Midnight

Her terror soared, and at the same time Stefan shouted, "Get out of here! Out of the house! Go to somewhere safe!"

Elena and Meredith stared at each other, paralyzed. They were on different teams, but they couldn’t seem to let go of each other. Then Meredith snapped out of it and turned to the back of the kitchen to help Mrs. Flowers. Matt was already there, doing the same thing.

And then Elena found herself swept off her feet and moving fast. Stefan had her and was running toward the front door.

Distantly, she heard Shinichi shout, "Bring me back their bones!"

One of the maggots that Elena batted out of the way burst its skin and Elena saw something crawling out. These real y were malach, she realized. Smal er editions of the one that had swal owed Matt’s arm and left those long, deep scratches when he pul ed it out again.

She noticed that one was stuck on Stefan’s back. Reckless with fury, she grabbed it near one end and ripped it off, yanking relentlessly even though Stefan gasped in pain.

When it came free she got a glimpse of what looked like dozens of smal children’s teeth on the bottom side. She threw it against a wal as they reached the front door.

There they almost col ided with Matt, Meredith, and Mrs.

Flowers, coming through the den. Stefan wrenched the door open and when they al were through Meredith slammed it shut. A few malach – grubs and Still-wet flying ones – made it out with them.

"Where’s safe?"snapped Meredith. "I mean, real y safe, safe for a couple of days?"Neither she nor Matt had released their grip on Mrs. Flowers and from their speed Elena guessed that she must be almost as light as a straw figure. She kept saying, "My goodness! Oh, gracious!"

"My house?"Matt suggested. "The block’s bad, but it was okay the last time I saw it, and my mom’s gone with Dr.

Alpert."

"Okay, Matt’s house – using the Master Keys. But let’s do it from the storage room. I do not want to open this front door again, no matter what,"Elena said.

When Stefan tried to pick her up she shook her head. "I’m fine. Run as fast as you can and smash any malach you see."

They made it to the storage room, but now a sound like vipvipvip – a sort of high-pitched buzzing that could only have been produced by the malach – was fol owing them.

"What now?"Matt panted, helping Mrs. Flowers to sit on the bed.

Stefan hesitated. "Is your house real y safe, do you think?"

"Is anywhere safe? But it’s empty, or it should be."

Meanwhile, Meredith drew Elena and Mrs. Flowers aside. To Elena’s horror, Meredith was holding one of the smal er grubs, gripping it so that its underside was turned upward.

"Oh, God – "Elena protested, but Meredith said, "They look a lot like a little kid’s teeth, don’t they?"

Suddenly Mrs. Flowers became animated. "They do indeed!

And you’re saying that the femur we found in the thicket – "

"Yes. It was certainly human but maybe not chewed by humans. Human children,"Meredith said.

"And Shinichi yel ed to the malach to bring back our bones…"Elena said and swal owed. Then she looked at the grub again. "Meredith, get rid of that thing somehow! It’s going to pop out as a flying malach."

Meredith looked around the storage room blankly.

"Okay – just drop it and I’l step on it,"Elena said, holding her breath to hold in her nausea.

Meredith dropped the fat, translucent, black thing, which exploded on impact. Elena stamped on it, but the malach inside didn’t crush. Instead, when she lifted her foot, it tried to skitter under the bed. The stave cut it cleanly in two.

"Guys,"Elena said sharply to Matt and Stefan, "we have to go now. Outside are a bunch of flying malach!"

Matt turned toward her. "Like the one that – "

"Smal er, but just like the one that attacked you, I think."

"Okay, here’s what we figured out,"Stefan said in a way that immediately made Elena uneasy. "Somebody has to go to the Dark Dimension anyway to check on Bonnie. I guess I’m the only one to do that, since I’m a vampire. You couldn’t get in – "

"Yes, we could,"Meredith said. "With these keys, we could just say ‘Take us to Lady Ulma’s house in the Dark Dimension.’Or ‘Take me to wherever Bonnie is.’Why shouldn’t it work?"

Elena said, "Okay. Meredith, Matt, and Mrs. Flowers can stay here and try to figure out what ‘Midnight’is. From the way Shinichi said it, it sounded bad. Meanwhile, Stefan and I go to the Dark Dimension and find Bonnie."

"No!"Stefan said. "I won’t take you to that horrible place again."

Elena looked him straight in the eye. "You promised,"she said, indifferent to the other people in the room. "You promised. Never to go again on a quest without me. No matter how short the time, no matter what the cause. You promised."

Stefan looked at her desperately. Elena knew he wanted to keep her safe – but which world was truly safe now? Both were fil ed with horror and danger.

"Anyway,"she said with a grim smile, "I have the key."

Chapter 26

"Now you know how it’s done?"Elena asked Meredith. "You put the key in the keyhole and say where you want to go.

Then open the door and go through. That’s it."

"You three go first,"Stefan added. "And quick."

"I’l turn the key,"Meredith told Matt. "You take care of Mrs. Flowers."

Just then Elena thought of something that she didn’t want to say aloud, only to Stefan. But she and he were physical y so close, she knew he would pick it up. Saber! she thought to Stefan. We can’t leave him to these malach!