No Pairing
Louisiana Bayou
"Grandma, I'm sorry, but you don't know that girl! We ain't got no damn right to stop her!" Jackson shouted at Mary.
"Boy, I want to hear what you are sayin', I do. But don't you raise your voice and curse at me. Your grand daddy never did, your daddy never did, and you sure as hell ain't gonna start!" Mary roared.
Jackson wanted to slam his fist against the porch railing, but he didn't. He took a second and got himself in order.
"What I am trying to say is that I don't think you ought to have strapped that girl for wanting to be leave. I'm sorry, but it ain't right," Jackson stated in a calmer voice.
"Jack, you may be correct. It wasn't my right, but Crescents got to protect each other. So many of us have died and been kilt. That girl in there, Andrea! She was supposed to be your wife!" Mary announced.
Jackson was stunned. It took a second for him to process the thought the beautiful wolf that his grandmother had just assaulted was supposed to have been his bride.
"Gram, whatcha talking about? I never met her before," Jackson said tiredly.
"Before her parents were slaughtered, they arranged with your parents a match, y'all were betrothed, like olden times. Oh, Jack, I'm sorry if I messed things up for you. I just didn't know how to get her to stay," Mary confessed in defeat.
Jackson felt crushed himself. There were so many dead. The pack was barely intact. He needed to talk to Andrea, or whatever she called herself. And he had never seen Mary this defeated, this run down before. The years were catching up with her fast.
"It's alright. I'm sorry that I disrespected you. It won't happen again," Jackson said hugging Mary.
"It's okay, boy. We'll talk about that later. You know I love you no matter what. Your parents would be real proud of you, ya know that, right? Now, go talk to your bride," Mary joked. She saw the way her grandson looked at the she-wolf Mary had tried to tame.
Jackson smiled and stepped into the small house, almost no more than a shack. Eve was talking to the girl, still wrapped in an afghan in quiet tones.
"Hey, I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Jackson. Jackson Kenner, ah Mary's grandson," Jackson said extending his hand.
"Oh Mary, the one who just about skinned me alive? Nice. I'm Hayley Marshall, though, everyone keeps calling me Andrea," Hayley smiled shyly.
It was hard for her to be angry at the tall, dark handsome boy in front of her. He had light olive colored skin and kind brown eyes that made her feel warm. He looked about her age, but walked with the confidence of a man.
"So are you feeling okay? We found you unconscious out in the Bayou. With the animals out there, I mean, that's kind of dangerous in itself," Jackson reported.
"Honestly, I do feel a little woozy, I think I lost more blood than I realized. Y'all are saying that I was attacked. I sort of remember some vamp witch sucking my blood down. I don't know what that little red-haired bitch did to me, but I'd like to find her and beat it out of her," Hayley lowered her voice so only Jackson could hear the last sentence.
"Well, get some fluids in you and some of my grandma's cooking and you'll be stronger in no time," Jackson replied. In a lower tone he whispered, "The boys and I can go hunting for her right now, if you like. No one attacks another Crescent and lives."
Hayley nodded, "I'll do that. Can't hurt to set around and just eat!"
To Jackson, she quietly said, "Your grandmother will beat my ass again if I try to go with you, won't she?"
Now it was Jackson's turn to nod slyly and smile a little.
"Eat up, Hayley and we'll catch you later. The boys and I are going to go see if we can get something for supper later," Jackson winked.
Hayley mouthed, "The heart of a witch, I hope!"
Hayley giggled and flushed. She had a feeling that Jackson would bring her the little witch's head.
Tuesday, January 2, 2011
Afternoon
Jackson and the boys did not find the red haired witch that day. Tommy thought he smelled a witch, but Aiden was not confident that he even knew what one smelled like. Hayley spent the night sleeping on the couch at Mary's. Mary didn't quite apologize for overstepping and taking the strap to Hayley, but she doted on her. Hayley had eaten more in the last few hours, then she ever had her entire life.
