Chapter Seven

Tyler Lockwood was confused and intrigued. He had followed Mason that morning when Mason had gone for a morning jog. Mason had led Tyler to the old Lockwood land. So as soon as Tyler had gotten back home he'd begun to ask questions.

"Have you ever been down to those old ruins in the woods?" he asked his mother, who was taking care of some political thing.

"The old Lockwood estate?" his mom asked.

"Yeah. What d'you know about it?"

The only reason he was asking was because Tyler had found an old cellar there and had gone in to investigate. There had been claw marks on the walls; there had been shackles attached to the walls.

Where the claw marks had come from and what the shackles had been for was anybody's guess.

"It was the original plantation house. Beautiful antebellum architecture. And if it hadn't burnt to the ground, we'd probably be living in it.

"Hm. What's the deal with the freaky underground cellar?"

His mom looked at him for a moment before answering.

"We don't talk about those kinds of rooms."

"Why not?" Tyler asked curiously.

"Well, this is the south, honey. But no one likes to reminisce about the old slave days."

Tyler nodded and then looked back when he heard a noise. Mason had just come from the kitchen and was chewing on something.

"Hey. What're you guys talkin' about?"

"We were just talkin' about the old Lockwood property," Tyler answered. "I'm thinking of having some friends over to the swim hole."

It was barely the beginning of March, but the stupid adventurous kind of people would actually try swimming in the frigid water. But mostly, it was just a nice place to hang out, have a barbecue, drink some beer.

"Well, be careful. If anything happens on the property, the family is liable."

"Of course," Tyler said as he walked away.

While Rebecca was staying with Caroline, Stefan called Bonnie to meet him at the Grill. He'd heard Rebecca tell Damon that one of the reasons she wanted to stay with Caroline was because she would be stuck inside all day. Bonnie, being a witch, could help fix that problem.

"I don't know how to make a day-walking ring," Bonnie said.

"Emily made mine; she made Damon's too. Instructions must be in the Grimiore."

"That doesn't mean I can cast the spell."

"Bonnie," Stefan said. "You know how to drop vampires with a single look. Okay? I think you can figure it out."

"Caroline killed someone, Stefan," Bonnie said. "I can't make it easier for her to do it again."

"No, we're not making it easier for her. We're just givin' her a chance to survive. Every day that she's cut out from her old life, from you, from Elena, from Matt . . . it'll make it that much harder for her to hold onto her humanity."

"How do you know she won't hurt anyone else?"

"I don't," Stefan admitted, "but if we don't do everything we can to help her or at least trust the fact that she can keep it together we might as well just stake her right now."

"I don't know if I can trust her," Bonnie said. "Not with this."

"Then trust me," Stefan said. "Rebecca and I are –"

"I don't wanna talk about Rebecca. She attacked me."

"She was protecting Damon. You were gonna kill him. Someone had to stop you. She had no intention of killing you."

If Rebecca had wanted to kill Bonnie, the witch wouldn't have been sitting here.

"How're you doin' back there?" Damon asked Elena from the front seat.

Ever since the road trip had started Elena had refused to talk to Damon. She was mad at him for the Caroline thing too.

"Ya know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."

Ric scoffed. "I don't think she's pretending. You did try to kill Caroline."

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement," Damon said. "Caroline is fine. I didn't kill her."

"Yeah, thanks to Rebecca, who took the stake for her," Elena said, breaking her silent treatment. "How mad is Rebecca because you stabbed her?"

"She isn't," Damon said, though he was a little uncertain. If she wasn't angry, then why wasn't she here with him? Was she really taking care of Caroline? Was that the real reason Rebecca had stayed behind?

At Caroline's house Caroline, Bonnie, Stefan, and Rebecca were gathered in the blonds' room. Caroline. Caroline was on the bed with Rebecca beside her; Bonnie was by the window, and Stefan was in a chair in a corner of the room.

Bonnie had almost turned back around when she'd realized Rebecca was there. Rebecca had offered to leave but Caroline had told her not to. Rebecca was the only female support she had; the blond needed her.

"So . . . I don't get to choose the ring I have to wear the rest of my life?" Caroline asked when Bonnie handed her a pretty lapis lazuli ring. It was silver with a blue stone embedded in the middle.

