No pairing
"And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, 'It is enough; now stay your hand.' And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
-2 Samuel 24:16
Undisclosed Location
Monday, May 27, 2011
"Mason! Mason! Is that really you?" a voice cried out in the darkness. Mason frowned and spat, "Oh God, are you serious?"
Hayley was concerned, they had been trapped for at least a day. Underground it was hard to gauge time, but they were hungry and thirsty. They had been surviving on leftovers from the guards' fridges and half-drank bottles of water.
"It's Kathy. The one who betrayed me and got me in here," Mason groaned. "And worse, she's a vampire. If she cuts herself, I'll transform again. Come on, let's see if we can break through this door."
Hayley picked up an office chair and slammed it against the formidable metal door. Mason broke a desk and used part of it to do the same.
"Mason? You can't dodge me that easily," Katherine said, appearing at the end of the hall. She was all dressed up in black leather pants, high boots, and a tight red jacket. Her make-up was thick and her hair long and glossy. The ancient vampire didn't look a day over 17.
"You betrayed me Kathy. I loved you. I put you above my own family and you made me a freak!" Mason roared.
"But I love you. The Strix will help us live the lives we used to talk about in Florida. Remember? We were so happy once," Kathy quipped.
"It was a lie! And wolves do not belong with...with, your kind!" Mason screamed, turning to slam Kathy with the desk. Dissolving her into a thousand pieces.
"Mason! Mason, wake up! You are having a nightmare," Hayley whispered, shaking the bigger man gently.
"Oh, I was dreaming of Kathy. The girl who tricked me into this mess," Mason yawned. "How long was I out?"
"Just a couple of minutes," Hayley said. "I feel like we are never going to get out of here."
They were still in the air vents, but several floor up. In the hours and hours they travelled through the underground complex, they hadn't seen anyone alive. There were just the burnt corpses of the guards and it didn't seem like there were any other prisoners.
"So tell me about this dream. We can rest here another minute before going on," Hayley yawned.
"Um, so I was living in Florida, squandering my portion of my family fortune and I fell in love," Mason started.
"Oh, a rich boy! That musta been rough," Hayley smiled.
Mason flushed in the darkness. "Yeah, I know I sound like a prick, but growing up in a mansion with my dad was no picnic. He had two modes: silent or raging. He was the mayor and acted like the ruler of the world...Plus, add the wolf temper."
"Oh, I got ya on the wolf temper, but I grew up in foster homes so..." Hayley said softly.
"Oh sorry, that musta been rough," Mason replied.
"It was. I tell myself that it made me stronger, but my whole life I just wanted a family. Turns out they were dead all along, but I have a new family now. And I can't let them down," Hayley said with confidence.
"We are going to get out of here. Jerky?" Mason offered from the bag of supplies they gathered.
"Hell, yeah. So you were a poor, little rich boy in Florida and you meet this heartbreaker? Go on," Hayley pushed.
"She was gorgeous. Long, dark hair, heart-shaped face, and beautiful big brown eyes. Turns out she was a 500 year old vampire on the run from Klaus, a double or something. She was using me to get the infamous moonstone to break Klaus' hybrid curse," Mason explained.
"Yeah, I think Marcel and Rebekah were talking about that when I lived with them. He used to dagger Rebekah with this magical dagger and put her to sleep for decades," Hayley added.
"Ugh, don't tell me that. He's raising my only nephew, Tyler. I mean, I can see why he has to be strict with him, the boy is a handful. I tried with him, but basically Kathy looked in my direction and lured me away. Truth is, I should be grateful to him and his family," Mason mused.
"Marcel loves him. He got adopted like 200 years ago. Don't get me wrong, they had their issues, but I think your nephew is probably a pretty lucky kid. So, you said Kathy got you stuck here? How?"
"Well, that's the bad part. She convinced me that Klaus was still after her and that I had to drink this Strix serum in order to kill him. I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to control it. I ended up killing a couple of hikers on my family land. Then, when Tyler and Elijah found me, I morphed again. I got locked up in the Mikaelson mansion and the Strix sprung me. I told Kathy to fuck off and ended up tied up in that cell you were in. I think they were planning to use me as a weapon somehow," Mason revealed glumly.
