Gwen replayed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s notes on how a human turns into a vampire.
Then—
"When you went to the vault with Grandpa, Aunt Liz told me Caroline was hospitalized recently because of an injury."
"Do you think…"
Gwen turned to Hawk. "Was she turned then?"
Hawk shrugged. "Probably."
He did know how it happened.
Katherine was involved—strictly speaking, Caroline becoming a vampire had a lot to do with Katherine.
And, truth be told, Katherine was a pitiful woman.
Her name was forever paired with words like cunning and selfish, but what she wanted was simple.
To live.
Sadly, even after becoming a vampire, that dream stayed out of reach.
Because she was being hunted—by an original vampire, Klaus.
For five centuries, to escape him, Katherine wore mask after mask, played role after role, until she nearly forgot who she'd been at the start.
But one thing she never forgot:
To live.
Hawk thought of how The Vampire Diaries managed to make its female "antagonist" so hard to hate, then heard Gwen ask in a level voice:
"Is there a way to turn her back into a human?"
"Mm."
Hawk came back to the moment and smiled. "Gwen, vampires have plenty of drawbacks, but their lifespans are extremely long."
Gwen held his gaze. "I read the files. When an original dies, everyone in their line dies. And 'vampire' basically means the living dead. No heartbeat, no warmth, no chance at children. Caroline is only eighteen."
Hawk shook his head.
"Maybe, after turning, she won't want to go back."
"What?"
"It's easy to go from frugal to lavish—hard to go back the other way. Once you've tasted power, you don't want to give it up. Even me."
At the very beginning, he might have traded all his strength to keep his sister Anya safe and sound.
With time, that notion evaporated.
In short—
No deal.
Once you're strong, you take what you want. No bargaining required.
Gwen lifted a shoulder. "I've felt that kind of power—when you put that Cloth on me—and it was… fine."
Wearing the Andromeda Cloth, she had felt something beyond human.
But once it came off, she didn't feel hollow. After Hawk explained the cost of the supernatural, her interest in chasing power died out.
To her:
I've seen it. It's fine. I'm fine without it.
Hawk chuckled. "That's your wisdom. You can set it down. But do you think your cousin Caroline will?"
Gwen frowned.
"She's only eighteen."
"Aunt Liz is still pretty young. She could always… try again."
"Get out."
Gwen rolled her eyes at the "solution," then waved him off. "Enough. Go do your thing. I'll think on this myself."
Hawk nodded, happy to oblige.
"Okay."
"Be back early!"
"Got it."
He kissed the crown of her neatly gathered hair and, with a smile, vanished from the room.
A heartbeat later,
Hawk was standing before the waterfall that gave Mystic Falls its name.
He let his senses surge—like a tide washing across forest, ground, and even the tunnels beneath.
He heard the hearts of small animals. Heard coldwater fish flick through the plunge pool. Felt a ripple of magic inside a stone wall not far away—and, beyond that, a woman curled up by the corner, arms around knees, radiating fear, fragility, and despair.
The vampire: Katherine Pierce.
Hawk stepped forward. When he appeared again, he was inside the tomb that sealed her.
"Tomb" meant a chamber cut into rock and sealed by a spell. Any supernatural whose power was below the caster's would enter—and not get out.
Sleepless, though not needing sleep, Katherine felt Klaus drawing closer by the day. Resignation, fear, and despair seeped into the stale air.
Then—
A thunderous rumble.
The stone door ground open. Katherine's bowed head snapped up. In an instant, fear, fragility, and despair receded—replaced by her practiced armor of arrogance, flippancy, and devil-may-care poise.
She saw a blond, blue-eyed young man—broad-shouldered, immaculate in a suit—framed in the opening.
Hawk looked back at the woman whose gaze dared the world, and the corner of his mouth ticked up.
"Good evening, Ms. Pierce."
"Not 'Ms. Pierce'—Katherine."
Because of Hawk's arrival—and the fact he'd nearly killed Damon—Stefan, Damon, Elena, the Bennett witch Bonnie, and Caroline gathered at the Salvatore house to discuss him as soon as dinner at the manor ended.
Caroline relayed what she'd managed to probe at the Forbes place.
It wasn't much.
"They've been engaged since before last September."
"They meant to come last Christmas."
"But my aunt felt their first Christmas living together should be at home, so they didn't come."
"This year they picked dates back in September. They planned to visit Grandpa and spend the holidays here. After Christmas, they'll go back to New York."
After laying out what she'd learned, Caroline shrugged. "So I think you're overthinking it. He's here to spend the holidays."
Sipping whiskey and still a bit shaky, Damon let out a cold laugh.
"Really? I don't buy it."
"Maybe he just can't stand you," Caroline shot back. "Why else rough you up and not anyone else?"
Damon scoffed. "He's your cousin's fiancé."
"And Stefan?"
Caroline pointed at Stefan. "You said you were skulking in the hills when he found you. Stefan was at the manor gate. Why didn't he hit Stefan?"
Damon went quiet.
Stefan seized the chance to steer the talk. "Caroline, do you think he saw what you are?"
Caroline thought of Hawk's not-quite-a-smile when she'd breezed past the "vampires in town" talk at the manor, and her brow furrowed.
"I…"
"We should find a way to kill him," Damon cut in. "Showing up now? It's either werewolves or Klaus's scouts."
Stefan pressed his fingers to his temple. "Damon, stop. We don't even know if he's an enemy, an ally, or just passing through."
Damon's smile thinned.
He tore open his shirt with a rip, revealing a torso stippled red with fist-marks. "Look at these and tell me he's our friend."
Bonnie, who liked Damon least of everyone, gave him a flat look. "Maybe he doesn't like being spied on from the shadows. Maybe he taught you a lesson. He didn't kill you, did he?"
Damon stared her down. "Say that again."
Bonnie didn't answer—she simply worked a silent headache hex.
In a blink,
Damon's eyes went glass-clear, and he clutched his head, face contorting with pain.
As Hawk had said:
A vampire who only does brute force and brings no counters is helpless before a witch's magic.
Elena glanced at her best friend. "Bonnie…"
Bonnie released the spell. "I don't like you, Damon. I never have."
When Stefan came back to town, it was quiet.
Damon arrived—and the supernatural messes piled up.
So—
If there was anyone in the room who truly liked Damon, they weren't speaking up.
Breathing hard, Damon rode out the ebb of pain.
Stefan opened his mouth to pull the talk back on track—
And Bonnie's expression abruptly shifted. She stiffened, as if feeling something impossible, and turned her eyes toward the direction of Katherine's seal.
Elena rushed to her side. "Bonnie—what is it?"
Bonnie's heart hammered. She looked at Elena, eyes full of fear and confusion.
"A power…"
"Unimaginably strong."
"Vast as the cosmos."
"Blazing like the stars—just punched through Katherine's seal."
…
(End of Chapter)
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