The Craving (The Vampire Diaries 16)

"He mentioned Klaus?" she asked, speaking more into her glass than to me. "Everyone knows about him. He was one of the first vampires. "

A hush seemed to descend over the restaurant, and the gas lamps flickered. I clutched my glass of vodka.

"He is directly descended from Hell. Any piece of good, any sense of morality, anything at all that keeps you and me - and even Damon - from becoming a completely twisted, raving monster of pure evil - none of that is in him. There is nothing human about him. He has minions, other old ones who do his bidding. No one's ever seen Klaus - or at least lived to tell about it!"

I digested this horrifying information, wrapping my hands around my glass. "This. . . thing said we took Katherine. "

Lexi paled. "If she was important to Klaus and he believes that you and your brother are responsible for what happened to her, you're in serious trouble. "

"He mentioned a curse. Do you know what he's talking about?"

Lexi drummed her fingers against the table, her brow furrowing. "Curse? Many vampires consider being confined to wander at night a curse, but I don't know what Katherine had to do with that. "

"Do you think he. . . did he turn her into a vampire?" I asked.

"That's irrelevant," Lexi said. "It's doesn't matter how or why he cares about her - just that he does. You have your own fate to worry about. "

I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated. Once again Katherine had found a way to insert herself into my life and create havoc. While I felt guilty about what had happened to Katherine, I still blamed her for destroying my family, for turning my life into the mess it was now.

Katherine had been nothing but selfish. She'd toyed with me and Damon, when Damon fell in love with her and I. . . well, was falling in lust with her, not once did she think about the possible dangers for us. That we would die, that our brotherhood would be severed irreparably, that her sire might eventually catch up to her, hell-bent on revenge.

"I have to get rid of him," I said.

Lexi shook her head. "You're not 'getting rid' of anything that old and powerful,

my young stripling. You're just a babe - and on top of that, your diet of rodents and birds hasn't exactly strengthened you. You and your brother working together couldn't defeat him. I couldn't take him on. "

"Well, what do I do?" I demanded, my voice taking on a hard, determined edge. I had just been letting everything that had come along in my life control me - Damon and his stupid plans, getting married. . . . It was time I acted.

Lexi rubbed her temples. "The best you can hope for right now is to figure out what his plans are - and then avoid them. You will need to live long enough to figure out a way to vanquish this old one, before he has a chance to tell Klaus where you are. "

I nodded, thinking. "We need to go back to the mansion. "

Lexi opened her mouth, but I put up my hand. "I know - but maybe he left something behind. "

Lexi squared her jaw. "I'll go with you. My senses are more finely tuned than yours. "

"You don't need finely tuned senses to catch the scent of Hell," I told her, "but I appreciate the help. "

Chapter 23

We hailed a carriage heading uptown - Lexi told me I needed to save my strength for whatever came next - and got out without bothering to pay. This was what life was like for one such as Lexi, powerful and simple in her wants and desires. She didn't need any intricate, crazy plans for amassing wealth. She could compel anyone to do anything she asked, and life was incredibly easy.

It was tempting, especially the aspect that was nonviolent. No one was hurt in any of her activities, except financially.

Lexi must have read my thoughts because she grinned at me and waggled her eyebrows. "You should stick with me, my friend. Life like this can be sweet, not a curse," she offered.

I shook my head, smiling. "Thanks, but as you keep saying, I have my own path. "

By the time we made it to the Sutherland mansion, its windows were dark and already draped in festoons of black crepe. In the strange half-light of the early hour, dew sparkled eerily off the matte cloth. The house was cordoned off.

I gently forced the lock. Neither Lexi nor I made any noise until we came into the living room, when she gave a gasp.

The coroners had removed the bodies but not done any cleanup work. The vast amounts of blood from their ripped-up bodies had seeped into the carpet and stained the marble floors beneath. Dark black splatters of dried blood covered the walls, matching the crepe outside.

"My god," Lexi whispered. "He massacred them. "

I fell back into a chair, overwhelmed with guilt. It hadn't been long since I had discovered the poor family here, their bodies still warm with rapidly fleeting life. Backward and backward my thoughts ran, remembering the things I had done wrong, all of which had led up to this sad climax.