New Blood (The Vampire Diaries - Book 2)

Chapter 8 - O Come, All Ye Faithful

Klaus was in his mansion, painting.

Stefan walked in. "Looks like a giant snowflake."

"I prefer to think of it as an expression of post modernism," Klaus said. "It's my donation to the Winter Wonderland Charity event."

Adrian walked in. "You said it was urgent."

"Yes," Klaus told him, looking at the painting. "Take this to the Mystic Grill immediately."

"You want me to be a delivery guy?" Adrian asked.

"What I want is for you to do whatever I say without the attitude," Klaus answered. Adrian put on a fake smile before picking up the painting and walking away. "And be careful with that. It's still wet."

"Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, you know," Stefan told him.

"What is the point of my hybrids being sired to me if I can't maximize on the benefits of free labor?" Klaus asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Elena is sired to Damon," Stefan stated.

"I intuited as much," Klaus said.

"Which means I need to find the cure now more than ever and yet here you are making post-modern snowflakes," Stefan replied.

Klaus smiled. "I've delivered. I retrieved the Hunter's Sword from Italy, which we'll use to decipher the map hidden in the Hunter's Mark." He cleaned his hands with a rag. "You're the one who's supposed to deliver the Hunter and his mark."

"Well, Jeremy is the Hunter and he has to keep killing vampires to complete his mark," Stefan said. "But we can't quite figure out how to keep him from killing us."

"Sounds like quite the chore, which is why I feel perfectly justified doing a little charity work," Klaus replied.

Stefan hummed. "Or maybe you're lying about having found the Sword."

"Why would I lie to you, Stefan?" Klaus questioned. "We're in this together." He walked towards a safe and unlocked it, taking out the Sword. "The hilt acts as a cipher which we'll use to decode the marks on Jeremy's tattoo when he's killed enough vampires to complete it." Klaus set the Sword down on the table, sitting down while Stefan grabbed the Sword to examine it, seeing the symbol of the Five. "I heard you moved out of your house." Stefan looked at him. "Bit of a martyr move, hmm?"

"I'm not here to bond, Klaus," Stefan told him, putting down the Sword.

"Oh, on the contrary," Klaus told him. "I think right now I'm the best friend you got."

\/

Adrian walked down into the old Lockwood cellar where Tyler and Kim were waiting for him.

"I'm sick of taking his crap," Adrian complained. "I should rip his throat out. See if he can boss us around without a larynx."

"You won't have to take it much longer," Tyler told him.

"You keep saying that, but here we are hiding, plotting a revolution that's never gonna happen," Kim said.

Riley and Hayley walked in.

"Never say never," Hayley told them. "And never say we don't pull through."

Adrian, Kim and Tyler looked at the Marshall sisters.

"I found the witch that's gonna save your lives," Riley added, smiling.

"Are you serious?" Adrian asked.