"Where in God's name have you been?" Dad scolds the moment I step through the door.

  He wastes no time considering me, only rushes forward to engulf me in his large arms. He squeezes me to him, refusing to give me an inch. My heart feels heavy with guilt as I lean into his warmth, my own arms wrapping around him as tight as I can.

  "I'm sorry," I whimper, tears pricking my eyes.

  In an instant everything drifts away. I forget my friends standing directly behind me. I even forget about Damon, who continued to scowl the entire drive here. My entire plan vanishes from my mind, being replaced only be the momentary comfort of his embrace.

  "Why aren't you at work?" I manage to ask, pulling back from him before I give into my tears.

  "You think I could go to work while I had no idea where you where? I've been worried sick!" Dad's voice rises, his hands holding me in place as he scans my battered appearance. "What happened to you?"

  "Oh, I just lost track of time at Zeke's hou-" I start to recite the agreed upon lie when Dad suddenly releases me, now crossing his arms in disapproval.

  "Don't you dare lie to me," he commands with a sharp shake of his head.

  "But-" I start again, only to be interrupted once more.

  "I know you were not at Zeke's house," he states, finally acknowledging our company with narrowed eyes. "Your mother has been frantic," he scolds, his gaze hardening as he directs a reprimanding finger in Zeke's direction. .

  "My mom, oh shit..." Zeke mumbles to himself, nervously glancing in the direction of his house as he runs his hand through his hair.

  "Although, maybe I should have let her call the police," Dad sighs as his attention sweeps back to me, narrowing in on the bloody and bruised skin showing through my tattered sweatshirt.

  "No," I jump in with a shrug, trying to act as casual as possible, "we are completely fine."

  "Fine?" He bellows incredulously. "No, this is not fine! We need to file a report. Whoever has done this to you will need to pay." Dad continues more to himself as he turns away, heading into the kitchen where his phone sits on the counter.

  "Oh God," I whisper under my breath, nibbling nervously on my lip as I try to think of a way to stop him. "He can't call anyone," I declare urgently, turning back to my friends with an unspoken plea.

  "Are you saying you want us to stop him?" Elena asks softly, her eyes darting to my dad's back.

  "He can't get anyone else involved," I state, my voice rising as panic begins to cloud in on my emotions. "I need him safe, I need to keep them all safe."

  Just as I hear the faint beep of dad pressing a button on his phone I feel a rush of wind breeze past me. To quickly for me to see, Damon is suddenly at his side, his eyes intensely burrowing into Dad's.

  "Put the phone down," Damon instructs softly, his voice gentle and soothing, "everything is fine. We just lost track of time bringing Nereza home."

  "Time can get away from you," Dad mumble to himself, his whole demeanor softening as his worries drain away.

  "You should head to work, it's just another day." Damon suggests, finally glancing back at me almost apologetically.

  "Sorry for not sticking around," Dad abruptly announces, a bounce back in his step as he strides back towards us. "I need to get back to work," he explains, sliding into his jacket with a new goal in mind.

  "We understand," Stefan offers with a cool smile, opening the door for him.

  "Gotta bring home the bacon," Dad jokes with a final wave goodbye before stepping out the door and jogging to the driveway.

  Cold sweat breaks over my skin as I watch him disappear into his beat up old car. It's earie how with just a word his entire focus can be changed. Absentmindedly my fingers wrap around the pendent at my neck.

  "You okay?" Stefan asks, closing the door and blocking my view.

  "Yea," I answer, snapping back into the moment. "Had to be done," I explain, unsure if I am trying to convince them or myself.

  "So, what now?" Zeke asks, allowing himself to fall over the armrest of the couch and land back onto the cushions.

  "Don't fall asleep," Damon barks with an annoyed glance down at him before stepping to my side. I resist the urge to lean into him, knowing if I give in I will crumble apart.

  "Like I could if I wanted to," Zeke grumbles, shifting so that he is sitting normally on the couch.

  "We need to come up with a plan," Elena announces, eyeing me as she leans against the armrest beside Zeke.

  "Like anything we have come up with has worked out," Zeke shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest in a pout.

