Pairing: Elijah/Tristan (M/M) hand, brief

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

-John 8:44

The Compound

Tuesday, May 28, 2011

Evening

Elijah strode into the Compound that had once been his home with a purpose. Although he already missed his family and worried that they wouldn't refill Sadie's water as much as he did, he knew they were in good hands. The smells, the noise, and the atmosphere of the French Quarter was always comforting to him. Yet, he was not here on a vacation. There were at war and he intended to be the general.

"Greetings, gentleman. I am happy to find you both here," Elijah said to Josh and Marcel, who were eating dinner.

"Hey, how's everything on the home front?" Marcel asked. "I talked to Rebekah and she said the kids are already complaining about being on house arrest."

"You know children, they will complain about getting the prize pony that they begged for when they actually get it," Elijah quipped.

Marcel groaned and looked at Josh, "Don't ask about the pony. Ever."

Josh swallowed the gumbo in his mouth, and said, "I wasn't going to."

Elijah pulled out a notebook from his briefcase.

"Joshua, you said only a feather was left behind. The witches tested it and found nothing. Correct?" Elijah started in a brusque tone.

"Yes, sir. Sean said they did a locator spell and it revealed nothing," Josh agreed.
"I see. I believe what we might need here is a seer. They are very rare, but they might be able to tell us where Hayley is," Elijah pronounced.

Marcel leaned back after pushing away his gumbo.

"The only seers I know about work for the Strix," Marcel complained.

"Yes, well, I had an interesting phone call on the plane. Tristan, my dear protege, said that they are not involved in this fiasco. He wishes to offer any assistance he can," Elijah smirked.

"But that is a lie," Josh choked out angrily.

"Of course it is," Elijah said firmly. "He wants something from me. Probably information. I surmise this Order probably double-crossed Tristan and he is willing to get in bed with one hated group, us, in order to get even with another hated group in the process. I plan to destroy them after I am sure we are safe."

"Good," Marcel said with pride. "Anyone who hurts our family is dead."

"And Hayley is your family, therefore, mine," Elijah confirmed. He went on, "We will use the Strix seer and find out where Hayley is and get her."

"Sean will help out. He's part angel and a true believer, that might be the only weapon we have against these angels," Marcel pronounced.

"This is a very different war from the ones we are used to, but make no mistake, we have to be smart," Elijah lectured. "Now, who wants to make the list. I have some ideas...We will need the Crescents, the witches, our vampires, and now the humans to get Hayley back. And sadly, we will also need the Strix."

Davilla Estate

Strix Headquarters

Early Wednesday Morning

12:30 am

Elijah had the limo driver drop them off right at the doors of the elegant mansion.

"Now remember what I told you, don't accept anything from Tristan. Until we know what he wants, we can't trust him," Elijah reminded his nephew.

"I got it," Marcel said in exasperation. "Jesus."

"Marcellus, I am not trying to irritate you. However, if you persist with this attitude, I will handle it as soon as we get home tonight," Elijah warned the younger vampire.

"I'm not ten years old again! Stop treating me like I am," Marcel snapped, getting out the black limo and slamming the door.

Elijah smiled at the driver. "Kids. What are you going to do? Wait over there, please. We shall not be long."

Tristan came out of the mansion wearing a suit, almost as fine as Elijah's. The handsome vampire looked no order than early twenties, but Marcel knew he was almost as old as Elijah. That made him strong and dangerous. Marcel was suddenly glad Elijah had forced him into a suit as well. He preferred to dress more casually but Tristan de Martel took after his sire in that regard.

"Tristan, I would say it was a pleasure but...Let me introduce you to my nephew,-" Elijah started.

"There is no need. We are keenly aware of Mr. Gerard as his reputation proceeds him," Tristan said grandly.

"As does yours, Mr. Martel. I hear your organization is responsible for countless wars, assassinations, and plagues. That's what my uncle here tells me," Marcel grinned.

"He should know. He founded us," Tristan retorted without skipping a beat. "Now, please come in, we have much to discuss."
Elijah glared at Marcel, "Marcellus, there is no need for your rudeness. Play along nicely or-."

Marcel shoved past Elijah and entered the marble entranceway. The inside was even grander than the outside. Everything gleamed and sparkled in golden tones. There was a plaster plague of an owl.

"Nice place," Marcel added. "What's with the owl?"

Elijah answered, "It's the symbol of the Strix. In ancient Greek, strix means 'owl." In mythology, a strix was a bird of ill-omen that fed on human flesh and blood, like vampires..."

