Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 4

"It's called the Hollow," Klaus explained nearly an hour later, once the two of them were seated inside a dimly lit coffee shop. They were secluded in one corner, sitting comfortably in the two big leather chairs close to the burning fire. The place was nearly deserted saved for a young couple sitting in the opposite corner talking quietly and a middle-aged man by the window, fully engrossed in the book he was reading, a steaming mug on the table in front of him.

"The Hollow?" Bonnie repeated while holding a mug of coffee in both hands. The hot liquid warmed her insides while the burning fire helped to melt the iciness from her cheeks and nose. She didn't know how long they stayed at the cliff but by the time they made it back she felt like a Popsicle. The owner of the coffee shop, a kind elderly lady who greeted Bonnie as if they were old friends, brought her a red wool blanket which the witch happily placed on the lower part of her body. She was definitely warm and comfortable now.

Klaus nodded. He was hunched over, elbows resting on his legs as he contemplated the flames. "A malignant spirit hellbent in coming back to life," he muttered. His face was hard and his jaw clenched. "Not much is known about its origins. There are no written records of it but we learned that it was imprisoned by a powerful witch for centuries." He looked up and stared into her face. "When the other side collapsed, the Hollow was released from its prison."

"Why does it want Hope?" Bonnie asked softly.

"To be its vessel," Klaus replied visibly angry at the thought. He leaned back against the chair. "In the years after its escape the Hollow tried to come back to life, possessing the bodies of different witches, feeding on their power and manipulating them to do its biding. However, none of the witches it possessed could resist its dark power. The Hollow is like a parasite," he explained upon seeing Bonnie's confused look. "It feeds on the energy of the witches it possesses. While the Hollow grows stronger, the witches grow weaker. This thing sucks the life out of them slowly and painfully until eventually the witches succumb to it and die."

"Before they can bring it back to life like it wants," Bonnie supposed.

"Exactly." Klaus met her eyes. "The Hollow's ultimate goal is to be made flesh once more. This vile thing became convinced that Hope is the one it needs, the witch who will be able to withstand its great power and give it life once more."

"A life for a life," Bonnie murmured while thinking how awful it was that the Hollow wanted to take Hope's life and power and be reborn from it. She was just a child.

Klaus growled.

Bonnie shivered when she noticed the hint of gold in his eyes and heard a low growl rumbling from his chest. The thought of that thing hurting his little girl made Klaus seethe with rage and she couldn't blame him.

"I'm used to fighting enemies that I can easily tear apart with my bare hands," Klaus confessed suddenly. "But how can one fight an entity that has no body, only great power to bend its enemies to his will?"

"The Hollow can control people other than the ones it possesses?" Bonnie asked feeling alarmed by the revelation. Just what kind of creature had the Hollow been before it was imprisoned?

"It can do more than that," Klaus responded. "The Hollow not only can manipulate the minds of any supernatural creature it comes in contact with but it also has an incredible amount of power capable of killing with ease. Even without a body, the power the Hollow possesses is unrivaled."

"What about an Original?" Bonnie dared to ask. "Can the Hollow manipulate an Original?"

Klaus's jaw clenched painfully and he pressed his lips together into a grimace.

Bonnie waited for him to respond, her heart pounding loudly. Finn, Kol, and Rebekah are currently indisposed, Klaus had told her earlier that day. Could it be? She wondered as she stared at him. "Did the Hollow get to your brothers and sister. Is that why you told me they're indisposed?"