A/N: So… not much to say. I was going to get this up earlier but I never did *sigh* I hate having a bazillion exams in one week.

Also… for those of you who watch Secret Circle, you'll know who all the other witches that show up in this chapter are. If you don't, you'll still be able to understand what's going on. I was running out of ideas, so I figured I might as well do a mini-crossover in just one chapter. Sound like fun? I thought so.

I also may have stolen some VD lines from the show. Oh well.

Last chapter…

I turned back to where Jeremy was only to see him staring at someone like he wanted to make them spontaneously combust. Another close look showed that it was Tyler. "Not again."

"What?" Damon asked, grudging but worried.

"Annoying teenage rivalries." I said, motioning to Jeremy and Tyler. Tyler had just disappeared into another room and Jeremy was hot on his trail. "I should go stop him."

It was harder to find them than I thought, and I was about to give up when I heard shouting and banging from upstairs. "Jeremy? Jeremy?"

I charged up the all too familiar spiral staircase that I had gone down in the Miss Mystic Falls competition and raced down the hallway. I was ducking into random rooms, knocking things over. I heard a slamming noise, like someone's head colliding with the floor. "Jeremy!"

Out of nowhere Mason came flying around a corner. I screamed and flattened against the wall.I'm going to die, I'm going to die, he's going to kill me!He ignored me completely and headed up yet another flight of stairs. Did he know what the noises were?

I followed reluctantly. Sure enough, the sounded got louder as I followed, and he stopped at a door. Still pretending I didn't exist, he slammed his shoulders into it and broke.

All the air rushed out of my lungs when I saw what was inside. Jeremy was covered in blood but doggedly fighting Tyler like his life depended on it. "Jeremy, stop it!" I yelled. Mason was circling them, trying to find a way to get them apart.

Deaf to all sounds, Jeremy struggled in Tyler's grip and managed to break away, punching Tyler in the face as he fell. Tyler was outraged—he'd always had an awful temper. I could barely breathe when I saw him grab some heavy statue from a nearby by desk and raise it above his head—

It cracked soundly against Mason's head as he jumped in the way and tried to shove Tyler aside. Jeremy recoiled at the sound and blinked. The glazed look in his eyes vanished. "What?"

Mason was on the floor, bleeding, Tyler was begging him to get up, Jeremy wasn't moving either. There was so much blood, from Jeremy and Mason. I did the only thing I could: I opened my mouth and screamed for Damon.

I knew he would come.

Elena's POV

I could barely see anything, not even when Damon ran in. He dropped next to Mason and checked his pulse. "What happened?" he demanded. Tyler was frozen, guilt written all over his face as he began to back away. "What happened?" Damon snapped, looking at me.

"I… they were fighting, Tyler and Jeremy… JEREMY!" I cried, realizing just what was happening. I ran to my baby brother and crouched next to him. His eyes were half open. I could see a deep gash on his head, but his clothes were too torn and matted for me to see how badly he was hurt. "Jeremy…"

"Mason's dead." Damon announced.

I nodded my head, trying to respond to him. I cradled Jeremy's head. I couldn't bring myself to check his pulse because I feared what it would tell me.

"Elena?" he asked, coming closer and putting two fingers to Jeremy's wrist. I sucked in a breath as he said, "He's alive, but only by a little."

"Call 911!" I said, glancing to Tyler. "You heard me, do it!"

Damon growled angrily when Tyler still didn't move, swiftly pulling my forgotten phone from my pocket and dialing the numbers. "Can't you give him blood or something?" I asked frantically. "Please, Damon, do something to help him!"

He shook his head. "Someone—probably Katherine—wanted him dead, and I won't risk him having blood in his system and then being killed."

"He'll die." I managed through my tears.

"No he won't." he said. He lifted his head, hearing someone's voice on the phone. "Yes, there was some sort of fight and one person was killed. No, he was trying to stop the fight, it was an accident. Yes, there's also someone who's badly injured. He's breathing… yes, he's breathing but he's unconscious and I don't think he can last much longer. Yes, Okay."

