Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Thirteen: Mind Games and Paper Planes

Damon made aeroplane noises as he threw yet another paper plane over the rosebush, and Meg laughed. ‘Stop throwing them so quickly,’ she hit him on the arm. ‘I can’t make them fast enough!’

‘See, this is why witches are meant to have magic.’ he chuckled, picking another from the floor beside Meg.

‘To help you make paper planes?’ she said sardonically, flipping over a corner of the paper to finish yet another one. ‘Here you go. Last one, mind. We’re out of paper.’

He looked behind them, through the grand entryway into the Salvatore Boarding House. This place was amazing, all intricate panels and old-fashioned brick. Bonnie was just within earshot, reciting a string of Latin words that Meg recognised as a locator spell.

‘D’you think she’ll find it?’ Meg asked quietly.

He shrugged. ‘How should I know? She’s been out of practise for a while, being dead, and then the Anchor, and then here those first four months.’ he looked at Meg pointedly, ‘But then, you aren’t much better, are you? Being dead twenty years… I guess we’re stuck with second-rate witches.’

‘I’m not really a witch.’ she pointed out. ‘Not anymore. I don’t have my magic. And I don’t intend on getting it back anytime soon.’

‘Why?’ he asked quizzically, squinting under the blaring sun.

‘Trust me; it’ll be a lot more trouble than its worth.’ she shuddered, suddenly cold, and abruptly started walking back into the house. Damon followed soon after.

‘It doesn’t feel right,’ Bonnie sighed, looking at the map she had been given. There was a drop of Kai’s blood staining the pages, to be used as a link between Bonnie and the Ascendant. The blood should move as she spoke the words, but it was remaining resolutely still. ‘Maybe I need a bigger map…’

Damon threw a newspaper on the coffee table, and she looked at it curiously, before turning back to her spell. The spell was more important right now. ‘Or maybe you’re just out of practise and you suck at magic now.’

‘Ignore him, Bonnie.’ Kai spoke up. ‘Pretend he’s a white noise machine. That’s how I used to tune out my siblings. I grew up with a ton of little sisters and brothers – all of them, constantly yammering. But it taught me how to focus.’ he looked her squarely in the eye, uncomfortably close, and Meg felt her anxiety level grow. She looked at her watch. It was 9.35 AM.

‘Easy there, ‘Big Brother.’ Damon snarled, and she looked away from her watch gratefully. ‘She doesn’t know you. At least buy her a drink.’

Kai whistled, smirking, as the vampire walked out the room irritably. ‘Looks like I hit a nerve.’

‘I wish you’d stop tormenting him.’ Meg muttered, flopping down on the couch. He pretended not to hear her, but his eyes flashed nonetheless.

Bonnie found a larger map, one covering the entirety of the United States. Once again, she started to chant. And this time, the blood moved, carving a scarlet trail across the paper. There was one problem: it was moving straight to Virginia.

‘Virginia? That can’t be right.’ Kai mused.

Damon came pacing back into the room, restless, and his eyes rested upon the map.

 ‘The spell’s working. It must be.’ she looked at the map weirdly. ‘It’s showing me Mystic Falls… It feels so…’ she turned to Kai, and put a hand on his chest. Meg’s mouth nearly fell open, and she quickly stared at her watch again, feeling rather jarred. Barely five minutes had passed. ‘Close. It’s right here.’