Chapter 29: Turnaround
Allison-
The pair walked into the bar like they owned the place, the taller of the two saying something that made the fairer haired one laugh. As soon as I got a whiff of them, I knew they were vampires. Their scent was strong, stronger than any I had ever smelled before. Doubtless, this meant they were old, and would be much harder for my pack and I to put an end to. But still, we had them outnumbered eight to one. The blonde began moving amongst the patrons, chatting it up with them. The other went off on his own, making his way to the bar, and stopping by the chair next to me. I tensed. "Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked.
Under his overpowering vampiric odor, lay a far more subtle, but incredibly familiar smell. I just couldn't place it. "Go ahead." I said, barely keeping the edge out of my voice.
He sat down, and appraised the liquor on the wall. His nose wrinkled. "Why is there so much vodka?"
"A lot of the folks who pass through here like it." I explained, grabbing hold of my wooden chair leg, ready to snap it off at a moment's notice. My other hand moved across the counter toward a spray bottle that Josh, the bartender, filled with vervain. Close enough to grab, but far enough to seem casual.
"I hate vodka. It really burns on the way down."
"Know what else burns?" I asked, allowing menace to creep into my voice.
"I'm going to assume you're talking about the vervain in that bottle," he indicated the spray bottle, "and then I will say that attacking me is a very bad idea, especially with these humans around as witnesses."
I grinned evilly . "Did you wonder why you guys are the only vampires in this town?"
"Enlighten me."
"Because the locals know about you, and they help my pack kill you suckers off."
The vampire laughed, and fixed his cold blue eyes on me. "That's funny, seeing how they don't know about vervain. You should have given them some of yours. See, while we've been talking, my buddy Kol has been compelling everyone here. So now," he grinned, his teeth elongating and his eyes burning orange, "we're free to do whatever we want."
Werewolf! That was the smell. He must have been one of those hybrids!I expected him to lunge at me, but instead, he sank his teeth into his own wrist, before shoving the wound into my mouth. Oh God. Was he going to- Hands on my head, Crack! Darkness.
Kol-
I stared at one of the dead werewolves lying on the floor. "This would have been a much more fun massacre if I didn't have to wait for you to feed them your blood."
"We're not wasting werewolves." Cutler said from across the room. He looked over to an empty booth. "Shut up Finn. Stop popping up."
"It must be maddening to have my most annoying dead brother giving you morality speeches." I said.
"Tell me about it!" He agreed, sighing with exasperation. "The poor bastard has nothin better to do with his afterlife then pester me. It's his fault I flipped my switch in the first place."
"So, why exactly are you turning these mutts anyway?" I asked. Don't you need doppelgänger blood?"
"That's what I want to figure out. See, your mom cursed Klaus so his werewolf side would be suppressed. To break the curse, he had to drink the blood of the doppelgänger until they died. Your mom put in a fail safe in case Klaus did that that hybrids he sired needed the same blood he did to complete the transition, or else they would become unstable and die. Thing is, no curse was ever placed on me, so chances are hybrids sired by me will be able to transition just fine on normal human blood."
"How will we know if it worked?" I asked.
"If it didn't, they'll look sick and bleed out their eyes before they go nuts. If it worked, then they'll get a hybrid True Face and roar a bit."
"Lovely." I muttered.
"Are you insinuating that hybrids are ugly?"
"Only their True Faces."
"Vampires True Faces are ugly too. But ours are cooler because our eyes glow."
"Maybe, but you have both sets of teeth."
"It looks totally-" he didn't finish his retort. Cutler sniffed the air. "I know that smell. Kol, stay here and watch my hybrids. I'll be back later."
"I'm not your bloody lapdog!" I shouted, but he was gone. Damn that little wanker.
Katherine-
I stood on a mountain overlooking the small Wyoming town. It was several miles away, so I couldn't hear what was going on, but I could observe through the military grade binoculars in my hand. I was watching the bar Cutler and Kol Mikaelson had gone into, and for a brief second, I saw the door open. Then nothing. Several minutes went by.
"Katherine."
The voice came from behind. I wanted to spin around and hug the owner, but I was on dangerous ground with his emotions off. I wasn't sure if it was as bad or worse as having him angry at me. I turned slowly. "Hey Cutler. It's been a while."
"I know you're here to turn my feelings back on. I'm curious, how did you find me?"
Good. He clearly didn't know about the tracker I had installed in the car I'd given him. "I have my sources."
He inclined his head. "I guess I can accept that answer."
"Then can you also give one?" He shrugged. "Why'd you turn it off?"
"Matt Donovan killed my friend."
"Did you kill him?"
"That's why I flipped the switch. So I wouldn't care. But I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to die screaming. Now though, I don't give a crap about him. Or you."
"Really?" I asked, moving closer. "I find it hard to believe that what we had didn't mean anything to you."
"It meant everything to me. But apparently it didn't to you."
I wanted to tell him. So badly it hurt. But the compulsion was too strong. I couldn't break it's hold.
Cutler was apparently remembering that night in the caves. "That's right. Rebekah tried to kill you. I fended her off, making her angry at me, and then you totally ruined my chances with her" His voice lowered.. "Then you dumped me, which would have been bad enough before I turned, but with my enhanced emotions, I was completely fucking devastated!" By the end, his voice was a shout, so terrifying I fell back. His blazing orange eyes bored into me, and then… He modulated back to his emotionless self. "Good job. I actually got a little angry there. But it looks like you're not my trigger." He crouched down in front of me, and leaned in close. "The next time I catch you trying to turn my feelings back on, I don't care if I feel bad about it later. I will kill you."
And with that, he vanished into the night.
Author's Note: Nooooo! I've written myself into a good stopping point! Gargh! Sorry for the short chapter, and even more sorry for not updating in so loooooooong. But for the past few weeks, I have a massive assortment of things on my mind, so writing wasn't my focus. Also, I was really torn on when this chapter was going to take place. Anyway, I'm planning on updating Tuesday, but if I get enough incentive (cough! reviews! Cough!) I might do it tomorrow. Anyway, enjoy whatever time you read this, and as always, if you see some wierd text it wasn't me, it was autocorrect.
