Chapter 60

They arrived in New Orleans out of breath and frantic.

"Our home," huffed Klaus as they hurried into the Compound. He was holding Beatrix steady, who was breathing quite slowly. "Once the pride of our family, now a flophouse."

"Indeed, the mighty have fallen," said Elijah as Hayley brushed past, carrying Hope. "Where's Vincent?"

He emerged from behind one of the pillars. "Right here. Kept my word. Now the only question is whether or not you guys are gonna keep yours. As soon as I'm finished healing Beatrix and your kid, you got to leave the city."

Klaus sneered as he eased Beatrix gently into one of the broken chairs. "Well, we're not gonna stay, are we? Your city has lost its charm."

Hayley glared at Klaus. "What he means to say is that we're very grateful, just help them and we'll leave."

Elijah cast Vincent a tight-lipped smile. "Just give us what we need, and we will do so, happily."

He went to Hope first. Beatrix could barely see him, her body feeling weak. He leaned over the little girl and began to chant, "Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a."

Hope's eyes shot open, and she looked around, registering where she was. "Mom?" Hayley approached her quickly, cupping her face gently.

"That's it," said Vincent as he made his way over to Beatrix. "Your little girl's purified. Now, your turn."

He put his hand on her forehead, and she let out a soft breath. He began to chant once again, "Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a. Nettoyer timoun sa a."

Beatrix felt like an entire twenty pounds of weight had been lifted from her body. She was able to sit up, and she didn't feel dizzy.

"Thank you," she heard Klaus say as Elijah came forward and offered Beatrix his arm to help her up.

"Now look, the only gratitude I need from any of you is seeing you leave the city," Vincent said as Hayley helped Hope up too. "Go see your daddy," she told her. Hope began to walk to Klaus, but suddenly, a crow dropped dead in front of her. She stumbled back as all around, dead crows began to fall. Hayley ran to Hope, hugging her tightly and almost trying to shield her vision as the birds continued to fall, creating a circle all the way around Hope.

"What is this?" asked Klaus in a deadly voice when the plopping sound of bird bodies falling to the ground stopped.

Vincent and Beatrix shared a concerned look. "I don't know," Vincent admitted.

Hope looked a bit confused, but not because of the birds. "Mom?" she murmured. "Can you hear that? It's... whispers. Saying a name. Over and over..." she looked at Hayley as she put her hands on her shoulders. "Kre Nah Han. Kre Nah Han."

At this, Vincent and Beatrix looked at each other again. "No," whispered Beatrix. "I had only ever heard legends of that..."

"What is that?" Hayley asked, looking up, alarmed.

"It's a nearly forgotten dialect," answered Vincent gravely. "It's Creole. It means 'the Hollow.' The Hollow is coming." He looked up at Beatrix. "You and I need to talk."

"I'll take Hope to lay down somewhere," said Hayley, scooping her up. The little girl looked tired, and still a bit dazed.

Beatrix released Elijah's arm and followed after Vincent, who led her into one of the other rooms. Not exactly private, since the other three could easily hear them. Silently, Beatrix wove her hand and put up a spell to block out any prying ears.

"How do you know about the Hollow?" asked Vincent immediately.

"I heard of it when I was traveling," said Beatrix. "I knew I'd seen that serpent or dragon thing eating its tail somewhere before. It's... it's something I learned about in South America."

"South America?" he asked. "This— this spirit is older than the Mikaelsons. How would you know of it, unless it spoke to you?"

"When I was digging up my Mayan roots. They knew of it. That same magic that was used to give the Hollow power when her mother was pregnant with her— that's the same dark magic I was born with, Vincent. That Ancient magic that comes from Mayan, Aztec, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Nordic, and other types of gods and goddesses. It was different for me because I was cursed to be born a siphon instead. In her, it manifested as psychopathy. I learned about how dark the magic was, and how it affects others. I bet it had something to do with these violent rituals that happened in 1953."

"It happened again in 1992," said Vincent. "Here, in Algiers, Tremé, Marigny, and the Bayou. I... I will tell you more about it soon. I promise."

