Chapter 17

Dont Get Into Cars WIth Strange Family Members

Weight, Klaus mused was something that covered a wide plethora of things. It was physical as in gravity. It was mental in the sense of responsibilities one could almost physically feel. Klaus felt that weight as he looked at the people around him. They had entrusted him with their wellbeing and while they talked and got to know one another it seemed to weigh on him more and more.

He knew that they too were entrusted with his wellbeing, but it did not change how he felt. Klaus was also bothered by the physical kind- his chair was starting to give.

Despite the constant practice. Controlling the maw was like keeping one of his fingers curled at all times. It easy to do, but hard to keep track of constantly. The fact that it also seemed to go hand in hand with his emotions added to the difficulty.

It was not long before they finished their food and they spent some more time organizing where they would meet and other such details. Klaus for his part was growing more and more worried about the chair he was sitting on. The chairs were made especially robust for the guests that attended the event due to the physical changes they may have gone through, yet his chair was starting to look rather lopsided.

Amelia did not miss this fact as it was also starting to dig into the ground whenever he moved around. Klaus did not want to have to explain if the chair broke so he wanted to call it a night.

"I think it is time for me to go." Said Klaus after looking down and giving his chair a dubious look for the umpteenth time.

A giggle coming from Elizebeth drew his attention.

She smiled at him while saying. "Good timing, the chair was just about to break."

Klaus could only give her an awkward smile before standing up. It drew attention as they had only been served the second course of the meal. If he were, to be honest- he did not care. Klaus had accomplished what he wanted and the group had made all the arrangements needed to leave in two days. All the socialising made him feel uncomfortable.

Elizebeth had gotten up with him and at his inquisitive gaze, she shrugged while collecting her purse and answered. "I did say that I would be leaving with you tonight."

For a moment unsavory thoughts flitted through Klaus' mind while his eyes involuntarily raked over the buxom Elizebeth. With a deep breath, he pushed the thoughts down and simply nodded.

He then looked over the gathered people and for a brief moment, his eyes made contact with the blue orbs of his female cousin and then to the stage where the white tree still shined as if mocking him.

He snorted and muttered. "So much for having a family." If he still had any delusions of reconnecting their actions had made it an impossibility.

When he turned to walk out- he was surprised to see that the others had gotten up as well. Amelia saw his look and smiled while explaining. "We also don't have a reason to stay if you are not here, besides I need to explain to the family why I won't be going home."

Amelia did not explain that she would rather leave than face the propositions of others if she stayed behind. Of all the people at Klaus' table, she was the only one that would still be sought after.

By the time Klaus and the others reached the exit their cars were already waiting for them. Elizebeth walked towards his car without a word and waited for him to open the door, but Silence beat him to it.

After the demon closed the door, Silence waggled his eyebrows at Klaus in the most ridiculous way he had ever seen.

Klaus smiled and with it, he felt the tension of the night leaving his shoulders. "It is not like that Silence, she will be a part of the group."

The demon just shrugged. It did not matter either way.

Amelia and Beatrice had gotten into a car similar to the one Klaus and Lilith were in when the bus smashed into them. Billy was on a motorcycle and Klaus found himself looking at him with envy when Billy sped off to who knows where.

Klaus pointed at it. "I want one of those."

Silence only smiled in reply while he gave the super car's key to Klaus.

Klaus looked at the car with its flowing lines and then at Silence. "Can we take a long way around again?"

The car's engine roared to life when Klaus pressed the button with his thumb and then got in. He gave Elizebeth a glance but she seemed content to remain silent so he did not say anything.

He had just turned the car towards the exit when a familiar figure blocked them.

Her blonde hair was blowing in the wind along with the stark white dress she had on. Glacial blue eyes belonging to his female cousin met his.

"What does she want?" Asked Klaus to no one in particular, however, Elizebeth answered anyway.

"I imagine she wants to talk, what happened may have damaged them more than we thought." Elizebeth opened the door after her words and made her way to the sedan SIlence and Sloth was in.

