Liaison [Sequel to Captured Hearts]

VII

 "But when you think about it, sleeping is much like death. The only difference is you have to eventually wake up after sleeping, whereas you can sleep forever in peace in death."

 - Unknown.
  

Somehow, it only made sense to Bonnie Bennett that she would be taken back to New Orleans. It looked the exact same as it had the last time she had visited. It was late afternoon, and the streets were lit up with golden lights and loud music. The taxi rumbled to a stop in front of a cluster of people, and with a quick sound of the horn, they scurried away, but not before shooting venomous glances at Bonnie as she stepped out of the car. She seemed way too underdressed in her blue jeans and plain white shirt compared to everyone else, but she ignored the sideway glimpses she received as she stepped out onto the curb.
  “Out of all the places, you brought me here?” Bonnie asked the young original, and she looked up at the darkening sky. Thick, grey clouds rolled over the buildings, and she could even smell the coming rain.
  “Stop complaining,” Kol snapped, though he sounded amused. He reached out for Bonnie’s hand, and caught her wrist as she started to move away. If he recognized that she had tried to pull away, he didn’t mention it, and he didn’t seem to care as he practically dragged her towards one of the brightly lit buildings. Bonnie felt Kol’s grip around her wrist tighten, and he looked over his shoulder for a flash of a second. His manic grin should have unnerved Bonnie, but instead, it only excited her. He pushed open the door, and they stepped over the threshold and into a house of madness.
  Everywhere Bonnie looked, she could see people dancing and jumping, and drinking from, apparently, anything that they could find. Shirtless waiters wearing bowties around their necks paraded around the inside of the house, and one tall man paused for a split second to wink at Bonnie.
  “Don’t you have to be invited into these parties?” Bonnie called over the loud music, and she finally felt Kol release her wrist.
  “Darling,” Kol yelled into her ear, and Bonnie still had trouble trying to hear him. “This is New Orleans. My family practically invented it.”
  Bonnie rolled her eyes, but she let Kol drag her further into the house. She had to shove people out of the way, but she didn’t really mind. She eyed a tattooed man blowing out rings of smoke in the corner, and flashed him a smile when he looked across at her. Bonnie Bennett liked it in New Orleans.
  “What are we doing?” Bonnie yelled, and when Kol didn’t answer her, she slapped his shoulder three times. He turned around to face her, his eyebrows raised, and he once again let go of her and disappeared somewhere in the room. Bonnie raised her arms in exasperation, and then let them slap to her sides as she let out a breath of annoyance. She turned, stepping around in a circle as she scanned the room for Kol.
  Her eyes caught tattoo man again, and he was sucking on a burning cigarette. He popped it out of his mouth and held it out, offering it to her, but Bonnie simply shot him a blank look and turned around. She noticed then, that there were a lot of people watching her. Some stood by themselves, and others stood clustered in groups, but they were all watching her. Bonnie sucked on the inside of her cheek, and she headed towards the front door of the house.
  If Kol was going to bring her to some stupid house party and leave her, fine. It wasn’t like she cared anyway. She stepped outside, pushing past a large man with breath that smelt like a mixture of bourbon and scotch, and then something wrapped around Bonnie’s arm. Bonnie let out a small shriek as she was jerked to the side, and she looked up at an older woman. She had dark eyes, and curly hair the same colour with beads and feathers pressed into it.
  “Bonnie Bennett?” The woman asked, and her eyes widened in an almost shocked gesture.
  “Yes?” Bonnie was still shouting over the music, but she got the idea that the older woman knew what she was saying. “Do I know you?”
  “I’m Tanya Deloris,” the woman said. “You don’t remember me?”
  “I didn’t know that I had met you before.” Bonnie jerked her arm out of the woman’s grip.
  “I brought you back to life,” she said, and Bonnie felt a shiver run down her spine. Tanya sounded shocked, as if she were having a hard time trying to process what she had just said herself.
  “Congratulations,” Bonnie said wryly. She wasn’t in the mood for celebrating, even if this was actually the woman that had brought her back. “Whatever you did, you screwed it up.”
Bonnie was pulled away again, and this time, it was Kol. His eye narrowed at Tanya, and he shot her a bitter smile before towing Bonnie away.
  “What did she say?” Kol demanded, and his grip on Bonnie’s arm could have broken bones.
  “Nothing important,” Bonnie shrugged, but she looked over her shoulder at the woman, only to find that she now had a bloody neck and dull, lifeless eyes. “What the –”
