Chapter 36
Hayley used the app on her phone to track Hope's, hoping that the girl hadn't turned her phone off in anticipation of her parents tracking it. She was relieved to see the little blue dot on the map of New Orleans moving.
"Looks like she'd headed to Algiers," Hayley announced to the other Mikaelsons standing in the office of the Art Gallery with her.
Freya went stiff at the mention of the area she was hiding their recently resurrected family members but everyone was too focused on where Hope was to notice Freya's reaction.
"What is she doing in Algiers," Klaus growled.
Irritated at Klaus for being the reason Hope ran away, Marcel said, "She probably knows it's the one place you won't go looking for her. You've pretty much avoided the place like a plague since the other vamps moved in."
"She'd be foolish to think that I wouldn't scour this entire dreadful planet for her."
Marcel rolled his eyes. "Just let me go get her. I'm sure she's pissed enough at you already, she doesn't need you chasing her down while she's already upset. Especially not on her birthday."
The reminder that it was Hope's birthday was the push Klaus needed to stay calm. He was furious at the girl for going all the way to Algiers without telling anyone even if she was mad but he was going to grant her this one leniency since it was her birthday and he was the one to spoil it.
"Fine," Klaus relented. "Find her and take her home. I'm sure its safe to say the party here has ended."
"I'll go with you," Freya said as Marcel turned to leave. "Um...I have to...pick up the final ingredient to the spell I'm going to teach her as her birthday gift. It's in a little shop in Algiers...so I should just tag along with you."
Marcel nodded for Freya to follow him, suspecting nothing of her request.
As they went back out to the party, the rest of the family followed them and Hayley breaking the news to the party-goers that they were going to have to, unfortunately, cut the celebration short.
"Do you like the horse," Marcel asked Freya once outside. She was staring straight ahead as they walked to Marcel's car parked on the curb. She was so focused on wondering what Mikael and Finn were doing that she didn't notice the brown and white horse standing on the street next to its handler.
"Oh, yeah," she answered absentmindedly. "It's beautiful,"
"Yeah, it was my idea," Marcel smirked proudly. "Every kid deserves an animal companion. I remember my first horse."
As Marcel went on reminiscing out loud about his first horse, Freya's mind returned to thoughts about Mikael and Finn.
-M-
Kol stood in front of Hope, staring Mikael down while also glancing around for the nearest escape route. He noticed a speck of blood on Mikael's chin. He hadn't noticed it immediately when he first appeared, he was too shocked to notice anything besides his father's unwelcomed return, but now that he saw it he couldn't take his mind off of it. He took a long whiff, trying to place the smell. He knew it. He knew he knew it. But he couldn't remember where from.
Then he remembered that Mikael only drank from vampires and suddenly the source of the smell came to him immediately.
"I see you're back to your old tricks," Kol grunted. "Marcel isn't going to like that you've been feeding on his vampires."
"Marcel," Mikael scoffed. "Are you referring to that abomination Niklaus calls a son?"
"That vampire you just fed on, he had striking green eyes, right? Yeah, that was Zane. One of Marcel's newest baby vamps. He's taken a real liking to this new couple since they're so scarce around here now. He's gonna be devastated to find out that you killed one of 'em. But I'll tell you what. You promise to leave New Orleans and take that fiend, Finn, with you and he'll never have to know. I'll even tell him that I accidentally killed the vamp myself."
Mikael chuckled heavily. "As if I'd be afraid to face that half-blood myself. I'd revel in the opportunity. Too bad his vampire isn't really dead. Perhaps I should go finish off the job just for the hell of it."
"He's not dead," Kol asked surprised.
"Not permanently. I drained him of his blood but he should wake up soon enough. That is, of course, unless Finn decides to kill him. You know how much he despises vampires."
"Uncle Kol," Hope rose her voice once more, tugging angrily at Kol's shirt sleeve. "What's going on? Who is this guy really and what-"
"Shut her up before I do," Mikael barked. "Children have no business contributing to the conversations of adults."
Hope could tell that Mikael was trying to intimidate her but she wasn't the littlest bit afraid of him. And Kol envied her for it. She knew nothing about the impending threat of torture Mikael instilled into his children. She was ignorant of the pain of an actual beating. She was innocent and Kol knew he had to keep her that way.
