L.J. Smith

“You were right," he said faintly. "Change is good-or at least necessary. Take the shard.”

“It was only then that she realized, that she remembered, what the true danger in this was. Only then that she understood what Gabriel had meant by his warnings.Because she could feel what he felt. And along with the gratitude, the sheer satisfaction and relief, were other emotions. Appreciation, joy, wonder, and-oh, dear God, love....Gabriel loved her.”

“The energy was still flowing steadily, and Kait had a sense of cleansing. Her entire body felt light and airy, as if her feet weren't touching the ground.”

“And of course there are the people whose energy fields are too strong," he said with a sly look at Rob. "You know, the people you agree with even when you don't know why. The ones that put you under a spell with their charisma-their energy just knocks you out.”

“Sleeping in the back of the van was cramped and a little stuffy-like sleeping in a compartment on a train, Kaitlyn guessed. But she didn't really mind being crowded in with Rob. He was warm and nice to hang on to. Comfortingly solid.”

“Amazing how he could make her feel. Safe in a vacant lot, warm in the middle of the night. Just being this close to him, being able to touch his thoughts and feel his presence, was comforting-and dizzying.”

“The love she felt for Rob now was a burning tenderness, a knowledge that he was the one who'd taught he it was POSSIBLE to love, who had melted the ice of her heart. it was strong and gentile and steady, full of admiration and the intimacy of shared likes and dislikes. it was golden and warm like a summer afternoon.”

“And then it was all so simple and natural. As if they both knew what to do without thinking-as if they'd always known what to do.”

“It would have been like losing me, like losing my own soul, Rob said, but it wasn't really like him saying it to her, it was as if he were simply realizing these things himself. And now it's like finding my soul again. The other half of me.Kaitlyn felt it again, the universe around her hushed and waiting, enclosing the two of them. This time, though, there was a trembling joy to the hush, a certainty. They weren't on the threshold anymore. They were passing through. Everything being said between them, without spoken words or even words of the mind. It was simply as if their souls were mingling, joining in an embrace that wasn't quite the web and wasn't quite Rob's healing power, although it had elements of both.It was beyond all that. It was a union, a togetherness, that Kaitlyn had never dreamed of.I'm with you. I belong to you.I'm a part of you. I will be forever.”

“If it had been touch, it might have been pressure-not an uncomfortable pressure, but one that swept away all the pain of her headache. Like a river rushing through her mind, clearing out everything stagnant and clotted and decayed.”

“Rob smiled his slow, infectious smile-and suddenly everything was all right.”

“You stole my bouquet? From the kistune?""I was very careful-""Do you realize what you've done?" Stefan shook Damon."Ow. That hurts! Do you want to break my neck.”

“You have to breathe," Sage was shouting in Damon's ear. "Take a breath, as if you were going to speak, but then hold onto it, as if raising your Power.Think about your insides. Get those lungs working!"The words confused Elena."There!" cried Sage. "You see?""But it only lasts an instant. Then I need to do it again.""But, yes, that is the point!""I tell you I'm dying and you laugh at me?" a disheveled Damon shouted. "I'm blind, deaf, my senses are haywire-and you laugh!”

“There's nothing to read into. I'm just here to collect my beloved Damon and Stefan is just helping me.”

“Mouse sandwiches and open graves?" Meredith arched an elegant eyebrow. "I think you're getting Stephen King mixed up with Lewis Carroll.”

“Poppy had known for years that she was going to marry him. It was one of her two great ambitions, the other being to see the world. She just hadn't gotten around to informing James yet.”

“Gabriel came out a moment later, while Kaitlyn was still standing motionless by the stairs. He was shrugging into his T-shirt. He looked particularly handsome in a just-roused, early morning way. His hair was very wavy, as if someone had run fingers through it to release the curl, his eyes were hooded and lazy and there was a faint smile of satisfaction on his lips.Kaitlyn discovered that she wanted to kill him. The image that came to her mind was of hitting him with a rolling pin, but not in an amusing, comic-book sort of way.”

