Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Vicki

I had not reencountered the vampire since the party, though his attacks continued, each as brutal as the last. The local authorities blamed the attacks on animals, a terrible cover story as none of the bodies had been eaten, just ripped to shreds. A curfew had even been put in place to try and lessen the attacks, unfortunately, it was all for nought. It was obvious the toll it was taking on the small town, a tension ran through the air at all times everybody worried that they may be next. If people did venture out of their homes, they travelled in groups in the hope that an animal would avoid large numbers of people.

It was honestly odd even for me, vampire rampages were few and far between in Europe as I had laid down strict laws to prevent humans from discovering our existence. Unlike Europe, such laws did not exist in America, and no old vampires had taken it upon themselves to keep the younger vampires in check. Perhaps if I stayed here long enough, I would do a similar thing here, keeping vampires from going too far and keeping a level of civility among our species. The carnage in the wake of the vampire attacks had also caused the founding families to take precautions, mainly putting vervain into the town's water supply. Alexandria had found that out for us the hard way during a shower, luckily I could separate the vervain from water with a bit of magic.

The vervain I assumed came from Zack Salvatore, having been the town's main source of vervain in the show, I assumed it was probably the same here, but I had not confirmed it. There was also an increase in patrols throughout town by the sheriff and her subordinates, each carrying what looked to be stakes. I knew that the chance of any of them having fought a vampire before was slim, but I knew fear could lead to people making stupid decisions. Even some townspeople had started to suspect the stories about animal attacks to be false, with a rumour spreading about a savage serial killer being loose in the town.

Even with all that carnage, the school stayed on, leading me to continue to teach my students history. During the past week had also discovered that Bonnie may be starting to uncover her powers, after I passed her a pen and our hands briefly touched, causing her to recoil slightly. I did remember that in the show, a similar thing happened when she and Stefan touched hands, leading her to see glimpses of the vampire's past. I did wonder what she saw in me, though I was far older than Stefan and lived a far more bloody and brutal life. Whatever she saw was shocking to her as our interactions had been mainly one-sided, with her being wary around me.

Though I also knew she felt my magic when our hands touched, I hoped that she might come to me in the future to learn more about the gift we shared. That would probably be a fair bit away, though, as my enhanced hearing could pick up an increase in her heartbeat when around me, possibly due to fear or just general worry.

Vicki Donavon had also survived the attack from the vampire and was still in the local hospital, though she suspiciously had no recollection of it. Without a doubt being compelled since the attack, though both Matt and Jeremy had heard her confess that a vampire was responsible just after the attack. Both seemed to think she was just rambling in the aftermath but I could tell that both had a slight inkling that something was not right.

I also knew that if it was Damon he had not made a move on Caroline as he did in the show, perhaps due to the vervain that she was consuming. Caroline had also continued coming to speak to me on every break, under the guise of having a second opinion on her work. Although I suspected it was actually like Alexandria had said and the young blonde may have an interest in me. Something that I would prefer to avoid, but could not just outright push her away, as that would isolate her, making her a prime target for Damon if it were him slaughtering his way through Mystic Falls.

I was currently on my way out of the school. It had been a long day for me, and I was glad to get home and rest. Unfortunately, that was interrupted by Alexandria coming up to me, "Matt's sister Vicki is missing, and Elena asked us to help look for her", she said. Well, there goes my evening of relaxing. "We should head to town, keep a stake on you, the vampire may be back" At my word, she nodded before going towards town.

I walked through the streets of Mystic Falls, I remembered in the show Vicki was found on a rooftop but I had no idea which one. Leading me to use my enhanced senses to try and detect her, easier said than done as the town was far more busy than usual.

After several hours of searching, I ran into Matt and Tyler, both having had about as much luck as I had in the search. It was only a moment or two later that we were joined by Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and Jo, who were also searching. While discussing what to do, I heard a heartbeat from the roof above us. Looking up, I saw Vicki on the ledge. The others, having noticed my distraction, looked up and saw her.

