Thanks to the very talented klovec for the beta.
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Klaus pounded back another glass of brimstone wine. The fiery liquid slid down his throat and into the already boiling heat in his stomach. He had lost count of how many bottles he had consumed. Enough, the rage in his chest should have subsided by now. Only, it hadn't. Much as he tried, his body and mind refused to be lulled into the soothing state he got from copious amounts of alcohol. It made his fury flame that much higher in him. Without a word, he handed his empty goblet to his servant standing nearby. Rajanak, the hulking lower demon, trained to both protect and serve him, rushed to fill it before handing it back.
He took the glass and leaned back in his chair, surveying the destruction before him. It looked like a tornado had struck his study. Broken pieces of furniture, like bones ripped from a skeleton littered the room. His desk, his chairs, even the table on which he ate, all destroyed. Not even a master craftsman would be able to put the fragments remaining back together. Normally, he would have gotten have gotten a swell of pleasure at seeing his destructive handiwork. Now it did emphasized how far gone he was to all rational thought.
Caroline.
It was all her fault. Right now, he should be thrusting between her thighs, taking his fill of her. His mouth should be kissing her, his hands positioning her hips into just the right direction to get himself off. Instead, he sat here like a lovesick suitor unable to take what already belonged to him. Having earned the prize he had yet to partake of any of the reward and it infuriated him to the point of madness.
What weakness of the soul did he possess that he couldn't take her against her wishes? Why did her tears, her pleasure matter so much to him? He was going to be the King of Hell. So why couldn't he forcefully take her innocence? Especially, when she defied him and challenged his authority. He had every right to punish her. So why wouldn't he?
A cough came from nearby and Klaus turned in his chair, ready to rip the heart out of the idiot who dared disturb him.
Finn stood in front of the door, surveying the room with what looked like awe.
"Go, away," Klaus snarled.
He didn't listen. Gingerly, he walked among the scraps of wood, further into Klaus's study.
"If you don't remove yourself, I will do it for you."
Finn picked up a bent gilt frame, the painting within it had the shape of a fist punched through it. "The Carvaggio? You loved this one."
"I said, get out," Klaus bit out each word succinctly, like bullets fired from a gun.
His brother ignored the warning.
Klaus threw his goblet of brimstone wine at the him and Finn ducked, the crystal smashing into sharp fragments on the floor. "I mean it. Get out."
Rajanak fell to his knees, attempting to pick up the pieces.
"You think you mean it."
His brother's know-it-all tone stoked Klaus' rage to new heights. He wrenched himself from his chair, flying at Finn. Even with his senses dulled from the brimstone, Klaus managed to land on his feet. His fist smashed into his brother's face, snapping a cheekbone on impact.
"Does that make you feel better?" Finn sputtered, spitting blood out from the corner of his mouth.
Klaus grunted and grasped his brother's neck in his hands. He squeezed, nearly breaking Finn's windpipe. "You should have left when I told you to."
His brother made choking noises, his fingers clawing at Klaus's hold. His face started to turn blue and then purple.
"Why must you provoke me?" He threw Finn into the paneled wall. The cracking sound of the wood breaking and the gaping hole left behind when his brother fell to the floor gave him smug satisfaction. The physical exertion he exhausted, along with his curiosity about why his orders weren't heeded, at last dampened the flame of his anger. Calm by the time Finn finally attempted to crawl to his feet, Klaus held out his hand to help him.
"Get my brother a drink."
Rajanak jumped to his feet at Klaus' command, running to open a new bottle and pour a glass of brimstone wine.
Klaus slapped Finn on the back. "A little brimstone will have you feeling better." It never failed to amaze him how fast they all healed. Already, the blue and purple hues in Finn's skin were evening out, his cheekbone mending and the blood at his mouth clotting.
"What is so important you were willing to risk my wrath."
His brother opened his mouth to speak, only to gurgle something unintelligible. Handed a goblet by the servant, Finn drank thirstily of the brimstone wine.
