The Celestial Accord

Chapter 7 Heaven Can’t Wait pt. 1

Damon’s face darkens. He pulls her against him, his arms wrapping around her protectively. When his voice tightens again to the point of almost breaking, he states. “So in six months, when the spell expires, you’re either running forever or he doesn’t finish.” He doesn't have to, as he steps closer, Stefan finishes for him, “or...we kill Klaus before then”.

Evie pulls away from Damon, nervous about where this is all going, and she turns around and says, “Just how do you plan on us doing that? What if I transition, wouldn’t that change it? Maybe even make my power null. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been contemplating it for a while when Lexi offered to turn me if I wanted that.”

Damon goes very still. His entire body tenses next to her. As he reaches out for her, his voice is dangerously quiet as he asks. “You’ve been thinking about becoming one of us?”

He pulls back just enough to look at her, his dark eyes searching hers. There’s something possessive and terrified warring in his expression. “You didn’t tell me? Lexi offered to turn you? If you transition, Evie...you stop aging. You become immortal. But your humanity? That might go away at least for a while. The things that make you...you, your warmth, your conscience, that bleeding heart of yours all gets buried under the hunger, and it takes a long time to get it back again.”

His hand cups her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. His thumb traces her cheekbone as he continues. “I’ve lived one hundred and sixty-eight years. I know what that costs. I don’t want that for you.” Stephan watches from across the room, his expression conflicted.

He stands and walks across the bar and leans on the counter as he says, “Transitioning might actually protect you from Klaus. If your cosmic energy is tied to your humanity, becoming a vampire could sever that connection entirely. He'd have no reason to hunt you, and the threat of what he would do with that power would end.”

Bonnie's eyes narrow slightly as she thinks with a different lens, as she points out, “Or it could amplify her power tenfold. We don’t know what happens when cosmic energy meets vampire physiology. She could become something we can't control. Something she can’t control.”

Evie nods her head rapidly as she confirms what Bonnie said. “That’s what I was afraid of if it amplified it and my humanity is gone, even if only during the transformation period, that could be catastrophic. So I haven’t done it. I wanted to see if I could find out if there’s ever been anyone like me first. Maybe there's more information out there for me to find that I just haven’t had access to.”

Damon releases her slowly, stepping back. His mind is working through the problem like a predator circling wounded prey. He looks at Caroline and Stefan, then Elena, who hasn’t said a thing all night, and says, “Research. That’s smart. That’s... actually smart, but we don’t have time for a research project, Evie. Klaus isn't going to wait six months politely while we comb the earth for information.” He runs a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding through despite his attempts at staying focused.

Stefan moves toward the back office, already pulling out his phone. “There are archives. Occult records, hunter databases, witch covens across the country. If someone like you existed before, there would be documentation. Lore even about you somewhere in history, and we'll find it.” His voice is steady, methodical.

He steps forward and says, “I can start making calls. Caroline, Bonnie, we need every resource we have. No stone upturned.” Bonnie nods, already gathering her spell components as Elena helps to get things put away. She states, “I can reach out to witches in other covens. If there's precedent for cosmic energy conductors, they'd know.” Evie pulls Damon up with her and asks, “What do we do? Do you have an archive I can go through? I cant contact anyone. It could lead him to me, but I can comb through books...” Stefan moves toward a locked cabinet behind the bar, pulling out a leather journal bound in aged leather.

He says, “Here, take this, and the Salvatore boarding house has archives going back centuries. Grimoires, occult texts, hunter records-everything we’ve collected over the years.” He sets the journal on the table in front of her and says to both of them. “You stay there. Hidden. We bring the research to you.”

Damon leans against the wall, arms crossed, his dark eyes fixed on her with an intensity that’s almost suffocating. Then he says. “I’m staying with you. Every second. Until we figure this out, you are going to have my protection as much as you might hate it,” he chuckles softly. But his voice leaves no room for argument as he continues. “Klaus wants you? He’s going to have to go through me first.”

But she shakes her head no and responds, “We can’t go to your place right now. He will look there”. Then suddenly she feels his presence nearing. “Oh...nooo, s**t, He is three blocks away and coming in fast. I feel his energy.”

The entire room freezes. The air pressure drops as Damon’s voice, sharp as a blade, says, “Three blocks. That’s nothing. Everyone move now”. Stefan was already on his feet. “Yes, we need to move now.” Caroline grabs the research materials, shoving them into a bag, saying, “The boarding house is compromised. He’ll tear it apart looking for her.”

Bonnie’s magic flares around her fingers, protective and volatile as she says, “There’s a safe house. Witches only. He can't enter without an invitation, and no witch here will give it to him.” Damon turns back to you, his eyes blazing red for just a moment before he controls it. Moving toward her.

