Pernicious | Kai Parker

Chapter 12

There were more pressing matters to address once they got back.

"Stefan?" asked Amelia when he called her early the following morning. "Is everything alright? How is Damon?"

"He's doing somewhat okay. Listen, there was something I wanted to ask you. Did you notice anything odd about Elena yesterday?"

"Other than the fact she seemed desperate for Damon to hurt her and the fact she kicked a stake toward you?"

A pause. "Damon and I noticed that too. So... it's not just us."

"No, it's not. That was really weird."

"Where are you right now?"

"I'm walking around campus, why?"

"Is Elena with you?"

"No."

"Good. Because I don't think that's Elena. I think it's Katherine Pierce."

Amelia had gasped in shock, but it made complete sense. Bonnie hadn't felt Katherine die. Elena had seemingly been very touchy with Stefan since after Katherine's death. The whole breakup with Damon had seemed out of character, too.

"Hang on here," said Matt, when they all went on call later that day. Bonnie, Jeremy, and Amelia were at Whitmore, tuning in from Amelia's phone, while Carolien had remained in Mystic Falls with Matt and Tyler. "Katherine's still alive? How is that possible?"

"Remember that time Nadia's ex, Gregor, hitched a ride in your head?" asked Caroline, and Amelia did recall the man who'd threatened to slit her throat and out her. Apparently, Katherine had killed him using a Traveler knife that she stabbed into Matt. "Yeah, well, it's kind of the same thing. Katherine is a passenger in Elena, except it's worse, because none of us seemed to notice!"

"She was at my house," said Tyler quietly. "How did none of us figure it out?"

Caroline huffed. "Because it's Katherine and she's smart, and conniving, and sneaky... and we're the worst friends ever."

"This makes no sense," Jeremy said. "She saved my life. She gave me CPR when Enzo tried to kill me. Katherine would never do that."

Bonnie shrugged. "That's what made her so believable. She played Elena to a tee. If she let you die, her cover would be blown."

"I was sleeping three feet away from her!" exclaimed Caroline. "She picked out my Bitter Ball dress. And I let her use my toothpaste!"

"Well," came Stefan's voice, "did she lure you into a hotel room to make out with you?"

"Huh." Amelia could hear Tyler having some sort of realization. "She's the reason I found out about you and Klaus."

"Of course!" said Caroline. "Oh my god..."

"So," asked the hybrid, "how do we kill this bitch?"

"The Traveler knife," piped up Amelia. "That's how it worked with Matt."

"I still have it after Nadia gave it to me," the blond said.

"Perfect," Stefan said. "Go get it."

"Wait, you guys!" cried Caroline before anyone could leave. "This is Katherine we're talking about. She's going to see a sneak attack from a mile away. We've got to get her to come to us. Get her guard down, corner her."

Tyler snorted. "Fat chance you'll be seeing her today. I'm pretty sure I bit Nadia."

"What?"

"I mean, she was attacking Caroline, and I might've nipped her a little."

"And you're just mentioning this now?" asked Matt in disbelief.