My Soul to Keep
Chapter 11: Brotherhood of the Damned
Beta: un-beta'd
Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Originals. I only own my characters.
"Marcel? You in here?" Giuliana's voice made the vampire in question quickly cover his werewolf bite. He crossed his arms over his chest and greeted her as she shut the doors behind her. He'd just gotten off the phone with Klaus who had promised to help him get out of the compound. Marcel had a stash of Klaus' blood back at his apartment just in case of emergencies and this was a huge emergency.
"Hey! What are you doing in here?" He asked as nonchalantly as he could.
"Came to enjoy the quiet." She replied and plopped down in an armchair opposite him. "How are you holding up?"
"By the looks of it, you're doing a lot better than me." He chuckled. "What's your secret?"
"Believe it or not, Elijah has some good control methods." The vampire smiled warmly at him.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Elijah's always been cool as a cucumber when it comes to situations like these. Although, lately I've heard he's been slipping."
"That's a gross understatement, but I think he's getting better."
"I hope so. Imagine two of Klaus in New Orleans?"
"Or two of Kol?" She grinned cheekily.
"Ah, talking ill of me? I've never known you to be rude, pretty Giuliana." Kol Mikaelson tsked. He slithered into the room and passed an accusatory glance between the two vampires.
"You know nothing about me, Kol." She countered.
Kol was going to indulge her, but the sound of his voice was drowned out by the tolling bells at St. Ann's church. Previously, Giuliana hated the loud ringing that made her insides shake, but when it shut Kol up, boy she loved the bells and wished she could ring them all day long.
"What's with the church bells?" Kol asked. "It sounds like the preamble to me own bloody funeral."
"Play your cards right and it might actually be your own funeral." Giuliana smirked to which Kol rolled his eyes.
Marcel smirked over at the green eyed vampire before looking to Kol. "It's Carillon Eve. The locals shroud the eyes of angels, so the dead can walk among us for a night without judgment. The bells wake the dead and guide them to eternal rest. So, whether you live or die today, you can join the festivities."
"Ooh, fun." Giuliana wiggled her eyebrows at Kol.
"Oh, Marcel." Kol feigned injury by placing a hand over his heart. "You're gonna make certain that I live. I'm the only one that knows how to find Rebekah and Audrey."
"That's because you underestimate how hungry I am, and how much I'd like to appease my hungry friends right outside that door." He watched Kol carefully as he sat down on the couch across from him.
"And just what would Davina say about that? Because I'm not one to kiss and tell, obviously," Kol was smug now and Marcel's calm demeanor quickly soured. "But, uh, I think she likes me!"
"Watch your mouth!" The vampire was out of his seat and crouched over Kol, his arms leaning on the chair's rest as though to cage him in. "Before I drain every vein of yours myself!"
"Marcel!" Giuliana called to him, placing a cautious hand on his shoulder. She could see the hunger getting to him quickly and as much as no one wanted to admit it, they needed Kol alive and well.
"Come on, he's not worth it." She added, her voice somehow shaking Marcel of his fixation of sucking on Kol's saturated veins and he slowly straightened up. Marcel stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind him and it was Giuliana's turn to show her anger.
"Thanks darling." Kol lifted his feet to rest on the table before him and crossed his arms behind his head.
"Don't think too much into it." She snapped. "You're lucky he isn't throwing you to the rest of the vampires out there."
"But you're forgetting one very important thing," The warlock grinned wolfishly at her. "You need me."
"Only until you get us out of here. After that, you're fair game." She glared daggers at him. "Get to work."
"So bossy." Kol chuckled. "I bet that's why Elijah likes you."
In seconds Kol was lifted out of his chair and held to the cobblestone wall by his neck. He was staring down into blood red eyes and sharp fangs that could slice him to ribbons. Giuliana's hand tightened around his throat, her nails digging dangerously into his flesh. Kol tried to wrench her hand away, but he was facing the realization that his wilily humor had gotten him in trouble...again.
"Easy! I was just joking!" He wheezed as his heels kicked against the wall behind him. Over the vampire's shoulder, Kol caught sight of the doors opening and a very weary Marcel perked up once he processed what he was seeing.
"Woah! Hey, Giuliana!" He sped to her, pressing his hands to her back and jostling her to try and loosen Kol. Her grip only tightened, so Marcel yanked her away, still holding her from behind. Kol slid down the wall and hit the floor quite roughly, a hand at his neck as he sucked in gulps of air.
