Chapter Twenty-One: The Chase
Mystic Falls, Virginia
September 2010
"You've been keeping Finn in the basement? Now I know I'm not the favorite."
"We didn't finish the mansion until a couple weeks ago, idiot. Where would I have kept you, a trailer? Caroline's Kia?"
"Alright, alright. Fine. Why the hell would Esther and Mikael care if Finn was daggered or not?"
"They must plan on using him for something, if only to sic him on us."
"No, there has to be something else."
"Well, I'm all ears, Kol," Klaus snarled.
After discovering the empty coffin downstairs, the brothers had bickered all the way back to the first floor. As they reentered the dining room, they walked in on Pacari pulling out pieces of candle wax from his chest. Kol threw the hybrid over his shoulder and carried him to the living room.
"None of that Pacari, you'll only make a bigger mess. No touching; let it all pop out on its own," he scolded.
"I don't have acne, Kol." Pacari sent Klaus a gloomy look over Kol's shoulder. "I take it Finn's no longer with us."
Klaus shook his head grimly, his jaw tense. Kol tossed Pacari onto a couch and flashed to the kitchen to grab blood.
"It was a trap. We realized most of their entourage had vacated the premises earlier. As soon as we started to leave, witches surrounded the building and the Five appeared," Klaus explained, jostling through the liquor cabinet and pulling out a bottle of a bottle of dry gin. He didn't bother finding a glass.
"Fuck," Pacari groaned.
"My thoughts exactly. Then one of my hybrids lost his cool and killed one of them, so now he's useless. The voices will start within hours," Klaus explained moodily. Kol reentered with a blood bag.
"Well, aren't you just a regular Florence Nightingale," Pacari muttered as Kol opened the bag and handed it to him.
"Ah-ha-ha, so funny, Kol has no cultural awareness whatsoever," the Original vampire said drily. "Find a new joke, papi."
"I'll get right on that," Pacari retorted as he started sucking down the blood.
"Did they say anything else, besides ask where Finn was?" Kol asked his friend, falling into the couch beside him.
Pacari paused between sips. "They know Caroline and Mariko are in Tibet," he said slowly. "Esther revealed she threatened the school with the anticipation that Caroline would freak out and leave Klaus' side, which is exactly what happened."
Klaus froze, staring at Pacari.
"They knew they could outmaneuver us without them here," Pacari continued. "And they mentioned a deal; Qetsiyah was only helping them get Finn because she wanted something in return."
"So, what was her end of the bargain?" Kol asked.
Pacari shook his head. "They did not say."
"Nik? What's wrong? Caroline is fine," Kol told him with an eye-roll.
Klaus stepped towards them with fear in his eyes. "Pacari, did they take anything else?"
As Pacari took another sip of blood, Klaus' eyes followed the movement.
"I'm not sure; I was a little distracted fighting Mikael," he said.
Kol's eyes flickered from Klaus' gaze to the blood bag. Klaus flashed out of the room. Kol bowed his head and waited.
"What did he just realize?" Pacari asked as he sucked down the last of the blood and tossed the bag onto the coffee table.
Kol opened his mouth, but Klaus' roar of fury interrupted whatever he was going to say. There was an almighty crash and then Klaus was back in the room, his veins darkening his face, yellow eyes glowing, and fangs dropped down.
"They stole Elena's blood, didn't they?" Kol said.
His brother's response was to punch the piano so hard it collapsed to the floor with a thunderous boom that shook the entire mansion.
Richmond, Virginia
Mikael waited impatiently as his wife chanted over the parchment. She dripped the doppelgänger's blood over it delicately before taking out a knife and nicking her ring finger, mixing her blood with the girl's. As her chanting increased, the red liquid spread out over the parchment and linked every name written in Elder Futhark, the names of the children. Then it burst into flames.
"Is it done?" he asked.
She stared down at the fiery parchment for a long moment before nodding affirmatively. "It is done. They are all linked."
