The Return: Shadow Souls

“Meaning now we must leave?”

“Meaning now I am going to kill you.”

36

“What?” shouted Damon over the music, while adding: Run — go! telepathically to Elena.

If it had merely been Elena’s life, she would have been glad enough to die here with the thunderous beauty of Firebird all around her, rathr than facing those steep, invisible steps alone.

But it wasn’t just her life. It was Stefan’s life, too. Still, the flower maiden didn’t look particularly menacing, and Elena couldn’t summon up enough adrenaline to try making it down that hidous stairway.

Damon, let’s both go. We have to search the Great Ballroom outside. Only you’re strong enough….

A hesitation. Damon would rather fight than face that enormous, impossible green field outside, Elena thought.

But Bloddeuwedd, despite her words, was now spinning the room around them again, so that she, at the edge of some invisible walkway, could find the exact orb she wanted.

Damon lifted Elena in his arms and said: Shut your eyes.

Elena not only shut her eyes, but put her hands over them as well. If Damon was going to drop her, she wasn’t going to help matters by shouting “Look out!” as he did it.

The sensations themselves were sickening enough. Damon leaped from step to step like an ibex. He seemed barely to touch the steps in going down and Elena wondered — quite suddenly — if anything were after them.

If so, it was information she needed to know. She began to lift her hands and heard Damon whisper-snarl “Keep them shut!” in a voice that few people liked to argue with.

Elena peeked out between her hands, met Damon’s exasperated eyes, and saw nothing following them. She clamped her hands back together and prayed.

If you were really a slave, you wouldn’t last a day here, you know, Damon informed her, taking a final leap into space and then setting her down on invisible — but at least level — ground.

I wouldn’t want to, Elena sent coldly. I swear, I’d rather die.

Be careful what you promise, Damon flashed his splendid smile down at her suddenly. You may end up in other dimensions trying to fulfill your word.

Elena didn’t even try to one-up him. They were out, free, and racing through the glass house down to the stairs to the lower floor — a little tricky in her state of mind, but bearable — and finally out the door. On the grass of the Great Ballroom they found Meredith and Bonnie…and Sage.

He was actually in white tie as well, although his jacket strained at his shoulders. In addition, Talon was sitting on one — so the problem might be taken care of fairly soon, as she was ripping the material and drawing blood. Sage didn’t seem aware of it. Saber was at his master’s side, looking at Elena with eyes too thoughtful to be mere animal eyes, but without malice.

“Thank God you came back!” Bonnie cried, running to them. “Sage came and he has a marvelous idea.”

Even Meredith was excited. “You remember how Damon said we should have brought a diviner? Well, we have two now.” She turned to Sage. “Please tell them.”

“As a rule, I don’t take these two to parties.” Sage reached down to scratch under Saber’s throat. “But a little bird told me that you might be in trouble.” His hand moved up to stroke Talon, ruffling the falcon’s feathers slightly. “So, dites-moi, please: Just how much have you two been handling the half-key you do possess?”

“I touched it tonight and in the beginning, the night we found it,” said Elena. “But Lady Ulma handled it and Lucen made a chest for it and we’ve all handled that.”

“But outside the box?”

“I’ve held it and looked at it once or twice,” said Damon.

“Eh bien! The kitsune smells should be much stronger on it. And kitsune have very distinctive smells.”

“So you mean that Saber—” Elena’s voice gave out for pure faintness.

“Can sniff out anything with the smell of kitsune on it. Meanwhile, Talon has very good eyesight. She can fly overhead and look for the glint of gold in case it’s in plain sight somewhere. Now show them what they will be searching for.”

Elena obligingly held out the crescent shaped half-key for Saber to sniff.

“Voila! And Talon, now you take a good look.” Sage backed away to what was, Elena supposed, Talon’s optimal seeing distance. Then when he came back, he said, “ Commencons! ” and the black dog exploded away, nose to ground, while the falcon took off in grand, high, sweeping circles.

“So you think the kitsune were on this grass?” Elena asked Sage, as Saber began racing back and forth, nose still just above the grass — and then suddenly veered out onto the middle of the marble steps.

“But assuredly, they were here. You see how Saber runs, like a black panther, with his head low, and his tail straight? He has business in hand, him! He is hot on the scent.”

I know someone else who gives off the same feeling, Elena thought as she glanced back at Damon, who stood with his arms folded, motionless, coiled like a spring, waiting for whatever news the animals would bring.

She happened to glance at Sage at the same moment, and she saw an expression on his face that — well, it was probably the same expression she’d been wearing a minute ago. He glanced at her and she blushed.

“Pardonnez-moi, Monsieur,” she said, looking away quickly.

“Parlez-vous francais, Madame?”

“Un peu,” Elena said humbly — an unusual condition for her. “I can’t really keep up a serious conversation. But I loved going to France.” She was about to say something else, when Saber barked once, sharply, to attract attention and then sat bolt upright at the curb.

“They came or left in a carriage or litter,” Sage translated.

“But what did they do in the house? I need a trail going the other way,” Damon said, looking up at Sage with something like raw desperation.

“All right, all right. Saber! Contremarche!”

The black dog instantly turned around, put its nose to the ground as if it afforded him the greatest delight, and began running back and forth across the stairs and the lawn that formed the “Great Ballroom”—now becoming pitted with holes as people took shovels, pickaxes, and even large spoons to it.

“Kitsune are hard to catch,” Elena murmured into Damon’s ear.

He nodded, glancing at his watch. “I hope we are, too,” he murmured back.

There was a sharp bark from Saber. Elena’s heart leaped in her chest.

“What?” she cried. “What is it?” Damon passed her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her in his wake.

“What has he found?” Elena gasped as they all reached the same point simultaneously.

“I don’t know. It’s not part of the Great Ballroom,” replied Meredith. Saber was sitting up proudly in front of a bed of tall, clustering pale lavender (deep violet) hydrangeas.

“They don’t look like they’re doing too well,” said Bonnie.

“And it’s not below any of the upper ballrooms, either,” Meredith said, stooping to get at Saber’s height and then look up. “There’s just the library.”

“Well, I know one thing without a question,” Damon said. “We’re going to have to dig up this flower patch and I don’t fancy asking Ms. Larkspur-eyes-Now-I-have-to-kill-you for her permission.”

“Oh, did you think they were larkspur, her eyes? Because I thought of bluebells, rahthah,” said a guest behind Bonnie.

“Did she really say she had to kill you? But why?” another guest, nearer to Elena asked nervously.

Elena ignored them. “Well, let’s put it this way, she’s certainly not going to like it. But it’s the only clue we’ve got.” Except, I suppose, if the kitsune meant to leave it here, but then took off in a coach, she added voicelessly to Damon.