World on Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [4]

E I G H T E E N

Elizabeth walks through the town of Mystic Falls, her mind aflutter with thoughts. Her father is a kind man, one not capable of the atrocities the town accuses him of, and her poor sister who simply disappeared, her best friend now gone after her. All that's left is a clue—a necklace—and she'll be damned if she doesn't do everything in her power to save her family. Even if it does include Stella Lahey.

"I believe you're looking for me." Elizabeth pauses as she turns to see a man slowly coming out of the shadows, his face obscured.

"I believe you must be mistaken. Perhaps if you could come closer, I could see who you are."

"Name's Kaleb Hawkins, ma'am. Best hired gun these parts have to offer. Heard you were looking for such a man. Been asking around town about a necklace."

Elizabeth raises the necklace in hand. "The very one in question. Does this crude bauble mean something to you?"

"It means you ought to leave town. That there is the mark of the Mikaelson Gang, and you don't want nothing to do with them."

She looks back at the charms on the necklace—the M must be for the gang, but the moons on either side seem out of place. "I have no choice," she replies. "My father's life depends on it."

"Sorry, little lady, but your pa's a dead man, and you'll be dead too if you ever cross paths with the likes of Hope Mikaelson."

"I can pay you well," Elizabeth says, "unless a man such as yourself lacks the stomach to track down a girl."

"Hope MIkaelson's no mere girl, ma'am. She's a monster. Not an ounce of humanity in her. It's said she even drinks the blood of her enemies."

"I trade in facts, not tall tales," Elizabeth sighs. Deep in her mind, she knows tales of beings like that, tales connected to her sister's closest friend, though Elizabeth has dispelled these rumors herself. "Does this miscreant also burn down schoolhouses and abscond with innocent women, such as my sister?"

"She might indeed. So I'm afraid I'll have to retract my offer."

When he takes a step forward, Elizabeth counters. "One more step and I'll scream."

"In my experience, ma'am, screaming don't do you no good with holes in your neck." When she turns, he appears before her, necklace in hand. "Much appreciated, but, you see," he holds up his own necklace, identical with the exception of one moon charm, "I got one of my own. Now, about that neck—"

A blade emerges from his chest, silver shining in the low light as a gunshot goes off. The body falls to reveal another man: blond, about her height, scars along his exposed skin as his eyes meet hers.

He swings his longsword down, wiping it off with a handkerchief. "Sorry for the violence, ma'am," he says, voice as smooth as rippling water. "I find the easiest way to deal with the Mikaelson Gang is to shut them up before they speak."

"I'll say," she murmurs. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Aaron, ma'am. You must be Elizabeth Saltzman?"

"And how do you know that?"

He turns and glances back to a man covered in shadows, a smoking gun visible in his hand. Elizabeth narrows her eyes before she stumbles in shock. "Dad?"

"Now, that's an insult, Elizabeth. I'm your Uncle Ric, and I'm guessing my brother never told you about me." A moment of silence passes, shock coursing through her system, Uncle Ric walks away, but Aaron hesitates.

"Well," he rocks back on his heels. "Evening, ma'am. Stay safe out there."

"Wait!" Elizabeth chases after them. "Where are you going?"