Chapter 16
Is That a Horcrux?
Jonas Martin and his son Luke sit inside The Grill in a booth in the back corner facing the bar observing the people of this small town. They kept their eyes on a group sitting at the bar. Using magic to be able to hear their conversation over the music and other patrons, “Should you be grading papers at the bar?” Damon asked his new drinking buddy. Alaric huffs, “I get through it if I have a buzz. Hello Hermione, Fenrir, and Mason. How are you tonight?” “Doing good, Ric.” Fenrir gave a short answer, the werewolf becoming more comfortable around people.
The Martins have been in town for a week and so far, they have learned very little about Leilani Evans and her family. What they have learned is that most of the family keeps to themselves, only interacting with the general public if they have to and mostly staying within their little group. Jonas has tried to approach any one of them when he spots them outside of their home but has had no luck in striking up a conversation. Upon further research, the Martins found no records of a ‘Leilani Evans’ dated before late August-early September 2009. So, here they are, trying to listen in to their conservation to learn as much as possible and report back to The Noble Original.
Hermione sat at the bar next to her husband and Mason with Ric on the other side of Fenrir. Damon had taken a seat on the other side of Ric, teasing his friend about grading papers while drunk. Since she had sat down at the bar, Hermione had felt an unwelcome and familiar feeling. She leans forward to look down the bar towards Damon when the feeling gets stronger. Hermione kept looking back and forth between everyone sitting at the bar when she was finally able to zero in on the feeling. It’s coming from Alaric’s ring.
“Alaric?” Hermione gained the part-time vampire hunter’s attention. “I’m curious about your ring? Is there a story behind it?” Alaric shares a knowing look with Damon, who gives a subtle nod saying ‘it’s okay’ to tell. Ric sighs, “My late wife gave it to me. I wasn’t sure why until this one (Ric points to Damon) killed me, but I didn’t stay dead.” Hermione’s eyes widened when she realized why the feeling she got from the ring felt vaguely familiar, it felt like a Horcrux.
Hermione cleared the heavy lump in her throat, “Would you mind if myself and Bill examine it? You don’t have to take it off or anything.” She watches Ric move his hands under the bar trying to hide the ring. Hermione continues to explain, “It’s just that ring gives off almost the same feeling as a Horcrux.” At the last word, Damon’s head turns so quickly you would think his neck snapped, “Excuse me?” Hermione nods, “I’m not entirely sure but it feels very similar to the locket Lei and I spent months wearing before we were able to destroy it.”
Ric starts to gather his belongings to leave the bar. Both Damon and Hermione step in front of him. Damon holds his hands up in surrender, “Maybe just have them look at it. You don’t even have to take it off.” Ric shakes his head, “This ring is the only thing that kept me from dying permanently.” “And I understand that. We just want to make sure it is not causing you any harm,” Hermione tries to reassure Ric.
Seeing that they are not going to give up, Ric agrees to let Hermione and Bill examine the ring while he keeps it on his finger. So, Ric followed Damon to the Evans’ household later that evening to determine if his ring was a danger to himself and others. He became even more concerned when he remembered Jeremy had worn one of the Gilbert rings at one point. The Martins left the Grill shortly after them to report their findings to Elijah.
While Hermione, Fenrir, and Mason were at The Grill, Lei was dealing with the Sheriff and John Gilbert. John had gone to the council and explained what Elena had told him. So now, the Sheriff and John stood at the door of the Evans’ home trying to get inside. “Miss Evans, we are here on official police business. Can you please step aside and let us in?” Sheriff Forbes demanded. “Why? What is it that you’re looking for? And if it’s police business like you say, what is he doing here?” Lei pointed to John. “I'm a respected member of the community,” John puffed up his chest. “Oh okay. If that’s the case, come back with your deputies and a warrant, and leave the pompous prick at home. Good evening, Sheriff. Dickhead,” Lei slams the door in their faces.
Soon after that, the group that was at The Grill entered the house. Ric was invited in after he was informed of the wards, which made him relax slightly. Hermione called for Pip and a small ‘pop’ was heard in front of the group, “Yous called Miss Hermione?” Hermione smiles, “Yes, Pip. Would you please let Bill know he is needed?” Pip bows before disappearing. The group faces Ric to see his mouth open in shock, “What the hell was that?!” Damon answers, “That was Pip. He is a House Elf. Very helpful little guy.” Ric comes out of his shocked state, “Oh, okaaay. So, what are we waiting for?”
