The Return: Nightfall Chapter 3

Later that day Carolean was sitting with Matt Honeycutt, Meredith Sulez, and decent McCullough, all listening to Stefan on Bonnies mobile phone.Late afternoon would be better, Stefan t ageing Bonnie. She takes a little nap after lunch and whatsoeverway, itll be cooler in a couple hours. I told Elena youd be coming by, and shes excited to condition you. But remember two things. First, its only been seven days since she came back, and shes not sort ofherself yet. I cipher shell fail over her symptoms in just a few days, but meanwhile dont be surprised by anything. And second, dontsay anything rough what you see here. Not to anyone.Stefan Salvatore Bonnie was s rotterdalized and offended. After all weve been through in concert, you think wed blab?Not blab, Stefans vo shabu came back over the mobile, gently. But Bonnie was going on.Weve stuck together through rogue vampires and the towns ghost, and werewolves, and Old Ones, and secret crypts, and serial killings and and Damo n and slang we ever told people close to them? Bonnie give tongue to.Im sorry, Stefan said. I just meant that Elena wont be safe if any of you utters even one person. It would be all over the newspapers right awayGIRL RETURNS TO LIFE . Andthen what do we do?I understand about that, Meredith said briefly, leaning in so that Stefan could see her. You dont need to worry. Every one of us will vow not to tellanyone . Her dark look flicked momentarily toward Caroline and then away again.Ihave to ask you Stefan was making use of all his Renaissance training in politeness and chivalry, particularly considering that three of the four people reflexion him on the phone were female do you really have any way to enforce a vow?Oh, I think so, Meredith said pleasantly, this cartridge clip looking Caroline directly in the eyes. Caroline flushed, her bronzed cheeks and throat turning scarlet. Let us work it out, and in the afternoon, well come over.Bonnie, who was holding the phone, said, Anybody have anything else to say?Matt had remained silent during most of the conversation. Now he shook his head, making his shock of fair hair fly. Then, as if he couldnt hold it back, he blurted, Can we talk to Elena? Just to say hi? I mean its been a wholeweek . His tanned skin burned with a sunset glow nearly as brightly as Carolines had.I think youd better just come over. Youll see why when you get here. Stefan hung up.They were at Merediths house, sitting around an old patio table in the backyard. Well, we can at least take them some food, Bonnie suggested, rocketing up from her seat. God knows what Mrs. Flowers makes for them to eat orif she does. She made waving motions to the some others as if to raise them from their chairs by levitation.Matt started to obey, but Meredith remained seated. She said quietly, We just made a promise to Stefan. thithers the matter of the vow scratch line. And the consequences.I know youre thinking about me, Caroline said. Why dont you jus t say so?All right, Meredith said, Im thinking about you. Why are you suddenly interested in Elena again? How can we be sure that you wont go spreading the news of this all around Fells Church?Why would I want to?Attention. Youd love to be at the heart of a crowd, giving them every juicy detail.Or revenge, Bonnie added, suddenly sitting down again. Or jealousy. Or boredom. Or Okay, Matt interrupted. I think thats enough with the crusades.Just one more thing, Meredith said quietly. Why do youcare so a good deal about seeing her, Caroline? The two of you havent gotten along in almost a year, ever since Stefan came to Fells Church. We let you in on the call to Stefan, but after what he said If you really need a reason why I should care, after everything that happened a week ago, wellwell, I would think youd understand without being told Caroline fixed shining cat-green eyes on Meredith.Meredith looked back with her best no-expression expression.All right Caroline said. She killed him for me. Or had him called to Judgment, or whatever. That vampire, Klaus. And after being kidnapped and and and used standardized a toy whenever Klaus wanted relationship or Her face twisted and her breathing hitched.Bonnie felt sympathy, but she also was wary. Her intuition was aching, warning her. And she noticed that although Caroline spoke about Klaus, the vampire, she was oddly silent about her other kidnapper, Tyler Smallwood, the werewolf. Maybe because Tyler had been her boyfriend until he and