The Return: Nightfall Chapter 27

When Damon woke up, he was wrestling with the wheel of the Ferrari. He was on a narrow drive instruction, heading al approximately now into a glorious sunset and the passenger door was waving open.Once again, only the combination of almost instantaneous reflex and perfectly designed automobile onlyowed him to economise disclose of the wide, muddy ditches on either view of the one-lane road. that he managed it and ended up with the sunset at his congest, gazing at the long shadows down the road and wondering what the hell had practiced happened to him.Was he sleep-driving now? The passenger door why was it open?And hence roundthing happened. A long, thin thread, approximately waving, almost the like a single strand of gossamer, lit up as the reddish sun decipher satisfactory relate it. It was dangling from the top of the passenger window, which was shut, with the roof down.He didnt b some other(prenominal)ation to pull the car to one place, plainly stopped in the m iddle of the road and went slightly to reckon at that hair.In his fingers, held toward the light, it let go ofed etiolate. But turned toward the dark of the forest, it showed its true color gold.A long, slightly waving, golden hair.Elena.As soon as he had identified it, he got hind end into the car and began to backtrack. Something had ripped Elena properly out of his car without regorgeting so much as a scratch on the throet. What could cave in done that?How had he managed to bunk Elena to go for a spin anyway? And why couldnt he retrieve? Had they both been attacked?When he backtracked, however, the marks by the passengers side of the road told the entire grisly story. For some reason, Elena had been panicked into jumping out of the car or some power had pulled her. And Damon, who now felt as if at that place were steam rising from his skin, knew that in any the woodwind thither were only two creatures that could digest been responsible.He send out a scouting prob e, a simple circle that was meant to be undetect commensurate, and almost addled control of the car again.MerdaThat blast had come out as a sphere-shaped killing strafe birds were move out of the sky. It tore through the ancient Wood, through Fells perform, which surrounded it, and into the areas beyond, before fin in all(a)y dying out hundreds of miles away.Power? He wasnt a vampire, he was Death Incarnate. Damon had a vague thought of pulling all over and delay until the turmoil inside himself had stopped. Where had such Power come from?Stefan would train stopped, would have dithered around, wondering. Damon just grinned savagely, gunned the engine, and sent thousands of probes raining from the sky, all attuned to catch a fox-shaped creature running or hiding in the Old Wood.He got a hit in a tenth of a second.There. Under a calamitous cohosh bush, if he wasnt mis back awayn on a lower floor(a) some unspeakable bush, anyway. And Shinichi knew he was coming.Good. Damon sent a tramp of Power directly at the fox, catching it in akekkai , a sort of invisible rope-barrier that he hatefulened deliberately, slowly, around the struggling animal. Shinichi fought back, with killing force. Damon used the kekkai to pick him up bodily and slam the itsy-bitsy fox personate into the ground. After a few of these slams Shinichi decided to stop fighting and played dead instead. That was graceful with Damon. It was the way he thought Shinichi sense of touch sensationed best, except for the bit well-nigh vie.At last he had to stash the Ferrari among two heads and ran swiftly to the bush where Shinichi was now fighting the barrier around him to situate into human form. stand up back, eyes narrowed, arms crossed on his chest, Damon watched the struggle for a while. Then he let up enough on the kekkais field to allow the change.And the instant Shinichi became human, Damons hands were around his throat.Where is Elena, kono bakayarou? In a action- beat as a vampire you learned a lot of curse words. Damon preferred to use those of a victims native language. He called Shinichi everything he could think of, because Shinichi was fighting, and was Calling tele passically for his sister. Damon had some choice things to say about(predicate)that in Italian, where hiding behind your younger twin sister waswell, good for alot of creative cursing.He felt another fox-shape pelt along at him and he agnize that Misao intended to kill. She was in her true shape as a kitsune just like the russet thing hed tried to run over while driving with Damaris. A fox, yes, notwithstanding a fox with two, common chordsix undersides altogether. The extra ones usually were invisible, he gathered, as he neatly caught her in a kekkai as well. But she was ready to show them, ready to use all her powers to rescue her brother.Damon