Author's note: I disclaim any ownership of the characters of the Southern Vampire Mysteries or any content therein. I want to thank again all those who have reviewd my story. Your comments make writing this piece of fiction worth while.

The Healing Heart – Chapter 7

In Bon Temps, the rest of the week passed slowly for Sookie. The blood bond was quiet and Sookie was surprised how little she thought of Eric during that time. On Thursday night, Pam left a short message on her phone at home.

"Hi, Sook. It's me, Pam. Just calling to see how my favorite breather doing. Guess you're not at home. I'll call you later." Sookie had given Pam had her cellphone number, so if she had really wanted to speak to her, she could have easily done so. Sookie didn't know what to think about that.

On Friday morning, Sookie opened up the bar for Sam. Her shifter boss had a late night out with his new girlfriend, a full blooded Werewolf name Jannalynn Hopper. Last night was the end of the full moon phase, so Sookie thought Sam and Jannalynn must have made the most of it. He called Sookie early this morning and asked her to cover for him today and she agreed. He sounded tired as if he had been rode hard and put away wet. Sookie had been putting in a lot of hours since she returned to work, but she felt she owed Sam; he had certainly been understanding when she needed to take time off from work, including the many times she was injured.

Sookie shivered in disgust when she thought of Jannalynn. She was a small, skinny, tough as nails, broad who like flashy clothing. She used to work at the Hair of the Dog, a Were bar in Shreveport. Now she worked for Alcide Herveaux. The night that Alcide won the Were war and assumed leadership of his pack, Jannalynn had been assigned the task of executing injured enemies. It was a task that she clearly enjoyed a lot; she took great pleasure in it. Thinking about it made Sookie feel a little sick.

Sookie didn't understand the attraction between Jannalynn and her boss. She didn't seem to be Sam's type. He once made it clear to Sookie that he wasn't fond of Werewolves, but he had shifted into a lion and fought alongside Alcide that night. Apparently, Jannalynn liked what she saw and the two had been seeing each other for a few weeks now. Sookie thought Sam could do better.

Lunchtime brought in its usual crowd of locals. It wasn't particularly busy today, and Sookie was able to shutout the maelstrom of their messy thoughts from her mind. At 1:40pm, twenty minutes before Sookie was supposed to leave for the day, two couples came in and sat down in her section; they were college kids from the nearby university.

Sookie was busy taking their orders when she caught a glimpse into the minds of the two girls. They were thinking about last night and a visit they all made to Fangtasia. The girls had been there several times before and wanted to go back; the guys were reluctant, but they didn't want to seem chicken in front of the girls, so they went along for the ride. The guys rushed them out soon after they got there and that made the two girls mad. One girl thought the guys were real pansies and wanted to dump them today. The other was not so sure; she hadn't had a boyfriend in a long time and she didn't want to lose this one. They all ordered hamburgers and fries and soft drinks.

When she returned with a tray of drinks for them, one of the girls, a slutty looking chick of about twenty, sighed heavily. Her mind focused on a picture of Eric Northman at Fangtasia. The tall, blonde vamp was dressed in his standard sleeveless black tee and tight blank pants. The clothing always showed off his muscular physique off to its full advantage. As usual, Eric was lounging like a king on his throne. He was watching the action on the new stage. The girl, Annie, was thinking very lewd thoughts about Eric, but it was the look on Eric's face that caught Sookie's attention.

He was leaning forward slightly leering at a gorgeous stripper as she performed on the pole on stage in front of him. The woman was unbelievably beautiful. She was tall and stacked with long, wavy, light brown hair; she looked exotic, and boy could she move. All the men in the bar had their eyes on her, but she was facing Eric; she made eye contact with him as she performed. She had a sexy, inviting, knowing look on her face.

Eric's fangs were fully extended and from the front of his jeans, Sookie could tell he was fully aroused. When the stripper finished her dance, Eric winked and beckoned her with a wave of his hand. She slowly walked up to him, her hips swaying back and forth in an exaggerated strut. When she got to him; she leaned down and gave him a long lingering kiss on the mouth.

