Elena Gilbert stared at the jaguar mark on her wrist, tracing its outline with her finger.
The black silhouette seemed to absorb the lamplight in her bedroom, remaining stubbornly distinct against her skin.
Around her, books on Aztec mythology lay scattered across her bed – borrowed from the school library, printed internet articles, and a heavy encyclopedia open to "Tezcatlipoca."
"The Smoking Mirror," she read aloud. "Associated with jaguars, night, divination, and... sacrifice."
The last word made her stomach clench. She'd spent hours researching, but nothing explained why this mark had appeared on her skin or why only she and Lucien Winchester could see it.
Her phone buzzed – a text from Bonnie.
Still feeling awful. Headache won't stop. Dad working late again.
Elena frowned, typing back: Want me to ask mom to come over?
No. Going to try to sleep. Talk tomorrow.
She set down her phone, concern for her friend momentarily overshadowing her own problems. Bonnie's headaches had been getting progressively worse.
She tried Caroline again – straight to voicemail, just like the last five times.
"Caroline, it's me again. Call me back, okay? I'm getting worried."
Elena returned to her research, but the words blurred together as fatigue set in. The jaguar mark seemed to pulse slightly, as if reminding her of its presence.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered to it, feeling ridiculous for talking to her own wrist.
The mark, unsurprisingly, offered no answers.
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In the old Bennett house on the eastern edge of town, Bonnie Bennett - alone in her home, father at work, Grandmother not present, yet safe, home inside extreme magic protection - curled into a ball on her bed, hands pressed against her temples.
The pain had become unbearable – white-hot needles stabbing behind her eyes, radiating outward until her entire skull felt like it might shatter.
"Please," she whimpered to the empty room. "Please stop."
The blue-skinned Jinn hovered behind her, its elongated fingers resting on her shoulders. Its hollow eyes stared down at her with what might have been regret.
"Broken vessels are passed over," it whispered, its voice like static in her mind. "The sacrifice requires wholeness. Your pain protects you."
Bonnie couldn't hear the words, only feel their effect – another spike of agony that made her cry out.
Between waves of pain, memories flickered through her consciousness, her mind on overdrive, trying to find a solution, anything that would end her pain:
Sitting beside Lucien Winchester in history class, the pressure in her head suddenly erasing... passing him in the hallway, a moment of blessed relief...
The pattern assembled itself in her pain-addled mind – Lucien's presence somehow kept the agony at bay.
The Jinn sensed her realization and intensified its efforts, clawed hands digging deeper.
"For your protection," it insisted, though she couldn't hear. "The choosing spell must not find you."
Bonnie stumbled to her feet, swaying as the room tilted around her. One thought crystallized through the fog of pain: Get to Lucien. Get to the Salvatore Boarding House.
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"The jaguar symbolism is consistent with Tezcatlipoca," Lucien said, turning a page in the ancient tome before him. "But that doesn't explain why Elena has the mark or why only we can see it."
The Salvatore Boarding House library was warm with lamplight, the windows dark with night. Lucien sat in a high-backed leather chair, surrounded by books and papers on Aztec mythology.
Katherine perched on the arm of his chair, periodically leaning down to kiss his temple or stroke his hair.
"Ritual markings usually serve a purpose," Katherine observed, twirling a strand of Lucien's hair around her finger. "Identification, selection, protection or sacrifice."
Dean cleaned his shotgun with unnecessary force at a nearby table. "Could you maybe keep your hands off him for five minutes?"
Katherine smiled sweetly. "These are merely sisterly affections, Dean. Nothing in our contract forbids them." She pressed another kiss to Lucien's forehead, making deliberate eye contact with Dean as she did so.
Lucien allowed the contact, feeling Katherine's newfound stability and peace through the Force.
After their conversation yesterday, he understood the source of her behavior – genuine worship and desperate hope for protection.
He couldn't bring himself to reject these non-sexual displays of affection that seemed to center her, despite the discomfort they caused his family.
It kept her stable - and most importantly useful.
Something very much important right now.
Sam looked up from his own research. "According to this, Tezcatlipoca's chosen sacrifices were young people of noble bloodlines. The Gilbert family is one of the founding families..."
"Which makes Elena a perfect candidate," John concluded grimly, studying a map of Mystic Falls spread across another table.
