The Vampire Diaries: A Cage of Burning Light (Kindle Worlds Novella) (12 page)

“That was
too close,” she murmured.

Elena’s
arms were cooler around her shoulders than she remembered, but still as loving
as ever. “I’m all right. Damon’s all right. We’re both okay.”

Bonnie didn’t
care about Damon’s health nearly as much as her friend did, but she didn’t
bother to mention that as she drew back. “How long? If people are crazy enough
to think that vampire blood is actually worth gathering as a commodity, then
eventually someone will be back here looking for some.” The vast majority of
vampires could protect themselves, naturally, but not all of them were instant
killers and being hunted could force even the most peaceful of them into
surrendering their humanity. Bonnie hated the idea of seeing that sort of fate
for Elena.

Elena
shrugged, her eyes cast downwards to the skid marks that cut through the dirt
on the road’s shoulder. Bits of glass were mixed in with it, glinting when the
dappled sunlight hit them.

“Damon is
looking into it,” was all she said. “He’ll find the man those two were working
for and make sure that this never happens to anyone again.”

Neither
of them said anything more about “those two,” or what happened to them. Bonnie
hadn’t seen the bodies, and Elena hadn’t wanted to talk about it, though she
had been pale when Bonnie first met up with her. Bonnie tried to put any
speculation out of her mind. They’d tortured her friend and she had a strong
suspicion of what
she
would have
wanted to do to them if it had been her standing in front of them at the end of
that chase.

Bonnie
reached down and clasped her friend’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Elena lifted
her head and smiled at her.

“I’m
proud of you,” Bonnie told her.

Elena
looked puzzled. “For what?”

“For
what? For everything! For not hurting anyone. For not taking advantage at the
end and joining in when Damon did.”

Elena
sighed and looked down. “I couldn’t. I really wanted to but … I couldn’t.”

Bonnie
grinned at her. “And that’s why you’re my best friend, even if you can’t
drive.”

“Hey!”

“You owe
me a new car.”

“Hey!”

Bonnie
laughed, and they waited for the Sheriff to finish securing the wreck and come
back over to ask them enough new questions she hadn’t already brought up that
they’d fill the rest of the day.

Elena had
just walked into the darkened living room at the Salvatore Boarding House when
she sensed a presence arrive there. She definitely didn’t have these new
abilities down, but she had enough instinct to recognize that this was someone
she didn’t have any reason to fear.

“Are you
all right?” she asked.

Damon
stepped forward out of the shadows with a nod and wrapped his long arms around
her. They were both still getting used to this easy intimacy with one another,
but she put her arms around him without any hesitation and settled her cheek
against his chest, his cool skin no longer a shock when it touched hers.

He kissed
the top of her head. “How are you doing?”

Elena
sighed. “The Sheriff asked me enough questions to fill a book, and I think I
took about four showers when I got home, but I’m okay. At least the Sheriff
knew someone who could cut the shackles off.” She tilted her head up to see he
was smiling down at her. “What?”

His smirk
grew. “I was just thinking that you’re cute,” he told her, and Elena pouted but
hugged him tighter, her arms still wrapped around him. More and more, she was
finding herself feeling that around him was exactly where she always should be.

They
stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other and both enjoying each
other’s presence and the fact that they were finally safe. Finally, however,
Elena found she just couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“What
happened?” she asked.

At first,
she didn’t think that he was going to answer her and instead would keep
whatever it was he’d learned and done a secret for himself. It was what he
always used to do in the first years of their acquaintance with absolutely
everything, and she wondered if that was a part of him that wasn’t ever going
to change for her. She found herself mourning the possibility. She wanted Damon
to trust her, as she’d found she could utterly trust him. She was wondering how
to get him to understand that when he sighed and actually did give her an
answer.

“A very
rich man with a lot of power and next to no common sense decided to dabble in
the supernatural as a money-making scheme. Not being quite stupid enough to go
hunting for us himself, he hired a sociopathic researcher to kidnap vampires
for him. They’d been doing it for a while, with a lot more success than I ever
would have expected. I guess we should stop underestimating humans. The whole
fact that we did underestimate them was what let him get away with it for so
long. He had a lot of blood stored up, most of it gone bad, of course. He was
saving it for himself a lot more than he was using it to heal other people.”
His hand rubbed up and down on her back.

Elena
closed her eyes. “I take it this story means you found him.”

“Yes. Our
good Dr. Wilson didn’t know exactly where he was, but he did have a name, and
he knew which airfield they were using. The pilot had to file a flight plan,
and his name was on it. Once I found him, he
did
know where our nasty little entrepreneur was. It wasn’t that
hard to track him down after all, actually. It’s what you get when you think
that vampires aren’t people. Likely didn’t think any of us would know how to
find him.”

He
sounded pleased with himself. “Are the pilot and this businessman still alive?”
she whispered.

Damon’s
lips pressed against the top of her head again. “The pilot is. I just compelled
him, easy work. The businessman though? Do you really want to ask me that?”

She
didn’t, not really. She knew what happened to him. She’d known from the moment
Damon left her safe again with Bonnie and the Sheriff to go and find him.

“So we’re
safe?” she asked instead.

He
chuckled. “Well, as safe as we ever were. In a lot of ways, this whole mess was
only really a threat to new vampires, those of us who don’t know how to hide ourselves
well enough from people like Wilson, who at least know the basics of what to
look for to identify us.” He hugged her to show he meant no insult and his
voice turned wry. “Plus all the vamps like me who don’t look where they’re
going and fall into traps dug into the floor of warehouses.”

Elena
giggled. “It’s not your fault. You were worried about me.”

“Never.”

She
smiled and propped her chin against his chest so she could direct that smile up
at him. “You were too.”

He looked
away, nose lifted in mock grandiosity. “Was not. I tripped, that’s all.”

“Tripped,
did you? That’s your excuse?”

“That’s
what I’m planning to tell everyone.”

She
laughed and felt the last of the tension of the day drain out of her. A nice
sense of peace replaced it. She was home, she was safe, she wasn’t hungry
enough to feel any pull of the vampire in her, and she was with the man she
loved. “They’ll believe that, will they?” she teased.

“Hey,
it’s a good excuse,” he protested, “and a great sacrifice for me to admit.
Tripping is very embarrassing for someone as suave and coordinated as I am. I
have a reputation to maintain, after all.”

“Of
course you do,” she whispered and leaned up to kiss him. He returned it with
loving enthusiasm, his arms hugging her to him tightly enough that she was
lucky she was a vampire or he would have crushed her ribs. Instead she hugged
him back and closed her eyes, enjoying the embrace. There wasn’t anything else
to worry about. She was home with her lover and both of them were safe and
would stay that way, so long as they were together.

THE END

Digital painting, knitting, and book binding are my hobbies right now, along with a lot of web browsing and art appreciation. I was born in Ottawa, Ontario. I was an Air Force brat as a kid and now I’m in the Air Force myself.