CHAPTER FOUR

"I hate you." Jess pants as they walk into the Bell's market.

"Sure you do." Nyx smirks as the three of them go to get some water.

"How many miles was that?" Jenna asks.

"Three." Jess says before downing her bottle of water.

They hear something shatter, and Nyx turns in the direction that it came from. "What the hell was that?" Her aunt questions, and Nyx disappears when she hears Damon coughing and someone else laughing.

"Vervain in your bourbon. Who didn't see that one coming?" The mystery guy asks.

"Hey, dumbass hurting my friend." Nyx says, and he looks at her. "Gotta admit, I didn't see you coming."

"Nycole." He smiles. "The vampire he's in love with who won't admit she wants to jump his bones."

"Excuse me?" She questions as he picks up an oversized umbrella.

"You're as transparent as he is." He says and then looks​ at her. "Who buys patio furniture from a grocery store? I mean, somebody must, otherwise it wouldn't be here, but..."

"Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand." She says as Jenna runs up behind her.

"Now, I'm a little unfamiliar with vampires, but from what I've gathered, a stake to the heart should kill you." He says, and she starts to move toward him. He swings the umbrella — whose handle he snapped — and shatters the other bottles of bourbon.

Nyx and Damon both scream as Jenna shields herself from the glass. The liquor is burning the vampires' skin.

"I didn't know which bottle you'd take... So, I vervained them all." He says as he looks at the vampires who are on the floor.

He raises the umbrella, and then Jess kicks the back of his knee, causing his leg to buckle. He looks up at the blonde, and she smiles.

"Weren't expecting​ that one, were you?" She asks as Jenna pulls Nyx out of the vervain laced bourbon, then she helps Damon.

The mystery guy goes for the umbrella he dropped and quickly​ gets​ to his feet. Jess ducks under it when he swings it at her, and she looks back at him. Jenna goes to help, but he spins around and grabs her by her throat before pinning her to the shelf. He presses the splintered end of the umbrella to her side and applies a little pressure.

"Stay away from them." Bonnie says as she walks up behind Nyx and Damon.

"The useless one is here. Thank God." He says sarcastically. "I've watched you try to do magic for months now. What are you gonna do, fail at me? It's embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for you."

Jenna grabs the umbrella and twists it out of his hand. She shoves him back, and he looks between the three women who are completely unharmed. He moves at Jess again, and she kicks him in the stomach.

Bonnie looks at Nyx and Damon, seeing the burns on their skin barely healing. She then looks at a candle and it lights on its own. Jess gets a grip on him and forces him around.

"Uh-oh." He mutters when he sees the candle beside Bonnie.

"Run." Bonnie says as she looks back at the vampires. They get up, grabbing Jess and Jenna as they go. She turns her attention back to their mystery friend. "Phasmatos incendia." She chants, and a circle of fire goes up around him.

"Okay. Okay, okay." He holds his hands up in surrender.

"Giving up so soon?" She questions. "I'm embarrassed for you."

Damon hits him over the head, successfully knocking him out. "I'm sorry I called you the most annoying person in the world." He says as he looks at Bonnie. "I hadn't​ met him yet." He tells her, and she smiles.

"Who the hell is this freak?" Nyx asks as she walks back over to them​ with the other two.

"Said his name's Kai." Damon tells her.

"That was kinda fun." Jess says. "Minus the part where he tried to kill you two. The rest, the fight — that was fun."

Nyx laughs as he looks at her. "Oh, yeah. He definitely has good taste in women." The brunette says, and Jess smiles at her. "Sammy knows how to pick 'em."

—

"You're awake. Good." Damon says as he turns away from the fireplace to look at Kai, who's tied to a chair in the library. "Now for the Q and A portion of the evening."

"Let me guess." Kai says. "I answer right, I get a pork rind. Wrong, I get a poker." He looks between the two things in Damon's hands.

"What? No, no, no." He puts the bag behind his back. "These are for me. You just get the poker." He presses it against Kai's chest.

"Yeah, you don't have to do that."

"No?"

"We're on the same team." He says, and Jess scoffs.

"Really?" Nyx questions as she walks up beside Damon. "And do you always try to kill your teammates?"

"The important thing is that she has her magic back." Kai looks at Bonnie. "It worked." He says, and Damon and Nyx look at each other. "What, you— You didn't really think I'd kill you two, did you?" He chuckles as he looks at them. "In what universe does that make sense?"

"See, that's my problem." Nyx says as she looks back at him. "I don't know what universe we're in. And I don't know you."

"I wouldn't kill two-sixths of our population." He tells her, and she narrows her eyes as she looks at Jess.

"A third?" The blonde mouths, and she shrugs.

"I'm not a monster."

"Says the guy who attacked them for no reason." Jenna raises her eyebrows.

"I knew Bonnie would show up. She always comes back, all thirteen times." He says, and Damon and Bonnie look at each other. "And I knew with the right motivation, she'd be able to access her magic. Although, heh, I did get a little worried with all your bickering that Damon's life wouldn't be enough motivation. That's why I waited for the trio of workout buddies to show up."

"So, you did all that just to make sure I'd have my magic?" Bonnie questions.

"Of course I did."

"Mm." Nyx nods. "And why did I need to take vervain to the face? Why do you care what any of us do?"

"Because Bonnie's magic is the key to getting the hell out of here." Kai tells them, and the other five all look at each other.