Chapter 22: Message Delivered
Icarus took a sip of his drink, furrowing his brow thoughtfully. "Is this supposed to work?" he gestured vaguely with his hand. "This 'woe is me; my life sucks 'cause my boyfriend's a vampire' speech?" he leisurely strolled towards her and stopped when only an inch or two separated them. "If you think you are fooling me…" Enter glitch number three: "…Katherine." He emphasized dangerously leaning towards her ear. "Then you are very, very wrong."
Katherine kept her face emotionless regardless of the surprise she felt at his words. He found her out; her cover was blown and something bad was about to happen. "Hm, and here I thought we were breaking some ground."
Icarus sipped his drink as he regarded her thoughtfully. "You know, I've considered killing you right now."
Katherine raised a brow. "What's stopping you?" her voice was calm and her attitude was nonchalant.
"What would be the point? It's not like any of them would miss you…it would probably be one less problem they'd have to deal with." He laughed when he saw a slight change of emotion on her face. "And it's not gonna make me feel any better, well it will for about two seconds, before I realize that I'll have to get rid of your rotten and decaying body." Icarus chuckled again.
Katherine glared him down. He was right…no one would miss her; not Stefan, not Elena and definitely not Damon. It's not like she had friends. "You'd probably be doing me a favor…save me from the tragedy of the noise these kids call music today. The day somebody introduces the new Justin Beiber I'm staking myself." She said half seriously. Music sucked today…at least pop music did.
Icarus laughed again. "You and I could have been friends Katherine." He commented stepping closer to her.
Katherine looked up at him from under her lashes. "I don't have any friends."
He shrugged. "Neither do I. But you attempted to trick me, and for that you have made an enemy." Icarus smiled tightly before gripping her throat painfully. Katherine's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she clawed desperately at his hand. "I would like if you could deliver a message for me." He whispered.
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Damon watched Elena pace the parlor in front of the fire. She was tense since they found the post it this morning. "Relax sweetheart, I can hear your heart hammering in your chest." He remarked, his words soothing and quiet in the room.
Elena turned towards him startled. "I'm sorry…I just don't like waiting around like this." She sat on the arm of the chair and Damon quickly pulled her down on his lap. "I wonder what Katherine's doing."
Damon shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she's kicking his ass as we speak." He joked.
"Or she's already dead and we're back at square one." Elena grumbled. She shook her head and stood up, pulling out of Damon's arms. "I can't do this anymore Damon." She expressed dreadfully. "I can't sit around waiting for someone to kill me and my friends. He could have killed you last night!" she cried starting down at him.
"But he didn't." Damon replied with a soft smile.
Elena's words became frantic. "He will Damon! He will come after everyone until he gets me, how can you be okay with that?" she yelled.
Damon stood up and grasped her arms gently. "I'm not okay with it Elena! I'm trying to keep you alive!" he argued trying to make her see that he was doing his best.
"Well maybe you shouldn't!" she shouted, her face showing anger despite the tears in her eyes.
Damon looked at her in disbelief. He couldn't even reply right away because of the shock her words had left on him. He placed both hands on either side of her face, and smudged away her tears. "Don't say that." He whispered brokenly.
Elena's voice hitched, looking him in the eyes. "If Icarus gets what he wants it's over, no more fighting, no more running. If he doesn't it's never going to stop!" she cried, her chin trembling.
Damon shook his head in incredulity. "How can you say that? This is your life we're talking about!" he pressed his eyes wide with a mixture of fury and panic.
Elena placed her hands over his. "But it's not just me, it's you and its Jenna, and Jeremy, and Bonnie and Stefan, it's everyone!" she paused to collect herself. "My life or all of yours."
Damon pulled her into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin. "Elena…you need to stop this. You are not sacrificing yourself for anyone, least of all me." He stroked her hair comfortingly.
"Damon-" she started.
"I just got you…" he whispered into her hair painfully. "There is no way I'm going to lose you. I know that's selfish of me, but I love you too much for my own good."
Elena continued to cry into his shirt. "I love you too." She mumbled sadly. Why was it that this had to happen to her? Every time she was happy something had to happen to ruin that. She'd finally found the love of her life…after everything they had been through, and now someone wanted to come along and rip them apart.
