Moonlit Seduction
DG32173

Sarah: Chapter 7 is here. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this. And yes, the cliffhanger at the end of last chapter was downright evil of me. Elena's spirit is gonna be stuck in Damon's body for a little while. Not a thought either of them are going to be comfortable with. After all, she only planned to hijack his body for maybe an hour, tops. Also, I'm very sorry for the delay in updates, but I had hell coming with muse for this chapter. Anyways, I've talked enough. On with the story! Enjoy.

REVIEW REPLIES

YAZMIN V: part of Katherine's plotting will be revealed this chapter. Glad you enjoyed the revenge schemes Elena had cooked up until Katherine decided to stick her nose into things.

JMHUW: in regards of your review of chapter 5, yep, Elena can be very, very cunning when she has the right motivation. At the moment of writing this, you have yet to review chapter 6. But I'm sure you'll be surprised by the plot twist.

SuckerForDelena: yeah, it's a shame Katherine had to butt in before we could see Damon get his hair dyed midnight blue. Your questions in regards to Katherine will be partially answered this chapter. But she's gonna be sticking around for a while. Sorry about the delay, I had been hoping to update By the Light of the Moon at the same time but that plan was a bust because it's been hell trying to get Damon's view on chapter five down properly.

jairem: if you'll be patient, you'll be granted with Damon's views of chapters five and six. Just need to get his view of chapter five down in a very Damon-esque way. And yes, it is really Katherine who snatched Elena's body. You'll see this chapter what happens between Katherine, Damon, Elena, and Stefan on Elena's first view of Katherine.

arsipac14: glad you enjoyed last chapter and were surprised by Katherine's arrival. And yes, it is bad that Katherine showed up.

kfulmer7: so glad you enjoyed last chapter. I agree that Elena taking over Damon's body was pretty funny. Here's more.

ItsJustOliana: glad you enjoyed it so much! Here's the update.


Chapter 7
Katherine

I try to crush the pain I'm in as Damon vamps down to the basement, the note from Katherine clutched in his fist. Damon doesn't even stop at the door to Stefan's cell. He unbolts it and swings it open. "Get up, drink some blood, we have to get moving," Damon snaps. "This is not the time to sulk and carry on a pity party."

"Go away," Stefan groans.

"I'd love to but I can't. Katherine is back and she's kidnapped Elena," Damon informs him. "The only way we'll ever see her again is if we both meet the queen bitch on Wickery Bridge just after sunset."

Stefan turns towards Damon as fast as his weakened body is able to. "Katherine has Elena?" he whispers, stricken with terror.

"I just said that," Damon snaps. He grabs the bottle of deer blood from the floor and hauls Stefan up by his shirt collar. Once Stefan's on his feet, Damon shoves the bottle of deer blood in his hand.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Stefan demands, fumbling as he opens the bottle.

"Uh, in case you didn't hear this morning, Elena is somehow able to send her spirit into my body," Damon snaps. "She decided to do so and play the role of hijacker. She had me running all over the woods when she started to get in so much pain she lost complete control of my body, allowing me to reassert control over myself. I thought that maybe she had just taken us too far from her body. When we got back, we found her room in shambles and this pinned to her headboard with a knife," Damon says, shoving note at Stefan. "Only person I know of in this world with the initials K.P. who would have a reason to take Elena hostage to draw us out is Katherine Pierce.' 'Are you able to get back to your body?' he thinks at me.

I fumble for the connection that ties my spirit to my body, but I quickly pull away when I realize it's in the part of my spirit that feels like it is being shredded over and over. I send that knowledge to him and he curses. "What?" Stefan demands.

"It seems that for right now, Elena's spirit is trapped in my body," Damon says tersely. "The bond that ties her spirit to her body is in the part of her spirit that, as she puts it, feels like it is being shredded repeatedly. So she's unable to get back in her body right now." 'You had better not play hijacker again. The situation is too damn serious for you to try such stunts.'

'I know that, Damon,' I think back hotly. 'I was only showing you what it feels like to be completely helpless while someone meddles with your life to get back at you for keeping the memory of our true first meeting from me. It's not like I had any reason to think Katherine would come back and kidnap my body while I took yours for a joyride!'

'Elena, you need to calm down. You getting emotional right now will only make my inner vampire come out. I told you the night I gave you the locket and earrings that vampire emotions tie in with our inner vampires as well as our thirst for blood. I don't think you want to find out just how a vampire thinks and reacts in situations like this. You're by no means ready for such knowledge.'

'What does she want, Damon?' I ask.

'If I knew that, I'd know what to do to end her game and get her to go away again. Right now, we have to keep our cool and not let our emotions get in the way. And I mean both of us. Steffie's a lost cause on that much. He always wore his emotions on his sleeve, even when we were human.'

'Can't we just kill her?' I ask.

