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CHAPTER 11: LE DELUGE

❝ kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow. ❞

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HUNTED GIRLS GROW SHELLS. They are called hard women. As if survival could ever be delicate. As if they haven't been chewing rocks for generations. As if they haven't been rebuilding their own bones for centuries.

"The Italians call them Strega. The Yoruba of West Africa call them Aje, meaning mother. Where my mother was from, they called them Hexa, and here we call them Witch." Elijah explained. "Over the centuries, vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic Anchors this city. There has never been one all-powerful witch until Davina."

"Who is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall," Klaus grinned.

"No thanks to you," Enola noted.

Klaus grimaced at the obvious dig. He clenched his jaw as he ignored the ache in his chest. He forced his eyes towards the ground where a broken portrait of Celeste was sprawled out. According to Marcel, Davina had spent a lot of time in the attic drawing Elijah's dead ex lover. The picture was supposed to be of some sort of greater evil.

"Your Celeste was quite beautiful," Klaus hummed. "And a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence."

"Yes. Perhaps Davina has mistaken what she calls evil for power." Elijah tried. "Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she has been dead for over two hundred years. I don't understand why all these sketches now."

"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus huffed. A loud crash from the room next door drew their attention. Davina and Marcel. "That is going well."

"If you were trying to win Davina's trust, maybe poisoning someone she loved wasn't the best idea." Enola pointed out

"Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus scoffed.

"Give me a month," Enola chirped. "I'll get you a list."

"How long do you plan on punishing me for?" Klaus huffed.

"Just until you learn your lesson," Enola hummed. Another loud crash sounded.

"Young, old, dead, or alive—witches are a pain in the ass." Klaus sighed.

Enola nudged Klaus. He stood to his feet before hoisting her up with ease. Her pregnant belly made it difficult for her to stand on her own these days. She made her way over to the door with him hot on her heels. They passed Hayley on their way out of the room as they made their way over to where Davina was. They entered through the door only to be met with a vase at their heads. They immediately ducked out of the way, allowing the ceramic to shatter against the wall.

"Sorry, Nola." Davina apologized.

"Why does she get an apology?" Marcel frowned.

"Because I'm not the one using her," Enola shot back.

"That is fair," Klaus nodded, earning a sharp glare from Marcel.

Their conversation was put on hold when Davina suddenly collapsed onto the bed. A violent cough ripped through her chest as dry dirt spilled from her once soft lips. Marcel and Enola immediately rushed over to rub her back as Klaus stood in the doorway with wide eyes full of disbelief.

"Bloody hell," Klaus sighed.

The entire compound started to shake on its foundation. Klaus quickly rushed over to Enola. Once he was sure she was okay, they both made their way over to the balcony overlooking the courtyard. They looked down to find many confused faces amongst the crowd.

"What the hell is going on?" Rebekah demanded.

"Davina,"

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Sophie Deveraux was the only one who could explain the situation. She had been hiding out in Lafayette Cemetery with the remains she had dug up of Celeste thanks to Hayley who had dug through the old journals Elijah kept back at the plantation. Since Celeste was an ancient powerful witch, they could use her as an ancestor to complete the harvest. All they needed to do was consecrate her bones.

"So you have stolen the remains of the very person that Davina has been drawing for months," Elijah noted bitterly. "Would you care to explain this startling coincidence?"

"I can't," Sophie swore. "I didn't even know who Celeste Dubois was until I—" She was interrupted when the compound began to violently shake. "Was that Davina?"

"Charming little habit she has developed," Klaus hummed, downing a glass of bourbon in one big gulp.

"And the earthquake I felt today?" Sophie persisted.

"Also Davina," Rebekah hummed.

"She has also been vomiting dirt and throwing things around with her mind," Marcel continued like a worried father.

"We have a huge problem," Sophie panicked. "I thought we had more time, but we need to complete the harvest now."

