Okay, the next chapter a week later, have fun with it! I so enjoy writing this story. Tell me how you like it. Don't forget, comments keep me writing 'lol
As always much thanks to Senema for her great beta and her help. I changed a few things afterwards, so all remaining mistakes are my own.
Chapter 6
The little house Hayley and Hope had been living in for the last few months was now quite crowded and Elijah loved it. All of his siblings except for Niklaus were together for the first time in 1000 years.
Elijah sat down on the couch and wasn't particularly surprised when Hendrik immediately sat down next to him and snuggled up to him. It had been Elijah, who had really raised Henrik more than their parents. Klaus had always been more the fun brother for Henrik, who let him get away with everything and with whom he could fool around.
"Did you like the ice cream?" Elijah asked smiling.
"It tasted very delicious. Hayley promised we'd order pizza for dinner", Henrik reported excitedly. "I've often watched you eat and wondered how all these things taste."
Elijah ruffled his hair affectionately. "Now you will find out."
"When are you leaving for New Orleans?" Henrik asked hesitantly.
"Soon", Elijah answered softly. "But we won't leave until after dinner."
"That is great." Henrik was relieved. After Elijah brought him back to life, he felt better if Elijah stayed with him a little longer.
"Who'll go with you?" Kol asked, dropping onto the other side of Elijah.
"Finn, Henrik, Hope and Camille will definitely stay here, where they are safe", Elijah replied calmly. "I assume you'll want to stay here with Davina?"
Kol hesitated. "Don't you need me?"
"I'd love to have you with me to back me up, especially when we're dealing with the vampires from Niklaus's sireline, brother, but I know how much you missed her." Elijah smiled sadly.
"As long as Davina is safe, I can live with being away from her for a few more days while we rescue Nik", Kol said softly.
"And what if I want to come with you to New Orleans?" Davina interjected, who had followed Kol and listened to his and Elijah's exchange.
Kol sighed in resignation. Davina was just too stubborn, which most of the time he loved about her. Perhaps this was another reason why she and Klaus couldn't stand each other. "Unfortunately I can't stop you."
"It's your choice if you come with us, but remember my warning, Davina", Elijah said meaningfully.
Davina involuntarily shuddered as she remembered the goddess now living within Elijah. "I gave you my word and I intend to keep it."
Elijah looked at her and Davina could see the goddess again, who was now eyeing her, weighing the truthfulness of her words. "Then it's acceptable if you are coming with us."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay here", said Rebekah. "It would be good if at least one Original stayed back as protection for the others." She hesitated. "And this way I'm not tempted to get in the way of your plans for Marcel."
"I think that's a good idea," Hayley said. "And there's no one I'd rather entrust Hope's safety to than you while I go with Elijah."
Rebekah beamed at those words.
"Agreed." Elijah was secretly relieved. Rebekah often acted irrational and emotional when it came to Marcel. "Aiden, I want you to come with me. Josh has this loyalty to Marcel, which he doesn't deserve at all. I want to keep him out of the conflict as much as possible."
"And if I'm with him, that's an excellent reason for him to do so", Aiden added thoughtfully. He had no problems with that, he had no love for Marcel. After all, it was him, who had cursed and killed so many of his kind. It would feel good to see him finally pay for that.
"And I can persuade Vincent not to interfere", Davina added again.
"The witches of New Orleans are no longer a factor. As soon as the witches were sent to their different afterlives, they lost their inexhaustible power source forever," Hayley said, looking very pleased about it.
"However, I'm going to pay Vincent a visit anyway, and then you can actually be of use to me." Elijah smirked.
Davina scowled, but otherwise didn't respond to his words.
"I'll come with you too", said Freya firmly. "You will need a witch to put an invisible and impassable wall around the compound. After all, we don't want any of our enemies to escape."
"Now that it's all settled, let's order pizza", Elijah said smiling.
Everyone followed Hayley to pick what they wanted from the menu.
Elijah held Camille back by putting a hand on her arm. "Do you have a moment for me?"
"Of course, Elijah." Camille looked at him seriously. "What is it?"
"It's about Henrik." Elijah hesitated. "He's been dead for the last thousand years and more importantly he's from a completely different time. My siblings and I have been able to adapt to the changes over the decades, but Henrik has not had that opportunity. I want you to talk to him and help him deal with this."
