Phantom (Page 76)

Meredith reflexively arched a brow at him. What did he mean?

"God." He half laughed. "Here I am, a graduate student in parapsychology. I’ve been dying my whole life to prove to myself that there’s something more going on in the world than what everybody knows, that some of the things we think of as supernatural are real. And then I come to this smal town in Virginia because there are rumors, rumors I don’t real y believe, that there might be vampires here, and when I get here I find this amazing, beautiful, confident girl, and it turns out she comes from a family that hunts vampires. And her friends are vampires and witches and psychics and girls who come back from the dead to fight evil. They only just finished high school, but they’ve seen things I’ve never imagined. They’ve defeated monsters, and saved towns, and traveled to other dimensions. And, you know, I’m just this ordinary guy, and suddenly half the people I know – and the girl I love – are practical y superheroes." He shook his head, looking at Meredith admiringly. "I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy. But now I cast my jealousy away. I’l just have to deal with being the boyfriend of a superhero." Instantly, the dark green candle went out.

Sealed in the inner circle, the phantom hissed and paced back and forth in the smal space like a trapped tigress. It looked angry, but not noticeably weaker.

Celia spoke next. Her face was tired but calm. "I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy," she proclaimed. "I’ve been jealous of Meredith Suarez." She didn’t say why. "But now I see that it’s pointless. I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away."

She spoke as if she were dropping something into the trash. But stil the pale purple candle went out. Meredith opened her mouth to speak – she was clear on what she needed to say, and it wouldn’t be too hard, because she’d won, hadn’t she? If it had ever been a battle anywhere besides her own mind – but Matt cleared his throat and spoke first.

"I have…" He stumbled over his words. "I guess… no, I know I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy. I have always been crazy about Elena Gilbert, as long as I’ve known her. And I’ve been jealous of Stefan. Al along. Even now, when Jealousy’s got him trapped in this bloody battle, because he has Elena. She loves him, not me. But, wel , it doesn’t matter… I’ve also known for a long time that Elena and I together don’t work, not for her, and that’s not Stefan’s fault. I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy, but now I cast my jealousy away." He blushed and careful y did not look at Elena. The white candle went out, sending a long trail of smoke toward the ceiling.

Three candles left, Meredith thought, looking at the last steady flames. Stefan’s dark green, Damon’s red, and her own brown. Was the phantom any weaker? From its invisible cage, the Phantom growled. If anything, it seemed to have made the space around itself bigger again, and it was once again pushing at it, seemingly feeling for a weak spot.

Meredith knew she had to keep the confessions going.

"I’ve fed the phantom of jealousy," she said in a strong, clear voice. "I was jealous of Dr. Celia Connor. I love Alaric, but I know I’m much younger than he is, not even in col ege yet, and I’ve never real y been anywhere or seen anything of the world – the human world, at least – outside of where I grew up. Celia shares so much with him – experiences, education, interests – and I knew he liked her a lot. And she’s beautiful and real y smart and poised. I was jealous because I was afraid she would take him from me. But if she had been able to take him, that would mean he wasn’t mine to keep. You can’t steal a person." She smiled hesitantly at Celia, and after a moment, Celia smiled slightly in return. "I cast – "

"Watch out!" Alaric shouted. "Damon! Stefan! Stop!"

Meredith looked up. Damon and Stefan were staggering across the floor of the garage, past the line of candles, past Alaric, who grabbed at them. They broke out of his hold effortlessly without seeming to even notice his touch, shoving against each other desperately, struggling fiercely. Oblivious to anything but their battle, they were getting closer and closer to the phantom.

"No!" shouted Elena.

Damon shoved Stefan backward, and the heel of Stefan’s boot scraped across the chalk outlining the smal circle that contained the phantom – scraped across the chalk line and smudged it, and the circle was no longer complete.

With a howl of triumph, the phantom was free.

Chapter 34

We didn’t weaken it, not enough!" Meredith shouted to her friends over Jealousy’s shouts. The phantom, if anything, appeared stronger as it crossed the garage in one great leap and backhanded Meredith across the face. Meredith felt a searing pain, saw a bright flash of light, and felt herself slam against the wal . Dazed, she staggered back onto her feet.

The phantom was coming toward her again. More slowly this time, with a smile of anticipation.

The spell must be doing something then, Meredith thought groggily, or it wouldn’t care if I finished my part or not.

Meredith gripped her fighting stave. She wasn’t going down easily, not if she could prevent it. Alaric had cal ed her a superhero. Superheroes kept fighting, even when the odds were stacked against them.

She sliced out viciously, expertly, with the end of the fighting stave. Al those hours of practice paid off, because the phantom didn’t seem to expect the blow, and rather than the stave passing harmlessly through mist, Meredith caught the phantom in its solid form, just above the rose in its chest. The blade at the end opened a deep wound in the phantom’s chest, and when Meredith pul ed it back for a second blow, viscous green fluid dripped from the end of her weapon.

As she swung again, Meredith’s luck ran out. The phantom reached out toward her, its hand moving so fast that Meredith didn’t see it until the phantom was holding the other end of the stave. Sharp as the stave was, poisonous as the coating of al those bits of silver and wood and iron were, the phantom held it lightly and easily, and pulled. Meredith went skidding across the garage floor toward the phantom, fast and helpless, and the phantom reached out lazily with its other hand to catch her, a sneer of contempt and anger on its glassy face. Oh no, Meredith’s internal voice babbled, not like this. It can’t end like this. Just before it touched Meredith, though, the phantom’s face changed, suddenly blossoming into an expression of confusion. It let go of the stave, and Meredith yanked herself back and caught her balance, wobbling furiously, gasping for breath.