Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Nineteen

In the room containing Connor, Diana is sitting near him and is drawing out the tattoo on Connor's arm on a notepad. He watches her.

"You were never on my side, were you?" He asks her, she hums and nods.

"I was...In the beginning" She admits as she draws. "Blinded by grief I was interested in only one thing...."

"Revenge" He offers, she nods. "What happened? Why did you change your mind?"

"Oh I didn't" She answers with a shrug. "I still want revenge, just...figured out a better way to go about it...."

"And what's that?"

"Yeah, 'cause I am about to tell you" She counters shooting him a look.

"So who are you really?" he asks her. "Why can you see my tattoos?"

"I'm a hunter of Artemis" She tells him. "Trained to kill vampires and the supernatural by the goddess Artemis herself....I don't know why I am able to see your tattoos only that I can....I assume it is something to do with my blood, I also assume that all the others like me would likely be able to see them too"

"A demi?" he asks. "That's what Jeremy called you....you're a demigod?"

"Hmm yep" She answers. "My great grandmother is Athena" She looks at him.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why not?" she counters. "No one would ever believe you" she smirks a little, she then looks back down at the notepad and continues to sketch his tattoo.

.............

Stefan, Klaus, and Rebekah are still talking about the Five.

"Go ahead, Rebekah. Tell him." Klaus pushes. "Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What is this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?"

"A cure. He said there was a cure." Rebekah admits. Klaus gets up and Stefan follows him.

"There is no cure for vampirism."

"He's telling the truth, Stefan." Rebekah defends.

"Then why wouldn't you have searched for it, found it?" Stefan asks. Rebekah gets up as well. Klaus is in the parlor, pouring himself a drink.

"Because when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their body, the map was gone, the brotherhood of the Five extinct. For nine hundred years, there was not a whisper of another hunter, until our friend in there showed up in town."

"Well, now we have the map, what do we do next?" Rebekah asks.

"We don't do anything. You can't be trusted, little sister. You'll be blabbing this secret to the first boy who calls you pretty. I mean, it's pathetic, really, isn't it? How she continues to hand her heart to any man who shows her a hint of affection. You'd think she would have learned by now from the endless cycle of disappointment and deception."

"But, I haven't, instead I stayed with you and let you leech every moment of happiness from my life! You know, at least I fared better then Finn, Klaus left him daggered because he was tired of his judgment."

"No, Finn was a dullard. He was more interesting lying in a box."

"You want the cure for Elena, don't you? So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids. That's why you brought Stefan here, because you knew that he'd help you even though he hates your guts! You know what? You can shove your cure." Rebekah snaps then walks out of the house. Klaus smirks and turns to face Stefan.

"Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of her before you chased her off." Stefan points out.

"She never would have told me what I needed to know. But she'll tell you."

"What do you need me to find out?"

"The map is useless without the tool to decipher it." Klaus answers.

"The sword." Stefan realises.

"She knows where it is. And you're gonna get her to tell you. You have a chance to save Elena from the very thing that is going to destroy her, I assume that is why Diana wants to find the cure....You can call it a deal with the devil, if you like. But you know you won't walk away from it." Klaus then walks away from him.

...........

Diana is still sketching the tattoo when Klaus enters the room. Klaus looks at her work.

"Nice lines. Now, if you could just hurry it up a little bit." Klaus tells her, Diana gets up and hands the sketchpad to Klaus. Klaus takes it.

"I'm done." She admits, Klaus looks at the sketch and walks closer towards Connor.

"What is this?"

"It's the tattoo." Diana answers, Klaus turns around and grabs her by the throat, Diana appears unbothered by the attack.

"I've seen the tattoo, little girl. There's more to it." He snaps at her.

"That's all he has" She tells him. "It's not complete, I assume that's why he is in town...." Klaus releases her and lets out a breath. "To kill more vampires and fill in the missing pieces....now I upheld my end...." Klaus takes her hand and presses her fingers to his forehead.

"Rather than blab" He tells her, Diana closes her eyes and concentrates on his mind, plucking out what he promised her. The truth about why Rebekah was needed. A sword with a key to reading the map. She pulls her fingers back.

"And Jeremy?"

"You can take him home" Klaus answers and holds out his free hand, he shows her the Gilbert ring and she takes it from him. "Nate!" Klaus shouts. Nate walks into the room. Klaus points at Connor. "Keep this one alive at all costs." Klaus and Diana then leave the room.

............

Jeremy is waiting for them when Diana and Klaus leave the 'torture' room. Jeremy moves to Diana's side and glares at Klaus. Diana hands over Jeremy's ring and gives him a small smile.

"My jeep's out front" Diana tells Jeremy. He glances between her and Klaus before nodding and leaving them alone. Diana takes a breath and goes to follow him, Klaus grabs her arm and she looks at him.

"We all want the same thing here" He reminds her. "To find the cure" Diana sighs and turns to him.

"Yes, because I haven't figured out why you want it" She counters. "If Elena is human you have all the blood you need to go back to creating hybrids"

"And you want it to save her" He points out.

"I don't want it to save Elena" She argues. "I want it so she will suffer a human life"

"Then we do want the same thing" He counters, she takes a breath and nods. He releases her arm and she leaves.