Lost Souls
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 03
Damon wandered aimlessly through the darkened halls of the old house as he tried to stifle his dark mood and frustration. It was a bitch, truly. He couldn't even indulge in a drink for fuck's sake, and he wanted to; oh how he wanted to…
The girl had gone to bed a couple of hours ago and he'd come to learn she slept like the dead for the first few hours, so he couldn't even mess with her at this point and he was bored.
Thinking back on how he'd toyed with her earlier got him to thinking about her revelations that she'd had experience with vampires before. He found this pretty intriguing since she was new around here. He sighed. If only he could ask her about it… and once again, he was back to being frustrated…
Being whatever he was at the moment (Ghost? Vampire? Dead for real? Trapped on another plane of existence? He just had no fucking clue.) he'd quickly learned was no fun at all, and if he was about anything, it was fun, or at least his definition of the word anyway…
But now? 'Not so much…' he thought with a bitter smirk.
He supposed he should be grateful. At least now, he had the girl here and he'd figured out how to get through to her…at least somewhat. He rolled his eyes with a derisive snort. Okay, so it wasn't the best way to go about getting help, but beggars can't be choosers, right? That was his logic anyway, so his ghostly antics would have to continue. He only wished there was someway she could at least see him. Maybe that way he could go about getting what he needed without scaring the living fuck out of the girl all the time.
See? He did have a heart… He snickered at the thought and wandered into what he'd dubbed the 'witchy' room, not bothering to stop the door from banging against the wall as he shoved it open, mildly impressing himself with his ever-improving ability to do so.
With a tired sigh, he walked over to 'the book', still opened to the spell he needed on the altar table, the pages softly lit by the shaft of moonlight that fell upon it from the open drapes.
Reaching out, he traced the spidery lines of handwriting almost reverently as emotions he was reluctant to name tightened his chest. He needed to escape this half-life and this ritual was his only option—the girl was his only option.
Clenching his fist over the page, he growled in frustration and impatience and stalked to the window, the bright light of the waxing moon bathing him in its ethereal light as he stared, unseeing, outside.
A sharply indrawn breath had him turning quickly toward the open door where the girl now stood, gaping. 'Why?' he wondered with a furrowed brow as he cocked his head to the side and watched her. It almost seemed as though she could see him, but that was impossible, right?
~o0o~
It seemed to Bella that she'd just drifted off when something startled her awake but what, was the question she pondered as she lay there a moment, trying to calm her thudding heart.
Reaching over, she pulled the chain on her small bedside lamp and peered around her room. Not seeing anything out of order, she sat up and grabbed her robe from the end of the bed and shrugged into it as she stood and stepped into a pair of slippers.
As much as she dreaded doing so, she was going to check out what it could have been. "It's official Bella," she muttered. "You have no sense of self preservation…" She snorted as she grabbed a can of pepper spray from the tiny table and crossed the room to ease open her door. "That, or you've finally crossed the line from mildly disturbed and on into the realm of bat-shit crazy…"
Creeping into the darkened hall, she avoided the desire to turn on lights…after all, if there was a tangible intruder, a light would just serve to give the asshole the advantage of being able to see clearly. Without light, she at least knew her way around and might be able to get away should they try something.
With her heart in her throat, she moved down the hall toward where she could see moonlight spilling from an open doorway. As she drew closer, she slowed and sighed, confirming what she suspected. It was 'that' room and she clenched her jaw as this was not only scary now, but serving to really piss her off.
As she stood gathering her courage, her heart stuttered as the spilling light wavered and a shadow was cast as though someone had just stepped into it. "Shit," she whispered as she hugged the wall and crept closer, the pepper spray gripped tightly in her clammy hand.
When she was by the open door, she held her breath and listened for a moment, only stepping around the door-frame when she heard nothing. What she saw when she did so had her sharply sucking in a breath.
It was the figure of a man, albeit a slightly translucent one who turned to look straight at her as her breaths quickened and heart pounded, her body now frozen in fear.
As she watched, his brow furrowed and he cocked his head to one side. "Who—who are you and what do you want?" she finally managed to choke past her terror-tightened throat. To her continued shock, he smiled and his lips moved, though he produced no sound.
It was when he held out a hand and stepped toward her that she regained the ability to move and she backed away a step. "Why are you doing this?!" she murmured, her voice choked on fresh tears. "Go away! Please!" she begged.
