Chapter 01
“We need to get out of here,” he said as he pulled her to her feet and grabbed her bag.
“No,” Bella growled as she pulled herself out of the boy’s grasp and grabbed her bag out of his hands. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know you. You… you just bumped into me and told me that we need to get out of here.” She held her bag close as she looked up at him.
“This area is being evacuated,” the boy explained after a moment of silence. “Gas leak.”
“Then you could have said something before,” Bella huffed as she stomped out of the little cafeteria she had gone in to to temporarily hide from Edward and his siblings. They were on a senior school trip in New Orleans, but even though she really really liked Edward’s company, for some reason he – and his brothers and sisters – were overly protective over her and it drove her insane.
The Cullens had already made sure that her other friends, Jess and Mike for example, didn’t talk to her anymore and it just really sucked. She wasn’t sure what to think of that, to be honest, maybe it was for Bella’s own safety now that the Volturi were still after her and Edward. It had been so much easier if the damn Volturi would just stay away or get their heads lopped off so that they wouldn’t bother them again. Bella knew about keeping secrets, why didn’t they trust her to keep theirs?
The moment she stepped out of the cafeteria, however, Edward and Alice were beside her, with both of them sporting a look of disapproval. “What?” She groaned. “I was safe. I was in…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence because the blinds of the cafeteria fell shut and the door closed with a slam. Looking around, she wasn’t able to find the boy who had wanted her to get out of there and she was instantly worried. What if the gas leak he mentioned would caused the cafeteria explode and kill him? “There’s someone in there, you need to get him out.”
“We don’t need to do anything,” Edward said as he protectively put an arm around her and started to pull her away from the cafeteria. “Jasper found a great place that serves good food. You’re going to love it.”
“Edward, no! You don’t understand, there’s—” Bella said as she tried to pull out of his hold but, of course, he was stronger than she was.
“Forget what happened in there,” Alice said as she gently caressed Bella’s arm. “It’s none of our business.”
“But the gas leak…”
“There’s no gas leak. It’ll be fine, but you have to get out of here.”
“Why?”
“Keep quiet and come with us, Bella,” Edward said with a smile on his face as they continued to walk down the street. “This trip was a bad idea.”
“It’s for extra credit, Edward,” Bella muttered, knowing from his tightened hold on her that she had to drop the matter. “And since I’m already doing bad with history, you and Carlisle agreed that —”
“It was a mistake,” Edward repeated calmly. “Rosalie is already talking to the teacher. Telling her that we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“What?” Bella blinked at him. “You can’t do that.”
“You’re not feeling well. Of course we can ask if we can go home earlier,” Alice smiled brightly at Bella. “We can totally do that.”
Bella managed to get out of Edward’s hold and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “No. You can go home, but — but I’m staying.” Vampires didn’t need to breathe, however she could see both Cullens slump their shoulders as if they were letting out a deep breath. She knew that she tried their patience at times, especially now, but she loved the atmosphere in New Orleans. It was uncomplicated and the streets were usually always buzzing and there wasn’t a dull moment. She knew for a fact that Charlie would love it here too.
“We’ve talked about this, Bella,” Edward said after sharing a look with Alice. No doubt they were communicating telepathically. Bella always hated that. She never knew what was going on and only had their word to go on. She was fortunate that both Edward and Alice couldn’t get into her head otherwise hell would have broken loose months ago. “It’s not safe for you here.”
Bella sighed as she lowered her head and nodded slowly.
“I think that you are mistaken,” a voice sounded threateningly from behind them. Upon turning around, they looked upon a man with dirty blond hair, some scruff on his face and Bella had to admit, beautiful blue eyes. “The lot of you are soiling your underwear… Well, you would, if you’d still be capable of doing so. The lady said no.”
“As if that ever stopped you,” Edward shot at him and put his hand on Bella’s shoulder as if he made an effort to claim her.
The man blinked before a wide smirk magically appeared on his face. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Mind your own business, Niklaus,” Edward bit at him as he pushed a surprised Bella towards Alice, who protectively put an arm around her and tried to usher her off.
“Let go of the girl, little imp,” Niklaus said with a tone of warning in his voice. “I recall her saying she wished not to leave. You know very well what would happen if you don’t let go.”
Alice gasped at whatever vision she’d received, quickly letting go of Bella and spun around to face the Original vampire. “You should listen to my brother, Niklaus,” she said, not breaking eye contact with him. “Get lost.”
“But I am listening Imp,” he laughed. “You’re in my city where I’m sticking to my own knitting and I simply do not like Cold Ones harassing young women in my city. No wait, I simply don’t like you so I advise you to watch your manners.”
“We’ll be going home tomorrow. Mind your own business until then and stay out of ours,” Edward said coolly before grabbing Bella again by her shoulders and tried to lead her away. “Start walking, Bella.”
“If it’s the Volturi you’re scared of, Bella,” Niklaus addressed her by name at her retreating back. “I can assure you that you’re safer in this city than with the Cullens, wherever they must be residing these days.”
Bella stopped dead in her tracks, feeling slightly relieved. She didn’t know this man but Edward and Alice certainly did, but if she was safe in New Orleans, why didn’t Edward and Alice say so?