Klaus stalked back to his chair, confident this meeting most likely had to do with Sage. Ever since the lower demon crawled into Finn's heart, nothing had been the same.
Snapping his fingers at the servant, Klaus waited with annoyance while another goblet was filled.
"Hellfire," Finn swore hoarsely. "What happened in here?"
"I decided to redecorate." Sitting back in his chair, he accepted the proffered glass of wine from his servant. "Tell me what it is you want and take your leave. I am in no mood for idle talk."
"There is nothing I want."
"Nothing except Sage's freedom," Klaus scoffed and pointed at Finn. "Everyone wants something. You are no exception." His brother's grasp tightened on his goblet and Klaus took pleasure in knowing he struck a nerve. "If this isn't about Sage why are you here?
"Because all of Hell is cowering in fear. Your little tantrum could be heard throughout the palace, in the courtyard and in all nine rings. You riled up the seventh to a frenzy. I had to call in more demons to keep the violence from penetrating through the borders."
"What is wrong with that? Hell should cower to me."
"What has gotten you into this mood?"
Klaus glowered at Finn.
"I know it has nothing to do with our father. He is still playing games above ground."
"You mean Mikael." The strength of his hatred for the Devil King sent his blood percolating. "I know you like to think of him still in that way, but I do not."
Finn ignored him, avoiding another round of an argument he refused to let Klaus win. "This temper you are in...It doesn't have anything to do with the Angel you dragged down here does it?"
An inferno of fury blazed in Klaus' heart. "Rebekah! I will -"
"No, not Rebekah," his brother rushed to reassure him. "She said not a word."
Klaus' pulse raged and he forced himself not to react. He needed all the details before he decided who to torture and kill. "Then how?"
"Did you really think you could hide something like that from me?" Finn crooked a smug smile at him which Klaus instantly wanted to punch right off his face. "You forget I spend a lot of time with the records. There is not a single entry or exit in and out of Hell that is not recorded. Imagine my surprise to find that someone with Angelic powers, hence an Angel, passed through the gates earlier today cloaked in black magic."
"That tells you nothing by itself."
"Maybe not, but all I had to do was tie it to your obsession for revenge against our soul stealer and it started to make sense."
Klaus took a sip of his drink, forcing a coolness he did not feel. "So, let's say you are right. I have used the dark arts to hold an Angel hostage and exact my revenge. What does that have to do with you? Why do you care?"
"Because not only have you done the unthinkable - the unconscionable, you are making it very obvious that your revenge is not going as planned."
"My revenge is going exactly as planned."
Finn waved his hands exaggeratedly around the room. "Oh, obviously."
"Watch yourself," Klaus snapped.
His brother seemed not to hear him. If anything, Finn appeared to be observing him, a superior look in his eyes. As if he knew something Klaus didn't.
"Is she very beautiful?"
Klaus gripped the arm of his chair with his free hand, his fingers leaving scars in the wood.
"You know when Sage and I first met we -"
"If you even start to finish that sentence, I will rip your heart from your chest and bury it so deep in Hell's fires, Sage will never find it to bring you back to life. That is after I free her, of course. Like I promised."
Finn's eyes bulged at him and Klaus took a grim satisfaction in having so firmly put his brother back in his place. He waited until Finn had regained his composure before speaking what worried him now.
"Has anyone else seen the record of the Angel's arrival?"
"No."
Klaus tapped his fingers on his knee, his only outward expression of his nerves. "How can you be sure? What about Thoth?"
Finn smiled. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "I removed the record myself before he had a chance to see it. I didn't want to put you or our plan under any scrutiny."
"You did well." Klaus stood from his chair, trying not to seem too eager when he reached for the evidence.
His brother stepped back, sweeping the parchment from Klaus's grasp.
"Do you really want to provoke me again?"
"That is not my desire in the least," Finn answered, acting offended. "I just need to know where we stand? And what your intentions are towards the Angel? Because her presence will not stay hidden forever. "
"My intentions, where she is concerned, are my own affair," Klaus growled, advancing on Finn with his hand out. "And if you don't hand over that record before I reach you -"
Finn flung the parchment at him.