I let the world fade away as I watched Jeremy's face for any sign of movement. "Please, please, please… you can't die. It's not fair." I felt like if I wanted it badly enough then Jeremy would be okay. There had to be some rule, some law in nature that said if you had already lost most of your family you couldn't lose the rest of them, right? There had to be. I wouldn't be able to live without Jeremy.

Before I knew it there were paramedics who walked in and had Jeremy on a stretcher in mere seconds. I wanted to go with him but they said I was on the verge of a hysterical breakdown and that someone should take me home. I wasn't even sure if it was said to me… it seemed like the paramedic saying it was talking to Damon and not to me.

My mind got less fuzzy as Damon was leading me out of the Lockwood's house. "Where are we going?" I demanded. I felt dizzy and breathless.

He said, "We're going home. You almost had a panic attack, so the paramedics wouldn't let you go with Jeremy." He said this as he kept steering me towards the door, down the driveway, and to his car.

"What? Oh, that." I could faintly remember it. "I feel so strange."

"You're in shock." He explained. "Your mind wants you to think what happened didn't happen, or isn't real."

"Yeah, whatever, I don't care about that." I said. I could still see every gruesome detail of the blood in the room and Jeremy's body sprawled out on the ground. "I want to go to the hospital. Now."

"You can't, the paramedic said that—"

"NO." I said loudly and firmly. I made sure Damon was looking straight at me. "Take me to the hospital now or I will open the door and jump out of the car."

"No, Elena." He warned, his tone completely serious.

I reached for the handle. "I. Am. Fine. Now take me to go see Jeremy."

He sighed but relented, turning the wheel and heading in the opposite direction. I found I could breathe easier once I knew we were going to the hospital.

"Why was he doing that?" I asked. "Why would Jeremy keep beating Tyler like that? It was like he wanted Tyler to snap…"

"No, but I'm sure Katherine did." Said Damon grimly. "It's so obvious. She wants another werewolf, and since Mason didn't manage to kill anyone with his little escapade she has to get rid of him."

"Why would she even want a werewolf?" I asked. I was so confused. I understood that Katherine was evil and that she wanted to hurt me, but why would she risk creating a new wolf? It could get her just as easily as Stefan or Lexi.

He sighed. "It's a long, complicated story, but it involves a sacrifice. She needs a werewolf, and witch, and—"

"A vampire?" I gasped. "Caroline?"

"I didn't want you to find out about it like this."

I groaned and hit the window with my hand, wishing it was Katherine's face. "WHY? Why does she want to do this to me?"

"It's not really about you or her hate for you." He said, gripping my other hand in his when I raised it threateningly in his direction. "There are people out there that she's afraid of and that she's trying to appease. A sacrifice will do that."

I wanted to ask him what this sacrifice would do, but we were pulling up to the hospital. I jumped out of the car. "You coming?"

He shook his head and slid down in his seat. "That car over there is Stefan's."

"Oh. Right." I didn't know why I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. I was just used to dragging Damon everywhere with me after that last few days. "If he's here I guess that means that Lexi is fine. Ha. I'm still right."

"No, you're not." He started the car and slowly drove past me. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay."

I went into the hospital and spent the next half hour running around and asking if anyone knew where Jeremy was. All I could find was that he was still alive and in the intense care unit, but that was all. No one would let me go see him.

I found Stefan on the fourth floor, waiting near the ICU's doors. As soon as I saw him I ran to him and buried my face in his shoulders.

"Elena." He murmured. I nodded fervently as he hugged me closer. "I was so worried that you had gotten hurt."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I mumbled. I never wanted to let go. How could I have ever forgotten how safe Stefan made me feel? "Jeremy isn't, though."

He pulled away enough to look at me. "I heard. I thought you would be here, but there wasn't anyone here. Jenna came about fifteen minutes ago but said you had a panic attack and someone took you home. I was going to ask her more but a doctor took her somewhere."

"I changed my mind." I told him. "I didn't want to go home."

"Who took you?"

I stammered, "Oh, no one, j-just some person at the party I can't remember who, maybe it was Caroline?"

"It doesn't matter." He said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll probably get news on Jeremy soon."

"Hey, I was wondering how Lexi was doing." I said.

Stefan shrugged. "She seemed fine when I left. She says she feels weak still but otherwise she's fine."

Ha. I thought. So Damon had been wrong. "That's good."