Tristan smiled, "Ah yes, that was clever on your part. I must thank you for coming to our headquarters. Normally, I would have prepared a ball in honor or our dear founder but I realize tonight is not the night for that. Would you please have a seat in the parlor?"

Tristan walked the men to the large room off of the entrance. A servant poured them blood. Elijah and Marcel shared a sofa and Tristan choose the seat across from them.

"I'm sure you are curious as to why I called. This all is very nasty business that believe me, we wanted no part in," Tristan said. "As you have been targeted, I have been deceived. I know no apology will make up for that, but I may have some good news for you, Elijah."

"Oh, do tell," Elijah said calmly. "I would enjoy that for a change."

Tristan cleared his throat, "Ah, your father is dead. Mikael. I got word that his corpse was discovered in a facility of ours, not far from here."

"Dead? You say?" Elijah gasped in utter shock. "We somewhat made a sort of amends with Mikael, though, I will not pull out my hair in mourning. My sister Freya, though, has fonder memories of Father. Can we have the body?"

"Of course. It maybe partially ash. I am not clear on the circumstances. It is rare that our missions go awry, but it seems that Mikael went rogue a few weeks ago. I'll try to find out more," Tristan said gently.

Elijah stood up. "You know, Tristan. It seems like just yesterday when my siblings and I walked into the great hall of your father the count's castle. But looking around here, I see you made yourself the king again. Now what would it take for you to ask me and my family for help again?"

Marcel nodded, "Yes, that cult must have gotten under your fancy skin something awful. Why don't you quit wasting our time and just tell what the hell you want? We have a missing girl to find."

"No, Marcellus, I almost would like to puzzle this one out. What does Tristan de Martel can about? Power? Check. Money? Check. People? Not so much...but there was one person you used to care about a great deal," Elijah said, snapping his fingers. "And I don't see her anywhere."

Tristan's face fell. "They didn't take her, Elijah. My darling Aurora escaped from the monastery in Tibet where I left her. She slaughtered the monks and then...joined this ridiculous Order. I let it go, never thinking that, that they were REAL, BLOODY ANGELS!"

Tristan's explosive shouting caused Marcel's eyes to widen, but Elijah didn't see fazed.

"Aurora, yes. I see now. They have her and you want her back," Elijah said simply. "What can we do to help?"

"You know of their prophecy, I assume. Well, there are those angels who are quite happy here on Earth. They do not wish for this Order to break the seals and cause the end of days," Tristan said, finishing his drink. "My seer can perhaps use this feather of yours to find your werewolf girl. From what we spoke of on the phone, the Crescent wolves may have to do the heavy lifting and sniff her out. Your priest can maybe distract the angels long enough for you two to grab Aurora."

"Why us? Cannot the Strix just get her?" Elijah asked wryly.

"Nay, she will not come with us. Remember, although my sister is suffering from several mental illnesses, she is almost as strong as you. I will need you to tell her that Niklaus is waiting for her. That is the only way she will come willingly," Tristan admitted sadly.

"Can't we vervain her?" Marcel asked.

"She has been drinking vervain for almost 900 years, she is almost totally immune. That is how she broke loose in Tibet. She had me fooled, too," Tristan said.

"We only want Hayley back in one piece. Do you have any idea why the Order would want her?" Elijah inquired.

"I assume because she was working with your foundation? I really do not know. Now, do we have a deal or not?" Tristan asked wearily.

Elijah and Marcel looked at each other. Marcel shrugged.

"I guess we don't really have any better options. Get your seer," Marcel said firmly.

Lucien Castle came out, escorting a brown haired woman in a red dress. He was wearing a pair of tight, black pants and a jaunty ascot was tied around his neck.

"Alexis, is actually my seer," Lucien snarked. "But hello, Elijah. How's Niklaus? Oh, this is his son. My pleasure, I'm sure."

Marcel bit back a laugh, "Nice tie. Alexis, thanks for your help. I'm Marcel. This is Elijah."

"I know who you are. Where's the feather?" Alexis asked pointedly. "I'm a witch, not a cop. I don't want to have to pat you down."

"You remind me of my daughter," Marcel smiled, somewhat sarcastically as he pulled out a container with the feather in it.

"Your daughter would make a lovely addition to The Sisters," Alexis replied, taking the container.

"She's still in high school, so no thank you," Marcel snapped.

Alexis moved to a nearby table, rolled out a map, and put the feather on it. She covered it with both her hands and began to chant.

"Don't you just love to watch them work? It's exotic, or maybe erotic?" Lucien rasped, laughing at his own joke. "Any blood left over for me?"