They both looked to the middle of the room, where Finn had been laid out on the couch. Mikael had only removed the dagger minutes earlier; they would have to wait some time for him to wake up.
"Nine hundred years," Mikael scoffed. "Niklaus' doing, of course."
"Would you rather he turned into as much a monster as the rest of them?" his wife inquired sharply.
Mikael grimaced in chagrin. "No, no."
"I understand more than you the depth of Niklaus' depravity, but Finn hated being a vampire, with good reason."
"Let's hope he still hates it when he wakes up," the Original Vampire grumbled.
"He will," Esther said confidently. She rose to her feet and grasped the vial that had been set inconspicuously on the desk.
"All this planning, Mikael; we are finally absolving ourselves," she muttered, rolling the capsule between her fingers and staring at the blood-red liquid.
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
Occitanie, France
Rebekah, Elijah, and the d'Ebanne witch were met at the airport by a driver in a black suit. When they reached the Escalade, there were two vampire guards waiting for them.
"Your men?" Rebekah asked her brother as they slid into the leather seats.
"No. Ours," Verenice told her, pulling her sunglasses over her eyes and curling into a seat. "The coven has long continued the alliance with vampires that began with our ancestors. Forty-five minutes to Auxor."
Elijah settled into his seat with sigh. "It's been a long time since I've seen that castle. When was the last time we were in d'Ebanne territory, Bekah?"
"The 1600s," his sister speculated. "I considered visiting when I lived in Paris, but there were too many distractions. Paris in the age of post-impressionism, you know," she finished with a wave of her hand.
"Goodness, so not since long before the Revolution," Elijah exclaimed. "I never thought to ask Caroline how she managed to keep hold of her land during the war."
Verenice's mouth had fallen open with disbelief. "Uh… A ton of compulsion and protective wards. I knew this mission would be an interesting one, but the two of you are something else."
"How is the old place? Caroline mentioned renovations a few years ago?" Rebekah inquired airily, her gaze on the mountainous landscape.
"I think you'll find it familiar, but much improved," Verenice said. "Most of the witches still live in the woods surrounding the castle, but the elders and my family, leaders of the coven, reside in the castle, as is tradition. All coven business takes place there. We recently installed," she started explaining, but Rebekah's phone rang shrilly.
She pulled it out of her purse. It was Kol.
"What happened? Were you successful?" she demanded.
Elijah listened.
"Not exactly, sister. It seems we were set up. Qetsiyah, Esther, and Mikael are working together. While Nik and I were at their headquarters, they broke through the protective wards at the mansion and stole Finn's body."
"Finn?" Rebekah repeated dully. "What could they possibly want him for?"
"Finn thinks we're all abominations; he'll assist them in abolishing us," Elijah muttered.
She glanced at him with a frown. "But he doesn't know this world; he's had a dagger in him since the 12th century."
"I don't know what they're planning to use him for, but it probably has something to do with them also stealing Nik's reserve of Elena's blood." Kol said.
Rebekah froze. Elijah bent over his knees and rested his head in his hands.
"They have Finn and Elena's blood? And Mikael has the Cure," Rebekah said hollowly.
"We're not winning this right now," Kol said grimly. "There were a few casualties on both sides," he continued.
Rebekah straightened in her seat. "Was Pacari at the mansion when Mikael and Esther invaded?"
"Bekah, if Pacari had been killed, this phone conversation would have begun very differently. He's fine. Mikael stuck a candelabra in him for fun, because he's never figured out how to kill vampires of Caroline's strain. Qetsiyah and Esther have no interest in him. He's resting, but fine."
Rebekah voice shook with emotion. "He was alone with all three of them?" she hissed out. "How could you two be so clumsy?"
"Well, if we knew our deranged parents were planning on invading the mansion, stealing the doppelgänger's blood, and kidnapping the body of our insipid eldest brother, we would have changed our plans. Are you done freaking out now?"
"I told you I wanted him to come with Elijah and I, but no one in this family ever listens to me!"
