Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Forty Two~

Stefan forced the last torch into the ground, the flickering flames forming a broken circle around his father's final resting place. Our brief silence was interrupted by the squawk of a crow in the distance, it's scream causing a flock of birds nearby to take to the starry night sky. 
   Things had been a little tense before we came here. Mr Saltzman had doubted my willingness to stop Damon and accused me of trying to help him instead. All I did was defend someone who I thought, given the circumstances, deserved a little grace. Damon had done a lot of terrible things in his life, but he was about to witness his brother and me, someone he thought he could trust, crush any and all hope of being reunited with the love of his life.
   "You're awfully quiet over there," Stefan commented, leaning on an iron shovel we borrowed from the school's gardening shed. "What're you thinking about?"
   "Nothing," I shook my head, rubbing my arms uneasily. "What about you? I know you didn't exactly have an easy childhood," I offered a sympathetic smile. "Are you sure you're ready to dig up your father's remains?"
   Nodding, Stefan pursed his lips. "I don't have a choice."
   "Alright then. Let's do this."

"Eva. Eva." Stefan shook my shoulder gently as his smooth, handsome voice woke me from my slumber. Peeling my cheek from the damp soil, Stefan's jacket slid off of my torso as I sat up, slightly disoriented as I wiped the leaves from my cheek. "Sorry to wake you," he pursed his lips.
   "No," I placed my hand against his chest. "I uh, I'm sorry for falling asleep." Smiling, he placed his hand beneath my arm and helped me to my feet. "Did you find it?"
   "Almost," he reassured me. "I thought you might want to be awake for this." 
   Using Stefan's arm to balance, he walked me to the large hole we - mostly he - had dug. Peering over the edge, I coiled my fingers around the hem of Stefan's shirt and leaned over the side, squinting through the darkness. Lying flat at the bottom of the hole was a tall, old fashioned style coffin. The fancy box was made of a dark oak wood and had six handles evenly dispersed beneath the edge of the lid, the bronze matching the simple yet sophisticated name plate nailed to the center of the lid.
   Pulling me back to eliminate all risk of falling in, Stefan squeezed my hand before leaping into the hole, silent as his feet hit the ground. Sliding his finger along the overhang of the lid, Stefan gazed up at me, his eyes fearful. Nodding slightly, I pulled his jacket tighter around my torso as Stefan lifted the lid of his father's coffin.
   It felt as though the breath had been sucked out of my lungs. Giuseppe Salvatore had no flesh or even a single hair. He was a fragile puzzle of bones, but something was different. His torso wasn't made of bones, or even skin. The yellow twigs which formed his arms and fingers were securely crossed over a large, thick mass of leather and paper. "The Grimoire."
   "Well what do you know?" His sarcastic voice made me jump as his dark silhouette appeared from behind a tree. "This is an interesting turn of events."

