CHAPTER 11

Eric, Pam and I go over and over what my Gran said, I am so angry at myself for breaking the link.

"Don't trouble yourself Sookie, you weren't to know that could happen, the demon should have told you not to break the link" Pam says.

I stare at her, "yes he should have", so why didn't he?

I think back to that moment, replaying it over and over in my mind, thank god for total recall, a vampire skill which I am utilising fully at this moment, as I replay those moments again it hits me.

"I didn't move...he did," I exclaim, and I reach for Eric's hand to demonstrate.

"He was holding my hand like this and just before Gran vanished he did this," I shift my hand slightly and it is enough to break the contact between my palm and Eric's. "He obviously thought I was so engrossed in what Gran was saying I wouldn't notice it was him," I start to pace manically "But why? Why did he do that?" I ask.

"He was hiding something," Pam states.

I stare at her "Durr!" I say rudely, "I got that much, the question is what?"

Eric picks up the phone and we watch him, "Desmond, that Empath demon, do you vouch for his integrity?"

I can hear Mr Cataliades speak from where I am standing, way to go, super vamp hearing!

"What are you talking about?" is the confused response, Eric flashes a look at me and I step forward gesturing for the phone. Eric hands it to me.

"Mr Cataliades, its Sookie here, Darren came to our home tonight and I wasn't happy about it and he said you gave him our address and that you would vouch for him and take the blame if Eric wasn't happy about him coming here" I say.

"Aah I see now, yes I do, he has been in my employ for a good many years, he informed me that he had received notification from the other side, his exact words were 'since I laid eyes on the Fairy Vampire I've been pestered by her human relation who has passed over', he explained who the spirit was and I gave him your address, as I had no doubt that you would want to make contact with Adele again."

"I did, which is why I'm confused as to why he deliberately broke the link when she was trying to give me a warning!" I spit harshly.

There is a silence for a moment, "he broke the link?" Mr Cataliades says.

"Yes and he blamed me for it, he said I let go of his hand, but I didn't, I went through everything afterwards and I remember it all – he moved, not me" I say.

"To break the link you must lose the palm to palm contact" Mr Cataliades says.

"That is what he did, he shifted his hand, I felt him do it, it was only for a second but he did it."

"I really don't understand why he would do that, he is nearly 600 years old, and he has been able to channel for over 300 years, I apologise Sookie, I will certainly look into this for you" Mr Cataliades says apologetically.

"I'm not worried about that, what I am worried about is the fact he now knows where we live" I hiss.

"I understand and do not concern yourself, I will rectify that – I will wipe his memory of the details," Mr Cataliades says firmly.

"Thank you" I am very relieved and hand Eric his phone back.

"Desmond" Eric says.

"I do sincerely apologise Eric I will give this my complete attention" I hear him say.

"I trust you do" Eric says coldly and with that he hangs up and throws his phone down.

I look at him "He let us hear the warning about Ocella but when Gran said 'I also need to warn you about' whatever it was, that says to me that it was something different, something unrelated to Ocella."

Eric nods thoughtfully, "Possibly, or it could have been something else regarding Ocella."

"No I don't think so, why would he let us hear the warning that he was coming to kill Sookie but not something else, I mean what could be worse than your Sire wanting to kill your progeny?!" Pam says.

I look at her thoughtfully, "Something much bigger than any of us...something like the imbalance of the Supe and human population".

I hear movement and I look up, to see Karin has arrived and she is seriously packing, she has numerous swords and daggers attached to her and she is carrying two huge duffel bags, which I have no doubt contains more weaponry. Eric takes the bags from her and he looks inside, I see his eyes light up like a Christmas tree and know for fact there must be swords of some description in there.

I look inside and I am shocked at the number of swords, knives, daggers, axes and other lethal looking items.

"Wow" I gasp.

Karin smiles at me, "You and I are going to train," she states as if she has just asked me to go for a walk.

I glance at Eric and he smiles, "It is wise you do so my love, you need to be prepared for when my Sire arrives, we will go to the training room there will be more room there," he pauses and looks at Karin, "train her well" he says and Karin looks insulted by the comment.

"Do you doubt me?" she snaps.

"Not at all my child" he soothes.

I meekly follow Karin out of the living room into the hallway and she walks towards a door which I have seen before but never gone through, she turns the handle and I hear a light switch click. I gasp as I take in the expanse of the large empty room, it looks vaguely like a gymnasium but there is no equipment, it is simply an empty room.

Karin turns and she throws me a sword and a dagger.

"We will work on the moves you started on last night," she says and I nod.

Like a blur, Karin comes at me but I match her blow for blow but I am completely on the defensive, I can't get around her to attack, then I feel Eric in my mind, he is guiding me and sending me positivity when I do something right. I learn quickly and suddenly I have the upper hand it is only momentarily but I get a couple of blows in before Karin moves so swiftly I am on my back on the floor with the sword at my throat.