"You...you lot are bloody insane!" Kol coughed out. Marcel coached Giuliana to breathe deeply while ushering her from the room. Once the doors were closed behind them, he turned her around and began barking orders at her angrily.
"Are you crazy?! We need him!"
"I'm...I'm sorry Marcel." Giuliana shook the hunger from her eyes. "I lost my cool."
"It better not happen again, soldier!" He was in her face now. Giuliana raised an eyebrow at the nickname he'd given her, but that reaction only made him angrier.
"You got a problem, soldier?!"
Giuliana had never seen him so irate. Quite frankly, he was frightening her. It was as though he was looking right through her. As if snapping out of a trance, Marcel fell to his knees in a sweating mess. She crouched down beside him, her hands on either side of his clammy face. When he looked up at her he was blinking rapidly, his pupils dilating and contracting at an alarming rate.
"Joe?" He whispered.
The green eyed vampire shook her head. "No. It's me, Marcel. It's Giuliana."
Marcel gave a shiver, seeming to snap out of his haze. "Oh...Giuliana, yeah."
"What happened to you?" She was now checking his body for any wounds, sweeping her hands over him. He gave a groan when she passed her palm along his bite wound and she stared back at him with wide eyes when she lifted up the sleeve of his shirt.
"Oh God."
"It's looks worse than it is." Marcel tried to pull his arm away, but Giuliana held fast to him.
"How long have you had this?"
"A couple hours at least."
Her emerald orbs ran over the punctured skin. "You can't stay like this, Marcel. It'll only get worse."
"I know that." He was able to pull down his sleeve to cover the bite. "But here's the thing..we're stuck in here and I can't get to my little private stash of Klaus' blood at my place."
Giuliana rocked back on her heels before helping Marcel to his feet. "Do the others know?"
"No," he was quick to answer. "And they can't know."
"Why?" She asked. "You can't lie to them."
"Please, Giuliana. I can't have them know." He pleaded with her. "I don't want them to think their leader can't be strong for them in a time like this."
"Marcel, they will understand."
He took her hands, holding them tightly and rubbed his fingers along the backs. "Giuliana, for me. Please don't say anything to them."
Looking down at their joined hands, she frowned at the news Marcel wanted to keep from the others. She knew it could only end badly. Between Marcel's werewolf bite and Finn's bloodlust spell, she wasn't sure which incident would explode first. Her eyes then trailed to where his bite mark remained covered for the time being and she sighed.
"Fine. Only for you."
"Thanks." He squeezed her hands before letting them fall to her side.
"When you were shouting back there...where did your mind go?"
Marcel swallowed thickly before replying. "1914, just after World War I started. A buddy of mine...he served with me."
"Joe?"
He nodded, but didn't continue speaking. Giuliana took that as a sign that he'd rather keep Joe as a memory. She gently patted his shoulder.
"We need to be strong through this."
"I know." He smiled weakly back at her.
Sometime later, Giuliana joined her comrades in outer part of the compound. They'd asked for any news Marcel had told her. She had told them to continue to stay strong and that Marcel was doing the best that he could considering the circumstances. She couldn't fault Marcel for keeping a brave face, but she had worried that news of his werewolf bite would cause him to lose the trust of the company he kept. Many of the vampires had isolated themselves to corners of the large space, trying to stay as far away from one another as possible for fear of turning on them. Gia and Josh were seated at the long table and Giuliana joined them, giving them a reassuring nod, but Gia wasn't fooled.
"What the hell is wrong with Marcel?" Gia asked. "How much longer do we have to stay here?"
Josh shook his head, his gaunt features stretching across his skin. "I don't know. I can't even think straight, I'm so freaking hungry."
"We're all hungry."
"Maybe that's just it." Giuliana interjected hoping to throw both vampires off Marcel's scent. "We're all hungry; Marcel included. Even a fearsome leader can hit a wall."
"Yeah, but it's bad when our fearsome leader is just as much on his last leg as we are." Gia glowered and Giuliana glared at her.
"Cut him some slack, would you Gia? Try to place yourself in his shoes."
"I know I'd do a damn better job if I was in his shoes." Both women were standing toe to toe with one another while Josh had begun backing away slowly, not wanting to get in the middle of an epic catfight.
Suddenly, the door leading to the upper balcony opened and Kol jogged himself down the stairs, grinning impishly at the two vampires who backed away from one another just slightly. The whites of their eyes had begun to turn red with hunger and their rising anger only added fuel to their already raging fires.
"Retract those claws, darlings." He tsked at them. Gia sidestepped Giuliana and sauntered over to him.
