Bloody Symphony | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 20

Josh had found her.

She was sobbing and cradling Aiden's body, trying her best to stay quiet so that no random passerby would find her. She hadn't thought to call anyone. This couldn't be real. She had to be hallucinating. It would have been embarrassing for her to call for help, and for Aiden to sit up seconds later, laughing and saying it was all a prank.

The cruelest fucking prank he could have pulled.

"No," whispered Josh, rushing forward toward them. "No... no... what happened?"

"I found him like this," whispered Natanya, her face red and her shirt covered in blood. "Someone... someone killed him. He's got claw marks everywhere..."

Josh's eyes welled up with tears as Natanya set Aiden's body down. He covered his mouth, before dipping down and hugging him, starting to sob as well. The wolf beside him had moved away, bringing out her phone and trying to control her breathing so that she could call Jackson.

"Tanya," he answered. "Listen, I said some really awful things to you and I wanted to say I'm sorry—"

"Aiden's dead," she said, her voice cracking. "He's dead."

"What?"

"S-Someone killed him. I-I don't even know where we are, it's just some alley on the way to the St. James..."

"Okay, don't hang up, I'm gonna go out there and find you. Stay on the line, Tanya. What happened?"

"I just— we were at the Cemetery— and Josh and Aiden left to give you the bracelet for Hope and I-I stayed with Davina and... oh my god, if I had gone with him, this wouldn't have happened. It has to have been Klaus. He's all clawed up and his heart was put next to his body..."

"Aiden told me what Klaus said to both of you. He told me the truth about... everything."

"Klaus must have found out that Aiden took the manacles. H-He was mad that I found out about how he was manipulating him. He likely thought Aiden outright told me and labeled him as untrustworthy. This is all my fault, Jackson..."

"No, it isn't, Tanya, this isn't anyone's fault but Klaus's."

"You were right!" she said, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't think, I'm not fit to be a leader. I just act and I... I was so focused on Elijah that I didn't notice earlier that something was wrong with my best friend, that someone was doing something to him. This whole time everyone's been warning me about how involved I'm getting with the Originals and I didn't see it... I didn't think to care because... because I thought I'd be fine if I got hurt. B-But I didn't remember that I'd be putting my family in harm's way, too..."

"Tanya, listen to me. This has nothing to do with Elijah. This was Klaus. He did this..." his voice trailed off, and seconds later, he appeared in front of her. She hung up and ran to him, pulling him into a tight hug, which didn't last as long as she'd have liked it to, considering he had to go and examine Aiden's body for himself.

"Josh," said Jackson quietly. "I'm sorry."

"I-I know," whispered Josh, getting up. "You have to take his body. I just... I..." he shook his head before speeding away.

Jackson pulled Aiden up, laying his body over his shoulder while Natanya knelt down to pick up his heart, cradling in her hands. The siblings walked to the jazz club in silence, both of their faces stained with tears.

They could hear Klaus's voice when they were about a hundred feet from the entrance. "KLAUS!" yelled Jackson as they approached. "KLAUS!"

"Oh my god!" said Hayley when she saw them come through the doorway. Elijah was there, too, and he blanched as Jackson laid Aiden's body down on the table. "What happened?"