Chapter 3- In The Arms Of The Devil


Kurt yawned, stretching his arms high above his head as Klaus stirred next to him.

"Did you sleep well?" The hybrid asked honestly. Kurt shrugged.

"The bed was comfortable, but I never usually sleep well. I don't really know why."

"Perhaps you were distracted by present company," Klaus suggested, swinging his legs off the bed and standing, padding towards the bathroom.

Kurt tilted his head at the view in front of him, but quickly blinked. "Maybe," he mused.

"Or perhaps there's still more to you beneath the surface."

Kurt shrugged once more. "Everybody has a secret or two."

"I suppose that's true," Klaus replied from the bathroom. "We're going to be doing quite a bit of travelling today, love. Are you prepared?"

Kurt frowned. "You haven't actually told me where our destination is. I mean, I know we're heading somewhere so you can break the hybrid curse, but as far as I know we're wandering through random chunks of terrain until we reach a mystery destination."

Klaus nodded promptly. "In order to break the curse, there are several things that I will need. All of them are in Mystic Falls, in Virginia."

"Are you going to tell me how the curse is broken?"

"Maybe in time. When I think you can stomach it," Klaus explained breathily as he exited the bathroom.

They left approximately an hour later, making themselves look like ordinary travellers as they walked, hiking through trees and forests to reach Mystic Falls. According to Klaus they had made quite good headway on their first day of travelling.

Night grew quickly, something that had taken Kurt by surprise. He hadn't realised that they had been travelling for so long. He was barely even fatigued.


A scream caught his attention.

A woman stood in the middle of the road, waving her arms frantically as Kurt and Klaus stepped out of the shadowy woods.

"Help me!" She shouted to nobody in particular.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kurt frowned as she turned towards them.

"W-Who are you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Relax, we're not here to hurt you."

"Debatable," Klaus echoed from behind Kurt.

"What's your name?" Kurt questioned.

"Jennifer," she mumbled. "My car broke down a while back and I've been walking for hours, or what seems like hours. Can you help?"

Klaus groaned dramatically. "Oh love, you have the worst timing. Usually I would love to help you, but I find myself feeling an undeniable thirst and your presence is only igniting that."

Jennifer frowned. "Thirst? What the hell are you talking about? I just need a ride."

Kurt hummed quietly. "Well, we aren't driving, but I'm sure we could find some way to help you."

"If you don't have a car, how can you help me, Prancy?" Jennifer snapped. Kurt snorted, reminding all of a sudden of Santana and not feeling the urge to return to his old life. Even though he hadn't been travelling with Klaus for very long, it still seemed like worlds away. There was a small part of him that wondered what he had signed up for, but it wasn't aching. It was more of a niggling feeling.

Klaus licked his lips slowly. "Don't move."

Jennifer nodded rigidly, arms plastered to her sides. "I won't move."

Kurt's eyebrows shot up as the realisation came. "Klaus, wait. Just wait a minute."

Klaus just smirked. "And why is that?"

"She just wanted help and you're going to…feed from her?"

"You're correct. You wouldn't want me weak and perishable would you? And she was rude to you."

Kurt's skin lighted at his words. "That doesn't mean that she needs to die."

Klaus shrugged. "This is how the world works. Survival of the fittest."

"I don't have a say in this, do I?"

"Why should you have one?" Klaus asked.

Kurt sighed exasperatedly. "Because I'm travelling with you. I should be able to object to you killing people in front of my eyes."

Klaus shook his head and smirked. He remembered that Kurt had no idea how the curse would have to be broken. That was going to be a difficult discussion. "I'm the one doing the killing. It's my prerogative. Now, please stay quiet."

Kurt knew that he hadn't been compelled, but he felt obliged to be quiet. He supposed that Klaus was right. He was the vampire and Kurt was the witch. Klaus would have no say in how Kurt chose to use his powers, but they weren't his. In the same light, Kurt had no say on who Klaus chose to feed on. Kurt felt a twinge of guilt for the poor girl in front of him, but it was soon gone. That was surprised Kurt. He had thought that he was much more compassionate than was currently true. Maybe it was the awakening of his magic, but he doubted it. He didn't know much about his magic, and he knew that Klaus was going to find a way to teach him, but he knew what it wasn't capable of changing.

