The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 33

Stop Elena screamed. Stefan Stop it Youl kil himEven as she tell it, she acquitd that kil ing Damon might be exactly what Stefans idea was here. Stefan tore at Damon with his teeth and pass on, no pummeling him, honorable ripping feral y, with fangs and claws. Stefan, his body in a vicious primal crouch, his canines extended, his face distorted by a snarl of wight fury, had n perpetually looked more like a delineate of descentthirsty vampire.And behind Elena as she watched them, that seductive, chil ing voice went on, tel ing Stefan that he would sustain everything, just like he ever so lost everything. That Damon took everything from him and so tossed it carelessly, cruel y aside, because Damon simply wanted to ruin whatever Stefan had.Elena turned and, too frightened by what Stefan was doing to Damon to crawfish hold some(prenominal) fear leftfield of the vestige, slammed it with her fists. After a split second, level and bonnie joined her.As in the first gear place, mostly their hands just slid by dint of the phantasms mist. The spooks chest was solid, though, and Elena focused her rage on that, hitting against the hard ice thither with as more power as she could.Beneath the ice of the creatures chest, a rose glowed a rich dark red. It was a beautiful flower, hardly deadly flavour, its color re senseing her of poisoned blood. Its thorny stem seemed swol en, thickheadeder than a normal flowers. As Elena stared at it, the glow deepened and the flowers petals opened further, swel ing to ful bloom. Is that her instructt?Elena wondered. Is Stefans everyplace green-eyedy nourishing it? She smashed her fist against the phantoms chest again, right in a higher place the rose, and the phantom glanced at her for a moment.Stop it, Elena utter fiercely. Leave Stefan alone.The phantom was real y looking at her now, and its no, her smile widened, her glasslike teeth sharp and shiny chthonicneath her misty lips. In the glacial depths of her look, Elena ruling she caught a chil y but genuine twinkle, and Elenas have got heart froze.Then the phantom turned her charge cover song toward Stefan and Damon, and, although Elena would never have believed it possible, things got worse.Damon, verbalise the phantom throatily, and Damon, whod been limp and exhausted, eyes clenched shut, passive under Stefans assault, shielding his face but not fighting second, opened his eyes.Damon, she said again, her eyes glittering. What right does Stefan have to attack you? Whatever you tried to take from him, you were just fighting against the fact that he got everything your fathers love, the lady friends you wanted and you had postal code at al . Hes a sanctimonious brat, a selfloathing weakling, but he motors everything.Damons eyes widened as if in recognition at hearing his own deepest miseries voiced, and his face twisted with emotion. Stefan was stil clawing and biting at him, but he fel back a little as Damon snapped i nto action, grabbing him by the arm and wrenching it. Elena winced with horror as she perceive the crunch of some(a)thing oh, God something in Stefans arm or shoulder breaking. Undaunted, Stefan only grimaced and hence threw himself at Damon again, the weakened arm dangling awkwardly. Damon was stronger, Elena numbly noted, but exhausted surely he wouldnt be able to backing his advantage for enormous. For now they seemed fairly evenly matched. They were some(prenominal) furious, both fighting with no reservations. A bestial, ill-scented snarl came from one of them, shaky, vicious laughter from the opposite, and Elena realized with horror that she had no idea which sound was flood tide from who.The phantom hissed with enjoyment. Elena flinched away from her and, proscribed of the corner of her eye, saw Bonnie and Matt step back, too.Dont break the lines Alaric sh proscribeded from the other side of where were they now, anyway? Oh, Mrs. Flowerss garage the garage. He soun ded desperate, and Elena wondered if he had been shouting for a while. There had been some background noise going on, but there hadnt been a moment to listen to it. Elena BonnieMatt Dont break the lines he shouted again. You can confirm out, but step over the lines mensural yElena glanced down. An elaborate exemplar of lines in different colors was shabued beneath their feet, and she, Bonnie, Matt, and the phantom were al together in a smal circle in the innermost center of this pattern. Bonnie was the setoff one to clearly realize what Alaric was saying. Come on, she muttered, yanking at Elenas and Matts arms. Then she picked her way, daintily but rapidly, across the al-Qaida, away from the phantom and toward their friends. Matt fol owed her. He had to pause on one foot in a smal section and r all(prenominal) with his other foot, and there was a moment when he wobbled, one sneaker close blurring a blue line of chalk. solely he caught his balance and continued on.It took El ena, stil mostly focused on the desperately grappling figures of Damon and Stefan, a a couple of(prenominal) seconds longer to realize she needed to move as wel . She was almost too late. As she poised herself to take that first step out of