~o0o~
Damon cocked his head as he looked at the terrified girl. "You can see me?" he asked as excitement shot through him. This was a welcomed development for sure. Now if he could just get her to calm down and perhaps make out what he was saying… He held out a hand to her and stepped forward but she stepped back, tears now beginning to trace down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this?!" she murmured as she cried. "Go away! Please!" she pleaded and he resisted the urge to growl. He was being nothing but nice damn it!
He sighed as it was obvious she couldn't hear his words. 'Time for another tactic,' he thought as he brought both hands together in front of him in a pleading motion. "Please…please just try to hear me," he said as he sank to his knees. Her eyes widened at this and he continued on, trying to make the words clear upon his lips as he spoke.
"Help me," he intoned while staring into her shocked gaze. "Please…help…me," he mouthed as clearly as he could and she moaned while her eyes shut tightly for a moment.
"You aren't real," she babbled. "You can't be real. I've just finally gone completely crazy…that's it…and when I open my eyes, you'll be gone…"
She opened her eyes and dropped the small canister she'd been holding, for there he was, still in his pleading position on his knees, his bright but ghostly blue eyes still entreating. "Please," she read from his lips and she sighed while wiping at her tears.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, her tone laced with fatigue and defeat. Resignation filled her as she watched him smile sadly and point to 'the book'.
"Okay, you win," she conceded as she swiped at her tears with a shaky hand. "I'll try, but I make no promises and I'm not doing shit until tomorrow. As for now, I need sleep, so leave me the hell alone, got it?"
To her surprise, he smiled widely and gave her a nod after which she turned and left, never bothering to pick up the can of pepper spray.
Only after she'd left did Damon get back to his feet. He wasn't sure how she'd been able to see him—something to do with the moonlight perhaps?—but he wasn't about to question his good fortune.
Turning back to look out the window, his thoughts went to his primary motivation for all of this effort; the girl he missed so terribly; the girl he was now sure he loved: Elena Gilbert.
"Just a little longer doll…just wait for me a little longer," he murmured while staring at the silvery moon as it slowly sank behind the tree-tops.
"It's all I ask…"
Damon wandered aimlessly through the darkened halls of the old house as he tried to stifle his dark mood and frustration. It was a bitch, truly. He couldn't even indulge in a drink for fuck's sake, and he wanted to; oh how he wanted to…
The girl had gone to bed a couple of hours ago and he'd come to learn she slept like the dead for the first few hours, so he couldn't even mess with her at this point and he was bored.
Thinking back on how he'd toyed with her earlier got him to thinking about her revelations that she'd had experience with vampires before. He found this pretty intriguing since she was new around here. He sighed. If only he could ask her about it… and once again, he was back to being frustrated…
Being whatever he was at the moment (Ghost? Vampire? Dead for real? Trapped on another plane of existence? He just had no fucking clue.) he'd quickly learned was no fun at all, and if he was about anything, it was fun, or at least his definition of the word anyway…
But now? 'Not so much…' he thought with a bitter smirk.
He supposed he should be grateful. At least now, he had the girl here and he'd figured out how to get through to her…at least somewhat. He rolled his eyes with a derisive snort. Okay, so it wasn't the best way to go about getting help, but beggars can't be choosers, right? That was his logic anyway, so his ghostly antics would have to continue. He only wished there was someway she could at least see him. Maybe that way he could go about getting what he needed without scaring the living fuck out of the girl all the time.
See? He did have a heart… He snickered at the thought and wandered into what he'd dubbed the 'witchy' room, not bothering to stop the door from banging against the wall as he shoved it open, mildly impressing himself with his ever-improving ability to do so.
With a tired sigh, he walked over to 'the book', still opened to the spell he needed on the altar table, the pages softly lit by the shaft of moonlight that fell upon it from the open drapes.
Reaching out, he traced the spidery lines of handwriting almost reverently as emotions he was reluctant to name tightened his chest. He needed to escape this half-life and this ritual was his only option—the girl was his only option.
Clenching his fist over the page, he growled in frustration and impatience and stalked to the window, the bright light of the waxing moon bathing him in its ethereal light as he stared, unseeing, outside.
