What's At Stake, Part Fourteen

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PART FOURTEEN.  Or:  "How Elijah Got His Groove Back."  I can't believe there is only ONE MORE week until the next new episode.  I need to finish this before then.  Eek!
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"Is... that even possible?" Elena asked, into the silence following Isobel's revelation.


Isobel pulled a tablet-style computer out of the bag she carried. "It is if all of these connections are correct." She tapped some keys on the pad and then held it up. The words weren't legible from that distance, but Elijah could see that it was a family tree. He held his hand out for it; Isobel passed it to Elena, who passed it to him.

"It's about time you showed up," Katerina told Isobel.

Isobel shrugged diffidently. "You wanted a 'show and tell,' didn't you? It took a little while to put it together." She looked over at Alaric who, after glaring at her for a moment, got up and stalked out of the room.

"Wait. I thought vampires couldn't... you know, have kids. Is it different with Originals?" Caroline asked.

"Klaus had a family before he turned," Elijah said absently, scrolling down through the lengthy chart.

Bonnie shifted positions on the couch, drawing her legs up under her. "He wasn't one of the ones who killed their families, then?"

"They had fled by the time we returned from Edington. They must have been frightened when he returned the first time.” Elijah focused on a particular section of the tree and enlarged it. "Right here – you have two names in this block. That would have been Klaus's great-grandson. Was there some question as whether he was actually the sire of these children?"

Isobel came and looked over his shoulder. "No, it’s the same person. There was an adoption." She pointed to the square above it. "He died during the passage through the Balkans – what would have been known as Haemon Mons then. The next spring, she married this man," she pointed to another box, off to the side with a dotted border. "That's where the Petrova name came from."

Andie stretched in her chair to peer over the edge of the pad. "Does the Mormon Church know about you? 'Cause you are seriously kicking ancestry.com's ass right now."

"What was that you were saying about 'substantiation,' Elijah?" Katerina asked, coming to stand beside Isobel and glance over the tablet.

Elijah handed the computer back to Isobel and turned away from the two women, toward the fireplace. "This genealogy spans 1100 years. It's quite a stretch to think you can be accurate going back that far."

"It helps when you have access to resources most genealogists don't." She fiddled with the tablet some more, then held it out to Elijah again. This time there was an extensive list of resources she had used, including some that Elijah recognized from their inclusion in his own database, as well as from sorting through Slater's research.

"So, if this is true," Damon said, looking at Katerina with a huge cat-that-ate-the-canary grin, "Then that means that you..." he stopped, chuckled. "That you and your great, great, great, great – well, your really great grandfather – "

Stefan cut him off. "I think we get the point, Damon."

"Or maybe he wasn't really that great, if you know what I mean, and I think you do." Damon waggled his eyebrows at Katerina in a lewd manner. "You did run away from him, after all." Katerina rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Caroline draped her legs up over the arm of the couch. "I think I speak for all of us when I say: eww!"

"Did... did Irina have children?" Elena asked, peering at Elijah hesitantly.

Elijah looked up from the tablet and shook his head. "No. She had a younger sister and brother, however. They both married and had children. According to this, Katerina came down from Grigor, which is logical as her family retained the Petrova name." Elijah passed it back to Isobel again and went to pour himself a drink, more to give himself something to do with his hands and to take a moment than because he really wanted it.

Lengthy bibliography notwithstanding, the chances of a family tree charting correctly out to that many generations was highly improbable. He was afraid, though, that it was all beginning to make a sick sort of sense. If Katerina's supposition was based off of that genealogy, then her theory was perhaps not as far-fetched as he had wanted to believe it was. If the blood connection truly did exist between Klaus and Irina, then her use as the ritual sacrifice was likely not mere coincidence. And if that was the case, it meant that the man whom he had once called 'friend,' the man whom he had served for the better part of a millennium, had been responsible for the death of the woman he had loved. He dug forefinger and thumb into his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose. He was starting to wish he were back in the basement with the dagger in his heart.

"You lost me," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "How does this person being related to Klaus mean that he had anything to do with the curse spell?"

Andie tucked one foot under her. "Well... if we want to go with the theory that he knew of the relation, and that he set her up to be used... maybe there was an object, or some sort of energy he wanted bound to him?"

"You can do that?"

"Sure. You can bind anything to anything if you have the right ingredients. And the skill to do it. As I said, not my area of expertise. I wouldn't... hey!" Andie snapped her fingers. "That's why he wanted Greta Martin! That is her area."

Elijah frowned. "Jonas's as well."

