Chapter 10: We Are the Reckless Youth

We are the reckless,
We are the wild youth
Chasing visions of our futures
One day we'll reveal the truth
That one will die before he gets there.
- Youth (Daughter)

Before either of them could say anything else, the telltale sign of another vampire suddenly overtook his senses and he flinched as a mass of brown curls flashed past him, grabbing Davina.

Katerina.

He quickly turned to meet the doppelgangers eyes.

Katerina had Davina in a headlock and Kol wondered if she actually knew that the girl was a witch. While she hadn't used her powers to free herself - there was always the possibility Katherine might snap her neck before she could - Kol was certain that Davina could overpower her if she really tried. Still, he wouldn't risk leaving it to her to deal with Katerina, considering she seemed to be frozen with sudden fear.

He couldn't blame her. If a member of her coven had showed up in front of her, Davina would kill them without a thought, but a random vampire appearing and grabbing her was something that had taken her off guard.

"Good evening Katerina." Kol greeted, taking in the brunette, who looked like she was on a mission. He had a feeling that he was about to find out exactly why she'd sought out his company, though he could probably guess what it entailed.

"Kol. Haven't seen you since I woke up this morning. You were already gone." She smirked, not doing a very good job at niceties with the look on her face marring her pleasant voice.

"And I daresay you've been following me all day looking for leverage so that you can finally get what you came here for?" Kol questioned, meeting Davina's eyes for a second. She looked a little scared but mostly her face betrayed that she was a little unsure on whether Kol was going to help her or not. "Don't act surprise, Katerina. I know why you're here and you've tried this trick before. You should know by now that you've never been able to get leverage over me."

"So should I just snap her neck and be done with it then? If there's no way that you're going to give in no matter what I do..." Katerina said, adjusting her hold on the little witches' neck. Kol glared at her for a second before fixing his expression.

"Oh come on Katerina, you don't need to be like that." Kol said, taking a step forward, but quickly stopping when Katerina tightened her hold on Davina. "You know, I'm surprised that you feel you have to threaten me to get my help, sweetheart. I've generally been quite forthcoming with the information you need." It was obvious to him by that point that it wasn't just information she wanted to evade Klaus this time. She knew exactly where he was. She wanted Kol's help for her freedom this time.

Katerina shrugged. "Well, considering that fact that you've been in a coffin for a century and you suddenly seem to have taken a liking to a pet that you actually care about," she nodded down at Davina, "I thought that I might take precautions."

"Let her go, Katherine." Kol said, using her English name with contempt. "We all know that I could kill you before you actually act, and so could Davina, so you're really fighting a losing battle here. But I'll help you anyway, because as much as you annoy the hell out of me sometimes, I like annoying Nik more."

She smiled. "And how do you propose to help me?"

"Well, my brother actually has something that would give you quite a lot of leverage, should you have it." He paused, waiting for her to make the connection and only continuing when she didn't. "The indestructible White Oak Stake."

Katerina digested this for a moment before letting go of Davina who shoved away from her, rubbing at her neck. Kol took a few steps forward, making sure that he was between the two of them.

"Should you have the stake, Klaus will not for a second think you'll use it against him - because you will die - but he'll do anything to keep it in his possession. Despite his occasional taste for fratricide, Nik doesn't truly want us dead and I have no doubt that he'd give you your freedom in exchange for getting it back." Kol told her. He could acquire the stake, he had no doubt about that, and he knew that Katerina would see the plan through for her freedom, and then she wouldn't have any reason to run around threatening him.

"And you can get it?" She asked.

Kol nodded. "Easily, but I'd ask that you wait for a few months until the matters I'm seeing through here," He glanced a little at Davina, "are finished and I'd offer you my protection in the meantime, with the possible expectation of you helping me now and again if necessary. None of my siblings know where I am so you wouldn't have to worry about Nik, Elijah or Rebekah deciding to pay me a visit."

Katerina was making a show of thinking about his offer, but Kol wasn't stupid. He wouldn't have made it if he knew that she wouldn't accept it, he would have just killed her in the blink of an eye. "You've thought this out."

