Chapter thirty six
Carol Lockwood called for the house keeper to get the door, early Wednesday morning, and received no answer. She sighed in exasperation, and went to answer it herself. The deliveries were already coming for the ball that weekend and it was probably someone who didn't know the meaning of service entrance.
She opened the door and stared, dumbstruck. She'd expected to see him. She'd known it had to be coming but to see him there, to see her son's body standing in front of her shocked her to the core. "Tyler." She said with wide eyes and pulled him to her, across the threshold. "I thought you were dead."
"Guess this means I can come home." Klaus said grinning as he held Tyler's mom close.
"There was never any question. Why did you let everyone think you were dead?" She asked easing back from him and leading the way into the parlor.
"I thought I was dying." He said. "I turned and didn't come back to my senses for days. It was happening randomly. I was completely out of control… I was afraid I'd hurt someone. So I stayed away until I got it under control again."
Carol rested her hand on his. "You're home now. That's all that matters. " She said. "Are you planning to call Caroline?"
"I don't know what to say to her." He said. "She's gonna hate me."
More than you know, Carol thought. "I don't think she could ever hate you, Tyler. I've gotten to know Caroline quite well over these past months." She said.
"Can we keep this between you and me for now? I don't want anyone else to know until I figure out what I'm going to say."
"I don't think it's going to matter what you say. But alright, if that's how you want it we can keep it between us for now. The Founder's Ball is this weekend and we have people coming and going all the time so you'll need to keep your head down."
"Thanks Mom. I love you." He said getting to his feet.
"I love you too."
Elena looked over the papers Stefan had brought back from Duke University. It was all confusing and made her head hurt thinking about it all. "So what does it all mean? " She asked.
"I don't know. " Stefan said. "There's a lot of mythology in there. Who knows how much is truth and how much is just religion passed on to keep the war going." He took out one of the stacks of papers and sat beside her. "It says that there were two sisters. Witches and twins apparently, equally beautiful, and powerful, and of course as these stories always go, one was the good twin and one was evil."
Elena looked at the text. "What language was this originally in?" She asked.
"Sumerian," He answered. "It's just a little younger than the Epic of Gilgamesh, which apparently mentions a witch creating a werewolf of sorts, and summoning a ghost from the land of the dead."
"Is Gilgamesh part of mythology or just a story?"
"I think it's just a story. The very first story ever written down… or at least the oldest we have found actually written. " Stefan said.
"But this is actual Myth?" She asked "Of course what's the difference between actual myth and just a story?"
"Well… Twilight is just a story." He said grinning. "And generally speaking myths are something that someone at some point actually believed was truth. Anyway, Semeramis, who is the elder sister, not by long I guess since they are twins or equals or whatever falls in love with the son of the local leader. It of course says Sidu is a prince, but the anthropologist translating this says it's more likely son of the tribal chieftain. Anyway she falls for the guy; he is starting to fall for her, read in all sorts of flowery romantic poetic images for about 5 chapters." He said laughing a little. "Of course her sister Nimshibur is jealous. She wants him for herself. She's obsessed with him, can't sleep or eat for the thought of him. Finally their mother becomes worried and takes sides. She can't stand to watch her daughter suffer so she tells her how to weave a spell that will make him love her instead of Semeramis.
"Nice. Never mind what it will do to the other girl to lose him." Elena said shaking her head.
"I guess even then parents had their favorites." Stefan said before continuing with the story. "Anyway the spell works Sidu and Nimshibur are married."
"Ouch"
"So the older girl sticks around,"
"Apparently a glutton for punishment," Elena said.
"She helps Sidu where ever she can. Whether it's magically in battle or just with advice. It implies heavily that they were best friends and Sidu liked the idea of friends with benefits"
"Jerk."
"Well you have to remember, he was originally in love with this woman. You could consider him a jerk, or maybe he was able to break free of the spell just enough to desire the woman he truly loved." Stefan pointed out.
"Depending on if you are a romantic at heart or a realist." Elena said.
He laughed quietly. "Again as is typical the wife found out and was pissed. So she and Sidu's younger brother who isn't given a name, plot the man's death. They succeed and while they are publicly mourning and secretly celebrating, Semeramis has been trying desperately to find a way to bring her lover back. " Stefan said picking up his coffee cup.
"I am guessing she turns out to be the first necromancer."
"Pretty much, yeah. She goes to the temple of Ereshkigal, Queen of the land of the dead, and begs for him to be returned but she's told no. No one who enters her kingdom ever returns to the land of the living. So from there she tries to outwit death. It says for the first leg of the trip to the underworld, she sacrifices the aid of the moon, and control of the moon beasts,"
"Werewolves?" She asked."Does that mean witches used to control the werewolves?
"That's what I was thinking. "Stefan said with a nod. "Next she gives up the comfort and wisdom of the willow tree, and finally to cross into the land of the dead while still living, she gives up a portion of her magic." Stefan said.
