Thicker than Blood

Chapter Nine

Vampires were a myth. Creatures of the night meant to scare little children into behaving. I never knew how wrong I was until they took over our town.

I never thought I'd become one until my dead brother returned home.

Damon never meant to harm me. He was protecting me. He hated his new existence. He lived merely to torment our brother. He'd left Mystic Falls to protect me – his lust for blood was too strong to ensure my safety.

His return brought forth a chain of events even a witch was powerless to stop.

~Elizabeth Salvatore's Diary

1868 – Over a Hundred Years Earlier

In her brother's arms, everything felt right. She felt safe and loved. No one would hurt her now. He'd protect her from Jonah's wrath. He had protected her from their father – surely, he could save her from her husband.

"Lizzy, you have no idea how much I missed you," he breathed.

"Where have you been?"

"Nowhere important. I had to leave town for a while."

"I saw Father… I touched your body. It was cold. You were dead."

"Ssh," he urged, hugging her tightly, his hand rubbing her back. "Yes, I was shot. But I'm better. I'm fine."

"What about Stefan?"

He pulled back, looking her in the eye. "He's fine, too. But he isn't as well. I will take you to see him, I promise."

"I knew you couldn't be dead. You'd never leave me here all alone."

She hugged him back with all her strength, ignoring the pain from her unhealed bruises. She might have let a hiss pass her lips. She felt her brother stiffen in her embrace.

"Lizzy, you're hurt."

"It's nothing."

He took a step back. "Don't lie to me, Lizzy. It's me."

It was her brother. Older, harder – the boyish charm gone. But it was still her brother. The brother she loved with all her heart. The one she took after and the one she named her son for. "I have been through worse. It is just a few bruises."

"Did Jonah… he did, didn't he? I'll kill him. I'll tear his bloody head off!"

She touched his cheek. "Damon, no! You mustn't!"

"No one should lay a hand on you. No one will. He'll never touch you again. I swear on my life." The anger and hatred in his voice shocked her. What had become of her fun-loving, devil-may-care brother? What happened she saw him lying there, dead in the dirt beside her twin? What had he been through? Had he passed over, only to return to life changed? Why did he hide from her all this time? Was it possible he'd been turned? Could her brother be a vampire?

She took his hand. "Damon, please. I just got you back. I will not watch you go to jail for murder."

"They'd never catch me."

The malevolent glint in his blue eyes unnerved her. There was a tightness in her chest. Never before had being around her brother physically hurt. "Promise me you will behave. For me."

"If he harms a hair on your head, I will not be held responsible for what I do. You are my baby sister, Lizzy. If I had known, I never would have left you."

Elizabeth rested her head against her brother's strong chest. She listened to his heartbeat beneath his skin, strong and reassuring. He was truly there with her in the parlor. Her beloved brother lived. She was no longer the last of the Salvatores and neither was her son. He would get to know his namesake.

Later

Her bliss was short-lived.

Hope had overruled reason. She had ignored the warning signs in favor of embracing her brother. She wanted more than anything to believe Damon still lived.

But he was no longer alive. He hadn't been since the Battle of Willow Creek. Not since she watched as their father shot him dead. Damon Salvatore died that night. His human self at least. What remained was the blackest of magic – her brother was a vampire.

The transformation tainted the man she knew.

Despite the instinct screaming at her to stake him, she knew Damon would never hurt her. His rage at her injures was real. He loved her. There was enough of her brother still there. She could see it.

Damon was no danger to her or her son. The only person on the grounds of Veritas he meant harm was her husband.

Lizzy rushed down the hall in a flurry of skirts. "Did it ever cross your mind to tell me what you were?"

Damon looked up from the sofa he'd reclined on in her sitting room. "What are you talking about?"

"You died, Damon. Father murdered you both. You aren't human."

"Then what am I?" He locked his eyes on her, his face impassive.

"Vampire."

He closed the book in his hands and stood up in a fluid movement. "Yes, Lizzy. I am. Now, are you planning on telling the town or…?"

"I would never turn you in to the Council! I'm not Father!"

She moved slowly to his side. "Human, vampire, ghost – it matters not to me. You are my brother, always and forever. We are blood. Nothing can change that."

Her brother sighed. "Oh, Lizzy. I never wanted you to know. I didn't want you to have to keep this secret. I will never hurt you."

"I know."

Even though every fiber of her being screamed to run, she took his hands. "You are still my brother, Damon. I will keep your secret. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"If they know I'm alive, they will assume the worst," he said softly, still holding her hands.

She stared down at the plush carpet. "I can fix that."

"How?"

Liz smiled as she glanced up. "A spell. A glamor. I can bind it to an object. As long as you possess it, others won't see your true face. It will blur your features enough that you aren't recognized."

"I'm sorry, you can bind this?"

"I'm a witch, Damon. Not a very talented one like Emily Bennett, but I can do simple charms. I can make this work."

