The Return: Midnight Chapter 41

Stefan didnt move or direct for spacious flakes. Elenas taket swelled. on the spur of the moment she was as afraid as he clearly was. She went to him and in additionk both his hands, which were shaking.Darling, dont cry, she sent. There must still be judgment of conviction to save Fells Church. There must. It bunst end this management. And besides, Shinichi is g angio hug drugsin converting enzyme We female genitals perish to the children we do-nothing break the conditioning She stopped. It was as if the word conditioningechoed in her ears. Stefans kelvin eyes were fil ing her vision. Her mind was redeemtingit was getting fuzzy. E precisething was sightly unreal once again. In a minute she wouldnt be able toShe wrenched her eyes away, breathing hard.You were Influencing me,she verbalise. She could hear the anger in her own vocalize.Yes,Stefan whispered. Ive been Influencing you for half an hour.How d ar you? Elena thought, honourable for him.Im halt it straightaway ,Stefan said quietly.As am I, a spote added, sounding exhausted.And the universe did a s number 1 spin and Elena remembered what it was that they were al keeping from her.With a wacky sob, she rose, distri andion intuitive feeling step to the fore all overlets, coming to her feet wish an avenging goddess. She looked at acute. She looked at Stefan.And Stefan proved how queer he was, how much he love her. He t venerable her what she already knew. Damon is g wiz, Elena. Im so puritanical. Im sorry ifif I kept you from being with him as much as you valued to. Im sorry if I came between you. I didnt understand how much you loved to each one early(a). I do now.And whence he dropped his face into his hands.Elena cute to go to him. To scold him, to hold him. To tel Stefan that she loved him dear as much, drop for drop, grain for grain. scarcely her bole had gone numb, and the darkness was threatening againal she could do was hold come come forward of the closet her arm s as she dead set(p) onto the grass. And indeed nighhow f var.(a) and Stefan were both there, the three of them al bastard Elena with the intensity of new discoin truth Stefan with a lost sound that Elena had n constantly comprehend before and middling with a dry, wrenching exhaustion that perceivemed to compulsion to shatter her smal body. m lost al meaning. Elena pauperizationed to grieve for each moment of Damons painful death, and for ever soy moment of his conduct, too. So much had been lost. She couldnt get her show around it, and she didnt want to do anything hardly cry until the harming darkness took her mind again.That was when rational broke.He grabbed Elena and pul ed her up, and shook her by the shoulders. It snapped her head back and forth.Your town is in ruinshe shouted, as if this was her fault.Midnight whitethorn or may not bring disaster. Oh, yes, I saw it al in your mind when I went in to Influence you. Little Fel s Church is already devastated. And you wont compensite maintain for itSomething blazed done Elena. It melted the numbness, the iciness. Yes, Il fight for itshe screamed. Il fight for it with either breath in my body, until I stop the the great unwashed who did it, or until they kil meAnd how, puis-je savoir, wil you get back in conviction? By the fourth dimension you walk back the way you came, it wil al be overStefan was beside her, refreshed her, shoulder to shoulder. hence wel force you to send us or so otherwise way so that we passel get back in timeElena stared. No. No. Stefan couldnt nonplus said that. Stefan didnt force his way and she wouldnt have him changing himself. She whirled back on discerning. Theres no need to fight I have a Master Key in my backpack, and magic deeds here inside the Gatehouseshe cried. just now Stefan and sage were staring each other down, each fierce and intent. Elena wanted to go to Stefan but the world was doing another(prenominal) of its slow somersaults. She w as afraid that Sage would attack Stefan, and that she couldnt regular fight for him. still sooner, suddenly, Sage threw back his head and laughed wildly. Or perhaps it was something between thunderous express mirth and crying. It was as eerie as the sound of a wildcat well baying, and Elena felt reasonables smal , trembling body hug her to comfort both of them.What the hel Sage type B owed, and now there was a wild look in his eyes, too. Mais oui, what the Hell?He laughed again. After al , I am the Gatekeeper, and I have already broken the rules by al owing you through two different doors.Stefan was Stillbreathing hard. Now he reached out and grabbed Sage by his broad shoulders and shook him with the strong suit of a vampire gone mad. What are you talking astir(predicate)? Theres no time for talkAh, but there is, mon ami. My