a/n: Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond. I'm greatly enjoying writing this story and love getting feedback. I already have the next chapter written, so I'll probably post the next chapter later this week. As always, please review!

Chapter 4 Ghosts

I think you ought to stay away from here,
There are ghosts in the walls and they
Crawl in your head through your ear.
-Such Small Hands by La Dispute

"I'm not even sure what I'm looking for." Bonnie exhaled deeply as she leaned back against her chair. In front of her lay the Grimoires she had stolen from Luka Martin's house. Although she had been searching through them the majority of the day, she had found nothing that even pertained to the evil Klaus had become.

"There has to be something there," Jeremy responded as he took her hand in his own. She smiled weakly at him as electricity spread through her veins. There was something about him that always set her on fire. "Have you looked into-"

He just stopped. Bonnie's eyes followed his gaze to the corner of the kitchen. All she could see were tidy counters and a refrigerator.

"What is it?"

"I…" He cocked his head to the side, and finally stood up. All Bonnie could do was watch as he walked over to the small window in the kitchen and stared outside. His dark eyes were squinted in concentration, and Bonnie felt like she had been trapped out of whatever was going on with him at the moment. Although she wanted to speak, she refrained from doing so and waited for him.

"If I told you I saw ghosts," he finally said. "Would you think I was crazy?"

Bonnie shook her head slowly. "After everything we've been through, the fact that you can see ghosts does little to surprise me," she spoke. "But why are you seeing them? What purpose could that fulfill…"

Her voice trailed off as she remembered back to when she had raised him from the dead. She had been told that there would be consequences, but never thought it would be something like this.

As she raced from the kitchen, she heard Jeremy calling after her. She didn't slow down though, and walked out of the front door. Her car was parked there, and she quickly got into it.

Her doors were locked before Jeremy could try to get in. Then, she sped down the streets toward the one place she knew she could go to get the answers she needed.

The witches' house wasn't that far away, and it didn't take her as long to get there as she had thought it would. She could feel her own power burn through her veins as she parked her car outside of the house and killed the engine. After letting out a deep breath, she got out and walked into the darkness.

She knew the path to where she was going by heart, although she had only been to this place a couple of times. It felt somewhat like home, although the other witches had made it clear that they didn't want her here. She could already hear their cries to her as she stepped into the center of her candle-lined circle.

"Emily!" she called out into the darkness. Without her doing so, the candles instantly sprang to life. "I need you."

I told you to leave… a voice spoke in her mind.

It took Bonnie a second to recover. She was already crying and wiped away at the tears angrily.

"When you said there would be consequences, I thought you would take my life instead."

That is not how nature works… We have always been in charge of keeping a balance between the forces of nature. It is our duty.

"So Jeremy can see the dead?" Bonnie questioned as she looked up at the dark ceiling. "That is his curse?"

Not a curse. It is his responsibility to see the ghosts that linger in this world. They cannot be sent on until the darkness is stopped.

Bonnie let out a deep breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "He's just given a job? What's the point of being able to see ghosts?"

Life spirits still hold much power. They will be able to help you when the time comes to stop him.

"Him? You mean Klaus?"

It is not up to me to say. You must find the truth on your own. But beware, for when one brings back a life to the Light, the Dark has the right to bring back one of their own too. If you wish to keep him safe, this must always remain in your mind.

A shock raced through Bonnie as Emily's words registered in her mind. A life for a life, she thought bitterly. If the enemy wanted to bring someone back, then they could.

"Does Jeremy have to be present for them to bring someone back?"

Yes.

"How long will Jeremy see the ghosts?"

Until the ritual to bring back one of the Dark is performed, or until the battle has ended. He cannot be set free from this responsibility in any other way.

Bonnie nodded slowly. Although this currently seemed overbearing, it wasn't quite as bad as she had first believed it to be. "How will we-"

Enough, Emily's voice came quickly. He is here now. The rest you must do on your own. Good luck my heir, for this is the last time you will hear from me.

"Wait!" Bonnie cried, but it was too late. The candles flickered for a few seconds before the room fell into near darkness.

"Bonnie!" Jeremy called as she heard him approach. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding answers," she almost whispered. "I know why you can see ghosts."

"Why?"

It took Bonnie only a short while to fill him in on the conversation she had just had with Emily. When she finished, Jeremy just stared at her for a few seconds.

