Book: Kindred Spirits
Chapter 124 (4x08)
Word Count: 2809
"This is nice." Kol murmured as he lay in bed with Cassidy. "It's great that we still have time for things like this, away from the kids."
"Yeah." Cassidy's response was vague, an almost distant look in her eyes that Kol picked up quickly, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
"Is everything alright?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Fine." Cassidy reassured, snuggling further into Kol's side. "Just happy to be here with you. It was a nice distraction from the drama with the Hollow and all, and I missed you."
"I missed you, too, baby... but I know when something is on your mind." Kol pointed out. "Is this about the argument you had with Rebekah a few nights ago?"
"Maybe." Cassidy admitted. "We worked things out. I mean, we had a really long talk about everything. Me and Bekah are perfectly fine now, but I keep thinking about what she said. Have I really changed that much?"
"Um, well..." But before Kol could blurt out the truth and potentially hurt Cassidy's feelings, he was saved by the small sound of a voice by the doorway.
"Mom? Uncle Kol? Where's dad?"
"Hope?" Cassidy frowned in concern, pulling the covers over her bare chest as Kol hurried to find his jacket to give to Cassidy, who shrugged it on, thankful that the jacket ended at her thighs, and she wrapped her arms around herself while climbing out of the bed, dropping to her knees in front of her eldest daughter. "What's going on, honey?"
"Mom? Can you hear them, too?" Hope whispered, a distant look in her eyes.
"What's going on?" Kol asked, worried for his step-daughter/niece as he pulled on his clothes and approached the two.
"Look at me..." Cassidy placed a hand on the side of Hope's face, brushing her auburn hair aside. "Tell me what you heard."
"Voices." Hope revealed quietly. "They said that we're connected to this. You and me."
"Who is saying that, Hope? The jawbone? Can you hear it?" Cassidy questioned in a worried urgency.
"No. Not the bone. The witches. The Ancestors. They have a message for us. A warning..." Hope responded, now looking genuinely fearful herself. Cassidy's eyes widened.
"Can you tell me what they said, yeah? Can you do that for me, honey?"
"They want you to go to St. Anne's Church to talk to them." Hope told her mom. "They said you have to do exactly what they say, and you have to do it now. Before the Hollow comes for us..."
---
Cassidy was slipping on her shoes and shrugging on her jacket, getting ready to head to St. Anne's Church, uncaring of the danger that could possibly lurk there. She'd walk through hell and back if it means ensuring safety for all of her kids.
"Please don't go." Kol sighed sadly, sat on the bed, simply watching Cassidy get dressed.
"I have to. No, I need to. I need to protect my kids, Kol. Our kids." Cassidy replied. "The whole point of 'Lijah going to Vincent was to get the Ancestors on our side. Find the bones, stop the Hollow from getting her body back--"
"Why are you doing this?" Kol abruptly asked. "And 'to protect my kids' isn't an answer. Half of the people in this house have children of their own that they want to protect. Me, Klaus, Elijah, Hayley... and we'd do anything to protect them. But why do you insist on doing all of this alone, baby?"
"Because they've asked me to." Cassidy reminded. "Who else is gonna go, you? 'Lijah? Nik? The ancestors don't trust Mikaelsons as far as their witchy minds can throw them, and Hales is looking after Andrea while I'm gone. It's down to me to protect these kids right now, baby. We don't understand this thing or how to stop it. But one thing is for sure... we need help. And I'm gonna go get it." Cassidy walked closer to Kol, pecking his lips softly. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. I love you."
"I love you, too." Kol responded, watching as Cassidy turned and walked out of the door.
---
Just as Cassidy headed towards the door of the house to leave for St. Anne's Church, a hand grabbed hers, preventing her from leaving. Cassidy groaned.
"Kol, I need to--" But as Cassidy turned around, it wasn't Kol. It was Davina stood there.
"I'm coming with you."
"Vina, I don't want to argue with you right now, but--"
"Then don't. I'm coming to lend a hand, you're meeting those fun witchy ancestors, so I'm there if they try to pull any tricks, I'm a witch, you're half-witch... they trust us more than they trust the others." Davina had already grabbed her coat and had opened the door. "Well, we better get a move on."
Cassidy sighed and didn't argue, walking out of the door with Davina.
---
"It's quiet." Cassidy first uttered once she and Davina stepped into St. Anne's Church and looked around.
"Look..." Davina whispered, gesturing to the four girls walking towards them. "You're the Harvest Girls... the ones after mine, aren't you? Are you speaking for the Ancestors?"
"Provided that you've come in peace." One Harvest Girl shrugged. "We're here to offer a deal."
"Although one of the heretic's mates did murder all four of us to begin the Harvest..." Another Harvest Girl muttered grudgingly.
