[Location: The Mystic Grill – Exterior] [Time: 3:45 PM – Two Days Later]
The plan was simple. The target was ridiculous.
The Moonstone.
In the lore of The Vampire Diaries, this small, milky rock was the key to everything. It bound the Sun and Moon Curse. It was required for Klaus to break his hybrid curse. It was the reason Katherine Pierce spent 500 years running.
And right now, it was sitting in a decorative bowl filled with dried potpourri (or a soap dish) in the Lockwood Mansion, gathering dust.
Mason Lockwood hadn't arrived yet to claim it. Katherine hadn't located it yet.
If I secured the Moonstone now, I held the leash of the strongest creatures on Earth.
I checked my phone.
Text from Tyler: COD at my place? My mom is out.
Perfect.
I typed back: Be there in 10. I'll bring the strategy guide.
I wasn't bringing a strategy guide. I was bringing a lockpick set and a replica stone I had carved from a similar-looking piece of soapstone I found at a craft store. It wasn't perfect, but it would pass a casual glance.
[Location: The Lockwood Mansion – Tyler's Room] [Time: 4:15 PM]
Tyler's room was a shrine to testosterone. Trophies, sports jerseys, and a massive flat-screen TV blasting the sounds of gunfire from a video game.
"You're trash, Cross," Tyler laughed, smashing buttons on his controller. "Look at that K/D ratio."
"I'm a pacifist," I lied, leaning back on the beanbag chair. "I play the objective, not the kill count."
I checked the time. We had been playing for forty-five minutes. Mrs. Lockwood was at a Council meeting. The servants were likely in the kitchen prep area.
"I gotta hit the head," I said, pausing the game. "Don't kill me while I'm gone."
"No promises," Tyler grunted, chugging a Gatorade.
I walked out of the bedroom.
The hallway was silent. The house felt massive and empty, the weight of old money pressing down on the floorboards.
I knew the layout from the show, but reality is always slightly different. I needed to find the Master Study or the downstairs parlor. In the show, Mason looks for it in a hidden safe/compartment, but eventually, it's revealed it was just... sitting out.
I walked downstairs, my footsteps silent on the runner carpet.
I reached the foyer.
Left or Right?
I turned right, toward the Mayor's study.
The door was ajar. I slipped inside.
The room smelled of mahogany and cigars. I scanned the shelves. Books. Framed photos of Mayor Lockwood shaking hands with senators.
I moved to the desk. Nothing. I checked the bookshelves.
Then, I saw it.
On a small side table near the fireplace, there was a decorative crystal bowl filled with random knick-knacks—old coins, keys, and stones.
I walked over. My heart was thumping against my ribs.
I reached into the bowl. I pushed aside a rusted key.
My fingers brushed against something smooth and cold.
I pulled it out.
It was about the size of a hockey puck. Milky white, semi-translucent, with the faint, etched symbol of the sun and moon on its surface.
The Moonstone.
It felt heavy. Not physically, but metaphysically. This rock had caused centuries of death.
"Gotcha," I whispered.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the replica. It was a decent match in color, though it lacked the specific magical etching. If anyone looked closely, they'd know it was fake. But the Lockwoods didn't know what they had. They just thought it was a rock.
I dropped the fake into the bowl.
I slipped the real Moonstone into my pocket.
Click.
The front door unlocked.
Panic surged.
"Richard? Is that you?" Mrs. Lockwood's voice echoed from the foyer.
I was in the study. If she walked in and found me, I'd have to explain why I was snooping.
I looked around. No back exit.
"Tyler?" she called out, her heels clicking on the hardwood. She was coming this way.
I couldn't hide. Hiding implies guilt.
I grabbed a book from the shelf—The History of Virginia Founders—and opened it. I leaned against the fireplace, looking engrossed.
Mrs. Lockwood walked into the study. She stopped when she saw me.
"Oh!" she flinched. "Adrian? You startled me."
I looked up, closing the book calmly. "Mrs. Lockwood. I'm so sorry. The door was open, and I saw this book collection. My dad has been talking about your husband's library for weeks. I couldn't resist."
I flashed the 'Golden Boy' smile. "I hope you don't mind. I was just heading back up to Tyler."
Mrs. Lockwood melted. She was a socialite; she loved being admired.
