"I—I can't believe it…" Misha said, his voice unsteady
"I'm sorry…" Liliya said softly, "I remember him...Dominic, I mean. He was once Elijah's apprentice…a kind soul—"
"You mean before the spirits turned him and Luka on his family and friends?" Misha retorted sadly
"Misha, you know very well that it's not that simple…" Liliya soothed, stepping forward, "What happened to him wasn't his fault—"
"No. It is that simple, Liliya," Misha replied, his voice tinged with anger, "Dominic turned on us and he paid the price."
Then the warlock closed his eyes and rested his face in his hands with a heavy sigh as a silence fell between him and the spirit of the original doppelganger.
After studying him for a few moments with sad eyes, Liliya finally spoke.
"What do you want to do?" she asked, "If it's true—if Dominic really has found his way back into the mortal world, then we need to have a plan."
Misha wiped under his tear-stained eyes as he lifted his face from his palms then straightened, pushing himself off of the sink and trying to pull himself together.
"Yes we do…" Misha said, "And I know where to start."
"You do?" Liliya asked surprised, her eyes following him as he moved to the bathroom door
"Kaspar," Misha replied, casting a glance over his shoulder
# # # # #
"I don't understand…" Liliya whispered as she followed Misha through the threshold into the dark bedroom, the figure of Kaspar asleep under the blankets on the Queen size bed.
"I had a feeling something was going on—call it a 'witchy' sense or even just brotherly instinct—but I knew it was strange for someone to sleep that long without going through a growth spurt, a serious illness, taking drugs or having a serious hang over," Misha replied in a soft voice, his eyes falling on his sleeping brother as he rounded the end of the bed, coming to Kaspar's side, "I probably should have done this sooner… but I guess it's better late than never."
Soon Liliya next to him, watching him as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing his magical and psychic energies.
Then after a few moments, he slowly reached out his hand and rested it on the side of his sleeping brother's head.
Misha took in a sharp breath, closing his eyes tighter as he searched his brother's mind for a few minutes, before suddenly pulling back his hand as if burned and giving a sharp cry, willing himself out of his trance and opening his eyes
Then he quickly moved forward and shook his brother's shoulder.
"Kaspar! Kaspar wake up!" he urged, but Kaspar didn't stir
"Damn it..." he finally whispered
"Misha?" Liliya asked, concerned as the warlock held his hand to his chest and doubled over
"Kaspar's not alone," Misha breathed, his voice pained, "Someone's with him right now—in his mind—in his dreams."
"Could you see who?" Liliya replied, raising an eyebrow
"No," Misha shook his head as he straightened slowly, still cradling his hand, "But, whoever it is, they're strong—too strong—and I got the feeling that they didn't want me there—they kicked me out of his head…and they weren't delicate about it either."
"What do we do?"
"There is really nothing we can do, but wait until he wakes up," Misha sighed, staring down again at Kaspar's sleeping form,"I got the feeling that the visitor in Kaspar's dreams doesn't want to harm him—just be heard—and they're keeping Kaspar under until they've had their say."
# # # # #
"Did you have to be so rude?" Kaspar said with disdain, turning back to face his younger brother where they stood in the blindingly white room in his mind, "Misha was only—"
"The fewer people that know I'm here, the better," Luka replied with a shrug
"Just finish what you're here to say and be done with it…" Kaspar replied, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes, "So your ghost basically hitched a ride through when we opened the portal to spirit world and sent Esther back? And now you say that Dominic has somehow returned to Mystic Falls after a thousand years?"
"Yes," Luka affirmed,
"How?" Kaspar retorted, "He's dead."
"The sacred ground where his body rests has been disturbed, recently marked by death, and, as a result, the soil that Mother and Esther created to be his prison beneath the power of the Felghram star has released him."
"Oh my God," Kaspar whispered, closing his eyes in realization, "I didn't-it's been so long…I didn't even think… Matt Donovan's blood… He sacrificed his life so Klaus could live again in Ioan's body…it must have finally completed the spell I tried to do a thousand years ago."
Luka nodded, "The boy's sacrifice would have marked the ground and been the innocent blood needed to resurrect Dominic to mortal form again."
"This is my all my fault…" Kaspar whispered
"Kaspar, we need to focus..." Luka continued, trying to meet his brother's eyes, "you know the devastation Dominic caused when he was alive. He was a skilled and feared hunter on a mission from the spirits—"
"You both were," Kaspar added with a raised eyebrow
"Touche," Luka smirked, then after a moment continued, "So you know that we cannot let him roam free. Not only is it against the balance of nature—"
"Wait...hold on...you think because I am a necromancer, I don't understand the balance of nature?" Kaspar scoffed
"I think you let your personal feelings confuse what is natural and what is unnatural, yes...and then you use your magical gifts to change fate. Take Octavian for example, and how you ripped his soul out of Valhalla to bring back the Mikaelson boy and ease the pain of your friend's family or, better yet, when Dominic was slain—"
"And just what do you know about souls?" Kaspar shot back, "Thanks to the spirits, you don't even have one."
