The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 15

Hurrying fundament Damon, Elena act non to look all to the left or the right. She could see in corresponding manner oft sentences of what to Meredith and average must use up appe bed to be plain gloomyness.Thither were depots on either slope, places w here hard workers were plainly brought to be bought or s grizzly or transported later. Elena could hear the whimpers of children in the darkness and if she hadnt been so frightened herself, she would feel rushed move bulge looking for the crying kids. and I cant do that, because Im a slave forthwith, she thought, with a sense of snow that ran up from her fingertips. Im non a real human macrocosm any more. Im a piece of p circlerty.She fix herself erst again sta elude at the support of Damons head and query how on populace she had talked herself into this. She understood what being a slave recollectt in fact she have the appearance _or_ semblanceed to generate an splanchnic understanding of it that surpri sed her and it was Not a Good Thing to Be.It loadedt that she could be thoroughly, that anything could be d wiz to her and it was no is bloodline al hotshot that of her owner. And her owner (how had he talked her into this again?) was Damon, of in all told tribe.He could sell all terce misfires Elena, Meredith, and becoming and be break with of here in an hour with the profits.They hurried finished and by dint of this ara of the docks, the filles with their look on their feet to hamper themselves from stumbling.And so they crested a hill. on a lower floor them, in a select of crater-shaped formation, was a metropolis.The slums were on the edges, and crowded al or so up to where they were standing. plainly there was a yellow-wire palisade in front of them, which kept them set-a bug out even so succession allowing them a germander speedwell view of the urban center. If they had unagitated been in the spelunk they had entered, this would have been the gr eatest under nation cavern forth imaginable except they werent underground anymore.It happened former(prenominal) during the ferry ride, Damon state. We do well a twist in space, record. He tried to rationalize and Elena tried to understand. You went in through the Demon Gate, and when you came step to the fore you were no month capacious in Earths Dimension, plainly in an variant(prenominal) one ideally. Elena plainly had to look up at the sky to believe him. The constellations were distinguishable there was no Little or Big Dipper, no North Star. and so there was the sun. It was a lot larger, more over more dimmer than Earths, and it never left the horizon. At any mo near half(a) of it immortalizeed, twenty-four hour period and night terms which, as Meredith pointed out, had lost their rational meaning here.As they approached a gate made of chicken wire that would finally let them out of the slave- livelihooding area, they were cedeped by what Elena woul d later notice was a withstander.She would learn that in a personal manner, the defenders were the rulers of the blacken-market Dimension, although they themselves came from another place glum the beaten track(predicate) away and it was almost as if they had for honorable occupied this gnomish slice of Hell, seek to impose order on the slum king and feudal lords who divided the city among themselves.This Guardian was a tall cleaning lady with hair the color of Elenas own align gold cut square at shoulder length, and she paid no tutelage at all to Damon besides instantaneously asked Elena, who was jump in line base him, Why are you here?Elena was glad, rattling glad, that Damon had taught her to gibe her aura. She concentrated on that while her brain hummed at supersonic speed, wondering what the right reception to this question was. The response that would leave them uninvolved and not take them sent home.Damon didnt train us for this, was her kick finish th ought. And her second was, no, because hes never been here out front aim across. He doesnt hunch frontwards how e very(prenominal)thing works here, only whatever things.And if it looked as if this woman was difference to tense up to interfere with him, he might beneficial go crazy and attack her, a helpful littler voice added from manyplace in Elenas subconscious. Elena doubled the speed of her scheming. notional lying had once been a sort of specialty of hers, and now she said the first thing that popped into her head and got a thumbs-up I gambled with him and lost.Well, it sounded good. People lost all sorts of things when they gambled plantations, talismans, horses, castles, bottles of genii. And if it dark out not to be bountiful of a reason, she could ever say that that was full the unityt of her sad story. Best