Caroline briefly took her eyes away from Tyler to face Klaus. "You've lost your mind…"
He was quietly sitting on the sofa and enjoying his drink outwardly without a care.
"You are completely crazy." Caroline stared at him. "You have to be."
"I'm a man of many traits." He agreed.
She snapped the second she saw his smirk peeking from above the glass he was holding against his lips. "You just killed my friend!"
"I helped him." he corrected her.
Caroline closed her eyes to a narrow line.
"Are you trying to hurt me Caroline?" he identified a small prickling in his head.
"I'm very inclined to make your head explode." she said between angry lips.
He left the sofa. "I should enjoy another drink before you do that."
Caroline was livid but Tyler needed her full attention now.
He gasped loudly when he was jolted back to life and sat up roughly breathing. "What just happened?" he looked around disoriented before his mind took him back to his last memory, he touched his neck remembering the snapping pain. "Dude… did you just… kill me?" Tyler looked at Klaus.
"With your werewolf side suppressed you were a simple human." Klaus handed him a shot of whiskey. "Now with my help, you can be something else."
Tyler had the drink hastily before he got up to look for a mirror. "I look the same." he turned around to look at Caroline and Klaus after a first glimpse. "Why do I look normal?"
"You will only be a vampire if you take human blood to finish the transition." Caroline calmly explained him.
"What happens if I don't?" Tyler's voice lowered a bit.
"It will be a luxurious waste of my blood." Klaus dropped coldly.
Caroline glared at him. "We need to think about this."
Klaus smiled. "There's not much to think about sweetheart, Tyler had my blood in his system when I broke his neck. Before he only had the choice of dying without an alternative, now I've provided him with one."
"He had an alternative." Caroline hissed at Klaus. "I would find a way to break his curse and I would give him back his werewolf spirit."
Klaus' smile grew. "I'm still counting on you to do that."
Caroline shook her head stunned. "What?"
He dropped his glass on the table and took a bag of blood instead. "I'm counting on you and your coven to restore Tyler's wolf side but in the meantime he will be a vampire."
Her arms parted in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Just because his wolf gene is sleeping it doesn't mean that he can't be a strong and almost invincible creature. I was a vampire for centuries until I magically broke free from my restrains."
Caroline covered her eyes distressed.
However Tyler was increasingly more interested in the conversation. "Are you saying that I can be a hybrid one day?"
Caroline instantly faced Tyler. "No Ty, don't listen to him."
"That's precisely what I'm affirming." Klaus steered Tyler's eyes back to him.
"That can't be done." Caroline didn't bother with a look at Klaus, she just faced the floor.
"It would require a bit of skill and planning but I managed to do it after 500 years." Klaus explained. "And I didn't have a Caroline at the time." he tried to tell her that he was ever so sure of her skills as a witch.
Tyler grimaced. "I don't want to wait 500 years."
"Don't fall for any of this crazy talk, Klaus is a hybrid because he's an Original." Caroline tried to stop the nonsense going around in spades.
"Actually…" Klaus waited until the two of them faced him. "The Original blood rushing through my veins is only the missing link to create more hybrids."
Caroline leaned her head to the side with cringed eyebrows. "Can you elaborate on that?"
Matt held a stare with the sink, it was so cluttered with dirty dishes that he felt his last shred of patience dissipate entirely, this had to end.
He headed to Vicki's bedroom and walked inside without knocking. "You need to start doing something around here."
"And you need to start knocking." she looked up from the small mirror in the wall.
"Vicki, I can't go to work and college and still come home to clean the house before I try to sleep for a few hours."
"Why don't you use your magic and have it all done with the power of your mind?" she suggested while wrapping a summer scarf around her neck.
"I'm tired of doing everything!" he snapped with a yell.
Vicki was done with her accessories and went to her bed, she picked up her bag and got ready to leave. "I clean glasses all day, the last thing I want to do is come home and clean the house."
Matt stopped her from going out. "Do you think that I like working my ass off to put food on the table? I would love to just steal money and waste it all on drugs every single day of the week." he sarcastically smiled.
Vicki tried moving her arm but it was obvious that Matt was keeping her for a little longer. "Don't the girls in your posse tell you everyday how perfect and amazing you are?"
It hit Matt hard and he shot back with a loud voice. "This isn't about my coven, this is about my sister spiraling so hard that she's taking me with her. It's draining to have this same talk every other day Vicki, you need to get your crap together."
Every thunderous word was a harsh sting in her eyes and Vicki started fighting with him so that she could break away before she started crying. "Let me go." she shouted when he intensified his hand around her arm. "I said, let me go." she pulled her arm harder and while doing so her sleeve got caught in Matt's strong hands.
During the quick struggle to really get away from him the collar of her shirt lowered and the summer scarf fell out of place.
It was then that Matt saw what she had been hiding under it. "Vicki… what is that?" he quickly reacted.
"Nothing." she covered herself immediately.
Matt was stronger though and pulled the scarf so that he could expose her bruised skin, there were two bite marks separated by inches and visibly fresh.
"Get away from me." Vicki resisted his search for more marks without success, he easily found the other two marks that she found herself this morning in the shower, they were located just at the beginning of her shoulder.
"Who did this to you?" Matt clenched his teeth in a mix of a lot of things, he was shocked for the findings but he was also repulsed that someone had done this to his sister.
"I don't know." she answered in a low voice.
"Don't hide his name from me." Matt demanded in a firm voice.
"I said that I don't know!" her voice started to crack.
Matt vacillated with a squint.
Vicki pulled her shoulders together like a weak shield from a horrible truth that she was still fighting to accept. "I went to a party last night and… I don't remember what happened, when I woke up I was dizzy and there was blood on my pillow."
"How many vampires were at the party?" Matt asked her in a slow and eerie low pace.
"I know that Tom, one of Marcel's men was there..." she whispered, the last clear memory of her night was dancing with him.
