Chapter 4

"Come again?" Damon asked as Gwendolyn's words rattled around his brain. "You're going to do what now?"

Gwendolyn straightened her already tall frame and Damon guessed that it was an attempt to intimidate him. She folded her long, graceful fingers into each other and spoke to him like he was a child.

"Bonnie Bennett has broken every rule of the witches' code," she said. "She has not only used Expression but abused it, and she's compounded that error by stealing the lives of fellow witches. She is also in the company of a deranged witch that never should have been released from his prison. These are things that I cannot abide."

"So your solution is to kill her?" he asked with a scoff.

"The sacrifice of one for the safety of many," she said with a small nod.

"And just who are you that you get to decide what happens to her?"

"I'm the Grand Witch of the oldest Coven in this country and one of the most powerful Covens in the world. It's my job to maintain law and order and I cannot do that with two rogue witches running around."

Damon folded his arms. "Well, I'm not gonna let you kill her."

She cracked a half-smile. "You don't have much say in the matter. Now if you'll excuse us."

Gwendolyn walked past him and the other two witches with her wordlessly followed. Damon let them get about halfway to the door before he super-sped behind her, hoping to tackle her to the ground. She spun around right before he got to her and held out her hand, crippling him with an aneurysm.

"Ugh! Stop it, you...bitch!" he screamed.

"I appreciate the fact that you want to help Bonnie, but this is witch business and you'll do well to mind your manners," she said calmly.

"Ma'am, please," Stefan said, always the voice of reason. "I know my brother can be a little brash at times but he means well and we only want to help Bonnie."

"She's beyond helping."

"No she's not," Caroline said. "Could you please just listen to us for like two seconds?"

Gwendolyn looked at Damon, who was still screaming and squirming and she sighed and put her hand down. Stefan helped Damon up and Gwen turned to Caroline.

"Speak," she said.

"Bonnie is my best friend. She's had an incredibly shitty, like unbelievably shitty year. She's died like ten times, she was stuck in a twilight zone with Damon for four months, which is punishment in and of itself..."

"Hey," he frowned.

"Then she was stuck with Kai, then by herself for months! Her parents are dead. Her grandma is dead. The only people she has are us, and we let her down," she said sadly. "It's really not surprising that she's gone bat shit crazy. But you have to let us try to get through to her. Please."

Gwendolyn looked from Caroline, to Stefan, to Damon, who was still scowling. She looked to the other two witches and although no words were spoken, it was obvious that they were communicating in some way. She finally nodded once.

"Fine. I'll make you a deal. If you find Bonnie before I do and bring her to me, I'll strip her of her powers but I'll spare her life."

Caroline grinned and clapped her hands together. "Thank you! Thank you! I promise we'll find her."

"Caroline, I feel like there's a 'but' in there somewhere," Damon said.

"But if I find her first," Gwendolyn said, "and trust me, I will be looking, I will eliminate her and Kai without a second thought." She looked at Damon and narrowed her eyes. "Are we understood?"

He growled at her and she raised an eyebrow in apparent amusement. She and the other witches left without another word. Damon spun around and pointed an accusatory finger at Jo.

"Who the fuck invited her here?" he demanded.

Jo held up her hands in her own defense. "Damon, calm down. I didn't know that she was going to want to kill Bonnie. I thought she was going to help!"

He sped to her and wrapped his hand around her throat.

"Damon!" Stefan said.

"I should kill you," he said to Jo.

"Get off of her, you idiot," Ric said, as he pried Damon's hand off the woman's throat. He pushed him a few times. "What's wrong with you? She said she was trying to help."

"Yeah? And she helped, all right. Helped put Bonnie in a grave somewhere."

"It was an honest mistake. We're not going to get anywhere by pointing fingers and fighting each other."

"Ric is right," Stefan said. "Let's just stay calm, talk about it..."

"Screw talking," Damon said. "I'm done talking. I'm done planning. I'm done doing this your way."

He pushed past Ric, then Stefan, and nearly kicked down the front door on the way to his car. He was still fuming when he got into the front seat and cranked the engine, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance when Stefan got into the passenger side.

