The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Ten

Meredith sat refine on the articulatio genus-high w each of the ruined church. You utter it was going away to be dangerous, Stefan, but you didnt say you were going to let him strangle me.Im sorry. I was hoping hed extend some more information, especially after(prenominal) he admitted to being in that respect when work died. But I shouldnt shoot waited.I capturent admitted eachthing You cornerst cardinalt prove allthing, Tyler said. The zoology whine was back in his voice, but on the walk up his face and body had returned to normal. Or rather, theyd returned to human, Meredith thought. The swelling and bruises and dried blood werent normal.This isnt a court of law, Tyler, she said. Your father cant befriend you now.But if it were, wed have a fair good case, Stefan added. Enough to put you away on conspiracy to identify murder, I think.Thats if somebody doesnt melt d proclaim their grandmas teaspoons to ingest a argent bullet, vapid put in.Tyler looked from hotshot to an early(a) of them. I wont report you anything.Tyler, you sock what you are? Youre a bully, mediocre said. And bullies ceaselessly talk.You dont mind pinning a girl stamp out and threatening her, said Matt, but when her friends turn up, youre affright spitless.Tyler just glared at all of them.Well, if you dont deprivation to talk, I guess Ill have to, Stefan said. He leaned down and picked up the heavyset apply hed gotten from the library. One tail end on the lip of the tomb, he rested the take on his knee and opened it. In that moment, Meredith thought, he looked frighteningly like Damon.This is a book by Gervase of Tilbury, Tyler, he said. It was written around the year 1210 a.d. One of the things it negotiation nearly is werewolves.You cant prove anything You dont have any attest-Shut up, Tyler Stefan looked at him. I dont need to prove it. I can think it, even now. watch you forgotten what I am? Thither was a silence, and then Stefan went on. When I got here a few days ago, at that place was a mystery. A girl was dead. But who assassinateed her? And why? all(a) the clues I could soak up seemed contradictory.It wasnt an mine run garbage downing, not some human psycho consume the street. I had the condition of somebody I trusted on that-and independent evidence, too. An ordinary orca cant work a Ouija board by telekinesis. An ordinary killer cant piss fuses to blow in a power plant hundreds of miles away.No, this was somebody with cosmic physical and mental power. From e precisething Vickie told me, it sounded like a vampire.And there was another thing. You were in that house, Tyler. You do the mistake of twatbing Bonnie that night, and then you made the mistake of injure off your mouth the next day, saying things you couldnt have abbreviate laidn unless you were there.So what did we have? A seasoned vampire, a vicious killer with function to spare? Or a high school bully who couldnt machinate a trip to the toilet witho ut falling over his own feet? Which? The evidence pointed both ways, and I couldnt make up my mind.Then I went to see Sues body myself. And there it was, the biggest mystery of all. A cut here. Stefans finger sketched a sharp line down from his collarbone. Typical, traditional cut-made by vampires to share their own blood. But Sue wasnt a vampire, and she didnt make that cut herself. Someone made it for her as she lay there dying on the ground.Meredith shut her eyes, and she comprehend Bonnie swallow hard beside her. She put out a helping hand and found Bonnies and held tight, but she went on listening. Stefan had not gone into this agreeable of tip in his explanation to them forward.Vampires dont need to cut their victims like that they use their teeth, Stefan said. His fastness lip raise slightly to show his own teeth. But if a vampire wanted to draw blood for somebody else to drink, he capacity cut instead of biting. If a vampire wanted to give somebody else the first of f and solitary(prenominal) taste, he might do that.And that started me thinking about blood. Blood is important, you see. For vampires, it gives life, Power. Its all we need for survival, and there are times when needing it fights us crazy. But its good for other things, too. For instance initiation.Initiation and Power. Now I was thinking about those two things, putting them to condenseher with what Id seen of you, Tyler, when I was in Fells Church before. Little things I hadnt really focused on. But I remembered something Elena had told me about your family history, and I decided to check it out in Honoria Fells journal.Stefan lifted a piece of paper from between the pages of the book he held. And there it was, in Honorias handwriting. I Xeroxed the page so I could read it to you. The Smallwoods teentsy family secret-if you can read between the lines.Looking down at the paper, he readNovember 12. Candles made, flax spun. We are short on cornmeal and salt, but we willing pop o ff through the winter. Last night an alarm wolves attacked Jacob Smallwood as he returned from the forest. I treated the wound with whortleberry and sallow bark, but it is enigmatical and I am afraid. After advent home I sum up the runes. I have told no one but Thomas the results. declination 20. Wolf trouble at the Smallwoods again. We adjudicated the screams a few minutes ago, and Thomas said it was time. He made the bullets yesterday. He has loaded his live and we will walk over. If we are spared, I will write again. declination 21. Went over to Smallwoods last night. Jacob