Chapter 2
Sookie's POV
What do you say to someone who has just told you they are a princess as well as a goddess? There is nothing to say and that is just what we say, nothing. I think at least five minutes pass where we just stand and stare at Aurora. It is Pam who brakes the silence.
"Aurora, what kind of goddess are you and why are you here?"
"Well, my cute little child of the Viking, what I am is a death dealer."
"My name is Pam, little goddess, and what in the name of hell is a death dealer?"
"I, or we, are the children of the gods, well the three most powerful gods that rule the realms actually."
I feel Eric stiffen hearing the name death dealers, and this truly scares me. Why would a thousand year old vampire fear a name, and why has he not spoken since Aurora telling us she is a goddess? I have to find out more if I am ever going to sleep again after Eric's reaction.
"Aurora, can you please explain this to me a little more. How many of you are there? Why have I never heard of this before? And why is my boyfriend staring at you like you are here to end all our lives?"
This gets a sweet soft giggle to pass Aurora's lips, which for a small moment makes me a whole lot more scared. What sort of creature laughs when accused of wanting to kill someone?
"Sookie, you should fear what I am. But know at this time I have no reason to hurt any of you. I'm actually really like this little interaction we have going"
"Please tell me what you are and why you're here?"
"Sookie, why don't you ask your Viking if we can go into his office? I've had enough fresh air and this is now a discussion that requires privacy. Plus I'm starting to get hungry and this is something we do not want, trust me. I shall calm your fears by tell you what I am and how I came to be here, but first, let's get the big bad death dealer a drink."
I turn to look at Eric who gives me a nod approving of Aurora's suggestion. We all turn to walk back into Fangtasia, but I notice Bastian hasn't moved. It is like he is in some kind of dream state. As I go to bring this to Eric's attention, Aurora bushes her hand along Bastian's arm, breaking the daze. He is fixated by her. I place this thought to the back of my mind to talk to Eric about later and follow everyone to the office.
After drinks are ordered and delivered, we all await the explanation from Aurora.
"Well, my new little friends, let me start at the beginning. My realm, as well as all realms, are controlled by three brothers, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Instead of creating an army to watch over the realms, they decided to father three sets of twins, to which all three brothers would pass on a piece of their power. These children of the gods were known as the death dealers, five male and one female. The name found us due to the simple fact that death was all we would bless upon the beings our fathers would direct us to. Zeus and Hades decided to create identical male twins, but my father Poseidon believed one male and one female would hold a stronger bond between the set and enable us to be more at peace"
"Aurora, are you telling me you are the daughter of the King of the ocean?" I ask.
"Yes, Sookie, I am."
"Oh my god! This is amazing. What can you do? Where are the others? How can you leave the ocean?"
"Sookie, if you let me finish, I can answer all your questions."
"Sorry, this is just…"
Before I can finish Eric squeezes my hand to calm me down and I let Aurora finish her story. I think some of my questions are some of his as well.
"Sookie, I'm not tied to the ocean as my father is, but I tend to stay out of the sun unless I'm near a large body of water. The sun doesn't hurt me. It just feels wrong for me to be in direct sunlight unless in close proximity to water. In regards to the other death dealers, there are only two remaining now, and I am one of the two."
It is Bastian who interrupts next, and I can tell by the look in his eyes that he has some knowledge of what Aurora is explaining.
"My goddess, are the old legends true? That there are no creatures that stand among the realms that can kill you? And if this is true how can there be only two death dealers left?"
"My sweet Bastian, it is true that no being can harm a child of the gods, but unfortunately we can kill each other and when the brothers turned on each other it was their dealers to whom they sent to battle. To the surprise of the brothers there was a small flaw with one of the children. This child, with one touch, could duplicate the power of any creature it came into contact with and over the centuries the ability adapted into morphing these powers into anything she wished, making her stronger than the gods she was created to serve under and protect."
"So it's true? You can gear into anything you wish? You were thought to be a myth."
"Yes, Bastian. When my father chose to create a female child, it was the wish of the goddess Nyx she be able to bless my creation. The first breath I took came from her lungs, the first words I ever whispered came from her lips and for this I was blessed to love the night and darkness. Zeus and Hades let the blessing take place as they feared not Nyx, she being only a small god and believing Poseidon had made a great error choosing to create a female death dealer. They had no idea of the gift Nyx bestowed me with."
"Aurora, can you explain what gear means? I've never heard this term used in turn with power," Pam asks.
