Hellfire | Hayley Marshall

Chapter 5

Eisa had a confusing dream.

It was strange for her to dream in general. For it to have been pleasant amidst perplexion was an entirely different matter, one that merited suspicion.

She'd been in Mystic Falls again, standing before the Salvatore House as she had on the day she'd bade farewell to Lexi. She walked to the door, and beamed when it opened on its own, revealing Lexi, smiling at her.

"Hi," said Lexi, pulling her in for a kiss. "It's been awhile since I've seen you."

But when she withdrew, her face had changed. Eisa jumped back, seeing Hayley standing in her place.

"I've missed you," she told her, casting her a gentle smile and offering her hand. "Come inside, Eisa, warm yourself by the fire."

"What?" she whispered. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right." Hayley giggled. "You're a vampire, you don't feel cold."

Eisa had woken up flustered. Was this a sign that she had already started growing deep-rooted feelings for Hayley?

She didn't want that to be true. If there was one thing she'd absorbed in all of Mikael's horrid teachings, it was that profound feelings led to weakness. She'd survived this long because she hadn't felt much. Anger was what helped her fight. Sadness only slowed her down. Love that intense had repeatedly brought her pain and left her easily subdued. The most she could really do was care about her siblings' wellbeing, even slightly. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here. She'd be dead, or daggered, or worse.

"Good morning," Hayley told her when she came down to the living room, finding one of the witches sitting across from the young wolf.

"Who the fuck is this?" said Eisa, pointing at the woman.

"I'm Agnes," said the witch, getting up to shake her hand.

Eisa crossed her arms instead of greeting her. "And what the bloody hell are you doing in my house, Agnes?"

The woman sat back down, mildly offended. "I've only come to check up on Hayley."

"I told you Agnes, I feel great," said Hayley, setting a cup of water she was holding onto the coffee table.

Agnes gave her a reproachful look. "You are overdue for a checkup."

"What am I gonna do?" asked Hayley. "Pop into the Quarter for a quick ultrasound? A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch? Nothing to see here!"

There was a scoff as Rebekah walked in behind Eisa. "A lot of women would kill to have a child. It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"I know a doctor out in the Bayou, off the beaten path," offered Agnes. "Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you. Tonight, after-hours, just us. Vampires will never get word of it."

Eisa sped forward, lifting Agnes up by her shirt. "Excuse me?" she sneered. "You took the liberty of making an appointment for her? I'm fed up with witches barging in here, acting as if they own the bloody place. Hayley didn't ask you to do that, nor did the rest of us, so how about you piss off—"

"Eisa, it's okay," said Hayley, daring to put her arm against the Original's shoulder, making her slowly put Agnes down. "I can go, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" said Eisa, turning to face her. "A witch who can't do magic is going to escort you to the office of an obstetrician that operates in a bloody swamp? I think not. If anyone's taking you, it's going to be me, or one of my siblings."