vampire diaries the return shadow souls | Page 8

in, her eyes and her face and her hair floating weightlessly in a cloud of gold around her
shoulders. Elena couldn�t help but blush, and she almost heard his thought, that blushing suited her very well, pale pink against her fair complexion.
And just as blushing was an involuntary physical response to his warmth and appreciation, Elena felt an involuntary emotional response�of
thankfulness for what he had done, of gratitude for his appreciation, and of unintentional appreciation of Damon himself. He had saved her life tonight, if
she knew anything about vampires possessed by Shinichi�s malach, vampires who were thugs to begin with. She couldn�t even imagine what such
creatures would do to her, and she didn�t want to. She could only be glad that Damon had been clever enough and, yes, ruthless enough to take care of
them before they got to her.
And she would have to be blind and just plain stupid not to appreciate the fact that
Damon was gorgeous. After having died twice, this fact did not
affect her as it would most other girls, but it was still a fact, whether Damon was pensive or giving one of those rare genuine smiles that he seemed to
have only for Elena.
The problem with this was that Damon was a vampire and could therefore read her mind, especially with Elena being so close, their auras
intermingling. And Damon appreciated Elena�s appreciation, and it became a little cycle of feedback, all on its own. Before Elena could quite focus she
was melting, her weightless body feeling heavier as it molded itself to Damon�s arms. And the other problem was that Damon wasn�t Influencing her; he was as caught up in the feedback as Elena was�more so, because he didn�t
have any barriers against it. Elena did, but they were blurring, dissolving. She couldn�t think properly. Damon was gazing at her with wonder and a look
she was all too used to seeing�but she couldn�t remember where.

Elena had lost the power to analyze. She was simply basking in the warm glow of being cherished, being held and loved and cared for with an
intensity that shook her to the bone.
And when Elena gave of herself, she gave completely. Almost without conscious effort, she arched her head back to expose her throat and closed
her eyes.Damon gently positioned her head differently, supported it with one hand, and kissed her.

3
Time stopped. Elena found that she was instinctively groping for the mind of the one who
was kissing her so sweetly. She had never really appreciated a
kiss until she had died, become a spirit, and then been returned to earth with an aura that revealed the hidden meaning of other people�s thoughts, words,
and even their minds and souls. It was as if she had gained a beautiful new sense. When two auras mingled as deeply as this, two souls were laid bare to
each other.
Semi-consciously, Elena let her aura expand, and met a mind almost at once. To her surprise, it recoiled from her. That wasn�t right. She managed
to snag it before it could retreat behind a great hard stone, like a boulder. The only things left outside the boulder�which reminded her of a picture of a
meteorite she had seen, with a pocked, charred surface�were rudimentary brain functions, and a little boy, chained to the rock by both wrists and both
ankles.
Elena was shocked. Whatever she was seeing, she knew it was a metaphor only, and that she should not judge too quickly what the metaphor
meant. The images before her were really the symbols of Damon�s naked soul, but in a form that her own mind could understand and interpret, if only she
looked at it from the right perspective.
Instinctively, though, she knew that she was seeing something important. She had come through the breathless delight and dizzying sweetness of
joining her soul to another�s. And now, her inherent love and concern drove her to try to communicate.
�Are you cold?� she asked the child, whose chains were long enough to allow him to wrap his arms tightly about his drawn-up legs. He was clothed
in ragged black.
He nodded silently. His huge dark eyes seemed to swallow up his face.
�Where do you belong?� Elena said doubtfully, thinking of ways to get the child warm. �Not inside that?� She made a gesture toward the giant
stone boulder.
The child nodded again. �It�s warmer in there, but he won�t let me inside anymore.� �He?� Elena was always on the lookout for signs of Shinichi, that malicious fox spirit. �Which �he,� darling?� She had already knelt and taken the
child in her arms, and he was cold, ice cold, and the iron was freezing.
�Damon,� the little ragamuffin boy whispered. For the first time the boy�s eyes left her face, to glance fearfully around him.

�Damon did this?� Elena�s voice started loud and ended up as soft as the boy�s whisper, as he turned pleading eyes on her and desperately
patted at her