It was a beach at night this time. Moonlight was the only slight illumination to be found as he felt himself stand up and look down upon her. Strands of blonde hair that were once a perfect shade of golden light yellow now were a matted and blood-stained clump upon the sand. The blood was centered in two places, both across her delicate forehead and in a massive wound on her left thigh—it soaked through the hastily-arranged patch up of gauze and tape. But it also absolutely drenched his hands as he stretched a little and set off to try and find something to dispose of the body. The vaguest thought that she should consider herself honored he would even do that—so many others were left to decay and be discovered—passed through his thoughts. He grinned at the sight of a can of lighter fluid left over from some random bonfire from who knows when. Perfect.
Gabriel woke with a groan, his body startled back into activity as he saw yet another image of the broken girl in the sand. They couldn't be dreams, these had to be memories but they didn't seem to mesh with the ones where he's in a different body piloting a jet over a desert terrain. He sighed and sat up in bed to rub the remnants of sleep from his eyes. When he pulled his fingers over his eyelashes and could blink again, he saw Eric watching him in the corner already dressed.
"What was it this time, Gabriel?" These dreams had been occurring almost every single night since Gabriel began staying with him. Perhaps they even happened while the young man slept in the back of the bar—that much Eric didn't know. If they weren't all so disparate, Eric would chalk the images up to latent memories that whoever damaged Gabriel's brain couldn't even get to.
"There was a woman on a beach. She was bleeding out and I-I…I had her blood on me. Her face—was peaceful, not horrified. Ugh, I don't want to keep having these dreams Eric. Every night I want to just have this, a new life. But every day I sleep and things just keep flooding back to ruin the peace I try to find before bed." It felt like he had two lives right now, that someday he would have to go back to whatever it was he ran from. Whatever it was, that ended with crawling out of his own grave.
"Hm. Perhaps there's someone I know who can make things in your head calm down considerably. It's something we can discuss when I return, I've been summoned by a former direct superior of mine, King Russell. I'll be down in Mississippi for a day." Another look at the young man's exposed body peeking out from a tangle of black sheets and his milky white inner thigh seemed absolutely too tempting to resist in that moment. Eric strode over and slid his leg down across the sheets as he leaned in to lap his tongue against the warm flesh—his tongue swirled the dark hairs on Gabriel's leg as he moaned softly from the motion.
"Ohhhh…Wait, summoned? What do you mean, E-eric, am I coming with you?" Before he could take a breath to brace himself, the faint clicking sounds of retractable fangs sounded and there was a sudden sensation as the razor-sharp points tore into his thigh. He'd been fed from here a few times, as it seemed that Eric's desired point of blood withdrawal was changing to his more erogenous zones the longer they were together. Neck became collarbone, collarbone became chest, chest became hipbone, hipbone became inner thigh and so far—Eric had not been any lower than that. He squirmed and moaned wantonly as Eric took his fill of Gabriel's blood. When he started feeling dizzy the fangs left once more. His ability kicked in to heal the fresh wounds as Eric licked over the remaining droplets until the skin was clean again.
"Mmm. Not this time, no. You see if it was any other King—Gerard perhaps, I would then have you by my side. Russell is noted for his tastes specifically in young virile men. If you went with me, you would quite literally be eaten alive, Gabriel. While I'm gone, I want you to just stay here until I return. Pam is coming by to check up on you so if you need anything, let her know. Despite her eye-rolling, she will retrieve anything you ask for, I promise." Gabriel was transfixed as he watched his blood stain Eric's lips and chin—this coupled with the rush of new blood being produced, and of skin mending over was an extremely intense sensation. His brain buzzed as it did after every time Eric fed from him. One could easily argue he was becoming addicted to the rush of it—they would be right.
"Oh, well I don't need a babysitter Eric. I can stay here and be fine, but I understand you wanting me to stay behind. I remember what you told me about the hierarchy and what it could mean for someone like me." Eric had explained to him before he was claimed that anyone could up and take him from Eric should they feel like it. Even after he'd been claimed, it was apparent that if a vampire of higher rank decided that they wanted Gabriel—then he would be forced to go with them. Typical humans didn't have much to worry about in this, but Gabriel was certainly not typical.
