Evelyn woke up to the scent of bacon wafting in from the other room. She pulled herself out of bed and found Hope in the kitchenette, busy with whatever she was making on the stovetop.
Evelyn sat down at the island with intrigue. "I didn't know you knew how to cook."
"Well, I know a lot of things that may surprise you," Hope said, turning around with a smile. "Just you wait."
Hope turned back toward the stove and flipped the switch. She grabbed a plate from the cabinet and scooped food onto it. When she placed it in front of Evelyn, her smile grew. It had eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns covering the surface, Evelyn's stomach growling at the sight of it. Hope motioned for Evelyn to take a bite and she did so without hesitation. Evelyn took one bite and it was as if she were transported to Heaven itself.
A sigh of enjoyment escaped Evelyn's lips. "This is honestly one of the most delicious things I think I've ever eaten."
"My father taught me how to cook. He may not have needed to eat, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the art from time to time," Hope explained, sitting down across from her with a mug in hand.
Evelyn took another mouthful when she noticed there wasn't a plate in front of Hope. "Are you going to eat?"
"I am," Hope said, lifting the mug in her hands slightly. "I went and got myself some O-negative this morning."
Evelyn tensed up. "Where did you get it from?"
Hope noticed the look in Evelyn's eyes and realized what she was implying. Hope set her cup down with a shaking head.
"I got it from the blood bank I assure you," she said, appearing behind Evelyn, whispering in her ear. "You're the only one I plan to sink my teeth into."
A shiver ran down Evelyn's spine as her cheeks turned bright red, her voice coming out in a flustered stutter. "Well, g-good."
"Now finish your food, we have things to do," Hope announced.
Evelyn took another bite before spinning around in her chair. "What kind of things?"
"Explore the city, of course."
Evelyn finished her breakfast and changed her clothes. Hope had bought a few things for herself and they were a similar size, so Hope said Evelyn could borrow some until they found something better. Once she was dressed, the two made their way down to the main floor.
They stepped out onto the uneven sidewalk, Hope motioning for a taxi. The pair headed downtown to the shopping district to get Evelyn some new clothes and a few other necessities. The place was giant, each side of the street surrounded by skyscrapers. Once they got to the main part of town, Evelyn realized where they were. Hope had taken Evelyn to New York, a place Evelyn had never been before.
Hope pulled her into clothing store after clothing store, buying her clothes that she believed Evelyn would look great in and making her try everything on with a spin. After store four, Evelyn began to realize Hope wasn't paying for the clothes but compelling the store clerk to give it to them for free. It was wrong, but Evelyn liked the clothes and didn't want to make a scene; she'd talk to Hope later about her concern.
After a few more stores, and a smoothie break, Evelyn's arms were filled to the brim with bag upon bag of clothes, accessories, and whatever else Hope had picked up. They had been at it for hours and Hope could tell the weight of the bags was weighing on Evelyn, so she decided it was time to head back to the suite.
The two took a shortcut through an alleyway as someone appeared at the far end. Hope sensed something off with the individual and stopped, placing her hand out to stop Evelyn.
"Whose that?" Evelyn asked, peering at the shadowed figure that stood about 25 feet away from them.
"I don't know but I need you to stay here," Hope said, her gaze meeting Evelyn's. "Don't move."
Evelyn silently agreed as Hope strode toward the figure. Within a few feet, the figure lunged at Hope, slicing at her with speed humanly impossible. It was getting dark and Evelyn could barely make out what had happened, but she could tell from Hope's posture, she was angry.
She lunged at the figure and the two fought one another. One would dodge and the other would attack, both getting a few good hits in as they did. The figure kicked the back of Hope's knee, causing her to fall on the damp cement. He pulled out what looked to be a crossbow and Evelyn's stomach dropped. She quickly placed the bags on the ground and moved into the middle of the alley.
"Leave her alone!" Evelyn screamed.
