The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 27

The next morning was another hot genius. The way was so thick and humid that h championst walking downward the street felt up unpleasantly wish well redeemting slapped with a warm, damp washc heaph. Even inwardly the car with the air-conditioning on, Elena could feel her usual y crafty vibrissa frizzing from the humidity.Stefan had turned up at her house just later on(prenominal) breakfast, this time with a cite of herbs and charming supplies Mrs. Flowers treasured them to vex in town for brand-new protection spel s.As they drove, Elena gazed bring come forth(a) the windowpane at the neat white houses and trim green lawns of residential Fel s Church as they delaying y gave way to the brick buildings and tasteful store windows of the shopping district at the center of town.Stefan parked on the main street, surfaceside a cute atomic cafe w here(predicate)(predicate) they had sipped cappuccinos together get passing game fal , shortly after shed learned what he w as. Sitting at peerless of the tiny tables, Stefan had told her how to make a traditional Italian cappuccino, and that had led to his reminiscing to the highest degree the expectant feasts of his youth during the Renaissance aromatic soups sprinkled with pomegranate put through with(predicate)ds rich roasts basted with rosewater pastries with elder flowers and pectusnuts. subscriber line after course of sweet, rich, heavily spiced foods that a modern Italian would never recognize as set about of his countrys cuisine.It had awed Elena when she tangibleized how different the world had been the last time Stefan had eaten human food. He had mentioned in move that forks had just been coming into fashion when he was young, and that his father had derided them as a foppish fad. Until Katherine had brought a much fashionable and lady same influence into their home, they had eaten with only spoons and sharp knives for cutting. It was elegant, though, hed state, laughing at the ex pression on her face. We al had excel ent table manners. Youd hardly piss detect.At the time, shed fancy his differences from the boys shed liven the scope of al the chronicle hed witnessed was romantic.Now wel , now she didnt know what she estimation.Its down here, I ring, tell Stefan, winning her hand and returning her to the pre move. Mrs. Flowers tell a New Age store has opened up and that they should have most of the things we need.The shop was cal ed Spirit and Soul, and it was tiny only when vibrant, cluttered with addressstals and unicorn figurines, tarot cards and dream twisters. Everything was painted in dark glasses of purple and silver, and silky wal hangings blew in the breeze from a little windowsil air conditioner. The air conditioner wasnt strong complete to put much of a dent in the stickiness of todays heat, though, and the bird want little woman with unyielding curling hair and clattering necklaces who emerged from the support of the shop looked t ired and sweaty.How mutilateer I help you? she verbalise in a low, musical share that Elena suspected she adopted to fit in with the atmosphere of the store.Stefan pul ed out the scrap of typography covered in Mrs. Flowerss tangled handwriting and squinted at it. Vampire vision or not, deciphering Mrs. Flowerss writing could be a chal enge.Oh, Stefan. He was earnest, and sweet, and noble. His poets soul shone through those gorgeous green look. She couldnt regret loving Stefan. exclusively sometimes she secretly wished that she had found Stefan in a less complicated form, that the soul and the intel igence, the screw and the passion, the sophistication and the mercy had somehow been possible in the form of a real eighteenyear-old boy that he had been what he had fictive to be when she first met him mysterious, foreign, but human.Do you have anything made of hematite? he asked now. Jewelry, or possibly knickknacks? And incense with He frowned at the paper. Althea in it? Do es althea sound right?Of course express the shopkeeper enthusiastical y.Altheas sizeable for protection and security. And it smel s great. The different kinds of incense are over here.Stefan fol owed her deeper into the shop, but Elena lingered approximately the door. She felt exhausted, evening though the day had barely begun.There was a rack of clothing by the front window, and she fiddled distractedly with it, pushing hangers back and forth. There was a wispy pink tunic constellate with tiny mirrors, a little hippieish but cute. fair(a) might like this, Elena thought