contented himself with holding her as she struggled vainly within the barrier, and saying to Shinichi, Your baby sister fights break away than you do,bakayarou . Now,give me Elena. Shinichi changed forms abruptly and leaped for Damons throat, sharp innocence teeth in evidence, top and bottom. They were both as well as keyed up, too high on testosterone and Damon, on his new Power to let it go.Damon actually felt the teeth struggle his throat before he got his hands again around the foxs neck. But this time Shinichi was showing his tails, a fan that Damon didnt bother to count.Instead he stomped one neat boot on the fan andpulled with his other two hands. Misao, watching, shrieked in anger and anguish. Shinichi thrashed and arched, golden eyes fixed on Damons. In another minute his spine would crack.Ill enjoy that, Damon told him sweetly. Because Ill bet that Misao knows whatever you know. Too bad you wont be here to construeher die.Shinichi, fanatical with fury, catch outmed willing to die and condemn Misao to Damons mercies just to avoid losing the fight. But hence his eyes darkened abruptly, his trunk went limp, and words appeared faintly in Damons mind.hurts tricktthinkDamon regarded him gravely. Now, Stefan, at this point, would release a good deal of the shove on the kitsune so the poor little fox could think, Damon, on the other hand, increased the pres positive(predicate) briefly, then released it back to the previous level.Is that better? he asked solicitously. Can the cute little foxie think now?You imitationAngry as he was, Damon suddenly remembered the point of all this.What happened to Elena?Her trail runs out up against a direct. Is sheinside it? You have seconds left to live, now. Talk.Talk, seconded another voice, and Damon barely glanced up at Misao. Hed left her relatively unguarded and shed appoint power and room to change into her human shape. He took it in instantaneously, dispassionately.She was small-boned and petite, looking like any Nipponese schoolgirl, except that her hair was just like her brothers black tipped with red. The only difference was that the red in her hair was lighter and brighter a truly brilliant scarlet. The bangs that fell into her eyes had blazing violent tips, and so did the silky dark hair falling over her shoulders. It was salient(ip) but the only neurons that lit in Damons mind in response were connected to fire and danger and deception.She might have fallen into a trap,Shinichi managed.A trap?Damon frowned.What kind of trap?Ill take you to where you can look into them,Shinichi said evasively.And the fox can suddenly think again. But you know what? I dont think youre cute at all, Damon whispered, then dropped the kitsune on the ground. Shinichi-as-a-human fountained up, and Damon dropped the barrier just long enough to let the fox in human form discover to take his head forward with one punch. He leaned away from it easily, and returned it with a blow that knocked Shinichi back into the tree hard enough to bounce. Then, while the kitsune was becalm dazed and glassy-eyed, he picked him up, slung him over one shoulder, and started back to the car.What about me?Misao was attempt to curb furious and drop dead pathetic, but she really wasnt very good at it.Youre not cute, either, Damon said, recklessly. He could get to like this super-Power thing. But if you mean, when do you get out, its when I get Elena back. Safe and healthy, with all her bits attached.He left her cursing. He wanted to get Shinichi to wherever they had to go while the fox was still dazed and in pain.Elena was counting. Go like a shot one, go straight two untangle crutch from creeper, three, four, go straight five it was definitely getting darker now, go straight six, caught by something in hair,yank , seven, eight, go straight excommunicate A fallen tree. Too high to scramble over. Shed have to go around it. All right, to the right, one, two, three a long tree seven strides. Seven steps back now,sharp right turn and keep walking. Much as youd like to, you cant count any of those steps. So youre at nin e. Straighten yourself because the tree was vertical dear heaven, its pitch dark now. Call that eleven and she was flying. What had caused her crutch to slip, she didnt know, couldnt tell. It was too dark to go frisking around, possibly finding herself a case of poison oak. What she had to do was to think about things, to think so that this all-pervading mephistophelian pain in her left leg would quiet down. It hadnt serveed her right arm either that instinctive windmilling, trying to catch something and save herself. God, that fall had hurt. The whole side of her body hurt so much But she had to get to civilization because she believed only civilization could help Matt.You have to get up again, Elena.Imdoing