Klaus ripped the incriminating paper in two and balled it in his fist. Striding over to the crackling fire in the fireplace, he tossed the crumpled parchment into the flames. Smoke curled up, the evidence disintegrating. Relief exploded in his chest.
Finn joined him at the fireplace. "This buys you some time."
He knew he should thank his brother, but the words stuck in his throat.
"But, eventually knowledge of her presence will get out and you need to be prepared for that."
"I know. But I am going to control when and where. Not you or anyone else." Klaus gulped what remained of the brimstone wine and grimaced.
This time it was Finn who captured the servant's attention with a flick of his hand. The lower demon stepped forward cautiously.
Klaus didn't even object when his brother pried the empty goblet out of his hand to pass on to Rajanak. The hours long consumption of brimstone had at last caught up with him. Besides, he needed a clearer head for the conversation they needed to have.
"We don't know how our Father-"
Klaus growled.
"I mean how - Mikael - will react when he finds out. If he comes running..."
"We need to speed the time table up."
Finn stilled. "Can we do that?"
"I have already made alliances with four of the twelve families." Klaus ticked his fingers off one by one. "Ballovinetti, Demopoulos, Laelian and Quintus."
"Quintus? The Patriarch is father's favorite drinking crony. They go back to before he ascended the throne. How did you manage that?"
"Not easily. Ultimately, it took a little blackmail, a dagger to his son's throat and the addition of a thousand extra souls."
"A thousand?" Finn pursed his lips and blew out a low whistle. "Over and above the initial five thousand?"
Klaus rubbed his temples, the remembrance of the maneuvering he had to do to get the blood oath made his head ache. The Demon's son had a stupid bravery within him that made him that much harder to subdue."
"What did you have on him?"
"Do you really want to know?" Klaus didn't know why he bothered to ask. Of course, Finn did. He loved secrets. Loved having the upper hand, especially with the other demons. He often wondered if it was because he rarely managed to do so within their family.
"It might provide useful."
"Mother..." Klaus paused at the slash of pain the utterance of the name brought to him. Like a festering wound that would not heal, he couldn't rid himself of her. His hands balled to fists at his side. "He had a soft spot for her. She went to him for help to escape to the surface."
His words stunned Finn. His brother opened his mouth and closed it several times before speaking, "How in Hell's Fire did you find that out?"
"I have my ways." What he couldn't tell Finn, would never tell anyone, was that their mother had visited him shortly before her death. Their conversation forever changed things, changed him and if she hadn't been murdered soon after, he might have slit her throat himself.
"Mother and I were very close and she never said a word." His brother sounded almost petulant about it.
"I guess you weren't her favorite son after all."
Finn glared at him.
Some of the tension within Klaus eased at the amusement he got from taunting his brother. It allowed him, at least temporarily, to bury again within his psyche, his mother's sins. "Tell me where we are with the souls?"
"I'm still working on it," his brother sighed.
"What does that mean? You realize none of these alliances mean anything if you can't provide the souls?" A tiny flicker of something akin to fear touched Klaus' heart and he retaliated, let his anger beat it to death. "You have the easiest of tasks, seize and collect the souls. What is the problem?"
His brother jumped away from him, his hands going around his neck as if he feared Klaus would attempt to strangle him again. "It's not as easy as you think and Thoth is always looking over my shoulder."
"I told you to feel him out and if necessary remove him. Now, is not the time for squeamishness."
"Not all of us like to have blood on our hands like you do."
"Is that so?" Klaus frowned at his brother's pompous tone. "You know whose blood I would enjoy dipping my hands in to?"
Finn swallowed and shook his head.
"Sage." Klaus shot the name at his brother, encasing it in hate.
"You wouldn't dare." His brother paled, yet he stood his ground, puffing up his chest. "You need me as much as I need you."
"You think I can't find someone else to bend to my will? Someone else whose greed and desire I can feed into? And, here, I thought, you would do anything for Sage. How hurt she will be to find out that isn't true when I have freed her all by myself."
