A/N: Thanks so much for everyone who is reading this. Big thanks to all of you who've reviewed. I am going to try and catch up replying to reviews after posting this but it may take me a bit. Just know that I love reading every single one.

Another big thanks to Miranda for betaing this. :)


The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe


Werewolves. Of course what was coming after them had to be freaking werewolves. And not in their human form, nope. Werewolves in their wolf form with their pointy teeth and venomous bites. It didn't make much sense considering it wasn't a full moon but Sheila had said something about them coming out of the Other Side in the form they had died so they got to deal with werewolves, hybrids, and vampires.

Because there might as well be two groups wanting to make Klaus pay for his past actions. Caroline was surprised there weren't witches involved in all of it but she tried to stifle that thought, not wanting give the spirit world any ideas.

Klaus tore through everyone who dared come near them, everyone who tried to step into their path once they'd stopped flashing. It seemed to have taken its toll on Henrik and Sheila, human bodies were not meant to travel at that kind of speed. But Klaus couldn't get every single one of the creatures who attacked, not when they were coming at all angles, looking to cause as much pain as they could.

Sheila and Henrik were able to hold back some of them at first with their magic—something she'd been startled to see the boy be able to do that first time but then he was Esther's son so maybe it shouldn't have been too surprising that he had magic. The two of them were exhausted though and eventually unable to keep up with the onslaught. The boy was barely able to keep upright, leaning against Sheila as they continued the trek forward, trying to regain their energy.

Caroline thrust her hand into the chest cavity of one of the beasts, barely escaping its jaws as she grasped and tugged the heart free. Her vampire features were out in full bloom, the smell of blood oozed from nearly every direction, sticky on her fingers as she stepped forward, continuing what seemed like a choreographed dance as she pulled out hearts or ripped off heads. There was no point in simply throwing them, they just came back then, tried to keep killing them, but at least with death it seemed to send them back to the Other Side. The fact they weren't immediately spilling back out of it was also a help.

There had been a time when she knew precisely how many people she'd ever killed. Catalogued them in her mind and told herself that if she kept the death toll under a certain number, that she wouldn't become the monster that her father had wanted to strip her of. But the days of being able to count her kills had crumbled at her feet and she'd never be able to keep up with the toll anymore.

Did it matter that they were supernatural? Would that make any difference? Or the fact that it was in self-defense, the fact she was doing so to protect others mean that she wasn't drifting into the abyss? Her mother would understand this, wouldn't she? Liz Forbes had to know what it was like to kill another in self-defense and that was all her little girl was doing.

But Caroline saw Sheila's gaze on her as she drove a bent pipe into a werewolves body, pinning it to the wall to die in agony. She saw the woman she'd known since she was a little girl look at her with disgust as she licked the blood from her mouth, watched as Sheila tried to turn Henrik away from the carnage that was occurring around them. She could practically read the woman's thoughts; see her likening Caroline to Klaus, the word monster that seemed to hang in the air between them.

A month ago and it might have caused Caroline to hang her head in shame, to shrink back as if she'd been burned, and while part of her wanted to do that, she'd seen too much, learned too much in the last few weeks to settle back in that world of black and white. Her world was full of color and one of those was blood red, sticky and sweet, and the source of her life now. If she needed to kill werewolves and vampires that were already technically dead and trying to kill her and the rest of them then she was going to do it and not regret a second of it.

The last body fell and Klaus turned, looking over at all of them, and Caroline nearly had to step back at the intensity of his desire when he took her in. He would find her drenched in blood to be a turn on.

"We need to go," he ordered, nodding for her to take Henrik while he caught Sheila's arm.

The boy stepped over to her, offering up a small smile and she reciprocated it back, thankful not to be looked at like a monster by him before flashing them off, Klaus and Sheila following suite. She stopped after a few miles, feeling Henrik's strength weaken, Klaus showing up a second behind her with Sheila.

"The veil is fine here. We should be able to avoid any more massacres for a bit," the witch informed them, and Caroline sighed in relief at that. She didn't think Henrik would be able to handle much more flashing that day.

