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Chapter 68
Hope and Sebastian hid behind a tree, peering around it to watch a sketchy bunch of bikers in leather gear hung out around the dark and seedy establishment Josh and Lora had gone in not ten minutes before.
Hope could smell a plethora of different magical species converging in the bar so she was sure to stand downwind of the bar in case a wolf inside caught her scent.
"Okay, we found where they were headed," Sebastian muttered, a tremble in his voice. "Now can we go."
"Not yet." Hope tip-toed away from the tree, moving closer to the crowd of motorcycles waiting outside of the bar. Sebastian stayed close on her heels, glancing over his shoulders as if he were afraid someone would sneak up on them at any moment. "What if my dad's inside."
"I don't know what's scarier. Being caught by one of these evil-looking dudes or being caught by your dad."
"You'll be fine. I'll protect you."
"Is that so."
Hope and Sebastian froze in place at the gruff voice coming from over the motorcycles. Hope was too focused on watching the door to see if Klaus or another of her family members would come out to keep her senses focused on the person sneaking up behind them and the ancient vampire moved too fast for Sebastian to notice his arrival.
They slowly craned their necks to see the scarred face staring back down at them. He had long black hair and wore a black leather jacket to match his thick leather boots. They knew he was a vampire by the paleness of his skin before he shot his fangs out.
"Tell me, little girl," he growled, speeding around the line of bikes to stand a foot away from the two teens. Sebastian fell back on Hope, knocking her to the ground as the man inched closer to them. "How will you go about protecting him?"
Swallowing her fear, Hope threw her hand out, a burst of magic surging through her as she threw the vampire back into the line of bikes. The bikes clattered against the concrete, drawing the attention of every person standing outside.
The discarded vampire stood, his face hardening as he let out a violent whistle loud enough to call his buddies from inside the bar. In an instant, Hope and Sebastian were surrounded by a three other vampires. They stood around the two frightened witches, their fangs bared and thirsting for blood.
"Hope you had fun with that little magic trick, girly," the first vampire said, as he marched over to them. "Because it's gonna be your last."
Hope and Sebastian rose to their feet, both prepared to fight their way out of the circle when suddenly, Josh and Lora vamped into the circle separating the two teens from the crowd of angry vampires.
"I know you think this seems like a good idea now," Josh started with his usual round of sarcasm. "But trust me. Hurting these two might be the worst mistake any of you may ever make in your lives."
The eldest vampire over to Josh. "Why's that?"
Josh was hesitant to reveal Hope's identity. He didn't know anything about the gang of vampires but if they were enemies of Klaus, revealing Hope as his daughter could put a target on her back rather than a shield.
"Because...this girl is protected."
"By who? You?" The gang fell into a bout of laughter. "I can tell by the quiver of your boot you're barely a 1/4th a century. I eat baby vamps like you for breakfast."
Hope suddenly felt the presence of a stronger vampire. She turned back to the bar to see a dark-haired boy standing next to an older blonde gentleman. The older man wore a suit making him stand out amongst the other leather-clad vampires and she could tell that he was even older than the eldest of them. The dark-haired boy wasn't a vampire, but rather, a Hybrid and he looked at her like he knew who she was though she'd never seen him before.
"That's quite enough." The old vampire spoke with a dreary European accent. "We are here to meet Marcel Gerard, not to slaughter nosey teenage witches."
The vampires hissed and groaned but slowly disappeared back into the bar without an argument.
Turning back to Hope, Josh whispered, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. W-we could've taken them."
"I'm sure you could've," he laughed. "But thought it would be best if we stepped in anyway."
Hope watched eagerly as the Hybrid and the blonde vampire who was able to command a gang so easily strolled slowly over to them.
"You're one of Marcel's guys, aren't you?" asked the Hybrid.
Josh sighed. Their cover had been blown. His plan was to arrive early to provide reconnaissance for Marcel but now they were exposed.
Tyler held his hand out to Josh and Josh hesitated to take it.