"When you are in your beast form, can you think or control it?" Hayley wondered. "Like are you you?"
"It's like being in my wolf form, but this last time when that Mikael guy caused me to turn, I did become conscious right before I changed back. So maybe there is some possibility of that? I only turned a couple of times," Mason recounted.
"Hopefully, we won't have to find out," Hayley said. "Ready to move again?"
"Do you hear that?" Mason hissed.
Hayley listened and heard footfalls, she answered, "Footsteps. Someone is here!"
Mason and Hayley watched through a crack in the ceiling as a figure in black walked right below them.
"I am not here to harm you," the woman said. She pushed down her black cowl. "I am here to save my sister, but I shall in turn, help you."
The girl was heavy set and had reddish hair. She muttered a chant in an unknown tongue and Hayley and Mason felt themselves falling to the ground.
"OWwwww, you could have warned us, bitch!" Hayley snarled, as she picked herself off the ground.
Mason grunted, "Ugh, that hurt."
"You are wolves, you shall heal," the girl snapped, with a smile.
"How do you know who we are?" Hayley said, brushing debris out of her hair.
"I am one of the Sisters," the girl said. "Call me Rowan. My sister, Clarice, left with our coven to implement another part of the master plan. I haven't heard from her all day."
Mason blinked, "Clarice? Yesterday or earlier today maybe, I'm not sure, there was a red-haired witch who looked like you. They busted me out of the Mikaelson mansion. They took me to Kathy."
"She was still alive then?" the young witch asked. "She must be heavily cloaked."
Using her werewolf speed, Hayley got behind the girl and clasped her by the neck.
"Now, how about you tell us everything you know and I won't snap your neck? Everything!" Hayley yelled.
The girl was alarmed, this werewolf could kill her in seconds.
"Fine, but I don't know much. They only tell us enough to complete our missions. We are prisoners to the Strix, used only for their dirty work," Rowan whispered. "But they wanted something from you, Hayley."
Hayley looked at Mason in surprise.
"What?"
Rowan faltered, "I'm not sure. They wanted the child of the hybrid and the angel. But I fear that plot failed. If you don't get out of here soon, we may never know..."
Mason cocked his head, "Shit, there are others. Are you stalling us, Rowan?"
"I'm sorry. I did it to save my sister," Rowan said, as other witches surrounded them.
"Fuck. More Strix?" Hayley growled.
"We're not Strix, they have failed their mission. We are the Order of the Celestial Dawn. What we need from you, Hayley, you will never even miss," a yellow robed figure said. "And this time, you will not escape so easily."
Mason and Hayley were dragged off, blindfolded and tied up, but they finally got out of the underground complex.
The Compound
Marcel got in late Monday night. Josh was there to greet him. They hugged and Marcel pulled away.
"Looking good, Josh. But any word on our girl?" Marcel pressed.
"None. Father Sean finally found a witch to try a locator spell on the feather I found in her office, but nothing," Josh said in defeat.
"It's strange to be back here. Last time I was here, it was full of family. Now, there are just a few nightwalkers that I don't know and memories. We can't lose Hayley, Josh," Marcel said. He went to his luggage and found a bottle. He tossed it to Josh.
"No, I can't, Marcel. Aiden is home waiting on me. Like all the Crescents, he's freaked out. You know how they feel about Hayley," Josh shared.
"Yeah, I do. I should go through my contacts and see if I can dig up any information anyway. Go home, Josh, get some rest. I'll catch up with you tomorrow," Marcel said, patting Josh on the back.
"Thanks, Marcel. I know this isn't how you wanted to come back, but it's good to have you here. Even if it's just a couple of days," Josh said as he left.
Marcel went into his old office and brought the file with him. He couldn't bring himself to tell Josh about the attack on the Mikaelson compound earlier in the day. Josh looked exhausted and drained, and inside, Marcel felt the same. Their home was attacked and no one knew what to do. The angels seemed stronger than any other supernatural, but they must have a weakness.
Something was nagging at his mind. He thought about the dark objects Kol had taught the French Quarter coven to make in the 1910s. Was there something in there that could work on angels? Damn, he missed Kieran. No one knew those objects like the late Father Kieran did. Marcel silently cursed the witch Bastiana for hexing him months earlier. But Sean was still around, Marcel picked up the phone on his desk.
