Chapter 10

Elena stood staring through the blur of unshed tears at what was left of Elijah's favorite rose bush. It was reduced, by the fires, to a cinder. It felt symbolic and she felt like time had frozen in the moment.

This was her worst nightmare, come to life. Her chest heaved as she fought not to give voice to the pain she was feeling with a heart felt wail.

Elijah. Her love. Her husband. Her lifeline. Gone.

She wanted to pretend she didn't understand what was happening, to hide in the bliss of ignorance.

Elijah's deep voice echoed in her head. Occam's Razor, Elena.

The tears finally rolled down her cheeks and she gave herself the freedom to let them as she accepted the truth of his wisdom. Occam's Razor. The idea that the simplest explanation was usually the truth.

Elijah's humanity had been switched off. How and why were unknowns at this point. But this was the only explanation she could see for his sudden burst of killing at his brother's wedding.

She closed her eyes as memories of her own trip down that dark path flashed at her. She already knew….she understood what he would be thinking and doing right now.

He would hate her. Hatred so deep it lived in his bones. Undoubtedly he would feel hunger, anger and a deep seated thirst for violence. His actions seemed to reflect that with the number of bodies that the others were gathering now from what was left of the wedding decor.

We prepared for this. It was his voice again, in her head, reminding her. It was true. Preparations were made for a worst case scenario, one he didn't know the details of and never wanted to...for just this occasion. God bless her wise husband for giving her the tools she would need for this day.

Elena pulled a ragged breath and reached to her pocket for her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts. A quick tap on the screen and her phone was ringing.

A deep voice answered.

"Sam." She whispered raggedly, proud that her voice still worked.

"Yes, ma'am." The deep voice answered.

She cleared her throat before she said the words she'd hoped to never utter. "The Omega protocol."

"Oh, god." Her executive security officer answered after a gasp.

"It's okay." She was reassuring him. Where did the strength come from to prop someone else up right now? She wondered hollowly. The answer came just as quickly as the question had. Elijah's handsome face flashed in her mind. He'd taught her strength. And strategy. And battle. All to be able to take him down someday….in a worst case scenario...the end….Omega.

"You know what to do." Her voice was stronger, more confident this time.

"Yes, ma'am. We're on it. Give me five minutes." Sam Hastings assured her grimly. "And, Mrs. Mikaelson…" His voice trailed off for a moment, so she waited. "this will be okay."

Her chest heaved again and she was glad no one was around to see it, but she kept her voice steady.

"I know, Sam. Thank you."

Elena set an alarm timer on her phone for five minutes and pressed start.

"Five minutes, guys. Stay together and move quickly. Please." She called out to everyone. They were already working efficiently, getting the remaining human guests to safety and working to minimize the damage with compulsion. A lightning storm, of all things. That was how they were explaining away the deaths and the fires.

She clasped her shaking hands together and focused. What would Elijah do right now, if he was here? she asked herself. As the answers came, she moved, turning thought into action, as he would.

Gone. The word echoed in her head, banging like a drum despite her effort to remain focused. She squared her shoulders and pulled on the strength he'd given her to move forward. Without him.

Elena wrapped an arm around Suzette. Human, pregnant and her sister in law. She was the most fragile and the most valuable at the moment.

"Klaus, can you sniff test the house without going in?" They needed to be sure Elijah wasn't in there somewhere before she sent Suzette in for safety's sake.

Klaus nodded grimly and went to stand at the open door, drawing in deep breaths.

"It is clear." He called back after a moment.

"Inside, guys." She reassured her shaking sister in law and reached to take Jeremy's hand while motioning for Milla to go with them. Milla would be unaffected by what was coming and could protect them; holding her own against Elijah for a while, if it came to that. Just the thought made Elena's chest ache.

"We'll join you in…" She paused and looked at the timer on her phone. "four minutes."

Mara appeared from what felt like nowhere. But considering Elena was starting to feel like she was in a daze, that wasn't a surprise.

"What can we do to help?" She asked Elena earnestly as Damon and the tall red headed Viking joined her.

Elena thought hard for a half second, her mind working through problems and solutions rapidly, before an idea occurred to her.

"I've seen you change. Can you become...anything?"

Mara's eyes flashed and a cautious smile lit her face. "Anything living."

"Perfect. We need eyes. Locating Elijah. Bonnie can't do a location spell if he's constantly on the move and he knows that. So that's not an option. If we could at least determine the direction he went if possible. Maybe we can curtail any damage. So...can you fly?"

