The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 6

Elena was using solely her immense talents at negotiation to calm dull d possess, encouraging him to order a secondly and third Belgian waffle blithe at him crossways the table. that it wasnt a great deal good. matted was moving as if he were driven to rush, magic spell at the analogous sentence he couldnt baffle his eyeb any slay her.Hes still imagining Damon swooping down and terrorizing both(preno(prenominal)inal) young little girl, Elena view helplessly.Damon wasnt t here when they stepped give away of the coffee shop. Elena saw the frown amid rail motor automobiledinal-dimensionalitys eyebrows begin and had a brainstorm.Why dont we take the Jag to a gived- simple machine dealership? If were t single ending to give up the Jaguar, I compliments your advice on what we asidesmart in return.Yeah, my advice on beat-up, falling-apart heaps has got to be the opera hat, mo nononous express, with a wry smile that say he knew Elena was managing him, al peer less(a) he didnt idea.The single gondola dealership in the town didnt wager in truth promising. But evening it was not as depressed- feel as the owner of the good deal. Elena and vapid embed him asleep privileged a splendid office building with galling windowpanes. monotonous tapped gently on the smudged window and eventually the man started, jerked up in his chair, and angrily waved them away.But phlegm tapped all over again on the window when the man began to range his spot down once more(prenominal)(prenominal), and this time the man sat up real slowly, gave them a look of bitter despair, and came to the door.What do you motivation? he demanded.A trade-in, Matt say loudly before Elena could take it softly.You teenagers claim a car to trade, the smaller man said tenebriously. In all my twenty years owning this place Look. Matt stepped covering to reveal the life analogous inflamed Jag shining in the daybreak sun uniform a large ruddiness on whe els. A new Jaguar XZR. Zero to sixty in 3.7 seconds A 550-horsepower supercharged AJ-V8 GEN III R engine with 6-speed ZF automatic transmission ad practicedive Dynamics and Active Differential for exceptional(a) traction and handling There is no car like the XZR Matt absolute nose to nose with the little man, whose blab out had slowly come open as his look flickered between the car and the boy.You indispensability to trade that in for something on this lot? he said, shocked into frank disbelief. As if Id generate the cash to waitaminute he break himself. His eye halt flicke bounce and became the eyeball of a poker player. His shoulders came up, just his train didnt, braggy him the appearance of a vulture.Dont fatality it, he said flatly and make as if to go back into the office.What do you mean you dont want it? You were drooling over it a minute ago Matt shouted, and the man had stopped wincing. His normal didnt change.I should harbour done the talking, Elena tho ught. I wouldnt have gotten into a war from word one but its overly late now. She attempt to shut out the male vocalisations and looked at the dilapidated cars on the lot, each with its own dusty little sign close in into the windshield 10 PERCENT rack up FOR XMAS EASY CREDIT CLEAN GRANNY-OWNED extra NO DOWN-PAYMENT CHECK IT OUT She was afeard(predicate) she was press release to burst into weeping at any second.No call for a car like that around here, the owner was saying expressionlessly. Whod buy it?Youre crazy This car will bring customers flocking in. Its its advertising pause than that discolor hippo over thither. non a hippo. San elephant.Who put forward tell, with it half collapse like that?With dignity, the owner stalked over to look at the Jag. Not brand-new. Sgot too many miles on it.It was bought only two weeks ago.So? In a hardly a(prenominal) more weeks, Jaguar will be advertising next years cars. The owner waved a hand at Elenas giant rise of a vehic le. Obsolete.ObsoleteYeah. Big car like this, gas guzzler Its more energy efficient than a cross You think people know that? They recognise it Look, I could take this car anyplace else Then take it. On my lot, here and now, that car is b arly worth one car in exchange dickens cars.The new character came from directly bottom Matt and Elena, but the car dealers eye widened as if he had just seen a ghost.Elena turned and met Damons unfathomable moody gaze. He had his Ray-Bans hooked over his T-shirt and was stand up with his detainment foundation his back. He was looking hard at the car dealer.A few moments passed, and thenThesilver Prius in the back serious corner. Under below the awning, the car dealer said slowly, and with a dazed expression in do to no question that had been asked aloud. Illtake you on that point, he added in a voice to match his expression.Take the keys with you. Let the boy test-drive it, Damon ordered, and the owner fumbled to show a key ring at his belt, and then walked slowly away, staring(a) at nothing.Elena turned to Damon. One guess. You asked him which was the best car on his lot.Substitute to the lowest degree disgusting and youd be closer, Damon said. He flashed a lustrous smile at her for a tenth part of a second, and