Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Forty-Five: I...

Meg had gone through some painful times before.

Being flattened by the flow of magic.

Jumping off a speeding train.

Dying.

Running with a broken neck.

Breaking her arm.

But this? This would forever stand out as the most intense, fiery agony she could ever experience in her life.

Kai gripped her hand and started to chant, taking magic from her to power his spell as he went along. Almost immediately, Meg wanted to wrench her hand away and go cry in a corner. Concentrated, poisonous pain drove its way into her wrist, corroding her bones like acid and then pulling out the magic as if it were a needle. He tightened his grip on her hand, intoxicated by the spell, apparently oblivious to her undisguised attempts to free herself. Whatever I'm doing this for, it's not worth it, she thought wildly, before screwing her eyes shut and writhing against the sofa. Her head was flung back, her free hand digging into her leg in an attempt to equal the pain, but she doubted even lava could mimic this hell.

It just got worse as it went along, as more and more magic was drawn painfully out of her, drip by drip. Then, after about ten minutes, it got disturbingly numb. She stopped moving, stopped thinking, and slowly began to get more and more lightheaded...

"Meg!" a voice yelled at her, and there was a sharp sting against her cheek. Letting out a yelp, she sat bolt-upright as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her forehead bashed against something and she fell back, groaning.

"What'd you do that for?" she said irritably, massaging her head.

"Well, at least your snippiness survives." Kai said, equally annoyed, and Meg dropped her hand to see him sprawled on the floor, a red welt matching her's blooming spectacularly on his forehead.

"Oops." she said, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "What... what were we doing again?"

"Trying to find Bonnie?" Damon's voice cut in, and a light bulb went off in her head.

"Oh, yeah." she said sleepily, lying down again and beginning to close her eyes. "Any luck?"

Someone flicked her in the ear and she kicked out instinctively. Her foot hit something and there was a thud as someone hit the floor. "OK, that has got to stop." Kai's voice groaned again. "I'm trying to save your damned life, Meg. For the love of god, stop beating me up."

"Her life?" Elena asked. "Surely you're exaggerating a bit..."

"No such luck. See this blood?" he pointed around Meg's nose, where a scarlet stain had just started to dry, and then at her wrist, which was still oozing blood onto the Salvatores' expensive silk cushions. "I'm no doctor, but I'm guessing that's not a good sign. If she goes to sleep, for even a moment, she'll probably die."

"Just like Bonnie's Grams." Jeremy said quietly.

"Then what do I have to do? I'm so..." she yawned hugely, "I'm so tired."

"We get the miracle cure: coffee."

Ten seconds later, and Meg was being forced to drink cup after cup of black coffee, a substance she didn't even like, while the others discussed what had happened in the prison world. Meg nearly dropped her cup when she found out.

"Bonnie's going to do what?" she asked, wincing when the scalding black liquid hit her finger.

"Kill herself." Damon said without looking at her, instead staring broodingly into a glass of bourbon.