A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting. I had some serious family stuff going on for the last three months. Things are evening out again so hopefully I'll get back on a regular schedule. BTW I write a ton of reader insert. You can find me on tumblr under thatfanficstuff or on wattpad or AO3 under invisame

I spun in my seat prepared to strike out only to breathe a sigh of relief when I realized it was Elijah that had opened the door. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. "That was not funny."

"I wasn't attempting to be," he assured me, though his lips twitched in amusement. "Niklaus wishes for you to join us."

I climbed out of the car and let Elijah take my hand to lead me into the house. The closer we came to the massive building, the more power swamped me. If I could access my own magic, there would be a lot of temptation here to draw more power than I was capable of using safely. I wondered briefly if this was where Bonnie got the excess power she'd been hoarding before I took it from her. Not that it really mattered.

As we stepped inside, I stopped in the entry way and sucked in a breath. Whispers buzzed around me and I closed my eyes in an attempt to filter through them. Why are they here? Make them leave. Take the still ones with them.

I frowned. There were a lot of voices here and they were unhappy. "We mean you no harm. We have not come to disturb you, only to reclaim that which was taken from us."

Take it then and leave. No. No. No. She can stay but they must leave.

"Cassie?"

I opened my eyes to find Elijah studying me.

"Are you all right?" he asked with a frown.

I nodded once. "Yeah, there are a lot of unhappy witches here. Wasn't Maddox affected?"

"Not that he mentioned. Come." He grasped my hand more tightly in his and led me through the house, carefully avoiding areas that might trip me up. I was so busy watching my feet that I didn't realize we'd found the others until Nik called my name.

I glanced up quickly to find him smiling at me as he stood beside a pair of coffins. Elijah released my hand and I went to stand beside the hybrid immediately wrapping my arm around his waist and pressing myself against his side. The whispers started again in earnest and I cringed. My eyes found Maddox. "Can't you hear them?"

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Hear who? I can feel the power and the agitation, but I don't hear anyone."

My gaze shifted to Nik. "We need to get out of here. They aren't happy that you're here."

He didn't ask any questions. Instead he simply nodded and pulled out his phone to issue instructions. When he'd finished, he turned his full attention on me. "One of the coffins is missing. Do you think you could help Maddox locate it?"

"I can certainly help him find a spell, but I can tell you right now that it depends a great deal on the witches that died here and whether they wish you to find it or not. Right now, I'm leaning toward not."

Nik growled in irritation and my eyes darted between the two coffins. "Who's in the third coffin?"

"What, love?"

"The third coffin. Rebekah is undaggered and at the boarding house with Stefan. Elijah is here. That leaves Finn and Kol. So, who's in the third coffin?"

"I'm ashamed to say that didn't even occur to me," Elijah said. And now there were two of us scowling at the hybrid waiting for answers.

Nik shook his head once. "Not here. Too many ears, even if they are dead. Come."

It didn't take us long to find our way back to the car. Nik refused to speak while we were still on the property and he wouldn't leave until his hybrids arrived with the truck. We sat in silence and watched as they loaded the other two brothers onto the truck. Once Maddox joined them in the cab, they pulled away. Elijah started the car and followed them off the property before pulling over on the side of the road before we'd even gone half a mile.

"Talk, brother," Elijah demanded and my eyes focused on Nik.

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. Whatever he was about to say, I was fairly certain I wasn't going to like it. "It's Esther."

Pure fear shot through me. "What do you mean, it's Esther, Nik?" My voice trembled.

He turned in his seat and reached back to place a hand on my knee. "To be fair, when I placed her in the coffin, I wasn't aware of the full extent of her treachery. I was still grieving and living with the guilt of having killed her."

"So, you kept her corpse? To what purpose, Niklaus?"

"I suppose at the time, I thought perhaps I could bring her back one day. That I could beg for her forgiveness." He sighed. "And while she is dead, I wouldn't necessarily call her a corpse. She's been maintained by a stasis spell."

"Is there anything else we should know?" I asked, sounding slightly manic. "Was she breathing when you stuck her in there? Are you sure she was ever dead to start with?"

His hand squeezed my knee. "Breathe, Cassie. I assure you that Esther was dead. Her heart was missing last I saw of her. And a locking spell was placed on the coffin to insure no one could enter without my permission."

