Chapter 10
We didn't have to wait too awful long before sunset, and the moment it did, Bill came into the room, pulling Sookie into a long embrace. Sookie pulled away abruptly though, distracted by what we had learned only an hour ago.
"You still worried about our fight?" he asked. "Sookie, none of that matters anymore."
"You're right," said Sookie. "I'm alive and in one piece-" she paused and gave me a quick glance, to which I nodded in encouragement, "-unlike my friend Lafayette, who Eric chained up like an animal and left to bleed to death."
"What?" Bill murmured, seeming genuinely confused.
"You better not have known anything about this, Bill Compton, because if you did, I don't think I could ever forgive you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he pleaded.
"I imagine she's referring to the human in my basement," an all too familiar voice said. I spun around to see Eric strolling in nonchalantly, as if he had done nothing wrong. "The human that traded sexual services with a vampire in order to sell his blood. Which, as you know, is a grave offense." Lafayette was dealing V? Up in Alaska, there were very few incidents involving the new drug of choice. But I knew the effects it had on people, and how it turned them batshit crazy. But dealing V was in no way an excuse for what had been done to the poor man downstairs.
"His name is Lafayette, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for what you've done to him," Sookie seethed. She slapped the vampire right across his condescending face.
"Sookie!" Bill warned, clearly not wanting her to stir trouble with the old vampire. But I was proud of Sookie's bravery.
"No, she's right," I scoffed, fed up. "Fuck you," I spat and slapped Eric myself. The moment I did it though, I started thinking Bill was right to scold Sookie. I immediately regretted what I'd done, and gulped in anticipation for what the vampire would do to me. If he tortured someone who was dealing V, I was sure there was even more in store for someone who dared to assault him.
To my surprise, and relief, Eric only smirked and said to me, "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Go to hell," I said before I could stop myself.
"You've tortured him and bit him and shot him and kept him down there in his own filth for weeks!" Sookie backed me up.
"Is this true?" Bill asked Eric.
There are others who would have done far worse and you know it," Eric said indifferently.
"You're gonna let him go right now, or I swear," Sookie ordered.
"We'll go to the police," I threatened.
Eric's fangs popped out and he hissed at the two of us. I gasped and took half a step back. "I do not respond well to threats," he warned, leaning his face into mine. I breathed heavily, but did my best to hide my fear. I held my ground. When he saw this, he pulled back slightly, and then turned his attention to Sookie. "But perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement. Please," he said, beckoning us into his office. I followed behind Sookie cautiously.
Once we were all inside Eric's office once more, I sat down in the same chair I had last night, while everyone else remained standing. Sookie folded her arms across her chest and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want the truth," he said, his eyebrows raised. "What are you not telling me about this one here?" He placed a hand on my shoulder, obviously referring to me. I tried to act disgusted, but there was an electricity between us that was making it difficult.
"What are you talking about?" Sookie asked. "Lissa has nothing to do with this."
Eric turned his gaze to me, and spun my chair around to face him. "So Bill tells me that it seemed like you knew Sookie was in trouble before he could even feel her fear. Why is that?" Oh great, so this had turned into an interrogation.
"Bill?" Sookie asked, a little upset that he would betray her new friend.
"Sookie, he's my sheriff, you know I can't keep these things from him," he responded.
"Well I can, and so can Lissa," she snapped and then turned to me with a serious look on her face. "Don't tell him anything."
"There's nothing to tell," I lied through my teeth.
"Don't make me force it out of you, Alessandra," Eric whispered menacingly into my ear.
"I'm not afraid of you," I retorted.
"Perhaps you should be. Were we not just discussing the terms for your friend's release?"
Friend was a bit of a stretch. I didn't know Lafayette at all. Though I didn't agree with what was being done to him, we were still complete strangers. But he was Sookie's friend, and I could tell she really cared about him.
"I really don't know what you want me to say…" I stalled.
Eric buried his head into the hair around my neck and breathed me in. I tried to look grossed out, when in reality his close proximity had me swooning. He continued, "You smell different. There's a reason for your heightened intuition and inability to be glamoured. And you're going to tell me, now."
I glanced at Sookie, who shook her head, telling me to keep quiet. But was it worth it?
"Fine," I sighed, ignoring my friend's warnings. "I'm a psychic. There. Are we done now? Is Lafayette free to go?"
Eric studied me carefully. "Interesting," he mused. "So you see the future?"
"I get glimpses of it, sort of like visions."
"And how often do you get these visions?"
"They're inconsistent." He squinted at me; clearly my answer was not enough. "Okay, I get them when I make contact with someone for the first time. Then after that first encounter, they usually take more effort to come by. But it's not an exact science, like I said they're really inconsistent."
"What else?" Eric pressed on.
"That's it. Besides whatever that glamouring thing is you mentioned. Oh, and Sookie can't read my thoughts."
He contemplated this for a moment, before turning to Sookie. "Is that true?"
Sookie hesitated. "Yes."
"Hmm. Can you have a vision on command?" he asked of me.
