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CHAPTER 25: INADU

❝ we are here now. we may as well get some answers. ❞

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THAT JAWBONE WAS INDESTRUCTIBLE. Enola literally tried everything. Sledgehammer. Fire. Garbage disposal. She even tried to run it over with her car. None of it worked. And now it sat in the middle of the dining room table with a protective barrier surrounding it.

Hope was staring at the jawbone in the middle of the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. She walked around the table and it would rotate with her. It seemed to follow her every move like a ghost. A ghost can be many things. A memory. A daydream. A secret. Grief. Sorrow. Despair. But most times it is what you want most in the world. A wish.

"Hope?" Enola called out in concern. "What is going on?"

"Can you hear them too?" Hope wondered.

"What is it?" Klaus questioned, storming into the room hand in hand with Finn.

"Look at me," Enola crouched in front of Hope. "Tell me what you heard."

"Voices. They said that we are connected to this." Hope informed. "You. Me. Finn."

Enola looked at Hope in confusion. The only thing that connected the three of them was blood and their love for the arts. There was also the fact that they were all a part of the Crescent werewolf pack. But the Crescents disbanded years ago. Five years ago to be exact. What did they have to do with an evil spirit hell bent on sacrificing children?

"If this fossil has been whispering lies, I will gladly throw it in the river." Klaus decided simply.

"What lies is the bone spreading?" Finn frowned obliviously.

"No. Not the bone. The witches. The Ancestors." Hope explained. "They have a message for us. A warning."

"Tell me what they said," Enola prompted.

"They want you to go to St. Anne's Church to talk to them. They said you have to do exactly what they say and you have to do it now." Hope informed. "Before the Hollow comes for us."

Enola would have been surprised by the return of the Ancestors. But Hayley and Elijah had sacrificed four teenage girls on an altar of fire. Vincent was forced to reach out to the Ancestors for some much needed help to resurrect the murdered teens. If the Ancestors were asking the Mikaelsons for a meeting, it must be important.

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Enola watched Bonnie and Freya play with Hope and Finn from the doorway. A small smile was stretched across her face as she pressed her phone to her ear without looking at the screen. She knew exactly who was calling. There would hopefully be good news received from the caller. This was a life or death situation after all.

"Are you close?" Enola questioned.

"You need to relax. I am on my way to New Orleans right now and I have good news." Alaric informed. "I went through the remains of the Lockwood estate and I found you one creepy and ancient finger bone."

"Thank god," Enola breathed.

"Oh, hey, listen—one more thing." Alaric said. "The Lockwood family didn't just safeguard the bone—they kept records with names, dates, locations." He sounded almost as excited as he used to when it came to solving all the mysteries that the world had to offer. "Turns out they had knowledge of other families that were charged with guarding the rest of the remains." He cleared his throat. "Does the name Labonair mean anything to you?"

"Yes, actually." Enola confirmed.

"Good. That might be a lead to help you find the rest of the remains." Alaric said. "Which you will have to do by yourself because my days of fighting monsters are over."

"Oh, I doubt that." Enola chuckled. "The town of Mystic Falls always has a monster ready to be slain."

"Well, if there are more monsters, I will not be the one fighting them." Alaric quipped. "Okay, so, here is the deal; I will be at the barbecue shack off route fifty nine until two o'clock. If you are not there by then, I chuck the bone and the records in a dumpster and I am gone. Then you can fish them out of the trash yourself."

"I am afraid that I will be otherwise occupied, so you will be meeting Bonnie." Enola informed. "And if she happens to be running a little late, I suggest you exercise some patience and have yourself a beer."

Enola barely ended the call when Hayley rounded the corner like a woman on a mission. She quickly turned to run away only for her path to be blocked thanks to something called vampire speed. She inwardly cringed as she took a few steps back to garner some distance.

"Please don't go," Hayley begged.

"The whole point of you and Elijah going to Vincent was to get the Ancestors on our side," Enola reminded. "Find the bones, stop the Hollow from rising from the dead."

"Why are you doing this?" Hayley demanded.

"Because they are asking me to," Enola deadpanned. "Who else is going to go? You? Elijah? You idiots slit the throats of four young girls."

"We are at war with a creature we do not understand," Hayley reasoned.

"That is the point—we do not understand this thing or how to stop it." Enola huffed. "But one thing is for sure. We need help. And I am going to go get it."

"Fine," Hayley conceded. "Just tell me what I can do to help."

"I think you have done enough," Enola scoffed. "I mean, what were you thinking? Those girls were innocent in all this."

"Elijah said that it was the only way," Hayley argued.

