Chapter 16

Mystic Falls

Mystic Falls, a small town in Virginia at first glance resembled every other small town we drove through. Nice little houses with clean-cut lawns and large porches, park areas with bushy trees, a cemetery along the road, and cute shops with slightly outdated clothes and handmade knickknacks.

Bella gave me instructions, finally deciding to let Bonnie be the witch to perform a ritual. She arranged for us to meet at the boarding house before going to the Salvatore family crypt. I could see Bella was getting anxious the closer we were getting to her house.

"Take the next right and you'll see it." Bella gave me the last instruction.

It came into my view exactly as she said it would. A long two-story house, definitely one of the older buildings that I've seen today, with a long driveway and tall green trees all around it. I've seen it before, Bella had projected the beautiful manor into my head on a few occasions, but not one of them really did it justice.

I parked my car next to a garage and turned my head to view the beautiful woman beside me, she was once again chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at her house.

"Here's to nothing." She mumbled and opened her door, a signal for all of us to get out as well.

"I love this place!" Alice squeaked. "It would make a really…"

She stopped herself abruptly.

"Almost forgot, you aren't supposed to know that yet."

"Thanks, Ali." I sighed. "Way to be supportive."

"The idea will come to Bella in a few months, maybe a year if you don't interfere with my visions."

"Alice, kindly, shut up." Bella snapped. "Okay, let's go inside."

Our little group entered the house, and Bella led us through the hallway and into the living room, where a group of people were already waiting for us. Bella, the only one who could control her extraordinary hearing looked a little stunned.

"I said don't tell anyone unless it works!" Bella exclaimed, her anger directed at Bonnie.

"I didn't tell your brothers, but since we have this whole community here already, why not bring them in on this? Besides, it's not really on me. Caroline heard us speaking on the phone, and well, she invited everyone."

"Thanks!" The blond vampire spoke. "Do you throw all your friends in front of the bus or just me?"

Caroline smiled at Alice, which brought a vision of the two shopaholics reuniting for a spree. Caroline had a large two-seat stroller in Alice's vision, the latter pointing at the baby shops they "absolutely" needed to visit.

"Elena is my family, if we're bringing her back, I have to be there." An older tall male, with dirty blond hair and sunken eyes, spoke. His thoughts were the only ones I could read. It almost felt like a breath of fresh air. Alaric Saltsman, the father of the two girls Caroline had.

I could see the memories that Elena's name brought in Alaric's mind. He watched her grow, change into a vampire, cry for the loss of a loved one, time and time again, graduate school, go to college. He viewed Elena as his daughter, even if he never admitted it to himself or anyone else.

"I'm Elena's brother, Jeremy." The other male, much younger, whose thoughts were also hidden, spoke up.

"Edward, Bella's boyfriend." I put up my hand.

"Hello?" Another male voice sounded from behind me.

"Tyler?" Caroline asked confused.

I noticed Bella's frustrated face turning into a furious one. The way she looked at the newcomer clearly said there was some bad blood between them.

"I had to check in on the pack that's staying in Mystic Falls, saw Matt at the grill and he told me what you guys were planning. Any way I could help?" The man asked.

Tyler was around the same age as the rest of the teenagers, he had raven black hair and almost black eyes in color, strict and chiseled facial features, and had the same smell as Klaus. He must be one of his hybrids, which I guess would make sense for him to check on a werewolf pack here. Or maybe not? I still wasn't completely sure about the relationship between pure werewolves and hybrids.

I looked around the room, finally taking notice of how large this supernatural community was. Vampires, a hybrid, a witch, and whatever that Jeremy kid was that protected him from my gift. What the hell was it with small suburban towns in the middle of nowhere that attracted so many supernatural things to them?

"It's exactly that, brother." Alice chimed in my thought process. Aloud for some reason. "There's barely any government officials, no military, no research centers. People are free to live and roam and do their own thing."

I shifted my head in disbelief.

"Fine," she agreed. "This town is seriously messed up with all the supernatural stuff going on here, but my explanation is exactly the reason why our family only settles in small towns, and why Denalis live in a butthole of Alaska."

