Herald of Death
(Not my gif)
Title: Herald of Death
Word Count: 11,000
Warnings: Canon typical violence and mentions of blood.
Requested By @musically-ambiguous: Spectral Perception Part Two (Sorry it took forever) || Kol x Banshee!reader || Read part one! || Here lies my Masterlist
"The birthday girl has entered the building!" You announced, grinning as you strolled into your father’s office. Your dad turned to face you with a slight smile and you opened the door wide, leaning against the door frame.
"Hey, honey," He said. "How was your day?"
"Eh, nothin' special." You shrugged, making sure to keep the bouquet of flowers behind your back. This wasn't the first time Kol had stolen something for you and the last time your dad found out, he nearly had a heart attack. What the man didn't know couldn't hurt him. "I stubbed my toe on a desk, though."
Your dad laughed. "And how fun was that?"
"Oh, it was just spectacular - loved it," You said, letting sarcasm coat your voice.
"I bet," He hummed. You shot him a thumbs up and turned to go up to your room. "Wait, Y/N!" He called you. "One more thing."
You turned back around, tapping the doorway lightly. "Yeah?"
Your father's expression had lost its humor and his eyes flicked around, searching the area behind you. He took a measured breath. "That, uh, that parasite you call a friend… he's not with you, is he?"
'That parasite' was what your father had not-so-affectionately dubbed Kol after he finally figured out that there was nothing he could do to get rid of the ghost.
You blinked, frowning, and glanced behind you where Kol stood, plainly in view.
"I suppose that means my time is up." The boy shrugged.
You rolled your eyes and opened your mouth to explain yet again that Kol was in no way hurting you, but you felt the boy's arms sneak around your waist before you could say anything. He curled himself around you in a way specifically designed to aggravate your father - with one hand stroking your side beneath your shirt while he nuzzled into your neck. The instant Kol touched you, your father scowled - more than used to seeing the ghost boy materialize out of thin air.
"Parasite present and accounted for," Kol declared before flashing your dad the cheekiest grin possible.
"Quit trying to eat my daughter, slime," Your father growled, glaring at the ghost behind you. You rolled your eyes.
Kol just chuckled. "Too late. Already had her for breakfast!"
You scoffed and attempted to stomp on his foot but he danced away much too quickly, leaving you to face the judgemental frown on your father all by your lonesome.
"Y/N -" His tone was stern. "- You said you weren't going to let him take advantage of you anymore."
You crossed your arms, metaphorically standing your ground. "For the last time dad, Kol doesn't hurt me - he refuses to. The only reason he took my blood this morning was because I got a paper cut, okay?" You held up the flowers for him to see. "He even went and got me these while I was in class to prove he didn't waste anything. He's not the monster you make him out to be, dad."
"Oh no, I am. Without a doubt. Absolutely, one hundred percent the monster he makes me out to be! " Kol called from the couch in the living room. He had his feet up over the back so he was lying upside down. "My soul is as black as the abyss - not a shred of decency left. No sir! I make that Grinch song seem tame!"
You had to resist the smile tugging at your lips. "He is, however, an idiot," You added.
"I resent that!" He shouted back.
"Can it, Koala!" You tossed over your shoulder. You glanced back at your father, shrugging.
He sighed. "You know how I feel about him…" He started.
"I know."
Your dad watched your expression for a moment. "You're sure he makes you happy?"
You simply smiled "Yeah, dad. He does."
Your father nodded and turned back to his work. That was as close to approval as you were going to get, so you tossed your bag into your room, and made yourself some dinner. As you did, your thoughts drifted to the ghost still hanging out in your living room. You had met Kol exactly a year ago on this very day and had discovered a few months after that your touch rendered him solid and visible for as long as he maintained direct contact with your person. For the sake of experimentation, you had offered Kol a taste of your blood, hoping that it could grant him tangibility without requiring him to be near you all the time, and aside from turning out to be a little on the addictive side, your blood did exactly that. There was just one problem - the effect was temporary, lasting up to a day at most.
After nearly losing control the first time, Kol refused to feed on you again, however, he couldn't seem to stop himself from stealing a few drops whenever you cut yourself. Which was often. You pretended to get cut by accident, but really it was just your way of making sure Kol didn't starve himself. See, being all dead is easy - you don't feel anything. It was sort of like in The Princess Bride. When you weren't touching him, Kol was all-dead, but with your touch or your blood, he was only mostly-dead and mostly-dead is still somewhat alive - not entirely, you supposed, but it was enough for you to see how much his hunger affected him. You couldn't pretend to understand how this whole magic thing worked so you didn't exactly try. Kol had attempted to explain it to you a few times but you had a hard enough time with your chemistry homework. You figured you were simply better off remaining in blissful ignorance.
The strangest thing about your phantom companion was that, despite being dead, he could still get hurt as you had discovered that one time when your father had actually shot Kol. The bullets had penetrated and remained in his body until he let go of your hand. As soon as he had, the blood that had begun to seep from the wound disappeared and Kol was good as new, as though whatever form your magic had given to his spirit reset the instant he was parted from you.
Thinking of the memory made you laugh because Kol's only response to being shot with a twelve-gauge was simply "Ouch." Now, that could have been because he was a vampire or it could have been because he was a dead ghost of a vampire - you had no idea. Either way, it was funny.
"What are you giggling about in here?" Kol's silky voice wondered, pulling you from your reverie. You startled, whipping around to see him standing behind you, leaning against the kitchen doorway. You liked how soft he looked when he knew no one could see him; it made you smile.
"Remember that time when my dad shot you?"
Your ghost boy threw his head back, laughing. He was still as cute as the day you'd met him - maybe even cuter since he'd admitted to being in love with you.
You smiled. "Anywho, I'm gonna watch Independence Day, you in?"
Kol's expression twisted into one of confusion. "I thought that was some stupid American holiday…"
You shrugged, picking up your soup before moving to the living room with it. "I mean, it is, but it's also a movie and I can forgive you for not having seen it 'cuz you were kinda dead for a while or what not, but if you don't watch it with me then I don't think we can be friends anymore."
Kol grinned and followed you. "Pretty sure we're more than friends, darling." He was right. You didn't like to think of Kol as your boyfriend though; he felt like more than that, so the two of you had yet to put a label on it. He settled in beside you, quick to wrap an arm around your shoulders and tangle his fingers in your hair. Yeah, that boy was a cuddler. "So what's this movie about then?"
"Aliens!" You replied, excitedly.
"What?"
You rolled your eyes playfully. "Shut up and watch the movie."
Kol just grinned. "Ah! The birthday girl's being bossy!" He leaned over and kissed your cheek, poking you in the ribs as he did so. You took his hand instead of swatting it away, intertwining your fingers.
