Otherworldly (Hope Mikaelson)

4-Fallen

"How is there ash on her throat?!" Hope asked Caroline, gesturing to the mark around the younger blonde's throat. Hope had found Lucy moments after the celestial being had awoken. The Tribrid immediately brought her to the headmistress, hoping the older Vampire could do something to help.

Caroline collected a sample and put it in a vial. "I don't know, but we'll get to the bottom of this, okay, Lucy?" The older blonde smiled warmly, calming the younger girl.

"Well, you do that. We're gonna try and figure it out, too." Hope grabbed Lucy's arm and dragged her to the Salvatore Memorial Library. With her magic, she pulled many books off of the shelves and settled them at an empty table in the far corner, where they were most likely to be left alone.

After hours of research, Lucy finally found something of interest. In one of the books was a conjuring spell to summon angelic beings. Lucy turned to Hope, wondering if she could talk to Zach this way.

If anyone would know how to help her, it was him.

~~~

"How?" Was the only thing Zachariah said when he appeared. The spell had worked, but neither of the girls had time to celebrate. Zach was in front of Lucy, hands gently holding her face as he examined her neck. The hair on the back of his own stood on end.

"I-I had a dream.." Lucy tried to explain, her breath nearly caught in her throat at the closeness of the young man.

"It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare." Zach corrected her. "Rex Malorum translates to King of Nightmares in Latin. He's as evil as the devil and as awful, too. His shadow magic is incredibly powerful, even able to transcend time and space. That's how he left a physical mark on you."

"Who the hell is this? And how do you know him?" Hope asked, the closeness of the two beings bothering her. Lucy was by no means hers, but Hope couldn't ignore the stab of jealousy that formed in the pit of her stomach.

"Hope, this is Zachariah. He's... like me." Lucy looked up at the taller male, a soft smile on her face.

Hope looked away, unable to take the awe in the blonde's eyes. "Can he help us?"

"I will do anything to help Lucy." Zach told the tribrid, voice sharp with meaning. His blue eyes glowed a faint golden, much like her own.

"This King of Nightmares... What does he want with me?" Lucy asked, trying to bring everyone back to the problem at hand.

Zach looked concerned, biting his lip. His eyes swam with too many emotions. He knew something but didn't want to tell the other girl. Finally, he sighed.

"Lucy, up in Heaven, you were... special. Important, even. You come from a long lineage of powerful Angels and Archangels, but there was always another side to you. You see, your mom was an Archangel of the Highest Order. Your father, however, is unknown. Your mother never explained who he was, and she died in childbirth. Angels are created, born of light. You were born the same way a human was... The same way any Halfling would."

Zach let the information sink in before he told Lucy more. "I'm a Nephilim, which means I am half Archangel and half human. You grew up trying to gain the position your mom once held. Then.. He contacted you."

"Who did?" Lucy asked, furrowing her eyebrows. Everything Zach was telling her was confusing, but it also felt right, like deep, deep down, Lucy knew it, too.

"Your father. He was something opposite to Angels, and thus his power and influence started to corrupt you. You were marked as Fallen, thus falling from the Heavens to Earth."

"I... Fell?" The words hit Lucy like a freight train going 400 miles an hour. Her mind opened like a flower in bloom and she started remembering some things. She had the most beautiful white wings. She had incredible power. Yet, something or someone corrupted her, causing her own kind to banish her.

"You did. I came here to find you, to bring you back. However, I cannot do that until I absolve you."

"How do you absolve her?" Hope asked, finally speaking.

Zach turned his gaze to the tribrid and leveled her with it.

"A Fallen can only be absolved by proving their worthiness, their holiness. She would have to revoke all sin and darkness, which is almost impossible once you've spent time on Earth with the humans. The only other option would be if Lucy found her father and obliterated him."

"Could my father be the King of Nightmares?" Lucy asked as she thought about everything. She couldn't remember her father, but she knew in her core he was not made of light and love like the other celestials.

"It's possible, but I'm unsure. As for what he wants with you, if he isn't your father, is because you are extremely vulnerable. You don't have your grace so your powers are weakened. If he can corrupt you further, he could have a powerful asset."

"So how do we stop him?" Hope asked, not liking the idea of more powerful creatures she didn't know how to deal with appearing. She thought, after Malivore, it would all stop.

"We would have to find him first. But Lucy needs training to hone her powers. Only her light can destroy his darkness."

Hope wondered briefly if Lucy's light could destroy her darkness. Hope knew what it was like to struggle between being good and being evil. She vowed than to help Lucy every step of the way.

"Well, how do we do that?"