Chapter 23 – Wicked wicked wicked

I stretched as far as I could without falling off my bed. I blinked sleepily pushing my tangled mess of hair out of my face and neck to see that I was laying diagonally on my king sized bed. It's amazing how much roomier my small room is once you kick the desk and bookshelf out of it! And alone!

I frowned and sat up straight. My vision swarmed and I had to close my eyes, breath deeply in and out in an attempt to focus all the magic that flew around and inside me to a respectable and tamable mess bubbling under my fingertips so the room would stop spinning. Standing up I pulled a simple green cotton dress on and went in search of my missing husband.

I found him in the kitchen and watched him for a moment as he stood there the muscles beneath his shirt rippling visibly as he shook the pan and whatever thing he was cooking. With a coy smile I slid up behind him and standing on my toes I wrapped my arms around him.

"You can cook?"

"Who do you think cooked for Stefan when we were kids?"

"Tall, dark, handsome and can cook. My life is complete"

I half joked choosing to overlook the rhetorical question about his childhood. I had learned a bit ago that he wasn't comfortable talking about their human years. We began to sway gently and the gentle movement somewhat was soothing.

"It is. You should remember it"

"Touché."

I whispered and pecked his neck slightly.

"I loved cheese omelettes"

He said softly and I tightened my arms around his waist inquiring softly

"Do you miss it?"

"No, not anymore"

He whispered and I smiled at his neck. Lifting us in the air he moved us to the table and he sat down with me in his lap.

"I never thanked you, did I?"

He asked and I smiled

"You didn't need to. You have your brother back. That's all the thanks I need"

With the tips of his ears turning slightly pink he nodded and changed the subject.

"When did you become so invincible?"

"A couple days ago"

"Makes me wonder..."

He trailed with his trademark smirk. I felt my body respond

"Yes?"

"Does it replenish your blood and stamina too?"

He waggled his eyebrows suggestically. I smirked and moved to straddle him

"I guess we have to find that out"

we didn't eat for a long time

A few hours later we were at the Grill where Damon was attempting to teach me how to play pool. Key word being 'attempting' because for some reason my white ball kept jumping off our pool table and hitting balls on the nearby tables. I would laugh, blush and apologize each time much to everyone else's amusement.

"Why don't you two play and us girls will be on the bar"

Lexi proposed when my ball jumped two tables away and won a game for someone else. Stefan and Damon had began laughing while Lexi was amazed

"How did you do that?"

I shrugged laughing

"I stopped questioning it"

Leaving the boys to play we sat at the bar and flagged down matt's sister to order drinks and gossip when I felt the hair at the back of my neck rise just as the dark haired, slightly whorish teenage girl brought us our martinis. Standing taller I glanced around me but all I could see was the usual mob of students by the pool tables or a few girls pretending to do their homework while ogling various guys or the usual patrons and Alaric by the bar along with a stack of papers to grade. Nothing out of the ordinary but I still felt as if someone was slipping ice cubes down my back.

"What's wrong?"

I faintly heard Lexi ask as I called my magic forward and opening my third eye I scanned the crowd again. This time I noticed the door of the establishment slip closed but no one had exited. I hopped off my stool and not even bothering to put my jacket back on I exited the Grill ignoring lexis's protests. For once the street outside tee grill was empty save for a vampire.

"Hello Alice"

She regarded me with crazy red eyes and no smile or the bubbly personality I have missed.

"You will join us"

She declared sure of herself.

"No, I won't"

"I've seen it"

She insisted, stomping her foot on the ground. I raised an eyebrow

"Does your Master know you fake your visions? We both know I would never buy all the crap you 'saw' me buying Alice"

She blinked flustered

"How do you know about him?"

"I wonder what would happen if I told him"

I put one finger on my chin comically letting the long ivory nail gently scrap my lower lip watching Alice's eyes go blank as she searched for possible futures if I did infect choose to go to the Source completely disregarding the fact that she could never see my own choices.

"You won't"

She snarled and threw a vial of bright orange potion at my feet. I watched it fall wondering what she thought it'd do. It did nothing and I allowed myself a sarcastic moment

"Echo?"

I faked a sneeze. She looked surprised. Her attention was shifted to something behind me and she smirked

"Plan B"

Ducking down I watched Carlisle throw a lime green potion at me just as Alice threw a poop brown. I jumped out of the way and pulling a Paige threw the mixed concoctions back at them. With a scream they exploded in colorful lights reminding me oddly of fireworks.

Only then I noticed a crowd around us as I bent to pick a tiny part of the mixed potions.

"So much for keeping witchcraft a secret"

But would it really end there? Of course not

A fiery red bolt thing like lightning hit the 'fireworks'

"Or C or D. There's a plan for every occasion"

A curly haired Elena announced before hitting me with a much higher voltage. I screamed and was tossed back to the wall. I healed the moment she stopped but hell that hurts!

"Katherine I assume"

I panted throwing her a mental attack. She fell to her knees giving me time to stand up and blow her up in a million dust particles. I ran to her dusty remains to make sure she was actually gone.

"What happened?"

A disheveled Damon asked from behind me. The crowd had luckily moved on. I sighed

"I just killed your ex"

Damon and Stefan looked shocked. Lexi snorted quietly

"That's one way to get rid of the competition"

The throne room was empty except for one lean figure observing the big cauldron. A caramel haired woman watched the demise of her three rivals.

She knew playing it stupid and ignorant would land her in the top position of the Source's right hand. For now.

As they say, it's the right hand that kills.