Chapter 21

(Ryan)

Ryan made his way downstairs, letting the basement door slam shut behind him. He was beyond frustrated. Not only had Hope vanished into the darkness, where he couldn't keep an eye on her, but Huan and Akane were convinced that her escape was his doing.

Which wasn't entirely untrue.

Nevertheless, Hope's escape had only served to complicate things. Once again, she had acted on impulse, placing herself in more danger before he could fully formulate a plan.

When Huan had found out that Hope was missing he was beyond angry—he was livid.

Huan had dug a sharpened claw into Ryan's token, causing an inexplicable searing pain to course through his body. Despite his best efforts, Huan was unable to get any useful information from him—finally conceding to Ryan's insistence that he hadn't been the one who freed Hope from the cell.

Unfortunately, this realization only served to spur on Huan's temper.

At least as it was, Huan and Akane were keeping Hope alive. But now, Huan was on the hunt.

Ryan feared what Huan would do if he found her—a thought that plagued him every moment since she had disappeared out of his bedroom window.

Akane had found the entire situation amusing, as evident by the smirk she wore the entire time Huan raged. Apparently, her bargain with Malivore only hinged on securing Landon—an accomplishment she boasted about frequently.

Yet, somehow, the task of extracting information from his brother had fallen on his shoulders.

Ryan peered into the cell to find Landon sitting against the back wall, looking entirely too smug for his liking.

For a moment the two just stared at one another, a mutual feeling of dislike hanging between them.

"Not who you were expecting?" Ryan asked, looking down at his younger brother.

"Nope, you're exactly who I expected," Landon answered sharply.

"How did Hope escape?" Ryan asked, ignoring the jab.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Landon asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Ryan clenched his jaw, attempting to quell his building frustration.

This wasn't about Landon—this was about Hope.

"Believe it or not, I'm the friendliest face you're going to see around here," Ryan said tightly. "If you don't tell me what you know, I'll have no choice but to turn you over to more… persuasive interrogators."

Landon flinched slightly at his words, rubbing his bruised jaw.

"Don't worry," Ryan continued, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm sure we can reach an arrangement before that happens…"

"I don't care what happens to me," Landon said. "I'm not going to tell you anything. You're not going to hurt her anymore," he finished with a glare.

Ryan paused for a moment— there was something about the way he said that.

"Is that what she told you?" he asked, lowering his voice. "That I hurt her?"

"Like you care," Landon said, eyeing him warily.

It was Ryan's turn to flinch this time, casting his eyes down.

"I'm the one Malivore wants," Landon said, standing to meet him at the cell door.

"Hope has nothing to do with this."

Ryan laughed humorlessly. "You just don't get it, do you?" he asked.

"Get what exactly?" Landon asked irritably. "That you're a duplicitous son of a bitch who can't stand that you lost?"

"We've all lost!" Ryan shouted, taking them both by surprise. "Father has plans for all of us. That's what he does—we're merely chess pieces on his board."

"At least Hope has a fighting chance now," Landon said, looking paler by the minute.

"You know that Hope is never going to just leave you here," Ryan said. "We both know that she's going to pull some heroic stunt to save you and it's going to get us all killed in the process."

"I told her not to come back for me," Landon said, looking miserable.

"Come now, Romeo, when has Hope listened to anyone?" he asked.

Landon averted his gaze, taking a step back from the bars.

"I don't deserve her," he said. "And if she's smart, she'll realize that too," he finished miserably.

Now that was interesting…

"What does that mean?" Ryan asked, curiosity piqued. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked, not bothering to hide the thrill of satisfaction the thought brought him.

"Now that is definitely none of your business," Landon shot back at him.

"Maybe it is my business…" Ryan said, not bothering to hide the smirk tugging at his lips.

"What are you talking about?" Landon snapped, glowering at him.

Ryan just shrugged, breaking into a rather self-indulgent grin.

Something akin to horror dawned on Landon's face. "You?" he asked, color draining from his face. "When she cried like that…it was because…" he let the thought trail off.