"We just need to figure out why Mason was attacking. Speaking of that, how did you know he was a werewolf?"

I gulped. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" he wasn't angry with me, just patiently waiting for the answer I couldn't give him.

"I can't." I repeated. "I know it's a vague answer, but I can't. Maybe someday, after this is all over, I'll be able to."

"Okay." He kissed my head. "As long as you tell me everything you know so I can help you."

I nodded again. "I heard that Katherine working on some sort of sacrifice. She needs a werewolf, a vampire, ad a witch. You can guess who they are, can't you?"

"Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie." He said. "Do you know what the sacrifice does or why she's doing it?"

"Sort of." I said. Now I really wished I had had asked Damon more. "I think that it's for someone else, to appease whoever she's running from."

"That's probably true." Said Stefan.

I glanced at the menacing white double doors of the ICU. "What's taking them so long?"

"I don't know, but Jenna should be out soon." He said.

As if on cue she came through the doors, spotting me at once. "Elena!"

"Jenna, is he okay?" I asked. She walked to me and hugged me. "Jenna?"

"He's fine, Elena. There was a lot of blood loss, but he doesn't even have a concussion." She said. I gripped her tightly and started to cry. Jeremy's going to be okay.

Damon's POV

I regretted not being able to stay with Elena. We had been together the last few days, so much that it felt like old times again, except she didn't hate me for the awful things I'd never done in this reality. I wondered why I couldn't have acted like this last time. It was a foreign concept, having a friend. Even over the years and years and years I'd been a vampire I'd never really had a friend. There were just people I knew, and people I killed. Maybe a friend would have helped me the way Lexi helped Stefan.

I went back to my place and paced restlessly for hours. Elena only sent me one text: Jeremy's okay. ~Elena After that there was a radio silence from her or anyone else.

I spent the time alone trying to figure out what would happen next. As far as I could tell there would be a masquerade ball coming up soon—it had been Mayor Lockwood's idea, and though he was alive I was certain it would still happen. Would Katherine be there like she had at the other one?

Katherine had been oddly missing from all the action as of late. It wasn't like her to miss out on what had supposed to be Jeremy's death. All I knew was that she must have gotten to him before the party, somehow convincing him that she was Elena and getting rid of his vervain.

There was a soft tap at the door. I was up and warily approaching it in a second. When I opened it I saw a note on the front steps.

My sweet, innocent Damon:

Meet me at the Masquerade ball. We need to talk. ALL of us.

Katherine

What did she mean by "all of us"?

Narrator's POV

About thirty miles outside Mystic Falls a black SUV was racing down a dusty and abandoned road. Inside the driver was on the phone, barely paying attention to where he was steering. After all, with supernatural reflexes and sight, why would he need to?

"Do you have the wolf and the vampire?" he asked the person on the phone.

"Katherine says she has a werewolf. His name is Tyler Lockwood."

"Ahh, the Lockwoods." He said, nodding approvingly. "Of course. And the vampire?"

"Yes, she has that too, though if this one dies or leaves you still have an array of other vampires that we can use. Katherine herself would be fine."

He sighed. "Now, Isobel, don't be like that."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"Of course not. I'm sure Katherine's other vampire will be there when I arrive. Where will we be meeting?" in the back of the van something stirred, and he glanced back casually.

"The masquerade ball." Said Isobel. "It's at the Lockwoods. Katherine said she could get Damon, Stefan, and Elena all to come, and she even compelled the grief-stricken Lockwoods to have the party despite the fact that Mason's dead. It's in his honor now, or something equally cheesy."

"Good. I'll see you there."

There was a whimpering noise from the backseat and he looked back again. Despite the dark he could see the outline of a golden head, the damp, sweaty locks of hair plastered to the young girl's face. She was struggling against her bonds. Next to her a brunette was motionless. "Stop that." He reprimanded the girl. "If you keep trying to get free I'll have to make the ropes tighter." The girl let tears spill freely down her face, moaning. He could smell blood all over her, and he knew the ropes were cutting painfully into her wrists already. "Good girl."

She glared at him and wriggled up to the other girl, cuddling into her body for warmth and comfort. She pressed her cheek gently to the other girl's and hummed softly, as though she was trying to wake the brown-haired girl.

