SIX

The sound of muffled voices roused me from sleep. I kept my eyes shut as I recognized Tyler and Matt's voices just outside the door. The door creaked open slowly as they both shushed each other. I smiled and hoped they didn't see me. I wanted to see what they were up to and if they really thought I wouldn't hear them. I may be dead, but I didn't sleep like I was. "Shit!" Tyler hissed as something crashed to the floor.

That made me smile even wider. It wasn't like the room was in pristine condition. The desk was broken, the walls were covered in holes and blood and I knew there were bits of clothes and scraps of sheets flung around the room. "Shut up Tyler."

"You shut up."

"Both of you be quiet," I said as I sat upright, holding the sheet tightly in front of my chest. They both exchanged glances before looking at me. Matt immediately averted his eyes and Tyler just stared openly at every bit of exposed skin he could see. "Eyes up here," I said and pointed to my face.

"We came for our keys," Tyler explained staring hard at my eyes.

"You should have knocked," came Damon's voice as he leaned on the door that connected his private bathroom to his room. There was nothing but a towel wrapped around those lean hips and the light of him made me lick my lips and imagine all the ways I could ravage him. Matt's throat cleared and I snapped out of my daydreaming and pulled the sheet tighter around me. "We'll have them for you in a moment," he added and without saying another word, both boys bolted from the room.

I put my head in my hands as I laughed. "That was horrible."

"They should know better. There was no way that they didn't hear us last night so whatever they saw is on them."

When I looked up at him, the towel was pooled around his feet and everything I was going to say was forgotten. In a flash he was on top of me. "They're waiting for us," I breathed between kisses.

"Let them wait," he whispered back as he nipped at my earlobe.

I groaned in both want and the need to stop. "Don't you think we did enough damage for one night?" I asked.

He lifted his head enough to look around the room. "No."

He kissed me again, but I slid out from beneath him and rummaged through his clothes for a long T-shirt and a pair of my own underwear. I grabbed their keys from the floor where they had ended up and before I opened the door. "I'll be back in one minute and I promise we won't leave the house today."

"One. Two. Three," he started as he stretched out and but his arms behind his head.

Matt and Tyler were waiting in the living room, leaning on the couch. "Sorry about that," I apologized and handed them their keys. "Thank you both for coming last night and keeping me distracted."

"Any time," Matt returned.

"Can I suggest ear plugs for your guests next time?" Tyler teased as he walked past me for the door. "I might have to breathe like a human, but I can assure you that my hearing is just as good as yours."

I smiled apologetically. "I could just not give you alcohol anymore."

He pretended to look hurt. "Ouch. That really hurt Elena."

"Be careful driving home," I said and right when Matt's fingers closed around the doorknob, Tyler and I both yanked him backwards.

"Guys!" he yelled as he pulled away from both of us, rubbing his shoulders.

In seconds, a jean-clad Damon was in the living room with us looking just as concerned. "Something's out there," I said, looking at him. My eyes flickered to Matt. "Will you go to the basement and stay there please?"

"Elena-"

"Go!" the three of us demanded at once.

"Fine," Matt said tightly and stomped down to the basement.

"I'll check around back," Damon said and I grabbed his arm. "I'll be fine," he assured me and traced the outline of my face before he went towards the back door.

I opened the front door and stepped cautiously out onto the patio with Tyler close behind me. He was sniffing the air as I reached out with all of my senses and came up with nothing. "This can't be right. There's definitely something out there but I'm not picking up on anything."

He nodded in agreement. "I don't-"

I put my hand on his chest to push him back as I saw Roarke at the edge of the property line. "Roarke."

"Who?"

I pointed. "He's right there." I looked at Tyler for a moment and saw his eyes searching. I looked back at Roarke whose mouth was moving in a chant. "You don't see him," I breathed and then it happened.

My head was filled with a high pitched shriek that sounded like nails on a chalkboard only much, much worse. I put my head in my hands and cried out. I stumbled and Tyler caught me before I hit the deck. He laid me down as I continued to squirm and cry as the pain in my head increased. "Elena?" Tyler said over and over again. My hands clawed at my hair and when they ran down my face, they came away slick with blood.

My vision blurred and I felt a burning sensation sweep through my entire body as Damon's face floated in front of me. "Tyler, call Bonnie. Now!" he snapped before looking down at me. He was faded, but I could still see the profile of his face. "Stay with me Elena," he pleaded and before I could reassure him, everything went black.