"Rebekah," Kol started.
Elijah's phone starting ringing then. He pulled it out of his breast pocket; Niklaus.
"What happened?" he asked smoothly.
"The Brotherhood is back," his brother informed him, skipping formalities.
Rebekah glanced at him in the middle of cursing out Kol. He held the phone tightly against his ear.
"All of them? In Mystic Falls?"
"Kol let one of my hybrids kill one of them, but yes, all five of them. If this Potential Hunter nonsense is true, his replacement will join their ranks shortly. Qetsiyah is working with our parents."
"What's the next step?"
"Killing Mikael and Esther, getting the Cure, forcing it down Silas' throat, and living our lives in peace."
Niklaus hung up.
Rebekah ended her call with Kol, and the siblings stared at each other.
"Are your lives always like this?" Verenice asked.
Elijah gave her a small smile. "You'd be surprised."
Interstate 95
When Stefan jolted awake, the first thing he saw was the tree line speeding past. He turned in his seat. A woman with dark hair and eyes was giving him a curious look.
"Hello, Stefan," she said calmly.
Stefan glanced around the car. One of the men who had kidnapped him was driving, while the other was tapping into his phone in the passenger's seat.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he questioned tersely. He still had vervain in his system, but he'd probably be able to jump out of the car and still get away.
"My name is Qetsiyah. These are my hunters," she introduced.
"Hunters? Vampire hunters?" Stefan questioned, while running estimates in his head about how fast the car was going. He would have to jump out with full vampire speed.
"Actually, though the Brotherhood of the Five has evolved into a league of supernatural vampire hunters, their original purpose was much more direct."
"Killing Silas?" Stefan guessed.
"Wrong; forcing the Cure down his cheating throat," she corrected with a manic gleam in her eye.
Stefan nodded and tried to look sympathetic. He shifted slightly and slid his hand to the handle of the door, behind his back.
Qetsiyah settled into her seat with a bored look and pulled out a nail file. "The rest are in the car following with their newest member; a friend of yours, I believe."
Stefan had a good grip on the handle, but this last sentence made him pause. "Who?"
"You'll see soon enough. Besides, Stefan, even if you did jump out, who would save you?" she held out her hand to reveal his daylight ring. The lapis lazuli had been removed. "Oh, look; dawn."
Stefan clenched his jaw and turned to fully face the ancient witch. "What do you want with me?"
"You have a very important part to play, doppelgänger."
In the SUV closely following their car, Jeremy pulled his right hand uselessly against the handcuff attached to the grab handle. He glared furiously at his captors.
"If you're trying to get to my sister through me, she has a hell of a lot of protectors!"
The man next to him smirked. "I believe we can handle them. But you're not here because of Elena Gilbert, Jeremy. You're here to fulfil your sacred duty. We lost a brother last night; it is time for you to join our ranks."
Jeremy stared at the man in bewilderment. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You're a vampire-hunter now, brother," the second man said, clapping Jeremy on the shoulder in a brotherly way from the third row.
The teenager wrested his hand away. "That's impossible."
"Is it? I suppose I thought so, too, until I killed my first vampire. Don't worry, you'll understand the instinct once you're in a room with one."
Jeremy scowled. "I don't really like vampires, but that doesn't mean every time I see one, I want to stake it. Some of them are alright."
"But that was before your powers were awakened. The only reason you aren't ripping that handcuff off right now is because you think you can't; you need to realize you are now very powerful," the first man instructed.
Jeremy glared at the man. "What are you talking about?" he hissed.
The second man leaned over the seat and grabbed a fistful of Jeremy's T- shirt. "Both your sister and your girlfriend are currently surrounded by vampires. How does that make you feel?"
Jeremy growled. "Shut up!"
"Don't hold back, Jeremy."
The handcuff ripped the grab handle out of the ceiling of the car and Jeremy gasped in shock. The first Hunter smiled triumphantly and unlocked the handcuff from his wrist. Jeremy rubbed his wrist in wonder.
