Chapter 14: False Emptiness
[02:15, 02/02/2030, Salvatore Boarding School]
Silence scattered across the Salvatore School, with nothing more than the sound of the wind making its presence.
Throughout the corridors, someone could see no light coming from below the doors of any dorm, a probable indication that all students were sleeping.
But if someone entered the last room in the highest floor of the dorms, they could see that someone, a boy, was still up and awake.
The boy was reading books at this hour, writing notes and thinking about theories, making use of the silence of the dawn and enjoying the chilling cold of the night.
Bzz!
However, his calm mood was broken when his phone on the table started to vibrate, dragging his attention to it.
Reaching out to it, John wondered who was calling him, since he had only six contact numbers saved in his phone. And looking at who was calling him, he immediately replied to the call. But before he could say anything, a hurried voice came from the other side.
"John, I need you to listen to me attentively." Rebekah's voice was concerning and rushed. Her tone worried. "This concerns Hope's life."
Her words also got all of John's attention, leading him to rise from his seat immediately. "I'm listening." He said.
"There is a vampire on your way. An ancient one. A former enemy of my brother. He wants to-"
"I already have an idea why." John said. He didn't need much more to know the vampire was coming for Hope's life. "Where is he coming from?" He asked seriously, opening the doors to the balcony.
"Northeast, we learned he just arrived in Washington D.C. Freya is preparing a locator spell to better track him." Rebekah said, preparing to say more when she heard something from the other side of the phone. "Boom!"
"John?!" Rebekah asked hurriedly when listening to what seemed like an explosion.
"I am here." He replied, already kilometers away from the school. "I am going towards Washington right now. I should be there in 10 minutes. maybe less."
The other side of the call remained silent for about two seconds when listening to John's words. Although the time is not long, considering the situation, it is overly long. "Rebekah? Are you still there?"
"Yes, sorry." She replied. "I was just not expecting you to be nearly as fast as us."
John understood her surprise and who she was referring to. "Let's focus on the problem now. I need to know the exact present location of the vampire."
"Call Freya, she must have performed the spell I requested by now." Rebekah said, but her words didn't end. "And John, let me remind you one thing. The vampire, Carcius is his name, won't hesitate to try to kill you and my niece. So, if you can kill him, kill him. Or at least hold him until we arrive, Marcel is already on his way." With those words said, Rebekah didn't wait for the boy to reply before she ended the call.
Her words made the running mind of John slow down a little, the thought of killing someone calming his mind in a strange way.
Am I ready to kill? John asked himself, the thought weighing in his mind.
However, things changed when he thought of something else. His mind started to play tricks with him, displaying the disturbing image of never seeing that figure again, that face. The smile that warmed the moon and the blue crystal eyes that cooled the most of the agitated minds. The thought of never seeing them again, of them disappearing into oblivion started to consume his mind. And that resulted in one thing, the sentiment of despair rising in his mind.
The earth will burn before that happens. John thought. His mind displays an unfitting calmness to his words, just like the calm before the storm.
Going through his short contact list, John called Freya. And to his surprise, she didn't accept the call at first, worrying him.
Calling her a second time, John waited 20 seconds before she finally answered it.
"I don't want to sound rude, but why did you take so long to accept the call?" John asked.
"There was a problem with the spell." Freya said. In her house, she sweeps a single drop of sweat off her forehead. "There was a powerful spell around Carcius. I needed to change a few things to bypass the spell around him which was hiding his location from me." She explained.
But her words didn't bring much relief to John. "Then he has the support of a witch."
"More like a coven. The spell was no joke. I had to try a little to deal with it." Freya says, her words not arrogant despite saying she nulled a spell cast by an entire coven alone.
John remained silent after her words, deciding to speak only a few moments later. "There are a lot of people who want Hope dead, right?"
"Many." Freya said, her voice not the most joyful one when saying that. "There is no shortage of prophecies and rumors about my niece around the world. All of them paint her in a bad light. And considering my brother's retrospective, it's not hard for others to believe them. The problem is that my brother died. When Klaus was alive, few were crazy enough to attempt anything. The title of 'Great Evil' served for something." Freya actually chuckled at that. "However, now that the fact he is dead spreads across all continents, there are some crazy people who wish to make sure those prophecies don't become true. Whilst others just wish to end the bloodline of my brother due to his sins."
"That's what you guys have been doing all these years? Protecting Hope from all kinds of crazy people who wish to harm her?" John asked.
"She is our family. We will go through hell itself if it concerns her safety." Freya said, expressing her utmost care for Hope and her family.
