Лиза Смит: The Return: Shadow Souls

“No — no!” Elena was struggling alone in darkness. “Let go — I have to find — I can’t believe that I forgot—”

“Elena.” Damon’s voice was calm and gentle — or at least unemotional. “If you keep jerking around like that you’re going to get free — and it’s a long way to the ground.”

Elena opened her eyes, all her memories of rocks and little children flying away, scattering like white dandelion silk in every direction. She looked at Damon accusingly.

“You — you—”

“Yes,” Damon said composedly. “Blame it on me. Why not? But I did not Influence you, and I did not bite you. I merely kissed you. Your Powers did the rest; they may be uncontrollable, but they’re extremely compelling all the same. Frankly, I never intended to get sucked in so deeply — if you’ll forgive a pun.”

His voice was light, but Elena had a sudden inner vision of a weeping child, and she wondered if he were really as indifferent as he seemed.

But that’s his speciality, isn’t it? she thought, suddenly bitter. He gives out dreams, fancies, pleasure that stays in the minds of his…donors. Elena knew that the girls and young women that Damon…preyed on…adored him, their only complaint being that he didn’t visit them often enough.

“I understand,” Elena said to him as they drifted closer to the ground. “But this can’t happen again. There’s only one person that I can kiss, and that’s Stefan.”

Damon opened his mouth, but just then there was the sound of a voice that was as furious and accusing as Elena had been, and which didn’t care about the consequences. Elena remembered the other person she’d forgotten.

“DAMON, YOU BASTARD, BRING HER DOWN!”

Matt.

Elena and Damon came to a twirling, elegant stop, right beside the Jaguar. Matt immediately ran to Elena and snatched her away, examining her as if she had been in an accident, with particular attention to her neck. Once again Elena was uncomfortably aware of being dressed in a lacy white nightgown in the presence of two boys.

“I’m fine, honestly,” she said to Matt. “I’m just a little bit dizzy. I’ll be better in a few minutes.”

Matt let out a breath of relief. He might not still be in love with her as he once had been, but Elena knew he cared deeply about her and always would. He cared about her as his friend Stefan’s girlfriend, and also on her own merits. She knew he would never forget the time they had been together.

More, he believed in her. So right now, when she promised that she was all right, he believed that. He was even willing to give Damon a look that wasn’t completely hostile.

And then both of the boys headed for the driver’s side door of the Jag.

“ Oh , no,” Matt said. “You drove yesterday — and look what happened! You said it yourself — there are vampires trailing us!”

“You’re saying it’s my fault? Vampires are tracing this fire-engine-red-paint-job giant and it’s somehow my doing?”

Matt simply looked stubborn: his jaw clenched, his tanned skin flushed. “I’m saying we should take turns. You’ve had your turn.”

“I don’t recall anything ever being said about ‘taking turns.’” Damon managed to give the word an inflection that made it sound like some rather wicked activity. “And if I go in a car, I drive the car.”

Elena cleared her throat. Neither of them even noticed her.

“I’m not getting into a car if you’re driving!” Matt said furiously.

“ I’m not getting into a car if you’re driving!” Damon said laconically.

Elena cleared her throat more loudly, and Matt finally remembered her existence.

“Well, Elena can’t be expected to drive us all the way to wherever we’re going,” he said, before she could even suggest the possibility. “Unless we’re going to get there today,” he added, looking at Damon sharply.

Damon shook his dark head. “No. I’m taking the scenic route. And the fewer people who know where we’re going the safer we’re going to be. You can’t tell if you don’t know.”

Elena felt as if someone had just lightly touched the hairs on the back of her neck with an ice cube. The way Damon said those words…

“But they’ll already know where we’re going, won’t they?” she asked, shaking herself back to practicality. “They know we want to rescue Stefan, and they know where Stefan is.”

“Oh, yes. They’ll know we’re trying to get into the Dark Dimension. But by what gate? And when? If we can lose them the only thing we need to worry about is Stefan and the prison guards.”

Matt looked around. “How many gates are there?”

“Thousands. Wherever three ley lines cross, there’s the potential for a gate. But since the Europeans drove the Native Americans out of their homes, most of the gates aren’t used or maintained as they were in the old days.” Damon shrugged.

But Elena was tingling all over with excitement, with anxiety. “Why don’t we just find the nearest gate and go through it, then?”

“Travel all the way to the prison underground? Look, you don’t understand at all. First of all, you need me with you to get you into a gate — and even then it isn’t going to be pleasant.”

“Not pleasant for who? Us or you?” Matt asked grimly.

Damon gave him a long, blank look. “If you tried on your own it would be briefly and terminally unpleasant for you. With me, it should be uncomfortable but a matter of routine. And as for what it’s like traveling for even a few days down there — well, you’ll see for yourselves, eventually,” Damon said, with an odd smile. “And it would take much, much longer than going by a main gate.”

“Why?” Matt demanded — always ready to ask questions that Elena really, really didn’t want to know the answers to.

“Because it’s either jungle, where five-foot leeches dropping from the trees are going to be the least of your worries, or wasteland, where any enemy can spot you — and everyone is your enemy.”

There was a pause while Elena thought hard . Damon looked serious. Clearly, he really didn’t want to do it — and not many things bothered Damon. He liked fighting. More, if it would only waste time…

“All right,” Elena said slowly. “We’ll go on with your plan.”

Immediately, both boys reached for the driver’s side door handle again.

“Listen,” Elena said without looking at either of them. “ I am going to drive my Jaguar down to the next town. But first I am going to get in it and get changed into real clothes and maybe even catch a few minutes of sleep. Matt will want to find a brook or something where he can clean up. And then I’m going to whatever town is closest for some brunch. After that—”

“—the bickering can begin anew,” Damon finished for her. “You do that, darling. I’ll meet you at whatever greasy spoon you’ve selected.”

Elena nodded. “You’re sure you’ll be able to find us? I am trying to hold my aura down, really.”

“Listen, a fire-engine-red Jaguar in whatever flyspeck of a town you find down this road is going to be as conspicuous as a UFO,” Damon said.

“Why doesn’t he just come with…” Matt’s voice trailed off. Somehow, although it was his deepest grievance against Damon, he often managed to forget that Damon was a vampire.

“So you’re going to go down there first and find some young girl walking to summer school,” Matt said, his blue eyes seeming to darken. “And you’re going to swoop down on her and take her away where no one can hear her screaming and then you’re going to pull her head back and you’re going to sink your teeth into her throat .”