Chapter 16: The Divine & The Demonic Part 1
Date: December 18, 2019
Characters: Every damn body…
Warnings: Slavery mention, Dismemberment/Savagery, and violence against women.
Author's Note: Here's to publishing this chapter before the year is out. (I've had a writing flea up my ass this year lol.) Thank you all for the reads, reviews, favorites, comments, and follows. I see every one of you and I am grateful to have you in my corner. Before you read this chapter, just know that Klaus has been a 'good boy' up until this point. Mainly because Bonnie has been there to put his ass in check and well… she's sleeping. :) Happy Holidays!
Marie sat in silence while Agnes and Bastianna bickered back and forth about their next course of events. She brought her glass of cognac to her lips and sipped healthily, welcoming the burning sensation as it warmed her insides. Everything had fallen apart within a matter of hours and Marie pondered her next move. She had one goal and that was to stay alive. Her intentions were not to cross Bonnie but before she could call off the attack, things were already put in motion. Now, she was faced to deal with a pissed off Bennett and a pissed off Mikaelson and while she potentially had leverage on Klaus, there was nothing she could say to keep Bonnie off her heels.
The Bennett girl was known for her compassion so that accounted for something, right? Marie couldn't be too sure. Marie knew all too well that witches were dualistic to their core, just like their magic. Klaus infamously told her many moons ago, in the dark, the divine and the demonic felt the same. When intentions were justified, the actions—good or bad—are determined by those that triumphed and those that suffered.
Each side was right in their eyes and no one could see past their agendas to acknowledge it. The nine covens were justified in their actions. For too long vampires tainted the city they called home. Death followed them and witches were too often caught in the crosshairs. It sickened her.
A knock on the door garnered Marie's attention and prompted the two ladies to quell their arguments for now. Marie sat her glass on the wooden table next to her and stood to her feet. Her magic rose to the surface as she braced herself for what would be on the other side of the door. Standing inches from it, she inhaled deeply.
"Who is it," Marie called out.
"Sabine." The voice answered. The three women relaxed while Marie opened the door. Sabine was a member of the French Quarter Coven. Despite her young age, she mastered protection, necromancy and possession spells.
Once inside, Sabine reached into her bag and offered up a hand full of vials, six to be exact. "The red one is a protection potion. If you die, you will be resurrected. Your death will be temporary as long as your soul has a body to come back to. It's good for one resurrection so try to avoid multiple deaths." Sabine explained. The three women drank the potion in unison. Bastianna was the first to speak.
"What if we can't return to our bodies," she asked. Sabine gave a small smile.
"That's what the second potion is for. If you cannot return to your bodies, this green potion will keep you from going to the ancestral plane until I can place you in another body. I'll have 24 hours to do it."
"And if you don't?" Marie asked.
"I will," Sabine asserted. "But worst-case scenario, you'll die and go to the other side where you'll be conscious but disconnected from the land of the living."
"Well, you better make damn sure that doesn't happen," Agnes grumbled. The thought of not joining her ancestors in the Ancestral plane did not bode well with the older woman. Sabine gave Agnes a dirty look that didn't go unnoticed by Marie.
"Sabine is more than capable of getting the job done. Being nasty with her won't help you, Agnes," Marie intervened. She knew better than to bite the hand that fed her… before she was fed.
"Thank you, Marie," Sabine said with a smug smile. I've already done the spells for Josephine and Genevieve. Their bodies are in the cemetery. I've spelled it so that no one can enter, only witches," Sabine explained. "Once they return, we can continue the ritual. Are you all sure the Claire girl will be there?"
"I trust that the Hybrid will deliver her to us, call it a hunch," Bastianna smirked. Sabine eyed the older woman, not sure of what to make of her statement.
"Anyway, once the Harvest is complete, we can finally do The Reaping Ceremony to bring the girls back." Sabine tried to focus on the endgame. She wasn't a fan of their practices, especially with kids involved, but it was a necessary evil that, thankfully, only had to happen once every 300 years. For what it was worth, the children would be resurrected unharmed, physically, at tried not to think of the psychological damages they'd have.
"Everything is coming together," Agnes stated with a small smile. "In case the Hybrid doesn't deliver, I have eyes on the Claire girl. One way or the other, she will be here." The three women raised their vials and drank the second potion, ready to put their plan into motion.
