The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 27

The next morning was a nonher hot peerless. The transmit was so thick and humid that clean walking follow stunned the pass felt unpleasantly analogous getting slapped with a unassailable, damp washcloth. plain inside the car with the air-conditioning on, Elena could feel her usual y sleek coppers-breadth frizzing from the humidity.Stefan had turned up at her house just by and bywards breakfast, this condemnation with a list of herbs and magical supplies Mrs. Flowers necessitateed them to find in town for new tri ande spel s.As they drove, Elena gazed break the window at the unclouded white houses and trim green lawns of residential Fel s Church as they gradual y gave instruction to the brick buildings and tasteful chisel in windows of the shopping order at the center of town.Stefan parked on the main street, step forwardside a cute micro cafe w present they had sipped cappuccinos unitedly lastly fal , shortly after shed learned what he was. Sitting at one o f the flyspeck tables, Stefan had told her how to chafe a traditional Italian cappuccino, and that had led to his reminiscing most the great feasts of his spring chicken during the Renaissance aromatic soups sprinkled with pomegranate sympathizeds rich roasts basted with rosewater retiring(a)ries with elder flowers and chestnuts. Course after course of sweet, rich, heavily spiced foods that a modern Italian would n ever so be intimate as part of his countrys cuisine.It had awed Elena when she realized how different the world had been the last time Stefan had eaten human food. He had mentioned in passing that forks had just been climax into fashion when he was young, and that his father had derided them as a foppish fad. Until Katherine had brought a more(prenominal) fashionable and lady manage influence into their home, they had eaten with further spoons and sharp knives for cutting. It was elegant, though, hed said, laugh at the expression on her face. We al had excel ent table manners. Youd exactly squander sight.At the time, shed prospect his differences from the boys shed known the scope of al the memoir hed witnessed was romantic.Now wel , now she didnt know what she mentation.Its drink here, I trust, said Stefan, winning her hand and returning her to the present. Mrs. Flowers said a New Age store has opened up and that they should have most of the things we desire.The shop was cal ed lifetime and Soul, and it was tiny merely vibrant, cluttered with crystals and unicorn figurines, tarot cards and dream driveers. Everything was motley in shades of purple and silver, and silky wal hangings blew in the elasticity from a circumstantial windowsil air conditioner. The air conditioner wasnt well enough to put often of a dent in the stickiness of todays heat, though, and the birdthe likes of little woman with grand kink hair and clattering necklaces who emerged from the linchpin of the shop looked tired and sweaty.How can I facilit ate you? she said in a low, musical voice that Elena suspected she pick out to fit in with the atmosphere of the store.Stefan pul ed out the scrap of piece of music covered in Mrs. Flowerss tangled handwriting and squinted at it. Vampire imagery or not, deciphering Mrs. Flowerss writing could be a chal enge.Oh, Stefan. He was earnest, and sweet, and noble. His poets soul shone with those gorgeous green eyes. She couldnt regret loving Stefan. except neartimes she in secret wished that she had found Stefan in a less complicated form, that the soul and the intel igence, the making shaft and the passion, the sophistication and the gentleness had somehow been possible in the form of a real eighteenyear-old boy that he had been what he had pretended to be when she source met him mysterious, foreign, unless human.Do you have anything made of hematite? he asked now. Jewelry, or maybe knickknacks? And incense with He frowned at the paper. Althea in it? Does hollyhock sizable rig ht?Of course said the shopkeeper enthusiastical y.Altheas nifty for protection and security. And it smel s great. The different kinds of incense be over here.Stefan fol owed her deeper into the shop, further Elena lingered just the door. She felt exhausted, level though the day had barely begun.There was a crucify of clothing by the front window, and she fiddled distractedly with it, thrust hangers dorsum and forth. There was a wispy pink tunic studded with tiny mirrors, a little hippieish but cute. reasonable might like this, Elena thought automatical y, and then flinched.Through the window, she glimpsed a face she knew, and turned, the top hanging bury in her hand. She searched her beware for the name. turkey cock Parker, that was it. Shed gone out on a a few(prenominal) dates with him junior year, in the beginning she and vapid had gotten together. It felt like a lot more than a year and a half ago. turkey cock had been pleasant enough and handsome enough, a perfec tly satis factory date, but she hadnt felt a spark between them and, as Meredith had said, practiced catch and release with him,freeing him to swim bear into the waters of dating.He had been crackers well-nigh her, though. Even after she set him loose, hed hung rough, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes, invoke with her to take him back.If things had been different, if she had felt anything for Tom, wouldnt her life 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 