"Isobel?"

"Yes?"

"Tell Katherine that I have Klaus's witch, and a backup one as well."

Elena's POV

Once Jeremy was released from the hospital, only a few hours after he went in, Jenna, Stefan, and I took him home.

"I don't understand." He kept telling Stefan and I. "I was there, and then Elena—no, it was probably Katherine—came to me and asked me about my bracelet. Then I was outside, I saw Tyler, and I knew I had to beat him until he killed me. I didn't know why."

I rubbed the back of his hand. "It's okay."

"Did anything happen to Tyler?" he asked. "I knew I was losing and everything was blurry. When he stopped hitting me I passed out."

I glanced at Stefan, who nodded. "Mason tried to stop Tyler. He was about to hit you in the head with some sort of statue, and… he killed Mason by accident."

Jeremy looked stricken. "That's my fault. It's my fault that Tyler hit Mason instead of me."

"No, Jeremy, It's not your fault." Stefan said. He knelt in front of the couch, looking Jeremy in the eye. "Do you hear me?" Jeremy nodded. "You were compelled. You couldn't have stopped yourself if you wanted to."

"I know." Said Jeremy softly. "I still feel like it was my fault."

My phone buzzed. I slid it out of my pocket and angled it away from Stefan in case it was a text from Damon.

Just got a note from Katherine. It says "Meet me at the masquerade ball. We need to talk. ALL of us." Who is "all of us"? ~Damon

I quickly deleted the text. "Jenna?"

"Yes?" she ducked in.

"Is there a masquerade ball tonight? At the Lockwoods?"

"Yes, there is."

"Right after the charity event today?"

She smiled. "Well, the Lockwoods do love their parties, and now they're holding it in honor of Mason."

Who could throw a ball so soon after a family member died? "I guess."

"Do you want to go?" Stefan asked. "I suppose we should go pay our respects." He looked as doubtful as I felt.

"I don't know." I said. "Something about this screams 'compulsion' to me, but I don't know why Katherine would care about the masquerade ball still happening."

"Is there something she wants from you?" Jenna asked. "I don't know much about her, just what you told me, but she probably wants something."

I opened my mouth to say more when the doorbell rang. "Stefan, could you—?"

"Of course." He went to the front door, but when he opened it I didn't hear anyone. He came back holding a piece of paper.

"Stefan?"

"Look at this."

I took the paper and turned it over to the side with writing on it.

Dearest Stefan,

I think we need to talk. Odd, isn't it, that all three of us are back in Mystic Falls and still haven't gotten together to catch up?

Katherine

Panic knotted my stomach. "All three of us"? She wanted Damon to come to the ball as well as Stefan? Didn't she know Damon was avoiding Stefan for a reason?

"What does that mean?" I demanded, pointing at the offending phrase. Maybe Katherine meant Lexi.

"I… it doesn't mean anything, I don't know what she's talking about." Stefan said. If it was possible, he was paler than the usual, white, undead skin tone. "We shouldn't go."

"But what if she can tell us what's going on?" I said. "We're still in the dark about so many things, Stefan, and we need to know what's going on."

He shook his head, crumpling the paper in his fist. "She's dangerous."

"Please, Stefan." I begged. "We need to know." It was time that he realized Damon was in town. Maybe I could make him see that Damon didn't mean any harm. Damon had said that his relationship with Stefan had been bad, but Stefan trusted me. I would make him see.

"I guess we can go." He said at last. "But if she starts to act like she's going to murder us all, we're leaving."

I laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

Eventually Stefan left, and when he did I texted Damon.

Stefan is going to the ball too. Katherine wants to see both of you. ~Elena

I'm not going. ~Damon

You HAVE to, Damon! I know you don't want Stefan to see you but I promise I'll make sure he knows you're good now. ~Elena

Elena… ~Damon

Please, Damon? ~Elena

There was no response.