"Really? That's a shame because I've got a good place to sink them into." She was salivating now, her reddening gaze glued to the pulsing veins in his neck.
Kol squared off with her with no intention of backing down. "You come anywhere near me, and I will give you a headache that will last a century."
"It'll be worth it!" She moved to bite at his neck, but Kol thrust his hand out and clamped it into a fist, sending Gia into a fit of pained shouts. Josh bared his fangs, ready to attack Kol, but Giuliana yanked him back, snarling to make him back down.
"Anyone care to explain what's going on?" Marcel appeared before the group and shoved Kol backwards. His spell on Gia broke and she remained at her knees, recovering from the pain inflicted on her.
"Your so-called protection detail was trying to eat me!" Kol shouted at Marcel.
"Back off. You know better than to be around hungry vampires." Giuliana stepped forward. "You being here is provoking us. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"I think I should teach you lot a lesson." Kol outstretched his hand to be in front of Giuliana's face. He inhaled to begin chanting a spell, but instead his eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the ground in a heap. They all backed away from him, stunned by his sudden collapse.
"Uh, what just happened?" Josh asked.
Giuliana held up her hands in a gesture of innocence. "Don't look at me. I didn't do anything. He just...hit the floor. I'm not complaining at all. Thank God it's quieter in here."
"Yeah, but he was working on a way to get us all out." Gia grumbled.
"And he'll do that...after he takes a little nap." Josh added, earning a pointed look from his friend. "What? Just trying to make light of the situation."
"That's all you've done Josh. Can you actually try and be helpful?"
Josh was on edge now. He was ready to pummel his friend into the cement ground. "Why are you being such a bitch? We're all in this together, Gia."
"I'm being a bitch?! At least I'm taking this whole thing seriously!"
The two were now shouting over one another, each clamoring for the spotlight. Marcel carefully kept close to the pair, worried they might attack one another, but he was suddenly brought back to Giuliana who had fallen silent. She had turned herself away from the arguing vampire pair and was staring down at Kol's lifeless body. He moved closer to place a hand on her shoulder to ask if she was alright, but his motions froze seeing a trickle of blood falling from Kol's nose. Her reddening gaze was transfixed and Marcel watched her fangs become more visible as the seconds ticked on. She was salivating and ready to pounce, but Marcel stood in front of her, blocking her vision of Kol.
"Hey, Giuliana. Look at me. You have to hold strong, okay?" His soothing voice was managing to keep her at bay until she had suddenly doubled over and shouted in pain. At the sound, Josh and Gia stopped their arguing, concern written all over their faces as they looked between Marcel and Giuliana. When the latter finally got a hold of herself, her gaze was now murderous as she saw Marcel as being in the way of her food. She hissed through her fangs and tackled him to the ground.
Marcel treated her as if she were a werewolf and tried his best to keep her fangs from becoming embedded in his skin. She was snarling and chomping at his neck, becoming angrier by the second that each bite was just out of reach. Josh and Gia each gripped an arm, yanking roughly at Giuliana to get her away from Marcel, but she resisted them.
"We're gonna dislocate her arms!" Josh huffed and locked Giuliana's arm in between his.
"Who cares! Just pull!" Gia could feel her clammy hands slipping against Giuliana's skin. Seeing an opportunity, the rabid vampire got her arm free and backhanded Gia hard. The vampire staggered back, holding her broken cheekbone and split skin. With one vampire off her, Giuliana had enough leverage to sink her teeth into Marcel. She moaned against his neck once his hot blood splattered against her tongue and she sucked feverishly in an effort to get her fill before Gia was pulling at her again. Josh's efforts became futile and he was going to grab both Giuliana's arms when she suddenly ripped her mouth from Marcel's neck.
She let out a harsh gasp and sat up, blood staining her lips and chin. One hand clutched her mouth while the other raked against her stomach. Josh pulled Marcel away and the three vampires all backed away from her. Giuliana's body began to seize and a series of groans fell from her mouth before the putrid stench of vomit followed shortly after. The dark crimson liquid that was now pooling on the cement reeked of infection and death and it made the other vampires loose their appetite for blood. She wretched, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor. It seeped into the shallow cracks and spread along the grout. The bite at Marcel's neck healed quickly, but the one at his arm throbbed painfully. Giuliana must have ingested some of the venom that was already in his bloodstream. As long as she got it all up, she'd be fine. Perhaps she wouldn't go after him again during the span of their entrapment.
"Marcel..." Gia called as she watched him kneel beside the puking vampire, but he ignored her. Instead, he clasped Giuliana's waves in his shaking fingers and held them back.