Matt clenched his jaw in fury. "Don't leave the house today."
She was the one clutching his arms now. "No Matt, wait."
He smiled. "Just stay in the house."
"Matt?" she murmured scared. "What are you going to do?"
Matt broke free easily and left the room fast, he wasn't halting for an answer, his only stop was to grab a stake that he kept under his bed.
Klaus enjoyed the crowd of two expectant of his next words, he was a big lover of tales. "Where exactly should I begin?"
"What do I have to do to be like you?" Tyler sounded just like someone ready to give away his soul.
Klaus nodded at the blood bag. "Firstly we address the niceties."
"You don't have to do this." Caroline told him.
"I sort of have to Care… I'm dead." he parted his arms a little. "If I don't drink this everything ends here." After a big breath he opened the bag and embraced his new life.
There was so much angst in her that Caroline turned away unable to watch it, she rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes worried but when his scent came closer she confronted Klaus mad. "Why did you do this to him?" she instantly stepped back before he could touch her.
"When my mother turned us all into vampires she used her own blood for the ritual so truthfully the only thing that a major spell requires is a portion of blood from one of us." Klaus didn't dare to enforce a touch that she wouldn't like but he still chose to stand very close to her. "Tyler was in the same conditions that I was when I was turned therefore he is ready now to be turned into a greater species, it might take some time to conjure the perfect spell but time is something that we have now. I've granted him that."
"I don't even know what to say…" she honestly felt tired. "It's been all just a really bad rut lately."
His impenetrable posture cracked with every recoiling inch in her voice. "Caroline…" he wasn't going to the extreme of feeling guilty but it bothered him that all the changes in her life were starting to take a toll on her.
"I would step outside and leave you two alone but I'm not sure how to stop this from happening…" Tyler held a hand next to the window, the sunlight was burning his skin and although it was hurting he was fascinated by it.
"You need a daylight ring." Caroline sprinted her hand across her forehead again.
"I have that covered." Klaus threw something at Tyler.
Caroline shot her eyes at Klaus upset. "Can you stop tossing him things every two seconds?"
"It used to be mine but currently it was just gaining dust in the back of a drawer." Klaus answered her with a soft reply.
"Cool…" Tyler loved the ring he just received. "It was yours, huh?" The sun wasn't hurting him anymore. "It looks old but oddly trendy."
Caroline was far from looking excited and she kept her eyes away from Klaus.
In contradiction Tyler was on the biggest high ever. "Klaus, you need to show me the ropes." he forced his hands together with a big clap.
"I need a minute alone with Caroline." Klaus countered somewhat serious.
Tyler smiled. "I'll wait for you outside but don't go all mushy on her because I can hear you loudly." he closed the front door with a bigger smile.
It was the opposite of the mood he left inside of the house because Caroline didn't move, not even when Klaus cupped the sides of her neck.
"Look at me Caroline." he asked to look into that overwhelming blue and he smiled genuinely when she gave in.
"It's like I can never keep up with you, whenever I reach your side you whoosh miles away from me and I don't know if you do it on purpose or not but there's one thing I know and that I don't like..." her eyes were immersed in pain. "I don't like being left behind."
"It's centuries of habit, I've educated myself to always be a tread ahead of everyone else."
"When we are together, I wish that you would stop…" she stated emotional.
"You could make everything stop." he lowered his voice while his hands carefully cradled her porcelain skin.
Her body reacted with a weakness that she shouldn't want near him. "My world is spinning out of control and even if I find balance for that one night, in the morning you decide that it's time to move again and I can't keep up with that."
His fast reaction came with a kiss that brushed her lips only.
Caroline smiled a bit cheerless. "I don't make any sense." she took the kiss as a way to shut her up.
But Klaus kissed her cheek next with nothing but devotion. "You make all the sense to me love."
Quickly she searched for his clear eyes. "Are you being honest?"
"Even when you don't speak, you make all the sense to me Caroline."
"You can only get away with your pretty words if I let you and this is not one of those days." she informed him with the smallest of smiles.
He left a small kiss on her forehead before leaving her addictive heat and taking something from his pocket. "This is for you."
She stared at a small glass container with blood. "Why would I want that?"
Klaus knew her indisposition to blood so he took her hand and planted the container in her palm, as he closed her hand around the blood he smiled. "If I still know Marcel well he will never come directly at you for a confrontation, instead he will find another way to show everyone that he is still in control of his collapsing empire and this is your leverage."
"Is this your blood?" she wasn't sure if she wanted to be holding this at all.
"Kol used to say that the day he met a girl he didn't have to protect but still felt disposed to, then that was the girl he wanted to take home to meet the family." Klaus' rehearsed aloofness vacillated again. "I'm more than aware that you are far from being the damsel type Caroline but you need to meet with Marcel without a disadvantage."
The second he broke away from her Caroline took a step to cut him off and her eyes begged for that one sentence that he refused to tell her.
But not everything was bleak, he trapped her cheek inside of his palm and leaned over pressing his lips against hers with fervor, when he pulled away he smiled. "I wish that Kol was alive so that I could tell him about the strong Princess who scoffs my words like they are unmerited."
And what a powerful smile she gave him in return. "I know that I deserve them, I just don't let you get away with everything by using a pair of dimples and some smooth words."
He held back a touchy grunt but when she pulled him into a kiss he felt a fire that was novel in all of its wonder.
Kol left the bar admiring his latest purchase, it was a shame that he couldn't compel for the drink and honestly he was running out of money but all that was secondary when he was holding a fine bottle of his dearest poison.
A relic that painful almost flew out of his reach when Matt crashed against him.
He just parked his pickup truck in a hurry and now walked so blindly determined inside of the bar that he practically took Kol with him after the accidental shove.
"Be careful." Kol's hiss was close to an unforeseen yelp.
