Let me be the one for you- Lizzie Saltzman

Keeper of the House

Nico POV

We pulled up to this huge old looking compound. My Mom came and carried me while dad carried Hope. He looked around at the place as we walked in.

"Our home." He sighed. " Once the pride of our family, now a flophouse." I saw my Uncle Elijah nod in agreement.

" Indeed, the mighty have fallen." He added.

" Where's Vincent?" My mom said. A man walked in a moment later.

" Right here." He said. " Kept my word. Now the only question is whether or not you guys are gonna keep yours. As soon as I'm finishing healing your kids, you got to leave the city." He's so rude.

" Well. we're not gonna stay, are we> Your city has lost its charm." My dad replied.

" What he means to say is that we're very grateful. just help them and we'll leave." Mommy said cutting in.

" Just give up what we need, and we will do so, happily." Uncle Elijah finished.

" Excuse me." He walked over to Hope and me who were laid down on an old couch. He put our hands on the sides of our faces and started chanting a spell. " Nettoer timoun sa a. Nettoer timoun sa a.Nettoer timoun sa a.Nettoer timoun sa a.Nettoer timoun sa a."  When he was done I started to feel better. 

"Mom." I looked to my left and saw Hope sitting up.

" That's it." Vincent clapped. " Your little girls are purified.

" Thank you." Our parents said.

" Now look, the only gratitude I need from any of you is seeing you leave the city," Vincent said.

Hope and I were up after hugging out mom where crows started falling from the skying dying in a circle around us.

" What is this?" My dad shouted.

" I don't know."

"Mom." Hope and I said.

" Can you hear that?" I asked Mommy. " It's whispers." Hope continued. " Saying a name. Over and over." They all looked at us.

" Kre Nah Han, Kre Nah Han." We said in unison.

" Vincent, what is that?" Mommy asked.

" It's a nearly forgotten dialect." He said with a worried look on his face. " It's Creole. It means ' the Hollow'. The Hollow is coming." Is that's the bad thing?

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Hope and I were laying in a bed upstairs. Our fevers came back. We were drifting in and out of sleep when our dad came in.

" How are you feeling." He asked.

"We're both still cold," I said.

" Are the birds gone?" Hope asked.

" Yeah, they're gone." He replied. " And when you both are better, which will be soon, you and I are going to share the biggest plate of beignets you both have ever seen." He said to us. " And you can tell me where in this big, wide world you both would like me to take you next."

" Momma said you loved New Orleans most of all," I said.

" She said you built New Orleans," Hope added.

" I did, once." He said. " But putting your love in a place is a mistake. Being here in our home, seeing these walls, I am reminded that it is people who are best suited to fill our hearts." 

" That man, Mom said he was a witch." Hope started.

" That he was to help us feel better. But we feel worse." I said.

 " I know. But don't worry, because as we speak, your mother and your Uncle Elijah are working with Vincent to fix you both up. So you two just stay calm and they'll make everything all right." He said.

" Do you know what it is?" Hope asked. " The Hollow," she added.  

" No, I don't."

 "It wants those other kids. We can feel them. I think it wants us, too" I said.

" I am not gonna let anything take you guys. I promise you both that. I'm going to keep you both safe, Always, and Forever. That's what a Father does. Now rest your eyes." He said. Hope and put ourselves closer together and fell asleep.

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We woke up a while later after having another dream about the blue light but we saw dad instead of the kids. It's going to hurt him.

We woke up just as he was talking to up and we told him what we saw.

" Promise us if you ever see the blue lights. don't look at them." We told him. A while later our Aunt Freya came in and was making something for us when we started to feel better.

" Nico, Hope." She called out.

" We're not cold anymore." We said. After a while, we fell asleep. 

Hope and I were dreaming of walking around the compound eating a beignet. The lights kept flickering around us. We see daddy standing on one of the balconies when he turns around we see his eyes glowing bright blue. Hope and I woke up with a scream.

"Hope it's here."

" The Hollow." She finished.