Klaus slipped forward and tore his fangs across the bare flesh of Jennifer's neck. Kurt's breath hitched as the blood washed down Klaus' throat.

Klaus threw the body carelessly to the floor. "Delicious."

Kurt said nothing as he noticed a striking detail about Jennifer that deeply unsettled him.

"Let's continue. Mystic Falls isn't too far away from here. We should be there by tomorrow."

Kurt frowned. "Why are we walking like humans?"

"Arousing suspicion is so not what we need right now. This way, we look like normal hikers."

Kurt chuckled. "Okay, I've never hiked in my life and you just bit a woman. None of this is normal."

"You may have a point there. In a world full of supernatural entities, sometimes the simplicity of merely walking amuses me."

Kurt shrugged. "As long as you promise not to kill anyone else before we get to Mystic Falls."

Klaus chuckled. "I think I can manage that. Jennifer over there was particularly satiating."

Kurt folded his arms. "I'm still not on board with this whole thing. You might want to rethink that whole "I don't compel emotions" deal if you want me to come around to your schemes."

"You're asking me to compel you?"

"Not in so many words. I just don't know how you're going to get me to agree otherwise."

Klaus grinned. "What about my innate charm and understandable philosophies?"

Kurt nudged his shoulder. "Charm can only get you so far. I may need desensitising if I'm ever going to understand this whole supernatural need to feed on people."

"I think part of this journey will enable you to come around to such things. As I mentioned earlier, you do have the chance to say no and return to your humdrum existence where nobody appreciates your gifts…"

Kurt sighed and shook his head.

"I thought as much. Let me put it this way. In order for me to be at my strongest, I require human blood. If I don't get the blood, I grow weak and weary. That is the vampire way."

"Doesn't the werewolf side of you repress those urges for blood?"

Klaus smirked. "You would think."

Kurt pondered that for a moment. "Okay. I guess the feeding is necessary. But the moment it becomes excessive, I'm putting my foot down, okay?"

"Putting your foot down," Klaus chuckled, "oh you do amuse me, Kurt. You're a newbie witch and I am one of the Original Vampires. There is no contest."

Kurt realised as much with a defeatist attitude. He would never be as powerful as Klaus and he hoped that he wouldn't need to be. "Okay. I guess I have no choice but to go along with everything."

Klaus put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be glum, love. We're still going to have lots of fun together. I think you'll enjoy Mystic Falls. Lots of eye candy."

Kurt froze at the contact, eyes flickering across his peripheral quickly. "Uh…great. Could you please remove your arm?"

Klaus nodded silently. "Is there something you wish to talk about?"

"I'm just…not used to physical contact from males. Most of the time, they've wanted to hurt me. Shoving me or punching me and I just get a little jumpy when it happens."

"Did your father never show affection through physical contact?"

"Rarely," Kurt replied, "but I never really sought it out. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"Well, what good is companionship if we do not truly know each other?"

"You're right, again. How is it that you're always right?"

Klaus smiled. "Unmatched ancient wisdom? A disposition that makes me easy to agree with?"

"Maybe you just posit points that are hard to argue against."

"I must say, I am enjoying all of this praise," Klaus said. "Nevertheless, there's a hotel not too far from here where we can stay the night and we should reach Mystic Falls tomorrow afternoon."

Kurt nodded. Now that he thought about it, he was in dire need of a rest.

"You looked tired," Klaus pointed out as thought reading his thoughts.

"Are you sure you're not a telepath?" Kurt asked with a raised brow.

"Definitely. Things would be so much easier if I were. Let's not ponder on that. I can carry you back to the hotel."

"Compel me."

"What?"

Kurt blinked tiredly. "I want you to compel me to let you carry me to the hotel. Ordinarily, I would feel unsafe and insecure, so I want you to compel me. Can you do that?"

Klaus looked at him deeply, his eyes bulging. "Let me carry you back to the hotel."

"You can carry me," Kurt muttered.

Klaus shook his head in amusement and scooped Kurt into his arms. After walking several feet, Klaus was bemused at how well Kurt seemed to fit in his arms. And how often he kept glancing down to look at the boy.

Klaus sensed trouble stemming from this and not even the good kind.