Chapter 26
It was the Monday after I broke Damon's neck and both Caroline and Elena found out I was a vampire. I had not heard from either of the young women since then, luckily it seemed as though they had not told anyone about me either. So I was quite surprised when both of them walked into the classroom on time for the lesson, even though their heartbeats increased slightly when they did, they met my eyes with a smile before taking their seats. Just before the class started I was surprised to see the familiar face of Vicki Donavon walking through the door. I knew she was in the class, of course, but since I had started teaching here, she had not turned up to one lesson, so it was quite odd for her to be here. Looking at her quickly I saw the weight of the last two weeks etched on her face, hidden from most people by the charming smile, but I saw through it with ease. She quickly made her way to a seat behind her brother, sinking into it carefully as if to avoid drawing attention to herself. Looking over the class, I noted only two students were not attending, the first being Alexandria, as she wanted to back off from Caroline and Elena for a bit, perhaps worried her new friends saw her as a monster. The other being Stefan, which was odd and I had no idea what caused the absence.
I began my lesson as usual, continuing with the history of Mystic Falls, now and then looking over my students, trying to figure out what they were thinking. Every time our eyes met, I watched as different emotions flicked across their faces, each fighting the others. Yet they did not avert their eyes, matching mine each and every time.
The class ended, the entire class of students rushing out, on his way, past Matt, I shook my hand and thanked me before darting out to follow his sister. Yet again, it was just me, Caroline, Elena and Bonnie in the classroom alone. "What can I do for you three"? I showed confusion at the fact that Bonnie was still here. "I know what you are. They did not tell me, I found out alone," Bonnie said, adding the last bit after seeing my gaze shift to her two friends.
"I know you're a vampire, I wanted to show you something" She walked to the door, locking it as she spoke before heading back to my desk. Taking a pencil out of a pot on the desk she laid it on top of the desk before focusing on it. Slowly the pencil started shaking, increasing in intensity before starting to hover slightly. "Magic, impressive though you're new to your powers, let me guess you found out that I was a vampire when our hands touched the other week"? I said, drawing a look of surprise from the young Witch, "Tell me what you saw"? I continued.
For a moment, I saw her tears before she began speaking, "It was only lashes, pain, suffering, bloodshed, fire and war. They all flashed by too quickly for me to be able to understand any more than that". I smiled, nodding as I began to speak, "Okay, well then if you have discovered your magical abilities, I would offer to train you in them, help you control them". All three looked shocked at my words, but Bonnie spoke again "Okay". With that settled, I decided to move on to other topics.
"Where is Alexandria"? Caroline asked me, kind of out of the blue, "She decided to take a couple of days off, to give you all some space after you found out what we are," I responded. "She did not need to do that", Elena said before Caroline could speak again. I simply nodded at what she said, waiting for one of them to speak again.
"So, about you being a vampire," Elena begged, slightly hesitating. I motioned for her to continue, "You really aren't going to hurt us, or anyone else" She managed to get out, slight worry still on her face. "Of course not", I said, watching as some stress and worry left their faces.
"How are you so strong? Stefan said he was far weaker than Damon, yet you dealt with him like he was nothing," Elena asked, confusion now marring her face. I smiled, not surprised at her curiosity "There are a few things that dictate a vampire's strength, the first is the condition your body was in when you were turned. Vampirism enhances that, meaning the stronger you are as a human, the stronger you will be as a vampire. Damon was the son of a founding family, he was probably not used to training, and as such, his strength was not that good. I, on the other hand, spent every day training, enhancing my skills as a warrior, meaning my strength would turn out to be greater. As I finished the first bit of my explanation, I saw some confusion leave their faces.
"The second thing that denotes a vampire's strength is age, we get older the longer we live. Damon is young, not even two hundred years old, and I, well, let's say I am far older and as such far stronger. The third reason is how much you push your limits. If you continue pushing yourself, training your body, and fighting stronger opponents, your body adapts and becomes stronger. The last one had not been stated in the show, but I had confirmed it since, in my many fights, I got stronger pushing myself further and further away from my baseline strength. I left out the last reason I was stronger than him, the fact that I was an original vampire, they would find out eventually, but for now, they did not need to know.
After my explanation, each of them had more questions, taking my time answering each to the best of my ability, until one in particular, by Elena, caught me off guard. "Do you drink blood from people or animals"? It left me silent for a moment as I thought before answering "I drink human blood, it's the best and does not limit my strength". "What about the people who you drink from"? She continued. I had expected the question and so started without pause, "In Europe, it was simple, the systems I had put in place allowed us to get blood bags with ease. Someone would turn up to donate in exchange for some cash, and then be on their way. A vampire could then come and pay for it. Here it's slightly harder as I have not put the systems in place yet, instead we have to compel hospital staff, tamper with records so no one is any of the wiser. If that is not available, most of us just take what we need from a person, then compel them to forget about it. Damons' butchery of people is rare, as most of us try to avoid attention. You also get the occasional person who is willing to be fed on for whatever reason" I answered.
