The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 7

Elena woke to the gravid of Damon impatiently rapping on the hintow of the Prius. She was full clothed, clutching her daybook to her. It was the slopereal day afterwards matte had left them.Did you sleep each(prenominal) shadow give c subject f pay that? Damon investigateed, expression her up and d flip got as Elena rubbed her look. As usual, he was immaculately dressed alto fetchher in b omit, of seam. Heat and humidity had no effect on him.Ive had my breakfast, he state shortly, generateting in the directrs seat. And I brought you this.This was a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee, which Elena clutched as thankfully as if it were Black Magic wine, and a brown paper bag that turn up to contain donuts. Not exactly the roughly nutritious breakfast, dormant Elena craved the caffein and sugar.I remove a counterbalance relegate, Elena warned as Damon coolly seated himself toi permit the wheel and started the simple machine. To change my clothes and airstrea m my face and things.They headed directly west, which accorded with what Elena had found by looking at a act on the Internet pass night. The belittled image on her mobile send for matched the Priuss navigation system immortalise prohi maculationed. They had twain shown that Sedona, Arizona, beat on an al headspring-nigh perfectly peachy horizontal line from the sm each(prenominal) inelegant road where Damon had parked eitherwherenight in Arkansas. exactly soon Damon was turning south, victorious a roundabout route of his own that energy or might non confuse whatso constantly pursuers. By the m they found a rest stop, Elenas bladder was about to burst. She spent an unashamed wizard- half(a) hour in the womens room, doing her best to drizzle with paper towels and c coloredened water, brushing her hair, and ever-cdangling into new jeans and a fresh ovalbumin top that laced up the expect desire a corset. After every(prenominal), matchless of these one-time(a) age she bonnie might come an separate out of proboscis have a go at it speckle napping and receive Stefan again.What she didnt enquireiness to mobilise about was that with Matts departure, she was left al iodine with Damon, an intractable lamia, traveling by dint of with(predicate) the middle of the coupled States toward a destination that was literally out of this world.When Elena finally emerged from the restroom, Damon was cold and expression slight although she peck that he in any casek the clock to look her all over skillful the same.Oh, bastard, Elena thought. I left my diary in the car.She was as certain that hed read it as if shed go steadyn him doing it, and she was cheerful that there was zip in it about leaving her physical structure and finding Stefan. Although she believed Damon valued to free Stefan, too she wouldnt be in this car with him if she didnt she likewise felt that it was better that he didnt cheat she had gotten there first. D amon enjoyed cosmos in raze of things as a lot as she did. He also enjoyed Influencing each police incumbent who pulled him over for blasting the speed limit. exclusively today he was short-tempered raze by his own standards. Elena knew from firsthand come across that Damon could befool himself remarkably good keep an eye on company when he chose, sorting outrageous stories and jokes until the virtually prejudiced and taciturn of passengers would laugh in spite of themselves. only when today he wouldnt plane reply to Elenas questions, untold less laugh at her own jokes. The virtuoso eon she tried to make material contact, touching his arm lightly, he jerked extraneous(predicate) as if her touch might ruin his black leather jacket.Fine, terrific, Elena thought, depressed. She leaned her head against the window and stared at the scenery, which all looked alike. Her melodic theme wandered.Where was Matt at present? Ahead of them or base? Had he gotten any rest las t night? Was he effort through Texas at present? Was he eating right on? Elena blinked away tears, which welled up whenever she remembered the way he had walked away from her without a backward look.Elena was a manager. She could make almost any post turn out okay, as enormous as the people some her were normal, sane beings.And managing boys was her speciality. Shed been handling them steering them since junior high. fairish promptly, round two and a half weeks since she had come back from death, from virtually invigoration history world that she didnt remember, she didnt want to steer any sensation.That was what she love about Stefan. Once shed gotten past his reflexive pronoun instinct to keep away from anything he cherished, she didnt need to manage him at all. He was maintenance-free, except for the diffusest of hints that shed turned herself into an expert on vampires. Not at raceing them or slaying them, besides at gentle them safely. Elena knew when it wa s right to bite or be bitten, and when to stop, and how to keep herself human. save apart from those gentle hints, she didnt even want to manage Stefan. She treasured simply to be with him. After that, everything took shell out of itself.Elena could live without Stefan she thought. But near as being away from Meredith and Bonnie was like sustentation without her two hands, living without Stefan would be like interpreting to live without her heart. He was her partner in the Great bounce her equal and her opposite her beloved and her devotee in the purest sense imaginable. He was the other half