Part 14 (1/2)

Was this what Bonnie saw and called an aura? She realized that most of the day she'd seen him with a light, cool, emerald sort of shadowing around him-if shadows could be light. And the green was returning now as the pink faded away.

Immediately she glanced over the rest of the picnickers. Bonnie was surrounded by a roselike color, shading to the palest of pinks.

Meredith was a deep and profound violet. Matt was a strong clear blue.

It reminded her that up until yesterday-only yesterday?-she'd seen so many things that no one else could see. Including something that had scared her silly.

What had itbeen ? She was getting flashes of images-little details that were scary enough by themselves. It could be as small as a fingernail or as large as an arm. Bark-like texture, at least on the body. Insect-like antennae, but far too many of them, and moving like whips, faster than any insect ever moved them. She had the general crawly feeling she got whenever she thought about insects.

It was a bug, then. But a bug built on a different body plan than any insect she knew of. It was more like a leech in that respect, or a squid. It had a completely circular mouth, with sharp teeth all around, and far too many tentacles that looked like thick vines whipping around in back.

It could attach itself to a person, she thought. But she had a terrible feeling that it could do more.

It could turn transparent and pull itself inside you and you would feel no more than a pinp.r.i.c.k.

Andthen what would happen?

Elena turned to Bonnie. ”Do you think that if I show you what something looks like, you could recognize it again? Not with your eyes, but with your psychic senses?”

”I guess it depends on what the 'something' is,” Bonnie answered cautiously.

Elena glanced over at Stefan, who gave her briefest of nods.

”Then shut your eyes,” she said.

Bonnie did so, and Elena put her fingertips on Bonnie's temples, with her thumbs gently brus.h.i.+ng Bonnie's eyelashes. Trying to activate her White Powers-something that had been so easy before today-was like striking two rocks together to make a fire and hoping one was flint. Finally she felt a small spark, and Bonnie jerked backward.

Bonnie's eyes snapped open.”What was that?” she gasped. She was breathing hard.

”That's what I saw-yesterday.”

”Where?”

Elena said slowly, ”Inside Damon.”

”But what does it mean? Was he controlling it? Or...or...” Bonnie stopped and her eyes widened.

Elena finished the sentence for her. ”Was it controlling him? I don't know. But here's one thing I do know, almost for certain. When he ignored your Calling, Bonnie, he was being influenced by the malach.”

”The question is,if not Damon , who was controlling it?” Stefan said, standing up again restlessly. ”I picked that up, and the kind of creature Elena showed you-it's not something with a mind of its own. It needs an outside brain to control it.” ”Like another vampire?” Meredith asked quietly.

Stefan shrugged. ”Vampires usually just ignore them, because vampires can get what they want without them. It would have to be a very strong mind to get a malach like that to possess a vampire. Strong-and evil.”

”Those,” Damon said with biting grammatical precision, from where he was sitting on a high limb of an oak, ”are they. My younger brother and his...a.s.sociates.”

”Marvelous,” murmured s.h.i.+nichi. He had draped himself even more gracefully and languidly against the oak than Damon had. It had become an unspoken contest. s.h.i.+nichi's golden eyes had flared once or twice-Damon had seen it-upon seeing Elena and at the mention of Tami.

”Don't even try to tell me you're not involved with those rowdy girls,” Damon added dryly. ”From Caroline to Tamra and onward, that's the idea, isn't it?”

s.h.i.+nichi shook his head. His eyes were on Elena and he began to sing a folksong softly.

”With cheeks like blooming roses And hair like golden wheat...”

”I wouldn't try it onthose girls.” Damon smiled without humor. His eyes were narrow. ”Granted, they look about as strong as wet tissue paper-but they're tougher than you'd think, and they're toughest of all when one of them is in danger.”

”I told you, it's not me doing it,” s.h.i.+nichi said. He looked uneasy for the first time since Damon had seen him. Then he said, ”Although I might know the originator.”

”Do tell,” Damon suggested, still narrow-eyed.

”Well-did I mention my younger twin? Her name is Misao.” He smiled winningly. ”It means maiden.”

Damon felt an automatic stirring of appet.i.te. He ignored it. He was too relaxed to think of hunting, and he wasn't at all sure thatkitsune -fox-spirits, which s.h.i.+nichi claimed to be-could be hunted. ”No, youdidn't mention her,” Damon said, absently scratching at the back of his neck. That mosquito bite was gone, but it had left behind a furious itching. ”It must have somehow slipped your mind.”

”Well, she's here somewhere. She came when I did, when we saw the flare of Power that brought back...Elena.”

Damon felt sure that the hesitation before the mention of Elena's name was a fake. He tilted his head at the don't think you're fooling me angle and waited.

”Misao likes to play games,” s.h.i.+nichi said simply.

”Oh, yes? Like backgammon, chess, Go Fish, that sort of thing?”

s.h.i.+nichi coughed theatrically, but Damon caught the glint of red in his eye. My, he reallywas overprotective of her, wasn't he?

Damon gave s.h.i.+nichi one of his most incandescent smiles.

”I love her,” the young man with the black hair licked by fire said, and this time there was an open warning in his voice.

”Of course you do,” Damon said in soothing tones. ”I can see that.”

”But, well, her games usually have the effect of destroying a town. Eventually. Not all at once.” Damon shrugged. ”This flyspeck of a village isn't going to be missed. Of course, I get my girls out alive first.” Now it was his voice that held an open warning.

”Just as you like.” s.h.i.+nichi was back to his normal, submissive self. ”We're allies, and we'll keep to our deal. Anyway, it would be a shame to waste...all that.” His gaze drifted to Elena again.

”By the way, we won't even discuss the little fiasco with your malach and me-or hers, if you insist. I'm pretty sure I've vaporized at least three of them, but if I see another one, our business relations.h.i.+p is over. I make a bad enemy, s.h.i.+nichi. You don't want to find out how bad.”

s.h.i.+nichi looked suitably impressed as he nodded. But the next moment he was gazing at Elena again, and singing.

”...hair like golden wheat all a-down her milk-white shoulders; My pretty pink, my sweet...”

”And I'll want to meet this Misao of yours. For her protection.”

”And I know she wants to meet you. She's caught up in her game at the moment, but I'll try to tear her away from it.” s.h.i.+nichi stretched luxuriously.

Damon looked at him for a moment. Then, absent-mindedly, he too stretched.

s.h.i.+nichi was watching him. He smiled.