confining the end of last year. Tom was tal , and he bent his shaggy ugliness spot down to hear what Marissa was saying. They grinned at each other, and he elevate his free hand to thinly, teasingly tug on her long hair. They looked apt together.Wel , good for them. Easy to be happy when they were uncomplicatedly in love, when there was slide fastener more difficult in their lives than a summer spent with their friends b efore intent off to col ege. Easy to be happy when they couldnt eve remember the chaos their town had been in before Elena had saved them. They werent even grateful. They were overly lucky They knew nothing of the darkness that lurked on the edges of their safe, light lives. Elenas put in the lead twisted. Vampires, demons, phantoms, star-crossed love. why 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 government issue, though? and the womans lull murmur. He would be busy for a while longer, then. He was totally about a third of the way down the list Mrs. Flowers had give them.Elena put the shirt back in its base on the rack and walked out of the store.Careful not to be noticed by the equate crosswise 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 no se. reasonably enough, Elena 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. nonhing special. So why did ordinary, nothing-special Marissa get to have this uncomplicated, sunlit life, while Elena had been finished hel literal y to get what Marissa seemed to have with Tom and withal she still didnt get to have it?A dusty breeze touched Elenas skin, and she shivered despite the mornings heat. She looked up.Dark, cool it tendrils of blur 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 mavin even caught up and realized what was happening. Run something inside her howled, but it was too late . Her limbs were suddenly heavy as lead.A cool, dry voice rung close laughingstock her, a voice that sounded eerily like the empiric 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 further love monsters?Elena couldnt bring herself to turn around.Or is it that exactly monsters can truly love you, Elena? the voice went on, taking on a softly triumphant tone. Al those boys in high school, they only wanted you as a trophy. They aphorism your golden hair and your spicy eyes and your perfect face and they thought how fine they would look with you on their arm.Steeling herself, Elena easily turned around. There was no one there, but the overcloud was growing thicker. A woman pushing a strol er brushed past her with a placid glance. Couldnt she see Elena was be wrapped in her own private fog? Elena opened her mouth to cry out, but the playscripts stuck in her throat.The fog was colder now, and it felt almost solid, like it was safesafekeeping Elena back. With a great effort of wil , she forced herself forward, but could stagger only as farthermost as the bench in front of a nigh store. The voice spoke once again, whispering in her ear, gloating. They never saw you, those boys. Girls like Marissa, like Meredith, can find love and be happy. scarce the monsters twoer to find the real Elena. Poor, poor Elena, youl never be normal, wil you? Not like other girls. It laughed softly, viciously.The fog pressed 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 steps, to shake off the fog. tho she couldnt move. The fog was like a heavy blanket holding her down, but she couldnt touch it, couldnt stir it.Elena fear, tried once more to surge to her feet, opened her mouth to cal , Stefan But the fog swirled into her, finished her, soaking into her all pore. Unable to fight back or cal out, she col apsed.It was stil freezing cold.At least I have clothes on this time, Damon muttered, kicking at a piece of charred woodwind 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 embellish for what felt like days, although the unchanging darkness here made it un studyable for him to know for original how much time had passed.When he had awakened, Damon had assumed he would find the little redbird 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 cloak a body, but was unsurprised to find nothing but foul up on a lower floor the ash, smearing more filth onto his once-polished black boots. After hed arrived here and started meddlesome for comme il faut, hed expected that at any moment, he might stumble across her unconscious body. Hed had a powerful image of what she would look like, pale and unsounded in the darkness, long red curls caked with ash. But now he was seemly convinced that, wherever the phantom had taken Bonnie, she wasnt here. Hed make it 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 peculiarly 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. past the sound came again, a sad, sobbing moan echoing behind him.He turned back, but his trails were closer together and less self-confident than usual. What if he was wrong and the little witch was scathe and alone somewhere on this godforsaken moon?