AN: Sorry for the wait everyone. I had the flu last week and wasn't able to get any writing done. It was really annoying. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait! Thank you all so much for reading and have a great weekend! :)
"Your nightmares follow you like a shadow, forever." ― Aleksandar Hemon
She had been told since a young age that getting into a stranger's car was a bad idea. Maybe she could feel the kinship of magic between her and the other woman, but Bonnie couldn't shake the unease that ran through her as they drove in silence. She had asked a few questions at the beginning, wanting to know more about how the woman knew Shane and the new witch she was going to meet. Every question had been answered with short, vague responses and she felt restless, only more questions rising from all of the answers, and she didn't like how uncertain everything was currently.
The only thing that kept running through her head was that Jeremy and Matt were dead, technically so were Elena and Caroline, but at least there's wasn't permanent, and if she had her way they'd be back to normal in a few days. And maybe there was some truth to the rest of the nonsense in Shane's parting letter. Maybe she could bring Jeremy and Matt back as well. She'd done it before with Jeremy, but Bonnie wasn't sure that was possible any longer with how cut off she was from the spirits.
"We're here," the woman told her, stopping at the curb to a house. She made no move to park, kept the engine running and motioned for Bonnie to get out. "I need to get back and get my kids to school."
"Thanks for the ride," Bonnie told her, and started to get out of the car.
"We've been waiting for you for a while," the woman told her as Bonnie shut the door, driving away before she had a chance to respond.
Bonnie turned, stopping when she saw another woman standing before her. There was something different about this one, a stronger bond to magic that she hadn't experienced since being around her grandmother. Her hairstyle reminded Bonnie of a film they had watched in school once set in the early fifties, a short, soft wave of brown that coupled with the dress the woman was wearing had Bonnie wondering if the woman had been alive in the fifties. Even if she didn't look old enough to have been.
"Hello, Bonnie Bennett," the woman greeted, nodding politely at her and motioning toward the home in the background. "I'm Valerie LaMarche and welcome to my home." She started walking back toward it and Bonnie had no choice but to follow. "I wish we were meeting under far better circumstances but Shane had reasons for wanting to do things his way. Unfortunately I always knew they would get him killed."
"How did you know?" Bonnie asked, following the woman into the house and then further into the kitchen. There were others around, one making coffee, while the other two disappeared out of the back door before Bonnie could get a good look at them. She might not have vampire senses, but she could hear the sound of people upstairs as well.
"He never should have had Connor go to Mystic Falls to gain his mark. Not with the rumor that the Originals were in town," Valerie told her, beckoning for her to take a seat at the table beside her. "Do you want cream or sugar for your coffee?"
"Just milk," Bonnie replied absently. "They were there. Still are." Maybe. She wasn't entirely certain if Klaus had stuck around or not. What had Stefan said again?
"Far easier ways to have the mark appear than trifling with those creatures," Valerie told her, gaze darkening for a moment before she smiled again. There was something about it that Bonnie didn't quite like, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"For the mark to appear he needed to kill vampires though," Bonnie murmured as a cup of coffee was placed down by her along with the milk carton. "Thank you."
The man who'd done so simply nodded and left the room as well. "And he could have done that anywhere," Valerie replied, before sipping her own coffee. "He did manage two out of the three sacrifices though. And he found you so it's not all lost."
"Sacrifices?" Bonnie placed down her mug, shaking her head. That definitely didn't make sense. She couldn't contemplate Shane being part in any kind of sacrifice. There hadn't been any of those since Klaus' curse breaking any way.
"What all did he tell you?" Valerie asked, and Bonnie sighed, not surprised she wasn't getting a clear explanation.
"After you tell me about the sacrifices," she told the woman, refusing to be played by someone else. Hadn't that happened enough already? Her anger got away from her, the candles in the dining room off to the right igniting in response to her emotions. She could feel the dark pull again, wanting to overpower her, to take over, but she kept it in check, refusing to give herself over to it.
"To wake Silas," Valerie told her, waving a hand to extinguish the flames. "You will have the power to do so. You simply need to learn how to harness it."
"Why would I want to do that? I just want the cure for my friends. That's it," Bonnie told her, side-eying the others who had walked back into the house.
"You can have it," Valerie replied, picking up her mug again. "But if you bring Silas back as well then you can bring back every single person in your life that has died because of them." Bonnie frowned, knowing who the woman was referring to but wondering how exactly she knew so much. "Shane said your grandmother died because of the supernatural. Your friends are vampires—turned against their will? Or to save them from such an early, unfair death? How many others that you've known who've been sacrificed for the supernaturals gain? Such as your mother?"
"Bringing people back has consequences," Bonnie murmured, remembering what had happened after she'd brought back Jeremy, after messing with Klaus and Tyler.
"If you use spirits or nature to garner your strength," Valerie replied, that smile back again, but this time there wasn't any mirth to it. "But not if you use expression as Shane had been teaching you. It doesn't pull from either. It pulls from you and from others."
"It kills them." Like she'd done to the poor workers while trying to revive Shane. She had been so lost in her own mind that she hadn't thought through the consequences of her actions. Those men had families that would miss them and she'd been the one to kill them.
"What does that matter when they'll only return on Silas' wake? A noble sacrifice to get you to the level you need to be at," Valerie continued, waving a hand at her worries. Bonnie opened her mouth to protest that. What exactly was the guarantee that anything this woman was telling her would even come to pass. As far as she knew those men were dead. Shane was dead. Jeremy. Matt. "Or would you rather let it all go? Return to being useless to your friends who are barely managing? Do the Originals know about the cure? Do you think they'll walk away from it if they do?"
Bonnie glared at the table. She couldn't fathom Klaus walking away from the cure. Not when it could give him back Elena as a human. And then where would they be? He would go right back to using her as his own personal blood bag. Though Bonnie couldn't understand why he had killed Shane…it had to have been him. He was the only other person who she could think would do so. He was the only one who had any reason to go after him. Had he killed Jeremy and Matt too? She really couldn't put it past him even if she didn't understand why he would do that. Unless he'd tortured the location of the cure out of Shane and didn't need Jeremy and his mark any longer.
"Klaus killed Shane. I think he killed Jeremy too—he was the new Hunter," Bonnie started, trying to make sense of it all. Maybe the others had an idea of why he would do such a thing. "But if a Hunter is needed then…" It didn't add up.
