Blink, Chapter 4: Behind closed doors
Damon pulled on the door knob in defiance, finding his strength to be no match to the magic even as he tried to force it open. He poured out his frustration, anger and everything else he could muster into forcing the knob to turn but it refused to budge.
“Damon…” Elena said gently, placing her hand on top of his, “Stop it. Don’t waste your energy. It won’t open.”
His head turned sharply towards her, eyes blazing as he turned. She nodded slowly, calming him down with a silent plea and a gentle squeeze of her hand.
“What the hell was that?” Stefan called out as he walked towards Elena, followed by Jeremy and Jenna, “Are you hurt, Elena? What happened? Was that-“
“Elijah, the invincible,” Damon interrupted darkly, “He got to Bonnie and I don’t know if it was compulsion or something else but for some reason he managed to convince her to lock us up here. And by lock, I mean sealed in Emily style.”
Stefan walked absently to the door as Damon spoke, trying to pull it open to no avail, “It won’t open,” he said to Damon.
“Duh.” Damon said, giving his brother a withering look.
“I just love how highly you think of my cognitive abilities,” Damon continued, rolling his eyes, “Don’t you think I tried it already and didn’t you hear me say we’re locked up?”
“Maybe it’s a vampire thing?” Elena said, “You know, like with the tomb? I’m human. Maybe if I tried…”
But Elena was thrown back straight into Damon’s arms before she could even touch the knob. He held her steady, whispered to her, “Upsy-daisy. I got you. Don’t worry, I got you.”
“Elena!” Stefan cried out, extricating her from Damon’s grasp and holding her at arms length to examine her from head to toe, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine Stefan. I’m fine.” Elena responded straightening up quickly, looking down at the floor or anywhere down so that her hair would fall around her face and hide the blush she couldn’t stop from creeping into her cheeks the moment Damon connected with her.
“Maybe I should try…I mean I have no ties to Katherine. Maybe that’s it.” Jeremy said reaching out for the door before Damon pulled him back by the shirt.
“Give the witch some credit. I don’t think Bonnie’s spell can be cracked by simple trial and error. Sorry. We’re trapped here. Period,” Damon said shaking his head, “We might as well move this party to a bigger room, with alcohol preferably, and get comfortable because I have a feeling we’re going to be here awhile. In other words, if I’m going to be around all of you for more than an hour, I’m going to need a strong drink.”
He looked around as the rest of his companions continued to alternately stare at each other then at the door, as if they wanted to take another stab at it.
“No takers?” Damon repeated, “Going once? Going twice? Fine. Stare it down and see if that works. Give the whole mind over matter thing a whirl.”
The door flew open before he could even take a step out. Caroline stood in front of them and waved as she came in through the door as if nothing was wrong.
“Hi!” Caroline said cheerfully as she slowly moved to close the door behind her.
“NO!” everyone but the newcomers cried out in unison.
Caroline jumped and slammed the door shut behind her in surprise. “What?! What?!,” she exclaimed, “’No’ what?!”
Damon threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes as he walked away from them, “I shouldn’t be sober for something like this. No one should be sober for this.”
“What is going on? I got a call from Bonnie telling me to hurry down here and now you’re all screaming at me for closing a freaking door, which FYI is a good idea when you’re trying to keep bad things out.” Caroline said rapidly.
“Not when the bad things trapped you inside your own house, Caroline.” Damon answered, "Have I mentioned exactly how we’re like sitting ducks here?”
“What do you mean trapped?” Caroline said turning around to open the door, which expectedly remained shut.
Damon gave her a pointed look and shook his head, “Trapped. With a capital T. Look it up.”
“Okay, okay! I’m sorry. I didn’t know!” Caroline said in a huff, “Now what?”
“We have to get help.” Stefan said pacing in front of them.
“Okay, you stay here while I get the bat signal ready.” Damon said sarcastically, “Stefan, unless you somehow believe calling 911 can undo supernatural voodoo on top of first aid, we’re fairly screwed.”
“No,” Jenna started slowly, “Alaric is still out there…he can help us. And he’s with…that girl..who’s like you.”
“Vampire.” Damon said, “You can say it. It’s not taboo. We’re vampires. Stef, didn’t you explain it to her?”
“Damon, quit it.” Elena said stepping in, “She’s right. Alaric and Rose can figure something out. Maybe they can find another witch to undo the spell or maybe get Bonnie from Elijah.”
Jenna pulled out her phone and dialed Alaric’s number. But before the call was picked up, Damon bumped Jenna’s hand so that the phone flew out of her hand, which he caught neatly with his.
