AN: Sorry for the delay and the grammatical errors. I rewrote this chapter several times and this is revision that I liked the best. Enjoy.
"...and the princess and the prince lived happily ever after. The End," Caroline cooed softly as she shut the children's book and placed it faced down on the nightstand.
As she rose from the edge of the small bed, she stared down at Josie and Lizzie and felt a small smile creep across her lips. An hour earlier, she had showered and had been preparing to put her daughters to bed, but they had insisted on her reading them a bed time story. The twins had been energetic and awake when Caroline had first cracked open the book, but now they were sound asleep. Adjusting their blankets so that they were more comfortable, the blonde vampire begin to think back on the day that had been filled with tears, protests and anger. Relocating her little family from Mystic Falls to the small neighborhood outside of Richmond hadn't been easy. Not only had Caroline been forced to tolerate Damon's snark and severely annoying personality, but she had to deal with her twins who hadn't been in the best mood. Josie had cried the entire ride to the safe house and Lizzie had given Caroline nothing but attitude. Alaric had tried his best to reassure the twins that the move was temporary and for their benefit, but they had been too emotional to understand and neither Alaric or Caroline had the heart to tell them the truth.
How do you explain to two young girls that they had to temporarily move out of their childhood home because they were danger? How do you tell them that the uncle that was responsible for slaughtering their entire coven, including their mother, had somehow managed to come back from the dead so that he could finish what he had started? Not only would the truth terrify them, it would traumatize them for life, and neither parent wanted to put their kids through that. Instead of telling them the truth, Caroline had sat both girls down and reassured them that she and their father loved them more than anything in the world and no matter what happened, they would always be together.
As she placed a gentle kiss on their foreheads, she felt the tremendous love that she had for the twins mingle in with her deep rooted guilt. She hated that she had to disrupt her children's life and move them to a place that was completely foreign to them, but deep down, she knew it was for the best. Taking one last look at her sleeping daughters, Caroline walked out of the room and secured the door closed behind her.
Making her way downstairs, she walked into the kitchen and found Alaric sitting at the kitchen table in front of his laptop with a concentrated look on his ruggedly handsome face. She knew that he wanted nothing more than to be upstairs cuddling with his daughters while they rested. Unfortunately, he was focused on learning how Kai had managed to escape from hell and he wasn't prepared to rest until he found the answers he was searching for. Peeking over his shoulder, she noticed that he was currently starring at the security footage that he had pulled up at the Armory. From the looks of it, he was examining the heretics point of entry closely as he searched for some clue that would give him insight into Kai's unfortunate resurrection. Alaric had revealed to her that if he could find a way to return Kai back to his eternal home in the seventh circle of hell where here belonged, Kai would be unable to hurt his precious daughters, but so far he wasn't having any luck finding anything that would help him.
"Damn it," he exploded angrily.
His sudden outburst caused Caroline to gasped startled before slowly backing away from him. He opened his mouth to apologize to her, but she smiled and shook her head silently telling him that she was fine and she understood his frustration. Exhaling sharply, he grabbed his beer and took a generous swig of his beer. Kai's return was bringing up some difficult emotions that he had tried locking away years ago. Licking the foam off the top of his lip, he sighed as his mind drifted back to the couple of months he had spent getting wasted in Amsterdam after Jo's death. It had been some of the most painful and excruciating weeks of his life. While he had been drowning his grief at the bottom of every bottle he came across, Damon had been right beside him stopping him when he had been dangerously close to getting alcohol poisoning. The corners of his lips curled up in slight amusement as he recalled how Damon had attempted to make him feel better by describing in great detail how he had ended the murderous Gemini's life. The Bourbon loving vampire had thought that reminding Ric of Kai's brutal death would somehow help ease some of the pain he had felt while mourning, but the truth was that it only made Ric envious that he hadn't been able to kill Kai himself.
"You have been looking at that screen ever since we got here. When are you going to take a break and get some rest?"
Alaric lifted his eyes and took a moment to observe the concern vampire who had her arms folded across her chest. Her blonde hair was wet and fell around her shoulder and she was wearing a fluffy pink robe indicating that she had just taken a shower. He smiled fondly as he caught the scent of lavender and honey radiating from her skin as she walked past him and pulled a blood bag out of the icebox. He missed the feeling of being domesticated. Even though he tried to keep his heart shut to the neurotic blonde vampire, there were times were he couldn't help but wish that she had followed through with their engagement. Even though he was still in love with Jo, he knew that in time, Caroline could have found a place in his heart and would have made a great wife to him and a loving and constant mother to their daughters. Not liking the directions his thoughts was turning, he cleared his throat and sat up straight.
