Chapter 06
Bella noticed that on the way from the airport to Mystic Falls that Kol was getting antsy. He had told her the stories about Mystic Falls, and she could imagine why. Even with him being an Original vampire and unkillable, he was also insecure about things. And he had a severe dislike for the two Salvatore brothers and the two Gilberts in that town. Not to mention, the witch Bonnie. They were fun playthings, but that was all.
Bella figured that he was more confident of himself in dealing with them under Klaus’ wing, but now that he was going there on his own, she could imagine he’d find that annoying. “You know, if it’s easier… I could just turn you invisible and you can come out whenever you feel like it. They won’t have to know you’re here.”
Kol seemed to consider that for a moment. “Could I beat someone while invisible?”
“No, that would break the spell, unless you’re both invisible.”
Kol blinked at her. “That’s ridiculous. Who made that up?”
Bella shrugged as they drove into Mystic Falls. The trees reminded her of Forks, but it looked more luscious and dense here. Mystic Falls looked prettier than Forks, and when they drove into the center, it definitely looked more beautiful than Forks. She could see why people would want to live here. It was a true southern little town with a nice square and beautiful buildings.
“I hate this bloody town,” Kol muttered as he parked the car in front of the local restaurant that looked quite deserted for this time of day. “He might be in there,” he said as he pointed at it. “The Grill is usually populated at this time.”
“It’s a good start as any… if he’s not there I’ll call him again,” Bella looked Kol over for a moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes,” Kol snarled. “Let’s get this over with and go home,” he said as he got out of the car and Bella followed him towards the door of the Grill.
“Don’t let him touch you,” Bella warned him. “But if he’s truly overwhelmed, he might not have a taste for your magic anyway. He can be a little bit greedy sometimes.”
“I’ll be fine,” Kol replied. “I’ve got you.” And that was strange. Because when it came to a siphoner, he already knew he was going to be outnumbered because all they had to do was grab a hold of him and weaken him to defeat him. He couldn’t be killed but they could do some damage. Bella was his best defense. He was just there in case she needed some magic. And to make sure she wasn’t going to be harmed.
When they entered the grill, he could smell the burnt flesh in the room. Not animal flesh, no, human. Dead flesh. His eyes fell onto Elena Gilbert who was unconscious in a chair and her wrists were bound. Vervained. But no sign of Bella’s friend. Since when was she a vampire?
“Jesus,” Bella said as she ran over to the girl and wanted to check her over, but Kol stopped her. “What?”
“That’s Elena Gilbert, let her steam a little, it’s fun,” Kol smirked as he looked around and he could hear some clanging in the kitchen. “He’s in the kitchen.”
“Isn’t she in pain?”
“Apparently she’s a vampire now, she’ll be fine. Go see your friend, let me gloat a little. Perhaps take a picture to send to Niklaus,” Kol grinned as he took out his phone and pointed towards the kitchen.
Bella sighed as she went to find Kai. She was going to have to do a lot of explaining. “Kai?”
“Bella! Oh my God, I’m feeling sooo good! Although my magic is—” Kai ran towards her with an excited puppy look on his face. “Wait. You haven’t aged a day.”
“Neither have you,” she pointed out. “What happened?”
He took her hand and brought her with him to the things he was cooking. “Well. You know how my dad has this idea that the coven is more important than family, right?”
“Yes…” Oh, she had encountered the man a month and a half ago. He wasn’t a pleasant figure.
“I figured out why they kept having children, my parents,” Kai said as he stirred the sauce he was making. “They didn’t want me to become the next leader of the Gemini, because I was ‘unstable’ and a ‘maniac’. They wanted Josette to become the leader but they also realized that I was stronger and because of my abomination I could easily overpower her. They had Lucas and Olivia so that they could merge when they would celebrate their 22nd birthday and one of them would become the new leader of the Gemini.”
Bella leaned against one of the counters and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him. “What did you do?” She already knew what he did. He slaughtered his family.
“I killed almost everyone,” he admitted. “But wouldn’t you? Lucas or Olivia would take away my birthright!”
“This is a judgment-free zone, you know that. It just doesn’t sound like you, that’s all.”
