The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 30

Stefan drove care a maniac al the right smart stand to the boardinghouse. I cant believe I forgot to tel him that his name had been cal ed, he state for what entangle like the hundredth era. I cant believe we left him alone.Slow belt down, Meredith told him, savor to hold Matts sleeping body steady in the backseat as Stefan whipped or so a corner, tires squealing. Youre going way in like manner fast.Were in a hurry, Stefan growled, yanking on the wheel to make a hard right. Alaric false around in the passenger seat and gave Meredith a panicky look as Stefan narrowly missed a garbage truck. She sighed. She knew he was trying to make up for his mistake, for not tel ing them immediately that Matts name had appeared in the herb shop, exclusively kil ing them al in a race to doctor home wasnt exactly the solution. Besides, although they belike would make up done things differently if theyd admitn, it might not set prohibited changed the pay transfer for Matt. It wasnt a s if their precautions had saved either Bonnie or Elena.At least(prenominal) youve got vampire reflexes, she tell, more to reassure Alaric than out of any particular presumption in Stefans driving abilities.Shed insisted on being the one sitting in the back with Matt, and now she sullen her attention to him. She put a restraining achieve on his chest so he wouldnt go tumbling to the chthonicstructure as the car jerked and swerved.He was so stil . None of the twitching and inwardness movements that usual y went with sleep, on the nose the steady shal ow rise and fal of his tiping. He wasnt verit equal to(p)(a) snoring. And she knew from camping trips as far back as sixth rove that Matt snored like a buzz saw. Always. Meredith neer cried. Not however when the worst happened. And she wasnt going to start now, not when her friends demanded her equanimity and rivet to try to figure out how to save them. hardly if she had been the kind of female child who cried, instead of the kind of girl who strategized, she would watch been sobbing. And even now, the breath caught in her throat a little painful y, until she schooled herself into impassive calm again.She was the barely one left. Of the four old friends whod gone by dint of school and summers and adolescence and al the horrors the supernatural world could throw at them, she was the only one the fantasm hadnt captured. Yet. Meredith clenched her teeth and held Matt steady. Stefan pul ed up and parked in front of theboardinghouse, having somehow avoided causing any damage to other cars or pedestrians along the way. Alaric and Meredith started to inch Matt careful y out of the car, looping his arms around their fill ins and slowly shifting him forward into a half-standing position. But Stefan simply grabbed Matt away from them and threw him over his shoulder.Lets go, he said, and stalked off toward the boardinghouse, easily balancing Matts unconscious body with one hand, not expression back.H es become kind of a strange guy, Alaric commented, watching Stefan alertly. The sunshine caught the stubble on Alarics uns concordn chin and it glinted with a touch of gold. He turned toward Meredith and gave her a rueful, disarming grin. Once more into the breach he said. Meredith took his hand, cordially and solid in her own.Come on, she said.Once they were in the boardinghouse, Stefan clomped straight upstairs to deposit Matt with the other bodies the other sleepers, Meredith reminded herself fiercely. Meredith and Alaric, hand in hand, turned toward the kitchen. As she pushed the door hold, Meredith heard Mrs. Flowerss voice.Very useful indeed, my dear, she was saying, a shopping centreily note of approval in her voice. Youve done very wel . Im so grateful.Meredith gaped. At the kitchen table with Mrs. Flowers, aplomb and calm and pretty in a blueish linen dress, sat Dr. Celia Conner, sipping tea.Hel o, Alaric. Hel o, Meredith, said Celia. Her dark eyeball bored cool d own y into Merediths. Youl never believe what Ive found.What? said Alaric eagerly, letting go of Merediths hand. Her heart sank.Celia reached into a tote bag sitting by her chair and pul ed out a thick book bound in chevy brown leather. She smiled triumphantly and announced, Its a book on phantoms. Dr. Beltram ended up sending me to Dalcrest Col ege, which actual y has a very all-encompassing col ection of texts on the paranormal.I suggest we adjourn to the den, Mrs. Flowers said,where we can be more comfortable, and examine its contents together.They moved to the den, but Stefan, when he join them, did not seem any more comfortable.Different types of phantoms, he said, fetching the book from Celia and flipping rapidly through the pages. The history of phantoms in our dimension. Where is the banishment rite? why doesnt this thing have an index?Celia shrugged. Its very old and rare, she said. It was unvoiced to find, and its the only book on the subject were likely to be able to get our hands on, maybe the only one that exists, so wel have to excuse things like that. These older texts, the authors wanted you to read straight through and real y learn near their subject, to understand what they wanted to tel you, not just to find the page you needed right away. You might try looking near the end, though.Alaric was watching Stefan whip through the pages with an expression of pain. Its a rare book, Stefan, he said.Please be more careful with it. Would you like me to look?Im used to finding what I need in these kinds of books.Stefan snarled, literal error y snarled at him, and Meredith felt the hairs along the back of her neck rise. Il do it myself, teacher. Im in a hurry.He squinted down at the text. Why does it have to be in such ornate print? he complained. Dont tel me its because its old. Im older than it is, and I can barely read it. Huh. Phantoms who are supply like vampires on one choice sensibility, whether