They stayed silent for a moment, considering my words, before Bonnie spoke up, "So you don't kill people"? She asked. "I have, I was a warrior before becoming a vampire. By the time I was your age, I had killed many men in battle. Since becoming a vampire, I have fought just as much, killing hundreds, maybe more, but no one innocent. I certainly do not kill those I drink from I answered, watching their faces change at my words.
"Okay, we will keep your secret on a few conditions", Elena spoke up. I raised my eyebrows and let out a small laugh at her words, clever to get something out of this. "Go on", I said, letting her speak. "First, you teach Bonnie magic like you said you would, second, you teach us all how to defend against vampires, and third, you make us something to avoid compulsion". I thought on that for a moment, teaching Bonnie magic was a given, teaching them how to defend against vampires, that could go either way, but I would do it. The last one making an amulet for each of them to avoid compulsion, I would it made sense as it was the easiest way to keep them safe. "Done" I responded.
Before we could continue, the bell rang out, signalling the end of break. They all had to go to their next lesson, so the conversation would have to wait for another day.
Chapter 27
The next week or so went by quickly, as I settled into a new routine of teaching the young Bennett witch magic and teaching her two friends how to protect themselves against vampires. My lessons were harsh, not holding back at all with them; it was not like I wanted to be that cruel, but I knew the truth of fighting vampires: if they were not prepared, they would die.
I had also started to make the amulets to protect i fusing vervain into the metal, as well as putting a couple of runes on them. The first was a simple healing rune, not very powerful, but it could save their lives if it came to that. The next rune would alert me if they were in danger. That last one would be crucial to keeping them alive, as I knew if a vampire did attack them, even with all precautions, their chances of surviving were slim.
Currently, though, I was meeting with Sheriff Forbes at the Mystic Grill, in the hopes of slowly gaining more trust and eventually getting into a founding family meeting. I had to be careful, though, if I showed too much interest in the founding families, it might raise suspicion. Luckily, it seemed I was making slow progress on that front.
"So Asmund, what is it that you did before teaching"? She asked i we had been chatting about life in general, but the question still caught me slightly off guard. "Quite a few things actually, but the main thing I focused on was wine. To be specific, my family owns a small winery in France". Small might be a slight lie, as in the almost a thousand years I had owned part of it, it had grown into the largest winery worldwide. It was my first investment after all.
"What about you, Liz, did you always want to be a cop"? I asked hoping to keep the conversation flowing for as long as possible. "Yes, actually I did, ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of helping people", she replied, a smile spreading across her face as she reminisced. Before the conversation could continue we were interrupted by her phone ringing. "Sorry, Asmund, I have to take this, it's work" I nodded at her words, assuring her that it was no issue.
I was quite interested in what had interrupted us, so I focused my hearing on the phone call, hoping to get some idea of what was going on. I distinctly heard "we have found the vampire, she is in town, we need your help" as I heard that my body tensed, as far as I was aware, the only female vampires in town were Alexandria and Rose. Which meant I needed to go after them, though I doubted a few humans could kill them there was always a possibility.
Liz returned apologising for having to leave before quickly making her way to her car. I followed, casting an invisibility spell on myself, then jumping into the air, and I followed after her car, as it sped through the streets. It stopped in the town, near a backstreet, luckily with the curfew in place and the time of day it was, there was nobody around.
Liz got out of the car before unholstering her gun and walking over to a few officers who were waiting, guns drawn. I watched as they started to make their way into an alleyway. I followed, surprised by the alleyway opening up into a small square and in the middle, a blonde-headed woman. I watched as they raised their weapons, beginning to fire, the bullets, verain-soaked wood struck the vampire, yet none got to her heart. Rapidly, the vampire attacked, sending one officer flying about a dozen feet before starting to slash at another. This continued until only Liz remained.
Just as I was about to step in and save Liz, the familiar face of Damon appeared, trying to drive a stake into the blonde vampire. I was across the square instantly, delivering a light blow to Liz, hitting her skull, not too hard, just to knock her out before going after Damon. I grabbed the stake and spun him, realisation dawning on his face, I may have compelled him to forget our previous interaction, but he still knew I taught at the school.
