Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognise from True Blood or its source material.


Eric gives me a cool look, but I hold my ground.

Bill gets up slowly, and looks at me, our eyes now level. "I will help you as much as I can."

I give him a nod. All this posturing is starting to wear me out. I wait for Eric to say something – to agree with me, to argue with me, but he just stands there watching us.

I take a breath, wishing I wearing more than just a tee shirt for this: "Well – What have they told you?" I demand. "How does Lillith figure into this?"

Eric reacts to that name by sliding his gaze towards Bill. "Sookie," he says, his eyes still on Bill, "how did you happen to hear that name?"

I flap my hands in a frustrated gesture. "Gee Eric, because I was pooling our limited knowledge base with Bill in the car as we drove over, like you arranged for us to do. I didn't realise it was a pop quiz and we weren't supposed to share answers!"

"Sookie seems antsy, Eric," Pam observes as she walks back into the room. "Humans can become irrational if the oxygen supply to their brain is lessened – Are you sure you gave her enough blood after Bill failed to revive her?"

She gives Bill a cheery little wave when he glares at her. I take a breath, as my mind tries to tackle this new revelation. What exactly happened in the room when I was out of it?

"Even after he practically dumped the entire contents of his veins down her throat?" she finishes, leaning against the wall in the same pose I'd seen second Pam take on that night.

It jerks my thoughts back to what's uppermost right now on the Sookie Stackhouse list of vampire arse kickin' conversational priorities; "So what? Even if I'm more vampire now then what's on the outside pack," I tap my chest to make my point, "it doesn't change anything about the fact we have duplicates running around – and running the show, I might add. We don't know anything about what they're here for or what it means – how they got here – and yet, we're what?" My hands fling out to indicate everything in the room, "re-enacting parts of a play were we let them decide on all the lines, despite the fact it just got them here anyway?" I lift my chin a little, waiting for their responses. "You know – the time they say they are trying to get away from so desperately?" I continue in the silence, when the vampires don't react.

Eric shifts his position, his eyes focused on the ground. Pam glances in his direction, and then flicks her attention back to me. "Why Sookie, I'm sure you wound Mr Compton. He was so weakened in his entirely valiant effort to save you, by giving you most of his blood, that he was even forced to take a little nibble." She lifts one hand and playfully twitches the fingers at me.

Bill is the one who shifts now and some of my uneasiness returns. How can I know what happened to me, when I was strewn on the floor bleeding, while the vampires circled?

"I'm surprised you aren't more concerned for the health of the vampire you claim to belong too. Are you – his I mean?"

I open my mouth to deny being anyone's blood bauble when Bill starts to speak: "Sookie is right. She is also - mine," he says, with a hint of fang.

I want to stuff that word right back up his throat, but I stop myself. I want to extract myself as quickly as possible from this mess, and for that I need a plan to get my double ensconced safely back in her own time with her bloodsucking beau and homicidal progeny. If Bill has one to lay down; well, let him. I can always let him know later, that I had never agreed to be anyones' eclair.

"We need to take action – to send them back" Bill says persuasively. "Sookie has told me that I drank the blood of Lillith and was altered somehow. Could that be the key to this? Lillith's blood is sacred – maybe the act of consuming it creates a conduit of sorts? Your double" he says stiffly, glancing at Eric, "says you were motivated to get away. Perhaps to remove your selves from whatever was brought into being by my drinking the blood? You may have been unsuccessful and caught in the ripple effect, meaning you were flung back here."

Eric finally stirs now, "Lillith's blood may be old, but it is still vampire. It could not be responsible for this – we're not able to flit across time."

"Lillith is more than vampire," Bill protests. "We do not know what its powers may be."

"But then why aren't you" I gesture towards Bill, "here as well? Wouldn't you be thrown backwards with us?"

Bill lifts his eyebrows as he thinks, and gives a tired shake of the head; It's such a human gesture that my heart tugs in my chest. "I do not know. We need to speak with someone who knows more about what the effects of drinking Lillith's blood would be."