Klaus didn't respond, gaze fixed on the world around them and no doubt trying to figure out the best course of action. There was a road to the left of them and Caroline heard the sound of a car heading down it, pursing her lips as Klaus flashed off to stand in the middle of it. Henrik gasped as the car screeched to a halt, stopping inches before his brother and Caroline gently squeezed the boy's shoulder.

"Do not hurt him," Sheila warned, and Klaus simply looked over at her, malevolent smile gracing his lips.

The driver stepped out of the car, yelling something in what Caroline guessed was Greek at Klaus, looking ready to hit him before he really took in Klaus' appearance and all of the blood that covered him. Klaus was on him before he could move an inch, compelling him in the same language, and Caroline frowned, reminding herself to definitely become fluent in like a billion of them once everything with Silas was over.

"We have transportation," Klaus informed them, the man walking back the way he'd come. The smile Klaus offered up was rather pleasant though his gaze was anything but and Caroline headed toward the car with Henrik, not surprised when Klaus fixed his gaze on Sheila, stopping her for a moment. "As you see he's unharmed, but tell me what to do again, witch, and I will force feed you my next kill."

Caroline was in the backseat with Henrik, leaving Sheila to sit up front with Klaus. "I think we need to get some food. And he needs to rest, Klaus," she murmured after she showed the boy how to fasten the seatbelt.

Henrik rested his head against the window, frowning slightly as he closed his eyes and Caroline saw Klaus look back at him, noted the worry in his gaze. "Why is he slowing more easily than you?" Klaus demanded as he started the car.

"He is trying to use magic far beyond his years," Sheila replied as she glanced back. "He wishes to help but it drains his energy quicker because he lacks the experience to know how to wield it properly. I take it that he died before he could be properly tutored."

Klaus' grip tightened on the wheel and Caroline watched it bend a bit beneath his grip. "We'll get food at the next town and find a place to wash up," he murmured, looking at Caroline in the rearview mirror. She had a feeling she looked as messy as he did in that moment, could practically feel the blood matted to her hair and diverted her gaze.

The sight of him shouldn't send shivers down her spine, shouldn't make her want him as it did. Didn't help that Sheila was watching her as well, her judgment reminding her so much of Bonnie's and Caroline shifted back against the seat, focusing on her worry for her friend. Kol would have gotten Bonnie out of the chaos, would make certain that she was safe. They would all meet up at Amara's tomb and be one step closer to ending Silas.

Everything was going to be fine.

Maybe if she kept repeating that mantra over in her head enough it would be so and the annoying churning in her stomach that constant worry, would finally go away.


Kol felt that he shouldn't have been surprised that the lot of vampires he'd allowed to be sacrificed to the newbie Hunter were the first ones to step through the veil and try to overwhelm them. The setting sun had given them the perfect opportunity to strike and in the chaos of decapitation and pulled hearts their group had been separated. It was inevitable with how many of them were in it, but he'd thought they would at least make it out of Athens before that happened.

At least he'd been able to glimpse that Klaus had flashed Henrik away, Caroline moving at his side before the number of vampires trying to overtake them had forced him to grab Bonnie and flash away as well. Rebekah was at his side, following him away from the insanity of the docks, not stopping until they were out of Athens. The other vampires would no doubt be able to follow, but there were two groups to go after, and their speed would never be a match for an Originals.

"We have to go back," Rebekah started as soon as they stopped running, her eyes wide and movements frantic. "Henrik is back there. What if they got him?"

"Nik has him," Kol assured his sister as he let go of Bonnie. "I saw him take off with him and Caroline as well before I grabbed Bonnie."

"What about my Grams?" Bonnie demanded as she glanced back in the direction they'd come from, looking as though she might dart back in that direction at any moment.

"Oh who cares about your grandmother," Rebekah snapped, glaring at the other girl. "It's not as if she even wanted to be here anyway. She'd have happily died and let the rest of them perish as well."