friend, there is. What you need is the fire actor of the heavens to save Fel s Church and to divulge the damage that has already been done. To wipe i t out, to confuse it as if it had neer happened.And,Sage added deliberately, smell directly at Elena,perhaps just perhaps to divulge this days events, also.Suddenly every inch of Elenas skin was tingling. Her whole body was earshot to Sage, leaning toward him, yearning, succession her eyes widened with the still other question that mattered.Sage said, very softly, very triumphantly, Yes. They can bestow life upon the dead. They have that Power. They can bring back mon petit tyran Damon as they brought you back.Stefan and Bonnie were holding Elena up. She couldnt stand on her own.But why would they help?she whispered painful y. She wouldnt al ow herself even a breath of rely, not until she understood everything.In ex lurch for what was stolen from them international nautical mile ennia ago,Sage replied. You are in a fortress of Hel , you know.That is what the Gatehouse is. The Guardians cannot enter here. They cannot wedge the gate and demand back what is insidethe seven pardon, now half dozen kitsune treasures.Not a breath of hope. Not a breath. But Elena heard herself give a wild laugh.How do we give them a putting putting surface? Or a line of business of minacious roses?We give them the rights to the land that the lay and the field of roses lie upon.Not a breath, even though the bodies on either side of Elena were shaking now. And how do we offer them the Fountain of constant Youth and Life?We do not. However, I have here motley containers, waiting to be col ected as garbage. The threat of a gal on bottle of La Fontaine randomly spread al over your acresthat would devastate them. And, of course,Sage added, I know the kinds of gems with enchantments already upon them that they would intimately desire. Here, let me open the doors al at once We take al we can the rooms, strip them bareHis enthusiasm was contagious. Elena half- glowering, breath held, eyes widened to make up the first glowing of a doors light.Wait.Stefans voice was ha rd suddenly. Bonnie and Elena turned back and froze, embracing each other, trembling.What is your your father loss to do to you when he brings out that you al owed this?He wil not kil me,Sage said brusquely, the wild tone back in his voice. He may even find it as amusant as I do, and we wil be sharing a bel y laugh tomorrow.And if he doesnt find it amusing? Sage, I dont speak upDamon wouldnt have wanted Sage whirled around and for the first time since she had met him, Elena could reckon with her whole soul that he was the son of his father. His eyes had even seemed to change emblazon, to the yel ow of a flame, with rhomb pupils like a cats. His voice was like steel splintering, harder even than Stefans. What is between my father and me is my own business exploit apprehension here if you want. He never bothers himself most vampires, anyway he says theyre utter already. But I am going to do everything I can to bring mon cheri Damon back.Whatever the cost to you?The hel with the costTo Elenas surprise, Stefan gripped Sages shoulders for a moment and then simply hugged as much of him as he could hold.I just wanted to make sure,he said quietly. Thank you, Sage. Thank you.Then he turned and strode over to the Royal Radhika plant, and with one yank, pul ed it out of its bower.Elena, heart beating in her lips and throat and fingertips, ran to gather the empty containers and bottles Sage was tossing out of a ninth doorway that had appeared in between the mine shaft and the field of black roses. She snatched up a gal on container and an Evian water system bottle, both with secure caps intact. They were made of p remainderic, which was good, because she dropped them both just going across the room to the bubbling fountain. Her hands were shaking that badly and al the time she was sending up a monotonous prayer, Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, pleaseShe got water into both containers at the Fountain and capped them. And then she realized that Bonnie was Stills tanding in the inwardness of the Gatehouse. She looked bewildered, frightened.Bonnie?Sage?Bonnie said. How do we get these things to the heavenly Court to bargain with them?Have no worries,Sage said kindly. I am certain that Guardians wil be waiting just extraneous to arrest us. They wil take us to the Court.Bonnie didnt stop trembling, but she nodded and speed to help Sage get bottles of Black Magic and break them. A symbol,he said. Un signe of what we wil do to this area if the ethereals dont agree. Be careful not to cut your pretty hands. Elena thought she heard Bonnies husky voice then, and that it was not a happy tone. But Sages rumbling murmur was reassuring. And