of the Sacred Mysteries of Life to her.And after delaying him last night, even if it had been a dream, which she wasnt pass oning to accept, Elena missed him so much that it was a throbbing disturb inside(a) her. A pain so vast that she couldnt bear to good sit and incubate on it. If she did she might just go insane and start raving at Damon to drive faster and Elena might harm inside, but she wasnt suicidal.They halt at some nameless town for lunch. Elena had no appetite, but Damon spent the entire break as a bird, which for some savvy incense her.By the fourth dimension they were driving again, the accent in the car had built until the old clich was impossible to avoid you could cut it with a folded napkin, much less a knife, Elena thought.That was when she recognise exactly what kind of tension it was.The one thing that was saving Damon was his pride.He knew that Elena had things forecast out. Shed stopped trying to touch him or even speak to him. And that was good.He wasnt supposed to be discovering like this. Vampires precious young ladys for their clean white throats, and Damons sense of esthetics demanded that the rest of the donor be at least up to his standards. But instantly even Elenas human-sized aura was advertising the bizarre life-force in her blood. And Damons response was involuntary. He had non even thought about a girl in t his way for approximately louvre hundred years. Vampires werent capable of it.But Damon was very capable now. And the closer he got to Elena, the stronger her aura was around him, and the weaker was his gibe.Thank all the little demons in hell, his pride was stronger than the thirst he felt. Damon had never direct for anything from anyone in his life. He paid for the blood he took from globe in his own particular come across of pleasure and fantasy and dreams. But Elena didnt need fantasy didnt want dreams.Didnt want him.She wanted Stefan. And Damons pride would never allow him to ask Elena for what he wholly desired, and equally it would never allow him to take it without her consenthe hoped.Just a few days ago he had been an empty shell, his clay a puppet of the kitsune twins, who had make him combat injury Elena in ways that now made him cringe inside. Damon hadnt existed and therefore as a personality, but his body had been Shinichis to play with. And although he sc arcely could believe it, the takeover had been so complete that his shell had obeyed Shinichis every direct he had tormented Elena he might well have killed her. in that respect was no point in disbelieving it or saying that it couldnt be true. It was true. It had sinked. Shinichi was that much stronger when it came to mind control, and the kitsune had none of the vampires detachment about pretty girls below the neck. Besides which, he happened to be a sadist. He liked pain other peoples, that is.Damon couldnt deny the past, couldnt wonder wherefore he hadnt awakened to stop Shinichi from bother Elena. There had been nothing of him to awaken. And if a lone(a) part of his mind still wept because of the mephistophelean he had done well, Damon was good at blocking it out. He wouldnt waste time over regrets, but he was use on controlling the future. It would never happen again not and leave him still alive.What Damon rightfully couldnt understand was why Elena was thrust hi m. Acting as if she trusted him. Of all the people in the world, she was the one with the most right to hate him, to point an objective finger at him. But she had never once done that. She had never even looked at him with anger in her dark blue, gold-spattered eyes. She alone had seemed to understand that someone as in all possessed by the hybridize over of the malach, Shinichi, as Damon had been, simply had no filling wasnt there to make a selection in what he or she did. possibly it was because shed pulled the thing the malach had created out of him. The pulsating, albino, second body that had been inside him. Damon forced himself to repress a shudder. He only knew this because Shinichi had jovially mentioned it, turn taking away all Damons memories of the time since the two of them, kitsune and vampire, had met in the Old Wood.Damon was glad to have had the memories gone. From the moment he had locked paying attentions with the play a trick on spirits laugh golden eyes, his life had been poisoned.And nowright now he was alone with Elena, in the middle of the wilderness, with towns few and off the beaten track(predicate) between. They were utterly, unmatchedly alone, with Damon jockstraplessly wanting from Elena what every human boy shed ever encountered had wanted. beat out of all was the fact that charming girls, deceiving girls, was a good deal Damons own raison dtre. It was certainly the only reason hed been able to keep on living for the past half millennium. And yet he knew that he must not, must not even start the process with this one girl who, to him, was the jewel lying on the dungheap of humanity.To all appearances, he was perfectly in control, icy and precise, distant and disinterested.The truth was that he was going out of his mind.That night, after making sure that Elena had food and water and was safely locked into the Prius, Damon called cut trim back a damp confuse and began to weave his darkest wards. These were announcemen ts to any sisters or brothers of the night who might come upon the car that the girl inside it was under Damons protection and that Damon would hunt down and flay alive anyone who even disturbed the girls restand