"Once we fulfill our ancient duty, you are free to do as you please. Though, I doubt you'll go back to a normal life after this," the first man conceded.
"Where are you taking me?" Jeremy asked.
The second man pulled out a navy-blue booklet from his jacket and showed it to Jeremy.
"We nabbed this from your room; you can imagine our relief that you had a passport. There's only so much Qetsiyah can manipulate."
Jeremy stared at his passport, shock and bafflement racing across his face.
"Passport?"
Auxor Castle
Occitanie, France
The twisting catacombs underneath Auxor Castle were just as convoluted and ominous as Rebekah remembered. Verenice led the way, and for a moment, the vampire imagined she was Sophia, Caroline's best friend from many centuries before. They had the same red hair.
"You're a descendent of Sophia, aren't you?" she asked abruptly.
The young woman turned slightly, showing the siblings her profile.
"You made a deal with Adelaide, Sophia's mother. I didn't volunteer for this mission; it is my birth right."
"If we hadn't agreed to come," Elijah started.
"It was blood-magic; you would have been cursed otherwise."
"Fascinating," Elijah said politely.
Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"Here we are," the witch determined, coming to a halt in front of a stone slab. She withdrew a dagger from her belt, slit her palm open, and laid her bleeding hand on the wall. The primeval writing carved into the stone lit up with a bluish glow. Verenice chanted lowly, until the slab trembled and slid open with a groan.
"Are you finally going to explain how the anchor came into the d'Ebanne coven's possession?" Elijah asked.
"We wiped out the Travelers a few decades back," Verenice said shortly, grabbing a torch from the wall and peering into the eerie entrance. "They were a self-righteous, pugnacious band of parasites, not even worthy of being called witches. No wonder Qetsiyah came through the Veil; she must be mortified with what they'd become. Afraid of their own powerful magic, bullying anyone who displayed the slightest amount of interest in exploring the many different facets of witchcraft. We killed them all and stole the anchor."
She took a deep breath and walked through the doorway, Elijah and Rebekah right behind.
"Why didn't you tell Caroline?" Rebekah asked as they stepped down a spiral staircase.
"We only bother her with relevant information. This was deemed unworthy until recently."
"When you learnt Silas had awoken."
"No; it was of the upmost priority he did not know where the anchor was. We knew Caroline could be compromised by being in such close proximity to him, so we said nothing. That is, until our little discovery the other day."
"It's been a summer full of discoveries," Elijah agreed.
Rebekah snorted.
The trio finished the descent down the stairs and looked around a small chamber filled with old statues, paintings, chests, and other miscellaneous bric-à-brac.
"I see you like to store your antiques in the most secluded parts of the castle," Elijah noted with raised eyebrows. "I always did prefer Sotheby's, myself."
Verenice smirked at him. "Take a look at the statue in that corner."
Rebekah led the way to the corner Verenice gestured to. They paused in front of a life-size statue of a young woman wearing a long toga. Rebekah squinted. Beside her, Elijah tilted his head to the side in consternation.
"Why does this statue look like the Petrova doppelgängers?" Rebekah asked disquietly.
"We come down here every few days for routine maintenance on our most precious and powerful artifacts. Last week, one of my sisters accidentally cut her hand and some of it fell on the statue. Imagine her surprise when the statue's eyes creaked open in response to the blood."
"That's a vampire?" Elijah guessed in astonishment. "She had to have been desiccated for a very long time to look like that."
"There was another doppelgänger besides Tatia, Katerina, and Elena?" Rebekah said blankly.
"We thought Qetsiyah fashioned the anchor to look like Amara in an ironic move; none of us ever imagined in our wildest dreams the scope of Qetsiyah's irony. She's not a vampire," the witch said. "And she's certainly not a doppelgänger."
Amara's eyes cracked open.
Mystic Falls, Virginia
"Klaus!" Damon Salvatore roared as he burst into the mansion with Elena at his heels.