"The Hybrid," Valerie murmured, leaning back in her chair and watching Bonnie carefully. "He would be the one who would be involved in this. At least the others aside from Elijah are daggered."
Bonnie looked up at that. "They're all undaggered. Except Rebekah." Though she had no idea where the other girl's body was residing currently. "And Finn's dead. But Elijah and Kol are out there as well."
"Kol." Valerie's tone grew cold and Bonnie watched as the woman's features hardened, eyes narrowing as she said the name. And then just like that the polite smile was back. "No matter. We'll work ourselves around them."
Bonnie's phone rang and she pulled it out, frowning when she saw the Mrs. Forbes name on the call screen. Sheriff Forbes?" she answered, remembering that Caroline was missing. God she hoped this wasn't news that another of her friends was dead.
"I've been trying to reach you for hours now," she heard the older woman let out a relieved breath, concern evident in her voice. "Two of your friends are dead, Stefan was taken by Rebekah, and Caroline has been kidnapped by her brothers. The last thing I need is for you to go AWOL, Bonnie Bennett."
"Caroline's been kidnapped?" Bonnie asked, rising from the chair as she tried to digest that news. "Why the hell did they take her? I knew using her to distract him all those times would come back to bite us." She would find that damn white oak stake, somehow unlink Klaus from all of his descendants and then shove it into his chest if Caroline was hurt. Stefan being taken by Rebekah was also an issue but she figured he could handle the Original.
"She's okay. I'm still trying to accept the fact that she's being used as leverage against one of the biggest threats we've ever seen, but she's safe. I need to know that you are now too," Liz continued, and nodded for a moment before realizing that the Sheriff wouldn't be able to see that.
"I'm okay. I'm with…friends." Bonnie looked over at Valerie, watching the woman nod at that.
"You remember what I had to say to pick you up from elementary school? You use that if you're not," Liz replied, and Bonnie couldn't help but smile at that.
"I'm really with friends," she promised. "I'll get Caroline back, Sheriff Forbes. Don't worry." Bonnie hung up before the older woman could answer and shut off her phone.
Bonnie knew how volatile Klaus was and the fact he'd killed all of his Hybrids, Shane, and possibly Jeremy and Matt only a day ago, had her worried about her best friend's life. She'd never forgive herself if Klaus killed Caroline too. Not if she could somehow stop it with this new magic that she needed to get a better handle on. This wasn't how their lives were supposed to be. She refused to let them become victims once again.
"What do you need me to do?" Bonnie asked, refusing to lose any more people in her life.
"Who has your friend?" Valerie asked. "Perhaps we can help locate her."
"Klaus does," Bonnie bit out, glasses in the pantry shaking as her anger spiked again. "She should be easy to find. I made her daylight ring. I should be able to locate her using that."
"Did he take her to use against you?" Valerie motioned at the others who started moving again, leaving the room though Bonnie didn't understand why.
"No, she's being used against him. He has a ridiculous obsession with her." And it was going to get Caroline killed. Bonnie just knew it would. Look at what he did to his own family? Who knew what he would do to Caroline if he became enraged enough with her.
The only thing she didn't understand was why anyone would need to use Caroline against Klaus right now. Or why that would even work. She felt like she was missing a huge piece of the puzzle. "Her mom said she was being used as leverage and that Rebekah's brothers have her," she murmured out loud, trying to make sense of it all. "But I don't get why Kol or Elijah would want to use her against Klaus. Or maybe they all got her back from whoever was using her as leverage."
"How curious." Bonnie was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Valerie's intrigued look at that little revelation, the sinister smile that spread across her face for a moment before the politeness was fixed back into place on her features.
"Try not to worry," Valerie continued, reaching over to rest a hand on top of Bonnie's. "We'll locate her and do what we can to help her. Meanwhile you need to work on upping your stamina with spells. That's what Shane was working on with you, preparing you for the amount of magic you'll be taking in as you perform expression. We'll continue doing that at a faster pace so that you and your friends will get the cure and we'll get Silas."
Bonnie nodded. And once she was powerful enough nothing was going to stop her from getting Klaus into a box again and putting him into the damn ocean. The rest of his family could go with him if they tried to get in her way.
"Isaac and Lilian will start you on your training," Valerie told her, motioning to the two people who had reentered the room. "Do you have anything on you that might link us to Caroline?"
Bonnie rose, trying to think if she had anything that could help with that. She pulled out the keys to her house from her pocket. "She made the key ring." The small friendship bracelet Caroline had made for her and Elena back in middle school that had somehow survived since then. Bonnie slid it over to the woman and then followed the other two out of the room, ready to work.
Valerie picked up the keychain, frowning as another of the witches entered the room and waited until the door was closed, Bonnie safely out of range for hearing their conversation. "Kol Mikaelson is awake," she started, nearly spitting out the Original's name. Anyone who wanted to raise Silas knew what that vampire had done to the previous cult, knew to be wary of him and his penchant for destroying what they needed to do. "I have reason to suspect he got the Hybrid to do his bidding to kill Shane and the newly found Hunter." It was a step back in their plans but one that could easily be fixed with a little effort on their part.
There was quite a bit of lore on the Original family and while she didn't know which parts were true and which were fiction, the one constant was always that you didn't want to cross paths with them. Especially Klaus. The only thing he seemed to have an interest in had been the sun and moon curse and his own siblings who were just as unkillable. Though it seemed he had a new obsession and Valerie couldn't help but wonder if that would be useful to keeping him from disrupting what they needed to get done or at least distracting him long enough for them to do as needed.
She turned the keychain over in her hand. "I think we might have the perfect leverage to get him to stop working with Kol." It couldn't hurt to try. She'd simply need to keep Bonnie Bennett from figuring out what she would be doing to her little friend. A vampire. They were a dime a dozen and if Klaus played nicely the girl wouldn't suffer too much.
Usually her nightmares were the same old things. Memories replaying her father torturing her, Alaric doing the same, the wolves, sometimes the hybrids. Some nights she'd be revisited by what Damon had done back when she'd been his little disposable pet. Constant replaying of some of her greater trials in life so far on an endless loop that she couldn't seem to push her way out of until she woke in the middle of her bed, clutching her covers and reminding herself that she had survived those moments. That they hadn't broken her, not completely, and the little dents they had tried to imprint in her mind and soul were already pounded back out, barely noticeable unless someone was trained to find them.
