"Someone's here to see you."
Elowen looked up from the grimoire at her mom, who stepped out of the way to reveal Stefan. Elowen rolled her eyes and went back to reading. Esmeralda quirked an eyebrow at Stefan, as if to say, 'I told you so'.
"Elle, please. I'm really sorry about everything that happened last night, but that's not why I'm here. Anna kidnapped Elena. I need your help."
"Why should I help you?" She asked coldly.
"Elowen, please. This isn't you. You wouldn't just allow Elena to be eaten by wolves like this."
"Anna probably kidnapped Elena as some form of leverage to get the grimoires. I don't even think she knew there were two. Kinda ironic."
Esmeralda walked back into the room, finishing up a conversation on the phone. "Okay, I'll let her know. Of course. The second I hear anything I'll let you know." She hung up. "Honey… Bonnie's missing."
Elowen glanced at Stefan. "You got lucky." She closed the grimoire with a hard 'thump'. "I know where she is."
Elowen knocked on the door of the motel room Anna was staying at. A few seconds later, Anna opened the door.
"If you're here for the witch, you're not getting her back."
"Don't worry, I'm not," Elowen brushed off with a shrug. "I'm here to tell you that you've got it wrong. Did you know that Esperanza helped Emily with the spell?"
Anna's face dropped. "What?"
"Uh-huh. Which means that the second half of the spell is in Esperanza's grimoire. It's safely guarded in a house you aren't invited in."
"So why are you here?"
"I'm here to offer a compromise." Elowen crossed her arms. "Let Bonnie and Elena go, and I promise you that I'll help you into the tomb. Damon gets Katherine, you get your mom, the other vampires die, everyone's happy."
"How did you-"
"Do we have a deal or not?"
After a moment of silence, Anna opened the door farther. "Get out of here."
Soon, both Bonnie and Elena came rushing out of the room.
"You better not be lying," Anna warned.
"Don't worry," Elowen reassured. "I'm not. Meet me at the church after sundown."
Elowen turned and left, not giving Anna a chance to say anything. She slid into the driver's seat of her car and turned on the ignition.
When she arrived back at her house, Sheila was waiting on the front porch for them. Bonnie dashed out of the car and into her arms.
"I don't understand," Bonnie said as she pulled back from the hug. "How did you know where we were?"
Sheila nodded her head towards Elowen, who was walking up the steps. "Ask her."
"Damon paid her a visit last night." She shrugged. "I was with him and I remembered where it was at. Not too difficult."
"Why were you with Damon?" Bonnie asked, her voice accusatory.
"Told him I'd help him into that stupid tomb."
"What? No! He doesn't deserve to get what he wants!"
"Bonnie." Elowen grabbed her by the shoulders. "The second he gets Katherine back, he leaves town. Don't you get that?"
"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems." Sheila shook her head. "You're not gonna be able to open that tomb by yourself, honey. I read the second half of that spell. I'll help you." She turned to Stefan. "You get your brothers girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this'll be all over."
"I'm helping, too." Esmeralda appeared in the doorway. "The more witches we've got, the better."
"But we still need Damon to agree," Stefan pointed out. "He has the other grimoire."
Elowen snorted. "That's easier said than done. I'm the only one here that he trusts. The second he finds out he has more than one witch on his side, he'll hand over Emily's grimoire without batting an eyelash. I'll go talk to him."
"Sweetie, wait," Esmeralda stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. "Be careful. Please?"
Elowen sighed and gave her mom a smile. "I'll be fine, mom. Damon won't hurt me."
"'Bout time you showed up," Damon said when she entered the room. He looked up from Emily's grimoire and frowned. "Where's the other one?"
"About that." Elowen came to a stop in front of him. "My mom's in. Sheila is, too. And probably Bonnie. There's no way she'd let her Grams do this by herself."
"And you're telling me this, why?"
"They wouldn't let me bring the other grimoire because they were afraid we'd run off and do the spell ourselves."
Damon smirked. "They were right."
"Damon…" Elowen took the empty seat beside him. "You're okay with them helping, right? Because the only reason Sheila is doing anything is to keep Bonnie out of trouble. And if Bonnie is there, Elena is there. Stefan will be, too."
A long silence passed between them. Damon was still hurt from their betrayal, she could tell. He seemed to be thinking about it, jaw clenched and eyes downcast.
"The more witches, the better," he said at last. "If that means I have to see Stefan and Elena, it's worth tolerating."
Damon got up from his chair shortly after, ending that topic. He went over to pour himself a drink. "How'd you get Elena and the Bennett witch back?"
