Damon and I had no idea where to start looking for Stefan. We were saved when Damon's cell rang.
"Aren't you supposed to be teaching a class right now," Damon asks.
"You and Cecily need to get your asses to the school," Alaric says on the other line.
"What happened," Damon asks, worried.
"I think Klaus compelled Jeremy," Alaric says.
"You think," Damon asks.
"Jeremy just went and stood in front of a racing car," Alaric says, "and I have no doubt that one of Klaus's hybrids was driving it."
"Is he ok," Damon asks.
"He's fine, I got to him in time," Alaric says.
"Does Elena know," Damon asks.
"She will when she gets in here for fourth period," Alaric says, "which is why you two should be here."
Damon sighs, "Ok, we're coming." Damon hangs up the phone and looks at me. "You think Klaus compelled Jeremy," he asks me.
I nod, "it's starting. He's not going to stop."
Damon nods, "let's go." We get in his camaro and drive to the school. Alaric meets us at the front door so we can avoid having to compel the security guards to letting us in. He leads us to his empty classroom where Jeremy, Caroline, and Tyler are.
"Hey," Damon and I say to them.
"Hi," Tyler beams back to me, smiling.
I disregard him and look at Jeremy, "are you ok?"
He nods, "why would Klaus do this?"
"Because Stefan stole his family's coffins," Damon answers. Caroline and Tyler both stare at us.
"His family's what," Caroline asks.
"He put his family into coffins," I explain, "He carries them around with him everywhere."
"Why," Tyler asks.
"Because he's a psycho," Damon answers, "We have to find Stefan."
"I noticed he wasn't here," Caroline says, "what happened to him?"
"Klaus compelled him to turn his humanity off," I answer.
Caroline gasps, "Does Elena know?"
"She thinks Stefan's at the house, resting," Damon answers.
"Why do we need to find Stefan, though," Alaric asks.
"Because we need to wake up Elijah," Damon answers.
"Wake up," Tyler asks.
"Klaus has these daggers that can temporarily drop an Original," I say to them, "they're all daggered. There are five Originals and one witch in those coffins."
"And you want to wake Elijah up out of the six of them," Caroline asks.
"Elijah was ready to kill Klaus when Klaus was trying to break his curse," Damon says, "then Klaus daggered him. I'm sure Elijah wouldn't think twice about it again."
"Ok," Alaric says, "So how do we find Stefan?"
"That's the million dollar question," I say.
"Well I'll help Cecily find him," Tyler says.
I stare at him, "you're going to help me and Damon Tyler. We're in this together."
He nods, "maybe, but I'll help you."
"What is wrong with you today," Caroline asks.
"What do you mean," I ask Caroline.
"When he got to school, he was wearing his breakfast," Caroline says, "then he wanted to leave so he could go find you."
"Me," I ask, "why me?"
"Because I owe you everything," Tyler says, "you made me better."
"Uh oh," Damon says.
I whirl to him, "what?"
"This is bad," Damon moans.
"What's bad," I demand.
"Tyler's been sired," Damon says.
"He's what," Caroline and I demand.
"It's really rare, but in some cases it does happen," Damon says, "he feels loyal to Cecily because Cecily's blood created him."
"Loyal how," Caroline asks.
"He'll seek acceptance from his master," Damon says, "maybe it's not so rare in hybrids."
"But I didn't do anything to him," I say, "I didn't want Tyler to be sired to me.""It's random," Damon assures, "he had no choice in the matter, neither did you."
"So how do we fix him," Caroline asks.
"You get a new boyfriend," Damon suggests.
I glare at him, "there must be another way. When we wake up Elijah, we can ask him, but until then, Tyler I need you to keep an eye on Jeremy and Elena."
He nods, "done."
"We need to find Bonnie," Damon says, "maybe she can do a locator spell to track Stefan."
"There's no need for that," someone says at the door. We all turn and see Elena and Bonnie standing there.
"What do you mean," I ask.
"I know where Stefan is," Bonnie answers.