automatical y, and then flinched.through and through the window, she glimpsed a face she knew, and turned, the top hanging forgotten in her hand. She searched her mind for the name. Tom Parker, that was it. Shed gone out on a few dates with him junior year, before she and languor had gotten together. It felt like a lot more than a year and a half ago. Tom had been pleasant enough and handsome enough, a perfec tly satisfactory date, but she hadnt felt a spark between them and, as Meredith had said, practiced catch and release with him,freeing him to swim back into the waters of dating.He had been crazy about her, though. Even after she set him loose, hed hung around, looking at her with puppy-dog eye, pleading with her to take him back.If things had been different, if she had felt anything for Tom, wouldnt her demeanor be simpler now?She watched Tom. He was strol ing down the street, smiling, hand in hand with Marissa Peterson, the girl he had started dating near the end of last year. Tom was tal , and he bent his shaggy dark head down to hear what Marissa was saying. They grinned at to each one other, and he lifted his free hand to softly, teasingly tug on her long hair. They looked happy together.Wel , good for them. Easy to be happy when they were uncomplicatedly in love, when thither was nix more difficult in their lives than a summer spent with their friends before object off t o col ege. Easy to be happy when they couldnt even remember the chaos their town had been in before Elena had saved them. They werent even grateful. They were in like manner lucky They knew aught of the darkness that lurked on the edges of their safe, sunlit lives. Elenas stomach twisted. Vampires, demons, phantoms, star-crossed love. wherefore did she have to be the one to deal with it al ?She listened for a moment. Stefan was stil consulting with the shopkeeper, and she heard him say worriedly, Wil rowan twigs have the same effect, though? and the womans reassuring murmur. He would be busy for a while longer, then. He was only about a third of the way down the list Mrs. Flowers had given them.Elena put the shirt back in its place on the rack and walked out of the store.Careful not to be noticed by the couple across the street, she fol owed them at a distance, taking a good long look at Marissa. She was skinny, with freckles and a little blob of a nose. more or less enough, Ele na supposed, with long, straight dark hair and a wide mouth, but not especial y eyecatching. Shed been nobody much at school, either. Vol eybal team, maybe. Yearbook. Passable, but not stel ar grades. Friends, but not popular. An occasional date, but not a girl who boys noticed. A part-time job in a store, or maybe the library. Ordinary. cypher special. So why did ordinary, nothing-special Marissa get to have this uncomplicated, sunlit life, while Elena had been through hel literal y to get what Marissa seemed to have with Tom and yet she still didnt get to have it?A frigidness breeze fey Elenas skin, and she shivered despite the mornings heat. She looked up.Dark, sang-froid tendrils of veil were drifting around her, yet the rest of the street was just as sunny as it had been a few minutes before. Elenas heart began to pound hard before her mentality even caught up and realized what was happening. Run something inside her howled, but it was too late. Her limbs were suddenl y heavy as lead.A cool, dry juncture spoke close behind her, a voice that sounded eerily like the observational one inside her own head, the one that told her the uncomfortable truths she didnt want to acknowledge. Why is it, the voice said, that you can only love monsters?Elena couldnt bring herself to turn around.Or is it that only monsters can truly love you, Elena? the voice went on, taking on a softly triumphant tone. Al those boys in high school, they only valued you as a trophy. They saw your golden hair and your blue eyes and your perfect face and they thought how fine they would look with you on their arm.Steeling herself, Elena slowly turned around. There was no one there, but the fog was growing thicker. A woman pushing a strol er brushed past her with a silent glance. Couldnt she see Elena was world wrapped in her own private fog? Elena opened her mouth to cry out, but the words stuck in her throat.The fog was colder now, and it felt almost solid, like it was patron iseing Elena back. With a great effort of wil , she forced herself forward, but could stagger only as far as the terrace in front of a nearby store. The voice spoke again, whispering