It was a beautiful day, as Klaus entered a room in the compound where Marcel and Diego was, Marcel with a bottle of Bourbon in hand.
“Dearest brethren, your attention, please. No doubt, you’re all surprised to see Thierry Vanchure, who’s supposed to be rotting in the Garden for the crime of killing one of our own, and I personally decided to issue him with a pardon. I hope you’ll all welcome home Thierry,” Klaus announced.
Thierry smiled and gave Diego a hug.
“Welcome home, man,” Diego said.
“You’re in a good mood. You should visit Mystic Falls more often,” Marcel said to Klaus.
“Well, as much as I might like to, I have pressing responsibilities here.” He turned to address the crowd of vampires. “Now, as you all know, the witch Davina is no longer with us. Without Davina, we can no longer monitor the activity of our witch neighbors. However, since their Harvest failed, their magic will soon be gone forever. Until then, I say we keep them on their toes. Diego, I wonder if you might lead a rousting in the cauldron.”
Diego smiled and started to plan with the other vampires. Marcel grabbed his bottle and went to storm away, but Klaus stopped him in the doorway.
“Marcel, I’d hoped you would join Diego.”
“Nah. I’m gonna take a personal day,” Marcel replied.
He pushed past Klaus and left. Klaus scowled, annoyed at his attitude.
Rebekah and Elijah were walking through the streets of the French Quarter while talking about recent events.
“Now, you may doubt him, but today, I saw Niklaus demonstrate mercy towards an enemy. Tell me that’s not progress,” Elijah said to her.
“Please, Elijah. Who do you think convinced Klaus to let Thierry out?” Rebekah questioned him.
“Why would you do such a thing?” Elijah asked, getting the hint that it was her.
“Because, despite Klaus’ reprieve, Thierry despises him. I like that about Thierry. I also like that he used to date a witch, so he knows about French Quarter covens. Maybe he can lead me to whoever stole off with the Harvest magic.”
“Rebekah, we are all devastated by the outcome of this ritual.”
“That’s just it. There was no outcome. We both know that power like that doesn’t just vanish. I say someone stole it. I’d like to know who, and then I’d like to make an ally out of them,” she explained.
“To what end, exactly?”
“I’m tired of being threatened and controlled by our tyrant brother. If you want to stop a bully, you need the power to stand up to them.”
“I expect such behavior from Niklaus. It’s so very disappointing when it comes from you, Rebekah. Do you not see that, in his way, he’s making an effort here? He’s invited us back into our family home. He yearns for our family to be reunited,” he reasoned with her.
“Yes. He’s in a brilliant mood now, but for how long? It’s his trick, Elijah. He lulls you into a false sense of camaraderie and kinship, and then he turns on you like a snake. I fall for it every time and wind up with a dagger in my chest for my trouble. No more.”
“I believe that he is approaching some semblance of peace here. Leadership may, in fact, be a good thing for him. Now, sister, please, I ask you, if you cannot support him, then at least do nothing to provoke him.”
Back at the compound, Klaus entered one of the rooms and found Marcel still drinking alone, sitting on a couch.
“Ugh, is this what it’s come to? I bear the full weight of our kingdom while you pout like a child.”
“You wanted to be king. Besides, you look like you got it covered,” he replied.
“If the men see you shirk your duties, they’re likely to do the same,” Klaus reasoned with him.
“I told you, I am not in the mood for vampire hijinks.”
“No. You’d rather sit wallowing in sorrow for your lost little friend.”
Marcel stood up and pointed a finger at Klaus. “Don’t push me right now.”
“I am sorry Davina is gone, okay? I’m sorry. But this mournful attitude is unworthy of you, and it’s boring to me.”
Diego entered the room to join them, looking worried.
“Hey, guys, we got a problem.”
Diego had soon led Marcel and Klaus to the cauldron where there were two desiccated vampires, both with the same magical symbol carved into their foreheads, their bodies inside a magical circle created with salt, with runes drawn inside.
“We came to mess with the witches, just like you said. And these two, they went missing. Found them like this, not even staked. Just dead,” Diego informed them.
“That’s two more of my guys gone. Nice job, Captain,” Marcel accused him.
Marcel took one look at his dead men and then turned around and started to walk away.
“Where are you going? Someone has to account for this!” Klaus said after him.
“You want revenge, get it yourself. That mark is tied to some bad mojo.” Marcel turned to the rest of the vampires. “Any of y’all got any brains, you’ll head back to the compound and stay the hell out of this.” Marcel walked off.
