The Good Daughter

Twenty eight

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tyler followed behind me as we crept through the caves below the town.

"Damon doesn't deserve to be a bargaining chip." It'd been quite the trick to sneak out of the house while they slept. "I won't have my brothers used against me." While I couldn't exactly do anything about Stefan, I could release Damon.

"Yeah but when Klaus finds out..."

"That's why we're doing this in the middle of the night." He's going to lose his temper. But if he didn't know it was me... no consequences. "I'm not going to tell him and neither are you."

"You're hot when you're bossy."

There was a groan. "Please tell me I'm not listening to Tyler Lockwood trying to flirt."

That was Damon. "Talk more so I can find you." It was pitch black outside of the little light our flashlights gave off. It'd be a wonder if we didn't get lost.

Another grunt, I turned in that direction, threading my fingers with Tyler's to pull him with me. Baby vampires always have the worst senses.

The scent of blood and vervain got stronger the closer we got to him. "You suck at following directions." I wanted to throw up when I saw him. Or what we could see of him. "Holy shit."

"Fuck... you." He grunted.

Damon was forced to his knees, his arms strung out on either side of him using bear traps. His legs were pinned down with stakes. "What did they do to you?"

Far too often, I'd forget just how far my family would go.

Damon's head raised, he squinted at the light, and it was then that I realized his skin was already beginning to gray.

Blood was, well it was everywhere. His sleeves were soaked and it took me far too long to notice how his shirt was glistening in the light.

He was drenched in his own blood.

Oh god.

I rushed toward his restraints, trying as gently as I could to pry the trap open. Damon screamed.

"Klaus isn't going to like this."

"Could you help instead of worrying about what Nik might think?" I snapped.

Damon panted, his head bobbing with the effort of keeping it up.

The trap made a sickening sound as it was pulled out of his skin. His healing had clearly tried pushing it out, and all it ended up doing was cause more damage.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

"You're okay." Damon fell forward as soon as he wasn't being held up anymore, I barely caught him in time. "Hey." He was barely conscious.

What the fuck do I do?

I glanced behind me but Tyler was gone.

Dick.

"Don't..." He breathed. "..'s a test."

"I don't care, I'm getting you out of here." It was twice as difficult now that I was supporting his weight. His blood stung the more it touched my skin.

They must've put a shit ton of vervain in his system.

His other arm dropped the moment I'd managed to pry the bear trap open, it clattered against the stone wall it was bolted to. "Okay, we got that. Now I have to get to your legs. I'm going to set you down now."

He let out a noncommittal grunt.

Carefully as I could, I slowly moved backward, at the same time lowering him to the ground.

I put the flashlight in my mouth, now intent on the wooden stakes. It'd taken force to get them through his calves and into the earth below. His healing had tried to attack those too, but instead only made it more difficult because the skin was growing around the wood.

Fuck. This would hurt him.

I didn't warn him before I pulled the first stake out, Damon screamed. I wanted to cry.

How could they have done this to someone I love as a punishment.

In that moment I hated them.

Compulsion was one thing, but torture was too far. Stefan hadn't done anything that he hasn't already made the conscious choice to do before.

I pulled out the other stake. "I'm getting you home."

It was time I made a few moves of my own.