Phonixonyxwolf! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're having fun here!
Guest! That's very kind of you to say! I'm glad you like!
It is because of you two that I'm throwing another chapter up so soon. I was so excited that I had reviews I squeaked a little aha!
Also, I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but the mayor does NOT look like a Charles, I don't care what anyone says, even the author and producers of the series aha! My opinion: He looks much more like a Richard 'Dick' Lockwood. Change my mind. LOL
Chapter 9"Oh dear," Lia sighed, slipping her grey cardigan on as she climbed out of the car. Today's ensemble consisted of a high waist grey, black and white pattered skirt, a white button-up shirt and black Doc Martens over black socks. Her hair was half-up, pinned with a vibrant green clip. "It seems I've made a friend."
"Oh?" Caroline asked, casually looking around to see if she could spot the vampire she assumed Lia was talking about.
"Crow," was all she said as she skipped toward the school.
"Ugh," Caroline groaned, trailing after her energetic friend. "We seriously need to talk about mornings and how you're not supposed to like them."
Lia giggled, letting Caroline catch up before heading to first classes, ignoring the large black bird that was watching her every move.
"Hey, Caroline!"
The blonde's head snapped to the sound of Bonnie, Lia huffing silently before turning to face the speed-walking Bennett. Raising an eyebrow at her flustered appearance, she remained silent.
"Jeez, Bon, where's the fire?" Caroline demanded, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Oh, no, it's- Stefan and Elena are talking and I just didn't want to third-wheel, you know?" Bonnie weakly chuckled, gripping her bag tighter as she swallowed nervously.
Shrugging, Caroline let it slide. For now.
"Did your Grams cool her jets after the comet passed?" Caroline asked as the trio continued toward the closest locker, which was hers. "Did she experience her moment of doom, or whatever?"
"No," Bonnie sighed, rolling her eyes. "What is weird, though, is the numbers I can't get out of my head. I have no idea what they mean, but they've been in my head all morning."
"Are you feeling a sudden influx of cash or the need to confess your sins?" Lia asked as Caroline finished with her school things, closing her locker. "I just want to know if we're talking potential lottery numbers or a specific bible verse."
Caroline laughed loud and bright while Bonnie rolled her eyes, a reluctant grin pulling at her features.
"Hey!" Lia pouted. "Don't laugh! Emotions are everything. Numbers on repeat are good and all, but they mean nothing if there's no feeling behind them. I mean, if you get the warm fuzzies, they might be part of a cute guy's phone number, you know?"
Caroline voiced her enthusiastic agreement, going off on a tangent about the made-up cute guy while Bonnie turned thoughtful. She hadn't thought about the meaning behind the numbers, just focusing on the fact that they were the same numbers that she couldn't remember seeing together, ever.
Caroline left the two shorter girls to their history class, heading off to her own. Stefan got into a battle of dates with Tanner while Bonnie was absently scribbling the numbers down and trying to focus on the feeling she got when she thought about them. Lia, as always, was mind-numbingly bored.
"Ha! It ended in '52!"
"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53."
Tanner's jaw clenched as he demanded someone look it up. Lia groaned, her head lolling back as she locked her unimpressed gaze with his.
"It was July 27th, 1953. You know, the date that the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, creating the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South and allowing the return of P.O.W.s? Ugh, not only are you an asshole, but an uneducated asshole. Can you be sacked, yet?"
Tanner's face went red just as the bell rang and, as always, Lia was up and away from the classroom before he could get a word in.
*TVDM*
Lia sat in the bleachers, sipping on her thick shake as she watched the cheerleaders warm up. Her appeasement had been bought with the caramel-flavoured treat by Caroline; the blonde apologising for not being able to take her home. Lia didn't mind, really; she preferred to be close to Care, and she didn't want to draw any more of Damon's attention. Enzo would be so cross if she had to deal with the idiot Salvatore or accidentally scared him off. Enzo was going stir-crazy stuck behind their tinted, tempered-glass windows at home because he didn't want to risk Damon seeing him so he'd be pissed if his efforts were in vain.
She cocked her head to the side and sipped, watching the hug shared by Bonnie and Elena. She casually listened to the invitation to dinner and Bonnie's reluctance. She narrowed her eyes again, frustrated but not surprised that Elena didn't extend the invitation to Caroline as well.
