"Kill Caroline Forbes."
The words reverberated through Klaus' broken and bleeding body like a poison. His mind screamed against the command as he slowly turned his head towards Caroline. Her eyes widened and she pressed her lips together, a sure sign that she was stifling fear. Fear. Fear of him. Theone person who had never shown him a trace of fear, daring to yell at him or scold him like a child, was now looking at him like he would kill her.
No. He wouldn't. He could fight this.
"Did you hear me, Klaus?" Madame Lalaurie asked in a sing-song voice. "I don't believe I stuttered. Kill her."
Klaus' fangs began to lengthen in preparation of the fatal bite, his eyes darkened and he growled. Everything inside him was demanding to tear into Caroline's soft, vulnerable flesh, to destroy her. End her.
"Klaus, don't," Caroline whispered. "You can fight this. I know you can."
He refused to step forward or backwards, knowing that any movement would be an action to kill Caroline. He forced himself to look away from her, to lock eyes instead with Madame Lalaurie.
"Repeal the command," He snarled at the witch. "Now."
"My, my, you're getting rather feisty, aren't you," Madame Lalaurie chuckled. "I do love a good love story, you know. I have been married twice, after all. I'm as romantic as they come." She walked towards Klaus, her rancid breath filling his nostrils.
"I want you to take her by the throat," She whispered. "And sink those lovely fangs of yours into her skin. Show her the monster you truly are. Show her that after all her efforts…there is nothing left of you to save."
The words flowed through his veins like electricity and he was suddenly before Caroline, hands wrapped around her throat, ready to bite. She choked, grasping at his wrist, her blue eyes pleading with him.
"Kill her," Madame Lalaurie repeated, almost lazily.
"Don't," Caroline begged. "Klaus, please…"
The command pounded through his head. Kill her. End her. This was a nightmare he could not wake up from…nothing more than a monster, a beast who killed everything pure and good. Caroline should never have come here, she should've known better, known it was a fool's errand—
But she was here.
His grip on her throat slackened. Caroline was here—she had come for him. She had heard that he'd been captured, had been tortured by Madame Lalaurie, and despite everything—had come for him. She had accepted him.
"What are you doing?" Madame Lalaurie asked sharply. "Kill her." The words had just the same amount of potency, but there was something new burning in his chest, something he didn't recognize. It went beyond not wanting to harm Caroline, it was something almost instinctive. It fought the command, tearing at its control and allowed Klaus a moment for an idea.
He stared at Caroline, willing her to understand. He twisted his head, making it look like he was about to plunge his fangs into her throat, but his hands loosened on her. Come on, my beautiful, clever girl…
And of course, her eyes brightened in comprehension, and she quickly snapped his neck.
XXXX
"You damned fool!"
Caroline didn't stick around long enough to hear Madame Lalaurie's explosion. She hauled Klaus' unconscious body onto her back and sped out of the church, her vampire speed saving them both. She was halfway out of that district when she realized Klaus was on fire.
Idiot! She darted into a broken down shop, a remnant of Hurricane Katrina, affording them darkness and shade and patted down the flames, sinking him onto the ground. She mumbled apologies to Klaus, feeling slightly sick that after all of this effort, he was still enduring agony.
Caroline pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Rebekah, glancing nervously at Klaus' unconscious body, while keeping a sharp lookout for any of Madame Lalaurie's cronies.
"There you are!" Rebekah exploded. "Where the hell have you been, I've called you at least eighty times!"
"I had my phone on silent, Rebekah, it's kind of an idiot move to have your phone on while going scouting," Caroline retorted. "I've got Klaus. You and Elijah need to meet me at an old hardware store about five miles away from the abandoned church—and quickly. See if Kylie has any spare daylight rings or pendants. And bring some blood bags. And restraints."
"What the bloody hell are you talking—" Caroline pressed END and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She knelt down next to Klaus and inspected the burns and cuts on his body.
"Nothing a little blood won't fix," She said aloud. She was pleased to see that the earlier feeding had seemed to improve some of the more egregious wounds. She tilted his head towards her to examine a particularly nasty cut and paused, letting her hands linger on his cheekbones.
Caroline exhaled, clearing her throat and removing her hands from the side of his face. Suddenly, his eyes flickered and he groaned in pain, shakily standing.
"Shit," Caroline swore. She backed up into a patch of sunlight, a place Klaus couldn't reach her and watched him carefully.
