But the fire was out, and the clouds were clearing. Looking up, Elena saw that the moon shone peacefully overhead once more. If not for the damage that had been done to her friends-Jared's fur was ragged and scorched, burned right off in a couple of places, and a long red burn was rising on Darlene's cheek-she could almost believe she'd imagined the whole thing.
Matt coughed, a deep, rattling cough, and waved the smoke away.
"We know he's somewhere," Jack exclaimed, his face smudged with soot. "He's in the area. Even he doesn't have enough Power to do this from too far away. It's the best lead we've ever had, because he's not going to leave-" He broke off.
"Until I'm dead," Elena finished, her voice flat.
Jack winced, looking apologetic.
"We will not use Elena as bait," Stefan said coldly. "Our first priority is keeping her safe."
"But I won't be safe until we find Solomon," Elena told him, guilt stabbing through her chest. Everyone was risking their lives for her, and so far she hadn't been able to do anything to help, despite all her Power. "Look, I haven't been much use in tracking him. I think we should call in Andres. Maybe he can help."
Just thinking of Andres made Elena feel better. He'd taught her how to access and control her Power, but more than that, he was her friend. Andres was wise. He understood Elena, and his Guardian Power, while different from her own, was equally strong.
"We can do this," she told the others, looking at the dying flames all around them. "We're not going to give up until we find Solomon, and kill him."
Chapter 14
The flames burned fiercely, yellow and orange with a flash of cold azure at the base. Frowning with concentration, Bonnie refused to be pulled into their hypnotic patterns. She clutched her falcon charm tight in one hand and breathed deeply, calling upon the stone's properties.
The charm Damon had given her was made of blue lace agate, which contained the properties of tranquility, and balance between mind, body, and spirit. This balance allowed Bonnie to access more Power than she'd ever dreamed of.
The falcon was cool in her palm, the sharp points of its beak and claws almost painful as she clutched it, yet somehow the little sharp pricks were reassuring. Bonnie could feel her own energy flowing into the stone and then circling back to her, calmer and steadier. After a few moments, she turned this Power outward to the flames, as easily as flipping a switch.
The flames flickered once and then went out.
Bonnie's new friends burst into applause and came up to congratulate her. Poppy squeezed her shoulders in a side hug, while Rick thumped her enthusiastically on the back. Marilise, always more reticent, hung back, but the smile on her face was one of pure delight. Bonnie smiled back at her proudly.
"Bonnie, that was amazing!" Alysia was grinning so widely that her freckles flowed together in little islands of brown across her cheeks. "I can't believe how far you've come in such a short time!"
Bonnie really couldn't believe it either. Finding her working stone had been a big step. The fact that it had come from the necklace Damon had sent her for her birthday couldn't be a coincidence. Sometimes he knew things about her; she was sure of it.
During the short time she had been with this group, she'd learned so much. Rick had turned out to know more about astrology and the influence of the stars and planets than anyone Bonnie had ever met. Marilise grew her own herbs at her cottage in North Carolina and had, in her gentle, quiet way, shown Bonnie helpful new ways of using them. And Poppy could see the future in crystal balls and cards-with more control than Bonnie had ever had over her own visions.
Tonight they, and all the other groups, had gotten a chance to demonstrate their new skills to everyone else.
Now Bonnie, full of gratitude, pulled Alysia into a spontaneous hug. "Thank you," she said. "If you hadn't talked me into coming here, I never could have done that. Every day, I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger."
Alysia's grin spread even wider, and she squeezed Bonnie back affectionately. "I'm glad you're here. You're making me look good." She stuck out her tongue playfully at an older man on the other side of the room, and he threw back his head and laughed. There was a core group of five who had organized the retreat, and each was in charge of mentoring a group of recruits. Alysia had said there was a friendly rivalry among the core group as to whose proteges would learn the most.
Bonnie glanced around the massive apartment, which had seemed so frightening at first but was now almost cozy, full of magic. It took up three floors of the building, complete with balconies and a roof deck. It felt like an expensive, grown-up version of a college dorm, Bonnie thought, communal and built for temporary living rather than someone's home.
"And now for the feast!" Alysia exclaimed, leading Bonnie to the dining room as the others followed. "It's a celebration," she explained. "So we threw together something special."
A wall of windows covered one wall of the dining room, looking out over the car headlights tracing a river of light far below. Alysia had created one of her beautiful illusions-pale flower petals falling ceaselessly from the ceiling, disappearing before they hit the floor.
The long table in the center of the room was heaped with food: a hodgepodge of everyone's favorites, from roast chicken to curry to peanut brittle to a bright pile of stir-fried vegetables. "Yum," Bonnie said and took a seat. "It's like a magic menu."
"I wish," Alysia said, rolling her eyes. "We were working on this all afternoon."
Bonnie was reaching for a platter of pork chops when her phone rang. Zander. "Oh, I need to take this. I'll be right back," she said, excusing herself and slipping out of the dining room.