Forever; The Devil's Angel

The blasting music made its way to them, the shimmer and spirit for a party lingered in the air as they both regarded the atmosphere from far away. "Do you think he would be keeping Hayley there?" Mia asked unsure. She didn't think that Marcel would keep her here where everyone would be allowed freely to roam around but she couldn't be sure.

Damon was looking towards another road along the path they were standing at, "I don't know," he said almost absently as he leaned forward to touch the tree and the visions flooded his mind. There was some woman as she dragged Hayley with her, forcing her to move forward.

"Damon? What is it?" Mia's voice was worried as she put her hand on his forearm and Damon came out of the trance and she sighed. "Did you see something?" she asked.

Damon nodded slowly, his eyes moving from the tree to Mia, "She's with some woman who dragged her through here. She must've touched the tree or something but I think I can get to her," he said.

"Is she ok?" Mia asked quickly.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied hastily as he pushed her towards Marcel's place, "You go there. Elijah and Cam are gonna be at the party. Bring them here. I'm gonna go after them," he said as he started moving but Mia pulled him back.

"No way, I'm going there. I'm coming with you, Damon," she said in a final voice not wanting to leave him.

"I can handle myself, Mia. You need to go and tell Elijah and stop Klaus from doing something stupid. You need to leave now," he said, his voice raising as Mia held him again.

"Damon, please. We'll do this together," she said, a little hint of desperation in her voice. She didn't want to leave him. She was simply scared about their already uncertain future when it came to him and leaving him alone even when she knew he could handle himself scared her as she took in a deep breath, trying to calm her erratic heart.

Damon's thoughts were in line with hers. He knew where she was coming from but with what he had in mind, the thing he wanted to achieve so close to him he couldn't risk it and he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything with her by his side which is why he had to make sure that she didn't follow him.

He hadn't explain a single thing to her but he had everything mapped out in his mind and with an opportunity like the one he was presented with, he knew he had to avail it, he couldn't let go. "We are, angel. We're in it together," he paused as he framed her face, "warn him and hurry back to me," he swallowed staring into her scared, panicked eyes.

Mia took a second to just look at him as he felt her heavy gaze on himself. She was trying to figure him out and God knew he didn't wanted to be figured out by her at that moment. "Hayley needs us, Mia. Go," he said again turning away from her prying, steady gaze as she stood there thinking hard of what had happened. He left her just like that. She could feel the evil lingering in the air, the feeling of things turning ugly seeped into her as she tried to shake it off.

The world seemed concentrated on just that point, people were sweating, dancing, moving to the beat, lost in the feel of music. She was out of breath from running as her eyes searched frantically for any sign of Klaus or Cam. Weaving through the sea of people, her eyes finally landed on Cam as she ran towards him, "Cam?" she screamed.

"Mia! Thank God," he exclaimed as he embraced her into a tight hug, "I was worried sick. Where's Damon?" he asked.

"We need to find Klaus," she explained quickly, "Damon found some track of her. Cam, we need to stop Klaus from making a scene. I don't think Marcel knows anything about Hayley," she said.

Cam nodded, "That's all fine but we have to find Klaus," he said, his eyes searching around.

"What do you mean 'find'? I thought he was with you."

"No, he ran off. I'm looking for him myself. Come on," he tugged her forward, "We've got some work to do, Guardian angel."

Mia winced at the title but shook it off, "Ok," she nodded, "let's hurry."

********************************

Damon jumped over the fallen branches as he ran towards the place he saw when he touched the tree. It would've been much better if he were a vampire, he would've been faster and stronger, not to mention his almost perfect night vision but now, he had to struggle as he ran into the dark forest.

"Hayley," he called out. He was close now, he could tell. Just then an agonizing scream made its way into his ears and he doubled his pace, pushing himself to his limit. He saw her then, her eyes wide with panic and fear, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the person in front of her with a dagger in his hand.

Damon stopped dead in his tracks as he concentrated his power just on that person and watched him topple over in pain. "Damon," Hayley's voice was filled with gratitude as she regarded him with smile and sighed.

"You ok?" he asked and she nodded, catching her breath. "I think so," she replied.

"Where's she?" he asked, "the woman who was dragging you?" he questioned.

"Agnus," she said, her hands on her knees as she supported herself, "She left. I don't know who they are," she pointed to the man who had started to get up now, rubbing the back of his neck when Damon stepped forward and snapped his neck in one swift motion.

"One less problem," he muttered under his breath when he saw the moving shadows behind the trees, "There are more," he said, "Hayley, you need to run," he said quickly as he readied himself for another round.

There wasn't just a few people that came out from behind the trees. It looked more like an army as something dark seeped into Damon. How was he supposed to handle them all?

"Hey, I'm not leaving," Hayley said.

"Hayley, they're here for you not me and it's really important for Mia to keep you safe. Please, go," he stressed as people started to pour in.