"Oh, not at all, Adrian," she smiled, smoothing her skirt. "It is a wonderful collection. Your father is doing such great work for the town. You're welcome anytime."
"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," I said, placing the book back on the shelf. "I should get back before Tyler pauses the game and realizes I'm winning."
"Go on," she waved me off.
I walked past her.
I walked up the stairs.
I walked into Tyler's room.
"You took a massive dump, man," Tyler said without looking away from the screen.
"Something like that," I said, sitting back down.
I felt the Moonstone pressing against my thigh.
Asset Secured.
I picked up the controller. "Ready to lose?"
[Location: The Cross Residence – Bedroom] [Time: 8:00 PM]
I sat at my desk. The curtains were drawn.
The Moonstone sat on my desk lamp, illuminated from below. It was beautiful in a terrifying way.
I had the Gilbert Watch. I had the Moonstone.
I was hoarding the plot coupons.
But having them made me a target. If Katherine Pierce came to town—and she would—she would tear the town apart looking for this stone.
I needed a vault. A real one. My mini-fridge wasn't going to cut it.
My phone buzzed.
Stefan.
We found the Grimoire. We need to talk.
I sighed. The Grimoire was the spellbook needed to open the tomb. Stefan wanted to destroy it (or hide it) to keep the tomb closed. Damon wanted it to get Katherine out.
I needed the tomb open.
Why?
Pearl. I needed her. She was intelligent, pragmatic, and knew where the other werewolf packs were (from her time before 1864).
Anna. I had a deal with her.
Chaos. If the tomb stays closed, Damon gets bored and burns the town down. If the tomb opens, Damon gets distracted by the heartbreak of Katherine not being there.
I grabbed my jacket. I put the Moonstone in my Safe Box (a fireproof lockbox bolted to the floor of my closet, hidden under dirty laundry).
"Time to play moderator," I muttered.
[Location: The Salvatore Boarding House – Kitchen] [Time: 8:30 PM]
The tension in the kitchen was thick enough to cut with a steak knife.
Stefan stood by the counter, his arms crossed. Elena sat at the table, looking worried.
Damon was pacing, holding an old, leather-bound book. The Grimoire.
"I'm not giving it to you, Stefan," Damon snarled. "We had a deal. I help you kill the teacher-hunter, you help me get Katherine back."
"We didn't help you kill Alaric," Stefan corrected. "We stopped you from killing him. And opening that tomb releases twenty-seven starving vampires onto this town. I can't let you do that."
"They'll be desiccated!" Damon shouted. "I just want Katherine! I'll go in, grab her, and leave the rest to rot!"
"And you trust yourself to stop?" Stefan asked. "You trust yourself not to wake up the others?"
"I trust myself to get what I want!"
"Gentlemen," I said, walking into the room.
They all turned.
"The mediator has arrived," Damon muttered. "Great. Tell St. Stefan here that love conquers all."
"I'm not sure 'love' is the word I'd use for your obsession with Katherine," I said dryly.
I walked to the table.
"Here's the situation," I said, looking at Stefan. "If you don't open that tomb, Damon is going to tear this town apart. He'll kill the Council members. He'll kill Alaric. He'll probably kill me just for fun."
Damon pointed at me. "He's not wrong."
"But if we open it," Stefan argued, "we risk the town."
"Not if we control the variables," I said.
I looked at Damon.
"You need a witch to open it," I said. "You need the Grimoire. And you need the Crystal."
Damon froze. "The Crystal. I lost it."
"No," I said. "You didn't."
I looked at Stefan. He nodded. It was time to play the card.
"Bonnie has it," I revealed.
Damon's eyes widened. A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. "The little witch? Well, isn't that convenient."
"She didn't steal it," I added quickly. "It called to her. It's Emily Bennett's talisman. It wants to be used."
"So we have the book," Damon counted on his fingers. "We have the rock. We have the witch. We're going to Disneyland."
"We need leverage," I said to Damon. "If we help you open this tomb, Damon, you have to promise one thing."
"Anything," Damon said dismissively. "Name it."
"You go in, you get Katherine, you come out," I said. "If one other vampire walks out of that hole... I will personally drive a stake through your heart while you sleep."
Damon laughed. "You're cute when you threaten me, Adrian. But sure. Deal. Just Katherine."
I looked at Stefan.
