And a new chapter, enjoy! I had fun writing it, only badass women. Tell me if you like it.
English is not my mother language and this chapter is not betaed, so there will be mistakes.
Chapter 12
Freya performed a spell the morning before she left with Hayley and now they had a good idea in which town Keelin Malraux was currently hiding.
Hayley let Freya drive, she was sure that she had missed it. During the long drive, the two women talked about the past four years. Freya was curious about everything, which had happened to Hayley and how she and Hope had managed on their own.
Missing the last four years had been hard for Freya but at least she hadn't slept through a hundred years this time. And the reasons for her sleep had been different, not for Dahlia's lust for power but to save her siblings and protect them from death. She had done this of her own free will and it had felt good and right.
As they finally arrived at their destination, it was a few hours before dawn. Now they only had to find Keelin's exact hiding place but that was why Hayley had come along. She closed her eyes and Freya felt something indefinable leaving Hayley. Her senses as a witch told her that now only an empty shell was sitting beside her. Freya knew that Hayley's mind was now wandering through the underworld to find Keelin, assuming she was dreaming, which was very likely at this time of the night.
Only a few minutes later, Hayley opened her eyes again. "She is sleeping deeply and she dreams. I can lead you to her."
Hayley guided Freya through the streets on many detours until she had her stop in front of a house. When Freya asked why they had taken such a long and cumbersome journey, Hayley explained that finding dreamers was difficult in the real world; she could only determine the direction of the dreamer. The route of the road kept taking them off track and then they had to turn back because they had driven too far. "But now I have found her, she lives here and is still dreaming."
"Do we want to break into her house and kidnap her?" Freya asked thoughtfully.
"No", Hayley replied. "Don't forget what Elijah said. He wants us to be nice to her, he don't want her frightened of us. We'll wait until she wakes up and then we'll ring the doorbell. Of course, we should talk about what we'll do in case she tries to escape."
"So we'll wait in the car until she wakes up", Freya said with a sigh.
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be a good idea", Hayley replied softly. "This is a good residential area. It would attract too much attention if we wait the whole time before her house. Let's find a cafe where we can spend the time. I don't know about you, but I could use a coffee and a hearty breakfast right now."
"That sounds like a good idea", Freya replied with a smile.
They looked for an open cafe and then sat down in a corner where they discussed their further approach. Most importantly, they would park the car on a quiet side street in case they had to force Keelin to come with them.
"She just woke up", Hayley said suddenly. "Let's give her another hour so she is full awake. Remember how your siblings react when they are disturbed to early in the morning."
Freya shuddered as she remembered Elijah's reactions when somebody spoke to him before his first coffee. "Yes, give her more time."
An hour later, they stood again in front of Keelin Malraux's door and Hayley rang the bell. A few moments later, she heard footsteps and the door opened a narrow gap. However, an attached chain prevented them from simply entering the house.
Hayley allowed herself an inner frown. This chain would not prevent her from entering the apartment under normal circumstances if she wanted to. It might be strong enough for humans but not for vampires. However, as a vampire she faced other obstacles if she wanted to enter a house.
"Yes, please?" The woman asked reservedly. She used the door as protection so she could slam it shut immediately if necessary.
"Are you Keelin Malraux?" Hayley asked directly. She knew from her research that Keelin lived under a different surname. Using the name of her pack told Keelin that they knew who she was.
The woman tensed at once and Hayley could smell that she was scared. "Yes. What do you want from me?" She eyed Hayley and Freya suspiciously, her tone hostile.
"We would like to offer you a deal. Our protection from your enemies, who want to kill the last of the Malraux Pack, in exchange for a little of your werewolf venom." Hayley and Freya had decided to be honest and direct from the start.
Keelin blinked, she was clearly surprised about these words but then she relaxed a little. "And why do you think you have the abilities or the strength to offer me this protection?"
"Have you ever heard of the Mikaelsons?" Freya now joined the conversation.
"Who hasn't? But from what I've heard, they've disappeared four years ago. The King of New Orleans claims that he has neutralized everyone except Klaus, who he now holds captive", Keelin replied.
