Thank you to Senema for her Beta and her constructive critic. I'm so glad, she is helping me with this story. Afterwards I changed a few things so all remaining mistakes are my own.

I hope you enjoy the chapter. And as usual I'm interested to know how you liked it.

Chapter 17

Elijah took a deep breath as soon as he stood outside on the courthouse steps. It was as if the chains that had choked him since the moment of his arrest, had finally fallen off. No longer locked in a cell, no humans following his every move and telling him what to do, no security cameras watching him every single second.

Elijah had had worse experiences in his life but it felt different to be just a bad decision or an uncontrolled moment away from the authorities' discovery that he wasn't human. Not to mention the inevitable consequences that would have, not just for him but also for his entire species or even the entire supernatural world. It had been a particularly harrowing experience and one, he could have gladly done without. On the other hand, he was glad it had been him and not one of his more impetuous siblings.

"Are you alright, Elijah?" Klaus asked and eyed his brother with concern.

"Well yes, Niklaus, I feel much better", Elijah answered and smiled at Klaus. "Did you find out anything?"

"Yes, it was quite interesting." Klaus grinned diabolically. "And you'll even be really proud of me and my diplomatic skills."

"I can't wait to hear more about it", Elijah replied dryly. "We should find a quiet place and share our knowledge." He looked at Kol and Davina. "Especially for those who have newly arrived."

"How about my penthouse", Lucifer suggested. "Nobody will disturb us there."

Klaus nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good idea. The Council had not previously known that you are involved with us."

"And we can find out if I count as alive or dead for vampires", Lucifer said, grinning boyishly.

Kol looked surprised at the unfamiliar faces. "They all know about the supernatural and who we are?"

"Yes, even more than that, Charlotte, Lucifer and Maze are also supernatural beings."

Klaus's head swivelled to Charlotte, visibly surprised by this revelation.

"And they are our allies", said Elijah, giving his youngest and wildest brother a meaningful look. "So you will behave towards them."

"You're always such a buzzkill", Kol complained, grinning mischievously at Elijah.

Elijah shook his head in amusement and tousled Kol's hair. "I'm glad you came, baby brother."

The group split up and drove to Lucifer's Club in the cars available to them.

When they took the elevator up to Lucifer's penthouse, it quickly became apparent that the vampires could enter it without an invitation.

"Maybe it's because the building is now Elijah's property", Lucifer suggested thoughtfully.

Freya shook her head. "It does not work like this. Vampires cannot enter a hotel room if a human rents and lives in it. Even though Elijah owns the building now, that doesn't mean vampires can enter your penthouse uninvited. When humans live in a place, then it is their private sphere and accordingly protected, no matter who owns the building."

All vampires nodded in agreement.

"So it is really me." Lucifer looked brooding and disappointed before his face brightened. "Okay, who wants a strong drink?"

The vampires, Lucifer and Maze all took bourbon or whiskey while Charlotte and Linda chose wine. After that, everyone took a seat and made themselves comfortable.

Linda sat down next to Elijah and took his hand, which made him smile at her. Focusing back on the others present, he saw that Klaus's eyes had narrowed. Kol, on the other hand, looked surprised while Freya and Rebekah, both sitting next to Klaus, looked pleased.

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Yes, Linda and I have become friends." He looked at Klaus. "Don't get any stupid ideas!"

Freya grabbed Klaus roughly by the earlobe while Rebekah elbowed him equally roughly in the side. "Don't worry, Elijah. Nik will deal with us if he interferes in your friendship."

Klaus pouted at the rough treatment from his two sisters. "Alright, alright, I'm staying out of it."

At Linda's confused reaction, Rebekah explained. "Nik is always jealous when he has to share our attention with others. This is especially true with Elijah and everyone he cares about." She eyed Klaus unfriendly. "In the past he didn't tolerate a rival next to him when it came to Elijah's attention and affection."

"I don't think I want to know what happened to the other people Elijah cared about." Linda looked back and forth between Elijah and Klaus. "So, are they extremely co-dependent in an unhealthy way? Or is it one-sided on Klaus's side?"

"Oh no, it isn't just on Klaus's side. They're practically a matched set, absolutely inseparable. Of course, only just as long as they don't want to kill each other", Freya replied, rolling her eyes. "It has gotten better but from time-to-time Nik still needs a little reminder that we won't tolerate his earlier behaviour any longer."

Elijah sighed. "It's all in the past, water under the bridge. Normally that's Niklaus' sentence, but can we take care of my plight now. It is best for everyone to introduce themselves so that everyone knows who they are dealing with."

