I hope you all had a happy New Year's. I want to thank everyone that nominated me for the The Burning Diamond Awards 2013-2014 specifically best break through author and best unsuspected/unique pairing. It means so much to me (I was freaking out and my mother was considering sending me to a psychiatrist). I'd like to encourage you all to vote at burningdiamondawards . blogspot . com (just remove the spaces), and enjoy another chapter :)
"..have no mother. Only Esther, and Esther was right." I heard Elijah say from the room I just passed on my way out. I stopped by the door to eavesdrop. He was much more secluded then usual when we returned. I was worried as much as I didn't want to be.
"What do you mean?" Asked Rebekah worriedly.
"No more talk of virtue when since my needs I kill, maim and torment. Even today I terrorized an innocent." My heart clenched when I heard the regret in his voice. I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lip. I'm overreacting and I know it. He cheated. But he thought you did before he did a voice whispers in the back of my mind urging me to forget what happened and forgive him. No, I think to myself shutting off those thoughts that would just lead to more heartbreak.
"Elena is hardly innocent," Rebekah seethed tearing me away from my feuding thoughts.
"And I used your hatred of her to get what I wanted. Wielded you like I would a sword, my sister," he said disgust for himself pouring off him.
"You did it to protect us, Elijah, and rightly so. We deserve to live, we are better then they are."
"Are we? Mother made us vampires, she didn't make us monsters. We did that to ourselves." He walked out of the room and turned heading to the door and I took a deep breath and caught up to him.
"Do you know why I chose you over Nik?" I asked him surprising myself. He stopped and looked at me. "I chose you because Nik would torture a man who looked at him the wrong way. He would relish in the blood and pain from someone the man and claim he deserved it. I thought about it and in that situation you would've just ignored him. And today, instead of killing the Salvatore brothers or simply one of them you let them go free and continue with their lives and reclaim Elena. I'd even bet you wrote a letter of apology to Elena with your condolences for holding her hostage. I chose you because while we all turned ourselves into monsters you somehow managed to keep a hold of what made you human. I chose you because you made me remember we weren't monsters." I paused and tried to figure out what I was going to say next. "I'll see you again sometime," I said awkwardly, then I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek but he turned his head and caught my lips in his.
He kissed me gently and then pulled away disappearing out the door. I move my hand up and touch my lips. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to banish feuding thoughts once again from my mind so I don't tear myself to pieces. I remember Kol and take a stride toward the door where Elijah just went stopping when I heard Nik at the end of the hall.
"Good you haven't left yet," Nik said without introduction and pulling me out of my thoughts.
"No but Kol has a car waiting."
"Well there was another white oak tree you might want to see burned down to the ground before you leave," Rebekah said on edge.
"Then let's find it and have a bonfire," I say hating not being the only one in possession of a white oak stake and equally happy for having a small distraction. "I'll go tell Kol we're staying until this whole thing blows over. Elijah already left."
"Tell me what?" Kol asked walking through the door. "You were taking too long, I was wondering what's wrong," he said to me.
"Looks like we're staying here for a bit," I say walking down the hallway to my room just wanting to be alone with my thoughts.
"Tia, come on it's time for some girl time!" Rebekah shrilled in the morning from behind my door.
"I'm fine maybe in an hour." I mumble from under my pillow.
"Too bad. Today you get to help me track down where the tree went. Nik and Kol are tracking down Elena's brother Jeremy. Your choice but Nik's not in the best mood today. I'd guess by the end of the day he will have found a witch to break the spell binding us."
"Fine I'll go with you most witches annoy me and I really hate tracking people."
"Great you have twenty minutes."
"Thanks for meeting with us mayor. I figured as head of the preservation society you'd be best to ask about the oldest trees in this community." Rebekah said pulling my head out of the clouds. I blinked a few times too out of it to notice Mrs. Lockwood sat down across from us.
"A long line of Lockwood women used to keep those records, back before we all had jobs of course," she said arrogantly. It would be fun snapping her neck wouldn't it? I thought to myself. I blinked and cleared my head of the murderous thoughts.
"We went to the founder's archive and couldn't find anything about the tree we were looking for.." I said to distract myself noticing the Salvatore's walking in.
"It probably got cut down big old trees practically built half this town in the 1900s."
"She devils nine o'clock," Damon said to his brother. I raised an eyebrow envisioning burning him at the stake. It was a beautiful sight.
"Do you happen to know who kept the milling records back then?" Rebekah said obviously tearing her gaze away from the Salvatore brothers. I rolled my eyes inwardly, guessing which one she was in love with.
"The logging mills were owned by the Salvatore's," Mrs. Lockwood said obliviously.
"Yay," I said sarcastically under my breath. "Thank you for your time mayor," I say standing up and walking over to the bar to see the two young vampires.
"Which Salvatore would that be?" Rebekah asked as I slid unnoticed onto the stool next to Stefan.
"Ooh killing Salvatore's I know where I'd start." I say glaring at Damon.
