Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.
Within the safety of her locked room, Caroline pensively stood in front of the symboled wooden door that stood between her and the inner workings of her mind. Knowing what she knew now, the symbols on the keys and the door had to be in Elder Futhark. Which would, of course, mean she needed to figure out how to translate said symbols. She would go to her history teacher from last year, the woman had degrees up the wazoo and she was more than qualified to interpret for her, but wasn’t sure if she should trust a human with all of this. Perhaps Bonnie wouldn’t mind helping her out. Caroline didn’t know what having red sparks of energy shooting out of her hands meant but her friend was a baby witch. At this point, they certainly have more in common now than they did a few weeks ago. Resolving to think about all of that later, she opened the door and stepped back into her consciousness. The mind is a powerful tool, that much was evident to Caroline as she immediately found herself at the ancient version of Mystic Falls. Perhaps it was a testament to her heightened irritation that she didn’t land in a modern version of her town first. She had a goal and nothing would stop her from getting the answers she needed. She could hear the water from the falls at the quarry, she could see the great tree in the distance. As she traveled deeper into the woods, she could feel a pull in her chest. It tugged at her until she reached the quarry, the women she met not too long ago coming into view as they poured water onto the roots of their tree.
“Ah, the sort of ignorant child makes her way here again.” She could hear the snark in Urda’s tone but couldn’t bother to think of why the maiden seemed to take that tone every time she opened her mouth.
“Don’t mind her,” Skella said. “Why have you come, child?”
“This world is a cruel place, I learned that first hand not too long ago. I also have come to believe that someone I thought could one day be a real friend, might be related to the man… the vampire who treated me worse than the dirt on the bottom of his shoes,” Caroline said. Her confidence growing as she spoke, voice unwavering and calm. “I know I’m smart and I refuse to doubt that I’m right about this. There are too many coincidences happening around me to deny it. To be completely honest, I could care less that Stefan isn’t human. What I want is to confront Stefan about Damon. That would be dangerous for a mere human and what I am remains to be seen.”
“Well, well, well, the infernal child come to what? Beg to power?”
“Urda.” Dandi chided.
“A most interesting turn of events,” Skella said with an approving hum. “Why are you here, Caroline?”
“I want to understand the world around me, to use that knowledge to my advantage and protect myself.” Simultaneously, the weavers placed their wooden buckets on the ground before turning to fully face Caroline.
“Ask of the world tree what you may but be prepared to pay for the rite,” the women spoke in unison. “A sacrifice you must make to be worthy of what you seek, beg for your plight.”
She considered the words as the weavers picked up their buckets again and seemed to fade from sight. It was like they were there, watching her next move, but not at the same time. She could feel their presence, their lure, but could do nothing about it but contemplate what kind of sacrifice would be worthy of goddesses. A vampire takes from humanity against their will, whether it be blood or more. What if she were willing to give her own blood for this cause? There is evidence of blood sacrifices from across all cultures and their spiritual practices. Perhaps such an action would not be unwelcome here. Just then, she registered the sensation of a heavy item pressing into the palm of her dominant hand. Looking down, she saw a dagger with a simple hilt and a sharp blade. She must have been on the right track with her line of thinking. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself as she walked closer to the roots near the shore. Before she could lose her nerve, she took the blade to her left palm and sliced through the skin. Clenching her teeth at the acute pain, she let her hand hover over the roots. Her blood trickled slowly from the wound but she could just see the red aura that seemed to cling to her life force. She lowered her hand to the roots and stiffened immediately. It was like her hand had become fused to the tree. Her head shot back as if someone had just yanked her back by a handful of her hair. Images she didn’t understand flew past her eyes as if she was watching a YouTube video on the max speed available. All she could make out was a book with moons on it, a wolf writhing in pain in the woods, and red energy consuming everything in its path. She saw a woman who looked exactly like her with soul-less eyes without any white, black blood seemed to crawl out of her eyes, her nose, her lips, even her hairline. Her vision went white as she could no longer keep up with what the tree was showing her. Voices murmured in her ear about blood and chaos, demons and wolves, gods of old and monsters of myth. The combination of the images and the voices came to a head until black and scarlet tendrils became all she knew. It came to be more than Caroline could handle. The moment she was able to open her eyes, she screamed. The force of it reverberating through the entire mindscape. She was crying, rivulets of fluid thicker that salty tears falling from her eyes in earnest. Bringing the free hand to her eyes, she wiped the liquid away. She pulled her hand away only to see black blood staining her fingers. With another scream, she tried to yank her hand free from the tree’s hold but couldn’t, it wasn’t done with her yet.