He tried to fight me, though his strength was lacking, and he was not even able to move my arms. I saw desperation on his face as he fought all the harder, trying to break my grip. With a single hand, I threw him into the wall behind him, watching as his body cracked the stone. Looking back, I checked on the vampire, who I now realised was Lexi, a character that died quite early in the show. She nodded at me, possibly in appreciation for saving her life. Knowing she was alright, I charged back at Damon, my claws outstretched to slash his body. Elena may have wanted him alive, but that did not mean I could not hurt him. I slashed a dozen times, each strike rending open his flesh and sending him backwards into the wall. But I grew bored of him quite quickly, compelling him to forget me one again, before snapping his neck.
I turned, having dealt with that, and saw Lexi beginning to stand. She was weak with blood loss and the vervain-laced wooden bullets. I was surprised she was still conscious. I offered her my hand, which she gladly took, supporting herself on me. "I can keep you safe if you come with me," she nodded, accepting my offer. I wrapped my arms around her; she probably expected us to run out of here, but I decided on a different course of action. I bent my knees and launched off the ground, sailing through the air as the blonde vampire clutched onto me like her life depended on it.
"How, how are we flying and how did you compel him, a vampire can not compel another vampire", she said, half stating, half questioning. "I am a special vampire", I answered, not wanting to reveal too much at the moment. We sailed through the air for a few minutes, her grip on me slightly loosening as she realised I would not let her plummet down to the ground.
We arrived back at my house, touching down softly, before I let her go and led us inside. I talked with her for hours, gaining every piece of knowledge I could from her, in that she revealed why Damon was here. I knew that in the show he returned to Mystic Falls to rescue Katherine from the tomb under the town, it seemed the reason for him being here was the same. Although he was not looking for Katherine, instead he had been sired by another vampire, and the events in Mystic Falls had played out the same, leading him to think his sire was in the tomb.
Although one thing still confused me, in the show Lexi only showed up after Vicki became a vampire. Yet here Vicki was still human, perhaps she would remain that way and had avoided being turned by Damon.
"So, Lexi, do you plan on staying here in Mystic Falls?" I asked, hoping she would agree to stay. "I can't, the sheriff knows my face, she is on vervain so she can not be compelled to forget me" she responded.
I thought for a moment before answering, "I may have a solution for that, a dark object my brother had made centuries ago, which fell into my possession a while back. It would give you the ability to appear as someone else, taking away the risk of you being recognised" I said. She thought it over for a while before agreeing. Good, I thought she would be a decent ally. "You can stay here if you would like, we have enough spare rooms" I offered. "Thanks, I will do that, but I have to ask, what is your plan here?" she responded. "My plan is simple, to copy what I have done in Europe, allowing vampires to live in the shadows of human society without risk of being hunted". She nodded, seeming to like the idea.
After I showed her to her room, I sat down to think. Lexi may not be the oldest vampire, at just under four hundred years old. But she would be an invaluable asset when it came to young vampires having exceptional control over the thirst for blood that plagued us all. Though if I wanted her to be as valuable as possible, she would need a daylight ring, so I would start there, hopefully that would further her loyalty.
Chapter 28
"Harder, put every ounce of strength you have into the strike, that goes for both of you" I criticised. I had been training Elena and Caroline for over an hour at the moment trying to get them to be able to use a stake effectively. "vampires have tougher skin than humans if you hold back at all it won't go deep enough to kill the vampire and then they will kill you" I continued before instructing them to continue. I stood waiting for them to strike watching as each strike they made gradually increased in effectiveness. "Remember to twist the stake as you drive it in" I said, getting a slightly annoyed look from Caroline. Perhaps I was being too hard on them, but they did ask me to train them to be able to defend against a vampire and going easy on them would only get them killed.
Bonnie was missing from our training; usually, I would be helping her train her magic at the same time as I taught Elena and Caroline. Unfortunately, a few days ago she released a lot of magic and since then has been scared of her power, resulting in her avoiding training it with me. It was expected to be fair, as she had obliterated everything in the room. Luckily, I had sensed the blast coming and managed to shield Elena, Caroline, Alexandria and even Bonnie herself from the debris. I did get impaled by a few dozen flying objects though, and lost a fair amount of furniture in the process. I would give her a few more days before going to convince her to come back and let me teach her how to control the power better, for now, though I had two other students to teach.
I let them strike at me, knowing full well that they did not have a chance at piercing my skin which was even tougher than a regular vampires. Yet their strikes were not too bad, certainly enough to at least pierce a regular vampire's skin, though I doubted they would go deep. Both came at me again, striking my skin with their stakes. The strikes were good, but I saw that they had both started to slow. The training was starting to take its toll. "Let's call it a day, you have both improved a fair amount, but you need to rest" I said, gaining thankful looks from both Elena and Caroline. "Sure thanks Asmund, I think if we continued much longer I wouldn't be able to feel my arms" Caroline responded with a grin on her face.
