It was mid-morning of the next day that Caroline got a text from an unknown number. Her smile fell as she read it. "Lucy." Her voice trembled as she held the phone out to her best friend.

Lucy's brow furrowed as she took the phone. Lexi zoomed over to read over her shoulder.

I want the moonstone or I start killing. This town is overdue for a slaughter. Tonight at the masquerade.

"Katherine. Great," Lucy said as she typed out a response.

"The Katherine?" Lexi asked.

Lucy nodded as the bitch responded. "Fuck." She tossed the phone to the blonde beside her and went over to pour herself a drink. Lexi read over the rest of the exchange.

We don't have it. Already gave it to its new owner.

I don't believe you. And if you did, the previous statement still stands. Mystic Falls becomes a bloodbath.

Lucy took a long sip of her drink as she contemplated their options.

"So we have the boys bring back the stone, meet with Katherine and end her existence," Lexi suggested.

The only human in the room shook her head. "I'm not certain they could get back in time. Besides, I don't want that rock anywhere near the bitch. We use a decoy. We'll have to take her down ourselves. Find someplace to keep her until she's needed." As much as she wanted to just end her, Elijah wanted to talk to her first.

"What about the tomb?" Caroline said. "Bree could put a containment spell on it."

Lucy blinked. She was rather fond of this new ruthless streak of Care's. "Lock her up with the burnt corpses of her old friends? Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, but do we use to replace the moonstone?" the witch asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Damon has a whole bowl of soap in his room. It's stupid and something else to dust, but they're the right shape. A little witchy juju and one should pass no problem."

Lexi grinned and clapped her hands together. "Time to plan the downfall of a raging bitch."

***

Much to Lucy's protestations, she was instructed to remain in the house while the rest of them went to enact their plan. This was such bullshit, but she couldn't exactly argue with the point that she was human. It didn't mean she had to like being left out though. She'd even tried to bribe them with the daylight ring she'd had Elijah send for Lee but Lexi just held out her hand and Lucy folded. She was just too nice damn it.

Her eyes stayed glued to the clock as she tapped her foot anxiously. They were supposed to keep her updated but she hadn't heard from anyone in ages. "That's it," she said as she pushed herself up from her seat. She was going to find out what was going on.

She arrived at the venue and pulled her car to the side away from the other vehicles. She wanted to make sure she could get out easily. She wove through the cars trying to find her way to the house. She stopped short when she saw Elena headed her way as she talked on her phone. The teen was in jeans in a casual top so she obviously hadn't been here for the festivities.

"Elena," she called to get the girl's attention as she hung up her phone.

The brunette looked up with frown just as a figure wearing a clown mask stepped up behind her and grabbed her with a hand over her mouth.

"Hey," Lucy shouted. "Let her go." A moment later, a heavy blow struck the side of her head and pain radiated through her before everything went black.

***

"Lucy."

She groaned and tried to shut out the voice that hissed her name. An aching throb radiated through her body, centered on her head and her neck. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Lucy."

It was a little louder this time. More insistent.

She reluctantly blinked her eyes open to find herself laying on a tattered couch in a rundown room. Elena sat on the floor in front of her, staring worriedly. The girl sighed in relief when she noticed Lucy was awake. Lucy had certainly woken up to better sights.

The circumstances that had landed her here came back to her in a rush and groaned as she ran a hand down her face. For once, she wished she'd done as she was told and just stayed at the boarding house. To no surprise at all, Elena had gotten herself in trouble again and this time brought Lucy along for the ride. This was just fantastic.

"Do you know what's going on?" Lucy asked as she sat up. A fresh wave of pain ran through her head and neck and she grimaced. Her hand shot up to her throat only to come back covered in blood.

Elena shook her head and moved to sit on the couch beside Lucy. "Not really. Two vampires have us. They want to turn me over to someone named Elijah."

Lucy huffed a laugh. Well, wasn't that convenient? She wondered if they'd managed to get ahold of him. She could always give them his phone number.

"Okay. What the hell happened to me? I remember the head but what's up with the neck?"

The teen frowned. "The male vampire, I think his name is Trevor, wanted to feed from me but the other one wouldn't let him. She said you were fair game though."

Irritation flared through Lucy but what good would it do. What was done was done. It's not like she could change it now.

"Oh good, you're awake," a female voice said and a glance showed a red-headed vampire standing at the top of a flight of stairs.

"He's here. He's here," a male said and started running around the room anxiously. "I'm not sure this was a good idea."

Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a bit late to think of that now. She just wanted to get this over with and go home. She wondered if the boys would be with Elijah. Eh. At the very least he would take her home.

"Please don't let him take me," Elena whined from beside her.

"Us," Lucy automatically corrected. She wasn't frightened of her uncle but it was the principle of the thing.

Elena looked over, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

She finally gave into temptation and rolled her eyes. "There's two of us, Elena. It's not just you."

The conversation was interrupted by the appearance of an elegantly suited vampire. He stood at the top of the stairs and ran his gaze over the room. Relief flashed through his eyes when spotted Lucy and she gave him a small smile. He zoomed until he stood in front of her. Using two fingers, he lifted her chin to look over the injury on her neck.

