Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.
Chapter Two
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Elena Gilbert opened the door of the Salvatore Boarding House, and Caroline breezed past her into the building.
"Caroline, what's-"
"Bonnie's done something stupid," Caroline blurted out, in a hurry but far from winded.
"Bonnie?"
"What's wrong?"
"What's Judgy gone and done now?"
Jeremy, Alaric, and Damon were seated in chairs or on the sofa in the living room as Elena led her blonde vampire friend over to the group; Stefan preferred to sit alone at the far end of the room, keeping a close eye on Elena. Caroline leaned against the arm of the sofa.
"She followed Jeremy's doubly dead girlfriend on a quest to find a magical amulet that's supposed to double her powers," Caroline, giving Jeremy a bit of the old stink-eye, told them.
"Anna?" Jeremy asked, paling.
"Why would Bonnie do that?" Elena asked, leaning on the arm of a nearby chair. "And why would Anna help her?"
"Maybe she felt guilty for stealing Bonnie's boyfriend?" Damon smirked, then shrugged when Jeremy gave him a dirty look. "Just saying. Maybe she wanted to give something back."
"I don't trust her," Caroline said. "Right after she explained what this amulet could do, Bonnie took off with her."
"And why didn't you stop her?" Damon asked, intentionally needling Caroline. It never took much to get under the skin of Vampire Barbie.
"I tried," Caroline answered, ignoring the taunt. She was starting to get used to Damon's barbs. She explained how Bonnie had barricaded her into the house. "As soon as she let me go, I came over here."
"Sounds like she knows exactly what she's doing," Stefan threw in from across the room.
Elena's jaw tightening was the only clue to her irritation with the Klaus-compelled version of the vampire she loved. Damon, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes.
"What's she searching for?" Stefan asked.
"The Eye of the-"
"Jackal," Stefan finished; he'd heard of the talisman. Interesting choice of items for Anna to be leading a witch towards.
"Eye of the Jackal?" Alaric asked. "What does that thing do?"
"It's rumored to not only double a witch's powers," Damon answered, "but it also makes her tougher against wolves. Or werewolves."
"Or hybrids?" Jeremy wondered. "Like Klaus, and Tyler?"
"After she gets this thing, she's going to go face off with Klaus," Caroline added.
"Sounds like a fight I'd like to see," Damon said.
Elena gave the older Salvatore brother a scowl. "If she survives the trip with Anna," she pointed out. Despite her brother's faith in Anna, she still wasn't convinced that the trip was legit, and not just a trap to rid her of her romantic rival.
"Hey!"
"Your objection is overruled," Damon told Jeremy.
"You don't know that Anna will hurt her," Jeremy announced. "She's not like that. She's a good person."
"Vampire," Elena corrected. Anna hadn't been a person in hundreds of years.
"Ghost," Damon pointed out. "And ghosts aren't necessarily sweet and tame little things. The last one I met tried barbecueing me."
"That's because you ripped his heart out," Jeremy objected. "That's not Anna."
"Funny how you're more concerned over your ghost girlfriend than the girl who's heart you ripped out," Damon noted. "But wait, Bonnie's still alive."
"For now," Caroline finished.
"Of course I care about Bonnie," Jeremy said, flushing with anger. They didn't need to keep bringing up his betrayal of Bonnie with every breath. "But I think you're all just overreacting. Anna won't hurt her."
"Klaus can," Elena observed. "And he will." She glanced over at Stefan, who was pretending to read some sort of book or journal. She knew that he was far more interested in their conversation than he was letting on. "We need to stop Bonnie before she gets to him."
"We don't know where the King of the Hybrids is staying these days," Damon pointed out.
"No," Elena agreed. "But Stefan does."
Stefan looked up. "My job is simply to protect you," he reminded her.
"Right," Elena said. "And I'm going to go find Klaus. So either you can help me, or you can stay here and wait for me to come back."
Stefan was at Elena's side before she could blink.
"You know I can't do that," Stefan told her.
