Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

133. The Return of the Living Dead

Blue-Eyes: You need to come to the Armory.

"Seriously? All I get is a cryptic message?" Riley asked, walking into the Armory to see Damon and Ric, who both looked shocked. She looked back and forth between them. "What's wrong?"

"We have a... visitor," Damon said, moving out of the way so that Riley could see the person sitting in a chair, picking up random artefacts with no regard for their fragility.

Riley's mouth fell open. "Kai?" she asked, looking at Ric, and then back at him. "Kai Parker?! Please tell me I'm dreaming."

Kai grinned. "You're not dreaming, I'm really here. Well... kind of. Stuck between dimensions, thanks to hell's bell. One foot on Earth, the other in Cade's nightmare world of hurt."

"He got out when the bell rang 11 times," Damon filled in the blanks.

"I can still do magic, if I siphon myself," he informed them proudly. "But even then, it takes concentration." He giggled. "It's like having cell reception on Mars."

Abruptly, Ric grabbed him, forcing him against the wall. In one of his hands he held a dagger. Riley immediately recognized it as the ancient-looking dagger from the vision that Cade put in her head.

"You murdered my wife!" Ric reminded him angrily.

"Aah, fiancé. It was mid-ceremony, as I remember," Kai unnecessarily said. "But yes, yes, huge mistake. I see that now."

Riley rolled her eyes. "If you don't stop talking, he's gonna rip your head off," she told the siphon. "Rightfully so, except... we kind of need to know why you're here."

"I already told you," he said. "You rang some ancient bell eleven times, I could see Mystic Falls, so I went for it." A sudden look of horror took over his face. "Please don't tell Cade." Of course, the least surprising information of the day was that Kai was in hell. After all, where else would he have gone?

"Anyway, here's what I propose," Kai said, holding up his hands. "Find a way to get me out of hell, all the way, and I'll help you kill Cade."

Ric scoffed. "I think we can manage without you." He lunged at Kai again, the dagger poised to strike.

Kai jumped back, waiting for the blow. "What if I brought back Elena?"

Damon's eyes widened, while Riley's narrowed.

"Usually when something sounds too good to be true, it's because it is," she said skeptically. "Why should we believe anything you say?"

"Because I'm telling the truth," Kai said sincerely. While Ric looked as skeptical as Riley, Damon looked like he believed the siphon. Or at least, he really wanted to. Riley grabbed his arm and tugged him out of Kai's earshot. Ric followed them.

"I know you feel guilty about what happened to Elena," she told her boyfriend. "But trusting Kai is not the answer."

"Agreed," Ric nodded.

Damon sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "Once I get what I need out of him, I can send him back to hell in pieces." He looked at Ric. "I promise you."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Before or after he kills us all?" When he didn't answer, she bit her lip. "Look, I want Cade gone more than anyone... he's the reason that my best friend is dead, and I hate him for that. But we can't trust Kai."

"We don't have to trust him," Damon told her. "We get what we want, and then we double-cross him, just like we've done before."

Ric crossed his arms, glaring at Damon warily. "Look, whatever you do, just do it far away from here."