The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nineteen

Nobody was going to lie to Elena Gilbert and ascertain forward with it.Elena marched a immense the path to the library, indignation h antiquateding her head high and her go sharp. So James thought he could pretend he didnt hatch whatsoever(prenominal)thing ab go forth those V-shaped pins? The way his eyes had skipped away from hers, the faint flush of solicit in his plump cheeks, everything ab issue him had sh exposeed that t present was nearthing there, slightly transcendental approximately him and her parents that he didnt ask to tel her.If he wasnt going to tel her, she would dumbfound out for herself. The library throwmed the worrys of a logical place to spark advancet.Elena, a vocalism cal ed, and she stopped. She had been so pore on her mission that she had or so walked right by Damon, leaning against a tree outside the library. He smiled up at her with an innocently inquiring expression, his foresightful legs stretched in front of him.What are you doing h ere? she tell abruptly. It was so weird, skillful seeing him here in the twenty-four hours on campus, like he was part of adept picture superimpose upon another. He didnt belong in this part of her life, not unless she brought him in herself.Enjoying the sunshine, Damon said dryly. And the scenery. The wave of his hap encompassed the trees and buildings of the campus as Wellas a flock of pretty young ladys giggling on the other side of the path. What are you doing here?I go to this school, Elena said. So its not weird for me to be hanging most the library. See my loony toons? Damon laughed. Youve disc all overed my secret, Elena, he said, getting to his feet. I was here hoping to see you.Or one of your little friends. I get so lonely, you last, even your bastard would be a wel uprise distraction.Real y? she asked.He scenery her a savor, his dark eyes amused. Of course I always indispensability to see you, princess. notwithstanding Im here for another reason. Im suppos ed to be aspect into the disappearances, consider? So I have to spend some period on the campus.Oh. Okay. Elena considered her options. Official y, she shouldnt be hanging around Damon at al . The terms of her breakup or further break, she corrected herself with Stefan were that she wasnt going to see either of the Salvatore brothers, not until they worked out their stimulate issues and this thing between the trey of them had time to cool off. only if if shed already violated that by permit Damon sleep on the floor of her dwell, a frequently bigger jackpot than going to the library together.And what are you up to? Damon asked her. Anything I can do with?Real y, a trip to the library ought to be innocent enough.Elena do up her mind. She and Damon were supposed to be friends, after al . Im trying to find out some information about my parents, she said. Want to help?Certainly, my lovely, Damon said, and took her hand.Elena tangle a slight frisson of unease. solely his fingers were reassuringly firm in hers, and she pushed her hesitation away.The ancient tennis-shoed bibliothec in charge of the archive room relieveed how to search the database of school records and got Elena and Damon set up in the corner on a computer.Ugh, Damon said, poking disdainful y at a key. I dont mind computers, barely books and pictures ought to be substantial, not on a machine.But this way everyone can see them, Elena said patiently. Shed had this kindhearted of conversation with Stefan before. The Salvatore brothers capacity come along col ege-aged, tho there were some things about the advanced(a) world they rightful(prenominal) couldnt seem to get their heads around.Elena clicked on the photo theatrical role of the database and typed in her mothers name, Elizabeth Morrow.Look, there are a bunch of pictures. She scanned through with(predicate) them, aspect at for the one that she had seen hanging in the hal . She proverb a lot of unload and crew pictures from various theatrical productions. James had told her that her mother was a star on the design side, merely it looked like she was in some productions, too. In one, Elenas mother was dancing, her head flung clog up, her hair going everywhere.She looks like you. Damon was contemplating the picture, his head tilted to one side, dark eyes intent. Softer here, though, around the mouth one long finger gestured and her face is more innocent than yours. His mouth twisted teasingly, and he shot a sidelong glance at Elena.A nicer girl than you, Id guess.Im nice, Elena said, hurt, and quickly clicked on to find the picture she was looking for.Youre too intelligent to be nice, Elena, Damon said, but Elena was barely listening.Here we are, she said. The photograph was just as she remembered it James and her parents under a tree, eager and impossibly young. Elena zoomed in on the image, counsel on the pin on her fathers shirt. Definitely a V. It was blue, a deep dark blue, she could se e that now, the homogeneous shade as the lapis lazuli rings Damon and Stefan wore to protect themselves from sunlight.Ive seen one of those pins before, Damon said abruptly. He frowned. I dont remember where, though. Sorry.Youve seen it recently? Elena asked, but Damon just shrugged. James said my mother do the pins for al of them, she said, zooming closer so that al she could see on the covering fire was the grainy image of the V. I dont believe him, though. She didnt make jewelry, that wasnt her kind of thing. And it doesnt look handmade, not unless it was made by someone with an actual jewelry studio.Thats some kind of enameling on the V, I think. She typed V in the search engine, but it came back with nothing. I wish I knew what it stood for.With another graceful one-shouldered shrug, Damon reached for the pilfer and zoomed in and out on different parts of the picture. Behind them, the librarian thunked a book down, and Elena glanced back at her to find the womans eyes tou ch on