Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 18

That night, Damon invited me to play cards with whatever of his pass friends, who were camped disclose for the moment in Lees township, twenty miles away.I may not agree with them, only when damn, fire they play a swell hand and drink a good pint, Damon said.Id found myself agreeing, eager to avoid tiro and either questions well-nigh vampires. nevertheless by the time twilight rollight-emitting diode roughly and I hadnt seen any sign of Katherine or Emily, I wished that I hadnt agreed to accompany Damon. My idea was still jumbled, and I wanted a night with Katherine to reassure me that my impulse was leading me in the right direction. I loved her, but the practical, level placeed side of me was having trouble disobeying Father.Ready? Damon asked, clad in his Confederate uniform, when he halt by my bed get on at twilight.I nodded. It was too juvenile to say no.Good. He grinned and clattered down the stairs. I glanced wistfully by the window toward the carriage ho expen diture, indeed followed him.Were going out to the camp, Damon yelled as we passed by Fathers study.Wait Father emerged from the study into the living room, several huge branches filled with tiny, lilac-like purple flowers in his arms. Vervain. Wear this, he commanded, tucking a sprig into each of our breast pockets.Y shouldnt have, Father, Damon saidou tersely, as he force the sprig out of his pocket and shoved it into his breeches pocket.Ive given you latitude, son, and given you a roof. Now all I ask is that you do this, Father said, slamming his substantive fist into his palm so hard, I saw him wince. conveyfully, Damon, usually so quick to pounce at any sign of weakness, didnt notice.Fine, Father. Damon shrugged easily and sprinkle his arms as if in defeat. I would be honored to play out your flower for you.Fathers eyes flickered with rage, but he didnt say anyaffair. Instead, he simply broke off another sprig and tucked it into Damons coat pocket.Thank you, I mumbled as I accepted my own branch. My statement of thank was less for the flower and more for Father showing mercy on Damon.Be careful, boys, Father said, before retreating to his study.Damon rolled his eyes as we walked outside.Y shouldnt be so hard on him, I mumbled,ou shivering in the night air. The summer-like day had become a chilly fall evening, but the mist that had been everywhere last night had lifted, giving us a been everywhere last night had lifted, giving us a crystal-clear go out of the moon.Why not? Hes hard on us. Damon snorted as he led the way to the stable. Mezzanotte and Jake were already bridled and stamping their hooves impatiently. I had Alfred get everything ready. Thought wed need a quick getaway.Damon swung his leg over Jakes back, then galloped him down the path and cancelled in the direction opposite of town. We rode in silence for at least(prenominal) a half hour. With just the sound of the hooves and the sight of the moon peeking through and through the den se foliage, it felt like we were riding into a dream.Finally, we began to hear sounds of flutes playacting and laughter and the occasional gunshot. Damon directed us up over a hill toward a clearing. Tents were set up all over, and a genus Piper played in the corner. Men were walking around, and dogs were stationed at the entrance. It was as if wed arrived at a mysterious, hidden party.Hello, sir? Two Confederate soldiers came up to us, their rifles pointed toward us. Mezzanotte took a hardly a(prenominal) steps back and whinnied nervously.Soldier Damon Salvatore, sir Here on vary from ecumenic Grooms camp down in Atlanta.Immediately, the two soldiers relaxed their rifles and tipped their hats at us. gentle bout that, soldier. Were gearin up for battle, and were losing our men like flies, before they even hit the battlefield, the taller soldier said, stepping up to pat Jake.Y and not because of typhus, the other,es, smaller, mustachioed soldier said, ostensibly pleased to shar e this information with us.Killings? Damon asked tersely.Howd you k straightway? the first guard asked, accident his rifle. I glanced at the ground, unsure what to do. I felt that Damon was getting us into a dangerous situation, but I didnt get what I could do to fix it. My brother and I are coming from Mystic Falls, Damon said, foolish his thumb back as if to prove that was the direction we came from. The next town over, past the forest. Weve had some of our own trouble. People are saying its some type of animal.Not unless its an animal that only goes for the pharynx and leaves the rest of the trunk untouched, the mustachioed soldier said knowledgeably, his tiny eyes flicking back and forwards between us.Hmm, Damon said, sounding suddenly uninterested. But then he changed the subject. any good games of poker going on tonight?Right there in that clearing by the oak trees. The small soldier pointed a little ways off into the distance.Have a good evening, then. I thank you for your help, Damon said with exaggerated politeness. We walked in the direction the soldier pointed, until Damon stopped abruptly at a small circle