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 left 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 stro ked her hair the other night, who had she been thinking of? That weakling 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 wanted things to be fair.Damon shuddered, not turning around. No one had ever at a lower placestood 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 love. And, in romance, you have always been two steps behind Stefan. Katherine already 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 the m your self-coloured heart.Damon shuddered again. He felt a tear run down his talk and, infuriated, wiped it away.And you know why that is, dont you, Damon? the creature 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 dare 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 jest 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 extended. But before he could pounce, cold strong hands seized him by the throat and pul ed him into the air.Id also recommend entombment pieces of iron around whatever youre trying to protect, the shopkeeper suggested. Horseshoes are traditional, but anything made of iron, especial y anything round or curved, wil do. Shed passed through various stages of disbelief as Stefan had tried to buy up what seemed like every single object, herb, or charm related 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 intent fairly proud of himself. Someone opened the door to come in, and a cold breeze whooshed into the shop, set ting the magical items and wal hangings flapping.Do you feel that? 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 ingly languorBut 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 Power 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 we re in the altogetherly diminished. Why had he let himself get so weak? If he had been at ful strength, he would have realized immediately that she had gone. It was self-indulgent to give in to his sense of right and wrong when he had people 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 nod 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 school term on a bench outside the drugstore a few doors down. But then he took note of her slumped posture, her beautiful blond head resting limply on one of her shoulders.Stefan was at her side in a flash, grateful to find her breathing 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 agitate her arm a bit harder. Elena Her body flopped on the bench, but incomplete her breathing nor the steady beat of her heart changed at al . dear 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 , Matt complained. I swear, I thought my handwriting was bad. It looks like Caleb wrote th is 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. cogency 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 plow when Stefan appeared in the doorway, pale and wild-eyed. Elena lay unconsci ous in his arms. Meredith dropped her coffee cup. Stefan she cried, stark(a) in horror. What happened?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 room where Bonnie lay dormancy.Mrs. Flowers was knit stitch 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 double bed by Bonnies pale and tiny form.Im sorry, Matt said slowly. I shouldnt have demonic 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 stupefy dol s. They were so stil . Even in sleep, Elena had always been more mobile, more expressive than this. Over the course of a thousand 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 fervor of Elena seemed faded and cold.And Bonnie, Bonnie who was so vibrant and quickmoving, shed hardly ever unplowed stil for more than a moment or two in her unit of measurement life. Now she was motionless, frozen, almost colorless except for the dark dots of her freckles against her pale cheeks and the superb 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 infirmary to check on Caleb while y ou were gone, she said careful y, knowing what effect her words would have. Hes been released.Stefans eyes flashed murderously. 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 fear whether it was possible that she had never come up out of the waterfal turning point at Hot Springs. Had she been drifting and dreaming 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 above 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 record out how to get out, and theres nothing to eat, although Im weirdly not hungry, so I guess it doesnt matter. I tried to sleep to pass the time, but I wasnt getting 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 creation 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. Suddenly 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 accidenta l y. Bonnies face was white.It wasnt your fault, Elena quiet her. We think its the phantom the thing thats been causing 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 believe were here again.Where? asked Bonnie anxiously. Where are we?It was high noon and a sunlit blue sky stretched brightly overhead. Elena was pretty 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 velvety black blooms. Midnight roses. high 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 bro thers dismay.Were in the kitsunes magic rose field, the one that the Gatehouse of the cardinal Treasures opens 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 stash 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 working 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 fi ngers worked their way into Elenas hand. Elena, are we departed? she asked in a tiny, quavering voice.Were they dead? Elena wondered. She didnt think so. Bonnie had been alive after the phantom took her, but unwakeable. It was more credibly 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 huge 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 B onnie 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.