The Return: Shadow Souls

Damon may be falling to pieces in front of me.

She was looking at Matt all the while, her eyes full of tears that would not fall. She blinked, but they stubbornly stayed on her lashes.

“Matt…” she whispered.

He said nothing. He didn’t need to. It was all in his expression: astonishment turning to something Elena had never seen before, not when he was looking at her.

It was a sort of alienation that shut her out completely, that severed any bonds between them.

“Matt, no…” But it came out in a whisper.

And then, to her astonishment, Damon spoke.

“You do know it’s all me, don’t you? You can hardly blame a girl for trying to defend herself.” Elena looked at her hands, which were shaking now. Damon was going on, “You know it’s all my fault. Elena would never—”

That was when Elena realized. Damon was Influencing Matt.

“No!” She took Damon off guard, grabbing him again, shaking him. “Don’t do it! Not to Matt!”

The black eyes that were turned on hers were definitely not those of a suitor. Damon had been interrupted in the use of his Power. If it had been anyone else, they would have ended as a small spot of grease on the ground.

“I’m saving you,” Damon said coldly. “Are you refusing me?”

Elena found herself wavering. Maybe, if it was only once, and only for Matt’s benefit…

Something surged up inside her. It was all she could do not to let her aura escape completely.

“Never try that on me again,” Elena said. Her voice was quiet but icy. “Don’t you dare ever try to Influence me! And leave Matt alone!”

Something like approval flickered in the endless darkness of Damon’s gaze. It was gone before she could be sure she’d seen it. But when he spoke, he seemed less distant.

“All right,” he said to Matt. “What’s the game plan now? You name it.”

Matt answered slowly, not looking at either of them. He was flushed but deadly calm. “I was going to say, that Prius isn’t bad at all.

And the dealer guy has another one. It’s in okay condition. We could have two cars just alike.”

“And then we could caravan and split up if someone was following us! They won’t know which to follow.” Normally Elena would have thrown her arms around Matt at this point. But Matt was looking at his shoes, which was probably just as well really, since Damon had his eyes shut and was shaking his head slightly as if he couldn’t believe something idiotic.

That’s right, Elena thought. It’s my aura — or Damon’s — that they’re homing in on. We can’t confuse them with identical cars unless we have identical auras, too.

Which really meant that she should drive with Matt the whole way. But Damon would never accept that. And she needed Damon to get to her beloved, her one and only, her true mate: Stefan.

“I’ll take the ratty one,” Matt was saying, arranging it with Damon and ignoring her. “I’m used to ratty cars. I already arranged a deal with the guy. We should get going.” Still speaking only to Damon, he said, “You’ll have to tell me where we’re really going. We might get separated.”

Damon was silent for a long moment. Then, brusquely, he said, “Sedona, Arizona, for a start.”

Matt looked disgusted. “That place full of New Age lunatics? You’re kidding.”

“I said we’ll start out from Sedona. It’s complete wilderness — nothing but rock — all around it. You could get lost…very easily.” Damon flashed the brilliant smile and instantly turned it off.

“We’ll be at the Juniper Resort, off North Highway 89A,” he added smoothly.

“I’ve got it,” Matt said. Elena could see no emotion in either his face or his expression, but his aura was seething red.

“Now, Matt,” Elena began, “we should really meet every night, so if you just follow us—” She broke off with a sharply inhaled breath.

Matt had already turned around. He didn’t turn back when she spoke. He just kept going, without another word.

Without a backward glance.

7

Elena woke to the sound of Damon impatiently rapping on the window of the Prius. She was fully clothed, clutching her diary to her. It was the day after Matt had left them.

“Did you sleep all night like that?” Damon asked, looking her up and down as Elena rubbed her eyes. As usual, he was immaculately dressed: all in black, of course. Heat and humidity had no effect on him.

“I’ve had my breakfast,” he said shortly, getting in the driver’s seat. “And I brought you this.”

This was a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee, which Elena clutched as gratefully as if it were Black Magic wine, and a brown paper bag that proved to contain donuts. Not exactly the most nutritious breakfast, but Elena craved the caffeine and sugar.

“I need a rest stop,” Elena warned as Damon coolly seated himself behind the wheel and started the car. “To change my clothes and wash my face and things.”

They headed directly west, which accorded with what Elena had found by looking at a map on the Internet last night. The small image on her mobile phone matched the Prius’s navigation system readout. They had both shown that Sedona, Arizona, lay on an almost perfectly straight horizontal line from the small rural road where Damon had parked overnight in Arkansas. But soon Damon was turning south, taking a roundabout route of his own that might or might not confuse any pursuers. By the time they found a rest stop, Elena’s bladder was about to burst. She spent an unashamed half hour in the women’s room, doing her best to wash with paper towels and cold water, brushing her hair, and changing into new jeans and a fresh white top that laced up the front like a corset. After all, one of these days she just might have another out of body experience while napping and see Stefan again.

What she didn’t want to think about was that with Matt’s departure, she was left alone with Damon, an untamed vampire, traveling through the middle of the United States toward a destination that was literally out of this world.

When Elena finally emerged from the restroom, Damon was cold and expressionless — although she noticed that he took the time to look her over just the same.

Oh, damn, Elena thought. I left my diary in the car.

She was as certain that he’d read it as if she’d seen him doing it, and she was glad that there was nothing in it about leaving her body and finding Stefan. Although she believed Damon wanted to free Stefan, too — she wouldn’t be in this car with him if she didn’t — she also felt that it was better that he didn’t know she had gotten there first. Damon enjoyed being in charge of things as much as she did. He also enjoyed Influencing each police officer who pulled him over for blasting the speed limit.

But today he was short-tempered even by his own standards. Elena knew from firsthand experience that Damon could make himself remarkably good company when he chose, telling outrageous stories and jokes until the most prejudiced and taciturn of passengers would laugh in spite of themselves.

But today he wouldn’t even reply to Elena’s questions, much less laugh at her own jokes. The one time she tried to make physical contact, touching his arm lightly, he jerked away as if her touch might ruin his black leather jacket.

Fine, terrific, Elena thought, depressed. She leaned her head against the window and stared at the scenery, which all looked alike. Her mind wandered.

Where was Matt now? Ahead of them or behind? Had he gotten any rest last night? Was he driving through Texas now? Was he eating properly? Elena blinked away tears, which welled up whenever she remembered the way he had walked away from her without a backward look.

Elena was a manager. She could make almost any situation turn out okay, as long as the people around her were normal, sane beings.

And managing boys was her speciality. She’d been handling them — steering them — since junior high. But now, approximately two and a half weeks since she had come back from death, from some spirit world that she