Chapter Twenty Four: A Murder of Crows
Hayley exhaled, her breath billowing out in hot steam against the cool air. Her green eyes opened and looked around, taking in the sight before her; the blood, the bodies of the dead and wounded, and lastly, the gathering of crows sitting in the branches of the nearby trees, with gleaming obsidian eyes.
She sat up slowly, wincing when a wound along her ribs slowly knit itself back together. Her black dress was in tatters, and her skin was smeared with blood, some of which was her own, but most of it was not.
Behind her, Mason rose from the ground, clutching his arm, which was torn apart. Eve stood, relatively unharmed, but her hair was damp from blood. Even more slowly, Tyler rolled onto his side, growling in pain when his dislocated shoulder healed itself with a quick snap.
A hand lowered into Hayley's line of sight. She lifted her gaze and saw Marcel standing in front of her. "Thanks," She said, taking his hand so he could help her to her feet.
The vampire nodded. "You might want to get that looked at," he commented, gesturing to the wound on her ribs.
Hayley looked down and saw exposed muscle, even a glimpse of bone. "Well, shit," she growled, hissing when the wound pulsed with pain with every breath she took.
Then her gaze snapped up. She turned, too quickly, which caused her to cry out, clenching her side. "Klaus?" she called out.
Marcel looped an arm under Hayley's, taking on some of her weight. "Come on. There's a witch here that says you know her."
Sophie, Hayley thought absently. Her green eyes turned towards Marcel's darker ones. "Where's Klaus?" she demanded.
Eve came up to Hayley, gently helping her stay upright. "You need to be healed."
"What I need is for someone to answer my fucking question!"
"He's all right," Marcel huffed. "He's checking on his sister."
Hayley briefly remembered seeing a flash of pale blonde hair in the frenzy, but she had assumed it was Eve, since the other Mikaelsons hadn't been in the Quarter when the Hunters had showed up to the games…
Her head lolled to the side, vision blackening. She saw a shadow in front of her and blinked.
"Looks like you need a spa day, wolf girl."
Hayley aimed a glare at the direction of Sophie's voice. "I don't need the snark, Sophie."
Then she felt a warm hand press itself to her open wound, and the Alpha howled as the wound began to sizzle and burn. Hayley screamed again, slumping against Marcel's side, her eyes flashing gold from the pain.
Then suddenly, it was gone. Hayley panted, her skin now beaded with fresh sweat, and she looked down to see that the wound had been completely healed, save for some pink scarring. She lifted her gaze towards Sophie once more.
"No need for thanks. I'll just add this to your tab," Sophie smirked.
Hayley rolled her eyes.
Ooo0ooO
Three Hours Ago
"You two done gossiping, or are you ready to kick some Hunter ass?"
"After you."
Marcel and Klaus moved in unison, moving towards the direction where Eve's howl had sounded. In turn, Hayley shifted into a timber wolf, throwing back her head, and howled.
At the signal, the scattered pack turned towards the Alpha's call, eyes shifting to gold before they changed into their wolf forms as well. More people screamed at the sight of the wolves, but when they didn't attack, the remaining humans were pulled to safety by the vampires, compulsed to stay where they were and to not make a sound.
The Alpha's bright eyes turned towards the sound of arrows being released from bows, and managed to move out of the way in time to avoid the one aimed directly for her heart. She shifted once more, standing with eyes still gold, snarling viciously at the familiar sight of hooded figures.
The fight was just as brutal as the first. Vampires were shot down like animals with stakes to their hearts, and the wolves kept to a tight knit group around their Alpha. But it was Mason who took the brunt of an attack when a Hunter separated from the others, wielding a set of daggers.
Hayley lunged forward when Mason collapsed, clutching his arm, and stepped between him and the Hunter. This wasn't the leader, this Hunter sported blue eyes that gleamed like ice in the moonlight. Plus, he wore a smirk that wouldn't fit on the leader's more sullen expression.
"Here, doggy doggy," the blue eyed Hunter taunted.
In a blur, Hayley attacked the Hunter, which sent them tumbling over the edge of the roof he had been perched on, and down onto the hard ground below. Hayley coughed when dust invaded her lungs, then jumped to the side when she saw a flash of silver. A knife embedded itself into the ground, right where her throat had been.