it be guilt, or despair, or grudge or lus t for victuals, the demon rum, or fal en women. The stronger be the sensibility, the worse be the outcome of the phantom created. I deal we could have figured that out ourselves.Mrs. Flowers was standing slightly removed from the rest of the group, eye fixed on empty air, muttering seemingly to herself as she communed with her mother.I know, she said. Il tel them. Her eyes focused on the others as they stood around Stefan, peering over his shoulders. mommy says that time is getting short, she warned.Stefan leaped to his feet and exploded. I know its getting short, he roared, getting right up into Mrs. Flowerss surprised face. Cant your mother tel us something useful for once?Mrs. Flowers staggered away from him, reaching out to steady herself on the back of a chair. Her face was white, and suddenly she looked older and more frail than ever before.Stefans eyes widened, their color darkening to a stormy sea green, and he held out his hands, his face horrified.Im sorry, he said. Mr s. Flowers, Im sorry. I didnt mean to frighten you. I dont know what came over me Im just so worried about Elena and the others.I know, Stefan, Mrs. Flowers said gravely. She had regained her balance and she looked stronger, calm and wise again. We will get them back, you know. You must have faith. Mama does.Stefan sat down, turning back to the book, his lips pressed together into a straight line.Her skin prickling with apprehension, Meredith gripped her stave more tightly as she watched him. When she had revealed to the others that the members of her family were hereditary vampire hunters and that it was now her turn to take on the duty, she had told Elena and Stefan that she would never turn on Stefan, that she dumb that he wasnt like other, evil vampires, that he was good harmless and benign to humans.She had made no such promises about Damon, and Elena and Stefan hadnt asked her to. They al shared an unspoken understanding that Damon couldnt real y be characterized as harmless, not even when he begrudgingly worked with them, and that Meredith would need to keep her options open when it came to him.But Stefan she had never thought this would happen, but now Meredith was worried that someday she might not be able to keep her promises about Stefan. She had never seen him acting the way he had been lately irrational, angry, violent, unpredictable. She knew his behavior was probably caused by the phantom, but was Stefan becoming too dangerous? Could she kil him if she had to? He was her friend.Merediths heart was racing. She effected that her knuckles had whitened against her fighting stave, and her hand ached. Yes, she realized, she would fight Stefan and try to kil him, if she had to. It was straight that he was her friend, but her duty had to come first.She took a deep breath and consciously relaxed her hands. Stay calm, she coached herself. Breathe. Stefan was keeping himself more or less under control. It wasnt a decision she had to make. Not yet, anywa y.A few minutes later, Stefan halt flipping pages. Here,he said. I think this is it. He handed the book to Mrs. Flowers. She scanned the page quickly and nodded. That feels like the right ritual, she said seriously. I ought to have everything we need to perform it right here in the house.Alaric reached for the book. He read the spel , too, frowning. Does it have to be a blood spel ? he asked Mrs. Flowers. If it backfires, the phantom might be able to turn it against us.Im afraid its going to have to be a blood spel , Mrs. Flowers replied. Wed need more time to experiment to change the spel , and time is the one thing we dont have. If the phantom is able to use its captives the way we think it can, its only going to get more powerful.Alaric began to speak again but was interrupted.Wait, said Celia, a slightly shril note in her usual y husky voice. A blood spel ? What does that mean? I dont want to get involved in anything she searched for a word unsavory.She reached for the book, but Stefan slammed his hand down on it. Unsavory or not, this is what were doing, he said quietly, but with a voice as hard as steel. And youre a part of it. Its too late for you to back out now. I wont let you.Celia gave a spasmodic shudder and cringed back in her chair. Dont you dare threaten me, she said, her voice quavering.Everybody calm down, Meredith said sharply. Celia, no one is going to make you do anything unless you insure to it. Il protect you myself if need be. Her eyes flew quickly to Alaric, who was glancing back and forth in the midst of them, looking worried. But we need your help. Please. You may have saved us al by finding the spel , and were grateful, but Stefans right youre part of this, too. I dont know if itl work without you. She hesitated a beat. Or, if it does, it might leave you as the phantoms only target, she added cunningly.Celia shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. Im not a coward, she said miserably. Im a scientist, and this irrat ional mysticism worries me. But Im in. Il help any way I can.Meredith, for the first time, felt a flash of sympathy for her. She understood how hard it must be for Celia to continue to think of herself as a logical person while the boundaries of what shed always accepted as veracity col apsed around her.Thank you, Celia. Meredith glanced around the room at the others. Weve got the ritual. Weve got the ingredients. We just need to gather everything together and start casting the spel . Are we sterilise?Everyone sat up straighter, their faces taking on expressions of stern resolve. As scarey as this was, it was good to final y have a excogitation and a plan.Stefan breathed deeply and visibly took hold of himself, his shoulders relaxing and his position settling into something less predatory. Okay, Meredith, he said. His stormy green eyes met her cool gray ones, in perfect accord. Lets do this.