Well, here I am with another chapter for you guys. This one gets pretty intense at times. I can't believe we're just a couple chapters shy of the halfway point for Season 1! I don't really have much else to say. There's a lot of Cassandra/Elijah moments in this chapter with some super cute Cassandra/Klaus moments sprinkled in. Thank you for your continued support, love, and reviews. Enjoy!
Chapter 10 - Save Me From Myself
"The Italians call them strega. The Yoruba of West Africa call them aje, meaning 'mother'. Where my mother was from, they called them hexa, and here we call them witch," Elijah gave Cassandra a mini linguistic/history lesson the following morning. After he'd put Davina's drawing's together to create the large portrait of his dead lover, Celeste, he'd disappeared before Cassandra could tell him about the last message she'd gotten from Sophie. As a result, she'd tossed and turned for half the night in bed, unable to silence the annoying voice in her head that tore her apart for not speaking up when she had the chance. After breakfast, she was elated when Elijah asked her to come with him back to the Parlor Room where the sketches were. As she sat and listened to him talk about the iconic history of witches in general, she patiently waited for a moment to tell him about Sophie. "Over the centuries vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded them and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a forced to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic anchors this city. There's never been one all-powerful witch until Davina."
"Who is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall under my protection," Klaus came walking into the room and stopped in front of the table. He stared at the giant portrait pieced together on the table. "Your Celeste was quite beautiful and a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence."
"Yes, perhaps Davina has mistaken what she calls evil for power," Elijah mused in a calm voice as he gazed at the drawings. "Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she's been dead for over two hundred years." He took a seat on the leather couch positioned beside the table. "I don't understand why all these sketches now."
"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus raised his eyebrows as he took a seat in the chair across from Cassandra. A moment later, the sound of something hitting the wall and breaking into pieces with a loud crack made Cassandra's eyes widen slightly. An amused smile tugged at Klaus's lips as his eyes flickered from the wall back to his brother. "Well, that's going well."
Elijah kept his eyes glued to the table. "If you were trying to win the girl's trust, perhaps poisoning her one true love," he glanced up at Klaus "was not the most splendid idea."
"Oh, are there anymore inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus shook his head in annoyance.
"Give me a month. I'll get you a list," Elijah deadpanned.
"I'll help," Cassandra chimed in with a smirk on her lips.
Klaus grinned and started to laugh, but the sound of breaking glass against the wall silenced him and made the smile on his face disappear. "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain the ass."
"Here, here," Cassandra agreed as Klaus rose to his feet and marched out of the room. Now that they were alone again, she saw her moment and took a deep breath before leaning forward in her seat. "Elijah?"
"Hmm?" He murmured, his eyes focused on the table.
"There's something you need to know," she spoke in a soft, timid voice. He turned his head and looked at her with curious eyes. Before she could say anything more, something in the compound rattled loudly, then the entire structure began to rumble and shake. As they both stood to their feet, Cassandra stared at the shelves as books and other trinkets fell to the floor. She ran out of the room to the railing with Elijah hot on her heels, and stared at the courtyard below. From a few yards farther down the hall, Klaus came running out and leaned against the rail as Rebekah walked out into the middle of the courtyard.
"What the hell is going on?" Rebekah asked, looking up at him.
"Davina," he answered, tightening his jaw.
Once the shaking stopped, Elijah walked over to Klaus and followed him back into the parlor. Marcel came out of Davina's room a few seconds later and went in to talk to the two Mikaelson brothers. Cassandra sighed, annoyed that her chance to speak to Elijah had again slipped through her fingers. She walked over to the room they were in and leaned against the wall outside the door. Her heart sunk at learning the earthquake had been Davina's doing because the magic she had was out of her control.
"Where are you going?" She heard Klaus ask.
"This is witch business. Let's ask a witch," was Elijah's response.
The sound of approaching footsteps made Cassandra back up against the railing. "You're going to see Sophie," she murmured as Elijah slowed to a stop when he reached the hallway.
"You don't have to eavesdrop," he told her in a light voice. "I keep nothing from you."