Bastianna was the first to exit Laveau's. She surveyed their surroundings and stepped out into the October night air. She inhaled and glanced up at the sky to bathe in the moonlight before turning to signal for the other ladies. The minute she turned around a large fist plunged through her chest causing the other three women to scream in surprise. Bastianna, still clinging to life, gasped as her body fell to the ground, lifeless. Sabine screamed as Niklaus stepped into view with a bloodied fist and a sinister grin. He tossed Bastianna's still-beating heart and watched as it rolled to a stop at Marie's feet.
"Good evening ladies," he greeted with an evil grin. He looked between the three ladies with an earnest smile as he waved his bloody hand in their direction. "May I ask who's next?"
-X-
In her 211 years, Marie has been through quite a lot. While born free, she witnessed the gruesome oppression of slavery, the murder of her husband by the evil slave owner, Delphine LaLaurie and many other horrendous tragedies swallowed up by history. That said, the most macabre currently took place as Niklaus dismembered her coven sister and proceeded to throw Bastianna's limbs and other items at them. She and Sabine took shelter behind a bookcase while Agnes crouched down on the other side of the room behind a chifforobe. Marie closed her eyes as one of Bastianna's arms flew past them and impaled the TV. The force caused the device to short circuit and explode, sending glass everywhere. The women shielded themselves from the blow and screamed. The only thing that kept Klaus away was the warding on the building.
"Release Bonnie from this ridiculous spell and I'll go about my merry little way, Loves." It was all they heard for the past twenty minutes as limbs and bodily organs flew through the air.
"So much for Bastianna returning to her body," Marie thought to herself. Marie didn't want to end up like her coven mate. Marie glanced over at Agnes who had a terrified look on her face.
"You've made your point, Niklaus. Give us Davina and we'll lift the spell on Bonnie," Marie called out. Everything went silent for a few moments before a loud shatter was heard, followed by a thud and a roll. Marie watched in horror as Bastianna's head rolled next to her ripped apart lung. The head was missing its eyeballs. Marie didn't have to guess for long where her eyeballs went. She screamed when one landed in her lap.
"I doubt your patrons will visit your restaurant once they find pieces of What's Her Face under their chair. Give up and come out now," he teased. Officially out of body parts, Klaus glanced around for something to create a torch with. He was impatient and needed to draw them out of their hiding place. He grabbed Bastianna's blouse from the ground and threw the chest cavity left inside of it to the side. He then tore a branch from a nearby tree and wrapped the end of it with the blouse. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the lighter he came with and lit one end of the blouse, watching as the makeshift torch lit up before him.
"Fine then, have it your way," he mumbled as he watched the fire from the torch increase. Once it was in full blaze, he launched it into the house through a broken window and watched, waiting for one of them to try to douse the flames. He tore off another branch from the tree and smiled when he saw someone stand up. With keen precision, he threw the tree limb and smiled when it met its intended target.
Marie watched as Agnes fell to the floor with a tree limb sticking out of her head. She held on to Sabine, coughing as the smoke from the flames began to overcome them. "I'll stall him," Marie whispered as she crawled over to Agnes. She placed her foot on Agnes's head and used the leverage to pull the tree limb from her head, wincing at the squelching sound that followed. She placed her hand on Agnes's body and chanted under her breath until she felt Agnes disappear from her hold. She made her way back to Sabine who looked frozen in fear. "I sent her body to the cemetery. Once Agnes wakes up, you two need to start the spell. Hopefully, I'll be right behind you." Marie was usually hopeful about surviving against the odds, but those odds had never been a thousand-year-old hybrid with a flawless track record of staying alive. Sabine nodded quickly before crawling towards the front entrance. She was too afraid to exit, wondering what Klaus had waiting on the other side of the door for her. She glanced back at Marie who gave her a soft nod before she held her hands up to surrender.
"Okay Klaus, you win," Marie shouted. With a wave of her arms, she calmed the fire that began to rage on the other side of the building. The fire had already begun to claim whatever was in its path. Klaus grimaced, he was just getting warmed up. Sabine waited until Marie stood to make her exit.
