Lightning Strikes Twice

Eighteen

"Well that is a epically large chicken." Méalla remarked as she, Klaus, Marcel, Elijah, and Diego stood around the dead body of Papa Tunde in a salt circle.
They gave her a look. "What? The witches used to leave decapitated chickens on doorsteps, we have a warlock on ours." Elijah rolled his eyes while Klaus had a tiny smirk but his face changed with his next thought.
"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease, almost got the two of us as well. If he was supposed to be the prize fighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?" Klaus asked, puzzled.
Rebekah showed up just then. "Well, don't you look cheery. Listen to this. A girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving a tour of the city of the dead. It was Monique Deveraux."
"What?" Méalla was skeptical. She didn't want to get her hopes up for Davina's return.
"The tourists thought it was part of the show, but the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle."
"Maybe it is. They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected. This is how we're gonna get Davina back, kill the witch who took her place." Marcel sounded determined.
Hayley walked up next to Méalla as Marcel finished talking. "I have a theory about who one of them could be. Celeste. I mean, it's got to be. Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil is coming."
Klaus turned to Elijah. "First, Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores, now your murdered lover is back. This isn't witches attacking vampires. They're declaring war on us."
"Well, then. It's time we show them what a true war with the Mikaelsons looks like." Méalla's grin was malicious and Klaus gave her a cold smirk.

"Alright, baby mamas, we three are heading to the plantation house while the dead witches are being hunted." Rebekah barged into Méalla's room.
"You're not seriously making me leave? I'm not some damsel in distress." Méalla responded.
"But as you oh so bluntly put it to Elijah, you're pregnant and therefore he is pulling the big brother card to make you leave." Rebekah shrugged.
Méalla groaned but got up anyway. Hayley just watched the sisters with a grin and joined them as they walked out to the car.

"I thought I was gonna have to drag you to the plantation kicking and screaming." Rebekah remarked as she shut the car door.
"I did come reluctantly." Méalla shrugged.   "Yeah, well we all just wanna protect us and the babies, right?" Hayley said breezily.
"Hey, I'm on your side, remember? So what gives?"
"Tonight's a full moon, Rebekah."
"So what? You're preggers, you can't turn."
"Yes, but I wanted to invite a few people over."
"Of course. Every red-blooded American werewolf will be a bundle of fur and sharp teeth tonight, whilst your cursed crescent clan will be..."
"Human, but only for a few hours and won't be again until the next full moon, so I asked Josh to get a message out to Eve in the bayou."
"Josh isn't dead yet? Well good on him. I love a nice survival story." Rebekah quipped.
"Me, too. Usually they don't last this long." Méalla agreed.
A man left the house with a dolly.
Rebekah was surprised. "Who the bloody hell is that?"
"Kegs out back, right?" Hayley asked him.
"Yup." The man nodded and walked off.
"Right. It appears you weren't gonna wait for me to grant you permission to throw a kegger." "Listen, you all want me safe, fine. I'll do as I'm told. I'll play damsel in the glass tower. But tonight's the one night a month that I can meet my family. Now you could rat me out, send me to my room, or you could help me to throw one hell of a party."
"Goddammit a kegger but no beer for me. Let's just dance then I guess." Méalla took off for the backyard, with Rebekah and Hayley in tow.

"Hope I'm not too early." Eve stated from where she had entered the backyard. Méalla didn't turn around until she finished hanging a shirt on the clothesline. When she turned her face broke into a giant smile, because standing next to Eve was Alex.
"Not at all." Hayley answered, coming around to Méalla's side of the clothesline.
"Alex! Come here!" Méalla bent and held her arms out for a hug and Alex ran into them, hugging Méalla tightly.
"Méalla! You'll never believe what I found in the Bayou!"
"Oh, what did you find?" Méalla asked and watched as Alex pulled out a glittering stone, pale in color but with the outline of a leaf on it.
"Oh that's so cool! It's a fossilized leaf! It must be really old." Méalla told Alex.
"Why don't you come inside and tell me everything that's happened since I last saw you, okay?"
Alex nodded happily and gripped Méalla's hand tightly as they walked into the house. Eve and Hayley watched them go.
"Alex has had a rough go of it. Her dad isn't great, her mom passed, and she's not very close with the other Crescent kids. I'm really happy she found someone in Méalla." Eve said to Hayley, watching Méalla lift Alex onto the kitchen counter while they talked animatedly. Hayley felt her heart warm a little at the sight.
"I think the same could be said for Méalla." Hayley responded, not seeing the dawning look of understanding on Eve's face as Hayley watched the Hybrid with a soft smile.

