The Return: Midnight Chapter 29

OiDamon sh come out of the closeted from outside the palanquin. Is anybody else steping at this?Elena was. dickens Stefan and f argumentish had their eyeball shut clean was jailed in blankets and cuddled all over against Elena.They had rol ed complicate al the palls of the palanquin except angiotensin converting enzyme. simply Elena had watched through the single window, and had seen how tendrils of fog had begun drifting by, first nevertheless filmy tatters of mist, except hence longer, ful er veils, and lowest y blankets, engulfing them whole. It seemed to her that they were beingness deliberately cut off from even the equivocal Dark Dimension, that they were passing a border into a short letter they werent meant to k at present about, some(prenominal) less enter.How do we know were discharge in the estimable direction?Elena shouted to Damon after Stefan and Bonnie woke. She was glad to be able to talk again.The thurgs know,Damon cal ed backrest. You set them on a line and they walk that line until somebody forbears them, or Or what?Elena yel ed out of the opening.Until we get to a place like this.This was manifestly bait, and neither Stefan nor Elena could resist taking it especial y when the thurg they were riding stopped.Stay here,Elena say to Bonnie. She pushed a curtain out of the way and found herself looking overly far down at white g mea trustworthy. graven image, these thurgs were big. The close scrap, though, Stefan was on the ground holding up his arms.Jumpfannyt you come up and float me?Sorry. Something about this place inhibits Power.Elena didnt fox herself metre to think. She launched into the air and Stefan caught her neatly. Spontaneously, she clung to him, and felt the familiar comfort of his embrace.Then he said, Come look at this.They had reached a place where the land ended and the mist divided, like curtains being held to either side. at once in front of them was a frozen lake. A sil actually frozen lake , almost perfectly round in shape.Lake Mirror?Damon said, cocking his intellect to bingle side.I always thought that was a poove tale,Stefan said. pleasing to Bonnies storybook.Lake Mirror formed a vast body of water in front of them, frozen right into the ice sheet below her feet, or so it seemed.It did look like a reverberate a purse mirror after youd breathed softly on it.solely the thurgs?Elena said or or else whispered. She couldnt help whispering. The silent lake pressed on her, as did the lack of any kind of natural perish There were no birds singing, no rustling in the bushes no bushes nary(prenominal)treesInstead, incisively the mist surround the frozen water.The thurgs,Elena repeated in a slightly louder voice. They cant possibly walk on thatDepends on how inscrutable the lake ice is,Damon said, flashing his old 250-kilowatt smile at her. If its thick enough, itl be just like walk on land for them.And if it isnt?HmmDo thurgs float?Elena gave him an exasperate d glance and looked at Stefan. What do you think?I dont know,he said doubtful y. Theyre very large animals.Lets ask Bonnie about the kids in the fairy tale.Bonnie, Stillwrapped in fur blankets that began col ecting chunks of ice as they dragged on the ground, looked at the lake grimly. The story didnt go into detail,she said. It just said that they went down, down, down, and that they had to pass tests of their courage and and plug-intiness before they got on that point.Fortunately,Damon said, smiling, I ask large enough amounts of both to make up for my brothers entire lack of either Stop it, DamonElena burst out. The moment shed seen the smile, shed turned to Stefan, pul ed him down to her height, and begun kissing him. She knew what Damon would see when he turned back toward them her and Stefan locked in an embrace, Stefan hardly aw be of anything being said. At least they could Stilltouch with their minds. And it was intriguing, Elena thought, Stefans perfervid mouthp iece when everything else in the world was cold. She looked quickly at Bonnie, to make sure she hadnt upset her, only when Bonnie was looking quite cheerful.The farther I seem to drive Damon away, the happier she is, Elena thought. Oh, Godthis is a problem.Stefan spoke up quietly. Bonnie, what it comes down to is that it has to be your choice. Dont try to use courage or wit or anything except your inner feelings. Where do we go?Bonnie glanced back at the thurgs, hence looked at the lake.That way,she said, without hesitation, and she pointed straight across the lake.Wed better carry some of the cooking stones and fuel and backpacks with iron rations in them,Stefan said. That way, if the pound happens, wel Still hand over basic supplies.Besides,said Elena, itl lighten that thurgs load if only(prenominal) by a little.It seemed a crime to ramble a backpack on Bonnie, moreover she