“You were waiting for me,” Bill came walking down to the foyer. Bill stood next to Hermione as she explained what happened. Bill turns to Ric once Hermione is done, “Like Hermione said, you don’t have to take it off as we examine your ring.” Bill and Hermione pull their wands. Ric has seen them use their wands but is still wary of them. Bill taps his wand on the ring to start the examination.
Once the results were written down, Bill looks them over with Hermione reading next to him. “Well, the magic contained in the ring is quite dark. It seems every time you die your humanity is being chipped away,” Bill states before looking up into the ghost-white faces of both Alaric and Damon. Since Damon has been responsible for one of the times Ric has died, he feels like it’s partially his fault. Ric doesn’t even know what to think, just that he is scared of what would happen if he dies again.
Alaric seemed to be the logical one, “Is there any way to reverse the damage?” Hermione shakes her head, “I’m afraid not. We would have to thoroughly examine the ring and the magic it contains and possibly neutralize the side effects.” Ric hesitates to take the ring off in fear of dying permanently but does so anyway and hands it to Bill, “Do what you need to. My late wife Isobel gave it to me, she said it would protect me. However, she didn’t tell me it would cost me my humanity.”
Ric was becoming overwhelmed, “I can’t lose my humanity, I’m helping Jenna raise two teenagers for crying out loud!” Damon grabs Ric by the shoulders, “Hey, we’ll figure this out. Okay? We’ll help you. I’ll help you. It’s the least I can do since I was at fault for one of the times you died.” That shocked everyone who knew Damon, it almost sounded like an apology. Alaric wasn’t in the mood to argue with Damon and just nodded his head.
Damon lets go of Ric and turns to Hermione and Bill, “So, what now? Is there anything we can do to help?” Bill and Hermione share a look before Bill answers, “The original spell that was cast on this ring would help greatly. It is not needed necessarily but it would make the process go much faster if we knew how dark the magic is.”
Ric thought about what he knew of the ring, “It originally belonged to John Gilbert. He gave it to Isobel, and she gave it to me. John is wearing his brother’s ring. And at one point, Jeremy had worn my ring. Is this going to affect him too?” “Has Jeremy ever died?” Hermione asked. They all shook their heads no. Damon thought back to when he argued with Elena after finding out Katherine never loved him and almost snapped Jeremy’s neck but didn’t. Damon could smell Leilani’s scent on Jeremy and knew if he hurt the kid, Lei would be disappointed in him. So, he dropped Jeremy and left.
“Okay, so Jeremy is not to be worried about, for now. We’ll just concentrate on the ring and Ric for the time being,” Hermione stated. They all agreed that was the safest plan of action. “Elena and I will check the Gilbert journals and see if it says anything about the rings,” Alaric says as they are walking to the door. Alaric went back to the Gilbert residence while Damon stayed to talk to his best friend.
Damon found Leilani in the sitting room with a tumbler of Firewhiskey staring into the flames in the fireplace. “Good evening, Leilani. How are you?” Damon had his signature smirk on his face while he poured himself a tumbler. He took a closer look at Lei’s face, “What’s got you looking so glum?” Damon sat down in the armchair next to Leilani. Lei sighed, “The Sheriff and John Gilbert came by earlier. Wanting to come into the house on “official police business”. I refused to let them in so now they’re probably getting a warrant to search the place.”
“What the hell? What are they looking for? Did they say?” Damon is baffled. The council has not shown any sign of going after Leilani or her family. Something must have happened. Lei shook her head, “They didn’t say what they’re looking for. It felt like John was the one calling the shots, not the Sheriff. I mean, why else would he be involved?” Damon shook his head in disbelief, “Unbelievable. I’ll see what I can find out from the Council. Maybe they think it’s because you arrived in town around the same time myself and my brother did. I did kill quite a few people when I first got here.” Damon looked at his friend waiting for the judgmental looks and remarks.
“Well, at least you’re cleaning up after yourself now or this town would probably be painted red,” Lei has a sad smile on her face. She has no right to judge him or his brother for being what they are. That would be like judging Fenrir for being a werewolf when he has no control when he shifts. Or even herself when she was a child and considered a “freak” by her so-called relatives. Lei took the last drink and set the tumbler down, “I have a feeling I may have to deal with John myself.” The two best friends just sat in silence staring into the fireplace watching the flames dance brightly then turn to ash.
Elijah had seen a great many things in his thousand years on Earth, but he had never seen an owl delivering a letter. He was sitting at the small table inside the apartment he rented, drinking a cup of coffee when he heard tapping on glass. Elijah looked to the kitchen window and saw an owl carrying an envelope in its beak, “Now that’s something you don’t see every day.” He stood and opened the window to let the owl inside. It had flown into the kitchen, landed on the counter near an uneaten plate of eggs and bacon. The owl held the letter in its beak waiting for Elijah to take it.
