vampire diaries the return shadow souls | Page 7

�stick� from all sides with a look of acute bafflement, Elena turned on a sputtering Matt.
�Matt!� she said reproachfully. This was definitely a low point in the cold war between the two boys.
�I just thought,� Matt went on stubbornly, �that it might be a good idea. Since I�m sleeping outdoors at night and a�another vampire might come
along.�
Elena had already turned again and was making appeasing noises at Damon when Matt burst out afresh.
�Tell her how you actually woke me up!� he said explosively. Then, without giving
Damon a chance to say anything, he continued, �I was just
opening my eyes when he dropped this on me!� Matt squelched over to Elena, holding something up. Elena, truly at a loss, took it from him, turning it over.

It seemed to be a pencil stub, but it was discolored dark reddish-brown.
�He dropped that on me and said �scratch off two,�� Matt said. �He�d killed two people�
and he was bragging about it!�
Elena suddenly didn�t want to be holding the pencil anymore. �Damon!� she said in a cry of real anguish, as she tried to make something out of his
no-expression expression. �Damon�you didn�t�not really�� �Don�t beg him, Elena. The thing we�ve got to do��
�If anybody would let me get a word in,� Damon said, now sounding truly exasperated, �I might mention that before I could explain about the pencil
someone attempted to stake me on the spot, even before getting out of his sleeping bag. And what I was going to say next was that they weren�t people.
They were vampires, thugs, hired muscle�but these were possessed by Shinichi�s malach. And they were on our trail. They�d gotten as far as Warren,
Kentucky, probably by asking questions about the car. We�re definitely going to have to get rid of it.�
�No!� Matt shouted defensively. �This car�this car means something to Stefan and
Elena.�
�This car means something to you,� Damon corrected. �And I might point out that I had to leave my Ferrari in a creek just so we could take you on
this little expedition.�
Elena held up her hand. She didn�t want to hear any more. She did have feelings for the car. It was big and brilliantly red and flashy and buoyant
�and it expressed how she and Stefan had been feeling on the day that he bought it for her, celebrating the start of their new life together. Just looking at
it made her remember the day, and the weight of Stefan�s arm around her shoulder and the way he�d looked down at her, when she�d looked up at him
�his green eyes sparkling with mischief and the joy of getting her something she really wanted.
To Elena�s embarrassment and fury, she found that she was shaking slightly, and that her own eyes were full of tears.
�You see,� Matt said, glaring at Damon. �Now you�re making her cry.�
�I am? I�m not the one who mentioned my dear departed younger brother,� Damon said urbanely.
�Just stop it! Right now! Both of you,� Elena shouted, trying to find her composure. �And
I don�t want this pencil, if you don�t mind,� she added, holding it at arm�s length.
When Damon took it, Elena wiped her hands on her nightgown, feeling vaguely light- headed. She shivered, thinking of the vampires on their trail.
And then, suddenly, as she swayed, there was a warm, strong arm around her and
Damon�s voice beside her saying, �What she needs is some fresh air, and I�m going to give it to her.�
Abruptly Elena was weightless and she was in Damon�s arms and they were going higher.
�Damon, could you please put me down?� �Right now, darling? It�s quite a distance��

Elena continued to remonstrate with Damon, but she could tell that he had tuned her out. And the cool morning air was clearing her head a bit,
although it also made her shake.
She tried to stop the shivering, but couldn�t help it. Damon glanced down at her and to her surprise, looking completely serious, began to make
motions as if to take his jacket off. Elena hastily said, �No, no�you just drive�fly, I
mean, and I�ll hang on.�
�And watch for low-going seagulls,� Damon said solemnly, but with a quirk at the side of his mouth. Elena had to turn her face away because she
was in danger of laughing.
�So, just when did you learn you could pick people up and drop them on cars?� she inquired.
�Oh, just recently. It was like flying: a challenge. And you know I like challenges.� He was looking down at her with mischief in his eyes, those black on black eyes with such long lashes that they were wasted on a boy. Elena felt
as light as if she were dandelion fluff, but also a little light-headed, almost tipsy.
She was much warmer now, because�she realized�Damon had enfolded her in his aura, which was warm. Not just in temperature, either, but
warm with a heady, almost drunken appreciation, as he took her