"Makes sense. These things tend to follow family lines."

Jeremy leaned back and oh-so-casually draped his arm across Bonnie's shoulders. "Wait, witches can only do certain types of magic?"

"There is usually one area that we're stronger in, that comes naturally to us," Andie confirmed.

"Why the sacrifice, though?" Bonnie shifted again so she was sitting cross-legged, grabbing a throw pillow to put on her lap and dislodging Jeremy's arm. "Why couldn't he use his own blood?"

"Life-Death dichotomy."

"The whose-in-the-what now?" Damon asked.

"Magic and nature are all about balance and dualities," Andie explained. "In magical terms, Klaus's blood is 'dead.' It isn't a natural life-force that animates him, it's a form of death magic. To bind him to something, you would need to balance that out with life energy. It's the same reason that the doppelganger has to be human, alive. When Katherine vamped herself, she took herself out of the running." She turned to glance at Katerina. "Nice move, by the way."

"Thank you. I'm glad someone appreciates it."

Caroline got up and grabbed one of the bags of chips. "If this spell-thingy was supposed to be all about Klaus, how did the werewolves get mixed up in it? I mean, where'd that come from?" she asked, between mouthfuls. "Seems kinda random."

Everyone turned to look at Elijah. As if I have all the answers. "I have no idea. If we're accepting the theory that Klaus was gathering the ritual for another purpose, the werewolf element could have been a last minute addition on the part of the spellcasters when they decided to change the plan, seeing an opportunity to curse both sets."

Since the discussion was showing a frustrating tendency to yield more questions than it did answers, the group en masse followed Caroline's lead in taking a break, getting up to grab snacks, refill beverages, and make bathroom trips. Damon left the room; a few moments later, Elijah could hear him and Alaric talking in low voices across the hall, in the library. He took advantage of the lull in activity to check his text messages from those whom he had sent on errands earlier in the day, looking for one text in particular. Satisfied, he pocketed his phone again.

Every now and then, when he looked up, he'd catch Elena looking at him, her expression fluctuating between speculation, trepidation, and compassion, so it came as no surprise when she took advantage of Stefan's momentary attention elsewhere to slip over to him. Not quite sure what to say when she got there, she fidgeted with her glass of soda for a few moments before saying, quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

No need for him to ask to what she referred. "Why would you have?"

"I know. It's just... Did – "

"Elena."

"Hmm?"

"We will not be having this conversation.”

"Right. Okay." To the relief of both of them, Bonnie motioned Elena over on some pretext or other. Shortly thereafter, Damon returned, Alaric in tow. The latter resumed his seat, pointedly ignoring Isobel. Elijah gave himself a mental head-slap as it finally occurred to him the relation between the two. No wonder Alaric and John Gilbert had loathed one another. He had feared it was perhaps over Jenna, though Jenna certainly didn't seem to have any use for Gilbert either.

Snacks and beverages seen to, everyone started drifting back to their seats. It was getting late, and they were starting to look a little ragged around the edges. Elena had her head on Stefan's shoulder. Caroline eschewed the sofa in favor of the floor, stretching out on her side with her head propped up on one hand. Bonnie half slumped against Jeremy. Even Andie was winding down. He could relate. Feeding was soon going to become an imperative.

"What about the other Originals?" Stefan asked into the silence. "Where are they? Would any of them help against Klaus? I know you said that none of you are as powerful as him, but if all twelve of you worked together..."

Elijah shook his head. "Most broke with Klaus long ago. They're scattered all over the world."

"But you must know where they are, some of them anyway."

"Even if I do, they won't come. They've washed their hands of Klaus. They won't want to get pulled back in."

"Besides," Isobel put in, sitting down on the floor in front of Katerina's chair. "There aren't twelve anymore. Three are dead."

"I thought we had already established that they can't be killed." Alaric spoke up at last, sending a pointed look Elijah's way.

"The one white oak, Ric," Isobel told him. "How do you think it was discovered that it could kill an Original?"

"It doesn't; not permanently, anyway."

"The ash doesn't, no. But when the tree was alive, a stake from it would."

Andie nodded in agreement. "Life-death."

Elena rubbed a hand over her eyes, stifling a yawn. "I thought that was for binding."

Bonnie sat upright, suddenly alert. "Same principle applies across the board," she said. "The tree was part of the ritual that turned the Originals; as such it bound the death magic that animates them." She stared intently at Elijah as she spoke, her affect strange, her voice low and odd.

Jeremy looked at her, concerned. "Bonnie? You okay?"

"Take that same life energy and thrust it into the death magic, that magic is disrupted."

