vampire diaries the return midnight | Page 8

There always were. The ley lines of sheer Power in the ground drew them even in normal times.

The problem was that just now all those vampires were infested with malach� parasites controlled by the evil fox-spirits. They couldn�t be lower in the vampire hierarchy.

And of course Stefan was a complete nonstarter. Even if he hadn�t been so weak that trying to change Damon into a vampire would have killed him; even if his anger over Damon�s �stealing his humanity� could be assuaged, he would simply never have agreed, out of his feeling that vampirism was a curse.

Humans never knew about things like the vampire hierarchy because the

subjects didn�t concern them�until suddenly, they did, usually because they had just been changed into a vampire themselves. The hierarchy of vampires was strict, from the useless and ignoble to the fanged aristocracy. Old Ones fit in that category, but so did others who were particularly illustrious or powerful.

What Damon wanted was to be made a vampire by the kind of women Sage knew, and he was determined to have Sage find him a vampire lady of quality, one who was really worthy of him.

Other things tormented Damon, who had spent two entire sleepless days pondering them. Was it possible that the white kitsune who had given Stefan the bouquet had engineered a rose that turned the first person to smell it permanently human? That would have been Stefan�s greatest dream.

The white fox had listened to days upon days of Stefan�s ramblings, hadn�t he? He�d seen Elena weeping over Stefan. He�d seen the two lovebirds together, Elena hand-feeding a dying Stefan her blood through razor wire. Fortune only knew what ideas that fox had gotten into his furry white head when he�d prepared the rose that had �cured� Damon of his �curse.� If it turned out to be an irreversible �cure��

If Sage turned out to be unreachable�

It suddenly broke into Damon�s thoughts that Elena was cold. It was strange, since the night was warm, but she was shivering violently. She needed his jacket or�

She�s not cold, the small voice somewhere deep inside him said. And she�s not shivering. She�s trembling because of all you�ve put her through.

Elena?

You forgot all about me. You were holding me, but you completely forgot my existence�

If only, he thought bitterly. You�re branded on my soul.

Damon was suddenly furious, but it was different from his anger at kitsune and Sage and the world. It was the kind of anger that made his throat close and his chest feel too tight.

It was an anger that made him pick up Elena�s scalded hand, which was rapidly

turning scarlet in patches, and examine it. He knew what he would have done as a vampire: stroked over the burns with a silky cool tongue, generating chemicals to accelerate the healing. And now�there was nothing he could do about it.

�It doesn�t hurt,� Elena said. She was able to stand now.

�You�re lying, princess,� he said. �The insides of your eyebrows are up. That�s pain. And your pulse is jumping��

�You can sense that without touching me?�

�I can see it, at your temples. Vampires,� with vicious emphasis on what he still was, in essence, �notice things like that. I made you hurt yourself. And I can�t do anything to help. Also��he shrugged��you�re a beautiful liar. About the star ball, I mean.�

�You can always sense when I�m lying?�

�Angel,� he said wearily, �it�s easy. You are either the lucky holder of the star ball today�or you know who is.�

Again, Elena�s head drooped in consternation.

�Or else,� Damon said lightly, �the entire story of the drawing of the lots was a lie.�

�Think what you like,� Elena said, with at least some of her usual fire. �And you can clean up this mess, too.�

Just as she turned to leave, Damon had a revelation. �Mrs. Flowers!� he exclaimed.

�Wrong,� Elena snapped.

Elena, I wasn�t talking about the star ball. I give you my word on this. You know how hard it is to lie telepathically�

Yes, and I know that therefore, if there�s one thing in the world you�d�
practice�at�

She couldn�t finish. She couldn�t make the speech. Elena knew how much
Damon�s word meant to him.


I�ll never tell you where it is, she sent telepathically to Damon. And I swear to
you that Mrs. Flowers won�t either.

�I believe you, but we�re still going to see her.�

He picked Elena up easily and stepped over the smashed cup and saucer. Elena automatically grabbed his neck with both hands to balance herself.

�Darling, what are you doing�?� Elena cried, then stopped, wide-eyed, two scalded fingers flying to her lips.

Standing in the doorway, not two yards away from