"Said the desperate witch conveniently," Enola scoffed.

"Not happening," Marcel shook his head.

"That earthquake you just felt—a preview of the disaster movie that is about to hit us." Davina announced.

"Why should we believe you?" Elijah questioned.

"You've met Davina, you know her story—for months now, she has been holding all the power of the three girls sacrificed in the harvest ritual, a force that was meant to flow through her and back into the earth." Sophie informed. "One person was never meant to hold that much power. It's tearing her apart and it will take us down with it."

"What do we need to do?" Klaus inquired.

"No," Marcel shook his head. "We're not doing this."

"Relax," Rebekah sighed. "Let's just hear her out."

"As Davina self-destructs, she will cycle through four stages that represent the four elements that bound together the harvest." Sophie explained. "Earth stage comes first. Then comes wind. And since each stage is more intense than the last, let's just say she will blow the roof off this place. Then after the wind is water—rain, flood, influx. But that's not even the worst of it."

"What could possibly be worse than a tornado full of dirty water?" Enola questioned sarcastically.

"The destruction of New Orleans," Sophie answered. "The last stage is fire. And since it is the last, it will be by far the worst."

"You are yet to convince us," Elijah said.

"We don't have time to waste. The first sign has already come and gone." Sophie huffed.

"So fix her," Marcel scowled.

"She can't be fixed. She can't be saved. This will not stop at the earth sign." Sophie shook her head. "If you wait it out, you immortals will be the only ones left to argue about it."

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"We sedated her too heavily," Elijah noted.

In order to put a temporary stop on the mini earthquakes, they were forced to put Davina to sleep with a sedative. She couldn't possibly burn down the city while she was unconscious, right? It was the only thing they could do while they contemplated their next move.

"Well, if this is her sedated, I'd hate to see her otherwise." Klaus chirped, cleaning up the mess that had been left in the courtyard thanks to the earthquake. "We all agreed Davina must be sacrificed. There is no need to let her blow the roof off our heads in the meantime."

"We have come to no such agreement," Enola scowled. "There has got to be another option."

"Enola, my love, sacrificing Davina is the only option." Klaus spoke softly.

"No way. You're not touching her." Marcel growled. He jumped off of the balcony on the second floor before charging at Klaus. He got one hit in before Enola and Elijah were stepping between them with stern looks on their faces.

"Okay. I'll let you have that one." Klaus chuckled humorlessly, wiping the blood from his bottom lip.

"Marcel, no one wishes to see Davina come to harm less than I, but there is no scenario here in which we simply wait this out." Elijah reasoned. "She is going to die."

"According to Sophie, the witch who screwed over everybody here." Marcel pointed out.

"He's got a point," Enola agreed. "Sophie has done some pretty messed up stuff in the past to try and move the harvest ritual along. Who is to say this isn't one of them?

"The harvest was working before it was stopped," Elijah reminded. "If a nonbeliever like Sophie Deveraux can come to have faith that these girls will be resurrected, then I also am a believer."

"I saved Davina from the harvest and now you want me to just hand her over?" Marcel scoffed.

"Do you think that I'm happy about this?" Klaus scowled. "If the witches complete the harvest, not only do they regain their power. We lose our weapon against them." It was Marcel who scowled this time. Klaus stepped forward in an attempt to smooth things over. "The earthquake I was willing to chalk up to hideous coincidence, but these winds? If Davina is not sacrificed, then every inch of earth that shook, everything blowing about now, will soon be drenched in water and consumed by fire."

"Oh, now you care about the city." Marcel laughed, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"We ought to," Elijah hummed. "We built it."

"And we all saw it burnt to the ground. Twice." Klaus reminded. "I will not let that happen again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Now is not the time for power plays," Enola announced. "If we're going to do something, we need to do it now."

"Okay. Fine." Marcel nodded before disappearing into the shadows.

"Not a people person are you, Niklaus?" Elijah sighed.