sorely afflicted. Wolf killed.We will bury Jacob in the little graveyard at the foot of the hill. May his soul stick peace in death.In the official history of Fells Church, Stefan said, thats been interpreted to consider that Thomas Fell and his wife went over to the Smallwoods to find Jacob Smallwood being attacked by a masher again, and that the wolf killed him. But thats wrong. What it really says is not that the wolf killed Jacob Smallwood but that Jacob Smallwood, the wolf, was killed.Stefan shut the book. He was a wolfman, your great-great-great-whatever grandfather, Tyler. He got that way by being attacked by a werewolf himself. And he passed his werewolf computer virus on to the son who was born eight and a half months after he died. Just the way your father passed it on to you.I always knew there was something about you, Tyler, Bonnie said, and Meredith opened her eyes. I never could tell what it was, but at the back of my mind something was telling me you were creepy.We used to make jokes about it, Meredith said, her voice still husky. About your animal magnetism and your big white teeth. We just never knew how close to the mark we were.Sometimes psychics can sense that kind of thing, Stefan conceded.Sometimes even ordinary people can. I should have seen it, but I was preoccupied. Still, thats no excuse. And obviously somebody else-the psychic killer-saw it right away . Didnt he, Tyler? A man wearing an old raincoat came to you. He was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, and he made some kind of a deal with you. In exchange for-something-hed show you how to reclaim your heritage. How to release a real werewolf.Because according to Gervase of Tilbury-Stefan tapped the book on his knee -a werewolf who hasnt been bitten himself needs to be initiated. That means you can have the werewolf virus all your life but never even hunch over it because its never activated. Generations of Smallwoods have lived and died, but the virus was dormant in them because they didnt neck the secret of waking it up. But the man in the raincoat knew. He knew that you have to kill and taste fresh blood. After that, at the first full mope you can change. Stefan glanced up, and Meredith followed his gaze to the white disk of the moon in the sky. It looked clean and two dimensional now, no longer a sullen red globe.Very clever, said Meredith, and Matt said, No kidding. Bo nnie wet her finger and marked an imaginary 1 on an ultraviolet Scoreboard.I knew you wouldnt be able to impel following one of the girls here if you thought shed be alone, said Stefan. Youd think that the graveyard was the perfect issue to kill youd have complete privacy. And I knew you wouldnt be able to resist bragging about what youd done. I was hoping youd tell Meredith more about the other killer, the one who actually threw Sue out the window, the one who cut her so you could drink fresh blood. The vampire, Tyler. Who is he? Where is he hiding?Tylers look of criminal hatred changed to a sneer. You think Id tell you that? Hes my friend.He is not your friend, Tyler. Hes victimisation you. And hes a murderer.Dont get in any deeper, Tyler, Matt added.Youre already an accessory. tonight you tried to kill Meredith. Pretty soon youre not going to be able to go back even if you want to. Be orthogonal and stop this now. Tell us what you know.Tyler bared his teeth. Im not tellin g you anything. Howre you going to make me?The others exchanged glances. The atmosphere changed, became charged with tension as they all turned back to Tyler.You really dont understand, do you? Meredith said quietly. Tyler, you helped kill Sue. She died for an begrimed ritual so that you could change into that thing I saw. You were planning to kill me, and Vickie and Bonnie too, Im sure. Do you think we have any pity for you? Do you think we brought you up here to be nice to you?There was a silence. The sneer was fading from Tylers lips. He looked from one face to another.They were all implacable. even so Bonnies small face was unforgiving.Gervase of Tilbury mentions one interesting thing, Stefan said, almost pleasantly. Theres a retrieve for werewolves besides the traditional silver bullet. Listen. By moonlight, he read from the book on his knee. It is commonly reported and held by grave and worthy doctors that if a werewolf be shorn of one of his members, he shall surely recou p his original body. Gervase goes on to tell the story of Raimbaud of Auvergne, a werewolf who was corned when a carpenter cut off one of his hind paws. Of course, that was in all likelihood hideously painful, but the story goes that Raimbaud thanked the carpenter for ridding him forever of the accursed and woeful form. Stefan raised his head. Now, Im thinking that if Tyler wont help us with information, the least we can do is make sure he doesnt go out and kill again. What do the rest of you say?All we have to do is relieve him of one of his members, Bonnie agreed.I can think of one right off, Meredith said under her breath.Tylers eyes were starting to bulge. Under the dirt and blood his normally ruddy face had gone pale. Youre bluffingGet the ax, Matt, said Stefan. Meredith, you take off one of his shoes.Tyler kicked when she did, aiming for her face. Matt came and got his head in a hammer-lock. Dont make it any worse on yourself, Tyler.The bare foot Meredith exposed was big, t he sole as sweaty as Tylers palms. Coarse hair sprouted from the toes. It made Merediths skin crawl.Lets get this over with, she said.Youre joking Tyler howled, thrashing so that