It's been 84 years...
I finally finished this chapter. I hope it does not disappoint you too badly.
Bonnie sincerely hoped that no one would ever have to use this spell ever- ever- again.
It had seemed like a good idea, no, it had seemed like the only idea to save Damon's life. Sophia had said it was crazy, that it was damn near impossible to pull off a spell of that magnitude on a witch so old and powerful, in a body so young, but Bonnie had exhausted her options.
She had stayed up until the break of dawn on numerous occasions scouring through the grimoires until her eyes were burning dry trying to find a way- any way- to save Damon, but to no avail. Damon's death sentence hung over her, making her anxiety grow with each day that had passed. She berated herself for her incapability, and when she was actually able to sleep she woke up in the middle of the night.
Until she realized the cause of her limitations: she wasn't thinking like a witch. She was following the spells of others, piggybacking on their achievements to fulfill her needs. Bonnie needed- wanted- to be more like Emily; use her creativity and affinity for magic to make her own spells.
To build her own legacy.
She wasn't playing catch up with her ancestor's cookbook anymore. She was a bonafide witch, capable of almost anything.
If she wanted to save Damon, she could save Damon.
And if she wanted to kill Silas, she could kill Silas. She had been asking herself how she could kill an immortal and the answer was simple: take the immortality away. But how do you take immortality away from a person?
It was simple. By despelling the soul. From the inside. Transfer her soul into Silas's body and, with the connection, unweave the magic keeping him from facing a true death. Bonnie would have to die. Again.
So…maybe it wasn't so simple. She didn't have directions for a spell she just created, she didn't know when Damon was scheduled to die, and she was a novice in the way souls worked. Luckily, she had Sophia to help her.
To tell her that if she tried to transfer her soul into Silas, he would take notice. He would be able to feel her, see her. He would know she was in him, and then he would eject her from his body, or obliterate her soul entirely. There would be no way to bring her back if she failed.
She would have to split her soul, which in itself is like diffusing an atomic bomb. Literally severing the bonds that held her together ran the risk of soul dispersion, insanity, death. It was like reading the warning labels of medications. Clearly, she had to limit the amount of pieces.
The less variables, the better.
She decided on three. Her chosen vessels: Sophia, Damon, and Silas. Sophia would be able to interact with her since she knew of the plan, but the other two would be none the wiser.
She wasn't prepared for the pain of ripping herself apart when she suddenly had to implement her plan. She wasn't ready for the ambiguousness as the pieces found their temporary home in Damon and Sophia through a blood spell, and in Silas through physical contact.
Reanimating her body and pulling herself together was just as difficult. She was bombarded by three different notions on how a body could and should move, and struggled to make her limbs move.
Bonnie reacquainted herself with her body in the few moments while Silas was still down. She felt her magic flow throughout her body, felt the pocket watch heat her skin in the cold rain.
She glanced down and saw Elena perching her upper body up on her elbows, staring wide-eyed at her revived friend, wet hair plastered to her face.
"Bonnie…" she breathed, dumbstruck.
Bonnie grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet. They stared at each other through the heavy rain.
"How-"
Elena was yanked away, screaming and flailing, toward the old house. She crashed onto the porch. Damon and Stefan soon followed, and Sophia took her place in front of them, whispering Latin incantations under her breath.
"Bonnie," Silas rasped from the ground. "I wish I could say its good to see you."
She glared down at him as she was pelted by rain. "I'll make this reunion short."
Lightning bolted down and crashed into Silas. Smoke billowed up and was swept away, just as Silas stood to his full height unscathed. He bore a bitter smirk.
"I really have underestimated you. But its time to end this farce."
He ducked to avoid an uprooted tree, and hurtled a giant fireball in Bonnie's direction. She deflected it and it flew off into the sky and exploded against the invisible force field. Bonnie couldn't be more thankful to have Sophia on her side. She needed to get close enough to Silas to extract his immortality.
The thought lasted for a second before she was sent backwards by a heavy gust of wind. She slid across the wet ground and dove to the side, avoiding more fireballs. Lightning struck all around Silas, but it always missed its mark; Silas was too quick, skipping across the open field and narrowly dodging the lethal streaks of electricity.
Bonnie rolled onto her knees and recited a spell; mud from the forest floor solidified into corkscrewing whips and shot at Silas. Five spiked toward his chest. Right before they were able to pierce him they turned back into soggy mud and fell to the floor. Two more rose up and wrapped around his neck and left foot.
Bonnie jumped to her feet and rushed at him. A third whip wiggled its way out of the ground, circled around Silas, then shot back at Bonnie. It caught her by left ankle and she slammed into the ground before it carried her into the air upside down, and then whipped her back towards the floor.