Klaus narrowed his eyes at Marie, waiting on her to pull one of her stunts. "What are you up to, Witch?" Klaus glowered in suspicion, ready for any and everything. Marie stepped out into the sliver of moonlight that shown through a broken window pane. During his attack, the light bulbs had been shattered and now, Marie stood in a broken building she once called her place of business.
"No tricks, Klaus. I think you've made your point," Marie glanced around her at the mayhem he created. "Whatever that may be," she added.
"Are you ready to lift the spell on Bonnie?" It was all Klaus cared about. Marie hefted her chin and squinted at him, displaying false bravado.
"Which one?" Marie smirked. Klaus's cocksure grin faltered as he growled under his breath. Marie laughed out loud as she reveled in having one up on Klaus. "I know you didn't think it would be that easy, White Boy," she snickered. Klaus cursed under his breath. The binding spell hadn't even crossed his mind. He ignored the feeling in the pit of his chest.
"Bitch. You said it couldn't be reversed," Klaus reminded.
"Bitches lie," Marie countered. "I'll tell you what, I'll lift the sleeping spell for now and if you keep Bonnie off my ass, I'll undo the binding spell." Klaus grimaced. The bitch knew how to drive a hard bargain.
"Maybe I should just kill you and end this all," he threatened. Marie cocked a brow.
"You'll be killing the only person that can remove that spell," she replied smugly.
"Bitches lie, remember?" Marie tried not to let Klaus's shrewdness get to her. A thought occurred to her that made her squint in his direction.
"You're stalling," she realized. "You have me out in the open and have yet to make a move against me." Klaus smiled like the grinch.
"Perhaps," he confirmed. "Where'd your other little buddy sneak off to?" Bastianna and Agnes were dead and while he could no longer sense the third witch, she wasn't his concern as of now; he had her scent and would deal with her later.
"No sense in all of us dying now is there? Which spell, Klaus?" She didn't have all day to play with him. Time was wasting.
-X-
Marcel watched silently as Davina and Vincent performed a spell to break the hex on Bonnie. As far as he was concerned, he was ready to throw the entire day away and start fresh tomorrow morning. The longer it took to break the spell, the more agitated Marcel became. He watched Bonnie's face for any sign of discomfort as Davina and Vincent performed the spell but it was just a blank canvas. If not for her faint heartbeat, Marcel could easily mistake her for dead.
His cellphone vibrated in his pocket, prompting him to exit the room to take the call. It was his best friend, Thierry. "I'm listening."
"That hybrid destroyed Laveau's."
Marcel's eyebrows raised in shock. "Say what now?"
"Diego said he saw Klaus at Laveau's throwing shit and yelling at Marie and a couple of other witches. By the time I got there, the place was empty. No signs of Marie or Klaus but I smelled fire and blood and there were body parts, everywhere. I think it was that witch, Bastianna, based on the head we found. It looked like a fucking horror movie man. Glass and human chunks were all over the floor. Who the fuck is this guy?" Marcel noted the stress and uneasiness in Thierry's voice.
"He's a sick son of a bitch, stay out of his sight," Marcel warned. The last thing he needed was for his guys to get caught in the crosshairs of some shit that had nothing to do with them.
"Duly fucking noted," Thierry stated. "Do you need our help with anything? We're all sort of sitting here with our dunce caps on waiting for the next move."
"For now, I just really need you guys to lay low. Out of sight means out of mind for Klaus and trust me, you don't want his attention," Marcel had to admit that not being at odds with Klaus was a tad bit relaxing. However, the moment the situation with the witches was settled, he'd be the center of Klaus's focus and that wouldn't end well for him.
"Okay man, but know that we got you," Thierry assured. Marcel nodded before remembering that Thierry couldn't see him.
"Thanks, man," Marcel offered, ending the call. He noticed the chanting had stopped and he entered the room to find Vincent and Davina looking worse for wear. "Dude…" The two witches looked as though they had just gone ten rounds with a heavyweight.
"The spell is complete," Davina whispered. Blood poured down her face and her eyes were glazed. Marcel pulled off his shirt and used it to dab at Davina's nose.
"Tilt your head down," he instructed. He replaced his hands with hers and moved to check on Bonnie and Vincent.
"Give it time, she'll awaken soon," Vincent said. Marcel's eyes landed on Bonnie, looking for any signs of her awakening anytime soon. He hated seeing her incapacitated.
