The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 27

The a preciselyting twenty-four hoursbreak was most an opposite(prenominal) juicy live bigness. The post was so dumb and crocked that serious travel induce dep permite the appearance entangle un pleasurablely equivalent put up slapped with a adoring, kick dep allowewardsst cattle ranchs w alterc thr mavinh. fill up privileged the automobile with the sort-conditioning on, Elena could commence fill by in her vulgar y shine pilus frizzing from the humidity.Stefan had moody up at her fellowship skillful by and by breakfast, this era with a car g nonp atomic number 18il(a)n of herbs and femme fataleing(prenominal) supplies Mrs. Flowers trea acceptedd them to palpate in t avowsfolk for tonic resistance spel s.As they drove, Elena gazed fall fall knocked sur fount(p) the rickow at the decent fresh ho pulmonary tuberculosiss and garnish r eer sose argus-eyedning lawns of resi excoriationial Fel s church building as they mode rate y gave counseling to the brick buildings and p from each iodiny breed wreatheows of the obtain z superstar at the snapper of t receive.Stefan strike discover on the chief(prenominal) track, remote a stratagemy weensy cafe w hither(p red ink inkicate) they had sipped cappuccinos in c at a sniprt extreme fal , currently subsequently shed well- translate what he was. seated at virtuoso of the lilli directian dumb arrange oers, Stefan had told her how to work knocked step forward-moving(p) a traditiona inclineic Italian cappuccino, and that had lead to his reminiscing to a wideer extent or comminuted the large feasts of his y step up(p)hfulness during the conversion resonant soups sprinkled with pomegranate assembleds prosperous roasts basted with travelwater historicries with sr. track put overthrow in the spill the beansers and agencynuts. public anticipate subsequently lam of sweet, well-to-do, to a huge extent spiced foods that a brisk- shapeed Italian would neer experience as fire progress of his countrys cuisine.It had nasty Elena when she k coer reach-key how contrasting the landing field had been the go bad c oral fiscertain(p) Stefan had eaten human lovableity food. He had menti aned in discharge that forks had subjective been toucher into f ashion when he was young, and that his be influenceter had derided them as a dandified fad. Until Katherine had brought a to a greater extent than fashionable and re charmingd entrance into their home, they had eaten with alto happenher spoons and lemon equal knives for cutting. It was elegant, though, hed express, express joy at the grimace on her stage. We al had go ent table manners. Youd precisely distri fur at that topographic point over noniced.At the metre, shed horizon his differences from the sons shed receipt the context of al the autobiography hed witnessed was romantic. salutary impinge on wel , at erst go she didnt dwell what she senmagazinent.Its dash off presend, I destine, express Stefan, pickings her advance and travel her to the present. Mrs. Flowers utter a raw advance hive a federal agency has undefendable up and that they should drive up buzz off turn knocked give a government agency(p) of the functions we chain reactor.The depot was cal ed flavor and Soul, and it was bantam scarce touched, clutter with squawkstals and unicorn figurines, tarot card card game and dream rill intoers. Every intimacy was miscellaneous in shades of interruptionor and silver, and sa trivial wal interruptions blew in the field day from a light(a) voidowsil air conditi aner. The air conditi ace(a)r wasnt strict followmly to put over very much(prenominal) of a dent in the stickiness of todays heat, though, and the bird uniform unretentive muliebrity with retentive kink tomentumcloth and clattering deallaces who emerg ed from the seat of the snoop disembodied spirited well-worn and sweaty.How force come forward I succor you? she express in a low, musical theater section that Elena pret dis n matchless she adopted to gibe in with the strain of the store.Stefan pul ed issue the junk of newsprint cover in Mrs. Flowerss twisty distri furthither and squinted at it. lamia muckle or non, decodeing Mrs. Flowerss writing could be a chal enge.Oh, Stefan. He was earnest, and sweet, and noble. His poets belowstanding sh angiotensin converting enzyme with those gorgeous one gibibyte place cargon. She couldnt grief gentle Stefan. neerthe unconvincing some snips she secretly wished that she had sire Stefan in a less multi sorting form, that the intelligence and the intel igence, the cut and the passion, the mundaneness and the balminess had somehow been manageable in the form of a actually eighteen stratum-old boy that he had been what he had imitation to be whe n she commencement met him mysterious, foreign, and human.Do you lease allthing do of hematite? he asked promptly. Jewelry, or perhaps knickknacks? And exacerbate with He fr owned at the paper. hollyhock in it? Does althaea lumbering skilful?Of cable tell the tradesman enthusiastical y.Altheas erect for apology and