She climbed up on Eric's lap and began to rub herself all over him. Her movements were practiced and sure. She was all over him; she fondled him everywhere. Eric kissed and fondled her back. He then sat back against the back of the chair; his eyes were heavy lidded and dark with lust. His head fell back. Sookie knew that look well; she had seen it enough times. She watched as his body tensed and then relaxed.

When the lap dance was done, the two of them got up and walked back to his office. They came out again a while later; the stripper had bite marks on her neck and her hair was mussed. It was evident that she and Eric just had sex. The stripper had a big satisfied grin on her face as Eric leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She laughed and kissed him again. Eric was clearly pleased with himself.

The college girl gave another heavy emotive sigh; she was envious. She wished it was her dancing dancing and having sex with the tall handsome vampire. The girl's mind fluttered for a moment as she remembered Eric and this stripper together on at least two other occasions. The events played out in similar fashion; only the stripper's costume was different: The womanl danced on the pole, gave Eric a lap dance and then the two went back to his office.

Sookie couldn't tell from the girl's mind when these events happened. She knew that Eric had been in New Orleans since Tuesday night, so it wasn't this week. Sookie was sure of that,but whenever it happened, it had to be after she and Eric became a couple because the stripper's pole was a recent addition to the bar. In fact, it had been added to the bar only after she started meeting Eric at his home. That was only a week or so before her torture. After being tortured, she often felt lust and desire pouring through their blood bond. She had believed Eric had been thinking of her and wanted to be her, but couldn't get away from his duties. Clearly she had been wrong.

A stab of fury and jealousy slammed Sookie so hard in the gut that she dropped the tray. Coca-cola sloshed over the table and onto the college kids. They all jumped back and exclaimed; one of the boys cursed Sookie loudly. The thick glass mugs hit the tile floor and two of them broke into pieces; the other two bounced and rolled under another table.

Sookie's was embarrassed; her face turned red. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She managed to get the words out as her face flushed even more. She reeled and rushed into the ladies bathroom. She was boiling with anger. She was so furious she wanted to kill.

Holly, Hoyt Fortenberry's girlfriend who was working the lunch shift with her, followed her into the bathroom. She was worried. Sookie was leaning against the bathroom sink looking as if she were going to vomit.

"Sookie, Sookie! What happened? Are you all right?" Holly asked.

"I'm fine. I just had an accident that's all." Sookie replied. She hoped she sounded calm, but she didn't turn around.

"Why don't you leave now? I can handle alone it until the next shift gets here." Holly offered.

Sookie flashed her a thankful glance. She ran into Sam's office and grabbed her purse. As she drove home her anger intensified.

That scum! That lying, cheating no good bastard! No wonder he hasn't had the time to see me! No wonder we don't have sex that often! He's been too busy screwing that slut!

Curses poured out of her moutn and she envisioned herself inflicting the torments of hell on the person of Eric Northman. She remembered all the nights she waited at home alone longing for himc. She remembered the loneliness and the pent up sexual frustration she felt sometimes for days and weeks at a time. She remembered how she needed to be with him, to talk to him, to cuddle with him. Now she just felt like a fool. She felt ashamed. She felt betrayed once more.

She was glad now that her blood bond with Eric had been completely silent since the horrific nightmarish visions of Appius began. She prayed that the blood bond was silent on his side right now. She cringed at the thought that Eric might know how she was feeling right now. It embarrassed her to think that he might know how hurt she felt right how; she cursed his dead body and soul once more. She wondered once more why the blood bond was so silent. In a flash of clarity, Sookie's finally understood what was happening. Appius, that's what!

Eric's sire had been insanely jealous of her since the first moment they met. He hated her with a passion because Eric had bonded with her and professed to love her. He did not think she was worthy of Eric. She instinctively knew that Appius would be jealous of anyone Eric loved, human or vampire, so it wasn't personal. Besides, Appius thought no human would ever be good enough for his golden child.