A sharply indrawn breath had him turning quickly toward the open door where the girl now stood, gaping. 'Why?' he wondered with a furrowed brow as he cocked his head to the side and watched her. It almost seemed as though she could see him, but that was impossible, right?
~o0o~
It seemed to Bella that she'd just drifted off when something startled her awake but what, was the question she pondered as she lay there a moment, trying to calm her thudding heart.
Reaching over, she pulled the chain on her small bedside lamp and peered around her room. Not seeing anything out of order, she sat up and grabbed her robe from the end of the bed and shrugged into it as she stood and stepped into a pair of slippers.
As much as she dreaded doing so, she was going to check out what it could have been. "It's official Bella," she muttered. "You have no sense of self preservation…" She snorted as she grabbed a can of pepper spray from the tiny table and crossed the room to ease open her door. "That, or you've finally crossed the line from mildly disturbed and on into the realm of bat-shit crazy…"
Creeping into the darkened hall, she avoided the desire to turn on lights…after all, if there was a tangible intruder, a light would just serve to give the asshole the advantage of being able to see clearly. Without light, she at least knew her way around and might be able to get away should they try something.
With her heart in her throat, she moved down the hall toward where she could see moonlight spilling from an open doorway. As she drew closer, she slowed and sighed, confirming what she suspected. It was 'that' room and she clenched her jaw as this was not only scary now, but serving to really piss her off.
As she stood gathering her courage, her heart stuttered as the spilling light wavered and a shadow was cast as though someone had just stepped into it. "Shit," she whispered as she hugged the wall and crept closer, the pepper spray gripped tightly in her clammy hand.
When she was by the open door, she held her breath and listened for a moment, only stepping around the door-frame when she heard nothing. What she saw when she did so had her sharply sucking in a breath.
It was the figure of a man, albeit a slightly translucent one who turned to look straight at her as her breaths quickened and heart pounded, her body now frozen in fear.
As she watched, his brow furrowed and he cocked his head to one side. "Who—who are you and what do you want?" she finally managed to choke past her terror-tightened throat. To her continued shock, he smiled and his lips moved, though he produced no sound.
It was when he held out a hand and stepped toward her that she regained the ability to move and she backed away a step. "Why are you doing this?!" she murmured, her voice choked on fresh tears. "Go away! Please!" she begged.
~o0o~
Damon cocked his head as he looked at the terrified girl. "You can see me?" he asked as excitement shot through him. This was a welcomed development for sure. Now if he could just get her to calm down and perhaps make out what he was saying… He held out a hand to her and stepped forward but she stepped back, tears now beginning to trace down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this?!" she murmured as she cried. "Go away! Please!" she pleaded and he resisted the urge to growl. He was being nothing but nice damn it!
He sighed as it was obvious she couldn't hear his words. 'Time for another tactic,' he thought as he brought both hands together in front of him in a pleading motion. "Please…please just try to hear me," he said as he sank to his knees. Her eyes widened at this and he continued on, trying to make the words clear upon his lips as he spoke.
"Help me," he intoned while staring into her shocked gaze. "Please…help…me," he mouthed as clearly as he could and she moaned while her eyes shut tightly for a moment.
"You aren't real," she babbled. "You can't be real. I've just finally gone completely crazy…that's it…and when I open my eyes, you'll be gone…"
She opened her eyes and dropped the small canister she'd been holding, for there he was, still in his pleading position on his knees, his bright but ghostly blue eyes still entreating. "Please," she read from his lips and she sighed while wiping at her tears.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, her tone laced with fatigue and defeat. Resignation filled her as she watched him smile sadly and point to 'the book'.
"Okay, you win," she conceded as she swiped at her tears with a shaky hand. "I'll try, but I make no promises and I'm not doing shit until tomorrow. As for now, I need sleep, so leave me the hell alone, got it?"
To her surprise, he smiled widely and gave her a nod after which she turned and left, never bothering to pick up the can of pepper spray.
Only after she'd left did Damon get back to his feet. He wasn't sure how she'd been able to see him—something to do with the moonlight perhaps?—but he wasn't about to question his good fortune.
Turning back to look out the window, his thoughts went to his primary motivation for all of this effort; the girl he missed so terribly; the girl he was now sure he loved: Elena Gilbert.
"Just a little longer doll…just wait for me a little longer," he murmured while staring at the silvery moon as it slowly sank behind the tree-tops.
"It's all I ask…"
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.