Chapter Fifteen.
We'd returned to the Salvatore house and filled everyone in on what'd happened.
"I can't believe that many people died..." Caroline sighed, slumping down into the couch next to Stefan.
"We need to find out what's doing this and quickly. Or we're not going to have a town left to save." Elena nodded to herself.
"The thing is, we'll never know if it really is Pesta." Astrid shrugged, sipping her herbal tea. "We have nothing in history to go on. Nothing."
"Not strictly true." A familiar English voice came from behind us.
We shot around and there stood Niklaus, arms folded, smirk wide. "Hello loves.""Niklaus." Astrid gasped, dropping her cup on the floor.
I caught it in Vamp speed as it fell, burning myself on the hot tea as I caught the china teacup.
"Ahh!" I winced, grabbing the cup with my free hand and waving the burned one around.
I looked around and everyone's eyes were on me, except for Astrid's and Niklaus'.
"Got it." I mumbled, showing them the cup as I placed it down on the coffee table.
"I can't believe it's you." Astrid breathed, vamping over to Niklaus.
He grabbed her hands as he gazed into her eyes.
"Astrid, love." He whispered.
Damon was the first to break the sickeningly sweet moment.
"I'm gunna go out on a whim and say there's some unfinished history, goin' on here." Damon said, waving his pointer finger around in the direction of the ancient pair.
I rolled my eyes and nodded.
"I hate to break you two up after all this time, but a lot of people are going to die if we don't do something quickly." I spoke up.
Niklaus looked to me.
"I heard you lot had a Pesta problem." He said.
"You can't say that and not sound like an Italian exterminator." Damon chuckled.
I shook him off, focusing on what Niklaus was about to say.
"I've seen her with my own eyes." The Original gave a hesitant half-smile. "I know she exists." We all sat down, waiting to hear Niklaus' story.
"Back in the 1340's, when the Black Death arrived in England, there was havoc for weeks. And then everyone started dying." Nicklaus started. "The castle was on lockdown and the townspeople had nowhere to go. I'd snuck out one night, after a few weeks of being copped up in my bedroom like a child and that was when I saw her. I was passing the Servant's quarters. I heard coughing and spluttering, which is what caught my attention initially – but when I looked round, I saw an old woman standing in the doorway. She was dressed in torn, black robes. I remember calling out to her, but she just continued to walk on, pretending like I didn't exist."
"Oh that must have been torture, Klaus-y. Someone ignoring you?" Damon interrupted, sarcastically.
Niklaus ignored his comment.
"I followed her and saw the rake and broom she was trying to conceal under her robes. I called out again but she still wouldn't listen. When I caught up to her and grabbed her arm, though." Niklaus shuddered at the thought. "It was like touching death itself."
We looked around each other like a bunch of teenagers telling ghost stories round the camp fire.
"Anyone else getting the chills?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.
"So what happened next?" I asked Niklaus, pressing him for more information.
"She looked at me." He said simply, staring at nothing across the room, like he was in some sort of hazed state. "She looked at me with those black pits of Hell anyone could call eyes. She raised her broom from under her robes and she touched me with it. Then I died."
He took a moment to regain his state and looked at me, taking a deep breath.
"When I woke up, I was morning, she was long gone. I'd never even heard her name before I got the call from you that she was back and you needed help." He pointed to me, looking paler than usual."And I thank you for that." I gave him a small smile."Do you know how we can stop her?" Bonnie perked up.
Niklaus shared a look with her before shrugging.
"How or why did she stop seven hundred years ago?" Stefan asked.
"No one knows. But I know where we might be able to find out." The Original looked at each of us in turn, the graveness to his face returning rather rapidly. "So let me get this straight." I started. "There's an immortal witch in England who supposedly created Pesta out of revenge for the Humans who wronged her."
"And there were a lot of those." Niklaus continued.
"So we have to find this witch and persuade her that humans really aren't so bad and that she should take back the spell, but first we have to find and kidnap Pesta and bring her to her, on the unlikely off chance that she finds the humanity in her to do the spell and save everyone." Damon finished. "Sounds like a piece o' cake..."
Everyone sighed, deeply."I'll go ahead to England and track down the witch. You lot are left with the oh-so-wondrous task of finding Pesta." Niklaus said.
"We'd better get started then." Bonnie shrugged. The next day dawned and we were still trying to divulge a plan that could work.