“There is nothing frightening in the dark if you just face it.”

“Well then," Faye said. "Now that you've heard our story, we have just one question to ask you." She fixed Cassie with an odd half smile and said in a sweet, false voice, "Are you planning to be a good witch or a bad witch?”

“Sheriff Mossberg was one of those people who never stop speaking untilthey are finished, so by this time he was saying: “Do you understandthese rights?”“No, sir! Mi ne komprenas Dumbtalk!”

“Nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten”

“I want him to love me as much as I love him.”

“Keller couldn't form any words for a moment. Then she said, "Galen? When you choose a form, choose something gentle."I thought you thought everybody had to be a fighter." He said.Some people shouldnt have to be.”

“One more game," somebody behind her said, and somebody else said, "But who's going to be It?”

“Pas...de...lieu...Rhône...que...nous”

“I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I'm the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I'm a gift beyond measure, a matter of course, and I'm yielded with pleasure- when taken by force.”

“Each of them had done their best. Matt was still his friend. For Meredith, maybe the day would come when she could look at him and not think “inhuman” — or at least not think it immediately and constantly. Maybe Bonnie, the moth, would be able to stay away from the unholy flame. Now, there was something to worry about. He could all too easily see Bonnie taking a walk on the very wild side with Damon. His brother had a soft spot for her already, she knew. But if either of them had a problem, he already knew what he had to do to find a plan for a solution.Just look up.”

“Wait.” Stefan’s voice was hard suddenly. Bonnie and Elena turned back and froze, embracing each other, trembling. “What is your—your father—going to do to you when he finds out that you allowed this?”"He will not kill me,” Sage said brusquely, the wild tone back in his voice. “He may even find it as amusant as I do, and we will be sharing a belly laugh tomorrow.”

“Interesting things happen in the dark…sometimes.”

“Okay, so she is crazy. I don’t care. I think I love her.”

“Lewis: "Oh, no."Kaitlyn: "Lewis?"Lewis: "Hi, Kaitlyn. Hi. Rob."Rob: "G'way, Lewis. I'm sleeping."Kaitlyn: "Hi. Anna."Anna: "Hi, Kait."Lewis: "Hi, Anna."Gabriel: "And good night, John-Boy! Shut the hell up, all of you!”

“A voice on the other end squealed and said distinctly, "Kee-kee!""Yeah, it's Kee-kee," Keller said, startled. "Um, I'm glad you're okay, kid. And, see, I didn't go bye-bye after all. So you may think you're pretty smart, but you still have something to learn about precognition, hotshot. Right?" Keller added, "You know I thought for a minute once that you might be the Wild Power. But I guess you're just a good old-fashioned witch baby."Iliana, who was passing by, gave her a very strange look. "Keller, are you having a conversation with my baby brother?”

“Boss, please!" Winnie was almost crying, too."Let me die in peace," Keller said, although she didn't realize she was saying it aloud until she heard the words. Then she added, "Don't you cry, Winfrith. You did a good job.""Boss, you're not dying! The blue fire did something - it healed us. We're all okay. But it's almost midnight!”

“And you know," Jeanne said, looking down at Sylvia with her hands on her hips, "that's how I want to go. Taking my own way out... and totally pissing everybody off at the end.”

“It's all right," Jeanne was yelling. "Yeah, you heard me, it's all right! Delos isn't dangerous. Not to us, anyway. Come on, you, get out of there! What are you doing hiding behind that pig?”

“Some people call it the world of dreams, but it is as real as anythingelse....'" Jenny”

“For a moment, as Damon glanced toward Elena, their gazes met and something electric passed between them. It made Elena tingle all over, that look did.”

“Feeling better?” he asked.“As warm as chicken-apple soup.”“I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?”