Klaus turned to the front door with a sigh. "Now is not really the time, Salvatore."
He had been going over the casualties with Kol in the living room while his witches sat around the dining room table working on tracking the Brotherhood; Klaus had managed to rip out a few handfuls of hair from one of the Hunters. Kol tapped his pen against his thigh in irritation and glanced over their guests with an impassive look.
"I thought we just got rid of them," he muttered to his brother.
"Where are our brothers, Klaus?" Elena demanded as the pair stormed into the living room. Her eyes widened as she took in the destruction; no one had deemed it important to clean up the piano, so broken shards of wood, plastic, and cast iron lay in a haphazard pile beside the fireplace. The candelabra previously inside Pacari's chest had been tossed unceremoniously on the floor of the dining room, covered in said vampire's blood and innards.
"Brothers?" Klaus repeated.
"Jeremy and Stefan were just taken, Oh Holy Hybrid. Didn't we just go over this, I don't know, yesterday?" Damon condescended.
Klaus and Kol looked at each other, frowning.
"What would Mikael and Esther want with them?" Klaus muttered.
Kol raised his eyebrows. "Since Elena was not taken, I think we have to assume this was Qetsiyah's part of the bargain."
"Jeremy and Stefan, though? It doesn't follow," Klaus argued.
"Hey! Right here; us, in front of you," Damon interrupted.
Klaus turned to the younger vampire. "It wasn't me, Damon. We've been dealing with our own shit tonight. What the hell would I want with Elena's brother?"
"As leverage against me?" she retorted.
"We just made a deal; I do not renege on my deals. Anyway, if I wanted your blood that badly, I'd just kidnap you again," he said callously. "And now that you mention it, I have run out of your blood."
"Not now, Nik," Kol told him.
Elena hesitated, glancing from Kol to Klaus with narrowed eyes.
"But if you didn't take them, who did?"
Kol rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Catch up, Doppelgänger the Third. It was either our parents or Qetsiyah and her hunters."
"Where would they take them? Why would they want them?" Elena crossed her arms and subconsciously leaned towards Damon, who placed a gentle hand on her lower back.
Kol shrugged helplessly.
"The doppelgänger," Pacari said hoarsely from the couch, where he had been resting.
The group turned to him; Elena raised her eyebrows.
"I have a name, Pacari," she told him.
"I'm not referring to you. I've been researching the Travelers all summer; there was something very important that occurred when Silas and Amara took the elixir of immortality," he explained, slowly rising into a sitting position.
"Yes?" Kol asked sharply.
"As reparations for such a terrible and arrogant act of magic, the spirits created shadow-selves of both Amara and Silas," Pacari continued with a pointed look at Elena.
She gasped. "The Petrova bloodline goes that far back?"
"Wait. Are you telling me…?" Damon said slowly, comprehension dawning in his eyes.
"Didn't you find it odd Silas' go-to face of choice was Stefan's? That wasn't a coincidence; he wasn't playing a trick. Your brother is Silas' doppelgänger," Pacari said decisively.
Klaus cast an ironic smirk at Damon. "It seems the fates had very precise plans for Stefan and Elena."
"But that doesn't explain Jeremy," Elena pointed out, sending Damon a wary glance.
"We did kill one of the Five tonight…" Kol started, glancing at his brother.
"So, what?" Elena asked sharply.
"So, what if your brother was a potential vampire hunter?" Kol said, his voice heavy with implication.
"Did you just reference Buffy?" Damon asked, tilting his head to the side. "I had you pegged as an Anne Rice type."
"No, I'm talking about the Travelers –," Kol shook his head in confusion.
"He's been sleeping since the end of the 18th century; he does not understand," Klaus cut his brother off. "But you know what, yes; this is exactly like Buffy. The Potential slayers all had the powers within them, but they had no access to them until the previous slayer died. It's the same thing with the Brotherhood."
"What are you saying? My drug-addict, orphaned, medium brother has just become a powerful member of a league of deadly vampire slayers?"
