Sorry for the long wait in-between updates. I've been really busy but I love reading all the support you guys have for my books. Please enjoy.
Jenna is all laughs about what happened. She thinks it's mortifying that she was the dumbest person to walk into a knife and end up in the hospital. Sadly, the rest of us know the darker truth. Katherine has made it evident that she can hurt us where it really matters. No matter how hard we try to protect the ones we love she proved to us she can harm them and we would never know.
"Easy there. Grab the door, Jeremy." Matt helps Jenna through the door.
"Stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna assures us.
"The doctor said that you should take it easy." Elena reminds her.
"We don't want to visit the hospital again." I joke and she just smiles at me.
"Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die all right?" Jeremy jokes trying to make light of things.
"Yeah, the only thing I'm gonna die from is embarrassment. I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?" She asks and we all stop in our steps except for Matt.
"It was a freak accident." Elena offers as a reasonable response.
"Yeah, it happens." I add.
"Yeah, I mean I've done it, like 20 times at The Grill." Matt jokes and Jenna laughs again. "Okay, I'm being nice." Jeremy and Matt help Jenna into the couch as Elena and I handle placing her flowers and gifts safely on the table.
"What should I do with this?" Matt asks me holding up a brown bag.
"I got it." Elena takes it and heads to the kitchen. I receive a text from Damon telling me to come over to the boarding house when I have a chance. Jeremy and I have been talking with the rest of the group about needing to do something to stop Katherine. She crossed the line when she involved Jenna and she needs to stop. Elena is being kept in the dark against my better judgment because everyone feels she will let her emotions get in the way. She will want to fold once something starts going wrong or before we even start. She is the martyr of the group and would rather sacrifice herself than go down fighting.
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Thankfully Matt is staying with Elena to help with Jenna while Jeremy and I head over to the boarding house. Elena thinks we're just going out for some fresh air but we're planning the way to take Katherine down. We even convinced Bonnie to help us despite her hesitation to get involved. "What's going on?" I hear Bonnie and Jeremy and I make our way into the house.
"We're gonna kill Katherine." Jeremy announces like it's no big deal.
"I can explain." Stefan assures Bonnie.
"Please."
"We're gonna kill Katherine."
"Sofia?" She looks to me after Stefan's lack of explanation.
"I just got here. All I know is we're getting that bitch one way or another." We make our way into the living where it seems Alaric is giving a demonstration on how to be an amateur vampire hunter for a night.
"Now this works with compressed air. The trigger is here. And for you, I recommend this." Alaric shows Stefan and Damon a wrist looking device with stakes attached to it. "Fits nicely under a jacket sleeve. Here's the trigger when you're ready." The stake flies out into his hand and he thrusts it into the air demonstrating how it works. "You wanted me to show you how to kill vampires." Alaric states noticing the stun faces in the room.
"Sofia?" Bonnie calls me over and I can see the worry in her face. "I don't feel good about this."
"I know it doesn't seem like a solid plain Bon, but we have to do something. She went after Jenna. She could hurt anyone of our loved ones and if she thinks we won't do anything to stop her she wins. If we do nothing she wins. At least this way we know we tried to stop her."
"It seems risky and what about Elena? Don't you think she should know about this?"
"The moment my sister learned it was Katherine who compelled Jenna to harm herself she gave up. She wanted nothing more than to roll over and let Katherine do whatever she wanted. She wanted to appease the bitch who has been tormenting us for her own selfish games."
"But what if her way is right? What if doing what Katherine wants is the way we can all live?"
"And how can we trust what Katherine wants doesn't already involve us all dying. We can't sit back and let this bitch rule our lives because we're unsure of what she's going to do. She's one person who yes has years of planning on us, but we can't let her torment us just for the fun of it."
"Too many people could get hurt Sofia. We can't protect them all."
"I know Katherine." Stefan jumps into our conversation. "She knows that I'm not going to try something in a crowd full of innocent people. So, that gives me an edge. I can catch her by surprise." Bonnie turns to me with a slight glimpse of hope in her eyes.
"We could trap her with a spell."
"We?" I ask. "We haven't even practiced? Are you sure you even want me messing with..."
"Sofia, you're a natural. You can do perform most of the magic I've learned without even thinking. You're strong. I can guide you through the whole thing and it's just like the Tomb Spell." My heart sank thinking about Sheila and the failed tomb spell.
"You think I can help?"
"I know you can and what a better way of learning than jumping right in."
"We can isolate her away from the others." Stefan is sure this will work and I feel finally like I'm able to do something more than lose control. Bonnie believes in me and she was taught by Sheila. I can finally help save people and not just let them die in front of me.