To Hayley's right, Tyler was engaged with the last female Hunter, who was firing off arrows as quickly as she could draw them. It was a deadly game of slash and dodge, with Tyler using only his claws and teeth as defense. When he rolled out of the way of the last arrow, he watched as the Hunter drew a large serrated knife, leaping forward with the precision of a cat.
The Hunter managed to tackle him, sending them rolling through the dirt, with her knife digging into Tyler's chest, and his teeth snapping inches from her face. The young Hybrid screamed when the Hunter grabbed his arm and yanked it brutally behind him, ripping it out of the socket.
Eve was barely faring any better than the others. She was faced off against the leader's second, using her speed to keep him at arm's length. The Hunter attacked with brute force, barely allowing the older werewolf a moment to go on the offensive.
Suddenly, a pained howl ripped through the air and a body of a wolf slumped to the ground. Hayley turned at the sound, taking her eyes off of the Hunter for a brief second. The Hunter took advantage of this, sending his dagger into her side, tearing it clean open. Blood soaked the ground as the Alpha cried out, slumping to the side, clenching at her torn flesh.
There was another blur, then a soft tearing sound as a head of bright blonde hair attacked the blue eyed Hunter. Hayley's vision blurred before she collapsed.
Rebekah tore at the Hunter's shoulder, only to be thrown off like an irksome fly. She bared her red smeared teeth at him, before she lunged forward again. But right as she met him, she felt something pierce her skin, embedding itself deep in her chest. She let out a soft gasp, then looked down.
A bright silver stake was buried right under her breast, but at an upward angle, and she could feel the tip touching her heart. Her blue gaze lifted towards the Hunters' before she too fell to the ground, her skin turning ashen, cracking like dried ground in a drought.
"Rebekah!"
"Hayley!"
The Hunter smirked one last time before melting into the shadows, hearing the call of his leader, ordering them to fall back once more. Even though he wanted to keep at it, he didn't want to face Jeremy's wrath. With a dissatisfied frown, he joined the others as they disappeared from the Abattoir.
It would be another hour before Hayley would open her eyes to find the chaos left in the Hunter's wake.
Ooo0ooO
In the end, only five vampires and one werewolf were killed. The witches had healed the wounded then deserted the Abattoir, leaving Hayley standing alone with Eve and Mason.
"I should have done something," Hayley whispered.
She closed her eyes against the visions of the crows swooping down, picking at the flesh of the vampires, then the wolf, who had fallen on their stomach, their face hidden from view. Sophie had sent a flash of magic to scatter the murder, and had knelt down next to the fallen to tell the others who they were.
The Alpha had released a howl when the name of the werewolf was spoken, as any leader would cry out from the loss of one of their own. But she also cried out from the loss of a loyal pack member, someone she had known for a long time, someone she had trusted, even after coming to the Quarter, despite their protests.
"This is war," Eve told her in a soft voice. She put a comforting hand on Hayley's shoulder. "There's going to be casualties."
Hayley lifted her dull, green gaze towards the spot on the ground where the werewolf had laid, their blood still seeping into the dirt. "Don't talk about him like he was just a body to be used and lost."
"Hayley-," Mason began, but was cut off by the Alpha's fierce snarl.
"Don't you get it? This is my fault. He was following my orders, he put himself in danger because of me. Even though he hated Klaus, he…" Hayley broke off on a muffled sob, burying her face into her hands.
Her mind buzzed around the image of Sophie kneeling in the damp dirt, rolling the wolf's still body over. Hayley had barely heard her whisper his name, her eyes wide as she stared down at those dark, blank eyes, and the gaping wound in his chest where a silver sword had pierced his heart.
But there it was, that soft whisper echoing the single name again and again;
"Jackson."
Ooo0ooO
Klaus sat with Rebekah, waiting for the wound that had pierced her heart to heal. He had already pulled out the silver dagger that had put her into a deep sleep, and sat next to her, chin resting in his hands.
He had been too busy with the Hunter's leader to realize his sister had showed up during the chaos, and had only turned in time to see her fall with the dagger in her chest. Then his gaze had turned towards Hayley, who was crumpled against the dirt, her dark hair fanned out in a pool of her own blood. He had heard Marcel shout his sister's name, before he had shouted Hayley's.
Marcel hovered nearby, pacing in front of the fireplace, and both men turned when the door opened. Hayley walked in, still covered in blood like they were, but they both noted her wound had been healed.
