It's all over. All done now, Stefan thought to her and Elena suddenly felt something different. She felt pride. Stefan had simply taken charge and chased the officers away.
Thank you, she thought to Stefan.
"I guess we'd better get Matt out of the root cel ar,"she added.
Matt was unhappy. "Thanks for hiding me - but do you know how long that was?"he demanded of Elena when they were upstairs again. "And no light except what was in that little star bal . And no sound - I couldn't hear a thing down there. And what is this?"He held out the long, heavy wooden staff, with its strangely shaped, spiked ends.
Elena felt sudden panic. "You didn't cut yourself, did you?"She snatched up Matt's hands, letting the long staff fal to the ground. But Matt didn't seem to have a single scratch.
"I wasn't dumb enough to hold it by the ends,"he said.
"Meredith did, for some reason,"Elena said. "Her palms were covered with wounds. And I don't even know what it is."
"I do,"Stefan said quietly. He picked up the stave. "But it's Meredith's secret real y. I mean it's Meredith's property,"he added hastily as al eyes fixed on him at the word secret.
"Well, I'm not blind,"Matt said in his frank, straightforward way, flipping back some fair hair in order to look more closely at the thing. He raised blue eyes to Elena. "I know what it smells like, which is vervain. And I know what it looks like with al those silver and iron spikes coming out of the sharp ends. It looks like a giant staff for exterminating every kind of Godawful Hel acious monster that walks on this earth."
"And vampires, too,"Elena added hastily. She knew that Stefan was in a funny mood and she definitely didn't want to see Matt, for whom she stil cared deeply, lying on the floor with a crushed skul . "And even humans - I think these bigger spikes are for injecting poison."
"Poison?"Matt looked at his own palms hastily.
"You're okay,"Elena said. "I checked you, and besides it would be a very quick-acting poison."
"Yes, they would want to take you out of the fight as fast as possible,"Stefan said. "So if you're alive now, you're likely to stay that way. And now, this Godawful Hel acious monster just wants to get back up to bed."He turned to go to the attic.
He must have heard Elena's swift, involuntarily indrawn breath, because he turned around and she could see that he was sorry. His eyes were dark emerald, sad but blazing with unused Power.
I think we'l have a late morning, Elena thought, feeling pleasurable thril s ripple through her. She squeezed Stefan's hand, and felt him return the pressure. She could see what he had in mind; they were close enough and he was projecting pretty clearly what he wanted - and she was as eager to get upstairs as he was.
But at that moment Matt, eyes on the wickedly spiked staff, said, "Meredith has something to do with that?"
"I should never have said anything at al about it,"Stefan replied. "But if you want to know more, you'd real y better ask Meredith herself. Tomorrow."
"Al right,"Matt said, final y seeming to understand. Elena was way ahead of him. A weapon like that was - could only be -
for kil ing al sorts of monsters walking the earth. And Meredith - Meredith who was as slim and athletic as a bal erina with a black belt, and oh! Those lessons! The lessons that Meredith had always put off if the girls were doing something at that exact moment, but that she always somehow managed to make time for.
But a girl could hardly be expected to carry a harpsichord around with her and nobody else had one. Besides, Meredith had said she hated to play, so her BFFs had let it go at that.
It was al part of the Meredith mystique.
And riding lessons? Elena would bet some of them were genuine. Meredith would want to know how to make a quick escape mounting anything available.
But if Meredith wasn't practicing for a little light music in the drawing room, or for starring in a Hol ywood Western - then what would she have been doing?
Training, Elena guessed. There were a lot of dojos out there, and if Meredith had been doing this since that vampire attacked her grandfather she must be pretty darn good. And when we've fought grisly things, whose eyes have ever been on her, a soft gray shadow that kept out of the limelight? A lot of monsters probably got knocked out but good.
The only question that needed to be answered was why Meredith hadn't shown them the Godawful Hel acious monster staker or used it in any fights - say against Klaus -
until now. And Elena didn't know, but she could ask Meredith herself. Tomorrow, when Meredith was up. But she trusted that it had some simple answer.
Elena tried to stifle a yawn in a ladylike way. Stefan? she asked. Can you get us out of here - without picking me up - and to your room?
"I think we've al had enough stress this morning,"Stefan said in his own gentle voice. "Mrs. Flowers, Meredith is in the first-floor bedroom - she'l probably sleep very late. Matt - "
"I know, I know. I don't know where the schedule went but I might as well make it my night."Matt presented an arm to Stefan.
Stefan looked surprised. Darling, you can never have too much blood, Elena thought to him, seriously and straightforwardly.
"Mrs. Flowers and I wil be in the kitchen,"she said aloud.
When they were there, Mrs. Flowers said, "Don't forget to thank Stefan for defending the boardinghouse for me."
"He did it because it's our home,"Elena said, and went back into the hal , where Stefan was thanking a flushing Matt.
And then Mrs. Flowers cal ed Matt into the kitchen and Elena found herself swooped up in lithe, hard arms and then they were gaining altitude rapidly, with the wood staircase emitting little creaks and groans of protest. And final y they were in Stefan's room and Elena was in Stefan's arms.