"You don't have to worry about me, Caroline," Alaric reminded dryly. "Need I remind you that I am a grown man and I will crash and burn in my bed when I see fit."
Caroline scrunched her face in an effort to keep from rolling her eyes. Alaric had the bad habit of being cranky and petulant when he was faced with finding impossible answers to questions that he couldn't seem to shake. When he had told her about his plan to discover how Kai managed to free himself, she had thought that his line of inquiry was pointless. She simply assumed that whatever loophole that the psychopath used to wiggle his way back into their lives was something that was a one in a million fluke and trying to figure it out was nothing but a major waste of time.
"Sitting down here all night trying to figure out how Kai resurrected himself is not going to get us anywhere. Our beautiful daughters are upstairs sleeping peacefully in their bed and their father, my friend, is sitting down here worrying himself to death over something that is out of our hands. Excuse me if I'm just trying to make sure that you are okay," she huffed frustrated.
"People just don't come back from the dead without some reasonable explanation, Caroline. If I can find out how Kai made it possible to be back in the land of the living, the sooner I can send him back to where he was," Alaric explained wearily.
The blonde sighed softly as she squeezed his shoulders tenderly before continuing her trek across the kitchen. There was no point in arguing with a man who was as stubborn as a mule. She was emotionally drained and she simply didn't have the energy. Reaching inside of the refrigerator, she retrieved the milk and cream before setting it firmly on the counter. After searching through several cupboards, she retrieved a small bag of sugar and she felt her mouth water at the promise of her favorite hot beverage.
"I take it from the fact that you are sitting in here all by your lonesome that Damon is gone," she said changing the subject as she lifted the coffee pot and poured the hot brew into her favorite mug. The raven haired vampire had been there when she had disappeared upstairs to put the girls to bed and she was puzzled to find that he was no longer in the house.
"He went back to Mystic Falls," the Occult professor mumbled as he queued the footage up to the point where Kai had made his appearance into the Armory. He bit back a growl and pinched the bridge of his nose as he failed to find anything out of the ordinary. Kai hadn't come through some hellish portal or anything suspicious. He had simply walked through the front door like any other ordinary person.
"Why didn't Damon just stay the night and head back to Mystic Falls in the morning?" she asked as she sat across from him at the table.
"With Kai on the loose, we didn't think it would be safe for Bonnie on her own for too long," he explained with a sigh as slumped deeper into his chair. It wasn't exactly a lie, but he knew that he couldn't actually tell Caroline the truth and reveal that Sybil was holding Enzo hostage and Damon was currently looking for a way to diffuse the situation. Not only did Damon swear him to secrecy, but Alaric knew that if Caroline was to find out that her friend's boyfriend was in danger, she would freak out and that's the last thing that he needed.
Caroline took a long and noisy sip of her coffee before narrowing her cornflower blue eyes at Alaric curiously.
"If he was really that concern for her safety, why didn't he just bring her here to the safe house?" she murmured licking sugar and cream off her silver spoon.
Alaric stared at her feeling exhausted and drained. Why does she have to be so damn inquisitive?
"I don't know, Caroline," he said impatiently, "If you don't mind, I'm trying to concentrate."
If Caroline detected the annoyance in his voice, she didn't let it bother her as she stared off in space with a pensive look on her pretty face. She couldn't help but feel a overwhelming sense of sympathy and sorrow as Bonnie's face crossed her mind. In the midst of all the chaos, Caroline never took a moment to stop and think about how Kai's return would affect her friend. Even though Kai had made it his mission to traumatize all their lives, Bonnie was constantly on the receiving end of his physical and mental torment. Knowing that her nemesis was alive was bound to negatively affect Bonnie and Caroline felt terrible that she couldn't be there to comfort her.
Glancing at the clock, she sighed softly as she realized that it was slowly approaching midnight and Bonnie was probably already sleep which meant that calling her was out of the question. She made a mental note to make contact with her the next day so she could learn how Bonnie was handling things and do whatever she could to help get her through this difficult time in her life.
"Listen, Caroline. I didn't mean to snap at you," Alaric apologized when he notice that the blonde vampire's mood had darkened, "I think this whole Kai situation got me on edge."
Caroline flashed him a tiny smile as she nodded. "It's okay. I understand, Ric. You are worried for our daughters and you have every right to be. Kai's return is affecting a lot of people and the sooner he is gone, the sooner we can all move forward with our lives. I understand why you are worrying yourself sick in finding a solution, but I need you to know that you don't have to do all of this on your own. You and I aren't just co parents," she reminded him softly, "We are partners, and we are friends. You don't have to shoulder this burden alone. It's just like I told our baby girls...we are in this together."