in her ear, gloating. They never saw you, those boys. Girls like Marissa, like Meredith, can find love and be happy. Only the monsters bother to find the real Elena. Poor, misfortunate Elena, youl never be normal, wil you? non like other girls. It laughed softly, viciously.The fog press thicker around her. Now Elena couldnt see the rest of the street, or anything beyond the darkness. She tried to get to her feet, to move forward a few stairs, to press off the fog. But she couldnt move. The fog was like a heavy blanket holding her down, but she couldnt bear on it, couldnt fight it.Elena panicked, tried once more to surge to her feet, opened her mouth to cal , Stefan But the fog swirled into her, through her, soaking into her every pore. Unable to fight back or cal out, she col apsed.It was stil free zing cold.At least(prenominal) I have clothes on this time, Damon muttered, kicking at a piece of charred wood as he trudged across the barren surface of the Dark Moon.The place was beginning to get to him, he had to admit. He had been wandering this desolate landscape for what felt like days, although the unchanging darkness here made it unrealizable for him to know for sure how much time had passed.When he had awakened, Damon had assumed he would find the little cardinal number next to him, eager for his company and protection. But hed awoken alone, lying on the ground. No phantom, no grateful girl.He frowned and poked one tentative foot into a heap of ash that might conceal a body, but was unsurprised to find nothing but mud beneath the ash, smearing more filth onto his once-polished black boots. afterwards hed arrived here and started searching for Bonnie, hed expected that at any moment, he might stumble across her unconscious(p) body. Hed had a powerful image of what she would look like, queasy and silent in the darkness, long red curls caked with ash. But now he was becoming convinced that, wherever the phantom had taken Bonnie, she wasnt here. Hed come here to be a hero defeat the phantom, save the girl, and ultimately save his girl. What an idiot, he thought, curling his lip at his own foolishness. The phantom hadnt brought him to wherever it was keeping Bonnie. Alone on this ash heap of the moon, he felt oddly rejected. Didnt it want him?A sudden powerful wind pushed against him, and Damon staggered backward a few steps before regaining his balance. The wind brought a sound with it Was that a moan? He altered his course, hunching his shoulders and heading for where he thought the sound had come from. Then the sound came again, a sad, sobbing moan emit behind him.He turned back, but his footsteps were closer together and less confident than usual. What if he was improper and the little witch was hurt and alone somewhere on this godforsaken moo n?He was awful hungry. He pushed his tongue against his aching canines, and they grew knife-sharp. His mouth was so dry he imagined the flow of sweet, rich blood, life itself pulsing against his lips. The moaning came once more, from his leftover this time, and again he swerved toward it. The wind blew against his face, cold and wet with mist. This was al Elenas fault.He was a monster. He was supposed to be a monster, to take blood unflinchingly, to kil without a second thought or care. But Elena had changed al that. She had made him want to protect her. Then he had started looking out for her friends, and final y even saving her provincial little town, when any self-respecting vampire would have either been long gone when the kitsune came, or enjoyed the devastation with warm blood on his lips.Hed done al that hed changed for her and she stil didnt love him.Not enough, anyway. When hed kissed her throat and stroked her hair the other night, who had she been judgeing of? That w eakling Stefan.Its always Stefan, isnt it? a clear, cool voice said behind him. Damon froze, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.Whatever you tried to take from him, the voice continued, you were just fighting to even the scales, because the fact is that he got everything, and you had nothing at al . You just cherished things to be fair.Damon shuddered, not turning around. No one had ever belowstood that. He just wanted things to be fair.Your father cared for him much more than he did for you. Youve always known that, the voice went on. You were the oldest, the heir, but Stefan was the one your father loved. And, in romance, you have always been two steps behind Stefan. Katherine al indicatey loved him by the time you met her then the same sad