You have indeed discovered the means to free yourself from the shackles of man. For that, I am proud. Now, the time has come for you to learn the truth about your consanguinity.
Looking up, she saw her doppelgänger. She was a vision of beauty with a manic edge to her features. Demonic eyes, black blood seeming to leak out of every orifice, sharp fangs and claws to match. Caroline was terrified to see the slowly building grin on the woman’s features, her own features. She never thought her own face could make such an expression. “Wh— Who are you?”
Time will tell.
Why are you here, Damon?
That’s for me to know and you to dot, dot, dot…
You better run, little fox. There’s no where else for you to hide.
Mama, I’m coming, don’t worry!
Maybe you don’t know me at all. Did it ever occur to you that you have absolutely no idea who I really am?
I will have my revenge!
At that, Caroline was thrown bodily away from the world tree and into the woods. Her thoughts warred with themselves as the voices kept coming, growing louder as they penetrated her psyche. It was like whatever had her connected to those voices was on the fritz, they wouldn’t turn off even as she still flew through the air. It was all too much. Upon contact with what felt like a boulder, she blacked out.
I see the bad moon a-risin’, I see trouble on the way.
Caroline came to slowly, unease filling in her belly like stones, as a voice floated into her ears. Sitting up, she noted that she was a complete wreck and her head was pounding. She was covered in black blood and dirt. If it wasn’t for the blood she would have thought she imagined everything, but she knew better now.
I see earthquakes and lightnin’, I see bad times today.
Caroline sighed as her unease was proven correct. Picking herself up from off the ground, she began the trek toward the voice. It sounded familiar and by this point, she was over hearing voices that she knew. Let alone the ones that sounded just like hers. She kept walking, putting one foot in front of the other. She should have been able to easily just go back into her room and knock out but she found that she couldn’t. This all felt like a quest, one that she needed to finish. Knocking out for the rest of the day, night, whatever, would just make her lazy. She didn’t even know what time it was anymore to be completely honest.
Don’t go around tonight, it’s bound to take your life.
The voice got continuously clearer. She kept walking until she almost tripped over a stray brick. She was about to kick it with a pout when she saw more bricks in a seemingly random formation. She tilted her head to the side before walking around the bricks in a circle, giving herself a different vantage point. She realized that the bricks formed a half-circle before leading below ground.
There’s a bad moon on the rise.
The voice grew clearer still as Caroline ventured into what lied beneath. She shivered in disgust as chains with shackles and rusted gates embedded in the walls came into view. She could hazard a guess as to what a place like this was for and it had nothing to do with her newfound knowledge of Tyler’s ancestors. She wasn’t ignorant in the fact that Virginia was a confederate state. It brought her great shame to know that people who look like her continue to take advantage of those that don’t.
I hear hurricanes a-blowin’, I know the end is comin’ soon.
Turning her attention back to the task at hand, she followed the voice further below ground. As she kept walking, she realized that she was in some kind of network of caves below her own town. Tunnels that seemed to go in all directions, fanning out in some kind of system unknown to her. Deeper and deeper she followed the voice, increasingly becoming wary of meeting the owner because she knew who it would be. She met the owner before she passed out and she was terrified of her. There was no mistaking it now because the voice that kept singing was her own.
I fear the rivers over flowin’, I hear the voice of rage and ruin. Don’t go around tonight, it’s bound to take your life. There’s a bad moon on the rise, aiight.
“Well, this is certainly a surprise.”
Caroline had been looking down to watch her step but froze at the sound. She was beginning to wonder if she was going insane listening to too many people with her voice. How many were there going to be? Ten? All this information, she was seriously in danger of passing out again. With a huff she stepped closer to what she just knew would be yet another version of herself.
“You might want to hit the deck.”
“Hit the deck? What are you talking about?” Caroline was just about to take a few more steps closer when a couple of creaky clicks rang out before wooden spears pierced her on all sides. She stood there in shock because there was no pain. Looking down, she saw that her body was completely covered in a red tinted aura and the air crackled with tension.
“Huh, well look at that.”
Caroline’s head shot up, the voice sounded closer, and she was right about that. The reason she was down here in the first place came into view. It was sort of anticlimactic to be honest. She had expected to see the demonic version of herself creeping around in these caves. Instead, she looked like a normal girl. It was as if Caroline was looking in a mirror, the only difference between the two of them was eye color. Where Caroline’s eyes held the shade of the sky, the other version of herself had eyes as emerald as the leaves of the world tree. She looked back down at her body, it was strange to see herself like this. She looked like something out of a twisted ancient sacrifice. The irony wasn’t lost on her either, with what just occurred at the great tree before coming into these caves. Flexing her muscles, she realized that she could move. Lifting one foot, she tried to take a step. When the wooden beams that seemingly held her in place did nothing to keep her, she kept going until she was completely free of her bondage. She touched at the places where her body was pierced and marveled at how there was no evidence of it happening, no wounds to speak of. She had to wonder if that only happened because she was in her head. Something had protected her, was it her… dare she even think it, powers? Shifting her attention to singer who lured her there in the first place, she lifted her chin higher and spoke with a steady voice.
