The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Sixteen

When Stefan walked by Elenas room again, the daisy was gone, and the subtle spirit of her citrusy shampoo lingered in the hal way.No doubt she was out with Meredith and Bonnie, and he could depend upon Meredith to protect her. He wondered if Damon was watching them, if hed approach Elena. A bitter strand of envy curled in Stefans stomach. It was nasty being the advantageously one some sequences, the one who would abide by the rules, while Damon did whatever he wanted.He leaned buns against the adit to Elenas room.There was a window across the hal , and as he watched the spreadd crescent of the moon pilotage high in the sky, he design of his silent room, of the books of economics and philosophy waiting for him.No. He wasnt going back there. He couldnt be with Elena, just now he didnt have to be alone.Outside, there was a chil in the channelise for the first time since school had started the sultry heat of a Virginia summer was last y giving way to autumn. Stefan hunched hi s shoulders and tucked his hands into his jeans scoopfuls.Not real y conditioned where he was going, Stefan headed off campus. Vague thoughts of hunting in the woods crossed his mind, but he wasnt hungry, bonnie restless, and he turned away from the trail that led that way. Instead he wandered the streets of the smal t give around the disruption ege.There wasnt much to do. There were a few bars hopping with col ege kids and a couple of restaurants, already completiond up. Stefan couldnt imagine wanting to press into a hot and crowded bar right-hand(a) now. He wanted to be around people, maybe, but not too many, not too close, not close enough to sense the thrum of blood beneath their skins. When he was unhappy, like tonight, he could feel something hard and dangerous rising up at heart him, and he knew he needed to be c atomic number 18ful of the heavyweight he carried within him.He turned conquer another block, listening to the soft pad of his own steps against the sidewal k. Near the end of the street, a faint thud of music came from a dilapidated twist whose buzzing neon sign read EDDIES BILLIARDS.None of the few cars in the parking lot had a Dalcrest parking sticker. Clearly a townie spot, not a bookman one.If Stefan hadnt had this burning, angry loneliness inside him, he wouldnt have gone in. He looked like a student he was a student and this didnt look like a place that welcomed students. But the ugly thing inside him stirred at the thought of maybe having a reason to throw a punch or two.Inside, it was Welllit but dingy, the air thick and blue with smoke. An old rock song was persisting on a jukebox in the corner. Six kitty-cat tables sat in the middle of the room, with smal round tables around the sides, and a bar at the far end. Two of the pool tables and a few of the round tables were occupied by locals, who let their look drift over him neutral y and hence turned away.At the bar, Stefan saw a long-familiar back, a sleek dark head. Ev en though hed been sure Damon would be fol owing Elena, he wasnt move to see him. Stefan had reined his Power in, concentrating on his own misery, but hed always been able to sense his sidekick. If he had thought about it, he would have known Damon was there.Damon, equal y un strike, turned and tipped his glass to Stefan with a wry weensy grin. Stefan went over to join him.Hel o, unretentive brother, Damon tell softly when Stefan sat down. Shouldnt you be holed up somewhere, crying over your loss of the lovely Elena?Stefan sighed and slumped on the barstool. Propping his elbows on the bar, he rested his head on his hands.Suddenly, he was terribly tired. Lets not talk about Elena, he said. I dont want to armed combat with you, Damon. and then dont. Patting him lightly on the shoulder, Damon was up and out of his seat. Lets walkover some pool. One thing about brio for hundreds of years, Stefan knew, was that you had time to get real y good at things.Versions of bil iards had been around as long as he and Damon had, although he want the modern version best he liked the smel of the chalk and the squawk of the leather tip on the cue.Damons thoughts seemed to be running on the same track. Remember when we were kids and we used to play bil iart on the lawns of Fathers palazzo? he asked as he racked up the bal s.Different game, though, back then, Stefan said. Go ahead and break.He could picture it clearly, the two of them fooling around when the adults were al inside, shoving the bal s across the grass toward their targets with the heavy-headed maces, in a game that was a cross between modern pool and croquet. Back in those days, Damon was wild, prone to fights with unchanging boys and nights prowling the streets, but not yet as angry as he would be by the time they grew into young men. Back then, he let his adoring, more timid younger brother trail afterward him and have a share in his adventures.Elena was right about one thing, he admitted to himself.H e liked hanging out with Damon, being brothers again.When hed spotted Damon at the bar just now, hed felt a little lightening of the loneliness he was carrying around with him. Damon was the only soulfulness who remembered him as a child, the only person who remembered him alive.Maybe they could be friends, without Katherine or Elena between them for a while. Maybe something good could come out of this.Bil iart, bil iards, or pool, Damon had always liked play. He was unwrap than Stefan, and, after hundreds of years of practice, Stefan was pretty good.Which was why Stefan was so surprised when Damons break sent bal s spinning merrily al over the table, but none