Spellbound
Chapter 1
Ebony was a drifter.
Moving from place to
place, town to town, city to city, state to state, never staying in a place for
more than a few months tops at a time.
She was a living breathing nomad, an adventurer and found ways when
there wasn’t any to survive. From the
time she left the orphanage at eighteen, Ebony had traveled all across the
United States, going wherever her instincts lead her.
The orphanage had no
choice except to kick her out on the streets once her eighteenth birthday
arrived, not having enough room to house her.
Ebony had been moved to fifteen different homes throughout the first
eighteen years of her life. She’d been
left as a crying infant on the doorstep of the New York City orphanage, in the
middle of winter, and was lucky to not have frozen to death.
Ebony didn’t get
along with anyone in the orphanage, which is probably why she never found the
‘perfect’ family. Everyone she went with
sent her back within a three month span because they couldn’t ‘handle her’ or she
was ‘too hyper’ for them. Uncontrollable
was also a word that was frequently used throughout her adolescent years.
She had one girl who
was as close to a friend as one could get and her name was Ashley. They were known as the terror twins,
constantly getting into trouble and bailing each other out, watching each
other’s back. When one got in trouble,
they both did because neither would fess up nor rat the other one out.
Ashley was four
months older than Ebony, so when she turned eighteen, Ebony was forced to watch
them toss her only friend out in the cold snow.
Ashley’s birthday was in January, so it was freezing and it made Ebony
realize just how cutthroat the orphanage was.
It also made her realize that in just a few short months –Ebony’s
birthday was in May- they would be doing the same thing to her.
And they did.
Two months before
her eighteenth birthday, the middle of March, Ebony found out through the
grapevine of the city that Ashley had been brutally raped and murdered. Her body had been brutalized with huge bite
marks all over, her neck completely snapped and she’d been completely bled
dry. Ebony didn’t cry often, but that
night all she did was curl up tightly in her small twin sized bed and mourned
her only friend’s death.
One thing Ebony and
Ashley did was make a pact with each other that, once they left the orphanage,
they would live life to the absolute fullest.
So for the next month and a half, Ebony prepared for her inevitable
departure. She had already planned where
she was going, which was far away from New York City, having stolen from the
orphanage’s donation box, so she had a small amount of cash to get her by.
There was no way she
was going to end up dead like Ashley.
After all the hell
the orphanage put her through, Ebony didn’t feel one ounce of remorse stealing
from them. She would probably go to hell
since the orphanage had been funded by the city’s Christian community, but
Ebony didn’t care. Her pact with Ashley
was to live life to the fullest and that included breaking a few rules every
now and then.
On her eighteenth
birthday, Ebony didn’t bother waiting for the orphanage’s staff to ‘dismiss’
her and left on her own, catching the first bus out of New York City. It took her to Pittsburgh, which had to be
the most boring city on the planet because all she saw there was steel. They didn’t call it the Steel City for
nothing.
Ebony stayed there
for maybe two weeks, sleeping under a nearby bridge that was on the outskirts
of Pittsburgh. She bussed
a few tables to get some more money for a local restaurant, before catching a
bus to the next city. Some jobs were not
as glamorous as others, but Ebony did what she had to do, having the body to do
it.
One thing she never
did was prostitute, having a few limitations.
That didn’t count
out stripping though, which paid outstanding money compared to busting her ass
bussing tables for worthless nobodies.
Her first stripper job came on the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
surprisingly, at Martha’s Vineyard.
There was a very small strip club that offered to pay three grand a
night, plus tips. The technical term was
called the gentleman’s club and Ebony found out exactly why that was.
It wasn’t just
stripping required for the three grand.
Sleeping with a few
old farts had been worth it because she made nine grand in the span of three
nights, sleeping with three men. The
company paid her, not the men, though two out of three did leave her a several
hundred dollar tip. Ebony felt low and
knew she had broken her vow to never prostitute, trying to rationalize what she
was doing.
After that, Ebony
only stripped for clubs that didn’t require ‘extra services’ and she was blunt
with the owners. She outright asked them
if sex was required with how much she was getting paid. Ebony didn’t mind flashing her tits and ass
for money, but as far as letting men have their way with it, that was a deal
breaker.
Two years after
Martha’s Vineyard, Ebony found herself in Chicago and worked at a local diner during
the day while stripping at night. She
was making quite a bit of money, but Ebony knew sooner or later her assets
weren’t going to be her meal ticket and that terrified her. She asked some girl named Chelsea what she
did to keep herself in shape and that’s when Ebony was introduced to drugs.
Cocaine, crack,
marijuana –the green made her extremely hungry, which was definitely a
downside-, but Ebony did stay away from heroine. She couldn’t afford to scar up her arms while
stripping, keeping it strictly smoking or snorting. Another drug she’d been introduced to was
alcohol, an addiction that outranked everything else.
Luckily, Ebony only
did cocaine and crack once in a blue moon, the green more often than not, but
the drinking was constant. She ended up
sleeping with a few guys outside of the strip club, going out with a few girls
that she worked with. Ebony didn’t care
about the consequences of her actions, partying until the early hours of the
night and sleeping wherever she could.
Surviving.
One night in
Chicago, Ebony walked inside the strip club with a cigarette dangling from her
lips, rolling her eyes when she was forced to put it out. She flicked it out of the door, wearing three
inch shimmery black stiletto heels that strapped up her ankle. It was like any other night, though Ebony had
taken two shots of Jack Daniels, her personal favorite, before walking here.
Tonight was also her
birthday, which marked three years since she left the orphanage, and turned her
twenty one. Ebony had spent most of the
day sleeping off her hangover to prepare for work, already having plans to go
out and properly celebrate her twenty first birthday. Chelsea had it all planned out and all Ebony
had to do was show up, which she was looking forward to.
Slipping her long
black trench coat off, Ebony hung it on the back of her chair, staring in her
personal vanity mirror. Chicago had been
her ‘home’ for the past six months and Ebony didn’t plan on leaving it anytime
soon, loving the city life and the money she was raking in from stripping. She had quit the diner several weeks ago,
after getting into a spat with the owner about her late attendance.
Ebony snorted at the
thought of actually bussing tables and sat down, starting doing her
makeup. Her grey eyes had a smoky dark
color to them, black eyeliner making them pop even more, along with her fake
long black lashes she applied before arriving.
Her long waist length raven black hair was already done, left down with
banana curls, knowing her hair was one of her physical traits that raked in the
dough.
Tapping her chin in
thought, Ebony decided on doing a Goth look tonight and colored her lips a dark
crimson red, dabbing them once on a napkin.
She already had foundation to hide any blemishes, which she didn’t have
any and began clipping the black choker around her neck. Pulling out huge thick black hoops, Ebony
fastened them in her ears before fluffing her hair out over her shoulders,
nodding in satisfaction.
Her outfit was a
sexy black spandex buckle mini dress that barely covered her perfectly round
ass. Small black buckles ran all the way
down the front of the dress, forcing her breasts to push together tightly, the
halter part also a buckle style. She
winked when Chelsea whistled at her, rolling her eyes heavenward and plucked a
few hairs from her eyebrows with some tweezers.
“Girl, you’re gonna knock’em dead tonight!”
Chelsea crowed, nudging another woman named Vanessa. “Don’t you agree Nessa?”
“Goth look tonight, eh?” Vanessa commented somewhat snidely,
folding her arms in front of her chest. “You really need a boob job, Ebby.”
“Thanks, and you
need that double chin fixed.” Ebony said sweetly, refusing to let anyone get
under her skin on her twenty first birthday of all
days.
Chelsea sighed,
glaring at Vanessa. “Be nice, it’s her birthday.”
Vanessa snorted and
flipped her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder, turning on her heel. “Like
I care.” She stalked away to get ready for her own performance.
“She’s just jealous,
you know that.” Chelsea assured Ebony, knowing better than to touch the young
woman.
Ebony shrugged
nonchalantly, looking in the mirror again. “She doesn’t bother me, I already
told you that, Chel.” Ebony replied indifferently,
finally satisfied with her look after plucking one more hair. “There we go.”
“You’re still coming
tonight, right?” Chelsea asked, once Ebony turned to look at her again,
grinning. “We’re going to have SO much fun, just you wait!”
“I’ll be there.”
Ebony smiled back, hearing her cue and knew it was time to go on stage. “Gotta go, its show time.”
“Knock’em
dead!” Chelsea crowed, giggling and went to finish her own look while Ebony
headed for the stairs that lead out to the stage.
Ebony walked up the
steps, quickly telling the light technician to dim them for a start and nodded
when he did. “Thank you.” She whispered, patting him on the shoulder before
starting her performance.
Chicago was very
kind to him as he sipped his tumbler of scotch, watching the stage somewhat in
boredom. He’d been in the city a few
days to visit a friend of his before heading out on his journey to
Virginia. Little brother had been left
alone for fifteen years and he decided it was time to pay him a personal visit.
That and this was
the year everything was going to change for the better.
The second she
stepped out on the stage, using the entrance curtain as part of her
performance, he was no longer bored. He
leaned back in his front row seat and slowly took a long sip of his scotch, his
eyes slowly running over every curve and inch of her gorgeous body. More importantly, her scent wafted in the
air, completely surrounding him, making him drunk with lust.
The way her hands
moved down her body and how she undid each buckle of her dress tantalizingly
slow made his jeans instantly tighten.
He could just imagine her beautiful raven locks buried in his hands
while he took her for his own, wondering what she tasted like. His aquamarine eyes glowed with sudden need,
hunger overtaking him, but he couldn’t just snatch her off the stage.
What fun would that
be?
Once the final
buckle was undone, the only thing preventing that dress from coming off was the
halter part of it. Ebony smiled wickedly
as she turned her back to the crowd, slowly twisting her body down while undoing
it, and placed her hands over her breasts as the material floated to the
stage. She wore a black shimmery thong
that showed her luscious ass, the rest of her completely nude.
Looking over her
shoulder with teasing grey eyes, Ebony continued grinding, not turning around,
and released her breasts to hook her thumbs into the very thin waistband of her
thong. Straightening her legs, the
material slowly slid down as Ebony bent all the way forward, her fingertips
brushing the stage and showed the crowd her smooth clean shaven sex
briefly. Ebony stepped out of the thong
and finally turned around, tweaking her nipples as the music reached its peak,
using the pole to do her usual spin, spreading her legs in the process.
It was official, he
wanted her. He would have her. The music ended along with the performance
and he could only watch as she made her way backstage, after picking up her
articles of clothing. That was his cue
to leave as well, though he did left something for the raven haired beauty that
he knew she’d appreciate. Swallowing
down the rest of his scotch, he exited the club without another thought.
“That was
OUTSTANDING!!” Chelsea crowed as soon as Ebony was backstage, clapping her
hands excitedly. “You really shine out there, you know that?”
Ebony nodded, trying
her best to ignore the bubbly personality Chelsea possessed because it
irritated her to no avail. She wasn’t
the bubbly type, never had been and never would be. While Chelsea went to do her performance,
Ebony walked into the dressing room to get dressed. Before she did though, Ebony began counting
the bills that she’d picked up from the men, raising an eyebrow when she
noticed a wad of cash hidden in her dress.
It had to be over a
grand and Ebony immediately tucked all of her money away, wondering how she’d
missed someone tucking that into her dress.
Oh well, she wasn’t going to look a gift in the horse’s mouth or however
that old saying went. Pulling on a short
jean skirt that was a little longer than her stripper outfit, Ebony left her
makeup the way it was, only changing the lipstick to clear gloss instead of the
blood red.
Pulling on a black spaghetti strapped tank top that had a sweetheart
neckline, Ebony slipped out of her stilettos and exchanged them for a pair of
socks and white tennis shoes. She
removed her fake lashes and redid her mascara quickly before finally heading
out, brushing past Vanessa. Neither
woman spoke a word to each other, the competition between them incredible
tense, though they hadn’t come to blows yet.
Ebony was begging the bitch to throw one punch because she would end up
snapping her in half, a little more muscular than the other girls for obvious
reasons.
Waving goodbye to
everyone, Ebony walked out of work and let the warm night air flow over her,
sighing gently. She turned around and
nearly ran into a man who was standing right in front of her, not even hearing
him approach her. Was Ebony really out
of it that badly?
“So sorry, didn’t
see you there.” She said, not able to help staring into his beautiful
aquamarine eyes that seemed to entrance her.
“My fault
completely, no apology necessary.” He replied, smiling warmly at her and
extended his hand. “I’m Damon.”
Ebony squared her
shoulders and took his hand, shaking it gently. “Ebony.”
That was the night
Ebony died.
Chapter 2
A soft groan escaped
her lips as Ebony reached to rub the back of her sore stiff neck, her head
pounding furiously. Every part of her
body ached and Ebony wondered what the hell happened the night before. She definitely overdid it for her birthday
that was for sure. Sluggishly opening
her eyes, Ebony continued rubbing the back of her neck and slowly sat up in
what she assumed was a bed, blinking.
Her eyes instantly
adjusted to the darkness of the room, the sun being blocked out by the dark
curtains over the windows, which Ebony was grateful for. It would’ve made her head pound harder if the
sun was streaming through. Turning her
head, Ebony’s eyes widened at the sight of a man lying beside her, choking back
a gasp.
The white sheet was
drawn up to his low hips, his arms carelessly strewn above his head, chest
rising and falling slowly while he slept.
A hand instantly flew to the side of her neck as Ebony sat there,
recounting what had happened the previous night. The last thing she could clearly remember was
leaving the strip club’s parking lot, but now other memories were starting to
resurface.
~!~
“So Damon, what are
you doing lurking in a parking lot outside of a strip joint at three AM?” Ebony
asked, after they introduced themselves to each other, her bag slung over her
shoulder.
“I was hoping I
would run into you.”
Ebony raised an
eyebrow, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Do we know each other?”
Something felt off about this and Ebony suddenly wanted to get away from this
man.
“No,” Damon paused;
taking a step forward and watched as she instinctively took one back. “But we
could. I’m not gonna
hurt you, Ebony.” Not yet anyway.
“I don’t think so.”
Ebony turned around to walk in the opposite direction and Damon appeared in
front of her, seemingly out of thin air. “What the hell?”
Damon immediately
cupped her face in his hands, their eyes locking and felt her instantly fall
under his compulsion. “Don’t be afraid, you’re okay.” He watched as her
shoulders slumped slightly, a soft smile spreading on his lips. “You don’t
think of me as a threat and you want to get to know me better.”
“Don’t think of you
as a threat. Want to get to know you
better.” Ebony reiterated in a daze, blinking when she could finally move again
and smiled. “You know, on second thought, I would like to get to know you,
Damon.”
Damon grinned,
having released her face as soon as he broke the compulsion. “There’s a bar
around the corner that has the best scotch in the city.” He offered, extending
his arm to her. “Join me for a drink or two?”
“Actually, I was on
my way to a party. It’s my birthday and
a few co-workers are throwing me one.” Ebony said, already looping her arm
through his, absolutely no fear exuding from her. “You can come with me if you
want.”
Once again, Damon
put her under the compulsion trance, running a finger down her cheek. “You
don’t want to go to the party. You want
to go to the bar with me.” He said quickly, breaking the connection. “So, what
did you want to do?”
“As much as I want
to go to this party, I think the bar sounds like a better idea.” Ebony said,
starting to walk away from the building on the arm of Damon, loving the night.
~!~
Ebony broke out of
her thoughts, confusion registering on her face and in her eyes, not
understanding what happened. Damon had
changed her mind somehow because Ebony really did want to go to that party,
never having a proper celebration in her life.
She blew it off to go to a bar with a complete stranger and that made
absolutely no sense.
Carefully slipping
out of bed, Ebony closed her eyes when she then realized she was completely
nude, a gentle sigh escaping her. She
wasn’t shameful that they had sex, which had been pretty mind-blowing if she
was being honest. Still, there was still
something off about this entire situation and Ebony knew she had to leave now
before he woke up.
Another memory
suddenly hit her full force and Ebony actually had to sit back down on the bed,
her head throbbing.
~!~
“Okay so you bounce
the quarter off the table and, if it lands in the glass, you have to take a
shot.” Damon explained, deciding to let this girl have a little fun since it
was her birthday. “We’ll go three quarters at a time.”
“Okay.” Ebony had
never played this drinking game before and already had three shots of Jack
Daniels in front of her, ready to consume them.
Damon could tell
there was a lot more to this woman than what met the eye and scooted closer,
running his fingers down her arm in a gentle caress. “How old are you now?” He
asked curiously, dropping his voice an octave.
“Twenty one.” She
answered, turning the quarter in her fingers, trying to decipher how to bounce
it and suddenly tried, missing. “Damn it.”
Chuckling, Damon
took the quarter and didn’t even look at the glass, the clinking sound
signaling that Ebony had to take a shot. “You’ll get the hang of it.” He
assured her, doing it two more times in a row, which meant she had three shots
to take. “Down the hatch, birthday girl.”
Ebony groaned, even
though she was glad to take the shots and threw them back with ease, not even
flinching at the liquid burning down her throat. “Mmm
so good…” She murmured, filling them again with the bottle Damon had graciously
bought her. “What happens if I can’t make any shots? I don’t want to drink alone, handsome.”
Damon smirked,
cupping her face in his hand and ran the pad of his thumb gently across her
lips. “This party is just getting started, Ebony.” He promised, raising a brow
when she made the quarter in the glass on her fifth try. “See, I knew you could
do it.” He took a shot of scotch, heard the second clink from her sixth try and
threw back a second one. “Very nice, you’re a fast learner.”
“Always have been.”
Ebony conceded, pushing the quarter over to him. “So, do you live around here,
Damon?”
Damon shook his
head, running the quarter back and forth on the table thoughtfully. “No, I
travel from place to place, though I’m on my way back to my hometown. Just stopped here on my way to visit a
friend.” He made his first shot with the quarter, almost looking bored. “What
about you?”
“I’ve only been in
the city for about six months.” Ebony admitted openly, swallowing down three
more shots since Damon was a master at this game.
“Where are you from
originally?”
Ebony knew she
wasn’t drunk enough to have this conversation and didn’t answer him at first,
instead bouncing the quarter in the glass two out of three times. “Take those
two shots and I’ll tell you.” She decided, watching as he did so without
argument and that told her he really wanted to know, that he was genuinely
interested. “I’m originally from New York City.”
Now Damon was
slightly intrigued, one thick black eyebrow rising. “New York eh? I’ve been there, not all it’s cracked up to
be.” He commented, not realizing just how much that statement reigned true to
his current toy. “How did you wind up in Chicago?”
“I left New York
City three years ago, traveled to a few other places before finally coming here
and found my current job.”
He had to know she
was a stripper, especially since he’d been waiting for her in the parking lot. Why wasn’t she more afraid of him? Ebony was never this friendly with anyone,
always keeping to herself and only socialized whenever she was drunk or high. For some reason though, she felt completely
calm with this strange man and didn’t understand it.
This was definitely
out of character for her.
“So you were
eighteen.” Damon stated, not waiting for her to play the game as he took
another shot of scotch and watched her nod. “You sound like me, never staying
in one place too long.”
“This is the longest
I’ve stuck around in one place.” Ebony admitted, lowering her grey eyes to the
table and took the glass they were playing the game with, filling it with Jack
Daniels. “I was thinking about leaving in a couple of weeks after I save a
little more money.”
Eyeing her
curiously, Damon didn’t say anything for a few minutes, mulling a few thoughts
over in his mind. “Let’s get out of here.” He suddenly stood up, extending his
hand to her.
Ebony slipped her
hand into his, feeling him pull her up from the table and walked out of the bar
with him.
~!~
The soft snoring
from behind told her Damon was still sleeping and Ebony had to make her escape
now. Quickly and silently swiping her
clothes from the floor, Ebony began making her way to the bathroom to dress
privately. She closed the door and
flipped the lock on it, spotting a small window that she could climb out of.
Deftly, Ebony pulled
her skirt and tank top on, having flipped the light on to look in the mirror,
running her fingers over her throat. More
memories began surfacing, but Ebony pushed them away for the time being,
suddenly feeling extremely hungry. Had
she smoked some green and hadn’t remembered it?
No, this hunger was far worse and it made her stomach hurt, forcing her
to grip the sink tightly.
“What’s happening to
me?” She whispered, tears filling her eyes and decided she would definitely be
stopping somewhere for food, her throat burning slightly.
“You’re
transitioning.”
Ebony jumped out of
her skin at the sound of his voice, immediately twisting around and blinked as
huge tears slid down her face. “W-What do you mean?” She stammered out, her
breathing turning erratic. “What did you do to me?”
Damon looked amused,
leaning in the bathroom doorway and simply tilted his head, considering her. “I
think you know the answer to that question.
As far as your first one, transitioning implies you’re changing into
what I am.” He made it sound so simple and acted as if he was discussing the
weather with her.
Suddenly, Ebony
touched the side of her neck and that memory she tried pushing away broke
through full force, causing her to drop to her knees.
~!~
“Where are we?”
Ebony asked, feeling extremely tipsy, possibly even drunk while holding Damon’s
hand.
“My hotel room.” He
rumbled, pushing open the door and yanked her inside, his lips plundering on
top of hers.
Ebony moaned as he
pushed her back against the door, effectively slamming it shut and gripped his
black hair in her fingers. Her entire
body trembled against him with barely contained desire and Ebony found herself
wanting him more than any other man. She
felt him unsnap her jean skirt and let it slide down her legs before lifting
her up with ease, his strength making her breathless.
Her back hit the bed
and Ebony removed her tank top before sliding her hands up the front of his
tight short sleeved black shirt, pulling it over his head. Their lips met again and Damon could smell
her arousal, much like he had earlier while watching her strip, and could
already feel his lust building rapidly.
He unsnapped her bra and pulled it off of her before reaching down,
tearing her panties right from her beautiful body, tossing them over his shoulder.
Ebony was too
engrossed in kissing him to notice he had destroyed her panties, honestly not
caring. After all the money she made
from working, buying some more wasn’t that big of a deal. She felt his lips leave hers to travel down
her jaw and neck, running his tongue right along her pulse point. Reaching down, Ebony unsnapped his jeans and
pushed them down his muscular legs with her feet, craving to feel him deep
inside of her.
His hands massaged
her breasts, his mouth leaving her throat to travel further down her body,
running his tongue down the valley of her breasts. Ebony could only moan uncontrollably, burying
her fingers in his hair and arched her body into his touch, wanting more. He was driving her completely crazy and
couldn’t think of a better way to end her birthday, even though it wasn’t over
yet.
“Damon…”
Suddenly, pain shot
from her breast and Ebony cried out in pain as she felt something sharp
puncture her soft skin, the same time he penetrated her. The warm delicious blood filled his mouth and
Damon growled before digging his fangs deeper into her skin while thrusting,
enjoying her fists beating down on him.
He could’ve easily compelled her, but Damon sometimes enjoyed the fight
and struggle from his victims.
Ebony could only lay
there as tears poured from her eyes while this monster feasted on her, feeling
completely powerless. She never stopped
fighting though, squirming and trying to get away from him, but Damon was a lot
stronger than her. Why hadn’t she walked
away from him when she had the chance?
“Scream for me,
Ebony…” He ordered in a husky voice, his lips covered in her blood and
increased the tempo of the thrusts, bringing both of them closer to the edge.
“Get off of me!!”
She cried out, knowing screaming would just exude more energy that she had to
save up, planning on escaping the first chance she got.
“No, that’s not good
enough. I said SCREAM.” His fangs
suddenly sank into the side of her neck, right into her carotid artery, the
blood flowing even faster into his mouth.
“STOP IT!!” Ebony
screamed, digging her nails into his shoulders to the point where she drew
blood, but it was no use. “NO!!”
Damon could feel her
body slowly slumping against him, though that wasn’t before he felt her orgasm
tear through her body, triggering his release. “That’s a good girl.” He grunted
in her ear, feasting a little more on her blood while coming down from their
intense sexual high.
~!~
Being that it was
her birthday, Damon had a lot of plans in mind for her ‘gift’. Several scenarios popped into his mind, but
Damon was going to get to know her a little better first before making a
decision. He would feed on her and wipe
her memory, kill her or turn her. All
those thoughts were delicious, but ultimately Damon had chosen option three,
for what reason he still didn’t know.
“No…”
“I healed you after
feeding because I wasn’t done with you yet.” Damon said, walking over to the
sink to look in the mirror. “You put up a hell of a fight, I must say.”
“How did you…?”
“After you healed,
you attempted to escape by hitting me with the room phone and I snapped your
neck.” Damon turned to face her, electric eyes narrowing and knew she wouldn’t
like hearing what he was about to say next. “Now, you have to feed in order to
complete the transition.”
Ebony swallowed hard,
more tears falling. “W-What do you mean feed?
I don’t understand…”
“If you don’t get
human blood in your system soon, you will die instead of finishing the
transition.” Damon sounded bored again, turning the water on to wash his hands,
having a little bit of her blood still on them.
“Human blood…” Ebony
precariously got to her feet, pressing her back against the wall near the
window, shaking her head. “W-What are you?” She demanded in a shaky voice,
suddenly picking up the toilet bowl plunger and tossed it at him as rage filled
her body. “WHAT ARE YOU?”
Damon flew over to
her, wrapping his hand around her throat and squeezed slightly, eyes flashing
dangerously. “I’m a vampire and now, so are you. Get over it.”
All Ebony could do
was stand there in shock, holding her throat and watched as Damon stormed out
of the bathroom.
Chapter 3
This wasn’t
happening.
This had to be some
sick joke or a very bad nightmare that Ebony would shortly wake up from. There was no way in hell she was a vampire
because they didn’t EXIST! Ebony kept
pinching her arm repeatedly, feeling the little stab of pain from it and that
just made her cry harder.
Pressing a hand over
her chest, where her heart used to beat, Ebony felt absolutely nothing. How could she feel normal for the most part,
yet technically she was DEAD? It didn’t
make sense! Ebony was officially losing
her mind and had to cut back on the drugs because now she was actually starting
to hallucinate.
Denial was her best
friend right now because there was no way Ebony believed for a second that she
was a vampire. They were mythological
creatures that were made up, a figment of someone’s demented imagination. Craving human blood and having to live on it
wasn’t realistic and Ebony didn’t believe in anything fantasy, always sticking
with reality.
Why wasn’t her heart
beating then? Why did her gums feel as
though they were splitting in half? Why
was she so hungry she felt like she could eat an entire buffet? Ebony suddenly took the small razor that was
on the sink and slit her wrist, watching as the blood poured out into the sink. Grey eyes shot open when the cut closed a
minute later, completely healing and no sign of the injury anywhere on her
wrist.
“Oh my god…” She
whispered, dropping the razor and covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her
head repeatedly. “This can’t be happening, it CAN’T!!”
Damon sighed
resignedly as he finished dressing, pulling his black short sleeved shirt over
his head, stretching it down his muscular chest. She would go through the five stages of grief
– Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally Acceptance. He knew them probably better than anyone, having
walked the earth for a hundred and forty five years as a vampire. His age was technically a hundred and sixty
nine since he was changed when he was twenty four years old.
“We have a lot to do
before we leave Chicago, Ebony.” Damon called out, refusing to leave her
roaming the city because she no longer could live her normal human life.
As a vampire, Ebony
had been opened up to a whole new world that was her playground, if she allowed
it. Damon hadn’t made her for the hell
of it, he had major plans for her once they left Chicago, deciding he needed a
partner in crime so to speak. There was
so much to teach her, but first he had to get her to feed on human blood,
deciding he would force her if need-be.
Ebony would be of no use to him if she were to die, which wasn’t going
to happen.
He took her choices
away as a human and would do it again as a vampire if she didn’t feed
willingly.
“I’m not going.”
Ebony muttered, walking out and sat on the bed, burying her head in her hands.
“I can’t do this…”
Damon wrapped his
fingers in her raven hair and yanked until she stood up, crying out in pain,
which didn’t faze him. “I didn’t change you only to let you die. You WILL complete the transition even if I
have to force human blood down your THROAT.” He promised in a deadly voice,
yanking her against him, a sick smirk crossing his lips. “We’re going to have
so much fun together, Ebony.”
“Why are you doing
this?” Ebony whispered, trying to push away from Damon, but his grip on her
hair only tightened. “That hurts, Damon…”
“Good, it’s supposed
to.” He shoved her back with authority, eyes narrowed. “Don’t test my patience,
Ebony. Now grab your things and get out
the door.”
“But won’t the sun
bother me?” Ebony blinked when Damon suddenly tossed her a pair of black
shades, looking confused.
“You’re still in
transition, which means until you feed, the sun won’t hurt you. Your eyes will burn though, fair
warning. Now out, we slept most of the
day so the sun will set in about an hour or so.” Damon explained bluntly,
draping his black leather coat over his shoulder.
“W-Where are we
going?” Ebony couldn’t help asking, wishing she would stop stammering when she
spoke to him because she was getting annoyed with it.
“First, we’re going
to hunt you down a juicy human to feed on.” Damon grinned maliciously, watching
as the hesitation crossed her face and growled impatiently, grabbing her upper
arm. “If you don’t start listening to me, I’ll end up staking you myself.”
Ebony had no choice
except to go with him, immediately sliding the black shades over her eyes
because what Damon said happened. The
second she met the sun, it instantly began burning her eyes and it felt like
there was two hot pokers stabbing her retinas repeatedly. She began walking faster than Damon, yanking
her arm out of his grasp and ended up flying to the beautiful blue Camaro he
owned, slipping into the passenger side.
Damon smirked and
slid behind the wheel a few seconds later, looking over at her amusedly. “Don’t
like the sun?” He asked innocently, watching as she instantly curled up in a
tight ball in the seat, trying to block the sun as much as she could.
“What do you think?”
She shot back through gritted teeth, gripping her head again. “God my head is
pounding…”
“That’s the hunger
you’re feeling, feisty.” Good, he wanted her to have that hunger so when he did
capture a human for her to feast on, she didn’t fight it and just accepted her
fate. “Don’t worry, we’ll get that hunger taken care of right now.”
Swallowing hard, her
throat felt like it was on fire, the pain almost too much to take. “I can’t…”
She whispered brokenly, not believing what Damon was about to force her to do.
“P-Please…”
“Yes you will.”
Damon assured her, speeding down the streets and began searching for the
perfect victim, pulling his cell phone out to make a phone call.
“Who are you…?”
Damon held his
finger up when the person on the other line answered, a smirk crossing his
lips. “Desiree doll, I need a favor.” He
said by way of greeting, gripping the steering wheel in his free hand tightly.
“What did you do
now, Damon?”
His aquamarine eyes
looked over at his latest creation, the smirk on his lips only growing. “I’ll
be there in about an hour and then I’ll explain everything.” He clicked the end
button on his phone and tucked it back in his pocket, turning left down one of
the streets.
“Damon…”
“Be quiet for a
second.” Damon ordered, busy scouting out the prey and finally found the
perfect spot, pulling into the parking lot. “Time to get out.”
“The sun hasn’t gone
down yet.” Ebony whimpered, not able to face that burning pain in her eyes
again. “Can we just wait until it does?”
Damon’s response was
to get out of the car, opened the passenger door and pulled Ebony out by the
arm, pulling her roughly behind him.
Ebony kept her eyes shut the whole time, which helped a little with the
sun and could feel the intensity of it slowly start diminishing. They walked down a dark alleyway that was in
between two abandoned buildings and suddenly Ebony could hear voices.
“What the…?”
Damon pressed a
finger over his lips, his eyes telling her to clamp her trap shut and Ebony
obeyed since it felt like he was going to rip her arm off. She stopped when he did, once again hearing
quiet voices and wondered how she could hear people she couldn’t see. A young man came around the corner and Ebony
could hear his heart pounding, her hearing definitely improving from whatever
Damon did to her.
“Now watch and
learn.” Damon whispered, suddenly standing in front of the man, causing Ebony’s
eyes to widen. “Hey man, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
He said in a friendly voice, looking hopeful.
The young man looked
skeptical at first, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “Depends what it is,
man.”
“My friend heard
there was someone around here that could sell her something, if you catch my
drift.” Damon winked, looking over his shoulder at the shadow that he knew
outlined Ebony. “You think you can help us out with that or point us in the
direction of the right person?”
The man smirked,
waving Damon off dismissively. “Nah man, I got you covered. Come on, we gotta
make this quick. Where she at?”
“Right over there.”
Damon grinned, clapping the man on the back and guided him over to where Ebony
stood, electric blue eyes glowing in the shaded area. “We really appreciate
this, what’s your name?”
“Brad.”
“Say hello to Brad,
precious.” Damon ordered, standing right behind Brad while he started pulling
out a bag of cocaine.
“So how many kilos
do you want?”
“None.”
Damon suddenly
reached around and wrapped his hand tightly around Brad’s throat before sinking
his teeth into the side of his neck, his other hand covering the drug dealer’s
screams. Ebony could only watch in
horror, tears filling her eyes and backed up while Damon had his fill, shaking
her head. How could he expect her to do
something so vile and vicious? He was an
animal!
Once Damon had a few
mouthfuls of blood, he knew it was time to finish Ebony’s transition, pulling
away as blood slid down the side of his mouth. “Mmm
tasty…” His eyes locked on Ebony, seeing how terrified she was and dragged a
weak Brad over to her. “It’s time.”
“No.”
“Don’t make me force
you to do it, Ebony.” Damon threatened, the two holes in the man’s neck slowly
leaking blood. “You just need a few drops.
It doesn’t take much too fully turn you.”
“I-I can’t…”
The scent of the
blood was making Ebony heady though and she was having a hard time pulling her
eyes away from the crimson red. Her
throat was burning, aching for her to do something to quench the fire. The blood smelled amazing, better than any
type of food on the planet and that just scared her more.
“Yes you can.” Damon
coaxed, holding the man closer to her, two trails of blood sliding down the
side of his neck to his collarbone. “You need this, Ebony, or you will die and
I won’t let you give up so easily.”
“Please…”
“Drink or I will rip
him apart.” He suddenly began choking out Brad right in front of her, his fangs
flashing in the dim lighting above them. “Or you can have a little taste and
I’ll heal him for you. That way you don’t
have his blood on your hands.”
Ebony couldn’t
believe this was happening to her, her eyes entranced by the blood and took a
deep breath. “You promise?” She demanded, watching him nod and blinked as more
tears slid down her cheeks. “Alright…I’ll do it.”
“Good girl.” Damon
crooned, shoving the man at her and watched as she caught him instinctively by
the arms, the bloody neck right in her vision, nearly touching her nose.
“I’m sorry.” Ebony
whispered, suddenly feeling her teeth expanding as the fangs grew, the blood
too much to resist.
Her sclera’s
suddenly turned red as veins formed under her eyes and cheeks, Ebony becoming
completely lost in the bloodlust.
Tasting blood for the very first time was possibly the most incredible
feeling Ebony experienced in her life.
The fire in her throat began diminishing, which was a huge relief and
her entire body began filling with an overwhelming sensation Ebony couldn’t
describe. Ebony gripped the back of
Brad’s neck and began drinking feverishly, growling because she needed more,
desired more.
Damon didn’t stop
her either.
This was who she was
now and he could already see the transition completing, pleasing him to no
avail. Everything about Ebony glowed
from head to toe and Damon knew he made the right decision in turning her. He watched as Brad’s life slowly slipped from
his body and right into Ebony, his body slumping to the ground while Ebony bled
him dry.
Ebony finally ripped
away from him and stumbled back, droplets of blood falling from her lips,
snaking her tongue out to taste them.
She felt so much better and wanted more, but knew that would have to
suffice for now. Surprisingly, she
didn’t feel any remorse for what she just did, for taking a human life for her
own needs and stepped over him heading toward Damon.
She was more
stunning as a vampire and Damon automatically saw a difference in her. Her black hair was glossier, her grey eyes
slightly glowed while the veins under her eyes slowly disappeared along with
her sclera’s turning back to white. Her
skin was paler and shined in the night, her nails a little longer and her lips
looked soft to the touch.
“Now THAT’S more
like it.” Damon growled approvingly, pulling her into his arms and stared deep
into her grey eyes, running his finger down her cheek. “How do you feel,
Ebony?”
“Reborn.” She said
softly, feeling so much stronger than she had before and moaned as soon as
Damon’s mouth covered hers. “And renewed.” Ebony added once the kiss broke,
feeling Damon lift her up as her legs wrapped around his waist, her back
slamming back against the nearest building.
“Good, that’s how
it’s supposed to feel.” Damon said in a low voice, smirking as he set her down
on her feet, the sun completely down now. “And it’ll be even better once you
get to walk in the sun like me.”
“How is that going
to happen?” Ebony asked, suddenly interested in everything, all of her emotions
heightening, which included excitement. “How do you walk in the sun?”
Damon waved his
fingers at her on his left hand, revealing the huge beautiful silver ring on
his middle finger. It looked worldly and
had a gorgeous dark blue stone in the middle with the letter D in the middle of
it in black and silver. Ebony grabbed
his hand to get a closer look at it, her vision much sharper because everything
looked more colorful and amazing than it had before.
“It’s a daylight
ring.” Damon said, pulling his hand away from her and guided them both back to
his car. “And we’re going to get you one made by a good friend of mine before
leaving the city.”
“Tonight?” Ebony
asked animatedly with sparkling grey eyes, every emotion and feeling acting as
though they were working overtime. “Where are we going once we leave Chicago?”
He nodded, knowing
she would have to gain control of her emotions and feelings because now they
were enhanced from the transition. “You’ll find out everything in due time.”
Damon assured her, putting the car in reverse and pulled out of there, heading
to Desiree.
Chapter 4
Pulling up to the small
business, Damon put the car in park and cut the ignition, turning to look at
Ebony. “Let me do the talking.” He ordered, completely serious. “And she’s off
limits. If you’re still hungry, we’ll
find someone else to feed on. Got it?”
Ebony nodded, feeling
this overwhelming need to obey Damon because she owed him for giving her this
new incredible power. “I won’t attack her.” She promised, stepping out of the
car and followed him across the street to the small masseuse parlor.
Desiree was just
finishing up with her last client of the evening, doing their transaction, when
the door swung open and Damon Salvatore stood there with a woman beside
him. She could already tell she wasn’t
going to like this visit and smiled at the customer, thanking them for their
service. To everyone else, Desiree owned
a local masseuse shop because she had incredibly skilled fingers and a degree
in massage therapy. To Damon Salvatore,
she was a powerful witch.
“I was wondering if
you were gonna show up.” Desiree said by way of
greeting, starting to close out her register.
“We had a few things
to take care of.” Damon said smoothly, walking over to the counter and leaned
on it with a charming smile. “Nice to know you were thinking of me, Desiree.”
“You wish.” She
snorted, rolling her eyes and took the tray of money out while starting to sift
through the bills. “And you can stop with the smoldering eyes, they don’t work
on me.”
Damon touched his
chest, groaning. “Oh how you wound me.” Even though he already had her once,
but Damon needed her help so he wasn’t going to be snarky toward her, not yet
at least.
“What do you want,
Damon?”
Desiree was cutting
straight to the chase, setting the bills in the plastic bag that she would take
to the bank first thing in the morning.
Her eyes slowly moved to the woman that remained silent, raising a slow
eyebrow, wondering what that was about.
She had a feeling she was about to find out, moving her eyes from the
woman to Damon, suddenly making the connection.
“DAMON!”
“What?” Damon
blinked when Desiree grabbed his arm, forcing him to the back and left the
woman behind.
“Have you COMPLETELY
lost your MIND?! You turned her?!”
Desiree shouted, tossing her hands up in the air when he merely shrugged,
shaking her head. “Christ, you didn’t have her with you last night, so I’m
assuming she’s brand new.”
“You’re correct.”
Damon walked over to the doorway, waving his hand. “Come in here, Ebony.” He
extended his hand, smiling when she took it without hesitation. “Now sit down.”
Desiree shook her
head when the woman obeyed, a sick expression on her face. “She’s not your
puppet, Damon. She still has a mind of
her own.” One day, everything Damon Salvatore did was going to come back to
bite him right on the ass and Desiree couldn’t wait for it to happen.
“She’s not being a
puppet; she’s just listening to what I say and for good reason. Because if she didn’t, she would be tearing
your beautiful throat out right now, Desiree.” Damon stated evenly, raising a
black eyebrow when just the bare hint of fear crossed his special friend’s
face, nodding. “Suddenly not so judgy about her
listening to me, eh?”
“What do you want,
Damon?” Desiree asked resignedly, sitting down on the couch and lit a few
candles.
Waving his left hand
with his daylight ring on it, Damon smiled softly. “I need you to make her a
piece of jewelry that allows her to walk out in the sun.” He said simply,
dropping his hand and took a seat in front of her. “She’s going to help me with
a few things and I need her to be able to be out in daylight.”
“That’s it?” Desiree
wanted to make sure there weren’t any loopholes with this, folding her arms in
front of her chest. “Nothing else?”
“No.” Damon leaned
forward, electric blue eyes locking with hazel. “You do this for me and I’ll
never bother you again, Desiree. I’ll
never step foot in your little massage parlor again. You’ll never see me again.”
Desiree considered
his offer, eyeing him skeptically and wondered if Damon meant everything he
just said. “Not in my children’s lifetimes either.” She stipulated, not wanting
her children to have to deal with vampires the way she had.
“Deal.”
Damon wouldn’t need
her help anymore anyway, looking over at Ebony, seeing she was just looking
around the room in amazement. It amused
him to no end because he knew exactly what she was experiencing; the sharper
vision and even a touch had more impact.
Everything was enhanced and heightened; she was truly like a newborn
child that just came into the world, only she could walk and talk.
Desiree couldn’t
believe she was actually agreeing to do this and turned to the woman, snapping
her fingers to gain her attention.
Ebony’s sharp grey eyes suddenly locked on her and Desiree instantly
swallowed hard, scooting back a little on the couch. Damon smirked and simply sat back, wondering
if Desiree had a death wish to snap her fingers like that in front of a new
vampire, shaking his head.
“Yes?” Ebony asked
evenly, tilting her head slightly and could hear how fast Desiree’s heart
pounded. “You obviously wanted my attention or else you wouldn’t have snapped
your fingers in my face. So what is it?”
“Do you have any
piece of jewelry that has a special connection to it?” Desiree asked promptly,
standing up to gather a few things for the spell, including her grimoire.
Nodding, Ebony
pulled something out from beneath her tank top, which was a black thick
necklace with a ring dangling from it.
She yanked it off with ease and took the silver ring off of it, which
had a black onyx star in the middle of it.
She never did anything without this ring, not even taking it off during
her performances stripping, though she had hid it in her black choker.
“What connection
does this ring have to you?” Desiree asked, extending her hand and watched as
Ebony instantly hesitated. “I need to know for the spell.”
Ebony gritted her
teeth and suddenly stood up, flipping the chair over on its side, grey eyes
flashing. “This ring was Ashley’s, my only friend in the world. We made vows with this ring…” She squeezed
the ring in her hand as tears began sliding down her cheeks, every emotion she
normally felt about Ashley suddenly exploding. “Hers had a moon on it. We promised when we got out of the hellhole
we lived in that we’d live life to the fullest, no matter what, and stick to
each other. But she died. She was raped and murdered in cold blood,
leaving me here all alone!”
Damon hadn’t
expected this to happen, but understood why Ebony was upset suddenly, flying
over to her before she could get her hands on something else. “Ebony, look at
me.” He ordered, grabbing her shoulders tightly in his hands, forcing her
tear-filled grey eyes to meet his. “Calm down.” He ordered soothingly,
remembering when he first transitioned and how angry he’d been, every emotion
feeling as though it split him in half.
Taking a few deep
breaths, Ebony closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, feeling his
arms encircle her tightly. “I-I’m all alone…” She sobbed brokenly, shoulders
shaking. “W-What’s wrong with me?” Ebony never cried in front of anyone, always
having a very thick skin, but now it was almost as if she couldn’t control her
emotions and that scared her.
“When transitioning
from human to vampire, every emotion you’ve felt is intensified.” Damon
explained softly, rubbing her back up and down, his mouth lowering to her ear.
“You’re gonna have to learn to control that and reign
it in. There’s a switch you can flip so
you don’t feel anything, but your humanity will be lost if you do.”
Ebony slowly pulled
away from him, wiping her tears away, sniffling. “I understand.” She whispered,
looking down at the ring and closed her eyes, trying to push all her emotions
in the far back of her mind when it came to Ashley. “I don’t want to lose my
humanity. I will control it.”
“Good.” Damon
nodded, extending his hand and waved his fingers, silently telling her to give
him the ring. “And you’re not alone, not anymore, Ebony.”
For some reason,
Ebony believed him and dropped the ring in his hand, turning to pick the chair
back up, sitting down. Desiree’s heart
went out to the young woman and wondered if Damon knew what he just got himself
into, keeping her thoughts and opinions to herself. Just because Damon considered a friend didn’t
mean he wouldn’t rip her throat out if she pissed him off enough.
Dropping the ring in
the bowl, Desiree lifted her hands up and closed her eyes, the candles
instantly flaring as soon as she began chanting. Damon’s eyes narrowed as he watched the ring
slowly start lifting in the air, the lights flickering. He held his finger up to his lips, knowing if
Ebony even uttered a word Desiree’s concentration would be ruined. One thing about witches was if they were
disturbed during a spell, it drained a lot of their power.
Damon had learned
that lesson the hard way.
A few seconds later,
the ring suddenly dropped in the bowl, the candles going out completely and the
lights stopped flickering. “It’s done.” She said, picking the ring up and
handed it back to Ebony. “Please remember that the witch who put the spell on
this ring can also take the spell away, if you abuse your newfound gift.”
Ebony nodded in
understanding, taking the ring from her and slipped it on the fourth finger of
her right hand. “Thank you.” She whispered, standing up when Damon did and
couldn’t believe the gift Ashley had given her before they parted ways was now
her daylight ring. “So I can really walk into the sun like you now, Damon?”
“Supposedly, as long
as you’re wearing it.” Damon smirked when Desiree scowled, chuckling. “Yes
Ebony, you’re now a daylight walker.” If Desiree only knew the things Damon had
done in the daylight to abuse his own gift of daylight, she wouldn’t have agreed
to do this for Ebony. “We’ll be able to test it out when the sun rises.” His
eyes turned to Desiree, knowing he would have to keep his word and never bother
her again. “Ebony, go out to the car.
I’ll be out in a minute.”
Ebony did as he
said, heading out of the building and admired her daylight ring, almost if it
was just given to her. Damon waited
until she was out of earshot before flying over to stand in front of Desiree,
taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips, kissing the back of it. This was goodbye and Desiree knew it,
wondering why it suddenly hurt so much at the thought of never seeing Damon
again.
“Take care of
yourself, Damon.” Desiree murmured, reaching up to push a strand of black hair
from his forehead, letting her hand linger on his cheek. “And watch out for
her.”
“I will.” Damon
promised, running his finger down her cheek and leaned down, their lips mere
inches apart. “You are definitely a rare gem.”
Desiree knew it was
wrong to have feelings for Damon, especially since he was supposed to be her
enemy. She couldn’t help how she felt
though and this was heartbreaking to have to say goodbye. There was a reason she did it though, not
able to pine for him anymore. She had to
get on with her human life and pretend he didn’t exist before he completely
destroyed her.
“You’re gonna miss me.” Damon stated, not even questioning it and
fingered her chin gently.
“I know.” Desiree
whispered, suddenly feeling breathless and had to be the one to step away
before she ended up doing something she’d regret. “But I have to let you go,
Damon, somehow.”
“Not tonight.”
He suddenly captured
her lips with his passionately, feeling her melt against him instantly, his
arms wrapped around her waist tightly.
Desiree moaned in his mouth as he tasted her, suddenly feeling him twist
to where he sat on the couch with her straddling his lap. Damon was definitely the best lover she ever
had and Desiree figured one more romp wouldn’t hurt any, already removing her
top.
“That’s my girl.” He
growled, suddenly pushing her down on the couch, hovering over her and
proceeded to give her a proper goodbye.
Ebony looked up
nearly two hours later when Damon finally came walking toward the car,
immediately looking down at her ring.
She had no idea what took him so long, but she had a pretty good idea
when a scent hit her full force in the face.
Sweat and sex. Why she felt
jealous was beyond her, but Ebony reigned it in,
knowing flying off the handle definitely wouldn’t do her any favors right now.
“Everything squared
away?” She asked, once he slid behind the wheel and wrinkled her nose, thankful
the windows were already rolled down.
“Yeah.” Damon
glanced back at the massage parlor, knowing he’d done the right thing and
licked a bit of blood from his lip. “Ready to get out of this city?”
Ebony slowly turned
to face him, smelling something else and instantly felt her hunger increase.
“Sure…” She nodded, buckling up and leaned back against the seat as Damon
pulled away from the parlor, heading straight for the highway.
“You have everything
right? Everything you own I mean?” Damon
asked, knowing they could never return to Chicago, at least not for a few years
and flicked his turn signal on.
“Yes, I don’t have
much.” Ebony admitted softly, looking down at her daylight ring and sighed
heavily. “You killed her didn’t you?”
Damon nodded,
putting the pedal to the metal as they started flying down the highway, a
million stars in the sky along with a quarter moon.
“It had to be done. She has no children,
so severing that witch line insures your daylight ring will never be tampered
with.”
Ebony could only
nod, folding her arms in front of her chest and enjoyed the night air. “So, are
you going to tell me where we’re going now?” She asked, trying to spark some
kind of conversation with him.
“A little place
called Mystic Falls in Virginia.” Damon answered, deciding there was no point
in hiding it from her now that she was compliant with everything. “My
hometown.”
“Oh.” The scent was
blood was slowly dissipating from Damon, but that didn’t stop Ebony from
craving more. “I’m hungry.”
Damon chuckled,
reaching in the backseat and pulled out one of the blood bags he stole from one
of the Chicago hospitals, tossing it at her. “Bon appetit.”
He stated, having grabbed one for himself and ripped it open, reaching over to
turn the radio on.
Ebony knew she would
have to forget everything about her human life, but the ring on her right hand
would forever link her to the memories of Ashley and that’s all she really
cared about.
Chapter 5
Feeling the warmth
on her face, Ebony slowly opened her eyes sometime the next day, staring out
the window and couldn’t help smiling.
The warmth she’d been feeling was the sun and it wasn’t burning her, it
felt amazing against her skin. She
stirred a little more, moving to sit up and stretched her arms in the air,
letting out a loud yawn.
“Looks like the ring
works.” Damon commented, glancing over at her before moving his eyes back to
the road. “We’re almost there, another hour give or take.”
Ebony nodded,
cracking her neck and let out a loud groan, rubbing the back of it. “I thought
I was dead, so why do I have a stiff neck?” She asked curiously, another pop
echoing through the car.
Damon chuckled
softly, opening a bag of chips he stopped to get while she was sleeping,
tossing her one. “As long as you keep a healthy dose of blood in your system,
your body functions pretty normally.” He said, winking when she looked at the
chips skeptically. “Eating regular food helps with the craving, along with
alcohol, which you will be consuming a lot.
It’s actually better than food to vampires, but if you drink too much,
you will get drunk. It takes A LOT for
that to happen though.”
“And because we’re
technically dead, we can’t get alcohol or food poisoning or anything like
that.” Ebony wasn’t asking, just thinking aloud and opened the chips, deciding
one couldn’t hurt. “So what DOES hurt us?”
“The sun, normally,
but we’re different because of magic.” Damon didn’t know if he should answer
this question truthfully, deciding he could trust Ebony for the most part.
“There’s this herb called vervain and it burns us if
we touch it. Humans can’t be compelled
either if they’re wearing it on any part of their body. Wood is our enemy, if you’re pierced with it,
it will severely weaken you. Having your
head or heart removed can also kill you instantly. Also, I would stay away from witches if you
run into any because nine times out of ten, they can cause you excruciating
pain with their magic.”
“Wow, so we’re not
as invincible as the myth makes us believe.” Ebony stated thoughtfully, looking
down at her bag of chips and sighed, turning the ring on her finger
absentmindedly. “Did you mean what you said?”
“Depends on what
you’re referring to.” Damon said, chomping on more chips and smirked when they
passed a green interstate sign that said fifty miles to Mystic Falls.
“Not being alone
anymore.” Ebony looked over at him with tentative grey eyes, wondering what
possessed her to ask, but had to know.
“Let me put it this
way, you can stick around as long as you want, Ebony. You do have a mind of your own and I’m not gonna force you to stay with me. But I HIGHLY suggest
you stick with me long enough to learn what you are and how to be in control of
your hunger.” That would take some time, so Damon wasn’t worried about her
leaving his side anytime soon.
“Of course.”
There was no way
Ebony could survive in this world alone, not when there was still so much for
her to learn. She had no idea how long
it would take her to master and hone her skills either as a vampire. This was a whole new world for her to explore
and experience. Ebony would be
incredibly stupid to leave the man who made her, not to mention he said he
needed her help with a few things.
“What did you need
me to help you with anyway?” She asked curiously, changing the subject.
“Don’t worry about
it for now. I’ll let you know when the
time comes.” Damon assured her, effectively ending that conversation, not
trusting her nearly enough to tell her everything he had planned for Mystic
Falls.
Shrugging, Ebony
didn’t let his brush off bother her and continued eating the chips while
staring out into the sun. She always
used to hate the sunlight and suddenly, Ebony couldn’t get enough of it. Maybe it was the fact it couldn’t kill her as
long as her ring was on, which she planned on never taking it off.
“So, who is Ashley?”
Damon asked, deciding to get some background information on his new creation,
switching lanes.
Closing her eyes
painfully, Ebony didn’t say anything for a few minutes, taking deep breaths to
try reigning her emotions in. “She was the only person I consider family. I met her at the orphanage we both grew up in
and we were inseparable. We got in a lot
of trouble and purposefully made life miserable for any families that tried
adopting us. We didn’t want to be
adopted and be separated, so we did what we had to do. The orphanage had a policy where when you
turned eighteen, you were forced to leave to make room for other kids. Ashley was four months older than me, so she
was thrown out first…” Ebony had to stop talking because her emotions were starting
to become overwhelming, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. “This is
ridiculous!! I NEVER cry, NEVER!” She
snapped, wiping them away frantically and bent down to put her head between her
legs, gripping her hair.
“It’ll take time for
you to learn to control your emotions.” Damon said, reaching behind him to grab
another blood bag, ripping it open and handed it to her. “Breathe through it
and drink this. You need your strength.”
He’d already had a bag earlier while she slept.
Ebony slowly looked
up at him and took the blood bag, beginning to suck it down in huge gulps,
acting as though she was starved. Never
in a million years did Ebony think she would be drinking human blood of all
things and have it taste better than strawberry cheesecake, her favorite
dessert. This was so surreal, Ebony was
still waiting to wake up and all of this be nothing
more than a dream.
Once she sucked the
bag nearly dry, Ebony finally pulled away and leaned back against the seat,
licking her bloody lips, sighing in relief.
Instantly, she felt that same rush, the power filling her body, and
closed her eyes to relish every second of it.
Would it always feel this incredible to drink human blood? What was it about the red substance that
stimulated a vampire so intensely?
“Feel better?” Damon
asked amusedly, already knowing she did and was pleased when she nodded. “Now,
continue with your story and remember to breathe through it.”
“Not much else to
say about Ashley. She had a ring that
was identical to mine, only it had a moon instead of a star. She was my moon and I was her star. We were closer than sisters. She died in the middle of March, two months
before my birthday, brutally murdered in an alleyway…” Ebony trailed off,
remembering something else that she’d been told regarding Ashley’s death,
slowly looking up at Damon with narrowed eyes. “They said she’d been raped,
beaten and…drained of blood…”
Damon didn’t seem
surprised or appalled by hearing that, popping the top of his flask and took a
long swallow of Vodka. “Sounds like she was dinner.” He groaned when Ebony
suddenly slapped him as hard as she could upside the head, electric blue eyes
flashing. “What the HELL are you thinking?!”
“Don’t EVER talk
about Ashley like that again!! She was
human just like I used to be and didn’t deserve what happened to her!!” Ebony
shouted, not caring what he did to her, refusing to back down when it came to
the subject of Ashley.
“Listen to me right
now, Ebony, you are a VAMPIRE. What
killed your precious friend was a VAMPIRE.
She was DINNER, bottom line.
You’re dead now, she doesn’t matter to you anymore. I don’t care if you have that stupid ring to
remind you of her, in fifty years she won’t even matter to you because you’ll
be on your own, killing humans to SURVIVE.