She pursed her lips. "Well, I will definitely try not to siphon anymore, so that it can't get a foothold."

Vincent shook his head. "This thing can infect people without direct contact. You'll be more susceptible to it. It will want you or Hope as a host body, I know that already. She's the most powerful witch born recently. You? You're the perfect body for the Hollow. It can take over and the darkness won't destroy your body ever again. But it will destroy you. Right now, it's imperative that you force anything away. Don't give in, no matter how much pain you're in."

Beatrix bit her lip and clasped her hands together. An idea came to mind, and she was glad to have put up a Silencing Spell. "Can we make a deal?" she said softly.

He looked confused. "A deal?"

"You will tell me everything you know, at some point. In turn, I will help you however you need, no questions asked. But if push comes to shove... if there is a way I can be used to destroy it, I need you to do it."

Vincent faltered. "Are you... are you suggesting...?"

She let out a soft sigh. "I know in my heart that I don't have much time left. The others... they'll never want that. But I need you to promise me, Vincent, that if something can be done to save my niece and other kids... if it involves me dying... then I need it to happen."

"Why are you offering this? Why— why wouldn't you rather live?"

"I already am decaying. I wouldn't have much longer anyway. And I think it's the right thing to do. So just... if anything. Keep it in mind, will you?"

He swallowed hard. "Alright. Alright. Listen, I need to speak to my witches. We will think of whatever we can do aside from that. We need to save those kids. But... I will keep that in mind, I promise."

She took his hand and patted the back of it. "I need you to keep this secret. I promise I will help in any way. As long as you do this for me. I think... it will need to happen. This thing will only gain power from here."

Vincent brought up their clasped hands and kissed her knuckles gently. "They always told us about you, you know?" he murmured. "They always talked about you in Tremé. Those witches who raised you in the Bayou became part of that Coven. I never liked the idea of a Heretic. I thought you hybrids were all pure evil. They told us you abandoned them and disappeared. That you went on to be a monster after you returned to side with the Mikaelsons. But this right now? And knowing what you've been through? That's the most selfless thing I've heard anyone propose. It is an honor to know you, Beatrix La Salle."

She offered him a smile. "It feels like the right thing. If worst comes to worse, right? I don't want to end up in Hell. Now, you go on ahead to your witches. I need to check up on my niece."

They parted ways, and Beatrix was immediately ambushed by Elijah and Klaus, who had been talking.

"What's the witch got to say?" Klaus demanded.

"Witch business, darling, you wouldn't get it," said Beatrix gently, patting his cheek. "We're figuring things out."

She looked up as Hayley came back downstairs, rubbing her arms. "She's sleeping now. I think we should all try to get some rest."

"I can fix up our rooms," offered Beatrix. "Do the best I can, anyway..."

"Just fix up one room," Hayley suggested. "Two beds, I'm sure we don't mind doubling up. This is temporary, and there's no sense in fixing up everything."

And that's what Beatrix did. She fixed up her room, which was nearest to where Hope was staying. Elijah and Hayley took one of the beds she set up, and she and Klaus took the other one. They were all tired, but all struggled to fall asleep. Hayley and Klaus kept getting up to check on Hope. Beatrix would go whenever the two were back in the room at the same time. Then Elijah took a turn. They were all worried sick about Hope, who for now, seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but was breathing heavily as though she was actually having nightmares.

Morning came, and no one had slept a wink. Beatrix occupied herself going out to get some food, and returned to Klaus and Elijah once again having been holding a conversation, which didn't appear to have ended well. She didn't get to inquire further, because Hayley came to join them at that moment.

"How is she?" asked Klaus immediately.

"The fever's back," Hayley sighed. "But she's not in any pain. She's asking for you."

"Well, make an excuse," said Klaus. "I'd rather my daughter not know I've gone off to murder witches."

Elijah glared at him. "We cannot be reckless, Niklaus."

Klaus threw his hands in the air. "And how would you have me respond? Should I delegate my child's safety to someone else?"

