Chapter Eleven: Meeting Emily & Contact With Kol
The Sun.
A molten collective of hydrogenic, plasmatic particles bound together by the immense force of gravity.
Yet, in this Universe, it was something more. In the face of countless celestial events throughout history —events which act like a battery — no, an amplification device for magic power.
Though asleep, Max was seeing a vision of the Sun mid–solar flare. He saw it coming closest it ever came to Earth, before reverting back into itself, like a yoyo.
He then saw time in reverse.
He saw different powerful witches and warlocks throughout history use the Sun to amplify their magic. He saw Esther channel the Sun to turn her children into the first vampires. He saw the spirits curse them with weakness for the Sun by using the Sun's powers. He saw Silas channel the Sun to bind a boundary spell on a cabin once, trapping everyone within until the Sun would set.
He saw countless witches create daylight totems—rings, amulets, bracelets. Since the dawn of vampirism, Max saw these witches use the Sun to essentially sun-proof vampires.
He saw countless witches and warlocks use the Sun to amplify their base magic powers to extraordinary levels and reinforce their spells and enchantments to astronomical levels.
Since the moment Ben (Prometheus) gave fire (magic) to humans and all supernatural creatures were born—including witches, phoenixes, and solar spirits—many of whom channeled or utilized the Sun in some way or another.
Max saw all of it before once again seeing the same solar flare. Then, his vision showed him a device—a strange old-fashioned calendar reminiscent of the Antikythera Mechanism, but newly made and unrusted in bronze.
Its mechanism moved on its own, showing three exact dates — one on August 5th, 2010; December 16th, 2010; and April 3rd, 2010.
He then heard voices—a cacophony of them—and they all sounded like his own.
"Kol…Original…," they said, "Original Witch… Kol. Alter Esther's spell. Kol. Original witch… spell. Vampire witch… Kol. Turn. Alter….Upgrade… Kol…".
Then, in a truly dramatic fashion, Max woke up gasping, remembering his dreams in its entirety.
It's been two days since Max returned with Kaleb. Two days since the warlock jerked him off. And yet, the encounter hadn't affected their banter.
Max had already guessed the warlock felt indebted to him, for taking him in even in exile. He didn't have anything to pay Max with, but he must've figured Max being a man himself, wouldn't mind a jerking, which was probably the reasoning for the seduction in the first place. That, and maybe, some level of attraction, but Max didn't mind.
He was just glad the guy wasn't boring.
Max had even gone through the journey of introducing Kaleb to Grams and Bonnie, all while half three getting along flawlessly, and even sharing spellcasting ideas and techniques. Kaleb still gave Max those darkened eyes, like he wanted Max in unspoken ways, but Max tried his best to ignore them, as well as they blatant attempts at flirting to came with living with Kaleb Westphall.
He had a lot on his plate.
'Tomorrow night is the full moon,' Max thought. 'I had initially intended to use it to un-dessicate Kol, but that dream last night, those dates, those solar flares, those voices…I'm beginning to think I may need to postpone his un-dessication a little while longer. If this new idea works, though, it will have been worth it.'
"First, thought, I will have to confer with the ancestors, specifically Emily Bennett," Max murmured outloud, alone in his manor's attic, in a magic circle formation of salt and lit candles. "If this works, I may be able to give Kol a little bit more than just freedom…".
Max sat down in the circle of the salt formation, seance board before him.
"Emily Bennett… I summon you from the Other Side," Max chanted, hands on the planchette, firm and sure. "Confirm your identity before me upon arrival. What is your middle name, spirit."
Emily Bennett.
The spirit answered the trick question quite accurately.
"Good. Good," Max murmured to himself, willing Emily to become visible before him with a Revelio charm. She was dressed in early 19th century woman's attire, her dress green, skin like warm caramel even as a spirit, her eyes as brown as wood and hair as black as ink. She seemed surprised that Max was able to see her, let alone make her visible. "Ancesstress Emily Bennett…I am—."
"I am aware of who you are. All the spirits on the Other Side of our lineage know who you are, my dear descendant." Emily's voice was composed, betraying the cold pragmatism perpetually etched on her face. "The Bennett witch who assimilated the power of a hundred of our coven sisters and brothers before the age of seventeen… To what do I owe the honor of my summons?"
"Would it be possible to adjust the curse of immortality placed on an Original vampire, using the power of the Sun during a solar flare?" Max asked straight away.
This question seemed to puzzle the ancient witch, who, after deep contemplation, spoke. "I would say, theoretically, it may be possible. After all, Esther Mikaelson did use the Sun as her source of power when creating the Original vampires. That said, you would need a power greater than hers to tweak her creation without destroying it. You would also need her notes on the topic, though that wouldn't be necessary since you have one of the three witches who worked on it following you around quite a lot lately."
" 'One of the three witches'?…" Max thought, confused before it clicked. The cold shivers. The 3 witches. "Kol? He's here now?"
Looking around the room, Max didn't see anyone, until he noticed Emily looking in a specific area — to the left, by his bookshelf. And, as if the acceptance of Kol's presence allowed him to see the vampire, Max saw the devilishly handsome Original, whose mischievous grin was one so breathtaking, Max lost his breath for a moment.
He was dressed in a white collared shirt, a dark vest and dress pants — The outfit reminiscent of early-mid 19th century clothing. His youthful face was thoroughly beautiful and quite clever, and his brown—almost blue—eyes were as alight with mischief and were as piercing as they were ever-observant. His lean, athletic physique made Max's imagination wander, but it was his mischievous smile—a smile that promised danger and chaos — that made Max feel hypnotized.