Eric smirked softly as he leaned forward, placing his lips against Gabriel's own as they kissed. Gabriel's hands reached up and slid over the long-sleeve black shirt Eric must have put on when he arose that evening. Fingers trailed along the fabric until he reached the talon pendant his keeper always wore—usually underneath his shirt not on top as it currently lay. As soon as his fingertips caressed the curve of the claw, his mind was inundated with images and sensations. Gabriel saw the man who'd given Eric the pendant. The glistening gold was marred by the blood spattered surface as the man who looked like he couldn't have been any older than a teenager, held it in front of Eric's lips as he knelt down before him. Eric's lips pressed to the curved pendant, his tongue out to lap the blood from it until it was clean once more. It was placed around his neck and the chain was fastened as the young-looking man tilted Eric's chin up. His lips brushed against the shell of his ear as he whispered softly once the clasp was in place.
"Wear it, always my childe…" Eric nodded and looked right into his maker's eyes as the talon rested on his chest. Gabriel felt an overwhelming rush of adoration and love flowing through him as Eric replied.
"It will never leave me, Godric. I swear to you." From that day forward he wore it and even after Godric's death, which Gabriel also saw an abbreviated flash of, it always remained with him. Gabriel whispered the name 'Godric' softly when the images stopped. Eric stood away from Gabriel and looked down at him with a stunned curiosity. In the time that they'd been together Eric had never once referred to his Maker by name. Gabriel had also never shown a proclivity towards telepathy either so how did this occur?
Gabriel blinked a couple of times before he slowly stood up as well. He felt a rush of blood go straight to his cheeks from what he just did. This was certainly his strangest power yet, when he touched objects he could see the places they'd been, and the people they'd been with.
"I um, don't know what came over me just now, Eric. I'm also sorry for your loss…you really loved him." There was the slightest twitch of Eric's arm when Gabriel expressed the completely personal and private connection between a vampire and his Maker. It was a relationship that no one could ever understand unless they had one of their own. Eric nodded and motioned his hand to the younger man behind him.
"I don't know how you know, but yes he meant everything to me. Apparently there is no security in immortality—it's all fleeting. Pleading doesn't mean anything when the mind is so firm on an idea. Now, I have to go, or I'll be late. I'll see you in a day, Gabriel. " He watched Gabriel move off into the bathroom and listened as the shower started up a minute later. His hand moved up to the necklace as he fingered the talon carefully. Twin trails of crimson tears slowly dripped from the corners of his eyes. Eric allowed them to for a moment before he reached up to wipe them firmly away.
Eric was long gone by the time Gabriel had showered and dressed for his evening. Daytime wasn't something he indulged in much anymore, and so he actually planned on staying up all night so he could see the sun again. Living with a vampire practically made one a vampire by proxy—but he wanted to see the sunlight without thinking it made Eric long for something he couldn't have just because he could go outside. For now, the only thing he was concerned with was what could be found in the fridge to have for a snack. As he padded along the bare floors of Eric's estate, Gabriel felt a definite chill in the air. It felt like a breeze had made its way into the house, and when he came upon the broken glass fragments laying on the floor from the shattered glass around the backdoor's lock—he felt a rush of adrenaline thrum within his veins. Something very odd caught his attention as he walked over to the door—it seemed there was a strand of silver chain wrapped around the doorknob.
"What the —"A figure barreled itself into Gabriel from the shadows of the room. They both hit the floor hard as they lay there still for a moment. Soon enough, Gabriel's attacker had collected himself enough to scramble on top of him and send a sharp implement straight into his chest. The point effectively speared his heart in mid-pump until Gabriel squirmed underneath his assailant and wrapped his fingers around what had to be a wooden stake. It was roughly withdrawn from his body as the gaping chest wound sucked back into itself—leaving his shirt the only thing with lasting damage.
With a fling of his arm, Gabriel sent his attacker flying backward to hit the wall then collapse in a heap, unconscious. His hand slid once over where the wound used to be so he could make sure that it had completely healed before he pushed himself up off of the floor again. Now that his heart was beating again, every pronounced pumping of blood through his veins was so palpable to Gabriel after a couple whole minutes of nothing after the stake had been removed. The only sound in the room was his rough uneven breaths as he neared the fallen man to try and see if he was really out, or if he was faking it. Gabriel stepped forward to haul the man away from the door—his fingers curled to untangle the silver length of chain from the doorknob to take it with him into another room.
"Does the cross mean something for you, or are you just wearing it thinking it would keep you protected?" Gabriel leaned against a chair as he watched the man slowly stir. First he groaned from the dull throb of his headache—he tried to move, but found his hands tightly bound together behind him and anchored to the bottom of a bedpost. Slowly, he lifted his head to stare at the man who somehow survived a stake through the chest.