“Hello there teacher slash vampire weapon man,” Damon said into the mouthpiece as he evaded Stefan who attempted to take the phone from him, “Need your help. Long story short-Elijah, just ask Rose who he is, has Bonnie. He had the witch seal us in the house and we need you to break us out of here before they attack or something. Got that?”
Damon nodded, listening to the voice on the other end, walking as he did so before coming to an abrupt stop. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone, his eyes darkening as he started speaking in a strong tone.
“No, that is out of the question, Rose.” Damon said sharply, “Leave her out of this. If you can figure out how to get that bitch out of that tomb, then you can sure as hell get us out of this house.”
“I don’t care about the moonstone!” Damon exploded as he continued to move around, “She’s not getting out. Do you hear me? If you bring her here, I swear I’ll tear you limb from -“
Stefan quickly stole the phone from Damon, pushing him roughly to the side, “Rose, do what needs to be done. I trust you.”
“Have you lost your mind, Stefan?” Damon said rounding on his brother, “If she brings Katherine here, not only will you make Elijah’s job a cakewalk but you’d have given that bitch exactly what she wants. Do you honestly think she’s going to leave Elena alive after this?”
“Yeah, look Stefan, she’s scary. Too scary, in fact. I mean your broody ‘it’s Tuesday’ look is nothing compared to her ‘I’m a psycho killer’ smile that’s permanently plastered on her face.” Caroline pointed out, slowly trying to move closer to the brothers.
“We have no choice!” Stefan shouted back, “She’s the only one who knows a witch powerful enough to get us out of here. We need her.”
“No, Stefan-you need her. The rest of us just need to get the hell out of here.” Damon said before stalking off.
But Stefan was faster and blocked his way, “This is Elena, Damon. I’ll do anything to save her-even make a pact with the devil. I’ll do it. And if it means working with Katherine, I’m all for it. Think about it Damon, she knows exactly why they’re after her and probably what needs to be done to end all this madness. If we play it right, we can still win this but you’re going to have to deal with the fact that you’re going to have to punish her later for leading you on for more than a hundred years.”
“Wow,” Damon said in mock surprise, “And here I thought you were the good brother now. I guess there is still a monster there inside of you just waiting to play with fire again. Fine, Stefan. But the second this is over-she’s mine to deal with. Her life is mine to end.”
Stefan nodded gravely, finally stepping aside to let Damon through before turning to Elena who stood in shock as she watched the brothers argue.
“Let the doppelganger speak, she should have an opinion too.” Damon said mockingly, his eyes clouded in fury, softening only when Elena visibly flinched at the term.
“Don’t call me that.” Elena said, “I just want this over with. Anything to have this nightmare end. Just please stop fighting. We don’t have time for this right now.”
“Look, I know very little about all this that you’re talking about. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that you three are vampires and that Elena has a vampire double.” Jenna said with a level head, “But I think the best thing we can do right now is calm down, talk about what we do know about the real enemy and not turn on each other, so we can figure out a plan to keep us from getting killed.”
Damon shrugged and walked off into the living room, leaving the rest of them to follow suit. He poured himself a drink as the rest of them found places to sit. He watched as Stefan and Elena instinctively gravitated towards each other, sitting closely together on the couch.
Unable to watch them, he cleared his throat and walked towards the windows, tapping lightly on it before slamming his fist on it in an attempt to shatter it.
“Now what,” he muttered as he shook his fist from the pain of hitting the glass, which didn’t even vibrate from the force he put into it, “What’s the plan, Jenna? Are we supposed to bond or do trust games now?”
Elena glared at him, prompting him to at look a little bit ashamed, “Sorry, Jenna. Damon is just trying to act unaffected so you still think he’s badass. Don’t take it personally, he’s just a jerk.”
“You’re too kind, Ms. Gilbert,” Damon retorted, back turned to all of them.
“Look, can we just focus for one second? Can someone start by explaining exactly who this Elijah is and what he wants with my sister? And why we’re supposed to trust Elena’s kidnapper all of a sudden and the fact that any second now she’s going to come in here with Katherine, who started all this mess?” Jeremy said.
“Elijah is one of the Originals,” Stefan explained, “the oldest known vampires, practically legend. Not much is known about them except by the fear they inspire. As vampires, our powers increase with age, which would apply to them as well and probably why Elijah wasn’t killed by Damon when he staked him.”
“Or maybe Damon missed? It happens,” Caroline suggested.
