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"RING"
Chapter Nine
Godric stood by the white, marble fireplace and waited patiently. He had not always been patient. In his youth, both as human and vampire he had been impetuous and bold. Too bold, some had said. As time had become inconsequential, he found that his patience grew. For it seemed to him now that he had all the time in the world.
Elliane was calming down, suppressing the yearning desire he had arisen in her and the anger that she perversely directed at herself; and he knew that she would soon come back to the room
For the last two weeks, Godric had been completely tuned to her inner feelings. The control she had over her emotions was considerable given that she was strongly burdened with an innate inclination to fear and anxiety. He was surprised that someone of her disposition got into the line of investigative work.
He was impressed that she would suppress her darker and morbid emotions by sheer will. Though he wondered what damage she did to herself in the process. He was disturbed by the somewhat fatalistic attitude that he sensed within her. Like the night before, when she had calmly accepted her impeding death sentence. She even waited patiently for it's arrival. How he had then wanted to violently shake the despair from her. She was too young to be so apathetic.
His ability to sense her inner emotions had started to wane and he wondered if he would sense them at all in another two weeks. Unusual he thought, especially since she had taken his blood not so long ago.
He heard her breathe a huff of annoyance; and she left the connecting bathroom, flicking the light off as she re-entered the bedroom. She paused at the doorway avoiding his direct gaze and looking somewhere over his shoulder as she spoke.
"I don't suppose you could feed from my wrist next time?" she asked in her low melodic voice. Her tone was cautious and polite; as her hand fingered over the slight wound in her neck.
"Certainly," he answered walking towards her.
She continued to avoid his gaze, looking down at the ground as he approached. As he drew nearer, the traces of his blood within her responded to his close proximity, causing her heart-rate to pickup.
"I have a favour to ask of you," he said.
She ventured a furtive glance at him. Her silver eyes glowered from beneath her lashes.
He held out a long platinum chain from which hung a gold ring. "I am curious to know if you can read objects that have been worn by my race." Out of interest, he monitored her emotions carefully; her brief consternation was replaced with a disgruntled stoicism as she replied.
"I wouldn't know. I guess I can give it a go."
She sat neatly on the chair by the fireplace and held out her hand. Godric dropped the ring and chain together into her palm. Unthreading the ring from the chain, Elliane examined it closely. It was shaped to fit a slender finger and was made of many hair-fine strands of gold, which were delicately woven and plaited together.
"What extraordinary craftsmanship," she murmured. "This ring is very old, yet it looks almost new"
"It has been well kept," he answered. "How old do you think it is?"
"It is older than anything I've ever held before." Elliane closed the ring into the fist of her hand. "It was worn by a woman?"
"Yes, though many years ago now, it was worn…"
"…by a very devout woman," she finished. Though it was not what Godric was going to say. "She was clever and held a position of responsibly for many people," She closed her eyes.
"Can you see her?"
"No. I can only get general impressions this way."
Godric's expression became more sombre. "She died in strange circumstances, and I was unable to find out information about her death."
"Was she a vampire?"
"No. Well - not while I knew her. The last time I saw her - was the year before she died."
"How long ago was this?"
"Nearly eight hundred years."
Wow, she thought. "Have you had the ring ever since?"
Godric nodded. "Yes, I wear it on the chain."
"I have never used my ability on something so old," she said softly, her eyes became thoughtful and distant. "I don't know how long memories stay with objects. They might fade after time."
"I understand."
"I don't seem to get impressions of anyone else. It would be interesting to sleep with it."
The idea of reading something so old; to get a unique look into history itself along with the personal history of the ring, was starting to appeal greatly to Elliane. Godric saw her intrigued smile as she continued to examine it.
"Would you mind if I wore it?"
"Not at all.. if it fits you that is."
Elliane slid the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand, holding her hand up to admire it. It fitted very well. When she looked at Godric, she noticed a strange expression cross his face.
"Would you rather I took it off?" she asked. Clearly he had an attachment to the ring. He had kept it for eight hundred years and now his face looked constrained.
