A Heart Worth Loving

Waiting for Stefan to arrive, Layla stared into the fire that roared in the fireplace and spent a few minutes gathering her thoughts. Looking up as Damon tapped her shoulder, she accepted the drink that he was offering her and took a sip as Stefan walked through the front door.

“What’s going on, Lay?” Stefan asked after a long silence, sitting on the arm of one of the sofa’s, “Who was that guy?”

“His name is Seth,” Layla told them, “When I was younger, my mum was a member of the coven in the town where we lived and she’d take me to some of their gatherings.”

“So, you do have magic?” Damon added, earning a reluctant nod from Layla, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“The first thing you’re taught as a young witch in a coven is that magic isn’t for everyone, it corrupts some and destroys others if not used for the purpose that it was given for,” Layla replied, swallowing nervously and continuing as she paced, “My mum was said to be one of the most gifted witches in the coven, but she wasn’t the person that I knew anymore and I watched as she gradually became addicted to the craft.”

“What happened?” Stefan prompted as Layla fell silent, “Lay?”

“At one of the gatherings, Seth confronted her about the way she had been abusing her magic and something in her just snapped,” Layla recalled, feeling tears form in her eyes at the memories, “She was so angry… the last thing I remember is her mumbling something under her breath and the entire room shaking violently. I woke up three days later in hospital and she was gone, but my gran filled in the blanks as much as she could.”

“Do you know what she did?” Damon inquired.

“She absorbed the magic of every coven member that was present that night, but my magic was too pure and the action of trying to remove it sent out a ripple effect that weakened the structure of the building they used,” Layla explained, “She brought the building down around us and took off… the only reason I was able to escape is because my magic acted of its own accord.”

“Is that why Seth is here?” Damon asked.

“He says that he just wants information on the hunter, but I never trusted him back then and I trust him even less now.”

“He could be looking for revenge or a way to get his magic back,” Stefan suggested, “How long has it been since you used your magic?”

“I haven’t used it at all,” Layla admitted, “My gran tried to convince me to practice, the truth is that I’m scared of turning out like my mum and allowing the magic to control my life.”

Hearing someone knock on the door, Layla watched as Stefan went to answer it and felt her blood run cold as he returned with Seth in tow. Tracking Seth’s every move as he entered the living room, she pushed the panic away and stepped closer to where Damon was standing.

“Your grandma told me that you’d be here,” Seth said, causing Layla’s head to snap up and her eyes to narrow, “That brother of yours is a bundle of energy, kind of reminds me of you when you were younger actually…”

“Stay away from them…” Layla warned, stepping towards Seth and glaring as Damon put his arm out to stop her.

“The question is why you were looking for her in the first place?” Damon replied, keeping his attention on Seth as he drained the remainder of his drink and placed the glass on the table.

“We didn’t finish our conservation earlier,” Seth answered, shifting his gaze to Layla and continuing, “I’m pretty sure that she has some information that I’m after.”

“I don’t know anything about no hunter, Mystic Falls is a small town and the only new person that I’ve seen around lately is some historian by the name of Hadley Davis.”

“Is that right?”

“He was here earlier, asking questions about some strange animal sightings in the woods… seemed awfully interested in vampires and all that crazy stuff.”

“Maybe I’ll start there then, don’t go disappearing on me again… I might just be needing your help.”