"If Elijah said the sky was brown, would you believe him?" Enola deadpanned. "Just stay put until I get back. We will talk about it later." She turned on her heels to leave and hopefully find her husband. But not without muttering a snarky comment under her breath. "I swear I am raising a house full of children."

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"It is quiet,"

Enola entered the church with Klaus following close behind. It was empty. Which was strange seeing as there was always a lost soul in need of a little guidance around here. Though the only thing that could be heard was the whistling wind and their footsteps against the hardwood floor.

"Of course it is quiet," Klaus scoffed. "It is a trap."

"We don't know that," Enola argued.

"New Orleans witches have hated my family for three centuries." Klaus reminded. "Of course it is a trap."

"The coven protects their own," Enola said. "Hope and Finn are one of them. They are part of their legacy."

"Hope and Finn are a far cry from French Quarter fortune tellers," Klaus scoffed. "And while we are on the subject, they are children. If anyone wants to talk to them, they should ask my permission."

"You are going to be a lot of fun when they start dating," Enola chuckled in amusement.

"I am going to be a perfect gentleman," Klaus announced. "And should any suitor fail to meet my expectations, I will compel them to the priesthood." Enola smiled at Klaus when the church doors suddenly flew open to reveal four young girls. "Oh, look, Harvest Girls. I assume you speak on behalf of the Ancestors?"

"Provided that you have come in peace," One Harvest Girl spoke firmly.

"Well, that depends on you." Klaus said.

"We don't want a fight," Another Harvest Girl announced.

"We are here to offer a deal," Harvest Girl number three hummed.

"Although you people did murder all four of us, so let us not pretend we are friends." The fourth Harvest Girl reminded.

"Please consider all pretense of friendship dropped," Klaus shrugged sarcastically. "Where are the Ancestors?"

"We need your blood," The first Harvest girl demanded, impatiently holding out a large bowl.

"That is funny," Klaus chuckled in amusement. "I didn't hear you say please."

"If you want answers, we have to guide you to the Ancestors." Harvest girl number two claimed. "But since you are not witches, we need to bend the rules."

"How?" Enola questioned, taking the bowl into her own hands.

"Simple loophole," Harvest girl one continued. "You are both bound by blood to a New Orleans witch. We can use the link to your child to cast a spell and link you to an audience with the dead."

Enola and Klaus shared a look of understanding. She bit into her wrist and allowed her ruby red blood to drip into the bowl before handing it over to him. He was a bit more hesitant to comply but ultimately followed suit. He sighed as he looked down to the bloody mixture before handing the bowl over to the Harvest girls.

"Get in the circle," Harvest girl number three instructed, motioning to the circle made of salt that Enola and Klaus had somehow missed upon entering.

"Why do I get the feeling there is something you are not mentioning?" Klaus deadpanned, entering the circle alongside Enola regardless.

"Just one thing," Harvest girl number two teased. "This is going to hurt."

Enola and Klaus were given no warning before the Harvest girls began the spell. It felt like their blood was on fire and every bone in their body was so close to breaking before they collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap. They stumbled to their feet to find that they were standing in the middle of the salt circle. Only the sun no longer peered in through the large windows. It was the moonlight.

"Now can I be angry at them?" Klaus questioned in exasperation.

"Get angry later," Enola said. "We are here now. We may as well get some answers."

"So are we to wander around this dreary purgatory in search of lost souls?" Klaus wondered.

The dim lights flickered before the doors to the church suddenly flew open with force. Klaus and Enola turned in time to witness a woman dressed in black storm through. All they were able to see were the chestnut brown curls that fell around her shoulders. Her face was covered by a large black hood. Something told them that was intentional.

"I wasn't sure you were going to show up," She spoke in an eerily familiar voice.

"Well, I am full of surprises." Klaus shrugged. "I hope you intend to make our trip worth the effort."

"As a matter of fact, I do." She hummed before pulling the hood back to reveal none other than Davina Claire. "And you are going to listen to every single word I have to say because right now, I am the only thing standing between you and the Hollow."

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Enola and Klaus stared at Davina in shock. They were unable to go about this. They killed her after all. A quick hug and an apology would not make matters any better. Not that she wanted that. No. She seemed like she was all business today. And that was okay because so were they.

"How is Kol?" Davina hummed. "I cannot see anything from here except New Orleans."

"I believe he is currently traipsing through the French Riviera," Klaus answered. "I am sure he will return once I tell him how lovely you remain. Death becomes you."

"Stop talking," Enola deadpanned.

"Gladly," Klaus quipped sarcastically. "Once she tells us something that could be of use because, as I recall, when Freya kicked her into this drab shadowland, her brethren wanted to tear her apart."