"That's a lot to give up"
"Yes it is." He nodded. "So she gets there, and she's begging Ereshkigal one last time to return her lover to her, and is again told no he can't enter the land of the living, but because of all that she's sacrificed and done, she is allowed to stay and they can be together in the land of the dead. Semeramis accepts and for a while they're happy. That is until they find out she is pregnant. Sidu might be willing to keep a living lover in hell but he's not willing to allow his child to be born there. So he talks her into leaving. "
"Of course."
Stefan chuckled. "Any way the rest of the story is how he helps her to escape. He's gathered up these rocks from the underworld to use as currency as they go. Apparently the dead really like these things and they are able to bribe their way out of the underworld using them. "
"So he does get out." Elena said.
"By hiding in one of the stones." He said.
"Like the one that Tyler is in currently?" Elena asked.
"That was my thought. "
"So how does the story end?"
"Semeramis and Nimshibur, who is now planning her wedding to the younger prince, go to war. It's the forces of the dead, against the living and ultimately Semeramis wins. Her prince takes over the body of his treacherous little brother, and marries her. Mean while Nimshibur is pregnant it doesn't say by whom, and raises her child to hate Necromancers, while Semeramis and Sidu raise theirs to never trust a witch. "
"And thus the feud begins. Over a guy," Elena said.
"Hey I was impressed. Usually it's a woman."
She laughed at that. "Regardless of how true it is or isn't, it certainly gives you something to think about."
"Yes it does." He said looking up as the front door opened.
"Hey." Damon says as he and Alex enter the house. "How would you like to learn to worm your way into someone's sleeping mind. " He asked Elena.
"I guess, sure. Why?"
"Because I need you to get into mine with Alex later. First though, we need to fix Henry, or at the very least make him functional until we get rid of Klaus. " Damon said.
"Why do we need someone in your head?" Stefan asked, brows knitting together.
" Because someone else has already been in there." Damon said. "We thought it was Timon before. Now I'm not so sure it was that recent."
Alex explained what had been going on since his rescue from the hands of the originals and their necromancer.
"You should have said something." Stefan said in frustration.
"Until last night I wasn't sure that his trips to the mausoleum were a problem. He's allowed to keep a few secrets even from the two of us." Alex said. "But last night I was sure that it was someone in his head."
"How far back do you think it was put into place. I'm not making any sense of this." Elena said.
"Neither was I until Stefan here, found out that our Mother had a thrall. " Damon said. "It's possible that she had her compel me."
"Wouldn't that have become obvious when you were turned?" Elena asked. "I remembered meeting you that night on the side of the road when I turned."
"You would think but apparently if it's done in concert with a necromancer… a powerful one… it can stay secret even when your life passes before your eyes." Damon said with a shrug. "Either way, I want to find out. "
"Are you sure you want me in your head?" Elena asked.
"If Stefan was up to the job I'd ask him. But he's not. There are serious down sides to even a partial bunny diet." Damon said. "And I trust you. " he added.
"Okay." Elena said. "But first you need to teach me how."
"That's the plan." Damon said going to get a drink from the bar. "Being in Henry's head won't be pleasant." He told her.
"I can handle unpleasant." Elena said.
Carol walked to the back of the house. Apparently she was needed to sign off on a delivery. Usually they accepted her house keepers signature as good enough but this was the liquor delivery and occasionally they were touchy.
"Hello Matt." She said smiling at the young man at the door.
"Hello Mrs. Lockwood." He said. His boss was off loading the truck, making it all nice and legal. Matt was just handling the bill of lading. "How are you today?"
"I'm good actually. You?" She said taking the clip board in hand.
"I'm alright." He said taking it back. "You have a good day." Matt told her as he walked away. Looking down he noted the words, 'he's here' written underneath her signature. He scratched them out once he got back into the delivery truck. He waited until they were back at the grill before sending out a text to the others stating 'game on'
"And Klaus is back." Damon said looking at his cell phone as they headed down into the basement.
"Then we'd better do this right or he'll know Avril isn't Yvette." Elena said nervously.
"You'll do fine." Damon told her, picking up on her anxiety. "It's okay. I'll be in there with you, and Alex is going to be directing this magical mystery tour so there isn't anything you can do that will hurt him."
Elena nodded, still not feeling all that confident but she didn't have a choice. She had to be able to help Alex fix whatever was going on in Damon's head too. For that she'd take whatever steps were necessary.
Meredith had changed out the vervain piggy back for the mixture Alexandra had created to assist in the merger the night before. Otherwise the vampires wouldn't be able to get into his mind at all. "If this works like you say it does, he'll be out for as long as you need." She said, and went upstairs to wait.
Stefan stood at the door and watched.
