'Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 13\r'

'Damon. Death.\r\nThe words swam in my mind as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. Damon was alive. precisely who knew for how long? If he had been captured, he was undoubtedly weak. How could he face a ravenous beast in a battle and survive?\r\nAnger part done my body, along with the familiar ache of my fangs elongating. I ripped down the sign with a snarl.\r\nâ€Å"What is it?” she hissed, her own fangs bared.\r\nI held up the paper.\r\nâ€Å"My brother,” I utter, staring without comprehension at the poster. The picture do him look like a monster. My eye twitched. â€Å"The battle is in two solar days.”\r\nLexi nodded, pickings in the portrait.\r\nâ€Å"G entirelyagher found him,” she said, almost to herself.\r\nI shake my head, non understanding what she meant.\r\nShe sighed. â€Å"Big businessman. He owns a lot of places in town, including a two-bit circus and crank show. Al itinerarys looking for curio perplexies to display, and peopl e always attend to stripping the money to attend. Your brotherâ€â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Damon,” I said, peeled her off. â€Å"His name is Damon.”\r\nâ€Å"Damon,” Lexi said gently, tracing the image with her fingers.\r\nâ€Å"He doesnt deserve this,” I said, almost to myself. â€Å"I acquire to help him. still ” I trailed off. But what? How could I possibly provided him?\r\nâ€Å" thoroughly need to find him,” Lexi decided. She brushed cast offs and dirt from the support of her pants. â€Å"Do you invest me?”\r\nDid I drop a choice? My thirstiness forgotten, I followed her through the forest and back to the wide, wordless streets of the city.\r\nâ€Å"G eitheragher lives somewhere in the Garden District with all the other nouveaux riches. On Laurel Street, I hazard,” Lexi murmured as we wove our way to the center of town. â€Å"This has happened forwards, soon after Gallagher arrived in New Orleans five years ago.â⠂¬Â\r\nâ€Å"What happened?” I asked, following final stagely behind her in the shadows.\r\nâ€Å"He found a vampire. Hes good at decision us. Or maybe were good at finding him. But the other vampire wasnt part of my family. And ” She halt suddenly.\r\nâ€Å"What happened to him?”\r\nBut Lexi merely shook her head. Wed arrived at the Garden District, where the streets were wide and the lawns hugging the sherbet-colored Victorian houses were tumultuous and expansive.\r\nâ€Å"Here.” She stopped at a pistachio-hued mansion enfold by an open wrought-iron fence. Magnolias and calla lilies spilled over the gate, and the ambiance smelled like mint. Just beyond, I could see an broad herb garden that took up a one-fifth of the property. I recoiled as we fliped closer, as the garden grew a generous amount of vervain.\r\nLexi wrinkled her nose. â€Å"He knows all the tricks,” she said wryly.\r\nWe pushed open the gate, our footsteps barely crunchin g the gravel on the path that circled the house. Cicadas buzzed in the sycamore trees above us, and I could hear horses pacing in the unchanging.\r\nAnd then I heard a low moan.\r\nâ€Å"Hes out back,” I said.\r\nLexi gazed up at the sky. Orange streaks were starting to gleam above the horizon; it was about an hour until day broke. â€Å"Its too close to dawn,” Lexi said. â€Å"I didnt realize how modern it is. I have to go.”\r\nI looked at her sharply.\r\nâ€Å"Im non protected.” Her fingers fluttered to my ring, and I glanced down self-consciously. The lapus lazuli adornment had grow so much a part of me, Id forgotten that it made me different from other vampires, made me able to walk in the daylight. Katherine had arranged for both Damon and me to have this protection.\r\nâ€Å"Well come back tomorrow. The others can help us then,” Lexi insisted.\r\nI shook my head. â€Å"I cant leave him.”\r\nBirds chirped in the trees above us, and from somewhere nearby came the large(p) of glass shattering. The orange streaks in the sky grew fatter, brighter. â€Å"I understand,” Lexi said finally. â€Å"Be safe. Dont play the hero.”\r\nI nodded, scan the grounds for any guards or animals lying in wait to attack. When I looked up, Lexi was gone and I was alone.\r\n take quickly to the back of the house, I made my way toward the whitewashed stable. Horses pawed the ground nervously, obviously sensing my presence. The stable doors were padlocked with an iron bolt. I grabbed the chain, testing it. Even though Id barely fed since the previous evening, it would be loose enough to rend the chains with my bare workforce. But something stopped me.Dont play the hero.Lexis words echoed in my mind. She had become my guide during the past couple of days, and I knew it was in my best interest to listen to her. Better not to leave any evidence of an intruder, better to take down the lay of the land before doing anything rash.\r\nI released the chain, and it push down back against the door with a loud go safe. A horse whinnied. I walked to the other position of the stable, where a dusty window was open a crack.\r\nâ€Å"Brother?” I whispered hoarsely through the window. The cloying scent of vervain was everywhere, making me light-headed and nauseated.\r\nIn the corner, a filthy figure struggled to sit up. Damon. His hands and feet were bound with chains, and his skin was covered in angry red welts. The chains must have been soaked in vervain. I winced in sympathy.\r\nDamons look locked on mine.\r\nâ€Å"You found me,” he said, no perception in his face. â€Å"Are you happy to see that Im close to death, brother?”\r\nâ€Å"Im here to save you,” I said simply. The horses were kicking up the sawdust around their feet in upthrust; I didnt have much time before someone in the house heard the disturbance.\r\nDamon shrugged, an front that clearly took all his energy. Hi s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. A large cut lined his forehead, slicing into his eyebrow. He looked awful and emaciated; it was clear he hadnt eaten in days. I glanced around, hoping I could find somethingâ€a squirrel, a rabbit, a chipmunkâ€to kill and toss to him, but in that location was nothing.\r\nâ€Å"So the cold-blooded killer is going to save me.” Damon attempted a wan smile. He leaned back against the wall, his chains rattling.\r\nâ€Å"Yes, we have toâ€â€Å"\r\nSuddenly, I heard the sound of a door slamming, then a cover barking. I whirled around toward the main house.\r\nâ€Å"What do you think youre doing?” a voice yelled out. And I stood, my hands raised to the sky, unsure of whoâ€or whatâ€had found me this time.\r\n'