"The fairy they talked about?" I ask, my mind sifting through the night for anything that would be helpful. "They did say she might be involved though in getting them here, so maybe she's not the best person – " I break off, trying to recall more clearly what had been said.

"Who are you thinking of speaking too?" Eric says, addressing Bill, ignoring me completely.

"Sophie Anne" Bill says.

"You think that jumped up trollop knows anything of use?" Eric asks; leaning forward from his lounging position on the desk with his hands now flat on its top.

Pam gives an airy laugh "Come on Compton. She is the last person who we want knowing anything about this! She will just twist it to whatever self-indulgent pursuit she can fit into her butterfly brain for the moment, and then – " her fingers snap dismissively. A qualm at the idea of someone Pam thinks of as dangerously flippant flexes in my stomach.

"You'd be better off chasing after fairies with a net at the bottom of your little girlfriends' garden" she says. An angry pant escapes me at her assumption about me and Bill. She shoots me an interested look.

"Fairies are more myth than Lillith!" Bill insists with heat, missing my moment with Pam: "We can not be distracted from our best chance of actually finding out some information, by one comment, which could have been designed to throw us off the scent!"

His passion surprises me, and I wonder whether he is more shaken up about this then he has let on. All those cryptic hints to me about danger - the "trust no one" bullshit. Maybe he was masking some of his worry?

"I will take Sookie" Bill begins again, nodding at me "and go to her. I will not reveal anything about your situation." He throws this last out to Pam who scoffs.

"We must know more Eric, if we're to do anything," he says focusing back on Eric. "I can get at the knowledge better there – either through having her reveal what she would think of as nothing more than historical oddity or if she has some reason to keep silent; through what she doesn't say".

Eric inclines his head at this idea. It looks like they are both agreed on the potential for ridiculously circuitous communication. The pressure in my head makes me realise how tensely I'm holding myself, and I tell myself to relax before I get a headache. I make a note to myself: Pick up Tylenol before the big trip, Sookie. Looks like you will need it.

"I was recently at her court, and it will not attract attention if I return for a while. I can make our inquiries to her there. She may not even have realised I had left, knowing her." Bill finishes, and waits. I can feel a prickle of tension as I wait as well.

"Why take the girl?" Eric asks as he moves to sit behind his desk, without looking at me. If I had hackles, that little comment would have raised them, for sure.

"She is as involved as you both are in this – and it will not be as difficult to explain why I am travelling with a human, then with my Sheriff or his second outside of your area."

"What if Sophie Anne takes a fancy to Miss Flavour of the Minute, here?" Pam interjects, "she isn't known for being too discriminating, and then we're down one telepath."

"There are ways around that," Bill answers quickly. "Besides, if I keep one of you with me, you will trust me more."

His voice drops a little, "even though you do not need to worry. I am also wanting to know what becomes of me – and if I can prevent it." He looks at Eric hard in the eyes. Apparently what he sees there spurs him on.

"I can just play the part of the infatuated vampire if it comes to that," argues Bill. "I can refuse Sophie Anne if need be, or ask her to delay while I prepare Sookie properly. Playing that part – it won't be hard."

Bill's eyes fall on me, and I can feel a tingle run through me, starting at my feet and building up through my legs. It's similar to the sensation of glamour, but it's inside all of me, not just my head. The similarity makes me realise, and I stiffen. These feelings: the tension while Bill waited for them to respond, the sympathy I felt for him. These aren't entirely my own. They are coming from the blood he gave me. I am being influenced – but I don't know the extent of it. I need time to regroup, to think.

Pam sniggers at his words.

"Oh please…"she begins, but is cut off by Eric.

"That Compton, is the only somewhat believable element of your little plan."

He closes his eyes, considering. "Very well," he says, "however, there is still the matter of Longshadow."