Damon? ~Elena

Okay. ~Damon

Now all I had to do was find a pretty dress and a mask.

~~~OoO~~~OoO~~~OoO~~~

Hours later I was freshly showered, dressed, and waiting by the door for Damon. I had decided to have him drive me so I would be able to make sure he actually came. Also, I would be able to drag him straight to Stefan and explain everything so they wouldn't rip each other to shreds.

My dress was a silky, shimmery white that was nearly translucent and held all the colors of the rainbow as it moved. It was a very small, simple dress, cinched at the waist with a bow. My mask was also white, the edge framed with the same bits of wispy material as my dress. It looked very faintly like a bird, or maybe a white tiger. I couldn't really tell. Jenna had found it for me, saying she had worn it to one of the balls a long time ago.

Damon opened the door without bothering to knock, whistling when he saw me. "You look gorgeous." He said.

"Don't try to distract me." I teased, shoving him back out. "Car. Now."

"Whyyyyyyy?" he whined. "I don't want to!"

"Car!" I repeated, shoving him into the driver's seat. "And if you drive anywhere besides the Lockwood's house I'll do something violent."

"You will?"

"I will." I said. "Drive."

He did, and soon we arrived that the Lockwood's house. It was festively decked for the occasion. "I can't believe they didn't cancel." I said.

"I'm sure Katherine had something to do with that." Damon replied. "She wanted somewhere safe to meet with us."

"I'll bet." The place was teeming with people; there was no way Stefan or Damon would try anything.

As we approached the front door I saw a flash of raven-black hair and felt a tug in my chest, like I knew the person. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" he was nervous. I could hear it in his voice.

I pointed to the woman's back. "Do you know her?"

He shrugged. "I don't think so."

"I think I do." I said. "Nevermind. We can go ask her who she is later, because right now we have to find Stefan."

Stefan was faithfully waiting by the door, but when he saw who was walking in with me I saw his face begin to contort with rage. I had never seen him that angry.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, storming past me and grabbing Damon by the front of his shirt. "Do you have her compelled or something? Thought it would be funny to mess with her head just to get back at me?"

I realized what he was saying. Stefan had thought that because I already knew about Damon, Damon had somehow gotten to me, stolen my necklace, and compelled me not to tell but to like him.

"Stefan, no!" I said, trying to force them apart. "He didn't do anything, Stefan, I had him bring me here because you to had to meet again eventually."

"You knew he was here?" asked Stefan, incredulous.

I lowered my eyes. "Yes, I did. When I crashed my car he came and saved me. After that… well, he stopped Caroline from hurting me, and he was helping me figure out what Katherine's been doing, and he even rescued me when Mason bit me." My cheeks went scarlet when I remembered the kiss Damon and I had shared. "That's it, I swear! I would have told you but Damon was terrified you would hate him, so I didn't. He just wants to help."

"I do." Damon agreed. "Please, Stefan."

Stefan was still breathing heavily and staring at Damon, but I think he could see the honesty I always saw in Damon. "Fine, but if you try anything I will end you."

"Fair's fair." Said Damon. "Should we go find Katherine?"

"Yes."

I threw Damon an apologetic look as I took Stefan's arm. The meeting had gone a lot better than I thought it would but I felt bad that Stefan had jumped on Damon like that.

Suddenly Bonnie crashed into us, her golden bird masked crooked. "Bonnie?" I said.

She glanced up, seeing it was us. "Oh, thank goodness. I was trying to find you."

"Why, what's wrong? Is it Katherine?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I keep getting this weird witch vibe. I think there's two witches here, and they're both scared."

"What?" I said. Damon looked at me blankly. It was one of the first things he hadn't already known about.

Bonnie said, "I think they're nearby and we need to go help them. They might be part of some plan Katherine has."

Suddenly she stiffened. I grabbed her arm and got an overwhelming sense of protection and power. "Bonnie, what is going on with you—"

Just as suddenly as it came the feeling was gone and I let go just in time to see Damon and Stefan both go flying across the room and into the walls as though shoved by an invisible hand.

Cassie's POV

"Diana?" I asked for the hundredth time. "D-Diana?"

I was still stuck in the hot, dark van that smelt of copper, old Chinese take-out, and blood. Whoever had kidnapped us had locked the car, warning me that if I tried to leave he would kill Diana. Besides, the car was filled with ashes and salt. There was no way my powers would work now, not without some serious help.

