If only | Damon Salvatore

012. YOUR PAST DOES COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU

Chapter twelve

"Your past does come back to haunt you."

The next morning, Beatrix walked down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. She noticed right away that her grandmother wasn't in her usual spot at the dining table. Instead, a loud, aggressive chopping sound echoed from the counters.

She walked inside to find Winnifred holding a massive chef's knife, furiously slamming it down onto a cutting board.

"Okay, okay, Mother... do you really need to take your anger out on the food?" Cassandra asked, carefully reaching out to try and slide the knife away.

Winnifred snapped her head around, pointing the blade directly at her daughter's chest. "Anger? Anger isn't even close to what I'm feeling right now, Cassandra!" She turned her sharp gaze toward her granddaughter, gesturing with the knife. "It's good you're here, Beatrix."

Beatrix furrowed her brows, taking a cautious step back. "Why?"

"That girl you saw in your vision—the one potentially wrangling together all those stupid vampires? She isn't just some run-of-the-mill girl. I know her!" Winnifred voiced, slamming the knife down into a vegetable again. "Or, technically, I knew her back in 1864. I hadn't thought about her once until last night."

"Who is she, Grandma?" Beatrix asked.

"Her name is Annabelle. Her mother, Pearl, was a wretched woman who was far too smart for her own good," Winnifred explained, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Back then, the townspeople were starting to catch on to the vampires. It happened right around the time I made a batch of vervain for a local family—though, unlike everyone else, I actually covered my tracks. But if Annabelle is in town looking for the exact same grimoire we are, it means her mother is trapped inside that tomb. And if Pearl gets out of that church, then we as witches are royally fucked!"

She slammed the knife down one last time. Beatrix and Cassandra exchanged a deeply worried look.

Suddenly, Winnifred let out a sharp, bitter chuckle. "Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Lockwood," she scoffed, shaking her head. "They were older than me, yes, but they were such children. They actually came to my mother and me begging for a 'scientific compass' that could track the unknown. Please! If you're going to ask a witch for a magical artifact, speak the truth. Don't dance around it. Vampires! They wanted a device to help them hunt vampires."

She wiped her hands on a dish towel, a smug smirk returning to her face. "And, of course, my mother and I gave it to them. We knew it would give our coven an advantage. And in a way, it did. Because Emily Bennett was working so closely with all of Katherine's vampires, the council focused entirely on them. We flew completely under the radar, allowing us to safely pack up and leave Mystic Falls rather than being burned at the stake."

Beatrix nodded, the pieces of the puzzle finally locking into place. "Yeah, I've actually seen that compass. Damon had it yesterday. He said he took it off Logan Fell."

Cassandra raised her eyebrows, leaning against the counter. "So, Jonathan Gilbert actually hunted vampires?"

Winnifred scoffed loudly, waving her hand dismissively. "Hunted? He certainly believed he was, though the man was always a few brain cells short of a full set." She chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "Especially when it came to Annabelle's mother, Pearl. That woman was basically Katherine Pierce's shadow. Wherever Katherine went, Pearl followed, both of them putting on a grand charade of being perfectly normal humans while hiding right under the council's noses."

Since her grandmother had effectively butchered their ingredients during her rant, Beatrix volunteered to head to the Mystic Grill to pick up a takeout order. Stepping into the restaurant, her eyes scanned the room until she spotted Bonnie sitting at a corner table with Ben, the bartender.