Kaitlyn P.O.V.

He was careful not to touch the blade, only the hilt, as he inched the knife closer to my face. I tried not to let any noise escape from me, but I tilted the chair back, anxious to get as far away from him as possible. At this angle, I could see out of the window, and I saw to my panic that it was already dark outside.

"Liam, please, let me go," I pleaded. "I need to get to the sacrifice."

"Why do you think I'm doing this now?" he grinned. "Klaus can't hurt me for taking you if he doesn't even know I did. It seems that you have captured his attention sister."

"Why are you even working for him in the first place?" I asked. "He doesn't have anything you want."

"He's the one who gave me the Hellcraft, and I was in debt to him. Also, he led me straight to you. Well actually, he was looking for Elena, but I also heard whispers of a strange supernatural in Mystic Falls as well. Did you know that there are doctors looking for you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I spat, but fear threatened to consume me.

Did the doctors of Augustine know where I was? Was Liam working with them as well?

I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I shrieked at the low voice in my head, and my gaze snapped to Liam, who was smiling at my expression.

That's right. You're not hallucinating. I'm in your mind, Kaitlyn.

"Stop!" I yelled. "H-how are you doing that?"

"Don't you know?" his eyebrows quirked up in confusion as he mocked me. "Angels have telepathy with each other. You could do it as well if you were strong enough."

"You do realize that by torturing me, you're not persuading me to join you right? And I'm definitely not drinking the Hellcraft anymore."

"Oh trust me," he laughed. "You will."

Did you know that the doctors now know what and where you are? I wonder who must have tipped them off.

Liam's voice laughed in my head, echoing in every corner until my ears hurt.

I told them how they could catch you. There's a special kind of containment Kaitlyn, something called Lucifer's cage. It will neutralize your power as soon as you're in it, and even make you weaker than a mundane. You'll be too drowsy to escape, and even if you tried to, the cage contains parts of tantalum.

"You're bluffing," I said, surprised at the calm in my voice. "The doctors don't know where I am. If they had, they would have been here ages ago."

"Believe what you want Kaitlyn," Liam mused. "But it won't change the facts."

"I am going to kill you," I snarled, leaning forward in my chair. "I am going to make you suffer until you BEG me to kill you quickly. But even then, I will take my time in inflicting pain on you. Pain that you have caused me hundreds of times already!"

His eyes darkened again, the blackness consuming them, and he trailed the blade with force against my bare arm. A scream erupted out of me, as I was sure that my skin was peeling off. I could smell the dead smell of smoke in the air as my flesh sizzled.

"Apologise," he commanded, and at my silence, dug deeper into my arm.

"I'm sorry," I shouted, squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm sorry," I whispered again.

"That's better," he said, removing the blade. "What a beauty,"

I opened my eyes to see him admiring the blade, and looked down at my arm. The skin was deeply charred, not bleeding but still smoking.

"If you keep me here," I gritted my teeth. "My friends will come for me."

"Will they really?" he laughed. "Because I don't think they will. I don't think they've even spared you a second thought ever since your fight. They don't care about you, Kaitlyn. You were just a way to get to Katherine, and now you're a loose end. In fact, you're a psychopath in their eyes."

"Shut. Up," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" Liam called, the blade nearing the skin on my other arm.

I could practically feel the toxin emitting from it in waves.

"Did you kill our mother?" I gasped out as he touched the blade to my upper arm. "Did you KILL HER?!"

He smiled slowly, twisting the point of the knife in my skin. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out. And I didn't kill her. I merely took her power. The sword did the rest for me."

"You sick son of a–"

He stabbed the blade into my shoulder, and my sentence was cut off as I yelled in pain. It was like molten lava was spreading across my veins, and breaking me apart. When he pulled it out again, I was in too much agony to even scream.

The door suddenly burst open, and Stefan and Rose stood behind the broken hinges. He looked at Liam and then me in surprise, understanding filling in his eyes. He whizzed towards Liam, and my brother was so startled that he couldn't stop Stefan from taking the knife away and knocking him out.