Matt only glanced at him, the other was cradling a bottle against his chest like it was made of gold. "I didn't even see you there." he admitted.
"What has you so sightless?" Kol noticed now the glistening light of someone who was not well.
"Did you see any of Marcel's men in there?"
"It's a dull morning, the only ones in there are the usual tourists asking for coffee after a treacherous night."
Matt turned around, he was going to search every single bar in town until he found them.
Kol named the uneasy prompt with something he knew well and ran to the car, he sat at the passenger seat and beamed at Matt. "You are looking for an old fashion brawl… blood and all." his eyes sparkled with thrill.
Matt started his car trying to think of the next place to visit. "I just want to find them."
Kol pointed the bottle at Matt. "What are your plans exactly?"
"To seek and destroy." Matt opened the glove compartment and took a city map from inside of it.
Kol caught it with a sleek hand and a big smile. "I'll do the location spell while you drive."
Right now Matt couldn't ask for a better deal and drove away with company.
Marcel counted a few less heads than he expected in the courtyard. "Where are Tom and his usual cluster?" he asked Aisha.
Aisha was just arriving to the room with a worried stance. "I don't know, I spent all night with Thierry. He's coughing up blood as fast as I've been feeding him."
Marcel kept his eyes outside, he had spent the entire night in the balcony going over his plan and the sacrifices that needed to be made. "He knows the price of giving into Klaus now, I can't do that…" Marcel was stopped by a weak Thierry walking in.
"You shouldn't be up Thierry." Aisha rushed to help him.
He smiled thanking her and used her support until he found the nearest chair. "It's going to be ok Aisha."
Her eyes were shimmering in tears knowing that he was lying and it didn't help her emotions that he sweetly stroked her hand, he asked her to leave by slightly moving his head and she complied but not without exchanging a really lengthy look with him.
"I didn't know that you were together." Marcel's remark came swift and full of grudge.
"There's so much that you don't know Marcel…" Thierry tiredly said.
"You're in pain." Marcel searched among the wrecking mess for any bottle that survived his rage.
Thierry coughed expanding the pain to his lungs and consequently filling his hand with dark tainted blood. "I'm dying and it has become evident that you won't do something to change that."
"I can't go to Klaus now." Marcel cracked with a yell. "There's too much at risk to give Klaus the pull like that." he calmed down. "This close to the full moon, who falls… falls for the cause."
"You can't even look at me while you say that." Thierry accused him.
Marcel proved it by looking at the wall instead. "He killed Diego even after he healed him so I know that he would have some macabre fun before he did the same to you."
"And he killed Max and dozens of others but my death will be on you alone." Thierry stood with effort.
The accusation made Marcel look at the vampire. "I didn't bite you."
"I've been your most trusted man, the right hand in every move you've made in this city. I've closed my eyes and ears to what others tried to show me but I believed in you." Thierry said painfully but not from the poison eating away his organs but from the disappointment. "I never questioned you but for the first time I see who you really are Marcel."
"It's called figment of the imagination and it's caused by the fever." Marcel harshly opened the last untouched bottle.
"The others don't have hallucinations but they have their doubts and I can't blame them for it… where's Tom and the others? Where's Caroline?"
"Don't talk about her." Marcel used the only warning he was offering Thierry.
"Your daughter should be right here by your side, wasn't that your dream all along?" Thierry's body slumped weighed by the disenchantment. "Since we found her that that girl has been the only connection we all have to a lost humanity…" he lowered his head. "I've done unspeakable things Marcel and I can't blame my sire for my actions but I can hold you responsible for pushing her away and for pushing us all away."
"You're only speaking nonsense..." Marcel gulped down taking half of the words with the motion.
"All the secrets that you've kept from Caroline will rise up now that she's with Klaus."
"Nothing will change!" Marcel shouted without sense.
"You didn't see them together inside of that church… there's an understanding between them that I can't explain."
"I'm going to put an end to all of that." Marcel smugly had a big gulp from the bottle in his hand.
"Before I saw Klaus kill everyone inside of St. Anne, I took your attitude as a confidence that I looked up to…" Thierry turned his back on Marcel. "Now I see it for what it is, vain haughtiness that will cost us everything."
Watching Thierry go away deeply wounded made Marcel vacillate but he was a man with a mission and he wouldn't coy away now.
Katherine added a bag of black salt to the pile that she was keeping in her arms, she had enough stuff to restock her stash but there was always room for a few frog legs and she stopped to inspect them.
This was one of the best voodoo shops in New Orleans and one that Katherine visited often but still she was wary of everything and smelled the legs to make sure that they were real, the frogs in New Orleans had a peculiar smell to them.
After an approval stamp Katherine decided to take three frog legs and she dropped all the items on the counter. "I would like a paper bag for all of that." she smiled adding a bright red lollipop that was on the little stand in the counter.
"Are you paying in cash or credit?" the woman asked her before opening the paper bag.
Katherine laughed. "Marcel will take care of it like he always does."
The woman folded the bag with a smile. "Marcel sent word to all the witch stores, you and your coven no longer have a free tab so… plastic or cash?"
"That's absurd." Katherine took her fancy phone from the pocket of her short jacket and dialed Marcel's number, after an endless amount of rings the call was redirected to a voicemail message and Katherine stiffened. "He must be busy…"
The woman behind the counter didn't smile, she just looked at Katherine unwavering.
Katherine kept her cool and fixed her curls. "I left my credit card in the car, so I will be right back." she smiled removing the lollipop from the grocery list. "I lost my appetite for sweets."
"I'll have everything packed and ready for you." The woman started preparing her bill.
While that happened Katherine went outside to her car, the beautiful black BMW was waiting for her with a gift on the windshield. "This has to be a joke." she complained while yanking the parking ticket from where it was attached.
Klaus had the biggest smile when he took her call. "I miss you too sweetheart."
