Chapter 2: The Imprisoning Rescue

The morning dawned, bright and cheerful, but inside me cumulonimbus clouds bigger than the Empire State Building fogged my thinking as I remembered what lay ahead. Balthazar had not come back yet from nailing down Mikael's location, and the anticipation was killing me. Well, they do always say that anticipation is worse than the real thing; then again, no one really anticipates an ancient vampire trying to suck their blood. At least, no one that I know of.

I sat on one of the leather chairs located in the main living area with a cup of coffee in my hand, while my other hand was placed near my temple. My heart, however, was pounding in my chest, and practically brushed against one of the bones of my ribcage it was thumping so hard, while my brain seemed to be setting up more scenarios than there are good ideas in the US Congress; each scenario was scarier and darker as they progressed, and thankfully screeched to a halt when my phone buzzed. Balthazar's name was on the screen, and almost instantly my stomach did a flip-flop as I tapped the green button. "Hello?"

"Abira! Good news- we found where Mikael is located. But you better get here quickly- Klaus and a bunch of his gang are onto him. I'll text the location. See you here!"

Taking a deep breath, I stood and hastily made my way down to the garage, where I slid into my car, started the engine, and (after closing the door and buckling myself) tore out of the garage like a bat out of Hell.

The address took me to what looked like an abandoned warehouse, and as I located Balthazar, I noticed that there was a dark greenish-black old 1969 Mustang already there. Odd. Wonder who drove that here?

Balthazar was standing outside the warehouse, frantically waving me down as I stopped and cut the engine. "They have him cornered- Klaus, Marcel, Hayley, a young witch, and a blonde girl. You better get in there fast."

"I'll need to distract the group to get Mikael out of there. I have an idea." Popping the trunk, I grabbed a gas mask, a canister of tear gas, and a concussion grenade. With that, I strapped on my gas mask and turned into the warehouse and quietly made my way to the room just beside the room where Mikael and the others were.

I heard a loud crash and a grunt of pain, before feet scuttered around. I heard Klaus's voice say, "It's over, Mikael. You're outnumbered."

I peered around the corner of the room I was in, and saw Klaus and the others standing apart from a rather tall man with a strong build.

"Are you going to beg for your miserable life?" Klaus continued.

No, because I'm about to take him out of your grasp, childish fleabag.

Before Mikael could respond, I pulled the pin on the concussion grenade and threw it into the room, where I saw it clatter at Klaus's feet before it let out a blinding flash of light and a high-pitched noise (thankfully, my gas mask is modified to withstand this-just so you know). Everyone in the room let out grunts of pain and confusion, and with that I pulled the pin on the tear gas and threw it in. Now I heard gagging and coughing from the next room. I rushed in, pulled Mikael by the arm, and took him outside to my car, where Balthazar waited.

"What has happened?" I heard Mikael hiss in a raspy voice. He coughed a couple of times and rubbed his eyes. "My eyes-"

Balthazar reached up and touched two fingers to his forehead, instantly healing him. Blinking, Mikael looked around for a while in confusion before his eyes rested on me. Their icy blue retinas narrowed slightly before he asked, "Who are you?" in a growling tone.

"I'm the person who just saved your rear end," I replied bluntly.

" I don't need saving!" he spat acidly. "I could have handled them easily!"

"Really? With one of them holding a wood stake- which I assume can kill you, judging by the way the blonde girl held it?" Balthazar replied icily. "Be glad that we came in and intervened at all!"

Mikael rounded on Balthazar quickly. "And who are you?"

"That is classified for now. You are now under my custody. Let's get out of here before the tear gas and concussion grenade effects wear off." Balthazar looked at me. "I'll take him back. Meet you at the house." With that, he took Mikael's arm, and disappeared without a trace. Scanning to make sure that nobody saw me, I got in my car and sped back home.

What a butthole.

A few power angels and one of Balthazar's superiors were also at the mansion when I arrived about half an hour later. They were talking with Balthazar in the living area, while the power angels had Mikael surrounded on every side as he sat on one of the chairs, and it looked as though they had placed some sort of cuffs over his hands. He did not look happy at all, and faintly I could see him struggling against his restraints, but once he decided they were stronger than he anticipated, he rested his hands on his legs.

"Ah, hello, Abira," Balthazar's superior greeted me with a warm smile. "Well done getting Mikael out of there."