"Surprised you remember me. It's been a few years since you last passed through New Orleans."
"Yea, I don't really remember you," Tyler said bluntly. "But when there is only a hand full of vampires allowed in New Orleans, word spreads about their identity pretty quickly. Question is, what makes you so special?"
"What's the matter? Jealous?"
Tyler smiled to hide his growing irritation. "Curious is more like it. I can understand why Marcel...but you two? What's the big deal? What's Klaus Mikaelson need with a couple of baby vamps?"
Josh shrugged. "I'm really fun at parties."
As Tyler let out an indignant huff, the older vampire said, "Enough with the banter. Where is Marcel Gerard?"
A low growl escaped Tyler's throat at the man's interruption. Turning back to Josh, he said, "Richard Farmer."
"Oh," Josh couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "As in 'pig-farmer'."
Richard was not amused by Josh's joke but nor was he angry, which was weird to Hope. His face held no emotion as centuries of living had sapped his emotions. She wondered if her dad would've been the same had he not had his family.
"Yes," Richard continued in a monotone. "I come from a simpler time. Back when men respected their elders."
"He'll be here soon," Josh said, forcing himself to be serious. "He, uh, got caught up in some family business."
"It's nice to know where I rank on his list of priorities."
Josh chuckled as he motioned towards the bar. "You'll get used to it, Farmer. When it comes to the Mikaelsons, no one else comes first. C'mon, let me buy you a drink while we wait."
The old man grunted as Josh lead him and Tyler toward the bar. Looking back over his shoulder, Josh casually said, "Hey Lora, how 'bout you make sure these two little witches get away from here safe. You know how protective witches can be about their young. We'd hate to start a war."
Tyler and the older vampire glanced back at the teens once more, sensing something peculiar about Hope but neither quite sure what though their minds were more focused on Marcel than two lost kids.
-M-
As Niklaus stood and turned his back on Marcel and Kol on his way to the kitchen cabinets, Kol chanced a furious glance at Marcel. The moment the lie rolled from Marcel's tongue, Kol's stomach knotted so tightly he felt like he was going to be sick. He'd promised himself and his brothers that he would stop telling lies and although it was at times hard to keep the small ones from breaking free, one as big and straightforward as this one made his stomach wrench and he hated every moment of it. He preferred the days before he grew a conscious, back when lying for his own benefit seemed as morally upright to him as anything.
Marcel refused to look at Kol because he knew exactly what Kol's eyes were saying without his friend having to say a word. He hated the lie as soon as it came out of him but he had to say it. If it were just him and Kol's behind on the line, he wouldn't have cared to tell the truth after Klaus figured them out, but he had Josh and Lora to think about too.
And besides, he had a plan.
His phone was still upstairs in his bedroom. If he could get to it before bed, he could text Josh the situation tell him to cancel the meeting. Klaus and Elijah would never find out so the lie would go to the grave with him and Kol.
Elijah was waiting patiently by Finn's door as the boy proceeded to get dressed for dinner when he heard a faint buzzing coming from Marcel's bedroom. He crept from Finn's door and into Marcel's room to find Marcel's cellphone lying idly on his bed. The name 'Lora' flashed across the screen.
Elijah wrestled with the ethical culpability of answering his nephew's phone for only a second before pressing talk and sliding the phone calmly up to his ear.
"Hey, Marcel, we've got a problem," Lora hurriedly spoke before she could hear the person on the other end of the phone say anything. "Your little sister and her friend followed us out to the bar. Don't worry, she's safe outside in the car with me, but now I'm stuck with her and Josh is in there with Tyler and the pig farmer on his own. You need to get here, now."
A white-hot rage froze Elijah in place. He hung up without saying a word.
"Elijah," Finn's small voice called from his bedroom.
Pulling himself from the peak of his anger, Elijah tucked Marcel's phone in his pants pocket and walked back out to the hall. The anger in Elijah's eyes chilled Finn to the core. His first thought was that he'd done something wrong but as Elijah marched past him to the staircase, he knew it had to be one of the others. He moved quickly at Elijah's heels, curious to see who was in danger of being thrown over their brothers' knee next.
