07 The Return_ Midnight - L. J. Smith

them off, not when you’re sleeping, not when you’re eating—never.”
He looked at her darkly, but Bonnie was already on the threshold of a panic attack. She
was trembling and crying, but too frightened to say a word. Ever since entering the Dark Dimension
she’d been keeping her aura as small as possible, her psychic defenses high; she didn’t need to be
told to do that. She was in danger. She knew it.
Damon finished somewhat more leniently. “I know it sounds difficult, but I can tell you
that I personally have no intention whatsoever of dying. I’ll try to visit you, but getting across the
borders of the various sectors is dangerous, and that’s what I may have to do to come here. Just be
patient, and you’ll be all right. Remember, time passes differently here than back on Earth. We can be
here for weeks and we’ll get back practically the instant we set out. And, look”—Damon gestured
around the room—“dozens of star balls! You can watch all of them.”
These were the more common kind of star ball, the kind that had, not Power in them, but
memories, stories, or lessons. When you held one to your temple, you were immersed in whatever
material had been imprinted on the ball.
“Better than TV,” Damon said. “Much.”
Bonnie nodded slightly. She was still crushed, and she was so small, so slight, her skin
so pale and fine, her hair such a flame of brilliance in the dim crimson light that seeped through the
blinds, that as always Damon found himself melting slightly. “Do you have any questions?” he asked
her finally.
Bonnie said slowly, “And—you’re going to be…?”
“Out getting the vampire versions of Who’s Who and the Book of Peers,” Damon said.
“I’m looking for a lady of quality.”
After Damon had left, Bonnie looked around the room.
It was horrible. Dark brown and just horrible! She had been trying to save Damon from
going back into the Dark Dimension because she remembered the terrible way that slaves—who were
mostly humans—were treated.
But did he appreciate that? Did he? Not in the slightest! And then when she’d been
falling through the light with him, she’d thought that at least they would be going to Lady Ulma’s, the
Cinderella-story woman whom Elena had rescued and who had then regained her wealth and status
and had designed beautiful dresses so that the girls could go to fancy parties. There would have been
big beds with satin sheets and maids who brought strawberries and clotted cream for breakfast. There
would have been sweet Lakshmi to talk to, and gruff Dr. Meggar, and…
Bonnie looked around the brown room and the plain rush-filled pallet with its single
blanket. She picked up a star ball listlessly, and then let it drop from her fingers.
Suddenly, a great sleepiness filled her, making her head swim. It was like a fog rolling
in. There was absolutely no question of fighting it. Bonnie stumbled toward the bed, fell onto it, and
was asleep almost before she had settled under the blanket.
“It’s my fault far more than yours,” Stefan was saying to Meredith. “Elena and I were—deeply asleep
—or he’d never have managed any part of it. I’d have noticed him talking with Bonnie. I’d have