From Blood and Bone

Chapter 57

"Hey, Bonnie said she has an idea on how to help us with the device. Wanna come with? I'm supposed to meet her at school in a bit." I sat up looking around my room trying to find my book.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be there—"

"I'll pick you up, see you in ten!" She hung up before I could speak another word. I stared blankly at my phone then tossed it aside and got my bag ready, finding my book already inside.

By the time I stepped out, she was already parked by the curb, "Okay, let's go."

"Hey, what happened last night? Damon and you were gone when I left the Grill." I shrugged with a forced smile when she turned to me, her eyes leaving the road.

My hands played on my lap with a loose string from my skirt, "I just wasn't feeling well. Sorry." I didn't want her to ask me questions so I asked her some instead. "So, what did Isobel have to say?"

"She just wants an artifact that my ancestor created. Damon has it so I'm not sure how I'll take it from him." Elena let out a tired sigh and pulled into a parking spot.

We entered the school which was frantic with all of the students who were helping out with putting up the float for the parade. From where I stand they were doing pretty good. I'm sure they'll be done soon, with so many people helping out.

"Come on, Bonnie is waiting for us." Elena took my hand and led me through the crowded hallways of our school so I wouldn't get separated. 'Lena took us into an empty room, well apart from Bonnie being there, and shut the door behind us.

"Thanks for coming," Bonnie greeted us with a smile, though she seemed nervous. "I wanted you to see this." Pushing her grimoire over to us, flipped open on a specific page she cleared her throat.

"Is this Emily's spell book?" Elena asked stepping forward.

Bonnie nodded biting her lip, "I've been going through it since Grams died. Check this out." She pointed to the right side of the book where a drawing of the vampire compass was pictured, strange symbols and words scribbled on the brown pages. "According to Emily, Johnathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic." Bonnie flipped the page showing us rings that looked just like the ones Damon and Stefan wear to be protected from the sun. "The mystery device that you told me about." She flipped the page showing what seemed to me that it was a music box drawn on the book.

My eyes widened wondering why it looked familiar. "Part of it," Elena responded, "Damon only has one piece."

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine. But she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help let Johnathan Gilbert believe he'd invented these devices." I listened carefully, not sure what she was getting at with all this.

I leaned over the desk, "Does it say what it does?" I asked looking at Bonnie. She frowned for a second and flipped the page to read it over.

"Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?" Bonnie asked, running her hand over the wrinkled paper.

Crossing my arms I watched her, "Why? What does it say?"

"This is a weapon against vampires," Bonnie answered. I sighed rubbing my head, starting to feel a migraine.

We didn't discuss anything else, not sure who would be near. I walked out of the school building with Elena following after me. "What are we going to do? I don't think we can trust Isobel with a weapon like that, we're not even sure what she truly wants, or whose side she's on." I sighed with my arms crossed over my chest while we walked past the float.

"Elena!" I turned to whoever called her name and I dropped my arms, patting Elena on the arm. "Hey, Hangelina." Jeremy waved at me with a quick flash of his boyish smile.

"Hi, bye!" I chirped turning on my heel and walking away. I didn't get far before a hand gripped my elbow, yanking me back. "Ow, Elena—" The words died in my mouth before I could finish my sentence. A woman who I didn't know smiled at me, sending an unsettling feeling through my body. "Sorry, I thought you were my friend." I tried taking my arm back but she kept a firm hold on me.

"Elena, right. You must be the other friend, Angelina." I gave her a tight smile, not wanting to correct her mispronunciation. "I'm Isobel, maybe you've heard of me?"

"Isobel, what are you doing here?" Elena asked her biological mother as she rushed over. "You shouldn't be here."

"I'm your mother, Elena. I want to be more involved in your life." She grinned holding on to the star of her purse. Elena spits out that she doesn't want Isobel in her life. "I understand that. You already have a lot of people you care about. But I've been studying. Let's see, there's the witch's best friend Bonnie. Gonna stay away from that one." She looks over my shoulder and smiles sadly, at Elena's brother who kept trying to reach someone over the phone. "Oh, poor little brother Jeremy. Then there's Caroline. Obnoxious Caroline. I got all of my info from her, by the way. She had no idea who I was, and she wouldn't stop yapping. She's also your little sister, isn't she, Angela?" She smiled and me, I played with the end of my shirt pretending to be scared, she hadn't mentioned my powers, there was a chance Care hadn't told her about me. "Oh, and there's Matt.. friend, ex, yappy's future ex. Lots of connections there."

"They're not involved in this." Elena snapped pushing me behind her.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Isobel pointed a manicured finger to 'Lena's chest, "Well, they're involved with you, aren't they? I'm not leaving. I have some friends here, too. Look. See that man standing over there next to Matt by the float?" Both Elena and I turn to where she was referring to, "His name is Frank. He's very handsome. And he's also quite handy. And he noticed that the axel was kind of rusted which is very dangerous. So, all you have to do is add a little bit of pressure...and" In the blink of an eye, Frank hops on the truck adding weight over Matt's arm causing it to get stuck under the axel.

Matt let out a shout in pain, "No!" I went to him but was quickly stopped by Isobel once again taking my arm in hers roughly. "Let me go, or I'll scream!" I growled trying my hardest to twist my arm out of her grip. My skin beginning to turn red. I kept my eyes on Matt watching helplessly as he struggled. Tyler was quick to gather men's power to pick up the heavy metal, but still not being enough, Stefan rushed over taking off most of the weight finally able to free Matt.

"Why are you doing this?" Elena asked turning to her with her lips curled into a sneer. I glared at the woman, Elena's stare just as hard as mine.

"I'm simply showing you how easy it is to hurt the people that you care about." I gasped at the threat, Elena shook her head in disbelief, asking if this was truly just all because she wanted the invention. "Hand it over and the fun will stop."

"Damon is not going to give it to me." Elena refused, finally getting out of her mother's grip. Slowly the woman let me go too.

Isobel smiled, "You're right, he'll not give it to you, but Angelina. She's much closer to him than you are." Her eyes fell on me, a look on her face that I didn't like at all. I took a step away from her with a pointed look.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Damon won't listen to me." I crossed my arms, with Elena behind me.

Sighing loudly, Isobel clicked her tongue annoyed. "It seems you underestimate how much Damon cares about you. I had made a mistake at first when I told Elena he cared about her, I didn't know you were in the picture." Confused by what she meant, I frowned. "I told Elena that he's in love with her, but I was wrong." She stifled a laugh at the look of worry on my face.

The way she said that Damon loved Elena rubbed me the wrong way, I questioned if he had feelings for her. "He'll kill you before he gives it up."

"Is that before or after I kill little Jeremy?" Both Elena and I turned toward where we last saw Jeremy standing only to find that he was gone, and so was the man who had hurt Matt.

"Jeremy?!" Elena called out, her head whipping trying to look for her brother in the sea of people surrounding us. "Jeremy—"

I turned towards Isobel about to interrogate her but she had disappeared too.