He turned and began to walk down the hall, prompting her to follow along beside him. "Yeah, I know. I don't want to keep anything from you either, and if you're going out to see Sophie, then there's something that you should know, although once you know you'll undoubtedly want to kill her, and killing her prevents you from getting answers from her, so I should probably wait to tell you this. But then if I waited, you'd end up being blindsided when you go to see her, and that's not fair to you and—"
"Whatever this is, you have to tell me," Elijah held his hand up, cutting her off as he stared at her with serious eyes.
She nodded and took a deep breath as she turned around to face him once they'd made it down the stairs. "I tried to stall her, but it didn't work. Not in the end. Last night she sent me a message. I didn't get it until after everything had calmed down around here. She went to the old mansion and went through your journals herself to find out where you buried Celeste. I'm so sorry, Elijah. I never wanted this to happen."
Elijah's jaw tightened as he processed what she'd just told him. She didn't think it was possible to hate Sophie more than she already did, but seeing the hurt and anger in Elijah's eyes proved her wrong.
"Thank you for telling me," Elijah spoke after a long moment. He softened his face as he met her eyes and reached out his hand, placing it on her shoulder. "Do not blame yourself for this. You have done nothing wrong. Sophie violated my privacy and broke my promise to Celeste, and for that, she will pay, but not before I get the answers we need."
Cassandra nodded her head slowly. He gave her a small squeeze before lowering his hand and turned around to head out to find Sophie. With nothing to do, she began to wander around aimlessly. She was so lost in her head and not paying attention to the path in front of her that she nearly walked straight into Klaus.
"Woah, careful love," he chuckled as he held onto her waist to steady her. She nodded, then let out a sigh as she threw her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. "What's this? I thought you needed some space from me."
"Not anymore," she mumbled and lifted her head back up to gaze at him. "I had to break some unpleasant news to Elijah. Let's just say that when this stuff with Davina is all over, Sophie will find herself reunited with her witch ancestors."
"Really?' Klaus raised his eyebrows curiously. "And why would you say that?"
"It has to do with Celeste. I...maybe you should just ask him about it. It's his private business. I don't feel right divulging it without his consent."
"Ah, I understand love. Perhaps I shall once he returns. In the meantime, how are you holding up?" He paused and placed a hand on her stomach. "How's our littlest wolf?"
"We're good," she smiled at him. "I feel the flutters a lot when I'm sitting or lying still. Not so much when I'm up and about. I wish I could hear her heartbeat like you can."
"Mmm, yes," Klaus grinned at her as he used his vampire hearing to listen to the baby's rapidly thumping heart. "It is a remarkable sound."
"So, Davina seems to have calmed down. That's good."
"For the moment, yes, but I fear things are far from over. She's taken to vomiting dirt."
Cassandra's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god. That definitely isn't good."
A somber expression appeared on Klaus's face. "No, it most certainly is not."
"Have you ever heard of this happening to a witch before?"
"No," Klaus shook his head. "In a thousand years, this is the first time I've ever witnessed it."
Cassandra's heart sank. The fact that he'd never come across a witch exhibiting such a crazy symptom in all his centuries of living meant they were a lot worse off than she realized. She started to open her mouth to speak again when the house began to rumble and shake like it had earlier. She held onto Klaus as they waited for the tremor to cease.
"Why do I have a feeling that won't be the last earthquake?' she murmured once the compound was still and quiet.
"I don't have the answer to that, love. But," he paused and pulled his phone out of his pocket. A new message from Elijah lit up the screen. "Elijah's on his way back with Sophie Deveraux. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on whatever's going on with Davina."
Even though she was less than thrilled about having to deal with Sophie's presence for the umpteenth time, especially after what had transpired the previous day, Cassandra kept her face neutral as she gave a nod of her head. Klaus brushed his lips lightly against her forehead and began to guide her down the hall towards the parlor. They came to a stop just outside the doorway.
"Actually, I think I'm going to sit this one out. I can't really handle being in the same room with her right now, and the last thing any of us needs is me ripping her a new one," Cassandra let out a soft breath.
"Well, I can't speak for the others, but I personally would not object to such a display of emotions," Klaus chuckled lightly.
"Of course you wouldn't," Cassandra rolled her eyes and started to walk back down the hall as Klaus headed into the parlor.
She came to a stop in front of the doorway to Davina's room and slowly peered inside. She found the young girl tucked in bed, but she wasn't asleep. She was staring up at the ceiling, looking positively miserable.