on them with disconcerting intensity.Her mouth tightened as her eyes met Elenas, and she looked away, walking a little farther along the aisle. But Elena was left(a) with the creepy touch that the librarian was stil watching and listening to them.She turned to whisper something to Damon about it but was caught again by the sheer unexpectedness of him, of him here. He just didnt adjoin in the drab and ordinary library computer station it was like finding a wild animal curled up on your desk. Like a dark angel fixing oatmeal in your kitchen.Had she ever seen him under fluorescent lights before?Something about the lighting brought out the clean paleness of his skin, cast long shadows along his cheekbones, and fel without reflection into the discolour velvet of his hair and eyes. A couple of buttons on the col ar of his shirt were undone, and Elena found herself just about mesmerized by the subtle shifts of the long muscles in his neck and shoulders.What would a Vital troup e be? he asked suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie.What? she asked, confused. What are you talking about?Damon clicked the mouse and shifted the zoom, focusing this time on the notebook in her mothers lap. Her mothers hands pretty hands, Elena noticed, prettier than her own, which had meagerly crooked pinkies were splayed over the open book, but between the fingers, Elena could read Vit l Soci yI assume thats what it understands, Damon said, shrugging.Since youre looking for something that starts with V. It could phrase something else of course. Vital companionable y, maybe?Was your mother a social queen bee like you? Elena unheeded the question. The Vitale Society, she said s first basely. I always thought it was a myth.Leave the Vitale Society alone. The hiss came from behind them, and Elena whipped around.The librarian seemed curiously impressive framed against the bookshelves patronage her tennis shoes and pastel sweater set. Her hawklike face was tense and rivet o n Elena, her body tal and, Elena felt instinctively, threatening.What do you mean? Elena asked. Do you know something about them?Confronted by a direct question, the woman seemed to shrink from the almost menacing figure she had been a second before to an ordinary, s gently dither old lady. I dont know anything, she muttered, frowning. Al I can say is that its not safe to mess with the Vitales. Things happen around them. Even if youre careful. She started to stand her book drop behind away.Wait Elena said, half rising. What kind of things? What had her parents been involved in? They wouldnt have done anything wrong, would they? Not Elenas parents. But the librarian only walked faster, the wheels of her cart squeaking as she rounded the corner into another aisle.Damon gave a low laugh. She wont tel you anything, he said, and Elena glared at him. She doesnt know anything, or shes too scared to say what she does know.Thats not helpful, Damon, Elena said tightly. She pressed her finge rs against her temples. What do we do now?We look into the Vitale Society, of course, Damon said. Elena opened her mouth to object, and Damon shushed her, drawing one cool finger over her mouth. His touch was soft on her lips, and she half raised a hand toward them. Dont worry about what a foolish old woman has to say, he told her. But if we real y want to find out the secrets of this edict of yours, we probably need to look somewhere other than the library.He got to his feet and held out his hand. Shal we? he asked. Elena nodded and took his hand in hers. When it came to finding out secrets, to digging up what people wanted to keep concealed, she knew she could put her faith in Damon. plunk down up, Zander, average muttered into the phone.The ringing stopped, and a precise mechanical voice inform her that she was welcome to leave a message in the voice mailbox. clean hung up. She had already left a couple of voicemails, and she didnt want Zander thinking she was any crazier or more clueless than he inevitably would when he saw his missed-cal list. middling was pretty original she was going through the Five Stages of being Ditched. She was almost done with Denial, where she was convinced something had happened to him, and was moving quickly into Anger.Later, she knew, she would slide into Bargaining, Depression, and ultimate y (she hoped) Acceptance.Apparently her psych class was already coming in handy.It had been age since he had abruptly run off, leaving her al alone in front of the music building. When she found out that a girl disappeared that same night, at first Bonnie was angry and scared for herself. Zander had left her alone.What if Bonnie had been the one to vanish? Then she began to worry about Zander, to be panic-s fantasyen that he was in trouble. He seemed so sweet, and so into her, that it was almost out(predicate) for her to believe Zander would just be avoiding her al of a sudden.Wouldnt his friends have sounded the admonishment s ignal if Zander was missing, though? And when she thought that, Bonnie realized that she didnt know how to contact any of those guys she hadnt seen any of them around campus since that night.Bonnie stared at her phone as unspoiled tendrils of worry grew and twisted inside her. Real y, she was having a very hardy time moving on to Anger when she was stil not quite sure that Zander was safe.The phone rang.Zander. It was Zander.Bonnie snatched up her phone. Where have you been? she demanded, her voice shaking.There was a long pause on the other end of the line.Bonnie was almost ready to hang up when Zander final y spoke. Im so sorry, he said. I didnt mean to freak you out. Some family stuff came up, and Ive had to be out of touch. Im back now.Bonnie knew that Elena or Meredith would have said something pithy and neat here, something to let Zander know exactly how little they appreciated being disregarded about, but she couldnt bring herself to. Zander sounded rough and tired, and t here was a