Watching movies with Kol was always fun because he never ran out of commentary - he always had something snarky to say about the characters or the plot or the movie as a whole. Movies were also excellent cuddling opportunities. As soon as you finished your soup and set it aside, Kol shifted; he pulled your legs out next to his and wrapped his arms around you so he could pull you closer and rest his head on your chest. He'd never directly ask, but you knew his actions were a plea for you to play with his hair. Naturally, you indulged him. After all, original vampires need cuddles too.
Kol's touches were familiar to you now. You hadn't been big on physical affection before you'd befriended him but the poor man was absolutely touch starved so you'd quickly gotten used to it. This specific sort of cuddling was a newer thing between the two of you and you hadn't been entirely comfortable with it at first. Then Kol had explained to you that he liked listening to your heartbeat; he said it calmed him - reassured him that you safe and that your heart would keep beating, that yours wouldn't stop like he had felt his own heart stop.
Because Kol had nightmares sometimes. He couldn't sleep as a ghost but he could when he held you. The boy hadn't told you much about why he'd died - just that he had been trying to do what he thought was the right thing.
He hadn't told you much about why he'd died, but he told you quite a bit about how. Kol told you he'd been stabbed in the heart with a cursed stake made of ancient white oak. One night, after a particularly vivid nightmare, he'd clutched you closer to him desperately as he told you about how he had begun to burn while he was still breathing. He told you how it had felt to feel his heart slow to an agonizing stop - how he'd felt so cold even while white-hot flames engulfed his body. He told you that he'd died exactly as he'd lived.
Completely alone.
You had promised that night that you would never leave him and you continued to reaffirm that promise as often as you could because although he'd never admit it, you could see just how terrified he was of once again being left entirely alone.
It wasn't long before the movie ended, yet you decided not to move. You were quite comfortable where you were and had it not been for the content purr-like noise of encouragement he made every time your fingers stilled, you would have thought Kol dead to the world. You gently carded your fingers through his hair over and over again, lightly scratching the back of his neck occasionally and grinning when it made him shiver. Kol reached up and tugged on your hand. You let him take it while continuing to comb your fingers through his silky soft hair with your other hand. He nudged his nose against your palm a few times, clearly more tired than he wanted to admit as his oddly cool lips skimmed along your wrist, achingly soft and adoring, before leaving a feather-light kiss on the back of your hand. You closed your eyes and smiled as the familiar chill of Kol's kisses swept through you. He hummed and dragged his lips over your skin again, this time pressing a more dedicated kiss against your pulse.
"Happy birthday, darling," He whispered.
"Thanks."
You didn't move just yet. You were content to just close your eyes and let Kol continue his perfect butterfly kisses along your wrist. He was a lot more free with affection when he was tired. It was clear to you that he was still getting used to the idea of being loved by someone; he had this stubborn idea in his head that people could only want him for his looks or his knowledge of magic - that he wasn't desirable as a person. You reckoned Kol must have been a sweet boy before he was turned into a vampire and only now was he learning how to be himself again. For in death he was free of his mother's curse…
At least some aspects of it.
Kol's grip on your hand tightened ever so slightly, as you felt his fangs scrape over your pulse. Being a ghost meant he was stuck constantly in the state he was in just before he died and, according to him, he'd been feeling rather peckish - a sensation which only worsened the longer he remained in physical contact with you. Even though you wouldn't have truly minded, you knew it would tear him up inside if your ghost boy ever hurt you simply because he was tired.
"You know, you're really pretty cute when you're sleepy," You said, nudging him lightly with your foot. Your voice was enough to knock him out of his stupor and you knew the gentle squeeze he gave you was his way of showing his gratitude.
"Oh, please," He huffed, kissing the back of your hand once more. He gave you that adorable half-smile that you loved so much, opening his eyes to look up at you. "I'm cute all the time."
You chuckled and shook your head, leaning down to give him a peck on the cheek. "But you're even cuter when you're sleepy."
"I suppose you could be right," He hummed, acting as though the admission pained him. "Though I wouldn't know seeing as I'm not sleepy."
"Except you are though," You pressed, gently running your fingers through his hair again to prove your point. He had to strain to avoid relaxing into your touch.
"Am not."
You smirked, rolling your eyes. Dealing with a sleepy Kol was also like dealing with a petulant child. "Yes you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Are so."
"Am not."
"Ya' are so."
"Am not."
"Ya are so, and you know it," You declared, poking his cheek.
"I am not, slander and blasphemy!" He was struggling to contain himself from laughing while simultaneously fighting his heavy eyelids. It would have been impressive if it wasn't so petty.
"Oh, I see." You nodded. "So if I were to - I don't know… hum a calm little tune right now for no reason at all, you're saying there's no way you would fall asleep?"
He cracked a smile. "Not a chance in hell."
"How much are you willing to bet on that?" You challenged, raising a brow.
"Absolutely nothing because I am, in fact, full of it," He let himself laugh and closed his eyes again.
"I love you," You muttered.
"I love me too," Kol said, grinning. You rolled your eyes, falling silent for a moment.
You knew you loved Kol… that much was certain and you couldn't deny it even if you wanted to. But you didn't put a label on whatever it was the two of you had for a reason. The two of you had no foreseeable future together - he was a ghost for crying out loud! Kol was dead and it wasn't within your power to bring him back… not permanently anyway. You could never be with him for real. You couldn't keep him in any way that truly mattered.
"For the record…I'm sorry," You whispered. Kol sat up, fully awake now as he shifted onto his side so he could stare at your face with confusion and disbelief.
"Whatever for?" He asked softly.
"I'm sorry I can't bring you back for real." You felt a tear slip down your cheek. "I'm sorry I can only give you a fleeting taste of life - nothing but a bittersweet reminder that will serve as nothing more than salt in an agitated wound when I inevitably die one day. It's selfish of me to tease you like this." You glanced away in shame and regret.
"What? No! No, darling," He said, hugging you closer to him. "You're not selfish at all. You've given me something in death that I never found in life - something for which I searched for one thousand years and never so much as caught sight of."
You scoffed. He made you sound like something grand - like a miracle. "And what was that?"
Kol positioned himself to hover over you, cupping your cheek to guide you to look at him. "Happiness, Y/N," He said. "You gave me happiness." Kol smiled and leaned down, meeting your lips in a kiss so tender and full of adoration you thought you might just drown in it - in him. His nose nudged against yours gently and you could feel him relax a little, allowing a little of his weight to rest on you. He was loving and sweet and gentle, a few more minutes and you knew you would simply melt.
But dreams rarely ever last.
"Hey! No making out with dead people on my couch, Y/N." Your father's voice made the attempt to sound angry but only succeeded in sounding unbelievably tired. You jumped at the sudden interruption of your bliss and Kol groaned.
