SIXTEEN

Damon and I were officially attached at the hip. He moved, I moved. We were determined to spend every moment possible together because we were unsure of how much time we had left. Only Stefan knew about the incident with Klaus on Monday. When I had told Damon how it was Stefan who brought me inside the minute Klaus had left, I expected him to be angry at the fact Stefan hadn't done something. Instead, he went across the hall and thanked his brother for what seemed like the very first time. I wasn't sure which one of us was the most stunned by that action.

I had made Damon stay locked up with me inside the bedroom for two days as we thought over every option we had, which wasn't much. "We could just run," I suggested sometime on Wednesday afternoon. We were laying face-up on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"He would only follow us," he said and turned towards me. I moved my head to the side to look in his eyes and he smiled. "Your eyes are still yellow-green."

"How long is that going to last?" I asked. Tomorrow was the full moon and I had a funny feeling that I was going to find it hard to resist.

"I have no idea," he answered. There was a knock at the door and we both stiffened. "Come in," Damon called, not bothering to sit up.

Stefan opened the door and inclined his head. "Everyone is downstairs."

I narrowed my eyes at both of them. "Which one of you brought them here?" I demanded to know.

"We both did," Damon said and squeezed my hand before we sat up. "As you requested, the humans in your life have been left out, however, the supernaturals are here to come up with a brilliant scheme to kick this guy's ass."

I sighed, "Just give me a minute and I'll be right there."

They exchanged glances but said nothing else as they headed down to join the rest. I went into the bathroom and just looked into the mirror. I had been doing this a lot lately since taking Tyler's blood, but I kept waiting for some drastic change like extreme facial hair or the urge to drink from the toilet. Instead, all that seemed to change was the color of my eyes. At least with the change I looked a little less like Katherine. I had already wasted two out of the seven days Klaus had given me to make a decision and we still had no plan. I rested my hand on the counter and just tried to think positively. With that plan failing, I stepped away from the sink. The moment my hands let go, the pieces I had been holding crumpled to the ground. I straightened and went downstairs to see everyone waiting for me.

Tyler immediately stood up, earning an irritated look from Damon. From what I had been told, I still smelled heavily of Tyler. Apparently, his blood was like a semi-permanent marker that would fade over time. Pearl stood as well and I did a double take at the objects in her hands. There were four leather bound journals like the one Isobel had given me. "I thought these could be of some use," she said as she handed them to me.

"Katherine's journals?" I asked as I took them. I barely saw her nod before I was launched into another vision just from touching the soft leather. It was of Katherine hastily burying them in the grave that held the body of my ancestor. It faded into Pearl digging them up and then it disappeared. "Why would she bury them there?" I asked, forgetting she hadn't seen what I had.

She seemed to understand, meaning Anna told her about my new ability, however everyone else was stunned. "She knew no one would look for them there. Not even Isobel," Pearl answered as she took her seat between Anna and Harper.

It was then I noticed the living room had been rearranged for this particular occasion. The couch from the formal living room had been placed facing the other couch and extra chairs had been placed in the empty spots between the couches. Harper, Anna, and Pearl took up the couch in front of the fireplace. John and Alaric were sitting in the chairs closer to the kitchen while Bonnie and Stefan took the chairs closer to the door. That left room for Damon, Tyler, and I on the couch. I sat on the edge of the couch near John and Alaric and Damon sat close at my side, forcing Tyler to nearly perch on the arm. "Did you read them?" I asked Pearl.

She inclined her head. "It seems Katherine was almost seven hundred years old. She met Roarke when he came to her town to trade and the marriage was arranged. The moment she found out his secret, he told her he was working for a vampire as old as time itself. Naturally she had to meet him and he protested. He worked on getting her pregnant so that she would stop and fall for him rather than what he offered her, but in the end, it did no good."

I nodded in agreement. "It only made her want it more," I finished for her.

"Does it say how to kill Klaus?" Alaric asked. "Or Roarke for that matter. Do we even know what he is?"

"I might have an answer for that," Bonnie said weakly as all eyes settled on her. "When we found Elena, there was a strange energy buzzing around the air that I could almost see it. That night I had dream the way Elena sometimes does where she sees the past and it was Roarke. It was right after the last dream you had where she traded blood with him. He woke up and decided that the only way to get Katherine back was to become a vampire. He tried to kill himself, but he came back human every time. He went to Klaus after a few failed attempts at an immortality spell and Klaus refused saying he wanted Katherine all to himself. He was angry of course, but since her blood was out of his system and he didn't have any more, his only option was the spell. I could only watch as he tried it a hundred different ways before my eyes and ended up stark raving mad."

"Like if you compel someone too much," Stefan supplied and she nodded.