"Hope," he said giving her a slight push away from him. "Go back to the ferry and wait for me."
"Why? Tell me who he is."
"He's no one, sweetheart. Just an old friend."
"I'm not stupid, Uncle Kol. Why did he say he was my grandpa?"
"I don't know why he would say a thing like that," Kol glared at Mikael. "He must be getting senile in his old age because you'd have to be a father to be a grandfather and he's never been a father to anyone, least of all Niklaus."
"Perhaps," Mikael smirked. "But, as the saying goes, I have turned over a new leaf. Freya has shown me the errors of my ways. I chased Niklaus for a thousand years seeking retribution for him killing my wife but it was my wife who deserved my ire. She made me a fool. Made me call a bastard 'son'. Niklaus had as much of a choice in the circumstances of his birth as I did. However,"
Mikael moved closer to Kol, his body angled towards Hope. Kol tried to push Hope further behind him but the stubborn girl didn't want to stand behind her uncle and miss the action happening in front of her.
"I did love Esther, even in her betrayal. And Niklaus must be punished for taking her away from me. So I should take something he loves."
Kol wasn't sure if Mikael was prepared to make a move for Hope on the crowded streets surrounded by mortals but he definitely was.
Before either of them could make a move, Finn appeared between them. "That's enough," he demanded, staring Mikael down. "We promised we wouldn't bring attention to ourselves."
Mikael growled deeply at Finn's unsolicited reminder.
"Finn," Kol greeted, for the first time ever feeling a sense of relief at seeing his oldest brother. "Nice to see you up and about. Last I saw you you were struggling to expel deadly venom from your veins."
"And last I saw you you were running that impudent mouth of yours," Finn retorted spitefully. "Some things never change I see."
"A bit has changed, I'd say. I've gotten more responsible thanks to the little lass behind me. Speaking of which; would you mind doing us a favor and distracting this psychopath a bit so I can get her out of this situation unscathed?"
"Go," Finn agreed. "If he tries anything I'll stop him."
"Stop me," Mikael burst into a curt laugh. "And how do you plan to do that, boy?" Suddenly, Mikael sped up to Finn and pushed his hand into his chest, gripping his son's heart in his fist. "You're the weakest of them all." Mikael held his body close against Finn so anyone passing by wouldn't see his hand penetrating Finn's chest. He wrapped his other arm around Finn's back so it looked like the two of them were just in the middle of a tight hug instead of a violent encounter.
Kol's first instinct was to help Finn but then he realized that that was his opportunity to get away. He lifted Hope in his arms and vamped into the crowd, disappearing from the scene.
Angry that they'd gotten away, Mikael ripped his fist from Finn's chest with his heart still tightly gripped in his hand. He quickly hid the organ in his jacket and caught Finn's falling body. Needing to get his dead son out of sight of the public before anyone noticed, Mikael sped back across to the alley where Zane's unconscious body still laid.
Dropping Finn on the filthy, hard alley ground, Mikael growled, "You are lucky I've changed or that would've gone far worse for you."
Zane stirring back to life drew his eyes to the end of the alley.
With a heartless smirk, he said, "I guess I'll have to take my anger out on you."
-M-
"She has finally stopped," Freya said to Marcel as she tracked Hope's phone from her own. She read the address of Hope's location out to Marcel and he suddenly hit the breaks. "What the hell, Marcel,"
"Let me see that." Marcel snatched the phone from Freya. He read the address himself to confirm it and said, "That's Josh's place. What is she doing there?"
Freya grew tense again. She knew Mikael had a proclivity for feeding on vampires. She begged him constantly to drink from the blood bags she provided but he refused them all. She feared that he would eventually find where Marcel's remaining vampires were hiding and use them to satiate his bloodlust and she didn't want Hope anywhere near the place when it happened.
"I don't know," Freya answered. "But let's go get her. Klaus would be furious if he knew she was there."
"Yeah," Marcel started driving again. "You're right. But I just don't understand what she's doing there. I've never even taken her to Josh's place for that very reason so how does she even know how to get there?"
Just then Freya's phone began to ring. "It's Kol," she said as she answered the call. "Hello,"
"We've run into a bit of a problem, love. I think your favorite brother might be in a bit of trouble with our dear ol' dad."