Caroline benched Elena pretty early, frustrated at her ignorance of their moves. About halfway through the practise a blue Camaro pulled up, driven by one Damon Salvatore. A girl with dark brown hair and matching eyes leaned into the vampire, giving him a passionate kiss before climbing out of the car. She wore a little scarf that matched the colour of her sports bra that she wore with black gym shorts.
"Fell, you're late and therefore benched. Take an observation day," Caroline snapped, pinning Damon with an unimpressed glare before turning back to the squad. 'Fell' scoffed, her hair whipping around her face as she pivoted and joined Elena on the bench, proceeding to drag Elena into a conversation that included bitching about Caroline.
Lia didn't take her eyes off Damon. He held her gaze for a few seconds as she casually sipped from her straw before throwing the car in reverse, turning around and speeding away. She loosed a breath and tugged the ends of her hair, clearing her throat unnecessarily. She'd have to get used to how empty everyone felt now in comparison. Hopefully it was all worth it, even if it was unnerving.
It was for the greater good.
Dumbledore would be proud.
She should have worn black and yellow today.
Lia watched the Fell girl while the others finished up. She was obviously compelled; whether to forget or be fine and not say anything, who knew. She'd sent a text to Enzo, telling him of the girl Damon had selected and his appearance at the school and his pet bird. Enzo was angry, but they wanted to get more on the Salvatore before catching him, wanting to know what he was up to so that he didn't have a leg to stand on if he tried to lie.
Caroline, freshly showered and ready to go, waved Lia over. She skipped down the steps, tossing her empty cup in the trash before linking arms with her favourite human.
"God, I feel so bad because I don't feel that bad," Caroline murmured as she watched Tina leave with her friends. "Like, that could have been me and I'm so glad it's not but I feel bad that she's in that position and I-"
"Hey," Lia shushed her panicky friend, hugging her arm closer with both of her own. "The fact that you pity her but won't help her is human nature, darling girl. It doesn't make you a terrible person, it makes you very much human. It could have been someone that you love, could have been you, but it's someone that you barely know. Humans are social and selfish creatures, Care. They need to love and be loved in return. It's your humanity that makes you willing to sacrifice as many people as you need to save that one you love. You're not changing, you're simply accepting your humanity when you see her and feel relieved that it's her suffering and not you."
Caroline released a large, shuddering sigh before nodding her head in determination. "You're right, of course," she scoffed as she dragged Lia with her to her car. "Priorities; better those you know than those you love. God, what even is my life?"
"Supernatural, gorgeous," Lia grinned, all teeth. "Once you're in, you're in 'til you die. We have dinner plans, by the way."
*TVDM*
The doorbell rung just as Elena put the food down on the table. She frowned, confused. She wasn't expecting anyone else.
Opening the door to see two smiling girls, one carrying a tray of potato bake and the other a cheesecake.
"Hey! We heard about dinner and decided to come too! Well, that's a lie," Caroline sighed as she walked past Elena without waiting for an invite, Lia happily trotting along behind her. "We heard Tina talking about it to her new lover boy and he said he wanted to come so we thought we'd give you the heads up that you'll be receiving party crashers."
"And what better way to do that than to crash the party ourselves," Lia finished, grinning cheerfully as she set her potato bake down on the table between the Grill-made pasta and the home-tossed salad.
"You won't even know we're here," Caroline's plastic smile was in full bloom as she walked into the dining room, having put the cheesecake in the fridge and collecting some plates and cutlery for both her and Lia. Lia pouted at the blonde but accepted the fact that she'd have to throw some of the savoury food in her mouth. She really wanted that cheesecake, though.
Dinner started awkwardly, Caroline sitting next to Bonnie and Lia next to her, happily enjoying her potato bake, receiving a compliment from Bonnie on it which made her positively beam at the Bennett.
Elena tried to start conversation a few times, finally attempting to use Bonnie's family history to get the dialog flowing.
"…heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."
"Yeah, they are," Bonnie smiled, leading Elena to release a little happy laugh.
Lia blinked.
That was it?
A knock at the door had Stefan up and moving toward it faster than Elena could react. Lia was still stumped at how easily Bonnie Bennett had been won over.
"Surprise!" she heard the Fell girl cheer. "When I mentioned that you were doing dinner with his brother, Damon insisted we drop in for dessert. We brought cake!"
