Chapter 19 — The Lake of Darkness

Marco and Chris had been chosen by Salvatore, so they went, albeit reluctantly, to the surface to look for Damon and bring him to the Underworld. Walking down the street, they attracted a lot of attention, especially of the opposite sex. They would certainly have enjoyed this visit more if they weren't here "on business" and had more time to play with some innocent little soul. Unfortunately, they had no time for anything else than work, as Alistair surely wanted Damon in his hands as soon as possible, to quickly immerse him in the Lake of Darkness, so that he could safely complete his mission and get rid of the "chosen one".

They created a kind of contrast—Marco had a dark complexion, black, slightly curly hair, while Chris was pale, with blonde hair in a very light shade. In addition, he was a head taller than his companion and terribly thin. Marco, on the other hand, had broad shoulders and an overall muscular body. They both wore knee-length black coats, trousers of the same color, and elegant shoes. From time to time both Marco and Chris winked at the girls they passed, especially those who were staring at them with no little admiration, thus causing an unusual stir among them. Unfortunately, that was the only thing they had time for, and Chris especially lamented over it.

After several hours of searching, they found Damon in the park.

"Hello." Chris grinned at the sight of him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Damon asked, surprised.

"Unfortunately Alistair ordered us to bring you to the Underworld." replied Marco.

"But what for?" Damon continued to ask, eyeing them suspiciously.

"You haven't visited us for a long time. Alistair wants to know about your mission progress." Chris explained with a slightly malicious smile on his lips.

Having no other choice, Damon went with them, but still looked at his acquaintances suspiciously. Something told him there was no pleasant surprise waiting for him in the Underground. Besides, Damon was going to meet Selene and he was afraid might not be able to get back in time, especially since he did not know what awaited him in the Underworld.

~~~~~~

Today Selene was waiting for Damon in the garden, but he didn't show up for the first time.

"He didn't come?" Alice looked at her as she returned with tears in her eyes. "I can't hear his thoughts." she added.

"How could he do this to me?" Selene snuggled against her, sobbing lightly.

"Why do you say right away it's his fault? I don't think he would have done something like that." Alice assured her.

"Do you think that..." she began.

"Yes. I'm afraid that his kin might have taken him." Alice finished for her, reading Selene's thoughts.

"Oh God... I can't even imagine Damon trying to kill me. It's terrible." Selene whispered, horrified.

Alice hugged her gently and looked for a brief moment for some kind words to comfort her with.

"Think positive. As I read Damon's thoughts, I get the feeling that his love is not the usual effect of your charm. It felt stronger." she finally said and stroked her hair, even though started to sob as well.

Selene has never felt this bad. She didn't want Damon to forget about her, but what could she do? Today, the happiness that lasted almost a month was to end in an instant.

~~~~~~

Damon followed Chris and Marco into the Underworld. He was troubled by the thought that Selene was probably waiting for him in the garden, and wondered why he had set her up. Damon wanted everything behind him as soon as possible so that he could return to Selene.

"Hello, Damon. How good that you finally agreed to visit us." said Salvatore, coming from a distance.

"Great, maybe you can explain to me what's going on here?" Damon asked, tired of this trickery.

"If you follow me, you will find out." he replied, with one movement of his hand encouraging him to move on.

"Do not make me angry. I'm sick of it! Someone kindly explain to me why Alistair called me!" Damon shouted impatiently.

"Calm down, take it easy. I'm sorry, Alistair didn't let us reveal his plans." Salvatore replied stoically.

Damon took a deep breath to calm down and then followed obediently after him. He knew there was no way to escape anyway. After a short while he saw the Valley of Darkness. It was the part of the Underworld that was farthest from the portal leading to the surface. At the very bottom of this valley, covered with blackened grass and black roses, was the Lake of Darkness, with dark waters that possessed magical powers. They were able to wash the demon of any charm that a sorceress could throw on him. Damon immediately guessed why Alistair had ordered him to be brought. Somehow, he must have found out what connected him with Selene. Damon immediately panicked. After all, if he was submerged in these waters, would forget how he loved her and maybe even would be able to complete his mission.

"Finally you visited us." Alistair greeted Damon, came closer and hugged him gently. "Johann was following you, on Salvatore's orders, and discovered that you fell victim to the charm of the sorceress. Fortunately, he and his brother informed me about it in time. Now, according to our rite, you will be submerged in the black waters of the Lake of Darkness." he announced, giving a sign to the guards. The two tallest of them grabbed Damon by the arms, took off his jacket, blouse, and pants, and then plunged him into the dark abyss. Penetrating cold pierced his body. He jerked violently, feeling some unknown force seep inside him. Damon felt the deep darkness emanating from the waters, a powerful force hiding in these depths. No wonder the waters of the Lake of Darkness could wash away from a demon every spell and charm made with white magic. There was an unspeakable darkness in these depths that made him dizzy with its power.

