Daring Spell (The Originals/Book One)

Dance Back From the Grave

I was walking through the streets of the French Quarter at night.

"Auria?" I heard from behind me. I turned to face Sophie. "There's a face I never thought I would see again."

I smiled, wrapping my arms around her. "Hey, Soph." I pulled back, looking at the bottle in her hand. "Is the pure-hearted Sophie Deveraux actually drunk?"

"I have a right to be," Sophie told me, sitting on the bench behind us. "You've missed quite a lot, A."

"So..." I trailed off, sitting next to her, taking the bottle from her. "Catch me up to speed." I took a drink. "What's happened in the last eight months that I haven't been here?"

"Well, Jane-Anne and I brought the Originals here to ignite in a war with Marcel and the vampires so we could get Davina back and kill her to complete the Harvest," Sophie told me. I raised my eyebrows. "Jane linked me to a pregnant werewolf, a spell that got her killed. The Harvest didn't work. You were right. Those four girls died, and they're never coming back, and now, I have nothing."

"I'm so sorry," I told her. 

"Well, it's not your fault," Sophie told me. "If the witches have half the brain you do, we all would've left a long time ago. But then we wouldn't have the ancesteral magic. We'd be powerless. And with the epic fail of the Harvest, our magic is fading. We're weak."

"Doesn't mean we're powerless," I told her.

A vampire rushed in front of us. "Well, I would hope not, because I would like some assistance." He looked at me. "I take it you're the uncontrollable witch they call Auria Rayvnne."

"And who the hell are you?" I asked.

Sophie answered for him. "The big, bad Klaus Mikaelson."

I raised my eyebrows.

Klaus smirked. "So you've heard of me. No need for further introduction. Perhaps the two of you can explain the attacks on my men."

~

Klaus took us to an alley with a circle of salt and symbols on the brick wall.

"It's a complex spell, old school stuff rooted in sacrifical magic," I told him. "Whoever did this to your guys, my guess is they were an offering to gain more power. More guys they kill, more power they have."

Klaus' phone rang. He answered. "I didn't expect a call from you so soon. Get as far away from there as you can."

~

Elijah Mikaelson had called Sophie for help in saving his sister Rebekah.

And again, Klaus had "asked" for my help.

I went to the compound abattoir.

Marcel was speaking to Klaus in the next room over, unaware I was there yet. "Gotta admit, I thought you'd lost a lot more guys than that."

"Well, good riddance to them, I say," Klaus told him. "We've no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom. Now that you've regained your composure, let's move on to the next item of business, shall we?" He walked into the room I was in. "With a little help from your dear old friend Auria Rayvnne."

Marcel hesitated, not believing him at first. He walked into the room I was in to see me, surprised. "Auria."

"Marcel," I replied.

"What are you doing here?" Marcel asked.

"I came home when I felt the effects of the Harvest," I answered. I pointed at him with a drink in my hand. "Something that you said you would call me if you needed my help in stopping again."

I took a drink.

"Now, now, that was my fault, love," Klaus told me. "I convinced him it was the right thing to do. No need to be difficult. You'll only live as long as you're of use to me, and right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed 100 years ago has come back for revenge."

"Come on," I told them. "Resurrected witches with vast power? It's the Harvest. Four girls were meant to die and be reborn. And I thought it wouldn't work, but I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong. I don't know how, but someone jacked that power. And they used it to bring back four witches, just not the right ones."

Marcel pointed at me. "So there's still a chance. If we can get that power back, we can save Davina."

"Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we?" Klaus asked. "Papa Tunde wants revenge. He'll continue to attack us, channeling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous. So how do I end him?"

"He needs sacrifices to gain power," I told them. "You keep him from killing anymore nightwalkers, that's a start."

"Unless..." Klaus trailed off in realization. "He finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed."

Tunde had sacrificed every vampire in the garden.