"That's exactly what we're saying," Kol nodded. "Very good, Doppelgänger."
"We found the Hunter," one of the witches announced from the other room.
Everyone turned to the dining room; the witch was leaning against the doorway looking exhausted.
"They're at Dulles," she said succinctly. "Any idea of where they'll go?"
Klaus shook his head in dismay. "To the anchor, of course. Qetsiyah must fear Silas is coming to destroy it."
Kol chuckled. "Southern France is lovely this time of year."
Elena glanced at Damon before taking a step towards the witch. "Can you track Stefan?"
"No need; Qetsiyah has to be bringing your Romeo with her," Kol told her. "Doppelgängers are always useful in a pinch."
"Are you going to follow them?" Damon inquired.
"We're not going to France without taking out Mikael and Esther; they still have the Cure, Elena's blood, and Finn," Klaus said.
Before he could send them away, his phone rang shrilly. After checking who was calling, he answered immediately.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I just finished interrogating Silas; let's just say there were a few things he's been hiding," Caroline said hurriedly.
"Tell me."
"For starters, I think you need to bring your army to Auxor."
Richmond, Virginia
Finn Mikaelson faced his parents from his position on the couch, his eyes locked on the opaque capsule in his mother's hands.
"After you drink it, you will no longer be a vampire. Then we will know the linking spell worked," Esther finished explaining.
Finn glanced at his father.
"It cannot be him; I could only link the children because my blood flows through all of your veins," Esther told him emphatically, her lips pulled tight. "Your father, clearly, does not share that bloodline."
"It had to be me because if you linked it with Father's blood, Niklaus would not be affected," Finn finished for it with a bitter smile.
Mikael's face twisted into an ugly snarl and Esther shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
"Nine-hundred years, I lied in that box," Finn said softly. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing especially important," his father grunted out.
Esther handed the capsule to her eldest. He held it in his hands and stared at the red liquid within. He shook his head in amazement before biting the top off and swallowing the potion down with one swift motion.
A moment passed.
"Well? Do you feel any different?" Esther questioned.
Mikael stared at his son in confusion. "His heart still sounds like a vampire's."
Finn held his hand steadily over the flame of a nearby candle until wincing in pain; he pulled his hand away and stared at the wound. All three watched as the burn healed itself rapidly.
"Did we not wait long enough?" Mikael asked anxiously.
His wife stood up shakily with eyes as black as coal. All the candles in the room flared violently.
"You never had the Cure, Mikael. Silas tricked you," she bit out.
Mikael shook his head in denial. "That's not possible; I brought a coven with me to prevent such a thing."
Esther scoffed. "He single-handedly brought Niklaus to his knees and broke my curse within weeks of arriving in Mystic Falls; do you really think he wasn't able to trick you and a couple of second-rate witches into thinking that you had successfully stolen the Cure from him? He's had it the entire time."
Mikael glowered at the broken capsule. "Why would he bother breaking the Sun and Moon Curse if he already had what he wanted?"
Esther rubbed her temple in contemplation. "The Cure is not what he wanted, Mikael; not yet. He wants to join Amara, but he can only do that by destroying the Anchor. Thanks to Qetsiyah, he doesn't know Amara is the Anchor."
"Then he's been hiding it this entire time?" Mikael questioned angrily.
Esther shook her head slowly. "No, there's no way he could hide it from Riko d'Ebanne," she said firmly. A dark shadow passed over her face as she realized something. "He's already taken it."
Finn shook his head in confusion. "Why would he take it before he found the Anchor?"
"Because now he is a true witch again," Esther said, her nails digging into her palms.
Mikael turned red with fury. "What next?" he demanded tightly.
"Qetsiyah is going to Auxor to protect the Anchor. Our daughter-in-law must know by now Silas has taken the Cure; she'll expect we'll come for Silas and she will not give us any reason to come anywhere near Des Cendres," Esther reasoned, her thoughts flying around rapidly. "If Caroline wants to finish this, she'll bring Silas…"
"Mother?" Finn prompted when she paused.
