Damon was in a situation he didn't quite understand.
Okay that's a lie, he understood it perfectly.
Apparently, Mason Lockwood, older brother edition, previously very dead was back from the grave. Yay. Because nothing said great day like getting a glass bottle smashed over your head while you were peacefully drinking bourbon with Alaric at the Grill.
Turns out the dead really did hold grudges.
And now Damon found himself somewhere beneath the Lockwood mansion, muscles tightening up as he swung a shovel hard against an old stone wall. Dust and debris rained down with every impact, the echo of metal against rock sounding far too final for his liking.
Mason stood a few feet back, watching with an expression Damon didn't trust for a second.
"I told you," Mason said casually, "the Lockwoods have secrets relating to the originals themselves."
Damon snorted, driving the shovel in again. "You could've just said that without the traumatic brain injury, you know."
Mason smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"
Damon paused as his phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from Stefan.
'Lexi's in town.'
Damon scoffed quietly. "Well, how nice of her, I should probably stir clear seeing as I did try to kill her and all."
Apparently, she was working with Michael now. Because of course she was and apparently this whole Ghosts Visit Your Family Day was just a cheerful front for what Stefan had ominously described as a brewing disaster.
"Someone harvesting the poor souls huh? yeah that sounds like a party don't you think Mason?."
Mason tilted his head. "You keep throwing around words like that harvesting souls. Is that even possible?"
Damon delivered one final, brutal strike and the wall gave way.
Cold air burst through the opening and smacked them in the face. Damon straightened up with his eyes narrowing. "Well," he said dryly, "given the veil's basically on life support and there's an excessive number of dead people wandering around Mystic Falls… I'd say yeah."
He glanced at Mason. "Perfect time to harvest you lot, wouldn't it?"
Mason's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, he picked up an old lantern, flicked it on, and peered into the dark tunnel beyond the broken wall.
"After you," Mason said.
Damon shot him a look.
Mason chuckled, stepping forward. "Man, you've got trust issues. You know that?"
"Trust issues keep me undead," Damon muttered.
As Mason moved into the tunnel, Damon pulled out his phone. He scrolled to Bonnie's contact, thumbs hovering for a moment before typing:
(Could you hold off on that spell of yours for about an hour? In the middle of something that might help us against the Original.)
Mason glanced back. "You coming or what?"
Damon hesitated, then sighed. "This is stupid."
He typed one last word.
(Thank you.)
And hit send.
Back at the Salvatore house, Caroline paced through the living room, phone pressed to her ear, frustration creeping into her voice. "The necklace isn't where Damon said it would be. And we're running out of time here."
"I know," Elena replied. "I just talked to Lexi and Michael."
Caroline paused. "And?"
"There's someone using the thinning veil to harvest the souls dropping out of the Other Side," Elena said. "Michael's already working on finding them with a friend. Lexi's with me and Stefan right now."
Caroline exhaled sharply. "Of course it's getting worse. Why wouldn't it?"
She glanced over her shoulder.
Bonnie was kneeling near the bookshelf, hands moving methodically as she searched around for the necklace with a tense look on her face.
"Hey," Elena said softly through the phone. "How's Bonnie?"
Caroline lowered her voice. "She's trying. But she doesn't know yet."
"Okay," Elena said. "Good. Let's focus on this first before the boyfriend drama."
Caroline gave a weak smile. "Yeah. Boyfriend drama can wait until after we shove all the ghosts back where they belong."
She ended the call and turned and nearly jumped out of her skin.
Bonnie was standing right in front of her.
"What boyfriend drama?" Bonnie asked, her tone was calm and looked curious.
Caroline winced. "Nothing."
Bonnie didn't move. "Caroline."
That look. The one that meant don't lie to me.
Caroline sighed. "I'm sorry for this, but… Elena caught Jeremy kissing Anna."
Bonnie froze.
"…What?"
Her eyes clouded as she asked, "Why?" she whispered. "Why would he—"
"I don't know," Caroline said quickly, stepping forward and taking Bonnie's hand. "I really don't."
Bonnie swallowed hard, blinking rapidly. "I trusted him."
"I know," Caroline said gently. "And this sucks. But listen to me, we will find that necklace. And we will drive all these ghosts back to where they belong."
She squeezed Bonnie's hand. "You hear me?"
Bonnie nodded slowly, pulling herself back together. "Yeah."
Caroline smiled softly. "That's my witch."
Night had settled thick over Mystic Falls High, Strings of lights hanged overhead as townspeople gathered for the lighting ceremony, laughter and small talk masking the fact that the veil between worlds was hanging by a thread but then again they had no idea.