"Hey, if you don't want it . . ." Bonnie started.

"No. no, she wants it," Stefan said.

Stefan shared a look with Caroline and the girl sighed.

"Now what?"

"Now's the part where I explain the rules," Bonnie said. "The witch that spells the ring has the power to de-spell it. So if you ever do anything to hurt anyone -"

"I'm not gonna hurt anyone," Caroline said firmly.

"You're a vampire," Bonnie said, a look of incredulity taking over her face. "That means the urge to kill is a part of who you are. The minute you let it take over, I will stop you."

Caroline looked at Rebecca with a question in her eyes. Rebecca didn't need to hear the question to be able to answer it.

"It's true. The urge to kill or at least bite is always there. Sometimes it takes over, like Bonnie said."

"Bonnie, you're supposed to be my friend," Caroline said softly.

"I can't ignore what happened, okay?" Bonnie said. "If you wanna be friends you're gonna have to prove that the Caroline I remember isn't gone."

Caroline dropped her eyes at Bonnie's remark.

"Now put the ring on the bed."

Caroline listened obediently and placed the ring on the bed.

"Do you really think I meant to kill that guy at the carnival?"

"He's still dead," Bonnie said stoically. "Now, do you want me to cast the spell or not?"

Caroline closed her mouth and Rebecca grabbed her hand. The former Vampire Slayer wasn't going to blame Caroline for something the blond had no control over.

Bonnie went to the windows and yanked one side of the curtains open. Caroline shrank back so the sun wouldn't hit her.

Bonnie closed her eyes and began chanting silently. If Rebecca hadn't seen the witch's lips moving she wouldn't have known a spell was being performed.

It didn't take long, maybe ten seconds, and then Bonnie was opening her eyes. Bonnie picked up the ring and handed it to Caroline.

"All done."

"Mm . . ." Caroline slipped it onto her left pointer finger. "So that's it? I mean, nothing witchy happened. Ya know, no flickering lights, no gusts of wind. Have you even done this before?"

"Caroline . . ." Stefan drawled out.

"Well, I just wanna make sure it worked."

Rebecca giggled. She couldn't help it. Her blond friend had been quite the control freak when she'd been human. That would be magnified now.

Bonnie went to the window again and slid the other side of the curtain open. The light fell on Caroline, who squealed and hid her face until she realized she wasn't being burnt.

"It worked," Bonnie said simply.

Caroline scoffed and glared at the witch. "What if it hadn't, Bonnie?"

Bonnie shook her head and looked at Stefan. "She's all yours." Then Bonnie left the room, taking her spell book with her.

Rebecca got off the bed to go after Bonnie after seeing the smile Caroline had on her face when she realized what the day-walking ring meant. She didn't have to stay cooped up anymore.

Out in the hallway, Rebecca caught up with Bonnie. Bonnie seemed to tense when she saw her. Bonnie wasn't scared, though; she was angry.

"Bonnie . . . I – I'm not going to say I'm sorry for doing what I did last night because I'm not. You should know better than to hurt Damon in front of me. I snapped. I wish I had stopped you in a less violent way, but I'm not sorry I stopped you."

Rebecca stepped toward her and lifted her hand. She wanted to remove the bandage to take in the damage she had caused.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It's still sore, yes." Bonnie sighed. "This was what I was talking about. That urge to kill. I mage you angry and you lashed out at me. You hurt me, and that's not you, Rebecca. I don't like it."

"It wasn't me. It's who I am now. And for what it's worth, I had no intention of killing you."

After three-and-a-half hours Damon, Ric, and Elena finally arrived at Duke University. Damon liked the Gothic feel the college gave off.

"So Isobel was officially employed by the Anthropology Department given that most paranormal phenomena is rooted in folklore."

Ric was explaining to them the basics of Isobel's work because they were headed to the Anthropology Department. When they got there a woman, mid-twenties, was going through a filing cabinet.

"Hi," Ric said. "I'm Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier."

The woman had curly brown hair, light skin, and hazel eyes.

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant. Comparative Folklore." She looked at Damon for a second too long, but then snapped out of it. "Uh, just let me get the keys."

"Sorry," Ric said. "These are my friends, Damon and Elena. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Oh, please. Isobel's office it right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student. She was brilliant. One of the reasons I went into folklore."