Sometimes it would be her fears. Watching her friends die around her, unable to save them. Her mother dying at her hand. A thousand little worries that she battled to keep down and out of her mind, that she swore weren't allowed to come true. She'd always wake up and listen for her mom's heartbeat when a dream was a little too real, search out for a reminder that the woman was safe and sound for another night. If Liz wasn't home then Caroline would head to the station, never quite venturing inside, just sitting in her car and searching out for her mother's voice. The sound of it was always enough to soothe away the dark thoughts that would try and haunt her sleep.
This was different though.
Caroline didn't see anything; there were no memories at play, no images at all. She was in complete darkness, not a light to be seen and she couldn't even make out herself. It was unsettling being unable to use her enhanced vision in her dreams. But it was what she felt that was the most troubling. A deep, inexplicable sense of nothingness, as if all the good, all the happiness that she had ever experienced was being sucked away, forced from her and leaving her with nothing to hold onto.
She felt like she was being stripped bare, a worse violation than what Damon had done, and she hated it. Tried to fight it, to hold back whatever was tugging at her head, seeming to branch into her dreams somehow and trying to manipulate her. There was no pain, there was nothing, and that made it worse. She'd rather have experienced something than nothing at all. It frightened her more than anything else had and she didn't understand it, couldn't fight it. She felt more vulnerable in that moment than she'd ever felt at any other point in her life.
She pushed back against the feeling, tried to grapple onto anything that she could remember that made her happy. Her mother's voice, certain cheers, the feel of a horse's mane beneath her fingers. Laughter echoed through the air around her but it shattered, distorting into something awful.
She wanted out, wanted to wake up and tried her usual tricks to get out of a nightmare, but none worked. She wasn't in control of whatever was happening and she knew it. The vulnerability of that frightened her, was no doubt expected to terrorize her, but she tried to manipulate her fear to her advantage. She wasn't about to be a victim again, especially not in her own mind.
"Let him know if they keep this up I will strip you of your mind," a voice called out in her head, ugly and foreign.
What? What the hell was the voice even going on about? She couldn't pin point its gender, couldn't get a gage at all on it aside from the menacing factor to it.
"You will be nothing but a pretty doll to cart around," it continued, and she shivered at that idea. "Though perhaps that's what he's after anyway. A beautiful doll to add to his collection of beautiful things."
She wanted to tell the voice to shut up, but no matter how hard she tried to talk no sound would come out. "End this quest or suffer the consequences," the voice continued and turned in the darkness, trying to pinpoint it, wanting to destroy it.
"I think you need a taste of what that will be like."
Caroline blinked and she was lying in the hotel bed but she couldn't move, no matter the amount of effort she put into trying to do so. Klaus was there, hovering over her, touching her face and he looked severely agitated. He was saying something but she couldn't understand him and once he saw that her eyes were open his worried expression turned infinitely more disturbed.
And then there was nothing again, just the overwhelming darkness that was trying to pull her down. "Get them to stop, child, or you will endure that fate."
Was this what drowning felt like? Trying to breathe and being constantly pushed down by the water, trying to push back up, flailing for life, but unable to reach it?
"Caroline."
Her head snapped toward the voice, trying to place where she'd heard it before, trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from. She couldn't find it though. Only black. Darker than she had ever experienced and she struggled against the overwhelming weight that seemed to be crushing her, tugging her downward.
"Caroline."
The voice was nearer but she still couldn't see it, couldn't latch onto it for the help she felt like it was trying to provide. Her struggling increased, causing the darkness to seemingly surround her, pulling her further away, pressing her downward.
And then suddenly it was over and she was sitting up in the bed, voicelessly screaming and Klaus was sitting beside her, one of his hands on her arm, anchoring her in place. She frantically looked around, shivering at the coldness that still seeped into her very bones. She felt colder than she ever had in her life and that shouldn't have been possible. Vampires could feel the different temperatures but it shouldn't have affected her like it was.
Klaus was speaking to her, saying words that she vaguely heard. It was his tone that was helping the most, calm and gentle, reminding her of when they had been in the high school hallway together. It had been meant to soothe her then, to reassure, just like it was now. She couldn't help but be grateful for that. Part of her still didn't want to be anywhere near him, not after what he had done, not after his dark promises about what would happen to Tyler, what had already happened to Jeremy, what he saw as her apparent future.
But she didn't want to be alone and she knew the words of whoever had been inside of her head had been for her to tell him and Kol. She just needed to get control of her body and emotions so she could tell him. Maybe he would know how whoever it was could get into her head like that and control her in that way.
Or maybe it had been him. Maybe Klaus had been screwing with her? She didn't think that was the case because she was so sure she'd opened her eyes and couldn't move, seeing him there, trying to talk to her. But maybe that had all been part of the manipulation?
"Did you do that?" she asked, glancing at him. Except his worried expression that shifted to annoyance at her question pretty much answered that.
Caroline looked away, running her hands through her hair as she tried to get her body to calm down. "I don't know what that was." All she knew was that she didn't like it. Didn't ever want to experience it again.
"I couldn't get in your head," Klaus murmured, and she looked at him again. "I tried when I smelled your rising fear, when I came in and saw you thrashing about on the bed, clearly in trouble. But something was blocking me from doing so."
Caroline knew they were able to manipulate dreams. It must have been an easy task usually for one as old as him. She'd never tried it, never had a reason to, but she'd known Katherine had done it to Stefan before. "You were calling my name?" she asked, realizing that it was his voice she had heard while the darkness had tried to consume her.
"Then it seems I was closer to your mind than I had previously thought." Klaus nodded, closely watching her but she couldn't get a good read on his expression. "You're shaking. You need to feed."
She shook her head, wiping hair from her face. "I'm okay." There were only like two bags left and she didn't want to run out of them. Who knew what he'd done to get her them. God, she hoped no one had died.
"Aside from not having a werewolf bite festering on your shoulder, love, you look about as pale and worn out as you did that night," Klaus assessed, pushing up off of the bed. "I'd be happy to offer up some of my own since we both know you won't let me take you to get something more fresh. Or you can have one of the bags in the fridge."
The bastard even rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, offering up his wrist.
It was so hard to decline that offer, but she forced back her internal reaction, felt her fangs poking out of her gums, desperately wanting release. She knew he had to have seen something he liked in the way she reacted though because he smiled. Though not a taunting one that she'd seen quite often. More one that was proud of some unknown accomplishment. It kind of reminded her of when she'd shared drinks with him at the bar, being the little distraction all over again.
