Disclaimer: Most characters belong to Charlaine Harris.
I'm overwhelmed at the great responses from you guys. It makes me so excited to write more. I have already started thinking about a sequel to this story. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. Let me know if there are any holes you need filling. Some things, of course, will be revealed in due course but there are bound to be things I haven't thought of. As always constructive criticism welcome.
It was a week later when I first got an inkling something was wrong.
I had called Mr Cataliades on Saturday morning to let him know I was fine and that I was staying put for now. Then, as Henry had advised I went on with my life. What I had of one any way. The appearance of the Shreveport vampires forced me to evaluate my new life. On reflection I had to acknowledge how empty and, well, basically dull, it was. Not that I missed being beaten up every week but working with the Area 5 vampires had made me feel important, and being around Eric had always been exciting, no matter what else it had been or not been. My life now was a dull grey in comparison.
I tried to go to church on Sunday but had to leave half way though the service. Eric's re-emergence in my life and the fact that the bond was back in effect was resulting in the sort of day dreams that you absolutely should not be having in church. I had fled, red-face, convinced that they all could tell what I'd been thinking. When I calmed down I realised that was unlikely, but I was still irritated for the rest of the day. With all the cussing and the fact I'd had thoughts, however briefly, of killing more than one person I know (though several of them were already dead), I really could have done with some prayer time.
Without Henry my only social life was with Jeremy and that was only when he didn't have a date. So my evenings were uneventful, giving me too much time to dwell. I realised that I used a lot of energy in the last year convincing myself I was happy. It was as exhausting as maintaining my shields. Despite, or maybe because of, the perilous nature of my old life, I had been good at grabbing happiness whenever I could. In running away I had left both the peril and the joy behind. The fact was I wasn't ordinary, and trying to live as if I were meant I could never be myself.
I remembered my excitement at first meeting Bill, knowing I couldn't hear vampire thoughts. The joy of talking to Amnesiac Eric on the floor before my fire. It may have been the only time in my life where I felt I didn't have to hide a single thing. Even long before that, Real Eric had always made me feel special, important. Knowing there was an investigation going on right under my nose and that he didn't want me to be part of it, hurt more than I liked to admit. I picked up a couple of extra shifts at work to keep busy and tried hard not to think about Eric.
It was at work that I got the flash from someone's mind that sent me into a panic. Jeremy had been anxious since the whole gallery thing and I appreciated his concern even though I couldn't really tell him what was going on. I knew very little myself. So to cheer us both up we had a video night with pizza and wine, and danced around my living room to Dirty Dancing and Coyote Ugly. It had been a late night and as a result my shields were not as strong as usual at work the next day.
Most of the glimpses into peoples thoughts were the usual thing, worry about work, worry about a husband or wife, worry about kids. Then, just as I was turning to fetch mayonnaise for one of my tables, I caught it. An image of Eric. I knew it was recent because his hair was permed, though it was more of a knotted tangle than the soft crown of curls I had seen at the gallery. There was blood matted in it. I nearly tripped over a chair as I turned suddenly, looking for the source of the picture I had just received.
"M'am, the mayonnaise?" said the customer I had just been with, reminding me where I was.
"Of course, I'll be right back." I said automatically.
As I went to fetch it, I carefully scanned the customers in the room. Finally I found him, well them. They were three men, in their thirties, sat in a corner booth. A quick scan of their minds told me they were Fellowship of the Sun, and they had Eric. The images of him in their minds were awful. He was bound in silver and his face was drawn. His clothes were covered in blood and ripped. I only got one image in which his eyes were open but they were blank and staring. I felt cold all over. I scanned them carefully and repeatedly but I could get nothing on where he was. I thought about trying to talk to them but I didn't want to give myself away or make things worse for Eric. They might move him, or even kill him (again) if they thought I was on to them. So I continued picking their brains until they left. The sun had just set and I would be finished in thirty minutes.
