Return To Mystic Falls

No One and Nothing

A map of Mystic Falls and the surrounding towns. Four candles placed on the map corners. Strands of Elena's hair, taken from the brush she leaves in Stefan's bathroom. Bright orange flames burst into existence as I take the kitchen knife running it along the palm of my hand. And witches say vampires are obsessed with blood. Taking Elena's hair in my hand I let my blood drip down the strands, landing on the map's surface. I chant the girl's name over and over, watching as the ruby liquid glides over the paper, collecting at approximately the spot of Tyler Lockwood's house. Perfect. Now Elena won't be able to go anywhere without us knowing.

There's rustling from Damon's bedroom, drawers being open and shut. Leaving the map, I poke my head into the hallway. Katherine backs out of my boyfriend's room, doing her best to shut the door quietly behind her.

"What were you doing in Damon's room?" Katherine jumps, spinning around to face me. Her eyes are wide, lips quickly twisting into an innocent smile.

Katherine shrugs, trying to play off the situation as if she's been doing nothing shady, "Just looking through his things, trying to fight off boredom."

"Stay out of there," I follow Katherine as she makes her way up the hallway, not once turning her back to me. I should have known her whole 'I'm going to trust you' bit was a load of shit. Katherine doesn't even trust her own shadow. "I don't want you in there and I know he doesn't either. If you're bored leave or go hang out with Isobel and John."

I get a raised eyebrow and fluttering eyelashes as if Katherine truly thinks her flattery is going to work on me, "Why would I do that?"

"You may have the Salvatore brothers fooled with this whole 'I wanna help' act, but I know you too well, Katherine. You aren't on our team or John Gilbert's team. You're on Katherine's team, which means you'll do or say anything to save your own ass."

Katherine smirks, letting her hand come to rest on her hip, "Hmm, sounds like someone else I know. Funny, how you're just like me."

"Just like you?" I scoff, letting out a chuckle. Looks like Katherine's time in the tomb has made her completely lose her mind. "Bitch I created you. Now, stop snooping or I'll expose you for the snake you are." With no witty come back or snide remark to make, Katherine turns, beginning to head up the stairs. "Hey," the vampire stops, looking over her shoulder at me, "you should give Damon his money back."

She looks like a child that's just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Reaching into her bra, Katherine pulls out a wad of money, letting it fall to the steps before disappearing.

Gathering the money, I wander to Damon's room, tucking the cash back between his socks. Something in here feels off, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. Spinning around, I take in the room, scanning it for anything that may be missing. Everything seems to be in place, Damon's normal assortment of books and grey t-shirts littering the wooden floor. Taking one last look, I shut the door. There's not a powerful enough banishing spell to get rid of the presence of Katherine in that room.

Returning to the parlor, I pull up a chair next to the map, watching as the spot of blood slides to the left or right as Elena moves around. I prop my feet up on the table, beginning to flip through the grimoire Damon brought me. There's a lot of talk in here about challenging powers and linking oneself with other witches. The bits about wordless spell casting catch my eye. While I've done some of this, the grimoire talks of bigger, more powerful magic. Glancing up from the book, I scan the map for the Elena spot.

Blank, a map as it should be right out of the brochure shelf. The chair hits the floor with a thud that vibrates through the silent room as I trail my hands over the paper. Where did she go? Running through the spell again, I watch as my blood vaporized, disappearing in thin air before it hits the map surface. Again and again, I try to locate Elena on the map, each time the blood evaporating before it touches the table. Shit.