Chapter 1: A Macabre Present

He hoped he wasn't too late.

Klaus had followed the trail of clues all day, each one posing a riddle that he had to solve before moving onto the next one. As riddles went, they were hardly mind-boggling, but he guessed Aurora was enjoying the fact she could lead him round by the nose—and around the city of New Orleans—much more than the flimsy intellectual challenge presented by her pathetic little game. He had no choice but to play along. Aurora was no doubt telling the truth when she warned him that if he didn't, if he tried to use magic or find some other way of "cheating," then Cami's life was forfeit.

He had badly miscalculated the threat Aurora posed. His anger over Rebekah had pushed him to show his hand too early. And now Camille was paying the price for his momentary lapse in judgment.

For the hundredth time that day, he had to stop as an overwhelming desire to break something—or someone—overtook him.

Aurora would do nicely. In fact, he looked forward to it. When he caught up with her, he'd deal with the problem of his ex-girlfriend, and it would give him immense pleasure to rip the bitch's black heart from her body. For now, he had bigger fish to fry, such as finding Cami and making sure she was all right.

The final clue came from an obviously compelled jazz musician on Frenchmen Street, who passed him a piece of paper and told him, "Enjoy, my sweet." The familiar lavender scent of the paper was cloying as he unfolded it and read the handwritten note:

Welcoming friend

Invisible stranger

Here she is both

But is she in danger?

He almost laughed out loud at the simplicity of the clue before crushing it in his hand and speeding off.

Rousseau's was closed despite the early hour, but the locked door would have been easily broken open even without the strength of a hybrid. It took him only a second to find her, laid out on the bar like a macabre present, the gauzy purple fabric of her dress fanned out over the dark wooden paneling and her hands folded over her chest.

Blind panic surged through him at the sight of her, rendering him immobile for a few seconds, until he realized that he could hear the signs of life within her, strong and steady. Her skin was pale and cool, but there was no sign of injury apart from the bite marks still visible on her neck. Aurora had fed on her, that much was clear, but she'd left Camille alive. This should have reassured him, but the nagging feeling that Aurora hadn't concocted this charade merely to send him on a wild goosechase lingered.

Shaking his head, Klaus scooped Cami up into his arms. Taking stock would have to wait until he had her somewhere safe. He'd feed her his blood. Everything would be all right.

They were back at the compound within a minute, and he called for his siblings as he took her into one of the unoccupied bedrooms upstairs. Gently, he deposited Cami on the bed, settling her as comfortably as he could and smoothing the hair away from her face. He inspected every inch of skin he could see for bruises or cuts, then felt for broken bones. It was then he noticed the note clutched in her hand, hidden until now by the frill of her sleeve.

Another infernal game? He cursed Aurora as he unfolded the paper and inhaled the sickly-sweet fragrance that clung to it before reading aloud:

In slumber, she waits

To discover her fate

Awoken by this…

True love's gentle kiss

You have but one week

To find him you seek

Or your quest is through

And she lost to you

Cold fingers of fear wrapped themselves around the back of his neck as the implications of the note sank in. Then the adrenalin started pumping through his veins, and sheer unadulterated anger took over.