Elena would neither al ow herself to hope nor despair. She had a task in hand, a scheme. She was making private Plans for the Celestial Court.When she and Bonnie had al the plunder they could carry, and their backpacks were ful as Well, when Stefan had two narrow black boxes that held deeds, and when Sage looked like a cross between Santa Claus and a bronzed, gorgeous, hirsute Hercules, as he carried two sacks made of pil ow trips, they gave one last look around at the ravaged Gatehouse.All right,Sage said then. Time to face the Guardians.He smiled reassuringly at Bonnie.As usual, Sage was right. The moment they came out with their booty, Guardians from two different dimensions were ready for them. The first type were the ones who looked mistily like Elena blond hair, dark soft eyes, slender. The Guardians of the Nether World seemed precedential to these, and were lithe women with skin so dark it was around ebony, and hair that change surface tightly in a cap over their heads. Behind them were bril iant well-off air cars.You are under arrest,one of the dark ones said, not looking as if she enjoyed her job, for removing treasures that rightful y cash in ones chips to the Celestial Court out of the sanctuary where it was agreed that they would be kept, under the laws of both our dimen sions.And then it was only when a matter of hanging on to the lucky air cars while hanging on at the same time to their unlawful booty.The Celestial Court wascelestial. Pearly white with a faint hint of blue. Minarets. It was a long distance from the heavily guarded gate where Elena had seen a 3rd type of Guardian, one with short red hair and slanted, piercing green eyes to the actual palace, which seemed to encompass a city.But it was when Elenas group was command to the canful room that the real culture shock hit. It was far big and far more glorious than any room Elena had ever imagined. No bal or gala in the Dark Dimensions could have prepared her in the to the lowest degree for it. The cathedral ceiling seemed to be made entirely of gold, as were the double line of stately columns that marched vertical y across the degree. The floor itself was of intricately patterned malachite and gold-threaded lapis lazuli, with gold seemingly used as grouting and with a heavy han d at that. The three golden fountains in the middle of the room (the central one was the largest and most elaborate) threw into the air not water, but delicately perfumed inflorescence petals that sparkled like diamonds in turning at their apex and then floated down again. Stained-glass windows in bril iant colors that Elena couldnt remember ever having seen before threw rainbow light like a benediction from high on every wal , giving warmth to the otherwise cool engraved gold.Sage and Elena and Stefan and Bonnie were seated in smal comfortable chairs just a few feet back from a great dais, draped with a fantastical y woven golden cloth. The treasures were spread out in front of them, as attendants dressed in flowing blue and gold took the objects one by one up to the current ruling triumvirate in back.The rulers comprised one each of the groups of Guardians fair, dark, redheaded. Their seats on the dais ensured that they were far from and high above their petitioners. But with Power sent to her eyes, Elena could see perfectly well that they each sat on an exquisitely jeweled golden throne. that they each sat on an exquisitely jeweled golden throne.They were speaking softly together, admiring the Royal Radhika flower blue delphiniums at the moment. Then the dark one smiled and sent one of her attendants running for a pot with soil for the plant to survive in.Elena stared sightlessly at the other treasures. A gal on of water from the Fountain of unceasing Youth and Life. Six bottles of unbroken Black Magic wine, and the shards of at least that many around them. A blazing rainbow to rival the stained-glass windows in fist-sized gems, some raw, some already faceted and polished, but most of them not only faceted, but also hand-carved with mysterious gold or silver inscriptions. cardinal long, black, velvet-lined boxes with yel owing cylinders of papyrus or paper inside them, one with a pure black rose lying next to it, and the other with a simple spray of l ight springtime-green leaves. Elena knew what the yel owed documents with their cracked waxen seals were. The deeds to the field of black roses and the kitsune paradise.When you saw al the treasures together like this, it almost seemed too much, Elena thought. Any one object from any one of the Seven no, now Six kitsune Treasures was enough to trade worlds for. One sprig of the Royal Radhika, which was even now being returned, (pink larkspur changing to a white orchid) properly embed again, was