"What," Freya and Marcel exclaimed in unison. Marcel decided to listen in on the conversation in hopes that Kol had some answers on why Hope was at Josh's place but he was not expecting what he heard.
"What is he talking about," Marcel asked but Freya decided to focus on one problem at a time.
"What's do you mean he's in trouble," she questioned.
"Hope and I ran into Mikael on the street and he was going to hurt her to get back at Niklaus (like I said he would, by the way) but then Finn interrupted him and allowed us time to escape but I'm afraid that may have only angered Mikael more. I'm only telling you this because I feel like I owe Finn as much for helping me keep Hope safe but that's as much as I plan to do. If you want to save him from the monster that is our father you'll have to do that on your own."
Kol hung up before Freya could try to talk him into helping her find Finn.
"Mikael is alive," Marcel barked. "Finn is alive? How is this possible?"
"It's complicated."
Freya's curt response was answer enough.
"You brought them back to life," Marcel asked although he felt as if he knew the answer already. When Freya remained silent, he knew he was right. "How?"
"It's complicated."
"I'm a lot smarter than I look," Marcel growled. "Try me."
With a sigh, Freya said, "I found a spell that can resurrect supernatural beings and I used it to bring back Mikael and Finn."
Marcel was more shocked by the fact that Freya decided to bring back the worst members of their family than by the news of her finding a new resurrection spell.
"Why would you choose to bring them back. All they've ever tried to do is tear this family apart."
"They are a part of this family too and they deserve a second chance like anyone else."
Marcel's hands tightened around the steering wheel. He bit violently at his bottom lip. He couldn't believe anyone would be so naive to think Finn and Mikael could ever be anything but a burden to their family.
"What gives you the right to decide who can come back to life," he growled.
"How ironic coming from an immortal being who should've been dead two hindered years ago."
"They can't be helped, Freya," he barked. "They've hated and hunted this family for centuries. When I was a boy, the one warning Klaus gave me was to run if I ever heard the name Mikael because he knew that it didn't matter that I was just a kid. To Mikael, all I was was a way to get to Klaus. If he feels the same way about Hope, you have put her in danger along with the rest of us."
Freya shook her head. "My father and brother were manipulated by Esther and twisted into the monsters you knew. They had no more decision in becoming who they were than any other abused person."
"Maybe so but when the abused become the abusers, they must be held accountable for their actions."
"They were! They were killed. More than once. I'd say death is a suitable punishment for any offense."
"Only if the dead stay dead."
"Have you not killed people? Have you not tormented the innocent? What makes you or Klaus or anyone else any better than them?"
Marcel parked the car in front of Josh's apartment building and said, "We know where to draw the line. Anyone who comes after a child forfeits their right to live in my book."
"Well I'm sorry you feel that way," Freya stated coldly. "But they are alive now and I promise that they have changed. Just give them a chance to prove it."
Marcel got out of the car and Freya followed suit. He was confident that Finn and Mikael hadn't changed. People like them didn't change. He knew that from experience.
"Nothing I say matters," he finally spoke as they trekked upstairs to Josh's. "Klaus killed Mikael once, he'll do it again."
"You can't tell Klaus he's alive. I need time to prove that he's changed before Klaus finds out."
"He came after Hope," Marcel replied curtly. "If I had the White Oak stake I'd kill him myself."
"If you tell Klaus I won't be able to bring Davina back."
Marcel stopped at the top of the staircase and looked back down at Freya, a sense of disbelief in his eyes. "You can bring Davina back?"
Freya nodded excitedly, knowing that she had convinced Marcel to stay quiet about Mikael's return the same way she'd done Kol.
"I can," she answered. "All I need is an item she loved or used a lot when she was alive and a few drops of her blood."
"I don't have her blood."
"It could be the blood of a close relative. Her father maybe."
Marcel was silent. In a matter of moments, all the anger he felt towards Freya for bringing Mikael and Finn back was replaced with memories of Davina. She didn't deserve to die. The Mikaelsons took her away from him so it was only fitting that the Mikaelsons brought her back.
"If I could find her father and get you his blood, how long will it take you to bring her back?"
"An hour," Freya answered confidently. "One hour and she'll be yours again. But if you tell Niklaus I brought Mikael back he will destroy every resurrection spell I have and you will never see Davina again."