"Oh. Told Anna I'd get her into the tomb." She shrugged. "She handed them over pretty easily after that."
Damon didn't say anything and instead took a sip of his glass. Thinking their conversation was done, Elowen stood.
"For the record," Damon's eyes flickered over to Elowen, who turned to face him. "I guess…. I kind of care about you. If you look at it a certain way, that is," he quickly added as an afterthought. His face turned serious. "Nobody deserves to go through what we did."
A mutual understanding seemed to pass through the both of them.
Elowen did her best to fight back a smile, but Damon still saw. He rolled his eyes and downed his drink.
"Don't get too attached, little witch," he said, setting the empty glass aside. He walked towards her, grabbing his jacket and throwing it over his shoulder. "Let's go."
Elowen and Damon arrived at the woods. It was bustling with partying teenagers. Elowen grimaced.
"The Duke party. I completely forgot about this."
"To be fair, you aren't exactly the party type."
"Elle!" Caroline came running up to her and threw her arms around her. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" She pulled back and noticed Damon standing next to her. "What is he doing here?" She asked, uncertain and slightly reproachful.
"Don't worry. He's on his best behavior." Elowen realized Caroline was alone and curiously scanned the area. "Where's Jo? He's usually with you."
"Right here, nerd." Josiah escaped the crowd and came to stand next to Caroline, who linked her fingers together with his. "We weren't originally gonna come, but mom said someone needed to make sure the party steered clear of the old church."
"I just decided to take advantage of that," Caroline piped.
Elowen shook her head, but still shot the both of them a grateful smile. "Thanks, guys."
"I don't really know what's going on and I'm not sure I want to," Caroline started. "But, either way, you're welcome."
"Can we go now?" Damon asked impatiently. Elowen sighed.
"Guess that's my cue." She gave a quick wave and continued on her way with Damon. They arrived at the ruins just as Sheila questioned if Damon would bring her back. He whistled to get their attention.
"Brother," he begrudgingly acknowledged Stefan. "Witches," he nodded towards Bonnie, Sheila and Esmeralda. He strode past them, Emily's grimoire in hand, into the tomb. Esmeralda held Esperanza's grimoire securely in her arms.
"Alright," sighed Elowen. "Are we ready to get this over with?"
"As we'll ever be," answered Sheila.
Outside, Jeremy approached Josiah.
"Hey, didn't know you were gonna be here."
"Oh, yeah, I wasn't," Josiah replied. "Caroline talked me into it last minute."
"'Course she did. Where is she, anyway?"
"Uhhh….." Josiah exhaled a breath, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. "To get a drink, I think?"
"Hey, guys. Got any weed?" Tyler asked as he came up to them. Both Josiah and Jeremy looked to each other, before shooting Tyler identical looks of confusion.
"Dude. The last time you saw me, you decked me in the face," deadpanned Josiah. "Now you're asking for weed?"
"Look, I'm- I'm sorry about that, okay?" Tyler awkwardly apologized. "Lighten up a little. It's a party and I'm asking a party-related question."
Josiah shook his head. "I don't have any."
Tyler nodded his head and started to back away. "That's too bad. Catch ya later."
"That was… weird," Jeremy said after a moment of silence.
"Pfft, ya think?" Josiah watched Tyler as he left. He glanced to his left and nodded his head in that direction. "I'm gonna go find Caroline. You good on your own?"
"Yeah. Go right ahead, man."
Back in the tomb, Elowen was skimming Emily's grimoire for the correct page, as it held the first phase of the spell. While she was doing that, Sheila was lighting the torches for the elements portion of the spell.
"Air. Earth. Fire," she recited. Esmeralda pulled a bottle of water out of her bag and handed it over.
"Water."
"That's it?" Elena questioned. "Just water from the tap?"
"As opposed to what?" Elowen asked, an undertone of humor in her voice. Esmeralda, Sheila and Elowen all shared an amused look.
"I just figured it would have to be blessed, or, mystical or something."
Sheila shot a smirk in her direction. "You find it yet, honey?"
Elowen nodded, setting the book in the middle of the circle of rocks on the ground. She stood, holding both of her hands out. Esmeralda grabbed her left, while Bonnie took her right. Sheila stepped in and completed the circle.
Elowen gasped as she felt herself pulled into a premonition.
"She's not here!" Damon shouted, throwing the blood bag at the wall. It splattered against the stone. He turned to Stefan, his face twisted with agony. "She's not here."
"What did you see?" Damon was the first to ask, coming to stand behind her. Elowen quickly shook her head.
"N-Nothing. It was nothing."
