... Not a happy writer... I just wrote a long, semi drunken comical intro thing, but, while trying to hit control e, must have touched some over button and it poofed. Well, without all the F#CK#$ riffraff, the other night's episode reminded me why I gave him my precious Thea. Yes, I love my Thea. I will destroy anyone that hurts her... except myself... though I hurt her through others who I then destroy... through... other... others. Yeah... anyway, I think I'm back in the wubly wobly of this thing and you should see more chapters soon!

Hounds of Hell

Promise Me a Riddle

"Sherriff Forbes just called." Stefen said the instant we walked in the door.

"Yeah, vamps are back." Damon replied shortly as he made his way to the parlor.

"The same as before?" He lowered his voice, as though it would somehow lessen the terror his words sent racing down my spine.

"No." I answered, stealing the glass of alcohol just before Damon managed to tilt it back enough for a taste. With a humorous frown, he poured another glass as I shot back the burning liquid.

"How do you know?" Stefan questioned; crossing his arms before his chest. Without a word, I just looked at him. The man from the forest was not one of the Shadow Men, of that I was sure.

We need to talk. Damon thought sternly. I knew how his eyes had hardened as he looked at me, but I couldn't meet his gaze.

Not now, Damon. I practically begged.

"Actually, now seems to be exactly when we should discuss this." He said impatiently. I glared at him; guilt shackling my heart.

"Damon, please." I whispered, no longer trying to hide my exhaustion.

Doesn't trust me. The thought fled through his mind with a surge of pain and betrayal so powerful, the breathe fled my lungs.

"Damon, don't do this." I nearly sobbed; voice trembling.

"I'm not doing anything." He retorted. Regardless the levelness of his words; the attempt at disinterest; I saw the shuttered clench of his jaw; the subtle squint of his torn eyes.

"Damon," but he was gone. The front door swung madly on its hinges and the sound of feathers slicing through the chilled evening air only briefly met my ears. Instantly, I darted after him, but my body was bruised through and through, and my muscles weak and weary as sobs tore through me. Instantly, Stefan's hand gripped my arm to steady me. I couldn't hear him. Damon suddenly seemed so far away, that I couldn't hear even the faintest whisper. Silence. Only the slightest, peripheral flicker gasped between us. And I crumbled.

Without a word, Stefan gently wrapped his arms around my trembling form as I broke into a thousand pieces. Jaw taunt and eyes hard, he carefully guided me to the couch.

"I don't know what to do." I choked; finally allowing myself to whisper the words screaming through me. "I can't lose him; I can't!"

"Alright," he murmured, "talk to me; what's going on?" I knew how hopeless I must have looked as I met his eyes, but it didn't matter. Without Damon, it didn't matter.

"I'm going to kill him." Empty. I felt empty. Alarm shot through Stefan's emerald eyes, but he waited for me to explain. "I'm… I'm the key… to incredible power. Power that would drive him mad to possess, or drive him mad with temptation." Some part of me reeled at the realization that I was telling this to Stefan, to a vampire, but I had to; I had to purge myself of the guilt and fear and torture plaguing me. "If he ever found out… I'll always be hunted; that'll never change. I'll always be in danger. Even if it's to protect me, if Damon takes advantage of that power… I'll have to kill him." A fresh stream of tears fled my eyes, but my body was still and I looked at him. "I'll have to kill him because no one else would be strong enough." For a while, it was silent.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Bonnie. The same thing happened to my ancestor. He was driven mad trying to keep her safe. In the end, he was the reason for the Mayan Curse. They had to sacrifice her to save themselves from him." I paused a moment before adding, "He'd do it. You know he would. If it was to save the life of someone he loved, you know he would do it." He didn't deny it.

"So where does that leave you?" he asked softly. I took a hard breath and dropped my gaze; forcing my body to speak the words that my very being revolted against.

"Bonnie can break our link. Without that, he can't access the power of a familiar and he'll never have to know."

"Do you really believe that?" he asked as gently as he could; as though he knew how hazardous it was to force me to acknowledge the painful truths I already knew. Unable to force a reply over the ball in my throat, I shook my head as my face distorted from the agony surging from my heart.

