A life in the shadows

44

"Matteo. I didn't expect to hear from you." Kaia said after he greeted her. He'd left Siobhan and Rebekah to each other, and decided he'd better give Kaia a quick call and update her on his newfound powers. "I thought you'd be with Siobhan, planning your wedding?"
"Siobhan's with her sister, right now. Listen, I need to talk to you."
"What is it?" She asked. Matteo looked around and felt for anyone who might be near him but he was alone.
"You remember the banshee run-in?"
"Of course."
"Well aside from having a built in death sensor, it's given me some extra abilities."
"Such as?"
"I can see ghosts. Not just sense them and their energies, but I can actually see them, and when I concentrate I can see those who've moved on into peace. And bring someone with me through the veil."
"What? I assume you've tested it?"
"Yes. Emily Bennett's been helping me."
"The elders won't like that."
"That I have more powers or that a witch is helping me?"
"Both."
"Emily is a good person and the Elders know where I stand when it comes to witches. Just because Esther-"
"It's not just because of Esther. There have always been witches who tried to tear us down. Esther was just the first to succeed."
"She did not succeed. She may have gotten close, but she did not succeed. And I am not going to judge an entire species based on the actions of a few misguided ones."
"Of course not." Kaia replied fondly, she didn't expect any less. "Thank you for letting me know, Matt."
"Yeah." He said simply. "I should go now. Jessamine and Olly should be in town in a second, and I've gotta meet them."
"See you soon, Matt."

Matteo flew into the sky, waiting for Olly and Jessamine to come. He'd agreed to meet them halfway and give them a tour around town. Soon enough, he saw their two figures hurtling towards him. He smiled.
"Hey."
"Hey, man." Olly slapped his hand, while Jessamine just nodded.
"Come on, let's get on the ground."
"Why? The sky is much more preferable. And humans never look up. And if they do, they think we're some kind of bird." Olly protested.
"Yes, but there are vampires and werewolves in this town. We can't risk it."
"Killjoy." Jessamine smiled and Matteo just shook his head before leading them to the alley behind the Grill.
"Come on, let me show you around town. Number one. The Grill, this is the back entrance. This is usually where all the action is, really."
"Of course it is."
"It's full name is the Mystic Grill, but you know, no one calls it that." Matteo said before walking out into the street.
"So this is where you grew up? I have to admit-" Jessamine crinkled her nose slightly, "I was expecting something a little less... urban?"
"Oh for god's sake, I grew up in a small town, not on a farm." He sighed.
"Oh, whatever. Where's Siobhan?"
"Spending time with her sister."
"Oh. Where? I'd like to finally meet Rebekah. She talked about her all the time. I mean, not by name or anything, just told me about her big sister."
"Can we circle back to her? I keep getting dragged over, and I should give them space or something."
"Fine." Jessamine sighed. "Come on, what else is there to do in this town?"
"Well, there are ghosts running free around town."
"Ghosts?"
"Some sort of spell gone wrong. The supernatural dead are around. I just bumped into this werewolf guy. Damon killed him."
"Awkward." Olly slapped Matteo's back, in a friendly manner, and they headed out of the alley. Mason Lockwood appeared in front of them.
"Mason, right?" Matteo asked politely.
"Yeah."
"Jessamine, Olly, this is Mason. One of the ghosts that are back. I was telling you about. Mason, these are my friends."
"Hi." Olly said suspiciously.
"What are you?" Mason confronted Matteo.
"What do you mean?" Matteo asked him.
"You saw me earlier. I know you did."
"In the bar? I did say hi. Why, was I not supposed to?" Matteo played dumb.
"This morning. In your living room."
"So Damon was right. You were torturing him."
"Yeah, and you saw me."
"How would I be able to see you, and don't you think I would've said something if I did?"
"There's something fishy about you." Mason narrowed his eyes.
"Look, man. I don't know why you thought I could see you, but all I saw this morning was Damon, and Stefan."
"Right." Mason didn't look convinced but he disappeared.
"What was that all about?" Olly asked him.
"Guess he thought I saw him this morning. I don't know. Damon was chained to a chair with a hot poker shoved through his chest and his daylight ring on the floor."
"Damon was what? Is he okay?"
"He's fine now. Vampire healing. But Damon was convinced it was Mason Lockwood, because he did the same thing to him right before he murdered him."
"Sorry." Jessamine offered.
"I knew he had a colourful past, shall we say. But he's still my brother."
"It's okay, Matt. He's your brother, we get it."
"You could use a drink. Let's go into this Grill." He offered.
"Siobhan and Rebekah are in there. You don't want to look clingy, now do you? Come on, let's go do some sightseeing."
"Where else is there to see?"
"Where we'll be sleeping, for one." Olly said and Matteo dragged them down the street. Ten minutes later, they were outside the boarding house. "This place is big." Olly commented.
"It's a family home. One of our descendants or something, a nephew."
"Speaking of family homes, when are we going to go to the wedding venue?" Jessamine asked excitedly.
"Soon. Not today. You guys only just got here."