"I need air," Davina said suddenly. She stood to make her way to the door.
"Be careful, D," Marcel called out. He moved to follow her when Davina held up her hand.
"I'm fine, Marcel," she assured. Marcel hesitated, then nodded, watching as Davina walked out of the room.
"Hey, do you mind keeping an eye on her?" Marcel was worried and rightly so. Anyone that could get the jump on Bonnie could easily take Davina out, especially in her current state. Without protest, Vincent stood and followed Davina. He too needed some air.
-X-
The moment Bonnie opened her eyes, she knew that something was off. The room was dark and the smell of magic burned her nose. She sat up in the bed, realizing she was at Marcel's. The sound of a scream propelled her forward and instantly, she was on her feet, charging out of the room.
"Marcel?!" Bonnie ran out of the house, pausing when she made it to the porch. She saw Vincent laying on his back. A witch stood over him with a knife in her hand, ready to plunge it into his chest. Bonnie's hand extended towards her and the girl burst into flames. Startled, Vincent rolled out of the way to escape the heat. Bonnie directed her attention to Marcel who was flanked by three witches, chanting a spell. Blood poured from his eyes as he held his head in agony. Enraged, Bonnie growled in frustration. She'd had enough of the witches and their shit for one night.
Closing her eyes, Bonnie focused on her magic. The ground began to shake, breaking the witches' concentration long enough for Marcel to recover from their attack. He grabbed the witch closest to him and tore into his neck while the other two tried to run but Bonnie was on it. The witches didn't get far before they were reduced to a plume of dark smoke. Bonnie's chest twisted with anger as she tried to contain her rage. Marcel was in front of her in a flash, he held her shoulders and watched as Bonnie's chest heaved with each breath she took.
"Hey, hey, calm down," he quelled. But Bonnie didn't want to calm down. She was livid. She simply wanted to be left alone but the witches of New Orleans kept picking fights with her.
"Where is Marie?" It was the only thing she was concerned with.
"I don't know, Klaus destroyed Laveau's and neither of them have been seen since," Marcel answered truthfully. His answer wasn't good enough for Bonnie. Bonnie pulled away from him just as Vincent walked up the steps to the porch.
"You need to get your strength up before you try to go after Marie, Bonnie," Vincent tried to reason.
"FUCK THAT!" Her outburst caused both Vincent and Marcel to take a tentative step backward. Fueled by anger, hate, and heartbreak, Bonnie stormed off the porch. The earth crunched beneath her bare feet and the fall air whipped against her bare back and shoulders. The dress she wore did nothing to protect her from the elements, but Bonnie wasn't phased. All she wanted was to get her hands on Marie.
Vincent and Marcel stared in awe as they watched the witch stormed off. Once they snapped out of it, they followed her. The night was just beginning.
-X-
Damon, Stefan, and Caroline didn't know where to begin to look for Bonnie. They had minimal information and it was frustrating. Caroline was worried sick. They were faced with the monumental task of finding Bonnie in a city they knew nothing about; the equivalent to finding a flea on an elephant's ass. Barely twenty-four hours have passed since she and Bonnie began piecing their friendship back together and already one of them was in trouble. Caroline felt this was her chance to prove herself. Bonnie admitted that she couldn't place her faith in Caroline, or any of them and Bonnie was right. They never moved mountains for Bonnie the way they did for Elena. It was sad when she thought about it; Bonnie was dead for three months and none of them knew a thing. Trust was like shattered glass. Once broken, it's impossible to fix, but Caroline could at least fashion something new from the shards that were left.
Damon was eerily silent. The dread he felt since speaking to Klaus never left the center of his chest. It weighed like a brick. The three of them strategized about where Bonnie might be when a thought occurred to him. "I think I remember where Marcel lives. Let's try there," Damon offered. Caroline spun so quickly, her blonde hair smacked her in the face.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for, let's go," she yelled, rushing over to the door.
"Is it safe to just barge in on him?" Stefan asked wearily. They didn't know Marcel and didn't know what they would be walking in on should they randomly pop up on him. Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's cautiousness.
"We're going to find out, Brother," Damon stated as he grabbed his keys. Stefan shook his head and followed the blonde and brunette out of the house, hoping that tonight didn't end in casualty.