Alaric reached across the table and covered Caroline's free hand with his before returning her smile. Sometimes her sunny optimism and her upbeat attitude could annoy him, but right now it was much needed. He had the bad habit of trying to solve difficult issues on his own and every now in then he had to be reminded that he wasn't alone.
The tender moment was interrupted by the sound of Caroline's phone chirping loudly. Her face twisted in confusion as she wondered who could possibly be calling at such a late hour. Reaching into the pocket of her robe, she pulled out her phone and her confusion turned into concern as a picture of Bonnie's beaming face flashed across the screen.
"That's weird," she said as she withdrew her hand from Alaric, "I was just thinking about her."
Alaric arched an eyebrow curiously.
"It's Bonnie," she mouthed before answering the call. "Hey, Bon. What's up?"
There was a brief pause.
"What do you mean that you have been trying to call Enzo and he hasn't been answering? When was the last time you spoke to him?" she murmured sitting up straighter in her chair.
Alaric begin to massage the back of his neck anxiously. He had a feeling that things were about to go very bad very fast.
"Damon told you what?" Caroline exclaimed, her pretty features twisting in confusion, "Obviously the Bourbon is rotting his brain. The last time I saw Enzo was at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant."
Swallowing deeply, Alaric from the chair and made his way over to the refrigerator before grabbing another beer.
"Calm down, sweetie," Caroline cooed soothingly, "I'll find out what's going on and I will call you back. Everything's going to be alright. I promise."
After hanging up with the frantic Bennett witch, Caroline placed the phone face down on the table before groaning deeply.
"What's going on?" he mumbled as he pretended to be oblivious to what her conversation with Bonnie had been about.
"Bonnie is freaking out," she frowned as she combed her fingers through her damp blonde hair frustrated. "Apparently she can't find Enzo and for some reason, Damon told her that he was helping us relocate to the safe house. Damon didn't say anything to you about this, did he?"
Alaric forced a smile and was fully prepared to lie, but for the briefest second a shadow of guilt flashed across his face. If he was sitting in front of any other person, the look on his face might have gone unnoticed, but Caroline wasn't just anyone. She had known him for years and she was very perceptive. He could tell by the way her eyes narrowed in suspicion that she was starting to catch on to his deception.
"Alaric," she growled, her voice low and suspicious, "What the hell is going on?"
"Caroline, I gave Damon my word that I would keep my mouth shut. I owe it to him to keep that promise. Especially since he help us relocate," Alaric protested desperately.
Before he could even blink, Caroline had used her vampire agility to move into his personal space. Her lips were set in a straight line and her blue eyes were flashing dangerously. "Ric, I need you to know that I don't give a rat's ass what you promised Damon," she smiled, her words sweet but toxic, "Bonnie is really upset and worried about Enzo. He's not just the man she loves, but I also consider him to be a friend of mine and if something bad has happened to him, you need to tell me right now."
"Caroline," he tried, but he stopped when she moved closer to him with a stubborn look marring her porcelain face.
"What happened to Enzo?" she insisted impatiently. "Is he in danger?"
When Ric refused to meet her gaze, Caroline felt a shiver dance down her spine and her breath caught in her throat as her hand flew up to her mouth.
"Oh my god," she whispered as she stared at him in horror, "Did something happened to him? Is he like dead, dead?"
If the situation wasn't so dire, Alaric would have burst out laughing at the cartoon expression on the blonde vampire's face. His amusement faded as he saw the fear and panic reflecting in her eyes. He knew that if he didn't tell her the truth, she would continue to assume the worst and the last thing he wanted was for Caroline to spend all night on the phone with Bonnie speculating on what may or may not have happened to Enzo.
"If I tell you what's going on, you have to promise me that you won't say anything to Bonnie," he said warningly.
"I'm not going to promise no such thing, Ric. You are going to tell me what's going on, or so help me god, I will shove that beer bottle in one of two very uncomfortable places," she threatened evenly.
Alaric bristled noticeably, but when she spotted the look of resignation in his eyes, Caroline knew that she had won this battle.
"Earlier today, Dorian and I were working at the Armory when Enzo stopped by. He was worried about Bonnie being left unprotected so I let him borrow a magical pendant that would keep her safe," the Occult professor revealed, "Unfortunately, Sybil ambushed us and threatened to eat me if Enzo didn't come with her willingly."
"What the hell does she want with him?" Caroline exclaimed confused, "I thought that she was fixated on Damon."
Alaric shook his head as he made his way around the table and stood next to the seething vampire.
