Lights Flicker And Fade : Kol Mikaelson [3]

226: Letting It Linger

1914

Maci had expected to find the end of a lesson. Mary-Alice's embarrassed face every time she managed to interrupt the pair; Astrid's cautious looks – dedication to her best friend and dislike for how the coven was run kept her coming back for more despite her dislike of Kol.

Except, she was met with an empty room.

Empty of anything living, anyway.

Kol stood in the Claire tomb scribbling across a magnitude of papers, ripped out from grimoires and notebooks alike, pinned to the walls, loose on the table – crumpled on the floor, covered in ink stains and pencil diagrams. Blue across his fingers, prints on his once clean white shirt.

"Something to share?"

He didn't even look at her.

"Kol?"

"Busy."

"Doing?"

"None of your concern."

"Mean," She came closer, scanning the lines of Haitian French, "I love a good magical invention."

"This?" He lurched up, finally looking at her, "This is so much more than an invention."

"...Kol."

His eyes were crazed, "They did it."

Maci stilled.

"A rosary that will induce pure madness," His fingers tapped rapidly, "The Five? Klaus locked himself in the basement because of it."

Maci frowned, "And you recreated that amount of pain?"

"Only way to find out is to test it," He grinned, "Watch him spiral."

"Kol," She swallowed, "That curse..."

"Begone with your baggage."

Her eyes narrowed at the dismissiveness.

"Unless you have a reason to fear me?"

Her bored expression had him returning to the page, counting the goblets stained red across the room.

"Has something happened?"

"I don't know," He mused, "Has it?"

She considered her options, "Mary-Alice finally explained the coven belief about you?"

"No," Kol let his writing slow, pen falling to the side, "Care to explain?"

"You clearly know."

"Nik thought it would be funny to turn my people against me."

"Mary-Alice has gotten you more recruits," Maci reminded him, "It's a meaningless lie, and the covens will realise that."

"Is that why you didn't bother to tell me?"

"Did Genevieve?"

"I don't know the names of your sources. Though, your future theatre echoes quite dramatically."

"Ah," She clicked, "You were following me."

"You've been avoiding me," He leant closer to the table, standing tall, "You should've told me."

"And stir the pot?"

"Niklaus wants a war?"

A laugh.

"He will lose."

"You are taking this too personally."

"Personally?" He snapped, "This is all I have?"