“Elena startled both of them by flying up so quickly that Stefan had to grab her by the waist to keep her from shooting toward the ceiling.I thought you had gravity!”So did I! What do I do?”Think heavy thoughts!”What if it doesn’t work?”We’ll buy you an anchor!”

“You,” Damon said somewhat indistinctly through the blood in his mouth, “have been a naughty boy, boy.”

“He put an arm around his brother to help him up. And then, for a moment, he just held on.”

“Damon’s voice was no louder than before. “Get away from my brother.” Bonnie could feel it inside him, a swell of Power like a tsunami. He continued, “Before I tear your heart out.”

“Winter is coming, Elena," he said, and his voice was clear and chilling even over the howling of the wind, "An unforgiving season. Before it comes, you'll have learned what I can and can't do. Before winter is here, you'll have joined me. You'll be mine.”

“You always were selfish. Your one fault. Not willing to share anything, are you?" Suddenly, Damon's lips curved up in a singularly beautiful smile. But fortunately the lovely Elena is more generous. Didn't she tell you about our little liaisons? Why? The first time we met she almost gave herself to me on the spot.""That's a lie!""Oh, no, dear brother, I never lie about anything important. Or do I mean unimportant? Anyway, your beauteous damsel nearly swooned into my arms. I think she likes men in black." As Stefan stared at him, trying to control his breathing, Damon added, almost gently, "You're wrong about her, you know, You think she's sweet and docile like Katherine. She isn't. She's not your type at all, my saintly brother. She has a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't know what to do with.""And you would, I suppose."Damon uncrossed his arms and slowly smiled again. "Oh, yes.”

“The name is Salvatore. As in savior.”

“Katherine," he said. He was still smiling."Yes." She leaned closer."Katherine...""Yes, Damon?""Go to hell.”

“The hell with your secrets,” shouted Bonnie.“Language, language! How about this: One of you has kept a secret alltheir life, and is doing so even now. One of you is a murderer—and I amnot speaking of a vampire, or a mercy killing, or anything like that. Andthen there is the question of the true identity of Sage—good luck on yourresearch there!One of you has already had their memory erased—and I don’t meanDamon or Stefan. And what about the secret, stolen kiss? And then there isthe question of what happened the night of the motel, that it seems that nobodybut Elena can recall. You might ask her sometime about her theories aboutCamelot.”

“There’s nothing to read into. I’m here to collect my beloved Damon andStefan is just helping me.”Bonnie looked at her with her brows knitted and her mouth pursed, butdidn’t venture a word.“Bonnie?”“Um-hm?”“Did I just say what I thought I said?”“Um-hm.”Elena, with one motion, gathered an armful of pillows and deposited themon her face.”

“Kaitlyn remebered the things he'd given her, the sun-flooded afternoons, and the cool healing ocean waves, and the music he'd written. He'd given her everything that was best in him, everything he was. She wanted to give him the same thing back. I don't know how you can love me. The words came soflty, as if he were thinking them to himself. You've seen what I am. That's why I do love you, Kaitlyn told him. I hope you'll still love me when you see what I am. "I know what you are, Kait. Everything beautiful and brave and gallant and..." He stopped as if his throat had closed. "Everything that makes me want to be better for you. That makes me sorry I'm such a stupid mess..." You looked like a knight with that shard, Kaitlyn said, moving toward him. "Really?" He laughed shakily. My knight. And I never said thank you. She was almost touching him, now. Looking up into his eyes. What she could feel in him was something she'd only felt before when she gave him her life energy. Childlike, marveling joy. Trust and vulnerability. And such love... Then she was in his arms and they weren't separate beings any longer. Their minds were together, sharing thoughts, sharing happiness beyond thought. Sharing everything. She never even knew whether he kissed her.”

“She had seen those eyes dark with brooding anger and cold as ice, she'd seen his gaze veiled like a spiderweb and shattering like a gate under pressure. But she'd never seen them as they were now. Full of wondering joy and disbelief, and an almost frightened awe.”