"Well done, that was quite impressive, but now explain to me how you lost the advantage and ended up as you did?" Karin says as she holds out her hand to me help me up.

"Erm..." I mumble, I quickly go through my movements and the sparring in my mind and I realise I was surprised I had the upper hand and I panicked.

"I was surprised I got some hits in and I lost focus," I say.

Karin nods, "Exactly, I saw the look on your face, the shock that you had managed to better me by getting a couple of blows in, and that shock made you crumble, you have to believe in your abilities Sookie, you are an excellent fighter, I have to say, I never seen such instincts before, you are a natural fighter, but you have to believe you can win, up here" she taps her temple.

"If you go into a fight believing the person you are fighting is stronger and will beat you, then you will lose and probably die, you have to totally believe you are better than your opponent".

I immediately get that "Let's try again" I say picking up my sword.

Karin smiles and she comes at me, this time I watch her move and study her all the while telling myself I can beat her, and slowly I gain the upper hand again, this time I don't react I simply focus on the job in hand telling myself I can do this, I move quickly and before I realise what I have done, I have Karin on the floor the sword at her throat, she stares at me in shock.

"Well then!" she says and she smirks at me and gives me a little nod, acknowledging my achievement.

Eric roars with laughter, and I turn to see him walking towards us clapping his hands "you teach her too well my child," he says as he offers his hand to Karin.

Karin manages another small grin as she accepts Eric's outstretched hand and pulls herself up and then she looks carefully at me.

"That is the first time in nearly 400 years I have been bettered in a fight, and I am thankful we were just pretending".

"When was the last time?" I ask.

Karin's face darkens and I remember Pam's tale of what happened when Ocella came to visit after Karin rose for the first time and I quickly do the maths and wonder if that was the occasion she is referring to.

"It was shortly after I was turned, I was ambushed...by Ocella," she says curtly confirming my assumption and she glances at Eric who has gone very quiet.

She looks back at me her face expressionless, "Which is why I teach you everything I know, as I do not wish for him to better you, when he arrives" she picks up a sword and throws it to me, "We will continue" she says.

Eric stands and watches us sparring, I sense Pam has joined us as well and after a couple of hours Eric calls an end to the proceedings.

"Enough, dawn approaches, we need to get to ground soon," he says. He turns to Pam and Karin, "You are both welcome to stay here for the day" he says, I am surprised when they both agree without question. Then I realise, if Ocella is coming he wants us all together, and Pam and Karin want to be with their Sire.

"Eric, can you sense how far away Ocella is?" Karin asks suddenly.

Eric stills and closes his eyes when he opens them he looks grim, "He is close, he is in the United States, I estimate he is roughly 1500 miles north west of Shreveport, but he is on the move, he is gradually getting closer".

I listen with interest and realise that there is much I am still to learn about the vampire blood bond.

Pam pulls out a map to see roughly where he is. "Yellowstone Park is roughly that distance and in that area," she says pointing at the map.

Eric laughs humourlessly, "He has always liked the national parks, plenty of lost humans roaming around to pick off and plenty of places to hide, and when the bodies are found it is assumed it was wild animals that have caused the deaths, and if that is his location he will be here very soon."

I remember that Ocella can fly like Eric, and he is older so I guess he can fly faster and further than Eric.

"He can fly," I say quietly as I remember that night when he hovered outside my bedroom when he arrived with Alexei.

Eric turns to me, "he can, and he flies further distances than I can without pausing for rest and he can fly much faster than I can".

"How far can you fly in one go?" I ask.

Eric shrugs, "the furthest I flew in one journey was nearly 950 miles, but that was a number of years ago, I would estimate that I could probably fly for around 5000 miles now without pause," he says.

"So the distance from Yellowstone to here will be nothing for Ocella?" I say.

Eric nods, "He is moving now, but not quickly he will have to go to ground before dawn I would estimate he will set out tomorrow, what he will do then is anyone's guess, but knowing Ocella as I do, I believe he will set out at sunset tomorrow, he can fly as fast if not faster than any jet so my best estimation would be it will take him around 8 hours to get here, we have the advantage that the sun sets an hour later where he is, so it will be around 7 pm before he can set out, sunrise here is around 7 am our time and we are one hour ahead which gives us a further advantage as dawn arrives here sooner, my best estimation he will arrive here around 4 am, he could go to ground when he arrives but Ocella has much hubris, so I believe he will come straight to us to confront us, he will be fatigued from the flight but he will still be formidable. He will also believe that three hours is plenty to complete what he has to do before he goes to ground for the day".

We are all silent, as we process this, Eric breaks the silence, "When we rise tonight I will check the bond once more to see where Ocella is to discover if our estimations and assumptions are correct, but for now we need to go to ground".