She frowned in consternation. "We need to go to Auxor."
"Or," Mikael started, his hand on his belt. "We could make this a hell of a lot simpler."
Esther glanced down and glared the white oak stake.
"You will not stab Finn until we are out of options. I must right my wrong, but I will not do it by letting you kill our children. They will be cured," she asserted with determination.
"Then we can all be a happy family again?" Finn asked sarcastically.
"Enough, Finn!" his mother warned him. She turned to her husband and held out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Mikael reluctantly removed the stake from his belt and handed her his weapon.
Des Cendres
Southern Tibet
The atmosphere at Des Cendres was, in a word, chaos. Hybrids, vampires, witches, werewolves, and humans were all running around the spiraling hallways of the school, every one of them with their own purpose. There were circles of witches and hybrids working out the physics of the portal, werewolves determining who should go to France, and vampires tightening security on the school in case Mikael and Esther arrived before they got Silas out.
Gita was standing off to the side in one of the courtyards, her prisoner right beside her, all wrapped up in magicked ropes. Bonnie Bennett was across the courtyard, pacing back and forth with her phone pressed to her ear.
"I'm upset they're taking me away from you," Silas said casually.
Gita rolled her eyes. "Caroline is taking you to the Anchor, just like you want."
"I really feel like we've formed a bond over these past couple of weeks. Are you sure you can't come with us?" he continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"How did you manage to hide the fact that you took the Cure months ago?" she asked with real curiosity.
He shrugged. "Riko d'Ebanne does not have the heightened senses of a vampire; people see what they want to see. And, I'm the most powerful witch of all time."
"Really? Because as soon as she got her memories back, Caroline realized you were mortal," Gita retorted.
"Well, I let her," he said cheerfully, and Gita could not decipher whether or not he was lying.
On the other side of the courtyard, Bonnie ended her call with Elena and ground her heel into the dirt. She swallowed before making her way to Caroline and Mariko, who were summoning the portal.
"Inter abruptam terram praecipitem dedit nobis," the hybrid was chanting quietly. "Transgressus fuerit – Yes, Bonnie?"
"I'm coming with you to France," the young witch told her firmly.
Caroline glanced at the girl. "Vocans portal. No, you will not. We're gearing up for battle, Bonnie. Not everyone is coming out of this alive. Sororibus meis, liceat mihi, ut conteram continui temporis et spatii."
"Elena and Damon are going with your husband," Bonnie said quietly. "Do you think Elena's better equipped for battle than me?"
Caroline gave her a sharp look. "Bonnie," she started.
"They took Jeremy. I can't just sit here and do nothing," the witch continued.
"Vocans portal! Sororibus meis, adjuva nos!" Caroline cried. "We will protect Jeremy. You must stay here."
"I came here with Mariko. If she's going to France, then so am I," Bonnie asserted stubbornly. "You're not my guardian, Caroline."
Caroline sighed and glanced at Mariko.
"Transgressus fuerit, inter abruptam terram praecipitem dedit nobis!" Mariko chanted.
"She keeps telling me to take chances and listen to my instincts and follow my own path!" Bonnie argued.
Mariko raised a thin eyebrow. "I won't deny it. Caroline, she's right; this isn't your decision to make. Now!"
They clasped hands and finished the summoning.
"Ostende nobis portal! Nobis concedas transitum! Ostende nobis in via!"
A wave of energy erupted from the two witches. In the middle of the courtyard, a mirage shimmered into existence. They smiled triumphantly.
"I hope you packed a bag, Bonnie," Caroline said resignedly. "It's time to go."
Bonnie smirked. "It's right over there; did you think I was taking no for an answer?"
Emmeline appeared on the other side of Silas and grabbed his arm.
"Come on, little mortal, I expect you're ready to live out your two thousand-year-old fantasy," she said grimly.
Silas winced as Emmeline siphoned some of his power.