Vampires are all over the place, I’m not the only one and I hope you
realize that.” Damon stated evenly, his voice dropped an octave, growling. “And
if you EVER hit me again, I will break your hand.”
Ebony turned away
from him, scooting as close to the passenger door as possible and kept her
mouth shut. She couldn’t help lashing
out when it came to Ashley, all of her feelings Ebony’s had bottled up over the
past three years since leaving the orphanage suddenly spilling out. As much as she wanted to hate Damon for what
he said, deep down Ebony knew he was only being blunt and brutally honest with
her.
Damon didn’t regret
anything he just said to Ebony because that’s just the kind of vampire he
was. Remorseless, selfish, uncaring,
blunt and definitely brutal when the situation called for it. He took pleasure in making others suffer
because that’s who he was, that’s what a vampire’s nature was. Humans were nothing more than food, a
substance for him to survive, and he took pleasure in sucking lives out of
others.
Soon, Ebony would be
the same way because he planned on turning her into a remorseless cold killer
like him.
Pulling into a nearby
motel parking lot, Damon parked and cut the ignition, turning to look at her.
“We’re staying here for a few days.” He announced, stepping out of the car and
slammed the door shut, heading in to get their room.
Ebony blinked,
wondering if they were in Mystic Falls yet and looked around, the place
surrounded by the woods. Sighing, Ebony
grabbed her back from the floorboard and stepped out into the sunlight,
thankful her ring actually worked. When
Damon came back out a few minutes later with a key, Ebony reluctantly followed
him, heading upstairs to the second floor.
One bed, a dresser,
small television and a bathroom pretty much summed up the rundown room. Ebony tossed her things in the corner and
looked around while Damon plopped down on the bed, removing his shirt. She sat on the opposite side and reached down
to pull her shoes off, tensing when she felt Damon’s hand slide under her tank
top up her back.
“I’m gonna go shower.” She announced, starting to stand up, only
for Damon to pull her back down on the bed, hovering over her.
“You’re avoiding
me.” He pointed out, running his fingers down the side of her face. “Mad at me,
Ebony?”
“No.” Ebony lied,
trying to look away from him, but Damon wasn’t letting that happen. “I just
want to take a shower.”
“Not right now.”
His mouth suddenly
covered hers and all Ebony could do was kiss him back, gripping the back of his
neck. Every sensation suddenly exploded
within her, the kiss much more intense and passionate than before. Uncontrollable moans spilled from her lips as
her fingers suddenly delved into his thick short black hair, their tongues
tasting each other and it made Ebony heady.
Damon broke the kiss
and began trailing hot kisses down the side of her neck while slipping his
hands under the front of her tank top this time, fondling her breasts. His touch burned straight through the thin
material of her bra and Ebony suddenly craved to have him inside of her, not
caring about anything else. It didn’t
matter that he had sex with other women, Ebony was just concerned with the here
and now, her hands sliding up his muscular chest.
Without realizing
it, Ebony suddenly flipped Damon so he was on his back, straddling his lap,
grey eyes glowing. Pushing herself up,
Ebony removed her tank top and bra, tossing it behind her before starting her
own assault on his gorgeous body. Damon
groaned at the feeling of her hot kisses traveling down the middle of his
chest, his jeans unsnapping with a flick of her wrist seconds later.
“I’m enjoying it
this time.” She growled, remembering how Damon had made her a snack during
their first time together.
“Uh huh…” Damon
wasn’t arguing or fighting her, thoroughly enjoying the current affection she
showed him.
Sex with Damon was
stupefying and Ebony could only lay there afterwards,
staring up at the ceiling. The tingling
hadn’t stopped, the stars in Ebony’s grey eyes still shining brightly, both of
them slowly coming down from the intense sexual high both had skyrocketed
too. What he said to her earlier in the
car was forgotten because this feeling was too incredible and Ebony wanted
more, craved more.
Damon rolled over to
lean over her, running his fingertips up and down her flat toned stomach. “Hmm
seems you’re not mad at me anymore.” He commented huskily, watching as those
beautiful grey eyes turned to lock with his.
“How can I be after
that?” Ebony retorted, not pushing his hand away because every touch felt
amazing. “Is it always supposed to feel this way?”
“What?” Damon asked,
resting his head on his elbow, his eyes trailing over her beautiful frame.
“Sex. Is it supposed to feel this…exhilarating and
intense? Because it didn’t feel like
this when I was human.” She admitted, leaning into his hand that cupped her
cheek tenderly.
Damon chuckled,
nodding and kissed her forehead softly. “Yes, everything you used to feel is
intensified, like I said. That includes
every emotion, every touch, every kiss, and especially every time you have
sex.” He knew he wasn’t going to be her only partner because part of the hunt
for their food was using seduction. “You’ll get used to it after a while and it
won’t be as intense.”
“No.” Ebony sat up
suddenly, pushing him down on his back and kissed him deeply. “I never want
this to go away. I always want to feel
this incredible. I’ve never felt like
this before, it’s crazy.”
“I mean in a couple
decades, it doesn’t happen overnight.
Control takes a lot of time and patience, sometimes you’ll slip and you
have to be prepared for that. You have
to also push away the guilt of taking human life because it’s essential to our
survival.” Damon said, his voice completely serious, while staring up at the
beauty he had changed and apparently saved. “I’ll teach and show you everything
you need to know, Ebony.”
“I know you will.”
Smiling, Ebony
squealed in surprise when he suddenly sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist
and filled her receptive body once again.
Her head instantly leaned back and met him for every thrust, gripping
his powerful shoulders, his lips devouring her neck. From the moment Damon laid eyes on her during
her stripping performance, something told him this woman was special. She had this fire about her that he knew
couldn’t be extinguished, this strength that would never die.
So far, Damon wasn’t
disappointed and had a feeling he never would be when it came to Ebony.
Chapter 6
It turned out they
were on the outskirts of Mystic Falls.
Over the next week,
Ebony was shown the ropes by Damon, pointing out her super speed and
strength. She was astonished at all
these newfound abilities that she now had, trying each of them out by sparring
with Damon. Of course, he only let her
tackle him once before getting serious and Ebony ended up getting beaten
down. Damon forced her to spar with him
at least once a day to help build her strength, knowing that would come with
time.
Then there was the
ability of compulsion, which Ebony found to be extremely effective when it came
to hunting. It was a supernatural
ability to control and manipulate the emotions of a human, as long as they
weren’t wearing vervain. So far, they had lucked out Ebony ended up
compelling her prey into not screaming or being afraid, amazed when they did
exactly as she said.
Damon was pleasantly
surprised at how quickly she caught onto compulsion, though he sometimes
preferred his prey to scream and struggle.
It made the hunt that much more exhilarating, not bothering to hide his
animalistic side from her. It was a good
thing that Ebony didn’t have a family to remember because Damon explained to
her that being a vampire meant she had immortality – the gift of everlasting
life and youth.
She would stay
twenty one years old from now until eternity unless she was killed.
On one of the hunts,
Damon ended up being stabbed with a sharp tree branch right in the
stomach. Ebony ended up pouncing on his
prey, which was a young woman, while Damon pulled the stick out. That’s the night she learned vampires also
had incredibly fast healing abilities, the huge hole closing up on its own. She remembered when she cut her hand with the
razor back in Chicago, when she was still in transition, and how it healed.
That was also the
night Damon showed Ebony his dangerous side, watching as he completely ripped
the side of the woman’s neck completely out while feasting. Ebony knew her stunt had severely pissed him
off and honestly didn’t blame him, suddenly realizing all the different
materials that were considered wood. She
would have to be extremely careful and cautious, one of the few downfalls of
being a vampire.
Ebony flipped
through the channels mindlessly, Damon having gone out for the day and ordered
her to stay put. He was scouting out the
area before they made their way into town, though Ebony had no idea the
reasoning. The only thing she knew was
they were going to visit his little brother, Stefan Salvatore, but only when
the ‘time was right’, as quoted by Damon.
Apparently it was
because the door to their motel room opened, Damon tossing her bag at her.
“We’re leaving.” He announced without preamble, flying into the bathroom and
tossed everything into a bag before coming back out. “I already checked us out
of here.”
“Oh.”
Ebony jumped up from
the bed, wearing a pair of blue jean shorts with a white spaghetti strapped
camisole and began packing up her few things.
Damon had taken her shopping and bought her an entire wardrobe, but most
of it was already in the trunk of his car.
That included a cell phone, something Ebony never had and he had to show
her how to work it, which made her feel incredibly stupid.
Walking out of the
room, Ebony waited for Damon to join her and followed him to the car, seeing he
was in a bit of a hurry. “What’s going on?” She demanded as soon as he fired up
the ignition, barely having time to buckle up before it tore out of the parking
lot at top speed.
“I attacked
someone.” He stated, punching the gas and sped down the road, gripping the
steering wheel. “Some high school girl, don’t know her name.”
Grey eyes widened at
Damon’s confession and Ebony was having a hard time believing he did it just on
a whim. “What for?” She asked in a soft voice, feeling the anger radiating from
his body. “Damon, talk to me.”
“To send a message
to my little brother.”
Ebony swallowed hard
at the intensity in his blue eyes, not having seen him the entire day and
wondered what the hell happened.
Something told her whatever Damon needed help with had to do with his
little brother, though she hadn’t questioned him since the last time. Her mind was racing with possibilities of why
Damon would have to send a message to his brother by attacking a high school
girl, frowning.
“Damon, slow down
before you end up getting pulled over.” Ebony pointed out, seeing he had revved
the engine way past eighty miles an hour, wondering how she could feel fear as
a vampire. “What happened today?”
“He thought I
wouldn’t find out, that I wouldn’t come back.” Damon rambled angrily, gritting
his teeth and started gnashing them together. “Do you remember yesterday when I
told you about the girl I saw in the cemetery and I scared her?”
“With the crow,
yes.” Ebony still didn’t fully understand how that worked, only seeing him use it a few times and didn’t really question it. “She cut
her leg right?”
Damon nodded,
reaching in the back to grab a blood bag from his stash and ripped it open,
beginning to swallow it down quickly. “She’s not just anyone, Ebony. She’s…” He growled, squeezing the bag so
tight it nearly busted right in his hand. “Never mind, it’s time to stop hiding
out and face Stefan once and for all.” He looked over at her. “It’s not going
to be a heartwarming reunion, I’m warning you right now, Ebony. So if you want to run away right now, I’ll
pull over and let you out.”
“I already told you
I’m not leaving, Damon.” Ebony stated, reaching over to touch his shoulder
gently. “You told me it’s my decision when I walk away and I don’t want to
right now.”
“You will after
this.” He promised in a low voice, not pulling away from her touch because it
was slowly calming him down.
Ebony’s frown
deepened, wondering why Damon loathed his little brother so much and had to
confront him. “Tell me why are you’re upset with him. It’ll help to talk about it…” She tried,
moving her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck, rubbing it. “Come on
Damon, it’s time to tell me what’s going on and why we’re in this specific
small town.”
Damon knew she was
right and he hated her for it, shoving her hand away from him. “I don’t want to
be touched right now.” He growled, slowing down when they entered the town, not
believing how much it had changed in a hundred and forty five years. “You
really wanna know why we’re here?”
“It’d be nice, yes.”
Ebony said truthfully, not bothering to comfort him again because he was too
upset and could end up hurting her. “I’d like to know what I’m about to walk
into with you.”
She had a point,
Damon thought grudgingly, and raked a hand through his black hair, taking a
deep breath. “My brother and I were turned into vampires by a woman named
Katherine in 1864.” He explained, his tone even because he couldn’t let his
emotions overtake him, not yet anyway. “She is the reason we’re here.”
A woman…Ebony
should’ve known it had something to do with love, though she was surprised to
find out exactly how old Damon was. “So…how old were you when you were turned?”
She couldn’t help asking, her curiosity burning now.
“Twenty four.” He
answered, deciding he could trust her enough to tell her his true age. “That
makes me a hundred and sixty nine years old, roughly. Might as well round it up to a hundred and
seventy.”
“Wow…” Ebony gaped,
somehow believing he was actually telling her the truth because of the whole
immortality that came with being a vampire. “And how old was Stefan?”
“Seventeen.”
Her heart instantly
broke, even though it no longer beat with life, wondering what it was like to
be stuck being seventeen years old forever. “I’m going to assume that Katherine
was a little more to you than just the vampire who changed you.” Ebony took a
chance, hoping she didn’t regret it.
Damon nodded, his
jaw tightening at the thought of what happened all those years ago. “She was
the love of my life and still is.” He stated wholeheartedly, gripping the wheel
with both hands, trying not to rip it off because then they would end up
crashing. “Turns out Stefan also loved her.”
There it was, just
as Ebony suspected, though she didn’t voice anything she was thinking. “Go on.”
She urged quietly, noticing the more Damon talked about it, the more he
remained calm.
“We both vied for
her affection and both wanted her, but I loved her far more than he did. I was willing to give up my life and spend
eternity with her. I didn’t care about
anything else. She was my world.” Damon
suddenly had to pull over on the side of the dirt road he turned down, the
woods surrounding them, trembling slightly. “The Founding Families came up with
this council that went after vampires and they started finding ways to fight
back against them. Vervain,
wooden bullets, stakes…you name it, they had it. Katherine could walk in the sun along with a
few of her friends because of her handmaiden, Emily. She was also a powerful witch that cast a
spell on a bracelet for Katherine, which made her able to walk in the sun, like
us.” Damon stopped talking, staring down at his ring and clenched his fist
together tightly, gritting his teeth. “Our father basically forced us to go
after the vampires with him, but being able to walk in the sun, Katherine and
her friends were somewhat safe. I begged
Stefan not to tell father about her because I knew he would kill her
instantly. Stefan promised me he would
keep his mouth shut…and instead, he ended up breaking that promise to me.”
Ebony covered her
mouth with her hand, grey eyes widening, not moving from where she sat. “W-Why
would he do that?” She whispered, flinching when Damon hit the steering wheel
with his fists, looking away from him. “I’m sorry, Damon…”
“Because he thought
our father would help us protect her and understand that she wasn’t like the
others. He was a fool, an ignorant
dick! She was caught because of it! She ended up biting Stefan and his blood had
been infected with vervain, thanks to father. They took her away, putting some kind of
contraption over her mouth to prevent her from fighting back. Stefan tried wronging his right by devising a
plan to save her.” Damon closed his eyes, remembering that night vividly and
rolled the window down to get some much needed fresh night air.
“I have a feeling
I’m going to regret asking this, but…what did they do with the vampires they
caught?” Ebony reluctantly asked, seeing just how much this affected Damon and
wished there was something she could do to take away his pain.
“They took them to
Fell’s Church and locked them inside, burning it to the ground with them
inside.” He whispered, the pain pouring from every inch of his body while
taking this trip down memory lane.
“Jesus…” Ebony swallowed
hard, wondering how people could be so cruel to do that to others, no matter
what species they were. “Did you save her?”
“No.” Damon
whispered, gritting his teeth as tears filled his eyes. “We managed to find the
carriage that had her locked up and got her out, untied her wrists, but then we
were both shot…by our own father.” He leaned back against the seat, breathing
in and out, refusing to let his emotions get the better of him. “I drank
Katherine’s blood willingly, so when I was shot, I died instantly and started
the transition. I didn’t realize
Katherine had also let Stefan drink her blood, so when he was shot and killed,
he also transitioned. It was only
supposed to be me. I was the only one
who was supposed to be turned.”
It sounded like Katherine
had played both of the brothers for fools and turned them against each other,
which didn’t bode well for this upcoming reunion. “So you’re angry with him
because you think he’s the reason for Katherine’s death?” She made it sound
like a question, wanting to make sure she fully understood the story.
Damon shot ice blue
daggers at her, his head snapping toward her. “He IS the reason, Ebony. There is no thinking about it. He’s the reason she’s gone…” Then a smirk
suddenly crossed Damon’s lips, dripping with pure wicked intentions. “But I
know something he doesn’t.”
Ebony did not like
the sound of that and had a feeling Damon wasn’t about to tell her anything
more for now. “Go on.” She whispered, watching as he started the ignition and
began driving down the dirt road again.
“There’s nothing
more to say right now.”
Damon knew if he
continued, he would say too much and Ebony would have leverage against
him. He had to be smart and get to know
her better before divulging his master plan on why he had returned to Mystic
Falls. All would be revealed in due
time, but right now, all he wanted to do was give his little brother a proper
greeting, eyes flashing at the thought.
A few minutes later,
Ebony slowly looked up at the huge house with wide grey eyes, blinking,
wondering where they were. “Wow…” She looked at him, seeing the familiarity
filtering through his eyes and knew he’d definitely been here before. “Is
this…your home?”
Damon nodded,
stepping out of the car, having parked a little ways from the house so Stefan
didn’t see it yet. “Yes.” He answered, closing the door quietly and waited
until she got out, both of them heading toward it cautiously. “When this goes
down, I don’t want you in the room.”
“Okay.” Ebony
agreed, watching as Damon jumped all the way to the second floor, which had an
open window. “What the…?”
“Come on.” Damon
whispered, not wanting Zach to hear them, which was his distant nephew over the
Salvatore generation.
Nodding, Ebony
closed her eyes and leapt in the air, landing on the balcony with ease, Damon
catching her in his arms. “Whew, I’ll never get used to that.” She said a
little shakily, walking into the bedroom and had a feeling it was Stefan’s.
They both heard the
front door slam shut downstairs and Ebony instantly flew down the hallway to
one of the vacant rooms she found, closing the door the way it was. She listened in with her enhanced hearing,
sitting on the bed and heard the crow’s wings flapping followed by Damon
greeting his brother. They exchanged
words and Damon started taunting Stefan about going after some girl named
Elena, which confused Ebony.
Suddenly, the sound
of a window smashing echoed in her ears and Ebony flew out of the room, hoping
Damon was alright.
Chapter 7
Flying into the
room, Ebony’s eyes shot open at the sight two broken balcony doors and pieces
of glass were strewn everywhere. She
heard the entire conversation and knew Damon was antagonizing his brother,
frowning. Quickly rushing over to the
balcony, Ebony listened to their conversation again, keeping out of sight like
Damon wanted. That didn’t mean she
wasn’t going to eavesdrop, hoping some of her questions were answered since
Damon refused to open up fully to her.
Out of the corner of
her eye, Ebony spotted something on the nearby table in the room, her eyes
narrowing slightly. It sounded as though
Damon had gotten the upper hand on his little brother and the reunion had come
to an end. Pulling away from the
balcony, Ebony walked over to the table and saw a picture lying precariously on
top of it. She picked it up, eyes
widening at the name on the bottom of it.
Katherine 1864.
This had to be the
woman Damon told her about that had the brothers at odds, who had changed them
into vampires. Ebony had to admit she
was quite the beauty, understanding the infatuation and desire from both brothers
to want her. Something told Ebony there
was far more to the story as she set the picture down on the table, head
snapping up when a voice came from the doorway.
“Who the hell are
you?”
Ebony’s head snapped
toward the voice and swallowed hard, slowly stepping away from the balcony.
“I’m…”
“Nobody you need to
concern yourself with, Zach.” Damon’s voice sounded from behind, his eyes
landing on Ebony and watched as she immediately came to his side. “Just a
friend of mine that will be staying here with us for a little while.”
Ebony smiled, clandestinely
looking him over to make sure he was alright.
Judging by the way he walked and the unctuous attitude, Damon was fit as
a fiddle, wrapping an arm around Ebony’s shoulders. They walked out of the room past a resigned
Zach and headed to Damon’s room, which was also upstairs.
It was the same room
she had hid inside while Damon reunited with Stefan.
“You were listening
in.” Damon stated, closing the door behind him and immediately peeled his
leather coat off, tossing it to the side.
“I couldn’t help it,
this damn super hearing…”
Ebony chewed her
bottom lip and looked around the room, which definitely suited Damon. It was very simple with a four poster king
sized bed and an area rug underneath, the room mostly brown. His sheets were pure white along with the
pillows, the comforter a dark brown to match the room décor. The curtains were golden dark brown with
white, the windows huge and had outlined small squares within the glass.
As Ebony explored
further, she walked into another area of the room, which was immediately deemed
the bathroom. It was huge and had a
small fireplace with a white garden tub, everything very elegant. There was also a see through glass shower and
counter with two sinks. The Salvatore’s
were rich and that didn’t surprise Ebony, though she didn’t touch anything
because it all looked pristine.
“Penny for your
thoughts?”
Ebony slowly turned
around to face him, shaking her head. “No, just looking around. This place is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She
watched as Damon shrugged and walked around her to the sink, running the water
to apparently wash his hands.
“This place is
actually called the Salvatore Boarding House where members of the Salvatore
family lived over the years. It was
built back in 1914 and currently the deed is in our nephew’s name, which you
just met.” Damon explained, removing his ring to wash his hands before
immediately putting it back on, after drying them. “It’s also known as one of
the creepiest places in Mystic Falls.” He added, chuckling softly and hung the
towel back up before turning to face her. “It’s also now your home.”
Ebony didn’t believe
that for a second and just nodded, starting to walk out of the bathroom, but
Damon stopped her, pulling her back into his arms. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She
whispered, reaching up to cup his face tenderly in her hand.
“Of course I am.”
Damon snorted, kissing her forehead softly. “There are four available rooms for
you to choose from if you don’t want to stay in here with me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Ebony retorted softly, confusion registering in her grey eyes.
Damon shrugged
nonchalantly, releasing her and pulled his shirt off, needing a shower after
being sent through balcony doors two stories down to concrete. “Suit yourself,
but you might want to choose your own room because there are times I’ll have
other women over.” He turned the shower sprays on, no remorse in what he just
said.
“Right.” Ebony
decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her own room since her and Damon
weren’t together. “On second thought, I need my space and I’m betting you do
too. So I’ll go find one.”
“Sounds good.” Damon
called back, removing the rest of his clothes and stepped under the sprays,
effectively ending their conversation.
Hiding her hurt, Ebony
walked out of Damon’s bedroom and closed the door behind her, seeing there was
only one more room on this floor. That
meant the rest of the bedrooms were downstairs and Ebony began descending them,
not seeing anyone in sight. She began
walking down the small hall from the front door and saw a huge fireplace before
her with possibly the biggest living room she ever saw in her life.
It looked like three
huge rooms meshed into one, all dark colors for the furniture and décor. Grey eyes looked down the small hallway to
her right and Ebony headed in that direction, the floor creaking gently under
her weight. One by one, Ebony glanced
into the rooms and finally chose the third one, walking inside of it, closing
the door behind her.
It was all dark blue
décor, the bedding looking as though it was velvet and she had a huge bay
window with dark blue curtains. The bed
was queen sized and Ebony was pleased to find she had her own bathroom with a
garden tub and shower. Though, it wasn’t
nearly as big as Damon’s, which she didn’t mind.
Setting her things
down on the bed, Ebony began pulling the few items she owned out of the bag,
picking out the black pajama pants and matching spaghetti strapped tank
top. She quickly changed and shoved
everything back in the bag, placing it in the corner before climbing into the
huge bed, looking around the room even more.
Ebony was used to sleeping under bridges, using cardboard boxes for
shelter and never had a bed this big just for her.
A content sigh
escaped her when Ebony slid under the comforter and snuggled down into the soft
feather pillow, completely melting. Her
thoughts suddenly ventured back to the conversation she overheard between Damon
and Stefan, the name Elena somewhat intriguing her. Damon said she was a dead ringer for
Katherine, so what exactly did that mean?
A dead ringer meant
duplicate, but there was no way there could be two of the same person,
right? Something was definitely up and
she knew it had to do with this girl named Elena and Katherine. Ebony sighed as she closed her eyes,
surprisingly not hungry and felt the exhaustion slowly overtake her body,
falling asleep almost instantly.
~!~
Ebony was up before
anyone else the next morning, the sun barely peeking over the horizon and she
was starved. She was surprised to find a
bag of blood on the nightstand, unopened, and drained it almost instantly. They had to go out hunting tonight because,
even though the blood bags were good, fresh human blood was so much better.
Tossing the blood
bag in the small trashcan that was on the other side of the bed, Ebony decided
to go do more exploring of the mansion.
She slipped on a pair of black socks before heading out, closing the
door behind her, and padded down the hallway toward the huge living room. The sun shined brightly through the windows,
really showing the true worldly beauty of the mansion and Ebony felt as though
she was in some kind of fairytale.
“Damon is still
sleeping.”
Ebony turned around,
staring at the same man that had caught her in Stefan’s room the previously
night, a tentative smile crossing her lips. “I wasn’t looking for him, but
thank you.” She walked over and extended her hand, grey eyes friendly. “I’m
Ebony.”
Zach was extremely
wary of her for good reason, not trusting anyone associated with Damon. “Zach.”
He didn’t take her hand, walking past her with his hands clasped behind his
back, heading toward the kitchen.
Watching him walk
away, Ebony shrugged and continued looking around, finding the small bar with
different choices of alcohol. She
remembered Damon telling her about how it curved a vampire’s craving for
blood. One drink wouldn’t hurt as Ebony
took a tumbler and picked the first bottle of dark liquid, pouring her a small
shot.
Bringing it up to
her nose, Ebony inhaled and tossed it back in one swallow, closing her eyes as
the burning sensation rushed down her throat.
Her eyes opened and, surprisingly, the hunger for blood had somewhat decreased. She took three more shots before putting the
liquor away, leaving her glass there for later on and continued on her
exploration.
Suddenly, she heard
the creaking of the front door and immediately flew to the first room she could
find, which was the dining room that was just off the huge living room. A female voice pierced the silence and Ebony
slowly poked her head around the corner, watching as the crow flew into the
room followed by Damon appearing. Ebony
could hear how fast the girl’s heart pumped and covered her mouth with her hand
when she realized who it was, eyes widened.
“You must be Elena.”
Damon greeted politely. “I’m Damon, Stefan’s brother.”
“He didn’t tell me
he had a brother.”
“Well, Stefan’s not
one to brag.” Damon said, guiding her into the living room and parlor with a
charming smile. “Please come, I’m sure Stefan will be along any second.”
Elena? THAT was Elena? She was the spitting image of Katherine! What the hell was going on here? Ebony didn’t move an inch, hearing them enter
the living room/parlor, overhearing everything they were talking about. Damon brought up Katherine, confusing Ebony,
because the way he sounded the previous night, he was in love with her more
than Stefan.
This was very
confusing; Ebony knew if she was human she would have a migraine by now. She heard Stefan walk into the room and
basically ordered Elena to leave, in a polite way, and heard the shuffling of
shoes as the front door closed. Why
would Damon purposefully bring up Katherine to Elena, calling Katherine
Stefan’s ex-girlfriend?
“Someone had to go
clean up your mess.”
They were talking
about someone being in the hospital and Ebony knew instantly who it was. The high school girl from last night that
Damon attacked to send a message. He left
her alive? One thing Damon taught Ebony
was that, if she was leaving her prey alive after feeding, to make sure to
erase their memory. Apparently, Damon
hadn’t done that and she was curious why, wondering what kind of game he was
playing just like Stefan.
Ebony slowly walked
out of the dining room, after more words were exchanged between the brothers, a
frown on her face. Both Stefan and Damon
turned to face her, Stefan’s eyes slightly wide while Damon stood there with a
smug look on his face. Stefan looked
back at Damon and then the strange woman he wasn’t aware was staying here,
folding his arms in front of his chest.
“Care to explain,
Damon?”
“She’s a friend of
mine.” Damon shrugged, sounding nonchalant and walked over to pour himself a
shot of bourbon. “Brought her home with me.
I figured you were lonely and could use the company, brother.”
Stefan didn’t buy
that for a second, slowly heading toward the raven haired beauty and extended
his hand. “We haven’t had the chance to meet, I’m Stefan.” He said, feeling her
hand take his and shook it firmly.
“Nice to meet you,
Stefan. I’m Ebony.” She replied, pulling
her hand away from his and walked over to where Damon was, needing another
drink. “You didn’t tell him I was staying here?”
“Why would I?” Damon
retorted, raising a black eyebrow. “This is my house just as much as it’s his,
if not more. I AM the older brother
after all.”
“Technically, this
is Zach’s house because it’s in his name.” Stefan corrected, walking over to
sit on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “Does she even know the
reason you’ve returned to Mystic Falls?”
Damon smirked,
stirring his drink a little with ice and sipped it thoughtfully. “Even if she
did, she wouldn’t tell you.” He assured Stefan, draping an arm around her
shoulders. “Though, I’m sure Elena could use another friend in her little
group.”
Stefan’s eyes
narrowed upon hearing that, gritting his teeth. “Stay away from Elena,
Damon. I’m warning you. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Don’t worry Stefan;
I’ll stay away from Elena.” Ebony assured him, ignoring Damon’s sudden glare
and poured her used tumbler full of whiskey. “And I have no idea why Damon came
back here, just so you know. I’ve been
wondering that myself actually.” Her grey eyes were cool as she spoke, sipping
her whiskey much like Damon had. “Though, she does sound like a sweet girl.”
“She is.” Stefan
agreed, wondering if Damon realized that by making a vampire, he could no
longer compel this girl to do his bidding. “Make yourself at home, Ebony.”
“Already have.”
Ebony raised her
glass and downed the rest of it before walking out of the room, heading for the
kitchen. She was starving and wanted to
forget all about this Elena/Katherine business for a little while, hoping they
had something good to eat. Halfway
through making some pancakes, Ebony felt a presence in the kitchen and didn’t
bother turning around, flipping one in the pan.
“So, are you ready
to tell me what the hell is going on?
Because, I could’ve sworn I just saw Stefan’s new girlfriend, who looks
exactly like Katherine. And it’s making
my head hurt trying to piece everything together.” Ebony felt him fly over to
stand besides her, gripping her chin and forced her
eyes to meet his, her lips pursed tightly together.
“All you need to
worry about, precious, is being friendly with Elena.” Damon said in a sweet
voice, though his eyes were pure eyes. “Because if you don’t,” His grip
tightened on her chin, almost to the point of breaking it. “I will end
you. You find out things when I TELL you
and not a second before then. You are
here to help me, remember? Now finish
cooking and get your ass to school because, as of today, you are a student at
Mystic Falls High School.” Releasing her chin, Damon walked out of the kitchen
and left Ebony standing there in shock.
Chapter 8
Looking up at the
huge building, all Ebony could think was she wanted to run in the opposite
direction. She was twenty one years old
and being forced to go back to high school of all places, this was wrong! Ebony never went to a regular school because
the orphanage had their own schooling program and, nine times out of ten, she
was tossed out for misbehaving.
Apparently, Damon
had been busy throughout the night planning everything for her while she
slept. He bought a black bag that went
over the shoulder with notebooks, pens, pencils, a binder and folders. Damon also bought her some jeans, shorts,
tank and short sleeved tops, tennis shoes, a gym uniform, socks, panties, bras
and even some hair accessories along with makeup.
How Damon managed to
do all of this in LESS than twelve hours was beyond her.
Currently, Ebony
wore a dark pink baby doll top with a white camisole underneath and black
shorts, white sneakers on her feet. Her
hair was straight and left down with a huge black hairband pushing her hair
back since she had no bangs. She had
simple black eyeliner on and clear gloss, foundation to help bring some color
to her pale skin.
“Damon, you do
remember I’m twenty one, right?” She asked, looking over at him and sighed when
he nodded.
“You don’t look
twenty one though.” He stated, reaching over to open the door for her. “Now get
in there and start making friends with Elena.”
Ebony wanted to tell
him that her and school never mixed well together, but the determination in his
icy eyes made her keep her mouth shut. “Fine, whatever you say, master.” She
snorted, hissing when he grabbed her upper arm tightly.
“Just do what you’re
told and you won’t get hurt.” Damon said, his voice barely above a whisper and
released her arm, patting her on top of the head. “Better hurry before the bell
rings. You have your schedule, right?”
Ebony nodded stiffly
and stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut. “Damon…”
“Have a good day,
sweetheart.”
Ebony watched as he
sped away and groaned, feeling like she wanted to rip her hair out of her
skull. “This is ridiculous…” She muttered under her breath before reluctantly heading
into the building, pulling the schedule out of her back pocket and glanced over
it. “History first, wonderful…”
Everyone looked up
when the door opened and a beautiful raven haired girl walked in, looking
extremely nervous. William Tanner, the
history teacher, looked over at her and smiled, figuring this had to be his new
student. Ebony chewed her bottom lip and
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, remembering to learn to breathe because
she was still a new vampire with hunger issues.
“Everyone, this is
Ebony Salvatore. She’s new from Chicago
and a junior.” William announced, placing a hand on the small of her back.
“Take a seat, Ebony, we were just about to get started.”
“Thanks.”
Ebony smiled and
quickly scanned the classroom, spotting a desk that was empty right next to
Elena, taking it without preamble. She
set her bag down on the side of her desk, pulling out a notebook and folder
while the teacher got her a history book.
Opening the page he announced, Ebony pretended to pay attention and
glanced over at Elena, who was sneaking glimpses at her.
Elena didn’t know
Stefan had a sister, cousin or whoever Ebony was, question marks swirling
through her brown eyes. Where was Ebony
when she went over there earlier in the morning to talk to Stefan? Damon had seemed decent enough, very polite,
but there’d been no sign of Ebony anywhere.
She wasn’t the only
one who was staring at Ebony with confusion and wonder because Stefan was
sitting on the other side of Elena, also stealing glances at Ebony. What the hell was Damon doing? Ebony had made it clear she was going to stay
away from Elena, only now she was here at school with them, sitting right next
to his girlfriend. Stefan had to do
something and fast before Damon completely destroyed everything he had going
for him.
If Stefan had to
bring Ebony down as well, he would without thinking twice.
“Hey, do you have a
pencil I can borrow?” Elena asked, deciding to make some kind of conversation
with her and ignored Stefan for the moment.
He had some serious explaining to do when class was over with. “I can’t
find one in my bag, it’s such a mess.”
Ebony smiled back at
her and nodded; thankful she didn’t have to be the one to talk first. “Sure.”
Pulling out a pencil, Ebony handed it over with ease, grey eyes staring at her
friendly. “Here you go.”
“Thanks…” Elena
looked over her shoulder at Stefan, silently asking him what was going on and
all he did was shrug, giving her yet another vague answer. “You said your name
was Salvatore?”
“Yeah, I’m Damon and
Stefan’s cousin.” Ebony lied smoothly, having already gone over the whole
family angle with Damon while she got ready after eating some pancakes. “I just
got into town last night.”
“Oh.” Elena suddenly
didn’t feel so put out anymore and extended her hand. “I’m Elena Gilbert,
Stefan’s girlfriend.”
Ebony took her hand,
shaking it. “Nice to meet you. Damon
told me you stopped by this morning, but I was busy getting ready for my first
day here.” They were talking because Mr. Tanner had to step out for a second to
take a phone call.
“Yeah, that was my
first time meeting him. He’s nice,
though Stefan doesn’t like him as much.” Elena half-joked, not really
understanding what was so terrible about Damon.
“Brothers will be
brothers.” Ebony commented, looking up when the teacher walked back in and
class resumed.
The bell rang,
signaling class was over and Ebony packed up her things, starting to head out
the door behind Elena and Stefan.
However, she was stopped by the teacher, wondering what he wanted and
stayed behind like a good student. Mr.
Tanner waited until everyone exited the class before walking over, closing the
door so they had complete privacy, turning his eyes on her.
“Did you understand
everything today?” He asked, walking back over to sit down behind his desk.
“Because I don’t want you falling behind since you haven’t been here the whole
semester.”
“I took notes, it’s
pretty self-explanatory.” Considering she was twenty one years old posing as a
high schooler, Ebony had already learned all of this
because of the orphanage. “I’ll catch up.”
“You sound pretty
confident.” Mr. Tanner observed, folding his arms in front of his chest, eyes
narrowing slightly. “My class isn’t that easy to get through, Ebony.”
Ebony knew if she
mouthed off, she would have to deal with Damon’s wrath later, so she just bit
her tongue for the time being. “I understand, Mr. Tanner, and will do my best
to catch up.” She said as politely as she could, suddenly feeling a little
uncomfortable.
“Well, I could
definitely make it easier for you to catch up, if you want.” He offered in a
lower voice, a predatory gleam coming over his eyes as he stood up from his
chair, towering over her. “VERY easy.”
Ebony had been
around the block a few times and knew exactly what that look in his eyes
implied, squaring her shoulders with pursed lips. “I don’t think so.” She took
a step back, only for him to take one forward, smiling uneasily. “Mr. Tanner,
I’m going to be late for my next class, so I really need to go…”
“I’ll write you a
tardy note.” He assured her, watching as she finally hit the chalkboard and
boxed her in so she couldn’t get away from him. “I’m not done talking to you
yet, Ebony.”
Ebony closed her
eyes as his head bent down to smell her, feeling sick to her stomach and could
feel the tears burning her eyes. “Mr. Tanner…”
“Ssshhhh…”
He slowly ran his finger down her cheek to the side of her neck, suddenly
gripping her breast through the thin material of her baby doll. “Mmm so firm…”
That was all Ebony
could take as she brought her hands up, shoving him as hard as she could away
from her and ended up sending him flying on top of the desks. Her grey eyes shot open, suddenly remembering
her enhanced strength and knew she had to get out of there before he could
regain his bearings. Opening the door,
Ebony ran down the hallway and into the nearest bathroom, occupying the first
available stall.
Tears instantly
poured down her cheeks as Ebony pressed her forehead to the stall door, feeling
her knees buckling and hit the floor, her bag slipping from her shoulder. What the hell kind of school was this where
teachers touched their students the way Mr. Tanner just did to her? Ebony didn’t care about the consequences of
going home on her first day of school.
Damon could stake
her if he wanted to, but she was NOT staying here after what just
happened. Wiping her tears away, Ebony
took a few deep breaths before pushing open the stall, thankful everyone had
cleared out. She turned the faucet on
and splashed some cold water on her face, not caring if her makeup was
destroyed. Ebony had stripped naked for
money in front of men, but she was always in control with everything she did,
never having a man actually assault her the way Mr.
Tanner did.
The bathroom door
opened suddenly as Elena walked inside along with another blonde girl, both
stopping at the sight of her. “Ebony?” Elena frowned, walking over to her and
could clearly see she was upset about something. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m leaving for
the day and going back to the mansion.” Ebony muttered, looking away from Elena
as she patted her face dry.
Elena didn’t
understand what could’ve happened and suddenly stopped Ebony from leaving,
grabbing her arms to keep her still. “What happened, Ebony?” She was Stefan’s
family, which meant she was automatically someone Elena cared about, concern in
her eyes. “Talk to us.”
“I don’t even know
you, Elena.” Ebony whispered, tossing the damp paper towel in the trashcan,
trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. “Just like you don’t know me
from a hole in the ground.” If the girl only knew who she really was, Elena
would’ve walked away in a split second.
“Well this is
Caroline, one of my best friends. You’re
Stefan’s family, so that automatically makes you my friend, even if you don’t
realize it yet.” Elena stated, grabbing both of Ebony’s hands and squeezed them
gently, cracking a hesitant smile. “Before you leave school, tell me what
happened. Maybe we can fix it so that
way you don’t miss your first day.”
This girl trusted
far too easily, Ebony thought, but the deep brown eyes of Elena were hard to
resist. “Mr. Tanner asked me to stay after to talk to me about what I thought
was schoolwork, but he ended up…making a pass at me…and touching me…” She
looked away in shame, raking a hand through her hair and ended up pulling the
headband out in anger.
Elena’s eyes shot
open, along with Caroline’s, both of them sharing shocked expressions. “What?”
Mr. Tanner was a lot of things, but Elena never thought in a million years the
man was actually capable of being a pedophile and felt sick to her stomach just
like Ebony.
“You have to get her
out of here, Elena.” Caroline stated, pity filling her blue eyes. “She looks
very pale…”
Elena nodded,
already pulling her cell phone out and sent Stefan a quick text. “I am, I’m
taking her back to Damon and letting Stefan know what’s going on. She can’t be here right now.” If that
happened to Elena, she would definitely not be able to stay in the same school
as the teacher that molested her. “Caroline, don’t call your Mom yet, okay?”
“Wasn’t planning on
it, but this really should be documented.” Caroline pointed out, picking up
Ebony’s books and slid them back in her bag, handing it over to Elena. “I’ll
get the homework for both of you that you miss.”
“Thanks Caroline.”
Elena smiled appreciatively at one of her best friends, guiding Ebony out of
the bathroom, a firm arm around her shoulders. “Hold on, Stefan is texting me
back.”
What happened? Stay where you are, I’m on my way.
Elena wasn’t waiting
for Stefan to get out of class, needing to get Ebony home before they ran into
Mr. Tanner again. There was no way she
was making that up, she was trembling far too much to be lying. They walked outside and Elena found her car,
heading over to it, pressing the unlock button.
“You don’t have to
do this…” Ebony whispered, slipping in the passenger seat and immediately
stopped talking when Elena held her hand up.
“Don’t worry about
it. Just try to relax.” Elena assured
her, buckling up and waited for Ebony to do the same thing before peeling out
of the high school parking lot.
Stefan groaned when
he saw Elena’s car drive off with Ebony and immediately went after them,
running as fast as he could through the woods.
All Elena’s text said was something had happened to Ebony, which was
incredibly vague. Whatever it was, it had
to be some kind of plan for Ebony to get Elena alone to talk to her, his eyes
narrowing as several different scenarios popped in his head.
“Damn it.” He
cursed, picking up speed and knew he could only go so fast since he didn’t live
off of human blood unlike Damon.
“What exactly
happened, Ebony, if you don’t mind me asking?” Elena asked, wanting to make
sure she got the full story, glancing over at the shaking girl. “You can tell
me, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me too.”
“Mr. Tanner asked me
to stay after class because he had to talk to me about something. I figured it was because I just started in
the middle of the semester. He said that
he could help me get ahead, if I knew what he meant. Then he backed me up against the chalkboard
and started sniffing me like a bitch in heat.” Ebony grit her teeth, tears
instantly stinging her eyes again and had to look away to stare out the window,
closing her eyes. “Then he ran a finger down my cheek and neck and grabbed my
boob. I shoved him away and got the hell
out of there before something else happened.”
Elena couldn’t
believe this was happening, knowing Mr. Tanner always was a little strange, but
never someone that would deliberately force themself on an innocent girl. She was angry, punching the gas harder down
the dirt path that lead to the Salvatore mansion. If Ebony never stepped foot in that high
school again, Elena wouldn’t blame her a bit, gripping the steering wheel
tightly in her hands.
They pulled up to
the mansion a few seconds later and Ebony instantly got out, not waiting for
Elena as she rushed to the front door.
Damon opened it just before she could touch the door handle, blinking as
Ebony flew past him straight to her room, black eyebrows furrowed in
confusion. Then he spotted Elena running
up to the door, instantly letting her inside and had a feeling something bad
happened at the high school with Ebony.
“What happened?” He
demanded, closing the door behind Elena and stood there while she told him
everything Ebony had said, eyes narrowing with every word he heard.
William Tanner was
officially living on borrowed time.
Chapter 9
Stefan showed up a
few minutes later and flew into the house, stopping at the sight of her talking
to Damon. Big brother did not look happy
either. Damon looked downright deadly
and Stefan could only imagine what happened to make him look like that. Slowly walking over, Stefan stood beside
Elena and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, raising an
eyebrow because Elena immediately stopped talking.
“What’s going on?”
Stefan demanded, wrapping a protective arm around Elena. “What happened to
Ebony?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Damon refused to bring little brother into this, walking away from both of them
to go check on Ebony.
Scowling, Stefan
turned his eyes down on Elena, running a finger down her cheek. “Tell me what’s
going on.” He requested softly, frowning when she simply took his hand, pushing
it away.
“I can’t,
Stefan. It’s not my place to say and
Damon said he’ll handle it.” Elena hated leaving Stefan in the dark, but it was
really for the best right now. “I really have to go. If Ebony needs to talk, tell her to call me.”
Stefan nodded,
walking Elena out to her car and decided to trust her judgment for the time
being, promising to call her later.
While Elena
reiterated what happened, Ebony was busy packing up her things, not able to do
this anymore. There was no way she was
going back to that school and looking William Tanner in the eye. He wouldn’t have a throat anymore, she would
bleed him completely dry after what he did to her.
No matter how hard
she tried, Ebony couldn’t stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks, every
part of her body trembling with barely repressed anger. She could already feel the veins popping out
on her cheeks, her sclera’s turning red and her fangs sliding out, trying to
take deep breaths like Damon taught her.
How could she calm down after what just transpired with that lowlife
teacher?
Damon could hear
shuffling through the door and turned the knob, pushing it open. He didn’t say a word and just watched as she
rushed around the room, flying right past him to the bathroom. Sighing resignedly, Damon shut the door
behind him and walked inside the bathroom, leaning in the doorway with his arms
folded in front of his chest, waiting patiently for her to realize he was
there.
Ebony looked up from
what she was doing and froze at the sight of Damon. “I’m leaving.” She stated,
swiping what was hers from the bathroom counter into a bag. “You told me I can
leave whenever I want and that’s what I’m doing. You’ll have to do whatever this plan is on
your own or kill me.”
“I’m not going to
kill you, Ebony.” Damon said, pushing away from the doorway and grabbed her
upper arms, forcing her to stop for a few seconds. “Relax…”
“NO!!” Ebony
suddenly broke free and used all of her strength to push him away, sending him
flying back against the wall. “Do NOT touch me, Damon. I’m not your little bitch! I’m NOBODY’S bitch, you got that? I am touched when I WANT to be touched!!”
Damon knew she was
extremely upset and he had to calm her down because Stefan would be able to
hear everything she said. “Ebony, you have to calm down.” He flew back over to
where she stood, but didn’t touch her, knowing that would only upset her. “I’m
not gonna hurt you.
What happened today isn’t your fault and it will be dealt with.”
Sniffling, Ebony lowered
her eyes away from him, feeling her shoulders slump as all the anger drained
from her system. “I didn’t…” She didn’t push Damon away when he pressed a
finger to her lips, cutting her off.
“I know, its okay.” Damon took a chance and grabbed her hand, slowly
pulling her against him, wrapping one arm around her waist. “You can’t leave
yet, Ebony. I know you want to after
what happened, but there’s so much I haven’t taught you. I don’t think of you as my bitch, you’re so
much more than that.” Because he turned her, Damon felt an unshakeable bond
with Ebony, one that would be hard to break.
“Then what am I to
you?” Ebony looked up at him, her grey eyes still filled with unshed tears.
“Why did you bring me to Mystic Falls?”
Damon sighed,
pressing his forehead to hers and suddenly captured her lips with his in a
passionate kiss, burying his hand in her hair.
Suddenly, visions flashed through Ebony’s mind that had to do with an
amber stone in an iron antique setting.
As Damon deepened the kiss, another vision flashed through her mind,
this time of some old church ruins that looked decayed and in shambles
somewhere deep in woods.
Ebony completely
opened her mind to him, knowing Damon was sending these visions to her and
buried her fingers in his black hair, seeing another vision. There was an African American woman that
Damon was talking with, the conversation talking about the amber crystal that
was around Emily’s neck. Damon was
begging her to save Katherine, to name her price and he would do it, no
questions asked.
Emily wanted her
family’s lineage to survive and Damon agreed as long as Katherine was saved,
the church ruins suddenly flashing in her mind again. So there was a hidden magical tomb beneath
these ruins. Ebony felt his hands run
down her body and lifted her up with ease, her legs wrapping around his waist,
the kiss never breaking.
Another vision
showed Damon saving lives that Ebony knew had to be Emily’s family, possibly
her children. Ebony felt her back press
against a wall and felt Damon grind against her, neither of them needing air to
breathe because they were technically dead.
Yet another vision entered her mind that involved Emily, the amber stone
and a comet that showed in the night sky.
It basically showed her how Emily cast the spell to seal Katherine and
all the vampires in this tomb.
“Did you get all of
that?” Damon murmured once the kiss finally broke, his blue eyes slightly
darkened and cloudy. “Or do I need to show you again?”
“I got it, but…I
need to make sure I understand what you just showed me.” Ebony replied softly,
running her fingers down the side of his face. “Where can we talk so nobody
will overhear us?”
Damon smirked,
slowly lowering her down on the bathroom floor and peeled his shirt off.
“Shower. The water will drown us out.”
He spoke quietly, undressing quickly and flew over to start the shower sprays.
Ebony smiled and
undressed, joining Damon in the huge glass shower, the sprays cascading down
their bodies. “So let me see if I got this right…” She cringed when Damon
pressed a finger to his lips, pressing her against him.
“Speak quietly. Even though we’re under the water, others
might still be able to hear us.” Damon informed her, running his hands down her
back and knew she thoroughly enjoyed him touching her.
“Sorry.” Ebony
murmured softly, loud enough for him to hear and that was only because of the
enhanced hearing. “So, I know you told me a little about Katherine and how she
was caught. Is that what Emily did
then? She saved Katherine from being
burned in the church with all the other vampires?”
Damon nodded, grabbing
the body wash and loofah sponge, beginning to lather
it up. “Yes.” He turned Ebony around and began washing her back, his mouth
right by her ear. “She had to save all the vampires in the church with that
spell, it couldn’t just be Katherine.
And in turn, I promised to make sure her lineage survived, which it
did.”
“So, what’s with the
comet you showed me then?” Ebony couldn’t help leaning back against him,
especially when he began kissing down the side of her neck.
“Emily had to use
the comet in order to cast the spell. It
was considered a celestial event and, without it, she couldn’t generate enough
power to save everyone in the church.” Damon explained, moving her wet black
hair over her left shoulder, pressing soft kisses to her shoulder while continuing
to wash her. “The comet is passing over tonight, which we will be
attending. I need you to keep Elena
distracted while I work a little magic with her friend, Caroline.”
“The blonde?” Ebony
turned around to face him, grey eyes narrowed slightly. “Why her?”
Damon smirked,
raising an eyebrow. “You’re not jealous, are you, Ebony?”
“Of course not.”
Ebony shot back indignantly, folding her arms in front of her chest. “What do
you need her for?”
“She’s a Founding
Family member and I need her to invite me to the Founder’s Party because that’s
where the crystal is.” Damon said, running a finger down her cheek and kissed
her softly. “It’s going to be held at the Lockwood mansion in a couple of
nights.”
“The amber stone,
right?”
Damon nodded,
tapping her head very gently with his fingertip. “That crystal is the only way
to open the tomb and free Katherine.” Deciding it was time to set things
straight, Damon fingered Ebony’s chin, his eyes locking with hers. “I need you
to understand that Katherine is the only woman I will ever love. She’s the only one I want. I’ve waited a hundred and forty five years to
free her so we can be together, that’s why I need your help to make sure nothing
stands in my way.”
Ebony hid her pain
well and nodded, finally understanding exactly why Damon had turned her,
plastering a smile on her face. “I understand, Damon. She’s the love of your life. I’ll help you get her back, but then I’m
gone, so you can be happy with her.”
“Ebony…”
She simply pressed a
finger over his lips, silencing him this time. “You’ll be able to teach me a
few more things before I leave. In the
meantime, I think I’ll have a little fun of my own.”
Winking, Ebony
opened the shower door and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body after
towel drying her hair. Ebony knew there
was no way she would ever have Damon as her own, so there was no point in
hoping for it. She would help him as
promised, but once he had Katherine back in his life, he would never see her
again.
Ebony was a fool to
fall in love with him, but she couldn’t help it, knowing she could never tell
him the truth. He used his blood to turn
her, there would always be that intense connection with him, but hopefully in
time it would fade. Walking into the bedroom,
Ebony laid down on the bed while Damon finished up in the shower, snuggling
into the pillow.
Whistling, Damon
walked out a few minutes later with a towel slung very low on his hips and
decided to join Ebony in bed. “I was only being honest with you. I wasn’t trying to be cruel.” He said, his
way of apologizing, wrapping one arm around her waist. “I just didn’t want you
thinking something could happen between us in a romantic sense.”
“I get it.”
Ebony felt him turn
her over on her back, staring up at him and moaned as soon as his lips covered
hers. How could he kiss her like this
and not feel anything? He was not making
this easy on her and all Ebony could do was endure everything Damon gave her,
refusing to push him away. Her leg
curled over his while he hovered over her, their kiss never breaking.
“Damon…” Ebony
suddenly pushed him off of her and sat up, breathing heavily. “I said I would
help you, but I refuse to be your sex outlet.
Go find Caroline Forbes and have your way with her.” She whispered,
slipping from the bed and walked over to her closet to pick out the outfit she
would wear tonight.
“She’s not the only
one I’ll be going after, just a fair warning.” Damon said, standing from the
bed as well and wrapped his arms around Ebony’s waist, smirking when she tried
pulling away from him again. “You know you enjoy me touching you, so why fight
it? Why not enjoy it while you can?”
“Because I refuse to
be used by you or anyone else.” She broke the embrace and turned in his arms,
holding some clothes. “If you want me to go to this comet thing, I need to get
dressed and so do you.”
Damon backed away
with his hands in the air, deciding to give her the space she wanted and bowed
mockingly. “Whatever you say, Ebony.” He walked back into the bathroom to
retrieve his clothes before heading out the door past Stefan. “Trying to
eavesdrop on our conversation, brother?”
“Is she okay?”
Stefan immediately asked, wondering if this was all a hoax like he originally
assumed. “Because if that was all a plan to get Elena alone…”
Damon snorted,
pouring himself a drink at the small bar in the parlor. “I’m a little more
creative than that, Stefan.” Damon assured him, slamming the shot back before
pouring another one.
“Then what the hell
happened?”
“Nothing you need to
worry about.” Damon replied, walking past him after downing his second shot,
feeling much better. “Don’t you have the comet to get ready for? It’s tonight, I’m sure Elena would LOVE to
see you there.”
“Damon…”
Grinning, Damon
brushed Stefan’s warning tone off and headed upstairs with an extra kick in his
step, glad he finally had Ebony on his side.
Things were about to change in Mystic Falls and it was going to start
with the girl he attacked in the woods.
Stefan thought he was slick and his little mind compulsion actually
worked feeding strictly on human blood.
Damon tried warning him, but little brother was very stubborn when he
wanted to be.
Pulling out a short
sleeved black shirt, Damon pulled it over his head followed by a pair of dark
blue jeans, drying his hair a little more.
He never put any product in it, the messy style suiting him, and pulled
his leather coat on. Straightening his
collar, Damon grabbed his car keys and wallet before heading back downstairs,
waiting for Ebony to finish getting ready.
Ten minutes later,
she walked out in a pair of blue jeans and grey short sleeved top that had a V
shaped neckline. Her hair was still damp
and hung down her back straight, refusing to do anything with it. What happened with Mr. Tanner still bothered
her, but Ebony had to get over it and keep focused on the main goal: Helping
Damon open the tomb to get Katherine back.
“You look…nice.” Damon
figured she could’ve dolled up a little more, so that was the best compliment
he could come up with.
“Thanks, ready to
go?” She asked, walking out the front door with him following suit, both of
them having agendas. “So, why exactly am I going to this comet thing again?”
“To keep Elena
distracted and have fun while I take care of a few things.”
Ebony nodded,
looking out the window as they pulled away from the mansion, heading into town.
Chapter 10
Everyone in Mystic
Falls came out to watch the comet pass through the sky.
Ebony stood there in
the grass as the sun slowly began lowering on the horizon, looking everywhere
for Elena reticently. Damon had dropped
her off and went on his way, leaving her to fend for herself in the swarm of
people. He also explained that the comet
was the only thing that could give the crystal its power and he only had a
certain amount of time to get it before the power vanished.
“Hey, do you have a
candle?”
Ebony turned around
and stared into a pair of kind baby blue eyes, a soft smile spreading on her
lips. “No, I don’t.” She took the candle he handed her, which had a small glass
holder so she didn’t get burned by the flame. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He
flashed a soft smile, using his already flaming candle to light hers, the
candlelight reflecting in his eyes, making them practically glow. “What’s your
name?”
“Ebony.” She
answered, taking the hand he extended to her, shaking it gently. “What’s
yours?”
“Matt Donovan.”
“Nice to meet you,
Matt.” Ebony turned her eyes away from him while holding the candle, the cool
breeze blowing through her hair.
Matt could tell she
was lonely and for some reason that bothered him, so he didn’t leave her side.
“Are you here with anyone?” He asked, trying to strike up another conversation
with her.
“No, just figured
I’d try to get to know this town a little better. I recently moved here.” She said softly,
tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear, acting shy.
