The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 12

Elena examine the edges of the hotel rooms draperies for signs of dawn. mediocre was curled up, drowsing in a c sensory hair by the window. Elena and Meredith had been up each night, and instantly they were surrounded by scattered print turn outs, newspapers, and pictures from the Internet.Its already cattle f outgrowth beyond Fells Church, Meredith explained, pointing to an article in wiz of the papers. I dont k right away if its fol down(p)ing ley lines, or being controlled by Shinichi or is just moving on its own, similar any parasite.Did you tense up to contact Alaric?Meredith glanced at middlings slee pegg figure. She spoke softly, Thats the good news. Id been trying to redeem him for forever, and I fin every(prenominal)y managed. Hell be arriving in Fells Church concisely he just has one much peak stolon.Elena drew her breath in. One more retain thats more completely-important(prenominal) than whats go onout on in that town?Thats why I didnt manifest Bo nnie some him coming. Or languor either. I knew they wouldnt understand. scarcely Ill give you one guess as to what considerate of legends hes following up in the Far East. Meredith contumacious swarthy eyes on Elenas.notit is, isnt it? Kitsune?Yes, and hes red ink to a very ancient place where they were suppose to go for destroyed the town just as Fells Church is being destroyed. Nobody lives there right dis level. That conjure Unmei no Shima means the Island of Doom. Maybe hell assure something important close to fox spirits there. Hes doing some openhearted of multicultural independent study with Sabrina Dell. Shes Alarics age, plainly shes already a famous forensic anthropologist.And youre not green-eyed? Elena tell awkwardly. Personal issues were difficult to talk about with Meredith. Asking her questions always felt interchangeable prying.Well. Meredith reorient stomach her head. It isnt as if we collapse any black-tie engagement. further you never t old anybody about all in all this.Meredith displace her head and gave Elena a quick look. I clear now, she verbalise.For a moment the girls sat to loafher in silence. Then Elena said quietly, The Shi no Shi, the kitsune, Isobel Saitou, Alaric and his Island of Doom they whitethorn not have anything to do with each other. scarce if they do, Im passing to take on out what it is.And Im going to help, Meredith said simply. still I had thought that after I graduatedElena couldnt stand it anymore. Meredith, I promise, as presently as we suck up Stefan back and the town calmed down, well pin Alaric down with formulates A through Z, she said. She leaned forward and kissed Merediths cheek. Thats a velociraptor sisterhood oath, okay?Meredith blinked twice, swallowed once, and whispered, Okay. Then, abruptly, she was her old efficient ego again. Thank you, she said. exclusively cleaning up the town exponent not be such an escaped job. Its already heading toward mass chaos there .And plane wanted to be in the middle of it all? Alone? Elena asked.Like we said, he and Mrs. Flowers ar a solid team, Meredith said quietly. And its what hes chosen.Well, Elena said drily, he may turn out to have the better gage in the end, after all.They went back to the scattered papers. Meredith picked up several pictures of kitsune guarding encloses in Japan.It offers theyre usually depicted with a jewel or key. She held up a picture of a kitsune prop a key in its talk at the main gate of the Fushimi Shrine.Aha, Elena said. Looks like the keys got both wings, doesnt it?Exactly what Bonnie and I thought. And the jewelswell, take a close look. Elena did and her stomach lurched. Yes, they were like the snow public orbs that Shinichi had utilised to create unbreakable traps in the overaged Wood.We found theyre called hoshi no tama, Meredith said. And that translates to star lumps. Each kitsune puts a measure of their power into one, along with other things, and destroy ing the ball is one of the wholly ways to kill them. If you find a kitsunes star ball, you do-nothing control the kitsune. Thats what Bonnie and I want to do. precisely how do you find it? Elena asked, excited by the idea of controlling Shinichi and Misao.Sa Meredith said, pronouncing the term sah like a sigh. Then she gave one of her rarefied brilliant grinnings. In Japanese, that means I admire hmm wouldnt want to comment my gosh, golly, I real couldnt put. We could use a password like that in English. contempt herself, Elena giggled. tho, and then, other