"That's Solomon," Zander said, cocking his head to one side. "Definitely. But the poster says Gabriel Dalton. I don't understand."
"When Meredith told me that you guys thought Solomon had possessed Trinity before he died, it didn't quite make sense," Alaric told them. "Possession doesn't work like that. If Solomon had his own corporeal body, the shock of it being destroyed would have jolted him right back out of Trinity. I thought something else might be going on, so ..." He spread his hands, his eyes on the smiling photo of Gabriel Dalton. "I did some research. I think Solomon body-swapped into Trinity's body from Gabriel Dalton's, pulled her spirit out, and put his own in. The body we saw wasn't his original form either."
"This is proof that Solomon's done it before," Meredith said. "The body Solomon was using was once someone else's."
"So who did we kill in Solomon's-or, Gabriel's, body?" Jack asked, looking grim. "This Gabriel Dalton? Trinity?"
Alaric spread his hands in a who knows? gesture. "I think Gabriel Dalton's been dead for a while. Solomon wouldn't leave any loose ends, and if someone believed they were Gabriel Dalton in another form, it would make things ... messier for him."
Stefan felt ill. Abruptly, he reached again for the door handle and hurried out of the van. He felt the others startle behind him, then follow toward the hunters' storage locker. There's nothing you can do about it now, he told himself. There was a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd thought killing Solomon was a triumph, but instead he'd murdered an innocent ally. He didn't want to believe it, but it felt true.
Jack fell into step beside him.
"I killed Trinity," Stefan said, defeated. Everything had happened so fast; he'd been so focused on killing Solomon, on ending all this.
"There's no way you could have known," Jack said roughly. "And Trinity was a good hunter; she knew the risks." He twisted a ring on his finger with an angry, abrupt gesture. "The important thing is that we know what form Solomon's in now. We should act quickly before he has time to swap into a body we don't know." He glanced back at Elena cautiously, then slowed to let her catch up. "Can you do that thing Andres did? Channeling life force?"
Elena stopped dead and stared at him, aghast. "You mean kill her?" she asked angrily. "No. I won't. There's no proof that Trinity isn't still in there. She could be possessed, helpless while her spirit is controlled by Solomon." The others came up beside them, their faces worried.
A muscle at the side of Jack's mouth twitched, and Stefan broke in. "What do you suggest we do, Elena?" he asked. "Alaric believes this is a case of body-swapping, and Solomon's too powerful for us not to go after him with everything we have. If we hesitate, we put everyone in danger."
Elena's eyes narrowed. "By everyone, you mean me," she said tartly. "But Trinity matters, too. We need to capture her, not kill her. We can't kill her unless we're completely sure she's gone, that there's no trace of her left in her body."
His jaw clenching, Stefan glared back at her. For a moment, he felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of them. "You're not the only one threatened here," he said, his voice tense. "Think of Andres. We can't risk everyone to save one person who is probably already dead."
"Yes, we can," Elena insisted. "We don't sacrifice innocent people to keep ourselves safe. That's not us, Stefan."
They stared at each other, Elena flushed and breathing hard.
"If there's a chance Trinity's still in there ..." Darlene said slowly.
"She was a good hunter," Jack said again. "Trinity would give anything if it meant we killed Solomon."
There was a slight shifting in the room, as the group began to realize that there were two distinct sides, and they would all have to pick one. Jack agreed with him, Stefan knew: The risks of trying to capture Solomon without killing him were too high.
He'd fought with Elena before, over personal things, over Damon, but never over what the right course of action was. Looking at her outraged face, Stefan knew that if he ignored her, if he succeeded in killing Trinity, Elena might never forgive him. He could side with Elena, or he could keep her safe.
Either way, he might lose her forever.
Chapter 23
Meredith's eyes watered, blurring the harsh white lights, and she tried to turn her face away. But she was stuck fast.
This was worse than being held by Solomon's Power. She could feel the multitude of tiny wires pressing against her skin, holding her in their trap. Heart pounding, she strained against them, trying desperately to move. But after a moment she gave up, letting her muscles go slack. It was only a dream, and soon she would wake up.
It just felt so real. The table-she was almost sure now that it was an operating table, and that thought started a cold dread in the pit of her stomach-was hard beneath her. Peering through the corners of her watering eyes, she could make out the blurry shape of something cylindrical and silver by her bedside. An oxygen canister, maybe? Was this a hospital?
The thought made her forget to be calm. She struggled harder, trying to wake herself up. Meredith had always hated hospitals.
As she pushed desperately against her restraints, a shrill beeping sped up, faster and faster. A heart rate monitor.
There was a shadow moving in the corner. Meredith stopped thrashing about and strained to see, the heart monitor slowing a little. There was no doubt about it this time. It was a person-shadowy, but getting closer.
With a sudden step, the figure moved to stand above her, anonymous in a surgical mask and white lab coat. Meredith blinked, trying to focus, but the person's face was still blurry. Something sharp and metallic flashed in the stranger's hand.