Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

"Elena! Elena!" Stefan shouted as he ran, bursting past the rest of the group. She couldn't be gone. Behind him, he could hear the pounding of Damon's boots close on his tail.

Ahead of the flashlights, they rounded the corner into complete darkness. Stefan funneled Power to his eyes so that he could see.

Just ahead of them, Klaus raised his head, blood streaming from his mouth and dripping down his chin. In his arms, Elena lay limply, her silken, golden hair tangled and dirty, hanging down over Klaus's arm. Stefan snarled and rushed forward.

Klaus licked at his lips, his pink tongue slow, and then he shuddered, a smile on his face. Slowly, still smiling, he collapsed to the ground, Elena landing with a thud in front of him. Stefan's heart plummeted even as he leaped toward her. Elena lay in the center of the path. She was motionless and very pale, her head turned to one side, eyes closed.

Blood was everywhere, staining her once-white top a deep, rich red. Her throat was covered with gore.

And beyond her, as limp as a discarded toy, lay Klaus. Although there was no mark on him other than a thin streak of blood at the corner of his mouth, Stefan had no doubt that he was dead. No one living looked like that, as if everything that had been part of him was gone, leaving a wax dummy in his place. Especially not the lightning-handler Klaus, who had shimmered with golden, filthy rage. He looked like a badly preserved corpse.

Elena, though . . .

To Stefan's wonder, Elena stirred, her eyelashes fluttering.

Stefan gathered her into his arms. She was so pale, but her heartbeat was steady. Above him, Damon hovered, his mouth twisted with anxiety.

"She'll live," Damon muttered, partly to himself, partly to Stefan.

Stefan opened his mouth to agree, but all that came out was a broken sob. He began to kiss Elena, peppering her cheeks and mouth and forehead and hands with light kisses.

"Stefan," she murmured weakly, and smiled. "My Stefan. "

"What happened?" Bonnie asked as the others rounded the bend and ran forward. Only Andres stood still just past the bend in the tunnel, staring at Elena, his face full of wonder.

"She's the One," he breathed.

"The One what?" Elena asked, still smiling dazedly. She raised her hand and stroked Stefan's cheek.

Andres seemed to be having trouble speaking. He swallowed, licked his lips, and swallowed again, looking a little lost. "There's a legend," he said finally, hesitantly. "A Guardian legend. It says that one day a sworn Guardian, one born of a Principal Guardian, will come to Earth. Her blood, the blood of Guardians carried through generations, will be anathema to the Oldest creatures of darkness. "

"What does that mean?" Stefan asked sharply.

Andres lifted his flashlight, lighting up Klaus's pathetic, diminished corpse. "It means," he said, his voice full of wonder, "that Elena's blood has killed Klaus. It would kill any of the Old Ones, the handful of vampires and demons that have walked the Earth since the dawn of human civilization . . . maybe before. It means," he said, "that Elena is a very valuable weapon. "

"Hang on," Damon said. "That can't be right. I've drunk Elena's blood. Stefan's drunk Elena's blood. "

Andres shrugged. "Perhaps its qualities are only fatal to the Old Ones. That's all the legend tells of. "

"And her blood is special," Stefan said, his voice rough. He and Damon exchanged quick, embarrassed gla

nces. Elena's blood was rich and heady, countless times more potent than any other blood Stefan had ever tasted. He had thought the difference was because of the love they shared.

"But . . . " Bonnie said, frowning. "Your parents weren't Guardians, were they?" she asked Elena. Elena shook her head, but her eyes were clouding over and her eyelids drooping. She needed rest, and proper medical care.

"We can talk about this later," Stefan said abruptly, and stood, lifting Elena carefully and gently into his arms. "She needs to get out of here. "

"Well, whether she's the One or not," Meredith said, looking at the dead monster at her feet, "Elena killed Klaus. " They all straightened unconsciously, smiling. They had nothing left to fear.

Chapter 38

"Chloe?" Matt called cautiously, sticking his head into one of the empty sheds that surrounded the burned-out stables. The sky was starting to lighten in the east, signifying the end of a long night. There were still a few firefighters and EMTs near the blocked-off stables, turning over the ashes, so he had to be quiet. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Chloe had to be somewhere, he reminded himself. He had seen her after the fight, weary but not seriously hurt. She had probably just retreated, overwhelmed by all the blood and by the adrenaline from the fight. She would turn up soon.

The shed was silent and dark. Matt raised his flashlight and shone it around the empty walls of the tiny space: nowhere here for anyone to hide. As he was about to move on, a faint scratching noise caught his attention. Not completely empty, then.

Focusing the flashlight on the ground, he caught a glimpse of bright eyes and a long tail before a mouse zipped out of sight again. Nothing else.

"Chloe!" he hissed, heading for the old barn, the last outbuilding he hadn't yet searched.