And John must admit, her words sounded the most sincere ones he ever heard in all his life. Maybe it is because he watched what this family went through or Freya is just that good in expressing herself, but he didn't doubt her a single second after listening to her words.
"Change the call into a video one. I will share with you the map in which I cast the locator spell." Freya said, getting John's attention.
Listening to her, John did as she said.
On his phone, he could see a huge and detailed map of the east side of the United States, with a red line of blood crossing the state of Maryland and going south.
"Thanks, Freya." John said.
Suddenly, the air around him overlapped more onto itself as the pressure around him intensified.
Boom!
[Scene Break]
Whoosh!
An after image. That was all a human could see if they could even notice the phantom in the woods near Interstate 95, crossing the northern region of the State of Virginia.
Shit! I have to hurry. Marcel Gerard must be already in my track. Fuck! If they didn't run, I could've killed those three newborns before they alerted him. The vampire thought in a hurry as he used all his strength to run across the state. He could feel it, the mark in his chest lost its effectiveness.
However, he had a choice to make. Feed and get enough energy to run hundreds of miles without rest, or try to go after one of the newborn vampires whilst the other two alert Marcel. In the end, Marcel would be alerted anyway, the difference would be that by feeding sooner, he still had most of a chance to get to the Mikaelson girl and kill her.
And after killing her, Carcius didn't care about what happened to his life. Because for the past six hundred years, all he cared about was his vengeance. To the point he didn't care if the dry blood on his lips were from men, women, elder or young. All he cared about was his objective, his revenge against the man who took everything away from him.
The wait is over. He stated in his mind, the mere remembrance of that fateful day replaying in his mind.
Corpses everywhere, his parents, brother, wife and friends, all their bodies scattered across the family's state as that man stood tall among the bloody land.
"What a pity…." That man said, those words cursing him to this day. The anger those words brought to him made veins appear under his eyes and grit his teeth.
A pity an innocent girl will die for your fault, Klaus! Carcius clenched his jaw as he thought to himself, his intentions not meant to resound through the world. However, there was an answer to his words.
"I don't think so."
The sudden words stroke Carcius' mind, not understanding where those words came from.
However, not a second later, the source of those words presented itself as a strong grip surrounded Carcius' neck, his body coming to a halt as he was suddenly lifted in the air.
Looking down, Carcius froze for a moment when seeing the bright golden eyes staring at him. The black of his pupils seemed like a black hole, darker than the normal eye, sucking all existence around it.
"Who, who aare you?" Carcius pushed these words out of his throat, having difficulty talking due to the strength applied around it.
"Just a boy who cares about the girl who you were intending to kill." Those words brought a frightening dread to the vampire, and this sentiment proved true the next moment as a silencing pain striked his heart, literally.
Looking down, Carcius looked at the arm going through his chest, the blood dripping from the hole.
Raising his head slightly, Carcius stared at the boy. "Y-you know who she is? Wh-what she is?" He asked with a weak voice.
"Yes, I know." John nodded, his eyes locked in the injury he caused. "I also know who you are, Carcius." John said, his eyes rising to meet the vampire's. "You chose to hide from the one you hated, but decided to go after his daughter in an attempt to achieve a fake revenge. One you couldn't even think about when he was alive. This just proves how much of a small and weak man you are."
These words worsened the pain the vampire was already feeling, as if the one who spoke them just knew about what happened that day. He knew what these words meant to him.
"You…"
Crack!
Before he could continue his words, Carcius felt bones behind his lungs and heart breaking, the arteries of his heart ripping apart. Suddenly, going over his neck, he could feel the cold breath of death down on him.
"No…" Was his last word. His skin turned gray and black veins took over his body.
John remained silent as his grip over the heart of the vampire softened, the heart falling down on the ground before he retreated his arm, now covered in blood. The same of the grass beneath him as droplets of blood fell down on it, with the body falling down as well when the young man let go of his grip over it.
With the death of the vampire, an eerie silence prevailed in the woods. The only thing that could be heard was the wind howling as the young man stood there in silence.
As his eyes stared at the dead body of the vampire, the only sentiment John could describe having right now was emptiness.
And John was wondering to himself why the lack of it. He asked himself multiple times throughout his life what would happen if he killed someone some day and what would his reaction be. Sometimes, the answer would be sad, satisfied or even disgusted. And even nothing. But now that he really didn't feel anything, he was wondering why.
It took some time for him to understand why he was feeling nothing. Because of the scenarios he played in his mind.
He always thought that if someday he killed someone, it would be to seek revenge or even an accident in a fight. Who knows?
