Dark Heretic (E. St. John)

Chapter 12

"Damon!" Nick complains as Damon drags him with himself and Stefan up to the door of a mansion. "Will you stop dragging me!?"

"Okay." Damon lets him go and he rings the doorbell.

As soon as Elijah opens the door, Nick punches Damon and sends him flying inside.

"That's for dragging me," Nick says as Klaus laughs from somewhere inside. "Hello again Elijah. I see that the dagger was finally removed."

"By Damon," Elijah says. He turns to see Damon dusting himself off. He turns back. "Hello again, Nickolas." He extends his hand.

Nick hesitates but he slides his hand into Elijah's and they step into the mansion. Stefan follows after Elijah and Nick. Klaus has to make threats before Damon and Stefan sit down. Elijah's eyes land on Nick as he watches the food be served by the human women that Klaus must have compelled.

"No blood from the vein," Nick says. "I lose control. I drain them and turn them into wrinkled corpses. Blood bags are how I do."

"Love, can you get my mate here a blood bag from the wine cellar?" Klaus asks a brunette girl.

"Yes, sir," she replies and walks away.

Nick watches as one of the women pours him some red wine. "Thank you," he says kindly.

The woman doesn't react, like she's compelled, and Nick frowns. Elijah reaches down and lays a comforting hand on Nick's leg. Nick calms only slightly and he relaxes more once he gets the bag.

"Thank you, chéri," Nick mewls and she flushes and walks away. "I love French."

"Still charming everyone, I see," Elijah muses.

"Of course," Nick replies.

"He gets all the looks at school," Stefan says. His humanity is back but he doesn't let it show. He did, though, apologize to Nick for what he said and did to him while he was the emotionless Ripper Stefan. He wasn't himself. "Boys and girls alike."

"He caught my eye in 1950 easily," Elijah says. "He was nervous then."

"It was five years after my turn," Nick says.

"Right," Damon and Stefan say together.

"I was still learning," Nick says. "Sue me." He moves subtly in his chair as Elijah's hand moves slightly.

"Isn't this nice?" Klaus says. "The five of us dining together? Such a treat." He looks to Damon. "Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"

"Well, I know how he felt about you," Damon says, "so I figured for more, the merrier."

Nick smiles a little at that and he looks down a little. A notion that Elijah doesn't kiss.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century," Klaus says. "But we always make it through."

"Kind of like you snd Rebekah, right?" Stefan asks. "Where is she, by the way? The last I checked, she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah," Klaus says.

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed Dad?" Damon asks. "Might want to dial down the judgement until dessert."

"We're here to make a deal, Damon," Stefan says. "It doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us," Damon says. "Pace yourself."
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