"You want to defeat the Hollow. So do I. So do the Ancestors. But first you need to know what you are up against." Davina said sternly. "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," Enola nodded. "Like the one Nik and I had to unite the werewolves."

"Let me guess," Klaus spoke up. "Something went wrong."

"Something always goes wrong," Enola agreed.

"That marriage bore a child. 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 she had this terrible hunger for more power." Davina explained. "And that is how the Hollow was born."

"Well, this is all frightening fodder for campfire tales." Klaus nodded impatiently. "How do we kill her?"

"You don't understand," Davina huffed. "You can't."

"If this thing is so powerful it can't be destroyed, why bring us here?" Enola wondered. "Why tell us all of this?"

"The Ancestors needed you to know," Davina said.

"Please inform the Ancestors that they are a colossal waste of my time," Klaus scoffed. "I have been alive a thousand years. I have never met anything I couldn't kill. We will defeat this pathetic phantom as well."

"It was her tribe that turned her into this thing," Enola continued. "Her family should have stopped it."

"You don't think they tried? All they wanted was to undo what their magic did." Davina said. "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," Enola realized.

"Not because they hurt her or were unkind," Davina warned. "She did it for fun."

"Well, to be fair we all have our bad days." Klaus shrugged, earning an eye roll from all two women.

"You think this is a joke?" Davina questioned in disbelief.

"No, but it is a trifle tedious." Klaus sighed boredly. "Perhaps you could get to the bit of the story that might be of some use."

"You want to defeat the Hollow?" Davina quizzed. "She only has one weakness."

"You have my undivided attention," Klaus drawled. "What is it?"

"You." Davina announced, eyes set on Enola. "You are the one chance we have."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Klaus demanded, taking a protective stance in front of Enola.

"I am done talking to you," Davina decided.

Davina grabbed Enola by the arm. She gasped awake moments later to find that she was back in the real world. Her eyes immediately flicker around to find her husband lying unconscious beside her. Though that was the least of her problems when she realized that the Harvest girls were gone. The only people left in the church were her and Davina—who was technically still dead.

"What the hell is all of this?" Enola demanded.

"This is what is needed if we want to stop the Hollow," Davina answered.

"What is needed is Klaus," Enola corrected.

"No," Davina scoffed. "What is needed is you."

"What are you talking about?" Enola huffed.

"It all comes down to the bloodline. That is the only thing that worked against her." Davina claimed. "When her evil became too great to bear, the tribes united to defeat her. But it was no easy task. Inadu had this gift. She could jump into another body at any given moment. They called her a traveler."

"My ancestors were travelers," Enola muttered.

"Tribe elders managed to capture Inadu with mystical bindings. She was unable to jump bodies. But she was still too strong. Death was the only solution." Davina continued. "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." Her eyes widened as she went on. 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."

"She created the werewolf curse," Enola frowned.

"There was a fifth elder. Her father. He looked over the fifth clan. They escaped before the spell could reach them and fled to Bulgaria where they assumed the surname Petrova. You are a direct descendant of Indau." Davina informed. "The werewolf curse did not just magically latch onto your ancestor when she traveled into the body of a Crescent werewolf. It had been dormant inside of her long before that. The body jump is what triggered it. Which is why you were created. As a fail safe. Nature needed to be balanced. To separate the werewolf curse from the Petrova bloodline and create a weapon strong enough to defeat Inadu just in case the time would arise. You are the key. You are our salvation." Her eyes were wide with broken pleas. "The Hollow fears you. And if you die there are only two people on this earth that can defeat her and she will go after them next."

"My daughters," Enola realized.

"You can protect them," Davina promised. "But you have to trust me."

"What do you need me to do?" Enola inquired.

"The Ancestors can't find the Hollow, which means she has chosen a host like all travelers do when they are trying to escape a damned fate." Davina said in thought. "Now if you can track her, you guys can fight her. Your blood is her weakness, so use it. Once her spirit is free, I can use Klaus to cast a spell to imprison her for good." She paused before one last thought entered her mind. "And Remember, this will not work if you don't trust me."

"Will Nik be okay?" Enola questioned sternly.

Davina looked almost anxious before speaking. Because she knew that in order to kill the Hollow she would have to kill Klaus. She knew Enola would not help her defeat the one thing that could wipe them all out. So she did the one thing that would assure Enola was on her side. She lied.

"Yes," Davina nodded. "He will be just fine."

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AUTHORS NOTE.

in case you have not noticed, i have cut a few of the episodes in half. this is one of them. it was too long to fit into one. so i split it in two. until next time, my loves!!!