“Your companions have realized today that a handful of my siblings and I have once again taken up residence in this beautiful city and that’s why they want to leave. With you.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re scared,” he smiled widely at her. “If anything, I’m worse than the Volturi. But just because Humpty and Dumpty here want you with them, I can assure you that you are safe in my city for as long as you’re here. You can send them away, if you like. I hear that they very much dislike like the sun.”
She looked at him in shock and amazement before looking at Edward and Alice, who both looked like someone took away their favourite toy. She then looked back at Niklaus and slowly nodded. “I’d like to stay here and finish with our school trip.”
“You’re in school?” Niklaus had a hard time keeping a straight face. “I suppose virgins do belong in school…” he snorted as he looked at Edward, who looked furious. “You like them young, huh Pup? Nothing wrong with that, as do I, but your toy is not quite my type.”
“Bella, you’re coming back to the hostel with us,” Edward demanded, but she had already made her way over to the new vampire’s side, much to her boyfriend’s dismay. In a last ditch effort to sway her, he called out something he was sure would unsettle her. “He’s dangerous, he feeds on humans!”
Bella jumped at the information, right into the street and upcoming traffic, stumbling over her own feet and could feel herself falling. She had thought she’d hit the ground but found herself caught by surprisingly warm arms and in an instant being set back down on the sidewalk. Edward and Alice were gasping in shock while Bella was looking at Niklaus. “You use your vampire abilities in busy streets?” She was baffled. All of the Cullens made sure not to do that too much in public and yet, here was another vampire not caring about what he was doing.
“Humans are much too self-absorbed in their own dealings to really notice what’s going on around them and anyone who had seen, well there are ways of handling such things. Besides, I could not let you get run over when I’ve just promised that you’d be safe in my city for the duration of your stay,” Niklaus explained before looking into her eyes, attempting to compel her to speak the truth. “Tell me this, what do you know about New Orleans?”
“Not much,” Bella confessed, a look of confusion clouding her face. “We’re on a school trip here but we’re not really being educated about its history while we’re supposed to write a paper on it.”
“And how much do you know about vampires? Only what them lot told you?”
“I did some research…” she said slowly, frustration in her eyes before it disappeared as she glanced back at her marble friends.
“Some?” he prompted.
“We have a werewolf tribe and I studied their lore after I tricked my best friend, who’s one of them into telling me one of their legends and —”
“Wolves…” he mused curiously as he looked at her with more interest than before. As if it solidified some other decision he smiled at her. “Do you really want to stick around with them while in New Orleans?”
“What is this? An interrogation?” Bella quipped, causing Edward and Alice suck in a breath as she seemingly threatened the volatile man. “If you can give me what they won’t, then no, they can go away,” she said bravely, jutting her chin out in defiance. She knew that she was paying for this later, one way or the other, but seeing as they seemed scared of this Niklaus, she dared to feel confident. A couple of days without them would be fantastic.
“Well, that was interesting,” Niklaus said as he straightened himself up and looked at the two unwelcomed visitors with a smirk on his face. “Run along now, little Cullens. It’s time to educate the young lady properly on New Orleans seeing as the school system and you young vampires are failing miserably.”
“Don’t do this, Bella,” Edward pleaded. “You don’t know him and he feeds on humans.”
“Yes, you told me that already,” Bella said with an exasperated sigh and ran her hand through her hair. “I’ll be fine. You can call me on my phone.” She then looked up to the other vampire. “Just so you know, if anything happens to me, you’ll have my dad to deal with. He’s the police chief back home.”
“Alright little lamb, I shall keep that in mind,” he replied with an amused smile on his face. “Run along, Cold Ones, before I throw you out of the city myself.”
Alice put her hand on Edward’s arm. “Don’t, he’ll kill you and you know that. Let’s go, she’ll realize she’s made a mistake soon enough.”
“We can’t just leave her here,” he argued with his sister.
“We don’t have any other option because if we try something, no matter what, it will be bloody and there’ll even be death. Let’s go and wait this out. She will come home. I’ve seen it. Shh…”
Bella watched how a scowling Edward was being led away by his sister and let out a breath of relief. “Thank you,” she said as she looked back at Niklaus. “They mean well.”
He didn’t say anything but extended his hand instead. “I’m Klaus Mikaelson.”
“Bella Swan,” she said blushing as she shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Where are you staying, Miss Swan?”
“Ah, uhm, a hostel at Carondelet Street. Not that they slept and I must be the lucky one of the class as my bed is the only one without bed bugs but…” She put her backpack on her back.
“You’re going to go there and pack your bags. A Mikaelson always keeps their word. Nothing will happen to you whilst you’re in my city, but you will need to be close so that I can get to you fast enough,” Klaus spoke. “Return to the French Quarter when you’re ready, I shall find you again and show you a place to sleep.”
“But school…”
“Bring your teacher for all I care, it will be alright, Miss Swan. Hurry along now, I don’t have all day.”
“But what if they’re there?” Bella cocked her head as she looked up to him. “I mean, you went through all this trouble and when I’m on my own…”
Klaus seemed to be thinking for a moment before he got his phone out. “As it happens, my brother is in the area taking care of some business. I’m sure he’s finished by now. He might even be a better candidate of enlightening you about the world you have stumbled into than I am.”
