Chapter Two

The sense of fear Kol feels grows with each step he takes. He can smell the scent of salty tears mixing with fresh blood. He scans every inch as he walks until he finds a huddle that seems out of place. He studies it for a second, searching for clues to what is happening in the scene in front of him. He picks up the growl. A grow that only belongs to a vampire, and every piece of the puzzle comes together, making it clear what is going on here. A vampire who had found himself a meal, sinking his teeth deep into their neck, trying to steal every drop of life from their veins for himself. His dinner, however, isn't making it easy for him as they fight against him.

The poor soul is breathing heavily, struggling against the vampire's strength and failing miserably as they cried. Or, as she cried, Kol connected the sound of the human's cries to that of a girl. A young girl. There is something about the way this girl is fighting this vampire. She is determined not to let the supernatural creature win as she grows weaker with each passing second. Kol admires the spirit and strength in this girl, and this pulls on the strings within his being, telling him to intervene before it's too late. Listening to his gut as he always does since it never steers him wrong, Kol flashes forward, pulling the vampire off the poor girl and dragging him into the middle of the alley. Kol looks at the girl, watching her drop to the ground with a hand on her bleeding neck. He focuses on her heart, listening to every beat, finding it slow but steady. Good, that means the girl will be fine long enough for him to deal with her vampire problem.

Kol violently throws the vampire to the ground and backs up, waiting for the vampire to make him. The vampire flashes to his feet, turning to the older vampire with his teeth bared with rivers of blood from his lips all the way down his neck, screaming to Kol that this vampire is a very sloppy drinker. He growls, flashing forward to plunge his fist into Kol's jaw, knocking the bone out of its socket. The pain of the blow burns through his vein-like lightning, striking the earth during a fierce storm. His fast healing snaps his jaw back as Kol socks the vampire in the stomach with his fist, causing the vampire to groan in pain from the hit. The rest of the fight is quick. Kol lets the baby vampire have his fun to let him feel some sort of accomplishment from his feeble attempts to fight back. Kol grows bored, grabbing a stick of wood from a pile of broken pallets and shoving the tip into the vampire's chest straight into his heart. The vampire takes his last breath as his flesh grows gray as black veins litter his skin, as Kol lets him fall to the ground.

Now that the vampire is out of the way, Kol makes his way over to the girl only to fall to his knees as a strong wave of pain washes over him. He clutches his head, trying to will the pain away, and looks through watery eyes to see the girl holding up her hand, telling him that this girl is not just a human but a witch. A witch powerful enough to drop him to the ground with a simple wave of her hand. The power behind her magic is something he hasn't seen in a good century or more, and he finds that she is stubborn as he tries to talk her into ending her assault on his poor head.

The pain vanishes when her arm drops alarmingly fast, and Kol quickly gets to his feet to walk over to her, listening to her heartbeat, and he doesn't like how slow it has become since his last check. The vampire bites a gash into his wrist as he kneels in front of her, placing a hand on the back of her head just as he presses his wrist to her lips. She shakes her head, pushing his arm away from her mouth, but he presses harder, forcing the blood into her mouth until he feels she's had enough.

Kol knows that this is where he should leave her, but he wants to make sure that this young girl is alright before he walks away. He listens to her heartbeat, and it's satisfying to hear that it's returning to a healthy rhythm that is thriving with life. A soft moan escaped her lips, causing him to raise his eyes to her face as the girl begins to stir and frowns when he realizes he has seen her somewhere before. He starts scrolling through his recent memories, trying to place her when she opens her eyes, piercing sapphire blue, and it strikes him like a wooden board to the head. This girl is the beautiful creature who had captured his eye in the bar not even an hour ago. A smile dances on his lip as her crystal blue orbs widen at his sight, and Kol knows that her memory is doing its own job of placing him much faster than his thousand-year-old mind.

"How are you feeling, Darling?" he asks, checking her neck to make sure that it's healing which is hard to tell since it's covered in bright red blood, telling him that the vampire had aimed for the artery. Either the vampire had been a baby vampire or a vampire on a mission to kill. A few minutes later, her world would have been lost if he had been a few minutes later.

"Like I got attacked by a vampire," she replies, and Kol snorts at her snarky response. She studies him closely and places a clammy hand on his cheek.

"What are you doing?" he questions, jerking away from her touch.