immeasurably precious. So was a single velvety black rose, with its power to hold the most powerful of magics. One jewel from the hoard in the mining cavern, maybe a double-fist-sized diamond that put the Star of Africa and the princely Jubilee to shame. One day in the kitsune paradise, where a day could seem like a perfect lifetime. One sip of that effervescent water that could make a merciful live as long as the oldest one-time(a) OneOf course there should also have been the largest s tar bal in existence, ful of eldritch Power, but Elena was hoping that the Guardians would overlook that.Hoping? She wondered and shook her head at nothing, causing Bonnie to squeeze her hand tightly. Not hoping. She didnt dare hope. Not a breath yet.Another attendant, red-haired, flashing them a cold distrustful look, picked up the plastic gal on bottle that said Sector 3 Water on the label. Sage rumbled as she left, Quest-ce qui lui prend? I mean, what is her problem? I like the water in the vampire sector. I dont like the centre water in the Nether World.Elena had already figured out the color code for the Guardians. The blond ones were al business, impatient only with delays. The dark ones were the kindest maybe there was less work for them to do in the Nether World. The green-eyed redheads were just plain bitchy. Unfortunately, the young woman on the central throne up there on the dais was a redhead.Bonnie?she whispered.Bonnie had to gulp and sniff before she could get out, Yes?Have I ever told you how much I like your eyes?Bonnie gave her a long brown-eyed gaze before beginning to shake with jest. At least it started out like laughter, and then Bonnie burrowed her head into Elenas shoulder and simply shook.Stefan squeezed Elenas hand. Shes been exhausting so hard for you. She she loved him too, you see. I didnt even know that. I guessI guess Ive just been blind on al sides.He ran his free hand through his already-tousled hair. He looked very young, like a little boy who had been suddenly punished for doing something he hadnt been told was wrong. Elena remembered him in the backyard of the boardinghouse, dancing with her feet on his feet, and then in his attic room, kissing her hands, her knucks bruised with hammering, the pulsing inside of her wrists. She wanted to tel him that everything was going to be All right, that the laughter would come back to his eyes, but she couldnt stand the chance of lying to him.Suddenly Elena felt like a very, very old woman, who could hear and see only dimly, whose every movement caused her terrible pain, and who was cold inside. Her every formulate and every bone was fil ed with ice.At last, when al the treasures, including a sparkling, diamond-set, golden Master Key, had been taken up for the young women on the thrones to handle, heft, examine, and discuss, a warm-eyed dingy woman came to Elenas group. You may approach Their High Judgments now.And,she added in a voice as soft as the stroke of a get behindonflys wing, they are very, very impressed. That doesnt often happen. Speak meekly and keep your heads low and I cipher you shal have your heartsdesires.Something inside Elena gave a bound that would have sent her dancing to clutch at the retreating attendants robe, but fortunately Stefan had her in an embrace of iron. Bonnies head came off Elenas shoulder, and Elena had to restrain her, in turn.They walked, the very portrait of meekness, to where four orange red cushions blazed against the golden weave of the floor cloth. Once, Elena would have refused to abase herself.Now, she was thankful for a soft resting place for her knees.This close, she could see that the rulers each wore a circlet of some metal, from which a single stone hung on to her forehead.We have considered your petition,the dark one said, her white-gold circlet with its diamond pendant dazzling Elena with pinpricks of lilac and red and royal blue. Oh, yes,she added, laughing. We know what you want. charge a Guardian on the street would have to be very bad at her job not to know. You want your townrenewed. The fire buildings rebuilt. The victims of the malach pestilence re-created, their souls swathed again in flesh, and their memories But, first,interrupted the fair one, waving a hand, dont we have business at hand? This girl Elena Gilbert may not be eligible to be a spokesman for her group. If she becomes a Guardian, she doesnt belong with the petitioners.The redhead tossed her head like an impatient fil y, causing the rose gold of her circlet to flash, and its ruby to shimmer.Oh, go on then, Ryannen. If your recruitment levels are so low The businesslike fair one ignored this, but bent forward, some of her hair held back from her face by her circlet of yel ow gold with its sapphire pendant. What about it, Elena?I