From the few times they met, Sookie made sure that Appius knew that the feeling was mutual. She hated him as much as he hated her. Eric's maker knew that she definitely hated and resented the maker/child bond between them. He knew that she hated the absolute control he had over her lover, and he reveled in that knowledge. Sookie thought Appius was evil and she wanted him dead. Appius wanted her dead too.

Appius taunted her every chance he got; and she had been foolish enough to taunt him back. Eric tried to stop her, but she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. Appius was arrogant and full of pride. He considered Sookie an inferior being so her taunts were all the more offensive to him. He just could not let that stand. Sookie knew that Appius could have killed her or ordered Eric to kill her, but he must have recognized how much that would have hurt Eric. So he tried a different tack to remove her from Eric's life.

He was thrilled to see them quarrel. Later that night, the terrible visions started. They came back every night since and tormented her cruelly. The visions Appius projected to her were so intense and so real that sall he knew that he was actually in her mind. They left her with blinding headaches and nausea. They left her feeling as if all the synapses in her brain were being overloaded one by one and slowly being burnt out.

She knew that the old vamp was either trying to deliberately fry her brain or drive her insane. Either way, he seemed determined to break the bond between her and Eric. Sookie believed that Appius was a tremendously strong telepath in his own right, because his tactics were definitely working.. Even before the quarrel, Sookie could feel their bond fading, but there there was still a weak resonance of Eric in her mind most of the time. Even if he was as far away as New Orleans, she should have felt something; something, but she felt nothing, nada, zip, zero.

Sookie suddenly felt as if her mind had been released from a deep dark, dungeon and let out into the open air again. She felt free. She was alone in her head for the first time in a very, very long time, and she liked it. After what she saw in that pimply faced college girl's mind, she hoped the freedom was permanent. Yes, the bond had been fading even before the horrible nightmares of Appius began. She wondered if the stripper had anything to do with that. She knew that if they were exchanging blood, they could be forming their own bond.. She gagged as she remembered how she actually considered renewing the blood bond with Eric before they quarreled that night. She was thankful that she hadn't done it. If the bond was truly gone, she never wanted it back.

She realized something else. For all the anger and jealousy she felt just a little while ago, she felt nothing now. She was was numb; she was spent. She waited for the hurt and sense of betrayal to overwhelm her once more. She even searched deep into her mind and heart for those emotions... and nothing happened.

She was confused about one thing though. If Eric had a new lover, why had he pretended to love her? It just didn't make sense.

About an hour after she got home, Claude came through the back door. He had obviously been out tramping through the woods in back again. His clothes were stained and dirty. His boots were muddy. Twigs and debris clung to him.

"What's going on, Claude? Why aren't you at work. Why are you spending so much time in the woods?" she asked him as he came into the kitchen, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down with his chair very close to hers. Claude laughed a little and took her hand in his own.

Her cousin was a very touchy, feely king of guy, just like his sister, Claudine; most fairies were. They did not understand the concept of personal space, but Sookie was getting used to her big male cousin and did not mind. She knew that fairies actually to take comfort from touching other fae, especially when they were lonely, excited, nervous or sick. Claude had told her once that her fairy blood made him feel better. Bill had used almost the same words. I wonder... she thought.

"I need a little vacation time, so I thought I would take a couple of weeks off." Claude replied quickly, too quickly for Sookie to believe. She knew there had to be more to it than that, but Claude apparently wasn't in the mood to share.

"Isn't there someplace you'd rather be than hanging out here? Why aren't you getting a tan on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. Why aren't you spending the time with Jeannie or some gorgeous hunk of a guy? You must be bored stiff here." she offered trying to get him to talk.

Claude smiled slightly at the mention of Jeannie's name. "I can do that anytime I want, cuz. Just thought I'd do a little hunting. Can't do that with Jeannie or a gorgeous hunk around." He grinned, but his eyes had a worried look.