Though I tried to keep working, tried to remind myself that he had Pam and Bill and Henry to help him, my hands were shaking and I was distracted. Damn him. He had to come here and put himself in danger. Why wasn't he in Shreveport, sprawling in a chair in Fangtasia, 'enthralling the vermin' as Pam would put it. Shit. I wondered if I could reach Henry. No I didn't. It was nothing to do with me. Only it was. I wasn't sure if I was angry at being drawn in again or the fact that I hadn't been, that no one had told me. I only knew that I had to save him. Damn you Eric Northman.
Finally my shift was over and grabbing my coat I ran for the door. I had driven, as I always did when I would be working after dark, and I drove home as quickly as I dared. I wasn't sure what to do. I could think of no way of contacting Henry or Pam or Bill. I wasn't sure Mr Cataliades could help and I didn't dare try to contact Felipe de Castro even if I had known how. As I ran up to my front door, I sensed a void round the side of my house. The balcony. I started to head round the side but then rethought. I had no idea who it was. So I let myself in the front and crept quietly to the glass door. Of course as a vampire they would know I was there but they couldn't come inside. I peeped through the curtains, gasped and quickly opened the door.
Henry was sitting slouched against the wall. There was blood everywhere and he wasn't moving.
"Oh my God, Henry." I ran to him and grabbed his face. "What happened? Are you hurt? Henry talk to me." slowly he opened his eyes. He tried to smile at me but it was a weak effort.
"Right, you're coming inside." I said, hoping that would count as an invitation.
I grabbed his arm and pulled. Luckily he was able to push with his feet some and eventually I got him though the door and shut it behind us, closing the curtain so no one could see in. I rushed to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of TrueBlood. ( I had stocked up after Eric's visit, somehow I had known I would need it.) I put one in the microwave to warm and took the other straight to Henry.
Holding his head I tipped the bottle against his lips. Once the synthetic blood made contact he started to swallow and after a moment held the bottle himself. I jumped up and grabbed the other bottle from the microwave. After handing it to him I started searching his body for injuries. As I pulled up his shirt I gasped. Several nails seemed to be sticking out of his stomach. The skin around them was red and raw and I realised they were silver. I took a deep breath and without warning him what I was going to do I pulled them out as quickly as I could. Around the wounds were several other half healed marks and I realised he'd had many more nails in him but had managed to remove some of them.
He winced as I pulled them out but made no other noise. I realised the second bottle was almost empty and I went to heat another. When I got back Henry was sitting up examining his stomach.
"Thank you" he said as I handed him the third bottle. He took a pull and pulled a face then looked at me curiously.
"Sorry, but I learnt the hard way not to be on the menu in any respect with an injured and hungry vampire." I said. He shook his head.
"You do not need to apologise for that. I would like to say I would have refused even if you had offered but you are right, it is unlikely I would have been able to. I'm sorry I had to come here but I was not sure my own place was safe. I was hoping to remove the nails and heal enough to leave before you got back."
"Well that would have been stupid, so I'm glad you didn't." I said, trying to be stern with him while still checking for further injury. "How did you get hurt? Was it because of the investigation?"
"In a way. I was exploring some possible connections, they did not take kindly to my presence in their nest. It's nothing, now you have removed the silver I will be fine shortly." Now the nails were out, he did seem to be healing rapidly. I was tempted to offer him some of my blood now he was in control, I knew it would heal him much more quickly but we still had to rescue Eric and I might need my strength.
"Now, forget the vampire macho crap and forget the protecting the poor little human crap. I've been beaten up, poisoned, shot at, staked, blown up, drained and God knows what all else, all while vampires tried to protect me and I'm still here. So now, you need to tell me what is going on. Who has Eric?"
"How do you know someone has Eric?" Henry was on the alert all of a sudden.
"Because three of those fellowship morons were in the restaurant today and I saw what they were doing to him in their minds." I said impatiently, "Now, come on tell me what's going on. Three humans could not have taken Eric without help." I suddenly had a flash-back to Dallas. Henry had mentioned a nest, it looked like once again the fellowship had vampires helping them take other vampires. I shuddered as I remembered what the fellowship had planned for Farrell.