the inner circle, the phantom turned its glassy eyes upon her.Elena fled, jumping quickly out of the circle and just barely managing to stop herself from skidding across the plot. The phantom took a swipe at her, but its hand stopped before crossing above a chalk line, and it growled in frustration.Alaric shakily pushed his tousled hair out of his eyes. I wasnt sure whether that would hold her, he rentted, but it seems like its working. Now, careful y, Elena, watching where you step, make your way over here. Matt and Bonnie had already reached the wal of the garage, at a outdistance from where Stefan and Damon were locked in battle, and Meredith had wrapped her arms rough them, her dark head buried in Matts shoulder, Bonnie snuggled against her side, her eyes as round as a frightened kittens. Elena looked down at the complicated pattern drawn on the floor and started moving careful y between the lines, heading not for her other friends but for the two struggling vampires.Elena No This way cal ed Alaric, but Elena ignored him. She had to get to Damon and Stefan.Please, she said, half(a) sobbing, as she reached them,Damon, Stefan, you have to stop. The phantoms doing this to you. You dont real y want to hurt each other. Its not you. Please.Neither of them compensable any attention to her. She wasnt even sure whether they could hear her. They were almost motionless now, their muscles straining in each others grip as each tried to simultaneously attack and fend off the other. Slowly, as Elena watched, Damon began to reduce Stefan, gradual y pushing his arms aside, leaning in toward his throat, gaberdine teeth flashing.Damon No Elena screamed. She stretched out to grab his arm, to pul him off Stefan. Without even lookin g at her, he casual y, viciously coerced her aside, sending her flying.She get hard on her back and slid across the floor, and it hurt, the impact jolting her teeth together, banging her head against the cement, white shocks of pain flaring behind her eyes. As she started to get up again, she saw with dismay Damon push by means of the last of Stefans defenses and sink his fangs into his younger brothers love.No she screamed again. Damon, noElena, be careful, Alaric shouted. Youre in the diagram. Please, whatever you do, dont break any more lines.Elena looked around. Her landing had sent her skidding through several of the chalk marks, which were now smeared al around her, smudges of color. She stiffened in terror and suppressed a whimper. Was it loose now? Had she set it free?Steeling herself, she turned toward the innermost circle. The phantom was feeling around itself with its long arms, patting up and down against some covert wal bordering the circle that kept it contained. As Elena watched, its mouth thinned with effort and it brought its hands together in one spot and pushed.The air in the room rippled.But the phantom did not manage to break through the circle, and after a moment it stopped pushing and hissed in disappointment.Then its eyes fel on Elena, and it smiled again.Oh, Elena, it said, its voice soft with false compassion.The fairly girl, the one everyone wants, the one the boys al fight over. Its so very hard macrocosm you. The voice twisted, its shadowiness changing to bitter mockery. But theyre not real y thinking of you, are they? The two you want, youre not the girl for them. You know why they are attracted to you. Katherine. Always Katherine. They want you because you look like her, but youre not her. The girl they loved so long ago was soft and sweet and gentle. An innocent, a victim, a check for their fantasies. Youre nothing like her. Theyl find that out, you know. Once your mortal form changes and it wil . Theyl be the same f orever, but youre changing and getting older every day in a a couple of(prenominal)er years youl look ofttimes older than they do and so theyl realize youre not the one they love at al . Youre not Katherine, and you never wil be.Elenas eyes stung. Katherine was a monster, she spat out through her teeth.She became a monster. She started out as a sweet young girl, the phantom corrected her. Damon and Stefan destroyed her. Like theyl destroy you. Youl never lead a normal look. Youre not like Meredith or Bonnie or Celia. Theyl have chances at normalcy when theyre ready, notwith associationing the way youve dragged them into your battles. But you, youl never be normal. And you know whos to blame for that, dont you?Elena, without thinking, looked at Damon and Stefan, just as Stefan managed to shove Damon away from him. Damon staggered backward, toward the group of valet de chambres huddling by the wal of the garage. Blood was cart track from his mouth and streaming down Stefans neck from a terrible gash.Theyve doomed you, just like they doomed the one they really loved, the phantom said softly.Elena pushed herself to her feet, her heart pounding hard, heavy with misery and anger.Elena, stop cal ed a powerful contralto voice, fil ed with such authority that Elena turned away from Damon and Stefan and, blinking as though shed been woken from a dream, looked out of the diagram toward the others. Mrs. Flowers stood at the edge of the chalk lines, hands on her hips, feet