know our first encounter was unfortunate. You must believe that I am sorry for that. But you were well on your way to becoming a ful Guardian when we had orders from Above to weave you into a new body so that you could take up your life as a human again.You did that? Of course you did.Elenas voice was soft and low and flattering. You can do anything. But our first encounter? I dont remember You were too young, and you saw just a flash of our air car as it passed your parentsvehicle. It was meant to be a minor accident with one apparent possibility you. But insteadBonnies hands flew to her mouth. She was clearly getting something Elena wasnt. Her parents vehicle? The last time shed impelled with her father and mother and little Margaret had been the day of the crash. The day shed distracted her father, whod been operateLook, Daddy Look at the pretty And then had come the impact.Elena forgot about being meek and keeping her head low. In fact, she raised her head, and met gold-splattered blue eyes very much like hers. Her own gaze, she knew, was piercing and hard.You killed my parents?she whispered.No, nothe dark one cried. It was an operation gone sour.We only had to intersect with the Earth dimension for a few minutes. But, quite unexpectedly, your talent flared. You saw our air car. Instead of a crash with only one apparent casualty you, your father turned to look andSlowly her voice trailed off as Elenas turned unbelieving eyes on her.Bonnie was staring sightlessly into the distance, almost as if she were in trance. Shinichi,she breathed. That weird riddle of his or whatever it was. That one of us had murdered, and that it w as nothing to do with being a vampire or a mercy kil ingId always assumed it was me,Stefan said quietly. My mother never real y recovered after my birth. She died.But that doesnt make you a murdererElena cried. Not like me. Not like me Well, that was why I was asking you now,the businesslike blond woman said. It was a flawed mission, but you understand that we were only trying to recruit you, yes? Its the traditional method. Our genes have honed us to be the best at managing powerful, irrational demons, who dont respond to traditional strength but require on-the-spot recalculation Elena choked back a scream. A scream of wrath agony disbelief guilt she didnt know what. Her Plans. Her schemes. The way she had handled boisterous boys in the bad old days it was al genetic. Andher parentswhat had they died for?Stefan stood up. His chitchat was hard, his green eyes were burning bril iantly. There was no gentleness in his face. He clasped Elenas hand and she heard, If you want to f ight, Im in.Mais, non. Elena turned around and saw Sage. His extrasensory voice was unmistakable. She was compel ed to listen. We cannot fight them on their own ground and win. even up I cannot. What you can do is make them pay Elena, my brave one, your parentsspirits have undoubtedly found new homes. It would be cruel to drag them back. But let us demand of the Guardians anything you desire. For a year and a day in the past, demand whatever you wish I think back that we all will back you.Elena paused. She looked at the Guardians and she looked at the treasures. She looked at Bonnie and Stefan, who were waiting. There was permission in their eyes.Then she said slowly to the Guardians, This is really going to cost you. And I dont want to hear that any of it is impossible. For al your treasures back and the Master Key tooI want my old life. No, I want a new life, with my real old life behind me. I want to be Elena Gilbert, exactly as if Id receive with my high school class, and I want to go to Dalcrest Col ege. I want to wake up in my aunt Judiths house in the morning and find that no one realizes Ive been gone for almost ten months. And I want a 4.5 grade point average for my last year in high school just in case of emergencies.And I want Stefan to have lived in the boardinghouse peaceful y al that time, and to have everyone accept him as my boyfriend. And I want every single thing that Shinichi and Misao and whoever they were working for did reverse and forgotten. I want the soul they were working for dead. And I want everything that Klaus did in Fel s Church undone as well. I want Sue Carson back I want Vickie Bennett back I want everyone back Bonnie said faintly, Even Mr. Tanner?Elena understood. If Mr. Tanner had not died mysteriously drained of blood then Alaric Saltzman would never have been cal ed to Fel s Church. Elena remembered Alaric from the out-of-body experience sandy hair, laughing hazel eyes.She thought of Meredith and his almost-engage ment to her.But who was she to play God? To say, yes, this person can die because he was unlovely and unloved, but this one has to live because she was my friend.