Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am simply taking these characters out to play.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing. I am ecstatic at the response to this story! I hope I can continue to keep you entertained. Big Viking Hugs and kisses to you all! Enjoy!
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Chapter Seven
I woke about an hour before dark. It was common for a Vampire as old as I to wake early, the older we Vampires become the earlier we rise. I rolled over in my bed and reached for my cell which was laying on the bedside table. I figured I would check my messages before I got in the shower to start my night when I spotted the picture of Sookie. I stared at it for a moment, wishing to myself that I could wake to that smile. 'I could ravish her every night when I rose. What a way to start the night!' The thought was more than appealing, but I shook myself out of my reverie and checked my messages.
The first message was from Dante. It was left a few minutes before dawn. "Sheriff, we need to speak. Please contact me when you rise." That sounded promising. 'Maybe he has identified the Vampire that had been in Sookie's woods.'
The second message was from Bobby. "Master, all the tasks you assigned were completed. If there is anything else, let me know. Have an enjoyable evening." 'Good.'
After listening to my messages I decided to get ready for the evening. I was staying at my home on the outskirts of Shreveport. It was a modest place, one that only my child and I knew about. It happened to be one of my favorites. It was the most suited to my style, out of all the properties I owned. It was a traditional ranch style brick home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has a kitchen, formal dining room, laundry room, and a large great room, all with vaulted ceilings. The main floor was decorated in a transitional style, neutral colors, with clean lines. Beige walls with white floor molding throughout. The furniture was large and in dark woods with light fabrics and accented with soft blues. I had glamored an interior designer, after I had her decorate and dress the home as if a human lived here, so it had all the common appliances and accessories that a human might need. I have had the property since before the great reveal.
But it wasn't the upstairs of this home, although it was nice, that made this my favorite resting place. It was the fully furnished basement that ran the entire length of the home, that I had converted into my daytime resting place, that made it my primary choice. I had the basement retrofitted to be as safe as a bomb shelter and as secure as a bank vault. It had its own ventilation system and ran on a power source separate from the main house. There were two entrances into my resting place, one behind hidden panel in the garage and another in the master bedroom's walk in closet. Both needed a nine digit code and a fingerprint scan to gain access.
The downstairs had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library with an office, and a living room. There was no kitchen but there was a bar in the living room which had a small refrigerator, microwave, and was stocked with True Blood, Royalty blend, and a few other types of synthetic blood. The design style downstairs was more traditional style with an eclectic variety of furniture from different time periods, along with new pieces that complemented the old. I enjoy rich colors since my world is often so dark, so the jewel toned fabrics and accessories gave it just the right amount of color. The place was the epitome of comfort and safety.
I took a quick shower and got dressed for the evening. I decided to wear a pair of black jeans, a red button up shirt, and my boots. I pulled my hair back and tied it at the nape of my neck with a leather band. Tonight I would be handling my Sheriff duties, which I was hoping to finish quickly so I could free up the rest of my night. I grabbed the picture of Sookie and stuck it in my pocket along with my cell (I wanted to have Bobby make me a duplicate so I could return it to Sookie before she noticed it was gone) and then I was on my way.
It was barely eight o'clock when I arrived, my home was only about fifteen minutes from the bar, so I was walking through the back door to Fangtasia in no time. Pam was already in my office when I came in, sitting at my desk arranging the paperwork that was needed for tonight. She was already dressed for her evening out on the floor, tight leather pants with a red and black corset, and topped off with thigh high boots. She looked like a sexy dominatrix.
"What's on the docket for tonight. " I asked as I strode into my office. Pam got up quickly and made her way to the other side of my desk. I sat in her previous spot and began to look over what she was working on.
"It is pretty light tonight. You have two Vampires looking for approval to move to the area. You need to mediate a dispute between two children whose maker met his final death. They are fighting over the estate. Oh and you have a visitor." Pam said and I raised my head to look at her. She had a gleam in her eye. 'Who is this visitor?'
I raised my eyebrows in query. "He wants it to be a surprise." Pam responded sounding amused. I was surprised she didn't clap her hands and jump up and down from the way she was feeling through our bond. 'Who could have Pam in such a tizzy?'
"Fine send in this visitor." I said, irritated. I do not appreciate surprises. Pam left to retrieve the mystery visitor, I took the picture of Sookie out of my pocket and stuck it in the top drawer in my desk, that way it was there for Bobby to make a duplicate copy. Then I looked over the applications from the two Vampires who wanted to settle in my area. A minute or so later a large barrel of a man stepped through the doorway, he was about six feet tall, and was wearing a long black hooded cape. 'Some Vampires tend to be so dramatic.' The hood on the cape kept me from being able to identify this mystery visitor.
