This was a hard chapter to write, but a fun one... I think I am doing a great job with this.
"Ugh." Liam groaned, his head aching horribly as he tried to focus, life returning to his mind as slowly he came to conciousness. 'Why does my head hurt so bad...' Trying to move, he felt something horrifying. "My hands are bound... I'm tied to a chair." And so he was, his eyes finally opening entirely. He looked down and saw the chair he was tied to, his arms bound behind him, painfully tied together. "What was the last thing that happened to me..." He tried to remember, to get any kind of clue to what happened... Only to groan as his memories came flooding back. " I came to kill Damon and got my ass handed to me by a sickly, weak vampire. Lovely, real smart."
Looking around, trying to find a way out, he quickly realized he was in the ritzy Salvatore mansion still... He was alone for the time being, and right next to a roaring fireplace.
'Fire... I can draw on it for power, free myself from these ropes by moving them with my mind... if I can manage to do that, I haven't managed to move anything with my mind yet. First time for everything I guess.'
Closing his eyes, Liam focused on the fire, it's warmth and drew on it. Instantly his power, his magic, burned within him as a small measure of strength flooded his weaker body. Then he focused on the rope, the feel of it, the harsh burn of it against his skin. Slowly, he reached out with his mind, his magic and started to move his fingers. Twisting and twinning, he moved the rope in and around, searching for a natural weakness on the rope. It took what had to be almost half an hour before the rope fell to the ground and he managed to stand, comfortably, rubbing his wrists and groaning internally at how weak he was.
'I need a weapon... I don't think he was dumb enough to leave my stake and pouches on me.' Checking himself anyway, he realized he was right and so moved to the Fireplace to grab a poker, before moving to the Windows, where he saw daylight. He was safe if he could get outside...
Slowly, he crept to the window, wiggling it open a crack before cold hands wrapped around him and he found himself pinned to a dark corner, Damon's sexy blue eyes staring at him with amusment and pleasure.
"Well that was rude, you didn't even stay for dinner." His teeth lengthened, black veins crawling around his eyes as he leaned in. Liam let him, knowing the vervain in his system would disable the beast and allow him a chance at freedom... or so he hoped. The fact that Damon stopped suddenly, looking at him with cold amusement unsettled him and his plans. "You wouldn't happen to drink vervain, would you? Your far too calm for someone I'm trying to eat."
Liam could not help his shiver, genuine fear filled him at how utterly screwed he was at that moment. "Your not going to kill me..." He looked, desperately at the man before him, searching for something to save him... and then he saw it, his salvation. "If you do, you'll be stuck here, without a daylight ring."
"You can make one?"
"If you have Lapis Lazuli, then I can ask my mentor... and I have a feeling they know how to. I am good at magic, just not that strong."
Damon chuckled. "Fine, call them, but remember, I'm listening." He handed a phone, Liam's phone, to Liam.
With more then a little fear, he dialed Shiela's number. The moment she answered, he stopped her. "I can't explain why, how do you make a daylight ring?"
To her credit, Sheila only sighed for a moment. "You merely connect sunlight to a Lapis Lazuli stone, the stone itself naturally resonates protective magic. When bound to something, like sunlight, it makes sunlight protection. You will be explaining why you need this later."
"Naturally, just know I did something dumb and am suffering the consequneces." He hung up then, handing the phone back to Damon, who took it with a smile... or a smirk. it was hard to tell with him. "Get me some Lapis Lazuli and I will do what I can, just be patient."
"Not a problem, little witch."
"And no killing, please?" Sighing, Liam moved closer to Damon, getting very close. "Yes, I came to kill you for abusing my friend, but the price for my help is the same as before. You don't need to kill to feed. Unlike most witches, I have no issue with your feeding on people. Please do, you need to survive, but... don't kill if you don't have to. And no hurting my family."
The man before him sighed. "Fine, just make the damn ring."
Shocked, Liam actually hugged Damon tightly. He would later blame his mildly concussed state, but at that moment the realization that his loved ones would be safe was so overwhelming that it overtook his utter loathing of the man before him. "Thank you! Go get the rings or whatever."
Damon nodded and turned, slowly walking away. It was here that Liam realized how weak Damon was at the moment, he looked... exhausted and just beat. He still had an air of intimidation, but it was considerably less then before. Liam knew he might be able to fight his way out, but the chances of failure were too great to ignore. This was safer... smarter...
After a few minutes, Damon managed to slump down the stairs where he handed to him a ring with Lapis Lazuli in it's center. Liam took it without thought and placed it in the sunlight of the window he tried to escape from. Closing his eyes, he reached out and felt the hum of the rings magic. Focusing hard, he embraced the magic of the sunlight, dancing against his skin. Slowly he pushed them together, not really saying anything but focusing on the energy between them. It was draining, more then he expected, but before he knew it the ring was enchanted and he shakily opened his eyes.