She didn't believe that either. "Find anything interesting?" She said drily.

"Yes, as a matter of I have. Do you know that at least one fairy and three vamps have been back there several times recently. I can smell them all over the place. One of the vamps is that handsome hunk you call your boyfriend, Eric. The other two I don't know, but I recognize their scent in this house. They have been in here and recently too. One scent is particularly old and reeks of evil. The other is much younger, but it is definitely disturbing; something is really wrong with him. Whoever they are, they are really bad news, Sookie. You need to be very careful. You should stay away from them!" Claude warned her.

She could understand Eric's scent being back there; he had spent a lot of time in her woods in the past couple of years, but not Appius or Alexei. As far as she knew, they had only been here twice and Claude had never met them. She was sure that's who he was talking about. They must have been back in her woods the night they came. She was glad that they were not around now.

"Who's the fairy, Claude? I thought they were all back in Faerie since Nyall closed the portal."

"Its my Uncle Dermott. But don't worry; he won't hurt you. I only mentioned it because he wants to meet you." Claude explained.

"After what he's done, you can't be serious! He sided with Breandan against Nyall, your own grandfather, and he wants to kill me and Jason too. How can you trust him? Why have you been meeting with him?" Sookie was fearful and wondered if she had done the right thing in trusting her fairy cousin.

"No, Sookie. Uncle Dermott was confused. He is only half fae, so he has never fully accepted by the full blooded fae back home. We are a naturally prejudiced race, and many thought his human half made him inferior. His brother, Fintan, seemed to show more of his fairy blood so he was was more accepted than Dermott. The others made Dermott's life hell while he lived in Faerie. He also thought that his father, Nyall was cruel to Einin, his mother, when he stopped seeing her. It hurt his mother so much. Uncle Dermott loved his mother and he was angry with Grandfather for a long time. Then his brother, Fintan did the same thing when he left his human family behind: your grandmother, father and aunt. Because of that, Uncle Dermott began to believe that fairies and humans shouldn't mix. He thought fairies only brought sorrow to humans."

He continued. "On the otherhand, Breandan thought it was the other way around: that humans were bad for fairies; that you polluted our bodies and our minds; you polluted our bloodlines. Recently many fairies on Earth have gotten addicted to vampire blood. Vampire blood is as alluring and addictive to us as like our blood is additive to them. Only once a fairy becomes addicted to V, he goes crazy. he can almost never be cured and must be destroyed. Breandan blamed humans for that because humans trafficked in V and vampires were human once. Breandan wanted to close the portal from Faerie to Earth, but many of the fae did not want that. Breandan wanted as many fae on his side as possible, so he convinced Uncle Dermott that Nyall killed his brother. By that time Dermott was in a very susceptible emotional state and he believed Breandan. He didn't know what Breandan had planned. Breandan only told Uncle Dermott that he wanted to bring full blooded fairies back to Faerie and close the portal. He never told him that he planned to kill any fae/human children or challenge Nyall?"

Sookie was skeptical. "Do you believe him, Claude? I was told he killed my granfather, Fintan, and helped Lochlan and Neave kill my parents."

"Yes, I do believe him. Fairies almost never kill other fairies, except during times of war. Its just not done; its against our nature. Lochlan and Neave are exceptions; they were what you human's call sociopaths; they liked to torture and kill. I don't think that Uncle Dermott was involved in your parent's death because he had been watching over them for years. He says he wasn't even there when it happened and I do believe him. Uncle Dermott now knows he was wrong to go against Grandfather and support Breandan. He has offered to atone for his mistakes. He wants to go back to Faerie. Even Grandfather believes him now, but he thinks Uncle Dermott must be punished; he won't allow him back."

"Why does he want to meet me?" Sookie asked.

"As I said, he is trying to atone for his sins, so he has been watching out for you and your brother Jason to protect you against harm. He is also as lonely as I was. He needs the company of our kind to survive. Yes, even someone with as little fae blood as wants to meet Jason too. " Claude gave a small smile as he preempted Sookie's question. He remembered what she had said to him when he asked to stay with her for a while.