Damon rocked her gently back and forth as he softly caressed her hair and face. "There are other options, love."
Elena lifted her head to look up at him. "It doesn't feel like there are." Damon was about to say something when he turned his head quickly to the entrance of the room.
"Katherine." He greeted.
Katherine entered the room with a somber expression and a black eye. "What happened to you?" Elena asked pulling out of Damon's arms.
"He found me out, and he's none too pleased." She stated plopping into a chair. "He asked me to deliver a message." She paused for dramatic effect, watching the looks of interest in their faces. "Playtime's over."
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The next day, Elena and Damon made some phone calls. Damon called Alaric and updated him, telling him to meet them at Elena's while Elena called Jenna and told her they needed to talk and would be there soon. Bonnie, Isobel and Tyler were updated and told to come to the Boarding House to stay with Stefan, Lucia and Caroline for safety. Elena figured it was time to tell Jenna everything, and having Damon, Jeremy and Alaric there to back her up relieved some pressure.
Jenna stared at Elena like she was crazy. "Honey…you need to stop watching scary movies before bed." she chuckled.
Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm serious Jenna. Vampires are real. Damon's a vampire and so are Stefan and Caroline. Bonnie's a witch and Alaric is-"
Jenna perked up mockingly. "Let me guess…a werewolf!"
Alaric frowned. "No…I'm nothing supernatural, just your run of the mill vampire hunter." He contributed.
"Yup, he's a regular Buffy Summers…you know without the super powers, or fashion sense, or witty comebacks." Damon joked listing things off on his fingers.
Jenna shook her head. "I don't believe this! This is way too Anne Rice for me." She was feeling overwhelmed with all this new information.
"Believe it Jenna…what about all that stuff Jonathan Gilbert wrote in his journal, or the 'animal attacks' recently? Piece it together and it all fits." Jenna seemed to think this over. "Damon show her." He suggested.
He shrugged. "Okay." He leaned closer.
Elena smacked his arm. "Don't Damon, you're going to scare her." She scolded.
Damon turned to his girlfriend. "Sometimes you have to see it to believe it. If she's scared, she should be." Damon turned towards Jenna again and observed her face turn pale and blank as she watched his face change. "We are not the people you should be afraid of Jenna…there are much scarier things walking around town right now that want us dead so you need to be careful." He started seriously. "You can't stay here anymore, it's not safe. Do not come back here." He stressed. "Pack up a bag, grab what you need…you and Jeremy are going on a little trip."
Jeremy frowned. "What? I'm not leaving!" he exclaimed.
Elena nodded sadly. "Yes you are Jeremy. It's not safe for either of you here."
"What if Icarus finds us? He knows you're memories he's probably reading them right now." He argued.
"That's why you can't tell us where you're going." Damon affirmed. "We'll keep in contact but no information about your whereabouts should be mentioned." He said with authority. "Trust me, you will be safer if you go."
Jenna glanced at Damon. "Well what about Elena…shouldn't she come with us?"
Elena shook her head. "I can't. He wants me; if I go with you I'm just going to be putting you in danger." She laced her hand with Damon's. "Please, please understand why you have to do this…we can't take anymore chances."
Damon handed Jenna an envelope. "There's enough money in there to take care of the flights and accommodations and anything you'll need along the way."
Jenna took it in her hands and opened it up. "Damon this is crazy, I can't take this from you."
Damon smiled tightly. "Yes, you can. If you don't I'll be force to compel you." He half kidded. "You should leave today; as soon as possible."
Jenna nodded, and so did Jeremy reluctantly. They both walked upstairs and started to pack. Elena, Alaric and Damon sat in anxious silence as the two of them moved about upstairs. "We should head back to the Boarding House, check on everyone else." Elena announced on a sigh.
"Yeah…I'll load up on weapons and meet you there." Alaric replied standing up.
"Be careful." Elena told him.
Alaric nodded with a smile that didn't quiet reach his eyes. He went to the stairs and took them two at a time and headed towards Jenna's room to help her pack and say goodbye. They all saw Jenna and Jeremy off, watching them drive away. Elena didn't know when the next time she would see her brother and her Aunt, but she hoped that this thing with Icarus ended soon.