"I'm...I'm s-sorry." Giuliana choked out in between deep pants and Marcel shushed her. "I'm sorry—"
"It's alright. I know you didn't mean it." He consoled her.
"What is she talking about?" Gia asked, her eyes dancing between the two who looked as though someone had caught onto their secret. Giuliana swallowed, pushing some saliva down her throat and looked warily at Marcel. He was quiet for a moment, but he very slowly got to his feet and rolled up his sleeve. It was time to come clean.
Both Gia and Josh's eyes went wide at the festering bite and they opened and closed their mouths like fish out of water. The female surged forward and gently took his arm in her hands, examining the deep, angry wound. Josh moved to help a still shaken Giuliana to her feet, but his eyes stayed fixed on the bite mark. Truthfully he'd hoped this was all one big hallucination to wake up from, but he hadn't woken up yet, so the chances of that were slim to none.
"Is that a werewolf bite?" Gia asked.
"It's a scratch." Marcel's words faltered.
"Marcel." Giuliana scolded him and all three vampires stared back at her. She gave them a grave nod.
"It is a bite!" Josh was panicking now. "You're six ways to dead if you don't get Klaus' blood in you."
"And what about when those guys find out?" Gia nodded her head towards the closed door that held the other vampires.
"Well, they're not gonna to find out! Which means you're both gonna keep your mouth shut about this."
Both vampires were about to protest, but the loud sounds of the ringing bells distracted them. Marcel could practically see it now, adults and children wearing red and white robes as they paraded down the streets ringing handbells in preparation for the Carillon Eve festival. His stomach churned at the thought of fresh food right outside the compound doors, but right now they were trapped and doomed to starve.
"You hear that?" Gia glared. "That's the sound of food that we can't even get near while you're sitting here protecting that idiot."
Marcel shook his head, trying his best to ignore Kol's unmoving body. "It is just hunger, Gia. Lots of people on earth have been a lot hungrier than us."
"You made us a promise when you turned us. You had goals we bought into. But look at us! We've been wolf-bait, beaten up, stuck exiled across the river, then stuck here! And now, when we're all looking to you for help, you don't even tell us that you're dying." She hissed at him and then whirled to face Giuliana who was trying to wipe the dried blood from her lips.
"And you. I thought out of everyone that you'd have our backs because you're one of us." Gia's fists opened and closed at her sides. "You didn't choose to be a vampire. You were forced into it. I figured you'd understand and want to be on our side, but I guess I was wrong. You're just as much as a lying snake as the Mikaelsons. I hope you're happy living with yourself."
Giuliana didn't speak. Part of it was the overwhelming hunger and the other was the urge to vomit again to get rid of any extra venom in her body. Gia was right, the choice to become a vampire wasn't her own, rather a combination of Elijah's blood and sheer luck. She hadn't anticipated living after the battle between the Mikaelsons and Genevieve's witch coven, but she recalled the exact moment life entered her body after she'd been lying dead on an altar with a knife through her chest. Transitioning to a vampire was hard, but the Mikaelsons were there for her when she needed them, specifically Elijah. So, maybe Gia was right. Maybe she was becoming like the Mikaelsons, but it was better than being without a family.
Gia turned back to Marcel who was struggling to stand up straight from his bite and the crippling hunger that shocked every nerve in his body. "You're supposed to be our leader, but right now, you suck at it."
"Okay. Point made." Kol wiped the blood off his upper lip in annoyance. He was getting quite tired of being in Finn's presence especially after being inflicted by a pain spell. Four brothers sat in a dark hunt room, a place where witches would bring their enemies to practice magic. Their bodies remained unconscious in the physical world and in this astral plane, Finn held all the power since he was the witch that brought them there. Each Mikaelson sibling had the head of an animal mounted on the wall just above their seats. For Klaus it was a wolf, fittingly so. A noble stag rested above Elijah while a fox represented Kol. Finn's animal of choice was a boar which was something Klaus managed to poke fun of upon first entering the room and noticing the significance of the animals.
"Now, nobody loves a joke like old fox-boy here, but if you could just get me back to my body-"
"I must confess, I rather enjoy watching you twist in the wind." Elijah pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Kol. "Not unlike the way you left Rebekah, I imagine."
"Yes! What did you do to Rebekah?" Finn wondered gleefully.
"For goodness sake, she crossed me, so I crossed her back!"
"And what of Audrey?" Klaus grumbled.