I drooped forward in my chair, sucking in deep breaths.

"Oh my god Kaitlyn," Rose said in a panic, rushing over to me. "Are you okay?"

"I should have come sooner! I never believed in what the others said. Please know that" Stefan rambled in self-hate.

"Untie me," I croaked, and felt his fast fingers rip open the ropes.

He eased me up under my arms, letting me drape one of them around his shoulders. He took one last look at the passed-out Liam, before helping me out of the doorway. Rose followed us, restraining herself from hurting my brother further.

"As soon as you didn't show up for our brunch today, I knew something was wrong," Rose explained to me as we got into the car. "I called Stefan and he told me what happened. I'm so sorry about the others."

"It's fine," I grumbled. "I don't blame them for thinking I'm working with Liam. It's pretty understandable I guess."

"Still."

"We have to get to the sacrifice," Stefan started the car in a hurry. "I'm going to offer myself to Klaus instead of Jenna."

"Wait what?" I spluttered in shock. "Jenna's a vampire?? You're gonna offer to get sacrificed?! NO!"

"Damon called me. Katherine orchestrated it," Stefan mumbled in anger. "He didn't mention how he got the information, just that he found out from her."

My stomach sank at the thought of innocent sweet Jenna being unfairly caught up in all this. I knew I didn't have a right to, but I wanted to tell Jenna all along about the supernatural. It would have made her more aware, and hence, safer.

"I'm coming with you," I said in determination, and Rose linked her hand with me from the front seat.

"I am as well," she told us. "If there was ever a time to get over my fear of that monster, it's now."

Stefan didn't look happy with the idea, but he needed as much help as he could get.

"I need to make a stop on the way," I ordered, and told them the instructions to the trailer belonging to Jules.

I slipped in quietly, trying not to groan in pain with my arms throbbing. I walked over to the safe and put in the number code. Sure enough, the sword was still there. I guess Liam hadn't found out that I knew where it was. The sword was kept in the wrapped cloth since I didn't want to make the mistake of touching the blade again.

When I walked back to the car, the two gave me a questioning glance, and I explained what I could use it for.

"You're really going to kill your brother?" Rose asked in astonishment. "I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but can you really do it? Also, how do you even know he's going to be there?"

"Liam would never miss the opportunity of being at the sacrifice. And also, he now knows that I'll be there, and I don't think he's too happy about being knocked out. Secondly, I don't know if I'll be able to kill him, but I'll definitely hurt him."

∆ ∆ ∆

"Alright my lovelies, are we ready?" Klaus asked as he walked over to the witch.

Elena, Jenna, and another unidentifiable woman were in separate rings of fire, unable to get out. The witch was standing before a giant cauldron, mixing liquids together, and taking the moonstone from Klaus's hands.

I peered closer, and with surprise saw that it was Jules that was in the ring. It seemed as if Damon had listened to me, and saved Caroline and Tyler. I was also sure that it was Liam who outed Jules, knowing my brother's habit of stabbing people in the back.

Stefan was standing far away from me, on top of a cliff, but using his vamp-hearing to check up on everything that was happening. I however was closer to the scene, being prepared to take on anything that would happen. Rose was right beside me, but I could feel her body shivering, and I knew it wasn't because of the cold.

The ring of fire around Jules opened up, and she charged at Klaus, baring her teeth. She seemed to be somewhere in the middle of human and animal, almost as if her transformation was being slowed down.

But Klaus got the upper hand and pinned Jules to the ground, plunging his hand into her chest and ripping out her heart. Jules took a final breath, tears streaming down her face, and died. Klaus breathed heavily as he held the bloody heart in his hands.

Elena's and Jenna's expressions matched my horrified one. He walked back over to the ceremonial bowl, squeezing the blood into the flames.

I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he and the witch were in deep discussion, while Elena was trying to console her aunt.

"It seems you got here before me," I heard a cool voice say behind me, and then a hand clamp down on my shoulder.