Klaus had held her hostage. Im sorry, Meredith said in a quiet voice thatdid sound sorry. So you want to thank Elena.Yes. I want to thank her. Caroline was breathing hard. And I want to make sure that shes okay.Okay. But this oath covers quite a bit of time, Meredith go on calmly. You may change your mind tomorrow, next week, a month from nowwe havent even thought about consequences. run across, we cantthreaten Caroline, Matt said. Not physically.Or get other people to t hreaten her, Bonnie said wistfully.No, we cant, Meredith said. But for the short term youre a sorority pledge this coming fall, arent you, Caroline? I can always tell your prospective sorority sisters that you broke your solemn vow about somebody who is helpless to hurt you who Im sure doesntwant to hurt you. Somehow I dont think theyd care for you much after that.Carolines face flushed deeply again. You wouldnt. You wouldnt go interfering with my college Meredith cut her off with two words. Try me.Caroline seemed to wilt. I never said I wouldnt take the vow, and I never said I wouldnt keep it. Just try me, why dont you? I Ive learned a few things this summer.I should take to so.The words, although nobody said them aloud, seemed to hover over all of them. Carolines hobby for the entire last year had been trying to find ways to hurt Stefan and Elena.Bonnie shifted position. There was something shadowed behind what Caroline was saying. She didnt know how she knew it was the six th sense that shed been born with. But maybe it just had to do with how much Caroline had changed, with what she had learned, Bonnie told herself.Look how many times shed asked Bonnie in the last week about Elena. Was she really all right? Could Caroline send flowers? Could Elena have visitors yet? Whenwould she be all right? Caroline really had been a nuisance, although Bonnie didnt have the heart to tell her that. Everyone else was waiting just as anxiously to see how Elena wasafter returning from the afterlife.Meredith, who always had a pen and paper, was scribbling some words. Now she said, How about this? and they all leaned forward to look at the pad.I swear not to tellanyone about any supernatural events relating to Stefan or Elena, unless given specific permission to do so by Stefan or Elena. I will also help in the punishment of anyone who breaks this vow, in a way to be determined by the rest of the group. This vow is made in perpetuity, with my blood as my witness.Matt wa s weeping his head. In perpetuity perfect, he said. It sounds just like what an attorney would write.What followed was not particularly attorney-like. Each of the individuals around the table took the piece of paper, read it aloud, and then solemnly sign it. Then they each pricked a finger with a safety pin that Meredith had in her purse and added a drop of blood beside their signatures, with Bonnie shutting her eyes as she pricked herself.Now its really binding, she said grimly, as one who knows. I wouldnt try to break this.Ive had enough of blood for a long time, Matt said, squeeze his finger and looking at it gloomily.That was when it happened. Merediths contract was sitting in the center of the table so all could admire it when, from a tall oak where the backyard met the forest, a crow came swooping down. It landed on the table with a raw-throated scream, causing Bonnie to scream, too. The crow cocked an eye at the four humans, who were hastily pulling back their chairs to g et out of its way. Then it cocked its head the other way. It was the biggest crow any of them had ever seen, and the sun stroked iridescent rainbows from its plumage.The crow seemed, for all the world, to be examining the contract. And then it did something so right away that it made Bonnie dart behind Meredith, stumbling over her chair. It opened its wings, leaned forward, and pecked violently at the paper, seeming to aim at two specific spots.And then it was gone, first fluttering, and then soaring off until it was a tiny black speck in the sun.Its ruined all our work, Bonnie cried, still safely behind Meredith.I dont think so, said Matt, who was closer to the table.When they dared to move forward and look at the paper, Bonnie felt as if someone had thrown a blanket of ice around her back. Her heart began to pound.Impossible as it seemed, the violent pecking was all red, as if the crow had retched up blood to color it. And the red marks, surprisingly delicate, looked exactly like an ornate letterDAnd under thatElena is mine.