“No wonder I haven’t
seen you around. You’re far too
beautiful to not be noticed.” Matt stated, grinning when she flushed slightly
and looked back up at the sky, the moon slowly starting to come out. “If you
don’t mind, Ebony, I’d like to hang out with you tonight so you’re not alone.”
Raising a slow
eyebrow, Ebony considered his offer and finally nodded, deciding Matt Donovan
would be her distraction from Damon. “You’re very sweet.” She commented,
turning to fully face him, giving him her attention. “What’s the catch?”
Matt chuckled softly
and tapped her nose with his fingertip, blue eyes sparkling. “No catch, a
beautiful woman shouldn’t watch the comet alone.” He was being completely
truthful, which surprised Ebony.
“That’s the second
time you’ve called me that.” She pointed out with a smirk, wondering what it
was about blue eyes that attracted her so much. “Don’t you have someone here to
share the comet with?”
Matt shook his head,
a frown suddenly marring his handsome face. “No, I recently broke up with this
girl I practically grew up with next door.
You know the whole girl next door scenario. It just didn’t work for her and now she’s
dating someone else. It sucks seeing
them together, not gonna lie, but they’re good
together and I’m happy for her.” He knew he probably just opened up a whole can
of worms by saying all of that, but Matt was a blunt truthful person, always
had been.
Yet another guy who
wanted another woman. “You have a good night, Matt. Thanks for the candle and good luck.” Ebony
walked away from him, refusing to deal with another situation that was like
Damon’s, for the first time feeling completely alone.
Matt frowned,
watching her walk away and mentally cursed, trudging off in the opposite
direction. “Stupid.” He muttered, kicking the ground angrily and headed away
from the park to Mystic Grill, knowing his sister Vicki was there.
Tossing the candle
to the side, Ebony had a feeling she wouldn’t run into Elena and decided to go
hunting on her own. Damon had told her
not to go on her own, but Ebony was tired of following and obeying, trying to
stem the anger currently flowing through her.
She could hear people heading into the woods and went in that direction,
grey eyes glowing as the darkness surrounded her. All she wanted was a taste and then she would
erase their memory, they wouldn’t know what happened.
“Hey Mattie!” Vicki
greeted her younger brother, walking over to him with a huge white bandage on
her neck. “I was wondering where you were.”
“Just had to get
away from the crowd for a bit.” Matt said, sitting at the bar and ordered a
soda, scrubbing a hand down his face. “How are you feeling? You should be at home resting after that
attack, Vick.”
“I’m never better.”
Vicki assured him, thanks to some pills that Jeremy Gilbert had given her, she
was definitely pain free. “I was just getting my schedule for tomorrow.” She
worked as a waitress for Mystic Grill and had missed a few days because of her
animal attack.
“Are you sure that’s
smart?” Matt didn’t want his sister pushing herself too much, frowning when she
just waved him off. “Fine whatever, just be careful, Vick.” Standing up, Matt
walked out of the grill and headed back to the comet sighting.
Vicki smiled and
turned around, heading to the back to finish checking over her schedule. Once she wrote it down, she walked back out
and headed for the exit, stopping at the sight of a man sitting at the bar. Her eyes became confused, staring at him a
little harder and decided to say something, not really thinking straight.
“I know you.”
Slowly, the man’s
piercing electric blue eyes locked on her while he nursed a glass of scotch.
“Well that’s unfortunate.”
Fear suddenly
entered Vicki’s body and she had the impulse to get as far away from this man
as possible, tears shining in her eyes “S-Sorry excuse me…” She rushed to the
woman’s bathroom, needing a minute to recollect herself and ended up popping a
few more pills from the stash Jeremy gave her earlier.
That was the last
thing Vicki remembered.
Meanwhile, Ebony had
finished her meal of the night and wiped the blood from her lips, sighing in
contentment. She leaned over the man she
had seduced, running her thumb over his still lips and pressed a soft kiss to
them. He’d gone into the woods alone
with a bottle of Jack Daniels and ended up sharing a few shots with her.
It was almost too
easy. “You won’t remember this happening.
You came into the woods alone and finished the bottle of Jack Daniels on
your own.”
“Came into the woods
alone.” The man replied in a trance.
Biting her wrist,
Ebony pressed it against his mouth, letting a few drops enter his system, the
bite mark instantly vanishing from his neck. “You will go straight home and
sleep off your hangover. I don’t exist
to you. And you will call a cab because
drunk driving is bad.”
“Going home to sleep
off my hangover. Calling cab because
drunk driving is bad.”
Ebony smiled and
nodded, kissing his forehead softly, taking what was left of the Jack Daniels
bottle before vanishing. She watched
from behind several trees out of sight as the man did exactly what she
said. Taking the last shot from the
bottle, Ebony tossed it over her shoulder and felt exceptionally better, the
power of human blood flowing through her.
“There you are!”
Elena called out as soon as Ebony made her way out of the woods, smiling. “I’m
so glad you came!”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Ebony smiled back, taking the candle Elena handed her and followed her over to
the spot where they would watch the comet.
“How are you
feeling? Are you okay?” Elena asked,
lighting Ebony’s candle, not realizing it was her second one of the night. “I’m
surprised you came after what happened.”
“Damon talked to me
and told me he would handle everything.
He wanted me to have a good time tonight.” Ebony said softly, having
honestly forgotten about what happened with the history teacher.
Elena nodded,
deciding to change the subject because she had a feeling this was the last
thing Ebony wanted to talk about.
Turning, Elena came face to face with Stefan and smiled, lighting his
candle without even realizing it.
Suddenly, nothing else mattered as they started talking while Ebony
stood there, once again alone, though her mood was about to change drastically.
“Hey, have any of
you seen my sister?” Matt asked, jogging up to them.
Elena frowned, both
her and Stefan turning to face him. “No, not since earlier at the grill.”
“She’s missing, I
can’t find her.” Matt looked worried, running a hand through his short blonde
hair. “Will you guys help me look?” His blue eyes turned to Ebony, knowing she
was probably upset with him after what he said earlier and he would fix it, but
not now. “Please?”
“Sure, of
course. Ebony and I will go with you and
Stefan…” Elena blinked when she turned around, seeing Stefan nowhere to be
found. “Will be somewhere else. We’ll
find her Matt.” Elena placed a hand on his shoulder, all three of them walking
away together to find Vicki.
So Elena was Matt’s
ex-girlfriend. Ebony could tell just by
the way Matt looked at her that she was the girl he’d been talking about
earlier. First Katherine and now
Elena…Ebony was starting to wonder what was so special about these women that
made men fawn over them. Ebony suddenly
stopped when she heard crying from a distance, looking over her shoulder and
watched as Stefan flew in the direction of it.
“No, no please!!”
“You two keep
looking, I’ll go this way.” Ebony quickly said, not giving Elena and Matt a
chance to stop her, heading in the direction toward a building.
Looking up, her grey
eyes widened at the sight of Damon with a sobbing woman, acting as though he
would drop her. Had Damon completely
lost his mind? Ebony flew over to the
side of the building and scaled it the way Stefan had, though she kept out of
sight.
The woman looked
petrified as Damon shoved her off the ledge right into Stefan’s arms, ripping
off the thick white bandage from her neck.
She had to be the girl Damon attacked in the woods to send Stefan a
message and now he was tormenting her.
He had told her Caroline Forbes wasn’t the only woman he was going after
and was proving it now.
The more Ebony watched,
the more she wanted to do something to stop this from happening, her heart
going out to the girl. “I’ve had it.” She whispered and suddenly flew over,
pulling Vicki away from Damon. “Enough.”
Damon blinked,
wondering how Ebony knew where he was. “What the hell are you doing?” He
demanded, taking a step toward her, but Stefan blocked him.
“Get her out of
here, Ebony, please.” Stefan requested, his eyes never leaving his brother.
“Take her back to Matt, he’s been looking everywhere for her.”
Ebony nodded,
looking over at Damon with such disappointment in her grey eyes. “I will…”
First, Ebony had to do something and cupped Vicki’s face, already feeling the
compulsion working. “You won’t remember any of this. You were meeting someone here and they didn’t
show up. Your brother is waiting for
you, he’s down the street from here.
Go.” Releasing her hold, Ebony watched as Vicki rushed over to the
stairs and began descending them, going as fast as she could.
As soon as Vicki was
out of sight, Damon flew over to where Ebony was and backhanded her, sending
her flying in the air before landing with a thud. “Little girl, you WILL learn
not to-” The breath was suddenly taken from his body as Ebony kicked him as
hard as she could between the legs, sending him flying back this time.
“You were saying?”
Ebony shot back, her fangs flashing in the parking lot lights, grey eyes
darkened with anger. “I told you I’d help you.
I didn’t say ANYTHING about watching you torment the innocent, Damon. Enough is enough.”
Damon recovered
quickly, slowly making it to his feet and glared ice daggers at her. “This is
the thanks I get for everything I’ve given you?!” He spat, squaring his
shoulders while dusting his leather jacket off.
“You didn’t give me
anything you didn’t want me to have.”
Damon suddenly flew
over to her, but didn’t strike her again, their eyes locked. “I could rip your
heart out without blinking.” He threatened, folding his arms in front of his
chest.
“But you won’t.”
Ebony replied confidently, rubbing her jaw from his backhand. “I told you, I’m
not your little bitch, but I will help you.” She wasn’t saying anything more
because Stefan was still standing there, listening intently to everything they
were saying.
“So you think.”
Damon’s eyebrows furrowed, not believing the audacity of this woman to actually
stand up to him. “You seriously overestimate your use to me.”
Ebony snorted,
placing her hands on her hips. “If you wanted to truly kill me, I would be dead
already. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
Turning, Ebony smiled as she flew from the top of the building to the bottom,
heading over to where Vicki had reunited with her brother, Matt. “Oh you found
her, thank god!”
Elena nodded with a
smile, meeting Ebony halfway and hugged her tightly. “I was starting to worry
about you. Are you okay?” She asked
after pulling back, grabbing her shoulders gently.
“Yeah I’m fine.” Her
grey eyes moved to Matt, who was holding his sister, their eyes meeting. “Is
she okay?” Ebony asked, walking over to him somewhat timidly.
Matt nodded, running
his fingers through Vicki’s hair. “Yeah, she said she took some pills that
Elena’s brother, Jeremy, gave her and was meeting someone, but they never
showed up.” He reiterated what Vicki had told him, pulling back to stare down into
her eyes. “Come on, time to go home.”
Vicki nodded,
exhausted from the night’s events and groaned because her stitches had been
ripped open. “Can we stop for some ice cream on the way home, Mattie?”
“Hey Matt, wait up!”
Ebony stopped them from walking away, deciding she really needed a distraction
from Damon before she completely lost her mind. “Here.”
She took his hand, pulling a pen out of her pocket and scribbled something on
it, folding his fingers to cover it. “I hope to see you again.”
Clearing his throat,
Matt could already feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as he looked down at
his hand, seeing a phone number on it. “Thank…” He blinked when he didn’t see
her standing in front of him anymore and then looked back at Vicki, chuckling
to himself.
“Come on Mattie, ice
cream!!” Vicki was definitely stoned and really needed something to eat,
leaning against her brother as he dragged her to his car.
Ebony watched from a
distance, leaning against a tree and then looked up at the sky, the comet still
in sight. It was so beautiful and Ebony
could feel the amount of power emanating from it. No wonder Emily needed the comet in order to
cast the spell for the tomb, that had to take a lot of
magical energy and power to perform.
Her grey eyes moved
from the sky and noticed the blonde walking out of Mystic Grill, heading toward
her car. Ebony rolled her eyes when
Caroline dropped her keys and Damon appeared right in front of her, both of
them exchanging words. A little piece of
her died inside as she watched Caroline and Damon leave together, a single tear
rolling down her cheek.
Chapter 11
Reluctantly, Ebony
went back to school, keeping the same history teacher. Maybe it was morbid curiosity to see if he
would try making another pass at her, Ebony honestly didn’t know. She was already planning on sinking her teeth
into his carotid artery if he laid another finger on her. Surprisingly, Mr. Tanner just taught the
class and avoided eye contact with her, not bothering to call on her for any
questions.
Mr. Tanner was
famous for trying to catch students off guard with random questions, making
sure everyone was paying attention to what he was teaching. He was also the coach for the Mystic Falls
High School football team, the Timberwolves.
Ebony found out a few things about Mr. Tanner, but nothing about being a
pedophile.
So either the
teacher was very crafty about his extracurricular activities or the girls he
did go after were screwing him willingly.
Either way, Ebony
wasn’t about to touch him with a hundred foot pole, fighting the urge not to
rip his throat out. She could do it;
Ebony knew she would enjoy every single second of it and would probably end up
bleeding him dry. The mere thought made
shivers rush down her back, though she suppressed them for the most part and
tried just focusing on finishing the day out, focusing on her schoolwork.
Once school was
over, Ebony hitched a ride with Elena, who was going over to the mansion to see
Stefan. They had become really fast
friends in the span of a few days, which was very uncommon for Ebony. The only friend she had in her life was dead
because a vampire, which she now was. It
was tragically ironic, but there was no point in dwelling in the past.
“So, I heard Matt
has a thing for you.” Elena commented with a smile, stopping at a red light,
turning her head to look at Ebony. “Do you like him?”
“He’s a nice guy.”
Ebony knew this was a trap and wasn’t about to get caught in it, keeping eye
contact. “He seems to be really family oriented.”
“You have no idea.”
Elena suddenly sighed, guilt consuming her. “We used to date. We grew up together next door and figured
we’d try taking our friendship to a different level, but it didn’t work. He had everything figured out with his life,
all these plans, and I didn’t want any part of it. Then my parents died and that just drove us
further apart, almost to the point of ruining our friendship. But then Stefan came into the picture
recently and…Matt deserves to be happy and I want that for him. He seems to like you, so if you were worried
about getting my ‘approval’, I say go for it.”
“I wasn’t seeking
any approval because he hasn’t even called me.
I gave him my number and nothing.” There was no way Ebony could ever
have a full blown relationship with the likes of Matt Donovan, but playing with
him for a little while sounded appeasing. “Oh well, no sweat off my back.”
“He will, just give
him a little time.” Elena assured her, reaching over to pat her hand gently
before pulling down the dirt road that lead to the mansion. “I think you two
would make a really cute couple.”
Ebony raised a brow
at that, looking a little bewildered and suddenly decided to just say what
she’d been thinking. “You trust people too much, has anyone ever told you
that?” She somewhat blurted, folding her arms in front of her chest.
Elena merely
shrugged, a smile once again appearing on her face. “More than you can probably
imagine, but the way I see it, why not trust a person until there’s something
about them that’s deceitful?”
“That’s a good
point. Never thought of it that way.”
Ebony murmured thoughtfully, not able to argue with that statement at all. “If
Matt calls, I’ll definitely go out with him because being cooped up in this mansion
when school isn’t in session is driving me BONKERS.”
Elena laughed,
completely understanding that. “Hey, there’s a football game tonight and Matt
will be there. He’s actually the
quarterback of the football team.” She nudged Ebony’s arm, winking. “Why don’t
you come? Stefan recently joined the
team and it’s his first game. It’ll get
you out of the house too, which is something I know you need.”
“I’ll think about
it.”
Ebony was already
planning on going, even before Elena mentioned anything, because it was at
night and the perfect time to hunt when almost the entire town was gathered in
one spot. The blood bags were holding
her over, but nothing compared to the taste of human blood fresh and warm, the
thought sending tingles through her body.
Someone was bound to be in the woods drinking and talking trash about
the football team, that was a given.
“Okay, just let me
know and we can meet up.” Elena said, pulling up to the mansion and cut the
ignition, both girls stepping out.
“Will do, thanks Elena.”
Ebony headed inside
to go do her homework, deciding if she was posing as a high school girl, she
might as well go all the way. Stefan
watched Ebony pass him and greeted Elena in the hallway, kissing her lips
softly. They were spending a little time
together before the big game later on that night. Elena was extremely excited for him and
couldn’t wait to cheer her man on.
“Everything okay?”
He asked, walking up the stairs with Elena and was glad she wore the necklace
laced with vervain he gave her earlier that day at
school.
It would keep Damon
out of her head in case he tried compelling her for whatever reason.
“Yeah, just a little
girl talk. Nothing you need to worry
about.” Elena said, shoving Stefan down on the bed and giggled when he
immediately turned the tables.
Damon overheard
Stefan and Elena, which meant Ebony was home, flying
down the stairs to see what she was doing.
He stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching her go through her bag
and walked over to quickly wrap his arms around her waist, locking her arms at
her sides. Ebony could only smile
coldly, feeling his nose brush against her ear and neck, gritting her teeth.
“Hello Damon.” She
greeted evenly, closing her eyes when he pressed a kiss to her pulse point.
“Something I can help you with?”
“Mmmhmmm,
you can explain to me why you stopped my fun with Vicki Donovan.” Damon rumbled
huskily, his mouth right by her ear and reached one hand up to rest on her
throat. “And give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your throat out.”
“Idle threats won’t
win you any points.” Ebony retorted smarmily, feeling him whip her around and
shoved her down on the bed, immediately pouncing on her. “Shouldn’t you be
playing with your Barbie doll?”
“What makes you
think I’m trying to win points with you?
I want answers, Ebony.” Damon growled, having given her one day to think
about her actions against him, including the kick to his lower regions. “What
you did was very BAD.”
Ebony snorted,
suddenly flipping him over on his back with her straddling his lap, their
fingers laced together. “What can I say?
I’m a BAD girl, Damon.” She maintained a healthy dose of human blood in
her system, which was the reason she could overpower him. “I don’t owe you any
explanations.”
This woman was
getting under his skin and Damon wasn’t sure if he liked it or not, her
fighting back irritatingly hot. “Yes you do because you ruined my brother
bonding moment with Stefan.” He flipped her back over, this time applying
pressure to her throat. “Your job was to simply keep Elena occupied, which you
didn’t.”
“That’s because I
refuse to do what you want me to.” Ebony shoved him off of her, sending him
crashing against the wall and rolled off the bed, cracking her neck. “What did
you think was going to happen once you turned me into a vampire, Damon? Did you think I was going to be your little
bitch, your errand girl? I’ve got news
for you, I’ve been hunting without you and have a lot of human blood in my
system. So don’t screw with me or you
might get hurt, I don’t care how old you are.
You want an explanation? How
about you go to hell instead?” With that said, Ebony walked into the bathroom
and didn’t bother closing the door, removing her top.
Growling, Damon
suddenly flew into the bathroom and grabbed Ebony’s upper arm, whipping her
around to face him. His electric blue
eyes glowed with intensity and anger while he stared down into defiant grey
orbs, suddenly wanting her in the worst way.
Damon suddenly gave into his desire and smashed his lips against hers,
burying his hand in her black tresses, squeezing to apply a little
pressure.
Ebony hadn’t
expected this and kissed him back for a few minutes, molding her body to his,
both of them releasing some much needed sexual tension. She would be lying if she said this didn’t
feel amazing, hating how deep her feelings for this man ran and wished there
was a way to just turn off her emotions for him without losing all of her
humanity. Though, when Damon unsnapped
her jeans and was about to remove them, Ebony’s brain instantly clicked on as
she shoved him away from her, effectively breaking the kiss between them.
“No.” Ebony stated,
licking her swollen lips and held her hand up when he came at her again. “Go
find Caroline and take your aggression out on her. It’s not happening with me, Damon.”
“Why the hell not?”
Damon demanded, making a grab for her again, only for Ebony to fly to the other
side of the bathroom, standing in a black lace bra and blue jeans. “I’ll end up
tearing her to pieces with how I’m feeling right now, Ebony. You’re more durable.”
“I don’t care. When you proclaimed your everlasting love for
Katherine, you severed what we had together.
I’m not being used, Damon. Now go
find your Barbie doll and take it out on her, be with her. I have my own man I’m about to take to bed
and he’s not you.” Ebony smirked viciously when Damon’s eyes flashed, wondering
if she just saw a flicker of jealousy pass through them. “Hmm.”
“Oh you mean Matt
Donovan?” Damon laughed, shaking his head. “Let’s get one thing straight,
Ebony, he’s nowhere NEAR being a man.
He’s a little boy begging to become a man.” Did she seriously think Matt
could please her the way he could?
Shrugging, Ebony
walked over to start the shower and unsnapped her bra, pulling it off right in
front of him with an innocent smile. “Just like Caroline Forbes is nothing but
a little girl begging to become a woman.
Exit the way you entered, Damon.” Slipping out of her jeans and panties,
Ebony stepped into the hot shower sprays, not surprised when he joined her
moments later. “What do you want now?”
“Are you going to
the football game tonight?” Damon decided since she didn’t want to have sex, he
would just get straight down to business.
“I was thinking
about it.” Of course she was, though Ebony wasn’t about to cater to his needs
unless it had to do with opening the tomb Katherine was sealed in. “Why?”
“Because I am. Did you know that I had a very interesting
dinner with Stefan at Elena’s last night?” Damon smirked when Ebony’s eyebrow
rose, giving him his answer. “Hmm Elena didn’t mention it eh? Well it was a DELICIOUS meal and I brought
Caroline, both of us uninvited of course.
So do you know what that means?”
“No, why don’t you
enlighten me?” Ebony snorted, wondering what any of this had to do with the
football game.
Damon leaned down to
where his mouth was mere inches from hers, reaching around her for the shampoo.
“I’ve been invited in.” He watched as her grey eyes widened slightly and
chuckled, the sound dripping with pure evil intentions. “It was supposed to be
this intimate dinner with just Elena, her little friend Bonnie and my brother,
but of course I had to crash the party with my Barbie doll.”
“Damon, why are you
trying to torment Stefan when what you really want has nothing to do with
Elena?” Granted, her and Katherine could be identical
twins, but that was beside the point.
“Because I promised
my brother a lifetime of misery.” Damon stated simply, washing his hair and
stepped under the sprays with her to rinse it out. “And it’s
fun watching him squirm, wondering what I’ll do next to his little minx.”
“You need to focus
on getting Katherine out of that tomb and nothing more. You’re tormenting innocent people when
there’s no reason for it.” Ebony said, not understanding what Damon’s motives
were and probably never would, sighing heavily. “Do what you want, but when
Stefan finally snaps and retaliates against you, just remember you deserve
everything that happens from here on out if you keep screwing with Elena.”
Damon chuckled,
wrapping an arm around her waist while he took over washing her raven locks.
“Sounds to me like you’re growing soft on me, Ebony.” He sincerely hoped that
wasn’t the case because Damon really would hate to kill a vampire he created.
“No, I’m just
thinking rationally unlike you. I’m
being smart and I can tell how protective Stefan is of her. You really need to back off because, if you
don’t, something bad is going to happen.
I can’t explain how I know it will, it’s just a feeling I’m getting, a
vibe. I don’t want to see anything
happen to you, Damon. Believe it or not,
I do care about you.” That was the closest Ebony would ever come to actually
revealing how she truly felt for him, keeping her thoughts blocked off so he
couldn’t delve into her mind.
“I’ll back off when
I’m damn good and ready.” Damon stated, pushing her a little more under the
sprays and rinsed her hair out. “So, Matt Donovan.”
“So, Caroline
Forbes.” Ebony shot back, folding her arms in front of her chest. “You have no
room to judge me.”
“I’m only with her
to get the crystal, you know that.” Damon said, loving the feel of her black
hair running through his fingers, even wet. “Being with you is so much better,
she can barely last five minutes in the bedroom.”
“Pity.” Ebony sighed
almost wistfully, the sarcasm dripping in her tone and turned around to face
him with emotionless eyes. “Even after you’re done with her, don’t come
crawling to me. Have a good time tonight
with your little cheerleader and give her my best.” Stepping out, Ebony wrapped
a towel around her body and walked out to get ready for the night’s
festivities.
Damon could only
watch her walk out and shook his head, suddenly very attractive to this new
take no prisoner’s attitude Ebony had, wondering how far he would have to push
her before she gave into him again.
Chapter 12
Deciding to dive
into the school spirit, Ebony wore a long sleeved dark red shirt that had three
buttons, all of them undone. She had a
black camisole underneath that had lace hemming on the top and bottom with a
sweetheart neckline. One thing she had
to give Damon credit for was he did have good taste in clothes, even though
most of them were dark or neutral. She
wore simple black pants and steel toed boots, deciding not to wear heels
because she was going hunting first.
She curled all of
her hair before pulling it up in a high ponytail, curling the small strands to
just rest against her forehead. She went
a little wild with her makeup, black eyeliner with dark red eye shadow that stretched
out in an Egyptian style, making her grey eyes pop. She painted her lips with dark red gloss and
clipped a black diamond shaped onyx stone around her neck. It hung from a silver chain with matching
studs that coordinated with the necklace.
Satisfied with how
she looked tonight, Ebony grabbed her a twenty out of
her stash, slipping it into her pocket and a key to the mansion Damon gave
her. She turned around, nearly running
into Damon and folded her arms in front of her chest, trying not to notice how
handsome he looked. His look was
relatively simple with dark blue jeans, black shirt and patent leather jacket,
his hair the same messy style it always was.
“What do you want?”
Ebony asked resignedly, leaning against the dresser. “I’m going to be late for
the game.”
“How are you getting
there?” Damon somewhat demanded, a smile on his face, though it didn’t touch
his icy blue eyes.
“I was going to
walk.” Ebony replied evenly. “Why?”
Damon snorted and
grabbed her hand, guiding her out of the bedroom toward the front door. “Don’t
be stubborn, I’ll give you a ride.” He felt her rip her hand out of his,
turning to face her with narrowed eyes. “Look, I’m going hunting before heading
to the game and I’m pretty sure you were gonna do the
same thing. So, like I said, stop being
stubborn.”
Ebony could only
roll her eyes. “I can hunt by myself.” She had definitely gotten the hang of
being a vampire fairly quickly.
“Not tonight.” Damon
shoved her toward the front door, daring her to try running from him because he
would quickly catch her.
Ebony didn’t bother
running and just walked to his car, slipping into the passenger seat with a
scowl on her face. She hated when Damon
turned controlling, except in the bedroom.
That was the only place she didn’t mind him being completely dominant
over her. A few minutes later, they were
on their way to the football game and Ebony refused to look at him, her arms
folded in front of her chest.
“Hey, there’s no
reason for you to be mad at me.” Damon pointed out, one hand on the wheel while
reaching over to place the other on her thigh. “I’m being relatively nice right
now.”
“Go be nice to
Barbie.” Ebony shoved his hand off her thigh, wondering what kind of game Damon
thought he was playing with her. “Don’t bother trying to be the ‘good’ guy
because it doesn’t suit you.”
“You sound
incredibly jealous, you realize that right?” Damon stated, raising a brow when
she just kept her eyes on the window. “Ebony…”
“Don’t Damon, just
don’t.”
Groaning, Damon was
finally starting to understand where this sudden attitude from Ebony was coming
from, sighing. “Christ, you’re in love with me.” He grunted, never intending
for that to happen.
“Oh yes, Damon, I
can’t live without you. You’re the wind
beneath my wings, the air I breathe, my everything.”
Ebony said in a high pitched voice, clasping her hands together and batted her
eyelashes at him before laughing. “Damon, you seriously need to get over
yourself. I PROMISE I am nowhere near in
love with you. I think you might be in
love with me though.” She lunged forward when the car suddenly screeched to a
halt, knowing that statement had definitely hit a few nerves.
“You know damn well
that’s not true.” Damon growled, turning to fully face her, gritting his teeth.
“I’m in love with ONE woman and it’s not you, Ebony.”
“Good, we’re in
agreement then. So you can stop with the
nice guy act and go back to being the controlling, manipulative, enjoy
tormenting other people asshole that I know you are.” Ebony said simply,
opening the door and stepped out, leaning into the window. “I’ll walk from
here, have a nice night, dick.”
Before Damon could
say anything, Ebony was gone, flying through the woods as fast as she could to
do her own hunt. She didn’t stop until
she was near the high school, the night quickly surrounding her. Tears stung her eyes, but Ebony refused to
let them fall, blinking them back and could hear someone talking on their cell
phone nearby.
Squaring her
shoulders, Ebony made her way through the trees and stopped a few hundred feet
away from the girl crying on her cell phone.
Probably a heartbreak judging by the way she stood, what she was saying
and how she was crying. Ever since Ebony
became a vampire, she was more observant and could read body languages a lot
better, which was a definite advantage.
Ebony waited until
she hung up with whoever was on the cell before heading toward her, a friendly
smile on her face. “Hey, can I use your cell phone?” She asked politely. “I’ve
been walking through these woods for over two hours now, got kinda lost.”
“S-Sure…” The girl
sniffled, handing over her cell phone and wiped her tears away, turning her
back to face the raven haired beauty.
This was too
easy. Ebony smirked as she turned the
cell phone off and dropped it on the ground, flying over to stand right behind
the girl. “I’m done.” As soon as the girl turned around, Ebony placed both of
hands on her shoulders, grey eyes beginning to the compulsion instantly. “Don’t
scream or move.” She ordered quickly, looking around to make sure it was the
two of them. “Don’t be afraid either.”
The girl stood
completely still, not moving an inch and closed her eyes as Ebony brushed her
hair from her neck. Feeling the veins
form on her face and her sclera’s turn red, Ebony
leaned down to sink her fangs right into the girl’s neck. The warm red liquid filled her mouth
instantly and Ebony gripped the back of the girl’s head, pleased the compulsion
was preventing any kind of struggle, carefully drinking.
Pulling back, Ebony
closed her eyes and felt the power fill every part of her body, being careful
not to get blood on her clothes. She
took the napkin out of her pocket she always brought with her and wiped the
blood from her mouth, feeling much better.
Biting into her wrist, Ebony held her wrist up to the girl’s mouth and
forced a few drops in her mouth, watching as the bite mark on her neck
instantly healed.
“You will not
remember any of this. You will get out
of these woods because it’s extremely dangerous and do whatever you were going
to do from your phone call.” Ebony watched as the girl nodded in the trance and
flew away from her, breaking the compulsion.
A few minutes later,
Ebony arrived at the school and saw the football game hadn’t started yet,
deciding to track down Matt. She made
her way through the people, grey eyes scanning areas quickly and finally
spotted him over by the fence. Taking a
deep breath, Ebony walked over to him and tapped his shoulder, watching as he
turned around to face her.
“Hey, just wanted to
say good luck tonight.” She said sweetly, trying not to laugh when his baby
blues shot open at the sight of her.
“You actually came.”
Matt smiled, hoping he would see her again and felt bad that he hadn’t gotten
the courage up to call her. “Look, I was gonna call
you…”
Ebony waved him off
dismissively, already knowing what he was going to say. “You’re scared, I get
it. Believe me, I understand probably
better than anyone around here how it feels to be in love with someone who is
out of your reach.” She had lied to Damon earlier when she said she wasn’t in
love with him and could’ve gotten an Oscar for her performance.
“You do?” Matt
raised a brow at hearing that, his full attention on her. “You’ve been in love
with someone before who didn’t want you?” That was impossible, Ebony was a
beautiful woman that any man would be lucky to have.
“Yeah and it sucked,
but I got over him and moved on. You’ll
do the same with Elena.” Ebony stepped closer to him, fingering the front of
his football jersey with a smile. “Look, I’m not looking for a full blown relationship
and I know you’re not either. That
doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun together though, does it?”
Matt swallowed hard,
not expecting to hear a proposition like that. “Uh no, no definitely not. I mean I’d love to have fun with you, Ebony.”
Now he was sounding like a complete idiot stumbling over his words. “I think it
would be good for both of us.”
“Me too.” Ebony was
so glad they were on the same page and she didn’t even need to use compulsion
to sway his decision. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,
Matt Donovan.”
Smiling charmingly,
Matt couldn’t agree more and suddenly pulled her into his arms, staring down in
those haunting grey eyes. “Is this too forward?”
His lips suddenly
captured hers and Ebony instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing
her body against his. Just because they
couldn’t be in a relationship didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun and vent their
sexual frustrations out. That’s what Ebony
really needed was someone who wasn’t clingy and who she could have fun with to
distract her from Damon Salvatore.
“Mmm
not at all.” Ebony whispered as soon as Matt broke the kiss, reaching up to
wipe a bit of the dark red gloss from his lips, tapping his nose gently. “You
have my number, don’t disappoint me again.
If you want to get together tonight, call me.”
Matt had to admit
her offer was very tempting, not having any other plans after the game. “I
will.” He promised, refusing to back down now that he knew she was interested.
“Be careful, see you
later.” Ebony disappeared through the crowd to get something to eat at the
concession stand.
Matt spotted Stefan
walking from the parking lot toward the field, deciding to go meet him because
there was something he had to say. As
much as it pained him to see Elena moving on with another guy, Matt couldn’t
help noticing how happy he made her. He
stopped in front of Stefan and rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure how
to say what he wanted.
“Look man, I just
wanted say that I’ve known Elena a long time and I’ve always looked out for
her, but I can clearly see how happy she is with you.” This was hard for Matt
to admit, especially when he was still very much in love with Elena and
probably always would be. “And we’re lucky to have you on the team.” He added,
extending his hand and nodded when Stefan shook it firmly, both of them having
an understanding.
“Thanks, man.”
Stefan said, meaning that and watched as Matt walked away, his jaw instantly
tightening when slow mocking applause sounded behind him.
Ebony saw Matt
approach Stefan and decided to go eavesdrop on whatever they were talking
about, thankful she had. As soon as Matt
walked away, there was Damon in all his obnoxious glory, trying to ruin the
night for Stefan once again. This
obsession to make his little brother miserable was getting old and fast.
Her grey eyes
widened when Damon said something about Stefan giving Elena vervain
in a necklace. She suddenly remembered
spotting the necklace around Elena’s neck earlier that day on the ride home,
but didn’t think anything of it. What
did Damon try doing to Elena and where did Stefan get vervain
from?
When Damon
threatened to seduce Elena the old fashioned way or just simply eat her, Ebony
felt sick to her stomach. He was doing
it again. Why couldn’t Damon just leave
Elena alone? Ebony was angry as she
suddenly stepped out of the shadows she’d been hiding in, walking over and
stood beside Stefan.
“You’ll have to go
through me to do that, Damon.”
Ebony ignored both of
their shocked expressions, grey eyes narrowed.
Ashley had been the last person she considered a friend until Elena came
around. Both Damon and Stefan blinked at
the sight of Ebony, knowing she had overheard their entire conversation. This was the SECOND time Ebony had stuck her
nose in their business and Damon was getting tired of it, his eyes clearly
cautioning her to walk away.
“Stay out of this,
Ebony.” Damon warned, his voice low and dark.
Ebony shook her
head, refusing to back down from Damon. “Elena is my friend and I’m not saying
that to try tricking anyone. I’m saying
it because it’s the truth and nobody hurts a friend of mine.” She could only
hope Stefan believed her, though Ebony didn’t take her eyes from Damon in case
he tried attacking her. “Just stop this, Damon, please. You have some humanity deep inside of you, I
know you do.”
Her pleas were
falling on deaf ears as Damon suddenly wrapped his hand around her throat,
yanking her against him, trembling slightly. “You will learn your place, little
girl.” He suddenly threw her against the parking wall of the school, watching
her crumple to the ground.
Stefan shoved Damon
away, switching sides so he was blocking Ebony and knew it would take her a
minute to get up. “You’re just angry because you know she’s right! You do have humanity and it’s your hatred for
me because of Katherine’s death!”
“Salvatore!” Mr.
Tanner shouted from behind, his arms stretched out. “What the hell? We have a game to play!”
“If that’s my
humanity,” Damon paused, a smirk crossing his lips. “Then what’s this?”
Suddenly, Damon
lunged at William Tanner, sinking his fangs as hard as he could into his
carotid artery and bled him to death, acting like a ravaging beast. Ebony watched the whole time, already back on
her feet and was glad she fed because it healed her quicker, tears filling her
eyes. Normally she would’ve stopped
Damon from attacking someone like that, but honestly that pedophile had it
coming. She watched as Damon dropped him
like a sack of potatoes on the ground, blood running down his chin, looking
very demonic.
“Anyone, anytime,
anyplace.” Damon growled, wiping the blood from his mouth and vanished, leaving
Stefan there to once again clean up his mess.
Ebony had vanished
as well, no longer able to stay at the game and went back to the mansion, tears
flowing down her cheeks.
Chapter 13
On the way back to
the mansion, Ebony started thinking about everything that happened with Damon
since she met him. He was unstable, in
love with a woman who was stuck in a mystic holding cell for the past century
and a half, enjoyed tormenting others along with his little brother and refused
to leave Elena Gilbert alone. Damon
Salvatore was dangerous and Ebony knew she should leave to let him go through
with his plan alone, but something was stopping her.
It baffled Ebony
that she actually meant everything she said tonight to Damon about Elena. The girl had befriended her when nobody else
would and trusted her completely. That was
a very rare quality to find in humans these days, which Ebony no longer was,
thanks to Damon. Ebony started wondering
if maybe she shouldn’t tell Stefan and Elena about Damon’s plan, having an
inner battle.
Half of her did
because she didn’t want Damon and Katherine to reunite –Yes, Ebony admitted she
was selfish-, but a bigger part of her didn’t trust this tomb to be
opened. Damon was hiding something from
her about it and Ebony couldn’t figure out what it was, which drove her
crazy. Then there was the other half of
her that felt she owed Damon for changing her into a vampire, for opening her
up to this incredible world she now lived in, and saved her from making more
mistakes in her human life.
Ebony was definitely
torn on what to do, wrapping her arms around herself and jumped slightly when
her cell phone began ringing through the woods.
She pulled it out of her pocket, leaning against a tree and felt a small
smile flit across her lips at sight of Matt’s name flashing on the caller
ID. The game had been effectively
cancelled due to Coach Tanner being murdered, but nobody besides her and Stefan
saw who did it.
Chewing her bottom
lip, Ebony flipped the phone open and held it to her ear. “Hey handsome.” She
greeted, immediately frowning at the upset tone of Matt’s voice.
“Ebony, where are
you?” Matt demanded, sitting in his truck with tears in his eyes, not believing
what happened tonight.
“I’m on my way home,
Matt. What’s wrong?” She asked, acting
as if she didn’t know what happened to Mr. Tanner, trying to stop a smile from
forming. “Are you okay?”
“The game was
cancelled…” Matt had to stop talking for a second, letting a few tears fall,
still in shock over the coach’s sudden death. “Our coach was attacked tonight
and…he’s dead, Ebony. Mr. Tanner is
dead.”
Ebony gasped,
covering her mouth while she continued walking through the woods, already
knowing she would be laughing as soon as this conversation ended. “Oh my god,
Matt…” She sounded sympathetic, playing the part perfectly. “I-I’m so
sorry. I had to leave early.” Lying was
starting to become a daily life trait. Thankfully, Matt didn’t ask the reason
why she left, which Ebony was grateful for and could hear him sniffling,
rolling her eyes. “Do they know who attacked him?” She asked, already knowing
the answer to the question, but figured playing on his emotions was the way to
go.
“No. He was found out by the parking garage.” Matt
said, watching as the ambulance loaded Mr. Tanner’s body into the ambulance and
gritted his teeth. “I can’t believe he’s gone…”
“Yeah, that’s a
shame.” Ebony lied, ducking under a huge branch and knew she wasn’t far away
from the mansion. “Is there anything I can do for you, Matt?”
“I don’t know…” Matt
whispered, lowering his head as he rubbed his temples. “Part of me just wants
to go home and part of me wants to see you.”
“Come over.” Ebony
didn’t care if Damon was home or not, she had needs just as much as he did. “We
can talk and try to get your mind off of it.”
The sound of her
voice was very soothing and heartfelt, Matt was quickly learning that it was
very hard to deny Ebony anything. “Alright, I’m on my way. How do I get there?” He asked, pulling out of
the parking lot.
Ebony gave Matt the
directions on how to get to the mansion, jumping over the huge fence and
landing gracefully right in the driveway.
Damon’s car was nowhere to be found, which Ebony was grateful for. She looked up at the balcony that lead off of
Stefan’s room, not hearing anything and knew she had the mansion to
herself. Zach was at a council meeting
that was scheduled right after the game, which was probably going on right now
after Mr. Tanner’s attack.
Unlocking the door,
Ebony quickly flew to her room to get ready for Matt’s arrival, knowing it
wouldn’t take long for him to get there.
She changed out of her pants and shirts into a black spaghetti strapped
nightgown that went to her knees. Taking
her hair down, Ebony flipped it forward to shake it a little and stood back up,
hair flying back.
It was somewhat wild
and curly, framing her face, which is what she wanted. She darted into the bathroom to wash off her
makeup, deciding to go natural for the night so it would look like she was
upset over the pedophile’s death.
Walking out of her room, Ebony tossed a black robe on and tied it
loosely around her waist before darting over to the mini bar, pouring each of
them a healthy dose of whiskey.
Ten minutes later, a
knock sounded at the front door and Ebony plastered on a frown before flying
over to answer it, sad blue eyes staring back at her. “Oh Matt…” She whispered,
instantly reaching up to wrap her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him close.
“I’m so sorry…”
Matt couldn’t help
returning the embrace, burying his face in her loosely curled raven hair, her
scent instantly soothing him. “I know…” He whispered, feeling her pull back
before grabbing both of his hands, guiding him inside the mansion, the front
door closing behind him. “I can’t stay long.”
Ebony pressed a
finger over her lips, guiding him into the living room/parlor and gently but
firmly shoved him down on the couch. “Just relax.” She said softly, grabbing
both tumblers and joined him moments later, sitting beside him. “Drink this,
it’ll make everything better.”
Matt stared at her
somewhat skeptically and held the glass up to his nose, inhaling. “Whiskey?” He
questioned, watching her nod and blinked when she downed hers in one huge gulp.
“Wow, you’re a drinker.”
“Something like that.” Ebony leaned her elbow on the back of the couch,
brushing her fingers very lightly across the back of his neck and could hear
his heart rate pick up slightly. “Drink, trust me.”
Deciding he really needed
to take the edge off, Matt slammed the shot of whiskey back, grunting as it
burned down his throat. “Thanks.” He muttered, setting the tumbler on the table
and watched as Ebony sat up on her knees. “Ebony…”
Once again, Ebony
pressed a finger to her lips and slowly untied the black robe, letting it slide
from her shoulders and down her arms, grey eyes locked on wide baby blues. She smiled and swung one leg over, settling
on his lap with ease and felt Matt’s hands instantly grab her waist, which is what
Ebony wanted. The nightgown had a nice
dip and showed some of her cleavage, which was nearly in Matt’s face at the
moment because Ebony wasn’t fully straddling him yet.
“Let me help you
forget.” She whispered, running her fingertips down the side of his neck to his
Adam’s apple. “Let me be your friend, just like we talked about, Matt.”
Their lips were
inches apart and Matt could practically taste them again, the kiss he’d given
her earlier somewhat mind-blowing. “What did you have in mind?” He asked in a
low husky voice, running his hands up and down her back through the thin silky
material of her nightgown.
Smirking, Ebony
pressed herself closer to him and barely brushed her lips against his before
suddenly getting off of him. “Come with me and find out.” She stated, extending
her hand, throwing down the gauntlet to him.
Matt didn’t hesitate
this time, slipping his hand into hers and felt him guide her down the hallway,
looking behind him to make sure nobody else was there. Ebony lead him into
her bedroom and suddenly shoved him back against the door, effectively closing
it, her lips smashing against his. Groaning, Matt instantly buried his fingers
in her black tresses, turning the kiss with an equal amount of passion. Never breaking the kiss, Matt moved to where
her back was pressed against the door and lifted her with ease, feeling her
legs instantly wrap around his waist.
Ebony was determined
to forget all about Damon Salvatore for one night, running her fingers through
Matt’s dishwater blonde hair while they continued kissing heatedly. Her hands reached down to run up his football
jersey, pulling it over his head and tossed it to the floor, breaking the kiss
only for a second. Instantly, his lips
found hers again and Matt felt feverish, needing this woman like he needed air
to breathe.
“Bed.” Ebony growled
softly against his lips, feeling Matt maneuver her from the door, her back
hitting the soft comforter moments later. “Mmm much
better…”
Matt nodded, his
lips trailing down her jaw to her neck while his hands began massaging her
inner thighs, making Ebony’s head whirl.
Her hands frantically reached down to unsnap his jeans, pushing them
down his muscular legs and smirked at the white briefs he wore. She pushed Matt away a little to lift her
nightgown over her head, tossing it to the floor before pulling him back down
on top of her, the kissing resuming once again.
Growing impatient,
Matt reached around to unsnap her bra and pulled it from her body, immediately
cupping her breasts in his strong hands.
Ebony moaned, arching her body into his touch and hissed when he tweaked
her nipples with his fingers, reciprocating by raking her nails down his
chest. Matt growled, lowering his head
to start running his tongue down the valley of her breasts while still
massaging them.
This was definitely
the perfect distraction as Ebony’s fingers gripped his short blonde hair again
before moving to his shoulders, spreading her thighs. Matt looked up at her with hunger burning in
his now darker blue eyes, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her panties
and slowly slid them down her beautiful legs.
Her arousal instantly wafted in the air and Matt groaned, sitting back
on his haunches, staring down at her for a few seconds to admire the stunning
sight before him.
“Taste me, Matt.”
Ebony encouraged, her black hair strewn and fanned all around her, feeling his
hands slide up her outer thighs.
“Whatever you want,
beautiful.” He murmured huskily, not able to deny her anything at this point.
Starting kissing
along her waist where her panties had been moments ago, Matt focused on the
task at hand, knowing what he was doing in the bedroom. He wasn’t a virgin by any means, especially
being the captain of the football team.
Pleased with her moans, Matt knew he was doing everything right and ran
his tongue along her right inner thigh, nipping it gently for a tease. Ebony groaned, gripping the comforter now as
her nails dug into the material, knowing she could hurt Matt if she touched him
right now because of her strength.
Once Matt thoroughly
teased both thighs to the point of nearly driving Ebony into madness, he
finally took pity on her. Ebony bolted
off the bed as soon as Matt’s tongue ran up the length of her throbbing sex,
eyes rolling in the back of her head.
It’d been so long since a guy actually took his time to do this and
wanted to cherish every second of it.
Matt groaned at her sweet essence on his tongue and decided to go in for
the kill, thrusting inside of her as deep as he possibly could, her cries of
delight pure music to his ears.
Before long, Ebony
began cumming in waves, stars exploding before her
eyes from the intensity of her orgasm.
Matt Donovan was definitely surprising her tonight and Ebony decided she
would be keeping him around. Once he
pulled away, after having his fill, Ebony kissed him with a fiery passion that
made an inferno erupt between them. She
pulled back, running a nail down his chest and turned around on all fours,
showing him exactly what position she wanted him to take her in.
Licking his lips
hungrily, Matt had no problem doing whatever she wanted and instantly gripped
her hips, positioning his throbbing shaft against her sensitive sex. What Matt didn’t know was that sex to a
vampire was almost as good as feeding on a human. Every single sensation and feeling was intensified
more than a human’s, so a vampire orgasm would probably destroy a human.
“Don’t go slow,
pound me.” Ebony ordered breathlessly, flipping her black hair over her left
shoulder, preparing herself for what she was about to experience.
A cry spilled from
her lips when Matt snapped his hips forward, burying his shaft as deep inside
of her as he could, just like his tongue, though this felt ten times
better. Ebony was pleased he didn’t stop
to let her adjust and just began pounding into her receptive body, every
nerve-ending igniting. Matt loved the
feeling of her tight pussy wrapped around him, milking him for everything he
was worth and didn’t slow down, only increasing the speed of his thrusts.
Ebony held on this
time, refusing to release until Matt did and screamed out as he poured his seed
inside of her. Her orgasm triggered
instantly, both of them riding each other with every ounce of energy they had
in their bodies. Matt was perspiring
while Ebony was perfectly pristine, though she was definitely breathless. They both collapsed on the bed in a heap,
Matt on the side of her, staring into each other’s eyes.
“Thank you.” She
whispered, patting his cheek gently with her hand and kissed him softly, laying
there completely naked while they both came down from their sexual high.
“I should be the one
saying that.” Matt half-joked, pulling her closer and kissed her a little
deeper, rubbing his nose against hers. “Thank you, Ebony. I needed that.”
“I know.” Ebony
chuckled, extracting herself from his arms and knew it was getting late,
already grabbing her clothes from the floor along with his, tossing them at
him. “You should get going. We do have
school tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Matt agreed,
knowing there was no way he could stay over with her because that would imply
they were in a relationship, which wasn’t the case.
Silently, both of
them dressed and Ebony grabbed Matt’s hand, guiding him out of her bedroom down
the hall. She didn’t stop at the sight
of Damon walking through the front door, completely ignoring him, grey eyes sparkling. Damon hadn’t expected Matt Donovan to be in
his house this time of night, but the scent that wafted in the air clearly told
him what they had done.
“I’ll see you
tomorrow, blue eyes.” Ebony said, tapping his nose gently and accepted a good
night kiss. “Drive safe.”
“I will, sweet dreams.”
Matt murmured, walking away from the door and headed to his car.
Ebony sighed in
sheer contentment and closed the door, turning to face Damon with the biggest
smile on her face. “Good night.” She said, walking past him and went straight
to her bedroom, feeling more alive than ever.
All Damon could do
was watch her walk down the hallway, wondering why he suddenly felt the need to
go snap Matt Donovan’s neck for touching Ebony and immediately shook it off,
pouring himself a much needed drink.
Chapter 14
Stretching her arms
over her head, Ebony’s body slowly came to life, feeling very exhilarated and
flourished. After her workout with Matt,
Ebony slept like a log and had possibly the best night sleep ever, something
she didn’t have in a long time. Slowly
opening her eyes, Ebony couldn’t help smiling and reached over to grab her cell
phone to turn the alarm off on it, only to realize she wasn’t alone in bed.
“WHAT THE HELL?”
Ebony’s peaceful morning was officially destroyed because she ended up jumping
back a little too much, falling to the floor. “What are you doing in my room,
Damon?!” She exclaimed, getting to her feet quickly and flew over to where her
robe was hung, tossing it on. “How long have you been in here?”
Damon couldn’t help
outright laughing as she tried covering herself up, his arms folded under his
head, bare from the waist up. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before,
Ebony.” He reasoned amusedly, not bothering to sit up or move from the bed.
“And only a few minutes.”
“That’s not the
POINT, jackass.” Ebony growled, glaring angrily at him. “What are you doing in
here?” She hadn’t forgotten what he did the previous night at the football game
and folded her arms in front of her chest.
“I wanted to talk to
you.” Damon thought that was obvious and slowly sat up in the bed, patting the
spot beside him. “Come sit next to me.”
“No.” Ebony stayed
right where she was, lips pursed tightly together. “Whatever you have to say to
me, just get on with it and get out so I can get ready for school that you
forced me to attend.”
Damon touched his
chest, almost looking hurt. “You wound me.” He snorted, rolling his eyes and
suddenly flew over to where she stood, pushing her gently against the wall.
“And here I thought you would thank me for what I did last night.”
Had Damon lost his
mind? “Why would I do that?” She demanded, refusing to let him get under her
skin again, even though being this close to him was already making her weak in
the knees.
“So you’re not happy
that I ripped that teacher’s throat out after what he did to you?” Damon
retorted, arching a thick black eyebrow and smirked, stepping away. “That’s
what I thought.”
“You didn’t do it
for me.” Ebony stated, trying to maintain her cold exterior against him, but it
was hard to do. “You did it to show Stefan you have no humanity, for your own
selfish reasons…”
“And yet, I targeted
the same teacher who put his hands on you.” Damon shot back, looking around the
room and finally sat back down on the bed, facing her. “I could’ve easily
killed a random person to make my point, but I didn’t. And it wasn’t coincidence either, so don’t
even try throwing that at me. I knew
that coach was coming to grab Stefan, I heard him coming while he was talking
to…Matt Donovan.” He couldn’t help gritting that name out, still not able to
grasp the concept on why Ebony would sleep with HIM of all people.
Eyeing him
skeptically, Ebony felt a wave of satisfaction crash over her because of how
Damon spit out Matt’s name. Was that
jealousy she sensed? Good, it served him
right after professing his undying love for a woman who probably didn’t even
want him. That was fine, Ebony had never
been in love before and chalked up her attraction to Damon because of their
shared bloodline.
“So what exactly are
you trying to tell me?” Ebony questioned, wondering if she even wanted to know
the answer and slowly walked toward him.
“I killed him
because of what he did to you.” Damon’s eyes locked with hers, completely stone
faced and hoped she believed him because he was telling the truth. “I killed
him for YOU, Ebony.”
Ebony didn’t want to
believe it and lowered her eyes from his, the intensity too much for her to
handle at the moment. She was close
enough to where Damon could reach out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to
stand between his legs, but still refused to look at him. This man confused and baffled her with his
behavior. One minute Damon was attacking
her and the next he was being sweet, it messed with her mind to say the least.
“What did you do to
Elena last night?” Ebony demanded in a soft voice, finally looking up at him,
doing everything in her power not to show him the emotions she currently felt.
“Tried compelling
her to kiss me.” Damon answered shamelessly, a smirk curving his lips. “But my
brother was smart and gave her a necklace with vervain
laced in it. Now she can’t be compelled
unless the damn thing is removed.”
Scoffing, Ebony ripped
her hand out of his and went to walk away, only for Damon to pull her right
back against him. “Let go of me.” She ordered, sucking her lips in tightly when
his face buried in her neck.
“Now we both know
you really don’t want that.” Damon rumbled in her ear, satisfied that she’d
taken a shower right after Matt left because she didn’t smell like him
currently. “Why does it bother you so much that I’m playing with Elena?”
“Because she doesn’t
deserve it.” Ebony broke away from him, flying to the other side of the bed to
put space between them. “I meant what I said last night, Damon. You’ll have to go through me to hurt
Elena. She’s my friend and I’m not gonna stand by and let you play with her the way you’ve
been playing with Caroline. Leave her
alone or else.”
Damon chuckled
grimly, his eyes suddenly flashing at her as he flew over to where she stood,
gripping her chin tightly in his hand. “Please tell me that was not a threat.”
He said, pulling her closer to him, eyes narrowed. “Because if it was, I will
end you, Ebony. You’ve really pissed me
off lately and I’m getting tired of it.
I will do what I want to whoever I want, WHEN I want and you won’t get
in my way again.”
“Then end me. Rip my heart out, stake me, light me on fire,
knock my head off, do what you have to do, Damon. I’m not going to let you hurt Elena.” Ebony
stated stalwartly, refusing to be afraid of his idle threat and felt the grip
on her chin tighten slightly. “Go ahead, do it. You supposedly have no humanity inside of
you, so I’m sure it would be easy for you to kill me.”
Growling at her
insolence, Damon released her chin only to wrap his hand tightly around her
throat, acting as though he might kill her. “You’re driving me crazy, you know
that?”
His lips suddenly
smashed against hers, moving his hand from her throat to the back of her head,
quickly wrapping an arm around her waist so she couldn’t escape him. Ebony whimpered against him and instantly
hated herself for it, her body completely betraying her as it melted against
him. Damon was satisfied with the
response and ripped his lips from hers, the anger still burning in his eyes and
was still sorely tempted to kill her, but for some reason he couldn’t.
“Just tell me the
real reason you’re in here, Damon.” Ebony muttered, disgusted for allowing him
to get under her skin again and wiped her lips with her hand, trying to get the
feeling of his off of hers. “Because if not, get out so I can get dressed and
ready for school.”
“The mayor announced
that, despite the teacher’s death, they are still going to have the Founder’s
Party.” Damon announced with a smile, hopping back on the bed again and watched
as she walked over to the dresser to retrieve some clothes. “I expect you to be
there, just in case.” Stefan was still in the house, so Damon hoped Ebony
caught onto what he was referring too.
“I’m sure I’ll be
there.” She sighed when Damon flew over to stand behind her, turning her to
face him.
“I NEED you to be
there, Ebony.” Damon stressed, running a finger down her cheek. “If I don’t get
what I want, there’s a lot of people that will get
hurt. You seem to have the football
player wrapped around your finger, do what it takes to make him invite
you. This is our only chance.” He kept
his voice low, not taking any chances.
The amber crystal is
what Damon was talking about, but Ebony wasn’t sure if she wanted to help him
anymore, not with everything he’d done lately. “I’ll do what it takes, on one
condition.” If Damon needed her help that badly, surely he would be open to a
little compromise.
“What?” He growled,
not releasing her arm.
