After a couple minutes of Eric trying to force me down onto the bed so he can do or say I don't even know. I finally get fed up and scream at him as loudly as I can muster after such an ordeal.
Angrily I yell" Got damn it Eric.! Why are you even here? Why didn't you just leave me back at my house to deal with this on my own. Why you of all people had to be there? Why didn't you just stay by Sookie's ? Fuck I really hate you more now than before.".
He seems to not had heard the rage and disgust in my voice or he's better than I remember at hiding his emotions. Because he merely looks deep into my eyes and lets go of my shoulders to once again place his fingers under my chin. Slowly he starts to pull my face nearer to his, but before he pulls my face more than two inches closer to his face my bedroom door busts open. In runs a frantic Bill, his eyes are instantly locked on us sitting so close on my bed.
Bill hurriedly asks" Are you alright Tiffany? I heard your yelling and got worried that Eric was harming you."
I start to turn to look towards Bill but Eric refuses to loosen his grip on my chin enough for me to turn even a inch. Eric glances towards Bill and goes to utter a response to his questions but before he can another person hurriedly enters my bedroom. Without even having to look or try to hear whom it is, I get my answer. As Eric lets his hand slip away from me and he moves away from me a bit. Knowing it's Sookie who is now also in my room from Eric's reactions I become livid and start to slide back on my bed away from Eric.
I look to my left towards Bill and Sookie, my eyes landing on Bill's worried face. I grin a little bit and shake my head then I start to say.
"Bill everything is fine I promise you. Apparently even after such an ordeal and being in this kind of pain my temper can flare up easily."
Bill looks like he is hesitant to believe me, knowing he heard everything I said to Eric I don't push the subject to much and merely turn back to look at Eric then back to Bill. Sliding back more in my bed but staying in a sitting position I cross my arms over my chest.
"Ok I have a bunch of questions about the events of tonight and I expect you two to give me the answers. How in the hell is this Victor Madden person the new regent for Louisiana, and where the hell is Sophia-Anne? I understand why he was after you guys but how did he even know I existed and why would I even register on his radar? Why am I back in my old room here? Who healed me and to what extent? ".I then look between the two vampires in the room with me.
Bill looks as he is about to answer all of my questions but before he can utter a single word Eric stands from my bed and walks over the to window looking out. Then he turns back towards us and looks straight at me as he folds his hands behind his back.
"Tiffany, Victor is the regent sent here to conquer Louisiana for his king, the king of Nevada. Victor and his men came into Louisiana as soon as the sun set and started out attacking all of our sheriffs. They killed all of them and were intending on killing me as well but I fled to Sookie's. Merely to ensure her safety then I was heading over to your house when we all got held up at her place.".
At hearing him solidify my earlier assumptions I glare from him to Sookie then just let my anger boil over, but before I can verbally lash out at either of them Eric holds up his hand, motioning for me to stay quiet longer. Seeing how I want answers I let it slide and look back at him and nod to him motioning for him to finish.
"As for Sophie-Anne she has met the true death by the hands of Victor's army of vampires. You know all too well she was suffering to get back to her former self, physically and mentally she was weaken as of late. The Nevada vamps must have knew this and plotted out an attack. After they succeeded in getting rid of the queen and all the other sheriffs they set their sights on Shreveport. They knew more about things here than many vampires or even humans know. So as they set up outside of Fangstasia I had a tiny window of time to escape and come check on you and Sookie. But as I got to her home and was explaining the situation to her and making sure she was safe. A group of Victor's vampires set up around her house as they did yours. Myself, Sookie , Bill and that Amelia girl we trapped inside." he says.
As his face lowers and he's staring at the floor like he could burn a hole in it he slightly shakes his head. But before he can mutter anything else, Sookie steps closer to my bed and looks intently at me as she starts to say.
"They were threatening to burn us alive by setting the house on fire. There was no way out without being caught by Victor's men. Tiffany I could tell both Eric and Bill were worrying over if Victor knew about you or not. Before long we had to have a face to face with Victor, as he was setting down his stipulations about the new rule of Louisiana and informing us of the nights events. Well um…"Sookie looks at her hands as she finishes.