Elijah burst into the kitchen just as Klaus finished setting the plates, the deer potpie steaming in the middle of the table. Niklaus's eyes narrowed at Elijah as his older brother glared at Marcel sitting quietly beside Kol at the table. Elijah fished Marcel's phone out of his pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of him.
"I've got a message for you," Elijah spat. "From your vampire, Lora. Apparently, Tyler and 'the pig farmer' are in the bar with Josh but she is stuck outside babysitting Hope."
"What?" Marcel and Kol screamed in unison.
"What do you mean?" Klaus asked a bit calmer than they currently were but with anxiety still creeping through his body. "Where is Hope?"
"Yes, Marcellus," Elijah stated, still staring down at Marcel. "Where is Hope?"
Fear for Hope's safety erased any fear Marcel had of Klaus and Elijah. Hurrying to his feet, he turned to Kol and said, "Call Josh. Tell him we're on our way." He was out of the kitchen before Klaus or Elijah could argue, though they had nothing more to say. Nothing else mattered until Hope was home safe.
-M-
Hope sat in the back seat of Josh's car with a deep pout on her face. She couldn't hear Lora outside on her phone but she knew she had to be calling Marcel. At one point, during the hour she and Sebastian spent alone in the car with the windows cracked like puppies outside a grocery store, Josh came outside. She could tell by the way he looked at them that they were talking about them but when she cracked the door to ask him what they were saying, he simply smiled and said, "You've got nothing to worry about Mikaelson. We're gonna get you back home soon."
But that only made her worry more because in the hour they'd sat there, Lora or Josh could've gotten them home already, which meant neither of them was going to take them home but someone was. And she had a feeling on who that someone would be.
"They totally called Marcel," Sebastian whined as he sunk deeper in the seat. "And he's probably already told your mom and she's totally going to call my dad. God, he's going to literally murder me."
"Calm down," Hope said feigning confidence. "He's not going to murder you."
"No, I'm pretty sure he will. He's got that secret Grimoire that he doesn't let me use and it's probably got a resurrection spell in it and he's going to murder me, bring me back, and murder me again."
"You're such a Drama Queen."
"Oh don't try to pretend like you're not afraid. Mrs. Marshall-Kenner is going to literally throw you to the wolves."
"You are so overusing the word literally." Hope flopped back in the seat, crossing her arms over her chest as he tried to hide her fear. She wasn't expecting to get caught. She thought they'd just get a glance of Marcel and the rest of their family hanging out at a bar, being buddy-buddy like drunk old men do, and have further proof that their secret weekend was nothing more than a fun retreat so they could hang without the kids. She didn't expect to find a bar of angry old vampires.
Leaning his head over on Hope's lap, Sebastian muttered, "We shouldn't have come."
Hope sighed as she drew her hand through his hair. "I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry."
Through the corner of her eye, she saw a car pull up beside them, a black sedan that she knew very well. She shrunk down further in the seat, shushing Sebastian as he tried to question her.
The car doors flew open and Marcel, Klaus, Kol, Elijah, and Finn came out.
With them standing so close to her door, she could hear everything they said.
"There's Lora," came Marcel's voice. "I'll go ask her where they are."
"I'll ask her," Klaus growled. She heard him start to move but then stop in the same second.
"I'll ask her, Klaus," Marcel insisted. "I know you're angry, but you're angry with me, not with my guys."
"Oh I am furious with you, Marcellus, but we will discuss that at a later time. AFTER my daughter is found. In the meantime, I will take my frustrations out on whomever I so choose, be they friend or foe."
"Don't be so worked up, brother," said Kol. "Josh says she's safe. If it weren't for him she'd been slaughtered by a group of bloodthirsty vampires so if anything, you should be thanking him." She assumed from the tense silence that followed that Klaus was lacing Kol with a furious glare. "Or...at the very least, sparing his life?"