The Noble Original could see his name beautifully written on the envelope. He cautiously pulled the letter from the owl and looked it over. He could see it wasn’t normal paper but parchment. Elijah heard a small sound of scratching and looked away from the envelope to see the owl taking a piece of bacon. Since it wasn’t his plate, Elijah just shrugged. Once the owl was done with the bacon, it flew out the open window.
Elijah closed the window, went back to his seat, and opened the letter. It was from Leilani. A detailed list of people not to come to any harm by his hand whether directly or not. He read it over and saw quite a few names he did not recognize as of yet. One name he didn’t see was the doppelgangers. Jonas had entered the kitchen to eat his breakfast. He looked down at his plate and noticed a piece of bacon missing, “Did you take a piece of my bacon?” Elijah didn’t even look away from the letter, “No. It was stolen by the owl that delivered this letter.” Jonas was confused by the answer he received but let it go. It was too far-fetched for something the “stiff” original to think up.
Refolding the letter and stuffing back into the envelope, Elijah rose from his seat, “I must speak with the doppelganger. It appears she has isolated herself and may be causing trouble.” He didn’t wait for a reply as he sped out of the apartment.
Mason swipes to deny what seems like the hundredth call from his old pack. They have been trying to contact him since before Katherine died. He wants nothing to do with any of them, especially Jules or Brady. Mason only ran with them because he didn’t want to be alone during the full moon. But he later learned they tend to shift near populated areas and attack innocent people. Which is one of the reasons he is glad to be away from that pack.
Jules aggressively shoves her phone back in her pocket while the pack is setting up camp near the quarry outside of Mystic Falls. Brady walks up to her, “Still no answer?” Jules shakes her head, “Nope.” She looks around the camp before focusing on Brady, “Why don’t you and a few others head into town and see if you spot Mason? Maybe pay a visit to his nephew?” Brady smirked as he walked over to a couple of guys and they left for the small town.
Brady and his friends walked into the Grill and caught the scents of a vampire and two young wolves. They looked around the restaurant and found where the scents were coming from. Brady whispers in his friend’s ear to get a table and watch the group while he calls Jules. Brady informed Jules of what he found, and she told him a plan to use the little ones as bait.
Unsuspecting of what’s going on, Caroline, Hermione and her twins were enjoying a nice lunch at the Grill before they were to head home after a small shopping trip. “Definitely needed to get out of the house. Plus, the twins had outgrown their clothes,” Hermione gushed over her little ones. The twins were babbling to each other while gnawing on French fries.
Caroline smiled at the small family before it dropped when she smelt an unfamiliar scent of a werewolf or werewolves. She cautiously looked around and saw a table with four guys trying to be discreet about looking over at their table. Caroline leans closer to Hermione to whisper, “There are some wolves that I don’t recognize that keep looking over at us. We should go.”
Hermione didn’t look over to the wolves but nodded her head. She put some money on the table as Caroline picked up Conri then Hermione picked up Althaia so they could leave. They kept talking about some of the twins’ outfits as they walked out of the Grill. Caroline and Hermione sensed the wolves were following them, so they hurried to Caroline’s car.
The wolves rushed after them. Brady stopped Caroline from unlocking her car, “Excuse me, ladies? I was wondering if you could help me and my friends?” Caroline gave Hermione a small nod to play along hoping they could get away unharmed. “Sure. How can I help you?” Caroline turned to face Brady. The smile he gave unnerved the two women, “You see, I’m looking for another friend of mine. He recently came back to his hometown for a visit and was supposed to go back home but he never did. His name is Mason. Have you heard of him?”
Both Hermione and Caroline shook their heads while Hermione said, “Haven’t seen him.” Which is partially true. Mason had been in the Sanctuary with Charlie and Fenrir, helping attend to the creatures that day. And Caroline hasn’t seen Mason in the last few days.
Brady just hummed and nodded his head. Caroline and Hermione became even more uncomfortable as the wolves circled around them. One of them grew impatient and lunged for Conri, trying to pry him from Caroline’s grip. Conri cried out from the painful grip the wolf had on his arm which caused his sister to start crying too.
Caroline grabbed the wolf’s wrist, twisted, and snapped it, forcing him to let go of the child. She quickly handed Conri to Hermione, who had discreetly pulled her wand from its holster strapped to her forearm. Once she had both her babies, Hermione turned to Caroline who was fighting with the other wolves. Hermione was going to hex them off of Caroline, but she yelled for Hermione to get out of there just as one of the wolves injected Caroline with Vervain. Hermione didn’t want to leave the vampire, but she had no choice so she aparated to the foyer of their home.
