PART ONE

Chapter 1

Something was off, she knew as much when she awoke that morning. It felt like death was looming within her and her powers even felt off, lessened. To her right, he was sleeping, dead to the world and surely she didn't want to raise any alarms. Slowly, so as not to disturb him, she went to the bathroom and went to take a shower, hoping, thinking, that it could do the trick. That perhaps she had simply had a rough night of sleep. But that wasn't possible, her body recovered easily from things and being exhausted was rare and even then, again, she recovered easily. But it was then she saw it, nearly stumbling over her feet with panic. It was impossible and yet here it was, same but slightly different. Dark veins popping out on only her chest. For now. But she knew she was mostly faerie and only partially vamp. Her heart beat, after all so how was it she seemed to carry a illness that she knew damn well had been eradicated some time ago. Dressing haphazardly, she retreated to Faery, hoping perhaps someone knew something she didn't.

Having just returned from a quiet stay in Faery, she was always ready to return, to see her daughter and son in law again. But this visit was certainly not the most pleasant one. And it was the moment she returned in the other realm that she saw something was terribly wrong. The trees were looking as if they were dying, their lushness thinned and their brilliant green leaves were faded, wilting slightly. The usually bright sky at this time of day was not as blue as she knew it was supposed to be and something in the air, it was a sickness. Something that she knew she shared with the realm. Bursting from the well guarded palace, the woman passed the guards without a second glance, hurrying to meet her mother, her husband Blaze not far behind.

"Something is terribly wrong…..everything was fine last night when we returned for the night and when we got up…. ." Aurora lifted her sleeves up, revealing the beginnings of the ugly veins. "It looks like what you said Dad had once…but it was eliminated and besides, he shouldn't have them, he is pure faerie." she gestured to Blaze, who revealed veins dark and ugly as well.. "To say nothing of the surroundings….." she said as she gestured to the castle behind them, the landscape around them. Everything looked sick. "I feel like there is death inside me…like the land is dying. And I haven't; a clue how this happened or how to undo this."

Sookie couldn't help but start to panic. She knew all faeries were linked to Faery and if Faery fell, so did the faeries. And so she and her son and law, and her daughter would be no more. "I need to go home and check on your father….you two…perhaps some of the scholars have a idea of what has caused this….what brought it on." watching as her kin raced off into the town, forgoing any guards to accompany them, Sookie vanished herself back home, to a wide awake face that fell as soon as he saw the veins creeping up her neck subtly.

Chapter 2

"How…..how is this even possible?" Eric asked, ignoring the bleeds that had started, having not gotten the rest he needed. "That was not only vanquished but-" he was interrupted by a slowly weakening Sookie.

"It is almost like the virus mutated and is able to attack anything living. Faery itself is dying and as such all those from there or who have descended from there…" she couldn't bear to finish the thought. "I have no idea how long we have but judging by how bad things started looking there, I imagine it isn't much time….." she had a catch in her throat as she saw he was staring at the veins, knowing the painful memories it brought back for him. He had lost his sister to a similar illness and though this was clearly something different, there was enough similarity to make this a painful experience for him as well. This time, he feared the solution wouldn't a simple one. That a entire race and a realm was on the line….it was a sobering thought. "I have lost too many people…that this is happening again-worse this time-I won't let it take you…any of you." he pulled her close and it was déjà vu all over again, she felt like they were back when he had finally returned to town after six months away. When she had come to the door and seen him and saw the deadly veins on his body. And here they were again, this times the roles reversed, her life on the line. They stood there in silence for several long minutes, her eyes closed as he embraced her, stroking her hair gently, flashes of Nora's demise still very fresh in his mind and for a moment her face was replaced by those of his kin threatened by this blight. And he felt, even though his black tank top, her warm tears as she tried but failed to hold it together.

"This is not over, not by a long shot….we haven't given up before, have we?" he finally said, gently tilting her chin up to look at him and as troubled as he was to see the light leaving her by the second. He could feel it, through their shared bond that she didn't have a lot of time and by extension, nor did her second home and her kin. The question was, just how long did they really have before so much was lost?

