Chapter 10

Eric held open the bedroom room door for Sookie and closed it behind them. He scooped her up in his arms and ravaged her face and neck with kisses. "Sookie, my darling, I was so proud of you tonight up there in front of the magister, speaking in your beautiful clear voice. Every eye was on you. They all wanted you."

"Eric, you flatter me, but not everyone sees me the way you do," Sookie countered.

"Sookie, I speak the truth. Why do you accuse me of falsehoods? Come here. I'll tell you a secret." He sat on the edge of the bed and motioned her to his lap.

"A secret, huh?" Sookie raised her eyebrows as she cuddled into his arms.

"Yes," Eric grinned into Sookie's ear. "It's funny. You'll like it. I liked it."

"Ok, what is this secret?" Sookie inquired.

"The magister had a fanger for you, Sookie," Eric snickered.

"Eric, please. That's dirty-minded. Frankly, I didn't notice," Sookie stood up and walked to her dresser.

"Well his boyfriend sure noticed. Didn't you see him glaring at you?" Eric asked, incredulous.

"If you really must know," Sookie turned to him, "whenever I look out at a crowd of vampires with their fangs extended, all I see are I-wanna-have-sex-with-you fangs or I-wanna-drink-you-up fangs. And most of the time, I can't tell the difference between those two vampire expressions. So, no, I didn't notice anything unusual from the magister's boyfriend. Could we change the subject please?"

"As you wish, my lover. Let's talk about how we might amuse ourselves on the flight home later." Eric gave Sookie a sexy head-to-to look of longing. He turned to the dresser and removed his cufflinks and his belt, which he placed in a small leather case and slipped inside his suitcase. They'd be leaving Felipe's private residence tonight for Shreveport and he needed to pack. He slipped out of his dress shirt, balled it up and threw it basketball-style across the room and smack dab into Sookie's open suitcase. He loved to tease Sookie by putting his clothes into her suitcase when she wasn't looking. Later when she was going through her suitcase, she'd find his clothes and her cute little brow would furrow as she wondered how their clothes had gotten mispacked. Even if he wasn't there when she did so, visualizing it gave him a little charge of mischievious fun.

He frowned when he noticed Sookie's mood. She was sitting on the edge of the bed quietly, staring at the floor. "What's wrong, min alskare?" he asked.

"I have a really bad feeling, Eric. I just can't shake it off. Something is wrong. I don't think that vampire did what they're accusing him of, I think he's been framed or something. I can't get it out of my head."

"Sookie, seven vampires testified to his actions and whereabouts and you testified to the thoughts and plans of his human. What is the problem?"

"Eric, I don't think he did it and I think something is underway to make sure he never makes it to his hearing tomorrow night. We've got to help him, Eric, we've got to do something," she noticed Eric's placid expression. "Please. Please, Honey." She stood in front of Eric, stepping up against him and placing her hands on his shoulders, pleading with her eyes.

He felt her firm round breasts pressing into his torso. The feeling of her sweet shapely body lit a fire in his loins. "Could we have sex first?" he whispered, kissing her hair.

"Eric," Sookie chided him but gave him an affirming squeeze on his backside.

Suddenly they were jolted by screams coming from downstairs. The sound of a loud scuffle immediately followed, and then after several seconds of silence, all hell seemed to break loose. Eric protectively pulled Sookie close to him, cupping her head against his chest with his large hand. He moved quickly to hide Sookie. "Here, can you fit into this cabinet?" he asked her. She could and after she tucked herself inside, he closed the cabinet door, shutting her into darkness.

Moving across the room in vampire speed, he pulled two large fighting knives out of the false bottom of his briefcase and with one in each hand, he stepped quietly out into the hallway. Several minutes passed and Sookie cringed as she heard the terrified thoughts of several humans, "Oh god, oh my god, all that blood! I've got to get out of here!" What were these people seeing? Whatever it was, it had to be bad, she concluded.

When she heard someone quitely enter the bedroom, her heart pounded in abject terror. Perhaps this was it, her moment of horror. She held her breath as fear coursed through her veins like ice water.

"Sookie," Eric called out, "it's me." He walked quickly to the cabinet and pulled open the door. Sookie flew into his arms, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Eric," Sookie clutched at Eric, "what happened? Oh god, what happened?"