"Elijah has been dealt with for his actions during the Harvest." Cassidy snapped. "Now, little girls, I'll only ask you this once. Where are the Ancestors?"
"Well, that's easy." A third Harvest Girl said. "Since Davina Claire is a Harvest witch herself and you are half-witch, and you both reside in New Orleans, it should be easy to cast a spell and link you to an audience with the dead."
---
Once Davina and Cassidy had been projected to the Ancestral Plane temporarily, they waited for an Ancestor to show themselves.
"I wasn't sure you were gonna show up." None other than the familiar tall redhead, Genevieve, made herself known, walking up to the two girls.
"You?" Cassidy groaned. "Why you? Of all Ancestors who wanted to speak to us?"
"It is nice to see you again, Cassidy. I hear you had more kids after the boy and girl." Genevieve smiled softly. Cassidy glared at her.
"Enough with the small talk. Let's not pretend like I don't despise you. Now, if you don't know any useful information about the Hollow, then we're just gonna go. I didn't come here for a chit chat, Genevieve."
"Neither did I. Though it is nice to see a familiar face. Both of you seem happy with your life. I'm glad." Genevieve murmured. "But I want to defeat the Hollow as much as you do. So do the Ancestors. But first you need to know what you're up against. It begins a thousand years before the city was founded. Two rival tribes decided to combine their power. They thought that by uniting in peace, they would enter a new age of harmony. A marriage was arranged. Two powerful witches joined together to create a unified coven."
"A ceremonial wedding. Like the one Hayley and I had to stop her pack from turning." Cassidy realised.
"Did something go wrong?" Davina asked, already intrigued with the story.
"That marriage bore a child." Genevieve continued. "For nine months, the tribe elders visited the mother, using magic to grant the child great power in hopes that the newborn would become a symbol of prosperity. But they had no idea what they were bringing into the world. She was named Inadu. Soon, it was clear that she was stronger than anyone could imagine. And that she had a terrible hunger for more power still. And that's how the Hollow was born."
"Well, now we know the story of the Hollow's birth, which wasn't really a need-to-know..." Cassidy rolled her eyes. "How do we kill her?"
"You don't understand." Genevieve frowned. "You can't."
"If this thing is so powerful it can't be destroyed, why bring us here? Why tell us all of this?" Cassidy questioned angrily.
"The Ancestors needed you to know."
"It was her tribe that turned her into this thing. Her family should have stopped it." Davina spoke up. Genevieve glanced at her and sighed.
"You don't think they tried? All they wanted was to undue what their magic did. But that was the beginning of the end. Over time, she grew and craved more power. Inadu channeled life in all its forms. Her hunger was insatiable. She loved the fear she inspired in others. Her people knew her as ruthless, unfeeling, empty. Until that became her defining quality. So they began to refer to her by that single trait... 'The Hollow'."
"She killed them all?" Cassidy questioned in disbelief. Even she wasn't that evil.
"Not because they hurt her or were unkind. She did it for fun." Genevieve informed. "You want to defeat the Hollow? She only has one weakness." She paused to let out a quiet sigh. "It's you, Cassidy. You're the one chance we have."
"What the hell does that mean?!" Davina exclaimed.
"Apologies, Davina. You are not needed for the next part." Genevieve told Davina before grabbing Cassidy and spiriting them away.
---
"What the hell, Genevieve?! First, you tear me away from Davina and leave her in that place until we return, and now you're going on about how I can defeat the Hollow?!" Cassidy shouted. "If you don't remember, I'm not even a full witch! I'm a half-witch, half-vampire. A creature who could literally be killed by a piece of wood. If you're putting your faith in me, you're wasting your time."
"It all comes down to the bloodline, Cassidy." Genevieve said. "That's the only thing that worked against her. When her evil became too great to bear, the tribes united to defeat her. Tribe elders managed to capture her using mystical bindings. But even with all that power, Inadu was too strong. Death seemed the only solution. Four of the strongest elders each imbued a part of their magic into a mighty ax. When the weapon was ready... they relied on her mother, the one who gave her life, to be the one to take her life. But before she could kill her child, Inadu cast a final spell. One powered by her own death. A curse upon all present that night. She bound them to the full moon, so that once a month, they would turn into the very beasts they used to hunt her."
"The Hollow created the werewolf curse." Cassidy realised. "But if it slipped your mind, I am not a werewolf."
"Not yet." Genevieve smirked. "But you are. Inside you, there is a wolf, waiting to be triggered. When you and Hayley performed your ceremonial wedding, all of you believe that you didn't inherit anything from him, but how is that fair? How would that make any sense if Hayley and her pack gained your vampirism but you got nothing? Think about it, Cassidy. The ceremonial wedding turned you into a part of the pack. You're an untriggered werewolf and you have been since that wedding."