“I did not miss.” Damon said narrowing his eyes at Caroline, “Next time, I’m burning him to the ground. And I’ll scatter the ashes all over this damn town.”
“Anyway,” Stefan said ignoring the two, “Rose said they’re coming after Elena, which they’ve done.”
“But why?” Jenna asked, “She’s just a teenager. She’s done nothing wrong…unless it’s because she’s around you two so much. Elena is just human.”
“No, she’s a Petrova.” Katherine interrupted, sauntering into the room confidently, seemingly unaffected by her time in the tomb, “And that makes all the difference in the world.”
Damon moved closer to Elena automatically, glaring at Katherine as she moved around the room as if she owned the place.
“How did you get out?” Damon said narrowing his eyes at Katherine.
“Lucy gave instructions to your shaman over here on how to bring down the seal. He has a wonderful chanting tone. Oh, wait, didn’t you know were one Alaric? Shame that Isobel never got around to sharing that with you, after all it’s the reason why she was drawn to you in the first place.” Katherine said casually.
Rose looked at Stefan and Elena, nodding to them, a look of apology in her eyes as she entered after Katherine. Alaric immediately ran to Jenna, enveloped her in his arms, whispering calming words to her as she went into shock seeing Katherine who looked exactly like her niece.
“How touching. I feel bad, isn’t anyone going to welcome me? Stefan?” Katherine looked at the younger Salvatore expectantly, “Damon?”
“No, just go ahead and keep feeling bad. I prefer that you suffer and I’d rather pry my eyes out with my bare hands than welcome you anywhere.” Damon responded before pouring himself another drink.
“Lucy is on her way even if she is no longer in my debt, thanks to Bonnie being in deep trouble, so we just wait and we’ll be out of here in a while.” Katherine said taking a seat on the other side of Stefan, her hands creeping up his chest, which he promptly pushed away.
Katherine sighed dramatically and leaned away from them, resting on the edge of the couch. “Fine. Be that way. You’ll come to me soon enough. Oh, and before I forget-thank you so much for being so supportive of setting me free, unlike someone who claimed to love me.”
“Didn’t you hear through the grapevine? I’m over you, Katherine. Deal with it.” Damon shot back.
“Oh right. You’re in love with someone else. Tell me, Damon, how is that going for you? Don’t you just love how history repeats itself and somehow you still don’t end up with the girl?” Katherine challenged him, smiling to herself, enjoying the fury light up his face as he struggled not to lash out at her, “Like I said, when did you get so hot, Damon.”
“Can you please just stop baiting him?” Elena exclaimed suddenly rising to Damon’s defense, “You’re here to help, not rile everyone up. Do I need to remind you that they’re not just after me but you as well?”
“Ah, and so there’s hope for you yet, Damon,” Katherine’s eyes blazed for a second, angry over the interruption, before calming down again as she addressed Elena, “You’ll make a feisty vampire, you know that? But I digress, as you pointed out. I’m here to finish this long drawn out mess. Stefan, my love, I’ll continue the storytelling from here. You simply don’t have a flair for it.”
Katherine pulled out the moonstone and raised it against the light, marveling at it as she held it, “The curse is bound in this stone, as Rose may have already told you. You can’t see it but encased in it is a single drop of blood sacrificed by the wife of the shaman who created the curse. She died protecting his husband as he bound our kind to the night and the wolves to their fate. It was that piece of her that he didn’t count on as he finished the spell-it created a key to unlock it. She was our ancestor, my dear Elena. The shaman in his grief placed a spell on his daughter and all females to be born in her bloodline. In every generation a doppelganger will be born, a copy of his wife, who can undo the wrong with her blood, so that someday the shaman’s wife will be free again. But this spell, this other curse, is linked to the first and will shatter those binds as well.”
Katherine’s voice turned solemn, a faraway look in her eyes as she continued, “Her blood sealed it and your blood will open it. Another sacrifice, a night like the last one this moonstone was offered by a witch, and the spell will be broken.”
“Stefan was mine first, Elena, and as much as I’d like to kill you for stealing him away, I can’t. I hid your great grandmother away to protect her but that meant she never learned of her heritage and the oath all the women in our line are sworn to uphold-keep the moonstone hidden, ensure that the next generation knows of the story and most importantly, keep the doppelganger safe. Meaning-you are completely and blissfully ignorant of how important you are.”