Suddenly, Ryan didn't feel like smiling anymore.

"She trusted you, you know," Landon finally said. "She trusted us both, but at least I didn't choose to betray her."

"You think you know me, little brother, but you don't," Ryan shot back. "You may think you're better than me, Father may think you're better than me, but you're not—"

"I am better than you," Landon interrupted.

"No, you aren't!" Ryan shouted. "No matter how noble you think you are, you were created for the same purpose as I was. You're just a puppet on a string— just like me."

He was breathing heavily, clenching the metal bars tightly enough to turn his knuckles white.

Landon just stared at him, seemingly indifferent to his outburst.

"I won't claim to know much about families," Landon said. "But I do know that you'll never be my brother," he said, turning his back to him.

Ryan merely clenched his jaw— there was nothing left to say.

He turned to make his way back up the stairs when a sudden feeling of panic overtook him. In a moment, he was drenched in a cold sweat, gasping for air—he fell to his knees, reaching out a desperate hand to loosen his tie.

"What's happening?" Landon asked, clearly startled.

"Hope—" Ryan choked out. "Something's wrong," he said, beseeching the feeling to subside.

"How do you know?" Landon asked, moving closer.

"I can— feel her," he said, finally finding enough strength to stand.

"How is that possible?" Landon asked. "Did you do something to her?" he asked, anger returning to his voice.

"Quite the opposite," Ryan said quietly. "Something happened when she brought me here…we're connected somehow."

Admitting the fact out loud brought him an overwhelming sense of relief accompanied by pure, unadulterated terror. It made things feel so...real.

"Connected…?" Landon echoed, frowning in confusion. "How so?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ryan said absently, desperately trying to plan his next move.

"What kind of connection are we talking?" Landon asked skeptically. "Like, a Vulcan Mind Meld? A Harry Potter and Voldemort sort of thing? Or maybe—"

"Just— ," Ryan interrupted him. "All that matters is that I know how she feels," he finished.

"You mean whatever just happened to you, happened to her?" Landon asked, clearly panicked.

"I don't know how it works exactly," he said, growing more frustrated by the moment. "But yes, we've shared pain like this before…"

"I have to get to her," Landon said.

"You?" Ryan asked. "You're in a cage, lest you've forgotten," he said.

"And you have the key, lest you've forgotten," Landon rebuked.

"I'm not going to let you out," Ryan said.

"And what, you're going to rescue her?" Landon asked. "You're the one who betrayed her in the first place!"

"I didn't betray her!" he hissed, casting a nervous glance towards the basement door.

"Does she know that?" Landon asked icily. "Because from what Hope said, you're just as big of a scumbag as you always were."

"I don't owe you any explanations— and I certainly don't owe you an escape," he said, turning on his heel to make his way back upstairs.

"I'm not going to abandon her," Landon said defiantly. "And you said it yourself, unless you take me with you, she's going to walk herself right back into a trap."

Ryan turned back around, facing his brother once more.

"What makes you think I'm even going to go after her?" Ryan asked. "Maybe my best course of action is to wait right here until she gets herself caught."

Landon regarded him carefully before speaking.

"I can't say why you're going after her," he admitted. "I don't think even you know why. But you are. I can see it written all over your face," he said.

Ryan sighed, raking a hand through his hair. As much as he hated to admit it, Landon was right. If he went after Hope without bringing Landon along, she'd insist on going back for him. If he didn't go after her at all, there was no telling what Huan or his father would do when they found her.

He reached for the key hanging off his belt, hating what he was about to do…

(Hope)

The first thing she did was run.

She had no idea where she was going, but she needed to put distance between herself and that house as quickly as possible.

Her head was still reeling from her encounter with Clarke. The shock of him pulling her on top of him, the heat of their argument...the kiss. Just the memory of his lips on hers delivered a strange shock to her system, tingling like an electric current.

What the hell was she thinking?

Sure, there had been a certain level of physical attraction between them—but she had never intended to take things this far.

Not to mention Landon—the thought caused her heart to clench in guilt.