Bella let him make his phone call while she could feel her own phone vibrate in her pocket. She didn’t have to look at it to know that it was one of the Cullens, trying to persuade her to come back with them, but being with Klaus – someone they were afraid of for a reason still unclear to her – gave her a burst of confidence that she last experienced with Jake and his pack. This stranger – a vampire who fed on humans no less – seemed to be genuinely willing to help her to catch her breath from the Cullens.
Bella was well aware that the relationship she had with them wasn’t a good one. It had been all nice and happy in the beginning, but after James, then after Victoria, they became more controlling of her, alienating her from everyone she loved and cared about. It was a good thing that Charlie was so stubborn, otherwise she would have lost him as well. She wasn’t even sure why she stayed with Edward. He had left her once. He’d probably do it again in a heartbeat. No, something had changed and she wasn’t sure why.
She tried to leave once, and he found her again. There was no sense in trying to run from vampires who could track you by their gifts and heightened senses. Not even when she hugged the entire Wolf pack in the reservation to mask her own scent. Essentially, it felt as if they were tracking her blood and that was creepy.
Not long after Klaus got off the phone the boy from the cafeteria earlier approached them with a big smile on his face. “I knew it,” he beamed at his brother before addressing Bella. “Hello again.”
“You!” Bella said in shock, staring back at him.
“Oh good, you’ve both met already. That makes introductions easier. Have fun,” Klaus said with a smirk and left the scene.
“I’m sorry about what happened earlier,” he said, allowing Bella to smack him in the chest out of frustration and worry. “But you really had to leave that cafeteria.”
“There was no gas leak, was there?” she demanded.
“No.”
“You had me worried about you!”
“Little old me?” the boy chuckled and shook his head. “Darling, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“And you’re Klaus’ brother? Are you a vampire too?”
“I was…”
“You were?” she questioned, confused as she eyed him.
“I’m not in a habit of repeating myself, shall we go and gather your belongings?”
While they were on their way to the hostel, Kol, as he called himself, tried to figure out how much Bella knew about vampires and witches, just to get a kick out of how wrong she was. Well, she wasn’t completely wrong with the Cold Ones and all that, but to describe them as powerful vampires was just laughable, he told her. She told him that she didn’t want to know more about them or the history. Just about New Orleans so she could finish her damn paper and graduate. She kept to herself that she was trying find different ways to hide from the Cullens, but Kol wasn’t fooled. He called her their human pet.
“Klaus is your brother and he’s a vampire, but you’re not?”
“I’m human,” Kol said as he helped Bella off the bus. “I used to be a vampire but my mother was a powerful witch and she dumped me in this body and now I’m human again.”
“Just a yes would have sufficed,” Bella said with a shudder, but couldn’t help but being curious. “Witches are real?”
“Asks the girl who hangs around with vampires?”
Bella smirked. “And werewolves.”
“Seriously?” Kol laughed. “Werewolves?”
“Well, technically they’re shapeshifters who are descended from ancient warriors of the tribe but yeah, werewolves is an easier explanation. They grow in numbers when there are vampires around, there’s this centuries old feud between the two, it’s a long story.”
“New Orleans has just that, you know. We have a whole supernatural community normal humans shouldn’t be aware of. There are vampires, witches and werewolves. Real werewolves who can only shift during the Full Moon.”
“Oh! Like Children of the Moon?”
“Not quite, although there are similarities. I’m surprised you know so much,” Kol said as they rounded the corner onto Carondelet Street. “And yet think that witches are the stuff of fairytales?”
“I don’t think they’re the stuff of fairytales,” Bella shook her head. “I just don’t believe in it. The closest thing I can think of of being witches are some of the Cullens.”
“Oh, you poor child,” Kol sighed deeply. “Niklaus didn’t tell me you were with the Cullens. Just that a handful of Cold Ones were in your way. Are you alright? Has one of them tried to marry you yet? What’s his face? Edward?”
“You know them?” she asked hesitantly.
“I know of them. Some of my siblings have encountered them in the last two hundred odd years, very young vampires they are. Presumptuous and manipulative. And if there’s one thing that my brother Nik despises, it’s the abuse of people,” he explained sincerely.
“I’m not being abused,” Bella said quickly as she zipped up her hoodie as she saw Edward standing in front of the hostel. Of course they were waiting for her there.
“Aren’t you?”
“No,” Bella said through gritted teeth. “I’m their prisoner.”
“It’s the same, isn’t it? I want to bet that hugging them feels as if you’re locked in a freezer.”
“Shut up, they can hear you,” Bella whispered as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and continued to walk towards the hostel. She cursed herself that her confidence had gone back into hiding upon seeing Edward and that she felt awkward with Kol next to her. What could he do to protect her anyway?
“I’m not afraid of them, love, and neither should you,” Kol replied as he straightened himself up. “Here is what’s going to happen, doll. We’re going to walk in there without acknowledging them and you are going to gather your things.”
“What about the teacher?”
“Let me worry about that,” Kol smiled at her as they passed Edward, who looked like a marble statue more than ever, and entered the building. “Wow, the whole family is here.”