Alex pulled the cot out so that she could sit on the far side of Henry, leaving the side the vampires stood on with clear line of site. Damon didn't need it, but Elena would.
Alexandra made a small cut on the palm of Henry's hand and mingled it with her own blood as she forced her way into Henry's mind. He was no longer bound to her sister. That ended with her death. He was however trained for nearly two centuries to resist any mind but Yvette's. She nodded to them as she found the way in. "Just talk to him and keep him calm. I'll be working on things you won't be able to see."
Damon stood behind Elena. "Just relax, focus on Henry. " He said talking her through every step of the process, in a patient voice, encouraging her even when she took miss steps.
Stefan smiled a little at that. He remembered that side of Damon from their mortal life. Sure his brother had his father's temper and sometimes took it out him as a kid. But most of the time, this was the guy he remembered; this was the brother he missed so desperately. The one he'd wanted to keep alive by making him transition. He'd thought he'd killed that part of him. He was relieved to find that he hadn't.
Eventually they fell silent, conversing instead inside Henry's dreams and all Stefan could do was watch.
Damon held Elena's hand walking her through the dream, approaching Henry. It was night, and the vampire was making repairs to the roof of a cabin. Damon took in the man's clothing. "You're older than I thought." He said staring up at him. He estimated the setting to be pre revolution. "You know it doesn't have to be night here if you don't want it to be."
"Damon?" Henry asked jumping down from the roof. "What are you doing here? "
"We have to talk, and you have to let Alexandra help you." Damon said.
Henry shook his head. "I'm ready for it to be over." He said. "I've existed long enough."
"We need your help." Elena said. "Bonnie wasn't trying to kill Yvette. She thought she was killing Avril." She could feel the overall despair of the scene. It was like a weight pressing down on her, until she was certain it was going to crush her from the weight.
He looked to Damon.
"I took care of it. The witch won't be hurting anyone else ever again. But she wasn't the source of the problem. She was just one of Klaus's flunkies. We're going after Klaus." It seemed he said that an awful lot the last few years.
"How can I help you with that?" Henry asked, tiredly.
"By protecting Avril. We need people to believe that she's Yvette and that won't happen without you." Elena said.
Henry sighed. "I should give the man my undying gratitude. You know that." He said.
"I know." Damon said. He could feel the air lighten. The sky began to lighten a little as well. He could breathe easier and he was sure Henry could as well. "He has to be stopped, Henry. I am through fighting the son of a bitch. He's taken too much from too many people I care about."
"Fine… I will help." Henry said. "But on one condition."
Damon looked at him quizzically.
"That you end it when this is done."
"What?" Elena asked. "No." She said. "It's just the grief talking you can't really mean you want to die."
Damon nodded. "Okay. I'll do it when this is over. In the mean time I'll … share Alex. I have a feeling you are far too addicted to be out there flying on your own." They had talked about it on the way over. It was the only way to insure that Henry kept his head long enough for the job to be done.
"Thank you." He said.
Damon opened his eyes and walked Elena through exiting the dream world. It was second nature to him and as simple as opening his eyes, but she could easily be trapped if she didn't know how.
"Why did you agree to that." Elena demanded as soon as she was back in her own mind. "Its suicide by vampire."
"Yes." Damon said. "It is. And it's his choice."
"He's in no condition to make that choice, Damon. My god he's completely broken." She said. "He just doesn't want to go on because of the grief."
Alex followed them out, having done all that she could to make him functional, and she was sure that it wasn't enough. "No. It's not grief." She said wiping her eyes. "My sister was a traditionalist. The only way to save him would be to undo his mind and he doesn't want that. He just wants to cross over. I can't fault him that." She took the bowl of pre prepared herbs, and added a sample of Henry's blood to it.
"What are you doing now?" Elena asked with a frown.
"She's going to enthrall him." Damon said. "He's addicted to the bond and necromancy in general. If she doesn't he's not going to be any use to us and probably self destruct on his own."
"That's what you meant by share?" Elena glared at them both.
"What did you think I meant?" Damon asked.
Stefan looked at his brother critically. Share? He wondered about Damon's relationship again but pushed it out of his mind. He wasn't about to walk down that path again. It had nearly cost him his brother once already.
Damon looked at Stefan and raised an eyebrow. "I'm where I want to be." He said knowing his brother too well to miss what the furrowed brow and serious set to the jaw meant.
Stefan took a breath and nodded. He held his hand out to Elena who let him pull her into an embrace. "I want to go with her when she jumps into your head." He told his brother. "She's going to need a guide and Alex is going to be busy holding the rest of you together. "
"You'll see things you don't like." Damon said.
Stefan shrugged and laughed a little. "That's different from the last 148 years with you how?"
Damon gave a lopsided grin. "Fair enough," He looked at Alex when the ritual was complete. He'd felt it. He had felt the addition of a new presence. That was different. He'd have to talk to her about it later.