Klaus wanted to stop her but her choice and actions were so decisive he never got a chance.

The blonde got in a moment later. Filling the car with the scent of roses. The strong scent made Klaus sneeze which at least gave him some time to think. He decided to just stay quiet and let her talk first, however, he was still aiming to leave.

They quickly made it onto the highway. The silence in the car becoming more and more oppressive. Klaus also did not miss the two unmarked cars following them closely.

"I wanted to apologize." She finally said after about five minutes.

Klaus snorted. "For what exactly, trying to set a mob on me or for the family just abandoning me for the last eighteen years."

She smiled. "For the mob, the other part I had no hand in nor could I influence it in any way. I did not know you existed until the Argents attacked you."

Klaus had to admit that he did not know they existed as well. He had searched for his surname on the net quite a few times, but nothing turned up except for a few business names. The largest being a military development company.

"So what is it you want- I doubt that you wanted to just take a ride with me?" Klaus felt irritated and it could be heard in his voice. It prompted his cousin to look at him.

His cousin was biting her lip. There was no video. Cornelius had nearly made a stupid bluff that could have been called at any time and they would be stuck with egg on their faces. In fact, Cornelius believed that there were no demons. If he did, she knew her twin would never have provoked Klaus so openly.

"Straight to business then. What happened at the party has damaged us and we only got about half the amount of people that we thought we would. So I came to suggest that we join hands and go together. What do you think, cousin." Her voice had become sweeter the more she spoke.

Klaus did not buy it. They had about twice the amount of people that he did. "How about, no."

She frowned at this. He had given no explanation why nor did he even think about it before saying no. "It would be stupid of you to just ignore what I am offering."

"I don't think so. I think you wanted to weaken me just so that you could make this offer. The truth is I only went there for two others and anything else was extra." Klaus saw her face scrunch up at his statement.

"That is ridiculous and would-be suicide. I saw what we are to face in my awakening. This is no game Klaus we could all die."

Klaus thought she looked truly worried and vulnerable, but these people had been trained from young to be manipulative. Klaus felt like dragon part of him could basically smell the bullshit.

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"You say that, but you and your little friends treat it as a game with your politics. Like the children you are, you play at it. Play with people's lives including your own. I think that is incredibly stupid. I have nearly died three times since I got involved in all this, how many times have your lives been on the line? Have you had to pull the trigger of a gun or die? Have you been nearly beaten to death more times than you can count?" After saying this Klaus pulled over and stopped while giving her an expectant look.

"You know nothing about me." She finally said.

Klaus shrugged and leaned over her to open the door for her. "Maybe I don't, but I lived on the streets and it sucked but it taught me a lot as well. One of the things being how to read people and you read to be all kinds of trouble. Trouble, I want nothing to do with."

She looked out the door and then at Klaus' expectant gaze.

"You want me to get out?" She said almost sounding horrified. They were on the freeway in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't worry your guards will take care of you, besides didn't your school teach you not to get into cars with strange family members."

He watched as her face changed from outrage to confusion and then she said something that made the hair on his neck stand on end while his heart started to race.

"What guards? I slipped away saying I was tired. I wanted-"

Before she could finish Klaus slammed the door closed and stepped on the accelerator changing the driving mode to race.

Tires screeched and the back of the car swung wide nearly crashing into the guard rail.

The speed pushed his cousin back into her chair. "What are you doing!" She shouted.

"Two unmarked cars have been following us." Was his only reply.

Klaus's phone rang and he answered while trying to keep control of the rapidly accelerating car.

It was Elizebeth. "Klaus you are in danger."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Before Elizebeth could reply his cousin grabbed the phone and inserted it on a port in the dash.

-"Cars following are not Roth." Blared through the cars' speakers.

""We know."" Said both Roths.

Klaus looked in the rearview mirror only to see headlights getting closer. He then looked at the speedometer. It reflected a hundred and eighty kilometers per hour and was quickly climbing higher.

Klaus felt some relief when he looked up to see the familiar taillights of his guards, but it soon turned into worry when it swerved to the side to let him pass.

