Beyond the Blood

Chapter Thirteen

It was raining hard now; the drops coming down like stair-rods and pounding the pavement outside. The tree outside of Autumn's bedroom was taking a battering as it's leaves bent ground wards under the onslaught. Autumn stood by the window looking out at the weather, feeling peaceful at what she saw. She'd always liked the rain, it made her feel relaxed and also she saw it as the stuff of life; she'd seen what this place could be like after two months of drought, everything was arid and dying. She didn't like it when it was like that; everything in moderation, but with enough water to keep life afloat as it were.

She stood listening for a good five minutes, feeling powerful as she watched. There was something mesmerising about a rainstorm and she couldn't help but continue to watch, imagining the droplets falling on her face and all about her. Elena was out there somewhere, having a conversation with Stefan about what she had learnt last night, hopefully without panicking too much. Jeremy was out with Vicky, and Jenna was still at college, quite probably on her way home now actually; but for the time being she was home alone.

She was torn away from the window by a ring of the doorbell. Autumn frowned slightly to herself, wondering who it could be; maybe Jenna had forgotten her key or something? She ran down the stairs two at a time to let her in out of the storm. But when she opened the door it wasn't Jenna; it was the man from last night, the vampire. He grinned at her, his mouth twisting upward in a sinister grin.

Autumn let out a little yelp and made to slam the door but the man stopped her by holding out his arm; she could feel his strength overpowering hers instantly. She let go under the onslaught.

"You can't come in!" she cried and took a step back away from the door.

"Too late sweetheart," said the man with a crooked grin, his toe slipping over the threshold, "You should lecture your brother more severely on letting strange maintenance men into the house"

Autumn blanched, didn't speak anymore but turned on her heel and ran towards the kitchen, her mind randomly thinking of knives and other such weapons. She could hear the man approaching down the hallway as she slammed the kitchen door behind her. She looked wildly around her for some form of weapon but couldn't immediately see any; her only choice was to run; out the back door and into the garden outside; the rain instantly soaking her to the skin.

The man had had enough of playing games with her and the next second he was in front of her using the super speed that vampires possessed. His vice like grip held her arm as she struggled to escape. She felt it bruise.

"What do you want from me?" she asked desperately as his face shifted to the face of death, the one she had seen painted on Damon's face oh so recently.

As his face leant towards her neck he spoke, "You're supposed to be the answer to all of this"

Her mind boggled; what was that supposed to mean? In the next second she expected to feel the slicing pain of being bitten, but instead their was a bellow of pain from the man in front of her and his grip had gone, tearing her shirt as it went. She looked around wildly to see him cowering under the eaves of the house, nursing fast healing welts on his skin where he appeared to have been burnt, as by boiling water.

He glared at her, his turning black with anger and she waited for him to strike, unsure as to why he had let go in the first place but once again he never did. There was a noise like a clap of thunder and he was on the floor. Two vampires were fighting in her back yard! It didn't take her long to figure out that it was Damon attempting to destroy her would-be assailant. She looked up at the windows of the neighbouring houses in the hope that nobody was looking out at the scene going on; it was cloudy and fairly dark so she doubted they'd be able to see much anyway.

The was a heave of effort in front of her and Damon was sat on top of the guy's chest, his fingers spread-eagled above his where his heart would sit. The guy was breathing heavily but there was a tinge of panic in his eyes.

"Why are you here?" asked Damon, his voice fairly steady, but hard as nails.

The other man didn't answer, his lips pursed in a tight thin line.

"One more chance," said Damon softly, his voice sounding dangerous. Even with his back to her, Autumn could tell he was utterly poised to strike, deadly as a cornered cobra.

The man said nothing, "Go on, end it, you're good at that aren't you, Damon? Do me a favour… end it…"

Damon didn't need telling twice and his fingers plunged into the man's chest causing Autumn to scream and whip her head away from the scene – she didn't want to see that. She didn't turn back for a good ten seconds, but when she did they were both gone. A second later and Damon was back; his hands clean.

"What-?" Autumn asked, utterly bewildered, pushing a piece of hair that stuck to her face with the still pouring rain.

Damon looked down at her, visibly sighing slightly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, to go through that," he said.

"But why?" she asked still shocked.

"He'd been invited in," was all Damon said in explanation. Autumn looked down at the patch of grass where the man had died and visibly shivered.

"Come on, let's get inside before you catch pneumonia," said Damon, his eyes with something close to concern in them as he looked down at her. He, on the other hand, was totally unperturbed by the rain lashing against his skin.