Klaus turned to Diego.
“We’re gonna find whoever did this, and I will show them what suffering is.”
Thierry and Rebekah walked into a warehouse to investigate another incident at the warehouse at the docks.
“Used to run things down here for Marcel. Thought you’d like to see what I found before Klaus did,” Diego informed her.
Rebekah smirked.
“Not a day out of the Garden, and you’re already proving yourself useful.”
“We made a deal, and if it screws things for your brother, I’m all for it. Though, to be honest, this stuff makes my skin crawl. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
They stopped in front of another salt circle on the ground with animal bones inside and unlit candles placed around it.
“I have, a long time ago. Somebody is copycatting a very dangerous witch. They draw their power from sacrifice,” Rebekah informed him.
“I just don’t understand why someone would leave it here for us to find,” Thierry said.
Rebekah’s eyes widened in realization.
“Unless they wanted it to be found.”
Papa Tunde appeared from the shadows behind them. Rebekah noticed him in shock and horror.
“Mademoiselle Mikaelson,” Papa Tunde greeted.
“That’s not possible,” she said.
“Sure, it is, chére. It's magic.”
Rebekah sped toward him to try to kill him, but Papa Tunde simply reached out and grabbed her by the throat.
“Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi.”
Rebekah started to desiccate and Thierry vamp-sped away in fear, away from him and disappeared out of the warehouse.
Klaus, Elijah, Diego, and many of the other vampires were congregating in the courtyard, discussing their current situation.
“Someone will die for this,” Klaus said.
“Remarkably, I don’t disagree. However, I would like to know where they learned such dark magic,” Elijah replied.
“I had hoped never to see that symbol again. I recall it is the signature of a fool who once stood against us,” Klaus replied.
“Clearly, some upstart witch is salvaging old tricks.”
“I’ll do for him as I did the other.” He turned to Diego. “Diego, when night falls, I want you to gather every vampire in the Quarter. Get me the head of whoever did this and put it on a stick.”
“Yeah. That’s gonna be a problem. Everyone is freaked out, man. We haven’t had witches killing vampires in a long time. Marcel made sure of that,” Diego informed him.
“Marcel has run off like a scared child. You lot are left with me. Now, who of you will fight to defend our home?” He looked around to see that no one came forward. “Not a single one of you will stand with me, so afraid are you of this new threat? You should know better. I’ll handle this myself.” Klaus stormed off.
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Cami was at the bar, leaving Sophie a voicemail, when Marcel walked in.
“Looks like I should’ve been here last night,” Marcel said.
Cami was startled, but saw that it was Marcel and looked for anything she could find as a weapon, and finally settled on an empty liquor bottle.
“Before you try anything, I’m on vervain.”
“Yeah, Klaus mentioned you broke free of his compulsion. Good for you. Sophie around?”
“No. Why?”
“Got a witch problem. Thought she might have answers,” Marcel replied. He sat down. “Mind if I wait?” He grabbed a bottle off the bar and poured himself a drink.
“It’s a little early for day drinking. Let me guess, Klaus problem. I thought you’d be on top of the world now that you have Davina back.”
Marcel sighed from grief. “Davina is gone.”
Cami was shocked. “Was it Klaus? I told him, if he hurt her…”
“It wasn’t like that. The power that she had was too much. We tried to fix her with this crazy-ass ritual, and something went wrong. Now she’s…I don’t know, floating in limbo, or waiting on her ancestors.”
“Marcel, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
Elijah walked into Davina’s old bedroom, where he found Katherine looking at Davina’s old sketches.
“There you are,” Elijah said.
“Here I am,” Katherine said.
“Davina’s drawings,” Elijah said, gesturing to them.
“Yeah. Morbid, I know. I was just thinking…we never figured out why she drew those pictures of Celeste. Anyway, I’m just killing time, now that I’m on vampire lock-down.”
“Whoever did this, we will deal with them. It won’t be long,” Elijah assured her.
“I’m not worried. Just think it’s kind of funny that it took some big, supernatural threat for you to even come into the same room as me,” she pointed out.
“I do apologize if you feel neglected. I have been occupied. My siblings are in some quarrel. Niklaus remains agitated. You’ll recall that even our slightest interactions seem to infuriate him,” he explained.
“So you want to be a good big brother. I get it, Elijah. It just seems like a really crappy deal,” she replied.
Marcel was still at the bar, drinking, when his phone rang. He ignored it and returned to his drink, since it was Klaus.
