Corin burst into the house, his hair wildly wind-tossed and his pants' legs wet to his knees. He propped his spear against the wall. Bill asked in a droll tone, "Catch anything?" Corin snorted, but his eyes were dancing. I was reminded yet again how older vamps deny missing their human existences, yet nothing seems to make them happy so much as engaging in the things they loved from those times.
Speaking of which, in swept Eric, also wind-blown and wet. I could imagine him down on the dark beach, swinging his blade at imaginary foes, lunging to topple heads and lop off arms. He was grinning, and his fangs were still down from high excitement. He was glorious to see like that. Rio had been sitting in the kitchen with Tegen, and they had been talking about young women things, among them menstration—Tegen wanted to know in that matter-of-fact way women had nowadays if fairies had periods—and all this talk about blood was getting Bill a little hot under the collar (he occasionally remarked that he missed my own periods, but he wasn't entirely serious. I don't think.) When Eric returned, she rose from the table and stretched like a cat. Eric's eyes glowed at the sight. He looked like he could eat her up, and I'm fairly certain he wanted to.
Eric embraced her and she licked his face, commenting that he was salty. "You should have come along," Eric smiled at her. She shook her head, saying, "Actually, I had a job here." When Eric looked surprised, she said, "I've tuned the house to Mab and Bill and Tegen; I want to do that for you and Corin."
Eric turned to me, "Is that acceptable to you and Bill?" I nodded and Bill said, "Yes." The earlier reluctance he'd shown was gone from his voice. I briefly wondered if having seen how completely Eric was in my daughter's thrall had dialed down Bill's jealousy a notch. Rio took Eric's hand, leading him outside, motioning Corin to follow them.
What was really weird was sitting in the house while Rio did… whatever it was she did. There was an ultrasonic whine audible to Bill's and my vampire hearing, although looking at Tegen, she didn't indicate that she heard it at all. After a few minutes, the door swung open and Corin bounded in, exclaiming, "By ros!" Rio and Eric followed him in, Eric commenting, "By ros indeed."
He pulled a bench in front of the fire and sat with his sword, folding his long legs underneath it. From his pocket, he fished a rock from the beach, and after he spat on it, he drew the rock along the sword blade with a zing. He looked so beautiful doing that, completely at ease and in his element. For a time, the sound of stone on metal was all there was to hear.
When Eric stopped stropping his blade, Bill spoke into the quiet, "I think Land's End might work."
We all turned to look at him. He zipped upstairs with vampire speed, returning with his lap top; he sat next to Eric. Opening it, he called up a screen full of images of the farthest point west on the British Isles—it was a place of wild beauty, with high cliffs and surf-sculpted rocks. Rio inhaled like she could actually smell the sea breeze, and said, "The forces are strong there. I like it." Corin rejoined, "There aren't many people around at this time of year."
Eric studied the pictures intently. After a moment, with that irritating sense of entitlement he exhibited all too readily, he reached over and took Bill's laptop. As I would have expected, Bill didn't object (even though Eric hadn't been his boss for 30 years), and even leaned in, muttering and pointing as Eric clicked around, looking for different views of a particular point of land.
Finally, Eric sighed and nodded, passing the laptop back to Bill. He said, "It looks like a good place, lots of room to move, nowhere to hide."
He looked around at all of us. "Who is in?"
Rio sounded far away when she said, "It is my fight." Eric said, "And mine." She stared at him for a long moment, then nodded, her eyes gleaming.
I said, "This all started with me." Bill started to protest, "Sookie…" but I cut him off. "She is my daughter, Bill," I said, "and other than you, I am the one he's hurt the worst." I realized what I'd said, and gave Rio an apologetic look, but she only shrugged. Then Bill sighed and said, "Then I'm in too." I smiled at him gratefully, a bit shocked by the thought that if I was going to die at Land's End, I wanted him there with me. To watch? To grieve? To protect me? To die with me?
Eric looked at Corin, who motioned his head toward his spear and grinned. Then Eric looked at Tegen, who lifted her chin up high. "Oh no," I spoke forcefully, making a "no way" motion with my hands. Tegen looked me straight in the eye and said, "Doctor, the thing that has always impressed me most about working with you is that when you give your word, you stick to it. Even vampires learn to trust you. And you said about the battle you'd be happy to have me on your side."
I stepped up to my assistant, and without even being aware of it, my glamour started flowing out. Tegen averted her eyes, and in a shocked voice, she accused, "You're trying to take away my choice in this?"
"I'm sorry, Tegen," I said, "but this isn't like a surfing competition, where some people get hurt and some other people win. We may die. You may die. Or even worse, you may live but be forever maimed, and no one left to take care of you."
Tegen looked appalled at that idea, and I thought she would back down then, but Eric said quietly, "Sookie. Of all people telling someone else to be careful and stay away from a fight, I would not expect it of you. I feel that I've visited you in the hospital more often than I have in your home."
"Hmph," I scoffed. "Half the time it was because of something you had me doing." I looked at Tegen and heaved a deep sigh. "He's right; when I was your age, I actually tried to save my boss by throwing myself on the back of a were who was attacking him (Tegen's eyebrows shot up, and I knew if we survived Niall's wrath, she'd be asking me for that story). I'm in no position to stop you. But you must tell me you understand what is at stake."