"No." he said, and realizing she had caught his countenance off guard, he continued with the effort to explain himself. "That was the hand and finger that she wore it on."
"I shall sleep with it tonight and record what I find."
Godric nodded.
Looking at his remote expression, Elliane changed the subject.
"So what happens to me now?" she asked. "Some of my finances are safe to access and I can set myself up, fairly comfortably, as long as the location is not too expensive."
"I would like you to stay here for a few days, while I tie up the bargain I have negotiated for your safety. In fact, I must leave shortly to do this while I still have the night to travel"
"Can't I come with you?" she queried. She didn't like the idea of being here with Eric and Pam.
"Unfortunately no. You must remain out of sight until it is concluded."
"I could stay in a hotel."
"It is better that you remain here," he said. He could sense her anxiety. "You will be safe here."
"What... with Eric and Pam?"
"They will not harm you."
She raised her brows in a look of disbelief.
"In any case they are not likely to be here themselves. They have their business concerns in Shreveport"
"Are we far from there?"
"Some distance. Both of them have homes closer to their club."
He continued to sense that she was deeply concerned at the idea of staying. "This is a good place for you to be at the moment. It is remote, easy to defend, and is guarded day and night" he continued.
Elliane couldn't fault the logic of staying where she was, but it made her uneasy.
"Well… I will stay if you want me to," she began in a huff. "But, Pam will no doubt try to dress me up like a doll," she said, her tone was slightly petulant. "And Eric will most likely try to seduce me - or feed from me."
Godric couldn't help but smirk.
"No-one will harm you, Elliane. You are already under my protection."
"Okay, whatever…" she replied. The fatalistic attitude had returned, he noticed.
"They certainly will not feed from you. Not unless it was an absolute emergency. Pam can get bored easily but she will behave."
She shrugged
"And Eric might try to seduce you, but he won't succeed."
"Oh really…? How can you be so sure?"
"Math." He replied with a subtle grin. "Eric is over a thousand years old. And since he has easily had close to hundred women a year - that would mean he has had over one hundred thousand women in his vampire lifetime."
Elliane looked appalled.
"And, I'm sure you don't wish to be compared to a hundred thousand women."
A glacial look crossed Elliane's face and she nodded.
The night was stunning. Each star that pierced through the inky blackness shone like a diamond in a sheet of black velvet. Sitting under a tree in the sparse countryside was a strange creature. 'Phume' looked like no mortal that a mortal had ever seen. In fact, no human mortal had ever seen him.
His build was quite short; reaching no more than four foot in height, and his berth was thick and stocky. He had long gangly arms, which ended in dexterous hands that reached his knees. His skin was grey and his face resembled that of a boar, with an extended jaw and lower fangs that pushed up over his thin top lip; making them always visible, whether his mouth was open or closed. He had large black eyes, which could see equally well in darkness or sunlight. Not that he roamed much at day. He preferred the evening air and the hush of the trees. His hair, what he had of it, was coarse and black.
Phume wore a brown skull-cap of leather with a grubby shirt and pants of tan suede. Hearing a slight scuttle of noise nearby, he leant back into the tree and like a chameleon, his form blended into the texture. The effect was instant. An ability that his race used as easily as a human breathed. His beady eyes searched the long grass and spotted the culprit. A small mouse with a seed of grain in its little claws nibbled innocently on its meal.
There was a slight flutter in the grass and Phume looked alert. He could sense the arrival now of his companion and it was then that another tiny creature came into view. The one he had been waiting for.
Golios faded into sight slowly, and then darted up the arm of Phume, settling himself on Phume's shoulder. It was an easy feat for the dashing pixie like creature, who was slim and agile; and no more than a foot tall. The opposite of Phume in many ways, Golios was well proportioned apart from his diminutive size. He wore tiny, striped pantaloons of blue and red silk and an embroidered vest. He wore a hat which sported a feather upon his flowing silver locks and knee high boots with small golden buckles. His skin glowed an ethereal green and his eyes shone like gold.
Phume spoke. His stilted voice was a rumbling soft tone; like thunder in the distance.