"What?" he barked.

"Look, I know you're upset, but flying off the handle and acting like a lunatic isn't going to help."

"You know, I'm really not in the mood for one of your lectures."

"I'm not lecturing you. I'm actually happy to see you care so much about someone other than yourself. Or me. Or Elena. I wasn't aware that you had any space in your heart for someone else."

Damon made a 'pfft' sound, but he loosened his grip on the steering wheel. He rested his head on the back of the seat and the brothers sat in silence for a while, before Damon admitted, "I have no plan. None. I just had to get out of the house before I killed that incompetent rent-a-witch."

Stefan smiled. "So let's make a plan."

"We have to get to Bonnie before the wicked witch of the east does."

"Agreed. How are we gonna do that?"

"No clue," he said pathetically. "There's no way she's still at that hotel and we don't have any way to contact her. She won't answer any phone calls. Hell, I don't even know if she has a phone."

He shook his head back and forth, wondering what he would have to do to find Bonnie. The thought of going to New Orleans and running into Klaus and those idiots even crossed his mind. He was that desperate for a strong enough witch.

"Maybe we should go back to the hotel," Stefan said after some thought.

Damon frowned. "She's not still there."

"No, but maybe she left a phone number." Damon rolled his head to look at Stefan skeptically. "You always have to leave contact information at the hotel in case there's a problem with the credit card or something, right? What if she left a good number?"

"Kind of grasping at straws, aren't you?"

"What do we have to lose? It's our only lead. Might as well try."

"We'd have to go all the way back to Atlanta to compel the front desk people for the information."

"Sounds like a brothers-only road trip to me."

Damon didn't want to smile, so he smirked and put his hands back on the wheel.

"So let's go."

And they did. Damon drove half of the way back to Atlanta, and Stefan did the other half. When they got back to the hotel, Stefan took the lead and approached the front desk manager.

"Hello, sir," the chipper manager said. "How may I help you?"

Stefan got close to him and compelled him by saying, "I need the name and contact information of the girl who was staying in the penthouse last night. And don't give me any shit about it."

The manager nodded and walked away, and when Stefan looked at Damon, Damon nodded in approval.

"Nice," he said.

"I thought you'd like that."

"Here you are, sir," the manager said as he handed over a printout. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Forget you ever saw us," Stefan said, and the manager nodded again.

Stefan handed the papers over to Damon, who took a moment to read them, then smirked.

"Well she wasn't very creative with her check-in name: Sheila Gilbert. There is a phone number here. Probably a fake."

"We'll never know 'til we try."

Damon whipped out his phone and was ashamed at how nervous he was as he dialed the numbers. He had absolutely no expectation that it was a real number, much less one that led to Bonnie, so when he called and it went to voicemail, he wasn't surprised. He almost hung up without leaving a message, but then he thought better of it and decided to take a shot in the dark.

"Hello, Sheila Gilbert," he said sarcastically. "This is Damon Salvatore, calling to tell you that you need to bring your ass back to Mystic Falls because we've got a major problem. If you want to know what that problem is, you'll just have to call me back to find out. You know my number."

He hung up and Stefan said, "and now we go home and wait for her to call you."

"You seriously think that number goes to Bonnie?"

"Maybe. Kind of seems like she wants us to find her, doesn't it?"

"How the hell does it seem like that?"

"Think about it," Stefan said. "Bonnie is officially the most powerful witch in the world and if she really wanted to be gone, she could in be London or Paris or Cairo or some remote place a million miles away. But she's not. She's close enough for us to find her and she's using an alias comprised of names of people she loves. She left a phone number that isn't disconnected and I think somewhere deep down inside of her, she's leaving these little breadcrumbs because she wants to be rescued."

Damon let his brother's points seep into his brain, but he stopped himself short of getting too hopeful.

"That's some very wishful thinking."

"One of us has to be optimistic," Stefan said with a smile.

"Since you're so cheery, you get to drive back home," he said as he tossed him the keys.