"Can't help me?" Elena asked. She glanced over at the small silver dagger laying on the end table nearest Damon, thinking that anywhere else, the weapon would look very out of place, but not here.
Stefan followed her glance. "Let's not play that game," he told her, reading her thoughts as easily as the journals over by his desk. "Klaus needs you alive."
"And I need Bonnie safe," Elena told him. "You need Klaus to be safe. So, you'll take me to him? Or at least help me intercept Bonnie before she reaches him?"
Stefan struggled with an answer for a minute. Klaus would be pissed that he had brought Elena there, but he would likely appreciate an attempt at Stefan protecting him. At worst, he'd enjoy having an audience for his destruction of the witch.
"All right," he agreed. "But just you."
His words caused an uproar; both Caroline and Jeremy were insistent upon going, and Alaric was determined to go to protect Elena from her protector.
"Jer, you're not going," Elena told him.
"I have my ring," he argued.
"And the minute you open your mouth, Bonnie will be tempted to turn you into a frog," Damon snarked from the sofa; he was stretched out, enjoying the battle. He had no interest in going to watch the witch commit suicide against Klaus.
"If you try to talk her out of this," Elena said, "she'll more than likely do exactly the opposite of what you ask." Her words stung, but Jeremy knew Elena wasn't telling him this because she was angry with him for betraying her best friend. She just wanted her to be safe. "You hurt her, and she won't listen to you."
"I know, but-"
"I'm going," Caroline told Elena.
"So am I," Alaric said, stepping up to the small standing group.
"Fine," Stefan said, frustrated that no one was listening to his decree that only Elena would be going. "Let's go."
The two vampires and the two humans headed for the door.
"Looks like it's just you and me," Damon told Jeremy, who was watching unhappily as the others left without him.
"I'm going to go find Matt," Jeremy answered. "See what he's up to."
"Right," Damon snarked. "Go find the brother of your other ex."
A moment later, Damon was alone.
"Finally!" he said to the empty house. Part of him regretted letting Elena leave with the others, but once that girl got an idea into her head, there was no stopping her. He sighed, bored with no one around left to taunt. He stalked over to Stefan's desk, grabbed the book his brother had been reading, and threw himself into a chair.
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Bonnie swallowed as she stared up at the eight foot doors on the building in front of her, finding much irony in the fact that Klaus had chosen a church - a church! - of all places, to take up residence in. So much for hallowed ground. Anna had led her here just after they discovered the amulet. She'd only just released Caroline, knowing that her friend would run straight to Elena, and that Elena would come running, Stefan in tow. She needed Stefan to be there. Both Tyler and Rebekah were inside with Klaus, and heaven only knew how many vampires were there. But they didn't matter. Only Klaus, and what she wanted from him, mattered.
The Eye of the Jackal nested warmly between her breasts. Initially to her eyes, the gem had looked black, but once she rolled it around in her hands, with the sunshine glinting off it, she could see it was a luscious dark blue. The setting was made of platinum, mimicking the werewolf's weakness to silver, but not being the deadly metal.
With a deep breath, Bonnie shoved the doors of the church wide open and stepped inside. She stalked into the church without waiting for an invitation. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as she could, because she knew the others would be on their way to stop her, and the sooner she made the deal, the better off they would all be.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust; the lighting inside was modest at best, and only a few candles in the nooks along the outer walls flickered, giving the church as creepy an atmosphere as it could get. At the front of the church, sitting on the altar, was the blonde-haired Original vampire Rebekah. Tyler stood to her left, and he didn't look happy about being there. A number of vampires stood sentry around the room, and while they'd clearly been expecting her, they hadn't figured she'd burst right into the church with no preamble.
Four of the vampires rushed her. Between her anger at Klaus for forcing her into this decision, and the amplification from the amulet, what normally would have been a simple tossing about of vampires ended up being much harsher, and the four vampires disintegrated to ash as her magic touched them.
"Impressive."
