Chapter 2

It was possible. For a second I must admit that I was terrified. What if somehow the gate had knocked out Sandra's body? I stood still. Then, I was just looking at the glow that was coming from the woods. Sam shook me once more and then he started running closer and closer to the glow.

I ran after him, following that strong glow. It felt nice being there but right when we reached the place where the "gate" was the glow had disappeared. Α breeze ran through me, leaving me breathless. "Aliens?" I joked but deep down I was drop dead serious.

The only thing that was left was the grass and it was untouched. I knelt down and felt the warmth that the doorway was radiating. Of course, the high grasses worked to disguise the invisible gate. I took a deep breath feeling like talking to Niall again. I wasn't sure if he could hear me but I had missed him. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try.

I turned back to Sam remembering that he was actually there. I wanted to tell him "Let's pretend that never happened," but we both knew that we couldn't pretend that well. I got up and finally said "Do you think that light or glow came out of this?" I pointed down and Sam nodded. What if Niall was coming back? That was a random thought but I wanted to see him so badly.

I didn't have the answer but I knew who did. "Dermot." I said softly like this was the answers to all my problems. Sam moved his glance and looked at me with pure curiosity. "I think Dermot can explain to us what just happened until then I think we should do something else." I explained automatically, looking down at the invisible membrane and all of a sudden I wasn't in the mood for shopping.

It was still morning so the nature was still singing with the birds like the unusual glow had never happened. For some reason it felt nice being close to that light. It felt… familiar. Was I going to talk to Eric about it? Probably but I wasn't sure. He was keeping things from me yet he wanted to know everything about me and my life. He was willing to listen. Nevertheless, he didn't know everything. In fact, he didn't know about the Cluviel dor.

I was just standing there, feeling my skeptical face forming and Sam seemed to notice that as well because he lifted his eyebrow and looked straight into my eyes with a look that was saying what is going on? Most likely, Sam seemed to be lost in thought as much as I was. I felt the corner of my mouth tagging up and my eyebrows were drawn together as I tried to think about logical explanations but they weren't any.

Sam decided to break the silence by stroking my back but still, no words could get out of my mouth. Words seemed useless but Sam talked anyway. "Maybe we should go out some other time," he said quietly and shared a bright smile with me. Still, I didn't mind going out with him, even though I needed to have a serious talk with Dermot but it could have waited. I hated it when plans changed the last moment so I would survive shopping with Sam. "Are you sure? It's still beautiful outside. We can go if you want!" I told him and smiled as brightly. I didn't want to ruin this day for Sam considering that he had been having a rough time with Jannalynn. Sam shook his head decisively, "I'm sure," he said instantly then with no other words we started heading back to my house.

On our way back to my house Sam was being silent and I'm ashamed to say that for a moment I was tempted to read his mind. I even had his permission to do so. Yet, deep down I knew it was not right so I ended up promising myself not to read my friends' mind except if it was an emergency.

"Here we are," Sam said as we reached the house. He didn't really seem happy about it. I just nodded and walked up my front porch. I could still feel Sam's eyes on me. "You have

the morning shift tomorrow," Sam suddenly told me and I turned to face him, surprised. "Wait, what?" I said, feeling my eyes opening wide. "I forgot to tell you about it," he confessed looking down. I had never refused doing something for Sam and changing my shifts wasn't a big thing but he could have informed me earlier. I sighed and dug my hand in my purse, searching for my keys. When I finally found them, my eyes met his. He was having an apologizing look on his face. I just said "I will come," my tone was kind of wry but it came out naturally. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." Sam offered politely which made me feel guilty. I couldn't have helped the way I behaved though. I was upset by that strange glow, feeling like Dermot was hiding something from me. I didn't like what had happened in the woods. "OkeyDokey. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me either." I gave some emphasis on anything and smiled at him as I put the key into the keyhole.

I walked away from the door and watched Sam walking towards his car. I waved at him the moment he pulled away from my driveway. A warm smile was settled on his face as he was leaving. He glanced at me once more then, he waved at me. In a little while, he was gone from my driveway, leaving me guilty. Great, more guilts for me like I didn't have many already.