Luka narrowed his eyes, trying to decide whether he was impressed or hurt by his older brother's comment.
"Can we put up the white flag now?" he finally sighed and Kaspar nodded, relenting
Then after a few moments of silence, Kaspar spoke first.
"I understand what's at stake here," he sighed sadly, "And I understand what you're implying...and that you're right. My actions have brought this upon us and it's my responsibility to ensure that things are made right—that, if what you say is true, I do what I can to stop him—"
"And bring him down, no matter what your feelings?" Luka asked, still concerned
Kaspar nodded
"And bring him down…" he affirmed, "though I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do it. I reverse death, Luka, I don't—"
"That is why I am here. I may be able to help in that regard," Luka interjected, "You see, when I wasn't traveling around the world hunting vampires, werewolves and other unnatural creatures, I spent most of my mortal existence trying to decode something that never made sense to me from the beginning…"
There was a moment of silence as their eyes locked and Luka smirked as the middle-aged version of the brother Kaspar last saw as a teenager, held out his arm, riddled with spiraling tattoos featuring Norse imagery and an unknown symbolic language.
"Our tattoos," Luka finished, "I found out through centuries of research that they're not meaningless. In them lies our strength...but, also, our weakness."
Kaspar cocked his head, studying the inked arm his brother now presented to him, "You think that the key to stopping Dominic is on your arm?"
"Not my arm technically…" Luka replied, "His."
# # # # # #
Misha made his way quickly down the upstairs hallway.
Kaspar would be awake in another couple of hours if all went well, but until then, he needed answers to other questions.
Tossing his leather jacket over his shoulders as he reached the main staircase, the warlock stopped dead in his tracks as he suddenly came face-to-face with Rebekah and Kol as they ascended the stairs.
The original siblings froze on the top landing, too, when they saw him.
"Oh...Hi," Misha said in a low voice, a surprised look on his face
"'Hi', yourself..." Kol said, cocking his head curiously, studying the warlock
"Headed to bed?" Misha asked in a nervous voice
"Sort of..." Rebekah said, waving a stack of DVDs in her hand, "Kol and I thought we'd make it a 'Red Box' night."
"Sounds fun..." Misha said, clearly distracted
"And where are you headed so late in the evening?" Rebekah inquired, raising an eyebrow
"Uh...just out," Misha said quickly, zipping up the front of his jacket
"Are you alright, Mate?" Kol added in a low voice, studying Misha's face, his own suddenly filling with worry
"Fine," Misha lied, "I...I just need some...air...that's all. Too many memories kicking around inside my head to sleep."
Rebekah cast a glance at Kol out of the corner of her eye, causing them both to think about the earlier conversation downstairs about Misha's siblings.
"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Kol suggested, not knowing what else to say
"No..." Misha said, shoving his hands in his pockets, knowing that Liliya's spirit would meet him outside and go with him to Stephens woods, "I'll be fine. I won't go far, maybe just a walk around the block to clear the cobwebs."
"Okay," Rebekah smiled softly, then grabbed Kol's arm, pulling him out of the way so Misha could pass, watching as the warlock gave one last glance over his shoulder, before descending the stairs.
The siblings stood there in silence for a few moment, listening with their vampire hearing as Misha left the house, the front door closing behind him...
But they immediately looked at each other in shock when they heard something they didn't expect-something that caused them to move with vampire speed to the bay window at the end of the hallway.
# # # # #
"Well, I'll see you in the morning, Love?" Klaus smiled, gently releasing Caroline's hand and moving to step back toward the door to her bedroom
"Wait." Caroline said, quickly, stepping forward, reclaiming his hand in hers, "Don't...Don't leave me."
Klaus searched her eyes for a few moments.
He wanted nothing more than to stay with her, but his heart also ached for her and her loss.
Would he be taking advantage of her and he situation if he stayed?
"Caroline..." he whispered, disapprovingly
But Caroline ignored his comment, suddenly bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders, keeping eye contact with him as she stepped closer to him.
Klaus' breath caught in his chest as felt her pull him to her, all thoughts of keeping his distance from her dissipating as their eyes and souls connecting for what felt like an eternity before Caroline slowly leaned forward and captured his lips in hers.
Without thinking, Klaus growled, wrapping his hands tighter around her waist, drinking in her scent and the taste of the strawberry lip gloss dancing over his tongue as his mouth melded with hers, while Caroline moved her own hands to his shirt collar, grabbing tightly, pulling him closer...
