39 Cairn Chamber
Nathaniel reached the edge of the encampment, the sun starting to become more prominent over the trees, the sky still streaked with purple and orange tints. Nathaniel looked back for a moment, the residents beginning to rouse within their tents. Nathaniel took a deep breathe and continued farther outside the witch's radius of magic.
[Mother?] Nathaniel called. [Mom are you there? Niklaus is in trouble.]
Nathaniel continuously called through the pack telepathy, continuously getting no response.
[Fuck!] Nathaniel thought, not realizing he yelled it through the telepathy.
[Nathaniel?] Evelyn's voice came through. [Did you just curse??]
[That you heard..] Nathaniel rolled his eyes. 'Of course.' Nathaniel shook his head lightly[Mother, Niklaus is in trouble!]
[What do you mean?] Worry could be heard rising in Evelyn's voice. [Where are you?]
[In the forest behind the house.] Nathaniel spoke quickly. [I don't know how far in but I left a trail of marks on the trees. Hurry mother, Niklaus is in trouble, bring everyone.]
[Okay Nathaniel, I'll get everyone but promise me you'll stay put. Don't put yourself in harm's ways.]
[Mother, I can't promise that.] Nathaniel looked back towards the camp and noticed that it was suddenly alive. [I think they'll be moving on soon.] Nathaniel blocked the connection before Evelyn could say anything else. He hoped by doing so, it'd make Evelyn move even faster.
***
"Good morning, Little Wolf." Blink watched Niklaus's face, black bags had formed under his eyes. "I see you didn't sleep, what's wrong? Don't trust me?" Blink jested, a wide grin on his face. "It's not like you spent almost ten years with my pack." Blink said sarcastically, waiting for Niklaus to respond.
Blink sighed when Niklaus gave no reaction or response.
"You used to be more fun." Blink said flatly as he turned to walk away from the cage.
"Why do this?" Niklaus spoke calmly. "Why hold me captive, why torture me, why take me from my family again?"
Blink gave a shallow breath and turned back to look at Niklaus.
"I need you, or rather your power." Blink looked solemn, almost sad actually.
"Why?" Niklaus watched Blink's features, waiting for them to contort back to their usual slim smile. "What purpose do my powers serve for you?"
Again Blink took a shallow breath a sighed.
"They'll help me get my sister back." Blink's eyes seemed to dampen as he spoke, although no tears fell. "I wasn't the best older brother, in fact I'd say I was no brother at all but with your power, I'll be able to bring her back, I'll be able to apologize and be there for her." Blink met his eyes to Niklaus's. "I'll be able to give my niece her mother back."
Niklaus gave a cold, breathy chuckle.
"No power is strong enough to bring back the dead. Not even Hades himself is capable of that."
"Don't tell me of Hades' power, I know it all too well." Blink's eyes changed, a flash of something else behind them.
"What does that mean?" Niklaus scrunched his brows and sat up from his slouched position leaning against the side of the cage.
"It doesn't matter." Blink turned to leave. "We'll be heading out soon. You can behave and walk with the rest of us or stay in the cage, your choice."
Niklaus sighed. 'I hope Nathan's okay. He shouldn't have followed.' Niklaus started chewing his bottom lip. 'Please let him be okay.'
***
Neil hadn't understood at first when Evelyn told him that Niklaus had been taken again and Nathaniel had gone after him.
Now, Neil, Harper, and the entirety of three packs were running to save the oldest and youngest of the Ever Green's heirs.
[How could this have happened!?] Atlas roared through the telepathy.
[It was Olivia.] Evelyn spoke, running between Atlas and James.
[I can't believe she'd do something like this.] Harper ran close behind Atlas.
[We don't really know if she'd do this or not.] Neil ran beside Harper, behind Evelyn. [We haven't actually known Olivia all that long.]
[I guess you're right but..] Harper paused. [I don't know how anyone could betray their mate like that.]
[She must have a good reason.] James chimed, his new, alpha red eyes shining brighter than Evelyn's and Atlas's red timeworn eyes.