We all made our way up to the roof as quickly as possible, getting to a locked door that gave way under my strength. Luckily, none of them seemed to notice that display of power. What we all noticed, though, was the young brunette on the edge of the roof. Matt immediately tried to talk her down, without much success. Jeremy and Tyler both joining him in the attempt, but I knew that they had no chance, she was most certainly compelled.

I saw her begin to take another step, and in an instant, I was behind her, clutching her arm in my hand. She fought, trying with all her might to leap off the building, but she could not, no matter how much she struggled; my strength was too much for her to move an inch. I pulled her further onto the roof, as she kicked and screamed. I looked into her eyes, "stop fighting" As I said those simple words, I felt a resistance as my compulsion briefly fought the other vampire's orders. She gave up almost straight away, as soon as she stopped Matt pulled her into himself as tears started to flow from her eyes.

We left after that and I was only with Caroline and Elena at the moment, walking through the darkened streets. Night seemed to fall quickly, a voice called from behind us, "Elena, I see you found your friend", as I heard the cocky voice recognition fill me. I turned seeing the all too familiar face of Damon Salvatore, who I now recognised as the vampire from both the school and the party. "Damon, Stefan is not here, and I told you to stay away from me", Elena said, backing up slightly. He stepped forward, eyes locking with Elenas's. "You don't want that", she argued, his compulsion finding itself blocked by the vervain inside her. At that, he turned his compulsion on Caroline again, finding it effective, then on me, finding the same bit for a different reason.

"Well seems you have protection against my charms, lucky you. But I grow bored of these games," he said, lunging towards Elena, his claws outstretched. Shit, I thought, I kind of hoped to keep up my ruse for a bit longer, in a single moment, my hand met his, pushing him back. He snarled at my interference and came straight at me. With a single motion, I pulled him in, snapping his wrists before reaching into the hidden sheath at my belt and pulling out my sword. Perfectly hidden with illusion magic, having not left my side since it was reforged. A single cut would end the vampire before me, igniting his body in white hot flames and leaving behind a pile of ash. Aiming at his heart, I prepared to thrust the blade into him, but was interrupted.

"Wa, it doesn't," Elena shouted at me, looking back . I could see Caroline frozen in place and Elena looking shocked at my sudden display of power. "He's Stefan's brother, don't kill him", she continued. "Why not? he is the one responsible for all the deaths around here, he almost killed Vicki, he would have killed you", I responded. "Please don't", she said, looking back, I could see the desperation on her face. I put the sword back in its sheath, then pulled him to my eye level, "Forget the truth about me", I ordered him before snapping his neck.

"You're a vampire as well", Elena spoke with slight hesitation in her voice. "No, they don't exist, they can't exist", Caroline interrupted. "Unfortunately, she's right, Caroline, I am a vampire, one far older and stronger than this pathetic leech", I said to them. I could see their faces painted with worry and fear at my confession. "Why, why are you here? Are you going to kill us now"? Caroline asked slowly backing away from me. "No, of course not, I mean you no harm, for why I am here, this was once my home, I wanted to return", I said, answering both questions at once. They both seemed slightly relaxed by my answer but still stayed a few metres away. "How long have you known that we exist"? I asked Elena with a slight amusement in my voice. "About a week, Stefan told me" she replied. "He would have, wouldn't he?" I said with slight annoyance.

We were interrupted by a voice calling to me, "Father, did you find her"? Alexandria asked. Before I could answer she seemed to pick up on the tension in the air. "They know, don't they?" I nodded as Caroline and Elena stared at us both in realisation that one of their friends was a vampire drawing on their faces. "Why did you not tell me" Caroline asked us both, I had no reply luckily Alexandria did "it's frowned upon to tell a human that you do not intend to turn about our species. In Europe it is strictly forbidden" that was true, one of the many rules I had implemented to protect our species.

They both nodded before Caroline spoke again, "We won't tell anyone, just give us a few days to think about everything, please", she said, desperation and fear filling her voice. "Of course we will, you don't need to fear us, we would not hurt you" I said before we left, disappearing into the night.

Damon would not have any recollection of the events, but Elena and Caroline would. I just hoped that neither of them would reveal my nature to anyone else, especially Stefan.