"Relax, it's OK, it was always part of the plan for Eric to get taken. That's why he made sure they knew there was an investigative team in town."
"Hu?
Henry shifted uncomfortably and pulled out a CD or DVD which for some reason he had stuffed in his boxers. I looked at it curiously.
"Evidence of what is going on." he said "The 'fellowship morons', as you call them, are kidnapping vampires and starving them until they are mad with hunger, until they no longer have any control over their impulses." He looked at me carefully. My mind went to Jackson this time, the trunk of a car, I felt sick suddenly and I went white. "I understand." I said carefully. Luckily Henry had recovered enough by then to catch me as I collapsed and he propped me on the floor with my back against the sofa next to him.
"Shhh, Sandy, you're shaking, it's OK, you're safe. I won't hurt you."
I shook my head trying to clear the memory. Henry was looking at me with a weird combination of shock and worry on his face. "Go on" I said, waving a hand at him. I wasn't going to go there, not right now at least. Henry watched my face for a moment longer before continuing.
"The vampires are chained in silver, starved and … tormented, for several days. Then the fellowship set up a camera, release the vampire from his or her chains and throw in a couple of fang-bangers. You can imagine the rest. Once the humans are dead the fellowship come in and stake the vampire, in what appears to be justified self defence." He waved the disc at me, "They are planning to release the video footage online." My eyes were wide as I took this in, I felt sick again.
"But if Eric needed inside information I could have got it. Why would he let himself be taken? I have infiltrated the fellowship before, he knows that."
"Exactly. He did not give me details, but I understand it did not go so well for you last time. He said he had no intention of removing vast amounts of glass from you again and from his demeanour I suspect there were other injuries as well. Also he seemed to think the state of the vampires would recall bad memories for you. He was most insistent you were kept far away from the whole project."
I thought about the state I'd been in when I got back to the hotel in Dallas. I knew what other 'injuries' Eric was thinking off. I also knew he was thinking of Jackson in terms of the 'bad memories', of the last time I'd gone in to rescue a tortured vampire. I was glad he hadn't told Henry about it though. I wondered how much he knew about what had happened in the trunk of the car. Alcide seemed to know everything so it was a fair bet Eric did too. I appreciated his concern, but it still didn't explain why Eric would allow himself to be tortured.
"That still doesn't explain why he would let himself be taken." I said to Henry, there had to be more to this. Sure enough there was.
"The fellowship are just puppets, though they don't realise that of course. There is a group of vampires who were against the revelation. They wish to disrupt the political infrastructure and incite a war between humans and vampires, they have even made some strikes against Weres and Shifters, though it is not clear who's side they expect them to be on. They are directing the whole thing. They direct the fellowship to young assistants of high profile vampires. This further undermines the system, both by the named association, and by the predictable reaction of the high profile vampires when they realise people close to them have been subjected to this." Henry waved the disc again which reminded me he had been injured retrieving it.
"And that's where you got hurt?"
"Not exactly. The nest I was at includes a vampire on the fringes of the central group. We need proof of what is going on to bring in the AVL. I knew he would have a copy because he is known for enjoying the pain of others. The entire nest returned earlier than I expected. I could have gotten away without injury but I couldn't risk the disc not being there when I went back, so I had to stay long enough to get it this time, they had home-court advantage."
"And they had silver nails."
"In nail guns. Most effective as you saw. But I cannot deny they have the right to protect their nest. Most of them know nothing about what their nest-mate is involved in. My concern is not them, it is the group trying to incite a war." I couldn't believe he could wave off being shot with a nail-gun so easily.
On the other hand, preventing a human-vampire war was clearly the priority issue.
"So how are you stopping them?"
"Eric agreed to go in under-cover. He knew vampires were guiding the fellowship, and that any hint the true culprits were under suspicion would result in them disappearing before they could be caught. It had happened before, a different plot but the same group. That is why Eric, Pam and Bill were at the gallery. It is where the local fellowship leader works and the vampires access him there, glamouring him into thinking the ideas are his. Eric wanted to be spotted by the vampires while appearing to be investigating the humans. It gave him reason to poke around without them getting antsy. Pam and Bill were there in the background to observe the vampires.