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Stefan walked into his room to see Lucia sitting on the edge of the bed talking animatedly with Caroline, who was sitting up and smiling.
"And it's not just now…he was like that as a kid too. Don't get me wrong though, he knows how to have fun, it just takes him a while to loosen up…and a bottle of Jack." They both laughed like little girls. "Hey brother…" Lucia turned to him with a smile. "I was just talking about you."
Stefan smiled. "I heard. Should I be worried?" he asked coming over to Caroline and dropping a kiss to her head before handing her a mug.
Lucia shook her head, her hair bouncing around by her face. "Nope! I like her Stefan, she's spunky…hold onto this one." Caroline smiled brightly and raised a brow at Stefan, who grinned back.
"Plan to. Caroline, you're looking much better." Stefan sat down on the other side of the bed and held her hand in his.
The blonde looked skyward. "And I feel so much better. That potion worked like magic…well besides the fact that it was." She giggled at herself. "Anyways, I'm still not feeling a hundred percent, but sixty-five will have to do for now."
"I'm so happy to hear that." Stefan stated, giving her a quick kiss. "Damon and Elena just got home, she'd be happy to see you're feeling better…do you want me to send her up?"
Caroline shook her head. "Actually I'd like to go down there." Stefan was about to argue. "Please, Stefan? I need to get out of this bed and stretch my legs and I'm bored!" she whined.
Stefan chuckled. "Okay, okay…we'll go down stairs; I'll wait for you outside while you change." Both Lucia and Stefan got off the bed.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed. She got out of bed, slowly, trying not to push herself too hard.
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"I hope this works." Elena stated as they walked into the kitchen.
"It'll work Elena. As long as they're away from here they will be fine." Damon comforted her, as he grabbed a water bottle of blood from the fridge and the orange juice for Elena.
They both turned to the door way when Stefan walked in with Lucia and Caroline. Her face was still a little pale but she looked healthier. "Caroline! Look at you, you're out of bed!" Elena exclaimed, rushing to give her friend a hug.
Caroline hugged her back fondly. "Yup, all better! Mostly anyway, the scar itches like crazy."
Elena nodded. "But the potion worked, that's great!" she took the glass of juice Damon offered her and sipped it.
Caroline eased herself into a chair. "And I'm totally here to help with this Ian guy." She said seriously.
Damon frowned in confusion, before swallowing his blood. "Icarus." He corrected.
Care turned to him and nodded. "Him too. Stefan's been updating me with what's been going on…this guy seems like a Grade 'A' asshole." She grabbed a couple of grapes from the bowl in the center of the table and popped them in her mouth. "Question though, extremely full house; Bonnie and Tyler I understand…but Isobel and Katherine?" she looked at Damon wide eyed like he was crazy.
Elena hopped up onto the counter and Damon stood in the space between her legs, leaning back on her. "Katherine's not living here…she's just here, and so is Isobel. Freeloading, drinking my blood…which reminds me, I gotta go to the blood bank."
Elena looked down at him. "Again? But you just went the other day."
Damon glanced up at her. "Well after the fight with Icarus I had to chug back a few bags to heal, and Isobel drinks like a fish."
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to speak ill of the dead?" Isobel asked slyly, as she strode into the kitchen. "Well isn't this a pretty picture." She commented looking at her daughter and her vampire boyfriend.
"The prettiest." Elena said with a sarcastically cheery voice, resting her head against Damon's and wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her hands on his chest.
Isobel swung her eyes to Damon. "I'll go to the blood bank; I need to get away from wolf boy over there." She jerked her head towards the living room. "He's got a mean temper." With that said, Isobel sashayed out of the kitchen and out the front door.
For the next twenty minutes, the whole group went over everything they knew about Icarus and possible counter attacks, but every road was a dead end. "Okay I have an idea…it may or may not work but it's something." Bonnie piped up looking up from the grimoire.
"What is it?" Caroline asked leaning over to look at the book.
"Well it's tricky but-"
Elena zoned out as she thought about Jenna and Jeremy. She hoped that everything was going okay and that they were safe. It couldn't hurt to call and check right? Elena turned her back on the group, and pulled up Jenna's number in her phone.
