Chapter 2
Cassandra watched her trembling fingers reaching for the still steaming coffee can.
She should better go for a tea or at least a double single malt, preferably 25 years old, to get herself back together.
I`m so definitely out of my mind, she thought.
Taking a deep breath she tried to sort her options.
To free him would be suicide. No matter how weak he might look, he would go for her the moment the chains fell off. And to feed him while he was still wrapped in silver seemed to be absolutely useless. Needless to mention that she didn`t even have an idea if True Blood was available in Germany too.
"God damn it", she cursed under her breath.
She owned at least 50 books on witchcraft and two grimoires from her gran and great-gran. Why couldn`t there be a user manual on "How to free a starved vampire from a dungeon in your cellar!"?
A soft scratching at her kitchen window made her jump. Right now she wouldn`t be surprised to find a werewolf running around in her yard. But it was only Jinx, her jet-black cat, begging to be let in.
Opening the window she hugged him close, glad to feel something living and breathing.
"Good boy, found his way home." Stroking him behind his ears, she fingered to open the latch of his collar.
"That`s it!" she nearly screamed. "Blessed be, Jinx. You`re brilliant!"
There was a way to free Eric Northman without the risk of him killing her.
You are so out of your mind, girl!
It might cost her some blood and a huge amount of trust.
Are your suicidal?
But it might actually work.
He does so not deserve this!
Eric drew in the last hint of her lingering scent. His blood remembered her. Remembered, that feeding on her has been a pure act of wrath.
The Louisiana coven had first staked Chou and then tried to set fire in Fangtasia. Not because of their hatred towards Vampires, but because he employed women as strippers and donors.
The moment Cassandra had entered his club a week after the fire, he knew that she had no knowledge of her wiccan sisters doings, but he didn`t care. That moment any witch was good enough for taking revenge.
Her blood had tasted like fire. Hot, sweet and incredibly addictive.
For a moment he had actually considered turning her. But then his rage had overpowered his lust.
He hadn`t been gentle. He had just torn her throat open to enforce the flow. He had savored the moment as her heart struggled for his last beat.
Never before had he felt such lust, such hunger, such need.
He had left it to Pam to get rid of her corpse, considering her dead as a dodo.
Obviously he had been wrong!
Footsteps! She was coming back.
He lifted his head, his Viking heritage taking over.
She might end his existence, but he would not go down as a coward!
Cassandra couldn`t help but stare. Even in his current state, this man was still scary. Right now he looked every bit the warrior he might have been a millennium ago. Head held high he met her gaze, his blue eyes burning with pride.
The perception slowly began to dawn on her.
"You expect me to kill you?"
"What else should I expect?" he answered, utterly serious.
A gentle smile crept on her lips as she shook her head slightly.
"I admit this is tempting, Eric", she said, slowly stepping closer.
At least let him suffer a little more!
"But I also believe that revenge only works for those who have no conscience", she held his gaze, waiting for the innuendo to settle in.
Obviously it did, cause she could see his eyes fill with sorrow.
"But unlike others, my conscience could never live with a murder."
That blow hit home.
Eric couldn`t recall a moment in his entire existence that had left him more stunned. If he would still be a breather he would probably have gasped.
How could a simple human hit him so hard, he actually felt the blow?
During his times as a warrior he would have shown his respect by bending his knee to offer his sword and life to a worthy victor like her.
Would she show him mercy?
For the first time he really looked at her, studied her features. She was no shocking beauty. At least not at first sight.
Her hair was a simple dark brown with the first hints of silver in some of her short but wavy strains. Tiny lines were entranced in the soft and lightly tainted skin around her eyes. Eyes, that shimmered with the color of sunbathed leaves in spring. They held a depth he could simply drown in. High cheekbones gave her a strong and untouchable look. An impression that was mocked by the incredible sensual line of her lustrous lips.
At second sight, she bore the look of a woman that had experienced far too much in her human live but still kept a heart full of compassion.
"Then what else do you consider a nemesis for my sins?" His words so hoarse they barely carried.
"To carry the burden of living with them", she answered with the confidence of victory.
By the look on his face she knew that she had taken her revenge. At least a verbal one.
"I can`t simply free you, Sheriff."
She stepped closer, letting the small bag she carried, slowly glide to the ground next to her.
"No matter how weakened you are, there would be nothing to stop you going after me."
Slowly she went on her knees, close enough to let him feel the heat of her body.
Eric felt his muscles tighten. She was close enough now, that he could see her blood pulsing through the veins of her scarred neck. He could almost taste her.