  "I just need to think," I whisper to myself, nibbling on my lower lip as I try to make sense out of my thoughts.

  I cover my face with my hands, blocking everyone out as I try to concentrate. Their voices surround me, but I no longer listen to what they have to say. They don't know the whole story, they don't know what I have seen.

  What will they say when I tell them?

  I can feel their eyes on me, only making the pressure to figure everything out build even higher inside. I rub my eyes, desperate for some peace, but the chaos inside my mind only continues to thrash against me.

  I wish I had that book, I wish I could look inside and see it all laid out in front of me. Maybe then I would be able to believe it. Maybe then it wouldn't feel like I was just hallucinating in my overwhelmed state.

  No matter how unreal it feels, I cannot continue to deny the truth that has been shown to me. I cannot deny what I know needs to be done. Now I only need to find a way, and muster up the courage.

  "Hey," pressure on my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts, "what's going on with you?" Damon asks softly, his hand gently running over my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.

  If only I could curl into his touch, hide myself in the safety that he offers. My body yearns to do so, to run off with him and to never look back. To insist that this is someone else's problem and that I am just a normal girl who can't do anything against the monsters.

  Normal, I still feel so normal, but deep down I know what is there. If I concentrate on it, I can feel it, the darkness.

  What will Damon say? I avoid looking up at him, as I step out of his touch. I brace myself, my muscles tensing even as I take a deep breath. I cannot put it off any longer.

  "I know why she is here," the words feel heavy on my tongue as I force myself to speak.

  "Looks like she is trying to set up a ritual," Stefan speculates before I can push myself to say more.

  "But why would she take Reza?" Zeke asks, turning to sit sideways so he can see everyone.

  "Well, it has to have something to do with the book," Elena adds, "the scripture probably tells her how to do the ritual."

  "You saw the book?" I jump in, my body igniting at the mention of it.

  "Yea, you will never believe it," Zeke exclaims, his eyes getting wide as his excitement shines through, "it wasn't empty at all! It has-"

  "I know," I cut in, not able to sit and listen to him explain what I have already seen.

  "But how?" Zeke questions with a raise of his brow, leaning back now that I cut off his excitement.

  "I saw it," I answer quietly with a shrug, "while everything was going down."

  "But," Zeke starts again, growing silent when I shake my head with a sigh.

  This is harder than I thought, why can't I find the words for what I'm trying to say?

  "I didn't physically see it," I try to explain, heat rising in my cheeks as I realize how ridiculous that sounds. "When one of them touched me, I was able to see things."

  "A zombie touched you?" Zeke exclaims in horror as his entire body cringes.

  "Saw things like what? A vision?" Stefan asks, focusing on the important details.

  "Yea, I guess," I whisper, feeling stupid and unsure of how to explain it.

  "You're a witch?" Damon asks quietly, but his words feel accusing.

  "No," I shake my head vehemently, memories of Damon cursing witches flashing across my mind. "Not exactly, at least."

  "That's so cool! Show us some magic," Zeke demands, his excitement coming back in full force.

  "This isn't a game," Damon scolds, but his eyes never leave me. I can feel them, like a heat searing into my very being.

  "It's not like that," I glance to Zeke before once again averting my eyes, fidgeting as my nerves get the best of me. "It's more like..."

  I hesitate as a familiar throb bursts in the back of my mind. It pulses through me, throwing me off balance and interrupting my every thought. My stomach sinks, a queasiness settling over me as I realize we are out of time.

  "Guys," I start but am interrupted by Damon, Elena, and Stefan jumping to alert.

  "What's going on?" Zeke whispers, almost falling off the couch as he tries to get to his feet quickly.

  He is answered by a strong knock on the door.

  I tense, not entirely sure what to expect. Damon's mouth tightens into a thin line as he glances to his brother. With a slight nod he steps forward, and opens the door.

  A chill settles in the room, freezing us in place as all eyes fall upon the last person any of us expects to see at my door step. My stomach twists with unease, bile rising in my throat as my mind struggles to understand.

  How is he here?