"Hey Davina," Cassandra called out in a soft voice as she leaned against the doorway. Davina shifted her eyes from the ceiling on to Cassandra. "Are you holding up alright? Can I get you anything? Water, more things to smash against the wall?" She cracked a smile at the last part and could tell it had made Davina want to smile, too.
"No, I'm good for now. Thanks for asking," Davina answered in a quiet voice.
"Oh. Okay then," Cassandra nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Davina cried. "Cassandra, don't go. I don't want to be alone. I-I'm scared."
Cassandra nodded and made her away across the room to the bed. As she took a seat on the edge of the bed, she gazed at the girl with sympathetic eyes. "It's going to be okay, Davina. You aren't alone in this. They'll figure out why this is happening and how to stop it. You'll see."
"Thanks," Davina whispered.
"I'm so sorry about your friend, Timothy. He didn't deserve what happened to him. Neither of you did."
"No, he didn't." Davina let out a sigh as a long, pause filled the room. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"
Cassandra nodded her head. "Of course."
"How can you stand to be with Klaus after everything he's done, all the innocent people he's killed?"
"That is a very long and complicated answer. Believe me, you aren't the first to ask that question either. My own sister, she's technically only a year older than you because she was turned into a vampire, though she supposed to be going on nineteen now, wanted to compel me to forget I'd ever met Klaus when he and I started growing closer shortly after we met. She would have succeeded if he hadn't shown up at my house when he did and saved me."
"Oh wow," Davina's eyes widened.
"Yeah," Cassandra nodded. "I know a thing or two about being betrayed by someone you thought you knew and could trust one hundred percent. It sucks. Big time. Fortunately we have since then patched things up."
"You actually forgave her?"
"It took some time, but yeah, I did."
"I'll never forgive Klaus for what he did to Tim," Davina hissed.
Cassandra softened her face as she gazed at Davina. "I wouldn't expect you to. What he did was—"
"Horrific and could been avoided," Rebekah appeared in the doorway.
"Rebekah!" Cassandra gasped softly. "What did Sophie have to say? Does she know what's going on with Davina?"
"She does," Rebekah answered as she walked into the room and headed to the other side of the bed to sit down. Cassandra could tell by the grim look on her face that whatever it was that was happening wasn't good. "According to Sophie, the power you've been holding onto from the night of the ritual when the other three girls were sacrificed, it was meant to flow through you and back into the earth. It was never meant to be held on to by one person, especially not for this long. It's too much for your body to handle. Things are going to get worse until it tears you apart completely. As you get progressively worse, you'll cycle through the four stages that represent the four elements that bound together the Harvest. The first stage is the Earth stage."
"The earthquakes," Cassandra whispered, sharing a wide-eyed look with Davina.
"Yes," Rebekah nodded. "Then comes wind, and since each stage is more intense than the last, let's just say you'll blow the roof off this place."
"Oh no!" Cassandra stared at Rebekah in disbelief
"The third stage is water. That means rain, flooding, thunder, lightning. But that's not the worst of it. The last stage is fire, and because it's the last, it'll be the worst of them all."
"So how do we stop it? There has to be a way, right?" Davina looked from Rebekah to Cassandra. "Right?"
"They want to complete the Harvest," Rebekah answered in a soft voice.
"No!" Davina cried out, shaking her head back and forth. Cassandra felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as Davina began to cry.
"The witches say you'll be resurrected," Rebekah spoke in a soothing voice as she tried her best to calm the young girl down.
Davina continued to shake her head. "They're liars! They'll say anything to get what they want just like Marcel, just like you."
"Davina, you may think that I don't care about you, but you're wrong," Rebekah placed a hand on her arm. "I know what it's like to have your life stripped away from you because of other people's bad decisions. How do you think I became a vampire?"
Davina stared at her, processing her words. Rebekah calmly reached for Davina's arm with one hand and laid it palm-side up at Davina's side as she revealed a syringe in her other hand.
"Wha-what is that?" Davina squealed and began to cry more.
"The more upset you become, the faster you deteriorate. I compelled up some sedative," Rebekah explained in a calm voice.
"No, no, no!" Davina cried hysterically.