Bonnie curled into a ball and a wave of leaves swept over her, releasing her from the clutches of the compromised mud vine and safely deposited her a few yards to Silas's left.
"Victas phasmatis, surgent ossa. Ut dareris voluntatem meam. Victas phasmatos. Surgent ossa," Silas chanted.
The earth beneath their feet shook, and it was not long before mounds rose up from the floor. Dirt fell off to reveal stark white bones of bears, wolves, and even a few humans. Silas had summoned his very own skeleton army.
They attacked, and Bonnie used her skills as a cheerleader to flip, hop, and dive away from the undead. She made the winds pick up and spiral down; mini tornados knocked the bodies apart like bowling pins, but they rose back up.
She cursed to herself; she was hoping she wouldn't have to take them out one by one. Bones crumbled into shards, some were caught in a ring of fire and cremated, and others were frozen in a block of ice before bolts of lightning descended and blasted them to nothing.
Elena squealed as a lightning ricocheted off of Silas and blasted right in front of her face, but was caught by Sophia's protection spell. The four watched the perilous dance behind their shield, cringing when the tables turned on Bonnie and snarling with pride when she got a hit in.
Magic sizzled all around them like a pot of hot oil popping noisily on the stove. The thirst for Bonnie's victory and the thick energy made them incapable of keeping up their mask of humanity; their lips were taut against their teeth, the blood lust glowing in their eyes. They shifted on their toes restlessly.
Silas tackled Bonnie to the ground and she flipped him off of her; she tumbled backwards and landed on one bent knee. Silas recovered quickly. He gathered a magical wave blast in his hands and let it loose.
Bonnie felt the wave before it had the chance to hit her. She threw both her hands out, shielding herself from the attack. It blew all around her, sending mud, grass and leaves flying back and crashing into the force field behind her. It beat against the invisible wall relentlessly and Silas put more energy into the assault.
Bonnie strained underneath barrage. She gritted her teeth and felt the dark touch of a familiar energy against her ankle. She cursed again, but wasn't surprised; of course they would come, the residual soul of energy of the executed witches. They were drawn to power.
A heavy blast almost had Bonnie falling on her ass. Even with all her power, Silas still had years of experience on Bonnie. But what she lacked in skill she could make up for in brute strength with a little help from an old friend.
She felt a coiling around her leg, up her thigh and around her abdomen. Her muscles became stronger, her magic more potent. She balled her hands into fists and lifted her knee off the floor with great effort, eyes slowly turning black. Her feet planted firmly in the ground. She took a deep breath. Exhaled.
Silas's magic faltered. Another breath and he stumbled backwards. Another breath, Bonnie took a step forward. She took three more steps, and sent the strongest wave of power that she could muster at Silas.
He was knocked back thirty feet, blood gushing from his nose. Bonnie twisted her fist and he threw up what seemed like a gallon of blood.
Bonnie threw back her head and filled the clearing with maniacal laughter that turned to chokes and gasps. She massaged her throat with one hand and dry heaved until a wiggling black snake crawled out of her throat. She tugged it all the way out and it disintegrated away, banished from both realms.
She was panting as she straightened up, shaking her head to clear away the malevolent emanation she had just used to her advantage. She disappeared in a blink of an eye and reappeared directly in front of Silas.
She grabbed him by the shoulder with her left hand and sent her right to his chest. The moment her fingertips penetrated the surface of his skin and went into his muscles, Latin began falling out of her mouth.
"Phasmatos tribum, ne Ex Salito, ne Revertas Phasmatis. Ne Ex Salito."
Silas's jaw clenched so hard it seemed he would crush his teeth, but he didn't give up fighting. He gripped Bonnie's arm and neck and started burning.
The others watched as Bonnie continued to yell the spell despite the tendrils of smoke rising from her skin. Damon jolted forward and hit the barrier between him and the dueling witches.
"Sophia let me out!"
She didn't respond. Could she make out the sears bubbling on Bonnie's skin? Could she hear the strain in Bonnie's voice as it turned into a harsh whisper?
Damon punched the invisible wall. "Goddammit Sophia!"
"Sophia, please!" Elena cried.
Damon's hands passed through the wall and he was flashing across the field before Sophia could warn him not to get killed. He seized Silas by his neck and arm that was attached to Bonnie's throat.
Silas turned his head at the exact moment Damon dove his mouth to the immortal's shoulder, and tore his arm clean off. Silas roared in pain as hot, fountain sprays of blood spurted out of his gaping wound. Bonnie took in a lungful of air and her voice strengthened.
Damon squeezed Silas's neck, growling like a feral dog. Silas fixed him with a death stare.
"You can't kill me for long."