"But I've killed people since that wedding." Cassidy reminded. "How have I not turned yet?"
"It is similar to a Klaus situation. You need a ritual to be able to unleash your wolf since you inherited yours through a mystical ceremony." Genevieve stated. "The blood of all of your mates spilled over a moon stone that the Ancestors and I created ourselves." Genevieve reached into her pocket and pulled out a moonstone. It was longer than the original one, more rectangular shaped, and it had more of a grey tint to it. "Say the spell 'Sine me gratis errare' once all of the blood is spilled. The transformation should become instant."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Cassidy whispered, confused as she accepted the moon stone. "There are so many crescents out there that you could ask to do this."
"Because you are the Original Tribrid, Cassidy." Genevieve announced. "You defeated Dahlia as a heretic. Your power as a tribrid could be unstoppable."
"I like the sound of that." Cassidy smirked.
"Be warned though, Cassidy..." Genevieve frowned again. "The Hollow has spies on you. She knows of your power and she is hell-bent on stopping you from completing the ritual to trigger your wolf. The Hollow fears you. She wants you dead. And if you die, there's only three of your children who possess witch and werewolf genes in their blood."
"Hope, Leo, and Andrea." Cassidy realised.
"You can protect your children, Cassidy." Genevieve reassured. "But I need you to trust me. The Ancestors can't find the Hollow, which means she's chosen a host. Now, if you can track her, you can fight her. Your power of all three supernatural creatures is her weakness, so use it. Once you've triggered your ceremonial wolf and you've found the Hollow's host, I can use Klaus to cast a spell to imprison her for good. Remember, Hayley, this won't work if you don't trust me."
"It's hard to trust the witch who tried to murder my eldest children only minutes after they were born." Cassidy grumbled. "But I'll try."
---
Cassidy was hesitant to leave Davina alone there with Genevieve, but it wouldn't be for long if she manages to locate the Hollow. Genevieve was right: a locater spell wouldn't work in the Hollow. She was in someone else's body. It wasn't until Cassidy got home and asked Rebekah where Elijah was, and Rebekah said that Elijah was out with Marcel, did Cassidy realise that she was not going to be able to chill out all day.
She left immediately after to track down Elijah and see what game Marcel must've been playing with him, but Cassidy was in for an even bigger surprise when she eventually located Elijah and Marcel, but when she reached them, she saw Elijah on the ground after being taken down by the Hollow, and Cassidy witnessed the Hollow take Marcel down, too.
The main shock was that the Hollow had stolen the body of someone that she knew Marcel had taken a fancy to. Sofya. It wasn't Cassidy's business who Marcel moved on with, but it did sting quite a bit when she found out about Marcel and Sofya.
"Now the game comes to an end." The Hollow/Sofya smirked.
"Not just yet." Cassidy made herself known, walking forward. The Hollow/Sofya turned towards Cassidy and seemed surprised to see her, but then studied her and smirked.
"You're still not a wolf yet... which means you can't hurt me. What a pity."
"As much as I want to end your life, it'll have to wait until I do trigger my wolf. And then I won't hesitate." Cassidy threatened, and a wave of fear flashed through the Hollow's/Sofya's eyes. "But for now, leave 'Lijah and Marcel alone. Or I just might want a taste of some Hollow magic... Inadu." Cassidy held her hand up threateningly, ready to siphon from the Hollow/Sofya.
"This isn't over." The Hollow/Sofya spat. "I hear you can't perform your wolf ritual without the blood of your mates, correct? Good luck trying to trigger your wolf in time for me to kill every last one of them."
And then, she fled. Cassidy cursed under her breath, rushing over to make sure that Elijah was okay.
---
"What the hell, 'Lijah?!" Cassidy exclaimed once they were back in their home and Elijah had explained what he was doing with Marcel. "You're my husband! You promised me a future when you married me, so you can't just go offer yourself up to die! There is always another way!"
"There wasn't time for another way." Elijah responded calmly, watching Cassidy pace in front of him.
"Well, Alex has only just met her father! She needs you!"
"And I think Alexandria deserves a better father."
"What are you talking about?" Cassidy frowned. "Alex needs you. I need you, 'Lijah. I love you, Alex loves you, and you know this. But we've got to figure out a way to fight and win and still have something that I recognize as a good life."
"Rebekah asked me if there was somewhere I could go to be happy. Begin again." Elijah muttered. "Manosque. It's this beautiful village in the south of France, the countryside. And when we end this and we will end this, we're all gonna go there. Our very big, very dysfunctional family. And I promise you, I will make this right."
"I'll hold you to that." Cassidy sighed, her anger fading as she walked closer to her husband, hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay."