Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 76

Hilda hated The Hollow.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," she sneered as her car broke down as she entered the New Orleans city limits.

Everything had been going fine before that. She'd driven to Mystic Falls, said her hellos to the group and acquired the bone from Tyler. The hours in the car were tolerable because she really thought they were one step ahead of The Hollow, which meant they had a chance at defeating it, especially since they'd learned that the spirit was a distant Labonair.

No such luck.

The engine started to smoke, and Hilda pulled over, thinking it was just that they hadn't had the car fixed in awhile. But when she saw the woman from the Lafayette Cemetery approaching her, she knew it wasn't an accident.

"You're Sofya, right?" she said, climbing out of the car. "Marcel's girl?"

The woman had a cold stare unlike how she had been before. "Give me the bone," she said, her eyes glowing blue.

Hilda put her hands on her hips. "There are millions of bones to pick from. Aren't you an all powerful witch? Maybe you should have just found your bones before we did. It's your own poor form that leaves you in such a shabby state. You're more incompetent than you think. I hear you have a god complex, or something."

The woman raised her hands, and Hilda's body was lifted off of the ground. She tried to resist the spell, but that was a more difficult feat than she'd been anticipating. This thing had stronger magic than any creature she'd faced up to date.

"Perhaps I can't kill you," The Hollow said darkly as she moved forward, slamming Hilda back into the ground. It seemed like she'd been magnetized to stick onto the Earth, because it was even harder to try and get up. "But I can kill those little girls of yours. They've been safe for now."

"Well, there's one thing you need to know," panted Hilda, feeling the spell letting up slightly as The Hollow looked through the car for the bone. She forced herself to reach under the car, tugging hard at one of the hoses underneath it. "I don't let people hurt my family."

The car exploded, and Hilda did her best to shield her face as pieces of it rained all around her. She scrambled to her feet, not seeing The Hollow anymore, and started to run, but the woman had survived the blast, and ended up in front of her.

"I should have known you put it in your pocket," she said, swiping her hand out and making Hilda croak out, holding her chest as she felt her heart starting to get ripped out. "I guess I'll just have to delay you a bit. Your siblings won't miss you."

"I'll tear you to pieces!" Hilda snarled, trying to stop her heart from flying out.

The Hollow smirked. "It'll be difficult for you to do that when you're regrowing your heart. Your lack of cooperation will be remembered. As soon as I get back in my body, I'll make sure you find those two little girls dead on your bathroom floor." She coiled her fingers with more force, and Hilda let out a sharp grunt, holding her own chest so furiously that her entire face was contorted in pure pain. The Hollow walked forward and reached into her jacket pocket, extracting the finger bone, before speeding away.

The Original collapsed on the ground, shaking and coughing and feeling her heart thumping hard in her chest as it tried to get adjusted again. "Damn it," she said, reaching for her phone and dialing Elijah's number. "Please tell me he got the other stupid bone!" she hissed to herself as the line rang. Elijah didn't answer, and the call went to voicemail. "She got the bone, Elijah, and she's making threats that have her walking on a very thin line. I'll rip that bitch to shreds and she'll wish she never tried to cross this family. Call me back as soon as you get this."