There would be no more of that, ever again. Hadn't exactly worked out in any of their favors. Or at least that's how it seemed to her. Even if she had kept on walking away with her life.
"I'll have a bag," Caroline muttered and pushed herself up as well, moving around him to get to the main area of the suite.
"What happened, Caroline?" Klaus asked, following after her and she stiffened at the question for a moment, before taking out a bag and sitting down on one of the seats.
"There was just darkness. Like it was trying to take me over." She tore into the bag, taking deep, long sips of the blood and letting it soothe her frazzled state. "It was awful."
"Take you over? How so?" His voice was urgent, demanding an answer and Caroline struggled for the words to describe it, to explain what had happened.
"I don't know," she murmured, trying to push away the reminders of how horrible she'd felt.
"It's important that you describe it," Klaus told her, and she didn't like how insistent he sounded, didn't like how it sounded like an order to her.
"I don't know," she snapped at him, glaring over at him, hating how grouchy she sounded. "I can't make the words form, okay? Like I'm trying and nothing is coming out. It just sucked. It was like all the happiness was gone and the darkness was trying to swallow me whole. Okay? Happy?"
"Oh yes, I'm ecstatic that you've had someone in your mind. Someone powerful enough to keep me out of it for a time. Someone trying to twist it in a fashion that you can't adequately describe," Klaus bit out, glaring right back at her. It wasn't murderous, more annoyed than anything, and she couldn't really blame him for it when he put it like that, but she didn't care for his attitude.
Wasn't she the one who'd just gone through a traumatic experience? Hello! He did not get to be the annoyed one at the moment. "I'm just jumping for joy over it," she countered, and finished off the blood bag.
"You two bloody well need to just to do that darling little dance beneath the sheets and shut up so I can get some goddamn sleep," Kol shouted at them from the doorway to the bedroom he'd taken. "Or proceed to do so on the chairs there. I'm sure this room has seen worse."
Caroline threw the empty bag in his direction and stalked back to her bedroom, Klaus on her heel. "You're not telling me everything," he started, and she hated that he knew that, that he could read her that well. "What else is there, Caroline?"
"They want you to stop what you're doing," Caroline muttered, wringing her hands together as she tried to stop shaking again. She couldn't look at him, remembering the rest of it. "They said I'd become a doll."
God, she didn't want to be a doll. Didn't want to live her undead years trapped in her own mind, seeing the world from her small peripheral but never being able to truly experience it again. "What exactly did the voice say, Caroline?" Klaus asked, a gentleness to his tone now. His hand was on her arm, rubbing it gently and she stared down at it for a second as she tried to remember what all had been said.
"They didn't use names but I just know it was in reference to you and Kol. And if you keep it what you're doing—which I'm gonna guess is this whole Silas thing—they'll strip me of my mind and I'll become a pretty doll for you to cart around." Caroline pushed away from him, not wanting the comfort anymore. "Which is not allowed to happen. So don't get any ideas."
"Sweetheart, the plans I have for you don't quite translate if you're nothing more than a decoration," Klaus pointed out, and Caroline crossed her arms, not liking the way his gaze lingered on her chest. The tank top she'd decided to sleep in leaving little to the imagination. "Seems there are witches involved. Unsurprising really. They're always caught up in business they shouldn't be."
Caroline didn't think it was Bonnie though. Her friend wouldn't do that to her. She was certain of that, but she remembered what Zelda had told her about people wanting sacrifices to obtain more power. About the witch who had suddenly gotten more power than she'd ever had back in the forties, about the cult needing to rise again. Maybe it was one of them?
"We'll need to get you a protection amulet for when you sleep. Which I'm afraid you won't be able to do until we obtain one," Klaus continued, and he looked off, considering who would be best suited to contact for one.
"So whoever it was can't get in my head unless I sleep?" Because she'd just go on an all caffeine and blood diet if she needed to. Easy peasy. Not that she needed much sleep anyway.
"It's not impossible to do so if you're awake, but it'll take much more effort on their part. A little too draining and they'd be unable to take you over completely at that point. Not unless they have enough backing behind their little spell," Klaus mused, and Caroline didn't find any of that to be very comforting.
"Can't we ask Zelda for one?" Caroline suggested. The witch seemed powerful enough to create something like that.
"If you want something lackluster that might not work correctly," Klaus replied, and she really hated the amused smirk he had on when she glowered. "But I happen to know a witch a little further up the bayou that's got a talent for such things. She may need a little persuading."
"I feel like your definition of persuading is threatening to murder her loved ones," Caroline muttered, sighing loudly when he shrugged.
"It gets the job done," he replied, and she hated how it did seem to work out in his favor most of the time.
"Not always," she groused, not sure why she was arguing with him. After all, he was trying to help her out. Though she wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for him in the first place. "How did they even know about me?" Not that there was even anything to know about her in relation to him.
"I'd wager that one of your friends talked to people they shouldn't have," Klaus murmured, and Caroline looked over at him then. "Or it could always have been the professor .He would have seen the two of us at the pageant. Could have revealed that little tidbit to someone else."
"Nothing even happened at the pageant," she snapped, hugging herself tighter. But she knew that was a lie. Anyone who didn't know them well, and probably even those who did, would've seen them laughing together, enjoying one another's company. Who knew what the weird professor would've taken from that.
"I thought we got along quite well," Klaus told her, reaching out and tracing a finger up her arm. "A little wit, quite a lot of laughter. You couldn't fake how much you enjoyed it."
"Are you sure? I seem to be pretty good at faking enjoyment around you," she lashed out, not wanting what he said to be true. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Caroline knew she was on such a precarious slope with him and his brother; she had no idea what would be the last straw for her in regards to Klaus' temper. She couldn't back down though and that might be her downfall.
The caress of his finger turned to him gripping her arm painfully tight. "Do you think I can't tell when you're being used against me?" he asked, leaning uncomfortably close to her. "You have tells, sweetheart."
"You didn't seem to realize it when you followed me out of the grill." She really needed to learn when to stop talking, when to cease antagonizing the beast.
"A mistake I haven't made since," Klaus told her, eyes narrowed dangerously before he released her and took a step back. She held still when he reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Tell me, Caroline. Did you keep the drawing?"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything," she said, purposefully pushing the piece of hair back to where it had been.