"Put the phone on speaker." He quickly said while keeping an eye on the cars behind them. There were three now.

"It is." Came Elizebeth's unfrazzled reply.

"Silence, do not intercept you have one of my party members with you. Guard her as you would me."

There was no reply, but the Sedan who had started to lag behind started to pick up speed.

Klaus felt a bit of relief, but it disappeared soon after when a soft pop sound was followed by a crack forming on his rear window.

"What was that?" Asked the now very worried blonde next to him.

Klaus could live to be a hundred, but he would never forget that sound.

"It was a gunshot." Was his reply along with putting his foot further down on the accelerator while fighting down his draconic urge to destroy the cars behind him for damaging what he now felt was one of his treasures.

"I am phoning my brother." The call connected surprisingly quickly.

Klaus' enhanced hearing could luckily pick up what was said.

"Hello dear sister, I thought you were sleeping."

His voice was full of sarcasm.

Klaus felt like he could practically hear Cornelius snearing on the other side of the phone.

The blonde seemed to be quick on the uptake as well. "This is your doing! I demand that you stop right now if the elders hear about this-"

"Then what?" Came an almost manic reply.

"You are the one that went to fraternize with the enemy while I was left with your mess!"

Klaus had to swerve to miss a car -they were getting closer to the city proper and more cars were appearing on the road much to his consternation. Driving fast in a straight line was easy but he had little confidence in doing it while dodging cars. They got tought how to drive like civilized people, not getaway drivers.

"My mess? I told you not to use the information the Jambavana idiot gave you. I warned you!"

Klaus filed away the fact that Elise was not the one that tattled.

"Ah yes, you warned me. I am not talking about that, but rather that you stopped me. You should have let me play the video. You were always the favorite after tonight you won't be anything but dead."

The blonde grabbed her nose in frustration at her brother's words.

"Did you actually watch the video-"

Klaus had to slam on brakes nearly causing her to smash her face into the dash. The phone went tumbling out of her hand as she tried to brace and it fell somewhere between her feet.

She gave him a dirty look.

"Dodging cars here princess. Put on your safety belt."

As if to accentuate his words two more pops sounded and the crack on the window grew larger.

"What's the plan, Liz?" He asked while thinking. "I hope there is one."

As if used to being called Liz, Elizebeth answered immediately. "Your guard is gesturing around, but I don't understand a thing. The other is sleeping. I highly suggest you get better help in the future."

She was starting to sound a lot more worried about the situation to Klaus.

"I don't need snark right now Liz, I need a plan does your ability not help with that?"

"It does not work that-"

More pops sounded- this time a lot quicker in succession. The Sedan was the target and Klaus watched as the back window shattered.

"I thought these cars are bulletproof." Shouted Klaus in worry for his team member.

The blonde answered him while he could hear Liz swearing over the phone. "I think they are using special ammunition."

Klaus swerved around a civilian car nearly losing control in the process. More muzzle flashes flickered in his right rearview and the Sedan turned into a festival of sparks. He looked and saw a man sitting on a window sill of one of the cars in pursuit.

"I thought they only do that in movies. Hold on."

The blonde was about to ask why, but Klaus slammed on brakes and veered to the right while apologizing to his treasure. The blonde screamed and they crashed into the car. Sparks and panels flew into the road. Klaus swerved away and saw the man hanging limply out of the window.

He swerved back and could have sworn he heard a mushy squelch. To Klaus' surprise, it felt satisfying and he smiled.

"Are you crazy! That could have gone wrong in so many ways." Shouted Klaus' passenger.

"Okay, okay I have a plan. Just follow us." Liz finally answered over the phone.

Klaus fell in behind them and saw something happen in front.

"What are you doing?" Came Liz's voice while Klaus watched Sloth crawl onto the roof of the Sedan.

For the first time, Klaus saw the demon with its eyes open since it took a moment to look at Klaus and give a lazy wave while clinging to the roof like a gecko. "Liz is this part of your plan?"