"In the last few days occurred some major changes in the balance of power in New Orleans. Marcel is now our prisoner and most of his followers are dead." Freya smiled grimly. "The rest, well, Klaus will take out his anger on them. The last four years created a lot of anger in him. I doubt any of them will survive this."
"Oh", said Keelin, a little pale. "Who are you to speak for the hybrid?"
"I'm Freya Mikaelson, his sister, and a very powerful witch", Freya kindly answered.
"And I am Hayley Marshall. My connections with the Mikaelsons are complicated and sometimes quite difficult to describe." Hayley looked amused.
"True, but she is also family", Freya said, grinning at Hayley. "We consider her an honorary Mikaelson."
Hayley chuckled softly. "Not honorary much longer I think. I wouldn't be surprised if Elijah has already started looking for a ring to make an honest woman out of me."
"More than likely, knowing my brother", Freya agreed.
Keelin removed the chain. It seemed she knew that she would not be able to stop them if they wanted to get in. She took a step back and opened the door completely. Freya entered immediately but when Hayley tried, an invisible wall stopped her.
Keelin sighed. "You are a vampire. I wasn't sure, you smell like a werewolf too. Because I don't think I can stop you from coming in here permanently, please come in."
Hayley could now enter. "Thank you. We don't want to harm you. And you are correct about me smelling like a werewolf too, I'm a hybrid."
Keelin's eyes widened suprised. She led them to her kitchen and offered them coffee, which they gladly accepted. The three women sat down at the kitchen table and Keelin looked thoughtfully at her guests. "What do you want to do with my venom?"
"It's for a spell, for which I need the venom from all seven werewolf packs. Your pack's venom is the only ingredient still missing." Freya shrugged.
"What is this spell supposed to do?" Keelin asked next.
"Marcel drank a potion, which enabled him to temporarily defeat and poison my vampire siblings. It has now turned against him. By adjusting the spell, with which I originally wanted to heal us, I can cancel the effects and turn him back into a normal vampire. If we don't do that, he will sooner or later die in great agony", explained Freya. She smiled at the thought. "Not that it would give me sleepless nights to see him die. But unfortunately Elijah gave his word to someone from our family so I feel obliged to do my best."
"So you are a merciless badass who doesn't get sentimental about anyone", Keelin said thoughtfully.
"It's a family trait", replied Freya, shrugging her shoulders. "It comes with being born a thousand years ago." She looked at Keelin. "And we are just the ones to offer you this deal. It will be Elijah with whom you will discuss all the details and he will be the one with whom you will close the agreement."
"I've heard of Elijah Mikaelson, he has the best reputation among the Originals", said Keelin thoughtfully.
"That's true." Hayley smiled as she thought of him.
"I've also heard that he's good at getting out of deals when it becomes necessary." Keelin smiled thinly as she waited for the reactions.
"That's true too", Freya replied unconcerned. "My brother is careful in the choice of his words when he makes a deal."
"Elijah's an honourable man", Hayley said evenly. "If he makes a deal, he keeps it as long as no one betrays him. If this happens, well, Elijah takes such things as a personal insult and his reactions would be accordingly drastic."
"I think I can live with that", Keelin said. She stared at the table for a few minutes and Hayley and Freya gave her the time to think about everything. "What would your protection look like?"
"We would consider any attack against you as an attack against the Mikaelson family", Freya said.
Keelin looked thoughtful. She seemed to know what that meant. "This would eliminate a lot of my problems. There are assassins hunting me." She looked meaningfully at Hayley. "They're all vampires. I only invited you in because you were with a witch and I knew I was outgunned."
"We can find out who hired the contract killers. And convince them that it would be a big mistake to keep bothering you", said Hayley softly.
"Just be aware that you would have to stay in New Orleans to be completely safe", added Freya honestly. "The further you get away from the city, the fewer guarantees for your safety we can give you."
Keelin waved her hand. "I don't care where I live, as long as I can live in peace and without being in fear of getting murdered. Being able to practice my profession again is my biggest dream."
"What is your profession?" Freya asked curiously.
"I'm an emergency doctor", Keelin answered proudly. "Well, I will be as soon as I finish my hospital residence. But this I can do in New Orleans too."