Behind Mara, both Damon and Brax started to grin and their eyes met, their smiles broadening conspiratorially.

Mara swallowed, and nodded. "Of course."

The red headed giant rubbed large hands together as he muttered, "This will be fun to watch." Damon chuckled quietly in answer.

"Not gonna happen, Sparkles." Mara turned, grumbling quietly to Abraxis as she passed, heading for shadows and trees.

Elena met Damon's eyes, one brow up and Damon laughed openly.

"She can do it. But she said before that she sucks at flying. Evidently she's not the only one who thinks so." He nodded once at Abraxis, who grinned again.

Elena grimaced, wishing she'd known that, but Mara hadn't even hesitated, so she shrugged to herself.

"For you guys, would you two mind a disposal-of-the-bodies effort?" Damon was always good at that, she remembered.

Both of them nodded quickly and as they walked away together, Elena heard Abraxis suggesting that cremation was the fastest and cleanest way to accomplish the task. It was also a no brainer that he could do that easily and quickly considering he'd already torched her gardens tonight.

Elena breathed a sigh, glad that this newcomer was an ally after all.

Damon was moving bodies to a pile with Mara's friend Brax and watching the other man's ease with the work. There was no sign of squeamishness in the big guy and he moved bodies, laying them together with ease. Once the two of them had a pile Damon went to stand beside Brax and wondered what he'd do now. Would he become the fire giant again? Or snap his fingers or something?

Brax just crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the pile of human remains for a second before it erupted in flames. Damon decided to stay and make sure there wasn't anything identifiable left.

Focusing his gaze on the fire, Abraxis finally spoke, where they'd worked mostly in silence.

"She likes you." It was a simple comment, but Damon felt like there were questions contained there.

Damon only waited. "You look like any other human. I can't help but wonder why." Abraxis finally added.

Damon shrugged, deciding he couldn't argue with that logic.

"Is this the part where you tell me you'll kill me if I ever hurt her?" He asked the giant with a smirk. He could almost feel the threat hanging in the air.

Abraxis tipped his head back and laughed, the firelight dancing across his face. He still didn't turn and meet Damon's eyes.

"No. That's unrealistic. People in relationships hurt one another. That's just a fact of life." He did turn then and Damon felt compelled to meet the green eyes that had narrowed on him. "This is the part where I tell you if you are ever cruel to her, my face is the last thing you'll ever see." The already deep voice dropped several octaves and the green eyes that met his flashed, literally, with fire.

Damon lived with threats on his life from just about every person he'd ever met. He drew them like flies. But none he could remember had ever rung with the honest conviction this one did. Damon believed Abraxis. And respected him for the protective care that it signified.

"If I was ever cruel to her, I'd deserve it." Damon agreed quietly.

The harsh expression the larger man wore dropped like a curtain, showing a softer, pained grimace.

"She's had a lifetime of cruelty. I would do anything to protect her from any more." He admitted slowly.

Damon rolled those words over in his mind, feeling driven to ask, "What do you mean?"

Green eyes moved over his face, as if assessing Damon's motives in asking the question before he spoke.

"Mara's mate, even her entire clan, turned against her." The giant shook his head, the braid at his back moving with him. "I watched it happen. I had been connected with their family for generations. But when they stripped her of everything…" His voice broke and he met Damon's eyes as a bitter smile spread across his lean face. "Let's just say I burned some bridges when they burned theirs."

Damon's brain had seized on one word. Mate? Like Milla? As in...for life?

"So...her kind...mate…?" He couldn't make himself complete the thought out loud. The words just once, hung in the air, unspoken.

Brax nodded. "The bond is so strong that when one mate dies, the other follows shortly thereafter. But that bastard renounced her, breaking the bond. " A dark leer crossed his face as he finished his thought. "So he died alone."

Abraxis turned his gaze again to the fire. "There is a certain amount of justice in the universe, I think."

Damon's mind was buzzing with this new information. A mate. Cole was her mate. And betrayed her. He and Milla had talked about the mate bond between wolves, how deep and strong it was. Jack had never had another woman after Milla's mother was murdered. Milla swore that there would only ever be Klaus for her.

The whole train of thought made Damon's chest ache. What kind of damage would that do to a person? To be rejected by their mate?

"Why?" The question was buzzing around in his head until it came out his mouth on its own.

Abraxis shook his head again. "I don't know what he accused her of. But she never defended herself. So everyone believed him."

"But not you?" Damon was studying the other man in the firelight as it began to fade.