"I would be my pleasure to help your brother", Camille replied. She was always touched by how much Elijah cared about the welfare of his family and did everything he could to assist them with their problems.
Elijah hesitated again. "And maybe you could speak with Finn, too. I know, you have a problematic relationship with him but he could also benefit from your expertise. As glad as he is to be just a normal human now, he still has all his memories from the last thousand years and we were often just as unkind to him as he was to us."
Camille sighed. "I'll try it. I could see it as a therapy for myself."
"Thank you." Elijah smiled slightly. "I give you my word that I will bring Niklaus back to you."
"I have no doubts about it", Camille said quietly.
The two joined the others. After dinner, Elijah and his companions started on their long drive.
xxxxx
Elijah and the others reached New Orleans at night and unnoticed. It helped immensely that the witches had lost their power and none of the wards that warned them of newcomers beforehand existed anymore.
The vampires watching the city limits were too few and too spread out, so they could easily slip past them without being seen.
Aiden took them to a hideout the werewolves had used to hide from Marcel before Hayley had come to New Orleans. No one had stayed here for years, which suited their goals just fine. Nobody would think of searching for them here.
Tired from the long journey, Freya, Davina and Aiden lay down to sleep while Hayley, Elijah and Kol took turns keeping watch. They didn't need as much sleep as those who weren't vampires or hybrids.
The next morning they had breakfast with the provisions they had taken with them before discussing their approach to freeing Klaus. They quickly agreed on a plan and for a moment, Elijah thought wistfully how Klaus would have without doubt made the plan-making much more difficult if he had been present.
"When will Marcel's event start?" Elijah asked calmly at the end.
"Tonight, as soon as the sun goes down", Hayley answered just as calmly.
"Then we don't have much time for our preparations." Elijah looked at Aiden. "We're going to Josh first, then I'll bring Vincent over here." He grinned slightly. "Now that he's without his magic it should be much easier."
Freya rolled her eyes. "Please don't be too rough to him."
"That depends on how respectful he is to me." Elijah looked at her innocently.
Freya just sighed. She would take what she could get.
Elijah and Aiden found Josh relatively quickly, he lived in what used to be Marcel's apartment. Elijah quickly checked to see if there were any unobtrusive lurkers in the area but there was no one to find.
"Is he alone?" Aiden asked nervously.
Elijah listened. "Yes, he is alone." He hesitated. "Do you want to come with me right away or do you want me to prepare him?"
Aiden swallowed hard. "Prepare him, please. Can you find out if he met someone new? If that is the case, I don't want him to know about my return."
Elijah sighed. "As you wish, but take it from someone who knows, let him decide with whom he wants to be if he indeed found someone new."
Aiden looked visibly torn, but finally he nodded. "Alright, let's take a chance."
"Wait here. I'll give you a sign when you can come up." Elijah disappeared from Aiden's side with his vampire speed.
A second later Elijah knocked on the door and when Josh opened it and recognized him, he reflexively wanted to slam the door but Elijah was faster. He was in the apartment before Josh could stop him. "Hello, Josh, long time no see", he said softly.
"Hello, Elijah", Josh choked out. He backed away several steps before stopping. It occurred to him that he would never be faster than Elijah, and that nothing would save him anyway if Elijah wanted him dead. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, it's not about what you can do for me" Elijah said amused. He wandered around the apartment and looked at everything. Eventually he decided he had made Josh nervous enough. "Do you live here alone?"
"Yes", Josh replied thickly.
"Any appointment that might disturb us like a lover or a partner?" Elijah inquired seemingly casually.
"I'm not dating anyone at the moment, and I'm not expecting any visitors," Josh replied, confused. The last part of Elijah's question struck him as a little strange.
"Very good." Elijah sat down in a chair. "Take a seat."
Josh obeyed immediately. He knew better than to provoke Elijah. He preferred to leave this to Marcel, who had due to his relationships with Klaus and Rebekah always been safe from retaliation, in stark contrast to the other vampires he loved to rally around him.
"I assume Marcel is already expecting me?" Elijah asked smirking.
"Yes, he ordered the city searched. He's pretty jumpy about the fact that there haven't been any deaths so far", Josh stammered.
"Terrific, just like I want it. I assume you will be there too?" Elijah asked further.
"Yes, Marcel made it mandatory for all vampires to attend", Josh replied uneasily.