"They need to prevent any more vampires being put to final death by the fellowship and distract the conspirators enough that they can be apprehended. Which is Eric's job. He is posing as a much younger vampire than he is. With his age, despite the mistreatment, he should be able to control himself when released. The plan was, he would rescue the fang-bangers thrown to him rather than killing them. It should confuse the fellowship and the vampires enough for the noose to tighten before they even realise it is there." Henry was explaining gently but I could tell something was up.
"So what's gone wrong?" I demanded. He wasn't telling me everything, I could tell. Henry looked like he didn't want to answer but I held his eyes and finally he went on.
"They somehow found out that Eric is much older, and consequently stronger, than they thought. Either the vampires got close enough to notice or the fellowship were able to discover it somehow. I do not think they know who he really is, or his true age, but they know enough to modify their plan accordingly. They are going to … Well, it doesn't matter Sandy, don't worry, we need to change our plans slightly that's all."
"They are planning to treat him worse, torture him more, to make sure he is out of control." I said much more calmly than I felt "and then what? Put even more fang-bangers in with him? Create a massacre?" Henry didn't want to meet my eye but after a moment he nodded and explained.
"Even if he escaped, the AVL would have to punish him once the footage got out. The second Eric hurts a human, he will be signing his own final death warrant, but he still won't be able to stop, not if he is starved enough." Henry looked worried. I thought hard.
I remembered Bill, I was sure that, if it had been possible, Bill would have not done what he'd done to me. He had stopped as soon as he'd realised, but it was too late, for us both. Though it was his betrayal, with Lorena and with the Queen, that had turned me so completely from Bill, the memory of that time in the trunk was still one of the worst I possessed. It was made more so by the fact that it was Bill who had done it. A man I knew, a man I had been intimate with, emotionally and physically. I could not let Eric be like that. With his age and strength he could do much more damage than Bill and I was sure that, unchained, he could escape the fellowship easily when they entered after he had fed on the fang-bangers. But mostly I just didn't want to think of Eric being like that. I had seen him cold and cruel, and I had seen him fiery and angry, but Eric was always in control. He hated loss of control even more than I did. I couldn't let someone take that from him, or take that aspect of him from me.
"Do you know where he is?"
"Yes, but we cannot get him out."
"What do you mean? They're torturing him." My voice may have been a little high.
"Sandy, Eric has survived a long time, and he has survived worse, he knew what he was signing up for, he volunteered for this."
"Why can't you go get him?"
"We have to take down the whole organisation, otherwise they will just move on and start again. Right now, they do not know how much we know, but if we go in for Eric they will and they will scatter, we may not find them again in time."
I rubbed my face and tried to think, I could see the sense of what he was saying, but the idea that Eric was being tortured while we sat doing nothing was unbearable.
"How long?"
"At least three more days."
"What? Three more days of torture? How long have they had him?"
"He was taken the night after we were here." Six days! They had been starving and torturing him for six days! How could I not have known this?
"Why haven't I felt it?" I hadn't taken the potion since the night Eric had been here. After he had touched me and the bond broke through the magic I didn't think it would work any longer so I hadn't bothered. At least that was the reason I'd told myself.
"I would guess that he is blocking the pain from you. But I do not know how much longer he will be able to do that. I'm so sorry Sandy. Are you able to still block the bond? As you did before? It would be better if..."
"I don't know, and I won't try." Stupid stubborn vampire, why would he do this? Was he trying to prove something? Well fine, but I wasn't blocking the bond. I knew I could push feelings through it to him, maybe I could help. At the very least he wouldn't be alone.
Henry looked shocked for a minute and then laughed.
"I can see why you two are drawn to each other, you are the same."
"What? No we're not. I'm nothing like Eric Northman, nothing at all."
