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"Damon!"

Icy hipped Elena’s hair around her face, tearing at her light sweater Oak leaves swirled aranite headstones, and the trees lashed their branches together in frenzy Elena’s hands were cold, her lips and cheeks were nu into it

"Damon!"

This weather was a show of his Power, ht of that saainst Stefan woke a hot fury inside her that burned against the wind If Da to Stefan, if Damon had hurt him

"Damn you, answer raveyard

A dead oak leaf like a withered brown hand skittered up to her foot, but there was no answer Above, She turned - and gasped

He was just behind her, so close that her clothes brushed his as she turned At that distance, she should have sensed another hu there, should have felt his body warmth or heard him But Damon, of course, wasn’t human

She reeled back a couple of steps before she could stop herself Every instinct that had lain quiet while she shouted into the violence of the as now begging her to run

She clenched her fists "Where’s Stefan?"

A line appeared between Damon’s dark eyebrows "Stefan who?"

Elena stepped forward and slapped hi it before she did it, and afterward she could scarcely believe what she had done But it was a good hard slap, with the full force of her body behind it, and it snapped Da to calm her breath, and watched him

He was dressed as she had first seen him, in black Soft black boots, black jeans, black sweater, and leather jacket And he looked like Stefan She didn’t kno she could have missed that before He had the saood looks But his hair was straight, not wavy, and his eyes were black as ht, and his mouth was cruel

He turned his head slowly back to look at her, and she saw blood rising in the cheek she’d slapped

"Don’t lie to"I knoho you are I knohat you are You killed Mr Tanner last night And now Stefan’s disappeared"

"Has he?"

"You know he has!"

Damon smiled and then turned it off instantly

"I’ you; if you’ve hurt him - "

"Then, what?" he said "What will you do, Elena? Whatcan you do, against me?"

Elena fell silent For the first tione deadly quiet around thereat circle of power It see, the leaden sky, the oaks and purple beeches, the ground itself, was connected to him, as if he dreer frohtly, his eyes fathohts

"I don’t know," she whispered, "but I’ll find so Believe , looking around the graveyard Then he turned back and held out a hand to her "You’re too good for ht of slapping the hand away, but she didn’t want to touch hiain "Tell me where he is"

"Later, possibly - for a price" He withdrew his hand, just as Elena realized that on it he wore a ring like Stefan’s: silver and lapis lazuli Reht fiercely It’s important