But now, when seeing the dead vampire on the ground and thinking over the reason why he did it, he understood why he felt nothing. Because he didn't immediately remember why he was doing it. The image of him killing someone blinding him for a moment.
He did it to prevent the image he saw present in the mind of the vampire from happening. To protect the smile that brightens every one of his days and brings a certain comfort and warmth to his heart.
When thinking of these reasons, the emptiness simply disappeared, replaced by what he could best describe as relief… He was relieved the one precious to him is safe now. He was relieved he was strong enough to do what it takes to protect the most important person to him in this world.
"Ah…" John let out a breath, raising his eyes to stare at the starry night above him. He contemplated the stars for a moment, something that always soothed his mind and heart, before his gaze fell to the ground again. "I should see if he has something important on him. Something that can lead to what witches helped him."
Bending his knees, John started to search through the vampire's body.
The vampire wore simple clothes and was barefoot, probably getting rid of anything that could delay him in his run. Enough that besides his clothes, the men only had two things in him, a daylight ring and a small, worn yellow paper.
Opening the folded paper, John saw a draw. An elegant woman in noble dress. And she was smiling.
The young man's eyes looked between the dead vampire and the woman in the paper, coming to an understanding of who she was.
After love, there is hatred. John thought, folding the paper and holding it for a while. In the end, he put it in his pocket. He did the same for the daylight ring.
"Nothing that seems related to the cloaking spell on him." John muttered, finding nothing else on him.
However, John didn't stop looking over. After all, from his recent knowledge, he could still find something in Carcius' body. And considering he was in search of something magical, there was still another possibility of him finding something not as simple as an object in the vampire's body.
With a hold over the vampire's shirt, John ripped the fabric, revealing the gray body of the vampire, but also something else.
"As expected, they engraved the cloak spell on him." John said, looking at the mark on Carcius' chest.
Immediately, John didn't recognize the mark. But after a few looks, he recognized a few runes and symbols which were part of the mark as a whole.
"Southern Europe? Maybe eastern too." John deduced, passing through the knowledge he had of what he could recognize from the small parts that made the entirety of the mark. "Hm…" John hummed thoughtfully. "Rebekah said he is an ancient vampire, so at least a few hundred years old? Probably. His name sounds roman. Magic from southern and eastern Europe… The chances of him being someone from the now extinct Byzantine Empire is high." Was John's deduction, his thoughts logical.
After guessing the man's origin, something he could already know if he had asked Freya earlier during the call, but he was so focused on the line of blood moving over the map that he just forgot, John stopped to study a little the mark on the man, trying to understand more of its capabilities.
But whilst he did it, John's hearing picked up a boom sound approaching his location, followed by a whooshing one coming from the same direction that Carcius did.
However, different from Carcius, the person approaching was considered someone really strong by John.
"I can say you are Marcel Gerard, Rebekah's husband, right?" John looked up, his eyes meeting the dark piercing eyes of the man standing before him.
He had dark skin and a strong toned physique, his stance tall and full of confidence. His face was well-defined, with a strong jawline and high cheekbones. His hair was neatly trimmed and styled short, enhancing his polished appearance. He behaved like a refined man even unconsciously, a second nature he acquired after decades in the position of a leader, a great one at that.
But his handsome features were not what caught John's attention the most. What did was the pure and strong magical energy coursing through his body, making him stand out like the full moon in the night in John's vision.
No wonder he is stronger than an Original. John thought, rising up. However, he is still like a candle compared to Hope's.
"And you must be the boy dating the girl I consider a sister." Marcel said, a charismatic smile on his face as he spoke out those words.
"I wish we would meet under better circumstances." John said, stretching out his hand. "John Neo, a pleasure."
"Marcel Gerard, but you already know that." Marcel took John's hand, shaking it. Then, he looked below at the body of Carcius. "It seems he had no chance."
"Yes." John agreed. "I was searching for something in him. See if he had anything that can help us learn the witches who helped him."
"It seems you found something." Marcel said, bending on one knee to see the mark on the dead vampire's chest.
"I don't recognize it completely. Just a few things that indicate it's from eastern or southern european origin." John said.
"Your school is not exactly the greatest when it comes to teaching certain magical branches in it." Marcel said, standing up. "It is a 'Circle of Absence'."
"Care to say more?"
"I don't know much. You are right about its origin. The witches from the Byzantine Empire used it to keep themselves hidden during the dissolving of the empire to escape against possible hunts from enemy covens of other countries. They also used it to know if something happened to one of them, as their death would lead to the disappearance of the mark and thus alert them back." Marcel said, giving a brief explanation of what he knew about. "Also, it's effectiveness is good to the point the magic needed to perform is on the limit of being catalogued as Black Magic." Marcel said.
