Vampire Diaries

L. J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries The Return: Nightfall

For Kathryn Jane Smith, my late mother, with much love

Contents Preface 1 Damon Salvatore was lounging in midair, nominally supported by one… 2

Damon had to wait some hours for another opportunity to… 3 Later that day Caroline was sitting with Matt Honeycutt, Meredith… 4 With the signed contract safely tucked in Bonnie’s purse, they… 5 Damon was driving aimlessly when he saw the girl. 6 “I said, get out,” Meredith repeated to Caroline, still quietly. 7 There was a sort of universal gasp. Stefan went white,… 8 The clock’s old-fashioned hands showed three A.M. when Meredith was… 9 When Matt, Meredith, and Bonnie were all on their way,… 10 Elena was serenely happy. Now it was her turn. 11 Bonnie couldn’t remember any more sophisticated prayer and so, like… 12 It came back to him, all of it: the cramped… 13 Much later that night, Elena couldn’t sleep. She didn’t want…

14 Elena woke up the next morning in Stefan’s narrow bed. 15 Matt nodded, but he was blushing to the fair roots… 16 Stefan was surprised to find Mrs. Flowers waiting for them… 17 In the first days after she’d come back from the… 18 Matt woke, fuzzily, to find himself still behind the steering… 19 Matt was knocking at the Bryces’ door, with Elena at… 20 “Ohhhh.” Bonnie melted back into the bucket seat. “It was… 21 “It actually makes a horrible kind of sense,” Meredith said. 22 Bonnie was disturbed and confused. It was dark. 23 A cold frisson went down Elena’s back, the most delicate… 24 No peck on the lips was going to satisfy Damon,… 25

Matt lunged at Damon in a rush that clearly demonstrated… 26 Ley lines. Stefan had spoken of them, and with the… 27 When Damon woke up, he was wrestling with the wheel… 28 Matt had no idea what time it was, but it… 29 “Elena!” 30 Matt had given up on clues. As far as he… 31 Let us at least have the dignity of walking out… 32 “Who is it?” a voice was saying from the forest… 33 Damon just sat there....