“You won’t hurt
Elena. Tell her
whatever you want, but you will not physically harm her or I’m not
helping you.” Ebony bartered, tugging her arm out of his suddenly tight grip
and turned back around to pull out some pants. “Agreed or not?”
Damon clenched his
teeth, starting to regret forcing Ebony to become friends with Elena because
she’d taken it to another level. “Fine.” He ground out, trying not to gnash his
teeth and stepped away from Ebony before he ended up smashing her head against
the mirror. “I won’t hurt her…physically.” That still left emotionally and
mentally open, which Damon was satisfied with.
Smiling widely,
Ebony nodded and tossed a shirt on the bed before removing her robe. “Good, now
get out.” She refused to change in front of him, wanting to slap the sudden
smirk off his arrogant face.
“Have a good a day
at school.” Damon said lewdly, walking out the door and closed it behind him,
feeling more confident now that him and Ebony were on
the same page again.
Now, he just had to
get Caroline to invite him to the party.
Pulling on a black
long sleeved top with light blue jeans, Ebony quickly brushed her hair and
decided to leave it down before heading out.
She was running late because of Damon’s incessant talking, still not
believing she had to negotiate with him to leave Elena alone. Ebony wasn’t born yesterday, she knew exactly
what she made him agree to, but it was better than nothing. It wouldn’t stop Damon from messing with her
mental and emotional state, but at the very least Elena would be safe from
physical harm.
Thanks to her super
speed, Ebony tore through the woods toward the high school in record time,
arriving about ten minutes before the bell.
She immediately went on the hunt for Matt, needing to talk to him about
the Founder’s Party. Retrieving the
crystal was the key to opening the tomb and Damon was determined to get
it. As much as Ebony didn’t want to help
him, she knew a lot of bloodshed would happen and figured giving Damon what he
wanted would be easier for everyone.
Ebony smiled when
she felt a presence behind her and stopped walking, turning around just as Matt
reached for her. “You really need to learn to sneak up on people better.” She
remarked softly, wrapping her arms around his neck when Matt’s encircled her
waist.
“I’ll work on it.”
Matt chortled, dipping his head to capture her lips in a searing kiss, both of
them sighing.
“Mmm
what was that for?” Ebony asked as soon as he pulled away, grey eyes sparkling
up at him.
Matt shrugged,
releasing her waist to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Just wanted to, I
guess.” They started walking slowly toward the entrance of the school, knowing
the bell was going to ring soon. “Hey listen, I wanted to ask you something
before we go inside.”
Ebony raised a brow
as Matt turned to fully face her, taking both of her hands in his. “Okay, what
is it?” She asked somewhat anxiously, hoping he wasn’t going to end things
between them because that would not bode well for Damon’s plan.
“Look, last night
was amazing and I don’t want this to stop.
I’m not saying I want a relationship, but…what we did last night
definitely wasn’t friendly either. I
don’t wanna hide from people, you know what I mean?”
Matt knew he probably wasn’t making sense, but one thing he was never good at
was words and talking out his feelings. “I want to take you to the Founder’s
Party. I know you’re new in town, but
it’s a pretty big deal around here and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather
go with. It’s not just about what we did
either, just so you know.”
Relief instantly
filled her and Ebony suddenly had the biggest smile on her face, nodding
emphatically. “I’d love to go with you, Matt.
I heard about the Founder’s Party and I was actually going to talk to
you about it later. I feel the same way
you do, I don’t want to hide from anyone either.” She honestly meant that,
reaching up to caress his face with the back of her hand and wished she
could’ve fallen in love with someone like him instead of a monster like Damon.
“Great minds think
alike, I guess.” Matt chuckled, placing his hand over hers and couldn’t help
pulling her closer to kiss her again, her lips his new addiction.
They just stood
there outside of the school kissing and the bell was the only thing that
brought them back to reality, both of them laughing. People could think whatever they wanted,
neither cared. Clasping their hands
together, Ebony and Matt headed into the school, parting to go to class and
promised to meet up for lunch.
“So, you and Matt
huh?” Elena teased, walking up alongside Ebony and nudged her, the biggest
smile on her face. “I knew you two would hook up.”
“We’re just
friends.” Ebony reasoned, knowing if she was human her cheeks would’ve been
crimson by now.
Elena snorted,
shaking her head. “Friends don’t kiss like that.” She argued promptly, though
pure amusement was in her tone. “I’m happy for you both. Though I’m not sure what Damon and Stefan are
going to say about it.”
Damon didn’t like
it, Ebony knew that already, but she had no idea how Stefan was going to
react. She hadn’t really thought about
that, more concerned with what Damon thought.
Even when she was with another guy, he still invaded her thoughts and
Ebony wondered what it was going to take to completely forget him. Once Katherine was out of the tomb, they
would run off into the sunset together and Ebony would be left alone, so she
had to figure out a way to get him out of her head once and for all.
“Hey, are you going
to the Founder’s Party tomorrow?” Elena suddenly asked, grinning when Ebony
nodded. “Fantastic!” They walked into class and took their seats, focusing on
schoolwork for the time being.
Chapter 15
Staring in the full
length mirror, Ebony couldn’t help thinking she looked incredible, picking the
perfect dress for the Founder’s Party.
It was a simple black lace strapless dress that went to mid-thigh and
had a square neckline. It molded to her
body like a second skin and was very simple yet seductive all at once.
Her black hair was
swept up on top of her head in what felt like a million spiral curls, with even
more bobby pins keeping it in place, and doused with half a can of
hairspray. Not even the strongest wind
would be able to muddle up her hair, which is what Ebony had aimed for. Ebony clipped on a simple black diamond
necklace with a matching bracelet and of course her daylight ring, especially
since the party started before the sun went down.
Ebony turned around,
only for Damon to be standing right there in front of her. She hated when he did that and knew it would
take time before she learned how to sense another vampire coming. He looked incredibly handsome in all black,
the dress shirt long-sleeved with the top three buttons undone. Damon had a black suit coat over it, the
collar folded to perfection, along with simple black dress pants and black
shoes.
Damon was busy
undressing her with his eyes very slowly, that dress definitely sexy and left
plenty of the imagination. The lace
overlay is what really enticed him, but then again he had seen her in less than
this during her stripper performance.
Anything she wore ever since then was redundant, but the dress she wore
tonight came in at a close second favorite.
“You look stunning,
if it wasn’t obvious.” Damon complimented, finally breaking the silence between
them.
“Thanks.” Ebony sat
on the bed to slip her two inch black open toed heels on, fastening them and
didn’t realize she had given Damon a nice shot of her cleavage. “What do you
want, Damon?”
“Just wanted to make
sure you were ready and go over the plan with you.” He had to look away from
her chest before both of them never made it to the party, rubbing the back of
his neck.
Ebony arched a
perfectly plucked brow, her grey eyes outlined in black with natural tan eye
shadow and clear gloss on her lips. “What plan?” She asked, standing up from
the bed and pulled her dress down a little.
Damon smirked,
standing behind her a second later and wrapped his arms tightly around her
waist, his nose buried in her the crook of her neck. “The crystal.” He
whispered, knowing Stefan hadn’t left to retrieve Elena yet.
“What about it?” She
whispered back, looking at him through the reflection in the mirror, planting
her freshly manicured nails on the dresser.
“I know I shouldn’t
trust you with all you’ve done lately, but I am anyway.” He suddenly turned her
around and lifted her on the dresser, standing between her beautiful legs. “Can
I trust you, Ebony?” Because if she so much as attempted betrayal of any kind
against him, Damon wouldn’t think twice about ripping her heart out.
“Yes.” Ebony
answered without hesitation, grey eyes shining with truth. “I already told you
I would help you get into the tomb.” Her voice remained low and quiet to where
only Damon could hear her. “Why are you asking me that anyway?”
“Because what I’m
about to take out of the Lockwood’s I’m entrusting you with.” Damon stated,
hoping she cottoned onto what he was saying and watched as her eyes suddenly
shot open, nodding. “I need your word that, no matter what happens tonight, you
will keep it safe and hidden from my brother.”
Now Ebony was
worried, stopping him from walking away by grabbing his arm, pulling him right
back where he was. “What’s going on, Damon?” She demanded, not liking the way
he spoke because it sounded very ominous.
“My little brother
tried spiking my favorite Scotch with vervain
earlier.” He said gruffly, trying not to think about it because Caroline would
be in for a long night if his temper flared. “He’s trying to stop me from what
I came back here for and it’s not going to happen. I need you more than ever tonight, Ebony.”
Ebony swallowed
hard, seeing the amount of intensity burning in his aquamarine eyes and nodded,
cupping his face with her hand. “You can trust me, I won’t betray you.” She
promised, knowing how much this meant to him and Damon had left Elena alone
like they agreed on, physically anyway. “I got your back tonight. If Stefan tries something, I’ll stop
him. I won’t let him hurt you.”
Smiling genuinely,
Damon gently brushed his lips against hers, already knowing she would do her
best to protect him. “I’m trusting you, Ebony.” He
murmured against her mouth, slowly pulling away as their eyes locked. “Don’t
make me regret it.”
“I won’t.” Ebony had
to learn how to breathe again because she hadn’t expected him to kiss her that
tenderly, watching as he exited her bedroom.
After regaining her
composure, Ebony quickly redid her gloss before grabbing her small black purse
and headed out, knowing Matt would be there to pick her up momentarily. She watched as Stefan walked down the stairs
and stopped, plastering on a smile. He
looked handsome as well in a black suit with a dark blue buttoned up dress
shirt, his hair slightly spiked up.
“You clean up nice,
Stefan.” Ebony said by way of greeting, taking his hand when he extended it and
felt him kiss the back of hers. “Quite the gentleman too, unlike your brother.”
Stefan chuckled
softly, not disagreeing with that statement. “You look beautiful, Ebony. Is Matt picking you up?” He asked cordially,
having no issues with this woman that had come into their lives and defended
Elena constantly.
“Yes, he should be
here any minute.” Ebony answered softly, leaning against the small table in the
hallway. “You better get going, don’t want to keep Elena waiting since it’s
your first date and all.”
“Right, wouldn’t
want that.”
Stefan wondered
briefly if he should inform her what he was planning
to do to Damon. Something held him back
though and he knew it was a trust issue because she came here with Damon. Damon turned her into a vampire, which meant she
would automatically feel a sense of loyalty to him, even if they were at
odds. No, he couldn’t risk it, Damon had
to be stopped before he ended up hurting Elena.
“Have a good
evening, Ebony.”
She nodded, watching
him walk out the door and knew Damon had already left to pick up Caroline. A few minutes later, a horn blared outside of
the mansion and Ebony grinned, knowing it was Matt. She walked out of the house, the biggest
smile on her face and could tell just by the way his eyes devoured her that she
definitely picked the right dress for tonight.
“Wow.” Matt rumbled,
already stepping out to open her door, stopping her before she could slide in.
“You look breathtaking.”
“So do you.” Ebony
pulled him down gently by the front of his suit jacket, kissing him softly,
needing the feel of Damon’s lips off of hers. “We’ll have plenty of time for
this later, but we need to get to the party before we’re late.”
Matt smiled and
kissed her one more time before reluctantly closing the door, driving off
moments later. They made small chatter
about how their day was and Matt told her a few things to expect at the
party. There would be a lot of old
history memorabilia out for the town to see, so if she had any questions, she
could always ask him. Ebony appreciated
that, holding his hand the entire time and sincerely enjoyed talking to him,
his voice smooth and naturally husky.
They arrived at the
party about fifteen minutes later and Matt parked, opening the car door for
her, extending his arm. She took it
without hesitation, both of them walking toward the front of the mansion, the
sun slowly beginning to set. She watched
as the mayor’s wife, Carol Lockwood, greeted them, inviting them inside. Ebony sighed with inner relief when they both
stepped through the double open doors without any problem.
Ebony was intrigued
by all the old artifacts that formed most of this town’s history, everything so
antique and beautiful. Matt was very
informative and explained as best he could, answering
any questions she had. When they arrived
at the Salvatore Family, Ebony slowly ran her eyes over every single item and
looked up at a very old parchment with names scrawled on it.
“Look it’s the
original guest registry.” Elena pointed out, walking up with Stefan, also
interested in it. “Ebony, you look amazing!” She suddenly crowed, once she
noticed who was standing beside her, both girls sharing an embrace.
“So do you.” Ebony
couldn’t believe how stunning Elena looked in the sunrise colored dress she
chose that slightly shimmered. “Is that what this is called?”
Elena nodded,
pointing at the parchment and noticed some of the familiar names on it. “Look
at all these familiar names: Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood
and…is that Damon Salvatore…?” Her voice trailed off, slowly looking up at
Stefan inquisitively. “And Stefan Salvatore?”
“The original
Salvatore brothers.” Damon said from behind, walking in arm in arm with
Caroline, smiling. “Our ancestors.
Tragic story actually.”
“We don’t need to
bore them with the stories of the past.” Stefan intervened, shooting a look at
his brother that clearly told him not to go any further.
“It’s not boring,
Stefan.” Elena insisted softly. “I’d love to hear more about your family.”
“Me too.” Ebony
piped in, clasping her hand with Matt’s and wondered when Damon wanted to put
his plan into motion regarding the crystal.
“Well I’m bored.”
Caroline stated, not afraid to tell everyone how she really felt. “I wanna dance and Damon won’t dance with me.”
“Time to get you on
the dance floor.” Matt stated, flashing a charming smile at his gorgeous date
and began pulling her away from the group.
Ebony and Damon both
shared simultaneous looks, having the same idea in mind. “Actually, I need to
use the restroom. Elena, can you keep
Matt company for a few minutes?” She suggested softly,
pulling her hand out of his. “I won’t be long.”
“Sure, of course.”
Elena smiled easily, looking over at Stefan and looped her arm through Matt’s.
“Come on, I’ll dance with you and Caroline can dance with Stefan.”
Stefan was getting a
sinking feeling something was going on as Ebony left the room while Damon
pulled Caroline in the opposite direction, wondering what was going on. He wanted to go after Ebony, but Elena wasn’t
letting him, already pulling him out of the room toward the back doors that
lead to the dance floor. Matt didn’t
think anything of it and just went along, though he hoped Ebony was alright.
Damon waited until
he knew Stefan was dancing with Caroline, which is exactly what he wanted to
happen, before going to track down Ebony.
He saw her waiting for him just outside the room by the spiraling
staircase, heading in her direction.
Ebony saw him discreetly point his finger to the stairs, silently telling
her to head up and he would follow and did so, not looking back at him.
Looking around to
make sure nobody saw them, Damon ascended the stairs and grabbed Ebony’s hand,
guiding her down the hallway to a room. “This is going to look very strange
considering we’re supposed to be family.” She whispered half-jokingly, feeling
him squeeze her hand and smiled, knowing they wouldn’t get caught.
“I know, but we
won’t get caught.” Damon assured her, bringing her hand up to kiss the back of
it, smirking.
“You know where it
is, right?”
Damon nodded as they
walked inside the room and Damon stopped, looking down at her. “Stay right
here.” He ordered, releasing her hand and walked around her to pick up a wooden
box, setting it on the nearby table.
Ebony watched him
lift the lid and then pulled open the bottom of it, being quick and swift. A few seconds later, a beautiful amber
crystal with an iron antique setting was in Damon’s hands, the same one Damon
had showed her through mental images.
She didn’t go toward him, watching as he slowly turned to face her,
wondering if he would really trust her with something so valuable and
irreplaceable.
Handing over the
crystal he had waited a century and a half to retrieve wasn’t easy, but Damon
knew it had to be done. “This is it.” He murmured, handing it over to her
reluctantly. “That’s the only way Katherine will be released, I hope you
realize that.”
“I do.” Ebony
nodded, gently taking the amber crystal and gazed down at it for a few seconds,
admiring the historic beauty it possessed. “It’s beautiful.”
“And extremely
powerful.” Damon added softly, running his fingertip over the smooth surface.
“I hid it in that very box a hundred and forty five years ago when Emily gave
it to me. Guard it with your life.”
“I will.” She began
walking away, after tucking it in her purse securely and sighed when Damon
stopped her, turning her face to him. “You can trust me, Damon.”
“I know.” He
believed that, which is why he decided to let her in on some other vital
information. “If I suddenly disappear and you can’t find me, go to Caroline
immediately. I will be able to summon
her wherever I am and you go with her. I
need you to keep your guard up and focused because I know Stefan is going to
try pulling something fairly soon, especially after that incident today. Something tells me Zach is involved too.”
Ebony fully
understood, loving this man too much to let anyone, including his little
brother, take him away from her. Katherine had his heart, but that wasn’t
going to stop Ebony from protecting him, not wanting to see him get hurt. Suddenly, Ebony looked behind her to make
sure they were still alone and pulled Damon to the side out of sight, pulling
his face down to hers, passionately kissing him.
Damon pulled away
after a few minutes, holding both of her wrists with his hands. “What was that
for?” He asked, running the pad of his thumb across her lips.
“Just in case.”
Ebony whispered, pulling away from him and headed out of the room with the
amber crystal safely in her possession, needing to find Matt.
Damon headed out a
few minutes after her, not wanting it to seem conspicuous that he was with
Ebony the whole time. He watched from
the doorway as Ebony greeted Matt on the dance floor and smiled when Caroline
appeared at his side, holding her drink.
Walking away from her, Damon never took his eyes off of Ebony as she
swayed in Matt’s arms, suddenly wanting it to be him as he downed a much needed
shot of bourbon.
Chapter 16
Elena, Caroline and
Ebony all went to the bathroom together, needing to freshen up a little. While Elena and Caroline were washing their
hands, Ebony just stood off to the side, having already finished up. She noticed Elena was looking over at
Caroline, more importantly, her neck, but didn’t say anything as she applied
more gloss.
“So how are things
with Stefan?” Caroline asked innocently, pulling her gloss out to touch up her
lips a little.
“Great, just great.”
Elena replied with a soft smile, looking at her friend through the reflection.
“Really?” Caroline
didn’t sound convinced, leaning forward. “Well my radar must be off because I
was getting all sorts of other vibes.”
While Caroline was
leaned over, her scarf slowly rode up on her neck, the barest hint of a bruise
showing. “What’s that?” Elena suddenly pulled the scarf up to get a closer look
at her neck, eyes widening. “Oh my god, Caroline, what happened?!”
“It’s nothing okay!”
Caroline pulled away from her, shaking slightly.
“That is NOT nothing.” Elena argued, eyebrows furrowed in both confusion
and rage. “Did somebody hurt you?”
“No! Okay?
It’s...nothing...” Caroline said, her voice barely above a whisper and
leaned forward again to smooth her gloss out on her lips.
Elena didn’t stop
and pulled the white slip down from Caroline’s shoulder, eyes widening more.
“Did Damon hurt you?” She exclaimed, blinking when Caroline instantly pulled it
back up.
“NO! Of course not…” Caroline lied horribly and
Elena saw right through it, reaching out again to pull the white slip from
Caroline’s shoulders. “Just leave me alone, okay Elena?!” She stormed out of
the bathroom, leaving Elena and Ebony standing there.
“Elena…” Ebony began
to speak and sighed when she just merely stormed out of the bathroom,
determination on her face. “This is not good.”
Leaving as well,
Ebony followed Elena to where Damon was standing on the stairs just outside of
the dance floor. Her eyes widened when
Elena actually shoved Damon hard in the chest, hoping they didn’t cause a
scene. Of course she knew Damon was
feeding on Caroline and, honestly, Elena had no right interrogating the blonde
the way she had.
If it was Ebony, she
would’ve probably popped Elena in the face, but luckily it wasn’t. Ebony listened as Elena threatened Damon that
if he didn’t stay away from Caroline, she would go straight to her mother, who
was the sheriff of Mystic Falls. Damon
looked floored, his eyes locking with Ebony and immediately headed in her
direction, wanting to know what the hell happened in the bathroom.
“Ebony, mind telling
me what happened in the bathroom, hmm?” Damon somewhat demanded, pulling her on
the dance floor and wrapped his arm around her waist, slowly swaying with her.
“Elena forcefully
pulled up Caroline’s scarf and saw the bite marks you’ve been leaving on her.”
Ebony spoke quietly, wishing she didn’t have to defend the blonde, but in this
case it was necessary. “Caroline told her it was nothing and that it wasn’t
you, but Elena didn’t believe her. She
got flustered. It was actually pretty
pathetic to witness.”
“Remember what I
said.” Damon whispered, suddenly twirling her away from him to land right in
Matt’s arms, heading off the dance floor to find Caroline.
Ebony watched him
walk away, frowning and reluctantly looked back at Matt, plastering on a smile.
“I was about to come look for you.” She said, leaning up to brush her lips
against his softly.
“Everything okay?”
Matt asked, both of his arms wrapped around her waist while they continue
moving to the music.
“Yeah…” Ebony knew
she didn’t sound convincing, but a bad feeling was creeping into her stomach
and it couldn’t be ignored. “No, actually, I’m not.” Her eyes suddenly locked
with his, hating to use compulsion, but it was the only way. “Leave the
party. Get in your car and go home. There’s something you need to check on. Forget I asked you to do this and call me
tomorrow.” Breaking the compulsion, Ebony kissed him quickly before leaving the
dance floor, going to hunt down Damon.
Meanwhile, Caroline
struggled as Damon dragged her to the side of the house, where nobody else was,
and began rambling about what happened in the bathroom with Elena. Her entire body shook with fear of what he
was going to do to her, staring straight ahead while he slowly walked behind
her, placing his hands on her hips while resting his head gently against
hers. She felt him move her blonde hair
to the side, revealing her neck and swallowed hard, her heart rate increasing
rapidly.
“You make me crazy
you know that?” He rumbled huskily, rubbing the side of her neck soothingly,
trying to calm her down a little. “It’s okay, I forgive you.”
“I swear I didn’t
say anything…” She whimpered, slowly turning her head to look back at him.
“Ssshhhh…”
His arms wrapped around her waist as Damon began kissing the side of her neck,
feeling her start to melt against him. “It’s okay. Unfortunately,” He paused, pressing another
kiss right to her pulse point through the thin scarf. “I am so over you now.”
His fangs suddenly
dug into her neck, ready to suck every last drop of blood from her body. Caroline’s body instantly crumbled against
him as he lowered with her to the grass.
Something wasn’t right though.
The more Damon drank, the weaker he became and finally pulled away,
feeling extremely lightheaded.
“What the hell?” He
gasped out, collapsing back on the grass and heaved violently, hardly able to
move.
Ebony arrived just
as Damon collapsed, seeing Caroline’s body strewn on the lawn and started
heading in that direction, when she felt another presence. Quickly, Ebony ducked in the shadows and kept
perfectly still, eyes widened at the sight of Stefan walking toward his
brother. Stefan had spiked Caroline’s
drink with vervain, so when Damon bit her, the vervain instantly went into his system. He was right, Stefan had been planning
something and he succeeded, but it wouldn’t be for long.
Stefan disappeared
moments later with Damon, leaving Caroline laying in the grass as she slowly
sat up, trembling from head to toe.
Ebony had to leave to find Damon, but then remembered what he told her
about Caroline. He would be able to
summon her wherever Stefan put him; Damon was always two steps ahead of his
little brother. Sighing resignedly, Ebony
rushed toward Caroline and helped her up, knowing she was scared to death.
“Caroline?” Elena’s
voice sounded behind both of them, worry in her tone. “There you are, I’ve been
looking everywhere for you. Ebony, is
she okay?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Ebony lied, already knowing the answer was no and had an arm wrapped around
Caroline’s shoulders. “She’s really shook up, I have no idea what
happened. I found her out here like this
and figured it wasn’t safe, so I’ve been standing with her. Matt had to leave, something about his
sister.”
“Caroline?” Elena
turned her friend around, seeing how badly she was shaking and hugged her
tightly.
“I’m fine, I’m
fine…” Caroline kept saying, starting to hyperventilate until it turned to
crying, clinging to Elena for dear life as tears poured from her eyes.
Ebony watched as
Elena guided Caroline away from the party to her car, deciding it was time to
leave. She didn’t have a ride, but that
didn’t bother Ebony, she wasn’t afraid of the dark being what she was. Slowly opening, her purse, Ebony pulled the
amber crystal out and held it in the palm of her hand, looking up at the sky.
“I won’t let you down,
Damon, I promise.” She whispered, quickly putting it away and headed back to
the mansion, deciding she would check on Caroline periodically throughout the
next several days.
When she arrived
home, Stefan was waiting for her in the living room/parlor, a solemn expression
on his face. “We need to talk, Ebony.” He said softly, gesturing to the couch
and sat down after she did. “I have some bad news.”
“What is it?” Ebony
asked, eyebrows drawing together and already knew it had to do with Damon.
“Damon left town.”
Stefan lied, grabbing her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He wanted me to
tell you he said goodbye and hopefully you two will run into each other again
someday.”
Ebony closed her
eyes and lowered her head, nodding, playing the sympathy part to perfection.
“Right.” She cleared her throat and stood up from the couch, wiping a stray
tear away from her cheek. “I’ll be out by the morning, then.”
Stefan stopped her
from walking away, shaking his head. “No, you don’t have to leave, Ebony. You’re more than welcome to stay here as long
as you want. This is your home now.”
Just because he had to subdue Damon didn’t mean Ebony had to be punished as
well. “That’s if you want to stay here.”
Cracking a half
smile, Ebony pretended to contemplate her feelings about his offer, finally
nodding. “For a little while, thank you Stefan.
I’m gonna go to bed now. Good night.” Walking out of the room and
heading down the hallway, Ebony waited until she was in the secluded space of
her bedroom to let a smile spread on her face.
~!~
The school was
having a carwash a few days later and Elena had signed Ebony up for it, wanting
to get her out of the mansion. Ebony
hadn’t been very talkative and upbeat ever since Damon’s sudden departure,
keeping holed up, hardly speaking to anyone.
Of course, Elena asked Ebony and was surprised when she agreed to it,
especially after she said everyone was going to be there. For some reason, Ebony asked if Caroline was
going to be attending, but Elena just chalked it up to both girls warming up to
each other.
Ebony tied the top
of her simple black halter swimsuit around her neck, showing just enough
cleavage to entice customers and had a pair of blue jean shorts on, hiding her
bikini bottoms. She pulled her black
hair up in a high ponytail, slipping a pair of black shades on top of her head
and slipped into her white flip flops.
The amber crystal was hidden well so nobody would find it, especially
the nosey Zach that had been snooping around her ever since Damon disappeared.
Walking out, Ebony
closed her bedroom door and wasn’t surprised to run into Zach, smiling softly.
“Hey Zach.” She greeted politely, heading past him through the living
room/parlor, but his comeback stopped her.
“You’re not fooling
anyone, Ebony.”
Slowly turning
around to face him, Ebony’s grey eyes narrowed and she folded her arms in front
of her chest. “What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head somewhat.
“You may have Stefan
and everyone else fooled, but I can see right through you.” Zach couldn’t
elaborate because then he would give away where Damon was and knew she was
looking for him over the past few days. “I just hope Stefan sees what I do soon
enough.”
Ebony was sorely
tempted to snap his neck, but merely smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. “Think
what you want, Zach. I have to go,
carwash at school today.” She began walking away, but then stopped to face him
again. “By the way, I know you’ve been snooping around in my room while I’m
gone. I can smell your scent and I’m
warning you right now, don’t get on my bad side or you will regret it. Have a nice day.”
Zach swallowed hard,
wondering what it would take to get Stefan to get her out of the house.
Ebony knew she
scared Zach with her idle threat and knew she already had Stefan wrapped, so
she wasn’t too worried about him cottoning onto what she was doing. She waited around ten minutes before Caroline
finally arrived, apologizing profusely for being late. Elena was supposed to pick her up, but had a
last minute errand and asked Caroline if she would do it. Surprisingly, Caroline agreed.
Waving her off
frivolously, Ebony hopped into the car and buckled up, looking back at the
mansion as Caroline drove away. “This is going to be so much fun!” Caroline
squealed with excitement, wearing a pink leopard halter top bikini with dark
blue cotton shorts on, her hair done up in braided pigtails.
“Yeah, looking
forward to it.” The sooner Ebony found Damon, the sooner she wouldn’t have to
deal with Caroline’s annoying valley girl voice.
They arrived at the
carwash and Caroline put the car in park, ready to get out, when something
stopped her. Ebony looked over at her,
seeing she was staring straight ahead and wondered if Damon was trying to
summon her like he said he would. After
a straight minute, Caroline snapped out of whatever daze she was in, shaking
herself a little and was back to her giddy self.
“Let’s go, we have
cars to wash.” Caroline stepped out and skipped over to where Elena was sitting
with Bonnie, Ebony following suit.
“I was wondering
where you guys were at.” Elena said, standing up to embrace both of her
friends, looking kindly at Ebony. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” Ebony
assured her for the umpteenth time, deciding to just get busy with the car.
“Caroline, do you wanna wash with me?”
“Sure.”
Ebony smiled, taking
two buckets with sponges before heading over to one of the many cars in the
parking lot, getting to work. They did
three cars before Caroline went into that trance again, stopping her scrubbing
and looked toward the woods. Ebony
raised a brow when Caroline dropped the sponge and walked away from the car,
heading into the school somewhat zombified.
It had to be Damon.
Ebony made an excuse
to go to the bathroom and went around the other side, not wanting people to
think she was following Caroline, even though she was. She quickly caught up with Caroline and
watched as she suddenly stopped, looking as though she saw someone in front of
her. Ebony had no idea what was
happening, but the look on Caroline’s face was filled with worry and concern,
which made her believe Damon was summoning her.
Scared, Caroline
began running down the hallway and headed right out the back door, the carwash
seemingly forgotten. Ebony followed,
making sure nobody else had noticed they were gone and began walking in the
direction Caroline went. Once they
arrived on the dirt path that lead to the mansion, Ebony’s eyes nearly shot
open, not believing how stupid Stefan could be.
Damon was in the
mansion the whole time?
Ebony continued
following her, knowing she was in some kind of trance so she didn’t bother
hearing the footsteps behind her. Sure
enough, the mansion came into view and Caroline didn’t stop walking, not going
to the front door like a normal person would.
Instead, Caroline went around to the side of the house to one of the
doors, finally finding one open and walked inside.
Ebony noticed the
black crow sitting in front of the house, knowing she was about to find out
where Damon had been held for the past four days and entered the mansion
moments later. She ducked when Zach
entered the room, not wanting him to know she was there and hoped he hadn’t
heard Caroline either. She watched as
Zach rushed to that door and swung it open, flying down the stairs as fast as
he could, but it was too late.
A few seconds later,
Ebony heard something snap and a scream.
Chapter 17
Ebony turned around
just as Caroline came flying down the hallway with a filthy Damon hot on her
trail, stumbling slightly. Her grey eyes widened as Caroline ripped open the
front door, running as fast as she could out of it. The sunlight instantly began burning Damon as
he tried shielding himself with his arms, getting into the shade quickly.
Stefan had taken his
daylight ring!
“Damon.” Ebony
called, watching his head snap toward her and carefully approached him, not
believing the condition he was in. “My god…”
“Shut the door.” He
gritted out, pulling away from her and coughed, a lot of vervain
still circulating in his system.
Ebony rushed past
him to close it, the sunlight blocked out instantly and flew back over to him,
wrapping an arm around his waist. “Don’t be stubborn and let me help you.” She
ordered, feeling his arm drape around her neck as she guided him over to the
couch, not believing how weak he was.
“I need blood…” He
grunted out, falling over on the couch in a heap and coughed more, escaping
exerting a lot of his energy. “Damn it…”
“The sun will be
down in a few hours. Will a blood bag
suffice for now?” Ebony asked, pouring him a drink and figured that was better
than nothing for the moment.
“Downstairs…” He had
to stop talking for a second, not able to take the tumbler of whiskey Ebony
extended to him, hating how weak he was. “There’s a freezer…”
Ebony pressed a
finger to his lips and pulled him to sit back up, making him lean against the
arm of the couch with her blocking his other side, sitting on her knees. “I’ll
find it for you. Now drink this.” She
held the tumbler up to his lips, tears shining in her eyes because she’d
honestly been worried about him. “Don’t talk, just drink, Damon.”
Damon looked over at
her through hazy blue eyes and did as she said, noticing a single tear slip
down her cheek. “Why…are you…crying?” He demanded weakly, after taking a few
small sips of the whiskey, which instantly stemmed the burning in his throat.
“Why do you think?”
Ebony shot back, looking away from him to wipe her tears, hating that her
emotions were getting the better of her. “I was worried sick about you. If I would’ve known you were in the mansion,
you would’ve been freed sooner than this.”
Damon smirked
feebly, reaching a shaking hand out to cup her cheek, wiping another tear away.
“Don’t cry…I’m a lot stronger than that dick thinks…” He had to take another
swallow and leaned his head back against the couch, not moving to hold the
glass yet. “Where’s the…crystal?”
“In my room, hidden
away.” Ebony answered, running a finger down his pale cheek and rested her head
against his, thankful he was alive. “Where’s Zach anyway?”
“Dead.” Damon spat,
jaw tightening at the thought of Zach actually conspiring with Stefan. “Snapped
his neck, he deserved it.”
“Yes he did.” Ebony
agreed, glad they no longer had to deal with that pile of trash, scowling. “He
actually had the audacity to confront me, said I wasn’t fooling him. He was also snooping around my bedroom and
you have no idea what kind of restraint it took me not to snap his neck
myself.”
Damon snorted,
shaking his head and wondered if Zach had a death wish all along. “Don’t have
to worry about him now, Ebony.” He managed to sit up enough to press his
forehead against hers, glad she hadn’t turned her back on him. “Go get that
blood, I need it…” Hunting was definitely on the agenda tonight and Damon
planned on having a smorgasbord.
Nodding, Ebony stood
up from the couch and set the glass of whiskey on the table, heading toward the
cellar where Stefan had locked Damon up.
She headed down the stairs, already smelling the vervain
and wondered how big of a stash Zach and Stefan had, deciding to
investigate. Pushing open one of the
wooden doors, her eyes widened at the huge bushel of the herb that could
incapacitate her in the blink of an eye.
Shaking her head,
Ebony closed it harshly and sifted through the rooms, finally finding the huge
white freezer. Lifting the lid, she
grabbed three blood bags, needing one after everything that happened. Elena was probably worried about her since
she’d left without telling anyone, but the only thing Ebony was concerned about
right now was Damon.
Flying back up the
stairs, Ebony frowned at the sight of Damon once again keeled over on the
couch, this time his eyes closed. “Damon?” She called, setting the blood bags
down and rushed over to him, patting his cheek. “Damon!”
He didn’t move.
“No…” Ebony grabbed
one of the blood bags and opened it, putting the tube that was already attached
in his mouth, tears stinging her eyes again. “Please drink…Please be okay…” She whispered, running her fingers through his
black hair and pressed her forehead against his, letting the tears fall freely.
“Damon, please drink. I love you, you
have to drink…”
Very slowly, the
blood began traveling up the tube into his mouth, signaling that he was
drinking. Ebony couldn’t help crying
harder silently, nodding as she continued stroking his hair, urging him to
continue. The blood would help flush the
vervain out of his system quickly the more he drank,
which is what needed to happen.
“That’s it, just
keep drinking. I’m right here, Damon.”
Ebony soothed, watching as the blood bag suddenly drained and knew he needed
another one. “Don’t move.” She tossed the empty one aside and ripped the second
one open, once again putting the tube to his mouth, holding it since he
currently couldn’t.
It took three bags
of blood, but soon Damon’s eyes were open and the white chalkiness of his skin
disappeared. Ebony waited until he
finished the third bag before helping him sit up on the couch again, sticking
to his side like glue in case he was still too weak. She smiled, knowing the blood was working and
wiped a drop of blood from the side of his mouth with her pad of her thumb.
“How do you feel
now?” Ebony asked, turning his head to face her and knew he would need
something a little fresher and stronger to fully heal.
“Better than I was.”
Being starved for nearly four days straight definitely wasn’t something Damon
ever wanted to go through again. “Thank you, Ebony.”
“You’re welcome.”
She murmured softly, noticing his voice was a little stronger than before. “Do
you need more blood?”
Damon nodded,
stopping her from getting up. “I’m going hunting later, three bags will hold me
over until then. I could use another
drink though.” He admitted, running a hand through his filthy hair and knew
after the hunt tonight, he would need a much needed shower.
“Coming right up.”
If Damon had heard her confession, he wasn’t saying anything and Ebony refused
to bring it up, pouring him another tumbler of scotch this time. “Here.” She extended it to him before sitting down, keeping
a close eye on Damon to make sure he didn’t fall asleep again.
Damon took it and
threw it back with ease, staring into the fireplace thoughtfully. “Thank you
for not turning your back on me, Ebony.” He had to say it, truly meaning those
words and looked at her. “You’re the only one I can count on.”
Ebony half-smiled,
patting his shoulder gently. “No problem.” Chewing her bottom lip, she decided
to risk asking a question that could potentially anger Damon, but Ebony had to
know. “What was he going to do with you if you weren’t found?”
“Basically turn me
into a living corpse.” Damon said with a derisive snort, setting the glass on
the table next to the other one. “When a vampire doesn’t feed for a long period
of time, their body starts to desiccate and mummify. Vervain helps speed
the process up along with exerting energy.
It also stops circulation. He was
going to put me in the family crypt and reevaluate in fifty years.”
“Fifty years?” Ebony
echoed, blinking and narrowed her eyes, suddenly wanting to hurt Stefan for
thinking he could just lock up his brother like a criminal. “That’s insane and
uncalled for.”
Damon agreed,
suddenly grabbing her hand and laced their fingers together, looking into her
eyes again. “But because of you, that won’t happen to me now.”
“Caroline had a
small part to play, but I did what you said.
I followed her to wherever Stefan took you. I can’t believe he spiked Caroline’s drink
with vervain, the dick.” She growled, leaning her
head against Damon’s shoulder and sighed in contentment. “He actually tried
feeding me a crap story about how you left town and told him to tell me you
said goodbye and hopefully we’d run into each other again someday. Like I would really believe that?”
“One thing my
brother isn’t good at is telling stories and lying.” Damon said, kissing the
top of her head and knew the sun was going down soon. “You’re gonna come with me to hunt.
Stefan will be back here to check on me and find Zach dead. I don’t want you here when he does.”
Ebony had no problem
with that, refusing to leave Damon’s side again, not until Katherine was freed
anyway. “If he’s smart, he won’t try getting revenge because he’ll end up dead
if he does.” Damon wasn’t going to tolerate Stefan much longer and Ebony
secretly hoped he killed him after starving his own brother for four days.
“I saw the vervain stash down in the cellar.” Ebony looked up at him,
running a hand up and down his chest, wanting to touch him in every way. “What
are you going to do with it?”
“Not sure yet.”
Damon had thought about it for a bit, confident he would make an escape with
his summoning. “Something tells me Zach keeps that big of a stash around for a
reason and I’m going to first find out what it is before making any rash
decisions.”
They stayed that way
until the sun went down, just making small talk and Ebony doing everything she
could to keep Damon from falling asleep.
She quickly changed in a pair of black fleece pants with a matching
shirt that was long sleeved, leaving her hair up. She swapped her flip flops for black tennis
shoes since they were going hunting.
Damon didn’t bother
changing, his hunger outweighing everything else he currently felt and flew out
the door with Ebony on his trail. They
were heading toward the spot the kids hung out at in the woods, a small bonfire
going on. Damon motioned for Ebony to
stay hidden while he made the first attack, leaning against a truck and
coughed, still weak from the starvation.
“Hey man, you okay?”
A female voice called, causing Damon to smirk, his head lowered so she couldn’t
see it.
“Come here, come
here…” He whispered, waving his fingers weakly and breathing heavily, beckoning
her.
“You don’t look
good…”
“Come closer, I have
something…I have to tell you.” He coughed out, stumbling right into her arms as
soon as she was close enough.
“Whoa, I gotcha…”
She grunted, holding him up as best she could.
Damon stood up and
moved her hair from her neck, covering her mouth with his hand and bit into her
neck as hard as he could, the warm blood instantly filling him. The woman screamed and struggled, trying to
get him off of her, but Damon drank incredibly fast. Soon her body went limp against him, the
screaming ceasing and Damon dropped her before flying over to her friends.
Ebony could only
watch in sick fascination as he broke their legs to prevent them from running
away, sucking each of them dry one by one.
He was definitely regaining his strength and Ebony didn’t stop him,
knowing he needed to do this before Stefan found him. She slowly walked over to the truck where the
woman’s body lay prone and felt her eyes widen, covering her mouth with her
hand.
It was Vicki
Donovan.
“Damn…” Ebony
whispered, looking over her shoulder where Damon was still feasting and
couldn’t leave Vicki there, carting her over to where the rest of her friends
were.
Damon didn’t pay
attention, too busy gorging on blood to notice what Ebony was doing. He already attacked Vicki once when he first
came into town and honestly didn’t know it was her, not caring. Once Damon was finished killing the last
human, he stood up and wiped his mouth off with one of their sleeves, grunting
in satisfaction.
“Grab that body over
there.” He ordered, already dragging the one he just sucked dry right over the
fire, igniting the body.
Noticing the bottle
of liquor, Damon grabbed it and started pouring it all around, making it look
like a huge drunken situation occurred.
He took a swig from it as well before going over to the next body while
Ebony tossed another onto the roaring fire.
The smell of burning flesh permeated the air, but it was also mixed with
the strong odor of alcohol. She watched
as Damon searched the bodies and finally pulled out a cell phone, flipping it
open to make a call.
Arching a brow when
Damon first took another swig of the bottle and then poured some more of it
over all the bodies, Ebony continued cleaning up the mess. She would do her own hunting later, right now
all she cared about was getting Damon back to his normal self. Ebony listened into the conversation and knew
instantly he was talking to Stefan, hearing it clear as day.
Damon demanded to
know where his ring was and Stefan tried beating around the bush. “Where is
it? I want my ring, Stefan, or my next
stop is Elena’s.” He looked over at Ebony, wondering if she would stop him from
hurting her friend after everything Stefan put him through.
Ebony just held her
hands up, deciding if Stefan valued Elena’s safety and life, he would just hand
Damon’s daylight ring over without a fuss.
Elena no longer concerned her, not after what happened to Damon, her
main priority was him and following through with the plan to open the tomb.
“I already want you
dead, don’t give me another reason to make it happen.”
Stefan attempted a
threat, trying to reign in his temper. A
few minutes after Damon and Ebony left, Stefan arrived, heading straight for
the basement, only to find Zach’s dead body outside of Damon’s open cell. He was going to kill his big brother for
killing their only human relative left because the Salvatore bloodline died
with Zach, who never had a family or children.
“Don’t give ME
another reason to rip YOU apart.” Damon shot back, blue eyes flashing
dangerously in the darkness.
Stefan was being
stubborn, the call ending a few seconds later and Ebony looked over at the last
body that wasn’t on the fire. “Damon, don’t.” She whispered, stopping him from
advancing when Vicki began slowly moving her head, grey eyes pleading. “She’s
Matt’s sister. Please spare her.”
Glaring at Ebony,
Damon knew that was a huge liability and lifted Vicki Donovan in his arms.
“Come on, we’ll take her back to the house.” He said, walking past Ebony and
headed into the woods, fully recharged after his delicious feast.
Ebony couldn’t help
smiling as she followed, hoping Vicki was going to be alright.
Chapter 18
On the way back to
the mansion, Ebony and Damon made a pit stop by Matt’s to drop Vicki off. Damon healed her with his blood, something he
rarely did, and within seconds she had no signs of being attacked or fed
on. Ebony compelled her to first invite
her inside the house and got her up to her room. Then, she made Vicki forget everything,
telling her she never went out that night and had a simple silly nightmare.
When the compulsion
broke from Vicki, she was sitting in her bed, no sign that Ebony had been in
her room. “Don’t give me that look.” Ebony mumbled once she exited the Donovan
household, walking past him down the sidewalk.
“That was a lot of
trouble to go through.” Damon was right beside her a second later, both of them
enjoying the night air.
“It was worth it.”
Being Matt’s sister, there was no way Ebony could just kill her unlike the
other people she’d been with.
Damon glanced down
at her, both of them heading into the woods. “Because of Matt?” He had to ask,
wondering what exactly Ebony felt for the football jock.
Ebony didn’t answer,
ducking underneath a huge tree trunk branch and sighed when Damon stopped her,
reluctantly turning to face him. “What?” She knew Damon wanted an answer and
Ebony wasn’t providing him with one, not finding it necessary.
“Answer me.” Damon
demanded, slowly backing her up until she hit a tree, boxing her in, his
electric blue eyes never leaving hers.
“No.” Ebony was
steadfast, folding her arms in front of her chest defiantly. “And just to
remind you, Stefan has your daylight ring still, so eventually we’ll have to
leave this spot.”
Damon scowled, not
appreciating the reminder and eyed her almost shrewdly for a few seconds before
reluctantly stepping away. “I already know the answer anyway.” He informed her
coolly, watching her eyes widen and walked away without another word.
Standing there in
shock, it felt like Ebony’s feet were cemented to the ground. She knew exactly what he was talking about
and mentally cursed for being so weak.
Just because he seemed out of it didn’t mean his enhanced hearing didn’t
work because apparently it had. It was a
moment of weakness, a moment of fear and panic because she thought, for just a
split second, he was dying.
“Damn it…” She
whispered, suddenly spinning around and punched the tree as hard as she could,
the pain giving her the distraction she needed.
Her hand was
bruised, bloody and mangled; a few fingers bent the wrong way. Sucking a sharp breath in, Ebony cracked them
back into place, the sound echoing throughout the woods. It didn’t hurt nearly as bad as she thought,
but enough to where tears poured down her cheeks. Everything had been going smoothly and now
she could no longer pass off her feelings for Damon to Matt because Damon knew
the truth.
Sliding down the
tree, Ebony could only stare straight ahead and drew her knees up to her chest,
wrapping her arms around them. She
contemplated a few things, tempted to just take her daylight ring off when the
sun came up to end this inner torment and agony. Damon would never want her. He loved Katherine and nothing was going to
change that, not even her amount of love for him.
For a hundred and
forty five years, Damon had pined for this woman and who was Ebony to destroy
that? She was nobody, a drifter, a waste
of space on this earth that was raised in an orphanage because her biological
parents didn’t even want her. The only
person she ever loved, besides Damon, was gone and she never felt more alone
than at that moment because she was immortal.
Granted, it was
possible to be killed as a vampire either with a stake through the heart made
of wood, decapitation, burning in the sun or having one’s heart ripped from
their chest. Ebony didn’t want to be
alone anymore and looked up at the starry night sky, wiping her tears away and
turned the ring on her finger repeatedly, wishing Ashley was there with
her. She had to keep her word because
she did promise Damon she would help him open the tomb and retrieve
Katherine. After that, her debt would be
paid and Ebony could finally leave to end her existence, not wanting to spend
an eternity completely alone.
As the sun rose and
hit Ebony’s face, her grey eyes glistened, but she didn’t feel anything. The warmth that should’ve been on her skin
was no longer there. In order to get through
this, Ebony had to do the one thing that might’ve cost her everything in the
long run and she simply didn’t care. Flipping the switch on her emotions so she
couldn’t feel anything, it was the only way before she completely crumbled.
Ebony would stay in
control with her bloodlust though, but when it came to Damon, she was going to
be completely cold and distant. Slowly
heading back to the mansion, Ebony looked up at the place she had called home
since arriving in Mystic Falls and would miss it. She just hoped Damon was already forming a
plan to open the tomb, the sooner the better as far as she was concerned.
“Where have you
been?” Damon demanded as soon as she stepped inside the mansion, storming over
to her, but stayed away from the rays of sunlight.
“Out.” Ebony
answered emotionlessly, closing the door softly behind her and refused to meet
his eyes.
“Out where?” Damon
pressed, flying over to her as soon as she was out of the sunrays, electric
blue eyes narrowed. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“You worried?” Ebony
laughed coldly, shaking her head and brushed right past him, gritting her teeth
when he grabbed her arm. “Let go of me, Damon.” She ordered in a low voice,
giving him one chance to do it.
“No, not until you
answer me.”
Ebony suddenly
twisted until she dislocated his arm, sending him to the floor in a heap, grey
eyes flashing. “Don’t touch me again or next time I’ll completely break it.”
Storming down the hallway, Ebony slammed her door shut and knew Damon wouldn’t
enter because all of her shades were open, the sun streaming in.
What the hell had
gotten into Ebony? Damon groaned as he
popped his shoulder back into place and stood up, heading for the bar while
avoiding the sun. He was starting to
realize just how much he took his daylight for granted, wanting to murder his
brother for taking it.
Pouring a nice
healthy dose of whiskey, Damon downed it in one long swallow before slamming
the glass down. “Damn it.” He whispered, wanting to know what happened to Ebony
because she seemed…colder…distant… “Oh no…”
“Go away.” Ebony
called over her shoulder, laying on the sun covered bed and snuggled into the
pillow.
“Ebony, we need to
talk and I can’t come in there.” At least not until nightfall, then she would
have to face him whether she wanted to or not.
“That’s precisely
the point why I’m in here. Just leave me
alone, Damon.” Ebony didn’t want to talk to him, closing her eyes, deciding
there was no point in going to school after what happened with the jailbreak.
Growling, Damon
pressed his forehead against the closed door, his hand on the door handle.
“Don’t turn it off, Ebony.” He said in a softer voice, knowing she could hear
him. “You’ll never regain your humanity back if you do.”
Ebony didn’t reply
to him, not moving an inch from the bed and let the coldness overtake her, the
hurt and heartache diminishing. It was
crazy how she could flip that simple switch and become pain and feeling
free. Humanity was a vampire’s greatest
weakness and Ebony couldn’t deal with it anymore, having enough pain in her
human life to last her a lifetime.
“Ebony!” Damon hit
the door with his closed fists, the frustration building as he stalked away
from it before he ended up fried by kicking her door in. He flipped a table over before whipping his
own cell phone out, dialing Stefan’s number. “Where are you, Stefan? I’m trapped at the house and getting really
bored and really impatient…and I don’t do bored and impatient! Bring me my ring!!” He ended the call, having
poured himself another drink. “Damn it!” Damon downed his drink and began
unbuttoning his shirt, already taking a shower after getting back from the
woods earlier.
It had to be the
longest day of his life, but as soon as the sun went down, Damon was once again
at Ebony’s door and opened it, frowning when he didn’t see her anywhere. He looked toward the bathroom door and
smirked, walking over to it, tapping his knuckles against the wood. Damon knew she could hear anything, even over
the running shower, though he decided not to join her this time around,
especially after what she did to his arm.
Ebony stepped out
twenty minutes later, waking up just before the sun rose and hopped in the
shower because she smelled of the woods.
Wrapping a towel around her body, she took her time in brushing her hair
and teeth, sensing Damon on the other side of the door. Finally opening the bathroom door, Ebony did
not stop at the sight of Damon lying on the bed, her suspicions confirmed.
“I’m hoping you have
a plan to open the tomb fairly soon because I’m getting impatient waiting
around here.” She stated, sifting through the drawers almost thoughtfully.
Damon flew over to
stand at her side, tempted to reach out and touch her again, but refrained.
“Don’t turn it off, Ebony.” He stated, hoping she listened to him. “I did it
for a very long time and was miserable.”
“I don’t care.”
Ebony turned to face him, her eyes cold and dead. “I don’t need to hear your
sob story, Damon. I’m here to help you
reclaim your long lost love and then I’m leaving. So, do you have a plan or not?”
“You can pretend not
to feel all you want, but we both know how you really feel about me, Ebony.”
Damon argued, folding his arms in front of his chest. “That’s why you’re
flipping the switch because you love me and can’t stand the pain it causes
you.”
Ebony started
laughing, pulling out a pair of maroon corduroy pants with a long sleeved white
shirt and short sleeved matching maroon top. “You honestly believe that? I have news for you, before we met; I was in
constant pain that had NOTHING to do with you.
This feels so great; I don’t know why you ever flipped the switch back
on. I no longer feel any pain, anguish,
agony, love, hatred…I’m finally free of it all.
So no, Damon, this decision to flip the switch on my feelings and
humanity had nothing to do with you.”
“Then why did you
flip it in the first place?” He retorted, suddenly whipping her around and
cupped her face, blue eyes that once melted her having no effect.
“Because I’m tired
of feeling the pain and everything. I’m
tired period, Damon. I’ve lost everyone
I’ve ever cared about. I had parents who
didn’t give a damn about me and left me in an orphanage that had my best friend
killed. That tosses kids out on the
street as soon as they turn eighteen because there’s no room to shelter them
anymore. I’ve lost so much and have done
so much wrong, I just want it to go away.
I want the pain to go away forever.” Ebony explained, removing his hands
from her face and the towel without any shame and pulled her panties and bra
on, clipping it into place. “And yes, I DID say I love you, but I only said it
because I thought you were dying on me.
I’m new to all of this and I’ve never been in love, so I was naïve and
stupid. I didn’t mean it, Damon.”
Narrowing his eyes,
Damon waited until she pulled her pants on, but didn’t let her snap them
closed, suddenly spinning her around to face him. “I don’t believe that.”
His lips suddenly
crashed against hers, wrapping his arms tightly around her and decided he was
going to force her to feel something, to flip that switch right back on. Ebony felt the desire flow through her and
knew that was part of being a vampire, so she kissed him back. She felt him lift her with ease on the bed,
guiding her back on it, her legs instantly parting for him.
Damon ripped his
lips from hers abruptly, those grey eyes darkened, but there was still no emotion
in them. “You didn’t feel anything from that?” He demanded, trying to kiss her
again, this time deeper.
“No.” Ebony
whispered, running her hands down his chest since his shirt was completely
unbuttoned, smiling coldly when he suddenly pulled away from her.
“Damn it, I didn’t
want this for you.” Damon couldn’t believe he actually felt morality, raking a
hand through his hair and knew it had to do with this woman being in his life.
“I’m going over to Elena’s because Stefan still hasn’t returned my ring. Do you want to come with or stay here?” He
asked gruffly, walking over to the door to put some space between them.
“Sure.” Ebony
figured they could go hunting while they were out, the taste of fresh human
blood sounding very enticing. “Give me a second to finish dressing.” The kisses
didn’t erupt any emotions within her and Ebony
suddenly wondered what else she could do as an experiment.
Damon nodded,
walking out and left her to do it, buttoning up his own shirt. He warned Stefan he would go to Elena’s if
his daylight wasn’t returned.
Apparently, little brother loved ignoring his messages and threats, so
Damon would have to teach him a lesson.
Pulling the shirts
on, Ebony slipped into her black steel toed boots before walking out, leaving
her hair straight and down. “Ready?” She walked past him and out the front
door, going straight to his car.
Shaking his head,
Damon followed suit and flew to the driver’s side, slipping behind the wheel.
“You can deny it all you want, but I know you still feel something, Ebony. It’s not that easy to just flip the switch. You would’ve said you didn’t give a damn
about Elena if you completely gave it up.” He pointed out smugly, pulling out
of the driveway and headed into town.
Ebony ignored him,
letting him think what he wanted and rolled the window down to let the cool
night air blow through her hair, feeling contentment wash over her for the very
first time.
Chapter 19
Elena and Jeremy
were cleaning the kitchen for their Aunt Jenna, when a knock sounded at the
door, stopping both of them. Elena
looked over her shoulder at Jeremy, who was going to answer it and beat him to
the punch. As soon as she opened it,
Elena gasped at the sight of Damon and Ebony, immediately trying to shut it in
their faces.
Stefan had told her
everything about their past and what they were earlier that day, begging him
not to give Damon his daylight ring back.
That was until Stefan informed Elena that Damon would hurt her if he
didn’t give it back, hence trying to slam the door in his face. Damon sighed resignedly and caught the door
with ease, pushing it right back open, smelling the fear rolling off of Elena
in waves.
“Jeremy, go
upstairs.” Elena ordered, her voice slightly shaky.
“You’re afraid of
me.” He commented, leaning in the doorway with his arms folded in front of his
chest, Ebony standing behind him. “I’m gonna go out on
a limb here and guess: Stefan finally fessed up?”
“Stay away from me.”
Elena ordered in an even tone, breathing a little heavier and wished he would
go away, not bothering to look at Ebony at the moment.
“Hey, hey, hey
there’s no need to be rude.” Damon admonished softly. “I’m just looking for
Stefan. May I come in? Oh wait, of course I can, I’ve been invited.”
He stepped through the door without Elena’s permission, looking over his
shoulder at Ebony and knew she hadn’t yet. “This won’t take long.”