"Diana, please wake up." I begged. "Please. There's this guy, and he's going to hurt us, and I'm really, really scared."

It had been worse when I still had tape over my mouth. Once he'd left I managed to get it off by rubbing my face against the door's handle until an edge of the tape caught and it peeled off my face.

I didn't even know where we were. One minute I'd been laughing with Diana over some ridiculous article in a magazine about "witchcraft"—the fake kind—when something heavy had hit me and I blacked out. When I'd woken up some man had been on the phone talking about a masquerade ball, werewolves, vampires, and witches. I'd never known that werewolves or vampires were real, but I was sure it wasn't a good thing.

"… mmmmmmph?" Diana moaned. Her eyes fluttered open. There was still tape over her mouth.

"Diana!" I struggled to get closer, pressing my body against hers. "It's okay. We're in a van, someone kidnapped us but he's gone now."

She twisted in her bonds, but tears sprang to her eyes and I saw blood pooling from behind her back. "Hmm… mmmph!"

"Stay still." I ordered. "The ropes are too tight. I've cut myself on them too." I glanced around. "Try moving your face to the door, so you can get the tape off."

It took a long time to help her. She was weaker than me, probably because she had been unconscious longer, and I had to help hold her up while she pried the tape off.

"I couldn't breathe." She choked out once it was off. "It felt like I couldn't breathe."

"I know." She was shivering. "Did you see who captured us?"

"No." she said. "What do we do?"

I laid still, listening for any sound outside. "I don't know. It sounds like we're near a party. There's also this feeling like there's another witch here besides us."

"Did you feel how cold he was?" asked Diana suddenly.

"What?"

She gulped. "When he hit me, I got this cold feeling, like he was death."

I shook my head. "I just passed out. Anyway, can you feel the other witch's energy?"

Dian pinched her eyes shut and tried to reach out. I could almost feel her magic brushing mine. It was an uncanny but acquired talent. "No. It's because of the salt and ash."

"I'll try." I had never been restrained by salt and ash before.

I closed my eyes and focused on the energy; it was warm, gentle and soft. I pushed my weakened energy past the slat and ash barrier with great difficulty and pressed forward, trying to find my way through a mass of bodies blindly. Despite my concentration I felt Diana turn until she could squeeze my hand encouragingly, and I used the contact to help me reach out faster.

I was almost there. The energy was so close, but it was near two masses of ice, cold as death. "There are more people like him here, and they're near the witch."

"Help her." Diana prompted.

You're safe. I thought, making sure she knew I was there. I then shoved the two cold beings as hard as I could, using all the magic I had left inside me. The last thing I could remember was something snapping in my mind, followed by a flood of unimaginable pain.

Elena's POV

I gaped at the two brothers as they dizzily pulled themselves up and staggered back over like that sort of thing happened everyday. Damon was brushing off his suit and trying to act as nonchalantly as possible, while Stefan just nodded and smiled at all the people saying, "Are you okay?"

"What was that?" I asked Bonnie. "I felt something. It was like this protected feeling, or a spell…"

Bonnie was still dazed. "I don't know. I heard someone whisper 'You're safe' like they were next to me, and I got this overwhelming sense of comfort. Then they—" she gestured at Damon and Stefan "—just went flying. I didn't do it. I think it was those two witches I felt earlier."

"Why the hell would they want to break a wall with our faces?" Damon demanded.

Stefan shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe they've met you before."

"I try to avoid most witches." Damon said. "No offense, Bonnie, but your kind tend to hate my kind. Besides, I'm not always likeable."

"Yes you are." I interjected, not sure why I would say something like that, especially in front of Stefan. "You're not mean as far as I can tell."

"You haven't known him as long as I have." Stefan said. There was a hint of jealously in his tone. "Besides, that's not the point."

"They probably did it because I'm a witch and you're vampires." Said Bonnie suddenly. "They must have been trying to find my energy and when they found yours too they assumed the worst."

"That we were hurting you or manipulating you." Damon said. "Of course."

I said, "So where are they?"

"I could try to find them by reaching out with my energy." Bonnie suggested, though a wariness laid beneath her cheery demeanor. "I've read about it before and I think I can do it."