When the guards finally pulled Damon out of the water, he realized there had been virtually no change in him. He still remembered Selene, and most importantly, loved her as much as he did before his dive into the Lake of Darkness. Of course, Damon couldn't show it, especially not to Salvatore, his brother, and his friends. He was not going to make the same mistake and give that demon reasons to spy on him.

"So, Damon, will you complete your mission now?" Alistair's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Damon immediately took the appropriate pose. After all, he must have fooled everyone if wanted to go back to the surface to finally see Selene.

"Of course, my lord. You know I won't let you down." Damon replied humbly.

Salvatore's face twisted into a very displeased expression, which meant that he, too, saw nothing suspicious about his demeanor, and Alistair smiled broadly.

"I see that you are already cured, so you can go to the surface again. Good luck to you." he spoke up and left the Valley of Darkness with his guards. Salvatore, Johann, and their friends passed him by contemptuously.

After Damon was alone, he got dressed and started the long way to the portal that led to the surface. Now he could calmly think about seeing his beloved Selene again.

~~~~~~

Rita was just going upstairs to the room when Meredith stopped her.

"So, how it went? Did you saw anything disturbing?" she asked.

"No, I didn't see anything. Selene talked to Alice all the time, they walked around the garden." Rita replied. "Listen, Meredith... I feel so stupid to follow them like that." she added, looking at her pleadingly.

"Now the health and life of Selene are the most important, so you need to keep an eye on her. I doubt Alice can handle a strong demon, and Alistair will certainly send one. Please do this for me and keep an eye on my niece... Otherwise I will follow her." Meredith pleaded.

"All right, all right." Rita replied quickly, hearing her words. "If you are so worried about Selene." she added. The very thought of Meredith following Selene made her shudder slightly. There was no question of it—Rita had to keep everything a secret. She promised, and had to keep her word.

"Ah, thank you very much, Rita. You take a lot of work off my shoulders." Meredith said, and walked into the kitchen with a smile.

Rita took a deep breath and went to one of the guest rooms to finally rest.

~~~~~~

Selene sat in the garden with Alice until evening. She still hoped Damon would come and be like he used to be. But when it started to get dark, Alice looked at her significantly.

"We should get back by now." she said to her gently.

"I know, but..." Selene broke off, not knowing what to say. She really didn't want to go home yet, but Alice was right, so Selene followed slowly after her. They were about to go home when Damon suddenly appeared from behind the trees, with head down.

"I knew you'd come!" Selene almost ran toward him, but Alice held her back.

"Be careful, it may not be your beloved anymore." she warned her.

Hearing this, Selene froze instantly, ready more to run than to defend herself with her powers.

"Sorry I'm late, Selene, but... my kin took me to the Underworld." Damon said apologetically. When he raised his head and looked at her questioningly, she let out a breath. Selene was sure that somehow the waters of the Lake of Darkness had not erased the traces of love in his heart.

"It's okay, I forgive you." Selene whispered, slowly approaching him. Alice followed her, looking at Damon suspiciously.

"So, your kin took you, and what happened next?" she asked, unable to read his mind, probably because of the waters of the Lake of Darkness. For 24 hours their power would block her gift, and that irritated Alice greatly, as she couldn't be sure if Damon was telling the truth.

"I learned that one of the demons, Salvatore, sent his brother to the surface to follow me. He saw me with Selene, and his gift made him find out the feeling between us. They both reported it to Alistair, who ordered me to be brought. Then I was immersed in this lake... I was scared, but when I surfaced nothing changed. I still remembered you and my feelings haven't changed." Damon answered, still not able to fully believe in what had happened.

"That's impossible, the Lake of Darkness always takes away every spell, and the charm is no exception." Alice interjected, very surprised at what she heard. However, Alice felt in Damon's aura that no significant change had occurred within him. She was glad that the waters of the Lake of Darkness did not at least disturb the structure of the aura.

"I know. Which is why I don't understand how I can still love Selene, and I know how I feel." Damon pointed out.

Selene looked at him and smiled at his words, affirming her hope.

"I think we should consult Rita. Maybe she knows why it happened." Selene suggested, looking at Alice.

"It's a great idea. I'll go get her and you guys don't move from here." Alice said and after a while she was gone.

"Selene... When they immersed me in the Lake of Darkness, I was so afraid that I would want to hurt you after coming out of there." Damon turned to his beloved and grabbed her hands.

"I knew you would come back and they wouldn't do anything to you. I am so happy... I missed you like crazy." Selene replied, releasing one of her hands to touch his cheek. Then their lips joined in a long-awaited kiss.