He nodded. "Yes." He knew that she'd come calling eventually, because she always did.

"And what's your business here then?" Katerina asked, glancing towards Davina. "Her?"

Kol had to weigh in that moment, but he eventually decided that it wasn't a risk to tell Katherine. She couldn't get her freedom from Klaus by using Davina, and she wouldn't risk what Kol offered her to betray Davina to the witches, because she knew that Kol would either kill her, or she'd be running from two Originals. She may be diabolic, but she wasn't stupid.

"Oh, don't tell me that's the witch-that-got-away I've heard so much about around the Quarter?" Neither Kol, nor Davina, responded and Katerina smiled. "So you're helping her wait out the end of that ritual?"

"That's right."

Katerina gave a quick wave to Davina. "Sorry about the headlock thing, we're good right?" She didn't wait for a reply before turning back to Kol. "Fine, I'll go along with you here in New Orleans if you keep me safe from your siblings, and then hold up your end when it's all done."

Kol nodded curtly. "Come on Davina, I should probably get you back home." He didn't like Katherine being near her and wanted to get them away from each other as soon as possible. Even if he was certain Katherine wouldn't do anything to harm her, he still felt uneasy about a close proximity and wanted to make sure that there was some distance between the two of them.

Despite the leniency he'd shown to Katerina, Kol really didn't like being part of people's deals and battles. He'd let Katerina go with what she wanted - or the promise of it anyway - because he'd always held a special spot in his heart for the joy that annoying Nik gave him, but the deal with her had brought something else to the front of his mind and he decided that he was going to deal with it then.

Unlike Katerina, he didn't have reasons to owe the witches any such loyalty that preserved their lives when they threatened Davina, and he really didn't care whose niece or daughter stayed dead if this sacrifice didn't happen, if they were even going to come back to life in the first place.

After taking Davina back to the attic and briefly explaining his relationship to Katerina and what they'd been negotiating, he made his way through the night towards the one place he knew he'd find what he was looking for.

It wasn't hard to find some of the witches in New Orleans.

They were always in that blasted cemetery like they owned the place, even though it was technically public property. He made his way in, glad that they'd already extended the invitation and realized that it would probably be promptly revoked after what he was about to do, not that he cared.

They seemed to know as soon as he arrived, because Jane-Anne and Sophie Deveraux both suddenly appeared as he was approaching the crypts where the witches buried their own.

"Kol." Sophie said in way of a greeting, looking him over. "I was wondering when we were going to be seeing you."

"Have you made up your mind?" Jane-Anne asked and he nodded.

"I'd like to speak to your Elder, if you don't mind. Is she here?" He tried to recall the dark skinned woman's name but it failed him. Kol didn't really care though because both sisters nodded.

"This way." Jane-Anne said, taking charge and leading him towards whatever crypt the witches were hanging around in that night. Sophie trailed along, slightly behind the both of them, but Kol didn't spare her a glance. "Agnes is in here." Jane-Anne gestured inside one and Kol made his way inside.

Agnes - that was her name - wasn't alone, standing around a small rustic table with several others that Kol hadn't seen before. She glanced up at him. "Have you finally considered our offer?"

Kol smiled. "Yes, I found your offer to be quite intriguing and I have been giving it quite a lot of thought." He finally looked at Sophie. "I'm sure Sophie Deveraux can attest to that, considering I paid her a visit the other day."

Agnes eyes the young with carefully but didn't pursue whatever questions were flitting around her mind. "And what did you decide?"

Kol grinned and moved towards one of the random witches before they could blink, snapping their neck and ripping out the heart of another. "I decided that you should all go rot in hell."

Jane-Anne made to move forward but was stopped by her sister. "Don't use magic." Sophie hissed.

"Do you really think that Marcel is the worst of your problems?" Kol questioned, the blood coating his hand dripping onto the ground as gestured to himself. "I really don't like people trying to manipulate me. I didn't really believe your generous offer about giving me the city, though I did dare to imagine that you were all telling the truth for a moment, but with the fact that you want to remove vampires once you complete this harvest, you were pretty stupid to believe I wouldn't see through it." He pointed to Agnes. 'I'm guessing you thought whatever power you got from your ritual would be enough to keep me down so that I couldn't come seeking payment."

