Chapter 10

Bad times are upon us

Florida 2010

"Don't fight it… This is what you want…

His touch felt so good. But this was wrong. His hands were caressing her breasts. His lips were kissing her neck. No… She shouldn't be doing this. And she definitely shouldn't enjoy it. Stop. Stop!

Zora felt the same embarrassment than she always did after those dreams. She was grateful that it was dark. She still felt out of breath and her face was probably red. What the hell was wrong with her? Zora couldn't believe that she actually missed those creepy nursery rhymes. These dreams were just humiliating. She felt so exposed and completely stupid. Klaus really seemed to enjoy messing with her. What a bastard. She just couldn't understand what he hoped to accomplish. Well, she was sometimes actually afraid to fall asleep. Maybe that was his big master plan, cause her insomnia. Zora suppressed her hysterical giggle. She needed some air and climbed to a deck. They were currently living in a houseboat. It was a nice change. Nathan had told her that he used to love boating. Zora had felt some seasickness at first, although they usually didn't even leave the pier but she had got over it. It was very warm here and she usually just wore shorts and tops. That was nice, although sometimes the heat was a little too much. Zora had swum a lot. She had even taken diving lessons.

"Can't sleep?" Nathan asked.

Zora flinched. She hadn't heard him coming.

"Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zora felt herself blushing again.

"Not really."

"Ok. Nice night."

"Yeah. How long are we going to stay here?"

"I don't know. I kind of like it here", Nathan said.

"Me too."

Zora hesitated.

"Listen Nathan, I've been thinking… You know I'm not a child anymore and you have already done more than enough for me so you should just settle down somewhere and…"

"Hey, we've been over this, I'm not leaving you", Nathan said firmly.

Zora smiled at him gratefully.

"I appreciate that but you deserve some stability in your life. You know, a home, maybe a pet, girlfriend…"

Nathan's face went blank.

"I'm sorry", Zora said quickly. "I didn't mean to…"

"I know, it's just…I already found the one who I was meant to be with and I lost her. That's it."

"I'm sorry", Zora repeated quietly.

She was painfully aware of the fact that Nathan had lost Lucilla because of her. How could she ever make that right?

"Maybe we should try to get some sleep", she suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. Why don't you go ahead, I think I need a smoke."

"You know those things will kill you, right?"

Nathan smiled.

"Probably. Good night Zora."

"Good night."

Zora went back to her bed. She knew she couldn't sleep. Poor Nathan. There had to be something she could do for him. Maybe she could arrange a blind date for him…

"Hello Zora."

Zora jumped up in panic. She recognized that voice immediately. Elijah.

"Now, before you do something foolish, like try to use your abilities against me, I would like to ask you to think about your warlock friend", Elijah said calmly.

"Nathan… If you have hurt him, I swear…"

"He's fine", Elijah interrupted her. "Someone is keeping him company. But unfortunately I can't guarantee his safety without your co-operation."

"What do you want from me?" Zora asked coldly. "Are you here to finish what you started?"

Elijah looked uncomfortable.

"No, that was… I should have handled that differently. I never wanted to hurt you. I was just trying to prevent… Well, that doesn't matter anymore. In case you haven't heard, Klaus managed to break the curse."

Zora's eyes widened.

"He did? So he's a hybrid now?"

"Yes."

"Is he still after me?"

"Yes."

"But why? What does he want with me? I thought his ultimate goal was trying to use me for becoming a hybrid. Since he is a hybrid now, why would he…"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple", Elijah said gloomily. "He was interest about your origin, sure, but it was never his intent to use you as some kind of guinea-pig."

Zora swallowed. This didn't sound good.

"Why does he want to find me then?"

Elijah looked serious. Zora could saw pity in his eyes. That really scared her.

"Elijah? Please just tell me."

"Come with me please", Elijah said. There was no emotion in his voice.

Zora wanted to see that Nathan was alright so she followed him to the deck. Nathan was lying there motionless.

"Nathan!" Zora cried out and kneeled next to him.

He was breathing and his pulse was strong. Zora had never been so relieved. That feeling disappeared soon when someone stepped in front of her. Zora raised her head slowly. She knew immediately who this man was. He was smiling.

"My sweet Zora", he said with charming British accent. "Finally we meet in person. My name is Klaus."