“So Josette then agreed to merge with me,” Kai continued before breaking out in a big smile. “The entire coven was with us. Which was strange, but so satisfying. They’d see their new leader being born. And then… nothing happened. Jo had put her magic away and they locked me away in a prison. I came out a few days ago. I’m going to make Jo merge with me.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Buuuuut, those pesky travelers were here a few months ago and they had put an anti-magic barrier around Mystic Falls, keeping all the supernaturals out. Guess what I did?”
“You absorbed it all.”
“Yep,” Kai nodded so fast that Bella was afraid that his head would fall off. “I can’t control my magic. My spells misfire. I’m going to use Elena for target practise. She’s Damon’s girlfriend and ohh, I don’t like Damon.”
Bella let out a snort then. “Neither does my friend who’s currently admiring your handiwork.”
“You brought a friend?”
“I did,” Bella nodded.
“The same friend who supplied you with magic?”
“Kai, you’re not going to take magic from him,” Bella said sternly. “You’re already bursting with it.”
Kai blinked at her for a second before focusing on the food again. “Of course I’m not. I’m just going to thank him for his magic all those years ago. Now, care to explain why you look not a day over the last time I saw you?”
“Sure, but you might want a drink.”
Kai hummed and nodded. “Food’s almost ready. Find us a bottle of good red wine. And the story better be good, you hear?”
“It will be,” Bella smiled at him before heading to the bar to find glasses and their most expensive bottle of red wine. “How’s the gloating going?”
“Nik’s loving the pictures I’m sending him,” Kol grinned before he saw Elena stir. “Oh, she’s coming around.”
“Oh no she isn’t,” Kai said as he expertly balanced plates in his hands like a waiter and had a free hand left to knock her out with the spell that Bella had taught him. “Oh, great. That went well. Anything could happen, you know, I could have accidentally make her explode and then we’d have guts for dinner,” he didn’t miss a beat as he set the plates down to walk over to Kol to size him up. “He’s not much, is he, Bella?”
Bella sucked in a breath as she shook her head. “Play nice, Kai. I told Kol to play nice, so you’re going to play nice as well.”
Kai hummed and nodded before extending his hand. “Kai Parker, thank you for being there for Bella.”
“Kol Mikaelson,” Kol said as he shook Kai’s hand, before quickly withdrawing it. “She told you I’m off limits.”
Kai shrugged. “I could try, right?”
“No.”
“Fine, fine,” Kai shrugged again as he sat down and pointed at the other two chairs close to him. “We’re sitting all the way here because I have a little surprise in store for Elena, but you know, dig in. I love to cook and after spending 18 years in nearly every restaurant in the States, I think I’ve honed my craft, sort to speak. Don’t worry, it’s not poisoned or anything, I’ll be eating it as well and you know, I can really understand the whole extra-magic kinda thing now. It’s such a rush!”
“I can take some from you?” Bella offered.
“No, I’m going to get a grip on this so I can help you,” Kai said determinedly. “So, your turn. Storytime!”
She sighed as she took a sip of her wine. “I didn’t lie about what I am. I’m a siphoner, like you.”
“Duh.”
“But… when I have magic in me, I can’t just do spells like you. I can do something else entirely that doesn’t even require a spell, just magic.”
Kai snapped his fingers as he tried to think of the words. “You can astral project. Into the past.”
“That doesn’t make any sense because I was physically with you.”
“Yeah… that doesn’t make sense… Are you like Elena, a vampire? But you kept your magic like a Heretic?”
“Uh, no,” Bella shook her head as she took a bite out of the food. “This is delicious, Kai.”
“I know,” he grinned. “Come on, tell me.”
“I can travel in time. Every bit of me can travel back in time. I try not to stay out for long and in the beginning, it was only 10 minutes, tops, that I could go back, but now I can decide to go on for a bit longer or until the magic runs out,” Bella said carefully. “I wanted to meet you because there aren’t many known siphoners out there anymore.”
Kai seemed to take those words in, he went from having a smile on his face to having a murderous look on his face. “You knew about what was going to happen? And you didn’t stop it?! Bella, I thought we were friends?”
“Kai, we are.”
“I spent 18 years in my coven’s prison! They sent me away and you allowed that to happen! Great friend you are!”
Bella took his hand and gently squeezed it. She could feel the insane amount of magic coursing through his veins. “We went to see your dad. We were looking for more information about siphoners and our only clue was the Gemini coven. He called me an abomination, just like you, and he wanted to kill me. He said you were gone, I assumed you were dead. And that’s why I went back in time to meet you.”
