everyonelives | the ground could open, he could still say please

[David nods, his lips pursed. News must be spreading faster than he thought it would. He doesn't know how much time he has before things start getting messy.]

The Inner Circle is the highest level of witches in the Colony. The ones who make all the calls with what their next big move is going to be. And they've decided to have a Gauntlet. A competition to the death for who gets to be the next leader of the Colony.

And witches are grasping at power? Because the witch with the most power - wins?

( She's missing pieces to the puzzle, but this is good timing. She can actually take this back to everyone. This sounds more localized and not as desperate as the woman at the B and B made it out to be.

But, the Colony has a long arm. This witch was resourceful, but she was scared. And, yes she was desperate. )

The last witch standing gets the Knightsbridge power store.

[He huffs. How to best explain this.]

The Gauntlet is a witch-on-witch death match. Originally designed to test the mettle of the heirs of the coven, they also open it up to anyone who thinks they could beat them. So if you're crafty enough and play your cards right, you could kill your way to the top of the Colony food chain. Real American dream material.

[Pulling yourself up by your bloody bootstraps and all that.]

It hasn't been run in centuries, but the Inner Circle has decided that with Knightsbridge having been destabilized, it's time to make another go of it, and whoever is the last one standing on the winter solstice gets to perform the ritual to tap the power source. The Colony's way of stealing back what they still believe to be theirs.

( She has a lot of thoughts. They come up as he gives her his explanation, but she doesn't interrupt, liking the explanation less and less. )

Gets to. What's stopping someone unaffiliated with the inner circle from bypassing the Gauntlet? ( She stops walking, grabs his arm and lowers her voice. ) What happens to a surviving Knightsbridge heir?

There's this whole ritual that comes with designating someone their heir. It's a thing and only a small group of people in each coven know it.

[And he lets himself be pulled to the side as she touches on why he called in the first place.]

They think he's dead. They're not looking for him and assume he died with his family, because they assume that if he had, he would have ascended by now. And he can stay that way, if that's what he wants. But if he doesn't do it now, on the autumn solstice, taking his rightful place is going to get a whole lot messier.

[It's not that David isn't sympathetic. Your entire family gets slaughtered and you have to figure out if you're going to do be able to lead everyone else's. It's a lot to put on a teenage boy. But Danny's out of time and he needs to decide if he's comfortable with the consequences of not claiming it now.]

The Gauntlet can't officially begin until all the heirs are informed. There's one that's been AWOL for a long time. They're looking for her, but they have to plan for winter instead of autumn. So Danny has a chance, if he wants to take it.

And if he wants to, if he takes it, does that nullify the Gauntlet? How much more danger will he be in?

( Exceedingly more powerful, but no more safe. And.. )

If this AWOL heir isn't found, the Gauntlet can't go on?

No. The Gauntlet is still going to happen regardless, because the Inner Circle wants to put blood in the water, but they'll find another target for them to aim for. Maybe Danny. They'll certainly be pissed it was stolen out from under them, and they mentioned that they had failsafes in place to make sure someone didn't take it, but since it's rightfully Danny's, he might be able to get around them.

[But no, him taking the power would definitely thrust him into a position of power on this stage. His life would become very different and very dangerous.]

Not unless the reason that she can't be found is because she's dead. But yeah - until they find a body or her, the Gauntlet can't start.

( It's Danny's whose feelings matter in all of this. )

Who is the heir?

( Across the group's devices around the same time, William opens up a separate chat from Cora's resurfacing:

Cora's message reminds me. When we took down the list we were able to identify the witch in New Orleans. Lizzie and Danny confirmed she was the witch in Prague. Her name is Sierra Harper, she's from upstate New York. We think she was working with Monroe.

Bonnie would applaud William's timing, but their lives have always run like this. Revelations at convenient and inconvenient times.

Reading the message, she turns her hand so that David can as well. )

I just got this.

[David leans over to get a better look at her message and then his eyes widen.]

Shit.

[Because Allison Argent's tech nerd can connect the dots then the odds are that the Colony is already two steps ahead. But then again, David always assumes they're ahead. It helps keep him alive.]

That's Sierra. That's the one they're looking for.

[He runs a hand through his hair.]

Does he know where she is now?

I don't know, I don't think so.

( But, she can ask - and with a widened scope.

Does anyone know where she is right now? )

I'm asking everyone. She's who the Inner Circle need? Then she was there to make a play for the Knightsbridge power - and escaped captivity in New Orleans. It sounds like it wasn't in her hands. Why do you think her attempt failed?

( And killed twenty hunters. )

[Cora comes back after asking around: Hayley says the last time she saw her was when she disappeared through the floor and hung them out to dry. I don't think they left on good terms.

To put it mildly.

David is trying to figure that part out because given everything that happened she should have everything she needed unless ...]

She was interrupted. By something she didn't anticipate for. The ritual is delicate, you lose your focus for a second and it all goes to shit. If whatever else she was trying to run on the side was too much, she could have overwhelmed herself somehow.

The Queen of the Bayou wolves says that she disappeared.

( Which they already know. )

Could the rightful heir being in such close proximity make it more unstable? Not to mention one heretic, a Gemini witch and the tribrid?

Well, no one expects a tribrid.

[Said to the cadence of: No one expects the Spanish Inquisition. But he shrugs because it could have been any number of things.]

I wasn't there. I can't tell you. Danny or one of the girls might, if they're willing to share what they saw.

( Very her dad of you, David. )

Why wouldn't they be? I need to get to Danny. They really don't know he's alive?

I didn't get the impression they were that fond of me last we talked.

[Look, none of them should trust him. That's just the fact of the matter. He's not a trustworthy guy, by his own estimation. But he does his best to keep his word.]

Trust me, if they thought he was any kind of threat to this, I would received very different instructions. But I can take you to him. If I pull you through a door, is your pup back there going to get snippy?

[Bonnie will see Isaac dramatically rolling his eyes because yes he heard that.]

Isaac.

( She's not fighting his battle for him, but that's uncalled for. She's inviting him to their party now, because it's bad form to leave your tail behind.

Okay, that one wasn't on purpose. )

[Isaac nods as he makes his way closer sliding in next to David. "Hi."]

Hi. So where are we going?

Give me a second?

( She scrolls through her contacts and finds Danny Bennett, dialing his number. )

[Bonnie's face appears on his phone and he picks it up quick. He's on his lunch break, so he doesn't have to worry about getting in trouble.]

Hey, Bonnie. Everything okay?

( She doesn't know what to say. She wants to find out where he is quickly while also tipping him off that she's not alone so her 'Yeah' comes attached to a (2). )

Yeah. Where are you right now?

[Something is off (7). He doesn't know what it is, but something isn't right and he straightens a bit, glancing around.]

A bench, not far from work. Why?

Where is work?

( She glances at Isaac and David. )

I'm with Isaac and my friend.

[Oh, well if her friend is involved, then that explains a lot.]

Twenty-fourth and first. I'll send you a pin.

[And a few seconds later, she gets a pin of his exact location.]

And a picture of a doorway in front of you. Thanks.

( She hangs up, waits, and shows David a picture of the storefront that Danny sends. )

[Danny snaps the door of the restaurant he went to for lunch and and when it arrives David nods.]

Got it.

[He moves to a nearby building door and opens it, revealing the New York City street on the other side.]

After you.

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