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The point of the stake went all the way through the kid’s neck, the sharp tip sticking out just below his chin in front He gagged and choked, clawing at it, then fell to his knees, one ar his wrist to the bars

Da va on the floor beneath him The kid knocked the stake free at last, but slid limply farther down the bars, supported only by the one thin arm chained to them

He let out a harsh, blood-choked breath, and his body stiffened, his eyes rolling back into his head

Then he lay still He wasn’t breathing Dale to breathe

"We did it," Meredith said softly Her eyes ide and shining with excitely easy"

With a sudden jerk, the va open Then he leaped to his feet, his handcuff rattling The gash in his neck was healing, new pink skin stretching across it He growled and swiped at Daht off balance, stumbled and al, and Da

It didn’t work Da with his own red-hot rage

"I’m sorry," he said, desperately, and reached for her hand

Then the back of his neck began to prickle unco closer

Jack’s voice, as cold as ice, came suddenly from behind them "Meredith, I expected so much more from you"

Damon whipped around

Jack was at the end of the row of dusty cages, flanked by a crowd of his valeamed in his hand

"It was a trap," Meredith said flatly

"Of course it was a trap," Jack said, his lips curling into a sneer "It was a test, too, and you failed"

With that, Jack and his vauy and a blond-haired girl, slaainst his throat while the guy swept a leg against Da to knock him off balance

Thetheing hi they needed was a crowd of vairl’s neck, giving hi roo, Damon looked around for Elena and saw that she was safe for therow of storage cages, her hands extended The air shi some sort of Guardian force field around herself, because no va near her As he watched, the shiroup for ato protect them all, but it didn’t look like she could work up the Power

Matt had Jasing a stave at the lanky vaain The va toward the faster than Matt could inflict the for a weapon Matt was no coward, but the va with him--one quickforward to save the girls, Meredith was there, slaainst the wall and efficiently breaking his neck

There was the rattle of metal behind hi ar around his throat He autorunt of pain froe of metal--handcuffs, Daainst Dae

The young vaht and bit doorking his sharp fangs savagely into Daain, trying to get rid of hih, and he held on tighter

Distracted by the young vaesture, her hands shooting up into the air There was a burst of blinding white light and suddenly Da the floor as the force of Bonnie’s explosion shoved hi, but at least it had knocked the kid off his back They landed side by side, and glared at each other, both flat on the ground and gasping with effort The kid’s round, Damon realized Jack was the fastest back on his feet, and he dragged Meredith up with hiainst her throat A thin line of blood dripped down Meredith’s neck, soaking the edge of her dark blue T-shirt

Everyone froze Da beside him, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off Meredith, not even to snap the kid’s neck

"Go ahead," Meredith said bitterly "Cut my head off See if that’ll kill me"

Jack smiled "Oh, I kno to kill you," he said softly "But that would be giving you what you want" His eyes flicked to Damon "Immortality’s quite the curse, isn’t it, Salvatore?"

Faster than even Damon’s eyes could follow, Jack stabbed the knife viciously down, cutting through Meredith’s stoo and let her fall Meredith dropped to her knees, her hands desperately trying to hold the gaping wound together Bonnie screa horrified Damon only winced--that looked painful

As they watched, the wound began to heal In just a few seconds, Meredith’s flesh hole again beneath the rip in her shirt Elena gasped, and Jasht youto them What do you think they’ll say, now that they know you’re one of an to chant in Latin, her voice hard and furious A moment later, Elena joined her She raised her hands above her head, seey, and a shirinned at Daers, and in a moment, his vampires ith him

Daht, but Jack and his teaone Damon could hear their footfalls, faint and far away

Meredith, her face ghost-pale, cli She looked at her friends, ere staring back at her Eyes wet, she looked fro in their horror Da and her shaky, panicked breaths