1-10

"You know this means you most probably won't be going to school tomorrow, right?" I said, looking over the map on the paper below. It was a measure of safety on our part, making sure the integrity of layers of the boundary spell.

"It took a little convincing," said Luka. "But Dad at least knows the importance of making friends. That and he owes me some goodwill because of this constant moving around thing."

I looked up at him, his expression, taking in the small lines which had no place on the face of a teenager.

"I thought you stayed in places for a little while before a move," I said. It wasn't something I'd actively thought about, the conversation, but it was still a rough idea in my mind what he'd said.

"Um…yeah," he said. "We used to. But things have sort of changed in the recent while." He looked away from the road a little, sparing me a glance that I caught with the corner of my eye before his eyes returned on the road, skirting the edges of the boundary spell on the large expense of land.

He wanted to say something if I was reading it right, but something stopped him. I hadn't actively thought about him and his dad and their whole drama since their arrival. The Allied Council seemed to have put the matter in the backburner and though I knew they could be dangerous, there really wasn't anything I could do without Lucy here.

They were powerful, with more useful knowledge in terms of magic. A fight was something I couldn't win, which meant angling for a fight wasn't the smartest thing to do. All I, and everyone else for that matter, could do was pretend to play nice until we knew their true motives.

"You can ask whatever it is that's on your mind," I said. "I get it, it's sort of hard not to test my powers."

"Right, sorry," he said. He took a breath. "You power, how does it work? Do you know the past, present and future? Do you need to focus on a particular person like a Tracking spell?"

"No," I said. "When I was young I got an info-dump. Everything I need to know is there, but since I got the information when I was younger, it's been eroded by time. So I need something big to remember."

"That sounds less powerful than I thought," he said. "I was going to ask if you could find someone without a Tracking spell, but I don't think it's that simple."

"No, it isn't," I said. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. Now that I thought about it, it worked against the whole thing of making me seem powerful enough to scare people off. But maybe that could work in my advantage, too? Ensuring that people weren't interested in me anymore?

A mental snort passed through me. That was unlikely. The only way that could happen was if I left Mystic Falls and hid myself under a Cloaking spell. I was getting good enough with them that I could probably achieve it, especially if I channelled Elena and Stefan's blood.

"Three miles and we stop," I said. "The barrier's frayed."

Luka hummed giving me a nod. Nothing had happened so far. The spells were holding and the packs weren't causing trouble. Tyler and Mason were inside the massive field in their wolf forms, herding the others so that they didn't try hitting the boundaries. They were magical creatures and it was possible that they would have enough power behind them that they could break through the spells.

Stefan was being watched by Bonnie, Caroline and Enzo. They were monitory his thirst level and his general state of being. If he started degrading then we'd have to quickly think through a way to keeping Tyler stable while decreasing the amount of magical strain exerted on the doppelganger.

Luka stopped the car and we exited, both of us making sure we were clear. Looking beyond I could see three pairs of eyes. I blinked and they were gone.

"We should have brought a vampire," said Luka.

"That would have caused more trouble that its worth," I said. I took a breath and focused, feeling over the lines until I found where the imbalances were. At some point, a werewolf must have hit the boundary and the energy expanded to keep the thing up meant this was a weak spot.

I went of the spell, fortifying the lines and in a matter of minutes I was done.

"Done," I said. He gave a nod and we shuffled into the car. He started driving off.

"What about this new clairvoyant?" he said. "You know anything about her?"

I shook my head. "She's a blind spot."

"That must worry you, if only a little," he said. "You must be used to knowing stuff or at least figuring it out, now this blind spot hampering your vision. It must sting."

I shrugged. "I'm trying to be less of a control freak," I told him. "It means I'm sane in the end."

"You don't seem like a control freak," he said. "At least not from what I've seen these past few days."

I chuckled. "Then you don't know me too well," I said. I looked over the map, seeing that the place I'd filled had more of a bold line at the current influx of power.

The entire image didn't sit too well with me, it wasn't as neat as I would have liked it. There were blocks all over the property, squares and rectangles which sometime overlapped to form our largest boundary spell yet. But the thing worked, it made sure only the most outer edges was the one that kept things out and in while the others were more ornamental.