"No!"

The demon gave Klaus another wave.

"I- I think he wants you to move out of the way?" The blonde sounded as incredulous as Klaus felt, but he obliged and he was barely out of the way before Sloth flung itself off of the Sedan.

Klaus' enhanced reflexes allowed him to follow Sloth as it went past him, missing by mere inches. The demon hit the asphalt and seemed to bounce before ragdolling into the car behind them.

Carnage was the only word Klaus could use when the demon smashed into the car. It bent around Sloth's body and the driver came hurtling through the front window. That's all Klaus could see before the scene disappeared behind them.

Klaus had no time to celebrate since they still had two tails to get rid of.

"What just happened!" Said the blonde next to him.

"Sloth finally woke up." Was all she got out of Klaus. While he wondered. "Can I do that?" The thought excited him but remembering that Pain could still cut him with a sword quickly made him decide not to try it.

The other two cars acted more warily -never getting directly behind either the Sedan or Klaus. It wasn't long before they started shooting again.

"We are going to take the next offramp, only do it at the last possible moment."

Klaus' hands tightened around the steering wheel, bending it a little out of shape at hearing Elizebeth's words.

The blonde watched the steering wheel and then sat back into her seat, watching the road with eyes wide as saucers.

A signboard flashed by indicating they had a hundred meters before the turn.

Klaus was laser-focused on the Sedan in front of him so when it suddenly shot to the right so did Klaus. They just missed the barrier but one of their pursuers did not. A tremendous crash sounded behind them but Klaus had other things to worry about.

The Sedan was braking and veering to the left. A car going at a very slow speed had appeared around the bend.

Klaus had no time to veer left so he went to the right scraping the car against the barrier, while the slow moving car hooted at them for all it was worth.

Their last pursuer was not as lucky and clipped the slow car on the back. For a moment Klaus thought the driver would lose control, but he had no such luck.

"Left at the next turn." Liz blared over the speakers.

The warning was barely in time, but Klaus tried to follow the instruction to the best of his very little ability.

A few close calls with other cars and he made it through, only to feel like he got suckered punched in the gut.

"Liz, this is a oneway road!" Klaus said with a bit of panic.

"I know!" She shouted back.

"In the opposite direction, we are going!" He accused.

"I know!"

Klaus spared a glimpse at his passenger wanting to tell her to hold on, but it would have been superfluous, to his eyes she was trying to become one with the car. The thought and adrenaline rushing through his veins made him chuckle.

Not far in front of them, Klaus saw the red tree on the side of the hotel.

"Head towards the hotel." Said Liz just as he had noticed it.

She did not have to tell him twice the problem he thought was getting there in one piece. To Klaus, it felt like Liz had chosen the busiest one-way road to go into with an ongoing car chase.

Cars were hooting and swerving out of the way all over the place while they were making a beeline down the middle. Klaus was trying to stick as close to the Sedan as possible in hopes that cars would not swerve towards them or if they did, swerve in behind them.

Their luck held to halfway down the road. An oncoming car swerved to the left hitting another which then pushed it in front of the Sedan. Red lights flashed and Klaus barely missed the Sedan before hitting another car right on its side.

His view blew up in white as airbags deployed and he felt them tumbling along with more sounds of screeches and scratches, the blonde screaming all the way.

When they came to a stop Klaus could not feel any pain, but he was pumped so full of adrenaline he imagined that he wouldn't feel it until later.

Klaus found it very easy to shove the airbags out of the way thanks to his new strength.

That being the case he quickly got eyes on his cousin who was just looking to the front in a daze, her chest heaving while a nasty gash on her temple bled.

"Hey." Klaus tried to say but found he could barely hear his own voice.

Leaning closer he shook her shoulder. She shook like she was given a fright and then turned to him while her mouth moved.

"What did you say?" He basically screamed at her.

"I said I am never driving with you ever again!" He heard her but faintly as if they were underwater.

He found himself smiling- despite the situation he was just happy to be alive. "Didn't I tell you- don't get into cars with strange family members."