itNow she couldnt see anything, but she had a pretty good idea which way shed been pointed when shed fallen. And if she was wrong, she would hit the road and be able to backtrack.Twelve, thirteen she kept counting, kept talking to herself. When she reached twenty she f elt relief and joy. Any minute now, shed hit the driveway.Any minute now, shed hit it.It was pitch black out, but she was careful to scuff the ground so she would know, the minute she hit it.AnyminutenowWhen Elena reached forty she knew she was in trouble.But where could she have at rest(p) so outlying(prenominal) wrong? Every time some small obstacle had made her turn right, shed turned carefully left the next time. And there was that whole line of landmarks in her way, the house, the barn, the small cornfield. How could she have gotten lost?How? It had only been half a minute in the forestonly a few steps in the Old Wood.Even the trees were changing. Where she had been, near the road, most of the trees had been hickory or tulip. Now she was in a thicket of white oaks and red oaksand conifers.Old oaksand on the ground, needles and leaves that muffled her foot- bound offs into soundlessness.Soundlessnessbut she necessary helpMrs. Dunstan Mr. Dunstan Kristin Jake She threw the nam es out into a world that was doing its best to muffle her voice. In fact, in the duskiness she could discern a certain swirling wispy grayness that seemed to be yes it was fog.Mrs. Dunstaa a-aan Mr. Dunstaa-aa-an Kriiiissstiiiinnn Jaaa-aaakeShe needed shelter she needed help. Everything hurt, most of all her left leg and right shoulder. She could just imagine what a sight she would exculpate cover in mud and leaves from falling every few feet, her hair in a wild finish up from being caught on trees, blood everywhere.One good thing she certainly didnt look like Elena Gilbert. Elena Gilbert had long silky hair that was always perfectly coifed or charminglydishabille . Elena Gilbert set the fashions in Fells Church and would never be seen wearing a torn camisole and jeans covered with mud. Whoever they thought this forlorn stranger was, they wouldnt think she was Elena.But the forlorn stranger was feeling a sudden qualm. Shed walked through woods all her livelihood and never had her hair caught once. Oh, of course she had been able to see then, but she didnt remember having to step out of her way often to avoid it.Now, it was as if the trees were deliberately range down to catch and hang-up her hair. She had to hold her body clumsily still and try to whip her head away in the scourge cases she couldnt manage to stay upright and get the tendril torn out as well.But painful as the tearing at her hair was, nothing scared her like the grabbing at her legs.Elena had grown up playing in this forest, and there had always been plenty of room to walk without hurting herself. But nowthings were reaching out, fibrous tendrils were grabbing at her ankle just where it hurt most. And then it was agony to try to rip with her fingers at these thick, sap-coated, stinging roots.Im frightened, she thought, putting into words at last what all her feelings had been since she stepped into the darkness of the Old Wood. She was damp with dew and sweat, her hair was as wet as if shed been standing in the rain. It was so dark And now her imagination began to work, and irrelevant most peoples imaginations it had genuine, solid information to workwith . A vampires hand seemed to tangle in her hair. After an endless time of agony in her ankle and her shoulder, she had twisted the hand out of her hair to find another curl stalk.All right. She would ignore the pain and get her bearings here, here where there was a remarkable tree, a enormous white pine that had a huge hole in its center, big enough for Bonnie to get into. She would put that flat at her back and then walk straight west she couldnt see stars because of the debauch cover, but shefelt that west was to her left. If she were correct, it would bring her to the road. If she were wrong and it was north, it would take her to the Dunstans. If it were south, it would eventually take her to another curve of the road. If it were tocopherolwell, it would be a long walk, but it would eventually take her to the creek.But first she would gather all her Power, all the Power shed been unconsciously using to dull the pain and give her strength she would gather it and light up this place so she could see if the road was visible or, better, a house from where she stood. It was only a humans power but, again, the knowledge of how to use it made all the difference, she thought. She gathered the Power in one tight white ball and then loosed it, twisting to look around before it dissipated.Trees. Trees. Trees. Oaks and hickories, white pine and beech. No high ground to get to. In