Somebody pounded violently on the door, and they all looked up, tensing, ready to slip into fight mode. Meredith jumped to her feet and grabbed a knife from her desk, holding it out of sight as she cracked the door open.
Matt and Chloe, streaked with blood and covered in ash, tumbled through the door.
Meredith was the first to react, grabbing Chloe and turning her under the light to examine the bite on her neck. It looked raw and gruesome, and Chloe nearly collapsed in Meredith's arms before Alaric steered the young vampire into Bonnie's desk chair.
"What happened?" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Klaus," Matt gasped. "Klaus was in the boathouse. There's - oh, God - he left a body in there. And set the place on fire. She was dead, though. I'm sure she was already dead before she burned. "
Elena's fingers flew over her phone as she sent a quick text, and a moment later, Stefan was there, taking in the situation at a glance. He knelt in front of Chloe, examining her wound with careful fingers.
"Animal blood isn't enough to heal her right now," he said t
o Matt, who was watching with a tense, hunted expression, his lips tight and pale. "And a taste of human might send her over the edge. " He bit his own wrist and held it to Chloe's lips. "This isn't ideal, but it's the best of some bad options. "
Matt nodded tightly, and Stefan held Chloe's hand as the vampire girl gulped hungrily at his arm. "It's all right," he told her. "You're doing well. "
Once Chloe had drunk enough to begin healing from Klaus's bite, she and Matt explained what had happened.
"Klaus offered me the girl if I'd tell him what I knew about Elena and why he couldn't kill her with his dagger," she said. Her eyes dropped to the floor. "It was . . . " She paused. "I wanted to say yes. "
"She didn't, though," Matt told them. "Chloe did really well. She broke through Klaus's compulsion. "
"But he said he would come after us one by one until he got what he wanted?" Bonnie asked faintly. "This is bad. This is really very bad. " Her heart was pounding hard, drumming against her chest.
Elena sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "We knew that he would be coming after us," she pointed out.
"Yes," Bonnie said, her voice shaking, "but, Elena, he can get into my dreams. He did before, when he told us he was coming. " She hugged herself tightly and took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "I don't know if I can stop him from seeing things in my dreams. "
There was a nasty pause in the conversation. "I hadn't thought of that," Meredith admitted.
"I'm sorry, you guys," Elena said, her voice breaking. "He's coming after you because of me. I wish I could defend you. I need to get stronger. "
"You will," Meredith said firmly.
"And it's really not your fault," Bonnie said supportively, pushing her own panic down. "If the alternative was you dying, I'd rather he was coming after us. "
Elena smiled wanly. "I know, Bonnie," she said. "But even if I get more Power, I don't know how we can protect you in your dreams. "
"Are there ways she can protect her dreams herself?" Stefan asked, turning to Alaric, their research expert. "Conscious dreaming and that kind of thing?"
Alaric nodded thoughtfully. "It's a good idea," he said. "I'll look it up right away. " He smiled reassuringly at Bonnie. "We'll find something. We always do. "
"And we all will stick together," Stefan said, looking around, his leaf-green eyes confident. "Klaus can't break us. "
There was a murmur of agreement, and Bonnie automatically reached out, taking Meredith's and Matt's hands in hers. Soon, they were all holding hands, and Bonnie felt a thrum of Power, maybe from Elena, maybe from Stefan, maybe from herself, run around the circle. Perhaps it was from all of them.
But that sense of Power wasn't the only thing she felt. Everyone was nervous; everyone was scared. Klaus could come after any one of them next, and it was impossible to know what he might do.
Chapter 26
Stefan and Elena were alone in Elena's dorm room at last, taking advantage of the small moment they had together. Bonnie, Meredith, and Alaric were in the library studying up on dream control, while Stefan had offered Matt and Chloe his room for the night now that their boathouse hideaway had been destroyed.
Stefan cupped Elena's cheek gently. "What's wrong?" he said, concerned by whatever it was he saw in her eyes. Elena had thought she was hiding her fear pretty well, but Stefan had always been able to see through her masks. She was glad they were finally alone. She didn't want the others to know, not yet. They weren't determined to protect Damon, not like she and Stefan were.
"A Principal Guardian came to me today and made me take the Guardian oath," she told him. "She gave me my first task. "
For a moment, Stefan's face lightened. "But that's wonderful news," he said. "Now you'll be able to access more Power to fight Klaus, won't you?"