"Thanks for ruining that, mate," He grumbled, moving off of you before offering his hand to help you up.
"Anytime." Your dad smirked. "It's my genuine pleasure." Your cheeks were red as tomatoes and a grave of pillows sounded rather lovely at the moment.
"I'm sure," Kol hummed with a thin smile. He turned to you. "Darling, what do you say we go to bed now, hmm?"
You simply nodded and made a break for your room. There was no way you would be able to look your father in the eye for at least a week - not after that. No, sir. You felt Kol's hand on your back as you left the room and you were ninety percent sure he turned to stick his tongue out at your father, but you pretended not to notice.
When you got up to your room, you shut the door and collapsed on your bed. "You are just bound and determined to make my dad loathe your existence, aren't you?" You sighed as you pulled Kol to lay beside you.
"Yeah, pretty much," He joked, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead. You liked the way he slept, with his whole body curled around you as if to touch as much of you as possible.
"You're impossible," You snickered, snuggling up close to him. "G'night, Kol." You could hear the smile in his voice as he responded.
"Goodnight, Y/N. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."
"I never should have shown you The Princess Bride," You groaned before settling off to sleep - or at least pretending to. In truth you were waiting for him to say it; the same words he always said as soon as he thought you were asleep.
“I will love you until the waves of the sea no longer break upon the shore, until the stars no longer shine, or until the last remnants of my consciousness cease to exist. Whichever comes last."
A lovely promise to fall asleep to.
The following morning, you woke up tired.
Really, really, tired.
You were, after all, a college student so waking up dead tired wasn’t exactly a new experience and you wouldn’t have thought much of it if not for the five billion worried glances Kol sent your way while you, in your half-dead state, tried to eat breakfast. The concern in his eyes lasted through your walk to school until you could no longer stand it.
“Kol, for the love of Oreos, why are you looking at me like I have stage four lung cancer?” You demanded after catching him watching you for the umpteenth time. The boy had the gall to act as if he had no clue what you were talking about.
“I, um, I wasn’t?” He tried. You sent him a flat look.
“Lie to my face one more time and see what happens.”
He blinked, clearly surprised but you were in no mood to be messed with at the moment. “You had a nightmare last night, darling…” He hesitated, looking you over once again. “Don’t you remember?”
You rubbed your eyes, yawning. “Nope.”
“It seemed a little…intense,” He offered, seeming a little shaken from what you could tell. You wondered what about your nightmare could have had him worried so much but you couldn’t remember having any sort of dream the night before.
“Yeah, I’ve got nothing.” You chuckled. “I don’t know if I should be sorry for that or not.”
“Really?” He pressed, tugging on your hand to pull you to a stop. “You don’t remember anything?”
You shook your head. “Not a thing, no.” Why was he making such a big deal about this?
Something in his expression tightened but he said nothing. He just nodded and walked you the rest of the way to school. You left him with a kiss at the gates and switched your brain into education mode, heading towards your first class of the day.
What had begun as sleep deprivation quickly turned into a headache and fifteen minutes into your lecture, that headache morphed into a powerful migraine. You excused yourself from class and ducked out into the hall, trying to regain your balance and overall sense of self. You felt strangely thin - like food service film stretched to the breaking point. You needed some water. Yeah, that would help.
Stumbling towards the water fountains that you wouldn’t so much as glance at on any other occasion, you somehow managed to draw your water bottle from your backpack and shove it under the fountain's nozzle. You swayed, blinking away the black spots that swarmed your vision but they refused to clear. You heard voices - odd droning voices murmuring nonsensical words. What was happening? You groaned, clutching your skull in a vain attempt to dull the pain as the black spots in your vision turned white. Everything went white. There was a high-pitch ringing in your ears, blocking out all else. Everything was white.
Then there was sound, blaring in your ears.
“Where is the abomination?” - The harsh tone was unfamiliar to you, it was cold and biting and cruel but you had no idea to who it could belong.
“I’d die before I told you.” - That voice, that was your father!
“Very well.”
A gunshot.
Someone chanting.
You heard your father screaming.
“I’m sorry, Y/N.” - That was Kol! - “Close your eyes, darling; I don’t want you to see this.”
People screaming.
Bones breaking.
“I'm actually doing you a favor.” - That was a different voice. It wasn't cruel like the other one, though it was cold and apathetic. You still had no idea who it could belong to.
The sounds cut off and images flashed through your mind.
First, your hands - covered in crimson.
Next, a knife - silver and silent.
Third, your father - pale and prone. Laying on the ground with a gash in his throat! He was laying on the ground dead! Your father was dead!
You saw other things but you could hardly process them.
Kol, his eyes were closed and his ears were bleeding.
A streetlamp glowing gold in the misty night.
A field of grass and blood.
All the while someone was screaming.
You felt a pair of hands grip your shoulders, shaking you and you realized then that the scream you’d heard had been your own. Your vision cleared and you found yourself staring into the very worried eyes of one Kol Mikaelson. He called your name and you blinked as the world came into focus. The ghost boy sighed in relief, pulling you into a hug that you didn’t want. You shoved him away and staggered to your feet as you tried to make any sense of what had just happened to you.
“Kol,” You hissed. Your throat was dry and your teeth clenched. “What was that? What just happened to me?”
The phantom’s expression was grim but calm in a determined sort of way. He eyed you wearily, his feet shifting in a way that betrayed a very certain form of caution. He held up his hands in a gesture that looked like something between an attempt at calming a spooked horse and shielding his face from a grenade about to go off.
“What did you see?” He asked, voice low but firm.
You shook your head. “I don’t wanna think about it. I won’t think about it. Just tell me what’s going on!”
“I have to know what you saw, Y/N. What did you see?” His hands clasped your shoulders, forcing you to look at him. You blinked, he seemed somehow… sharper than before. Clearer.
“Why does it matter?” You asked, tugging nervously at your shirt. “Why can’t you just tell me?”
Kol sighed. “Last night you were screaming,” He said; his voice was dry. “You were screaming in your sleep, and I couldn’t wake you up. You kept saying over and over: ‘Please don’t make me watch him die.’ Who were you talking about, love?”
“I don’t know! I-” You froze. The images from moments ago burned in your memory. “Where’s my dad?”
Moments later you were racing down the sidewalk to your house, pushing past people you couldn’t recall seeing around town before. The streets were unusually crowded for your slow and sleepy college campus.
“Why are there so many people?” You huffed in frustration, pushing past a group of girls who couldn’t have been older than fifteen. Kol’s visage appeared in front of you - he didn’t do that often as there was no real need and you would have shoved him aside too if not for his piercing stare.
“Darling, you need to slow down.” His voice was something close to a warning.