Bonnie turned and spotted Klaus above and behind her in the balcony. He was smiling. A moment later, he stood in front of her. Something, he realized, felt different about his witch, but he couldn't put a finger on what that was.
Yet.
"Welcome, Bonnie," he said, turning with an arm outstretched, "to my humble abode."
"Let's get this over with," she grumbled, hating him for his cheery mood. She was less than thrilled about making the exchange, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. Nonetheless, he didn't have to be so happy about it.
"What's your hurry, love?" Klaus asked. "Are your friends on their way to talk you out of this?"
Bonnie glared at him instead of answering. "Me, for Stefan and Tyler."
"And Tyler?" Klaus repeated, feigning surprise that Bonnie would make that demand. He knew she'd do anything for her friends, and getting back blondie's boyfriend was just as important to her as getting back the doppelganger's. "You are asking a lot."
"That's the only way you get me," Bonnie said. She wasn't going to back down. If he wanted her, he was going to have to give her exactly what she wanted in return.
Klaus pretended to think about it for a minute before turning to her. "Done."
"But I have some ground rules first," Bonnie added, determined not to get railroaded in the dealmaking.
Klaus smirked. "Of course you do, love. I didn't expect anything else."
"First, we leave Mystic Falls," Bonnie told him. The sooner she could get him away from her friends, the safer they would be.
"Done," Klaus agreed, as if that hadn't been his plan all along.
"Second, I will only help you and stay with you as long as you don't use your abilities against me," Bonnie continued. "No compulsion, no biting, or anything else you have that makes you more than human."
Klaus smirked. "And...?"
"You won't harm any of my friends, either directly or indirectly," Bonnie said. "That means you can't send your hybrids or anything to hurt them after we're gone."
"Fabulous," Klaus said, pleased to have come to terms with his witch.
"One last thing," Bonnie cut his celebration off. "You won't harm an unwilling human being in front of me."
"Bonn-"
"I will defend that person to either your death or mine," Bonnie finished. "You attack them, or you attack me, and the deal is broken."
"And you will stay by my side until that point?" Klaus asked, determined to at least get some say in the negotiations. Bonnie didn't look happy, but she nodded, and as she lowered her head, the amulet she was wearing slipped out of the neck of her shirt, and if Klaus had a heart, it would have stopped.
The Eye of the Jackal!
No wonder the witch had felt different to him. He'd been trying to get hold of that pendant for months, but no one had any clue where it had disappeared to. He'd traced it as far as having been locked into the tomb in the 1860s, but it hadn't been inside when he'd searched. He'd wondered if Katherine or one of the Salvatores had found it, but there'd been at least a dozen vampires locked away in the tomb, so it could have gone in just about any direction. Apparently his witch had known the right vampire to speak to in order to gain it.
And now, at least, it was in his possession, even if he couldn't actually take control of it until the witch's death. Her natural death, or until he could convince her to willingly hand it over to him.
Klaus smiled, and it was a scary smile. He had both things he wanted in his grasp. A powerful fledgling witch, and the amulet.
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"A church?" Elena asked as Stefan pulled his car to a stop.
"Yes, a church," he answered. "Where better to hide from anyone hunting vampires?"
Elena shrugged as she got out of the car. "Well, I guess he's had plenty of practice hiding from them."
"Can we even go inside?" Caroline asked as she followed suit, climbing out from beside Alaric in the backseat. "Surely that whole 'God will smite the unholy' thing applies to us, doesn't it?"
"They're just words," Stefan told her. "Things made up by unholy men trying to cover up their own sins by literally putting the fear of God into their followers."
"Still," Caroline hesitated. "You can go in first."
Alaric patted her on the shoulder as he followed Stefan and Elena towards the doors. After a moment's hesitation, Caroline, quickly catching up to her friends, began walking towards the church.
Elena put her hand on the door handle, but before she could open the door, Stefan stopped her.
"It'll probably be better if I lead the way," he told her. She pulled her hand free, and Stefan swung the door open. As he took a step into the church, he stopped dead, an invisible wall keeping him out. "What the hell?" He'd thought only homes with living owners could keep him out.