"Shit." John muttered, understanding the weight of Marcel's words.
If the covens were casting spells in the limit of what are considered Black Magic, that means they are on the brink of defying nature's laws, something sacred for witches and warlocks throughout the world, to kill Hope. Basically, they had almost no restraint on what they could do. And everybody knows that a witch without restraint is not exactly the easiest opponent to deal with.
"Yeah, things are not easy. At least that reduces the possibilities of who did this. Although many wish for the death of my sister, there aren't still many willing to go that far." Marcel said, grabbing Carcius's body and throwing it over his shoulder. "I will take the body to Freya. Maybe she can perform a spell to find who casted the circle on him. Thanks for the help, John." Marcel said, about to run from here.
"Before you go." John got his attention. "Tell Rebekah and Freya that if another incident like this happens, you can call me. After all, I also wish to see no harm come to Hope." John said, doing his best to convey how much he wished to help regarding any matters related to Hope.
And his words seemed to convey his thoughts as Marcel nodded. "We'll be in touch."
"Also… how did you do it?" John asked, with Marcel not following right after. "How did you run at the speed of sound? It shouldn't be possible, right? I mean, friction should be enough to burn you…" Explained the boy, remembering the sound of air ripping apart when Marcel was coming.
A look of understanding appeared in Marcel's expression, with him taking something out of his pocket. "Freya did it. It's an amulet which prevents my body from burning every time I run too fast. But the faster I run, the faster the magic in it depletes. And since I cause too much destruction with every step, I basically only use it when in uninhabited, or there would be holes in every street I run." Marcel said, putting back the amulet.
"How long has it been since you can run at the speed of sound?" John asked.
"Ever since I took the Serum to become the Beast." Marcel said. "But besides me, my wife and her brothers, there aren't many Vampires that can do that. Only those around 1.000 and 900 years old. And they don't even dare to use one of it. After all, if the magic in the amulet suddenly goes out without them noticing, they will burn immediately after and since they are normal vampires, they will die." He explained. "Any more questions?"
"Many." John nodded. "But, I know you want to go. So let's end it here for today."
Marcel chuckled at that. "If you are curious, just call. You have Rebekah's number after all."
"Okay. The same to you." John said.
"Then, I will see you soon. Bye, John." Woosh! And then, he disappeared. A few seconds later, John could hear the loud sounds coming from hundreds of meters away.
Amidst the woods, alone, John let out a single breath. "Time to go back."
Boom!
Following his words, he broke the sound barrier as he rose to the air.
[Later, 02/02/2030, New York City, New York]
In the "City That Never Sleeps", tranquility wasn't exactly one of its strongest points. Every day, every hour, something was happening in New York. From normal parties to huge events involving world famous figures, the city was always bustling with sounds and lights, showing the world why it was fit for its name.
However, contrary to the city's cheerful mood, a single room in one of New York's most expensive suits was silent.
That was, until the door to the main room opened. "Everything is done." Marcel said as he entered the apartment.
His words were directed at the beautiful blond woman standing nearby the room's great glass wall, giving her a perfect view of the "The Big Apple".
The woman stood there, in silence for a few moments. "How did he do?" Rebekah asked, her words calm.
"Carcius had no chance." Marcel said, approaching the drink trolley they had in the room. He served himself a bourbon, pouring the drink in a crystal glass tumbler. "Do you want one?" Marcel asked.
"Yes, please." Rebekah nodded.
Pouring another glass, Marcel walked to her side and handed to her the glass, observing her watch the content in it before doing the same as well.
"When I arrived, Carcius was already dead. A hole in where his heart should be." Marcel said, taking a sip from his drink. "Clean injury, and no sign of a fight around the place. That is, Hope's boyfriend dealt with a 600-year-old vampire with the same ease as we do."
"He is not her boyfriend, yet." Rebekah said. "Hope told me he hadn't asked her yet and neither did she. Which seriously, I think it's ridiculous considering both sleep on the same bed."
"I know we are not the best example of a healthy normal couple, but don't you think that's too fast?" Marcel asked, turning his head to her.
Looking at him, Rebekah chuckled. "I don't think so… Actually, ever since Hope and John have met, you can see the difference he made in her life. Through the words she types, her voice in the calls or her expressions in video calls." Rebekah trailed her finger over the edge of the glass in her hand. "She is happy, Marcel. Happy in a way she hasn't been in a long time."