“No, Kol. That‘s the last thing I need to do,” You exclaimed. “I need to get to my dad. Now!”
You moved past him, ignoring his sigh of frustration. He appeared in front of you again and you glared at him before dodging aside again, but he caught hold of your arm, stopping you.
“Darling, listen to me,” He stressed, meeting your eyes with an intensity you’d never seen. There was no trace of the playful boy you’d known for so long. “There’s no one here.”
You rolled your eyes. “What are you talking about? There’s a ton of people here and they are all in my way!” You glared at him. “Including you.”
He frowned but chose to selectively ignore that last comment. “Look at them, Y/N. Really look at them.”
You clenched your teeth but did as he said. “Look at what exactly?” The people around you looked like people and you weren’t sure what you were supposed to be seeing.
Kol’s tone softened. “Their clothes, love. Look at their clothes. What’s wrong with them?”
His words sounded like something out of a spot-the-difference book, yet now that he brought it to your attention, you couldn’t help but notice. An older woman across the street wore a long flowing dress - not the formal kind, however. The garment looked like something a medieval peasant might wear. You raised a brow and glanced behind you at the group of teenagers. They were dressed in bright colors and leg warmers. Not far in front of you stood a gentleman in a waistcoat and a gas mask, he checked his pocket watch before huffing something about always being late.
You felt a creeping chill crawl along your skin and, curious, you tugged on that feeling. The colors of your world dulled and changed, taking on a pale greenish hue as the sky turned black as pitch. A black coach drawn by black horses barreled around the corner at the end of the street and charged towards you at full speed. Your breath turned to mist as the temperature dropped below freezing. You braced yourself for a very painful impact as the horses skidded to a stop not even an arms-length in front of you. The driver of the coach laughed - you could see his ribs protruding from his chest - as the man in the gasmask climbed aboard. A whip cracked and Kol grabbed you, pulling you out of the way seconds before the black stallions lurched forward. You looked up at him, eyes wide.
Kol’s skin glowed with a sickly light, blood seeped from a hole in his chest. A hole where his heart should have been. He smirked.
“Welcome to the land of the dead, love.”
You swallowed thickly and shook your head, trying to force down the bile climbing its way up your throat. “I don’t wanna see this. I don’t wanna see this!”
His eyes grew hard - like obsidian. “Then don’t.”
You squeezed your eyes shut and when you opened them, the world was as it always had been. Minus all the dead people who lingered around you like a stubborn cold. “Kol?”
He nodded, seemingly deep in thought. "Good to know you can control it…”
“Kol what’s going on?!” You demanded, feeling the panic rising in your voice. “What are you not telling me?”
He ran a hand through his hair, wetting his lips as he watched you for a moment. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out,” He sighed. “Now, let's go see your father.” He turned and started down the street but you heard the words he muttered under his breath. “I need to ask him a few million questions…”
You dashed after him, your mind a mess of unanswered riddles as you made your way back home. When you got to the door, you gasped. A pang of fear shot through your heart as your eyes landed on the busted lock. The door was barely still on its hinges.
Kol eyed you wearily. “Darling, I don’t think you should-”
You ignored him.
“Dad?!” You called, rushing into the house. “DAD!” There were bullet holes in the wall to the left side of the foyer, you rounded the corner and stopped in your tracks.
Your father was lying on the kitchen floor, bloody and pale. Someone had slit his throat. He was dead - just as you had seen only minutes earlier. You were too late.
“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Kol said from behind you. His voice was gentle and compassionate - but you had heard those words already. You didn’t want to hear them again, not when you couldn’t do anything to change them.
You felt your skin crawl again and reached for that feeling, pulling on it desperately. If your father was dead then you would be able to see him. The world darkened, taking on that greenish hue. But your father did not appear. He remained as he was, dead and bloody on the kitchen floor. Your hands curled into fists.
“Kol?” You spoke calmly. It was all you could do to keep from screaming and you wanted to scream. You wanted to scream more than you ever had in your life. “Where’s my dad?”
“I don’t know,” He said.
You whirled around to face him, glaring. “What do mean you don’t know?” You ground out. “You’re dead, you should know!”
Kol sighed. “When supernatural beings - people touched by magic, like me - when they die, they linger in a world between worlds that most people refer to as the Other Side. But your father was human. He went somewhere else.” He reached out and took your hand comfortingly. “I don’t know where they go.”
You blinked. The realization of what his words meant crashed onto your shoulders with a weight even atlas could not bear. It was crushing you. “I’m never gonna see him again, am I?”
He shook his head. “No.” Kol guided you into the living room, away from the body on the floor. “Come on, love. You don’t need to see him like this.”
You leaned your head against his chest but you didn’t cry. You couldn’t. You were too angry to cry. Someone had taken your father away and you didn't care what it took, you were going to make that monster pay. But first, you had to figure out what the hell was going on.
“What are you hiding from me, Kol?” You asked after a moment of sitting in silence. “Why is my father dead?”
The ghost boy winced. “I wasn’t hiding it from you, I just-”
“I don’t care about your reasons,” You said. “I just want the truth.”
Kol closed his eyes and let go of a long, heavy sigh. “I wasn’t certain before, but now…” He hesitated. “Y/N, I think you are a very rare supernatural occurrence that some call a Banshee.”
Your voice was flat as you stared at him, raising a brow. “A what?”
He blinked. “A Banshee.”
“Say that again?” You voiced dryly.
“A Banshee?” He repeated. “Did I not say that loud enough?”
You shook your head. “No, I’m just not believing what my ears are telling me.”
“I’m ninety-eight percent sure you’re a Banshee, love,” He said, offering a weak smile.
“You realize how crazy that sounds, right?” You deadpanned.
He shrugged. “Definitly not even one of the top ten craziest things I’ve said, believe me.”
“Yeah, okay,” You chuckled but it was hysterical more than anything. You shoved yourself to your feet. “You’re wrong, though.”
“Pretty sure I’m not,” He hummed.
"No, Kol. Alright? Just no! I-I can't be a-a Banshee!" You insisted, pacing back and forth across your living room. Anything to keep your eyes away from… away from the kitchen.
Kol just sighed, watching you painfully. "Look, darling I get it. I understand that this isn't what you want to hear right now, especially in light of -" You shot him a dark look and he faltered. "- in light of recent events."
You shook your head. "This isn't about what I want to hear or not, okay? I'm pretty sure the universe doesn't care about what I want - this is about facts! First of all, I've screamed a heck of a lot in my lifetime, and not once has that scream done anything besides lose me my phone. I've never blasted anyone across the room and I've certainly never exploded anyone's brain. Secondly, I can't be a Banshee because, according to anything I've ever seen or read, Banshee's aren't people! They're ghosts!"