"We keep you calm, we keep you alive, Davina," Rebekah cooed in a soothing voice.
"No, please!" Davina pleaded. As she grew more hysterical, a low, howl began to sound as a mystical wind began to blow. The window shutters began to bang back and forth wildly against the windows. A tall, wooden easel crashed to the floor from the gust of wind blowing through the window, making Cassandra jump in surprise. She met Rebekah eyes for a fleeting second before returning her focus to Davina.
"Hey," she murmured, reaching for Davina's other hand. She clutched it between both of hers as she continued to speak in what she hoped was a comforting tone. "It's going to be okay, Davina. Look at me, focus on me. I know you don't trust them, but you can trust me. I've never once lied to you. So believe me when I tell you that we will find another way to save you. My sister has a group of friends back home who are notorious for finding that other way to make the impossible possible. It can be done. And besides that, I totally owe you after you unlinked me from Sophie. Keeping you calm buys us more time to figure it out, so just take a deep breath….that's it."
As she continued to talk down Davina, she met Rebekah's eyes again and gave the slightest nod of her head. Rebekah got the message and quickly stuck the needle in Davina's arm. The winds instantly died down as the sedative began to relax Davina almost instantaneously. Once she was asleep, Cassandra slowly lowered her arm onto the bed and released her hand.
"You shouldn't have said all of that," Rebekah sighed as she stood up. "I know you meant well, but—"
"I know, Rebekah, " Cassandra sighed as she rose to her feet. "As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I shouldn't have gone there, but I couldn't just stop talking. And it's' not like what I said wasn't true."
"Maybe so, but as far as this girl is concerned, there is no other way. The Harvest must be completed or New Orleans will fall."
"Oh god," Cassandra brought a hand to her mouth as a sob rose in her chest. "I gave her false hope, didn't I? God, what have I done? I'm a horrible person!"
She choked back her cries as she ran from the room, completely ignoring the sound of Rebekah's voice calling out her name. She didn't stop until she'd reached the bedroom and crashed on the bed in a heap as her tears freely fell down her cheeks. On some level, she knew she was being a bit ridiculous, and that the pregnancy was probably a huge factor, but she couldn't stop crying. Someone, amidst her tears and blurred vision, she found her phone and dialed Caroline, but her sister didn't answer.
"Why would she? She's probably having all sorts of fun living the college life now," Cassandra shook her head, dropping her phone back onto the bed. She curled up into a ball and continued to cry softly until howling gust of wind began to blow the shutters back and forth against the windows. She rolled off the bed and shuffled over to peer outside through the glass. As she watched the trees dance around and stared at the dark clouds slowly rolling in overhead, her thoughts drifted to the visiting werewolves in the Bayou, werewolves descended from Klaus's bloodline. Her heart sank knowing they weren't prepared for a treacherous storm of fierce winds, thunderous rainfall, and blazing fire. She couldn't, in good conscience, sit back and do nothing knowing they were out there when she had the means to help them. With renewed purpose, she turned around and headed toward the door. She was a couple of feet away when Klaus walked into the room.
"Ah, Cassandra. There you are. I was—are you okay, love?" He stopped in front of her and reached out, brushing his fingertips against her cheek. "You've been crying."
"I'm fine" she gave him a weak smile. "I was beating myself up over something stupid I said to Davina. I told her we'd find another way to save her and your sister kindly pointed out after sedating her that it was foolish of me. I blame the crying on my crazy hormones. I don't usually get emotional over things like that."
"Hmmm, well, it seems that you are in need of cheering up, and I've got just the thing. Come with me," he held his hand out to her. She slipped her hand into his and followed him out of the room. He led her down to the courtyard over to a table near the back where some boxes of canned goods had been placed. Pointing at one of the boxes, he instructed her to pick it up while he grabbed a set of two stacked on top of each other and motioned for her to follow him out to his car.
"So where are we taking these?" she asked once they'd loaded them into the back of the car and drove away from the compound.
"Patience, love. You'll see soon enough," was all he said with a mysterious grin.
A little while after they'd been driving a bright light flashed in the sky followed by a loud rumbling boom. "The water stage is about to start, isn't it?" Cassandra asked as she stared out of the car window.
"Yes, it is," Klaus answered. "Which means we are running out of time."
