There were a couple of hours yet till midnight. If they could just figure out where Solomon would come from, they could get into position, launch an attack.
Elena shut her eyes and focused her Power, trying to force open the doors within herself that would help her track down evil. Nothing. With a huff of irritation, she opened her eyes again.
Matt was climbing up the hill toward Elena and Stefan. He carried a flashlight, which he cast over the trees and grass around them, but he didn't speak. He looked grim, his lips pressed tightly together.
Meredith and Alaric followed him, Alaric also holding a flashlight, while Meredith balanced her stave in one hand.
"Where do you think we should look?" Stefan asked, glancing at Meredith.
"If I were going to meet a bunch of brainwashed humans to get a report on their evil mission," Meredith said thoughtfully, "I'd head for a good, clear space with plenty of moonlight. He'll need light to see them, to Influence them. We could get into the tree cover near the biggest clearing and wait."
Stefan nodded. "Makes sense. The most open spot is up on top of the ridge. When Jack's team gets here, we'll head up."
Zander raised his head, his tail wagging, and a moment later, Jack and his group appeared over the crest of the hill. Jack and Roy raised their hands briefly, acknowledging Elena and the others, while Trinity shot Elena a warm smile. Darlene and Alex had their heads down, watching their step. Both carried heavy-looking bags of weapons.
"Looks like it's going to rain," Jack said in greeting when they reached them. Elena glanced up in surprise. It was true-black clouds had blocked out the moon while they talked, and the sky, clear a few moments ago, looked ominously heavy.
"That was fast," Alaric said uneasily. A cold wind blew across the hillside, lifting Elena's hair and bringing goose bumps out on her arms.
Meredith and Elena exchanged a worried glance. "Remember how Klaus could change the weather?" Elena said slowly. "Even Damon can make it storm, if he's angry enough."
Meredith swore. "Solomon knows we're here. He planned it."
"It's a trap. We need to get out of here." Stefan stepped closer to Elena, wrapping his arm around her shoulders protectively, his eyes scanning the tree cover around them. Her heart sped up. Which way could they go to escape? The dark shadows beneath the trees were suddenly menacing.
Something hit Elena's cheek, and she jumped. At almost the same moment, one of the wolves yelped. Her arm stung, hit by something sharp and heavy.
"Hail!" Alex shouted just as a burst of lightning cracked across the sky. Thunder rumbled, and the wind picked up, whipping stinging shards of hail into their faces.
Stefan was trying to shout something above the roar of the wind, and Elena huddled closer to him, shielding her head from the hail. "What?" she yelled back.
"Let's go!" he shouted. The hail was coming down faster now, ripping into the ground. Stefan swung Elena into his arms and began to run at top vampire speed for the cover of the trees, wolves and hunters on his tail. Elena peered over Stefan's shoulder to see Matt and Alaric bringing up the rear, their flashlight beams swinging wildly.
There was a flash of bright light all around them and thunder cracked again, closer this time. Stefan backpedaled, Meredith and Jack flinching back just as a tree fell in flames right in front of them. Elena felt the searing heat of the flames on her cheeks, close enough that her hair sizzled. Behind them, another deafening crash resounded as lightning hit and flames rose up, blocking their retreat.
They were all trapped.
Stefan's arms tightened around Elena. Bright ashes were blowing everywhere, setting the grass around them ablaze. She blinked the smoke out of her eyes and tried to see.
Trinity was shouting something, but Elena couldn't hear her over the crackle of the flames. With a grimace, the brown-haired girl pulled some sort of long scythe from the case on her shoulder. As they watched, she began to gouge the ground, tearing up a long strip of sod.
Meredith stared at her for a second, and then began to imitate her, using the sharp edges at the end of her stave to dig a trench.
They're getting rid of the grass so the fire can't get any closer, Elena realized. She struggled out of Stefan's arms and began to pull and yank at the grass as the rest of the hunters lowered their weapons to dig at the ground, making a firebreak. The wolves whined anxiously around them and one-Tristan, Elena thought, squinting through the smoke-gave a low, unhappy howl. She bent her head back down, pulling at the grass.
Hot ash scorched their skin, but soon they had carved out a fireproofed circle of black dirt around them. They stood in a tight group at the center of the firebreak, the wolves on the outer rim, growling at the flames as if they could scare them into submission. A spark flew to land on Meredith's cheek, and she batted it off, wincing with pain. This isn't going to work, Elena realized, her heart sinking. They were still trapped, and Solomon's Power seemed limitless.
But as if the fire were losing interest in them, the flames began to die down, and the storm faded. "He's playing games," she told Stefan, as soon as the smoke had cleared enough for her to speak. "He could have killed us, but he's not trying, not yet. He wants us to be afraid of him."
"I know," Stefan said tightly. He looked down at her, his mouth a narrow line and his green eyes dark with worry. "I'm afraid of what's going to happen when he does try."
"I'm the one he wants," Elena said miserably. "You're all in danger because of me."
Dark steam was still rising from the ground around them. The stench of burning was everywhere.