I entered the house hastily and picked up the phone. I reluctantly called at Claude's bar; Hooligans. I had more chances to find Dermot there. Claude owns Hooligans but he first worked there as a stripper. The club only has fairies or other creatures as staff such as an elf for example. It is indeed strange but that certainly brings more people to the club if you take into consideration that fairies are more alluring than humans. I expected Bellenos –an elf that worked at Hooligans- to pick up the phone but surprisingly, Claude picked it up.

"Hello?" He said, sounding more bored than ever. "Hey, Claude, it's Sookie." I told him bluntly. I hadn't talked to him in a while and he didn't seem to be super excited when he realized who had called him. Maybe it was because I had technically kicked him out of my house. "Hey there, cousin. What do you want?" He said wryly like the old -not so good- Claude I used to know. At least, he didn't sound that bored anymore. His attention was distracted.

I cut to the chase. "I want to talk to Dermot. Is he there?" I said keeping my voice steady and emotionless. I hoped he was there.

"Oh, of course he is." Claude told me as wryly as before and I could have made a really rude noise but instead I sighed loudly. "Can I talk to him then?" I said, drumming my fingers on the coffee table with impatience. "You sure can, cousin. Hold on." He said and I "held on" like I was told.

"Sookie, are you still there?" I heard Dermot saying, "Yup," I replied and then continued. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you but can you come by? Something strange happened today." There was a short pause but eventually Dermot talked. "Define strange." He sounded sharp. Uh-oh. That was not good. "Shhhh! I don't think Claude should hear about that. Can you come by? Maybe, we can talk then." I thought of calling Mr. Cataliades. I wasn't sure if he could help me so I was stuck with Dermot. "As you wish." He said and hung up.

Well, that was interesting. My phone started ringing again and my stomach instantly tied up in a knock. Someone was calling from Hooligans. Oh, Dermot would be dead if he told Claude. I was going to say hey there but Claude was on the line and with frustration he said; "What happened?" What did he know? My hand that was not holding the phone was in a clenched fist "Nothing happened." I said firmly and carefully. It was the only thing I could say. "Then why did Dermot leave that hastily? Sookie, I have never lied to you" he said and I interrupted him; "because fairies can't lie." I stated "and because I didn't want to lie to you." He insisted. That was pointless. "It has to do with that gate that is in my woods, remember? You are the one who told me about it." I said and there was a long, long, long pause. Guilty! "Do you know anything about it?" I asked but then Dermot decided to change the subject by saying "I must go. We will talk later. Good-bye, cousin."

Damn you, people! I thought as I put the phone back in its place and sank in the couch. It had started getting a little colder and some clouds had appeared on the sky. The sun wasn't as shine as it was a couple hours ago. Ι could imagine Arlene with her children going to the church. Arlene would have worn one of her formal dresses. Her children would have been dressed formally as well. Once upon a time, I was there with them. They used to call me aunt Sookie but then Arlene decided that I was evil thanks to the Fellowship of the Sun.

I looked out of the window, knowing that Eric was dead for the day and so was Bill. I knew Cluviel dor couldn't turn vampires back into humans and I was sure as hell even if it could do that, Eric would hesitate. Eric was used to live with power but it would be nice if he could walk in the sunlight with me. Of course, that was a dream that would never come true and I had learned to deal with it. I lied back in the couch and closed my eyes.

I almost jumped when I heard someone knocking. I had fallen asleep. However, I didn't have any dreams. I looked down at my watch. It was 2 PM. My guest was knocking on the door repeatedly and I groaned softly as I got up from the couch.

The moment I got up, I noticed how cold I was. I was freezing. The sun was sneaking in from the open windows with a cold breeze making the whole house as cold as an ice-cube. How come I had forgotten to close the windows?

"I'm coming!" I yelled and ran towards the door. It was Dermot who was knocking on the door so loudly but at first, I had mistaken him for Jason. I'm always a little numb after a nap. Dermot could easily be mistaken with Jason since they looked so much alike. However, -no offence, Jason, you know I love you- Dermot was much cleverer than Jason would ever be.