"Nonsense. I love people." Klaus grinned.

"No, you love Enola." Elijah corrected.

"What's the difference?" Klaus frowned.

"You would gladly maim a family of four if it meant making her happy," Elijah pointed out.

"And yet I am quite unhappy with him right now," Enola reminded.

"How many times must I apologize?" Klaus sighed.

"Until you mean it," Enola shrugged. "Now run along. Sophie should be consecrating Celeste right about now. You don't wanna miss that, do you?"

"Hey, do you have a minute?" Hayley wondered. She stepped into the courtyard in hopes of catching Elijah before it was too late.

"I'm just on my way out," Elijah answered dryly, ignoring Hayley with ease.

"Which one of us is the people person again?" Klaus smirked. "Apparently not you."

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Marcel took Davina and ran. No one was really all that surprised with the turn of events. Marcel and Davina were family. There was no way in hell that he was going to let her die. Though with the way things were looking, he didn't have a choice. She would have to die if they were all going to make it through this.

Enola was on house arrest until Marcel and Davina were found. Until then, she sat in the bedroom she shared with Klaus. A canvas laid flat against the ground in front of her as she worked on a portrait of Celeste. She had contemplated asking Klaus for a personalized art room. Their bedroom wasn't big enough for all their art supplies and she found it tiring to take everything out and put it back where she got it from. She knew Klaus would give her anything she asked for. But she had to be mindful of the other people who lived in the compound. If it was just the Mikaelsons and Hayley, then she would have asked a long time ago. But it wasn't. Marcel and his army of vampire thugs occupied a majority of the rooms. She didn't want to seem greedy with her space.

"Enola?" A familiar voice spoke from the doorway. Hayley. She shifted on her feet as her eyes anxiously flickered around the room. She looked sad.

"What's wrong?" Enola questioned. She immediately tucked her paintbrush away and set her wet canvas on the windowsill before giving her friend her undivided attention.

"I—I messed up," Hayley confessed, voice cracking slightly.

"Elijah," Enola realized, patting the spot beside her. "Sit."

"I shouldn't have told Sophie where to find Celeste," Hayley muttered, taking the open spot on the bed beside Enola. "Now Elijah is never going to speak to me again."

"The thing about Elijah is that he takes his word very seriously," Enola sighed. "He gave Celeste his word that she would rest in peace."

"And because of me, her burial site has been disturbed." Hayley muttered.

"When it comes to Elijah, don't do what Klaus does." Enola sighed. "Just apologize."

"And if that doesn't work?" Hayley inquired.

"Then remind him of who you are," Enola answered. "Someone who doesn't live in the past. Someone who can't afford to. Someone who is human and real and here." She smiled softly. "And then remind him that immortality means nothing if he is stuck living in the past."

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Elijah had returned with news. Sophie was unable to consecrate Celeste. There was no magic in her bones to consecrate. This meant that they had to find a new powerful witch to consecrate and fast. Add that to their growing list of problems. They still had to find Marcel and Davina if they were going to continue with the harvest ritual. In other words, everything was a mess.

"It's taken a thousand years, but you're finally gone mad." Rebekah breathed. "Our own mother?"

"Yes. Our beloved mother, who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement, not daggered but quite dead." Elijah confirmed.

"Well, she did try to kill us all." Klaus reminded.

"I say we put her to use and put her to rest once and for all," Elijah decided, placing his hands upon his hips in a motherly manner. "Now if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendents, she becomes a New Orleans witch and we as her family share in that ancestral magic."

"We're vampires, Elijah. We can't practice magic." Rebekah pointed out. "Or own property for that matter."

"Yes. With regard to practicing magic—that is where Sophie comes in." Elijah hummed. "After we bury our mother, we can channel all her power to Sophie. As conduits of Esther's magic, we need to participate in the harvest." He then reached into a desk drawer before pulling out a piece of paper. "As for owning property . . . not all of our mothers' descendants are dead."