They pulled up in front of St. Anne's Church a few minutes later. They grabbed the boxes of canned food out of the car and carried them inside. Cassandra's glanced from side to side, taking in her surroundings. She blinked in surprise when she saw the number of people inside the main hall. Following Klaus, they walked down the aisle to a dark haired man she instantly realized was a priest, given his black clergy attire.
"We still haven't gone through all that you've already provided, Klaus," the priest walked down the aisle to meet them.
"Well, this newest bit isn't solely from me," Klaus handed the boxes he and Cassandra were carrying to the priest.
"Oh?" The priest raised his eyebrows as he turned around and handed off the boxes to another man to take care of. He turned his gaze to Cassandra. "That's very kind of you."
"Cassandra," she murmured softly. She glanced from him back to Klaus with a puzzled expression on her face. "Who are all these people?"
"I asked Father Kieran to give them shelter. He suffers from an incessant desire to do good," Klaus flashed a smile at Cassandra before looking back at Kieran with a serious expression. "But now I need you to be useful. Marcel and Davina have disappeared." Kieran stared back at him dumbfounded. "I assume from the stupefied look on your face they haven't sought refuge in your attic."
"No. Those days are gone," Kieran answered curtly.
"Then energize your resources. I don't need to remind you how important it is they be found," Klaus spoke in a low voice.
"Yes," Kieran nodded and turned around to head back down the aisle to the front of the church. Cassandra watched him leave, blinking as the lights inside the church flickered from the growing storm outside.
"Klaus," Cassandra spoke, prompting him to turn around and face her. "These people…who are they? Why are you helping them?"
"They're werewolves," he murmured. "My clan from very far back."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "The visiting wolves from the Bayou…."
"Yes. They've fallen upon hard times, and their plight has brought out the philanthropist in me. What can I say? Must be Elijah's influence," he grinned at her. "Or perhaps yours."
"Oh, well, if our influence has caused you to help other people in need, I'll gladly take the credit for that," she laughed as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "This means so much to me. They were on my mind with the growing storm outside and knowing that things are going to continue to get worse. I was actually going to talk to you about bringing supplies out to them, but now I don't need to. I'm really glad you decided to help them."
He wrapped his arms around her. "I thought you might be. As much as I hate to admit it, Elijah was right. The blood that runs in their veins runs in mine. And in our child. I can't very well let them all be wiped off the face of the earth to the point of near extinction now, can I?"
"No," she leaned in and pecked him on the lips. "You can't."
-o-
"It's taken one thousand years, but you've finally gone mad. Our own mother?" Rebekah stared at her older brother, Elijah, as she, Cassandra, and Klaus sat on the couch in the parlor a little while later. Elijah had just finished telling them that Sophie's attempt to consecrate Celeste's bones failed because there was no magic left in them to take. Sophie couldn't sacrifice Davina and complete the Harvest if she didn't have enough power to perform the ritual. Elijah then explained that what Sophie needed was another powerful dead witch whose bones were never consecrated, and he knew of one such witch—their mother.
"Yes, our beloved mother, who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement, not daggered, but quite dead." Elijah faced the trio sitting on the couch, his hands resting on his hips. While Klaus tried to suppress a laugh at Elijah's remark, Cassandra wasn't sure if she should if she should feel irked that Klaus had kept his mother's dead body, or relieved.
"Well, she did try to kill us all," Klaus mused as he cast a sideways glance at Rebekah.
"Well, I say we put her to use and put her to rest once and for all," Elijah continued. "Now if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendants, she becomes a New Orleans witch, and we as her family share in that ancestral magic."
"We're vampires, Elijah. We can't practice magic," Rebekah pointed out. "Or own property for that matter."
"Yes. With regard to practicing magic, that's where Sophie comes in. After we bury our mother, we can channel all her power to Sophie, however, as conduits of Esther's magic, we will have to participate in the Harvest," Elijah told them.
"I still don't see why I needed to be here for this," Cassandra stared at him in confusion.
"I'm getting to that," Elijah flashed her a coy smile. He turned around and opened the top drawer of a unit against the wall behind him. He reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper. "Not all of our mother's descendants are dead."
"The baby," Klaus murmured as he met Cassandra's eyes. She instinctually placed a hand on her stomach as she glanced from him back to Elijah.