“Not even to prevent my death?!”
“Time travel is tricky, mate,” Kol replied, ready to tear off Kai’s head if needed. “Bella went back to a time before she was born. If she had made such a big change she wouldn’t know to what she came back to.”
“That’s just ridiculous! No, you’re going to go back and you’re going to tell me what’s going to happen,” Kai told Bella. “Now.”
“Why? What difference would that make? You’d kill your family earlier? Maybe your dad this time so the entire coven dies? Including you?” Bella countered. “I can’t travel back and change your future, Kai, even if I wanted to. I’m not even doing that for myself. Or for Kol.”
“Well, the first time you went back in time was to save our house from burning,” Kol shrugged.
“That’s not changing someone’s life!” Bella sighed as she squeezed Kai’s arm. “If I had known that they’d put you away in a prison, I wouldn’t have looked for you. But I didn’t want to be alone and I didn’t want you to be alone, either.”
“You’re not alone, you have your boyfriend,” Kai sulked.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Kol took a sip of his wine to hide his disappointment. It was true, but it still stung. Bella hadn’t shown any sign so far that she was interested in him like that. He was nothing more than a very strong and powerful friend. And the worst part was that he understood. He was a vampire, she wasn’t. Vampires got her into the trouble she was in right now, and he had hope that once all of her worries were gone, she’d see him differently. Because it would be different vampires who got her out of trouble.
“Are you sure about that? Because he’s looking like he could kill someone right now,” Kai pointed out.
Bella briefly looked at Kol before looking at Kai again with a sigh. “Kol knows I’m done with boys for now.”
Kai’s eyes grew wide. “You’re into girls?”
“No!”
“She was emotionally and physically hurt by her previous boyfriend, Kai, it takes some time to heal,” Kol eventually managed to say. “We’re good friends and we look out for each other.” He hoped that the conversation would be ended with that, because he was really about to rip off Elena’s head because he was annoyed.
“Okay, well, good on you, bro. You’ve got patience,” Kai nodded as he took a sip of his wine. “Anyway, I didn’t just sit on my ass for 18 years. I had the whole world to myself and I knew that I was going to get out some way, eventually. I taught myself how to fly in planes. Bettered myself. And I did some research for you.”
“You did?”
“Yep,” Kai nodded. “And… I didn’t come up with anything. Siphoners, sure. Humans who survived a Cold One, not so much. So imagine a siphoner with a Cold One venom scar…” He shrugged as he took another bite of his food. “But it was fun though, going all around the world, following breadcrumbs. I’ve seen everything. The Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal…” Kai grabbed Bella’s wrist and tried to siphon the magic out of it. “There’s no magic in that scar.”
“Nope, just venom,” Bella said calmly, but slightly disappointed. “Otherwise I think I could have gotten rid of it myself.”
“I think it’s the venom that makes you able to time travel,” Kai concluded. “Time travel is extremely rare amongst witches. Astral projection, sure. But time travel? Absolutely not. And you know what that makes you?”
“What?”
“Someone very special. And you’re safe with me and your friend, but you shouldn’t tell anyone else about this.”
“I won’t. It’s why I didn’t tell you in the first place, but you deserved an explanation. I usually wipe the memory of me in the past as it complicates things.”
Kol wasn’t sure if telling Kai was such a good idea, but he did go out of his way to find more information for Bella to eventually tell her then maybe he earned it. However, Kol was smelling burnt flesh, and it was burning in his nostrils. Something wasn’t right.
“Okay, okay… shhh… she’s coming to, let’s make you guys invisible,” Kai grinned. “I’ll reveal you when I’m done playing, this is going to be fun!” He waved his hand and started to talk about how modern restaurants suck and how everything is on timers while Bella juist quietly ate her food.
“So she can’t see or hear us now?” Kol blinked.
“Yep.”
“Oh, this is good,” Kol grinned and wanted to get up but Bella glared at him. “What?”
“This is Kai’s party. Let him have the fun.”
Kol rolled his eyes. He wanted to do something. “Can I have fun later?”
She smiled at him then. “Of course, but we’re invited by Kai, this is his party, don’t ruin it for him, please.”
“Why am I here?” Elena asked groggily as she tried to get her hands free from her vervain bonds. “And I don’t mean the Mystic Grill.”
