Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 15

"Interesting."

"Another possessed witch actually attacked me. Hope gave me her blood and healed me. There was a momentary link between us that we used to escape from Daniel. That could have been one of the reasons he was reluctant to attack because he knew I had Hope's blood in my system...he was fascinated by Hope's abilities but..." She sighed. "I don't know, maybe I'm just overthinking things."

"No, I don't think you are," Freya said in a firm voice. "I meant what I said the other day Bonnie, there is incredible power in you. The Hollow fears you, and your family too. It's why it has done everything in its power to end your line."

There was a long moment of silence after that.

The potion continued to brew while both witches got lost in thought.

"Do you think..." Bonnie began after a while. "That we could try that spell of yours again?"

Freya's eyes lit up.

"Maybe between the two of us we could see more, learn more about the Hollow and the connection to my family," Bonnie suggested.

"Absolutely." Freya was mentally kicking herself for not having thought about it before. "I think that's a brilliant idea."

They both shared excited smiles.

• • • •

Mystic Falls

Mystic Falls, Virginia was the quintessential small town.

Boring was the word that came to Marcel's mind while he and Vincent walked through the cemetery. Mystic Falls lacked the charm, the music, the art, and the electric vibe that New Orleans had. It was a beautiful town, with gorgeous architecture, and filled with history (much of it deeply tied to the supernatural) but still, Marcel couldn't imagine living in a place like this his whole life. He couldn't imagine living anywhere else but New Orleans actually.

They stopped at a prudent distance, under a shadow of a tree; neither wanted to disturb the small group of people paying their respects.

Abby Bennett's funeral was very small. Her ashes were buried next to her ex-husband by friends of her daughter which included the town's sheriff-Matt Donovan, he had been the one to identify Abby's charred remains and arrange everything for her burial.

"Why isn't she buried with the other Bennetts?" Marcel asked curiously.

"She was a vampire."

"So?"

"Witches have to be buried with witches," Vincent responded solemnly. "Abby Bennett ceased to be a witch the moment she was turned. A fucking sin."

"What is?" Marcel asked with mild curiosity. He was more preoccupied about the small currents of power in the air, it was subtle but it was there. Living in New Orleans for over a hundred years had made him aware of those almost invisible tendrils that marked a place with ancient magic. The Mystic Fall's cemetery was surrounded by it.

"A witch being turned into a vampire," Vincent responded. "For many that is the biggest sin imaginable." His eyes landed on the small group of people paying their respects to the former witch. "A Bennett witch becoming a vampire is a sacrilege."

"Because they're an old witch family?" Marcel had heard whispers of the Bennett witches for almost as long as he had been a vampire, he knew the name carried a lot of weight and influence in the supernatural world. The Bennett witches were as ancient as the Mikaelson family, maybe even more. Vincent certainly spoke about them with reverence.

"Because they are the beginning of magic itself," Vincent acknowledged. "It's a tragedy that the family line has pretty much died down." He sounded sad and troubled by it.