"Okay, so we have to find one woman within the radius of about forty miles, with the hope that she doesn't span out past that, capture her with the hopes that she doesn't kill us all first and then out her on a plane to England." Damon slapped his thighs. "I need a bourbon."Everyone seemed to sway their glance to Bonnie, who looked deep in thought.
"I could look in one of my Grimoires for a tracking spell that works on specific supernatural beings. After that I can just do a basic containment spell to keep her under control, then it's a trace spell and we're off to England." Bonnie shrugged.
"Oh no, Hell no, BonBon. You're not going to England." Damon snapped.
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's too dangerous." He replied.
"I can take care of myself, Damon." Bonnie sighed.
"She's a Big Bad Bennett Witch. I'm sure she can take care of herself." I winked to Bonnie, causing a smile to rise onto her face.
Damon sighed impatiently. "Fine." We gathered ourselves and made our way to scope out the town whilst Bonnie did her location spell.
It was fifteen minutes more before I got the text from her.
"She's in Mystic Falls. Bonnie says she saw the bell tower." I told Damon.
We made our way over to the tower, where there seemed to be some sort of meeting.

"Dammit, I totally forgot. There's a councilmeeting today." Damon huffed.
"If I were you, I'd be thanking my stars that I forgot..." I said before pointing."Look."
Pesta was there, stood behind one of the council members with her broom in fullview.
She was going to kill them all...
Damon and I Vamp sped to the group, grabbing Pesta as we passed them.
As soon as our skin touched hers, we fell to the floor.
I felt like I was going to throw up; something I hadn't felt in almost athousand years. The town seemed to spin and I looked to Damon, who looked to bein the same state.
I looked up at Pesta, who just looked at me blankly with her blacked out eyes.
"The pestilence reigns." Her whispered croak of a voice said.
She started to head away from us, moving in an almost float, like thestereotypical ghost.
I pulled out my phone with one hand, the other clutching my stomach.
"Bonnie." I choked out.
"What's happening?" She asked on the other end of the call.
"Pesta... We need you." I replied.
"I'm literally five seconds away from the bell tower." She said, and then theline went dead.
I looked to Damon, who was now lying on the floor, arms clenched around hismiddle.
"Damon." I whispered.
"I love you, Alex." He winced.
I watched as he lost consciousness, just as a pair of arms reached to grab me.
"No, I'm fine." I coughed. "Get Damon."

Stefan came into view, picking up his older brother.
I heard a spell being cast behind me, so I looked round, seeing Bonnie on the other side of the square.
It looked like Pesta was fighting her power, which left me only partially surprised.
With Damon's lifeless body gone from my side, Caroline helped me up and into her car.
Stefan was in the back with Damon, trying to get him to wake up.
"We need Bonnie and we need to get back to the boarding house, quickly." I choked out.
I covered my mouth as I cough, revealing blood in my palm.
"Crap..." I whispered to myself. I found myself on the couch at the house, slipping in and out of consciousness.
"Where's Damon?" I asked in a whisper.
"Don't you worry about him." I heard Astrid say.
"Did Bonnie get her?" I asked.
"Yes. She's in the cell. Bonnie's put a containment spell on it, just to be sure." My old friend replied.Just then, Bonnie came running into the room with an armful of candles, falling to her knees at my side."I think I can do it." She said to Astrid. "But I'm going to need your help, I've only ever dealt with magic this old once before."
Astrid nodded, kneeling up next to me.
Both the witch and the Heretic placed their hands palm-side down over my body, then recited a spell.
Within seconds, it felt like the sickness was being pulled from me, into their hands. Within a minute, I was better.
They stopped the spell and allowed me to sit up.
"Here." Stefan said, handing me a blood bag.
I drank all of it quickly, seeing Damon on the couch across from me, still and totally lifeless.
"Save your magic for Pesta, I've got this." I said to Bonnie and Astrid.
I knelt down on the floor next to my love and bit into my wrist.
"Vampire blood can't heal other Vampires." Stefan thought out loud.
"Mine can." I replied, putting my wrist to Damon's lips.
Within moments, Damon brought his hands up to grab my arm, drawing it in for more blood.
Eventually, he opened his eyes and saw it was me.
"How the Hell did you do that?" He asked.
"I can compel Vampires and I can heal them." I shrugged. "Call me an anomaly.""You never cease to surprise." Stefan chuckled in disbelief.
"Thank you." Damon whispered to me as he released my arm.
I gave him a small smile and a nod before kissing him.