"Bonnie," Caroline whispered. "She must already be inside."
Elena reached out to see if maybe she, as a human, could pass through the barrier. Her hand struck the clear wall as well.
"Bonnie!" She pounded on the barricade. "Don't do it!"
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Klaus had led Bonnie into a back room behind the pulpit, away from the rest of the church. Away from her friend Tyler, who she was determined to free; away from his sister, who was determined to free Bonnie from her life.
"We're alone," Klaus told her. "You can tell me how your magic suddenly became so...fierce."
Bonnie lifted an eyebrow. Fierce? "I've been practicing."
"Fine," Klaus said. "Keep your secrets." He walked behind Bonnie, who fought her inner instinct to turn around and watch him; she knew he was testing her.
"Are you afraid of me, Bonnie?" he asked, so close to her ear she could feel his breath tickle the hairs inside her ear. He wasn't touching her, but at this distance, she could sense his presence in every pore. She fought back a shiver. He was positioned almost exactly like he had been her dream, and she'd felt the electricity between them in her mind then; it was even stronger in the flesh.
Bravely, she turned her face just enough that she could see his eyes. "Yes," she answered, wishing that her heart wasn't hammering so fast. There was no point in lying to him; he had to be able to hear her blood pulsing through her veins in response to his nearness. He'd know she wasn't telling the truth in a heartbeat.
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After having no luck at finding Matt, Jeremy headed back to his house. Almost as soon as he reached his room, he sensed a familiar presence behind him, and he turned around to face Anna, who was peering out of his mirror at him.
"I'm glad you're back," she told him with a smile.
Jeremy, however, wasn't nearly as happy to see her.
"Where did you take Bonnie?" he asked, anger filling his voice. He was sick with worry over her; even though she'd ended their relationship over his stupidity, she hadn't ended his feelings for her. "I know she went to confront Klaus."
"Jeremy..."
"Where, Anna?"
"To Fell's Church, on the other side of-"
"I know where it is," Jeremy, still fairly angry, cut her off. "What were you thinking?" Despite his defense of her to his friends, he couldn't help but wonder why Anna had felt the need to seek Bonnie out, couldn't help wonder if it had to do with his feelings for Bonnie. If anything happened to Bonnie, he'd never forgive himself, or Anna.
"Jeremy, I'm sorry," Anna apologized, walking over. She took his hand and pulled him to sit next to her on his bed. "I got curious, so I went over and watched Bonnie for a while. She never saw me, until I showed myself to her earlier."
Jeremy looked confused.
"Why were you watching Bonnie?" he asked.
"Because I felt bad," Anna answered. "We hurt her. She would go to this ...place... in the woods. She would keep a brave face on in front of everyone else, but when she was alone... She loved you, and you broke her heart, Jeremy."
The kiss. That damned kiss.
"She never gave me a chance to explain," Jeremy defended his actions. "To tell her that things weren't the way-"
"They looked?" Anna asked. The tone of her voice told Jeremy that he'd said the wrong thing; it seemed like lately, all he ever said was the wrong thing.
"Anna..." As Jeremy watched, Anna disappeared from sight. "Anna?" She didn't reply, didn't reappear. "Dammit!" Jeremy flung the backpack off his bed and took a deep breath, then he raced down the stairs. He had to make certain that Bonnie was okay.
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Elena was leaning against the door of the church staring in at Rebekah, who was sitting on a small table near the pulpit. The vampire knew that she, Stefan, Caroline, and Alaric were trying to get inside, but she was ignoring them. Likely, she was just as trapped as they were; however they wanted to get in, and she couldn't get out.
"What is taking so long?" Elena opined, worry for her friend staining her words. She'd seen Bonnie disappear with Klaus, and neither had reappeared. Each minute felt like a year as she stood outside, desperate to get in.
"She'll be fine," Caroline said, trying to reassure Elena. But despite her typical optimism, she was fairly worried, as well. They'd been waiting outside the church for almost twenty minutes, and there'd been no sign of either Bonnie or the Original Vampire she'd come to confront.
