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Damon dropped his hand He siht-headed, a liability in coht I’l use that! She’s so naive -

"Let go for a second,"he coaxed "So I can get the stave - "

"No! You’l jump if I do! What’s a stave?"Bonnie said, al in one breath

- and stubborn, and i to flicker?

"Bonnie,"he said in a low voice, "I ao, I’l make you - and you won’t like that, I promise"

"Do what he says,"Meredith pleaded fro into the Dark Di with him - and you’l both be human slaves this tiht definitely flickered, for an instant beco to see where Meredith was, and then he heard her say, "I can’t - "

And then they were fal ing

The last tih a Gate they had been total y enclosed in an elevator-like box This tiht, and there were the two of the didn’t see, beautiful light -

And then they were standing in an al ey, so narrow that it just barely al owed the two of theh that there was alht dohere they were

No - that wasn’t the reason, Daht It wasn’t co directly from either side of the narrow slit of al ey, which ht

"Do you realize where we are?"Da happy about having figured that out already "We’re basical y in deep burgundy - "

"Crap!"

Bonnie looked around "I don’t s,"she offered cautiously, and examined the soles of her feet

"We are,"Damon said slowly and quietly, as if he needed to calged, flayed, and decapitated just for stepping on the ground"

Bonnie tried a little hop and then a juht help them in some manner She looked at him for further instructions

Quite suddenly, Damon picked her up and stared at her hard, as revelation dawned "You’re drunk!"he final y whispered "You’re not even awake! Al this while I’ve been trying to get you to see sense, and you’re a drunken sleepwalker!"

"I aht to be nicer to reed that this was true He was the one who’d gotten the girl drunk and then drugged her with truth seruto do with how he felt about it How he felt was that there was no possible way for hi

Of course, the sensible thing would be to get away froe ed maw, as it would most certainly do if she walked a dozen steps on its streets without hi inside him simply wouldn’t let him do it And, he realized, the sooner he admitted that, the sooner he could find a place to put her and begin taking care of his own affairs

"What’s that?"he said, taking one of her hands

"My opal ring,"Bonnie said proudly "See, it goes with everything, because it’s al colors I alear it; it’s casual or dress-up"She happily let Damon take it off and examine it

"These are real diamonds on the sides?"

"Flawless, pure white,"Bonnie said, stil proudly "Lady Ulma’s fianceLucen made it so that if we ever needed to take the stones out and sel the to take the stones out and sel the to have any chance of surviving,"Damon said "And if you say oneto leave you alone here

And then you wil die "He turned narrowed, htened bird "Al right,"she whispered, tears gathering on her eyelashes "What’s it for?"

Thirty ood as

Damon had instal ed her in a second-story apartment with onecovered by rol er blinds, and strict instructions about keeping them down He had pawned the opal and a dia landlady to bring Bonnie two meals a day, escort her to the toilet when necessary, and otherwise forget about her existence

"Listen,"he said to Bonnie, as stil crying silently after the landlady had left theet back to see you within three days If I don’t come within a week it’l mean I’m dead Then you - don’t cry! Listen! - then you need to use these jewels and this et al the way froave her a ems left over from the cost of her bread and board "If that happens - and I can pretty wel pro in the daytis are busy; keep your eyes down, your aura s s of food Pray that nobody asks you anything, but try to look as if you’re on an errand for your master Oh, yes"Damon reached into his jacket pocket and pul ed out two sotten the , not when you’re eating - never"

He looked at her darkly, but Bonnie was already on the threshold of a panic attack She was trehtened to say a word Ever since entering the Dark Di her aura as sh; she didn’t need to be told to do that She was in danger She knew it

Damon finished somewhat more leniently "I know it sounds difficult, but I can tel you that I personal y have no intention whatsoever of dying I’l try to visit you, but getting across the borders of the various sectors is dangerous, and that’s what I may have to do to coht Remember, time passes differently here than back on Earth We can be here for weeks and we’l get back practical y the instant we set out And, look" - Daestured around the room - "dozens of star bal s! You can watch al of them"

These were the more common kind of star bal , the kind that had, not Power in them, but memories, stories, or lessons

When you held one to your temple, you were immersed in whatever material had been imprinted on the bal

"Better than TV,"Dahtly She was stil crushed, and she was so sht, her skin so pale and fine, her hair such a flah the blinds, that as always Dahtly "Do you have any questions?"he asked her final y

Bonnie said slowly, "And - you’re going to be?"

"Out getting the vampire versions of Who’s Who and the Book of Peers,"Da for a lady of quality"

After Damon had left, Bonnie looked around the room

It was horrible Dark brown and just horrible! She had been trying to save Da back into the Dark Dimension because she remembered the terrible way that slaves - ere mostly humans - were treated

But did he appreciate that? Did he? Not in the slightest! And then when she’d been fal ing through the light with hi to Lady Ulma’s, the Cinderel a-story woained her wealth and status and had designed beautiful dresses so that the girls could go to fancy parties

There would have been big beds with satin sheets and ht strawberries and clotted cream for breakfast There would have been sweet Lakshar, and

Bonnie looked around the brown roole blanket She picked up a star bal listlessly, and then let it drop froreat sleepiness fil ed her,in There was absolutely no question of fighting it Bonnie stumbled toward the bed, fel onto it, and was asleep almost before she had settled under the blanket

"It’sto Meredith "Elena and I were - deeply asleep - or he’d never havewith Bonnie I’d have realized he was taking you hostage Please don’t blame yourself, Meredith"

"I should have tried to warn you I just never expected Bonnie to coray eyes shimmered with unshed tears Elena squeezed her hand, sick in the pit of her stoht off Damon,"Stefan said flatly "Human or vampire - he’s trained; he knows moves that you could never counter You can’t bla She orried about Damon’s disappearance - and terrified for Bonnie Yet at another level of herat the lacerations on Meredith’s pal was that the wounds appeared to have been treated - rubbed slick with lotion But she wasn’t going to bother Meredith about it at a time like this Especial y when it was real y Elena’s own fault She was the one who had enticed Stefan the night before Oh, they had been deep, al right - deep in each other’s minds

"Anyway, it’s Bonnie’s fault if it’s anyone’s,"Stefan said regretful y "But now I’ to be inclined to watch out for her if he didn’t want her to coets hurt"

Elena chewed her lower lip There was so about Meredith, that Meredith wasn’t tel ing her