"I don't know where she is, Nik!" Kol argued. "Why would I harm Audrey? She's the only girl any of you brought around that actually enjoyed my company."
"Tolerated is the term I prefer to use." Elijah interjected.
"Whatever." Kol rolled his eyes. Klaus looked unmoved by his brother's confession. "Nik, you have to believe me. If Finn could just get me back to my body, I'll tell anybody anything that they need to know!"
Finn flicked his wrist in Kol's direction, making him cry out and hold his nose as it began to bleed again. "I don't think you'll live long enough in your human body. Certainly not in a room full of starving vampires. Maybe it's time for you to go enjoy the rest of your mortal life while you still can."
Finn's fingers formed into a fist and Kol disappeared from the hunt room.
Giuliana huffed as she moved Kol's limp body to rest onto the couch in the compound. Gia and Josh were close nearby while Marcel was contemplating at the far side of the room, neither of them had said a word to the other. It was the most uncomfortable silence in the world, but it was quickly broken by Kol gasping and sitting up on the couch. Suddenly, all the vampires had swarmed around him, blinking down at his pulsing veins settled within the fleshy pulp of his neck. Kol backed into the couch and looked anxiously up at the group that was surrounding him.
"Is it too late for an apology?"
At his words, Gia lunged first, but Marcel gripped Kol and sped them to a room upstairs. Gia still wasn't satisfied and moved to follow them, but Giuliana blocked her path.
"Move! Now!"
Giuliana held up her hands. "I can't let you go after him. He's our only ticket out of here."
"Stop defending them!" She hissed. The other female vampire turned her back on her and began to walk up the stairs to see what Marcel and Kol were up to, but the whooshing sound of wood cutting through the air made her whip around. She had just managed to catch the splintered leg of the couch that Gia had broken off and hurled at her. Josh stood opened mouthed as Giuliana peered down at the weapon in her hands. He had to get out from in between these two or else he'd be getting the brunt of their assaults. Giuliana glared at Gia, her fangs coming out from behind her teeth.
"I've been looking forward to this."
"Thanks mate." Kol breathed out a sigh of relief as Marcel closed and barred the door behind them. He'd whisked the warlock away where the other vampires couldn't get to him, but that didn't mean he was out of the woods just yet.
Marcel's fangs flashed giddily. "Oh, don't thank me yet." He moved to lunge at Kol who held his hands up defensively.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it! Hold it together. Just for a little while longer." He begged and pointed a thin finger in the direction of one of the windows that faced the outside. The sun was rapidly setting in the distance on the horizon.
"A few minutes, to be exact."
"What are you talking about?"
"Finn." Kol replied. "He plans to release the lot of you at sundown."
The words alone were enough to shut Marcel's unquenchable thirst down. Finn's plan was to keep them all cooped up inside and then to spring them free on the crowded streets. He knew his band of vampires wouldn't be able to control themselves. It would be a bloodbath. He could practically see the bodies lined up along the streets. He began to pace nervously now, his mind jumping into gear to think of a plan.
"The streets will be jam-packed with people right outside the gate." Marcel rubbed his hand over his angry features.
"And you'll be half-crazed with hunger. You'll feed your way through the crowd and that will be the end of vampires secretly living off the fat of New Orleans!" Kol watched as Marcel wobbled uneasily on his feet. Cautiously, he drew closer and snapped his fingers in front of the vampire's face to get him to focus.
"Marcel!" It did work, but only slightly. Marcel could still see wisps of Joe standing at different corners of the room as his eyes shifted around in their sockets. Kol, now fully aware of the severity of the situation placed his hands on Marcel's shoulders to steady him.
"Listen to me. You are outmaneuvered, out-manned, and, quite frankly, you're...you're out of your mind. We're not going to get out of this alive."
Marcel shook his head. "No. We are all getting out of this alive."
With Kol gone from the hunt room, Elijah and Klaus sat on pins and needles while Finn sauntered in between their respective thrones. Finn was a tricky character even as a vampire, but even more so now that he had magic at his disposal. With magic, Finn could weasel information out of anyone and that's what Klaus worried about the most. Especially with Audrey missing, she couldn't protect the few people that knew about Hope from Finn.
"So, what shall we talk about while we wait for nightfall?" Finn placed a hand at his chin and thought for a moment before gasping mockingly as if the idea had suddenly hit him like a light bulb going off.
"Oh! I know! Let's talk about our parents."
"You know, I figured you wouldn't be kind to Mother, but imagine my surprise to learn that Mikael met the same fate!" Klaus smirked over at Finn. "Bravo, brother."