I spun around in fright to see Liam trudging past me, his head sporting a nasty bruise from where Stefan knocked him out.

"I've changed my mind, I am going to kill you," he said in anger, and I followed him with new confidence, not noticing that we were heading further and further away from the sacrifice.

"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do that? You don't have the sword anymore," I pointed out with triumph, and he noticed the sword attached to my side.

"Yes, and that does put a kink in my plans, but I do have her," he motioned for one of his bodyguards, and one came out with a chokehold on Rose.

I drew in a sharp breath at the sight of her. I hadn't even noticed her leaving my side. She looked scared as hell, but her mouth was in a tight line of determination. I was confused about why she wasn't fighting back, but then I saw the stake being pressed into her back, only centimeters away from her heart.

"It's okay Rose," I called out to her, trying not to cry. "I won't let him hurt you!"

Meanwhile, Klaus had left the sacrifice, for the time being, to talk with Stefan about his offer. But I wasn't paying attention to that right now, all I could think about was my friend's fate in peril.

"Fine, you want the sword?!" I yelled in a shrilly tone. "I'll give it to you, but please, just let her go!"

"The sword first," he demanded, and I bit my bottom lip hard in frustration, drawing blood.

I didn't want Rose to die, but I also didn't want him to kill me like this. Not only because I would be dead, but also because he would get all my power, making him practically invincible. I knew I wasn't strong enough to fight him, even though I could still feel the Hellcraft sizzling in my blood.

In a gesture of surrender, I handed over the sword, and he motioned towards the other man. But instead of letting Rose go as Liam had promised, the man followed his orders of killing her. Her scream echoed in my ears as the stake struck her heart, sending her to almost instant death. Her skin turned grey as she collapsed onto the grassy ground.

A choked gasp ripped out of my throat as I saw her body on the floor, limp, and most definitely dead.

"YOU PROMISED!" I yelled throatily at my brother, who just smiled sadistically. "You promised you would let her go!"

"I never promised I wouldn't kill her. My friend here technically did let her go, but just after he killed her," the whiteness of his teeth practically glowed in the darkness. "What are you gonna do about it? You don't have the sword anymore, and even if you did, you don't have ANY power over me."

I breathed in and out heavily, shutting my eyes and imagining wings sprouting out of my back. The desire to kill him overwhelmed me, the feeling of hate took over any other merciful feelings I could have possibly felt.

"Aw, are you trying to shift?" he cooed meanly. "You can't. You know who you remind me of right now?"

I opened my eyes, letting out a sob in my desperation as he walked towards me, unsheathing the sword.

"You remind me of our dead mother. She was weak as well you know? Just laying in that bed, unable to stop me from stabbing her, over and over again. Of course, I could have just taken her power all at once, but I enjoyed seeing her suffer, hearing her beg me not to hurt her. Utterly pathetic."

My blood heated at his words, and my skin burned with a fiery feeling.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" My enraged cry turned into a roar as a light began to burst out of my body.

Rose's death and my mother's death swirled together in my gut, summoning all of the rage, the hate, the anger, and turned it into one concentrated feeling: revenge.

I saw his fearful and shocked face as wings erupted out of my shoulder blades, the exact place where my scars had just been. My eyes glowed silver, blinding anyone who dared look into them, and my form shone with such power that it was hard for others to look at. In the corner of my eyes, I saw my proud mother, looking at me with happiness.

"You can do this," she mouthed, before disappearing.

I flew high up in the air, adrenaline rushing through my veins as I charged back down towards him, effectively knocking him to the ground. He grunted in pain, and I took the opportunity to snatch the sword, which was already unsheathed.

"You don't deserve the quick death I'm about to give you," I growled, raising the sword over him.

But before I could stab it into his hateful heart, his own wings sprung out of his back, propelling him upwards and knocking me off. They were completely black.

"I admit, this was unexpected," he said. "But you didn't think it was going to be that easy to kill me did you?"