His smirk at her answer only infuriated her. "I threw it away," she lied, not wanting him to think he'd won anything. He only seemed amused by her answer and she hated him for that. Her finely tuned control was slipping because of the nightmarish experience and that coupled with how she could run off at the mouth was a recipe for disaster. "Just because I kept your stupid drawing because I thought I looked good in it doesn't mean a damn thing. So stop trying to read things into it."
She knew she should end it there, her brain was screaming at her to shut her mouth, but Caroline couldn't let it stop there. "You killed Jeremy. You ran Tyler out of town. You killed his mom. You killed Jenna and so many freaking others. There is nothing between us. There will never be anything between us. No matter how many little drawings you do, or stories you tell me, or any of it. Because every time you do one thing that makes me think you're not as reprehensible as everyone else thinks you go and screw it up by showing me that you are horrible."
"And yet I'm the one who is going to be protecting you from becoming the doll you're terrified you'll be turned into," Klaus pointed out, and she wanted to scream.
"I'm only under that threat because of you," she shouted at him, not caring if Kol was listening. She didn't care if the entire population of New Orleans was listening. "Because you've got this ridiculous obsession with me."
"If it was obsession, Caroline, I would have compelled, bed and killed you months ago," Klaus told her and she shivered at that, taking a step away from him. "And yet I never have even attempted compulsion on you. Not after your initial betrayal outside the grill—"
"I was helping my friends," she bit out, unwilling to back down on that point. "Just like you help yourself and your family. They're my family and I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect them."
"I'm aware," Klaus replied, and she expected coldness, not the gleam of admiration in his expression. She didn't like that at all. Didn't like the appreciativeness of his gaze, this time not at all sexual as he regarded her. "If you were simply an obsession, I wouldn't have lifted a finger to do what Kol asked. I'd have let the Council get you. Would never have given up one of my hybrids to secure that date with you."
"You did that to make it so Elena would stop going insane," she muttered, trying to ignore the pointed look he gave her. She couldn't stomach the rest of it. The thought he'd probably killed Jeremy to protect her was twisted and it made her head hurt. At least she would be getting some kind of protection from whoever had gone into her head. Maybe after she got that she could figure out how to get the hell away from Klaus and back to Mystic Falls. Explain all she had picked up about Silas and figure out how to help her friends after all that had happened.
"Regardless of what you believe my motives to be, I do want you to be protected sooner rather than later. So get dressed and I'll inform Kol where we're going while he waits for our sister and Ripper to arrive," Klaus told her, already heading toward the door.
"Wait," Caroline called, nearly stumbling as she stepped forward. "Stefan's coming?"
She watched him stiffen at her hopefulness, saw the tension in his shoulders, the clenching of a fist at his side, but he simply stopped at the door. "I'm sure you'll see him when we return. Unless Kol has disposed of him. You have fifteen minutes, Caroline."
Caroline watched the door close and sank down onto the bed. If Stefan was coming that meant she couldn't just try and sneak off once she got whatever protection Klaus' witch would be giving her. There was no way she was leaving her friend with the Originals. Especially not a pissed off Klaus who'd she had escaped from. Maybe Stefan would have answers and she needed to protect Steven. When the hell had this become her life?
Closing her eyes she counted to ten, mentally centering herself before she pushed back off of the bed. She'd wallow later. She needed to get dressed, keep listening, and figure out an exit strategy that would keep her friends alive and not allow Silas to rise. If she could juggle school, vampirism, Miss Mystic Falls duties, cheerleading, and an obsessive Hybrid all at once then this should be a piece of cake.
There was something to be said about anonymity, moving through the crowded streets of Portland where no one knew his name, no one knew his face. He had traveled a bit with his family for vacations, but never to Oregon. His mother had preferred to go somewhere sunny, with beaches and cocktails served poolside. His father had enjoyed skiing sometimes, but they had always gone to Aspen for that. There was nothing in his past life that could connect Tyler Lockwood to this city and he figured that was why he came there.
He had no idea what he was doing. He'd gotten money out before leaving, filled a backpack with clothes, cash from the safe and a few other odds and ends he could pawn off if he really needed to. There was no point to credit cards; he didn't want to need an ID after getting off the plane he'd taken to cross the country and then hopping buses to get to the city he'd eventually chosen. That would make it too easy for Klaus to find him.
And if all else failed there was always compulsion.
Was he supposed to do this forever? Run with his tail between his legs and hope that the immortal Hybrid wouldn't come knocking. Look over his shoulder at every shadow, jump at every bump in the night, waiting for the inevitable. The mere thought of it filled him with rage, a darkness running through his veins that wanted to boil over. He wanted to lash out, to make Klaus pay for everything that he had done. For taking his pack, for killing his mom, for making him leave the woman he loved behind.
Tyler worried about Caroline, even more so after she had told him what would happen if she left with him. There was little doubt in his mind that Klaus would make good on the threat to kill the entire town. He just wondered what the guy was doing now that she was left behind. Did the others realize how deep Klaus' infatuation with her seemed to go? Would they keep using her to keep Klaus away from whatever they were doing, forcing her to interact with the maniac and giving him more reason to become fixated on her? Just like he had.
He sank down onto the bed of the cheap motel, the blanket itchy beneath his fingers. He could see the water stains on the ceiling, heard the constant drip of the leaky sink in the bathroom. Two doors down the occupants were having a fight. Even further down someone was watching porn on the television. Tyler shut his eyes, trying to quiet the world, to clear his head of everything that had happened.
"It wasn't your fault, Tyler."
Tyler froze at the sound of his uncle's voice, clenching his eyes shut tighter. Was he going insane? Was this what insanity was? Maybe it was a trick of his mind. He was exhausted.
"You were trying to protect your pack. You never knew he would come after your mother when you were betrayed."
Tyler peered out of one eye, clenching it closed again after he spotted his uncle Mason standing at the foot of the bed. He took a deep breath, pressing his hands to his eyes as he tried again to clear his head, to force away what was happening.
"Open your eyes, Tyler."
That wasn't his uncle's voice. That was Jules. The wolf who had died as part of Klaus' sacrifice, the one who had taken Tyler in and helped him learn more about being a werewolf, helped him deal with the pain of his transformation.. He had to be going insane. There was no other explanation. He did as told though because better to be facing the insanity head on. Maybe then he could force it away.