" Your name came up in the conversation Tiffany." says Bill.
" From who, Bill?" I angrily spit out at these three in my room. Looking from Bill to Sookie then letting my gaze end on Eric's tall form leaning against the desk in my room by the window. His gaze is still fixed on the floor. Suddenly I pick up on emotions that don't belong to me. These feelings of regret and sorrow slam into me like a wave. I glare at Eric with a death stare.
"You? You fucking told Victor about me?". A burst of energy surges through me at the moment and I jump from my bed and rush towards Eric. Stumbling across the floor not having knew just how weak my body was I reach him. Common sense being absent inside my current mindset I reach out and shove against Eric's chest. Feeling my hands slam hard against a concrete body. I look up at him with eyes filled with more hate than my body can hold.
"Tiffany it was an accident, Eric didn't intently bring you up in the conversation they had with Victor. Plus it seemed he already knew a bunch about you. Eric mentioning you seemed to only confirm the info Victor has about you." Sookie says as she slowly inches closer to my bed.
Before she can get to close to us Eric looks up and locks eyes with me and motions for Sookie to stay where she is. I notice his actions and look back towards Sookie Eric reaches out and grasps my wrist tightly and just stares harder into my eyes. Not knowing why but I find myself tearing up before I can stop it, the tears course their way down my cheeks.
" Tiffany it was a fluke accident that I mentioned you. But as Sookie said Victor already knew all there was to know about you. I'll be the first to admit it I was tricked into mentioning you, I was outsmarted by Victor. There's no way to apologize for my mistake Tiffany, after seeing what Victor ordered to happen to you tonight I know I'll live the rest of eternity with those images flashing through my mind. But I did what I could to right my horrible wrong. I brought you back here because I knew it was safer than your home and because I thought being in the home you did have many memories in, you would feel better. I fucked up yet again with you, but I give you my word now nothing like that will happen to you as long as I'm on this earth. I could feel you slipping away quickly so I convinced Bill to let me heal you. I was willing to give you all of my blood if it would just keep you here Tiffany.".
As he slowly pulls me against him, his eyes never leaving mines. I see blood filling the inner corners of his eyes and I frown then pull my wrist from him. Reaching up and stopping it before they become full blown tears. The tender moment passes soon as I suddenly get images bombarding my head. Knowing I'm picking up on thoughts Sookie is pushing into my head I snap out of it. Pulling away from Eric so quick he doesn't know how to react. Before anymore can be said or anything done I move towards my bathroom door. Opening it and walking into my bathroom switching on the light, walking over to my mirror. I glare at myself and start to breath slowly trying to calm myself from everything. The realization of all I just heard taking long to fully sink in as the emotions from being so close to Eric hit me hard. The intense love I always knew I felt for him was still there and pushing to be acknowledged again. I turn the cold water on , sliding my hands under the faucet filling them with as much water as I can. I move my hands away and splash the cold water into my face. I continue that action a few times, but before I know it I feel something odd occurring inside my body. I grip the countertop as my legs give way and I start to slip. I feel my foggy head crash into the black and white checkered tile floor. Instantly blood pools from a gash that the impact with the floor caused and I smell that metallic blood scent. Before my eyes can close I notice feet hurrying into the room. I laugh in my mind that even though I'm near unconsciousness my mind counts the number of feet I see. Losing control of my already weaken body my eyes begin to close. Without even having to try and figure out whom it is I feel cold arms sliding under my crumpled form on the floor. I just lie my head against the chest I am now held against.
Softly I whisper" No more of you blood Eric, the bond is too much now."
I feel his lips moving against my ear and suddenly my mind is filled with his deep husky voice as he says" For your information my little smartass I didn't give you much earlier. So I'm going to take you back to bed and do all I can for your new injury. Then I'm going to stay with you until I have to go to ground for rest.". Before he moves his lips away from my ear and as I feel him walking us back to my bed he gently kisses the skin below my ear. Then my mind shuts down and I know I have completely passed out as I don't hear or feel anything….