Marcel's stomach clutched at the thought of keeping something so important a secret from Klaus. He had been the source of so much pain for his father already. The least he could do was tell him the bane of his existence had come back to life.
"You're not lying to Klaus," said Freya noticing the look of contemplation on Marcel's face. "You're just...keeping a secret for me."
"A secret for Mikael," Marcel growled. "How do you think Klaus will feel if he found out I knew Mikael was back all along and didn't tell him. He already barely trusts me."
"He doesn't have to know you knew. I won't tell him. Kol won't tell him."
"I will tell him."
As Marcel turned to continue up the stairs, Freya grabbed his hand, stopping him. "This loyalty you feel towards Klaus, your father, that's what I feel towards Mikael. I know he's done terrible things in the past. I've heard the stories. But...he is my father, Marcel. He loved me once more than anyone else has in a thousand years. I just...have faith that he can change. He just needs someone to love like that again."
Marcel yanked his hand from Freya's hold and growled, "He had six other children he could've loved like that. He chose not to."
As Marcel began up the stairs again, Freya followed slowly behind him. She couldn't understand why everyone hated Mikael so much. She'd heard the stories of her siblings' childhood and she knew that Mikael dedicated a thousand years of his immortal existence to hunting Niklaus down but she refused to believe that the father she remembered could ever be so hateful. She assumed all of their stories were exaggerated. Childhood memories tend to get distorted with the passage of time with normal people. A thousand years could've certainly affected the way her siblings saw Mikael.
Standing in front of the door of Josh's apartment, Marcel twisted the knob to find it unlocked. He felt a slight flutter in his chest, unsure of what he was opening the door to.
Hope stood in the middle of the living room, an impudent pout on her face and her arms tightly crossed over her chest as she stared daggers at Kol who sat at the bar with a glass of whiskey, his back to her as he completely ignored his niece's anger. Josh stood by the window with his phone to his ear and Lora stood beside him, anxiously waiting for him to greet the person on the other end. As soon as the door opened, all eyes fell to Marcel and Freya.
"Marcel," Hope exclaimed, happy to see her brother after spending the past fifteen minutes badgering her Uncle for answers to no avail. "Who is Mikael?"
Without turning around from the bar, Kol yelled to Marcel, "She doesn't need to know."
"Stop saying that," Hope stamp. "He's my grandfather, isn't he. He's my dad's dad."
"Mikael is a sociopath," Marcel answered. "He's not someone you should ever be around so if you see him, run."
"So my grandfather is a sociopath?"
"He's not your grandfather," Kol grunted. "I told you. He's nothing. Just a monster we knew when we were kids and he's still a monster now."
Angry at Kol and Marcel disparaging Mikael to Hope before she had a chance to meet him, Freya walked over to her niece and said, "Mikael is your grandfather,"
"Freya," Kol barked, finally turning around.
"She deserves to know the truth," Freya bit. Giving her attention back to Hope, she calmly said, "He is our father. But...your dad doesn't like him very much so you should avoid him for a while. Just until Klaus says it's okay."
Hope's eyebrow's knitted to the top of her forehead. "But...why doesn't dad like him?"
"Because he's a sociopath," Marcel stated firmly.
"He's not a sociopath," Freya spat. "Or a psychopath or anything else you people call him. He's a victim of betrayal and manipulation by that witch, Esther."
"Say what you will about our mother," Kol stood up and finished off the finger of whiskey in his glass before finishing, "But she loved us more than Mikael ever did."
"Loved us," Freya repeated as if the words with bitter on her tongue. "Loved us? She bartered me away like cattle. Me, her firstborn. A little girl who trusted her more than anything in the world. She gave me away to be used as a siphon of magic for an eternity. What kind of loving mother does that?"
Kol suddenly sped over to Freya and placed his hands on the sides of her face.
Flashback
Four-year-old Kol dragged pieces of wood across the ground from the pile of chopped lumber sitting behind their family's cabin to the tree stump Finn was chopping firewood at. He was too small to pick the large chunk of wood but he was determined to prove to his older brothers that he could do anything they could do. He envied Klaus for being so much stronger than him and carrying the wood cradled in his arms with little effort. Logically, he knew it made sense that his older brother should be stronger than him but he didn't want to be the weakest. Their father didn't respond well to weakness.