Stefan didn't seem to mind driving the whole way back, and Damon tried to get some shut-eye but he couldn't. He kept checking his phone every five minutes to make sure he hadn't missed a call or text from Bonnie, but nothing ever came. The sun was just coming out full force by the time they got back to the house, and Damon dragged his tired body up the steps to his room. He felt like he had been on a week-long bender and his body craved sleep. Between the energy drain from Bonnie, all the driving and lack of rest, he wanted to collapse on his bed and sleep until he was rejuvenated.

Instead, he peeled off his clothes and started up the shower. He got in immediately, even as it took the water a few seconds to go from icy cold to burning hot. He adjusted the temperature just enough not to scald and pressed his head to the wall as the water ran through his hair and down his body. For one second, he wanted to think of nothing. He wanted one moment of peace where he wasn't worrying about Bonnie, or thinking about what the hell was going on with his relationship with Elena, or how they were going to stop Kai.

When it became obvious that he wasn't going to get any such peace, he lathered himself up with soap and rinsed off. He wrapped a lush towel around his waist and didn't even bother with the droplets still falling from his head. He planned to drink a whole bottle of bourbon, get as wasted as his vampire body would allow and pass out on his bed. He was about to drop his towel as he stepped into his room, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Bonnie sitting on his bed, her back to the headboard and her ankles crossed. She wore black jeans and a black sweater and black boots. Her hands were folded in her lap and her lips quirked into the tiniest hint of a smile.

"Don't let me stop you," she said.

Damon grabbed the side of his towel to make sure it was fastened before asking, "what are you doing here?"

"I got your message. It sounded important. It must be important if you insist on communicating with me even though I nearly maim you every time we talk. So spill it."

"That's not a very nice way to ask, is it?"

"Fine, then I'll leave," she said as she started to move. He realized that playing with her wasn't going to get him anywhere, so he quickly said, "there are some witches from the Salem coven that are looking for you. They're planning to kill you."

Bonnie froze in her movements, but then smiled in amusement. "Oh, are they? I'd like to see them try."

"I get that you're the head bitch in charge of the witch community right now, but this woman didn't seem like she was a pushover. And if she's got an army of followers, they can probably take you down."

"Doubtful."

She got off the bed and headed for the door, but Damon stepped in front of her and grabbed her arm.

"Enough's enough, Bonnie," he said seriously. "You killed witches and now you've got a target on your back. You've had your little rebellious phase and now the fun's over."

Bonnie yanked her arm away from him. "It's not a phase, Damon. How many times do I have to tell you that this is the way I am now?"

"You can tell me until you're blue in the face and I still won't believe you. I know that you're still in there somewhere and I'm going to keep digging until I find you."

She clenched her jaw and stared at him, and he stared right back.

"For someone who hates me, you sure do seem to want to keep me alive," she said in a tone that sounded an awful like hurt. "I guess you just want your good little witch back so I can return to saving everyone's life but my own."

Damon took her arm again, gentler this time, and as she fought him, he pulled her until she was almost pressing against his moist chest. "I told you I didn't mean that. I don't hate you. You know that. And the only life I want you to save is yours. But if you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to spin out of control and if you don't kill yourself, Kai will, and if he doesn't, the witches will. Is that really what you want?"

She pushed away from him again, but instead of walking out of the door, she turned and paced near his bed. She put her hands on her hips and sighed, and if Damon didn't know better, he would have thought she was worried.

"Who came for me?" she asked lowly.

"Gwendolyn." He could tell by the way she stopped walking that she knew her. "You've heard of her?"

"Yes."

"So she's a threat, then."

"As much of a threat as I could have, yes."

Damon wasn't sure what to say or do next with Bonnie showing something akin to vulnerability. He didn't want to run her off or upset her, so he simply stood there in his towel, watching as she paced again.

"I killed all those people because I was chasing the high I got when I siphoned from you," she said, her back still to him. "I must have drained ten different supernaturals in one night, and it still wasn't as good as taking it from you." She turned on her heels and shrugged. "I can't stop. The Expression won't let me. And even if I could, I don't want to."

It was so simple but so heartbreaking and she said it such a matter-of-fact tone.