"We didn't get to know each other very well the other night and I felt obligated to get to know some more of Stefan's new friends" Damon smirked at his brother before leaning toward Elena as if to share a secret as Tina pushed past Stelena to find the kitchen with her dessert. "He's always been a bit of a loner, you know."
"Well, thanks for dropping by, Damon. Shame you can't stay," Stefan's eyes were narrowed, his frown lines firmly in place as he tried to stare his brother down.
"What are you doing? Get in here," Tina scolded as she came back to see what was taking so long.
"Oh, sorry. Come-"
"You probably don't want to do that, Elena," Lia casually called from her new seat in the living room. Both Caroline and Lia had claimed one of the armchairs, Lia's legs draped over Care's as she leaned back on the armrest. She'd also taken the task of clearing the table and serving their cheesecake and tea. "Something tells me that if you give a man like that an inch, he'll not only take the mile, but the measuring tape, too."
Stefan watched his brother's eyes widen before his smirked became more pronounced. Stefan narrowed his eyes in suspicion, both at the reaction and the advice. Did Lia know? Why was Damon interested her? Was she part of the reason he was here?
"It's fine, just come on in."
Ominously, Damon took his first step over the threshold, his shoulder brushing past Stefan's.
"Thank you, Elena. You have a beautiful home," he smiled genially, but not before flashing Stefan a smirk of victory.
"Oh, thanks," Elena smiled, frowning slightly at Stefan in confusion, seeing his plummeting mood. The younger Salvatore tried to smile, offering more of a grimace, before following his brother to the living room.
Elena was stumped for a second before dropping into the open spot between Stefan and Bonnie on the couch. Caroline and Lia were tangled on the armchair, each holding a plate of partially-eaten cheesecake. Looking at the coffee table, the dessert Caroline had brought had been perfectly divided and set on little plates she didn't even know she owned, dessert forks placed neatly beside them. A tray on the table held two pots; both releasing steam from their spouts with five tea cups sat neatly around them, two already full of hot liquid sitting in front of the girls.
"The larger pot holds coffee, the other chamomile. I figured, as Americans, majority of you would prefer your caffeine," Lia explained, having spotted the confusion on their hosts face.
"Ah," Elena nodded, smiling. "Thank you, Lia. You didn't have to."
Lia offered a thin smile, her eye twitching at the sound of her nickname coming from someone she hadn't expressed permission to use. She took another large bite of the sweet creamy goodness to cool her jets.
"So, Stefan, you made the football team!" Fell squealed, leading the conversation for Damon, no doubt. "I can't believe Tanner let you!"
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you; you have to go get it."
"Right?" the girl agreed, patting Damon on the leg from where she sat on the arm of his chair. "Caroline was the one stopping me and Elena from going for it today, right Lena? Benched! I can't believe it! I worked so hard this summer at camp and I'm sat next to the girl that didn't even show? You were a real bitch today, Care, honestly. You're gonna have to make it up to me."
Elena choked on her coffee, Stefan frowned, Bonnie stared at the audacity, Caroline scoffed and Lia…
Lia plotted murder.
"Tina," Bonnie scolded, her eyes wide in shock.
"Excuse me?" Lia cut in, slowly leaning forward as she placed her and Caroline's empty plates on the table, her green eyes burning as they stared into Tina's very soul. "Caroline has a team to lead. She has responsibilities and cannot spend her time catering to you and your whorish whims, you pathetic little girl. You have proven today that you have no respect for your commitments or the people you affect when you break them. You think just because you're old enough to wet a man's dick, it gives you the right to ignore your obligations without consequence? You're a trollop that doesn't deserve Caroline's time and effort. You should do her a favour and quit the team. Better yet, you should get up and leave right now, walk away from not only this residence, but from all our lives, you ungrateful floozy. You do not speak like that about Caroline in my presence. Do it again and I will rip your spine from your throat."
Silence.
Stefan was concerned. The worrying level of aggression in the raven-haired girl was one thing, but the look on his brother's face as he looked at her spelled trouble.
Elena was shocked. She'd been startled by Tina's brush-off of her mourning period, but the venom that poured from the bubbly Lia's mouth was disturbing.
Bonnie was terrified. She knew that Lia was more. She didn't know how empty her threat was, and judging by the look of her porcelain features and those unnerving eyes, Bonnie would bet her Grams' alcohol collection that it wasn't a threat so much as a promise.
