Chapter 40

"We need to find Stefan," said Ottilie, grabbing Damon by the arm and dragging him into the house, looking around for her uncle.

"Otti, wait!" cried Damon, "who's got Caroline? And how do you know?"

"I don't know! I guess it's something to do with the Adfectus part of me – people I care about – maybe I can tell when they're in danger? I just know that someone has Caroline, okay?"

"Damn it, STEFAN!" Damon shouted for his brother, impatient with looking for him, and he arrived presently, looking concerned at the shouting.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Otti says that someone has got Caroline," said Damon.

"I need something of Caroline's" instructed Ottilie, "I can track her, and then we can go and rescue her."

Stefan sped off to find something belonging to Caroline, ignoring Damon's smirk when he returned with a t shirt that belonged to her. Ottilie, seemingly oblivious to the implications of this, took the shirt and shut her eyes.

"Got her," she announced after a few moments. The two brothers stared at her, astounded at the sudden change in the little girl. She seemed so confident and assured. "Let's go!" she said, looking at the two of them as if they were stupid.

"Not so fast, little lady!" said Damon, putting his hands on her shoulders to stop her as she made her way to his car. "You're staying right here with Lexi!"

"No way!" she protested, "you don't even know where they are! You need me!"

Damon looked at Stefan for support who shrugged apologetically, "She has a point, brother," he said, grimacing at the death look Damon sent his way.

"Fine" hissed Damon. "You tell us where to go, we get there, you stay in the car, and Stefan and I will handle it from there."

"Sure," she said, with an innocent smile that made Damon suspicious.

"So where are we going?" asked Damon as he started up the car, all three of them crammed into his camero.

"Head to Portland, there's a little town just south of it called Rondesville. We need to go there. As we get closer, I'll get a clearer of where she is" Ottilie instructed as Damon pulled out of the drive.

They drove for around 30 minutes, all of them in silence, fearing what they might find when they got to Rondesville. Driving past the 'Welcome to Rondesville' sign, Ottilie suddenly spoke up. "Take a left here, then a right."

Damon did as she asked and they pulled up to a dilapidated, old warehouse. "She's in there," said Ottilie, pointing to the building.

"You'll stay here," said Damon sternly, turning from the driver's seat to frown at Ottilie who was sulking in the back seat.

"For now," she smirked, "but if I feel anything that tells me you guys are in trouble, I'm coming straight in!"

Damon rolled his eyes, "don't go getting a hero complex on me, little lady," he said, "that's Stefan's job…"

Stefan ignored him and got out of the car, surveying the crumbling building in front of him. "We don't know what's going to be inside," he said, trying hard not to show the fear that he felt for Caroline.

"Just stick with me, little brother," smirked Damon, "I'll look after you."

Stefan scoffed and headed towards the door of the building, raising his eyebrows at the open door, but stepping inside nevertheless. The brothers crept around the empty building, listening carefully for any signs of Caroline or anyone else who might be around. Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from the basement of the building – the only part they hadn't yet explored.

"Caroline…" whispered Stefan in horror, staring at his brother with terror in his green eyes.

Without another word, the brothers sped down the stairs to the basement, hiding behind a piece of crumbling wall. From their position, they could see Caroline, strung up with ropes that were seemingly covered in vervain, blood dripping from the many wounds on her body. Stefan, seeing Caroline's strife made to move in towards her, but was stopped by Damon's cautionary hand on his shoulder and a quick shake of his head.

"Ah don't worry, Care," came a voice. Although the brothers could not see the person it belonged to, it sounded eerily familiar. "The lovely Salvatores are already here to save you, they're just taking their time, trying to work out how the hell this is possible. Am I right, boys?"

From their hiding place, Damon and Stefan exchanged stunned looks. "Kai…?!" whispered Damon.

"Yep!" said Kai, and the wall in front of them suddenly disintegrated into dust. "Did you miss me?"

"How…" began Damon, still in shock.

"Oh Damon," sighed Kai, in mock disappointment, "surely you know by now, even hell cannot keep me down." He smiled sinisterly at them. "Now then, the lovely Caroline has been suffering for some time. Do either one of you fancy taking her place?" He gestured with a small dagger at them both, and Stefan took a hurried step forwards.

"I will," he said, his eyes fixed on the broken Caroline behind Kai.

"Psych!" laughed Kai, manically, "You guys can just watch whilst I carry on. I'm interested, you see, in how long Carebear here can last if I just…keep…poking!" He accentuated the words, stabbing Caroline with the dagger as she groaned in pain, leaving the dagger in her side with his last jab.

"What do you want, Kai?" demanded Damon.

"What do I want?" repeated Kai, as if surprised that it wasn't obvious. "I just want to have fun, Damon. Isn't that what we all want?"

Damon shook his head in disbelief, "you're crazy…" he muttered, and Kai sped over to him, suddenly seeming to seethe in rage at him.

"No, Salvatore," he hissed, "you're crazy. What kind of dumb imbecile brings an Adfectus Witch on an expedition where they don't know what they're letting themselves in for?"

