Heavy Head (Book 4: Battle Series, The Originals)

Ch. 1: Gather Up the Killers

After I was turned into a vampire, I was like Marcel Gerard's brother. We fought together, we built the city together, and though I gave him most of the control, everyone looked to me as the second in command. 

It was that way up until the Originals came to town, and the Strix, and everyone else. 

After Davina and Cami died, and Marcel turned himself into the beast to get revenge on all of them in a way that they wouldn't like, I gave him an ultimatum. To either act like the Marcel that was like my brother, or no contact at all, because I didn't know how far he was willing to go. 

Five years later, everything is different, and while Marcel controlled most of the city, I helped where I could, though I still didn't approve of what Marcel did, but couldn't do anything to change it. 

****

Vincent was giving a service in St. Anne's Church. "It's a beautiful day outside. Streets are packed with tourists, they're drinking beers, they're chasing beads, headed out on the vampire-walking tour of New Orleans. They think it's just a myth. Just part of our city's charm. Well, we know better. Just like we know that there's a storm coming. This week marks five years since the fall of the Mikaelsons. Five years of peace, and we paid a high price for that peace. We witches, we earned that peace. We snatched back our freedom, we severed our link with our Ancestors. To take back our city, we backed Marcel Gerard. Now, since then, we fought hard to build this community. And in the next week, as we celebrate our independence, that community will be challenged, because every year, we get visitors. Vampires... vampires from all over the world, they come here, and they want to see firsthand, the suffering of Klaus Mikaelson. Now, some of those vampires, they're gonna be well behaved. Others... not so much. You see, out-of-town vampires, they don't care about our city. They don't follow our rules. They will instigate trouble. They will attempt to upset our peace. And the only way we're gonna get through that is if we get through that together. And this ain't the first time we faced conflict. Each and every single one of us here has faced their fair share of monsters. I swear, this city just has evil lurking in the shadows. For a long time, we have managed to keep our monsters buried. And now we got to make sure that they stay buried. Otherwise, we will lose everything that we've built. We will lose it forever."

****

Marcel and I were meeting up in Lucien Castle's old penthouse, drinking.

Marcel raised his glass. "To five years of independence. To friendship, even when we thought brotherhood was broken."

"Yeah, well, it nearly was," I told him. "I get why you did what you did, Marcel, but I'm not gonna lie. Cami and Davina wouldn't have wanted it to go down like that. I just care about honoring them, even if it means sparing the ones they loved. And they loved Klaus and Kol. Now, I don't have love for the Mikaelsons, but I don't hate them, either. I never wanted them dead. I just wanted to live on like we were."

Marcel nodded. "All valid points. But I grew up with those people, and they pushed me over the edge. I didn't have the power to do something about it before. Now I do. And I like having you as my go-to man. So can we get back to that, please?"

"Are you gonna stop being a dick?" I replied.

Marcel shrugged. "Come on."

I sighed. "All right, fine. I've got information. As predicted, Klaus' enemies are flocking to New Orleans to celebrate. However, some are seeking allies among the witches. No doubt, they want to befriend the very covens that still resent you. Start conflict, undermine your power, and maybe steal your prized trophy. Klaus himself."