Hellfire | Hayley Marshall

Chapter 16

"Great way to poison us all at once," said Hayley coldly.

"Look," said Celeste, "I know you have no reason to trust me, but, Hayley, I actually like you. I was you, caring for one of the Original siblings when they cared more for their psychotic brother, and I ended up dead. So did a lot of others. This, call it a chance for me to give you what I was too in love to give myself. It's a chance to free yourself from the Originals."

Eve, who was standing behind Hayley, nudged her. "You believe her?"

Hayley hesitated, and looked up, seeing Eisa there. "Hi," she said quietly, offering her the jar Celeste had put together. "Would you be able to fact-check this?"

Celeste made a face. "She won't know how to—"

"I'd mind my tongue if I were you," snapped Eisa as she walked toward the wolf. "Don't give me a reason to tear it out of you and put it in a picture frame."

"I'm simply saying you won't recognize—"

"I said to be quiet," said Eisa harshly, making Celeste flinch, thinking she'd be hurt again. "I have studied magic far longer than you. If you think I cannot recognize a mixture of herbs, you're delusional."

She pulled the jar to her nose, wafting it to her nostrils. She drew a deep inhale, making a mental note of what she could smell. "This... will surprisingly work," she said after a few moments of thinking. "It reeks of ingredients for an Unbinding Spell."

"Unbinding Spell?" inquired Hayley.

"See, wolves are bound to the full moon. The initial spell was a modified Binding Spell meant to corrupt the natural connection between a werewolf and the moon. So, the Crescents had everything flipped. This will remove that bind Celeste added, while in the body of Brynne Deveraux. The wolves will revert to their natural state, turning only on the full moon."

Celeste cast them all a cheeky smile. "So," asked Hayley, "does that mean there's no need to keep her captive for a month?"

"I never said that," said Eisa, casting Celeste a distasteful look. "We ought to keep her restrained, just in case."

"It would take an army."

Eisa turned, seeing Elijah behind her. "What are you doing here?" she inquired. "Shouldn't you be ensuring that Nik doesn't kill Cami for playing nurse?"

He gestured to Celeste. "I wished to see her myself. I heard the strangest thing, earlier, when I was attempting to locate her bones. That the witches are... planning a spell of sorts. They mentioned your name."

"Planning?" said Celeste smugly. "Oh, no, dear, they've already completed it. See, I knew you'd come to find me, Elijah. And by speaking to me, you've sealed your fate. The spell will be locked in, shortly."

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" snapped Eisa, gripping Celeste's throat and squeezing. "I suggest you speak."

"It was all carefully planned out," the witch taunted. "I let you into my mind, Eisa. I made sure you saw only what I wanted you to see. I allowed you to have your siblings back. After all, Genevieve had already ensured that Klaus would know of Rebekah's treachery. Genevive allowed you to kill her, even when she could have saved herself, because she knew that her magic, when gone, would flow into Davina Claire's body, and bring her back to life. And we all know that Marcel cares too much about that girl to leave her behind now that he and Rebekah are on the run."

Elijah and Eisa both tensed. "Rebekah would not be foolish enough to return," said Elijah lowly.

"But she is," replied Celeste. "I convinced the witches to take the girls out of the Cemetery to leave the grounds ready. I told them to find a way to get the girls back in, after noon. It seems you got that done for me, Eisa, though it seems you managed to convince those two little brats to keep their mouths shut about what you asked of them. No matter, because they— Davina especially— remained the perfect bait for Marcel and Rebekah. Right about now, they'll be arriving to the Cemetery. And Klaus will find his guilty little sister waiting for him, trapped within the borders marked by the gates. So you see, even though it looks as though you beat us... you didn't."