Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Again thank you all for the kind words, you guys are so wonderful. Sorry this one took a bit longer, I had a lot going on this week. Hopefully I can keep on top of Chapter 4 better than this one. Hope you enjoy!
Again I own nothing.
This was just not his day.
Kai huffed as he dragged the desiccated corpse to the basement. His shoulders burned with fatigue, the only thought fueling him was the image of his hand wrapped around a steak protruding from a certain dark haired vampire's chest and his other squeezing that green eyed vixen's pretty little neck. He shoved the vampire down the steps and muttered a hasty seal over the entry. Kai wasn't sure how long the spell would last, but given the state they had been in, he didn't think he'd be receiving anymore famished company today. Still, it would be best to grab what supplies he could scrounge up and find shelter elsewhere. Kai limped though the house, grabbing extra blankets, an oil lamp, and headed back out into the cold.
By the time he reached Mystic Falls' boarders, Kai's feet and hands were aching from the cold, and his once closed wounds were beginning to weep. He dragged himself towards the nearest building; an empty apothecary from the looks of the herbals stacked on the shelves.
"A witch's paradise." He huffed, pulling down a couple random vials. Kai began to mix a poultice, then found some dressing to wrap his leg and head with. He attempted to cover the stab wound on his back, but twisting caused the overexerted muscles to spasm. Cursing out, Kai slumped to the floor. Through the window, he could just see the sun's rays creeping over the ground. The snow had stilled for the moment, and the sky turned a pale shade of periwinkle blue. Silence was all consuming; there were no birds to herald morning with a song, no early risers waking for work. He was utterly alone. The all consuming fear crept from his belly and into every fiber of his being. The warlock felt his breath quicken as panic overwhelmed him. He stood on shaking legs and began to search the shelves once more.
"Monk's Hood, Valerian, where the hell is it?" He muttered, looking across the counter, behind a cabinet door, he found his solution. "Nightshade." He whispered. With trembling hands, Kai reached for the small elixir. He wiped his nose with his sleeve, and took a few gulping breaths, uncorking the bottle. "At least this way, I go on my own terms." He laughed and raised the bottle to his lips. As he closed his eyes, an image flashed before him. He saw Josette, resting in a hospital bed, a small bundle cradled in her arms. She caressed the tiny thing, smiling lovingly down at her little miracle. Kai seemed to float closer, and he could see the baby nuzzle into his twins embrace. Jo looked up at Kai and their was no malice in her eyes, only love.
The bottle stilled as Kai bit into his lip. He let it drop to the floor and watched the contents spill between wooden slats. A delirious laugh bubbled up and escaped his lips as he looked around his new prison. Even here he couldn't die. Thanks to Luke's generous contribution, the thought of offing himself, and by proxy, his twin and her unborn offspring, turned his innards to ice.
A door in the corner lead to a back office. Behind it was a narrow cot and a black wood stove. Kai set his lamp on the small writing desk and collapsed onto the cot. He grimaced as he rolled onto his back and undid the laces on his boots, slowly pulling them off. He took one of his stolen blankets and used it to ward away the residual chill. Resting his head on his arms Kai stared up at the ceiling, counting the yellowed cracks and traced their abstract patterns. He was again trapped in a never ending hell, with only the walking undead for company. Either vampires, exposure, or starvation would lead to a long and drawn out demise. Kai was officially fucked.
Morning broke bright and warm against the windows of the Salvatore Boarding house. Bonnie hummed to herself as she dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. A week had past since they had brought Damon's mom back from 1903. Aside from the one nightmare, Bonnie had slept peacefully every since. Unfortunately on other fronts, Stefan and Caroline had dropped from the face of the Earth. Elena and Damon spent most of there time pacing and brooding in the living room, plotting a way to bring the terrible twosome out of hiding. Try as she might to get involved, Bonnie just could not bring herself to really care. The distance from her friends felt weird, it was as though she were watching some twisted reality show rather than her own life. But it also felt freeing. Elena had spent most of the first morning they were back regaling her in intimate detail of everything that had happened in the almost full year she had been dead.
"Away" Elena had called it. She hated it whenever Bonnie mentioned the "D" word, Bonnie found this morbidly amusing, and began to bring it up as often as she could. Damon, not wanting to get in between things, kept his distance for the most part, but she had caught him smirking at a few of her better references now and then.
She still hadn't enrolled for next semester. When Elena had asked why, she simply used all the supernatural drama as an excuse.
"We have enough on our plates as it is. I'll worry about taking electives versus core classes once Caroline can fret right along with us. I'm not planning on kicking up my pointy shoes again anytime soon, I've got time." Bonnie said sarcastically. Elena scrunched her nose in distaste and Bonnie thought it best to change the subject.
"How are things with the Mother-in-Law?" She whispered. Sure enough, Elena rolled her eyes and began to lament.
"It's so weird, Bon." Elena sighed. "I was always so close with my mom, and when she was gone, I would have given anything in the world just to spend one more day with her. But with Damon and Lily, it's like watching two total strangers who are stuck in the same hotel elevator. There's maybe two or three civil words, and then Lily barricades herself up in Stefan's room, or Damon goes out for a 'food run'. If he steals anymore blood bags, the Red Cross is going to set up a triage tent in the front yard."