Trevor Belmont stood by the window, keeping watch as was his habit. "The timing is concerning. Founder's Day approaches, and the town's energy has been... shifting."
"Sacrificial rites often align with significant dates," Katherine noted. "The ancient power in this town doesn't sleep; it merely cycles."
Lucien frowned, turning to a page showing an illustration of a jaguar devouring a heart. "We need to-"
He stopped mid-sentence, his entire body tensing. The Force rippled around him, carrying a distant cry of pain that only he could perceive.
"Lucien?" John asked sharply, immediately alert to the change in his son.
Lucien stood abruptly, dislodging Katherine's hand from his hair. "Someone's coming," he said, his voice distant as he focused on the disturbance. "Bonnie. She's in pain... something's attacking her."
Dean was on his feet instantly, shotgun in hand. "What kind of something?"
"A Jinn," Lucien replied, already moving toward the door. "A parasite attached to her. You won't be able to see it."
Katherine followed closely, her own survival instincts triggered. "A Qareen," she clarified. "A corruption Jinn. They attach to humans from birth."
"You know them?" Sam asked, grabbing a silver knife from the table.
Katherine's smile was enigmatic. "I've had... experiences with them."
Lucien reached the front door first, throwing it open and scanning the darkness beyond. The Force guided his perception to the edge of the property where a figure stumbled through the trees.
Bonnie ran through the woods, the shortest route from her house to the Salvatore property - it being close, because Sheila wanted her family to be as far from the center of Mystic Falls as possible.
Each step sent spikes of agony through her skull, but the desperate need to reach Lucien drove her forward.
Branches caught at her clothes, roots seemed to rise up to trip her, but she pushed on.
The Jinn followed, increasingly frantic. Its plan was failing. Its charge was fleeing toward the very thing it had been trying to protect her from – discovery by those who could sense her power, who might mark her for sacrifice.
"Stop!" it commanded, claws digging deeper into her mind. "They must not find you whole!"
Bonnie gasped as a fresh wave of pain crashed over her, sending her to her knees. The lights of the Salvatore Boarding House glimmered through the trees, so close yet impossibly far.
She had almost reached the edge of the property when her father's - him having been called by his Mother-in-law that Bonnie was no longer at his home. At first he didn't believe her, but he didn't wish to risk it, especially with how many times his mother-in-law had been right.
His car pulled up beside her, headlights illuminating her crumpled form. He rushed out, face twisted with concern.
"Bonnie! What are you doing out here?" He knelt beside her, reaching for her arm. "You're burning up! We need to get you to a hospital."
"No," she managed, pulling away. "Need to... get to the house."
"You're not thinking clearly," her father insisted, gripping her shoulders. "You're coming home right now."
The Jinn loomed larger, sensing interference with its mission. It poured more energy into Bonnie's mind, trying to make her appear unstable, unsuitable for selection.
Something broke inside Bonnie – pain, fear, and desperation culminating in an instinctive surge of power. She raised her hand, and her father was thrown backward by an invisible force, landing hard against his car.
Bonnie stared at her hands in horror, and confusion, not knowing what she did or how, momentarily shocked out of her pain-induced haze. "Dad! I'm sorry, I didn't-"
But the agony returned, stronger than before, and the desperate need to escape overwhelmed her guilt. She staggered to her feet and ran the final distance to the Salvatore property, the Jinn pursuing with renewed determination.
Just as she reached the edge of the property, her foot caught on a root and she crashed face-first into the mud. The Jinn loomed over her, its blue flame form growing larger as it prepared to deliver another wave of protective agony.
"Cannot be chosen if temporarily broken," it insisted, reaching for her with clawed hands. "Pain saves you from worse fate."
The front door of the Salvatore Boarding House burst open. Lucien rushed out first, followed closely by Katherine, Dean, Sam, John, and Trevor.
From the porch, Lucien spotted Bonnie's fallen form at the edge of the property and the looming Jinn visible only to him.
Without hesitation, he extended his hand, sending a wave of Force energy toward her. The invisible shield wrapped around Bonnie, pushing the Jinn back.
"I see her," John confirmed, squinting into the darkness. "You see what's attacking her?" not being able to see it.
"Yes" Lucien answered tersely, his focus unwavering.