Instinctively I grabbed Stefan's arm, my body hidden behind his as he held me in one hand, and the Grimoire in the other. We both stared at Damon, unsure of what to say or how to proceed. The fact that Damon knew I betrayed him was not the thing that scared me, no, I was far too stupid to be scared of Damon. What scared me was not knowing how he would react. Damon was unpredictable, and that was fine when we were having fun, but a mixture of hurt and anger was involved, unpredictability became frightening.
   "What's going on here?" Damon spat wearing a pained expression. "Or do I even need to ask?"
   "I can't let you bring her back Damon," Stefan shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry." He sounded genuine, but I couldn't tell. On the one hand I believed Stefan when he told me that he didn't want to be his brother's enemy, but on the other hand, Stefan was willing to do everything in his power to stop Damon, even if it meant double crossing him.
   "So am I," Damon gritted his teeth. "For thinking for even a second that I could trust you."
   "Trust me? Tell me something Damon, how did you know where the Grimoire was? Hm?" He opened his mouth to answer but Stefan beat him to it, approaching him slowly but confidently. "I'll tell you how. You read the journal. You were planning on doing this yourself without telling us. You didn't trust us enough to let us help you."
   "Of course I was gonna do it myself," Damon spat. "Because the only one I can count on is me," he yelled, pain seared across his face.
   "You are incapable of trust, Damon. To trust you would have to care and as you've said many times before, you don't have enough humanity left in you to care."
   Damon scowled, the hazy glare of the light revealing a thin layer of moisture glazed over his eyes. "You made damn sure of that many years ago Stefan."
   I frowned as Stefan edged closer to his brother, both standing tall, eyeing one another as if they were somehow communicating with their eyes. What was Damon talking about? What did Stefan ever do to him?
   "But you," Damon interrupted his thoughts, shifting his gaze to me. "You had me fooled."
   Tears filled my eyes as I opened my mouth but quickly closed it again. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't my fault, that I was sorry, that he could have the Grimoire and that I wouldn't stand in his way any more, but I couldn't do that. As much as I wanted to, there were too many people I loved in this town to let one man have his own way. I wouldn't give in to my feelings of remorse, I was stronger than that. 
   "So what are you gonna do now?" Damon asked Stefan, his eyes still glued on mine. "Because if you try and destroy that thing I'll rip her heart out."
   Fear ripped through me as my heart pounded in my chest. Was this really it? Would Damon kill me? And would Stefan let Damon do it just to stop him from freeing Katherine?
   "You won't kill her," Stefan shook his head slightly, his stance unwavering as Damon finally met his gaze.
   Seconds passed as the Salvatore's exchanged unreadable glances and I began to feel uneasy. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. A few minutes ago Stefan and I were about to destroy the Grimoire, but now my life hung in the balance. If Stefan gave Damon the Grimoire in order to save me, then the entire town, including me, was at risk, but if he saved the town, I would die.
   Before I knew what was happening, Damon flew past Stefan and wrapped his arms around me, his iron grip making it impossible for me to move even an inch. I grabbed the arm that was latched around my chest, my chin resting on his hand while Stefan looked on. Wriggling ferociously, I kicked the air, trying to free myself but it was no use. Every time I moved even the slightest his grip would tighten until our bodies were so close we had practically morphed into one. A single tear rolled down my cheek as Damon pulled one arm free, the movement having no effect on his grip whatsoever.
   "I can do one better." Damon brought his wrist to his mouth and sunk his teeth into the flesh, crimson droplets pooling from the wound.
   Whimpering, I fought harder than I had ever fought before. Clamping my mouth shut, I cried, attempting to elbow him in the ribs but nothing happened. "Hold still," he growled, his chin digging into the top of my head as he brought his wrist up to my mouth. The pressure of his fingers peeled my lips apart as he forced his blood into my mouth as I thrashed around, trying not to swallow the sickly distasteful claret substance. "Give me the book Stefan," he demanded angrily. "Or I'll snap her neck and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend." He snickered. "Just like 1864."
   "Let her go first," Stefan begged as Damon finally pulled his wrist away from my mouth. Doubling over, Damon's hand slid down the front of my body as I spluttered the excess blood from my mouth, stretching the tips of my fingers so I could wipe the stains around my mouth.
   "The book," Damon warned, bringing his arm back around my neck.
   "I will not give you this book until Eva is safely in my arms," Stefan informed him, refusing to back down.
   "The problem is I no longer trust that you'll give it back," he spat through gritted teeth.
   "Stefan," I breathed, gasping for air as Damon pulled my body even harder against his. He tilted his head so he could see my face as I cried out for Stefan. "Please," I rasped. "I don't... I don't want to be a vampire, I'm sorry," I panted, sniffing as the tears pooled against the top of Damon's hand. "I'm sorry," I sniveled. "I'm sorry, please."
   Despair crossed Stefan's face as I stopped fighting Damon. "You just did the one thing that ensures that I will," Stefan told Damon, tossing the book on the ground. "Just let her go."
   Tears blurred Stefan's heartbroken face as Damon pressed his nose against the side of my hair, his breaths sending a shiver down my spine as he leaned into me. His lips brushed against the side of my face as he gripped my bicep, his blunt nails digging into my arm through Stefan's jacket. The arm wrapped around my chest loosened as he held me out like a smelly bag of trash, his hand grip sturdy as ever. In front of us Stefan held out his arm, ready to take me as soon as Damon released his grip. 
   Finally, Damon released my arm and Stefan pulled me into him, enveloping my shaking body in his arms as I buried my face in my chest. Giving Damon one long, final stare, he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the car parked out on the road at a supernatural speed.