"I've known her since she was a mite. Always loving and open. More so than the others, honestly. I lost what I had of a heart to that child before she could speak. Whatever he accused her of, it was dishonorable. And Mara is anything but."

Damon drew a deep breath, seeing the depth of the friendship between Mara and this man just by the passionately loyal way he spoke of her. "I'm glad she had you."

Brax's lips twisted. "But what value is one in the face of so much loss?"

Damon thought about how the dark road he'd travelled long ago had lost him everyone. Except Stefan, who had always had faith in him, even when he didn't deserve it. Well...Stefan and Elena.

"I can tell you from experience...that would make you priceless to her." He said after a moment of silence.

Brax's head whipped around, green eyes moving quickly over him. After a quick appraisal, the man smiled, a warm honest one.

"You're a deep one, aren't you? Now I understand why she likes you."

Miles away, Mara spread her wings, allowing the air to lift her higher, wobbling a bit on the way up. She'd chosen a hawk for their vision and strength and circled, beginning to scan the ground for signs of either Elijah or general unrest.

In the silence of the winds, Mara couldn't help but think of the look in Brax's eyes when he lifted her and shook her. The memory of the fading pain she'd seen there made her shudder. She didn't have the time to completely explain to Damon who Abraxis was to her. It felt too big, too complicated. He was her oldest and dearest friend, her only friend until she'd come here...until Damon and Milla.

She'd seen Brax's protective side before, but it hadn't burned so high and hot in a long time. If she hadn't accepted Damon's invitation to the wedding, she was pretty sure there'd have been a mushroom cloud over Elena's house by now. Her old friend was known to be volatile by nature, something that was respected in their circles because of simple common sense. But his role was largely one of command and instruction, teaching fighting skills, training, weaponry and strategy. Usually his temper kept him out of the field.

Why would someone fan the fire that was Abraxis? Directing the flames at Damon and his friends? And who would do that? The members of the Assembly were an honorable sort, for the most part. Their goal was the protection of innocents in general. So...why try to bring on the kind of destruction that her old friend was known for? Nothing made sense.

Damon. Her thoughts settled on him. He was everything she'd never had. Smart, sexy, passionate and funny. But also irritating. He challenged her at every step. She wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Not anymore. And he seemed to like that. Their mutual stubbornness made them circle each other like rivals at times, until the passion flared and they'd end up tangled together on his silk sheets again.

She'd hoped the love she felt would burn out if given the chance. Turning out to be an infatuation. But it wasn't happening that way. She couldn't seem to get enough.

When he hurt, she did it with him. His obvious anger a few days ago had made her want to wrap herself around him and absorb the pain into herself. That wasn't a gift she had, but she'd wished for it.

That day also marked a turning point of some kind in him.

Something important had shifted. She'd catch him watching her strangely, like he was memorizing her. And it would always happen when she was occupied with completely unsexy things like taking a sip of coffee and rolling her eyes in appreciation. Or gathering dishes to clean them. She couldn't cook, but she insisted she could clean and that had become their arrangement while she stayed with him. She'd ask him what he was thinking and he'd only smile a little grimly, turning away.

Their nights had changed too.

He had always been passionate, but now he sank into intimacy with her like every time was the last time. Molding her entire body with his hands and mouth. Gone was the playfulness. In its place was this quiet, serious Damon that she didn't understand, who would coax her to one peak after another, like she was his singular focus. And his eyes, in those moments, burned with something she couldn't define, the expression she found there making her toes actually curl.

How embarrassing. If she could have blushed in the hawk form she was wearing as she remembered, she would have.

Mara tried not to hold out hope that he might be coming to care for her. She already knew he loved Elena, and who could blame him? And it wouldn't matter anyway, because she had a life to return to, sad though it was. She and Damon were, literally, from different worlds.

A movement below caught her eyes. Blue lights and red ones flashed. She flew closer and recognized emergency vehicles. A few seconds later a blur of movement caught her attention and she focused there.

Elijah, leaned against a tree, watching the authorities try to right the damage he'd evidently caused in a neighborhood easily twenty miles from his home. He still wore the tuxedo from the wedding, but she could make him out clearly in the darkness.

Her breath caught as he turned and met her eyes.

Mara spun abruptly and began a quick ascent, hoping to disappear into some low, dark clouds in the night sky. After a few moments she turned again and spotted him again, on the ground. Damn. He was following her.

She reached out carefully along the connection between them and found that Elijah was doing quick mental calculations, approximating speed, distance and arc.

