Dank je wel Holland! :)

Hello dearies, I am so sorry for the delay - don't hate me, it was totally unintentional! I had a major company event to attend yesterday and I was sure I would have an hour or two sometime over the day, but I ended up being so busy I couldn't find the time... SORRY GUYS!

Another heartfelt thanks to the guest reviewers, as always! And I'm happy I got the Hindi greeting right! :)

Broken record: I just love your reviews, everyone!

xxx

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

MEN OF HONOUR

"Can I trust you not to do anything rash if I release you?" he whispered at her ear. Caroline closed her eyes and was about to nod when another bloodcurdling scream pierced the thick air. Desperate tears sprang out of her eyes. God, I can't bear this! She fought against Elijah with all her might, but she was no match whatsoever for his strength.

"Caroline. Calm down." Somehow, his soothing voice cut through her panic. She stopped struggling and just stood there, letting the tears flow freely over her face, listening to the sounds of agony from the man she adored. Elijah slowly released her and turned her around to face him, gripping her shoulders. His gaze softened at the sight of her tears and he pulled her into a quick embrace, patting her back.

"All will be well. I have told you before, and I will tell you again: Niklaus is very, very strong. He can endure this, and if he can, so must we. Caroline, listen to me. I know you are probably planning on taking down the warlock once he exits the room, and in principle, that is a good idea as Silv is no match for him in her weakened state. But there are some things to be taken into account, and Mikael is a different caliber entirely." Caroline looked up at him through her tears and shook her head.

"I don't care, Elijah. Please, just let me go! I can't stand this! I can't bear the thought of someone hurting him like that! Please!"

Elijah shook his head. "I know how hard this is, but it will soon be over. Niklaus has never been overly impressed by physical pain, however different it may sound to you right now. It is whatever Mikael will try to do to his mind that we will have to impede, and it would certainly not help his sanity to see you heedlessly throwing yourself in Mikael's path. But I can see you will not leave, and I can smell vervain on your breath so I can't compel you. I am seriously considering snapping your neck, though." There was another muffled scream erupting from the cell, and both of them flinched in unison.

"Elijah." Caroline's voice had taken on a hint of despair.

He looked at her intently and nodded. "Remember my words before we left Norway? You will do as I say, you will never once deviate. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do, is that understood?"

"Yes."

"All right then." He reached into his jacket and handed her a stake. "Just in case. Hide it inside your jacket. Now, there is something Niklaus needs to do, and for that, we require Prelati. He will leave the room at some point, as black magic requires far more concentration and privacy than white spells, and that will be the precise moment he will be captured and persuaded to execute a very particular piece of magic. He will then return to the room, and unbeknownst to Mikael, things will take their course."

"What things?" Caroline whispered, fear clutching at her heart.

"Niklaus and I will explain everything later. One thing is imperative though. The moment Mikael gets hold of you, he must never know you are vervained. He will not suspect it, as you have been living with us for weeks and he will be quite certain you no longer deem it necessary. Were you on vervain the day you met Prelati at the lake?" She shook her head. "Good. That is what Prelati will have told Mikael."

"But you smelled it, and so will he."

"Which is why I will get Silv. You need to be spelled so he can't smell the vervain on you." He handed her another little flask. "Niklaus' blood. Again, just in case."

"I already took some earlier," she replied meekly, overwhelmed by all that was going on.

"Still," he said. "Come on, let us go upstairs. You will wait in the hall until I get Silv."

"Let me stay here, Elijah."

"Caroline. You will do as I say or I will snap your neck." He had never sounded menacing to her before, but he did now. "I can't trust you not to storm in there if you hear any more of… that, so you will wait upstairs."

He pulled her up and they silently ghosted up the stairs. Motioning towards a shadowy corner, he said, "Wait there. And do not move¸ is that clear?"

Caroline nodded weakly. Klaus' screams wouldn't leave her mind, and the fear for him had taken hold of her entire body. She felt like collapsing and crying, but if there had ever been a time for her to really prove her strength, it was now.

"Elijah."

"Yes?"

"You two have a different plan, haven't you? That's what you have been discussing whenever you spoke in private over the last couple of days. You were never actually going to involve any of the others after the family drama was over, were you?"

The Original just smiled and flashed off into the night. Caroline wrapped her arms around her torso, concentrating on summoning up all the strength she could find within herself. She had no idea what this was all about, but she was growing more and more upset at the stubborn brothers who thought they could pull off everything by themselves. Ahm… they probably can, too? Yeah, but that's no excuse! Those guys had some serious trust issues, and if they all survived this, she would be the one yelling at Klaus for days on end instead of vice versa! Well, after she had held him for days on end. How could he willingly let himself be tortured like that? And how could Elijah allow it? She knew that was probably all part of their weird plan, but still…

Elijah returned with Silv a minute later, carrying her in his arms. She looked terrible, and Caroline's heart went out to her. All the time, she had been thinking of no one but Klaus, completely forgetting what was happening to the witch. Elijah sat her down carefully, his hands never leaving her shoulders. The anxiety on his face spoke volumes.

