Perzys Āeterña | Hope Mikaelson

Chapter 5

Remembrance Day was off to a rocky start.

"Well, is he okay?" she asked, concerned, when MG told her that Raf's girlfriend Cassie (who had died in a car accident while he was at the wheel) had been brought back to life. "Can we see him? Or see that monster that Dr. Saltzman apparently has imprisoned downstairs?"

"No," said MG, motioning for her to stay where she was. "It's okay, Hope has it handled. Unless you know something about necromancy..."

"Yeah, unfortunately I don't know anything. The most I have are stories from my grandfather about Melisandre and her Lord of Light. Aw, come on, I want to help somehow! Is Hope really going to handle all of this alone?"

"It's Hope. If anyone can handle it, it's her. She's the most powerful creature on the planet. She'll tell us if she needs help."

Rhysaenya huffed. "What is Dr. Saltzman going to do about Cassie? She must be so confused."

"He and Emma are going to keep an eye on her. Hope is going to find out why this Necromancer guy is here... chances are, it's after the knife, too."

"Then let's do another mind dive! You do it on me this time."

"If Hope couldn't get anything out of you last time, then I doubt I'll be able to. If you want to help, you can hit the books with me."

"Actually," said Hope from behind them. "I can't do the head dive on The Necromancer alone."

"Do people here just pop up behind one another without warning?" said Rhysaenya, the hairs on the back of her neck standing. "How do you do that?"

Hope smiled. "I think my Silencing Spell just persisted until I spoke up. I was trying to maintain a certain degree of privacy downstairs. Look, the reason MG was there last time, Rhysaenya, is because I don't yet have vampire powers so I needed him as a conduit. And I think if you're there, you can help give me a boost. You've integrated yourself into this world, and you haven't been itching to get the knife since I did a... minor spell on you. I think I can use it to get something out of The Necromancer." She added more quietly, "The only catch is that we can't tell Dr. Saltzman."

Rhysaenya shrugged. "I'm fine with that. I have been known to keep a secret or two."

She wasn't sure what she expected to see when they reached the dungeon and found The Necromancer waiting for them. But she sure as hell wished she had had a heads-up. His face was wrinkled and scarred, eyes a milky blue and voice as aggravating as the newly discovered sound of nails on a chalkboard.

"Holy Mary, mother of demons!" muttered MG as they approached him.

"Hello, Milton," said The Necromancer enthusiastically. "Your great-nana Imogene is waving hello just over your shoulder."

MG whirled around, staring at the empty space behind him. "You can see my great-nana?"

"Oh, I can see everything. She's most disappointed in you for forsaking Jesus, who I can also see, but oh, I know, that's another can of worms. And you, my dear..." he tilted his head at Rhysaenya, revealing rotted and cracked teeth that made her want to throw up in her mouth. "There is just a mass of people behind you, faces just like yours... dead dragons. Except for the man directly behind you, of course."

Her heart dropped into her stomach, knowing who he meant. "Is he saying anything?" she whispered.

His grin widened. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you?"

"Don't torment her," said Hope in a clipped tone. "Let's get this over with."

"We're going in there?" squeaked MG when he saw Hope opening the cell. "With him?"