"Carol!"

A voice calls out from the front of the house and breaks her tirade about the family's multiple gazebos. The entire remainder of the Founders' Council stands near the backdoor. Oh no, oh no.

The mayor walks toward us, and my throat lurches. "Carol, who's this?"

I hold out a hand and remain calm. "Just call me Logan, sir." I fight tooth and nail to not look at Logan Fell standing with the Council; I shouldn't know that's his name, so no weird reactions. Not like sharing names is weird. "I noticed the Sheriff is here. Is something the matter?"

A uniformed Liz Forbes watches us carefully, a character who seems to live up to her reputation. Apparently, she is as competent as I remember, because she probably found Anna. Not sure how I feel about that, but my guess is that the girl might have already been staked.

Or I could be jumping to conclusions. Not a lot to go on.

"Logan, huh?"

Ignoring my question about the Sheriff? Smart.

Carol cuts in. "Richard, Logan here is just-" Oh god, that's my dad's name. My real dad. Weird flash of memory. "-admiring the scenery. He's from out of town."

If they only knew that some vampires can daywalk at this point, they'd probably find a random stranger showing up the day after a fatal car crash much more concerning. Don't worry, I come in peace. Even so, they seem to take my words at face value; all the other things that go bump in the night are unknown to them. Their overestimation in themselves and their import just because they know part of the secret is staggering.

"Seattle, Mr. Mayor." I try to give the briefest of explanations I can, sort of regurgitated from what I told Savannah. "Figured Mystic Falls was as good a place as any."

Richard smiles, and a detail from the show that I honestly forgot all about comes back to me. This guy beats his child, and while unconfirmed, I wouldn't be shocked if he beats his wife too.

I'm fairly certain that I know what I need to do about that.

"Let's go see what Sheriff Forbes wants, Richard. Logan, you'll see yourself out, yes?"

"Of course, ma'am. What about the-"

"Come back tomorrow, and I'll have the letter written for you. Excuse us."

The recommendation letter is important, but this? She just gave me all the time that I need to ensure this visit isn't a total loss.

I go and sit down on the patio, watching the Council head inside, and thinking through all the places the other (though considerably less important) MacGuffin could be. I already have the ability to unlock the tomb naturally, so there's no reason to not take the talisman while I'm here and return it to its proper place. Getting a rapport with the resident witch and her granddaughter is important for long-term planning, even if it's only for picking her brain and grimoire.

Once I think I've got the location in mind, somewhere upstairs I think, I smile. Honestly, I was so focused on the moonstone that I forgot about the other one.

I cloak myself once more, rapidly depleting the reservoir with every second I spend invisible and walk swiftly toward the stairs, bounding upward two at a time. If anyone noticed the sound, they don't react to it. Not that they could do anything if they heard anyway.

The display that I'm looking for is… there. Within moments, I've got the Bennet Talisman on lockdown. An amber gem encrusted in silver on a chain, it reminds me of my plans to research precious metals.

I'm tempted to drain it, but unlike the moonstone, this one has value to Bonnie and to her grandmother. I slide it into my pocket, not stupid enough to attempt to wear it when Emily Bennet possessed Bonnie later because of it, and head downstairs, briefly passing a sitting room. I'm halfway toward the front door, but I hear familiar voices from behind a sitting room under the stairs. They are muffled until I touch my ear to the door ever so gently.

"… had to have caused the wreck. It's-"

"Liz, that sounds a little too-"

"Coincidental? I know, Richard, but that's why. If there's anything that we've learned, it's that nothing in this town is coincidental."

A wiser statement has never been said, Liz.

"It doesn't fit their MO. No drained blood; in fact, the bloodier the crash was, the more likely it is that it wasn't a vampire."

Carol's not wrong in her thinking given what they know, but I think that proves that they don't have Anna in custody after all. Or else they'd have been talking about how they staked her already.

I back away from the door, verify that no one's watching, and drop the spell, grateful that I still have a little less than half of my total without having to resort to the watch. While it was not as successful as it could have been, I've still got my hands on a MacGuffin. Right now, I'm in total control of the plot for most of season one, and the minute I find that moonstone, I can control the future of the most dangerous man in the world.

.:O:.

I'm unsurprised that Google isn't up to date, but it's a little frustrating to have to flip through the hotel's Yellow Pages. Even so, I found the address nearly as easily as I did the Lockwood estate.

Before heading around the corner, I pace for several feet, not sure how I'm actually going to go about this. There's a ton of different ways I can handle it, but honesty about metaknowledge is not the best policy. But would Sheila know that I'm lying somehow? Megan's never able to tell, but different witches have different foci. Maybe this is something she can do?

Fuck. I need to think on my feet.

I walk with purpose up to her door and knock several times, a flashback to my time as a resident advisor running through my brain. Such a long time ago, in a previous life. My memories of that are hazier than I'd like.

After a couple minutes, the door opens, but she doesn't open it fully. "Can I help you?"

I nod. "I think you can." I reach into the pocket of my jacket and she flinches at the motion, maybe expecting a gun. She's older, so I could see that being a worry, but not for me. When the talisman fully extends, dangling in the wind, her eyes follow it closely. "My name is Logan Masters, and if I'm right, then big things are on the horizon."

"Masters?" she asks, voice a little shaky. When she hiccups, head lulling slightly, I'm ninety-nine percent sure that she's currently drunk. And freaked out. "Of the Gemini Coven?"

I smile. "Yes. But enough about me." I wave the amulet. "You need to prepare her."