"You are both powerful people who radiate strength and life. You are both protective and fiercely loyal, not to mention incredibly stubborn to the point of idiocy. From what Pam tells me your arguments are really something to see. And you are both more than willing to throw yourselves into danger without a second thought. Though he does it due to a well-earned arrogant belief in his own strength and survival, whereas you just seem to have no sense of self-preservation at all. He volunteered to be tortured and now you volunteer to share it with him." He laughed again.
"Humph" I didn't think he was right but I couldn't come up with a counter point just then. Though I would be having words with Pam later to find out what she had been saying.
"So what can we do to help him?" I asked to change the subject back to the issue at hand.
"The problem is, Eric was supposed to be able to maintain control when they set him loose. They are now planning to broadcast his attack live on the internet as it will be the biggest, involve the most victims. Then, if the AVL tries to say it is a one-off, they will produce the other footage as further evidence that this is the inherent nature of vampires. When Eric is released, if, instead of attacking, he protects the fang-bangers from the fellowship, they will be exposed. Plus the state of him will reveal the torture he has suffered. They are counting on his violence to overshadow his condition. When he is still and quiet the damage will be quite obvious. But, with the additional time and torture, we do not know now whether he will be able to stop from acting on his instincts. Vampires can easily be overwhelmed by their drives and it takes time and work to learn control, even a vampire as old and experienced as Eric will have a point beyond which he cannot hold back."
I was trying to sort it all out in my head.
"What about the other vampires, the ones that set it all up?"
"Pam and I have enough evidence to take to the AVL who will be able to deal with them, especially as we have a plan in place to contain them, but we cannot action it until the moment Eric is released. We know where they will be then, but they will not gather before that."
"So we need to find a way to help him maintain control, without the other vampires and the fellowship knowing we have done anything, so they will carry on with their plan?"
"Yes. But any vampires that go near the compound would risk becoming another victim."
I thought hard for a moment. A plan was occurring to me. A very bad plan. I needed more information to see if I could work it.
"Can you reach Bill?"
"Bill? The young vampire working for Eric?" It was weird to think of Bill as young, but it I supposed compared to Eric he was, and it seemed Henry too.
"Yes, I need to speak to him."
"Why?"
"Can you reach him or not?"
"Yes."
"Good, have him come here as soon as possible. I'm getting in the shower. There is more TrueBlood in the fridge. Help yourself." Henry was looking bemused, "And I'll need to know where they are holding Eric, the set up, the guards, everything." I said walking out to my bedroom and adjoining bathroom. Henry looked surprised that I was giving him orders but took his phone out of his pocket as I left muttering something that sounded like 'just like Eric'.
An hour later I was sat in the chair in my living room with Henry and Bill sat on the couch. They were both watching me curiously as I wrung my hands trying to decide if I was really thinking of doing what I was thinking. (I had stopped making sense even to myself) I had thought about asking Henry to leave for the conversation I was about to have, but with all the memories of Jackson being freshly awoken in my mind I found I didn't want to be alone with Bill.
"Sookie, you should not be involved in this, I am not even suppose to be speaking to you." Bill said. I blanched. Not suppose to speak to me? What, not ever? Bill seemed to read the look on my face because he rushed on.
"Until after the investigation, we were to stay away from you until it was safe. Eric does not want you in danger." I could tell it was hard for Bill to use Eric's name to make his plea and I appreciated how much he wanted to protect me. It made me feel even worse about what I was about to ask him.
"Bill, since when have I ever done what Eric wants?" I asked, earning a small smile from him and a snigger from Henry.
"Besides Henry has made it clear that none of you vampires can risk trying to get to Eric so that just leaves me. It's not like I haven't done this kind of thing before." Bill went very still when I said this, I had chosen my words with care, to both prepare him and persuade him to agree.
"Now, I need to ask you about something. I'm sorry to bring this up, I really am, and I don't do it to hurt you but I have to know."
I took a deep breath. "Do you remember much about Jackson?" Bill flinched at my question and Henry looked at him curiously.
"I remember." Bill said after a pause, he hadn't worked out where I was going with this yet.