Eric was calm. "Looks like you may have been at least partially right, Sookie. The accused vampire is dead. He tried to escape and was killed in the process." Eric put his knives away and slipped out of his dress slacks and into jeans and a black cashmere sweater. Pulling on his handmade Italian shoes, he turned to Sookie, who was standing in the center of the room staring at him, her mouth agape. "What? We need to go, Sookie."

"Just like that? Someone is dead, and we just move on like nothing happened? It's not right." She was gasping from the horror of what had happened. Adrenaline still coursed through her veins.

"My lover, there's nothing we can do about it. And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I personally feel no need to mourn. What do you propose we do? Shall we go downstairs and gather the remaining vampires in a circle, hold hands, and pray for his soul? I don't think anyone would be interested in such an activity. Come now, darling, let's pack and get ready to go. Please?"

Sookie looked at him for a long moment, then acquiesced. Eric was right, there was no more to be done. She felt chilled inside at the horrible turn the evening had taken. She didn't like testifying at these vampire trials. Why were they still meting out their own form of justice even though they were supposedly living mainstream lives now, she wondered.

"Eric, why are the vampires using their own court system and their own penal system? It seems like if they're asking to be mainstreamed, shouldn't they use the human systems, the State and Federal courts?" Sookie asked as she changed into jeans and a t-shirt and began packing.

"It's nothing you need concern yourself with, my little sweet," Eric replied.

She was nonplussed. "Eric, wrong. Anytime I am testifying in some kind of court, especially a vampire court, I have a right to know why. I also worry that when I testify, and then someone is punished for it, will my involvement get me into trouble in a human court? Because, well, I think it can, I really do."

"Sookie," Eric counseled, "our vampire doings are kept secret. No one will speak who has any knowledge of it. If they did, they would be punished severely for their treachery."

"Oh that makes me feel a lot better," Sookie's voice rose as she dug in. "Need I remind you I'm still subject to the laws of this land and it doesn't matter what you think about it, whether you think it's fair or not. For instance, let's say I testify against someone in a vampire court, and then they are sentenced to receive some vampire punishment that hurts or kills them. Maybe I could be considered an accessory to what happens to the vampire and with the vampire rights amendment being pushed, I could very easily be held responsible for contributing to what happens to that vampire."

"Sookie, don't be silly. You worry for nothing. I will never let anything happen to you," Eric replied firmly.

"Eric, you don't get it," Sookie jabbed a finger in Eric's direction. "You could be in a position where you can't help me. The cops could come and take me away during the day. Can you help me then?"

"Sookie, I would find you and get you out at night. Now stop with this nonsense." Eric stood facing Sookie with his hands on his hips.

"No, I won't stop. I don't like these tribunals and I won't testify at one ever again. This one really took the cake. The vampire was falsely accused—at least the way I see it, and he was being held and not by the laws of this land. He tried to escape and they killed him. I do not like it and I won't be a part of it ever again, Eric. Not ever." Sookie set her jaw and glared angrily at Eric.

"Sookie, if you are required to testify, you will do so without question. You are in my retinue and you are also my bonded. You will do it for me, if nothing else," Eric's blue eyes flashed fiercely.

"No, Eric," Sookie spoke very quietly now, "I absolutely will not."

"Sookie, this matter is not closed. You will not humiliate me by refusing to testify if you are needed." Eric calmly closed and locked his suitcase then looked at her, his face devoid of expression.

She stared at Eric in disbelief and disappointment. "Eric, do not speak to me for the rest of this night except to assist me to and from the airport and to my transportation home." Sookie forced a façade of steely resolve for Eric's benefit, but inside, she felt weak and frightened. She loved Eric and would do most anything for him, but this was an issue on which she wouldn't and couldn't compromise. She'd always been apprehensive about working for the vampires because she didn't want to be part of something which had the potential to bring harm to humans or vampires, whether they deserved it or not. She even put spiders outside rather than kill them.

The first few times she'd used her gift for the vampires, it was sort of fun. She'd been officially "traveling on business" with all expenses paid and for a small-town waitress who'd never been too far from home, it felt like entre into the glamourous corporate world. She'd even gotten new clothes out of the deal, and as for financial recompense, that had soon followed. The job had given her a feeling of importance, that she and her gift were finally of value to others. Instead of being ridiculed and misunderstood for being telepathic, as she'd been her whole life long, she was now sought after. She loved the feeling and it filled an empty spot inside her she hadn't known existed.

