A/N - SVM Characters belong to Mrs. Harris, original characters and storyline are my own. Thank you as always for the feedback, reviews and alerts. Just to answer a question, the human government in this story is acting just as it always does. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil unless it effects their pocket book or their chance of winning the next election.
Chapter 7 - Bruised
Scene 1 - SPOV - Ouch
I managed to avoid the blow, leaping to place a table between us. Eric with a sword and Sookie without a weapon was not a fair fight. My eyes skittered across the shattered pieces of wood on the floor. No, I would not consider it. Somewhere inside the vampire growling in front of me was Eric. I wasn't going to stake him.
I did have to get him to drop the sword though. I wondered how much of Eric was still inside.
"Come on Eric, is that the best you can do?" I taunted as I leapt from table to table with him chasing after me. God forbid the witch figured out he could fly.
I saw the opening and I took it, jumping over his strike, flipping over his head for a leg sweep knocking him on his ass and wincing when his head cracked on the floor.
For a split second I saw his eyes flash between crimson and Eric blue. He was climbing back to his feet the sword almost forgotten dangling at his side. I took advantage and came in swinging, leaping to hit him in the face as hard as I could.
Again I saw his eyes clear and I screamed at him, "Eric get rid of the sword."
A flash of comprehension and the blade flew across the room in the opposite direction from me. Hope flared and was torn away when his eyes returned to their crimson fury. He growled and began to stalk across the floor.
We wove back and forth across the cafeteria. My only goal to keep him occupied and myself standing until the cavalry arrived. I tried to do some more damage, hoping to shake him loose again. I failed miserably. My body was covered with dried blood from the blows and fangs I could not avoid. He was too strong for me to stay within his range for long.
Another blow parried and a swift kick to his ribs propelled him backwards into the wall.
"You know Eric this is bull shit," I panted in fury. "You got to fight her a bit harder in there."
"There is no Eric," his voice a monotone.
"Oh yes there is," I snarled as I moved in to trade a few blows grunting when one of his caught my shoulder and spun me around.
I backed off to circle him warily.
"Do you remember our last dance Eric?" I taunted catching his foot before it connected with my face and using leverage to pull him off his feet with a crash. He was back up and in fine form before I could exploit the weakness.
"No," he responded and charged as if his back had never hit the concrete floor.
"I do," I replied ducking under a table, letting his momentum carry him over me. "I believe I was the winner." I was out from underneath it and back across the floor instantly. He growled in frustration.
"Temper temper," I teased then groaned when his fist hit my stomach propelling me up and over the counter to crash behind it.
I managed to get back up onto my feet, ignoring the sear of broken ribs followed by the tickle as they began to mend. I flung myself over the counter to the open floor before Eric could corner me.
He threw a table out of his way and snarled, "I tire of this game. Why do you not just die already?"
My answer was a reign of blows, kicks and slashes of fang. "Because he is mine you bitch," I growled then slipped on the blood spattered floor unable to duck the Viking sized fist.
I landed on top of a table and tumbled to the ground, this time feeling something much more serious crack. I ignored the pain shooting up my spine and struggled to pull myself upright.
Eric was there to help me by slamming a heavy hand into my shoulder and crouched above me. I could see the intent in the crimson gaze as his head lowered with fangs bared.
"Eric No," I begged knowing time had run out.
There was an instant of recognition and horror before the real Eric was able to redirect the attack into my shoulder instead of ripping out my throat. I did not hesitate. I twisted my head and struck. My fangs slid into his neck and I snarled at the taste of his tainted blood. The bond ripped back open and I used it to try to push out the intruder.
He sucked harder at the wound on my shoulder drinking deeply. I could feel the struggle between him and the witch to not let go for the killing blow. I fed off of him in turn, bestial magic pouring down the blood he consumed striving to drive away the taint. We were both becoming weaker, refusing to yield.
The witch figured out we would rather drain each other than let her win. She apparently decided it was time to try to kill us in a more conventional way. I caught the flash of black from the corner of my eye as she jumped out of Eric and solidified across the room. Her amber eyes gleamed and fire gathered in her hands.