"The baby," Elijah confirmed Klaus's assumption. As he continued to speak he turned the paper around so Cassandra, Rebekah and Klaus could see it, then handed it to Klaus.. "The Parish Tax Assessor's office is just steps outside of the Quarter. Cassandra now holds the title to the plantation. So if we bury our mother there, and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the Harvest ritual."
"You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah," Klaus smirked. "Count me in."
Rebekah still had reservations. "Am I the only one thinking? Our mother was the most powerful witch in history. If we bury her, we hand that power to our enemies to use against us."
Elijah was quick to argue. "Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Rebekah."
"I don't know why I bother," Rebekah shook her head, sighing in defeat. "You two will just do what you want anyway."
"No," Elijah disagreed. "Our decision must be unanimous."
"This is not a democracy," Klaus growled, growing impatient.
"You're quite right," Elijah spoke calmly. "This is family."
A loud clap of thunder sounded, followed by a rush of pouring rain. They all stared at the window on the wall behind Elijah for a moment, until he spoke again. "Water. The next sign's begun." He turned his gaze back to Rebekah. "Rebekah?"
Sighing softly, she knew what she had to do. "Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow. Count me in."
Klaus's lips curled upwards in a giant grin. Well, this is no family reunion without our mother. I'll fetch her." He turned to Cassandra. "Be sure to dress for treacherous rain, love."
She nodded and watched has he stood up and left the room. She waited a beat, then got up and headed to her and Klaus's room to grab a pair of boots and her heavy black trench coat. Once they were all ready to go and Klaus had loaded the coffin with their mother's body into the back of his SUV, they climbed into the vehicle and headed over to the Plantation House.
Once there, Cassandra huddled under an umbrella with Elijah while Klaus supervised the transfer of the coffin from the SUV to the freshly dug whole in the yard. She had no idea how this was going to work and was about to ask Elijah about it when a dark colored sedan pulled up. She instantly recognized the figure that climbed out of the driver's side of the car as the priest she'd met earlier that day. He must be here to help with the consecration of Esther's body, she thought to herself.
They all stood silently side by side while Father Kieran moved to the top part of the grave site and held a gold cross in his hand and mumbled some sort of prayer. When he was done, Father Kieran looked over at them.
"Are you ready to do this?" he asked.
Klaus lowered his hood and pulled a dagger out of his jacket pocket. He placed the tip against his palm and cast a quick glance at Rebekah, Elijah, and Cassandra. "Always and forever," he chanted with the tiniest of grins as he sliced his palm open. He handed the dagger to Rebekah and took the umbrella from her. She sliced her palm and passed the dagger on to Elijah. Cassandra gripped the umbrella tightly as she watched him drag the dagger across his palm. He turned to her and held out the dagger to her. She took it and handed him the umbrella. Taking a big breath, she pressed the tip of the blade against her palm and dragged it down, slicing through her skin. She closed her cut hand into a fist and handed the blade to Father Kieran who had walked over to take it from her. He turned and moved back to the grave, tossing the bloody dagger down into it.
"It is done," Kieran told them with a firm nod.
They all stood in the cemetery a little while later with Sophie, gathered around the altar where the bodies of the first three Harvest Girls lay. Klaus wrapped his arm around Cassandra as they stood huddled under an umbrella together, with Rebekah beside them and Elijah standing on top of an adjacent tomb for a higher view. Around the corner from where they stood, a brilliant flash followed by an eruption of tall flames drew their attention.
"Fire," Sophie murmured as the flames began to move towards them.
Rounding the corner at the front of the fire trial was Marcel with Davina in his arms. With each step he took, the flames licked at his heels. When he reached the altar, he carefully lowered Davina down to her feet. She gasped for breath as she straightened herself out. All eyes were on her as Sophie held out the ceremonial athame, a ritual double-bladed knife, over one of the altar flames before stepping up onto the altar and moving towards Davina.
"Do you believe in the Harvest?" Sophie asked in a low voice once she was standing in front of Davina.
Davina slowly nodded her head. "I believe."