Elijah's voice fell in a monotone, "It behooves you to stay out of this, little brother. The two of you have been lying to us all day. Anything else you say may fail to work in your favor.
"Marcel!" Lora screamed as she jogged over to the car.
Hope could see her through the window across from them. She watched as she pointed down into the car and knew she was going to give them away. She knew they would have to face the consequences of coming all the way to Baton Rouge on their own but she wasn't quite ready to do it.
She closed her eyes and muttered a spell under her breath as Lora said, "The kids are in the car. But Josh is inside by himself with that pig farmer and the kid from Mystic Falls. We need to get in there right now and-"
"Excuse me." Elijah's voice cut through Lora's speech. He stood with Josh's car door wide open, peering into the empty back seat with an intense frown that Hope was glad wasn't intended for her. "But, where is my daughter?"
Hope and Sebastian sat deathly still in the car, attempting to not make a single noise as Hope's perception spell kept them invisible to anyone who looked inside.
"She's in the back seat," Lora insisted. But as she looked into the car, she saw it as empty as Klaus did. "I swear I've been watching this car the whole time. There's no way they got out without me seeing."
Elijah moved slowly around the car as he growled, "Baby vampires can be very dense. That's why they don't last very long. Perhaps my niece outsmarted you. Which now makes things very awkward because you have become useless in addition to already being an annoyance."
Before Lora could speak to defend herself, Elijah had his hand wrapped around her throat.
"Elijah, no!" Marcel screamed but Niklaus's hand wrapped securely around his forearm kept him in place. "Let me go," he demanded, attempting to yank his arm from Klaus's hold.
"No," Klaus stated plainly. "We're going to rip our way through every vampire, wolf, witch, and human within a hundred miles of this bar until I find my daughter."
As if on cue, Elijah punched his hand into Lora's chest, gripping her heart in his hand.
"Noooo!" Tears pricked the corners of Marcel's eyes. "You promised the people I consider family would never be sacrificed for the Mikaelson cause again."
"I promised Davina would never be harmed," Klaus corrected, tightening his grip on Marcel as the man tried to fight his way free. "I promised the children under our care would remain unharmed. Your vampires are just vampires. And they are either useful...or in the way."
Hope's eyes widened at the sight. Fearing she knew what was to come next, she released an audible gasp.
Niklaus's sight dropped back down to the car at the noise. He could smell Hope inside but he assumed, after seeing the car empty, it was just a lingering scene from when she was inside. Now he was certain that his nose wasn't playing tricks on him.
"Wait, Elijah." Niklaus released Marcel's arm and ducked his head back into the car giving it two short whiffs. The scent was definitely too strong to be a mere lingering aftermath. "Release the spell," he growled. "Now."
Hope bit her lip and sunk deeper into the car seat as she released the perception spell.
When Elijah saw his niece hiding in plain sight, he released Lora's neck and pulled his hand from her chest, leaving her cold heart in it's place. The young vampire choked as she massaged the pain from her neck and holding the healing hole in her chest as if she were afraid her heart would fall out if she didn't, glaring up at Elijah as if she wanted to rip him to pieces but common sense prevented her from moving.
Seeing his daughter safe and alive rinsed all anger from Niklaus in an instant. He released a sigh of relief as he pulled her from the back seat and into his arms which the teen gladly accepted.
"What are you doing here?" He growled without releasing his hug.
"I-I was looking for you. I thought Marcel's vampires were coming out here to meet you all and...I wanted to go on the camping trip. It's not fair that it's boys only. I can kill a deer just as good as any of you."
Klaus pulled Hope back to look into her eyes, his brows softly furrowed. "You put your life in danger to prove a point? Freya tried to perform a locator spell on you but she said you were under a cloaking spell. What if someone grabbed you? There are people out there who would do horrible things to you to get to me."
"Like me."