As Elijah and Klaus lapped Kol once again, the boy grew frustrated. But then he got an idea. Klaus and Elijah might have been stronger than him, but he was a better witch. He knew a levitation spell that would help him move the logs with far less effort and time.
He knew he wasn't supposed to do magic outside of his mother's supervision and certainly not out in the open but they were behind the cabin and concealed by trees so he hoped no one would see him.
When Elijah, Klaus, and Finn saw the floating log moving through the air as if possessed, they dropped everything.
"Kol, what do you think you're doing," Elijah scolded. "Stop that right now."
Kol snickered and continued levitating the log over to the tree stump. He dropped the log at Finn's feet and turned to lift another one.
"Kol, stop it," Niklaus begged. "You're going to get in trouble. We're not supposed to do magic outside the cabin."
"No one can see me," said Kol. "And no one has to know."
Out of the corner of his eye, Kol spotted movement in the trees across from him. He dropped the log immediately and waited for the source of the movement to reveal itself.
Mikael came trudging through the trees dressed in leather hunting gear with a bow in his hands a scowl on his face. "Was that log just floating," he growled.
No one answered him. Kol's body went cold with fear.
"Answer me," Mikael bellowed. But again no one said anything. "Who was it?" Mikael asked growing angry. Turning his rage to the favored victim of his torment, Mikael barked at Niklaus, "Was you it you?"
"N-no, father, it wasn't me. I swear," Niklaus stammered, his body shaking with terror.
"Then who was it?"
Niklaus looked down to the ground, too afraid to look anywhere else for fear of indicating any of his brothers as the true offender. There was an unspoke rule amongst his siblings: No matter what, don't ever tell their father the truth.
"Tell the truth," Mikael yelled. "It was you, wasn't it?"
"N-no," Niklaus's lip trembled and a tear slipped down his cheek. "I swear it wasn't. I swear-"
"Liar," Mikael suddenly smacked Niklaus down to the ground and began kicking him, yelling, "I've had enough of your lies and deceit, boy! If I have to beat you every day to teach you who is in charge here, I will!"
End Flashback
Freya pulled away from Kol's hands, unwilling to see any more of the violent monster that was their father brutalize Niklaus.
"You missed the best part," Kol grunted, unfazed by the look of shock painted on Freya's face. "Elijah was just about to step in and try to stop it. Then Mikael starts in on him too."
Freya shook her head no. She refused to believe her father could be anything less than the loving man she remembered.
"It's true," Kol insisted. "That's the father we had. That's the man you brought back to this family. If he loved you, congratulations. You were the only person he's ever loved."
"What did you show here," Hope asked excitedly. "I want to see too."
Ko walked back over to his drink and said, "It's nothing you need to see."
"That's not fair. First, you won't tell me who Mikael is, now you won't show me what you showed her. I'm not a little kid. I can handle the truth."
"I decide what you can handle, love," Kol growled angrily. "And I said 'no'. Now sit down and stop pouting before I give you something to pout about."
Hope stomped heavily over to the couch and flopped down on it, glaring at every adult in the room so they would know just how angry she was.
Noticing Josh and Lora standing by the window making call after call on their phones, Marcel decided to ask, "What are you two doing?"
Josh looked nervously over to Kol and Kol stared back at him, the intense look in his eyes urging Josh to keep quiet.
Marcel noticed their shared looks immediately. "What was that," he asked. "The look. Why did you two just share a look?"
"We didn't share a look," Kol spoke before Josh could. "Now why don't you take Hope and get back across to the Quarter before it gets dark and Klaus starts to worry."
"I'm not a fourteen-year-old girl," Marcel replied calmly. "You can't tell me what to do. Now tell me what that look was about?"
"Don't say a word, Josh," Kol's eyes narrowed as he turned to Josh. "You promised."
A look of panic in his eyes, Josh replied, "He's not answering the phone."
"Who's not answering the phone," Marcel asked. Then, glancing around the room, he noticed that there was one vampire missing. "Where's Zane?"
Kol glared at Josh as if daring him to speak.
"Mikael has him," said Hope.
"HOPE," Kol exclaimed.
"What? You told them not to tell him, not me."
"Mikael has Zane," asked Marcel, interrupting their argument before it gained traction. "And no one was going to tell me?"
