Chapter 62: The Originals Investigation - Part 2
POV: Sam Barton
The warehouse outside Richmond smells like decay and old magic, and I'm keenly aware that I'm standing in a building filled with daggered Original vampires who could wake up and kill us all if we make one wrong move.
Elijah leads us through the darkness, his footsteps silent on concrete that's seen better decades. My Sensory clone detects four distinct magical signatures ahead—powerful, ancient, radiating supernatural energy that makes the hair on my neck stand up.
"Here," Elijah says, stopping before four ornate coffins arranged in a semicircle.
They're beautiful in a macabre way—hand-carved wood inlaid with precious metals, each one unique. My enhanced perception catches details: Nordic runes on one, French poetry on another, abstract patterns that might be magical symbols on the third.
The fourth coffin is different. Simpler. And it radiates power that makes my teeth ache.
"Three siblings," my Sensory clone reports, examining the first three coffins carefully. "Different magical signatures. These must be Rebekah, Kol, and Finn."
"Correct," Elijah confirms, his hand resting briefly on Rebekah's coffin with surprising gentleness.
Damon's already circling the fourth coffin like a predator assessing prey. "And this one?"
Elijah's expression closes down completely—the diplomatic mask he wears slipping to reveal something approaching fear.
"Do not open that one," Elijah says quietly. "Ever."
"Why not?" Damon presses, because he's Damon and subtlety isn't his strong suit.
"That coffin contains my mother," Elijah replies, his voice dropping to barely audible. "The Original witch."
The warehouse seems to get colder.
Stefan's hand moves instinctively toward a stake he doesn't have. "Your mother. Esther. The witch who created vampirism."
"The same," Elijah confirms. "And she's not merely dead and daggered like my siblings. She's sealed by her own magic, bound by protections she established before Klaus imprisoned her."
My Magic Absorption clone drifts closer to Esther's coffin, drawn by the magical signatures layering the wood like geological strata.
"These protection spells are centuries old," my clone observes, his voice carrying harmonics from absorbed magic. "But there's something underneath them. Something alive."
Elijah goes absolutely still. "Explain."
"The magical signature isn't just preservation," my clone continues, his form flickering as he analyzes power that shouldn't exist. "It's containment around something active. Elijah, is your mother dead in there or sleeping?"
"That's complicated," Elijah says, which is absolutely not an answer.
Damon and Stefan exchange glances—the kind of silent vampire communication that usually means they're about to do something stupid.
"Define 'complicated,'" I press.
Elijah's quiet for a long moment, clearly warring with himself about how much to reveal.
"My mother was the most powerful witch of her generation," he says finally. "When Klaus discovered her plans to eliminate us—to reverse vampirism and make us mortal before killing us—he daggered her. But Esther had prepared contingencies. Her spirit, her consciousness, remains tethered to her body despite the dagger. She's not dead. She's waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Bonnie asks, her witch senses clearly as disturbed by Esther's coffin as my clone's.
"For someone to release her," Elijah admits. "And when that happens, she will resume her mission to eliminate all vampires. Starting with her children."
The implications settle over us like heavy blanket.
"So we have a daggered Original witch who wants to commit vampire genocide," Damon summarizes. "And she's in a coffin that we can't open or destroy without triggering magical apocalypse."
"Essentially," Elijah confirms.
"Great," Damon mutters. "Just great."
I force my attention back to the other three coffins, pushing aside the Esther problem for later tactical analysis.
"Bonnie, can you examine the daggers?" I ask.
She approaches Rebekah's coffin carefully, her hands hovering over the wood without quite touching. Bennett magic flickers around her fingers—purple-black energy that's grown noticeably stronger since our training sessions started.
"White oak ash," Bonnie confirms. "Same composition as the dagger in Klaus. These can be removed safely if we plan carefully." She pauses, frowning. "But the order matters. Wake the wrong sibling first, and they might free Klaus immediately out of loyalty or fear."
"Which is why I suggested Rebekah first," Elijah says. "She's emotional, capable of both fierce love and terrible rage. But she wants family unity above all else. Present her with information before Klaus wakes, and she'll consider options rather than acting impulsively."
I study Rebekah's coffin, remembering the vision dreams—her crying over desiccated lovers, desperately seeking affection that always eludes her.
"She's been daggered how long?" I ask.
