CHAPTER TEN
"Sookie, how lovely to see you tonight. It's been a while." Pam said silkily as she stepped in front of me. Pam was wearing a black dress that looked like something she picked up at a halloween store. Come to think about it she probably had. It was a black boobtube that was made of what looked like PVC, it stopped just above her knees and hugged tightly to every curve of her body. There was pink ribbon that criss crossed over the front and finished in a bow. She was wearing black strappy heels that were at least three inches high. Pam had black eye make up on and bright pink lipstick. Her blonde hair was teased but hung loosely around her shoulders.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly when she saw my neck. "Good girl." She quipped and I scratched the back of my head in embarassment. "Glad you got overself and saw reason. No wonder he's been bearable today." Pam placed a hand on her hip and did a quick scan of the club then she turned back to me with a sigh. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" She asked.
"I need to see Eric, is he in?" I asked.
"He's busy in the basement." Pam said silkily and I narrowed my eyes. I stepped past Pam. I had to see Eric and Pam was not going to stop me. I opened the door to the basement and descended the stairs. I heard Pam say "No, Sookie, don't go down there." mockingly.
"Sookie." Eric said. He had his back to me and barely glanced over his shoulder. "Couldn't stop her Pam?"
"I didn't really try." She admitted, leaning on the rail of the staircase. I heard Eric sigh.
"You and I will discuss it later." Slowly Eric stepped to the side and I noticed that he had drawn a circle on the ground in red and standing in the middle was a middle aged woman. It was hard to see who she was in the dark. "Sookie, come." Eric held his hand out to me and I stepped off the bottom step and went to him, taking hold of his hand and stepping close to his side so he could drape his arm around my shoulder. Eric tilted my head back and captured my mouth with his in a long kiss.
Finally he pulled away and turned back to the woman. "Sookie I would like for you to meet marnie, she's the one that sent Jesus to... 'Escort'... you back to her coven." Eric sneered out the word escort.
"What's on the floor?" I asked and Eric smiled down at me.
"Wax."
"Wax? Why?"
"She can't cross it." Eric replied. I frowned.
"Why not?"
"Well Marnie probably could but Antonia can't."
"Who the hell is Antonia?"
"I am Antonia." The woman in the cirlce snarled. I turned to face her and I was startled to see the face of another woman... a younger woman briefly pass under Marnie's skin. I jumped back in fright but Eric pulled me tighter against him.
"Sookie, its alright." He said as he pressed his lips to the top of my head. "She can't hurt you." He raised his eyebrow and smiled evilly at her. "Her powers are disrupted in the circle."
"You're vile and evil, soulless creature." She hissed at Eric.
"And you're stuck in my basement with no powers witch." He snapped back. The woman turned her attention to me and eyed me over.
"Did you glamour her?" She asked Eric.
"That doesn't work on me." I said and she glared at me.
"Consort of the devil." She hissed and I felt like slapping her.
"Consort?" I asked, hurt at the accusation.
Eric let go of me and went to a table. She followed Eric with her eyes, as he picked up a bottle of green liquid I saw a flicker of some emotion, maybe fear, behind her eyes.
"What's that?" I asked.
"She knows what it is." Eric nodded to the witch who now looked positively afraid. "That's all that matters."
"Are you going to hurt her?" I asked and Eric looked to me for a moment before he turned his attention back to the witch.
"Pam, take Sookie home."
"No." I said at the same moment Pam said. "Yes, Eric."
"Sookie, go with Pam."
"No!"
"Sookie..."
"Three fairies came to Merlotte's." I said as Pam took my arm. Pam stilled and Eric spun around.
"What? When?" He set the bottle back down on the table and walked over to me. He looked me over and sighed. "You're not hurt I see."
"No, they didn't come to hurt me. They were the ones that helped me out of the fairy relm."
"What did they want?"
"They wanted to tell me about something."
"Are you a fairy?" I heard the witch ask and Eric snarled at her.
"Don't you speak to her demon!" He demanded and she laughed.
"You're calling me a demon? What's that saying they have now? 'Isn't that the iron calling the kettle black'?"
"Pot." I said and Eric and the witch looked at me.
"What?" Eric asked.
"'Isn't that the POT calling the kettle black.'" I replied.
"Sookie come into the office with me, it seems we need to have a chat. Pam," Eric turned to her, "watch the witch while I talk to Sookie."
"Can I kill her?" Pam asked as she looked at the witch.
"No, I still have some questions for her..."
"I won't tell you a thing." She said. Eric turned slowly to face her.
"Oh, yes... I think you will."
"I've already been killed by one of your kind, you can't kill what is already dead."
"I have no intention of killing you." Eric took my arm and guided me up the stairs. Eric and I left the basement and headed toward the office, hand in hand.
"Everyone's glaring at me." I said, self concious of all the eyes following me. I was used to be stared at for being 'crazy Sookie Stackhouse' but this was entirely new, no one here knew me.
Eric stopped and pulled me into his arms. He crushed his lips to mine and held the back of my head. He kissed me until I needed air and was becoming dizzy. Only then did he pull away. He glared around the room. "SHE IS MINE!" He bellowed and I knew he was doing it for all the vampires in the room... the humans would have understood the kiss well enough, I suspected Eric didn't give a hoot about the humans, he could probably fight them off with a flick of his wrist.
Then he took my hand and led me into his office, shutting the door behind him and guiding me into the chair in front of his desk. He went to his fridge and pulled out a drink and handed it to me. I looked at it and laughed. "Iced tea?"
"I thought you liked Iced tea?" He asked as he sat in his chair. "If you don't want it I can get you something else from the bar?"