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Initially, they ignored it, kissing passionately until Caroline sighed and found the strength to pull away, leaving both her and Klaus breathless as they stared at each other.
"Come in," she said finally, her eyes moving to the door as she tried to pull herself together
"And whoever it is," Klaus mumbled as he turned to follow her gaze, "I'm gonna kill them..."
Immediately, Rebekah opened the door and Klaus rolled his eyes.
"For the love of God, Rebekah, this better be another 'Mikaelson Family Emergency' or else-"
"It is an emergency," Rebekah said quickly, "Misha's gone!"
Klaus immediately released Caroline and moved toward his sister with worried eyes, "What do mean he's gone?!"
"Kol and I ran into him in the hallway just now...he was on his way out...he said something about needing to take a walk around the block," Rebekah said her voice, quickly turning to panic, "But his face...something was wrong, Nik!"
"And Misha didn't 'walk' anywhere," Kol interjected, coming to Rebekah's side at the threshold,"Bekah and I just watched him get into his car and drive off."
"But he would never leave Kaspar..." Klaus said, his eyes narrowing in thought
"Like I said, something's wrong, Nik," Rebekah insisted
Klaus gave a quick look to Caroline over his shoulder, then moved toward his siblings.
"Kol, you and Rebekah get the car. I'll get my jacket."
# # # # # #
"Oh...no...no..." Misha sighed, his chest clenching at the sight of the broken ground in the center of the Felghram star.
"So it's true," Liliya whispered as she watched Misha kneel down at the star's edge, touching the blood soaking the ground
"And it all comes full circle," the warlock whispered in a sad voice, taking in the sight at his feet
"What do you mean?" Liliya asked
"To release the dark soul and stop Esther, Kaspar had to trap Matt Donovan in the Felghram star, then do the rituals to send Octavian back to our ancestors," Misha replied, turning to look up at her, "But, Kaspar knew the human the dark soul was using as a vessel would die, so he convinced Matt Donovan to be the sacrifice we needed to not only send Octavian back, but balance the scales so we could resurrect Klaus in Ioan's body..."
Misha trailed off for a moment, closing his eyes in pain as he turned his head back to the Felghram star.
"It's ironic how easily Kaspar forgets his beginnings..." he finally whispered, opening his eyes again, "that his greatest sin was beneath his feet the whole time. And it's ironic that the boy's mortal blood completed a thousand year-old ritual Kaspar was never able to finish and inadvertently resurrected our vampire hunter brother, just when we thought we could breathe easy again."
"It sounds like something out of Greek mythology," Liliya said softly
"Or a television soap opera," Misha replied, pulling himself back up to his feet
"So what are we going to do?" Liliya asked, her voice growing with concern, "We can't just have a rogue vampire hunter in Mystic Falls. If he's out there we need to find him before..."
"He finds any vampires." Misha finished, then sighed, "I just wish Kaspar was awake so he could provide some insight on this and I really want to know who he's talking to in that noggin of his. But, you're right, we should track Dominic as soon as possible... but if we find him, then what? Elijah and Klaus took him down together a thousand years ago, but something tells me he's going to be alot harder to kill this time around."
"Nik, Elijah and the others are in danger," Liliya reasoned, "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Yeah, and hope that the natives didn't burn it down or booby trap it..." Misha mumbled
"Well," Liliya said, "I think we should come clean to the others and let them know what's going on before Dominic pays them a visit."
"Yeah...we should go," Misha said absentmindedly, giving one last look at the star, before turning to make his way back to the Jeep, "But, luckily we have some time, the mansion is on the far side of town and the only vampires between here and there are..."
Immediately he stopped, his eyes widening in fear as he quickly turned to Liliya.
"The Salvatores."
# # # # #
Damon gave one last look through the parlor doors to his sleeping brother on the couch, then turned off the light in the foyer and ascended the main staircase to the second floor of the mansion.
He had just made it inside his room and closed the door, when his vampire hearing picked up what sounded like a noise downstairs.
Damon narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, listening for signs that it might be Stefan...or someone else.
Just then Damon's pocket buzzed.
He sighed, quickly pulled it out of his jean pocket and checked the caller ID.
Not recognizing the number and concerned about his brother, he hit the Ignore button on the touchscreen and sheathed the phone back into his pocket before making his way back toward the bedroom door, pausing at the threshold for a moment, listening, before stealthily walking down the hall.
When he reached the top landing of the staircase, Damon looked cautiously over the railing, opening his sense of smell and hearing...
Then his pocket buzzed again.
Damon rolled his eyes and quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and saw the caller ID.
