common carotid, making a tiny scratch, so he could taste the little burst that would explode onto his palate, to compare, to make sure that the real stuff wasnt in there somehow. In fact he was more than tempted he was doing it. But no blood was coming.His mind paused in midthought. Hed made a scratch al right a scratch like a scuff. It hadnt even broken the outer layer of Elenas skin.Blunt teeth.Damon found himself pressing on a canine with his tongue, wil ing it to extend, wil ing it with al his cramped and frustrated soul to sharpen.Andnothing. Nothing. But then, hed spent al day doing the same thing. Miserably, he let Elenas head turn back.Thats it?she said shakily. She was trying so unsaid to be brave with him Poor doomed white soul with her demon lover. Damon, you can try again,she told him. You can bite harder.Its no good,he snapped. Youre useless Elena almost slid to the floor. He kept her upright while snarling in her ear, You know what I meant by that. Or would you prefer to be my dinner rather than my princess?Elena simply move her head mutely. She rested in the circle of his arms, her head against his shoulder. Little wonder that she needed rest after al hed put her through. But as for how she found his shoulder a comfortwel , that was beyond him. keen-sighted Damon sent the furious thought out on al the frequencies he could access, just as he had been doing al day. If only he could find Sage, al his problems would be solved. Sage, he demanded, where are you?No answer. For al Damon knew, Sage had managed to operate the Gateway to the Dark Dimension that was even now standing, powerless and useless, in Mrs. Flowerss garden. Stranding Damon here. Sage was always that blindingly fast when he took off.And why had he taken off?Imperial Summons? sometimes Sage got them. From the Fal en One, who lived in the Infernal Court, at the lowest of the Dark Dimensions. And when Sage did get them, he was expected to be in that dimension instantly, in mid-word, in mid-caress, in mid whatev er. So farther Sage had always made the deadline, Damon knew that. He knew it because Sage was stil alive.On the afternoon of Damons catastrophic bouquet investigation Sage had left on the mantel a polite note thanking Mrs. Flowers for her hospitality, and even leaving his long dog, Saber, and his falcon, Talon, for the protection of the household a note doubtlessly pre-prepared. He had gone the way he always did, as unpredictably as the wind, and without saying good-bye.Undoubtedly hed thought that Damon would find his way out of the problem easily. There were a number of vampires in Fel s Church. There always were. The ley lines of sheer Power in the ground drew them even in normal times.The problem was that just now al those vampires were infested with malach parasites control ed by the evil fox-spirits. They couldnt be lower in the vampire hierarchy.And of course Stefan was a complete nonstarter. purge if he hadnt been so weak that trying to change Damon into a vampire woul d have kil ed him even if his exasperation over Damons stealing his humanitycould be assuaged, he would simply never have agreed, out of his feeling that vampirism was a curse.Humans never knew about things like the vampire hierarchy because the subjects didnt concern them until suddenly, they did, usual y because they had just been changed into a vampire themselves. The hierarchy of vampires was strict, from the useless and ignoble to the fanged aristocracy. Old Ones beseem in that category, but so did others who were particularly il ustrious or powerful.What Damon wanted was to be made a vampire by the kind of women Sage knew, and he was determined to have Sage find him a vampire lady of quality, one who was real y worthy of him.Other things tormented Damon, who had spent two entire sleepless days pondering them. Was it possible that the white kitsune who had given Stefan the bouquet had engineered a uprise that turned the first person to smel it permanently human? That would have been Stefans greatest dream.The white fox had listened to days upon days of Stefans ramblings, hadnt he? Hed seen Elena weeping over Stefan.Hed seen the two lovebirds together, Elena hand-feeding a dying Stefan her blood through razor wire. Fortune only knew what ideas that fox had gotten into his furry white head when hed prepared the rose that had curedDamon of hiscurse.If it turned out to be an irreversible cureIf Sage turned out to be unreachableIt suddenly broke into Damons thoughts that Elena was cold.It was strange, since the night was warm, but she was shivering violently. She needed his jacket orShes not cold, the smal voice somewhere deep inside him said. And shes not shivering. Shes trembling because of al youve put her through.Elena?You forgot all about me. You were holding me, but you completely forgot my existenceIf only, he thought bitterly. Youre branded on my soul.Damon was suddenly furious, but it was different from his anger at kitsune and Sage and the world. It was the kind of anger that made his throat close and his chest feel too tight.It was an anger that made him pick up Elenas scalded hand, which was rapidly turning scarlet in patches, and examine it.He knew what he would have done as a vampire stroked over the burns with a cunning cool tongue, generating chemicals to accelerate the healing. And nowthere was nothing he could do about it.It doesnt hurt,Elena said. She was able to stand now.Youre lying, princess,he said. The insides of your eyebrows are up. Thats pain. And your pulse is jumping You can sense that without touching me?I can see it, at your temples. Vampires,with vicious emphasis on what he stil was, in essence, notice things like that. I made you hurt yourself. And I cant do anything to help.Also he shrugged youre a beautiful liar. About the star bal , I mean.You can always sense when Im lying?Angel,he said wearily, its easy. You are either the lucky carrier of the star bal todayor you know who is.Again, Elenas h ead drooped in consternation.Or else,Damon said lightly, the entire narration of the drawing of the lots was a lie.Think what you like,Elena said, with at least some of her usual fire. And you can disinfect up this mess, too.Just as she turned to leave, Damon had a revelation. Mrs.Flowershe exclaimed.Wrong,Elena snapped.Elena, I wasnt talking about the star ball. I give you my word on this. You know how hard it is to lie telepathically Yes, and I know that therefore, if theres one thing in the world youdpracticeatShe couldnt finish. She couldnt make the speech. Elena knew how much Damons word meant to him.Ill never govern you where it is, she sent telepathical y to Damon. And I swear to you that Mrs. Flowers wont either.I believe you, but were stil going to see her.He picked Elena up easily and stepped over the smashed cup and saucer. Elena automatical y grabbed his neck with both hands to isotropy herself.Darling, what are you doing ?Elena cried, then stopped, wide-eyed, two s calded fingers flying to her lips.Standing in the doorway, not two yards away from them, was fiddling Bonnie McCul ough, a bottle of Black Magic wine, nonalcoholic but mystical y exhilarating, held high in her hand.But as Elena watched, Bonnies expression changed al in an instant. It had been triumphant joy. But now it was shock. It was unbelief that couldnt hold. Elena knew exactly what she was thinking. The whole house had devoted itself to making Damon comfortable while Damon stole what rightful y belonged to Stefan Elena. Plus hed lied about not being a vampire anymore. And Elena wasnt even fighting him off.She was cal ing him priceyBonnie dropped the bottle and turned, running.