"I'm not going to say that everything's going to be alright, and I'm not going to pretend to have all the answers." He admitted. "But I'll help with whatever I can. Give me a few days to see what I can find out. Maybe there's a way around all of this." He thought hard a moment before adding, "In the meantime, you need to talk to him. Don't tell him anything about breaking the link or about using it for power, but, thinking you're lying to him; that'll break him faster than any temptation you may be hiding."

"He'll still know." I muttered. "When Bonnie told me about all this, she put some kind of block in my mind. He can't hear my thoughts regarding our link, or the power that comes with it." He bit his lips in consternation.

"Tell him it's just an aftereffect from Bonnie; that it'll end soon." An almost angry frown pulled at my face.

"I won't lie to him." I said sternly; leaving not the slightest room for question. His jaw tightened.

"Two days; just give me two days to try and find something else." His lips fought with his next words; hesitant to voice the almost traitorous thoughts demanding expression. "He can't lose you, either." He finally admitted. "It's taken… a long time for him to open up again and… if he closes himself off again… I don't think he'll come back." Glimpses. Tiny memories. Not mine, but they gave such a terrifying life to his words, the magnitude with which he spoke them was more than justified. Something clicked: the painfully obvious truth; the last piece to the puzzle that I somehow couldn't fathom rotating. More than anything, I suddenly needed him.

Without another word, I sprang to my feet and ran; ignoring the objections of my muscles. I wasn't more than halfway through the door before throwing myself into the air. Hidden. He felt hidden from me, but, still, I felt him. Had logic swayed my direction in the slightest, I would have doubted my decision, but I didn't think; I merely moved. Fast. Vaguely, part of me trembled at the absolute darkness of the night. Because that's when the monsters came out. I fought back the thought and pushed further; racing over the dark forest.

My body automatically started a quick descent near the edge of a lake. He didn't so much as glance back from the tree he was leaning against; suddenly finding a profound interest in the smooth pebble in his hand. Maybe fifteen feet separated us, but it felt like miles.

"Damon." I called; voice almost hard. Still, he refused to acknowledge me. Rejection shot through my chest like acid, but I fought it back. "I've been selfish," the words barely fit around the ball in my throat, but I forced them out, "and I'm sorry." The very last syllable broke. Taking a deep breath, I curled my hands into fists and continued. "I've been so caught up in my own problems, I didn't stop to think that… I couldn't see that… I'm not the only one going through it." Everything suffocating me; so long as I was with him, he was suffocating, too. "I want this to work. I want you." A shiver of pleasure caressed his consciousness for those simple three words, but it was almost immediately extinguished.

"But you don't trust me." Again, that heart churning guilt stabbed through me. He shot the pebble angrily at the lake. I didn't wait for the second skip before starting toward him; unable to stand even the few feet separating us for another breath.

"Damon, that's not-" Simultaniously, we froze; senses alert to the suddenly impossibly quiet forest. My eyes darted over the shadows; waiting for even the slightest twitch. Instantly, Damon was standing protectively over me; arm wrapped around my waist.

"Who's there?" He challenged. Ice flooded my veins. I could feel them. Clothed in the darkness. I could feel him. Laughter. Echoing all around us. Scowling, Damon's shoulders rolled forward and his stance widened. He was going to fight them.

"No!" I whispered urgently. "We need to leave!" Louder. It was getting louder. My body convulsed in terror. He was coming. He was coming for me. "Please!" Don't let him take me! Growling his reluctance, Damon locked me against him and shot straight up; straddling to treetops in seconds. I couldn't even find the control to fly. This was a whole new type of fear; dwarfing the alpha's reign. It seemed to echo from some distant, relentless terror; overwhelming even the faintest thought; every fiber of my being screaming for me to flee.

As Damon effortlessly carried my back to the manner, trying and failing to free me of the panic that settled deeper in my very soul with each twisted cackle still silently raging through my mind, a realization crashed over; robbing the air from my lungs; he was playing with me. He was telling me that he knew who I was and where to find me. He was telling me that he was coming for me.