Michael walked through the crowd with Harry, "Well," he muttered, eyes flicking from face to face, "if this place gets any more haunted, we're going to need name tags for the dead."
Harry huffed beside him, hands tucked into his overcoat. "You're not wrong boss but still why can't we find them and why this sloppy work of directly going after the other side?."
Michael smirked. "That'd be Cade trying to restock. Man doesn't like losing assets. I burn a chunk of his little soul economy, and suddenly he's running a clearance sale."
Harry glanced at him. "So you really think this is about replenishment?"
"Oh, absolutely," Michael replied. "Usually Cade does things subtle but he can't afford that while I'm here, he's harvesting and replenishing what I torched in his dimension. Banshee, Ankhar are simply the tools, not masterminds."
They slowed as the crowd thickened near the school steps. Carol Lockwood was moving toward the podium, preparing to address the town.
Harry leaned in. "We should split up. Cover more ground. Those abominations won't stay hidden forever."
Michael's gaze drifted aheadthen locked.
A lone figure stood just beyond the densest part of the crowd, "Funny you should say that," Michael said calmly. "Because wide coverage sounds lovely."
He turned slightly, placing a firm palm between Harry's shoulder blades. Power flared up and Harry stiffened as the magic surged through him, his senses sharpening to a razor's edge as his ability to perceive more increased.
"There," Michael said quietly. "You'll feel them better now."
Harry nodded once. "Got it."
And then he was gone, the air whispering where he'd been.
Michael turned back to his point of interest.
Anna.
She stood near the edge of the crowd with Jeremy, her expression was guarded until a familiar, unpleasant presence slid into their space. One of the tomb vampires. Frederick. Or Dedrick. Honestly, Michael never bothered to keep track of the expendable ones.
Jeremy frowned. "Is everything okay?"
Frederick's lips curled into a thin smile. "Ask your ancestors."
Before either of them could respond, a voice slipped in beside Frederick's ear. It sounded dry, amused, and far too close for the vampire's liking.
"Well, see, that's the thing," the voice drawled. "Unlike you unruly lot, his ancestors were human. So unless they've suddenly picked up a group plan to haunt their descendants, I'd say they're unavailable."
Frederick startled, immediately spun around to face the voice but was greeted with a backhand that hit him like a freight train.
His bones cracked and his jaw snapped sideways with a sickening sound as he crashed to the ground, unmoving.
Michael didn't even look at him.
His hand remained slightly outstretched, fingers relaxed as his eyes fixed on Anna.
"Hello, little one," he said pleasantly. "We need to talk."
Anna's eyes widened. "…You."
Michael smiled.
Before she could say more, screams tore through the night.
People were pointing as panic rippled outward like a shockwave. Hanging from one of the trees near the edge of the grounds was the body of Mr. Tobias Fell, blood soaking his clothes, eyes closed as crimson dripped onto the grass below.
Michael glanced over his shoulder, unimpressed. Then his gaze dropped to Frederick and the two vampires who had just appeared beside him, faces pale with something that looked suspiciously like fear.
Michael sighed softly, "That's your doing, I assume?"
—————————-111111————
Harry moved through the edge of the crowd with practiced ease, his senses stretched wide beneath the grace of magic Michael had laced through him.
Then he stooped and turned his head slightly and spotted movement near the far end of the lot. There were shadows pressed against a brick wall, just out of the glow of the ceremony lights. His hand slid instinctively to the grip of his gun as he angled toward it.
A soft sound reached his ears.
Whimpering.
"There you are," he muttered under his breath, already running through half a dozen ugly possibilities.
He rounded the corner and froze.
"…Woah. Sorry."
Two teenagers stared back at him in horror, the guy scrambling upright from his position with his face wet from the girls juice while the girl yanked her shirt down.
"Hey! What the fuck?" the guy snapped at being interrupted. "Go away!"
Harry blinked once, then twice. "…Right. My bad. Carry on."
He turned on his heel, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'Just my luck.'
He'd taken three steps when he heard another sound.
Harry groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"What the fuck is it now?" he muttered, already moving. He burst through the next doorway, voice halfway out of his mouth. "Okay, you freaky kids, I don't have to—"
The words died as he saw two bodies lay twisted on the floor, limbs bent in directions they had no business bending.
Harry's grip tightened as he looked at the cause.
"Found you," he said quietly, he didn't get time to draw when he was hit from the side and hard.
His vision exploded white as the punch caught the side of his head, launching him clear across the room. He crashed through a stack of broken chairs and slammed into the far wall, brick biting into his back.
Everything rang.
"Owww," Harry groaned, rolling onto his side amid splintered wood. "You absolute bastard."
The floor cratered where his head had been a second later.