“No, the parents are home,” Bella said, glancing at Rosalie who shot glares at her as they passed upstairs to the room she shared with them. Even on their senior trip, they had made sure that they had Bella all to themselves. Falling asleep with them around was uncomfortable, seeing as they didn’t sleep. But after a so long she was sort of growing accustomed to it now.
Kol kept watch while she quickly packed, and a million questions flooded her mind – screw the history of New Orleans, what was all the talk about witches? How different was Klaus from Edward? He certainly was warmer and did seem to have a healthy, natural colour on his face. And was Kol more than ‘just human’? Because she knew the Cullens and they would have snapped his neck if they were able to. “Has Klaus ever tried to be a vegetarian?” Okay, maybe that was a dumb question, but she was curious.
Kol let out a hearty laugh. “There’s no such thing as vegetarian vampires, Sweetcheeks,” he eventually said. “Human vegetarians swear off all kinds of meat, yeah? Vampires thrive off of blood. Human blood is the best and tastiest, some eat only animals – which is a wee bit pathetic if you ask me because it makes them weaker, but there’s no such thing as going vegetarian and swear off blood.”
“I don’t understand,” she said confused as she closed her travel case.
“Well, say you’re going to swear off eating horsemeat because horses are cute and beautiful, but you continue to eat anything else like chicken and cows. Does that make you a vegetarian?”
Bella was baffled – of course not! She knew that the Cullens only fed on animals, even Jasper with his bloodlust, but she had always accepted it as them being vegetarian while it was nothing more than a change of diet because they loved humans so much.
Kol looked up when she walked in. Of course, he hadn’t seen her as they walked in and hadn’t been able to spell her so that Bella had safe passage and it was hard for him to keep up his concentration when he saw her. “Mary Alice Claire, it’s been a long time.”
“Sorry?” Alice blinked at him and then looked at Bella. “Why are you packing? You can come home with us.”
“She’s not going anywhere, Miss Claire.”
“Who are you?” Alice demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked up to Kol. “I’m Alice Cullen, who are you?”
“No dear,” Kol grinned as he made his way over to Alice. “You may be a Cullen now, but you’re a Claire witch. Or you used to be anyway. What’s it like to be back in your old stomping grounds?”
“Bella, get out,” Alice told her as she looked around Kol. “I’ll deal with him.”
“Miss Swan can stay if she likes, I mean, it’s not every day that someone she knows gets caught out in a lie, is it?” Kol said playfully and casually waved his hand to freeze the vampire in place. “I know what it feels like, Love,” he continued. “No longer being able to practice magic because you’ve been turned. Must be harder for you seeing as the grounds of your magic is right here…So close!”
“Again, who are you?”
“Oh, this is fun!” Kol grinned as he continued to walk around the little vampire, taunting her. “Why can’t you use your gift on me, I wonder?”
“It’s her,” Alice answered after some hesitation, nodding to Bella. “She’s extended her shield to you, somehow.”
“My what?” Bella stammered, watching the two with caution.
“Interesting,” Kol said appreciatively. “Well then. My identity shall remain hidden from you for now, little vampire,” he said to Alice before looking at Bella. “Seems like Miss Swan has finished packing. Please don’t follow us and go home. Niklaus Mikaelson is a man of his word and will assure her safety.”
Bella snorted when she felt the familiar feeling of ‘mommy vs daddy’ thing happening right now, something she used to feel like when her parents would share custody over her when she was little.
“Bella, I’m still not comfortable with you being here on your own. What would Charlie say? Or Mrs. Beauchamp?”
“Is that the teacher?” Kol asked Bella who nodded in response. “Let’s find her and sort this out.”
After dealing with Mrs. Beauchamp, which went far easier than Bella thought it would, they made their way back to the French Quarter in semi-silence. Bella had so many more questions she wanted to ask Kol, as he obviously knew more than he let on. Especially what happened with Alice, but she figured that he’d offer the information himself if he felt the need for it. She didn’t want to be the nosy girl. On the other hand, she had felt as if a door had opened wide for her and she wanted to get all the information now. “What did you mean by has anyone tried to marry you yet?”
“I am not sure I’m the one to tell, love,” Kol said, inhaling sharply. “I did not have anything to do with them personally, but my brothers have. I only know what they decided to share with me.”
“Somehow I suspect that your brother isn’t as talkative as you are with things concerning the past.”
Kol snorted and then nodded. “Very well,” he replied. “From what I heard is that Daddy Dearest, Carlisle Cullen is somewhat of a collector of gifted people to turn. It’s almost as if he has a nose for it, that he can smell it in people’s blood.”
“That would explain Edward, Alice and Jasper. Emmett, maybe. He’s super strong. But he didn’t turn Jasper…”
“Just because they’re technically dead, it doesn’t mean that they don’t get lonely and seek for a mate. And I don’t know this Jasper so I can’t speak to his joining them.”
“Esme.”
“I know that Edward was his first. Maybe he wanted to find a mate for himself as well.”
“Rosalie.”
“See? It explains it all.” Kol said with a big smile on his face. “I didn’t tell you anything new there, did I?”
“Yes, but if he’s some sort of a collector, it still doesn’t explain Esme or Rosalie.”
