The Original: Book 4

Chapter 27

"I know who you are, you hateful bitch," Kieran exclaimed, knocking the glass from Cami's hand. His hallucinations had started getting worse. As she bent to pick up the glass, Kieran turned to Josh, his face softening. "Sean, I tried to help you. I tried to save you, but this city," he glared over at Cami, "this city is full of monsters."

Josh hesitated, obviously not knowing how to respond, "uh, yeah. Trust me, I know. Remind me to never piss off a witch."

"We can do some serious damage," I commented, smirking at him. All of a sudden, Kieran fell to the floor, screaming in pain.

"Help me lay him on his side," Cami said, bending down to her uncle's level as I rushed forward. As soon as it started, it stopped. Kieran looked up at his niece, a confused expression on his face.

"Cami."

"Uncle Kieran?" He groaned in pain, shaking his head.

"What do you want from me?" His hallucination was back.

"You saw that, right?" Cami questioned, looking from me to Josh. "It was just for a second, but it was him." I looked over at the man, seeing the fear in his eyes as he played with a key around his neck.

"I don't know, Cami," Josh replied. "I mean, maybe he's still in there underneath all the crazy, but the crazy is pretty thick."

"He's right, Cami. We've been trying to fix him for over a month now and during most of that time, he's been stuck in some kind of hallucination. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up," I commented, looking down at Father Kieran.

"Maybe he just needs a shock to his system, something to wipe the slate clean. I think I have an idea on how to fix him."

***

"Sorry I missed your call earlier," I called as I walked up to the front door of my shop. Elijah stood outside, watching the people pass by. "I was busy helping Cami with her uncle. So, what can I do for you?" I asked, coming to a stop next to him.

"Perhaps we could discuss this in a more private setting," he suggested and I nodded, leading him into the busy shop and to the staircase that led to my apartment. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, unable to go any further.

I turned, already halfway up the steps, "please, come in." I turned back, continuing up to my apartment as I heard him follow behind. "Let's make this quick, shall we? I've got to get back to Cami."

Elijah pulled a grimoire from his jacket, "I need you to hold onto this for me, hide it." I reached out, slowly taking it from him.

"Why?"

"The witches want to get their hands on it and I don't trust Niklaus around it. Since you seem to be neutral in a city full of opposing sides, I thought it would be best kept in your protection," he explained as I flipped through a few pages.

"This is your mother's, isn't it?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, it is. Full of dark spells and tricks. Ones I would not like the witches knowing about."

"Then you can count on me to keep it safe. No one can get through that barrier without being invited in. Not even a witch, human, or werewolf. I made sure of that."

***

"I still think this is a bad idea, Cami," I told her, leaning up against the doorframe. "Electroconvulsive therapy can be dangerous, it could kill him." Josh walked in with a doctor, who immediately spotted Kieran chained up on the other side of the room.

"What the hell?"

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I totally see how we've got a crime scene vibe happening here. Just don't freak out, okay?" Josh tried to reassure him and I rolled my eyes. The man went over to Kieran, crouching down to his level.