Okay, you're scared; now deal with it, Elena told herself fiercely. Damon's been in that room for almost fifty hours now and who knows what he's been plotting to do to get hold of the star bal . Stil , somebody's got to get him to eat - and when you say "somebody,"face it, it's you.
Elena had been standing at the door so long that her knees were starting to lock. She took a deep breath and knocked.
There was no answer, and no light went on inside. Damon was human. It was quite dark outside now.
"Damon?"It was meant to be a cal . It came out a whisper.
No answer. No light.
Elena swal owed. He had to be in there.
Elena knocked harder. Nothing. Final y, she tried the knob.
To her horror it was unlocked, and it swung open to reveal an interior as dark as the night around Elena, like the maw of a pit.
The fine hairs at the back of Elena's neck were standing up.
"Damon, I'm coming in,"she managed in a bare whisper, as if to convince herself by her quietness that there was nobody there. "I'l be silhouetted against the very edge of the porch light. I can't see anything, so you have al the advantages. I'm carrying a tray with very hot coffee, cookies, and steak tartar, no seasonings. You should be able to smel the coffee."
It was odd, though. Elena's senses told her that there was no one standing directly in front of her, waiting for her to literal y run into him. Al right, she thought. Start with baby steps. Step one. Step two. Step three - I must be wel into the room now, but it's stil too dim to see anything. Step four...
A strong arm came out of the darkness and locked in an iron grip around her waist, and a knife pressed against her throat.
Elena saw blackness shot with a sudden gray network, after which the dark closed in overwhelmingly.
Chapter 2
Elena couldn't have been out for more than a few seconds.
When she came to, everything was the same - although she wondered how she hadn't lethal y cut her own throat on the knife.
She knew that the tray with the dishes and cup had gone flying into the darkness in that first instant when she couldn't help flinging out her arms. But now she recognized the grip, she recognized the scent, and she understood the reason for the knife. And she was glad that she did, because she was about as proud of fainting as Sage would have been of doing it. She wasn't a fainter!
Now she wil ed herself to sag in Damon's arms, except for where the knife was. To show him that she was no threat.
"Hel o, princess,"a voice like black velvet said into her ear.
Elena felt an inner shiver - but not of fear. No, it was more as if her insides were melting. But he didn't change his grasp on her.
"Damon..."she said huskily, "I'm here to help you. Please let me. For your sake."
As abruptly as it had come, the iron grip was withdrawn from her waist. The knife stopped pressing into her flesh, although the sharp, stinging feeling at her throat was quite enough to remind her that Damon would have it ready. Substitute fangs.
There was a click, and suddenly the room was too bright.
Slowly, Elena turned to look at Damon. And even now, even when he was pale and rumpled and haggard from not eating, he was so gorgeous that her heart seemed to plummet into darkness. His black hair, fal ing every which way over his forehead; his perfect, carven features; his arrogant, sensual mouth - right now compressed into a brooding line...
"Where is it, Elena?"he asked briefly. Not what. Where. He knew she wasn't stupid, and, of course, he knew the humans in the boardinghouse were hiding the star bal from him deliberately.
"Is that al you have to say to me?"Elena whispered.
She saw the helpless softening in his eyes, and he took one step toward her as if he couldn't help himself, but the next instant he looked grim. "Tel me, and then maybe I'l have more."
"I...see. Wel , then, we made a system, two days ago,"Elena said quietly. "Everyone draws lots for it. Then the person who gets the paper with the X takes it from the center of the kitchen table and everyone goes to their rooms and stays there until the person with the star bal hides it. I didn't get the lot today, so I don't know where it is. But you can try to - test me."Elena could feel her body cringing as she said the last words, feeling soft and helpless and easily hurt.
Damon reached over and slowly slipped a hand beneath her hair. He could slam her head against a wal , or throw her across the room. He could simply squeeze her neck between knife and hand until her head fel off. Elena knew that he was in the mood to take out his emotions on a human, but she did nothing. Said nothing. Just stood and looked into her eyes.
Slowly, Damon bent toward her and brushed his lips - so softly - against hers. Elena's eyes drifted shut. But the next moment Damon winced and slid the hand back out of her hair.