"I'm surprised Claude isn't with you," I noticed. My voice was dripping sarcasm. Dermot just entered the house like he had been living there his whole life and took a seat. "Why would he be with me?" He said cautiously and I shrugged, peering into his eyes.

"I don't know." I took a seat next to him. It felt nice being near to my great-uncle. It was as good as being near to that glow.

"Something happened today in my woods. It has to do with a gate that leads into the Faery." I ran my fingers through my hair and looked down at my lap. "There was a strange glow. It was warm and nice. It was like sun but when it's summer. The way it touches your body, if you know what I mean? The warmth you feel when that happens?" Great, he seemed to be tangled.

"Niall might be coming back." He said in a completely uninflected voice and echoed like it was the most normal thing. He sounded so calm and care-free like when someone said "It will rain tomorrow! Take an umbrella with you!"

I stared at him and he was wise enough to look down; at least, trying to look sad. I didn't know how to feel. I had missed my great-grandpa but they knew –I bet, Claude knew as well-. I was the one who had been kept in the dark as always. Only if I had a useless vase! I would certainly have thrown it at Dermot's handsome head. That way, I would have tried to knock some sense into his mind although, I highly doubted it.

"What are you thinking?" Dermot looked up at me and I shrugged, "I was wondering if I had a useless vase so I could use it against you." I told him simply.

"I am sorry. I wasn't planning to tell you but I didn't expect Niall to do something so…reckless. He was trying to re-open the gate but I don't think it was a successful attempt." He explained, "I realized that." I said sourly and got up from the couch.

"You are angry," He stated and then he continued his sentence, "I have let you down…twice." I couldn't say anything about that. I wanted some explanations from Niall. He had the answers after all not Dermot. "I maybe am angry but I have a right to be." I had to defense myself although, Dermot didn't seem to disagree. "I can give you a hug, if you want me to. You will feel better." I shook my head negatively at Dermot's offer. "I'm fine," I straightened my shoulder and forced a smile to my lips. "I won't forget you anytime soon about this, Dermot but if you have any news from Niall let me know." Dermot looked at me like his jaw was going to fall off his face. He didn't promise anything.

"By the way, does Claude know about it?" Dermot stared at me blankly like he was thinking his answer, "earth to Dermot," I said waving my hand in front of his face. "Yes, he knows." He finally said. Dermot was descent, I could tell.

"Stop pressuring things too much, Sookie." Dermot looked at me and our eyes met. Was that an advice? I shook my head, "I am not pressuring things. I just want to know the truth." I told him cautiously, "you will know the truth when it's the right time to know it." He just said softly as he would be reading a fairy tale. Right. Right. Right. I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms around my chest. Was I acting childish and futile? Possibly. A more mature expression settled on my face. I took a breath and looked out the window.

The sky had a light blue color and the sun was surrounded by clouds. Maybe it was going to rain. "If you were a fairy, not even a half, you would be a sky fairy. You would actually belong somewhere." I felt Dermot approaching behind me. He put his hand on my shoulder, "you would be wanted." He beefed. Moreover, He continued speaking as softly. Poor Dermot. I thought. My anger had evaporated. I turned to him and hugged him. It seemed like Dermot really needed that hug. Fairies were like this, in general.

"Thank you, Sookie." Dermot said and his voice was nothing but a whisper. He planted a sweet kiss on my forehead and I just shrugged. "Not a problem, great-uncle." I couldn't really call him great-uncle because he looked so much like Jason but just to keep the distances. I gently disengaged from Dermot's arm. It felt nice being there. However, some fairies had no limits. Dermot seemed to be one of them. Plus, I didn't want to be asked again if I could sleep with him. Even friendly. It was creepy and odd.

What will happen next? Will Dermot say everything to Sookie? Will Niall come back after all? What about Eric? Does he know about "Niall's visit" ? Stay tuned for the next chapter and don't forget to review!