"It means everything to me. You're not like him, are you? But yet you're still an affront to the Lord like anything that lives in this house must be. I saw it go through, you should be dead." Gabriel had a new shirt on as if he'd never been stabbed in the first place. The bound man knew he couldn't be a vampire since he currently held onto the silver bracelet with a cross charm affixed to it. If he was one of those deviant vampire lifestyle humans then he certainly didn't look the part—no strung out expression on his face, or wounds on his body.
"If I was dead, then you would have sinned—that's an affront as much as anything. What's your name?" Gabriel dropped the bracelet to the floor before he crouched down to meet the other man's eye-line. That stake was meant for the man who saved his life—the one he had grown to care for so deeply. Every second he stared at Eric's would-be attacker he felt a growing rage boil within his very being.
"You're with Eric, so you know a great deal about murder I assume. His kind killed my father--if not Eric himself. So if it had killed you, then I'm sure I would be forgiven if you were the only thing standing between myself and a demon. I gotta say, so far you're not like the fang-banger trash I've met before. He seems to have left you with a brain for one thing. But do you have a name still?" There was the hint of a superior expression on the bound man's face. Gabriel felt his rage sear a little at that. People would look at him like that sometimes and it felt like something very latent inside of him had awoken when anyone showed that they thought they were at all better than he was. It didn't take long after he had agreed to become Eric's companion that he realized what an honored position it was to be by his side. At the bar, he'd catch patrons sneering at him from what he came to assume must have been envy.
"Gabriel and you're avoiding my question. Who are you, and what possessed you to come here to try and harm Eric." The very idea that anyone would make an attempt to take the one thing in his fractured life that made some semblance of sense from him was making his hands shake. Flashes of faces contorted in agony coupled with intense screams split his skull momentarily as a rush of images flooded Gabriel's mind. Why was it always pain and death that entered into his mind every time this happened?
"Steve Newlin, the heh, deposed ex-reverend with the Fellowship of the Sun I'm surprised that Eric hasn't mentioned me. I came close to killing him, and I'm here to do the Lord's work and finish my task." Gabriel had in fact heard the surname Newlin before. They were the people who were so vocally anti-vampire every night on the news or in the papers. But Gabriel had a very hard time believing that this pathetic man was able to harm someone like Eric. If he had, it certainly wouldn't be something that Eric would talk freely about to him.
"Despite the fact that Eric isn't here, it wouldn't matter. You still wouldn't have come close to him—if anyone else were here you would have committed murder, Reverend Newlin. So maybe God is on your side that you can't kill me."
Steve shifted his shoulders slightly as he knit his brow in response.
"And why is that, exactly? Why is that you can't get hurt…that makes me wonder if Eric found some way to do something to you. I've heard of his associating with known witches back down South. Did they run him out of town? I had no idea where he was until that charming piece on the news about the bar." Gabriel didn't know why he was the way he was, but he knew Eric had nothing to do with it.
"No. I-I'm not exactly sure of why I can't get hurt. I just know I can't, and that's enough for me. There's no need to go digging in things that are better left buried anyway." He glanced down and away from Steve as he tried to convince himself of what he'd just said. Initially he'd wanted to know more about himself and the kind of man he was before he stumbled onto Fangtasia-East's doorstep. But Eric had made him feel so special, so fulfilled that he didn't need to figure out why he had these abilities. Or why someone seemed to want him dead.
"That sounds like something that your cohort in sin has said so many times that you can only repeat it. I tell ya Gabriel, it just makes me so sad to see young men such as yourself in these situations. Not even counting the sin of laying with another man—I'm talking about throwing your life away entirely for someone else. I look into your eyes and I see a man who is not whole. Listen to me Gabriel, there's always a time for second chances. You can come with me and we can help you figure out what's been missing in your life." Gabriel clenched his fists and flung his arm out before he even knew what he'd done there was a gash along Steve Newlin's cheek nearly an inch long. The man gasped sharply and shook as Gabriel looked down at his left hand to see his index finger out.
"You don't know anything about me or what I've found here. So you listen to me you closed-minded waste of space, I-I'll do worse than that if you continue to insult Eric or my choice in lifestyle." He paused for a moment and felt this absolutely wicked urge as he stood up and walked over to crouch right next to Steve. His hand moved to curl tightly within the dark strands of Newlin's hair as he pulled the bound man a little closer—his wrists pressed painfully into the chain links when Gabriel forced him forward.
