Splitting Our Odds Into Evens

Byegones

Where was Ben? Kol had no idea. He called him over twenty minutes ago to get him a towel to dry himself, and well, the already dried spillage of wine on the table. Kallidika was slowly losing it, and Kol had become frustrated. "Ben!" He called one last time. Ben finally returned with the napkin, and Kol's annoyance was replaced by a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said, reaching for the napkin.

With a quick turn, Kol's grip slipped from the napkin, catching Ben's wrist instead. Before anybody in the room could register what Kol was doing, he pushed Ben's head onto the table and sank his teeth into Ben's neck.

Kallidika's anger seemed to disappear momentarily as she halted; her eyes widened as she looked at Kol. "Kol," she exclaimed, "what are you doing?"

Now satisfied, Kol released Ben, and the poor man's body collapsed to the ground. Kol wiped the dripping blood from the corner of his lips, his eyes a crimson red with veins drawn down his eyelids. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. "When he wakes up, well, if he wakes up," Kol corrected, "tell him I apologize for using him as bait. He's a good lad."

A chill ran down her spine as Bonnie looked at Kol after he fed off Ben. He reminded her of the old him she first met in Mystic Falls. Dark, cold, didn't care about anyone else but himself. It was almost new to Bonnie to see this side of Kol, but only because she hadn't seen it in years.

Kol's sudden change of mood was frightening, reminding her just how mean an original, or any vampire at that, could get if you really pissed them off. However, Bonnie knew that this side of Kol was what needed to be unleashed to get Kallidika off their backs.

Kallidika's lips folded into a scowl, and before she could do anything, Kol grabbed her by the neck and flung her across the room. "I've been dying to do that," he said. "You tied me up, filled my blood with vervain, and almost killed Caroline all because of a past that, up until five minutes ago, I had no memory of." He scoffed. "What my family did to you was wrong, but what you've done is even worse."

Amidst the chaos, Bonnie said the final chant under her breath, and the ropes slipped off their hands like butter on a hot pan.

Now that Bonnie and Caroline were free, they massaged their wrists as they prepared to face the situation in the room.

"How do you feel, Bon?" Caroline asked.

"Like I just completed a twelve-hour workout," Bonnie replied, slapping her forehead. "My muscles feel so tight like I can barely move."

"Expected," Caroline shrugged.

"What are we gonna do about them?" Bonnie asked, motioning to Kol and Kallidika, who were fighting. "Should we intervene?"

"I mean, I might because Kallidika tried to kill me, so I think I owe her, if anything, a slap in the face...literally," Caroline said behind a forced smile.

Bonnie chuckled. "Fair," she said. "Freya and the rest should be here soon. At least, that's what she told me when I tapped into her thoughts. Only problem is, Freya's magic can't find us, which is weird because it's usually easy to locate someone unless-"

"Their location's been cloaked, which is what Kallidika must've gotten a witch to do to us," Caroline finished, sighing. "Well, we need to get out of here."

"Agreed," Bonnie said. "While Kol's dealing with her, I say we find our phones."

Caroline felt her pockets, realizing she didn't have her phone. "Crap! I didn't even realize," she said. "Come on. Let's go."

Kol and Kallidika locked eyes, the tension in the air crackling like electricity. Without a word, they lunged at each other.

"Now, Kol, you've overstayed your welcome," Kallidika said.