That eased my worry somewhat but not enough to put me completely at ease. "If she comes back somehow, it is important for you to remember that no one is supposed to remember anything that happens on the other side. Not when you enter it like I did. She said things to me…" I trailed off then took a deep breath. "If she even suspects I remember anything, she will kill me."

"We will remember, Cassie, but I find it unlikely that my mother will pick now to return from the grave." Elijah did his best to reassure me, but it didn't help much.

"Why wouldn't she, Elijah? Your father is dead. Up until now he was here tormenting you on her behalf. Hunting Nik. If anyone can find a way to return from the Otherside it would be her."

The brothers exchanged a look and I turned to gaze out the window beside me. After a moment, Elijah restarted the car and pulled onto the road. As we neared home, I broke the silence. "Nik?"

"Yes, love?"

"When we get that coffin back, we're burning it, the Original witch bitch included."

"Wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, sweetheart."

It was the next day before I convinced Damon to meet me at the grill. He was convinced it was some sort of trap, and I suppose I could have made it one, but I didn't see the point. I just wanted to end this. All of it. I also wasn't stupid enough to meet him on my own but Stefan provided a nice compromise. Damon was still pissed at little brother for saving Nik but he trusted Stefan not to kill him.

"I'm surprised Klaus is letting you do this," Stefan said as we sat in a booth together waiting for Damon.

I shrugged and gave him a small smile.

Stefan's eyes went wide. "You didn't tell him. Are you nuts?"

"You know as well as I do that Damon wouldn't have come if Elijah or Nik was here instead of you. You also know neither of them would have let me come without them. I just want this to be over. It's exhausting."

Stefan nodded. "It is." He tapped on the table with one finger while he thought. "Just don't get hurt, huh? I kind of like my heart where it is."

I huffed a laugh. "You'll be just fine, Stefan." Damon walked through the door just as I finished speaking and I raised a hand to signal him.

He slid onto the bench next to Stefan and I pushed a glass of bourbon in his direction. "Cassidy. Baby brother. To what do I owe the invitation."

He flashed that smirk and I had to remind myself that I no longer had my magic so smacking it off his face would be a bad idea.

"This needs to end, Damon."

He sipped his drink then sat the glass down with a thud. "To what exactly are you referring?"

Stefan rolled his eyes.

"All of it. This thing between you and the Scooby gang and Klaus. Someone's going to get killed and it won't be on my side."

He narrowed his gaze and looked between me and his brother. "And that doesn't bother you? That your so-called friends would kill one of us?"

"Of course, it bothers me, Damon. That's why I called you. You've reached your limit. You do anything else and they will kill you." I kept my eyes locked on his hoping he would see the sincerity there.

His gaze darted around the grill, the eye contact making him uncomfortable. "He got his coffins back, what else does he want?"

"One of the coffins was missing. He wants it back."

The look of shock on Damon's face couldn't be faked. "That wasn't me. You've got to believe me. I left all three in that house."

This wasn't good. I believed the elder Salvatore but who knew if Nik would.

"Who else knew they were there?" Stefan asked.

Damon shook his head and I could see the moment realization dawned on him. He licked his lips. "Bonnie. She helped me hide them. It had to be her."

I sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense unfortunately. She's been edgy since I stripped her of that excess magic. I'm assuming she sees my lack of powers as an opportunity too good to pass up."

"Look, Cass, Elena and I didn't mean anything by all of this. She just wanted Stefan back and I was worried about you. About both of you. We just wanted to make sure that both of you were okay." His words came quickly and I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or himself.

"Well, in the future I suggest you learn a new word when it comes to Elena. No. She can't do a lot without your help so just don't give it to her."

He nodded but looked uncertain.

I reached out and laid a hand over his. "The only reason you are still alive is because of me. You do realize that, right?"

He studied me for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I know. I didn't want to admit it at first, but I know."

Pulling my hand away, I leaned back in my seat. "I think you and Elena need to leave town for a while. Stefan will let you know when it's safe to come back. You don't want to be caught in this shit. Let the blame fall where it belongs."

"Yeah. Thanks, Cassidy."

With that, he was gone and Stefan and I just sat staring at each other for a while. "Do you really think Klaus will let them go?"

"Yeah. He may not trust them, but he trusts me. You better take me home so I can talk to him before he goes after them."