“Who are you?”
“I’m your sister,” the girl said as she crossed her arms over her chest in a manner that made Caroline think of herself. “Your twin sister.”
Caroline just stared at her for a moment before her knees buckled as she howled in laughter. There was just no way this girl was actually serious. Tears welled in her eyes as she cackled at the sheer absurdity of such a statement. A sister? Twins no less. She shook her head as she tried to pull herself together before giggles bubbled out of her chest anyway.
“Are you quite finished?”
“I’m sorry,” Caroline said hiccuping a little bit as more giggles slipped past her lips. “It’s just that I’ve completely moved to crazy town.”
The girl huffed. “After everything that has happened to you, learning that you have a twin sister is what you don’t believe? Am I getting that right?” She asked, snark littering her tone.
Well, Caroline had to give it to her. In that moment, they certainly sounded related with that tone. “Okay, let’s say I believe you. Why are you in my head and not, ya know, out in the real world?”
“Take a wild guess,” her twin said with a roll of her eyes.
Caroline cringed a little. “I didn’t absorb you, did I?”
“DING DING DING! We have a winner.”
Caroline tilted her head back and took a breath. “You are right, I’ve experienced a lot in just the last 24 hours, so learning this isn’t the most shocking thing. What I don’t understand is how you’re here. Is your soul or something trapped here?”
“In a way,” she said, not elaborating any further.
“That’s… Pretty cryptic.”
“I can’t tell you everything, you’ve got to—
The time has come for you to learn the truth about your consanguinity.
The voice of the demonic version of Caroline rang out her thoughts. It sounded much louder than it usually did and that brought an unsettling feeling. Why did it sound like that? Was that terrifying figure closer than she realized? Would she be haunted by the vision from now on?
“Tell me you heard that too.”
Caroline’s eyes snapped to her twin. “You can hear the voice?”
“I’ve been hearing voices since I can remember,” she said. “I don’t know why you just started hearing them…”
“I— I… well, I started hearing them after meeting a vampire.”
“I was there you know,” her twin said gently. “When you went through… that. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything but if you ever wanted to talk—”
“Could you have stopped it?” Caroline asked cutting her off.
“I don’t think so,” her twin said looking down at her hands, rubbing them together. “I don’t really have any real influence beyond the boundaries of this place.”
“Then you have nothing to be sorry for. I couldn’t even do anything and I didn’t even know I had powers. I’m flying blind out there.”
“Well, your sacrifice won’t be in vain.”
“You know about that?”
“I’m always with you, Caroline. Whether you knew it or not,” her twin said. “I experience what you do, I saw what you saw when you touched that tree.”
“Then help me understand it all. Help me learn the truth about my consanguinity, or whatever the fuck Crazy Caroline was talking about. Who the hell is she anyway? Who are you, really? I don’t even have a name to go with your face, my face. Our face,” she said with a huff.
“My name is Kalanthe.” Kalanthe stepped closer to Caroline. “In regards to our consanguinity, all I can tell you is that the answers lie with the demon and the wolf.”
“What does that even mean?” Caroline demanded. “It sounds like you know more than you’re saying! Which is weird since you because you basically said we experience what the same things.”
“What I said and what you have inferred are two different concepts,” Kalanthe said. “I experience what you do, yes, but you don’t share my experiences. Affixed to you I may be, I have managed to create my own life here and with that life there are ties that bind my tongue.”
Caroline considered her sister’s words and immediately felt foolish. She shouldn’t have assumed that Kalanthe only existed as an extension of herself. “I apologize, Kalanthe. I didn’t mean to assume you didn’t have a life of your own here.”
“I accept your apology.”
“Is there anything you can tell me about?” She asked.
Kalanthe gave Caroline an appraising look, like her twin was considering whether her brain worthy of such knowledge even though the girl quite literally lived inside Caroline’s head. “How about some advice instead?”
“Anything.”
“Vampires have been around for far longer than you think, play the long game in your dealings with them,” she said. “I’ve a feeling that you’ll succeed in all that you seek if you do.”