"Why is she here?" he asked after a moment while keeping his eyes on her.

"She was there when we took the doppelganger. We had to take her, too," the male explained.

Elijah closed his eyes as if praying to some long-forgotten deity for patience. When he opened them, he rolled his eyes and gave a little half smile before turning to face the vampires again. "And why is she bleeding?"

"I was hungry?"

Lucy cringed. Sucks to be that guy.

She watched impassively as Elijah removed the offender's head with a single swipe of his hand. When the female vampire moved as if to attack, Elijah stopped her with one raised hand. "Let it go before you join him, Rose. He harmed that which wasn't his to touch. Don't join him in his stupidity."

"Excuse me," Elena said. "I'm still here."

For someone that was so concerned a moment ago, she was certainly upset to find the attention wasn't on her. Idiot. Elijah didn't spare her a glance. "Yes. I am aware. I'll deal with you in a moment."

"Where are the boys?" Lucy asked.

"They're a bit behind. They were finishing something up. They should be here shortly."

She answered with a nod. The sound of breaking glass interrupted before either could say anything else.

"Who else is here?" he asked looking between the three of them.

"I don't know," Rose answered as Elena shook her head.

"I'd say it's probably my babysitters," Lucy said.

Elijah smirked. "Stay here until I ensure your safety."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I can take care of myself, you know. You made sure of it."

He arched a brow and gave a cockeyed smile before grabbing Elena and rushing her up the stairs to the entryway. Lucy sighed before following along at a much more human pace.

She arrived at the top of the stairs just as Elijah was shot through the hand with a stake. She yelped in surprise but before she could do anything else, she was grabbed and rushed to another area. Lexi looked down at her with a hand over her mouth. Lucy shook her head and tugged at her friend's wrist but she wouldn't relent.

"Come out with the girls and we will discuss this," Elijah said. "I believe there has been a misunderstanding of sorts."

Lucy kicked Lexi in the shin. "Ow," the vampire said with a frown. Finally, she moved her hand so the human could talk.

"Stop. It's Elijah. He's family. He's the one the boys were helping."

Lexi frowned. "But he kidnapped you."

"No, he didn't. Someone else did. He was going to bring us home."

Elijah shouted in pain and both their heads jerked in that direction. Lexi raced toward the sound and Lucy ran behind. "No!" she screamed when she saw Elijah prepared to remove Lee's heart. At the same time, the front door opened to admit the Salvatores. Distracted, Elijah glanced over just as Lexi drove a large piece of wood into his chest.

Lucy screamed and dropped to her knees. Not Elijah. He couldn't leave her. He promised she'd never lose him. Her vision blurred as she sobbed and rocked as she chanted the word "no" over and over again.

Arms wrapped around her and she buried her face in Damon's chest so Elijah's gray face was blocked from her vision. He hooked a hand around the back of her neck and she gipped his shirt. She gasped as she struggled to breathe, to ease the tightness in her chest. Elijah was gone. He was really gone. Oh, gods.

"Shh, Luce. I've got you. I'm sorry. So sorry. We should have gotten here sooner. God, I'm sorry."

She sucked in a breath. "Not your fault."

A warm hand settled on her back. "Is she okay?" Stefan asked.

"No. Not even close," Damon answered as he tightened his hold on her.

"I'm sorry, Lucy," Lexi said, her voice sounding far away. "We thought you were in danger and then he was going to kill Lee. I had to stop him. I'm sorry."

Lucy couldn't muster the strength to say anything. Her heart was too broken.

Damon grunted to let her know she'd been heard. "I hope you mean it. Unless, I'm very much mistaken—and I'm not—you had him to think for those rings. What a nice thank you."

"Damon," Stefan snapped.

The elder brother shot a glare at his sibling. "What? They hurt my girl. She might not hold a grudge but I sure as hell do."

Lucy took it all in as she kept her boyfriend's shirt clutched tightly in her fists. She tried to regulate her breathing but wasn't having much luck. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

He shushed her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Take what you need."

"Can we go?" Elena asked as she stepped up behind Stefan. "I just want to go home."

"Not the time, Elena," Damon said.

"But—" she started only for Stefan to cut her off.

"Enough, Elena."

"We'll take her home," Lee said.

Only once she was certain the others had left did Lucy pull back from Damon's chest. She kept her eyes turned from where she knew Elijah was pinned to the wall like some macabre butterfly.

Damon ran his eyes over her before he grasped her chin and turned her head gently to examine the bite on her neck. "What's this?"

"Kidnapper got the munchies apparently." She sniffed and glanced between the brothers. "Can we go? I need to get out of here."

Damon nodded and helped her to her feet. A breath later and he'd swept her into his arms. She didn't even think about protesting, just nuzzling into his chest and taking comfort in his warmth wrapped around her.

"Can you drive, Stef? I'll get in the back with her."

"Of course," Stefan answered with no hesitation.

She kept her head pressed against Damon's chest with her eyes closed so she wouldn't get another glimpse of Elijah. That wasn't how she wanted to remember him. Damon kissed her head and held her more tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and just let him take care of her.