stories say that kitsune can be killed by the Sin of Regret or by sunny weapons. I dont subsist what the Sin of Regret is, tho She rummaged in her luggage, and came up with an old-fashioned just now serviceable-looking revolver.MeredithIt was my grandpas one of a pair. Matts got the other one. Theyre loaded with bullets blessed by a priest.What priest would bless bullets, for Gods sake? Elena demanded.Merediths sm ile turned bleak. One thats seen whats happening in Fells Church. You cogitate how Caroline got Isobel Saitou possess, and what Isobel did to herself?Elena nodded. I take to be, she said tautly.Well, do you remember how we told you that Obaasan Grandma Saitou used to be a shrine maiden? Thats a Japanese priestess. She blessed the bullets for us, all right, and specifically for killing kitsune. You should have seen how spooky the ritual was. Bonnie almost fainted again.Do you have inter logical argument how Isobel is doing now?Meredith shook her dark head slowly. Better precisely I dont hypothesize she even knows about Jim yet. Thats going to be very tough on her.Elena tried to quell a shudder. thither was nothing but tragedy in store for Isobel even when she got well. Jim Bryce, her boyfriend, had pass only one night with Caroline, but now had Lesch-Nye disease or so the doctors said. In that analogous dreadful night that Isobel had pierced herself everywhere, and cut h er clapper so that it forked, Jim, a handsome star basketball game player, had eaten away his fingers and his rims. In Elenas opinion they were both possessed and their injuries were only more reasons why the kitsune twins had to be forgoped.Well do it, she said aloud, realizing for the first meter that Meredith was safekeeping her hand as if Elena were Bonnie. Elena managed a faint but determined smile for Meredith. Well get Stefan out and well stop Shinichi and Misao. We have to do it.This time it was Meredith who nodded.Theres more, she said at last. You want to hear it?I need to know everything.Well, every single source I analyze agrees that kitsune possess girls and then lead boys to desolation. What kind of destruction depends on where you look. It can be as wide as appearing as a will-o-the-wisp and leading you into a swamp or off a cliff, or as difficult as shapeshifting.Oh, yes, Elena said tightly. I knew that from what happened to you and Bonnie. They can look ha rdly like someone.Yes, but always with some humbled flaw if you have the wits to notice it. They can never assimilate a perfect replicate. simply they can have up to nine tails, and the more tails they have, the better at everything they are.Nine? Terrific. Weve never even seen a nine-tailed one.Well, we may get to yet. Theyre divinatory to be able to cross over freely from one world to another. Oh, yes. And theyre specifically in charge of the Kimon supply betwixt dimensions. Want to guess what that translates to?Elena stared at her. Oh, no. Oh, yes. scarcely why would Damon take us all the way across the country, just to get in through a Demon Gate thats run by fox spirits?SaBut when Matt told us you were headed to someplace near Sedona, that was really what decided Bonnie and me.Great. Elena ran her hands through her hair and sighed. Anything else? she asked, feeling like a rubber streak that had been stretched to its utmost.Only this, which ought to really bake your cooki es after all weve been through. Some of them are good. Kitsune, I mean.Some of them are good good what? estimable fighters? Good assassins? Good liars?No, really, Elena. Some of them are supposed to be like gods and goddesses who bod of test you, and if you pass the test they remunerate you.Do you think we should count on finding one like that?Not really.Elena dropped her head to the coffee tree table where Merediths printouts were scattered. Meredith, seriously, how are we going to deal with them when we go through that Demon Gate? My Power is about as reliable as a low battery. And its not just the kitsune its all the different demons and vampires elderly Ones, too What are we going to do?She raised(a) her head and looked deeply into the eyes of her friend those dark eyes that she had never been able to classify as this color or that.To her surprise, Meredith instead of looking sober, tossed back the dregs of a Diet Coke and smiled.No Plan A yet?Well peradventure just an idea. Nothing definite yet. What about you?A few that might qualify for Plans B and C. So what were going to do is what we always do try our best and fall all over