"We'll figure things out," said Beatrix. "I think I should go check out the witches myself. Vincent and I still have much to discuss."

"I can assist you," offered Elijah. "We'll see what we can do."

"And I will handle Marcel," said Hayley. "Whatever we're up against, it's as much his problem as is it ours."

Klaus frowned. "Leaving me to do what, exactly?"

Hayley looked at him as though saying, 'Isn't it obvious?' "Stay here and protect our daughter. Do not let anything or anyone near her."

Elijah held a finger up to her before she could leave. "A word of warning. The Marcel that you knew is gone. So, whatever he is now, he's no ally."

"I'll be fine, Elijah," said Hayley before speeding out.

Beatrix put her hands on Klaus's shoulders. "Stay here. Be there for your little girl. We'll be fine."

Klaus didn't seem concerned at all about their safety. Whatever conversation he and Elijah had had last night and this morning, it had clearly left them both looking sore, because they seemed tense. He cast his brother a look before walking away.

"Should I dare to ask what's wrong?" asked Beatrix boredly.

"Neither of us would tell you anyway," said Elijah, offering her his arm. Rolling her eyes, she took it, and he sped them to St. Anne's Church, where the witches were gathered listening to Vincent.

"Look, guys," he was saying. "I know what we're up against. There's a faction of our own people, witches. They've started to make human sacrifices to a spirit called the Hollow. Now, this thing is dark, it's angry, it's very powerful."

Elijah chose to make his grand entrance there, earning him and Beatrix several shocked looks. "It is a force my family and I are here to erase. Now, kindly excuse us, please. Mr. Griffith and I have much to discuss."

Vincent looked annoyed, but let out a breath to calm himself. "Okay, uh, give me a minute."

The witches dispersed, and Elijah adjusted the buttons of his shirt. "So, now that we've dispensed with the needless hysteria..."

Vincent held his hands up. "I got a lot on my plate, Elijah, without whatever trouble you're trying to bring my way. I have no problem working things out with Beatrix. She's a witch. You, however..."

"You need me," said Elijah pointedly. "And fortunately, I have a long history of removing anything undesirable from New Orleans."

"I'm probably one of the things that's on your list," said Vincent. "So I reckon it's best for me work alone."

"Oh, it's not an offer," replied Elijah. "Children's lives are at risk."

This ticked Vincent off. "You care about children's lives at risk?" he said loudly. "What about Davina Claire, Elijah?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "So, you can only see me as some kind of merciless butcher."

"Yes, I do," said Vincent. "Beatrix here— she did everything to help Davina. You? You let that girl be erased."

"I'll be whatever you want me to be, Vincent Griffith," said Elijah. "I'll be the very devil himself, but make no mistake, I would violate everything sacred under the sun in the name of rescuing my niece. And right now, according to you, you are facing two evils. Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those by your side?"

Vincent sighed loudly. "Fine. But we're gonna do this my way."

"Good, thank you," said Beatrix quickly. "We can wait for you here while you prepare anything that's necessary."

Vincent nodded and walked off, and Elijah took a seat at one of the nearby pews. "I have not spoken to you yet, Itza," he said quietly. "And for that, I apologize."

She didn't look at him. "Well, speak."

"You have not spoken to me the way you used to, and I do not blame you. I would have done the same thing. What I did was wrong. I betrayed you. I left Davina in danger. I killed Marcel. And I will never be able to forget that. I will always feel that guilt. I do not ask your forgiveness. All I ask is that you listen.

"The only person who knows my dark side is you. I have not shown it to Hayley. I do not think she could handle it. You know how selfish I can be. How violent. I have no excuse for how I acted. But the one thing I am sure you will understand is that I am profoundly sorry. I should have found another way. I claim to have done it all for the sake of my family but you are our family, Itza. You. Marcel. Davina. I betrayed the part of my family that was added in, and that was incredibly unfair. I should have never done it. And I will never be able to take it back. But I hope that you will know that I feel regret, guilt, pain, and sadness, knowing I have hurt you this way. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I have caused you far too much pain. You deserve much better. And I am sorry for all that I have done. For being an indecisive man. For being rash and egocentric. I apologize, Itza. I should have never forsaken you that way."