Finn held out his palms in appeal. "You need to give me a little more time. I am making progress... and... if necessary I will do what needs to be done with Thoth."
"I know you will." Klaus smirked, fully enjoying how easily his brother managed to be manipulated. With Sage as the proverbial carrot he sometimes wondered how far Finn would go to have her back. Thankfully, they were blood and as much as the game appealed to him, there was a loyalty and duty that came with family he wouldn't deny. He would return Sage to Finn, but not until the gold crown rested on his head and Mikael bowed at his throne.
"You should rest, Klaus. You have drunk enough brimstone to drown an entire city."
"Maybe." He did feel tired. Tired of his plotting and planning, tired of not being able to take what he wanted. Tired of a certain Angel fighting him at every turn. "Double your efforts. I want the souls tied up within a week." Klaus held up his hand to stop the argument he knew Finn started to prepare. "While you do that, I am going to work on wooing some of the remaining Families to our side. There are still a few plans I have yet to put into play that might gain their loyalty."
His brother sighed, "I will do my best."
"With Sage at stake, of course you will." Klaus moved to sit back in his chair. "Now, leave me."
Finn didn't hesitate, quickly reaching the doorway he paused. "While you are wooing the Families, you should spend some time working on wooing your Angel too. The rest of your furniture would appreciate it."
At his brother's sarcasm, a volcano erupted in Klaus and he picked up the chair he sat in and threw it at the Finn. The sounds of cracking wood mixed with Finn's laughter as he left the room.
Rajanak grunted and looked at Klaus with a question in his eyes.
"Don't bother with him and get me another chair."
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Caroline startled, her heart jumping into her throat at the sound of the door opening. Catching sight of Klaus, she closed the leather bound book she perused and rushed to stand. She had been dreading this moment, his return. Although, she racked her brain for hours, she still had no idea what her next move would be.
He staggered into the bedchamber, the door closing behind him. His curly hair stuck out in different directions, like he had run his fingers through it repeatedly and his eyes shone with a darker hue than normal.
Mid-stride into the room, Klaus froze, his gaze raking over her and Caroline colored at the intense scrutiny.
"You look -," He shook his head, like he attempted to wake from a stupor. "...Really beautiful."
A fissure of fear cracked her composure and she glanced down at the floor. Did that mean...had he forgotten he promised her time? Not wishing to appear fearful in front of him, she snapped her head back up, fully prepared to fight.
"Sometimes it is easier if I forget how beautiful you are," he said, stepping closer to her, continuing to stare. "Did Margaretha make this?"
Caroline self-consciously smoothed the front of her negligee with one hand. Pristine white satin, trimmed in delicate lace it appeared both sensual and virginal at the same time. When she first received it, she bad been pleased to remove the green gown and wear once more the angelic color she felt most comfortable in. Only, the negligee made a mockery of her heavenly robes with its thin shoulder straps and figure hugging bias cut. She attempted to put the other gown back on, only to have it whisked away and hung in one of the wardrobes in the room.
"I think so. Rebekah sent it over with Dimina. She told me she is to be my servant?"
"You will need someone to help you in and out of your gowns. Rebekah prefers old fashioned formal dress for court functions."
Caroline wanted to scream that she would not be here long enough to need a servant. That someone would come for her. Instead, she bit her lip
Klaus looked to the book she still held in her hand. "Is your next move to assault me with my own reading material?" He chuckled, but it held little mirth.
"No." Caroline clutched the book to her chest. "I hope you don't mind, but in my boredom I decided to find something to read from your bookshelves. I - I can put it back." She started to head back towards the shelf she pulled the book from.
He grasped her upper arm, stopping her. "You are welcome to read anything you find that interests you."
"Thank you." Caroline looked to where his hand still held her arm. His gentle touch didn't stop the influx of anxiety within her stomach.
"What book caught your eye?"
Caroline looked at him, trying to discern if he truly cared or if this was some new trick. A way to lull her into feeling safe before he pounced. He gazed back at her, his eyes enigmatic.