"The baby," Enola realized.

"The baby," Elijah confirmed. He handed Enola the piece of paper to reveal a deed to property. "The parish tax assessor's office is just steps outside of the quarter. You now hold the title to the plantation." He turned back to his siblings with a convincing smile. "So if we bury our mother there and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the harvest ritual."

"You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah." Klaus smirked. "Count me in."

"Yeah, me too." Enola agreed to the fool proof plan. "Just tell me when and where."

"Am I the only one thinking?" Rebekah scowled. "Our mother was the most powerful witch in history. If we bury her, we hand that power to our enemies to use against us."

"Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Rebekah." Elijah spoke sternly.

"I don't know why I bother. You two will just do what you want anyway." Rebekah sighed.

"No. Our decision must be unanimous." Elijah said.

"This is not a democracy," Klaus groaned.

"You're quite right," Elijah agreed. "This is family."

A loud crash of thunder met their ears before lightning flashed across the sky. They all turned towards the window just as it began to downpour. From the outside looking in, the weather must seem so bipolar. One minute there is an earthquake, the strong winds, and finally a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, they all knew what this meant. And it was nothing good.

"Water. The next sign has started." Enola breathed. "If we are going to do this, we need to do this now."

"Rebekah?" Elijah pleaded.

"Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow." Rebekah hesitantly agreed. "Count me in."

"Well, this is no family reunion without our mother." Klaus chirped, clapping his hands together. "I'll fetch her."

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No tears were shed as everyone ran off to complete their individual tasks. They buried Esther at the plantation, consecrated her remains, and let her magic flow through sophie. Now all that was left was finding Marcel and Davina. A task they had left up to Rebekah who returned alone, insisting that they would come.

They were dressed in all black as they clasped onto their matching umbrellas. Solemn looks crossed their faces as they patiently waited. None of them actually wanted to do this. Killing a child wasn't something any of them particularly looked forward to. There are no buts. There are only facts. This felt wrong. Davina was a sweet girl who didn't deserve the cruel hand she had been dealt. She deserved better than this. She didn't deserve to be a martyr. She deserved to live a long and fruitful life. And if things went according to plan, she would.

"Fire," Sophie whispered.

Marcel stoically stepped into Lafayette Cemetery cradling Davina. Fire licked at their heels as they approached the group of onlookers. He slowly set her down in front of them before backing up to give Sophie space to complete the ritual. It was silent for a long moment. Hesitation is clear in the way they all glanced at one another. Almost as if to say, is this who we are?

"Here we go," Klaus muttered, tugging Enola closer.

"Do you believe in the harvest?" Sophie questioned.

Davina was quiet. Her skin was pale and she could hardly open her eyes. She would probably die regardless due to the state she was currently in. That is what they told themselves to feel better about what they were doing. But this was wrong. They knew that. They were just looking for an excuse.

"I believe," Davina whispered.

Sophie hesitated before finally latching onto the ritual knife and approaching Davina. She pressed the weapon to her throat, waiting for someone to yell out their objections. When no one said a word, she slid the blade across her neck. Everyone looked away, watching to cover their ears at the sound of Davina choking on her own blood. But they had to remain strong for what came next.

"After the harvest comes the reaping. Their sacrifices made and accepted, we call upon our elders to resurrect your chosen ones." Sophie called out. Nothing happened as the silence set in. "We call upon our elders to resurrect your chosen ones." Still nothing. "Resurrect your chosen ones." That did nothing to help. They received nothing. No answer. No sign. Nothing. "Please. I beg."

In the end, none of it mattered. Death came on in waves, volatile and strident. The water can be unpredictable and cruel. But all you can really do is learn how to swim.

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AUTHORS NOTE.
we are almost half way through act one. i hope you guys enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing. things are just beginning to warm up. but things never seem to stay happy for too long in this universe. until next time, my loves!!!