"You see, the parent I was interested in talking about was your father. Your real one." Finn was now crouching in front of Klaus. LI mean, you longed to know him your whole life, yet at the first opportunity, you murdered him! Why, I wonder?"
Klaus leaned forward, refusing to back down from his father. "Possibly the same reason you took out Esther. Severing parental ties has a way of freeing one up to recognize one's true potential."
"Quite." Finn grinned wickedly. "But, Esther was no fool. She pinpointed your wants, and knowing your true father was at the top of the list."
Finn made a slashing motion across his neck and added a sound effect for emphasis. He chuckled and them moved to Klaus's side, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "No, something else occupies the top of your list of affections. And it's not your favorite city."
"Because I'm about to take that from you, using your own vampires, and I barely get a rise out of you! I thought maybe it was Rebekah, but you remain calm, even when the one who knows her fate probably just met his."
Elijah let out a frustrated sigh, one of the few sounds he'd made since entering the room. "I am fighting the monumental urge to mount your severed head upon one of these walls."
Finn rolled his eyes, ignoring his other brother's threat. "And then, I thought it was your favorite brother, but Mother broke him into a thousand pieces, and rather than fix him, you left him to fend for himself God knows where."
"But then, I thought it was your little witch." Finn's hand squeezed Klaus' shoulder and the hybrid visibly tensed.
"By the way, where is that darling creature that has managed to wrap you around her finger?"
"Leave her out of this." Klaus was seething now.
"Ah, there is that spark I was missing from you, brother." Finn grinned wickedly. "Now, I was positive that she was at the top of your list, but I was wrong."
Elijah cast a sideways glance at his brother who was struggling to keep his composure with Finn so close to him. He was fighting every murderous urge in his body while Klaus was trying to keep his own temper under control. Finn sized up both brothers again before turning back to Klaus again and standing in front of his chair.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were hiding something from me. Something big. Something dark. Maybe your real father found out what it was, and you had to kill him?"
It was Klaus' turn to size up his brother. He leaned forward, coming dangerously close to Finn's face. "You want to know why I killed my father?"
Finn smirked widely. "Yeah."
"Because when blood relations let me down, I don't stop to reason with them. I remove them."
"So, the secret is there is no secret?" His brother peered skeptically at him. "You long for nothing, care for no one?"
Klaus gave his brother the biggest smile he could fathom. A grin so big and fake that he felt his cheeks aching. He had to put up this farce in front of his brother if he wanted his secret to continue to be hidden. Finn stroked his chin, carefully analyzing his brother's calmness for a few silent moments. He gave a tsk and shook his head.
"The problem is, brother, I don't believe you. It's clear to me that you're hiding something. And, as I control your presence here, we've got all the time in the world to figure out just what that might be."
"Listen guys, Marcel is gonna get us out of here." Josh was trying his best to console the vampires around him that had caught wind of Marcel's werewolf bite. Gia had no problem spreading the news after she and Giuliana were yanked apart by a few members of the group. They were dragged to opposite corners of the room and commanded that they give up their foolish quarrels and focus on the big picture. That was when Gia explained to them that the big picture was that Marcel lied to all of them. Many were enraged, betrayed by someone who was meant to lead them through times of difficulty, but most were just impossibly hungry.
Gia and the rest of the vampires turned their gaze toward the sound of the balcony doors opening above them and were growling as soon as Marcel's form appeared from the shadows. He looked down at his loyal followers, seeing the hate in their eyes and sensing the hunger that was threatening to tear them apart.
"I'm gonna give you two minutes to explain why we don't come up there and take the witch. You lied to us!" Gia shouted up to him and the other vampires grumbled in agreement. "You betrayed everything that you taught us. How can you lead us?"
"I'm sorry I let you down, okay? All of you. But, the way that you are feeling right now, this despair? This hunger? I have been through it, and if you let me help you survive it, I guarantee you, it will only make you stronger!" He preached to the vampires below.
"At sundown, Vincent's gonna drop that barrier spell right there, and those doors are gonna open, and we are gonna be smack in the middle of a parade of innocent people. We can't fall apart now!"
Gia moved closer to where he was. "Innocent, guilty—we're hungry. We have to feed!"
The crowd suddenly erupted, proclaiming that they didn't care who they fed on, just as long as they drank their fill so their hunger could end. Giuliana was beside Josh, watching the congregation of vampires grow rowdier.
"We don't feed on locals!" Marcel interjected. "That's our rule! That's how we've survived three hundred years in this city, and that is why we get to call it home! Because we live by a code."
