Gods & Monsters ✧ Elijah Mikaelson

XLV ✧ The Reaper

THERE ARE ONLY 2 MORE CHAPTERS LEFT AFTER THIS ONE CAN I CRY PLEASE

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Chapter Fourty-Five

The number of small dots of blood moving towards Toronto were dwindling. Months ago, the number of enemies that were coming after Klaus were in the hundreds. Now, there were barely ten as Aspin and Freya completed the spell. The bodies had been hidden well so that the humans rarely found them, but the Mikaelson's always did. They always knew whenever their protector had arrived.

Pin had suspected that their protector was Kaige. She knew that Avarice would not be able to come back to the mortal world, not after giving almost all of her power to Pin. Kaige would reluctantly help the Mikaelson's if it meant Avarice was at peace.

When Pin sensed a great deal of power, a form of dark magic that she knew better than any other kind, she told Freya to go upstairs.

"No," she argued, shaking her head. "I'm staying down here with you."

"Freya, as powerful and absolutely amazing as you are, you have not been around their form of magic as long as I have. This one is strong and dangerous."

Freya shook her head again, not convinced.

Aspin moved forwards and kissed her softly, taking Freya's hands in hers.

"I want to keep you safe, Freya. And for me to do that, you must trust me when I say that this person is capable of bringing this entire world to its knees. Now, let me talk to them alone."

Freya finally did listen, but not without one more kiss. When she was gone, Aspin moved warily throughout the house, not quite being able to discern where the darkness was coming from. Then she went to the back porch, and saw him leaning against one of the posts on the porch.

He had a suit on, and he had the chain of a pocket watch wrapped around his fingers to swing back and forth below his hand. He looked up at her with a slight smirk.

"I dislike wristwatches."

"That's lovely. I didn't ask," Pin said coldly.

Kaige frowned a little. "I wondered if you felt the same way towards me as your brother does. I suppose that I've found my answer."

"You killed my mother before I even learned her name."

"I'm well aware of that, Aspin," he said with a sigh, looking down at his feet. "I wish nothing more than to forget it."

Aspin hated how he referred to her death as "it". She was a mother, a friend, and a wife. Her life being lost was not to be referred to as "it".

"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

"I was merely curious as to whether or not she made her appearance," he stated. "Or, to be specific, if she had shown herself yet."

"'She'? 'Herself'?" she growled. "What on earth are you rambling on about now?"

Kaige's cold expression had turned into a wicked grin. "Come now, Aspin. You are a very intelligent woman, and you can sense power better than any other reaper I know, including myself and Avarice. Surely you have put the piece together by now."

Aspin narrowed her eyes at him, curling her hands into fists at her sides. She wanted to make sure she was prepared to truly hurt him if she needed to. Or, to be more realistic, if she lost control of herself.

Kaige sighed. "Think about it, Aspin. If the Mikaelson's are not killing Klaus' enemies, then who is? It was not you, nor I. The Mikaelson's do not have any family friends willing to protect them without a reward in return."

"Where are you going with this, Kaige?" she asked, her irritation with him intensifying.

Kaige stood up straight, moving from his position leaning against the post to move closer. She was tempted to back up, but decided to stay watching him.

"The people who have wanted to attack the Mikaelson's have decided not to. The reason why is because they have received a message. This message is a threat, and while these enemies want revenge on Klaus, they do not want to die trying to get it. The person who is protecting them is passing the message on to one survivor of each group that comes hunting the Mikaelson's. They tell this special person to let the entire world know that the Mikaelson's are protected by them."

Aspin raised a brow at him.

"Now, Aspin... Take a wild guess as to what this person is now being referred to as."

She blinked in reply, then shrugged her shoulders.

He grinned devilishly. "They call her 'The Reaper'."

Pin's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as the pieces all seemed to fit into place. "Avarice."

Kaige nodded, but his smile faded. "If she has not made her presence known, then she does not want to be found. She does not want the Mikaelson's to know she is here, she told me so before she left. I had hoped that she would, but she most clearly hasn't. You must not tell them, Aspin. But you also must make sure that they do not try to find out who their protector is."

"They should know who it is, though," she argued.

Kaige's jaw clenched. "She is your friend. You must respect her wishes."

"I know that, but-"

"No, Aspin. Do not tell them," he all but ordered.

She did not trust Kaige. He was right, though. She should respect Avarice's wishes. However, the Mikaelson's needed to know that she was there. And so they would know. One way or another.

"Fine," Aspin said, attempting at reassuring him. "I won't tell them."

Kaige nodded gratefully.

"Now, you're free to go," she said, then glanced back at the inside of the house. "If Elijah finds you here, you're done for. He may not be able to beat you, but he will most certainly put up a damn good fight."

Kaige chuckled a little. "Maybe I need a good sparring."

"I don't think Elijah wants to spar. He knows what you did to Avarice a thousand years ago, he knows that you are the reason why he nearly died. In fact, if any of the Mikaelson's find you here, you are in for a rather strong fight."

Aspin turned, and Kaige moved forwards to grab her wrist.

"We aren't done here. You need to tell Avarice to come home."

Aspin clenched her hand into a fist. Her usually happy and calm demeanour seemed to vanish around this man. She spun, and sent a wave of magic at him. With that, the force of the wave sent him off of the porch and across the backyard.

With a low growl, he adjusted his body while he was in the air to land on his feet and slide back. He slid until the side of his right foot hit the fence, and his feet made dark marks in the grass as the upturned the dirt.

"Fine," he said as he stood up straight, all anger seeming to fade. "I will tell her myself."

He vanished, and neither Aspin nor Freya - who was now watching from her window - felt any need or want to stop him.