Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

Now he had the quality of a natural leader. As if he felt Elena's eyes on him, Stefan glanced up at her, his lips forming a small, private smile just for her. She knew this change in Stefan was due to her and to all that had happened in the past year. Surely, whatever Damon had done - even if he was sinking into violence again because of Elena - here in Stefan was something that she could be uncomplicatedly proud of?

"Couldn't we do something with all that vervain?" Bonnie asked suddenly. "Like, burn it, or make it a gas somehow and fill the tunnels with its smoke? If we blocked the other exits, all the vampires would go into the house. We could trap them and burn the house down, or at least get to all of them at once. "

"That's a good idea, Bonnie," Stefan said. Zander agreed enthusiastically and Bonnie's face lit up with pleasure. It was funny, Elena thought, that they were all used to thinking of Bonnie as sort of the junior member of the group, the one who needed to be protected, and she really wasn't; she hadn't been for a long time.

"What other resources do we have?" Stefan asked thoughtfully, pacing back and forth across the room.

"I could get the guys to help out," Zander suggested. "We've been after the Vitale vampires for a while. We won't be as strong as we would be if it were the right lunar phase, and not all ten of us can transition without the full moon. But we work pretty well together . . . " His voice trailed off. "If you want us," he added. "I know you don't all feel comfortable with werewolves, and, to be honest, we're not usually big fans of vampires. No offense. " He looked from Stefan to Meredith, who still held the knife against her leg.

Meredith, of course, was the one most likely to object to bringing a Pack of werewolves into their group. Bonnie had assured them that Zander's Pack was different than the werewolves they'd met before - that they were good, more like guard dogs than wild animals. But Meredith had been raised to hunt monsters.

Now she nodded slowly to Zander, though, and said only, "We can use all the help we can get. " Bonnie and Meredith locked eyes across the room and Bonnie's lips tipped up in a tiny, satisfied smile.

"Speaking of 'all the help we can get,'" Meredith said. "Where's Damon?" She looked from Elena to Stefan when they didn't immediately answer. "This is one time when we can really use him. You should call him and get him in on the plan. " Her expression was sympathetic but determined, and Elena realized that Meredith thought they were hesitating because Elena had almost-dated Damon while she and Stefan had been apart. If only Meredith knew the truth, she thought, but she can't ever know. Stefan and I need to keep Damon safe.

"Maybe you could call him, Elena?" Bonnie asked tentatively.

Elena's and Stefan's eyes met. Stefan's face was blank and controlled again, and Elena couldn't see the tiniest crack in his armor as he cut in, smoothly and casually, "No, I'll call Damon. I need to talk to him, anyway. "

Elena bit her lip and nodded. She wanted to see Damon for herself - she was desperate to see him, to know what was wrong with him, wanting to fix it - but he wasn't taking her calls. Maybe what Damon needed right now from Elena was space. She hoped that Stefan, at least, could get through to him.

Chapter 5

When Stefan knocked on the door of Damon's apartment, Damon opened it almost immediately, glared at Stefan, and tried to slam the door shut in his face.

"Stop," Stefan said, inserting his shoulder in the doorway. "You must have been able to sense that it was me. "

"I knew you'd keep knocking or find a way in if I didn't answer," Damon said fiercely. "So I'm answering. Now go away. "

Damon looked wrecked. Nothing could take away from the elegance of his features, but they were tense and drawn, the skin over his cheekbones white with strain. His lips were pale, his dark eyes bloodshot, and his usually sleek black hair disarranged. Stefan ignored his words and leaned closer, trying to make his brother meet his eyes.

"Damon," he said. "I found the girl in the woods last night. "

Anyone who hadn't known Damon as long and as well as Stefan had - and so anyone except Stefan - would have missed the split second of stillness before Damon's face settled into cool disdain. "Have you come to preach to me, baby brother?" he asked. "I'm afraid I don't have the time just now, but perhaps another day? Next week sometime?"

He slid his eyes over Stefan, then glanced away dismissively. Just like that, Stefan felt like a child again, back home all those centuries ago, and his daring, charming, despicable, infuriating older brother was putting him in his place.

"She was still alive," Stefan said steadily. "I took her home. She's all right. "

Damon shrugged. "How nice for you. Always the parfait knight. "

Stefan's hand shot out and gripped Damon's arm. "Dammit, Damon," he said, frustrated, "stop playing with me. I came to tell you that you have to be careful. If you had killed that girl, it would have caught up with you. "

Damon blinked at him. "That's it?" he asked, his voice the smallest bit less hostile. "You want me to be careful? Don't you have an overwhelming urge to scold me, little brother? Threaten me, maybe?"

Stefan sighed and slumped against the doorframe, his urgency sucked away. "Would scolding you do any good, Damon?" he asked. "Or threatening you? It's never worked before. I just don't want you to kill anyone. You're my brother, and we need each other. "

Damon's face tightened again, and Stefan reconsidered his words. Sometimes talking to Damon was like walking through a minefield. "I need you, anyway," he said. "You saved my life. Which, in case you didn't notice, you've done a lot this past year. "

Damon leaned against the opposite side of the doorframe and studied Stefan, his face thoughtful, but remained silent. Wishing he knew what Damon was thinking, Stefan sent a questing tendril of Power toward his brother, trying to catch his mood, but Damon merely sneered, easily shutting him out.

Stefan bowed his head and kneaded the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Was it always going to be like this, for the next long centuries together? "Look," he said. "There's enough going on with the other vampires on campus without you starting to hunt again. Ethan's still alive, and he's planning to try to bring back Klaus tomorrow night. "

Damon's frown deepened for a moment, then smoothed out. His face could have been carved from stone.

"We can't stop him without you," Stefan continued, his mouth dry.

Damon's night-dark eyes gave nothing away and then he flashed his briefest, most brilliant smile. "Sorry," he said. "I'm not interested. "