I glanced at Eric, trying to get his attention with my eyes, but to no avail. He stared at Russel with the full effect of his sapphire blue eyes as he said, "I didn't say she was full fairy. She's a human-fairy hybrid, which helped to save her from detection." Goddamit, I thought. Here I was again, in a situation where I was being talked about as if I wasn't even here. Talked about like an object of use, which to vampires- I suppose I am. My hatred had returned at full force, and I turned to glare at Bill, who cowardly averted my eyes. I felt Eric step beside my chair, and leaning into Russel, he said, "She may very well be the last of her kind." The last of my kind? I didn't even fully understand what I was. I wondered how I could ever trust Eric again after this. It would take some kind of miracle for me to forgive either one of them. If I even made it through this, I vowed to myself that I would be staying away from vampires from now on. Before I could say something to Bill, or at least get him to look at me, I heard Eric say softly, "She may be your only chance to walk in the sun." At this, I turned around to face them in my chair, this time in total disbelief of what I was hearing. "Drink her blood. You'll see." Eric said, still staring intently at Russel, who had now turned to face away from us. Pam lurked behind my chair, taking in the situation with her wide eyes and unchanging expression.
"Now that's just nuts, nothing in my blood is some kind of a supernatural sunscreen for y'all- why would you even think that?" I said with force, looking around at the room of my captors. Eric's gaze caught my eye, but before I could do anything, Bill finally spoke.
"Sookie, you're wrong." I immediately turned to face him. "What Eric says is true."
"No!"
"I never told you." Bill said, still not catching my eye.
Eric turned to Russel and said, "Bil's experienced it for himself."
"Oh, well that's reassuring, a testimonial from the mendacious Mr Compton."
Finally, I was unable to stop myself. "A new beginning? We'll start over?" I quoted Bill's words from earlier.
Ignoring me, Bill turned to Russel. "I can't force you to believe it. You'll have to see for yourself."
"Why are you doing this to me?" I said, holding back my tears.
"We've tried fighting him. We'll never win. If he develops a taste for your blood he may let you live." I didn't know if Bill was trying to reassure me or what, but I was just as angry as ever. Bill should not be going along with this. To my horror, Russel smiled at Eric.
"I'm intrigued."
"Excellent." Eric said, with a sultry smile.
"I hate you!" I yelled in Bill's direction. "I hate you all!"
"On one condition," Russel said to Eric. "You go first."
"I'd love to." he replied, his small smile never wavering.
I didn't know what the hell to think. Bill had never said anything about being able to walk in the sun because of my blood, and I didn't fully believe him now. In the back of my mind, I considered the possibility that this was all some kind of ruse to get Russel into the daylight. But I had no idea how Eric or Bill could possibly get themselves out of danger. At this point, I shouldn't even care.
Nearly an hour passed until the sunrise finally crept in, and I was now seated at small round table, virtually silent. Pam and Eric had left, presumably for Eric's office, while Russel sat staring across from me as I did my best to ignore Bill's presence. I was fuming with hatred, that grew as Russel began to attempt polite conversation with me. I could now see Pam and Eric having a heated discussion in the darkness of the bar, and I watched them as they made their way back to us. I could see by the look on Pam's face that for once, she was having trouble concealing her emotions. Russel paid her no attention, however.
"Shall we?" motioned Eric.
"Do let's." smiled Edginton, sitting up in his seat.
"One thing gentleman. If you drain her completely, that's the last fairy blood you'll ever drink." Bill said, without a single hint of shame passing over his face.
"If this is you trying to help me.. thanks for nothing." I said quietly to Bill. I was satisfied when I saw sorrow in his eyes, and he looked away from me again. I turned my head up towards Eric, who was towering over me, staring into my eyes with a look I had never seen on his face before. It was almost hungry, but I also detected fear. Eric was hiding something. I didn't avert my gaze, though I felt myself tremble slightly, as he reached out a cool hand to brush my cheek. His touch was gentle and soothing, and for some reason I felt that I wanted his hand to remain there on my face, almost as if I was protected as long as he had me in his reach. He didn't speak, but continued to look at me, tracing his hand along my neck. Then, apparently having witnessed enough of Eric's hesitation, Russel suddenly reached forward and grabbed my arm, pulling my body down towards the table. I screamed in pain as his fangs sunk into the fragile skin on my wrist. Eric then bent over me, and though I couldn't see his face, his touch was again gentle, and he lowered his face to my neck. As if bracing me for his bite, he pricked my neck slightly with his fangs and waited, as if savoring the moment, and then bit into me. His hand slid through my hair, twisting it in his fingers as he drank.
Soon, with two ravenous vampires draining me of my blood, I had lost all consciousness.
