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The Zeus summit was entering its fourth and final night when I rose for the evening. Texas was playing host to the sizeable gathering - Zeus and my former clan of Amun were the largest of the four clans - as vampires from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico gathered to socialize, strategize and conduct business.
It was proving lucrative, if boring. We'd closed deals on several major business developments for the state, including a couple of human/vampire partnerships. Meetings had consumed the past three evenings and tonight would bring more of the same before there was free time on the schedule. My presence would be expected with Freyda later in the night at the formal closing ceremonies, even though there would still be much business conducted tomorrow evening before the attendees dispersed.
But as I rose for the evening, it became clear things had changed as I rested and there were now issues clearly more important to deal with. The bond between Pam and I was thrumming strongly inside me, signalling the close proximity of my progeny. It had been many years since I'd felt her so strongly within my blood and I took a moment to relax and rejoice in the sensation before considering my options and the reasons she might be so close.
A volley of text messages rearranged my schedule and I made my way through the maze of hotel corridors, following the blood until it brought me to the door of a conference room on the mezzanine level. Pam was behind the large wooden door and I took listened intently for any sign she was not alone. After a full minute of listening to the sound of her nails tapping against a solid wooden surface - a sound I was more than familiar with - I took the chance and opened the door, slipping inside the room soundlessly.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as she rose from her seat to greet me.
"Holy fuck, Eric! It is so good to see you," she exclaimed, walking towards me with hands extended. Grasping mine, she pulled me towards her for a fast, tight embrace before stepping backward to look up at me. "It has been too long. I've missed seeing you."
Leaning down, I placed a kiss on top of her head. "I've missed you, too. Tell me, what are you doing here?"
"Relax. This isn't Oklahoma. The bitch can't bar me from Texas, thankfully." Pam bared her teeth in a wicked smile. "Stan has assured me I am always welcome here."
"Are you here with him?" I'd spoken with the King of Texas multiple times throughout the summit and he'd mentioned nothing.
"No. He doesn't even know I am here yet." She gave me a serious look. "I promise you it is nothing bad, but I can't tell you why I am here. I will be able to, but just not yet."
"What in hell is going on?"
"All I can say is that the person who brought me here asked me not to reveal anything. They wish to speak with you, but I think it's worth the secrecy."
"You really aren't going to tell me?" My head was overflowing with questions.
"You will know soon enough. This is where we are supposed to meet." She gestured around the large, lavishly appointed room.
"This better be good," I spoke more to myself than to my child. While I was sure she would comply if I pressed the issue, I didn't want to have to. Pam had always been more than forthcoming with information and I wondered briefly if it were as simple as she claimed.
"How has the summit been? Any problems?"
Curiosity was eating me up, but I accepted the change of topic willingly.
"Boring as fuck, but business has been good. Everyone seems on their best behaviour." While still a brutal and violent place to dwell, the vampire world was fairly consistently settled into society at large and there were fewer serious vampire/human issues to address lately. Just as the majority of vampires had accepted the reveal to be a necessity to our survival, they had also eventually accepted the need to live within the laws of the greater majority. It had taken time and diligence from vampire authorities, but our world was a vastly different beast than it had been.
"I heard somewhere that this would be the first summit with no major trials," she said.
"Yes, it was acknowledged during the opening night ceremonies. We've come a long way, baby." I grinned at her. Pam had become an active supporter of women's rights in the seventies and the slogan had been her personal mantra for some time.
"You better believe it!" She laughed along with me. "Honestly, though. Who would have thought we'd get to this point?"
"Not me," I replied truthfully. A thousand years had shown me the depths of the greed and depravity we were capable of and the dark years following the reveal seemed to support the evidence in hand. But vampires were an incredibly resilient race with an almost instinctual need to evolve and assimilate and we had done just that. "Have you had any word of Sookie?"
"No." Pam's answer was the same every time I asked that question, but nothing could stop me asking it. One of these nights, her answer may be different. "How are you holding up?"