The figure looked up at Evelyn as she shot an energy ball into its chest, knocking it back a step. This distraction allowed Hope to jab her sharpened nails upward into its stomach, twisting. It bent forward, the crossbow skitting a few feet down the alley toward Evelyn. She quickly picked it up as Hope removed her hand and slashed again, knocking the figure into the wall beside them.
It slowly slid down the wall as Hope rose to her feet, blood dripping from her nails. Evelyn came to stand beside her, pointing the crossbow at the figure who turned out to be another vampire. He had ratty, greasy-looking hair, a 5 o'clock shadow, and blood soaking the white of his shirt from where Hope had stabbed him.
"I thought I told you to stay put," Hope said, peering over at Evelyn.
"Yeah, and because I didn't, I saved you," Evelyn said with a sarcastic smile. "You should be thanking me."
"Well, thank you," Hope muttered, turning her attention back to the man with anger. "Now who the hell are you?"
"Who I am is not important. Who I stand for is the more pressing question."
The man grabbed at the collar of his shirt and pulled it aside to reveal a tattoo. It was a symbol of three triangles overlapping one another. Evelyn had never seen something like that before, but the look on Hope's face, made it obvious she had.
"Triad…" Hope muttered, crouching down and grabbing the man by the throat. "I destroyed Triad."
The man laughed with a painful cough. "No, you destroyed a sector of Triad. It is much bigger than you realize and not so easily erased."
"What's Triad?" Evelyn asked.
"It's an organization that is sworn to keep the supernatural world a secret from the rest of the populous. Their symbol," Hope said, motioning to the man's still visible tattoo. "Represents the three original monsters: vampires, werewolves, and witches; the same ones that created Malivore."
"This organization created Malivore?" Evelyn asked with surprise.
"Yes we did, and we used him to rid the world of monsters that caused too much of a ruckus," the vampire said, glaring up toward Hope whose hand was still around his throat. "That is until you gave him form."
"That was not my doing and you know it. Besides, I destroyed Malivore a few weeks back, so it's no longer a concern," Hope snapped.
"Oh, we know what you did. We also know what you had to do … Tribrid," he sneered.
"Why have you come to chat? Come to pat me on the back for getting rid of a problem your organization created in the first place?" Hope asked.
The man laughed once more, shaking his head. "Oh no, Hope Mikaelson, we are not here to congratulate you. We're here to hunt you."
"And why is that?" Hope asked, squeezing harder.
"Your a new breed of monster and Triad is concerned on what kind of havoc you could wreak in this new form, especially with your humanity switched off," he began, noticing a flicker of surprise in Hope's gaze. "We know a lot more than you think and we've decided to band together to remove the threat; you."
"And who's behind this plot to kill me? Who ordered the hit?"
The man opened his mouth as his tattoo began to glow; radiating heat. Hope removed her hand from his neck and backed away. The man's entire body began to glow as Hope grabbed Evelyn's hand, taking another a step back. Then just like that, he exploded; a pile of ash in place of where he once was.
Evelyn looked almost traumatized. "What the hell was that?!"
"I'm guessing Triad doesn't like rats," Hope said, watching as the ash blew away.
"That's horrible," Evelyn muttered.
"Yeah, well, Triad has always had issues, and it looks like we're going to have to get the answers ourselves," Hope said.
"What do you mean?" Evelyn asked.
Hope looked from the fading ash to Evelyn. "This vampire was sent here to kill me. He was no high-ranking member, which was obvious to see. When they discover he failed, they'll send another and it may not be as easy a fight. We need to get to Triad and figure out who ordered the hit, then it's as simple as snapping a few necks."
"You plan to kill them?" Evelyn asked with shock.
"If I don't, they'll kill me," Hope said with a shrug. "I'm not taking any risks, especially when I have you with me. I have super healing … you don't."
"So, what's our plan? He didn't really give you any names or even an address to this Triad hideout. Do we just wait for the next attempt?" Evelyn asked.
"No, grab the bags, we're going to visit an old friend of mine."