insisted. Final y, Elena arranged one fil ed entirely with the warm, particularly light fur clothes . Everyone else was carrying furs, food, and poop the dried animal dung that would from now on be their only fuel.It was difficult from the first. Elena had only had a couple of experiences with ice that she had reason to be wary of unless one of those had almost been disastrous for Matt. She was ready to jump and whirl at any crack any get that the ice was breaking. But there were no cracks no water flowing up to slosh onto her boots.The thurgs were the ones who seemed true(a) y built for walking on frozen water. Their feet were pneumatic, and could spread out to almost half again their original size, avoiding putting too much pressure on any one section of ice. crossbreed the lake was slow, plainly Elena didnt see anything particularly deadly about it. It was simply the smoothest, slickest ice she had ever encountered. Her boots wanted to skate.Hey, everybodyBonnie was skating, exactly as if she were in a rink, backward and forward and sideways. This is funWere non here to have fun,Elena shouted back. She longed to try it herself, but was afraid to make cuts even scuffs in the ice. And beside that, Bonnie was expending double as much energy as she needed to.She was about to cal out to Bonnie and tel her this, when Damon, in a voice of exasperation, made al the points she had thought of, and a few more.This isnt a pleasure cruise,he said shortly. Its for the fate of your town.As if you care,Elena murmured, turning her back on him and touching the unhappy Bonnies hand both to shake off comfort and to get them going at arms length again. Bonnie, do you sense anything magical about the lake?No.But then Bonnies imagination seemed to fly into high gear. But maybe its where the mystics from both dimensions al equanimous to exchange spel s. Or maybe its where they used the ice like a real magic mirror to see faraway places and things.Maybe both of them,Elena said, secretly amused, but Bonnie nodded solemnly.And that was when it came. The sound Elena had been waiting for.Nor was it a distant booming which could be ignored or discussed. They had been walking at arms length from one another(prenominal)(prenominal) to avoid stressing the ice, while the thurgs walked beback(prenominal) them, and to either side like a flock of geese with no leaders.This fray was a dreadful y near crack like the report of a gun. Immediately, it sounded again, like a whiplash, and then a crumbling.It was to Elenas left, on Bonnies side.Skate, Bonnie,she shouted. Skate as fast as you can.Scream if you see land.Bonnie didnt ask a single question. She took off like an Olympic speed skater in front of Elena, and Elena swiftly turned.It was Biratz, the thurg Bonnie had asked Pelat about. She had one monstrous back leg in the ice, and as she struggled, more ice cracked.Stefan Can you hear me?Faintly. Im coming for you.Yes but only come as close as you need to exercise the thurg.Influence the ?Make her calm, put her out, whatever. Shes ripping up the ice and itll just make it harder to get her outThis time there was a pause before Stefans answer came.She knew though, by airheaded echoes, that he was public lecture telepathical y with someone else. All right, love, Ill do it. Ill take care of the thurg, too. You follow Bonnie.He was duplicity. Or, not lying, but keeping something from her.The person hed been sending thoughts to was Damon. They were humoring her. They didnt mean to help at all.Just at that moment she heard a shril scream not so far away. It was Bonnie in trouble no Bonnie had found landElena didnt lose another second. She dumped her backpack on the ice and skated straight back to the thurg.There it was, so huge, so pathetic, so helpless. The very thing that had kept it safe from other Godawful Hel acious monsters in the Dark Dimension its great bulk was now turned against it. Elena felt her chest tighten as if she were wearing a corset.Even as she watched, though, the animal became calmer.She stopped trying to get her left hind leg out of the ice, which meant that she stopped churning up the ice well-nigh it. promptly Biratz was in a sort of crouching position, trying to keep her three dry legs from going under. The problem was that she was trying too hard, and that there was nothing to push against except breakable ice.ElenaStefan was within earshot now. Dont get any closerBut even as he said it, Elena saw a Sign. Just a few feet away, lying on the ice was the tickle-prod that Pelat had used to get the thurgs going.She picked it up as she skated by and then she saw another Sign. Reddish hay and the original covering for the hay a giant tarpaulin were lying puke the thurg. Together they formed a broad wide path that was neither wet nor slick.ElenaThis is going to be easy, StefanElena pul ed a pair