Elena changed her foot position and was eyeing Trinity carefully, getting ready to kick again, when Zander stiffened and held up a hand for silence. "There's someone coming. More than one person," he said. "Apple smell's stronger."
Stefan heard them, too; Elena could tell. He and Zander stepped to either side of the roof entrance, ready.
"Come on," Trinity whispered, as she and the other human hunters arranged themselves in a curving line to meet whatever came through the door. Elena and Alaric, the weakest fighters, dropped back behind the line. Alaric was muttering a quick charm, and Elena closed her eyes for a moment, searching for evil. She couldn't activate her Guardian Powers without an immediate threat. At least, not yet.
But, try as she might, she couldn't sense anything unusual. Then the roof door burst open and three figures charged through.
They looked like a bunch of townie dads, Elena had time to think, but it didn't matter. She'd seen enough vampires to know they could have started out as anyone. Two had stakes, and one carried a machete, its blade gleaming wickedly.
The one with the machete swung it at Stefan, his teeth bared with rage, and Elena gasped in surprise as Stefan jerked back, blood streaming down his arm. Zander tackled Stefan's attacker from behind, low and fast, changing forms as he cannoned into the back of the guy's legs, and they fell in a tangle of fur and limbs. The machete clattered onto the rooftop beside them.
Stefan, his wound already closing, grabbed the next attacker by the arm and flung him in the air like a rag doll. The guy landed with a thud at the edge of the roof as Meredith stepped smoothly forward to strike him with her stave. At the edge of the roof, Jack drew his gun.
The third man, tall and blond, reached for the machete, swinging it up with an easy grip. Jack fired his gun, but the man kept coming, machete raised in one hand and a stake in the other.
"Wait!" Stefan called. "Stop!" He was staring in horror at the guy he had thrown across the roof, who was clambering to his feet slowly, blood streaming down his face from a head wound. The man with the machete snarled and charged toward Meredith, his shirt darkening with his own blood.
Stefan reached out and held him back, pinning his arms and forcing the man to drop the machete and the stake. Zander held his opponent by the back of the throat and shook him a little, growling.
"They're humans," Stefan said. "They've been Influenced; they're not responsible for what they're doing."
The blood-soaked guy charged, but Jack grabbed him and held his arms firmly behind his back, as he struggled and kicked. All three kept fighting without pause, wrenching away from their captors ceaselessly, even though they were clearly helpless against them. Elena could see now what Stefan had sensed with his Power: Their auras were curiously clouded, as if they weren't really aware of what was happening.
"What should we do?" Trinity asked, distressed.
"Let me try," Stefan said. He shifted so that he was holding the blond guy firmly still, face-to-face. The man snarled and tried to lunge at him, not flinching even when Stefan dug his fist into the bleeding bullet wound to stop him. Elena saw Stefan's gaze flicker down to the wound and back again, the almost imperceptible flare of his nostrils as the scent of fresh blood hit him. Then he swallowed and focused, locking his eyes on the guy's.
"You don't want to do this," he said softly. "You want to stop and go home." He was trying to use his Power to break the Influence, Elena could tell, but it wasn't working. The man's aura grew grayer and more clouded as Stefan spoke, and he fought harder against him. Stefan tried using his Power on the others, one after the other, but it was no use.
"I can't break it," he admitted finally. "They've been Influenced by someone really Powerful."
Jack nodded. "Solomon. He's sending you a message. He knew we wouldn't kill the humans, and that they couldn't beat us. He wanted to show you how Powerful he is."
"I've got an idea," Zander said thoughtfully. Back in human form, he rubbed at his jaw as if it were sore, working it slowly. "I might be able to break the compulsion enough to get these guys to tell us the truth." He turned the bearded man with the head wound to face him, keeping a steady, gentle grip on him. Zander was so laid-back, Elena sometimes forgot how inhumanly strong he was. But now she couldn't help seeing how easily Zander controlled his captive, even though the guy fought and thrashed, his eyes stretching wide and his teeth bared.
Zander rested his chin on the guy's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him, pressing their chests together. Turning his head to face into his captive's neck, he breathed steadily and deeply. After a moment, Elena realized Zander was growling softly, deep in his throat.
At first, the guy fought harder, rearing away, but Zander only pulled him closer, blood from his face smearing across Zander's own cheek. The hair on Zander's arms was growing longer and thicker, Elena realized, turning to white fur again. His shoulders hunched and his jaw lengthened.
Zander wasn't changing fully this time, she saw, but he was somewhere between a wolf and a man now. Roy and Alex glanced anxiously at each other, but no one moved.
Finally, Zander's captive seemed to give up and grew still, his head hanging down against Zander's shoulder. His aura had calmed, Elena saw, its natural soft yellow color breaking through in patches.
Then Zander spoke, his voice half a growl, half human speech. "Why are you here?"
The guy was panting in time with Zander's breaths, and his answer seemed to be pulled out of him in gasps. "To kill the girl," he said. "Kill everyone with her. Don't give up."