Chapter 7
After cleaning up the pizza calamity, I found myself thinking about Preston. That Christmas Eve night with Preston was nothing more than an elaborate farce orchestrated by Niall. I had connected the dots when I saw Niall and Preston together, but the emotional impact was just now hitting home. I had to force myself to stop thinking about that night, or I would become despondent. Both fairies were gone and that event was history. Besides, there was no ice cream in the freezer for a decent pity party.
I turned on some music and took a relaxing bath. My long thick hair was becoming a major hassle. But just for tonight, I curled the ends and left it down. Once dressed, I looked into the mirror and admired my new blouse. It was a rich indigo and purple color that showed just the right amount of cleavage. The color looked good on me and matched the dark purple chandelier earrings that Amelia had given me. I was pleased at the image staring back at me. She was way past cute and definitely sexy.
Ready to go, I sat outside on the porch swing and waited for the sun to set. A mental itch told me that Junior wanted my attention. He was sitting next to my feet staring up at me. "Junior, you can either go with me to spend the night at Eric's house, or you can take your chances with the pixies. It's up to you." He looked up at me, and I knew he was going to remain behind. "Fine. Stay here and earn your keep; weed the flowerbed, or paint my bedroom."
As I rocked in the porch swing, Junior crawled into my lap. He had decided to earn his keep by allowing me to adore him. I stroked him and thought about the last couple of days. Did Niall knowingly set me up as bait to catch Dermot? Would he do such a thing? Sadness kept trying to alter my good mood.
The sun was setting when I felt Eric wake up. His life force seemed to be pumping in double time. This was the first time I had felt his existence pounding away within the bond, since I came back through the fairy door. Being in danger, worried, or exhausted has a way of distracting a person. He was angry and didn't bother to dampen it, so I felt it all the way from Shreveport. Yep, this is what I meant when I told Amelia he could be overwhelming. His text messages started hitting my phone. I texted back that I was fine, and to please put a lid on the bond. I felt the agitation calm down to a low simmer.
He had gotten my voice mail, and he would be on his way to pick me up once the sun set. I texted back that I had my bags packed, and I could easily drive to Shreveport. He insisted that I wait for him to pick me up. I knew he was in one of those moods, and he wanted to check out the place personally. He learns more with his nose than I could ever tell him. Exactly 40 minutes after the sun had completely set, I heard Eric's Corvette driving up the gravel driveway.
Eric stepped out of his car and lifted his head to smell the air. I watched as he did his Road Runner trick, disappearing and reappearing in various locations. He was standing on my porch just moments later. Eric looked concerned as he reported that there had been a fairy on site whom he did not recognize and other supernatural creatures whom he could not identify at all.
I gave him a sassy smile and tried to be cool and flippant when I told him, "The unknown fairy works for Niall. Do the supe-creatures smell like pixies? Cause, an entire clan of little dudes came back with me from the Fae world, and they're crashing with me. Did ya miss me, Sweetie?"
Eric glared at me and his eyes narrowed. "Sookie, while you were gone, I was doing my best to find you without going on a full blown rampage. I knew you were alive, but could not feel or locate you. The only thing that remains of Claude's business and house is rubble. Pam was also very busy glamouring and 'convincing' certain individuals that pressing charges against me was not in their best interests. She has also been placating vampires as well as human officials. Fangtasia is now a major sponsor of Shreveport's next Mardi Gras, and I owe De Castro a favor."
"Oh Eric, I'm.." He cut me off. "No need to apologize. Sookie, you are a wonderful and exasperating woman who rarely listens to me." He clenched his fists and continued. "I have a strange and protective feeling that almost overwhelms me at times. I want to take you home and lock you up to keep you out of trouble. I should…" He stopped his rant abruptly. I suspected he had a lot more to say, but thought better of it. Instead, he quickly covered by saying, "You can tell me all about what happened, on the way back to Shreveport."
I knew what he said was only the tip of the iceberg. He had been very upset and had been literally beating down doors and people looking for me. An irate and frustrated vampire sheriff can create a lot of unhappy folks. My flippant manner was poor timing. He may love me, but he was still a very old and very male vampire.