Kol's expression fell into something both pitying and grim. "I know."
"See?" You laughed. "So I can't be a-" The boy's expression didn't change, if anything it grew darker. "Kol?"
"This is why I didn't want to tell you," He said softly. The color drained from your face and you felt cold.
"Kol, what are you talking about?"
He shook his head, watching you, his eyes brimming with sorrow. "I'm so sorry, Y/N."
Fear, black and thick and oozing, built up in your chest, forcing its way to your throat. You felt like you were choking. "Why-why are you - Why are you sorry?" Your voice was weak - close to breaking. "Sorry for what?"
His mouth opened but no sound came out. Then he closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, dragging a hand over his face. "Bloody hell, it just isn't fair," He muttered.
"What isn't fair?" You pressed, unsure whether you really wanted to know. You were pretty sure you didn't.
"It must have happened fairly recently." Kol refused to meet your eyes, choosing to focus on the ground instead. His voice was soft and overflowing with regret. "Before you met me, of course. Perhaps even before you started the semester." Your chest tightened at the words. "Your father mentioned once that you were involved in a car accident just before school began and I-" He bit his lip, cutting himself off. His voice dropped to whisper. "You know, I don't think it wouldn't have taken much."
"What does the crash have to do with anything?" There was nothing supernatural involved in that - just a guy being stupid. Kol continued.
"I can't imagine the strain of those first few months - I mean, you never even realized - it must have been exhausting. Using your magic so constantly would have forced it to grow stronger, which would have led to you seeing me."
You narrowed your eyes, your voice trembling. "What do you mean 'using my magic so constantly'? I-I don't understand."
Kol tore his hands through his hair, letting go of a string of curses.
You couldn't stand it any longer. "What are you talking about?!" You cried. Then he finally looked up, he looked you directly in the eyes.
"The instant I tasted your blood I knew you couldn't be human."
“No.” Your brows furrowed and you backed away from him. "No. No, I am human. I am. I'm human, Kol. I'm human!"
“Shh, it’s alright! I believe you!” He tried to calm you but his words had no effect, you kept stumbling back, mumbling. He stood up and caught you in his arms, holding you still and close with one arm around your waist while his other hand stroked your cheek. “I believe you, Y/N. I believe you were human… once. But not anymore. You're far more exquisite. Truly delectable. Intoxicating… addictive."
"What does that-"
His eyes darkened. "Darling, I believe your blood does for me the same thing it does for you."
The world seemed to tilt under your feet. You felt sick. "No…"
"Or maybe I should say it's what you do to it."
"You're wrong. You have to be wrong," You whispered.
"Think about it, love. Your blood makes me corporeal. It gives me tangibility, but not life. I can feed on you as much as I'd like, but your blood does not - cannot - bring me back from the dead."
"Stop it."
"It's not your blood that does this-" He held up his hand, waving it. "- It's something else - something in your blood - something inside you."
"You said I was a necromancer," You hissed, shoving him away. "You said that by feeding you my blood I was giving you access to my life force and that was tethering you to reality. You said I was a witch!"
Kol shook his head. "That's not how magic works, darling," He said. "You can't give me something you don't have."
You froze. "No."
"It's not life that runs in your veins. It's animation - puppet strings."
"Don't say that." You didn't want to hear it. "Please, don't say that."
"I don't think you survived that car accident, Y/N."
You clenched your teeth. "No! Stop it!"
"You see ghosts love, because you are one."
Your hands curled into fists. "I said stop!"
"To put it simply, you're strodïnger's girl-"
"Stop lying!"
"- A powerful spirit possessing your own undead corpse."
He wouldn't stop talking and your whole world was crashing down around you. Your very reality was falling apart at your fingertips.
You couldn't help but scream.
"SHUT UP!"
The words that left your mouth were a silent hurricane. You didn't hear a sound, but the power of your scream washed over Kol in a blast of targeted sound, sending him collapsing to his knees. He screamed, writhing on the floor in agony as he clasped his hands over his ears. Then he lay still. You blinked and gasped, your hands flying to your mouth as you realized what you'd done. You'd hurt him.
Within a second, you were at his side, whispering apologies as you guided his head into your lap. "I'm so sorry, Kol. I-I don't know what happened. I swear I didn't mean to."
Kol's eyes fluttered open and he squinted up at you in a daze. You placed a hand on the side of his face but quickly drew back when you felt something wet and sticky. His eyes closed and his head lolled to the side. A trail of blood streamed from his ears and he moaned in pain.
His ears were bleeding.
You looked at your hands covered in crimson.
Your vision wasn't finished with you yet.
"Kol?" You brushed his hair back, shaking his shoulder. "Kol, wake up!" He didn’t move. “Come on! Come back I-I need you to come back!” The boy remained motionless. Your lips hardened into a thin line and you stood, straightening with resolve. You needed a knife, but you couldn’t go to the kitchen - not when he was still lying there. No.
You searched the room for anything sharp, but it wasn’t as if you just had weapons lying around. Your eyes landed on a glass mantle ornament. You snatched it and threw it on the ground, watching unflinchingly as it hit the ground and shattered into a thousand razor-sharp pieces. You picked up a handful of the glass shards and squeezed. Blood oozed between your fingers but you could hardly register the pain. Anger and shock and fear were all you could feel - there was no pain as the glass sliced your flesh and no pain when you opened your palm and let the jagged pieces tumble to the floor. Kneeling over Kol’s body again, you forced your bloodied hand into his mouth and waited.
Kol shot up hardly a second later, eyes black and fangs bared. He shoved your hand away and scrambled back, growling. You didn't flinch. You were already terrified, you didn't have it in you to be scared of him at the moment. Not when you were already terrified of yourself - of whatever abomination you were. That was what that voice in your vision had said, right? It had been referring to you, it must have been. You watched Kol recover with blank eyes and a blank expression. Taking a few deep breaths, his fangs retracted as his eyes faded back into their usual soft chocolate color. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leveled you with a hard stare.
"I thought I told you never to do that," He hissed. His hands were shaking like those of an addict. You merely shrugged - unfazed.
"You weren't waking up," You replied flatly.
Kol's brows pulled together in confusion. "What?"
You rolled your eyes. "I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't wake up so I resorted something drastic. Get over it," You huffed. You didn't have time for this. Something was going to happen - you could feel it like the oncoming tide.
He tilted his head. "Huh?" He asked a little louder.
You groaned. "I said: I couldn't get you to wake up!"
"What?!" He was practically shouting at this point. You stared at him incredulously. He held up a hand to stop you and held the other hand to his ear, snapping his fingers a few times. "Huh, blown eardrums… that's a new one!" He grinned but the smile fell when he caught your unamused expression. "Give it a second." You stared at him for a few moments until he smirked, climbing to his feet and making a show of brushing himself off. “You should count yourself lucky I can heal fast, darling. Had I been any other poor bloke I think you would have permanently destroyed my hearing just now.”