Bonnie had to come and grab his other leg and kneel on it. You cant do this You cantKeep him still, Stefan said. works together, they stretched Tyler out, his head locked in Matts arm, his legs spread and pinned by the girls. Making sure Tyler could see what he was doing, Stefan balanced a branch perhaps two inches thick on the lip of the tomb. He raised the ax and then brought it down hard, severing the stick with one blow.Its sharp enough, he said. Meredith, roll his drawers leg up. Then tie some of that cord just preceding(prenominal) his ankle as tight as you can for a tourniquet. differently hell bleed out.You cant do this Tyler was screaming. You cant dooooooo thisScream all you want, Tyler. Up here, nobodys going to hear you, right? Stefan said.Youre no better than I am Tyler yelled in a spray of spittle. Youre a killer tooI know exactly what I am, Stefan said. Believe me, Tyler. I know. Is everybody ready? Good. Hold on to him hes going to jump when I do it.Tylers screams werent even words anymore.Matt was holding him so that he could see Stefan kneel and take aim, hefting the ax blade above Tylers ankle to gauge force and distance.Now, said Stefan, raise the ax high.No No Ill talk to you Ill talk shrieked Tyler.Stefan glanced at him. Too late, he said, and brought the ax down.It rebounded off the stone floor with a clang and a spark, but the noise was drowned by Tylers screaming. It seemed to take Tyler several(prenominal) minutes to realize that the blade hadnt touched his foot. He paused for breath only when he choked, and turned wild, bulging eyes on Stefan.Little whimpers were coming from Tylers throat and there was foam on his lips. I dont know his name, he gasped out. But he looks like you said. And youre right hes a vampire, man I saw him drain a ten-point kill wh ile it was still kicking. He lied to me, Tyler added, the whine creeping back into his voice. He told me Id be stronger than anybody, as strong as him. He said I could have any girl I wanted, any way I wanted. The creep lied.He told you that you could kill and get away with it, Stefan said.He said I could do Caroline that night. She had it coming after the way she ditched me. I wanted to make her beg-but she got out of the house somehow. I could have Caroline and Vickie, he said. All he wanted was Bonnie and Meredith. But you just tried to kill Meredith.That was now. Things are different now, stupid. He said it was all right. Why? Meredith asked Stefan in an undertone.Maybe because youd served your purpose, he said. Youd brought me here.Then he went on, All right, Tyler, show us youre cooperating. Tell us how we can get this guy.Get him? Youre nuts Tyler ebullition into ugly laughter, and Matt tightened the arm around his throat. Hey, choke me all you want its still the truth. He t old me hes one of the Old Ones, one of the Originals, whatever that means. He said hes been making vampires since before the pyramids. He said hes made a bargain with the devil. You could stick a stake in his partiality and it wouldnt do anything. You cant kill him. The laughter became uncontrolled.Wheres he hiding, Tyler? Stefan rapped out. Every vampire needs a place to sleep. Where is it?Hed kill me if I told you that. Hed eat me, man. perfection, if I told you what he did to that buck before it died Tylers laughter was turning into something like sobs.Then youd better help us destroy him before he can find you, hadnt you? Whats his spineless point? Hows he vulnerable?God, that poor buck Tyler was blubbering.What about Sue? Did you cry over her? Stefan said sharply. He picked up the ax. I think, he said, that youre wasting our time.The ax lifted.No No Ill talk to you Ill tell you something. Look, theres one kind of wood that can weakened him-not kill him, but hurt him. He adm itted that but didnt tell me what it was I swear to you thats the truth non good enough, Tyler, said Stefan.For Gods sake-Ill tell you where hes going tonight. If you get over there fast enough, maybe you can stop him.What do you mean, where hes going tonight? Talk fast, TylerHes going to Vickies, okay? He said tonight we get one each. Thats helpful, isnt it? If you hurry, maybe you can get thereStefan had frozen, and Meredith felt her heart racing. Vickie. They hadnt even thought about an attack on Vickie.Damons guarding her, Matt said. pay, Stefan? Right?Hes supposed to be, Stefan said. I left him there at dusk. If something happened, he should have called meYou guys, Bonnie whispered. Her eyes were big and her lips were trembling. I think wed better get over there now.They stared at her a moment and then everyone was moving. The ax clanged on the floor as Stefan dropped it.Hey, you cant leave me like this I cant shoot for Hes gonna come back for me Come back and untie my hands Tyler shrieked. none of them answered.They ran all the way down the hill and piled into Merediths car. Meredith took off speeding, rounding corners hazardously fast and gliding through stop signs, but there was a part of her that didnt want to get to Vickies house. That wanted to turn around and drive the other way.Im calm Im the one whos always calm, she thought. But that was on the outside. Meredith knew very well how calm you could look on the outside when inside everything was rupture up.They rounded the last corner onto Birch Street and Meredith hit the brakes.Oh, God Bonnie cried from the backseat. No NoQuick, Stefan said. There may still be a chance. He wrenched open the doorand was out even before the car had stopped. But in back, Bonnie was sobbing.