"Sheriff." A familiar voice said and he threw off his hooded cape. I recognized him immediately from his long black hair, steel gray eyes, to the long scar the ran in a straight line from his eyebrow down to his cheek. It had been over a hundred and fifty years since I had seen him last.
"Nikolai!" I said rising from my chair and holding out my hand to him. Vampires do not normally greet each other in this way, but Nikolai and I are brothers in blood and battle. It is our way to show each other respect. Nikolai reached out to me and we gripped each others forearms, using our other hand to pat each others back. We pulled away, and I took a step back, taking in his pressed blue jeans, white tee shirt, and black leather jacket and I said, "It has been over a hundred years brother, what brings you to my little piece of Louisiana? Last I heard you were rogue, traveling in Europe." I was truly pleased to see him. He was one of the few Vampires I admired and trusted. I walked back to my desk and took a seat. Nikolai followed and choose a chair in front of my desk. He put his feet up on my desk and leaned back in a relaxed position. Nikolai was not one for formalities.
"You know me." He said nonchalantly, "I do not like owing fealty to unworthy bureaucrats." Nikolai is only about two hundred years my senior, but his careless attitude would have you believe he is much younger. "I grew tired of Europe and decided to look up my little brother. I see things are going well for you. I am surprised you are merely a Sheriff, brother. I would have thought you would be King by now," Nikolai teased, a huge grin spread across his face. He knew I took a similar stance as he to the issues of politics.
"Like you, I have no desire to be a King. I am completely content with being a Sheriff. I run my area with little interference from the Queen. I enjoy the freedoms it awards me," I said grinning back.
"Yes I have heard about your Queen. I hear she is only into only women now. Too bad, I have heard she is lovely," Nikolai said and I laughed. He was as good looking as I and had taught me much about the art of seducing women. There were few that ever resisted him.
"You mean there is a woman you have yet to sleep with?" I chortled.
"Maybe not in Europe, but here there are so many I have yet to taste." He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"So besides women, what brings you here? I am sure it is not your need to see me. No trouble I hope." Nikolai had a habit of getting into trouble. When he walked into a room most women seemed to forget their companions and this got him into more than one sticky situation. But, he always seemed to enjoy fighting their companions. Ever heard of the legend of Don Juan? Well who do you think that legend is based on?
"No, no trouble. I have grown tired of traveling. I was hoping you would have it in your heart to let your big brother stay with you for a while." He placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head to me.
"Oh please, Nikolai, I find it hard to believe there is no trouble," I said sarcastically. 'He must be in real trouble if he is hiding out in Louisiana.'
"Well, maybe a little." Nikolai said innocently, then his expression turned sheepish. "I may have had just a taste of the King of France's personal concubines."
"A taste?" I laughed. It was so like him. "Just how many of them did you have a taste?" I asked, knowing full well that he always severely downplayed a situation.
"Um...all of them!" Nikolai crowed merrily, throwing his head back and laughing.
"One of these days brother, your actions are going to catch up with you. Is he after you?" I wanted to know if I could expect an angry King to come knocking at my door.
"No, he will not follow me here, but it may be a while before I can return to Europe," he sighed.
"Then, I look forward to having you here. What are your plans?" I hoped he did not plan on staying with me for long. Although I enjoy my brothers company, I like my privacy and if I planned on having Sookie over, I did not want Nikolai anywhere near her. I would have to explain that she was mine and although he may disrespect others, he has never done so to me. I would be cautious either way.
"I will be looking for some property in the area. I will need a place to stay until I find something." He said offhandedly.
"You can stay with me of course." I offered. How could I have not?
"I appreciate that, but actually, I was planning on staying with your Pamela, since she has so graciously invited me." Nikolai said, and as if she had heard her name (I was positive that she had been eavesdropping), she strode into my office.
"Eric, the two Vampires with the dispute are here," Pam said, not looking at me, since she was busy giving Nikolai an eye fuck. She was practically drooling over him and she usually preferred women. She met Nikolai only once and she has had a crush ever since. Nikolai had not slept with her, but not for a lack of her trying. He knew I would not approve, she was so young and freshly turned, and so he refrained. It made Pam crazy, since he flirted with her but never closed the deal. This time, I would not object, if that is what she wants. She is old enough and wise enough to make her own decisions.
"Pamela," Nikolai purred, "tell your Maker how you invited me to stay with you."
"Of course! Eric, I told Nikolai that I would be happy to have him stay with me while he finds something more permanent." She swooned for fucks sakes. "You are staying for a while aren't you, Nikolai?"
"Ah, I guess we shall see. You know sometimes I must go where the wind blows me, but I think I will stick around for a little while. As long as your Maker will have me."
"Of course he will." Pam turned to me and gave me the stink eye. "Right, Eric?"
