It had been three months since Dahlia and Esther Mikaelson were killed. Since Hayley Marshall-Kenner, Jackson Kenner and their pack got cursed to remain wolves all month long except for on the full moons.

Since Klaus Mikaelson had given the city rule back to Marcel Gerard and me, Noah Dumaine.

We had turned St. Anne's Church into a fighting ring so that the city wouldn't shut it down completely.

I was now fighting with a vampire in the ring, punching him in the face. The vampire tried to punch me. I ducked, spinning around behind him, turning to face him. The vampire turned to face me, trying to punch me. I ducked, punching him in the face, spinning around to kick him out of the ring, defeating him.

Elijah Mikaelson walked in, dressed in uncharacteristic cutoff T-shirt and gym shorts, walking into the ring to join us.

The other vampires evacuated the ring, moving to the sidelines to watch me and Elijah fight.

Marcel had gone to try to convince Davina Claire to undo the Crescent Curse, but she was stubborn enough to not do favors for vampires now that she was the Regent of the witches in New Orleans.

*** 

Cami O'Connell and Vincent Griffith came to the fight gym to talk to me about a serial killer in the Quarter.

Dozens of vampires were working out and sparring with each other.

I went through photos of the victims on Vincent's phone, sighing. "Gnarly stuff."

"Yeah," Vincent agreed. "The guy was torn apart. I mean, there are no obvious puncture wounds, but whoever did that had to be a vampire."

"And nobody heard any screams, so he had to have been compelled to just stand there and suffer," Cami told me.

"You think this was us?" I asked. "The guys know better than to leave a body in the streets."

Vincent gestured around the room. "How well do you know your guys?"

"Dead bodies lead to headlines, which means tourism drops," I told them. "We don't like to mess with the food supply."

"Noah, maybe someone new lost control?" Cami asked.

"Maybe you guys should consider that we aren't the only vampires in town," I told them.

Cami looked at me skeptically. "You don't think this was Klaus."

"Elijah says Klaus has been on his best behavior," I told them. "I've known the guy over two hundred years. Best behavior ain't exactly his thing." Cami swallowed nervously. Vincent nodded in agreement. "Sooner or later, he'll cut loose. Or maybe, he already did."

I turned around, walking away.

*** 

I was shirtless and in basketball shorts inside the cage, sparring with Vincent, who was clad in a tank top and jeans. Vincent tried to punch me. I ducked, punching him in the chest, making him fall. 

Vincent sighed, pushing himself up. "I thought you said no vamp-speed, Noah."

"Come on, Vincent," I told him. "If I move any slower, I'll be going in reverse." Vincent lunged toward me to try to hit me. I raised an arm to block the move. Vincent punched me in the face, trying to punch me again. I caught his arm, turning around, pushing him into the wall of the cage, impressed. "Ooh, fighting angry. 'Cause they found that second dead body?" Vincent stopped for a moment, sighing, his back turned to me. I got into a fighting position, walking closer. "Still think it was my guys? Huh?"

I playfully and gently tapped Vincent in the back with his fist.

Vincent turned to face me, trying to backhand punch me in the face. I ducked without effort. Vincent tried to punch me. I raised an arm to block the move, tripping Vincent, making him fall to the floor.

Vincent groaned in pain, pulling himself back to his feet. "Doesn't matter what I think, Noah. News breaks there's a killer loose in the Quarter, tourism is gonna drop. And who are your vampires gonna feed on then? Locals? No." He trapped me lightly on the chest with his knuckles to emphasize his point. "Not unless they want a war with the covens."

Vincent punched me in the face, trying to punch me again. 

I caught his arm, pushing him into the chain-link fence behind him, pointing at him, smiling fakely. "Speaking of covens. You remember Davina? Girl you were supposed to mentor?"

We started to circle each other, holding our fists up in preparation to continue the fight.

I tried to punch him. Vincent ducked. I kicked him in the thigh, making him double over.

Vincent massaged his muscle to relieve the pain, groaning, catching his breath. "I offered her my advice months ago. I told her to make peace at all costs. She refused me, all right? That girl's got a bigger chip on her shoulder than you do."

Vincent tried to punch me. 

I ducked, punching him in the stomach, pushing him against the wall. "You dragged her into this. You should be helping her out. These witches keep messing with her, she's gonna get angry. You think that's gonna end well for anyone?"

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for a response.

Vincent seemed to see my point, trying to recover.

I punched Vincent hard in the shoulder one last time, walking away, leaving him to consider my words and what he was going to do about getting Davina into this mess.