But there they stood, Jules and his uncle, one standing at his feet and the other walking around the motel room. "I can honestly say that I never thought I'd see you staying in a place like this," Jules mused as she walked around the room.
"Am I losing my mind?" Tyler wondered out loud, glancing over at Mason who laughed at that.
"Not quite," Mason told him. "Veil to the Other Side isn't as strong as it used to be. We have a powerful friend making this possible so we can have a little chat."
Tyler stared blankly at him, unsure what he was referring to. He might have heard those words at some point, but he hadn't really bothered to understand them. Maybe it was something Caroline had said? Or Bonnie? He didn't know.
"Supernaturals go the Other Side when they die," Mason explained, and Jules nodded in agreement. "Right now it isn't as strong as it was and we're going to use that to our advantage. Make those who killed us suffer."
"What about my mom?" Tyler asked looking between the two of them, wondering if he'd be able to see her as well.
"She wasn't a supernatural," Jules replied, offering a small, sympathetic smile. No. Carol Lockwood hadn't been supernatural and Tyler supposed that meant he really would never see her again. Not if what they said was true. He'd go to some Other Side when he died. Somewhere she wasn't. And that was like another knife in the gut. "You want to avenge her death?"
"More than anything." His mother's. His packs. The loss of his future. He wanted to avenge it all.
"Good," Mason replied, affable smile on his face as he rose. "Then you need to listen carefully and do exactly as we say."
"Klaus will get everything he deserves?" Tyler asked, needing confirmation on that. Klaus hadn't been the one who had killed Mason, but he had killed Jules as part of the sacrifice and Tyler could see the thirst for revenge in her eyes.
"And then some," Jules promised, almost gleeful, which really should have pulled up a red flag, but Tyler had a singular focus now and anything that could bring down Klaus Mikaelson sounded like a good idea to him in that moment.
The rage that had been festering in his veins only seemed to expand, burrowing deeper into his soul, and wrapping tightly around him. Maybe if he had been thinking clearly he would have noticed both Jules and his uncle exchanging looks, the sinister smiles on their faces, but Tyler was too focused on the revenge fantasies going on inside of his own mind. Of seeing Klaus's face contorted in pain, in realizing that he'd been beaten and would never see the light of day again. It was a good dream, it was one he'd do anything to see become reality.
"Tell me what I need to do."
Rebekah rapped twice on the door, barely giving the Salvatore beside her a glance as she waited for it to open. Maybe she hadn't gone about getting his services in the best way possible—what with snapping his neck and kidnapping him from the scene—but she had known he knew about the cure and she wasn't about to talk to Klaus about it. Not at that point. Though what she had learned once Stefan had regained consciousness had confused her and her conversation with Kol over the phone hadn't done much to clarify anything. Hopefully talking with him in person would rectify that.
Plus it'd be nice to shove something sharp and pointy into Klaus' chest cavity. Even if it wouldn't do anything permanent to him.
"Why aren't we in the villa?" she demanded as soon as Kol opened the door, huffing at his smile. He always seemed like there was some sort of joke that only he found funny going on inside of his head when he looked like that. It was highly annoying. "This hotel is nice and all, but I quite liked our rooms at that place."
"You'd have to ask Nik, sister," Kol replied, stepping aside so the two of them could enter.
Rebekah glanced around the room. "And where is my backstabbing brother?" The least he could do is show himself so she could take out her wrath on him.
"Off to find a witch to protect Caroline," Kol hummed, closing the door behind him and bypassing her to get to the liquor cabinet. "Scotch?"
Rebekah wondered if this was what 'seeing red' was like. She had come across states, via plane, after much cajoling on her part with the younger Salvatore, after having been daggered for who even knew how many times, and her brother was out gallivanting with the annoying little cheerleader? How typical of him.
"What's wrong with Caroline?" Stefan asked, and she despised the concern in his voice for the other girl. Couldn't take the worry in his features and Rebekah picked up the nearest object, an antique lamp, and threw it at the wall.
Kol sat down on the couch, that annoying smile on his face as he motioned for Stefan to sit down as well. "Rebekah doesn't like being second to anyone. Especially other girls."
Rebekah rounded on him, throwing some sort of crystal decoration at him. Kol easily caught it and put it down. "Not that there have ever really been any like that when it comes to dear old Nik. Must be rather upsetting to not be his number one any longer," Kol continued, and she wanted to strangle him but knew that would be useless.
"What's going on with Caroline?" Stefan tried again, and Rebekah rolled her eyes and headed to the liquor cabinet to retrieve something to drink.
"Nasty dream business. Someone trying to use her to stop him from doing what we need to do." Kol shrugged, scooting over for Rebekah to sit beside him once she had her bottle. "Seems there are witches dabbling in magic that they shouldn't."
"Dark magic? We've seen that before. Easy enough for us to handle with the right counters" Rebekah mused. They'd seen plenty of witches experiment with that in their travels. Not to mention it had been how their own mother had been able to turn them into the creatures that they currently were. Besides, they had always had their own witches in their employment and while she and Kol may have been daggered for many years, Elijah and Klaus had been out and about. She highly doubted that they didn't have powerful witches at their disposal.
"Expression," Kol replied, features darkening and that little smile that always seemed to be on his face replaced by a scowl. Rebekah frowned; she had no idea what that even meant, hadn't ever heard of it and considering she'd been her mother's apprentice back when she'd been human that worried her a bit. "Something to share with the class, Stefan?"
Rebekah glanced over at the Salvatore who had recognition in his gaze at the word. Interesting that he had heard of it before she did. That Kol knew of it too. "Bonnie is learning that. Was learning that from the Professor," Stefan answered. "Before your brother murdered him. I know he didn't pull the trigger on Jeremy or Matt by I'd bet my life that he orchestrated their deaths as well."
"What?" Rebekah nearly dropped the bottle of bourbon. She had to have heard that wrong. She didn't know who the professor was, nor did she particularly care about his death, or Jeremy's, but Matt? Why in the world would Klaus have gotten Matt killed? "What the hell did I miss?"
Kol motioned for Stefan to explain and leaned back against the couch. "I'll let the Salvatore take the floor with this one."
"I don't know why he killed any of them. We can't get to the cure without them and that was his entire goal until a few nights ago." Or at least that was what Stefan had assumed. It's what had made the most logical sense. It's what Klaus had told him but then the Hybrid had gone and killed the two people who could lead them to the cure. "I don't know why that changed."