I locked my front door, as he grabbed my garment bag and suitcase. We turned towards the porch steps, and Grinslade and three other male pixies immediately stopped us. They were standing on the porch railing with spears and shields in their hands, looking as menacing as their tiny five inches would allow.
I noticed immediately that they were no longer dressed in grass skirts. They appeared to be clothed in some sort of light blue floral-patterned breeches and kilts. The fabric's pattern reminded me of some gardening gloves located in the storage shed. The leaf vests were gone; they now sported newspaper ponchos. Grinslade had opted for the more colorful festive look of the Sunday comics while his companions had selected the subdued patterns of the obituaries.
Grinslade glared at Eric while he said to me. "Is this treacherous vampire threatening you? Shall we free you of his dead carcass?"
I looked up at Eric. His eyes were wide, staring at the tiny menace. Ignoring the insult, I responded by plastering a big fake smile on my face. "Grinslade, you're mistaken. This is Eric Northman, my boyfriend. He wasn't threatening me. Eric this is Grinslade. Grinslade and his companions refer to their kind as the 'True People of the Trees'. They are part of the Ironwood Clan."
They regarded each other and Eric coolly said, "So, you must be the pixies I smelled while inspecting the grounds." My fake smile vanished. Oh dear, he dropped the P-bomb.
Grinslade and his companions readied their spears. I could hear rustling and scurrying in the nearby shrubs and on the roof of the house. The pixies had surrounded us. Grinslade scowled and kept an eye on Eric while saying. "Sookie, you are part of the living. Your great-grandfather is King of the High Fae. You dishonor yourself and your family with this abomination. You should…"
I quickly cut him off and wagged a finger at him. "That's enough! My life is none of your business, and you will be courteous to my friends. Living on my land does not give you the right to judge me or the company I keep."
Grinslade shook his head in wonder. "Aye! A Dead-Walker is the lover of Bloody Brigant's great-granddaughter." He spat on the porch railing. "You must be one special vampire for Ole-Bloody to not destroy you, most Fae would have."
Eric had enough. He stepped forward and fully fanged said in a calm and deadly manner, "Shoo, little pixie, or I will have you as a snack drink."
In a puff of air, all four pixies disappeared.
I gave Eric a stony look. "My, that went well! Come on, let's get out of here before you have to fight the entire clan." Eric let out a good laugh. A pixie threatening him was just too much. He said Pam would never believe a five-inch tall pixie threatened him. He laughed all the way to his Corvette.
To start off with, the car's tires were flat and the convertible top was slashed. Eric snarled something in another language and was inside his car in a flash. The red custom leather upholstery had large squares cut out of it, and the interior smelled like a latrine. There were little dirty footprints all over the car.
I put my hands over my eyes, and I felt silent laughter shaking my body. This was just too much. The pixies got Eric right where it would smart: in his big, red phallic symbol.
Eric turned the key in the engine, and the motor made a weak grr-grr sound before going silent. He snarled and literally flew out of the car and opened the hood. He took one look at the motor, and he slammed the hood shut.
Without a word, we walked to my car. He put his hand out, and I gave him my car keys. We got into my car, and he cranked the ignition but there was only a clicking sound. I shook my head. Yep, Murphy's Law was the only law obeyed around here.
Eric was letting his anger slip through the bond, making my head start to throb. He whipped out his cell phone and told Pam to send a tow truck for two cars. He also instructed her to pick us up immediately. Before he hung up, he cautioned her to be ready for a possible fight. I could hear her yell, "Yes!" on the other end. He walked back to his car and pulled out a large knife from under his seat. He popped the trunk and pulled out a sword. My heart jumped, "Eric, you can't use those on the pixies."
He coolly replied, "I doubt a pixie would allow me to get close enough to use my sword on him. I am removing these weapons before the tow truck arrives just as a precaution." Eric's precaution was contagious. I went back into my house and gathered up my iron trowel and my squirt guns full of lemon juice. We sat together facing the woods in a couple of lawn chairs. I thought about going back inside to get my shotgun when the thought occurred to me, why was Eric so tense? Are we waiting for Pam, a pixie attack, or for something much worse to happen? The fairy door was still open, and Eric seemed to be expecting something to happen.