She went to Marcel first, surprisingly, touching his shoulder and murmuring into his ear. When he nodded and left, she turned her gaze towards Klaus. He faced his sister once more, while whispering, "Hello, love."
Hayley moved to sit down beside him, gently taking his hand in hers. "How is she?"
"She'll be awake soon," Klaus said softly. "Even the daggers can't keep her down for long." When he heard Hayley's breath hitch, he glanced at her. He then noticed the way her eyes seemed lifeless, and there were dried tears tracking down her dirty cheeks. Klaus turned his hand to squeeze hers. "Are you in pain?"
Hayley shook her head. "Not… physically."
"What happened? Is your pack…?" he trailed off when her nails bit into his hand, and her eyes briefly glowed gold.
"It's Jackson," she breathed. "He's dead."
Klaus' expression flickered. Although there was no love loss between the Hybrid and the werewolf, it was clear the loss was hurting Hayley. And he was surprised he felt no jealousy, but something more…
It'd be later when Eve would tell him it was compassion.
Klaus pulled her against his side, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "I'm sorry. He was pack."
Hayley trembled against him, but he saw that she was stubbornly holding back her tears. "I'll mourn later. First-,"
She was interrupted by Rebekah's eyes flying open, and her skin taking on a more healthy, rosy peach color. The Original sat up right away, turning her blazing blue gaze towards the couple.
"Where the hell are those Hunters? I'm going to rip their bloody heads off."
Klaus sighed, then looked at Hayley. "I told you they can't keep her down long."
Hayley chuckled, even though it was watery and hoarse.
Ooo0ooO
Jeremy stood alone at the edge of the forests, hands folded behind his back. One held a folded piece of parchment, which depicted the meeting sight and time. It bore no signature, but Jeremy knew who had written it.
The others were waiting for him back at base, with strict instructions not to wander off. Jeremy knew he could trust Matt to keep an eye on things, even if he was gone only briefly.
"So," a familiar voice said from behind Jeremy. "Looks like your run ins with the King haven't paid off. He's still alive."
Jeremy turned to face the other Hunter.
The Hunter leaned against a nearby tree, with a sandy brown eyebrow lifted. His calm blue eyes assessed Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded at him respectfully. "I'm glad you're here."
"Clearly," the other Hunter said, moving to stand in front of Jeremy. His gaze then turned to look over Jeremy's shoulder, down towards the Quarter. His eyes tracked the murder of crows which stilled lingered nearby, marking where the last fight had taken place. Although the bodies had been cleared away, the blood had yet to be washed from the ground.
"When you took charge of the next generation, Jeremy, I figured you would do us proud. But here you are, fighting and retreating from the King when one of your own gets hurt."
"Matt needed to be healed-,"
"That," the other Hunter interrupted, "should not distract you from the task at hand. You have a sacred duty and all I've seen so far is failure. Now you call on me, asking me to clean up your mess. To do your duty, because apparently, you're not up to the task."
"That's not why-,"
"Silence!"
Jeremy quieted, lowering his gaze. Even though he was the new leader of the Hunters, the one who stood behind him was the secret he had been keeping from the others. It had been believed for many years that the previous generation had been wiped out, but that had not been entirely true. Only one had survived, barely, and had remained in hiding until now.
Now he stood in front of Jeremy, his gaze stern, looking much younger than he really was. He had never interfered with Jeremy and the new generation, not until Jeremy had reached out, being the only person who knew he still lived from a message he had been given when the previous leader had died. Jeremy also knew that the other Hunter would not have come, not if they only needed his help. But when news of Vicki's death had reached the other Hunter's ears, he had come out of hiding.
After all, it was known that Vicki had been his only child. So it only seemed fitting that revenge would be served by the father of the fallen Hunter.
"My apologies, Hunter Saltzman," Jeremy muttered.
The older Hunter smiled slowly. "No need for formalities. You can still call me Alaric. Now, we have work to do."
Ooo0ooO
Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals.
Author's Note: Like Eve said, this is war, people.
"The Summer King" playlist is now public on Spotify, under my username: elmostephens18. The link is also available on my bio.
This chapter was inspired by Live Like Legends by Ruelle, which was suggested by AryaTindomiel. The title was a sort of nod to George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones.
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