  “Bonnie Bennett, I’m guessing?” the voice was coming from someone beside Kol. He looked a little older that the original’s human age, and he hard dark skin, and doe brown eyes. “Sorry about your friend over there, but she’s been sharing a lot of talk about you.”
  “She’s with me, Marcel,” Kol interrupted with a soft growl, and Bonnie looked between the two men. Bonnie’s arm started to ache at how hard Kol was gripping onto her arm, and she was growing hot and bothered in the crowded room. “Your quarrel is with Klaus, not me.”
  “The witch with no humanity,” the man, Marcel, said, and his dark eyes landed on Bonnie. “She’s been the talk of the night ever since the two of you took a step into New Orleans.”
  “No humanity?” Bonnie blurted, and she finally yanked out of Kol’s grip. Again. “Excuse me, I’m pretty sure I do have my humanity intact, thank you very much.”
  Marcel grinned. “I like her.”
  “She’s not always this lively,” Kol sighed.
  “Having trouble taming your pet?” Marcel’s grin never faltered, and Bonnie, along with Kol, narrowed her eyes at him. Bonnie Bennett was no ones pet, and she was about to tell him that when Kol beat her to it.
  “I am much older than you, and virtually indestructible. Watch what you say.”
  “I still see that you haven’t swallowed up your arrogance.”
  “It tends to leave a bitter aftertaste.”
  “Very well,” Marcel shrugged slowly, and his smile seemed alien like. “Enjoy the party, Kol. Bonnie. And welcome back to New Orleans.”
Bonnie raised her eyebrows, but she refused to say anything else. It wasn’t like she would have the chance anyway, because Kol was dragging her out again in the next second. When the music started to drown out, Bonnie slapped Kol’s hand away.
  “You can stop dragging me around like a child,” Bonnie hissed. “I’m not here to satisfy your needs.”
Kol’s look could have dropped Bonnie dead, and for a brief moment, she thought that he would kill her. Instead, he stuffed his hands into his coat pocket and started to walk. After a few moments, Bonnie hurried to catch up.
  “Are you sulking?” Bonnie asked teasingly. Apparently, Kol didn’t find it funny. “Wow. What’s the matter with you?”
  “What’s the matter with you?” Kol retorted, and he stopped to face her. He sounded mad, and he looked furious. “This is not the Bonnie Bennett that I met.”
  “In the library, right?” Bonnie folded her arms over her chest. She was going by what she had dreamt about, and by the look on Kol’s face; she knew that she had been right. “You were going to kill me in the library, but you decided not to.”
  Kol was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowed in a hard glare. “I saw something in you. I think that it’s safe to say that it’s long gone now.”
  “Ever since I’ve died, right? I’ve changed. Everyone’s saying it. But how ironic is that coming from you. After all, you did force that witch to bring me back, didn’t you?”
  Kol growled lowly, and his eyes flashed red for a brief second.
  “Are you going to say anything, Kol? Or do you have nothing to say?”
  “Witch,” Kol spat, and it reminded Bonnie of the time she had wound him up when they had first met. She felt a strong pain in her chest, but she ignored it as she clenched her hands into tight fists by her side. “Stop talking now, otherwise I will tear your tongue from your skull.”
  “That threat is getting a little old, don’t you think?”
Kol grasped onto her shoulders, and her back suddenly hit against a solid wall. They were no longer in the streets, but in a secluded backstreet. A few homeless men caught sight of the tinge of red in the vampire’s eyes and scurried away like cowards.
  “I don’t want to hurt you, Bonnie Bennett,” Kol snarled lowly.
  Bonnie’s eyes narrowed, and she said, “I do.”
She closed her hand into a fist, and Kol let out a shriek of pain. He staggered backwards, and his hands left Bonnie’s shoulders. She heard a pop, and Kol’s left knee gave out. Another pop, and his other leg caved in too. He sunk to his knees, his hands pressed to the sides of his head as he screamed. She could see the crimson liquid slowly leaking from his ears, and from his nose, but Bonnie didn’t stop. She cast a look to the wet pavement from spilt alcohol and the remains of fresh rain, and she unclenched her hand to flex it out. The wet ground sparked, and caught fire, and Bonnie slowly moved her gaze to Kol.
  “Bonnie,” Kol growled through gritted teeth. His eyes were the same crimson colour as the blood that leaked from his body, and he shot her a look that might have frightened her to death if she weren’t the puppet master at that moment. “Stop this.”
  “I’m having too much fun,” she pouted, and she felt something inside her chest spasm. She paused and pressed her hands to her chest with a heavy breath. Bonnie looked down at Kol, her eyes wide as the realization of what she had been doing finally hitting her. What type of monster was she?
  “Kol –”
 But she was too late. Kol had already recovered, and she saw him rush towards her before the world turned upside down, and everything grew black.

