A/N - Merry Christmas Everyone! So I have been working hard trying to get this chapter to you guys on time, especially because it's Christmas.
Again, this is an unedited version, so I apologize for any awkward wording or grammar, but I just wanted to get it to you guys on time. I hope you enjoy it!
Jeremy's head was reeling. It was hard to take in anything Bonnie had just told him. It was all too much. The mere fact that magic was real was hard to comprehend, let alone the fact that Stefan and Elena were vampires, and she was a practicing witch.
He had known that Stefan had been acting a little strange the past few weeks, but he had assumed it was just because he was with Elena. He probably still wouldn't have believed any of it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
Your world will never be the same again Bonnie had said. She couldn't have been more right. Jeremy could never look at the world the same way as he did before, not now that he knew what was out there.
"So what does it mean, exactly?" He asked her.
She furrowed her brows, not understanding his question. "What does what mean?" she asked.
"What does it mean, that you're a witch?"
"It means that I can do magic." She answered simply.
"What, like Harry Potter?"
She grinned and shook her head. "No. Real witches don't use wands, we use grimoires, which is a kind of spell book. And our spells are a lot more complicated."
Jeremy nodded. "So, why did that guy kidnap us?"
"You mean Klaus?" Bonnie said. "He wanted me to do a spell for him. A spell to let him talk to his dead mother."
"Then why did he need me?"
Bonnie hesitated before answering. "He knew I wouldn't do the spell for him just because he asked. He's not a good guy. So he kidnapped you to use as leverage. If I hadn't done as he asked, he would have killed you."
Jeremy didn't say anything for another moment, thinking about what she had said. "So what now?" he finally asked.
"Now," She said, "We wait. Klaus got the information that he wanted. He probably already knows that Max is still alive. And now that he knows he needs her, he is going to make a move to get her. We have to do everything we can to protect her."
"Right. So who is Max again?"
"Elena's doppelganger." Bonnie said. "Because Elena and Katherine are twins, it makes sense that they look identical, but Max was born in this century. She isn't, or I guess wasn't, a vampire, but somehow, she looks exactly like them."
Jeremy sighed and sat down on Bonnie's bed. "So there's nothing we can do? We are just going to sit here and wait?"
"We don't really have another choice." Said Bonnie, copying Jeremy's actions. "Klaus is too powerful. And on the off chance that he doesn't know Max is still alive, we don't want to give it away that she is."
Jeremy threw up his hands. "Well, there must be something we can do!"
"There's nothing. And, even if there was, I don't have enough control over my magic to do anything big."
"Is there a way to get more control? More power?" Jeremy asked. He wasn't sure why he wanted to help her out so much. Maybe it was because she had saved his life, or because she was working with Stefan, one of his only friends. Whatever the reason, he wanted to help. That he did know for sure.
"Well . . ." Bonnie said, hesitating. "There is something . . ."
Jeremy slid closer. "What? What is it?"
"It's called channeling." She said. "I can channel power from another magical object, or natural things like fire, or another person. It would give me more control and more power. I would be able to do more to help."
"Could you channel me?" Jeremy asked, excited to finally be able to help.
Bonnie nodded.
Jeremy grabbed her hand and nodded. "Do it."
Damon groaned. Today was the day he would have to go to Liz Forbes' friends dinner. He wasn't big on that kind of stuff, but he wanted to keep in the sheriff's good graces and stay on the council.
He walked towards the table where he kept his alcohol and pulled out a glass. When he went to pour more, he found that the last bottle of bourbon was empty. He sighed and headed downstairs to get a new bottle.
He was busy shaking his head over his stupidity at not restocking the cabinet, when he smelt it. There was a foul smell coming from one of the old cells. Something seemed to be rotting. He grimaced and continued walking to the door. Grabbing the handle, he pulled the door open and was meet with a sight that he wouldn't soon forget.
"Well," he said to himself. "This is really not good."
Elena stepped up and knocked on the front door of the Forbes house. She turned and gave an awkward smile to Stefan who was standing next to her while they waited to be let in.
Liz opened the door and greeted them with a huge smile on her face. "Elena, Stefan. Thanks for coming. Come on in. Bonnie and Damon are already here."
They nodded politely and headed inside towards the living room where Bonnie and Caroline were laughing about something and Damon sat along, a drink already in his hand.
Caroline lit up when she saw Stefan and Elena and quickly pulled them over to where she had been sitting. "I'm so glad you guys are here. I don't think I could sit through an entire dinner with my mom and her friends if you weren't here too."
Elena nodded in understanding. "We couldn't just leave you stranded, now could we?" Caroline laughed.