***
Nathaniel looked in on the camp from high in a tall tree. His eyes shifted in their bright golden yellow and mandarin orange wolf eyes, allowing him to see better at the shuffling below.
Nathaniel watched the tent in the middle for movement. Then when the camp fully woke up, he watched as Niklaus's cage was carried back outside and the tent was taken down. He watched the camp as it slowly shrunk from being a bunch of tents to a group of people.
'They're starting to move.' Nathaniel started climbing down the tree, almost to the bottom of the tree, Nathaniel missed a step and fell the rest of the way, hitting a couple branches on his way down.
Staggering to his feet and using the tree for support, Nathaniel felt a light flow of warm liquid dripping down his forehead. Touching two fingers to the liquid, Nathaniel confirmed it was blood.
'It's dark and thick, that's a good thing, it means it's not a major wound.. although, I suppose any head wound is major but that's not important right now.' Nathaniel walked into the tree line away from the worn path, staying close to the camp as they started moving and marking the way for the pack that he hoped wasn't too far behind.
***
Niklaus swiveled his head around, looking for Nathaniel anywhere he could be hiding. Looking around Niklaus noticed a glare from the tree line, like someone flashing a mirror in the sun. Niklaus looked directly at where the glare was coming from and acknowledged that he saw it.
'Good, he's okay.' Niklaus released a sigh. 'He should go home before one of Blink's people see him.'
Niklaus looked towards the front of the group and realized Blink was nowhere to be seen.
***
Blink saw the glare flashing from the trees but upon further investigation saw that it was only the child from before. He was inconsequential to Blink's plan, and with the spell stopping him from signaling his pack, everything would be able to continue forward without any hitches.
Blink looked back to his pack, somewhere along the way, it had grown to a size unimaginable even to himself. Blink looked at Niklaus, he was so different now compared to the defiant child that he'd first met. At times like this, seeing how much Niklaus changed from his old self he wished that he hadn't done what he did, that he hadn't allowed all of the abuse and scarring to occur to Niklaus's body but it was necessary to Blink's plan. He needed Niklaus to be hardened, to be strong, he needed him to the man he is now, a man with bones of tungsten and a heart of diamonds, someone unbreakable.
If Niklaus was truly unbreakable, Blink could trade his life for another. Blink could take something unbreakable, something that's gone through immense pressure and damage and has survived and trade that for something, someone, who didn't.
***
It didn't seem like the group had been walking for very long before who seemed to be Blink's new right hand, his replacement for Tran after he'd been captured by the Red Vine Pack, called for them to stop.
Blink continues to stepping forward for roughly six paces before reaching a pile of ten differently shaped rocks. After placing the rocks in a line in a seemingly random order, the ground began to shake and the rocks rolled together, stacking on top of each other and growing in size, a crackle was heard and what seemed to be a portal opened in the center.
Blink looked at Niklaus and gestured towards the portal. "After you, little wolf."
Niklaus rolled his eyes, making sure that Blink could see it before walking through.
Niklaus was transported to the center of a round stone room, in front of him was a lopsided trough with a spout leading from the lower end into a groove on the ground. The groove made large circles moving outward until reaching the edge of the room which was lined with a sort of pond.
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit cairn cubiculum." Blink said, placing his hand on Niklaus's shoulder. "Tibi gratias ago pro hoc."
"Im ' non faciens eam ad vos." Niklaus shrugged Blink's hand off his shoulder.
"I know." Blink walked forward with Olivia walking behind him and gestured to the trough. "Let's get this over with."
Niklaus gave a groaned sigh. "What do I have to do?"
"According to the murals, the.. sacrifice must be unclothed, then bled into the trough." Olivia spoke from behind Blink, not making eye contact with Niklaus.
Niklaus nodded and removed his shirt and jeans, before kneeling in front of the trough at its higher end.
Blink's right hand presented him with an ornate knife, taking the knife Blink held it out, handing it to Olivia. "You have a stronger connection with your mother than I do, if we want her back, you have to be the one to make the cut."