"What is at stake is your daughter's freedom to live the life she wants," Tegen replied. "It seems like women are always having to fight this particular fight; there's nothing for it. I'm in."
Rio stepped up and hugged Tegen hard. The air around them shimmered a little.
Eric said, "It looks to be a one hundred and five kilometer trip; when should we go?"
Rio responded, "There's no point in drawing it out. Let's get this over with."
"Then," Eric said decisively, "since it is almost sunrise now, we'll drive tomorrow night and get a sense of the terrain, go to ground there, and call Niall the next night."
"Sleep in the ground?" I was amazed. "Does anybody do that anymore?" Bill and Eric exchanged a look that spoke volumes. "Oh I get it," I huffed. "You think I'm just a wee baby vampire and that I can't do it. Well you can both just bite me!"
Rio and Tegen burst out laughing and all three males ran out their fangs for me, offering to volunteer—even Corin, if that can be believed! I just sputtered, and spinning on my heel, I marched off to my room.
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She is naked next to me, glorious, salty and fresh like the ocean. She smells of sleep and me and love. I don't want to disturb her—she needs rest—but I want her to wake up so badly it makes me itch. I cannot wait. I am so hard I hurt.
I will just snuzzle under her warm breasts. Ah, Hlin, she smells smoky from last night's fire. I want to bite her drink her eat her tear into her moist flesh now!
Be still, be calm. Kiss her softly. She is so warm. So soft, like I remember butter. Like the sueded leather my mother made. Burrow into her honey hair, inhale its magic. Electric whining, taut wiring, pulling, tugging, I'll never last. Shhh, careful. Go slowly. Slowly.
Fingertips barely brushing belly. Like a moth wing. Like moonlight. Control the urge to grab and squeeze. Softly. Tenderly. Gooseflesh—success!
Tickle and tease her golden mound. Curls like the fur of baby animals. Probe a little. Deeper. Feel her heat rising. Feel her flesh swelling, dampening.
There! Her breathing speeds up just a little. Just a bit. It is enough. I need no heart, I have hers, thumping, pushing beautiful hot red blood. Blood for me, blood for me. Brush her throbbing veins with my hair. Sweep the sleep from her skin. That languid stretch, that fluid grace, that sigh.
Her octopus arms her tentacle legs her suction cup mouth her liquid grasping interior. My brain is buzzing, fizzing, slipping, ice and sunlight, sparkles, silken shackles. Help me, my control is eluding me! I can't… I can't… why bother? Sink. Sink into her. Don't hold on. Let go. Ride her to ecstasy. Follow her…
Goddess, she moves like a racehorse. She ripples like water, she burns like fire, she whips like wind. I ache, I throb, I thrash, I sob her name. She is everything. She is the world. She is my love. She is my life. I don't hold back, tipping my essence into her. There are planets and stars and supernovas exploding my love. Shadow and light. Leaves swirling inside my head. A leopard leaps into a tree with a gazelle dangling from its jaws. I bite her—the noise she makes frightens me. Her blood salted sweet like fish mushrooms the forest floor a river splashing over rocks granite grit and glitter beetle rustling in the dirt the pulsing ocean birds flying a kite laughter laughter ice and silence roaring clouds bouncing endless music and motion and stillness turning that smell charging running chasing that smell smashing rending killing and sweet sweet sweet release.
"Eric?"
"Yes, Fairest?"
"Is it time to go?"
"You tell me."
A nod. Her eyes. Deep green like a fjord in the spring. Her mouth, full and ripe and smiling for me, just for me, only for me.
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Eric thought we should toast our upcoming ordeal at the Mermaid, so we packed some pillows and blankets in the trunk of Bill's car, along with the sword and the spear, then walked up the street.
When Bill went through the door, I heard Jory shout, "There's my man William!" There was no slipping into the Mermaid unnoticed. "And where's that lovely… ah Sookie, my dear! Two bloods?" Then Jory spotted Corin and Tegen, followed by Eric, and he exclaimed, "It's to be a party, then, is it?" before he saw Rio. Jory's jaw dropped almost to the top of his highly-polished bar and his eyes fairly bugged out of his head. Eric emitted the lowest of growls, but Rio laid her hand on his arm before stepping up to offer Jory her hand.
Jory hastily wiped his own hand before clasping Rio's and shaking it heartily, all the while his face glowing like he'd met his mermaid. Her voice had that extra huskiness to it that I'd come to think of as her own form of glamour when she said, "I'm Loriola, but my friends call me Rio." Jory actually gulped, then said, "I hope by last call we'll be friends, then." She gave him a dazzling grin and asked for a half pint of Strongbow. Tegen got a beer and the rest of us ordered syn.
Bill snagged us a booth and then came to help me ferry the glasses as Jory set them up; I hung back at the last to say, "Jory, she's my daughter, visiting from the States." Jory looked me up and down appraisingly, "Sookie, darlin' you can always surprise me." I gave him my biggest smile, and said, "She's something of a surprise to me too." I left him to ponder that and went to join my supernatural family.