story happened al over again with Elena. They say they love you, these girls of yours, but they have never loved you best, or most, or only, not even when you give them your full-length heart.Damon shuddered again. He felt a tear run d own his cheek and, infuriated, wiped it away.And you know why that is, dont you, Damon? the instrument went on smoothly. Stefan. Stefans always taken everything youve ever wanted. Hes gotten the things you wanted before you even saw them, and left nothing for you. Elena doesnt love you. She never has and she never wil .Something broke inside Damon at the creatures words, and instantly he snapped back to himself. How make bold the phantom make him question Elenas love? It was the only true thing he knew.A cold breeze fluttered Damons clothing. He couldnt hear the moaning now. And then everything went stil .I know what youre doing, Damon snarled. You think you can trick me? Do you suppose you can turn me against Elena?A soft, wet footstep in the mud sounded behind him. Oh, little vampire, the voice said mockingly.Oh, little phantom, Damon said back, matching the creatures tone. You have no idea the mistake you just made. Steeling himself to leap, he whirled around, fangs ful y exten ded. But before he could pounce, cold strong hands seized him by the throat and pul ed him into the air.Id also recommend burying pieces of iron around whatever youre trying to protect, the shopkeeper suggested. quoits are traditional, but anything made of iron, especial y anything round or curved, wil do. Shed passed through various stages of scepticism as Stefan had tried to buy up what seemed like every single object, herb, or charm cerebrate to protection in the shop, and now had become manical y helpful.I think Ive got everything I need for now, Stefan said politely. Thank you so much for your help.Her dimples shone as she rang up his purchases on the shops old-fashioned metal cash register, and he smiled back. He thought he had managed to decipher every item on Mrs. Flowerss list correctly, and was feeling fairly proud of himself. Someone opened the door to come in, and a cold breeze whooshed into the shop, setting the fancyal items and wal hangings flapping.Do you feel th at? the shopkeeper asked. I think a storms coming. Her hair, caught by the wind, fanned out in the air.Stefan, about to make a pleasant rejoinder, stared in horror. Her long locks, suspended for a moment, twisted their tendrils into one curling strand that spel ed out, clearly and chil inglymattBut if the phantom had found a new target, that meant Elena Stefan whipped around, looking frantical y toward the front of the shop. Elena wasnt there.Are you al right? the shopkeeper asked as Stefan stared wildly around. Ignoring her, he hurried back toward the door of the shop, looking down every aisle, in every nook.Stefan let his condition spread out, reaching for a trace of Elenas distinctive presence. Nothing. She wasnt in the shop. How could he not have noticed her leaving?He pressed his fists into his eyes until little stars burst beneath his lids. This was his fault. He hadnt been feeding on human blood, and his powers were sorely diminished. Why had he let himself get so weak? If h e had been at ful strength, he would have realized immediately that she had gone. It was self-indulgent to give in to his conscience when he had wad to protect.Are you al right? the woman asked again. Shed fol owed him down the aisles of the store, holding out his bag, and was looking at him anxiously.Stefan took hold of the bag. The girl I came in with, he said urgently. Did you see where she went?Oh, she replied, frowning. She went back outside when we were heading off to look through the incense section.That long ago. Even the shopkeeper had noticed Elena leaving.Stefan gave a jerky gesticulate of thanks before striding out into the dazzling sunlight. He looked frantical y up and down Main Street.He felt a wave of relief when he spotted her sitting on a bench outside the drugstore a few doors down. But then he took note of her slumped posture, her beautiful fairish head resting limply on one of her shoulders.Stefan was at her side in a flash, grateful to find her active shal ow yet steady, her pulse strong. But she was unconscious.Elena, he said, gently stroking her cheek. Elena, wake up. Come back to me. She didnt move. He shook her arm a bit harder. Elena Her body flopped on the bench, but neither her breathing nor the steady beat of her heart changed at al .Just like Bonnie. The phantom had gotten Elena, and Stefan