25

                                    

                                          

24th August 2010
                          
Grace woke four hours into the nine hour car ride and Stefan watched, amused, as she surveyed her surroundings bleary eyed and confused. 
                          
"We've just pulled into a gas station outside Lexington, needed to fill up."
                          
"Lexington, why are we heading North?"
                          
"Because North is where we find answers." Klaus interjected, as he got back into the car. Starting the engine they pulled away from the gas station. 
                          
"Answers? So I assume it didn't work?"
                          
"No it didn't work. It was a big bloody mess."
                          
"What's North that holds answers?"
                          
"A witch who can help me locate a dead witch."
                          
"Sounds fascinating."  Grace yawned in reply. 
                          
"There isn't much that is fascinating where we are going."    Stefan drawled - although his memory from way back when was patchy at best, Chicago always left a sour taste in his mouth. 
                          
"And that would be..."
                          
"Chicago love!"
                          
At that Grace fell off the seat but then her head popped up again - in a comical sort of way she looked like a little meerkat but there was nothing comical about her face. Possibly for the first time Stefan was looking at a truly scared Grace and it hurt. 
                          
"I am not going to Chicago."  
                          
Klaus slammed on the breaks of the car, stopping it dead. Stefan was surprised at the anger and fear that laced her words but not wasn't expecting this reaction from Klaus. 
                          
"And why would that be, little one."  Dripping with insincerity Klaus forced his words through his teeth. The past few days had obviously been trying for him and so he was no longer a cool and collected original vampire, instead she was a volatile teenager ready to explode at any minute. 
                          
"He is in prison there. I make it my business to know where he is being kept and then avoid said place."  Grace matched Klaus' anger, fighting fire with fire. 
                          
"Well I make it my business to investigate things and the man who ruined your life, his associate his friend had been laying dead in my trunk just this past night."
                          
"What?" The anger drained from Grace's eyes, replacing it with hard rooted confusion and fear. "What are you talking about Nik?"
                          
"Ray Sutton was a friend of" - "don't you dare say his name" - "well he was a friend, he testified at the trial citing his character and how irregular such behaviour was." 
                          
"He what?"
                          
"Weren't you at the trial?" Stefan asked quietly. Grace responded in kind, her tone softer yet still afraid. 
                          
"I don't really remember much of it. My memory is kind of blank around that time, I'm not sure if I suppressed the memories or if I was so disconnected at the time I never even register what happened during the trial." 
                          
"Well you can believe me, the low life was there and I wanted him to pay for his actions.."
                          
"How? By becoming a member of your superior race! How is that just?"
                          
"I was going to make him superior yes but once he had everything, once he had immortality I was going to strike him down but not so much as to kill him but to keep him just alive enough to keep him in pain for life times to come." Nik's anger was hot and red, he was seething - teeth clenched, eyes murderously focused.