The Original: Book 5

Chapter 22

"Cami?" I called again and she finally looked up at me. "Are you all right?" I asked, sitting across from her.

"Yeah. Considering." Nik came over to where we sat, holding a jar and a cloth.

"Hold still, this is going to burn," he informed her. Cami winced as he pressed the cloth to the bite mark.

"Ow, what is that?"

"It's a healing salve. Motherwort, white willow bar. The recipe is over a thousand years old," Freya explained.

"So the good stuff, huh?"

"It will ease the pain, dull the symptoms, but it won't stop the infection."

"So, I'm screwed."

"We're gonna do everything that we can, Cami," I reassured her.

"To that end, a little assistance," Elijah cut in, coming into the room with Vincent in tow.

"Cami, I'm so sorry," Vincent apologized.

"You should be. This is your fault," Nik remarked, standing from the couch. "It was you who turned Lucien into a beast –,"

"Klaus, stop. It's not his fault," Cami cut him off.

"Cami's right. We all need to work together to fix this," I stated.

"Yeah, I think I know how to fix it. Lucien has always been obsessed with me," Nik revealed. "He made himself like me. And my bite is cured by my blood."

"Do you think his blood can save her?" I questioned.

"It makes sense, Lucien would want that power," Elijah chimed in.

"Allowing him to lord himself over his victims," Nik added.

"Okay, so we got a working theory, now we got to test it," Vincent proposed.

"Lucien's blood is all over my apartment. I sliced him all to hell before I ran," Cami reported.

"Okay, I got this one. Lucien's got no reason to be on the lookout for me."

"Maybe we hedge our bets," Hayley commented as Vincent left. "Hope is a Mikaelson witch who carries the wolf gene. We already know that she has healing powers."

"It's worth a try," Freya agreed.

"I'll tell Mary that I'm coming." Hayley left the room, Elijah following her.

***

Standing in the doorway, I watched Cami's chest slowly rise and fall. The infection hadn't progressed much further allowing her to breathe normally. "How is she?" A voice asked from next to me and I turned my head to see Freya.

"Nothing's changed. Lucien's blood didn't heal her, but it seems to have slowed the effects just a tad," I explained, watching her sleep.

"And what's he doing?" Freya nodded towards Nik, who sat next to the bed, eyes closed as he held Cami's hand.

"I didn't want Cami to be scared of what's coming, so I asked Nik to put her mind at ease, give her a little peace before it happens."

"He cares about her."

"Yes. Not many know it, but she's not just his therapist. She's a friend. All that time he spent with her, talking about his life, he's grown close to her. It's going to be hard on him when she's gone."

"That's why he has you." I sent her a small smile.

"Why don't we leave them be?" I suggested, turning and walking away. As we got to the courtyard, Vincent stood from his seat.

"She's getting worse," Freya told him.

"Okay, then we – uh – we gotta try something else," he suggested. "Marcel, Strix? You mean to tell me they can't help with this?"

"The Strix don't have a solution for something that's never existed before," Marcel countered.

"Lucien engineered a pure strain of wolf venom, designed to kill even an Original. It may be there is no cure," Freya remarked.

"Well, I'm not giving up," Vincent declared.

"Neither am I, but –,"

Vincent cut her off, "okay, um, blood magic's not working, so what else is there?"

"How about a magical miracle baby?" Hayley suggested, walking into the compound with Hope in her arms.

***

Sitting on the bed next to Cami, I gently dabbed at the sweat on her forehead and chest with a cloth. The infection had gotten considerably worse, boils forming on her skin. "Freya, we gotta do something," Vincent declared, coming into the bedroom. "All right? So channel me, cast a healing spell, and that'll buy us more time."

"It won't stop the inevitable," Freya replied.

"Okay, then put her soul in that damn pendant. It worked for Finn, it will work for –,"

Freya cut him off, "Dahlia crafted the pendant. It will only work for our family."

"What if you put her soul in another body?" I suggested, turning my head to look at Freya.

"No. She'd have to agree for the transfer to hold and she wouldn't do that to an innocent person. Not even to save herself," Vincent replied.

"Maybe we worry about that later," Freya commented.

"We cannot deny her the dignity of choice," Elijah cut in. "Camille lived with grace. She will have it now."

***

Resting my hand on Cami's wrist, I could barely feel her pulse. Looking over, I could see her skin start to turn gray, her heart finally stopping. I turned away, tears falling from my eyes. Slowly rising from my seat, I went over to Nik, resting a hand on his back as he cried. "I'm so sorry, my love," I whispered to him, pressing a kiss to his head. Moving away from him, I left the room, going out to the courtyard where everyone had gathered. They all stood as I came down the last of the steps, slowly shaking my head, "she's gone."

Sorry for the late update, I was at work all day.

Only 2 more chapters left!! I'm a little behind on Book 6 because I've been focusing on moving, but that will be over with by Friday, so then I can focus on writing!

My character and her story are of my own imagination. They belong to me and nobody else. Please do not steal. Copyright 2018.