"Oh, we can always use someone like you working in an emergency room." Hayley knew it was a possibility to admit supernatural beings unconsciously to a hospital. And there existed always the risk that their existence would become public knowledge and then they would all be in trouble.
"So, what do you think, do you want to come with us? Or do you need more time to think about it?" Freya asked.
Keelin smiled. "I'll come with you. Give me an hour to pack the essentials and some things I don't want to leave behind."
"Do you want us to wait outside?" Hayley asked politely.
"No, you can wait here." Keelin stood up and left the kitchen.
Hayley listened as she went up the stairs. She didn't really think that Keelin would try to flee but it was better to stay on guard. She heard the noises that told her that Keelin was starting to pack.
Freya looked questioningly at Hayley, who nodded. Freya leaned back, reassured.
Almost 30 minutes later, Keelin came into the kitchen with a suitcase. "I'm ready. Just one question, from what point does your protection take effect?"
Hayley looked at her carefully, the tone made her think. "Is someone after you right now?"
"Yes, a male vampire", Keelin replied embarrassed. "He has been stalking me the last few days. He even follows me in the daylight. I don't know how he is managing this. I think he wants to frighten me first before killing me."
"Somehow he managed to get a daylight ring from a witch", Freya waved off. "It's even possible that he's one of the Strix. If that is the case, Elijah will have much fun to terrorise them into submission."
Keelin looked impressed. "There is a ring so that vampires can walk in the sun?"
Freya looked at Keelin and smiled. "There is even a ring for werewolves, so that they don't have to turn at the full moon. And as a thank you for coming with us, I'll make one for you. You'll never have to transform again if you don't want to."
The smile on Keelin's face lit up the room.
Ignoring this byplay Hayley looked at Freya. "If he is a Strix he could be older and stronger than me." She shuddered as she remembered Shen Min. "You have to be prepared for anything."
Freya moved her shoulders in a way that Hayley reminded of Elijah, when he got ready for a fight.
"I'll go first, then Keelin, and last you," Hayley said calmly. She stood up and Freya followed her example. "As soon as he sees that you are with us and realizes that you are planning to leave town, he will attack us."
As Hayley had predicted, the vampire attacked them as soon as they were in the side alley where they had parked their car.
Hayley stood up to him but she quickly realized that he was too old and strong for her. A blow threw her to the side and she lay there dazed. He immediately forgot about her and turned to Keelin instead, it was clear that he wanted to kill her. But before he could reach her, he fell to his knees, screaming, with his hands pressed to his head.
Hayley saw Freya standing there with her right arm outstretched, her hand clenched into a fist. Then Freya made a jerky movement with the hand and it hurled the vampire against the nearest wall. Before he could recover, Freya made a twisting movement with her other hand and snapped his neck.
"Rip out his heart before he comes back to life", Freya said casually. "We don't want him to follow us or inform the others that Keelin is now under our protection."
"Definitely a badass", Keelin said dryly, she looked more than impressed.
Hayley followed Freya's suggestion before dragging the body to the car. "I'll put him in the trunk, we'll dispose of him somewhere along the way."
Freya nodded and sat in the driver's seat. "Do you want to sit on the passenger seat, Keelin?"
"Yes, thank you", Keelin replied.
With a slight smile, Hayley heaved the body effortlessly into the trunk, there was undoubtedly a certain chemistry and interest between Freya and Keelin. Then she saw a bag that she hadn't put in there. Curious, she opened it and saw wet wipes and clean clothes.
"Oh, Elijah, you boyscout", she whispered softly and took the bag out before closing the trunk. She sat down on the back seat and started cleaning herself and changing.
"Where did you get that?" Freya asked curiously, watching her in the rear-view mirror.
"Elijah", Hayley replied amused. "It looks like he fully expected me to need a change of clothes. And the wet wipes are especially good for removing blood."
"Typical my brother", Freya replied laughing, shook her head and started to drive.
Hayley laughed too. "You said it."
Pleased with herself that everything had gone so well, Hayley made herself comfortable in the back seat. Somehow, she had the feeling that she would spend the whole drive back there.