Hermione slumped down to the floor, holding both her crying babies which caught everyone’s attention. Fenrir reached his wife and kids before anyone else and held them, trying to calm them down. Lei was right behind him, “What happened?” Hermione was in hysterics, “Wolves surrounded us and tried to take the kids. I left Caroline there. She was fighting them, and I just left her there!” Fenrir tried to comfort her, but he was enraged that someone had tried to take his children, his cubs.
Leilani was furious. She called Pip to have everyone meet in the sitting room where they decided to go after the wolves. Caroline was like a sister to her, and she’ll be damned if Caroline gets hurt because some wolves can’t keep their paws to themselves.
It turns out, the Scooby Gang had their own run-in with Jules. She had called Stefan using Caroline’s phone and demanded Mason and Tyler be handed over in exchange for Caroline. Stefan asked for proof that Caroline was captured. Jules entered Brady’s RV where the sadistic bastard was poking a charged Cattle pod at Caroline through the bars of the small, cramped cage. Jules put the cell phone on speaker, “They want proof.” Brady picked up the handgun loaded with wooden bullets and shot Caroline in the leg twice.
Caroline’s screams and whimpers could be heard over the phone by everyone. Jules took the phone off speaker and told Stefan, “You can hear she is alive…For now.” “If you hurt her anymore, you’re going to wish you were dead,” Stefan threatened. Jules was not even phased, “If you don’t bring Tyler and Mason to the Quarry in the next 20 minutes, she will be dead.” She hung up and pocketed Caroline’s phone.
The only thing on Caroline’s mind besides the pain she is experiencing was Hermione and the twins. She only hoped they got home safe.
Stefan dragged Tyler and Mason to the Quarry to try and get Caroline back. They had come up with a plan after Mason had told Tyler all about the group he was with in Florida and how they were bad people. Tyler did not want to go with them, he wanted to stay near his uncle and his mother. The plan was to fake a surrender to try and get Caroline back without too much blood shed. Damon had other ideas, he wanted to rip Jules’ pack apart painfully slow.
Jules stood in the center of their makeshift camp blocking the door of the RV where Caroline was being held. Stefan stepped out by himself at first, “Where’s Caroline?” Jules puffed up knowing this one vampire was no match for her pack, “Where’s Tyler and Mason?” Jules discreetly sent a signal to Brady to wait inside the RV with the captured vampire. Brady had wanted to play with his new toy a little longer, but Jules wouldn’t let him. This made Brady agitated and wanting to start a fight. Being told to stay inside made his agitation worse, so he took it out on Caroline by firing several more rounds of wooden bullets into her body but never hitting her heart.
Stefan heard the commotion inside the RV, “Let her go!” Jules was smug, “Not until I have Tyler and Mason.” Stefan looked behind him to where the Lockwoods’ were hiding and signaled for that to come out. Mason slowly came out from his hiding spot with a reluctant Tyler behind him. The Lockwoods stood next to Stefan, “Now, let Caroline go!” Jules smiled as if she had already won when they heard someone approaching.
Damon stepped into the clearing away from both groups, “My brother, ever the diplomat. It’s a good thing he got here before I did. My way is a bit messier.” He moved to stand next to his brother and said, “Hand over blondie before I rip your heart out.” The female Alpha felt a little intimidated for a moment but then she remembered her pack was waiting and anxious for a fight. Jules repeats her last statement, “Not until I have Tyler and Mason.” Damon scoffed, “You’re outnumbered sweetheart. You’re not as strong as us without the full moon.” Jules smiled knowing what she was about to do, “Oh yeah. Who said I was outnumbered?” She whistles loudly calling forth the rest of her pack.
The Salvatores and Lockwoods are surrounded by the rest of the pack. Each werewolf holding a weapon of some sort. Damon looked at one wolf a few feet away, “Is that a flamethrower?” Brady had enough of not being a part of the action and came out of the RV, “Mason, you’re a fool for teaming up with vampires. You know us. You know you won’t win.”
As Brady was taunting Mason the atmosphere around them seemed to have dropped several degrees. A few of the wolves were shivering from the temperature drop, almost dropping their weapons. An overwhelming sense of dread overcame everyone there. And before anyone could attack a voice was heard coming into the clearing. The sheer power radiating from the voice sent shivers down their spines, “Which one of you mutts put their filthy paws on my godson?!”
Leilani stood on the other side of Damon. She, Greyback, Draco, Bill, Charlie, and the twins had silently arrived at the Quarry a few moments before. Leilani made her presence known while the others stayed out of sight waiting to see if they were needed. Lei looked over at every werewolf wanting an answer, “So, none of you are going to answer me?”
