Stefan called a farewell, which went unanswered, and headed out the door. For all he knew, Damon had left through a window and was already winging his way across campus as a crow.
His heart sank at the thought of leaving his brother now without a good-bye, but he kept going. If they both survived, he and Damon would connect again as brothers. He couldn't let go of that hope. But he didn't know when or how it would happen. Maybe he'd lost his brother for another century or two. The thought made him feel bleakly, unutterably alone.
Chapter 25
Matt's feet dragged as he walked slowly toward the boathouse doors. In his hand, the sack he carried thrashed violently, the rabbit inside kicking and squirming. Chloe would be able to calm it with a touch of her Power.
Matt didn't like catching animals for her to feed on. He couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor things, so wide-eyed with terror. But he was responsible for Chloe. And she needed lots of blood to keep control; Stefan had warned them of that. It didn't help that seeing Klaus's army of vampires had terrified her. They were so much more powerful than she was, and she knew they would show no mercy to a vampire who fought against them. Worse, the excitement of the battle had stirred her urge to drink human blood. She didn't trust herself around the others, so she'd been sequestering herself in the boathouse ever since.
She would never hurt Matt, though; she assured him of that every night, holding him tightly, her cold body against his warmer one, her head pillowed on his shoulder in the darkness.
A board creaked under Matt's feet and he glanced down at the water lapping against the pilings beneath him. The dock creaked again, this time in the distance, as if someone else was walking across it.
Matt hesitated. There shouldn't be anyone else here. He stepped forward again, cautiously, and heard the echoing sound of another board creaking in the distance, just a second after his own footstep.
"Hello?" he called into the darkness, and then felt like an idiot. If his enemies were out there, the last thing he wanted to do was draw their attention.
He took a few steps closer to the entrance to the boathouse. The creaking didn't come again; instead, a small splash rose from the shallow lake. Maybe the noises had been an animal.
He broke into a run anyway, slamming through the boathouse doors. What if something had gotten to Chloe? Matt's eyes flew to the tableau in the center of the boathouse.
Klaus stood triumphantly in front of him, his skin lit silver by the moonlight coming through the holes in the roof. A battered raincoat covered his broad figure, and slumped in his arms was a bleeding girl, a stranger.
God. She was young, maybe a small freshman, maybe a high-school girl from the town, and her long, dark hair was matted with the blood streaming from the side of her neck. She wasn't struggling, but she gazed at Matt with a terrified look that reminded him nauseatingly of the rabbit's expression when he'd lifted it out of the trap.
He automatically dropped the sack, hearing it thud behind him, the rabbit scrabbling out and bolting for the door. He had to help the girl. Klaus flicked his eyes toward him for a split second and Matt froze, his muscles tensed helplessly against the force holding him in place.
"Hello, boy," Klaus said, flashing his mad smile. "Come to join the party? Your girlfriend and I have been waiting for you."
Matt followed Klaus's gaze to Chloe, who was huddled in a corner as far from Klaus and the girl as possible, her knees pulled up to her chest. There was a bite mark on her neck, as if Klaus had already drunk from her, too, and she was extraordinarily pale. She needs to feed, Matt thought, as if he could just hand her the rabbit he'd had a moment ago. Chloe was clearly frightened, but there was something else showing in her face. Matt's stomach rolled unhappily as he identified it: hunger.
"Now, where were we?" Klaus turned back to Chloe. "Ah, yes. If you just let go, everything will be so easy." His voice was soft and soothing. "Tell me everything. Tell me the secret these humans are hiding. How have the witches protected Elena from me? If you do, I'll let you join me. You won't be alone. You won't have to be afraid, or feel guilt, or anything anymore." His face twisted with scorn as he said the word humans, and he went on, his voice dropping into a lower register. "Taste the girl," he said. "You can have her. I know you can smell the rich sweetness of her blood. This is no way for you to live, hidden away, ashamed, feeding on vermin. Come to me, Chloe," he said, commanding now.
Chloe uncurled slowly, climbing to her feet. Her eyes were fixed on Klaus and on the girl, who was sobbing quietly now in Klaus's arms. From the shift in Chloe's jaw, Matt could see that her canine teeth had lengthened. Klaus beckoned, and Chloe took one stumbling step forward.
Struggling to cry out, to stop Chloe somehow, Matt realized that his tongue was as frozen as the rest of him, held still by Klaus's Power. The best he could do was let out a small, stifled moan.
Chloe heard it, though. She licked her lips, then slowly dragged her eyes from the girl's throat and focused on Matt. She stared at him for a long moment, and then stepped back, pressing herself flat against the wall. The bones of her face looked sharp and the drying blood on her own throat cracked and flaked as she shook her head.
"No," she said in a tiny voice.
Klaus smiled again and held the girl out toward her. "Come on now," he urged. His victim whimpered and closed her eyes, her face crumpling in misery. Chloe stood still against the wall, seemingly riveted by the long stream of blood running down from the girl's throat to pool on the floor at her feet.
Klaus reached for Chloe and took her by the hand. "Tell me what I want to know, and you can have her. She tastes so good." He tugged Chloe toward him. She gasped sharply, her nostrils flaring as she got closer to the scent of blood, and let herself be drawn closer and closer. Klaus let go of Chloe's hand and stroked her cheek. "There," he said, as if he were talking to a small child. "There we go." Cupping his hand behind her head, he pushed her firmly down, brought her toward the throat of the girl he held.