8 The Rescue

When Damon woke up he lay under the shade of a tree in broad daylight. He woke up to find the staff that had penetrated his heart the previous day. He remembered the dream and what Bonnie did for him. He knew that without invoking the elements it wouldn't have been possible for Bonnie to resurrect him. He smiled thinking of what his redbird had done for him. She was now as much an outcast from the world as he was for invocations were forbidden in this world because of the risks to others. But Bonnie had not performed the invocation in this world. The pocket dimension she creates is another world and Damon realized that Bonnie had manged to find a loophole in the invocation law.

As he tried to get up he felt a weight on his shoulders. He looked behind him to see two giant black wings protruding from his back. Surprised he leapt up on his feet to only find his wings carry him further up. He looked down at his body to find it fully human. He was used to having wings in his crow form but not in his human form. He took a deep breath trying to revoke his wings and it worked. Suddenly his shoulders felt light. What had Bonnie done to him?

He walked over to a lake nearby and looked at his reflection. It is a myth that vampires don't have a reflection. The face that looked back startled him. It was him but the eyes were deep blue like the ones he had before he was turned into a blood sucking leech. He summoned back his wings to have a closer look. His eyes suddenly turned to pitch black and giant fangs protruded from his lips. He decided to let go and witness the full length of his transformation. His height increased by over a foot more. His fingers elongated to claws and his ears elongated and he felt a fire burning inside him. As he breathed out the fire came out in flames from his mouth. Damon had seen enough. He closed his eyes and summoned back his human form and that is how he saw himself again. Bonnie didn't resurrect him in his vampire form but she created something from sheer power and that something resembled a mythical demon more than it did a real life vampire. He shook his head not knowing whether he was truly resurrected or if this was a nightmare in his personal hell. Then suddenly Bonnie's words came to his mind. he had to rescue her from the basement and he wished he were there instead. To his surprise he found his surrounding changing and stood outside the house where Bonnie lived.

Bonnie's captors had however left the house unguarded. They were sure that no one would attempt to rescue her. How wrong they were! But before Damon could set foot inside the house he heard a voice that startled him.

'I can't get in Bonnie. The spell seems to be very strong. The only way to get you out seems to be breaking the spell' the voice said, a very familiar voice indeed.

'I have tried Stefan but no power is going to break the spell from inside. It has to be from outside.' Bonnie said.

'I will try to get a witch to undo the spell but it will perhaps take a week more to do so.' Stefan surmised.

'I have already survived a week in my own basement. What is one more?' she assured all the time hoping that her rescue remembered her message.

A clearing of throat alerted them of a third person present there. 'Am I interrupting anything?' Damon said.

'You remembered?' Bonnie said excited.

Stefan was confused. 'Remembered what? What happened to your eyes?' he said noticing the change in colour.

'A story for another time. Step aside brother. I have a mate to rescue.' Damon said.

Stefan startled at the use of the word mate while Bonnie flushed pink in embarrassment. But Damon continued to explain. 'Bonnie, you being my mate are an extension of me. The barrier cannot keep us apart. If we place our hands on the barrier at the same time we may able to reach each other and them I can pull you out. So on the count of three reach for my hand. Okay?' Damon explained.

On the count of three they both touched the barrier that imprisoned Bonnie. At the touch the barrier flamed up with white light but Damon managed to grab Bonnie and pulled her out.

'How did you manage to do that so easily?' Bonnie asked. 'I mean till yesterday I wasn't even able to reach you telepathically?'

'We had to finish the blood bond to be completely mated. We did that yesterday. Now we are fully mated.' Damon explained.

'Yesterday?' It was Stefan who asked. 'What happened yesterday?'

'Yes Damon, what happened yesterday? How did you manage to get staked by a branch?' Bonnie asked referring to something else.

'It's not safe here to talk.' So saying Damon grabbed a hold of his brother and his mate and soon they were standing in the living room of a sixteenth century mansion in the middle of modern day Italy.

'What happened? Where are we? How did we get here?' Stefan asked. Bonnie was too dumbfounded to talk.

'Teleportation.' Damon answered. 'We are in the present day Veritas Estate in the heart of Tuscany, Italy, a place that has been my home for the past few years that I have been away. Please make yourself comfortable.'

'So is this home?' Bonnie asked with a longing in her voice.

Damon smiled. 'Si mia cara. This is home.' he answered while caressing her cheeks.

'The estate was broken and dispersed amongst many families.' Stefan recalled.

'I said that this is present day Veritas Estate. I bought back most of the land and renamed it on the original.' Damon explained. 'Let's take a seat to discuss what is happening in Fell's Church and why we are never setting foot over there again.'

'We?' Bonnie asked.

'You and me Bonbon. I know Stefan will go back to Elena and I don't fault him for that. But before he does that he needs to see how much she has changed. Did you tell him?'

Bonnie shook her head.

'Tell me what?'

'It was Elena who imprisoned me in my own home, hoping me to starve to death so that she wouldn't have to burn me at the stake for practicing witchcraft. This comes from her when Zerena is practicing the same and darker magic under her very nose. Any witch not affiliated with her is to be burnt alive. Because I happened to be her childhood friend she allowed me the privilege of starving to death.' Bonnie explained. Damon didn't know the entire story but he didn't react to it.

'Does Zerena happen to be a leggy brunette who wears browns and beige?' Damon asked.

'Yes she is. How did you know?' Bonnie questioned back.

'She was the witch that staked me yesterday. Apparently there is also this rule that any vampire stepping foot in Fell's church are to be staked.'

'So it seems that Fell's Church is not a safe place for supernatural creatures anymore.' Stefan concluded. 'But I have to go back to Dalcrest. That way I can stay nearby and keep an eye on them.' he commented. At that moment his phone started to ring. Stefan was little surprised before remembering that the call was on roaming. He saw the number and it was Matt. Damon understood and opened a chest of drawer and handed him a burner phone. Stefan cocked a head.

'Just use it. It can't be traced to me.'

'Hello Matt, It's Stefan.'

'Where are you? We have been trying to reach you since last night.'

'Why? What happened?'

'It's Elena. She had a heart attack yesterday. The doctors even coded her but Zerena's friend Demos did something to bring her back to life but she seems changed. We need you.'

'Did you say Demos?' Stefan paled at the name.

'Yup. Demos it is. He is some part vampire, part wizard. He says that he is ancient but he sounds sane and cool, not like Klaus.'

Stefan cut the line and looked up at Damon. 'Do you know who Demos is?' he asked.

Damon nodded.

'He brought Elena back from life. Her heart must have stopped when you were staked.' Stefan said.

'Hold a minute. Who is Demos?'

'Demos is the most power hungry immortal in the history of Vampires. He is Gwendowlyn's mate. Unlike a normal vampire an immortal doesn't die with the death of his mate. Gwendowlyn died and Demos went from one witch to the next. But he could channel the powers from Gwendowlyn's spirit as his own and bacame famous as a vampire wizard, one of his kind.' Stefan explained.

'Do you think he is after Elena now?' Damon asked.

'Demos cannot drink from Elena. So he cannot bind her to him. But he can control her.' Stefan concluded.

'Are you going back?' It was Bonnie who sounded concerned.

'I must.' Stefan said.

Bonnie obliged him by opening a portal to her own house. Stefan looked back at her in amazement. 'How?' he mouthed.

'It is better that you not know.'

Stefan nodded and stepped inside. Damon followed only to return back a few minutes later.

Soon Damon and Bonnie were left alone.