Chapter Six

Elijah

I'm not entirely surprised to see Katherine magically appear before us. She's always had a penchant for making an entrance. Taking in her smoldering brown eyes, her curvaceous figure, her wavy tendrils falling wildly around her face, it's no wonder I fell for her so hard, for so many centuries.

Now, though, the exotic beauty, who once stirred my deepest desires, leaves me cold. Years passed before I began to see the cracks behind her gorgeous façade. After suffering her betrayal countless times, I've learned that behind her soft hair, sparkling eyes, and inviting lips, is a cunning woman incessantly calculating and manipulating to get her way.

Which makes me curious what, exactly, she's up to. Katherine's too careful to expose herself without a purpose. I glance over at Hayley, and notice the wolf girl's hands are clenched into fists and her eyes are staring daggers in Katherine's direction. She's ready to fight. But I can't allow Hayley to endanger herself. She doesn't know what Katherine's capable of, but I do.

Looking around the bar, I note that there are only a few patrons lounging around, and Zack, the coward, has conveniently left the scene to attend a pair of ladies at the bar. It's a good thing the bar isn't crowded. I anticipate things will get messy with Katherine's arrival.

And with that in mind, I step in front of Hayley and gently push her behind me with the back of my hand. Unfortunately, the small gesture doesn't go unnoticed by Katherine. Her smirk widens into a smile as she looks from me to Hayley.

"Elijah," Katherine practically purrs my name, "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

She bats her eyelashes at me and I try not to show my annoyance at her childish antics.

"Let's not delve into niceties. It's a waste of time, don't you agree? So why don't you just tell me what you want?"

I must have made a hilarious joke because she bursts into a fit of laughter. My eyes narrow. Has she gone insane?

After a good few minutes, she stops laughing and stares at me intensely. "Oh, noble, idiotic Elijah."

She saunters toward me, never breaking eye contact. When she finally stops strutting across the bar's hardwood floors, we're nose to nose.

"How could you ask me that?" For a moment, her eyes soften and her hands rest on my chest. She leans in, her lips hovering over my ear as she whispers, "You've always known what I want."

She pulls away slightly, and I can see that she's smiling. But she's not looking at me. I follow her gaze and see she's flashing Hayley a triumphant grin. And, Hayley, is falling for Katherine's bait. Her apple cheeks are aflame and if looks could kill—Katherine would be a pile of dust by now.

Before Hayley pounces on her new prey, I push Katherine away from me. "Stop this nonsense now, Katherine. Name your intentions. I will give you this one chance."

Katherine looks directly into my eyes, suddenly serious. Good. Her laughter and fake smiles were getting on my nerves.

"What I want, dear Elijah, is what I've wanted all along: freedom."

Hayley sidles up beside me and crosses her arms in front of her body. "I don't know. You seem pretty free to me. Free enough to babble on with your nonsense, free enough to send innocent wolves to their deaths—"

"Oh, the wolves." Katherine smiles brightly, "Casualties, I'm afraid. And if you don't shut those pretty lips of yours—you'll be next."

Hayley jumps forward, ready to tackle Katherine, but I manage to grab hold of her and pull her back.

"Don't threaten Hayley again," I warn her with a low growl.

"I'm no more of a threat to Hayley than you are, Elijah," she scoffs. "Let's face it. The Mikaelson siblings all have one thing in common—bringing death to those they love." She ambles closer to Hayley giving her a once-over. Then she turns her head towards me and adds, "You'll probably kill Hayley before I do."

Hayley looks pissed and my blood is boiling. It takes every ounce of control to stay my anger, but I manage to ground out, "Leave now or die here."

Katherine simply giggles. "No. I'm not running."

She turns toward the opposite end of the bar and faces a handful of patrons, who surprisingly have minded their own business with this dramatic scene unfolding before them, and commands, "Take her."

Suddenly, the zoned-out patrons turn angry and lunge towards Hayley. But if Katherine's intent was to catch Hayley off guard, she was mistaken. The wolf girl is ready to kick ass. I watch her deftly evade each attack, striking only when necessary, making sure she doesn't inflict too much pain on Katherine's enslaved minions.

I immediately relax, confident that she can take care of herself, and observe her masterful fighting for just a moment longer before turning my full attention to Katherine.

"You're a fool. What did you expect to be the outcome here? You can't win. Give up. Leave New York. I give you my word I won't come after you."

Katherine's still grinning ear to ear, which I find disconcerting. Why is she so confident?

"I've never worried about you, Elijah. It's your younger brother that concerns me. He's the one that's been chasing me. All these years. Well, you know what? I'm done running. I'm ready to fight. And if there's one thing I've learned—you don't just mess with one Mikaelson, you take on the whole original family."

"Then death it is," I reply nonchalantly.

"I'm not the one who will die," Katherine says smugly. I notice her gaze travel over my shoulder when I feel an intensely sharp pain in my side.

I gasp and look behind me to find Zack, Hayley's friend, sticking a knife in my side. And for some strange reason I can't comprehend, I feel weak. Like I've been drugged.

"ELIJAH!" Hayley screams. She knocks out the last minion standing—a stocky kid with a handlebar mustache—and sprints to my side.

She holds me in her arms as I slide down to the floor. Paralyzed. Useless. I bow my head in shame.

Hayley snarls and looks from the totally dumbfounded Zack to Katherine, "What the fuck did you do to him?"

"Who? Your friend Zack here? Just a little neighborhood mind control. I've managed to turn quite a few people to my side." She looks at the groaning patrons rolling on the floor after receiving a whooping from Hayley, and shakes her head, "I'll have to be more selective about who I choose to fight for me—isn't that right, Zack?"

Zack only nods. His eyes are completely clouded as he takes his place at Katherine's side. In a gross gesture, Katherine cups Zack's face in her palms and massages her lips against his. "That's a good boy."

Hayley's hands are shaking with anger and I peer up at her face. I know she wants to pick a fight, but despite her outrage, she doesn't abandon me.

"What. About. Elijah." Hayley punctuates each word with her fury.

Katherine stops smacking her lips against Zack's and cocks an eyebrow. "A little vervain-soaked knife. As Elijah was so noble to give me a warning, I'm doing the same. The next time we meet, he won't be this lucky."

"Come, Zack. We have more to plan."

Katherine struts toward the bar's exit, but turns to look me square in the eye, "Oh, and Elijah. When Klaus returns, be sure to tell him I say 'hello.'"

Then she turns on her heel and leaves with the zombie-like Zack in toe.

As soon as Katherine's gone, Hayley holds me tighter and grasps the handle of the knife that's still inserted in my side. She looks to me and I nod my unspoken consent before she rips the knife out of my body. I groan in relief.

She tosses the knife away and hugs me close to her. I feel her shaking, and pull away from her to see tears pouring down her face, her body wracked with sobs.

She pushes me—hard—and I almost fall over. "You IDIOT. You're supposed to be an original. How could you get hurt? HOW?"

I pull her back into me and rub her back in long, soothing circles, whispering over and over again that I'm sorry, that I'd never be a fool again.

After holding on to each other for some time, Hayley calms. We sit there on the sticky barroom floor staring at each other at a loss. It was our first battle and we lost. Katherine's roaming around free—and more dangerous than ever. I will not underestimate her again.

With Hayley's help, I stand up on my feet. The vervain in my system has weakened me significantly. Whatever vervain Katherine used, it must be a potent concoction.

Hayley studies me with a concerned look on her face. "Let's go back to my place. Can you walk ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." I try to work up a smile, but Hayley's too exhausted to notice.

She places my arm around her slender shoulder and I lean on her as we walk the short distance to 743 Hart Street.