"To stop Silas!" Bonnie protested and Kol stepped into her pathway. "I have to go back."

"I'm sure the others have her," Kol told her, matching each of her steps. "After all, we're all heading to the same location and they need a Bennett to actually get inside of it. I have you." The narrowing of her eyes at that comment shouldn't have amused him as much as it did, but could he help it that riling her up was becoming one of his favorite pastimes? "So that means they'll need her."

"But you didn't see them take her," Bonnie pointed out and Kol shrugged.

"I couldn't see much of Caroline from the angle I had, only that she flashed off as Klaus did. Do you really think she'd leave your grandmother behind?" Kol asked, watching the protest seem to leave Bonnie for a moment. Kol didn't think the other girl would leave the old woman behind. Caroline seemed to value her friends too much to do something so callous. "Now that we have that settled, let's get going."

"No!" Rebekah protested and Kol shook his head, unsurprised that his sister was still being ornery. "We have to go back. We have to meet up with them. Which direction did they head in Kol?"

"We'll meet up with them at Amara's tomb, Rebekah," Kol reminded, already looking around for a mode of transportation. Flashing about would work but they all needed to keep their strength and he was unsure what that kind of momentum for a lengthy period of time could do to a human's body and didn't want to chance weakening Bonnie. Not when he had her where he needed her in regards to her power levels.

"But Henrik," Rebekah continued, and Kol shrugged at that, not as worried as his sister was about their youngest brother.

"He's with Nik, Bekah. He won't let anything happen to him," Kol pointed out.

"Like he didn't let anything happen to him with the wolves?" Rebekah demanded and then gasped, hand clasped to her mouth as she realized what she'd just said. That undercurrent of blame that all of them tried to not have in regards to Henrik's death had come to the surface again. It'd been a tragic accident but the questions of why Klaus hadn't made the littlest of them stay put in the caves haunted them forever.

Kol simply reached over and squeezed his sister's shoulder, ignoring Bonnie as she looked between the two of them. "We'll need a car," Rebekah murmured after a moment, and strode forward, leaving Kol to deal with Bonnie.

"You better hope that we can find a way to unlink them from Silas, Bonnie, or my family will do everything in its power to keep him alive and let him have his reign," Kol told her, knowing that each of the Mikaelson siblings would kill any who tried to take Silas down before Henrik was unlinked from him.

They had lost him once and by some twisted miracle had been given a second chance with him. The circumstances behind it hardly mattered to any of them, but they would do everything in their power to ensure that he was with them for the next thousand years, not caring who had to die for that to happen. It wouldn't matter if the boy would want that either, not in the end to them. All that would matter was having Henrik with them again.

He could see her ready to protest, to remind him of all that would happen if Silas was allowed to do as he pleased. "Don't you want more time with your grandmother?"

"We're not meant to come back from the dead," Bonnie replied after a moment. "Nature always finds a way to make us pay when that happens."

Kol shrugged, well aware of that fact, but all he had to do was look at himself to know that coming back from the dead wasn't as hard a task as some made it out to be. "Think of it this way. If Silas dies and my brother is destroyed with him, nothing in this world will be safe from my family's wrath." They would rain down pain and death; destroy lives as a means to soothe their own pain. "So perhaps think of all the lives you'll be saving while you try to come up with a way to unlink him."

"You'll ruin lives even if he is saved," Bonnie muttered, glaring at him, and Kol grinned. It was the truth. That wouldn't stop even if Henrik did live, but it'd never quite reach the level it would if they lost him again.

"Looks like Rebekah found us our ride, darling," Kol replied, nodding toward the car his sister was waving at them from. "Let's get going."

He grabbed Bonnie's arm before she could protest and flashed them over to it. "Didn't you unlink all of us from my mother's spell?" Kol asked her as they got into the car, remembering that little detail from earlier in the year. "How did you do it when Nik made you?"