“That’s not helping,” You mumbled, dragging your hand through your hair. Kol sighed, his shield of good humor falling away.
“You’re going to have to face this, Y/N, whether you want to or not. This isn’t something you can just ignore or wish away. You can’t afford to remain ignorant anymore! Someone killed your father-”
“Don’t say that.” You croaked, cutting him off.
“No, love, I will say it! You know why?” He shot back, voice rising. He took a step towards you. “Because someone was here to kill him! They killed him to get to you, and they are not going to stop. You said you wanted the truth? Well, here it is!”
“I didn’t want this!” You exclaimed, gesturing wildly. “I don’t want to be dead, Kol! Don’t tell me that I’m dead! I can’t-” You fell back onto the couch, exhausted and defeated. You hugged your knees close to your chest. “Don’t call me an abomination,” You whispered.
“I didn’t.” Kol’s voice was soft again as he sat down and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. His hand smoothed up and down your arm. “You’re not an abomination, darling - if anything you’re a miracle.” He chuckled lightly, pressing a gentle kiss to your temple.
“They said I was unnatural,” You rasped, hugging your knees tighter.
“Who did?” He urged.
“Whoever killed my dad,” You answered. “They said I was an abomination.”
Kol snorted. “Figures.” He leaned back and guided you to rest your head on his chest, combing his fingers through your hair. “Well, good news, darling. I know who’s hunting you.”
“Who?” You sniffed, glancing up at him with red-rimmed eyes. But no tears.
“Witches,” He replied. “They fancy themselves servants of nature - keepers of the balance.”
"So I am an abomination…"
Kol cupped your cheek, forcing you to look at him. "Allow me to let you in on a little secret, love. Usually I’m rather fond of witches, at least, individually because for the most part, they are a rather judgmental bunch of self-righteous maggots. Witches fear things that challenge their power, but that doesn't make you an abomination. After all, they tend to say the same about me and I don't know about you, but I think I'm rather charming."
His comment won a slight laugh from you though it wasn't entirely sincere. "They want me dead, don't they?" You said, distracting yourself with a loose thread on his jacket.
He stiffened and tugged you closer, pressing a kiss to your hair. "Let's just stick with what we know, yeah?"
"Apparently, I don't know much of anything," You grumbled.
"Well, lucky for you, I happen to know how to read," He teased, poking your side before continuing. "From what I've read, a Banshee is a spirit possessing its own corpse which means they effectively straddle the line between living and dead. They are heralds of death - not harbingers of it like many mistakenly believe - they foretell death but they themselves are not beholden to it, thus making them incredibly difficult to kill. For example, if I were to shoot you in the head right now, your soul would temporarily leave your body only to return and heal it completely."
"So the magical equivalent of turning it off and turning it back on again?" You supplied.
"Basically," He agreed with a shrug. "I only know of one guaranteed way to kill a Banshee."
"And what's that?" You wondered.
"The complete obliteration of both their body and soul," Kol said, sounding far too grim for your liking. He pulled you closer, sensing your worry. "But you've no need to worry about that, darling. It's highly unlikely that whoever is hunting you would want you dead."
"Why not?" You asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kol shot you a confused look, brushing your hair off your forehead. "Killing something as extraordinary as you would be a massive waste considering how potent your blood is simply on its own. As far as necromancy goes I've never seen an ingredient that's quite it's equal, I can't even begin to imagine what something like your heart or eyes might do for a spell. Not to mention the versatility! Necromancy, divination - maybe even kemiya now that I think about it! This is really exciting actually, I-" He paused, finally seeming to notice the tremble that had spread through your entire body. You fisted his shirt, your breaths coming out in short, ragged gasps. "I said too much, didn't I?"
"Heart?" You choked out. "Eyes?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "Ah… right… about that. Well, um, you see, they're very useful ingredients in dark spells," He defended, smiling wryly. "Not your liver, though! Or your kidneys… tonsils… appendix… spleen... Those you can keep."
"Gee, thanks. I feel so much better," You mumbled
"Sorry." He flashed you an apologetic smile. "At any rate, the complete obliteration of someone such as yourself would be entirely inconvenient as it would require a massive power source, such as a major celestial event or-"
"- A temporarily resurrected original vampire with the soul of an ancient witch from an infamously powerful bloodline who's spent a thousand years soaking up magic?" A voice drawled from behind you. Kol sprang up, pushing you to stand behind him as he positioned himself between you and the newcomer; a tiny black haired girl, no older than fifteen, who stood leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. She spun a knife, silver and silent, around and around between her fingers. "I think something like that could certainly do the trick, don't you?" She said, grinning with a predatory gleam in her eyes.
"Chrissy," Kol identified the intruder and flashed her a very fake smile. "Of all my siblings' downright miserable sirelings, you were always the one I hated the least."
"I'll take that as a compliment," She smirked. Her voice was light and raspy, not exactly pleasant but sort of intriguing.
"As you should," He hummed. "It's been a while since I've seen your adorable little face - summer of 1623, if memory serves. How have you been, darling?" The pet name wasn't sweet or endearing like it was when he spoke to you, rather it sounded cold and condescending and strangely pointed - as if he were reminding her of something.
The young girl grimaced. "I honestly have no clue how long it's been and I honestly don't care because it cannot have been long enough. And I've been pretty great - certainly better than you."
Kol scoffed. "I'll have you know that I only died because I tried to prevent Armageddon."
Chrissy hissed in faux sympathy. "Tough luck, my friend," She laughed, tossing her knife into the air and catching it again. Then she pointed it at him, waving it around like an extra finger. "I get it though. See, that's what happens when you try to go straight. Ya' try to do something good and those filthy ingrates stab ya in the back for it - nobody appreciates people like us."
"No one," Kol agreed.
"Not even people like us." The girl's mouth twisted into a sharp smirk. "So what do ya' say we just skip this part where we pretend to be civil and get right down to business."
"You're as delightfully blunt as I remember, darling. Still bounty hunting I see?" He said, shifting his weight forward just slightly.
"Yep. And you're in my way." She pushed off the door frame, taking a step into the room. Kol snarled at the hunter and pushed you further behind him. The girl's brows shot up. "Did-did you just growl at me?"
He shrugged. "It worked last time, figured it was worth a shot."
She frowned at him. "Dude, I was fourteen last time. I am seven hundred years old now, you arrogant weasel. It's gonna take a little bit more than growling to scare me off.
"Seven hundred?" He repeated, feigning surprise and disbelief. "Well you sure don't look it. Are you sure it's not past your bedtime?" He jeered.