"Mystic Falls have ties to major supernatural events from the past, some of them work as a sort of magnetic field to supernatural creatures." Bonnie shook her shoulders. "It's inevitable, spiritually talking."

"And I'm pretty sure the reason why you cannot hear anyones thoughts but Alaric's is witchcraft." Alice answered my second question.

"It makes sense. Both werewolves and vampires were created by witches." Bella chimed in. "And Bonnie can keep you out of her mind with magic, but Jeremy..."

"i bet it's the ring!" Jeremy Gilbert showed everyone a ring on his thumb. It was intricately designed, with a family crest melted into it. "If someone kills me while I'm wearing it, I can come back to life."

"Excuse me?" I said shocked. Humans couldn't just come back to life, certainly not because of a ring.

Jeremy took off the ring then and I could see him dying, even as a memory, it was a creepy experience. The kid was right, however, the magical ring was his shield from my gift, and as soon as it was back on his finger, his mind was once again veiled.

"It's so different now," Victoria spoke for the first time. She kept glancing toward Tyler, and the vibrant thoughts in Alice's head, who had noticed it too, gave away her previous statements about our redhead friend's future.

"You're from here?" Caroline asked surprised.

"I…" Victoria shook. "I grew up a few miles away from this house, actually. Back in my time, we just called it the Waterfall Village. Many places were known because of their biggest landmarks. I haven't been back here since the founders massacred all those vampires in 1864."

"Everyone, this is my friend Victoria." Alice took everyone's attention. "She has agreed to help us, very generous of her, may I add."

"Should we head into the tomb?" Alaric stood up.

"I'll need some time to prepare. We'll do it at midnight." Bonnie commandeered. "Victoria, would you come with me?"

Victoria nodded, some anxiety in her thoughts, which was almost immediately swiped away when Tyler volunteered to keep her company. I smiled at Alice. That little devil knew exactly what she was doing.

"Why don't I show you around town?" Bella asked eagerly. "Alice, you want to come?"

"Caroline and I have some shopping to do." Alice clapped. "I'll grab the stroller."

Alice gracefully waltzed further into the house, knowing exactly where she would find what she was looking for.

"Is this a good idea?" Alaric asked Caroline very concerned.

"Relax, daddy, I trust her 100%, and our girls could siphon her dry before she ever has a chance to do anything anyway." Caroline chuckled, patting Alaric's hand.

"Alice can see the future, she would never put herself in a situation where she lost control," I added.

Alaric rubbed his head. "I didn't mean that. My place is overcrowded with the amount of clothes the girls have. Care is bad enough on her own, and judging by the excitement I've just seen…"

"I'll be modest!" Alice yelled from somewhere inside the house.

"No, she won't," I warned the man. "But you can't do anything about the shopping anymore, her mind is set."

"I'll head home, and rearrange some things to fit the new clothes." Alaric groaned. "Some help, Jer?"

Jeremy stood up, following Alaric out of the house. Caroline and Alice left a few minutes later with a gigantic stroller and two sleeping babies in their arms. I was happy to be left alone with Bella, it was as though I was holding my breath this entire time and I could finally take a breath.

"Where would you like to start your tour?" I asked, pulling Bella closer to me by her waist.

"Mhm…" She bit her lower lip and looked up to me. "I was thinking we start with my bedroom."

"Oh, Miss Salvatore, how naughty of you."

"The next part of my tour will include a practical lesson on how to become even naughtier…" Bella whispered.

I slipped my hands down to her hips and leaned down to kiss her and at the same moment, she rushed from underneath me with a giggle. I chuckled and ran after her.

Sometime later, Bella and I were lying on the floor of her bedroom. Her head resting peacefully on my chest, my hand lazily massaging her scalp.

It smelled foresty in here. Her bed sheets that somehow slipped from their original place were lying underneath and around us. I wasn't completely sure I would be able to get out of the cocoon of sheets anymore.

"I must say, I really enjoyed your lessons."

Bella chuckled. "Next time you have to teach me something."