"You wouldn't be able to hold them off. Come with me then. She needs you to be safe too," Hayley said. Looking at such a crowd, Damon nodded as he turned around and took Hayley's hand to lead her away. He wanted a proper opening and he couldn't find one and he couldn't do anything with Hayley as a live spectator.

"We need to call Elijah. Let him know," she said as they ran. They were both panting already, exhaustion settling in as their feet drummed against the forest floor matching the beating of their heart. The forest was a blur all around, the cold air hitting them with shearing force as they fought against it.

"Damon!" Hayley screamed as a blow landed on Damon's head and he fell.

“Go, go,” he yelled, “Call for help,” he said clutching his head as he dropped to his knees.

She wanted to stop, to help him but they were so close already, she couldn't take that chance as she kept on running forward. She could see the city lights and she was sure she could get some help from there. For now, she just needed to put a distance between herself and her enemies, whoever they were.

*********************************

"Elijah," Cam said once they located him heading towards the chambers where Marcel resided, "She's not here," he said with Mia right on his heels.

"Damon found her in the forest," Mia said, "We have to go there. Where's Klaus? Marcel might not know anything, we need to stop Klaus..." Mia started when Elijah interfered.

"He doesn't know," he said.

"What?" Mia asked surprised. How could they not tell Klaus that Hayley had gone missing, "Why?"

"Because he would have made a scene out of it and I can only handle too much at once. We should go fetch Hayley first."

"Damon's with her. He was headed to where she was," Mia informed him and Elijah gave her a nod. "Thank you, Mia," he thanked her sincerely.
"I didn't do anything," she admitted as she pointed to the door, "Come on. We need to leave. Do you know where Klaus is though?"

"It doesn't matter at the moment. We need Hayley to be safe first. I'm sure Klaus would be here somewhere doing his thing," he said as they started to move out. He was sure it would be some nasty Klaus stuff but he really couldn't worry about his brother's whereabouts at the moment, not when Hayley was in danger, his only hope for his brother.

********************************

"You owe me, now," Klaus spat at her as he strode out confidently, a victorious smirk on his face as he made his way out. It had been an interesting evening all and all. He was happy with his encounter with Davina and her little Timothy. He should have known, a young girl like her all enclosed in a tower like a prized little Rapunzel must have had a weakness in a boy. They always do.

His smile grew up a notch as he saw a very concerned Marcel almost running towards where he had just left the little witch. It should be good, all good as he listened to them argue. "What are you doing here?" He asked a little harshly.

"I live here remember," she answered back with just as much hostility before he saw her gasp, her heart tripping in her chest as she doubled over in pain and let out a shrill scream, her eyes rolling back.

"Davina," Marcel screamed as he ran towards her and caught her in his arms, "What is it?"

"Magic," she croaked out, "Someone's using magic," she gasped and struggled for breath, "Mar-cel," she clenched her eyes shut and swallowed tightly, "It. Is. Strong. And. Dark."

"Who is it?" he asked as he tucked her hair behind her ears and asked her to calm down and take a long, deep breath.

"Can't. See," she said, her eyes still clenched shut, "It's strong."

Marcel didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave her but he also wanted to catch whoever witch it was in time, catch her before she could run away or turn something into an utter disaster for him. He was going through rough patch of time already. "Just breathe. Just breathe," he was chanting.

"You need to get it," she said as the pain subsided for a moment and she fluttered her eyes open, "the witch."

"I will," he said, "I'm not going to leave you here alone. Let me take you up to your room," he offered as she gave him a weak nod.

Klaus thought hard about it. There was no strong enough witch to get that kind of reaction out of Davina who was the most powerful he had seen and there was no other witch in the whole New Orleans who had enough guts to do perform a simple spell, let alone a spell that could rattle a witch like Davina.

There was only one name that popped in his mind after the day and if he was right, then it meant something had gone very wrong and he intended to find out what.

********************************

Everything was shaking around him, quivering and all he could see was fire ahead of him. He could hear the shrill screams and agonizing cries but nothing wavered him as he put in all his effort, all his power and strength. He could feel the power dancing on his fingertips as he molded it, manipulated it and as much as he used it, the more power he felt.

It was nothing like ever before but he knew the feeling. He was completely aware of what he was doing yet he didn't want to stop. Mia would hate it but this was all he could do. If she hated him, let her be but he wanted it way too much because according to him, this was the only way to make sure that she stayed forever.

He could hear the sucking sound, the sound of tearing flesh as they tore apart the werewolves in front of him and he could feel the pain he was inflicting on everything that was present in front of him. He didn't know why they all hated Hayley but he did know that witches were against him, and the wolves were protecting her and the vampires were killing off the wolves. It was such a complicated and intricate web, he couldn't understand and comprehend properly.

"Damon!" Mia called him aloud. He had surrounded himself with an invisible circle that kept everything out and the ones inside it were all writhing in pain. "Damon. Stop," she screamed again.