Chrissy gave him the most insincere smile you'd ever seen. "Good sir…" She took a deep breath. "You suck… Now, step aside."
"I don't think so, darling," He said coolly.
"I'm asking nicely."
"And I'm declining nicely." He smirked. "I could have ripped your head off by now."
"And I could have incompasitated you and your girlfriend in about one hundred different ways throughout the past fifteen minutes." The girl's eyes were oddly dark. They had no definable iris - only pupil - like pools of black tar. "And that's without using any of the cool little secrets they teach you when you join the Stryx."
Kol's entire body stiffened at that one word. You figured it must have meant something very bad.
"You're bluffing, " He called. "You're not part of the Stryx, you're not Elijah's-"
"Nope!" Chrissy cheered. "But I am adorable! And I've gotten very good at my job over the years so I suggest you step aside."
Her words only seemed to further strengthen Kol's resolve. "Not a chance in hell."
"Who hired you?" The words were out of your mouth before you could think them through. If this kid or whatever was a bounty hunter then someone had hired her, right? Chrissy turned to you, she was a rather unassuming girl, not exactly intimidating but you supposed that was the point.
"Finally, someone asking the right questions," She mused. "Witches hired me, honey."
"How'd they know about me?" You demanded.
The girl smirked. "Oh that's easy," She hummed, jerking a thumb in Kol's direction. "His mom told 'em." That statement sent your ghost boy into a whole new state of alarm. The girl continued. "She doesn't like you very much - somethin' about two abominations corrupting the balance of nature or some crap like that. I overheard this freaky possessed lady say the Original Witch has a plan for her children and it doesn't involve you."
"My mother wants to murder her children!" Kol argued, seeming very agitated now. "She wants to exterminate the vampire race, including you!"
"Sounds like an excellent reason to ensure both she and you stay very dead," Chrissy remarked.
Kol's jaw locked and his expression hardened into one of cold determination. "I swear on the Nornir, I will not let you take her," He said.
"Oh, Kol… you know I never believed in your gods." Chrissy smirked. "Let's see them hold you to your promise."
"Close your eyes, darling, " Kol said. "I don't want you to see this."
To eyes as slow as yours, what followed was more or less a blur. Chrissy rushed at Kol and he planted his feet to push back, but at the last second she dodged left and dropped to the ground. Hooking an arm around his knee, she used her momentum to swing around, throwing him off balance as she drove her foot into the back of his ankle. He grunted and collapsed onto one knee. Chrissy didn't give him so much as a second to recover before jamming her elbow into his shoulder. She spun, aiming another kick at the side of his head but he reached back and caught her foot. She cried out and you heard something snap as he tightened his grip before throwing her forward right over his head. There was another snap as Kol twisted her leg sharply and pulled her towards him. He raised his fist and brought it down but she caught it and flipped him on his back. Chrissy recovered faster and managed to trap Kol in a headlock with her leg. Unfortunately for her, Kol brought his fist down on her shin and from the crunching noise that followed, you were pretty sure he'd succeeded in shattering it. The girl screamed and you had to remind yourself that her youthful appearance was nothing more than a facade - she was an ancient being bent on killing you. Chrissy scrambled back and Kol recovered, rising to his full height.
"Come now, darling - don't tell me that's all you've got," He taunted, grinning down at her.
Chrissy just laughed. "Not by a long shot, old man."
She shot to her feet and, sprinting up the wall behind her, she vaulted over her opponent's head and landed on his shoulders in a hand-stand, shoving him to the ground while she threw her weight back and forced her heels into his ribcage. Kol gasped as another sick crack echoed through the air. Chrissy, already upright, sent a punch directly into his teeth. Kol growled and tried to grab her head but she shoved his hands away. He caught her shoulders instead and pulled her down so he could slam his head against her chin. You knew for a fact, that between the two of them, Kol definitely had the thicker skull. Chrissy reeled back and he took that as his opportunity to throw her off.
You could see the blood coating his teeth as he stood and grinned before rushing her. He grabbed the bounty hunter by the shoulders and slammed her head into his knee, then into the wall and then into his knee again before throwing her down on the floor face first. Planting his foot at the base of her spine, he caught her hair in his fist and twisted it around his hand, tugging her head up sharply.
"My sweet little Chrissy," He hummed, smirking. "I taught you well, but you'll never be able to beat me."
"I know!" Her tone was something between a pained hiss and a gleeful laugh - it was unhinged and insane. Those frightening black eyes were open wide, rolling back in their sockets to catch a glimpse of him. "It's why I never intended to!"
She flicked her wrist and a gleaming knife slid into her hand. Reaching behind her, Chrissy sheared her hair from Kol's grip causing him to stumble from the force of his own pull. She rolled and climbed to her feet before twisting around and flinging the knife directly into Kol's chest. He scowled and ripped it out but he was too slow. You had watched enough action movies to identify the SMG Chrissy wrenched from her waistband.
You tried to scream - to use your Banshee nature to save Kol. But you couldn't. Your mouth opened but there was nothing to be heard.
Chrissy leveled the gun at Kol and squeezed the trigger. He wasn't faster than a bullet and those bullets fired faster than you could comprehend. The magazine was empty in less than a second and the damage had been done. He looked down and watched the blood seep through his clothes. There were so many holes. His stomach and chest turned red. The boy blinked and took a shuddering breath before collapsing to his knees with a whimper of pain.
"No," You whispered. He glanced at you, his expression full of regret. His gaze shifted back to Chrissy.
"Y-you cheat-" The boy coughed and a trail of blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. "You cheated," He accused.
"Yeah, I did," Chrissy panted, staggering into a wall. She leaned on it for support and waved the gun in his face. "Thirty wooden rounds, sweetheart. Your insides are shredded." She tossed the gun away, sneering. "I didn't have to beat you, I just had to hurt you bad enough to get you down." She pushed herself off the wall and strode over to him, grabbing a handful of his hair. "Night-night, Kol." Then she wrenched his head to the side with an ear-splitting snap. He crumpled to the ground and didn't move again.
You gasped, unable to tear your eyes away from your love's lifeless body. Chrissy knelt down and pulled out a syringe which she then stabbed into his arm. She was silent as she filled it with his blood, but then she stood and turned to you.
"Your turn," She said, tonelessly.
"Please don't do this," You begged, backing away pointlessly. "Please just let me go?"
The bounty hunter just sighed, her voice was cold and apathetic. "You know, even if you can't see it, I'm actually doing you a favor." Before you could blink, the girl rushed to your side and jabbed a needle into your arm. You cursed. Then the world went black.
When you woke up, there was ringing in your ears, your eyelids felt like one-hundred pound weights, and you could actually hear yourself blinking. It didn't take you long to figure out that your hands were bound and that there was some sort of apparatus covering your mouth - a muzzle, you realized. They had muzzled you like some deranged animal.