The moon was rising, and the night was very bright. Eric stopped checking his messages and looked up at the moon. He shifted his chair closer to mine, and he wrapped his arm around me. I felt his cool body against my warm one and smelled his dry scent. Eric leaned over and kissed the top of my head and said quietly, "I can fly us out of here if need be. Maybe we are meant to be here when the door closes. While we wait for Pam, tell me of your last few days and how you came to be a landlord for a clan of misbegotten pixies."
I told him about my misadventures in fairyland and tried to keep the story simple and factual. When I told him about my last conversation with Niall, I felt Eric's anger spike even through a constricted bond. He asked questions about how my presence would disrupt the Fae political world, but I couldn't answer. It all seemed like a cockamamie scenario to me, and Dermot didn't share any details or background with me. Why Claude got involved was beyond me. But Claude seemed different since Claudine died. I feared him.
Eric asked no further questions about Claude's involvement, once he learned that Claude had probably exiled himself in the human world. Quiet is rarely a good thing with Eric. I didn't bother to ask Eric to not seek retribution. I knew to save my breath. Claude was always in it for Claude, and I meant nothing to him. Once Claudine was gone, I was less than nothing. It figures.
I told Eric about the pixies assisting me, so they may live on my land. He lifted his eyebrows upon hearing that. He had never seen a pixie before tonight but had heard of them in the old world. All he knew of them was their reputation for causing trouble, and their intense distrust of outsiders. Pixies were not known for helping anyone.
In Eric's opinion, Niall used me as bait to catch Dermot and others. He sneered when I told him Niall left Junior with me as a precaution. I decided not to remind him that he sent addled Bubba to protect me, though I was in overt danger from the Fae. He didn't agree with my decision to stop Niall from returning the pixies back to their world.
I tried to shake off Eric's annoyance. I looked up at the moon and said quietly but firmly, "A deal is a deal, Eric. I would have burned to death in that grass hut if not for the pixies. They were being pushed to the fringes of their world and slowly exterminated. Here, they might be able to live in relative freedom."
Eric looked at me and broke into a smile showing just a bit of fang. "Sookie, that is one of your most endearing and infuriating qualities. Only you can see pixies as equal beings who are down-trodden, suffering creatures. You tend to see supernatural beings as good people who are simply misunderstood. Pixies are nothing more than little demons of the fairy world, and they will probably get you killed."
"You're wrong Eric. I'm not that naïve. You can't grow up listening to people's minds and believe anyone is good. But I prefer not to condemn anyone without a cause. Besides, what you're saying to me was exactly what people told me when I first started associating with vampires, and they still do. You're likely to get me killed."
Eric's frown melted. Sadness flickered in his eyes, and he gave me a look I can only describe as loving. "Touché, Lover." He kissed my hand, wrapped his arm around me, and murmured in my ear. "Yes, I did miss you terribly."
I wasn't able to respond because Junior came streaking towards us, as though something was after him. He ran under the house. That was not a good sign. I mentally reached out to him and smelled dog. A dog had surprised him. I reached out but only felt the minds of pixies. They seemed to be buzzing more intensely. I stared hard at the woods but couldn't see anything. Eric stood and motioned for me to go into the house. I walked quietly inside and grabbed my shotgun, loaded it, and rejoined Eric. Eric rose up about 20 feet into the air and slowly landed.
He whispered, "Something is moving through the woods."
"Is it a werewolf or a shape shifter?" He shook his head no.
The air seemed heavy with tension. I exhaled, not realizing that I was holding my breath. There were no sounds in the night. The night creatures also seemed to be holding their breaths too.
Then all hell broke loose. There was a high-pitched squealing followed by high-pitched shrieks and whistles. There was something crashing through the underbrush. The treetops shook, and the high pitched whistles were followed by deep growls and snarls.
I ran towards the racket with my shotgun cradled in my arm. Eric appeared in front of me, and barked at me to go back to the house, before he disappeared. I ignored him and continued running until I reached the trees. The whistles had stopped and were replaced by high-pitched trilling and squeaking noises. Slowly and carefully, I picked my way through the woods towards the sounds. I didn't want to trip and break my neck in the dark.
There was a light off in the distance. I headed towards it. I heard a cracking noise, followed by deep grunts and hysterical squeaks. Stumbling forward, I came to a small clearing. From a large Oak tree limb, something or someone was swinging.
