Two nights had passed since Kai's "orientation session," and the warehouse now felt like a grim dormitory metal cots, drained blood bags, and seven uneasy new vampires pacing its stained concrete.
Kai, meanwhile, kept one eye on his phone waiting for Quentin's inevitable slide into that slumber‑spell coma. He had been waiting for the past two days and nothing happened yet which made Kai think maybe Julia wouldn't do something drastic and the other on his newest project.
Kai stood at the center, swirling a blood bag lazily in his hand like it was wine
He had just returned from another session with Julia his favorite student and though she performed well, he could feel something simmering beneath her controlled expression. Her tight smile yesterday told him she was furious and pissed off at Quentin no doubt, but she was hiding it well.
The stars kept increasing on her arm, proof she'd risen fast in the hedge‑witch ranks, 'Still not telling me she's part of the hedges,' he thought. 'Whatever. If she wants to play that game, fine. I just hope she doesn't make the same mistake she did in the original timeline. But… hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right?' Fine. He'd deal with that later. Right now, he needed test subjects.
His eyes wandered to the center of the room, where Larry finally spoke up.
"Why haven't you let us go?" Larry asked, stepping forward cautiously. "And why can't we even leave when the damn door is open?"
Kai's grin was lazy. "On the risk of sounding like a broken radio you can't leave yet. I'm running a little experiment seeing how two external components blend in one vessel."
"And you Larry, are one of those lucky components."
He kept strolling. The warehouse door stood open behind him but not one of them moved to exit. Kai glanced back with a grin.
'Compulsion,' he thought, amused. 'Ah, the joy of being an Original. None of them even remember I compelled them not to leave. Makes the show so much more fun.'
Devin, standing near the stairs, muttered, "Yeah, but why? You said all this already. Why us? What's the point of turning us into freaks?"
Kai stopped in front of him, eyes gleaming. "Because I'm building an army, Devin."
Travis scoffed, looking around. "An army? For what?"
Kai vamp-sped right to him, grabbing the collar of his hoodie and pulling him close. "See, a wise man doesn't build an army after war is declared. No no no. He builds it before. Big enough… terrifying enough… that no one even thinks of declaring one."
He smirked, backing up, then pointed one by one at them. "And you all lucky bastards will have the honor of being my foot soldiers. But first… we've gotta army you properly."
He produced a palm‑sized wooden box: the missing Niffin box,. "And this," he said, "is your upgrade kit."
John, still rubbing the phantom ache of a broken neck, barked, "Yeah? Arm us with what, exactly?"
Kai turned, amused. "Ah, thank you, John, for the stupidly obvious question."
He walked toward the middle of the warehouse and addressed all of them. "In this world, there are special individuals Magicians. They have… a connection. A tether to the world. And through that tether, they can make the world act according to their intent, that is magic and those people? Magicians."
Tom frowned. "What kind of connection?"
Kai shrugged. "Imagine looking at the world and saying 'I want this,' and then the world replies: 'Alright, bet.' That's the power of intent. And you, my bloodsucking friends, are about to see if you can access that power."
Julius scoffed, "Really? Magic?"
Kai gave him a side-glance. "You do realize you're dead, right? And walking? Complaining about magic is ironic even for you."
Julius growled, "Killed by you."
"Details." Kai waved him off.
He turned to the others while thinking. 'Normally, in the world of the vampire diaries, when a witch turns into a vampire, they lose their magic. But that's because their magic is tied to a core internally, connected to nature. Here? Magic's external. It comes from a Wellspring.nSo what happens if a vampire drinks that magic in? What happens if I can build an internal reservoir like siphoner magic but fused with Wellspring access?'
He grinned. "Let's find out, shall we?"
——-
Hours later, Kai had drawn a full magical circle on the ground using chalk and blood. Seven candles stood tall around the edges. At the head of the circle was an elevated platform with the Niffin box.
"Okay…" Kai looked at them with a serious expression. "So!who wants to pull more than just rabbits out of a hat? Hmm?"
No one moved.
Kai sighed dramatically. "John. Be a dear, and come lie down would you."
Compulsion slid into place; John's legs obeyed to everyone's shock, John's body moved on its own, his eyes wide in panic as he lay on the platform.
"Thank you for volunteering," Kai said with mock cheer.
From his jacket, he pulled out a silver pocket knife, and without hesitation, carved two pentagrams into John's wrists. The sigils glowed with magic, preventing his vampire healing from kicking in.
Kai began chanting Latin.
"In virtute nexum… vas sanguinis… conjungo vis aliena…"
The box flared blue.
Blue radiance flared from the box, a glowing thread siphoning straight into John's open wounds.He screamed and lost consciousness as the Wellspring current poured through him.
The circle hummed with energy. Kai's grin widened.
"Take it in… good, good…"
The light reached a peak, then dimmed.
Kai ended the spell, kneeling. "John? Wake up. How do you feel?"
John stirred. Kai placed a hand on his chest. For a heartbeat Kai sensed it real Wellspring magic thrumming under John's skin. Success then his expression fell, veins lit sapphire beneath the flesh, spreading like cracks in glass.
The blue shimmer that laced John's veins intensified
"No… no no—"
FWOOOM.
John exploded into blue fire, screaming as his body was immolated reduced to ash within seconds.
"Ah… hell."
Larry stepped back. "He's dead…"
Travis whispered, "He'll come back, right? I mean, we're immortal…"
Kai looked at them all. "Not against fire, you're not."
Tom shook his head. "This is insane. This isn't right, man!"
Kai snapped, glaring. "You lost the right to decide what's right and wrong the night you were dragging that girl into that alley, Tom."
He stepped toward him. "Now why don't you come here so we can…"
His phone rang.
Kai paused. Glanced down. Jules.
He answered. "Jules? Hey, hey, hey… calm down. What happened?"
His face tensed. "You what? …I'm on my way."
He pocketed the phone, shot the trembling vampires a warning glare. "Recess. Don't touch anything."
"I've gotta run."
Then with a gust of wind and blur of movement, Kai vamp-sped away, leaving behind a flickering circle, a pile of blue-tinged ash, and six terrified vampires staring at a box humming ominously in front of them.
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