"Are you sure? Magic is dangerous, Lizzy."

"I won't lose you again."

He sighed. "I never should have left you."

"You had no choice. Besides, it was not all bad."

"What do you mean?"

"You are an uncle. I have a son. I named him for you."

"Why on earth would you do that to a child?"

She mock-gasped, which earned her a brief smile. "Damon Andrew Salvatore. I had to name him for my beloved brother, the bravest person I knew. I did it to keep your memory alive."

"Where is he?"

She bit the inside of her lip. "His nurse took him with her to town. Jonah says—"

"Don't say his name to me, Lizzy. Let's do this charm and then I will meet your son. Hmm?"

That Evening

Producing the charm for her brother took little effort. It worked immediately, much to her relief. However, her charm worked too well.

The door to her bedroom flew open without so much as a knock. Startled, Liz struggled to get up from her seat as Jonah stormed in. His fists were already clenched along with his jaw, and she could smell the reek of alcohol clinging to both his breath and clothes.

"When did you plan on telling me you had a male guest today?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you sleeping with him? Who is he, Elizabeth? Hmm?"

"Jonah, you are drunk…"

"Who is he?" he growled, shoving her against a wall, his hand at her throat. "Tell me or I swear to God this time I will leave scars."

She narrowed her blue eyes at him. "You would never believe me."

Damon had left to run errands in town just before sundown. She suspected he had gone to feed, especially after he'd given her a sip of his blood earlier. The warm, thick liquid had healed up her bruises within minutes. He'd given it to her without a warning, slipping it into her drink. Either way, there was no one to call for help. The servants were all gone for the night and her son was asleep in his crib down the hall.

"Who. Is. He?"

"I will not tell you."

His fist shot into her ribcage. She sucked in a wheezing gasp, pain flaring through her system. It wasn't the first time he'd nearly broken her bones. In fact, she had broken more bones after marrying Jonah than she ever had playing games and roughhousing with her brothers. "Give me a name!"

"Never…"

Another hit. This time she heard the unmistakable crack of a rib.

He might very well kill her this time, but Liz would never tell him. No one would pry that particular secret from her lips until her brother wanted it known. If Jonah did manage to kill her, he would have to deal with the true master of Veritas and the eldest living Salvatore. Damon would never let him get away with killing her.

She could only pray Damon wouldn't reveal this true nature. She couldn't watch him die a second time.

Midnight

"Lizabeth? Lizzy?"

Damon pushed open the door to her room, tensing at the scent of blood. Fresh blood. He tried to ignore the hunger and push it away.

"Lizzy?"

He froze, taking in the sight of a lifeless body on the floor. Blood trickled from several open wounds and her face was barely visible. Even from a distance he could see one of her arms was mangled and broken.

"Lizzy, no…"

Damon rushed to her side, gently scooping her body up into his arms. "Liz, open your eyes. Look at me. I'm here…"

His baby sister didn't move. It was too late. She was gone.

"I'll kill the bastard who did this to you. I'll kill him."

He stayed with her for several more minutes before carefully laying her on the bed and closing her eyes. A single tear slid down his cheek.

There was no doubt in his mind who had stolen the life from her. And he could hear the footsteps and the heartbeat of the sick bastard in his very house. She'd been murdered under his roof, where she should've be protected. She'd been murdered on Salvatore land.

In a flash, he was inside the rooms that once belonged to his father, yet were claimed by the pretender. The man who killed Lizzy.

"Jonah Lockwood, I presume?"

The man looked up from the wash basin. The water was tinted red with blood. Liz's blood. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

Damon crossed the room in a flash. "I own this house."

"No… I…" Recognition crossed his face. Unlike his daylight ring, Liz's charm had broken with her death. "You're Damon Salvatore. You're dead."

"So I've been told."

"That's not possible. You were both dead… even the doctor—"

He stared at the man, the mayor's beloved son, the very man who married his young, innocent sister and beat her to death. "None of that matters. Not after what you've done."

"What might that be?" Jonah asked, wiping his hands on a towel. All traces of Liz's blood had been washed from his skin and likely his clothes. Smart bastard. Soon-to-be dead bastard.

"Elizabeth."

"I'm sorry, but exactly what are you talking about?"

"You'll hang for this."

"Do you honestly believe that anyone will convict me? It could have been a vagrant who broke in or one of the servants. No, what happened to Elizabeth is tragic, but I played no part." The slimy prick didn't even bother to pretend his wife was alive.

"You honestly believe that you can murder my sister and get away with it?" Damon hissed.

Jonah laughed. "I know I will."

"I'm really going to enjoy killing you, you son of a bitch…"

Without a second thought, Damon gave in to his hunger and lunged at the man.

Author's Notes: Woo, long chapter. I thought about breaking it up into several chapters, but decided against it. Liz's actual transition will be in a future chapter, as well as what became of her son. Thanks for reading and please review! It means a lot to me.