Elijah Mikaelson & The Dragon's Quest

Chapter 21

The next four days were abuzz with activity. At Angelica's direction, Charlie sent the footage from the church walls and a scanned copy of the coven's bible to Alaric Saltzman for his help in interpreting the symbols and pictograms. Additional samples were sent to the Dragonetti labs for dating and additional analysis. After a cursory review, Alaric advised it may take him the entire weekend due to the multiple cultures and religious beliefs that seem to be entwined. Charlie acknowledged and advised Alaric they were doing research on their end as well, but Angelica wanted his independent assessment. Charlie's computer programs continued their searches for signs of the Coven of the Pentadeae. He did not share the grimoire as that would be too dangerous to let out into the world. Freya would be the only one to review that book of spells.

Angelica had taken over the safe house living room analyzing the photographs, researching each item, accessing the extensive Dragonetti electronic library Charlie had painstakingly created over the last thirty years. The technology in the drone allowed Angelica to display a 360 degree view of the chamber and the images on the walls were covered in sticky notes, index cards, photographs, computer printouts and references as she methodically analyzed everything found at the church. The floor, couch, chairs and tables were covered in paper and photographs, as well.

Freya set out into Salem each day to detect the Coven's magic signature and Elijah went with her as protection. It also gave Angelica some room to work undisturbed at the small safe house. Charlie was right in that she was like a dog with a bone when she was solving some puzzle or mystery. She would become completely immersed in the project to the point of obsession. "Please see that she eats something," Elijah asked Charlie. Charlie responded, "I will try Boss, but you know how she gets." Elijah nodded, and he and Freya left the house.

Angelica worked tirelessly unaware of the passing days. She would pause to ask Charlie to conduct a reference search on some topic then she would dive back into her research. She possessed a vast amount of knowledge and usually she was seeking confirmation that she recalled the bit of information or mythology accurately but she was also encountering things she had never seen before. She barely noticed when Freya and Elijah returned late in the evening each day. Elijah could not convince her to take a break to sleep overnight, knowing he was fighting a losing battle until she reached a point of either complete exhaustion or of satisfaction of discovery. But tonight, when Elijah walked into the living room and saw the tray of food sitting on the end table, untouched again, he knew it was time to intervene.

He took a deep breath and left the living room for the kitchen. When he walked in, Charlie was seated at the table tapping away on his tablet. The two men exchanged a nod as Elijah took two glasses out of the cabinet. He grabbed a bottle of bourbon from the shelf and poured himself a double. He bit deeply into his wrist and allowed half of the other highball glass to fill with his blood. He picked up both glasses and walked back into the living room, taking a sip from his bourbon as he watched Angelica work. She had a habit of thinking aloud and it was fascinating for Elijah to watch and listen to how her mind worked. He waited for a transition in her thoughts then walked up behind her and reached around her with the glass of blood, holding it in front of her. "Drink this, my darling, you need to keep your strength up," he said, not moving until he knew he had garnered her attention. She set down her pen and took the glass from him. Elijah slid his arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. She sipped the blood from the glass then turned to him, smiled and said, "You're back."

Elijah brushed a loose lock of hair away from her face and secured it behind her ear, temporarily at least. Elijah cleared a spot on the couch and sat down, bourbon in hand, "Yes, my love, how is your research going?" Angelica's face beamed at the question as she excitedly began to explain to Elijah what she had figured out so far. She was animated as she pointed to sticky notes, explained timelines, origins and myths. She was like an explorer who had just discovered a new world and Elijah could not help but feel proud of her tenacity and her enthusiasm. But he had another matter to address with her.