"Ninety years," Elijah replies quietly. "Klaus daggered her in 1920s Chicago after she fell in love with someone he deemed unworthy."
"Stefan," I realize, connecting dots from the show's history.
Stefan goes very still. "You know about that?"
"Historical research," I deflect, which is technically true even if the research comes from watching a TV show in another life. "Point is, Rebekah's been imprisoned for ninety years over a romance. She'll be furious when she wakes."
"At Klaus," Elijah confirms. "Which makes her potential ally against his more destructive impulses."
Damon's examining Kol's coffin now, reading the French poetry carved into the lid. "And this one? The chaos agent who burns forbidden knowledge?"
"Kol is... unpredictable," Elijah admits. "Brilliant, dangerous, driven by hungers he can barely control. He was a powerful witch before our transformation—losing that magic has made him somewhat unstable over the centuries."
"Somewhat unstable," Stefan repeats dryly. "That's reassuring."
"And Finn?" I ask, looking at the third coffin.
"Finn hates what we've become," Elijah says, genuine grief coloring his voice. "He's prayed for death since the day we turned. If there were a way to make him mortal again, he'd take it without hesitation."
My tactical mind processes the information: Rebekah seeks love and family, Kol craves magical knowledge, Finn wants mortality and peace. Each has motivations we can work with if we're clever.
"We wake Rebekah first," I decide. "Three days from now. That gives us time to prepare contingencies and position everyone for optimal diplomatic outcome."
"Agreed," Elijah says.
My Magic Absorption clone drifts back to Esther's coffin one final time, his form flickering with absorbed power.
"The protection spells are degrading," he reports. "Slowly—maybe decades before they fail completely. But they're not permanent."
"Meaning eventually, Esther wakes up regardless of whether we want her to," Bonnie translates.
"Precisely," Elijah confirms. "Which is why Klaus has been moving the coffin periodically, maintaining the seals with witch assistance. He fears our mother more than he fears Mikael."
"Your father?" I ask.
"Another story for another time," Elijah says, clearly done with revelations for one night.
We leave the warehouse as dawn approaches, my clones maintaining defensive perimeter around the group.
Back at the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan pours bourbon for everyone who'll accept it—which turns out to be everyone except Bonnie, who's sticking to water.
"We're about to wake thousand-year-old vampires and hope they listen to reason," Stefan observes, raising his glass. "This is insane."
I clink my glass against his. "Welcome to my entire life since arriving in Mystic Falls."
Caroline, who came to pick me up, adds her water glass to the toast. "At least now we're all insane together. Very bonding."
The laughter that follows is dark but genuine—the kind of gallows humor that develops when you're constantly one wrong move from catastrophic violence.
"Three days until Rebekah wakes," Damon says, sprawling in his usual chair. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"Everything," Bonnie, Stefan, Caroline, and I say simultaneously.
More dark laughter.
Elijah remains standing, looking at each of us in turn. "Thank you. For trusting me despite the risks. My family is... complicated. But with your help, perhaps this reunion can avoid bloodshed."
"That's the plan," I confirm.
After Elijah leaves, I find myself on the boarding house porch with Caroline, processing everything we've learned.
"Esther scares you," Caroline observes. It's not a question.
"Esther terrifies me," I correct. "She's the Original witch who created vampirism itself. If she wakes up wanting genocide, I'm not sure even Bonnie's enhanced power can stop her."
"Then we make sure she doesn't wake up," Caroline says with her trademark determination. "We keep those protection spells maintained, we watch the coffin, and we have contingencies ready if they start failing."
I pull her close, grateful for her practical optimism. "When did you get so good at supernatural crisis management?"
"Around the time my boyfriend started coordinating alliances with Original vampires," Caroline replies. "Someone needs to keep you grounded."
[QUEST PROGRESS: THE ORIGINAL SIBLINGS]
[REBEKAH CHOSEN FOR FIRST AWAKENING]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +500]
[LEVEL 30: 1,100/4,000 TO LEVEL 31]
We drive home as the sun rises, and I can't shake the image of Esther's coffin radiating power that makes my bones ache.
Klaus wakes soon. His siblings will follow. And somewhere beneath protection spells and vampire politics, the Original witch waits for her chance to end what she started a thousand years ago.
To supporting Me in Pateron .
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