Ric smiled as Vanessa got the keys from the desk, which she then sat on.

"I have to ask, um . . . has there been any news?"

"No," Ric said. "No, I'm afraid not."

Vanessa nodded and looked a little uncomfortable. "It's . . . right this way."

Vanessa led the way, unlocking and opening the door. Elena followed Vanessa, Damon followed Elena, and Ric followed Damon.

"I'll grab the light. Feel free to look around," Vanessa said. "It's fascinating, isn't it?"

Fascinating wasn't the word Damon would use. There were books and artifacts all around the office, and if Damon hadn't needed information, he wouldn't have been here.

Elena went to a cabinet on the right side of the room; Damon went to a display case; Ric went to Isobel's desk. Isobel had quite the collection. This was going to take forever and a day to go through without the assistance of the hot little assistant.

Damon turned to tell her what they needed, but she was no longer there.

"Where'd she go?" he asked.

He got his answer a few seconds later when Vanessa came back in; she had a crossbow in her hand and it was pointed at Elena. Damon heard the latch release on the bow and knew it would hit Elena in the chest and kill her.

Without thinking, Damon placed himself between the arrow and Elena. He grunted when he felt the arrow go into his back. He grabbed onto Elena to try and keep himself upright, but he couldn't. His legs gave out on him as his body filled with pain.

He was aware of Elena standing over him, shocked, and he was aware of Ric shoving Vanessa into the wall and taking the crossbow away from her. Ric led the research assistant out of the room and Elena helped Damon stand up. He grabbed onto Isobel's desk and leaned forward to brace himself.

"Pull it out," he said to Elena. "I can't reach it, Elena. Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts."

He felt when Elena put both of her hands on the arrow and began to pull. At first Damon didn't think Elena was strong enough to pull the arrow out, but eventually the arrow did come out.

Damon groaned and shuddered. "Oh, the girl is dead."

"Uh, you're not gonna kill her," Elena said.

"Why not? She was going to kill you."

"She probably thought I was Katherine. You're not gonna kill her."

"Watch me," Damon said, going past her to the door. He was going to go find that research assistant and teach her how stupid it had been to mess with Damon Salvatore.

"You touch her and I swear I will never speak to you again."

"What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You are severely overestimating yourself."

"Right, I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind that snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want."

"You're trying to manipulate me."

"If by manipulate you mean tell the truth, okay, guilty."

Elena went past him and Damon watched her suspiciously. He followed her out to where the desk was and watched Alaric push Vanessa into the chair there.

"Please!" the woman said. "Okay, I freaked. You would've done the same thing. It is not possible. Katherine Pierce can't be alive, and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay? I read Isobel's research."

"Well, then you should know just how possible that is," Ric said.

"I'm Elena Gilbert," Elena said. "Isobel's daughter and a descendent of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore, who you just shot."

"I'd be extra nice to me right now," Damon said to the research assistant, who looked at the desk.

Now Damon understood why Vanessa had looked at him strangely earlier.

"Look we need your help, okay?" Elena said. "We need to see all of Isobel's research. Anything related to Mystic Falls."

"So, what do I do when I see the rabbit?" Caroline asked.

"Chase it, catch it, feed on it," Stefan answered.

Stefan and Rebecca had brought Caroline out to the woods near the boardinghouse and Stefan was going to teach Caroline to hunt.

"Isn't killing cute, defenseless animals the first step in becoming a serial killer."

"Well, you sort of skipped serial killer and went straight to vampire. And, Caroline, if you aren't serious about this, then I think you should tell me."

"No, I am." The look Stefan gave her was enough to make Caroline snap. "Look, I swear that I am, okay? But it's just – I haven't been in the sun for days, and everyone is at the swimming hole having fun, and Matt is there. He finally told me he loved me, but I've been blowing him off, and now you want me to eat bunnies, and I'm kinda freaking out, okay?"

Rebecca watched Caroline make her hand movements with her words and she was almost frenetic in her speed. Stefan was chuckling at their blond friend.

"And now you're laughing at me," Caroline said, angry.

"No, I'm not laughing. Trust me, none of this is funny," Stefan said. "It's just . . . uh . . ."

