Wow, thank you for the reviews. Honestly, they kind of make me nervous. Since some of you really do like how it's going so far, I'm starting to panic about screwing up. Gah! But I guess I've only got what's in my head and my computer. If that's not good enough...ah well. Enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 3

When Eric was sure Pam had departed, he dialed the number of Louisiana Sheriff of Area 3. Predictably, he was greeted with hostility.

"What do you want?"

"You were in the company of Natalie Warren for three nights. Describe her actions to me."

"Void. Nice."

"Nice?"

"Yes. Never screamed or thrashed or complained, all of which I expected. Any questions I asked her, besides the most obvious one, she answered," Daniela recollected. "Why are you asking, Viking?"

"I don't believe it's your concern."

"Oh, please. The Queen has already all but ordered her death. I can only think a handful of reasons why she handed off the human to you. Everyone's curious about the million dollar question. Knowing your past, the Queen believes you can get an answer."

"Believe what you want," he answered slowly. "Tell me what you know of Natalie."

"Find out yourself."

"The Queen wants this information as well. Do not forget who it is you answer to."

He could all too well imagine Daniela snarling at him from the other end. Since their first meeting decades ago, both had held a deep dislike for the other. The animosity was immediate, and neither could place the reasoning behind it. Since then, Daniela was never one of Eric's favorite people to converse with and the feeling was mutual.

"I smelled the blood on her before she stumbled into my area. Wreaked of it," Daniela began grudgingly. "I was meeting with associates of mine not too far from her location. The scent made them hungry. A human covered in vampire blood? She was a walking buffet. Eating her would have caused public outrage, so I intercepted the human before she became dinner."

"The bruises and cuts were on her already?"

"Yes."

"What do you think caused them?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Her dislocated ankle was partly my fault. She attempted to fight me off at first."

"She showed signs of aggression towards you?" Eric questioned, straightening up.

Perhaps he was going soft on the human because of her physical frailty. He'd known hundreds of quiet, bloodthirsty killers.

"It's my interpretation that she was in a frenzy after the murder. Seeing me didn't help. Not to worry your dear little heart out. She didn't attempt to kill me. Just distance herself. She didn't want anyone touching her."

Eric's eyebrows shot together.

Perhaps her aggression was not toward all vampires. Just this one.

"She said nothing of the murder?"

"Nothing that would interest you."

Clenching a fist, Eric brushed off his anger.

"Your help was overwhelming."

"Fuck you, Northman."

He heard the dial tone sound a second later.

xxx

"She's almost decent looking without the blood," Pam noted.

Eric silently agreed, watching Natalie's mouth twist into a frown.

She'd been in a deep sleep since Pam had cleaned her off – something he owed her big for.

Without the blood, every mark was like a shiny trophy on her pale skin. On the puffy interior of her arms, the two cuts were bright red and clean. Their depth was indeterminable, but if the skin was to break open, there was a strong possibility of her bleeding to death. Likewise, the bruise around her eye and near her jaw, resembled diseased patches of skin.

"There are more underneath her clothes," Pam added after a moment of Eric's silent observation. "I noticed them in the tub."

"A woman is nude and you do not find her attractive?"

"She looks like…"

The lack of humor on his progeny's face sobered Eric up.

Pam scanned the sleeping woman's features once more.

"I don't know what to make of her."

"Are the bruises recent?" he asked, attempting to locate the areas he hadn't seen yet. Her new, long sleeved, pink t-shirt and black sweatpants, covered nearly everything.

When Pam didn't reply, Eric glanced at her.

"She has no bruises."

Something about her tone put him on edge.

"It looks as if someone took a knife to this human. Tragic, really. She has gorgeous skin."

Eric knelt beside the sleeping woman. He extended a hand toward her stomach.

"I wouldn't touch," she suggested.

Ignoring her, Eric peeled back the t-shirt, surveying the injuries.

Just as quickly as he'd lifted it up, he dropped the cloth back down.

"Stay with her until I come back."

"The sun comes up in three hours."

"I will be back by then."

Before she could respond, Eric was gone.

xxx

"Mr. Northman. What may I do for you on such short notice?"

Eric gestured for the vampire to sit.

"My Queen has informed me you were the Mississippi Sheriff that demanded Natalie Warren be apprehended."

The Sheriff smiled, clasping his hands. The white scar on his face, creased at the action.

"I am. She was a menace to the vampire community."

Eric held back his surprise as he took the seat across from the vampire.

"How is it you came to know of her, Simon?"

Shifting into a comfortable position, Simon smiled.

"A Fellowship church opened a few miles east of Jackson. They were planning an attack in reparation for the incident in Dallas. Natalie was their secret weapon."

"In what way?"

