A/N: For those of you who are following Broken, I'm sorry I'm posting another story but it wouldn't leave me alone and I've lost my muse for Broken. I'm hoping I can pick up the plot threads again over the Christmas break and I'll get another chapter out. In the meantime, this is a little something that has been sat at the back waving it's hand in the air shouting me.. me.. at me for a while. Let me know what you guys think, I still don't have a beta so all mistakes are my own and any familiar characters belong to Miss Haris.

Chapter 1

Sitting in that dilapidated shack with my poor body being used for entertainment I never thought I'd get out alive. After what seemed like hours of calling for Eric both vocally and through our bond, I finally came to the realisation that no one was coming. My head lolled to the side and I could feel what little blood I had left pour down my side, 'it won't be much longer' I thought and I'll see my Gran again. My heart started to splutter and I could feel myself getting colder. It was at this point after I'd lost all hope of getting out alive, I could feel a warmth building in my chest. The sensation surprised me and as it grew I became less aware of the pain. 'Hmm that's odd, how can you be cold and numb and warm all at the same time'. Then I realised 'how can I be thinking things like this so calmly whilst being tortured?' I'm sure I heard a whisper of a word break through my inner musings and the fog of pain that was my mind. The warmth in my chest seemed to glow hotter and a bright light burst forth blinding me and filling the small shack. I could hear screaming and then the darkness took me.

The first thing I became aware of as I drifted out of the blackness was a strong burning smell. It reminded me of the campfires we used to have behind my parents' house when I was young. We'd toast marshmallows and drink hot chocolate; it was one of the better memories from my childhood. Eventually my brain kicked in and I remembered what had happened to me, but where was the pain I should be feeling? I was definitely confused; best open my eyes and take a peek at what was going on. My lids were heavy and slow to react to my brains command to open, but slowly they fluttered open and I got my first look at my surroundings. The night sky was the first thing I saw, blink, the moon shining down on me from the left, blink, a slight red glow in my peripheral, blink, a golden glimmer. 'Hmm, odd! Why was I outside?' I managed to move my head to the right where I saw the red glow, a dark shape the edges glowing like embers. The movement seemed easy and didn't hurt to I lifted my head slightly, again dark shapes and glowing embers. The pieces of the puzzle that was my surroundings were nowhere near coming together. I sat up and the dark shapes came into focus the walls of the shack, then everything came back to me, the warmth the bright light and then the nothing. I threw a mental net out, nothing. 'Right Sookie, something happened, you're stood in the ruins of the shack you were tortured in, no sign of your torturers, what do you do now?'

The only thing I could come up with was to get the hell out of here and back to civilisation. I stood, still marvelling at the fact I felt fine, better than fine actually I felt great. The next thing on my to do list, the golden glimmer, was actually what looked like a bubble. As I stepped up to it and reached a hand out before my fingertips made contact. Pop! It disappeared. 'What the... Ok Sookie you can now officially freak out! Your god knows where, in the ruins of a shack you had been tortured in, which you have no physical evidence of, surrounded by a golden shimmery bubble that just disappeared.' I was off and rambling by this point. It was at this point a void appeared on my mental radar closing in fast. My head whipped round in the direction of the approaching void as a thought flitted through my mind. 'Vampire, female, roughly 200 years old. Pam.' just as the very vampiress blurred into view.

"Pam?" She cocked her head to one side

"Sookie"

"Erm what's going on?"

"I thought you might be able to tell me. My master has been incapacitated since sunset and about an hour ago I was called to this spot."

"Called? What do you mean Called?"

"Like a Makers call, except I was right beside my master and he wasn't in any shape to be sending me away, it was a compulsion to be here and here I find my masters bonded" Very odd, but first things first location.

"Where are we?"

"Just over the border in Arkansas." She had a faraway look when she said, "Come , Eric is calling me back to him."

"Is he alright Pam? I can't feel him."

She paused looking me over; weighing up her options of how much to tell me and in the end she simply replied, "I do not know what happened to him. Physically he's fine, but the pain I felt from him was like nothing I'd ever experienced in my life."

I was truly shocked when she held out her hand to me. So I stared at it like it was going to bite me, but the look on her face was genuine and I recovered somewhat as I slowly walked over to her. I was about to make a comment on how she was offering, (willingly I might add) to touch a human who was not her bedfellow. But as soon as my hand gripped hers the glimmering bubble was back, this time surrounding both of us. Pam hissed and her fangs snapped down as even I felt the wave of magic surrounding us.

We were no longer outside; I looked around us and was surprised to see we were in a house. 'Could this night get any weirder? Oh better even think that, as I have a feeling it certainly can.'

I was pulled from my wandering thoughts by Pam yanking my arm; pulling me within striking distance of her fangs, which were definitely down and itching to rip out my throat, "What is this magic? Was that you Sookie?" She hissed in my face. I'd seen Pam angry a few times but she was furious and I struggled to answer in my sudden fear of my friend.

"I have no idea Pam this night just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Where are we now?" I asked as I spun round as much as her grip would allow, taking in my surroundings.

"In Eric's house, outside his study to be specific. How did we get here?" She was backing me against the wall, a threatening glint in her eye.

'I... I don't know, I have no idea what's going on.' I sobbed, I was so confused and scared. I didn't have any idea what was going on. I'd certainly share if I did.

There was groaning coming from just inside the study door. Her head whipped round and she stalked off entering the room, "Don't go anywhere!" She growled over her shoulder at me. After a minute I edged towards the door listening to the faint murmurs coming from within, one slightly louder than the others "Sookie?" I stuck my head round the door and my eyes fell on Eric. He looked awful slumped on the floor in front of a huge wing backed armchair. I started to rush to his side, when a low growl halted me in my tracks. Pam was in front of me in a flash, hands curled into claws in a defensive stance in front of her maker.

"I told you not to move! Are you suddenly deaf as well as stupid?" She growled at me. Not sure what to say to that, I looked past her to Eric. Why was he letting her act this way in front of me? "It's no good looking at Eric to step in for you. We both agreed until we can find out what the hell happened to him and whatever shit you just did to get us here. It would be best you stayed away." I couldn't ignore the gleeful smirk on her face or the fact that Eric wouldn't even look at me. I had to talk to him, why was he being this way and letting Pam speak for him. Since when did he act so, so... unEriclike.

"Eric...?" I whispered, trying to get some sort of confirmation out of him.

"Just go Sookie, you are not welcome here." Putting my hand over my mouth I stiffed a sob as his words cut through me. I felt an odd sensation in my chest, similar to the warmth I felt earlier and I hurriedly wiped my eyes before the tears could spill over down my cheeks. I quickly turned and ran for the door; I had to get away from them. Why were they being so cold and cruel? Our relationship couldn't be over; I would be forever tied to him through our bond. It was permanent, was I going to have to feel his life force in the back of my mind for the rest of my life? This day was just too disturbing.

I stumbled out of the house and only then did I realise I had no idea where I was or how I was going to get home. The warmth in my chest was building stronger and stronger, my tongue felt thick in my mouth and strangely tingly. 'Huh, well that's new.' The heat in my chest was getting uncomfortable now, with my head swimming and vision starting to fail; I caught a glimpse of a sparkly white ball gown before I hit the floor and my world went black.