"So you seemed to forgive my grandma awfully quick for whupping you, like as soon as you woke up from a coma," Jackson joked as just the two of them sat on the front porch shucking corn the next day.
"First of all, I wasn't in a coma. I think I was drained of blood. Second of all, I was a foster kid in some shitty homes. I've been attacked plenty when people were drunk, high, mad, bored, wherever. I never got beat where someone was kinda nice to me after...I'm not saying I'm not pissed about it. My ass still feels hot and itchy from the strap, even with my healing, like a day later... Just that I don't think she had ill intentions, I guess that is fucked up," Hayley clarified.
"It sucks that you had such a rough time. I talked to my grandma, she ain't never gonna try that nonsense again. I apologize that I couldn't stop it. Believe me, I know what it feels like and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Anyways, you're a Crescent, but you're free to go when you like. I think she regrets it in her own way, which is a first for her. So you're a new wolf, huh? Did you kill one of your foster parents?" Jackson asked timidly.
"Nah, but I did kill a foster brother in self-defense a few weeks back. A real piece of shit. What about you?" Hayley asked ripping the corn husk off violently.
"Some hunter tried to come in here and pick off wolves during the full moon. He had like an AR-15 and battle gear and I went behind him and snapped his neck right before he shot one of the pack. I don't regret it. With the curse, though, I immediately became a wolf, only turning human on the full moon," Jackson remembered.
"So it's only been a couple of weeks for you to be back to human full-time," Hayley clarified. Hayley realized that she was lucky she hadn't triggered her curse earlier or she too would have been doomed to only be human on the full moon.
"Yeah, sometimes it was easier to just be a wolf, but then, I guess I never would have met you," Jackson smiled.
"And if it wasn't for you, I'd be mauled by gators after some witch vamp left me for dead in the swamp," Hayley replied.
"See? Things work out," Jack said as they finished the corn. Jackson noticed golden tones in her brown hair that glinted in the sunlight. He had never felt like this before.
The Compound, New Orleans
1Late Afternoon
Marcel had called Klaus to tell him about their suspicions about Dana as soon as he could.
Rebekah overheard the call.
"I don't like that girl being there. What were they thinking taking her in?" Rebekah fumed.
"Your brother took me in, Rebekah," Marcel laughed and kissed her.
"That was different. You were special. You and Klaus had a bond from the second you met. He didn't take in ten other orphans a week after he met you," Rebekah giggled as he nuzzled her neck, biting it lightly.
"Eww, gross!" Davina cried walking into the upstair family room.
"Yes, Marcel, eww," Rebekah said with affection,"What's the plan for finding this second rogue witch? Davina, can you do a locator spell?"
"Not really. I would need blood or something she has come in contact with, but that still might not be enough. Our elders barely spoke of these types of witches, but one thing was clear. They can be very, very powerful and dangerous. Honestly, I would feel better if Aunt Freya was here. I wouldn't even know how to fight a witch like this, if things went badly," Davina admitted.
Rebekah clutched Davina, "That's very mature of you to admit that. We'll get my sister here. Marcel, maybe we need Klaus here also? I know someone needs to stay with the kids, but this one hybrid siphon could cripple the whole city."
Marcel nodded, "He's calling back after they talk to Dana. I also need to talk to Father Kieran. Some of those dark objects that Kol made in the 1900s will come in handy. This is something we haven't dealt with before...Davina, be a doll and call Josh for me. Tell him to get his butt here. I need him."
Davina agreed and told Josh to come quickly. They needed to come up with a better plan.
The Compound
Wednesday, January 3, 2011
Klaus wanted nothing more than to show Camille the beloved city that he and his family had helped build so many years ago. But he had to settling with a quick tour of The Compound.
"I love it, plus, it's huge," Cami gushed, "It's funny because it has such a different feel from your Mystic Falls mansion. This house is so quaint, if these walls could talk...," Cami mused.
"Indeed, they might be splattered with blood at times, but they do clean up nicely," Klaus admitted.