"He realized the error of his ways. We're not getting the cure anymore," Kol replied with a shrug.
"But I want it," Rebekah started, not caring that she was whining. She rose, shaking her head at him. "I don't want to live forever anymore. I don't want to watch the world rise and fall, forever changing and never able to truly be part of it any longer." She raised her chin, looking defiantly down at her brother. "I don't care what you two say. I am going to get it. "
"It'll bring about hell on Earth and our dear old father and mother back to life, but certainly, Rebekah. We'll just disregard that so that you can get your latest whimsy," Kol replied, waving his hand at her.
She hated his tone, hated the way he talked to her as though she was still a child in that moment. They all did that. No matter how many years had passed for them she would always be their younger sister. They would never see her as a grown woman. Not even when she had decapitated whole towns and feasted on their blood. She was always and forever the baby. It was revolting.
She forced herself not to scream at that though, not wanting to give Kol further ammunition to use against her and replayed his words in her mind instead. "Why don't you explain exactly what you mean instead of being an insufferable git about it," she barked, moving to sit down by Stefan instead.
It was hard not to note the way the other vampire flinched at the close contact. No doubt he'd expected some of her temper to be taken out on him. She didn't know why that annoyed her so much. Hadn't he played his little part in helping Klaus dagger her the last time? It should be her that shied away from him, not the other way around.
"The cure is with Silas," Kol started, and Rebekah sighed, clearly exasperated.
"Not that old wives' tale again, Kol," she muttered. Hadn't he gone on enough about that superstition two hundred years ago?
"What does this have to do with Silas?" Stefan interrupted. "Shane said something about him to the others. But he was a tale that went along with the stone."
"Qestiyah's tombstone," Kol replied before glaring at Rebekah. "It's not a tale. It's the truth and if any of you bothered to listen to the witches and their fears of what his rise would mean we wouldn't be in this predicament right now. With expression being taught to Bennett witches, others getting into the pretty little blonde things head, and Silas already waking. Jeremy had to die. He had the beginnings of the mark that lead to where Silas is resting. As for Matt, not sure exactly why Nik took him out too. Collateral damage." He shrugged, clearly not caring that the other boy had died. "Didn't you want me to kill him only months ago, Bekah? Or did you keep pining after the lowly human?"
She reciprocated his glare. "Shane knew about it all and was purposefully trying to bring Silas back so Klaus needed to kill him too," Kol continued. "And now we need to stop his rise or we're pretty much all screwed."
"Screwed how?" Stefan asked, sounding tired and Rebekah glanced over at him.
"Silas rises and destroys the Other Side. All those who died and are there return here—such as our mother and father. Alaric. Countless others we've wronged in one way or another." Kol leaned forward. "I know what you're thinking. Not so bad. Just kill the ones we don't want and enjoy the resurrection of those we've missed. Except with no Other Side there's nowhere for the dead to go so they remain."
Rebekah blinked, the possibilities already running through her head and none of them were good. Having Mikael and Esther back, having to go on the run again. She didn't want that to ever happen. They finally didn't need to run anymore, didn't need to fear their father appearing and destroying everything in his constant quest. Rebekah didn't want to go back to how things had been.
"Ever wronged any wolves, Stefan?" Kol continued, swirling around his own glass of scotch. "How would you like them to come back and continuously chase you, to bite you, to endure that death over and over? We all know there's only so much blood my brother freely gives away to heal that kind of thing."
"You could have simply told us all of this instead of having Jeremy killed," Stefan argued. "Instead of Matt being collateral damage."
Kol shrugged. "I didn't really care how my brother stopped you lot as long as he did. Time was a bit of the essence since I had Caroline. I doubt he wanted to bother with a little chit chat."
Stefan's stony silence was all the reply Kol got for that.
"So what now?" Rebekah asked, placing her bottle down on the side table. "If they're dead then why are you two still here? Why is…" She paused, her mouth twisting in annoyance. "Caroline." She said the name with such disgust that Kol's mouth twitched in amusement. "In some apparent danger that Nik has gone with her elsewhere for protection?"
"Because Silas is already rising and now we need to stop that from happening." Kol arched his brows. "I'd rather not leave it all to chance. Especially when powers are already working to try and interfere with us doing so. Means we're on the right path."
He rose. "But I'm famished. So why don't we go and get a little snack while we wait for Nik and his little treat to return. I'll fill you in on the rest while we're out. Let me just grab my jacket."
He was already in the bedroom before either of them could respond. "I'm sorry about Matt," Rebekah murmured, even though she couldn't quite glance over at Stefan when she spoke.
"I almost believe you mean that," Stefan replied, glancing over at the hotel phone. "I need to call Damon."
"You could always simply leave and return to Mystic Falls now. I won't stop you," Rebekah informed him, though she knew he wouldn't.
"I'm not leaving without Caroline."
Of course he wasn't. She knew he'd stay behind for the girl. It was irritating how quickly Stefan and Klaus seemed to jump in order to help her. She didn't understand the appeal at all.
"Tell Kol I'm freshening up." Rebekah rose and headed off to the nearest bedroom before he could reply. Not that she expected Stefan to.
So they needed to stop Silas' rise. She could understand that, would help her family do that. But not once did Kol explain why she couldn't get the cure as well while they did all of that. So she would keep her eye out for an opportunity to make her dreams come true, in spite of her brothers and their feelings on the matter.
Klaus realized that Caroline didn't want to be in the car with him, most likely didn't want to be within a few feet of him at that point, but her constant huffing, reaching over and changing the station every five minutes, or the clacking of her fingers against the window was beyond grating. He'd murdered for far less, daggered a sibling for as much, and was seriously contemplating how much of a setback it would be if he snapped her neck for the remainder of the ride.
She reached over to change the station again and he grabbed hold of her wrist, not to cause pain, only to stop her movement. "Caroline, if you do that one more time I will rip the bloody stereo from the car and toss it out the window," he told her and then released her.
Her only reply was a snort and no doubt a rolling of the eyes as she scooted over in the seat, further away from him and crossed her arms again. "Why couldn't we have just vamp sped to wherever we're going?" she groused, resting her head back on the seat and staring out the window.
"I had assumed that you would enjoy the scenery," Klaus mused. Clearly he had been wrong in that assessment. Though he had seen her gaze travel out the window a number of times, curiosity peeking in her features before she schooled them into calculated scowls.
