The next chapter, enjoy! It finally gets a little bloody 'lol. Tell me, how you like it.

As always my thanks to Senema for her Beta, she makes this story much better and easier to read.

Chapter 18

Danny led the two Originals, Lucifer and Maze to the address the Council uses to hold their office hours. As he had expected, there was quite a crowd in front of the building, consisting of a few humans, witches and werewolves but no vampires.

The Originals waited patiently for everyone else to enter the building. Danny had explained the floor plan of the building to them and so they knew that there was only one exit out of the reception room.

"Niklaus, I think you should position yourself at the door and stop anyone from leaving the room", Elijah said softly. "After all, we want a captivated audience."

Klaus grinned maliciously. "What are you up to, brother?"

Elijah smiled. "Quite simply, I wish to share my displeasure about my wonderful night with the entire Council. When I'm done, those who might survive and were involved in this scheme, will be done in Los Angeles, too." He looked at Danny. "You will stand by my side as the representative of the Los Angeles vampires and as a witness that every word I speak is the truth."

Danny shuddered. As scary as Klaus had been when they first met, Elijah now managed to make him even more apprehensive.

Elijah entered the hall, which was quite noisy as everyone present shouted wildly over each other. Klaus stayed behind and closed the door, which no one noticed before leaning comfortably against it.

Danny followed Elijah who effortlessly made his way through the crowd, Lucifer and Maze following in their wake. The werewolves and witches Elijah pushed aside grumbled, but when they recognized Danny, they fell silent.

At the far end of the hall was a row of tables; seated behind them were six men and three women.

"The Council?" Elijah asked softly.

"Yes, and fully present, which is quite rare", Danny replied just as softly.

"Do you think it possible that one of them is not involved in this conspiracy?" Elijah eyed the men and women who spoke quietly to each other, ignoring the enraged crowd for the moment.

This question confused Danny. Since he couldn't imagine Elijah feeling suddenly sorry for the Council, he undoubtedly had another angle.

"The white-haired man on the far right, Edward Brighton. He belongs to the human faction, smart and thoughtful. He always thinks first before he speaks or acts and he is pleasant to deal with, unlike the others." Danny cocked his head to the side. "I doubt he would take such a risky gamble, it is not his style."

"So, the council includes three witches, three werewolves and three from the human faction. Why aren't vampires represented?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Gwennie had never had much interest in ruling the city." Danny shrugged. "When the Council makes important decisions, they inform her beforehand so she can be present. The Council liked this hand-off attitude and she had reserved herself the right to veto any decision affecting the vampires. This used to work pretty well but something has changed in the last few months."

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked curiously.

"The Council has become quite hostile and contemptuous towards vampires", explained Danny annoyed. His job as liaison had never been easy or pleasant but the past few months had been tough. "There was occasional trouble between the factions but open warfare never erupted. As Gwennie has not much interest in power and total control of the city either so it is difficult to provoke her."

"Has the Council lost their respect for her?" Elijah asked thoughtfully.

"No, I don't think so. Although Gwennie isn't interested in power or mind games, she won't tolerate being bullied either. Her reactions can be quite drastic, when she feels someone is not treating her with the respect she deserves."

Danny grinned slightly. "One thing is for sure, she has the vampires in Los Angeles firmly under her control. Any other vampire in command wouldn't be this laidback and then there would be war between the factions."

"Maybe that's the plan." Elijah's eyes had narrowed as he considered Danny's words. "Can you say from who or where this new attitude comes from?"

"Hard to say." Danny shrugged. "But I would say that the human faction is the least interested in a fight with the vampires. Edward and Gwennie are good friends." He grinned slightly. "When Edward was a young man, the two had a torrid affair and parted on good terms."

"So werewolves or witches, business as usual." Elijah turned to Klaus, who nodded in agreement with this assessment.

Danny knew Klaus had listened to every word spoken between him and Elijah.

Now the man in the middle had risen from his chair and was calming the crowd with raised hands. "Silence please. I know you are all very upset and worried, but I promise you this is unnecessary."

Danny heard Elijah snort derisively. "This is Glen Dennoir, the Council's chairman. He's also of the human faction, but he's as corrupt as Brighton is honest and decent. So I definitely think him capable to be involved in the conspiracy."

"Good to know." Elijah listened with interest as Dennoir slowly calmed the agitated crowd. "He knows how to work a crowd."

"Yes, he is good at that." Now it was Danny's turn to snort disdainfully. "Otherwise he is more hot air than action. And he likes to lie", he added. "Every word he said just now is a lie."

"Yes I can hear it. So, he has no idea why we're in town or what we want." Elijah chuckled. "How important is he within the Council?"

"Not very much. The others keep him on the council because he's a good talker and can work the crowd, but he doesn't have as much influence over council decisions as he would like", Danny replied calmly.

"Alright, then let's explain to those present why we're here", Elijah said. He took several steps forward and cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council, if you would allow me to speak?"

Dennoir looked at him disdainfully. "Vampire, here we proceed in the order in which we arrived. You were among the last to arrive, so you'll be the last to be heard."