He looked at the two brothers, laughing now, "oh wait, I know! The kind of dumb imbecile that leaves said witch unguarded in a, frankly lovely, vintage car!"

He'd barely finished his words before Damon sped off, out of the building, looking frantically for Ottilie.

Stefan, still staring at Caroline, addressed the siphoner. "You know about the Adfectus Witch?" he asked.

"Well of course, Stef," exclaimed Kai, throwing his hands up in disbelief, "Marcel told me all about her and I just had to meet her, you know? All that power I could just…" he shuddered in delight, "consume…"

Stefan looked a little ill at this, and turned his attention to Caroline, who was looking weaker and weaker. Kai watched Stefan looking at her, and sudden look of understanding washed over his face.

"Well this just gets better and better!" he announced, clapping his hands together, "what happened with the lovely Elena? Too good to be true?" He sneered.

"Pretty much," retorted Stefan, trying his hardest not to get riled by Kai, which was taking up every ounce of his self-control.

Just then, Damon rushed back into the room and had Kai pinned to the wall by his neck. "Oh hey, Damon!" smiled Kai, brightly, before shoving Damon off him so hard that he flew through one of the crumbling walls.

"Where is she?" hissed Damon, pulling himself off the floor and dusting himself off.

"Damned if I know," shrugged Kai. "She's your ward, isn't she? It's kinda your job to know where she is – you know, part of the job description?"

Damon was seething. "I'll kill you," he threatened, "What. Have. You. Done. With. Her?!" He demanded.

Kai rolled his eyes, "come now, Damon. You're no fun when you're grumpy! I'm sure she's fine – she's probably been taken by my little helpers to be with Marcel by now, and when I'm finished here, I can go and siphon all those lovely powers from her, fulfil my part of the bargain with Marcel, then off I go, freeeeee as a bird!"

"What's your deal with Klaus?" asked Stefan, already afraid that he knew the answer.

"I suppose I may as well tell you – Marcel won't let you live that long anyhow, and it's not like you can actually stop me! Marcel wants to sire his new super hybrids to himself, and the Adfectus Witch is the only one strong enough to do the spell. But he knew that this little witch would be unlikely to contribute willingly to the cause, so Marcel offered me a deal. We catch the witch, I siphon the power and create the sire bonds, and he lets me keep the witch so that I have unlimited power forever. Pretty neat, huh?"

He looked around for confirmation but found only horrified faces. "God, you guys are so boring…" he whinged.

Just then, they heard a loud noise from above them, and they all looked up to try and ascertain where the sound had come from.

"Who else is here?" hissed Kai, his bravado suddenly diminished, but the Salvatore brothers were equally clueless, staring around the room for any signs of the cause of the disturbance. The three of them crept up the stairs, back up to the main part of the warehouse.

Caroline was drifting in and out of consciousness, the pain and blood loss almost unbearable. Suddenly, she felt gentle tugs at the knots around her ankles, and looking down, she saw Ottilie making quick work of untying them. "Otti, what are you doing here?" she whispered hoarsely, as she landed silently on her feet when Ottilie had freed her.

Ottilie didn't answer her question but offered Caroline her wrist, which Caroline took reluctantly. She knew, however, that if she were to look out for Ottilie, she needed to be as strong as possible. Taking as little blood as possible, she felt her wounds healing and her strength returning.

"Otti, they're coming back. Hide!" She whispered urgently.

"Caroline, use the dagger on Kai, okay? Do you trust me?" asked Ottilie, hiding behind a stack of boxes. Caroline nodded, just as she felt herself being lifted up, back to where she had been strung up by ropes. The ropes moved back to where her arms were being held, but they never touched her so she didn't feel the sting of the vervain. She still had the dagger in her side, but knew now what Ottilie had in mind.

"There's no one else here, Kai," exclaimed Damon in frustration as they came back down the stairs.

Kai ignored him, but seeing Caroline still in the same sorry condition brought a villainous smile to his face. That was until he was suddenly clutching at his head, screaming in pain as blood poured from his nose, ears and eyes. "No, make it stop!" he cried.

Suddenly, Caroline was behind him, wielding the knife that she'd pulled from her side. "As you wish," she spat, plunging it deep into his back. Kai fell to the floor with a howl, blood gushing from the wound. "That felt good," she said, smiling brightly at the astonished brothers.

Snapping into action, Stefan ran over to Caroline, who was still not fully healed, to support her as they hurried back to car. "Ottilie is behind the crates!" she called back to Damon, who instantly sped over to find his daughter.

He found her curled up behind a crate, wiping the blood from her nose before she weakly smiled, and reached her arms out to him. He gently picked her up and set her down on her feet. "Can you walk, Otti?" he asked softly, pushing some hair from her face before holding her head in his hands and checking her for any injuries.

Her eyes starting rolling back and he felt her knees give way and her body go limp. Quickly moving his hands from her cheeks, he caught her around her shoulders and waist before scooping her up into his arms. "Okay, sweetheart," he whispered to her, "let's get you home."

Sending one more glance at Kai who was on the floor bleeding out, he sped off, clutching Ottilie to him, suddenly aware of her quickening heartbeat and shallow breathing. Arriving back at the car, he saw Stefan settling Caroline into the front passenger seat.

