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“Please,” Elena said softly. She felt oddly as if she was rolling over to show her own underbelly, appeasing the vicious old vampire. “We need to kill Jack now. We want the same thing you do. ” Her Guardian instincts were chanting kill her kill her now, but Elena swallowed them back and smiled at the vampire.
The edges of Siobhan’s lips curled up in a smile, and her eyes gleamed with triumph. “Take me with you. ”
Damon shot Elena a look. His distrust of Siobhan came clearly through their bond.
Elena hesitated, and Siobhan’s smile widened. “Take me with you,” she said again. “The only way you’re getting the poison is if I can watch Henrik die. ”
Damon was right; they couldn’t trust her. But they didn’t have a choice, not if they wanted Siobhan’s secret. She swallowed hard and said, as evenly as she could, “Okay. Let’s go. ”
As they headed for the exit, Damon’s eyes met Elena’s. She could feel the same apprehension bubbling through them both. Siobhan was clearly vicious and unstable. What kind of ally would she be?
For now, they needed her. But as soon as Jack was dead, Elena promised inwardly, soothing her restless Guardian Power, she would kill Siobhan herself.
Chapter 28
The drive back had been far too long, Damon thought, even though they’d taken a straight route home instead of the wandering path that had led them to the caverns. In the back seat, Siobhan had grumbled constantly, complaining about the movement of the car, the confined space, the smells of gasoline and oil.
For his part, Damon had hardly been able to stand the smell of drying blood from her face and clothing. It made his teeth ache with hunger.
“It’s almost daylight,” she said now, as Damon took the side road that would lead them to Jack’s warehouse lair. “If the sun reaches inside this car, I’ll be sure to bring you both down with me. ” Her tilted pale eyes were commanding, staring at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“We’ll be in before dawn, and the warehouse doesn’t have any windows,” he told her reassuringly. “We can cover you with something to get you out after Jack’s dead. ”
That would be a good way to kill her, he mused. A quick shove into the sunlight, a protecting blanket ripped away, and they’d be free of Siobhan before she could turn on them. He glanced at Elena, wondering if she’d caught the image through their bond.
But Elena was leaning forward, peering through the windshield at the warehouse. “Good, they’re already here. ”
The others were waiting in a parking lot across the highway from Jack’s warehouse, far enough away that Jack’s vampires wouldn’t be able to hear them coming. Meredith, tall and poised, stood half-concealed in the shadows, her eyes shining in the reflected glare of their headlights. As the car turned into the lot, she raised a hand in greeting. Beside her was Alaric, his hands crammed into his pockets. A little behind them, Damon glimpsed two curly heads. Bonnie and Jasmine.
No Zander, no Pack. His little redbird had seemed strained the last time he saw her; there must be trouble in paradise. It was a pity. They could have used the wolves.
Damon dismissed the thought. They’d work with what they had. He parked the car, and he and Elena crossed the parking lot to their friends, Siobhan stalking behind them. There was a cold feeling on the back of Damon’s neck. He didn’t like not being able to see Siobhan’s every move.
“What a lot of humans,” Siobhan said. “Will we feed before we kill Jack?”
“No,” Damon said firmly, and the older vampire gave an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.
“Jack’s in there,” Meredith said, as soon as they got close, jerking her head toward the warehouse on the other side of the highway.
“Oh, she’s one of Henrik’s nasty creations,” Siobhan said, sounding disgusted. “She’s not even real. ” Meredith’s hand clenched on her stave.
Damon shook his head, and Meredith loosened her grip. She looked pale and drawn, which answered one question he’d had. She hadn’t been drinking human blood, not since she came back from Jack’s group. He hadn’t had anything but animal blood either, not since he’d fed from Elena. Neither of them were going to be at their best for this fight.
Still, they just had to overpower Jack long enough to inject him with the poison. And to rescue Matt, Damon supposed.
“Give me the poison,” he said, holding his hand out to Siobhan. She cocked her eyebrow at him. “Please. ” She hesitated for a moment and then reached into her pocket and drew out a vial of dark liquid. She’d had it hidden somewhere at the back of the cave among her corpses. She hadn’t let them see exactly where.
Damon waited. Siobhan turned the vial over in her hands, watching the liquid flow back and forth. Her eyes were hooded and thoughtful.
She’s not going to hand it over. Damon sighed inwardly, preparing himself for the fight. Siobhan, freshly full of human blood, would be stronger than he was, but at least she was outnumbered.
“I don’t know,” Siobhan said slowly. “I’ve been waiting a long time to kill Henrik. And it was very clever of me to find the poison. This is mine. ”
“Please,” Elena said. “Siobhan, you’ve been following him for so long. It must be a burden. Let us help you. ”
The two pairs of blue eyes met squarely, and Damon was reminded of generals on a battlefield. They weren’t friends, would never be friends, but they had a common cause.
Siobhan broke their exchanged gaze first. With a scornful curl of her lip, she gave Damon the vial, her fingers cool as they brushed against his.