"I'll take this into consideration, love." I left a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Is it bad if I don't feel even remotely guilty that we haven't taken a tour around your town?"

"I certainly don't."

Bella and I went to the Salvatore Crypt at the local cemetery that we passed by this morning around 11. Bella was eager to start, and even though I reminded her that there was nothing she would be doing tonight besides waiting, it didn't stop her from becoming more anxious the closer we came to the crypt.

The night was dark, and clouds that covered the sky during the entire day never left. Even the moon's shine was barely seen through their thickness. Not that we had any problem seeing in the dark, it just gave this night a bigger feel of mystery and magic.

It would be the first time I see a real witch use their magic, and I was very excited by the idea of it. As an old immortal creature, I used to think I'd seen most of the things life had to offer, but Bella was proving me wrong once again.

Right outside the massive beautiful stone crypt, Victoria greeted us with a small smile, I noticed she was standing close to Tyler, while another heartbeat was somewhere deep inside the construction.

"She is almost ready," Tyler spoke calmly.

Victoria tensed, I could see the fight or flight conflict inside her brain, and prepared myself. However, I was immediately surprised when her mind relaxed and she focused on one specific thing, Tyler's hand on her upper arm.

"Are you okay?"

Victoria looked at him and silently nodded, she turned toward the crypt and went inside, and the man instantly followed her.

"So, you want to meet the rest of my family?" Bella's joke was dark, but I welcomed it. If it helped her get past her anxiety about this ritual business, so be it.

I gave her hand a tight squeeze and we went inside, soon enough the crypt was filled with people. Bonnie flicked her hand and the oil torches around the room lit up. That was truly a wonder, although it seemed like I was the only one who truly appreciated it.

"Close your mouth! Just wait to see what she does next!" Pixie's voice rang in my head and I rolled my eyes.

I put my attention to the young witch in front of me. Her lips were shut tight, eyes not moving from the coffin in front of her, she nodded to Jeremy and Alaric and the two men opened it.

Inside was a pretty girl, looking just like the older school picture of her Jasper found on the internet. It was truly a marvelous sight, her skin was untouched by any resemblance of death, and yet her heart wasn't beating. She looked peaceful as though she was just sleeping.

Bonnie placed her hand in front of Victoria, and reluctantly the redhead took it. Bonnie then took Elena's hand in hers and closed her eyes. The witch's head turned upward and for the first few seconds, I could only hear her deep breaths.

"I can feel it…" Victoria spoke suddenly, her voice slashing the quiet atmosphere around us.

Bonnie started chanting then, Bella was right, the witch's language had a lot of resemblance with Latin. The wind appeared out of nowhere but somehow didn't have any effect on the torch fire.

I closed my mouth with my hand, trying to prevent myself from screaming when I noticed golden lines in the shapes of ropes tying Victoria and Elena's hands together through Bonnie. That was real magic, not a voodoo impersonator performance, illusionist show or magicians' poor tricks, pure real wizardry.

Bonnie's chants grew louder, I felt like I could almost touch the energy flowing through the tightly packed room. Once again I was shocked that noone seemed as astounded as I was. This wasn't something you see every day…Or maybe it was for them? Bella simply looked anxious and was watching Elena's body like a hawk.

Meanwhile Bonnie continued chanting, her voice grew louder, her tone more ominous, her head lulled back and I smelled blood. Even though Bonnie's scent wasn't very appetizing, I still held my breath, Alice and Victoria did the same, smart women…A second later the room filled with golden light that was previously connecting Victoria with Elena. It was as though thousands of fireflies burst into the crypt.

Bonnie's head lulled backward even more, her knees shook and I rushed in front to catch her before she fell to the ground. "I'm okay," Bonnie whispered tired.

"Did it work?" Alaric asked, his head sticking out from the small crowd of people.

I raised my eyes to the coffin, at that exact moment the previously dead-looking girl took a deep breath and raised herself on her hands.

I looked back to Bella, her hands still clenched to her mouth, she was staring at Elena with mixed emotions. "It sure did."

We're almost at the end! Second to last chapter. Please review!