What Happens in Haiti

The sickly sweet burning spell of magic hit my nose as soon as the plane landed. This country is just reeks of it and I'm glad I don't need to breathe anymore.

It's 5:30am and I have exactly one hour until sunrise. I don't trust the hotels in this Godforsaken hell hole and had made arrangements with an old acquaintance for accommodation. It should still be dark when I arrive at Variola's compound, but I'd rather not take any chances in a country like this. I climbed into my coffin as the Anubis limo awaits, the handlers and driver all bowing to me before I embark on the vehicle. Some vampires enjoy this kind of reverence. I think it's excessive when it's not due.

Variola was one of my business partners in the seventies, when we took full advantage of the psychedelic disco scene and we reaped in an enormous amount of cash selling drugs to club owners- in bulk. Things were always cordial between us and she shouldn't mind me imposing on her hospitality for a night or so before I suss out whether the houngan Amelia had been going on about is for real.

The more I work with this witch the more I'm impressed with her dedication to her craft. She has talent that's for sure, but she's also hard working and diligent. This is a hard trait to find in anyone nowadays, human or otherwise. When I first commissioned her on our little project it was just on a whim. I was extremely impressed by the ease she was able to cast the custodi locke on both Sookie and the were. Hallow, the most dexterous witch to cause any concern within the supernatural community in a long time (and only because she was a V drinking werewitch at that) couldn't get the spell to work right.

From the beginning, Amelia took to the project with passion, giving me regular updates with distribution charts, graphs and even color coding the different brands of magic which seem be a legitimate lead. I never expected to get as far as we have with Amelia actually coming up with her own version of ancient spells or even a hybrid spell of several different disciplines. I was the only one she could experiment with so far with no obvious results, but to actually have methods to trial and error with is a great feat in itself. Turning the undead back to any form of life was unheard of and even the idea of it had always been considered Ab asino lanem. Did I want to see how far the little witch could go? I sure did! Did I expect any kind of result? Not really.

I embarked on the endeavor to research my options; I didn't survive over a millennium by chance. Exit, back-up and strategies were always in place as well as intelligence and counter intelligence projects were always deployed to ensure that I won't need my exit or back up plans. I must say that recent events concerning the downfall of a queen like Sophie Anne LeClerq was unsettling. Sophie Anne was the Artful Dodger of survival and there was nothing the saucy minx wouldn't stoop to in order to come out ahead of the game. That in combination with Andre and Berts by her side, I wouldn't have been surprised if they had lived long enough to be the first vampires to live in the first colony on Mars!

Sophie Anne had a special connection with her children and it was hard to break into that circle of trust. If you were hoping for a political career within Louisiana then this was not the ideal administration you'd want to work in. I never aspired to be King or even Sheriff for that matter, but as the reality of the Great Revelation drew near a few years ago, it became apparent that chances of survival would always be greater in numbers. Though the American Vampire Union had all the chess pieces in place to minimize the chance public lynching or an all out riot would break out after our announcement, one always had access to better information when you belonged with an institution. I made sure Pam was close to me when all of this went down.

The way Sophie Anne ran things suited me just fine. All I had to do was run things properly and she'd leave me alone and in return I never aspired to amount to anything more in her regime. That suited Sophie Anne just right too. Running Area Five was oddly satisfying, I enjoyed seeing the fruits of my labor and the order I instill in the area. If I had learnt anything in my prolific existence is that bene qui latuit, bene vixit. This had worked out well for me until I met Sookie Stackhouse.

Sookie.

Just the mention of her name caused my chest to constrict and I instinctively drew breath to relieve the tension. Since Sookie had entered my life, I've been getting myself involved in the most bizarre and precarious situations. Hell, I hadn't said five sentences to her and Fangtasia was raided. That girl was a trouble magnet since day one. Serial killers, religious fanatics, the weres, shifters, fairies, not to mention vampires all had made some sort of attempt at her life. I've even had to deal with maenad because of this girl when I thought dealing with the aftermath of one maenad once in one's existence was already enough.

