Ardent | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 34

Klaus was fuming.

"Elijah, where are you?" he demanded, calling his brother and leaving a voicemail while Evangeliya examined the blood splattered on the windshield. "Mikael is loose with the stake, and Cami is a hostage, and I am weaponless and in need of reinforcement. I've found Evangeliya, brother, she will be with me. You must join us, urgently." He hung up. "Your phone?"

"Not here," she said. "Don't know what Davina did with it. If he's dodging your calls, I won't be much help. But... I do have an idea. Kol and Davina can track Mikael. We'll ambush him before he gets too far."

He nodded (albeit impatiently), the two walking back to the cabin, finding Kol sitting in a rocking chair, apparently waiting to hear what was going on with them. "Wake her up," Klaus demanded. "Tell her to get Mikael back here, now."

"Well, let me think about that," said Kol, pursing his lips. "No. In fact, you should probably get going, Nik. Mikael, he's probably jonesing for a restorative snack about now. It'd be a shame to find– uh, Cami, is it?– nothing more than a bloodless husk."

"You can get in there," said Klaus, looking at Evangeliya. "Kill him."

"I'm not killing your brother because he's being a brat," said Evangeliya. "Besides, considering you just found out he's alive, I'm not going to get rid of him before Lucy knows, too."

Kol sat up immediately. "Lucy's here?"

"Not here, but she could be if you helped us find Mikael."

"Wouldn't be able to," said Kol. "No one here shares blood with him, the items in that bedroom aren't his originally, and Davina's Cloaking Spell started on him. He'll still be cloaked."

Klaus snorted angrily, "We'll track her on foot."

Evangeliya pointed at Kol, "If your brother's lives mean anything to you, you'll have her track Mikael as soon as he's awake."

He swallowed nervously, watching them leave.

Evangeliya let Klaus take the lead, having him track the scent of Cami's blood. She did her best to listen, and used his phone to call Elijah as many times as she could, trying to figure out why the hell he wasn't answering and where he might be.

"This way," said Klaus, motioning toward a distant bonfire. "Have you fed?"

"Hardly," she said. "Davina had us on a pretty strict diet. And I haven't slept in months."

"Nor have you had a lick of vervain."

Her throat tightened. "Don't get any ideas."

"All grievances are tabled for now. I will require you to remain off the vervain, assuming you do not perish by day's end."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You will understand when this is over. I would not ask if it were not essential. Elijah could explain it to you. If he'd answer his bloody phone."

"Where did you see him last?"

"He and Marcel were following a different approach to track Davina. I went for the most reliable option."

"You used Cami. Of course."

They stopped by the bonfire, where a massive group of young adults (all in costumes) were very still, staring at them. Evangeliya assumed it must be Halloween if they were all dressed up.

"Did you honestly think to hold me with a blade forged from pain?" one shouted at Klaus.

"Unlike the weak," another burst out, "unlike you, I gain strength from pain!"