He grasps my hand I watch as Pam and Karin head for the windowless guest room, I watch as Pam enters a code and the heavy door slides open, they go inside and the door closes behind them. Once they are safely locked inside Eric takes me towards our resting place.

"Do not worry" he says suddenly.

I look at him, "It's kind of hard not to" I reply.

He smiles at me and wraps his arm tightly around me. "I will fight to the death for you, as will Pam and Karin but it won't come to that, you are strong and a natural warrior you will prevail".

oooOOOooo

I open my eyes and I look straight into Eric's, he smiles at me.

"I am in serious danger of spoiling you by doing this, but I believe it is necessary, you need to be strong and well fed," he says carefully as he hands me a mug of blood.

I take it from him and drink it down, he refills it twice more before I indicate that I am replete. I realise what this means before Eric points it out to me, which he does with his next words.

"Ocella has risen, yet it is an hour till sunset if he is at the location I believe he is."

I take the flask of blood and pour another mug full and chug it down.

"Just to be certain," I say at Eric's questioning glance.

We head downstairs and I also dutifully drink a bottle of Trueblood, Eric was right it isn't as bad as the one I had last night, but it still isn't a pleasant experience.

Pam and Karin are waiting for us and they look expectantly at Eric.

"Have you both fed well?" he asks and they wordlessly nod their response.

"I will keep checking the bond to locate Ocella, I suggest we use the time we have wisely to continue with Sookie's training, I know Ocella's style better than anyone, I fought against it many times so I will spar with Sookie tonight, to prepare her for what to expect. Karin, you will instruct her, Pam I need you to go to Fangtasia and tell Thalia that my maker is coming this night to kill Sookie" he says.

I wonder what good that will do as Thalia won't care because it's nothing to do with her.

Pam smiles and disappears out of the house.

"What does Thalia have to do with this?" I ask.

Eric looks carefully at me, "She hates my Sire and with good reason" he says no more and I wonder what the story is there. I will probably never find out as Eric seems reluctant to elaborate and I'm sure Thalia won't tell me.

"OK," I say lamely, and I go to collect the weapons, Karin follows me and to my great surprise, she begins to explain.

"Thalia has known Eric all his existence, she is one of the oldest living vampires, even older than Eric, her Sire is the original vampire, Ambrogio, she was one of the very first of the first generation of vampires ever made, he was also the sire to Bruti Julius Aegaeus". The conversation with Eric comes back to me and I remember him saying that Aegaeus was Ocella's sire.

I return my attention back to Karin, "Aegaeus was Ocella's sire, so she knew Ocella right from his first moments, I believe she witnessed his rising as she was close to Aegaeus, she saw the evil in Ocella right from the start and begged Aegaeus to put him down, but he did not listen, he was arrogant and believed he could break Ocella's spirit and bring him into line, he failed, and Ocella eventually killed him, you have to realise not many vampires can do that, the link to their maker is too strong and no matter how badly they are mistreated there is always a lingering loyalty, but some manage to and Ocella did. Thalia never forgave Ocella for killing her brother. When Ocella started making his own progeny, Thalia kept a discreet eye on him, there were two progeny before Eric, but they did not survive Ocella's harsh treatment. When Thalia met Eric soon after he was made, she realised he was different, he had a strong Viking will and she helped him as much as she could, I believe she played a vital part in keeping him sane throughout his early years as a vampire when Ocella was at his most brutal, it is a kindness he never forgot and they have an unbreakable bond and mutual respect which has lasted over the centuries, he is loyal to her and she returns that loyalty to him, when she was expelled from Illinois and came to Louisiana, Eric didn't hesitate to let her settle in the area, many vampires were astounded at his decision, they warned him against it as she was considered too unpredictable and violent to mingle with vampires who were actively mainstreaming, but he refused to heed their advice and Thalia has never betrayed his faith in her, they have a very close bond, and he knows of her deep seated hatred for Ocella."

"Wow," I say when Karin stops speaking.

"You will not repeat any of that," she says sharply.

"I won't" I promise sincerely.

Karin stands and picks up a sword "Let's start, Eric will be joining us shortly".

I go over everything that Karin has just said, Ocella really is a piece of work and my hatred for him grows deeper.

As Karin and I are sparring, Eric appears with his own sword, the one he presented to me at the wedding, I smile as I see it. He turns to Karin.

"Ocella is on the move, he is consistently getting closer, each time I access the bond the distance has decreased significantly, so our assumptions appear to be correct and he is making excellent time."

Karin hands me a sword, "You will put into practice everything that I have taught you."

She turns to Eric, "You should prepare her fully, I know you will find it distasteful and your love for her will hinder you in the task, but she needs to be aware of what she is facing, and all that he is capable of, you cannot spare her, if you do, your misplaced mercy could kill her, he won't show her the same consideration."

