CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
KLAUS P.O.V.
Sitting on the arm of the chair that Caroline was sitting on, I stared across the room towards Katherine. Caroline's logic worked remarkably well, but I still couldn't figure out why Andre would want to attack us. It didn't make any sense.
"Nik, are you alright?" Caroline asked, reaching over to place her arm on my leg.
"I don't know why he wants to hurt us. There's nothing that I can think off that would cause him to attack us. I haven't seen him in around 150 years, and even then, there's been nothing that I can think of that would cause this sort of anger."
"It could be anything." Katherine said, walking across the room towards Caroline and I. "He could have met someone between then and now that changed his opinion of you. It could be anything."
Caroline squeezed my leg comfortingly, and a sense of relief flooded my body and I rested my hand on top of hers. The closer that I got to her, the more relaxed and comfortable I felt, and in this situation that really helped me get a grip on and think about things clearer.
"Klaus," Katherine started, placing her hand on her hips. "I can track down Ysabeau and find out what Andre wants. It won't take that long, and Andre will have no idea I've gone to see her."
"Are you sure?"
"I've been friends with the members of that coven for centuries. She'll talk to me on principle. Trust me."
I nodded, knowing that Katherine would easily be able to get the information from the witch. I also knew that I would have to call Marcel and let him know the details of what was happening. He would want to be a part of any action to avenge the members of his group, and with the current strain on our relationship I didn't want to keep anything unnecessary from him.
"We need to plan this properly though." Caroline said, sitting up straighter. "Katherine can't just go barging into whatever hotel this witch is staying in and start interrogating her. We need to figure out how to do it without alerting anyone, including the other vampires and witches in town. If Marcel, or any of the vampires find out that you're digging then they'd probably attack us rather than Andre."
"You're entirely right, Sweetheart. And it's for that reason, as well as the fact that we'll probably need Marcel's help in the future, that I've decided that I'm going to tell Marcel what we know. He could help us in ways that we don't know we need right now."
Caroline nodded, smiling up at me proudly. I smiled back down at her, marvelling at the memory of us spending last night and this morning together. I still couldn't quite believe that she was giving me this chance, and I wasn't going to waste it by being stupid when it came to Andre.
"Okay. Well, why don't you go and talk to Marcel. I suggest that you do it in person, last night was pretty bad and I doubt he's doing too good today. And I'll work out exactly what I'm going to ask Ysabeau."
I agreed, giving Caroline's hand one last squeeze before standing up from the arm of the couch and motioning for Elijah to follow me out of the room. I didn't look back as I opened the front door and headed towards my car. I could hear Elijah walking behind me.
"It would be better for the both of us to go and see him because we weren't there last night."
Elijah nodded and we both climbed into my car. "I agree."
#
CAROLINE P.O.V.
I listened as Klaus' car pulled out from the driveway and exhaled a small breathe. When I looked up from my lap it was to see everyone else in the room staring at me with knowing looks. Great. Like I needed everyone to know about my sex life with Klaus.
Katherine smirked at me and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm not talking about it." I said, glaring at Katherine, knowing that even if she did happen to let it go tonight, then she would corner me later on and drag the details out of me.
"That bad?" Katherine gasped, mock shock written on her face.
"I just don't want to discuss it while we're in the midst of yet another threat…In front of his sister."
Katherine let out a shrill laugh and retreated to the seat that Elijah had been sitting in. "That good?"
I rolled my eyes and shifted in the seat, letting my brow raise as I looked at Katherine. "If we're going to discuss my private life in front of everyone, why don't you tell us about you and Elijah? Or better yet, why don't Nadia and Rebekah tell us about how they met?"
Katherine cringed. No one had yet asked Nadia and Rebekah what had happened between them, and I don't think anyone really wanted to know, but if it would get Katherine off my back I'd gladly jump down that rabbit hole.
"Fine! We won't talk about why you smell of dog…and sex. Why don't you tell us about how it went in Mystic Falls?"
"Great way to change the subject Katherine. Bring up her best friends funeral." Hayley muttered, eating a potato chip out of a bag that I hadn't even noticed that she had resting beside her.
"It went fine." I said, leaning more into the couch. "Klaus and I had dinner with my mum, in which she decided to embarrass me by asking embarrassing questions. Then I got to say goodbye to one of my best friends, then everyone found out I was human, which pissed Elena off. We argued, I left, Tyler sprained my wrist, Klaus picked me up, and that's that."
"Ah…is 'little miss goody-two-shoes' angry that she couldn't beat me? Or is she angry that she didn't get her way for once?"
"We're not talking about that either." I groaned, rubbing my hands over my eyes. "Why don't we talk about how you're going to approach this witch? You can't just barge in there demanding answers."
Katherine rolled her eyes and looked down at her hands. "I'm not new to this Caroline. I don't need to 'discuss' my conversational tactics."
#
KLAUS P.O.V.