"Hello?" Jenna answered.
"Hey!" she said relieved. "How's the drive going? Has Jeremy completely taken control of the music yet?" she chuckled knowing every drive she had with Jeremy he would fiddle with her radio.
Jenna sighed pulled into the driveway. "Well we didn't get very far before we turned back; someone, and by someone I mean me, forgot her perfume. The vampire repellent one." She rambled, getting out of the car and walking up the porch to the door.
Elena's eyes grew wide. "Vervain…Jenna you can't go back, it's dangerous!" she shouted moving into another room.
Jenna unlocked the door and closed it behind her, tucking the phone between her shoulder and her ear. "I'll be in and out before you know it. Plus what if I run into a vampire along the way? That compelling thing sounds like no fun." Jenna moved upstairs and into her room, going to her dresser.
"Jeremy should have some. Where are you right now?" Elena panicked, looking up when Damon came into the room frowning in curiosity.
"I just walked into my room. Elena, I'm okay there's nobody here." Jenna grabbed the bottle and started heading back downstairs.
Elena bounced on her toes anxiously. "Please just hurry and get out of there."
"Okay, okay." She said. "God…Damon what are you doing here?" Elena heard from the other end of the line. Her head shot up to look at Damon, who had a look of realization on his face. He could hear Jenna.
"Jenna no it's not Damon! Run now!" Elena shouted into the phone. When she heard a scream on from the other end, Elena didn't have a chance to say anything before Damon grabbed her and ran.
They got to the house in less than two minutes, but it felt too long. Damon set her down in the driveway, and she rushed to the car to see if Jeremy was in there. He was jamming to his headphones.
"Jeremy!" she screamed. "Stay with Damon." He looked shocked, but nodded.
Damon grabbed her arm as she headed for the door, and she almost tripped as Damon's grip was stronger than her momentum. "You're not going in there." He established firmly.
Elena's eyes were a picture of fear and determination. "Jenna's in there, Damon! I'm going." She pulled out of his grip with all the force she had before running up the porch steps. "Stay with Jeremy!" She called back.
Elena burst through the door, and ran up the stairs. "Jenna?" she called frantically. She checked all the rooms. "Jenna?" She ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Oh my God." She whimpered covering her mouth. She threw herself to the floor at Jenna's side. "No, no, no…Jenna?" she called out, her hands trembling as she touched her cold body. Her neck was turned at an odd angle and her eyes were open and lifeless. "No." she sobbed, hugging her aunt and pulling her into her lap. She sobbed painfully until her voice was hoarse but they died down a little and the sound of footsteps.
"I told Damon I'd start with her." Icarus stated leaning on the door jab. "I guess he didn't deliver the message. I hope Katherine did though." He pushed off the door and crouched down to her level. "That little stunt she pulled really pissed me off, and I tend to take my rage out on others." He whispered with a lopsided smirk. Icarus chuckled when Elena glared at him hard, tears streaming down her face. He stood, and looked down at her. "Surrender…or Jeremy's next. Hello Damon." His eyes swung to Damon who materialized before him with Jeremy, standing protectively in front of him, Elena and Jenna. "Have you prepared to stand down?" Damon snarled in his vampire face, crouching into a defensive position. Icarus quirked his mouth to the side thoughtfully. "I'll take that as a 'no'. We'll be in touch." Icarus rushed out of the room out the back door, making it slam and break when it closed.
Jeremy and Elena cried together at the loss of their aunt, Elena trying her best to comfort him, while Damon tried his best to comfort her. It was a sad day in Mystic Falls; when the most innocent of them all, murdered to make a point.
A/N: Please don't hate me! Understand my reasons for doing this. One: Icarus is bad ass…he's not the character that makes threats that he fails to uphold. Two: Jenna's death seemed like the saddest one because she was so innocent and naive to the supernatural and I wanted the group to realize what her loss meant to them all. Three: People have to die in this story to make Icarus' character as evil as I want him. They can't be main characters because that would suck so I went with Jenna.
Anyways thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! Thank you for all your reviews you are awesome! Please review again and tell me what you think!