He stared at her, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He gave her a small smile. "Stay in the sunlight."
She couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Her sire bond is still making you…want to kill me?"
Klaus nodded. They stood in silence for a moment and Caroline struggled to think of something to say.
"Are you healing okay?" She asked finally, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Klaus examined himself—he was still bare-chested, but the third-degree burns had reduced into something that looked like a bad sunburn. The cuts had turned into pale white scars—a good dose of human blood, and they'd vanish entirely.
"You let me feed on you," Klaus said suddenly.
"Yeah," Caroline cleared her throat. "You needed some of your strength back. I'm sorry, I know that's kind of a breach in vampire etiquette—"
"I think we're past that, love," Klaus replied dryly and she gave a little half-shrug. The air in the room seemed to tighten and Caroline tried not to think how baldly Klaus had admitted to being in love with her to Madame Lalaurie—he was forced, but even so.
She gave him an awkward smile. "Elijah and Rebekah are on their way. They'll have blood bags for you and probably restraints to keep you from killing me, once we're out of here. They might have a daylight ring too. If not, you can use mine, I'll just stay here till night and reconvene back at the house." She was chattering like a teenager, but the silence was suffocating. Klaus' stare was simply too intense for her to take without a barrage of words as protection.
"Caroline," Klaus said softly.
"Yeah?"
He gave her another long look. There were a thousand questions in his expression and Caroline dreaded every single one of them. However, he seemed to be at a loss for which to ask.
He settled on, "How did you find me?"
She coughed. "Oh, um. Elijah and Rebekah found a witch that wanted to take Madame Lalaurie down. She worked a spell to find you."
"Lalaurie must have gotten careless," Klaus said musingly. "I assumed she blocked a family blood spell."
"I don't know the details," Caroline replied evasively. "But the witch—her name's Kylie. She was helpful, although I don't entirely trust her motives."
Klaus eyed her. "How did you hear…of my captivity?"
"Rebekah found me," Caroline twisted a lock of blonde hair. "She said she and Elijah needed my help, that you were in danger."
He gazed at her steadily. "And you came."
She shrugged. "Europe was getting boring."
Klaus chuckled, a deep throaty noise. "I've found traveling in Europe by yourself can get rather tiresome." His words were veiled and she stiffened a little.
Caroline refused to dignify that with a response. She realized what a strange image they made, her standing in the sunlight, protecting herself while Klaus watched from the shadows, telling her to stay in the light where it was safe. It made a rather poignant metaphor.
"I'm glad you came," Klaus said quietly. "I wish it were under different circumstances."
She looked towards him, wondering how to respond, but before she could, Elijah touched her shoulder.
"Caroline," Elijah's eyes were filled with relief. "Thank the gods, you've found him." He went to Klaus immediately and embraced him tightly.
"It's not quite the time to celebrate, brother," Klaus said methodically. Rebekah pushed past Caroline. Caroline noticed Kylie in the shadows, watching carefully.
"Take this, Nik," Rebekah said eagerly. "Kylie had a daylight ring made." She thrust a silver piece of jewelry and Klaus stilled.
"Thank you, sister," He said politely. "Elijah, if you'd be so kind as to restrain me before slipping that ring on my finger, I'd appreciate it. Madame Lalaurie has manufactured herself a sire bond and thereby ordered me to kill Caroline. As I would really prefer not to kill my savior, I would be very grateful for your assistance."
Elijah's eyebrows rose, but he didn't question it. He glanced at Kylie for assistance and she nodded towards him, stepping forward.
"I'll cast something to keep him paralyzed," Kylie sighed. "We can't break the sire bond, but I might be able to break the command to kill Caroline."
Klaus eyed her. "I don't believe I caught your name."
"Kylie Celastin," Kylie said brusquely. She took his shoulder and looked intensely into his eyes, muttering something in what sounded like French. Klaus stiffened uncomfortably, his arms locking behind his back.
"Keep a safe distance away from him, Caroline," Kylie ordered. "He's immobilized, but as my mother said, a stunned snake can still bite."
XXXX
"Can you break the command?"
Kylie shrugged. Caroline resisted the urge to scream in impatience. Klaus had ordered them to keep him in confinement and they'd followed his directions, locking him in the master bedroom. Kylie had placed several charms and marks on the door to keep him from exiting, so Caroline was safe—for now. Sire bonds were strangely complex and even Klaus didn't comprehend all of the peculiarities.