Elijah and I walked into Marcel's compound, watching and listening carefully to the sounds coming from deep within. I could hear people doing a wide range of things, some of which I didn't really want to hear, but it didn't take long to find where Marcel was. He was arguing with someone about the explosion the night before.
Elijah and I made our way through the halls, surprisingly not running into anyone on our way to Marcel's room at the back. The door was locked when we reached it, and I raised my hand to give a slight knock.
The arguing within the room stopped almost immediately and a second later the door was thrown open and a short brunette exited with a fiery expression on her face. She pushed past us, leaving us to face a very angry-looking Marcel.
"What are you two doing here? I thought you were out of town." He said, motioning for us to enter the room. We both walked inside, but stayed close to the door.
Marcel's room was more like a small one bedroom apartment than an actual bedroom. With the large king size bed at the back, a small kitchen area, a walk-in wardrobe, and an adjoining bathroom. I looked around the room, noting the smashed bourbon bottle near the side wall, with water running down the wallpaper.
"Rebekah called us and told us what happened. We made sure we could get here as quickly as possible. We need to talk." I said, standing tall but trying my hardest not to look intimidating.
Marcel shot back the drink he was holding in his hand, sadness flitting across his usually carefree face. "I'm not in the mood for a nice chat, Klaus. My club was attacked, and my friends died. I won't sit here with you and discuss you getting 'your' city back. I have an arsonist to catch."
"That's why we're here. We know who blew up the club. We also have a faint idea of why. We want to band together to catch them."
Shock filled his face, his eyes widening as he placed his drink down on the table next to him. "Who was it?"
"Maybe we should go somewhere more private. It would be best if we kept this information primarily secret. We don't want the attackers to catch wind that we know who they are." Elijah said, both his hands in his pockets, appearing just as serious as he always did. "May I suggest we go to our home? It would be more relaxed, and we'll be able to talk without interruption."
A primal sensation shot through my body at the thought of Marcel in the same house as both the mother of my unborn child, and my mate. I fought the urge to growl, clenching my teeth and locking my jaw, not letting the primitive sound to escape. In that split second, every inch of my body despised Elijah for making such a suggestion. But, that moment passed and I felt my body relax back into its normal state. I hoped that neither of them had noticed the change.
Marcel shook his head, grabbing a jacket from the edge of his large bed and walking towards where we stood near the door. "No. I don't trust you enough to go alone to your house. We'll go to the church. It's abandoned, and the only person who might overhear us is Davina, and she wouldn't betray either of us."
Elijah and I looked at each other and then both agreed. The church was common ground. And I doubted that Marcel would attack us so soon after being attacked himself. We ended up walking the short distance to the abandoned building, slipping inside unnoticed and walking to one of the back rooms.
The room was dark, the windows boarded up as to not let in any of the light. The room had only one table which sat in the centre of the room, with five chairs placed in random places throughout.
Elijah and I sat close to one another facing Marcel. If anyone else walked into the room they would most likely think we were having a face-off or argument instead of a conversation.
"Okay, who was it that attacked my people?" Marcel said, leaning leisurely back in his chair, as if it wasn't awkwardly designed and made out of stiff wood.
"We're certain that it was Andre." I cleared my throat, readying myself for an outburst from him, but I continued on before he could properly react. "Katherine recognised the witch that Andre brought with him, she knows the witches coven. And then, while she was cleaning up debris outside she saw someone else from the same coven, making some sort of transaction with Andre. It's our belief that he hired the coven to attack your club."
Fire was in Marcel's eyes as he stared at me. Even though I knew he couldn't hurt me, I was glad that I wasn't the reason for his anger. "Why the fuck would Andre want to attack me? We've only ever gotten along. There's no reason for him to attack me."
"We're not sure. But, we think he may have attacked you in order to get us out into the open so that our guard would be down." Elijah said, speaking up for the first time since we arrived.
"So, he's after your family and not mine?"
"We think so. We're not one hundred percent sure. What we want is to stop him from hurting anyone else, or orchestrating any more attacks in New Orleans. What we're suggesting is a temporary alliance between us. No arguing over who is the rightful ruler of New Orleans. No fighting or attacking each other, but focusing on a way to stop Andre and finding out what he wants."
Marcel listened intently, nodding gently as I finished speaking. "So we'll join forces to stop him, and you won't turn around and double-cross me and my people?"
I nodded. "There are things in my life right now that I don't want to jeopardise losing. I won't risk that by starting a way between us."
"Fine." Marcel said, standing up from his chair. Elijah and I followed suit. He held out his hand, which I took steadily. "I'll agree to work with you."
"Before we go any further, we need to talk about privacy." Elijah said, cutting mine and Marcel's handshake short. "We don't want Andre to know that we know what he's up to. So, that means this stays between us until we have a clearly laid out plan set up. That means, only telling your inner circle, with the assurance that they won't attack Andre for the men you've lost."
"I agree. It would be best that the minimal amount of people know until we're ready."