then turned it off.But, Damon, wherefore two cars? I know its more fair and all, but what are we sledding to do with the second car?Caravan, Damon said.Oh, no. But even Elena could see the benefits of this at least after they held a treetop to decide on a revolution schedule between the cars for Elena. She sighed. Well if Matt agreesMutt will agree, Damon said, looking very briefly very briefly as innocent as an angel.What have you got behind your back? Elena said, deciding not to watch over the question of what Damon intended to do to Matt.Damon smiled again, but this time it was an odd smile, just a quirk of one side of his mouth. His eyes said it was nothing oftentimes. But his right h and came out and it was holding the some beautiful rose Elena had ever seen in her life.It was the deepest red rose she had ever seen, notwithstanding there wasnt a hint of purple to it it was just velvety burgundy, and open at exactly the moment of full bloom. It looked as if it would be plush to the touch, and its vivid spirt stem, with just a few fragile leaves here and there, was at least xviii inches recollective and straight as a ruler.Elena resolutely put her own hands behind her back. Damon wasnt the sentimental type even when he got on his Princess of the Night soapbox. The rose probably had something to do with their journey.Dont you like it? Damon said. Elena ability be imagining it, but it almost sounded as if he were disappointed.Of course I like it. Whats it for?Damon settled back. Its for you, Princess, he said, looking hurt. Dont get under ones skin I didnt steal it.No he wouldnt have stolen it. Elena knew exactly how he would have gotten the rosebut it wa s so beautiful.As she still make no move to take the rose, Damon lifted it and allowed the composed, silky-feeling petals to kiss her cheek.It made her shiver. Stop it, Damon, she murmured, but she didnt see to be able to step backward.He didnt stop. He used the cool, softly murmurous petals to outline the other side of her face. Elena took a deep breath automatically, but what she smelled was not flowerlike at all. It was the smell of some dark, dark wine, something ancient and fragrant that had once made her drunk immediately. Drunk on dense Magic and on her own heady excitementjust to be with Damon. But that wasnt the real me, a small voice in her head protested. I bed Stefan. DamonI wantI want toDo you want to know why I got this particular rose? Damon was saying softly, his voice blending in with her memories. I got it because of its create. Its a Black Magic rose.Yes, Elena said simply. Shed known that before he said it. It was the only find that fit.Now Damon was gi ving her a rose kiss by swirling the blossom in a traffic circle on her cheek and then applying pres incontestable. The firmer petals in the middle pressed into her skin, while the outmost petals just brushed it.Elena was feeling understandably light-headed. The day was warm and humid already how could the rose feel so cool? Now the outermost petals had moved to watch over her lips, and she wanted to say no, but somehow the word wouldnt come.It was as if she had been transported back in time, back to the days when Damon had for the first time appeared to her, had first claimed her for his own. When she had almost let him kiss her before she knew his name.He hadnt changed his ideas since then. Vaguely, Elena remembered thinking something like that before. Damon changed other people while remain unchanged himself.But Ive changed, Elena thought, and suddenly there was quicksand under her feet. Ive changed so much since then. nice to see things in Damon Id never imagined could b e there. Not just the wild and aggravated dark parts, but the gentle parts. The reinforce and decency that were trapped like veins of gold inside that stone boulder in his mind.I have to help him, Elena thought. Somehow, I have to help him and the little boy chain outside the boulder.These thoughts had trickled slowly with her mind while it seemed separated from her body. She was so mired with them, in fact, that she somehow bewildered run of her body, and only now did she realize how much closer Damon had gotten. Her back was against one of the sad, sag cars. And Damon was speaking lightly, but with an undertone of seriousness.A rose for a kiss, then? he asked. It is called Black Magic, and I did come by it honestly. Her name wasit wasDamon stopped, and for a moment a look of intense bewilderment flashed across his face. Then he smiled, but it was the warriors smile, the brilliant one he turned on and off almost before you were sure you had seen it. Elena sensed trouble. S ure, Damon still didnt remember Matts name correctly, but she had never known him to block up a girls name when he was unfeignedly nerve-racking to remember. Especially within transactions of when he must have feed from that girl.Shinichi again? Elena wondered. Was he still victorious Damons memories only the highlights, of course? The thrills, good or spoiled? Elena knew that Damon himself was thinking the same thing. His black eyes were smoldering. Damon was furious but there was a certain vulnerability some his fury.Without thinking, Elena put her hands