"Sean? Hey brother, it's Marcel?...Yeah, I'm back in town. Have you talked to your sister?...Nah, she's fine and the baby is good, but we had a little scare today. Um, can I come meet you at St. Anne's now? Yeah, it's important...No, Elijah won't be here until tomorrow, it's just me," Marcel said.
St. Anne's Church
Early Tuesday Morning
Marcel stood outside the church waiting for Sean. They embraced and shook hands.
"I was just thinking back to the 1910s when Kol, your brother-in-law's brother, killed everyone in this church during Sunday services," Marcel remembered.
"They covered that one up, bigtime," Sean mused. "Why did he do it?"
"He needed this paragon diamond, you know, the one he used to teach the witches how to make dark objects. The Dowager Fauline was the one he needed to die, but instead, he massacred the whole church," Marcel said bitterly.
"Since I have the catalogue of dark objects, I'm assuming his plan worked?" Sean went on.
"Yes and no," Marcel smirked. "I might have had something to do with him getting busted, but after he taught the French Quarter witches the magic, they ran with it. Kol ended up daggered a couple years after. I guess my dad gathered up what he could and gave them to your family to look after. But Sean, we need a weapon that can take down an angel."
"Come in, Marcel. We need to be careful. The French Quarter witches have ears everywhere. I don't want to end up hexed like my uncle, if you know what I mean," Sean urged.
They went to the back of the church, to the dusty office.
"Here's what I have. Let me get it out of the safe," Sean said, crouching down to unlock the old metal safe.
Marcel brushed off the dust from a nearby table and sat, pulling out his file.
"Hey man, do me a favor and don't let on to your sister that you know about the attack," Marcel started. "Everyone is fine, but Tyler's girl Caroline had to get turned. She was under the influence of some kind of angelic spell. She was going to take Ansel."
Sean left the safe open and brought the old leather bound notebook to Marcel.
"The baby? Why would they want Ansel?" Sean asked in confusion. "And if these angels are on a mission to bring about judgment day, they are way outta line. There is a line in Jude, Chapter 1, verse 6 that says, 'And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.'"
Marcel started flipping through the list of dark objects. He knew they were hidden away in various locations in the city. Father Kieran would not reveal where, but always let Marcel have access to one if he need them.
"Sean, I don't see anything here that would work. Can you think of any way we can fight these things?" Marcel asked in frustration.
Sean opened his palms. "I know you are not a believer, Marcel. But from all my training, studies, and more importantly, my faith, the only weapon I think you may have is prayer. God commands the angels. Maybe you need a believer to ask for intercession for these heavenly hosts?"
"Sean, if Cami is part angel, wouldn't you be also?" Marcel pressed.
"I suppose so," Sean replied. "But if this is the last judgment, Marcel, I won't stop it. This is what all Christians pray for, when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. It's a moment when all people will come to life again. All the good people who repented will be rewarded with Heaven, and the unbelievers will go to Hell."
Marcel didn't want to insult Sean, but it sounded like crap to him.
"Sean, but if this is orchestrated by bad angels looking to end their stint on earth because of a jacked up war with heaven, isn't that cheating? Stacking the deck?" Marcel finally said.
"I suppose so. But Marcel, you asked how you fight angels, the answer is that you can't. You can only ask God to intercede, angels are His messangers. If there is a weapon that can fight off angels otherwise, I have never heard of anything," Sean confessed. "My faith is my biggest weapon. It is stronger than The Devil's Star or any of those dark objects created a century ago."
Marcel nodded, "Sean, I might not have your faith anymore, but I really don't think God would let the Strix and these wacky ass Augustine freaks start the end times, pardon my French, but I know some of these people and they are assholes. Plus, if these angels are rogue, they ain't God's messengers anymore. Trust me on this, man."
Sean finally laughed, "You are probably correct, Marcel. Honestly, I have to ask myself what my Uncle Kieran would have done and said..."
Marcel quoted, "'Better fifty enemies outside the house than one within.' And then he would have had a drink."
"Or three?" Sean snickered.