"I'm calling to check on Tyler."
He found her huffing gushes immensely delectable. "He's enjoying the wonders of his new abilities." Klaus looked back to the newborn walking on the ledge of a building.
"Tell Caroline that I can fly." Tyler beamed letting himself drop backwards.
Klaus didn't bother moving from his privileged spot on the roof and carried on speaking to Caroline. "He has been throwing himself repeatedly from the top of a building for the last hour."
"I thought that your mentorship was going to be discrete."
"We're on top of St. Anne's roof, if anyone sees us they will call Tyler another ghost."
Tyler arrived to Klaus' side grinning. "I'm already flashing faster than when I started, pretty soon I will be the fastest blur in the city." he went over to the ledge again.
"Were you really doubtful about my teaching abilities?" Klaus asked Caroline.
"Just… don't teach him to be all dark and immoral…"
Klaus looked at Tyler, he was head down on the ledge and supporting the weight of his body in one hand only, when he saw that Klaus was looking at him he waved with his free hand. "Some tasks are harder than others." Klaus joked.
"Don't make me mad Nik."
It didn't sound like an ultimatum though, it sounded like she just didn't want him to let her down today. "You don't have a thing to worry about love." his warmth was playful but well played.
"Ugh!" she ended the call distraught.
Klaus laughed turning to Tyler who jumped back on his feet with a swift move.
"I'm hungry." he grimaced all of a sudden.
"It's time to move along with the lessons." Klaus put away his phone ready for the next tutorial.
Kol had a long look at the street. "This looks like such a good neighborhood."
Matt knew the street well, he also knew exactly where to find the vampires he was looking for. "I should have thought of this place right away."
Someone came out of the bar with the intention of spitting on the ground but the man was too intoxicated to control anything so Kol and Matt unwillingly found out what he had for breakfast.
"I don't see how you could have forgotten this classy location." Kol looked at Matt disgusted.
"Marcel's men are not day-walkers so during the night they are all over the place partying but at dawn they try to go back to Marcel's house where they stay during the day but lately they've been returning in less number to the Governor's house and they choose to stay close to where they party instead."
Kol looked at the stake that Matt took from his jacket. "And why are you so raring to start your own party today?"
"They hurt my sister."
"You have a sister?"
Matt took it as a joke. "I know that I'm not that close to her, thank you for reminding me of that…" he dropped his fist against the wheel with a little force. "Vicki went to one of her crazy parties last night and things got out of hand, her body is covered in bruises."
"Does she like you?"
Matt hesitated with the distinct focus of his friend. "She hates me."
Kol moved his head in a nod, he could report a similar relationship with his sister.
"Kaleb…" Matt's voice grew of intensity. "She could turn my soul over to the devil and I would still die for her."
"Why?" Kol genuinely felt astounded.
"Because she's my sister!" Matt was bewildered.
"You're being redundant." Kol merely said, the fact that she was his sister wasn't a good enough explanation.
"She's part of me." Matt strongly said. "My father took off when my mother got pregnant and I had to send that one away when her drinking addiction became too embarrassing to handle, so it's been just the two of us for as long as I can remember and I fight with Vicki almost every day, and she pisses me off so much that I want to wreck my car against the wall but I can't imagine my life without her. We hate each other every other day but she's my sister." Matt repeated with conviction.
Kol found it all truly noteworthy and he stared at Matt silently.
"Now I have some vampires to hurt." Matt said without moving.
"The speech was very inciting but you're taking your time to act on it." Kol wondered about that.
"I practice white magic Kaleb, violence is not something that comes naturally to me."
"Could your sister have been willingly at the mercy of that vampire?"
Matt motioned his head in denial. "She likes to smoke stuff and to have a few strong drinks but she never liked vampires, she always stayed away from them and Marcel never gave permission for his men to feed on Vicki or anyone related to the circle."
"It looks like the rules shifted last night so we should go in there and ask them why."
Motivated Matt left the car and Kol went after him interested to see where this was headed but keen on staying out of it, this was not remotely any of his business and he only wanted to watch a bunch of idiots fighting each other.
It was rare to see any of her friends attending college and today wasn't an exception, she left the auditorium aware that she wouldn't find any of the familiar faces among the crowd filling the hallway or sight any of them in her favorite place.
The joy that always covered Bonnie when she walked inside of the library was unexplained, it just felt like a gospel tune was always playing in the background and that she was gliding across the floor instead of walking.
She rushed up the stairs dying to reach that private floor where she studied and worked on her spells but her colossal elation was brutally stopped when she found the oval table cluttered with students.
It was so occupied that there was not a single chair available and Bonnie cringed her lips unsure of what to think of it but surely there was a reason for it and she went to look for the old librarian in charge of this university space.
"Hi Mrs. Catelli." she smiled at the woman when she found her in the French department. "So… the strangest thing just happened…"
"Did someone burn your broom?" Catelli grumbled.
Bonnie chuckled a little. "No." she fixated a lock of her hair behind her ear. "There are people sitting at my table."
"The table belongs to the university." Catelli corrected her.
"Yes but I usually sit there with my friends."
Catelli took a pile of books and dropped them in front of her, the sound of it clashing on hard wood made a few students look but her discrete voice brought privacy again. "I don't like witches."
It wasn't a big kept secret what Bonnie and the others were in their nature so Bonnie didn't try some sort of misleading shift. "Did you know that the amount of spells done per hour in New Orleans is bigger than in any other city of the world?"
"You don't say…" Catelli crossed her hands in front of her while looking at Bonnie with disinterest.
"I could show you charts and paranormal studies."
"What I like even less than a witch is a smart mouth."
"I'm going to find an empty table to sit at and study." Bonnie decided on a swift retreat.
"What a good decision miss Bennett but before you do that, I will need to impound your library card." Catelli stretched out her hand.