"It's just a conversation, love. I am partaking of your little ploy for myself. I have decided to get to know you."
His tone mocked her.
"Oh."
"Now, is the part where you talk. What are you reading?"
She lowered her gaze, embarrassed to tell him. "It is a book about art in the Renaissance."
"Art? What made you choose that?" he asked sharply, his fingers starting to dig into her arm.
"The pictures."
"What about them?"
His accusatory retort, shot shame straight into her heart. "I know, I shouldn't have looked. It's only that I have never seen such rich and beautiful things before."
Klaus exhaled, his hold relaxing. "How is that possible? Have you never been to a museum or an art gallery?"
"It is forbidden to roam earth for pleasurable reasons. We are there only for Holy work."
"How very dull."
"It is my duty."
Klaus pulled her by her arm towards his chest. "Your duty now is to please me."
Caroline held the book between them like a shield. "My duty is to purify souls and prepare them for a new life"
"Not anymore." He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "You need to forget your past. No longer are you a pawn to His will."
"No. I am your pawn now."
Her bitterness brought a glint of something hard into his eyes. "Yes. A pampered pawn who shall know nothing but luxury and passion at my side. I will give you the life you suppress within the shadow of your soul."
"I suppress nothing! You only want to bend me to your will and your desires."
"Yes, but I promise, I will make it pleasurable."
"It will be torment to me."
Klaus' hold tightened on her chin. "You are right. It will be torment." He pressed his mouth to hers, a lingering chaste kiss that had her holding her breath. "I will torment you with my mouth, my tongue and my body until you are panting and crying out my name"
The husky, raw sexuality in his tone erupted a tingling heat throughout her whole body. "That will never happen," Caroline retorted, ignoring the excited hum of her blood in her veins.
He chuckled. "I love the way you deny your desire and the inevitable." Klaus released her chin, his hands slipping down her sides to grip her hips. Her hand that held the book fell to her side. "Because make no mistake, it is only a short matter of time before you are in my bed, your legs wrapped around me."
Klaus rocked his hard body into hers, her thin negligee allowed her to feel every part of him, even that most male one. He moved against her, the slight friction sparking a terrible want within her. Her breasts swelled, her nipples budding and a excited ache spiraled low in her core.
Caroline's vision darkened, her eyes almost rolling back into her head and she swallowed back a moan.
"Give in, love. Stop your silly games."
Silly games? She played the ultimate game, one in which her very existence hung in the balance. Clarity like a splash of cold water hit her. "Stop!" Caroline fingers tightened on the book, fully intending to smack him with it if he persisted. "You promised to give me time to know you. For us to get better acquainted."
"Which I am starting to regret." He practically spat. "You would have me, the Prince of Darkness, on my knees begging for a taste of what already belongs to me."
Jolted by a lightning strike of fear, Caroline wrenched herself away from him. "We have an agreement."
"Do you really expect the Devil to honor his word?"
"I do." She lifted her chin stubbornly. "There must exist honor, even among the creatures of Hell. "
"Honor? Do you really suspect of me such a heinous trait?"
His eyes glittered at her, his mouth a thin line.
"Yes. I believe..." Caroline stopped, trying to figure out how to lie, what to say next to save herself. "That there is something good in you."
"You really think that?"
Her breath quickened, her chest clenching at the dangerous way he stared at her.
"I do."
"You will be disappointed to learn that there is nothing Angelic about me."
Dread curled in her stomach and Caroline took a step back as if his scathing words physically hit her. "You will not honor our agreement?"
"I will," Klaus sighed. "Not because I am good or I possess honor. But, because at this moment it pleases me to do so."
Caroline nodded, relief streaking through her.
"Now, don't you think it is time we retired?"
"To bed?"
"Where else? Would you prefer the floor?"
"You - you just said-" Caroline held the book to her chest like a weapon.
Klaus held up a hand to interrupt her. "To sleep. I have had far too much brimstone this day and my head is killing me."
"If you don't mind, I am content to sleep on one of the chaises."