"This wasn't your problem," she states, lowering her hand to her lap. "So, why would you help me?" she asks.

"Looked as if you needed it, Darling."

She narrows her eyes. "You're a vampire," she declares.

"I am. What does that have to do with me saving you from your ultimate end?" he asks, standing up as the girl shifts to her knees, wobbling as she begins to rise. "Easy," he tells her, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her from toppling over. "Here, take my hand," he says, holding out his free hand.

The brunette glares at him for a moment. "What do you want?" she questions him, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet. "Woah," she mumbles, closing her eyes as the world around her spins violently.

"Easy," Kol soothes gently, tightening his hold on the young witch, not liking how pale her complexion is due to the blood loss, and knows that if he were to pull away now, she would sink back down to the ground. "Easy. Just focus on me and breathe."

"What do you need?"

Kol tilts his head at her question. "What do you mean, Love?"

She looks him in the eye. "I know vampires, and they never do anything without wanting something in return. So, what do you need?" she asks again.

Kol shakes his head. "I don't need anything in return as I already have everything I will ever need in my lifetime," he replies. "I'm Kol Mikaelson."

The young girl blinks, studying him closely. "Kol Mikaelson," she says slowly, and her eyebrows inch up her forehead. "Kol Mikaelson," she repeats, "as in the Original Vampire Kol Mikaelson?"

Hearing his name on her lips tickles him to no end. "You know of me, Darling?" he questions, smirking at the beautiful girl. "Have we met before?" he asks cautiously, knowing that witches have ways of transferring their souls from one body to another to defy the laws of nature of death. Especially witches that carry grudges that will do everything in their power to seek their revenge.

The witch shakes her head. "No," she says, shivering as a salty breeze from the Gulf blows through the alleyway. "My grandmother had a lot to say about you in her journals."

"I see," Kol says, smirking at her. "And who is your grandmother, Darling?"

"Mary Alice," she answers, knocking the smirk right off his face.

"Mary Alice Claire?"

She nods her head. "Yep, that would be her. I'm Davina Claire," she says to him.

We"Cool name," Kol says, smiling at her. It's a name he's never heard of before, and he wants to know the meaning of her name. He is sure that it will be beautiful as it's a beautiful name for a beautiful face. "The Mary Alice I knew was a fine woman and a very talented witch. I see you are following in her footsteps, and she must be very proud of you."

"I can only hope she is," Davina says softly, thinking of her grandmother, but the memory of her grandmother fades away the moment her eyes drop to the vampire lying on the ground behind him. "What did you do to him?" she asks, pulling away from his hold to walk around him to her attacker.

"I killed him."

Davina turns around with wide blue eyes and looks around the alley. "We need to get out of here," she says, walking over to him and grabbing his arm. "Now."

Kol raises an eyebrow at the young witch's action, eyeing the hand gripping his arm as if she is holding on for dear life. "We?" he murmurs as she begins leading him to the mouth of the alley.

"Well, you just saved my life, and I'm not just going to leave you behind," she declares, turning the corner.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere that is not that alley," she tosses over her shoulder, pulling him down a rather quiet and dark street.

"Why?" he asks, letting her take him wherever she is taking him. There are various shops with closed signs hanging on the doors, telling Kol that this street is mainly a place for the locals of the city.

Davina moves her head in every direction, eyeing every dark corner as she walks. "Killing vampires is against the law in this city," she explains, turning another corner and walking a few more steps before stopping in front of a gated entryway. "It's considered a capital offense, actually, and the punishment can be quite harsh," she says, hugging her arms around her middle as she begins to shiver as the air is growing damp. Kol shrugs off the jacket he is wearing to wrap it around her shoulders.

Davina shakes her head at the kind gesture. "You don't need to do this," she says, placing a hand on his to stop him, but he shrugs her off.

"You're freezing," Kol points out, draping his jacket around her. "The vampire blood in your system is lowering your body temperature," he explains, and the sight of his jacket swallowing her small frame is almost adorable. "Fits you rather nicely, Davina Claire," he chuckles.

Davina looks down as the jacket hangs off her shoulders, and the hem almost meets her feet. "Yes, it does," she says flatly before sliding her arms into the massive sleeves. The jacket is warm and does a great job of shielding her from the cooling night air, but she isn't about to let him be right. "But I don't need this."