Klaus pulled Hope behind him at the strange, raspy voice. He stared at the vampire standing beyond Elijah and Lora with curious eyes. Josh and Tyler stood behind him, the three of them coming outside after Richard got a sudden irritable, yet familiar, sensation.
"You look as if you don't remember me, Niklaus Mikaelson," Richard said, walking closer to them. "Which is unfortunate. Because in eight hundred years, I haven't be able to get your face out of my mind."
Elijah suddenly stood in Richard's path, preventing him from getting any closer to Klaus or Hope. Sebastian could tell that things were about to get heated and quickly crawled out of the car to hide behind Klaus with Hope.
"You must forgive me," said Klaus. "I am terrible at remembering such unremarkable faces."
"Let me help jog your memory. You slaughtered my family."
Klaus smirked. "You'd be amazed at how little that narrows it down."
"Whoever you are," Elijah interrupted. "I'm sure you're not here for a chat, so please, tell us what you want so we can all move on with our evening. It is well past the children's bedtime and we do have pressing family matters to handle."
Richard pointed back at Tyler, saying, "This one brought me here to meet Marcel. Said he wanted to trade vials of Klaus's blood in exchange for me freeing his friends from Mystic Falls."
Klaus glared over at Marcel. "Is this true?"
Marcel's face was cold and emotionless as he stared across at Richard. "It is." Loud enough for Richard to hear, he asked, "Did you bring his friends?"
Richard let out a menacing chuckle. "Of course not."
"We had a deal."
"I'm not stupid, boy. Word in the vamp community is that you've made nice with daddy and the Mikaelsons are just one big happy family again. Although a part of me hoped the Mystic Falls brat was setting up a fair trade, I expected you to set me up like this. And I've come prepared."
Richard let out a singsong whistle from between his teeth and in an instance, the Originals were surrounded by a gang of vampires.
Hope clung tighter to Niklaus as the vampires closed in on them.
"Think about what you're doing," said Klaus to the group of vamps, his usually frightening growl sounding even more demonic as he feared for the child clinging to his arm. "No one has taken down the Originals in a thousand years. You are walking to a death sentence."
"Maybe so," Richard nodded. "But it doesn't hurt to try." With another whistle, he set his vamps on the attack.
Klaus pushed Hope and Sebastian away from him as two vampires jumped from over their car and attempted to tackle him to the ground. He punched his hands into their chests without a moment's hesitation, ripping out their hearts before the others could come.
Josh immediately vamped into the fight, but Tyler hesitated. He couldn't have cared if the Originals lived or died. But as he watched Klaus kill two vamps with barely any effort, he remembered that Klaus always won his battles and if he wanted any chance of getting his friends back, he needed to be on the winning team.
Elijah sped to the circle of vamps as they started closing in and began ripping hearts out of chests with aplomb. He saw the hesitation in Lora's eyes, the girl had never seen the heat of battle up close and he knew she wouldn't make it out alive, a fact of which he didn't much care about, yet as he remembered how she did manage to keep his niece safe so far, he decided he owed her the debt of killing the vampire that snuck up behind her before he killed her.
"There," he said to the girl as he dropped the dead vamp's heart at her feet. "Your debt with our family is settled. Now I suggest you suffocate teh fear in the pit of your stomach for the time being and fight before you die."
Kol caught a vampire by the neck as he attacked from Klaus's blindside, and without thinking about the young children watching, ripped the man's head from his shoulders.
As the blood of the dead vamp splattered across Hope and Sebastian, Niklaus realized they were in the wrong spot.
His sight fell down to Finn, fighting off a small group of vamps on his own, a bit of a struggle since he was still unused to his small body, but not so much so since he overpowered the younger group of vamps considerably.
As Finn slaughtered the last vampire in his group, he turned to see Niklaus standing before him, Hope and Sebastian in front of him. Niklaus didn't have time to listen to the paranoid voice in his head screaming not to trust Finn as he pushed the teens towards him.
"Get them out of here," he ordered. "Protect them with your life."