"Well, well, well… I was wondering when my little witch would let me in," Kol sing-songed, leaning against the bookcase. But his eyes never left Max's form. He watched Max like Max was a puzzle he was delighted in putting together, or a snack he wanted to devour —And Max wasn't sure exactly which one he preferred most. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of the answer he already knew he preferred. "If you un-desecrate me soon, we can have so much fun together, darling. Just you and me. What do you think? We'd raise so much hell together, don't you think so, my little witch?"
As Kol appeared in Max's space, his presence and sudden closeness caused Max's heartbeat to speed up and for him to breath to catch — both of which were something that seemed to have been picked up by the vampire, as Kol only grinned a sharper grin. He was tempted to, too…
Max, needing to clear his head, took a step backward, shaking his head. "No… No, I'm gonna wait. Wait until the Sun's 3rd flare before I bring you back. It'll be sometime in the beginning of next year, but don't worry, I intend to make it worth your while."
Kol
Kol visibly, both annoyed at Max's admittance to wait and intrigued by what Max meant to do with 3 solar flares, merely breathed heavily, silently accepting Max's decision.
He saw Max's whole conversation with the boy's ancestress. Whatever Max wanted to do — Kol's curse of vampirism, whatever adjustments the young witch wanted to make — was obviously a way to strengthen him.
'If he succeeds in whatever he's plotting,' Kol thought, 'I may just be able to get my vengeance on Klaus.' The thought of revenge lit a fire within Kol — one he would dare call dangerous daring, but, considering Kol was never one to give up on a dare.
"Thank you, Emily," Max turned to the witch, who had observed the entire interaction with a knowing glint in her eye. "You've helped me immensely."
"You are kin," Emily declared, her head bowing slightly in respect. "You need not thank me for helping family. I will be taking my leave now, though."
With that, the ghost of the 19th-century Bennett witch vanished.
"Seems we are alone," Kol's silky voice garnered Max's attention. Max noticed an innuendous smirk on his lips. "When I'm flesh and blood, we can have so much fun… even in bed… Just a thought."
Max had to will himself to isolate his thoughts, compartmentalizing, even while he blushed. With a wave of his hand, he chanted, "De revelo."
Kol vanished from view.
"I need to properly prepare," Max thought aloud, thoughts clear once more that he couldn't see Kol. There was a chill down his spine, and the faint sound of a man's humour being expressed, probably Kol laughing, but Max ignored it. "I have an idea of what to do, but I need to be fast. I'm doing it tomorrow night. I'll be sleeping for a long time — likely another 9 months. I should probably alert my mother, Jeremy, Bonnie, and the others. I don't need them to falsely grieve my perceived death."
Max did just that. He alerted Bonnie, Jeremy, Kaleb, and Grams of his sudden need to disappear and said he'd be back in about 9 months. Bonnie was tearful at Max having to go, just when she'd only recently gotten her cousin back, but Max did his best to explain he had to go. He did lend her Emily's grimoires, along with some talismans that she could channel to defend herself in his absence.
Jeremy promised to keep training with Alaric, who happened to have acquired the replica ring Max had made— It worked just as good as John's, only without the corruption. He also promised to train with Enzo every other weekend.
He was also getting surprisingly closer to Tyler recently, who trained with them on occasions. Max sensed a bit of that closeness stemmed from both being werewolves and subconsciously their wolves seeking the other out. Max, as a fan of the Jyler ship, was quite excited when he sensed the tension behind their interactions, enough to question if he needed to sleep right now, or if he could wait.
Ultimately, Max decided to still go through with his plan.
Kaleb promised to both keep tabs on Max's body while he's unconscious and to look after Bonnie and Grams in his absence. He wasn;t happy when Max initially announced his plans — his true plans, but he was certain he couldn't convince Max to "not" follow through with them, so he met a middleground: He'd teach Bonnie Westphall magic and he'd visit Max during his slumber every other day.
Max approved the idea and they shook hands on the deal.
His mother was a tricky case. He told her he would be spending a year abroad, learning from a powerful warlock in Australia on constellation magic. She obviously knew he was bullshitting her, but she couldn't argue the cover story, as she couldn't leave the Westphall HQ for at least another year and a half. She gave in eventually, giving Max her wishes for good luck, with the promise to call her when he returns.
After saying goodbyes and making farewell promises, Max reached the Witch Burial Ground. There, he began preparations. He etched original runes he created himself to absorb and assimilate magic during celestial events. He created a self-sustenance rune to sustain his body for the time he was asleep.
Kol appeared before Max was done, concern etched on his face. "Are you sure you want to do this, little witch? If you could survive, you will gain the power of more than 10 celestial events boosting you. Fail? And not even you would be able to survive the consequences. It's risky — and quite dangerous, darling."
"Are you worried about me, my Wily Fox?" Max glanced up, grinning his teasing grin. Kol merely frowned. "Don't worry, I'll survive. I've seen it all already. Just… don't leave me during my slumber, okay? I will be alone — Not quite on the Other Side, but not here, either."
"Of course, darling." Kol leaned forward, hand passing through Max's cheek tenderly, eliciting a shiver from Max's form. "I'll be here," the Original promised, fading away.
As Max kneeled down on his back on the floor of salt and runes, he chanted a sleep spell on himself, and the runes he etched on the ground before those runes around him glowed a vibrant blue-white and he saw only darkness and fell into a deep slumber.