Black Magic ▹ The Vampire Diaries [1]

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE
BEAUTY IN MAGIC

"You seem to replace your brain with your heart. You take things so hard, and then you fall apart."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Henrik didn't really know where he was going. He had no set goal in mind as he led Ethan through the dense woods near the high school. He just kept walking, keeping an eye out for anything in the woods that was visually stimulating. Like a flash of color that signified a patch of flowers, or orange leaves that had fallen early. It was only late September, but he could remember how early autumn used to come when he was a child. He had always been fascinated by the colors.

"Um, not to be lame or anything, but where are we going?" Ethan asked. He was staying a few steps behind Henrik, growing more and more wary the deeper they went into the forest. His unease was completely understandable. Henrik was a stranger, and walking randomly into the forest with no explanation was rather strange, so he would have worried about Ethan's intelligence if he wasn't worried. Still, the question got a smile out of him, and he couldn't bite it back before he responded.

"Patience, Lockwood," he drawled, kicking a small stick out of the way. It was rotting, so it broke into pieces at the contact, leaving behind wet pieces of wood on the top of his boot. Henrik wrinkled his nose, let out a small sigh, and kept walking. "I just want to show you something."

"You're not taking me out here to murder me, are you?" Ethan joked, though Henrik suspected he was being rather serious. He was still lagging behind Henrik a good bit, keeping his distance. Henrik let himself laugh. "If so, this'll officially be the weirdest birthday in my entire life." Henrik stopped in his tracks, whirling on his heel. His eyebrows rose.

"It's your birthday?" Ethan nodded. Klaus had mentioned he was seventeen before, which must mean he was eighteen now. Henrik plastered a bright smile on his face. "Happy birthday, then. In that case, consider what I'm about to show you a birthday present. Come on, this way." Turning and pushing his way past some leaves, he found himself in the middle of a small clearing. Smiling to himself, he got to work looking for something he could use. He found a caterpillar on a leaf, and he scooped it into his palm as Ethan finally caught up with him.

"You do realize this is making you seem like the new weird kid, right?" Ethan asked. It made Henrik laugh again, if only because everything about the sentence was wrong. He didn't particularly care if people thought he was weird—he was weird for reasons Ethan didn't even know of—and he definitely wasn't some kid. He had a job to do, though, and maybe Ethan liked weird. It made sense, considering the situation he was currently in.

"Is that a bad thing?" Henrik asked. "Come over here." Ethan did, though he was slow. Henrik waited in impatient silence. He was practically vibrating with energy, and he needed to show Ethan what he was missing out on before the reality of the situation came down on him. Klaus would be so furious later. The whole point was that Ethan needed to stay in the dark—if he knew, he'd know who to avoid and who to go to—but it was hardly any fun that way.

"I have to admit, Henrik, you're making me a little nervous," Ethan said, letting out a very fake laugh. Henrik smiled at him.

"There's no need to be nervous, love. I promise I'm not a killer. If I was, I'd leave you out here for the wolves." The irony of everything he had just said wasn't lost on him, and it made him laugh again. It did nothing but make Ethan feel even more nervous, and Henrik had to work to compose himself. Focusing on the caterpillar still in his palm helped. "You asked me if I was a Satanist before—and I'm not, I swear—but it made me realize I should probably tell you what that book actually was. It actually is a witch book, but it's not something I found in old family stuff. It's mine. I'm a witch."