“Oh, here, here? In Mystic Falls?” Kai asked before letting out a chuckle. “Sorry, I’m very nervous. You… you’re very pretty.”
“Why am I here, Kai?”
“Well, I took the spell that was keeping the supernatural out of Mystic Falls and I like… absorbed it? Like… I ate it, I guess,” he took a bite of his food and smiled at her. “It’s cool, huh? First I eat magic and then eventually I lose it but… I mean a huge spell like that? Come on. Magic is oozing out of me, it’s all over the place. And I have a friend who wanted to help me but nah. I can get this to work. You know, I didn’t quite realize I was out of control until I met the manager of this place a few hours ago.And he was all like…’You can’t be here, we’re closed! And you have an unconcious girl over your shoulder!’ And I was like… Don’t judge me. So then I gave him a heart attack. Or tried to,” There was no stopping Kai as he was talking. It was really the magic getting a hold of him again. He had stopped earlier as he was really curious and intent on listening to Bella, but he was really stuck in his monologue. “All I did was make him vomit uncontrollably which was like… ugh, alright let’s stop that. So I tried again and I think I broke his spine. I’m not really sure because the third time I tried the spell, he kinda exploded in blood.”
“Oh that’s gross,” Bella replied.
“Oh, that sounds great,” Kol grinned.
Kai took a sip of his wine. “Whoops.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Elena said appalled, shaking her head.
“I told you, too much magic,” he said as he put his glass down. “You know, it wasn’t until my test run with the manager that I realized that if I start to merge with Jo and my gushing fountain of magic turns her into that guy then I’m not going to have a twin for the merge. So, Elena, that’s why you’re here. Because, I need to get my magic under control by practising with you. Or rather, by practising on you. Oh hey, ps: silver lining. After the manager finally stopped thrashing around, I finally managed a cloaking spell, thank you. It’s easy to do and… undo.” Kai waved his hand with a smile. “Phasmatos Oculacs.”
Elena gasped when she saw the dead body on the table in front of her and Bella nearly gagged. Kol was applauding. “Great show, mate. Great show.”
“Thank you, thank you… I think it’s one of my best works,” Kai grinned as he looked at Elena. “And just like that, table for five,” he laughed. “Oh, you had no idea, Elena. This is brilliant.”
“Kol?!” Elena eventually managed to say after she’d calmed down from Kai’s surprise. “What the hell!”
“Hello, darling,” Kol smiled at her. “Not to worry, this is Kai’s party. I won’t harm you.”
“How about… I try to turn Elena’s blood into acid?” Kai wondered out loud.
“Can I at least finish my dinner? Would be a shame if it got messy, Kai, this is delicious,” Bella sighed as she looked at him. Normally, she’d be completely against something like this. But, this was Kai’s party and all parties involved were supernatural.
Two vampires, a souped up siphoner and one without any magic at all. Both Kol and Kai were currently the two most powerful beings in the room and she was safe. As long as there wasn’t going to be any fresh blood, she was going to be fine.
Trusting both Kol and Kai with the situation, she left them alone to have her dinner in the kitchen. After ten minutes Kol came to join her. “He’s going to take her to the high school, do you want to come? I do love me some good torture.”
“You two can have fun, I’ll put the dishes in the dishwasher to hide the evidence and maybe I’ll do some shopping,” she replied. The idea of Kai playing with Elena continuously wasn’t really something she’d like to watch. “Maybe Kai will let you have a go.”
“Or perhaps Damon will come and try to rescue his girlfriend, now, that’ll be interesting,” Kol said rubbing his hands. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I’m sure.”
“We could go home, seeing as we thought there was a different siphoner.”
“No, he called for help so it’s best if we stick around for a bit but I don’t want to see you guys hurting that girl.”
“That girl is a vampire and no longer human. She’s supernatural, so all is fair.”
“And what if that girl was me?”
Kol was a bit surprised by that question. “I can’t speak for Kai but I wouldn’t do that to you, Bella, I like you.”
“But I’m supernatural, too. So according to your words, all is fair.”
Kai walked into the kitchen and sighed. “She passed out. Are you two coming?”
“I’m not,” Bella replied.
“Yeah, of course you are,” Kai laughed. “What if I really can’t control my magic and I need you to take the pressure off?”
“You call me. I’m sorry but I have to draw a line somewhere.” Would Edward have been like this if he had stayed away from Carlisle, she wondered. Not just mentally but physically as well? “I draw the line at torture. You could kill her and get it over with?”