"Wear until you get home," Kol suggests lightly. "I will even walk you to your doorstep to make sure nothing tries to attack you."

"That's the thing," Davina says, pointing over her shoulder to the gate. "I'm already there."

Kol follows her finger to a building he hasn't seen in a century. The St. Anne's Church. Standing tall and proud as if there were never any sin committed inside those demented walls. The power of this building takes his breath away, telling him that this place has seen even more darkness than his own dark deeds. He wants to know the story of that darkness. Even though he is a vampire, his soul is still very much a witch. He can't do magic, much to his disappointment, but he can still sense the power of magic, and this power is very great. Something that hasn't changed since his days as a normal witch. The sense of magic always leaves him longing for his magic, and the failure to tap into his magic drives him insane, which usually ends in a violent rage.

"What are we doing here?" Kol asks, bringing his gaze back to the witch fumbling with a rusty lock around the gate.

"This is where I live," Davina retorts over her shoulder, thrusting the gate open and walking through the entryway and into a small yard.

"You're bloody joking," Kol says, pausing at the entrance as Davina walks along a narrow brick path to a small door on the side of the church.

"Afraid not," Davina sighs, giving the place a good look around before sitting down on the bottom step. The bush to her left shakes, and a black and orange cat jumps out, meowing in excitement at the sight of her as it hops up the steps to rub its face on her knee. "You don't need an invitation to come in," she says when she sees Kol frozen at the gate.

"This is a church," Kol points out, slowly looking around until he is standing in front of her.

"It is," Davina nods, stroking the cat on the head, trailing a long finger to the chin. "Does it remind you of the night when you slaughtered half the parish inside those walls?" she asks, looking up from her furry companion with a grin on her face.

"You know about that?"

"Of course I do," Davina says, moving her arms for the cat to jump into her lap and curl up as if it has done this many times before, which adds more questions to the growing list in Kol's mind. He has so many, and he doesn't know where to begin.

"You actually live here?" he asks, searching the yard with his eyes screaming with yearning wonder.

"I do."

"How come?"

"Don't have anywhere else to go," Davina murmurs, looking down at the cat, running her fingers through its fur as if it were comforting to her. "Or choice."

"What do you mean by that?" Kol demands, not liking the sound of her words. "Where is your family? Or Mary Alice?" he asks, wanting to know because the Mary Alice he knew was a very loving woman, and he knew that she would never leave her family out in the cold with no place to go.

"It's a very long story," Davina says, looking up from the cat with her blue eyes damp with tears tracing down her cheeks. The sight of those wet marks on her face makes him want to wipe them off and make sure nothing ever puts them there again.

"Why don't you tell me this story, Davina Claire," he suggests gently, kneeling in front of her, and he can tell that this girl is carrying a significant weight on her shoulders which is a crime for someone as young as her. He can tell she is young. Possibly younger than Rebekah before their mother cursed them to this life. "I have time, Love," he murmurs, hoping that he could help take those demons off her shoulders.

"Why do you want to know?" Davina says, wrapping her arms around the cat, hugging it to her body, and the cat doesn't seem to mind as the cat is purring rather loudly, and it makes him a little jealous of the creature in her hold. Hell, if the world ever hears the news that Kol Mikaelson is jealous of a cat, the world will explode.

"It appears that you need someone to talk to," Kol tells her, reaching out to touch the cat. It looks at him through round green eyes as it sniffs his fingers before rubbing his cheek against his fingers.

"Sissy approves," Davina hums softly, watching the two interact. "Normally, she hates visitors unless they bring ham."

"Ham?"

Davina bobs her head. "Ham is her favorite snack or cheese. But it must be white American cheese, or she will sniff it and gag," she states firmly.

"You're stalling on your story, Davina Claire."

Davina lets out a long breath. "I don't want to bore you," she murmurs, rubbing the cat behind the ears.

Kol lifts his eyes to meet hers. "I can give you a very long list of the boring tales I have throughout my life. I doubt that this tale will be joining those titles," he says as the zipping sound of a vampire catches his attention. He turns his head, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound, as a figure appears in the small courtyard of the church. Davina grows pale as the blood drains from her face as she hurries to her feet, dropping the cat for it to land on all four paws as if she had forgotten that she had been holding that animal. Her blue eyes are large clouded over with fear, and it's enough to have Kol moving to stand in front of her, ready to confront and defeat the intruder.