"Well, you know what they say about when you assume something," she muttered, before glancing over at him. He arched a brow at her, wondering what she was going on about. He might not have been daggered like his siblings all of those years but certain human peculiarities he didn't bother to learn. The little pop culture references would be dead in a few decades anyway. "When you assume you make an ass out of you and me? Seriously? You didn't live in a box."
"You'll come to find that you have less interest in the meanderings of human pop culture as the years pass by, Caroline," Klaus started as he steered the car toward the next exit. "The importance of who won some trivial reality show will become a speck of dust in your long lifetime. The sayings that are popular in this day and age will lead into new ones and so on until those peculiar intricacies of fifty years ago no longer matter."
"Way to sell eternity," Caroline replied, staring out the window again. He could see her uneasy expression in her reflection.
"You're thinking as a human still. You'll understand it better once you have a few decades under your belt," he told her as he looked out for the building he hadn't visited in some years.
"Maybe I want to hold onto thinking that way," she muttered and he arched a brow at that.
"You're not human, Caroline," Klaus pointed out as he pulled up the driveway to the small building off to the right. "And you have no intention of becoming so again."
"You don't know that," she snapped, unbuckling her seatbelt and moving to open the door, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"So you'd take it then? If it was offered up, if we could somehow retrieve the coveted cure along with keeping Silas from rising?" Klaus asked, watching her expression carefully. He didn't believe she would. As much as he watched her hold onto the strappings of her past, he had also seen how she enjoyed what she had become, even if she tried to control every aspect of it, not quite allowing herself to see exactly all that she could accomplish if she allowed herself to truly experience vampirism.
"That's none of your business," Caroline spat, trying to wrench her arm away from him. Her narrowed eyes at his knowing smile only added credence to his own suspicions about which way she would choose if offered the cure.
"At topic of conversation to continue at another point," Klaus suggested, releasing his hold and nodding toward the house. "We may not get the warmest of welcomes so stay behind me when we enter."
Caroline snorted at that. "I could just stay in the car until you deem it 'safe'." She even air quoted around the word. How delightful.
"I'd rather have you in my sights," Klaus informed her, motioning for her to get out of the car as well.
He ignored her mutterings, though he was unable to stop the small smile from spreading on his face at her little obscenities. He enjoyed when she was riled up, when that anger radiated on her face, the narrowing of her eyes, the tension that seemed to percolate through her body. Caroline Forbes was no wilting flower and he enjoyed that about her. She said what was on her mind and even when what she said annoyed him to no end, he did appreciate that. Klaus didn't think he would ever become tired of that about the young vampire in front of him.
"Are we doing this or what? Because I want to get back to Stefan." Caroline crossed her arms, nodding toward the building behind them.
Klaus pressed his lips together at the mention of Ripper. Even if he knew there was no reason to be jealous of their relationship, that it was strictly friendship between the two vampires, he couldn't help himself. They turned to one another for comfort, for support, and he wanted that. From both of them really. One who had been someone he could call friend and the other…he couldn't quite explain what Caroline was yet, couldn't quite accept the words, but Klaus did know that he wanted them both in his life. More so her than Stefan if it came down to a choice, though he'd prefer both. Stefan had quite a bit to make up for anyway with his ample betrayals over the last few months.
"Remember what I said," Klaus reminded, motioning for her to get behind him as he started toward the doorway.
It was a public business, the sign above the door offering natural remedies for various ailments. Rainbows danced on the ground, reflecting off the abundance of crystal that hung from porch, swaying gently in the breeze. He knew the witch inside would have sensed their presence as soon as they arrived on the driveway, but he'd kept an eye out for an escape and hadn't seen one.
Magdalene had dealt with him before though and knew the consequences of trying to run all too intimately. Klaus doubted the witch would make the same mistake twice. The stake came flying at him as soon as he pushed open the door, but Klaus quickly caught it, not even wincing at the fact it was soaked with vervain. He pushed Caroline away from the door, knowing what would come next, and not wanting her in the crossfire. Her annoyed exclamation was cut short as the bucket of vervain fell down in the space he had been seconds before.
Klaus knew she was fine outside, away from the traps the witch had set for any vampires, and he utilized his speed to head forward, tearing the door to the back off its hinges with one easy swoop. Magdalene had a gun cocked in his direction. No doubt filled with wooden bullets.
"Call next time," she muttered as she lowered the weapon. "Then I won't go through the whole horse and pony show when I sense a vampire in the area."
"I think you'll find I'm much more than that now," Klaus informed her, unable to keep the pride out of his voice at that fact.
"I heard," Magdalene replied, setting the weapon down and moving to the wall to flick a few switches that cut off the traps she had implemented. "You told me my service to you was completed the last time."
"Circumstances and all," Klaus shrugged, not really caring about what he had told the witch. "I need a protection amulet and you do happen to be the best witch available for that sort of thing."
"Why not ask Greta?" Magdalene inquired as she started back into the shop, shaking her head at the destroyed door. "Isn't she your go-to witch these days?"
"Her services are no longer available," Klaus replied, clasping his hands behind his back as he followed her out. From the way the witch cringed at his words he had a feeling she had an idea of what the younger witch's fate had been. "Help me with this and I'll walk away, leaving you with your life. I consider that to be a rather decent deal." He leaned against the counter, smirking as he watched her.
"Protection amulet against what?" Magdalene asked, pulling a grimoire off the shelf before looking back at him.
"Regrettably I'm not entirely sure, but I'd wager against the newly forming cult of Silas." Klaus noted the clenching of the witch's hands on the book, the tension that seemed to go right through her before she looked at him. "Have your attention now, don't I?"
"I'd have thought your physiology—being an Original and a hybrid—would have garnered you some special favors in regards to protection against that," Magdalene mused, and Klaus didn't like the slight smile she had. He didn't quite understand why she'd think being an Original would benefit him at all in regards to Silas either. He'd need to get that out of her at some point.
"It's not for me," Klaus replied, picking up one of the skulls on display.
"Who could you possibly want to protect?" Magdalene asked, and he didn't answer, not particularly liking that question.
"Am I allowed in yet or what?" Caroline shouted from outside, standing in the doorway and looking exasperated.
Klaus didn't like the curious look that passed over the witch's face as she looked over at Caroline and then back at him. Perhaps he would kill her after her services were completed. Wouldn't do to have someone else think they'd found a vulnerability to use against him.