  The cool autumn breeze blows in threw the open door, making me unsure if the shivers that course threw my body are from the temperature or Leo's sudden appearance. His long neck now straightened, his head held high in defiance of all logic. His blond hair ruffles forward, falling over his pale blue eyes that stare blankly in at us. His ashen lips crack into a smile, the only sign of life that emits from his deceased body.

  At least, I could have sworn he was dead.

  "But..." Zeke whimpers, breaking the silence as he steps back. Like a spell being broken, suddenly everyone is in motion.

  A growl rumbles through the air, so primal that the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Damon lunges forward, his fingers digging into Leo's dingy shirt as he pulls him through the threshold of my home. With a rage I've never before witnessed, he throws Leo against the wall. The force of the impact shakes through the room, so strong that it nearly knocks our pictures off the wall.

  Damon doesn't seem to notice, his every attention focused on the man in his grasp who only stares down at him unfazed. My mouth falls open in horror, unable to figure out what to do. I watch in morbid fascination as Damon's strong fingers tighten around the tanned neck that just earlier today looked so mutilated.

  Is it even possible to kill him?

  Stefan rushes to the door, closing it to block out the world. Or maybe he is protecting the world from what is about to happen in here.

  "Tell me why I shouldn't rip you apart right now," Damon seethes, his fangs growing more prominent with every word.

  "Oh, we all know that you're the big, bad vampire," Leo taunts, not even blinking at the threats thrown his way. "But if you kill me, you'll never know why I came."

  "I don't care why your here," Damon snaps, his fingers tightening around Leo's throat.

  "Then kill me," Leo dares, lifting his chin up defiantly.

  "Damon," Stefan calls, taking a slow step toward the two.

  "Don't Damon me," Damon scoffs, not breaking eye contact with Leo.

  "We might want to hear what he has to say," Stefan tries again, taking a small step forward as a threat to step in.

  "You think you can lay a finger on her and get away unharmed?" Damon snarls, his intensity only rising as his anger continues to urge him on.

  "I'm ok," I whisper as I move closer to him.

  My heart twists in my chest as emotions drown me. I knew he was worried, Elena pretty much told me so, but seeing Damon so affected has my head spinning. He would kill Leo if he had the chance. Never in my life would I think I'd meet someone willing to kill for me. More than that, I never could have imagined I'd be in a situation where that would even become an option.

  "Let him go," I urge, my fingers tremble as I reach out and brush them against Damon's hard back. I can feel his muscles clenching under my touch, his body tensing for just a moment more before he releases his hold on Leo.

  A soft grunt escapes Leo as he falls to the floor, his limbs falling lifelessly around him for just an instant. With a labored breath he seems to draw new life, and he looks back up at us with a wicked grin. Damon glares down at him, his eyes crazed with hate before he turns his back and steps away. I can still hear his heavy breathing from behind me, but I do not dare to turn and look at him.

  "Pity," Leo sighs, picking himself off the floor and languidly brushing away invisible dust from his jeans. "I would have liked to see her ravage the town."

  "What are you talking about?" Stefan demands, but Leo pays him little attention.

  "She is impressed with you, you know" Leo compliments, his eyes roaming over me as if to consider me a new. "Even if she is displeased that you got away." A cruel smile tugs at his lips, his eyes darkening with possibilities as he continues. "Don't hold me to it, but she seemed to even be considering taking you under her wing. Not that she would allow you to keep it all for yourself of course."

  I try not to fidget, but it's like I can feel his gaze slithering over me. I absentmindedly take a step back, unable to stand being near him. Even just the sight of him makes my skin crawl. I feel too close to him, connected to him, and it makes me feel sick. I can feel him, his every move that he makes seems to draw from me. Little threads connecting his every limb to some dark place in my mind.

  I can make him do anything I want.

  The realization dawns on me, but rather than make me feel powerful it just makes my stomach roll again. What is this thing that has awakened in me?

  "Enough," Stefan cuts in, but his words seem distant and unclear "what do you want here?"

  Lost in the depths of my own being, searching for the core of this evil presence that throbs within me, I hardly pay attention to what goes on around me.

  "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Leo jibes, casually leaning back against the wall as if completely in his element. "Isn't it obvious?"

  "Why are you after Reza?" Elena demands, her voice hard and demanding like I have never before heard her.

