The moment had finally come and I was about to stake the man who had taken my family away from me in cold blood more than a thousand years ago. A sharp chill of vengeance ran down my spine, but it was the critical rush of unattainable adrenaline that brought my fangs out. Ultimately, as I looked into the eyes of Russell Edington, I realized this was the end. If I somehow managed to kill him, the true death would come of me anyway and it was all thanks to the Authority and their bullshit iStake mechanism now strapped tight against my chest. The sheer thought sickened my core. Gathering every ounce of strength in me, I drew back the oversized stake; my sight set straight for Russell's dead, unbeating heart. He smirked at me, grabbing the end of it before I could pierce his chest. My eyes ignited with fury.
"Don't seem so surprised," Russell said to me with a devilish grin etched within the lines on his pale face, quickly rising from the bed in which he laid.
"Fuck you!" I snapped back, still grasping the stake and investing as much force as a thousand year-old vampire could against the resistance of an ancient madman. Still his seniority paired with how much blood flourished through him had overpowered me indefinitely, and with a brisk snap of his fangs, I was thrown across the room. Reluctantly, the hard concrete wall was enough to stop me. When I looked up, Bill was fiercely running toward Russell, stake in hand.
He shouted something crazed and deafening, but failed pathetically to shish kabob Russell even more so than I did. Standing with eyes wide, I watched as Bill was flung carelessly into the hallway and just like clockwork, Sookie screamed out for him. How typical.
I bared my fangs at Russell who looked happier than a fat kid in a bounce house and immediately went in for him again. He grabbed one arm and slung me against a trio of old metal filing cabinets. I roared furiously, vamp-speeding back to him. He seemed so casual upon gripping my shoulder and pinning me against the wall, his eyes locked dead on mine.
"You're a fool for believing you could ever overpower me, Viking." Then he chuckled in my face.
"Maybe I am a fool, but one way or another, you're going to fucking die!" I snarled, pushing myself forward, but Russell jerked me up and sent me flying into the hallway where the concrete cracked open my skull and momentarily rendered me incoherent.
Sookie jerked her head around, calling out to me in concern and seconds later, a bright flash of white light left her hand and shot straight for Russell. With ease, he dodged it and brought himself close to her. She walked backwards tensely until her back was up against the wall, almost shocked that her faerie powers had failed.
I begun to stand as the gash in my head sealed itself. My eyes focused solely on Russell as I retrieved my stake from across the room, learning Bill had almost the same idea. Together, we cautiously walked toward Russell, but once I'd heard his fangs drop, I grabbed his neck at full speed and savagely threw him to the ground. He growled and dug his long, bony fingers into my arms, so easily pulling me away from him. I struggled to keep a firm grip on his throat, but the tension that held tight between us continued fueling the fight and therefore him.
"You're weak, just like your father," Russell spat out at me.
I snarled. Sookie shouted my name and I looked back. She was holding the stake I'd dropped during the scuffle. Releasing Russell from my deadlock grip, I raised my arm just as Sookie tossed it in my direction. I caught the stake and turned back to Russell, but he was already standing above me and put a firm grip on my shoulder. Suddenly, Bill came from out of no where and shoved him backward. A second later, I was at the base of Russell's neck and jawline, stake in the opposite hand steadily hovering over his heart. Just before I could draw back, the sound of a dozen footsteps filtered in through the hallway behind us. They were practically all marching in synchronization, so there was no doubt as to their identities.
"Freeze, Northman! Do not stake him!" one of the Authority's guards commanded as others like him surrounded the three of us.
I did not comply and instead held the stake against Russell's chest, my fangs bared. Bill glanced over, giving me a pleading look. My nostrils flared in outrage, but before I even had a moment to make a decision, I was snatched up and silvered by several men behind me and carried back the Authority's underground prison, possibly returning as a slave to do more of the Guardian's bidding.