𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓥𝓸𝓲𝓭 𝓞𝓷𝓮 [𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 1]

Chapter 153

O L I V E R

I stood in the Lafayette Cemetery staring at the memorial for the poor woman. The woman I didn't know the name of...the innocent woman....that I killed. Hope was also in the cemetery dealing with surprisingly....the same thing. I guess that was to be expected when you and your sister harbor an ancient evil dark magic that craves violence. "If there is a god...I hope he takes you in with open arms." I said placing a rose onto the memorial site. "You wanna come out from your obvious hiding place from behind that grave or you just gonna stand there and watch me?" I asked looking at the grave. Dad walked out and looked at me. "How'd you know?" He asked. "I could smell you." I answered. Dad let out a sigh. "How you feeling, Ollie?" He asked. "How do you think I'm feeling right now?" I shot back looking at him. "I already know what you're feeling right now, Oliver. It's the same thing that I went through 1000 plus years ago when I killed my first innocent. " He said. "What? No! That's not at all what I'm feeling right now. This isn't about the full moon around the corner. This is about having a dark magic living inside my mind. The same magic that caused me to kill those vampires and this person. You killed that person to satisfy your thirst. You have no idea what I'm feeling right now! If you had this thing in you...you would be succumbing to your infamous unending rage and slaughtering half the world." I spat. "All the reason how I know what it's like...Oliver. I have a demon inside me. A dark chaotic demon that took me over 1000 years to control. I'm also a Ripper...meaning I have to control my urge to rip people's throats out. So, yes. Oliver. I do know what it feels like. I know what it's like to be possessed and deal with this every single day of my life." Dad argued. "That's the difference between you and me, Dad. You've dealt with your demons. I'll be dead by the full moon before I ever get to deal with mine." I said before leaving the cemetery.

S   T   I   L   E   S

I stood in front of the door to the small room before knocking on it. Klaus was busy dealing with Hope and Oliver while I tried to figure out a way to stop the magic. The door opened. "Hello, brother." I said with a smile. "Well, that's a suspiciously warm greeting." Kol answered. "Yes well...paranoid as usual, I see. But lucky for you, I'm not Niklaus. But don't worry, it's not you I'm looking for." I said with a sigh. "Well, then, it must be important if you're asking me for a favor. I'm in mourning, if you even care." Davina stated walking into view. "Forgive me for my intrusion. I'm terribly sorry about Joshua. He was a good man. Probably the best one that lived in New Orleans. But...I'm here for the sake of other good people. I'm here for Oliver. And Hope." I said walking into the room. "The dark magic within them has had some...peculiar side effects. They've got these dark lines, like poisoned veins running up their arms. Today...I noticed a new one on the back of Oliver's neck." I said. I let out a sigh. "I just need to know what it means." I said.

M   A   R   C   E   L

I sat at the bar of Rousseau's where Declan poured me a drink. "Josh'd kill me if he saw me pouring the good stuff like water." Declan said. "You had to earn a shot of this." He added. "To Josh. He fought the good fight." I said raising my glass, clinking it with Declan's before downing it. "Well, I wouldn't call getting stabbed in a mugging fighting the good fight." Declan said. "Yeah, well, you know, it all happened too fast." I said. "Hard to believe." Declan said taking a book out. "Given Josh being immortal and all." Declan said. I glared at him. "You know, I used to think I was going crazy, just like my cousin and uncle did. But then I read my Uncle Kieran's journals. Turns out it's less about them going off their nut...more about you being a vampire, Marcel." Declan said with a smirk. "Just like Josh." Declan added. I shook my head trying to calm my nerves.

"You really want to do this today?" I asked him. "I'm sorry, did I pick an inconvenient time to learn I live in a demon town and that you ran this city like a fascist before my uncle died?" Declan asked me as I drank more of the drink. "You know, Kieran understood the value of keeping order in this town. We worked together. He was my friend." I answered. "You sure about that? From what I read, he was terrified of you. Thought that you and your rules were killing this city." He said. I got up from my seat and looked at him. "Are you just trying to piss me off today or do you want something?" I asked him. "Justice." He said. "Humans are not pawns. We're not food. We have a right to know what's going on." He stated. "I'm trying to protect you. You're better off not knowing." I said. "Well, that's not your decision to make." He argued. "And you are too naive to think him that you can do anything about it." I said. "Not by myself, but, later tonight, when I meet with the archbishop, the city council, the mayor, and the police chief, the Human Faction is gonna start having a say again." He argued. I grabbed his shoulder and stared into his eyes. "You're gonna call of this meeting and you're gonna forget everything you read in Kieran's journals. You're just a normal chef living a normal life." I said. "That's the other thing my uncle mentioned. Vervain. Sorry, Marcel. If you want to shut me up, you're gonna have to kill me." He said smugly. I slammed my fist into his face knocking him out. "God, Stiles was right...you are a pain in the ass." I said looking down at his unconscious figure.