Salvation (TVD Fan Fiction)

Chapter 17

Rhiannon's POV

I have a really bad feeling about this.

I tried to keep the panic at bay, breathing deeply and forcing myself into a calmer state. I smelled the air and found no strange scent that did not belong, only my own mingled with Damon's. I knew that wherever he had gone, he had left on his own free will.

My intuition still plagued me, ever insisting that something about this was not quite right.

I cursed silently when I realized that my combat suit was still laying on my bathroom floor, drenched in my own blood. I dressed myself in a mad fury, snatching up the closest pair of skinny jeans out of my fully furnished closet (thanks, Rowan,) and a random, long-sleeved black shirt.

As I shrugged the shirt on, I noticed it was actually a rather pretty blouse, with two large cutouts that exposed the skin of my shoulders down to the small of my back, like angel wings. Something I normally would've saved to wear for a date night with Damon, but no time now to change.

Oh, well. It is what it is.

I laced up my black boots and tossed a glance at my reflection in the mirror. My long red hair was straight and smooth, a shock since I had spent the last several hours rolling around in bed. The only thing off at all about my appearance was that my lips were a little swollen, no doubt from kissing Damon so vigorously.

I grabbed a few extra wooden stakes out of my nightstand drawer, raised the back of my shirt, and shoved them into the waistline of my jeans. I knew I was wearing my wooden stake-heeled boots, but with the way my intuition was screaming at me, I couldn't be too careful.

Oh, Damon. Where the hell are you?

I thought about the possibilities of where he had gone.

The boarding house. That seemed the most likely place, but why would he leave in the middle of the night? That didn't really make sense.

Maybe Damon had gone to see his friend Alaric, wherever it was that he lived. Although that, too, seemed very unlikely at this hour.

What other place was there? The Grill? No, Damon would not have left me to go there surely.

I raced out of my room, over to the cooler under the stairs where the blood bags were stored. I was still a little souped-up from the blood Damon had given me earlier in the day to recuperate from the injury Alaric had inflicted, but I wasn't going to take any chances. If Damon was in some kind of trouble, I would take every precaution I could. Getting wasted on human blood was a small price to pay to know for certain I would be able to defend him.

I chugged seven blood bags, burped loudly, and forced another one down, just for the hell of it. I was completely gorged with the liquid, to the point I was slightly uncomfortable. I knew that within minutes, the blood would take effect and it would all be worth it. I scaled the stairs and lifted myself agilely through the opening and into the forest. I silently wished I had my car with me, but I knew it wasn't exactly like I had a driveway here to park it here. Besides it was still parked outside the Grill. Damn!

I ran fast, pushing every stride to go faster than the last. I arrived at the Boarding House, noticed that Damon's Camaro was still parked in the driveway, and I quietly tiptoed through the doorway. The threshold was still covered in blood but I remembered it had been mine, not Damon's. I stealthily blurred through each room of the house at warp speed, but I found no trace of Damon.

This is really not good.

The prickly feeling on the back of my neck threatened to work its way down my spine. I forced myself to breathe meditatively and did my best to ignore it. I had to be able to think clearly and focus if I was going to find Damon.