The figure freezes for a moment. "Get away from her," the figure growls, surging forward to slam their body into his, sending him hurtling through the air until his body collides with a church wall. The impact of his body on the wall causes a few of the old bricks to crumble to pieces, and it knocks the oxygen from his lung as he falls to the ground, stunned. Kol lets out a soft groan as pain flows through his old bones like shockwaves as he rolls over, moving to his hands and knees.

"Marcel," Davina says, and the name has Kol jerking his head up to see a face that he hasn't seen since the night of his daggering. A face with a name that his family hadn't spoken of once since Elijah had so kindly let him out of his box after a century of confinement. A face that was considered family but was missing from the bunch. Elijah told him that they had believed this face to be dead after their father chased them out of the city and burned their home to ashes. However, it appears as if the face had survived whatever happened that night and is standing three feet from very much alive. And well. And they are glaring at him through dark, piercing eyes.

"Marcellus?" Kol whispers, looking at the man through watery eyes.

"Kol Mikaelson," Marcel sings, walking toward him, every step with lethal intent. "What the hell are you doing in my city?" he hisses, grabbing Kol by the shirt and jerking him to his feet.

If Kol weren't so stunned from being thrown into a wall, unexpected and quite hard, and the sight of Marcel, he could have easily knocked the other vampire on his ass. But for now, his mind apparently is broken because he can't form a thought that isn't a question.

"You're alive?" he coughs, wincing as oxygen forces its way into his burning lungs.

Marcel tightens his grip on his shirt. "I'll be the one asking the questions here," he snarls, baring his fangs. Veins crawling up to his cheeks to his bloodthirsty eyes.

Davina hurries over to him, glaring at Marcel. "Leave him alone," she says hotly, and Marcel turns to her, giving her a glare of his own. "Now."

"Do you have any idea who this is, Davina?" he retorts, his eyes centered on her neck. "Is that blood?" he asks, letting go of Kol as he turns his full attention to Davina. "What happened?" he demands, pulling the jacket away from her skin to look at her neck. A murderous look washes over Marcel's face, and he jerks his head around to look at Kol. "You son of a bitch," he seethes, walking over to him. "You people have the nerve to come back into my city and feast on my people?" he yells.

Kol opens his mouth to respond, but Davina beats him to it as she lays a hand on Marcel's shoulder. "It wasn't him who attacked me," she says softly to the older man.

Marcel's eyes widened. "Attacked you?" he reiterates, tugging the jacket back to have another look at her neck. "Tell me what happened, and don't leave out any details, Davina," he tells her firmly. "I need to know everything."

Davina crosses her arms, looking down at the ground. "I was on my way back to the church when I was grabbed from behind," she mutters.

Marcel nods slowly, running a thump along his lip. "What else do you remember?" he prods.

"He jerked me into an alley, and you see what happened next," Davina says, motioning to her neck.

Marcel wraps an arm around Davina, pulling her into his side. "Why didn't you fight back, D?" he asks, rubbing her arm.

Marcel turns to Kol, glaring at him. "I don't believe I asked you," he hisses at Kol. "Let me deal with this first, and then we can get back to our conversation."

Kol narrows his eyes at Marcel. "You asked her why she didn't fight back," he points out, "I'm telling you that she did fight back."

"And how would you know if she fought back or not?"

Davina taps Marcel on the shoulder, and he looks at her. "He's the one who pulled him off of me," she explains.

"What?"

Davina nods her head at Kol. "Kol is the one who saved my life," she says, smiling thankfully at Kol.

Kol smirks at him. "That's how I knew she fought back," he quips at Marcel, earning himself another hateful glare from the man. "I'm what people would call a hero tonight.

Marcel snorts. "You are hardly a hero," he tosses back, looking down at Davina. "This is why I tell you not to leave the church, young lady. Now, go inside where it's safe," he tells her, letting his arm fall from her shoulders. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Davina opens her mouth to say something else, but he shakes his head. "Now, Davina," he says to her firmly. Davina glares at him and storms into the church, making sure to slam the door to tell him that she isn't happy with him.

Marcel doesn't wait a second before turning back to Kol. "What are you doing here?" he asks Kol.