“Why does Klaus want the curse broken? Can’t he just get a witch to do a spell to let him walk in daylight?” Stefan asked
“No, it’s not that simple,” Rose interrupted, “The curse didn’t just steal our ability to walk in the sun. It took away power-invincibility. We’re all very difficult to kill now, only a handful of ways to do so, the Originals even less ways to do so. BUT they can still be destroyed, even Klaus-with a werewolf bite, he can be killed. However, if the curse is broken, he will be immortal in the truest sense of the word.”
“There has to be another way around this,” Stefan said in frustration, “There has to be a way to save Elena and eliminate the threats permanently.”
“Impossible.” Katherine said in a sure and steady voice, “For as long as living Petrova blood pumps in her veins, she will be in danger.”
“Why can’t we just sacrifice you again?” Damon asked Katherine in an annoyed tone.
“I’m living on borrowed blood, Damon, it doesn’t work that way.” Katherine pointed out.
“Okay so we kill the Originals and this Klaus guy. I believe that’s why you needed Mason. I highly doubt you really saw yourself living in a house with a white picket fence with the surfer,” Damon pointed out
“Bravo, Damon. Your ability to put two and two together continues to amaze me.” Katherine said mockingly, “Yes, precisely why. But you killed him and I never did find out if Tyler is my new pet. Did he turn Caroline?”
“You! You compelled Matt to provoke Tyler! He could have been killed!” Caroline said hysterically
“Not ‘could’ sweetie, he should have been killed even if his eyes are so blue. In any case, I’m sure Plan B worked just fine. I’m right aren’t I?” Katherine said sweetly
“He’s useless now,” Damon said, “Full moon is weeks away. I don’t think your European fans will wait that long Katherine. We’re talking hours or days before they shred us until we’re unrecognizable. So how far along the alphabet do we have to go to find out your plan to get around that tricky little fact?”
Suddenly a loud explosion was heard through out the house, all the windows shattering around them, forcing them to drop to the ground. Stefan pinned Elena beneath him until the rumbling stopped. They heard faint footsteps approach them and immediately they stood on guard, the vampires moving forward to shield the humans from the intruder.
“It’s me,” Lucy said, broken and bleeding, “It’s just me. I broke the spell…but-“
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence, collapsing on the spot. Alaric ran to her and felt her neck for a pulse, nodding when he found one.
“She’s just out. She’s alive. Think she just needs to rest. It must have been the spell,” Alaric said, carrying Lucy to the couch to lay her down.
“Good to know…I just don’t like the sound of the ‘but’ she just said or the fact that we can’t ask her the words that should have come after that.” Damon said trailing off as the air shifted around them, swirling around them before settling into an eerie calm.
And then Elijah stood before them, smiling calmly as he looked at each one. Bonnie standing to his right, eyes void of expression or any sign of the friend they knew.
“Bonnie!” Elena shouted, moving to run to her friend but Caroline held her back.
“NO! Elena! Look at her, that’s not Bonnie. At least, she’s not in her right mind. Just stay behind me okay?” Caroline said before turning to Elijah, “Let Bonnie go. You don’t need her.”
“Ah, a new one. And the fledgling even dares to speak to me. How brave. On the contrary, I need her. And I also come here, not to kill-not yet, since that pleasure is reserved for someone else, but to recruit. I believe the sacrifice will be easier if our doppelganger has very little to live for? And what more effective way is there than for the love of her life to betray her?” Elijah said steadily, malice dripping elegantly from his voice, “Come to me and help me in beginning the new world order at the hands of vampires. Come, Damon, face your new destiny.”
Shock rippled through the entire room, Elena even doubling over as if she was punched in the gut. Stefan held her steady but his eyes were trained on Damon, who was the only one who seemed oblivious as he started walking towards Elijah, taking his place on his left.
“No, Damon!” Elena cried out when she got her senses back, “Please. Don’t do this. Don’t listen to him. Bonnie, release him! Oh God, no, please no. Damon, listen to me.”
She clutched her necklace as she pleaded with him, stepping forward but Stefan held her back by the waist even as she struggled against him.
“Damon, I know you’re still in there and you can hear me. Please, come back to me.” Elena said as tears streamed down her face, “You love me. I know that. It’s what you told me that night even if I can’t remember hearing you say it. I’ve always known that you love me and I’ll still know it even if you compel me a thousand times. Always.”
Damon stood expressionless, his blue eyes staring straight into Elena but without feeling or recognition. Elena looked at him, begging him with her eyes, ignoring the tight hold Stefan hand on her as she continued, “Damon, please. Tell me I got it right. Tell me you love me. I need to hear it. Just once. Please.”