"Fine. There's not much to do other than wait and hope." It was the most frustrating time in my existence. Knowing the truth and not being able to act on it was beyond endurance. The intensity of my longing for her surprised even me at times, but all I could do was wait. Frustration was an understatement.
"Let's hope it's not much longer, then," Pam said with false cheer. We both knew it could be quite some time before either of us saw Sookie again.
A meaningless really was on my lips when the door to the conference room opened. I turned, expecting to see Pam's mysterious benefactor but was instead greeted by the enraged Queen of Oklahoma. My wife swept into the room, slamming the door behind her.
"What is the reasoning behind cancelling so many important meetings?" Her voice was shrill as she questioned me. "What is she doing here?" The Queen's nose pointed to the ceiling as she looked down upon my progeny. With a completely unnecessary huff - a quite immature reaction - my wife turned to me with a glare in her eye. "You had better make this good, Northman. You know the rules."
"Lovely to see you, too, your majesty," Pam said in her politest tone. "My master did not know I was going to be here, of course."
"And why are you here? Surely Louisiana's Area Five has no standing here," Freyda pointed out haughtily. Her small eyes darted back and forth between us as if our bland expressions would give us away.
"She is with me." The unmistakable voice commanded complete attention with its power and authority. All heads swivelled to meet the sightless gaze of the revered Ancient Pythoness. Almost as a single unit, everyone turned and bowed deeply to the famed oracle.
"I beg your pardon, my lady." Freyda's head remained bowed for a moment longer.
The ancient one ignored Oklahoma and her apology as she shuffled closer to us, four of her handmaidens accompanying her every step. Her appearance was unexpected as her statement, leaving me to wonder her meaning. Her wizened frame belied the power coursing through the veins of the most revered of our elders. She stopped just shy of my child, precisely as if she could see her surroundings.
"Ms. Ravenscroft is here as my emissary," the ancient one wheezed. "She is to be afforded the respect of her station. Are we clear?" It wasn't clear who she addressed, exactly, but all present voiced their affirmative response, myself included.
"Very well." The Ancient Pythoness's attention turned unerringly upon me, her milky white gaze unsettling in its directness. "It's been some time, North Man."
"It has," I agreed. The ill-fated summit in Rhodes had been the last time our paths crossed. While it wasn't unusual for her to make an appearance at a summit, usually to preside over hearings or trials, her appearance here was unscheduled and puzzling. To my knowledge, this summit did not have any matters requiring her presence. "It is a pleasure to see you, ma'am."
"Clear the room," she ordered. A bony finger pointed at me. "You stay. Everyone else can go."
The Queen's frigid expression showed her displeasure at the unlikely turn the evening had taken, but nonetheless followed the others out the tall wooden door, pausing only once to look back over her shoulder. The seer's handmaiden closed the heavy door and the others moved to join her at the far side of the room.
"Sit," she commanded, motioning to the chairs a short distance away. "I intend to."
Without assistance, the ancient vampire found her seat with an uncanny precision. I sat beside her and waited quietly for her to speak.
"Quite the situation you are in, my friend," she said eventually, her sightless eyes staring into my soul.
"You could say that," I replied cautiously and vaguely. The ancient one had always been kind to me, but until I was sure of her intentions, I would offer no unnecessary information.
"Has the bonding sickness begun?" With that one question, I knew the oracle understood everything.
"It has been mild," I replied. The gnawing ache was in fact quite bothersome, but I knew enough to understand this was merely the beginning of the agony I would eventually face without Sookie's presence. "It is manageable, for now."
"And when it becomes unmanageable?" The old crone sounded uninterested, but she would not waste her time on pleasantries, such as they were.
"I do not know," I shook my head, answering honestly. The sickness was an unexpected occurrence, but one I should have anticipated. Distance was the enemy of a bonded pair and Sookie could not be more distant right now. While my symptoms were still mild enough to hide easily, the ancient one was wise in her query. There would come a time when hiding my symptoms would be impossible and the flood of questions and suspicion would rise.
"Your suffering is not for naught," she told me impassively. "You will have your satisfaction."
