Dark Moon | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 6

Esmeray woke up feeling like she was on fire.

She was in a sort of warehouse, tied to a chair, a gag around her mouth and her wrists bolted down. Her stomach churned and she wanted to throw up. Her arms ached and she could hardly feel her legs. The hybrid felt a burning on her cheeks that let her know her gag had been soaked in wolfsbane, as had the cuffs around her hands.

"Look who's up."

She snapped her head up, her vision still slightly blurred as she beheld the man who had kidnapped her. He came forward and looked at her complacently. "Avoided me for a while, didn't you?" he said. "Even someone as powerful as me couldn't get into where you were staying."

He reached forward to remove the gag, and she snarled, trying to bite him, even though it wouldn't be lethal to him. He easily avoided her, and took the gag in his hands, going to a nearby jar and letting it soak. "Esmeray Poldark," he mused as she stared at him hatefully. "Where are my manners- the name's Maddox."

"Stupid name," she sneered. "Fitting for such an incompetently moronic witch." She thrust her hand out, expecting her emotions would take charge and create a cavern beneath Maddox's feet to send him plunging straight to Hell. But a look of horror came onto her face when nothing happened, not even the slightest cracking of pavement.

"What did you do?" she said darkly, staring at her hands, which were trembling. Was it the wolfsbane? It couldn't be, her magic still ought to be working.

He came back with the gag, and hovered it over her, making her hiss as droplets collided with her skin. "Your Pack was full of a bunch of idiots, back in your day," he said, her pain clearly amusing him. "It was quite easy to take your magic." He held up a small wooden carving of a wolf. "It's in here. You'll get it back for the ritual."

She whimpered as he took the gag back. "What are you talking about?"

"It's been a few days," he told her thoughtfully, beginning to walk around as if he was sightseeing. "The wolfsbane kept you weak enough for me to draw it out without much effort."

"But... but how is that possible..."

"Listen, kid, you know nothing about how magic works nowadays, do you? Not long ago... and by this, I mean maybe four and a half centuries ago... witches found out about how magic could be moved and allocated to different objects and people. In your day, no witch ever rejected their nature, and no one would have dared to take it away from them. Now, many witches choose to give their magic up. They put it in a special little trinket and give it to someone. Sometimes, they take it back when they're ready to embrace it. More often than not... someone else absorbs it. You'd be surprised how many witches and wolves nowadays try to keep themselves from a supernatural life. They don't have the guts to tune into all the power inside of them. You know, certainly, how often wolves try not to trigger their curse."

He held up his hand. "I've taken the power of two witches in the past. So I consider myself an expert when it comes to making a witch give up her magic." He toyed with the little carving, moving the wolf forward so she could see it. "This was handmade quite recently to hold your magic, because you can't be trusted with it. All on Klaus's orders, of course."

She went rigid and leaned away, making Maddox laugh. "Look at you, you're so scared," he taunted. "It's funny, because no one's given a damn about you. It's almost like they all wanted you to be given to Klaus. I've put up a spell so you can't be tracked... but no one's even tried to look. No one's noticed that you're gone. Right now, you're nothing but a wimpy little werewolf. It makes sense why no one cares."

He forced the gag back around her mouth, and she let out a muffled scream, trying to clench her teeth, but he pried her mouth open to push the gag inside and ensure she couldn't talk. That way, the wolfsbane would prick against her sensitive gums, leaving her too weak to try and fight.