“Esme is a beautiful, caring, maternal woman. Rosalie is drop dead gorgeous with a bite. But you’re right. Maybe he wanted to surround his family with ordinary vampires to make them feel extra special.” He smirked at her as he put his arm around her while they were still sitting in the bus. “Aren’t you going to ask me about Alice?”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you know Alice.”
“Why? It’s possible, I used to be a vampire.”
“Yes, and how is that possible that you’re cured now?”
“This is not my original face. My mother… well. She’s a straight up bitch but she wanted us to stop being monsters and tried to put all of us in different bodies,” he said with a shrug. “She only managed me and my brother Finn, and if I have to be honest, I like this. Not that I’m wearing a different person but that I’m human again.”
“Why?” Bella asked as she looked at him. “Isn’t being immortal a great thing?”
“I had to give up witchcraft when my mother turned us into vampires to survive the werewolves, because you can’t be a vampire and a witch at the same time. Some of Carlisle’s gifted vampires or any of the gifted Cold Ones for that matter, must have some Witchy ancestor. What does Alice do?”
“She sees the future and different outcomes of that future.”
“Ah, the power of precognition. No doubt a remnant of the Dark Magic she used to perform, not that it’s harmful, but it’s a form of personal gain, isn’t it? It goes against nature.”
“How do you know?”
“I may have taught her some Dark Magic when we met…” Kol smiled knowingly. “You see, I was a vampire and no longer a witch but I had discovered that I could still teach witchcraft. I discovered a different kind of Dark Magic that could help me when I was in Arabia. I taught Mary-Alice that.”
“Are you sure it’s your Mary-Alice?”
“I never forget a face, darling,” Kol smiled at her. “That’s her alright. Perfectly preserved. Except for the whole hair issue. I should know. I was there when she got sired.”
Bella was stunned by what more Kol had to say about Alice, it all fit perfectly, apart from her darkened hair, but even for that he had a perfect explanation; she had dipped a little bit too far into the dark magic cauldron that her hair was permanently changed by her transition.
It wasn’t strange for her to hear that other people knew of the Cullens as a family. They were one of the largest coven of Cold Ones, which was one of the primary reasons for the Volturi to keep a close eye on them, but was also why they wanted her either dead or changed just so she wouldn’t reveal their secrets. Judging from Kol’s short stories on their way back to the French Quarter, she could tell that things could have gone differently.
Cold Ones were taught to fear and obey the Volturi, as they were ‘mighty,’ ‘vicious’ and placed themselves at the top of the food chain, but Kol half jokingly said that that was just because they were scared little imps with money.
These vampires, Klaus at least she observed, and others seemingly lived freely without any government over them and abided by their own rules. Even walked among humans in the daylight. The biggest difference she learned was that they didn’t sparkle in the sunlight and literally weren’t able to walk in the sun without combusting as they required protective, spelled jewelry.
Klaus, and his still vampiric siblings, were the known as the Originals, created by magic and were truly immortal, while the humans they sired were not. The origins of the Cold Ones were still a mystery, but once Bella and Kol were in a coffee shop before going to Klaus’ home, Kol explained what he knew, that they pre-dated the Originals but that it didn’t mean they were stronger. The Cold Ones were fragile vampires, their skin wasn’t human skin but more like porcelain and easily broken with force.
Bella found Kol as amusing as he was charming. He was completely different from what she was used to. He was funny and spoke directly. It was as if he didn’t have a filter and that was so refreshing, so uncomplicated. Kol reminded her of Jacob, however, in recent years, Jake had kept more things from her than he should have. Maybe if he had been more open with her and more willing to fight for her, she’d have ended up with him. But she wasn’t entirely sure if Edward and his family would have let the entire wolf pack live for that.
“You keep telling me about how awesome your brother is with his vampirism, but what about you? Are you just a human?” Bella smiled at him as she sipped her coffee.
“You haven’t been paying attention, have you?” Kol shook his head. “I’m a witch. My mother was gracious enough to put me into the body of someone who dabbled in magic already, and I’m loving this new body. It’s very handsome and fetching, don’t you think?”
“Did the accent come with it?” Bella grinned.
“Partially,” he said with a nod, a bit of a smirk ghosting his lips. “Some things just don’t leave after a thousand years. Why? Is it a turn on?”
Bella could feel how her face started to get warm and she was certain that her skin had coloured beet-red by now. She silently cursed herself for agreeing with what he had said about himself, but she had a boyfriend for god’s sake. This wasn’t a good position for her to be in. If Edward would find out that she might be attracted someone else, especially a guy who complimented himself and assisted in a very complicated situation – and quite right too – hell was to be paid.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but enough about me,” Kol said with a surprised expression on his face. “I think you’re holding out on me, Miss Swan.”
“Sorry?”
“You’re a witch too, aren’t you?”
“I’m not?” She stammered, unsure of what he was talking about. What was he going on about? “Sinceriously, I’m nothing special. I was born in Forks, Washington, moved to Arizona with my mom when she and dad divorced and then moved back for some stability because my mom can be a bit flakey. My dad is a police chief and I’m an average student prone to falling over without reason.”