"Well, we know one way the sire bond will break," Rebekah said promptly. "Kill the bitch, the link is broken. Simple."
Kylie laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah, kill the 300 year old leech who's escaped screaming mobs, countless curses by voodoo queens a lot bigger than me—should be a piece of beignet."
"How has she even been alive for so long?" Caroline wondered aloud. "She's a witch, not a vampire, right? Is it just that witches age slower?"
"I keep telling you, her energies aren't her own, she siphons them from real witches," Kylie said impatiently. "New Orleans witchcraft is all about our ancestors. Our magic is personal, the most intimate thing there is. It gets stronger every generation, but it must have a source point—a family cemetery is the most common. Somehow, and I don't know how, but somehow Madame Lalaurie is using a source point of magic for her energies. I'm pretty sure she's channeling the same spirits she channeled the first time she came to New Orleans, only now that they're dead, it's amplified."
Caroline's brow furrowed. "There was a cemetery in the churchyard," She mused. "But the graves were unmarked."
Elijah considered. "That area of town is very old, dating back to Lalaurie's time. That church could've belonged to one of the witch families…"
"It's possible," Kylie allowed. "All right. Let's go into Klaus' room, and I'll see what I can do about that command to kill Caroline. She needs to come too—he's still bound by my spell."
Elijah nodded and Caroline winced. Out of the pot and into the frying pan. Klaus couldn't seem to escape being captive, whether by Madame Lalaurie or his family.
The four of them strode down the hall, Rebekah and Elijah leading the way. Caroline jogged to catch up with Kylie, whose legs were significantly longer.
"Hey," Caroline huffed. "Do you know who Baron Saturday is?"
Kylie stopped short. "What did you say?"
"Baron Saturday," Caroline repeated. "Some voodoo spirit or whatever that Lalaurie conjured, he appeared in the tunnels."
Kylie's face paled. "What do you mean appeared?"
"He appeared. Showed up. Said a bunch of really weird things, like how he was invested in my future and how he found me interesting—actually, I think he was hitting on me, come to think of it—and he said that the Celastin family was one of his most devoted followers and he wanted to see them play one final hand." Caroline watched more blood drain from Kylie's face.
"He showed up for you," She spat. "That's what you're telling me?"
"I don't even know who he is," Caroline retorted. "Who is he, anyway? Why are you so pissed off?"
"Forget it," Kylie said curtly. They reached Rebekah and Elijah at the doorway to the master bedroom. Kylie performed a complicated hand gesture that appeared to dissolve the marking on the door, unlatched it, and stepped inside.
Klaus was seated in an armchair. He was savoring a blood bag while staring into the flames of a fireplace, a book in his lap. He glanced at their entry and tensed when he noticed Caroline.
"Get her out of here," He ordered and Caroline was not blind to the naked fear in his eyes.
"She's fine," Kylie brushed him off. "You can't move from that armchair."
"I noticed," Klaus said dryly. "Are you going to remove the command?"
"I'm going to try," Kylie said firmly. She went to him, placing her palm on his forehead, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. The lights flickered and the room hummed—the hairs on Caroline's arms prickled.
Klaus' breathing became shallow and uneven. He looked as though he was in pain, gripping the arms of the chair—Caroline wasn't sure, but it almost looked as though something flashed between Kylie's palm and Klaus' forehead.
Kylie was speaking something that sounded a little like French. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her entire body shuddered. She cocked her head over her shoulder, looking directly at Caroline.
"And who will pay the price?" Kylie asked in a strange, husky tone.
Caroline's heart stopped. There was something inside of Kylie.
"What—" Caroline started to say and Rebekah grabbed her shoulder. She shook her head sharply. Don't interrupt.
But Kylie continued to look at Caroline, with nothing but the whites of her eyes, and giving her a half-smile. "So be it," Kylie rasped. "The price is fair."
Klaus bellowed in pain and Kylie fell forward, fainting. Elijah caught her before she fell and the room fell dark.
Caroline rushed forward. Both Kylie and Klaus were unconscious—the darkness had thrown off the vampires' vision only for a few seconds. Elijah checked Kylie's pulse and exhaled slowly.
"She's over-exerted herself," He gently set her down, leaning against the wall.