Danny winced involuntarily as he heard that. Dennoir was also a coward. He would never have spoken to Elijah this way if he had known who was standing in front of him. He looked sideways at Elijah uncertainly.

Suddenly Elijah stood in front of Dennoir and ripped out his heart. With the bloody heart in his hand, he turned to the crowd and smiled kindly at them. "My business with the Council is rather urgent. I would greatly appreciate it if I could state my case first."

Now the smile became decidedly malicious and Elijah dropped the heart to the floor. The crowd murmured worriedly and backed up a step.

"Of course, if someone feels their case is more important than mine, I'm happy to let him or her speak first." Elijah pulled his handkerchief from his suit's breast pocket and began cleaning his hand. The crowd was silent now, eyeing him suspiciously. To Danny's relief no one was stupid enough to believe these words. "Nobody? Thank you so much for your consideration." He dropped the handkerchief onto the floor and turned back to the Council.

Danny now caught up with Elijah and stood half a step behind him so that there was no doubt about who was in charge here.

Brighton frowned as he recognized Danny. "What's the meaning of this, Danny? Since when does Gwennie tolerate such a brutal approach by her people?"

"I'm afraid I'm not one of Gwendolyne's followers", Elijah said calmly, grinning in amusement. "You could say that she would have to follow my orders if I wanted it that way. But I am being rude, maybe I should introduce myself first. My name is Elijah Mikaelson! I trust you have heard of me?"

Danny couldn't help but smile slightly as he saw the Council's faces. Yes, they had definitely heard of Elijah Mikaelson.

Brighton cleared his throat. "Everyone involved with the supernatural world knows the name Mikaelson. What can the Council do for you, Mr. Mikaelson?"

"Oh, I have a few questions for the Council." Elijah smiled coldly. "Among other things, why did they order the killing of an innocent man, who had no contact to the supernatural world whatsoever and also tried to implicate me for the murder? I would like to know why the Council let me down after I was arrested even though they knew I was in prison.

And why was good Daniel forbidden to do anything about it when he learned that a vampire had been arrested and informed the Council about it? Although, as far as I know, getting supernatural beings out of prison is one of his most important tasks assigned to him by the council. Why would the council want me to remain in prison without a chance to be released on bail?"

Danny saw Brighton's face grow paler and more horrified with each question but one emotion was clearly missing - guilt or the fear of being caught. He just hoped that Elijah could see this too.

xxxxx

Maze had found what happened in the courtroom earlier to be very remarkable. She was used to creating fear in people and using it to her advantage but the commotion and the sheer horror the name Mikaelson had evoked in the courtroom had been something else.

Now, as Elijah moved unstoppable through the crowd, Maze recalled Danny's comparison of Klaus and Elijah's modus operandi. Moreover, she remembered that Danny had equated the two brothers to tanks. It seemed Elijah didn't even notice the resistance the packed crowd developed.

Maze and Lucifer stayed close enough behind Elijah and Danny that they could hear every word the two exchanged.

In between, Lucifer and her exchanged looks when Elijah asked Danny his casual questions. Lucifer looked quite intrigued and Maze could guess why. Up until now, Elijah had always seemed inconspicuous and like a normal human being, but now he seemed more powerful and for the first time he showed his true age and experience.

When Elijah stepped forward and politely asked for the permission to present his case, Maze was initially disappointed. It looked like there would be just more boring talks and no interesting bloodshed. Perhaps she should have accompanied the other group after all.

But when Maze saw how Danny flinched at the words of the rude council member before he looked anxiously at Elijah and visibly shuddered, she became more alert again about the goings-on.

Then Elijah ripped the heart out of the arrogant council member's chest, which was more to her taste, and why she had originally accompanied Elijah. In addition, the smooth and ice-cold way Elijah took over the front of the line made her grin.

When Elijah then introduced himself by name, she saw the horror and fear on their faces. The council members who frequented the club had always been quite arrogant and condescending as if there was nothing in Los Angeles that could harm them. Apparently, they had just gotten a reality check on the power they truly wielded.

When Elijah then asked the council his questions, Maze could see in some faces that they felt caught out. Lucifer snorted softly, he saw the same as she and she didn't doubt that Elijah could also deduce, who had known about his predicament.

There was silence at first before the man Danny had named as Brighton spoke. "I'm sorry, Mr. Mikaelson, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

Elijah chuckled. "Maybe you should look into the faces of your colleagues. I doubt they share your ignorance."

As Brighton took Elijah's advice, Maze saw him stiffen. So, he could see the same as they could.

Elijah took a few steps closer to the table. "Let me put it this way, I'm pretty annoyed at the moment and the urge to take my anger out on someone about last night is very strong. So if you don't want this meeting to turn into a bloodbath, I suggest that someone starts talking, fast!"

Maze noticed the crowd slowly moving towards the door.

Elijah, who seemed to know exactly what was going on behind his back, raised his hand. "I would not do that. My brother Niklaus guards the door and he won't let anyone out."

The crowd froze and when Maze turned to Klaus, she saw that his eyes had turned yellow and black veins were writhing around them. Klaus smirked at the crowd with a huge grin and his teeth looked scary with the mixture of werewolf and vampire. To Maze, it looked as if the people felt between a rock and an immovable object and didn't quite know what to do.