"Protect us from what?" she asked.

"I told you that vamps have been back in your woods. Eric and those other two; the old one and the young one. Uncle Dermott thinks those other two want to hurt you or your your brother; maybe even kill you. He has tracked their scent from your woods to the woods in back of Jason's house. They never got close to the his house, but they were there at least twice and recently too. The old one and the young one have been close to your house several times too. I've been watching your house, and he has been watching Jason's house, but Jason is not there."

Sookie knew exactly where Jason was. "How recently?" she asked.

"He was there last night and the night before."

"Was Eric there too?"

"Yes, he and the old one too."

A chill went up Sookie's spine. She felt a frisson of fear, not only for herself, but for Jason too. Alexei was a serial killer; he had wantonly killed several young men in the area in the few weeks since he arrived with Appius. The papers were full of the murders and people were screaming about it. No matter how how they tried, Appius and Eric did not seem to be able to stop him. They tried to keep him locked up at Eric's, but he always managed to escape.

She shuddered in disgust at the memory of Alexei sidling up to Jason and rubbing his hand up and down his leg in an overtly sexual manner. The young vamp was clearly attracted to her brother; but his eyes and his actions were weird and creepy. Now Alexei's actions were not just weird and creepy, theyseemed totally sinister. For the first time since he was bitten, Sookie thanked God that Jason was a Were panther. He had been out at Hotshot running with Calvin Norris and the others for the last three nights. He had been safe. She breathed a sigh of relief.

A second later, deep, deep anger raged through her. Eric clearly wasn't in New Orleans like he said. He was here chasing down that little monster kid brother of his night after night. The fact that she hadn't felt Eric's presence so close to her house did not bothered Sookie. What bothered her is that his psychopath brother had been stalking her and her brother. Yet, Eric had not warned her of the danger. She wondered if Appius had forbidden him to contact her.

"If I agree to meet Dermott; promise me you will be around. I don't want to see him alone, and I don't want him to meet Jason alone either." Sookie said.

Claude looked relieved. "Of course I will be here, cuz." He said as he popped out. Claude didn't usually pop in an our like other fairies. He didn't like to do that. He didn't return until much later that night.

This must really be important to him! Sookie thought after he cousin left.

Sookie called Jason on his cellphone. He picked up on the first ring. She warned him him that Alexei was stalking him. She also told him about Dermott. "I think maybe you should stay away from your house a few days, Jason. Take Michele with you, if you can. I'll give you a call if anything changes."

"We were planning to go to Jackson to visit her parents for a week. We were going to leave early tomorrow morning, but we'll leave before sundown. You should get away too, sis. You should come with us." he said. Jason was worried.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." she replied. As soon as she hung up the phone, Sookie rescinded Appius and Alexei's invitation to her home. Since Alexei bragged to her that he didn't need a formal invitation to her home. Since he was Eric's maker, as long as Eric was welcome, he was welcome. For good measure, she rescinded Eric's invitation to her home too.

Sookie waited. The next few hours seemed like an eternity to her. As soon as it was dark, Sookie grabbed the phone and dialed Fangtasia. Pam answered. Without preliminary greetings, she immediately demanded to talk to Eric.

"Well hello to you too, my favorite breather friend. Eric's not here tonight; he's still in New Orleans."

"Cut the crap, Pam! I know Eric's been here all along. I know that psychopath brother of his has been hanging around my house and Jason's too. I know that he's killed again since Monday night. I know Eric and Appius have been out chasing him down every night. Why didn't Eric warn me?"

Pam was silent for a few seconds. When she spoke, she sounded a little chagrined. "The conference was canceled at the last minute, but how did you find out Eric was still here?" she asked.

"Let's just say I have my sources and leave it at that. Now let me talk to Eric!" Sookie demanded.