"What about after I got you out, in the car trunk, do you remember that?" I wasn't talking about the fact that it had happened.
"Sookie, please." Bill looked mortified that I was bringing this up. I realised we'd never really talked about it, not properly.
"Bill, I don't blame you, really I don't, I know it wasn't your fault, that you weren't really yourself, but I have to know what you remember, about during, if anything, how you managed to stop before killing me and what I could have done, if anything, to … to have stopped you sooner or got through to you while you were in that state."
Henry was looking between us, I knew he was adding this conversation to my earlier comment about learning about vampire impulses the hard way. His eyes were narrowed and he glared at Bill. Bill however was drawing his own conclusions about where this was heading.
"No! Sookie, you can't!" In his anger his voice was loud, nearly yelling, he tried to make it more reasonable when he continued "It is too dangerous. You could not have stopped me, and you will not be able to stop him. I forbid you to do this. Besides, Eric would never allow it."
"You are in no position to allow or forbid me anything Bill Compton, and from what I can gather Eric isn't exactly in a position to have much say either, that's assuming he is even capable of speech at this point." Bill hadn't been.
Henry seemed to have caught up and was looking appalled with both of us.
"Sandy, please tell me you are not suggesting feeding yourself to a starved vampire who may … well … you should know, blood is not the only thing he will be … craving" he had struggled for the right words, his hand waving in a circle as he searched for an appropriate phrase. I never seen a vampire try to talk delicately about sex before, for some reason I giggled, though it really wasn't funny. Bill and Henry had identical expressions of exasperation and concern.
"Look, I think, if we do it right, I won't be in danger, it only needs to be enough to buy him more time, more control." I said soberly
"Sookie, this is a really bad idea." Henry said, and Bill nodded in agreement.
"No matter how angry he is with me right now, I believe he will be less inclined to hurt me than some random fang-banger. After all I'm a valuable asset right." Bill snorted and Henry frowned.
"Sandy, I don't think Eric is angry with you, at least not in the way you think, but he will certainly be angry with us if we allow this." Henry was attempting to maintain a reasonable tone.
"You are not just an asset Sookie" Bill said shaking his head
"I know that, it's the rest of you that seem to need reminding on a regular basis."
"Besides, I doubt Eric will be thinking along those lines at this point." added Henry after a moment.
"Oh please, Eric's nothing if not politically savvy."
"Not when it comes to you." Bill said quietly and Henry looked at him. I didn't want to explore that thought so I pushed on.
"And as my blood is so distinctive he should be able to recognise it's me, even if he is pretty out of it. Even starved and horny, Eric's still Eric right." Of course I remembered a time when Eric wasn't Eric at all and now so did he. No, not going there.
I looked from face to face, they looked dubious
"In fact hungry and horny is Eric pretty much all the time anyway, I imagine he will be much himself." I reflected with a half smile, trying to convince them and to lighten the heavy weight of their stares. They both frowned and I giggled again. I was starting to worry about my sanity. From the looks on their faces, so were Bill and Henry.
Suddenly, as if he felt my thoughts of him, Eric's control slipped and I felt the pain of his torture. It was only a faint backwash because of the amount of time since we had exchanged blood, but it was enough to let me know he was suffering a great deal. I tried not to let it show but the laughter died on my lips and my whole body went ridged. Bill and Henry were beside me in a flash
"Sookie, breathe, it's OK, just breath." Bill rubbed my back as Henry held my hand. Eric must have managed to block me again after a moment because the pain went and I took a deep shuddering breath. Tears ran down my cheeks but I ignored them. When I could speak I said
"I'm going to him. You two can either help me and just maybe it will work, or I'll do it without you and probably end up dead." I looked at them determinedly. They looked at each other for a long moment then both back at me and nodded.
Sorry, this chapter has quite a lot of info in a short space. Hopefully I have laid it all out clearly enough, but any questions just ask, some things I can make clearer as the story progresses, anything else I will happily clarify directly. Again, thanks for reading.