The Originals and Davina went first.

Then Linda introduced herself but she had another question. "I noticed that each one of you looks at me strangely and also reacts to my profession. Who do I resemble or who do I remind you of?"

Klaus sighed and looked sad. "Her name was Camille and I loved her very much. My enemies murdered her for revenge. She was studying to be a psychologist and the two of you are a little similar in looks and personalities."

"She was my friend and she was a very special person", Davina added just as sadly.

Linda looked honestly troubled. "I'm sorry for reopening old wounds for you. I think I would have loved to meet her."

Next, Danny introduced himself. Elijah could see that he was feeling pretty out of his depth and glad when the general attention left him again.

During their introduction, Lucifer and Maze showed their real faces. Kol looked just as intrigued as Rebekah and Klaus had, while Freya and Davina were a bit shocked.

Elijah whispered in Linda's ear, knowing that his siblings would hear him anyway. "You were right, I needed luck. I would never have guessed."

Linda chuckled softly.

Charlotte was the last to introduce herself and Elijah smirked in amusement as he observed his family's reactions when she introduced herself as the goddess of creation and God's ex-wife.

"So Lucifer really is your son?" Freya asked in amazement.

"I have quite a lot of children", Charlotte replied, smiling at Freya.

The elevator bell rang and the doors opened. A tall, bald man walked in and stopped in surprise when he saw the gathering. "Is this a bad time, Lucifer?"

"That's another son of mine", Charlotte said. "His name is Amenadiel, he is Lucifer's big brother. Come, sit with us."

Amenadiel obeyed in amazement. He frowned as he took a closer look at Lucifer's guests. "Since when do you know the Originals, Lucifer?"

"Elijah bought my building and now I'm trying to buy it back from him", answered Lucifer unconcerned. "In the meantime he was the victim of a conspiracy, which accused him of committing a murder he didn't commit and now we are working to prove his innocence."

Amenadiel opened his mouth briefly, but then he shook his head dazedly and closed it again. He gave the clear impression that he didn't want to learn any more. Somehow, Elijah felt reminded of himself when faced once more with his siblings' antics.

"Oh, so you knew that vampires existed? Why didn't you ever tell me about them?" Charlotte asked wounded.

Amenadiel hesitated. "I wasn't sure how you would react to their existence."

Charlotte shrugged. "I have no problem with their existence and I like Elijah."

Davina frowned. "Shouldn't you, as the Goddess of Creation and Nature, desire their annihilation? After all, for you they have to be an abomination."

Charlotte glared at Davina. "For me Witches are the true abomination. They use my gifts to manipulate and corrupt my creation. And when I look at you, I see that you have done this too.

You think, you're better than vampires because they need blood to survive? You were a ghoul, who fed of the dead. I see it in you, how you took life force that doesn't belong to you and used it to make others suffer."

She pointed to the Originals. "The only reason I don't take your gift away from you is because you're in their company and they don't seem to mind your presence."

Davina looked quite shocked at Charlotte's words. Kol pursed his lips and looked ready to pounce on Charlotte.

"Kol", Elijah said warningly. "I have felt her power, she is able to destroy us too if she wants to. And she said she won't hurt Davina."

Kol growled slightly but leaned back again. He grabbed Davina's hand protectively and glared at Charlotte.

"What about me?" Freya asked softly. "And what do you mean taking away your gifts?"

Charlotte eyed Freya closely. "There are a few things that speak against you too but unlike Davina, you've committed relatively few corruptions of my creation. Your power always came from yourself and when you used the life force of others, it was freely given most of the time. And as for your gifts, what I've given, I can also take."

Elijah, as always the peacemaker, wanted to bring the conversation back to other topics. "It's best I start by telling you what happened to me."

After Elijah finished his tale, Klaus looked thoughtful. "I still don't understand how they wanted to guarantee your arrest. That these two cops, Chloe and Dan, showed up was pure coincidence. You said yourself that you would have taken the knife and compelled the two other cops if they hadn't shown up."

Elijah shrugged. "Maybe the two werewolves weren't the only observers. What about witches? You wouldn't have noticed their smell as something unusual if they had been in the alley as well. Perhaps they had a spell or some kind of trap prepared, they would have triggered if I had used compulsion."

"Elijah, who knew you travelled to Los Angeles?" Freya asked quietly. "A spell like this, especially against an Original, needs a lot of power und preparation; you can't do it on such short notice."