"Where," Damon asks.
"She's only going to tell you if you promise to bring me with you," Elena says.
"Hell no," I say, "Stefan's off the rails. You won't like what you see."
"Maybe I'll be the person to bring him back," Elena says.
Damon sighs, "This is a side of Stefan that you've never seen before Elena. He's vicious and unpredictable."
"I don't care," Elena says, "this is Stefan we're talking about, not some blood-crazed addict!"
"That's exactly who we're talking about," I say, "You weren't there in 1864 when Stefan first went off the rails. I was there. Trust me when I say that the Stefan you know is gone."
"You expect me to believe that the Stefan who cared whether or not Jeremy lived or died is completely gone," Elena demands, "no, I'm going with you. Bonnie's not going to tell you where Stefan is unless I go."
"We could compel her," Damon says.
"I'm on vervain," Bonnie says.
Damon and I look at each other and sigh. I turn back to Elena, "fine, but don't be surprised when you see Stefan."
She nods and Bonnie looks at us, "Stefan's in the cellar of the witch house."
"The witch house," Alaric says, "why?"
She shrugs, "I don't know."
Damon nods, "all right, let's go. Meet back at the house after school." Alaric nods as the three of us head out of the school. We get into Damon's car and start for the witch house. I ponder over the reasons why Stefan would hide at the witch house. It's secluded and dark. The power of the witches would no doubt hide the coffins from Klaus's sight. When we get there, it's so quiet even the bugs aren't chirping. The three of us get out of the car and walk over to the house. When we walk in, Damon and I immediately feel the effects of the witches on us. The pain is so immense, I fall to my knees. Damon's daylight ring isn't working; his skin is burning.
"What's happening," Elena asks us.
"The witches are screwing with us," Damon says. We bolt out of the house, back into the front yard.
"I'm gonna keep going," Elena says.
"We should just come back," Damon says.
"Why," Elena asks, "the witches aren't going to let you in. I'm gonna go talk to Stefan."
I sigh, "Be careful." She smiles before she disappears into the house.
"You ok," Damon asks me.
I nod, "you?"
He nods, "they didn't do this last time we were here. Why now?"
"I don't know," I answer, "can you hear them?"
He nods, "can you?" I nod and listen to Stefan and Elena.
"Stefan, Klaus tried to kill Jeremy today," I hear Elena say.
"Ok," Stefan says.
"Are you listening to me," Elena demands, "Klaus tried to kill Jeremy. If we just give him back the coffins, this will stop!"
"Elena, stop talking," Stefan says, "I'm not giving Klaus anything."
"Doesn't Jeremy mean anything to you," Elena asks, "don't you care?"
"It's not my problem," Stefan says. I can hear the crack of skin and I take a guess that Elena slapped Stefan.
"Then you can go to hell," Elena says. I hear her footsteps come up the cellar stairs and out the house.
"Elena," I say. She continues walking towards the car.
"Let us talk to him," Damon says.
"How," Elena demands, "the witches aren't going to let you in. Just face it, Stefan is gone!" Damon sighs and walks over to her.
He places his car keys in her hands, "take my car and go deal with your brother. Let us deal with my brother." She sighs and nods. She takes off towards the car as Damon walks towards the front door.
"How do you propose we do this," I ask him.
"I'll get down there and then drag him out here so you can have a go at him," Damon says, "you can't take a step into this house, but I can hide in the shadows."
I nod, "don't get killed in the process."
He smiles, "this is my brother. I know how to handle him." I can see Damon sigh before he takes off into the house. I can hear him groan in pain as he makes his way down the stairs and into the cellar. I hear someone clapping, I assume it's Stefan.
"Impressive," Stefan says, "but the coffins aren't here, so you can go away now."
"I don't care about the coffins," Damon groans, "We need to talk."
"Ok," Stefan says, "let's talk."