"Mia, you need to stop him. He's really hurting them," Cam said.

“He’s not in control, Cam. He’s new to this,” she screamed back, her eyes on Damon. “Damon?” she called again.

Mia took a deep breath as bright white light surrounded her, her necklace glowing warmly as she stepped into the boundary he had created. She was truly surprised at the level of his strength as she had to exert much greater power to remain unaffected from the pain he was inflicting. She slowly made her way towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Damon, please," she said softly.

Everything broke apart as he pulled it all in like a snap of a rubber band into himself. He was breathing hard, a sheen of sweat on his forehead as he wiped away the warm trickle of blood oozing out of his nose, "Mia," he said in a whisper, his voice low and exhausted as he extended his hand towards her and Mia took it readily.

"Are you ok? God, you're bleeding. What happened?" she asked the questions in quick succession as she wiped away the blood with her fingers and held his face in her hands, touching her forehead with his. "You scared me, you know," she said.

Damon didn't have the guts enough to touch her or hold her back. He just stood there soaking in her love for as long as she gave it because he knew it wouldn't be for so long.

"Damon, what happened?" she asked concerned at his totally no show of emotions, "Damon," she looked at him carefully, cautiously and when he raised his eyes to her, she saw the very familiar things in them from long ago. It was the look of regret and shame but there was something else on which she couldn't put her finger on.

Hesitantly, she averted her eyes to look around her. There were bodies, so many of them covered in blood. "They're..." she looked at Damon, her heart increasing in its pace, her breath hitching in her throat, "Are they...dead?" she looked from Damon to the bodies to Cam.

Cam took a step forward towards her, "Mia, it's ok," he said assuring her but Mia was shaking her head profusely denying it. "It's my fault," she said in a broken voice and Damon stiffened. That's not what he wanted. He didn't want her to blame herself. "No, Mia. It's not," Cam said but she stood her ground as she took a step away from Damon.

"It is. It happened on my watch. I should've stopped this. It was my duty and I-I failed," she paused to take a deep breath, "I failed," she repeated.

“It’s not yours, Mia. It’s his. He killed them not you,” Cam said the words bitterly directing his anger towards Damon.

Mia kept shaking her head. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be Damon’s fault. It was an accident which she should’ve prevented. Damon just wasn’t in control. He was new to this, magic and sorcery, he couldn’t…wouldn’t kill those people intentionally. It was accident…the kind she was supposed to stop but…

Looking at her face and wide eyes, he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Mia, it's not your fault. It's mine. You didn't do it," Damon spoke for the first time, expecting her hatred and disgust with him to kill so many of the living beings instead she surprised him as she almost jumped on him.

"You need to go," she said suddenly.

"What?" he asked surprised at her statement.

"You need to go. Cam just told me about Davina. She can sense magic and if she sensed you then, Marcel will come after you. Go away from here. You need to leave. I'll take care of this here," she said, looking at all the bodies that had scattered around her.

"It's not your fault," he said again because for as much selfish reason as he did it for, he didn't want her to blame herself. "It doesn't matter, Damon. The thing is that they're dead and I couldn't save them. I'm a guardian and I couldn't do it but I have to keep you safe," she said, "So, please go. Go back to Mystics Falls."

"Mia, I..."

"No. No but or if, Damon. You're going home, somewhere safe and you're leaving now," she said and turned to Cam. "See if Elijah had taken Hayley home and I need to know whereabouts of Klaus," she told him and looked back at Damon.

"Please. It's ok, whatever happened," she closed her eyes, "Be safe," she said and sighed.

"Mia, he needs to go before Marcel comes," Cam said and Mia nodded. "Damon, please," she said again almost desperately, her eyes begging him and he gave her a nod. He could see the pain in her eyes. It really was his fault that many people were dead and the things that made it worse were that he did it intentionally and Mia was blaming herself. No matter what the cause or the reason behind his actions, he knew it was still wrong.

"Come home soon," he said walking backwards while facing her, "I'll be waiting. I'll always be waiting," he said feeling the same kind of slicing pain he had felt when she had left him before, where he wasn't sure if he would see her again and it slashed at his heart and he could see the same breaking in her eyes.

"If you leave forever," he said, "Come see me. Just once," he said and a small whimper broke through Mia's lips. Damon paused in his tracks, to hold her for just one time if it was the last time he was seeing her. He stepped forward and so did Mia. "Go, go, go," Cam screamed looking at the farthest side of the area, "They're coming here. Just go."

Mia and Damon locked eyes for a single second that seemed to drag itself into an eternity as they said everything they wanted with their expressive eyes and silent lips and with last look of pain and despair, he turned on his heels and ran away.

"Mia, come on," Cam tugged her forward, "We need to leave before they come," he said and Mia followed him turning away from where Damon had gone to with heavy heart and yet again crushed soul.