"I'm feeling peckish," Caroline said from the bed, eyes still closed. Of course the first thing she'd say as a vampire would be something like that. Peckish… for blood.
"That's good, because I just stole five blood bags from down the hall," I replied, still cautious. I mean, I did snap her neck a few hours ago.
Care finally opened her eyes and smiled. "Is it weird that I'm kind of excited about drinking blood? Because two days ago I thought sleeping with bloodsuckers was kind of kinky."
"Now you're the kinky one," I smirked. Caroline was still her perky self — just with fangs now.
She winked, grabbed a blood bag, and drank it like it had a straw. The moment the blood hit her tongue, her eyes flashed red, black veins spread under her eyes, and her fangs popped out before she forced them back. For a newborn vampire, that was incredible control. My Buffy was no Bella Swan — she was already killing it.
"I come bearing presents, by the way," I said once she finished the last bag.
"You mean the ones you forgot to buy for Christmas?" she asked, dripping sarcasm. Yeah, she wasn't letting that go anytime soon.
"Sure, why not," I rolled my eyes. "I brought you a ring and a bracelet." I slipped them onto her hand.
"This blue stone…" she said, staring at the ring. "This is a daylight ring, isn't it?"
"Of course. My books say it's extremely rare for vampires to have them, but that's not the case when your sister‑from‑another‑mister is an awesome Bennett witch." I sat beside her on the bed.
"Bonnie…" Caroline whispered, overwhelmed. Vampire emotions were stronger — she was still adjusting.
"The bracelet is even more important," I continued, fastening it around her wrist. "It's an amulet I spelled. It'll help with the bloodlust. This way you don't have to change your whole life."
"You mean I can go to school? Be with Matt?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Of course. You're Caroline the Vampire now, but that doesn't mean you're not Caroline Forbes. Being a vampire just adds to the awesome person you already were." I pulled her into a hug.
She stayed quiet for a moment before snorting. "You know the bracelet works — a few seconds ago I wanted to rip your throat out."
"Bitch, as if you could," I laughed. "I'm still the wicked witch. I can still wipe the floor with you, sister."
"I'm Buffy the Vampire. Dark Willow couldn't possibly kick my ass," she said, throwing a pillow at my face.
I grinned and threw it back. This felt like… home.
I closed the front door with my foot and sighed. It hadn't gone exactly as expected, but Care was alive and well — as she was meant to be.
Things were speeding up. Season one was done, and season two was beginning. Katherine Pierce was in town, and soon enough the Mikaelsons would follow. But first came the new season plot: goddamn werewolves.
"I saw what happened," Emily said, appearing like she always did — uninvited.
"I guess when you're dead there's not much to do besides spying on your descendants," I muttered. "Katherine's in town."
"I know. I saw her," Emily said. "What is my old friend up to?"
"Trying to charm Stefan away from Elena while tormenting Damon," I smirked. Classic Katherine Pierce — or Katerina Petrova. "She's playing the game."
"What do you plan on doing?" Emily asked.
"Right now? I'm back in this haunted house for a simple reason: I need to power up. Katherine is a problem, but the ones coming after her are much worse."
"Who?" Emily asked, suddenly interested.
"The Originals, of course," I said, sitting on the wooden floor with a grimoire and a candle. Time to level up.
I called Caroline to check on her and warn her I'd be busy for a few days — and where she could find me. Then I made a list:
1) Control the elements and start mixing them.Status: ongoing. Ready to start mixing water and air.
2) Learn teleportation.Status: ongoing. Adding distance to astral projection. Distance is key.
3) Make Emily tell me about the Gilbert rings. Brainstorm solutions.Status: to be initiated. Important for dealing with the Original Witch.
4) Get the moonstone. Be one step ahead.Status: as soon as Mason hides it. Skinny‑dipping in vervain never bothered me.
5) Make a Craigslist account. Contact Slater.Status: to be initiated. Need info on Klaus.
Some things were missing, but that was the gist. I also needed cash — and I was not calling my dad. So I decided to cross off one item and get money at the same time.
I grabbed my phone, turned on the internet, and created a Craigslist ad:
"From the darkness into the light — crafting sun jewelry for money.– WickedWitchBennett"
That should get Slater's attention. If I remembered right, he didn't have a ring and definitely wanted one. I needed money and information — perfect plan. Now I just had to wait.
I walked through the carnival with Caroline, who was jumpy as hell. More like she was on crack. She couldn't stay still, and every sound grabbed her attention.
"You okay, Care?" I asked. "Maybe coming today was a bad idea."
"What? Of course!" she said quickly. "This is so cool. I'm hearing everything — heartbeats, conversations. Without the bracelet I'd probably have munched on a few humans already."
"Well, I'm glad it's working," I said, still worried. "If anything happens, call me. I've got your back."
"Of course you do," she said, giving me a side hug. "I just feel so energized. Like I've been asleep forever and I'm finally awake."
"And your emotions?" I asked quietly.
"A hundred miles per hour," she said. "If I think about my parents' marriage, I cry. If I think about Matt, I giggle. It's freaky."
"You knew it would be like this," I reminded her. Vampire emotions were their greatest weakness.
"Yes — and I tried the mind‑control thing. It worked," she said proudly.
"Who did you try it on?" I asked, alarmed.
"I went to the supermarket, and this woman tried to steal the last bottle of my favorite wine. I told her to back off — and she did. With a dazed look."
"You got out of the hospital and went to buy wine?" I asked, baffled.
"Duuh. I died. I deserved a large glass of wine. I even added some blood to it," she said, as if it were the most normal thing ever.
"Anyway…" she continued. "Salvatores at two o'clock. Are they checking out Mason Lockwood's ass?"
I looked — and yeah, the brothers were staring at Mason. Hot damn, I forgot how good‑looking he was. Too bad Kitty Kat already had her claws in him.
"They're checking him out, but not his ass," I whispered. "They're checking his strength."
Caroline frowned just as Damon sent Stefan to arm‑wrestle the wolf. Mason won easily. Caroline turned to me with a what the actual fuck expression.
"Wolf," I said simply.
"Hot damn," she whispered. "I'll make sure to stay away. Just my luck that the ancient enemy of my species is so damn hot."
Before they could leave, Damon stopped us.
"Hello ladies," he said. "Caroline, good to see you're all good."
"I suppose I have to thank you for that," she said with a small smile.
Damon frowned and looked at me — then noticed the blue ring on her finger.
"The hell, witchy?" he growled, grabbing my wrist.
"Unhand me before I fry your brain in front of the whole town," I said calmly.
"Explain."
"Katherine's in town. Caroline died in her hospital bed. I made her a ring. And before you try to stake her — she's been here all night and she's not even peckish."
Damon studied her, then nodded. "You're telling Stefan and Elena. I want nothing to do with this mess. You approved the use of my blood — now you deal with the consequences."
"I'm right here," Caroline huffed.
"Agreed," I said. I was already planning on it.
"Also, you don't happen to know what's up with the surfer?" Damon asked.
"Oh, I do," I smirked, grabbing Caroline's hand and pulling her toward the car. "But where's the fun in telling you?"
Damon stood there, stunned, while Caroline giggled beside me. I wasn't an oracle — if he wanted answers, he'd have to learn that nothing with me was free.
My phone buzzed.
A reply to my Craigslist ad.
Things were looking up.