Chapter 28: The Season of Change

Klaus had been gone for hours. For hours and Bella watched the sky turn dark from the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Calmly, but still she felt on edge. Freya kept an eye on the increasing numbers of Cold Ones arriving in New Orleans, but Bella could feel it. It was hard to describe it, it was something she had felt in the presence of the Cullens, maybe a couple of times, but now that she was older, and apparently her Singer side more advanced, she could feel a coldness starting to cover the French Quarter almost as if it was a blanket. Or a fog rolling in.

It was interesting that, on the other hand, she’d never thought it was actually real, that a long living singer could turn into a massive Cold One killing machine. And that she actually had a ‘spidey sense’. It was interesting how she could feel it adjust, how it tried to teach her how it worked. She ignored most of it at the moment, wondering where the hell Klaus was, but she didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

After getting something to eat from the kitchen and resuming her position on the balcony, she overheard Marcel and Hayley argue and saw Lucien – Lucien – help himself to the Mikaelson family blood bag stash. It appeared that Hayley had found Lucien and thought it would be good to bring him ‘home.’ Like a dog finding a stick to play with.

“I had no idea that Aya was gonna take Klaus and Elijah down! And regardless, why the hell are we trusting this guy all of a sudden, huh? He’s the one who ran off with Aurora the first chance he got.”

So Klaus was taken. Bella was going to do something about that; she just had to stay quiet and bide her time, come up with a plan. One good thing about being ignored or left out of conversations about things was that you could listen carefully and, when needed, when capable, save the day.

She’d been avoiding everyone most of the day – or they’d been avoiding her, no doubt having heard Myriam talk to someone about Bella’s ‘ridiculous’ stance on killing things. She didn’t particularly care for Marcel, but she had to agree with him at this point and firmly disagree with Hayley. Yes, Marcel had dug up Jackson’s heart for the Strix, but by doing that, he’d saved Hayley’s life. Hope’s mother. The mother of his sire’s child. Bella would have done the same. Besides, Jackson was already dead anyway, would Hayley rather leave her child motherless?

She didn’t like hearing that Davina was truly going ahead with desiring Klaus and Elijah, but when Lucien spoke of an execution, she was wondering how that would work seeing as she was still in possession of the last of the White Oak… She put her hand in her pocket to confirm that the trinket was there and let out a breath of relief. “How would it be an execution? It’s a desiring spell, they’re still Original vampires,” Bella asked from her spot above them. “And I know of the location of the weapon that could kill them, so it can’t be that.”

“Are you sure, love?” Lucien slurred his words; she could have sworn she saw some panic in his eyes. “They’re quite confident about being able to kill them. Of course, they’ll try to kill Nik first, because they don’t want to accidentally eradicate themselves.”

“I’m sure, so try again, Lucien.”

“Or ask your know-it-all Cold One that you keep in the basement.”

“I don’t keep anything in the cellar. If he’s there, he’s there without my knowledge,” she said as she made her way down the stairs, carrying her glass of iced tea. “However, if you don’t stop lying, I’ll ask him to remove your heart, I’m fairly certain he’d love to do that.”

Lucien snorted as he shifted a little in his seat. “What makes you think I’m lying?” What had happened to Niklaus’ meek whore? This wasn’t even Isa, Bella’s alter-ego, no, this was a Queen talking. A huntress. Did Niklaus have any idea what he was getting himself into with her? Oh, who cared? With a little luck, his sire would be dead by the rise of the sun. And if not, by the end of this week at the latest.

“There’ll be no killing,” Freya’s voice sounded before appearing from underneath the stairs. “I’m going to need Lucien to get Klaus and Elijah out of the chambre that they’re in. The older the vampire, the better the battery, sort to speak. So, while I do that, you can go and stage a rescue.”

“You can’t be serious,” Lucien huffed, grateful for Freya’s interruption, he didn’t have to defend himself, talk himself into a corner he couldn’t get out of. Bella was perceptive, and he believed he had fooled them long enough. Well, her and Marcel at least. The others still seemed to believe him.

“I think I can find a few wolves ready to help us out to buy you time, Freya,” Hayley said as she rose to her feet and looked at Marcel. “What about some of your vampires? Or are they too scared?”

“I can’t order the Strix vamps to attack their coven of witches,” Marcel said, rolling his eyes. “Josh, maybe, but Davina will skin me alive if something happens to him.”

