Phoenix Rising

2:18: Abaddon

Hayley, Jackson and I are walking down the street of the Quarter as Hayley is pushing hope in her stroller. "Well, Mrs. Marshall-Kenner, now that you've got a real local to show you around the Quarter, what would you like to see first?" He asks, smiling at us. "Oh, Mr. Kenner, I'd ask to see your old haunts, but we do have an impressionable young lady with us." Hayley says, smiling and we all laugh. "Not to mention one of her favorite uncles." I say, adjusting Hope's blankets as we walk over to the violin player as she's finishing up a song for Hope, smiling. "Thanks." Hayley says, putting a 5$ bill into the tip jar and we continue walking and hear the woman play a ballad behind us and turn to look at her. "Shit." I say and Jackson and Hayley both turn to look at me. "What is it?" Jackson asks. "I know that song." I say. "What does it mean?" Hayley asks and I sigh. "It's the tune Dahlia sang to Freya. It means hope in darkness, even though the darkness wins. That's why it's a ballad." I say and we turn around. "Let's just keep going." Hayley says and we continue walking, seeing a sign that reads, 'A Promise made is a Debt to be Paid', written with chalk on a chalkboard and we see a man holding a black dahlia flower. "Flowers, miss? A gift for the child." He says. "Uh, no, we're alright. Thank you." Jackson says and the man smells the flower. "Are you sure? Black dahlias are in bloom. They're quite lovely." He says and Hayley and I start to rush off with Hope and the man grabs her arm, his eyes turning milky white and Klaus appears, holding the man's throat. "Show yourself, witch." He says and Hope starts crying and we look at Jackson and his eyes go milky white. "Klaus!" I exclaim, looking at him as the man gags and Klaus releases him and we look back to Jackson. "I am here. I am everywhere. And I intend to take what is mine." He says. "It's her." Klaus says and Jackson grunts and looks at us, confused. "Hey, what just happened?" He asks and Klaus, Hayley and I all look at each other. "Dahlia." Klaus says.

I'm sitting next to Kol and Hayley as we're in the smaller dining room, talking about what just happened. "Isn't that the point of a fortress? It does a better job of protecting you when you stay within its walls?" Klaus asks, displeased. "Ok We get it. Now, let's just figure out what the hell we're gonna do." Hayley says, annoyed. "What I would like to do is take a strong leash.." Klaus says, standing up and gets interrupted by Elijah walking in. "Children, please. Niklaus, your ire is justified. However, Hayley is quite right." He says and we grin at Klaus. "We need to find a new strategy." Elijah says and we look at Freya who is pouring tea for all of us. "Freya, if you please." He says and she sighs. "The spell you described. Dahlia calls it 'kenning.' Using proxies to watch her enemies from afar. But, I've never seen it done on quite this scale." She says and Hayley sighs. "Awesome. So, basically every Hurricane-chugging, boob-flashing tourist on Bourbon Street is a potential spy." She says as Freya sets the tea down in front of us. "The good news is, I know a little about how her magic works. This tonic will at least prevent her from using any of us." She says and Rebekah, Freya and I both pick up a saucer with tonic. "Well, come on. Should work like a charm." Rebekah says and Elijah sits down on the other side of Hayley and I see Kol grab saucer. "Bottoms up." She says and we all drink the tonic except for Klaus and Elijah, who offers a saucer to him. "Niklaus, is there something you wish to contribute?" Elijah ask, sighing and Klaus walks over to him. "I prefer biscuits with my tea." He says and Elijah pulls Klaus' saucer away. "Of course." He says. "Besides, our minds are far too strong to be invaded by kenning spells." Klaus says, sitting down as Elijah sips the tonic. "No, what we experienced was a test-- Dahlia's watching to see how we respond to aggression. She's preparing for battle. My guess is sooner, rather than later. In a way, we all are." Klaus says, looking at my stomach. "Well, if she was watching us, she would know that we have our own army." I say. "She also knows where we are. And, given the immense nature of her power, we simply do not know what to expect from her. What we need is to create a new stronghold. Something that Dahlia knows nothing about. A sanctuary from any witchcraft." Elijah says, looking around at all of us. "That's a fine strategy. I offer another. We could use Jackson to trace her magic back to its source. Find out exactly where she is." Freya says and we all look at Hayley. "He's your husband, darling. Your call." Kol says and she looks over at Klaus before sighing. "Fine. Do it." She says. "Good! Then it's settled. Off you pop to your respective tasks! Me? I've always been of the opinion that the best defense is a good offense. So, I'm going to find a way to murder that godforsaken witch." Klaus says.