"I needed all of your blood to undo it because your mother had used your blood to link all of you in the first place. Silas took them from the Other Side. I don't know if he used blood or something else to bind them all together. Your mother also used Elena's blood because doppelganger blood works as a good binding agent in spells," Bonnie told him, and Kol pursed his lips as he took all of that in.

She was right about the doppelganger blood and considering little Elena Gilbert was on the Other Side perhaps Silas had been able to use her as well or maybe he had used another spell. "I'm sure if you keep using that mind of yours to think it all through that you'll come up with the solution," Kol replied, leaning back as Rebekah began to drive. "After all, you've now got access to more knowledge than you had before. Thanks to all of that power you took hold of. Just need to tap into it."

"I thought I just had the power?" Bonnie murmured and he could see her wariness as she looked over at him, as she started to worry over what she'd done to be able to take down Silas.

"Oh no, darling. You got all of it when you harnessed the power that was released to wander in the world. Power, knowledge." Kol grinned at her, ignoring Rebekah who was glancing back at them and rolling her eyes. "Couple of other items as well but we'll get to those in time. Let's focus on you working through what the others might have known."

"But how?" Bonnie started and Kol's smile twisted, becoming anything but pleasant as he grabbed her hand, gaze locking with her own.

"Da mihi potestatem, et simul cum Spiritu [1]," he murmured, enjoying how her eyes widened in fear at the Latin words before they turned white and rolled back as her body stiffened, his own eyes mirroring her as the link formed.

The problem with taking power that was wandering in the world trying to get back to its rightful bloodline was that it could be tapped into by the one who'd lost that power if they were still around. Usually they were not or if they were they didn't know the spell to do so, but Kol did. Power lost to him when he'd been turned into a vampire by his mother, drifting around and waiting to be taken again by a Mikaelson, something that could never happen considering their bloodline had been extinguished that night. It'd taken him centuries to figure it out; countless witches he'd gotten in good with before he finally found a spell that would work.

And then the witch had died on him before he'd been able to capitalize on all he'd learned.

But he now had control of Bonnie Bennett and whatever she could see he would be able to see and he was not about to let all of the knowledge she had gained go to waste. Especially if there could be insight into how to save Henrik. The fact that he was able to dabble a little with magic again by controlling her actions was a definite bonus that he'd be taking advantage of whenever he could.


What Klaus wanted to do was rip the witch's vocal chords from her throat and then use them to strangle her, to watch the life seep out of her and for her being to simply cease to exist. If not for Henrik's presence or the fact that they might need the witch alive to be able to break the damn linking spell between his brother and Silas, he might have done so. Especially with the judgmental looks that she continuously directed Caroline's way, with those lovely little barbs about some loves not being right for you. He wanted her to eat those words, to choke on them, but even he couldn't get everything that he wanted.

Henrik was far more important than silencing the witch and the fact that Caroline didn't seem to be listening to what the woman had to say was also helping. If the words had swayed her away from him, had torn down any of the progress that he'd accomplished in the last few weeks it would be a different story, but he'd let the witch have her snide remarks and her infuriating looks. The time would come where he would be able to rip out her heart and deliver it to her granddaughter. He simply needed to bide his time.

"How are you feeling, little brother?" Klaus asked as he finally sat down beside Henrik.

It was the first moment they'd truly had together since he had been brought back and Klaus wasn't sure precisely what it was that he should say or how he should react to the boy. Comfort was still a foreign concept to him and while he'd been learning how to dole it out to Caroline he was unsure if the same methods would work on Henrik. He also didn't know if the gesture would be appreciated. After all, he was the reason the boy had died. Ripped apart, crying in pain that wouldn't go away until he breathed his last breath, while he'd been able to do nothing but try and race him home to be healed.

I could save you now.

He could ensure that Henrik never died, give him a little blood, turn him into a vampire and keep the boy at his side for eternity. The magic would go away but that was a worthy sacrifice for an eternity with his family, wasn't it? Kol had lost his when their mother had turned them; he'd be able to help the boy deal with those repercussions.