You opened your eyes, squinting against the light of a streetlamp glowing gold in the misty night. This was a car you were sitting in. You glanced out the passenger's side window and were met with the sight of a gas pump. You turned your head to look out the other window and saw Chrissy leaning against the car, staring out into space while she waited for the tank to fill up. Once that was done, she paid and climbed back into the vehicle. The door shut with a bang and you sat still as a statue, waiting to see what the bounty hunter would do. She just stared straight ahead for a few more moments. Then she turned to you.
"Hi." Her smile was friendly enough. You tried to say something in return but the instant you made a sound, a burning pain shot through your chest. "Yeah, don't bother talking. The witches made that for you to make sure you can't scream. It's nothing personal, but I just don't trust you not to blow me to bits or whatever it is a Banshee does." Well, you couldn't exactly fault her for that. You wouldn't trust you either. "You weren't supposed to be up yet, but I guess you burned through that sedative pretty quick, huh?" She laughed softly and looked back out the windshield at that glowing street lamp. "This isn't personal, sweetheart. I don't think you deserve to die and usually I wouldn't even take a job like this one, but when somebody offers me the chance to hurt Kol Mikaelson - Well there's no way I could pass that up. So, for what it's worth… I'm sorry." The girl sighed and turned to you with a small but kind smile.
"Can I offer you a word of advice? You don't have to say yes, but you remind me a lot of myself and I've watched enough girls fall into your position to know that I honestly want to help you."
The blank expression on her face startled you. Her eyes held nothing but tired honesty. Those eyes were much too tired for her youthful face. So you nodded, and she offered you a slight smile.
"Kol doesn't love you, Y/N," She said. You wanted to speak up and tell her otherwise but you couldn't, so you just glared. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. He doesn't love you because Kol Mikaelson isn't capable of love or compassion of any kind. He loves only what you can do for him." Her voice was cold but patient, like a concerned friend. It was genuine in a way you didn't expect. "He'll tell you everything you want to hear, touch you just the way you can't resist, twist you up, make you love him, and then he'll throw you away just like the hundreds of other girls he's kissed before you. I've watched him do it for seven hundred years. You're not special to him - you're nothing to him. You're just another useful dalliance he's using to fill that hole in his chest where his heart's supposed to be.
"He'll come to rescue you - that I can guarantee - but it won't be because he couldn't live without you, though I bet that's exactly what he'll say because he finds humor in the double meaning of it. He can't live without you - the maniac's hooked on your blood. That's what he'll be coming for - not you." Chrissy chuckled bitterly.
"He doesn't care about you." She turned the key to start the car. "He never cared about any of us."
Her words did not escape you. What did that statement mean? You wished you could ask but the muzzle kept you mute. The inquisitive expression on your face when she glanced at you must have prompted her to speak further.
"Kol found me on the streets," She admitted. "I was young and I was starving and he gave me bread. In exchange, I would steal things for him and eavesdrop on some very dangerous people." Her expression grew pained. "I thought he was my friend. He gave me food, made me laugh, held me when I was upset - he treated me almost like a little sister. And he told me that if I worked hard enough, he would make me like him and I could be a part of his family. He-he promised…" The girl's hands tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white as her voice quieted even further. "He left me in a gutter instead."
Chrissy met your gaze; her eyes were hard but full of something fair.
"Where's he gonna leave you, I wonder?"
She didn't say anything for the rest of the ride.
The field you arrived in was lush and green. Chrissy parked the car and got out, moving over to the other side to pull you out as well. She walked you forward into a circle of stern faced men and women. Their eyes followed you as the bounty hunter brought you to an elderly woman you could only assume was their leader. Chrissy dropped the vial of Kol's blood into the woman's hand, nodded to you and then left without another word. You watched her drive away and wondered if she'd been right. Somehow, you weren't angry about what she'd done.
"Do you know why you are here, abomination?" The voice belonged to the old woman. She sneered at you as though you were something filthy. Her voice was cruel, just like that of the person who had killed your father.
All you could do was shake your head.
"You are here because you have perverted the natural law. Possessing another being is dark magic, possessing a corpse is forbidden, but to possess one's own undead form is a violation of the most unholy order. The spirits have judged you guilty of this heinous crime and as servants of nature it is our duty to cleanse the earth of your filth." The elder opened the vial of Kol's blood and dipped her finger in it, reaching up, she dabbed the blood on your eyelids then drew a line over your heart with the rest. Then she closed her eyes and began to chant with the rest of the witches following suit.
A searing pain exploded in your chest. Your heart felt like it was being torn in half and your eyes burned as though they were on fire. You wanted to scream but the muzzle choked you. It hurt so bad, you fell to the ground, curling into a ball as tears ran down your face. You prayed for Kol to find you. You prayed for him to save you.
"Excuse me ladies… and gents, sorry there mate - didn't see you." Upon hearing that familiar silky voice, your heart soared. The changing cut off and the pain in your chest eased. "Thank you all for coming, but I'm afraid I simply cannot allow this to continue."
You let go of a shuddering breath, content to lay in the dirt and recover.
"Kol Mikaelson," The cruel woman spat. "The Butcher comes to save his unholy pet."
"Are you jealous?"
The witch scoffed. "It is an abomination!"
"Perhaps, but she's my abomination and I'd very much like her back now," Kol said. "If you return her willingly, who knows? I might just let one or two of you live."
"We would rather die than-"
Kol cut her off with a gleeful laugh. "I was hoping you'd say that! How wonderful that we're all in agreement!" He clapped his hands together. "One last thing: when you see my mother tell her to shove it up her's."
The sounds that followed made you sick. People screaming. Bones breaking. You were glad you kept your eyes closed. But it wasn't too long before everything was all too silent.
"Darling?" You leaned into his touch as Kol gently gathered you in his arms. Residual pain still lingered in your bones from whatever the witches had tried to do. "My love, what have they done to you?" He whispered as his fingers trailed over the straps that held the muzzle in place. After a few tries, he successfully tugged it off and threw it far away. It slithered across the grass as you finally opened your eyes. Kol watched you with a soft smile and his thumb stroked your cheek. You took a breath…
Then you cried.
"You're alright, love. I'm right here," He murmured, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "I'll always protect you… I couldn't live without you."
Kol held you as he always had, rubbing your back and whispering sweet nothings into your ear. He picked you up and you saw a field of grass and blood before he took off and brought you back home. Later that night, when you had cried yourself to sleep, he whispered that sweet promise.
But Chrissy's words still rang in your ears.
And you wondered.
Did he love you?
Or did he love the Herald of Death?
Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid @rootbeerfaygo
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