"I guess. After the thousandth attempt, Klaus returned and while Roarke was sleeping, he added his blood to the potion. When Roarke tried the spell in the morning, it worked, but not the way he hoped. It turned him immortal, but he would forever be a mad warlock who could only do what Klaus commanded him to do. Like a possessed soldier with no free will whatsoever."

"So he's killable, just really hard to reach," Damon concluded.

She bit her lip and looked at me. I nodded and she continued. "I think I could get to him. I'm not as strong as he is, but if he's in the middle of completing an order from Klaus, it would give me an advantage."

That gave me an idea that no one had mentioned before. "We could just bring Katherine back."

"No," was all I heard from nine different voices all of the same tone.

"Think about it before you make up your minds," I pleaded. "He wants Katherine back, let's give her to him. This way, we can threaten that if they stay away from us, I won't kill her again."

"That's a horrible plan-" the guys started, but Pearl and Anna were nodding.

"I think she may have a point," Pearl said on my behalf, earning multiple glares.

"Thank you," I muttered. At least there was one person who didn't think I was crazy.

"As I recall, Mr. Lockwood was unable to see Roarke the first time Elena was attacked," she said and everyone tensed. She looked at Bonnie. "That may cause unwanted effects for you plan. Has anyone else seen him but Elena?"

"In my dream," Bonnie replied.

"That may allow her to see him," I hoped.

"Perhaps, but I don't think we should put all of our hopes into that plan just yet. Not until we know for sure. Is there a way you could contact Klaus and offer him Katherine?"

"I don't know," I said quietly and shook my head. "From the way he phrased it, it seemed like he would just collect when my deadline was up."

Damon's hand tightened on mine for comfort and I squeezed back. "Don't you all have more vampire friends you could call in to help?" Tyler asked.

All the vampires except for me nodded at the same time. "We have contacted all of our allies. Some have responded, others have not. However, most of them were more than happy to come and fight with us."

That didn't sit well with me. "Why would vampires be happy about killing other vampires?" I asked.

"Because Klaus is an Original. He does not need a ring to be out in the sun. They are all powerful and it is said that only a few drops of their blood would eliminate the need for these," Pearl answered and held up her hand, pointing to the ring on her finger. "That is why the vampires will come."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I asked you if you knew anything about the originals and you said no."

"I have done some research since," she assured me.

It was then that everyone seemed to have an idea at once and they bounced around the room rapidly. It was almost too much to bear. I got up and headed to the back porch even though I knew it was a bad idea; I needed the silence. Damon's arms around me were more than welcome as we stood near the stairs. "I still think the best plan is bringing her back."

"And if he says no?"

"Then I'll kill her again."

He sighed. "You did that once and she'll be expecting it a second time."

"I'm much stronger than I was that day. I killed her when I was human. Damon, this is the best plan."

"No, it isn't," he argued, his voice escalating in anger.

I stepped out of his embrace. "Then what am I supposed to do? There's a mad warlock who can't be seen and a vampire who is literally as old as dirt who can't be killed that are after me. Maybe it would be best if I just went with him for all eternity."

"That's even more absurd than bringing Katherine back."

I stared at him with hard eyes, letting him know how I felt about my options. "I would rather spend forever by his side knowing that you're alive with the possibility of hearing your voice or seeing your face than saying no and watch you die before my eyes."

His eyes softened as he looked at me, watching me go through turmoil. "There is nothing to say that he won't kill me even after you agree to his terms."

"I know that!" I snapped at him and was extremely mortified when it came out as more of a bark. We both sort of smiled as I covered my mouth in surprise. I cleared my throat and took a few steps away from him. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

"The thing is, Katherine is such an evil bitch that she would convince Klaus to have Roarke kill the whole town and they would walk away from it all with no hard feelings."

I took a deep, unnecessary breath, and turned to face him. "I've thought of that too, but I can't lose you. Not when it took me this long to find you. I didn't go through all of this Katherine bullshit just to see you or any of them get hurt over it. Damn her and her games," I hissed as I felt the urge to beat something up. I sank down on the porch against the rough exterior of the house and put my head in my hands. "If I had just walked away when Stefan told me to..."

Damon sat next to me and drew me into his lap. "If you had walked away, I would have done something we'd both regret. I wouldn't trade this for anything. Like I've said before, I hate Katherine for what she did, but she did lead me to you."

I buried my head on his shoulder and we just sat there, gently rocking back and forth to calm both our nerves and our tempers. I looked up at him through my lashes and smiled lightly. Never in a million years would I had ever imagined him ever doing something like this. Something so sweet and normal. "I love you," I breathed against his shirt.

"I love you too Elena," he returned and we both looked up as the back door opened and everyone else piled onto the deck. Damon stood up, drawing me with him and set me on my feet, but kept me close at his side. "Yes?" he asked, clearly unhappy about the intrusion.

"We have come to a consensus," Pearl announced and looked at everyone, daring them to say otherwise. "We will bring Katherine back for him."