They walked over to join Lexi and Alexandria both of whom had been observing the training, watching with interest as the two young women improved. Lexi especially seemed to be carefully observing them, she knew that Caroline was the daughter of the woman who tried to kill her, yet she had remained silent on the fact that I was training her. Perhaps the silver ring inlaid with lapiz had something to do with that, most vampires, after all, would never get a daylight ring, yet I had given one to her willingly. Yet I noticed every time she looked at me her eyes held a slight bit of suspicion, but even more was a look almost like I was a puzzle she could not quite understand.
I looked around at the small group, more specifically the jewellery each wore, daylight rings for myself, Alexandria and Lexi. Whereas Elena and Caroline wore necklaces to make compulsion useless against the man, and all four wore the rings to alert me if their lives were in danger. Simple magic really, but it has been helpful to have. I wore some rings, the main one being the daylight ring that I did not need at all times, but it was still useful for me as my resistance to the sun was still far from perfect. The rest had many different uses, one protected against the brotherhood's daggers, although they were destroyed. I had learned that being paranoid would keep you alive. The most important one was to give me immunity to anyone trying to erase or control my memories and mind; they could still view my mind, like Bonnie did, but that was it.
"How did we do Mr Mikaelson"? Caroline asked with a slight nervous edge in her voice. Caroline who always needed to be assured that she was doing well, "You did well, though don't get overconfident, especially in this subject. Vampires will always have the advantage, so only use these teachings if you need to" I assured Caroline while also warning of the truth.
I was impressed by their progress, yet worry still found me. A letter had been delivered in the early morning from Europe, specifically from Louis, my first sired vampire. We had both stuck to letters even when technology increased as he was slow to change. His letter told of a few worrying things, a civil war in the Strix due to Elijah's absence, Tristan had since moved away from the rules Elijah put in place to keep the organisation intact. Aya had led a large group of loyalists, separating from the main group and feigning to enter the lands controlled by my sire line.
The letter also spoke of a couple of new groups, from Kol and Finnish sire lines, building strength and moving into territory controlled by the remaining Strix. Louis had warned that a war may be on the horizon, complete and utter carnage between all sire lines. The only sire lines that actually stayed intact were mine and Rebekahs, as we were both still involved in the politics of vampire. I had feared that war may be inevitable between the sire lines, if only my siblings and I could have stayed a united force we would have been able to snub out any chance of war.
The last thing it spoke of was two threats, large groups of werewolves gathering power, joining together in larger packs. They had also seemingly been picking off vampires in places where vampire power was not completely solid. The last threat was a few covens of witches seeming to be turning against vampires. Witches out of all the supernatural species they always seemed to be put in the best light. Yet I knew when left to their own devices they were the worst, sacrificial magic, burning entire towns of innocents to ash and far more. I knew that they could become the most serious threat to the vampire species as a whole.
All that information concerned me, but I could do very little about it at the moment. Right now, the best thing for me to do is secure Mystic Falls, leaving Louis and my heirs to keep peace in Europe. They were, after all, capable of doing exactly that; magic was the best weapon after all.
"Lexi, I wish to speak to you alone", I said, my first words in the conversation they were having. "Of course, Asmund, let's take a walk," she responded, getting up to leave the room. We left the others to there conversation to find somewhere quieter. "We need to move forward, my plan to gather power in Mystic Falls needs to be sped up" I stated watching as her face changed to one of confusion. "How so Asmund, you said yourself that it is almost impossible to get rid of the founding families vampire hunting group without destroying most of the town" she responded.
Thinking for a second, I started to think about the best way to get rid of the Founding Fathers' power. The truth is they were smart, the entire town rested on their shoulders, the mayor, the sheriff, the head doctor at the local hospital, hell, even the headteacher of the high school, all of them were founding family members. All of them were also in the town's vampire hunting group, taking all or even the majority out could cause havoc across town. Usually, I would just compel any of them that I needed to, unfortunately, that would not work as they were all on vervain.
"The first thing we need to do is destroy the towns' vervain supply, luckily I know where they get it all from", I told her, waiting for the inevitable question. "Where is it then"? She asked me, with a smile, I responded, "In the possession of Zack Salvatore, grown inside his family home, the question is, do you want to risk infiltrating his home and destroying or stealing it?" I answered. "No, it's too risky if I am caught, I would have to fight off Damon and maybe Stefan, it is also a bit suspicious if the vervain is all destroyed", she spoke, adding the least bit after thinking for a moment.