I released Eric with an "Oh shit" tearing him out of my shoulder with a hard push and rolling to the other side. There was a womph as the fireball exploded where we had just been but before she could conjure another Neave popped up behind her, teleporting was so convenient. A flash of silver tipped teethe and a gargled shriek signaled the end of the battle.
Claudine and Lochlan appeared between Eric and me. "Bind the body," I commanded Lochlan waving a hand vaguely toward the dead witch. "I don't want to risk her melting away." Lochlan moved to do as I requested, placing the body in stasis then he and his sister moved through the room straightening what they were able.
I could see Claudine leaning over Eric and heard her soft voice. Then she was kneeling next to me, her hands searching for broken bones and serious wounds. My vampire constitution was busily at work but the pain from mending was excruciating. I closed my eyes in relief when I felt the soothing balm of her healing magic and concentrated on the bond humming along in my head. Eric was ok, he was back. Now all we had to do was find Pam.
Scene 2 - EPOV - Regret
I just rested on the floor for a bit, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. One moment I had the witch by the neck and the next I was inches away from tearing Sookie's throat out. I had a headache no vampire should have and could feel the tingle as I healed from various wounds. I wiped at my mouth looking in disbelief at the blood on my hand, Sookie's blood. I tested the bond and found her presence close and reassuring though muted.
While the fiberglass and fluorescent lit ceiling above might be considered enthralling I had better things to do than lie here. I surged to my feet and made my way to the other side of the room where three people were huddled around someone else. The clench of fear in my gut when I saw Sookie's battered body refused to loosen despite the assurance she pushed my way.
She smiled up at me, her eyes glowing softly with love and joked, "You know Eric; your eyes have never looked so beautiful in blue."
I dropped to my knees beside her, pushing the others away so I could gather her close. She was healing but not quite fast enough to hide all the damage I had done. Her face was bruised, the cheek bone probably broken. Her shoulder torn and ragged, just beginning to knit together. She had a bruise wrapping around her ribs and down to her hip. There were lacerations criss crossing her arms and at least one finger had been broken.
"I am so sorry lover," I whispered contrite.
She raised a hand to brush away the bangs which had dropped into my eyes. "Not your fault," she argued then smirked. "But you can make it up to me by growing your damn hair out."
I laughed and kissed her, so easy to please my little warrior. She kissed me back then nudged me away, making it obvious she was determined to climb to her feet.
"You know, you are going to owe me a new dress too," she muttered as she tried to fix the mostly shredded skirt.
"I will buy you a whole new wardrobe," I assured her twisting around looking for another blonde head.
"Where is Pam?"
Sookie's eyes clouded, "She was popped away by the other girl."
I sent a call through the maker bond and heard her respond. "She is nearby, I can feel her." I searched the room until I found my broadsword and shuddered at how close I came to destroying my heart. I had not missed the scattered remains of Sookie's staff. I knew we had fought with her at a distinct disadvantage. Was it wrong the surge of pride I felt from the knowledge she held her own without her magic? I shook my head, no time to dwell on that now. We had Pam to find and a body to dispose of.
"Wait here," I instructed Sookie and Claudine. My lover needed to heal a bit more before she could safely travel. Lochlan and Neave fell in step behind me as we pushed through the cafeteria doors back out to the hallway.
I heard her before she came into sight, muttering and swearing and a thunk that was probably a kick. When we turned the corner which led to the foyer there was Pam dragging the obviously dead witch by her copper hair. She was limping, one heel broken and her sweater was missing an arm. Her skirt was torn, her hair a frizzled mess and there were silver burns across her wrists, arms and legs. The dried blood coating her chin and the front of her sweaters remnants gave evidence to the manner of the witch's death.
"You owe me a pair of pumps," she snarled at me as she let the girl drop with a thump.
"You could have carried her you know," I drawled waving a hand at the bloody drag marks leading back to the front door.
She raised a brow, "And have her melt all over me? I don't think so." She nudged the body with her foot. "She was careless the silver wasn't as tight as it should have been. Then she was more concerned with watching you beat the hell out of Sookie through some orb." She smirked at me. "Oh wait, let me guess it wasn't you. The great Eric Northman, possessed by the itty bitty witch."