"Nothing's ever easy with you, is it," Damon asks. I can hear the two of them struggling and suddenly, they both burst out the front door. They fight each other down to the ground as Damon reaches for a branch. He plunges it into Stefan's abdomen. Stefan groans and lies against the ground. "That's for Elena," Damon says, getting up. Damon looks over to me and nods, "he's all yours."
I walk over to Stefan and stare, "do you need help?"
He looks at me with uncertainty, "are you being sarcastic?"
I bend down and plunge the stake farther into his body, "incredibly." I twist the stake and then pull it out. He groans in pain and sighs.
"What do you want," Stefan asks.
"Where are the coffins," Damon demands.
"Safely hidden away from Klaus," Stefan answers.
"Why are you doing this," I ask him.
"Klaus took everything away from me when he had me turn my humanity off," Stefan says, "I'm simply repaying the favor."
"I can compel you to turn it back on," I say to him.
He shakes his head, "I wouldn't want you to even if I believed you." I sigh and look Stefan in the eyes.
"Where are the coffins," I compel him.
"In the cellar," Stefan answers. He looks around in confusion before he looks back to me, "you weren't lying."
"Funny that you of all people didn't believe me," I say to him. I haul him to his feet, "we need to wake up Elijah."
"Why," Stefan asks, "one Original not enough for you?"
"If we wake Elijah up, then he'll be able to kill Klaus," Damon says, "unless you have something against that?"
"Not at all," Stefan says, "why should I believe you?"
"Because we trust you," I say to him, "you would do well to trust us, like you always have."
Stefan sighs and looks at us, "do you hate Klaus?" We both nod.
"What kind of question is that," I ask him.
"For you to be able to see the coffins, you have it admit that you hate Klaus," Stefan says.
"Able to see them," Damon asks, "Do they have spell on them?"
Stefan nods, "Bonnie put the spell on them this morning. I'm in this alone, though."
"If you're going after Klaus, you have to be cutthroat and devious," Damon says, "Cecily and I are much better at that than you are."
Stefan sighs, "you want in? It's just going to be us three."
"Ok," I tell him.
"Elena stays out of it," Stefan says.
"Deal," Damon says. Stefan takes a deep breath and walks into the house. Damon and I follow him reluctantly. Surprisingly, when we step into the house, we both feel fine.
"Maybe you should learn to trust me," Stefan says, leading the way.
"My brother the hypocrite," Damon says. I smile as we follow Stefan down the cellar stairs. When we get down there, all I see is an empty room.
"Here we are," Stefan says, smiling.
"What is Klaus allergic to dust," Damon asks.
"Funny," Stefan says, "look again." Damon and I look again and to our surprise see all six coffins sitting in the room. "The witches power and Bonnie's are keeping the coffins concealed," Stefan says.
"So if Klaus were to walk in the house," Damon says.
"He wouldn't see them," I finish, "it's smart, I will give you that."
"So which one is Elijah's," Damon asks. I walk over to the coffins and run my hand over them. It's funny how I can tell which Original is in which coffin based on their energies. I walk past four of them and stop at the fifth one.
"He's in this one," I say to them.
"How do you know," Damon asks.
"I can feel them," I say slowly, "like their energies." Damon walks over to the coffin and opens it. Inside of it lay desiccated Elijah, a dagger sticking out of his heart.
"Lucky guess," Stefan asks.
"I don't know," I answer.
"There's only one coffin here that I haven't been able to open," Stefan says.
"Is it locked," Damon asks.
"Nope, it just won't open. I've used a crowbar, blow torch, and an ax. I can't even scratch the finish," Stefan says.
"It's probably closed with a spell," I say.
"You mean whatever's in there should stay in there," Stefan asks.
"Not what," I say, walking over to the coffin. I run my hand over it and sigh, "Who."
"What do you mean," Damon asks.
"It's not whatever is in here, it's whoever is in here," I say.
"Who's in there," Stefan asks.
"Esther," I answer, "the mother of the Originals and the Original Witch."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Esther," Damon asks incredulously.
I nod, "you knew she was here."