"She said she wanted to exchange Enzo for Elena, so I think it's just another way for her to manipulate Damon. She also said something that makes me think that she has another hidden motive," he expressed troubled.
Caroline folded her arms across her chest and stared at him intently.
"Don't leave me hanging. What exactly did that supernatural skank say?" she exclaimed. Alaric snorted not surprised by Caroline's pettiness. "She accused Enzo of not being too disgusted by her when he crawled into her bed," he said sounding revulsed.
Caroline made a gagging noise as she shut her eyes briefly.
"Okay. I totally did not need that disgusting image in my head," she grumbled feeling disgusted as she toyed with her mug of lukewarm coffee in her hands. "I can't believe Enzo cheated on Bonnie."
As she paced back in forth across the kitchen floor, her mind begin to race frantically. It was bad enough that the crazy siren was using Enzo as a pawn in some sick and intricate plan to get her claws into Damon, but to know that Enzo and Sybil had done the nasty was relatively worse. Bonnie had a bad history when it came to men and betrayal. Her father hadn't been there for the times where she had needed him the most, Jeremy had cheated on her with a ghost, Damon had desiccated for three years leaving her alone and now Enzo had apparently stuck is undead fountain pen inside of Sybil's supernatural inkwell. Between Kai's unfortunate return and this new information about Enzo's infidelity, Bonnie was going to be completely devastated and Caroline couldn't help but feel frustrated that their wasn't anything she could do to protect her friend from the impending fallout.
Actually, there is one thing you can do, a tiny little voice in the back of her head sang softly, You can actually do what her best friend Damon failed to do and tell her the truth.
Walking back to the table, she made a move to grab her phone when Alaric intercepted it and held it out of her reach.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she screeched.
"You were about to call Bonnie," he said accusingly, "You can't do that."
Caroline folded her arms across her chest and pouted unhappily.
"I understand that Damon is your friend and you feel like your loyalty is to him, but Bonnie is my friend," she whined, "The love of her life is being held by that psycho siren and she is back in Mystic Falls with no idea of what's going on. You can't stand there and tell me that you honestly think that keeping this secret is fair to her."
Alaric slammed his fist on the kitchen counter in frustration causing Caroline mouth to snap shut.
"Of course I don't think keeping this secret is fair to Bonnie," he growled, his eyes flashing with anger, "Damon didn't make this decision lightly and despite what you think, he's not doing any of this to hurt her. He is keeping this secret to protect her. If Bonnie finds out that Sybil has taken Enzo hostage, you and I both know that she isn't going to sit around and wait for Damon to come up with a plan to get him back," he argued frustrated, "She is going to do whatever it takes to get him back and that includes rushing into a dangerous situation blindly without any back up and no means to protect herself."
The blonde vampire opened her mouth to protest, but stopped abruptly when she realized that Ric had a point. When Bonnie had her magic, people didn't worry too much about the fact that she boldly walked into the line of fire because she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Now that she was without her magic and powerless, she knew that Bonnie taking on Sybil alone wouldn't just be bad, it would be a blood bath and while she had mourned the death of her friend several times in the past, Caroline wasn't in the mood nor did she have the patience to have to mourn her anytime soon. Still, it didn't sit right with her to keep her in the dark. Especially given the fact that Sybil was dangerous and has tortured and manipulated Enzo in the past.
"Damon promised me that he would find away to make things right that doesn't involve giving Elena up or leaving Enzo hanging out to dry. We have to trust him and give him time to fix this," Alaric coaxed gently.
Caroline stared at him feeling frustrated.
"If someone took our daughters and held them hostage and Bonnie knew about it and didn't tell us, would you ever forgive her?" she asked pointedly.
Alaric's face twisted in confusion. "Of course not, but you can't stand there and compare some hypothetical situation to what's going on right now."
"Why not?" she challenged quietly, "Bonnie loves Enzo as much as we love Josie and Lizzie. If something was to ever happen to our baby girls, and Bonnie knew that they were in danger and didn't tell us, we would never forgive her so how do you expect her to forgive us if we keep this a secret and something happens to Enzo?"
Alaric sighed tiresomely as he realized that Caroline was right. No matter how they tried to justify it, Bonnie didn't deserve to be left in the dark.
"You do know if you tell her, Damon is going to be furious," Alaric pointed out as he handed Caroline her phone back.
The blonde shrugged indifferently. "We will deal with him later. Right now, I'm going to do the right thing and let my friend know the truth."
Before Alaric could try to change her mind, Caroline turned on the balls of her heels and stalked out of the kitchen.
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"Bonnie! Bonnie! Are you there?"