"How many spells do you have left?" Caroline whispered and squeezed Silv's hand.

"Two," the witch answered in a cracked, broken voice. Caroline looked up at Elijah.

"Should we really waste one of them on me?" she asked carefully. Elijah nodded vehemently, gently stroking Silv's shoulders.

"Mikael must never know you are on vervain. It really is imperative, Caroline. We need to be prepared. If he compels you, do as he says. Even if he asks you to hurt Niklaus, stake yourself or whatever else he demands. Do it. We will try very hard to avoid any harm coming to you, in fact, Niklaus will rather die than see you harmed, but pretenses need to be kept up until a very particular moment, and you will know once it has arrived. Silv, would you mind?" he asked softly.

Silv closed her eyes and opened her arms, symbolically encircling Caroline with them, and began to mumble. After about half a minute, she was done, and Elijah approached Caroline. Taking a quick whiff, he smiled. "Very good." Then he turned to Silv who was now looking worse for wear. Her cheeks were hollowing by the minute and the pallor covering her face started to take on a very unhealthy nuance. Without another word, Elijah pulled up his sleeve and bit his wrist, holding it to her mouth. Silv's eyes met his, and Caroline's heart clenched for a moment at the love she saw in them. A small tear escaped the witch's eye when Elijah suddenly bent to her ear.

"Always and forever," he whispered, emotion flooding his strained voice.

Silv cupped his cheek and smiled radiantly. The happiness made her whole face light up for a moment. "So be it," she breathed and pulled his wrist to her lips. Caroline turned around and looked towards the river while Silv drank from Elijah. That was a moment so private that it felt completely inappropriate to even be there in the first place.

After another few instants, Elijah spoke again. "I will bring Silv back to the tunnel and will return right away."

"Why don't you… I mean, send Kol, for example? So you will get to stay with Silv in case it should happen soon."

She turned around again to find both of them smiling at her. "That is very thoughtful, Caroline, but the important thing is for my blood to be in Silv's system now. Rebekah and Kol know what to do and when to do it, should need arise. There is nothing I can do to influence or ease the process. And I need to be there for my brother. I failed him last time, and I could never live with myself if I let that happen again." What's with the failing-my-brother complex in that family?

Silv looked up at him tenderly, and there was complete and utter confidence in her voice. "You will see to it that nothing happens to both of them."

"If either of those two ever begins to listen to me in the first place," Elijah commented dryly, scooping her up and gathering her in his arms. "I'll be right back."

And he was indeed. He looked a bit shaken, but he was Elijah after all. Caroline shot him a sideways glance as they descended towards the dungeons again. "What is a Knee Splitter?" she whispered.

He actually gave an almost unnoticeable shudder. "Do trust me, Caroline. You really don't want to know." At that very moment, there was another very loud hiss and they could hear Klaus' voice grating.

"I am somewhat disappointed, father. There I thought you would be doing the honours yourself. Instead you let that lackey of yours have all the enjoyment?" His words were interrupted by a number of gasps. Then Mikael's sardonic chuckle sounded from the chambers.

"Would you actually think me low enough to stain my hands like this? Touching you is the very last thing on my mind, you may rest assured. But to alleviate your disappointment – it is indeed very enjoyable to watch you being subjected to this kind of leisurely play. Had I not been so keen on your death when I visited Mystic Falls last time, I would have discovered the joys of spectatorship much sooner. Oh well, one is never too old to learn." Another agonized cry. Caroline turned around, covering her face in her hands and hiding in Elijah's chest like she had in her father's when she was a child and something had scared her. The tears started to flow again and she fought the overwhelming urge to clamp her hands over her ears. Elijah hugged her comfortingly, but Caroline felt the tension in him. He was suffering, too.

Eventually though, Mikael seemed to get bored with the torture games. Caroline started to cry anew, but this time with relief, as he announced, "It has been most entertaining, but I believe it is time to quit the fun and games and devote ourselves to some serious business, is it not?" There were footsteps and a shuffling of something Caroline couldn't make out. She heard Elijah whisper, "Get ready. And Caroline. Whatever I do or say, do not question me, do not show any surprise. Can you do that?" She nodded.

Then Mikael spoke again. "Is the spell holding up?"

