Perzys Āeterña | Hope Mikaelson

Chapter 22

They trapped Sebastian in a Boundary Spell.

"This won't contain me for very long," cooed The Watcher, leaning up against the edge of the spell as Cleo finished setting it. "Soon, I will be able to access my magic even in this body." He held out his arms. "I sort of like this new look, don't you?"

"What the hell do we do?" asked Lizzie angrily. "We can't kill him! How do we get The Watcher out?"

"How did it get in him in the first place?" asked Raf, watching as The Watcher moved in circles, tracing his fingers over the spell. "He was fine."

Rhysaenya sat up from where she'd been sharpening her sword. "The Watcher was in Sofya. He killed Sofya. Now The Watcher is in him. It's like what Hope told me about her grandmother, Esther. The Watcher has backups set upon death. Except it... well, can it harness the energy of a violent death to jump?"

"It can," said Hope coldly. "Which means we can't kill him, or we'll get infected."

"We can't kill him either way," said MG. "Sebastian's been helping us these past weeks. He's one of us now."

Landon threw his hands up. "Then what do we do? If we can't kill him but The Watcher's going to get witch powers in a bit, do we just let him go? Do we give them what they want?"

"You could," said The Watcher, sitting down, legs crossed. "Give me La Rose Perpétuelle anointed with the tribrid's blood and I'll be on my way. Sebastian will be returned to you mere hours later."

"We're not letting you bring back Malivore," said Hope sharply.

"I dedicated my life to watching my creation purge this world of filth," sneered The Watcher. "I will finish what I started! Had I not had to make an alliance with those beasts and mongrels, I would have been rid of your kind a long time ago. It's why I chose The Destroyer to give me his blood. All I'd have needed to do was use him to get the Originals and once they were consumed... their species would be no more. All vampires' fates were linked to them. I would have taken them all out in one fell swoop."

"But something went wrong," said Rhysaenya, slamming the sword against the barrier to startle The Watcher as they got too close to where Hope stood. "Your little mission didn't go as planned."

"No," they said, smirking. "No, you are right. The humans, they were so malleable. My creation betrayed me, and I had no choice but to exit my true body. We reconciled once it was too late. That idiot son of his had helped turn him back into mud. Then, those Triad fools trapped me in that other artifact..." they gestured to the second picture, a small golden egg infused with jewels and placed atop an ornate stand with a clock. "Ēl Hōvȳon dēx Īgñōzȳ."

"The Egg of Rebirth," translated Rhysaenya. "Let me guess, you were stuck in there and mysteriously emerged when Hope defeated Malivore."

"Triad let my creation be ruined. They didn't understand its power, not truly. They'd strayed from our original plan, they began to toss humans in, no longer limiting it to supernatural scum. They treated my own kind like slaves. And I knew they had to fall. I was the only one with the right idea anymore. And I will succeed. I will rid the world of hybrid and tribrid monstrosities and I will make sure creatures like you," they nodded to Rhysaenya, "are gone for good."

"You sound just like my grandmother," said Hope wryly. "And I assure you, it is not a compliment."

"Oh, dearest," said The Watcher, lips curling up. "Who do you think made her feel guilty about what she created?"

Josie tapped Hope's arm. "We might have have an idea."

Hope held out her hand, putting Sebastian's body to sleep. "Okay, hurry."