Page 41 (1/2)

Stefan didn’tmoments Elena’s heart swelled Suddenly she was as afraid as he clearly was She went to hi

Darling, don’t cry, she sent There must still be time to save Fell’s Church There one! We can get to the children; we can break the conditioning" She stopped It was as if the word "conditioning"echoed in her ears Stefan’s green eyes were fil ing her vision Herwas becoain In a minute she wouldn’t be able to

She wrenched her eyes away, breathing hard

"You were Influencing er in her own voice

"Yes,"Stefan whispered "I’ve been Influencing you for half an hour"

How dare you? Elena thought, just for hi itnow,"Stefan said quietly

"As a exhausted

And the universe did a slow spin and Elena re fro droplets, coe She looked at Stefan

And Stefan proved how brave he was, how much he loved her He told her what she already knew "Daone, Elena I’ with him as much as you wanted to I’m sorry if I came between you I didn’t understand - how much you loved each other I do now"And then he dropped his face into his hands

Elena wanted to go to him To scold him, to hold him To tel Stefan that she loved hirain But her body had gone nuainal she could do was hold out her arrass And then somehow Bonnie and Stefan were both there, the three of the: Elena with the intensity of new discovery; Stefan with a lost sound that Elena had never heard before; and Bonnie with a dry, wrenching exhaustion that seemed to want to shatter her srieve for every moment of Damon’s painful death, and for every moment of his life, too So et her head around it, and she didn’t want to do anything but cry until the kind darkness took her e broke

He grabbed Elena and pul ed her up, and shook her by the shoulders It snapped her head back and forth

"Your town is in ruins!"he shouted, as if this was her fault

"Midnightdisaster Oh, yes, I saw it al in your mind when I went in to Influence you Little Fel ’s Church is already devastated And you won’t even fight for it!"

Soh Elena It ht for it!"she screaht for it with every breath in my body, until I stop the people who did it, or until they kil et back in time? By the time you walk back the way you came, it wil al be over!"

Stefan was beside her, bracing her, shoulder to shoulder

"Then we’l force you to send us soet back in time!"

Elena stared No No Stefan couldn’t have said that Stefan didn’t force his way - and she wouldn’t have hie "There’s no need to fight! I have a Master Key in ic works here inside the Gatehouse!"she cried

But Stefan and Sage were staring each other down, each fierce and intent Elena wanted to go to Stefan but the world was doing another of its slow soe would attack Stefan, and that she couldn’t even fight for hie threw back his head and laughed wildly Or perhaps it was so It was as eerie as the sound of a wolf baying, and Elena felt Bonnie’s s her - to coe bel owed, and now there was a wild look in his eyes, too "Mais oui, what the Hell?"He laughed again "After al , I am the Gatekeeper, and I have already broken the rules by al owing you through two different doors"

Stefan was Stillbreathing hard Now he reached out and grabbed Sage by his broad shoulders and shook hioneabout? There’s no time for talk!"

"Ah, but there is, mon ami My friend, there is What you need is the firepower of the heavens to save Fel ’s Church -

and to undo the dae that has already been done To wipe it out, to e added deliberately, looking directly at Elena,

"perhaps - just perhaps - to undo this day’s events, also"

Suddenly every inch of Elena’s skin was tingling Her whole body was listening to Sage, leaning toward hi, while her eyes widened with the only other question that e said, very softly, very triumphantly, "Yes They can bestow life upon the dead They have that Power They can bring back ht you back"

Stefan and Bonnie were holding Elena up She couldn’t stand on her own

"But ould they help?"she whispered painful y She wouldn’t al ow herself even a breath of hope, not until she understood everything

"In exchange for as stolen froe replied "You are in a fortress of Hel , you know

That is what the Gatehouse is The Guardians cannot enter here They cannot storate and demand back what is insidethe seven - pardon, now six - kitsune treasures"

Not a breath of hope Not a breath But Elena heard herself give a wild laugh

"Hoe give theive thehts to the land that the park and the field of roses lie upon"

Not a breath, even though the bodies on either side of Elena were shaking now "And hoe offer them the Fountain of Eternal Youth and Life?"

"We do not However, I have here various containers, waiting to be col ected as garbage The threat of a gal on bottle of La Fontaine randomly spread al over your Earththat would devastate theems with enchantments already upon them that they would most desire Here, let me open the doors al at once! We take al we can - the rooious Elena half-turned, breath held, eyes widened to catch the first glowing of a door’s light

"Wait"Stefan’s voice was hard suddenly Bonnie and Elena turned back and froze, e

"What is your - your father - going to do to you when he finds out that you al owed this?"

"He wil not kil e said brusquely, the wild tone back in his voice "Hea bel y laugh to? Sage, I don’t think

Dae whirled around and for the first time since she had met him, Elena could believe with her whole soul that he was the son of his father His eyes had even seee color, to the yel ow of a flame, with diamond pupils like a cat’s His voice was like steel splintering, harder even than Stefan’s "What is between my father and me is my own business - mine! Stay here if you want He never bothers himself about vampires, anyway - he says they’re cursed already But I a mon cheri Damon back"

"Whatever the cost to you?"

"The hel with the cost!"

To Elena’s surprise, Stefan gripped Sage’s shoulders for a ed as much of him as he could hold

"I just wanted to e Thank you"Then he turned and strode over to the Royal Radhika plant, and with one yank, pul ed it out of its bower

Elena, heart beating in her lips and throat and fingertips, ran to gather the e out of a ninth doorway that had appeared in between the al on container and an Evian water bottle, both with secure caps intact They were ood, because she dropped the fountain Her hands were shaking that badly; and al the ti up a monotonous prayer, Oh, please Oh, please Oh, please!

She got water into both containers at the Fountain and capped the in the htened

"Bonnie?"

"Sage?"Bonnie said "Hoe get these things to the Celestial Court to bargain with thee said kindly "I a just outside to arrest us They wil take us to the Court"

Bonnie didn’t stop treet bottles of Black Magic - and break thene of il do to this area if the Celestials don’t agree Be careful not to cut your pretty hands"

Elena thought she heard Bonnie’s husky voice then, and that it was not a happy tone But Sage’s ru And Elena would neither al ow herself to hope nor despair She had a task in hand, a sche private Plans for the Celestial Court

When she and Bonnie had al the plunder they could carry, and their backpacks were ful as Well, when Stefan had two narrow black boxes that held deeds, and when Sage looked like a cross between Santa Claus and a bronzed, gorgeous, long-haired Hercules, as he carried two sacks ave one last look around at the ravaged Gatehouse

"All right,"Sage said then "Tily at Bonnie

As usual, Sage was right The moment they came out with their booty, Guardians from two different dimensions were ready for theuely like Elena: blond hair, dark blue eyes, slender The Guardians of the Nether World seemed senior to these, and were lithe women with skin so dark it was alhtly in a cap over their heads Behind theolden air cars

"You are under arrest,"one of the dark ones said, not looking as if she enjoyed her job, "for re to the Celestial Court out of the sanctuary where it was agreed that they would be kept, under the laws of both our diing on to the golden air cars while hanging on at the same time to their unlawful booty