Nightshade - A Bonnie Bennett Story (Vampire Diaries / The Originals)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Our first stop was for coffee, then we went straight to the Dalcour Apothecary. The trip was seemingly wasted as we found it closed up tight with no signs of life inside.

"That's odd," Roman muttered as he dug into his pocket. He produced a keyring with a single key on it and unlocked the large wooden door. The bell tinkled overhead when he swung it open and again when he closed it behind us.

"Cass!" he called out, but received only silence in response. "That's weird. She's never even been late opening before. I'm going to try calling her again."

While he did, I wandered the shop, taking particular interest in the items she kept in a glass case behind the counter, no doubt to keep them out of reach of tourists' sticky fingers. There were stones and crystals of all shapes and sizes, and a few antique-looking bobbles. Unless you were touched by magic, the items would all seem completely innocuous. To a witch like me, it felt like static electricity dancing in the air. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I leaned in to get a closer look.

One of the objects was a hair comb with a serpent design adorning the top. The scales were deep green stones with flecks of amber. The eyes were two brilliant red stones shaped with a marquise cut.

I wasn't entirely sure what the next item was. The flat case was made of silver with a fleur de lis etched into its surface. Time had made its mark and large patches of the lid were discolored by oxidation. Without pressing the latch button, I wouldn't know what it contained but I imagined it was either a compact mirror or a cigarette case.

The item that interested me most was a trinket box on the top shelf. The rough wood was caked with dust and cobwebs as if no one had touched it in years. Yet the shelf around it and the rest of the items in the case were all perfectly clean. The lid featured a symbol similar to some I'd seen in the past. However, this one was new to me. It reminded me of a reaper's scythe—a long straight line with a sloping curved line branching off at the top. It emanated power. Old power. Dark power. When I got close to the box, I felt the most peculiar sensation. An emptiness. A complete and total absence of anything but a lone certainty. Somewhere deep in the back of my mind a voice was telling me that if I let it, the emptiness would swallow me whole.

I stumbled backward from the case, shaking away the fog threatening to cloud my thoughts.

"She's not answering."

"What the hell is that thing?" I took another step back from the case to get away from that awful feeling, like icy fingers creeping up the back of my neck.

"You can feel that?"

"Of course I can. You can't?"

"I never could but my sister was all freaked out about it when she got it. It's supposed to have a cloaking spell on it to keep witches from being able to sense its power."

"Well, there doesn't seem to be a spell on it now. Any idea why she would lift it?"

"That's just it. I don't think she would. I'm officially worried."

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Does she have any bars she regularly goes out to? Maybe she's nursing a bad hangover."

"No way. Cass is Miss Responsibility, voted most likely to file her taxes early. She seems scatterbrained sometimes, but I assure you, there is a meticulously crafted method to her madness."

"Okay, so let's start at square one. Does she live close by?"

"She does."

"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's go find her and set your mind at ease."

"I don't want to hijack your evening plans."

"You're not hijacking anything. My to-do list consisted of wandering aimlessly. Really, I don't mind." I wondered what he was thinking as he stared at the screen of his phone again, then thought better of it. I knew better than most what it was like to realize someone you love is in danger. It's a toxic mixture of panic and nightmarish visions of what could be.

"Hey, look at me," I commanded. When his eyes met mine, I mustered up the best reassuring smile I could. "Wait until we have all the facts. I get where your head is going right now, and trust me, that path is not a good one."

"You're right, but before we leave, I need to leave her a note."

I made my way to the door while he scribbled his message on a notepad he found at the register. I didn't know if I would be much help considering I was in a strange city, but I could at least keep him company while he looked for his sister.

Cass's apartment and three local witch haunts later, we were no closer to finding his sister. Or any other witches for that matter. Every place we stopped was the same story. No witches to be found anywhere. Using Roman to create a link for a locator spell failed. The map we had picked up at a convenience store burst into flames, scorching every square inch of the New Orleans city limits. Realizing something was blocking me, we made our way back to Cass's apartment to find something to focus the spell.

I stood at the head of the dining room table, and lit the last candle laid out in front me. I had rummaged around the apartment for most of what I needed for the spell while Roman tracked down the last ingredient.

"Is this enough?" he asked, holding out his palm with a few strands of Cass's hair laying across the center. "I'm guessing yesterday was cleaning day because the garbage can next to her vanity table is empty and the brush was cleaned out."

"Yeah, that should be more than enough." I carefully picked up the strands and clasped them between my hands. I took a cleansing breath and closed my eyes.

Phasmatos tribum

Nas ex veras

Phasmatos tribum

Nas ex veras

Phasmatos tribum

Nas ex veras

Images flashed through my mind in rapid succession. A dark room. A floor covered in the bodies of unmoving witches. Purple energy sparking in the air. I didn't see Cass, but she had to be there or the locator spell wouldn't have worked. But there was nothing in the vision to give me any clues as to the location I was looking at. Without knowing the territory, I was flying blind. I heaved a frustrated sigh and opened my eyes.

"Crap."

"Did you see her?"

"No. I mean, she was there. I just don't know where there is."

"Is she at least okay?"

My heart sank a little in that moment. I recounted the vision to him, trying my best to explain what I saw.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know if she's okay, but you were right. Something is wrong. Somebody has the witches and they're either being channelled for something or they're..." Dead. I couldn't bring myself to say the last word, but judging by the look on his face, I didn't really need to.

"We have to find her."

"I know. I just don't know where to start." Then it was as if someone turned on a light switch. "But I know someone who might. Do you know where Klaus Mikaelson lives?"

"Yeah, the Mikaelson Compound."

"Compound? Of course they'd live in a compound. Lead the way."