"He told us not to," said Lora, waving annoyedly over to Kol.
Marcel looked at Kol expecting him to look even the least bit remorseful but Kol's face had returned to its original nonchalant smolder.
"You weren't going to tell me that Mikael had my guy," Marcel barked.
"For what," Kol scoffed. "So you could go running to your death? You forget. You're only partially immortal. Mikael would kill you without thinking twice about it just like he did your little friend."
"He's dead?" The sound of Marcel, Josh, and Lora all blurting out the same question at the same time made Kol chuckle.
"If he's not answering the phone either he's dead or Mikael still has him and is using him as an endlessly replenishing food source. Either way, there's nothing you can do to save him now."
Marcel's first instinct was to go out and find Mikael and Zane on his own but then he remembered Klaus and his reaction the last time Marcel ran off to a dangerous situation to find his friends. He never wanted to relive that moment again.
"We have to tell Klaus," he suggested.
"Klaus wouldn't care about saving Zane," said Josh.
"He will if I asked him to. He'd do anything for me."
"We can't tell Klaus," Freya finally spoke again. "You know what he'll do if he found out about Mikael."
"I don't care! I have to get Zane back!"
"You would choose Zane over Davina?"
The vein visible on Marcel's forehead began to throb with rage. As much as he cared for Zane, his family was the reason Davina was dead and he owed it to her to bring her back.
"Fine," he grunted. "Then I'll go get him myself."
As Marcel turned to leave the apartment, Kol sped in front of him, blocking his path to the door.
"This is exactly why I didn't want them to tell you," he growled. "Mikael is an Original. Arguably the most ruthless of us. He would kill you without thinking twice about it and Nikalus would kill me for letting it happen to you."
"We have to do something! I can't just let him keep him without at least trying to save him."
"I'll go." Everyone looked to Freya, surprised by her decision to go save a man she didn't care about. "Mikael won't hurt me. I'll go get your guy and bring him back here and then everyone here has to promise not to tell anyone about Mikael being back."
Marcel thought about her proposal for a few seconds but then agreed, knowing that he didn't have much in the option of choices. It was either Freya got him back or Klaus and with Freya going there was a higher chance of her actually bringing Zane back alive.
"Fine," Marcel said. "Bring him back alive and I won't tell Klaus about your little secret."
Freya's lip turned up in a little snarl, annoyed that Marcel was threatening her with Klaus, but she left to find Mikael still. She had an idea of where he was hiding.
Just as Freya left the apartment, Marcel's phone began to ring.
"Dammit," he growled at seeing Klaus's name across the screen. "It's Klaus. Damn." He hesitated to answer the phone but he knew that if he didn't answer Klaus would just call back or, worse, he would come to Algiers looking for them and run into Mikael. Taking a deep breath, he answered the phone, "Hey, Klaus, I was just about to call you. We found Hope, she's safe. She was with Kol."
"Good," Klaus sighed. Then in a low voice, he muttered, "Is she still angry with me?"
Marcel looked over to Hope who still sat with a pout on her face, evidently angry at everyone, and said, "She's a teenager, Klaus. They're mad at everyone."
"You were never an angry teenager. Maybe I'm doing everything wrong this time. What if she grows up to resent me more than you did."
Marcel marched out of the apartment to grant them some privacy and as the door closed behind him, he said, "You aren't doing anything wrong, Klaus. You didn't do anything wrong with me. You were a great dad and that's a hell of a statement considering who your father was."
Klaus was silent on the line for a while, then he finally said, "If she grows up to be half the person you are, Marcellus, then I've done a good job." Then with a heavy, reluctant sigh, he said, "Let her do whatever she has to do to quell her anger, just have her back home by midnight."
"Hey, Klaus, look, I would love to hang out with Hope right now but...something's come up and I kinda need her to...not be here right now."
"What's come up that's more important than spending time with your little sister on her birthday?"
Marcel's lips tightened. This was the moment a lie would just naturally roll from his tongue but he could not open his mouth to even form the words.
"Marcel," Klaus stated agitated. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, it just...I think I've found a way to revive Davina."
Klaus's silence spoke volumes. "Really," he muttered. "How?"
"I...I can't tell you yet. I'm still figuring this out myself but I don't want to jinx it. I'll explain everything to you later."