He tilted his head as he peered at her, leaning against his arm. He didn’t say anything for a few moments but it was clear that there was something on the tip of his tongue. “You’re cute. You know that? Mary Alice pointed out that your shield expanded, remember? Don’t answer that, of course you do. Obviously you’ve been able to thwart other gifts of their kind before you came here but you’ve never been able to block hers as her precognition is derived from her dark magic days. You following me Poppet?”
“I thought it was nice that Edward couldn’t read my mind,” Bella admitted slowly, almost as if she had to think about the words. “But I didn’t think anything of it, to be honest.” Did he just say that she was cute? Was that a throwaway comment or what? “I’m not cute.”
Kol continued on, a spark of excitement in his eyes as he stared at her. “You being here, for whatever reason, made your shield or whatever ability you have grow. Become stronger. Or you simply are something else. The only thing possible that could block a witch would be…” he trailed off waiting for her to catch on, knowing that she was a clever girl. And hoped she was indeed what he suspected her to be.
“I haven’t blocked a witch,” Bella grumbled, suddenly uncomfortable under his attention. “I blocked a Cold One.”
“Who was quite the powerful witch in her time and had clearly retained one of her abilities during her transition,” he pointed out to her. “And I beg to differ on your opinion. However, that is an argument for another time. My brother should be arriving soon. He just might end up compelling some self confidence into you instead of you earning it yourself. Bloody wanker.”
Bella snorted. “Was that what he was trying to do when he tried to interrogate me about my true feelings about the Cullens? It didn’t work.”
Kol frowned slightly, but it was more in a combination of concerned anticipation. “Possibly. I wasn’t there to see but if it failed, then it would be one of two things. That shield of yours, which I doubt against his type of being. My money would honestly be on you being a witch, Dollface.”
“You know, you have a great imagination. You should write a book,” she quipped before gathering her bag. “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leave the Cullens for a few days after all.”
“Hey now. You decided to take a risk with us. Now give us the chance to prove ourselves to you,” he protested as he held his hands up in defense. “Maybe there is a way to prove some of what I said? What say you?”
Bella stared at him for a long minute, debating her options. It wasn’t like she had many of them. Letting out a huff, she shook her head and turned away and closed her eyes to tried to temper her emotions. “Fine,” she said as she put her bag back down and looked at him. “But other than that, I’m not interested in talking about me because there’s nothing to talk about.”
Kol rolled his eyes at her objection but nodded in acceptance. “Fine. You win – this time,” he smiled up at her through his eyelashes as he sent a few text messages out to his brother and his witch friend to set up their meeting and find out what was going on with their friend’s new living arrangements.
“So, if it takes longer for Klaus to arrive, how about some food? I’m starving.”
“What you in the mood for Love? This is New Orleans. We got jambalaya, gumbo, creole anything…”
“Anything greasy,” she said with a nod. “I’m tired of salads, rice, and burnt chicken.”
His lip rolled back as he made a face. “Those bloody nits controlling what the hell you decide to eat as well?”
Bella shrugged. “They don’t eat themselves and even though they genuinely try to make me something by watching the cooking channel…”
“No Love. Trust me. That poor excuse for a family know what the hell they are doing. They are trying to control you and have you submit to them. What for? I really want to know. When I tell Niklaus…” Kol trailed off as he looked around for something. “Come on Poppet! There’s a great little deli around the corner from here that has the best po-boys this side of the bayou. You eat meat, right? After all that babble of vegetarian talk, I bloody hope you eat meat…” he said as he eyed her with something more than hunger.
“Are you kidding me?” She smiled widely. “I could kill for a steak,” she moaned.
“‘Nuff said then, yeah? Let’s get you that steak,” he grinned, suggestively wagging his eyebrows.
Bella’s phone vibrated in her pocket and she sighed as she got it out. She knew she had several missed calls already, but now she started to receive texts from Alice.
“Gimme it Doll,” he said as he held out his hand.
“I could just switch it off,” Bella said with half a shrug. “But Charlie might call me.”
“She’ll just keep on harassing you. You don’t deserve that treatment. We’ll get you another way for your daddy to get you when we see Nik but you wanted your freedom from them. The only way you’ll get it is if you take it yourself. They will just keep trying to suck you in until you have nothing left and are completely dependent on them,” he explained gently. “I can help you if want. But only if you let me.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for that,” Bella said after a moment of considering Kol’s words. She turned the phone off completely and put it in her bag. She wanted her freedom for a couple of days, yes. Klaus, and now Kol, were willing to give that to her. Which was nice, but she’d have to go back home eventually and she didn’t want to get into more trouble than she was already in. Eating a steak, eating something that hadn’t been approved in general, was going to be the first of many rules she was probably going to break, but she was going to do it anyway.
“Fair enough,” Kol said with a slow nod and helped her up before heading out to the best steaks in New Orleans. “You up for a po-boy too?”
“I have no idea what they are so yes. Definitely.” Bella grinned.
“Good. Perhaps you’re up for some mischief once we got you settled afterwards?” He asked with a glint of excitement in his eyes. “Paint the town?” When he saw the look of agony on her face, he grinned. “Fine, I’ll take you to something historical.”