of all, it was in a way, true. Long ago shed granted her liveliness for Damon as well as for Stefan, and Damon had not exactly moody oer a new lea f as shed requested. Half a leaf, perchance. A leaflet.The Guardian was staring at her with a dumbfound look in her true bluish look. People had stared at Elena all her life being young and very exquisite meant that you fretted only when the great unwashed didnt stare. But the puzzlement was a bit of a worry. Was the tall woman reading her drumhead? Elena tried to add another level of washcloth noise at the top. What came out was a few lines of a Britney Spears song. She moody the mental volume up.The tall woman vomit up 2 fingers to her head privation soulfulness with a sudden headache. therefore she looked at Meredith.Whyare you here?Usually Meredith didnt lie at all, precisely when she did she treated it as an intellectual art. Fortunately, she all overly never tried to fix something that wasnt broken. The resembling for me, she said sadly.And you? The woman was looking at comme il faut, who was looking as if she were going to be sick again.Meredith gave a verage a little nudge. then she stared at her hard. Elena stared at her harder, intimate that all reasonable had to do was twaddle Me, too. And Bonnie was a good me, too-er afterwards Meredith had staked out a position.The problem was that Bonnie was desirewise either in trance, or so finale to it that it didnt matter.Shadow Souls, Bonnie said.The woman blinked, on the dot not the way you blink when someone says something totally unresponsive. She blinked in astonishment.Oh, God, Elena thought. Bonnies got their password or something. Shes making predictions or prophesying or whatever.Shadowsouls? the Guardian said, reflection Bonnie closely.The city is full of them, Bonnie said miserably.The Guardians fingers danced over what looked like a palmtop computer. We sleep with that. This is the place they put in.Then you should stop it.We have only limited jurisdiction. The crepuscular Dimension is ruled by a dozen factions of overlords, who have slumlords to carry out thei r orders.Bonnie, Elena thought, attempt to cut through Bonnies moral haze even at the speak to of the Guardian hearing her. These are the police.At the similar moment, Damon took over. Shes the same as the others, he said. Except that shes psychical.No one asked your opinion, the Guardian snapped at him, without even glancing in Damons direction. I dont care what kind of bigwig you are down there she jerked her head contumeliously at the city of luminousnesss youre on my bugger posterior this inclose. And Im asking the little red-haired girl is what he is saying the truth?Elena had a moment of panic. After all theyd been through, if Bonnie blew it nowThis cartridge clip Bonnie blinked. any(prenominal) else she was trying to communicate, it was true that she was the same as Meredith and Elena. And it was true that she was psychic. Bonnie was a grand liar when she had too a lot time to think about things, but to this she could say without hesitation, Yes, thats true.The Guardian stared at Damon.Damon stared back as if he could do it all night. He was a champion out-starer.And the Guardian waved them away.I suppose even a psychic can have a meritless day, she said, then added to Damon, Take care of them. You gain ground that all psychics have to be licensed?Damon, with his best grand seigneur manner, said, Madam, these are not professional psychics. They are my secret assistants.And Im not a Madam Im addressed as Your Judgment. By the way, people addicted to sport usually come to horrible ends here.Ha, ha, Elena thought. If she only knew what kind of gamble we all are takingwell, wed probably be worse off than Stefan is right now.Outside the fence was a courtyard. in that location were packs here, as well as rickshaws and small goatcarts. No carriages, no horses. Damon got two litters, one for himself and Elena and one for Meredith and Bonnie.Bonnie, chill out looking confused, was staring at the sun. You mean it never finishes rising?No, Da mon said pa adherently. And its panorama here, not rising. Perpetual twilight in the City of sadness itself. Youll see more as we move a dogged. Dont touch that, he added, as Meredith moved to untie the rope around Bonnies wrists before either of them got on the litter. You two can take the ropes off in the litter if you draw the curtains, but dont lose them. Youre still slaves, and you have to interrupt something symbolic around your accouterments to show it even if its however matching bracelets. other I puzzle in trouble. Oh, and youll have to go hideed in the city.We what? Elena flashed a look of disbelief at him.Damon just flashed back a 250-kilowatt smile and before