The Reset

Chapter Seven: The End Where We Start

~ 1903 Prison World ~

Kai was screwed.

He was so royally fucking screwed.

Somewhere along the way, he had sensed that there was dark magic inside of Bonnie. Something that had been almost lost through the histories of their kind, of witches. Something that was taboo and a thing that was unspoken among their people. But as a Gemini Witch, Kai had read about it long ago - when he had first become obsessed with The Merge. Because that ritual was dark magic at its core. He had felt it when he'd merged with his brother - had sensed it and could feel it sing through his veins in a violent storm just before he and Luke had collapsed.

The power was exquisite. He could have gotten drunk off of it.

And that power existed in Bonnie. It was like a well blocked off; a dormant volcano but still very active. It was threatening to burst from its stopper - the metaphorical cork that Bonnie had stuffed down inside of herself.

He'd sensed it the first time he'd siphoned from her. But he hadn't realized that it was dark power; darker magic than he'd ever felt before. Prior to The Merge, he had just assumed that Bonnie had tapped into something he hadn't been exposed to. Some new, profound source of power that came in the later generations of witches that he hadn't been able to see yet since he'd been trapped in the 1994 Prison World.

After The Merge, he had sensed it. It was the same energy that had coursed through him during the ritual, when he felt the darkness slithering through his veins and when his vision went white. The absolute chaos and power that flowed inside of him was almost intoxicating. But he'd remembered it then. That power. That sensation that always sat at the back of his mind.

Until now.

Bonnie was holding her breath, though she didn't really need to and he had to hold back a laugh. They managed to slip out the crypt just when she'd lowered her barrier and Kai had cloaked them as they'd scurried away. The Heretics wasted no time entering the stone structure. Kai waited a few seconds before he flicked his wrist and slammed the door to the crypt shut. Inside was an illusion of himself that would keep them entertained for about sixty seconds before they realized what was actually going on.

Their window of opportunity was less than that.

"Come on," he urged, pulling her from the cover of the trees and bee lining back to the Salvatore Mansion.

"Kai, we're never going to make it," Bonnie said as she pulled her hand from his. He hadn't even realized he was still holding it, but it didn't slow his pace any. They were tearing through the snow, pounding their feet into the ground as they tried to keep their steps regular.

"We're not going back to the Salvatore house."

"Where are we going?"

"The cave." Kai looked up as the sky as he ran, dodging trees and jumping over a few fallen branches. The Northern Lights were dancing across the blanket of darkness above them through the canopy of trees.

He knew this route like the back of his hand so he kept his eyes to the ground in case another animal trap tried to get the best of him. Swerving off to the right, he heard Bonnie grunt at the sudden change of direction as her boots scuffled across the snow. Kai was just a few steps ahead of her, but was impressed she was keeping up with him. Her breathing didn't even sound labored which was good.

Pounding the ground like their life depended on it, they left a trail of escape behind them. Soon they would be out of that place. Soon they'd be back home. But they just needed to keep this pace up and they'd be fine. Kai focused on Bonnie's breathing as he was sure the Bennett witch was zeroing in on whether they were being tailed. She trusted him to guide them just as he trusted her to watch his back.