The woman in question stared down at her phone that was currently lying on the carpeted floor of her bedroom with a look of utter belief and anger etched deeply in her face. When she had gone to bed earlier that night, she had been hoping to get some much needed sleep, but something in her gut had prevented her from reaching the peak of her REM wasn't until she had rolled over and stared at the empty space next to her that she realized that her restlessness was coming from the fact that Enzo was not lying next to her and her intuition had warned her that something was though Damon had told h er that Enzo, Caroline, and Alaric had committed to complete radio silence while relocating to the safehouse, Bonnie had felt compelled to reach out to the blonde vampire in hopes of being reassured that Enzo was safe and sound. When Caroline had answered the phone revealing she had no idea where or what Enzo was up to, Bonnie had felt her heart plummet inside the pit of her stomach.
After desperately pleading for her friend to find out whatever information she could involving Enzo, Caroline had returned her call and had revealed two things that had left Bonnie deeply disturbed. The first being that Enzo was being held captive by Sybil and the second was the fact that Damon had lied straight to her face. She couldn't believe that Damon would be so cruel. She knew that he was pissed at her because of the fight that they had earlier, but that was no excuse for him to keep her in the dark when it came down to Enzo's well being.
"Bonnie, I'm so sorry. Tell me what I can do," Caroline's voice cackled from the other end of the phone.
Bonnie ignored Caroline as she struggled to process everything. Lowering herself down on the edge of her bed and buried her face inside of her hands struggling not to scream in rage. She had spent so much time fighting and clawing to get Enzo out of Sybil's possession, and now they were back to where they had started. Sybil with her claws deep her man, and Bonnie with no way to find him and bring him back to her. For a moment, Bonnie allowed herself to wallow in self pity. Was she curse? Had she done something horrific in another life that was making her suffer in this one? What possible reason could the universe have to continue to allow her to suffer when all she ever wanted was to do good and protect those who weren't capable of protecting themselves. She was a good person. Honorable, noble, selfless, yet here she was terrified that she was about to lose the man she love. To make matters worse, she had to face the act that that she had been double crossed by her best friend.
"Bonnie Bennett. You got three seconds to answer me, or I will-" Caroline never got a chance to finish her sentence. Bonnie rose from the bed and picked up the phone and hung up on her abruptly. She knew that Caroline didn't deserve the silent treatment, nor did she deserve being dismissed so coldly, but Bonnie didn't have the time or the head space to worry about the blonde's feelings. She was too busy feeling furious with Ric and Damon for keeping Enzo's precarious situation a secret from her. They were treating her like a child who didn't have the strength it took to handle bad news. They were treating her like she was fragile and weak. They were treating her like she was Elena and not only was that hurtful and insulting, it was absolutely unacceptable and she had every intention of making them pay for their deception when this was all over.
Struggling to keep her emotions in check, she dialed Damon's number, which she knew by heart, and waited with bated breath for the other line to pick up. When Damon's voicemail kicked on, Bonnie felt her anger intensify exponentially.
"You listen to me, you son of a bitch," she hissed, her voice soft and lethal, "I don't know where the hell you are, but I just found out that Enzo has been taken captive by Sybil and you knew about. You knew and you lied straight through your duplicitous teeth. I don't know why I ever though that you could change. You are nothing more than a lying, selfish, manipulative bastard who always put his needs before anyone else. I get that you would never turn Elena over in an exchange for Enzo, but that didn't mean that I didn't deserve to know that he had been taken! If you would have just grew a pair and told me, we could have find another way to save him. Instead, you took the cowards way out and kept it from me and now because of you he may be... ." She took a breath to calm herself. She had been angry at Damon before and many times in the past, but this anger was something entirely different. This was a deep and intense kind of uncontrollable anger. This was rage. " You better hope and pray that nothing happens to him, because if it does, I will never forgive you."
Ending the call, she dropped the phone and calmly smashed it into several pieces beneath her heel with one well placed stomp of her right foot. The second she destroyed her phone, she knew it was a mistake, but she needed an outlet for her aggravation. As she began to pace back and forth frantically, her mind raced as she tried to figure out how she could find Enzo and save him on her own. She knew that planning a one woman mission to get him back wasn't the smartest option considering the fact that she was powerless and didn't own a single weapon to defend herself. However, she refused to sit back and do nothing hoping that when the chips fell, they would land in Enzo's favor. She wanted to be proactive and that meant if she had to go the Boarding House and grab Damon and force him to help her turn Mystic Falls upside down, then that is what she was going to do.
Reaching into the closet, she grabbed a light jacket before sliding her feet into her sneakers. Walking past the nightstand, she scooped up the keys to her house and car and headed downstairs.