In my next waking moment, I saw a blurred vision of Bill bent over me, and I knew he was giving me his blood. Realizing this, I immediately jerked his wrist from my mouth and jumped away from him. Too late, I found that I was not quite stable yet, but not too dizzy to stand. I was still weak, but my anger towards Bill trumped this physical drawback and I drew together every bit of strength in me and slapped him. I found myself yelling, "You fucking betrayed me. Again." my voice was distant and hazy to my own ears, but I soon regained my balance as Bill began to explain.
"I only pretended to betray you so I could save your life, again. And it worked, Russel is gone." he motioned towards the screens that showed the outside of Fangtasia, where Pam stood, awestruck, in front of them. I looked around the room, and seeing no sign of him said,
"Where's Eric?"
Pam answered me without moving or looking away from the screens. "He's outside. Burning."
"He bound himself by silver to the King. It was the only way to kill him." Bill said. I was astonished to think that Eric would die for this cause when he easily could have given me to Russel and saved himself. I knew neither his motives or his reasoning, or even if I was a factor in it at all, but I knew that I couldn't sit inside and watch him burn. As much as I denied it, I felt something for Eric, and at this moment, it was very strong.
"I can't let him do that." I said, making a run for the exit, until Bill's grip stopped me. "You do not own me." I said with force, enunciating each word and pulling from his grasp. This did not stop him however, and he yelled,
"I will not let you do this, Sookie."
In a flash, Pam was beside me, baring her fangs at Bill. Her face was streaked with bloody tears, but her fear for her Maker didn't show on her face at the moment. "Back off, Compton."
Bill did not waver, but neither did I, and with his fangs fully out, he began to back away from us. I stared at him until he walked into the adjoining room and slammed the door. I gave Pam a look of thanks, and gently pushing her away from the door so that the sun wouldn't reach her, I opened it and went out into the sunlight. Eric and Russel lay chained together on the pavement, both faces burnt severely.
"I won't let you do this." I said, trying in vain to break the silver cuff that held them together.
"Sweetie, use your gifts." Russel murmured.
"I don't know how!" I said angrily.
"Yes, you do, don't think about it- don't try!" Russel yelled as I held my hand out, attempting to emit the light I had once seen come from it. "I will not surrender to the true death, I will find a way to come back and kill your precious Viking and your brooding Mr Compton and his unbearable proginy and anyone you ever cared about, and all because you didn't use YOUR FUCKING POWERS!" His words awoke something in me I had only felt twice before, and before I knew what I was doing, my entire body was enveloped with a feeling of power and energy. Directing it into my outstretched hand, I felt release, and with a surge of magic, my light broke through the chains.
"Well it's about fucking time. Now drag me the fuck inside." Outraged still by Russel's exclamations, I directed my power to him, and the light swung his body across the lot, throwing him into the fence where he lay, unable to move.
"You watch your fucking language." I said to Russel, bending down to grab onto Eric's jacket and pull him into the bar. He was heavy, but the distance wasn't too long, and soon he was lying on the ground where Pam removed the remaining silver cuff. The use of my unknown fairy powers had somehow drained me, and this combined with my loss of blood was making me dizzy. I cleared my vision and looked down at Eric. He was badly burnt, and I could tell that he was too weak to even move, much less begin to heal himself.
"He needs blood, human blood. He's too weak to draw fang." Pam said, as she bent down over his unmoving body. I knew immediately what I had to do. Looking around the bar for Bill, I walked towards the room I had seen him go into earlier.
"He's gone, Sookie. Either he's locked himself in the extra coffin we keep in the back or he's gone to ground somewhere." Pam said, noticing that I had been looking for Bill. Testing our bond, I was able to tell that Bill was in his daytime rest. I sat down on the floor, legs outstretched, next to Eric. I gently put my hands beneath him and placed his head in my lap, where I looked for some sign of consciousness. When he moved his head a little, I saw his eyes flicker open for a moment, and I took the opportunity to place my wrist at his mouth, urging him to drink. I could see that his eyes were barely open, and he did nothing.
"He's too weak to draw fang." Pam said worriedly.
"Do you have a knife or something?" I inquired.
"There's no time, Sookie." Pam knelt next to me for a moment, and then brought out her fangs. She intended to bite me for Eric.
"Pam.. I don't know, you've never had my blood before, will you be able to stop?" but even as I said this, I held out my wrist to her. I trusted that she would stop in order for me to give Eric my blood. She took my hand, and wasting no time, bit into my wrist. I saw her pupils dilate as my blood reached her mouth, and she latched onto me for a moment before pushing herself away. I could see it was a struggle for her to stop, after all, she was younger than either Bill or Eric. I bent my dripping wrist over Eric's mouth, waiting for some kind of movement from him. He almost immediately responded. With his burnt hand, he took my arm in his strong grasp and held it to his mouth, drinking in my blood much faster than before. I felt my body begin to grow limp again, and sank back into the wall next to Eric. "Pam, I think.." I began to say. But I never got the words out.