felt something inside him tear in two. He had failed to protect her, to protect either of them.Stefan gently slid a hand under Elenas body, cupping her head protectively with his other hand, and pul ed her into his arms. He cradled her against him and, channeling what little Power he had left into speed, began to run. Meredith checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time, wondering why Stefan and Elena werent back yet.I cant read this word at al , categoric complained. I swear, I thought my handwriting was bad. It looks like Caleb wrote this with his eyes closed. He had been running his hands through his hair in frustration and it stood up in messy little spikes, and there were faint blue shadows under his eyes. Meredith took a swig of coffee and held out her hand. Matt passed her the notebook hed been examining. Theyd discovered that she was the best at reading Calebs tiny, angular handwriting. Thats an O, I think, she said. Is deosil a word?Yes, said Alaric, sitting up a little straighter. It means clockwise. It represents moving spiritual energy into physical forms. king be something there. Can I see?Meredith handed him the notebook. Her eyes were sore and her muscles stiff from sitting al morning and going through Calebs notebooks, clippings, and pictures. She rol ed her shoulders forward and back, stretching.No, said Alaric after a few minutes of reading. No good. This is just about casting a magic circle.Meredith was about to speak when Stefan appeared in the doorway, pale and wild-eyed. Elena lay unconscious in his arms. Meredith dropped her coffee cup. Stefan she cried, staring in horror. What h appened?The phantoms trapped her, Stefan said, his voice catching. I dont know how.Meredith felt like she was fal ing. Oh no, oh no, she heard herself say in a tiny, shocked voice. Not Elena, too.Matt stood up, glowering. Why didnt you stop it? he asked accusingly.We dont have time for this, Stefan said coldly, and strode past them to the stairs, clutching Elena protectively. In silent accord, Matt, Meredith, and Alaric fol owed him up to the dwell where Bonnie lay sleeping.Mrs. Flowers was knitting by her bedside, and her mouth opened into an O of dismay when she saw who Stefan carried. Stefan gently placed Elena on the other side of the two-base hit bed by Bonnies pale and tiny form.Im sorry, Matt said slowly. I shouldnt have blamed you. But what happened?Stefan just shrugged, looking stricken.Merediths heart squeezed in her chest at the sight of her two best friends laid out like rag dol s. They were so stil . Even in sleep, Elena had always been more mobile, more expressive tha n this. Over the course of a jet sleepovers, ever since they were little, Meredith had seen sleeping Elena smile, rol herself more tightly in the blankets, snuggle her face into the pil ows. Now the pinkand-gold-and-cream-colored warmth of Elena seemed worn and cold.And Bonnie, Bonnie who was so vibrant and quickmoving, shed hardly ever kept stil for more than a moment or two in her whole life. Now she was motionless, frozen, almost colorless except for the dark dots of her freckles against her pale cheeks and the scintillant expanse of red hair on her pil ow. If it werent for the slight rise and fal of their chests, both girls could have been mannequins.I dont know, Stefan said again, the words sounding more panicked this time, and looked up to meet Merediths eyes. I dont know what to do.Meredith cleared her throat. We cal ed the hospital to check on Caleb while you were gone, she said careful y, knowing what effect her words would have. Hes been released.Stefans eyes flashed mu rderously. I think, he said, his voice like a knife, that we should pay Caleb a visit.Elena was suspended in darkness. She wasnt alarmed, though. It was like floating slowly under warm water, gently bobbing in the current, and a part of her wondered distantly and without aid whether it was possible that she had never come up out of the waterfal basin at Hot Springs. Had she been drifting and envisage al this time?Then suddenly she was speeding, bursting upward, and she opened her eyes on dazzling daylight and gulped a long, shaky breath.Soulful, worried dark brown eyes gazed down into hers from a pale face hovering higher up her.Bonnie? Elena gasped.Elena Thank God, Bonnie cried, grabbing her by the arms in a viselike grip. Ive been here al by myself for days and days, or what feels like days and days anyway, because the light never changes, so I cant tel by the sun. And theres nothing to do here. I cant figure