Integrated

Little One

I was in Crawford and I's shack when I felt light-headed.

"Baby, are you okay?" I go answer Crawford as my vision goes black.

I open my eyes to see my brothers.

"Flower!"

"Carine!"

"Twinny!"

They all rush over to help me up.

I shake my head to clear my vision. They help me stand up and I place my hand on my belly.

"I'm okay, boys." I assure them.

"Where are we?" I ask

"It's a chambre de chasse. A hunt room. It's where witches bring their prey for mental target practice. Our bodies are in the real world, laying dead on the floor, whilst our minds are in here, represented by these creepy animal heads." Kol tells me.

I look around to see five chairs with a fox, a stag, a wolf, a boar and a white fox.

"Let me take a wild guess as to who is the author of this nightmare." Nik says.

Nik raises his voice. "FINN! Show yourself!"

Finn comes in through the door. Nik goes to grab him in a choke hold but his hand comes nowhere close to his throat.

"Save your strength. In here--" Finn looks around.

"I am untouchable. My magic, my rules. So, make yourselves at home. We're gonna be here for a while."

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"At the very least, this prison is a bit more comfortable than the box you held me in for..." Finn pauses for a brief moment.

"Almost nine hundred years?"

Nik gestures to the walls. "The heads are a nice touch. Let me guess--"

Nik points at the wolf head hanging behind him.

"I'm the big, bad wolf?" Nik smirks.

He points to the other heads.

"Kol, the wily fox. Kara, the beautiful but cunning white fox, Elijah is the noble stag, and you, fittingly enough, are the boar! Bit obvious, as far as symbolism goes..." Nik taunts.

He turns to Finn and sighs in annoyance.

"Why are we here? Don't tell me-- it's about Mother? I didn't force her to drink blood and betray everything she holds dear. That was her choice." Nik tells him.

"This isn't about Mother, this is about you. I want you to know how it feels to be powerless! So, I'm going to take the thing that matters most to you-- the city you've come to love so much." Finn yells.

"Are we quite done here? You will release us now." Elijah rolls his eyes.

"I will! After sundown. Because at sundown, when the marchers of Carillon Eve take to the streets, my barrier spell drops. Marcel and his hungry vampires will be unleashed to kill their way through the Quarter! I imagine that, after their atrocities, the supernatural community of New Orleans will be forced to find another place to call home." Finn shouts.