"Stefan," I said. "We have to do this. It's the only way to end Damon's rampage. If Katherine isn't in there... at least he'll know. The obsession ends."
Stefan looked at me. He knew I knew Katherine wasn't in there. He saw the look in my eye. Let him fail.
Stefan sighed. "Fine. But we do it tonight. Before the Council finds out we have the Grimoire."
"Tonight it is," Damon grinned. "I'll go grab the witch."
"No," I said, stepping in his path. "I'll get Bonnie. If you go, you'll scare her. I'll bring her to the ruins."
Damon leaned in. "Don't disappoint me, partner."
[Location: The Bennett Residence] [Time: 9:15 PM]
I knocked on the door.
Sheila Bennett (Grams) answered. She looked formidable. She smelled of sage and suspicion.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Bonnie," I said politely. "I'm Adrian. A friend from school."
"I know who you are," Sheila said. Her eyes narrowed. "You're the boy with the heavy shadow."
Witches. They always saw too much.
"Bonnie!" Sheila called out, not breaking eye contact with me.
Bonnie ran to the door. "Adrian! What's wrong?"
"We need to talk," I said. "It's about the crystal. And the tomb."
Sheila stiffened. "The tomb is sealed. It stays sealed."
"Damon Salvatore has the Grimoire," I said. "He's going to open it with or without you. If he does it without you... he'll force you. Or he'll kill people until you agree."
Sheila looked at me. She knew the Salvatores. She knew the threat.
"He wants Katherine," Bonnie said softly.
"He wants a ghost," I said. "But we need to control the fallout. Bonnie... we need you to drop the seal. Just for a minute. Long enough to let him in."
"And let twenty-seven vampires out?" Sheila asked.
"No," I said. "We let him in. But we don't let them out."
I looked at Sheila.
"You can do that, right? Open the door, but keep the seal on the vampires? Like a... one-way filter?"
Sheila studied me. "That is advanced magic. It requires immense power."
"But it traps Damon inside," I pointed out.
Sheila smiled. A fierce, dangerous smile. "Trap a Salvatore in a hole for eternity? Now you're speaking my language."
"Wait," Bonnie said. "If we trap Damon... what about Stefan?"
"Stefan won't go in," I lied. (In the show, Stefan runs in to save Elena. I had to prevent that). "Stefan stays guard."
"Okay," Sheila said. "I'll get my coat."
[Location: Fell's Church Ruins] [Time: 10:45 PM]
The ruins were bathed in moonlight. The wind howled through the trees.
Damon stood by the stone entrance to the tomb, holding a shovel and a flashlight. He looked like a kid on Christmas Eve.
Stefan stood nearby, tense.
Elena was there, shivering. She insisted on coming.
Bonnie and Grams arrived with me.
"Let's get this over with," Grams said, holding the Grimoire.
They began the chant. The wind picked up. The torches flared.
I stood back, watching.
This was the pivot point.
If the seal dropped, Anna would be watching. She would sneak in after Damon.
I scanned the tree line.
There.
A shadow moved. Anna.
She saw me. She nodded.
She was going in to get Pearl.
The Plan:
Seal drops.
Damon goes in.
Anna goes in.
Damon finds out Katherine isn't there.
Anna feeds Pearl and wakes her up.
They try to leave.
But Grams was planning to trap them all.
I had to ensure Anna and Pearl got out.
I walked over to where Stefan was standing.
"Hey," I whispered. "When the door opens... don't let Elena go in."
"I won't," Stefan said.
The ground shook. The heavy stone slab covering the entrance groaned and slid open.
Darkness yawned from the hole.
"It's open," Bonnie gasped, leaning against her grandmother.
Damon didn't hesitate. He grabbed a torch and ran inside.
Anna blurred past us—too fast for the humans to see, but Stefan noticed.
"Who was that?" Stefan asked.
"Anna," I whispered. "She's getting her mother."
"You knew?" Stefan looked at me, betrayed.
"I need her mother, Stefan," I said. "Her mother knows things. Let them go."
Stefan looked at the tomb. "Grams is going to seal them in."
"I know," I said.
I looked at Bonnie. She was straining.
Damon was inside. Anna was inside.
If the seal held, they were all trapped.
I checked my watch.
"Five minutes," I whispered. "Then the lever pulls."
I wasn't just watching a TV show anymore. I was directing it.
[End of Chapter 18]