Four
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"What do you think you're doing?"
All heads snap towards me and I can see Liv cock her head slightly, ardently wishing I had said nothing. Sorry, little witch, but while there's a whole group of people here who are obviously compelled not to intervene, I am not. Meaning I have to react one way or another. Now, I barely had a couple seconds to decide, but since I am not personally under attack, and no human is actually in danger of dying – yet –, I might as well react like a normal, powerless girl before I blow my cover.
The vampire cocks his head and steps toward me, and I can see Liv clench her fists and purse her lips. She knows that if she says something in order to protect me, her defenseless human friend, then I'll become one more leverage Enzo can use against her. He pauses right in front of me and I look up at him, unflinching. Go ahead, buddy; all I need from you is a touch.
One. Attempt. At. Killing. Me. And you're off the map.
"I'm calling the police; you should leave."
"Hm," he smirks, "standing up to the bad guy; you definitely are a brave girl. I guess that's what saves you today."
He then locks his gaze on mine and I can see his pupil dilate as a shimmer of magic Light crosses his brown eyes. He is compelling me; or trying to. I try not to move as I go along with that scenario; at least it'll give me time to think about what to do next.
"What's your name, love?"
"Andy," I answer blankly.
"Andy, darling, I want you to obey my every command today and not question me once, okay?"
I nod and he gives me a smile, "Good girl. Now how about you go get me a drink? I feel like this day is going to be long."
I remain expressionless as I go and perform my duty, all the while assessing the situation. At least now, he won't bother about me and if things go to hell, he won't see me coming. I must be very cautious about how I act today; it's not like I can simply call for help: the rest of the clan is at a day's drive from here and I don't really expect baby-vampire-hunter-Gilbert to enter the bar and do his damn job. I'm on my own.
From where I stand across the bar, I can hear Lucas' plea to his sister as she hands him a glass of water, "Tell him to use me instead."
"I don't really think he's up for taking orders. Besides, I'm older than you."
"By five minutes–"
"Get him out of here. Now," Enzo's voice resonates in the rather silent hall.
"Wait– what are you doing?" Liv asks with panic as the two football players grab her brother.
"Get. Him. Out. Too many witches under one roof really makes me nervous."
The vampire is losing patience and, when he sees me glance at Lucas, who's disappearing behind that door, he clenches his jaw.
"You, fake-blondie–"
"Andy," I blankly correct.
"Whatever; go with Luke and make sure he stays put. I'll let you know if he needs to die."
I share a glance with Liv before taking in the scene I am leaving behind: dozens of students still compelled not to pay attention, as well as a powerless witch and two vampires. I don't know how this is going to play out but these two seem to be our best shot. Well, my best shot, really. I would hate to blow my cover because of some vampire going rogue. It's not my damn business after all.
When I enter Dominic's office, I don't close the door behind me. The football guys are already leaving Lucas tied up to a chair. Half of them is going to guard the door while the other half is being summoned back at the bar to tie Stefan and Elena with vervained ropes. Sweet, here goes my best shot.
I wait for the door to close behind them, leaving the two of us alone, in order to go and kneel near Lucas and ask him in a low murmur, "What the hell is going on?"
"Long story short, Enzo here just found out that Maggie, his elusive girlfriend from the fifties, died at the hands of a ripper while investigating one. So basically, he's trying to get the confession out of Stefan. How does that sound?"
I know he's mocking me right now, because he thinks I'm compelled and won't do anything of the information, least of all think it's true.
"Wait– so this has nothing to do with the Other Side collapsing."
"What?" he squints, seeming lost.
"I heard Liv and Bonnie talking about it earlier; what's all the fuss about?"
Me asking this right now is rather risky but I heard the words "supernatural purgatory" and "implode" in the same sentence less than ten minutes ago: I need to know what's going on. I hope if I press Luke with enough questions, he might just think I'm confused and flipping out; he might drop some information.
"Nothing that concerns you," he assures me, "Now how about you untie me?"
"I can't; I'm compelled, remember?"
Lucas imperceptibly squints at me but quickly regains his composure.
"What do we do, then?"
"I don't know."
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%
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"What happens if you die?"
I grip the door handle as I try not to move, watching Enzo hold Bonnie by her throat, her back against his chest, threatening to kill her. She cries out and Elena screams.
"What's happening?"
The concern in Lucas' voice is about his sister of course. I silently close the door in order to explain without anyone noticing I've been spying.