-X-
When the three of them arrived at Marcel's the place looked like a battle had taken place. The yard looked trampled and Damon could smell blood and magic in the air. This was not what any of them expected.
"I hate showing up to parties too late," Damon grumbled as he stooped down to examine the patch of blood that soaked the soil. It wasn't Bonnie's.
"Now what," Caroline quietly asked. The entire ride there, she had hoped they'd find Bonnie and she would tell them that she was okay. That hope was now obliterated.
"Who the fuck are you people?" Damon, Stefan, and Caroline all spun on their heels to face the owner of the voice they'd heard. It was a young boy who looked to be in his early 20s. Damon recognized him from the party Klaus hosted the night Damon arrived in New Orleans. Damon didn't remember much, aside from Bonnie unleashing holy hell on him, but he remembered this guy. The kid held a serious demeanor as if he took his job too seriously. Damon saw him that night talking to Marcel Gerard, the Vampire King of New Orleans and Bonnie's beau.
Damon wasted no time speeding over to the boy. In a flash, he had the boy by his neck. "Where is Marcel?" If they could find Marcel, they were one step closer to finding Bonnie, he reasoned. Stefan and Caroline appeared behind him. The young boy looked at the three vampires in bewilderment first, then anger.
"Again, who the fuck are you?" His dark skin wrinkled on his forehead as he glared at Damon with much hatred.
"Someone who wants to know where Marcel is?" Stefan tried to hide the confusion in his voice. It was hard to keep up with Damon and his shenanigans.
"Fuck all of you, you're going to have to kill me," The vampire said dutifully, spitting in Damon's face. Angrily, Damon's face contorted and black veins appeared under his eyes as he thrust his fist into the vampire's chest. The boy screamed in pure agony.
"Don't make that a reality," Damon rebutted over the vampire's screams. "What is your name?" The vampire laughed and held his head back, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"You mean you're going through all this trouble and you don't even know my name?" The vampire laughed incredulously. "Diego," Was all he offered. "Marcel is going to slaughter all of you if you kill me. He has at least two hundred or so years on you," Diego boasted.
"Oh trust me, Didi, I've killed vampires much older," Damon threatened. The smile on Diego's face faltered as he glared at Damon.
"Well, the joke is on you because Marcel doesn't answer to me. I don't know where the fuck he is and if I did, I wasn't gonna tell you," Diego defied. Damon's blue eyes glared at him. Damon's fist tightened around Diego's heart and he smiled when he heard another scream come from the boy.
"That's enough Damon, let him go," Stefan grumbled. Damon reluctantly let Diego go, not surprised at all when Diego disappeared instantly. He rolled his eyes at Stefan and stared down at his bloodied hand.
"You couldn't have left your Hero Hair in the car, Stefan?" Annoyed didn't accurately describe how Damon felt.
"No, I couldn't. Bonnie is more than capable of taking care of herself. All we're doing is chasing our tails right now which isn't helping any of us. We are clearly out of our league right now. What we need to do is figure out what we're doing and plan accordingly." Damon hated to agree but Stefan had a point.
"So what? We just leave her with Klaus?" Caroline asked, exasperated.
"That's exactly what we'll do," Damon said, much to both of their surprise. "We can trust that Klaus will be Klaus and the moment he fucks up, Bonnie will come find us. We just have to be ready," Damon elaborated. Caroline looked over at him and smiled for the first time that night.
"That's the smartest thing you've said since I got here."
A/N: It's me again. :) This chapter underwent several rewrites but I'm finally happy with the end result. Also, I would like to say that in no way am I trivializing the brutality of slavery, nor am I saying that the scene with Klaus at Laveau's compares. What Marie was trying to convey was that of all the shit she's been through she never saw this night coming. It's almost as if to say "what a sick bastard'. Everyone in the story got comfortable with 'Tame!Klaus', forgetting what type of monster he truly is/can be. That said, I chose my words carefully so that I wouldn't offend anyone. Growing up in the South as a black woman, I've been desensitized to a lot of shit so I would never speak for all and say what's offensive and what's not.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The story is going to take a turning point after this chapter and the next and while I kind of have it mapped out, I've learned not to get attached to my plans because the characters come alive and do what they want, essentially. :)
Until next time, I leave you with this parting thought: Which spell (if any) do you think Klaus chose? Muhahaha...