My entire body was stiff and sore and my head felt groggy. I groaned as I moved my head and felt a wave of nausea. My eyes fluttered opened and I looked around the room. "Elena, don't move if you don't have to okay?" came Bonnie's voice from beside me.

"What happened?" I asked and could barely recognize my own voice it was so hoarse.

"What do you remember?" she asked as she came into my line of vision.

I closed my eyes against the sudden blurriness. "The boys were about to leave when we all sensed something was outside. We went to look and there was nothing. Then Roarke-" I stopped mid-sentence and gave a strangled cry.

I tired to sit up and she forced me back. "No, stay still."

"Elena, stop trying to move," came Damon's voice and I opened my eyes to see him.

"Tyler didn't see him, but I did. He was there," I explained, mostly to reassure myself that I wasn't crazy.

He took my hand with one of his and wiped away my tears with his free one. "No one is going to say that you didn't see him. You gave us quite the scare."

"There was blood on my hands," I said as I remembered the sticky feelings as I moved my hands over my face.

He nodded briefly. "You were bleeding from your ears, eyes, and nose. Tyler called Bonnie and she helped us stop the bleeding."

"Whatever happened to you was definitely done by a witch or warlock," Bonnie said in agreement. "A strong one." She moved out of my sight and when she came back, she was holding a cup. "Here, drink this. It should help with the nausea."

Damon lifted my head for me as Bonnie poured the hot liquid down my throat. "That was disgusting," I said as I coughed from the bitter taste it left in my mouth. "But it did help," I added as it instantly made the rolling waves of nausea slip into the background.

I sat up with Damon's help and rested against the headboard. I relaxed after I realized I was in Damon's room and both of them were standing on opposite sides of the bed. "When I did the scrying last year and found there was no other trace of magick but me in the area, it was because Isobel was compelling me to do it. What I didn't realize was that by doing that spell, it became an alert system. I've been having energy spikes here and there since you got back and I figured it was just you and your telepathy but I did a little digging and found I can only trace full blooded witches and warlocks. If you think Roarke is here, then I'm here to tell you that he is."

"So Klaus had to have made him a vampire after Katherine did the blood exchange. That's the only possible explanation," I said as I hugged my knees to my chest. I looked at Damon who had folded his arms across his chest. "We need to find Klaus. What if Katherine did something to him at some point and now he's out for revenge? What if he thinks I'm her and he and-"

"Elena, stop thinking about it," Bonnie said lightly as she reached for my hand.

I snatched it away from her and slid off the bed. "It's been proven that my blood can bring her back. And no offense, but if you can do it, I can't imagine what Roarke can do. Katherine pissed him off by becoming a vampire. You should have seen the look on his face after Klaus left."

Bonnie held her hands up as if to surrender. "You're obviously feeling better, so I'm gonna go home. Call me if you need me," she said and was out the door as fast as she could be.

I tipped my head back and groaned in frustration. "I shouldn't have yelled at her."

"Probably not," was all he said and smirked at me from where he stood. "Tyler and Matt are still downstairs. You haven't been out that long."

I had been pacing and I stopped when I caught my reflection in the window pane. "Oh God," I hissed and stared in disbelief. My face, shoulders, and arms were stained with blood and my hair was crusted over with blood as well. "Gross."

"Take a shower. I'll be downstairs with them."

Any other time I would have asked him to join me, but I simply nodded and headed to the bathroom to enjoy the silence. After I was finished and dressed, I stepped into the hall and walked downstairs. "Feeling better?" Matt asked as he and Tyler ran for me.

"A little," I answered and smiled softly at both of them. "You should go home. I'll be fine."

"Elena-" Matt started.

"Please?"

Both boys nodded and said their goodbyes before leaving. I turned to Damon and he put his arms around me. "Maybe we should go stay at your house for the remainder of our stay here. If Roarke and Klaus are here, they can't get in without being invited in. Here, they don't have to be invited."

I nodded against his chest, my hair making his shirt damp. "We're leaving Saturday right?"

"Eager?"

"If either one of them wants me dead I would rather take the fight away from my family so no one else gets hurt. I know Jenna's might be safer, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up nor do I want to get her closer to any of this. I just want Katherine's past to stop dumping itself on me."

His hands ran up and down my back in a soothing manner. "If Klaus really his an Original, it's going to be extremely hard to take him down. We might need everyone we can get to help."

I pulled back. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe we should stay until we get rid of the two of them. We have powerful allies here and we can do more damage together then the two of us by ourselves. Just think about it. I'll do whatever you decide," he said and headed to the fridge. I sat at the bar and drank the glass of blood he made for me; lost in thought over the options to stay or go.