“Noooo, I want to have some fun,” Kai grinned. “And you have no choice but to come with. Kol, catch!” he said before he made Bella pass out. Kol caught her in time with a murderous look on his face as he looked at Kai. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, I just wanted her to be a little more agreeable. Come, let’s have some fun.”
When Bella came to, she was in one of the more comfortable seats in the same building they had been in previously. Elena was gone, Kai was bound and gagged looking like he’d gone ten rounds with a star boxer and Kol was drinking straight out of a bottle of bourbon he had found. “What happened?”
Kol quickly put the bottle down and started to look her over. “Did you get hurt?”
“No, that spell is harmless, you taught me that yourself,” she said annoyed as she looked at Kai. “Are you out of your freaking mind?”
Kai mumbled something.
“His excuse was that you said ‘no’, darling,” Kol said as he gently squeezed her hand. “I wanted to kill him, but remembering that he’s your friend and a siphoner like yourself, I gave him a good and proper beating instead.”
“I see.”
“He had it coming. I didn’t hit any major organs, I just bruised him a lot.”
“I can see that,” Bella sighed and looked at him. “Thank you for your restraint,” she smiled at him before looking at Kai. She got to her feet and walked over to lean against the table and jabbed his shoulder with her finger, and apparently it hurt as he was wincing. “Now, what to do with you.”
Kai looked up at her with a hopeful look in his eyes.
“You didn’t like me saying ‘no’ to you, what makes you think I’d allow you to take your revenge on your coven? Would you kill me if I said ‘no’ to that, too?”
Kai shrugged as an answer.
“We’re no strangers to revenge, Kai,” Kol replied. “In fact, I do love me some good revenge, hence why my family and I are assisting Bella in taking hers, although she’s new to the whole killing thing that is so gloriously satisfying. But you’d have to be nice, and at least treat Bella with some kindness as she’s shown that to you, too.” The last bit made him throw up in his mouth a little, but Kol saw the look on Bella’s face, and she wanted to bring him home so he could lead a normal life.
Humans were so predictable.
But with Bella wanting to take Kai back to Forks they were going to have some issues with the guy even worse in control of magic than Bella, especially around his family.
Bella slowly nodded. “I find it easier to kill Cold Ones because they’re vampires. Killing a witch is different because they’re alive,” she said as she removed Kai’s gag. “What was your plan?”
“No plan,” Kai grinned. “Chaos is fun.”
“Does it involve killing?”
“No, it involved me becoming the leader of the Gemini and proving to them that I am worthy.”
“No offense, mate, the way that you are now won’t do you any favors and you might end up dead along with your coven,” Kol replied with a sigh. “I don’t mind much about your coven because they’re a dying one as is, but Bella wants you to have a life as the ultimate revenge.”
Bella looked at Kol and blinked in confusion. “How did you know?”
“I know you, darling, and I agree with your idea, but it will be under our terms and not his.”
She smiled at him then and looked back at Kai. “Who are you the most upset with?”
Kai huffed. “You know the answer to that.”
“Your father and Josette,” Bella nodded. “The coven is just a footnote.”
Kai shrugged. “Well, the lives of the coven is linked to their leader, so if my dad dies…”
“Everyone dies, including you.”
“Doubtful. I’m pret-ty sure my dad kicked me out of the coven when he put me into the prison world,” Kai replied with a shrug. “Of course, if I’d merge with Josette and win, I’d be instantly back in. See, with this magic inside of me, I can wipe them out. Just like that.”
Bella hated the supernatural community because they could do whatever, and now that she was a part of it, it was even worse, in some ways. The laws were apparently different for those not entirely human. “And that’s what you want? You want to be responsible for the death of many people by killing your dad?” This wasn’t her choice, it was his. And if he wanted this, then she was going to support it, no matter how conflicting it felt.
“Yes,” Kai replied, a smirk on his face. “You’re really going to help me?”
“Are you sorry for not allowing me to say ‘no’ to you? Will you at least try to be kind to me and to Kol?”
“Oh, he doesn’t have to be nice to me, darling, only if he doesn’t want to receive another beating,” Kol said smug. “But let’s add a deal in the mix,” he replied as he moved over to where Bella was and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at Kai. “I know a lot of people like you, I was… am, like you. Bella’s going to put a binding spell on you so you can’t move far, and, when this is all over, she’s going to take whatever magic remains from you.”