"Why would I try to escape? You're bringing me exactly where I want to go," he hissed.
"I'm not taking any chances."
Emmeline and Gita marched Silas to the portal, where they delivered him to Mariko. The witch nodded at Gita before striding through the portal with Silas, a band of carefully selected older students at their heels. Caroline gave her progeny a hug before turning and following them. Bonnie faced the two vampires and surprised herself by tearing up.
"I hope I can come back here one day," she said softly.
"It will be sooner than you think," Gita said wisely.
Bonnie threw herself into the vampire's embrace.
"Look after yourself, witch," Gita whispered.
Bonnie pulled away, nodded, and walked through the portal.
Without removing her eyes from Gita's, Emmeline took her mate's hand and gently stroked from her wrist down her palm and back. Gita shook her head minutely.
"Don't," she murmured.
With a small smile, Emmeline let go, turned around, and strode through the portal.
One of the teachers came to her side. "Talk about nonexistent PDA, Gita."
Gita shrugged. "We are both singular creatures; believe me, it was a very poignant farewell."
The teacher chuckled and shook her head in bewilderment.
"Close it up," Gita instructed. "We don't want anyone sneaking through."
Auxor Castle,
Occitanie, France
In southern France, Rebekah and Elijah were waiting for the portal to appear in the field surrounding Auxor Castle. Elijah was as calm as always; in fact, he was smoking a cigar and staring up at the night sky; beside him, Rebekah paced nervously while biting her fingernails. The coven had been chanting for several minutes; as their voices rose to a crescendo in unison, the telltale iridescent mirage flickered in front of them. First Mariko marched through with Silas in tow, surrounded by an elite squad of the school's oldest and most powerful students. Next, was Caroline, looking completely amnesia-free. Then came Bonnie, wiping at her eyes and shivering from the portal's bizarre sensations. She was closely followed by a heavily armed Emmeline.
As soon as Rebekah saw her oldest and dearest friend, she broke. She ran into Caroline's arms with tears in her eyes.
"They almost killed him, Caroline!" she sobbed into her friend's embrace.
Caroline rubbed her arms soothingly. "Pacari was never in any danger, Bekah. They do not know how to kill my line."
"God, we've wasted so much time," the Original hiccupped.
"He'll be here in a few days," Caroline assured her.
"It can't happen soon enough; I just want to see my husband!"
Caroline couldn't help smiling. "Husband?"
"Pacari and I are going to get married. Again. I wish I could say I can't believe it took me this long to forgive him, but I can recognize my own faults," Rebekah informed her.
"We've all made a lot of mistakes, me especially," Caroline said darkly.
Rebekah pulled away to face her sister. "Thank you for turning him, Caroline. If you hadn't given him your blood that day, he would be dead now."
Caroline shook her head remorsefully. "But I went behind your back; I should have just told you to give him your blood then and there."
"But he might not have survived if he had my blood in him; he's much stronger as your progeny than mine. And he's still a witch. You were right; it was more important that he became a hybrid than for me to turn him," Rebekah said firmly.
"Ladies, if you're quite finished, I think we are heading indoors," Elijah said with a smirk.
Rebekah glanced around, realizing the entire party was halfway up to the castle. She gave her progeny a sheepish look.
"I'll stop weeping now; let's go strategize," she said, holding out her hand.
Caroline grasped it firmly and allowed herself to be pulled towards the towering keep. A wave of déjà vu hit her as she realized she was once again on the grounds of her family's estate, being led to the next adventure by Rebekah and Elijah. She was home.
Translation of the summoning spell (Latin): The chasm between us shall be crossed. I summon a portal. My sisters, allow me to break the continuum of time and space. I summon a portal. My sisters, help us. The chasm between us shall be crossed. Show us the portal! Allow us to cross! Show us the way!
A/N: Just a little chapter today as everything falls into place for the final parts of this story. I hope everyone is doing okay right now. Thanks for reading. All the love. - L