"I am much better now," Henrik told him, offering up the smile that had haunted Klaus' dreams for more years than he'd ever remember. The voice was the same, though he much preferred it this way than in his nightmares or how it'd been during those fifty-two years of enduring the Hunter's Curse when his brother screamed at him, wanting to know why he hadn't been fast enough to save him.

"We'll rest here for a few hours before continuing on our journey. I am certain Kol and Rebekah will meet us at our destination," Klaus continued, watching his brother tear into the bread on the plate.

"I think they will too," Henrik murmured, and Klaus watched as the boy frowned before biting his lip, a telltale sign that Henrik was trying to figure out what to say. "I did not watch all of you for very long on the Other Side." Klaus tensed at that. He'd heard tales of what it was like beyond the veil, what they were all able to see and do from there, but he hadn't ever thought about what Henrik might have seen them do. He might not change a second of his life, might not regret any of his kills, but that didn't mean he wished for his little brother to have witnessed them. "Not after mother and father betrayed you. I did not want to see what would happen next. I did look in every so often but I stopped after a while."

"After they betrayed me?" Klaus asked, looking up at Sheila who was watching them and was thankful that she was unable to understand a single word they were saying. The language they spoke had long since been altered and while there were those who spoke a version of it in the present day, Henrik's dialect would make it difficult for them to understand.

"Mother took away your wolf," Henrik replied, his gaze focused on the soup that he dipped his bread into. "I believe that is why they did not try to hurt you that night."

It was amazing how just a few words could make it near impossible to swallow, how much emotion could clog up such a simple ability. "I believe that is the reason, yes," Klaus finally managed to get out, not quite sure what else to say to that. Did he beg for forgiveness now? Henrik's death was the one regret he would never be able to shed, no matter how hard he had tried to bury it.

Henrik looked over at him, too much wisdom in his young eyes, but that had always been the case. "I do not blame you, Nik. You did not know." The hug that came next was unexpected and Klaus froze, body still unaccustomed to such contact, but eventually he wrapped his arm around his brother, holding him closely. It didn't matter if Sheila could see this vulnerability. She would not live past the week. "I should not have followed you."

"It is not your fault either, Henrik," Klaus tried to reassure him. It was no one's fault, only circumstances that had led to a terrible tragedy and altered their family's lives forever. His chest tightened, heart feeling as though someone was squeezing it tightly, the emotions that hit him in that moment seeking to overwhelm him. He didn't know what to do with it didn't know how to lessen it, to make it go away and was unsure if he truly wanted it to do so.

He'd lived a thousand years with his other siblings and while they loved one another in their own twisted ways, bonds strengthening and distorting at the same time, none of it quite matched up to this love he felt for the youngest of them. The urge to protect was still there, to possess and ensure loyalty, that the boy wouldn't dare try to leave him but there was a vulnerability to it as well, a gentleness he hadn't associated with the love of his siblings in centuries.

"You should rest," Klaus told the boy, pulling away from him, needing to distance himself some. "You need to gather your strength."

Henrik simply nodded as he rose and Klaus ignored the witch's following gaze as he led the boy up to the house's bedrooms. "You do not seem as lost as you used to," Henrik informed him before he headed off to curl up on one of the beds.

Klaus didn't know how to reply to that, annoyance trying to win out as being referred to as lost at any point in his life. He equated that with being vulnerable; he was the Original Hybrid and before his wolf had been released again he'd been an Original Vampire. They were not lost. It was easy enough to rationalize away that Henrik simply didn't understand what he'd seen though, especially if he'd only seen glimpses here or there, and the boy was still so young. So Klaus closed the door, not wanting to push the issue with him and turned his attention toward the other noises in the house. He heard the shower still running in one of the other ones, letting him know of Caroline's location, while in another room the family who owned the house sat, compelled to remain there until they left in the morning.

The two of them were going to need to feed; he would not allow them to be anything but at peek strength. If today was an indication of what could follow they couldn't afford not to be. He headed into the bedroom Caroline had headed into after leaving the shower, gaze traveling over her towel clad body as she turned, arching a brow at him.