"Yeah, she is…" Marcel nodded. "Let's make sure her happiness is not disturbed." The man said, raising his glass.
Rebekah smiled, and raised her as well, a tingling sound spreading through the room as both glasses clashed softly.
After taking one more sip from her drink, Rebekah returned her gaze to the city below. "Do you feel a little guilty? By purposefully letting Carcius pass by our defenses to see if John had the guts to kill for Hope?" She asked.
"If we did it for any other reason, I would feel guilty. But for this one, I actually feel completely fine with our choice. We needed to make sure he was ready to protect Hope if we can't." Marcel said. "The attacks may have lessened in the past two years, but we can't let our guard down. We both know most of Klaus' enemies are still out there. They may have forgotten things in the last centuries or at least have the decency of not executing their revenge on an innocent girl, but we must prepare for the worst. And if it means we forced a young boy to kill for the first time, then I think we made the right choice."
"You are right." Rebekah nodded. "How was he when you arrived? Was he shocked by the sentiment of taking a life?" She asked after a few moments.
"He seemed… relieved. I don't know why, but it seemed he had come into an agreement with himself." Marcel replied, his mind replaying his memory of the boy's expression.
Listening to this, Rebekah nodded. "That's good." She said.
"Do you think he will figure out all of this was a plot?" Marcel asked.
"If he is as smart as Hope describes him, he probably will." Rebekah nodded, a small smile on her face. "I just wonder how long it will take for him to figure it out."
[Salvatore School]
With his feet touching the floor, John silently landed inside his room, not making a single sound to wake his neighbors. Thankfully, I used magic to prevent the sound of breaking the sound barrier reaching the school. John thought, using his senses to make sure no one was awakened throughout the school.
Immediately after, John started to walk to his bathroom. Taking out his clothes, he quickly found himself under the cold water coming out from the shower.
The low temperature of the water cooled his mind, the instinctual and sentimental thoughts about protecting Hope no matter what started to scatter. His mind becoming more logical again, and his mind returning to this state led to a thought surging in his mind. What happened tonight… I think they planned all of this. This theory, the more John thought about it, the more he believed in it.
Marcel's speed, Carcius' speed, the location of both when Rebekah called him, considering all these variables and more, John was sure that the Mikaelson Family didn't need his help. Even with the cloaking spell over the vampire was not enough to stop Freya from locating him quickly. And even if she couldn't, since they knew who the target was, Marcel could arrive at the school first before Carcius and work from there. The spell only worked to stop someone from locating the other through Magic, it didn't hide their presence or anything, as John located Carcius immediately as soon as his presence entered the range of his senses. So, as long as Marcel arrived at the school, he could use his senses to locate Carcius and kill him.
No matter how many times he replayed this scenery in his mind or tried to think and included possible variables that could possibly appear, the Mikaelson Family never needed him to kill Carcius. They could deal with it just as easily as him.
Then, this could only mean one thing. I was being tested? John thought, finding the idea the most probable of all.
Did they want to see if I was willing to kill to protect Hope, or if I had the power to do it? John thought calmly. Normally, when guessing they were being tested in such ways, others would probably get mad or lash out at who tested them. John, however, wasn't bothered by it.
Well, maybe a little since it involved Hope's life. But regarding him, he was in fact thankful for this. Because tonight, he learned more about himself. He answered a question that always stayed in his mind. Tonight, he learned he had the will to kill to protect those he cherishes. And for that, he was thankful for the Mikaelsons, it being a test or not. In the end, it doesn't matter. Carcius wanted to kill Hope. She is safe now, that's all that matters.
After a few minutes, John left the shower. Using his abilities, the water on him dried immediately.
He grabbed a single pair of shorts in his closet before wearing it and jumping on his bed, the comfort of it calming down his mind and relaxing his body.
I should sleep. I have a date tomorrow. John thought, quickly falling asleep on his bed.
———————————————————
Sorry for the lateness for a new chapter. Busy week and lot of tests. Could finish the chapter just now and had to take a look at it to correct a few things. Also, I am thinking over at what things I can change in the world, making certain characters more worthy of their statements. I think that's the word. I am also thinking of things about the world development and what I can do considering all possibilities. Anyway, I have many ideas and trying my best to integrate them at the story. If you also have some, share it here so we can discuss. Anyway, thanks for the support these past few days. You guys don't know just how much it improves my day seeing you guys commenting just a "thanks for the chapter" or donating power stones. I am grateful for that. Will try to upload more chapters this week. Thanks for everything - Author.
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