Damon tightened his hold on Silas's throat, crushing his windpipe enough so he couldn't talk and could just barely breathe. But he still smirked confidently with his bloody mouth even as he fought to keep himself upright on his feet.
Until there was a tightening in his chest. He looked down in time to see Bonnie's hand glow in the darkness. His eyes widened as he felt a shift in his soul and, for the first time, he openly showed fear. Bonnie felt the key to Silas's overextended existence unwind and she smiled at him like the Cheshire cat through the rain.
"Phasmatos tribum, ne Ex Salito, ne Revertas Phasmatis. Ne Ex Salito," she said quietly, coolly, knowing it was finished. That he was finished. When she wrenched her hand away, Silas stumbled forward. Damon grabbed the back of his head and the witch looked at him, panic in his eyes.
"Goodbye, Silas. It was nice knowing you."
Damon jerked his arms violently and Silas's head twisted around his neck like bones and muscles hadn't held it together; it was like Damon had wrung out a wet dishcloth that never unfurled. His body spun around an entire 360 degrees on the way down. It hit the floor, splashing water and mud all around him.
Bonnie regarded Silas's body before turning to Damon. His back was to her and his face was upturned towards the falling sky. She reached for him, and just before she touched his arm he twitched and Elena enveloped Bonnie in a strangling hug.
Bonnie let her get it out of her system then was hugged by Stefan, and then Sophia. Her mentor brushed Bonnie's wet hair behind her ears.
"Welcome back."
"Thank you, Sophia. For everything."
"I couldn't let you fall on the sword without an insurance policy. You have exceeded in ways no witch ever has before, Bonnie. You cheated death; you split and recombined your soul. You killed one of the most powerful and fearful witches to ever walk this Earth. Sheila and Emily will be proud."
Bonnie smiled and gave Sophia another hug.
"What do we do with the body?" Stefan asked. He kicked the corpse that looked exactly like him.
Bonnie pulled him away. "Incendia."
A pentagram of fire engulfed Silas's body despite the rain, ensuring that he would never be able to terrorize anyone ever again. The five of them watched it burn away. Stefan offered Sophia a place to stay for the night and she accepted. The group headed back through the woods.
During their trek, Damon never acknowledged Bonnie. He didn't stray too far from her but he never looked at her nor spoke to her. Bonnie grabbed his hand; it was limp in hers, and he stared straight ahead as he walked a couple of paces in front of her. Bonnie stopped walking, and tugged on his hand. "Damon, wait."
He stopped, but still didn't look at her. Elena glanced back and with one look knew to keep going. She nudged Stefan and motioned to the reunited couple. Stefan looked over his shoulder, grimaced, and placed a hand on Sophia's shoulder.
"What do you say we rush ahead? I'm tired of being in the rain."
Sophia tittered. "That would be lovely, chevalier blanc."
Stefan scooped her up into his arms, nodded at Elena, and sped off with her close on his heels. Bonnie waited thirty seconds and Damon still refused to face her.
"What's wrong with you?"
He didn't answer.
"I know you're mad at me. You have every right to be."
Heavy rain was the only response. She started pulling her hand away from Damon's. "Do you hate me now?" she whispered.
He was on her in less than a heartbeat. He kissed her roughly and held onto her face, backing her into a tree until the bark was digging into her back. He hiked her dress up and ripped her panties off before lifting her up by her thighs and pressing her into the tree once more.
Bonnie's head spun as he placed hard kisses stinging bites on her shoulders; they were scorching compared the rain that continued to fall.
"I'm filthy. We're filthy," she said feebly.
"I don't care."
He was back on her mouth. He seemed intent on suffocating her by swallowing her every breath and preventing her from taking in any more oxygen. Bonnie got all jumbled up in the kisses, tripping into the shadowy rabbit hole of Damon's mind.
She felt his desperation and his despair when he had believed her dead. She wandered deeper and deeper into his dark wonderland until she didn't know where his consciousness ended and hers began- until she was irrationally convinced that she had lived without Damon before his resurrection that night.
He undid his pants and was pushing himself inside of her like a man who did not expect to see dawn. It was not a gentle fuck; it was hard and raw and punishing because Bonnie had died, lied and left him alone to suffer and he hated her for it.
It was crushing and gratifying because she really came back and saved everyone, saved him without being corporeal and he loved her, dammit, he loved her like the sun loved the moon; two entities, two different forces that moved in synchronization and sustained life in their partnership. And in their eclipse they came together, clinging to one another and moaning their respective names into each other's mouths.
They stayed against that tree with their foreheads stuck together. Every so often Damon would catch her bottom lip in his mouth. Bonnie caressed his face and looked into his strikingly blue eyes.
"Let's go home."
I couldn't kill anyone but the baddie. Oh well!
So...one more chapter left?
XOs to all you readers and reviewers.