Poisonous Chocolate and Forbidden Fruit

11. Harvest

Elijah and Hayley laid out Davina's drawings and they formed into Celeste's face. She called the drawings evil. "The Italians called them Strega. The Yoruba of West Africa called them Aje, meaning Mother. Where my mother was from, they called them Hexa. And here; we call them witch."

Lilith sighed, "Thank you for the history lesson on the name of witches, 'Lijah."

He eyed her before continuing, "Over the centuries, vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded them and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic anchors this city. There's never been one all-powerful witch until Davina."

Hayley sat nervously to the side as Klaus said, "Who is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall under my protection." He paused and looked down at the depiction of Elijah's old lover. "Your Celeste was quite beautiful and a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence."

"Yes. Perhaps Davina mistakes what she calls evil for power. Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she's been dead for over 200 years. I don't understand why all these sketches now." Elijah sighed and sat down on the couch next to Lilith and across from Hayley.

"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus asked sarcastically.

"Preach!" Lilith cheered.

There was a sudden crashing down the hall. A lot of screaming and some arguing. Then some more glass breakage. "Well, that's going well," Klaus commented.

"If you were trying to win the girl's trust, perhaps poisoning her one true love was not the most splendid idea." Elijah pointed out.

"Oh. Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus asked.

"Give me a month. I'll get you a list." Elijah teased and Klaus chuckled.

"Ooh! I'll help!" Lilith cheered once more.

Another crash silenced them all. "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the ass." He smiled pettily and then stood and walked off.

Lilith sighed, "He needs to stop stating such factual things, I can only agree with him so much in one day!"

There was suddenly the sound of coughing. Lilith was in the room right in front of Klaus in a second. "What's with all the racket?" Klaus asked.

Marcel held her hair back as she coughed up dirt onto her bed. Lilith went to her other side and carefully pat her on the back, trying to help her cough it all up. She whimpered as more dirt poured from her throat. Lilith tried to coo her.

"Bloody hell," Klaus exclaimed quietly.

"Not the time!" Lilith scolded.

Then, barely seconds later, the house shook. Klaus looked around Lilith sat on the bed, holding onto Davina. Marcel and Klaus rushed to the balcony and watched as things collapsed and panic ensued. Rebekah walked in. "What the hell is going on?"

"Davina," Klaus said darkly.

———

Lilith was still with Davina when Rebekah entered the room, accidentally waking her up. A car alarm blared as Rebekah walked over. She looked around for any prying eyes before turning back to Davina and saying, "Hey, what kind of game do you think you're playing? I said to disrupt the household, not destroy the whole city."

"I don't think she did it on purpose, Rebekah!" Lilith quietly scolded.

"I didn't do it," Davina confirmed nervously. "Not on purpose. I- I don't know what's wrong with me." Her breathes came in short bursts.