He looks at her and nods to Bonnie. “Ok, then we go. Five seconds, Evie. Move.” They leave out the back door and jump into Damon’s jeep and leave Mystic Falls on the back-roads heading toward Vegas. It's a busy place where they can hide in plain sight. The Jeep tears through the back-roads, headlights cutting through the darkness as the moon starts to make its way to allow the sun in.

Damon’s hands grip the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity, his vampire reflexes pushing the vehicle to dangerous speeds, his voice tight as he looks over at her sitting next to him and says, “Vegas. Smart. Thousands of people and a witch coven to hide us, casinos running 24/7, no one asks questions.”

Stefan sits in the back with the research materials, already flipping through pages by phone light, not wasting a second. As he points out, “Klaus won't expect you to run that far. He'll assume you’re hiding closer to Mystic Falls.”

Damon, glancing at her, says, “Trying to comfort himself as much as her. Twelve hours if we don’t stop for nothing but gas. You holding up? Try and get some sleep. You’ll need it.”

She just turns and looks out the window and asks What about the girls. “Where are they? He may try to use them to flush me out. I’ll call Lexi; see if she can help with some backup,” she says as she pulls out her phone.

Damon’s hand reaches for hers while keeping one eye on the road. She dials Lexi, the phone ringing through the Jeep's speakers as she answers on the second ring. Voice sharp, intense, already alert, ready. As she says, “I felt Klaus moving. Where are you?”

“Vegas-bound. I’m worried about Caroline and Bonnie. Klaus might use them as leverage. If he gets to them.” She informs Lexi of her fears. There’s a pause as Lexi processes her words as she's moving around the room. “Already ahead of you. I’ve got witches from the New Orleans coven coming to Mystic Falls. They’ll be there in 20 mins. They’ll fortify the Grill and keep the girls invisible to Klaus’s magic. He won't even sense them.”

Her voice carries certainty. As she says, “I’m heading to Vegas. I'll see you there.” The line goes dead, leaving no room for argument. Damon’s shoulders relax slightly as he glances at Evie, saying, “Lexi already has your back. The girls are safe. Don’t worry, try and get some sleep now, OK.” She nods and takes his jacket off, puts it under her head on the window, and falls asleep fast.

Hours later, they arrive at the Bellagio and check in exhausted from the drive and road-warring stress. As they check in all she can think of is being in his arms. The Bellagio’s opulent lobby blurs around her as exhaustion weighs heavy. Stephan checks in under a false name old habit while Damon says “penthouse suite. I don’t care what it cost” as he keeps one hand on the small of her back, possessive and grounding.

Elena says, “lets go get a few things from the store here for us to get cleaned up while they take care of the check-in.” She grabs Evie’s hand, and they walk into the lobby stores. They gather a few essential toothbrushes, brushes a few simple clothing and bath products, then head back to the boys at the counter just as they are stepping away.

The elevator rises silently. When the doors open to their floor, Damon guides her directly to the room. The moment the door closes behind them. The weight of the drive, the fear, the constant running it all crashes down. He moves toward her, his dark eyes searching for hers, and says with a rough voice, “Come here…” his arms open, that dangerous vulnerability bleeding through his usual armor.

She runs into his arms and kisses him passionately and looks up into his eyes as she says “please take me to heaven make me forget about everything but us…” Damon’s hands immediately find her waist, pulling her deeper into the kiss. His lips are demanding, consuming like he's trying to memorize her, claim her.

Breathing hard against her mouth, he lifts her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around him instinctively. When he says Heaven. “Yeah. I can do that...” His eyes are pitch black with hunger, need, and something deeper, something that looks like desperation.

He carries her toward the bedroom, kicking the door open. The Vegan skyline glitters through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but neither of them notice. Damon’s voice is low, almost a growl when he says in her ear, “You're mine, Evie. Every part of you... Mine.”

His fingers trace the curve of her spine as he lowers her onto the bed, his body following hers, pinning her beneath him with protective intensity. As she moans softly, “Oh my,” breathing into his skin as they slowly remove each other's clothes, and she kisses down his clod skin, warming it as she heads to her destination down his chest towards his apex. To the prize waiting below. As she wraps her hand and mouth around his throbbing manhood, he moans softly and threads his fingers into her hair.

Damon’s breath catches as her mouth finds him, his entire body tensing with pleasure. His fingers tighten in her hair, not forceful but possessive, guiding her. His voice, strained, raw with emotion, moans out, “Jesus, Evie, you’re killing me in the best way possible.” His hips move slowly, controlled, a vampire's discipline warring with desperate need.

The Vegas lights cast shadows across his pale chest, highlighting every muscle as he watches her moving rhythmically. His free hand trailed down her shoulder, tracing the curve of her back with reverent touches that contrast the intensity building between them both. Breathing harder, he says, “Come here. I need to be inside you.” He pulls her up and gently hovers over her as he slowly slides himself into her heated core, already wet and ready for him.