My full attention was already hers, but her declaration had me leaning forward, hoping for more. The Ancient Pythoness rarely gave any hints as to the content of her visions, and never gave reassurance based on them, but it seemed as if she were offering me a boon.
"Is that so?" My voice, although quiet, sounded desperate to my ears. "What can you tell me, my lady?"
"I saw your fairy some time ago," her story began. "I thought Rhodes was the time, but I was wrong. There was so much to see, but I missed the magic that let it happen. The time I saw was not right, but now I see all."
The lady spoke in backwards riddles, but I thought I understood. She'd experienced visions of Sookie and I, which I found amazing enough on it's own, but her timeline had been off. Part of me was dying to know why, but a larger part of me just wanted reassurance.
"Please tell me," I implored without shame or reservation. "Tell me I will see her again. She is everything to me."
"What is meant to be will be, Viking," she told me bluntly. "Not even I can predict the future with certainty."
"But you believe she will come back to me," I stated desperately.
"You love her." The words were simple, but fraught with meaning. I held hope where she would offer none.
"I do," I offered plainly. "She is my mate in every way."
"Why marry Oklahoma?"
My head snapped up with surprise. I hadn't seen the old one in quite some time, but it seemed unlikely she wouldn't have known of my circumstances.
"It was decreed by my maker. Appius sold me to Oklahoma against my will."
"Despite your pledging," she said.
"You know the standing humans have in our world. Sookie and I didn't stand a chance against Freyda, not with de Castro on her side."
"Did she agree to the divorce?" Her line of questioning was reminding me of the conversation I'd had with Niall.
"Under duress, yes, she did. It wasn't her choice, however, and she wasn't pleased with the proceedings." I'd almost thought she was going to object that night so long ago. For a moment, I truly thought she was going to fight for me but my hope was dashed as she submitted to the wills of the powerful vampires she faced.
"Interesting," the ancient one murmured quietly. I waited for her to continue, but when she did, it wasn't of Sookie. "You need a legitimate reason to leave Oklahoma."
I laughed, a bitter and ugly sound. "Forgive me, my lady, but do you not think I haven't exhausted every avenue in that very pursuit?"
"The sickness will become more acute. You may have some time but it will happen, North Man. It is why I am here."
Her words gave me hope, even though I wasn't certain of her meaning. The old crone would not offer false hope, I thought. I remained silent as she continued.
"I am naming yourself and your progeny as special emissaries. Your duties will have no public definition and are only answerable to me. Oklahoma can have no objection to my claim."
In one fell swoop, the old lady provided the 'legitimate reason' I needed. Not only revered by our kind, the Ancient Pythoness also held a seat on the supernatural council, the reigning authority of the entire supernatural community. By longstanding tradition, a council member could summon any supernatural being into service without question or hindrance. I'd been pressed into service through the centuries, usually for the use of my sword, but this announcement was momentous on every conceivable level.
"I will call you to my side immediately following the summit but we must be smart, my old friend, and save the big guns for when we need them." A rare smile appeared on the seer's lined, weathered face. With the majority of her teeth gone before her turning, the smile was not only wide, but very gummy for a vampire.
After a short discussion on the particulars of her immediate plans, a handmaiden was summoned to the ancient one's side. The fluid language used between the two women was unknown to me and likely a long dead dialect from well before my time, but I did recognize Pam's name. My suspicions were confirmed when the door opened and my progeny was escorted back into the room.
"I can give him time, but you will need to give him blood," the oracle told her. "The only slight reprieve offered with the bonding sickness is the ability to stave off the worst - and the worst I have seen is death - with the blood of a maker or child. It will not cure it, and the reprieve is temporary, but it is the best you can do. Since your maker is gone, your progeny are your only hope."
"I didn't know it was possible," I replied, shaking my head. "I know too little, apparently."
"Bonding is a risky endeavour, especially when it is for love. It is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards can be great when the challenges are met."
"How often do I need to feed him?" Pam asked practically. "How much blood in a feeding?"
"A few mouthfuls will do him for now and then we wait."
"How will it help?" I asked .