Elena sat up straight, looking worried. "Bon?"

"The death magic, Elijah. Disrupt the magic that animates him, and you can kill him."

"Okay, now you're starting to freak us out," Caroline said, sitting up.

Elijah walked over to stand in front of the girl, eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. He grasped her shoulders. "Jonas?"

"What?!" Elena got off the couch and came over to stand beside Elijah. "Bonnie? What's happening? Are you okay?"

Elijah held up a hand to silence her. "Is that you?"

Bonnie reached up and grabbed Elijah's hands firmly. "If he starts the ritual, he absorbs life magic from it; that's gonna disrupt his own death magic and weaken him. Strike him then, and you can kill him, Elijah." Her grip on his hand tightened until her knuckles turned white. "Do you understand?"

He squeezed the girl’s shoulders. "Yes. I understand."

Bonnie gave him a brisk nod; a moment later, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed against Jeremy.

"Bonnie!" Jeremy patted her face, trying to wake her, then whirled on Elijah angrily. "What the hell?!"

"I think we just figured out what her specialty is," Andie said. "She's a channeler."

Bonnie stirred and sat up, putting a hand to the side of her head. Looking around, she noticed everyone staring at her. "What happened?" she asked. "Did I fall asleep?"

Jeremy pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed. "What's going on?"

"You don't remember?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No."

Andie rolled her eyes and stepped over, sitting on Bonnie's other side. "You were channeling," she said, matter-of-factly. "Have you ever done that before?"

"She has," Elena said. "Her ancestor, Emily."

"Wait, Emily came back?" Bonnie asked, pushing away from Jeremy and sitting upright.

"Uh, no," Elena said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You were, um, channeling Jonas Martin."

Caroline winced up at Bonnie. "Aaawk-ward..."

Bonnie absorbed that news. "Okay... Well, that's a little freaky."

Caroline nodded. "Ahuh, yeah. Way freaky."

Damon sighed and stood up, stretching. "So, basically, to sum up: we can't just sneak up and kill Klaus; we have to make a show out of this ritual thing that involves some arcane, life-and-death magical vampire hoo-doo bullshit that I'm not even going to try and recap; and finally, we can't recruit the other Originals to help, because they're overcome with ennui or something, and would only add up to three-quarters of Klaus's power anyway."

Elijah shook his head. "No, if we all combined we would equal him,” he said off-hand. “When the others were killed whatever power they held dispersed amongst the rest of the twelve. But the point is moot, they won't – "

The realization hit him so hard it almost literally bowled him over. He turned and put his hands
on the mantle for support, breathing deeply as he stared into the fire, seeing all of the implications start to coalesce into a coherent picture. Klaus’s decision to burn the oak to the ground, after staking Gerhard with a piece of it and realizing that Gerhard’s power had transferred to the others. Klaus’s injunction against one Original killing another. Klaus’s insistence that they remain in the village where he had discovered Irina. The amount of time he had spent with the witches and their caravan. The vampire, the werewolf, the sacrifice of Klaus's living blood – and a ritual constructed to bind it all...

To him!

"The devious, megalomaniacal son of a bitch," he breathed.

“Is he having an episode?” Caroline whispered to someone.

“Something you want to share with the class?” Andie asked.

Elijah straightened, shrugging off his recent doubts as his accustomed air of command settled across his shoulders, warm and comfortable as an old cloak. True, he may not have been the fiery, charismatic leader that Klaus was; but he had, after all, been the architect of most of Klaus’s victories. How many times had it been he, behind closed doors, explaining strategy to Klaus? You don’t take your troops to where the enemy is. You take them to where he’s going to be. Defeat your foes not by chasing them, but by knowing what it is that they want.

Despite the ridiculous amount of power he already possessed, Klaus wanted dominion over everyone else’s too. Katerina had been right; Klaus didn’t give a good goddamn about breaking the curse. He just wanted the energy of the vampires and the werewolves unbound from the moonstone so that he could take it, control it, feed off of it, use it to his own twisted ends. He wanted to own it all. He turned slowly back toward the room, smiling.

I have you, you bastard.

“Damon: Klaus cannot – cannot – gain possession of the moonstone. I’ll be taking it with me.”

“Like I would give it to him?” Damon scoffed.

“Klaus can compel you. He can’t compel me.”

Damon looked very pleased with himself. “Even if I’ve been ingesting vervain?”