As she made her way into towards the front door, she stopped when something strange caught her eye. Turning around, she was puzzled to find that the light from the living room was still on. When she had came downstairs to lock up the house after Stefan's mysterious departure, she was certain that she had turned the lamp off. The fact that it was now buzzing brighter than ever could only mean one thing. She had an unexpected visitor.
Making her way down the hall, she maneuvered her house key between her index and middle knuckle just in case she needed to use it as a weapon to defend herself from the late night intruder that had decided to pay her a visit.
"There's no need for violence, Ms. Bennett," a soft and kind voice greeted her as she walked into her living room, "I come in peace."
"Oh god!" Bonnie felt her heart leap in her throat as she whirled around to find Cade sitting in the huge red burgundy arm chair that had once been her gram's favorite piece of furniture. Just like the last time she had saw him, he was dressed in a ridiculously expensive black suit sporting a tolerant smile on his full lips and starring at her with dead eyes that resembled the eyes of a great white shark. In his hands was a small chipped tea cup that had been in her china cabinet and he was stirring the contents inside the cup with a tiny silver spoon. To an outside on looker, he would appear congenial and harmless, but Bonnie knew better. While Cade has yet to show an violent tendencies towards her, she wasn't fooled by his deceitfully calm demeanor. Any supernatural being that could manage to enslave a notoriously violent Ripper was not someone that you let your guard down for.
"You are calling on the wrong deity, Miss Bennett," Cade informed amused, "Fortunately for you, I'm more inclined to help you than He is."
Debatable, Bonnie thought annoyed, but forced a smile before staring him straight in the eyes.
"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns in all the world, the devil walks into mine," she drawled sardonically as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at the immoral smirking up at her.
"You are quite young to be a fan of Casablanca," Cade mused impressed.
Bonnie shrugged casually as she walked deeper into the living room and stood directly in front of him.
"My grandmother use to make me watch it when I was younger. Not to change the subject but what are you doing here?" she groused as she combed her fingers through her unruly chocolate locks, "It's the middle of the night."
"I'm sorry for the late night intrusion, but I had this feeling that you were in need of some assistance, and like I told you when we first me, I am here for you if and when you need me," he said simply.
Bonnies stared at him narrowing her olive green eyes suspiciously. The only reason why Cade would assume that she needed any kind of help was if he already knew about Enzo's grave circumstances. Tossing her car keys down on the coffee table, she let out a bark of bitter laughter as she turned her back on Cade and shook her head wearily. Of course he knew about Enzo. Not only was he psychic, he probably orchestrated the whole thing in order to get her to participate in some twisted and demented game he was playing. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she exhaled deeply wondering what would result from having a conversation with the devil. Would he actually help her get Enzo back? Would he manipulate her in a way that she wouldn't see coming or was she doomed altogether?
"You are not doomed, Bonnie Bennett," he promised as he answered the last question that had crossed her mind, "I'm simply here he to help get back what you lost."
"Lost?" she snapped whirling around and facing him once more, "I didn't lose Enzo. He was taken from me by the deranged disciple that you can't seem to keep under your control. Or maybe she is under your control and is simply carrying out your orders."
Cade stared at her surprised. For Bonnie to suspect that he was behind Enzo's kidnapping made him realized that she was a lot intuitive and smarter than he had given her credit for.
"What exactly would I have to benefit from harming someone you care about?" he asked feigning innocence.
Bonnie glowered at him apprehensively.
"I don't know. Maybe the universe decided to enlist your help in screwing up my life. Maybe this is just some sick way to show me that every single time I get close to achieving the tiniest bit of happiness, it will always be ripped away, "she ranted frustrated. She felt a burning in her nose and she knew that she was dangerously close to crying.
"While you were busy blaming me and the universe for conspiring against you, did you ever stop to think that all of your woes stem from being in a relationship with a vampire?" he said with a mixture of boredom and sympathy in his soft voice, "Had you chosen to settle down with a nice and normal boy hundreds of miles away from this cursed town, you wouldn't be facing all of the troubles and wretchedness that are currently burdening you. As much as it pains me to say this, your lying in a bed of your own creation and now you have to accept the mess that you have made."
"If you are as powerful of as a psychic that you claim you are, you would know that I didn't set out to fall in love with a vampire," she snapped defensively, "In fact, being romantically involved with a vampire was the last thing that I ever wanted or expected. Enzo came into my life when I was alone and had no one to call a friend. He showed me kindness and love and I think that after all the crap that I have had to deal with in my life and all the people that I loved, I am allowed to have love in my life, and the fact that he is a vampire shouldn't be of any consequences."