I spotted six more wolves through our run, two of them cubs. That made me wonder what that meant, had they killed a person to transform and why would anyone do that to their child? Or was there something different to how the curse was activated? More to the magic? Or was this a form of protection for the young?

Too many questions and it grated me that I didn't know anything where they were concerned. Werewolves in the show had been peripheral, paid just enough attention that they were well defined but further than that they weren't the main focus. I still knew the basics, but as I was quickly learning, the basics were only that, the basics and that there was more where magic was concerned.

"I'm curious," I said, breaking the silence that had developed between us. "What's your elemental affinity. I really haven't seen much in the way of magic where you and your dad are concerned."

"Dad doesn't believe in that," he said. "He thinks it's a crutch many people fall on and that as a witch you should be well-rounded."

I gave a short nod at that. "That's actually true," I said. "I'm finding that I'm relying more on my affinity than I should. Not using the others even when it would be better fuel for a spell."

"Researched it, though," he said. "I was curious enough that I opened myself and felt through it. Wind, which might explain why I'm good with Linking spells. Dad's the same and he's very good at Linking spells."

"That's good," I said. "A little unsettling, though. Makes me want to redouble my efforts in drawing Boundary spells around my house."

"Like you did just after we arrived?" he said. He spared me a look.

I shrugged. "I'm paranoid," I said, looking back down at the map.

"But not paranoid enough that you would refuse me if I was alone with you?" he said.

I stopped looking at the map, folding it up to look at him, sparing him a long glance. "Should I be worried right now?" I asked. "Because the way this conversation is headed makes me a little worried."

"No," he said. "I won't. But…" He sighed. "I'm still trying to get a handle of your power. What you told me gives me an image of how you got the knowledge that you have, but it doesn't tell me anything else. Is it past, present and future? Are you effectively psychic? What are the implications of that with regards to free will?"

"Did I just send you through a metaphysical rabbit hole?"

"Yes," he said, emotion behind his voice. "If your power is as I think it is, then it scares me. But also it doesn't?" he said, giving me a look, my expression must have been questioning enough that I could see he was going to explain. "Between you and the other clairsentient it makes me think that you're trying to actively change things. So you can't really have future knowledge.

"But then it still doesn't explain that you can predict things like you said before, if you pay enough attention to them. So," he let out something like a growl. "I just don't understand."

"You like understanding things don't you?" I said with a small smile.

"Who doesn't?" he said. "You understand the small things then you use that knowledge to guess at how the bigger things are going to respond. It's my entire thought process to magic. This I don't think I can understand that well and that is something that's going to bug me for a while."

"The more time you spend around me, the better you might be able to understand my ability," I said.

"I can't help but think you're flirting with me," said Luka, giving me a look.

My eyes closed as I felt a surge of embarrassment filling my stomach. If I were a tad paler then I might have actually blushed.

"It's common practice, even a social nicety that you don't mention it when someone's flirting with you," I said. "Particularly if you're going to spend about an hour's drive with them."

"No," he said, quick and sharp. The embarrassment increased tenfold. "I mean…I don't know what I mean. Just. I'm usually bad at that sort of thing. It's better if I know for sure so I can react. Turn on the charm."

"That's something of a relief," I said. "But it sort of broke the momentum I was building up. Now I have no idea how this can move forward."

"Sorry," he said. An awkward silence hung between us before he said, "I'm bisexual by the way."

"Um…congratulations?" I said, a little unsure.

"It's just that some people have hang-ups about that thing," he said.

"Never actively thought about it," I said. "But I don't think I have any hang-ups. And this conversation just took a turn that I'm not comfortable with. I get the feel that pretty soon one of us is going to ask the other out."

"That's how these things work," he said.

"Yes, but we barely know each other," I said.

"That's sort of the whole point," he said. "We don't have school tomorrow. We'll be asleep until the afternoon but it's a Friday and that opens up the weekend."

"You're really asking me out on a date?" I said. He didn't answer because the car suddenly jerked right at a figure in the middle of the road before he stopped: Tyler. He walked to the side and opened the door, getting into the backseat. "Problem?"