Ebony merely
shrugged, turning to lean back against the house and listened to their
conversation through the closed door. It
was a risk to let Damon be in there alone with Elena, but because she was
Katherine’s twin, he wouldn’t hurt her.
Ebony was almost certain of that, looking out at the empty
street and clear night, hoping after they were done here they could go
hunting.
“We can cut to the
chase if you want, I’m not gonna kill you right now.”
Damon said, once again folding his arms in front of his chest and looked deadly
at the moment. “That wouldn’t serve my greater agenda.” Elena didn’t say
anything, just stared at him with fear-filled brown eyes. “So, where’s Stefan?”
“He was out looking
for you, after what you did.” Elena answered honestly, still not believing she
was associated with vampires of all things.
“Don’t look at me
with those judgy little eyes.” Damon rumbled, taking
a step toward her and Elena instinctively backed away. “Caroline deserved what
I did to her and she’ll thank me one day for it.”
Elena’s back hit the
staircase, Damon’s face inches from hers and narrowed her eyes. “Did you thank
Katherine?” She shot back, feeling her heart beat thundering against her chest.
Ebony physically
cringed outside, wondering if Elena had a death wish.
Damon didn’t say
anything for a few seconds and just stared down at her with almost thoughtful
blue eyes, considering what to do. “Hmm.” He finally stepped away and turned
around, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Got the whole
life story, huh?”
“I got enough.”
“Oh I doubt that.”
Damon claimed, looking around the house again and finally turned back to face
her once his temper was in check. “Tell my brother I’m looking for him.” He
headed for the door and walked out, only to poke his head back in. “Oh, tip for
later: Be careful who you invite in the house.” Smiling, Damon closed the door
and looked over at Ebony, knowing she heard everything. “Come on, time to go on
the hunt for my baby bro.”
“Oh the joys.” Ebony
snorted, following him and didn’t bother looking back at the house, knowing her
friendship with Elena was officially over.
Stefan told her
everything, which meant she now knew her new buddy was an actual vampire, no
relation to the Salvatore’s. She
wondered how much Stefan told Elena and had a feeling it was enough to cover
the main back story. He was very brave
telling someone that vital information when Elena could easily tell the
townsfolk what they were. If Stefan were
smart, he would find another girl who wasn’t so flighty because now all of
their lives were at risk.
“Your brother needs
to learn to keep his mouth shut.” Ebony stated, walking into the woods and had
a feeling Damon could sense where Stefan was. “Elena can’t be trusted.”
“And you know that
how?” Damon shot back over his shoulder, determined to find Stefan before the
sun rose because he wanted his daylight ring back.
“Because of
Katherine.” Ebony stopped when he did, watching with a slightly tilted head as
he slowly turned to face her. “When you kissed me to show me your memories of
what your plan was, I saw how she interacted with you. Of course, you’ll have to find out the hard
way once that tomb is opened.” Smiling, Ebony walked past him, the leaves
crunching beneath her boots.
Damon decided they
had more important matters to handle right now besides a trip down memory
lane. There would be ample time for that
later. He suddenly stopped, pulling
Ebony back against his chest and covered her mouth, hearing the shuffling of
leaves. Voices could be heard as well,
Damon recognized one of them as Sheriff Forbes and it sounded as though they
were looking for something.
Once they passed and
were out of hearing range, Damon released her and kept going, the scent of
blood suddenly in the air. “This way.” He ordered in a low voice, keeping it
down in case the search party came back around their way.
Sure enough, they
arrived at the Salvatore’s old family crypt in the middle of the woods and
Stefan was lying on the ground. The
scent of blood was coming from him because he’d just been shot in the
chest. Damon’s eyes narrowed, watching
as the human that shot his brother had a wooden stake, ready to drive it right
into Stefan’s heart.
Flying over, Damon
grabbed the man’s arm and attacked his neck, digging his fangs right into the
carotid artery. Ebony rushed over as
well, looking down at Stefan and caught the man’s body when it was shoved at
her. It was Logan Fell, the guy she’d
seen on the news quite a few times since moving to Mystic Falls. She watched as Damon bent down to pull the
bullet out of Stefan’s chest, hearing grunts and gasps of pain.
“It’s wood.” Damon
said, fingering the bloody bullet with disdain. “They know.” He wiped his mouth
off with his hand. “If anyone’s gonna kill you, it’s gonna be me. My
ring.” He ordered, not bothering to ask for it because it was his property.
Stefan grunted and
reached down into his pocket, the wooden bullet taking longer to heal because
he didn’t feed on human blood. He pulled
it out and handed the ring over to Damon, feeling him snatch it away. Damon smirked, sliding the Lapis Lazuli ring
on his left middle finger, feeling once again whole, admiring it for a minute.
Stefan managed to turn his head, eyes widened at the sight of Ebony feeding on
Logan Fell.
“No, no Ebony!”
Ebony ignored him
completely, too busy having her meal of the night and finally shoved the man’s
body to the ground when she had her fill.
She stood up and walked over to where Stefan lay, kicking him as hard as
she could right in the side, hearing him groan out in pain. Then, her steel toed boot pressed tightly
against his neck, wanting to snap his head right off his shoulders for trying
to lie to her about Damon’s whereabouts.
“I’ll eat who I
want, Stefan. That’s for lying to me
about Damon.” She kicked him again, this time in the arm and felt Damon pull
her away before she could inflict more damage. “You should be kicking his ass
after what he did to you.”
“And you say you
flipped the switch.” Damon sounded amused, releasing her and kept his hand firmly
on her chest, keeping her at arm’s length away from Stefan. “He’s still my
brother, can’t have you killing him.”
“I would kill my
brother if he ever tried desiccating and mummifying me.” Ebony shot back, the
anger burning in her grey eyes and wiped the blood from her mouth with the back
of her hand, scowling. “And yes, I have turned it off. I just figured your thirst for revenge would
be greater than your supposed love for him.”
Damon shrugged,
reaching down to help Stefan to his feet. “He’s had enough for tonight.” He
clapped him on the back, looking down at his ring once again with a smile. “I
got what I came for. Now it’s time to
head back home to figure out some OTHER things.”
“What other things?”
Stefan demanded weakly, surprised Damon wasn’t staking him right now.
“Never you mind, brother.” Damon replied, starting to walk away,
but then stopped to turn to face him again. “If I were you, I would go check on
Elena. She was pretty shook up when we
visited her earlier tonight.”
Stefan glared, stumbling
toward Damon with narrowed eyes. “What did you do to her?!”
“Relax Stef, I didn’t do anything.
I just simply asked where you were.” Damon assured him, leaving out the
part about not killing her tonight, which left the future open for possible death.
“Oh and thanks for telling her about Katherine, she made sure to mention it.”
Stefan didn’t
respond, rubbing his chest and knew he had enough energy to make it to Elena’s
if he walked. Ebony felt nothing as she
watched him walk off to check on Elena, simply going in the opposite
direction. Damon was heading back to the
mansion, but she was going to enjoy the time alone while hunting, the small
snack she had on Logan Fell not satisfying her hunger.
“Where are you
going?” Damon demanded, watching her head in a different direction than him.
“We have things to discuss.”
“I’m going
hunting. Figure it out and let me know.”
Ebony flew away from him before he could utter another word.
Damon sighed and
reluctantly followed her, worried about her sudden heartlessness. He probably could’ve ripped Elena’s head off
and she wouldn’t have cared because of the switch. Doing something reckless and going on a
killing spree wasn’t going to do them any favors, not when they were close to
opening the tomb. If Damon had to, he
would vervain and lock Ebony up, already
contemplating doing it, but not until he saw what she was going to do.
It took a good hour,
but Ebony finally found a handsome young man on the side of the road, trying to
change the tire on his truck. She knew
Damon was following her, but all Ebony cared about at the moment was sinking
her fangs into this man’s neck. Fluffing
her hair out a little, Ebony made her way over to the truck, peeking her head
out from the side and watched as his head snapped up.
“Hi.” She greeted
hesitantly, chewing her bottom lip as the man stood up fully.
“Hello ma’am.” He
replied, tilting the white cowboy hat he was wearing, his southern accent
definitely telling Ebony he wasn’t from around here. “Somethin’
I can help ya with?”
“Actually, yes you
can.” Ebony moved closer to him, still playing the shy part, her hands clasped
behind her back. “I’ve lost my way. Do
you have a cell phone I can borrow?
You’re the first person I’ve come across and it would mean a lot.”
The man smiled and
nodded, reaching into his truck for a second, grabbing his cell phone. “Here ya go, darlin’. Take yer time and,
if ya want, I can give ya a
ride wherever ya need to go once this tire is
changed.” He offered graciously, hazel eyes sparkling and it was clear he had
other intentions other than just offering a ride.
“Oh that would be
great!” Ebony took the cell phone from him and finally managed to gain eye
contact, instantly starting the compulsion. “Don’t move or say a word.” She
tossed the cell phone in the truck and yanked him against her by the waist,
shoving him back against the door. “Now, tell me what your REAL intentions
were.”
“I was gonna take ya out for a drink and
then back to my hotel room for some fun.” The man answered in a trance, his
arms loose at his side.
“And what kind of
fun would that have been?” Ebony pressed, running her fingertips down the side
of his neck, already feeling her fangs sliding out.
“Sex.”
“And what if I said
no?”
“I would force ya.”
“So you’re a
rapist?” Ebony narrowed her eyes when he nodded, deciding this man didn’t
deserve to live unlike her other victims. “What’s your name?”
“Todd Griffith.”
“Well Todd,” Ebony
paused, pressing against him and could already feel how hard he was through the
thin material of his skintight blue jeans. “I’m afraid I have to inform you of
something.” When he just stood there not saying a word, Ebony smiled coldly.
“You’re in for a very LONG night.”
A second later,
Ebony gripped the back of his neck tightly and sank her fangs into his neck,
beginning to drink as hard and fast as she could. The thought of this rapist being on the loose
to take advantage of poor innocent young women pissed Ebony off to no
avail. Normally, she would’ve stopped
after a few mouthfuls, but not tonight.
She felt his body
slowly slump against her, his knees buckling and held him against the door,
sucking him completely dry. Todd’s body
slumped to the ground in a heap once Ebony felt his heart stop, slowly turning
around to face Damon, who had watched the entire scene. She bent down to wipe the blood from her
mouth with his flannel shirt sleeve, pleased with her actions.
“Are you going to
just stand there or help me get rid of the body?” She demanded, lifting him up
with ease over her shoulder, the power of human blood still astounding. “On
second thought, clean the truck out and dispose of everything he owns.”
Damon wasn’t going
to reprimand her because of the man’s intentions, though Ebony couldn’t be
killing anymore, not until the tomb was open.
Generally, he would’ve condoned this kind of behavior, but now that
Logan Fell was dead, the town would be in an uproar over their lead newsman
gone. He watched as she went into the
woods to bury the body and reluctantly cleaned the truck out, slipping the
bills in his pocket. Damon would simply
burn everything at home in his fireplace, not leaving anything to chance.
Once Ebony finished
the burial, with Damon’s help, they both headed back to the mansion, neither
saying a word to each other.
Chapter 20
For the next several
days, Ebony stayed at the mansion, drinking blood bags during the day and
hunting at night. She didn’t kill anyone
else though, not unless they deserved it just like the southern man Todd
had. It was actually growing into a
routine to first compel her prey, ask them a couple questions and then decide
if she’d be doing society a favor by eliminating them.
Damon tried talking
to Ebony a few times, but it was always the same thing and he didn’t understand
why he even cared. They were close to
opening the tomb, but first a little road trip was in order. Now that Ebony wasn’t going to school, she
would be going with him to Georgia to go visit a special friend.
Sitting in the
library, Ebony sat in front of the fireplace with a glass of blood, staring
into the flames. She didn’t move when
Damon entered the room or look at him, still as a statue. The couch dipped beside her and, just by the
smell alone, she knew it was Damon, downing the rest of her blood.
“Feel up to a road
trip with me?” Damon asked, already dangling the car keys in his hand, his
leather jacket on.
“Where?” Ebony asked
evenly, setting the glass on the table and finally looked over at him, leaning
forward to rest her elbows on her knees.
“Georgia.” Damon
answered, inclining his head toward hers until his mouth was right by her ear,
lowering his voice. “It has to do with opening the tomb.”
That definitely made
Ebony more attentive, turning her head to where their lips nearly met, staring
into those beautiful electric blue eyes. “How?” She pressed, keeping her voice
as even as possible, grey eyes completely focused.
Damon smirked,
reaching up to run the pad of his thumb over her soft lips. “You’ll find out if
you come with me.” Patting her leg, Damon stood up and walked out of the study,
but turned to poke his head back inside. “You have an hour to decide and then
I’m leaving.” He added before disappearing, giving her time to mull her choice
over.
There wasn’t really
any other choice that Ebony could make because this was what she’d been brought
to Mystic Falls for. Why Damon was
giving her the option was beyond her, but of course she was going to Georgia
with him. Shaking her head, Ebony stood
up from the couch and walked out of the library, heading straight to her room
to grab a few things since they’d be gone overnight.
Once Ebony was
packed up, she decided there was no way she could keep the crystal there, not
with Stefan in the mansion. Looking over
her shoulder, Ebony had her bedroom door closed, but she wasn’t taking any
chances, chewing her bottom lip. Ebony
closed the bathroom door and flipped the lock on it before heading over to the
shower, stepping inside of it.
She didn’t care if
she got soaked and turned the water on because it would drown out the noise she
was making. Bending down, Ebony felt
around the wall and found the tile that could be moved out of the way. With one quick jerk, the tile came off the
shower wall, making a cracking noise while the water completely drenched her
from head to toe.
Reaching inside,
Ebony felt her hand come in contact with a cloth and smiled, pulling the object
out as it rested in her hand. Unwrapping it beneath the water, Ebony dropped the cloth and
held the amber crystal in her hand, sighing with relief that her hiding spot
hadn’t been found. It was a fluke find
and Ebony was thankful for it because nobody would think to look in a shower of
all places.
“Hello beautiful.” She
whispered, the crystal reflecting amber in her grey eyes and stood up, turning
to shut the shower sprays off before stepping out of the shower. Walking back into her bedroom, Ebony froze at
the sight of Damon, who was lying on the bed with his arms folded beneath his
head. “What are you doing in here?” She demanded, walking over to the dresser
to pull out a new black velvet bag, slipping the crystal into it.
Damon flew over to
stand behind her, noticing what she did and slowly began running his fingers
down her arms. “What’s in the bag?” He asked, wrapping one arm around her waist
while resting his chin on her shoulder.
“The crystal.” Ebony
whispered, looking at him over her shoulder and broke away from him with ease.
“I figured leaving it here with your brother trying to figure out what you’re
up to might not be the smartest idea.”
“Touché.” Damon was
tempted to take it away from her, but honestly Ebony had done such a good job
guarding and hiding it, he didn’t see the need to do so. “How come you were
being so secretive about the hiding place?”
“You told me to
guard the crystal with my life. You
didn’t say anything about you being the exception.” Ebony simply said, raising
a brow and dropped the black velvet bag on the bed. “If you want it, take it. It’s yours after all.”
Damon shook his
head, holding his hands up. “No reason to do that. I know you won’t betray me.” He sounded so
confident and arrogant that Ebony was tempted to prove him wrong.
“Fine.” Ebony
snatched the bag off the bed and dropped it in her packed bag, zipping it up
securely. “Are we going or what?”
She had made her
choice and Damon was very pleased with it, nodding as he walked over to stare
down into her eyes. “This is almost over.” He knew she wanted to get away from
her and, frankly, Damon wanted her to leave before she completely destroyed
him.
Meaning, he chose
her over Katherine.
“Let me change
first. I’ll meet you outside in a few
minutes.” That was Ebony’s way of telling him to leave so she could dress
privately.
Damon shrugged,
walking out and was even nice enough to close the door behind him, but he
didn’t leave. Something was happening
between them and Damon didn’t like it, running his fingers down the door. He could hear the wet clothes being peeled
from her beautiful body and dropped to the floor, only to be replaced by
innocent dressing seconds later.
Picturing the small droplets of water sliding down her body from the wet
clothes was almost too much for Damon as he walked away, flying outside to get
some much needed fresh air.
“What’s happening to
me?” He wondered aloud, pressing both hands on top of the hood of his car,
gritting his teeth.
Ebony joined him a
few minutes later, wearing a simple pair of cotton dark blue pants with a
matching long sleeved top, a red camisole underneath and white tennis shoes on
her feet. Damon was already behind the
wheel, tapping his fingers against it while sucking down a blood bag. Thrusting her bag in the back seat through
the open window, Ebony slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up, leaning
her head back.
Her scent filled the
car, making Damon suck harder and knew this was going to be a very long road
trip. He hadn’t had sex in days, which
wasn’t normal for him and wondered what Ebony thought of having a quick romp. They could get a hotel room in Georgia, after
dealing with business, and go crazy on each other for the night. All he wanted to do was feel her body against
his, wondering if it was purely lust or something more.
“I grabbed some
blood bags for us because we’re not stopping until we get there.” Damon
informed her, starting the ignition and saw her nod out of the corner of his
eye before pulling away from the mansion.
“Whatever works.”
Ebony replied, curling her legs up on the seat to lean against the door, her
hair pulled up in a messy wet bun.
“So, how long are
you going to pretend the switch is turned off, hmm?” Damon asked frivolously,
trying to spark up a conversation with him since they hadn’t spoken in a few
days.
“I’m not pretending
anything, Damon.” Ebony stated, letting the air blow across her face and could
tell they were leaving Mystic Falls, especially when Damon accelerated the
speed.
Damon laughed,
finishing his blood bag and tossed it in the back in a box that was on the
floorboard behind her seat, shaking his head. “Who do you think you’re trying
to fool, Ebony?” He demanded, glancing over at her briefly. “I can tell when
the switch is really off and when it’s only pretend. You’re pretending.”
Ebony slowly turned
to look back at him with cold grey eyes, the only emotion she felt currently.
“What do I have to do to prove it to you?” She wagered, watching his thick
black eyebrow raise and rolled her eyes before looking back out the window.
Was she actually
challenging him? “You really wanna do this?” Damon
demanded, blue eyes flashing back at her, watching her nod without hesitation.
“I wouldn’t have put
out the wager unless I did.” Ebony said bluntly, feeling him suddenly pull over
on the side of the road, looking back at him. “What are you doing?”
“Have sex with me
then.” Damon tossed out, the amount of intensity in his eyes clearly telling
her he was not kidding or messing around. “If you truly don’t feel anything,
you won’t have a problem with a little roadside smut.”
Ebony knew he was
serious just by the determination in his eyes, wondering if she could do it
without feeling anything. A vampire had
the natural instinct to be extremely sexual and Damon was the only man she had
slept with since being turned. Her mouth
suddenly went dry, grey eyes slowly clouding over and stared at Damon as though
he was the water she thirsted for.
“Here?” She asked in
a softer voice, finally breaking the silence between them, deciding she had to
go through with the challenge.
Damon didn’t answer
Ebony, instead letting his actions speak for him. He pulled his leather jacket off and tossed
it in the backseat, followed by his short sleeved shirt, giving her all the
answers she needed. Ebony countered by
first unbuckling her seatbelt before unzipping her long sleeved shirt,
revealing her red camisole and removed that as well, leaving her in a red lace
bra. She tossed both of them in the back
along with his clothes, eyes never leaving his for a second, every part of her
radiating with need.
If this was the only
way to prove to him she had flipped the switch, Ebony would do it.
Growling softly,
Damon took her hands and pulled her to straddle his lap, starting to run his up
and down her back, not going for the clasp on her bra yet. He was giving her ample amount of time to
back out of this, to admit the switch wasn’t turned off and was instantly
surprised when her lips met his. His
hand instantly slid into her black hair, pulling the band out of it and let the
damp tresses cascade down her back and over her shoulders.
Ebony began grinding
against him while they kissed, opening her mouth instantly and moaned when his
tongue came in contact with hers. Her
nails raked down his bare chest before burying her hands in his black hair,
completely devouring his lips. She felt
Damon unsnap her bra with a flick of his wrist, pulling back to let him remove
it completely a second later.
Her hand reached
down to unsnap his jeans, refusing to make love or let her emotions consume
her. She had to prove they were shut
off, that what was happening was a simple romp in the car with a friend. Damon pulled back and instantly went on the
attack of her breasts while she managed to free his painful erection.
Because of her
stripper background, Ebony was extremely flexible and managed to stand while
hovering over Damon, his mouth never leaving her breasts. She slipped both her pants and panties off,
once again straddling him and could feel him brush against her. Ebony did a full body shiver because, the
feeling of his pulsating cock brushing against her hot aching sex, combined
with his lips and tongue teasing her breasts, was enough to drive any woman
mad.
Damon smirked, his
hands gripping her sides and couldn’t believe Ebony was actually doing this
just to prove to him she had indeed flipped the switch. It was because of him that she did it and suddenly,
the guilt began crushing him, the realization crashing over him
powerfully. All because of his love for
Katherine, he had possibly destroyed what was left of Ebony’s humanity, never
wanting that to happen. Now here she
was, ready to have sex with him all to make a point and it suddenly sickened
him to the point where he couldn’t do this.
Not this way.
“Get off of me.”
Damon croaked out, releasing her at once and growled when she didn’t listen to
him. “GET OFF!!” He roared, shoving her right back into her seat and exited the
car, slamming the door harshly.
Ebony blinked, not
understanding what just happened and raked a trembling hand through her hair,
breathing heavily. She reached in the
back for her clothes and slipped them back on in record time, stepping out of
the car barefoot to confront him. He was
the one who challenged her and wanted this, so why did he stop it from
happening?
“What’s wrong with
you?” Ebony asked impatiently, crossing her arms in front of her chest, staring
at him through narrowed grey eyes. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Yeah you did.”
Damon was bent over the hood with his forehead against it, trying to breathe,
every muscle in his body tensed. “Get back in the car and leave me alone,
Ebony.”
“No.” She said
defiantly, feeling her jaw tighten. “Not until you tell me what the hell just
happened.”
Damon slowly stood
upright and snapped his head to stare at her, a second later standing so close,
their noses practically touched. “I did this.” He whispered, reaching a hand up
to cup her cheek, the guilt swirling in his slightly darkened blue eyes. “I did
this to you and I need to change it. You
can’t just flip the switch like this, Ebony.
It will DESTROY you.”
“Too late.” Ebony
pulled away from him, lowering her eyes to the ground. “It’s already done.”
“NO!” Damon suddenly
snapped, grabbing her by the upper arms and shook her so hard, her teeth
rattled, tears burning in his eyes. “NO!
TURN IT BACK ON RIGHT NOW!! FEEL
SOMETHING!! FEEL ANYTHING!!”
Ebony knew there was
only one way to calm him down and suddenly brought his face down to hers,
passionately kissing him, effectively stopping the screaming.
Chapter 21
Only when Ebony felt
Damon start to relax against her did she break the kiss, slowly letting her
hands slide from his face. “Stop blaming yourself for this, Damon.” She
ordered, knowing he thought this was his fault that she flipped the switch.
“You did nothing wrong, for once.”
“Yes I did.” Damon
argued, still having a hold of her arms, searching her eyes for a speck of
emotion, anything that told him she could feel. “You did this because of me.”
“For the last time,
you were only a partial reason.” Ebony didn’t know how many times she would
have to say it before it sank into his stubborn brain. “I felt enough pain as a
human; I refuse to feel it for the rest of eternity as a vampire. It’s better this way.”
Damon didn’t believe
that for a second, even though she did sound very convincing, he wasn’t buying
it. Being a hundred and seventy years
old, Damon had been around awhile and could tell when a vampire truly flipped
their switch. Ebony still had hers fully in tact because she still healed the
humans she fed on, which meant she couldn’t bring herself to outright kill and
shed blood.
“Ebony, if you truly
did flip the switch, you would be no better than my little brother.” Damon
stated roughly, cracking his neck. “When a vampire fully flips the switch, they
lose their humanity and all they thirst for is blood. They rip their victims apart and drain them
completely because they feel nothing. No
remorse, no sadness, just pure numbness.
My brother did that and became known as The Ripper. He left body parts scattered, hundreds of
innocent people dead because he would become consumed in bloodlust and rip them
apart while feeding. When you feed, you
compel the human to forget and heal them so they don’t have bite marks. When you become as cold and numb as my
brother did, only then will you truly have flipped the switch. And you’re not capable of doing it.”
No matter how much
she wanted to ignore everything he said, Ebony couldn’t because it was the
truth. “I proved to you the switch is off, Damon. It’s not my fault if you can’t accept it.”
Walking back to the
car, Ebony opened the door and slid back inside, waiting for him to join her so
they could get back on the road. Damon
took a few more minutes to calm his raging body down; Ebony’s kiss helping a little
and finally turned to face the car. What
the hell was he doing? He had more
important things to worry about besides trying to get Ebony to admit she hadn’t
flipped her switch. Snorting, Damon
squared his shoulders and slid behind the wheel, driving off without a word.
Three hours passed
and the silence was deafening, neither knowing what to say to the other. “So,
where exactly in Georgia are we going?” Ebony decided to be the better person
and broke the silence, looking over at him. “You said it had something to do
with the tomb and we’re alone now out of earshot of your nosey little brother.”
“Her name is Bree.”
Damon leaned back against the seat, still bare from the waist up, driving with
one hand while the other sifted through the radio stations. “She’s an old
friend of mine.”
“What can Bree do to
help us open the tomb?” Ebony pressed, wondering why he wouldn’t just come out
and tell her what was going on. “Fine, keep me in the dark. Doesn’t make sense considering you asked me
to guard the crystal in the first place.”
Damon rolled his
eyes, reaching in the back for a blood bag. “She’s a witch.” He smirked when
her eyes widened, beginning to suck on the tube.
“That’s how you’re
going to open the tomb?” Ebony demanded, suddenly putting the pieces together
and couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it sooner. “What exactly is that crystal?”
“It’s a witch’s
talisman Katherine gave to Emily.” Damon explained simply, extending the blood
bag cordially and Ebony took it without hesitation, their fingers brushing
together. “Bree knows the spell to open the tomb. The comet passed and I got the crystal, which
is what she needed. Now, we just have to
go pick her up and bring her back to Mystic Falls.”
Ebony didn’t like
the sound of that, looking a little concerned, even though she tried hiding it.
“Hmm interesting.” She kept sucking the blood down thoughtfully, deciding she
wouldn’t be handing over the crystal to this witch until Ebony knew Bree could
be trusted.
As if Damon was
reading her mind, he suddenly looked over at her with intense blue eyes. “We
are not telling her we have the crystal with us.” He stated seriously, wanting
to make it clear that he didn’t fully trust Bree. “All she needs to know is we
retrieved it.”
“Agreed.”
Silence once again
reigned between them, the scenery passing them by on the empty highway. “We’ll
get a hotel room for the night and visit Bree tomorrow since it’ll be too late
when we arrive.” Damon said randomly, hoping she didn’t mind sharing a bed with
him.
Ebony nodded, her
eyes staring out the window. “So what part of the story did you leave out?”
That caught Damon
off guard, his eyes snapping to her, though he managed to pay attention to the
road as well. “What do you mean?” He sounded genuinely confused.
“You told me the
whole story about Katherine and how Emily saved her. You said the town rounded up all the vampires
and put them in Fell’s Church, burning it to the ground. But Katherine was in there with them…” Ebony
folded her arms in front of her chest, eyebrows furrowed. “And something tells
me if she didn’t die, the others didn’t either…”
Damon didn’t say
anything, staring straight ahead.
“I’m right aren’t
I?” Ebony noticed Damon’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, swallowing hard.
“Emily saved everyone in the church with her spell, didn’t she? It wasn’t just Katherine…”
Again, Damon
remained silent.
“So when that tomb
is opened, all of those vampires are going to be released along with
Katherine.” Twenty six pissed off vampires to be exact that were sentenced to
death all because of what they were. “You’re going to unleash them into the
town. This isn’t just about getting
Katherine back. This is about revenge.”
“Mystic Falls
deserves what they get.”
Ebony had no idea
what to say, not believing she just pieced the rest of the puzzle together and
looked down at her lap, blinking. The
town would be nothing more than a huge buffet to feast on and those who were
filled with vervain would be killed on the spot. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this and
chewed her bottom lip, trying to maintain the numbness, but it was incredibly
hard.
Pulling up to a
hotel a few hours later, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Damon and Ebony
trudged up to their room, exhausted from the drive. Ebony used the bathroom first to change in a
pair of red cotton shorts and left her camisole on. She walked out and stopped at the sight of
Damon already on the bed, one arm thrown over his head and the other resting at
his side, eyes closed.
Why did he have to
be so breathtaking?
Sliding into the
other side, Ebony couldn’t help staring at him, watching as his chest rose and
fell evenly. Tears stung her eyes
because Ebony knew they were one step closer to opening the tomb, which meant
she would lose Damon forever. He was
right, she hadn’t truly flipped the switch and was pretending, figuring it
would be easier.
“I lied to you,
Damon.” She whispered, brushing the back of her fingers down the side of his
face and let a few tears slip down her cheeks. “I was pretending because I love
you and I know you don’t love me. It’s
easier that way.”
As soon as Ebony
turned on her side facing away from him, Damon’s eyes snapped open, but he
didn’t move an inch, staring at the ceiling.
He heard her small confession and didn’t know how to feel about it,
confliction definitely an emotion he wasn’t used to experiencing. Damon slowly turned his head to look over at
her, the silky soft black tresses flowing down her back and bunched up a little
around her head the only thing he could see.
She was still
beautiful to him.
For the past one
hundred and forty five years, Damon thought the only beautiful woman he’d ever
lay eyes on was Katherine, but that all changed the moment he met Ebony. This was definitely a problem because now
Damon didn’t know what was going to happen once he freed Katherine from the
tomb. He figured by doing that, he would
prove to Katherine he loved her far more than Stefan because he was willing to
do whatever it took to keep her safe.
However, Damon
couldn’t stop the budding feelings that were forming for Ebony. The tomb had to be opened as soon as possible
before Damon just chucked the entire plan out the window. Moving his head just a little to get more
comfortable, Damon closed his eyes and forced himself to get some sleep,
knowing he would need it when they visited Bree.
The following day,
Damon was the first one up and dressed, letting Ebony sleep in a little. She had cried herself to sleep, trying to do
it silently, but Damon heard the small sniffles and heavier breathing from
her. Halfway through the night, Damon
ended up spooning against her and held her in his arms, which is the only way
he could get the few hours of sleep he had.
Ebony woke up with
Damon staring out the window, a plastic cup of blood in his hand, so she had no
idea he had held her through the night.
She greeted him in a mumble and stumbled into the bathroom to
change. When she walked out in a pair of
simple jeans and a long sleeved orange top, Damon handed her a fresh blood bag,
telling her they had to leave soon.
Before Ebony knew
it, they were back on the road, checked out of their room, and pulled up about
a half an hour later to a bar. Bree’s Bar, to be exact.
Ebony knew this was the place, deciding to keep her bag in the car and
suggested that Damon lock it. Blinking
when he took her hand, Ebony walked with him inside the bar, looking around the
cozy place.
“No it can’t be.” A
tall dark skinned woman crowed from behind the bar, dark eyes widened at the
sight of Damon and a woman he was with. “Damon?” He smirked, releasing Ebony’s
hand as Bree hopped over the bar counter to stand in front of him. “My
honey-pie.” Then she passionately kissed him.
Ebony had to stop
her jaw from dropping, wondering what this was about and kept her mouth shut. Damon broke the kiss and slowly turned Bree
around in a circle, admiring her. She
was still beautiful as ever, though not nearly as much as Ebony and Katherine. Damn it, now he was even putting Ebony first
in his thoughts…this definitely wasn’t good.
“So, what is it you
want, Damon?” Bree asked, after walking back inside the bar to pour them some
shots.
Damon downed his
shot, pushing one over to Ebony, and leaned forward to talk quietly. “I got
it.” His blue eyes locked with Bree’s, watching as her
own widened.
“No! What?” Bree was stunned and had to throw back
another shot, wondering if she heard him correctly. “Damon…”
“You told me when I
retrieved it to come get you.” Damon reminded her, smiling and leaned back,
wrapping an arm around Ebony’s shoulders. “So, pack up because it’s time for
you to come to Mystic Falls with us.”
Bree looked
hesitant, chewing her bottom lip and never thought Damon would be able to
retrieve Emily Bennett’s talisman. She
had only agreed to help him because she thought it was impossible at the time
and had known the man a very long time.
There was no backing out of this and Bree knew it, distracting herself
by serving another customer.
“She’s hesitating.”
Ebony whispered very softly, looking over at Damon with narrowed grey eyes.
Damon knew Ebony was
right, eyeballing Bree somewhat cynically and threw back another shot. “I’ll
talk to her. It’ll be fine.” He assured
Ebony, confident in his ability to make sure they left Atlanta with Bree in
tow.
Ebony was almost
afraid to know what Damon’s tactic would be and left the bar area to go outside
for some air. It would give them a
chance to talk privately, not like she wouldn’t be able to overhear their
conversation anyway. Bree had no idea
she was a vampire and Ebony hoped Damon kept it that way because, if the woman
tried crossing them, she would have her throat ripped out in two seconds.
“Where did your
little mama go?” Bree asked, walking back over to Damon and poured him a glass
of bourbon.
“Outside.” Damon
suddenly took Bree’s hand, his eyes meeting hers. “I
need your help with this, Bree. You’re
the only one I can count on to get Katherine back.”
“After all these
years, it’s still her.” Bree snorted, wondering when Damon was going to stop
pining for this one woman that sounded as though she didn’t want him to begin
with. “It’s still Katherine…”
Damon shrugged,
keeping the smile on his face. “Can’t help who I love, Bree.” He reasoned,
squeezing her hand a little. “Please, I’m asking you as a friend to help me
with this. All you have to do is say the
spell to open the tomb and I’ll take care of the rest.” He neglected to tell
her about the other vampires, knowing Bree wouldn’t help him if she knew what
the entire plan entailed.
Bree really hated
how blue his eyes were and how they captivated her, one of the many reasons
she’d fallen in love with him. They met
when Bree was a college student and Damon had been looking for a little
fun. He wasn’t in college and they both
ended up having dark secrets to share with one another. He was a vampire and she was a witch. They shared a passionate romance for a little
while before Damon left, breaking her heart.
“Damn you.” Bree
groaned, melting a little when Damon kissed the back of her hand, holding it
with both of his now. “Alright, alright fine.
Just…stop looking at me like that.” She ordered, pulling her hand out of
his, rubbing the back of her neck. “When are we leaving?”
“As soon as you
can.” Damon said honestly, knowing she did have a business to run so they might
have to spend another night in Atlanta. “I’d like to leave by tomorrow at the
latest though.”
“I’ll set it up.”
Bree said, walking away to serve another customer while Damon walked out to
inform Ebony on what was going on.
“I heard.” Ebony
said as soon as he stepped outside, turning to face him. “You sure we can trust
her?”
Damon nodded,
stepping forward to run a finger down her cheek. “If she tries betraying us,
I’ll rip her heart out without thinking twice about it.” He promised in a
sickly sweet voice that had pure deadly intentions. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Then stop worrying
and come have another drink with me.” Damon guided her back inside the bar, his
hand on the small of her back and hoped he wouldn’t have to kill his only witch
acquaintance.
Chapter 22
“So, where is the
talisman?”
“Back home.” Damon
lied smoothly while sharing some fries with Bree. “It’s safe and secure.”
Bree eyed him before
looking over at Ebony, who was sitting at the bar nursing a beer. “What’s with
the baggage?” She asked, stirring the straw slowly around in her Jack and coke.
“That baggage has a
name and it’s Ebony.” Damon admonished, knowing Ebony could hear every word
they were saying and hoped she didn’t lash out for some of the things that were
bound to come out of Bree’s mouth.
“Looks like baggage
to me.” Bree retorted, tucking a black curl behind her ear. “Where did you two
meet?”
Ebony’s eyes locked
with Damon’s briefly, wondering if he would be honest about their history
together and went back to staring down at her drink somewhat broodingly. “We
met in Chicago, actually. She was a bartender, like you, and piqued my
interest.” Of course Damon wasn’t going to tell her the whole truth.
“What is it with you
and bartenders?” Bree laughed, taking a sip of her Jack and coke and leaned
against the table, scooting closer to him. “Is she your personal blood bag?”
Damon merely smiled,
popping another fry in his mouth. “Let’s just say she’s very valuable. Enough
talk about her, did you get everything handled?”
“Yes, we can leave
tomorrow.”
“That’s my girl.”
Ebony looked down
when her cell phone rang and pulled it out, surprise flashing her eyes at the
sight of the name on the caller ID. Seeing Damon’s attention had gone back to
Bree, Ebony walked away from the bar outside to answer the call. Damon noticed
Ebony leave, raising a slow eyebrow and pondered what that was about, opening
his ears to listen.
“Hello?”
“Hey Ebony.” Matt’s
voice greeted somewhat hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Hi.” Ebony
could feel the
nervousness emanating from him through the phone, eyebrows furrowing. “Did you
need something?”
Matt was taken aback
by the coldness in her voice, frowning. “No, I just…I hadn’t heard from you
since the party and wanted to make sure everything was okay. I haven’t seen you
in school…”
“I dropped out.”
Ebony said deadpan, running a hand through her hair and began slowly walking
down the sidewalk. “Look Matt, we had fun and everything, but there is a lot
about me that you don’t know.”
“So give me a chance
to know you.” Matt shot back, standing outside of the grill on his break. “The
REAL you, Ebony. I really like you.”
Ebony closed her
eyes and took a deep breath, controlling her emotions the best she could. “I
wish I could.” Tears slid down her cheeks and Ebony hated them, wiping them
away angrily. “You have no idea how much I wish I could just let you in, Matt.”
Her voice cracked when she said his name, every part of her hurting because her
emotions were currently amplified. “I have to go, I’m sorry.” She flipped her
cell phone open and turned around, only for Damon to be standing there.
“Everything okay?”
He asked, having heard the whole conversation, the wet trails on her cheeks
telling him she wasn’t. “Ebony…”
“I’m fine.” She stepped
away from him before he could touch her, clearing her throat. “When are we
heading back to Mystic Falls?”
“Tomorrow, Bree’s replacement won’t be here until then.” Damon
replied, fingering her chin gently, forcing those grey eyes to meet his. “I
heard the conversation.”
“Of course you did.”
Damon sighed when
she pulled away from him again, finally just grabbing her upper arms like he
did yesterday, not about to let her just walk away. “Talk to me about it.” He
ordered, wishing she wouldn’t keep her feelings and emotions bottled up. “You
sound like you don’t wanna end things with Matt, so
what’s holding you back?”
“I am NOT discussing
this with you, Damon.” Ebony was adamant, scowling when he increased the
pressure on her arms. “Do you remember what happened the last time you tried
manhandling me?” She didn’t want to hurt him again, but would if she had to.
“Just tell me the
reason.” Damon moved his hands to cup her face, pulling her even closer to him.
“Let me in, Ebony.”
Angry tears burned
in her eyes as Ebony shoved him away from her, trembling slightly. “No!” She
growled, suddenly hauling off and punched him right in the face, sending him
flying to the ground, skidding a few feet. “It’s none of your damn business!!”
Damon knew his nose
was broken and cracked it back in place, the sound sick as the bones began
resetting themselves. “Damn, you have one hell of a hook on you.” He grunted,
flying back to his feet and glared back at her. “Fine, you don’t want to talk
to me about it? That’s fine, keep it bottled up. Keep telling yourself you
don’t feel anything because it’s a LIE!” He tossed a few bills at her feet,
eyeing her astutely. “I’m staying with Bree tonight, find your own way and meet
back here at nine AM sharp.”
Ebony watched him
storm back into the bar, looking down at the three hundred dollar bills lying
on her feet and didn’t bother taking them. She scowled and turned, having her
own money, heading for the car. There was no way she was leaving her bag in his
car, especially since he was staying with Bree. Pulling out the key he made for
her, Ebony reached in the back to grab her bag before taking off down the
sidewalk, leaving the spare in the driver’s seat.
“Everything okay?”
Bree asked hesitantly and spotted the blood on Damon’s nose, immediately
grabbing a towel for him. “What did she hit you for?”
“Who the hell
knows?” He grunted, not wanting to get into it right now and took the towel
wrapped in ice, holding it to his nose. “Mind if I stay with you tonight, for
old time sake?”
Bree smirked,
grabbing the back of his head and passionately kissed him, giving him his
answer. “You know I can’t say no to my honey-pie.” She purred, running a
fingernail down his shirt covered chest. “Are you sure your little mama will be
fine on her own?”
“Really don’t care.”
Damon murmured, too busy devouring Bree with his eyes and kissed her again.
“What time are you closing up?”
“It’ll be early, I
promise.” Bree said, not believing the effect this man still had on her and had
to go take care of customers before she ended up leaving with Damon right now.
~!~
After compelling the
owner of a hotel down the street to give her a room for free, Ebony walked into
her room and tossed the bag to the side, wiping tears away. She hadn’t meant to
punch Damon, but he pushed her too far and had to be reminded he didn’t own
her. Now she was spending the night alone while he did god knows what with
Bree, the jealousy already welling up inside of her.
“I’m such an idiot.”
Ebony whispered, flopping down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling,
blocking the pain out. “Ashley, I wish you were here to tell me what to do, to
give me advice. I love him and I can’t stop it, how do I stop it?”
Ebony was officially
losing her mind because she was talking to herself. It was a good thing she
stopped at the local liquor store and compelled the cashier to let her take a
few bottles of Vodka and Jack Daniels for free. She planned on drinking her
pain away by sucking down every single one of them, including the blood bags
that were still in her bag. There would be no hunting tonight because, Ebony
knew if she did, she would end up seducing some poor defenseless man, screwing
him blind, and then leaving him before the sun came up.
Pulling her pants
and top off, Ebony stood there in her red lace bra and boy cut matching shorts,
grabbed a plastic cup and filled it to the brim with Vodka. Since she was
technically dead, Ebony could drink as much as she wanted without worrying
about alcohol poisoning. She took the cup with her to the bathroom, along with
a small radio that was in the hotel room, and turned it on a country station
while running bath water in the tub.
Ebony was bound and
determined to forget all about Damon Salvatore for one night.
~!~
“That was AMAZING!!”
Bree squealed out breathlessly, lying in her bed beside Damon, who just rocked
her world. “You’re still as good in the sack as ever.”
“I know.” Damon
arrogantly agreed, his arms folded beneath his head with a cocky grin on his
face. “Glad you haven’t forgotten some of your own tricks.”
“Not at all.” Bree
rolled over on her side, once she caught her breath and looked down at him
thoughtfully. “So, why did you really want to stay with me tonight? Besides the
mind-blowing sex we have together.”
Damon shrugged,
turning his head to look at her, running his finger down her cheek. “What makes
you think there’s another reason?” He countered in a low rumble, pulling her
down for a soft kiss.
“Because I know you
better than you know yourself.” Bree replied simply, not angry with him for
using her for a distraction. “So what’s going on with you and that little charm
you brought with you? And don’t lie to me, Damon. You know I can read you like
a book.”
Damon rolled his
eyes and suddenly pinned Bree on the back, hovering over her. “My dear sweet
Bree, there’s nothing going on with Ebony. She’s helping me with the tomb and
that’s it.”
“So you’re not in
love with her?” It was more of a statement than a question because Bree already
knew the answer.
“There’s only one
woman for me.” Damon stated, remembering the main reason Bree ended things with
him back in her college days, twenty something years ago.
Bree snorted,
running her thumb across his lips. “That’s changing, Damon. Whether you believe
it or not, you may not see it yet, but Ebony isn’t just your little helper and
we both know it.” She kissed him softly, sitting up a little when he leaned
back on his haunches.
“No it’s not.
Nothing has changed. I want Katherine and only Katherine. It’s always been
Katherine.” Damon argued, trying to sound convincing and failing miserably,
growling. “Look, Ebony has a fire about her that I couldn’t just snuff out, so
I turned her instead of making her a simple meal.”
“Mmmhmmm
sure…” Bree was not convinced, slipping from the bed and pulled her robe on.
“If that’s true, then why did you rush outside earlier while she was on the
phone?”
“I didn’t rush…”
“Damon, I was
sitting there talking to you about the tomb and all you could do was stare outside at her, listening to her conversation. You
didn’t hear one word I said because your full focus was on what was going on
with Ebony.” Bree pointed out, folding her arms in front of her chest, raising
an eyebrow. “You can deny it all you want, baby, but I know the truth. And
something tells me even after Katherine is released, you won’t stop feeling
what you do for Ebony.”
Damon flew up from
the bed, standing in front of Bree, eyes narrowed. “I don’t feel anything for
her. Do you want me to prove it to you? Do you want me to kill her in front of
you to prove just how worthless she is to me?” He cupped her face in his hand,
determination in his gritty voice.
Bree merely smiled,
shaking her head. “You wouldn’t be able to do it, Damon. Who do you think
you’re trying to fool? I knew the minute you walked into my bar how you felt
for her. You were holding her hand, you never ONCE did that with me.” Picking
Damon’s clothes up, Bree tossed them at him with kind eyes. “Take my advice, go
talk to her before it’s too late and you do lose her forever.”
This was getting
boring and fast as Damon tossed his pants back on the bed, stopping Bree from
walking away. “How many times do I have to say it, Bree? Just because I’ve
slept with her doesn’t mean anything. I’ve slept with a lot of women, you
included, but everything I feel has been for Katherine. I’ve only loved
Katherine. I never loved you and you accepted that. There’s a difference
between loving someone and simply enjoying their company.”
“Whatever you say,
baby.”
Bree knew he wasn’t
staying the night and was fine with it, heading into the bathroom for a much
needed shower, closing the door behind her. Damon gritted his teeth, gnashing
them while he dressed and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind
him with authority. No matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, Damon knew
Bree was right in everything she said.
Somehow, Ebony had
wormed her way inside of him and now there was no getting rid of her. Yes, he
still loved Katherine and wanted her freed from the tomb so they could be together
finally, but…that meant he would lose Ebony. She said it herself, once
Katherine was freed, she was leaving for good, which killed Damon inside to
hear. Growling, Damon rammed his fist in the only tree in Bree’s
yard, leaving a small dent it and stalked to his car.
Damon had to find
Ebony and talk to her.
After checking three
different hotels, Damon finally hit the jackpot when he found a man who seemed
compelled, knowing that was Ebony’s doing. The man gave him her room number
without hesitation and Damon flew up there, standing outside her door. He could
hear music through the door and scrubbed a hand down his face, knowing she
wouldn’t hear him knocking. Gripping the door handle, Damon squeezed it a
little until he heard the lock click, pushing it open and stopped at the sight
before him.
Ebony was sprawled
out across the bed in nothing but a small skimpy white towel, her wet hair
fanned all around her, sleeping. There were bottles of Jack Daniels and Vodka
all over the place, all of them completely drained. Had she consumed all of
this in one night? Damon shook his head and closed the door behind him, walking
over to shut the radio off because the music wasn’t doing anything for his
mindset.
After cleaning up
the bottles, Damon lifted Ebony’s prone body in his arms to reposition her
before taking his shoes and shirt off, joining her. He knew sleeping with Bree
had hurt Ebony, especially after her confession from the previous night.
Sighing heavily, Damon reached over to turn the light off and wrapped his arms
tightly around her, not bothering covering them up as his eyes closed, burying
his nose in her hair.
“I’m sorry, Ebony.”
Damon whispered, hoping she would forgive him because the thought of losing her
was killing him, sleep consuming him moments later.
Chapter 23
When Ebony and Damon
met Bree at the bar the following morning, Damon didn’t look happy while Ebony
looked happy as a clam. Damon was also wearing a pair of sunglasses, which was
something he never did. Bree walked up to him for inspection and noticed something
glistening in his hair, slowly plucking it out.
“Is this…glass?”
Bree was almost afraid to ask, staring at the sharp small object between her
fingers.
“Yes.” Damon
muttered, glaring over at Ebony, his icy eyes piercing through the black
shades.
“Do I dare ask what
happened?” Bree asked, watching as Ebony slid into the passenger seat and
buckled herself in. “She looks a little TOO happy…”
“Oh I think I can
elaborate for you, Bree.” Ebony said through the open window, after rolling it
down, grey eyes flashing wickedly. “You see, I fell asleep ALONE last night and
woke up to this dick fondling my boobs. So I did what any other woman in my
situation would do.”
“Which was…?” Bree’s curiosity was too piqued not to find out.
“I kicked him in the
spine so hard, he flew through the window and over the railing, temporarily
breaking his back.” Ebony said, almost as if it was the most natural thing in
the world, smiling widely. “That’s why we’re late.”
Bree’s eyes enlarged to
the point of almost falling out of her head, blinking, and looked over at Damon
to make sure he was alright. “Oh.” She didn’t know what to say to that and
simply slid into the car, taking the backseat.
Damon didn’t say a
word, slowly pulling the shades from his eyes and was thankful the bruising had
almost diminished. He hadn’t meant to fondle her breasts, it was an accident.
Thanks to an erotic dream involving Ebony, Damon ended up being woken up by
flying through a glass window and over a railing, landing right on his back on
the hard concrete two stories down. Thankfully, nobody at the hotel heard the
commotion and, if they did, they were wisely minding their own business.
Ebony didn’t care
what the circumstances were; Damon shouldn’t have been in bed with her to begin
with. It sickened her to know that he’d crawled into bed with her, while she
was sleeping, after having sex with another woman. Vampire or not, Ebony had
standards and made her point by sending him sailing through the window while HE
was sleeping. It was turnabout as far as she was concerned and Ebony felt proud
of herself for actually pulling it off.
Feeling the
arrogance oozing from her body just angered Damon further, wanting to toss her
out of his car. He was actually feeling sorry for her at the sight he walked
into, seeing Ebony sprawled on the hotel bed in just a towel, after putting
herself in an alcohol induced coma. Damon would never join her in bed when she
was sleeping because, if she EVER did something like this to him again, he
would rip her heart out without thinking twice.
“So…” Bree looked
back and forth between them, the tension so thick in the air it couldn’t be cut
with a knife. “How long is this drive exactly?”
“Eight hours.” Damon
grunted, not looking forward to spending that amount of time in an enclosed
space with Ebony, not after the horrible wakeup call he received.
This was going to be
the longest eight hours of Bree’s life.
Halfway through the
drive, Damon pulled into an oasis to let Bree use the bathroom and put some
more gas in the car. He was so pissed leaving that morning; he didn’t realize
how low the gas gage was and had been driving for three hours. Damon left Ebony
sitting there alone while he pumped the gas and went inside to pay for it,
grabbing some snacks for Bree since she was probably starving.
Ebony didn’t turn to
face him, keeping her eyes out the window, leaning her head against the door,
yawning. There was no way in hell she was apologizing for what happened
because, in her mind, Damon deserved what he got. Damon looked over at her,
knowing they had to make amends before getting back to Mystic Falls because
everyone had to be on the same page when opening the tomb.
“Ebony.”
She didn’t
acknowledge him.
“It was a damn dream
and that’s the reason I started fondling you.” Damon tried reasoning with her,
jaw clenching when she didn’t move a muscle. “Stop ignoring me. You enjoyed it
any other time I touched you, so what was the problem this time?”
Ebony suddenly
snapped her head to stare hardening at him, not believing he had the audacity
to actually say something that ridiculous. “Are you KIDDING me?” She barked,
grey eyes turning to pure steel. “I really have to spell this out for you?”
“It’d be nice, yes.”
Damon shot back angrily, folding his arms in front of his chest, wanting to
just kiss her senseless so she couldn’t spit anymore venom at him. “You’re not
just upset about the dream, I know that much.”
“Wow, you’re not as
stupid as thought.” Ebony snorted, looking away from him to stare down at her
lap, folding her hands tightly together.
“Just tell me what
else you’re pissed about, so we can get over it and move on.” Damon said
impatiently, wondering what was taking Bree so long and then suddenly
remembered that woman took forever to piss.
He sounded genuine
and Ebony decided to take pity on him, though she refused to look at him. “You
had sex with another woman and then slid into bed with me. Do you have ANY idea
how SICKENING that is? I could SMELL her strong perfume all over you when I
woke up this morning and knew instantly you didn’t even have the decency to
shower before getting into bed with me!” Her voice had raised a few notches,
but Ebony didn’t care, letting all of her emotions spill out. “It wasn’t the
fact you slept with her because we all know you’re nothing more than a horny
bastard. It was the fact you screwed someone else, got into bed with me and
tried sleeping with ME too! I know how we met may have given you the wrong
impression, but let’s make one thing PERFECTLY clear, Damon, I am NOT a whore
and I never will be.”
Damon didn’t think
she would verbally tear him to shreds and sighed, suddenly realizing the
mistake he made. “Are you sure it’s not the fact I slept with Bree that isn’t
bothering you?” Her confession suddenly came to mind, a confession Ebony still
didn’t know he’d heard.
“No, I have nothing
against Bree and you’re free to sex it up with whoever you want.” Ebony assured
him coldly, tempted to send him flying through the back window of his car.
“Just next time, have enough common sense and DECENCY to clean yourself up before bed hopping with countless women.”
“I’ll keep that in
mind.” Damon ground out, deliberating why he was pardoning everything she was
saying to him, when he should’ve been beating the hell out of her. “Anything
else?”
“Nope, that pretty
much covers it. And since you want to spend quality time with Bree, allow me to
make it easier for you.” Stepping out of the car, Ebony flipped the seat up and
stepped in the back, tossing Bree’s things in front.
“By the way, what do you think Bree would say if she knew we nearly had sex
where you’re currently sitting?”
Damon closed his
eyes and had to count backwards from ten, gripping the steering wheel so hard,
his knuckles turned ghostly white. When they were finally alone again, Damon
was going to show Ebony exactly how brutal he could be. The only reason he
wasn’t going on the attack was because of Bree and the fact this little bitch
had his crystal, suddenly regretting asking her to guard it.
Bree was confused
when she finally returned, seeing Ebony was in the backseat and hesitantly slid
in the passenger seat. “What’s going on?” She asked, looking at Damon
questioningly.
“I decided I wanted
to stretch my legs and there’s more room back here.” Ebony answered before
Damon could, a smirk curving her lips and leaned her head back, closing her
eyes.
“Oh okay.” Bree
decided not to question anything else between these two, wondering when they
were finally going to stop the foreplay and get straight to the screwing.
Nearly five hours
later, Damon finally passed the sign that welcomed them back to Mystic Falls
and sighed with great relief. Granted, he would have to drive Bree back to
Atlanta, but Katherine would be with him next time instead of Ebony. He pulled
into the round driveway of the mansion, stopping the car and smiled at Bree.
“Home sweet home.”
He announced, stepping out of the car and stretched his limbs, breathing in the
fresh crisp fall air.
“Wow.” Bree could
only stare at the vast house before her, which looked more like a mansion and
grinned, shuffling her bag over her shoulder. “This is HUGE.”
“Yeah, allow me to
give you the grand tour.” Damon offered, extending his arm while Ebony slid out
of the car, completely ignoring her while he guided Bree to the front door.
Ebony shook her head
and grabbed her bag, carrying it inside, heading straight to her bedroom. Just
by the silence, she knew Stefan wasn’t home, which was probably a good thing.
While Damon showed Bree around, Ebony became reacquainted with her bedroom,
closing the door behind her and sat on the bed, watching the sun setting through
the trees. Lowering her head, Ebony finally let some of the tears slide down
her face, hoping they opened the tomb soon so she could get the hell out of
Mystic Falls.
She jumped slightly
when her cell phone rang, looking down at it and didn’t even bother checking
the caller ID, flipping it open. “Whoever this is, now is REALLY not a good
time to bother me.” She said by way of greeting, hating how her voice sounded
slightly shaky.
“Ebony?”
Her eyes shot open,
more tears falling. “Elena?” What the hell was she calling for was Ebony’s
first thought. “What do you want?”
“I need to talk to
you.” Elena said, looking up at Stefan. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, what do
you want to talk about?” Ebony demanded impatiently, wanting to be left alone
to wallow in her pain and suffering.
Elena chewed her
bottom lip, her heart breaking at the sound of Ebony’s voice because she
sounded like she’d been crying or currently was. “Look, I know we didn’t
exactly get off on the right foot and, even though you lied to me, I still
think of you as my friend. You protected me from Damon and you didn’t have to.
Stefan told me everything about you being a vampire and you’re not really their
cousin. I’m fine with it, I understand why you couldn’t be truthful with me.”