How could she be angry with him for being with Josie after this?

She slowed her pace, taking a moment to truly evaluate her surroundings. The illusion house Akane had created loomed on the empty horizon, out of place and foreboding.

The bad news was that there was nowhere suitable to hide until she formulated a plan. Rocky cliffs, barren and empty stretched as far as the eye could see.

The only place she would be able to hide would be a cave... As if summoned by her thoughts, she caught sight of a cave opening several yards away.

The absolute last place she wanted to go was another cave, but what else could she do? She needed time to think of a plan and sitting out in the open would make her an easy target for Huan, or any other monster that happened to come along.

If only her invisibility spell didn't take so much energy and concentration…

Sighing, Hope made her way towards the cave's entrance, keeping a close eye on her surroundings.

She wasn't sure why Huan and the others hadn't come for her yet—she had honestly expected an immediate pursuit.

Clarke must have stalled them—she wasn't sure why he had helped her.

If he truly hadn't betrayed her, then why hadn't he tried to rescue her himself?

And he must have known about Landon. Even if he had helped her, he had refused to help Landon.

She felt a spike of anger at the memory. She had warned him—her family and friends would always come first.

She paused at the cave's opening, straining to see into the darkness. There was no telling what could be awaiting her inside. Unfortunately for her, she knew exactly what was waiting for her on the outside...

Sucking in a breath, she stepped inside, taking care to avoid the loose rocks littering the cave floor.

"Post tenebras spero lucem," she whispered, summoning a ball of light in the palm of her hand. It's presence was immediately comforting. Plus, if something sinister was lurking in the cave, she would much rather see it first.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of something large moving around at the back of the cave.

Oh shit.

She extinguished the light, walking backwards towards the cave's entrance, not willing to turn her back on whatever was lurking inside.

She heard the noise again, closer this time.

She focused on her cloaking spell, praying that she'd be able to keep focused long enough to exit the cave.

"Silly girl," a female voice came out of the darkness. "I don't need to see you to know you where you are… what you are," the mysterious voice said ominously.

Hope froze in her tracks, desperately trying to calculate whether or not she should risk trying to outrun whatever creature she had disturbed.

"Don't bother trying to run, little tribrid," it said. "You won't get very far…"

Whatever this monster was, it knew she was a tribrid—suddenly, she was in twice as much trouble as she thought

Oh, screw it.

Hope turned to bolt, cursing her decision to ever enter another cave in the first place. She only got in a few steps before she felt a crushing force pull her backwards.

Hope looked down in horror, finding herself tightly bound in the coils of what appeared to be a massive snake.

"Greetings, Hope Mikaelson," the woman's voice said in her ear.

She didn't know how the creature knew her name, but the thought was enough to chill the blood in her veins.

Hope strained her neck over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of her attacker, but the coils around her chest tightened in response, rendering her unable to look behind her.

"Do you know who I am, daughter?" the monster asked, sending a shiver down her spine.

"No," Hope choked out, grimacing against the pain. If she didn't let up, she was certain to break a few ribs…

"Who sent you here?" the creature asked.

"No—one," Hope said, straining in the creature's iron grip. "I was just looking for a place to hide—" she whispered.

The coils around her loosened slightly, allowing her to sneak a peek behind her.

Hope gasped—while the bottom half was clearly serpentine, the top half of the creature took the form of a beautiful woman with long, dark hair. Her copper colored skin shone softly in the darkness. However, most striking were her dark eyes, completely black except for the gold of her pupils, which were slit just like a snake.

"Who are you?" Hope asked with a mix of fear and wonder.

"I am Echidna, Mother of Monsters," the creature answered. "And depending on how you answer my questions, this may be the last conversation you ever have…"

"In Greek mythology, Echidna (/ɪˈkɪdnə/; Greek: Ἔχιδνα, "She-Viper") was a monster, half-woman and half-snake, who lived alone in a cave. She was the mate of the fearsome monster Typhon and was the mother of monsters, including many of the most famous monsters of Greek myth."