Caroline wrapped her arms around her best friend and pulled her closer, hiding her unbearably fond smile in her raven locks. She sometimes forgot that, even though she was a bubbly young woman full of ADHD and a dairy addiction, Kaliope was a Siren from a mythological planet that didn't have a human's moral compass. She could be vengeful and was used to a life of being one of many strong creatures rather than one of very few. She'd lived nearly 3,000 years on that kind of world, her past experiences made her more than deadly, they made her dangerous. If someone actually threatened Caroline, she knew that they would be on borrowed time. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve such a beings devoted loyalty, but she'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Damon…
Damon was mesmerised.
The wrath, the loyalty, the hunger for vengeance, the passion, the glowing supernatural viridian. Those poisonous emeralds promised to make good on the violent threat.
Lia blinked, her eyes returning to normal, but Damon couldn't unsee their bright blaze even as she turned her head to look at the blonde she was sitting on.
"Speaking of cheerleading," Damon segued, coming to the rescue before tension could overtake the silence. He obviously ignored the looks that suggested he'd sprung a new head; rude. "You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena."
"Look at you, Mr Judgy," Lia mused, cocking her head as she examined him like zoo animal while reaching for her and Care's teacups. "Haven't you heard the saying about books and covers?"
"Well, he's not wrong," Caroline chimed in, smiling her thanks and accepting the cup. "Elena struggled today, but only because she wasn't at camp. If we put her in the back, she'll be able to observe and if she fumbles it won't be such a big deal. Though," Caroline looked over at Elena, her unimpressed eyebrow raised as she sipped her calming tea. "I would have appreciated you letting me know about not coming during the summer."
"Caroline, her parents died," Bonnie hissed, bewildered at the lack of sensitivity.
"We're not denying their passing," Lia said with a frustrated frown, immediately coming to Care's defence. "We're saying that plans had been made since the beginning of the year and assignments had been given. The fact that Elena was grieving was respected, but Caroline was under the impression that Elena still wanted to participate."
"Exactly, thank you," Caroline sighed heavily before turning back to her doe-eyed friend. "I would have been fine with you cancelling, Elena. I'm not a monster. I just assumed you wanted to get back to normal, distract yourself, whatever, by still coming to the cheer camp, because you didn't tell me otherwise. Turns out you just didn't bother letting anyone know you didn't want to come."
"You said it yourself to your brother the night of the back-to-school party, Elena," Lia frowned at the brunette who looked like she couldn't decide whether to be chastised or offended. "The world continues to move, with or without you. Caroline would have been fine with it, and she would have had the notice she needed to reorganise what she'd had planned for you."
"Loss affects us all in different ways, I suppose. Things that were once important seem… less so," Damon stated, capturing everyone's attention. "I'm sorry for your loss, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."
"Yeah," Tina sighed, leaning back against the chair. "Look at the bright side; at least your parents weren't murdered just to get to you, like Lia's were."
"That's Kaliope, to you, you moronic tart," Lia instantly snapped, her eyes flashing. "I don't think there is a bright side when looking at the death of loved ones, you idiot. It doesn't matter how they leave this plane of existence; the fact of the matter is, they're gone."
Stefan finally spoke up, having heard the story from Zach about the suspected vampire activity that had revolved around Lia before her brother supposedly killed it. "I think that's enough about the tragedy of loss for right now, don't you agree, Damon?" his eyes narrowed in on his brother.
"Oh, God, right. Of course, Stef… the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up," Damon offered an innocent grimace, a fake apologetic face, before his gaze honed back in on the green-eyed sprite who had finished her tea and looked bored.
Lia had half a mind to text Enzo to see if he wanted her to knock the vampire across from her out and drag him home or if he wanted to join the festivities. She was getting tired of this little tea party and was struggling not to make good on her promise to Tina.
"Ugh, I need to do something," Lia muttered to Care before gathering all the plated and tea set, setting them neatly in their tray before carrying them to the kitchen. She ran the water in the sink, planning on handwashing the china, while stacking everything else in the dishwasher.
"One more," Damon smirked as he strode on in, offering her his glass. She reached out, only for him to drop it. She caught it, still looking at him with a deadpanned expression.
"Mr Mystery, Mr Judgy and now Mr Butterfingers?" Lia clucked her tongue as she added the cup to the washer's top drawer. Grabbing some detergent, she soaped up her sponge and began to work on the porcelain. "What can I do for you, Mr Salvatore?"