She truly meant it, feeling Stefan’s arm wrap around her shoulders. “Are you back in town yet?”
“Yeah, we just got
back actually.” Something was fishy, Ebony could smell a rat, but decided not
to call Elena out on her bluff yet, going along with this friendly act for now.
“I only protected you because you didn’t deserve to be played with like a toy,
Elena. I didn’t do it to be ‘friendly’.”
“I know that.” Elena
replied softly, standing up from the bed and walked over to stare out the
window. “Listen, we were hoping you could help us with something. Stefan thinks
Damon has some huge diabolical plan and wants to know what it is.”
Was she serious?
“What makes him think that?” Ebony shot back, raking a hand through her raven
tresses.
“Because it’s
Damon.” Stefan said, taking the phone away from Elena. “Listen Ebony, if you
know something, you need to tell me before he ends up putting you and everyone
else in danger. You don’t know how my brother thinks. He’ll use anyone to get
what he wants, he’s selfish and inconsiderate.”
“You’re telling me
things I already know about your brother, Stefan.” Ebony informed him coolly,
refusing to tell him anything after what he did to Damon. “But you see, even
though he may be diabolical, evil, selfish and inconsiderate, at least he
didn’t vervain his own brother and starve him in the
basement of his own house.”
Stefan closed his
eyes, hearing the anger in Ebony’s voice and sighed heavily. “You’re not going
to help us, are you?” It wasn’t a question.
“Now why would I do
that?” Ebony sounded amused, her voice dropping to a dark octave. “Damon has
nothing planned, Stefan. And even if he did, I wouldn’t tell you. Now you tell
Elena to stop with her fake friendly crap and leave me the hell alone.” She ended
the call and threw her phone on the bed, needing to tell Damon about that phone
call.
Apparently, he’d
been listening at the door because, as soon as she opened the door, there he
was with a smile on his face. “Thank you.” All was forgiven after he’d overheard
her defend him to Stefan, Damon wasn’t even upset with her anymore. “Even
though you currently despise me, you’re still on my side.”
‘That’s what happens
when you love someone.’ Ebony thought, thankful she hadn’t said that aloud and
simply nodded. “I gave you my word I would help you free Katherine and I meant
it, Damon. Your brother is getting suspicious and even tried using Elena as a
tactic to get information out of me. We have to do this soon before he cottons
onto what you’re doing.”
“I know.” Damon
agreed, stepping into her room and shut the door behind him, taking both of her
hands in his. “It’s happening tomorrow night, I came to tell you. Bree needs to
work on the spell a little to refresh herself, but she said it should be fairly
simple.” He hoped anyway or else the witch wouldn’t be leaving Mystic Falls
ever.
“Good.” Ebony walked
away from him to sit on the bed, the sun down by now. “Is that all you needed?”
She really wanted to
go hunting, not doing it while they were in Atlanta because she didn’t trust
the area or what she would’ve done. Damon wanted to tell her so many things,
but his brain wasn’t working right for some reason. He knew after tomorrow
night, Ebony would be out of his life and Damon didn’t know if he could handle
that. As much as he wanted to beg her to stay for his own selfish reasons,
Damon knew he couldn’t do that to her.
“No, that’s it. If
you’re going hunting, make it quick.” Damon suggested, not knowing what his
brother was capable of now that Ebony refused to help him. “I want you close to
me until this is over.”
Ebony nodded in
understanding, standing up from the bed to grab her steel toed boots. “I won’t
be long.” She promised in a low voice, not sure how to feel about this being
her last night in the mansion.
“Be careful.” Damon
cautioned, letting her walk past him and closed his eyes when the front door
shut moments later, heading out to check on Bree’s progress.
Chapter 24
Why was Damon making
her do this?
First he told her to
stay close to him until after the tomb was opened and now he was having her run
a meaningless errand to Mystic Grill. Apparently, Damon was behind on his tab
and the owner, Robert, had contacted him, demanding to be paid. Damon was
supposed to pay it before they left to go to Georgia, but obviously that never
happened. The owner was also on vervain, so there was
no way to compel him to forget about the tab.
It was a beautiful
fall day with the sun shining brightly in the sky, though the wind was chilly.
Ebony had on a black sweater with skinny brown jeans and black suede knee high
boots, a black and brown mixed scarf around her neck. Her hair was left down
and she had just the barest hint of makeup on, eyeliner and gloss.
Ebony spent most of
the night packing up her things, all prepared to leave as soon as Damon
reconciled with Katherine. Damon tried telling her she didn’t have to leave,
but Ebony wasn’t listening to him. He hadn’t taught her everything she needed
to know had been his excuse and Ebony didn’t care, wanting to get as far away
from Mystic Falls as possible. Bree was all set with the spell, mastering it
overnight, so she was currently resting while Damon did some last minute
preparations.
As much as Ebony
enjoyed being in Mystic Falls, she knew it was time to move on, a drifter even
being undead. There was no way she could live in the same town as Damon and the
mansion was also Stefan’s, who wasn’t a big fan of hers. She still couldn’t
believe Stefan actually tried getting the truth out of her by using Elena as a
ploy. She would never be friends with Elena, too much had happened between them
and, no matter what Damon did to her, Ebony would always take his side over
theirs.
What baffled Ebony
the most was the fact Damon still hadn’t told her to hand over the crystal. The
only explanation Ebony came up with was Damon didn’t fully trust Bree, which
was very understandable. One thing about witches was they could be conniving, devious
and turn on a vampire in the blink of an eye. Ebony was secretly hoping Bree
turned on them so she could witness Damon ripping the witch’s heart out of her
chest.
Colorful leaves
slowly floated around her as the wind picked up a little, swirling around her
and Ebony smiled as she caught a few in her hand. In all the places she had
visited, Mystic Falls was definitely the most beautiful thus far. Ebony didn’t
get a chance to really go on a tour of the town, so she was taking the
opportunity now, not minding the long walk. Now that she was a vampire, there
was no need for a car because Ebony could travel with her super speed a lot
faster.
Finally arriving at
Mystic Grill, Ebony pulled the door open and walked inside, looking around
since this was her first time being here. It was a restaurant/bar/café and had
a very classic elegance to it, but also seemed up to date as far as fashion.
There were small lamps with colorful mosaic covers over them on each table and
even a fireplace. The bar was in the far back of the place as Ebony headed in
that direction, figuring Robert would be back there.
“Ebony?”
Every part of her
body froze as soon as Ebony heard that voice, closing her eyes briefly and took
a deep breath before turning around. Grey eyes met startled baby blues and
Ebony didn’t know what to do or even say. Their last conversation didn’t
exactly end on good terms and Ebony honestly thought she’d never see him again.
“Hi Matt.” That was
a very lame greeting, but Ebony was in shock.
“Hi…” Matt walked
over to her, carrying a bucket of dirty dishes, hardly believing she was
actually standing in front of him. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” Ebony
smiled, though it didn’t reach her sad eyes, slowly unwrapping
the scarf from around her neck. “You?”
Matt smiled
tentatively, nodding. “I’ve been good.” That was a lie because all Matt could
think about was Ebony, even after Elena told him she wasn’t really related to
the Salvatore’s. “Hey listen, I have a half an hour break and I think we need
to talk.”
“Matt…”
Setting the bucket
down, Matt took her hands in his, squeezing them slightly. “Please Ebony, just
talk to me for a half an hour, that’s all I’m asking.” He wasn’t above
pleading, blue eyes filled with desperation.
Ebony sighed
heavily, wondering how she could possibly turn him down and reluctantly nodded.
“Alright, but first I need your help.” She said, gently pulling her hands out
of his.
“Sure, what is it?”
Matt would do anything for her at this point.
“Where do I go to
pay for a bar tab?” She pulled the folded check Damon gave her out of her
pocket, waving it a little jestingly. “Damon’s behind, the owner called him
this morning.”
Matt chuckled, not
surprised considering he heard Robert spouting out a few things about Damon
Salvatore earlier that morning. “Right this way.” He offered his arm to her,
smiling when she took it, guiding her up to the bar. “Hey Cindy, do you mind
helping this beautiful woman with a payment for Rob?”
“Sure.” Cindy
smiled, walking away from the customer after serving them and took the check
from Matt’s friend, whistling. “WOW, that’s quite an amount…”
“Yeah.” Ebony
cleared her throat awkwardly. “Damon drinks a lot.”
“Obviously.” Cindy
chortled, winking before walking away to do the transaction. “Matt, your lunch
starts now.” She informed him over her shoulder, humming softly.
“Thanks Cin.” Matt grinned, walking to the back to place the bucket
of dirty dishes down and then took Ebony’s hand, guiding her over to sit by the
fireplace.
“Aren’t you going to
eat?” Ebony asked, tilting her head slightly.
Matt smiled and
looked up Mystic Grill’s new waitress, Phoebe Anderson, who recently moved into
town and was dating his friend, Tyler Lockwood. They were a year apart, with
Phoebe being a senior and Tyler a junior, but the difference didn’t matter to
them. She was beautiful with golden blonde hair that had red streaks throughout
it and deep green eyes. The minute Tyler laid eyes on her, that was it and they
actually started dating two weeks after she moved to Mystic Falls with her
family.
“The usual Matt?”
Phoebe asked politely, her perfect white teeth flashing in a stunning smile.
Matt nodded, blue eyes
twinkling up at her. “Yeah.” He looked at Ebony, reaching over to grab her hand
and squeezed gently. “Get whatever you want, my treat.”
“Oh…I’m not hungry.”
Ebony declined, running a hand through her hair and watched as the waitress
walked away. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Us.” Matt replied
honestly, hoping she would sit there and listen to everything he said before
leaving. “I miss you, Ebony, and it’s not just about the sex. There’s chemistry
here, there’s a connection with you that I haven’t felt since Elena and I can’t
ignore it.”
Ebony pulled her
hand out of his instantly, shaking her head. “Matt, don’t go there.” She
cautioned softly, wishing she could just tell him the real reason why she
couldn’t give him the chance he wanted.
“No, I have to go
there, Ebony. Because if I don’t, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
There’s something between us, I know there is and I know you feel it too.” Matt
claimed, frowning when she just looked at him with saddened grey eyes. “What is
it? Talk to me, Ebony, please. Let me help you whatever it is.”
“Matt, I-” Ebony
stopped what she was going to say when the waitress came back, setting a plate
in front of him that had a cheeseburger and fries on it.
“Thanks Phoebe.”
Matt said, not really hungry since this conversation with Ebony wasn’t going
the way he wanted. “Are you going to the bonfire tonight with Tyler?”
“Yeah, he’s picking
me up after my shift.” Phoebe replied softly, feeling the tension between Matt
and the raven haired woman. “See you there?”
Matt nodded, his
blue eyes moving back to Ebony and felt Phoebe walk away to go tend to other
customers. “Sorry about that.” He apologized, hoping there were no more
interruptions. “Say what you were gonna say.”
Lowering her gaze to
the table, Ebony had no idea how to do this, but knew it had to be done in
order to cut ties with him for good. “Matt,” She suddenly looked up with so
many different emotions swirling through her eyes, lips pursed tightly
together. “I’m leaving tonight.”
Matt’s eyebrows shot
up, feeling as though his heart just stopped beating in his chest, frowning.
“W-What do you mean?” He stammered out, trying to learn how to breathe again.
“Leaving? Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving Mystic
Falls.” Ebony said, not knowing what more she could say to him, feeling tears
burn her eyes. “For good.”
“I don’t
understand…”
“I don’t know how to
make it clearer to you.” Ebony suddenly stood up, hating to show emotion in
public and swallowed hard, pushing the chair in. “I’m moving out of Mystic
Falls and never coming back. I’m never stepping foot in this town again.”
Suddenly, Ebony had Matt in a trance, the compulsion working and knew this was
the only way to break ties with him. “I never existed to you because we never
met. Everything you remember about me will be forgotten. You don’t know me. You
don’t love Elena either, you love…” Ebony suddenly looked up, pointing at
Caroline Forbes, who just walked through the door. “Her. She is the one you
want, the only one.” Caressing his face with the back of her hand, Ebony let a
few tears slip down her cheeks. “Goodbye Matt.”
When Matt finally
could think on his own, he was sitting at the table
alone and immediately went to talk to Caroline, a smile on his face.
Ebony walked down
the sidewalk away from Mystic Grill, heading back to the mansion and decided to
take the woods. She hadn’t meant to run into Matt and knew Damon was probably
wondering where she was at, but couldn’t use her super speed until she was in
the woods. Suddenly, Ebony was stopped by both Stefan and Elena, who were
waiting for her on just the outskirts of the woods.
‘What the hell is this?’
Ebony wondered irritably, thankful her tears had subsided for the moment and
reluctantly headed toward them. “Something I can help you two with?”
Elena frowned,
wearing a pair of blue jeans with a long sleeved purple sweater and black
jacket. “Ebony, we just want to talk.” She assured, stepping forward and hoped
Stefan let her handle this.
Ebony wondered if
Elena had a death wish walking toward a vampire that could easily snap her neck
like a twig in two seconds. “What about?” She decided to play along for now,
folding her arms in front of her chest.
“About Damon.” Elena
said honestly, holding her hands up. “I just want to talk to you about him,
just the two of us. Stefan is going to leave us alone and just listen in from a
distance. Please, give me ten minutes.”
Rolling her eyes,
Ebony shrugged and decided it couldn’t hurt, eyes narrowing in on Stefan. “If
you two even think about doing something to me, I will kill her.” Her eyes
moved to Elena blatantly. “And that’s not a threat, it’s a damn promise. Do we
all understand each other?”
“Understood.” Stefan
said without hesitation, kissing the top of Elena’s head and did as she said he
would do, walking a few yards away from them.
“Come on, let’s walk
and talk.” Elena looped her arm through Ebony’s, walking in the opposite
direction and headed toward a nearby bench.
“What’s this all
about, Elena?” Ebony asked impatiently, looking over at her skeptically.
“How do you feel
about Damon?” Elena asked, looking straight ahead while the breath puffed out
in small clouds from her mouth, the temperature dropping since the sun was
setting soon. “And be honest with me.”
Ebony really didn’t
feel like having a heart to heart with Elena, especially about Damon, so she
simply shrugged. “He’s a dick.” She answered honestly, starting to laugh. “He’s
an attractive, manipulative, cold-hearted dick.”
Elena blinked, not
expecting to hear that because of how fiercely loyal Ebony was to Damon, and couldn’t
help laughing with her. “Wow, tell me how you really feel, girl.” They sat down
on the park bench and Elena looked over at Stefan, having a feeling he was
having a chuckle too. “So then why be on his side? Why help him with whatever
it is he’s planning?” She held her hand up before Ebony could start protesting.
“I don’t want to know what he’s planning, I just want to know what it is about
him specifically that keeps you glued to him.”
Sighing heavily,
Ebony clasped her hands together in front of her and leaned forward, staring
straight ahead. “Did you have a good childhood, Elena?” She asked out of
nowhere, closing her eyes when Elena nodded. “Well, I didn’t. I was left at an
orphanage when I was an infant because my parents wanted nothing to do with me.
I don’t even know who they were. I grew up for eighteen years in that hole and
then was tossed out on my ass on my eighteenth birthday because that was the
orphanage’s policy. My ONLY friend I’ve ever had in my life was thrown out four
months before me on her eighteenth birthday and was brutally murdered two
months later. Her name was Ashley.”
“Oh my god…” Elena
whispered, placing a hand on Ebony’s shoulder and could feel tears sting her
eyes. “Ebony, I’m so sorry…”
“Damon saved me,
Elena.” Ebony whispered, looking over at her as tears fell from her eyes,
dropping to the cool grass below. “Believe it or not, he saved me because all I
did since leaving the orphanage was drift from one place to the other. He found
me and introduced me to this whole new world. I owe him for that…” Exhaling
shakily, Ebony stood up from the park bench and wiped her tears away. “And
there’s another reason…”
“What is it?” Elena
asked, standing up behind her and didn’t know how many more times her heart
could break for this woman.
“I love him.” Ebony
confessed, feeling the biggest weight lift from her shoulders because she
finally said it out loud to someone.
Elena didn’t know
what to say to that, her eyes widened to size of saucers, not expecting to hear
that. “Ebony…”
“I have to go.”
Ebony was done with this conversation, walking away from Elena and then started
running as soon as Elena began coming after her.
“Ebony wait, don’t
go!!”
Ebony didn’t listen
as she flew through the woods, finally stopping when she was far enough away
from both of them, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Hello Ebony.”
Darkness suddenly
enveloped Ebony, her body slumping to the ground in a heap.
Chapter 25
“Where the hell is
she?” Damon growled, pacing the floor like a caged animal and slammed back his
fifth shot in the past ten minutes.
“Where did you send
her again?” Bree asked, wearing a long sleeved black shirt with black jeans,
black boots and black jacket, well rested after her five hour slumber.
“To Mystic Grill in
town to pay my tab.” Damon answered for the umpteenth time, rubbing his temple.
“We can’t wait for her anymore. If we don’t go now, it’ll get too late.”
Bree agreed, having
a sinking feeling something happened to Ebony, but she was keeping her thoughts
to herself. “Do you have the crystal?” She asked, grabbing the bag with her
grimoire in it, heading for the door.
“No.” Damon answered
honestly, one of the main reasons he was worried about Ebony and scrubbed a
hand down his face. “I gave it to Ebony for safe keeping. I looked through her
bag already, where she put it before we left to pick you up, and it’s not
there. So she must’ve took it with her.” He hoped
anyway.
Heaving a sigh, Bree
couldn’t help the next words that popped out of her mouth. “What if she
betrayed you, Damon?” It wasn’t that far of a stretch considering what Ebony
did to Damon before they left Georgia. “I mean, you did sleep with me and left
her high and dry basically…”
Electric blue eyes
flashed as Damon suddenly stood in front of Bree, running a rough finger down
her cheek. “If she did, I’ll rip her heart out and take the crystal from her
cold fingers.” He whispered, looking demonic and deadly dressed all in black
with his leather jacket. “Let’s go.”
Bree swallowed hard,
following him out of the mansion without a word, hoping for Ebony’s sake she
had a very good reason for being this late.
~!~
A soft groan escaped
Ebony’s lips as her eyes slowly fluttered open, pure darkness surrounding her
and wondered why her head felt like a fifty pound weight was on it. Ebony felt
extremely weak and could barely push herself up, looking down at the iron
shackles around her wrists. Her grey eyes trailed from them down her legs to
the matching shackles around her ankles, fear starting to slowly consume her.
Hearing something behind her, Ebony turned around and instantly gasped at the
huge stone before her with a black engraved pentagram on it.
“Hello!” She called
out faintly, coughing and felt as though her throat was on fire, wondering what
was going on.
“No need to shout.”
A voice sounded behind her, watching as the raven haired woman slowly turned
her head to look at who it was.
“W-Where am I?”
Ebony demanded, recoiling when the small petite girl –she honestly looked like
a child- squatted down to be eye level with her.
The woman-child
smiled coldly, her brown eyes cold and devoid of emotion. “The place where the
tomb will be opened, of course.” Hadn’t Damon shown her the progress he made in
digging it up from beneath the church. “I must say, dear Damon did a decent job
in making this extremely easy for me. Remind me to thank him later.”
Ebony swallowed
hard, not understanding what was happening and slowly looked around, seeing
five torches surrounding her, all spaced apart. “You know Damon?” She couldn’t
help asking, wondering if he knew about this and yanked at the shackles, but
her strength had been completely drained.
“Yes and don’t
bother trying to break free, you’ve been injected with enough vervain to keep you weak for a while.” The woman-child
informed her coolly, standing up when her accomplice finally arrived and shoved
someone else down on their knees in front of Ebony. “What took you so damn
long?”
“I’m sorry, but
she’s not exactly easy to snag, being a witch and all.” The man growled,
glaring down at the girl he brought here. “Is everything ready?”
“Look, what is this
about?” Ebony recognized the girl beside her instantly, which was Bonnie
Bennett, one of her old classmates and Elena’s best friend. “If this is about
opening the tomb, you’re not the only one who wants to do it.”
The woman-child
snorted, rolling her eyes. “Duh I already know that. I know all about you,
Ebony. I’ve been watching you slowly fall for a man who will never want you.
Typical Salvatore, always wanting their cake and eating it too.” She informed
Damon’s little friend calmly, holding her hand up when the guy came toward the
women. “Leave them alone, the witch won’t give us problems, unless she wants
her friend to die.”
“She’s not my
friend.” Bonnie immediately stated, already knowing all about Ebony because
Elena had filled her in.
“I wasn’t talking
about her, witch.” Snapping her fingers, someone else was suddenly shoved
inside the area in the middle of the torches.
Ebony’s eyes shot
open at the sight of Elena Gilbert beside her, looking completely terrified and
immediately looked up at the woman-child and boy, eyes narrowed. “What the hell
does she have to do with anything, child?” She demanded angrily, feeling
completely helpless against the iron shackles, wanting to rip this little
bitch’s throat out.
“Insurance policy,
just like you.” The girl replied, laughing at what Ebony just called her and
shook her head. “I think YOU are the child, Ebony. I am over five hundred years
old. Don’t let my appearance fool you for a second.” Wrapping her hand around
Ebony’s throat, she lifted her up until her feet left the ground, eyes flashing
dangerously. “And the name is Annabelle, but you can simply call me Anna.”
Ebony was dropped
like a bad habit moments later, coughing as she curled up in a ball on the
ground, trying to regain her breathing. “Are you okay?” She whispered to Elena,
already doing a cursory once over to make sure she wasn’t harmed physically.
Elena nodded, not
understanding what was going on and tried pulling her hand out of the tight
ropes that bound her wrists together, but it wasn’t happening. “What are you
doing here, Ebony?” She whispered back while Anna and her little accomplice
talked in the corner.
“I was coming here
later with Damon, but was taken after running away from you in the woods.”
Ebony explained quietly, eyes looking over at the boy and gritted her teeth.
“Who is he?”
“That’s Ben McKittrick. He recently moved back to Mystic Falls and now
apparently has been turned into a vampire.” Elena turned to Bonnie, worry in
her brown eyes. “Are you okay, Bonnie?”
Bonnie nodded, not
saying a word, scared out of her mind right now.
“What do they want
with us?” Elena whispered, directing that question to Ebony since she seemed to
know everything.
“They want what
Damon wants.” Ebony answered softly, slowly pushing herself back up in a
sitting position. “They want to open the tomb and release the vampires that
have been locked in a mystical holding cell for the past century and a half.”
Elena’s eyes shot
open, her jaw dropping and slowly looked over at Bonnie, shaking her head.
“No…Bonnie can’t…”
“Don’t worry Elena,
relax.” Ebony assured her, having a secret advantage Anna didn’t know about,
her eyes begging Elena to trust her.
All Elena could do
was nod, scooting closer to Bonnie and hoped they got out of this situation
alive.
“They’re here.” Anna
announced, looking over at Ebony and stalked over to her, ripping her up by her
black tresses, glaring over at Ben. “Keep them quiet or else.”
Ebony stumbled
because she was still incredibly weak, being shoved up the stairs that Damon
had apparently dug up on his downtime. It made sense now that Ebony thought
about it. He would often be gone during the day, saying he had business to
attend too, but Ebony never asked him what it was. He’d been here every day
digging beneath the church to find the tomb that held Katherine.
Damon could see
someone in the distance and immediately stopped, holding his arm out to stop
Bree from going further, eyes narrowed. “Who’s there?” He called out, squaring
his shoulders as he stepped over a tree limb, knowing the way to the tomb site
by heart.
“Damon Salvatore.” A
familiar voice called back to him, sounding darkly amused. “I should’ve known
you’d be the one to do this.” The girl gestured with her hand to point back at
where the tomb site was, holding onto her leverage with the other hand. “I have
something you’ve probably been looking for.”
Thick black eyebrows
furrowed as Damon slowly walked closer, grabbing Bree’s
hand, refusing to let anything happen to her at least until the tomb was
opened. “And what might that be?” The closer he got, the clearer his vision
came until he was standing about ten feet away from a girl he thought he’d
never set eyes on again. “Annabelle.”
“Very good, you
remembered me.” She yanked Ebony back against her, loving the sound of her soft
whimper and had a wooden stake in her free hand. “Missing something? You really
should keep your pets on a tighter leash, Damon.”
Aquamarine orbs
flashed through the darkness, cutting right through it as Damon growled, the
sight of Ebony in shackles pissing him off to no avail. “Let her go right now,
Annabelle.” He ordered in a deadly voice. “Before you end up dead.”
“As if.” Annabelle
laughed, petting Ebony’s black hair almost affectionately before suddenly holding
the wooden stake up right over her heart. “You even try killing me and I’ll end
her, Salvatore. Don’t think I won’t either.”
“Damon…” Ebony
whispered, hissing out when Anna started pressing the stake a little into her
chest, tears shining in her eyes and closed them.
“Don’t.” Damon held
his hands up, releasing Bree’s and knew he had to
regain control of this situation before Ebony ended dead. “Listen, we’re on the
same side and want the same thing. We both want that tomb opened. I know your
mother is in there. Pearl. So let’s do this together. I have a witch here that
is going to open it and I got the crystal. Let’s work as a team and no one has
to die.”
Anna eyed him almost
shrewdly, wondering if he was telling the truth and looked down at Ebony
thoughtfully, slowly pulling the stake away from her heart. “Fine, but I’m
keeping her with me until I have my mother back. Then I’ll hand her over, are
we clear?”
“Crystal.” Damon
agreed, his eyes locking with Ebony and told her silently it was going to be
alright, knowing she had the crystal on her.
“Come on.” Anna
didn’t turn her back on Damon and wrapped a tight around Ebony’s throat,
dragging her right back to where the tomb site was.
Damon followed, all
four of them arriving at the tomb site and looked back at Annabelle, hoping she
kept her word. He wasn’t even concerned with ripping her heart out and killing
her, more worried about Ebony’s wellbeing than anything. They headed down the
stone steps and Annabelle shoved Ebony back down with Elena and Bonnie, looking
back at Bree.
“You two,” She
paused, gesturing to Bree and then Bonnie. “Will work together.”
“The hell I will!”
Bonnie growled, refusing to help vampires unleash evil in this world, shaking
her head.
Annabelle stormed
over to Bonnie, ready to tear her throat out, but Damon stopped her. “Bree can
do it on her own.” He stated, looking over at Elena
and could see the confusion in her eyes. “She knows the spell, we don’t need
the Bennett witch.”
“But their power
together will insure that.” Anna argued, yanking her arm out of his grasp and
glared over at Bree, snorting. “Fine, do it, but we’re keeping the other witch
here in case she can’t do it alone and needs help.” Her eyes moved to Bonnie,
suddenly ripping Elena up by her hair. “And YOU will help or she dies.”
Bonnie’s eyes
widened, shaking her head frantically and looked up at Damon, not believing he
was going to allow this to happen. “O-Okay, alright!” She agreed shakily,
breathing a shaky sigh of relief when Elena was shoved back down beside her.
“Good, knew you’d
see things my way, witch.”
“We need to get all
of them out of the center.” Bree instructed, pulling her grimoire out of her
bag and walked over, watching as Annabelle grabbed Ebony and Elena, while the
boy that was apparently working with Annabelle grabbed the other witch, shoving
them all against the wall harshly. “Air, Earth, Fire…” Bree began lighting the
torches, already having a bottle of water in her hand that was from the nearby
lake. “Water.”
Damon pulled out a
blood bag from his leather jacket while Bree began chanting in her tongue, the
flames instantly flaring on the torches. Ebony watched while still trying to
break free of the shackles, swallowing hard when all eyes were suddenly on her.
Her eyes locked with Bree’s and then Damon’s, knowing what they needed to open the tomb…the
crystal, which she had on her currently.
“What?” Anna
demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest, growing very impatient. “Why
are you all looking at her?”
“Because I have what
they need.” Ebony stated, managing to push herself up against the wall, grey
eyes defiant. “And I’m not handing it over until these are off of me.”
“Get them off of
her.” Damon ordered, watching as Anna’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t physically
take it from her, she has to willingly give it up.” That was a blatant lie, but
Annabelle didn’t need to know that. “Look, I’m RIGHT here and we’re opening the
tomb. There’s no need to keep her locked up like an animal.”
Anna grumbled,
finally nodding and walked over with the key to Ebony’s freedom, standing right
in front of her. “If you try to run away, just remember you won’t get far
because the vervain is still fresh in your system.”
She warned before slipping the key into the shackles, hearing them click free
moments later.
“I’m not going
anywhere.” Ebony assured her coolly, looking past Annabelle to stare at Damon,
sighing with relief as she tossed and kicked the shackles to the side, walking
over to Bree. “Here.”
Pulling out the
wrapped amber crystal, Ebony dropped it in her hand and stepped back as the
flames instantly shot up about four feet in the air, the wind picking up around
them. Damon was beside her instantly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and
was glad she hadn’t betrayed him. He did a cursory once over on her to make
sure she wasn’t injured, overhearing what exactly Annabelle did to her and
vowed to make the little bitch pay for it.
“Are you okay?” He
whispered in her ear, watching her nod once and turned his attention back to
what Bree was doing.
The amber crystal
suddenly glowed a bright yellow and made a laser like
beam directly on the pentagram on the door, turning it into a deep molten gold
that almost hurt everyone’s eyes. Suddenly, the ground rumbled like a mini earthquake as the pentagram stone door slowly began pushing
open on its own, Bree reaching a deep crescendo with her chanting. Damon
and Annabelle couldn’t believe this was happening, looking at each other,
knowing they were about to get the people they loved back. Releasing Ebony
instantly, Damon walked toward the door, but didn’t cross the threshold yet,
the door slowly coming to a halt.
“It’s done.” Bree
stepped away and lifted the amber crystal in her hand, tossing it back to
Damon. “The seal is broken.”
Damon nodded, eyes
practically glowing with happiness and looked over at Annabelle. “Why did you
kidnap the other witch and Elena?” He demanded, folding his arms in front of
his chest.
Anna shrugged,
looking over at the puny pathetic human and witch. “Leverage in case your witch
didn’t pull through and Elena was to make sure she cooperated.” She made it
sound so simple, the most natural thing in the world to do. “They’re free to
go.”
Hearing that, Ebony
flew over to where Elena and Bonnie were, immediately beginning to undo the
ropes around their wrists and ankles. “Run.” She whispered, knowing as soon as
the vampires were released, all hell was going to break loose.
“ELENA!!”
Chapter 26
Ebony’s head snapped
up as Stefan flew down the stone steps and shoved her full force away from
Elena, sending her flying back to hit the wall with a sickening thud.
“STEFAN!!” Elena shrieked, rushing over to Ebony’s prone body and bent down to
check on her, tears in her eyes. “She didn’t do this to me, you fool!!”
Stefan breathed
heavily, looking over at a terrified Bonnie before noticing the stone door with
the pentagram was open, his brother having already gone inside. “Come on, we
have to get out of here.” He ordered, extending his hand to Elena. “NOW Elena!”
“No, not until I
make sure she’s alright.” Elena growled, angry at her boyfriend for hurting
Ebony and stroked her hair gently.
“Go…” Ebony said
weakly, trying to pull herself up and collapsed, the vervain
still slowly making its way out of her system. “Go Elena, get…out of here…”
“Stefan, we can’t
leave her like this.” Elena pleaded, looking up at him and blinked as a few
tears slid down her cheeks. “She protected me…even when she didn’t have to.
Please help her…”
Scrubbing a hand
down his face, Stefan reluctantly nodded and stepped away from them. “Stay
here.”
Ben was already
dead, thanks to a stake through the heart, having been guarding the tomb site
when he arrived to safe Elena. He headed through the stone door into the
darkness, eyes instantly adjusting and could see faint torches in the distance,
going as fast as he could. Stefan wondered what this was all about, having
tried figuring out his brother’s diabolical plan for months and apparently this
was it. He stopped at the sight of Annabelle dragging her mother, Pearl, toward
the exit of the tomb, wondering what the hell was going on.
“Damon.”
“She’s not here.”
Damon whispered, pacing back and forth turbulently, dragging a hand through his
hair, breathing heavily. “She’s not here…”
“Damon, what?”
“SHE’S NOT HERE!!”
Damon screamed, suddenly throwing the blood bag as hard as he could against the
wall, the blood smashing open right above the mummified vampire he just kicked.
“Who isn’t?” Stefan
demanded, trying to figure out who his brother was looking for, and suddenly it
all clicked in his head. “Katherine. She’s dead, Damon…”
“It doesn’t make
sense!” Damon was on the verge of hyperventilation, shaking his head in denial.
“They locked her inside!”
“Damon, what’s going
on?”
“How could she not
be in here?” Damon wasn’t listening to his brother, too busy looking all around
to make sure he didn’t miss a single vampire in that tomb.
Stefan knew his
brother was losing it, a worried expression crossing his face. “Damon, you need
to tell me exactly what’s going on right now because Elena was kidnapped for
this and I want to know why.” He grabbed Damon’s jacket, only for his brother
to shrug away from him fiercely.
Coughing sounded
behind them, Ebony standing there with Elena’s help, looking extremely weak.
“Damon…please, you have to get her out of here. She’s not looking good.” Elena
pleaded, noticing Ebony was barely able to hold her head up right now.
“Everyone else has left already and we need to get out of here.”
Damon observed
Ebony, gritting his teeth and finally nodded, storming over to Elena to lift
Ebony’s body into his arms. He didn’t say a word to them and headed out of the
tomb, feeling her head lull against his chest. First he would take her back to
the mansion and give her some blood, which would heal her. Then he was going on
the hunt for that little bitch Annabelle and her precious mommy, Pearl, to find
out exactly what happened to Katherine.
“Damon, is she-OH
GOD!!” Elena cried out, covering her mouth with her hand and immediately buried
her face in Stefan’s chest, trembling.
Stefan looked over
at his big brother, seeing no remorse on the man’s face and scowled. “You knew
didn’t you?” He watched as Damon slowly turned to face him. “You knew that
spell would take everything out of her.”
“Yes.” Damon gently
set Ebony down on the ground and walked over to where Bree lay, lifting her up
in his arms. “Dinner time, guys.” He smirked at the disgusted look on Stefan’s
face, ignoring him and tossed Bree’s body into the
tomb, dusting his hands off. “Solves that problem.”
Elena couldn’t
believe what she just witnessed and clung to Stefan more, feeling sick to her
stomach. “Take me home.” She whispered, feeling Stefan slowly guide her toward
the stone steps, Damon once again carrying Ebony and followed them. “You’ll
miss the best part.”
“There is no best
part with this, Damon.” Stefan stated, though he didn’t walk away at the sight
of his big brother pulling something out of his leather jacket, raising an
eyebrow. “What the hell is that?”
Damon smirked,
feeling Ebony snuggle against him and suddenly pressed the button, the top of
the church ruins suddenly exploding as debris began crumbling down into the
tomb site he’d dug up. Stefan’s jaw dropped as he held Elena close to him, not
believing Damon just buried the other vampires. Not even the strongest of them
would be able to break through all of that rubble, which would keep the town
completely safe from their wrath.
“Why?”
“I just wanted
Katherine…” A pained expression crossed his face as Damon looked down at Ebony,
not wanting to think about it right now. “Get Elena home.”
Stefan nodded
stiffly. “We’ll talk about this later.” He promised, guiding Elena away from
the rubble while Damon went in the other direction through the woods to his
car.
Ebony could barely
register what was going on, but she knew Damon had made sure none of the other
vampires would get out to attack the innocent people
of Mystic Falls. She felt Damon gently set her in the passenger seat of his
car, the door closing and could only sit there with her head lulled back. A few
minutes later, Damon drove away and headed back to the mansion, looking over at
Ebony and knew human blood would make the vervain
flush out of her system a lot faster.
Once back at the
mansion, Damon carted Ebony inside and went straight to his room, laying her
gently on his bed. He pulled her black boots off along with the scarf around
her neck, wanting her to be somewhat comfortable. Walking out to grab two blood
bags, Damon decided he owed Ebony one after she took such great care of him
after he escaped from the cellar in the basement.
Flying back into his
room a few minutes later, Damon sat on the bed beside her and propped her up
against him, sticking the tube in her mouth. “Drink.” He whispered, running his
fingertips down the side of her face and currently blocked the pain he felt at
not being reunited with Katherine like he thought he would.
Very slowly, Ebony
began sucking the blood bag down, taking her time so she didn’t choke on it.
Her eyes opened after one bag was down, feeling a little better, but nowhere
close, not yet at least. Ebony managed to look up at him while Damon pulled the
empty blood bag from her before replacing it with the second one, feeling how
much pain radiated off of him.
“Thank…you…” Ebony
sluggishly whispered, breathing heavily after sucking down the second bag, her
strength slowly returning.
“I owe you one.”
Damon muttered, the life slowly coming back into her eyes and was glad she
wasn’t hurt or dead. “I shouldn’t have sent you out today. This was my fault,
Ebony.”
Steadily shaking her
head, Ebony disagreed with him, tears shining in her eyes. “Don’t blame…yourself,
Damon…” He had enough to deal with because, after a hundred and forty five
years, Katherine Pierce had really been dead all along and Damon had wasted all
that time pining over her. “Not your fault…”
Damon wasn’t about
to argue with her, especially in the current condition she was in and simply
didn’t respond. “Rest.” He ordered, already grabbing the third bag of blood,
figuring that would be enough since it was for him when she nursed him back to
health. “Just drink and then sleep.”
Ebony wasn’t about
to argue with him, smiling softly and began drinking the third bag, silence
once again forming between them. “I’m sorry about Katherine…” She had to say
it, after the third bag was gone, managed to push herself up without his help.
“I’m not going to ask you if you’re okay because that would be a stupid
question. I just…if there’s anything I can do…”
Damon pressed a
finger to her lips, shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, Ebony.”
He stated, making it clear the subject of Katherine was not up for discussion.
“Damon, don’t shut
me out.” Ebony grabbed his hand, grey eyes pleading and pressed it to her
chest. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love unconditionally. That’s
how I felt about Ashley. She was my sister, my best friend, my
everything and she’s gone.”
“I don’t want to
hear this.” Damon broke away from her, clenching his fists tightly at his
sides, gritting his teeth angrily. “Get some rest, you need it after what
you’ve been through. I’m going out for a while.”
“Damon…” Ebony
sighed heavily when he stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him
harshly and knew she probably just made this ten times worse for him. “Damn
it…”
~!~
Anna helped her
mother inside the small hotel room she was currently staying in, going slow
because she was still incredibly weak. “Easy.” She whispered, shutting the door
while Pearl headed for the bed, clicking the light on for her.
They both froze at
the sight of Damon Salvatore sitting in the corner in a chair, his eyes filled
with pure ice. “You knew Katherine wasn’t in there.” He stated in a low voice,
gripping the arms on the chair tightly.
“You wouldn’t have
helped me.” Anna said hesitantly, not able to look at him.
Damon suddenly flew
over to Pearl and wrapped his hand around her throat, squeezing as hard as he
could. “Why do you get a happy ending?” He demanded angrily, shaking her
slightly.
“NO!” Anna flew over
to him, trying to break his grip from her mother’s neck. “Damon please, you
wouldn’t have helped me, you know you wouldn’t!!”
“Why do YOU get a
happy ending and I DON’T?!” He demanded, raising his voice only a fraction,
trembling from how much emotion currently flowed through him as his eyes locked
with Pearl’s.
“The guard…The one
at the church…The one who locked us in, she promised to turn him. He was
obsessed with her.” Pearl stumbled over her words while trying to break his
grip, still incredibly weak. “She had him under her spell…like everybody else.
He let her go!”
Damon instantly
released Pearl’s neck, staring in disbelief and couldn’t believe what he was
hearing. Pearl coughed violently and leaned against her daughter, trying to
regain her breath with tears in her eyes. Katherine had always looked out for
herself and nobody else, so why Damon was surprised by this was beyond Pearl.
“Last I saw her was
Chicago,” Anna admitted openly, holding onto her mother for dear life while
Pearl cowered against her. “1983. She knew where you were, Damon. She didn’t
care.” That was the honest truth as Anna hugged her mother around the neck, a
few tears falling. “I’m sorry.”
All Damon could do
was walk toward the door with slumped shoulders, every part of him completely
shattering with Annabelle’s confession. Somehow, someway, he knew she was
telling him the truth, which killed him even more. All this time, waiting and
hoping he would finally get his happy ending with Katherine, only for her to be
free as a bird, making him pine over her.
Even if Damon were
to rip Annabelle’s heart out for deceiving him, it wouldn’t make him feel any
better. Damon trudged to his car and slowly slid behind the wheel, shutting the
door softly, heading back to the mansion. The whole drive, silent tears poured
down his face, all the pain and misery he’d kept bottled up in hopes of getting
Katherine back finally coming out.
What had he done to
deserve such cruelty?
Pulling up to the
mansion, Damon shut the ignition off and stepped out of the car, heading inside
straight for the library. He grabbed the nearest bottle of bourbon and walked
over with a tumbler, plopping down on the leather couch, deciding to drink his
pain away. Damon didn’t move and just stared into the flames, tears burning in
his eyes, but refused to let them fall, having shed enough for Katherine to
last him another century and a half.
Stefan could tell
Damon was in a very bad way as he watched him from the doorway of the library
and lowered his head, not knowing what he could do. He didn’t know what Damon’s
plan was, but somehow it didn’t surprise him to find out it all revolved around
Katherine. Damon had been so in love with her, far more than Stefan, even
though she just played with his big brother like a toy, making him believe he
was the only man for her.
It took Stefan a
very long time to realize what Katherine had done to them, decades of putting
the pieces together. She had compelled his love for her while Damon willingly
offered his heart on a platter, only for it to be skewered in the end.
Katherine was out there somewhere and Stefan knew they would eventually see her
again, hopefully not for a long time though. Because if she did rear her ugly
head while Elena was still alive, Stefan would drive a stake right through her
black heart without thinking twice about it.
Heading over to the
couch, Stefan was suddenly stopped by a hand on his arm, turning to stare at
Ebony. She had changed into a sky blue nightgown and was freshly showered, most
of the vervain out of her system. Her grey eyes
silently told him she could handle this, smiling tentatively and knew she
wasn’t leaving Mystic Falls, not now. How could she leave the man she loved in
as much as pain as this?
It wasn’t possible
or even negotiable.
Stefan nodded,
patting her on the shoulder gently, having heard her confession to Elena
earlier on in the park. Elena had even warned her he would be listening in, but
apparently Ebony didn’t mind him knowing that she was in love with his big
brother. He just hoped Damon saw the light soon enough and realized what he had
right in front of him before he ended up losing Ebony forever.
Ebony sat down
beside Damon on the couch and took his hand, simply holding it while they both
stared into the fire silently, not a single word spoken.
Chapter 27
Over the next
several days, all Damon could do was drink and have small parties in the library,
compelling college students to do whatever he wanted. They were all women, of
course, with bite marks all over their bodies from his incessant feeding. He
didn’t feed to the point of killing them though, even though it was tempting.
Still, at least Damon wasn’t killing, which in Stefan’s eyes was some kind of
progress.
Ebony decided to
stick around a while longer; wanting to make sure Damon was alright. Katherine
not being in the tomb changed everything and all of her plans; Ebony couldn’t
leave Damon in the current state he was in. She knew Damon was channeling all
of his emotions into drinking and partying, trying to convince himself as well
as everyone else he was perfectly fine.
It hurt Ebony to see
Damon with any other woman, but this wasn’t about her measly feelings. Damon
was hurting and there was nothing she could do, nothing she could say, to help
him. Time was the only antidote for this type of pain he was in and Ebony just
had to let it run its course. Ebony hadn’t turned her back on him since he
turned her and she wasn’t about to start now, no matter the circumstances.
Ebony looked up when
a knock sounded at her bedroom door, jolting her out of her thoughts. “Come
in.” She called softly, going back to flipping idly through the pages of a magazine
that did not interest her.
Elena slowly pushed
the door open, a timid smile on her face. “Ebony, do you have a minute?” She
watched as the woman slowly lifted her head, chewing her bottom lip.
The last time Ebony
saw Elena, she was being carted away from the tomb site in Stefan’s arms after
Damon destroyed it with an explosion. “Sure, come in.” She waved her hand, the
rain falling outside tapping gently at her windows. “What’s up?”
“How are you?” Elena
asked, once she took a seat on the bed. “Are you feeling better?”
Ebony nodded,
knowing she was referring to being severely vervained.
“Yeah, I’m all better. It took a lot of rest and blood, but it’s all out of my
system, thankfully. How are you?”
“I’m fine; Stefan
gave me a few drops of his blood because the ropes had cut into my skin.” Elena
admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the awkwardness between them
definitely not missed. “Listen, I know you don’t trust me, but…”
“Why wouldn’t I
trust you, Elena?” Ebony cut her off, raising a brow. “You did nothing wrong.
Granted, you did try using the friend card to find out what Damon’s plan was,
but I know that was because of Stefan. I don’t blame you for that. And if I
didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have told you about Ashley.”
Smiling, Elena’s
eyes shined with happiness and took Ebony’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“So, does that mean we’re friends?” She asked hopefully, something telling her
to get to know Ebony better.
“Sure, I suppose we
are.” Ebony squeezed her hand back and released it, leaning back against the
pillows as a flash of lightning lit up the sky. “Something tells me that’s not the only thing you wanted to talk about, friend.”
“Guilty.” Elena
admitted, knowing if she wanted this friendship to work, she couldn’t keep
anything from Ebony and wouldn’t. “Stefan told me what Damon’s been doing
and…after your confession…” She blinked when Ebony pressed a finger to her
lips, silencing her instantly.
“We can’t talk about
that here.” Ebony said quietly, pointing first to her ear and then to the door,
knowing Damon could hear anything that was said in the mansion. “And I’m fine,
just so you know.”
Elena frowned,
hating the enhanced hearing ability the vampires had because it was hard
keeping anything from them. “Well…aren’t you worried about him?” She whispered,
not really meaning to ask that, but she couldn’t just come out and say what she
wanted without upsetting Ebony.
Standing up from the
bed, Ebony took Elena’s hand and guided her into the bathroom, closing the door
before walking over to turn the shower sprays on. “We still have to talk
quietly, but the water will drown us out.” She informed Elena, sitting down on
the floor and pressed her back against the glass shower door. “Yes, I am
worried about him, but I don’t know what to do. He pined for Katherine for a
hundred and forty five years, how does anyone deal with something like that? I
feel so lost and I know Damon will never love me the way I love him, but you
can’t help who you fall in love with.”
“Tell me about it.”
Elena muttered quietly, fully understanding everything she was saying and slid
down to sit beside her. “When I first met Stefan, there was something about him
that forced me to get to know him. It was like this powerful magnetic push and
I couldn’t stop it from happening. Even after he told me he was a vampire, I
tried everything in my power to stay away from him and push him away. I was
terrified of him…and Damon. Then, just when I started coming around, Stefan
tried pushing me away and told me he was leaving Mystic Falls. It tore me apart
because I wanted to be with him and already knew I was in love with him.”
“So what happened?”
Ebony was intrigued because she’d never been in love before, so she had no idea
how to react or feel with what Damon was doing. “I mean, how did you get him to
stay?”
“I told him I loved
him. That he could walk away from me if he wanted to, but I knew what I wanted
and it was him.” Elena’s cheeks flushed slightly at that memory, remembering
the intense lovemaking they did throughout the night after her confession.
“Those are the three most powerful words in the world, in my opinion. Because
they express so much in such a tiny phrase, it’s really quite fascinating if
you think about how much power it holds.”
Ebony couldn’t help
agreeing with her, staring down at her daylight ring and sighed heavily. “I
thought about leaving and going somewhere else far away from here. I promised
Damon I would help him open the tomb because I felt I owed him for the second
chance he gave me with this new life.” Suddenly, huge tears slid down Ebony’s
face and she didn’t bother wiping them away, looking away from Elena. “But I
love him. I love him so much that I’m willing to let him do whatever he needs.
I can’t just turn my back on him, even though he does deserve it.” Her loyalty
to people was Ebony’s greatest weakness, not just her humanity. “I tried
turning off my emotions, flipping the switch so I wouldn’t have to feel
anything. But it’s not that easy, not even as a vampire.”
“I’ve always wanted
to ask Stefan this, but I’m going to ask you instead. What is the difference
between being human and vampire?” Elena had wondered that for a while now
because they looked alive even though they were undead with non-beating hearts.
“For one, your
emotions are amplified far more than a human’s. You feel everything much more
and that’s why a lot of the times vampires flip the switch on their humanity
because it’s almost too intense to handle feeling. And we drink blood.” Ebony
explained, drawing her knees up to rest her elbows on them, staring straight
ahead. “Have you ever thought about becoming a vampire?”
“Several times.”
Elena confessed softly, leaning her head back against the shower, the water
actually sounding soothing. “I know what happens if I don’t. Stefan will never
age or change while I’ll grow old and frail. But I want children and a family
too, a normal human life. I know I can’t have both and I’ll have to make a
decision one day, but all I’m worried about is the here and now. Screw the
future.”
Ebony laughed
softly, more tears stinging her eyes. “Even though Damon didn’t give me a
choice and turned me against my will, I don’t regret it happening. I’ve ever
felt anything like this as a human and, your first taste of blood, is pure
rapture. It’s almost better than sex, to be blunt.”
Brown eyes widened
as Elena blinked at Ebony, both of them sharing another laugh. “Sex huh? I
don’t know about that, Stefan is definitely an incredible lover.” She had a
hard time believing something like human blood to a vampire was better than
sex.
“Triple that feeling
you have when you’re having sex with Stefan, possibly even more and that’s what
it feels like.” Ebony said honestly, grey eyes glittering evilly under the dim
lights of the bathroom.
“No wonder Stefan
didn’t want to tell me when I asked him the other day.” Elena said
thoughtfully, running a hand through her hair. “He doesn’t want me to turn into
a vampire just for him and wants me to be happy. He’s so unselfish, it’s
crazy.”
“Sounds like it.”
Ebony agreed, knowing Stefan would put his own life on the line to save Elena
in a heartbeat, wishing Damon felt that way about her. “You’re very lucky,
Elena. Don’t let him go.” She suddenly wished she had some Vodka, this
conversation definitely calling for a drink.
“I don’t plan on it,
at least not anytime soon.” This was hard for Ebony to talk about, Elena could
tell, so she decided to change the subject. “I’m glad you didn’t move away,
Ebony.”
Ebony looked over at
her, a small smile curving her lips. “Me too, but don’t get your hopes up
because I might still be leaving.” It was up to Damon what she ended up doing,
deciding to just let the chips fall where they may.
“Damon will come
around.” Elena assured her confidently, patting Ebony’s leg gently. “He feels
something for you. I can tell just by the way he looks at you and how
protective he was of you when we were all captured.”
“How’s Bonnie?”
Ebony wasn’t talking about this anymore, having said everything about Damon she
wanted to. “She was pretty shook up with what happened.”
“She’s fine and sad
that Bree had to die to open the tomb.” Elena felt terrible for her friend
because Bonnie had also recently lost her grandmother. “She was a fellow witch,
even though they didn’t know each other. To her, the death of a witch is as bad
as losing a close friend or family member.”
“Elena, you have to
believe me when I say that I had NO idea Bree was going to die. Damon didn’t
tell me a lot of details about the ritual. If I would’ve known…” Ebony probably
would’ve still gone along with it because it was what Damon wanted, but she was
keeping that to herself. “I never wanted anyone to die…”
“It’s okay, I
believe you.” Elena grabbed her hand, squeezing it to assure her everything was
forgiven. “Just next time, if Damon has a diabolical plan of any kind, tell me
about it. I know you think you were going to betray him by telling us and he
probably told you not to tell Stefan, but if that tomb remained opened and all
those vampires got out, the town would be devoured.”
Ebony nodded, part
of her hating how considerate and understanding Elena was being since the town
had been in danger. “Thanks.” She looked up when a knock sounded at her bedroom
door, immediately up on her feet in seconds. “Shut the water off.” She called over
her shoulder, opening the bathroom door and swallowed hard at the sight of
Damon sitting on her bed.
Elena walked out
seconds later and stopped beside Ebony, deciding it was time to make herself scarce. “I umm…have to go. We’ll talk later?” She
watched Ebony nod and walked out the door, closing it behind her, going to
track Stefan down.
Damon hadn’t said a
word to her since the night of the tomb, so Ebony wasn’t sure what he wanted
from her now. “Hi.” She didn’t move toward him, every part of her tensed in
case he tried attacking her for some odd reason.
“What did Elena
want?” He asked gruffly, holding a tumbler of bourbon as it dangled from his
hand.
“Just to talk, ask
how I was doing.” Ebony replied nonchalantly, refusing to tell him anything else
because her conversation with Elena was private. “Did you need something?”
“I need a lot of
things, Ebony.” Damon snorted, tossing back what was left in his tumbler and
reached over, setting it on the nightstand slowly. “But none of them I can
have.”
“And why is that?”
Ebony asked, confusion entering her eyes and watched as he slowly stood up from
the bed, wearing just a pair of dark blue jeans with a buttoned up black shirt
that was completely undone, exposing his incredible body.
Damon stared deep
into her grey eyes, moving to stand in front of her and Ebony could smell the
strong scent of bourbon on his breath. “Love.” He practically spat, cupping the
side of her face somewhat harshly and suddenly shoved her back against the wall,
pinning her there. “I need her to love me…and she doesn’t. She doesn’t care
about what she did to us. She only cares about herself. She’s a selfish slut.”
“Damon…”
“I need to forget.”
He continued, instantly cutting her off and pressed his forehead against
Ebony’s, his hands moving to grip her hips. “I need to forget everything…”
Ebony was terrified
because Damon being this drunk made him capable of doing absolutely anything.
She tried not letting his touch affect her mindset, but it was hard not to ignore.
Damon hadn’t touched her in so long, Ebony suddenly just wanted to be with him,
to make him see how much she did love him. All she did was stare back at him
with those grey eyes, so much emotion flowing through them, but one stood out
above all of them.
The love he
desperately sought to have.
“We died for
nothing.” Damon started laughing, not pulling away from her and brushed a
strand of black hair from her forehead, trying to maintain control because he
was losing it fast. “I gave up my human life for nothing…and so did Stefan. We
both died, she knew she wouldn’t burn in that church…” Burying his face in
Ebony’s neck, Damon hit the wall before wrapping both of his arms tightly
around her waist, breathing sporadically due to holding back tears.
“Ssshhhh
its okay, Damon…” Ebony soothed, running her fingers through his black hair and
didn’t pull away from him. “I’m here…” That’s all she could really say and
stood there; giving him what he needed most at that moment.
Comfort.
Chapter 28
Stirring a little, a
soft sigh escaped her lips as Ebony stretched her arms above her head, feeling
well rested for the first time in a while. She smiled softly, the incredible
scent of vanilla surrounding her and slowly fluttered her eyes open, her body
coming alive. As soon as her eyes opened, they locked with beautiful aquamarine
orbs, making the smile on Ebony’s face widen more and reached up, gently
caressing his face with the back of her hand.
“How long have you
been staring at me?” She murmured softly, still a little sleepy because of
their long night.
Damon smirked,
shrugging and couldn’t help admiring every feature about Ebony. “Long enough.”
The sun streamed in through the huge windows and made her look like a dark
angel in his bed, a golden radiance surrounding her.
“That’s creepy.”
Ebony stated, beginning to push herself up on her elbows, only for Damon to
push her right back down, hovering over her with predatory eyes.
“Where do you think
you’re going?” He rumbled huskily, both of them wrapped in the pure white
sheets, his lips running slow down her jaw to suckle on her neck gently. “Mmm…I’m not done with you.”
Ebony couldn’t help
shiver against him, already caressing his shoulders and muscular arms, drinking
in every last drop of this moment. “Good because I’m not done with you yet
either.” She informed him, suddenly using her strength to roll him on his back,
straddling him, the white sheet falling from her naked body.
“Oh yeah?”
Damon sat up, making
her squeal as he lifted her with ease in his arms, her legs wrapping around his
waist and kissed her passionately. Ebony moaned, trembling against him as their
tongues instantly danced together, never needing to breathe again because Damon
was all the oxygen she needed. Lulling her head back as Damon slowly began
sliding inside of her, Ebony’s eyes suddenly shot open, her
body growing ice cold in seconds.
“W-Why?” She managed
to gasp out, seeing him holding her heart in his hand, a huge gaping hole right
in the middle of her chest where he’d ripped it from spilling blood, slowly
desiccating in his arms.