"Hey." Damon comes over and I still find myself getting these butterflies in my stomach when he comes near me.
"Hey, Bonnie is on board now."
"Did I just hear something about you helping her trap Katherine?" He seems concerned and I've rarely seen this from him.
"Yeah, she needs some extra power to trap her in and I can be there to help. Plus, I need to learn how to control my abilities. Why do you not want me to be involved? You didn't have an issue with it earlier?"
"I'm happy to have your help, but I can't help but worry about you." Damon takes my hands and rubs circles on them. "Katherine is unpredictable and I don't want you caught in the crossfires."
"I have to do this Damon. My family was hurt because of her and she must be stopped. If I'm able to help I need to be there." Damon leans down and kisses me and I swear everyone is now looking at us. I don't care this is what they mean you need to cherish the moments you have because you never know when you'll never get to say I love you to the ones that matter most to you. You must take every chance you can get to show share that love.
"You sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric seems worried that we can't handle this situation. He may be right but we also need to know that Elena and Jenna are protected.
"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this." Stefan states.
"Okay, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."
"And I've already texted her telling her that I'm hanging out with Bonnie practicing magic. She knows not to bother us since we need full concentration." I remind him in case he is faced with Elena questioning him.
"All right, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand."
"Yeah, cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong. Because someone chickens out. Caroline?" Damon is quick to call out my friend. What he doesn't know is she is a fighter.
"I won't. She killed me. Fair's fair. And as long as there are no werewolves running around."
"Oh, I took care of Mason." My heart aches for Tyler especially since he has no idea what happened. All he knows is Mason is gone and from what Damon texted Carol impersonating his uncle Ty believes another father figure left him when he needed them most.
"And as long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone he won't turn." Jeremy reminds us.
"Bonnie? Are you with us?" Stefan asks wanting to make sure she is on our side. She nods her head and walks forward.
"No one gets hurt."
"Except Katherine. Tonight, Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon is confident that we have this under control but there is still a part of me wondering if there has ever been anything we've planned that went the way we wanted.
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I should be used to the extravagance that Lockwood's put into their parties, but this Masquerade ball still has been blown away. Damon is beaming with confidence and pride as I cling to his arm. This is the night when possibly all our problems will disappear and we can just go back to being semi-normal humans and vampires. "Before things get messy tonight I do have to say you look ravishing in that dress." Damon compliments me.
"Thank you, but focus we have a mission to complete."
"Mission? This is making me really want to do things to you later." He whispers making me blush.
"Damon." I warn trying to get him to focus.
"Can't blame me. But in all seriousness, I need to say this." He turns to face me and he's no longer joking around. "If at any moment things start going wrong I want you to get the hell out of here."
"And what just leave you? I can't do that!"
"You can and you will. I need to know that you will be safe Sofia."
"And I need to know you will be safe." I reply.
I follow Damon down to where Stefan is. He's scoping out the scene trying to spot Katherine. "Do you see her?"
"No. Are you sure you can do this?" Stefan asks Damon.
"Who are you talking to?"
"I had the chance to kill her, and I hesitated."
"Well, that is the fork in the road between you and me, my friend. I don't hesitate."
"No, you only spend more than a century pinning over her." I remind Damon who is quick to forget his part in things. He didn't seem to like my comment but he can get over it. The truth is the truth. He was obsessed with Katherine for so long there could still be doubt in him wanting to get rid of her forever.
"Yeah, but that lead me to finding you." He leans down and kisses me.
"Okay then." Stefan leaves.
"Jeremy and Bonnie are here." I inform Damon and he nods. We separate and I have this pit in my stomach worried about what could go wrong.
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I easily find the room they've set everything up in. "Hey, isn't this room great?" Jeremy asks looking around.
"Yeah, perfectly secluded from everyone and no one will come up here. Carol doesn't use it except for during Founder's Day for the historic exhibits." I comment coming in to sit next to Bonnie.
"Okay, here is the spell." She points to the grimoire page with words I have no idea what they say.
"How am I supposed to say any of this?" I ask her. "I don't even know what language this is or..."
"Sofia, if any of this is going to work you need to believe in yourself. It's one of the first things my grams told me when she started teaching me."
"Easy for you to say? You're more of a witch than me."
"You're a witch?" Jeremy asks in disbelief.
"Why do you think I'm helping Bonnie?"
"I thought for moral support?" Bonnie and I shake our heads at him.
"Yes, I'm a witch." I answer him.
"My grams didn't teach me much so I'm in the same boat with you Sofia."
"Really? You're..."
"Going through this all alone. I need you to believe in yourself as well as me. I know we can do this."
