Phantom (The Vampire Diaries 8)

Chapter 12

"It's going to be a lovely day - perfect for a picnic," Meredith observed calmly.

Bonnie had tactful y but firmly steered Celia into Matt's car instead of Meredith's, and so Meredith was alone with Alaric - at last! - for the first time since he'd arrived. Half of her just wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and kiss him and kiss him, she was so glad that he was final y here. Al through the insanity of the last few months, she'd wished that he were there to fight by her side, to depend on. But the other half of her wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and demand that he explain to her exactly what his relationship was with Dr. Celia Connor.

Instead, here she was, driving placidly, hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, making smal talk about the weather. She felt like a coward, and Meredith Suarez was no coward. But what could she say? What if she was just paranoid, and making a ridiculous fuss about a strictly professional relationship?

She glanced at Alaric out of the corner of her eye.

"So..." she said. "Tel me more about your research in Japan."

Alaric ran his hands through his already tousled hair and grinned at her. "The trip was fascinating," he said. "Celia's so intel igent and experienced. She just puts together al these clues about a civilization. It was a real eye-opener for me to watch her decipher so much from the evidence in the graves there. I never knew much about forensic anthropology before, but she was able to reconstruct an amazing amount about the culture of Unmei no Shima."

"Sounds like she's simply amazing," Meredith said, hearing the acid in her tone.

Apparently Alaric didn't notice it. He smiled a little. "It took quite a while for her to take my paranormal research seriously," he said rueful y. "Parapsychology isn't particularly wel regarded by the experts in other scientific disciplines. They think people like me who choose to spend their lives studying the supernatural are charlatans, or naive. Or a little crazy."

Meredith made herself speak pleasantly. "You were able to convince her at last, though? That's good."

"Sort of," Alaric answered. "We got to be friends, anyway, so she stopped thinking I was a complete fraud. I think she's found it al a lot more believable after the one day she's spent here, though." He gave a wry smile. "She tried to hide it, but she was blown away yesterday when Stefan saved her. The existence of a vampire makes it clear that there's a lot conventional science knows nothing about. I'm sure she'l want to examine Stefan if he'l let her."

"I would imagine so," said Meredith dryly, resisting the urge to ask Alaric why he thought Stefan would cooperate when he had seemed so displeased that Alaric had told Celia about him.

Alaric slid a hand across the car seat until he was close enough to run a finger gently along Meredith's arm. "I learned a lot while I was gone," he said earnestly, "but I'm real y more concerned about what's going on right now in Fel 's Church."

"You mean this dark magic that is supposedly rising here?" Meredith asked.

"I mean the dark magic that seems to be targeting you and Celia," Alaric said forceful y. "I'm not sure either of you is taking it seriously enough."

Me and Celia, thought Meredith. He's just as worried about her as he is about me. Maybe more.

"I know we've faced danger in the past, but I feel responsible for Celia," Alaric went on. "I brought her here, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her."

Definitely more, Meredith thought bitterly, and shrugged off Alaric's hand.

She instantly regretted the motion. What was the matter with her? This wasn't who she was. She'd always been the calm, rational one. Now here she was feeling like, wel , like a jealous girlfriend.

"And now it's threatening you, too," Alaric went on. He tentatively touched her knee, and this time Meredith let his hand stay. "Meredith, I know how strong you are. But it's terrifying to me that this doesn't seem to be the kind of enemy we're used to. How can we fight what we can't even see?"

"Al we can do is be vigilant," Meredith said. Her training had been comprehensive, but even she didn't understand this new evil. Yet she knew how to protect herself much better than Alaric realized. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His window was open a crack, and the breeze ruffled his sandy hair. They knew each other so wel , yet he stil didn't know her biggest secret. For a moment she considered tel ing him, but then he turned to her and said, "Celia's putting on a brave face, but I can tel she's scared. She's not as tough as you are."

Meredith stiffened. No, this wasn't the right time to tel Alaric that she was a hunter-slayer. Not when she was driving. Not when she was this angry. Suddenly his hand felt heavy and clammy on her knee, but she knew she couldn't push it off again without betraying her feelings. Inside, though, she was raging at how the conversation kept coming back to Celia. Alaric had thought of her first. And even when he was talking about the danger to Meredith, he couched it in terms of what had happened to Celia. Alaric's voice became a buzz in the background as Meredith clutched the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles whitened.

Real y, why was she surprised that Alaric had feelings for Celia? Meredith wasn't blind. She could be objective. Celia was smart, accomplished, beautiful. Celia and Alaric were in the same place in their lives. Meredith hadn't even started col ege yet. She was attractive - she knew that -

and certainly intel igent. But Celia was al that and more: She was Alaric's equal in a way Meredith couldn't be just yet. Sure, Meredith was a vampire hunter. But Alaric didn't know that. And when he did know, would he admire her strength? Or would he turn away from her, scared of her abilities, and toward someone more academic, like Celia?

A black bubble of misery fil ed Meredith's chest.

"I'm beginning to think I should take Celia away from here if I can get her to leave." Alaric sounded reluctant, but Meredith could hardly hear him. She felt as cold as if she were being enveloped in a fog. "Maybe I should get her back to Boston. I think you should leave Fel 's Church, too, Meredith, if you can convince your family to let you go away for the rest of the summer. You could come with us, or maybe there's a relative you could stay with if your family wouldn't like that. I'm worried that you aren't safe here."

"Nothing's happened to me yet," said Meredith, surprised by the calm of her own voice, when such dark emotions were boiling inside her. "And I have a responsibility to be here and protect the town. If you think Celia wil be safer away from here, do what you and she think is best. But you know there's no guarantee that whatever's threatening us won't fol ow her somewhere else. And at least here there are people who believe in the danger.

"Besides," she added thoughtful y, "the threat to Celia may be over. Maybe once the attack is averted, it moves on to someone else. My name didn't appear until after Stefan saved Celia. If so, then the danger is only to me."

Not that you care, she thought viciously, and was surprised at herself. Of course Alaric cared. It was just that he seemed to care about what happened to Celia more.

Her fingernails cut into her palms around the steering wheel as she careful y fol owed Stefan's car off the road and toward the parking lot for Hot Springs.

"Stop!" Alaric shouted, panic in his voice, and Meredith automatical y slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a halt.

"What?" Meredith gasped. "What is it?"

And then she saw her.

Dr. Celia Connor had gotten out of Matt's car to cross to the path up to the springs. Meredith had come speeding right toward her. Only inches from Meredith's front bumper, Celia was frozen, her pretty face gray with fear, her mouth a perfect O.

One more second, and Meredith would have kil ed her.

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