A servant appeared and refreshed all their drinks.

Lucien strolled nearer to Marcel.

"Who are these Sisters?" Marcel whispered.

Lucien replied, "Tristan's personal coven, I suppose you could say. They are outcasts and loners without proper covens who he has rehomed, but all very powerful. Alexis is my favorite. She knows some fun party tricks."

Marcel nodded and Elijah gave him a look.

"Focus, gentleman," Elijah chided.

"I see Elijah is the same old stick in the mud. Say, what's Kol up to these days? We hear Nik is a family man, but I daresay Kol hasn't settled," Lucien said jovially.

"Actually, he has a girl and some kids," Marcel said, not believing that he actually was defending Kol, but things did sometimes change.

"Oh, that's interesting," Lucien said.

Suddenly, the feather burned brightly and then seemingly got sucked into the map. The vampires drew closer to see if any areas were burned into it.

Alexis pointed to a dark area. "It looks like they are in Lafayette Cemetery, or will be. I sense that you will not find them until the dawn."

Lucien went to escort Alexis out of the room.

Elijah said, "Thank you, Alexis."

"You are welcome, Mr. Mikaelson. Bring the blond child from the little house in the Bayou. She will be the key to your success. The one who used to stutter. And the plant!" Alexis yelled out as Lucien held her arm.

Elijah looked at Marcel in confusion. Marcel said, "No idea. I'll ask Josh. Maybe a new wolf?"

Tristan came forward. "I am not sure I should attend this rescue party. If my sister senses my presence, she will not budge. Believe me, this is not my first rescue attempt."

"How do you plan to subdue her after?" Elijah asked.

"I have several liquid bags of her medication that can be given intravenously," Tristan replied. "It's just with the fast vampire metabolism, it wears off fast. It's almost impossibly to keep her lucid for long."

"Maybe a more concentrated form of the medication?" Elijah offered, as Tristan walked them out.

"That's the mentor I have missed, Elijah. We shall try that. I am sorry about your father, despite your differences, I am sure we would all like to know what happened," Tristan said graciously.

"Thank you, Tristan. Anything you can find out would be helpful," Elijah said.

"There maybe one more thing," Tristan added, as he opened the great doors of the mansion. "This despicable Order of the Celestial Order may have stolen something from us."

"What, Tristan?" Elijah asked irritably.

"It's called the Serratura," Tristan started.

"Doesn't that mean lock in Italian?" Marcel interjected. "What is this thing?"

Tristan grew uncomfortable, and finally said, "It is a dark object that only needs to be placed on the location of a place. Once triggered, it would trap whatever is in the barrier forever. It can only be triggered by a witch of great power, like the Regent of the nine covens of New Orleans or a descendant of the original creator."

"And who might this descendant be?" Marcel asked with a hard look directed at Tristan.
"Your daughter, Davina Claire. Mary Alive Claire made the original with Kol Mikaelson a century ago. If she can trap the angels in the Serratura, we will be safe from their influence forever," Tristan pointed out. "Our sources have said this is our best chance for success."

"And might I ask why you had this object? Most of the Mary Alice's creations were in our collections or with the O'Connell's," Elijah pressed.

Tristan looked down as his cheeks reddened. "We had our Sisters use the looking glass and snatched it when Father Kieran passed. We had nothing to do with his death!"

"What a naughty little boy you are, Tristan. I have a good mind to bend you over my knee right now," Elijah threatened. "It wouldn't be the first time I had to teach you a lesson, would it? Now, tell me the truth, why did you have this in the first place!"

Elijah used his supernatural strength to turn Tristan to the side and swat him hard. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

Guard came out of their hidden sports, but Tristan waved them off.

WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

Tristan gathered the courage to meet Elijah's eyes. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

"Stop, please! I'll tell you the truth, alright? We were going to trap you, Niklaus, and Rebekah in it. To ensure the health and safety of your sirelines. You can't blame us. If you die, all of us die with you," Tristan said, his voice rising. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

Elijah's face grew cold. "It never ends with you, does it? You just can't help yourself. We'll get your sister back and then you can crawl back into whatever hole you have been hiding in. Come on, Marcel."

Tristan sniffed, "Elijah, please, don't be angry. It was just an idea. We weren't really going to do it..."

Marcel drew back and punched Tristan, hard in the face.

"And my daughter is going to have no part in this mess," Marcel warned. He continued, "You better make a deal with the Regent! And yeah, that's gonna cost you."

Tristan held his busted nose with one hand and his sore behind with the other and watched their limo put away.