"Elowen…." Esmeralda muttered. She knew it couldn't be nothing.
"I said it's nothing!" She burst. "It was wrong. I know it's wrong. Let's get this over with."
Esmeralda shot Sheila a look. Sheila only shrugged in response. They didn't have time to pull out of it now.
"Alright. Are we ready?"
The four of them began chanting the spell, eyes focused down on the grimoire. Both Elowen and Esmeralda felt odd, saying a spell in Latin instead of their usual Spanish, but it wasn't their first time swapping languages, so they were able to make do.
After a few moments of chanting, the fire from the torches flared up and the door leading to the tomb creaked open. All of them stopped reciting the spell and looked up.
"It worked!" Bonnie exclaimed in disbelief.
"Of course it worked," said Sheila.
"We have some fires to build," Damon told Stefan, who nodded and ascended the stairs out of the tomb. When he was gone, Damon held a hand out towards Elowen.
"Onward, little witch."
Elowen stared at his hand for a second before finally bringing herself to shake her head. "I can't. I have to stay out here and finish the second half of the spell."
Without missing a beat, Damon nodded towards Elena. "You ready?"
Elena hesitated.
"You think I'm gonna go in there alone and let them seal me in? I don't think so."
"But, Elowen-"
"Elowen versus three other witches? Yeah, because that's a winning battle," Damon said sarcastically.
"Don't take her in," Sheila threatened. "I'll bring the walls down."
"You'll bring the walls down if I don't. You think I trust you?"
"As much as I trust you."
"Enough," Elena cut in. "Both of you. Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know you won't shut the door once he's inside. I get it. I'll go."
Damon grabbed a torch from the circle while Elena took a flashlight. He waited for her at the entrance of the tomb as she gave Bonnie and Sheila a reassuring nod. They disappeared through the door.
Elowen felt her heart pounding in her chest as she watched Damon walk through the door. She didn't want her premonition to be right. For once, she hoped she was wrong. It wouldn't be fair. Not after how far her and Damon had come.
Some time later, Anna descended the stairs, hoping that Elowen kept her word. If not, she would force her way in. As she rounded the corner, she saw Elowen kneeling on the ground, flipping through one of the grimoires.
"Hey, you're not going in there!" Bonnie stepped in her way, but Elowen tugged on her pant-leg.
"Yes, she is. Don't you remember the deal I made to get you and Elena back?"
Bonnie shot her a look that said, 'Screw the deal!' but Elowen stood her ground.
"She just wants her mom back. Let her go."
Jaw clenched, Bonnie stepped out of Anna's way. She slowly took a step forward and bent down to grab the other flashlight on the ground. Just before she walked into the tomb, she shot Elowen a look of respect that read, 'Thank you'.
Once she was in, Bonnie whirled on her. "Why would you let her in?!"
"Because, a deal's a deal, Bonnie!"
"It doesn't matter, anyway." Sheila stepped in to diffuse the situation. "None of them are coming out."
"What?!" Elowen shrieked in disbelief and betrayal. She jumped up from her spot on the ground. "I promised Damon I'd help him! I am not leaving him in there."
Stefan came back down the stairs, empty handed. He was looking for Anna, but noticed that Elena was gone. That and Elowen was fuming. Something was wrong.
"Where's Elena?" He asked.
"Damon took her inside," Bonnie told him.
"What?" Stefan turned and was about to enter the tomb to get her back to safety, but Esmeralda leapt over and grabbed a fistful of his the back of his shirt.
"Stefan, no! If you go in there, you aren't coming out," she quickly explained.
Suddenly, Elowen's red face made sense.
"What did you do?" He asked carefully.
"The spell was divided into two phases. Phase one opened the tomb. Phase two removed the seal," Esmeralda elaborated. "Some seals keep vampires from coming in. This one keeps them from coming out."
Elowen snatched Esperanza's grimoire from its spot and held it in her hands. She glared at Bonnie, Sheila and her mom with pure anger.
"I don't care if you three won't help. I'm doing this spell by myself like I was supposed to. I promised Damon I'd help him if it's the last thing I do!"
"No!" Esmeralda cried, taking a step forward. "The second half is too powerful for just you. Both spells are!"
"I don't care!" She screeched.
A loud scream broke up the argument. It was coming from the tomb, which only meant one thing. Elena. Thinking that maybe Damon had done something, Stefan dashed into the tomb without a second thought.
"Stefan!" Elowen tried to run after him, but Sheila blocked her way.
"He made his choice."
"I'm not just gonna leave him in there! I'm not gonna leave any of them in there. You either help me or you don't." Elowen looked between the other three in the chamber, fire in her eyes.