"I start to wonder, Reverend if all of this talk of sin and men lying with other men means that you've got some undisclosed desires I could make happen for you. C'mon Newlin you can't tell me you've never thought about it…how wrong could it be hm?" Gabriel shoved Steve forward until their lips slammed together—every movement of Gabriel's lips was meant to violate the other man as they kissed. His free hand roamed intrusively underneath Steve's shirt until his fingers not only grazed but twisted the tender pink flesh of his right nipple. Steve groaned from the sensation but Gabriel kept their lips firmly pressed together for a few moments more as his hand slid away from Steve's body the same time he leaned back again.
Though his expression was filled with deviant amusement, Gabriel was stunned at his own actions within his thoughts. The look on Newlin's face was absolutely worthwhile, but he had no idea why he felt he needed to humiliate Steve in such a way. When he kissed him it wasn't about lust or comfort—the reasons that such an action is probably supposed to be used to express. No, this was something else in his mind; to Gabriel it felt like a very effective way to take control back of the situation. To show Newlin that he was a very powerful man—it even worked to make Gabriel believe it himself. As he thought about it more, Gabriel realized that he'd never been alone with another person ever since he started his relationship with Eric. There had been one-on-one time with other vampires of course but not a single human being who wasn't as Steve had correctly surmised, glamoured out of their minds.
Steve was shamed into silence as he tried to curl back away from Gabriel. He thought about a certain blond Stackhouse sibling whose name wasn't Sookie. The time they participated in some target practice together alone out in the woods—both men training to fight in the Lord's war against the undead as Steve believed they were bonding in their shared distaste for the bloodsucking demon kind. That turned out being a one-sided attraction however, one of many that Steve had so discretely held over the years. When he glanced over at Gabriel again Steve widened his eyes at the sight of the tall blond vampire who suddenly stood behind Eric's companion.
"Well well…Gabriel are you holding out on Eric, or is this toy new?" Pam stood with her well-manicured fingers curled slightly around her hip as she looked down at Steve with bemusement. She brushed past Gabriel and leaned down to caress her fingernail over the cut on Steve's cheek.
"Tsk, such a waste, it's never very good when it's dried. I'll take care of this for you Gabriel you can just…run along now. See, aren't you glad that Eric had me look after you in his absence?" She smirked and her hand shot out to grip Steve's neck tightly as she moved to untie his wrists.
"Pam, wait you don't want to touch that—I used the chain he brought with him. It's real silver." Gabriel moved and his fingers grazed Steve's wrists as he unlocked the chain that held him. Newlin looked into Gabriel's eyes one more time before Pam hauled him up to his feet. She forced Steve to look right at her as she calmed the man down enough that he'd follow her blindly out of the house. When they'd both left, Gabriel crouched down on the floor again for a moment.
The glint of the man's silver bracelet caught his eye as he reached over to pick it up again. Pam likely wouldn't let Steve live through the rest of the night but that had nothing to do with him any longer. The whole encounter left him feeling rather conflicted as he gingerly fingered the charm of the cross between his fingers—would Eric eventually make him into a living toy as Steve had implied? He glanced at the clock and realized that the sun would soon be up, so if he wanted to take advantage of it then he should go outside now to wait. Instead he decided that he felt he would go without as he stood up again and walked down the hall with the bracelet clutched against his palm.
Lately it seemed like Mohinder was running late everywhere. When the taxi finally pulled up, he reached into his pocket quickly and pulled out the fee plus a generous tip—he certainly knew how much such a thing was appreciated in that line of work. Once his bag was slung over his shoulder, he moved out of the vehicle and into the quaint diner his appointment was to be held at. He had corresponded with Mr. Compton for a couple of weeks in regard to the project he'd been working on. Shortly after he'd viewed the segment about the vampire bar in Maryland, Mohinder did some research and found that Bill Compton was someone he could contact to try and find out more about the mainstreaming of vampires. Of course, this was all hopefully going to lead up to the man who appeared on the computer screen like a ghost before Mohinder's eyes.
When he walked into the diner he scanned the room for Bill and his companion to see if they were already there. Off at a corner booth a man who matched Bill's description sat with a wavy-haired blond in a bright robin's egg blue dress. She easily stood out amongst the shades of cream, beige, and maroon this establishment seemed to favor as its décor. Once Bill caught sight of Mohinder he smiled and stood up, waving him over to their booth with a slight smile.
"Sorry I'm late, the flight was canceled and then it was impossible to get a taxi. I'd heard something about there being a convention in town. Anyway, Mr. Compton it's good to finally meet you." Mohinder flashed a bright smile and shook Bill's hand as they exchanged pleasantries before he was introduced to his female companion.