Bonnie snorted. She had noticed the icy tension between mother and son. "Damon's just in a sulk, you know how he can get. He was wrong about her being dead and a vampire, and as usual, if he's been hurt, everyone in the world has to know about it. He'll drink a couple gallons of Bourbon, make wise ass remarks, hopefully not kill anyone this time around, and then snap out of it just in time to be the Big Damn Hero when we get Stefan and Caroline back. As for his mom, she's probably just in shock. A whole century has passed since she was locked away, it's a lot to take in. At least she adjusted to drinking blood from plastic bags easy enough. Having to worry about another blood lusting Salvatore is the last thing we need right now."
Elena had smiled at that and twisted her fingers together. "Yeah." She whispered softly.
Inhaling the scent of dark roasted coffee, Bonnie hummed with delight as she strolled into the kitchen. Damon was scrambling eggs at the oven and dancing around to some song on the radio. She shook her head.
"Glad to see some things never change." The witch muttered while grabbing a mug and some fresh brew. She sat at the counter and Damon handed her a plate.
"Don't be jealous of my smooth moves, Bon Bon." He teased.
"What, no pancakes?" She snarked back. Damon grinned as he joined her.
"As much as I know you love my culinary skills with a flapjack, Judgey, I vote in favor of banning those silver dollar wonders from this house for at least the next decade."
"I second the vote." Bonnie said with a grin.
"Motion carried." He smirked wolfishly and bit into cheesy egg goodness. Bonnie laughed silently at his antics and took the paper without a word. She idly stared at today's crossword as she ate. Moments like this made the quiet bearable again.
"Where are Elena and your mom?" She asked after awhile.
"Since she still lacks a daylight ring, Mother Dearest has chosen to repose during these sunny hours, and Elena said she had some leads she wanted to check up on. Apparently a couple of kids decided going camping for spring break was a good idea. They didn't show up for roll call this week." Damon grimaced. He grabbed her plate and proceed to wash up. For such a self proclaimed bad boy, the older Salvatore was very anal when it came to cleanliness.
"So she thinks Stefan and Caroline may be responsible for this?" Bonnie worried. She walked over and sat on the counter next to him, taking a dish towel and drying whatever he handed her.
"Could be, or they could just be a bunch of regular dumb kids who got lost, like most people do in the woods. Honestly, who the hell goes camping anymore? Didn't any of you see Friday the 13th growing up? I thought Spring Break was supposed to be full of beaches and Girls Gone Wild antics." Damon growled.
"Once again, you show what a geriatric pig you are."
"Oink Oink." Damon said sarcastically, waggling his eyebrows at her. Bonnie rolled her eyes and shoved him as she got down. She placed the last plate in the rack and then turned to face him.
"Listen, I'm sorry about your mom being stuck here. With everything else going on, I totally spaced about making her a ring. I'm surprised you hadn't nagged me about it before now. We can go into town today, I'll grab the stuff I need from that curio shop, and make it as soon as we get back."
Damon took the towel from her and continued to wipe down the sink and counters. He shrugged his shoulders when his back was towards her.
"No worries, Glenda. It's not like she needs to go anywhere until we actually have a location for Stefan and Blondie." He replied nonchalantly. Bonnie touched his arm and he finally turned around to look at her.
"Hey, I know things aren't exactly ideal between the two of you. Coming from someone who knows all about mommy issues, I get it. But Damon, this is a second chance for you two. Don't you even want to show her all the things she's missed in the last hundred years? All the things she's especially missed in your life? You and Stefan are a big part of this town, whether anyone knows it or not. Your mother deserves to know the kind of men her boys grew up to be." Bonnie said quietly.
Damon looked at her for a moment, his face somber. There was an unreadable emotion in his eyes, and just as Bonnie was about to ask him, he looked away and cracked a smile.
"Careful, Bon Bon, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you cared." He joked.
"Well we wouldn't want that." The witch smiled. Damon cleared his throat and his face became serious again. His eyes searched her for a moment. "Listen, if your up for it, then it's fine, I just don't want to push you before your ready."
"Push me, with what? I still have Qetsiyah's magic, and I reabsorbed my own from Ms. Cuddles when we got home. I've never been stronger. I hardly think making a daylight ring is going to prove too taxing." She smirked.
Damon shook his head. "That not what I meant, and you know it." He eyed her. "Aside from the very short trip you guys took to the coffee shop the other day, you haven't left this Boarding House. The last time you were around more than me and Elena, you turned a guy's hand into charbroil and skewered me."
"Last I recall, you were an asshole and that handsy frat boy deserved it." She hissed. Damon raised his hands in concession.
"I'm not denying any of that. But you can't tell me that part of you didn't lose a bit of control. You were panicking Bonnie, and it's okay to admit it." He soothed. "And while we're on the subject of your handle on magic. Are you sure keeping your Single-Female Ancestor's crazy blood rock juju is a good idea? Last time things didn't go so well and you ended up all crypt keeper like."
Bonnie scoffed and shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you nothing is wrong?! I'm sleeping like a baby. I haven't gone out because I've been trying to locate your brother and my best friend, and I'm not crazy enough to try and raise the dead again. Kill me once, shame on you, kill me four times, I think I get the hint. No more martyr Bonnie, Damon, I promise." She crossed her heart and raised two fingers. "Girlscouts' honor."
Damon raised an eyebrow for a moment then shrugged his shoulders and wrapped an arm around her as they headed for the front door. "Fine Judgey, we'll take a little shopping trip and go get Mommy a visitor's pass to the free world." Bonnie sighed in relief and opened the door.
"So, you wouldn't still happen to have that Girl Scout outfit, would you?"
"Ugh, still disgusting!" Bonnie groaned.