He remained stoic but before Elena lost all hope, a single tear fell from his eyes. She blinked in surprise and when she opened them again, they were already gone.
“Damon…” Elena said gently, placing her hand on top of his, “Stop it. Don’t waste your energy. It won’t open.”
His head turned sharply towards her, eyes blazing as he turned. She nodded slowly, calming him down with a silent plea and a gentle squeeze of her hand.
“What the hell was that?” Stefan called out as he walked towards Elena, followed by Jeremy and Jenna, “Are you hurt, Elena? What happened? Was that-“
“Elijah, the invincible,” Damon interrupted darkly, “He got to Bonnie and I don’t know if it was compulsion or something else but for some reason he managed to convince her to lock us up here. And by lock, I mean sealed in Emily style.”
Stefan walked absently to the door as Damon spoke, trying to pull it open to no avail, “It won’t open,” he said to Damon.
“Duh.” Damon said, giving his brother a withering look.
“I just love how highly you think of my cognitive abilities,” Damon continued, rolling his eyes, “Don’t you think I tried it already and didn’t you hear me say we’re locked up?”
“Maybe it’s a vampire thing?” Elena said, “You know, like with the tomb? I’m human. Maybe if I tried…”
But Elena was thrown back straight into Damon’s arms before she could even touch the knob. He held her steady, whispered to her, “Upsy-daisy. I got you. Don’t worry, I got you.”
“Elena!” Stefan cried out, extricating her from Damon’s grasp and holding her at arms length to examine her from head to toe, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine Stefan. I’m fine.” Elena responded straightening up quickly, looking down at the floor or anywhere down so that her hair would fall around her face and hide the blush she couldn’t stop from creeping into her cheeks the moment Damon connected with her.
“Maybe I should try…I mean I have no ties to Katherine. Maybe that’s it.” Jeremy said reaching out for the door before Damon pulled him back by the shirt.
“Give the witch some credit. I don’t think Bonnie’s spell can be cracked by simple trial and error. Sorry. We’re trapped here. Period,” Damon said shaking his head, “We might as well move this party to a bigger room, with alcohol preferably, and get comfortable because I have a feeling we’re going to be here awhile. In other words, if I’m going to be around all of you for more than an hour, I’m going to need a strong drink.”
He looked around as the rest of his companions continued to alternately stare at each other then at the door, as if they wanted to take another stab at it.
“No takers?” Damon repeated, “Going once? Going twice? Fine. Stare it down and see if that works. Give the whole mind over matter thing a whirl.”
The door flew open before he could even take a step out. Caroline stood in front of them and waved as she came in through the door as if nothing was wrong.
“Hi!” Caroline said cheerfully as she slowly moved to close the door behind her.
“NO!” everyone but the newcomers cried out in unison.
Caroline jumped and slammed the door shut behind her in surprise. “What?! What?!,” she exclaimed, “’No’ what?!”
Damon threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes as he walked away from them, “I shouldn’t be sober for something like this. No one should be sober for this.”
“What is going on? I got a call from Bonnie telling me to hurry down here and now you’re all screaming at me for closing a freaking door, which FYI is a good idea when you’re trying to keep bad things out.” Caroline said rapidly.
“Not when the bad things trapped you inside your own house, Caroline.” Damon answered, "Have I mentioned exactly how we’re like sitting ducks here?”
“What do you mean trapped?” Caroline said turning around to open the door, which expectedly remained shut.
Damon gave her a pointed look and shook his head, “Trapped. With a capital T. Look it up.”
“Okay, okay! I’m sorry. I didn’t know!” Caroline said in a huff, “Now what?”
“We have to get help.” Stefan said pacing in front of them.
“Okay, you stay here while I get the bat signal ready.” Damon said sarcastically, “Stefan, unless you somehow believe calling 911 can undo supernatural voodoo on top of first aid, we’re fairly screwed.”
“No,” Jenna started slowly, “Alaric is still out there…he can help us. And he’s with…that girl..who’s like you.”
“Vampire.” Damon said, “You can say it. It’s not taboo. We’re vampires. Stef, didn’t you explain it to her?”
“Damon, quit it.” Elena said stepping in, “She’s right. Alaric and Rose can figure something out. Maybe they can find another witch to undo the spell or maybe get Bonnie from Elijah.”
Jenna pulled out her phone and dialed Alaric’s number. But before the call was picked up, Damon bumped Jenna’s hand so that the phone flew out of her hand, which he caught neatly with his.