"It's done." He handed the ring to Damon. "Try it out."
Damon nodded, and hesitantly placed his hand out into the sunlight, where nothing happened. "Perfect, time for dinner. Your coming with me, I still don't trust you."
"Fair enough, I did come here to kill you so... yeah, I get it. I'll drive, you look ready to die."
Damon, to his shock, tossed him the keys. "Not a problem. Just get me to something edible."
Liam considered his options and one thing came up. "There's a spot where some druggies congragate. You'll have to compel some people, maybe even my brother if he's there, but it should work. It would isolated, safe and you'll get your fill."
"""
Liam drove his captor to the Graveyard where, to his accurate guess, a bunch of Druggies were congragating. Including his idiot brother and Vicki, which made him sigh. Carefully, Liam pulled into a spot where they wouldn't be seen or heard, but they could monitor the idiots being idiots. "Hey Damon, can you compel Vicki to leave my brother? She's ruining his life and frankly if you killed her, I wouldn't be too mad."
Damon actually laughed. "You are the weirdest witch I've ever met... and I thought you hated me?"
"I do, but your useful, I have a concussion and I have little choice but to get along with you for my sanity and saftey. I want to stake you, badly, but at the moment I have other priorities, like surviving and protecting my family." Damon laughed again before he started eaving his very nice car, only to be stopped by Liam. "Please... don't hurt my brother..."
Damon's eyes turned a soulful blue and he gave a genuine, not smirky smile for once. "I won't... I need you to owe me enough to help me later."
Liam didn't watch as his decimated the kids, tearing into throats and feeding with a relish. He cringed, hearing Jeremy's screams, but did nothing, somehow knowing Damon would keep his word... even if he hadn't before. Maybe he had magically sensed it, or it was something about how the man said he wouldn't hurt him, but he knew he would keep his word.
Or maybe it really was that concussion... he felt strange enough as it was... sort of floaty... maybe he needed to use vampire blood to heal, Sheila said it could do that...
It took ten minutes for the screams to stop and for Damon to walk over to the car with a very pale, but glassy eyed Jeremy. Damon smirked. "He's compelled to do whatever you say, so do as you please."
Smiling, he turned to his brother. "Your going to stop doing drugs, start getting over Mom and Dad's Death and do better at school. No skipping classes, working hard and generally moving on with your life. Vicki was nice to have, but she is a distraction..." Liam felt horrible, messing with his brother's mind like this, but the consequnces of his brother not changing now was... devistating. "... You want to be better and you will be. It will take time but you are sure you can pull it off. Do you understand?" Jeremy nodded. "Good... now go home, empty your stash and do better."
His brother nodded once more with a look of purpose and direction on his face. Liam could only hope that it would help him be better...
"Damon, can we take him home or do you need me for more?"
"We can take him home, then I have some business with Stefan..." His smirk was deliciously cruel, so much so it sent a shiver of fear running down Liam's spine. It was here that he was fully reminded of why he wanted to kill Damon, it wasn't just that he hurt Caroline, but that he was dangerous... in a way that Stefan didn't seem to be. "I'll drive this time."
Liam quickly switched seats and they hurried home, with Jeremy still spacey.
"""
As Liam led his brother in, the sky finally dark, he looked up and saw his sister with a determined look of... something on her face. It was a mix of shock, disblief and fear that sent shivers down his spine even more then the look on Damon's face earlier. "You okay, Elena?"
"I need to see Stefan... I have to ask him something." She walked by him, bumping into him... and in the moment they made contact, a series of visions swam in his head.
An Old black man saying " 1953." The image of Stefan dancing in her mind.
Stefan at the football Field, after Jeremy slashed him with the broken bottle. "Oh, my god, your hand! Is it deep? How bad is it?"
Stefan's face breaking out in veins, Elena asking. " Hey, um, are you ok? Your eye. Your face."
Caroline covered in bruises, Elena looking on in horror. " What is that? Oh, my god, what happened to you?"
Caroline all but sobbing. "It's nothing!"
Stumbling, the young Traveler looked at his sister in horror. "You know?" He whispered, but she heard him clearly, turning to him with sharp eyes.
"Know... you... you knew?" Her tone was pained, angry and scared.
Sighing, Liam turned to Jeremy. "Go to bed..." He turned back to his sister, just as Jeremy did as he was told. "There is a lot you need to know, and some of that needs to come from Stefan... let's go talk to him..."
To his suprise, his sister didn't argue and just followed him to her car where they drove off to the Salvatore Mansion, a confrontation finally coming to reality.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
Elena is finally in the know, so much is going to change!
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.