"Okay," Klaus agreed. "I can't say that I am Davina's biggest fan, nor is she mine, but you love her, as does my brother, so in the name of our new arrangement, I wish you the best in your efforts. You do whatever you have to do to bring her back. And if you need anything, Marcellus, come to me. I will do anything in my power to help you. Tell Kol to stay with Hope. He took her to Algiers, he can bring her back home."
"Alright," Marcel smirked. "I'll see you later."
As he hung up the phone, he went back to the door and twisted the knob. The door smacked heavily against the solid surface behind it and Josh let out a loud scream, grabbing his nose to stop the sudden flow of blood. Marcel was furious at seeing the four vampires in the room all gathered around the door, obviously eavesdropping on his conversation with Klaus.
"Seriously," he growled at Kol. "You're better than this."
Kol ignored Marcel's teasing and said, "I can't believe you of all people, actually lied to Klaus."
"He didn't ask about Freya or Mikael so I didn't volunteer the information. It's not lying if he didn't ask."
"Your life slogan, I'm sure."
Marcel smirked as he said, "I'll be back. Stay here and keep an eye on Hope for me."
Hope wanted to object to the idea that she needed to be 'kept an eye on' but before she could open her mouth, Kol asked, "And where are you going?"
"I'm going to follow Freya. She might need some help getting Zane from Mikael."
"If anyone can handle Mikael is Freya," Kol objected. "She might be the only one, in fact. So you should stay here with the rest of us and wait for her to come back."
"I'm going," Marcel stated calmly. "If you're that afraid that he's going to do something to me, come with me. But I am going."
"I'm going too," said Josh.
"Me too," Lora added.
"I wanna go too," Hope said as she jumped up from her seat.
"No," Marcel and Kol replied together.
"You all stay here," Marcel stated. "We already have one rescue mission. We're not going to put anyone else in danger."
"Except yourself, apparently," Kol grunted.
"I'm a two hundred year old vampire," Marcel scoffed. "I've earned the right to decide when I can put myself in danger a long time ago."
"Is that so? Well, perhaps we should call Klaus and ask his opinion on you voluntarily going to face utter doom."
"Do what you want," said Marcel walking out the door. "But Freya's getting away so I'm going to follow her before she gets too far. Let me know what Klaus says when I get back."
Marcel sped down the hallway before Kol could object anymore. He knew that Kol wasn't going to tell Klaus anything or else risk getting himself and Freya in trouble with their brothers too, not to mention exposing Freya's secret about Mikael and Finn. Kol slammed his hand against the counter, angry at Marcel for putting him in a predicament where he had only one choice.
"Watch my niece," Kol told Josh as he threw back one last finger of whiskey. "I have to go make sure my old friend lives through the night."
-M-
Freya caught a taxi to the secret apartment she was keeping Mikael and Finn in. She wasn't sure what to expect when she walked through the door. Maybe Mikael sucking the life from Zane. Maybe Zane's dead body sprawled out across the floor. She was almost too afraid to open the door but she took a deep breath and opened it.
Finn sat anxiously in the arm chair facing the door. His leg bounced incessantly and he dug nervously into the leather upholstery with his fingers nails. But as soon as Freya opened the door, all of his worries disappeared at once.
"Freya," he breathed her name like it had the power to erase all his woes. He stood and hurried over to her, taking her in his arms and squeezing her like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. "You shouldn't be here," he mumbled into her ear as he continued to hold her tight, not actually wanting her to go but knowing deep down that she should.
Freya was not blind to her brother's distress. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked gentle circles across his back. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Just as Finn was about to answer her, a scream came from the back of the apartment.
"Mikael's back to his old self," Finn muttered, finally breaking the hug with his sister so he could edge her towards the door. "You should go. You don't need to see him like this."
"Wait, is he back there with Marcel's vampire?"
"Not for long," Finn listened intently into the other room and heard the vampire's limp body fall to the floor. "I think he just finished with him."
"No," Freya screamed. She ran past Finn and into the back bedroom.
Mikael stood hovering over Zane's lifeless body with blood covering his face and a bloody heart in his hands. His eyes were black with heartless desire.