“Yes, even if,” he confirmed, wiping the smug grin off of Damon’s face with a quickness. “Go and get it.” The younger vampire sat still, defiant. Elijah started gathering himself for a battle of wills. Seated near Bonnie, Andie cleared her throat softly. He glanced down her way; she lifted one eloquent eyebrow at him, and waited. He sighed inwardly, giving her an almost imperceptible nod, then consciously released the tension coiling in his muscles and his mind. “It’s important, Damon,” he said quietly. “Please.”

Damon held for several beats, perplexed and perhaps surprised by the sudden absence of force against which to struggle. Evidently having made a decision, he slipped the moonstone from his pocket and handed it to Elijah. Reluctantly.

“Thank you.” He slid the rock into his own pocket and turned back to Andie. “You have just over a week. Work with Bonnie. I know it’s not your specialty, but whatever you can teach her will be useful. The more she’s able to channel Jonas, the more we may benefit from his expertise.”

Bonnie looked dubious; Andie reached over and grasped her hand briefly, smiling reassuringly. “It’ll be fine.”

“Jeremy: Meet me here tomorrow after school. We haven’t time for comprehensive training, of course, but we can at least work on the basics of close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat.”

“Really?” Jeremy said, enthusiastic. “Awesome!”

“Elena,” Elijah said, cutting off her imminent protest. “Make certain no one is invited into the house. Klaus will send you gifts, some with implicit threats, some may have explicit threats. Ignore them. He’ll want to mess with your mind, throw you off guard. Do not let him. Try not to move about overmuch without myself or one of the Salvatores with you.”

“You should stay here,” Stefan told her.

Elijah nixed that idea immediately. “No. Elena’s home has a threshold. Yours does not. It would perhaps be a good idea if you were to stay with her there, however, Stefan.

“Alaric: If you’ll join Jeremy and myself tomorrow, we can review your weapons cache to see what, if anything, may prove useful.

“Isobel: Since you’ve demonstrated a flare for it, I’d like to ask that you research the current status of the location where the transformation rituals took place. I will text you the GPS coordinates later this evening, once I work them out.

“Damon: Day after tomorrow, you and I will go and survey the burial ground and figure out our set-up. That evening, we should all meet here again to strategize for the ritual.

“I want cell numbers from everyone. Phones stay on at all times. If anything happens, even something that you feel may not be of much import at the time, you call me. Immediately. Is everyone clear?”

“No instructions for me?” Katerina said, with her usual amount of sarcasm.

“Would there be any point?” He asked, in kind.

Caroline half-raised her hand. “Um, what should I do?”

“Stay out of the way,” Damon told her.

Elijah took a moment to consider her. “I have an idea. Come with Jeremy and Alaric tomorrow. We can discuss it then.” The blonde looked pleased to be included. Damon rolled is eyes. Elijah surveyed the room. “Given the hour, I think we should adjourn for the evening. Andie, I assume you have pen and paper handy. Phone numbers, everyone.” Then, with a nod to her, he wrote his own number on the whiteboard, making her smile.

Their information duly recorded, everyone started filing out. Alaric was first out the door, seemingly happy to get as far and as fast away from Isobel as possible. Stefan left to take Elena home; Bonnie, Jeremy and Caroline went out together; they were sharing a ride. Damon slunk off into the library. Andie looked on the verge of following him, but changed her mind.

“Thank you,” Elijah told her. “For your suggestion,” he clarified when she looked at him blankly. “It was productive, opening the floor up to the group, as it were.” Something Klaus had certainly never done.

She acknowledged the thanks with a nod. “Do you need a ride somewhere? I can drop you off.”

Elijah shook his head. “I have a vehicle waiting outside for me. It was delivered earlier.”

She looked impressed. “Well, that’s handy. Guess it’s good to be the king.”

“No,” he said, smiling as he helped her into her coat. “Just the general.”

“Um, okay…”

He bid her goodnight and would have followed her out the door, but an idea struck him. He hesitated in the doorway, thought about it, discarded it. Thought about it again. Wavered…

Turning back around, he poked his head into the library. “Damon. I’m going out for a drink. Join me?”

Damon held up the half-full tumbler he had in his hand. “Plenty of booze here. Help yourself.”

“That… wasn’t what I meant.”

One eyebrow shot up, joined by the other a moment later as he caught Elijah’s meaning. “Oh. Uh…”

Elijah turned, motioning for him to follow. “Come. There’s something I want to show you.”

Damon set his glass down and stood. “Hey, no offense, but you’re not exactly my type. I mean, I know we’re ‘growing close’ and all, but…”

He rolled his eyes as he waited for Damon to pass him, heading out the front door. “Not that close.”