"Okay, you are right, it would be suspicious, the only other option then is a bit of arson, we could make it look like their fireplace was not put out and the fire spread". At my words she nodded, obviously not happy about us torching the Salvatore home but having no other solution. "Won't they just find more vervain"? She questioned. "You would think that, but what is not well known is that only one specific strain of vervain can harm vampires. The strain originally came from a tree that gave vampires life; as such, the original vampires did what they could to try and wipe out that strain of vervain. They may not have been completely successful, but they did make it extremely rare, to the point that it is mostly owned in small amounts by witches. I have no idea how Zack managed to get such a large amount of it. His family must have been growing it for decades" I explained, Lexi nodding along with my words.
"What about after we destroy the vervain, we can't compel all of them", she said, obviously referring to the Lockwood family, as they were werewolves. "That's true, the mayor, Richard, will have to die. I can cast a curse on him, killing him quickly and painlessly, but most importantly, it will look like natural causes. After he dies, his wife Carol will take his place. As a human, she can be compelled, allowing us to undermine the group and control them" I explained my plan. Lexi thought on that for a while before agreeing to it, though I could tell she was hesitant to kill an innocent man.
"Then, after all that is do,ne, we can implement the same structures that I put in place in Europe and keep the peace between humans and vampires. Most importantly, it will keep the loss of life to a minimum, it's truly the only way to save as many lives as possible," I continued. "Okay, we will do that, like you said, promise me though that you will try to keep the loss of life to a minimum, please Asmund". "Lexi, you have my word that I will keep the loss of life to a minimum, nobody will die that does not need to". She seemed far more certain of the plan after I gave her my word.
Before we could continue our planning we were interrupted by Alexandria busting through the door. "Father, we have a problem. Damon and Stefan have kidnapped Bonnie to perform some ritual. We have to help her, we need to stop whatever they are planning".
Chapter 29
We were heading straight toward the ruins of the church that Bonnie had been taken to, deep in the middle of the woods. Bonnie had managed to message Elena telling her what happened, which led to us descending on her location. We had to move slower than I would have liked, mainly because Elena and Caroline demanded to come with us. Much to my chagrin, I had tried to talk them out of it, but unfortunately, Alexandria had sided with them, arguing that Bonnie may want to see the face of a friend. So that's how we all, Rose and Lexi included, had started to head through the woods to rescue Bonnie.
I could feel the anger from both Caroline and Elena, the betrayal by Stefan and the actions of Damon stoked their anger. I knew what they were thinking, if they let me kill Damon then this would not have happened, but there was no time to dwell on that now.
I had quite the idea why they would take Bonnie to the ruins of the church, as below it the tomb of vampires lay. I knew Damon would be acting to try and free the vampires, thinking his sire was trapped inside, perhaps she was. Damon would need Bonnie's magic to open the sealed tomb, as it was a Bennett witch who locked them away almost two centuries ago. As such, it had to be a Bennett witch to unseal the tomb.
I was not sure whether I wanted the tomb open or not. On the one hand, dozens of bloodthirsty vampires would be let loose on Mystic Falls, quite possibly leading to a massacre that in the modern day would be almost impossible to cover up. On the other hand, I might be able to gain their loyalty. I knew that there may be multiple vampires who were as old or older than Rose. All of which could be both a powerful and intelligent force, with the news I had learned on the threats in Europe, their loyalty would help me. Though that is if I could get them on my side, perhaps daylight rings may be a decent incentive for them to join me.
When we arrived, I realised that we had been too slow; dozens of vampires had started to emerge from the tomb. I also spied Bonnie leaning over what appeared to be an unconscious body, looking closer I realised that it was probably her grandma. In the show, she was also used to open the tomb, the strain on her body killing the elderly witch.
Looking over the vampires, I saw hunger on their faces, which had started to turn towards Caroline and Elena. With a gesture, I closed a barrier spell around us all, stopping a single one of the vampires from escaping. Next, I raised my hand, pulling both Bonnie and her grandmother towards me, careful not to cause more damage. "Stay behind me, I will deal with any of these who think themselves strong, Lexi, Alexandria and Rose keep the other four safe" I said, looking back to see them nodding at me.
I started walking forward, stopping about fifty feet away from the ever-increasing group of vampires. I looked over them, seeing Stefan, Damon and Vicki had she been turned, she must have been yet I thought she had dodged that fate. The three of them stood at the front of the group, looking directly at me, none of them knew I was even a vampire. Damon being the only one to have seen my vampiric abilities in action, yet I compelled him to forget, so this may as well have been our first meeting.