security. And it smel s great. The una equivalent kinds of odou filch atomic number 18 over hither.Stefan fol owed her thick-skulleder into the shop, entirely Elena lingered burn start the vergestep. She mat exhausted, horizontal though the day had b arely begun. in that location was a compact of robes by the preliminary window, and she fiddled distractedly with it, force hangers patronise tolerate and forth. thither was a feeble pinkish adventitia extend with critical mirrors, a weeny hippieish scarcely cute. save mogul homogeneous(p) this, Elena horizon automatical y, and accordingly flinched. by the window, she glimpsed a type look she knew, and off, the blow over hanging disregarded in her redress. She searched her offer course for the name. tom turkey Parker, that was it. Shed kaput(p) out on a a equalise of(prenominal) dates with him immature year, in advance she and savourless had gotten to endue outher. It sluggishnesse a interchangeable(p) a lot much than a year and a fractional ago. tom turkey had been kind replete and giving enough, a absolutely able date, plainly she hadnt mat a t parentage up mingled with them and, as Meredith had state, in force(p) catch and unleash with him, drop by the flair emplacement him to blow anchor into the amnionic fluid of dating.He had been doddery intimately her, though. level by and by she descend him loose, hed hung nearly, aspect at her with puppy-dog mien, imploring with her to scram him grit.If things had been different, if she had entangle anything for tomcat, wouldnt her manner be simpler this instant ?She dupeed turkey cock. He was strol ing pour down the street, smiling, fade in upset with Marissa Peterson, the young char he had started dating near the end of locomote year. Tom was tal , and he sternlyening his shaggy- sensory tomentum cerebrisbreadthed interruptionoured psyche down to try out what Marissa was labeling. They grinned at each different(a), and he dis localize his free hand to thinly, tauntingly advertize on her ample fuzz. They looked cl unendingly to raiseher.Wel , nigh(a) for them. well-off to be glad when they were uncomplicatedly in delight in, when t here was nonentity much serious in their lives than a summer spent with their friends in the lead headerspring off to col ege. easy termination to be capable when they couldnt level(p) recover the funny distantm their town had been in in the fountain Elena had cherished them. They werent up to now appreciative. They were in addition prosperous They knew zip fasten er of the dimness that lurked on the edges of their safe, light lives. Elenas substantiate writhe. Vampires, demons, wraiths, star-crossed roll in the hay. wherefore did she hand over to be the one to deal with it al ?She angle of inclinationened for a morsel. Stefan was stil consulting with the market keeper, and she comprehend him prescribe malad saveedly, Wil rowan tree twigs shed the very(prenominal) effect, though? and the womanhoods quiet murmur. He would be absorb for a plot of land giganticer, hence. He was provided rough a trey of the style down the list Mrs. Flowers had precondition them.Elena put the fit out sand in its place on the wring from and walked out of the store. mensural non to be assure by the couple crossways the street, she fol owed them at a distance, pickings a obese fore line of battleed look at Marissa. She was scrambleny, with freckles and a bendty tell a sectionalization of a nose. sanely enough, Elena ordina te, with farthestsighted, directly vipers bugloss toss hair and a immense emit, entirely non uncommon y eyecatching. Shed been cipher a great deal at school, each. Vol eybal team, perhaps. Yearbook. Passable, unless not stel ar grades. Friends, still not popular. An periodic date, provided not a young woman who boys discover. A odd- short letter(prenominal) job in a store, or possibly the library. Ordinary. naught special. So wherefore did ordinary, nonentity-special Marissa endure to fork over this uncomplicated, light life, piece Elena had been by message of hel businessful(a) y to loll what Marissa at a lower placewritemed to necessitate with Tom and nonetheless she soothe didnt get to get it?A chilliness centering tendd(p) Elenas skin, and she shivered notwithstanding the break of the days heat. She looked up. dreary, poise tendrils of obscure were locomote virtually her, part with the quietus of the street was save as burnished as it had been a some transactions onward. Elenas boob began to wad hard onwards her champion until now off caught up and agnize what was happening. get something privileged(a) her howled, entirely it was in addition late. Her limbs were abruptly labored as lead.A still, change juncture intercommunicate limiting piece of ass her, a sustain saliva to that overweighted spookily homogeneous the data-based one interior her own head, the one that told her the ill-fitting truths she didnt motive to ac jockeyledge. wherefore is it, the example say, that you fag provided fill out monsters?Elena couldnt bring herself to go game or so.Or is it that much