"Simple, Pam. I no longer require to touch a creature to copy any gift they may have and once I have copied a power I can mixed and match these gift to gear a whole new power. For example, I can now, after a small visit to the realms of the elves and fairies, make you burst into flames just by thinking it. I took the ability to bend fire from the elves and mixed it with the lovely gift of mind manipulation from the fairies. And pop, I think it, you burn."
Pam jumps from her seat and starts hissing at Aurora. Eric pushes me behind him and crouches forward protectively. Bastian stands slowly and raises a hand to Aurora's cheek and brushes it slowly with the back of his palm. He leans forward and whispers, "Will you hurt us, my little dove?" Aurora turns her cheek into his slowly moving hand to apply more pressure and the daze I saw in Bastian's eyes in the car park is now in her eyes.
"Of course I will not harm any of you, my sweet."
Eric turns to Bastian who gives him a nod and everyone takes their seats again, but I can see Pam has a touch of fear in her eyes for her master's safety.
"Dealer, why is it you seem to have some kind of connection with my brother and he with you?" asks Eric.
"Viking, if I was able to finish my story without being interrupted, you would all have your answers and would not fear my presence."
"Fine, we shall all, and I say this to everyone in this room, all remain silent and allow to you finish."
Eric gives us all a look that says "interrupt again and I shall remove your tongue from your mouth."
"Thank you, Eric. The war between the brothers went on for centuries, but it was not until the first child of the gods fell that it truly became a blood bath. You see the first death dealer to fall was my brother Val. My father had keep me from most of the battles, as it was his belief that Zeus and Hades would capture me and try to create more death dealers with my ability. Nyx had moved from our realm after blessing me and the gift I held was one no one could create without her or myself."
I watch as a small red tear falls from the goddess's eye and I can tell that the death of her brother is something she blames herself for.
"Val was always my other half. Unlike the other twins, whom were each their own individuals, Val and I seemed to be two halves of one whole. Even when father would demand I remain behind, Val would help me sneak out and we would thrive in the battle side by side. The day he fell, I was with my father moving between realms, it was always so that one of us would be at his side for protection. What we didn't know was that Zeus and Hades had made a pact to combine their twins for one assault to collect me. It was Val who was meant to travel with father that day and when the dealers arrived they decided if I could not be taken to their gods, maybe I could be weakened by the loss of my brother."
"My father and I felt the moment Val's life ended and at that moment my father lost any control he had over me. I turned into what Nyx had blessed me to be, a true creature of the darkness. It only took me a small amount of time to kill three of the four dealers. I made sure there deaths were cruel and painful, as I knew their fathers would feel the pain as Poseidon and I had. It was on my way to kill Yannick, the remaining death dealer, that my father and Nyx found me and begged me to stop my hunt. I knew I was breaking my father's heart, but the loss of Val did something to me that shattered my soul. Nyx asked if she could give me a gift of another creature to repair my being would I stop my hunt? After looking into my father's eyes, I agreed to stop my pursuit of Yannick, as I knew in my heart we would find each other one day and on that day I would pull his still beating heart from his chest. Nyx sent me to this realm and it is here I have waited for over four thousand years."
"Aurora, that doesn't answer the questions. Why are you here at Fangtasia? Why do you and Bastian keep looking at each other funny and why can we trust you won't kill us?"
Pam, Eric, and Bastian all look at me like I lost my mind for asking Aurora these questions, but I just don't get it. I am sad about her brother and I am starting to feel that, given enough time, we can start to trust the death dealer not to kill us. But why Fangtasia and why...
I look from Aurora to Bastian and I can see it all.
"It's Bastian; he's the one Nyx spoke of, but how? This doesn't... He just got here and how does this help us with the fact you can kill any of us in a second?"
"Sookie, this is a little strange for me as well. All I know is that I have been looking for someone for a very long time and I knew I had to be here tonight. When I look at Bastian, I feel a calm wash over me and I like it. I don't know if he's the one but I haven't felt anything like this since I lost Val. Why would I hurt the brother and his bonded as well as child of the creature who fills me with peace? If anything, Sookie, I'll kill anyone who tried to touch any of you until I know what going on between Bastian and I."
By the look in Bastian's eyes, he will not let her go. There is a connection and I hope, for Bastian's sake, it's a good one.
And then I see it, that look Eric gets when he's on his throne looking down on the vermin, the I am the all powerful Viking Sheriff of Area 5. And I know Aurora is not going anywhere if Eric had anything to do with it. His own personal death dealer, God help anyone who tries to get in his way...