I nodded encouragingly and motioned for her to try it. She led us to a room that was empty, sat on a couch, and then was still.

Damon coughed, breaking the silence. "Um…"

"Don't be rude." I scolded. He seemed different around Stefan. It was strange, how he was insecure. The way he held himself, like Stefan would attack or threaten him, said a lot about there relationship that I hadn't known.

"I feel something." Said Bonnie. "They're scared and hurt… I think they're somewhere enclosed, but near us. Maybe in a car outside?"

I glanced at Stefan and Damon. "Care to join us?"

The other party-goers ignored us and we shoved past them. I could see Bonnie was fighting down a sense of urgency to get to the girls. They must have been terrified.

I pressed my face against car window after car window, ducked behind bushes, and searched every inch of the front and backyard of the Lockwood's property. Stefan And Damon did a sweep of the woods but uncovered nothing.

"Where could they be?" I asked. "Are they making themselves invisible somehow?"

"Did you check outside the front gate?" asked Damon.

"Oh." I said. I lifted the edges of my shimmering dress and started towards the gate at a run. Footsteps behind me meant that Bonnie, Damon and Stefan were right behind me.

I stumbled over a branch in the road once I made it past the gate but kept going. I could see a black shape in the distance, one that looked like a car. I knew that the two witches were in it.

"Elena! Slow down!"

I ignored Damon's calls and ran even faster. A blur sped past me, slamming into me with alarming speed.

"Damon!" I shrieked irritably. "What are you doing?"

"There could be someone guarding the two witches, Elena, someone dangerous." He warned, holding me back. "You're not going in first."

"Damonnnnn…" I whined.

Bonnie stopped beside, panting. "He's right, you know." She gasped.

We decided on approaching the van as a group, Stefan and Damon shoving me behind them every other second like the sometimes annoying white knights they were.

After looking inside the driver's seat Damon opened the door slowly, letting moonlight spill inside. At first I could only see undistinguishable lumps accompanied by whimpers of fear, but as the door slid all the way back and my eyes adjusted I could see two girls. One was blond, the other brunette, both of them sweaty, dirty, and tear-stained. There was blood flecking the seats and their wrists. When Damon leaned in closer to see if they were both conscious the blond girl defiantly threw herself in front of the brown-haired girl and glared at him. Bits of what looked like ashes and salt slid from her clothes. It was everywhere inside the van.

"I'm warning you, stay a-away." The blond girl stammered. She looked so hopelessly afraid.

Bonnie gently pushed Damon out of the way, making sure both witches could see her. "Hey, we're not going to hurt you. "I'm Bonnie. We kind of met…"

"You were the witch?" asked the brown-haired girl faintly. "Cassie said that she saved you from something, and then she started screaming."

Cassie shrugged. "The spell was hard with all the salt and ash around. Please, can you untie us and take us somewhere safe?"

"Of course!" Bonnie and I crawled inside the filthy van and tried out best not hurt and Cassie and Diana—who introduced herself—but the ropes had done a lot of damage. Both girl had their skin rubbed raw.

We were about to take them to the boardinghouse and figure out just what Katherine might have planned when a shadowy figure appeared next to the van. When Cassie saw him she shrieked, and Diana wrapped her arms around Cassie, a deep and primal fear shining from her eyes.

"Leaving already?" he asked. He was British, but it was too dark for me to discern any specific feature. However, Damon knew him; I heard him suck in a breath when the man stepped out of the shadows. "But I thought I told you what would happen if you left, Cassie."

Cassie moaned in the back of her throat, hiding her face in Diana's coat. "Please…" I heard her mumble.

"As for the three of you, I've been meaning to talk to you." he added, looking at Damon, Stefan, and I. "Katherine was planning on doing the talking, but apparently she's been busy watching over her new wolf. I hear he's very suicidal."

"I knew she wouldn't show." Grumbled Stefan.

"Ah, Stefan." Said the man. "The kind, patient, protecting brother. You and Elena are very close, aren't you?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"It is. You see, we—meaning my brother and I—need your precious doppelganger girlfriend as sacrifice."

"Elijah." Damon hissed. "I think you need to leave now."

"Damon." Elijah regarded him coolly. "The brother who knows too much. What should I do with you?"

A/N: I really love cliffhangers. I really, really do.