"My…" Bonnie's mouth went dry and she widened her eyes in horror. "You can't."
"Your worker status in this library was tolerated because of Marcel's persuasion, I never wanted a witch with a card that allowed her to get in here at inconceivable hours. However, New Orleans woke up today with a new wind in the air and now that Marcel has revoked all support and protection we are all finally free to do what we want and as far as I'm concerned no one will come in here except when I'm here." she smiled bringing her open palm closer to Bonnie.
Bonnie slowly took the precious card from her wallet, she had tears in her eyes when she gradually handed it to the woman and she still tried holding on to it when Catelli pulled it.
She yanked it from Bonnie's hand with a final budge. "The library opens from Monday to Saturday, from 8 am to 9 pm. Only." she insisted.
Bonnie instantly became depressed.
"And we don't allow any kind of spells or black arts studying inside of the school premises, or practicing any kind of witchcraft." Catelli took back the pile of books again. "So you should inform the rest of your Charmed group that violating those rules is cause for expulsion."
Bonnie's trembling lip was a clear indication of how hard she took the news.
"Kat, I don't understand what you're saying, stop cursing so much and try to talk calmer." Caroline asked while she crossed the street, right at the end of this avenue was the junction that would take her to Marcel's house, she was avoiding the bigger streets so she chose that small passage that ended just behind the Governor's house, it was sadly there that she found a man waiting for her. "I will call you back in a few Kat…" Caroline sighed. "I just stepped on something dirty."
Willfully Elijah covered the front of his suit with his hand. "Where are your manners Miss Forbes?"
Caroline kept her phone secure in her pocket. "Long gone with my faith that the Elders are smart, considering that they haven't set you on fire and that you're free on top of it all."
"I'm more valuable awake."
"Who's profiting from that?" she narrowed her eyes thoughtful.
"I'm interested in another conundrum… why were you named Forbes instead of Gerard?"
"When I was little Thierry used to say that if the supernatural world had a Forbes magazine our empire would be ranked number one. I liked the name so I started using it and it stuck later on."
"It appears as if you were trying to distance yourself from the empire altogether. I reckon that you've seen things that you didn't approve and instead of fighting you've decided to live apart from it."
Caroline tilted her head. "The fortunetellers in the tourist bay could use the clairvoyance and you would look elegant while reading Cowrie-shells."
"I can't predict the future Caroline but I can however predict something common like behavior." he flashed grabbing Caroline's neck forcefully.
The strength he made just underneath her chin was startling, it stopped her from keeping up a brave fight with him as he searched her pockets.
Elijah lifted his eyes to her as he touched the cold bottle. "I'm roughly taken aback that he actually provided you with his blood." he retrieved the small bottle from the warmth of her pocket.
"I need that blood back." she brought her eyes to a thin line.
"You aren't as powerful as the other witches in this region." he said thinking that she was trying to hurt him with a plain headache.
"Give me that blood." Caroline asked again.
He took his hand away from her throat. "I understand that Thierry is somewhat part of your family but I can't let you help him, unfortunately for the dying vampire Marcel has lost track of any common sense and I've decided to overthrown him."
"And you say that Marcel is the one who lost it?"
Elijah smiled. "I've noticed that most of the vampires follow Marcel because Thierry follows him, with Thierry's death and with no real leader I will step in and rebuild this city." he tossed the small container to the ground, destroying it and spilling the valuable blood.
"No…" Caroline whispered and crouched in front of the small pool of blood.
"Believe me, the city as it is can't sustain itself and I'm only going to make everything better."
Caroline rested her hand on top of the blood. "And somehow I don't believe you." she knew what was coming next.
"Obviously you are a smart woman so you know that I can't let you walk away without being compelled after I've shared so much with you." he closed the buttons of his jacket. "I guarantee that I will be quick." he paced towards her.
"So will I." she smiled pressing her palm covered in blood against his chest.
Elijah gasped unfamiliar with such pain, the air was sucked out of his lungs so quickly that he felt them arid, like the rest of his chest and with an aching throb he looked down on her hand.
Caroline used Klaus' blood to conduct her magic and with a regal smile she pulled her hand back before shoving him away from her with a propelling force that came from a magic she never used before.
Elijah hit the wall so roughly that he fell to the floor unconscious.
She looked at her hand excited. "Wow… that was super amazing."
Klaus had not been kidding when he said that their blood was very potent, she wasn't even tired after doing that spell and she used that condition to run away before Elijah woke up.
Someone hit Tom's shoulder to let him know that Matt was here, when he turned his head around he chuckled because of the threatening look that the human was carrying with him.
"Oh… I think that I'm in trouble." Tom joked with the others.
Matt stopped near the small group that was hanging by the bar. "Were you at the same party that my sister was, last night?"
"You know that I was." Tom returned to his drink.
"Do you know why her neck looks like a vampire banquet?" Matt kept his eyes on Tom.
The big vampire was taller than Matt and his shoulders were so wide that Matt couldn't see the other end of the counter.
"She's very pretty and she likes to party, with the restrictions around your coven lifted she's just like all the other tourists…" Tom looked at Matt with malice. "Just a fine piece of fresh meat."
Matt plunged himself at Tom but the vampire was obviously faster and grabbed Matt, he pushed Matt's head down on the counter and kept his large hand on Matt's cheek, he pressed his face so hard that he was just inches away from breaking his cheek bones.
"I know that you're new at this but from now on, you and the other girls are dispensable. I'm free to do whatever I want and right now I'm feeling friendly…" he joyfully laughed looking at his posse that quietly had a drink. "So consider yourself lucky that I'm not killing you and your coward friend over there." he released Matt while glancing over to the other human who stayed behind by the pool tables.
Matt rubbed his throbbing cheek. "Stay away from my sister."
Tom pushed him away with a small nudge, it was enough to make Matt fall down on the ground. "She invited me into your house so maybe tonight I'll drop by to have a different meal."