Kol crosses his arms, grinning at him. "Is that any way to greet your family, Marcellus?" he asks, "I believe it's been a good century since I saw you last, and it appears that you have grown an inch or two taller since that wonderful night," he teases.

"You are not my family," Marcel retorts icily, "who else is here with you?" he questions, scouring the yard slowly as if he's expecting something or someone to pop up.

"Relax, no one else is here with me," Kol says, leaning back against the wall. "Needed a break from the road and was curious about our old home. So, I decided to check it out for myself."

"When were you let out of your box?"

"Not too long ago," Kol replies, glimpsing around the buildings. "I was surprised to you not with Nik or Rebekah when I woke up. What happened back then? Why did they leave New Orleans?"

"They didn't tell you?" Marcel asks, squatting down to sit on the stair, stretching his long legs out.

Kol shakes his head. "They only let me out of my box because they thought I would be the best man for a job. Never said a bloody word about what happened, but I didn't care to ask either. When I'm done with this job, I am getting as far away from my family as possible."

"What job?" Marcel asks. "It's not in my city, is it?"

"No, I'm just passing through on my way to Denver," Kol answers, trailing his eyes to the bell tower. "I killed him," he admits.

"Killed who?"

"The vampire who attacked her," Kol says, watching the window where he sees a Davina-shaped shadow in the curtain. "Thought it would be best, so he wouldn't try for round two."

"Good," Marcel sighs tiredly as if the whole world is on his shoulders. "Saves me from having to do it myself. Where's his body?"

"About two alleys down from here," Kol says, pointing in the direction of the location. "The bastard went for her artery, so I had to give her some of my blood. The guy had the intent to kill tonight."

Marcel nods slowly as if he is lost in thought. "Is she happy?" he asks softly.

Kol smirks at the man. "Is who happy?" he questions, knowing who Marcel is talking about, but he always likes to see Marcel squirm, so he's gonna have some fun with this.

"You know who?"

Kol shrugs his shoulders. "Do I really?" he teases Marcel. "You could be meaning anyone by the word of she. Now, come one, let me have some entertainment, please."

Marcel glares at him. "Rebekah," he says, sounding very annoyed. Kol enjoys the tone with great glee.

Kol snickers happily, hearing his sister's name. "Spoiled rotten as usual," he tells him.

"She'll always be spoiled rotten. But is she happy?" Marcel asks, getting up from the stairs to pace a bit. "She told me that she would be back but never did."

"That is not her fault," Kol declares, making Marcel freeze in his track to stare at him. "Sometime after they left New Orleans, she crossed Nik. And you know what happens when one of us crosses Nik."

Marcel closes his eyes. "He daggered her again?" he assumes softly.

"I'm afraid so," Kol says swiftly. "Only to be undaggered ninety years later. Isn't our brother a lovely bastard?" he sneers, feeling the prickles of anger in his blood as he thinks about his sister's suffering at his brother's hands.

"Damn," Marcel sighs, glancing over his shoulder to the church doors. "I need to go and check on Davina. You are welcome to stay if you never tell your family about me. The locals are off the menu, but the tourists are at an all-you-can-eat buffet."

Kol raises his brow at Marcel. "You think I need your permission to stay?" he mocks at the younger man. "After all, this city is the place they like to call their home."

Marcel chuckles coldly. "Your family lost their rights to this city after they fled while the city was burning to ashes, leaving me behind in the rubble to clean up the pieces. New Orleans is the city it is today because of me, which makes this city mine," he snarls through his teeth, rotating around to go into the church.

"What's the story with this one?" Kol asks him, and Marcel pauses on the stairs and turns to look at him.

"A story that is none of your business," Marcel hisses at him, planting his hands on his hips. "You stay away from her, you hear? Davina belongs to me just like everything else in this city," he tosses over his shoulder as he walks into the church, leaving Kol standing by himself, watching the doors close with a harsh slam.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Kol looks up to see Davina standing at the window, frowning down at him. There are so many questions rolling around in his mind that it is almost impossible to focus. Davina glances briefly over her shoulder before walking away, letting the curtain slide into place. Kol decides that Denver will have to wait as there is no way in hell he is leaving now because something is telling him that he needs to stay. And he is not leaving until he gets the answers he desires and always gets what he wants.