"Who would Klaus even want to bring back to life?" he finally asked. "It's not like the 'Dark' are big on friendship and loyalty."

"We don't even know that they'll try to bring someone back," Bonnie replied. "They might not even know that they can. And if someone does try, we're not guaranteed that Klaus will be the one to try to bring someone back. There are many other villains out there."

"So right now we're just hoping that no one knows?"

"Pretty much," Bonnie sighed as Jeremy sat down beside her on the floor. "Can you communicate with the people you see?"

"No," he shook his head. "I can see and hear them, and I think they can see me, but I'm not sure they can hear me. I've never had someone respond to what I've said."

"And who can you see?" Bonnie asked softly. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"I've seen Anna and Vicki," he began. "And Jenna. She was the hardest person to see."

Bonnie thought back to what Emily had just told her. If what she had said was true, their spirits couldn't move on until Klaus had been defeated. Currently, Bonnie wasn't even sure if that was possible.

"Do you think you can handle trying to talk to a ghost?" Bonnie questioned.

"I think so," Jeremy nodded.

Bonnie nodded back in response. "Then let's try this."

Elena sat down on the bed and repeated what Katherine had just said. "The Dark Dimension?"

"That's what I said," Katherine replied in her usual annoyed-at-the-world tone.

"What is this place?" Elena questioned as her brown eyes now went to Damon. He still tried to avert her gaze.

"It's one of those places humans don't need to go," he finally sighed as he ruffled his dark hair. "All humans are subjected to slave-like labor. There is really no way for humans to escape."

Those words conjured up dark thoughts in Elena's mind that consisted of torture and human sacrifice. When she closed her eyes, she could see Jules' heart being ripped out of her chest. She wondered if that was a common occurrence there.

Pushing down her fears, she inhaled deeply. "I'm not going to sit here while you two go there to get answers," Elena made clear.

"Who said we were going anywhere?" Damon replied.

Even though he said those words, Elena knew they weren't true. Damon's blue eyes glistened with resolution. Now, she just had to convince Damon to let her go with him.

"I'm going with you there," Elena spoke softly. "I need to be prepared for what I'll face."

"This is where it gets complicated." Damon sat down on the bed beside her. "It's not like we can cross into the Dark Dimension with you and Katherine. You look exactly like her. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"I'm happy to let her go in my place," Katherine spoke as she held up her hands in mock surrender. "There's no reason for me to get involved in this."

Damon ignored her remark and stayed focused on Elena. "When you go in, we'll have to act like you're my slave. You'll be given bracelets to wear to mark your status. The entire time we're there, you'll have to keep those on."

"I can handle it."

Damon nodded. "You'll see things there that will be worse than any nightmare you've had."

"I can handle it," she repeated sternly. She took his hand into hers and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm going Damon."

"I can't protect you there," he spoke in a pleading voice. "I know you want to help him, but I can go by myself. If something happened to you…" He let the thought trail off as he shook his head.

"If you don't need me," Katherine said and broke the moment up. "I'm leaving. If you're still alive, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Elena asked as she looked at her doppelganger. "How will we be back by then?"

"Time works differently there," Damon responded. His eyes hadn't left Elena. "The nearest entry point is about an hour away. So we have an hour there and back, plus about another hour's worth of time in the Dark Dimension. It shouldn't take long at all."

Elena nodded as if she understood perfectly. Truthfully, all of this was starting to make her head hurt.

"I'll meet you back here tomorrow," Katherine spoke before she vanished out of the room.

When they were alone again, it took Elena only a few seconds to realize that she was still holding onto Damon's hand. Her pulse sped up, and she knew that Damon could hear her heart beat. Giving him a weak smile, she let go of him and brushed a hand through her hair.

"Are we going to leave now?" she finally asked.

"We could always wait until the morning," Damon replied. "You have to sleep at some point."

"I feel like I've been sleeping all day," she responded truthfully. "I vote we get some food and then head to the Dark Dimension."

He only nodded in response before he moved around the room and picked up some random items they'd brought with them. He threw his own bag over his shoulder before offering Elena her duffle.

"Are you sure about this?" Damon asked one last time.

"Positive."

Damon nodded once in response before turning and walking out the door.

a/n: Please review!