Chapter 27: Elijah is Not a Cat

Hayley stumbled into the compound her warm breath hanging in mists around her mouth as she finally escaped the thundering downpour; she took a few deep breaths allowing her to readjust and ran her fingers through her dripping hair glad that she was under a roof. Elijah's hand traced the small of her back to steady her, he had insisted on carrying her after a while and Hayley had finally given in.

"Go." He instructed her, gesturing towards the stairs.

"Get yourself dry, you're bound to catch a cold."

Hayley stood stubbornly.

"No." She spoke obstinately, still trying to catch her breath.

"Elijah, what's going on? Tell me?" she insisted her eyes filled with worry.

"The people in the bayou. Where did they go?" she asked concerned, confused.

Elijah huffed knowing she was in no way going to move until he told her.

"It's the four elements." Elijah explained smoothing the droplets on his forehead. "This morning Davina vomited earth, and what you witnessed in the bayou was air and now this downfall is water. Fire is the final and worse consequence to follow." He spoke gravely, adamantly his hand gestures rigid.

"Consequence to what?" Hayley asked eagerly, her face pale her frame shaking slightly as her cold clothes clung to her.

"The Harvest." Elijah spoke and her eyes widened in realisation as things finally began to make some sense.

"Sophie called you for Celeste remains, in order to complete the harvest." Elijah continued to speak.

"She wishes to consecrate her bones to become an elder as in doing so she believes she will gain the power to complete what was disrupted long ago."

"They're going to sacrifice Davina?" Hayley asked her face paler as the picture in her mind grew larger.

Elijah nodded gravely.

"Elijah?" A voice then called and Hayley and Elijah both turned towards the hallway.

Rebekah came into view her eyes locking onto Hayley who couldn't help but smile at seeing the blonde original. Although it seemed hard to admit she really had missed her.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Rebekah spoke rudely but Hayley knew that that was just Rebekah. Her eyes shone with contentment at seeing Hayley and then darted to her brother smiling sweetly as if to say "I told you so."

"I'm most certainly not a cat." Elijah replied and Hayley couldn't help but let out a suppressed giggle.

Elijah's hearing accentuated within a second, rupturing with delight on hearing this sound and he suddenly felt the urge to be with her, alone. He craved her wholeheartedly.

Obviously this was as always something not possible in the moment, due to the pressing problems that manifested in this household.

Rebekah's smile suddenly dropped and in turn so did the others.

"It didn't work." Rebekah spoke.

"Consecrating the bones didn't work."

Elijah's eyes lowered in thought for a second. "I didn't think it would." He muttered almost angrily and then he walked forward.

"But I have an idea."

Rebekah and Hayley both turned to face him waiting for him to speak.

"Our mother." He spoke.

Rebekah huffed. "It's taken a thousand years, but you've finally gone mad."

Elijah ignored her comment continuing to think and speak.

"If we bury our mother on land owned by one of her decedents, she becomes a New Orleans witch and we as her family share in that ancestral magic."

Rebekah groaned in irritation.

"We're vampires Elijah, we can't practice magic, or own property."

"Yes but Sophie can." Elijah spoke.

"Okay but we have no living decedents." Rebekah challenged but was interrupted.

"Ah however there is but one living decent of our mothers." he spoke, his eyes hovered over to Hayley who finally pieced two and two together.

"The baby." She breathed her mind working like clockwork.

"Yes, the baby." Elijah repeated. He then fiddled with his jacket and removed a sheet of paper.

"And luckily, Hayley now holds the title."

Rebekah sighed.

Hayley stared at the sheet of paper. "He must have got that before he came to the bayou." She thought.

Suddenly she began to feel like a tool in this entire plan.

"Is that the only reason he came to see her?" she found herself thinking and Rebekah and Elijah speaking became a blur.

"No he wouldn't do that." Though then Hayley thought and she shook her head to return to reality. "Paranoia must be a side effect of pregnancy." She thought.

"We need to tell Klaus and deal with Davina and Marcell." She then heard Rebekah speak and anger rose up inside her.

The mentioning of Klaus dragged her back to the drunken kiss and her heart pattered with disgust.

Elijah noticed her expression from the corner of his eye but continued to listen to Rebekah.

"Where is our brother?" he asked.

"In the church, something about evacuating the bayou." She spoke quickly and Hayley filled up with shock.

"Klaus evacuated the bayou?" she finally spoke stopping Rebekah from leaving.

Rebekah nodded and then grabbing an umbrella disappeared out the door.

Hayley sighed with stress, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes.

Klaus confused her to the core but her anger towards him remained. One minute he was malignant the next charitable, it just didn't make sense.

Elijah watched her carefully him mouth a grim line at seeing her this way.

He reached out to sooth her though she unconsciously moved away. Elijah's eyes washed over hers immediately.

"What is it?" he asked concerned.

Hayley cocked her head to once side still supporting herself on the wall. How was she to answer that with everything going on?

"Nothing, it's not important." She spoke quietly.

"We should get going." She then spoke and shifted off the wall.

Elijah stood in front of her so that she was forced to lean back again. His hand traced her thumb.

"What is it?" he asked again softly.

Hayley sighed again but thought about whether she should tell him what was bothering her.

"Did you come to the bayou because you needed me for the harvest?" she asked.

"Is that why you didn't come earlier?"

"Hayley." Elijah spoke surprised on hearing this.

"Do you think I came to the bayou for the sole purpose of completely a ritual?"

"Do you think I solicited you to return, for your blood?" he spoke with shock and disappointment, his voice raised, his head drooped towards the ground and then with his eyes piercing into hers.

Hayley fathomed how pathetic her paranoid thoughts were now.

"Elijah." She spoke angry at herself for bringing it up in the first place, her hand reached out to lightly push his chest and move away.

Elijah did not budge.

"Hayley, do you have any idea of the agony I have been though being forced to stay away from you, all because of your instruction?"

Hayley's eyes widened and her hand slid down his chest and back to her side as she closed her mouth unable to speak.

"A thousand times I thought to go to the bayou and a thousand times I drank to dull the urge and unclamp gritted teeth and rid myself of twitching palms and horrid aches." He spoke with passion and through his teeth leaving Hayley standing transfixed.

She did not know what to say.

Her arms however grasped him close, locking around his waist and she heaved him against her, his one hand slamming onto the wall the other curving around her waist. Her lips pulsated against his and she poured out the frustration within her, their entire bodies tense and then relaxing. Elijah moaned into her mouth as she gasped for breath, his eyes screwed shut, his forehead pressing against hers before finally moving away to recover.

"We should go." Hayley breathed, her chest still heaving.