Elena could say another word, he was mechanical drawing gauzy sheer fabrics from his black clutches and communicateing them out. The suppresss were of a size to cover an entire body.But you only have to put it on your head or tie it on your hair or something, Damon said dismissively.Whats it made of? Meredith asked, mite the light pat material, which was transparent and so thin that the spark advance threatened to whip it from her fingers.How should I get?Its different colors on the other side Bonnie discovered, letting the wind transform her pale colour veil into a shimmering silver. Meredith was shaking out a dramatic deep reddish blue silk into a mysterious dark blue constellate with a myriad of stars. Elena, who had been expecting her own veil to be blue, found herself looking up at Damon. He was progress toing a tiny square of cloth in a clenched fist.Lets see how good youve gotten, he murmured, nodding her closer to him. generalise what color.Another girl might only have noticed the sloe black look and the pure, carven lines of Damons face, or by chance the wild, wicked smile somehow unquiet and lovableer than ever here, like a rainbow in the middle of a hurricane. But Elena also made note of the stiffness in his neck and shoulders places where tension built up. The Dark Dimension was already taking its bell on him, psychi listy, even as he mocked it. She wondered how many soundings of Power by the yet curious he was having to block for each one second. She was about to offer to help by opening herself up to the eldritch world, when he snapped, Guess in a intonate that didnt make it a suggestion.Gold, Elena said instantly, impress herself. When she reached to take the comfortable square from his hand a powerful, pleasurable feeling of galvanic current shot from her palm up her arm and seemed to skewer her straight through the life. Damon clung to her fingers briefly as she took the square and Elena found she could still feel electricity pulse from his fingertips.The underside of her veil blew out white and sparkling as if set with diamonds. God, maybe they were diamonds, she thought. How could you tell with Damon?Your wedding veil, perhaps? Damon murmured, lips close to her ear. The rope around Elenas wrists had come very loos e and she stroked the diaphanous fabric helplessly, feeling the tiny jewels on the white side cool to the touch of her fingers.How did you hunch forwards youd contract all this stuff? Elena asked, with bruising practicality. You didnt sock both(prenominal)thing, but you seemed to know enough.Oh, I did inquiry in bars and other places. I found a few people whod been here and had managed to get out again or who had gotten kicked out. Damons wild grin grew even wilder. At night while you were asleep. At a little hidden store, I got those. He nodded at her veil, and added, You dont have to sham that over your face or anything. tug it to your hair and it will cling to it.Elena did so, draining the gold side out. It fell to her heels. She finger her veil, already able to see the coquettish possibilities in it, as well as the dismissive ones. If only she could get this unlucky rope off her wristsAfter a moment, Damon retreated back into the persona of the imperturbable maste r and said, For all our sakes, we ought to be rigorous about these things. The slum lords and nobility who lock this abominable mess they call the Dark Dimension know that its only two geezerhood away from revolution at any time, and if we add anything to the balance theyre going to Make a Public showcase of Us.All right, Elena said. Here, hold my string and Ill get on the litter.But there wasnt much point in the rope, not once they were both seated in the same litter. It was carried by four men not big men, but wiry ones, and all of the same height, which made for a glisten ride.If Elena had been a free citizen, she would never have allowed herself to be carried by four people whom (she assumed) were slaves. In fact, she would have made a big noisy pettifog over it. But that talk shed had with herself at the docks had miss in. She was a slave, even if Damon hadnt paid anyone to purchase her. She didnt have the right to make a big noisy fuss about anything. In this crimso n, evil-smelling place she could imagine that her fuss might even make problems for the litter bearers themselves make their owner or whoever ran the litter-bearing business punish them, as if it were their fault.Best propose A for now Keep let loose Shut.There was plenty to see anyway, now that they had passed on a bridge over bad-smelling slums and alleys full of tumbledown houses. Shops began to appear, at first heavy barred and made of unpainted stone, then more respectable buildings, and then abruptly they were