"Mr Mikaelson, move. This has nothing to do with you, you don't know what you are facing", Stefan's voice called out. "No", my response sounded out, the tension in the air thickening. Stefan's face took on a look of disappointment before he charged towards me, face fully transformed with vampiric traits. He came in claws extended, but even with his speed, he was too slow. My fist shot out in a single punch, as it his his jaw, a crack resounded out, his neck broke, and his body shot off to the side.
Damon and Vicki's eyes widened at the sight of Stefan's body sailing through the air. Then they both charged as one, Vicki's attack was weak, slow, and sloppy. I grabbed her wrist and swung her body like a mace at Damon. They crashed into each other as some of the tomb vampires attacked. A single kick sent one sprawling, yet the other vampire managed to move around him. Two reached me and attacked. Yet their strikes were slow, they could not fight an original.. I punched at them, landing punches on their necks, snapping any that got caught by my blows. More came at me, over a dozen piling onto me, yet their attacks were not even near to being successful. I threw bodies off of me into others, kicked out shattering bones like glass, rending flesh from bone. Yet I did not deliver lethal wounds, purposefully keeping them alive yet incapacitated. Damon came back at me, repeating my previous action with Vick. I grabbed his ankle and swung him, yet did not release his body.
I drove forward with speed as vampires came at me, swinging the young vampire in my grip toward those who came at me. With each swing of Damon, the bones of other vampires could be heard cracking and shattering as vampires sailed through the air. I finally let go of Damon's ankle, watching as his body flew through the air, hitting a tree hard enough to fell it.
More tomb vampires dived at me, with Vicki at their side. The first that got too close was grasped by my hands, claws digging deep before I pulled him in and sank my fangs deep into his neck. I drank deeply, drawing his blood out rapidly, before snapping his neck and dropping him to the ground. Seeing my attack on the vampire, the others paused, taking advantage, I pulled another one in. A young woman this time, one who would fall on the same date as the previous one, drinking deeply before throwing her body away. I repeated this as they came in, allowing gluttony to control me for a small time, revelling in my bloodlust before throwing their bodies away.
About twenty vampires were still standing, yet they did not falter, they knew there was no escape, so they charged, hoping to be the ones to kill me. I let them attack, their fists shattering on my enhanced body, claws breaking on my skin. Then I started attacking back, no defence just pure unstoppable offence. One got too close, allowing my hand to grasp around its neck, snapping it like a twig. Another fell a similar way, the next fell as my head met his shattering his skull and cannoning him backwards. The next couple came at me, their bodies flying backwards as my hands caught them. Madly attacking, their bodies started stacking up, alive yet incapacitated.
Within a few moments, that group of twenty had fallen, yet I noticed another few at the back, none of them making a move. I stopped my fury and looked upon them, seeing the familiar faces of Anna and Pearl among the group. The self-appointed leaders of the group were in the show. "How, what are you" Pearl spoke. "It does not matter, I am here to offer you and those that follow you a deal. Join me, follow me, and I will reward you. I notice none of your group has daylight rings. I could make them for you, all you have to do is pledge your loyalty to me". Before I could continue, Pearl agreed, maybe out of fear, she had probably never seen such a large force of vampires losing against one individual.
"Then go to my home, wait for me, I will give you more information from there", I commanded. They did not hesitate, the vampires that had been knocked out started to rise before following Pearl. One none remained I turned towards the group I stood in front of.
"You're an original", Lexi stated, slight amounts of fear on her face, nothing compared to the complete fear that Caroline, Bonnie and Elena now wore. "Yes, I am", I answered simply. "I had my suspicions, I have heard tales of the power of an original, when you flew I was almost certain. But the way you fought, it was like a god of war, you don't even have a scratch on you" I smiled at her ramblings. Before I could speak, Caroline spoke up, "What's an original"? she asked, her voice trembling.
"One of the first vampires in existence, powerful ancient, the origin of the species, gods compared to their sired", Alexandria answered her. The faces of Caroline, Elena and Bonnie widened I surprise. "We have never been properly introduced, I am Asmund Mikaelson, the original heretic, a dragon slayer, the third oldest original sibling, brother of the original hybrid, son of the destroyer and one of the most powerful witches in existence, the king of heretics and one of the most powerful beings alive". I said, watching in amusement as their faces widened even more with each word that left my mouth.
"Did you say king? We have a king on our side" Caroline let out a slight laugh as she spoke. "Yes you do, but that doesn't matter for now. Bonnie are you all right"? I asked, Bonnie was still frozen on the spot but still managed to get out a slight nod before she spoke. "I tried to stop them, I didn't want to free them" she got out through shaky breaths. "That does not matter, I shall keep them in line, what does matter is getting your grandma somewhere safe", I responded, picking her up. "We shall head to my home, she will be safe to recover there" I said before directing us back to my house.