"I'm going to guess that as long as we can't go inside, Bonnie's still fine," Alaric pointed out. "If something had happened, she'd either divert her magic in order to fight, or she'd be..."
"Just fine, and walking out of the back room behind Klaus?" Stefan suggested.
Elena gave him a dirty look. "That's not funny."
Stefan nodded towards the pulpit, where Klaus and Bonnie had just emerged from a door nearby; Rebekah, on the other hand, had disappeared.
"Bonnie!" Elena shouted. She pounded on the barricade to get her friend's attention. The witch looked up, and the barrier dissolved under Elena's hands. She barreled into the church, followed closely by Caroline, who stopped dead in the doorway when she spotted Tyler off to the left; she hadn't seen him until Bonnie's barrier had disappeared.
Elena sprinted past Klaus and slammed into Bonnie with a worried hug that almost knocked both girls off their feet. Bonnie hugged back, but she was mentally preparing herself for the scene that was sure to erupt when she told Elena what she'd done.
While Elena was hugging Bonnie, and Caroline was wrapped in Tyler's arms in the corner, Klaus strode directly up to Stefan.
"I'm sorry," Stefan said, hoping to appease Klaus. Klaus had specifically asked that Elena not know the whereabouts of his hideout, and he was certain to be furious.
Except, he didn't seem to be.
"I release you," Klaus told Stefan, staring into his eyes. At his words, Stefan collapsed, the compulsion gone, and only Alaric grabbing him kept him from landing on the floor.
"Stefan!" Elena pulled out of Bonnie's arms and ran over to the dazed vampire. "What did you do to him?"
"I removed the compulsion binding him to me," Klaus told her. "He's free to go. As is Tyler."
Elena, stunned, just stared at Klaus. "Why? Why would you do this?"
"Because," Klaus answered, "Bonnie made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
"Bonnie?" Elena looked confused and scared. "What did you do?"
"Nothing you wouldn't have done," Bonnie answered. "Something I had to do."
"Take him and go," Klaus instructed. "Before I change my mind."
Elena looked stricken. "Bonnie...?"
"Just go!"
Bonnie stepped around from behind Klaus as Alaric readjusted his grip on Stefan, shouldering more of his weight while Elena took the other side. Bonnie helped them stagger towards the main door. Caroline and Tyler met them there.
"What's Klaus talking about?" Elena asked.
"I made a choice," Bonnie answered, not giving any more details.
"Did he threaten you?" the dark-haired girl asked.
Bonnie shook her head before realizing that Elena couldn't see her; her friend was studying the path ahead for any potential pitfalls. "No," she answered. "No threats. He and Rebekah are leaving Mystic Falls." She paused, knowing that Elena would not take her next words well. "And I'm going with them."
"No, Bonnie," Elena said, stopping in her tracks. She released Stefan, and Alaric headed out the door supporting the vampire by himself. "It's too dangerous. They'll kill you."
"Maybe," Bonnie answered. "Maybe not. But it's too dangerous to let them stay here, and to let them keep attacking you and Stefan, Caroline, Tyler." She swallowed. "Klaus gave me his word that he would leave you all alone, amongst other things."
"You can't trust him," Elena said. "He wants my blood-"
"You trusted Elijah," Bonnie, taking a deep breath, pointed out. "Even after you and Alaric stabbed him with that dagger, you still trusted him to keep his word."
"That was Elijah," Elena noted. "And I still had to word my deal perfectly, because if there was a loophole, he might find it and exploit it, like he did with Rose and her friend. Klaus-"
"Has to be given the same chance to keep his word," Bonnie said. "While you were at the hospital, he had the nurses take several bags of your blood. I convinced him to keep that in a safe location, and then he won't need you anytime soon. As for protecting myself, I'm not defenseless against him."
"I know, Bonnie, but..." Elena bit her lip. "You're giving up your freedom, maybe your life, on such an uncertain future. I just...I feel guilty. It should be me."
