— — — — — —
When Damon drove the stake through Sarah, Jack froze in disbelief for a single heartbeat. By the time his shock burned into rage and he lunged for Damon, Stefan sprang out of nowhere and grabbed him.
Jack burned with fury, ready to kill Damon without caring about the consequences.
A hand clamped over his mouth, and his wrists were bound tightly, leaving him unable to move. Struggling, he twisted his head and saw Lexi standing there.
...
Damon left with Caroline's mother and Sarah's body in tow. Jack stopped fighting only long enough to give Stefan a look that said, 'let me go'. When Stefan loosened his grip, Jack glanced at Elena—she was there too—and then, without another word to Stefan or Lexi, he turned and left.
"Jack—" Stefan called after him, but he vanished already, rabbit talisman active.
"..."
Stefan knew he couldn't catch up; even if he could, he had no words that would make a difference.
Jack didn't plan to forgive or forget. He used the talisman to sprint back to the little cabin he'd bought after Tanner's death—the one he'd intended as a workshop for crafting vampire-killing tools. Back then he'd had no idea how to kill a real vampire, and once Damon had been captured, the project got shelved.
Now he thought through what actually killed a vampire: sunlight, a stake to the heart, or decapitation. Sunlight was out—Damon had a ring. Digging out a heart took brute strength Jack didn't trust himself with. That left stakes and beheading. He went to the tool room, selected hardwood, and carved several sharp, sturdy stakes, making sure the tips were fine enough to pass bone and reach the heart. With the weapons ready, he sat for a moment, thinking. He didn't know where Damon would go. Damon might be lying low to ambush him.
"Fuck it," he muttered. "I'll stake out Stefan's place. If Damon shows, I'll kill him."
When Jack arrived at Stefan's house, a fight was already underway between Stefan and Damon, with Lexi standing off to the side. Jack pushed through the door and was immediately stopped by Lexi.
"Move," Jack said. Stefan and Damon paused and looked over.
"Why stop? Keep fighting. Here, Stefan, take this." Jack tossed one of the wooden stakes at Stefan with a sneer.
"I'll say it again, move," Jack told Lexi. She tried to calm him.
"Just cool down a bit," Lexi urged.
"Cool down my ass." Jack had reached a breaking point. He used the rabbit talisman, kicked Lexi aside, and in one fluid motion hurled another stake at Damon like a thrown spear. He drew the last stake from his belt and charged.
The rabbit talisman made his movements a blur. In an instant the stake struck Damon, but Jack's aim was off; it hit his stomach instead of his chest. Stefan didn't touch the thrown stake, but he did get between Jack and Damon in time to block Jack's finishing blow. The two were too close for Jack to get a clean follow-up.
"Calm down, Jack," Stefan said, stepping between them.
"Calm down?" Jack spat. "Damon turned Sarah into a monster and killed Tanner. He tried to kill Matt's sister, Vicki. He didn't spare Zack either, his family. And now he killed Sarah. What humaneness is left in him? Don't force me to kill you too, Stefan." He shoved Stefan hard, and the man stumbled.
Jack saw the chance and lunged for Damon, aiming to finish it while Damon struggled on the floor, the stake lodged in his gut. But Lexi, who'd just recovered, barreled in and kicked Jack back toward the doorway.
"Sorry, but nobody in this town can suspect us," Damon said as he yanked the stake out of his belly and spat a mouthful of blood. "We have to hide our powers, hide even Bonnie's witchcraft. And as for why Sarah? You still owe me something—remember?"
"You turned the town into a crime scene since you came, killed people left and right. As for the necklace, you'll never find it," Jack snapped, tasting his own blood where Lexi's kick had cracked him. If he hadn't used the talisman, that kick could have ruptured organs. Lexi's vampire strength wasn't small.
"Stefan, you keep saying Damon's been harassing you, that you regret what he's done. And what are you doing now? Waiting for Elena to die before you do anything? As for Lexi—do you really think Damon wouldn't throw you under the bus? If Sarah weren't here tonight, wouldn't his target be you?" Jack asked, facing both of them.
"I'm done talking," he went on. "You made your choice. I won't hold back anymore."
Jack lunged at Damon. Stefan tried to stop him. Jack didn't hesitate this time—he drove a stake toward Stefan's heart. Lexi shoved Stefan aside at the last second; the stake pierced Stefan's shoulder instead of his chest. Stefan would have died if Lexi hadn't intervened.
Damon used the distraction to dart behind Jack and drive a stake through Jack's heart. Pain ripped through him and he half-kneelt to the floor.
"Okay, that actually hurts," Jack said, startling them. They all assumed he'd be dead.
"You really think my immortality is like yours?" Jack pushed himself up and pulled the stake out of his chest. "I really can't die."
"Wait, Jack," Damon said, halting Jack's next move.
"What, you gonna leave me a last will?" Jack answered coolly. The dog talisman's immortality was his leverage.
"Look, the three of us can't stop you if you go all out, we know that. But if you kill me, Stefan will give his life trying to stop you. And then I will come back for a revenge you won't like. Caroline can't spend her whole life stuck by your side," Damon argued, using Caroline as sway.
"Caroline already broke up with me. Think that threat works?" Jack said, trying to sound steady.
"I don't know about that. But it might work. You went this far for Sarah, and what else can I do?" Damon shrugged.
"So, Stefan, you agree with this?" Jack looked at Stefan.
"Jack, I don't want to hurt Caroline," Stefan said quietly, and for a moment Jack thought he would stay silent. But Stefan added, "I will make Damon pay in my way."
Jack laughed, partly in anger. "You two are perfect: one's a liar and the other plays the saint." He was almost amused, but this was Caroline's safety at stake, so he couldn't keep fighting. When he first met Damon and Stefan, he knew killing both would be close to impossible. Now there were three vampires to deal with. He could kill one by one easily, but three together? At least one will escape.
"Three days," Jack said. "Three days, that's your limit. Get out of Mystic Falls, or I'll expose you to everyone here. If it comes to blood and nets, it's not just you who knows how to play that game. Worst case, I hide Caroline then come to kill you. I don't believe you'll find her before that."
As he turned to leave, Damon called after him, "Jack, where's my necklace?"
"Idiot," Jack said, glancing at Stefan with contempt, then looking at Damon as if he were beneath notice. He spit the insult and activated the rabbit talisman, sprinting away.
Inside, Jack craved more power. He didn't want to be caught off guard by something like this again. Any threat against him had to become impossible. At the very least, he needed to find a way to unlock more talismans.
Even just the Rat Talisman, which grants the Animation ability, could let him summon an army at a moment's notice. He could make countless wooden puppets—vampires, archers, anything. And the best part? In the middle of a fight, he was truly immortal, unlike other vampires, so the puppets could attack without hesitation. And that's just the Rat Talisman—not to mention the others.
.
.
.