Chapter Eight: Damn Fairies

I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in faires, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?

-John Lennon

Work was busy. Despite everything that happened lately people still seemed to like coming to Merlotte's to drink or eat, relax after a long day. It often was placed for just as much trouble as anywhere else. Repairs were still happening on the front door, Sam had put it off to some biker passing through on drugs and everyone seemed to accept it even with knowing Vampires roamed the night. She was just glad no one realized it had really been Russel.

Tara kept glancing toward the door nervously throughout the night and Sookie could 'hear' that she was still nervous about more coming today. Then she had Lafayette she was worried about and taking care of. All in all Sookie volunteered to stay over and count the money with Sam so Tara could leave before everyone else did. The horrible things seemed to happen when it got really late and the bar itself wasn't all that incredibly busy on a Thursday night - tomorrow would be much worse but Tara had taken the weekend off to be with her cousin.

There was enough help with Holly and Arlene competing for every possible hour and with Jessica they were usually covered if needed. Jessica just tended to work nights whenever she should. Sookie had seniority and could take more hours but when Jessica offered to work her weekend despite the guilt she felt at the lost money she accepted. She needed time to really think about what had happened and what she'd learned from it all. Certainly life was too short seemed a good lesson given all the deaths she'd reported in her long story to Bishop the day before.

Distracted with her own thoughts while no other tables needed tending she didn't even see it when the man that had assaulted her entered. The fae flirting with Tara at the counter before Sookie realized or could interject. She earned a glare from her friend when she walked up a moment later to do just that.

"You...what do you want?" Sookie asked with a frown on her face.

A brow rose at her and she wanted to curse how much like his 'cousin' he was even in actions. "I'm sorry miss am I disturbing you...I just came in to talk to my friend here."

"Really Sook, you can calm down. Alakant was just talking to me, visiting me while I was working. We're sorta going out, he was gonna go with me to dinner since I'm getting off a little early." Tara confessed, sending a bit of a smile to Alagant. "You should relax. Perhaps you need a drink."

"No...he attacked me this afternoon at my house Tara. You shouldn't trust him." Sookie said directly, Sam had come up behind them and some of the customers were starting to watch the scene - perhaps the scenes were why they kept coming as opposed to driving them off.

"Sookie, isn't it?" The man asked in a smooth voice deeper than Bishop's tenor, but still equally as attractive. "I think you must have mistaken me for someone else. Don't worry that happens sometimes. I was with Tara all this afternoon. I took her out shopping to make up for a missed date last week."

"Yep, all afternoon," Tara nodded, confirming his story. "You need to relax, not the whole world is out to get you Sookie. I know we've been through a lot. But if you need the time off tonight more than me I can stay. I think Alakant will understand. Would you mind Sam? I think maybe she's still not feeling well."

"Fine with me," Sam said, pouring some drinks. "Finish up your tables and go ahead and take the weekend off so you can recover more. I shouldn't have had to come back so early."

The man nodded politely. "It will be a pity, but I'll manage. Would you like me to walk you to your car Ms. Stackhouse?"

Sookie resisted the urge to smack him, but remembering the ring hanging around her neck she nodded lightly. "Fine."

She didn't want to, but she couldn't say anything else inside. Hoping that Bishop was right and his ward would work she followed the graceful man out of the bar. She supposed she couldn't blame Tara for being interested, fairy men or women were both drop dead gorgeous – at least until they died as far as she could tell.

"There see, nice and easy. I suppose Nigel put a ward on you...I can smell his magic around you." He said once they were closer to her car.

"Look, what do you want?" She supposed Nigel was also Bishop? She hoped so considering she couldn't remember anyone else named Nigel.

"I want to take you out of time." He said with a shrug. "Queen Mab offered good payment if I could bring you to her. Of course I could always just take your friends away one at a time. Memories are an easy fix...time consuming but not difficult. Who should I take after Tara? What about that vampire neighbor of yours? Or the big stupid blonde one that fancies himself a warrior."

"Leave my friends out of this...what the hell the fairy's want people for anyway?" Sookie figured as he hadn't attacked yet she had to be at least a little safe, she resisted the urge to reach up to the ring though she did have the desire to hold it. (Or to scream 'Help now!" at it but that didn't seem like how magic would work.) "Why are they harvesting us?"

"Children related to the fae hold a lot of magic for the cast out souls in the Shadowlands. They think they can absorb your light to return themselves to Arcadia." He said with a chuckle. "Don't get me wrong, they're fools and completely wrong, the Princes would slay them the moment they entered but the royalty is too concerned with it's war to noticed it's brethren being poached."

"Poached?" Sookie was frowning still, pondering if she could punch him and if she did if it would matter.

"You aren't descended from the shadow courts; their children don't have the light like the few remaining descendants from Arcadia. No...you are a child of the sky. Your clan would be displeased that you are being targeting if they knew, Niall would be up in arms." He commented thoughtfully. "I'm as bad as Bishop allowing myself to get off topic. Old habit you understand, being a teacher is a part of what we were. Now, you'll willingly break your ward and come with me."

"No." Sookie shook her head negatively. "No way! If this other clan would want to protect me why don't you inform them as to my existence and try to seek payment like that?"

It was a long shot but from the way he'd raised both brows at her she could tell it was something he hadn't thought about. The lingering silence meant he might be thinking of it now. Finally he shook his head. "No. The Clan of the Sky wouldn't deal with a fallen creature like me. They would consider me too close to the shadow..."

While he was still talking Sookie figured she might as well take her chance. She popped him right in the nose and then felt a burning on her chest as the ring got impossibly warm. She winced but then was tossed to the ground. Alakant's pleasant features transforming to monstrous ones, as the ones in the other world when she was there had done when they got angry. Claudine's had done the same thing when Eric had drained her, though that only lasted a moment.

