07 The Return_ Midnight - L. J. Smith

She found herself bumping into a hard, masculine, bare chest while forcing herself to
think realistically. Midnight was coming—and not in the form of a rose. Fell’s Church needed all the
help it could get and here she was staring at flowers.
Abruptly, Sage swung her off her feet and said, “What a temptation, especially for a
lover of la beauté like you, belle madame. What a foolish rule to keep you from taking just a bud! But
there is something even higher and more pure than beauty, Elena. You, you are named for it. In old
Greek, Elena means ‘light’! The darkness is coming fast—the Last, Everlasting Midnight! Beauty will
not hold it back; it is a bagatelle, a trinket, useless in times of disaster. But light, Elena, light will
conquer the darkness! I believe this as I believe in your courage, your honesty, and your gentle, loving
heart.”
With that, he kissed her on the forehead and set her down.
Elena was dazed. Of all the things she knew, she knew best that she could not defeat the
darkness that was coming—not alone.
“But you’re not alone,” Stefan whispered, and she realized that he was right beside her,
and that she must be wide open, projecting her thoughts as clearly as if she were speaking.
“We’re all here with you,” Bonnie said in a voice twice her size. “We’re not afraid of the
dark.”
There was a pause while everyone tried not to look at Damon. At last he said,
“Somehow I got talked into this insanity—I’m still wondering how it happened. But I’ve come this far
and I’m not going to turn around now.”
Sage turned toward the final door and it brightened. Not by much, however. It looked like
the shady underside of a very large tree. What was odd, though, was that there was nothing at all
growing under it. No ferns or bushes or seedlings, not even the normally ever-present creepers and
weeds. There were a few dead leaves on the ground, but otherwise it was just dirt.
Sage said, “A planet with only one corporeal form of life upon it. The Great Tree that
covers an entire world. The crown covers all but the natural freshwater lakes it needs to survive.”
Elena looked into the heart of the twilit world. “We’ve come so far, and maybe together
—maybe we can find the star ball that will save our town.”
“This is the door you pick?” asked Sage.
Elena looked at the rest of the group. They all seemed to be waiting for her confirmation.
“Yes—and right now. We have to hurry.” She made a motion as if to put her cup down and it
disappeared. She smiled thanks at Sage.
“Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t give you any help,” he said. “But if you have a
compass…”
Elena had one. It was always dangling from her backpack because she was always trying
to read it.
Sage took the compass in his hand and lightly traced a line on it. He gave the compass
back to Elena and she found that the needle no longer pointed to the north, but at an angle northeast.
“Follow the arrow,” he said. “It will take you to the trunk of the Great Tree. If I had to guess at where
to find the largest star ball, I would go this way. But be wary! Others have tried this path. Their
bodies have nourished the Great Tree—as fertilizer.”
Elena scarcely heard the words. She had been terrified at the thought of searching an
entire planet for a star ball. Of course, it might be a very small world, like…like…
Like the little diamond moon you saw over the Nether World?
The voice in Elena’s mind was both familiar and not. She glanced at Sage, who smiled.