of soldiers, huddled around a fire and playacting cards.Hello Soldier Damon Salvatore on leave from General Grooms boys, Damon said confidently as he slid off his ply and glanced around the panoramas lit up by the campfire. This is my brother, Stefan. Can we be dealt in?One ginger-haired soldier glanced at an older, grand-fatherly type whose arm was in a sling. He shrugged and gestured for us to sit on one of the logs set up around the fire. Dont see why not.Adrenaline seeped through my veins as we colonized down and took our hands. Mine was good two aces and a king. I outright threw in some rumpled notes from my pocket, making a bet with myself. If I won money, then everything would be fine with Katherine. And if I didnt, then well, I didnt want to think about it.All in, I said confidently. later we settled the game, I wasnt surpri sed to emerge as the victor. I smiled as I took the pile of money and carefully put it in my pocket. I grinned in relief, finally feeling sure in my love for Katherine. I imagined what Katherine would say. Smart Stefan, maybe. Savvy Stefan. Or maybe shed simply laugh, showing her flannel teeth, and allow me to take her into my arms and twirl her around and around the room. We played several more hands afterward that, during which I bemused the money I had won, but I didnt care. The first hand had been the test, and now my heart and mind felt remarkably light.What are you thinking? Damon asked, winning a flask from his pocket. He held it toward me, and I took a long swig.The whiskey burned going down my throat, but I still crave more. It didnt seem that any of the other soldiers were up for another hand. The five we were playing with had drifted off to chew tobacco, drink more whiskey, or tearfully shed about their sweethearts back home.Come on, brother, you can tell me, Damon encouraged. He took the flask, swigged from it, then passed it back toward me.I took another, deeper drink and paused. Should I tell him? Any wavering I had earlier had disappeared. After all, he was my brother. Well, I was thinking about how different Katherine is than any other girl Ive met , I began evasively. I knew I was treading into dangerous territory, but part of me was dying to know whether Damon also knew Katherines secret. I took another sip of whiskey and coughed.Hows she different? Damon asked, a smile slew on his lips.Well, I mean shes not, I said, sobering up as I frantically tried to backtrack. I just meant that I spy that she is noticed that she isThat shes a vampire? Damon interrupted.My breath caught in my throat, and I blinked. I glanced around nervously. People were drinking, laughing, counting their winnings.But Damon was simply sitting there, the selfsame(prenominal) smile on his lips. I couldnt understand how he was smiling. And then a new, darker thoug ht appeared in my mind. How did Damon know that Katherine was who she was? Had she told him? And had it been the same way, in the misty predawn, in bed? I shuddered.So shes a vampire. What of it? Shes still Katherine. Damon call oned to anticipate at me, urgency in his dark-brown eyes. And you wont say anything to Father. Hes half nutcase as it is, Damon said as he scuffed his boot against the ground.How did you find out? I couldnt stop myself from asking.Suddenly, a shot was fired.Soldier down a uniformed boy who looked to be about fourteen yelled as he charged from tent to tent. Soldier down Attack out(p) into the woodsDamons face paled. I need to help. Y littleou, brother, go home.Are you sure? I asked, feeling torn and suddenly frightened.Damon nodded tersely. If Father asks, I drank too much at the saloon and am sleeping it off somewhere. Another shot was fired, and Damon took off into the woods, blending into the sea of soldiers.Go Damon yelled. I ran in the opposite dire ction to the now-abandoned camp and dug my heels into Mezzanotte, susurrus in her velvety ears and imploring her to go swift.Mezzanotte rode through the forest faster than she ever had before once across the Wickery Bridge, she turned, as if she knew exactly how to head home. But then she reared and whinnied. I held on with my thighs and saw a dull figure with golden-brown hair, arm-in-arm with another girl.I stiffened. No women would be out after dark unaccompanied by a man in the scoop of circumstances, but definitely not in these times. Not with the vampire attacks.The face turned, and in the reflection on the water I saw a pale, pointed face. Katherine. She was escorting little Anna from the apothecary. All I could see were the dark vines of Annas curls, bouncing over her shoulders.Katherine I yelled from the horse, with a strength I did not know I possessed. Now, instead of wanting to hold her, I wanted to use my arms to restrain her, to make her stop carrying out the awful thing she was about to do. I felt bile rise in my throat as I imagined finding a jagged branch and ramming it into her chest. Katherine didnt turn around. She held Annas shoulders tighter and led her into the forest. I kicked Mezzanotte hard on the flanks, the wind whipping against my face as I desperately tried to catch up with them.