'Us and what army, pray tell? She has three and a half centuries on Stefan and me. I don't know if you know this or not, but the longer one has been a vampire, the more powerful they are. Not to mention all that experience they accumulate. It's a fight to continue existing from the moment you open your eyes in transition. If the humans don't want to kill you, it's other vampires that want you dead for whatever reason. She's been around for five centuries, my dear. That's a lot of power and a lot of experience on surviving. Even getting her to agree to go away and leave us alone will be a tough battle. She wouldn't have come back unless she wanted something.' I suddenly realize that Damon has kept up a verbal conversation with Stefan at the same time as the mental one with me. He picks up on my surprise. 'I'm exceptionally skilled at multi-tasking.' "Okay then," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going to need some blood for this." 'You wanted to have a taste at what it's like to be a vampire. Well, you're about to get your wish in a way I'm sure you weren't expecting.' I send him the image of me glaring at him. 'Stop glaring. You're the one who wanted to take my body for a joyride. You have to handle whatever consequences pop up. Admittedly, this is a bit more than either of us had expected.' I'm about to send the image of me flipping him off when another spasm of pain causes me to let out another voiceless cry that only Damon hears. Damon winces in sympathy for my agony. 'I'll get you back in your body, Elena. I promise you this. Then I'll find some way to get even with that bitch for putting you through this.'

Damon leaves the cell we had kept Stefan in and makes his way to the room at the foot of the basement stairs that holds the deep fridge full of stolen blood bags. He pulls his keys from his pocket and unlocks it, lifting the lid and grabbing a bag labeled O-positive. My blood type. I send the mental image of me arching an eyebrow at him. He just rolls his eyes. 'I've always preferred type O. It's sweeter than the other blood types and I happen to have a sweet tooth. Now, your blood tastes thick and coppery to you because you're human. You're about to find out what it tastes like to a vampire.' He rips off the valve of the blood bag. 'Normally I'd prefer to pour it in a glass and heat it up in the microwave. But I don't have the luxury of time for that. Sunset isn't that far off. So it's straight from the bag.' With that, he sticks the tube in his mouth and uses it as a straw to start draining the blood from the bag. I marvel at the sheer difference in the taste and texture of the blood as he tastes it compared to how I taste it. As he said, for me it tastes thick and coppery. But for him, it's sweet and smooth, flowing like liquid chocolate down his throat. Once he's drained the bag of every last drop, he turns to the door. Stefan's standing there. "Let's go," he says.

Stefan nods. Then the brothers take off, out of the boarding house and through the woods, travelling as fast as their feet will carry them. They arrive at Wickery Bridge in a matter of seconds. The sun has just reached the western horizon. The brothers wait impatiently for Katherine to show up while I curl up in a small corner of Damon's mind, trying to keep him from feeling the immense pain I'm in. But it's not working all that well. 'We'll get your body back, Elena,' Damon thinks at me. 'Then I'll make her regret putting you through so much pain.'

'I just want this nightmare to end,' I tell him.

'I promise you I'll end it any way I have to.'

The sun seems to take forever to sink below the horizon. When it finally does, a shadow separates itself from the trees and walks forward. Damon's eyes instantly make out every detail of the woman. I feel a chill run through me to see just how closely I resemble Katherine. "Stefan, Damon," she greets coolly. Then she meets Damon's eyes and smirks. "Elena.'

'She knows,' I realize in shock.

'Apparently.'

"Good to see you didn't try to bring anyone else with you," she says. "Things would have gone poorly for Elena had you tried anything."

"What did you do with Elena's body?" Damon snarls.

"It's safe. For now," Katherine replies. "But she won't be able to reunite her spirit with it unless you do exactly as I say. Once I get what I want, I'll have my witch lift the spell that is interfering with the bond connecting her spirit to her body."

"And what is it you want?" Stefan asks coolly.

"I have a few requests I'd like you to fulfill for me," Katherine replies, examining her nails. "I'll tell you them one at a time. Once you complete all my requests, I'll return Elena's body. Step out of line, the pain Elena's in will intensify each time. If you cross me too many times, I'll have my witch completely sever the connection tying Elena to her body. She will be trapped permanently in Damon's body should that happen. And her body will never be seen again." She meets first Stefan's eyes then Damon's. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal," Damon says through gritted teeth. Stefan nods his agreement, his expression stony.

"Oh, and don't tell anyone what's going on or even that Elena's spirit is in Damon's body. Not the witch. Not the hunter. No one is to know outside of us," Katherine says softly. "Should anyone be told, I'll skip right to having the connection between Elena's spirit and her body severed. I've got eyes watching you both. I'll know if you go to anyone with this information."

"What is your first 'request', Katherine?" Damon asks icily.

Katherine smirks. "I have received information indicating that John Gilbert and Isobel Fleming-Saltzman are conspiring to betray me. As you know, John is already in town. Isobel is on her way. I want them both delivered to the ruins of old Fell Church. I don't care how you catch them or what you do to subdue them. Throw them into the old tomb and close the door. The veil that traps vampires inside fell back in place about a week after you opened it. That will trap Isobel inside. And no human will be able to move that door alone, so John will be trapped as well. I'll deal with their conspiracies soon after. Once you've captured them and put them in the tomb, I'll send you information on my next request. Don't worry, the list isn't long. But I expect this to stay between us."

With that, she leaves so quickly even Damon's eyes only see a blur. "Well, things have just gone to hell in a blender," Damon mutters.