Esmeralda's shoulders slumped. She knew her daughter wasn't going to give this up. She also knew that this spell could very well kill her if she did it on her own. Sighing, she stepped back up to the circle. Slowly, Bonnie took a place next to her and grabbed Esmeralda's hand. She shot an apologetic look towards her Grams.
"I'm sorry. I don't wanna leave Stefan in there and….." She glanced at Elowen. "I'm not letting her do this alone."
"Very well," sighed Sheila. "Find the spell."
Elena went as fast as her legs could carry her. When she made it out of the tomb, she saw that Bonnie, Esmeralda and Sheila were standing in a circle again. Elowen was on the ground, looking for the right spell. She'd landed on the correct page just before Elena emerged. Elowen stood and grabbed Bonnie and Esmeralda's hands, completing the circle.
"Wait, wha- what's going on?" Elena asked breathless.
"We're finishing what we started," Elowen replied. "Ready?"
Everyone nodded.
"Once we start the spell, there's no saying whether we'll bring the seal down permanently or temporarily," Elowen told Stefan. "Find him. Please."
Stefan nodded and went back into the tomb to find Damon. The four of them started the spell, which was now in Spanish instead of Latin, with closed eyes and heads down. Almost immediately, the remaining torches flared up.
Anna exited the tomb soon after, cradling her mom in her arms. She tried to send Elowen a grateful look, but seeing she was busy, she turned to Elena instead.
"Tell her I said thank you. I just wanted my mother back. Jeremy's fine. He's outside. I won't touch him."
As Anna led her mom up the stairs, the torches began to falter. Elowen, continuing the spell, looked up worriedly. She met Elena's eyes and Elena nodded. She rushed back into the tomb without a word.
"They can't hold it much longer!" She announced as she disappeared back in.
Elowen felt Bonnie's grip tighten around her hand. She gave her a squeeze back to tell her it would be okay. Seconds after, Bonnie lurched over and gasped for air.
"Oh my god! I can't!"
Still being new to her powers, it was only natural that she would burn out the fastest. Elowen pulled her back up.
"Yes, you can! Just a little bit longer."
Bonnie nodded and pulled through, resuming the spell. A few antagonizing minutes later, Damon dragged himself through the doorway, followed by Elena and then Stefan. All four of them ceased their chanting. The door to the tomb slid shut and the torches died out.
For a second, everything was completely still.
"No…." Elowen whispered, breaking the silence. She saw that Damon was by himself and knew that her premonition had been right after all. He was the first to climb the stairs, looking completely miserable. Elowen quickly followed him. She could hear Elena behind her, no doubt to check on Jeremy, but she paid her no mind when they got to the top.
Elowen threw her arms around Damon and placed her head on his shoulder. Damon came to rest his chin on the top of her head.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I'm so, so, so sorry."
"You knew, didn't you?" He asked. "Your premonition." He leaned back from the hug to look down at her. "It's what you saw."
Elowen slowly nodded her head. "I was hoping so badly that I was wrong." She looked up to meet his eyes. "It isn't fair. Not after everything we've been through. Not after everything you did to get her back."
Damon gave her a bitter smile. "No. It's not fair." He pulled back from her embrace, looking over Elowen's head at Stefan. "Thank you for keeping your word. Now go." He nodded his head in Stefan's direction, causing Elowen to look behind her. There was a woosh sound and when she looked back, Damon was gone.
"Are you happy now?" She asked, a sour tinge to her voice. "Damon didn't get his happy ending. Just like you wanted."
"I'm… I'm sorry." There was genuine regret in his eyes. "I shouldn't have done what I did." He stopped just in front of her. "There's been a change in him because of you. I thought that maybe he had somehow finally managed to manipulate you, but…. I was wrong."
Elowen surged forward and crashed against Stefan's chest, holding on tight. "Don't you ever do something like that ever again, jerk."
Stefan sighed into her hair, running his fingers down her back. "I won't. I promise."
"I'm sorry for not telling you about the tomb," she mumbled into his shirt, voice breaking.
Stefan shushed her. "I know you are. It's okay. I forgive you. Let's just get you home, okay?"
Elowen flipped the lights on in her room and jumped back with a start. Damon was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the floor. She looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody else was upstairs and quietly closed her door. She took a few tentative steps towards Damon and took a seat next to him on her bed.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Damon finally looked up at her, revealing his eyes. They were puffy from crying. Elowen immediately pulled him into her, her heart breaking as he softly sobbed into her shoulder.
If she thought she already disliked Katherine, she definitely hated her now.