  "Oh, hasn't she told you yet?" Leo's words cut though me, his eyes narrowing at me with a new-found mischief that makes my stomach drop.

  "Someone rudely interrupted us," Zeke accuses.

  "Oh, by all means," Leo chirps in, waving his hand in invitation, "please continue."

  My mouth runs dry as I nervously glance from Leo to my friends beside me. Like me, they seem unsure where to direct their attention. Eyes darting back and forth, everyone waiting for an explanation.

  "No?" Leo taunts, a grin breaking out over his face.

  I know I need to say something, they deserve to hear the truth, yet I can't get my mouth to open. My tongue is heavy and dead in my mouth, refusing to form words. I avert my gaze, defeat and confusion overcoming me. I was struggling with this before, but now it just feels impossible to face with Leo here.

  "Then allow me," Leo announces, pushing himself from the wall and strolling across the room, slowly circling me. "We want all that delicious power of course."

  "I've known Reza my entire life," Zeke jumps in, turning his head so that his eyes never stray from Leo, "she never had anything magical about her until all this."

  "Well yea," Leo chuckles, obviously enjoying his moment in the spot light. "It wasn't hers until recently."

  My head spins, closing my eyes once more I try to center myself. His words echo in my mind, clashing with the never-ending throbbing that has been there since the moment I found that book.

  "It was hidden you see," Leo continues, his voice coming from somewhere behind me now, but I do not bother to follow his movement. There is no need to watch him, I can feel everything he does. "Truth be told, most of this chaos can be blamed on you. Honestly, we have been here for months, and yet no one had any idea there was anything amiss. You all start taking action and its suddenly an apocalypse on our hands. Have no idea how troublesome it has been to keep your mess in control."

  "You cannot be saying that this was all Reza's fault!" Elena scolds, making me cringe into myself.

  "Oh, but it is." Leo laughs, having come full circle and standing before me once more. "isn't that right?"

  "I'm sorry," I whimper, finally opening my eyes and glancing to my friends.

  Mixed emotions stare back at me. Confusion, worry, and maybe even a little fear as they all try to make sense of this situation. I'm not handling this right, everything is coming out wrong. I need to fix this.

  "You shouldn't be apologizing. Most novice necromancers can hardly make a body twitch. You rose an entire cemetery and had them running all over town without even meaning to. It was quite amazing really." Leo studies me, his glee at tormenting me momentarily forgotten as he considers something. "Then again with everything your mother did, I should have at least guessed a little." He mutters under his breath. His hand slowly rising, reaching out as if to stroke my cheek.

  A growl erupts through the room as Damon rushes to my side, capturing Leo's wrist in a tight hold. A squeak escapes me as I jump back, gawking at his sudden appearance. The muscles in his jaw tenses as if he is barely keeping it together. His dark eyes blaze down at Leo, an unspoken threat that is made clear.

  "Oh, trust me vampire, she doesn't need you to protect her." Leo grins.

  "You will not touch her again," Damon demands through clenched teeth before shoving Leo.

  Leo stumbles back, catching himself on the wall behind him before he crashes to the floor. Rubbing his wrist, he narrows his eyes on me once more. Enjoyment now faded away, his gaze is hard and hateful.

  "Look at that, you have all these people trying to help you. Not that you deserve it. You really do know how to just ruin everything don't you?"

  "Hey!" Zeke shouts defensively.

  "All this death and destruction is on you, and yet they still want to defend you. How cute." Leo sneers.

  "That is enough," Stefan jumps in, the warning clear in his voice.

  "How many more people are you willing to let get hurt for you?" Leo continues unfazed.

  "It's not her fault!" Elena shouts, stepping forward angrily, her fists clenched at her side.

  "Really?" Leo's glare flashes to her, his body tensing with anger. "I am dead because of her! All my work for nothing! Now I am just another pawn like all the other stiffs we work with," he roars.

  "Don't expect any of us to mourn you," Damon states, completely void of emotion.

  "No, I suppose not," Leo agrees, returning his attention to me. "But I am not the only life on her hands," he continues, his mouth twitching into a taunting grin. "I mean, I wonder what it feels like to know your own mother died because of you."