Autumn nodded numbly and allowed him to lead her inside. The front door was still open, so he went to shut that whilst she got a towel from the airing cupboard and started to manually dry her hair off a bit.

"How did he get in?" asked Damon roughly, clearly a little bit alarmed by the situation as he thought about it.

"Jeremy invited him in earlier," said Autumn, "Thought he was a maintenance man"

Damon made a low noise of derision in the back of his throat. Autumn didn't reply, she was still too shocked about the death of that man and the fact that his killer was stood in front of her. She was experiencing entirely mixed feelings, part of her was feeling utter repulsion, but another part was feeling grateful. Damon had saved her life, regardless of the method.

"I burned him," said Autumn softly after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" asked Damon sharply, his eyes glancing over her inquisitively.

"When he first tried to attack me, and the time before, I physically burned him," she said, "And tonight, I seemed to boil the rain, 'cause when I looked up he had welts on his arms, as if burned. But that's not possible, is it?"

Damon looked at her closely for a moment, "Do you really think it's not possible?"

"I don't know what to think!" she said, "My life was normal-ish a month ago, but now comets make me ill, the rain boils around me, vampires exist, my friend claims to be a witch – which could quite possible be true these days – I get attacked twice in two days – what should I think?"

"I can't tell you what to think," he said, "But you should know now, that most things are possible, or certainly not beyond imagining"

Autumn nodded numbly and to her horror she felt her lip wobble very slightly, "It's just so confusing"

Damon looked at her for a moment, and then did something terribly un-Damon like - as far as she could tell anyway – and opened his arms so she could step into them. She faulted for a moment at the thought of walking into the arms of a murderer, but then she overcame that at the thought that he would see her tears. His arms were strong around her and she couldn't help but feel comforted as she laid her head against his marble chest. He let her stay for the while it took to get herself under control and then she moved away.

She looked at him ruefully, "I got your shirt all wet"

"It's alright, it'll dry," he said with a grin. As he spoke she heard her phone beginning to ring and she hurried through to the lounge to answer it.

"Hey Jenna," she said as she picked it up, "Where are you?"

"I'm going to hang around here for a bit," came Jenna's voice, "I can't really drive home in this; it isn't safe"

"Oh okay," said Autumn, "That's fine, wait as long as you like,"

"There's leftover pizza in the fridge if you want it," Jenna said, "I know Jeremy's out with Vicky so it's just you and Elena to sort it out,"

"That's fine," said Autumn doubting that after what she had seen tonight she would ever be hungry again.

"Sure you're going to be okay?" said Jenna picking on the worry in Autumn's voice.

"Yeah I'll be fine," Autumn said, "Damon's here anyway,"

"He is?" asked Jenna; now it was her turn to sound worried, "Well…"

"Jenna!" said Autumn sharply, "Don't even think it,"

"Alright," said Jenna with relief in her voice, "I'll be back as soon as I can,"

"Right, see you later," said Autumn

"Bye," Jenna said before hanging up. Autumn took the phone away from her ear and hung up, a small frown on her face. Did Jenna seriously think she was going to crawl into bed with Damon because they were home together? She wasn't… Vicky… for godsake. Not that she had any problem with Vicky, but still.

"Jenna?" came a voice from behind her.

"Yeah," said Autumn, "As if you couldn't hear"

Damon smirked slightly, "Have to at least to pretend to be polite,"

Autumn raised her eyebrow for a moment, resting her phone against her lips in thought. She held out almost like a remote control when she spoke again.

"How did you know I was in trouble?"

"I didn't," he said with a shrug, "I was coming by anyway to tell you something and I heard what was going on,"

"Lucky," she said almost to herself.

"Sort of," he said, "If you count getting attacked by a rogue vampire as lucky"

Autumn shrugged and then sighed; she looked outside seeing that it was now fully dark.

"I wonder where Elena's got to," she said

"Well, I imagine her and Stefan have a lot to talk about," said Damon, "It took us most of the night,"

"True," she mused, "What were you on your way here for then?"

"I found something out," he said, "Or at least I think I did,"

"Oh?" Autumn said, almost a touch skeptically, wondering what he could possibly spring on her now.

"About you," he said, piquing her interest, "And why you've been experiencing the things you have lately,"

"And…?" she said suddenly eager to know more.