of dry socks out of her pocket and drew them up over her boots. She tied the tickle stick to her belt. And then she started the run of her life.Her boots were fur with something like felt under neath and with the socks to aid them, they caught on the tarpaulin and propel ed her forward. She leaned into it, hiddenly wishing Meredith were here, so she could do this instead, but al the time getting closer. And then she saw her mark the end of the tarp and beyond it floating chunks of ice.But the thurg looked climbable. very(prenominal) low in back, like a dinosaur halfway into a tar pit, but then lift up along the curved backbone. If she could just somehow land thereTwo steps til jump-off. single step til jump-off.JUMPElena pushed off with her right foot, flew through the air for an endless time, and hit the water.Instantly, she was soaked from head to foot and the shock of the icy water was unbelievable. It caught hold of her like some monster with a handful of jagged ice shards. It blinded her with her own hair, it squeezed al the sound out of the universe.Somehow, clawing at her face, she freed her mouth and eyes from hair. She realized that she was only slightly belo w the surface of the water, and that was al she needed to push upward until her mouth broke the surface and she could suck in a lungful of delicious air, after which she had a coughing fit. prime(prenominal) time up, she thought, remembering the old superstition that a drowning person wil rise three times and then sink forever.But the strange thing was that she wasnt sinking. There was a dul pain in her thigh but she wasnt going under.Slowly, slowly, she realized what had happened. She had missed the back of the thurg, but landed on its thick reptilian tail. unrivaled of the serrated fins had gashed her, but she was stable.Sonowal I have to do is climb the thurg, she fox out slowly. Everything seemed slow because there were icebergs bobbing around her shoulders.She put up a fur-lined gloved hand and reached for the side by side(p) fin up. The water, while making her soaking clothes heavier, supported some of her weight. She managed to pul herself up to the next fin. And the next. And then here was the rump, and she had to be careful no more footholds. Instead she grabbed for handholds and found something with her left hand. A down in the mouth strap from the hay carrier.Not a good idea in retrospect.For a few proceedings that qualified as among the worst in her life she was showered with hay, pounded with rocks, and smothered in the dust of old dung.When it was final y over she looked around, sneezing and coughing, to find that she was Stillon the thurg. The tickle stick had been broken but enough remained for her to use.Stefan was frantical y asking, both aloud and by telepathy, if she was All right. Bonnie was skating back and forth like a Tinker Bel guide, and Damon was cursing at Bonnie to get back to land and stay there. slowdown Elena was inching up the rump of the thurg. She made it through the crushed supply basket. She final y reached the thurgs summit, and she settled just tramp the domed head, in the seat where a driver would sit.And then she tickled the thurg behind the ears.ElenaStefan shouted, and then Elena, what are you trying to do?I dont knowshe shouted back. Trying to save the thurgYou cant,Damon interrupted Stefans answer in a voice as cold and Stillas the place they were in.She can make itElena said fiercely precisely because she herself was having doubts about whether the animal could. You could help by pul ing on her bridle.Theres no point,Damon shouted, and turned about-face, walking quickly into the mist.Il give it a try. Throw it out in front of her,Stefan said.Elena threw the knotted bridle as hard as she could. Stefan had to run almost to the edge of the ice to grab it before it fel in. Then he held it aloft triumphantly. Got itOkay, pul march on her a direction to start in.Wil doElena tapped Biratz again behind her right ear. There was a faint rumble from the animal and then nothing. Elena could see Stefan straining at the bridle.Come on, Elena said, and slapped sharply with the stick.The thurg lift ed up a giant foot, placed it farther on the ice, and struggled. As soon as she did, Elena smacked hard behind the left ear.This was the crucial moment. If Elena could keep Biratz from crushing al the ice between her back legs, they might have a chance.The thurg tentatively lifted her left hind leg and stretched it until it made contact with the ice.Good, Biratz Now Elena shouted. Now if Biratz would only surge forwardThere was a great upheaval underneath her. For several proceedings Elena thought that perhaps Biratz had broken through the ice with al four legs. Then the thrashing changed to a rocking motion and suddenly, dizzyingly Elena knew that they had won.Easy, now, easy,she