"Impossible woman...Bishop won't always be able to save you...I'll wipe you from this world one way or the next. He can't stay here forever." The man vanished into the shadow of her car moments before she felt a pulse of wind, the second mage appearing nearby.

"Alakant..." Bishop frowned, staring at where the creature had vanished. "I didn't expect him to try again so soon. What was he after?"

"He said he wanted to sell me to Queen Mab." Sookie reached up to accept the help up the man offered her, stronger than he looked. "And that I was related to the Sky clan and someone named Niall - whatever the hell that means. Then that he would wipe the memories of my friends. Damn fairies."

"They are not all so dark..." Bishop said, glancing to her with a light smile, looking her over. "You keep meeting the ones tied to the Shadowlands. They create illusions to fool you. Though what they create is nothing compared to the real thing. If your family finds you and you see the true Arcadia you'll understand that."

"Sounds like a bunch of nonsense right now...but what do you mean family?" As far as she knew it was just her and Jason that was left. Then Hunter but she was trying to remain out of the boy's life so he wouldn't get drug into her problems. If they were descended from fairies though there could be other family she didn't know about.

"Much as it sounds. If you are a descendant of the Sky clan as he says - it's likely whoever introduced the fairy blood into your line is still alive. The Sky clan is one of few that still do well. They rule Arcadia, the half of the faerie lands that you haven't seen." Bishop stated, explaining things overmuch as Alakant had been doing. Apparently it was a side effect of what he was.

"Could you help me meet them?" Sookie couldn't help but ask. "I don't have a lot of family."

"I'm afraid that is not in line with my duties here." He said with a negative shake of his head. "Though the next time I'm in Arcadia I can mention it. I can't promise when that will be. You should find someone safe to be close to. If he is right and you are related to Niall then you are likely to be targeted by more than him. Queen Mab could gain a lot by getting her hands on one of his family. I can work some spells to make Alakants magic more difficult however he knows what to do to make him very difficult to trace."

"You can't just make everyone a little warded talisman?" Sookie asked hopefully, expecting it not to be that easy. "And uh, I don't really understand all that…if you can't help directly, can you send a message? You said you could help me cause this Alakant is your enemy. Can you contact Niall as this man is working with his enemy?"

"I cannot extend myself by making many talismans, they are more difficult than the magic around the vampire. If I were to do that he could attempt to attack me while I was weak. If you are not here, he will not go after your friends. If you have a safe place to go while my hunt for him takes place he'll have no choice but to stop targeting them." Bishop answered, and then nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I can send a message with that reasoning yes. The fae do not look at time as we do, as you are well aware, I cannot say when he'll have the moment to contact you, if he does."

"So I have to give up my life so you can catch Alakant?" She couldn't help but sound a bit whiny and frustrated. It always turned into this. She had hoped with the ward she'd still be able to live her life but the damn supernatural creatures always found a way to turn things against her that she wanted. "Well, I guess you're helping me at least."

"It would be temporary." He replied with a small shrug of apology. "The Viking would take you in."

"Eric?" She frowned but nodded. "That's not very far."

"It's on the other side of the ley line. Far enough to make things difficult for Alakant, I could ward a building or two and those inside would still be safe, I'd be able to know if he even walked on the premises."

"He said he could smell your magic, is that normal?" Sookie didn't want to ask Eric, but it wasn't looking like she would have much choice. Alone time to just think wasn't going to happen; apparently the sooner she accepted that the happier she would be.

"For a tracker, as he was once, yes. He used to be as I am. Dealing with magics gone awry, he did it for many more years than I have been." Bishop explained, looking over her car and tapping its hood a few times, muttering something under his breath that sounded like latin.

"So he's stronger than you?" She wasn't sure what to say, but she blushed some when he looked directly at her after the question, realizing it was sort of rude. "Sorry...just if he was doing this longer."

"He was a tracker longer than I...he is not stronger than I when it comes to magic. His fairy abilities give him a certain edge but when it comes to true magic..." Bishop shrugged lightly. "There is a reason he runs away when I am near. When he left the order he re-established his threads to the world, he cannot command true magic, only the hedge spells like the necromancers you dealt with."

Somehow, humility never seemed more intimidating than that easy dismissal of the creature that had just told her it was easy to augment memories and had stolen her control of her body the day before. Not to mention the implication that what had happened with the coven was weak. "You know, this is twice in two days you've rescued me. Thanks, again Bishop or um..Nigel...is that your name?"

"Yes...though I don't give it out often. Alakant mentioned it?"

She nodded.

"Nigel it is then I suppose." He said with a chuckle. "So will you call your vampire friend? You are pleasant company Ms. Stackhouse, but I do have other work I need to accomplish and your many questions are a distration."

"Oh...I guess..." She frowned a little, as if pouting at the idea of having to call Eric to save her. Dialing and waiting on the rings at the club.

"Fangtasia, Putting a new meaning in Dead Sexy." Pam said in a bored tone of voice. She sounded a little nervous when she realized it was Sookie, but after being assured it wasn't about their little deal she took the phone to her maker.

"Sookie." Eric said in a single word. His phone etiquette as bad as ever.

"Eric...I..." She hesitated but a meaningful glance from Bishop made her push forward. "Can I stay with you for a few nights? Or at Fangtasia if you wouldn't mind?"

End Chapter

Hehe, forcing Sookie to ask for Eric's help makes me happy. Well it probably makes Eric happy too. Darn girl is the queen of mixed signals.

-Aura

To my reviewers: Whee, thanks still for all the awesome feedback. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I put more free time into this fic than I probably should lol. Though I'm already looking forward to working on the next chapter - anything with lots of Eric should be fun to write.