Kol hadn’t been lying; she had eaten the best steak she’d ever had and was just in the middle of her sandwich when Klaus showed up with a young brunette in tow that was just barely her age. “That’s Davina, she’s Marcel’s chuckaboo.”
Bella raised her eyebrow at that. Who was Marcel and what was a chuckaboo?
“Friend. Mate. Go to witch. Little sister…” Kol said with a shrug and smiled at his brother. “Niklaus! You won’t believe the adventure we have had.”
“I can still see the steak sauce dripping off your chin, Kol,” Klaus keenly observed, a touch of aggravation in his voice. “I take it that all went well then?”
“It was hard to keep a straight face when I saw them wearing gas-pipes,” Kol snickered. “I mean, no offence, gas-pipes are awesome, but their junk just doesn’t work anymore so why show it off?”
Klaus sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “Miss Swan, apologies for my brother’s behaviour, I—”
“There’s no need,” Bella interrupted him with a smile. “I think he’s great.”
“You hear that, Nik?” Kol smirked. “I’m great!”
“I brought Davina. Why did I bring her for this girl?” The older vampire questioned, ignoring his brother for the time being. “No offense, Miss Swan, I think that you are something special for being able to resist my compulsion but…”
“She has a shield,” Kol interrupted, growing serious for the moment. “And it expanded onto me when we were getting her belongings.” He then pointed over to his friend with a smile, who seemed to be staring at Bella with big eyes, as if she was in shock. “Earth to Davina.”
“Right, sorry,” Davina said, shaking her head before making her way over to Bella to shake her hand. “You’re a Higginbotham. Aren’t you?”
“My mother is a Higginbotham,” Bella answered, mildly confused and surprised at the same time. “How did you know?”
Davina looked up to Klaus, glancing around hesitantly. “We can’t talk here, we need to go somewhere private. The cemetery would be best. I’m not saying anything else about this until we get there.”
By the time the group reached the mausoleum, Bella tried not think that it wasn’t eerie at all to be at a cemetery with a pair of supposed witches and a vampire. Nope, not at all. She had her arm looped through Kol’s as if to trying to stop herself from running. Cemeteries were filled with dead people, that was all. Renée would severely disapprove – she was sure.
“Don’t be scared, Love,” Kol said as he gently caressed her arm. “Nothing but good spirits in these grounds. This is sacred land and a source of power for many witches of New Orleans. It’s quite a young cemetery too. Only been in use since 1833.” He then smirked. “That’s some information for your history bit.”
“Oh, gee, thanks,” Bella rolled her eyes at him. “I need more than just a date, you know.”
“I promise you that when you do leave, you’ll have a ten page essay on New Orleans that will guarantee you getting a high mark in school,” Klaus said before looking at Davina. “We’re here. Now what?”
“How much do you two know about my family?” Davina asked the brothers as she leaned against one of the tombs with her arms crossed over her chest. “I mean, the witches here in New Orleans use ancestral magic. I died because of the Harvest… but what else do you know?”
“Oh shit,” Kol said as he rubbed the back of his head. “You know?”
“Oh yes, Kol, you had some fun with my grandmother. That’s not news either.”
“Just spill the beans, Davina, I don’t have all night,” Klaus said impatiently, disregarding his brother who wanted to say something. “And it’s not polite to keep our guest in the dark either if what you want to say pertains to her that you dragged us all the way out to your ancestors’ graves.”
“Alright…” the young witch sighed. “Our magic is passed through our female line. If the women of our family produce a boy, it’s likely he’s not magical at all, or not worthy of being a witch. Yes, this sounds… stupid and ignorant and unfair and all that, but the women in our family are more powerful. In fact, the New Orleans Coven hasn’t known many male witches. At all.”
“Kaleb was a witch,” Kol spoke up.
“Yes, but he’s from out of town, a different line. Different kind of magic, even though ancestral magic is still the strongest in New Orleans. Which is why you need my help with bigger spells,” Davina pointed out. “Even though you’re over a thousand years old.”
“Sorry, what has this to do with my mother?” Bella piped up. While she was intrigued to hear about Davina’s family history, but what was the point?
“It was highly unlikely that women of the coven bear boys. Simply because of the magic. But a few generations ago, a set of twins were born. A girl and a boy. Now, they grew up together within the coven and it was clear that the boy was magically just as strong as the girl, if not stronger. The exact details of this event have faded over the years, but I know that the boy was sent away to England out of France and adopted by a British family with the instruction to keep him safe from the dangers of the world, to keep moving as not to be found out that he was a Claire witch. This to safeguard the Claire lineage incase we’d die out or produce barren children. The Claire family were amongst the first settlers in the New World and we made our home here in New Orleans. Since the happening of the twin birth, only women have been produced.”
“The point, Davina?” Klaus sighed as he sat down on one of the grave borders.
“The boy’s last name was changed to Higginbotham. According to one of the most powerful witches blessed with the sight of the future, his line would only produce boys and his magical ability would fade over time. But there would come a time where a girl was going to be born and the girl was going to be a vault of magic, all the unused magic all bottled up inside of her until she, or her offspring, would produce a girl of their own.”
