Eric's Ghosts

Chapter Two

Rain pelted the car as they arrived at the grand country estate near York. Eric seemed bored by the journey, but Sookie was excited by every new thing she saw. She had never been this far away from home, and was glad she was sharing the trip with Eric.

Automatic gates opened as the black Mercedes approached, allowing them access to the grand driveway that ran for half a mile through neatly sculpted gardens to the massive period residence. The grounds were well lit, and Sookie noticed with interest that it was well guarded too. The car pulled up at the bottom of a stone stairway that led up to the front door.

"This is grander than anything I ever saw before," she told Eric.

"I was here when they built it," he told her.

Sookie hated when he did that, all aloof and knowing. Still he hadn't meant anything by it she was sure.

A tall man in a dark suit, broad shoulders and slim hips, was waiting for them. His smile was warm and welcoming as he held out a hand to help Sookie from the car. She knew Victor Williams from their meeting in Fangtasia.

Eric has taste, very nice.

Picking up the surface thought she smiled her sweetest smile at him, showing off her new perfect teeth. Behind her Eric pressed a hand to her back as he guided her up the steps and into the house.

The front door opened onto a wide airy passage, with bright tiled floor and pale wood paneled walls. Victor took them to the first door on the right, holding it open for them. The room inside was brightly lit with plush red carpet underfoot and expensive looking textured red and gold wallpaper. Four men were seated around a table inside, rising as she and Eric entered the room.

Eric seemed to know all of them, greeting them in turn with clasped arms and even a hug for one. Behind him Sookie could read one emotion from all of them.

Fear.

"Glad you could come, War Chief," the oldest looking of the quartet said. He was a middle aged man, hair graying and receding from his temple.

"Victor told me enough to know it was important," he answered. "Guess you should fill me in on the details."

"Of course, but..." he looked at Sookie.

"My human," Eric put a hand out to her to draw her forward, "stays right here."

"Whatever, you know best Northman," he looked as if he wasn't so sure.

Why the bloodbag? He knows this is vampire business.

Sookie tried not to look offended, not wanting to let them know about her secret. Eric took a seat at the table, feeling Sookie move to stand behind him, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

"Victor tells me that the Nephilim are defeated."

"Properly this time, thanks to Sookie here. My warriors have all crossed over. I am the last from that time," Eric told them. "Tell me, what happened that they escaped from your bonds in the first place."

The man sighed, as the others with him fidgeted nervously under the sheriff's questioning gaze.

"They had help from the outside. Do you remember a society that was active when you lived here, the Brotherhood of Light?" he asked.

"I do, we suppressed them, brutally as I recall. That must be four hundred years ago," Eric told him.

"Well it looks like they have returned, for we suspect it was they who killed the guards who watched Satarel and Turel, and later the others. During the anarchy that followed they have released every being we held. Many of our finest vampires are dead. My brothers tell me the story is the same all across Europe.

"Eric you were pivotal in establishing the prisons in the first place, it was you who filled many of them during the purge that followed the fall of the Nephilim. You are perhaps the last of us who understands what danger we face now.

"For that reason we ask you to come back to Europe, fulfill your ancient promise to return to us in time of need. You were a hero to our kind once, we need you to be one again."

Eric looked at the men around the table for a long moment before he answered.

"I remember the promise we made when we left for the New World and I will honor it, but I will need to recruit from among your ranks when the time comes."


Victor was waiting for them when the meeting ended. In silence he guided them to the first floor suite of rooms, where there bags already awaited them. Aware that Eric had not discussed anything that had been said in front of Victor she waited for him to leave before she spoke.

"What are they all so afraid of?" she wanted to know.

"Sookie when we made those prisons there was worse than the Nephilim who posed a threat to our kind. For a while my purpose was to hunt down every enemy. Most of them were slain, but some creatures are immortal or simply can not be killed. These we captured, locking them away for all time."

"So what went wrong?" he asked.

"Betrayal. The Brotherhood of Light are vampires, who believe that our very existence is wrong, so therefore every thing that we do must be wrong. Ulrich and I led the purge, slaughtering many of our kind to suppress them. Strange to see the Brotherhood pop up again. It would appear that the families were betrayed by the enemy within.

"Your gifts will be very useful here, Sookie."

"I suppose my life might be in danger again too?" she laughed.

"Sookie you are among vampires, your life is always in danger."

"Who were those men, the ones we met tonight?" she wanted to know.

"They are the Council, heads of the four strongest families in Europe. Tonight Sookie you were among the vampires of legend, some of the greatest of our kind," he told her.

"But Eric they were afraid," she told him.

Standing on the grass lawn, just outside the reach of the lights, Malcolm Moore watched intently as Eric Northman and his pretty blonde companion arrived in the big black Mercedes. He saw them go into the house where earlier he had seen the Council arrive one at a time. Malcolm knew who they were, he had served them in a previous incarnation.

His face lit up with delight as he realized that all of their enemies wee gathered under one roof. With a nod he signaled that the horde gathered behind him on the grass should advance on the house.


"Eric, there's something out there," she told him. "I can feel it."

At once Eric was on his feet, from the largest of the bags he drew the huge wicked sword he had used to kill dozens of the nephilim. Sookie thought he looked magnificent as he charged from the room, running to meet the danger headlong. Behind him she followed, knowing that he would need her to keep him out of danger.