"I am sorry Sookie. Eric wanted to warn you, but Appius wouldn't let him. He said you shamed him when you quarreled; everyone in the bar that night heard you. Appius said that when you shamed his cihld, Eric, you shamed him as his sire too. He ordered Eric to command me not to contact you to warn you. Appius really hates you, you know." Pam actually sounded scared.

"So Eric was just going to let that psycho brother of his stalk me and my brother. What if he kills one of us? You don't know the way Alexei was looking at Jason when he was here last. It was creepy. Anyway, how come you're telling me all this now if you were ordered not to?" Sookie asked.

"Sookie, you know that Eric can not refuse his maker's command. I was only ordered not to contact you to warn you, but you contacted me; that's different. Anyway, everything will be all right now. The Magister has found out about the Alexei and the murders. Last night, he ordered Appius and Eric to bring Alexei to court. There will be a trial next week. It is likely that Alexei will be executed. The little monster will be chained in silver until then so he won't get out again." Pam sounded hopeful and pleased at that prospect.

"I don't care what Appius commanded Eric not to do. Eric still should have warned me. He is supposed to love me, remember? I want to talk to him now, Pam!" Sookie demanded; her voice was hard and cold. She could hear Pam's audible sigh of exasperation.

"Eric does love you. You know that; but he really is not here right now. He's on his way to New Orleans Our spies in New Orleans have informed us that King Felipe is ready to get rid of Victor Madden and make Eric his new second in command. Apparently Victor has plans to revolt against de Castro and make himself King of Louisiana. De Castro is going to kill Victor soon. Eric wants to be on hand when Victor gets his just rewards." Pam's voice was somber and serious. No one liked Victor, including Sookie.

Suddenly Pam's tone lightened. "Guess what, Sookie? If Eric becomes King Felipe's second in commend, he will have to move to New Orleans. He will get to live in Sophi-Anne's palace. That's means you'll get to move to New Orleans with Eric and live there too. Isn't that exciting? You'll live just like a queen in that beautiful place. Eric will be so proud to show you off. Won't that be great, Sookie?" Pam spoke as if Sookie should jump at this bit of news.

Sookie was stunned into silence for a what seemed like an eternity. "I am not going anywhere, Pam. My life is here; my family is here; my home is here; my job is here. I am not moving to New Orleans with Eric or anyone else." she said stubbornly.

"Be reasonable, Sookie. You are Eric's wife; he will never let you stay in Bon Temps. He would lose face among our kind, if he did, and he can not allow that. Besides you are a great asset to him; all vampires know you as the great friend of the vampires who saved so many of us in Rhodes. Eric is proud of that, and he will be so proud to have you on his arm. Your telepathic talents don't hurt either, you know. You are beautiful; all the other vamps will be so jealous. Eric loves you and wants you to be with him." Pam was trying her best to be persuasive, but Sookie was having none of it.

Who is she trying to convince that Eric loves me, me or herself? Sookie thought sarcastically to herself.

"How many times do I have to tell you I am not Eric's wife, Pam. Furthermore, if he wants a human companion to show off, let let him take the stripper he's been screwing. Yeah, I know about her. Eric and I are through for good!" Sookie's heated words practically scorched the phone in her hand.

"Don't be so naive, Sookie. Katya means nothing to Eric. You are the one he loves. She's just a whore, I've had her myself many times. Katya's just food and a fuck; that's all. She's ust someone he uses every now and then to relieve his stress. He's so busy running things here and staying one step ahead of Victor, he misses you. He's a man, after al, and he has can't begrudge him for indulging in a little sex and feeding a little from that slut, can you? " Pam began explaining as if Eric's cheating was perfectly natural, but the excuse sounded lame even to her.

Before Pam could finish, Sookie cut her off. "Oh, silly me! I understand everything now. Just food and a fuck, huh? Wow! That makes me feel so much better! That makes everything just peachy keen! Not!" She snarled as she slammed the phone down.

"This is not good, Sookie. Not good at all." Pam said sadly as she hung up the phone at her end.