We won't, she heard Stefan's voice in her head say. I showed him the way to Matt's house, and told him to go there and take Talon and protect the people who will be coming.
At the same time Matt was saying, "Oh, my God! Saber! He saved my life - I can't just leave him."
"Already taken care of,"Stefan reassured him and Elena patted him on the back. "He'l be at your house in a little while, and if you go somewhere else he'l track you."
Elena turned her pats into gentle pushes. "Be good!"
"Matt Honeycutt's bedroom in Fel 's Church,"Meredith said, thrusting the key at the door handle, and opening the door.
She and Mrs. Flowers and Matt al stepped forward. The door shut.
Stefan turned to Elena. "I'm going first,"he said flatly. "But I'm holding on to you. I'm not going to let you go."
"Never let me go, never let me go,"Elena whispered in an imitation of Misao's "Have nightmares."Then she had a thought.
"Slave bracelets!"
"What?"Stefan said. Then, "Oh, I remember, you told me. But what are they supposed to look like?"
"Like any two bracelets, matching if possible."Elena was scrambling around the back of the room, where furniture was piled up, opening drawers, closing them. "Come on, bracelets! Come on! This house is supposed to have everything!"
"What about these things you wear in your hair?"Stefan asked. Elena looked back and he tossed her a bag of soft cotton ponytail holders.
"You're a genius! They won't even hurt my wrists. And here are two white ones so they'l match!"Elena said happily.
They arranged themselves in front of the door, with Stefan to Elena's left so he could see what was out there before they stepped in. He also had a firm grip on Elena's left arm.
"Wherever our friend Bonnie McCul ough is,"Stefan said, and thrust the key into the lockless door handle, turning it. Then, after giving Elena the key, he gingerly opened the door.
Elena wasn't sure what she was expecting. A blaze of light maybe, as they traveled through dimensions. Some kind of spiraling tunnel, or shooting stars. At least a feeling of motion.
What she got was steam. It soaked through her T-shirt and dampened her hair.
And then she got noise.
"Elena! Eleeeeeeeeeeeeeeena! You're here! "
Elena recognized the voice but couldn't locate the screamer in the steam.
Then she saw an immense bathtub made of tiles of malachite, and a frightened-looking girl tending a charcoal fire at the bath's foot, while two other young attendants holding scrubbing brushes and pumice stones cowered against the other wal .
And in the bath was Bonnie! It was obvious that the tub was very deep, because Bonnie wasn't able to touch bottom in the middle but she was half-leaping out of the water like a foam-covered dolphin over and over to attract attention.
"There you are,"gasped Elena. She dropped to her knees on a thick, soft blue rug. Bonnie made a spectacular leap and just for a moment Elena could feel a smal soapy, sudsy body in her arms.
Then Bonnie went down again and came up laughing.
"And is that Stefan? It's Stefan! Stefan, hello! Helloooo! "
Stefan glanced back, as if trying to assess the suds situation. He seemed satisfied with it, turned slightly, and waved.
"Hey, Bonnie?"he asked, voice muffled by the sounds of continual splashing. "Where are we?"
"It's Lady Ulma's house! You're safe - you're al safe!"She turned a smal hopeful face to Elena. "Where's Meredith?"
Elena shook her head, thinking of al the things about Meredith that Bonnie didn't know yet. Well, she decided, this wasn't the time to mention them. "She had to stay behind, to protect Fel 's Church."
"Oh,"Bonnie looked down, troubled. "Stillbad, is it?"
"You wouldn't believe it. Real y; it's - indescribable. That's where Matt and Mrs. Flowers and Meredith are. I'm sorry."
"No, I'm just so glad to see you! Oh my God, but you're hurt."She was looking at the smal tooth wounds on Elena's arm, and the blood on her torn T-shirt. "I'l get out and - hey, no, you get in! There's plenty of room; plenty of hot water, and... plenty of clothes! Lady Ulma even designed some for us, for 'when we came back'!"
Elena, smiling reassuringly at the bath girls, was already stripping as fast as she could. The tub, which was big enough for six to swim in, looked too luxurious to miss and, she reasoned, it made sense to be clean when you greeted your hostess.
"Go have fun,"she shouted to Stefan. "Is Damon here?"she added in a whispered aside to Bonnie, who nodded.
"Damon's here, too,"Elena caroled. "If you find Lady Ulma, tel her Elena's coming, but she's getting washed up first."She didn't actual y dive into the pearl pink steaming water, but she got onto the second step down and let herself slide from there.
Instantly, she was immersed in delicious heat that seeped straight into her body, pul ing some magic string that relaxed al her muscles at once. Perfumes suffused the air. She flung her wet hair back and saw Bonnie laughing at her.
"So you got out of your hole and you've been here wal owing in luxury while we've been worried sick?"Elena couldn't help but hear the way her voice went up at the end, making it a question.
"No, I got picked up by some people, and - "Bonnie broke off. "Well...the first few days were tough, but never mind.
Thank God we got to Lady Ulma's in the end. Want a bath brush? Some soap that smel s just like roses?"
Elena was looking at Bonnie with slightly narrowed eyes.
She knew that Bonnie would do just about anything for Damon. That included covering up for him. Delicately, al the while enjoying the brushes and unguents and many kinds of soaps laid out on a shelf for easy reach, she began an inquisition.