I twirled my glass around as I sat on a bar stool in this place called the Mystic Grill. It has been a month since Kai spoke to me. I haven't seen him lurking around; the town was quiet. He probably left, he could be in Canada for all I know, I was alone again. Maybe I wanted to see him because he is the first human being I came in contact with since 1867.
I drank my fifth glass of water. I never slipped into the habit of drinking alcohol. Being drunk alone was boring, I needed a friend, and Kai surely wasn't that.
It was the Feast of Saint Valentine's. The last Valentine's Day I spent with someone I loved was back in 1866. I spent all the other Valentine's Day after that alone. Valentine's Day became a day where I mourned my loss. Damon and Stefan probably passed away in the 1880s, 1890s at the most. That's when I felt the most grief. It was the confirmation that I would truly be alone, not just in this prison world but outside of it. It was a scary thought.
I continued to sulk until an arrow flew past by my head, hitting the shelf of alcohol bottles in front of me.
"Happy Valentine's Day Isadora," Kai stood at the door with a bow and a bag of arrows slung behind his back.
"You were gone for a month to become Cupid?" I asked.
"You didn't think I would let you spend the day alone, did you?"
"Actually, I would rather be alone with my memories than with you."
"That isn't the way to talk to someone with a weapon in their hands," he sat on the stool next to me. "Is this water?" He chuckled, throwing the remainder of the water on the ground. Followed by shattering the glass on the wall, causing some of the bottles of alcohol to spill on the ground.
"Can you please leave?"
Okay, so all those bottles aren't filled with alcohol. I've been here for twenty years, and I consumed all of it, it's natural. Tell me, dear Isadora, what does it smell like?"
"Gasoline," I sniffed the air. "It smells like gasoline," I answered, mortified.
"I'm just glad you didn't drink any of it, that would have ruined my ingenious plan. You see, I filled all those bottles with gas because I had to travel far for gas, I used up all the gas in Mystic Falls. I didn't feel like going back and forth to the gas station."
"Kai-"
"Let me finish darling," he propped his chin up with his hands. "I'm sure a girl from the 1800s would know what this is," he said, holding up a lighter. "You're smart enough to know what happens when fire meets gas."
"You wouldn't kill yourself just to kill me," I said.
"My bad looks like I misjudged your intelligence," he grunted. "Now I have to explain it, which takes the suspense out of it, thanks a lot. Anyways, looks like you forgot I can't die here, and you can. So when I light this baby up, we'll both die, and the psychopath will be the only one resurrected. I hope you wanted to be cremated, or else this would be even sadder and awkward. Questions?"
"Why are you doing this to me? Kai, I did not do anything to you. Answer me, "I pleaded.
"Just because I asked if you had questions doesn't mean I was going to answer them," he said. "I want you to do everything I say, and I promise you won't get hurt. Even if you say something that will hurt me, refusal and lies are what will send you to hell."
"Okay fine, I agree."
"Since it's Valentine's Day, why don't you continue your story about that Kyle guy you met on your way to New Orleans. I hate cliffhangers."
"His name was Kol, and I ended up going to New Orleans with him, he drove the carriage."
FLASHBACK
We arrived in New Orleans at eight o'clock in the morning. The streets were already busy. He dropped me off in the French Quarter in front of a place called Maison Bourbon Jazz Club.
"Thank you for everything Kol, for saving my life and bringing me here. I could have encountered more trouble." I smiled. He offered me a hand when I got out of the carriage. His hands were unbelievably soft.
"It was all my pleasure. I was the one who caused the trouble in the first place. But I do not regret anything, as it gave me the chance to meet you, Isadora." He held an intense gaze, never breaking it even when he placed a kiss on the back of my hand.
"As do I, will we ever cross paths again?" I asked.
"I will make sure of it. I will bend fate if it may come to it."
"I will take your word."
"I will not disappoint; my family lives here in New Orleans. As long as my family reigns this territory, I can assure you will be safe and away from danger."
"You are a vampire. Danger follows you as if it were your shadow."
"Everyone needs a little danger in their lives," he smirked. "I need to go. I will see you soon."
"Goodbye," I waved off as he disappeared into the crowd of people.
•••
I did not know where I could rest, I was exhausted, I was awake for more than a day. I had no money. So I wandered around the French Quarter, this city was much more different than Mystic Falls. This city was filled with so much liveliness.
When I turned the corner, I ran into Emily Bennett.
"How did you find me so fast?" I asked.
"Vampires are not the only supernatural beings roaming in Mystic Falls. I am a witch. The most powerful one so far in my bloodline." She whispered, no one could hear us anyway, everyone was too busy with their own affairs. "I found you by casting a locator spell."
"How does that work?"
"Well, it requires an incantation and spilling blood on a map, the blood of the target or the blood of someone biologically related to the target."
My heart sank at her words, blood from someone related to me. My brothers and father are the only ones that can fit that slot, and they will not willingly give their blood to a stranger.
"Whose blood did you use?" I gulped.
"Giuseppe Salvatore was found in his bedroom with a stake in his abdomen. The townspeople do not know who killed him, but they assumed it was a vampire. I managed to get blood to find you. I am sorry, Isadora."
I was speechless. Father was always drunk, and he always mistreated Damon and our mother. He was never a good father to them, but he was to me. Yet, despite all that, I will cry about his death for the next few months, he was family, and family means everything to me. No matter how ruthless they are.
"That is a truly sweet and heartwarming story about the love for your family. You always try to see the good in people Isadora and mark my words, that will be the death of you. It's your fatal flaw." Kai nodded his head.
"It is never wrong to see the good in people, everyone is both bad and good, some more than others. You have to remind yourself this because everyone is worth loving. If someone loves you enough, they will set aside the bad in you and focus on the good. They will accept your flaws to be able to love you, all of you. The good and bad."
"You are a naïve bitch," Kai sneered as he played with the lighter, turning it off and on.
"I am not lying to spare your feelings."
"You were referring to Cody, weren't you? He was the one you loved enough to forget about his flaws."
"Yes, Kol was the second person who taught me that. The first being my father," I said. I placed my hands in my lap as they started to shake.
"Do you still love him?"
"Yes, I will always love Kol. He was my first love. That type of love never goes away, no matter how great or horrible it was."
"I think I'm going to kill you now," he bit his bottom lip as he turned the lighter on.
a/n What do you guys think about Kai and his bottles of gasoline? Did you see it coming? What do you think he'll do now?
Comment your theories and keep voting! Thanks for all the support and votes so far.
Also, Isadora is officially entered into the #Wattys2017 along with two of my other books, Home Run and Out of Bounds!!