Eric has a pained expression on his face but he nods. I feel how conflicted he is, he doesn't want to do it and I am getting some really conflicting emotions, Karin looks at me with something almost akin to pity and then I remember Pam's words and I realise what she has asked Eric to do, she wants him to attack me like Ocella attacked her, I realise that means he could try and sexually attack me. I am glad Pam told me about what he did to Karin but it doesn't make it any easier at this moment, but I can actually see the reasoning behind her insisting Eric do that.

"Eric it's ok, I can take it, I need to know, I know it's not you," I say to him. I can feel him calm slightly and then a wave of pragmatism reaches me and washes over me.

He stares at me a moment, "Remember I love you and I do not want to do this, this is not me, I would never treat you in such a way" he says almost desperately.

I nod in understanding, and this seems to make him more resolute, and he nods once. "But you need to know what he is capable of" he says almost as if he is trying to convince himself as well as me, but I am already convinced.

I grip my sword tightly and brace myself. Eric moves so swiftly I barely register it and the next thing I realise he is on my back and tearing at my clothing and sinking his fangs into my neck, I am so shocked by the viciousness of his attack that I freeze momentarily, but then my instincts kick in but by the time I have started to fight back I am naked, and Eric is gripping me and thrusting into me, hard, I can't even feel him or his emotions to what he is doing through the bond as he has closed it, and it makes me feel almost abandoned by him, I scream and summon all the strength I have and I stab him with the sword, I realise what I have done and let go of the sword as Eric drops me and pulls away, I am sobbing as I fall in a heap on the ground.

In a flash Eric is beside me and pulling me into his arms, he reopens the bond and floods it with love and compassion, and I also feel his revulsion at what he has just done to me.

"Hush, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please forgive me, but you needed to know what he is capable of, you needed to see" he whispers almost pleading with me to understand what he did.

I shiver "Well now I know," I turn towards Eric who is pumping our bond with love and apology, and I touch the blood stained tear in his shirt. He smiles and lifts it.

"Do not concern yourself I am healed," he says, then he turns to Karin, "I will not repeat that, I will not do that to my wife again, she is now fully aware" he hisses.

Karin stares at him, "But" she argues.

"NO!" he bellows, and Karin simply bows in acceptance, before leaving the room.

Eric returns his attention to me, "I should never have done that to you, please forgive me, making you aware is one thing, behaving like him to do so was not the correct way to achieve that awareness."

I touch Eric's arm, "No, Karin's right, I needed to know what I am facing, he is coming here to kill me, and I'm sure he won't do it quickly or nicely."

Eric stares at me, "I won't do that to you again, I felt your fear and pain through the bond it was indescribable, I will not subject you to that again."

"So you could still feel me, I couldn't feel you?" I ask.

Eric smiles sadly, "I closed the bond one way so you could not sense me" he explains.

I nod, understanding what he is telling me, "Eric, I need to practice, I need to be able to beat him." I say.

I can't believe I am actually asking Eric to attack and try and rape me, but I am pragmatically considering the alternative, if I am not prepared for Ocella when he arrives. "If he comes and I'm not totally prepared you will feel those feelings through our bond but for real as I won't be able to fend him off," I say trying to make him see reason.

"No," he says stubbornly.

A few moments later Karin returns with a robe and silently offers it to me, I take it with a word of thanks.

"You now understand how dangerous Ocella is, you cannot freeze, it will give him too much of an advantage," Karin says as she emotionlessly dissects my performance.

She looks me in the eye, "I made the same mistake when I first faced him" she mutters so quietly a human would not have heard it, but I heard and my conversation with Pam becomes so much clearer now.

"I won't freeze, I am not going to let that animal violate me" I hiss angrily.

As the night wears on we train diligently. I manage to persuade Eric to spar with me some more in Ocella's style of fighting which is sneaky and underhanded, much like the opinion I have of the vampire himself. But he point blank refuses to bite or violate me again, despite both my and Karin's strenuous objections.

At around 3:30 Eric checks the blood bond once more, he has been checking it regularly over the past couple of hours and this time when he opens his eyes there is a bleak expression on his face.

"He is here, it won't be long now, if you and Karin reach out you too should soon feel him through the bond."

At that moment Pam bursts through the door. "I've seen him, he's here" she splutters.

The atmosphere in the room changes abruptly at Pam's entry and announcement.

"Where is he?" Eric asks.

"About a mile down the road, he is coming straight here as you predicted, but I think he has been to Bon Temps first, as he was coming from that direction which he wouldn't have had he flown directly from the North West, he is flying, but not quickly I believe he is severely fatigued from the long journey, Thalia is on her way, she has agreed to assist us". I see Eric smile at these words.

He looks at me and places his hands on my shoulders, "I swear if it comes to it, I will die this night to protect you."