"I do mind," he answered brusquely. "You are sleeping with me."
From the obstinate expression in his face, she knew better than to argue.
"I'll put the book back then." Caroline cringed at the breathless quality to her voice.
"No, wait." He joined her, taking the large volume from her hands. "You liked this book? The art?"
"Yes. I have never seen such beauty before. The paintings, they amazed me."
Klaus cocked his head to study her. "Which one did you like the most? Which artist?"
There existed a quality to his voice, she couldn't define. Eagerness and disbelief almost at once.
"I don't know. There were so many good ones." Caroline's hand fluttered to her chest. "I can't begin to choose. I don't know anything about the subject."
"Yes, you can. It is all about what you like."
Klaus held out the book, encouraging her.
Caroline took it from him, rifling through the pages. "I didn't get very far in the book, but I really liked Botticelli." Finding the page she wanted, she shyly handed the book back. "This one caught my eye."
"Primavera? You liked this?"
"Yes. Is it not very good?"
"No. It is a magnificent piece. One I have studied."
Caroline looked up from the picture on the page. "You study paintings?"
Klaus ran a fingertip over the page, tracing the Goddess dressed in flowers. Would that surprise you? That someone as evil as I can appreciate and enjoy art?"
"I just assumed that - I didn't expect that you would enjoy something of beauty like this."
"You assumed wrong."
While his voice was quiet, it stung like nettles.
"If you want to get to know me, you will have to see beyond the petty prejudices you were taught. Can you even do that, Caroline?" He stood so still, he didn't even appear to be breathing and even his finger had stopped its movement on the page.
It felt as if they were on a precipice and her entire existence depended on this one answer. The right answer. He appeared to need for her to see beyond his outward appearance and she didn't know if she could. Still, she gave him to only answer she knew he would accept. "I'll try."
He nodded, his finger once more outlining the figures on the page. "What did you like about this painting?"
"I don't know," she replied, the abrupt change of subject making her dizzy.
He stopped tracing the picture on the page and looked up, catching her gaze. "Yes, you do. Have confidence in your instincts, Caroline. What drew you to this particular painting?"
"The details. The colors." She took a deep breath to further explain, "I could recognize the plants and flowers within it. That and the figures, they are so beautifully done. It looks so elegant and real, like I could step into it." Caroline didn't intend to, but the colors on the page, so rich and vivid drew her and she ran her fingertips over the picture.
Klaus jerked the book from her, slamming it shut. He stalked over to the bookshelf and dumped it back on the shelf.
"Did I say something wrong?" Caroline asked, shocked by his action. "I told you, I didn't know anything about art."
"No. You said everything right," he snarled. He prowled towards her, the lines around his eyes and mouth tight. Anger radiated from him, a monster he barely could contain.
Caroline fisted her hands in the folds of her negligee to stop herself from running at the fierce gleam in his eyes.
"Get into bed."
"What have I done to anger you?"
She didn't know if it was her words or her fear, but he stopped in his tracks. His eyes shuttered closed briefly, his fingers threading through his hair.
"I answered your questions," she said, unsure of how to react to his strange behavior.
Klaus sighed, his eyes opening. "You did."
He stepped towards her, calmer now. Reaching her side, he brushed back the curls at her shoulder, taking a long, deep breath. "You aren't an Angel, but a witch."
"Witch? I'm not a -"
His mouth fell to her neck, his lips a fiery brand to her skin. He kissed her, buried his head into her shoulder like he needed comfort in some way.
"You are bewitching me."
The soft murmur, barely audible to her, sent her mind whirling. She didn't have time to even think about what he meant before he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently, he curled next to her, an arm around her waist. It caged her, made her feel even more his prisoner.
"Sleep, Caroline. I will not touch you tonight."
While he slept, she prayed to the Divine to Elijah and to Elena to hurry to her rescue. To give her the courage and strength to keep the Devil away.
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I wasn't planning on posting this so quickly but I couldn't resist after all the lovely messages on tumblr. I want to thank all of you for still being here - reading and reviewing. It keeps me writing.