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And, as always, it was satisfying to see cruel or angry people become docile under the power of a vampire’s Influence

These two stood for another ten seconds quite stil , and then they simply walked out the front door

Elena listened to the sound of the sheriff’s car driving away and such a strong feeling of relief washed over her that she aled hi She could feel it in her chest and her fingertips

It’s all over All done now, Stefan thought to her and Elena suddenly felt so different She felt pride Stefan had sie and chased the officers away

Thank you, she thought to Stefan

"I guess we’d better get Matt out of the root cel ar,"she added

Matt was unhappy "Thanks for hidingthat was?"he deht except as in that little star balAnd no sound - I couldn’t hear a thing down there And what is this?"He held out the long, heavy wooden staff, with its strangely shaped, spiked ends

Elena felt sudden panic "You didn’t cut yourself, did you?"She snatched up Matt’s hands, letting the long staff fal to the ground But Matt didn’t seeh to hold it by the ends,"he said

"Meredith did, for some reason,"Elena said "Her palms were covered ounds And I don’t even knohat it is"

"I do,"Stefan said quietly He picked up the stave "But it’s Meredith’s secret real y I mean it’s Meredith’s property,"he added hastily as al eyes fixed on him at the word secret

"Well, I’htforay, flipping back so He raised blue eyes to Elena "I knohat it smells like, which is vervain And I knohat it looks like with al those silver and iron spikes coiant staff for exter every kind of Godawful Hel acious monster that walks on this earth"

"And vampires, too,"Elena added hastily She knew that Stefan was in a funny mood and she definitely didn’t want to see Matt, for who on the floor with a crushed skul"And even hu poison"

"Poison?"Matt looked at his own palms hastily

"You’re okay,"Elena said "I checked you, and besides it would be a very quick-acting poison"

"Yes, they would want to take you out of the fight as fast as possible,"Stefan said "So if you’re alive now, you’re likely to stay that way And now, this Godawful Hel acious o to the attic

He must have heard Elena’s swift, involuntarily indrawn breath, because he turned around and she could see that he was sorry His eyes were dark e with unused Power

I think we’l have a latepleasurable thril s ripple through her She squeezed Stefan’s hand, and felt him return the pressure She could see what he had inpretty clearly what he wanted - and she was as eager to get upstairs as he was

But at that moment Matt, eyes on the wickedly spiked staff, said, "Meredith has so at al about it,"Stefan replied "But if you want to know more, you’d real y better ask Meredith herself To to understand Elena ay ahead of hi al sorts ofthe earth And Meredith - Meredith as as slim and athletic as a bal erina with a black belt, and oh! Those lessons! The lessons that Meredith had always put off if the girls were doing so at that exact ed to irl could hardly be expected to carry a harpsichord around with her and nobody else had one Besides, Meredith had said she hated to play, so her BFFs had let it go at that

It was al part of the Meredithlessons? Elena would bet soenuine Meredith would want to kno toavailable

But if Meredith wasn’t practicing for a little lightin a Hol ywood Western - then ould she have been doing?

Training, Elena guessed There were a lot of dojos out there, and if Meredith had been doing this since that vaood And e’ve fought grisly things, whose eyes have ever been on her, a soft gray shadow that kept out of the liood

The only question that needed to be answered hy Meredith hadn’t shown thehts - say against Klaus -

until now And Elena didn’t know, but she could ask Meredith herself Tomorrohen Meredith was up But she trusted that it had some simple answer

Elena tried to stifle a yawn in a ladylike way Stefan? she asked Can you get us out of here - without picking h stress this entle voice "Mrs Flowers, Meredith is in the first-floor bedroom - she’l probably sleep very late Matt - "

"I know, I know I don’t knohere the schedule went but I ht"Matt presented an ar, you can never have too htforwardly

"Mrs Flowers and I wil be in the kitchen,"she said aloud

When they were there, Mrs Flowers said, "Don’t forget to thank Stefan for defending the boardinghouse for me"

"He did it because it’s our home,"Elena said, and went back into the hal , where Stefan was thanking a flushing Matt

And then Mrs Flowers cal ed Matt into the kitchen and Elena found herself swooped up in lithe, hard ar altitude rapidly, with the wood staircase eroans of protest And final y they were in Stefan’s room and Elena was in Stefan’s ar else either of theht and turned her face up as Stefan turned his down and they began with a long slow kiss And then the kiss wentto Stefan, as already holding her with arranite, but only squeezed her exactly as tightly as she wanted them to