“I see.” Caroline nodded once before nodding again as if making sure her sister’s words truly settled in. “I’ll be sure to do that then.”
“This version of Mystic Falls is also a mirror to what lays outside,” Kalanthe said suddenly. Her voice coming out strained, as if she was fighting to continue speaking. “You would be wise to do some exploring in your own town.”
“Will I be able to find the world tree out there too?”
“Oh no,” Kalanthe said shaking her head. “Only the fates can bless patrons with access to such a divine place. Consider yourself lucky. Now, what is that incessant ringing noise?”
Caroline turned around when she realized what Kalanthe was talking about. It was her cellphone, ringing away on her nightstand. Time had gotten away from her as she spent time in her head, literally. Perhaps it was time to cut this visit short and get back to the real world. Apparently, it was calling for her.
“I’ll come back.”
“Don’t make a habit of it,” Kalanthe warned. “Spending too much time here isn’t wise.”
“Then how will I talk to you?”
“There are many ways, you let me worry about that.”
Caroline took a breath before turning her back on her sister. “You said this place is a mindscape— uhh, soulscape, can I manipulate it?”
“You can.”
Closing her eyes, she focused on the door leading to the outside world. When she opened them, she could see into her room. She looked back to her sister and smiled. When it was returned, she faced the door again and walked through it. She closed the door to her mind and retrieved the key from her neck. It was still a jarring experience to suddenly jolt back into her body like that but it couldn’t really be helped at this point. Crossing the room, she picked up her phone to see that she missed a ton of calls. Some of them were from Elena, one from her mom but most of them were from Bonnie. Her heart leapt into her throat, she hoped her friend was okay. She was about to call her back when she heard someone knock on her front door. Narrowing her eyes, peeked through the blinds from her window. From her bedroom she could see the porch pretty clearly. She was perplexed when she saw Bonnie standing there with tears streaming down her cheeks. Caroline bolted from her room to the front door, swinging it open wide.
“Bonnie? What’s wrong?!” She exclaimed welcoming her inside the house. She lead her to the couch before darting into the kitchen to get a bottle of water.
“Tanner— Tanner’s dead!” Bonnie sobbed.
“HUH?
“Matt found him at the game!” Bonnie exclaimed.
“Did they say what happened to him?” Caroline asked, encouraging her friend to take a much needed sip from the water bottle.
She hiccuped as she spoke. “The sheriff said that he was attacked by an animal but his body was drained of blood.”
Caroline nodded as she took in that tidbit. “Well, we both know that it wasn’t an animal…”
“We do,” Bonnie said with a peculiar look in her eye. It was a cross between sorrow and pride, an odd mix. “But that’s not the worst part.”
“What could be worse than that?”
“Caroline, I knew it was going to happen.”
“No, no way. You couldn’t have—
“I did. I saw the numbers!” She exclaimed, cutting Caroline off. “The ones I had been drawing in class, I was thinking about them all day but I had no idea what they meant until earlier tonight.”
“Okay, I remember the numbers. 8, 14, and 22.”
“Matt found Mr. Tanner’s body in front of building 8,” she said. “The number was 14 on the license plate of the car right next to him… in parking spot 22.”
“Oh, damn.”
“Tanner was a fucking asshole but he didn’t deserve this!” Bonnie exclaimed. “On the one hand, I’m freaking out because I knew somehow and did nothing to stop it.”
“And on the other?” Caroline asked.
“On the other, my powers are becoming a much bigger part of my life and I’m kind of excited about that. Is it bad to feel this way after something so terrible happened?”
Caroline took a deep breath. “Bonnie, can I show you something?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Of course, Care.”
She grabbed Bonnie’s hand and led her to a open door at the back of the kitchen. “This is the basement, right?” She turned on the light so the stairs could be seen.
“Yes? Care, what’s this about?”
Caroline closed the door. Taking off her necklace with the keys, she held the one without a name in her hands. “I came into possession of this recently, I call it the portkey.”
Bonnie snorted into her hands. “Like in Harry Potter?”
“Exactly, and you’re about to see why in a few seconds,” Caroline said with a smirk. She closed her eyes and thought of Bonnie’s room before sticking the portkey into the keyhole. When she opened the door again, she heard her friend gasp. She opened her eyes to see Bonnie’s gobsmacked expression. She watched as Bonnie stepped up to the door and waved a hand wildly over the threshold. She smiled at the child-like wonder that shown in Bonnie’s green eyes, they kind of reminded her of her twin’s eyes. She giggled when Bonnie repeatedly hopped back and forth between the bedroom and the kitchen.
“How the hell is this possible?” Bonnie asked spinning on her heels to face Caroline. “Are you a witch too?”