She let out a shaky sigh when he stopped speaking. "All I ask, Elijah," she said quietly, "is that you treat Hayley better. She deserves so much. She is amazing. I appreciate you apologizing when unprompted. I can't forgive you, yet. But I can work with you. We're in this for Hope."

"You have always been part of our family, Itza," he said, standing up and coming beside her. "Don't forget that. I should do a better job of showing it. We owe you so much of our joy. Of our prolonged life. I am blessed to have someone like you, who has understood me more than anyone and given me a chance to be better. I am not perfect. I am learning. And I am grateful to have you as my soulmate."

She turned to face him, furrowing her brows. "Elijah—"

"I firmly believe we are soulmates, Itza. Be it as friends or partners. You have taught me the important lessons that help me to improve. I will always be indebted to you for that. You are my best friend, whether you think of me in the same way or not. And it pains me to be conscious of how much harm I've caused you. I am not worthy of your forgiveness now. But I hope that one day, I will be. We have a connection unlike anything else. And I will make it up to you."

Vincent returned at that moment, and Beatrix was saved from having to answer. Elijah acted calmly as Vincent beckoned them upstairs to the balcony, where he had a table set up. He set down an old urn.

"And who might that be?" asked Beatrix softly, her voice wavering. It felt like she'd forgotten how to speak.

"These are the ashes of a witch that lost his way," said Vincent, "and it might just be the key to helping us find ours. The Hollow's magic has a very unique signature. I felt it on this witch the other day when Marcel and I took him out, so if I can trace that energy back to its source..."

"You can find the rest of these fanatics," finished Elijah. "So this thing which haunts my niece, has it spoken to you?"

"It's more like, um, a broadcast," answered Vincent. "And I was able to shut it out, but a lot of people have a harder time doing that."

"Like your wife?" asked Elijah quietly.

Vincent nodded. "You know, there's a difference between what we project and what we have inside of our hearts— what we try to hide inside of our hearts, right? Now that thing, it took everything that's dark and twisted inside of me and it used it against me. It used it again my wife and it ended up taking everything that I've ever loved away from me. But let's say that we run into that thing today. It's gonna take everything that you want to keep buried, it's going to use that and make you do exactly what it wants you to do. And that's what makes you both a liability to the very niece that we're both trying to protect. Beatrix is in danger, too. But she and I have already discussed the dangers, she knows that she has to fight it."

Elijah nodded a bit skeptically. "Let's get to work, then."

Vincent lit a strip of sage and began to chant over the ashes. "Chèche le virtute, Chèche le virtute, Chèche le virtute, Chèche le virtute."

He let out a gasp, his eyes wide. Elijah moved forward, but Beatrix caught his wrist. "He has to see it himself, no interruptions."

At that moment, the witch stopped gasping. "What did you see?" asked Beatrix immediately.

"Nothing good," Vincent said after a second of catching his breath. "They got him... they got Will."

"Kinney?" asked the Heretic. "The detective?"

"Yep," said Vincent gravely. He pulled out his phone. "I'll get him to meet me at the St. James Infirmary. We'll see if we can get him out of this mindset. You two, stay in the shadows. I don't want him to see you."

He gave no other instruction, and the two were left with the task of following him.

Will arrived not long after they did. Elijah and Beatrix remained hidden in plain sight, with an Invisibility Spell. But things got ugly rather quickly, and it broke Beatrix's heart to see that he had been completely corrupted.

"Weird time to have a drink, bud," Will had said when he arrived. "Should be out looking for those kids."

Vincent looked up at him from the bar. "Yeah. I'm a little upside-down, Will. I got this, um, evil mojo just breathing down my back. And it's the same thing that took out my wife then it took me out and now I think it's trying to take out my best friend."

Will immediately got defensive, which was expected. He held his gun up and pointed it at Vincent. "Was this your plan, Vince? Invite me here, confront me?"