"Yes, yes. I have already agreed," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Good! Now that it is settled," Pam said, "I can take Nikolai out to the bar and keep him entertained, so you can handle your business."
I turned to Nikolai. "Is that suitable, Brother? I have just a few things I need to get done, then we can catch up."
"Sounds fine, Eric. I am sure your delightful child will keep me entertained." Nikolai stood and winked at Pam. She grinned like a fool when he took her arm to lead her out of the room.
"Pam," I called before they were out the door, "Give me ten minutes, then send in the first appointment."
"Will do," she called over her shoulder and the two of them left, shutting the door behind them.
I knew I needed to call Dante so I pulled out my cell and gave him a call.
"Yeah?" Dante answered, sounding completely bored.
"Dante, you left me a message and asked me to call. What is it?" I asked shortly.
"Sheriff, I tracked the scent to a place just up the hill from Sookie's. I could enter the house so no human lives there, but the scent of vampire in the house is at least a week old. Whoever it is that has been out in Sookie's woods, I would say, is definitely a tracker." Dante said, matter-of-factly.
"What leads you to believe it is a tracker?" I was more than a little concerned as to what a tracker would be doing in Sookie's woods.
"It was the way the woods were scented and the trails left. It was too well covered not to be a tracker. A less experienced tracker would have missed it." Dante said, giving himself a pat on the back.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes, one other thing...I smelled Fairy in her woods. It was a weak scent, but it was there."
"The Fae? How old was the scent?" I knew of several Fae in the area, but had no idea what they were doing in Sookie's woods. It was possible that it was totally unrelated to Sookie. The vampire could have been hunting a Fae and that could be why they were both there. As to the reason why the Fae was there, in the first place I was not sure. The Fae can be unpredictable, but some have an affinity to woods, so they could have been simply passing through. 'I will need to keep an eye on that.'
"The Fae scent was a little older than than the Vampire scent, by a week or so.
"Fine, keep this to yourself. I want you to make a pass in her woods every night for the next couple of weeks. We can reassess then. If you come across the scents again let me know. I want to make sure nothing is going on that I should be aware of. If you happen to come across either of them, detain them. DO NOT drain the Fairy. You do have enough self control to keep them alive, correct?" Some Vampires no matter how old, have a problem being around the Fae.
"I have no problem controlling myself around the Fae. I will contact you if and when I come across something." Dante said a bit indignantly.
"Make sure you do." I said and hung up. There was nothing much that could have been done right then, as the tracks were too old.
I went on to the meeting with the children of the finally dead Vampire. Their maker met the sun but did not bother to leave any type of will. After much arguing, I threatened to take the whole estate and give it to the Queen. It was not long after that, they came to an agreement. With that completed, I went out into the bar. My child was at the door and Nikolai was in my booth. He was surrounded by fang-bangers. I walked over and as Nikolai saw me he said, "Ladies! Please excuse us for a moment. I need to speak with the Viking." shoeing off the gaggle of women. They made a collective "Awe..." in disappointment, before they spread out in the bar. I chuckled to myself and took a seat.
"I see you are fitting right in. I think you could sit on my throne and enthrall the vermin, then I would have my nights free," I teased.
"I think I will leave the enthralling to you. These would not be my first choice in women. Speaking of which, not that your club is not quaint, but I prefer my women a little less goth. What do you say to the two of us going out? It has been a long time brother! Remember what fun we used to have?" Nikolai asked. How could I forget the last time we went out. We were nearly hunted down to our final death, after taking the blood and virginity of the local minister's daughters. They called us devils and gave chase.
"There is a new club that just opened called Mystical. I have been meaning to check it out. We can go there tonight when I finish with the new residents," I offered. I was not offended. Fantasia is more like fast food to Vampires and a tourist attraction for humans. Don't get me wrong. I loved my bar. I have thoroughly enjoyed having blood on tap and an endless selection of new bodies to fuck. It was easy, too bad that I was growing tired of what was simply "easy".
"Sounds like a plan. Do you have someplace for me to change? I do not think jeans and a tee shirt are club attire?" Nikolai asked, but it sounded more like a statement.
"Why don't you use my office. I can have my meeting out here."
"Wonderful." Nikolai said and then called to my child, "Pamela dear, would you please get my bag from the car?" Pam moved like her ass was on fire and Nikolai strode back to my office.
I met with the two sucklings and was ready to leave, not fifteen minutes later. Nikolai had yet to come out of my office so I went back to see what was taking so long.
I threw open my office door and Nikolai was preening while he looked at himself in the full length mirror that I had mounted on the back of my closet door. He had changed to a pair of black dress pants and a teal colored silk shirt. "You're worse than a woman," I snickered.
