Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 18

That dark, Damon invited me to play cards with some(prenominal) of his soldier friends, who were camped disclose for the moment in Leestown, twenty miles away.I may non agree with them, and damn, can they play a good hand and drink a good pint, Damon said.Id found myself agreeing, eager to avoid come and any questions about vampires. however by the time twilight rolled around and I hadnt seen any sign of Katherine or Emily, I wished that I hadnt agreed to accompany Damon. My mind was cool off jumbled, and I fateed a night with Katherine to reas indisputable me that my desire was leading me in the right direction. I loved her, moreover the practical, sensible side of me was having smother disobeying Father.Ready? Damon asked, clad in his Confederate uniform, when he stopped by my bedroom at twilight.I nodded. It was too late to say no.Good. He grinned and clattered down the stairs. I glanced wistfully out the window toward the carriage house, then followed him.Were going ou t to the camp, Damon yelled as we passed by Fathers report.Wait Father emerged from the study into the living room, several long branches filled with tiny, lilac-like purple charges 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 plucked 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 meaty fist into his palm so voiceless, I saying him wince. Thankfully, Damon, usually so quick to pounce at any sign of weakness, didnt notice.Fine, Father. Damon shrugged easily and spreadhead his arms as if in defeat. I would be honored to wear your flower for you.Fathers eyes flickered with rage, but he didnt say anything. 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 thanks was less for the flower and more for Father showing mercy on Damon.Be c areful, boys, Father said, before retreating to his study.Damon rolled his eyes as we walked outside.Y shouldnt be so serious on him, I mumbled,ou shivering in the night air. The summer-like day had become a c hillocky 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 view 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 itinerary and glum in the direction opposite of town. We rode in silence for at least a half hour. With just the sound of the hooves and the sight of the moon peeking by mean(a)s of the dense foliage, it matt-up like we were riding into a d ream.Finally, we began to hear sounds of flutes playing and laughter and the occasional gun fissure. Damon directed us up over a hill toward a glade. Tents were laid up all over, and a 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, clandestine party. howdy, sir? Two Confederate soldiers came up to us, their rifles pointed toward us. Mezzanotte took a few steps back and whinnied nervously.Soldier Damon Salvatore, sir Here on leave from General Grooms camp down in Atlanta.Immediately, the two soldiers relaxed their rifles and tipped their hats at us.Sorry 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, obviously pleased to share this information with us.Killings? Damon asked tersely.Howd you know? the first guard asked, stroking 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 know what I could do to fix it. My brother and I are coming from transcendental Falls, Damon said, jerking 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 throat and leaves the rest of the body untouched, the mustachioed soldier said knowledgeably, his tiny eyes flicking back and forth betwixt 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 overdraw politeness. We walked in the direction the so ldier pointed, until Damon stopped abruptly at a small circle of soldiers, huddled around a fire and playing cards.Hello Soldier Damon Salvatore on leave from General Grooms boys, Damon said confidently as he slid off his horse and glanced around the faces lit up by the campfire. This is my brother, Stefan. croup 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 settled down and took our work force. Mine was good two aces and a king. I today 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.After we settled the game, I wasnt surprised to emerge as the victor. I smiled as I took the kitty 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 white teeth, and allow me to take her into my arms and twirl her around and around the room. We played several more hands after that, during which I lost 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, taking 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 lock craved 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 express 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 hesitation 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 curving on his lips.Well, I mean shes not, I said, sobering up as I frantically tried to backtrack. I just meant that I noticed that she is noticed that she isThat shes a vampire? Damon interrupted.My breather 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 same smile on his lips. I couldnt understand how he was smiling. And then a new, darker thought 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 turned to look at me, urgency in his dark-brown eyes. And you wont say anything to Father. Hes half crazy 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 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 direction to the now-abandoned camp and dug my heels into Mezzanotte, whispering in her velvety ears and imploring her to go faster. 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 shadowy 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 best 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.