Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 67

Hilda let out a snort, gritting her teeth before ripping the woman's heart out.

She already knew that Alaric had led the twins away, and she had no problem yanking the woman up, gesturing to Valerie. "Care to incinerate it?" she said quietly.

The Heretic nodded and wove her hand, letting the body and heart catch on fire before it vanished.

"My location will be compromised," huffed Hilda lowly as she marched into the house to wash her hand. "What kind of bullshit is that? Who says that to scare someone?"

Enzo winced. "I think it's Alex."

"Your relative, Alex? The one with the sister in the mental hospital?"

Bonnie nodded. "I knew this was going to become a problem. I met Virginia once— she was insistent on me not opening that vault no matter what Alex wanted. But Alex is insistent, and I bet after losing Rayna Cruz... she needs to move on to the next thing on her agenda, which is me."

"That's not happening," said Caroline immediately. "You are not opening that creepy vault."

"Alex thinks her sister Yvette is somehow still alive there," said Bonnie. "I highly doubt it. It's been years. There couldn't possibly be a way to survive in there, and Yvette was no witch. She says she's been hearing her calling for help."

"Is this Alex woman delusional?" snapped Hilda, seeing Alaric coming back, without the twins. "Why would Yvette have been silent for so many years if she was still alive?"

"That's what I tried to tell her," sighed Enzo. "Bonnie and I spoke of it— whatever creature Virginia thinks is in there is not something that needs to be let out. It's trying to get out."

Hilda pursed her lips. "Well, why involve me? What does Alex think she has on me?"

"She knows you're the one that wrote the spell for Bonnie to be protected," said Enzo, trying to think. "She found that out from another vampire— I know that for certain, I killed him. She knows they've been trying to get you, and I reckon she knows that they haven't been able to get too close. They know where you are but unless they are given the exact coordinates to walk to the front door, blindly, they can't even hope to get near the border of the spell. I bet Alex knows that Rayna's downfall was under your influence."

"Is this Alex's way of doxxing me?" sneered Hilda. "Maybe in another situation, I wouldn't have cared, but if they get anywhere near here, they'll hurt the girls, Ric, and anyone who stands in their way of getting my blood, and if they accomplish that, they'll find Hayley, Hope, and my siblings..."

"It's not going to happen," promised Bonnie, coming over and putting her hands on her shoulders. "I'll do it. I have a plan."

Hilda stared at her incredulously. "Are you insane?"

"Listen, Hilda," said Stefan, "none of us are going to let you or your family get hurt. Let's at least hear Bonnie out."

"With all due respect, no," said Damon. "I agree with Hilly Billy. Bon-Bon, they'll kill you if you try to double cross them. You're better off not going anywhere near the Armory."

"Wait," said Alaric, holding his hands up. "Let's at listen to both sides. We'll figure out the best plan from there."

Bonnie bit her lip. "I go to them. I open the vault. They'll want to go in to investigate and I'll be free. On my way out, I'll do a spell to seal the entire building, and they'll get what they want, but they'll never be able to get out, and neither will the creature in the vault."

Hilda shook her head. "That's too risky. We don't know how the creature looks like. How it moves. This thing is clearly not a vampire, werewolf, or witch. It could be invisible, for all we know. What if it gets out before you seal it in? I say this— I'll go talk to Alex about it, and I'll kill anyone and everyone in there."