Damon's eyes burned fiercely as he watched her. There was something about her that was other but he didn't know what. He wanted to crack the code that was the scrumptious little morsel in front of him, not only because he needed to know if she was a threat, but also because he was intrigued. She was something new and that was as exciting as it was dangerous.
"I like you," he grinned at her pause, his smile widening as she raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You're fun, you crack jokes, you don't put on airs. More than that; you're loyal," Damon sighed, surprisingly truthful as he admitted. "What I wouldn't give for a friend like you."
Lia was internally seething. Damon Salvatore did not deserve a loyal friend, not when he left his friends to burn to death locked in cages.
"Too bad my dance card's full," Lia teased lightly as she finished up with the last of the dishes.
"Oh, come on," Damon stood in front of her, making eye contact. "Don't you want to be my friend?"
Lia rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, cocking her hip to give him all the sass. "I'd prefer to be friends with Tina."
With that she marched out of the kitchen, passing Elena as she carried the rest of the cake.
Damon's eyes twitched into a brief glare, the only sign of his annoyance, before he turned to Elena with a smile, planning to disturb his brother's little love nest.
Lia re-entered the living room and saw Tina trying to draw Stefan into a conversation about Matt Donovan. Caroline was watching the proceedings like a tennis match and Bonnie just looked uncomfortable.
"Tina," Lia called as she walked back to Care to plonk down on her lap. "What a shame you're still here. I was hoping you'd died. Or, at least, left."
"You know, you don't have to be such a bitch, Lia," Tina sneered.
"You don't have to be such a harlot, trash."
"God, just because you're pretty and have an accent doesn't make you better than me."
Lia breathed deeply through her nose, trying to quell the raging storm inside. On her old planet, she would have already torn out the girl's tongue and eyes.
"I'm gonna go see if Lena needs any help," Bonnie muttered before jumping to her feet and practically running for the door.
"Tina, I'm just letting you know now," Caroline examined her nails as she spoke. "If you're late again, if you mess up again, if you disrespect your captain again, you'll be off the team. Don't push me."
"Oh, God, Caroline, you need to push that bitch back into the wild. You were so much better before she came along, even if you were a bossy, neurotic bitch, you never had a stick this far up your ass."
Lia was in her face, eyes glowing and hand around her throat before Caroline even realised she was gone. Stefan flinched, stunned and scared.
He hadn't seen her move at all.
"Lia, don't. Her uncle's the news anchor."
"Caroline, darling, I'm more than willing to murder her entire family and make it look like they took a surprise vacation," Lia murmured, inspecting the terrified teen through dispassionate eyes.
"Lia, you need to calm down," Stefan cautiously stood, slowly reaching his hands out as if surrendering.
"What are you crazy kids talking about?"
Stefan looked up at his brother, not at all surprised by the excitement that gleamed in his gaze.
"I was just wondering how many metres of Miss Fell's intestines I could pull through her nose before she choked to death," Lia declared lightly. "Thoughts?"
"Lia," Caroline sighed, oddly not at all disturbed by the topic of conversation. She didn't like the interested light that had entered Damon's eyes, though. "WWLD?"
Lia frowned, stumped by the seemingly random letters. She released Tina, who immediately sucked in a deep breath and fell back against the chair. "What?"
"What would Loren do?"
"Oh," Lia's eyes went wide, gaze flicking to Damon who looked like he wanted in on whatever she had been plotting for the little Fell. "Oh, yes. I best not, then."
"What? But the party was just starting!" Damon cried, immediately hating who ever this 'Lauren' was. She obviously didn't know how to have fun.
"Loren?" Stefan murmured, eyes clearing in realisation. "You mean En-?"
Lia gripped Stefan's throat, squeezing tightly and smiling sweetly as he choked. Damon blinked, his excitement immediately turning wary at her speed.
"You will not speak my brother's name, Stefan Salvatore," Lia's eyes blazed. "If you so much as whisper it, I will spoon out your eye before driving a 2B through your eye socket."
Lia was stood beside Caroline, both their bags in hand as Stefan sucked in a breath. Caroline climbed to her feet, feeling oddly authoritative at being the best friend of someone who could do that.
"We should go say goodbye," Care said, smirking at the stunned vampires before strutting into the kitchen. Lia gave the boys one last glare before skipping after her.
"What is she, Stefan?" Damon asked, his face void of any joy he'd previously felt.