"So Zachariah Salvatore was your nephew?" Rebekah asked better at socializing than me especially when I'm angry.
"Well our father knocked up one of the maids during the civil war. She had a son. But as far as anyone else knew Stefan and I were dead. Family name had to go somewhere," Damon said haughtily while Stefan looked like he was losing his mind as he stared into his drink.
"And ah your family owned the logging mills back then?" Rebekah asked making Stefan turn his head away from his glass.
"You're full of a lot of questions," Damon observed.
"And you're making me want to rip my hair out." I say snarkily.
"Just researching the town's history. We grew up here after all."
"You know you don't have to disguise your motives. If you want more sex, just ask for it," Damon said and I groaned massaging my temples.
"You've been out of the coffin for three nights. One of the two he tried to kill you. I like Alexander better and he shoved a dagger through my heart." She glared at me and I shrugged innocently.
"Not enough liquor in the world." She fired at him. I rolled my eyes and returned to my drink wishing I had stayed home.
"Come on it was too good for you to be this hostile."
"Two kindred souls meet in a bar discussing their sex life in front of family, or well practically family. Hand me the bottle I'll need another drink to survive this conversation." But Stefan grabbed the bottle and moved to the other side of Damon.
"You'll have to excuse my little brother he's dying for some o positive."
"I'm not dying," he said smartly.
"Did they ever catch the killer?" She asks finally changing the subject and taking Stefan's empty chair.
"Nope wrote it all off on vampires."
"Well maybe it was. Maybe the vampire got bored of the whole fang concept and decided to use a good old fashioned knife."
"Yeah, maybe it was a vampire Damon."
"Don't think for a second you didn't cross my mind to brother. but these murders weren't your style were they? Plus there were no other vampires circling then."
"Well there was one other vampire. Remember Sage?"
"Oh right. Sage, speaking of great sex."
"Ah so that's how she spent her time," I said more to myself then to anyone else.
"We knew Sage once, trashy little thing." Rebekah added.
"You really think Sage was the one killing those founders back then?"
"Town questioned every grown man in Mystic Falls. Probably never occurred to them that a woman could've done it."
"I'll let you in on a little secret. I was in Richmond back then and stopped by once for a visit. The murders weren't her style and she wouldn't have left the body around so carelessly. I didn't think much of her but...Sage wasn't your killer. I'm leaving now you people are annoying."
"But you are my ride home."
"You can handle yourself," I say glancing at Damon.
"Please?" She whined. I narrow my eyes at her and she glares back, our conversation along the lines of don't go back Nik will kill me later and you can handle yourself but somehow I lost.
"Fine I'm just going to call home and make sure they didn't burn the mansion down." I said leaving my stool and heading toward the bathroom away from the group. I called Kol and he answered on the first ring.
"Tia are you with Bekah?" he said right away without a hello.
"She kidnapped me in the morning," I explained tiredly. "What's going on there?"
"Packing for Denver, I was about to call and see if you were coming with me but decided you probably didn't want to," he said feigning hurt.
"Of-" I started but stopped when pain exploded in my shoulder. I disappeared in one of the stalls and clawed at my shoulder a string of curses on the tip of my tongue educating whoever shot me in the ways of proper cussing.
"Tia! Are you alright? I didn't mean it," he said boredly. I clawed at my shoulder digging out the bullet so my wound would heal when another three shots were fired at the stall door.
"I'll be home in a minute Kol, your mother is meddling again." I hung up on him before he could say another word and exploded out of the bathroom stall ready to kill frowning when I didn't see anyone. I hurried out and walked over to where Rebekah was talking to the Salvatore's wanting more information from them. "Rebekah I'm leaving, I doubt I'll be home when you get back. Your mother is meddling again. Call me when she's actually dead."
"Ooh mommy original, mind telling us where she is?" Damon said.
"Not where I'm going. Ta ta Bekah." I called out vanishing and ditching the car I drove to the Grille. In less than a minute I was throwing clothes into a suit case at random. I noticed a pair of arms helping and saw Kol. I remember when Edward and I were packing to go to Phoenix. I could've snapped James in two after I made him appear in a production of Annie with both Victoria and Laurent. I smiled grimly and zipped it up before actually breathing again.
"What happened?" He asked worry saturating his voice.
"I was attacked with wooden bullets and they hurt so the were fired by a non supernatural and something tells me they knew exactly what they were doing almost like someone compelled them to do so. I'm not going to stay here Kol, the last time I was hunted like this we killed everyone in the town. I won't let history repeat itself. The spell will wear off once the witch that casted it dies. So it's time to go I'll be back when she's dead for good." I muttered pulling the suitcase off of my bed and slamming it down a little harder than I should've. "I hate her. I hate this. I don't like being hunted."
"Hey, look at me," he said grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his big brown eyes. "We'll survive this. Come on car's waiting." He mumbled kissing my forehead before taking my hand and striding off with me in tow towards the door.