  “Bonnie?”
  “Bonnie.”
  “Bonnie, wake up.”
  “Grams?” Bonnie sat up with a groan, and she pushed the book off her lap. She wiped at her tired eyes and stretched out her arms and legs as she let out a heavy yawn. Bonnie wasn’t normally one to fall asleep on the couch, but she did feel tired and slow. And then reality came back to her. Sheila Bennett was dead. Bonnie shot up, shoving books and grimoires off her as she did, and stared at her grams as she stood with her hands clasped in front of her. “Grams. What’s going on?”
  “How are you feeling, Bonnie?”
  “Is this real?”
  “It’s happening inside your mind. Whether it’s real or not, is up to you.”
Bonnie let out a soft breath, and she pushed herself off the couch. She didn’t dare to take another step. She was afraid that if she did, the floor beneath her feet would collapse, and the moment would be gone, and her grams would be gone along with it.
  “I miss you,” Bonnie whispered, and she tried for a smile.
  “I know, baby,” Sheila smiled. “I’ve been watching over you. This whole time.”
  “You have?” Bonnie choked on the words, and she swallowed a hard lump in her throat.
  “You met a boy,” her smile almost turned cheeky, and she took in a breath. “Bonnie Bennett, I did not take you for the type of girl to let vampires tread all over him.”
  “Grams,” Bonnie almost blushed, and she bit down on her bottom lip to hide her smile. “I love him.”
  “You know who he is, Bonnie. You know what he is.”
  “I don’t care.”
  “Kol Mikaelson is getting the best of you.”
  “Actually, Grams,” Bonnie felt her heart sink. “I think I’m the one getting the best of him. There’s something not – right, with me.”
  Sheila’s smile dropped, and she took a small step back. Her hands unclasped, and they dropped to her sides.
  “Grams? What’s wrong?”
  “Bonnie, what you are doing is bad.”
  “What?” Bonnie frowned, and she took a step back, only for her grams to move backwards. “I know he seems bad, but Grams, Kol isn’t that horrible of a person.”
  “No,” Sheila reached forwards, and she gripped onto Bonnie’s wrist. She pressed the young witch’s hand to the left side of her own chest, and raised slim eyebrows at her.
  “Can you feel that, Bonnie?” Sheila asked, and when Bonnie tried to move her hand, the older witch continued to push against her chest. “That’s a heartbeat. That is emotion, Bonnie. You don’t have that out there. It’s gone.”
  “Grams, you’re scaring me.”
  “Those witches weren’t strong enough to bring you back,” Sheila finally released Bonnie’s hand, though the young witch never moved her hand from her own chest. She felt the fast beat of her heart, and she could hear it pounding in her ear. “They couldn’t bring all of you back, Bonnie. This isn’t right.”
  “Grams, please,” Bonnie pleaded, and she let her hand fall to her side. She felt cold, despite the burning wood in the fireplace, and the warm sweater pulled over her body. The house smelt like spices, Bonnie finally recognized, and she felt warm and jittery in her stomach. Something she hadn’t felt since she’d been brought back from the dead.
  “You are caught in the middle, Bonnie. One half of your soul is stuck on the other-side. The other hanging by a sheer thread inside of your heart,” Sheila took Bonnie’s hands, and she massaged circles into them with her thumbs. Her skin felt smooth and soft, and it was a feeling that Bonnie missed too much. “It’s killing you. It’s destroying you, Bonnie.”
  “Tell me how to fix it,” Bonnie felt something wet trickle down her cheek, but she ignored it as she gripped onto Sheila’s wrists. “Grams, please. Tell me how to make it better. There has to be a spell, or a ritual. Something!”
  “You can’t fix this with a spell, Bonnie.”
  “Then tell me what to do. Please, I need your help.”
  “Bonnie –”
  “What is happening to me, Grams?”
  “Where are you, Bonnie?” Sheila’s face looked grim now, and Bonnie couldn’t stop herself from shivering. Despite the warmth in the house, she still felt ice cold.
  “What – I don’t know. I mean; I’m with Kol. He took me to New Orleans, and then –” Bonnie stopped, because what had happened had finally come into realization. “Oh my God. I almost killed him, and then it all went black. Oh no. Grams, I think he killed me!”
  “Bonnie, calm down,” she was gripping onto Bonnie’s hand with a hard force now, but it was good. She could actually feel the pain, and it at least made everything feel like it was real, and that Bonnie wasn’t losing her mind. “You can do this. You need to yourself back.”
  “That doesn’t even make sense!”
  “Bonnie!” Sheila shook her, and Bonnie had to struggle not to topple over. “You need to go to the other side and get it back.”
  “You want me to die?”
  “You’re a witch, Bonnie. Use your powers.”
  “Grams?” Bonnie asked slowly, and her voice had been so quiet, she had almost missed herself saying it. “Am I dead?”
  Sheila seemed to hesitate for an age, and she carefully pulled her hands out of Bonnie’s.
  "No, Bonnie,” Sheila said. “Kol hasn’t killed you yet.”