Without warning, Lucien took a running leap from the porch – a Force-enhanced jump that carried him insanely far, landing him directly beside Bonnie's crumpled form.
The Winchesters followed at a normal pace, weapons ready despite not seeing the threat.
Lucien knelt beside Bonnie, pulling her into his arms as he strengthened the Force barrier around them both. "It's okay," he whispered as she stirred. "You're safe now."
Bonnie's eyes fluttered open, the pain receding completely for the first time in days. Her vision cleared and she gasped in horror as she saw the Jinn – truly saw it – for the first time.
The monstrous blue flame creature with hollow sockets and needle teeth, hovering just beyond Lucien's protective barrier.
"W- What is t- that t- t- thing?" she whispered, stammering, clutching Lucien's shirt.
"A Jinn," Lucien answered grimly. "It's been attached to you, causing your headaches."
The Jinn clawed at the invisible shield, its form flickering with rage and frustration. "Must protect from selection," it hissed, though only Bonnie could hear it now. "Sacrifice requires wholeness. Breaking saves."
"It says... it must... protect me?," Bonnie said, confusion evident in her voice. "From a sacrifice? It doesn't make sense."
Katherine approached cautiously, her eyes scanning the area as if trying to sense something beyond normal perception. "Qareens often believe they're helping their hosts," she explained. "They're parasites that feed on negative emotions, but they can develop twisted protective instincts."
Dean kept his shotgun raised, despite not seeing any target. "Why can Bonnie suddenly see it?"
"Maybe Lucien's power? Or because of how strongly it is acting towards her?" Sam theorised.
The Jinn became increasingly agitated, its attempts to break through the barrier growing more frantic. "Cannot protect if separated," it wailed. "The choosing comes. The sacrifice approaches."
'Yeah, heard you, big guy, but I want you gone. But I don't know fucking how.' Lucien thought to himself, as he grit his teeth, looking up, at the looming threat.
Suddenly as Bonnie and Lucien stared at the creature, the air behind Lucien began to distort.
A deep, mechanical breathing sound filled the night air – a rhythmic, unmistakable respiration that sent chills down Bonnie's spine.
The darkness behind Lucien seemed to solidify, taking shape. A towering figure materialized – seven feet tall, clad in black armor, with a distinctive helmet and flowing cape.
But unlike the movie character, this Darth Vader like figure was composed of smokeless black-red flame, his armor gleaming with an otherworldly light.
Only Bonnie and Lucien could see this manifestation. To the others, Lucien simply appeared to be holding Bonnie while staring intensely at empty air.
"What... what is that?" Bonnie whispered, her eyes wide with terror as she looked from the blue Jinn to the imposing Vader figure.
Lucien himself appeared shocked, his mouth slightly open as he stared at the manifestation. "I... I don't know," he admitted, though something deep within him recognized this figure as part of himself.
Without warning, Vader strode forward, passing through Lucien as if he were mist. The sensation sent a shiver through Lucien's body – not unpleasant, but strange, like reconnecting with a part of himself he didn't know was missing.
Vader reached the edge of the Force barrier and passed through it effortlessly. The Jinn, sensing this new threat, tried to retreat, but Vader moved like a blur.
One black-gloved hand shot out, seizing the Jinn by its throat. The blue creature struggled frantically as Vader lifted it off the ground, its flame dimming under his grip.
An inhuman shriek filled the air as the Jinn fought against Vader's grasp. Though only Bonnie and Lucien could see the entities, everyone present felt a sudden drop in temperature and heard a faint echo of the Jinn's cry.
"What's happening?" John demanded, sensing the change in the air.
Lucien couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him. "Something... something of mine is fighting the Jinn."
Vader turned his helmeted head toward Lucien, as if seeking approval or direction. In this moment, Lucien somehow understood – this was his Qareen, his own dark reflection, manifested to protect what he wished to protect.
"What are you?" Bonnie whispered, her question directed at both Lucien and the dark figure that had come to her rescue.
The mechanical breathing filled the night air as Vader's grip tightened on the struggling Jinn, its blue flames flickering weakly in the darkness.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter.
So... Lucien's Qareen is something that looks like... Vader?
Does- Does Lucien have a fucking STAND?
Well, I'm interested in your thoughts. I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)