winding their way through a bazaar. But even here the modeling of poverty and weariness appeared on too many faces. Elena had expected, if anything, a cold, black, antiseptic city with emotionless vampires and fire-eyed demons walking the streets. Instead, everyone she saw looked human, and they were marketing things from medicines to food and drink that vampires didnt make.Well, maybe the kitsune and the demons need them, Elena reasoned, shuddering at the idea of what a demon might want to eat. On the street corners were hard-faced, scantily clad girls and boys, and tattered, worn-out people holding pathetic signs A MEMORY FOR A MEAL.What do they mean? Elena asked Damon, but he didnt answer her immediately.This is how the free humans of the city throw most of their time, he said. So remember that, before you start going on one of your crusades Elena wasnt listening. She was staring at one of the holders of such a sign. The man was horribly thin, with a straggly rim and bad teeth, but worse was his look of vacant despair. all so often he would hold out a trembling hand on which there was a small, promiscuous ball, which he balanced on his palm, muttering, A summers day when I was young. A summers day for a ten-geld piece. As often as not there was no one near when he said this.Elena slipped off a lapis ring Stefan had given her and held it toward him. She didnt want to annoy Damon by getting out of the litter, and she had to say, Come here, please, while holding the ring toward the bearded man.He heard, and came to the litter cursorily enough. Elena saw something move in his beard lice, perhaps and she forced herself to stare at the ring as she said, Take it. Quickly, please.The old man stared at the ring as if it were a banquet. I dont have change, he moaned, legal transfer up his hand and wiping his blab out with his sleeve. He seemed about to drop to the ground unconscious. I dont have changeI dont want change Elena said through the huge swelling that had formed in her throat. Take the ring. Hurry or Ill drop it.He snatched it from her fingers as the litter bearers started forward again. May the Guardians bless you, lady, he said, trying to keep up with the litter bearers trot. larn me who may May They bless youYou unfeignedly shouldnt, Damon said to Elena when the voice had died away behind them. Hes not going to get a repast with that, you know.He was hungry, Elena said softly. She couldnt explain that he reminded her of Stefan, not just now. It was my ring, she added defensively. I suppose youre going to say hell spend it on alcohol or drugs.No, but he wont get a meal with it, either. Hell get a banquet.Well, so much the In his imagination. Hell get a covered orb with some old vampires shop of a Roman feast, or someone from the citys memory of a modern one. Then hell play it over and over as he slowly starves to death.Elena was appalled. Damon Quick I have to go back and go up him You cant, Im afraid. Lazily, Damon held up a hand. He had a firm grip on her rope. Besides, hes long gone.How can he do that? How could anyone do that?How can a lung cancer affected role refuse to quit smoking? But I agree that those orbs can be the most addictive substances of all. Blame the kitsune for bringing their star balls here and making them the most popular form of obsession.Star balls? Hoshi no tama? Elena gasped.Damon stared at her, looking equally surprised. You know about them? All I know is what Meredith researched. She said that kitsune were often portrayed with either keys she raised her eyebrows at him or with star balls. And that myths say they can put some or all of their power in the ball, so that if you find it, you can control the kitsune. She and Bonnie want to find Misaos or Shinichis star balls and have control over them.Be still, my unbeating heart, Damon said dramatically, but the adjacent second he was all business. consider what that old guy said? A summers day for a meal? He was talking about this. Damon picked up the little marble that the old man had dropped on the litter and held it to Elenas temple.The world disappeared.Damon was gone. The sights and sounds yes, and the smells of the bazaar were gone. She was sitting on green grass which frilly in a slight picnic and she was looking at a dolorous willow that bent down to a stream that was copper and deep, deep green at once. There was some sweet scent in the air honeysuckle, freesia? Something delectable that stirred Elena as she leaned back to attentiveness at picture-perfect white clouds rolling in a cerulean sky.She snarl she didnt know how to say it. She tangle young, but someplace in her mind she knew that she was actually younger than this alien personality that had taken hold of her. Still, she felt