"I didn't know she was in a coffin locked by a spell," Damon shouts.
Stefan sighs, "can you two do this later? I have better things to do than to listen to you shout." I sigh and walk over to Elijah. I grip the dagger's handle and pull it out. I know it'll take a while for him to wake, so I turn back to them.
"You should get back to the house," I say, "both of you."
"I'm not leaving you here alone," Damon says.
"Elijah's not going to kill me," I say, "besides it will take a long time for him to wake and we told Ric to meet us back at the house."
"Cecily's right we should get going," Stefan says.
"Shut up," Damon says to him, "you don't get a say in this, you don't care."
"Of course I care," Stefan says, smiling, "I care whether Klaus lives or dies."
Damon scuffs and turns to me, "are you going to be ok here, alone?"
I nod and smile, "I've been in worse." Damon nods and heads up the stairs, Stefan following. I sigh and take a seat across from Elijah's coffin. I don't know how long it took Rebekah to wake up, but I don't think it would've taken five minutes. Five hours later, I look in the coffin and see that the desiccation has moved away from his limbs. Only his face and chest remain. Night has fallen and the moon is out. The sky is clear and the temperature has no doubt dropped into the thirties. My phone rings; I check the time as I answer it, 9:30. "Hey," I answer.
"Hey," Damon repeats, "just wanted to check in and see how he was doing."
"The desiccation is falling back," I say, "he should be awake soon."
I can hear Damon sigh, "It's been five hours Cecily. The temperature is 35 and there's no one out there for miles. Let me come out there."
"No," I say sternly, "you need to stay at the house and watch Stefan."
"Stefan can handle himself," Damon says.
"But nobody else can," I say, "Caroline can't hold him off and Tyler won't do anything unless I say to."
"So call Tyler and ask him to keep an eye on Stefan," Damon says.
"No," I say again, "I need to be here alone when Elijah wakes up."
"Why," Damon asks. He's silent for a moment; he's figured it out. "Cordelia, whatever you're going to do, don't do it," he says.
"You don't even know what I'm going to do," I say.
"I'm not stupid," Damon says, "you're going to make a deal with him. Kill Klaus in exchange for the rest of his family."
"No," I say, "that's not what I'm going to do."
"Then what are you going to do," Damon pleads.
"You'll see," I say to him, "I need you to trust me."
"I do trust you," Damon says, "it's Elijah I don't trust."
"This isn't about waking up Elijah. This is about killing Klaus," I shout, "tomorrow Klaus will call you and invite you to a dinner. You and Stefan will go alone and you will be civil. But right now, I need you to send Bonnie back here."
"What are you planning," Damon asks. I can hear Elijah stir and I know my time is up.
"Damon I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow," I hang up before he has a chance to protest. I stick my phone in my back pocket and peek into the coffin. Elijah's eyes are open and he's taking in his surroundings. "Hey," I say to him.
"Where am I," he asks.
"You're in a house filled with the spirits of 100 dead witches," I say.
"No need to sugar coat it," Elijah says, sitting up in the coffin.
"How do you feel," I ask him.
"Where is Niklaus," Elijah asks.
"That's why I woke you up," I say, "We need to kill him."
"It's about time you felt that way," Elijah says, getting out of the coffin. He looks around and sees the other coffins. "Are they all here," he asks.
I nod, "Everyone except Mikael. Your mother's coffin is sealed, but Bonnie's on her way here to unlock it."
"How do you propose we kill Klaus," he asks.
"You were ready to kill him and I have no doubt your other siblings feel the same way," I say, "we need to wake them up, all of them."
"My mother included," Elijah asks.
"Your mother is the only person Klaus is afraid of," I say.
Elijah nods, "what's your plan?"
"I will go to Klaus and tell him that I have forgiven him. Then, I'll tell him to host a dinner for Damon and Stefan," I propose.
"And what do you hope to accomplish with this dinner," Elijah asks.
"It's just to stall for time," I say, "Stefan stole the coffins from Klaus. Klaus'll do anything to get them back. The dinner will be for the four of us to work out a deal."