No one responded.

"Though so." Kol said, overly cheerful. "And now, you will probably have to consider me a problem as well as Marcel. I do have a point to make here," he paused to break the neck of the last witch he didn't know the name of, "but I'll leave you three alive to pass the message onto the rest of your coven."

He leaned down and wiped the last of the blood off on the clothes of one of the dead witches before making his way towards the three living witches.

"Try and manipulate me again, and I'll kill all of you. And trust me, it won't be quick like that." He glanced at the pile of bodies before turning back to Agnes. "I've know to get quite creative when I want to, and I'm sure I'll be able to find a method of killing you that will take days."

He left it at that, making his way out of the crypt and heading back towards the from of the cemetery. He as about to step out of the gate when someone attempted to grab him from behind - another witch. Kol hissed and reached around, gripping onto both of the person's arms, detaching them from their body in the next second.

He felt their blood splash all over him but he didn't care. Another witch, a woman, raised her hand and started to mutter in French, setting his head on fire. For a younger vampire, the aneurysm would have rendered them unconscious, but he had better healing as an Original and was able to rush forward and rip into her neck with his fangs, draining her of her blood in a few seconds.

No one else came at him.

"I wouldn't suggest trying that again." He yelled in the general direction of the Elder and the Deveraux sisters, before flashing out of the cemetery.

He hardly noticed his appearance until Davina's eyes widened in horror when she saw him standing in her doorway.

"Oh my god, Kol!" She hurried forward. "Are you hurt?"

"It's not my blood." He said, waving her concern off as he walked in.

Davina was still checking he wasn't injured as she asked, "Whose is it?"

"A couple of members from your coven, Darling."

Davina came to a complete stop, drawing in a quick breath of surprise before finally paying attention to him. "What happened? Did you go after them?"

"Actually, they came after me - first anyway." He reached forward and touched her temple, worrying little about the blood on his hands, showing her the memories from when Sabine made him the offer of the witches, as well as his conversation with Sophie Devearaux, all up to what had just happened that night. Her eyes were still closed when he pulled away, taking everything in.

"I understand now why you wanted my memories." She muttered, opening her eyes again. "Why did you do it?"

He frowned. "Do what? Kill them?" When she nodded, he continued. "Because I wanted to prove that I meant what I said tonight, that I would stay until this was all over for you. I want to protect you and that I'm not going to let you die for the sake of some stupid ritual and power that these witches truly don't need. And when it's all over, I'll make sure that you get to start living the life that you want, whatever that is."

Her eyes were wide and her expression surprised, but she quickly controlled it, nodding. "I trust you, Kol."

That was a first for him. He wanted her to trust him of course, but it was actually the first time in a thousand years that someone had put their faith in him with such sincerity while not being under the control of his compulsion.

He moved forward so that he was right in front of her and brushed the hair out of her eyes with his hand that wasn't covered in blood, and kissed her forehead before leaving her alone for the night.

"Were the theatrics really necessary, Katherine?" Kol asked her as soon as he walked in the door of his house. She was lounging on the couch with a random human dead on the floor, their throat ripped out.

"I got what I wanted didn't I? And so did you." She said, not even glancing his way when he spoke. "Now we can all hold hands and skip off into the sunset."

A distasteful hiss came from his throat. Everything had gone well with their 'negotiations' but the fact that she'd threatened Davina had pissed him off. He hadn't realized how much until Davina told him that she trusted him to keep her safe, and after he'd slaughtered five of the witches.

He made his way around into her line of sight and than flashed forward, pinning her down on the couch, his whole body over her and their lips less than an inch apart.

"Ready for round two, Kol?" She questioned, a smiling seductive and leaning upwards to kiss him. He shifted just out of his reach.

"We do have a deal, Katherine, don't get me wrong. But, if you ever lay a hand on that girl again, I will rip your heart out on the spot." He whispered before pulling himself on her and shoving her back down onto the couch when she made to get up and follow him. "And get rid of that body. Unless I get to enjoy them too, I don't want your toys all over the place."