"She was innocent. You should know how attractive those with unmarked flesh are. She claimed initially that she was a victim of parents who were Fellowship members. Wanted to rebel against them. What better way than to go with a bunch of vampires."

"Sexually?"

"I wouldn't know. I didn't care for her. But, Isaac was in love. He mentioned she let him bite her numerous times. And after a while, he was comin' up with these plans to get her out of the state. Away from her parents, so they could go and live together."

"Isaac was nearly four hundred years old. How is it he became a slave to a human's affections?"

Simon studied him lazily.

"I imagine the same way Godric went from one the most dangerous vampire in the world to the most docile."

Eric kept his expression neutral. What required more effort was not lunging across the table and smashing in Simon's jaw.

"Isaac cared deeply for Natalie," Simon continued, brown curls swinging at his insistent nod. "None of us knew she worked for the Fellowship."

Choosing not to reply, Eric studied their surroundings instead. It was an all-night cafe, usually a popular area for vampires. Located just shy of Louisiana's borders with Arkansas and Mississippi, it proved to be a neutral zone for neighboring vampires of opposing states.

"When did you find out she worked for the Fellowship?"

Simon bit at his lip, studying the stars above.

"Probably the same time everyone else did. Another spy of theirs tried to infiltrate. They wanted to know why it was taking Natalie so long to detonate the bomb. Her job was to set it off at a local vampire club such as your own. We glamored him and he informed us of Natalie's plans."

"Isaac and Natalie?"

"Gone by this point. He'd convinced her to head south into Louisiana. I guess she finally found her opportunity and took it. What a shame. Isaac was a generous vampire."

Eric's gaze didn't falter from Simon's for a good two minutes.

"Natalie told me she was the one to call Isaac. He met with her in my area."

Shrugging, Simon's lips split into a helpless grin.

"He wanted to give their relationship a chance and she wanted to get her mission completed. Did you know she'd passed on valuable information about us, to Fellowship members? Not only that, but she committed a senseless crime against a vampire who did nothing but love her. She deserves to die."

The last statement showed Eric exactly where the Sheriff stood on the issue.

"You were friends with Isaac?"

"Of course," Simon said, relaxing in his chair. "We had some great times. I think he made a big mistake stepping down from the Sheriff position in Arkansas. These past few years, he just wanted to rekindle that same excitement he'd felt as a newborn. And he did...for a short time."

Annoyed, Eric shot to his feet. "Were you aware of the slash marks made by knife, on Natalie's skin? They were located directly underneath her clothes. Or the stab wounds? An impressive amount of flesh is missing from her rib cage."

Simon remained cool and collected, the only change in his expression coming from his slightly raised eyebrows.

"She must have much more unstable than I realized," he said, shaking his head. "With a fanatic like that, you never know how insane they come."

Eric stared down the Sheriff, calculating every muscular shift in emotion. But, Simon's face remained immaculately blank.

When he continued to appear composed and indifferent, Eric tightened his leather jacket and straightened his posture.

"Thank you for meeting with me."

Simon stood; wide, brown eyes crinkling at the corners. "Not a problem, Sheriff. I trust the Queen will make the right decision."

"Your trust is well placed."

"Is Natalie with her?"

"No."

"Where is she?"

"At an undisclosed location," Eric revealed. "Most likely being tortured at this moment. You know how rabid the vampire community is."

Simon's nods turned fervent.

"Let me know when the cunt is dead."

Eric smiled, revealing his fangs. "I'll see if I can send you a finger."

"Oh, you must."

They shook hands a final time before Simon departed.

Eric's smile fell. In half a second, he sped the opposite way.

xxx

"Almost thought you fried in the sun," Pam commented, scanning him quickly.

"A short meeting with the Sheriff of Area 2 in Mississippi, Simon."

"Oh? What fascinating details has he divulged about our Natalie?"

Eric pondered over the information he learned, wondering why not all of it made sense. While being a Fellowship member entitled her to the proper weapons to murder Isaac, it didn't explain why she hadn't attempted to murder any other vampire in Jackson. Why she chose Isaac, a man Simon had claimed to adore her.

"He claimed she was a spy for the Fellowship who got involved with a group of vampires in Jackson. She met Isaac this way and he took a liking to her. He persuaded her to leave with him to Louisiana"

"And what? She murdered Isaac along the way?"

"Essentially."

"Well," Pam mulled, "it's possible. You'll interrogate her further tomorrow night?"

"Yes," Eric agreed. "This is the first time since Dallas that a Fellowship member has managed to murder a vampire successfully. The Queen will be interested to know of the progress their organization has made."

Despite saying this, Eric had a difficult time believing his own words. And that frustrated him more than he cared to admit.

The secret is becoming unraveled? Stick around to find out. More Eric and Natalie interaction next chapter. Let me know your thoughts in a review. I love hot wings.