Summary: Stefan sentences Damon for his 'slights'. The remaining Salvatore pays the price.
~Past~
"Damon."
"Zach."
"You can't do this, Damon!"
"I can do anything I want, Zach. But I'm curious, what do you think I can't do?"
"You can't come back here and leave a trail of bodies. This is a different place now."
"Oh c'mon, don't be a downer like Stefan. It's just one body, in what, a month, it doesn't even count. Think of it as a cheat day."
"Does life mean nothing to you?"
"Human life, eh, no, not really."
"You need to leave, Damon."
He sped to Zach and lifts him up by his neck choking him, "And you need to stop telling me what I should or shouldn't do Zach. Or you won't be around for long. Do you understand?"
"What's going on?" Stefan intervened at the same time Zach groaned his assent.
"We're just having a moment," Damon smirked before letting the man collapse to the ground.
"You alright, Zach?" Stefan approached the man with concern.
"No, I am not okay," Zach snapped. "Damon has to be stopped."
"Where's my ring?" Damon groaned.
"You won't be needing it anymore," his brother stated.
"How long has it been?"
"Five days."
"What are you doing, Stefan?"
"During the dark ages, when a vampire's actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race, they would face judgment. They sought to reeducate rather than to punish them."
"What are you on? Seriously?"
"You killed Tanner, you hurt Zach, there have been other incidents that the town didn't publicize. We both know who was behind those animal attacks."
Un-fucking-believable, his self-righteous piece of shit of a brother.
"I did not kill anyone else, there's probably another vampire in town."
"I don't believe you."
"You are making a mistake."
"Letting you live this long, sure has been."
"Cassie will help me out once she is back."
"I'll tell her you are gone, Damon. Compel her to leave too. You will grow weak in a few days, unable to speak or move, in a week, you will desiccate. I will move you to the family crypt. In 50 years, we can reevaluate your behaviour."
This is not I'm going down!
He fumed but kept silent, he needed his wits and what little energy he had if he were to make it out. And he didn't have a lot of attempts in him.
He paid close attention to the sounds in the house, fighting against the instinct to shut down. It may have been easier to call to someone he had already compelled. But this was the one time he had been treading the line of safety, drinking and erasing travellers passing through town or looting blood from surrounding hospitals.
Just his luck, one person he had enough pull over was two states away when his hypocrite ass of a brother wanted to desiccate him to vampire death. Focus, Damon. Now is not the time for sarcasm.
"He's weak, but it's probably best if you stay out of the basement. He's Damon. I'm not sure how dangerous he still might be."
"You're going to school?" Zach's voice sounded incredulous.
"Yeah, I came here to live a life, it's about time I get back to that. And Elena, if she's still speaking to me."
"Why haven't you called"- Yeah, that's enough. Saint Stefan is going to be on Mission Elena. Zach is useless anyway.
He scanned the vicinity of the house hoping for some passerbys. He cursed his luck once again, this time for the boarding house being in the middle of nowhere. He took a long breath and screamed at the top of his mental voice.
Cassie, can you hear me? I need your help!
Help me...
"Damon?" he heard her voice in his head.
Is this real? Are you in my head or am I hallucinating?
"Umm, you're in my head, I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating. What's going on? How are you doing this?"
I need your help, Stefan vervained me and locked me up. I'm close to shutting down.
"Shit! I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Damon. Hold on!"
Fifteen minutes? I hope this isn't a dream.
A pop sounded in the living room after what seemed like hours of agony. Now that he sent word, the pain and even some relief took over the crazed determination. He knew it was her, he knew it wasn't longer than fifteen minutes either. For a fleeting second, he wondered if it was the helplessness of his position or if he actually trusted her.
The smell of blood hit his senses before he heard her. Seconds later, footsteps came his way.
"Damon! Oh my god, I was really hoping it was some crazy vision or something. Here, I've got some blood," and with that, she handed him a tumbler of blood.
His vision zeroed and the world turned black as he drank and drank. Until he ran out of blood. He growled and flung at the door but he froze mid-motion.
"Damon, breathe. Look at me, breathe. That's it... Look around, you've had about three gallons of blood. You don't need any more right now."
He took note of the empty tumblers strewn in the dungeon and felt the blood reviving his drenched body. But he was still frozen.
"Are you okay?"
"I am, but I can't the same about my dear brother."
"I'll let go of you now and open the door, but I need your word that you won't hurt me or yourself in a blood frenzy."
"I'm fine now, I won't hurt you, I owe you."
Just then Zach came running to the basement, "What's going on here? Cassie you cannot open the door, he will kill us both."
"Too late, darling nephew," he broke the at door its handle and gripped the man by his neck before either could say anything.
"Damon, stop. Human owner, remember?"
"We'll get another one, big deal. This little traitor is going to have his neck snapped today."
"Think it through, Damon. I'd avoid any kind of attention if you want things to go your way."
He paused and looked at the witch leaning calmly against the wall, paying no attention to the man's struggle at being choked at his hand.
"You're not trying to save him?" He asked half surprised.
"He's your family and he betrayed you, you have every right to decide his punishment. He'd suffer a fate far worse than death if I were in your place. But you should pause to think about how this pans out for you and your goals."
He let go Zach a few seconds short of death. "Hear the lady? Let's figure out fate worse than death." Damon pushed him to the same cell and sealed the door shut.
Once they were out of the basement, the witch asked, "Are you alright?"
"Just peachy. Although the same cannot be said about Stefan when I get my hands on him."
As grateful as he was for her help, he wasn't one to say thank you. He hoped she wasn't fishing for it. "How did you get the blood?"
"I'm a witch," she shrugged.
"I didn't know witches carry blood." He directed his curiosity at her previous reaction elsewhere. Every time, he thinks he found her limit, she shocked him by brushing it away like it was nothing. His plan to rescue his lost lover, the idea of setting 27 vampires on the town that took their lives away, when he killed Tanner to prove a needless point to his brother. He saw a glint of her darkness the first time he met her, but he was beginning to see the depths of it. Nowhere near his own, he was sure, but nothing he did so far fazed her.
"We don't, we do use it for rituals, so I picked some up for you before coming here."
"Like what, in shop?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Wait, you get human blood in shops? That blood had to be hours old." He poured her a glass of his favourite bourbon and kept the bottle for himself.
"Blood, hearts, kidneys, livers, you get them all in shops."
"You're kidding."
"Of course not. Anything can be bought if you know the right place and price."
"In fifteen minutes? I thought you were in New York."
"I was, till I got your SOS."
He heard her gulp down the last sip, his eyes unmoving from her neck. The sound of blood rushing in her veins called to him for a taste.
"You should go," he snapped. "The smell of blood, it is too much," he added slightly softer.
"Do you need more blood?" He heard a hint of concern in her voice, but he had to be wrong.
"I'll hunt later tonight. The temptation is too strong with you around. Your blood...", he shut himself up before he spoke too much.
"Yeah, sorry, I should have realized. I'm told magical blood does that."
"Just come back tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Sure. Take care, Damon." And he was left alone in the shadows of the house with his thoughts for company, or rather a single thought. Stefan was going to pay.
Reviews please!
Edit: Thanks Stachelbeere, for pointing out the double copy!