"Yes," Prelati's voice confirmed eagerly, "rest assured that he will be immobilized for as long as you see fit. Shall I commence, then?"

"Please do. I shall entertain our guest in your absence. How long will you take?"

"No more than an hour, I hope."

"Very well. I have every confidence in your abilities, Prelati."

Elijah motioned for Caroline to retreat deeper into the alcove. He seemed completely at ease which gave her considerable reassurance. Then again, he was an Original after all. There was simply no match for the guys when they had their mind set on overpowering someone. She pressed her back against the wall when she heard the door open with a creak. Elijah was absolutely still until Prelati closed the door and looked down the corridor. His eyes widened for an instant as he took in the empty hallway where Caroline's body should have been. His mouth opened, but it was too late. Not even Caroline had actually seen Elijah move. He had Prelati in his iron grip before she could take a breath or the warlock could make a move. In his most eerie tone, he hissed, "Which cell?"

Prelati seemed to be totally paralyzed with shock. His face was a mask of fear which turned into sheer terror when Elijah calmly placed his fingers on the warlock's eyelids and started to exert only the slightest bit of pressure. "I am asking this once more before I forget my manners. Which one?"

The warlock frantically pointed to one of the cells on the right hand side, close to the stairwell. Without even a bit of effort, Elijah dragged him along, motioning for Caroline to follow. Once they were in the cell, Elijah unceremoniously shoved Prelati against the wall, holding him by the throat and reaching into his jacket pocket. To Caroline's utter astonishment, he produced a small roll of duct tape and tossed it to her. Prelati hadn't taken any notice of her so far, being too busy concentrating on Elijah, but now his eyes widened in shock. Caroline tore some tape from the roll and fastened it over the warlock's mouth. Still holding him by the throat, Elijah quickly scanned the room and pulled Prelati to a chair that was sitting in front of a large table containing the warlock's props. He pushed him down, and at the same moment, Caroline was taping Prelati's legs to the chair. When she rose, Elijah looked at her appreciatively and gave a small chuckle.

"We have been rubbing off on you, have we not?"

She winked at him, not betraying her nervousness. In the presence of this abomination of a warlock she would be the cool, confident, unshakeable vamp. Yeah, right. She crossed her arms over her chest and walked around the table to look Prelati in the face. At the same time, she was starting to feel a very light pressure in her head. It was no pain, just some minor tension. The warlock was trying to give them migraine.

"Nice try, you cockroach," she smiled pleasantly, proud at how blasé she sounded.

However, Elijah lost no time in teaching her what real nonchalance was. She knew he could feel the light pressure, too, but he just looked at her in mild surprise and asked evenly, "Is anything the matter, dear?"

Caroline caught his intention immediately. We mustn't show that what he does has any effect on us at all. "Oh, I just thought I saw our guest here trying to wriggle his way out of his restraints. But you didn't, did you?" she hissed warningly, making the warlock shake his head in quick denial. Elijah was standing behind Prelati now, giving Caroline a broad grin. 'Very good!', he mouthed. She kept her face completely neutral. "On to the business at hand, then?" she said, gesturing towards Elijah. As if she had any idea what the damn business was!

"Prelati," Elijah murmured, bending down to the warlock's ear, sending a visible tremor of fear through the man. "I do suppose you have sound proofed this room both ways, am I correct?" Prelati nodded. Again, Caroline did not miss how jerky his movements were. There was a slight edge of hysteria to them – he was really afraid. Good. She hoped he would pee his pants.

"Very well. A word of warning, though. I will remove the tape from your mouth now, but if you make only the slightest bit of noise, you will lose your right foot. Should you speak when you are not being asked a question, you will lose your left foot. Any attempts to escape will cost you your manhood, inch by inch. And if you try to work any magic other than the one you are being ordered to do, you will lose your eyesight. Have I made myself abundantly clear?"

The warlock was beyond mortal fear now, it was very obvious, and even Caroline felt the palpable menace. She had never seen Elijah like this, so threatening, so dark, so… Klaus. He walked around Prelati's chair and leaned down until he was only an inch from his face, staring into his eyes with such hatred that, had that glare been directed at her, she was sure to have started crying. Prelati assented frantically, looking a bit like a nodding dog, the way he didn't seem to be able to stop his head from bobbing. Elijah stared at him probingly for a moment and without further ado pulled the tape from the warlock's face. Ouch. The man recoiled and was about to cry out in pain when Elijah simply lifted his index finger. Silence.

Wow. Impressive.

"Now, shall we get down to business? Good. My father has asked you to perform a certain spell, is that correct? You may answer when asked a direct question."

