Dark Mikaelson [Book 2]

Chapter 5 ~ Closed Mind, Closed Body

A/N: Overdue, I know. But I hope you all enjoy it! Remember to vote, comment, and add if you haven't already. -- Hayley

The oddly cold night air nips at Klaus' ears and nose, but he doesn't feel it. Some could say it's because of the vampire gene, but for Klaus, it's the fact that his mind is somewhere else. It would be dawn soon, and there has been no sign of Briar or the mystery woman on the other end of the phone.

A rustling sound causes him to turn and look behind him.

Moments later shadows of people start to hit the dim light. Emerging out of the shadows is a woman in long skinny jeans, black heels, and a blue top with a leather jacket over it. Behind her is a flock of men, her bodyguards.

Klaus' mind starts to process this, and he can't help but wonder who the woman is. But at the moment, even the woman's identity doesn't seem important. At that moment he only cared about Briar and if she is alive or not. "Well, you succeeded in getting me here. Shall we get on with our business? Or would you prefer I profess my annoyance in a more... Hostile manner?" A coy smile jumps over his face, showing a strong amount of exterior confidence.

The woman chuckles from the shadows, her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Attack me, and you will never get your precious Briar back." A smirk drifts on her face.

Klaus moves towards her instinctively, but two witches raise their hands and he stops. He clenches his jaw in annoyance.

She moves forwards but the shadows still hide her face - much to Klaus' annoyance. "I'm sorry, Niklaus, but this is on my terms. I'm showing you an act of kindness, one that you have never to shown in your entire, pathetic, immortal existence."

"Is that all you've got, love? I expected more coming from you... Irene." As his voice says her name, it drops to a lower whisper, almost as if it dreads even speaking the word.

She is silent for a few moments, before she finally speaks, "So the bastard son finally figured it out. I was wondering how long it would take... I always said that Elijah got the brains, charming Bex the beauty, and you... You got the brawn but no brains or beauty to back it up. Shame. You had such potential back then. I guess age will do that to a man." She moves to the center of the room, the shadows flinching back from the light, allowing her face to be seen.

He rolls his eyes at her and smirks at the sight of her face. "Finally. Took you long enough to show your face. Now, let's get on with this!"

"As you wish." She gestures to her men and they drag out someone who is in chains.

Briar appears in the light, and she looks horrible. She is sweating and covered in blood, chains wrapped around her. She looks up groggily, half conscious. She is infected with wolf venom.

Klaus looks at her in surprise, his eyes softening at the sight of her. The men then are gone in a flash followed by Irene. Klaus vamp speeds to Briar's side and bites into his wrist before feeding her his blood. As she drinks he looks to the witches, expecting a fight. Instead, they all take-out knives and slit their throats, collapsing to the ground dead. Klaus looks at them surprised, his arms wrapped around Briar.

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Rebekah sits on the bed holding her phone and the piece of paper that Briar gave her. She takes a deep breath, almost as if she's trying to convince herself to make the call. She bites her lip nervously before nodding and dialing the number. Her finger hovers over the green phone, her stomach fluttering nervously and heart pounding in her ears.

"Oh, bloody hell." She presses the button and raises the phone to her ears, feeling incredibly nervous and scared for what is to come. What happens if someone does pick up? What if it's not even her? These thoughts and more run through her head. After the fifth ring, she shakes her head and pulls the phone away from her cheek to hang up.

"Hello?" A female's voice asks.

Rebekah's heart stops. One word. One single word that is said more often than others. It echoes through the phone and through her ears.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

She quickly raises the phone back to her ear, "Hello? Adriana?"

Silence. The other line is silent.

Rebekah grows worried that the person hung up. "Hello? Hello?!" She yells.

There is shuffling like someone is moving around. A few moments later the voice returns, "How did you get this number?" She asks in a demanding tone.

Rebekah is taken aback for a moment. "Felicia High gave it to me. Adriana, is that you?"

"Afraid not. She had to step out for a moment."

"So you're telling me that she's... She's actually alive?"

"Oh, catch up love! She's been alive for months now. You of all people should have figured that out already and-" the voice stops speaking for a moment, "Actually, you can ask her yourself." There is silence and voice talking indistinctly.

A different voice speaks, "Hello? Aunt Rebekah?"

Rebekah's voice catches in her throat and tears stream down her face, "A-Adriana?"

There's a short pause before the voice continues on, "Yes, it's me. I don't have much time, but I'm guessing that you found Felicia?"

"Well, yes but-"

Adriana interrupts her, "Good. Then you're close. Find the key, Aunt Rebekah. I'm going to need it."

"Wait, so you're here?" She is very confused and doesn't understand what is going on.

There is a sigh followed by indistinct talking before Adriana returns the phone, "Not yet. But I'm on my way. But it's very important that you do not tell my parents or Uncle Elijah about me yet," there is rustling followed by the sound of something open and closing, "They need to think I'm dead in order for things to go as planned. I'm sorry that I can't say more, but I'll explain everything when I get home. I promise." Her speech is quicker and firmer.

"Adriana! You can't expect me not to tell your parents about this. They love you and need to know that their daughter is alive."

Adriana's response is quick and firm, "And they will. Look, it's complicated. But if you tell them then they'll try and find me, and they won't understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. If I tell them myself they might be a little more understanding."

"Wait, what exactly are you doing? Why wouldn't they understand? What does this have to do with everything that's happening here?"

"You mean Irene and her kidnapping Briar? She's a bother, but I have nothing to do with that - I think. Anyway, I'm sure that dad that can handle one ex-girlfriend. Or did you mean the revolution of the witches? Because they are a real pain in the ass. Not to be rude, Aunt Bex, but you have a lot of problems going on down there. While I have to do with a few of them, I'm not the reason for all of them. Like I said, it's complicated and I'll explain when I get there."

Rebekah takes a moment to process this, her head actually starting to hurt from trying to wrap it around the situation. "Okay... And when do you get here? Days? Weeks? Because I can't - I won't keep this from them for that long." Her voice is firm, and Adriana knows in that very instant that her Aunt is serious.

"Actually, a lot less than that. Three hours and five minutes - give or take." There is a voice in the distant asking something followed by Adriana's, "Yeah, I know! Prep the plane. Aunt Rebekah, I'll be there soon. I love you and I promise you that I'll explain everything soon. I gotta go. Love you!"

The line goes dead after that, leaving only a dial tone in the flabbergasted blonde's ear. She hits the end button and drops the phone onto the bed. She is shocked and speechless, unsure how to process all this. "Bloody hell."

"Rebekah! Elijah! Hayley!" Klaus' voice booms through the house.

Rebekah looks to the door and then stands up, realizing that has to decide whether or not to keep her beloved niece's secret or tell her brothers and family the truth. "Coming, Nik!" She yells down before looking to her phone, "I hope you're telling the truth." She then turns and opens her bedroom door and leaving her room, the door swinging shut behind her.