Before I can even push my eyes open I know where I am. Merely from the strong scent filling my nose and making its way to my brain. Making my body react to the place I know fits with this smell, my body starts to tremble as I try to keep my eyes closed. Feeling as if an outside force is making me open my eyes I suddenly blink a few times to adjust my focus. As my sight clears up I automatically wish I could seal my eyes closed so I never have to be looking at the sights in front of me. I kept rapidly blinking my eyes silently praying that this is just a dream and I'll wake up being anywhere's but here. Knowing that no amount of blinking or praying will take me from this place I open my eyes and try to steal myself against what I know is before me. Slowly I turn my head from right to left then back to the right taking in everything around me. This place has haunted my dreams for the better of the last five or six years. Letting tears fill my eyes I remember the faith I had in both Bill and Eric that I would never find myself in this situation again. Slowly I move my fingers around to make sure I can still feel things, knowing my arms are tied behind my back I'm at least grateful that it apparently hasn't been long that I've been restraint.. I know all to well how numb my fingers become after hours of having my arms pulled behind me and being restrained like they are now. I look down at my feet and see that nothing has changed, I'm barefoot as she always made me be while I was "dealing with the consequences", and as always my arms are tied behind me wrapping around the trunk of the tree. In the distance I hear the front screen door of her house closing as I'm more than positive as the sound I heard. I've heard it slamming over and over in my nightmares. I also know without a doubt that within three minutes I will be forced to look upon her as she rounds the curve of the bayou. I tightly close my eyes trying to muster up as much strength as I can before I am faced with seeing her again. I silently pray that I will be mistaken and she won't be the one coming face to face with me within a couple minutes. Before I can get further into praying in my mind I hear that haunting voice coming through the trees. It's like a slap to the face as my eyes snap open and I can't help but stare in front of me waiting for her to come into my line of sight. I start to struggle against the binds holding me against the tree. Without even having to look or feel I already know it's ropes that are binding me to the tree. My mind is bombarded with her sickening taunts.
"You really put your trust and faith into those evil blood suckers didn't you Tiffany? And to think I actually treated you fairly well while you were my ward. I knew deep down that you were too weak to be of any help to anyone. That you'd end up merely being a tool for those evildoers. How can you sleep at night knowing your talents are being used to hurt mankind? I can't even imagine how disappointed your deceased relatives are in you. Knowing that they made a mistake I had warned them of, I told then not to leave such strong talents to one person." she yells as she walks into my sights.
I see her come into my line of sight and I hurry and close my eyes and whisper " oh please let me have the willpower to deal with this right now.".
"Who are you begging Tiffany? Haven't you come to realize yet that you have disgraced those that came before you? Don't you know in the eyes of our Savior your just as sinful as those undead murders you so closely associate with?" she spits towards my shaking form.
I close my eyes and force myself to see pictures of the ones she speaks of into my mind. Taking in slow deep breaths I feel my body calming down a bit. I snap my head up and glare at her with a wicked smile crossing my lips.
"Clara you have always been envious of the power that resides inside of me. Since you learned of the genetic talents all the past females and the bloodline passed down to me , you've wanted to break my spirit. If all your past tricks didn't work what makes you believe this one will. " I say to her.
She angrily looks back at me "You're a waste Tiffany! I've had a few years to figure this all out and I've come up with a solution to ripe those talents that you never deserved from you, and if in the process I get to rid this earth of another evildoer then that's just a bonus."
"I'm an evildoer Clara? Yet you're the one whom wanted to merely use me to help advance you and your little circle of have-beens. I'm evil yet you're the one whom beat me so many times and refused to allow me any kind of healing. You whom would tie me to this tree so often I knew it's feel against my back more than I ever knew the feel of a bed. Just because I refused to give up my beliefs . Just because I was stubborn and strong minded you found it fit to torture me. In the eyes of the ones looking down on us I was a mere innocent youth, even through all the bad decisions I made before I came here. I was a child in the eyes of my peers and you found it fit to try and break the spirit of a child…You Clara are a disgrace to not only the ones that came before but to mankind." I glare at her with the fire and fury of a person being pushed to the brink.
Clara recoils a bit from my words and steps away from the edge of the waters. Having lived with me for the year that the majority of my talents heightened and came to surface she knows all to well what I am capable of. But before she recoils too much I notice the determined look once again fill her eyes as she scowls towards me.