Vincent held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever this thing promised you, it's not gonna deliver."

"You're wrong," Will snapped. "The Hollow rewards those who are loyal. Maybe if you did what it asked you to do, things might be different. For me. For Cami. For all of us."

"Is that what it told you, Will?"

"That's what it showed me, Vince. Look at this city! It's overrun with evil. And the only way to take it back is to do one little evil thing myself."

"This is not what you are!" Vincent pleaded. "You can walk away from this. I can help you walk away from this."

"You can't help me," Will said sharply. "You can't even help yourself. Don't you see? You're in the middle of everything that's to come. Which is why they sent me here, Vince. For you."

He fired his gun, but Elijah dove forward, blocking the bullets, and breaking the Invisibility Spell. Beatrix flicked her wrist and sent the gun flying out of Will's hands. Elijah sped forward and threw him over the counter, before pinning him on the ground.

"That's quite the monster you got lurking in there," said Elijah lowly. "You want to see mine?"

"Let's not get playful," said Beatrix, pulling over a chair. She wove both hands in a zigzag motion, and Will's body was flung into the chair, strapped down with magical bindings. Elijah stood and put his hand against Will's temple, trying to see into his mind, but was unable to break in.

"Alright," said Vincent once he realized it didn't work. "Someone cast a spell to block his mind against your vampire tricks, all right? I can break that, Elijah, it's just gonna take me a little bit of time."

"That's a luxury we don't have," said Elijah. "Beatrix, can you—?"

"She is not going to siphon it," said Vincent instantly. "And I'm not letting you torture him. He's my friend and he's just as much of a victim as all those kids."

"You have five minutes," Elijah said as he moved to sit down at a nearby table, bringing out his pocket watch.

Beatrix sighed and came over to Vincent. "What are we doing, then?"

"Just let me channel you," he told her. "I don't have the time to go over pronunciation."

"If the Tremé witches are indeed related to the ones who raised me, you won't have to do that."

He conceded. "Fine. Mimic me." He began to make very specific motions with his hand, and she imitated him. "Briser le bouclier. Briser le bouclier—"

Will began to yell out in agony, but they could not stop chanting. "Briser le bouclier. Briser le bouclier. Marquer nom sa à. Marquer nom sa à. Briser le bouclier. Briser le bouclier—"

It was the most agonizing five minutes of Beatrix's life. She'd had terribly tense moments with patients, but they eventually came around. Will wasn't cracking. He kept screaming and thrashing to no avail.

"Time's up," said Elijah.

"Hold on, Elijah!" said Vincent impatiently.

"Why do you insist?" demanded Elijah.

"Because he's my friend!" snapped Vincent. "And because a witch told me that I'm the one that gave this thing breath. Now I don't know what I did to let it into this world, but I know I ain't just gonna let it take him out."

Elijah glared. "Finish it."

Vicnent and Beatrix shared a look before continuing. "Marquer nom sa à. Marquer nom sa à—"

But suddenly, Will was no longer tied down. The magical binds disappeared, and he brought out a talisman with the symbol of the Hollow, thrusting it in Beatrix's direction and sending her flying back, landing painfully hard against the wall. She tried to get up, but immediately felt a sharp pain in her side, and crumpled back down. Will held the talisman up and threw Elijah back before he could be subdued again.

"There's no going back, Vince," Will said darkly before tossing him back as well, and leaving quickly.

It took a few seconds for them to get back their bearings. Beatrix groaned as she tried to get back up, still feeling her legs were like jelly. Elijah came to her side and pulled her to her feet, glaring at Vincent. "Any other wonderful ideas?"

"That spell tagged him with our magic, so now we can trace him," said Vincent, rubbing his back, which was probably bruised. "Right back to the kids. Are you alright, Beatrix?"

She nodded slowly. "I think—" She hissed and grabbed her side again, nearly sinking back down. Elijah pulled her to sit down, and she let out a whimper of discomfort. Looking down at her arm, she pulled up her sleeve.

Her veins were blackened all over again.