"What you find?"
Golios answered, and his voice was lyrical like the wind; singing on the leaves of trees.
"Dark and dead hath taketh Sweetling for his own."
"Bound?' Phume queried, his eyes bulged a little.
"Nay! Sweetling cannay be obliged," sang the little voice. "Dark and dead preserve Sweetling from mortal foe."
Phume nodded and sighed. The relief of an age old mission finally complete seemed written upon his face.
"We report now?" his strange voice a distant boom.
Golios nodded and leaped like an acrobat from the shoulder of Phume onto a patch of grass. He knocked with his fist on the ground and leaped back. A shimmer appeared on the earth and started to swirl. The pair waited a moment, while the shimmer became a whirlpool of spinning silver lights. Phume stepped into the shimmer and vanished into the earth as though a hole was beneath him. Golios followed closely behind and the shimmer vanished.
It was lock up time at Merlotte's Bar and Grill. Sookie had done her prep for the next day and was heading out to her car. She smiled to herself. Bill was waiting for her at home. Although she was tired, she looked forward to seeing her handsome, vampire boyfriend. Getting her keys out of her purse, she halted suddenly as she saw a tall blond figure leaning against her vehicle.
Eric, she thought unhappily.
"What are you doing here, Eric? It's late and I need to be getting home." Sookie huffed and though she didn't betray the emotion, the presence of Eric made her uneasy.
"Is this really your car?" he asked bemused.
"Yes," she snapped back. "Not everyone has money to throw around on expensive trinkets."
"That is true," he said. He was not at all abashed. "This vehicle is hardly roadworthy however. I am surprised that Bill hasn't seen to getting you something safer to drive."
"I am not a kept woman! I can look after myself. Bill knows that I would not accept such a gift." She responded fierily.
Eric merely smirked.
Sookie became impatient. "So why are you here?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Eric looked her over. The sassy blonde was just adorable. He was tempted to say something suggestive, but he could see that she was genuinely tired and certainly not in the mood for banter.
"I want to ask you a few questions?" he stated calmly. "It won't take long."
"I hope not," she sighed with a firm set to her mouth. "What do you want to know?"
"Last night, when you came to see Elliane, did you notice anything strange about her?" Eric looked at Sookie intently while he waited for her to respond. Elliane had entered his thoughts several times through-out the night. An annoying interruption to his musings, while he had looked over the new talent that Fangtasia had offered that night.
"Her mind is strange if that is what you mean. Not that she has strange thoughts exactly, but her mind is built differently to others."
"In what way?"
"It is highly organised and very vast. It contains a lot of information that she just stores away."
"Is she human?"
Sookie shrugged. "I don't know. She definitely doesn't think like most humans."
"Maybe it's her FBI training…" his voice trailed and he nodded thoughtfully.
"She doesn't work for the FBI. She works with a company called BOSI?"
Eric's eyes widened.
"Really… BOSI? I've not heard of them for years. The Bureau of Social Intelligence. I didn't think they were around anymore."
"Well you obviously don't know everything then, do you Eric."
Eric flashed a dark look at Sookie. "At least that explains a few things. I couldn't imagine the FBI assassinating one of their agents. Their agents screw up all the time. But BOSI..."
BOSI, as Eric recalled, was an unorthodox fringe group. This organisation was in part, privately funded, and designed to collect and distribute data. Everyone that knew anything about the group, also knew, that there was more to this company than what their PR profile proclaimed
Sookie caught onto his meaning. "Is she in a lot of trouble?"
Eric nodded. The mobile phone in the pocket of his jacket rang and he pulled it out to answer it.
"Pam." He said into the receiver as he saw the caller ID.
Sookie couldn't hear Pam on the other line but she saw Eric frown as he listened to her on the other end.
"I am on my way." he stated eventually to Pam.
Eric pocketed the phone and turned back to Sookie.
"Thank you Miss Stackhouse. As usual, you have been of great assistance to me."
"Is there a problem?" Sookie asked curiously.
"Yes, I have to go. It appears that Elliane been taken very ill."
