Moonlight | Lucien Castle

Chapter 11

Amaris was nervous.

She wasn't sure what to expect when Klaus came back. She had exited the bathroom, and Elijah had told Rebekah and Freya about what had happened. Both were staring at Amaris in concern, but she just zoned out, looking down at her plate.

Then, suddenly, there was yelling in the entrance hall. And crying. Hope was bawling, and Jackson was saying something about being confused. Next thing Amaris knew, they were all in the dining room, and Klaus was snarling at Hayley, "Isn't that the point of a fortress? It does a better job of protecting you when you stay within its walls?"

Apparently, Dahlia had finally made an appearance.

On the side, Freya was making tea. Amaris could hear one of the maids upstairs with Hope, helping her settle down. It seemed that the couple had wanted to go on a walk, and when Klaus had stormed out, he'd come across them right as Dahlia possessed a bunch of people to look at them like zombies.

"Okay, we get it," said Hayley, embarrassed. "Now let's just figure out what the hell we're gonna do."

"What I would like to do," said Klaus sharply, "is take a strong leash—"

"Children, please," said Elijah. "Niklaus, your ire is justified. However, Hayley is quite right. We need to find a new strategy. Freya, if you please?"

She sighed. "The spell you described... Dahlia calls it 'kenning' — using proxies to watch her enemies from afar. But, I've never seen it done on quite this scale."

"Awesome," said Hayley. "So, basically every Hurricane-chugging, boob-flashing tourist on Bourbon Street is a potential spy."

"The good news is," said Freya, "I know a little about how her magic works." She brought forth a tray with six tea cups filled with a brown liquid. "This tonic will at least prevent her from using any of us."

It smelled gross. But Amaris reached for a cup when her sisters did, not wanting to be the only one that didn't drink. "Well, come on," encouraged Rebekah. "This should work like a charm! Bottoms up!"

The only one who didn't take a teacup was Klaus.

Elijah sighed in annoyance. "Niklaus, is there something you wish to contribute?"

He shrugged. "I prefer biscuits with my tea."

"Of course," muttered Elijah.

"Besides," said Klaus, "our minds are far too strong to be invaded by kenning spells. No, what we experienced was a test— Dahlia's watching to see how we respond to aggression. She's preparing for battle. My guess is sooner, rather than later."

"Well," said Hayley, "if she was watching us, she would know that we have our own army."

Amaris waved her hands. "Hold on. I have a couple of questions. One— is this a one dose kind of tea, or do we need to drink this multiple times?"

"Once every few days," said Freya. "Next question?"

"No offense," she said to Hayley, "but what do you think a wolf pack is going to do against a witch? Do you know anything about how wolves were created? The legends say the wolves came from the witches, cursing us with a link to the full moon. Our ancestors turned that into a blessing, but from what I have heard, these abilities were placed on us with a malicious intent. My mother always taught us that we should never ever pick fights outside our own species because one, humans didn't have any advantage against us, and two, witches had the power to undo what we came to know as a blessing, or corrupt it. I would say that holds true even now. I know the Crescent Pack is strong but aside from defending against the possessed humans, they can't do much going up against Dahlia. I'm willing to risk my life for Hope, but are they? If any witch in this city flicks their wrist at me, I'd get my neck snapped. We have to be careful about how we approach this. I say we pitch as many ideas as we can about what to do, but don't use the wolves as a main plan of attack— it's not smart."