And now Elena couldn't get a response out of Stefan, who was locked in an embrace with Meredith, mouth pressed tightly over the two little wounds he'd made. Elena had to shake him by the shoulders, to shake both of them, in order to get any response.
Then Stefan reared back suddenly, but held on to Meredith, who would otherwise have fal en. He hastily licked blood from his lips. For once, though, Elena wasn't focused on him, but on her friend - her friend whom she'd al owed to do this.
Meredith's eyes were shut, but they had dark, almost plum-colored circles under them. Her lips were parted, and her dark cloud of hair was wet where tears had fal en into it.
"Meredith? Merry?"The old nickname just slipped out of Elena's lips. And then, when Meredith gave no sign of having heard her: "Stefan, what's wrong?"
"I Influenced her at the end to sleep."Stefan lifted Meredith and put her on the bed.
"But what happened? Why is she crying - and what's wrong with you?"Elena couldn't help but notice that despite the healthy flush on Stefan's cheeks his eyes were shadowed.
"Something I saw - in her mind,"Stefan said briefly, pul ing Elena behind his back. "Here comes one of them. Stay there."
The door opened. It was the male sheriff, who was red-faced and panting, and who had clearly just lapped himself, returning to this room after starting from it to search the entire first floor.
"I have them al in a room - al but the fugitive,"the sheriff said into a large black mobile. The female sheriff made some brief reply. Then the red-faced male turned to speak to the teenagers. "Now what's going to happen is that I'm going to search you" - he nodded at Stefan - "while my partner searches you two."His head jerked, ear-first, at Meredith.
"What's wrong with her, anyway?"
"Nothing that you could understand,"Stefan replied cool y.
The sheriff looked as if he couldn't believe what had just been said. Then, suddenly, he looked as if he could, and did, and he took a step toward Meredith.
Stefan snarled.
The sound made Elena, who was right behind him, jump. It was the low savage snarl of an animal protecting its mate, its pack, its territory.
The ruddy-faced policeman suddenly looked pale and panicked. Elena guessed that he was looking at a mouth ful of teeth much sharper than his own, and tinged with blood as well.
Elena didn't want this to turn into a pi - that was, a...snarling match.
As the sheriff gabbled to his partner, "We may need some of them silver bul ets after al ,"Elena poked her beloved, who was now making a noise like a very big buzz saw that she could feel in her teeth, and whispered, "Stefan, Influence him!
The other one's coming, and she may already have cal ed for backup."
At her touch, Stefan stopped making the sound, and when he turned she could see his face changing from that of a savage animal baring its teeth back to his own dear, green-eyed self.
He must have taken a lot of blood from Meredith, she thought, with a flutter in her stomach. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
But there was no denying the after-effects. Stefan turned back to the male sheriff and said crisply, "You wil go into the front hal way. You wil remain there, silent, until I tel you to move or speak."Then, without looking up to see if the officer was obeying or not, he tucked the blankets more tightly around Meredith.
Elena was watching the sheriff, though, and she noticed that he didn't hesitate an instant. He made an about-face and marched off to the front foyer.
Then Elena felt safe enough to look at Meredith again. She couldn't find anything wrong in her friend's face, except her unnatural pal or, and those violet shadows around her eyes.
"Meredith?"she whispered.
No response. Elena fol owed Stefan out of the room.
She had just made it to the foyer when the female sheriff ambushed them. Coming down the stairs, pushing the fragile Mrs. Flowers before her, she shouted, "On the ground! Al of you!"She gave Mrs. Flowers a hard shove forward. "Get down now!"
When Mrs. Flowers almost fel sprawling on the floor, Stefan leaped and caught her, and then turned back to the other woman. For a moment Elena thought that he would snarl again, but instead, in a voice tight with self-control, he said,
"Join your partner. You can't move or speak without my permission."
He took the shaken-looking Mrs. Flowers to a chair on the left side of the foyer. "Did that - person - hurt you?"
"No, no. Just get them out of my house, Stefan, dear, and I'l be most grateful,"Mrs. Flowers replied.
"Done,"Stefan said softly. "I'm sorry we've caused you so much trouble - in your own home."He looked at each of the sheriffs, his eyes piercing. "Go away and don't come back.
You have searched the house, but none of the people you were looking for were here. You think further surveil ance wil yield nothing. You believe that you would do more good by helping the - what was it? Oh, yes, the mayhem in the town of Fel 's Church. You wil never come here again. Now go back to your car and leave."
Elena felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She could feel the Power behind Stefan's words.
And, as always, it was satisfying to see cruel or angry people become docile under the power of a vampire's Influence.
These two stood for another ten seconds quite stil , and then they simply walked out the front door.
Elena listened to the sound of the sheriff's car driving away and such a strong feeling of relief washed over her that she almost col apsed. Stefan put his arms around her, and Elena hugged him back tightly, knowing that her heart was pounding. She could feel it in her chest and her fingertips.