cal ed to the animal, great(p) her a gentle tickle with the stick. And slowly, ponderously, Biratz moved forward. Her domed head drooped farther and farther as she went, and she foundered at the edge of a bank of mist, breaking the ice again. But there she only sank a few inches before meeting mud.A few more steps and they were on solid ground. Elena had to suck in her breath to stifle a scream as the thurgs domelike head slumped, giving her a short and scary ride to where the tusks re-curved on themselves. Somehow she slid right between them and had to hastily scuffle off Biratzs trunks.It was pointless, you know, doing that,Damon said from somewhere in the mist beside her. Risking your own life.What d-do you mean p-pointless?Elena demanded. She wasnt frightened she was freezing.The animals are going to die anyway. The next trial is one they cant manage and even if they could, this isnt a place where anything grows. Instead of a quick clean death in the water, theyre going to starve, slowly.Elena didnt answer the only answer she could think of was,why didnt you tel me earlier?She had stopped shivering, which was a good thing, because a moment ago her body had felt as if she might shake herself apart.Clothes, she thought vaguely. That was the problem. It certainly couldnt be as co ld here in the air as it had been in that water. It was her clothes that were making her so cold.She began, with numb fingers, to take them off. First, she unfastened her leather jacket. No zippers here buttons. That was a real problem. Her fingers felt like frozen hot dogs, and only nominal y under her direction. But somehow or other she managed to undo the fastenings and the leather dropped to the ground with a leaden thump it had taken a layer of her inner fur off with it. Ick. The smel of wet fur. Now, now she had to But she couldnt. She couldnt do anything because someone was holding her arms. Burning her arms. Those hands were annoying, but at least she knew who they belonged to. They were firm and very gentle but very strong. Al that added up to Stefan.Slowly, she raised her dripping head to ask Stefan to stop burning her arms.But she couldnt. Because on Stefans body there was Damons head. Now that was funny. Shed seen a lot of things that vampires could do, but not this sw apping heads business.Stefan-Damon please stop,she gasped between hysterical whoops of laughter. It hurts. Its too hotHot? Youre frozen, you mean.The deft, searing hands were rubbing up and down her arms, pushing back her head to rub her cheeks. She let it happen, because it seemed to be only sense that if it was Damons head, they were Stefans hands.Youre cold but youre not shivering?a grim Damon-voice said from somewhere.Yes, so you see I must be warming up.Elena didnt feel very warmed up. She realized that she Stillhad on a longer fur garment, one that reached to her knees under her leather breeches. She fumbled with her belt.Youre not warming up. Youre going into the next stage of hypothermia. And if you dont get dry and warm right now, youre going to die.Not roughly, he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. Youre delirious now can you understand me, Elena? We need to really get you warm.Warm was a concept as vague and faraway as life before she had met Stefan. But deliriou s she understood. That was not a good thing. What to do about it except laugh?All right. Elena, just wait for a moment. Let me find In a moment he was back. Not quick enough to stop her from unwrapping the fur down to her waist, but back before she could get her camisole off.Here.He stripped off the damp fur and wrapped a warm, dry one around her, over her camisole.After a moment or two she began to shiver.Thats my girl,Damons voice said. It went on Dont fight me, Elena. Im trying to save your life. Thats al . Im not going to try to do anything else. I give you my word.Elena was bewildered. Why should she think that Damon this must be Damon, she decided would want to hurt her?Although he could be a bastard sometimesAnd he was taking off her clothes.No. That shouldnt be happening. in spades not. Especial y since Stefan must be somewhere around.But by now Elena was shivering too hard to talk.And now that she was in her underwear, he was making her lie down on furs, tucking other fur s around her. Elena didnt understand anything that was happening, but it was al starting not to matter. She was floating somewhere outside herself, watching without much interest.Then another body was slipping in under the furs. She snapped back from the place she had been floating. Very before long she got a look at a bare chest. And then a warm, compact body slid into the temporary sleeping bag with her.Warm, hard arms went around her, keeping her in contact al over her body.Through the mist she vaguely heard Stefans voice.What the hell are you doing?