"Enough," I warned her.
She licked her lips and smiled, "Not for months Eric. Keeping the story quiet should be worth a gold card."
I spun on my heel, just in time to see the laughter disappear from the twins faces. "Dispose of the bodies," I growled. "Make sure they cannot come back, and then return to Shreveport."
They both bowed, "As you command your Majesty." Lochlan disappeared followed by Neave after she had gathered up the body of the copper haired witch.
Pam and I met up with the others in the cafeteria. Sookie had called Paulson and made arrangements for the cleaners to put the place back to rights. She had also reassured Hunter that all was well. We made a strange picture the three of us almost in rags with a chattering fairy in tow. Claudine announced she was going to drive instead of popping us back and forth. It was then I realized she was as weary as the rest of us.
I cornered her at the palace after Sookie had excused herself to clean up. "Claudine your exhaustion tells me Sookie was hurt more than either of you let on."
The fairy sighed and bit her lip before her eyes rose to mine. "Her back was broken," she admitted twisting her fingers together.
I caught her hands with my own, stilling the nervous movement and pulled her gently toward me. "Thank you," I whispered as I placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.
She showed no such restraint as she tugged her hands free to fling them around me and squeezed tight. "You're both still here, which is all that matters." She blushed as if realizing she was hugging a vampire and shimmied back. "Go and wash Eric, I will meet you with the others in the office."
They were waiting for me when I returned, Sookie handed me a bottle of blood with an apologetic look. I took it with a grimace yet chugged it down, it would have to do for now.
"So do we know yet who they were?" I asked.
Claudine's voice was heavy with regret. "Aideen and Luiathe MacTeine. Their mother was half demon and half Fae. Their father is a full blooded Prince from the Sun clan."
"Fire fairies?" Sookie asked for confirmation.
"Yes, with a natural affinity for the darker magic's."
"Obviously," Sookie snorted.
"So why would a pair of fairy witches be interested in Carmichael, or us for that matter," Pam asked quietly.
"Well we cannot ask Carmichael directly," Paulson said. "He must have headed for the airport from here. Sources are telling me he's heading to Arkansas."
"So we find Prince MacTeine. Can you get us in contact with him?" I asked Claudine.
"I'll put the word out that you are interested in a trade agreement. He should come running for that."
"What kind of trade?"
"Precious gems and metals, that sort of thing. He was a pretty big muckety muck even before we formed the Alliance. The Sun clan has been trading with various supernaturals for the materials they needed for their forges and anvils for centuries. Now they don't have to hide it," Claudine admitted.
We covered a few more items and then Sookie flew Pam and I back to Gudrun. We had time to feed and shower together before dawn pulled us to our rest.
Scene 3 - SPOV - Tease
I rose to the brush of his lips across my cheek and I twisted in his arms seeking to be closer.
"Good evening," I murmured without opening my eyes.
He smiled against my mouth, "Evening lover."
I wrapped my hands in his hair discovering through the haze of lust that it was longer.
He appeared to be the mind reader as he pulled back and shook it with a grin, the locks just brushing his shoulder. "Had to stop the complaining, did I not?" he teased with a smile.
"I wasn't complaining," I whined with a pout then gave it away with laughter.
He settled back onto his haunches and reached for something on the side table, completely unconcerned with the show he was granting. I drank in the sight of his obvious arousal and the shift of muscles across his thighs and abdomen. He was a magnificent male specimen.
He shot me a knowing look when I rubbed my thighs together seeking any type of friction to relieve the lust sweeping over me, the scent of my desire heavy in the air.
"Come here," I growled reaching for him.
"Uh uh," he teased as he pushed me gently away and flicked my nose with the object he had found.
A shiver of anticipation swept my body, nipples hardening in a rush when I saw the feather. He settled to the side of me, propped up on one hand while he drew circles over my face with the feather. It tickled and I tried to brush it away, he caught my hand with a smirk and pushed it to the mattress.
"Do not move," he warned. "Just enjoy."