Harry flipped backward in a smooth, violent motion just as another massive fist smashed down, pulverizing the tile.
Ankhar loomed over him and opened its mouth opened in a broken snarl, breath steaming.
Harry grinned, blood on his teeth. "You know, for an soul-eating abomination, you've got terrible manners."
The creature roared and charged again, Harry rolled and came up firing.
Gunshots thundered through the empty building as he moved from one point to another, rounds punching into Ankhar's torso. The bullets staggered it but didn't slow it nearly enough.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry called, vaulting over a fallen table. "Growl all you want, i've heard worse."
Ankhar charged again and Harry slid under a swinging arm, boots skidding through the tile, then popped up and unloaded another burst point-blank into its chest.
The creature slammed him into a wall.
Hard.
Harry coughed, ribs screaming in pain, but his eyes flashed gold as his werewolf instincts flooding in. Strength surged through him as he grabbed Ankhar's outstretched arm mid-swing.
"Oh no you don't."
He twisted, using the creature's own weight against it and he pivoted and threw the abominable creature.
Ankhar flew and crashed through the far wall in an explosion of brick and dust, tearing open the side of the building like wet paper.
Harry straightened up, breathing hard as he moved in with his gun snapping back up as he took aim.
"Stay down," he warned only to be met with silence.
"…Shit."
The gaping hole was empty.
Harry spun around while looking for the thing, "I hate when they do that."
He bolted for the exit, boots pounding against the floor as he burst out into the night air, the ruined building groaning behind him.
Sirens began to wail in the distance where the ceremony was as happening.
"Something must've happened with the bus as well."
Harry glanced back once at the destruction and winced. "Yeah… insurance is not covering that."
————————
Jeremy stepped a few paces away, phone pressed to his ear in urgency as he tried to reach Bonnie. The sirens carrying the body of Tobias fell of the square faded into background static as Michael remained behind alone with Anna.
Michael turned to her slowly. "Do you love him?"
Anna blinked. "What?"
His eyes ignited red as he asked that question.
"I asked you a question," Michael said calmly. "Do you love him?"
Anna swallowed. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Because of what I'm pushing for," Michael replied, voice even. "I wants something to be realized this time around. And for that to happen, roads must be cleared. Outcomes must be allowed to exist."
She frowned, confused and scared at the same time, Fredrick and his buddies were a few feet away from her…as piles of ashes after all. He had killed them without even causing much ruckus with the crowd or a slight change in his expression and that terrified her
He stepped closer. "Besides," he added softly, "I already know you love him. I just want you to say it yourself, Anna."
Her eyes flicked to Jeremy, still on the call, pacing a few feet away.
Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded once. Then again, "I love him," she whispered. Her voice broke. "But I can't be with him."
Michael's expression softened at that, "I know." She looked back at him sharply, "And I know that's why you took the necklace."
Anna froze.
"What—"
Michael raised a single hand.
"Don't," he said gently. "All I wanted to know was whether you wanted him badly enough to risk early peace. To risk the rest of the afterlife… just for more time."
Her lips trembled. "I didn't mean for it to go this far."
"I know," Michael said again. Then, quieter, almost reflective, "Life is too cruel a thing. If we cease to believe in love… why would we want to live at all?"
He chuckled softly. "Someone you once knew used to say that."
Anna stared at him, confused but slowly, painfully, she nodded.
"Yes," she said through tears. "I would risk it."
Michael smiled, "Good."
He raised his palm toward her. Jeremy returned just then, phone still in hand and his eyes went wide.
"Anna?"
She was already holding the necklace out and Michael took it but the instant it touched his hand, he grabbed Anna's wrist.
Fire erupted from the cracks on his hands. A stream of searing heat poured into her, burning from the inside out. Anna screamed, the sound tearing through the square.
"ANNA!" Jeremy shouted. "What are you doing?! Stop—STOP!"
He lunged forward and was blasted backward by a wall of heat, thrown hard onto the floor.
Michael released her and she collapsed, smoke curling from her body, her scream fading into a broken gasp.
Michael looked at Jeremy and said nothing except, " Don't make her regret her choice."
His phone rang.
He answered calmly. "Yes?"
A panicked voice crackled through the line. "Boss, we've got a problem."
Then came the roar. Michael turned just in time to see Ankhar charging straight at him, tearing through fleeing crowds, eyes blazing yellow with rage.
"Oh," Michael said mildly. "I see what the problem is."
He turned back, tossed the necklace to Jeremy.
"Get that to—"
SLAM.
Ankhar slammed into him, hurling him several feet across the square as people screamed and scattered in every direction.
PATREON.COM/FREDOZY