planted firmly. Her lips were a straight angry line, but her eyes were clear and thoughtful. She met Elenas gaze, and Elena felt calmed and strengthened. Then Mrs. Flowers looked around at the others gathered beside her.We must perform the demoteing spel now, she declared. in the lead the phantom manages to destroy us al . Elena Can you hear me?A surge of purpose running through her, Elena nodded and moved back to join the others.Mrs. Flowers brought her hands sharply together, and the air ri ppled again. The phantoms voice stony- stony-broke off and it shrieked in fury, shoving at the air around it, its hands meeting resistance sooner, its invisible prison smal er. Meredith felt urgently around on the high shelf near the garage door, her hands touching and rejecting various objects. Where had Mrs. Flowers put the candles?Paintbrushes, no. Flashlights, no. Ancient can of bug spray, no. nucleotide of potting soil, no. Some weird metal thing that she couldnt figure out from touching what it might be, no. Bag of candles. Yes.Ive got it, she said, pul ing it off the shelf and dumping probably a decades worth of dust from the shelf onto her own head. Urgh, she sputtered.It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation, Meredith thought, that Bonnie and Elena both looked at her, head and shoulders coated in thick dust and spiderwebs, and neither giggled nor moved to brush her off. They al had more important things to worry just about than a little dirt. Okay, she said. Fir st off, we need to figure out what color candle Damon would be. Mrs. Flowers had pointed out that Damon was clearly a victim of the suspiciousy phantom as wel , and so would have to take part in the banishment ritual for it to work ful y.Looking at the two vampire brothers stil attempting to tear each other apart, Meredith earnestly doubted whether Damon would be participating. Stefan either, for that matter. They were solely focused on inflicting as much damage as possible on each other. Stil , they would have to get the two vampires back to make the spel work. Somehow.Meredith found herself cool y wonder whether, if both Damon and Stefan died, they could safely be counted out of the ritual. Would the rest of them be able to defeat the phantom then? And if they didnt murder each other, but simply continued to fight, endangering them al , would she be able to kil them? She shoved the thought away. Stefan was her friend.And then she determinedly made herself consider kil ing him a gain. This was her duty. That was more important than friendship it had to be.Yes, she could kil them today, even in the next few minutes, if it was necessary, she realized. She would regret it forever if she had to, but she could.Besides, a part of her mind noted clinical y, if things went on as they were now, Damon and Stefan would kil each other, and save her that burden.Elena had been thinking hard or mayhap zoning out, focused on what the prehensiley phantom had said to her, Meredith wasnt sure and now she spoke. Red, she said. Is there a red candle for Damon?There was a dark red candle, and in addition a black one. Meredith pul ed both out and showed them to Elena.Red, said Elena.For blood? asked Meredith, eyeing the fighters, now only about ten feet away. God, they were both just covered with blood now. As she watched, Damon growled like an animal and banged Stefans head repeatedly against the wal of the garage. Meredith winced at the hol ow sound of Stefans skul slammin g against the wood and plaster of the wal . Damon had one hand around Stefans neck, the other ripping at Stefans chest as if Damon wanted to gouge out his heart.A soft, bleak voice was stil coming from the phantom. Meredith couldnt make out what it was saying, but its eyes were on the brothers, and it was smiling as it spoke. It looked satisfied.For passion, said Elena, and snatched the candle out of Merediths hands and marched over, straight-backed and head high like a soldiers, to the line of candles Alaric was relighting at the edge of the diagram. Meredith stared after her as Elena lit the candle and dripped a puddle of hot wax to stand it upon.Stefan forced Damon backward, closer to the others and their line of candles. Damons boots scraped against the floor as he strained against Stefan.Okay, Alaric said, looking at the candlesapprehensively, then down at the book. Each of us wil declare the jealousies inside ourselves the weaknesses that the phantom is able to play on and account them out. If we real y mean it, if we manage, at least for the moment, to truly and sincerely draw out our jealousy, our candles wil go out and the phantom wil be weakened. The trick is to real y be able to banish the jealousies from our hearts and stop feeding the phantom, and if we al can do it at once, the phantom ought to disappear, or maybe even die.What if we cant? What if we try to cast out jealousy, but it doesnt go completely away? Bonnie asked, her supercilium crinkling with worry.Then it doesnt work and the phantom stays, said Alaric flatly. Who wants to go first?Stefan slammed Damon down viciously onto the cement floor, a holler of anger coming from him. They were only a few feet from the line of candles, and