John held my hand on the plane. I was nervous because Niklaus was mad at me for not saying goodbye and he liked to hold grudges. It's been over nine months and he never tried to contact me, nor I him. John was nervous too, the vampires in his town liked to cause trouble and he didn't know how long he was going to be gone for. His second in command was ruthless, I reminded John, he would keep the vampires in line.

Closing my eyes, I disappeared from British Airways flight BA1496 and found myself in Spain in 1702. I was following behind Niklaus and Elijah and their tripointed hats. We were on the run from Mikael and looking for the youngest brother. We entered the house to find dozens of bodies scattered throughout.

"Kol!" Niklaus called.

"We've fought hard to keep this family concealed and yet debauchery like this has led Father directly to us," Elijah commented on the gruesome scene.

"Show yourself, this is no time for games." Niklaus's voice bounced off the lifeless walls.

Kol appeared slurping blood from a young girl's neck. He dropped her lifeless body and picked up a pint. "Come, come brother, there's always time for games." He took a swing of his drink and sat down, completely relaxed.

"We have to go, Mikael could be here any moment," I told Kol whose chin was still stained with blood.

"Now, if Mikael were upon us, I'd imagine Niklaus would be quite dead," he grinned cheekily.

"I barely escaped," Niklaus hissed. "Father left the head of my horse on a pike in the town square."

"He killed poor Theo? What a beast," Kol gasped. Had I not known that he had no soul, I would have believed his concern. "But then, father's always hated you most," he continued, breaking the illusion. "Surely he'll chase you if you flee, leaving me here. Perhaps I'll make myself mayor."

"Rebekah and Finn are already aboard the ship," Elijah announced. "It is imperative we remain together."

Kol stood, challenging his brothers. "Rebekah does what she's told only because she fears Nik," he growled. "And Finn is in no position to argue given the dagger in his heart. I think I'll take my chances here."

"And what if he doesn't?" I reached out and wiped some of the blood from his chin. "What if he tortures you until you tell him where we went and then he kills you because you're useless?"

"Like I said, luv, I think I'll take my chances here."

"You pathetic boy," I growled. "Just remember I gave you a choice."

Kol turned to leave, but Elijah was blocking his path. When he turned around again, Niklaus was on top of him with a silver dagger.

"Wake up, we're here," John's voice pulled me from the dream. "Everything okay?" he asked, his eyebrows knit together.

I nodded although I did feel a bit queasy. "I'm fine," I answered. "I just need a drink."

"Did the letter say where we could find them?" John asked as we walked down the street carrying our duffle bags.

"No need," I answered and pointed up at a large house. "We're here. This has been the Mikaelson house for centuries." I walked right in with John trailing behind. Aside from a few modern updates, the place looked exactly the same as it did nearly three hundred years ago. Elijah and Nik and another girl were standing around a table of food, analyzing it like their lives depended on it. "Alright, Elijah, I'm here. What was this all about?" I waved the letter at him.

"Well, Esther has returned and is probably going to try and kill us again." Nik waved his own piece of paper at me.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that, but I didn't fly all the way across the pond for your mommy issues," I sneered. It was difficult, being in this house, being with them, knowing Kol wasn't going to show up and ruin everything.

"I will fill you in on what has been going on," Elijah said. "But first I believe introductions are in order. This is Hayley." The girl he spoke of was a skinny brunette with high cheekbones and was utterly gorgeous. "Hayley, this is Artemis and…"

"John." He offered his hand.

"John," Elijah forced a smile and shook hands with my friend. "If you expect us to share our family's secrets with a newblood we've never met…"

"Newblood?" John interrupted. "I'm no bloody original, but I've been around for several centuries."

I put a hand on John's forearm to calm him down. "I'm not expecting anything, Elijah."

"Come, then. We have much to discuss." He began walking, exiting the house, and motioned for me to follow.

"If I come back and John is dead, Niklaus, I'm going to kill you first," I called as I went to catch up with the older brother.

We arrived at a loft house across the river. "Where are we?" I asked.

"You remember Marcellus? Niklaus's ward?"

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Marcellus said. "It's not like you to shirt your duties."

"You changed her, you teach her," Elijah replied calmly. "She is not my burden to bear."

"So then why are you here?" Marcellus asked

"The cooperation of a witch."

I wandered around the room as they spoke. A girl was in the corner, looking at Marcellus's extensive book collection. The place was just one large room with a table, sofa, and bed, all on opposite sides. Uncharacteristically for a vampire commune, nearly an entire wall was windows, allowing the sun to stream in. I returned to Elijah's side as Marcellus waved over the girl from the corner.

"Gia, why don't you take Elijah and Artemis to meet our friend Lenore," he said.

"If this is your idea of a joke, I assure you I'm not amused," Elijah replied.

"Oh there's nothing funny about what's going on. Mikael's back which is causing chaos. It just seems like you need all the friends that you can get," Marcellus responded.

"Why would you think it's a joke?" I asked Elijah as we walked away.

"Marcel asked me to mentor her yesterday when he turned her and I refused."

Gia followed us as we left the house and immediately began running her mouth.

"Marcel asked you to take us to a witch," I growled when I grew tired of her voice. "How about we do that?"

"You want to walk in silence, cool," she said. "But you're going the wrong way."

Elijah sighed. "Marcel believes that I can instruct you. First lesson: do your best not to waste my time."

We arrived at a small Wiccan shop owned by a middle aged black woman. "Go away, I'm busy," she said without looking up when the bell on the door rang.

"Blatantly practicing magic, I see," Elijah commented.

"Herbal remedies for a neighbor who lost her insurance, but my guess is an Original ain't here to talk neighborhood gossip," she said.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Elijah said.

"Quarter is crawling with witches, go ask one of them," she brushed us off again without looking up.

"I don't typically ask favors of my enemies."

"So you came across the river to bother me," the shopkeeper sighed.

"We need a soulbranding spell," I told her. "And Elijah can persuade those pesky anti-local business bureaucrats for you in return."

The witch stopped grinding herbs in her mortar. "It's a sacrificial spell. I'm gonna need an item that's been spelled by the witch in question and a python."

"I shall retrieve the enchanted item," Elijah agreed. "My partner, Gia, will take care of the python."

"Will what?" Gia said. "Why can't Artemis do it?"

Gently, I stroked her hair and smiled. "Because I don't want to," I told her, but in truth I was beginning to worry that Nik might have killed John.

"Second lesson of the day: Acquisition through mind compulsion," Elijah told her and guided me away.