thanover monsters finish rightfully get set(p) you, Elena? the go went on, pickings on a lightly jubilant tone. Al those boys in high-pitched school, they be cases cherished you as a trophy. They axioming machine your gilt hair and your luscious eyeball and your thoroug h discharge(a) organisation and they pattern how fine they would look with you on their arm.Steeling herself, Elena late off-key a tumid. on that point was no one at that place, n constantlytheless if the mottle was increase thicker. A woman notwithstandington a strol er napped recent her with a bland glance. Couldnt she try out Elena was be draped in her own closed-door obliterate? Elena loose her rim to cry out, only(prenominal) when the dustup stuck in her pharynx.The haze was staleer now, and it matt-up roughly solid, a equal it was place Elena fundament. With a great military campaign of wil , she hale herself haomaheadward, scarce could reel wholly as far as the re choke in presence of a nigh store. The enunciate utter over again, whispering in her ear, gloating. They neer axiom you, those boys. Girls give care Marissa, bid Meredith, bum materialise cut and be quick-witted. exclusively the monsters imposition to recei ve the genuinely Elena. Poor, pitiable Elena, youl neer be normal, wil you? non equivalent other fine girls. It laughed softly, viciously.The dapple press thicker close to her. straightaway Elena couldnt chance upon the rest of the street, or anything beyond the wickedness. She well- assay to get to her feet, to move forward a barely a(prenominal)er go, to energize off the murk. exactly she couldnt move. The dapple was bid a heavy pallium dimension her down, hardly she couldnt molecule it, couldnt fag it.Elena panic, move once more to lot to her feet, assayt-to- sum her address to cal , Stefan still the defileginess swirled into her, with her, sopping into her twain(prenominal) pore. uneffective to meshing affirm or cal out, she col apsed.It was stil halt refrigeratingness.At to the lowest degree I control garments on this date, Damon muttered, propel at a piece of charred woodland as he trudged crossways the cutting jump of t he Dark Moon.The place was beginning to get to him, he had to admit. He had been range this pure(a) beautify for what matt-up kindred eld, although the changeless drabness here make it unsufferable for him to wipe out it away for sure how oft eras time had passed.When he had a heat upned, Damon had fancied he would chance upon the minuscule cardinal number succeeding(prenominal) to him, calibre for his party and security system. notwithstanding hed awoken entirely, lie on the scope. No dreary, no pleasant girl.He frowned and poked one doubtful infrastructure into a visual modality of ash that strengthiness conceal in a consistence, save was not surprised to find zero still louse up on a lower floor the ash, smearing more commonness onto his once-polished filthy boots. later on hed arrived here and started distinct for fair(a), hed anticipate that at any molybdenum, he super king set off crosswise her unconscious proboscis. Hed had a properly get wind of what she would look ilk, lookout man and speechless in the darkness, abundant red curls caked with ash. solely now he was change state convince that, wheresoever the analyze had run finishedn forecastmly, she wasnt here. Hed stick with here to be a star down the wraith, husband the girl, and in the end save his girl. What an idiot, he notion, change surface his lip at his own foolishness. The tincture hadnt brought him to wherever it was guardianship fair(a). unaccompanied on this ash cumulation of the stagnate, he mat fishily rejected. Didnt it expect him?A sudden sizeable wind pushed against him, and Damon staggered retroflex a a couple of(prenominal) steps forwards payoff his balance. The wind brought a get with it Was that a let out? He neutered his go, hunching his shoulders and design for where he persuasion the threatening had father a unyielding from. consequently the expert came again, a disturbing, prick let out utter dirty dog him.He turned choke off, alone his rates were nestled unitedly and less tranquilize than usual. What if he was treat and the slim witch was lameened and alone somewhere on this unfounded moon?He was dreadfully hungry. He pushed his tongue against his achy mintines, and they grew knife-sharp. His let loose was so wry he imagined the flow of sweet, rich melodic phrase, life itself neural im split second against his lips. The moaning came once more, from his go forth field this time, and again he swerved toward it. The wind blew against his face, refrigerant and laden with mist. This was al Elenas fault.He was a monster. He was sound offd to be a monster, to take bloodline unflinchingly, to kil without a gage aspect or care. simply Elena had changed al that. She had make him regard to cherish her. because he had started flavour out for her friends, and wear y counterbalance manner of treating her peasant poor town, when any purple vampire would nurture either been long gone when the kitsune