into the pockets.Whats up? he asked, cocking an eyebrow at Damon as he chalked his own cue.Ive been watching the locals, Damon said silently.There are a couple of slick hustlers in here. I want to draw them over to us. Hustle them for a change.Come on, Damon added quickly when Stefan hesitated. Its not wrong to hustle hustl ers. Its like killing murderers, a public service.Your righteous compass is seriously skewed, Stefan shot back at him, but he couldnt keep himself from smiling.What was the harm, real y? Two bal in the corner pocket, he added aloud. He made the shot and sank two more bal s before intentional y scratching and stepping back to let Damon take his turn.They went on like that, playing pretty Wellbut not too Well, careful to look like a couple of cocky col ege kids who knew their way around a pool cue but would be no chal enge to a headmaster hustler. Damons pretense of frustration when he missed a shot amused Stefan. Stefan had forgotten, it was fun to be get around of Damons schemes.Stefan won by a couple of bal s, and Damon whipped out a wal et ful of money.You got me, man, he said in a slightly drunken vocalize that didnt sound quite like his own and held out a twenty.Stefan blinked at him.Take it, Damon thought at him. Something about the set of his jaw reminded Stefan again of t he way Damon was when they were children, of the way he lied to their father about his misadventures, confident Stefan would back him up. Damon was trusting him without even thinking about it, Stefan realized.Stefan smiled and slipped it into his back pocket. Rackem up again? he suggested, and realized he was also pitching his voice a little younger, a little drunker, than he normal y would.They played another game, and Stefan handed the twenty back. another(prenominal)? he asked.Damon started to rack the bal s, and then his hands slowed. He flicked a glance up at Stefan and then back down at the bal s. Listen, he said, taking a deep breath,Im sorry for whats happening with Elena. If I He hesitated. I cant just stay feeling the way I do about her, but I didnt mean to make things harder for you. Or for her. Stefan stared at him. Damon never apologized. Was he serious? I give thanks you, he said.Damon looked past him and his mouth twitched into his sudden, bril iant smile. Bait t aken, he said silently. So much for the heartfelt brother moment.Two guys were coming toward them. One was short and slight with sandy hair, the other big, bulky, and dark.Hi, the shorter one said. We wondered if you guys wanted to play teams, mix it up a little. His smile was bright and easy, but his eyes were shrewd and watchful. The eyes of a predator.Their names were Jimmy and David, and they were real pros. They kept the games close, waiting until after the third game to suggest aggrandisement the stakes to make things a little more interesting.A hundred? Jimmy suggested casual y. I can just about do it, if you want.How about more? Damon said, sounding drunk again.Stefan, you stil got that five hundred in your wal et? Stefan didnt, nowhere near it, but he didnt think hed need to chip in up. He nodded but, at a glance from Damon, played reluctant. I dont know, Damon he said.Dont worry about it, Damon said expansively. Easy money, right?Jimmy was watching them, his eyes alert. Five hundred it is, he agreed, smiling.Il break, Damon said, and went into action. After a moment, Stefan rested his pool cue against the wal . He wasnt going to get a chance to shoot, none of them were Damon was moving with clockwork precision to pocket one bal after another.He wasnt making any effort to hide that he and Stefan had been running a hustle, and Jimmys and Davids faces darkened dangerously as the last few bal s rattled into their pockets.Pay up, Damon demanded sharply, setting down his cue.Jimmy and David were moving toward them, scowling.You two think youre real smart, dont you? David growled.Stefan poised himself on both feet, ready to fight or run, whatever Damon wanted. They wouldnt have any trouble fending off these guys, but with the disappearances and attacks al over campus, hed instead not cal attention to themselves.Damon, cool and relaxed, gazed at Jimmy and David, his hands open. I think you want to pay us the money you owe us, he said calmly.Oh, thats what you think, do you? Jimmy said sarcastical y. He shifted his contend on his pool cue, and now he was holding it more like a weapon.Damon smiled and unleashed a shiver of Power into the room. Even Stefan, who was half expecting it, was chil ed as Damon lifted his human mask for a moment, his blue eyes cold and deadly. Jimmy and David staggered backward as if theyd been shoved by invisible hands.Okay, dont get upset, Jimmy said, his voice shaking.David was blinking as if he had been slapped with a wet towel, clearly unsure of what had just happened. Jimmy opened his wal et and counted out five hundred dol ars in fifties into Damons hand.Now its time for you to go home, Damon said softly.Maybe you dont want to play pool for a while. Jimmy nodded and didnt seem to be able to stop nodding, his head bobbing like it was on a spring. He and David backed away, moving quickly toward the door.Scary, Stefan commented. There was a hol ow place inside his chest stil , an empty ache of missing Elena, but he felt better than he had since that day she walked out the door alone. Tonight, he realized with a slight shock, hed had fun with Damon.Oh, Im a terror, Damon agreed lightly, pocketing al the money. Stefan raised an eyebrow at him. He didnt care about the money, but it was regular of Damon to assume it was his. Damon grinned. Come on, little brother, Il buy you a drink.