"Packs are riled up in the south east of the territories," he said. "They caught the scent of a vampire. They were too scared for it to be a normal vampire. Uncle Mason's gone to check."

"I'll check it out," I said. Tyler's fangs shot out, he ran his fingers under the fan and wiped it with a handkerchief. He handed the thing over. I started the spell, running through the threads until I found Mason in his wolf form running through the forest.

A minute spent running and the image was suddenly gone.

"An area's Cloaked," I said. "We're dealing with a witch." I didn't mean to, but my eyes slightly looked to my left where Luka was driving. "I think it's better if we stayed clear. Call Mason off."

"Not an option," said Tyler. "He doesn't have a phone."

"We can handle a witch, can't we?" said Luka. "Between the two of us and two hybrids?"

"I'm not much for combat situations," I said. "And we'd be going in there blind."

"I could call my Dad. I think he's still at the hospital. He could help?"

"Do that," said Tyler. "Mike, you mind doing what you did you your dad? That burning touch thing?"

"Sure," I said. I closed my eyes, flooding power into the thread. The energy sent rebounded and I felt that feedback loop pain. I shook my head. "The Cloaking spell is blocking me."

"Wait," said Luka. "I think I might have something that will work. But I don't have the power to do it alone?"

I heard the door open and the rush of wind as I was pulled out of the car and deposited into the backseat. The car didn't stop even as Luka was pulled out of the backseat and put beside me, Tyler taking the driver's seat and immediately moving the car faster.

"Thanks for that," I muttered under my breath.

Luka was on the move, he took the handkerchief and closed his hands around it. He let out a breath and started speaking under his breath. I took hold of his shoulders and felt the rush of power moving through me, I could hear the wind in the distance but the ancestors weren't behind it. I reached out and took hold of their power, and as I started saying the spell the ancestors joined in.

I felt a thread coming to life. It wasn't the same thread that I was used to, instead it was slow moving, thicker and built like power cable. From what I felt he pushed a lot of power into, enough that I would have been drained if I'd tried to do something like this alone. A matter of minutes and I felt it as we reached the point where the Cloaking took hold.

The barrier-esque feel of the spell started to warp, a lot of energy pointed in one place until the general effect started to fray.

All at once the cloaking spell broke and I could see. The image was so violent that Mason lost his footing and with his speed he tumbled, slamming into a tree and having a branch tear through him. Luckily it didn't hit anything and he was up a moment later, his bones shifting so that he was in his human form again.

I pushed back the sight and started taking control, leading the spell and using the power cable to bewitch Mason. When the spell was done I pulled back.

"Done," I said to Tyler. "And we might have nearly killed your uncle."

The car jerked a little. "What?"

"Sorry about that," said Luka. "Dad is usually the one who leads this sort of spell. I didn't expect him to actually feel it. But the sort of power you brought to the table. It was…"

"Less that and more this," I said, retaking the handkerchief. Using the line I got an image of Mason, he was back in his wolf form and running through the forest again. He stopped, turned and then bolted moving faster than I would have seen were magic not involved.

A matter of moments and then he stopped, someone else coming into the picture. Tall and stately, wearing a black suit and with a regal frame to him and looking at the wolf with an amount of curiosity.

"A hybrid," he said just as Mason growled, legs bent as he prepared to lunge. "Trust me, dog, you don't have the power to deal with me."

And he was right.

"Somnus," I said, reaching and pushing power into the tube. Mason slumped before he could lunge, not moving. Confusion appeared on Elijah's features before he looked around. He started moving forward but I was already acting, pushing more power into the line and building a barrier around Mason.

I built a second one, large enough that it would show him what I'd done. He slammed into the barrier, stopping and looking around again.

"The Bennett witch, I'm guessing," he said, fixing his cuffs. "We'll be meeting soon enough. But in the meantime, tell your dogs it would do them good to stay out of my way."

Then he disappeared.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding in. The Martins had been the first part in all of this, but now it was truly beginning. It was only a matter of time before Klaus was here.