“It will always be
Katherine.”
~!~
A scream sounded
from Ebony’s lips as she bolted upright in bed, tears streaming down her cheeks
and instantly touched her chest through the thin blue camisole she wore. There
was no gaping hole, her heart was still there and all Ebony could do was sit
there crying. Breathing heavily, Ebony’s head snapped up when her bedroom door
flew open and immediately jumped out of bed at the sight of Damon standing in
the doorway.
“Ebony, are you
okay?” Damon demanded, hearing Stefan and Elena rushing down the stairs to come
check on her, seeing how terrified Ebony was. “Ebony…”
“Stay away from me.”
Ebony demanded in a shaky voice, not able to pull her hand away from her chest
and was prepared to jump out the window if she had to.
Damon frowned,
wondering what the hell happened and didn’t listen to her, slowly stepping into
the room. “Ebony, its Damon…” His voice was laced with concern, trying to sound
as soothing as possible.
“I know who the hell
you are.” Ebony growled, not able to get the image of Damon holding her heart
in front of her, a shiver of dread flowing through her.
Elena rushed past
Damon into the room with wide brown eyes, Stefan already standing behind her.
“What the hell happened?” She demanded, glaring up at Damon. “What did you do
now?”
“I didn’t do
anything!” Damon snapped, electric blue eyes completely iced over. “I heard her
scream and came to check on her. She won’t let me anywhere near her though.”
Elena turned her
attention back to Ebony, who was cowering on the other side of the bed right by
the window, slowly walking toward her. “Ebony, its Elena. I’m gonna come over there okay?” She was glad Ebony didn’t stop
her, placing a hand on Stefan’s arm when he went to stop her. “She won’t hurt
me, Stefan.”
Stefan was still
very leery about Ebony, not fully trusting her even though she had saved and
protected Elena on more than one occasion. He wasn’t leaving the room though,
not caring if Damon did or not, his eyes focused primarily on his girlfriend.
All Damon could do was stand there and watch, wondering why the hell Ebony
didn’t want him near her, but Elena was allowed.
“Ebony…”
“I’m fine.” Ebony
whispered, the lamp on her nightstand suddenly flicking on and didn’t care what
she looked like at the moment. “It was just a dream, I’m okay…”
Damon frowned at the
sight of tear streaks running down Ebony’s face, eyes narrowing slightly. “You
mean a nightmare.” He corrected gruffly, folding his arms in front of his
chest.
Not acknowledging
him, Ebony swallowed hard when Elena pulled her into a tight hug, closing her
eyes as more tears slid down her cheeks. “You’re shaking really badly, Ebony.”
Elena looked back at Stefan worriedly, running her fingers through her friend’s
black hair, trying to calm her down. “You’re clearly not fine.”
This was not the
first time this happened.
After that night
Damon came to Ebony’s room drunk and she comforted him, Ebony began having
these awful nightmares that wouldn’t stop. One was at the tomb site and Damon
ended up burying her with the rest of the vampires in the debris. Another was
back in Chicago where he drained every last drop of blood from her body and
ripped her to shreds. There was even one where they were at Mystic Grill of all
places enjoying a dinner and, suddenly, Damon snapped, shedding innocent blood
before taking her life. In every one of them, Katherine was mentioned that
followed Ebony losing her life.
“Why is this
happening to me?” Ebony whispered, suddenly feeling her knees buckle and Stefan
flew over because Elena couldn’t hold her weight. “I-I don’t understand…”
“What was the dream
about this time?” Elena asked, sitting on the bed and took Ebony’s hand in
hers, sighing when she shook her head. “Ebony, if you don’t tell me, how am I
supposed to help you?”
“You can’t.” Ebony
whispered simply, staring straight ahead. “These aren’t just dreams. They’re
signs. Signs telling me to get the hell out of Mystic Falls and never look back
before I end up dead.”
Elena frowned, her
heart breaking for her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “No,
that’s not what-”
“Yes it is, Elena,
and you’d be a fool not to believe it.” Ebony cut her off, standing up and
turned around to face Damon.
For the past few
weeks since the dreams started, Ebony had avoided him like the plague, only
confiding in Elena. He was so busy drinking himself into oblivion over
Katherine’s betrayal that he hadn’t really noticed. Though, this was not the
first time he came rushing to her after a nightmare because of her screams,
which didn’t happen every time. Most of them she just woke up feeling a huge
lump in her throat to where she couldn’t get anything out besides a gasp.
“What the hell is
going on here?” Damon demanded, wondering what he could’ve missed considering
he hadn’t really left the mansion in the past few weeks.
“What do you care?
Why are you even in here? Why don’t you go back to your library with your
bottle of bourbon you love so damn much and leave me alone?” Ebony suddenly
snapped, the anger and hurt burning in her grey eyes, folding her arms in front
of her chest.
“That would be our
cue to leave.” Stefan muttered, already pulling Elena up from the bed and
ignored her struggles. “They need to talk, Elena, alone.”
“No, I want you two
to stay.” Ebony stated, stopping them from walking out. “Elena is the only one
I can depend on these days, since the only other person I could rely on has
been too drunk to care.”
Damon eyes flashed,
suddenly flying over to her and watched as she instinctively stumbled back,
squaring his shoulders. “You better not be talking about me. I have no idea
what’s been going on with you lately because you refuse to talk to me about it,
Ebony. How the hell can you depend on me if you don’t even tell me what’s
wrong?”
“You don’t care
anyway.” Ebony retorted, tears stinging her eyes and did everything in her
power not to let them fall. “You came to me a few weeks ago because you needed
comfort and I gave you that. I took care of you when Stefan vervained
you to the point where you couldn’t drink blood without my help. I’ve done
EVERYTHING you’ve asked of me and when I need you the most, all you’re worried
about is getting drunk and forgetting about what that selfish bitch, Katherine,
did to you.”
The mention of
Katherine suddenly turned the ice in Damon’s eyes to blue fire and he was
tempted to backhand her, but barely refrained. “Don’t talk
about her like that, Ebony.” He ordered in a deadly voice, every part of his
body tensed. “I could’ve easily left you to fend for yourself at the tomb and I
DIDN’T. I could’ve easily let that damn teacher get away with what he did to
you, but instead I ripped his throat out. So don’t stand there acting all high
and mighty, claiming that I’ve ever been there for you.”
“I’ll call her
whatever I want because she is a selfish bitch for what she did to you, Damon.
You and Stefan. She used both of you, can’t you see that? She knew where you
were the whole time and didn’t care.” Damon broke down the night he came to
her, telling her everything Annabelle and Pearl told him about Katherine. “She
KNEW she wouldn’t be in that tomb and ended up making you lose your human lives
for NOTHING. So go ahead, make your idle threats and hit me if it makes you
feel better, it doesn’t change the facts.”
Damon gritted his
teeth furiously, not believing what Ebony was spewing at him and the worst part
was everything she said was the truth. “I’m not going to hit you.” He grunted,
taking a step back before he ended up breaking his word and glared over at
Stefan and Elena. “Will someone mind filling me in on what the hell is going
on?”
Ebony wasn’t
dropping it though, not this time. “There you go AGAIN, changing the subject
whenever that bitch is mentioned! I don’t understand it, I really don’t. Maybe
I’m just cold-hearted or maybe I just don’t allow people to control me like you
do. But if it was me pining and loving someone for a hundred and forty five
years, only to find out they didn’t give a damn about me, I wouldn’t drown my sorrows
in every kind of alcohol made. I would get revenge and rip out their heart,
just like they ripped out mine.”
“Ebony…” Elena
cautioned, seeing Damon was about to go over the edge and could feel Stefan
squeeze her hand.
“NO! I’m sick of
this!! You really wanna know what’s been going on,
Damon? Fine, I’ll be HAPPY to tell you. For the past few weeks, I’ve been
having nightmares about YOU. Every single scenario we’ve been in – Chicago,
Georgia, here in the mansion, even at the Mystic Grill, at the tomb site,
ANYWHERE we’ve been I’ve been having dreams about you. And they always end the
same way.” Ebony suddenly blinked as huge tears streamed down her cheeks,
hating how weak she currently was, but couldn’t help it. “Every single time the
same thing happens…”
“Which is?” Damon
pressed coldly, not showing any emotion as he simply stared at her astutely.
“You say you want
Katherine and then you kill me. Ripping my heart out, tearing my head off,
bleeding me dry, burying me in the rubble along with the rest of the tomb
vampires…you name it and you’ve done it in these
dreams.” Ebony informed him bluntly, watching the different emotions suddenly
cross his face and wiped her tears away angrily. “Tell me that’s not a sign,
Damon. Tell me I shouldn’t pack my things right now and get the hell out of
dodge. Tell me SOMETHING because I’m starting to wonder if I’m even wanted
around here anymore.”
It sickened Damon to
know that Ebony had been traumatized with these awful nightmares of him for the
past couple weeks and he didn’t even know about it. He understood why Ebony
didn’t come to him because, in truth, Damon had been feeling down about
Katherine. However, he was also starting to understand exactly what the
conniving bitch did and slowly began hating her with each thought, each memory,
that crossed his mind.
“I don’t want you to
leave, Ebony.” Damon said, suddenly grasping her wrists and pressed them
against his, feeling the tremors rush through her at his simple touch. “I’m not
going to hurt you. I could never hurt you.” He meant that wholeheartedly, his
eyes filled with pure truth. “This is your home now, I already told you that.
Whether you like it or not, you do belong here.”
“Then why is this
happening to me?” Ebony whispered, trying to pull away from him, but Damon
tightened his grip on her wrists a little more. “No, better question, why do
you want me to stay so badly?”
At this point,
Stefan forced Elena out the door and closed it silently behind him, leaving
Damon and Ebony alone. He felt this was not their place to eavesdrop, ignoring
Elena’s protests and simply hoisted her over his shoulder, carting her back
upstairs. Stefan had a few things in mind that he could do to get Elena’s mind
off of what was happening between Damon and Ebony, smirking at the thought.
“I don’t know why
this is happening to you, but I’m going to find out.” Damon assured her,
ignoring her second question and pulled her arms to wrap around his neck, his
forehead meeting hers.
“Why do you want me
to stay?” Ebony asked again, feeling him wipe a tear away with the pad of his
thumb. “Damon, if you don’t give me a reason to stay, I’m leaving Mystic Falls.
I can’t keep feeling like this anymore. I can’t keep running hot and cold with
you, it’s not fair to me and I deserve better than that.”
The words were on
the tip of his tongue, wanting to just come right out and tell Ebony how he
felt about her, but something was holding him back. Damon didn’t understand it,
hating his humanity because currently all these different emotions were kicking
him in the ass. He could see all the pain shining in those grey eyes and knew
it was because of him. Here was this beautiful woman standing in front of him,
just wanting one reason to stay, and Damon didn’t have an answer for her.
“It’s late.” He
said, suddenly backing away and put space between them. “Get some rest, we’ll
talk about this later.”
Ebony could only
watch him walk out the door, dying a little more inside, wondering how much
more she could take before finally just giving up and moving on.
Chapter 29
After sleeping on
it, Ebony made the inevitable decision and knew what she had to do. She was up
early the next morning packing her things, having a lot more, thanks to Damon.
Ebony was leaving Mystic Falls, refusing to put her life on the line for a man
who didn’t want her.
Damon made it clear
he didn’t care about her or feel even an ounce of what she felt for him.
Sticking around pining over him wouldn’t do Ebony any good. She was done
fighting and just wanted to move on with the rest of her existence. Ebony had
no idea where she would go, but couldn’t live under the same roof as Damon.
Not turning around
when a knock sounded at her door, Ebony continued folding her clothes, putting
them in her duffel bag. “Come in.” She called over her shoulder, not stopping
what she was doing. “What do you want Damon?”
“I need to talk to
you…” Damon trailed off, noticing what she was doing and slowly walked up
behind her. “Going somewhere?”
“Yes.” Ebony
replied, taking a pair of jeans and smoothed them out as much as she could
before folding them twice. “I’m leaving.”
“I can see that.”
Damon muttered, suddenly reaching out to stop her from folding laundry by
grabbing her arm, forcing her to turn around to face him. “You don’t have to-”
“Yes I do.” Ebony
argued, staring into those aquamarine eyes she would never forget, no matter
how far away she was. “I can’t keep doing this, Damon. You don’t want me here.”
Damon’s eyes
narrowed, not releasing her. “How the hell do you know what I want, Ebony?” He
demanded in a soft voice, pulling the clothes from her hand and tossed them on
the bed. “Don’t put words in my mouth and jumping to conclusions about me.”
“Then give me a
reason to stay.” Ebony challenged, feeling Damon pull her further against him
to where their nose practically touched, their lips not even an inch apart. “If
you can’t do that, then I’m leaving.”
Sighing, Damon
cupped her face in his hand, running his thumb over her cheek. “What reason do
you want me to give?” He retorted, seeing all the turmoil and hurt swirling in
those grey eyes, eyebrows drawing together. “I don’t want you to go, isn’t that
enough?”
Tears instantly
filled her eyes as Ebony pulled away from his hand, looking down at the floor.
“No it’s not.” She said honestly, refusing to lie to herself anymore about how
she felt, clearing her throat.
Damon growled,
suddenly lifting her in his arms and planted her against the wall by the bed,
her legs wrapped around his waist. “Why does it always have to be all or
nothing with you?” He demanded irritably, not believing how much this woman
could push his buttons one minute and then the next make him have the intense
urge to rip her clothes off and make passionate love to her. “You’re driving me
CRAZY, Ebony…”
“Damon, let go of me
right now.” Ebony ordered in a low voice, trying to maintain her composure, but
being this close to him was making her heady.
“Make me.” Damon
taunted, smirking when she tried pushing him away, but he was older, stronger
and prepared this time, keeping her in place. “You and I both know you’re
enjoying this.”
“No I’m not.” Ebony
argued, squirming against him and that just fueled Damon’s fire further. “Damn
it, what do you want?”
“I want you to stay
and not run off.” Damon didn’t want to release her, but did anyway, letting her
slowly slide down the wall until her feet touched the floor again, stepping
away. “Someone is after you and we have no idea who it is. Someone is planting
those dreams in your head, Ebony. Running off won’t solve anything and you know
it.”
“How do you know
someone is planting them in my head?” Ebony shot back, trying to lace her voice
with malice and failed miserably. “What if it’s just a sign that I need to get
away from you?”
Damon stared at her,
wondering if she was serious and flew over to her, pressing her back against
the wall again. “Because you would’ve been having these dreams from the start
if that was the case. Stop being stupid. These dreams are
consistent and always ends with me killing you after I say I
want…Katherine…” He practically spat her name out in a vicious growl, eyes
flashing. “Which I no longer do.”
That shocked Ebony,
looking up at him and could see how serious he was. “You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.” Damon
grunted, stepping away from her and took a deep breath, his back to her. “The
bottom line is you can’t leave until we figure out what’s going on and, if I
have to vervain you and lock you up like my brother
did to make you stay, I will.” He was being straightforward with her, refusing
to stab Ebony in the back after she stood beside him through everything.
Ebony knew he would
do it in a heartbeat, swallowing hard, and couldn’t help feeling a sense of
relief that he actually said he no longer wanted Katherine. That was definitely
a step in the right direction. It would take time though for him to fully get
over her and Ebony wasn’t sure if she could wait that long. Granted, she had
immortality now, but Ebony refused to pine and love a man as long as Damon did
Katherine.
“What’s the plan
then?” She reluctantly asked, sitting on the bed with her head lowered. “I
won’t leave until this dream situation is resolved, Damon. Now what are we
going to do about it?”
That’s what he
wanted to hear. “Promise?” Damon couldn’t help provoking Ebony, slowly turning
to look at her over his shoulder.
Ebony nodded,
sighing when Damon suddenly stood in front of her, lifting her chin with his
strong hand until grey met aquamarine. “I promise.” She whispered, hoping he
had a plan of some kind to deal with this.
“Before I tell you
what the plan is, I want to ask you something.” Damon sat on the bed beside
her, lifting her to where she straddled his lap, wrapping his arms around her
waist so she couldn’t go anywhere. “I want you to go for a ride with me, just
the two of us, tonight. We need to talk about a few things…” He’d been keeping
something from her for a while and Damon decided, if Ebony was leaving, she at
least deserved to know the truth.
“You want to take me
for a car ride?” Ebony sounded confused when she asked that, tilting her head
slightly and watched him nod. “Okay…sure, I guess.” Obviously he didn’t want
prying ears and wanted to make sure they were completely alone and secluded
before discussing whatever was on his mind.
Damon smiled, not
believing how easy it was for her to agree to his wants and pressed his
forehead to hers. “We’ll figure out who’s doing this to you, Ebony.” He vowed,
refusing to let anything happen to her. “And I need you to know that I would
never hurt you. You would never do all the terrible things I’ve done in your
dreams. And I DON’T want Katherine anymore. I need you to believe that, I need
you to believe me.”
He said it again,
Ebony’s heart began lifting just a little with hope, wondering what suddenly
brought this on. “I do, Damon. I know you have no reason to lie to me. That’s
one quality you do have is not lying and being brutally honest. I know you’d
never hurt me either, I was just scared out of my mind last night because you
kicked open my door right after I woke up from the dream.”
“I know, sorry about
that.” He chortled, running a finger down her cheek and could become lost in
her grey eyes in a split second. “Don’t leave, we’ll figure this all out
without you being forced out of your home. This is your home now, whether you
believe it or not.”
“That depends on
you, Damon.” Whatever happened tonight would probably determine if Ebony was
going to stay in Mystic Falls or not, after this dream situation was handled
first. “Now what’s the plan?”
Smiling, Damon stood
up and set her on her feet, extending his hand. “Come with me.” He felt her
hand clasp his and walked out of the bedroom with her, planning on giving her
several reasons to stay tonight during their car ride.
When they walked into
the library, Ebony blinked at the sight of several other people standing
around. Stefan and Elena were a given, but what shocked her most was Bonnie
Bennett, the witch. Caroline and Matt were there also along with the Mystic
Falls High School history teacher, Alaric Saltzman. He took over for William
Tanner after Damon ripped his throat out, which Ebony still enjoyed every time
she thought about it.
“What’s going on?”
Ebony asked, slowly walking down the stairs with Damon still guiding her.
“The plan, doll.”
Damon answered, sitting her down on the couch and walked over to get them a
drink. “Elena will explain everything.”
Ebony’s grey eyes
slowly moved from Damon to Elena, watching as her friend slowly sat down on the
couch. “I talked with Bonnie about what we could do to try figuring out who’s
planting these dreams in your head. Because I hope you realize it’s not just a
coincidence, it’s deliberate.” Elena explained, jumping right into it because
they didn’t have a lot of time.
Ebony nodded. “So
what exactly is the witch supposed to do?” She couldn’t help the malice lacing
her voice, knowing Bonnie did not care for vampires and the feeling was more
than mutual when it came to witches.
“She wants to put
you in a trance, basically put you to sleep, and try to find the source inside
your head.” Elena knew that sounded completely insane, but it was the best
description she could come up with, watching Ebony’s eyes widen.
“You want me to do
WHAT?” Ebony suddenly stood up from the couch, shaking her head violently. “No,
NO, absolutely not! You want me to trust a witch to delve in my head to try
finding out who’s doing this? Have you lost your mind?”
“Just hear us out.”
Elena said, standing up as well as Damon walked back over with a shot of bourbon
for Ebony, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Please.”
“No.” Ebony was
steadfast, folding her arms in front of her chest. “How do I know once she’s in
there she won’t screw something up? No, this is insane and I’m not doing it.”
She took the drink from Damon and threw the shot back, desperately needing it.
“There has to be another way.”
Damon sighed,
holding his hand up when Elena went to protest. “Let me handle this.” He turned
to face Ebony, seeing she was genuinely scared and had every right to be. “You
promised, remember?”
“I promised I would
stick around until we found out who’s doing this, Damon. I NEVER agreed to let
a witch force me to have another nightmare of you killing me.” Ebony spat,
wishing she would’ve known what she was promising and getting herself into before giving him her word. “Damn it…”
“This is the only
way for us to find out. Bonnie is trustworthy. She’ll do her witchy juju and
we’ll find out who’s giving you the dreams.” Damon convinced, wrapping an arm
around her shoulders and guided her over toward the fireplace. “It’s a
win-win.”
“I don’t know…”
Ebony hated being stubborn about this, but couldn’t help thinking this wasn’t
going to work and make things worse. “You really trust her?”
“You did save her
from the tomb.” Damon pointed out, looking over at Bonnie somewhat
perceptively. “So, in my book, she owes you.”
Thinking it over for
a few minutes as the room remained silent, Ebony stared into the fire
thoughtfully, finally closing her eyes. “I’ll do it.” Ebony took Damon’s drink
from him, shooting it back and handed the glass back to him before walking toward
Bonnie. “Let’s get one thing straight, witch, I don’t like you and I don’t
trust you. But my friends do, so in turn I trust their judgment. Do we
understand each other?”
“Yes.” Bonnie
answered evenly, standing beside her boyfriend and Elena’s little brother,
Jeremy. “I will need something personal of yours to do the spell.”
“Will it be
destroyed?”
“No.”
Ebony could only
hope Bonnie was telling the truth and took her daylight ring off, handing it
over. “This is very important to me, please don’t do anything to it.” She
requested, feeling Bonnie take it and already felt incomplete without it. “What
happens now?”
“You are going to
lay down in front of the fireplace, over here.” Bonnie gestured to the place
they already had set up, keeping a stone face. “Lay down while I surround your
body with candles, they’ll help me generate the power I need.”
Sighing resignedly,
Ebony headed over to the spot where a blanket was spread out, looking over
shoulder at Damon, who was standing right behind her. He just nodded
encouragingly, giving the extra push she needed to actually do this and dropped
to her knees before slowly laying down. She watched as everyone sat on the
leather couches to witness this, feeling a little better that she wasn’t
completely alone and saw Bonnie kneel right above her head.
“Close your eyes.”
Bonnie ordered, closing her eyes and suddenly all the candles that surrounded
Ebony lit on their own, the fire behind them rising just a little. “Relax your
mind and body.”
Ebony felt someone
grab her hand and knew just by the touch alone it was Damon, squeezing it back
before doing what Bonnie said. Elena and Stefan looked on nervously, both of
them glancing over at Alaric, knowing he was here in case something bad
happened. He had a vervain dart ready to go in case
Ebony lashed out and tried hurting Bonnie, which could happen with the
nightmares she’d been having lately.
They weren’t taking
any chances.
~!~
Ebony was deep into
the woods running as fast as she could, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
She wore what looked like a vintage dress that felt as though it weighed twenty
pounds, her hair swept up on top of her head. She was human again, not using her
vampire speed because she was running as fast as a human being could.
Suddenly, there was
Damon in front of her, looking strapping in a black suit, his hair a little
curlier. “Damon…” She slowly began backing away from him, tears in her eyes and
ended up hitting a tree, knowing she had nowhere to go. “Please…”
“Ssshhhh…”
He pressed a finger to his lips, his eyes turning predatory and locked eyes
with her. “Do not scream and do not move.” He was compelling her, Ebony could
already feel the pull working and nodded, feeling his fangs pierce her skin
moments later.
She wasn’t alone in
the dream though, confusion in her eyes at the sight of a dark skinned woman
while this monster began draining her. She watched the woman point in the
distance and somehow understood what she was saying, watching her run in that
direction. A growl echoed in the night as Damon kept drinking, feeling her life
slowly slipping away, her heart slowing down and suddenly Ebony slumped in his
arms.
“I want…”
~!~
Bonnie’s eyes shot
open, stopping the trance instantly and looked up at Elena and Stefan. “I know
who it is.”
Just then, Ebony
slowly came out of her trance and bolted upright, tears streaming down her face
as Damon instantly took her into his arms, clinging to him for dear life.
“Who is it, witchy?”
Damon demanded, stroking Ebony’s hair and tried getting her to calm down,
hating that this was happening to her.
Bonnie took a deep
breath and told them exactly what she saw, not believing it.
Chapter 30
“I don’t believe
this.”
Damon didn’t know
what to say, following Ebony out of the mansion and told everyone else to stay
inside; giving her the time she needed to process everything. He was also in
shock, not seeing this coming and it was very hard to shock someone like Damon.
Leaning against the ledge of the front porch, Damon looked out at the yard
while Ebony just walked, wondering what she was thinking and feeling. As much
as he wanted to go to her, Damon stayed put and gave her space, already
planning on how to deal with this.
What Ebony was
currently thinking and feeling was that she wanted revenge for what was
happening. She wanted to dig her nails into the bitch’s throat and rip out her
vocal cords before tearing her head clean off. Her feeling was obviously rage,
but also confusion because Ebony did not understand why this particular vampire
was targeting her…a second time. Gritting her teeth, Ebony let what happened
with the tomb slide once, but she’d be DAMNED if she let this go.
Ebony didn’t care
how old Annabelle was; any vampire could be hurt, no matter their age. It was
all about the element of surprise. Why Annabelle was purposefully planting
dreams about Damon killing her and mentioning Katherine before each one ended
was beyond her. It didn’t make sense. She looked back at Damon, who looked like
he was in his own world, and decided it was time to take that drive. She had
questions that had to be answered and she had a feeling he was the man who had
them.
“Are you ready to go
on that drive?” Ebony asked, jolting him out of his thoughts and stood there
with a stone face.
Damon nodded,
needing to get out of there for a while and already had his keys in hand,
walking to his car with her following. Ebony slid into the passenger side while
Damon got behind the wheel, both of them still in disbelief. Once they pulled
out of the driveway and headed out of Mystic Falls, Ebony finally looked over
at Damon, trying to decide how to word her question.
“Why would Annabelle
attack me like this?” Ebony finally blurted out, watching as Damon tensed, his
hands gripping the steering wheel. “And why would she mention Katherine?” The
ONLY reason Katherine’s name wasn’t mentioned in the last dream was because
Bonnie had broken the trance before Damon could say it.
Damon didn’t
respond, staring straight ahead and could feel his jaw tightening.
“Damon, if you know
something, you really need to tell me.” Ebony stated, not giving him a choice
and frowned when he continued remaining silent. “Whatever.” Looking out the
window, an overwrought silence fell over both of them and all Ebony could do
was sit there with a million questions in her mind that Damon refused to
answer.
It wasn’t that Damon
didn’t want to answer the question, but this wasn’t exactly what he had planned
for the drive. He wanted to take Ebony far away from Mystic Falls, a few hours
at least, and finally tell her what he’d been keeping secret. She was going to
be upset, very angry, and he loved the mansion too much for it to be completely
destroyed with both of their tempers.
They would end up
fighting, it was inevitable.
A couple hours
later, Damon finally pulled up to a nearby secluded house and put the car in
drive, staring at it thoughtfully. He slowly looked over at Ebony, seeing the
confusion on her face and smiled before opening the car door, shutting it. He
flew over and opened her door, extending his hand and was surprised when she
took it, leading her toward the house.
“Where are we?”
Ebony asked, finally breaking the silence that stowed between them over the
past few hours.
“West Virginia.”
Damon answered, guiding her up the wooden stairs and slid the key in the lock
before pushing it open, the door creaking a little. “Care to come inside? Don’t
worry, vampires can enter since I own it.”
Compared to the
mansion, this place was…a shack to put it mildly. Very small with a tiny
kitchen, living room and two bedrooms…Why Damon would have something like this
was beyond Ebony as she looked around curiously. She felt Damon release her
hand as he walked down the hallway, disappearing for a few seconds while she
continued taking in her surroundings.
There was a small
couch, chair, coffee table and very old black carpeting that looked like it
hadn’t been vacuumed in quite a while. Everything was covered in a thin layer
of dust, which told Ebony nobody had been here in at least a few years. She
walked into the kitchen and sat there was a table that was attached to the
wall, two booth seats with a refrigerator.
“This was my home
away from home after I left Stefan back when we were first turned into
vampires.” Damon said from behind, watching her turn around to face him and
slowly entered the small kitchen. “I’ve updated it over the years to keep up
with the times. I know it needs to be updated again, but just haven’t had a
chance or desire to do it.”
“Why West Virginia?”
Ebony asked, slowly sitting down in one of the booths while Damon walked over
to a cabinet, spinning it around and grabbed two glasses with a bottle of what
looked like very old Scotch.
Damon didn’t answer
at first, popping the bottle open and poured each of them a healthy dose,
sliding hers over on the table before taking a seat in front of her in the
other booth. He swallowed down half his glass and closed his eyes, savoring the
taste since the Scotch was well over twenty years old. It was severely strong
and could probably kill the average human if consumed as fast as Damon did, but
luckily for him it did nothing to the undead.
“Mystic Falls was my
home, but I had to leave it due to Stefan going off the deep-end with his binge
drinking.” By that, Damon meant Stefan had gone on a killing spree and shed so
much blood that it sickened Damon to witness. “My brother flipped the switch on
his humanity and I couldn’t risk being caught because the townsfolk were out to
destroy all vampires. So I packed up and left him to his own demise. I ended up
finding this little shack and figured it was safe since it was not only out in
the middle of nowhere and secluded, but close enough to home as I could get.”
Ebony nodded,
sniffing the Scotch and the robust scent made her throat burn with need, taking
a long swallow. She began coughing instantly, slamming the glass down and
fought back tears because of how incredibly strong it was. Grey eyes flashed
when Damon began chuckling at her and Ebony retaliated by kicking him in the
shin, smirking when he growled.
“Not so funny now is
it?” She stated, sipping the Scotch a little more carefully and knew it was
time to have their talk. “Why did you bring me here, Damon?”
Damon poured more
Scotch in his empty glass, sliding the bottle to the side and took his time
with this second helping. “Because there’s something I need to tell you and I
wanted to do it where nobody else would be able to interrupt or overhear us.”
He looked down at the Scotch with furrowed thick black eyebrows, running the
pad of his thumb around the rim of the glass. “And once I tell you, I know
you’ll probably end up hating me forever.”
Blinking, Ebony
could already feel her insides quaking and began turning her daylight ring
around her finger, having gotten it back right after Bonnie told them about
Annabelle. “What is it?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer, but
something was forcing her to find out. “Just tell me, Damon.”
“Before I do, you
have to know that meeting you at the strip club in Chicago was complete
coincidence.” Damon said, figuring starting off with that might jostle Ebony a
bit as he took a long swallow of Scotch, feeling extremely nervous.
“W-What are you
talking about?” Ebony was very jostled and confused, leaning back against the
booth seat. “What does the strip club have to do with anything?”
“It didn’t make
sense at first.” Damon refused to look up at her because, if he saw the
emotions in those grey eyes, he wouldn’t be able to say what he brought her for.
“I’ve NEVER wanted to turn anybody and never cared what I did to a human. I was
going to kill you that night after we had sex. I was going to drain you dry and
leave you for the maid of the hotel to find. But I saw all the pain and agony
you went through. While I drank from you, I dived into your mind and…that’s
when I saw the vision that forced me to make the decision to turn you.”
Everything Damon was
saying to her at that moment was brutal and it made tears sting Ebony’s eyes,
but she didn’t move. “What did you see?” She whispered, her morbid curiosity
overwhelming every other part of her brain that was screaming at her to do
something, to get away from him.
Finally looking up
at her, Damon locked aquamarine orbs on tear-filled grey and felt his chest
tighten a little, downing the rest of his Scotch. “Her.” He croaked out,
standing up from the booth, trying to reign in his emotions and keep control.
“I had no idea, Ebony…”
“Her?” Ebony looked
over at him and blinked, tears spilling from her eyes down her cheeks, slowly
standing up as well. “You had no idea about WHAT?”
“I killed her.”
Damon slowly turned around to face her, knowing he couldn’t be a coward and
back down now. “I’m the vampire that took your best friend’s life…Ashley’s
life.”
Ebony’s hand flew up
to cover her suddenly dropped mouth with her hand, more tears falling and shook
her head repeatedly. “No, No that’s-that’s not true…I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!!” She
screamed, watching as Damon’s head dropped in shame and brought her other hand,
cupping both of them over her mouth and nose. “No…NO!!”
She was in love with
the man who had killed her only friend, her only family.
“Ebony, I didn’t
know…”
Damon began coming
toward her, holding his hands out and Ebony instantly backed away from him, the
tears not stopping. “S-Stay away from me.” She whispered, trembling so hard she
could barely speak clearly. “Take another step and I will do everything in my
power to kill you.”
“I don’t blame you
for being angry with me.” Damon said honestly, knowing she couldn’t kill him
even if she wanted to because she loved him. “You have to understand though I
had no idea who she was. She was looking for a good time and I went with it. We
had sex, I did NOT rape her. The bruises that were on her body were from our
rough encounter. I did exactly what I did with her to you and I was going to
leave you dead just like I did to her, but I couldn’t. I saw her face flash in your
mind and…”
“JUST STOP IT!!”
Ebony screamed, not wanting to hear anymore and began storming toward the front
door, only for Damon to fly over in front of her. “Get out of my way!”
“No, you need to
hear everything.” Damon argued, wanting to reach out and touch her, but knew
that would only end up sending him through the front door.
“NO!!”
Grabbing her upper
arms roughly, Damon yanked her against him to where their noses brushed
together, gritting his teeth. “Yes.” He hissed out, keeping her there by using
his superior strength and tried not letting her tears affect him. “I saved you
because of her. Because, for the first time in my life, I felt remorse for what
I did. I could’ve easily killed you that night, but I didn’t and I have no idea
why. I didn’t know Ashley from a hole in the ground and thought of her as only
dinner. But you were different.”
“W-Why are you
telling me this?” Did Damon want her to hate him more than she already did?
“W-Why was I so different?” Ebony stammered out, trying to tear away from him,
but Damon was holding her so tight, she could barely move.
“Because I need you
to understand that the man you love, the man you want to be with, the man you
demand a reason to stay from is nothing more than a blood thirsty monster.” Damon
stated evenly, trembling slightly against her because this was very hard for
him to admit. “I’m not human, Ebony. I enjoy hunting humans and draining them
dry because that’s what’s in my nature and that’s who I am. Like it or not,
that’s what a vampire is – a monster. And you deserved the truth about what
happened to Ashley.”
No matter how much
Ebony wanted to hate him for what he did to Ashley, she simply couldn’t and
hated herself for it. How could she still love the vampire who killed her best
friend, her sister? Damon was right in everything he said because, truthfully,
that’s the type of species they were. Vampires were made to survive on human
blood and all he’d done that night he met Ashley was do what his nature
demanded. A nature she now had.
“What made me so
different from her?” Ebony whispered brokenly, not having any fight left in her
as she slowly slumped against him, lowering her head. “Why did you spare me
instead of her?”
“Because I saw a
spark inside of you that wasn’t in her. And when I saw her flash through your
mind with all the pain and anguish, I wanted to take it all away. There was and
still is something special about you, Ebony. I had no idea who you were when I
first saw you dance on that stage. I only knew that I wanted you and it sort of
snowballed.” Damon lifted her chin to meet his eyes, hating that he was hurting
her like this, but he couldn’t keep this secret from her any longer. “You were
the first woman I came across that I felt anything with, any type of emotion, since
Katherine. That emotion was regret, something I haven’t felt in a very long
time. You made me feel again because I’d been dead inside for the past century
and a half, pining for an evil slut that only cared about herself and nobody
else.”
Ebony swallowed
hard, feeling him wipe away the tears that continuously fell and took his
wrists in her hands, stepping away from him. “You took the only family I had,
the only person I ever truly loved. You ripped her away from me, Damon. We were
supposed to travel together once I got out of the orphanage. We were supposed
to live life to the fullest and not let anything get in our way. And you took
that opportunity away from us.” She walked around him to the front door,
placing her hand on the door handle and looked over her shoulder just as he
turned to face her. “I understand you were just doing what was in our nature,
but it doesn’t change the fact you killed her. And that’s unforgiveable.”
Damon closed his
eyes as the door slammed shut and knew he did the right thing by telling Ebony
the truth, even if it meant losing her forever.
Chapter 31
Ebony spent the rest
of the day, and better part of the night, sitting out on the water’s edge, crying.
She couldn’t stop, no matter how hard she tried, the intensity of it almost too
overwhelming for her to handle. All she could think about was Ashley and wished
there was something she could’ve done to stop Damon from killing her.
Instead, she was stuck
in an orphanage and wasn’t allowed to leave until it was too late, which pissed
her off. Maybe if she’d been with Ashley back then, she could’ve stopped her
from going off with Damon. Or maybe she could’ve taken Ashley’s place and wound
up murdered instead of her best friend.
Even when Ebony
thought her tear ducts were bone dry, a memory of Ashley would flash through
her mind and the tears would start all over again. Every part of her body
radiated with pain and anguish, wanting it to disappear forever. She knew there
was only one way to do it and slowly looked over her shoulder at the shack,
grey eyes narrowing.
Ebony didn’t
understand why Damon told her, having vowed when she first became a vampire
that she would track down Ashley’s murderer and destroy them. To find out it
was the man she was in love with, and who had changed her into the one thing
that killed Ashley, filled Ebony with powerful guilt. What made her feel even
guiltier was the fact that Ebony still loved Damon, even after what he confessed,
and that in turn made the hatred for herself burn deep within.
Even though Ebony
told Damon it was unforgiveable for what he did to Ashley, she hadn’t meant it.
Not even for a second. All she wanted to do was go in the small shack and cause
Damon some kind of pain that would be rectifying for Ashley’s death. Her memory
suddenly kicked into overdrive as Ebony closed her eyes, recollecting the night
Mrs. Dearborn came to her room to inform her Ashley was found dead.
“The papers said she
was brutally raped and drained of blood…” She murmured aloud, plucking at the
grass and rubbed it between her fingers, knowing there was a piece of the
puzzle missing. “The bruises, it had to be the bruises…”
Somehow, for
whatever reason Ebony still couldn’t come up with, Damon was telling the truth
regarding what happened between him and Ashley. Hell, she didn’t blame Ashley
for wanting a piece of him, she had the night he approached her in the strip
club’s parking lot. His aquamarine eyes, those thick black eyebrows that
shadowed over them, his short messy black hair style, perfect lips…Damon
dripped sexuality and that was putting it mildly.
As much as Ebony
wanted to hate him for what he did to her only friend and family, she simply
couldn’t. Damon could’ve kept this dark secret with him forever and never told
her the truth. He could’ve let her search everywhere for Ashley’s murderer and
lead her into a false sense of truth, but that wasn’t Damon’s style.
He was a complete
dick and didn’t care about anyone, but one thing he did right was tell the
truth. Damon was brutally honest to the point where just his words could
physically hurt a person, living or undead. The more Ebony thought about it,
the more she started realizing that Damon was the anti-hero and did things his
own way to come to the same outcome, no matter what the circumstances were.
Slowly standing,
Ebony brushed the dirt and leaves off of her jeans before turning around,
heading back toward the small shack. She could hear the light snoring coming from
inside and knew Damon was sleeping, deciding she wouldn’t disturb him. Very
carefully and quietly, Ebony turned the doorknob and stepped inside; stopping
at the sight of Damon sprawled out on the couch, his feet dangling off the
edge. His shirt was off, exposing his delicious muscular torso and abs, one arm
flung over his head, breathing in and out evenly.
Ebony closed the
door silently and walked past Damon down the hallway, doing her own
exploration. Two bedrooms, one bathroom…she sighed and walked into the
bathroom, feeling drained and exhausted, her eyes beginning to droop. Peeling
her shirt and jeans off, Ebony left her undergarments on to sleep in, letting
her hair down.
She would shower in
the morning, but right now all Ebony wanted was a bed and rest. Ebony wore an
emerald green panty and bra set, the panties boy cut style, so they were
technically sleepwear. Looking down the hallway at a still sleeping Damon,
Ebony contemplated waking him up and frowned, looking down at her daylight
ring.
Would she be
betraying Ashley if she forgave Damon for her death?
“Forgive me,
Ashley.” Ebony whispered softly, hoping wherever her friend was she didn’t hate
her for this.
Ebony padded down
the hallway, running her fingers along the wall and finally stood in front of
him, feeling as though that short trip took forever. She stared down at him, so
many different emotions flowing through her, but one stood out above all the rest.
Leaning over him, Ebony reached her hand out to touch him, only for Damon’s
hand to shoot out, wrapping tightly around her throat, his own eyes snapping
open.
“D-Damon…” Ebony
coughed out, knowing better than to sneak up on him, instantly grabbing his
wrist.
Damon released her
throat a few seconds later, after making sure she hadn’t attempted to kill him,
and shoved her back a few feet. “What the hell, Ebony? You’re lucky I didn’t
snap your damn neck with that stunt.” He stated, sitting up a little on the
couch and stretched his arms in the air, yawning widely.
“If I would’ve known
you were going to lash out at me like that, I would’ve left you alone.” Ebony
grunted, rubbing her bruised neck and could already feel it healing. “I wasn’t
going to do anything except wake you up. You didn’t look very comfortable on
the couch since it looks very cramped.”
“When did you come
back inside?” Damon asked, his voice still thick and gruff with sleep, slowly
getting to his feet, jeans hanging very low on his hips.
Ebony suddenly found
it very hard to focus and had to look away, rubbing the back of her neck
nervously. “A few minutes ago.” She answered; thankful he headed straight for
the kitchen, giving her a second or two to learn how to breathe again. “I was getting
ready to head to bed…”
“Bed?” Damon raised
a brow; staring over at her while he poured another tumbler of scotch, eyes
devouring her due to the lack of clothing she currently wore. “Did you go out
hunting?”
Ebony shook her
head. “No, I’m not hungry.” She had a feeling Damon was though and started
heading down the hallway, only for him to block her path. “What?”
“You didn’t try to
kill me.” He said almost suspiciously, folding his arms in front of his chest.
“Why not?”
Was Damon actually
asking an asinine question like this? “I refuse to answer that. Good night,
Damon.” Ebony went to walk away, but Damon grabbed her arm, stopping her from
doing so.
“Answer my
question.”
“Why would I try to
kill you?” Ebony retorted in a soft voice, looking back at him sadly. “Would it
make you feel better if I did?”
“I killed the only
person you ever loved, Ebony.” Damon reminded her evenly, looking confused
because he’d been expecting her to try driving the nearest branch through his
heart. “You have no desire to kill me?”
“No.” Ebony lowered
her eyes from his, tears stinging her eyes at the mention of Ashley.
Damon wasn’t buying
it, smelling a rat and tightened his grip on her arm, turning her to face him
forcefully, danger flashing in his eyes. “I don’t believe that, not after what
I told you. You’re lying to me.” He growled, his paranoia overriding every other
emotion at the moment. “You want me to let my guard down. You want me to
believe everything’s hunky dory and the first opportunity you get, you’ll try
to kill me huh? That’s it isn’t it? ISN’T IT?”
“NO!!” Ebony cried
out, her arms feeling as though they were on fire with how tight his grip was.
“I CAN’T KILL YOU!!”
She broke free with
her strength and shoved him away from her, a few tears spilling down her
cheeks. Not waiting around to see what he would do next; Ebony flew down the
hallway and inside the first bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her,
locking it. Ebony supposed she didn’t blame him for being paranoid considering
the vow she’d made about making the vampire suffer who took Ashley’s life.
It was different now
that she knew Damon was the vampire though.
“And why the hell
NOT?” Damon demanded, recovering quickly and stalked after her since she’d
flown down the hallway, arriving at the closed bedroom door. “You know you
can’t keep me out of there, Ebony. I can easily break the lock just by twisting
the handle, so you might as well come out here and face me.”
“Damon, please leave
me alone.” Ebony called through the door, curled up on the bed with the sheet
drawn up to cover her body. “I’m not going to try killing you, I promise!”
The door swung open
a few seconds later as Damon stood in the doorway, deliberately stepping into
the room just to show Ebony he wasn’t dropping the subject. “Why not?” He
demanded for the last time, smirking wickedly when she tried backing away on
the bed and a predatory gleam suddenly flashed in his eyes. “What’s holding you
back from driving a stake through my heart, hmm?”
Ebony felt
completely helpless, especially when her back hit the headboard and knew she
could try fighting him if he attacked, but she would end up losing. “I couldn’t
kill you even if I wanted to.” She whispered, gripping the sheets when he tried
yanking them away from her, gritting her teeth. “Damon, stop it.”
“Why should I?” He
taunted, crawling up the bed until he was at her feet, still having a fistful
of sheets in his hand, yanking almost teasingly. “This IS my room after all and
you’re in my bed.”
Grinning maliciously
when those beautiful grey eyes widened, Damon took the distraction and grabbed
her ankles through the sheets, yanking her down beneath his muscular body.
Ebony squealed out in surprise, not expecting that to happen and could only
look up into his electric blue eyes. Damon moved faster than the speed of
light, suddenly having the sheet over both of them and felt her hands
instinctively press against his chest.
“That’s MUCH
better.” Damon growled, boxing her in to where Ebony had nowhere to run and
nowhere to hide, their legs entwined together while Damon’s arms were on either
side of her head. “Now then, where were we?”
“I didn’t know this
was your room.” Ebony stated, sinking back into the pillow and bed, trying not
to think of the dream she’d had that was similar to this current situation.
“You didn’t specify which room I should use so I guessed.”
“That’s not what
we’re talking about, Ebony.” Damon stated, giving her a few points for effort
on trying to change the subject. “Now answer my question.”
“I told you the
answer-” Damon pressed his finger to her lips, silencing Ebony’s mediocre
response.
“I don’t like the
repetitive conversation we’re having.” He suddenly wrapped a hand around her
throat, but didn’t squeeze, his head dipping to where his mouth was right by
her ear. “If you don’t tell me the real reason, I will tear your throat out.”
Ebony shivered with
both fear and desire against him, closing her eyes and knew he was going to end
up killing her. “Damon, please…” She whispered, suddenly gasping when that hand
tightened around her throat, instantly gripping his wrist. “Damon!”
“Answer me.” He
ordered in deadly voice, black eyebrows furrowed somewhat angrily. “I don’t
want to hurt you, Ebony, but I will if it means protecting myself.” Damon had
enough of backstabbing bitches to last him a lifetime, refusing to let another
woman trick him again like Katherine did.
“O-Okay…OKAY!!”
Ebony coughed out as soon as he released her throat, not moving an inch while
she tried regaining her breath. “Y-You were wrong…with what you said earlier…”
She managed to choke out, suddenly regretting waking him up out of a deep
sleep.
Lesson learned,
Ebony would never do it again.
“Wrong about what?”
Damon pressed, stroking the top of her head and ignored the current regret he
wanted to feel at the sight of her tears.
“About what you
said.” Ebony locked eyes with him, blinking as a few tears slid down her cheeks
while rubbing her healing throat. “You said you killed the only person I’ve
ever loved. You were wrong when you said that.”
Damon knew exactly
what she meant by that, remembering her confession from a few weeks back, but
he now wanted to hear the words come out of her mouth. “Then tell me exactly
why you can’t kill me.” He wasn’t asking, it was an order and if Ebony valued
her life, she would simply tell him. “Say it.”
Did he know? Ebony
swallowed hard, wondering if she would regret telling him the truth and figured
she owed him since he came clean about Ashley. “I can’t kill someone I love, no
matter what they’ve done.” Maybe that would be enough for him to back off
because Ebony was terrified right now.
“Say it.” He
whispered, not letting that average answer slide, his lips hovering just over
hers while their eye contact didn’t break. “Tell me.”
Damon was so evil
and diabolical, he was purposefully teasing her with his lips just so she would
come clean and Ebony hated him for it. “You’re such a dick.” She growled, grey
eyes narrowing and knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
“Of course I am.” He
conceded with a devious smirk. “We both know that, but that’s not what I want
to hear come from that beautiful mouth of yours. Say the words, Ebony.
Otherwise, I might start to think you’re messing with my head and things might
get a little…violent.”
“I hate you so
much.” Ebony meant that with every fiber of her being, her body tensed and
coiled, ready to lash out at him. “But I also love you, okay? I love you and I
can’t kill you.” There, she said it and Ebony hoped he was satisfied because
she felt incredibly vulnerable right now.
Even though he told
her the truth, this woman still loved him and Damon couldn’t believe it,
knowing she meant it. She meant what she said. It was a hate/love relationship
they had between them. Instead of kissing her lips, Damon reached up to brush
his lips across her forehead, lingering a little longer than necessary and
pulled back instantly.
“Thanks.” Damon
hopped up out of the bed, the biggest grin on his face with sparkling
aquamarine eyes. “I’m going out hunting; I’ll be back shortly since you’re too
tired to join me.”
Gaping, Ebony could
only watch him saunter down the hallway with an extra kick in his step and took
the pillow, screaming into it as loud as she possibly could.
Chapter 32
The following
morning, Ebony woke up to the feeling of being spooned by Damon, his arms
draped over her waist leisurely. She was tempted to elbow him in the face, but
decided against it, not wanting to fight with him anymore. That and the feeling
of him holding her was too incredible to destroy,
soaking the moment in as much as she could.
Her grey eyes looked
toward the nightstand and Ebony couldn’t help smiling at the container of
blood, knowing he’d gotten it for her. Was Damon Salvatore actually showing
concern for her wellbeing? Reaching for it carefully, Ebony took the straw that
was beside the container and opened the lid, the smell of human blood instantly
setting her throat on fire.
Closing her eyes,
Ebony began sucking the thick red liquid through the straw and instantly let
out a soft moan, the fire in her throat instantly quenched. Ebony ended up
devouring the whole container in seconds, not realizing just how thirsty she’d
been until now. Maybe she should’ve gone out hunting with Damon the previous
night, but honestly Ebony didn’t have the strength with all the crying she’d
done.
“I knew you were
hungry.” Damon’s voice rumbled from behind, not moving an inch and didn’t
bother opening his eyes either. “Feel better?”
Ebony nodded,
setting the empty container on the nightstand and snuggled back in bed with
him. “Yes, thank you.” She murmured softly, closing her eyes when he buried his
nose in her hair while she laced their fingers together over her chest.
Damon didn’t pull
away, inhaling her intoxicating scent and couldn’t remember the last time he
felt this content. Granted, they still had the issue to deal with Annabelle,
but that would be handled in all due time. That’s not the reason Damon brought
Ebony all the way out here, Annabelle and the dreams the furthest thing from
his mind right now. Ebony loved him and Damon knew he felt the same way about
her, but it would take him time to say the words, hoping she understood.
“I’m surprised
you’re not kicking me out of bed after what I did last night.” Damon said
thoughtfully, feeling her roll to where she was on her back, staring up at him
through those stunning grey eyes. “Not even a little mad at me?”
“No, even though I
should be.” Ebony said truthfully, reaching up to brush a few strands of black
hair from his forehead before cupping his face with her hand. “I should be
angry at you for a lot of things, but I’m not. I guess that’s my own
stupidity.”
Chuckling, Damon
agreed wholeheartedly with her and began running his fingertips along her flat
smooth bare stomach, lying on his side facing her. “Indeed.” He rumbled,
enjoying the feeling of her smooth skin against his touch, wanting nothing more
than to just stay here with her and never leave.
“Did you mean what
you said?” Ebony turned on her side to face him, stopping him from stroking her
skin and hoped he had the answer she wanted to hear.
“You’re going to
have to elaborate a little for me, Ebony.” Damon stated, not having a clue what
she was talking about, looking a little perplexed. “I mean a lot of things I
say.”
“About Katherine.”
Ebony knew this probably wasn’t the best time to bring her up, but she had to
know the answer, good or bad. “Did you mean what you said about her?”
“Yes.” Damon replied
without hesitation, eyes icing over at the mere mention of the woman who had
made him believe she actually cared and loved him. “Part of me will always feel
something for her because it was her blood that turned me. That’s why you feel
so loyal to me because of our linked bloodline. Some don’t feel loyalty though,
which I no longer do. If I ever see Katherine again, I will do everything in my
power to rip her heart out and shove it down her throat.”
The biggest wave of
relief washed over Ebony upon hearing those words because Damon had finally
opened his eyes to the truth. “I know she burned you badly, Damon, but I give
you my word right now that you’re the only one I want. I have no interest in
anyone else and I’ll never hurt you the way she did.” She scooted closer to
him, cupping his face gently and slid her fingers down to his chin, pulling it
until their lips met in a soft tender kiss.
Damon couldn’t
remember the last time he felt Ebony’s lips against his and savored every
second of it, wrapping his arm around her waist, their chests pressed together.
What started as a gentle sweet kiss turned passionate within seconds as Damon
rolled Ebony on her back, groaning when she instantly gave him access to her
sweet mouth. Searching and reaching every crevice, Damon felt her fingers run
through his hair and down his shoulders, loving the feeling of his muscles
rippling beneath her fingertips.
Her words rekindled
something inside of Damon he hadn’t felt in a very long time – Love. The raw
truth shined in her eyes with every word spoken and it just made Damon solidify
in his mind that he did love Ebony. Turning her into a vampire and extending
his bloodline was the best decision Damon ever made. Ebony wanted to give him
everything Katherine didn’t and, for once, Damon wasn’t running away from it.
Instead, he embraced
it.
“So, does this mean
you’re not leaving me now?” Damon asked once the kiss broke, running his lips
down her jaw to her neck while his hands ran down her sides. “Hmm?”
“What do you think?”
Ebony retorted breathlessly, her entire body flushing and shivered when his
chuckle reverberated against her neck. “You told me what I needed to hear to
make that decision, Damon.”
He pulled back to
stare down at her, a smirk curving his sensual lips. “I guess I did, didn’t I?”
Lowering his head back down to her neck, Damon continued his exploration,
growling softly. “I want you, Ebony.”
Her response was to
sit up and pushed him back on his haunches, reaching back to unsnap her bra,
tossing it to the side. Damon couldn’t help drinking in her perfectly shaped
breasts and grabbed her hips, yanking her to where she now straddled him. Both
of them simultaneously groaned at the contact of skin on skin, her nipples
instantly hardening.
Growling, Damon
dipped his head and went on the attack, massaging her breast with one hand
while teasing the other with his sinful mouth. Ebony hissed out and lulled her
head back, eyes drifting shut and gripped his muscular shoulders while Damon
slowly began claiming her body as his own. Once he finished with one breast,
Damon swapped his hands and mouth to perform the same torturous teasing to her
other one, loving the feel of her hands buried in his hair.
Ebony couldn’t take
anymore after he finished and suddenly decided it was time for her to torture
him a little. Using the strength in her legs, Ebony quickly pushed Damon down
on his back and slid her hands up his arms, holding him down, grey eyes
sparkling deviously. He merely kept the smirk on his face and Ebony knew that
would soon change, trailing hot fiery kisses down the middle of his chest. She
loved every part of Damon’s body and could stay here forever exploring it,
every other worry completely devoid in her mind right now.
Damon groaned when
she arrived at his rock hard abs and hissed between his teeth when Ebony ran
her nails down his sides, sending shivers throughout him. She was definitely
playing dirty this time around and Damon wondered how far she would take it,
deciding to let her have her fun, for now. Ebony proceeded to press a hot kiss
to every single one of his abs before finally arriving at the dips in his low
hips, her hand moving to the button of his jeans.
Once they did this,
there was no going back; Damon would be hers and she would be his.
No way in hell was
Damon stopping her from continuing and sank further back in the bed when her
wrist flicked, the unsnapping seemingly echoing in his ears. Ebony raked her
nails down his bare chest before taking the zipper between her teeth and
tongue, locking eyes with him and gradually pulled it down. There was something
about the sound of a zipper sliding down that was utterly erotic to Ebony and
soaked her boy cut panties.
Not a word was
spoken as Ebony pulled Damon’s jeans off of him, his body now fully naked and
proceeded to remove her last article of clothing as well. Crawling on top to
straddle him again, Ebony picked up right where she left off, dipping her head
to run her sweet tongue up the dips in his hips a few times. Then Ebony
proceeded to move lower, her tongue continued to leave a path of fire behind as
she reached between her legs to start stroking his balls a little and was
rewarded with a deep throaty groan from Damon.
Before Ebony could
move further down, Damon shot up and wrapped his arms around her, his lips
capturing hers. He couldn’t handle anymore teasing and was impatient, needing
to be inside of her. Ebony could do whatever her evil mind was thinking later,
but not now as Damon moved his hands down her back to grip her hips,
positioning his throbbing cock in the correct angle.
Ebony gasped when
Damon suddenly snapped his hips forward and buried himself as deep into her hot
core as he possibly could. There was no one else around them for miles on end
and Ebony had no problem screaming out her pleasure. It’d been far too long
since her and Damon’s last encounter, hoping they had many more to come after
this.