“I think I can ask Myriam for the A squad, especially now Alina’s turned…” Bella said a little absentmindedly. Her brain was working on something, but she wasn’t sure what yet.

“Stay out of this, Bella, this isn’t your fight,” Marcel bit at her.

“Screw you, Marcel,” Bella said fiercely, wanting to throw her glass of iced tea against him but decided against it. “I know I can help, and I can get some sturdy vampires to the estate as well. All Freya needs to do is make me invisible for the Strix, and I can get in. Then I’m sure some Cold Ones will follow me. I’m the perfect bait. Still human. Still tasty and something they want for themselves.”

“Oh hell no.”

“Actually,” Hayley smirked. “I like that idea.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, me too,” Freya agreed and sighed. “My brother is going to kill me when he comes back but yes. I’ll cloak you for the Strix. Save Niklaus and Elijah; I know you can do it.”

Bella smirked and nodded. “Good. Now let me put on my sneakers and we’ll go.”

~o.O.o~

She was surprised it had been that easy to get involved. Not that she’d have given up anyway. Bella knew almost every exit point of the compound; take the sewer if she had to; it wasn’t anything new, she’d done a lot of sewer living when she was still running from the Cullens. But she was glad that the only person who objected was Marcel. Of course, he had to; Klaus was his sire and Bella was Klaus’… something.

Bella quickly made her way to Débauche, making sure she was seen out in the open, her scent in the air, and got in the car with most of the A Squad, who were managed to get into the trunk of the big town car Marcel was driving with the three of them. It was unbelievable how bendy they were. Unfortunately, Alina didn’t have an easy transition; mostly because Peter had also bitten her and infected her with the Cold One venom, not having known that she’d already been ingesting Myriam’s blood. One of the warlocks was doing all that he could to save her from turning into a Cold One and a possible target for Bella. This was a good thing because Bella really did not want to kill her friend.

Sometimes, Peter was quite the dumbass for someone with the knowledge that he had. Bella was glad he wasn’t coming with; it was mostly to save his own skin and all, but she wouldn’t want him to think he needed to protect her. The Strix vampires and witches couldn’t see her. Not even Davina, but she could choose to reveal herself to Davina, and she’d make sure she’d be safe. Hopefully. Probably not seeing as Davina discovered that Bella had been lying and all.

She didn’t know what to make of the newest addition to the A Squad, Abeebee. She commanded a lot of respect with her presence alone. She was very intense, but Ace and Autumn seemed to like her.

When they were almost at the Davilla Estate, Bella made the deliberate decision to go inside. She tried to make her thoughts as loud as possible so that Alice, too, would see her. Once Marcel parked in front, Bella made the deliberate decision to step out of the car and follow him in. She focused on her decisions, making her a beacon to everything and once she had snuck into the pool house, she stopped.

Not because she felt them coming but because of the sight in front of her and it made her stomach churn. Klaus and Elijah were in a pool, throats slit, blood oozing out of the cut and they weren’t moving. The witches were chanting, and Davina seemed to be the most intense. Of course, she was hell bent on destroying Klaus. She had told Bella that she had tried to sever the link last year, to save Marcel and Josh when she killed Klaus. Something told Bella that Davina wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Swallowing back some bile, Bella knew that she couldn’t intervene. She was invisible now; she needed to stay hidden and have the Cold Ones come and fuck shit up. And then, hopefully, Klaus and Elijah would be saved in time. She made it to the farthest corner of the building and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. She could hear crashing and ripping coming from the hallway, and she knew then, that for the last seven years, they had been intensely looking for her. The speed and ferocity they were showing now said as much. Agitation. Aggression. Desperation. Bella needed to become what she needed to become and kill them. There was no hesitation; it was almost like a frenzy they were in as they tore through the hallway and turned the corner.

Bella gasped when she got spotted by Garrett, Kate Denali’s mate. A big grin appeared on his face, and he started to run to her, but a legion of Strix vampires under Aya’s command flocked in and blocked his path. Bella had never seen so many vampires in one place. Five Cold Ones were fighting at least forty Strix vampires, if not more, as the Strix tried to keep them from getting to the witches.

