'The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 24\r'

'Elena hung up her cel ph one(a) as they puled up to the boardinghouse in Stefans car. â€Å"The nurse at the hospital says Calebs stil unconscious,” she give tongue to.\r\nâ€Å"Good,” said Stefan. She gave him a reproving glance and he stared back at her in exasperation. â€Å"If hes unconscious,” he apologiseed, â€Å"itl give us more than of a chance to figure let break through what spel hes sop up on us.”\r\nTheyd fil ed three fat discolor trash bags with the papers, clippings, and books theyd form in the Smal woods\r\ngarden sick. Elena had been timid to disturb the pentagram with the roses and photographs or so it on the shed floor, in case that would affect the spel somehow, and shed taken a couple of pictures of it with her cel phone. mo nononic came out and picked up one of the bags. â€Å"B striationing over some slobber?”\r\nâ€Å"Something like that,” Elena said grimly, and fil ed him in on what theyd spy at the Smal wood house. Matt grimaced. â€Å"Wow. however maybe now we apprize final y do something nearly whats been happening.”\r\nâ€Å"How come youre here so early?” Elena asked, fol owing him toward the house. â€Å"I thought you werent advance onto guard duty until ten.” Stefan trailed along behind her.\r\nâ€Å"I spent the night,” Matt told her. â€Å"After Bonnies name appeared, I didnt wishing to let her out of my sight.”\r\nâ€Å"Bonnies name appeared?” Elena whirled accusingly on Stefan. â€Å"Why didnt you tel me?”\r\nStefan shrugged uncomfortably. â€Å"I didnt know,” he confessed hesitantly.\r\nâ€Å"Stefan, I told you to protect Meredith and Celia,” she snapped. â€Å"You were supposed to be here. Even onward Bonnies name showed up, it was Meredith and Celia who were in danger. I was relying on you to rest over them.”\r\nStefan glared back at her. â€Å"Im not your lapdog, Elena,” he said qui etly. â€Å"I saw a lowground threat that I thought bore investigation. I acted to protect you. And I was right. The danger was more spry to you than the others. And now we gestate a chance to charm to masterher the spel .”\r\nElena blinked at his tone but couldnt refuse the truth in his words. â€Å"Im sorry,” she said contritely. â€Å"Youre right. Im glad we discovered Calebs shed.”\r\nMatt opened the front door. They dumped the bags in the hal and went with to the kitchen, where Mrs. Flowers, Alaric, and Meredith were enjoying a breakfast of croissants, mares nest, fruit, and sausages.\r\nâ€Å"Celias gone,” Meredith said to Elena as concisely as they entered the room. Her tone was casual y informative, but her usual y cool gray nitty-grittyball were twinkling, and Elena shared a secret smile with her friend.\r\nâ€Å"Whered she go?” Elena asked, equal y casual y, reaching for a croissant. It had been a long morning, and she was star ving.\r\nâ€Å"University of Virginia,” Alaric answered. â€Å"Shes hoping to get some leads by doing research on curses and folk fantasy.”\r\nâ€Å"We susceptibility have some more information now,” Elena announced nearly a mouthful of deliciously buttery croissant. She explained what they had found in the shed.\r\nâ€Å"We brought al the papers and Calebs notebooks with us. And heres what hed laid out on the floor.” She pul ed out her phone, loaded the picture, and give it to Mrs. Flowers.\r\nâ€Å"My matureness,” said the old woman. â€Å"This certainly looks like lightless magic. I wonder what that child thought he was doing.”\r\nStefan snorted. â€Å"Hes no child, Mrs. Flowers. I strongly suspect hes a werewolf as wel as a morose magician.”\r\nMrs. Flowers looked at him sternly. â€Å"Hes found the wrong way of acquittance about looking for his cousin, thats for certain. But this magic looks alternatively amateurish to me. If it has worked, it wil have been more by chance event than design.”\r\nâ€Å"If its worked?” Meredith asked. â€Å"I think the evidence suggests that whatever hes do worked.”\r\nâ€Å"Surely it would be too some(prenominal) of a coincidence for Caleb to be onerous to cast spel s on us and for an unexplained curse to be affecting us as wel ,” Alaric noted.\r\nâ€Å"Wheres Caleb now?” Matt asked, frowning. â€Å"Does he know you found al this? Do we collect to track him down and keep an eye on him?”\r\n Stefan crossed his arms. â€Å"Hes in the hospital.”\r\nthither was a little pause as the others looked at one another and decided, based on Stefans stony demeanor, not to delve deeper. Meredith glanced questioningly at Elena, and Elena nodded slightly to say, Ill explain later. She turned to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"Can you tel what spel Caleb was using? What was he trying to do?”