Brady moved closer to Jules, “Where are the pups?” The look Brady had on his face as he asked that sent Lei on edge. She felt creeped out and dirty. Lei pointed at Brady with her free hand, her other hand clutching her wand, “You will get nowhere near my godchildren.” Brady couldn’t help but smirk at this woman, “Is that a challenge?”
That was the cue for the werewolves to start attacking. The werewolf holding the flamethrower turns toward Damon and ignites a flame. Damon dodges the flame, speeds behind the guy and snaps his neck. He drops the body to catch a bolt from a crossbow. He went to attack that wolf, but the wolf froze on the spot then disintegrated into dust. Once the dust cleared, Damon could see Charlie wielding his wand.
Leilani fired, “Stupefy” aimed for Jules, sending the female alpha into the air and smashing into the RV. She turned to Tyler, “Go get Caroline.” Tyler runs through the fight, dodging attacks from the werewolves along the way. He enters the RV, “Caroline?” The normally energetic, bubbly blonde lifts her head, “Tyler?” Tyler unlocks the cage and helps Caroline out of the RV only to be knocked to the side as Brady snatches Caroline from his grasp.
Brady held the gun with the wooden bullets to her side, “Stop or she gets a wooden bullet to the heart!” His threat was useless. Most of the werewolves were either dead or incapacitated. Only himself and Jules were left. Jules stood up and limped her way next to Brady. She was going to demand Tyler and Mason leave with them, but she never got the chance.
The wand wielders lowered their wand but did not holster them. Lei was not going to let these mutts leave. She saw Greyback retract, and Fenrir was standing near her covered in blood from tearing a few of the wolves apart. Bill and the twins stayed on the outskirts of the clearing making sure none of the werewolves escaped. Charlie was helping Stefan stand after pulling a bolt from his back. Damon dropped the heart he had in his hand waiting to attack if the fight started up again.
Lei had positioned herself in front of her group, a lethal spell at the tip of her tongue. She didn’t want to cause Caroline anymore harm with the spell she had in mind. So, Lei aimed for Jules instead, “Sectumsempra!” The effects are immediate. Jules drops to the ground, several slash wounds on her abdomen were bleeding profusely. If nobody does the counter-curse in the next few minutes, Jules will bleed to death.
Brady stares at his alpha in shock, his grip loosening enough for Caroline to get out of his grip. He turns to face Leilani and fires the gun. Leilani sees this and puts up a shield, “Protego.” The bullet hits the shield instead of its target. As Brady fired the gun, Damon had rushed to protect Lei not knowing about the shield. When the bullet hit the shield, Damon had closed his eyes and anticipated the pain from being shot but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw Lei was fine, “Huh?” Damon looks behind him, Brady had been tackled by Mason while Stefan held onto Caroline. “Well, this is embarrassing,” Damon cleared his throat and stepped to the side to stand next to Lei.
Bill and the twins came into the clearing after binding a couple of stranglers. Bill pointed to the opposite end of the clearing, “We have an audience.” Jonas had followed the Salvatores to ensure they remained unharmed at Elijah’s request. However, it would seem he was not needed. Jonas held his hands up in surrender, “I only came to help but it appears my help was not needed.” Damon, the ever impulsive one, sped over to the warlock, “Who sent you?” Instead of answering, Jonas gave Damon an Aneurysm. It wasn’t held for very long before Jonas was hit with a stunner by Lei.
She shouted to Jonas, “Enough!” Leilani’s eyes glowed brightly, making her eyes the same shade as the Killing Curse. She stared into Jonas’ soul. The warlock has never felt such intense fear, not even from the Noble Original. He knew he had possibly just made an enemy. Jonas didn’t say anything as he left the Quarry, but not before taking the bound werewolves and disappearing.
Caroline had been handed over to Draco, “Come on, Caroline. Let’s get you home.” Of course, he didn’t mean her home where she would be alone since her mother works so much, but the Evans’ home. One by one the group trekked out of the Quarry and headed towards the Evans’ home. Mason and Tyler stayed to make sure Caroline was safe then they went to Lockwood Manor. Stefan and Damon went home after that, with the promise to come by in the morning for breakfast. While the rest of the household comforted a traumatized Caroline into the late night. The wand-wielders could feel something big was about to happen and they needed to be ready.
AN: This chapter was pretty long and filled with a lot. I wanted to kill off evil Ric before he made an appearance. He may not get the Gilbert ring back, if the magic cannot be neutralized.
I have a question. Should I speed up Klaus’ arrival? Should he possess Ric or just show up as himself?