Another night, and Fangtasia remained unopened. Eric didn't know why he was surprised, after what happened with the Magister being beheaded in his basement by a mad vampire who for all intents and purposes was dead, a speedy reopening was not high on his list of things to expect for Christmas. After three months of being closed, Eric had little hope that Fangtasia would recover financially, as Pam constantly reminded him, and Eric only hoped the Authority would close the case before it was too late for his only source of income. He didn't like it so quiet at the bar; he needed customers, dancers, music, drinking, only with that did he find his office a reprieve, not another empty room.
He'd now seen Sookie twice since her return. His walk through the cemetery was truly a coincidence; of late he often found himself thinking about her, wondering where she'd gone to, whether she was in trouble like Bill and her family seemed to think she was. Eric's thoughts of her were not so bleak; he knew that if she were in trouble he would feel it, and if she needed him he would be there. He also saw how broken she had become the night she learned the truth of Bill, and he recognised in himself feelings of remorse and concern for her, feelings he couldn't help but ponder on. He now knew she was of the Fae, his attraction to her now had a logical reason; many an attractive human had passed him since he turned vampire, but none tempted him so much as Sookie Stackhouse. None tantalised every sense in him, none made him quiver at the touch of her, none made him want her so badly he felt her around him at every turn. Her disappearance, although a mystery, was not the catastrophe it seemed to be for Bill. Oh, he knew that Bill went on a cross-country rampage to find her, and there were times when Eric felt like he should be out doing the same, but Sookie was a free spirit, he recognised that in her. No matter how many times she told him she was Bill's, he knew it felt foreign on her tongue to admit belonging to someone, he knew that she had thought about him, dreamed about him, which is what kept him moving closer to her; tempting her the way she tempted him, until she gave in.
And she did, perhaps reluctantly at first, but she had the same heat for him that he felt for her. Her kiss proved exactly what he had predicted; she had fire within her, and when they kissed, he bore down and felt the flame within her trying to burn through her skin. The difference between him and Bill – on a long list of things – was that Bill wanted to bottle the flame, whereas he wanted to see it flicker freely in the wind. Sookie may not know it about herself, but she was not to be owned, and he respected that. He would give anything for Sookie to confide in him, to trust him, but he knew Sookie was as delicate as she was fierce, and she would not be forced into anything she didn't decide for herself. It was her stubbornness that both frustrated and fascinated him; despite all odds and danger, she still did the stupid thing just because she wanted to.
"So how long do you think you'll be gone?" Pam enquired, stepping into his office as he packed the last few items into his shoulder bag.
"As long as it takes." Eric replied cryptically. In truth, he didn't know how long he was going for, nor really any of the details as to why he was going; all he knew was that he owed a debt to a vampire from a long time ago and now he was calling it in to be repaid. A day flight had been booked for him courtesy of his employer, he was expected to leave just before dawn broke, several hours after he had seen Sookie. He was going to ask her to go with him; her presence hadn't been mandatory or even requested, but Eric enjoyed her company and truth be told, her gifts were invaluable when stepping into an unknown situation blindly, as he was doing now.
"Are you at least taking your phone?" Pam asked, if Eric didn't know any better, he would think she was nervous for his departure.
He looked her in the eyes. "Don't get too attached to me, Pam, you know it's your coldness I cherish the most."
"Don't get soft on me, Eric, I'm just trying to figure out how long I have before I have to come back to this hellhole. I'm planning a small vacation for myself." Pam smiled, self-satisfied.
Eric smiled fondly at her. "I'll call you when I'm back."
He left his office, followed by Pam, and walked onto the club floor, absent-mindedly instructing Pam what to do and what not to do while he was gone, feeling rather than seeing the roll of her eyes. Eric stopped in front of her, his exit blocked by a familiar figure.
"And here I was hoping that you wouldn't darken my door again." Eric stated flatly. Bill Compton stood in front of the exit, his fangs bared and his stance challenging.
"Where is Sookie?" Bill growled.
"Pam, be a dear and prepare the basement for Mr. Compton." Eric said dryly, Pan immediately nodded and clickity-clacked her heels downstairs, leaving the two male vampires standing off in the room.