"No, this is fine. Really. I just think it's real sweet that you have drinks ready for me." I said and Eric leant back in his seat.
"I'm not sure I've ever been called... sweet." He commented. I took a drink from the bottle and we both remained silent for a time. "So..." he said with a sigh, "fairies hey?"
"Yes." I screwed the top back on the bottle and set it on the desk. "Three of them."
"What did they want?"
"To warn me." I replied quietly. Eric leant forward, his arms folded on his desk.
"Warn you about... what?"
"Mab." I answered.
"What about her? This is the bitch that had you kidnapped, yes?"
"Yes."
"Well... what about her?" He asked.
"She's trying to kill me." I finally lifted my eyes to Eric. I had been looking into my lap the whole time. I couldn't work out what that look meant and I had to admit it kind of worried me.
"Was that all?" He asked and I debated whether I should tell him the rest. I had no idea what Claude meant but he said I would soon. Maybe Eric would know.
"He... Claude, the one who saved me... said that I could be tracked. Apparently fairies can sense my blood due to the little bit of fairy that is in it." I toyed with the hem of my skirt and bit my lip. "I don't understand it but he said that if I were to change my blood then I would be harder to track."
Eric said nothing. He leant back in his chair and contemplated me, expressionless. I hated it when he did that. I couldn't even begin to suspect what he might be feeling underneath the surface, what emotions (if any) were running through him? We were both silent and I felt uncomfortable. Should I say something?
"I don't get what he meant. Maybe he's just crazy." I offered. I heard the door open and Eric looked up, anger crossing his face. He stood and glared.
"Bill." He said and I felt my blood go cold. I spun around in my seat and saw him standing, outlined in Eric's doorway. He walked in and smiled at me.
"Sookie." He said in his rough voice. "I heard fairies came to Merlotte's. Are you alright?" He asked, reaching his hand out to caress my cheek when he neared me. I shied out of his reach at the same moment Eric grabbed Bill's wrist. "Need I remind you who is King?" Bill asked.
"Need I point out who she belongs to?" Eric snapped back. Bill looked at me and he grew angry when he noticed the puncture marks on my neck.
"You gave youself to him?" He snapped and I folded my arms.
"That's none of your business." I retorted. "I'm not with you anymore so I don't need to answer to you."
Bill yanked his hand free of Eric and glared at him. "Is it true? Did fairies come to Merlotte's?" He asked, looking back at me.
"I don't see how this is ANY of your concern anymore." I said and Bill sighed.
"Sookie, I still care about you."
"I can't trust you."
"AND YOU CAN TRUST ERIC?" He yelled.
"I sure as hell can't trust you." I snapped back.
"Sookie..."
"Yes, alright! Fairies came to Merlotte's. But as you can see none of them hurt me." Bill sat in Eric's chair and I saw the muscle in Eric's jaw tick. He was not happy but he knew better than to say anything. I contemplated for a moment how satisfying it would feel to drive a stake through Bill's chest.
"What did they want?" Bill asked. I didn't owe Bill anything, he wasn't my protector, he wasn't my boyfriend and he wasn't my vampire. I owed him nothing so I didn't answer. Bill sighed and looked at Eric. "Sheriff, make your human answer me." He demanded and I narrowed my eyes at Bill.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Sheriff..." He warned. Eric looked down at me and then at Bill. It was clear he was torn. He turned his back on Bill and I.
"Sookie, you need to answer Bill." He said through gritted teeth. I knew Eric had to answer to Bill but it made me angry as hell all the same. I took my time but I told Bill everything I had told Eric. Bill looked interested as I told him about how Mab was able to track me.
"I'll do it." Bill said to Eric when I had finished recounting my story. Eric snarled so ferociously as he spun around I swear he sounded just like a wolf.
"Watch yourself, your Majesty." He spat. "She is my human."
"Calm yourself Sheriff." Bill warned.
"I don't care if you're the king." Eric said. "If you so much as touch Sookie again I will stake you."
"Sheriff..." Bill began but Eric took my hand and pulled me flush against him.
"I don't have time for this." Eric snarled. "Good evening, Majesty." He sneered the last word.
Eric led me out of Fangtasia and to my car. "We need to get you home." Eric said as I unlocked my door. He looked back at the door of the club and swore in some old forgotten tongue. "I'll be back in a minute." He said and he was gone in a blur of speed. I got into the car and turned it on, then Eric was sitting in the passenger seat. I gasped in fright.
"Oh my God you scared the hell outta me." I said.
"I apologise." Eric said as I pulled the car out of the parking lot and turned onto the highway. The drive home was long and quiet. A couple of times I had tried to strike up a conversation but he was so lost in his own thoughts that I gave up and simply let him think.
Finally I pulled up the drive to my house. I was tired and the day had been far too long. I could see a pink tinge on the horizon and I knew dawn was fast approaching. I looked at Eric smiled. "You need to go to ground now don't you?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I will be here the whole time." He said and I nodded. "I'll be in my cubby if you need me." He said as we walked up the steps of the porch. I unlocked the door and we entered the house. "I would feel better if you came and slept with me." He said and I shook my head.
"No, I think I'll just have a nice hot bath and then have breakfast... I have work soon." Eric took hold of my shoulders.
"Sookie, I can't risk you being hurt. I want you to promise me that you won't leave the house today."
"I have to work."
"Call in sick."
"I need the money." I whined.
"No you do not." Eric countered. I sighed. I was giving in to him again.
"Alright."
"Good. You know I'm doing this for your own protection." He said and I nodded. I was too tired to fight with him. Eric smiled and kissed me. "I need to go." He said and then I was standing alone in the foyer.