"Then let's do it, Bonnie." I take her hands and we look at the book. Bonnie starts chanting first and somehow, I find myself following along with her. These words I have no idea how to pronounce are coming out like I've known them all my life.
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Bonnie was confident that we spelled the room and it was up to me to tell Damon or Stefan that it was ready. Before I even make it out the back door someone wraps their arms around my waist. "I'm taking it that you and Bonnie have the room ready?" Damon whispers into my ear.
"I was coming to find you or Stefan."
"Looks like I found you first. Come on follow me." Damon leads me to the dance floor and I'm hesitant.
"Do you think this a good idea?" I ask him as I look around for Caroline or Stefan.
"Having you in my arms is always a good idea." Damon pulls me closer to him allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder as we dance like we did at Miss Mystic. "Whatever happens tonight, know I'm doing it so that you can have a long full life." I lift my head and give him a concerned look.
"What are you doing that you have to tell me this?"
"Nothing is certain Sofia. I just want to make sure I get everything off my chest."
"You need to stop acting like we're never going to make it out of this alive. We have to have faith that this will work Damon." I kiss his cheek and it hurts leaving him knowing that he is right to fear things going wrong. We don't know our future and with Katherine as the enemy, everything can be a gamble.
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I start to head back inside when Elena steps in front of me pissed. Jeremy looks at me with a slightly uncomfortable grin on his face. Now we must be lectured by our sister who is going to tell us what we're doing is stupid and wrong. "You guys are trying to kill her here?" She is already using her lecture voice and it's exhausting. Bonnie joins us thankfully to give us back up.
"We saw an opportunity, and knew we had to take it..."
"Okay, stop with the we." Elena cuts our brother off. "Are you guys crazy? You could get yourselves killed."
"We know what we're doing Elena." Bonnie stands up to her.
"Really you think my brother and sister know what they're doing? Sofia doesn't have control over her powers!"
"Elena, stop it!"
"No Sofia you need to wake up! How could you do this? You could have been hurt! And you brought Jeremy into this?"
"I didn't bring him into anything he didn't want. We're just as angry about what happened to Jenna. We wanted to do something about it and that's what we're doing."
"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you gets hurt because of me?"
"It's not just about you Elena!" I'm getting tired of her thinking that everything revolves around her. Yes, she is part of it but we've all been affected one way or another by Katherine.
"Sofia's right." Jeremy steps forward and looks at our sister in the eyes. "She's messed with all of us. She has to be stopped."
"Aah!" Elena calls out in pain. She hunches over and I rush to her trying to keep her up. She reaches a spot on her back tears streaming down from the pain.
"Elena, what is it?"
"Elena?" She doesn't answer besides gasping for air. Spots start forming on her body and her shirt is seeping with blood.
"What is happening?" I ask Bonnie as I try to calm Elena down but nothing is working.
"Aah! Aah!" Elena grabs her arm as another pool of blood forms there.
"What's going on?"
"Sofia, Jeremy it's Katherine! She's linked to Katherine! Get them to stop, now!" Jeremy takes off for the room without another word. "Sofia go with him!"
"You don't..."
"I got this!" I take off after Jeremy and make it just as he yells at Damon right as he has the stake raised above Katherine's heart.
"Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena!" Jeremy declares and they stop fighting. Katherine pushes herself up from Stefan's hold with a smirk on her face.
"You think you two are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. And something tells me that my witch is better than your witch." Katherine takes the stake from Stefan twirling it in her hands.
"Jeremy, go check on Elena. Make sure she's okay. Go!" Stefan orders and Jeremy is off running.
"Let's all make sure poor Elena is okay. Just a little bit more pressure." She brings the stake down giving herself a jagged cut to her hand. Stefan smacks it out of her hand. She just picks it up and raises it above her stomach. "This is really going to hurt." The stake flies out of her hand and Katherine just smirks at me. "I knew there was something different about you." She continues to smirk at me as she takes a seat on the couch. "Okay, so how about that moonstone?" Damon and Stefan can't leave and I don't feel comfortable leaving them with her since our plan isn't going how we thought. "The three of us together, just like old times. Well, now we have the ever so charming Sofia. How does it feel being the black sheep of the Gilbert family?"
"Don't you dare speak to her!" Damon takes a threatening step towards her and brings me away. He won't let my hand go like he's worried she will do something.
"The brother who loved me too much, and the one who didn't love me enough."
"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself." I couldn't help but laugh a little by his comment but I don't want to anger the main psycho in the room. There is no telling what she might do.
"What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite?" She keeps egging him on knowing it bothers him.
"Oh, that Damon died a long time ago."