"I won't ask you again." Bill warned.
"I don't think she wants to see you." Eric smiled tauntingly. "In fact I don't think she even enquired after you."
"So you've seen her." Bill said it as more statement than question.
"Twice, actually, and she looks..." Eric bit his lip, and looked back to an increasingly baited Bill. "Delicious."
Bill was more instinct than reason, which is why Eric knew that his last taunt would provoke him into an impromptu attack; one that failed as quickly as it had begun, with Bill being thrown behind Eric and free from the door. Bill turned and growled at him, and Eric flashed his fangs in fair warning. "You will not keep me from her." Bill said, the threat implied in his tone.
"That is not my role to take." Eric replied. "I think we both know Miss Stackhouse well enough to know that no one can make her do what she doesn't want to do, and she most definitely does not want to see you."
"Do not speak of Sookie in such a formal manner, Eric, you do not know her." Bill's voice deepened, his anger bubbling to the surface. "You will tell me where she went, and you will tell me now."
Eric looked away impatiently. "I will tell you nothing, Bill, lest you forget I am still older and stronger than you and I am still your sheriff."
"Without the magister there is no one to enforce those titles anymore." Bill smiled, glaring at him.
"And yet I could still inflict the true death on you without a second thought." Eric promised him. "Do not be mistaken into thinking you stand a chance against me, Bill."
"And if you knew Sookie like you think you do, you would know that no matter where we stood, she would not forgive you if you ended me." Bill smiled.
"I think you overestimate her feelings towards you." Eric smiled. "It may seem like much time has passed since she found out about your betrayal – "
"Which you inflicted on her!" Bill reminded him, his rage barely contained.
Eric raised his eyebrows matter-of-factly. "Though it was still your betrayal. Like I said, the time may have passed slowly for you, but I assure you, time has not healed this wound for her. She still despises you as much as the night she told you so herself."
"Whatever business Sookie and I have to discuss does not require your comment." Bill snarled. "So, I ask you again, where is Sookie?"
"And again, I have no answer for you. Whatever her plans were, she did not share them with me." Eric answered truthfully, adjusting the bag on his side.
"I know she is with the wolf, Eric, is he not yours? Does he not do your bidding?" Bill asked the questions, though he sought no answer.
"As you were witness to the night you tried to drown me in concrete, I released him from his binds to me; we have had no contact since that day." Eric said, getting bored of the situation.
"If that is true, then you won't mind my asking where you are going? It strikes me as odd that the day she comes back and leaves again is the day you decide to plan a weekend away." Bill smiled knowingly.
"A happy coincidence, I assure you." Eric smiled and shrugged. He looked to his watch, and realised that dawn was quickly approaching. "Now, if you would excuse me." Eric turned to leave Bill standing in his club.
Upon facing the door, he felt Bill move swiftly around him once again blocking his way out. As he landed in front of him, teeth bared, Eric felt no more patience for Bill's incessant love-sickness, and rushed at him, pushing him to the wall and holding him up against it. His teeth bared, his eyes locked in with Bills, he growled, "I have tolerated you longer than I feel the need to, and bare this in mind, all that has been holding me back is Sookie's affection for you. Now that her feelings for you are waning, know that I will have no hesitation in ending you." Eric held him coarsely against the wall, pinning him tighter and tighter, feeling the heat of anger flush through his body. "Do not cross me."
"Mark my words, Eric, I will find her." Bill swore. "And you cannot stop me from that."
Reluctantly, Eric let him down, his warning stare constant and unflinching. Bill may have been young in his estimation, but he wasn't stupid. Bill knew his odds against Eric, he wouldn't try anything if they weren't in his favour. Pam's shoes chinking across the floor indicated her arrival, "Your ride is here."
"Wonderful." Eric said, a lightness to his voice in recognition that the altercation, in his estimation, was over. And with a final glance to Bill, Eric walked out of Fangtasia and into the limo he was promised; a long trip awaited him, and putting his discussion with Bill over Sookie out of his mind, but he secretly longed to see the coasts of his home country, a luxury he hadn't enjoyed in centuries. Onward: to Scandinavia.