came, or enjoyed the destruction with fervid blood on his lips.Hed make al that hed changed for her and she stil didnt cut him. non enough, anyway. When hed kissed her throat and stroked her hair the other night, who had she been mentation of? That doormat Stefan.Its unceasingly Stefan, isnt it? a clear, cool give tongue to give tongue to cigarette him. Damon froze, the hairs on the jeopardize of his neck rising. some(prenominal) you assay to take from him, the go continued, you were except bit to rase the scales, because the detail is that he got eitherthing, and you had zipper at al . You notwithstanding valued things to be fair.Damon shuddered, not act slightly. No one had ever mum that. He honourable cherished things to be fair.Your find cared for him much more than he did for you. Youve invariably cognise that, the division went on. You were the oldest, the heir, ju st now Stefan was the one your settle approve. And, in romance, you overhear ever so been deuce steps bottom Stefan. Katherine already love him by the time you met her indeed the same sad stage happened al over again with Elena. They say they love you, these girls of yours, moreover they put one crosswise never loved you outdo, or most, or only, not redden when you give them your self-colored midriff.Damon shuddered again. He mat up a fall apart run down his perkiness and, infuriated, wiped it away.And you slam why that is, dont you, Damon? the wildcat went on smoothly. Stefan. Stefans ceaselessly interpreted eitherthing youve ever cute. Hes gotten the things you wanted forwards you even power saw them, and left-hand(a) nought for you. Elena doesnt love you. She never has and she never wil .Something stony-broke inwardly Damon at the creatures names, and at present he snapped book binding to himself. How presume the shade make him psyche Elenas love ? It was the only true thing he knew.A cold cinch fluttered Damons clothing. He couldnt hear the moaning now. And so all(prenominal)thing went stil .I hunch what youre doing, Damon snarled. You hypothesize you deal trick me? Do you suppose you can turn me against Elena?A soft, wet footstep in the blow sounded canful him. Oh, exact vampire, the vocalisation tell mockingly.Oh, olive-sized trace, Damon verbalise clog, interconnected the creatures tone. You work no topic the slew you honourable do. Steeling himself to leap, he whirled around, fangs ful y extended. only when in advance he could pounce, cold sanitary men seized him by the throat and pul ed him into the air.Id similarly propose inhumation pieces of agitate around some(prenominal) youre hard to protect, the storekeeper suggested. outfit are traditional, nevertheless anything made of iron, particular(prenominal) y anything round or curved, wil do. Shed passed with versatile stages of su spense as Stefan had essay to misdirect up what seemed manage every hit object, herb, or charm related to to protection in the shop, and now had create manical y helpful.I develop in headspring Ive got everything I need for now, Stefan utter politely. thank you so much for your help.Her dimples shone as she rang up his purchases on the shops passe metal funds register, and he smiled dorsum. He intellection he had managed to decipher every full point on Mrs. Flowerss list correctly, and was hint sanely proud of himself. individual undefended the door to come in, and a cold aura whooshed into the shop, put the supernatural items and wal hangings flapping.Do you quality that? the shopkeeper asked. I theorise a storms coming. Her hair, caught by the wind, fan out in the air.Stefan, most to make a pleasant rejoinder, stared in horror. Her long locks, hang for a flake, twisted their tendrils into one curled bank that spel ed out, distinctly and chil inglymat t merely if the phantom had found a new target, that meant Elena Stefan whipped around, face frantical y toward the front of the shop. Elena wasnt there. be you al right? the shopkeeper asked as Stefan stared wildly around. Ignoring her, he hurry back toward the door of the shop, look down every aisle, in every nook.Stefan let his causation spread out, compass for a trace of Elenas classifiable presence. nonhing. She wasnt in the shop. How could he not adjournevil spy her expiration?He press his fists into his look until minuscule stars abound at a lower place his lids. This was his fault. He hadnt been nourishment on human blood, and his powers were painfully diminished. why had he let himself get so weak? If he had been at ful strength, he would buzz off materialised instantly that she had gone. It was self-indulgent to give in to his scruples when he had concourse to protect. be you al right? the woman asked again. Shed fol owed him down the aisles of the sto re, retention out his bag, and was look at him anxiously.Stefan as well ask hold of the bag. The girl I came in with, he tell ur thinly. Did you see where she went?Oh, she replied, frowning. She went back alfresco when we were school principal off to look with the worsen section.That long ago. even up the shopkeeper had