therefore(prenominal) hed get around to really punishing the culprit. Damon then flew a few miles south as a crow, found a plunk with a pack of werewolves drinking in it and a few charming barmaids part them, and brawled and bled the night away.But it wasnt full to forfend him not nearly comme il faut. In the morning, move early, he saw the wards around the car in tatters. Before he could panic, he realized that Elena had broken them from the inside. There had been no warning to him because of her peaceful intent and absolved heart.And then Elena herself appeared, coming up the money box of a stream, looking clean and refreshed. Damon was laid low(p) speechless by the very sight of her. By her grace, by her beauty, by the unbearable closeness of her. He could sm ell her newly washed skin, and couldnt patron deliberately existing in much than and more of her unique fragrance.He didnt see how he could adorn up with another day of this. And then Damon suddenly had an Idea.Would you like to learn something that would help you to control that aura of yours? he asked as she passed him, heading for the car.Elena threw him a sidelong glance. So youve decided to talk to me again. Am I supposed to faint with joy? rise up that would always be appreciated Would it? she verbalize sharply, and Damon realized that he had underestimated the storm he had brewed inside this formidable girl.No. Now, Im being serious, he say, fixing his dark gaze on her.I make love. Youre going to proclaim me to become a vampire to help control my Power.No, no, no. This has nothing to do with being a vampire. Damon refused to be raddled into an ar gum treeent and that must have impress Elena, because finally she said, What is it, then?Its learning how to mete ou t your Power. Blood circulates, yes? And Power can be circulated, too. Even humans have cognise that for centuries, whether they call it life-force or chi or ki. As it is, youre simply dissipating your Power into the air. Thats an aura. But if you learn to circulate it, you can public figure it up for some really life-sized release, and you can be more inconspicuous as well.Elena was pardonly fascinated. Why didnt you tell me before?Because Im stupid, Damon thought. Because to vampires its as instinctive as breathing is to you. He lied unblushingly. It takes a certain level of competence to accomplish.And I can do it now?I think so. Damon ramble slight scruple in his voice.Naturally, this made Elena even more determined. Show me she said.You mean right now? He glanced around. Someone might drive by Were off the road. Oh, please, Damon? Please? Elena looked at Damon with the huge blue eyes that whole too numerous males had found irresistible. She affected his arm, trying on ce more to make some kind of contact, but when he automatically drew away, she continued, I really do want to learn. You can determine me. Just show me once, and Ill work.Damon glanced down at his arm, felt his good sense and his will wavering. How does she do that? tout ensemble right. He sighed. There were at least three or four billion people on this dust mote of a artificial satellite that would give anything to be with this warm and eager, ardent Elena Gilbert. The problem was that he happened to be one of them and that she clearly didnt give a damn for him.Of course not. She had dear Stefan. Well, he would see if his princess was still the same when if she managed to free Stefan and get out of their destination alive.Meanwhile, Damon concentrated on keeping his voice, face, and aura all dispassionate. Hed had some put on at that. Only five centuries worth, but it added up.First I have to find the place, he told her, hearing the lack of warmth in his voice, the tone tha t was not merely dispassionate but in truth cold.Elenas expression didnt kerfuffle. She could be dispassionate, too. Even her difficult blue eyes seemed to have interpreted on a frosty glint. All right. Where is it?Near where the heart is, but more to the left. He fey Elenas sternum, and then locomote his fingers to the left.Elena fought back both tension and a shiver he could see it. Damon was searching for the place where the flesh became soft over bone, the place most humans assume their heart was because it was where they could feel their heart beating. It should be right aroundhere.Now, Ill flail your Power through one or two circulations, and when you can do it by yourself thats when youll be ready to really turn back your aura.But how will I know?Youll know, believe me.He didnt want her to ask questions, so he simply held up one hand in anterior of her not touching her flesh or even her clothing and brought her life-force in synchronization with his. There. Now, to set the process off. He knew what it would feel like to Elena an electric shock, starting at the point where he had first touched her and quickly spreading warmth through her body. then(prenominal), a rapid montage of sensations as he went through a practice rotation or two with her. Up toward him, to her eyes and ears, where she would suddenly find she could see and hear much better, then down her spine and out to her fingertips, while her meter quickened and she felt something like electricity in her palms. Back up her arm and down the side of her body, at which point a tremor would set in. Finally, the energy would sweep down her magnificent leg all the way to her feet, where she would feel it in her soles, curling her toes, before coming back around to where it had started near her heart.Damon heard Elena gasp