A life in the shadows

59

"Do you think they'll find it?" Siobhan asked.
"They have to." Matteo said. He'd sent both of his brothers inside, to distract a witch each while they found whatever object that was keeping Matteo and Siobhan out. Suddenly there was a surge of magic, that rippled through Matteo and Siobhan. "I guess they just did."
"Good." She said and they both ran in. Siobhan went to Stefan while Matteo went to Damon. He saw Damon feed Abby his blood and ran at him, shoving him off her. "What the hell, Damon?"
"I'm sorry. We can't risk it." Damon said. Without a warning both he and Abby fell to the ground, unconscious. Matteo guessed it was Emily. He quickly sat down, and closed his eyes, imagining he was bringing Abby through with him to the other side. No further. He suddenly became aware of someone staring at him. Mikael peered at him.
"What are you?" Mikael wondered before Matteo quickly pulled Abby and himself back into reality. He rushed outside to where Esther was about to start her spell. He supposed it might take a while for the witches to break their link. Siobhan was already there, talking to Finn. Matteo stayed hidden in the shadows.
"How could you, Finn?" She was saying, standing next to Kol.
"Sil-"
"You know it's wrong. Esther's a psychopath. All she ever tries to do is murder, and you're helping her."
"It's not like that."
"Then what is it like? I finally get to see my siblings and you want to kill us all?"
"Not you. Never you."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better. I am so sick and tired of everyone treating me like I'm better than the rest of our siblings. You want to just what? Kill off all our siblings and yourself? But just leave me alive because you have some misguided belief that I deserve better than everyone else?"
"You do deserve better than anyone else. You have no blood on your hands. You've got people you can count on, people who have treated you much better than we all have." Finn said, his mind made up.
"That doesn't change the fact that you're my family. I know I left, but that was wrong of me. You're my family, and I should never have abandoned you all. I should have stayed. I know what you guys must have thought of me, but it was never because I hated you all. It was never to replace you all. I just didn't want to be in the same place Henrik died. I shouldn't have run away. I see that now. But, no matter what, you are all still my brothers and sister. My family. And I don't want to lose any of you."
"Enough." Esther said.
"Except for you. I can live a much happier life without you, Esther. Because it seems that as long as you're around, you won't stop going after the people I care about."
"I'm not targeting you, Silvia."
"Oh really? So what? It's just simply a coincidence that both times you decided to attempt mass murder, they were people I loved and cared for? Why couldn't you just be a good mother? Look at us all. We're not monsters, we're all just broken. I have had to spend the past century and a half proving to myself that I am nothing like you. That I wouldn't cause the downfall of my friends. I have been blaming myself for decades for trusting my own mother. Do you know how screwed up that is? That I keep apologising for believing my mother actually cared about me. And now you want to go after my siblings?"
"You're too late this time."
"No she's not." Matteo stepped forward, Kaia behind him.
"How do you plan to stop it?"
"Oh, we already did." He shrugged, and it dawned on Esther then.
"No!" She cried, as the magic she was channeling lifted. "Sisters! Do not abandon me!"
"See the thing about witches, and I'm talking about the ones who are true to their cause, they want balance in the world. What you planned would have been an extreme imbalance on the world."
"What are you talking about? I'd be tipping the scales to good."
"It's not so simple. You just want to try to hide your biggest regret, but it's not working. We'll always stop you."
"No!" She said stretching her arms to Matteo attempting a spell.
"You're no longer linked to the ancestors." He shook his head before stepping to the side, allowing Kaia past him.
"I'll take it from here." She said, reaching Esther.
"You won't take me alive."
"One last favour, Emily?" Matteo whispered, and Esther dropped unconscious. The Mikaelsons surged forward.
"She's alive." Kaia said, putting two fingers to Esther's neck.
"I think we'll take her." Klaus said. Kaia rolled her eyes. Finn tried to move closer to his mother but Kaia kept him away with a glare.
"Sorry, but she's our responsibility."
"She's our mother." Kol said. "I'm pretty sure that gives us more of a claim as to what to do with her."
"Bye." Kaia waved her fingers and disappeared. The originals looked around.
"What just happened?" Klaus asked, flabbergasted.
"Magic." Siobhan said.
"I've been around for a while, and I've never seen a witch do that."
"I guess our witches are better than yours." Matteo smirked.
"I've met the most powerful of witches-" Klaus started.
"Evidently not." Matteo cut in. "We gotta go now."
"Bye." Siobhan slipped away from her brothers following Matteo.
"Wait. Where did your friend take Esther?" Elijah called but Matteo and Siobhan were gone.