Freya's stomach turned at the sight of Zane. Not just because he was dead, but because of the state his body was in at the time of his death. There were wide, jagged gashes across his face and arms. His legs and arms were bent in all directions, broken. His fingernails were broken down to the root and his left ear was hanging on by a sliver of loose flesh. It was clear that just prior to his death, Mikael had taken his time torturing Zane until the man begged for the sweet relief of death.
"Freya," Mikael said her name as if he didn't have the dead body of a tortured young vampire lying at his feet. "You're back. How was the party?"
Freya fell to her knees in front of Zane, pushing her hands over the hole in his back as if that would somehow stop the bleeding and help the boy when he was so obviously dead.
"He's gone," Mikael stated. "Don't waste your time sobbing over the wretched."
"I was too late," she said to herself. "I couldn't save him."
"He was an abomination, sweetheart. He wasn't meant to live longer than it takes to feed an Original anyway. He should be grateful for the time he did spend on this Earth."
"You don't understand," Freya jumped to her feet. "I was supposed to bring him back alive or Marcel is going to tell Klaus that you two are back."
"Am I supposed to be afraid of the bastard, Niklaus?"
"You should! He has the White Oak stake and he's killed you twice before, he won't hesitate to do it a third."
A commotion in the living room ended Freya's scolding Mikael. She moved swiftly, yet cautiously in to the living room, afraid of who she might find there.
She was shocked to see Finn with his hand clutching the collar of Marcel's shirt and pinning the young vampire against the wall. Kol stood leaning against the doorway, evidently unconcerned with the scene. He was keeping an eye on Finn just in case his brother tried to pull a fast one on Marcel but at the moment he felt that pinned against the wall was the best place for Marcel. He could smell the death in the apartment just as well as Marcel so he knew what they were walking in to and he didn't want Marcel to see it.
"Let me go," Marcel screamed at Finn with tears burning the back of his eyes. He could smell Zane's blood flowing heavily somewhere in the apartment. He wasn't naive to not know what that meant but he held out hope that he was wrong.
He swung at Finn's jaw but the older vampire gave a swift duck and he missed.
"What are you doing here," Freya asked.
"We followed you," Marcel barked. "He's here, isn't he? I can smell him! Bring him out! Let him go!"
Freya's hands began to tremble nervously. "Marcel...I...I'm so sorry."
Marcel knew what those words meant but he wouldn't believe them. Even as the tears that burned his eyes made their way down his cheeks, he refused to believe it.
"Mikael," he screamed. "Come out here you coward! Bring him to me! Give him back to me!"
As if on cue, Mikael came out the room carrying Zane's dead body in one hand and his heart in the other.
Marcel refused to believe Zane was dead until Mikael dropped his body on the floor and tossed his heart across the room, landing at Marcel's feet.
"He was tasty," Mikael taunted. "A bit of a fighter. But the fear is what really brings out the flavor."
Finn released Marcel so he could say a proper goodbye to his friend. Marcel walked slowly over to Zane's body and fell to his knees. He against the sobs that threatened to break through his chest.
Kol saw the moment Marcel decided to attack Mikael from the sudden glint in his eyes. As soon as Marcel made his move, Kol vamped across the room and slammed Marcel against a wall.
"No," Marcel screamed.
"You can't beat him, mate," Kol said drearily. "It's over."
Staring Mikael down, Marcel vowed, "It won't be over until he's dead for good."
"Such a foolish boy," Mikael tutted. "I suppose that's what happens when you're raised by a bastard. But I know exactly how to fix insubordination."
Before Mikael could take a step towards Marcel and Kol, Freya moved in front of him.
"Let them go," she stated firmly but in her eyes lied a soft pleading. "You've had your fill. Our family is off limits, remember."
Freya's pleading eyes were enough to warm Mikael's heart. "Fine," he agreed. The turning to Kol, he said, "Get him out of here. And take this prutrid body with you. It's beginning to smell."
Kol slowly released Marcel, keeping a steady eye on him to make sure his brother's stubborn son wasn't going to do anything stupid as he picked up Zane's body.
"No," Marcel said calmly. He held his arms out to Kol and said, "Give him to me."
Kol handed the young vampire's limp body over to his sire and watched at Marcel woefully marched out of the apartment without looking back at anyone.
"This is what he does," Kol muttered to Freya as he walked by. "This is our father. Congratulations on bringing him back. You really did us all a favor."
