Book Two: Aquiver (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Forty-Three

At the Forbes Residence, Bonnie and Diana are kneeling next to Luka's unconscious body in the living room. Caroline walks in and joins them.

"We only have, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home" Caroline offers and looks at Diana who is getting comfy behind Luka's head. "How does this work?" Caroline asks Diana, she raises an eyebrow.

"How does mind reading work?" she teases, Caroline shrugs a little. "You know, I go in, route around, find what I want....jobs done....that's not what I'm going to do" Bonnie and Caroline frown at her. "I can use my telepathy to put him a trance, like hypnosis, meaning we all get to hear the answers to questions..."

"When did you learn to do that?" Bonnie asks her.

"It's left over from..Demon me" She offers.

"Diana" Bonnie warns.

"Oh relax, it's not still in me, I just picked up a few tricks..." Diana defends and places her hands on either side of Luka's head.

"Looks like he's waking up." Caroline points out. Diana shuts her eyes and concentrates. Luka starts to breathe heavily.

.....................

Damon and Alaric are sitting in the library of the Salvatore Boarding House, drinking bourbon.

"Today was a bust." Damon comments.

"Yeah. How's the throat?"

"Sore."

"Yeah. That Elijah's one scary dude, but with nice hair. Hey. You want another one?" Alaric gets up, Damon hands him his glass, which Alaric takes and walks over to the bar.

"He's gonna be hard to kill."

"Yeah. I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and some ashes to do the job" Alaric pours more bourbon in their glasses. "You're gonna need more info."

"I'm out of sources." Damon complains.

"What's up with you and this news chick?"

"Ooh." Alaric hands Damon his glass of bourbon. "She's got spunk, huh?" Alaric sits back down on the couch and looks at Damon significantly.

"Just don't kill her, please."

"If I did, who would report her death?"

"Just don't do it, all right?" Alaric takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at it.

"Still nothing from Diana?" Damon asks, Alaric hums a little.

"No" He voices. "Just when I think I'm starting to figure her out" Damon laughs a little.

"Come on, Ric, you're never going to figure that one out..." Alaric lets out a breath and then nods.

"I'm going to pick up dinner" Alaric offers as he stands. "Maybe that'll cheer her up...or whatever is going on. Don't worry. I'll, uh, show myself out." Damon places his hands on the back of his head and shuts his eyes.

"Good luck." Damon comments. Alaric walks out of the library. Damon remains in his relaxed position until he hears a loud, crashing noise from the hallway. His eyes fly open and he walks out of the library and into the hallway. Out in the hallway, Damon sees that Alaric has a large knife plunged into his stomach. Alaric looks at Damon as he clutches at the knife and groans as he falls to the floor. Suddenly, from the rafters of the parlor's ceiling, Stevie drops down with wolf-speed. Damon and Stevie engage in supernatural speed combat. Stevie, with the element of surprise, stabs Damon in the neck with a syringe full of vervain. Damon grunts but is not completely affected by the vervain and vamp speeds around the room, crashing Stevie into several walls. Finally, Damon weakens and falls to the ground. Stevie removes the syringe from his neck and stands up.

"Whew! Damn, you're strong. It took the whole syringe." Two more werewolves walk through the front and look down at Alaric's dead body. Damon, weak, but still awake looks up from the floor. "Grab that one. He's dead." Jules enters the house with a shotgun over her shoulder. She looks down at Damon.

"Hi, Damon. Nice to see you again."

..............

"How long is this gonna take?" Caroline asks Diana who is still sat behind Luka, her hands on his head.

"I don't know. He's fighting me." Diana admits. Luka is moving his head around, fighting Diana's intrusion in his mind.

"Please stop." Luka begs. "Please." Diana closes her eyes and Luka soon follows suit, successfully having been brought back under her control.

"There" Diana whispers. "All right. Ask" She tells her friends. Bonnie and Caroline share a look, Caroline nods for Bonnie to go first.

"Why are you working with Elijah?" Bonnie asks Luka.

"Klaus. We both want him dead."

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?" Bonnie counters.

"Because he has her and we have to get her away from him."

"Who...who are you talking about?"

"My sister."

"His sister?" Caroline asks.

"Why does he have her?" Bonnie continues.

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelgänger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries."

"What has Elijah promised you?" Diana asks him now.

"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to return her to us."

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an Original vampire?" Luka starts to fight Diana again.

"He'll kill me if I tell you. Don't make me." Luka begs.

"It's okay, Diana. We can find another way." Bonnie assures her.

"No" Diana snaps and holds to his head tighter. "How will you kill Klaus?" Diana demands.

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance.

"After the sacrifice?"

"What do you mean, after?" Bonnie pushes.

"Klaus will be vulnerable."

"But Elena will be dead." Diana points out.

"Yes. Elena has to die." Luka agrees. Diana shares a look with Bonnie and Caroline.

"Di" Caroline whispers, Diana frowns, Caroline reaches up and touches her own nose. Diana brings her fingers up under her nose and pulls them back to find them bloody. She brushes her sleeve under her nose and wipes it away.

"You've never pushed it that far before, have you?" Bonnie asks her.

"No" Diana agrees, they share a look. "But you once said that the only way to expand what you can do is to practise and push..." Bonnie nods a little.

"I did" She whispers. "But Diana....you're still recovering, you've only just got your powers back...." Diana takes a breath and stands.

"And I am sick of everyone else deciding what's best for me" Diana argues. "I've been dealing with this a lot longer than you...or Ric...or Elena...I know my limits...I know what I am capable of" she tugs her jacket closer to her. "And I wish people would remember that" she then leaves the room, Bonnie and Caroline share a look.