37586328538562

pocket." As if unconsciously, Stefan reached up to stroke the golden circlet. "I suppose they thought
she had given it to me.
"I tried to go home. That was stupid. The servants screamed at the sight of me and ran to fetch a
priest. I ran, too. Into the only place where I was safe, into the dark.
"And that is where I've stayed ever since. It's where I belong, Elena. I killed Katherine with my
pride and my jealousy, and I killed Damon with my hatred. But I did worse than kill my brother. I
damned him.
"If he hadn't died then, with Katherine's blood so strong in his veins, he would have had a chance. In
time the blood would have grown weaker, and then passed away. He would have become a normal
human again. By killing him then, I condemned him to live in the night. I took away his only chance of
salvation."
Stefan laughed bitterly. "Do you know what the name Salvatore means in Italian, Elena? It means
salvation, savior. I'm named that, and for St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. And I damned my
brother to hell."
"No," said Elena. And then, in a stronger voice, she said, "No, Stefan. He damned himself. He
killed you. But what happened to him after that?"
"For a while he joined one of the Free Companies, ruthless mercenaries whose business was to rob
and plunder. He wandered across the country with them, fighting and drinking the blood of his
victims.
"I was living beyond the city gates by then, half starved, preying on animals, an animal myself. For
a long time, I heard nothing about Damon. Then one day I heard his voice in my mind.
"He was stronger than I, because he was drinking human blood. And killing. Humans have the
strongest life essence, and their blood gives power. And when they're killed, somehow the life
essence they give is strongest of all. It's as if in those last moments of terror and struggle the soul is
the most vibrant. Because Damon killed humans, he was able to draw on the Powers more than I
was."
"What… powers?" said Elena. A thought was growing in her mind.
"Strength, as you said, and quickness. A sharpening of all the senses, especially at night. Those are
the basics. We can also… feel minds. We can sense their presence, and sometimes the nature of their
thoughts. We can cast confusion about weaker minds, either to overwhelm them or to bend them to our
will. There are others. With enough human blood we can change our shapes, become animals. And the
more you kill, the stronger all the Powers become."
"Damon's voice in my mind was very strong. He said he was now the condottieri of his own '
company and he was coming back to Florence. He said that if I was there when he arrived he would
kill me. I believed him, and I left. I've seen him once or twice since then. The threat is always the
same, and he's always more powerful. Damon's made the most of his nature, and he seems to glory in
its darkest side."
"But it's my nature, too. The same darkness is inside me. I thought that I could conquer it, but I was
wrong. That's why I came here, to Fell's Church. I thought if I settled in some small town, far away
from the old memories, I might escape the darkness. And instead, tonight, I killed a man."
"No," said Elena forcefully. "I don't believe that, Stefan." His story had filled her with horror and
pity… and fear, too. She admitted that. But her disgust had vanished, and there was one thing she was
sure about. Stefan wasn't a murderer. "What happened tonight, Stefan? Did you argue with Tanner?"