It was satisfying to see the Cold Ones being torn to shreds and quite a few Strix vampires fell too, but Bella was glad to see the Denali’s torn to pieces on the floor by the time that Elijah awoke from his torment and dragged one of the witches into the pool to feed. Bella fumbled the lighter in her pocket, would she dare to make it across the room to set the Cold Ones alight? She didn’t want to give them time to reassemble.

Hayley and Marcel got to their feet after being flung to the side by Davina and Bella watched Ace throw a flare into the Cold One pile, setting them ablaze as the other witches were killed. Elijah got out of the water, but when Klaus tried, Davina threw him right back in, including bowling over anyone who was not behind something. “You’ve had your time!” Davina snarled before she continued to chant.

Klaus started to scream in agony. Bella could feel the sound penetrate her skin, deep into her bones, sending waves of pain into her own body. Was this what they called sympathy pains? She wanted to get into the water, pull Klaus out of it and have him kill Davina, but it was likely that the witch would kill her first. Marcel doubled over in pain, but all Bella could do was focus on Klaus, willing Elijah to do something.

Soon enough, Davina finished her spell, once again knocking everyone flat on their asses, and Bella scampered out of her hiding spot and jumped into the water to keep Klaus afloat. He looked unconscious, his veins evident and he just looked so dead. “No,” she whimpered as she used all of her strength to keep him from sinking into the pool. “No, Klaus…” His throat was slashed, it was healing, but there was still blood, and she didn’t even want to imagine what she’d do if he truly were dead.

“Allow me,” Elijah crooned as he helped Bella to keep his brother afloat. He wasn’t sure why she was here, who allowed her to be here. He didn’t even want to think about that right now. He had watched his brother in worry before the veins retracted and his brother started to look a little less dead. Klaus’ eyes opened then, looking for Elijah’s and Elijah let out a breath of relief.

“I felt them leave,” Klaus said weakly. “My sireline is broken.” He then looked at Bella. “What are you doing here?”

She gave him a small smile. “Luring Cold Ones here, causing a distraction,” Bella replied with a shrug and helped him to get on his feet. “Here,” she said, holding up her wrist. “Drink.”

“Bella…”

“Drink, Niklaus,” Elijah commanded him. “Hayley and I shall take care of things here, but you need to take Bella home. Get some rest.”

~o.O.o~

Klaus practically fell out of the car when they arrived at the compound, and she was grateful to Myriam being there to help her get him inside. It was a good thing that Myriam had her hands full with supporting the hybrid because Bella just knew that her friend wanted to shake her and check her over to see if she was alright before giving her a verbal punishment. “What were you thinking?”

Bella sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “That was some good thinking, Bella, luring the Cold Ones to the Strix to get them killed and cause a distraction,” she retorted, mimicking Myriam’s voice. “I was perfectly safe; the Strix couldn’t see me.”

Myriam noticed the marks on Bella’s wrist and nearly dropped Klaus as he tripped. “You bit her!”

“Relax, mother hen,” Klaus complained. “She offered, and I had to get on my feet somehow. What the bloody hell is wrong with me?”

“You hemorrhaged an enormous amount of mystical energy,” Freya replied as she was followed by Lucien. “Enough to create a Nexus Vorti. It’s nothing a good night’s rest won’t cure.”

“I’m glad they didn’t kill you, Niklaus,” Lucien quipped as Myriam put Klaus down on the sofa and used her own blood to heal Bella’s bite marks. “Will you now believe me that -”

Bella winced when she heard the sound of breaking bones and tissue being punched through and then watched as Lucien dropped to the floor, revealing Peter standing where Klaus’ sireling stood before, with a heart in his hand. A deafening silence followed, and Peter merely shrugged. “Trust me. You didn’t have it in you to kill him, and this will save you a lot of headache in the coming time,” Peter explained before he broke out in a wide grin and looked at Bella. “And you! Good job!”

Klaus used every inch of strength he had left in his body to get up and throw the Cold One into a wall. He had just killed history. A long life lived, a vampire who made history. Granted, Lucien was a giant pain in the neck, but he had accomplished so much, and Klaus had been proud of him.

“Relax, it’s not as if his siblings died, you don’t have a sire line anymore, remember?”

“Even so,” Klaus scowled. “He was my friend. Please, tell me what atrocities he was going to do in the near future.”

“Create the beast of your prophecy, create the situation where the friend, family, and foe would end you all. Yep, I single-handedly took care of your prophecy. You’re welcome.”