Sophie pressed the athame blade against Davina's neck and slit her throat with it. Cassandra gasped softly and buried her face against Klaus's shoulder as Davina grabbed her throat and fell backwards into Marcel's awaiting arms. In an instant, the fire vanished and the rain stopped falling. Cassandra opened her eyes and blinked in surprise when she saw a golden glowing light move down the length of Davina's arm only to disappear once it reached her fingertips. The magic inside of her was finally being returned to the ancestors.
While Marcel laid Davina's body down next to the other Harvest girls, Klaus closed up the umbrella and set it aside before pulling Cassandra into his arms.
"I hate this," she whispered. "Seeing those poor girls lying there like that…"
"I know, love," he murmured softly. "It won't be much longer now."
With the four girls in place, they all stood close together while Sophie took her position beside the altar and began the next step. "After the Harvest comes the Reaping. Their sacrifices made and accepted, we call upon our elders to resurrect your chosen ones," she chanted.
Everyone stared at the four dead girls, waiting for them to show signs of life. After several long seconds, there was no change. Sophie tried again and repeated the same words a second, and then a third time, but still nothing happened.
"Please. I beg," Sophie tried one last time to no avail. As the realization that the girls weren't coming back to life began to hit her, she broke down and fell to her knees beside her niece and began to sob. Cassandra stared, as did the others, in utter shock. They all thought the ritual would work. She caught a glimpse of Marcel's face as he stared at Klaus. He was absolutely devastated. In the blink of an eye he was gone.
"I need to go after him," Klaus whispered in Cassandra's ear. "Head back with Elijah."
She nodded and received a kiss on the temple from him before he chased after Marcel.
The walk back to the compound was a quiet one. The streets were completely empty and felt like a ghost town. She was sure Elijah could have used vampire speed to get them back faster, but she was grateful he didn't. She was thoroughly enjoying the fresh, nighttime air.
"I still can't believe it didn't work," Cassandra murmured softly after a few more silent steps, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her. "I thought for sure the girls would come back to life once Davina was sacrificed. It just doesn't make any sense."
"As did I," Elijah agreed. "I never would have suggested it otherwise."
"I mean, we saw the power leave her, so the Harvest worked. But the Reaping...four were supposed to be brought back. So if not those four girls, then...what? Four others were resurrected instead?"
"Yes, that is what worries me."
He didn't say anything more on the matter, but a quick, sideways glance at his face told her he had more on his mind than he had voiced. She didn't press the issue, knowing he would tell her anything she needed to know.
"Well, I guess Sophie failing to bring her niece back works as a punishment for invading your privacy and breaking your promise to Celeste," she mused. She stole another glance at Elijah and could tell he was fighting the urge to smile.
"Indeed," he answered.
As she turned her gaze back to the path in front of her, she stepped down on a piece of gravel that had blended in with the street. Her foot began to slide, sending her weight backwards. She gasped and began to flail her arms to compensate for the shift in her balance and grabbed onto Elijah's arms as he swiftly caught her before she took a serious fall. Her heart pounded rapidly against her chest as Elijah held her by the waist. In the seconds that followed, as she waited for her brain to catch up with what had happened, she became aware of how close her face now was to his. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw his eyes flicker onto her lips and then reconnect with her gaze, but she couldn't be certain that she only imagined it. She shook the notion away as he helped her back to a standing position and let go of her.
"Thanks," she dropped her arms to her sides. "That could have been incredibly humiliating. And probably painful."
"You're welcome," a small smile tugged at his lips.
Sabine stood inside a candlelit tomb holding a small poppet over a bowl. She sliced the poppet's throat open and poured the blood into the bowl as she recited a spell. When she was done, she poured what was into the bowl into a goblet and raised it to her lips, drinking it's entire contents. She held her arm outstretched and watched as a golden glow slowly traveled up her limb until it faded away.
Out on the street, three people, three witches raised from the dead stood together, riddled with confusion.
"Why are we here?" A redhead wearing a flapper dress asked, eyeing the two people,
"Someone called us forth," the second of the three, a black man wearing a suit and hat answered. "Who?"
"I did," Sabine approached the trio.
"Sabine," the third witch whispered. She was the Witch Elder, Bastiana, killed during the Harvest ritual months ago. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Bastiana, I've had to endure people calling me 'Sabine' for almost a year now," Sabine scoffed. "I'd appreciate it if you called me by my real name—Celeste."