The trouble does not lie solely on the fact that she's a telepath. Sure, telepaths are few and far in between, and to have one that's pleasant on the eyes like her is rare indeed, but her rarest and most unique quality is in her innocence. In the few telepaths with whom I crossed paths, many of them were either driven mad or had been unable to survive their abilities. Humans are such xenophobic, narrow minded things. Many humans gifted with extraordinary abilities, even if it's just enhanced human intelligence, have been persecuted or simply hunted by their own kind. The Salem Witch trials are only one example of those vicious cycles, doomed to repeat time and again in history. Of the telepaths who have been able to conceal or somehow convince others otherwise of their abilities, most are so jaded by human nature they try to escape it, either physically by becoming hermits or mentally at the bottom of a bottle.

When Sookie admitted to me that she trusted me on our drive to that little filth party excuse of an orgy I thought she was crazy. Trust is the first thing out the window with any telepath, because they know of the disgusting desires of the human condition. Most of them would not even come near to trusting a vampire of whom they can't read or hear and here she was entrusting me with her safety after I tricked her into taking my blood not more than a week ago. At first I'd just written it off as her being naive. Bill was a decent person and in turn a soft vampire; I thought Sookie got the wrong impression of us somehow. Cogitative and well read, it was evident she was an intelligent girl.

After our first kiss (and a little something extra) at Russell's estate, I was surprised that even though she was informed of Bill's infidelity she would still boldly take on the task of rescuing him. She had quite a significant amount of my blood that day and the emotions that she went through when Bubba had confirmed that Bill was held captive and was indeed suffering, was intoxicating. I almost drowned in the tidal wave of emotions she went through. The last time I had given blood in such a large amount was when I turned Pam and I definitely didn't have to deal with human emotions that time.

Humans don't surprise me anymore; ex uno disce omnes I always said, but I was pleasantly surprised by Sookie Stackhouse. Like how humans feel when they go through old photographs, it was quite a nostalgic experience when I was sifting through her emotions to decipher just what was going through her head. She definitely felt fear, so she knew the danger she was putting herself into by saving Bill. She definitely felt hurt and anger so she wasn't operating under the illusion that this act of heroism would somehow salvage the relationship. All the same she felt responsibility as well as love and care and I could only arrive at the conclusion that she is brave.

Sookie Stackhouse became very interesting after that, frustratingly so after my encounter with Hallow. Witches are like cockroaches, they have no right to be in your house and you have to be diligent to keep them away. Hallow and her crew were like an infestation that was about to get out of hand. It was only sheer dumb luck that her spell didn't work as intended, otherwise Hallow would've met her fate a lot sooner. Even after I got the details from Sookie about our little affair, I was still unable to understand why I was that much more infatuated with her and it was – distracting to say the least.

I found myself uncontrollably interested in Sookie's affairs. I wanted and used any excuse there was to be close to her and be near her. Even when she was dating that insufferable were, John Quinn. It should've been enough for me to be repulsed by the woman traipsing around with the weretiger. The muted feelings of lust and desire she had for the fur ball was enough to make me hurl; if only I was capable of such a reaction. However, time and again I'm attracted to her at her time of need.

Don't think that I'm attracted to the damsel in distress, I'm not that chivalrous. I didn't live over a millennium without overcoming such an absurd human sentiment. What I felt from her when she was holding the soda can bomb was the need to minimize the damage it could cause even if it meant her own demise. All her intentions were noble. I haven't seen this sort of courage in any human not engaged in war and those were few even at that. But to get such emotions off of a beautiful human woman at a hotel with a weretiger begging her to give the bomb to him was astounding.

Sookie's courage and bravery shone through when she came to save Pam and me when the hotel building was blowing up and I had no choice but to respect and admire her. So much so, that when I knew we were under attack from the Nevada regime, I abandoned my own men to fight by her side. Because if I was going to fight a war with Satan himself, Sookie Stackhouse would be the person I want by my side. I haven't felt such closeness with another being since my days as a human. The only connection I've had with anyone on that level, where I would respect and trust them with my life unquestionably was my older brother Leif. Sookie had reignited the passion and warm familiarity one can feel with companionship and the joy of trust I had only experienced with my brother. To ask whether I regained my memory of loving her because I fell in love her or I fell in love with her because I regained my memory would be to ask whether the chicken or egg came first. All I knew was that I was in love for the first time in my life.