  "My mother was trying to protect me!" I shout, my entire body coming alive. How dare he speak about her!

  "A lot of good that did," he pushes, feeding off my outburst. "Killed herself so you wouldn't have to live like her, and yet here we are. Again, you just ruin everything."

  My heart crushes in on itself as his words pierce right through me. He is right, and that just hurts me even more. My own mother is dead because she didn't want me to have this power, but I messed it up. Why did I have to go searching for answers? Why couldn't I have been happy with what I had in life. I had to look in that stupid book and mess everything up!

  "That is enough," Stefan announces, stepping between Leo and me. "No more fun and games. Why are you here?"

  "As I said, how many more people need to die for you?" Leo answers, even as he continues to only regard me.

  "What does she want?" I ask, my voice shaking even as I try to stand my ground.

  "All you have to do is go back," he shrugs as if it's an insignificant thing. "Return to her and she will leave."

  "That isn't going to happen," Damon jumps in, but Leo and I do not pay any attention to him.

  "She won't hurt anyone else?" I continue, even as I can feel the incredulous stares from my friends.

  "She promises," Leo answers with a twisted smile, "once she has your power for herself she will disappear."

  "But she is going to hurt other people," I wonder aloud. Part of me wants to give in. Agree to the deal and just make it all go away. Deep down however, I know that won't work.

  "What does it matter to you? It's not like you know will know any of them."

  "I just want to keep everyone safe," I mutter to myself, pleading with my mind to come up with a better plan.

  "Well I can promise if you don't go, she is going to destroy this town. Think the walking dead was scary before? They weren't even attacking really. Wait till she tells them to kill everyone." Leo grins wider, whatever images he imagines obviously bringing him some joy.

  Bile rises in my throat, threatening to make me sick. Flashes of undead ripping the flesh off of my friends' seer into my mind. I feel week, my knees shaking with fear even as my resolve hardens. I will not let this happen.

  "Shut up!" Zeke shouts at him, panic evident in his voice.

  "We won't let that happen," Stefan declares, trying to assure me.

  "Should have just killed you the moment you arrived, " Damon grumbles dangerously low, his eyes hard as he glares at Leo.

  "Oh, come now," Leo teases, not paying them any attention, "it won't be all bad. Could be a nice little family reunion."

  I bite my lip to stop myself from yelling at him, to stop from lashing out. I will not give him the pleasure of a response, he is just saying whatever he can to try and make things worse. Kicking me when I'm down, and I'm not going to let him continue.

  "You little-" Damon starts to move toward him, but for once I act quicker.

  With a wave of my hand I sever the ties that connect us. A release floods over me as a burden is removed, the throbbing in my mind easing. Removing the life I provided him, Leo slumps to the ground motionless once more.

  "Oh my god," Zeke whispers as he stares at Leo, and then at me.

  "What did you do?" Elena asks, sounding more curious than accusing.

  "I don't know," I shrug, feeling unsure of myself, "I just took back the life I gave him to begin with."

  "That is so cool, but a little scary..." Zeke's voice dwindles away as he cautiously pokes Leo's outstretched leg with his foot.

"  How did they know about Reza?" Stefan asks, bringing us back to what's important.

  "Right, there was no signs to point to anything like this." Elena agrees, running her hands through her hair as she tries to think.

  "Are they wanting to kill you? Is that what he meant by the family reunion thing? Reuniting with your mom and all that?" Zeke asks, turning to me with wide eyes as the thought dawns on him.

  "Maybe, but I think it was something else." I sigh, knowing I need to come clean about everything I know. We can't waist any more time.

  "What then?" Zeke pushes.

  "I think he was trying to make a dig at me, trying to hurt me a bit more." I nibble on my lip as I take a breath, pushing myself to continue. Guilt crashes down on me, threatening to take me out. This is all my fault. I brought this here, it's because of who I am that everyone is in danger.

  "About what?" Zeke urges again, his eagerness for answers obvious in his town.

  "It's the same reason they knew to look for me, why they know so much about my family," my voice quivers as I struggle to find the words. I force myself to look at them, to not hide away from this. "They know, because she is my family. That woman is my Grandmother."