"Don't be so jealous, Brother. You can only wish you had this face and this body," Nikolai ribbed and moved over to my desk. I went over to my closet and let my hair down and ran a brush through it. I didn't need to change. "Oh, I meant to ask you. Do you have a day person? I need a couple of items." Nikolai asked.
"Yes. I have a day man Bobby. He can obtain anything you need. There is some paper in my top drawer. If you make a list, I will make sure he purchases anything you need," I said, while I put on some cologne.
"Eric, who's the knockout?" Nikolai asked, and when I looked up he was holding up the picture of Sookie. 'Shit!'
"No one. Just one of the patrons," I said hoping to brush him off. I walked over to take the photo from his hand but he moved from my desk at top speed to attempt to keep it out of my reach.
"You keep photos of your patrons in your desk? Please Eric." Nikolai said sarcastically while he smirked at me. 'Asshole.' "If she is "no one", please introduce me. I would love to get my fangs into something that sweet."
I growled and pulled the picture from his hand. His amusement was grating on me. "She is mine. You will not touch her." I hissed venomously, towering over him. I wanted to avoid this, but his comment about getting his fangs into MY Sookie pushed me too far. I may have slightly over reacted.
"Woe Brother, I only jest." Nikolai said holding his hands up in surrender. I backed off, regaining my calm. "Could it be that the my little brother has developed an interest in a woman for more than just blood and sex? I never thought I would see the night that happened. Are you in love with her?"
I was taken aback. 'I certainly liked being around Sookie. Having sex with her was marvelous. I was concerned about her. But love? I am not sure I even know what that is.' "Love? I know nothing of love. I simply have an interest in her. I have not known her long, but she is unique." I said trying to defend my actions.
"There is no reason to be ashamed. She is quite lovely. I can see why you have an interest."
"I am not ashamed." I said pointedly. "She is more than just beautiful. She has an innocence and kindness too her. She is brave and cunning." I said with an involuntary smile.
"You sound like a man in love my friend," Nikolai said plainly.
"What do you know of love Nikolai. When have you ever been in love?" I found it hard to believe Nikolai would know anything about love, the way he goes through women, supernatural and human alike. Just because I was aware that Sookie was more interesting than most humans, or even supernaturals, did not mean I was in love.
"That is a story for another time, Brother." He said moving over to the door. Then effectively put an end to the subject, "If I pledge not to bed your little beauty, can we go on and enjoy our night?"
"Yes." I said. I was curious about his comment but I wanted to move off the topic more than hearing his story. I did not want to discuss Sookie.
"Good! You have it then. Let's go." Nikolai said and slapped me on the back as I passed him out the door.
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I was relieved the awkwardness of the earlier conversation was gone by the time we got to the club. Mystical turned out to be more interesting then some of the clubs I have seen over the years; bright strobeing lights, music that is way to loud for conversation, and a packed dance floor were the norm, but this was like walking into a forest grove indoors. Live trees and flowers lined the walls and the floor was made of real grass. The tables and the bar, which sat in the far left corner of the room, were made of natural wood with tree stumps for chairs. The bartenders and the waitresses were dressed as fairies, nymphs, and pixies. Not the real ones of course, but the human interpretation of them. Where the dance floor was, a mist seemed to cover the floor and the area above it was erupting in flashes of colored sparkles, as if fireworks were going off. The music was a form of techno, but it seemed altered some, the beat of it enticing the body to move.
Nikolai and I got into the packed club easily, since I was on the guest list. The club was owned by a witch named Amelia Broadway. She was the daughter of a very wealthy human business man from New Orleans. Amelia was a talented witch who I often called upon to ward my business properties. She was one of the rare witches who held no prejudices against any of the supernatural groups and was diversified in her taste in bed partners as well. She and Pam had fling a while back, but remained friendly. She had invited Pam and I to come see the place, assuring us that we would be on her guest list. She was true to her word.
Nikolai and I took a seat near to the bar and it was not long before we were surrounded by women. Between the two of us, we had gathered quite a crowd. Nikolai was charming the panties off of the women at our table, literally, but I was distracted. I used to have a blast with Nikolai, alluring women, but tonight my thoughts kept wandering elsewhere.
As the night drew on, I tried to seem interested and act as if I was participating in the "fun", but I was sure Nikolai noticed my distraction, despite my best efforts. A while later, after Nikolai got off the dance floor and rejoined our table he asked, "Brother, are you not enjoying yourself?"
"I am. The evening has been quite entertaining." I replied, attempting to cover my utter boredom. I had forced myself to dance with a couple of women, but none of them interested me and I grew agitated with them quickly.
"Well I think that is a pile of bull shit, but I believe your night is starting to look up." He said with a huge smirk. I looked at him questioningly. "No one just walked in." Nikolai said, indicating someone in the direction behind me. I whipped my head around to see my Sookie walking in with two other women. My brother was right. My night was looking up.
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