“Hello there teacher slash vampire weapon man,” Damon said into the mouthpiece as he evaded Stefan who attempted to take the phone from him, “Need your help. Long story short-Elijah, just ask Rose who he is, has Bonnie. He had the witch seal us in the house and we need you to break us out of here before they attack or something. Got that?”
Damon nodded, listening to the voice on the other end, walking as he did so before coming to an abrupt stop. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone, his eyes darkening as he started speaking in a strong tone.
“No, that is out of the question, Rose.” Damon said sharply, “Leave her out of this. If you can figure out how to get that bitch out of that tomb, then you can sure as hell get us out of this house.”
“I don’t care about the moonstone!” Damon exploded as he continued to move around, “She’s not getting out. Do you hear me? If you bring her here, I swear I’ll tear you limb from -“
Stefan quickly stole the phone from Damon, pushing him roughly to the side, “Rose, do what needs to be done. I trust you.”
“Have you lost your mind, Stefan?” Damon said rounding on his brother, “If she brings Katherine here, not only will you make Elijah’s job a cakewalk but you’d have given that bitch exactly what she wants. Do you honestly think she’s going to leave Elena alive after this?”
“Yeah, look Stefan, she’s scary. Too scary, in fact. I mean your broody ‘it’s Tuesday’ look is nothing compared to her ‘I’m a psycho killer’ smile that’s permanently plastered on her face.” Caroline pointed out, slowly trying to move closer to the brothers.
“We have no choice!” Stefan shouted back, “She’s the only one who knows a witch powerful enough to get us out of here. We need her.”
“No, Stefan-you need her. The rest of us just need to get the hell out of here.” Damon said before stalking off.
But Stefan was faster and blocked his way, “This is Elena, Damon. I’ll do anything to save her-even make a pact with the devil. I’ll do it. And if it means working with Katherine, I’m all for it. Think about it Damon, she knows exactly why they’re after her and probably what needs to be done to end all this madness. If we play it right, we can still win this but you’re going to have to deal with the fact that you’re going to have to punish her later for leading you on for more than a hundred years.”
“Wow,” Damon said in mock surprise, “And here I thought you were the good brother now. I guess there is still a monster there inside of you just waiting to play with fire again. Fine, Stefan. But the second this is over-she’s mine to deal with. Her life is mine to end.”
Stefan nodded gravely, finally stepping aside to let Damon through before turning to Elena who stood in shock as she watched the brothers argue.
“Let the doppelganger speak, she should have an opinion too.” Damon said mockingly, his eyes clouded in fury, softening only when Elena visibly flinched at the term.
“Don’t call me that.” Elena said, “I just want this over with. Anything to have this nightmare end. Just please stop fighting. We don’t have time for this right now.”
“Look, I know very little about all this that you’re talking about. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that you three are vampires and that Elena has a vampire double.” Jenna said with a level head, “But I think the best thing we can do right now is calm down, talk about what we do know about the real enemy and not turn on each other, so we can figure out a plan to keep us from getting killed.”
Damon shrugged and walked off into the living room, leaving the rest of them to follow suit. He poured himself a drink as the rest of them found places to sit. He watched as Stefan and Elena instinctively gravitated towards each other, sitting closely together on the couch.
Unable to watch them, he cleared his throat and walked towards the windows, tapping lightly on it before slamming his fist on it in an attempt to shatter it.
“Now what,” he muttered as he shook his fist from the pain of hitting the glass, which didn’t even vibrate from the force he put into it, “What’s the plan, Jenna? Are we supposed to bond or do trust games now?”
Elena glared at him, prompting him to at look a little bit ashamed, “Sorry, Jenna. Damon is just trying to act unaffected so you still think he’s badass. Don’t take it personally, he’s just a jerk.”
“You’re too kind, Ms. Gilbert,” Damon retorted, back turned to all of them.
“Look, can we just focus for one second? Can someone start by explaining exactly who this Elijah is and what he wants with my sister? And why we’re supposed to trust Elena’s kidnapper all of a sudden and the fact that any second now she’s going to come in here with Katherine, who started all this mess?” Jeremy said.
“Elijah is one of the Originals,” Stefan explained, “the oldest known vampires, practically legend. Not much is known about them except by the fear they inspire. As vampires, our powers increase with age, which would apply to them as well and probably why Elijah wasn’t killed by Damon when he staked him.”
“Or maybe Damon missed? It happens,” Caroline suggested.
“I did not miss.” Damon said narrowing his eyes at Caroline, “Next time, I’m burning him to the ground. And I’ll scatter the ashes all over this damn town.”