“El presidente?” Cami questioned.
“He likes to keep track of his people,” Marcel said.
“Why are you loyal to him, exactly?”
“For someone who says she can’t stand the guy, you sure ask a lot of questions about him.”
“My interest is purely academic,” she assured him.
“I know what you’re doing. You’re mad he used you, and you want to get back at him. Maybe you’re hoping I’ll let slip some chink in his armor. Friendly advice? Don’t do that. It won’t end well. Let me tell you a story about someone who went up against Klaus.” He began to tell it. “This was right after I returned from World War I. I'd been trying to get away from New Orleans for a while. Something kept drawing me back. I didn’t get it at first. Klaus was the one who wanted to go to war.”
“So, why was he inviting his enemy into his home? Why be so generous to someone who he’s gonna have to kill?”
“But, you see, that’s the thing. It was all part of Klaus’ plan. He was sussing the guy out, learning his weaknesses, his strengths, getting him to let his guard down. That's how Klaus does it. Then he goes in for the kill,” he explained to her.
“Because he's a two-faced sociopath. There's nothing enviable about what Klaus does. He is a monster,” she commented.
Marcel shrugged. “We’re all monsters, Cami. If you’re powerful like Klaus is, you just don’t have to bother hiding it.”
Cami stared at him. “Davina was powerful. She wasn’t a monster.”
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At Thierry’s warehouse, Papa Tunde had just finished the spell, linking Rebekah’s life force to himself.
“Will that be enough to make Klaus suffer?” Celeste in Sabine’s body asked.
“I will hurt Klaus Mikaelson as he hurt me. When I am done, he will wish that he could die,” Papa Tunde replied.
At the bar, Cami and Marcel were still drinking together.
“You gonna open this place today?” Marcel asked.
“And risk you eating the clientele?” she inquired.
“Oh, and here I thought you were starting to like me again.”
Marcel’s phone rang again and he saw it was Klaus again, so he finally answered it.
“Ah, you’ve deigned to break your despair long enough to pick up the phone,” Klaus greeted.
“I figured you’d just keep calling,” Marcel greeted back.
“I’m in the Cauldron now. You could meet me here, we could start burning passersby at the stake,” he offered.
“Sorry. I’m gonna chase down my own lead,” he replied.
“And where might that be? The bottom of a bottle of scotch?” Klaus inquired.
“I’m at Sophie Deveraux’s place. I figured I’ll sit here and drink ‘til she shows.”
“Or, you could snap out of this funk and come and help me end this.”
Marcel hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, Sophie was drunk and stumbling around with her own bottle of liquor as she approached Klaus in an alley in the Cauldron.
“Big, bad Klaus Mikaelson,” she greeted.
“Sophie. Just the witch I was looking to brutalize.” He sped toward Sophie and grabbed her in a choke hold. “Perhaps you could explain the attacks on my men.”
Katherine and Elijah were in the courtyard. Katherine was watching, as Elijah was trying to call Rebekah.
“Rebekah is not answering her calls,” Elijah stated.
“You worried about whoever killed those day walkers still being out there?” she assumed.
“Frankly, I’m worried that she had something to do with this. She’s very displeased with Niklaus, perhaps even conspiring with others.”
Elijah noticed Thierry drinking at a table and joined him.
“Thierry, is it?”
“That’s right,” Thierry replied.
“My sister is rather fond of you. Strange, she's not typically drawn to unremarkable men. Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?”
“I don’t know what you’re---“ he began, but Elijah cut him off by grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against the wall, annoyed.
“You can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout the Quarter,” he threatened.
Thierry sighed. “She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff. I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy. He desiccated her with his touch.”
Elijah was angry now. “Like a coward, you left her.”
“What was I supposed to do, fight some warlock that took out an Original?”
“Where was this, exactly?” Elijah asked him.
“The docks, warehouse 57. I was just doing what she asked. You cannot tell Klaus about this.”
Elijah thought for a moment about what he’d said, before snapping his neck and allowing his body to drop to the floor.
“I shall take that into consideration.”
“I’m coming with you,” Katherine said, worried about what the vampire had said.
“No. Stay here. The compound is safe,” he replied, not wanting to risk her life nor the unborn child’s life.
“Rebekah is in trouble. I’m going,” she said stubbornly.
Elijah paused for a moment and sighed. “Do not leave my sight. Understand?”
She nodded and they left for the docks.
Marcel and Cami were still drinking with each other at the bar.
