Visitation (Vampire Diaries) (Book Six)

Chapter 11__Woke Up With A Monster

I was slowly waking, in more pain than I could have imaged possible. 

I couldn't see yet. All I could see was darkness. 

But I could hear Kai's voice. I could barely hear it at first, distant and echoing. "See, we never went out to dinner when I was a kid, so I always had this fascination with chefs and fine dining. Dad actually let me cook." I opened my eyes to see a bright white light on the ceiling above me. "Taught me to measure by eye. Seasonings to taste, all that stuff." I slowly raised my head to look around. We were in the Grill. I was restrained to a chair. "But it's different now in the restaurant world. Everything's on timers. It's like..." Kai was sitting across the table from me, eating. My vision was blurry. "Fries go in, you push a button." My vision and hearing cleared up. "It dings, you take them out. Literally, no guess work."

I felt my hands tied behind my back, behind the chair I was in, trying to pull free, groaning in pain when I felt the vervain sear my skin. "Why am I here?" 

"Oh, well, I spent 20 years in abandoned restaurants and now I'm showing off the fruits of my labor," Kai told me. 

I looked at the Mystic Grill sign on the wall. "I don't mean the Mystic Grill."

"Oh, you mean, like, here, here, in Mystic Falls?" Kai asked, chuckling. "Sorry. I'm nervous. I'm--You're, like, really pretty."

"Why am I here, Kai?" I asked forcefully.

"Well, I took the spell that was keeping supernaturals out of Mystic Falls, and I..." Kai trailed off. "I, like, absorbed it, like... Like, ate it, I guess." He took a bite of his food. "It's cool, huh? First, I eat magic, and then, eventually, I lose it. But, I mean, a huge spell like that? I mean, come on. Magic's oozing out of me. It's all over the place." I closed my eyes in annoyance. "You know, I didn't quite realize I was so out of control until I met the manager of the Grill a few hours ago." I opened my eyes, looking away, bored and annoyed. "And he was all like, 'Yeah, you can't come in here. We're closed, and you have an unconscious girl over your shoulder.' And I was like, 'Don't judge me'." I looked at him weirdly. "So, then I gave him a heart attack. Tried to. But all I did was make him vomit uncontrollably, which was like, 'ugh, all right, let's stop that.' So, I tried again, and I think I broke his spine. I mean, I'm not really sure, because the third time I tried the spell, he kind of exploded in blood. Whoops." 

Kai took a drink. 

I looked at him incredulously. "What the hell is wrong with you?" 

"I just told you," Kai told me. "I have too much magic. You know, it wasn't until after my test run with the manager that I realized if I start the merge with Jo, and my gushing fountains of magic turn her into that guy, then I'm not gonna have a twin for the merge. So, Nicola, that is why you are here." He took a bite of his food. "Because... I need to get my magic under control. By practicing with you, or rather, by practicing on you."

"Kai, you talk too much," I told him.

"So I've been told," Kai told me. "Oh, hey, P.S. Silver lining? After the manager finally stopped thrashing around, I finally managed a cloaking spell. Thank you." He took a drink. "It's easy to do and undo. Phesmatos oculix."

The dead, burned body of the manager appeared on the table in front of me, looking at me with eyes still wide in horror.

I gasped, struggling, making the chair back away. I looked away in disgust. 

"Table for three," Kai said, chuckling. "You had no idea."

I looked at the dead body for a moment, recovering. I looked at Kai. "So you needed a guinea pig to get your magic under control."