"Then take it from me," Damon said. "You like my energy the best, you can have it."

She narrowed her eyes like she was studying him and trying to detect if he just was posturing. When she realized that he was serious, she shook her head.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because, Bennett, despite your absolute refusal to believe me, I give a shit about you and watching you die for the hundredth time would kind of ruin my week."

He thought he saw the beginnings of a smile, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"Okay," she said. "Then show me just how much you care, Damon."

He hesitated for a second, unsure of what she meant. But then she arched an eyebrow and looked at the bed, and he understood her meaning. He thought about putting some clothes on, but something told him that time was of the essence and even the few seconds it would take to get dressed might push Bonnie away. So he secured the towel around his waist and sat on the edge of the bed, and watched as she sauntered over to him with all the confidence of the badass witch she had become.

She stared at him as she lifted one knee and placed it on one side of him, then the did the same with the other. She hovered over him for just a second, then lowered herself slowly until she was sitting right on his crotch. She purposely wiggled around a little but he refused to show any reaction.

"Open your mouth," she directed.

"You could ask a little nicer."

She cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"Oh, is that how this is going to go? You want me to beg you?"

"I didn't say you have to beg. But you could wine and dine me a little before you drain the life out of me."

"I could," she said as she ran a long finger along his shoulder. "Or I could just take it like I did last time." She traced the middle of his chest, then pushed on the area near his heart. It wasn't a hard push, but he couldn't control himself as his back fell to the bed and she straddled him with an evil grin. When he couldn't move, he knew that she had put some kind of spell on him.

"How are you doing that?" he asked. "Controlling me without even saying anything?"

"You'd be amazed at how much power I have right now," she said. "Kai is teaching me how to harness it. I don't need to talk or chant or light candles." She leaned down until her face was nuzzled against his neck. "I can just think it."

She ran her nose up his neck, over his chin and past his lips until their noses were touching. He looked into her fierce green eyes and felt the overwhelming urge to open his mouth, which he did. He immediately had that same draining sensation as before, and although his energy was fading quickly, he made himself watch her. He noticed how her eye color intensified and how the hand that was on his chest gripped his skin. He fought the urge to pass out but it was a battle that he couldn't win. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was Bonnie with her head tossed back, breathing heavily and sighing like she had never felt such pleasure.

For a minute, everything was black and he couldn't feel, see or hear anything. But then the taste of tangy blood filled his mouth. After one huge gulp, he jolted back to life and grasped the source of blood with all his strength. When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see Bonnie's wrist in his mouth and her electrified eyes trained on him. He kept feeding from her and he groaned and grunted with each pull. She tasted sweet like he remembered, but the excess magic also gave her blood a quality that was hard to describe. She was so powerful that it burst through her blood like electricity.

When he finally had enough, he pulled his teeth away and moaned like someone who had eaten too much of something good.

"You taste like sugar and lightning," he said, unable to stop the confession.

Bonnie laughed, like a real, old-school-Bonnie laugh. He watched as she swiped her thumb across his bottom lip, collecting what was left of her blood. He swallowed hard when she stuck the thumb in her own mouth and whimpered.

"You're right," she said. "I'm delicious."

The double entendre wasn't lost on him. He tried to move again, but he was still under her spell.

"You've fed from me, and I've fed from you. I think you can let me go now," he said.

"I will, after I tell you something important."

She gently grabbed his chin and forced him to look into her magically-enhanced eyes, which widened and constricted a few times as she spoke.

"I want to do this again," she said. "I want you to be available to me every night."

"I'll be available to you every night," he repeated.

"I may not come every night, but I want you to sit here and wait for me, just in case I do. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Don't tell anyone else about what we're doing. If someone asks, you haven't seen me, you don't know where I am, and they should stop looking."

"I won't tell them," he said.

"Good boy. Now go to sleep."

And he did. His eyes immediately closed, his head lolled to the side, and sleep overtook him. He didn't see Bonnie staring at him with all the love in the world. He didn't feel her caress his cheek. And he didn't hear when she left just as quietly as she'd come.