Bonnie smiled half-heartedly as she shook her head at her friend's martyr complex. "I would have died to keep you safe from him before. I'm basically doing the same thing, only with a better chance of survival this time."
Elena sprang forward and hugged her friend tight. "This is crazy. Is there anything I can say to talk you out of it?"
"I made a deal with Klaus," Bonnie answered, shaking her head. "It's too late for take-backs."
"Promise me you'll be careful," Elena told her, staring into Bonnie's dark eyes. Both girls had unshed tears welling up in their eyes. "That you'll call and check in regularly, let me know you're okay."
"I will," Bonnie promised, giving Elena a last hug. "You'd better go, get Stefan home."
"If you need anything..." Elena said, stopping in the church doorway.
"I know," Bonnie answered, giving her friend one last smile before Elena left the church.
"That was touching," Klaus said, walking over to Bonnie after Elena was gone. "Friendship is just so amazing. So...inspiring. I'm sure you and I will be great friends."
Despite her fear, Bonnie stared hard up into Klaus's eyes. She was annoyed by the amused glint in his expression, and her annoyance filled her words.
"I agreed to be your companion," Bonnie told him. "Not your friend."
"Duly noted," Klaus said, shrugging off her irritation with him and striding past her back towards the pulpit. "If there are any things you'd like to gather from your home, now's the time to do it."
"We're leaving so soon?" Bonnie asked, surprised. She figured it would take at least a day to get his and Rebekah's possessions moved. "Where are we going?"
"Why does it matter?" Klaus teased, turning back to face Bonnie, who had begun to follow him towards the pulpit. "As long as it isn't here?"
"It's hard to pack appropriately when you don't know where you're going," Bonnie pointed out. "Warm clothes for cold weather? Or are we headed somewhere temperate?"
"I haven't had a chance to think that far ahead yet," Klaus admitted. "After all, we only just struck our bargain, and I wasn't planning on leaving this soon. So...better pack for both, just in case."
"That will double the amount I'll have to bring," Bonnie said.
Klaus shrugged. "No worries. I'm sure we'll be able to fit it in."
Bonnie was just about to ask, into what?, when the church doors slammed open, and she spun around, surprised. Rebekah was in the doorway, holding Jeremy in a sort of headlock. Her breath caught.
Not him. Not Jeremy.
"Look what I found snooping around the church," Rebekah announced. "Pesky little one."
"Bonnie..." Jeremy whispered as loud as he could. His eyes expressed the worry he was feeling for her better than his voice was able.
"Let him go," Bonnie said, her heart hammering into her throat; she could barely breathe from fear, and she wanted to cry. Jeremy had broken her heart not that long ago, but of course, he had to show up and try to rescue her; if nothing else, he couldn't seem to break the crazy habit he had of trying to protect her when she didn't need his protection.
"Doubtful," Rebekah answered as Jeremy struggled unsuccessfully to free himself. Rebekah wasn't even straining to hold him still.
"Release the boy," Klaus said from behind Bonnie. "Send him on home."
"That's no fun, Nik," Rebekah answered, shifting just enough that Bonnie relaxed a little bit. And then she snapped Jeremy's neck.
Klaus had Rebekah slammed against the church wall faster than Bonnie could react to Jeremy's body hitting the floor. She heard none of Klaus's words as she raced over to Jeremy, but she could tell he was furious with his sister.
Bonnie bent and cradled Jeremy's head as tears leaked out of her eyes. She wiped them away angrily, and then her eyes sought out his hand, which - fortunately - was wearing the Gilbert ring that would revive him from death caused by a supernatural entity. She glanced up to see that Klaus was alone; Rebekah must have slipped out of the church while she had been distracted by Jeremy. Lucky for Rebekah, she thought.
"Go get your things right now," Klaus told her. "We leave in an hour." Bonnie realized that he wasn't upset with her, but his anger scared her into motion anyway. Reluctantly, she slipped her legs from beneath Jeremy and gently arranged him in a comfortable position, climbed to her feet, and followed Klaus out of the church.