"What does waking up my family have to do with this," Elijah says.
"Klaus'll find out what we're up to," I say, "During the dinner, I want you to wake the rest of your family up. When they're all awake, well...you know what to do. You do have a reputation for good entrances."
He smiles, "I assume you want Damon and Stefan to walk away from this unharmed?"
I nod, "I know you and your family have unresolved issues with Klaus. We'll leave you to it."
"Cordelia, they're your family too," Elijah says.
I sigh, "They're not though, are they? Klaus, Rebekah, you, and Kol maybe, but Finn, Esther, Gwen? They don't know me like you do."
"You're still a Mikaelson," Elijah says, "our family affairs are your family affairs."
I smile, "do we have a deal?"
He smiles back, "always a pleasure." I hear someone come down the steps and I look over to see Bonnie.
"Bonnie, hey, thank you for coming," I say to her.
She nods, "Damon said you need my help?"
I nod, "Esther's coffin is sealed with a spell. We need it open."
She walks towards us and looks around, "which one is it?" I point to the coffin and she walks over to it. She stares at it before she turns to me. "When do you need it open," she asks.
"Before tomorrow night," Elijah answers.
"I assume you want me to say nothing to Damon about you," Bonnie asks Elijah.
He nods, "this isn't my plan, it's Cordelia's."
She looks to me, "what did you do?"
I hold her gaze, "I made a move that will keep us safe from Klaus, forever. Please just get the coffin open by tomorrow."
She nods, "I'll call you when I have it open."
"No need," Elijah says, "I have to stay here anyway. I'll bring them to the house when they're ready."
I turn towards the stairs but stop, "Elijah?"
He turns to me, "yes?"
"Do you know of a way to break a sire bond between hybrids," I ask.
His brow furrows, "Why?"
"When I turned Tyler, he became sired to me," I say.
He nods, "he needs to change to break the sire bond."
"What do you mean change," I ask.
"He needs to transform to a wolf to break the sire bond," Elijah says, "it'll take a while, but the pain will eventually break that bond."
I nod, "Bonnie, will you call Tyler and tell him I said to do that?"
She nods, "don't worry about it."
I nod, "I'll see you tomorrow."
They both nod, "good night." I smile and head up the stairs. When I walk out of the witch house, the cold air hits me. It feels good to be out in the open air, not in the stuffy cellar of the witch house. I walk over to Klaus's mansion and walk in the front door. There are people walking around everywhere and I sense the same thing about all of them. They're all hybrids.
"Cordelia dear," Klaus says, emerging from the kitchen, "how are you?"
"I'm fine," I say.
"What are you doing here," he asks, "it's almost 10. Isn't Damon wondering where you are?"
"Damon is none of my concern right now," I say, "Can we talk somewhere privately?" He nods and leads me to the sitting room I had been with Damon a long time ago. I sit down on the couch and look up at him. "I came here to forgive you," I say to him.
His eyes widen, "what?"
"I'm here to forgive you Klaus," I say again, "for everything that you've done."
"That can't be all you're here for," Klaus says, not believing what he's hearing.
I shake my head, "no, that's not all. I know where Stefan is."
This gets his attention, "Where?"
"He's with Damon," I answer, "he wants to meet with you."
"Meet with me," Klaus says, "what subtle ways are there to meet with someone and tear their head off?"
"You could invite them over for dinner," I say.
"Them," Klaus asks.
"Damon won't let Stefan go alone," I say, "he doesn't trust him yet. If you want to meet with Stefan, you'll meet with Damon too."
"And I suppose you want to be at this dinner too, am I right," he asks.
I nod, "but I'll be on your side."
"Why," Klaus asks.
"Three against one seems hardly fair," I say, "Besides, you need me. I know how to make deals. Even Elijah can't deny my deals."
He smiles, "fine, but if the Salvatores try anything in my home, then I will rip them apart.
I smile back, "I would expect nothing less from you."