Cami looked at him strangely,"You're nervous, aren't you? About this witch, Klaus, I've never seen you spooked before. Talk to me, what's going on?"
Klaus grimaced,"We just don't know what we are dealing with here. The Guerreras continue to haunt us from the bloody graves. These twins believe that the Guerreras hid the cure for vampirism in a vault that can only be opened with Guerreras blood," Klaus admitted.
"But aren't they all dead," Cami pressed.
"Not my children. Connor, Erik, and Penny are all Guerreras by blood. The old me would have killed these siphon witches without a thought. The new me is thinking that they are children and victims of my failure to wipe out this crew in the 1920s. But this witch could be something different, something more deadly, she seems like a girl with nothing left to lose," Klaus said softly.
"Then, you need to give her something to live for, her sister, her friends, her dreams. Give her a reason to want to fight these demons inside her. Isn't that what we all do?" Cami questioned.
"Yes, luv. Have I shown you my bedroom?" Klaus laughed.
"Hmm, no, I mean, I need to see it again. Lead me to it," Cami giggled.
"Davina, I'm not sure about this plan," Josh admitted.
"Joshua, it will be fine. Just wake up the ladies if, well, I start to shrivel up and look like a bleedin' mummy, okay?" Kol said.
Kol had brought a vial of Rachael's blood for Davina or Freya to do a locator spell. It would be more powerful if they could do it together but Marcel and Rebekah forbade Davina from going back in the swamp. The witches were going to use Kol as a conduit to ground and amplify their magic. Josh was there to break their circle and wake them up if they had trouble coming out of consciousness.
Marcel and Father K. were going through the dark objects that Klaus had brought with him.
Freya prepared the spell in Davina's bedroom.
"I remember when this was Bex's room. She was always sitting here at that dressing table brushing her hair. She must have had fifty white dresses. When I wanted to make her vexed with me, I'd hide all of her gloves and rogue. She could never find it either," Kol reminiscenced. Rebekah was in the kitchen making dinner for the guests. She had no idea that this potentially dangerous spell was taking place.
"Kol, we're ready for you," Freya said holding out her hand. Davina, Kol, and Freya linked hands around one lit candle.
"Josh, don't break the circle until something goes wrong. Ah, try to keep my mom out," Davina smirked.
"Me, keep Rebekah out? You're crazy. I am not lying to that woman," Josh attested.
Freya said, "Ready? Phasmatos Physium Calva."
Davina repeated, " Phasmatos Physium Calva."
Suddenly, with Kol's magic aiding them, Davina and Freya were seeing out of Dana's eyes and they were inside her head.
It was dark in the swamp, but the camp was lit by torches. The wolves smelled like wet dog to her and she crinkled her nose. She thirsted for blood, but not wolf blood. She wanted human blood, but the thing she was most hungry for was revenge. And she would have it.
The pretty wolf's skin was the color of ebony, her head was shaven and her neck was graceful as she slept in the flimsy tent. Maybe just a bite? A small drink? No, it was too risky. She put her hands on the young wolf and siphoned out all of her wolf energy. It flowed into her veins and made her feel strong and aggressive. She could fight anyone in the Bayou. She was a wolf and this was her pack. She wanted to...howl?
She looked down at the wolf and saw into her lifeless eyes what she had done. She hadn't meant to drain her, if they were sleeping, she didn't have to kill them...she looked back and saw them!
Rebekah pulled Davina and Freya away from Kol, "Stop, that's enough!"
Josh had watched in horror as Kol started to desiccate after just a few minutes of the spell. He tried to break the circle, but lacked the strength. Finally, after a frantic minute, Josh ran to get Rebekah. It was only with her Original vampire strength that the spell was broken.
Freya and Davina looked at each other in horror. Rebekah cut open her arm to feed Kol her blood.
"What is it?" Rebekah said.
"It's too late. She just killed a wolf," Freya uttered in shock.
Davina cried, "I think it's that girl, Modeste. She's dead.