Stefan put his hands out in a placating way and Caroline glared at him. "What?"

"When someone becomes a vampire . . . all of their natural behaviors get sort of, uh, amplified.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, a little more appeased.

"I mean, as a human, I cared deeply for people and how they felt. Uh, if they were hurting, I felt their pain. And I felt guilty if I was the one who caused it. And, as a vampire, all that got . . . magnified."

"So now you're saying that basically I'm an insecure, neurotic, control freak on crack?" Caroline asked, her eyes widening.

Rebecca giggled and looked at Stefan, who smiled at them both.

"Well, I wasn't gonna say it like that, but . . ."

Caroline took a deep breath and looked like she was about to hyperventilate.

"Listen, let's hunt, okay? And then after that we'll go to the swimming hole."

Caroline perked up instantly. "Really?"

"Yeah. Matt is the closest connection you have to your humanity, and I think that being around him is a good thing."

"Okay." Caroline actually bounced on the balls of her feet. "Okay. Bunnies."

"Okay, blood bag," Rebecca said. "I'm not chasing bunnies, just so you know."

Back at Duke, Vanessa was getting everything together that she knew about vampires. Katherine Pierce, and werewolves.

"This box tracks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in September of 1864." The assistant put a box that was filled with folders and books and index cards down on the table in the office.

"Is that all there is about her?" Elena asked.

"All that I'm aware of."

Damon, who was looking at another display case, heard Elena say, "Here, take this."

"Does vervain really work?" Vanessa asked.

"Nope," Damon said from his spot across the room. "Not at all."

"Can he hear us?"

"No, that would be creepy," Damon whispered.

"Can he read minds, too?"

"You know, if you wanna see me naked, all you have to do is ask," Damon said in his regular voice.

"No," Elena spoke up. "That he can't do. But he is very capable of being a first rate jackass."

Damon looked at Vanessa, who was putting a sprig of vervain in her pocket, and then at Elena who was glaring at him. He smirked at the brunette and went back to doing what he'd been doing. He knew Elena was mad at him. Just about everyone was; but she'd also defended him to Bonnie the night before. She'd stood up for him, so she wouldn't stay mad at him for long.

Rebecca, Caroline, and Stefan had finally made it to the swimming hole. Caroline had forced some rabbit blood down her throat so she could go see Matt.

Some of the teens were swinging from a rope into the water even though it was March. Rebecca knew the water had to be cold, but the teens were drunk and the temperature didn't seem to bother them.

Rebecca saw Matt and Tyler talking across the way near Matt's truck, the bed of which held a keg of beer. Then Mason drove up in his Bronco. Tyler went to him and Rebecca homed her hearing toward their conversation.

"Are you bustin' us or joinin' us?" Tyler asked his uncle.

"Neither. I'm hopin' you can have everyone out of here by dark."

"What happens after dark?"

"Someone ends up wasted and dead at the bottom of the lake."

"You're kidding, right?"

"You heard your mom. The family's liable."

"Don't be a party-killer."

"Hey, I didn't say you had to stop partying. I just said you had to take it elsewhere."

"A'right. We'll be outta here."

Tyler walked away and Mason began driving away. Rebecca couldn't help but think that even if Mason was something supernatural he didn't seem to want to hurt anyone. He was looking out for the people at the party even though he wasn't the one throwing the party.

When Mason passed them in his Bronco he nodded at them. Stefan stared at him and Rebecca smiled at him. When he'd driven past, Caroline said to Stefan, "Why're you looking at him with your serious-vampire look?"

"My what? My serious-vampire look?"

"Mm-hm. I mean, it's different from your worried vampire look. Neither of which stray too far from your 'Hey, it's Tuesday' look."

"Oh, I get it. Okay, you think I'm, uh – you think I'm too serious, that it?"

"I mean, I wasn't gonna say it like that, but . . ."

Caroline smiled and Rebecca giggled. She couldn't believe it, but she was having fun with Stefan and Caroline. She still thought about Damon, but he wasn't the only thing on her mind. She actually thought Damon should've been here helping Caroline since, technically, Caroline was his childe – she'd been turned with his blood. Damon was her sire. Shouldn't he feel compelled to help her? Or did she have the definition wrong?

