The Vampire Diaries Book 2

THE STRUGGLE
The Vampire Diaries Book 2 By

L. J. Smith
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES The Struggle Volume II L. J. Smith HarperTorch An Imprint ofHarperCollinsPublishers

Books by L. J. SMITH The Vampire Diaries Volume I: The Awakening Volume II: The Struggle Volume III: The Fury Volume IV: Dark Reunion The Secret Circle trilogy Volume I: The Initiation Volume II: The Captive Volume III: The Power

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. HARPERTORCH An Imprint ofHarperCollinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street New York, New York 10022-5299 Copyright © 1991 by Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc. and Lisa Smith Cover art copyright © 1991 by Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc. ISBN:0-06-102001-X Produced by Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc., 33 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011. First HarperTorch paperback printing: August 2002 First HarperPnsm printing: March 1999 A mass market edition of this book was published in 1991 by HarperPaperbacks. Printed in the United States of America Visit HarperTorch on the World Wide Web at www.harpercollins.com

To my dear friend and sister, Judy

A special thanks to Anne Smith, Peggy Bokulic, Anne Marie Smith, and Laura Penny for information about Virginia, and to Jack and Sue Check for all their local lore.

One
"Damon!" Icy wind whipped Elena's hair around her face, tearing at her light sweater. Oak leaves swirled among the rows of granite headstones, and the trees lashed their branches together in frenzy. Elena's hands were cold, her lips and cheeks were numb, but she stood facing the screaming wind directly, shouting into it. "Damon!" This weather was a show of his Power, meant to frighten her away. It wouldn't work. The thought of that same Power being turned against Stefan woke a hot fury...