"No matter the things I did I will be forgiven when all is said and done. You've ingested so much vampire blood it's all I can fee l coursing through your veins now. Your like a little hybrid vamp now aren't you? Before long you'll no longer be able to walk in the days, your life will be limited to the night, is that what you want Tiffany? I have always been able to fee it inside of you Tiffany they made the wrong decision transferring such powers to you. The rest of us have long ago lost the strength to our powers, yet yours seems to grow more and more everyday. Cora and Jovee made the wrong mistake with bestowing such strength in only you, it wasn't fair of them to overlook the rest of us. So now I'm going to right their wrong and rid you of them so that we can all relish in such powers." Clara starts to walk nearer to me again.
I struggle against the binds holding me, but I know it's more than just ropes holding me to this place. I can feel it's one of her many spells that refuses to allow me to move more than my fingers and my head. I hear her lowly speaking in the native tongue of these parts, in the years I've lived here I tried my best to learn the language of the older people. But I never learned more than a few phrases, now more than ever wishing I had been diligent in learning it so I could understand what she was saying. I knew she was working herself into a chant of some sorts but I didn't know what kind. I knew if I could just decipher just a few words then I'd have a chance to have more of a clue as to what she was casting upon me. And if I had even a tiny clue then maybe I could figure out a way to stop it.
Without a plausible reason I suddenly feel like I have a millions holes being poked into my entire body. I look down and see nothing scarring my bare skin but I feel the holes driving all the way into my bones. I let out a blood curling scream as the holes seem to burrow through my bones. Knowing it's merely Clara's spell that is affecting me in this way doesn't make the pain or frantic thoughts any less.. As the pains grow worse and I suddenly feel blood dripping down my face I panic even more, not being able to reach and touch where the warm liquid flows from I start to allow my fears to overtake me.. From the high spots on my cheeks that the feeling starts at I can only assume that my eyes are bleeding and I know my nose is also. Having to keep my mouth closed to not have a mouthful of blood , I silently think she's doing this to keep me quiet and my mind occupied.
I feel the skin on my calves burning as I glance down and notice a snake wrapping around both legs, just as I'm looking down I see them reel back their heads and sink their fangs into my calves. In my mind I giggle at the irony of her surrounding snakes to bite me.. I feel their fangs puncturing my legs over and over in different places, making the blood start to drip from their bites. I lean my head back against the tree as I try to focus and stay calm so I can think of a way to get myself out of here. Knowing her spells will just get worse the longer I allow her to chant I try to figure a way to make her shut up. Her and I both know I can manipulate the elements but I need my hands free to accomplish something like that. Besides the constant burn of the snakes biting my legs over and over and the feel of tiny holes being pierced through my skin and into my bones I can feel her getting into my head. I see all kinds of images I've tried for so long to forget, all the horrible memories flash before my closed eyes.
She makes her biggest mistake and pushes a memory into my mind of the night I got the call that my Jovee had left this world. The emotions hit me as hard as the night it happened, but the pain and sadness was quickly replaced with anger and determination. After having saw that memory of my Jovee suddenly those are what fills my mind. I see all the times she would soothe me and express her love towards me. I saw the images of me as a little kid crying to her about the kids teasing me at school because I didn't know yet how to hide my talents as easy as now. I saw my Jovee in front of me and she saw smiling her warm loving smile and held her arms open for me. I swear it felt real I could feel her warmth spreading through me as my nose was filled with her sweet scent. I looked up into her bright brown eyes and started crying.
"Has Clara succeeded in killing me, Jovee? Do I get to stay with your forever now? Am I really as bad as Clara said, and if so then am I going to Hell?" I ask as I hold on tighter to her.
"Jovee please don't let me go to Hell, I'm sorry for all the bad decisions I made. You know in my heart I'm not evil like Clara proclaims." I cry into her shoulder.
She holds me tighter as her hand rubs up and down my back, trying to soothe my frantic mind. She releases me from our tight embrace and hold me at arms length. She brushes her hand through my hair and smiles warningly as she takes me in. She slides both of her hands on the sides of my face and kisses my tears away as they course down my cheeks.
