Phantom Page 0,44

he shot out of the earth, knocking his rescuer backward.

Damon lay panting on the ground, spent.

"You are supposed to be dead," the other man told him, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to steady Damon. He pushed a long lock of hair away from his face and gazed at Damon with serious, troubled eyes. "The fact that you are not... wel , I am not as surprised as I should be."

Damon blinked at his savior, who was watching him attentively. He wet his lips and tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't come.

"Everything has been disturbed here since your friends left," the man said. "Something essential has shifted in this universe. Things are not right." He shook his head, his eyes troubled. "But tel me, mon cher, how does it come to be that you are here?"

Final y Damon found his voice. It came out rough and quavering. "I... don't know."

The man immediately was al courtesy. "I think the situation cal s for some Black Magic, oui? And some blood, perhaps, and a chance to clean up. And then, Damon, we must talk."

He gestured toward the dark castle ahead of them. Damon hesitated for a moment, glancing at the emptiness and ash around them, then trudged after him toward the open doors.

After Stefan swept out of the room so suddenly, everyone could only stare after him as the front door banged, signaling that he had left the house just as quickly. Bonnie hugged her arms around herself, shivering. A little voice in the back of her head told her that something was very, very wrong.

Celia final y broke the silence. "Interesting," she said. "Is he always so... intense? Or is it a vampire thing?"

Alaric chuckled dryly. "Believe it or not, he's always seemed very low-key and practical to me. I don't remember him being so volatile." He ran a hand through his sandy hair and added thoughtful y, "Maybe it was the contrast with his brother that made him seem so reasonable. Damon was pretty unpredictable."

Meredith frowned thoughtful y. "No, you're right. This isn't the way Stefan usual y acts. Maybe he's emotional because Elena's threatened? But that doesn't make sense... she's been in danger before. Even when she died - he was heartbroken, but, if anything, it made him more responsible, not wilder."

"But when Elena was dead," Alaric reminded her, "the worst thing he could imagine had already happened. It's possible that what's making him so jumpy is that he doesn't know where the threat's coming from this time."

Bonnie took a sip of tea, zoning out as Meredith hmmmed thoughtful y, and Celia raised one skeptical eyebrow. "I stil don't understand what you mean when you say Elena died. Are you suggesting she actual y rose from the dead?"

"Yes," said Meredith. "She was turned into a vampire, then she was exposed to sunlight and physical y died. They buried her and everything. Later - months later - she returned. She's human again, though."

"I find al that very hard to believe," said Celia flatly.

"Honestly, Celia," said Alaric, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "With everything you've seen since we got here - your scarf nearly choking you, then spel ing out a name, Bonnie having a vision, Stefan practical y flying to save you - I don't know why you're drawing the line now and saying you don't believe a girl could come back from the dead." He paused and took a breath. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but real y."

Meredith smirked. "Believe it or not, it's true. Elena came back from the dead."

Bonnie wrapped one long red curl around her finger. She watched as her finger turned white and red against the strand of hair. Elena. Of course they were talking about Elena. Everyone was always talking about Elena. Whether she was with them or not, everything they did or thought centered on Elena.

Alaric turned to address the whole group. "Stefan seems convinced that 'he wants you' means Caleb, but I'm not sure that it does. From what I've seen of Bonnie's visions, and what you guys have told me, they're hardly ever about what's right in front of her. Caleb's appearance - if it even was Caleb - could have been a coincidence. Don't you think so, Meredith?"

Oh, don't bother to ask me about the visions, Bonnie thought bitterly. I'm only the one who has them. Wasn't that the way it always was, though? She was the one everyone overlooked.

"It could be a coincidence,"