“Anyway,” Stefan said ignoring the two, “Rose said they’re coming after Elena, which they’ve done.”
“But why?” Jenna asked, “She’s just a teenager. She’s done nothing wrong…unless it’s because she’s around you two so much. Elena is just human.”
“No, she’s a Petrova.” Katherine interrupted, sauntering into the room confidently, seemingly unaffected by her time in the tomb, “And that makes all the difference in the world.”
Damon moved closer to Elena automatically, glaring at Katherine as she moved around the room as if she owned the place.
“How did you get out?” Damon said narrowing his eyes at Katherine.
“Lucy gave instructions to your shaman over here on how to bring down the seal. He has a wonderful chanting tone. Oh, wait, didn’t you know were one Alaric? Shame that Isobel never got around to sharing that with you, after all it’s the reason why she was drawn to you in the first place.” Katherine said casually.
Rose looked at Stefan and Elena, nodding to them, a look of apology in her eyes as she entered after Katherine. Alaric immediately ran to Jenna, enveloped her in his arms, whispering calming words to her as she went into shock seeing Katherine who looked exactly like her niece.
“How touching. I feel bad, isn’t anyone going to welcome me? Stefan?” Katherine looked at the younger Salvatore expectantly, “Damon?”
“No, just go ahead and keep feeling bad. I prefer that you suffer and I’d rather pry my eyes out with my bare hands than welcome you anywhere.” Damon responded before pouring himself another drink.
“Lucy is on her way even if she is no longer in my debt, thanks to Bonnie being in deep trouble, so we just wait and we’ll be out of here in a while.” Katherine said taking a seat on the other side of Stefan, her hands creeping up his chest, which he promptly pushed away.
Katherine sighed dramatically and leaned away from them, resting on the edge of the couch. “Fine. Be that way. You’ll come to me soon enough. Oh, and before I forget-thank you so much for being so supportive of setting me free, unlike someone who claimed to love me.”
“Didn’t you hear through the grapevine? I’m over you, Katherine. Deal with it.” Damon shot back.
“Oh right. You’re in love with someone else. Tell me, Damon, how is that going for you? Don’t you just love how history repeats itself and somehow you still don’t end up with the girl?” Katherine challenged him, smiling to herself, enjoying the fury light up his face as he struggled not to lash out at her, “Like I said, when did you get so hot, Damon.”
“Can you please just stop baiting him?” Elena exclaimed suddenly rising to Damon’s defense, “You’re here to help, not rile everyone up. Do I need to remind you that they’re not just after me but you as well?”
“Ah, and so there’s hope for you yet, Damon,” Katherine’s eyes blazed for a second, angry over the interruption, before calming down again as she addressed Elena, “You’ll make a feisty vampire, you know that? But I digress, as you pointed out. I’m here to finish this long drawn out mess. Stefan, my love, I’ll continue the storytelling from here. You simply don’t have a flair for it.”
Katherine pulled out the moonstone and raised it against the light, marveling at it as she held it, “The curse is bound in this stone, as Rose may have already told you. You can’t see it but encased in it is a single drop of blood sacrificed by the wife of the shaman who created the curse. She died protecting his husband as he bound our kind to the night and the wolves to their fate. It was that piece of her that he didn’t count on as he finished the spell-it created a key to unlock it. She was our ancestor, my dear Elena. The shaman in his grief placed a spell on his daughter and all females to be born in her bloodline. In every generation a doppelganger will be born, a copy of his wife, who can undo the wrong with her blood, so that someday the shaman’s wife will be free again. But this spell, this other curse, is linked to the first and will shatter those binds as well.”
Katherine’s voice turned solemn, a faraway look in her eyes as she continued, “Her blood sealed it and your blood will open it. Another sacrifice, a night like the last one this moonstone was offered by a witch, and the spell will be broken.”
“Stefan was mine first, Elena, and as much as I’d like to kill you for stealing him away, I can’t. I hid your great grandmother away to protect her but that meant she never learned of her heritage and the oath all the women in our line are sworn to uphold-keep the moonstone hidden, ensure that the next generation knows of the story and most importantly, keep the doppelganger safe. Meaning-you are completely and blissfully ignorant of how important you are.”
“Why does Klaus want the curse broken? Can’t he just get a witch to do a spell to let him walk in daylight?” Stefan asked
“No, it’s not that simple,” Rose interrupted, “The curse didn’t just steal our ability to walk in the sun. It took away power-invincibility. We’re all very difficult to kill now, only a handful of ways to do so, the Originals even less ways to do so. BUT they can still be destroyed, even Klaus-with a werewolf bite, he can be killed. However, if the curse is broken, he will be immortal in the truest sense of the word.”