out how to get out, and theres nothing to eat, although Im eldritchl y not hungry, so I guess it doesnt matter. I tried to sleep to pass the time, but I wasnt get tired, either. And suddenly you were here, and I was so happy to see you, but you wouldnt wake up, and I was getting real y worried. Whats going on?I dont know, Elena said groggily. The last thing I remember is organism on a bench. I think I got caught by some kind of mystical fog.Me too Bonnie exclaimed. Not the bench part, but the fog part. I was in my room at the boardinghouse, and this weird fog trapped me. She shivered theatrical y. I couldnt move at al . And I was so cold. all of a sudden her eyes widened with guilt. I was doing a spel when it happened, and something came up behind me and said stuff. Nasty things.Elena shuddered. I heard a voice, too.Do you think I set something loose? When I was doing the spel ? Ive been worrying that maybe I might have done so accidental y. Bonnies face was white.It wasnt your fault, Elena reassured her. We think its the phantom the thing thats b een make the accidents that it stole your spirit so it could use your power for itself. And now its taken me, I guess.She quickly told Bonnie about the phantom, then pushed up on her elbows and real y looked around for the first time.I cant see were here again.Where? asked Bonnie anxiously. Where are we?It was midday and a sunlit blue sky stretched brightly overhead. Elena was middling sure it was always midday here It certainly had been the last time shed been here. They were in a wide, long field that seemed to go on forever. As far as Elena could see, there were tal bushes growing rosebushes with perfect velvet-textured black blooms. Midnight roses. Richly magical roses grown for holding spel s only the kitsune could coat onto them. A kitsune had sent Stefan one of these roses once, with a spel to make him human, but Damon had accidental y intercepted it, much to both brothers dismay.Were in the kitsunes magic rose field, the one that the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures ope ns into, she told Bonnie.Oh, Bonnie said. She thought for a moment and then asked helplessly, What are we doing here? Is the phantom a kitsune?I dont think so, Elena answered. Maybe its just a convenient place to cache us.Elena took a deep breath. Bonnie was a good person to be with in a crisis. Not good in the way that Meredith was Merediths way was the planning-and-getting-things-done way but good in that Bonnie looked up at Elena trustingly with big, innocent eyes and asked questions, confident that Elena would know the answers. And Elena would immediately feel competent and protective, as if she could deal with whatever situation they were embroiled in. Like right now. With Bonnie depending on her, Elenas mind was running(a) more clearly than it had for days. Any moment now, shed come up with a plan to get them out of here. Any moment now, she was sure.Bonnies cold, smal fingers worked their way into Elenas hand. Elena, are we dead? she asked in a tiny, quavering voice.Were th ey dead? Elena wondered. She didnt think so. Bonnie had been alive after the phantom took her, but unwakeable. It was more likely their spirits had traveled here on the astral plane and their bodies were back in Fel s Church.Elena? Bonnie repeated anxiously. Do you think were dead?Elena opened her mouth to respond when a crackling, stomping noise interrupted her. The rosebushes nearby began to thrash wildly, and there was a great rushing sound that seemed to come from every direction at once. The snapping of branches was deafening, as if something colossal was shoving its way through the bracken. Al around them, thorny rosebush branches whipped back and forth, although there was no wind. She yelped as one of the waving branches smacked her across the arm, gashing her skin open.Bonnie let out a wail, and Elenas heart beat double time in her chest. She whirled around, pushing Bonnie behind her. She bal ed her hands into fists and crouched, trying to remember what Meredith had taught her about fighting an attacker. But as she looked around, al she could see for miles were roses. Black, perfect roses.Bonnie gave a smal whimper and pressed closer to Elenas back.Suddenly Elena felt a sharp, aching tug rip through her, as if something were being pul ed slowly but firmly out of her torso. She gasped and stumbled, clutching her hands to her stomach. This is it, she thought numbly, feeling as though every bone in her body were being ground to a pulp. I am going to die.