"Enzo's got Bonnie," I whisper when I'm back next to him – it's the only precaution I can take in order to make sure the vengeful vampire won't hear us: speak as low and as far from the door as possible, "He's going to kill her."
"Don't worry; he can't." Lucas watches me as I look around for anything I could use as a weapon. "What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I snap, "Why in the hell are you not untied already, putting an end to all this?"
Why hasn't he used his magic yet? I mean, I could untie him, but it would blow my cover by showing I can't be compelled. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do here, so I guess it's best if I remain normal in everybody's eyes until given no choice.
"Trust me, I would if I could."
"Well then, it's gonna have to be me."
"You're not going out of here with a screwdriver in your hands; it's suicide."
"He's about to kill Bonnie."
"I told you he can't," he snaps back, still whispering.
"Yeah, you said that already; what is it supposed to mean?"
"Just put that thing down, Andy, you're gonna hurt yourself."
I rise straight up and fold my arms, waiting. No one kills my witches but me; especially when they're good witches, no one kills them at all. Lucas averts his eyes and tries in a softer voice, "You wouldn't understand but trust me when I say: he can't hurt her; not like this."
"I'm a grown-up; use simple words and I'll understand. Otherwise, I'm going in there and I'm taking him out."
"You're only gonna get yourself killed," he argues but I'm already by the door, opening it thinly so I can cast a glance. Bonnie and Liv are nowhere to be seen and I can spot the other Salvatore brother; he's finally joined the party.
"Damn it," Luke whispers," Fine, I'll tell you."
I register that Damon Salvatore is trying to talk some sense into his old friend before I gingerly close the door and turn to face Lucas.
"So? Why can't Bonnie die?"
"You know what? I'll tell you and I don't care if you don't follow. Remember the Other Side you mentioned earlier? She's the Anchor. Happy?"
He gives me a fake smile, probably satisfied to see my brow knit in incomprehension. But my skepticism doesn't come from utter ignorance. I know what the Other Side is; it's the place where the dead go. As the Anchor, Bonnie exists between both worlds, the one of the dead and the one of the living. She is a sort of portal supernatural ghosts go through in order to leave this world and get to the Other Side; by touching her. During the process, she experiences the pain the dead one just went through; also, she can't access her magic.
I look up at him, actively thinking, as many things add up all of a sudden. Her bleak Light, and that look she gave me when she left me to talk with Eric, like she was saying goodbye. Bonnie can't die because she's not really alive, but if the Other Side goes down for some reason, she disappears with it; along with all the supernatural creatures that ever died; including my ancestors.
"I know," Lucas says with an easy nod, "supernatural 101 can be a bit overwhelming."
"But why would the Other Side collapse? How does that happen?"
He tilts his head, assessing me, probably wondering why of all the weird things I've heard and seen today, I manage to ask the most relevant question.
"Why do you care?"
"Well isn't it important?" I act normal human, raising my hand toward the door.
"Today's fuss is not about that; though you really seem intent on knowing about it."
"Tell me."
Lucas exhales from his nose and straightens up on his chair.
"Fine. The Other Side is nothing more than a spell, and just like any other spell, or… math equation or recipe, you move one component and… kaboum."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
We stare at each other, silence only broken by people fighting, far away from us.
"So what's the component?" I finally ask, "The one that moved and made it possible for the Other Side to collapse."
"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"
"I'm being practical. And It's a rather fascinating subject."
"I hadn't realized the Occult Studies class you've been taking was so accurate. It must have prepared you well for the situation, since I just told you about spells and you didn't even blink."
My inner alarm goes off. Dangerous territory. This is Lucas Parker, telling me to either back off and keep my secrets to myself, or keep asking questions and risk being found out by him. Right now, I don't really see what he could find out, still tied up on his chair; and I don't have the luxury of thinking about tomorrow, because there might not be a tomorrow for a lot of people here.
"What changed, Lucas?"
The Gemini witch keeps silent for a long time. Then, he finally says, "Someone got out."
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Aster's quick word: Hey! I realize this chapter is quite short, I hadn't really noticed before posting it and seeing the wordcount haha. Funny story: it's more or less at this time of the writing process that I realized that Lucas Parker was having a little more "screen time" than anticipated. Isn't weird? How you picture a story and think a character is going to be kinda secondary, and said character comes knocking and tells you "Actually, I think I'm gonna stick around for a little while if that's okay."
And I mean, what canyou say to that? You can't really say no, right? ;)
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