Page 21 (2/2)

Everyone watched it,to consult her brain, "You have kitten teeth"

The nextwildly al around the kitchen "I won’t be one! I won’t be! I’m a hunter-slayer, not a vampire! I’l kill myself if I’ it, the quick thrust of the stave between her ribs and into the heart She would go on the Internet to find the right area Ironwood and white ash piercing her heart, Stilling it foreversealing off the evil that was Meredith Sulez

Be calm! Be calm! Stefan’s Influence flooded into her

Meredith was not cal down a photograph on Mrs Flowers’s kitchen table "It turns out that Klaus or so these since Cristian was four - on my real birthday For years! And in every picture you could see his vampire teeth Not ’kitten teeth’And then they stopped co up! With pointed teeth! And last year this one came"

Elena leaped for the photo, but it was closer to Stefan and he was faster He stared in astonish up?"he said She could feel how shaken he was - and how envious

No one had given hi Meredith and around at Stefan

"But it’s iht that if you were bitten, that was it, right? You never got any older - or bigger"

"That’s what I thought too But Klaus was an Old One and who knohat they can do?"Stefan answered

Damon will be furious when he finds out, Elena told Stefan privately, reaching for the picture even though she’d already seen it through Stefan’s eyes Dae - about anyone’s height advantage

Elena brought the picture to Mrs Flowers and looked at it with her It showed an extremely handsome boy, with hair that was just Meredith’s dark color He looked like Meredith in his facial structure and olive skin He earing a hing merrily with a ful set of very white teeth You could easily see that the canines were long and pointed

Elena looked back and forth from Meredith to the picture

The only difference she could see was that this boy’s eyes see else screamed "twins"

"First I kil him,"Meredith repeated tiredly "Then I kil myself"She stu over her chair

Elena hovered near her, snatching two s from the table, to prevent Meredith’s clu them to the floor

Meredithcluraceful or clu - at least partly - a vampire? The kitten teeth? Elena turned apprehensive eyes on Stefan, felt Stefan’s oilderment

Then both of them, without consultation, turned to look at Mrs

Flowers She gave theetic little-old-lady smile

"Gotta kil find hi as her dark head lowered to the table, to the pil ow of her arms "Find himwhere? Grandpawhere? Cristianmy brother"

Elena listened silently until there was only soft breathing to be heard

"You drugged her?"she whispered to Mrs Flowers

"It hat Ma irl

It won’t harht

Because I’ht now"

Elena glanced at Stefan, saw fear dawning on his face, and deh their link He’d shut it down

Elena turned to Mrs Flowers "What?"

"I’reed Stefan, looking around the table as if to show that Matt wasn’t there He was trying to protect Elena froh hiht be,"she said brightly She was re in Fel ’s Church while she and the others had been in the Dark Di the rounds of home visits"

Mrs Flowers shook her head, her expression bleak "I’m afraid not, Elena dear Sophia - Dr Alpert - cal edMatt’s mother, your own fa Fel ’s Church entirely And I don’t bla She said he ht That was around twelve thirty"

Elena’s eyes autoh her, flipping her stoertips The clock said 4:35 - 4:35 PM! But that had to be wrong She and Stefan had only joined e hadn’t lasted that long

This was iht!"She appealed to Mrs Flowers, but heard at the same ti I didn’t want to rush But I was lost in it too - it’s not your fault, Elena!

"It is et about my friends for the entire afternoon! And Matt -

Matt would never scare us by keeping us waiting for his cal !

I should have cal ed him! I shouldn’t have been - "She looked at Stefan with unhappy eyes The only thing burning inside her right noas the sha Matt

"I did cal his ently

"Ma ma advised me to do so, al the way back at half past twelve But he didn’t answer I’ve cal ed every hour since

Ma ma won’t say s directly"

Elena ran to Mrs Flowers and wept on the soft cambric lacework at the old woman’s neck "You did our job for us,"she said "Thank you But noe have to go and find him"

She whirled on Stefan "Can you put Meredith in the first-floor bedroom? Just take off her shoes and put her on top of the covers Mrs Flowers, if you’re going to be alone here, we’l leave Saber and Talon to take care of you Then we’l keep in touch by mobile And we’l search every house in Fel ’s Church - but I guess we should go to the thicket first"

"Wait, Elena my dear"Mrs Flowers had her eyes shut Elena waited, shifting impatiently fro fro Meredith in the front room

Suddenly, Mrs Flowers smiled, eyes Stillshut "Ma ma says she wil do her utmost for you two, since you are so devoted to your friend She says that Matt is not anywhere in Fel ’s Church And she says, take the dog, Saber The falcon atch over Meredith while we are away"Mrs Flowers’s eyes opened "Although we ht plaster herand door with Post-it Notes,"she said, "just to make sure"

"No,"Elena said flatly "I’m sorry, but I won’t leave Meredith and you on your oith only a bird for protection We’l take you both with us, covered in amulets if you like, and then we can take both aniether when Bloddeuas trying to kil us"

"Al right,"Stefan said at once, knowing Elena well enough to realize that a half-hour-long argument could ensue and Elena would never be moved an inch from her position Mrs

Flowers must have known it too, for she rose, also iet ready

Stefan carried Meredith out to her car Elena gave a tiny whistle for Saber, as instantly underfoot, seeer than ever, and she raced hily clean - but Elena fished a pair of briefs froht in, but found she couldn’t stand Still Final y, she ran up to Stefan’s rooan scribbling

Dear Diary,

I don’t knohat to do Matt has disappeared Da care of her?

There’s no way to know We don’t have any way to open a Gate ourselves and go after the - anything - has happened to Bonnie, I’ll want to kill him too Oh, God, what a mess!

And Meredithof all people, Meredith turns out to have more secrets than all of us combined

All Stefan and I can do is hold each other and pray We’ve been fighting Shinichi so long! I feel as if the end is co soonand I’m afraid

"Elena!"Stefan’s shout came from below "We’re al ready!"

Elena quickly stuffed the diary back under theon the stairs, and fol owed hi Mrs Flowers had two overcoats covered in a whistle fro keeeeeeee froainst the white-streaked August sky "She understands,"Stefan said briefly, and took the driver’s seat of the car Elena got into the backseat behind hier seat Since Stefan had buckled up Meredith into the middle of the backseat, this left Saber ato put his panting head through

"Now,"Stefan said, over the purring of the engine, "where are we going, exactly?"