Caroline tilted her head to the side. She hadn’t given much thought to her own self or what kind of creature she might be as of late. The possibility that the blood running through her veins could be so much more than what she had originally believed was definitely something to ponder. The fates, for that is who they truly are, told her that the house in which she lives in is already infested with chaotic blood. Did that mean that she had that blood powering her body… or was it that of her own mother’s? What if it was both of them that had this blood that the weavers spoke of. A mother and daughter duo that couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as each other. Now there was an unsettling thought. If any of that was true, if seeking the demon and the wolf was still the key to her consanguinity, then perhaps she should be turning her search for answers toward her own home.
You are on the right track, dear sister.
Caroline inhaled sharply at the voice. It didn’t sound like it was coming from the outside, as if carried by the wind. It sounded much closer, much more inward. Kalanthe? You can talk to me??
It is I, Kalanthe. Yes, we can communicate freely with each other now.
Well, I guess I should have seen this coming. I mean, you did say you’re always with me.
Indeed I did. Now, don’t keep the white witch waiting. You’re freaking her out.
Wait! Bonnie is the white witch out of time? The one whose talisman Crazy Caroline told me to wear? Holy shit, do I need to give it to Bonnie now?
I did not say the white witch out of time. Keep the white witch around, she will prove to be a useful ally.
“Caroline! What the fuck is happening?!”
Bonnie’s yell brought her attention back to the door leading from her own home directly into her friend’s room. “What?”
“You— you’re covered in—
Caroline looked down to see that red coils of energy had been coiling around her entire body. She lifted one of her hands in awe as the tendrils seemed to caress her skin. Seeing a cup on the kitchen counter in the corner of her eye, she envisioned the cup floating toward her. She gasped quietly as the red energy heeded her commands. Between one breath and the next, the cup was traveling through the air encased in those red coils.
“So, you’re a witch too then?” Her eyes snapped back to Bonnie who was just as enthralled by her display of power as she was.
“I guess? I honestly don’t even know what to call all of this.” Caroline gave her a wry smile as she closed the door and removed the portkey. “My reasoning behind showing you the key in the first place was because I was drawn to it, like it was calling to me. That hadn’t happened before I met that… vampire. What he did to me was wrong on all the levels, but perhaps the only good thing that came of it was all this.”
“So you’re thankful?”
“No, never thankful. I definitely want him dead and I’ll totally make that happen one day. I just…” Caroline trailed off. “I just feel like maybe it was because he’s a vampire. Like maybe I had an allergic reaction because he isn’t human. Maybe hearing voices that lead me to magic keys and all this red stuff is the result?”
“I think I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yeah,” Bonnie said walking over to the couch in the sitting room. “While I may not have instant recall of the visions I have, probably because I’m just starting out, I do remember the feelings I get because of them the most. It’s like when I touched you and later on Stefan. The experience was jarring enough to leave me feeling spooked both times. I guess that was my allergic reaction. I think, for me at least, right now skin to skin contact makes the connection easiest to tap into. Like even though I don’t remember the exact details of what I saw when I touched you, I still felt your fear like it was my own. Same with Stefan, it was like my skin was fused to his. He was so cold, he felt so empty. It was what I imagined death to feel like.”
Caroline nodded, she understood completely. “I felt like I was tuned into whatever radio frequency you were on when the two of you touched at the grill. I felt something then too.”
“Perhaps you have some sort of psionic connection to the world around us?” Bonnie put a hand to her chin in thought.
“What do you mean?”
“Psionic is just a fancy way of saying psychic. Back in class on the first day of school, I asked you if you needed to get your ears checked when in reality, you were tuned into Care Radio.”
“Seriously, that’s what you’re calling it?” Caroline tossed her head back, her body wracked with giggles. “I love that!”
Bonnie snickered in kind. “Grams has been taking every chance she gets to drop tidbits of information on me. She told me that magic is vast and that there’s no one way to do things. Maybe your red mojo is how your magic expresses itself, Care Radio included. I mean, even your eyes went red when you picked up that cup. I believe you’re a witch, Caroline.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Am I okay with it? Girl,” Bonnie said putting her hands on her hips. “You’re looking at one! Now we have something else in common, we can be like— like witch sisters or something.”
Caroline smiled. “It’s such a relief to hear you say that because magical keys isn’t the only thing I have to show you.”
“What else ya got?”
A mischievous grin pulled at Caroline’s lips, her teeth on display giving her demeanor a slightly unhinged look. “Did you know that there’s an entire network of caves and tunnels beneath Mystic Falls?”
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