"How old are you"? Elena asked breaking the silence. "I have been a vampire for just over one thousand years",, I answered, taking a bit of enjoyment out of the gasps the answer gained. "But you said you used to live here, in Mystic Falls" She asked again. "There was a Viking settlement here when I was a child. We moved here before I was born. Then my family and I lived here until we became vampires," I answered, letting the conversation die off after that.
"You're more powerful than I thought, you did not even get a scratch on you, even though your clothes may have been shredded and you're covered in blood that's not your own". Lexi spoke up again, repeating some of what she had previously said. "Yes, only my siblings can provide a real threat to me, those vampires were not anywhere near a threat," I stated.
"Why are you here then" Elena asked, suspicion having replaced the fear in her voice. "Why am I here, because of you, Elena?" I responded. "What, me, why"? She asked her voice becoming shaky again. "Because Elena, you are special, specifically you are not the first, you who has existed sort of. Your a doppelganger, a doppelganger of a young women called Amara, not the only one though there are also two others Tatia and Katherine are the other two. I knew Tatia when I was human, she is one of the reasons we became vampires and the reason my brother wishes to sacrifice you," I explained, watching as her face turned back into one of fear. "But don't worry when he comes here for you, I will be there to stand in his way. I would also offer you the chance to join me, to become a vampire to walk by my side throughout eternity. But that can wait".
For the rest of the way back, I explained the reason Klaus wanted to sacrifice her and why I wanted to stop him. I could see it on her face fear, no longer directed towards me, instead purely at my brother. But all that would be in the future for now I needed to help the older Bennett witch.
Chapter 30
We arrived back at my home, all the tomb vampires were now waiting there, nervous expressions on all but Pearl's faces. In total, there looked to be over forty of them, most being younger vampires, with only a handful being ancient, Pearl, her daughter and three others being the ones to have passed that five-hundred-year mark. The rest were at least two hundred years old, most falling between two hundred and fifty and three hundred years old. It was truly not a bad group of vampires, and with training and discipline, they could become a formidable force. Unfortunately for them, the one vampire they tried to fight was an original, so they stood no actual chance.
"Alexandria, take Bonnie and her grandmother to get some rest", I said to her. With a nod, she left, taking both witches with her. "Why are we here"? one of the vampires spoke up, breaking their silence. "Because the world has changed since you were sealed away, you need help to integrate back into society. I also see potential in you, that is the reason I held back against you all, instead of just killing you outright," I answered, watching as the reality that I held back hit them. They, of course, knew I was far beyond them in terms of power, but they probably thought I had gone all out. I had not even used any of my more supernatural powers, allowing just my strength and skills to overwhelm them.
"I guess that you wish to stay here in Mystic Falls, too stay here and claim your rightful place at the top of the food chain". "Yes, that is right. What is it that you want from us"? It was Pearl who spoke up this time. "What I want from you is loyalty, for you to abide by my rules, for you to work with me to make a place for vampires in this town," I answered quickly, leaving out the fact that I wanted to expand far past this town. "What if we don't?" one of the other vampires asked, annoyance filling his voice. "Then you will have exactly two options: leave, never set foot on the lands under my control, or you will die", I stated, not trying to hide my intentions.
"But your loyalty will not be for nought, I notice a lack of daylight rings on your fingers. I can allow you to walk in the sun, I can make you daylight rings. The sun will not have control over you, I ask from you for this is loyalty" I said, allowing them to think on my words.
After a few moments of thinking, they all seemed to agree, and Pearl spoke, "We will follow you, we won't break your rules, that is a promise" Pearl spoke again. Good, I knew she would be smart enough to understand that siding with me would be good for them all.
"Now that that is settled, you need to find a place to stay. I am sure Anna already has a place in mind", I said, thankful we had reached an agreement. "I don't know if there is an abandoned mansion outside of town," Anna said, confirming my thoughts. "Good, I should warn you, many of the townspeople are under the effects of vervain. I have a plan to stop that, but until then, you may have to venture outside of town for food. Make sure, though, that you don't kill anyone; the last thing we need is to bring attention to ourselves. Anna, I trust you to help them start to get used to the modern world," I said, to which Anna nodded, agreeing to what I said. "You should leave then, before the sun rises" I said, watching as they left. It was still a few hours until the sun would rise but I heard no argument from them.
I turned and looked upon those still left in the room, Elena, Caroline, Rose and Lexi, all wearing different expressions. "You're just letting them go"? Caroline questioned. "Yes, they did not do anything to deserve death, they will be more useful alive than dead",, I state,d, leaving no room for questioning. "What now?" Elena asked me, with worry on her face. "Now you and Caroline will go home, Rose will take you both, just to make sure no vampire is a threat. I will make sure Bonnie's grandmother is taken care of".
