Battle (The Originals Fan Fic)

ch. 13: Crescent City

There was a service at St. Anne's. Most of us were here.

Of course, Kieran led the service. "Thank you all for coming. It means more than I can tell you. We gather today for the first public service of our newly reopened church. St. Anne's can finally once again be the heart of our community, where we can congregate as a people untied." Cami looked toward Klaus, Marcel and me. When she noticed that we saw her, she looked away quickly. "Here, this hour, we come together to praise God and give thanks." Marcel looked past me. "The events that took place at our church were tragic."

I looked at Marcel. "Problem?"

"No," Marcel answered.

"Then pay attention," I told him. "We're meant to seem like devoted parishioners."

"And it is that hope in our hearts and with the help of many benefactors that allows us to be here today," Kieran went on. "So we gather with renewed spirit made stronger, committed to the ideals of peace and love. Amen."

"Amen," the congregation repeated.

*

Outside, Klaus, Marcel and I spoke to Kieran.

"Lovely sermon this morning, Father," Klaus told him. "Quite inspirational."

"I wasn't expecting you to join us," Kieran told us.

"Oh, we were hoping for some word from your human sources on the recent Haitian invasion," I told him.

"My guys have their ears to the ground," Kieran told us. "And no one has seen or heard any sign of whatever his name is."

"He's called Papa Tunde," Marcel told him. "And right now, he's wandering the corridor with the power he absorbed from every soul I had buried in the garden, so you might want to put your ear a little closer to the ground."

"Or I can steer clear of whatever war is brewing between your kind and his before I find myself in--" Kieran started.

Cami joined us, shaking Kieran's hand. "I wanted to congratulate you on getting the church up and running. I can see this is a bad time. Nice to see you, Marcel, Noah."

Cami walked away.

"Cami," Kieran said.

Cami ignored him, leaving.

Kieran looked at Klaus.

"Well, don't look at me," Klaus told him. "I tried to send her away." His phone rang. He turned away to answer. "Yes, Diego, what do you have for me?"

"Uh, we got a special delivery."

"Would you care to elaborate?"

"Either our witch problems are over or they're just getting started."

Klaus looked at us. "Marcel. Noah."

I looked at Kieran. "Father."

We walked away, leaving.

*

At the abattoir, Papa Tunde was dead with a slit throat, inside his own magic circle in the courtyard.

Elijah knelt next to him, observing him.

"Can I get you anything, brother?" Klaus asked. "A magnifying glass, a pipe perhaps?"

"You have a theory that you'd like to share with us, Niklaus?" Elijah asked.

"Back in the day, when the witches wanted to send a threat, they'd just kill a chicken and leave it on your door step," Marcel told us.

"It's rather a large and ominous chicken, wouldn't you say?" Elijah asked, standing.

"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease," I told them. I looked at Klaus and Marcel. "Almost got the two of you as well. If he was supposed to be their prize fighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?"

Rebekah walked closer. "Well, don't you all look cheery. Listen to this... a girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving her tour of the City of the Dead. It was Monique Deveraux."

"What?" I asked.

"The tourists thought it was part of the show, but the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle," Rebekah told us.

"Maybe it is," Marcel told us. "They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected. This is how we're gonna get Davina back. Kill the witch who took her place."

Hayley stood on the balcony. "I have a theory about who one of them could be." She showed us Davina's drawings of Celeste. "Celeste. I mean, it's got to be. Davina was trying to tell us. She was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil was coming."

"First Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores," Klaus told us. He looked at Elijah. "Now your murdered lover is back. This isn't witches fighting vampires. They're declaring war on us."

*

Sophie had stabbed Klaus with Papa Tunde's blade of unspeakable torment, and the witch Bastiana had taken off with him.

No one could find him.

I looked at Marcel. "We looked everywhere for him. Tore apart the Cauldron, the City of the Dead. Wherever they got him, he ain't in the Quarter."

Elijah stormed inside. "Noah! Marcel! Where is my brother?"

"We got guys out looking for him right now," I told him

Elijah took one vampire, throwing him against the wall, making him fall to the floor. He threw another against the balcony, making him fall to the floor.

Hayley was standing on the balcony. "Elijah!"

"Klaus threw one of his classic temper tantrums, snapped my neck, tried to take on a coven of witches by himself," Marcel told him. "He got dropped. I don't know where he is or how to find him."

"They also have Rebekah," Elijah told us. "Everyone of you will help me to find them. I'm going to kill them all."