Author's Note: only one more chapter after this! Now, this story will continue and I hope to have the sequel up soon, but I am thinking of writing another TVD story following the fourth season finale. I don't know which one will be up first, but please look for them!
"It's good to see you have the Bennett witch here," Ilya complemented her daughter. "Her line is very strong, like ours. We can channel her to help with the ritual without worrying about her going off and betraying us. You've done well."
Lydia furrowed her brow, pursed her lips and looked at her mother through suspicious eyes. It wasn't like her to offer words of kindness or encouragement. "Thank you," she replied slowly. "I have a piece of her jewelry we can use to channel her, though I would like to ask Elena permission to draw blood."
"That makes sense. How has Elena taken to you," she asked. "I know this must be hard for her, but we need her full cooperation if we are going to pull it off."
"Elena is stronger than people give her credit for, especially Katherine. She's the good part of Tatia; the heart. It will be her that makes this possible. Elena's the missing puzzle piece," Lydia drawled off, looking across the attic at her cousin; not hearing her mother go on and on.
"Yes, well Kat is the survival aspect; Elena the heart; Amelia the carefree; Nadia the neuroticism; Silviya the empathy; Sofiyah courageous; Eva cruel and Irina the risk taker."
Across the room Lydia watched her cousins, Elena and Amelia, who were setting up the circle as Sonya instructed them, explaining what tools would be used in the ritual. "Such a shame, that this curse has taken this from you. You would have been born witches if your magic had not been stolen from you," the old woman clucked.
"What do you mean," Elena asked.
"When their mother, Esther, sacrificed you the first time; that is, your original incarnation Tatia, to create a protection spell over her children to prevent them from dying, she called upon your blood and its magic. That which should belong to you is still attached to her sons. Unfortunately I cannot strip it from them as I am strong but not that strong," she chuckled. "We will have to settle with ending the curse on your lines."
"If the magic was stripped from us, how is it that your side of the family still has magic," Elena questioned.
"Tatia had a younger sister, Charlotte. They loved each other fiercely. The night Esther summoned Tatia to the woods Charlotte followed. She tried to save her sister but Mikael intervened. After she killed Tatia, Esther warned Charlotte to leave and not warn her children about what she had done, otherwise she would return to kill her and Tatia's child, Rayna. Charlotte taught her children the craft, vowing that our line would one day set her sister and all of Tatia's children free. Tonight, we honor the Petrova sisters and keep our promise," Sonya said merrily.
Caroline and the Salvatore brothers watched from the sidelines as Lydia, Ilya, Sonya, Amelia, Elena and Katherine took a stand in the circle. Parts of the ritual had been explained to them. The three witches all represented the different personas of the Goddess; Lydia the maiden, Ilya the mother and Sonya the crone. Each drew blood, spilling it into a ceremonial bowl as Ilya acted as high priestess, calling upon Hecate.
"I honor you, Queen of the witches," she recited, "and offer up to you the blood of the Petrova lines. We call upon you Goddess and ask for your help," her voice rose. Stepping further into the center of the circle, Ilya opened a velvet satchel and removed various items; an antique pendent with a ruby in the center, a silver bracelet with victorian designs, a lovely choker with a cameo in the center, an old fashioned lace veil, and a pearl broach. "Before you are tokens of our fallen sisters; Sofiyah, Silviyah, Eva, Nadia, and Irena, as well as the three living embodiments of the original sacrifice and soul, Tatia Petrova. These tokens are bonds to a shared past and connect all nine together," Ilya continued.
Damon's ears perked up before turning to stand sideways, speaking subtly to his little brother. "Why is she talking about nine of them being connected, if this spell is supposed to raise up the eight doppelgangers?"
Stefan's brow furrowed. "Something's not right," he said and moved to intervene. Reaching out an arm to grab Elena and Amelia, a charge ran through his body and Stefan found himself falling back to the ground. The girls looked back in shock, both trying to go to him and finding their feet locked in place.
"What's happening," Amelia cried. Ever since she had seen his face Amelia had felt something drawing her to him. Unable to reach him, the fun loving doppelganger was overcome with fear.
Caroline was desperate. Damon was picking his brother up off the floor and she ran next to where Bonnie still laid sleeping. "Please," she cried, "you have to wake up," Caroline was shaking her by the shoulders. Bonnie wasn't waking.
Invoking the Goddess Hecate, Ilya raised the small ceremonial bowl. Elena and Amelia looked to Katherine and Lydia for answers, both oddly stone faced and unafraid. "Oh my god," Elena said. "You know what's going to happen," she screamed at Katherine. "What are you doing?"
Ilya took the bowl to her lips, drinking the Petrova blood. "I, Queen of the witches, the Goddess Hecate work my magic in this circle round," Ilya walked, stopping at each doppelganger before placing a small drop of remaining blood on each girl's lip, "bind their lives and souls as one. As their blood and these tokens signify their presence, so shall they be revived," Ilya stepped back into her place in the circle, clasping the hands of the maiden and the crone. "So shall I say, so mote it be!"