"We need to go visit a friend of mine," he said, "To confirm what I think,"

"What?" Autumn's mind reeled at the fact he wouldn't tell her, "Why can't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to if I'm wrong," he said, "Bree will know"

"Oh aye?" Autumn asked, her sarcasm fully returned, "And why would she, if you don't?"

"Bree's a witch," said Damon, "And far more experienced that your little friend Bonnie,"

Autumn's jaw instantly dropped at the two bombshells in that sentence. Damon couldn't help but smirk at her reaction and she almost wanted to hit him for telling her like that. She had no doubt that his words were true, but after all the truths she had had in the passed forty-eight hours, she wasn't sure she could take much more.

"It's true?" she asked, "After all of Bonnie's blathering, it's true?"

"Yup," said Damon with a glint in his eye, "As I said before Autumn; this is a brave new world. You don't think that the things that have been happening to you, and to Mystic Falls all happened in the realm of the probable or the normal?"

"No," she said leaning against the nearest chair for support, "But I thought the paranormal might only have run to vampires. But now apparently there's witches and god knows what else! What's next… werewolves?"

"No, they're definitely a myth," said Damon and Autumn realised he was being totally serious.

She shook her head slightly, "But why didn't Bonnie tell me?"

"She did," said Damon, "You just didn't believe her,"

Autumn was silent when she realised that this was perfectly true, "And does she know about all this?"

"Well she's knows there's something off about Stefan and I if that's what you mean," he said with another grin, "Something dark. Something evil."

Autumn couldn't answer his grin, but she did feel a slight burgeoning of laughter at his blasé attitude.

Autumn took a deep breath and looked across at him again, "So this Bree is going to be able to answer the questions?"

"I'm not saying she will for definite," said Damon offhandedly, "But she's my best bet… and yours"

Autumn nodded, "When do you wanna go?"

"As soon as possible," said Damon with a shrug.

"I'll need to tell Elena first," Autumn said, "And she's got her phone off so I can't get hold of her"

Damon glanced across at her, "Leave a note?"

***

Elena came in through door, Bonnie close behind her and shut the door quietly.

"How do you feel?" asked Bonnie quietly, wondering if her friend was about to explode with anxiety.

Elena leant heavily against a counter top in the kitchen and then turned around to face her, "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me"

"And would you have believed me?" Bonnie asked, resisting the urge to be slightly sarcastic. That was the last thing Elena needed right now.

Elena let that one pass with a nod, "Probably not," she said, "But it was still a shock to have Stefan let it drop,"

"I guess," said Bonnie, "I'm sorry, and I'm sorry that Stefan knows,"

"Why?" asked Elena

"I don't really trust him," said Bonnie

"What, why?" asked Elena

"Well, do you?" asked Bonnie

"Well after what he's told me today…" said Elena, "I'm inclined to believe him, even if I can't be with him,"

Bonnie sighed and shrugged, "It remains to be seen,"

Elena nodded and then looked around, "Where's Autumn?"

"I don't know," said Bonnie with another shrug, "Out?"

"In this?" asked Elena gesturing to the weather, her forehead creasing slightly with stress, "Autumn!"

"Here, there's a note," said Bonnie who had just looked on the table. Elena walked over to her side, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear and looking at it.

Hey E,

Gone with Damon to visit a friend of his;

Says they might have some answers for me,

I'll be back soon

Don't worry, Damon will keep me safe,

A

X

"Oh god," breathed Elena, her mind whirring with all the things she had learned that day from Stefan.

"What are we going to do?" asked Bonnie.

Elena let out a low breath, re-reading the note, "As much as I don't want to, I'm going to have to ask Stefan. His friend Lexi is in town. They might be able to help,"

"But help with what?" said Bonnie, trying to get some calm into the situation, "It looks like Autumn went willingly,"

"Yes!" said Elena slightly hysterically, "But she doesn't know what I know about Damon!"

"Alright," said Bonnie, "Then we'll talk to Stefan. But not tonight, it's very late and they'll be nothing they can do right now. What you need most is to sleep on it"

Elena nodded and rubbed her eyes, finally letting her tiredness creep into her bones; she was exhausted, she hadn't slept well for a few nights with the revelations that had come hurtling at her. She suddenly felt like she'd been run over by a truck.

"Alright," she agreed and leaned on the table, glancing at the paper under her fingers, "I just hope she's going to be okay,"

Bonnie stood her shoulder, rubbing her arm slightly, a small smile on her face.

"Come on," she said to her friend, and turned to lead her upstairs.