"Good he was a bore."
"Shut the hell up!" She raises a brow at me.
"So, she does speak. I thought Damon had you on a tight leash."
"I'm not a pet."
"Are you sure about that? Does it bother you that Damon was in love with me for over a century and your sister looks just like me? Don't you think who he really wants is Elena?"
"I'm not the insecure one who is worried about a guy liking her. Only one of us is the desperate whore and it's not me." She smirks.
"You have fire. Now, where is the moonstone?"
"What do you want with it?" Stefan asks her point blank.
"Does Elena enjoy having both of your worship at her altar?"
"That was really desperate Katherine. Don't you think we can see through you?" Stefan isn't buying into her manipulation.
"So, it doesn't bother you that Damon is in love with your girlfriend?" Damon squeeze my hand before heading over to Katherine's direction.
"Oh, stop it." Stefan isn't backing down.
"Or what? You'll hurt me?" She gets up from the couch so she can stand close to Stefan. "Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels. So, go ahead. Or better yet. Kiss me, Damon. She'll feel that too. You know he's just using you until he gets what he really wants. Your sister." She thinks she is winning but what she doesn't know is I'm not that easy to fool.
"It's better than wanting a cheap whore like yourself."
"You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused." Stefan jumps in interrupting us. "Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires. So, what's in that for you?" He is making a good point.
"Sorry about your pet wolf. You should have kept him on a tighter leash." Damon can't help but add insult to injury.
"I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town."
"You stay away from Tyler!" Damon is holding me back from smacking that smirk off her face. It's hard to hate someone so much who looks just like my sister. I'm filled with these mixed emotions that I have no idea how to deal with them.
"Hit a nerve, did I? I forgot you used to sleep with wolves."
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Damon is keeping me away from Katherine not wanting me to lose control and hurt Elena in the process. He keeps offering me something to drink but I can't think about anything else but wanting to bash Katherine's face into the wall. She brings out this side of me that I didn't know I had. I keep wanting to do violent and horrific things to her and it scares me that I am even able to think like this. I'm not this dark and scary person, but somehow in her presence, I'm throwing out everything that I thought I knew about myself. "Damn it, where's that witch?" Damon mutters.
"We could play charades!" Katherine is trying to be funny but it does nothing but anger me more.
"You bargained the moonstone." Damon and I perk up hearing Stefan bring back the moonstone.
"What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon asks.
"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood to help fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"
"Good for you Stefan, 2+2 and it would have worked, except that people found out I wasn't in the tomb. Thanks to you." She rears her ugly head at Damon who is downing what I think is his third drink. He raises his almost empty glass to her. "By the way, have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"
"You and me both, honey."
"Why do you need it back?" Stefan brings the conversation back on track.
"I love you in a suit. So, dashing." She is trying to distract him.
"And what were you doing with it in the first place?"
"You're wasting your breath, Stefan." Damon calls out.
"Unless it wasn't yours, to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?"
"In 1987, you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places. With that wench, Lexi. Come on, Stefan. Don't look so surprised. Of course, I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you." Damon turns away not wanting to hear any more.
"Who were you running from?"
"We're missing the party." Katherine complains yet again. "I'll have one of those." She looks to Damon's drink.
"Right away Miss. Katherine." He mocks her and pours another drink. He hands her the glass.
"Thank you." In a blink of an eye, Damon has her pinned against the wall restricting her airway with his forearm. He raises a stake ready to kill her but I raise my hand it goes flying from his arm to the other side of the room.
"Damon stop! You're hurting Elena!" I remind him hoping to get through to him.
"No don't stop Damon. Please do it." Katherine mocks.
"The second the spell is lifted, I'm gonna drive this stake right through your heart."
"God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?" Now I'm the one holding Damon back from wanting to kill the bitch.
"Katherine." We all direct our attention to the woman at the door. She is holding the moonstone in her hand and we can only guess she is the witch Katherine enlisted to do her dirty work. "The spell in this room has been broken. You're free to leave."
"Thank god." Katherine moves from Stefan and heads to her friend or accomplice.
"Now when I had this over, my debt to you is over."
"Done."
"I owe you nothing."
"I said done. Give it."
"I wouldn't do that." Damon steps forward ready to do whatever it takes to prevent Katherine from having the moonstone. The moment she handed the stone over Katherine began to gasp for air.
"You should have told me another witch was involved. Let alone two." She looks at me and I don't know if I should trust or fear her. "One's a Bennett Witch, Katherine. But I'm sure you knew that."
"Wait my sister..." I call out wanting her to stop before Elena died.
