Jack didn’t want any competition for his lab-created race of vampires. So he set out to eliminate the most dangerous vampires, the oldest ones. Not just the ancient Old Ones, but also the clever, long-lived vampires who have lasted a few centuries. Vampires like Katherine and Damon. Like Stefan.
Jack used us all—my Guardian Power, Stefan and Meredith’s fighting ability, Bonnie’s magic—as weapons against Solomon. The Old One was too well hidden for Jack to find on his own. But once Solomon was dead, Stefan was just another obstacle in Jack’s way.
We don’t know where Jack is now, or what he’s planning next. The hunters who traveled with him—Trinity, Darlene, and Alex—were as fooled by him as we were. They’ve left town, trying to track Jack. But they haven’t got a clue where he might be.
Elena swallowed hard and wiped her eyes again with the sleeve of her bathrobe.
Meredith and Damon don’t think Jack’s really gone at all. A few days ago, Meredith fought one of his strange synthetic vampires. The vampire escaped, and Meredith barely survived. Is Jack continuing his experiments here in Dalcrest?
I should care. I should want vengeance. But instead, I’m numb.
Without Stefan, it’s like I’m dead, too.
A key rattled in the lock of the front door, and Elena looked up from her computer screen to see Damon coming in. The cold apartment warmed a bit, as if the sleek, dark-haired vampire had brought some of the late summer breeze into the air-conditioned room. He seemed to get smaller as he came in, though, hunching his shoulders. Through the bond between them, Elena sensed his wistful ache at finding himself once again surrounded by Stefan’s possessions, resenting the reminder that his brother was gone.
“You’ve been feeding,” she commented, looking at the near-human flush of his cheeks.
“If you want to call it that.” Damon curled his lip in disgust. “Stefan’s animal diet is utterly vile, just as I always suspected.”
Elena flinched, and Damon glanced up, his face falling. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I shouldn’t—” She could see her own pain at the mention of Stefan reflected in his eyes.
“It’s okay,” she said, shaking her head hard. “You should be able to say his name, he’s your brother. I just—” Tears were rising up in her eyes again, and she willed them back. She needed to stop crying.
Damon took her hand, his fingers cool and smooth. “I promise you that Jack will pay,” he said quietly, his eyes as dark as night. “Whatever it takes.”
A wave of panic hit Elena, knocking the breath out of her, and she clutched Damon’s hand between hers. “No,” she said. “Damon, you have to be careful. Even if it means letting Jack go.”
Damon stiffened, his dark eyes fixed on hers. “We promised each other we would take vengeance on Jack,” he said firmly. “We owe it to Stefan.”
Elena shook her head. “I can’t lose you, too.” She hated the weak waver in her voice, but she straightened her shoulders and looked at Damon levelly, her face resolute. Sometimes it felt like Damon’s presence was the thin barrier between her and madness. Damon was the only one who understood, who’d really loved Stefan as deeply as she had.
Every night, she heard Damon’s soft footfalls pacing through the apartment, living room to kitchen to hall, hesitating sometimes outside her bedroom but never coming in, even when she yearned for his comfort. Guarding her as he wandered, and also pacing out the slow beats of his own sorrow, unable to settle. The thought of Damon falling like Stefan had, his handsome face suddenly blank and still, made Elena’s heart pound frantically. “Please, Damon,” she begged.
His eyes softening, Damon sighed and brushed a finger gently over her knuckles, then pulled his hand back quickly, his jaw tightening. “I won’t do anything foolish. Remember, I’m good at taking care of myself.”
Elena started to nod gratefully, then paused as she thought through what he’d said. He hadn’t promised to stay out of danger, not really. “You can’t kill anyone,” she reminded him stubbornly. “The Guardians told you, if you kill anyone, I’ll die. So there’s not much point in looking for revenge.”
Damon smiled without humor, his features sharp. “Vampires aren’t human,” he said. “I can kill Jack, and I will.”
Elena let go of his hand. Damon would never stop hunting Jack.
Damon would die on this hunt, she was sure of it. And then Elena would truly have nothing.
Damon paced across Elena’s living room, glaring at the afternoon sunlight stretching through the windows and across the floor. When he’d woken from his restless sleep an hour earlier, the apartment had already been empty.