Gently she says" Tiffany, honey your not evil at all, I promise you this. Nobody where I am believes that your evil. Clara just spits out random evil insults hoping that some of them will eat into your brain and make you question yourself. Baby, your not dead and when it is your time to join us I promise you that your joining us and not going to Hell. I've missed all of you so much, that I sometimes find myself not being happy in Heaven. Look at you sha, you were a baby when I left and now you're a woman baby. Don't ever doubt the powers me and your Great Granny Cora bestowed on you. We knew from the day you came into this world that you had a inner strength that none of the others had. Your meant for something big my love." she pulls me back against her for a tight hug.
As she kisses my hair and I cry harder, feeling happiness that I was scared to feel for fear it would be ripped away from me. I hug her tighter, holding onto her for dear life as I mutter" Jovee please don't leave me, take me with you."
She hugs me tightly one last time and lets me go looking into my eyes as she says" Tiffany you have to go back. Things are in the works that you need to be there for. Times will be tough and life is going to be hard as ever. But it's your strength and stubbornness that will pull you and your loved ones through it. It's not your time to join us honey, don't worry I know I'll see you again but not for some time. And ma cherie don't feel bad for associating with the vampires. If they weren't meant to be a part of existence then they wouldn't be.. Never doubt all the things I've taught you through the years. Have faith in your powers, welcome them don't shy away. If they were bad then you'd feel it in your heart…oh and Tiffany listen to your heart more baby, follow what your soul craves. I promise you it won't steer you wrong.
Jovee kisses me on both cheeks then starts to fade away before I can say anything more. I find myself back in the present and facing Clara's hateful glare. While I was inside my own mind speaking with my Jovee, Clara's spells became worse. Now the snakes on my legs were sliding there fangs into previous wounds and making them bleed more. And the facial bleeding had escalated to the point that my ears were leaking blood and blood was slipping from my mouth. She had a confused look on her face as acknowledging the fact that she can no longer get into my mind. I look intently at Clara and start to smirk as I pull my arms one hard time. As I do this I feel the binds holding me slowly break, as I move my arms from behind me and rub down my face feeling the blood move onto my fingertips.
"Clara really you couldn't muster up the strength to do move than a few simple hat tricks?" I ask her as I laugh at her.
Before I can do much more I feel a force hit me and take the words out of my mouth. Clara seems to have found more strength than she's ever showed before. As I slam back against the tree I feel like my whole body is being ripped apart from the inside out. I glance towards her and she's evilly smirking at me with her hands raised. Sudden I see the ground around me catching on fire, I start to panic and try to reach down and untie my legs. As I lean over I hear a sound alerting me that my hair is touching the flames, I try to hold it back but as I do I feel another show of strength from her hit me in my head. I suddenly find myself having the worse migraine imaginable as I smell the grass around me starting to burn. If only I could reach the bayou I know I could manipulate the water and put out this fire that's inching closer to me. Frantically trying to pull my feet free from the rope I only manage to give my ankles a horrible burn from the rope rubbing them. Before I know what's going on I see the flames rising higher and moving closer to me. I try to calm myself and think of an escape but as I'm concentrating I feel the flames touch my bare feet. I scream out in pain as the flames begin to engulf my feet. It feels as if merely by impact the flames are melting my skin off. I scream out in agonizing pain and look at to a smirking Clara before my vision goes dark…As I feel the flames climbing up my legs I hear Clara's evil laugh fill my ears and get into my head. I scream out one last time…
I wake to find myself back in my bedroom at Bill's house. Having jerked up in my sleep I look around the room to make sure I'm alone. As I see I am alone and it's near to being morning I lay back down and focus on calming my breathing. As I'm laying there clutching the sheet to my body I try to breath slowly in and out. I close my eyes hoping to find calmness in my mind, as I try to replay good memories in my mind I suddenly feel a hand wrap around my wrist. Feeling a warm hand grasping me I let out a ear piercing scream without eve opening my eyes. Then I hear a shattering noise and open my eyes looking at the window in my bedroom. I notice the windowpanes have shattered and I automatically know that all the glass things inside my room have also shattered. Snapping my head towards the owner of the warm hand, my groggy eyes land on none other than…..