Niklaus watched as Olivia swallowed a lump in her throat and took the knife.
Olivia gently held the blade to Niklaus's throat.
"Proditione cadit ab iis nos amor." Niklaus said softly, staring into Olivia's eyes, the gold no longer showing in her emerald green.
"I-I don't know what that means." Olivia's voice sounded sad.
Niklaus leaned into Olivia's ear. "Ask your uncle." The last word leaving his tongue like acid, his eyes flickering up towards Blink.
***
"Betrayal falls from those we love." Blink translated, he'd never known Niklaus to be intentionally cruel but the way he spoke now to Olivia seemed purposeful.
Blink could see Olivia's eyes start to water at Niklaus's words.
"I'm sorry Niklaus." Olivia leaned in, placing a kiss on Niklaus's lips.
Blink watched Olivia's tears start to fall as she sliced all the way across both external jugular veins under the hyoid, releasing the kiss.
As Niklaus slumped over and bled into the trough Blink began to chant in Latin with Olivia repeating the words behind him.
"Hades, dominus de inferis, exercitus mortuorum, stern possessor terminus inter mortem et vitam."
"Hades, lord of the underworld, host of the dead, stern holder of the boundary between death and life."
"Frigus caro fit spiritus, clara oculos glint a tenebris, amatores diu partiti adunare, familias iungere semel -"
"Cold flesh becomes spirit, bright eyes glint from shadows, lovers long parted unite, families join once more -"
"- genus unum, formidabili unum hoc te videre, et grata, haec omnia tibi emcompass, lux in tenebris, amore in mortem."
"- kind one, fearsome one, all this you see and welcome, all this you emcompass, light in dark, love in death."
"Hades caeca, domine, si omnes, qui vixit et mortuus est, oramus te."
"Hades unseen, lord if all who have lived and died, we pray to you."
"Nos commercium hoc anima Niklaus Adair MacTear pro anima de Amelia Hera Blink."
"We trade this soul of Niklaus Adair MacTear for the soul of Amelia Hera Blink." Choking on the last words and staring at Niklaus's lifeless body Olivia finished the chant.
Niklaus's blood, pouring from the trough into the engraved spiral on the floor, began to glow. As the water in the pond at the edge of the cairn chamber turned a crimson red, it began to make spirals in the air following the carving on the floor. The mix of red blood and water formed a figure in the center of the room, Niklaus's body floated from its hunched position over the trough to the figure, becoming engulfed in the mix of red. The figure seemed to cradle Niklaus's body as it started to dissolve in its touch.
"Δεν έχεις ιδέα τι έκανες!" The figure yelled in anguish. "Θα ανοίξετε τις πύλες και θα επιτρέψετε στον Κρόνο να δραπετεύσει!"
"Please Lord Hades, King of the underworld, you've taken your sacrifice, allow the soul exchange to finish." Blink spoke calmly, lowering himself to a bow in front of the imposing figure and gesturing for his pack to follow.
The figure stared at Blink.
"You have killed a decedent of my most loyal companion, Cerberus." An arm formed on Hades' figure. "We will have no exchange." Hades swept his arm over the heads of the pack, grabbing Blink and slamming him through the wall, creating a hole in the chamber.
***
Olivia watched as Hades flung Blink around like a rag doll, killing him. She watched as members of her uncles pack tried to escape through the hole that Hades made, being flung back by some form of barrier.
Olivia calmly walked to the hole, she placed her hand against the opening, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she pushed forward. Opening her eyes, Olivia looked back and released her breath. She was outside the cairn chamber. She watched as others tried to leave the same way she did with no avail.
'Not being apart of Uncle's pack came in handy.'
Olivia looked around her with the tears flowing from her eyes and noticed Nathaniel staring at her.
"Tell your pack I'm sorry." Olivia said despondently before running the opposite way.
Leaving Nathaniel to watch the scene unfolding inside the cairn chamber.
