Chapter 14

A/N: I'm honestly tired of trying to explain this so many times.... He has the capacity to learn all types of magic.

Keyword: LEARN

It doesn't give him instant mastery of every magic that exists in the universe. It just gives him the capacity to learn them. 

It's not just about speaking backwards with logomamcy...

Casting a spell to lock a door is simple. Enchanting a door to stay locked and open only for a particular person is a completely different ball game. If this doesn't explain it then I give up.

~~~~~~~

Perception is a funny thing, I've come to realize that many times in my life. Aimee's been distant since the last time I saw her; when Elena and Bonnie were at my doorstep.

She believes that I was having a raunchy gathering of some sort and that anything we might have had is over. Why did she think that? Well, before she got together with mister hero hair, Elena dated Matt who still obviously has feelings for her and who Aimee had a crush on before yours truly. 

Now seeing Elena at my doorstep…not the best look. 

How did I get all this information? I did what any proper gentleman would do, I read her mind. 

It's disappointing that is the least of my problems right now. My more immediate problem is Sheila who now sat across from me in my living room. 

"You know, if all of you keep knocking on my door everyday of the week, I may just have to set up a reservation system." I said, taking in the woman's appearance. 

She had calmed down considerably from her initial frenzy after her resurrection. That was two days ago. 

"You say that but the smirk on your face says otherwise." She said with a small frown. 

Of course I was smirking. I put up a ward around my house. Be it a vampire, witch, werewolf or human, nobody can come in without my invitation. I had that ward layered with a protective one that shields the house itself. 

I remember Klaus going on a rampage and attempting to destroy Elena's house when she didn't invite him in. No rampaging hybrid is going to raze down my house. 

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I asked. If possible, she got even more serious. 

"That spell you used to bring me back to life is unlike any I've heard of. It twists and bends the laws of nature. It's dangerous." She warned with a grave tone. "The spirits have been watching you ever since you resurrected the girl in the woods."

That drew an exasperated sigh from me. "And what do the dead wraiths want?" 

My casual disregard for the 'servants of nature' gets an even deeper frown from her. It's either that or she didn't fancy the cherry scented air freshener I got last week. 

"They want you to stop. Your brand of magic disrupts nature's balance. Resurrection is a perversion of that balance, especially with how casually you do it." She explained, her eyes burrowing into me. "No more."

"No more until they want to do it, don't you mean?" I said with a dry chuckle. "And if I don't stop?"

She grimaced. "They thought as much and offered an alternative." At my urging look she continued. "The alternative is that you resurrect a witch of their choosing and teach them your magic."

Whatever composure I had dwindled as I howled in laughter. "That's rich! And if I choose neither?"

"There will be consequences." She said. 

"An ultimatum. So either I bring back one of their own or I stop it all together? Hypocrites, always throwing a fit until it's in their favor. Well you can tell them one thing, neither of those is going to happen." My laughter was gone and a frown was present on my face. 

The same dead witches who thought that the answer to the Originals was to make an enhanced and upgraded original. The same witches, some of whom have committed greater atrocities in the name of power. 

Vampires came about because of a witch and so did werewolves. Ironic that the servants of nature cause more harm that spreads and wash themselves of the blame. 

"Like hell I'm going to allow a bunch of dead arrogant charlatans to boss me around. The spirits should go fuck themselves, there's a reason they're dead in the first place." I don't do well with orders. Only one arrogant sod controls my magic and that's me. 

A somber look forms on Sheila's face. "I'm thankful that you reunited me with my granddaughter, I do not wish to see someone so young suffer their unified power."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that. I don't intend on suffering one bit. Thanks for the warning though." I said, a conflicted look appearing on her face. 

"I don't need to tell you to keep Bonnie out of this but if needed, you can come to us for help." She said after a moment. 

"Why?" I asked, cautious. Yeah she's grandmother of the year but better safe than sorry. 

"We're both witches and more importantly, I want Bonnie to be happy. She's going to end up dragged into a lot of messes with those friends of hers. More messes than I can help with even with my restored youth." She began explaining but I interjected here. 

"This is sounding more like a request than a thank you." I pointed out, eliciting a shake of her head. 

"I'm not asking you to be her bodyguard. I'm talking about an alliance between you and the Bennett witches." She offered. 

"I'm pretty sure your ancestors are part of the spirits who want me to stop." I pointed out once more. 

"Like you said, they're dead. We're not." That got a laugh out of me, a genuine one. 

It checks out. Even after her death, she still did her best to help her granddaughter. She even managed to whisk Bonnie into the prison world to save her after the other side got destroyed. 

A cursory glance into her mind reassured me that this wasn't a trick from the spirits to get my guard down. Even then, I'd still have to be careful. If given a choice, she'd choose Bonnie over me in a heartbeat. 

"Well, you have yourself an ally." I said with a laugh, my expression betraying none of my thoughts. 

-[Pearl]-

A score of vampires lazed around in the Gibbons house, a good number of them still trying to figure out the world's current technology. The rest were complaining about being cooped up. 

Not all of them had daylight jewelry so they could only go out at night or on very cloudy days. Pearl had forbidden them from leaving ever since they left the tomb but she was getting even sterner about it. 

Stricter than usual. 

Out of the twenty five of them that were locked in the tomb, only sixteen of them were present and probably alive. 

They had previously stationed a few with daylight rings around the town to guide those who they encountered to their current residence but all those who were sent out hadn't returned in days. Neither had any more of their people. 

They couldn't have run away. That meant that somebody, or at least some people, knew about vampires and were hunting them down.

She remembered John Gilbert's compass. It was likely that whoever that's behind it possessed the compass and was using it to find them.

Even with Frederick's vehement insistence on revenge on the Salvatore brothers, she didn't give in. It was too unnecessary. 

All she wanted was a place for her and her family to live in peace. Until this matter was solved, she couldn't risk anyone going out. Even Anna wasn't allowed out anymore, not that the girl objected to it. 

She'd been looking depressed for the past few days. She'd figure out why soon enough but until then, her safety was paramount.