“Out,” he said with a growl. Lucien was a bastard and a brilliant one at that, one who created the antidote against a werewolf bite, but to create the beast? To be the end of his family? No, Lucien wouldn’t do that. He was loyal. And after a very trying day, he now had lost an old friend. “And for your sake, I hope that you’ll leave New Orleans because once I’m back on my feet…”

“You’ll turn into a whiny brat because all your enemies will come for you now,” Peter winked at him and then saluted. “Very well. I shall make my leave. Good luck with the rest of the prophecy.”

Bella watched as Peter sped out of the compound and then threw a pillow towards Klaus. “Go to bed or have a Snickers.”

“Take him upstairs, Bella, I’ll take care of what’s left of Lucien,” Myriam said kindly before Bella dragged Klaus off to take a relaxing bath first, clean him up, and then take him to bed.

~o.O.o~

“I didn’t get the chance to say this yesterday,” Klaus said the following morning as he brushed some hair out of Bella’s face. “But what were you thinking? I could have lost you, too.”

“I knew what I was doing,” she softly kissed his lips. “How are you feeling today? Better?”

“Please tell me you’re still in the possession of the trinket I gave you,” he replied once he knew she was fully awake. Yes, he had slept, but the moment he felt better he had woken up and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about who was going to come after him now. “It’s made out of White Oak and-”

“Hey,” she rolled on top of him and kissed him tenderly. “You’re safe. It’s safe. Do you honestly believe I’ll let anything happen to you?”

“You’re a mere mortal, Bella, what could you possibly do to ensure my safety?”

She knew this was going to happen. He’d told her that he had felt secure with all the vampires he had sired because their lives depended on his. That despite their anger towards him that they were still happy with their immortality. Now that that link was gone, they could come after him for vengeance. But to have it happen as soon as this? “This mere mortal would do anything to keep you safe, Klaus Mikaelson, because she loves you. Now stop your moping. Save that for your siblings.”

His eyes met hers and he swallowed hard; she had this determined look on her face, and he couldn’t do anything but to nod slowly. “Now, about that Cold One friend of yours.”

“He hasn’t been wrong yet.”

“Perhaps, but between Myriam killing Aurora for your safety and Peter killing Lucien for all of our sakes – if we have to believe him, that only leaves Tristan with a solid link to our past.”

“And he’s an asshole too, so he’ll be dead soon.”

“Bella…”

“I’m not going to say it again, but your sentimentality is your weakness. You made a name for yourself as a ruthless vampire, taking what you wanted, no matter the consequences. It’s fine that you’re more in touch with your feelings in your personal, private, life, but damn it, Klaus, act weak, and your enemies think you’re weak too. Act weak for long enough and you’ll actually become weak.”

“Says the little girl who’s been running from an army of Cold Ones for years and falls into depression now and then. Who doesn’t recognize danger even if it’s being waved in her face!” He pushed her off of him and got out of bed to get dressed. “You have no right to lecture me on this, Bella.”

“I am not lecturing you, Klaus,” she said as she sat up and watched him. “I know how you feel right now.”

“Oh, do you? You have no idea!”

“As if the world’s been pulled away from underneath you, as if you’re alone. It’s okay to be scared, Klaus, but you have to remember that you’re not alone. You’ve got Elijah. Rebekah. Hayley and Hope, they’re still here, and they won’t go anywhere,” she said calmly. “So what you’ve lost your entire sire line? You’re still the same old scary hybrid everyone thinks is a monster. No doubt your enemies will come as groups, knowing that they can’t take you on alone. That’s how afraid they are of you. You’re still you.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Klaus said forcefully. “I’m going to Aya’s home with Elijah and look for answers. This whole thing about killing me drives me to believe that she has some White Oak somewhere.”

Bella let out a frustrated sigh as she fell back onto the bed. “You need to talk to a therapist or something.”

“She’s dead!”

“Then organize her fucking wake, you asshole!”

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3 Comments:

  1. So damn good! Poor Klaus but Bella helped kickass.

  2. Sorry! I don’t make an announcement for every chapter I upload! However, I do post those announcements on my facebook:-)

    Happy to hear you’re enjoying the story! Xoxo

  3. Argg…I’m only getting your update ever third one…but at least I’m getting them. I love this story and am now dying to read more of it…thanks hon, until next time…bigg huggs.

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