Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Two: Twenty-Three Seconds

Hours later, Meg found her whole world breaking in front of her eyes.

The sky was dotted with blotchy holes. Great abysses were opening up in the ground with a wrenching crack. Entire buildings were melting into the ground, like chocolate wilting in the sun. And there was this dark monstrosity roaming this mystic plain now, a kind of vortex-thing that vacuumed up spirits and flung them into the sky. She bit her lip, holding back a sob. Now that the dreaded event was upon her, she was overcome with fear.

Ugh, she hadn’t expected it to all go down so soon! Sure, she knew that the Other Side was nearing implosion – that’s what all her planning was for – but you’d think it’d take more than a few hours for it to go from relatively ordinary, to hell on earth. Her notes, her careful preparation; it all seemed laughable now.

She was outside the Mystic Grill, listening to the Travellers’ partying. Sheriff Forbes had done her job, and lured the enemy to one place under the pretence of lecturing them on civic duties. Matt and Jeremy would have already set off the gas main, flooding the Grill with flammable vapours that Damon would set alight by driving his car into the building in about ten minutes. The question was, would Meg survive long enough to see it?

She checked her watch: it was 7.03 pm. It was a habit of her’s, to check her watch whenever she felt nervous. This feeling – the one that was alike to swallowing live eels – definitely constituted as nerves.

Suddenly, the street was plunged into thick, oily blackness. Meg stopped breathing. If her heart had still been thumping, it would have skipped a beat; abrupt and unexplainable darkness was a symptom of the vortex-thing. It was here.

Dense gales converged upon her and she screamed, clutching at a lamppost. Her feet were literally swept out from underneath her, flailing in the wind as she tried desperately to get them back onto solid ground. Winds were whipping her from every direction; she couldn’t see through a mix of hair and darkness; she chipped a tooth on the metal lamppost when the gusts threw her violently forward; cold temperatures scraped against her skin, making it mottled and raw. Somehow, Meg managed to wrap her legs around the lamppost, clinging to it as tightly as she could and closing her eyes against the tempest just as tightly.

She was securely attached, but the vortex wouldn’t leave. It pushed against her, the coldness of it sinking into her skin and making her very blood freeze. Meg knew she would tire eventually, and loosen her grip on the pole. She was also pretty sure supernatural vortexes didn’t tire. They were at an impasse, for now, but Meg would, sooner or later, lose. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it sooner.

A voice spoke right in her ear, making her shudder, "It’s alright, I’ve got you." An arm wrapped around her, too strong to be a mortal’s, and held her ever more tightly to the lamppost. There was no way this strength would be broken. The winds became more sluggish around her, until, eventually, the vortex gave up hope and they disappeared altogether.

The arms released her and Meg fell gracelessly to the floor. She felt like all her limbs had been replaced by jelly during her short brush with death, and she got up slowly and shakily, massaging her aching muscles. "Thanks." she stuttered through chattering teeth.

"No problem, gorgeous." said the voice again and this time Meg distinguished a British accent. Her jaw dropped as she figured out who her saviour was. He had short black hair, olive-toned skin and dark eyes. It was that Augustine vampire, the one that died and wanted to come back, what was his name again? Enzo.

"Gah." she made a stressed noise in the back of her throat. She checked her watch: 7.07 pm. Her gaze flicked back to the vampire, who was smirking at her and cocking his head, and she instinctively checked her watch again.

No-one in that group was supposed to know about her. If Enzo asked the right questions and figured out her plan, he was sure to do something to get rid of her. The more people that came back to life, the less chance Bonnie would still be alive to let everyone else out. Meg’s plan brought Bonnie one step closer to dying before she let all her friends out. Before she let Enzo out.

And, for some reason, Meg didn’t think he would appreciate that.

Panic welled up inside her; she had checked her watch about five times now, her anxiety was so great. Calm down, she ordered internally, stopping in the act of checking again. You’ve just got to hope your plan isn’t obvious.

"Why’d you save me?" she had a go at nonchalance.

"Because I consider it a base crime to let pretty girls fly off into oblivion." he answered wryly.

Meg, despite everything, found the ability to roll her eyes.

"What’re you doing, standing outside the Mystic Grill?" he asked, crossing his arms. "It’s an odd choice as your place of death, I must say."

Meg swore in her head. She was an awful liar. "Oh, nothing. Just getting a last look about the town is all." she said breezily.

"Oh, really? I’ve never seen you ‘round this town before."

"I died back in the 90s." she said bluntly. "I’m a long-term resident of the Other Side."

"Ah. I only died a little while ago, myself." he said conversationally, as though he was discussing the weather and not his horrific demise.

"Huh. Well, I’d better get going if I want to see the whole town before I – you know, drift off into oblivion." she laughed, and it sounded fake in her own ears.

Enzo said nothing; he was still staring at her. Daring to hope he’d leave her alone now, Meg turned on the spot and started down the street again. She checked her watch; it was 7.09 pm. Come on, Damon, where are you?

"Actually," Enzo called behind her. Meg froze, another jolt of adrenaline in her already jam-packed veins making her feel positively light-headed. "I believe I have seen you somewhere before."

"Oh?" Meg didn’t turn around.

"You’re the girl that keeps following us."

Meg turned around wildly, eyes wide. Crap. He must've seen her stalking them. Enzo looked at her coolly. "Now, what exactly are you doing, following us all around town?"

With every word, he took a step closer. His walk was distinctly cat-like, a tiger stalking its prey. Meg’s breathing was nearing hyperventilation. The air slid down her throat like a bucket of nails, tainted with the bone-deep coldness leftover by the vortex. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Come on, gorgeous." he smirked. "The fear coming off you has already given you away. What are you up to?"

Meg stumbled back as Enzo took a particularly large step, closing the space between them. Her mind was on overdrive, trying to think of a semi-plausible lie to tell the vampire. It couldn’t come up with anything.

"Shall we put a timer on it?" he asked pleasantly. "I give you…" he checked her watch, "twenty-three seconds to tell me, or you will find you have fewer limbs than you would like."

She gulped, checking her watch. Enzo had given her until 7.10 pm to answer. He must be waiting for Damon, too. Maybe if she tried to run, he won’t want to leave this area? But then she remembered the strength in his arms as he saved her from the vortex, and she knew she’d only be able to go a couple of paces before he snapped her neck. She couldn’t keep feigning ignorance, not if he knew better. Could she tell him she had an identical twin? That was a very obvious and pathetic lie. He’d see right through it. Her brain scoured all possibilities, and none of them seemed able to get her out of this mess.

Then, too soon, Enzo smirked, "Time’s up, gorgeous."

"I’m trying to come back to life" she screamed as his hands neared her throat. "OK? I’m gonna hijack your resurrection spell, so I don’t die when this place falls."

Enzo still had his hands around her neck. "Sorry, but I can’t allow that. The list of people we need to bring back to life is already needlessly huge – there’s no need for you to be on it."

And, with a snap like a gunshot, pain exploded in Meg’s neck and everything went black.