"Excuse you, go get your own room," she told him, her tone light and teasing as she shook her head. She was looking through the closet, trying to find something that would work for her to wear.

"You need to feed," Klaus replied, enjoying the way she flicked through the clothes, none of them quite up to her standards, no doubt pouting over the fact.

"So do you," she murmured, still not looking back at him. "And I'm guessing you're seeing the family in the other room as a delicious smorgasbord, right?" He could hear her distaste for the idea, watching as she pulled out a pair of pants and a blue shirt from the closet. Rather dull choices but they couldn't exactly be picky at the moment.

"They do have what we need," Klaus pointed out with a shrug. Blood was blood for him.

"We're already taking their, like, house from them which is probably going to put them on like a dangerous path because whoever is so following might stop here. We should at least let them keep their strength." Taking blood would weaken them quite a bit but that hardly mattered to him. "They deserve a fighting chance."

He didn't see it that way. They were nothing more than cattle but he wouldn't push her to feed from them. He would still do so, but there was a far more pleasurable way to ensure Caroline got the proper amount of blood that she needed. "What's that look for?" she continued, pursing her lips at him and he arched a brow.

"I'm unsure what look you might be referring to," Klaus replied, enjoying her little huff as she put down the jeans and shirt on the nearby dresser.

"That 'oh I'm diabolical' look. With the dangerous smirk and the 'I've got a billion plans to go with my billion years' gaze," she muttered before turning to look back at him.

He grinned at that, loving the knowledge that she had apparently named his looks, that she'd spent enough time analyzing him to know the minute differences in his expressions. Was this a glimpse into their eternity? This lovely banter with her in a towel that barely covered her body before they headed off to see some ancient piece of architecture or perhaps decimated a group that was threatening their lives. Was this what living was? This anticipation, this warmth that he felt as he watched her move, as he took all of her in.

He'd lived for centuries and never felt it before. Had plundered and destroyed, created and learned more than he'd ever be able to explain, and while his obsession over breaking his curse, at chasing Katerina and finding a new doppelganger, to finally have his wolf released had sustained him for long time. Even the fear and fury from running from his father had done that, nothing matched this desire and contentment that he felt while simply being in the same room as Caroline.

"I'm still not going to drink from that family," she continued, clucking her tongue at him, hands on her hips as she stared at him, trying to show how unmoving she was in regard to that.

"Then where would you like it?" Klaus asked, unable to help smirking at her confusion. "Wrist, though you hardly get a good pull from there. Neck?" He tapped his, watching her realize what he meant. "Thigh? Femoral artery is located right here, sweetheart. Quite a lovely place to drink from."

Her eyes had darkened at that and he could smell her desire, see the tips of her fangs sliding out as she stared at him, frozen in place. He was standing in front of her in seconds, brushing damp hair off of her neck as he invaded her personal space. "Rather a favorite place of mine, truth be told," he continued, enjoying her little moan at that, knowing that her blood lust was taking over. "What will it be?"

Caroline shoved him back at that and Klaus let her move him, back of his knees hitting the bed and he sat down on it. A wicked smile spread on his face because she had followed him as he moved, knocking him down against the bed. The monster was out to play, golden curls accentuating her vampire features as she hovered over him, towel slipping down a bit before she attacked his neck. The urge to bite her back was strong, but he wouldn't tonight, didn't need his blood to work on countering the poison instead of simply giving her added strength.

His hands roamed down her back, cupping her ass through the towel before sliding under the fabric of it as he flipped them so she lay beneath him. Caroline never let go of his neck, though her hands left his hair, one hand clasping tightly to his shoulder, while the other hand tangled in his necklaces. His hips pressed into hers, pleased when her legs lifted, wrapping around him, letting his body press against hers, erection straining against the denim, feeling her slick against the fabric of his jeans. It wasn't enough but it would do for now, he'd make it.