He started laughing loudly along with his friends and Matt clutched that stake in his hand ready to get up and use it, despite his immense will to do so Tom chocked on his laughter and dropped his head forward loudly on the counter.
Every one of his friends jumped from their stools startled and even Matt waned surprised at the grey deceased vampire and at the man who had staked him with a pool cue.
"I wouldn't like if someone talked about my sister like that." Kol shrugged.
Matt would have smiled but there was no time, he only managed to push Kol away and dive his stake into the incoming blur, as another vampire fell at their hands the rest of the group reacted.
Matt and Kol flew across the bar when the angry mob easily tossed them away like dolls.
Badly recovering from a horrible splitting headache Kol still had time to smile at Matt deeply moved by the gesture. "Thank you for saving my life." That truthfully was new to him.
Matt had the same goofy smile but he noticed the vampires headed their way. "Don't put your party hat just yet…"
"What do you think of a little fire to heat things up?" Kol's eyes steered to the bar.
"That, I can do." Matt lifted his hand igniting all the bottles with fire, it was a massive explosion that propelled fire to a couple of vampires.
As the brawl spread out to other customers Matt and Kol got themselves involved in a nasty and messy fight, they dodged a few hits but their fists barely missed a face.
The only real problem for them were the remaining vampires with fangs and anger to share, Kol had a close encounter with a pool table when someone easily grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him away but the cut on his cheek wasn't enough to stop him from focusing.
Matt was ingloriously fighting with a vampire that just punched his ribs, it was evident that this was just for his enjoyment so he was going to make Matt suffer before killing him.
Kol waited until the vampire held Matt above the ground, they were just standing in front of the door and Kol used his magic to push the door open, with that the sunlight was an instant combustion to the remaining vampires.
Matt blinked in pain but among the fighting men and the screaming creatures he saw his friend rushing to him and helping him get up.
"It's a wonderful time to exit, mate." Kol helped Matt out of the bar and into the car.
"Marcel?" Caroline called angrily, she searched the first floor and when she didn't find him she raced up the staircase, when he showed up on top of the stairs she stopped but kept her glare.
"I'm right here." he said detached.
She breathed in harshly. "My phone is going crazy, everyone in town is saying that we no longer have your protection."
"There are consequences when someone attack my community Caroline and you can't be the exception."
"You're punishing me by hurting the ones I love?" her words came slow and they broke during every space because she was about to cry. "How can you do this to me?"
"You went against me!" Marcel yelled, like that was all he knew lately.
She cringed because of it. "You hurt Tyler and they were hurting Klaus so I had to do something."
Marcel seemingly calmed down. "You chose Klaus and acted like you didn't need anything from me anymore, so if what I always gave you was so unappreciated why should I keep protecting and financing every little whim that you have?"
First she lowered her eyes and then she lowered her head. "You're right… I'm ungrateful and I don't deserve to be here." she turned away and started going down the stairs.
"Is this your final choice Caroline?"
She stopped to look at the sea of vampires that came out when Marcel started shouting. "How did you announce the repercussion of my actions?" she looked back at Marcel.
He imprisoned the polluted words that he wanted out by clasping his lips.
Caroline took another step to meet the vampires on ground level. "Did he say that I was cut off and no longer part of this family?"
No one answered her so she turned to face Marcel.
"You betrayed us." he answered in a steady voice.
"And you Marcellus?" she opened her arms. "The man who found me but kept me hidden from the world, are you really innocent? Or did you use me and my coven?"
"I refute those charges." he simply said, without showing any sort of emotion.
"I don't believe you anymore." she sadly turned away, this time determined to leave for good.
"Is that your final allegation?" Marcel's voice cracked slightly.
The vampires had parted so that Caroline could leave but she halted when she found Thierry waiting for her at the end of the courtyard. "It was you Marcel who made me choose, not Klaus, not Thierry or the others… but you." she smiled at Thierry before leaving.
"She will be back." Marcel assured the agitated army.
"From where I'm standing we are all on her level while you're standing up there all alone." Thierry fired up the small sparkle growing among the rebel masses.
Marcel disregarded it all and went inside of the house to be completely alone, while he was walking down the hallway it was impossible to shut down the memory that came to life when he entered the room where he spent most of his time.
New Orleans 1910, The Governor's office
"Marcel?" Rebekah ran down the corridor before going inside of the room with a windy speed. "Are you all right?"
"Mikael almost won this one." he smiled at her weakly.
She couldn't hold her stare steady, she inspected his shirt full of blood and then his bruised face, even the hands covered in blood didn't go unnoticed by her. "Elijah said that Nik killed him." she was confused about that but what really mattered was Marcel now.
"We found a way…" he said in a lower voice.
"I waited for you at the Opera house."
He knew that that was the place they had arranged to meet after Celeste delivered her part of the second plan she was involved in but things didn't go as scheduled at all.
"You have something to tell me." Rebekah sensed the bad news galloping her way.
Marcel paced to her. "I couldn't get to her on time." he cradled her beautiful face with love.
Rebekah started to fear the truth that he was holding back on her. "I was supposed to be human by now."
"Klaus killed her before she could do it, he knew about our plan all along and he stopped her before she succeeded... then he gave me an option."
Rebekah's blue eyes went bigger and she padded his chest looking for a heartbeat. "Tell me that you didn't..."
Marcel smiled. "He turned me so now I'm strong as he is."
"No one is as strong as he is Marcel, what are you talking about?"
"As a human I couldn't stand up to him but now I can fight for us."
Two small tears danced in her eyes. "Why did you make such a rash decision? What about our dream of growing old together and having children? A normal human life together, that's what we wanted Marcel. We could have found another witch and use Kol's blood or Elijah's to turn me back to human..." she started to cry.
"Klaus said that you would have hated that."
"And you trusted him?" she swallowed her tears so that she could shout.