Chapter 3

They had arrived within the hour and thanks to the enchanted ring from Niall, the Viking was able to withstand the sun, though he was clearly running on empty himself, being up during the day. But what was happening was taking precedence over everything else and seeing the changes to Faery surprised and shocked even him. She was not nearly as strong as she normally was but she was neither too weak to walk or summon her power. But things were taking a toll on her physically and mentally.

"It takes a lot to surprise me but this…." he said as he gestured with a arm to a place that was always beautiful, pristine. But the grass was becoming a brownish grey, almost black in spots. "How are you holding up?" he asked her as she walked at his side, staring dully around a place she felt dying along with herself.

"I just…I can't understand how or why this is happening and I can only hope that we get answers before….. " she couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. "If I don't make it…we've never discussed it before but…" she stopped and turned to look up at him, her brown eyes brightening with the seriousness of that which she was about to demand of him. "If I don't make it through this. I want you to move on. I want you to have a happy life after all you've suffered in your long life. I can't bear the thought of you being alone again…not exactly alone, what with Pam and our friends and rest of our family but…"

He was glad she had returned to bring him with her to Faery, that they could deal with this as a family. But he hadn't expected this conversation to head in this direction. "As glad as I am to have a large group of friends and family…..I truly believe I couldn't ever move on from you. But I won't have to worry because I am not losing you…any of you. We've gotten through terrible things before and I have no doubt that we will again. "

She had always admitted that confidence, that swagger and yet she knew there was fear and worry there as well and she loved him all the more for it. "I don't know how I got so lucky to have you as mine…"

"I can safely say the same thing about you." he replied, looking stoic but she saw that sparkle in those eyes of his. He was about to kiss her when they were joined by their daughter and son in law who must have seen them form the nearby palace. Without warning, they were teleported straight into a meeting room, where some simply dressed faeries were waiting. Healers, Sookie knew, by their plain light blue dresses, the men in the same color, though they wore tunics and slacks., plain brown boots on all their feet.

"We're sorry for hurrying you in here but we have already managed to get some answers." said Aurora as she gestured for her parents to sit at the round table in the center of the rustic yet regal looking room. Polished walls of cherry wood lined the walls, floors and ceiling white glowing stones provided extra light, light that was needed thanks to the increasingly cloudiness, the dreariness of the realm. "The healers here are knowledge in more than illnesses in living beings and though this incident has never before happened….Olivia, would you please explain what you told us you believe is happening?"

A redheaded healer with fair skin and a lithe figure nodded as she got up from her seat. Clearing her throat she looked around at the assembled people. "It is simple…someone managed to get a sample of the virus that threatened vampires not terribly long ago and using their own magic, developed a magic that intends to destroy Faery and everything connected directly from it. At best, we believe we have a few days to unravel the magic that is killing the realm and us but if we do not…" Olivia looked grim. "I believe we can save us all but I fear it will take a great sacrifice for it to happen. "I was able to trace the origins of the magic and we found ourselves miles away at the home of a disgruntled faerie who was not allowed to join the ranks of the healers. His name was Orion and he had wanted to purge faerie of…." Olivia's face went straight to the lone full blooded vamp in the room. "Orion wasn't ever a fan of your kind and thought you and your daughter and wife should be banned. He felt you three were a plague on our realm and in the letter we found, he went on to vow that Faery would be better off destroyed than being tainted by dark creatures. We do not think he meant the magic to destroy Faery, proving our concerns about him being inexperienced. So because of his inexperience with magic and delusions of grandeur, he has unleashed a plague on our realm and our people. Faery will be safe, as he wanted, he hoped. Trouble is, there won't be anyone around to live here…..a plan that has gone terribly awry."

There was a silence. Where they would go from here was still very much in the air. But it was then that one of the healers entered the room, having done some research. "I have found a solution that could help stop this, to save everything. But as with everything, it comes with a price. A heavy price."

TO BE CONTINUED