"No," I growled. "You're right, I won't be able to easily kill you, but I can do this."

I hurled the sword towards him, amazed at the agility, hand-eye coordination, and perfect aiming skills my angel body had. The blade cleanly sliced off his wings, and he unleashed a howl so terrible that I had to cover my ears.

An eruption of airwaves threw me backwards as Liam released his scream, and I tumbled backwards in the dry grass, covering my eyes. When I finally opened them again, he lay cowering on the ground, bleeding heavily from his shoulder blades. He was too weak to even pick up the blade.

Instead, he lay sobbing, with his severed wings in his lap. He didn't even seem to care that I could stab him right now, ending his life immediately. I was guessing that when an angel lost their wings, they lost a part of themselves as well.

He was bleeding so fast that he wouldn't be able to survive the night. Knowing my brother, he would never go to a hospital, having to explain the bits of his wings still attached to his back. He would die without assistance, one I wouldn't offer him.

My head fell back against the grass as a ripple of tiredness washed over me. I felt so drained that I couldn't stop my eyes from closing, and instead relished the soft feeling of the ground before darkness overcame me.

∆ ∆ ∆

"Katie, Kaitlyn. Come on, please wake up already."

I heard a voice waver in as I slowly regained consciousness, seeing Stefan's face right above mine. In my surprise, I shot upwards and our foreheads connected painfully.

"Ow!" he groaned, rubbing his forehead as I did the same. "Geez."

"Where am I?" I asked bewildered, confused that I seemed to be in my own bedroom. "What happened?! Where's Liam? Who died?"

"I found you passed out on the grass a few yards away from the sacrifice and brought you home. Your brother wasn't there Kaitlyn," at my expression of utter panic, he continued. "There was a huge puddle of his blood, he definitely could not have survived that. It's okay, he's dead."

I lay back down on my pillow, breathing out in relief, but still sceptical. I wanted to believe that my brother was dead, which made me feel like a horrible person, but I still couldn't quite imagine Liam being defeated.

"I thought you would want this," Stefan put the sword wrapped in cloth on my bed, and my hand rested on it, finding an odd feeling of comfort.

"What about Elena? Jenna?" I asked. "Wait, how are you still alive? I thought you were sacrificing yourself to Klaus, which by the way, I didn't want you to do!"

"Elena's fine, John and Damon took care of it. But, um, Jenna didn't make it," Stefan cleared his throat of emotion, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Oh my god," I put a hand to my chest, thinking of how Elena must have felt after losing yet another family member. "How is Jeremy handling that?"

"Damon broke the news to him, he didn't take it well."

"And Klaus?" I asked in anger. "Did Elijah murder that monster?"

"That's the worst news," Stefan sighed. "Klaus promised him his family, whatever that means, and Elijah took off with him."

"What?"

All that fighting, planning, plotting, all for nothing?

"Look, I'll give you some time by yourself," Stefan got up, motioning that he was going to leave. "Besides, there are people that want to talk to you."

He handed me my buzzing and ringing phone and left through the door. Because I was still through my haze of confusion, I picked up to hear Bonnie's hysterical voice.

"Oh my god, Kaitlyn! You're okay! I was so worried," her voice rushed through the line. "Listen, I just wanted to apologise for what a horrible person I have been. I shouldn't have trusted Elena so easily without looking at both perspectives. Rose told me what Liam did to you, and I just feel so bad. Please forgive me."

"It's fine," I said emotionlessly, before something snapped in me, something dark that wanted me to use my anger towards her. "No, you know what? It's NOT fine! I get that you trust your friend, but I'm your friend as well! You didn't even try to understand my side! It's too late! If you guys had trusted me, I wouldn't have had to be TORTURED by my own freaking brother! So NO, I won't forgive you!"

I hung off abruptly, before just sitting in silence, my phone falling out of my hand and bouncing on the bed. I was left with a sick feeling. I hated having grudges against people. Why did I do that? Why couldn't I just be nice and forgive her?