"You feel very passionately about Lorenzo. I admire such devotion and loyalty," Care murmured as he leaned forward and placed the empty tea cup on the coffee table before starring her straight in the eye. "What is it that you want me to do to aide you in securing his return?"
"Give me the power to save Enzo," she said without missing a beat. Licking her lips nervously, she decided to press her luck, "Restore my magic so that I can take care of Sybil once and for all."
Cade eyebrow arched inquisitively as he slowly rose from the chair and eased his hands into the pockets of his well fitted trousers. He begin to circle the room slowly with a pensive look on his face.
"I understand your need for justice. However, I am concerned that you are being blinded by anger and vengeance," he said warily.
"My anger is righteous and my vengeance will be justified," she assured tightly, "Sybil has been nothing but a plague in my life ever since she was released from that vault. She uses her abilities to hurt people. She is selfish, cruel and unkind. If you give me the power that I need, I will free Enzo and make pay for every wicked thing that she has done."
Cade felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards as he heard the resounding determination and fury radiating from her words. Everything was going according to plan. Bonnie was so focused on getting Enzo back and punishing Sybil that she was ignoring her gut instinct to not trust him. That lack of judgement would come back to haunt her and cost her dearly in the long run, but by the time that she realized her foolish mistake, it would be too late. He would have everything that he had ever wanted and there would be nothing that she could do to stop him.
Keeping a neutral expression on his face, he glanced down at the ring that adorned his middle finger. The ring that had once suppressed his sister's ultimate and god like powers, were now about to restore Bonnie Bennett's natural born gifts. Quietly appreciating the symmetry of the rings and it's mystical abilities, he twisted the piece of jewelry off of his fingers before placing in the middle of his palm and holding it out towards Bonnie.
"If you are going to save your lover, you are going to need this," he said softly.
Bonnie peered down at the ring with a look of distrust on her face.
"If I take that ring, I'm not going to become the devil's bride or something, am I?" she asked softly as she bit down on her bottom lip nervously.
Cade's right eye twitched noticeably, but the patient smile that was on his smile never wavered. He was both amused and annoyed at how creative and dramatic human being's imaginations tended to be. As he tilted his head to the side and studied her silently, he couldn't really blame the young woman for her child like ignorance. The only thing that humans knew about the "devil" was the tired old tripe that they read in outdated religious books and ancient folklore. Yeah, the part about being evil, commanding a legion of demons and being immortal was all true, but the speculation that he bathed in the blood of virgins or would manipulate a young and desperate woman to become his bride was ridiculous and complete and utter poppycock.
"I give you my word, what I am asking of you is not that twisted or perverse," he reassured with a smirk as he lifted a picture frame off the mantle above the fireplace and stared down at it with mild interest. It was a picture of a young Bonnie Bennett sitting in the lap of her grandmother while they both smiled happily at the camera. "I will restore your magic, your birthright. All I asks is that if and when I need a favor, you will show me the same generosity that I am prepared to show you."
The offer was so tempting that Bonnie was almost ready to take it with no questions asked. However, the logical and rational part of her was encouraging to pump her breaks. Making a deal with the devil was not only a severely bad idea, but doing so would bring about consequences that would more than likely affect everyone around her and she wasn't sure that she could risk it. Surely, there had to be another way to save Enzo.
Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of fire suddenly roaring inside of the fire place.
She swallowed uneasily as she watched the flames dance in the reflection of Cade's pitch black eyes.
"I assure you, Miss Bennett. There is no other way and the time you have to make your decision is running short," the powerful psychic informed coldly, "Perhaps, I should show you how your beloved is fairing without your aide."
Before Bonnie could react, Cade placed the palm of his free hand on top of her forehead causing Bonnie body to go completely stiff. Seconds later, a sharp gasp escaped her lips as a flurry of images began to assault her mind. The intrusion was so brutal and sudden that it caused the corner of her eyes to burn with unshed tears and her heart begin to race at an abnormal speed. The image of Enzo sitting tied to a chair and gagged came into focus and she swallowed with great difficulty as she noticed that his grey Hensley sweater was wet and darkened by blood. His cries of pain was muffled by the filthy rag that had been shoved inside of his mouth and was being held in place by a piece of worn rope that had been doused in vervain. She could sense so much despair in the room, that it made her shiver and she cried out softly. She could practically feel his pain, anger and fear vibrating through her body as if it was her very own. Just when she thought she had seen more than enough, a sinister laughter rang out causing her blood to run cold. Kai came into focus and he was swaggering over to Enzo with a demented look on his face.