It was the mystery caller again.
Frustrated, Damon hit Answer and brought the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Damon, Thank god!" A relieved voice sounded on the other end of the line, "It's Misha."
"Look Mr. Warlock, now is not exactly a good time..." Damon whispered as he peered over the railing again and moved toward the top stairs, descending slowly
"Damon, you're in danger," Misha interjected, "There's no time to explain at length, but it's a vampire hunter... and he's probably on his way to your house right now-"
"Uh...I think he's already here..." Damon interrupted in a low whisper, his eyes widening as he slowed his descent to a halt on the stairs and took in the sight below...the front door to the mansion slightly ajar and moonlight beaming into the foyer.
"Damon, you have to listen to me," Misha said, his voice immediately turning urgent, "Don't do anything rash or stupid. This hunter is not like any other you've faced. Just, get Stefan and get-"
But, Damon lowered the phone before Misha could finish his sentence.
He'd be damned if he was going to let a human vampire hunter get the best of him in his own house...
As Damon reached the bottom landing and crept his way along the main hall, he continued to listen for the intruder, even hoping pick up his scent...but there was neither a noise, nor a scent to indicate where this hunter could be.
Damon narrowed his eyes.
That's unusual...
As he moved along the wall, he cautiously craned his head into the back parlor and immediately, his heart jumped into his throat, his face ashen as he dropped the phone on the marble floor.
"Damon..." Stefan whimpered, his body held in a tight grasp by the intruder.
He was a tall mulatto man with a muscular, who looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, with a scar over his right eye and tattoos spiraling down the side of his face and his bare arms. He was dressed in leather from head to toe, a sword his hip and a knife in a holder strap around his thigh.
But the only weapon Damon really took notice of was the wooden stake he had poised over his brother's heart with one hand, while he held him firmly around the throat with the other.
Damon's mind reeled.
If Stefan had been drinking bunnies again, it made sense that a human vampire hunter could overpower him like this.
But, Stefan had been drinking human blood for some time now...how was what Damon was seeing, possible?
"It's nice of you to join us," the man suddenly spoke in a thick Germanic accent, "Is there anyone else in the house?"
Damon shook his head.
"Good," Dominic smirked, then cast his eyes at Stefan, raising the stake poised over the younger Salvatore's heart, and before Damon could move forward, the vampire hunter struck.
"NO!!" Damon screamed, watching in horror as Dominic drove the stake straight through Stefan's heart and Stefan gasped in shock.
Damon angrily surged forward, determined to rip the hunter's head off, but Dominic stopped Damon's advanced with a swift block from his free arm, stunning him before taking hold of the older brother by the shirt collar and effortlessly tossing him across the room.
Dominic's eyes then moved back to Stefan as the vampires widened eyes, that were once focused on the hunter in shock, slowly began to gloss over and fade as his skin hardened, turning an ash gray and he stopped struggling.
Meanwhile, Damon groaned in anger as he quickly pulled himself to his feet from where he had fallen against a far wall, determined to have another go at the hunter.
But, he stopped immediately, his body overwhelmed with shock and intense grief, when his eyes fell upon Dominic as the hunter finally released Stefan from his grip and his baby brother fell lifeless to the floor, the stake still protruding from his chest.
"Now that I have your attention," Dominic said, turning swiftly toward Damon, "I want you to deliver a message to my brothers for me..." then smirked, "Man må dø, slik at man kan leve."
Damon immediately stepped forward, his senses returning, but in a burst of speed that could rival a vampire, the hunter was gone.
"Stefan!" Damon cried, his voice breaking as he flew to his brother's side, taking him into his arms.
"Stefan," he whispered again, but, it didn't take Damon long to realize that his brother was beyond help as he brought his hand to Stefan's face and tentatively felt his hardened gray skin.
"No..." Damon whispered, his eyes moving from Stefan's face to the stake in his chest as his mind wrapped around the idea that his brother was dead, "You can't leave me...Please, brother..."
It was almost as if he was waiting for his brother to answer as Damon studied Stefan's still face for a few moments, the tears quickly filling his eyes.
He sobbed uncontrollably as he pulled his little brother to him, just as he had always done when Stefan was little and had woken in the night from a nightmare in the room they shared as young boys, cradling Stefan's head to his chest as he rocked back and forth.
The movement had always comforted Stefan, but this time, it wasn't Stefan who needed the comforting...
# # # # #
Ten miles away, in the front seat of his parked Jeep, Misha sighed, tears coming to his own eyes as he finally hung up his end of the phone.
Even after Damon had dropped the phone in the hallway, Misha had heard everything...
Stefan's gasp...
Damon's scream...
Dominic's words...
And the sound of an older brother's unfathomable grief.