"Elena's fine. The spell is broke. She'll heal quickly. Bonnie's with her." Katherine falls to the floor struggling to breathe. "I apologize for my involvement." She walks out and I need more answers. I run after her ignoring Damon calling after me.
"Hey!" She stops not pleased that I followed. "Thank you for what you did." I say with a smile but she barely returns it.
"I did it for Bonnie."
"How did you know I was a witch?" She raises her brow at me.
"You can't sense me, can you? Can you sense any of our kind?" I don't know how to answer. She grabs my hand all the lights around us shake and flicker. It's freaking me out and I try pulling away but she keeps holding on. "You're not like us are you."
"What do you mean? I'm a witch aren't I?" She shakes her head.
"You're something alright. Something powerful but very dark." She backs away with an almost scared look on her face.
"Wait! Please, I'm so lost. I have no idea what's going on. I need help and Bonnie's grandmother was going to teach me but she... She died before she could and I just want some answers."
"I can't give you what you want. I'm sorry I have to go." She turns away and never looks back. I've never had a person look at me the way she did and it makes me fear what Sheila said about me. Is there this unknown darkness that is creeping the surface and do I have no way of stopping it?
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Bonnie's POV
"Hey, stop!" I call after the other witch. I need answers and she's the only one able to give them to me.
"Hey, I'm sorry about that spell. Damn vampires. They pull you into the middle of it every time."
"How do I know you? When I gave you the stone, how did I know I could trust you?"
"That feeling you got. You ever felt it before?"
"I mean, around family. My grams." I answer staying strong.
"My mother is Johanna, first cousin twice removed from Pauline, niece of Sheila aka..."
"Grams? We're related?"
"Yeah, we kind are. It's nice to meet you, Bonnie. Seeing you tonight was a wakeup call for me. I gotta stop letting vampires control me. So, thank you for that."
"Please don't leave. I have so many questions. I don't wanna be in the middle either. I hate it. How do I stay out of it?" I beg her hopping for an answer to something.
"Unlike me, you're one of the good ones, Bonnie. The middle of it is exactly where you need to be."
"How did you know there were two witches here tonight? You never met my friend Sofia." Her face drops and I can't help but be concerned.
"Your friend is something else, Bonnie. I would watch out for her."
"I've known Sofia my whole life. No one is more moral or good than her."
"She won't be for long. She's awoken a darkness in her that she won't be able to control. It's going to be up to you to stop her."
"What aren't you telling me?"
"I can't give you answers that you need Bonnie, all I can say is you need to be careful with her. She could be the best ally or worst enemy. Take care cus. Don't worry, you'll see me again."
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Damon's POV
Finally, I'm getting rid of this pain in my side. Katherine will no longer mess with my life like she has all these years. I can finally find the peace I've always wanted. I smirk as Katherine wakes and she looks at her surroundings. She's trying to claw her way out of the tomb, but it's hopeless. "Hello, Katherine."
"Where am I?"
"Where you should have been all along. I thought you would have learned your lesson by now about messing with a Bennet witch."
"You should have killed me."
"Death would have been too kind."
"No! Damon, don't." I ignore her as I move to close the door. "Damon, don't. You need me. Elena and Sofia are in danger." I briefly stop hearing Sofia's name coming from her mouth.
"From who?" She says nothing. "You're lying. You're always lying."
"Why do you think I haven't killed either of them? Because Elena's the doppelganger and she needs to be protected."
"And Sofia?" I ask out of pure curiosity.
"She's something else. But she is in danger mostly from herself."
"I will protect her." I continue to close the door. "While you rot in hell."
"No Damon, don't." She begs. "I'll do anything. Please, Damon. You need me. Damon! You need me!" Finally, I'm done with her.
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Sofia's POV
Damon oversees disposing of Katherine's unconscious body before she wakes up and tries to kill us all again. He had the great idea of trapping her in the tomb where she should have been all these years. I'm waiting for Elena to meet me so we can drive back together. The moment I see Elena I run into her open arms. I hold her close like our lives depended on it. "You had me worried back there." I feel myself crying into her already ruined shirt.
"I know. I love you Sofia."
"I love you too Elena." We hold hands as we walk to the car. Jeremy calls and we love the simplicity of having family check in on you.
"Yes, Jeremy Sof and I are walking to the car. Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home. Sof and I are just going to go straight to bed."
"Night Jer." I call out and I place my bags in the car and when I look up Elena is nowhere to be seen. She was right next to me and now she's gone. I look around and before I could react someone had me in a choke hold constricting my airway. I have no energy to fight my attacker or even think of what is happening. All I know is the darkness seems peaceful for once in my life.
What do you think Sofia is?