"How about we go one more round, and this time," Kai smirked, before lifting his hand menacingly, "Try not to scream. Motice."
The sound of Enzo's arm breaking was followed by a smothered howl of pain that caused Bonnie's unshed tears to finally fall.
"No!" Bonnie screamed helplessly as she stumbled away from Cade's touch causing the horrific images flashing inside of her head to disappear abruptly.
Cade appeared to look somber and apologetic. The last thing he had wanted was to do was cause Bonnie any kind of emotional pain, but unfortunately, it had been necessary. The more time that she took considering his offer, the chances of changing her mind and refusing his help increased. In order for his plan to move forward, it was paramount that Bonnie accepted the ring. If he had to manipulate her emotionally and take advantage of her at a very weak and vulnerable moment, so be it.
"I hate that you had to witness that, but the longer that you hesitate to accept my help, the more pain Enzo will endure," he said gently as he extended his hand holding the ancient piece of jewelry, "You can put an end to his misery and torment. You will have the power to not only protect just him. You can protect everyone that you care about. All you have to do is just take the ring."
Bonnie felt her heart pound violently against her ribcage as she reached over and lifted the delicate piece of jewelry from his hand. She felt he hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she felt the power being discharged the worn band. She knew that once she went through with this, there was no going back. Whatever the consequences were, she was going to have to deal with them at a later date. Right now, Enzo needed her help and that was more important than anything else.
"Fine," Bonnie whispered harshly as she brushed the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips, "I'll do it."
A victorious smile slowly blossomed across Cade's lips and Bonnie got the feeling this was how prey felt right before the predators pounced an attacked. Ignoring her fear and the alarm bells going off in her head, she inhaled sharply before slipping the ring on middle finger securely. Seconds later, she felt the familiar buzz of power warm her core and her olive green eyes brightened as she felt connection to the extraordinary power that she had been deprived of for far too long. The sensation of her gift being returned to her traveled from the bottom of her feet and surged through every single nerve ending and cell in her body causing an involuntary shiver to dance down her spine and a gasp of surprise escaped her lips. She had experienced her natural born magic when she had first come into it and she had experienced Expression, but the supernatural energy that was currently flowing through her veins felt different. It felt foreign. It felt ancient.
Reaching up, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
"Thank you," she managed to say when she found her voice again.
Cade nodded his head slightly before offering her a kind smile. "It was my pleasure to help. I look forward to us working together in the future."
Bonnie didn't know what to say, so instead of lying through her teeth and saying that she shared his same sentiment, she simply nodded mutely. Seconds later when she blinked, he was gone. Starring down at her hands, she took a brief moment to appreciate the fact that she now had the power to go after Enzo and save him from whatever sadistic torture that Kai was currently putting him through. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Bonnie dashed upstairs looking for an item she could use to perform a locator spell that would lead her to Enzo's whereabouts. As she rummaged through his drawers, she released a happy sigh as she stumbled across the blood necklace that she had returned to Enzo. Days ago, she had been peeved and upset that he had insisted on keeping it, but now she was kind of relieved that he did. Blood would help give her precise direction to his location. Heading back downstairs, she went into the kitchen and pulled a map out of Mystic Falls and silently hoped that wherever Enzo was being held, it was local. After spending the next few minutes gathering candles and everything she needed for the spell, she returned to the living room where she spread the map across the coffee table and poured the blood inside of the necklace on top of it.
Closing her eyes, she lowered herself on her knees and clasped her hands below her chin. Her lips trembled and her brow furrowed as she struggled to remember the words to cast the spell. It's been years since she had uttered Latin, and the words were caught in the back of her throat like a dry hairball. She knew that she was just anxious and nervous and the pressure she was feeling to rescue Enzo was causing her to have performance issues. Taking a deep breath, she forced all the doubt and insecurities from her mind before allowing her magic to kick in and did what came natural to ever since she had first experienced the touch of her magic. Clenching her fingers tightly into a fist, her eyes flickered open and unbeknownst to her, there was a flicker of golden flames behind her iris.
"Incendia," she whispered and immediately large flames of fire shot off the wick on the candles that she had strategically placed around the room.
After chanting for several minutes, the trail of blood began to move and didn't stop until it fell over the address of the Lockwood Manor. Bonnie couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of Deja vu as she realized that the Lockwood was the place that she had dreamt of the night before. Shaking off the bad vibe, she pulled her back into a tight ponytail before grabbing her car keys off the table.
"Hold on, Enzo. I'm on my way," Bonnie promised silently before rushing out of the house.
End Note: I have found my mojo and will be updating this story regularly. Thanks for everyone who is still sticking with it.