Klaus opened his eyes and took in a deep breath, turning to his side and narrowing his eyes in sadness when he found the spot alongside him where Liliya had been laying, empty, and the arm that had once been wrapped around her, across his chest.
But, he suddenly smirked when he felt a presence on the other side of bed and turned slowly to see Caroline, facing him.
Their eyes met and Caroline smiled her blinding, beautiful, optimistic smile that made Klaus suddenly sure that he had a heartbeat again.
"Hi, sleepyhead…" she said softly then slowly held up a blood bag from a stack that he now realized had been sitting in the space between them, "It seems we need to talk."
Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline raised an eyebrow and gave him a stern look and he found himself immediately falling silent.
"Don't waste your strength with excuses," Caroline said, "Misha ratted you out when I came up to take your supposedly empty blood bags away. He told me about your secret hiding place under the floorboards at the end of your bed. He also felt I should know that you are now not exactly yourself anymore—"
"Caroline, I—" Klaus started, but Caroline immediately put down the blood bag and leaned across the stack between them and touched Klaus' cheek, the moved her fingers to cover his mouth, gasping slightly when she felt the warmth beneath his skin.
"Shut up," she whispered, a small smile crossing her face as she searched his eyes and took in his confused expression, "I just want to kiss my human boyfriend, now."
She slowly pulled her fingers away from Klaus' lip and moved forward, replacing them with her own lips as he wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to him, deepening the kiss and squishing the blood bags between them.
# # # # # #
Elijah took in a deep breath, running his hand through his hair, trying to steady himself, as he descended the main staircase. The memory of seeing Elena and Damon fighting on the Mikaelson driveway through the upstairs window fresh in his mind.
Get a hold of yourself...That can wait. Focus on now.
When he came to the bottom landing he stopped immediately, his eyes widening in surprise and a small smirk crossing his face as he beheld Kol, Rebekah, Misha, Chogun and Chogun's lead spirit warrior in the living room now staring at him, seeming to be patiently waiting for him.
Only Damon, who sat in the chair across from Misha, seemed to look away, trying not to meet the originals gaze.
"Well…" Elijah smirked, at the gathering, "Good to see you are all here. It's almost time to meet Bonnie, Jeremy and the others back at the rendezvous spot, but we've got a few things to go over first..."
But, suddenly, he trailed off as he looked around.
"Where is Elena?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow
"Upstairs," Rebekah spoke up, pulling a blood bag from her lips where she lay on the sofa next to Kol, "With Stefan."
"I'll go get her…" Misha offered, ready to get up from where he sat on an ottoman, but Elijah held up a hand and shook his head, "No. Leave her for now. I'll fill her in later."
# # # # # # #
Dominic grunted softly as he came to at the base of a large oak tree in Stephens Woods, struggling momentarily at the manacles that secured his limbs and biting at the gag in his mouth.
But, when he felt the magical force flowing through the chains, he deemed the effort to get free futile and instead turned to his surroundings, his eyes now focusing on a twelve foot perimeter between him and the spirit warriors, in human form, guarding him with their backs turned to Dominic as they scanned the night for threats.
A little farther past them, he saw a bonfire burning free and wild in the night and Bonnie Bennett standing in front of it, warming her hands in the glow of the fire before kneeling down in front of what looked like a large blanket on which numerous magical supplies were spread out.
Dominic's nostrils flared as he realized he was running out of time. His eyes lifted to the moon, shining brightly and nearly at its apex, and he grunted in frustration.
Suddenly, there was a rustling behind him and Jeremy Gilbert stepped into his view from behind the tree.
"Ah…" he said, shoving his hands in his coat pockets as he stared down at the hunter with a cheeky smirk, "I see you're finally awake…and just in time for the ritual. And here you thought you were the big bad…Man, that Wendigo knocked you on your ass."
Dominic growled ferociously and eyed Jeremy with contempt, involuntarily trying to lurch forward toward him, even as he lay bound on his side.
"Jer," Bonnie called over her shoulder from where she still knelt by her ingredients, "Come on. Don't antagonize him. He's still very dangerous—"
"What?" Jeremy scoffed, offended, "I'm just having a little fun until the others come back. Besides," he continued, stepping closer to Dominic and studying him up and down as he watched the hunter take in a deep breath and close his eyes, "Chogun bound and gagged him with those magical chain thingies, what could he possibly—"
Suddenly, Dominic's eyes flew open and quickly converged into complete blackness and a demonic strength came over him as he used his core muscles to fling his bound legs back, then forward quickly, sweeping Jeremy off of his feet.
"Jeremy!" Bonnie screamed, leaping up immediately to run to him as Elena's brother landed hard onto the ground on his back next to Dominic, too stunned and breathless to move away before the hunter swiftly rolled forward and reached a hand out to him, touching Jeremy squarely on the chest with his still bound hands.
"Help him!" Bonnie cried, signaling to Chogun's spirit warriors as they now realized what was happening and raced toward the scene from their respective guard posts.
But, just as they reached Jeremy's fallen figure, lying on the ground, they realized he wasn't fallen at all as he now came to his feet in front of them with inhuman speed.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes, now blackened like Dominic's, and immediately thrust out both hands, hitting the two spirit warriors directly in the chest before they could pull back or put up a fight.
They stood helpless for a moment, their chests connected to Jeremy's hands and the power he now poured into each of them.
After a few tense moments, the connection broke and the two men fell back and stumbled slightly before they got their bearings and now looking to Jeremy as their leader, turned, following his gaze as it now fell on Bonnie Bennett.
Bonnie froze where she stood, trying to keep her breath calm and even and she stared down the three now demonically possessed men before her.
"Oh…my God…" she whispered as she slowly started backing away
"Hardly…" Jeremy said, in a voice that was not his own
Bonnie's' nostrils flared in concentration as she took in Jeremy's words, then her eyes flashed over her shoulder toward Chogun's drum, lying near the fire—the drum that would bring the Wendigo.
But, when her eyes moved back toward Jeremy, she saw him give a small smile, almost in a challenge as she sensed that he somehow knew her thoughts.
He immediately gave a curt nod to the spirit warriors, indicating for them to attack.
Bonnie was quicker...
"Stupefaciunt te!" she cried, throwing her hands out in front of her, just as the natives took a step forward
The two spirit warriors instantly froze in position and Jeremy screamed in frustration as he watched Bonnie turn and take off, racing back toward the bonfire.
But, when she was just within feet of reaching it, she let out a cry of surprise as Jeremy suddenly appeared in front of her, the drum now in his hand.
"Tisk…Tisk…" he mocked then threw the drum over his shoulder and into the bonfire.