Unfortunately, that sense of feeling valued had recently become replaced by the knowledge that when the vampires needed her, there was no flexibility, and seemingly, no option of whether or not she even wanted to do the asssignment. It would be nice if she were more like a consultant and could say yes or no to the jobs they offered her. Instead, it felt like when they said jump, she had to reply, "how high".

And then, to complicate the subject of working for the vampires, there was Eric. If she hadn't been working for him, she wondered if they'd have even gotten together. They were boyfriend and girlfriend now and she liked it, very much, but she didn't want to be pressured to do things against her personal morals to keep him. In Sookie's mind, if their relationship wasn't simply about love, it wasn't worth having.

Tonight, so far from home, in the spare bedroom of a stranger, she felt suddenly and painfully alone. She wanted to reach out to Eric--who stood in front of the TV watching baseball, his back to her. But on this issue, they were at loggersheads and she dare not back down now. Would he reconsider and find a way to accommodate her needs?

Eric looked at the state of Sookie's suitcases out of the corner of his eye and figured she was packed, enough at least for his valet to come to their room and take their things to the car.

Sookie wanted the silent treatment from him? No problem, he decided. He could give her the silent treatment until she begged him to speak and still he wouldn't do so. She could crawl to him from Bon Temps to Shreveport on bloody hands and knees and he would bandage her wounds, but he still wouldn't speak to her.

Inwardly, he groaned at the outcome of this night's argument. This woman, she had gotten way too far under his skin and because of it, she had pushed his back against the wall.

He couldn't believe he'd let her so far inside his heart. It was definitely time to get a grip on himself and if she didn't want to go along with the program, then she could just plain go. How many times since he'd been a vampire had he learned this same exact lesson, over and over? Meet a woman, get involved, win her heart, give her some of your heart, and then the trouble starts. History repeated itself again and again, and not just for him but for every male vampire he knew. For a long time, he'd tried to analyze it, thinking he could figure out where things were going wrong and he could head trouble off at the pass. Unfortunately, nothing had ever worked to stave off the inevitable breakup.

No matter what he did, and regardless of the type of woman he chose or where they lived, in the end it seemed to always come down to the woman being disappointed or intolerant of his life as a vampire. Yes, at first they always said they loved him being a vampire, but when it came down to the details of it, well the devil was in those it seemed, and the unraveling always started there. "Your body is so cold, can't you do something about it?" or "Can't you just have dinner with me one time?" or "Why are you always feeding on blood? Can't you just try eating regular food?" and of course the ultimate deal breaker was "I'm sorry, I really love you, but I want to have children."

Perhaps he and Sookie were near the end of the line. If so, it's a shame, he thought, because she was the first woman he had truly loved since he'd become a vampire. It had taken him almost two years of being around her to realize that he couldn't fight it. He couldn't fight her. She literally owned him, heart and soul. And he had poured it all out for her, everything, all that he was. Perhaps it wasn't enough, he thought, as he raked his hands through his hair.

"If you're finished packing, I'll have our bags taken down to the car. Are you?" he asked without looking at her. Don't look at her, he decided, make her crave your attention. Even after a thousand years of women, it was still a guessing game as to how to handle them when they were angry, but this was a pretty good strategy. He had so many methods for dealing with women, lately he'd considered writing a guidebook for human men. Ignorant as they were with their limited experience, he figured he could sell the hell out of it.

"What do you think, Eric, does it look like I'm done packing?" Sookie snapped.

He stifled a laugh—so much for that tactic. Sookie was so funny when she was angry. She didn't know it but she amused him, thrilled him, inspired him. He would be very sorry to see her go. He picked up the phone and called his valet to come pick up their bags.

He laid down on the bed and watched Sookie pull her hair into a twist and secure it with a clip. And then, unbidden and without warning, the horrible dreaded words spilled hoarsely from his lips as he accepted what he believed to be their fate, "Come lay with me one last time, Sookie."

She gasped and choked as tears sprang from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "How dare you throw me over because of a little problem," she said. She flew across the room and into his arms. They clung to each other fiercely, her body trembling against his. Tears of blood glittered in his eyes, and they kissed deeply, murmuring and crying, hands touching each other's faces.

"I love you so much, Sookie. I love you like I've never loved before. For the first time in my whole life as a vampire, I don't know what to do." He buried his face in her neck.

"I love you, too. We'll figure it out together. Okay?" she asked.

"Yes, we'll figure it out. We have to because I don't want to live this life without you."

"Me neither. And oh my God, it took me so long to find you," she murmured against his lips.