every direction, nothing but trees, as if she were lost in some grimly enchanted forest and could never get out.But shewould get out. Any of those directions would take her to people eventually even east. Even east, she could just follow the stream until it led to people.She wished she had a compass.She wished she could see the stars.She was trembling all over, and it wasnt just from the cold. She was injured she was terrified. But she had to forget about that. Meredith wouldnt cry. Meredith wouldnt be terrified. Meredith would find a sensible way to get out.She had to get help for Matt.Gritting her teeth to ignore the pain, Elena started off. If any of her injurys had happened to her in isolation, she would have made a big fuss about it, sobbing and writhing over the injury. But with so many different pains, it had all melted into one terrible agony.Be careful now. Make sure youre spill straight and not tilting off at an angle. Pick your next target in your straight line of sight.The problem was that by now it was too dark to see much of anything. She could just make out deeply grooved bark straight ahead. A red oak probably. All right, go to it. Hop oh, it hurts hop the tears washing down her cheeks hop just a little further hop you can make it hop. She put her hand out on shaggy bark. All right. Now, look straight in front of you. Ah. Something gray and rough and massive ahead maybe a white oak. Hop to it agony hop somebody help me hop how long will it take? hop not that far now hop.There. She put her hand on the wide rough bark.And then she did it again.And again.And again. And again. And again.What is it? Damon demanded. Hed been pressure to let Shinichi lead once they were out of the car again, but he still kept the kekkai slackly around him and he still watched every move the fox made. He didnt trust him as far as well, the fact was, he didnt trust him at all. Whats behind the barrier? he said again, to a greater extent roughly, tightening the noose around the kitsunes neck.Our little cabin Misaos and mine.And it wouldnt possibly be a trap, would it?If you think so, fine Ill go in alone. Shinichi had finally changed into a half-fox, half-human form black hair to his waist, with ruby-colored flames licking up from the ends, one silky tail with the same coloration behind him waving behind him, and two silky, crimson-tipped twitch ears on to p of his head.Damon approved aesthetically, but to a greater extent important, he now had a ready-made handle. He caught Shinichi by the tail and twisted.Stop thatIll stop it when I get Elena unless you waylaid her deliberately. If shes hurt, Im going to take whoever harmed her and cut him into slivers. His life is forfeit.No matter who it was?No matter who.Shinichi was quivering slightly.Are you cold?justadmiring your resolve. More accidental quivering. Almost shaking his entire body.Laughter?At Elenas discretion, I would keep them alive. But in agony. Damon twisted the tail harder. MoveShinichi took another step and a charming country cabin came into view, with a gravel path leading up between wild creepers that loaded the porch and hung down like pendants.It was exquisite.Even as the pain grew, Elena began to have hope. No matter how turned around she was, shehad to come out of the forest at some point. She had to make it. The ground was solid no sign of mushiness or slanting d ownward. She wasnt headed for the creek. She was headed for the road. She could tell.She fixed her sights on a distant, smooth-barked tree. Then she hopped to it, the pain almost forgotten in her new feeling of certainty.She fell against the massive, peeling, ash-gray tree. She was resting against it when something bothered her. Her dangling leg. Why wasnt it bumping painfully against the trunk? It had knocked continually against all the other trees when she turned to rest. She pulled back from the tree, and, as if she knew it were important, gathered all her Power and let it go in a burst of white light.The tree with the huge hole in it, the tree she had started from, was in front of her.For a second gear Elena stood only still, wasting Power, holding the light. peradventure it was some differentNo. She was on the other side of the tree, but it was the same one. That washer hair caught in the peeling gray bark. That dried blood washer handprint. on a lower floor it was where he r bloody leg had left a mark fresh.Shed walked straight out and come straight back to this tree.NooooooooooooooIt was the first vocalized sound shed made since shed fallen out of the Ferrari. Shed endured all that pain in silence, with little gasps or sharp breaths, but shed never cursed and screamed. Now she wanted to do both.Maybe it wasnt the same tree Nooooooo, nooooooo, nooooooooooooMaybe her Power would come back and shed see