Brighton cleared his throat. "There are a few older children and teenagers here. What about them?"

"Well, I don't want to be without mercy, the children can leave", Elijah replied, staring at the council members. "I will even allow them to be accompanied by one of their parents. But make no mistake, should I later find out that someone involved in this conspiracy exploited my generosity to escape, I will make it a matter of personal concern to pursue them to the ends of the earth. And their death will not be quick or painless."

The hall was silent as the few children present, along with a parent pushed past Klaus, who was holding the door open with faux politeness. Once everyone was through, Klaus closed the door again and leaned against it.

"And now I want my answers", Elijah said harshly.

Maze was spellbound. She had to admit Elijah's simultaneous ruthlessness and generosity fascinated her. What was his objective?

The three witches of the council, two women and one man, began to chant. With the same speed that Elijah had already shown with Dennoir, he stood in front of the youngest woman and hit off her head. It first hit the wall before bouncing back into the crowd, who dashed apart in horror.

"Hold your tongues or you will lose them", Elijah warned the two surviving witches with a raised finger.

They fell silent at first before the man started chanting again. Elijah grabbed the man and slammed his head onto the table. As he lay there in a daze, Elijah opened his mouth with his left hand and with his right hand, he executed his threat, ripping out his tongue. With a wicked smile, he put the tongue on the table in front of the witch, who looked at him in utter shock.

Next, Elijah turned to the Council werewolves, who glared at him. "Do any of you belong to Sargon's Pack?"

The werewolves silently shook their heads.

Elijah turned back to the crowd. "Do any of you belong to Sargon's Pack?" Several hands went up hesitantly. "Niklaus has come to an agreement with your alpha, you can go too."

Maze whispered to Lucifer. "He's really talented! What a pity, vampires don't come into your hell; I'd ask him to work for me in a heartbeat."

Lucifer snickered softly.

Elijah's gaze wandered to them briefly before turning back to the Council. He listened as the werewolves left the hall. "As you can see, there are advantages when someone supports us in our mission. I have no interest in killing innocent people who are not involved in the conspiracy. My brother Niklaus on the other hand doesn't care about that. He is bored and killing people always helps him to dissipate his boredom.

The guilty however should have no illusions; anyone involved in this conspiracy will die. The only question is how quickly. But if I don't get my answers, everyone in this room will die, this very hour. Now the only question is, how much do you really care about the welfare of your people?"

"He's really good", Maze said, impressed. She had to take notes. Should she ever return to Hell to take up her old job as Lucifer' chief torturer and right hand, she could use these techniques with some adjustments beautifully against her siblings and her victims. Elijah had just managed to turn the whole room against the council members and rob them of any support they might have had before.

Brighton seemed to be the only one who understood that. "I was not involved in this conspiracy, but if it saves the people here, I am willing to die."

"You are a man of honour, I respect that", Elijah said. "And I believe that you are innocent but what about your surviving colleague?"

The human woman swallowed. "The witches came to Dennoir a few months ago." She nodded at the surviving witch. "He told me that they said there was an opportunity to kill all of Los Angeles' abominations at once."

"All vampires at once?" Elijah asked shocked. "How?"

"I only know that it's some kind of biological weapon that can kill any vampire torturously in a matter of hours", the woman replied quietly.

Maze heard Klaus growl loudly and turned to him. She actually expected him to lose control now but he stayed at the door, still letting Elijah take the lead.

"How can that be? Vampires are supernatural, no human biological weapon should be able to harm them", Lucifer said aloud.

Maze saw Klaus' expression slowly change and she turned back to Elijah. She couldn't see his face but somehow his back looked stiff.

"Go on, love", Elijah said softly.

"Dennoir said that they would take advantage of the plans from the witches of another town. He wanted to use their knowledge and resources to further his own goals." The woman looked nervous.

"Do you have the names of these witches?" asked Elijah gently.

"No, I never met them. Dennoir and the witches played everything pretty close to their chest. He didn't want to tell me more; he didn't trust me not to go to Brighton if I learned too much." The woman shrugged.

"Did he also mention vampires?" Elijah asked further.

"No, not to me", the woman replied.

"Is there anything else you could tell me?" asked Elijah.

The woman shook her head and looked very scared.

"Perhaps I should say that Kate was only made a member of the Council a few months ago," Brighton said huskily. "She's young; she doesn't yet have the experience or the courage to stand up to someone like Dennoir."

Elijah hummed and stared at the woman, who returned his gaze, fearful but composed. Maze could see that she didn't expect to survive the next few minutes.

"We were all young once." Elijah smirked. "Of course, for some of us it's been rather longer. I'll spare your life this time but I'll keep an eye on you. If you're stupid enough to ever get involved in a conspiracy like this again, I'll kill you."

Brighton grabbed Kate's arm and gently pulled her aside. Maze could tell, that he knew it wasn't over yet and that the situation could still escalate past the point of no return.

Guest = Thank you for your nice comment. I'm happy that you like my story even if reading it cost you your sleep.