(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Forty-Six

Later; Jeremy gives Tyler a glass of water in the kitchen as Daphne watches from the living room, pacing slightly as she chews on her thumbnail. She doesn't want to make a scene. She doesn't want to destroy her home. So hexing Tyler right now is out of the question. It would just annoy Jeremy more. It would push him away, which is what she said would happen to begin with. She was right. She should have just left it alone. Alaric lets himself into the house and moves to where Daphne is.

"I got your text," He tells her. "What's going on?" He asks her, she shakes her head and then nods to the kitchen where Tyler and Jeremy are. Alaric turns back to Daphne. "What is he doing here?"

"I have no idea" She whispers. "But I don't like it...." She admits. "There is something off about his mind" She shakes her head. "I can't read it"

"At all?" Alaric asks, she hums and looks at him.

"Some" She counters. "But it's all jumbled up, like he's not thinking for himself, it's like his mind is..." She bites her lip and then releases it. "It has to be a sired thing"

"Look, maybe I should go" Tyler offers.

"Oh, stay. You're not doing anything" Jeremy argues.

"Unless you have to, you know, check in with your hybrid master" Daphne snarks a little. She hates him being in her house around her little brother. Pad sits on her shoulder, clutching to her hair with an equally grumpy look on his face. Seemingly understanding her mood. Tyler laughs though. "You think this is fucking funny?" Daphne growls a little, pulling her wand out from her wand.

"It's not like that, Daphne"

"Tell me Tyler...What is the difference between being sired and being compelled?" Alaric asks.

"Compulsion-that's just mind control-like hypnosis. And being sired is...it's like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing.

"So you believe that serving Klaus is the right thing?" Daphne asks him, shifting closer slowly.

"I don't serve him. Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that." Tyler argues.

"What if he asked you to jump off a bridge?" Alaric pushes, moving around the other way.

"He wouldn't! And even if he did I'd be fine. I'm a hybrid."

"Okay, so what if he asked you to rip your own heart out?" Daphne continues.

"Again, he wouldn't."

"What if he did?"

"I don't know, Daph! Then I'd rip out my heart!" Tyler admits. Daphne, Jeremy, and Alaric look taken aback by that admission. Daphne wasn't expecting that. Tyler realises what he's said. He scoffs. "You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out over something you don't understand"

"You're right, Tyler, I don't understand" Daphne comments as Jeremy's phone rings, he turns away from the room to answer it. "Klaus has terrorized every single one of us, people you have known since you were wearing a full diaper....and you're just blindly loyal to him"

"You're over-thinking it. I can still make my own decisions" Tyler argues with her.

"No" Daphne argues. "You can't...that's why your mind doesn't feel like yours...because it's not anymore" She steps back from him. "Everything you do...every choice you think you make....it's not you, not any more" Jeremy hangs up his phone and looks rather glazed. Daphne frowns. "What was that about?"

"It was nothing" Jeremy answers.

"I got to go" Tyler suddenly adds, seemingly desperate to leave now. Alaric and Daphne watch as Tyler leaves.

"That was illuminating" Alaric comments. Daphne snorts and shakes her head.

"So, Tyler Lockwood is a lunatic who has access to our house" Daphne comments. "Fucking fantastic"

"I mean this whole sire bond thing is...wild" Alaric offers. " I don't even think Tyler is fully aware of what little reason lies behind what he's saying. It's this weird cult logic"

"Well, great, that's a wonderful influence for you, Jer..." Daphne turns around but Jeremy is gone. "Jeremy?" Jeremy's protection ring is lying in the middle of his plate on the table.

"That's his ring" Daphne holds out her hand and the ring flies into her palm, she turns her hand up and looks around a little. "Can you hear him?" Alaric asks.

"Yes, but his mind...." It suddenly clicks with her. "He's been compelled" She grabs Alaric's arm and then aparates them outside. Alaric stumbles backwards and then shakes his head.

"He can't be compelled" Alaric defends. "He's wearing vervain" She points ahead of them where Jeremy is standing in the middle of the street.

"Then what is he doing?!" She asks him. Suddenly, a car comes whipping around the corner and speeds towards Jeremy. Alaric and Daphne run towards him. "Jeremy!" She aparates away, reappearing at Jeremy's side, she grabs his arm but might be too late to get them away again. Her eyes widen as the car nears, gets ready to aparate again once she can. Suddenly, Alaric pushes the two of them out of the way at the last second and is hit by the car instead. Daphne scrapes her arm but manages to not hurt herself too badly. Jeremy groans as he comes around from the compulsion.

"Daph?" He asks when he notices her at his side.

"Ric, get to Ric" She counters as she pushes herself up a little. Jeremy nods and rushes over to Alaric. The car pulls up next to them. Tony, the hybrid, is in the car, window rolled down as he looks down at them in the road.

"There I go again. Bumping into people..." Tony mumbles and begins to drive away. The car suddenly halts its movements, wheels spinning as he attempts to drive away. Daphne is on the ground, on the road behind it, her hand held out as she pulls it back towards them. No way in hell is she letting this slide. She pushes herself to her feet as she makes the car return to them, stopping right between her and Jeremy who drags Alaric out of the road. Daphne whips out her wand and aims it at the car door.

"Bombarda!" The car door explodes outward, narrowly avoiding her. She holds out her free hand and then curls her wrist, using her telekinesis to tear him out of the car, holding him down at the ground, she turns her wand on him. But he just smirks back at her. "Incarcerous" Ropes suddenly snap his hands behind his back. "Stupify duo!" The spell hits the hybrid and sends him to his back, knocking him unconscious. Jeremy checks Alaric's hand to make sure his ring was on, he lets out a breath and looks at Daphne as she drags the hybrid around the side of the car.

"He's got his ring on," Jeremy tells her and frowns. "What are you doing?"

"Sending Klaus a message" She answers. "Let's see how he likes it when his hybrid turns against him"

"How are you going to do that?" Jeremy asks, she drops the hybrid and lets out a breath. She knows how she is going to do it. And for the first time ever, she is actually considering doing something that can get her into a lot of trouble if she gets caught.