As my finger began to apply pressure to the trigger, a noise on the road stopped me. I looked to see Eric pull his horse to a hard stop, still a good distance from the inn. The gravel flew in all directions from the horses legs and he reared up in surprise and the force of the stop. Suddenly, Eric turned the horse and rode off, turning back onto the highway at a full gallop.

"What are you waiting for! After him!" I heard Malcolm yell from downstairs. Boots pounded through the parlor and dining room before heading into the courtyard. Moments later, several horses took off after Eric, Malcolm leading them.

I sagged against my restraints, relief washing over me. I was still alive, which was a an excellent development, but more importantly, Eric was getting away too. Something had tipped him off, and I was glad for it.

Now, it seemed I had to find a way to free myself.

I had been pulling at my ropes all day, and was exhausted, but I wasn't about to give up. After a few more minutes, I began to wonder if I would ever be free. It seemed unlikely; those two giants seemed like the kind of men to have expert hostage-tying-up skills. Even if I did manage to free myself, how would I get past them on my way out. I hadn't seen the brothers leave with the others, their massive forms would have been easy to spot.

I was distracted from my ruminations on the giants by the noises coming from downstairs. There was the unmistakable clang of sword on sword and several hollers of pain or anger. Had someone come to find me only to be ambushed by the giant brothers? I pulled harder at my restraints. Without realizing, I managed quite a bit of slack into the rope that held Malcolm's gun to me. It slipped out of place and fell to the floor, firing when it hit.

I took a moment to mentally examine by body, it seemed everything was accounted for and whole. I looked down at the mischievous little weapon and stared open mouthed at a small hole in my skirts, a tiny wisp of smoke rising from it. I hoped that twice would be the limit for nearly shooting myself in one night. I continued to struggle with my ropes.

"Can I be of assistance?" Came a voice from the door, a voice I knew well.

"Eric!" I called, trying to turn my head to see him. A moment later he stepped into my view with his smirk firmly set on his features. "What are you doing here? I saw you ride away."

"No," he corrected, "you saw a man in my coat ride away on my horse. Very different." He spoke as he cut away a couple of ropes, the whole lot of them dropping away. I immediately hugged him.

"When I heard that gunshot, I thought the worst." He spoke into my hair.

"An accident, but I'm fairly certain I'm still in one peice." I smiled shyly but was distracted by the smell of smoke. "Eric, is something burning?"

"Ah," he looked sheepish, "there was a bit of a scuffle downstairs. I'm afraid one of the brutes may have knocked over a lantern. Indeed, we should probably get out of here while we still can." He backed away from me, keeping hold of my hand and pulling me down the stairs.

The parlor was completely ablaze, it would only be a few minutes before the entire house would be engulfed. Eric held me to his side and pulled me through the dining room, trying to drag me into the courtyard and away. Unfortunately, a sight stopped me and forced me to pull myself from his grasp, running to the other side of the room.

Gran's body had been left on the floor of the dining room. I fell to the floor beside her and put my hand to her cheek, flinching at the coolness of her skin. It was so odd and heartbreaking to see her like this. She was always so full of life, she had been everything to me and now she was dead because of me. I was crying and clutching at her hands, telling her I was sorry, but someone was pulling at me too.

"We have to go, Sookie." Eric was yelling at me over the roar of the fire that threatened to consume the room. The smoke was already oppressive, making my eyes water more and my throat burn.

"We can't just leave her!" I yelled at him.

"There's nothing we can do, Sookie." He clutched my face forcing me to look at him. I knew he was right, but I would not say it out loud. He seemed to understand this and scooped me up into his arms, running us both out of the house.

He carried me through the barn and out into the back pasture where a horse waited. He set me down and mounted the horse, helping me to climb on after him. Without further ado, he sped off away from my home, that was now only a mass of flame and smoke on the highway. I watched it burn as we rode off, my chest wracked with sobs of grief and the coughs of my lungs clearing themselves of smoke. It was the only home I remembered. It housed all of my positions and memories, and the body of the greatest woman I ever knew. I said a silent prayer for her soul and (realizing my own position) for me as well. That was the last I remembered before succumbing to the exhaustion of fear and loss.

When I awoke, the horse had slowed to a trot and the light of dawn flashed through the trunks of the many trees in the wood we were passing through. My fingers were stiff from clutching at Eric's shirt as I slept. I tentatively uncurled them and winced as blood flowed back into them.

"Good, you're awake. I was about to wake you anyway. There's a town coming up. We'll go around, but I figured we'd take a rest just outside. I could get us some food...something to clean up your wrists too," he added as he held one my hands and examined where the ropes had rubbed away my skin. I only nodded at his statement, and he kissed my hand before releasing it.

Eric was true to his word, stopping in the hidden safety of the woods just outside of the small village. He left me to look after the horse and stretch my legs while he went in search of breakfast. I had asked to accompany him, afraid to be alone, but he had pointed out that my dress was covered soot, my own blood, wrinkled from the ride, and had a hole shot through it. Not exactly a smart appearance to flaunt when on the run. It didn't take him long though, he soon returned with a bundle of supplies.

