Bonnie: Hey. No one's heard from you since yesterday, is everything okay?
Stefan: Call someone when you see this, we need to know that you're safe.
Enzo: Riles, everyone's freaking out. Please tell me that you lost track of time and have no reception. Because the only other option is that you've been kidnapped by the Siren and... look, just call me, okay?
Ric: Sybil broke out of the Armory and her, Seline and Damon are nowhere to be found. If you're with them, please don't let them hurt the girls.
Care: Are you okay?
Care: Seline took the girls, and I don't think I could cope if she took you too. Please call me back and tell me that I'm overreacting.
Care: Everyone's telling me not to worry, but all that does it make me worry more.
Care: I know that they took you. It's not a coincidence that you, and them, disappeared at the same time.
Care: Riles, I know you're probably not even seeing these messages. But we are out looking right now, and we are gonna find you. I promise.
Care: If any of them even tries to lay a hand on you, I'm gonna rip their hearts out. Damon included.
"I'm not sacrificing them!" Seline said, almost as if she was offended by the accusation. "I'm offering them. If Cade accepts Lizzie and Josie as his new missionaries, Sybil and I are free."
"Here's what I don't get," Damon responded. "Why would Cade want the wonder twins instead of you? They're toddlers."
Seline sighed. "I had a plan, obviously. But then someone broke out and blew my cover."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sybil said sarcastically. "Did my freedom ruin your idiotic plan for these two children?"
The sisters began to bicker, each blaming the other for their all their problems.
"Look," Damon interrupted them. "I have been with you for roughly five hours, and in that time you've almost been captured by the bumbling human authorities, not once, but twice. So let's do this. Tell me what we need to summon the devil."
Seline laughed. "I'm not telling you."
However, her sister cut her off, much to her annoyance. "A body of water, a couple of human bodies-"
Damon cut her off excitedly. "Perfect! We have a pool, we have some residents... ah, and look! Free HBO."
"Are you dense?" Seline asked harshly. "If all we needed was some water and a dead body or two, I could have summoned Cade and ended this centuries ago."
Damon's voice was confused when he next spoke. "So, what else do you need?"
Seline waited for a moment before speaking, causing her words to have more of a dramatic impact. "We need a descendant of the devil."
"Not just any descendant," Sybil cut in. "Cade picked her many many years ago, before he even knew the two of us. All we knew was her name, and the fact that she was a psychic, like him. And apparently, my sister has found her."
Damon's voice sounded unconvinced. "So you've kidnapped a random girl and convinced yourself that she's the one person in the world that you need to summon 'el diablo'?"
Seline laughed a humorless laugh. "You think I've taken this lightly? I searched for her for years, I read all the legends, I found out everything that I could about her."
"How did you do that?" Damon asked, still doubtful.
"It was easy," Seline said, sounding almost proud of herself. "She's the only person I've ever come across whose mind I can't get into, who remains unaffected by my siren calls. I found her, became friends, and then a year later, I offered to join her in Mystic Falls as a babysitter for Lizzie and Josie. It just so happens, our missing ingredient is their aunt... how ironic is that?"
It was then that Riley opened her eyes. Of course, wherever she was being kept was so dark that she couldn't even tell her eyes were open. All she knew was that there was tape on her mouth and her hands were tied together.
She kicked her feet out, and found that it made the satisfying noise of banging on something metal. So she kicked again, and again, harder and harder. She couldn't tell if anything was happening, but she kept going, just in case.
Eventually, the area around her was lit up with daylight, and she realized that she was lying inside the trunk of a car. Seline smiled down at her, grabbing her and pulling her out of the car, despite Riley's attempts to fight her off.
"Stop!" Seline told her. "Calm down, okay? Does it look like I want to hurt you?" Reluctantly, Riley allowed her flight-or-flight reflexes to die down. "Now, I'm gonna take the tape off your mouth. If you scream, or try to fight me again, something awful is gonna happen to your nieces. Understand?"
Riley said and did nothing, and Seline harshly ripped the tape from her mouth. She didn't allow her eyes to meet Damon's, so she missed the subtle look of pain and worry on his face, even though it was gone in an instant.
"I thought you were my friend?" she asked the Siren, who shrugged.
"It was fun while it lasted," Seline smiled. "You taught me so much about the modern world, you really helped me blend in."
Riley nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I helped you. I was there for you when you needed someone. You spent countless nights eating spaghetti on my couch, cooking in my kitchen, sleeping in my guest bedroom. I trusted you more than I trusted..." she trailed off for a second. "A lot of people in my life. For the year and a half that we were friends, you were one of the most important people in my life, Seline. How could you do this to me?"
Seline frowned. "Don't take it so personally, Riley. This isn't my fault."
"Screw you," Riley spat angrily. "You pretended to be my friend and then you put me and my family in danger."