"—and this is Sookie Stackhouse. She's been very eager to meet you Dr. Suresh ever since she heard about your research." Sookie smiled and stood up to shake Mohinder's hand as well. She couldn't help reading through his thoughts as she spoke—after all she wanted to make sure this was a man they could trust.
"Bill's right, Doctor, after I heard that you—well that you had met other people like me, I was so excited to talk to you. Maybe you could help me figure out why I can do what I do." She'd met Barry of course, so Sookie knew there were others out there. But from what Bill had told her Mohinder Suresh had met not only other telepaths, but people who had a whole range of special abilities. Everyone sat down again as Bill and Sookie waited for their orders—type A positive Tru Blood and a chef's salad respectively. Mohinder chatted with them both for a while as he explained to Sookie that a very good friend of his was telepathic. She was given the contact number for Matt Parkman in Los Angeles, and told to tell him that Mohinder recommended she give him a call. About a half hour into their conversation, Mohinder breached his true reason for having contacted Bill.
"Mr. Compton I was curious if you knew anything about a human that was seen around a Mr. Eric Northman. I um, I'd like to find him and talk with him if at all possible." Mohinder set the mug of coffee down onto the table as he looked anxiously back and forth between Bill and Sookie. If they had seen him perhaps they could give him an idea as to what his mental state was.
"Oh, well Bill and I met Gabriel about a week ago. We were in the area for Bill's list and I had the chance to spend a few minutes around him. Something happened to that boy, didn't it? It wasn't like when someone has been glamoured Dr. Suresh—I peered in and there wasn't really a lot of internal voice. He seemed a little blank, but nice enough though. Eric sure seemed pleased with him, and that's fine with me because it got him off of my back." Her grin was toothy, and the tone of voice she used was definitely that of relief. Bill seemed to be pleased by the situation as well as he gently squeezed her hand once affectionately.
"We were both there as I had intended on receiving Eric's permission to comb through the area as a part of the vampire census, for lack of a better term, that I've been working on. Sookie has been annoyed by Eric's inappropriate advances for some time now, but unless he was trying to make her envious—his attentions were squarely focused on the man you're looking for, Doctor."
Mohinder had heard a great deal about a vampire's ability to glamour or, persuade their intended victim. Despite the growth of mainstreaming—glamouring didn't seem to be a practice that would be going away anytime soon; its purpose still accomplished the same thing it did before the creation of synthetic blood. A happy docile long-term food supply was a much more conventional way of going about it these days.
"Gabriel…is someone that I know. He and I have known each other for a few years and he up and disappeared recently. I definitely believe I'll be heading up to Baltimore to try and visit him. Mr. Compton, Miss Stackhouse—thanks for all of your help. Mr. Compton, let's keep in touch hm? I believe we could both be a great help to each other in our respective fields of research." Mohinder shook Bill's hand again and leaned in to give Sookie a polite hug before he excused himself from their booth entirely.
"You're right Bill he seems like someone who can definitely help you with your index. I wonder how he knows Gabriel though. Did you see when he spoke about him that his voice got all tense?" She sipped the rest of her vanilla coke down through the striped the straw as she glanced over at Bill with her brows raised. Had she known he would be so vague speaking about how he know Eric's companion she definitely would have taken the liberty to sift through his thoughts a little more.
"I am not sure why, but it's not really a matter of our concern, Sookie. We should get back to our room so I can plan out who I'll be contacting in this state. There are a few I wish to track down tonight if it all possible." His empty bottle of Tru Blood was abandoned at the corner of the table as he had a ledger out with various names and notations on every page. No one had ever really created a vampire listing before, and he believed it could be a very valuable resource to future generations of his kind. He leaned over and gently slid the straw over away from her lips as he gave her a kiss. She tasted like vanilla now thanks to the soda but he always thought she tasted just a little sweet all on her own.
Outside of the diner, Mohinder stood with his cell phone in his hand. All he could do was stare down at it as he wondered if he should hit the 'send' button for the highlighted name on his contact list. It wouldn't be the first time that Gabriel Gray had pretended to be harmless—something Mohinder knew on a very personal level. This was a man who was not dead, but was walking about near a new group of people who seemingly knew nothing of his life as Sylar. While he likely couldn't hurt a vampire, Gabriel could certainly hurt fellow humans should his baser instincts and urges take him over once more. So Mohinder made the choice to hit the button and hold the receiver up to his ear. After a few rings, there was finally a voice on the other end.
"Peter? It's Mohinder…do you have a moment to speak? Something very important has come up."