Elijah snorted disdainfully. "Of course he did, he is so predictable. One question, did you participate in the torture my brother endured?" The menace in his voice was unmistakable.
"No, I would never do something like that", Josh replied indignantly. "I can't stand Klaus but I would never torture someone who is helpless." Secretly he was quite disgusted with Marcel due to his treatment of Klaus. He had tried a few times to talk to him about it but Marcel had refused to listen to him. Marcel had even threatened him after Josh had tried to ease Klaus's hardship a little, and forbade him from ever approaching Klaus again.
"I believe you and I'm not surprised", Elijah reassured him. "You were always far too decent to be a vampire, and I'm glad you haven't changed. It makes me all the happier to make you this gift."
Josh frowned. "Which gift?"
"A lot has changed. You could say that I got an upgrade too." Elijah smiled oddly.
Josh swallowed again. As scary as Klaus was, he had always felt more dread for Elijah, whose calm demeanour made him so unpredictable. "What kind of upgrade?" he finally choked out anxiously.
"Let's put it this way, there now resides another soul inside me besides my own", Elijah replied mischievously, letting Josh see a glimpse of who he was now.
Josh backed away in his chair, horrified. "What the hell?"
"It's complicated, but part of my new power is to bring back the dead", Elijah explained, standing up. He went to the window and waved before turning back to Josh.
Josh watched him, unsure if he could believe Elijah but finally he asked quietly. "Assuming it's possible you can do that, who did you bring back?"
"Two people who mean a lot to you", Elijah answered calmly. "Both are in town at the moment." He suddenly smiled. "And one of them is about to knock. Please open the door for him!"
Josh stood up, shaking. Against his better judgment he suddenly felt hope, for Elijah could only speak of one person when he spoke about a man. He knew Elijah could be cruel but that was beyond what he thought him capable of for no reason.
Josh went to the door and when someone actually knocked, after taking a deep breath, Josh opened the door. Aiden stood in front of him and gave him an uncertain smile. Without hesitation, Josh pulled him into the apartment and hugged him passionately. Aiden returned the hug just as passionately and nothing existed around them for several minutes.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Josh said deeply emotional after he'd regained his composure. Both men had sat down on the couch and hardly wanted to take their eyes off each other.
"And I never thought it possible to come back", Aiden answered softly.
Josh looked at Elijah. "What is your price?"
"There is no price." Elijah didn't seem offended by Josh's suggestion that he was asking for something in return for Aiden's return.
Josh frowned. "Why don't you demand my silence about the fact that you're back and that you have this upgrade?"
"Because I don't care if you tell him about it or not, it wouldn't make a difference for the success of my plan. You would just show me that you're taking Marcel's side, and while I admire your loyalty, it would seal your fate.
I'm going to free Niklaus from his captivity today and I will kill anyone who sides with Marcel", Elijah explained directly. The smile turned decidedly malicious now. "It would be a shame if you and Aiden couldn't enjoy your newfound future out of your misplaced loyalty."
Josh shuddered. "I won't say anything", he finally said.
"Very good. Then I don't want to disturb you any longer", said Elijah and got up. "I have a witch to kidnap." Elijah left the apartment.
"Is it just me or did Elijah just up his ante on being scary and intimidating", Josh said huskily.
"You have no idea", Aiden replied fervently. "By the way, Elijah also brought back Davina, she is with Kol now."
Josh laughed happily. "I can't wait to see her again."
"She'll be there tonight, too", Aiden assured.
"Is this a good idea? What if she takes Marcel's side?" Josh asked worriedly.
"I hope for her sake that she won't. She knows what will happen to her then", Aiden said in a serious voice.
"Elijah would kill her", Josh said, numb at this thought.
"No, he will take away her magic", Aiden replied in a low voice. "Which is maybe even worse for her. He promised Kol that he would let her live."
"How can Elijah do all these things all of a sudden?" Josh asked confused.
"I'll bring you up to speed", Aiden promised and told Josh everything that had happened in the underworld. The only thing he left out was the plan for Klaus' rescue. Elijah had requested this of him and Aiden felt it a reasonable demand.
"No wonder Elijah said he doesn't care what I tell Marcel. No one would believe that story", Josh finally said, amazed.
Aiden chuckled softly. "I was there and I have trouble believing it. But enough of that, I think we have better things to do."
"I think so too", Josh agreed eagerly.
After that, there wasn't much conversation between the two lovers.