"I will need to silver you," he decides. "Only for the sake of appearances" he says with a sudden broad smile at Bill's discomfiture. "One or two nights, perhaps? Then I will release you. You can go back to Sophie Anne afterwards – and take Miss Stackhouse."

"So you do know my name," I chip in, sarcastically.

"It gives you a more plausible reason to return, with banishment from my area as a punishment" he continues, as if I haven't spoken. "It also provides you with some evidence of your – infatuated – vampire story, if need be." Eric leans back in his chair now and regards us evenly over the desk. He is lounging now, and it reminds me of the night I first saw him, before we were interrupted, and how supremely assured of his power he was, residing over his domain.

"I will let – any interested parties – " he says, with a glance at me. I know he was about to say something else and raise my internal hackles a little higher. I'm not allowed to know the finer details of their fancy pants vampire power structure?

" - know of the mitigating circumstances surrounding Longshadow's death and my actions in punishing you. I may still be asked to pay a fine depending on their whims, but I'm sure you will agree to compensate me for the inconvenience." He says as he comes to his feet.

"A very small price to pay – considering the alternative," he says, favouring Bill with another smile. Grimly, Bill lowers his head and acquiesces.

The sound of Ginger moving around in the bar penetrated through in the silence that followed his words.

"So when we will get this show on the road then?" I ask, "only I'll have to get more time off from Sam, and let Gran know where I'm going if its going to take a while. Where does this Sophie Anne live exactly?"

"New Orleans" answers Eric. "You will need at least a week, to be sure she'll even see you." He turns his attention to Bill "if we silver you now and keep you until nightfall two nights hence, it should be sufficient – "

"No!" bursts out of me and I look around dazedly, trying to work out what to say next, some argument to appeal this course of events. Silvering him – it just seemed so barbaric. "I need him to drive me home."

Was that urgency even mine, I wonder? Was I being prompted to talk by him? Could he do that? The panic starts to rise, but I force it down. If nothing else, the extra time will give me some time away from them to sort my feelings out more, I tell myself.

Pam titters, "Oh Sookie – What is the adage: Treat 'em mean, keep him keen, I believe? You certainly embody it."

Bill looks at me with his gaze slightly softened, and my breath hitches. He knows what I'm trying to do, I realise, what I'm trying to prevent. Of course he can, my internal voice hisses. He may have even influenced you into doing it, the voice reminds me.

"It is no matter" Eric snaps, "Bill will have to collect his possessions anyway if we're to maintain the illusion of me impounding him and his belongings before I throw him out of the area."

An agonised sobbing starts to filter into the room, intermixed with strangled cries of; "fucking vampires," "I'm sorry mama," and "just ruined this blouse" at various intervals. We all stand there.

"Perhaps before you go you would oblige me by glamouring Ginger," Eric says, "Pam is not what you would call a 'light touch' when it comes to glamour, and given Ginger's current state – just may crack her head open like an egg."

Eric turns to look at me now, and I feel the full force of his attention prickle over me, pulling me apart and putting me back together. "Pam will go with you while you do that, and arrange for your possessions to be dropped off. After you've done that – wait in the car. Sookie will join you out there."

"She is mine, Sheriff! Whatever you want with her – " Bill begins to flare up but I cut in. Whatever fresh hell Eric is about to unleash upon me, isn't going to be made any easier to chew on if a vampire power struggle started up again.

"Its ok, Bill" I say tiredly. "The sooner Eric tells me whatever it is he has to say, the sooner we can leave." I just need to get through this night I tell myself – so I can get away – and think. I need to work out what these feelings are, and how to stop them.

With a sudden flash of inspiration into how I can defuse the situation enough to get him to leave the room, I continue, "I'll tell you anything later on the drive home, anyway."

"Oh, my sincere hope is that you will," says Eric, smiling mischievously at Bill as he pauses uncertainly at the door.

I nod at Bill, and mouth the word, "please". It's all I've got right now. It seems to work though, as he finally nods stiffly and troops out of the office, Pam trailing behind.

