Chapter 27: All Work No Play?

Denali, Alaska

[Edward's POV]

I am so furious with Alice. She recruited Tanya, Kate, Eleazar, Carmen, Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett to pull me out of the tenement building in Rio when I couldn't track down Victoria in Brazil.

I miss Bella. I haven't been feeding as I should. I admit that I lost it after leaving her in the woods. Eleazar, Emmett and Carlisle hauled me into the jungle to feed and wouldn't leave me alone until my eyes were golden again.

Then they dragged me back to Anchorage via private jet. I am still very angry with Rose she kept calling until I answered; she found my location and told the rest of the family. I shouldn't have given in and answered her last call. The only one I'm really fine with is Irina. She didn't join the 'rescue Edward' venture. She is still waiting for Laurent to show back up.

To top it all off Alice just returned here a few days ago and she has been avoiding me. I am angry with her, but I would never hurt her. She should be able to 'see' that much. Something is going on and she doesn't want to tell me or let me see what's bothering her.

Where the heck is Jasper? No one seems to know or care where he is. Alice leaves the room when his name is mentioned, her thoughts filled with the latest Paris fashion line. She is hiding something.

Mystic Falls: Salvatore Boarding House

[Bella's POV]

Damon is sitting in his chair holding a glass of bourbon. I am standing next to it with my hand on his shoulder. I'm surprised the glass in his hand hasn't shattered. His muscles are stiff. The whole family is situated around the great room; most of us are sitting with our significant other.

I start out our planning session with, "I'll contact Silas via my truth stone and have him bring Katherine to the cave with the family runes. We can use that cave to exchange Amara for her."

Damon looks up at me. "We will meet Silas there. We will need another Astral Leylock for bringing Amara back. We need at least two more people with 'Astral' affinity to do the swap between Amara and Katherine. We will need both Henrik and Freya to remove the binding spell on Amara: then to perform the binding spell to link Katherine as the Anchor."

"I'll help with Amara," Charlotte volunteers.

"I will come with you," Rebekah volunteers. "I really despise that bitch Katerina Petrova. She caused a large rift in Elijah's and Niklaus' relationship to one another, five centuries later the rift is still there."

I ask both of them, "After the swap can we port Amara and Silas to the Caverns to help rid them of the curse and dark energy that surrounds them?"

"I am in to help with the swap and I will port with Silas," Charlie volunteers.

"I will help also and port with Amara," Charlotte chimes in.

"So does anyone else want to port to the caverns to help removing the 'dark' energy infecting Silas and Amara?" Every one nods. I didn't expect everyone to volunteer. "Thanks, your help will make this task so much easier." Damon relaxes slightly.

[Damon's POV]

I am impressed when everyone volunteers to help with the plan to swap and remove the dangerous energy surrounding Silas and I assume the same energy surrounds Amara also. Bella moves to sit in my lap. I pull her close to me. I am very uneasy about dealing with the 'dark' magic associated with the Immortals, Witches and Doppelgangers. I just hope that our Leylock magic is powerful enough to fully protect us. We are still dealing with ramifications from the magic that created this mess two thousand years ago. "Qetsiyah has a lot to answer for I hope Kismet bites her in the ass." Everyone laughs. I didn't realize I said that out loud.

I really don't want Bella anywhere near Silas or Amara and the danger they represent. I just have a visceral reaction to the thought of her and/or our child being in any kind of danger. This situation is a potential danger to her. Historically doppelgangers seem to keep popping up and cause problems.

"Do you think that Esther could interfere?" Niklaus asks.

Charlotte responds, "She is busy with her own plans. Damon you may want to call Stefan and warn him that Elena is targeted as part of Esther's plans."

My response to Charlotte, "We need to keep a watch on Stefan and Elena. If they catch wind of what we are doing they could cause problems."

I concentrate on Elena and the rest of the gang. Elena's current rant is about Stefan's avoidance of her since the first part of the week and his not being in the know about what is going on here at the house. Bonnie and Caroline are staring at her.

Bonnie speaks up. "Elena, I haven't been able to scry on Stefan or Damon. I have been warned by the ancestors to leave Damon, Bella and his guests alone. They have important tasks to complete. They warned me that I would have my powers striped away, if I interfere. It's best that we don't know what they are doing."

"That's weird. Stefan should be hanging out with them." I concentrate on Stefan to see what he is doing.

Stefan is in an enclosed space filled with water he wakes up, tries to breathe then drowns, to wake up again. The cycle keeps repeating.

I blink coming out of the vision. "I have found a way for us to practice retrieving someone from a confined space." The whole room quiets down and everyone is staring at me. "Stefan is in a confined space at the bottom of Mystic Falls Lake. I need a few volunteers to help me bring him here."

[Charlie's POV]

"Everyone with Air affinity concentrate on creating an air bubble inside the safe around Stefan so he can breathe. Damon keep watching him. When he is breathing normally again, let me know so we can mentally tell him we are going to retrieve him off the bottom of the lake. In the mean time we need everyone with affinity for Earth energy to hold the steel safe he is in steady on the bottom of the lake."

"Leylocks with Astral affinity will need to astral project Stefan's body to the Runes cave, using the energy stored in your runes to complete the task. Stefan will be contained there due to the witches boundary spell."

Damon signals that Stefan is breathing normally. "Charlotte you are the better mind projector, tell him what we are planning. He won't put up any resistance that way."

[Stefan's POV]

I wake up this time to air instead of water in the coffin. I take deep breaths. I hear a woman's soft voice. "I am Charlotte a friend of your brothers. We are going to transfer you to one of the caves it is protected by different forms of magic. Indicate you are ok with this plan by coughing three times."

I respond with three coughs. I really want out of this box.

[Charlotte's POV]

Stefan is very responsive to my suggestion. "Everyone with the affinity for Astral Projection concentrate on seeing Stefan in the box. Once you have that image in your mind, pull energy from your rune in the cave and see Stefan in the cave looking at the wall of runes. Raise your right hand if you can see the cave and Stefan standing there. Everyone working Astral energy raises their hand. Now keep your eyes closed and watch his reaction to the port."

[Stefan's POV]

I close my eyes briefly. I feel coldness to the air surrounding me. I open my eyes to find I am in the cave with the Original's runes. I mildly shiver due to the cave being slightly colder than the water I was submerged in. "Whoever you are: Thank you for rescuing me." I hear the soft whisper of multiple voices, "You are very welcome."

I am startled to see my brother on the other side of the caves barrier. "Damon what are you doing here? Help me out of this cave."

"Brother looks like you have a problem. Silas put you in the safe at the bottom of the lake. You need to stay where you are for few days to avoid detection. We will get you some 'animal' blood bags in a couple of hours. I'll see you then." His image fades away.

What the fuck? How does he do that? He's a vampire; we are not capable of astral projection. Maybe my new sister-in-law is a Witch. If so she is very powerful, I really hope Elena doesn't do anything to piss her off. Who were the voices that answered my thank you after helping me escape from the water logged safe? I want answers, but I need to figure out what are the right questions to ask first. This is enough to give any vampire a headache.