Лиза Смит - The Return - Midnight

He told her a garbled version of Stefan’s story, omitting Elena or any nonsense about wanting to be human. He said that when he managed to escape the prison that had taken his vampire self, he decided to end his own human life.

But at that moment, he had seen Princess Jessalyn and thought that, serving her, he would be happy with his sorry lot. Alas, he said, it only fed his disgraceful feelings for her highness.

“Now my madness has driven me to actually accost you in your own chambers.

Make an example of me, your highness, that will cause other evildoers to tremble.

Burn me, have me flogged and quartered, put my head on a pike to cause those who might do you ill to cast themselves into a fire first.” He was now in bed with her, leaning back a little to expose his bare throat.

“Don’t be silly,” Jessalyn said, with a little catch in her voice. “Even the meanest of my servants wants to live.”

“Perhaps the ones that never see you do. Scullions, stable boys — but I cannot live, knowing that I can never have you.”

The princess looked Damon over, blushed, gazed for a moment into his eyes… and then she bit him.

“I’ll get Stefan to go down to the root cellar,” Elena said to Meredith, who was angrily thumbing tears out of her eyes.

“You know we can’t do that. With the police right here in the house—”

“Then I’ll do it—”

“You can’t! You know you can’t, Elena, or you wouldn’t have come to me!”

Elena looked at her friend closely. “Meredith, you’ve been donating blood all along,” she whispered. “You never seemed even slightly bothered…”

“He only took a tiny bit — always less from me than anyone. And always from my arm. I just pretended I was having blood drawn at the doctor’s. No problem. It wasn’t even bad with Damon back in the Dark Dimension.”

“But now…” Elena blinked. “Now — what?”

“Now,” Meredith said with a faraway expression, “Stefan knows that I’m a hunter-slayer. That I even have a fighting stave. And now I have to…to submit to…”

Elena had gooseflesh. She felt as if the distance from her to Meredith in the room was getting larger. “A hunter-slayer?” she said, bewildered. “And what’s a fighting stave?”

“There’s no time to explain now! Oh, Elena…”

If Plan A was Meredith and Plan B was Matt, there was really no choice. Plan C had to be Elena herself. Her blood was much stronger than anyone else’s anyway, so full of Power that Stefan would only need a“ No!” Meredith whispered right in Elena’s ear, somehow managing to hiss a word without a single sibilant. “They’re coming down the stairs. We have to find Stefan now! Can you tell him to meet me in the little bedroom behind the parlor?”

“Yes, but—”

“Do it!”

And I still don’t know what a fighting stave is, Elena thought, allowing Meredith to take her arms and propel her toward the bedroom. But I know what a “hunterslayer” sounds like, and I definitely don’t like it. And that weapon — it makes a stake look like a plastic picnic knife. Still, she sent to Stefan, who was following the sheriffs downstairs: Meredith is going to donate as much blood as you need to Influence them. There’s no time to argue. Come here fast and for God’s sake look cheerful and reassuring.

Stefan didn’t sound cooperative. I can’t take enough from her for our minds to touch. It mightElena lost her temper. She was frightened; she was suspicious of one of her two best friends — a horrible feeling — and she was desperate. She needed Stefan to do just as she said. Get here fast! was all she projected, but she had the feeling that she’d hit him with all of the feelings full force, because he suddenly turned concerned and gentle. I will, love, he said simply.

While the female police officer was searching the kitchen and the male the living room, Stefan stepped into the small first-floor guest room, with its single rumpled bed. The lamps were turned off but with his night vision he could see Elena and Meredith perfectly well by the curtains. Meredith was holding herself as stiffly as an acrophobic bungee jumper.

Take all you need without permanently harming her — and try to put her to sleep, too. And don’t invade her mind too deeplyI’ll take care of it. You’d better get out in the hallway, let them see at least one of us, love, Stefan replied soundlessly. Elena was obviously simultaneously frightened for and defensive about her friend and had sped right into micromanagement mode. While this was usually a good thing, if there was one thing Stefan knew about — even if it was the only thing he knew — it was taking blood.

“I want to ask for peace between our families,” he said, reaching one hand toward Meredith. She hesitated and Stefan, even trying his hardest, could not help but hearing her thoughts, like small, scuttling creatures at the base of her mind.

What was she committing herself to? In what sense did he mean family?

It’s really just a formality, he told her, trying to gain ground on another front: her acceptance of the touch of his thoughts to hers. Never mind it.

“No,” Meredith said. “It’s important. I want to trust you, Stefan. Only you, but…I didn’t get the stave until after Klaus was dead.”

He thought swiftly. “Then you didn’t know what you were—”

“No. I knew. But my parents were never active. It was Grandpa who told me about the stave.”

Stefan felt a surge of unexpected pleasure. “So your grandfather’s better now?”

“No…sort of.” Meredith’s thoughts were confusing. His voice changed, she was thinking. Stefan was truly happy that Grandpa’s better. Even most humans wouldn’t care — not really.

“Of course I care,” Stefan said. “For one thing, he helped save all our lives — and the town. For another, he’s a very brave man — he must have been — to survive an attack by an Old One.”

Suddenly, Meredith’s cold hand was around his wrist and words were tumbling from her lips in a rush that Stefan could barely understand. But her thoughts stood bright and clear under those words, and through them he got the meaning.

“All I can know about what happened when I was very young is what I’ve been told. My parents told me things. My parents changed my birthday — they actually changed the day we celebrate my birthday on — because a vampire attacked my grandpa, and then my grandpa tried to kill me. They’ve always said that. But how do they know? They weren’t there — that’s part of what they say. And what’s more likely, that my grandpa attacked me or that the vampire did?” She stopped, panting, trembling all over like a white-tailed doe caught in the forest. Caught, and thinking she was doomed, and unable to run.

Stefan put out a hand that he deliberately made warm around Meredith’s cold one. “I won’t attack you,” he said simply. “And I won’t disturb any old memories.

Good enough?”

Meredith nodded. After her cathartic story Stefan knew she wanted as few words as possible.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, just as he had thought the soothing phrase into the mind of many an animal he’d chased through the Old Wood. It’s all right.

There’s no reason to fear me.

She couldn’t help being afraid, but Stefan soothed her as he soothed the forest animals, drawing her into the darkest shadow of the room, calming her with soft words even as his canines screamed at him to bite. He had to fold down the side of her blouse to expose her long, olive-skinned column of neck, and as he did the calming words turned into soft endearments and the kind of reassuring noises he would use to comfort a baby.

And at last, when Meredith’s breathing had slowed and evened and her eyes had drifted shut, he used the greatest of care to slide his aching fangs into her artery.