Alaric stepped between them and the row of precise flames, trying to shield the candles with his body. Celia shuddered as Stefan gave a low, furious growl and lowered his head to bite at Damons shoulder. Jealousy kept up a steady stream of venomous chat ter, her eyes gleaming.Mrs. Flowers clapped her hands to get everyone elses attention, her face stern and encouraging. Children, you wil al have to be honest and brave, she said. You must al truly admit to your worst selves in front of your friends, which wil be hard. And then you wil need to be strong enough to cast these worst selves of yours away, which may be even harder. But you love one another, and I promise we wil get through it.A thump and a muffled shout of rage and pain came from a few feet away, and Alaric glanced nervously over his shoulder at the battle behind him.Time is of the essence, Mrs. Flowers said briskly. Who wil go first?Meredith was about to step forward, clutching her stave for comfort, when Bonnie spoke up.I wil , she said falteringly. Um. Ive been jealous of Meredith and of Elena. I always She swal owed, and then spoke more firmly. I sometimes feel like Im only a buddy when Im around them. Theyre braver than me, and theyre better fighters, and smarter an d prettier, and and taller than I am. Im jealous because I feel like mess dont respect me as much as they do them and dont real y take me seriously like they do Elena and Meredith. Im jealous because sometimes Im standing in their shadows, which are pretty big shadows metaphorical y speaking, I mean. And Im also jealous because Ive never even had a real boyfriend, and Meredith has Alaric, and Elena has Stefan, and because Elena also has Damon, who I think is pretty amazing, but who would never notice me when Im standing next to Elena, because shes al he can see.Bonnie paused again, and glanced at Elena, her eyes wide and shining. But I love Elena and Meredith. I know I need to stop comparison myself to them. Im not just a sidekick Im useful and talented, too. And she spoke the words Alaric had given them al I have federal official the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away.In the hemicycle of candles, the flame of Bonnies pink one flickered and went out. Bonnie gave a little gasp and smiled, half-shamefaced, half-proud, at Meredith and Elena. From inside the diagram, the phantom of jealousy snapped its head around and glared at Bonnie. Bonnie Meredith started to say, wanting to tel her friend that of course she wasnt a sidekick. Didnt Bonnie know how amazing she was?But then Elena stepped toward the candles and shook back her hair, head high. Ive been jealous of other people in Fel s Church, she declared. I saw how easy it was for other couples to be together, and after al Stefan and I and Damon, and the rest of my friends have been through, and even after we rescue Fel s Church and made it normal again, everything just kept on being so hard and so weird and supernatural. I guess Ive been realizing that things arent ever going to be just easy and normal for me, and thats been tough to accept. When I watched other people and was jealous of them, I fed the phantom of jealousy. I cast that jealousy away.Elena smiled a little. It was a stra nge, rueful mannikin of smile, and Meredith, watching her, thought that, while Elena had cast out her jealousy, she was stil haunted by regret for the easy, golden life shed once had ahead of her and that had probably been taken away forever now.The candle was stil burning. Elena hesitated. Meredith fol owed her gaze past the line of candles to where Stefan and Damon struggled. As they watched, Damon heaved and rol ed Stefan under him, leaving a long streak of blood across the floor of the garage. Stefans foot brushed the red candle at the end of the line, and Alaric leaped to steady it.And Ive been jealous of Katherine, Elena said. Damon and Stefan loved her first, and she knew them before so much happened to change them, to warp them out of who they ought to be. And even though I realize that they both know Im not Katherine and that they love me for who I am, I havent been able to forget that they noticed me at first because I look like her. I have fed the phantom of jealousy bec ause of Katherine, and I cast that jealousy away.The candle flame flickered, but did not go out. Jealousy smirked triumphantly, but then Elena went on. Ive also been jealous of Bonnie. Bonnies head shot up, and she stared at Elena with an expression of disbelief. I was used to being the only human Damon cared about, the only one who he would want to save. She looked at Bonnie with tear-fil ed eyes. I am so, so glad that Bonnie is alive. But I was jealous that Damon cared enough to die for her. When I was jealous of Bonnie, I fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away.The golden candle went out. Elena looked almost timidly at Bonnie, and Bonnie smiled at her, an open, loving smile, and held out her arms. Elena hugged her tightly. Other than the grief she felt over Elenas parents deaths, Meredith had never felt sorry for Elena. Why would she?Elena was beautiful, smart, a leader, passionately loved but now Meredith couldnt suspensor but feel a pang