If this was to be
their last one, Ebony was giving it everything she had, refusing to hold back.
Not waiting to
adjust to him, Ebony began grinding against his cock, meeting him for every
single thrust. Damon could feel the anxiousness pouring from Ebony and forced
her to slow down, cloudy blue eyes staring into smoky grey. Ebony didn’t
understand what he was doing until he showed her, each thrust more agonizingly
slow than the first. Their lips met and it was just as slow as the thrusts, no
sense of urgency or rush, every single movement from Damon methodic.
It was so intense
that Ebony had a hard time breathing, clinging to him
for dear life and could swear with each thrust Damon went deeper inside of her.
She wasn’t sure if he would be able to find his way back out, but definitely
wasn’t complaining, pressing her forehead to his while they continued to move
as one. Ebony gently ran her nails up his back and over his shoulders, nothing
about this animalistic.
They were making
love, taking their time with each other and it was a moment in time that Ebony
wished could be frozen forever. Damon suddenly flipped Ebony on her back, their
enhanced speed ensuring he didn’t slide out of her and took complete control.
Ebony pulled him down for another scorching kiss while he continued thrusting
in and out of her receptive body, surrendering to him in each and every way.
Damon broke the kiss
and buried his face in the crook of her neck, feeling her arms wrap around his
as he picked up the pace. His hands slid down her legs to grip her beautiful
outer thighs, spreading her legs apart to drive himself
even deeper inside of her, nearly reaching her back wall. Ebony couldn’t
contain her passion anymore and began crying out, going out of her mind with
ecstasy and knew she was very close to falling apart in his arms.
Deciding he wanted
to draw this out a little while longer, even though his cock was screaming at
him to finish, Damon suddenly pulled out of Ebony and flipped her over again on
all fours. He was still making love to her, but this was his favorite position
and he knew it was hers too. Within seconds, he was buried to the hilt inside
of her again and thrusting like a madman, the sounds
of his balls slapping against her pussy lips echoing throughout the room.
It was truly the
most beautiful sound in the world, especially mixed with her cries turning to
screams.
It took every ounce
of resolve in Ebony not to release right then and there, fighting back the hot
coil inside of her stomach that was begging to spring free. Her nails dug into
the sheets as Damon continued pounding relentlessly, suddenly burying his hand
in her black tresses to drag her up against him. Damon ran the tip of his
tongue against the spot just below her earlobe, her back pressed tightly
against his chest and began tweaking her nipples, doing everything he could to
make her shatter against him.
The teasing of her
nipples didn’t work, but as soon as Damon’s hand slid down her flat stomach to
rub her swollen sensitive clit, that’s all it took. Ebony could no longer hold
it in anymore, finally letting the hot coil spring and screamed out her release
as Damon held her tightly against him. Her walls instantly caved in around him,
feeling like a vise grip and began milking his cock with all the intensity they
could muster up.
Her release triggered
his and, with a few more deep thrusts, Damon finally exploded powerfully inside
of her, both of their bodies trembling from the intensity. Ebony shattered
again as soon as she felt Damon fill her body with his seed, lulling her head
back against his shoulder. He didn’t stop thrusting until every drop was left
inside of her, feeling his cock grow limp and wrapped both of his arms around
her tightly.
Ebony managed to
lift her head long enough to look back at him, a lazy smile crossing her face
while breathing heavily and accepted a soft kiss from him. Damon smiled back
and ran his fingers down the side of her face lovingly, feeling her hand reach
up to lace their fingers together. That was possibly the most intense sexual
encounter Damon ever had with a woman, Katherine included, which he never
thought any woman could measure up to her.
He was very wrong.
“Shower time.” Ebony
whispered, desperately needing one after that and slowly extracted herself from
his arms, heading out of the room. “I wouldn’t mind the company.”
Damon smirked, not
about to turn down the opportunity and flew over to her, lifting her up in his
arms spinning her around in circles, her squeals filling the once dead house.
“Then company you shall have.” He hoisted her over his shoulder, slapped her pert
ass and gave it a squeeze, emanating another squeal from her before heading
into the bathroom.
Chapter 33
“So, how long are we
hiding out here?” Ebony asked later that night, untying her boots and tossed
them to the side, satisfied after the hunting she did with Damon. “Because, as
homey as this place is, I miss the mansion.”
Damon smirked,
leaning back against the couch with a glass of scotch in his hand. “We’re not
‘hiding out’. I brought you here to tell
you about Ashley and to give you the space you needed from everyone.” He said
simply, looking up at her thoughtfully. “And this place is FAR from ‘homey’.”
“I was trying to be
nice.” She snorted, walking past him toward the kitchen, only to be yanked down
to straddle Damon’s lap.
“And just what is
THAT supposed to mean?” Damon demanded, running his hands up and down her
sides, groaning when she shifted on his lap. “Do that again and watch how fast
your clothes disappear, woman.”
Ebony grinned
evilly, pushing up to hover over him, her breasts right in his face. “Hmm that
sounds like a challenge to me, Mr. Salvatore.” She purred seductively, running
a single finger down his shirt covered chest, eyes never leaving his. “One I
might have to take on.”
Aquamarine eyes
narrowed and, a second later, Ebony was on her back with Damon hovering over
her on the couch, his knee planted right between her legs. “That wasn’t a
challenge, precious,” He paused, dropping his voice a few octaves and started
running his hand up the middle of her tank top, touching her soft bare skin.
“It was a promise.” Dipping his head just a little further, Damon’s mouth was
so close that just the slightest movement and their lips would meet. “And my
name is Damon. Mr. Salvatore was my
father. Don’t ever call me that.”
Ebony merely rolled
her eyes, lifting up to softly kiss his lips, pulling him down on top of
her. She loved Damon’s dominant side and
when he took control of the situation because it sparked something inside of
her that couldn’t be explained. A soft
mewl escaped her when Damon buried his hand in her black silky tresses, turning
the kiss nearly brutal and all that did was make Ebony want him more.
“Later.” He growled,
reluctantly pulling away from her and stood up, placing space between them so
both could calm down. “And to answer your question about ‘hiding out’, we’re
leaving tonight to head back.”
It took Ebony a
minute to register that, trying to quell the raging fire deep within her that
Damon started and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “When you left me earlier
to answer your phone during the hunt, who called you?” She sat upright on the
couch and eyed him somewhat suspiciously, noticing for the first time the worry
in his eyes, jumping to her feet straightaway. “What happened?”
Damon hated how well
she could read him, wanting to conceal this information from her until they
were at least on the drive back to Mystic Falls. “It’s Elena.” He admitted and
probably should’ve told her sooner, but Damon didn’t want to take Ebony away
from hunting, not when she’d missed doing it the previous night.
Not understanding
why he even cared about his brother’s girl, Damon chalked it up to the fact she
was Katherine’s bloodline. Even though
Damon wanted nothing more than to drive a stake through the bitch’s heart for everything
she did to him and Stefan, her actions weren’t Elena’s fault. Elena was innocent in all of this and, no
matter how much Damon claimed he hated Katherine, a part of him couldn’t handle
the thought of having a member of her family dead.
“She was taken
tonight and Stefan has no idea where she is.”
“Does he know who
did it?” The desire vanished and was replaced with distress; all Ebony’s brain
currently focused on was Elena’s wellbeing.
“We have a pretty
solid idea.” Damon’s jaw tightened as he grabbed what was left of his scotch,
setting it down before engaging in the brief make out session with Ebony, and
slammed it back in one long swallow. “I was going to keep you here for a few
more days until I received that phone call.”
Ebony didn’t have to
ask who it was because the name instantly clicked in her brain, curling her
upper lip. “Annabelle.” She susurrated with pure venom in her voice and grabbed
her boots, slipping them back on. “I’m going to tear that bitch’s head off for
everything she’s done to us.”
Damon stopped Ebony
from storming out of the house, placing his hands on her shoulders. “No, you’re
going to leave Annabelle to me.” He pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his
head. “Listen to me, Ebony; Annabelle is over five hundred years old and
incredibly strong. She will tear you
apart and I refuse to let that happen.
What we’re going to do is go to the mansion, talk to Stefan and come up
with a plan to get Elena away from her SAFELY.
So help me, if you even think about trying to do this on your own, I
will vervain you and lock you up in the basement
cellar to keep you safe.”
Deciding not to test
Damon’s patience, Ebony nodded stiffly, her lips pursed tightly together.
“Fine, but I’m going with you to save Elena.” She glared when Damon hesitated,
folding her arms in front of her chest. “Don’t even think about trying to keep
me at the mansion while you and Stefan go after that bitch without me, Damon. She has tormented me for WEEKS and I want to
know what the hell is going on and why she’s doing it. There’s a reason and she’s the only one with
the answers.”
“Ebony…”
“NO!” She broke away
from him, shoving him away a little. “I can handle myself; I’m not a damn china
doll, Damon! I don’t need you to protect
me!”
“Yes you do because
you have NO idea how strong Annabelle is.
And you have no idea who she has on her side either.” Damon argued,
flying over to her, not giving Ebony the space she currently wanted. “I refuse
to let anything happen to you. Let’s
just get back to the mansion, talk to my baby bro and figure everything out.”
If Ebony was in any kind of danger, Damon would make sure she stayed put in the
mansion.
“Fine.”
Gritting her teeth,
Ebony stormed out of the small house toward the car, the cool night air doing
absolutely nothing for her boiling blood.
Damon packed everything up and decided to bring what was left of the
scotch; having a feeling Ebony would need it.
He shut all the lights off and stepped out a few minutes later, locking
the door behind him before joining Ebony.
She was already in the car and had this huge pout on her face that Damon
couldn’t help thinking was adorable, wondering what this woman was doing to
him.
“Here.”
He grunted, trying not to laugh and handed over the bottle to her. “There’s a
few shots left, take them and try to calm down.
Your emotions are heightened right now and you haven’t learned how to
control them yet. The alcohol helps.”
Snatching the
bottle, Ebony took a long swallow that was the equivalence of two shots,
closing her eyes at the burning sensation in her throat. She didn’t mean to lash out at Damon, but
Ebony was angry at Annabelle for everything she had done and rightfully so. Ever since arriving out here with Damon,
Ebony didn’t have one nightmare about him and that was due to Annabelle not
being able to plant the images in her head of Damon killing her.
“I shouldn’t have
snapped at you.” She murmured quietly once the bottle was empty, tossing it out
the window in the woods on the side of the road, while Damon flew down the road
at max speed.
“Apology accepted.”
He winked, grabbing her hand and laced their fingers together, bringing hers up
to brush his lips against the back of it. “I’m only doing what I feel is best
for you. I don’t want to lose you,
Ebony.” Damon had lost so many people in his life, he didn’t know what he’d do
if he lost Ebony.
Quirking an eyebrow,
Ebony leaned her head back against the seat and looked over at him. “Careful
Damon, your humanity is starting to show.” She cautioned playfully, squeezing
his hand and couldn’t stop the smile from crossing her face even with
everything else that was going on.
“Only with you,
Ebony.” He informed her, turning his eyes back on the road as a comfortable
silence fell between them.
Ebony was hoping
Elena was alright and had a feeling Damon was thinking the same thing. “You
know,” She finally broke the silence after an hour. “I have no idea why
Annabelle would intentionally target me.
I thought all she wanted was her mother out of the tomb. That’s what she said at least. And now all of a sudden she’s planting these
dreams in my head that all involve you killing me and whispering you want
Katherine. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Damon had mulled
that over in his head ever since they found out who was the culprit behind the
dreams. There were a few possibilities,
but Damon refused to voice any of them until he had the answers from
Annabelle. He didn’t like any of the
ending results and hoped he wasn’t right in his assumptions.
“We’ll figure it out
once we get back.” Damon assured her, already deciding that Annabelle had
signed her existence away when she went after the woman he loved.
However, she
wouldn’t die without telling him the reasoning behind the dreams.
“That’s all you have
to say about it?” Ebony wasn’t going to drop the subject that easily, wanting
to know what Damon’s thoughts were about the situation. “Doesn’t it bother you
that, in every dream I’ve had, Katherine is mentioned?”
“Yes.” Damon had to
change the subject before he ended up blowing his transmission up, already
going past ninety miles an hour. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,
Ebony.”
“Why not?” Ebony
couldn’t believe he was brushing her off, anger flashing in her grey eyes and
was tempted to slam his face right into the wheel. “Why are you acting like
this is no big deal?”
Taking a deep
breath, Damon reigned in his own temper, especially with how fast they were
driving down the dark road. “Just because I don’t want to talk about a subject
doesn’t mean I don’t care about it.” He retorted evenly, glancing at her.
“There’s no sense in talking about this when it’ll be discussed once we’re back
at the mansion.”
“Oh that’s a lame
ass excuse and you know it!” Ebony exclaimed angrily, trying to breathe through
the current intense emotions rushing through her, but it wasn’t easy. “You just
don’t care, admit it! You don’t care about
me!”
The car suddenly
screeched to a stop, tires burning on the pavement as smoke rose to the sky,
the car lurching violently. If Ebony
hadn’t been wearing her seatbelt, she would’ve gone flying through the
windshield. Damon practically kicked the
door off its hinges and slammed it so hard, the whole car felt as though it was
having a mini earthquake. Ebony was
surprised the windows hadn’t shattered and could only sit there, breathing
heavily while the cut on her neck healed, courtesy of the seatbelt slicing it.
Damon was spitting
and growling furiously, stalking back and forth a few feet away from the
car. He had never met a woman that was
more infuriating than Ebony and Damon wondered why he kept her around. Oh that’s right, he loved and CARED about
her, even though she just basically accused him of not feeling either.
Ebony could hear all
of the vile things coming out of his mouth and felt her eyes widen, realizing
she had definitely crossed the line with what she said. This time, it really was her fault and Ebony
could already feel the guilt consuming her, chewing her bottom lip
nervously. When Damon was this enraged,
it was best to stay as far away from him as possible, but Ebony wasn’t about
to, needing to rectify her mistake.
Slowly stepping out
of the car, Ebony didn’t even take a step before Damon’s voice thundered. “Get
back in the car, Ebony.” He ordered in a deep, dark baritone laced with anger.
“No.” She defied,
slowly walking in his direction. “Damon…”
“How could you even
THINK I don’t care about you?” He snapped, his eyes completely iced over at the
moment, glaring at her. “How could you even SAY something like that to me after
EVERYTHING we’ve done? You’re wrong to
assume I don’t care about you, Ebony, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have told
you the truth about Ashley!”
“I know…”
“I would’ve let you
DIE in that tomb and not saved you from Annabelle!”
“I know…”
“I would’ve let that
coach have his way with you and not given a damn about killing him to defend
YOUR HONOR!!”
He was really angry
and Ebony could hear hurt in his tone too, feeling even worse as she continued
moving toward him. “Damon, I’m-” Instinctively, Ebony backtracked when he flew
up to her, swallowing past the lump that formed in her throat.
“I would’ve killed
you the night I met you.” His voice was a mere whisper now, slowly circling
until he was behind her. “I would’ve made you a meal and nothing more. I’ve done a lot of things to prove that I do
care about you. You just haven’t opened
your blind eyes to see any of it.”
Ebony had a hard time breathing, especially when his hot breath blew
across her ear while speaking, the sound sending shivers down her back.
“Damon…” She tried again, closing her eyes when he clamped his fingers together
in front of her, cutting her off again.
“Don’t speak. Don’t say a word. Nothing you say right now will matter.” Damon
informed her coldly, gripping the back of her neck and buried his nose in her
hair. “I could rip your heart out if I wanted to, Ebony. I could kill you and nobody would miss
you. But I don’t kill people I care
about, even if they DO deserve it.”
He didn’t care if he
was being mean and cruel to her, what she said to him in the car hurt him, so
Damon was reciprocating the notion.
Tears slid down Ebony’s face because she deserved every harsh word he
said to her, not bothering to wipe them away.
Damon snorted at the sight and shoved her toward the car none too
gently, watching her stumble a bit because she’d apparently forgotten how to
use her legs.
“Get in the car and
don’t say another word to me until we get to the mansion.” Damon ordered,
slipping into the driver’s side and slammed the door shut, the engine still
running.
Ebony barely got the
door closed before Damon took off again, buckling up and hoped he didn’t change
his mind about not killing her.
Chapter 34
Pulling up to the
mansion, Ebony suddenly wished she was back at the small shack with Damon where
there were seemingly no problems. The
rest of the trip was made in complete silence, just like Damon wanted, with
Ebony in emotional turmoil over angering him.
Cutting the ignition, Damon went to step out when Ebony grabbed his arm,
pulling him back inside, pleading grey eyes locking with pure ice.
“Damon, I’m sorry.”
Ebony blurted out before he could stop her, hoping he forgave her. “I was
wrong, please...” She had no idea how this situation with Annabelle was going
to go down and didn’t want to die without Damon’s forgiveness. “I love you.”
“We’ll talk about it
later.” Damon said frostily, accepting her apology, but his focus was solely on
how to help his little brother, shrugging Ebony’s hand off of him. “Let’s go.”
Lowering her head,
Ebony heaved a sigh and slid out of the car, the sky still dark even though
dawn would be approaching within the next hour or so. Shutting the door, she followed Damon inside
the mansion and both were greeted at the entrance by Stefan…and someone neither
of them expected to see. Ebony raised a
brow, instantly on her guard and folded her arms in front of her chest,
deciding to keep her mouth shut for the moment.
“What’s witchy doing
here?” Damon inquired, looking down at Bonnie Bennett with disdain clear in his
tone. “Last I remembered, you weren’t going to help us lowly vampires anymore.”
“It’s Elena.” Bonnie
replied straightforwardly, squaring her shoulders and didn’t show one ounce of
vulnerability. “I can’t just stand by and do nothing while my best friend is in
danger.”
“Fair enough.” His
eyes moved to Stefan, having a feeling him and Bonnie had been collaborating
while he was on his way back with Ebony. “So what’s the plan, Superman?”
Stefan ignored the
nickname, too focused on saving Elena to let anything else bother him. “Let’s
go into the study and talk.” He suggested, already heading in the direction
with Bonnie beside him, already promising he would protect her.
“Excellent idea, I
need a drink.” Damon grunted, following and didn’t need to look behind him to
know Ebony was there, heading straight for the bar as soon as they were in the
library. “Something tells me you have a plan already set and ready to go. So, mind filling me in?”
Bonnie swallowed
hard, suddenly moving her gaze to settle on Ebony and knew they were not going
to approve of what she was about to say, choosing her words carefully. “Stefan
and I have been talking all night and we’ve come to the solid conclusion that
this has to do with…you.” She supplied warily, clearing her throat when both
Ebony and Damon both quirked brows at her.
“How do you figure
that?” Ebony shot back promptly, grey eyes narrowing on the witch and was
tempted to rip her throat out. “You’re actually trying to blame ME for this?!”
Damon flew over to
where Ebony stood, extending a tumbler of bourbon and watched as she slammed it
back. “Her emotions are on overdrive right now, so just take what she says with
a grain of salt.” He said almost conversationally, sipping his own drink
slowly. “Why do you think this all has to do with Ebony, witch?”
“Her name is Bonnie,
Damon.” Stefan interjected, wishing his big brother would have a little more
respect considering Bonnie didn’t have to help them with this. “The dreams,
everything is tied together somehow, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”
Bonnie cracked a
half-smile up at Stefan, letting him know silently she appreciated him
defending her. “It makes sense if you think about it. Whoever this Annabelle vampire is didn’t want
us finding out it was her that was planting those dreams in your head, Ebony.”
Bonnie had nothing against the woman, thankful for being saved from the tomb
partially by her.
“So what you’re
saying is Annabelle took Elena because we found out her dirty little secret?”
Ebony surmised, holding her tumbler out for a refill as Damon passed by her,
sitting down on the leather couch.
“Yes, but there’s
more to it.” Bonnie took a chance and walked over, sitting down beside Ebony.
“I’ve been going over and over that dream I saw you have in my head ever since
you left with Damon. You said that in every
dream it ended with him saying he wanted Katherine before he killed you,
correct?”
Ebony nodded
stiffly, really hoping this witch was going somewhere with her explanation and
took the tumbler Damon handed her. “Thanks.” She muttered, grey eyes not
leaving Bonnie and felt Damon’s hand gently settle on her shoulder.
The irony of this
situation was almost laughable.
“Stefan thinks that
Katherine may be back in town.” Bonnie supplied, gauging the reactions from
both vampires and could feel Stefan stand behind her, just in case. “If that’s
the case, she’s the real culprit behind the dreams and asked Annabelle to be
her cover up.”
Ebony was frozen
solid and could feel the grip on her shoulder tighten tenfold from Damon’s
hand, not able to move to push him away.
Did she hear the witch correctly?
They actually thought Katherine was using Annabelle to plant those awful
dreams in her head? This was
unbelievable and Ebony couldn’t help laughing, the sound eerie and nearly
deranged, her frozen stance suddenly melting.
“Y-You’re kidding me
right?” Ebony stood from the couch, eyes still wide. “You’re actually telling
me that the woman who destroyed both of the your lives
singlehandedly is now targeting ME?” More laughter ensued when both Bonnie and
Stefan nodded firmly. “And now she’s holding Elena captive because…?”
Bonnie sighed
heavily, looking up at Stefan worriedly and chanced at glance at Damon, who was
still standing there completely taut. “We haven’t figured that out yet. That’s what’s weird about this whole thing.”
Hours of wracking her brain and Bonnie hadn’t come up with any explanation that
connected Katherine to Ebony; even trying to brainstorm with Stefan hadn’t
developed any results.
“But we know with
absolute certainty you’re the reason Elena was taken.” Stefan said somewhat
contritely, running a hand through his dishwater blonde hair. “Maybe this is
Katherine’s way of wanting to meet you.
It’s the only rational explanation we can think of.”
Ebony blinked,
immediately shaking her head. “Why the hell would she want to meet me? This doesn’t make sense!!” Then a thought
occurred to Ebony, one that made tears rapidly sting her eyes and moved her
gaze to where Damon stood. “Unless…she’s come back for Damon and wants to
eliminate me from the equation.”
Both Bonnie and
Stefan looked at each other, not considering that possibility, sighing
simultaneously. “That is probable.” Stefan finally admitted cautiously,
suddenly wanting Katherine dead because he knew Damon had developed feelings
for Ebony.
“It’s the only
logical reason.” Bonnie chipped in, actually sounding saddened by the whole ordeal
because of everything this vampire had done. “Damon…”
Tears slid down
Ebony’s cheeks because she couldn’t help feeling responsible for Elena being in
danger, wiping them away immediately. “If she wants to meet me so badly, then
that’s what will happen.” She finally concluded, jumping when Damon suddenly
flew over to her, startled. “Damon…”
“No.” There was no
way in hell he was going to let Ebony walk into the lion’s den. “Katherine’s
not getting anything except a stake driven through her heart.”
“Damon…”
Ebony was cut off by
his lips capturing hers, his hands cupping her face tenderly and all she could
do was cling to him, grabbing his wrists.
Stefan’s suspicions were confirmed at that moment and knew Damon would
die before he let anything happen to Ebony.
He placed a hand on Bonnie’s shoulder, silently telling her to follow
him out of the room to give his brother and Ebony some privacy. Cottoning on, Bonnie exited with Stefan
following her to go over their plan, knowing Damon and Ebony would join them
shortly.
Only when they were
both breathless did Damon pull away, not releasing Ebony’s face. “This isn’t
your fault.” He stated, wanting her to understand that and pressed his forehead
to hers. “That bitch is not taking you away from me; I don’t care what it
takes. We have the witch on our side;
surely she can cast some kind of juju spell to make sure you’re out of harm’s
way.”
Ebony sniffled while
Damon wiped away her tears with his thumbs, kissing her softly again. “What if
she wants you back?” She whispered heartbrokenly, those aquamarine eyes
devouring her. “That’s what you’ve wanted all along, isn’t it? You’ve wanted Katherine and now she might be
here, wanting you. Why wouldn’t you
choose her over me?” Her eyes lowered, not able to handle staring into his much
longer.
“Ebony, look at me.”
Damon ordered quietly, reaching out to cup her chin with his hand, forcing her
eyes to once again meet his. “I DID want her before I found out what a
heartless slut she is…” He paused, knowing this might be the only time he had
to tell her how he felt and refused to pass it up. “Before I fell in love with
someone else.”
Feeling the breath
hitch in her throat, Ebony could already feel fresh tears swell in her eyes,
not moving an inch. “Damon…” Once again, she was cut off, thankful because her
voice was incredibly shaky.
“I love you, Ebony.”
Damon confessed, knowing he scared her earlier with his temper, but what she
said had cut straight to the heart. “I want YOU, not Katherine. And you can pinch yourself if you want to
make sure you’re not dreaming.”
She believed every
word Damon said and kissed him again, wrapping her arms tightly around his
neck, more tears gushing. “Apology accepted.” She whispered, feeling his arms
wrap around her waist. “I love you too.”
Damon had finally
found the one thing he had searched and yearned for from Katherine in
Ebony. Love. That’s all he ever wanted was a woman who
wanted him fully and completely, that he didn’t have to fight for her
affection. Even as a human, Damon
strived to try finding the perfect girl to settle down with, even while he was
in the Confederacy.
Then he met
Katherine and was convinced that being undead and immortal is what he wanted as
long as he could be with her for eternity.
Now, all Damon wanted was to live with Ebony for all eternity and, if
Katherine attempted destroying his happiness, he would kill her without
thinking twice about it. Nobody would
miss her; Katherine’s death would probably do the world a grand favor the more
Damon thought about it.
“I know you do.”
Damon smirked, releasing her face and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers
together. “No more crying, everything will be fine.”
Ebony hoped he was
right, letting him guide her out of the library to wherever Bonnie and Stefan
were. They were in the living
room/parlor, talking quietly amongst themselves, and
both looked up when Damon and Ebony rejoined them. However, they were not the only ones in the
room as Ebony’s hand instantly clutched Damon’s tighter, every part of her body
tensed and coiled, ready to strike.
“What the hell is
SHE doing here?” Damon shouted, eyes flashing at the sight of Annabelle standing
before them, ignoring her shameful expression.
Not caring what
Annabelle’s reasoning was, Ebony suddenly flew past Damon, grabbed a poker from
the fireplace and rammed it as hard as she could right into Annabelle’s
abdomen. Annabelle cried out in pain,
instantly dropping to her knees with the poker sticking out of her, slowly
looking up at the vampire she’d been instructed to torment. Ebony ignored everyone else in the room, her
hand tightening around the poker, pushing it a little more inside.
“You were very
foolish coming here after what you’ve done to me.” Ebony hissed icily, loving
the sound of Annabelle’s wails. “Don’t come near me any of you or she dies.”
She waved the broken piece of wood in her hand, having grabbed it along with
the poker, grey eyes darkening with rage. “Now, if you value your pathetic
life, you will tell me what the hell you were thinking delving inside my head
and planting those dreams of Damon killing me.
Why did you do it?”
Annabelle didn’t say
a word, too busy trying to fight off Ebony, but even the strongest vampire
could be weakened when surprised.
“Not talkative?”
Ebony shrugged and pushed the poker further, blood spilling slowly out of her
stomach, using all of her strength. “ANSWER ME!!”
Locking her eyes on
cold grey, Annabelle knew she had to come clean, especially since she walked
right into enemy camp. “K-Katherine…” The poker was instantly yanked out,
Annabelle falling to the floor in a heap and cried out when she was suddenly
stabbed with the wooden weapon in the leg.
“Why?” Ebony
persisted, not backing down until she had all the answers, not showing an ounce
of compassion. “What does Katherine want with me?”
“S-She has
s-something for you…” Annabelle gasped out, gritting her teeth and reached down
to pull the piece of wood out of her leg, a gaping hole slowly healing. “She
said she’d hurt my mother if I didn’t do what she said. She’s been watching you for a while and
doesn’t want you with Damon.”
“That’s nothing new,
we already figured that part out and we knew it was her.” Ebony gritted out,
stepping back from Annabelle, her rage temporarily gone. “What does she have
for me that’s so damn important she had to have Elena
abducted?”
“I don’t know and
that’s the honest truth.” Annabelle answered, pure truth shining in her eyes
and didn’t move from the floor in case the Salvatore brothers decided to rip
her to shreds. “All I know is she’s expecting you to meet her at the Wickery
Bridge in an hour. If you don’t…Elena
will die.”
Ebony took a chance
and looked over at Damon, knowing exactly what that meant. “I’m the bait.” She
whispered, looking back at Annabelle and swiped the wooden weapon from the
floor, holding it up to her. “I should stake you here and now for what you’ve
done, but I’m not that kind of vampire.
Unlike you, I actually have compassion and understand what it means to
protect the people you love.”
Annabelle nodded,
blinking when Ebony tossed the splinter of wood away and extended her hand,
being pulled up to her feet. “Elena hasn’t been harmed, but I’m not sure how
much longer that will be. You need to
come up with a plan and fast because Katherine wants you and Damon there
alone. If anyone else goes and she
senses it, Elena’s dead.” Her eyes moved to Stefan, knowing he would hate
hearing that. “So I really hope your witch friend can help.”
“I can and I will.”
Bonnie stated confidently, stepping forward. “I already knew where Elena was,
thanks to a location spell. If I can get
close enough, I can send an aneurism to Katherine’s brain and immobilize her
long enough to get Elena out of there.”
“Katherine can’t
know I’m on your side or she will kill my mother.” Annabelle said, one of the
main reasons she came to the Salvatore’s because they both had loved ones in
danger. “We both have something to lose in this if we don’t work together.”
“Then let’s go. No more talking.” Damon stated, grabbing
Ebony’s hand with determined electric blue eyes. “We have a vampire slut to
take down and people to save.”
Chapter 35
It didn’t take long
for them to arrive at Wickery Bridge.
Damon screeched his
Camaro to a halt that blocked off the road, smoke flying up behind them from
burning rubber off the tires. Ebony
instantly flew out of the car at the sight before them, not waiting for
Damon. Cursing, Damon had also spotted
what Ebony had and flew out of the car after her, wishing she would think
before acting.
Ebony ran to the
middle of the bridge and dropped to her knees, placing a hand on her shoulder,
shaking her a little. “Elena.” She called out
urgently, keeping her voice down and could feel Damon walk up behind her,
frowning. “Elena, it’s Ebony. You have to wake up.”
“She’s out cold.”
Damon stated, bending down to brush hair from Elena’s neck to check her pulse,
gritting his teeth. “Correction, she’s dead.”
“WHAT?!” Ebony
shouted, snapping her head over her shoulder at Damon with wide grey eyes.
“What do you mean DEAD?”
“I mean dead as in
no pulse, no heartbeat, not breathing.” Damon clarified, slowly standing up
straight as all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. “Annabelle lied to
us.”
“No she didn’t.” A
sultry voice sounded from behind, causing both Ebony and Damon to whip around.
“Though she has betrayed me. The stupid
girl obviously doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.”
Ebony was on her
feet instantaneously, blocking Elena from further harm and glared at the woman
coming toward them out of the shadows.
She sounded so familiar, but Ebony couldn’t place the voice and honestly
didn’t care. The most important thing
was getting Elena out of there, even though they’d been too late in saving
her. First, they had to deal with
Katherine, the heels clicking against the wooden bridge echoing around them.
“Katherine.” Damon
practically snarled, his eyes turning pure to pure ice because he could make
out the silhouette through the fog. “You do realize you killed your only
leverage.” He pointed out, tensed and coiled, ready to tear her head off her
shoulders.
Seductive laughter
flowed back at them as the silhouette continued staying hidden, but Damon
recognized that voice anywhere. “Oh my sweet innocent Damon, how I’ve missed
you.” Her voice was a deep purr, brown eyes flashing through the darkness at
him. “You’ve definitely changed for the better, I see.”
“No thanks to you.”
Damon spat back, instinctively pushing Ebony behind him, ready to defend her
with his life if need-be. “What the hell is your game, Katherine? You killed Elena all because you wanted to
meet Ebony. Why?”
“On the contrary,
darling, I did no such thing.” Katherine chirped happily, finally walking out
of the fog and smirked at the knowing look on Ebony’s face, folding her arms in
front of her chest. “I see you’ve already been told everything you need to
know, Ebony.”
“Don’t speak to
her.” Damon ordered, having filled Ebony in on the whole doppelganger situation
when they first arrived in Mystic Falls. “You’re dealing with me right now,
leave her out of this.”
“But I haven’t
properly introduced myself.” Katherine persisted, twirling a loose curl of her
hair around her finger almost teasingly, smiling softly at one of her
creations. “My, my I can feel the strength radiating from you, Damon. So strong and masculine.” With each word
spoken, Katherine never stopped walking toward him, her eyes locked with his.
“I’ve missed you.”
“No you haven’t.”
Damon shot back, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him at the sight of
Katherine, still not believing she’d been alive all this time. “What do you
want with Ebony?”
Shrugging
nonchalantly, Katherine peeked behind Damon to stare at the raven haired
beauty, her upper lip curling in disdain. “I wanted to meet the woman who has
finally stolen your attention away from me.” She said softly, noting how
protective Damon was of the whore and couldn’t help snorting derisively.
Ebony didn’t look
back at Katherine, bent down beside Elena with tears stinging her eyes. “There
was no reason to kill her…” She whispered, loud enough for Katherine to hear
and wished they hadn’t left Mystic Falls.
Sighing
exasperatedly, Katherine suddenly flew past Damon to stand on the other side of
Elena and Ebony, getting a closer look at her current interest. “Hmmm long
hair, haunting eyes and a kindred spirit.
Make one move toward me, Damon, and I will decapitate her before you can
blink.”
The threat was so
softly spoken that a regular human would’ve construed the tone as sweet. Damon knew better than to cross Katherine at
the moment and growled, hoping Bonnie had her spell ready. Ebony was thinking the same thing, wondering
if there was any way they could bring Elena back to life, but first they had to
get her out of Katherine’s clutches.
“Why did you kill
her?” Ebony demanded for the final time, slowly standing up and squared her
shoulders, lips pursed tightly together. “She didn’t do anything to you.”
“For the last time,
I did not kill her.” Katherine stated irritably, which was never a good sign as
she clasped her hands behind her back, taking a step toward Ebony.
What did that mean?
“She has no pulse and she’s not breathing…” Ebony pointed out, confusion
crossing her face and watched as an evil grin crossed Katherine’s face,
swallowing hard. “Her heart isn’t beating…”
“And yet, you seem
to have forgotten the process.” Katherine sounded disappointed, her eyes moving
from Ebony to Damon. “Did you not teach her anything, my darling?”
Unlike Ebony, Damon
knew exactly what Katherine had done and felt the anger welling inside of him,
looking downright dangerous. “You no good slut.” He hissed, fighting back
taking a step because Ebony was right in the middle of them, shaking his head.
“What did you do?”
“What had to be
done.” Katherine mused, suddenly feeling a presence and started laughing, the
sound sending shivers down Ebony’s spine. “You FOOL!! Did you really think your pathetic witch
would be any match for ME? And more
importantly than that, did you honestly believe I didn’t have a witch of my OWN
for backup?”
A gasp of air
suddenly came from Elena as she bolted upright on the bridge, Ebony dropping to
her side while Damon glared ice daggers back at Katherine. “Elena!” Ebony
cupped her face, seeing she was completely freaked out and tried getting her to
focus, suddenly cottoning onto what Katherine did. “Elena, look at me. It’s Ebony.
You’re okay.”
“For now.” Katherine
added, walking away from them to lean over the edge of the Wickery Bridge, the
night air sweeping over her. “It feels so good to be back
home. I’ve missed this place.” She
sighed wistfully, the nostalgia washing over her temporarily.
“W-What’s
happening?” Elena stammered out, breathing heavily and couldn’t stop holding
her throat, tears swelling in her eyes. “I-I don’t remember…”
“It’s okay.” A few
tears slipped down Ebony’s cheeks as relief coursed through her, thankful Elena
wasn’t completely dead. “Everything is going to be okay. Just breathe.” She looked over at Katherine
through narrowed deadly grey eyes, refusing to leave Elena’s side. “Why did you
do this? Was this your surprise for me
that Annabelle told us you had? There
was no reason for you to do this to her!”
“Ah yes, my surprise
for you.” Katherine cogitated thoughtfully, turning to stare back at the puny
pathetic vampire Damon had created. “You should be thanking me, Ebony. Show a little respect, it’s more like a gift
than anything. One I KNOW you will
appreciate.”
“What are you
talking about?” Damon was right, Katherine loved playing mind games with anyone
she crossed paths with, eyebrows furrowing together. “I don’t understand…”
“You will shortly.”
Katherine assured, suddenly putting two fingers in her mouth and let out an ear
piercing whistle, the biggest smile crossing her face. “You can come out now,
my dear.”
Ebony and Damon both
watched as another silhouette in the shape of a body started walking toward
them. Each step made Ebony breathe a
little harder, Elena in transition temporarily forgotten as she shakily stood
up. Damon was only a few feet away from
Ebony and he felt helpless because he couldn’t go to her, thick black eyebrows
drawing together.
“Oh my god…” Ebony
covered her open mouth with her hand, the fog almost opening up like a curtain,
revealing the individual. “It can’t be…”
A blonde stood
before her that looked as though her hair was soft to the touch, hanging down
her back in waves. Her deep jade eyes
were completely blank and emotionless, staring back at Ebony with a cold smile
on her face. She wore a black leather
skirt with a black tank top, black fishnet stockings and two inch knee high
black steel toed boots on her feet.
“Hello again,
Ebony.”
Ebony could hardly
breathe, every part of her body trembling as so many different emotions
consumed her. Tears flowed down her
cheeks as she stared back at the woman she thought was dead and gone. The woman who had stood beside her throughout
the eighteen years of pure hell in the orphanage. The woman who had given her the ring that
currently allowed her to walk in the daylight and never left her finger.
“Ashley.” Was this a
sick joke? Was this really happening or
was this just a mirage, another mind game?
Another dream that Ebony wasn’t able to wake up from.
“Ebony, don’t!”
Damon growled, hardly believing his own eyes at the sight of Ashley standing
before them, glaring over at Katherine. “You’ve got some serious explaining to
do.”
Katherine cackled
wickedly, watching in adoration as Ashley slowly walked toward Ebony, brown
eyes gleaming in the darkness. “What’s there to explain, Damon?” She gestured
to the reunion that was currently happening, the biggest smile on her face. “I
think everything that’s happening speaks for itself.”
“I killed her.”
Damon stated the obvious, having a feeling Katherine wouldn’t kill Ebony right
now and took a step toward her. “I drained her of blood and left her body in an
alleyway. So explain to me HOW THE HELL
SHE’S CURRENTLY ALIVE!!”
“My, my you do have
a temper.” Katherine crooned, slowly sauntering up to Damon, running a single
fingernail across his broad muscular chest. “When did you get so hot?”
“Don’t play games
with me, Katherine.” Damon warned, chancing a glance over at Ebony, who was
seemingly in shock and still moving toward Ashley. “Tell me what you did.”
Katherine sighed
resignedly, also watching the two girls, and looped her arm through his. “The
night you met Ashley was all planned to happen, Damon.” She didn’t sound
regretful at all while speaking. “You see, I was keeping an eye on you while
you were in Chicago, seeing your little witch friend…Desiree was it? I gave Ashley my blood that night and
compelled her to find you, have sex with you and let you have your way with
her. When you killed her, my blood
brought her back to life and voila! Here
she is.”
“It’s amazing isn’t
it, Ebbie?” Ashley asked softly, every part of her glowing in the night. “The
taste of human blood, it gives you this incredible power doesn’t it?”
“Ash…” Ebony could
barely speak, trembling from head to toe. “I thought you were dead…”
“I was Ebbie. I was dead…until Katherine rescued me and
opened me up to this new incredible world.
The ultimate gift. Immortality.”
Ashley now stood before her once best friend and confidante, jade eyes pure
venom. “When I left the orphanage, Katherine found me one night sifting through
the garbage cans on the streets, nearly freezing to death. And I would have if she hadn’t taken me in
and gave me shelter. That night, she
compelled me so I would allow her to drink my blood, which was amazing in
itself. Then she explained to me what
she was what creatures existed in our world and asked if I wanted to join her
ways of life. She told me that I could
shut my emotions off and never feel pain again, which is all I’ve felt my
entire pathetic human life. It was my
choice to do this and…” Those venomous eyes moved from Ebony to Damon, her
tongue snaking out to lick her lips. “I must say the way he killed me was
euphoric and the perfect way to die in order to start my transition.”
Ebony’s eyes
narrowed to slits, glaring at Ashley with pure disdain and disbelief. “Why
didn’t you come for me? You promised me
we would venture the world together and live life to the fullest!! I mourned you for THREE YEARS, Ashley!! Do you have any idea how broken I was when
you were found dead in the alleyway? Was
that all a plan too?”
“Yes.” Ashley
smiled, no remorse in her voice. “After Damon killed me, Katherine followed him
to where he put my body. The snapping of
the neck was a little much, but I was already dead, so I don’t hold it against
him.” She winked in his direction and laughed when he flipped her off,
shrugging. “Katherine recovered my body and helped me through my transition…”
Her eyes suddenly flashed, turning back to look at Ebony. “My first taste of
human blood and she had the perfect human selected. That bitch from the orphanage that made our
lives miserable the whole eighteen years we were forced to live there. I drained her completely dry until she was
nothing but skin and bones.”
“Mrs. Henry…” Ebony
suddenly remembered being in the orphanage when her death happened and nobody
knew exactly how she died. “Everyone thought she had a heart attack…”
“Yes, a lame cover
up if you ask me.” Ashley snorted derisively, folding her arms in front of her
chest. “I got my revenge. I survived the
only way I knew how, but I never stopped thinking about you, Ebbie. You were always on my mind. Katherine promised me we would be reunited if
I did something for her in return and she hasn’t disappointed me.” To answer
the current question bubbling up inside Ebony, Ashley merely turned toward the
still transitioning Elena Gilbert, smirking. “I’m the one who fed her my blood
and snapped her neck, all for you. It’s
so great to see you again, sister.”
When Ashley came
toward her with arms open, Ebony finally regained feeling back in her legs and
stepped back, shaking her head. “Don’t touch me.” She ordered gravely, looking
over at the still confused Elena as more tears slid down her face. “I’m not
your sister anymore.” Ebony suddenly took the daylight ring off her finger and
chucked it right at Ashley, the rage building within her. “As far as I’m
concerned, sister, you died the moment you met Katherine Pierce and became her
little bitch.”
Ashley hissed out, veins in her cheeks instantly forming, sclera’s turning a
crimson red that made her venomous green eyes pop. “You will regret doing
that.” She promised, suddenly flying full force at Ebony and tackled her to the
bridge.
“EBONY!!” Damon went
to save her, only to stop when Katherine flew over to Elena, having her in a
vise grip.
“Go near them and I
will kill her for good.” Katherine promised, having broken off a piece of the
Wickery Bridge that was made of solid wood, holding it right over Elena’s
heart, her forearm pressed against her throat. “Besides, we haven’t finished
talking yet, my sweet Damon.”
Chapter 36
“Let her go right
now!!” A voice sounded behind them, causing Katherine to turn around with
Elena, eyes shining brightly.
“Well hello there
Stefan, I was wondering when you would join our little party.” She crooned,
slowly moving toward him. “Why don’t you come inside and get your precious
Elena?”
“Stefan, don’t!”
Damon shouted when Stefan took a step, knowing they were in some kind of
barrier that prevented anyone from leaving once entered. “She had a witch cast
a spell, we’re trapped right now.”
Katherine stuck her
bottom lip out in a pout, running a single fingernail down Elena’s cheek. “If
you don’t join us, I might have to get rough with her.” She informed him
softly, loving how violently Elena trembled.
Stefan quickly shared
a look with Damon, both of them simultaneously nodding while Katherine gazed
down at her prey. “Don’t do it, Katherine.” Stefan continued distracting her,
slowly moving toward the invisible barrier. “I’ll come inside, but not until
you let Elena go.”
“This is not
negotiable, Stefan.” Katherine suddenly pushed the piece of wood into Elena’s
chest, piercing the first two layers of skin.
Elena screamed out
in pain, the wood feeling as though it was burning her skin, tears instantly
falling. “S-Stefan…!!” She gasped out, instantly moving her hands to the wood
and tried pulling it away, but Katherine was far stronger than her.
“Last chance to save
her, Stefan.”
“Katherine!” Damon
shouted, gaining her attention momentarily while trying to think of a way to
get Elena to safety. “You said you missed me, so why are you so worried about
Stefan?”
“Because I love
him.” Katherine chirped, glancing over her shoulder at Stefan and smirked when
his head lowered, before looking back at Damon. “I did miss you, Damon, but
I’ve never loved you. It was always
Stefan. I was simply using you to get to
him.”
“Katherine, that’s
enough.” Stefan interjected, raking a hand through his hair and once again
gained her attention, hoping Damon wouldn’t hesitate after hearing that
confession.
Before Damon could
react, his eyes widened when Katherine was suddenly tackled to the bridge by
Ebony. The piece of wood Katherine used
to hurt Elena was suddenly sunk deep into her abdomen, which immobilized
Katherine. The cut above Ebony’s eye was
already healed, leaving behind smears of blood, joining the others that adorned
her face. Katherine was in shock as she
tried pulling the wood out, but Ebony’s strength overwhelmed her, crying out at
the applied pressure.
This vampire bitch
had taken away the one person Ebony considered family and it wasn’t about to
happen again with Elena. “You think you’re so big and bad, that you get
everything you want. I’ve got news for
you, slut, I’ve been around the block MORE than a few times and know how to
defend myself.” The crunching of wood echoed throughout the night as Ebony
drove the wood further inside, starting to actually push it up inside
Katherine’s chest. “You took her away from me.
YOU killed Ashley, not Damon and made him believe that you actually gave
a damn about him! You are responsible
for all the innocent blood that’s been shed.
You broke his heart, but that’s fine because I mended it. Unlike you, I know a good thing when I have
it and will KILL to protect anything and anyone I love.”
The wood barely
grazed Katherine’s heart as Ebony wrapped her hand around Katherine’s throat,
squeezing. Just the same way she killed
Ashley, Ebony was going to same thing to Katherine, glancing over at a sobbing
Elena. It was the only way to protect
everyone Ebony cared about and loved, especially Damon.
Damon had to look
away, along with Stefan and Elena, as Ebony literally tore Katherine’s head
off, decapitating her. Blood sprayed a
little over Ebony, but it didn’t bother her as she jammed the wood into
Katherine’s heart for added insult to injury.
Slowly standing up with smears of blood down her arms, neck and face,
Ebony immediately went over to where Elena was, bending down to check on her.
“It’s healing…”
Elena whispered, pulling her shirt up enough to assess the damage. “Ebony, I
don’t know how to thank you…”
“You’re my friend,
Elena.” Ebony stated simply, wrapping an arm around her waist and lifted her to
stand, stumbling a little. “There’s no thanking necessary.” Ebony jumped
slightly when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, looking up into the
worried aquamarine eyes of Damon and leaned against him, completely drained.
“How the hell are we supposed to get out of here if we can’t leave?” She
muttered softly, knowing they would have to clean the bodies of Ashley and
Katherine up before leaving.
“I think I can help
with that.” Bonnie said, coming out of the darkness with her grimoire in hand,
not noticing what happened to Elena yet. “Stand back, Stefan.”
“It’ll be okay,
Elena.” Stefan promised, hating that her choice to remain human had been taken
away and didn’t know how Bonnie was going to react once she found out.
“Close your eyes
because this is going to be incredibly bright.” Bonnie instructed, already
closing her own while holding her hand over the grimoire, the pages suddenly
flipping of their own accord.
“WAIT!”
Both Ebony and Elena
blinked as Damon suddenly flew away from them to retrieve something, flying
back seconds later. “Put this on.” He ordered, holding Ebony’s daylight ring
that was her last connection to Ashley. “The sun will be up soon.”
“No.” Ebony refused,
looking away from him and closed her eyes painfully, needing to remain strong
for a little longer or else she would crumble. “Do the spell, Bonnie. I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t you dare,
witchy!” Damon growled, cupping Ebony’s face and forced her heartbroken eyes to
meet his. “Just until we get back to the mansion. You don’t know what this bright light will do
and I don’t want you hurt any more than what you already are.”
“He has a point.”
Bonnie admitted grudgingly, narrowing her dark eyes in Damon’s direction. “The
bright light is going to feel like you’re engulfed in sun. I don’t know if it’ll have the same effect,
but you could end up burning up in seconds.”
“Just put it on you
anywhere. As long as it’s physically on
you, you’re protected.” Damon pleaded and suddenly just shoved it in her front
jean pocket, stopping her hand from removing it. “I will break your arm if you
don’t leave it alone.” He growled, nodding over at Bonnie.
Bonnie set the
grimoire down on the asphalt, the entire bridge in the barrier and raised her
arms in the air, the wind instantly picking up.
She began chanting in a different tongue and all Ebony could do was
stand there, watching as the trees swayed dangerously back and forth. Thunder rumbled in the distance as leaves swirled
up around everyone, Bonnie reaching a crescendo.
“WHOA!!” Stefan
jumped back when a bolt of lightning suddenly flew out of the sky and hit the
barrier, making a huge crackle.
The entire barrier
turned a bright white before slowly beginning to denigrate, making it look like
glitter as the barrier slowly dissolved until there was nothing. The wind instantly slowed down along with the
trees, the sky lit brightly with stars and the moon. Stefan slowly stood back up, having shielded
himself from the bright light and watched as Bonnie nodded before flying over
to where Elena was.
“Stefan.” Elena
whispered weakly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as he lifted her in
his arms, getting her out of there.
Ebony pulled away
from Damon and took the ring out of her pocket as soon as they stepped off the
bridge, hurling it as far as she could into the woods. She wanted nothing to do with it, silent
tears flowing down her cheeks and didn’t care if Damon broke her arm. Feeling him walk up behind her, Ebony
suddenly turned around and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms
tightly around him as the sobbing started.
Decapitating Ashley was the hardest decision Ebony ever had to make, but
she did it to save the man she loved as well as her new best friend.
Still, it didn’t
hurt any less that Ashley was officially gone.
Damon didn’t know
what to say and just held her, knowing he had to get her back to the mansion
before the sun came up. “We’ll get you another one.” He didn’t know how because
something told him witchy wouldn’t help, running his fingers through her hair
soothingly. “Let’s go home, Ebony.”
Nodding, Ebony
walked with him toward the Camaro, though she stopped to look back at the
bodies on the bridge. “What about…?”
“I’ll take care of them.”
Damon whispered, placing a finger over her lips when Ebony went to protest.
“We’ll bury Ashley properly, now come on.” He glanced over at Bonnie, waving
his free hand. “You too witchy, Elena is going to want to see you.”
Bonnie looked
skeptical, reluctantly following and slipped in the backseat, Ebony in the
passenger. Damon didn’t waste a second
in pulling out of there and flew back to the mansion as fast as he could,
holding Ebony’s hand. Ebony just stared
out the window, so many thoughts running through her mind and pressed her
forehead against the cool window, the sky slowly brightening little by little.
Pulling up to the
mansion, Damon didn’t waste time getting Ebony inside with Bonnie following
suit, already hearing Elena’s crying coming from the library. Stefan could deal with her because Damon’s
number one priority was making sure Ebony was alright, guiding her down the
hallway. He suddenly stopped, not
releasing Ebony’s hand and turned to stare at Bonnie, wondering if it was even
worth asking for her help one last time.
“Hey witchy?” He
called, stopping her from walking toward the library.
“What?” Bonnie asked
resignedly, having gotten used to that nickname and couldn’t help feeling
terrible for Ebony.
“Look, I know you
don’t like me and the feelings mutual, but this isn’t about me. This is about Ebony. Can you make her another daylight ring?” Damon
asked straightforwardly, his tone completely even, suddenly wishing he wouldn’t
have sent Bree to her death with opening the tomb.
“Bonnie, you don’t-”
“Yes.” Ebony’s eyes
widened when Bonnie suddenly walked toward her and wrapped her arms around Ebony’s
neck, hugging her tightly. “You’re my friend, Ebony. You proved that tonight by protecting Elena
again.” She whispered, closing her eyes to hide the building tears.
Returning the
embrace, Ebony felt the fresh tears slide down her cheeks and somehow believed
what the witch said. “Go to her.” She whispered, stepping back after a few
seconds, not bothering to wipe her tears away. “She needs you now more than
ever, Bonnie. Keep an open mind and
remember what happened to her isn’t anyone’s fault except Katherine and
Ashley’s…”
Bonnie didn’t fully
understand what Ebony meant by that and suddenly rushed into the library to
where Elena was. Damon was thankful that
Bonnie was cooperating with them, hoping she did after finding out that Elena was
now a vampire. He would let Stefan
handle that situation, guiding Ebony toward his bedroom upstairs, knowing
tonight had taken a lot out of her.
Ebony sat on the bed
while Damon pulled the shades closed to block out the pending sunlight and
reached down to remove her shoes. Both
of them simultaneously closed their eyes when sobbing reached their ears from
downstairs. Bonnie knew the truth and
Elena wasn’t handling very well, still in transition since she refused to drink
the blood bag Stefan had.
Blocking them out,
Damon pulled Ebony up on her feet and cupped her face in his hands tenderly,
softly kissing her. There was no point
in asking if she was alright because he knew she wasn’t, so this was the only
step Damon felt he could make to help her.
All Ebony could do was kiss him back, cupping the back of his neck and
felt their bodies mold together, thankful nothing happened to him.
“Let’s get you
cleaned up.” Damon rumbled against her lips, sliding his hands beneath her
shirt and frowned when she stopped him.
“You need to go
clean the Wickery Bridge up before someone spots their bodies.” Ebony could
only whisper because the pain of killing Ashley by her own hand was still very
fresh. “Katherine turned my sister into a monster, it wasn’t Ashley’s fault, no
matter what she said. I’ll take a shower
and get cleaned up while you’re gone, then help you bury her body.”
“Ebony…” Damon
sighed when she pressed a finger to his lips, knowing he couldn’t deny this
woman anything even if he wanted. “You have me spellbound, you know that
right?”
“As you have me.”
Ebony ran a finger down his cheek, kissing him even softer than the first time.
“Now go on, text me where you plan on burying her and I’ll meet you there.”
Nodding, Damon flew
out of the room, grabbing a body bag from the basement and left the mansion to
do what Ebony wanted, not bothering to take his car. He ended up placing Katherine’s body right on
top of the tomb burial, lighting the whole thing on fire and stayed until he
could no longer see her body. Then he
whipped his cell phone out and texted Ebony, letting her know where to meet him
for Ashley’s final resting place.
It wasn’t in Mystic
Falls.
“Where are we
going?” Ebony asked, once they were on the road with Ashley’s body in the trunk
and laced her fingers with Damon’s.
“The only place
fitting enough for Ashley.” He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it
at her, smiling. “Bonnie told me to give that to you.” The sun was just about
to rise over the horizon and Bonnie had done what she said she would, though it
wasn’t a ring.
Slowly flipping open
the black velvet box, Ebony looked down at the black onyx stone cut in the
shape of a heart that was dangling from a thick silver chain. “Oh wow…” She
breathed, feeling Damon pull over on the side of the road and handed it over to
him as he took it out, deftly clipping it around her neck.
“Your new and
improved daylight jewelry.” Damon announced, having picked it out especially
for her from the Salvatore family safe. “It was my mother’s, which is why it
probably has an old classy feel to it, but I thought it fit you perfectly.”
Smiling with unshed
tears in her eyes, Ebony leaned over to passionately kiss him and hugged him
tightly. “I love it, thank you.” She murmured in his ear softly, pulling back
to stare in his eyes and reluctantly pulled back so he could continue driving.
“You’re welcome.”
Turns out, Damon
ended up bringing Ebony back to where it all began – Chicago. They went to Ashley’s grave and compelled the
owner of the cemetery to let them dig her casket up. Ebony didn’t open the body bag because she
knew Ashley was in two pieces, simply letting Damon do the dirty work while she
silently mourned her friend.
It didn’t take long
and Damon stood beside her when it was all said and done, their fingers laced
together. On the ride back to Mystic
Falls later that day, all Ebony could do was breathe the fresh air in and knew
Ashley was in a better place, just as she was.
Looking over her shoulder at Damon, Ebony knew she was spellbound to him
from the moment they first met in the strip club’s parking lot and would be for
the rest of her immortality, completely fine with it.
What Ebony didn’t
realize was Damon felt the exact same way about her and would be spellbound,
even after death.
The End.