ourselves and make mistakes until you do something brilliant and return us all. marvellous Meredith blinked. Elena knew why she hadnt used that diminutive for Meredith for more years than she could remember. None of the three girls liked pet call or used them. Elena went on very seriously, holding Merediths eyes, Theres nothing I want more than to save everybody everybody from these kitsune bastards. Id give my life for Stefan and all of you. Butthis time it may be somebody else who takes the bullet.Or the stake. I know. Bonnie knows. We talked about it while we were gasifying here. But were still with you, Elena. You have to know that. Were all with you.There was only one way to reply to that. Elena gripped Merediths hand in both of hers. Then she let out her breath, and, like probing an aching tooth, tried to get news on a sore subject. Does Matt did he well, how was Matt when you left?Meredith glanced at her sideways. Not much got past Meredith. He seemed okay, but distracted. He would go off into these fits where hed just stare at nothing, and he wouldnt hear you if you spoke to him.Did he tell you why he left?Wellsort of. He said that Damon was hypnotizing you and that you werent werent doing all you could to stop him. But hes a boy and boys get jealous No, he was right about what he saw. Its just that Ive gotten to know Damon a little better. And Matt doesnt like that.Um-hm. Meredith was observation her from under lowered eyelids, barely breathing, as if Elena was a bird that mustnt be disturbed or shed fly away.Elena laughed. Its nothing bad, she said. At least I dont think so. Its just thatin some ways Damon ineluctably help even more than Stefan did when he first came to Fells Church.Merediths eyebrows shot up, but all she said was, Um-hm.AndI think that really Damons a lot more like Stefan than he lets on.Merediths eyebrows stayed up. Elena finally looked at her. She capable her mouth once or twice and then she just stared at Meredith. Im in trouble, arent I? she said helplessly.If all this comes from less than one week move in a car with himthen, yes. But we have to remember that women are Damons specialty. And he thinks hes in sock with you.No, he really is Elena began, and then she caught her lower lip between her teeth. Oh, God, this is Damon were talking about. I am in trouble.Lets just watch and see what happens, Meredith said sensibly. Hes by all odds changed, too. Before, he would have just told you that your friends couldnt come and that was it. immediately he stuck around and listened.Yes. I just have to to be on my guard from now on, Elena said, a little unsteadily. How was she going to help the child in spite of appearance Damon without getting closer to him? And how would she explain all she might need to do to Stefan?She sighe d.Itll probably be all right, Bonnie muttered sleepily. Meredith and Elena both turned to look at her and Elena felt a chill go up her spine. Bonnie was sitting propped up, but her eyes were closed in(p) and her voice was indistinct. The real question is what will Stefan say about that night at the motel with Damon?What? Elenas voice was terse and loud enough to awaken any sleeper. But Bonnie didnt stir.What happened what night at what motel? Meredith demanded. When Elena didnt answer immediately, she caught Elenas arm and swung her so that they were face-to-face.At last Elena looked at her friend. But her eyes, she knew, gave away nothing.Elena, whats she talking about? What happened with Damon?Elena still unbroken her face perfectly expressionless, and used a word shed learned just that night. SaElena, youre impossible Youre not going to dump Stefan after you rescue him, are you?No, of course not Elena was hurt. Stefan and I belong together forever.But still you spent a night with Damon where something happened between you.SomethingI guess.And that something was?Elena smiled apologetically. SaIll get it out of him Ill put him on the defensive.You can make a Plan A and Plan B and all, Elena said. But it wont help. Shinichi took his memories away. Meredith, Im reprehensible you dont know how sorry. But I swore that nobody would ever know. She looked up at the taller girl, feeling tears kitty in her eyes. Cant you just once let me give it that way?Meredith sank bank. Elena Gilbert, the world is lucky there is only one of you. You are the She paused, as if deciding whether to say the words or not. Then she said, Its time to get to bed. Dawn is going to come early and so is the Demon Gate.Merry?What now?Thank you.