Chapter 11: Compromised

Connor parked his truck beside a silver trailer, and hopped deftly out. He was halfway between vehicles when he turned abruptly, stake in hand.

Klaus flipped the stake easily from his hand and quickly had him in a headlock. "Sorry, mate, but I'm faster than your average vampire."

"What do you want?" Connor spat.

Klaus loosened his grip on the hunter ever so slightly. "A simple trade. My brother, Elijah for Caroline."

"And why would you do that?"

"Elijah betrayed me," Klaus lied smoothly, "and I rather fancy the girl."

"I don't make trades," Connor grunted heatedly.

"Then think of it as an upgrade. Another Original for just your average vampire. I'd say you're getting a bargain."

Connor's eyes narrowed as he considered the hybrid's offer, then he finally sighed. "I'll need time."

"You have three days." Klaus beamed innocently at the hunter.

"Or what?"

"Or I start slaughtering the townsfolk. And do you really want their blood on your hands?" He raised an eyebrow and whistled lightheartedly as he turned to leave. Everything was going according to plan.

"You seem distracted," Connor sat in front of his trailer later that afternoon, sharpening a custom-made bullet.

"Does all the killing ever wear on you?" Blaze stared at the ground absentmindedly.

Connor stopped carving the wood and appraised her carefully. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think there's a limit on how many vampires you can stake until you start to feel like… less of yourself?"

The hunter's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you should take a break for a few days. Stefan and Elena will take the bait, and I'll let you know when they do."

Blaze wondered if she ought to feel suspicious, but staking Elijah had caused her more pain than she had realized. Every fiber of her insides continued to war in denial with her feelings for the man.

"Sure, I'll… do some training exercises or something." Her thoughts were everywhere, but they kept flickering around the level-headed Mikaelson brother. What was she going to do?

"Listen to me," Connor paused and peered at her meaningfully. "Those vampires took everything away from you. Your father is dead… because of them."

A frenzy of rage suddenly blistered beneath her skin as she thought of her father. It was the vampires' fault. They had to die. They had to die. "Don't worry," she breathed with renewed vengeance. "I'll help you stake every last one of them."

"Good," Connor nodded and returned to his blade.

Elijah's eyes flickered open in a torch-lit cave. As consciousness returned fully he spied a white ash dagger on the ground in front of him.

"What is this?" He began to struggle, but his bounds seared into his skin and weakened him further.

"Elijah," Rebekah smirked feebly. "How nice of you to join us."

"How did this happen?" Elijah stared in disbelief at two of his siblings, a handful of Klaus's immobilized hybrids, and Damon Salvatore. The last thing he consciously remembered was a tear falling from Blaze's eye.

"Blaze happened," his sister spat dimly. "If I ever get out of here, I swear I'll kill that wench."

"Now, now, sister," Kol echoed from beside her. "Where are your manners? I do hope you'll share."

"Enough," Elijah breathed solidly and proceeded to glance around the room. "Why is Miss Forbes not with us?"

"Oh that would be Nik," Rebekah rolled her eyes halfheartedly. "He leveraged your capture for Caroline's release."

Their catch-up was cut short by the echo of two voices. At first Elijah's jaw clenched in anger, expecting Connor and Blaze, but he quickly realized the difference in their intonations.

"Elena," Damon whispered weakly.

"Are you sure this is what Caroline was talking about?" Elena murmured softly as she and Stefan crept stealthily through the first few doors of the cave.

"This is the only cave around for miles." Stefan inched ahead carefully.

"I don't understand how Klaus can be so sure that we're all going to get out of this alive."

"What other choice do we have, Elena? We can't leave Damon and Tyler to die." Stefan clambered through the last door and creased his eyebrows in mute distress.

"Oh my gosh," Elena rushed forward to Damon, but the vervain in his ropes singed her skin.

"Elena," Damon coughed. "Get out of here."

Before she could decipher his warning, a shot fired, hitting Stefan square in the chest with a vervain dart. Elena raced for the door, but a second shot nailed her in the shoulder, and she fainted promptly to the ground.

"Well, what do you know?" Rebekah glared tiredly. "The hunter finally hunts."

Connor ignored her jibes as he tied Stefan and Elena to pillars of their own.

"Where are you going, darling?" she teased as Connor headed through the doors, but he made no reply.

"Damn," she pouted and winced at her own ropes.

"So this is it then." Blaze exhaled edgily at the mouth of the cave days later.

"Of course we're two vampires short," Connor admitted in disappointment. "But it's better than the alternative."

Blaze couldn't help but sigh in silent relief. If another vampire was missing, that meant Elijah was safe. They'd kill the others, and she'd have avenged her father's death.

"So if they've all been here for the past three days, why are you just calling me now?" Blaze creased her eyes in confusion.

"To get this." Conner held a pale, metallic-veined stake in the air. "The only weapon that can kill an Original. I finally found it in Damon Salvatore's sock drawer."

"But how did you even find out about it?" She stared at the stake in awe.

Connor shrugged. "I decided to use a play from your book." He removed earpiece from his ear, and Blaze gasped.

"But you need this," Connor's gaze narrowed. "It's time to make the vampires pay for your father's death."

He handed the white oak stake to Blaze, and she nodded in grave understanding. This was really it.

They entered the cavern and plowed deep into the crevices before reaching the doors. Then the two of them entered the vast pillared room, filled with flickering torch light.

Blaze gazed unsympathetically at her victims until she realized Caroline's place was no longer occupied. Her heart beat frantically. No.

"Where's Caroline," she couldn't help but sound frantic.

"She was released in place of the oldest Mikaelson brother."

Blaze was certain every vampire in the cave could hear her heart burst. Her eyes met the discerning gaze of the Original's, and her heart broke. "Elijah?" Her eyes filled with tears.

So, I've really enjoyed writing about this scenario, but it hasn't garnered a lot of feedback, so I'm pretty sure any thoughts of a sequel are getting axed.

I'm also fairly certain that the next chapter will be the last one, so I can focus on my Secret of the Petrovas sequel, and my Wolves in the Closet Project. Thanks for reading. Please Review! -Viola