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Klaus finished reading over the contract handed to him by Bonnie, and he laughed. "Do you really expect me to sign this?"
Bonnie, on the other hand, found it no laughing matter. She'd typed it up before going to the church, and she'd made a couple of other amendments to it before gathering some of her things into her duffel bag. She'd barely been ready when Klaus and Rebekah had pulled up to her house in a large moving truck.
"If you don't sign it, I don't go with you," Bonnie answered simply. "Elena trusted Elijah's words, but I'm not sure I can trust yours."
"Of course you can trust me, Bonnie," Klaus almost purred at her.
Bonnie lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then sign it. Prove it."
Klaus sighed. "I could just make you come with me," he told her.
"If you think so, give it a shot," Bonnie, fighting back a flutter of fear, answered bravely. She was getting faster with her magic, but Klaus was a thousand years old, and she wasn't sure she was a match for him, even with the amulet. "But then you'd be breaking our agreement, and I'd be free not to go with you."
Klaus sighed again. "Fine. Pen?"
Bonnie had come prepared, and she handed one over.
"What's taking so long?" Rebekah yelled out of the passenger side window.
"We'll just be a minute," Klaus answered her as he scribbled his name onto the contract. He handed it and the pen back to Bonnie. "Are you happy now?"
Happy wasn't the word Bonnie would use to describe it, but she nodded.
"Then let's go," Klaus answered, directing her to the front of the truck.
Bonnie didn't move. "I'm not riding up front between two of the oldest vampires in existence."
Klaus almost growled. "Fine." He hauled the back door to the truck bed open. "Get in." Bonnie hesitated, and Klaus repeated himself.
"But..."
Klaus slammed the door shut over Bonnie's protests, and he stalked around front and hopped into the cab beside his sister.
"Where's the witch?" Rebekah asked.
"She's in the back with our things," Klaus answered, slamming the door and starting the engine. He pulled out into traffic, and they were on their way.
"Why are we bringing her with us, anyway?"
"Because she has something I want," Klaus answered.
"More than you wanted Stefan's companionship?" Rebekah questioned. "More than you wanted your hybrid army, starting with Tyler?"
"Yes," Klaus answered sharply, turning towards the highway.
"So..." Rebekah was practically itching with curiosity. "What is it?"
Klaus didn't answer. But he knew. He knew about Bonnie's special piece of jewelry, the Eye of the Jackal. He'd killed the original Jackal, and a witch had imbued the amulet with the jackal's energy and strength. He knew what the amulet could do: it could negate much of a vampire's powers, and it even negated some of a werewolf's abilities. Beyond that, it would amplify the abilities of a witch, as it had done for Bonnie, who had somehow found the piece, and only recently, as he could sense the amulet's presence when he hadn't been able to just a few weeks ago. She hadn't had it when he'd visited her dreams the last time.
The Eye of the Jackal could be used against Mikael, in order to shield him against his step-father, the man who had hunted him for centuries, and who had haunted his life and his nightmares for even longer. Mikael, who knew that he and Rebekah were in Mystic Falls and might soon arrive to haunt Klaus some more. It would give protection against the white oak stake Mikael possessed.
Klaus needed the talisman, but he couldn't simply take the amulet from Bonnie; the Eye of the Jackal didn't work like that. The amulet couldn't be taken by force, it had to be given freely, from one possessor to another. He couldn't compel Bonnie to give it to him, as vampire compulsion was negated against the wearer. He couldn't kill Bonnie to attain it, as any unnatural death to the possessor would destroy the amulet forever, which would die along with the wearer it had bonded to. Either he had to be patient, and wait for Bonnie to die a slow, natural death, and even protect her life from any sort of violent death, or he had to convince her to give the amulet to him. Either way, the witch had to come along. And she had to be protected.
"Nik...?" Rebekah prompted when she didn't get her answer.
"A weapon, Bekah," Klaus answered, not taking his eyes off the road. "One we have to take very special care of."
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