"The same one that won't let you tell your own people that you're dying of a werewolf bite?" Gia's counter caused the vampires to chatter amongst one another, realizing Marcel's betrayal would bring destruction upon them.
Marcel leapt off the balcony, vamp-speeding to land among his people. "I'm not dying of anything! I've got a vial of Klaus' blood at my place right across the river, along with enough blood to satisfy all of you!"
The group were now casting sideways glances to one another, intrigued at the sound of a healthy blood supply. Gia crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to buy into Marcel's speech, but even the promise of blood was enough to make her tough exterior crack. Giuliana allowed a small smile to make its way to her lips at the volumes Marcel spoke. He had managed to get the vampires to listen to him and she hoped they would get on his side and put his betrayal behind them. Her gaze met his and she nodded, a silent promise that she would follow him.
"All we have to do is get there." Marcel added and addressed his congregation. "At least everyone one of you has asked me after you were turned what I was fighting for. I told you that I was fighting for this city, for our home. But if we feed out there, we lose it. The barrier will be down any moment now. Let me help you get home."
The church bells tolled again just as the sun's last presence in the compound disappeared until a haze of darkness surrounded them all. They'd been so involved with their hunger that they had forgotten that the world outside them had continued to go on despite feeling as though they were in a continuous time loop. The front entrance suddenly seemed like such a daunting place for them to even look at. Marcel swallowed thickly and approached the entrance with the utmost caution. He gingerly held out his hand and slowly moved it towards where the barrier had kept them caged. He half expected to get burned by the magic, but with the spell broken, he and his comrades could pass through.
"It's down. Let's go." Marcel looked behind him, gauging who would follow him and to his relief the group moved as a whole to join him as they passed through the entrance and out onto the crowded street.
"And what do you suspect I am hiding?" Klaus asked his brother who was seated in his own chair across the room. "You know I care for nothing and no one, so my dear brother you might as well be beating a dead horse."
Finn looked up from his hands that had been clasped in front of his chin in careful contemplation. "I'll find it, brother. All in good time."
"You might as well let the two of us go. We're of no use to you now." The hybrid was grasping at straws, but he had to find a way for Finn to set them free. Hope needed his protection and he couldn't be much help to her if him and Elijah were in the hunt room.
"Perhaps, but—" Finn now focused his gaze on his other brother who was becoming more and more perturbed by the second. "You've been awfully quiet, Elijah. Tell me, what weighs on your mind?"
"Finn, I do not wish to spend a moment longer here with you in this room." Elijah crossed one leg over the other and leaned his hands against the arms of the chair. "That point being made, I suggest it would be best for you to free us from the awfully dull place that is your subconscious."
His brother laughed aloud, tickled by Elijah's calm words, but he knew the weight behind them. While Elijah was always the more composed of the siblings, they knew not to mistake his kindness for weakness. Finn moved to stand behind Elijah's chair, weaving his next remark.
"Maybe you aren't number one on Klaus' list, but is it possible that you know what is?"
Elijah remained facing forward as he fixed the sleeves on his jacket. "Now, Finn, I'b spent quite a bit of time rotting away in a mausoleum while our mother tormented my mind."
"Ah, yes. The Red Door." Finn grasped the shoulders of the chair and leaned himself closer to Elijah. "A reminder of no matter how clean your suit is that you will always be a monster in a mask."
"And what does this make you?" Klaus intervened quickly seeing Elijah's composure begin to crack. "Aligning yourself with our mother to destroy us, trapping the vampires and werewolves in the compound to sabotage peace efforts. Need I go on?"
"Simply returning the favor after what you did to our mother." Finn growled in Klaus' direction. "How can you live with yourself?"
Klaus smirked and reclined back in his chair. "If I had the chance, I'd do it all over again."
Finn inflicted both brothers with multiple aneurisms exploding in their brains. Their cries of pain were the last things he heard before he banished their presences from the hunt room. Heaving in anger, Finn promised he would figure out what Klaus was hiding. His brother put up a strong front, but there had to be a way to get inside his head. He then exited the hunt room himself and was back inside the Lafayette Cemetery, still a ball of anger. The bells from the church chimed in the distance and he'd nearly forgotten about Marcel and his band of vampires. Perhaps he'd drop in and see how the bloodbath was going.
"What a day." Giuliana huffed as she slammed down her fourth blood bag of the night.
Josh nodded while his lips were closed around the straw of his own bag. Once he swallowed a few gulps, he replied, "I'll say."