Finally, Caroline thought, finding Matt in the crowd. Aimee Bradley, one of Caroline's classmates, was flirting with Matt.

"Matt!" Caroline all but squealed when she reached him.

"What the hell, I've been tryin' to call you," he said.

"I'm sorry, I got held up. I'm here now."

Caroline smiled spitefully at Aimee.

"Hi, Caroline."

"Go find someone single to stalk, Aimee," Caroline said, beginning to compel the girl.

Aimee left without another word and Matt crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not pleased.

"Seriously?"

"She was flirting with you."

"She's harmless," Matt said. "You don't have to be rude."

"You're mad?"

"You've been dodging my calls all day. And you get to show up here and be the jealous girlfriend? It's kind of lame, Care."

Matt walked away, upset, and Stefan came over to her. Rebecca came with Stefan, walked to the side of Matt's truck and grabbed a beer from a cooler and popped it open.

"Hey, I saw that. You compelled her," Stefan said.

"Yeah, she deserved it," Caroline said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Caroline, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons."

"You know, why is everyone sticking up for Aimee Bradley?" Caroline snapped.

"You're letting your jealousy get the better of you," Stefan reminded her.

"Oh, so now I have magnified jealousy issues too? That's great."

"I told you this wasn't gonna be easy," Stefan said.

Rebecca grabbed another beer and handed it to Caroline. The blond looked at her weird.

"Alcohol helps, I promise. It takes the edge off; you'll feel calmer."

Caroline popped the top on her beer. "Ugh! I should've just stayed dead. My entire personality is killing me."

Stefan chuckled and Rebecca smiled at her blond friend.

"You'll get used to the mood swings," Rebecca said. "Just remember you're not alone. We're here for you if you ever need anything."

Rebecca understood the enhanced jealousy thing. Caroline hadn't been the most secure person in the world when she'd been human, so if Matt were to just talk to another girl Caroline would view it as a threat. Rebecca had been through a small jealousy fit her own self a few weeks ago, but it had been nowhere near the extremes Caroline seemed to be going through.

Back at the Duke University, Elena was going through the papers that Vanessa had laid out about Katherine.

"Any luck?" Damon asked.

"There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know," Elena said.

"Oh, man, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore," Damon said. "I could tell you what I know."

"Now who's manipulating who?" Elena seethed.

"Hey, guys. Check this out," Ric said. He'd been looking at a notebook with a bunch of drawings and symbols in it.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls," Vanessa said, taking the book from Ric. "But here are some records from some of the lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Marechal de Retz."

The research assistant handed the book to Damon and pointed to some foreign language that Damon knew nothing about.

"Roughly translated, it means "the curse of the sun and the moon."

"It's Native American," Ric said.

"Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia," Vanessa said.

Damon began flipping through the pages of the book he was holding. Vanessa began narrating the pictures he came across.

"Short story: 600 years ago the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible. Until an Aztec shaman cursed them."

Vanessa pointed to a picture on a page that had three figures on it. There was a man with a red and yellow headdress on who Damon assumed was supposed to be the shaman. Damon figured that meant said man was a warlock, the male equivalent of a witch. There was a wave of something coming from the man, and Damon thought it must have represented magic.

There was another man-like creature on the page, and there was no mistaking what this one was. This was meant to represent the vampire. Damon could tell because of the fangs.

That left the wolf, or the werewolf. Though the image whoever had drawn didn't resemble a wolf in the slightest. For one, the thing was standing on two legs – maybe that was meant to represent that the beast was also a man. The only resemblance the picture had to a wolf was the fact that it had a tail.

"The curse made vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night, and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, whoever's unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse," Vanessa said. "Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: Vampires."

Damon was suddenly alert. Vampires and werewolves were having some sort of supernatural war? Damon hadn't heard anything about that and he would've known if his kind were being hunted, especially if some supernatural man-beast was doing the hunting.

"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires I would know about it."

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction."

"Why would they do that?" Elena asked, taking the words right out of Damon's mouth.

"To protect themselves," Vanessa answered. "Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire."

Elena looked at Ric, and Damon thought she was probably thinking the same as he was. If Mason was a werewolf, then Stefan and Rebecca were in Mystic Falls with the werewolf.