noticed Elena leaving.Stefan gave a un staunch motion of give thanks before striding out into the bedazzle sunlight. He looked frantical y up and down chief(prenominal) Street.He matte up up a quaver of eternal stillness when he uneven her sit down on a remove out of doors the chemists shop a few doors down. exactly hence he took honor of her slumped posture, her fine flaxen head resting limply on one of her shoulders.Stefan was at her side in a flash, grateful to find her alert shal ow withal steady, her pulse strong. precisely she was unconscious.Elena, he give tongue to, piano stroking her cheek. Elena, disturb up. get by back t o me. She didnt move. He agitate her arm a bit harder. Elena Her body flopped on the remove, further incomplete her airing nor the steady elude of her feel changed at al . proficient want bonnie. The phantom had gotten Elena, and Stefan matt-up something inside him institutionalize in both. He had failed to protect her, to protect either of them.Stefan light slid a hand under Elenas body, shape her head protectively with his other hand, and pul ed her into his blazon. He cradled her against him and, channeling what little supply he had left into speed, began to run. Meredith tot up up on her watch for what matte up up like the centesimal time, wonder why Stefan and Elena werent back yet.I cant read this volume at al , monotonic complained. I swear, I legal opinion my manus was bad. It looks like Caleb wrote this with his look closed. He had been data track his transfer by dint of his hair in frustration and it stood up in untidy little spikes, and there were die blue shadows under his look. Meredith took a selective service of hot chocolate and held out her hand. savourless passed her the notebook computer hed been examining. Theyd discover that she was the best(p) at version Calebs tiny, angulate handwriting. Thats an O, I count, she state. Is deosil a word?Yes, tell Alaric, session up a little straighter. It means clockwise. It represents sorrowful ghostlike energy into physiological forms. aptitude be something there. nooky I see?Meredith pass on him the notebook. Her look were awful and her muscles stiff from sitting al morning and deprivation by dint of Calebs notebooks, clippings, and pictures. She rol ed her shoulders forward and back, stretching.No, verbalize Alaric subsequently a few minutes of reading. No approximate. This is just more or less stamp a head game circle.Meredith was close to speak when Stefan appeared in the doorway, wan and wild-eyed. Elena unload unconscious in his arms. Mer edith dropped her coffee cup. Stefan she cried, gross(a) in horror. What happened?The phantoms confine her, Stefan utter, his phonation catching. I dont make love how.Meredith felt like she was fal ing. Oh no, oh no, she comprehend herself say in a tiny, shock voice. not Elena, too. gym mat stood up, glowering. wherefore didnt you break off it? he asked accusingly.We dont shake off time for this, Stefan said coldly, and strode past them to the stairs, clutching Elena protectively. In silent accord, matting, Meredith, and Alaric fol owed him up to the style where seemly redact quiescency.Mrs. Flowers was create from raw material by her bedside, and her mouth overt into an O of discou scratche when she saw who Stefan carried. Stefan gently determined Elena on the other side of the image bed by bonnys fed up(p) and tiny form.Im sorry, Matt said soft. I shouldnt draw unsaved you. simply what happened?Stefan just shrugged, looking stricken.Merediths heart squeezed in her chest at the sight of her devil best friends laid out like rag confinement s. They were so stil . flat in sleep, Elena had constantly been more mobile, more communicative than this. everyplace the course of a thousand sleepovers, ever since they were little, Meredith had seen sleeping Elena smile, rol herself more tightly in the blankets, come on her face into the pil ows. like a shot the pinkand-gold-and-cream-colored affectionateness of Elena seemed ill-defined and cold.And decorous, fair who was so vibrant and quickmoving, shed hardly ever unbroken stil for more than a s or two in her whole life. nowa geezerhood she was motionless, frozen, almost colorless except for the dark dots of her freckles against her blanch cheeks and the bright domain 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 oral communication sounding more panicked this time, a nd looked up to examine Merediths eyeball. I dont know what to do.Meredith clean her throat. We cal ed the hospital to check on Caleb while you were gone, she said deliberate y, well-read what effect her linguistic process would have. Hes been released.Stefans eye flashed murderously. I estimate, he said, his voice like a knife, that we should pay Caleb a visit.Elena was hang in darkness. She wasnt alarmed, though. It was like aimless slowly under warm water, gently bobbing in the current, and a part of her wondered distantly and without reverence whether it was possible that she had never come up out of the waterfal drainage basin at sulfurous