We Are Family (The Hybrid and The Wolf - Book 5)

Chapter 11 - A Spirit Here That Won't Be Broken

Klaus and I walked into Hope's room to see her standing by the window, looking outside.

"The Hollow, she's getting stronger," Hope told us.

"You can sense her?" I asked.

"When we first got here, there was always music outside," Hope answered. "People dancing, laughing. But since she came back, it's so quiet. Like she's draining everything out of the city." Hope walked towards us. "She already took Uncle Elijah and soon, she'll come for the rest of us."

Klaus knelt in front of our daughter. "Listen, Hope, I know you're scared, but over the years, a lot of bad people have stood against our family and all of them have fallen. The Hollow is no different."

"No, she is different," Hope said.

Klaus and I looked at each other, worriedly.

~*~*~

We were now downstairs with Freya and Hayley. The pendant holding Elijah's soul was cracking.

"Despite the spell I cast, the very integrity of the pendant is growing unstable," Freya told us. "It won't be able to hold Elijah's soul for much longer. We need to find a way to resurrect him tonight or we could lose him forever."

"To do that, we'll need more power," I said.

"Let me guess, a grand sacrifice," Klaus added.

"I say we kill our enemy and sacrifice her," Freya proposed. "Then we can channel the power from the Hollow's death. raise Elijah's body and place him back where he belongs."

"We've tried everything," Hayley told her.

"And we've come close," Freya replied, looking at me. "Kenner blood is her Achilles' heel. Nina, your blood weakened her, but you've technically been dead for years. So it won't be strong enough to kill her. If we forge a blade using the blood of the last living Kenner . . ."

I shook my head.

"We don't want Hope involved," Klaus told his sister.

"She's already involved," Freya told us. "Hope has been obsessed with the symbol that follows the Hollow. The serpent consuming itself. I believe this is showing us the key, the only means to which she can be destroyed. Her own blood." Klaus and I looked at the drawing of the Ouroboros. "The Hollow is one end of the Kenner bloodline, Hope is the other and we need to close that loop. The best way to do that is for Nina to wield a weapon forged with Hope's blood. When she stabs her, it's only then the Hollow can be obliterated completely."

I hesitated for a moment before standing. "Then we make it work. I'll talk to Hope."

I was aware of the worried look Klaus shot my way but I ignored him as I walked out of the room.

~*~*~

I was heating a needle over a candle flame, so I could use it to prick Hope's finger. I turned to face my daughter.

"I don't want to," Hope told me, shaking her head.

I knelt in front of her. "Are you scared it's gonna hurt?"

"I'm scared if I do this, you're gonna pick a fight and the Hollow . . ." Hope trailed off. "She can hurt you."

"I know you're scared," I said. "I wish we didn't have to have this conversation. When I was your age, I had to deal with a lot of things that I didn't want to deal with either. I didn't want that for you, but here we are. The thing is sometimes you have to do things you don't wanna do because you're the only one who can do them."