“Me calling things off with you wasn't lack of interest. I was hoping to save you from all this,” Marcel confessed to her.
“Well, thanks, Romeo, but I'm in it. So, when are you gonna get to the good part with Klaus and that Papa guy?”
“Papa Tunde said he wanted to empower the witches. Mostly, he wanted money and territory. Klaus and Elijah weren't about to give him either. He didn't like that, so he went on a rampage. No one was safe. Not the humans in the faction. Not the Guerrera werewolves. He even went after the witches who opposed him. Elijah offered a truce. He gave his word, in fact, but Klaus, being Klaus, he had another idea.” Marcel ended the story with Klaus having killed Papa Tunde’s twin sons and Klaus killing Papa Tunde.
“That’s awful!” Cami exclaimed.
“Oh, to Klaus, it’s just business,” Marcel informed her.
“And don’t you think there’s something fundamentally wrong with that? Don’t you worry you’ll end up one of his victims or, worse, just like him?”
Papa Tunde suddenly appeared in the bar.
“Poor Marcellus. You remain always in the shadow of your father. Climb out from beneath it, will you, so you can die like a man?”
“Cami, you need to run now. Don’t look back. Just go,” Marcel informed her.
“I think she should stay. I prefer an audience, and I’m about to put on quite the show.”
“Marcel?” Cami questioned.
“I said get out of here,” Marcel ordered her.
Cami, terrified, hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to leave Marcel alone.
“You cannot defeat me. I channel the power of an Original vampire. Soon I will have all three. But first, I will take you.”
Sophie was in the Cauldron with Klaus, examining the abandoned vampires that Papa Tunde left for the vampires to find.
“It’s a complex spell. Old-school stuff, rooted in sacrificial magic. Whoever did this to your guys, my guess is they were an offering to gain more power. More guys they kill, more power they have.”
Klaus’ phone rang and when he saw it was Cami, he answered it.
“I didn’t expect a call from you so soon.”
“You need to get to Rousseau’s now. Some lunatic witch doctor is killing Marcel,” she informed him.
“Get as far away from there as you can,” Klaus instructed and then hung up and left for Rousseau’s.
Katherine and Elijah were at Thierry’s warehouse and saw Rebekah’s body and immediately ran over to her. Elijah was on the phone with Sophie at the same time whom was still with the other bodies.
“Rebekah!” Elijah said. He knelt next to her, but couldn’t cross the barrier made by the salt. “Some kind of boundary spell. Someone is channeling her. Typically, it’s a lethal process, but because she’s an Original, she can’t die. Instead, she an endless source of power,” he explained to Katherine, though she probably already knew that.
“So what are we supposed to do?” she asked.
“You have to get her out of there,” Elijah replied.
Papa Tunde was crouched in front of Marcel and held his bone blade to his forehead to start to carve his symbol.
“As I recall, you’re one of the few people Niklaus Mikaelson ever gave a charm about. You know what he did to my family.”
Marcel yelled in pain as he began to desiccate.
“The sins of the father are paid for by the son. I will take pleasure in telling Klaus how you died.”
Papa Tunde was about to kill Marcel, when Klaus vamp sped into the bar and stopped him.
“I remember killing you. I rather relished it. What joy it is to relive fond memories.”
“You’re here. Good. I can crush you before the eyes of your son. Then, I will consume you both. This time, I’m stronger.”
Elijah was still on the phone with Sophie and was trying to figure out how to break the magical boundary.
“You’re not listening. We cannot enter the circle. There’s some kind of confinement spell. If I can’t remove her, we can’t break the link.”
“It’s a convoluted spell. It’s like a witch’s recipe. You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient. A mystical binding agent. I don’t know, volcanic ash, rock salt…anything up to and including eye of newt.”
“What about the blood of a witch?” he asked.
“Do you have the blood of a witch?” Sophie questioned.
Elijah looked at Katherine and Katherine had an idea.
“The baby. She’s a quarter witch. That, and I’m descended from Travelers. It should work,” she said and gave Elijah her wrist, and he gently bit into it.
They walked towards the magic circle together. Elijah held out Katherine’s wrist and let the blood fall on the magic boundary line. It started to fizzle and deteriorate. Elijah then was able to get through, and he quickly picked up Rebekah and took her out of the circle. He reached for Katherine’s hand, and then vamp sped out of there with them.
Papa Tunde had Klaus and was about to finish him off, when his connection to Rebekah and her power broke. Tunde became weak, which allowed Klaus to stun him long enough to rush over to Marcel.
