I'll Be Your Last

Absolute Power

The next morning I startled awake. I shot up in bed, alarmed to realize that the bed was shaking. There was just enough light from the rising sun for me to see Klaus’ eyes slit open. He lay sprawled on his stomach next to me.

“Is everything all right, love?” his voice was scratchy from sleep, he didn’t move.

“I’m not sure,” I whispered, my heart still racing in my chest.

When the shaking started again, it was worse and enough to send one of his framed paintings crashing to the floor on the other side of the room.

Klaus rolled to his side, his gaze moving wildly around the room. I grabbed my robe from the end of the bed and scrambled to put it on. Klaus was climbing out of bed as I vamp sped out of the bedroom, the shaking halting again. Elijah was in the hallway, belting his black robe about himself, his feet bare. His gaze locked with mine and we both stood wondering what was happening.

I felt Klaus step out of the room behind me and a second later, I heard a scream. It was one of the kids and it was coming from downstairs.

Using vamp speed, I reached the living room where we’d left the video gamers as we found them when we got home earlier. Three young witches and an ancient vampire been asleep among a clutter of blankets, soda cans, pizza boxes. They’d all been fast asleep, even Kol. It had been so cute.

Now I found Kol and both kids in a panic, as they surrounded Davina. The young witch was on her hands and knees on the floor and she appeared to be throwing up. My own eyes were still fogged from sleep but I stared at her as she heaved and couldn’t believe what I was seeing coming up from her body.

“Is that… dirt?” I asked, as Elijah walked around me to kneel at Kol’s side.

“Mom!” Christine shouted with a high pitch that blistered our ears.

“What on earth is happening?” Elijah asked, raking a hand through his normally perfect hair.

“She woke me,” Kol said breathlessly. “What do we do?”

I stared in horror as I realized it really was dirt, dark rich soil, that the girl was vomiting. It looked like she’d eaten a potted plant and it made her sick. Her small body wracked violently. I noticed that Anya, Clarice’s older daughter, was gently holding her new friend’s hand. Her younger sister, Christine, was brushing Davina’s hair back from her face. The child looked so scared.

I heard the quick soft footfalls approaching and I felt Klaus’ hands on my shoulders, pulling me back against his warmth to make room for Clarice to enter into our gathering with Stefan and Rebekah on her heels. The witch wore a pair of red pajamas and didn’t even bother with a robe as she took in the scene before her.

Dropping to her knees, she placed her palm flat on Davina’s forehead, chanting words I didn’t understand as the rest of us held our breath with no clue what was going on or what to do.

After a few seconds, Davina stopped heaving, just lingering there with her arms shaking a fine sheen of sweat on her face. Then her tears started. Clarice nudged forward through the dirt, gathering the girl in her arms while her own daughters started to cry.

“Mom?” Christine whispered.

Clarice held a crying Davina but threw a concerned look over her shoulder at her kids.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to them. “It’s going to be okay. But I think you guys should go back to your rooms now. Okay? Can you do that for me? Just try to go back to bed?”

I knew they weren’t going to go on their own. I’d just pulled free from Klaus when Rebekah surprised me by stepping up to the kids and reaching out for their hands. Christine nodded and went with Rebekah easily, they’d bonded the day before over dresses. Anya wanted to stay, I could tell, but Clarice nodded to her and Anya gently got up and went with the blonde vampire. Stefan left the room with them as the rest of watched Clarice.