[ BOOK TWO ]
Erin Gilbert's life had become one supernatural catastrophe after another, not that she should've expected any different when her sister's boyfriend and his brother turned out to be vampires.
The years of chaos that followed should have...
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ST. ANNE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH had seen its fair share of violence over the last few years. Or, so Erin heard. A year prior to the Mikaelsons' return to New Orleans, Father Kieran's nephew, Sean O'Connell, killed his entire class of aspiring priests and then himself within its walls. Soon after, Davina became a temporary resident and was forced to defend herself from the witches who wanted to sacrifice her life.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise that the little church would find itself the place of horror, once again.
Hayley's petrified and agonizing screams reverberated off the walls, filling the place meant for the presence of God to contain anything but misery. The witches had dragged her up from the floor and laid her across the lone altar on the sacristy. Her tights gone as her labor progressed.
Erin yanked against the witches who held her in place, kicking and screaming to reach Hayley. To get the traitorous Genevieve and those Harvest Girls away from her and her baby, but her strength was no match for the men clinging to her arms.
"Let go of me, you bitch!" Hayley shouted where Genevieve gripped her arm, holding her in place on the altar. When a contraction racked her body, she screamed and laid back on the raised platform.
Erin could only look on in horror, watching someone she had come to call a dear friend writhe in pain. Unable to enjoy the birth of her daughter as the threat of being sacrificed hung over their heads.
The double doors of the church slammed open, drawing all eyes their way. Erin's heart leapt in her chest at the sight of Klaus. She had never been so happy to see the hybrid in her life. "Klaus!" she called out to him.
Klaus cast his furious gaze over Erin and the witches, before they fell to Hayley. He released a growl and staggered down the central aisle between the pews. One of the witches stationed around the church approached him, but Klaus simply swung out and knocked the man's head from his shoulders.
A sense of hope swelled within Erin until Genevieve and the Harvest Girls raised their hands. Their nonverbal spell lifted Klaus off the ground, tossing him through the air to slam into the wall behind the sacristy. They pinned him there, helpless to their magic as they returned their attention to Hayley.
Erin watched Genevieve move to pick up a ceremonial blade. Her heart seized. "No! No!" she yelled, pulling as hard as she could to tear out of the witches' grasp. Their hold never faltered.
Genevieve looked up at Klaus with the blade in hand. "You should know this brings me no joy," she stated and moved back toward Hayley. "I promise, I'll make it quick."