“Uhhh, is he dead?” Cami asked.
“Get out of here,” Klaus said.
“Is Marcel dead? Did that guy kill him?” Cami asked.
“He didn’t finish him off. Marcel needs blood to heal. Go. Find me someone off the street,” Klaus ordered her.
“I’ll do it,” Cami said.
“No. Not you. I don’t want you involved in this,” he said.
“You don’t control me anymore, remember?” She rushed over to Marcel and put his mouth to her neck. “It’s okay, Marcel. It’s okay. It’s okay, Marcel.”
Rebekah was tracking Thierry into an alley and ambushed him by shoving him into a wall in the Quarter.
“I should rip out your coward heart.”
“What, Rebekah? We made a deal to take out your brother, but at the end of the day, it’s every man for himself.”
“I am so sick of self-serving narcissists. Are men simply incapable of committing to an alliance?” she replied.
Elijah vamp sped over to Thierry and snapped his neck again.
“I asked you to cease these petty moves against our family, and yet you conspire with this fool. Is this what it’s come to, making moves against your own blood?”
“Don’t try and shame me. Nik grows more powerful by the day, and you do nothing but encourage him.”
“I offer him my counsel because it’s clear to me that he needs to make the city our home. Now, perhaps leading the derelicts will curb some of these impulses, grant him some degree of happiness.”
“You always talk of Nik’s happiness. Over 1,000 years, he has robbed me of any chance at my own. What about me, Elijah? Am I not a concern for you?” she replied.
“We all make sacrifices in the name of this family, Rebekah, but know this. I will never stand against your or Niklaus,” he told her.
“What about Katherine? Nothing I conspire to do, none of my treachery will harm this family as much as your feelings for her. You’re a hypocrite, Elijah. You would choose love over family and then condemn me for doing the same,” she accused him.
Klaus was at the compound, making a speech to the crew of vampires.
“Not long ago, you all united against me. You failed. Since then, in my benevolence, I have wiped the slate clean. Yet, it seems clear you think that I am the one who needs to earn your respect, your loyalty. You're mistaken. It is you who must prove yourselves to me. Our community is under attack. I require soldiers. I need warriors, not cowards. Each of you has a decision to make. You either fight alongside me or you leave now.”
“We don't owe you anything. If staying in the Quarter means living under your rule, I'd just as soon get the hell out,” Thierry replied.
Klaus watched as a handful of vampires joined Thierry and walked out of the compound. Thierry looked at Diego in hopes that he’d come along, but he gave him a pained look and stayed behind. Afterwards, Marcel and Klaus were talking with Sophie in the study upstairs.
“I got to admit, I thought you’d lost a lot more guys than that,” Marcel commented to Klaus.
“Well, good riddance to them, I say. We've no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom. Now that you've regained your composure, let's move on to the next item of business, shall we, with a little help from our dear friend Sophie.”
“I got no reason to help you, and I sure as hell don't have a reason to help him,” Sophie commented.
“Now, now, don't be difficult, love. You'll only live as long as you're of use to me, and right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed has come back for revenge. Come on. Resurrected witches with vast power?” Klaus replied to her.
“It's the Harvest. To die and be reborn. I don't know how, but someone jacked that power, and they used it to bring back four witches... Just not the right ones,” Sophie informed them.
“So there's still a chance? If we can get that power back, we can save Davina,” Marcel said, hopeful.
“Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we? Papa Tunde wants revenge. He'll continue to attack us, channeling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous. So how do I end him? He needs sacrifices to gain power,” Klaus said.
“Hmm. You keep him from killing any more nightwalkers, that's a start,” Sophie replied.
“Unless he finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed,” Klaus replied.
They looked at each other with a look of dawning realization.
Klaus and Marcel arrived at the Garden only to discover that they were too late. All of the vampires were dead, sacrificed by Papa Tunde.
Celeste in Sabine’s body met with Papa Tunde near a crypt, where he had just performed a ritual with his blade. He held it up into the air, allowing the moonlight to shine over it, before standing and handing it to Celeste.
“Is it done?” she asked.
“This blade now contains all the power I harvested from the vampires. It will do things worse than death, even to an Original,” he assured her.
“And are you ready for the final offering?”
“In the name of the witches of the French Quarter, it is my honor,” he replied. “Thank you, Papa Tunde.” She stood behind him and slit his throat with the knife. Once he was dead, she looked at the knife, feeling Tunde’s power being absorbed into it, and smirked.
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