To everyone's surprise, the entire hoard of vampires made it through the streets and to Marcel's place in one piece. Not one vampire was left behind, nor were any human lives taken during their journey. Marcel's vampires had taken to his blood supply in the basement while he got himself a vial of Klaus' blood to heal his bite. The floor was littered in blood bags, but Marcel could hardly care. He'd managed to lead his people through a dark hour and he was living on cloud nine.
"So, you and Gia?" Josh wondered. "You guys okay now?"
Giuliana shrugged and found Gia and Marcel talking by the bay window. "I mean, I don't want to rip her head off as much, but she pissed me off earlier."
"Look, she's mad because you and Marcel hid a secret from everyone."
"Tough luck. That's life for you." The female countered.
"She's also pretty sour that you align yourself with the Mikaelsons and not us." Josh added and stabbed his straw into another blood bag.
Rolling her eyes, the vampire jutted out her hip. "And so what? I knew the Mikaelsons long before you guys. And besides, Elijah and I are..."
Josh watched her body language change when the Original's name flew out of her mouth. Suddenly she wasn't so confident and guarded. Instead she was somber and vulnerable. Her gaze softened and she drummed her fingertips against the counter. It wasn't often he saw her so shaken, but in a way it reminded the both of them how they were still very much human despite their vampiric lifestyle. He waited for her to speak and was given a few long moments of silence before her eyes met his once again.
"I love him, Josh." Giuliana confessed.
The vampire nodded his head, a smile coming to his lips. "It's like you tell me, you can't control who you love."
Giuliana's smile matched his and the pair shared a chuckle before going back to their blood bags. It wasn't long after until Marcel and Gia joined them. The men greeted each other warmly, but the women were cold as ice. Neither of them were ready to budge on apologizing to the other. Josh felt himself becoming anxious with the death stares being flung across the space between the women, so he gently took Gia by the arm and mentioned something about her looking too gaunt and getting more blood.
"She's still sour at me?" Giuliana asked once the pair was out of earshot.
"Well, you did stake her in the stomach."
The female's eyes were suddenly ablaze. "She started it! Maybe she should learn not to cross me."
Marcel held up his hands and laughed heartily. "I'm just telling you what she told me."
"Did she tell you she broke my nose? Not once. Not twice. Three times." She counted it out for him on her fingers.
"I'm sorry you were a bit of a punching bag today, but thank you." He said. "You really helped me out today. I couldn't have done it without you."
"Ah, I didn't do anything." She waved her hand.
"You remained loyal to me about my bite. You didn't tell anyone." Marcel explained.
"Of course I didn't. You told me not to." Giuliana winked at him. "It was our little secret."
"I do love secrets."
Both vampires whipped around at the hauntingly familiar voice as Finn emerged from the darkened shadows of the entryway. He was grinning in such a way that made Giuliana's skin crawl. Marcel protectively pushed her behind him, shielding her as Finn drew closer to them.
"I should kill you for what you did to my vampires today." He hissed.
"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty, Marcel." Finn held out his hands. "I just came here to applaud you all for your strength of character. In fact, I just finished congratulating your little vampire-horde downstairs."
Giuliana's green eyes were suddenly wide and she moved to step around, but Marcel stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
"What did you do to them?" He asked
"Nothing that isn't reversible. I came to ask you both a question. See, earlier today, I spent some time with my brothers. They went to great lengths to hide something from me. A secret they'd do anything to keep."
Marcel kept Giuliana behind him and managed to keep up his facade, but the female was quickly becoming more and more panicked as Finn's steps creaked against the hardwood floor.
"Now, I may not be able to get it out of them, but since you two are so good at keeping secrets, I'm willing to bet I can rip it out of the both of you."
The last thing the two vampires saw was Finn's body lunging toward them before their vision went dark.
Ugh, I am so sorry for this late update. Between the holidays, work and constantly being sick, it's a wonder I was able to get this one out. Please leave a review. It's the equivalent of chicken noodle soup for my soul ;)
NicoleR85: Thank you love! I hope you liked this one. Sorry for the wait.
BrittStar1199: Audrey is a fierce bitch! One of the many qualities I love about her ;) She will make it, but that's if the cronies in the house don't break her first. And Elijah will get his shit together! I want him and Giuliana together asap. Thank you for reviewing!
Only reviewer: Thank you so much for reviewing! Yes, Audrey will be meeting Freya alongside Rebekah! Audrey has black hair and light blue eyes, similar to Klaus'. Does that help you picture it better?