The knot of her towel had already come undone from their movements and Klaus brushed the material out of the way, needing to feel her skin. She cried out as his hand palmed her breast, teeth scraping against his neck as he massaged it, thankful when her head dropped back against the bed, allowing him more ability to maneuver as he wanted.

One hand was still cupping her ass, holding her to him as they continued to arch against one another. His blunt teeth scraped across her chest, bringing out more moans before he finally enveloped a nipple in his mouth, barely registering her gasp or the nails she clawed into his back as he drug and sucked while continuing to fuck her through his clothing.

"Klaus," she moaned, hands in his hair again, tugging at his curls, head rolling side to side as she whimpered, urging him on.

Her moans increased, practically chanting his name as he switched to the other breast, alternating between sucking, biting, and laving as he felt her nearing her peak. He easily captured her mouth, hands moving to grasp her own, pinning them to either side of her head as he felt himself reaching that precipice and easily fell over it with her, entire body straining as he swallowed her cries of pleasure.

He'd need to get another pair of jeans and his blood lust still needed to be satiated but the feeling of Caroline beneath him, thoroughly satisfied was worth waiting to do so. The fact that she didn't move to cover up when he rolled off of her but instead shifted to curl up against him, stretching out like a contented cat before resting her head on his chest was a definite bonus. Caroline Forbes didn't love him, but give him enough time and Klaus was certain that she would. He was unsure how long it would take but the tenderness she displayed back on the boat, her trust as she drifted off to sleep against him had him believing that it would only be a matter of time.

Perhaps now wasn't the time to be thinking about such things. There was so much more for him to worry about, to try and strategize through to ensure there were multiple scenarios for taking Silas down, but it was hard to hold onto any of those things when he was holding his forever in his arms and his little brother was sleeping soundly down the hall.

Not even Sheila Bennett muttering about monsters loving monsters down below would ruin this moment for him.


Katherine sighed, leaning back against the chair as she gave it another whirl, spinning around until it stopped. She couldn't get away, practically under lock and key, and all of her plans and plotting seemed to be for nothing at the moment. She needed to come up with something new, one that got her away from Elijah and maybe hole up somewhere while the rest of them all worked on ensuring the world didn't become some crazy new place, one where survival would be infinitely harder.

She wasn't stupid. It wasn't only Klaus and his siblings who'd screwed over thousands of people that were on the Other Side thirsty for revenge. She had her own share of those that were no doubt waiting to get the drop on her, to end her existence after she'd left them to the wolves or purposefully thrown them to them. If it was her life or someone else's she was always going to look out for number one.

Anyone who didn't was a fool and most likely dead, waiting to come back to exact that little bit of vengeance.

She tipped back the vodka bottle, trying to get the last drop of it out, dropping it to the floor when nothing fell. "You could try to be helpful," Elijah commented from his place at the table, rapidly turning pages as he poured over the grimoires looking for some spell or another.

"Pretty sure prisoners aren't supposed to help out their captors," she told him, turning the chair so she could look at him, cocking her head to the side as he looked pointedly at her, clearly not seeing their situation that way. "Besides, you've got Thing One and Thing Two there spilling over your books. More than enough hands."

Katherine walked back over to the case that held the alcohol, frowning when she noted that there was none left. Typical. Now how was she supposed to occupy her time? "You look starved. Why don't I slip out and get us all something to eat?" she suggested, knowing it wouldn't happen but she needed entertainment and if that was only going to happen by annoying the others then so be it. Maybe she could find a weak spot and exploit it.

She already knew Elijah's vulnerable points, but unfortunately the fact they were trying to find something that would help out one of his family members meant he wouldn't be giving up this quest for anything. Nothing would distract him. Not even her. Case in point the fact that he didn't even bother to look up from his current text, completely ignoring her.

Katherine walked around the room, knowing she'd never make it if she tried to run. Vincent was far older than her and it wasn't like she could take on Vaughn without severe consequences. No snapping necks with that one. Plus Elijah would never let her get a foot out of the room before he had her slammed back down and no doubt shackled for the remainder of their time at the house. Usually she'd be all for him tying her up but considering the circumstances she figured it wouldn't be as pleasurable as it usually was for her.

