Kismet | Damon Salvatore

Chapter 23

"Fucking shit."

"You can say that again," said Damon as he, Maribel, and Elena started at the X-ray Jo was showing them. "What... is that?"

"I had Duke send over Colin's medical records," said Jo. "Colin being the vampire in similar condition that Caroline first gave her blood to and made her think it was safe. This head scan is from earlier this week," she pointed at one on the left where a tumor was visible, but not as large as the one on the right, "And this one was taken here, ten minutes ago. See all that red?"

"His brain is practically on fire," said Maribel uncomfortably.

Stefan leaned over his brother's shoulder, "So the blood did just what Meredith thought it would, it sped up his cancer and killed him."

Jo nodded. "So now, we have a Stage Ten cancer patient. Which, by the way, doesn't exist. Who is beyond terminally ill and a vampire, meaning all of his emotions are heightened and he can't die."

"How do we keep this same thing from happening to Liz Forbes?" asked Elena. "There has to be some way to undo it."

"There is!" chirped Bonnie as she walked in with Tyler. "At least, I think there is. Vampire blood is magic, right? So if Maribel siphons it away and adds the magic to this grimoire, it should stop this."

"You want me to siphon from her?" asked Maribel. "What if that kills her instantly? What if magic is the only thing keeping her stable right now?"

Bonnie winced. "Have any other ideas?"

"No."

"Then I guess we try my way."

Caroline was too overwhelmed to be present in the room. Elena and Meredith accompanied Maribel and Bonnie as the Bennett witch guided Maribel in placing one hand on Liz's head, the other on her abdomen.

"I feel the magic," said Maribel, sensing it moving through her bloodstream. "It'll move quickly to my hands, circulate through her system to try and reach me. It'll probably make her heart beat faster to meet those demands..."

"I know," said Meredith gently. "We're ready to handle it."

Liz knew what it meant without having to ask. "I'm ready."

Maribel began to siphon, trying to go slow and steady, and preparing to detach the instant the last of the magic flooded into her. As soon as she was done, she stepped back. Meredith waited until Liz seized up to instruct Elena to begin doing chest compressions while she injected heparin into her IV.

"There we go," said Meredith, monitoring her heart rate. "She's okay, she'll be okay..."

"But the tumor probably grew a lot," said Maribel, setting her hands on the grimoire to leave the magic in it.

"It might have, but we caught it in time," said Meredith, withdrawing three blood samples once Liz stabilized. "We're going to keep you for observation tonight, Liz, okay? Maribel has some work she needs to do before she can start on you, but it'll be soon."

"If it doesn't happen, it's okay," whispered Liz. "Caroline doesn't want to let me go but... I don't want to stay if I'll just end up disabled. I need to be able to take care of myself."

"I'm going to do my best to keep you as healthy as I can," said Maribel. "Unfortunately there won't be any way of knowing until I do the procedures. There will be certain risks that need to be taken. On my end I'll study all I can to minimize those risks."

Liz nodded slowly. "If possible, can I just rest for now? And Elena, bring my daughter."

"Of course, Sheriff," said Elena, leaving to find Caroline.