"What the hell happened?" Caroline demanded. "She went all Exorcist!"'
"Caroline, that's not uncommon for New Orleans witches," Elijah explained. "They channel spirits for power. She asked for help breaking Klaus' command…"
"But did you hear?" Rebekah struck a match and began to light candles. "There was a price. Spirits never do anything for free."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Elijah said and Caroline inhaled sharply when she noticed Klaus stand. Rebekah and Elijah turned quickly, looking wary. Elijah took a half step in front of Caroline.
The corners of Klaus' lips quirked at this. "It's all right," He said quietly. "I no longer feel Madam Lalaurie's command."
Elijah hesitated. "Brother—you would never forgive me if I let you hurt her…"
"It's okay," Caroline stepped forward. "We're not gonna know until we try. Besides, I'm tough to kill." She grinned and Klaus returned the favor, nearing her.
He stopped and for a moment, as the candles flickered in the darkness, it almost felt as though they were alone. Klaus didn't attack her, didn't move, simply gazed at her. She'd almost forgotten how enraptured he always seemed, just looking at her.
"You're free," Caroline said simply and he smiled at her relief.
"Not quite, I'm afraid," Klaus broke the spell and turned towards his siblings. "The sire bond is still present. Kylie only broke the command, not the bond itself."
"Can you break it on your own?" Rebekah mused. "Didn't your hybrids break their sire bonds themselves?"
"It's possible," Klaus said impatiently. "But I don't know how they did it. Just that Tyler Lockwood and the other little wolf were the ones to do so."
Caroline's lips twisted. That certainly left them low on options. The last she'd heard, Tyler and Hayley were rearing a new pack somewhere in the Appalachians. Tyler's revenge had halted in favor of tending to his pack's survival and growth. It was a pity he hadn't learned that five years earlier, or Caroline might still be with him.
In any case, she doubted that Tyler or Hayley would be particularly willing to help Klaus.
"We ought to draw her out," Elijah said musingly. "Use Klaus as bait. She'll want him back, he's too much of a temptation to her, both werewolf and vampire energies considering."
"No way," Caroline said flatly. "We just got Klaus back. Klaus lies low while we figure out a plan."
"Thank you for the concern, love, but this is my battle, and I will not sit in a room twiddling my thumbs while she is at large," Klaus' eyes flashed. "I agree with Elijah. We need to trap her. Lure her out."
"Yeah?" Caroline bristled at his dismissal. "And what the hell are we supposed to do if you get captured again? If the plan goes to hell and she starts sucking your energies and torturing you?"
Klaus exhaled in exasperation. "Then you'll find me again. Use the family blood spell, it worked well enough when you found me the first time."
There was a rather awkward pause. Caroline glared daggers at both Elijah and Rebekah. Elijah surreptitiously looked askance and Rebekah smirked.
"Family blood spell?" Rebekah chuckled. "You didn't tell him?"
"Shut up," Caroline ordered.
"Tell me what?" Klaus wanted to know. "What are you talking about?"
Elijah cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Rebekah, this really isn't any of our business."
Rebekah shrugged her delicate shoulders. "That's a matter of opinion. Aren't you always saying how family takes care of family?"
"What are you talking about?" Klaus snarled dangerously.
"Rebekah, I'm warning you, keep your damn mouth shut!" Caroline shouted.
"The hell are you all yelling about?"
The four of them stopped short as Kylie struggled to stand. She brushed off her jeans and coughed into her hand—Caroline's nostrils flared when she saw blood on Kylie's palm.
Klaus stepped towards her and for a brief, shining moment, Caroline thought they'd escaped the subject and returned to taking down Madame Lalaurie.
"Kylie, what spell did you use to find me?" Klaus demanded.
She blinked. Neither of the Originals caught her gaze and Caroline stared hard at Kylie, mentally commanding her to keep her trap closed.
"I don't know why you guys are being so weird," Kylie said finally. "Klaus was the one to make her his mate. I just made that link visible to me."
A silence fell over the group and Caroline resisted the urge to murder Kylie. Klaus stared at Kylie in confusion.
"I did…what?" There was an almost fear in his expression.
Kylie rolled her eyes. "You know, for someone who was so deadest on unlocking his werewolf side for the past thousand years, you sure don't know much about your heritage. Wolves mate for life. And somewhere along the line, you made Caroline your mate."