He suddenly stooped to the ground and gathered something in his hands. She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing as she spun away again, headed back in the direction of Elena's house, her heart pounding. Realizing she was largely exposed in the open sky, even at night, she searched with her now laser sharp vision for deepened shadows to disappear in and make a silent escape.

Agony suddenly ripped through her small hawk's body and she teetered to one side, mid air. After a second, another round of pain struck. Mara looked back and realized he was throwing handfuls of small pebbles at her and they were striking like buckshot. The rocks became like pellets, moving at speeds that made it seem like they'd been propelled from a shotgun.

Trajectory, she understood too late. Elijah had been mentally calculating trajectory so he could bring her down from the sky.

Her strength started to drain away as Mara spotted a very dark shadow and dove, missing a third round of airborne pebbles that whizzed by her tail feathers.

Damon was inside Elena's house with the others. The bodies were cleanly disposed of, thanks to Mara's friend, who had joined them inside to wait for her. There was a quiet argument going on between Klaus and Elena about what needed to happen next. Klaus was suggesting they all leave, but it was clear that his focus was on keeping Milla, his new wife, safe. Elena was arguing that it was their responsibility to go after Elijah, figure out what happened to cause this violent change and either fix him or stop him.

A quiet knock at the door caught his attention as Elena moved quickly to open it. Mara stepped just past the threshold with one hand on a hip.

"I found him." She told Elena, her face grim.

Elena just waited, her expression pained.

"It looks like he killed at least one about twenty miles west of here. There were emergency vehicles and he was watching the action from a distance away." Her eyes were scanning Elena's face with concern. "But he saw me. I'm pretty sure he's not far behind, headed this way. I'm sorry."

The smell of blood filled the room, flowing in from the breeze of the door that was still standing open behind her, forcing Damon to his feet.

"Mara?" He whispered, his voice high with concern.

She turned and met his gaze, a vague look of discomfort crossed her face before it went paler than usual.

"I'll be okay." She shrugged in his direction.

Examining more closely, he realized that her black armor was covered in blood. While he watched, a large stream of it fell to the stone floor making a puddle at her feet. He was across the room in a flash, catching her before she hit the floor as her knees buckled.

His heart was in his throat. "Definitely not okay, woman." He argued gruffly as he pushed a lock of hair back from her brow.

There were three open wounds at her back, two on each leg and one bleeding profusely at the back of her neck. Her black armor was undamaged, but the blood was flowing out from behind it. That had kept Elena or anyone close, from seeing the blood.

"I'll be okay. He threw stones at me. They hit like buckshot." She whispered weakly, sounding self conscious, like she'd failed somehow.

Shuddering rage tore through him and his vision turned blood red for a split second. I'll kill that bastard for this.

Elena was standing close and seemed concerned as she listened.

"Elijah did this?" She asked with a whisper, sounding horrified.

Mara met her eyes and nodded solemnly. "He's not himself."

Damon swallowed his rage, pulling her more firmly to his chest. Right now he needed to take care of her.

"I'm going to move her. She needs the dark to heal." He whispered to Elena as he lifted Mara into his arms. Abraxis had moved close too, concern in his face and Damon met his eyes.

"She'll be okay." He muttered before he disappeared, though he couldn't make it a promise because he didn't believe it himself. The pool of blood on the floor around her had doubled in size.

Moments later, sitting in the dark guest room, on the bed, Damon held her to his chest rocking back and forth. The words, "You'll be okay, you'll be okay" kept tumbling out of his mouth as he moved. Mara's breathing had slowed and become more shallow, but her eyes were still open.

When he asked if they needed to try to dig the pellets out she explained that a dozen or so had dropped when she shifted before she ever knocked on Elena's door.

You are not going to die, he thought, shouting the words in his head. He was hoping if he thought it loud enough it would be true. The last time she'd nearly bled out he'd learned it was at least possible and there was so much more damned blood this time. It had soaked the bedding and his own clothing just since he'd gotten her into the dark. It also nearly covered her, as he'd discovered as he stripped away the armor.

Please stop bleeding. Please don't die. His thoughts felt scattered and disorganized in his panic. He couldn't help or fix it. No matter how much pressure he applied or how desperately he wished he could. And it was killing him.

She reached up a hand and cupped his cheek, but her eyes seemed unfocused and dim. Her words were slurred and soft when she finally spoke after opening and closing her mouth once or twice. "It'll just take some time. I hurt, but it's only the damned blood loss. Another reason to hate my human side."

