Rational Thinking {Kol Mikaelson}

Chapter Nineteen: Send Me a Postcard

The back door slammed open behind you.

"TACTICAL NUKE INCOMING!!!" Holly shouted. Kol managed to drag you out of the way a mere millisecond before a figure barreled out of the house, down the steps, and into the backyard.

Jeremy made it about twenty feet before he doubled over and retched somethin' foul. Viscous, ink-black liquid spewed from his lips like sewage from a previously blocked pipe, pooling on the ground in a dense puddle of sludge. Steam curled off the substance as it bubbled and frothed on the ground, hissing in an almost humanlike angry way. Each blade of grass it touched withered and died. When your friend finished coughing up about a quart of the stuff, he stumbled back, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Way to go, Jer!" You hollered out to him. He pumped his fist and simultaneously flipped you off. "You good?" He gave you a thumbs up, groaning miserably.

"Nice distance you got on that one, mate!" Kol added.

"That stuff tastes vile!" The boy called back.

The sludge moved.

Seeming to coalesce its mass, it left behind a parched, yellowed trail of vegetation as it began inching back toward Jeremy who yelped and stumbled further away. Holly, who had been holding the door open previously, stepped up beside you, shaking her head.

"Uh, uh. Not on my lawn, ya overgrown doodle." She flicked her hand and what you could only describe as a ball of white-hot fire shot from her fingers, engulfing the gelatinous mass. A noise akin to fingernails scraping along a chalkboard attacked your ears but soon faded as the fire consumed all traces of black magic. Smirking, Holly brushed some imaginary dirt off her hands and spun on her heel to face you. "Looks like my work here is done," She said. "Now-" The witch held up two fingers in a scissor motion. "-Brownies."

Kol rolled his eyes but he was grinning. "Alright, I suppose you've earned it." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small note card covered in his cramped, but neat handwriting. The top was labeled: The Life/Death of the Party XOXOXO with a doodle of a nine-tailed fox dropping a wink next to it. He passed it to her and she took it, immediately skimming over the ingredients. "Oh, I forgot to write this on there, but make sure to add the Solomon's Seal before the Heather and Horehound, otherwise it could give you a headache... or induce visions of Armageddon."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya'." She waved dismissively then paused, looking up. "Uh, you guys can go now."

"Yes, but she wanted to see your wife's weapons collection," Kol said, gesturing to you. Holly raised a brow and you nodded vigorously.

She snorted. "Not a chance. Jayachandra will be thrilled about this though." She waved the recipe in her hand, then turned and danced back inside, letting the screen door slam shut behind her as she called out to her wife as though the three of you had already left. "Yo, Jay-Jay! I got the brownies!"

"You got the brownies?!" A different voice yelled from somewhere on the second floor of the old Victorian house.

"I got the BROWNIES!"

"Well, it's only been three hundred years!"

Their carefree interaction brought a smile to your face as you turned your attention to your best friend. He still looked pale and a bit unsteady, but he seemed better than when you'd arrived - lighter. A gleam had returned to his eyes that you hadn't seen since your latest arrival in Mystic Falls.

"Feel better now?" You asked as he climbed back up the steps of the porch.

"Hell yeah," He chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm really sorry for some of the stuff I said earlier. That thing was really warping my brain - I dunno why I wanted to keep it so bad."