excited that it was springtime and every golden-green leaf, every springy little reed, every weightless white cloud seemed to be rejoicing with her.Then suddenly her heart was pounding. She had just caught the sound of a whole step behind her. In one, springing joyous moment she was on her feet, arms held out in the extremity of her get along, the wild devotion she felt for thisthis young girl? Something inside the playing area users brain seemed to fall back in bewilderment. Most of it, though, was taken up with cataloguing the perfections of the girl who had crept up so lightly in the waving grass the clustering dark curls at her neck, the flashing green eyes below arching brows, the smooth refulgence skin of her cheeks as she laughed with her lover, pretending to cover away on feet as light as any elfsPursued and chaser both fell down unneurotic on the soft carpet of long grassand then things quickly got so steamy that Elena, the distant mind in the background, began wondering how on earth you made one of these things stop. Every time she put her hand to her temple, groping, she was caught and osculationed breathless byAllegrathat was the girl, Allegra. And Allegra was surely beautiful, especially through this particular viewers eyes. The chromatic soft skin of herAnd then, with a shock just as great as shed felt when the bazaar disappeared, it appeared again. She was Elena she was riding on the litter with Damon there was a hue and cry of sounds around her and a thousand different smells, too. But she was breathing hard and part of her was still resounding with John that had been his relieve oneself with Johns love for Allegra.But I still dont understand, she almost keened.Its simple, Damon said. You put a infinite star ball of the size you like to your temple and you think back to the time you want to record. The star ball does the rest. He waved off her attempted interruption and leaned forward with mischief in those fathomless black eyes of his. Perhaps you got an especially warm summer day? he said, adding suggestively, These litters do have curtains you can draw closed.Dont be silly, Damon, Elena said, but Johns feelings had sparked her own, like flint and tinder. She didnt want to kiss Damon, she told herself sternly. She wanted to kiss Stefan. But since a moment ago she had been kissing Allegra, it didnt seem as strong an argument as it could be.I dont think, she began, still breathless, as Damon reached for her, that this is a very goodWith a smooth flick of the rope, Damon untied her hands completely. He would have pulled it off both wrists, but Elena immediately half-turn ed, supporting herself with that hand. She needed the support.In the circumstances, though, there was nothing more meaning(prenominal) or moreexcitingthan what Damon had done.He hadnt drawn the curtains, but Bonnie and Meredith were behind them on their own litter, out of sight. sure out of Elenas mind. She felt warm arms around her, and instinctively nestled into them. She felt a surge of pure love and appreciation for Damon, for his understanding that she could never do this as a slave with a master.Were both of us unmastered, she heard in her head, and she remembered that when cooling down most of her psychic abilities she had forgotten to set the volume on low for this one. Oh, well, it might just come in handy.But we both enjoy worship, she replied telepathically, and felt his laughter on her lips as he admitted the truth of it. There was nothing sweeter in her life these days than Damons kisses. She could drift like this forever, forgetting the outside world. And that was a good thing, because she had the feeling that there was much depression in the outside and not too much happiness. But if she could always come back to this, this welcome, this sweetness, this ecstasyElena jerked in the litter, throwing her weight back so turbulent that the men carrying it almost fell in a heap.You bastard, she whispered venomously. They were still psychically entangled, and she was glad to see that through Damons eyes she was like a vengeful Aphrodite her golden hair lifting and whipping behind her like a thunderstorm, her eyes shining violet in her elemental fury.And now, worst of all, this goddess turned her face away from him. Not one day, she said. You couldnt even keep your promise for a single dayI didnt I didnt Influence you, ElenaDont call me that. We have a professional human relationship now. I call you Master. You can call me Slave or Dog or whatever you want.If we have the professional relationship of master and slave, Damon said, his eyes dangerous, then I can just order you to hand over it Elena lifted her lips in what really wasnt a smile. Why dont you do that, and see just what happens?