"It doesn't matter now…" he looked at her hurt as she broke away from him. "We can still have it all, and we can take this city and make it our own. We can create a kingdom that will be only ours and we can all live in here as a real family."
Rebekah cried silently while shaking her head. "By now Niklaus has left the city and you're here thinking of demented ideas… I don't want more power, I wanted you and only you."
"Bekah…" he tried to stop her before she left. "We can find a child and raise her like Klaus raised me."
"You know that it's not the same thing, by accepting Nik's offer you killed us." Rebekah accused him. "You killed our dream."
"It wasn't my dream." he impetuously said.
"I won't stay here and live out your fantasy." Rebekah pulled back up all of her shields.
He did the same. "I'm not going to follow you if you choose to walk out of that door."
"You will be searching for me before I return to this city looking for you."
Marcel was deeply impaired so he scoffed her affirmation. "I will create a realm so big that you will be able to see it from any place in the world and every time you hear my name you will remember how easily you walked away from me."
"If that's your curse for me then every time you hold another woman in your bed you will feel hollow knowing that she's not me." Rebekah left knowing that he was looking at her departure as betrayal but she felt cheated as well.
"Matt!" Vicki sprinted to him worried when he finally arrived home. "You big dummy, what did you do?"
Matt winced while Kol assisted him to sit on the sofa. "I defended your honor and ended up with a pair of broken ribs."
She went to the kitchen to fix some ice for him while another hysterical girl stormed inside of the house cursing.
"Are you that much of an idiot? Vicki called me…" Katherine stopped when she saw how badly beaten both Matt and Kol were. "I thought that you would think about this before actually confronting them."
That exact second Caroline also arrived and she was too baffled to speak, she sat on the coffee table looking at Matt regretful.
"Don't." Matt leaned back on the sofa in pain.
"They did this because Marcel is mad at me." she weakly said.
"Everything you just said determines how guilt free you should feel." Katherine warned her. "Marcel is a dick for doing this to us."
"They confiscated my library card!" Bonnie was the last to arrive to Matt's house but by no means less outspoken. "I lost all access to the books I need for my course and we can't perform any spells at Tulane either." she sat next to Caroline fuming. "And they took our table."
"Batman and Robin over here were beaten up by thugs with fangs." Caroline pointed at Matt and Kol.
"I will never kiss Marcel again." Bonnie said with all the evilness that existed in her.
It made everyone smile, even Vicki who sat next to Matt with a soft look that he hadn't seen in years.
"What are we going to do now?" Katherine asked worried that she had to actually start paying for things from now on.
"I could go back and talk to Marcel..." Caroline buried her eyes in her lap.
"My ribs will heal and we will find a way for Bonnie to access her books." Matt started appeasing everyone. "If Marcel was trying to break us apart he didn't win this time." he addressed Caroline in particular. "None of what happened today was your responsibility and I don't think that any of us can blame you for it."
"Unless you know the moron who gave me my first parking ticket." Katherine huffed.
Caroline giggled and shook her head. "Sorry."
"It's ok." Katherine gave her curls a good shake. "Somewhere in town some poor officer is having a bad diarrhea case. I tracked down his energy and gave him a tiny hex."
Matt complained with pain as soon as he tried to laugh and Vicki suggested a doctor, he exchanged a small look with Caroline and said that he would be good in no time.
"How about you?" Bonnie inched closer to Kol. "Is anything broken?"
He froze when he found so many people looking at him and genuinely worried about him. "I can't tell which side of my face hurts the most but it's not broken." he handed Bonnie the bottle that he acquired in the early part of his day. "Can you open this though? My wrist really hurts a lot."
Caroline was excited when she saw the booze. "Dalmore!" she took the bottle from Bonnie. "This was Kol's favorite drink and Nik offered me once a taste of it, it's so good."
"Are you acquainted with Kol Mikaelson?" he couldn't resist the question.
"He was Nik's favorite brother." she naturally answered.
It hurt like hell to smile but Kol still went for it.
"Hey…" Caroline greeted Tyler as they met on Klaus' driveway.
"I had the best day of my life." Tyler said at once.
"That's the high from being turned, tomorrow you might think differently."
He smiled taking her shoulders and planting a huge kiss on her forehead. "I'm fine."
"I'm worried that if I can't turn you into a hybrid you will be stuck forever as a vampire."
He winked at her. "I can jump off buildings and blur over to the Bayou in less than 15 minutes. I can hear people talking miles away and I'm strong enough to take hearts out instead of fearing for mine. Plus…" he lowered his chin. "What's this talk about not being able to do a spell?"
"I said it in a maybe way…" she crumbled her eyebrows.
Tyler chuckled with joy. "Stop worrying about me, I really love this new condition and so far I think that it's the best that could ever happen to me."
On a big whim she decided to give him a chance and sighed. "Fine."
"I'll call you tomorrow." Tyler eagerly left ready to explore his first night as a vampire.
Kol left the Donovan siblings trying to patch up a hard sibling relationship and somehow his day culminated in a visit to a big white manor where he found Rebekah packing the last clothes into a suitcase. "Did I just catch you on your way out?"
Rebekah folded her long coat in two without bothering to look at him. "I'm leaving, much to everyone's relief, mine included because I don't know what I was still doing here. None of my brothers cares for my presence and I feel like a ghost without a purpose."
"I hate you."
She looked up with an open mouth, also now she saw how badly he looked. "Why are you all purple?"
"I don't heal fast as a human…" he gave her a side look.
"Well, I'm not giving you my blood." she closed the suitcase with a huff.
"I don't want it." he quickly replied.
Rebekah left her suitcase in the lobby and grabbed a clutch next. "So I will see you again in a few centuries."
"I hate you." he said again.
"Stop with that." she lost her temper with a shriek.
"But you are my sister." he let go of the second part of his sentence.