Finn stood wide-eyed at the order. But with a soft nod, he threw Sebastian over his shoulder, grabbed Hope's hand, and sped out of the circle of vamps through the clearing he'd just made.
As another vampire attempted to attack Klaus while his back was turned, Marcel punched his hand through his back and ripped his heart out.
The sound of the dead body dropping to the ground brought Klaus's attention to Marcel.
"You sure that was a good idea?" Marcel asked, nodding in the direction Fin had run off in.
Klaus stared over at Richard, standing safely out of the fray while the rest of them fought.
"I'm not sure," Klaus answered honestly. "But hopefully it's safer than having her here."
As Marcel nodded, a broken motorcycle handle came flying through the air and pinned itself into his back. Klaus caught him as he fell forward, his eyes wide with fear at the metal protruding from his son's back. He quickly pulled it out and laid Marcel on the ground, killing half a dozen nearby vampires (unsure which one had thrown the handle but certain he'd kill them all until he found the culprit). As the sixth vampire fell heartless to the ground, Marcel appeared by Klaus's side, fully healed and ready to rejoin the fight.
"Did I ever thank you for having Freya end her spell?"
"I had a feeling tonight's events would lead us here and it wouldn't do to have you all vulnerable," Klaus growled, his fangs dripping with venom as he saw a group of vampires approaching Elijah from his blind side. "But don't thank me yet. I more than plan to make up for it when this is all done."
Marcel groaned as he sped away from Niklaus, joining Lora and Josh in their fight as Klaus vamped to help Elijah.
-M-
Hope paced the side of the deserted road as she, Sebastian, and Finn waited nearly a mile away from the cabin. Finn was sure to stay as far away from the two teens as he could while still being close enough to protect them if a stray vampire managed to find its way to them.
He stood with his back against a tree and his hands at the ready by his sides. Every noise in the distance caught his attention but his eyes remained focused on Hope and Sebastian.
"We should go back," Hope insisted. "What if they need us?"
"They don't need us," said Finn.
Hope stopped her pacing to lace him with a furious glare. "No one ever needs you. But they might need me. My magic-"
"You know that you're just a stupid teenage girl, don't you?" Finn shocked even himself.
Hope stood with her mouth open and her fists balled at her sides.
Still, Finn continued. "All you will do is get in the way and put yourself in danger. They will spend more time trying to protect you than fight the enemies. There's a reason battles are fought on neutral territory."
"Did your Viking daddy teach you that," Hope spat.
Finn's pursed his lips into a tight pout at her mocking, but he didn't let it deter him. "It's one of the few things he taught me that was worth anything. Klaus sent me to protect you two so shut up and let me protect you."
Finn tensed as Hope marched over to him, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt as she stopped directly in front of him.
"I'm not in the mood," she growled. "For your mouth, Finn."
Finn furrowed his brows attempting to look intimidating when both of them knew he wouldn't dare lay a hand on her.
He looked down at her fists still clenched at her side and said, "You think I'm afraid to be hit by a witch?"
Hope's frown flipped to a wide grin. Lifting her fist in front of his face, she said, "I'm a tribrid, stupid."
Finn flinched as Hope punched the tree beside his face, splintering the bark and causing a piece to slice his cheek.
"And I may not be as strong as a vampire, but my werewolf gene is alive and well, so you better believe when I hit you, it's gonna hurt."
Finn stood shocked at the news, the sound of the wood splintering still echoing in his ears, distracting him from the sound of the vampire approaching from his rear.
The strange, weary vamp suddenly paused in his breathless stride between Finn and the two Mikaelsons. There was a panic and fear in his eyes that only lasted for a second before his face seized with shock as a hand burst through his chest.
Klaus pulled his hand from the vampire's chest, letting his body drop to the ground in front of him.
She examined the scene of Hope's fist in the tree and Finn's cut cheek slowly healing with curiosity. He was sure something had gone on but as Finn stepped guiltily away from Hope, he wasn't sure who started it.