"Just you and Niklaus." Elijah shrugged. "And you are, of course, above suspicion."

"What about Rebekah or Marcel?" asked Klaus seemingly innocently.

"I didn't tell Rebekah anything about my planned trip and I wouldn't tell Marcel that the sky is blue," Elijah replied wryly.

"Let's forget that for now", Rebekah said quietly, clearly upset about Elijah's mocking remark. "Nik, it's your turn!"

In turn, each of those present told what had happened to them and what they had learned.

"Hmm, I'm officially worried now", Elijah announced grimly.

"And now I know what I've been missing for the last few years", said Klaus, amused. "One of our enemies plotting the destruction of our family."

"You mean one of your enemies, Nik", Kol corrected blithely. "You're the only one of us who lets his enemies live. The few enemies Elijah makes for himself are usually never angry enough to want to kill him or he kills them first. And Rebekah and I don't let our enemies live at all."

Elijah sighed. "For my part, I didn't miss our enemies planning to attack our family. I've really enjoyed these quiet years."

Klaus only chuckled. "Now that you're free to act, what do you want to do first?"

"Oh, I want to pay a visit to the Council," Elijah replied, smiling musingly. "Why bother with the foot soldiers when I can have fun with the top brass." He looked at Danny. "Can you give me an address?"

Danny looked at his watch, then nodded. "I know where they'll be in an hour." He smiled wryly. "The Council has a sort of office hour where every supernatural being in this town can voice their concerns. I don't think that they will skip it today, especially with you in town."

Klaus smirked. "I think they will be literally swamped with concerns." He looked at Elijah. "I'm coming with you, brother."

"And I will seek out the local coven", Freya said calmly. She looked at Davina. "Do you want to come with me?"

Davina, still looking quite lost in thought, nodded. "Yes, I'll come with you."

"And I will come with you too, of course", said Kol, who would never let Davina go into danger alone.

"Then I'll go with Kol, so are two Originals with each group", Rebekah said. She looked at Linda hesitantly. "You'd better stay back this time. Witches are nasty, and they have no problem hexing normal people if it suits their purposes."

Linda looked inquiringly at Elijah, who smiled regretfully at her.

"I don't think you want to see what will happen and how ruthless I become when my family is threatened", Elijah said quietly.

"I understand, it is okay", Linda replied and stood up. "I think it is better if I go now. If Chloe ever comes to me and asks me questions about what happened tonight, I don't want to have to lie to her."

Elijah noticed that Lucifer and Maze looked very relieved about this.

Maze got up too. "I'll take you to the taxi stand. I don't want to take the risk of you being ambushed because you were seen with Elijah."

"That is a good idea", Elijah agreed gravely. "It wouldn't be the first time our enemies used my affection for someone to hurt me or as leverage. And this time I seem to be the target."

"But wait for me, because I'm coming with you to the Council." Maze grinned at Klaus. "Someone promised me bloodshed."

"I'm coming with you too", Lucifer said adventurously.

"I'll better stay out of this", said Amenadiel and got up. "If you want to, Linda, I'll walk you to the taxi stand and Maze can stay here."

"Yes, thank you, Amenadiel", Linda replied. Maze sat down again while Linda and Amenadiel left the penthouse.

"Would you like to go too, Charlotte?" Elijah asked understandingly. "I mean you are a lawyer. It would definitely not be good for you to be associated with certain events, which are likely to occur tonight."

Charlotte waved him off. "I don't care." She looked at Freya. "But I would like to meet other witches."

Freya shrugged and smiled slightly. "I can't promise it will be non-violent, not with these two around." She nodded to Kol and Rebekah, who only smirked.

"Oh, I have no problem with violence", Charlotte replied light-heartedly. "But how will we find this coven?"

"I know where they are located", Danny said, giving the address. "And as far as I know, the building is freely accessible." He shrugged. "But that doesn't mean much with witches."

"Then that's settled." Klaus looked satisfied. "How about another drink?"

"Don't you want to make plans?" Lucifer asked curiously.

Elijah and Klaus looked at each other. "No", they then said unanimously.

"It wouldn't make sense, we still don't know enough", Elijah continued.

"Besides, we're at our best when we improvise", said Klaus, smirking. "And it's a lot more entertaining.

Elijah sighed. Why did he even bother? He had definitely noticed that Klaus had become rather restless in the last few months. Maybe a little violence could remedy this and it was better that it was done in Los Angeles then in New Orleans, where finally some peace prevailed.