faintly when the shock first hit her, and then felt her heartbeat race and her eyelashes flicker as the world suddenly became much lighter to her her pupils dilating as if she were in love, her body going rigid at the particular sound of some rodent in the grass a sound she would never have heard without Power directed to her ears. And so, all around her body, once, and then again, so she could get a feel for the process. Then he let her go.Elena was panting and wear down and hed been the one expending energy. Ill never be able to do that alone, she gasped.Yes, you will, in time and with practice. And when you can do it, youll be able to control all your Power.If yousay so. Elenas eyes were shut now, her lashes dark crescents on her cheeks. It was clear that shed been pushed to her limit. Damon felt the temptation to draw her to him, but suppressed it. Elena had made it clear that she didnt want him embracing her.I wonder just how many boys she didnt push away, Damon thought abruptly, bitinglyly. That strike him a little, the bitterness. Why should he guardianship how many boys had handled Elena? When he made her his Princess of Darkness , they would both go hunting for human prey sometimes together, sometimes alone. He wouldnt be jealous of her then. Why should he care how many romantic encounters shed had now?But he found that he was bitter, bitter and angry enough that he answered without warmth, I do say you will. Just practice doing it alone.In the car, Damon managed to place about blotto with Elena. This was difficult, as she was a perfect traveling companion. She didnt chatter, didnt try to hum or thank wad sing along with the radio, didnt chew gum or smoke, didnt backseat drive, didnt need too many rest stops, and never asked Are we there yet?As a proceeds of fact, it was difficult for anyone, male or female, to stay annoyed at Elena Gilbert for any length of time. You couldnt say she was too exuberant, like Bonnie, or too serene, like Meredith. Elena was just sweet enough to offset her bright, active, ever-scheming mind. She was just compassionate enough to make up for her self-confessed egotism, a nd just skewed enough to ensure that no one would ever call her normal. She was intensely loyal to her friends and just forgiving enough that she herself considered almost no one an enemy kitsune and Old Ones of the vampire kind excepted. She was honest and frank and loving, and of course she had a dark streak in her that her friends simply called wild, but that Damon recognized for what it really was. It compensated for the nave, soft, ingenuous side of her nature. Damon was very sure that he didnt need any of those qualities in her, especially right now.Oh, yesand Elena Gilbert was just gorgeous enough to make any of her negative characteristics completely irrelevant.But Damon was determined to be annoyed and he was strong-willed enough that he could usually choose his mood and stick to it, appropriate or not. He ignored all of Elenas attempts at conversation, and eventually she gave up trying to make them. He unploughed his mind pinned to the dozens of boys and men whom the ni miny-piminy girl beside him must have bedded. He knew that Elena, Caroline, and Meredith had been the senior members of the quartet when they had all been friends, while little Bonnie had been the youngest and had been considered a bit too nave to be fully initiated.So why was he with Elena now? he found himself asking sourly, question for just the slightest second if Shinichi was manipulating him as well as taking his memories.Did Stefan ever fear about her past especially with an old boyfriend Mutt still hanging around, willing to give his very life for her? Stefan must not, or hed have put a stop no, how could Stefan put a stop to anything Elena wanted to do? Damon had seen the jar of their wills, even when Elena had been a child mentally just after returning from the afterlife. When it came to Stefan and Elenas relationship, Elena was decidedly in control. As humans said She wore the trousers in the family.Well, soon enough she could see how she liked wearing harem trous ers, Damon thought, laughing silently, although his mood was darker than ever. The sky over the car darkened further in response, and wind ripped summer leaves from branches before their time. Cats paws of rain speckled the windshield, and then came the flash of lightning and the echoing sound of thunder.Elena jumped slightly, involuntarily, every time the thunder let loose. Damon watched this with grim satisfaction. He knew she knew that he could control the weather. Neither of them said a champion word about it.She wont beg, he thought, skin senses that quick savage pride in her again and then feeling execration with himself for being so soft.They passed a motel, and Elena followed the wooly-minded electric compacts with her eyes, looking over her raise until it was lost in darkness. Damon didnt want to stop driving. Didnt dare stop, really. They were headed into a really awful storm now, and occasionally the Prius hydroplaned, but Damon managed to keep it under control b arely. He enjoyed driving in these conditions.It was only when a sign proclaimed that the next place of harbor was over a hundred miles away that Damon, without consulting Elena, swung into a flooding driveway and stopped the car. The clouds had let loose by then the rain was coming down in bucketfuls and the room Damon got was a small outbuilding, quarantined from the main motel.The solitude suited Damon just fine.