Potential (Book Four, The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter 17__Because the Night

Stefan and I were talking to Damon on the phone over speak phone.

"Hey, what do you mean you took her to New York?" Stefan asked.

"And that tone is the reason I didn't pick up the phone the first twenty times you called." 

 "Where is she now?" I asked.

"Out exploring. Maybe she's eating a hot dog . . . vendor." 

"So I take it your search for Katherine is off?" I asked. 

"Relax, Nikki. This little joyride is actually a Cure hunt. The vampire that Katherine sent after Hayley was a friend of mine. He lived in the city. Will got vampires fake identities, and I'm sure that Katherine was one of his clients." 

"And Elena's okay with this little field trip?" I asked skeptically. "Just yesterday she was living the vampire high life. She doesn't want the Cure." 

"That's why I didn't tell her." 

"Damon, i she finds out you're still looking for it, she'll bolt," Stefan told him. 

"I'm aware of that, Stefan. What I'm hoping is that she's gonna be so wasted on booze and blood that she won't even think about it." 

"Don't underestimate her," Stefan told him.

"If we can handle you when you flipped your switch, we can handle her," I told him. "Trust me." 

"Listen to me," Stefan told us. "She's ruthless without her humanity. The Cure is the fastest way to get it back." 

"Just be a good brother and cousin and keep Mystic Falls afloat for me and let me do my thing. You've got an immortal named Silas to deal with, remember?" 

~~~~

We walked downstairs to see Caroline talking to Stefan. "Oh, I can and I do. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to spiraling, so go away." 

"Actually, I asked him to be here," Stefan told her. "We need his help. I think Silas is in Mystic Falls."

~~~~

Klaus was pouring himself a drink, looking toward Stefan. "So some blood went missing from a few hospitals. What about Elena? Don't vampires with their humanity off tend to overindulge in human blood, or were you the exception?" 

"It's not Elena," Stefan told him. 

"Well, let's say for a moment that it was Silas," Klaus told us. "I'm struggling to see how this affects me." 

"Look, Silas wants to die and be reunited with his one true love, but he's supernatural, so if he takes the Cure and dies, he gets stuck on the Other Side," Stefan told him.

"How Shakespearian," Klaus told us.

"But if he destroys the Other Side altogether, he can take the Cure, die and pass on, but in destroying it, every dead supernatural being will return to our side," Stefan told him. 

 "That means every werewolf, every witch, every vampire," I told him. "I wonder how many of those you personally killed. Care yet?" 

Klaus smiled. "My interest is piqued." He looked at Stefan. "How do we stop him?" 

"Bonnie said Silas needs to complete 3 massacres to do this spell," Stefan told us. "Before Professor Shane died, he convince the Pastor to blow up the Council. Next, he had you kill your hybrids, and now he only needs one more massacre, so if he's here, that's what he's doing. We need to find him."