She was so damned right!
The beast in him took over. There was no way to stop his fangs from flashing.
Cassandra didn`t flinch. She knew he could not reach her.
Whoever had chained him in this prison, has made sure he could only barely move. Forced down on his knees, legs spread, his ankles were tightly secured to the wall behind. His arms were chained to the right and left wall. Extended as far as possible, slightly bend back, they kept him in an upright position. But even the slightest move could dislocate his shoulders.
Compassion overwhelmed her. How long did he have to endure this torture? How could anyone take pleasure in treating whatever creature like that.
Slowly she reached for the chain mail. Her fingertips carefully caressing the blood drained metal shirt that looked as if it was part of his skin by now.
She felt him watching her. A short look at his strained muscles told her that he was fighting hard not to try to go for her.
"I think it would be best to get rid of most of the silver first. Then a small amount of my blood should be enough to give your body a chance to slowly recover."
Did she really say that?
"But you have to promise not to come near me or touch me. Otherwise, I might consider the stake again."
Did she really mean that?
"You would believe the promise of a Vampire?" He could do no more than stare at her in utter disbelieve.
Slowly she lifted her gaze from his chest to meet his eyes.
"No, but I believe in the honor of a warrior, who never would break a given vow. So, are you willing to swear, Viking?
Eric had to close his eyes to blink down the sudden rush of tears that lurked to float his eyes. All the pain he had endured seemed to tighten up in his chest where there once had been a beating heart. He felt the walls and barriers he`d established during the centuries crumble to the ground, leaving him with the haunting memories of a once honorable live.
Never before had he felt more humbled.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he opened his eyes.
"As a warrior… a man… and a vampire… I give you my solemn word of honor… never to harm you… again. May Odin`s wrath fall upon me if I ever break this given vow."
Cassandra nearly swayed. His eyes, strained with unshed tears of blood, burned with honesty as his voice vibrated through the room with a power she would never have expected.
This moment she was not longer looking at a scary Vampire-Sheriff, but at an honorable man who wholeheartedly swore an oath on his live.
An oath she could trust!
Overwhelmed by a sudden rush of strange emotions, she decided to concentrate on what lay ahead.
Eric watched her fingers move to the waistband of his filthy trousers. As she touched the small space between his trousers and the seam of the chain mail, where his skin was still intact, he was shocked to realize that he had to choke down a groan.
How the hell could he be turned on in a moment like this?
"I know this must hurt like hell", she whispered. "But I can`t think of another way."
Ashamed by his thoughts, he could not bear to meet her sorrowful gaze.
"I can take it. Don`t worry." He assured her trying to sound nonchalant.
As she managed to lift the seam of the chainmail a few inches he wasn`t sure anymore.
He tried to concentrate on her smell, the warmth of her body, the beating of her gracious heart.
She tried to be careful, even tender. But with each inch of silver peeling from his body, his burned and bruised skin came off, causing his muscles to tighten.
The pain nearly killed him, but clenching his teeth, he tried to hold back.
The time she reached his breast, where his kidnappers had impaled a wooden stake next to his heart, he went over the edge.
His scream echoed through the small room like thunder, causing her to let go of the already peeled off pieces of the chain mail.
As the silver fell back on his fresh skin, he nearly blacked out.
Although there was no need for him to breath, he was panting heavily. Through the haze of pain he saw that she had backed up to the corner, her arms linked over her chest.
"I can`t do this. I`m sorry… I`m sorry." She muttered. Silent tear crawling down her cheeks while she rocked herself back and forth.
Eric tried to focus. Tried to remember how fragile humans were. They could even break by emotions felt on second hand. And as a witch she even felt these emotions with twice the force than any human.
Forcing the pain down, he straightened.
"Yes you can, Cassandra" he said, using her name for the first time.
He knew he could not glamour her, but if he tried hard enough, he might be able to unlock the darker part in her.
"Remember the moment I came for you." He felt her emotions connecting.
"The moment, my teeth pierced your skin." He could see her eyes darken.
"Remember the fear and pain I caused you." He watched her hand touching the side of her neck.
He held her gaze without blinking, while she slowly crawled closer.
"Now use me to bear that pain, Cassandra."
Her fingers still trembled while she reached for the chain mail. But in the depths of her eyes he could see a storm gathering. Her mind was set.
"Take it out on me" , he whispered.
The pain was excruciating. With a single move she tore of the metal shirt that was holding him down.
This time, Eric blacked out.