"Yes." Prelati's voice was shaking so badly it was barely audible.

"He asked you to resuscitate Miss Forbes so she can be tortured in front of my brother's eyes in order to drive him into complete and utter madness. And you did get the required blood from Caroline's mother back in Mystic Falls. However, you did not actually harm her as you would require more blood at a later stage to resurrect Miss Forbes again and again so my brother could be subjected to a never ending repetition of this ordeal, should the first attempt not drive him insane. Am I correct again?"

Wait, my Mom? This freaking asshole touched my Mom? Oh, I'll kill him! I'll kill him myself!

The warlock looked up at Elijah in fear, but Caroline could still see the subdued gleam of excitement in his eyes. God, how sick can you get? "Yes. That is the plan."

"Whatever agreement you had with my father is herewith null and void. I am putting forth a new offer. I will only explain it once, and it stands for one minute exactly. Should you not have made up your mind after that minute or decline my offer, please refer to my earlier comments on the body parts you will be losing before you die. Understood?"

After a short silence, Prelati mouthed, 'Yes.'

"Here is what I am offering. You will immediately begin to execute a Repetitio in Aeternum spell. Combined with a Speculum."

Caroline saw Prelati's eyes widen to the point that they were almost bulging out of their sockets. He started to open his mouth, but one look at Elijah's face swiftly disabused him of the notion. What kind of spells were they? She did not betray her confusion and kept her expression carefully neutral, even though it was admittedly hard.

"Once you are done, you will return to my father, bringing him here to show him how successful you have been." He turned to Caroline and his voice became gentle.

"This will not be easy, my dear, but I am certain you will be up to the challenge. You will have to let Mikael capture you, and I will not be able to be with you during that event." Ugh! Seriously? She felt a bit light-headed, but she nodded. Anything. "I will join Niklaus in the dungeon, hiding in the alcove at the very back of the room. When the moment comes, we will take Mikael down." His voice took on a steelier tone as he addressed the warlock again.

"You will perform both spells on my father once he is in our hands. Everything you require is available." Elijah pulled a number of flasks from his pocket and lined them up on the table. "The three flasks to the left are meant for the Repetitio spell, the other two for the Speculum. Questions?"

Prelati looked dumbfounded. After a moment, he squeaked cautiously, "Why would I do that? What is in it for me?"

"Right," Elijah sneered, "I forgot to mention your payment. My apologies for that oversight. Am I correct in assuming my father offered your participation in his efforts to annihilate vampires, werewolves and Hybrids from the face of the Earth? Giving you free rein to torture at your leisure before he ends them?"

The warlock gaped at him, open-mouthed, before he nodded hesitantly. "Very well. In exchange for the services I have asked, I offer three things. First, your life. Second, your grimoire. Third, the last living relative of Gilles de Rais."

What? Has he gone totally insane? It cost Caroline everything she had not to show her horror at Elijah's proposal. How could he let Prelati get away, and point him to de Rais' descendant at that? It would enable him to revive the sick son of a bitch, and they could go about their crazed killing orgies like nothing ever happened!

Prelati was visibly excited. Caroline had seen his eyes light up at the mention of his grimoire… and de Rais. He looked at Elijah questioningly, and the Original nodded. "You may speak."

"You know the whereabouts of my grimoire?"

"No," Elijah said, "I own your grimoire. Next question?"

"How do I know that you will keep your end of the bargain?"

Elijah smiled. "My father has spoken of our family in great detail, has he not?" The warlock assented. "Then he must have told you that I am a man of my word. I have always kept my bargains, even when they involved vermin like you. Did he not tell you that?"

"He did indeed. But I would need some sort of guarantee, a proof."

"I do not think you are in any position to make demands, warlock. If you do decline, I will simply kill you. After removing your feet, your manhood and your eyesight. And maybe a couple of inner organs. Let me make one thing very clear: I do not require your services. Mikael should pay for what he has done to my brothers, to all our family, but if the circumstances do not allow for that, so be it. We will take him down one way or the other. It will be somewhat unsatisfying to just see him die without any suffering, but that is the extent of inconvenience for us. It is your call. Take it or leave it. One minute."

Silence descended on the room while Elijah calmly glanced at his watch. Caroline could still not believe what the Original had just offered the warlock. Maybe Elijah planned on hunting him down afterwards? If not, then she most definitely would! That abomination could really not be allowed to breathe the same air as the rest of the planet. But she would worry about that later, now she had to play along with Elijah.

When the time was up, the oldest Mikaelson brother crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Prelati, nothing but sincerity and honesty oozing from his face. The warlock closed his eyes for an instant, then he opened them again and returned Elijah's gaze.

"We are agreed."