that shed only hallucinated No, no, no, no, no, noIt just wasnt possible NoooooooHer crutch slipped from under her arm. It had dug into her armpit so deeply that the pain there rivaled the other pains. Everything hurt. But worst was her mind. She had a picture in her mind of a sphere like the Christmas cytosine globes you shook to make snow or glitter fall through liquid. But this sphere had trees all over the inside. From top to bottom, side to side, all trees, all pointing toward the middle. And herself, wandering inside this lonely sphereno matter wh ere she went, shed find more trees, because that was all there were in this world shed stumbled into.It was a nightmare, but something like it was real.The trees were intelligent, too, she realized. The little creeping vines, the vegetation even now it was pulling her crutch away from her. The crutch was moving as if being passed from hand to hand by very small people. She reached out and just barely grabbed the end of it.She didnt remember having fallen to the ground, but here she was. And there was a smell, a sweet, earthy, resinous aroma. And here were creepers, testing her, tasting her. With delicate little touches, they wound into her hair so that she couldnt pick her head up. Then she could feel them tasting her body, her shoulder, her bloody knee. Nothing about it mattered.She squeezed her eyes shut, her body heaving with sobs. The creepers were pulling at her wounded leg now, and instinctively she jerked away. For a moment the pain woke her up and she thought,Ive got to get to Matt , but the next moment that thought was dulled, too. The sweet, resinous smell remained. The creepers felt their way across her moving chest, across her breasts. They encircled her stomach.And then they began to tighten.By the time Elena realized the danger, they were restricting her breathing. She couldnt expand her chest. As she let out her breath, they only tightened again, working together all the little creepers like one giant anaconda.She couldnt tear them away. They were tough and springy and her nails couldnt cut through them. Working her fingers under a handful, she pulled as hard as she could, scraping with her nails and twisting. Finally one fiber sprang loose with the sound of a harps string breaking and a wild whipping in the air.The rest of the creepers pulled tighter.She was having to fight to get air now, fight not to contract her chest. Creepers were delicately touching her lips, swaying over her face like so many thin cobras, then suddenly striking and going taut around her cheek and head.Im going to die.She felt a deep regret. She had been given the chance of a second lifetime a third, if you counted her life as a vampire and she hadnt done anything with it. Nothing but pursue her own pleasure. And now Fells Church was in peril and Matt was in immediate danger, and not only was she not going to help them, she was going to give up and die right here.What would be the right thing to do? The weird thing? Cooperate with evil now, and hope shed have the chance to destroy it later? Maybe. Maybe all she needed to do was to ask for help.The feeling of breathlessness was leaving her light-headed. She would never have believed it of Damon, that he would put her through all this, that he would allow her to be killed. Just days ago she had been defending him to Stefan.Damon and the malach. Maybe she was his offering to them. They certainly demanded a lot.Or maybe it was just that he wanted her to beg for help. He might be waiting in the darkne ss quite close, his mind centered on hers, waiting for a whisperedplease .She tried to spark the last of her Power. It was almost depleted, but like a match, with repeated striking she managed to get a tiny white flame.Now she visualized the flame going into her forehead. Into her head. Inside. There.Now.Through the fiery agony of not being able to draw a breath, she thoughtBonnie. Bonnie. Hear me.No purpose but she wouldnt hear one.Bonnie, Matt is in a clearing in a lane off the Old Wood. He may need blood or some other help. Look for him. In my car.Dont worry about me. Its too late for me. Find Matt.And thats all I can say, Elena thought wearily. She had a vague, sad intuition that she hadnt gotten Bonnie to hear her. Her lungs were exploding. This was a terrible way to die. She was going to be able to exhale one more time, and then there would be no more air. diddley you, Damon, she thought, and then she concentrated all her thoughts, all her minds reach on memories of Stefan. On the feeling of being held by Stefan, on Stefans sudden leaping smile, on Stefans touch.Green eyes, leaf green, a color like a leaf held up to sunlightThe decency he had somehow managed to retain, untaintedStefanI drive in you.Ill always love you.Ive loved you.I love