Kai huffed. “I’m not going home with you.”
“As it is, and I’m likely going to face the wrath of Bella by saying this, but as it is, you, as a witch, are too unhinged to walk around freely. You’re going to be a danger to yourself and others. It’s either death or you’ll come with us. I don’t care that she’s your friend, but I have to make sure that she’s safe and you clearly proved that you’d even knock her out when she doesn’t want to entertain your crazy ideas.”
“But you didn’t mind some torture.”
“That’s because you and I are more alike than you might realize, Kai. And up until the point where you knocked Bella out, I kinda liked you. And then you had to ruin it by hurting her feelings. Quite disappointing.”
“Are you truly saying that if I hadn’t done that, you and I could have had some fun?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Kol replied flatly. “Bella and I will help you get your revenge on your family and coven, but the question remains, what next? Am I going to kill you or are you coming back with us so you can live a life you’ve missed out on?”
“What about option C?” Kai grinned.
Kol wanted to kill him. Right now. What a wanker. “There is no third option.”
“Sure there is. Bind my non-existing witchy power and let me be on my way.”
“As I said, there is no third option,” Kol countered. “And might I suggest you stop being so obtuse if you value your life?” Kai was pissing him off, greatly. Kol needed a drink. Now. He pushed himself away from the table and pointed at Kai as he looked at Bella. “This is a bad idea. You deal with him, I’m going to have a snack and make sure Gilbert hasn’t alerted the Salvatores and the vampire hunter… or let’s hope she did so I have something to do.”
After Kol had left, Kai spoke up again. “Pretty sure he’s your boyfriend.”
“Shut up,” Bella said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “This isn’t anything like you.”
“Yeah well, we’ll talk again when you’re locked up in a prison world for 18 years all by yourself.”
“And lose all idea of how to interact with people, and respect them? Hardly. Otherwise, you’d be a caveman right now,” Bella chided him as she leaned forward to put her hand on his and started to pull magic out of him. “You need to calm down.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m taking away your toys until you learn how to play nice,” Bella replied, a playful smile on her face. “But I have to admit, this magic packs a punch,” she added as she could feel the magic settle in her system. “You need a clear head for this.”
“Bella, you said it yourself you had issues with controlling magic,” Kai said worriedly. “Stop.”
“Yeah, I do, but at least that doesn’t turn me into a dickhead,” she countered as she let go of him, not entirely getting all the magic inside of him. “Jesus, that was insane. It is insane, what were you thinking?” Bella breathed out as she walked away from him.
“I wasn’t,” Kai said as he turned his head to look at her. “I’ll take it back?”
“No,” she said as she turned around to look at him. His demeanor was calmer, which was everything she had hoped for. “So, what do you think? Kol and I help you get your revenge, and you come home with us?”
“And then what?”
Bella shrugged. “Help you readjust to life? Help you with dealing with the magic?”
“How? You can barely contain yourself when it’s not magic coming off of your boyfriend,” Kai pleaded. “Just give it back to me, Bella, you’ll be fine.”
“Nope, you’re not going to get it back until you’ve earned it back.”
“What are you, my mother?”
“No, I’m your friend,” she countered as she shoved her hands in her pockets as not to accidentally blow something up or knock out Kai. “And I care about you. That’s why I came back for you every time despite you not knowing much about why I came and sought you out in the first place. Kol didn’t like me traveling back that much, and it was hard and draining on the both of us, but I didn’t want you to be alone. I still don’t want you to be alone. And that’s why we’re going to help you get you your revenge and that’s why Kol gave you the ultimatum; either he kills you because you’re a loose cannon, or you come home with us to start your life away from your coven.”
“You really care?”
“Yes!” She made her way back to him and crouched down next to him. Looking at him, she sighed. “Yes, your coven are a bunch of assholes for putting you away like that, but it could have been worse after what you’d done. They could have killed you instead. And if I had known that you weren’t dead, I would have come and find you.”
Kai huffed. “You’re just saying that because you’re afraid of me.”
“You’re the one who’s afraid,” she pointed out. “And hurt. And angry. And they’re all valid feelings that I want you to get your revenge for. But you also deserve a good life, and I want to try to help you get that. Because that’s what friends do,” Bella smiled at him then. “And it’s not going to be easy, but you’re going to be alright.”
