Hellfire | Hayley Marshall

Chapter 41

"Given the circumstances," said Klaus, clasping his hands together, "Lucien qualifies as both friend and foe, and according to Freya's prophecy—"

"—we are to beware both friend and foe," finished Elijah. "But, let us not forget family, Niklaus."

"We won't hurt each other," said Eisa sharply. "We may get into terrible rows, but none of us are cruel enough to kill the others."

"Either way," said Klaus, "Lucien is two out of three. I say we put him down, just like old times."

"Just like old times?" asked Elijah. "Brother, before we murder Lucien, there are certain questions that need to be answered. Chiefly, what is he doing here? And the wolf venom... he lied to you, saying that Jackson had hardly nicked the surface. And yet, Eisa and I saw the bite, clear as day. Why would he lie to you, his sire? I'm afraid we might have to resort to something deliciously medieval here."

Klaus smirked. "'We?' I take it you will lower yourself to associate with your bastard brother? I certainly expected forgiveness from Eisa, some day, but never from you."

"I will consider forgiveness," said Elijah flatly, "when Hayley forgives you, Gia rises from the dead, Zeus gets his magic back to full capacity, and Hell freezes over. For now, however, let's just hope your little friendship with Lucien doesn't disrupt our mission."

Eisa cleared her throat. "Well, perhaps we should go and see Lucien. Give his witch another go, see if anything new is revealed. I'd like to meet her for myself."

Klaus managed a smile, glad that Eisa changed the subject. "You'll love the witch, Eisa, she's positively gorgeous."

"Even better."

The three made their way to Lucien's penthouse, though, they were surprised to find he wasn't there.

"I'm afraid you missed him," said Alexis, the prophetic witch. Klaus was right, she was gorgeous.

"Where is he?" asked Klaus suspiciously.

"At the police station," replied the woman. "A detective, Kinney, had some questions for him."

"He submitted himself willingly to questioning?" inquired Eisa.

Alexis smirked at her. "He has nothing to hide."

Elijah moved to the nearest couch, sitting down. "Lucien's occupied. Perhaps we should entertain ourselves right here?"

"Oh, well," said Klaus, looking over Alexis, "I've never been one to turn down a snack... what say you, Eisa?"

The witch bit her lip as Eisa sat down, leaning back in her chair, eyes slowly tracing up her body. "I can entertain with another glimpse," she offered. "Give me a moment to prepare my things."

She let slip the robe she was wearing, and Eisa licked her lips ever so slightly, seeing that Alexis was wearing only a bra and some pajama shorts.

"Certainly entertaining," she murmured to herself, watching as Alexis slipped into her room, bringing a few materials before starting to arrange her materials.

"Elijah, Eisa, and I can begin now," she offered after a while, once the three siblings had each helped themselves to Lucien's liquor. "But just us. Sadly," she told Klaus, "I've already shown you what visions of yours I've managed to divine. Lucien tells me that Elijah and Eisa are close enough to not keep secrets from each other."

"The warning was for all of us," said Klaus impatiently. "Friend, foe, and family. I'd like to see theirs, please."

Eisa was surprised Klaus said 'please,' but apparently, Alexis was more surprised by a different fact. "Since family is one of your concerns, and you three are brothers and sister, are you so sure you want to see what I have to show you?"