It’s a ring,” he said dully. The slow and majestic bit hadn’t
worked on him at all.
“That’s what I thought at first. It’s a key. I’m not asking you, or
seeing if you agree with me; I’m telling you. It’s a key. The light from
its eyes points to Stefan.”
“What light?”
“I’ll show you later. Bonnie! Meredith! We’re leaving.”
“YOU’RE NOT IF I SAY YOU’RE NOT!”
“Watch out!” screamed Bonnie.
The owl was diving again. And again, at the last second, Damon
gathered the three girls and leaped. The owl’s beak struck not grass nor
shards of glass but the marble steps. They cracked. There was a scream
of pain and another, as Damon, nimble as a dancer, slashed at the giant
bird’s one good eye. He got in a cut right above it. Blood began to fill
the eye.
Elena couldn’t stand any more. Ever since starting out on this
journey with Damon and Matt, she had been a vial filling with anger.
Drop by drop, with each new outrage, that anger had filled and filled the
vial. Now her rage was about to fill it to overflowing.
But then…what would happen?
She didn’t want to know. She was afraid she wouldn’t survive it.
What she did know was that she couldn’t watch any more pain and
blood and anguish right now. Damon genuinely enjoyed fighting. Good.
Let him. She was going to Stefan if she had to walk the whole way.