“You don’t know how I feel, Bella.”
“No, no, I don’t. I only can imagine how angry you are, and how hurt. But you’re not the only one hurting,” she replied softly. “I hurt too. I’m angry, and mostly, I’m afraid. I keep thinking… the longer I’m away from Forks, the more risk I’m taking with my life. And at first, I didn’t even care, you know. So what if the Cold Ones kill me for leaving Forks? I don’t want to be stuck in Forks for the rest of my life,” she continued. “And then Kol started to take me away from Forks, further away than the two hours that I was allowed. And we spent a month and a half in Portland so I could spend time with a new friend and Kol made me feel safe.”
“That’s great, but what where does that leave me? I have no one.”
“You have me and you can trust me. I want you to stop hurting, to stop being afraid and angry. And I want you to have a great life. And that’s a big step, especially because you’ve been hurt by people in the past, but I am not them.”
Kai sighed as he finally tried to move, getting uncomfortable in his bonds on the wooden chair. “But I didn’t treat you like a friend, I disrespected you and your boyfriend beat the crap out of me.”
“And I’m still here. Just disappointed, but still here.”
“Yeah, alright. Fine. We’ll try it your way.”
~o.O.o~
Bella was surprised how easy and uncomplicated things were. She wanted to make sure that Kai was indeed no longer a part of the Coven so Kol taught her a spell to sever the tie and, as it turned out, papa Parker was already in town to congratulate his twins Liv and Luke on their 22nd birthday. He wanted to force them to merge, despite both siblings not wanting to, so that Kai wouldn’t do it with his favourite daughter Jo.
The magic she had siphoned off of Kai had disappeared the following morning, which was great as her sleep had been not an easy one. She had strange dreams and had accidentally travelled back in time for just a few minutes while asleep. She was glad that it was out of her system by breakfast and Kai was a lot more like himself too.
Bella warned both Kol and Kai about Joshua Parker as she had to deal with him only two months ago and he was a force to be reckoned with, one that she’d been unprepared for and she’d been outmatched, but Kai said not to worry as she’d simply been inexperienced and Kol vowed to end him if Kai for some reason couldn’t do it.
She knew that they both were thinking too lightly about this. Kai believed he could take on his own father, and Kol relied on his age and experience. And, in a way, they were right. They’d been a witch or around longer than she’d been, and maybe she was too cautious and anxious because they weren’t.
And why were confrontations done in the evenings in this stupid little town?
Bella was nursing the coffee that Kol had gotten her on their way to find Joshua Parker and hung back with Kol when Kai spotted his father. Kol hadn’t trusted Kai with his siphoning abilities so Bella siphoned some magic from Kol and had Kai get it out of her instead. Because Kai wouldn’t kill Bella.
And she could see in Kol’s eyes that he was neglecting to tell her something but she wasn’t going to question it. Whatever it was, it could wait. Kai was too eager to kill his father and end the Gemini coven along with it.
“You have some nerve,” Joshua Parker argued as he was pinned against the wall by Kai. “You can’t win, Kai.” And with one fell swoop, Kai was on his ass and Joshua freed. “Even with your vampire friend,” he flicked his wrist and Kol dropped to the ground with a snapped neck. “And you…” he said as he looked at Bella. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
Bella was too shocked to see Kol on the ground to do anything. She couldn’t do anything, she didn’t have any magic in her, or, come to think of it, just a little, and she wasn’t sure how it got there. Kai had taken everything.
“Bella, run!” Kai called out as he cast a spell to incapacitate his father. His father was only shaken by the spell before looking at Kai with a curious look on his face.
“You like her.”
“This is between you and me, you’re going to leave her out of this,” Kai responded angrily. “She’s here to witness.”
“She is an abomination like you, and like you, she will die,” Joshua replied as he reached out with his hand to freeze Kai in his tracks and his other shot out to Bella and his words had clear intent. “Phesmatos aspiciunt colorem abire magam.”
Bella doubled over as she could feel her heart hurt. It felt as if it was on fire. Beating fast. Clutching her chest, she tried to catch her breath but it was impossible.
“Stop!” Kai begged his father. “Bella, siphon the magic out of you, you can do it.”
“Secat latera caeli!”
Bella started coughing as her lungs now started to burn and it wasn’t before long that she fell on to the ground and everything went black as her body hurt.