Hope ignored Finn as she ran over to Klaus wrapping her arms around his waist. With her father safely in her arms, Hope was able to release all her anger and cry softly against this chest.
"Now, now, little wolf," Klaus muttered reassuringly to the top of her head as he brushed soft circles against her back. "No need to worry. No one will ever take me away from you."
"Wh-what happened to Richard and his vampires?" Finn asked, attempting to regain his poise.
"We...handled quite a few," Klaus said coyly trying to avoid the word kill as if Hope didn't already know what happened. "Unfortunately, Richard got away."
The sound of engines racing down the road drew their attention to the three cars coming their way, all three coming to a screeching halt once seeing them.
"Oh good," said Elijah, slamming the driver's door of the first car shut. "You found them."
Marcel slammed the passenger door just as hard as he stomped over to Hope and Klaus, burning Hope's face with his hot glare. "What were you thinking," he barked. "You could've been killed."
Hope buried her face against her father's chest, embarrassed by Marcel's scolding her in front of everyone.
To her utter shock, Niklaus placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from him, forcing her to look at them all instead of hiding from her embarrassment in the safety of his arms.
"He's right," Niklaus agreed. "You are a strong little girl Hope but you are still just a little girl. You do not go running off to strange cities because you want to prove a point."
Hope looked around at Kol, Josh, Lora, and even Tyler standing off by his car and felt her entire body grow hot with shame.
"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "I just...wanted to know what was so important it had to be kept secret."
Keeping his hand on her shoulder, Klaus guided Hope over to Elijah's car, nodding for Sebastian to follow him.
"You will stay in the cabin with us tonight. I will have Hayley pick you up in the morning." Klaus could see the silent joy spread across Hope's face as she slid into the back seat. "Don't celebrate," he growled. "I can guarantee, you will very soon regret your impulsiveness."
With the addition of Hope and Sebastian, Marcel knew there wouldn't be any room in the car for two of them but as he met eyes with Kol, nodding for him to follow him back to Josh's car, Niklaus suddenly said, "Where do you think you're going, Marcellus?"
"Um...there's no more room. Two of us are gonna have to ride back with Josh."
"And after a full day of lying to me, you thought it would be you?"
Marcel's brows creased in confusion as Klaus started walking towards Josh's car. "You?"
"And Kol," Klaus announced, causing a shiver to shoot down Kol's back. He knew 'And Kol' couldn't mean there would be any fun had in Josh's car fo the duration of the ride.
As Kol slunk his way back to Josh's car, Tyler suddenly called out, "What about me?"
Klaus and Elijah cut their eyes back at him with heated glares.
"Marcel promised he'd get my friends back but now all you've done is piss off the guy who has them. What if he kills them."
Klaus waved his hand dismissively. "Better men have died."
"So it's true. The Mikaelsons truly don't have any allies, only unfortunate bystanders."
"If you had only been patient enough to wait for Freya to think of a solution to your problem, perhaps we could've helped. But as it stands, you conspired with the wrong Mikaelsons so now you're friends are probably dead as we speak. Oh well. I suggest you avoid going near New Orleans on your way back home. The wolves are not happy that they lost their Princess and are looking for blood."
With a snarl, Tyler got back in his car and sped off down the road.
Looking back to Marcel, Klaus said, "Let's get out of here. It's quite a drive back to the cabin and I'm sure we all have a lot to talk about when we get there."
With a tense scowl, Marcel slunk into the front seat beside Elijah.
Josh sat tensely in the driver seat beside Klaus. HE could feel the man's eyes burning into him as he started the car.
"Oh, just one thing, Joshua," Klaus said singsong, causing Josh to look over to him. Klaus peered into Josh's eyes, capturing him in his compulsion, and said, "I want you to answer every question I ask you for the rest of this ride truthfully and fully."
Kol's stomach dropped at the statement. So this is your torture, he thought. Make me listen whilst you use my friend's tongue as the noose to hang me on.