He flicked the feather back and forth over my chin, neck and shoulders, the teasing tickle raising goose bumps as it traveled. He brushed it up and around my breasts, ignoring the pouting peaks to lightly tease the sides of my ribs. He continued over my stomach and around my hips, down my legs to tickle the bottoms of my feet. I couldn't stop the squeal or the jerk as I tried to escape the torture. I was rewarded with a hard pinch which only increased my desire as he knew well.
He used the quill of the feather on his return trip, the light scratch exquisite over sensitized skin. The teasing continued switching from feather soft to a scraping just shy of pain. When I was a melted puddle he discarded the feather to come back to me with teasing tongue and fingers. His hands gently separated my thighs, his growl of satisfaction at his first taste of the nectar offered to him echoing through the room. His tongue explored my inner folds before his mouth settled onto the bundle of nerves just begging for his attention.
I leaned onto my elbows to watch him, well aware of his need. When the first rush of pleasure caught me I groaned his name, my hips lifting against his busy mouth. My reward his face turning into my thigh with a smile before his bite. Then he was sliding up and into me, my core clenching and drawing him deep. We flowed together, bond wide open as emotions tumbled through us. The feel of him in my arms, the pleasure building a swirling maelstrom of love and desire. Power exploding to lift us in a dizzying spiral until he floated us softly back to the bed.
He stroked my hair gently as I fed from him the rumble of a happy growl in his chest. I licked the tiny wounds and cuddled into his side, content just to hold and be held.
"I could have ended your existence," he murmured.
"You fought her we won end of story," I insisted refusing to let him dwell on what if or might be's.
"It is not so easy."
"Let it be," I whispered before kissing him thoroughly.
We spent another enjoyable hour or two in bed before succumbing to the call of responsibility. Eric went off to Fangtasia while I caught up with Hunter in his suite. He was watching the news while he ate his dinner.
"They are idiots," he said with his mouth full pointing at the TV with his fork. There was a round table discussion going on about the issues on the East coast between the Fellowship, the BVSA and a couple of politicians. "The humans are panicking because those idiots from the BVSA had to call the cull a disease instead of just keeping their mouth shut." He took another mouthful of food. "The poncy Fellowship has decided to burn everything in sight and instead of being punished; they are being hailed as the saviors. Idiots I tell you."
I tried to suppress a smile when I heard one of the sweating politicians reassure the other he was positive the vampires who had seemed to abandon their businesses would return in time to pay their taxes.
Hunter looked over at me and asked seriously, "Where did all the vampires go?"
I didn't have a real answer, we were still lacking information. "They are still there, just hiding while they try to figure out who is in charge. At least in those places who have lost a ruler. The humans as usual are taking advantage of the situation. Not much needed to incite riots these days. Just think about all those blood addicts and fang bangers no one wanted to admit existed. They are being forced to look in a mirror now that their fix is missing. Not a very pretty sight I bet."
"They are saying the Great Revelation is over."
"It is," I admitted. "The rules have changed."
"I don't understand."
"Neither do they. When all of this is over with, we won't be content to be second class citizens anymore." I waved my hand at the TV where the so called Pastor from the Fellowship was ranting. "Such filth will no longer be tolerated."
"So it's just hurry up and wait?"
"For now," I helped him clean up. "Come on, let's go and work on your shields."
I spent a couple of hours helping him stretch his mental muscles. I could tell there was something he wanted to tell me, but I did not intrude upon his privacy. He would come to me when he was comfortable. I knew he had been talking with Eric, if anything was seriously wrong Eric would have let me know. For now I was content helping Hunter gain confidence in his abilities.
In the next week the Hunt would surface in Michigan. Detroit managed to come through with few fires though vandalism was high. The King reported the loss of a large number of fledglings but very few elders. The States of Illinois and Ohio were not so lucky. Chicago and Cleveland found their vampire population decimated. The rest of the Northern Amun Clan states had not reported in yet.
On the East coast vampires were returning to their nests but keeping a low profile. The few royal vampire courts which were still intact were trying to put together the number of losses. Fights for vampire territory were breaking out again and it looked like New York was going to end up with three monarchs instead of two. Confusion still reigned supreme and there were many willing to step up and take advantage of it.
