Always And Forever /4/ TO

Ch. 4 The Hollow

"Our home. Once the pride of our family, now a flophouse," Klaus said as they entered the compound.

"Indeed the mighty have fallen," Elijah said.

The way they talked about their previous home so calmly was quickly pissing Rory off. "Where's Vincent?" she asked, carrying Hope inside. Lilly followed at her heels. She laid Hope down and sat down next to her.

"Right here," Vincent said, walking over to them. "Kept my word. Now the only question is whether or not you guys are gonna keep yours. As soon as I finish healing  your kid, you gotta leave the city."

"Well, we aren't gonna stay, are we? Your city lost it's charm," Klaus told him.

His fiancé quickly moved away from her kids and towards them. "Klaus, not the time to be an ass," Rory snapped at him, before turning towards Vincent. "What he means to say is that we're very grateful, just help her and we'll leave."

"Just give us what we need and we will do so, happily," Elijah told the warlock.

"Excuse me," Vincent said as he walked past Rory and towards Hope.

Lilly was still sitting next to her sister. Klaus decided to be helpful, given the way his fiancé was glaring at him. "Let's move out of his way, sweetheart," he said, picking her up. He moved back to stand next to Rory, who gave him a grateful smile. She kept fiddling with her crescent moon necklace and wedding ring, giving away her nerves. Elijah had quickly noted the ring.

"Okay," Vincent said, squatting down next to Hope. He started tapping the palms of his hands together and chanting.

The spell only took a moment and then he stood up and turned towards the Mikaelsons. "That's it," he said.

"Mom?" Hope said. Rory quickly moved to her side, checking on her.

"Your little girl is purified," Vincent told Klaus.

"Thank you," the hybrid said, sitting his daughter back on her feet. She quickly moved to help her mom check on her sister.

"Now look, the only gratitude I need from any of you is seeing you leave the city," Vincent said and started to leave.

Once making sure that Hope seemed okay, Rory smiled at her and helped her stand up. She glanced at Klaus, who still seemed worried. "Go see your daddy," she told her.

Hope smiled and walked towards him. Before she could reach him, a bird squawked and dropped dead at her feet. The sound of squawking filled the courtyard as birds continued to drop dead around her. Elijah kneeled down next to his older niece as Rory ran to Hope's side. The birds stopped dropping and Klaus turned to Vincent.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I don't know," Vincent told him.

"Mom, can you hear that?" Hope wondered. "It's whispers. Saying a name. Over and over."

"Kre Nah Han. Kre Nah Han," Lilly said, stepping towards her sister. Both her parents glanced at her, now even more concerned.

"Vincent. What is that?" Rory asked.

"It's a nearly forgotten dialect. It's Creole. It means the Hollow. The Hollow is coming," Vincent told them.

Rory looked around, realizing that her and Hope were encircled by dead birds.

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Rory walked downstairs where Klaus and Elijah were cleaning the courtyard and removing the corpses of dead birds. Klaus stood up when he saw her. "How are they?" he asked.