\r\nMrs. Flowers stared thoughtful y at the pi cture. â€Å"Its an raise question,” she said. â€Å"Roses are typical y use in love spel s, but the pentagram and multiple pictures around it suggest a darker intent here. The roses unusual sluice color would probably make them more effective. They talent be used to evoke other passions as wel . My best guess would be that Caleb was trying to figure your emotions in some way.”\r\nElena cast a fulminant glance at Stefan, taking in his watch over side and tense shoulders.\r\nâ€Å"But thats as much as I idler tel you for now,” Mrs. Flowers continued. â€Å"If the rest of you want to look through Calebs notebooks for clues, Bonnie and I can research the magical properties of roses and what spel s they could be used in.”\r\nâ€Å"Where is Bonnie?” Elena asked. Although shed had the sense that something was missing, shed unaccompanied just consciously realized that the petite redhead wasnt among the group in the kitchen.\r\nâ€Å"Stil sleepin g,” Meredith said. â€Å"You know how she loves to sleep in.” She grinned. â€Å"Bonnie was definitely enjoying world the damsel in peril and having everybody fussing over her start night.”\r\nâ€Å"I thought she was being real y brave,” Matt said unexpectedly. Elena eyed him. Was he stock to feel something romantic for Bonnie? Theyd be good together, she thought, and was surprised to feel a tiny stuff of possessive anger mixed in with her conceptional matchmaking. Matt has always been yours, after all, a baffling voice whispered to her.\r\nâ€Å"Il go up and charge her,” Meredith said cheerful y. â€Å"No rest for the witches.” She swung to her feet and headed for the stairs, walk only slightly.\r\nâ€Å"Hows your ankle?” Elena asked. â€Å"You look a circularise better.”\r\nâ€Å"I heal fast,” Meredith said. â€Å"I guess its break apart of the vampire-hunter thing. I didnt need the cane by the duration I we nt to bed last night, and this morning it feels most back to normal.”\r\nâ€Å"Lucky you,” said Elena.\r\nâ€Å"Lucky me,” Meredith agreed, grin at Alaric, who smiled back admiringly. Showing off, she ran lightly up the stairs, leaning only a little on the banister for support. Elena took another croissant and spread jam on it. â€Å"The rest of us should start red ink through al the papers and things we took from Calebs shed. Alaric, as youre the only one other than Mrs. Flowers and Bonnie who knows much about magic, you can take his notebooks and Il †â€Å"\r\nShe broke off as a scream came from overhead.\r\nâ€Å"Meredith!” shouted Alaric.\r\nLater, Elena didnt real y remember getting upstairs. There was just a flash of shoving limbs and pandemonium as everyone tried to get up the narrow staircase as cursorily as possible. At the door of the little cream-and-rose sleeping room at the end of the hal , Meredith stood, white-faced and stricken. She turned large panic-stricken gray eyeball toward them and whispered, â€Å"Bonnie.”\r\nInside, Bonnies smal figure drop nonoperational facedown on the floor, one pajamaed arm flung out toward the door. unkindled black and white candles were in a ring behind her, one black candle knocked over. There was a smudge of what looked like mostly desiccate blood inside the candle ring, and a weathered book lay open beside it.\r\nElena pushed past Meredith and knelt beside the stil figure, shade at her neck for a pulse. She let out the breath shed been holding as she felt Bonnies heartbeat, bulletproof and strong, beneath her fingers.\r\nâ€Å"Bonnie,” she said, shaking her by the shoulder, then lightly rol ing her over. Bonnie flopped without resistance onto her back. She was breathing regularly, but her eyes stayed closed, her long lashes dark against her freckled cheeks.\r\nâ€Å"Somebody cal an ambulance,” Elena said quickly.\r\nâ€Å"Il do it,” Me redith said, breaking out of her frozen stance.\r\nâ€Å"We dont need an ambulance,” Mrs. Flowers said quietly, gazing down at Bonnie with an expression of sorrow on her face.\r\nâ€Å"What are you talking about?” Meredith snapped. â€Å"Shes unconscious! We have to get her help.”\r\nMrs. Flowerss eyes were grave. â€Å"The doctors and nurses at the hospital wont be able to help Bonnie,” she said. â€Å"They might even hurt her by interfering with ineffective medical solutions to a nonmedical problem. Bonnies not sick; shes under a spel . I can feel the magic thick in the air. The best thing we can do is to make her as comfortable as we can here while we look for a cure.”\r\nMatt stepped forward into the room. His face was aghast, but he wasnt looking at Bonnies motionless form on the floor. He raised one hand and pointed. â€Å"Look,” he said.\r\nNear the bed, a tray containing a smal teapot, a cup, and a plate had been knocked over onto t he floor. The cup had smashed and the teapot lay on its side, tea leaves spil ing out in a long, dark curve ball across the floor.\r\nA curve that spel ed out a name.\r\n'