"Uh, no, not really. I never really tried to, but like I said I can't control them. I don't think I could just have one on command," I mumbled.
"Well," Eric smirked, "perhaps you can be trained to."
I squinted my eyes at him. This man was just so unreal. He made me extremely uncomfortable, but at the same time, strangely nervous in a good way. I brushed off his inappropriate comment. "Can you let Lafayette go now?"
He just laughed. "After what? You tell me your brave little secret? Oh, no, that does not make up for the selling of vampire blood."
"Oh, get to the point already," Sookie said, rolling her eyes. "What more do you want?"
Eric sat down on the edge of his desk. "There's a vampire missing in Dallas, one too important to leave that way."
"Not this again," Bill groaned. "We discussed this."
"And we'll discuss it again," Eric enforced. He turned back to Sookie. "I require your abilities to help track him down."
Sookie contemplated his words. "So if I agree to go to Dallas to help look for this missing vampire, you'll let Lafayette go?"
"No," Bill objected. "You nearly died last night. You are not going to Dallas."
"Bill, I can make up my own mind."
"I will pay all of your expenses, of course," said Eric. "And yes, I will release your friend."
"And I want five thousand dollars," Sookie bargained. "I've missed a lot of work and I need a driveway."
"Your human is getting cocky," Eric told Bill.
"She will take ten thousand, and I will escort her," Bill pressed.
"I don't think so, no."
"Yes," Sookie agreed. "Ten thousand and Bill comes with me or it's a deal breaker." She and Eric stared each other down.
"Fine," Eric gave in. "But only if this one goes as well." I felt him nudge me and I jumped, startled. At this point in the conversation, I had zoned out, figuring it didn't concern me.
"What?" I asked, completely unaware of what had transpired.
"Oh, leave her out of this," Sookie said. "She has nothing to do with it."
"That's where you're wrong," Eric countered. "Her psychic abilities would certainly be of use, possibly even more so than your talents." Sookie gawked at him, but he ignored her, waiting for my response.
"No!" I gawked at his ridiculous proposal. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"You will if you want your friend released."
"She doesn't even know Lafayette, Eric!" Sookie protested. "You can't hold that against her."
"I can, and I will, actually," Eric retorted. "Those are my terms, take it or leave it." His eyes fell back to me expectantly, and my mind worked desperately to come up with an excuse, any excuse.
"I can't go to Dallas," I said. "My dad's not in good health."
"That can be changed."
"What do you mean?"
"I can heal him."
"Don't joke about that sort of stuff."
"I'm serious. If you agreed to go to Dallas, I would be happy to heal your father."
I thought about it. Was it seriously possible to cure my dad of Alzheimer's and heal the bleeding in his head that was killing him? And if it was possible, would I really want that? Did I want him to remember everything he did to me, and to hang around for however many more years to come, tormenting me? I hated my dad, but did I wish death upon him? If I didn't care about him in the slightest bit, why was I all the way down here in Louisiana in the first place?
"Can he really do that?" I asked Sookie.
"Yes," she said softly. I nodded my head and turned back to Eric.
"Fine. But in addition to my father's health, I want ten thousand dollars as well." I was still completely broke and freeloading off of Sookie, and I hated owing people.
Eric smirked at me before saying something through his intercom in that other language. Was it Swedish?
"You surprise me," he told me. "And that is a rare quality in a breather."
"You disgust me," I threw back at him.
"Perhaps I'll grow on you."
"I'd prefer cancer."
Eric ignored my remark and turned to Bill. "You need to leave immediately."
"I will make the travel arrangements," said Bill. "But I will need your credit card number."
The door swung open and Pam threw Lafayette to the ground. Sookie and I ran over to him and knelt down bedside him.
"Such a shame," mused Pam. "I was hoping I could convince Eric to let me keep you."
"No, you already have enough pets," Eric stated casually, like referring to humans as pets was a normal, socially acceptable thing to say.
Lafayette groaned. "No offense, but you ain't exactly my type, bitch."
"Can I kick him?" Pam asked in all seriousness.
"You can try," Bill warned.
"Enough," Eric commanded in a bored voice. "Have Chow fetch their car." Pam left the room reluctantly as he walked over and knelt beside me. I looked at him disgusted as he stroked Lafayette's shoulder. "I'll see you around, I'm sure."
"Oh, don't bet on it, baby," promised Lafayette. "I'm retiring. I'm done with you crazy-ass fuckers. Done."
Eric smirked at him, and his smile only grew wider when he looked up at me beside him scowling at him. He got up to allow Bill to pick Lafayette up and carry his damaged body out of the office. I continued to stare disgustedly at the tall vampire until Sookie tugged my arm and pulled me out of the room.
I didn't care that he was the most beautiful creature I ever laid eyes on, or that he oozed sex appeal, or that the way his lips moved when he said my names sent chills down my body. I knew Eric was nothing but trouble, and I continued to remind myself of that the whole car ride home.
Sorry for the wait... more updates to come