Stefan looked up and stared in shock as he saw his brother holding his unconscious niece. "Give her to me, Damon," he said urgently, knowing that his brother would get them home faster. He squeezed into the back seat of the car and took Ottilie gently from Damon, supporting her head before resting it in the crook of his arm. Damon shut the door and they set off back to Mystic Falls.

"Stefan," said Damon, barely able to mask the concern in his voice, "her heart – it's racing…"

"I know, brother, I'll keep an eye on her. You just get us home."

"She said that she had a spell to keep her condition under control, but that she struggled to maintain it when doing magic."

Stefan didn't reply, suddenly concerned by the way that Ottilie's fists were clenched shut and her breathing was increasingly shallow.

"Damon, I think…" he broke off as the little girl started convulsing in his lap, her limbs stiffening and her whole body shaking violently.

"What the hell's going on back there?" demanded Damon, not daring to take his eyes off the road at the speed he was going.

Caroline, who had fallen asleep as soon as she got into the car, suddenly awoke, disturbed by Damon's raised voice. Turning to look at the commotion in the back seat, she was horrified to see Stefan cradling Ottilie in his arms, trying to support her as she trembled uncontrollably. "Oh my god, Otti!" she cried, "Stefan, can't you just give her some of your blood?"

Stefan shook his head, his eyes never leaving Ottilie's face, "vampire blood doesn't fix illnesses, only injury. And besides, even if we did, we can't risk her becoming a vampire – she's too young." Caroline nodded, completely understanding, and continued watching as Stefan tried to keep his niece's airway open and hold her safely.

The seizure finally stopped, and Ottilie fell limp once again against Stefan. Caroline let out a shaky sigh of relief before informing Damon who was still breaking every speed limit imaginable. "We're about 15 minutes away," he said, his eyes meeting Stefan's through the rear view mirror.

Stefan stroked his little niece's hair as her eyes remained clamped shut, "you're okay, Otti, you're okay," he whispered soothingly, not even sure whether she would hear. He suddenly noticed the stillness of her chest and panickily, leant down to place his ear over her mouth. "No, no, dammit Ottilie, don't do this! Not now!" He cried in alarm, before tilting her head back, pinching her nose shut and giving her rescue breaths for the third time since he'd known her.

"Oh my God," whispered Caroline in horror as she watched Stefan working on Ottilie, tears springing to her eyes. She'd never witnessed the true extent of one of Ottilie's attacks before, and she was feeling guilty that Ottilie had used so much magic to save her.

"Come on," muttered Stefan, blowing air forcefully into her lungs, "breathe, dammit!" He balled his fist up and rubbed his knuckles aggressively over her sternum, trying to get her to respond. He could still hear her heart beating, and it was slowing, which was a good sign. If only he could just get her breathing again.

"Shall I pull over?" asked Damon, trying to keep his voice steady as he felt the panic rising.

"No," instructed Stefan, between breaths, "no, get her home, we can look after her better there."

Five minutes later and they were speeding through Mystic Falls towards the mansion. Damon had somehow miraculously shaved an extra five minutes off the journey, grimacing at the protest his poor old car was making.

Stefan was still breathing for Ottilie, pushing air into her lungs every few seconds before she took her first, independent breath. It was weak and shaky, but Stefan felt it, and so he stopped what he was doing and rubbed his knuckles over her bony chest one more time, trying to encourage her to take a deeper breath, and hopefully rouse her from unconsciousness. "That's it, baby," he said gently, "breathe for me, Otti, come on!" Her breaths became stronger and he could see her straining to get air in. He stroked her hair, trying to sooth her, just as they pulled up outside the mansion.

Damon was outside the car in a flash, pulling Ottilie from Stefan's arms. "Take her inside," instructed Stefan, and Damon sped off before allowing himself a moment to collapse back into his seat as the adrenaline started to wear off. Long as I live, he thought, I will never get used to doing that…

Caroline pulled him out the car and sped with him into the mansion where they found Damon bent over a tiny figure lying on the floor. "She's breathing again, brother," he said, the relief evident in his voice. Stefan nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Let's get her comfy," said Caroline, taking charge of the two shaken brother, knowing she was good in a crisis. "Damon, go and get her a blanket, Stefan, go and get us all something to drink. Water for Ottilie, and something… stronger… for us." The brothers nodded and sped off to their tasks whilst Caroline picked the little girl up gently and laid her on the sofa, placing a soft cushion under her head. "You've changed those two," she said softly, chuckling as she gently stroked her hand.

Damon arrived back with her blanket and cuddly teddy that the Mikaelsons had brought her a year ago. Caroline saw it and felt almost emotional at Damon doing such an un-Damon-like thing.

Damon noticed her looking at it, then him and shrugged. "What?" he said defensively, "it makes her feel safe!" Caroline just smiled warmly at him and Stefan arrived back with two glasses of bourbon, a bloodbag for Caroline and a glass of water for Ottilie.

"Now we wait…" said Damon, wearily.