of sympathy for he r. Sometimes it must be easier to live an perfunctory life than to be a heroine.Meredith glanced at the phantom. It seemed to be simmering and was now whol y focused on the humans. Alaric stepped around the candles toward the others, glancing back toward Damon and Stefan. Damon had pinned Stefan painful y against the wal behind Alaric. Stefans face was twisted in a grimace, and they could hear the scrape of his body against the hard surface. But at least Stefan and Damon werent endangering the candles for now.Meredith turned her attention to her boyfriend. What could Alaric be jealous of? If anything, hed been the focus of jealousy the last week or so.He reached for Meredith and took one of her hands. Ive been jealous, Alaric said, looking into her eyes. Of you, Meredith. And of your friends.Meredith reflexively arched a brow at him. What did he mean?God. He half laughed. Here I am, a receive student in parapsychology. Ive been dying my whole life to prove to myself that theres so mething more going on in the world than what everybody knows, that some of the things we think of as supernatural are real. And then I come to this smal townsfolk in Virginia because there are rumors, rumors I dont real y believe, that there might be vampires here, and when I get here I find this amazing, beautiful, confident girl, and it turns out she comes from a family that hunts vampires. And her friends are vampires and witches and psychics and girls who come back from the dead to fight evil. They only just finished high school, but theyve seen things Ive never imagined. Theyve defeated monsters, and saved towns, and traveled to other dimensions. And, you know, Im just this ordinary guy, and suddenly half the people I know and the girl I love are practical y superheroes. He shook his head, looking at Meredith admiringly. Ive fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away. Il just have to deal with being the boyfriend of a superhero. Instantly, the dark green ca ndle went out.Sealed in the inner circle, the phantom hissed and paced back and forth in the smal space like a trapped tigress. It looked angry, but not noticeably weaker.Celia spoke next. Her face was tired but calm. Ive fed the phantom of jealousy, she proclaimed. Ive been jealous of Meredith Suarez. She didnt say why. But now I see that its pointless. Ive fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away.She spoke as if she were dropping something into the trash. But stil the pale purple candle went out. Meredith opened her mouth to speak she was clear on what she needed to say, and it wouldnt be too hard, because shed won, hadnt she? If it had ever been a battle anywhere besides her own mind but Matt cleared his throat and spoke first.I have He stumbled over his words. I guess no, I know Ive fed the phantom of jealousy. I have always been crazy about Elena Gilbert, as long as Ive known her. And Ive been jealous of Stefan. Al along. Even now, when Jealousys got him t rapped in this spread over battle, because he has Elena. She loves him, not me. But, wel , it doesnt matter Ive also known for a long time that Elena and I together dont work, not for her, and thats not Stefans fault. Ive fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away. He blushed and careful y did not look at Elena. The white candle went out, sending a long trail of smoke toward the ceiling.Three candles left, Meredith thought, looking at the last steady flames. Stefans dark green, Damons red, and her own brown. Was the phantom any weaker? From its invisible cage, the Phantom growled. If anything, it seemed to have made the space around itself bigger again, and it was once again pushing at it, seemingly feeling for a weak spot.Meredith knew she had to keep the confessions going.Ive fed the phantom of jealousy, she said in a strong, clear voice. I was jealous of Dr. Celia Connor. I love Alaric, but I know Im much younger than he is, not even in col ege yet, and Ive nev er real y been anywhere or seen anything of the world the human world, at least outside of where I grew up. Celia shares so much with him experiences, education, interests and I knew he liked her a lot. And shes beautiful and real y smart and poised. I was jealous because I was afraid she would take him from me. But if she had been able to take him, that would mean he wasnt mine to keep. You cant distinguish a person. She smiled hesitantly at Celia, and after a moment, Celia smiled slightly in return. I cast visit out Alaric shouted. Damon Stefan StopMeredith looked up. Damon and Stefan were staggering across the floor of the garage, past the line of candles, past Alaric, who grabbed at them. They broke out of his hold effortlessly without seeming to even notice his touch, shoving against each other desperately, struggling fiercely. preoccupied to anything but their battle, they were getting closer and closer to the phantom.No shouted Elena.Damon shoved Stefan backward, and the heel of Stefans boot scraped across the chalk outlining the smal circle that contained the phantom scraped across the chalk line and smudged it, and the circle was no longer complete.With a howl of triumph, the phantom was free.