Rebekah sat on the black sofa with a grumpy frown.
"As much as we want to carve each other's hearts out, we are family and I observed today that some things are just exclusive to a certain pairing or group. There are endless accounts about us but there is a part of history that belongs only to the four of us, for instance…" he smiled sweetly. "I don't expect many to know how much you are terrified of thunder storms."
She rolled her eyes and looked away from him so that he didn't see the smile on her lips. "Where are you headed for with all of this twaddle?"
"I found a small club that still plays Dizzy Gillespie style and you were the first name that came to mind when I thought of company."
"I loved that year we spent in Cuba." she was instantly sold.
"We should reminisce then, over some expensive wine and good Jazz." he smiled like only he was able to and no matter what face he was wearing.
Klaus interrupted his talk with Josh intrigued by the duffle bag that she dropped on the table, on the other hand Caroline wasn't curious about his conversation and took a piece of paper from inside the bag that she handed Josh.
She may not be willing to know what they were talking about but she was ending it and claiming attention.
Josh lifted an eyebrow eyeing the strange things on a list.
"Marcel cut me off so I'm going to need you to buy all of that for me." she told Klaus. "It's the stuff that I need for the spells that I'm starting tomorrow."
"That means that I have a long night ahead of me." Josh sighed already on his way out.
"What's in the bag, your Grimoire?" Klaus looked there as she took something from inside of it.
"And this." she showed him a cute teddy bear. "If I want to do any of these spells right I need to work on them relentlessly and you now own the hottest spot in town."
He smirked elated.
"I meant your library Nik, not our bedroom."
He squinted with her slip.
Caroline stuttered. "I… meant that it's going to be my bedroom for the… next week or so."
She turned to the bag and missed completely the moment when he glued himself to her back.
"I will enjoy having you here." he whispered before wrapping his arms around her.
Caroline turned around to meet his eyes. "Before we start acting like a normal couple I should inform you that I kicked your brother's butt today."
"I relied that he was being kept by the Elder sisters and that he was still in the interim… dead." he forced his teeth shut with the last word.
"They have to be working with Elijah." she eased up in his arms and started circling two buttons that he had on his Henley with a finger. "And he told me that he wants to take Marcel's place so I don't know about you but I think that we should skip town and go on vacation somewhere nice." she gave him a big smile. "We'll be drinking Margaritas and having sex while they purge the city of everyone, including themselves."
He kissed her lips for a long moment. "I'll be howling at the moon in a few nights and I rather not kill you while I'm at it."
"Do you have any notion of what's happening around you when you shift?"
He outlined her face with his eyes and then her lips. "No, which means that you must stay away when I'm like that."
"Okay…" she understood the rules.
Klaus kissed her again, longer this time and she really answered back with will, her fingers moved happy with the way his curls felt under her touch and she made the tiniest moan when his body hard-pressed hers.
He parted her lips for a deeper kiss and Caroline toyed with him, she made him seek her tongue a few times before she curled her tongue around his, the kiss lasted until she needed air and even then she felt short of it.
His hand mapped her back while she found his chest something divine and worth of worship, when his lips returned to give hers some action the will to have him naked gained power in her mind.
The only obstacle was Klaus who suddenly left her lips and pulled away from her enough to leave her apprehensive. "Nik?"
"We have a guest." his answer came with a look at the atrium where Aisha showed up.
Caroline became rigid at once.
"I came to bargain for a portion of your blood." Aisha courageously said.
"The women in this city…" Klaus smiled with a glance at Caroline.
"Marcel won't come, he doesn't want to show weakness but I love Thierry and I'm not going to let him die." Aisha also looked at Caroline.
Klaus pulled the sleeves of his Henley up and showed his wrists. "You are free to try and take it."
Aisha shook her head. "I'm walking out of here with your blood and you are going to want to give it to me."
"What's supporting that brass attitude?" Klaus asked entertained.
"In exchange for your blood I'm telling you everything that Marcel ever schemed and what's set to happen during the full moon."
"And what is that?" Caroline asked her.
"He wants to use the werewolves that you trapped in the Bayou to perform a spell that will allow us to use their ability to sustain the sun and every other power that they possess. Marcel wants to create day-walkers who won't need the daylight rings and the preparation is to use the werewolves energy when they shift back to humans during the full moon."
"He would have to harbor all that energy into a talisman and transfer it to the vampires but…" Caroline stopped horrified.
"He will sacrifice a werewolf for every vampire in his house, that's what he promised all of us." Aisha explained. "He promised that we would all be as strong as the werewolves but immortal like the vampires."
"It's his own version of hybrids…" Caroline shot her eyes towards Klaus.
"An idea that undoubtedly has fermented for years and by hook or by crook he has a backup witch knowing for a fact that Caroline would never help him with this." Klaus was sure of it and he demanded more from Aisha.
"He's been having an affair with Sophie Devereaux for years now." Aisha said in the lowest of voices.
Caroline closed her eyes, she was sick with all the information but for Klaus no matter how sickening the information was it was still valuable and he prepared to bit into his wrist when Caroline grabbed his arm.
"Wait." she pleaded him but without lingering on his eyes, she faced Aisha determined and took a step closer to the vampire. "I need to know something as well, there are things that only a lover would know and Thierry has been with Marcel from the start."
"Thierry doesn't have much time left." Aisha urged them to end this talk.
"Well… my boyfriend won't give you any blood unless you tell me everything that Thierry shared with you about my past." Caroline couldn't have looked more menacing even if she intended. "And I mean… everything."
She stated with such force that Aisha gulped down.
Soundtrack:
Children playing adults – MAU
Nothing really matters - Mr. Probz
Heart and soul - Twin Atlantic
Godspeed you - Francesco Rossi ft. Ozark Henry
Go - Grimes ft. Blood Diamond
Whoa they got you - Lisa Donnelly