I gave a respectful nod. "Thank you, sir. Though I did rescue an ungrateful subject," I said, casting a glare over at Mikael, "he will be an invaluable source for this investigation."

"Mikael has been on our radar for quite some time now, especially now that he has fed from Camille- that was the blonde woman in the warehouse. For now, the power angels will guard him and put him down if necessary. Only at your command, Balthazar, will Mikael be free from his restraints."

"So you rescued me just to imprison me?! I'd have rather died in that warehouse with dignity than be imprisoned by you fools!"

"SILENCE!" Balthazar's superior shouted, holding out his palm toward Mikael. Immediately Mikael shut his trap and sat back down. His icy eyes were narrowed in my direction. While his stare was scary, I returned the look and stared back at him, until his attention shifted back to the conversation.

"Whatever information you get out of him, be sure it gets to me as soon as possible. Those witches are giving us a headache back in the graveyard, but so far martial law has prevented them from summoning in any demons. Balthazar, I leave you in charge here. Keep up the good work."

Once he had vanished, Balthazar looked over at Mikael and the power angels. "You can release the shackles on him- I highly doubt that he will try and make a run for it. If he tries, he will be whooshed down to Hell faster than he can blink." One of the guards undid the shackles from Mikael's hands, which Mikael rubbed. "So you must be Balthazar."

"Yes."

Mikael's icy eyes looked over at me. "And you're Abira?"

"Abira Lee," I replied in a flat tone. "Pleasure."

His mouth straightened. "Why exactly am I needed here? What information is needed?"

Sighing, I went over and sat across from him, looking directly into his face. "We have been receiving reports of various bites on humans since 1991. The bites are usually infected and on the side of the neck, but the bodies are always drained of blood. What we need from you is information regarding details of Klaus's hybrid nature so that we can figure out whether it is him or not."

He scoffed. "And why would I ever comply with you?"

"Maybe it's a) the fact that you can be executed within a second of noncompliance, or b), you owe me this after saving you from what could have been certain death, and we will keep you alive and away from Klaus and his crew," I snapped. "Choose wisely."

He glared at me once more, but I saw him cast a nervous glance at the guards stationed around him. "Very well then," he growled. "I'll help you bring Niklaus to the stand. If there was ever a being I hated more, it's him."

You and me both, pal. You and me both.

Balthazar coughed slightly, drawing both of our attentions back to him. "Mikael, I best show you where you will be staying. There will be guards stationed at your door to ensure both your security- not that you really need it, given your reputation, nasty as it is- and your incarceration." He looked over at me. "You come too, my dear."

Like a large and odd flock of sheep, Balthazar, me, Mikael, and the power angel guards hiked up the large staircase to the second floor, where my bedroom and Balthazar's study reside. To the left of my room is an unoccupied guest room that has remained empty for quite some time; in fact, I really cannot remember the last time the room was inhabited. Anyway, we hiked up to this room, allowing Balthazar to open the door. The room was actually large and spacious; the large circular window faced the distant city skyline and the banks of the Mississippi, with the bright sunlight reflecting off of the water. On the wall closest to the outer hallway was a massive king-sized bed decorated in a dark scarlet duvet, and to the left of the bed was a small glass nightstand with a fairly large lamp. Two dark oak doors were situated in the eastern wall, leading into a nicely sized closet. The walls were painted in a darker blue, and the floor was covered with a cream-colored, exceedingly soft carpet. Glancing up at Mikael, I noticed that even he was impressed at his accommodations.

"This room should suit you comfortably. My study is just down the hall, and Abira's bedroom is just next to yours," Balthazar declared. He turned to the power angel guards, and asked in a hushed whisper (that, thanks to my vampire hearing, I could still make out), "Would two of you mind guarding Abira's bedroom, especially at night? I don't want to take chances with an Original vampire sucking her blood out." Two of the guards gave almost imperceptible nods.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Balthazar and said, "I will be going down to the garage. I want to do a quick scan of the other car down there- last I heard, the engine was rattling quite a bit." He nodded, and I turned, purposefully shoved Mikael out of the way, and headed down the stairs once more to the garage. I could feel Mikael glaring at the back of my head, and I heard the footsteps of the guards as they followed me down. Certainly, this was going to be interesting.