Perzys Āeterña | Hope Mikaelson

Chapter 15

Something was different the next day.

A ripple in the air, a change in the atmosphere. No one knew what it was, and didn't seem to be able to find out. Rhysaenya and Ryan chose to stay alert, walking around town to try and take note of anything suspicious. Two steps into town square, they were shot down by Diego, who was trying out a new weapon.

When they awoke, things felt even stranger. There was a sense of dread, of danger. They began to make their way back to the Boarding House, stopping in their tracks when Rhysaenya heard a voice ahead.

"Lizzie?" came Josie's voice. "Dad? Sebastian? Where are you guys?"

Oh, shit.

"They're here," said Rhysaenya in disbelief. "The twins are here."

She grabbed onto Ryan's hand, starting to run toward the house, but was stopped in her tracks, crying out in pain as someone grabbed her arm from behind, siphoning. Kai brought them both to their knees, standing over them.

"Ah, can't have you doing that," he said with a wicked grin. "I'll take it from here. You two, zip it." He mimed a motion over his mouth. When Rhysaenya tried to retort angrily, no sound came out. "Invisique."

She could no longer see Ryan, which probably meant he couldn't see her, and neither could anyone that passed by. Inside the house there was another voice, Jade, "Quick question, who the hell are you?"

"Jade?" said Josie.

"Little Josie Saltzman, all grown up. I'll be damned. Is Lizzie here, too?"

"Uh, no," Josie replied. "Jade, what are you doing here?"

"If it's okay with you, can we have this conversation after I eat? Because I am starving, and you look delicious."

She heard a gasp, followed by a thump. "Come with me if you want to live," said Kai.

She wanted to scream at Josie not to trust him, beg her to use whatever magic she could to try and gain an upper hand. Whatever plans he had, they weren't good. He could make sure Rhysaenya and Ryan had no way of getting out, hitch a ride into the real world and, according to what Ryan thought Kai to be capable of doing as the last Gemini Coven leader and also the main person the world was created for, collapse it from the outside with them in it.

He could easily spin all sorts of lies, enact his vengeance and hurt the twins to make himself the last Gemini standing once and for all. If this was a rescue mission, they weren't linked to the world. Killing them would be permanent.

She tried to let out snort, wishing the flames might burn through the spell or at least sear into the ground to let someone know they were there. Why hadn't she paid more attention in her History of Witchcraft class?! There had to be something there about breaking free of a spell.

Salt, there had been something about salt. There was salt in sweat and tears, but it probably wasn't pure enough to disrupt the spell. Her fire wasn't coming out, as if her entire mouth had been blocked from spewing out anything that might bring someone to their aid.

Death. A spell on concealing a person could only persist as long as they were alive, right? Or so she hoped. Her fire might not work on the outside, but it could work on the inside. If she died, she'd wake up after a few moments. Maybe not as fast as she would like, but even that had to be something.

She concentrated the flames within, focusing on her heart, frying it to make sure her body could no longer receive the blood it needed. Her eyes watered, whole body aching as she felt it seizing up. Her instincts begged her to stop, but she persisted as long as she could until at last, her body shut down. She lost consciousness for what felt like only a second.