The Mikaelsons quickly caught onto what she was saying and looked at one another, wide eyed as they struggled to process what they were hearing. The only one to be able to formulate any words was the subject herself. “You’re saying…”
“I am,” Davina smiled at her. “You’re a witch, capable of great things. Even bigger here in New Orleans where most of my – our – family is buried,” she continued. “I could sense it immediately, though I’m surprised Kol hasn’t picked up on it.”
“Who says I haven’t?” He eyed Davina as Bella gripped his arm tightly to hold him back. “She has this shielding ability that expanded onto me earlier, stopping a certain ex-witch from peeking into my head.”
“Seriously?” Davina smiled widely. “That is so cool!”
“It would also explain why the Cold Ones want you so bad, Poppet,” Kol said as he turned to Bella concerned, trying to stop her fingers from digging into him. “Mary-Alice obviously recognized the same in you as Davina just did.”
Klaus’s eyes quickly snapped to Kol. “Mary-Alice?”
“Long story, not for the small ears to hear about.” Kol smirked as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and handed it to Bella, who was still holding on to him. “You don’t believe any of this, do you?”
“No,” Bella shook her head stubbornly. What she knew of her mother’s side of her family did line up with what the girl told her but she still was having trouble accepting it. “It’s just a coincidence that my mother has the same name as Davina’s family.”
“Put your hand flat, like this,” he said as he held up his hand. “The one with the lighter, you can keep hold of me.”
Bella did as he told her to, feeling stupid. “Now, repeat after me, and keep repeating until you see something happening and don’t panic, the flames won’t hurt you,” he said as he encouragingly smiled at her. “E Loke Gae La lidi.”
Bella watched with fascination as while both she and Kol were saying the words, the silver lighter seemed to be going up in flames – that funny enough didn’t hurt, much – and slowly changed into a gold color.
Kol stopped chanting and smiled widely at Bella. “You did that. Now tell me, are you a witch?”
“I don’t know. I guess I am?” She whispered, still clearly unsure.
“Looks like you have a good subject to begin with for your paper now Love,” Klaus smiled over at her.
Davina wanted to continue all evening, wanting to test Bella and whatnot, but Kol interrupted her from spewing more words. “We do not want to overwhelm Miss Swan,” he said as he protectively put his arm around her shoulders. “Me thinks she should get some rest in. She’s had a busy day.”
Klaus curiously looked at his brother. Kol was looking out for someone else other than himself, was something out of ordinary for him and had him watching suspiciously. “I’ve had them clear a room on the first floor at my place,” he eventually said. “I wanted to put her up at the Plantation but that, of course, isn’t possible and Elijah convinced me that if I want to keep my promise of keeping her safe for the duration of her stay, I needed to keep her close.”
“What about me?”
“What about you, Kol? You have your own place to go.”
“Can’t I stay?”
Davina snickered as she walked away from the brothers and Bella.
“No offense, brother,” Kol said as he shook his head. “The company that you keep might not be so willing to honor your promises or might not have the same restraint as you, Elijah or our darling sister or even Marcel.” He then cocked his head with a smile on his face as he looked at him. “Besides, I think that a family meeting is long overdue.”
The hybrid pursed his lips as he glared at the boy trapped in the human body. He hated that he was right and breathed out his fury through his nose as it was clear that he was in agreement. “Don’t make me regret this,” Klaus told his brother as he started to walk towards the exit of the mausoleum.
Kol grinned at Bella. “See? Underneath all that gruff, he loves me.”
“You really didn’t have to do that, you know,” Bella said as they started to follow Klaus.
“I am not leaving you on your own in that place where you have the chance to become a late night snack for a hungry vampire that he likes to keep around his paranoid self.”
“I’m living in a house with six Cold Ones and I didn’t get snacked upon,” Bella pointed out. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Those Cold Ones have a hidden agenda, love,” Kol countered. “They know you’re special and they don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Doesn’t that go for you as well then?” She looked up to him with a smile on her face. “You don’t want any harm come to me because I have this shield thing?”
“No, I don’t want any harm come to you because you’ve been hurt enough, which is also Niklaus’ reasoning. He stepped in for ya before he knew about all this, remember Pet? Just because you have something extra makes it a lot more interesting now. What you want to do with it is your own. We’re not going to tell you what to do with the knowledge you have acquired in the last half hour.”
“But…” Bella said as she kept looking at him. “It would be preferable if I’d do something with it?”
“Only if you want to, darling,” he smiled at her. “Only if you want to. Nik promised you a safe couple of days here in New Orleans, what you choose to do with it is all up to you.”
Bella thought for a moment. “So, if I want to find out about how New Orleans came to be tomorrow, you’ll be okay with that?”
“Sure. We could visit all the museums if you’d like. Then, afterwards, you can ask questions to people who actually were there when this was still a colony.”
“How is that possible?” She stammered and then mentally wanted to hit herself. “Never mind. Of course. You and your brother.”
“And our other brother Elijah. He sincerely likes to teach people things. He’s also quite insufferable sometimes seeing as he thinks he’s the wisest and most educated of us all. To be fair, he might give you the most accurate account of the past than me or Niklaus.”
“And why is that?”
“Nik is a pompous ass and I was sidelined for a period of time.” Kol smirked as he once again put his arm around her and continued to walk down the street towards the Abbatoir.