Damon froze, thunderstruck. "Your what?" he gasped out, holding her gaze. He watched her face fall and a blush, even in her bloodied state, filled her cheeks with the evidence of uncharacteristic embarrassment.

"Not my proudest claim." She muttered, turning her gaze away.

"So...you're….human?" He asked, his voice high, excitement building.

She nodded slowly, her face darkening a little more as she stiffened against him. "Half. Even Abraxis doesn't know."

Ideas flowed through his mind as this new bit of information and the implications stole over him. Reflexively he pulled her closer and sank his face into her hair joyfully.

"This is wonderful!" He told her against her ear, and she stiffened even more.

He leaned back then and bit his wrist. I can help, he was thinking. I can actually help. Protect her...finally.

"What?" She was asking as he forcefully put his bleeding wrist against her lips.

"Drink. It'll help you heal faster. You'll feel better in just a few minutes. Just trust me."

Downstairs Elena was pacing while the others took either sat quietly or took turns mirroring her. Abraxis sat on a couch next to Bonnie, his entire body appearing to Elena to be caught in a posture of profound waiting.

A quiet deep voice from the doorway, where it still stood open, broke the silence and the whole room froze.

"It appears, from the blood and the smell here that I've killed the little Nightmare." The statement held no remorse, only curiosity. Elijah was standing with one shoulder leaned against the invisible barrier that now covered the door to their home. Elena's eyes moved over him hungrily.

His dark eyes, usually so warm, looked hard and dark as river stones. He still wore the tuxedo, but his tie gone and the shirt open to the middle of his chest. Spatters of blood marred the collar and she already knew none of it was his. Hands were tucked casually into his pants pockets and he was wearing a half smirk, an expression Elena had never seen before.

Abraxis seemed to be propelled to standing, his massive height filling the space.

"You are responsible?" He demanded harshly before turning to Bonnie to confirm. "He is the one?"

Elijah laughed openly at him. It was cold and cruel, like no laugh Elena had ever heard pass his lips.

"A new face. How wonderful. A witness to the coming carnage. The Nightmare won't be the last."

Elena's breath caught at the open threat. She was right to go to the lengths she had to stop his entry and isolate everyone.

Abraxis took a step forward, his face beginning to turn red. "If she dies, it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Elijah shifted to his full height and spread his shoulders wide in challenge. "Step out here and say that, big man." He rumbled at Abraxis, his face hard and his jaw set.

The lightbulbs in the room all burned higher and brighter for a second before three of them shattered in their sockets. Elena was frozen in place, horror locking her there. A single jolt of Abraxis' power was enough to send a power surge through her home? Oh, god.

Bonnie, still next to Abraxis, rose and took one of his hands. "Please. He's not himself. Mara will be fine. I can feel it. I promise."

Elijah laughed again, it was richer and more heartfelt, but just as full of malice as the last one. "And the witch who tried to kill me steps up to defend me. Ooohhhh, the irony."

He suddenly rounded on Elena, completely unconcerned about any threat from Abraxis. Of course, he hadn't seen what the giant could do, but still. He cocked his head to one side, his eyes holding an echo of warmth she knew not to trust. "And you. Locking me out of my own home? I'm offended, Elena. And disappointed. I expected more." He smiled slowly, his eyes moving over her. The look sparked heat in her belly. That look, at least, was familiar. But she was wise enough to doubt it.

"You and I have things to discuss, after all." His rumbling words sent a shiver up her spine that she fought down. Years ago, their first time together, she'd seduced him, using the claim that she wanted to have a discussion with him. He was using that moment as leverage now. But why? He should hate her. But it didn't look that way. The look in his eyes wasn't hateful, or vengeful. It was hungry...for her.

"What happened to you, Elijah? Did Naaman get to you?" She thought of the spell Klaus and Milla had described, one that took away Klaus' humanity without warning. But that had been a spell locked in place, waiting for someone to wander into it. That couldn't be what happened here.

He crossed his arms and smiled. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? That the part of me with my humanity is locked away somewhere watching everything in…." he let out a mocking gasp. "horror?" His dark head shook slowly, but his slick smile remained.

"My choice, sweetheart." The old endearment made her chest hurt. "And, for the first time in a thousand years, I'm free. Free of concern and goals, free of the guilt or pain. When I think of all the baggage I carried with me every day for all that time."

He nodded at Klaus, who was watching the exchange in mute horror. "You, brother, had the right idea all along."

His announcement was met with silence from the room, everyone staring at him in varying degrees of horror. After a moment he shrugged and turned away.

"It appears I have a matter to settle. But I'll be back." With that he disappeared.