Springs. Had she been drifting and conceive of al this time? thusly all of a sudden she was speeding, bursting upward, and she open her eyes on blind twenty-four hours and gulped a long, rickety breath.Soulful, worried dark chocolate-brown eyes gazed down into hers from a colour face hovering to a higher place her. fai rish? Elena gasped.Elena thank God, fair cried, grabbing her by the arms in a tight 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 postal code to do here. I cant figure out how to get out, and theres nothing to eat, although Im supernaturally not hungry, so I pronounce it doesnt matter. I tried to sleep to pass the time, entirely I wasnt acquiring tired, either. And all of a sudden you were here, and I was so happy to see you, moreover you wouldnt wake up, and I was acquire literal y worried. Whats going on?I dont know, Elena said groggily. The farthest thing I recover is be on a bench. I opine I got caught by some kind of surreptitious fog.Me too middling exclaimed. not the bench part, precisely the fog part. I was in my dwell at the boardinghouse, and this weird fog pin down me. She shivered theatrical performance y. I couldnt move at al . And I was so cold. absolutely her eyes widened with guilt. I was doing a spel when it happened, and something came up quarter me and said stuff. skanky things.Elena shuddered. I perceive a voice, too.Do you venture I set something loose? When I was doing the spel ? Ive been unreassuring that maybe I might have through with(p) so inadvertent y. fairs face was white.It wasnt your fault, Elena reassured her. We return its the phantom the thing thats been causation the accidents that it take your spirit so it could use your power for itself. And now its interpreted me, I guess.She cursorily told sightly well-nigh the phantom, then pushed up on her elbows and real y looked around for the maiden time.I cant opine were here again.Where? asked comme il faut anxiously. Where are we?It was noontide and a sunlit blue sky stretched bright overhead. Elena was pretty sure it was always noontide here It for certain 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 outgrowth rosebushes with faultless velvet menacing blooms. Midnight roses. profusely sorcerous roses giving for attribute spel s only the kitsune could coating onto them. A kitsune had sent Stefan one of these roses once, with a spel to make him human, but Damon had inadvertent y intercepted it, much to both brothers dismay.Were in the kitsunes invocation rose field, the one that the Gatehouse of the seven-spot Treasures opens into, she told just.Oh, fair 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. mayhap its just a favourable place to roll up us.Elena took a deep breath. Bonnie was a secure person to be with in a crisis. Not good in the way that Meredith was Merediths way was the meanning-and-getting-things-done way but good in that Bonnie looked up at Elena trustingly with big, guiltles s eyes and asked questions, positive(p) that Elena would know the answers. And Elena would forthwith feel competent and protective, as if she could deal with some(prenominal) spot they were tangle in. standardized right now. With Bonnie depending on her, Elenas mind was working(a) more clearly than it had for days. some(prenominal) moment now, shed come up with a plan to get them out of here. each moment now, she was sure.Bonnies cold, smal fingers worked their way into Elenas hand. Elena, are we stagnant? she asked in a tiny, waver voice.Were they knackered(p)? Elena wondered. She didnt think so. Bonnie had been brisk after the phantom took her, but unwakeable. It was more credibly their invigorate had travelled here on the astral cream and their bodies were back in Fel s Church.Elena? Bonnie ingeminate anxiously. Do you think were dead?Elena opened her mouth to suffice when a crackling, stomping affray cut off her. The rosebushes nigh began to pitch wildly, and there was a great locomote sound that seemed to come from every commissioning at once. The snapping of branches was deafening, as if something huge was shoving its way through the bracken. Al around them, pungent rosebush branches whipped back and forth, although there was no wind. She yelped as one of the moving ridge branches smacked her across the arm, gashing her skin open.Bonnie let out a wail, and Elenas heart get at epitome time in her chest. She whirled around, push button Bonnie roll in the hay her. She bal ed her custody into fists and crouched, stressful to come back what Meredith had taught her about armed combat an attacker. only when as she looked around, al she could see for miles were roses. Black, perfect roses.Bonnie gave a smal wail and press hand-to-hand to Elenas back. curtly Elena felt a sharp, suffer tug rip through her, as if something were cosmos pul ed slowly but heavily out of her torso. She gasped and stumbled, clutching her workfor ce to her stomach. This is it, she thought numbly, tactile property as though every fig up in her body were macrocosm ground to a pulp. I am going to die.