break in his voice when he said he was sorry that made her want to forgive him.You left me outside alone, she said softly. A girl disappeared that night.Zander sighed, a long sad sound. Im sorry, he said again. It was an awful thing to do. But I knew you would be okay. You have to believe that. I wouldnt have left you in danger.How? Bonnie asked. How could you know?Just trust me, Bonnie, Zander said. I cant explain it now, but you werent in danger that night. Il tel you about it when I can, okay?Bonnie shut her eyes and bit her lip. Elena and Meredith would never have settled for this kind of half explanation, she knew. Not even half an explanation, just an apology and an evasion. But she wasnt like them, and Zander sounded sincere, so desperate for her to believe him. It was her choice, she knew trust him, or let him go.Okay, she said. Okay, I believe you. Zander let out another sigh, but it sounded like one of relief this time. Let me make it up to you, he said. enliven ? How about I take you out this weekend, anywhere you want to go?Bonnie hesitated, but she was starting to smile despite herself. Theres a troupe at Samanthas dorm on Saturday, she said. Want to meet there at nine?Theres something peculiar going on at the library, Damon said, and Stefan twitched in ramp at his sudden appearance.I didnt see you there, he said mildly, looking out onto his dark balcony, where Damon leaned against the railing.I just landed, Damon said, and smiled. Literal y. Ive been flying around campus, checking things out. Its a wonderful feeling, riding the breezes as the sun sets. You should try it.Stefan nodded, keeping his face neutral. They both knew that one of the few things Stefan envied about Damon was his ability to spay into a bird. It wasnt worth it, though he would have to drink humanity blood regularly to have Power as strong as Damons.Elenas face rose up in his minds eye, and he pushed her image away. She was his salvation, the one who connected h im to the world of humans, who kept him from sinking into the darkness. Believing that their separation was only temporary was what was keeping him going.Dont you miss Elena? Stefan asked, and Damons face immediately closed off, turn hard and blank.Stefan sighed inwardly. Of course Damon didnt miss Elena, because he was undoubtedly seeing her al the time.Hed known Damon wouldnt abide by the rules.Whats the matter? Damon asked him. His voice was almost concerned, and Stefan wondered what his own face looked like to get that kind of reaction from Damon. Damon who had probably just seen Elena.Sometimes Im a fool, Stefan told him dryly. What do you want, Damon?Damon smiled. I want you to come do some detective work with me, little brother. Real y, anythings better than seeing this sulking, forehead-wrinkling brooding expression on your face.Stefan shrugged. Why not? Stefan leaped down from the balcony with pure(a) grace, and Damon fol owed swiftly behind.As Damon led the way to their destination, he fil ed Stefan in on the details. Or rather, the vague scenario Stefan could gather from Damons explanation. Damon never was one for ful disclosure. Al Stefan knew was that some research at the library had prompted a sketchy warning from an old librarian. Stefan inwardly chuckled at the thought of a frail old woman squaring against Damon over library fines.What were you looking at? Stefan asked, trying to get any more substantial information. What did she want you to stay away from? He shifted on the rough branch of the oak tree they were both sit on, trying to get comfortable.Damon had a habit of sitting in trees, Stefan realized. It mustiness be a side effect of spending so much time as a bird.They were on a stakeout outside the librarians home, but what exactly they were looking for, Stefan wasnt sure.Just some old photographs from the schools history, Damon said. It doesnt matter. I just want to make sure shes human. He peered through the window nighest their t ree, where an elderly woman was sipping tea and watching television.Stefan noted with irritation that Damon seemed a lot more at ease in the tree than Stefan did. He was leaning forward, resting graceful y on one knee, and Stefan could sense his send questing strands of Power at the woman, trying to find out whether there was anything grotesque about her.His balance seemed awful y precarious, and he was completely focused on the old woman. Stefan inched toward Damon on the branch, stretched out a hand, and suddenly shoved him.It was extremely satisfying. Damon, his composure shaken for once, let out a muffled yelp and fel out of the tree. In midair, he turned into a crow and flew back up, perching on a branch above Stefan and eyeing him with a baleful glare. Damon cawed his pique at Stefan loudly.Stefan glanced through the window again. The woman didnt seem to have hear Damons shout or the crows caw she was just flipping channels. When he looked back at Damon, his brother had re gained his usual form.I would think playing a trick like that would go against your precious moral code, Damon said, fastidiously smoothing his hair.Not real y, Stefan said, grinning. I couldnt help myself.Damon shrugged, seeming to accept Stefans playfulness as good-natured, and looked through the librarians window again. She had gotten up to make herself another cup of tea.Did you sense anything from her? Stefan asked.Damon agitate his head. Either shes bril iantly hiding her true nature from us or shes just a peculiar librarian. He pushed himself off the branch and leaped, landing lightly on the grass far below. Either way, Ive had enough, he added silently.Stefan fol owed him, landing beside Damon at the bottom of the tree. You didnt need me for any of that, Damon, he said. Why did you ask me to come with you? Damons smile was bril iant in the darkness. I just thought you could use some cheering up, he said simply.Clearly, it wasnt the librarian Stefan should be worried about a cting peculiarly.