Stefan turned to Liz. "Mrs. Forbes, how many more people do you have coming?"
"Oh not much." She said, waving away his question. "Just Alaric and -" she was cut off by the sound of knocking at the front door. "That's probably him now." She rushed away, returning a moment later with Alaric in tow. Damon and Alaric nodded at each other in greeting before Alaric gave an awkward, "Hi" to the rest of the group. There was a chorus of "hi"s in return.
"Well," Liz said, "Most of us are here, why don't we all sit down for dinner?" A few people nodded. "Okay then, come on into the dining room."
Before long, everyone was all sitting down at the table, enjoying the wonderful meal that Liz had cooked, and making small talk.
"So Liz," Alaric said, "Have you made any progress on the missing persons?" Elena snapped to attention. She knew that there had been a few more missing persons cases and that Liz was the Sheriff, which meant that she was investigating them. Elena, however, suspected another vampire, and she knew that Alaric probably did as well. Why would he ask such a blatantly obvious question? Asking too many questions about the disappearances could be dangerous. However, she was curious and eager to her the Sheriff's answer.
"Not really." Liz replied, throwing a glance at Damon. "The victims didn't have much in common and they have gone missing from all over town. We really don't have any leads."
There was a knock on the door. "I'll get that." Liz said, standing up and walking over to the front door.
The moment Liz was out of sight Elena gave Alaric a light punch in the arm. "What were you thinking? Asking about the disappearances?"
"Hey! I just thought it might be helpful to see what the Sheriff knows. She might have information that would mean nothing to her, but could tell us who it is."
"Wait." Caroline said, "You think the disappearances are because of a vampire?"
Elena barely had time to nod before Liz arrived back in the dining room with the final guest.
Elena was shocked. She wasn't expecting to see his face in such a mundane setting, but there he was.
"Hello." He said. "I'm Elijah Mikaelson, a friend of Liz's."
The whole table had grown silent. Most of them recognized him from the ritual, except for Bonnie, although she seemed to pick it up that something was wrong pretty easily. The entire table was now on high alert.
"I meet Elijah at the Grill," Liz was saying, "and I thought it would be nice for him to meet you all. That's why I had this dinner." They both sat down, and Elijah noticed the fact that no one was eating.
"Well, don't stop eating on my account." He said.
Elena continued to stare at him as she forked a piece of broccoli and shoved it into her mouth. Around the table, the others did the same.
"So Elijah," Damon said, breaking the silence, "What are you doing here in Mystic Falls?"
"Oh I'm here on business." Elijah immediately. "I need to collect an asset for my brother. You see, we are in business together."
"Oh really?" Damon said, knowing there was a double meaning in Elijah's words. "What kind of asset?"
Elijah glanced in Elena's direction and smiled. "Oh I think you know what kind, Mr. Salvatore. It used to be in my possession, but then someone stole it from me."
He knew. He knew that Max was alive and that they had her. That was why he had glanced at Elena when he had said that. Elena spoke up. "And what will happen if you don't get it?"
Elijah squinted, as if it was amusing to him to watch them squirm. "I would not think that would be a very desirable situation for anyone." He took another bite of his food. "Mmm. I apologise, Mrs. Forbes. I am quite hungry."
Caroline threw Stefan and Elena a glance. Elijah wasn't referring to food.
"No, it's fine." Liz replied, totally clueless to the fact that she was practically being threatened by a thousand year old vampire.
"You know, I never got a drink." Elijah said to Liz. "Would you mind getting me a water?"
She got up immediately. "Of course."
The moment she left the room, Elena pounced on him. "What do you want?"
"Haven't I made it obvious? I want that little doppelganger you are keeping locked away. And if you refuse, I will kill every single person that you care about."
Liz walked back in the room, carrying his water.
"Here you go, Mr. Mikaelson."
"Please." he said. "Call me Elijah."
"Well, that went wonderfully." Caroline said, plopping into one of the sofas at in the Salvatore's living room. How had she gotten herself mixed up in this mess again?
"Yeah." Said Alaric. "What are we going to do? We can't just give Max up."
"No." Stefan replied. "But we can't just let him kill everyone either. Right?"
"No. He threatened my mom." Caroline said. "We can't let him get away with that."
"Maybe I could do a spell." Bonnie suggested. "I have more power now that I can channel Jeremy."
"But what kind of spell?" Caroline asked.
"I don't know." Alaric said. "Elena, what do you think?" They looked around the room. Elena wasn't there. "Where's Elena?" Alaric asked.
Stefan looked around again, growing more and more worried. "Where is Damon?"
The four of them looked at each other, realization growing in their eyes.
Caroline was the one to speak up. "They're not here."