They left after that leaving just me and Lexi in the room. "Care to begin the plan, to destroy the vervaIn" I ask, a smile grew on my face. "Now, after everything that has happened tonight. Sure, let's do it then," she agreed.
We left travelling quickly through the night, a heavy rain beating down on us both. We arrived at the Salvatore boarding house within a short amount of time, the house engulfed in darkness. "Where do you think the vervain is" I asked Lexi. "The basement, it would make the most sense" she answered. Agreeing I crept soundlessly to a window, seeing the fireplace near the door that descended to the basement. Casting an invisibility spell on us both, I approached the house before focusing on the fireplace. Unlit logs lay in it, and in one moment, my magic burst them into flame.
Looking at the flames I started to pull on them, my control over fire allowing me to turn the small flames into a large fireball that began to consume all around it. Stepping back I watched as the fire grew rapidly, my magic making it flow like water, covering the entire room in minutes, before it started on the rest of the house.
The flames spread all around the building, yet I knew this would not be enough, I needed to make sure the vervain was destroyed. I walked forward and with a push the wall caved in, trying to step inside I found myself blocked. The magic barrier that stopped us from entering a house without an invitation still stood. So I pulled on the flames, hoping that it would destroy the building enough so I could enter. It took another ten minutes before I tried again. Stepping through the hole I had made, I found no barrier, so I continued forward.
The flame consumed me, yet I did not burn, my resistance to fire giving me enough time to achieve what I needed to. I walked forward, the fire giving me strength and comfort. Arriving at the door, I started pushing against it, the thick metal door giving way as the hinges and lock snapped like twigs before my strength. Walking down the stairs, I pulled the flames behind me, filling the untouched basement. It did not take too long until I finally found what I was looking for, dozens of vervain plants filling one of the rooms. With a single pull, the flames filled the room, consuming the vervain, as though it were made of paper. I stood watching, making sure every plant was consumed before turning leaving the house to be consumed in white fire.
Walking out I saw the still invisible form of Lexi, seeing through the spell I had cast. Her eyes met my form, still covered in flames, my skin still unblemished and I saw her eyes widen in surprise at my state. "How are you not dead? Fire is one of the most effective weapons against vampires. Is that one of the strengths of originals?" she asked, her eyes still wide in surprise. "No, my siblings are still just as vulnerable to fire, it is a gift only I possess" I explained before beckoning her forward. "The vervain is destroyed, we should leave this place", I said while both extinguishing the flames and conjuring new clothes for myself. I turned and, with Lexi at my side, started heading home, just as the sirens of fire engines cut through the night.
"What next, then, Asmund?" Lexi asked. "We stick to the plan, we give it a week or two before starting to compel our way into the local council. We get rid of the mayor as he is immune to compulsion thanks to him being a werewolf. Then we start increasing our power in the area, finally we properly install my rules and start building up the number of vampires in the area," I explain, going over the plan again. "What is my role in this? You said you would deal with the mayor," she asked. "You will help by compelling the humans that know of us, you will also help me with the more bloodthirsty vampires, your control is something that may be taught to others. Once that is all done, well, I may one day leave this town, perhaps only for a short amount of time, and I would need someone to keep the peace here ." I said. I watched a slight shock appear on her face at the last bit, obviously surprised that I would put so much trust in her.
We got back home quickly, looking over to where the Salvatore house once stood, the night sky was still lit up by an orange glow. A shame that the building had to be burnt down, it was a necessary sacrifice, to lessen the suspicion that would be caused by just destroying the vervain.
We were met by Alexandria and Bonnie when we walked into the house. I looked at Alexandria and she seemed to guess what my question would be. "She is getting better, I fed her my blood that should be enough to stop her from dying," she said, explaining what condition Bonnie's grandmother was in. "Good, Bonnie, you may take another of the guest rooms for as long as needed, you do need to get some rest," I said. The young witch looked thankful at that, the day had taken its toll on her. After thanking us, she left to get some sleep, leaving just me, Alexandria and Lexi, not for long though, as Rose returned not long after.
The first main threat in Mystic Falls had been dealt with, recruited to my side. Though I was not so naive as to think they would all be loyal, a few would probably plot to overthrow me; if that did happen, I would not hesitate to make an example of them.
The first part of my plan to gain control over Mystic Falls had also gone smoothly. Destroying their supply of vervain, but it was just the beginning, I would still have to undermine the founding families' efforts and maybe even turn them against each other. Though that would have to wait, it would take at least a week for the vervain to leave the systems of those that consumed it only then could I strike. For no, I would wait; one week was nothing in the grand scheme of things after all.