“There has to be another way around this,” Stefan said in frustration, “There has to be a way to save Elena and eliminate the threats permanently.”
“Impossible.” Katherine said in a sure and steady voice, “For as long as living Petrova blood pumps in her veins, she will be in danger.”
“Why can’t we just sacrifice you again?” Damon asked Katherine in an annoyed tone.
“I’m living on borrowed blood, Damon, it doesn’t work that way.” Katherine pointed out.
“Okay so we kill the Originals and this Klaus guy. I believe that’s why you needed Mason. I highly doubt you really saw yourself living in a house with a white picket fence with the surfer,” Damon pointed out
“Bravo, Damon. Your ability to put two and two together continues to amaze me.” Katherine said mockingly, “Yes, precisely why. But you killed him and I never did find out if Tyler is my new pet. Did he turn Caroline?”
“You! You compelled Matt to provoke Tyler! He could have been killed!” Caroline said hysterically
“Not ‘could’ sweetie, he should have been killed even if his eyes are so blue. In any case, I’m sure Plan B worked just fine. I’m right aren’t I?” Katherine said sweetly
“He’s useless now,” Damon said, “Full moon is weeks away. I don’t think your European fans will wait that long Katherine. We’re talking hours or days before they shred us until we’re unrecognizable. So how far along the alphabet do we have to go to find out your plan to get around that tricky little fact?”
Suddenly a loud explosion was heard through out the house, all the windows shattering around them, forcing them to drop to the ground. Stefan pinned Elena beneath him until the rumbling stopped. They heard faint footsteps approach them and immediately they stood on guard, the vampires moving forward to shield the humans from the intruder.
“It’s me,” Lucy said, broken and bleeding, “It’s just me. I broke the spell…but-“
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence, collapsing on the spot. Alaric ran to her and felt her neck for a pulse, nodding when he found one.
“She’s just out. She’s alive. Think she just needs to rest. It must have been the spell,” Alaric said, carrying Lucy to the couch to lay her down.
“Good to know…I just don’t like the sound of the ‘but’ she just said or the fact that we can’t ask her the words that should have come after that.” Damon said trailing off as the air shifted around them, swirling around them before settling into an eerie calm.
And then Elijah stood before them, smiling calmly as he looked at each one. Bonnie standing to his right, eyes void of expression or any sign of the friend they knew.
“Bonnie!” Elena shouted, moving to run to her friend but Caroline held her back.
“NO! Elena! Look at her, that’s not Bonnie. At least, she’s not in her right mind. Just stay behind me okay?” Caroline said before turning to Elijah, “Let Bonnie go. You don’t need her.”
“Ah, a new one. And the fledgling even dares to speak to me. How brave. On the contrary, I need her. And I also come here, not to kill-not yet, since that pleasure is reserved for someone else, but to recruit. I believe the sacrifice will be easier if our doppelganger has very little to live for? And what more effective way is there than for the love of her life to betray her?” Elijah said steadily, malice dripping elegantly from his voice, “Come to me and help me in beginning the new world order at the hands of vampires. Come, Damon, face your new destiny.”
Shock rippled through the entire room, Elena even doubling over as if she was punched in the gut. Stefan held her steady but his eyes were trained on Damon, who was the only one who seemed oblivious as he started walking towards Elijah, taking his place on his left.
“No, Damon!” Elena cried out when she got her senses back, “Please. Don’t do this. Don’t listen to him. Bonnie, release him! Oh God, no, please no. Damon, listen to me.”
She clutched her necklace as she pleaded with him, stepping forward but Stefan held her back by the waist even as she struggled against him.
“Damon, I know you’re still in there and you can hear me. Please, come back to me.” Elena said as tears streamed down her face, “You love me. I know that. It’s what you told me that night even if I can’t remember hearing you say it. I’ve always known that you love me and I’ll still know it even if you compel me a thousand times. Always.”
Damon stood expressionless, his blue eyes staring straight into Elena but without feeling or recognition. Elena looked at him, begging him with her eyes, ignoring the tight hold Stefan hand on her as she continued, “Damon, please. Tell me I got it right. Tell me you love me. I need to hear it. Just once. Please.”
He remained stoic but before Elena lost all hope, a single tear fell from his eyes. She blinked in surprise and when she opened them again, they were already gone.