Seline put her hand on the birthmark on Riley's chest. "You were already in danger. You were in danger from the second you were born... you just didn't know it."
***
They were all standing by the pool. Seline had one of the girls' hands in each of hers. Riley and Damon were standing beside each other.
"I'm gonna make a deal with Cade," he said under his breath, so quietly that the Sirens couldn't hear – though Sybil already knew exactly what his plan was. She was still firmly in his head, and he knew it.
"Why would you do that?" Riley asked, also under her breath. "You obviously don't care about anything or anyone anymore."
He wasn't looking at her, but he raised an eyebrow. "You must have missed the part where I'm being mind-controlled by Sybil."
"Sybil was in Enzo's head too," she reminded him. "He went through everything you went through, he turned off his humanity. But he fought her, and he won."
Damon scoffed quietly. "He 'won' because Sybil knew that his loyalties were never with her. He was hard work, and she couldn't be bothered to deal with him. But me... I'm loyal."
"Clearly," Riley said, almost sarcastically. "So tell me, if you're loyal to Sybil, why are you even making a deal with Cade in the first place?"
Damon shrugged. "Because I have something better to offer him than a couple of three year old siphons. Something that he won't be able to say no to."
With that, he left the room, and Riley stopped herself from watching him go. She knew that he wasn't the Damon she loved, he couldn't be that person when the Siren was in his mind. But a part of her was worried that he would never be that person again.
"Alright girls, just like I taught you. Now hold my hands, and concentrate," Seline said to the twins, who both nodded.
"Incendia," they said at the same time. Immediately the water in the pool was set alight. Seline, happy with their progress, let go of the girls hands and sat them down so that they were facing away from the pool.
"What happens now?" Riley asked coldly. "The devil appears?"
Seline smiled. "Well... not yet. You see, the one thing that's guaranteed to bring Cade to our world is the death of his descendant."
Before Riley could react, Seline stabbed her in the stomach. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, trying to put pressure on the wound that was bleeding more than she thought it would.
Sybil glared at her sister in outrage. "You're not supposed to kill her!"
Seline rolled her eyes. "You know as well as I do that if she's not severely injured, Cade won't come."
"And if you kill her, Cade will kill us," her sister reminded her.
Riley groaned, still clutching the wound that seemed to be getting worse by the second. Seline started singing, making the same noises that she and her sister had used to lure sailors to their deaths many lifetimes before.
Unexpectedly, the fire went out, the lights flickered, and suddenly, a man was standing before them.
"Seline," he said, his voice deep and booming. "Tell me, what brings me here."
At first, she didn't answer. Her lips shuddered and her heart pounded in her chest. She forced herself to look him in the eyes.
"I have an offer for you... in exchange for mine and Sybil's freedom."
But suddenly, he was no longer looking at her, for he was focused on the girl lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from her abdomen.
He walked towards her slowly, and knelt down beside her. He put his hand on the wound, and immediately she started to feel better, stronger.
"My dear Evangeline," he said in a low voice. "How nice to meet you, after all this time."
Riley frowned in confusion, wanting to say something, anything. But her brain wouldn't let her think of anything coherent. He chuckled.
"It's okay," he assured her. "We have all the time in the world to catch up."
Suddenly, he noticed Lizzie and Josie sitting in the corner, looking up at him. It took him less than a second to put two-and-two together.
"So... you want your freedom in exchange for these two sweet girls. Am I correct?"
Seline nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She couldn't decipher the look on his face, couldn't understand if he thought that it was a good idea or not.
But he smiled, and looked over at the twins once again. "With time and guidance, there's no telling what they can become."
Seline breathed a sigh of relief. "Does that mean that we have a deal?"
Before Cade could respond, Sybil jumped in. "What if I can offer you a better deal, here and now?"
Seline frowned at her sister. "What are you talking about?"
"Two brothers, two of history's most prolific killers. Two powerful, immortal vampires." Riley could feel her heart beating in her throat. The sensation made her want to throw up. Or maybe it was the thought of Damon and Stefan being forced to serve this man for eternity that tugged on her gag reflex. "They'll be much more potent weapons for you than these helpless children. Seline and I are simply sirens. Trust me, you'll be trading up."
"No," Riley said, loud enough for Cade to hear. "No. There must be another option."
Abruptly, someone burst into the room. It was Stefan.
"I'll do it," he immediately agreed. "I'll do whatever you want. Just let the girls go."
There was so much that Riley wanted to say. She wanted to remind him that he was engaged to her sister, that he had a whole life to live. That he would be giving his life up by making this deal. But as she looked at his face, she saw that he knew exactly what he was giving up. For Caroline and her daughters, he'd give up everything.
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So Riley was the missing piece that Sybil and Seline needed - but will anyone be able to stop Damon and Stefan from giving themselves over to Cade?
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