"How touching" Eric observes, the smile having faded into something more like a grimace.

Ginger's wailings shut off abruptly, and I feel a flash of gratitude.

"So what is it you want to say to me, Eric?" I prompt after a while.

Eric walks towards me and I repress the urge to back away. Some other instinct is telling me it's more important to stand my ground.

"Many things" he says. "The most relevant to our needs now however - don't trust Bill" Eric says, his eyes on me intent.

"Aha" I say, outwardly unimpressed, although my heart is beating harder at his words which so closely mirror my own turbulent feelings. "Why exactly?"

"The exact reasons I am not able to disclose to you" he returns, lifting his head slightly and fixing his gaze on the wall. "For now."

I roll my head from side to side a little. "Jesus Christ, Shepard of Judea," I start with exasperation, "do y'all take a class together when you're turned or something? How to hint portentously to mere mortals?"

"No" he says. He looks down at my body and then up to my eyes again, and now there is the slightest hint of teasing warmth in his voice. "Although perhaps I should make it mandatory for all new vampires in my area."

"Yeah" I say in a falsely bright tone, "because y'all really need to improve your skills in that area."

"Would it be better if I was to tell you that things – and people – are not always as they appear?" he asks, his eyes still holding that almost intangible lightness, as he leans towards me slightly.

"No, it would not" I say, coming to a decision. He is hardly the most objective person but I'm not exactly overwhelmed with unbiased sources of information right now.

"Your blood" I blurt out, and then try to collect my thoughts as Eric watches me.

"Vampire blood I mean. Is it able to control the feelings or any other – stuff of the humans who drink it?"

Eric stiffens and paces back towards his desk, before stopping and turning to face me once more. "Did you have his blood before tonight?" Eric asks sharply.

"A...little bit – I think" trying to recollect the events of the night that my other major assault occurred. A shudder ran through me, quicker than thought, as the night swam into view: The shock of falling, the mocking cries of the Rattrays as they ripped into me, that left me a twitching, mewling mess on the ground.

"He saved my life." I answered. "I was attacked by the people who had tried to drain him the night before, and he – gave me his blood."

He looked me over. "Its possible you are experiencing some effects of – thrall, given the amount he gave you tonight. It will wear off if you don't take more," he said slowly.

"Thrall?" I squeaked. That did not sound good. That did not sound good at all. "Like I'm under his spell?"

"You will be able to resist it now you're aware of its presence" he says confidently: A helluva lot more confident than I am feeling right then. "It is lucky for you that you also ingested my blood. It will help to counteract the effect."

My head is reeling. I have to go back with him – have to sit with him in the car. While he was being all thrally to me. My chest starts to swirl and I can only take short, shallow breaths. Even though I have to think, it's hard to clear my head, and pull my thoughts together into something coherent.

"Is that what you meant?" I choke out, "about not trusting him?"

"No" he says. "He had no alternative. You were beyond saving, otherwise, by the time he pulled Longshadow off you and rather ineptly, finally staked him."

"You…didn't help him…" I say slowly, trying to pierce together what had happened.

"No" says Eric, his face unreadable. "I was told to act as if you were of no importance than a human with an interesting talent." He answers my unspoken question when he sees the look on my face. "Vampires would not kill each other over a human."

I feel myself bottom out emotionally. I've dropped away into some numb place inside because I simply can not deal with anymore. So the only person in this cosmic cock-up of truly epic proportions, who can control me – influence my feelings and god knows what else through my blood – is also the only person who cares enough to protect me from being slaughtered.

"Anything else I should know?" I ask, with hostility creeping into the tiredness in my tone. Inside, I can sense the black of the cold rage I am feeling, leeching into the grey of my exhaustion and colouring it all into darkness. I stand unmoving.

"Yes" he says simply. "Don't get yourself killed."

I wait on his next words. They don't come.

"Well if that's all Eric, I'm going to wait in the car for Bill."

He makes no move to stop me, even though I linger a little, so I turn and leave.


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