"Oh I love this song!" Méalla said, hearing Dancing Queen come on the radio. She reached out a hand to Alex, who has been sitting with her in the kitchen, and asked "Your Dancing Majesty, would you care to show us some moves?" Alex laughed and took her hand.
They started jumping around the kitchen and laughing while singing along. They swung their interlocked hands and twirled each other to the beat. They barely avoided hitting Hayley in the side as she came into the kitchen from outside.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming in, love!" Méalla said breathlessly. Hayley smiled.
"Sorry to interrupt. Are you two having a good time?"
"It's been so much fun! Méalla's been telling me really cool stories and facts about mythology! It's so cool!" Alex said excitedly.
"That is really cool! If it's okay with you, may I introduce Méalla to my new friend, Jackson?" Hayley asked, seeing the bright smile on Méalla's face. She didn't have the heart to share the news she just found out. Alex nodded.
"I'll be right back, don't have too much fun without me!" Méalla told Alex and joined Hayley in walking into the living room. Méalla saw a tall man with ruffled dark hair.
"You must be Jackson. I'm Méalla. Are you the wolf who's been watching over Hayley?" Méalla really wanted to try and be friendly, this was Hayley's family.
"Yeah, that's me. And you're the pregnant Original Hybrid?"
Méalla nodded.
"Andrea, um, Hayley and I were just talking about the..." Jackson trailed off after seeing Hayley shake her head. "We were just talking about her family."
"Oh."
Suddenly, Méalla heard a scream come from the kitchen.
"Alex!" She rushed in, seeing flames. She grabbed the girl of the counter and ran to the door, which refused to open. She heard the front doors slam close. She clutched Alex closely as she searched for a way out.
"Elijah, it's a spell. They're trapping us inside." Hayley said into her phone from the living room.
Méalla heard a jingling sound, like bells and followed it to a window, which was open. She was suspicious but one look at the coughing girl in her arms and her choice was made. She laid Alex down outside the window and pulled herself through, but before she could call to Hayley and Jackson, the window slammed shut and was blocked by a bookcase. She again picked up Alex and ran a few feet, but quickly fell to her knees in pain as she felt pain infliction spells. She couldn't see anyone around her.
She put down Alex, who's coughing has lessened and put her hands on Alex's shoulders.
"Alex, somebody's trying to hurt me. You need to run."
"What about you?" The girl said hoarsely.
"I'm going to stay behind and hold them off. You need to go find Hayley or one of my siblings. If someone tries to hurt you, go the opposite way."
Alex opened her mouth to protest but Méalla shook her head as she felt a stronger pain in her head.
"You need to go. Please." Alex's eyes were filled with tears but the girl nodded and took off across the yard. Méalla watched her until she got to the front of the house and then turned to face the witch behind her.
She saw a redhead walk up to her and say something, smirking but the pain in her head, an aneurysm, got worse and she couldn't hear her. She felt it burst and felt herself hit the ground hard before everything went black.

Hayley saw Alex running, tears streaming down her face but no Méalla. Alex saw her and ran over, crying.
Hayley knelt next to the girl and pulled her into a hug.
"Alex. Are you okay? What happened?" Hayley asked.
"The fire started in the kitchen and Méalla ran me out, there was a jingling sound at an open window that she got us through but when we got outside, she was in pain and said somebody was trying to hurt her and that I needed to run until I found you or one of her siblings and she would stay behind." Alex flustered and started crying again. Hayley grabbed her in another tight hug and felt the girl cry into her shoulder. She whispered soothingly to her, rubbing her back when Elijah came back out with Jackson. His eyes widened with even more panic when he saw Alex but no Méalla.