As I picked at the bread he had gotten, Eric cleaned the dried blood from my wrists and bound them in strips of fabric. I stayed silent, listening to the world awake with the morning, but I still felt as if I were in a dream.

"We should be at port by late tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest. After that, it's on to America." Eric smiled, pleased to be the bearer of good news.

"Who was it?" I asked. Eric was taken aback by the odd question, obviously confused. "The man who rode up to the inn in your coat, who was it?"

"Oh, Bill. He stopped me on my way back and told me what had happened. He actually had the plan worked out before I even got there." He smirked at the memory, obviously surprised that it was not him to arrange such a plot.

"Bill? But he was the one to give us up in the first place." I argued.

"Yes, he told me that as well. I suppose that was his penitence." Eric shrugged picking up his share of the food to eat as he stood and stretched.

"Do you think he's alright? There were an awful lot of them after him."

Eric considered it a moment before speaking, "I would guess so. He had a head start, and Bess is a good horse. I wouldn't be surprised if he lost them."

I nodded, I couldn't bring myself to be too worried about the man who betrayed me, but I didn't want Andre's men to succeed either. There was simply too much to think about. I bent forward, letting my head rest between my knees and my arms hug my legs.

"America?" I peeked at Eric.

"Yes," he said, "the others went on ahead, but I promised Amelia that I would get you to follow. Apparently she'll need your help restocking her closet with American fashions."

"I would like to see Jason again," I said.

"Who?" Eric looked puzzled and slightly worried.

"My brother. He stayed in America after the war." I smiled, my head still resting on my knees.

"Oh. I didn't know you had a brother." Eric looked saddened by this.

"There are many things I don't know about you either," I countered.

"Well I am a mysterious sort of person." He smirked.

"Yes, that and we've known each other less than a month." I smiled. He nodded at that and took another bite of his food. I let the cool breeze of the morning dance in my skirt and hair as I thought about America. The thought was unsettling, and it didn't take long to realize why. By the time Eric was finished with his makeshift meal, I had come to a firm conclusion.

"We can't go to America." I said as he checked the reins on the horse in preparation of departure.

"Pardon?" He glanced over at me in shock.

"At least not yet," I qualified. "We can't just leave and hope that Andre gives up on us. You stole a lot of money from him. What makes you think that after one attempt of catching you he'll simply call it quits?"

"I don't believe that at all. In fact, I'm fairly certain that he'll try to recover his money and/or kill me at any cost. That's why I'm getting as far away as possible."

"Why run? You know Andre will eventually find you in America. Will you simply run again?" I asked.

"Yes," he stated emphatically. "Every time I have tried to stand up to Andre, in any capacity, someone has gotten hurt. Most notably: you. I'll not have that happen again."

"Well I'll not live my life constantly afraid that Andre Le Clerq or one of his lackeys will show up on my doorstep. I want to fight."

"Sookie, you can't fight him. He is stronger than you think. Do you not remember the robbery? We nearly lost because we underestimated his forces. There is simply no predicting him."

"Eric, my grandmother is dead. My home is gone. I nearly died. All because of Andre. I cannot run away. I have to find some kind of justice or I will not be able to live with myself."

"Sookie, I have lived with those same thoughts of revenge for years. It is a burden that I cannot carry any longer. It costs. All I want is to take what I still have and be thankful for it." He knelt down in from on me and brought his hands to my face.

"I did not say I wanted revenge. I am not so cruel as to think I will find satisfaction in that. I only want justice, to see him stopped. He has hurt too many people, it cannot continue."

Eric huffed and stood up, pacing in front of me for a few moments. He stopped abruptly and looked down at me. "If I agree to this, then you must promise me you will heed my advice. If it looks as if he's just going to win again, you have to abandon it and run with me, no questions or arguments."

"I suppose that's fair." I conceded. "But we'll need some help."

"A highwayman is not a profession that garners a great deal of friends. So unless you've got someone in mind..." He chuckled.

"I can think of a couple of people that might help." I smiled at his confused look.

Sorry it's such a short chapter, but it seemed like the smart place to stop.

*****I have to take a moment and RAVE about a new book series my sister introduced me to. It's called the Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger and takes place in Victorian England. Similar to SVM, vampires and werewolves are out in society and causing all kinds of trouble. It's incredibly well written and hilarious. I cannot urge you enough to read it. ******

Ok, back to business. So, this story is not going to be an epic, as such, we've probably got 3 more chapters to go, one of which will likely be an epilogue. Three is an optimistic guess, but you might get one super long next chapter and an epilogue. I hope no one is too disappointed by this news, everything ends eventually.

No guess when the next chapter will be out, please be patient. At least you didn't get a horrible cliffhanger like the last chapter. Aren't you glad I didn't make you wait too long for this little baby?