"Either help, Katerina, or find something to do that requires less talking," Elijah suggested, lifting up a book for her to read, and she sank back down onto the chair, strumming her fingers along the leather as she mulled over her options.

She draped herself over the chair again, staring up at the ceiling as she worked over her plans, tried to formulate precisely how to use the blonde cheerleader to garner her freedom. She wasn't stupid, one wrong step and Klaus would simply pull her heart out. She needed to figure out how to make it all work to her advantage, which probably meant getting Caroline on her side. Pretty big task considering she'd smothered the girl to death and then threatened her life a few times.

Simple enough to get over, right? It wasn't like her and Matt were even together anymore. Her threats were nothing like what Klaus could dole out, nor did they really hold up against what he'd apparently done if the whole Tyler Lockwood being dead part was true. Unfortunately she wasn't all that sure Caroline would see it that way. People were always so touchy if you were their killer, even if becoming a vampire seemed to have worked out pretty well for the girl.

Katherine bolted upright at the shifting in the air, a shiver running down her spine as her senses all seemed to come alive. Something was off but she wasn't sure what precisely and the others seemed to sense it as well if their sudden looks toward the doorway meant anything.

They didn't know where the veil was thinning at but so far it hadn't seemed to be doing so around Vincent's place. There had been no attack and the area was supposed to be shielded, though Katherine doubted if that was true any longer. After all, his witches had apparently abandoned him to follow Silas if what she'd overheard in the car was correct.

The books all snapped shut, wind picking up out of nowhere in the room, lights flickering as the four of them stood, trying to get a location on where the spell originated from. It had to be magic, that was the only explanation for the sudden phenomena, and the rising chorus of chanting confirmed that.

They all prepared to attack but were knocked down by the spell that ignited the synapses in their head, causing excruciating pain, except for Vaughn who was looking for something to use as a weapon. Elijah was pushing through the pain to rise, picking up the closest object to use as a weapon.

"You know you cannot win this," he informed them, voice calm and collected like it always seemed to be. "Silas used you and yet you still seem to think you'll be given power, control over this world when it will only belong to him."

"Better to take you with us to the grave," a voice called from the hallway and Katherine rolled her eyes at that. Fools.

"You seem to have been misinformed. Your usual tricks will do nothing to me," Elijah replied and flung the book through the swinging door, watching it embed itself into the nearest witch, effectively killing her as the door swung to close again. "I will give you a chance to leave here now and live out your days as you see fit but continue this and I will kill every last one of you."

"A noble choice," a voice murmured from behind them, one that seemed to cause Elijah to stiffen and Katherine looked over at the older woman who was holding what looked like a white oak stake. That wasn't possible. They were all gone. "But you always did try to be the righteous one, didn't you? Or at least play that role to make yourself feel better."

She stepped forward but disappeared out of their view, as if she'd gone back into the veil and Elijah whipped around, trying to figure out where she had gone, what was going on. "This is hardly the time for any of your games, mother," Elijah started. "Have you not seen? Henrik is alive. He has another chance to live again."

"And I will not let the rest of you tarnish that chance," Esther replied as she stepped into their reality again, driving the stake into Elijah's chest. "You will not corrupt him as well."

Katherine screamed, almost stepping forward as Elijah fell, bursting into flames as the stake took effect. The woman was gone and the chanting had ceased but none of that did Elijah any good as his body decayed and burned, nothing able to stop this death.

Part of her yearned to stay, to figure out what to do with the body, to see if there was a chance that he might return as others seemed to, but Katherine Pierce was first and foremost a survivor. She couldn't dismiss the chance to escape while Vincent and Vaughn looked on in horror at Elijah's burning corpse.

She fled.


[1]Da mihi potestatem, et simul cum Spiritu: Spirit combine with me and give me the power