on Damons forearms. She disregard the rose, even as he traced the dilute of her cheekbone with it. She tried to speak steadily. Damon, what are we going to do?That was the scene that Matt walked in on. Ran in on, actually. He came twist through a maze of cars, and hasten around a white SUV with one flat tire, shouting, Hey, you guys, that Prius isAnd then he stopped dead.Elena knew what he was seeing Damon caressing her with the rose, while she was practically embracing him. She let go of Damons arms, but she couldnt back away from him because of the car behind her.Matt Elena began, and then her voice trailed off. She had been about to say This isnt what it looks like. Were not in the middle of a cuddle. Im not truly touching him. But this was what it looked like. She cared about Damon she had been set abouting to get through to him.With a small shock, that thought repeated itself with the force of a shaft of sunlight shooting through an unprotected vampires body.She cared about Damon.She unfeignedly did. It was normally difficult being with him because they were alike in so many ways. Headstrong, each wanting their own way, passionate, impatientShe and Damon were alike.Small shocks were going though Elena, and her entire body matte up weak. She found herself glad to lean against the car behind her, even though it must be getting dust all over her clothes.I love Stefan, she thought almo st hysterically. Hes the only one I love. But I need Damon to get to him. And Damon may be falling to pieces in front of me.She was looking at Matt all the while, her eyes full of tears that would not fall. She blinked, but they stubbornly stayed on her lashes.Matt she whispered.He said nothing. He didnt need to. It was all in his expression astonishment turning to something Elena had never seen before, not when he was looking at her.It was a sort of alienation that shut her out plumply, that severed any bonds between them.Matt, no But it came out in a whisper.And then, to her astonishment, Damon spoke.You do know its all me, dont you? You can hardly blame a girl for trying to defend herself. Elena looked at her hands, which were shudder now. Damon was going on, You know its all my fault. Elena would never That was when Elena realized. Damon was Influencing Matt.No She took Damon off guard, grabbing him again, shaking him. Dont do it Not to MattThe black eyes that were turned on hers were definitely not those of a suitor. Damon had been interrupted in the use of his Power. If it had been anyone else, they would have ended as a small spot of grease on the ground.Im saving you, Damon said coldly. Are you refusing me?Elena found herself wavering. Maybe, if it was only once, and only for Matts benefitSomething surged up inside her. It was all she could do not to let her aura escape completely.never try that on me again, Elena said. Her voice was peace of mind but icy. Dont you dare ever try to Influence me And leave Matt onlySomething like approval flickered in the never-ending darkness of Damons gaze. It was gone before she could be sure shed seen it. But when he spoke, he seemed less distant.All right, he said to Matt. Whats the game plan now? You name it.Matt answered slowly, not looking at either of them. He was flushed but deadly calm. I was going to say, that Prius isnt bad at all.And the dealer guy has other(prenominal) one. Its in okay condition. We could have two cars just alike.And then we could caravan and schism up if someone was following us They wont know which to follow. Normally Elena would have propel her arms around Matt at this point. But Matt was looking at his shoes, which was probably just as easy really, since Damon had his eyes shut and was shaking his head slightly as if he couldnt imagine something idiotic.Thats right, Elena thought. Its my aura or Damons that theyre homing in on. We cant confuse them with selfsame(a) cars unless we have identical auras, too.Which really meant that she should drive with Matt the livelong way. But Damon would never accept that. And she requisite Damon to get to her beloved, her one and only, her true friction match Stefan.Ill take the ratty one, Matt was saying, set up it with Damon and ignoring her. Im used to ratty cars. I already arranged a deal with the guy. We should get going. Still speaking only to Damon, he said, Youll have to tell me where were really going . We dexterity get separated.Damon was silent for a long moment. Then, brusquely, he said, Sedona, Arizona, for a start.Matt looked disgusted. That place full of New Age lunatics? Youre kidding.I said well start out from Sedona. Its complete wilderness nothing but vibrate all around it. You could get lostvery easily. Damon flashed the brilliant smile and today turned it off.Well be at the juniper Resort, off North Highway 89A, he added smoothly.Ive got it, Matt said. Elena could see no perception in either his face or his expression, but his aura was seething red.Now, Matt, Elena began, we should really meet every night, so if you just follow us She broke off with a sharply inhaled breath.Matt had already turned around. He didnt turn back when she spoke. He just kept going, without another word.Without a backward glance.