Sitting on the couch, a pen idly floated above my finger, twirling according to my gestures. It's been two hours since I successfully resurrected Vicki Donovan. I ended up casting an invisibility spell over us while I hauled her back to my apartment.
It would be hard to explain to a cab driver why I was carrying around a naked girl in the middle of the night.
Moving on, she was asleep on the couch opposite me. The spell I used to pacify her was still in effect so I entertained myself by trying to emulate telekinesis through magic.
The result; with a simple gesture, the pen flew towards the wall, stopping just before it made contact, then returning to its place above me. I succeeded.
I now had it spinning in circles but before I could go further, the groaning from the formerly unconscious girl got my attention.
"Ughh what happened?" She groaned out, her eyes shooting wide in alarm a moment later.
Before she could start screaming questions again, I flicked my finger, the pen in the air shooting down and smacking her lips.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, hands shooting to her mouth.
"No shouting in here or I'll knock you out again." I warn, relaxing into the couch. It really is comfortable.
She opened her mouth, presumably to shout, before pausing and keeping them closed, eyes frightened.
"That's much better." I acknowledge. "Now, one question at a time, and let's use our inside voice."
She was silent, likely wondering where to even start. Just as I was about to peek into her mind, she asked her question.
"I died. How am I back here?" She asked, still trembling minutely.
"Easy, I made you a new body and brought you back." I answer, watching her squeeze her face in confused frustration. "Try not to think about it too hard."
"I'm not a vampire anymore. That insatiable hunger, I don't feel it." She said.
"I'd be surprised if you did. You know, all things considered." If she still felt the same hunger in this body then I would take that as a failure on my part.
She wouldn't even be a vampire anymore, she'd just be a cannibal.
"What are you going to do to me?" She asked, pulling my attention back to her.
Honestly I don't know what to do with her. If the spell worked, which it did, I planned on tossing her out on the streets to find her way home or drop her with the local police.
The essence of the archmage allowed me to teach others magic even if they lacked the ability to use it in the first place. While I could teach her and make her useful, I'm not putting magic in the hands of a junkie.
This place is already screwed up enough.
My extended silence seemed to frighten her, causing me to roll my eyes. "Will you stop looking at me like that? I just brought you back. I'm obviously not going to try and kill you."
"I thought about just tossing you home but you'd blab everything you know the second you get the chance." I added, causing her to shake her head quickly.
"I swear I won't tell anyone!" She said, trying to convince me.
"That may be true but you can still be compelled." I mused before pausing.
Wait a damn minute!
Getting off the couch, I see her try to shift away only to realize that she's seated with her back blocked.
"Please!" She cried as my hands went to the sides of her face.
"Tegrof!" I chanted, my hands glowing briefly before her cries grew weak. In a few moments, they stopped and I stepped back to see a confused Vicki shaking her head.
"What just happened?"
Why didn't I think of that earlier?
-[Vicki]-
What the hell was going on? Who was this guy? Idly noting that he looked good, it didn't explain what she was doing here.
The last thing she remembered was going to the costume party as Dracula and passing out in the back room.
"Who are you and what am I doing here?" She asked, hopping to her feet.
"Is that any way to talk to someone who saved your life?" The boy said, his tone smooth and sarcastic.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked before realizing something.
Whose clothes was she wearing? These weren't hers!
"I was taking a walk and saw you passed out in the woods." He said, tossing a bottle of water at her.
This didn't make any sense. She didn't remember taking any new drugs and none of her regulars cause her to forget this much and so easily.
On that subject, she felt different. Better than she'd felt in years.
"Drink up, we have to get you to the station so they can take you home." He said, causing her to perk up.
So he wasn't a creep? As soon as she thought that, a frown formed on his face.
"What?" She asked, confused.
-[Nathan]-
I have half a mind to toss her back to the other side. Call me a creep, why don't you?
On the flip side, she doesn't remember dying nor does she remember ever being a vampire and trying to kill Elena and Jeremy. I had to delve into her mind a few times to know which parts to erase but in the end, it worked.
Now, we just arrived at the station. Vicki is still wearing my clothes seeing as how her new body didn't come with clothes and I'm not sure how long magically crafted clothes will last.
I'm unsurprised when just minutes after I reported finding her in the woods, Sheriff Forbes is out of her office and on her way to us. It's almost 12am, this woman needs sleep.
Upon seeing Vicki, she heaves a sigh of relief. I can almost see a weight being lifted off her shoulders, almost.
"Good evening sheriff Forbes." The girl greeted quietly.
"Hey, Vicki. Where have you been? It's been two months and Matt's been worried sick." The woman asked softly, gently holding the girl by her arm.
"Two months?" Vicki asked, utterly confused. That confused the sheriff even further.
"Sheriff Forbes, can I speak with you in private for a moment?" I ask, finally getting her attention to turn to me.
She was confused but the knowing look I gave her as well as a sharp glance I made at Vicki had her agreeing.
"Okay. Vicki, wait here. I'll be back in a minute." She said, leading me into her office.
"Thank you for bringing her here…?" She spoke again as soon as we were out of ear shot.
"Nathan. Nathan Quinn." I supply helpfully.
Thank you Nathan. Where did you find her?" She asked, suspicious.
"Well that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I found her passed out in the woods earlier this evening. There was this guy there as well, a vampire." I explained, getting a surprised look from the woman.
Understandable.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked, wanting to make sure she was hearing me right.
"It was a vampire. I know the pattern. Bite to the neck and drained of blood." My words seemed to stomp her for a moment.
A quick peek into her mind tells me that she's contemplating what to say. "How do you know about vampires?"
I showed a cocky smile. "I've seen them before. Vicki got lucky that I found her when I did. The guy was about to take a bite out of her."
"And what happened to the vampire?" The sheriff asked, I could see her hand inching away from the table.
"He's dead. I staked him." Pulling out my phone, I showed her a picture I took of the vampire with the tree bark in his heart, corpse dried out.
I took the picture before I buried him so I could show it to her and gain her trust. After all, what better way is there to make allies than having a mutual goal.
Plus the woman did her best for the town.
Taking the phone from my hand, she spent a moment analyzing it. "What were you doing in the woods so late at night?" She asked, eyes still on the phone.
"I just moved to mystic falls about a week ago so I thought I'd explore the town a bit. This is not how I expected my walk to turn out but here we are." I said with a tired shrug.
Observing me for a moment, she handed the phone back to me.
"Well, thank you. Even though others may not know what you did, you're a hero." She said, genuinely grateful.
And I have successfully won her trust.
"Thank you, but there is one more thing." I said, making a show of looking around before continuing. "You said it's been two months since she went missing but she doesn't even remember being in the woods."
That stumped her for a moment before she gave the most possible answer. "Their ability to control the mind." She said with a grimace.
"Yeah, I thought as much. Anyways, I'll let you know if anything related comes up." I say, preparing to leave but she stops me.
"Not that I don't appreciate your help but you shouldn't be doing this. Kids your age should be having fun and meeting girls, not staking vampires." She said with what appeared to be sympathy.
I shake my head at that. "I still do all of that but I help out when I can. If it helps keep the town I'm in safer then sign me up." I could almost groan at the words coming out of my mouth.
Yes I wanted the town to be safe, I live here now after all. I could have phrased my words better to not sound like something out of a superhero cartoon.
"I see. Well, have a good night." She looked grateful yet reluctant.
"Good night, Sheriff." I say, leaving the office. And that is one ally acquired. Now I just want to lay in bed and pass out.