"Strengthening existing bonds will support the weaker one." Her sightless eyes stared directly at me and I once more wondered just how her gifts worked. "It may be enough to fool the masses."
"For now," I interjected.
"For now," she agreed. "The future may tend to itself."
"What will happen if Sookie doesn't return for years?" Pam asked the question on both our minds.
"Have you petitioned for her return?"
"Considering the circumstances, I don't see how I can," I said, well aware of what a fucked up situation I was in. With the bond between us active, vampire law would say she was mine but I didn't think Freyda would see it that way. Legally, you cannot interfere with a bonded pair, but this was a truly fucked up situation. I doubted anything of this particular magnitude had ever been presented before the courts.
"It is tricky," the oracle answered. "But Oklahoma doesn't need to know any dealings you have with the fairies."
"Asking Niall to return Sookie when our circumstances have not changed would be pointless."
"Circumstances are fluid," was the answer I received. "They are constantly changing."
"Even if I wanted to, Niall has not answered a call from me since he took her." The old bastard had not answered any of the countless messages, texts and emails, either. What had been a productive working relationship through the years had becoming tense and uncomfortable since Sookie entered the equation. I could no longer predict Niall's motivations and his newfound interest in Sookie was troubling. I didn't doubt he wanted her to train and learn her abilities, but to what end?
"I have arranged a meeting with him for later tonight," the crafty old seer informed me. "I have other business to discuss with him, but we can test the waters then."
My head shook slowly back and forth as I absorbed all she was implying and avoiding. Even as she had granted me a precious boon and some much needed knowledge, I couldn't shake the feeling there was more she wasn't telling me. The strange visit with Niall had left me with the same uncomfortable sensation; I hated feeling like there was something I was missing.
With instructions when and where to meet her later, the ancient vampire departed with her handmaidens, leaving Pam and I alone. Our eyes met and I could see the wonder and confusion I felt mirrored in her gaze.
"That was intense," she said, her head shaking back and forth. "Do you realize what this means?"
"Everything," I told her. "This means absolutely everything. To be free again, even if it is just for a short time? Fucking priceless."
"You know she might have just saved your life, right? I can't imagine what Freyda would do if she found out."
"What the Ancient Pythoness offers will be the only way I could hide this forever. As you say, it could mean my life." What Freyda would do had been at the forefront of my deliberations ever since I realized the bonding sickness had begun. There would be no way to explain my symptoms, no plausible explanation for any of it. It was going to be a hard sell no matter what, but if she suspected Sookie was somehow involved?
"I'm beyond grateful to her, but what do you think she wants, Eric?"
My gratitude knew no bounds, either, but the question was legitimate. While I wasn't privy to her daily dealings, I suspected she didn't often intervene in this manner and I was as curious as my child.
"I can't begin to guess, but I have a feeling this is about more than me. There's something telling me it's about Sookie more than me, even though it sounds crazy to even suggest the ancient one would hold serious interest in a human."
"Not quite," Pam said slowly.
"What?"
"She's not quite human, is she? Sookie, I mean. We both think of her that way, but she's a princess, isn't she? A fairy princess who is currently in Faery learning how to be even more."
A fairy princess. It was in fact what she was, although Pam's assertion was correct; neither of us often considered her in that light. The Sookie I had known wasn't interested in being a princess, but this Sookie was in Faery after accepting her fairy heritage. Could the seer be interested in the fairy princess more than the telepathic human?
"How different she must be. Has she changed so much?" I naturally thought of her as the girl she was, but Pam knew the woman she became.
"Not so different as you might imagine," she said quickly. "She grew up and matured; she likes to say the world had it's way with her, but in many ways she is still the same Sookie. Just with the wisdom of a lifetime."
"I'm not going to let anything happen to her this time." My words were as firm as my resolve. "I don't give a sweet fuck who wants her or for what. Nobody is going to come between us when I finally get her back. I swear to you."
"I'm going to hold you to that. She might be older and wiser, not to mention stronger since her visit to Faery, but she's going to need you."
"And I will be here for her."
And another chapter down. (I promise the next one will not take so long. Seriously. Pinky swear and everything!)
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