Two hundred years ago the pretense that defined femininity of that age was so uptight I thought I'd suffocate when I don't even need air. Women were so ashamed of their sexuality that it was almost impossible to enjoy sex with them without the wave of guilt and self loathing that were always ever present in their souls. When I saw Pam climbing out the window to see her lover, I saw a spark in her that I haven't seen in women for centuries. It reminded me of how Leif and I would climb out the window at night and steal food from the kitchens before the winter solstice celebrations of Freyja. Pamela was my first breath of fresh air in centuries and I thought I had finally found someone worthy of companionship. I decided to turn her that very night. I never regretted that decision, but Pam was not the person I was looking for. Sure, she embraced everything that was vampire and we had a lot of fun, but when the lust faded all that was left was only love of a child.

With Sookie it's different. She is the only woman, man, human - person I would want to be with through thick and thin. I would turn her to keep her with me always only if I didn't know what I know from the bond. Through my bond with her, I've discovered that Sookie's rooted belief that love is eternal is the reason she protects all things she loves with such ferocity; her friends, her family, her job and even now - me. If I were ever to turn her, she would inevitably see that nothing lasts forever, even our relationship. I am certain this would kill the very essence that is the miracle that is Sookie Stackhouse.

That is why I must let her live in that ever corroding flesh and blood bag that deteriorates every day, let her grow old in the vulnerable useless casing that houses that gloriously noble spirit of hers. I didn't know I could experience true pain until I saw her at the hospital after what those fucking fairies did to her. When Clancy and nearly Bill died in our effort to protect her, it dawned on me that just being a vampire is not enough to keep her safe. Since then I have been putting in place multiple plans and safety nets to ensure that she is safe and taken care of. Commissioning the witch on this experiment would prove to be a useful ploy if we ever need to go underground and disappear. No-one in their wildest dreams would suspect a vampire had become human. After all, who in their right mind would give up eternity to become a rotting piece of meat? This plan would no doubt be a last resort. One I hope I won't have to use.

Sophie Anne LeClerq's downfall is a stark reminder to me that nothing is below you in order to survive. The sudden change of administration of Louisiana was something I could anticipate but not prepare for fully. Sophie Anne was so weak after Rhodes it was only a matter of time someone would just come and take it. If she hadn't been so hooked on power she would've deputized someone as acting Prime Minister or some bullshit like that. But, no, she was too damn proud of the empire she had built for herself and look what happened.

Now I'm in a situation where I don't have eyes and ears on the ground. We have no-one on the inside of Felipe's administration to give us any intel about what's going on and it's very frustrating. Pam is working on Victor's day man to gauge who would be a good target to be our mole. We'd better be making headway soon as I don't like being in the vulnerable position we are now.

Dawn was almost breaking when we finally arrived at the compound and I could smell the weres working for Variola having some harsh words with the driver for arriving late. The driver apologized in Creole French that he had to take an alternate route because gun shots were fired at the market square.

You see, it always pays to be prepared. I felt the dawn arrive and my consciousness slip just as I remembered I should call Sookie and see why the shifters wanted to see her at the airport.


A/N: Sorry about the repost guys, I forgot to add the author's note before posting. There should be a short chapter after this before I start publishing the actual sequel. I hope you enjoy this little dip into Eric's head. Being as old as Eric is, he should think in a few languages. Latin being the language of the enlightened for so long would no doubt be one of the many languages he's fluent in. Below are translations of Eric's thoughts in Latin.

Many thanks to murgatroid98 for beta'ing this, I really can't do this by myself.

ex uno disce omnes you know one you know them all

bene qui latuit, bene vixit One who lives well, lives unnoticed

Ab asino lanem- Wool from an ass, blood from a stone; impossible. -