"I don't know," Stefan was wary, both of what Lia was as well as what Damon would do to find out.
"Who's her brother?"
"No way," Stefan immediately said as he caught her emerald gaze. "Figure it out for yourself. Better yet, how about you take Tina home. You've had your fun, you've seen Elena, you've found a new mystery to solve. It's time for you to go."
"You're right," Damon sighed, grabbing up the silently sobbing girl who seemed to be in shock. He quickly compelled her to be quiet, eager to compel every last detail from her about the confrontation before he made her forget. He turned back to Stefan while nodding sagely. "I'll head back, take care of Tina. I have no problem doing that, for, you see," Damon stepped closer, looking Stefan dead in the eye as the hint of a smirk pulled at his lips. "I've been invited in. So, I'll come back tomorrow night, and the night after that, and I'll do to your little cheerleader… whatever I want to."
The girls came back through the living room, Caroline offering her Barbie smile while Lia grinned impishly like the little bipolar demon she was.
"It was lovely finally getting a name for the face, Damon," Lia's accent caressing his name sent a shiver running down his spine that wasn't unpleasant. "We'll see you at school, Stefan. Congrats, again, for making the team."
The girls walked down the street and across the road. Caroline said her goodbyes before hopping in her car and going home while Lia went straight to Enzo, finding him in the basement where he and Slater had set up their epic gaming room. He was playing some kind of war game and obviously winning by the jeering he was doing over the headset.
"Brother dear!" Lia took a running jump, watching as he used his speed to move his controller and adjust her so that she was sitting across his lap. "I almost brought home eyeballs and entrails as souvenirs."
Enzo grinned maliciously as he muted his microphone. "Oh? Pray tell, my little songbird. Spare no detail."
By the end of it, Enzo had ended his game and was petting her hair in that way she loved, a thoughtful frown on his face.
"He's definitely here for something other than his brother," Enzo murmured. "I wonder if it has anything to do with Katherine?"
Lia whipped out her phone and sent off a quick text to Slater. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before. We don't even know what she looks like. Slater will, though."
Almost immediately, a text was sent back. Lia almost dropped her phone.
"Oh hoh!" Enzo cried gleefully as he looked at the spitting image of Elena. "Hello Katherine, or Katerina, as it were."
"Damn it, Slater," Lia grumbled. "He couldn't have stuck around until he caught a glimpse of the Copy Kat?"
"So, she's one of those pieces to break that Sun and Moon curse, right?" Enzo raised a brow. "The doppelganger? Something tells me that things are about to get very messy. Makes you wonder how Katerina was turned in the first place, doesn't it?"
"Kind of, but it's pretty cut and dry, isn't it?" Lia asks rhetorically. "It was no doubt a vampire that was trying to break the curse, he needed the doppelganger, she used her womanly wiles to either convince him that life with her was better than life in the sun or made some other poor schmuck love her and they turned her. Or, after she found out about not only the sacrifice, but also how to become a vampire, she tried to run and got hurt or intentionally hurt herself. They heal her, she kills herself or someone kills her and boom. You have a doppelpire."
"All valid theories," Enzo remarked. "From what I know about the woman, she was a selfish creature. She no doubt manipulated her way to vampirism and freedom. Shame she died. We'll never know, I suppose."
"Now that makes you wonder," Lia hummed in thought. "A woman as cunning at Katerina wouldn't possibly let herself be captured and burned."
"No," Enzo leaned back, his mind whirring. "No, I doubt she would."
"Tanner said that it had been 145 years since that comet had passed over the town," Lia tilted her head. "Celestial events are very big for witches. They use them to power spells, talismans, themselves…"
"Oh, gorgeous," Enzo breathed, pulling her in closer as he rested his chin on her head. "I cannot wait to find out what is happening so I can tear it all apart."
"My darling Loren," she shook her head fondly. "I'm going to see if I can borrow the Gilbert journals you told me about. I'll also ask if Caroline's family has any journals from that era."
"Oh, yes," Enzo sounded surprised. "I'd forgotten about those. Good thinking, angel."
"Busy, busy," she sighed, climbing off her brother and heading back to the stairs. "Tomorrow night, or rather, tonight, is the first football game of the season. I'll be late."
"Ok, gorgeous, don't forget to do your homework between plotting murder and borrowing 150-year-old journals."
"Yes, dad," Lia groaned.