A/N: Well… pardon the pun, but I was going to try and 'gift wrap' it all up for you in this chapter, but I just couldn't do it. This story will definitely conclude, though, by the next chapter (#13). I've already written an Epilogue to follow the ending, so it shouldn't take me too long to finish up where this chapter leaves off. Look for my final update soon!
Chapter 12
The rest of the afternoon passed in much the same way as the morning: my kidnapper would tease me with his knife and taunt me with his words. At one point, he abruptly untied me from the chair and briskly led me to an outside hallway, his knife against my throat the entire time. I panicked that he was going to do something horrible to me, but he pushed me into a small, filthy bathroom instead. I mumbled and begged with my eyes for him to untie my hands; the thought of him 'helping' me in this situation was even more repulsive than my surroundings. He loosened the ropes but still left me gagged, threatening me with all types of unpleasant scenarios should I attempt to escape. The threats were gruesome, and I was sufficiently scared enough to believe him. I used the facilities as quickly as possible while under his leering, watchful eye, all sense of modesty gone by now.
My side still hurt considerably from my earlier fall with the chair, and I suspected it was badly bruised. My throat was dry and parched, and my jaw felt numb from the gag being in my mouth for so long. I walked back slowly, trying to buy myself more time to plan something, anything that might help me. My captor led me to the main warehouse and pushed me roughly into the chair. As he crouched behind me to retie my hands and secure me to the seat again, his arms and fingers brushed against mine. The skin contact sent little jolts through me, and I was able to catch brief glimpses into his head. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. Was my telepathy finally returning? I sure hoped so.
His thoughts were angry and vengeful— I could pick up his overwhelming need to 'make the vampire pay.' He was having a hard time with the rope and muttered a few choice curse words aloud before I was able to grasp some more from his thoughts. I saw an image of a young fair-haired woman, covered in blood, who looked quite dead by my estimation. It sent a chill down my spine. Then the horrific picture was gone.
"It's gettin' dark, sugar," he drawled after he finished his rope work. "You think this is gonna be the night?" He laughed as he walked to the corner where the silver net lay, ready for its victim.
Yes, I did think this was going to be the night. Something life-altering was about to happen, either to me or Eric, or both of us -- and I hoped that I was ready to face what the future had in store.
I willed myself to look at the man and see what he was doing. He lifted the net and swung it around as if practicing his butterfly-catching. He then picked up some small votives and matches from the floor, items I had missed upon my earlier scan of the room. Lighting a few candles, he placed them around the warehouse, enough to aid his vision as the sunlight faded. He would need the light if he hoped to try and match visual abilities with a vampire.
Time slowly passed. It was well after sundown now so we just waited for my rescuer to come and save me. How could my captor be sure I was going to be rescued by Eric, anyway? I wasn't even sure I was going to be rescued by Eric, and I had seen a vision of it. Did the man send a ransom note or call Fangtasia or something? I sat there, bound and gagged, powerless to do anything else but wait. Maybe if I could hear something else from my captor's head, it might give me some advantage, some knowledge to help me. I tried to reach him but we were no longer in physical contact; and given the man's distance from me, my fragile telepathic powers were too weak to be of any use.
Slivers of moonlight shone through the skylights above me, and along with the candlelight, it cast eerie shadows along the walls. My assailant crouched in the corner with his net and his knife, hidden and waiting. It was an image I recalled too vividly from my vision, and I knew now that there was nothing I could do to change the course of events. We continued to wait for it all to play out.
At some point, I felt faint stirrings within me that were all too familiar. It was Eric, trying to reach me through the bond. A small wave of comfort and relief washed over me when I could sense my vampire nearby. The connection was weak but it was there, nonetheless. After a quick glance at my captor, I closed my eyes and focused my energy to send back my feelings through the recovering bond. Could I warn Eric somehow? Would he know it was a trap? Would he even be able to sense my concerns?
I could feel Eric's emotions getting stronger; he must be closer now or else the bond was strengthening. Anger, frustration, and blind rage were guiding him, not his usual caution and pragmatism; it was a recipe for disaster. Moments later, the door burst open and Eric stood towering before me, unaware of the approaching danger, his eyes filled with relief at finding me alive. Just as in my vision, I struggled in vain, shook my head and gestured to the corner, but I knew it would be too late. Again. The madman leaped from the shadows, blindsiding Eric with the silver net. Eric was much taller than his attacker, but the touch of the silver against my vampire's body caused him to bend over in agony. My captor quickly moved in, covering Eric's head and upper body with the net. My bonded fell to his knees, weakened, and the crazed man began his assault with the knife. I watched in horror, again, as Eric was stabbed over and over while I tried to scream and wish it all away.
Suddenly, another figure was in the room with us: Claude. He lunged for the man and wrestled him off of Eric, causing loud cries of pain to ring out. Caught up in the frenzy before me, I was unsure who the screams came from, but I hoped they weren't Eric's. Claude dragged the doomed man to a corner and proceeded to apply some impressive punching moves which left the man unconscious. Or dead. I wasn't positive of the outcome at this point.
I grunted and moaned to catch Claude's attention, reminding him about Eric's ongoing crisis. The smell of burning vampire flesh was making me nauseous and Claude rushed to remove the net, trying to bring Eric some relief. My cousin then pulled out the bloody knife still lodged in Eric's abdomen and came over to cut away my restraints. I used my free hands to remove the gag and rushed to kneel before my vampire. He looked beyond help.
"Oh my, God, Eric, Eric, please be alright," I started crying as I threw myself across his bloody body. He was unresponsive and if he was healing, it wasn't obvious to me.
"It's okay, Sookie. He's a vampire. I'm sure he will heal in time," Claude said a bit off-handedly. He squatted beside me. "Are you okay? Did that lunatic hurt you?" he asked, much more interested in my welfare that Eric's.
I shook my head to let Claude know I was fine as I continued to sob and cling to Eric. I moved to caress his burned face and kissed him as he lay there. A slight moaning came from his lips, but his eyes remained shut.
"I'm so sorry, Eric. Everything's my fault. Please forgive me," I said. I cried inconsolably as I rested my head on his chest. I was covered in Eric's blood but I didn't care. I just wanted my happily ever after: a daughter on Eric's shoulders, a birthday picnic in my backyard, a kiss with Eric under the moonlight-- just like I had seen in my vision. Why wouldn't it come true for me?
As I lay there clutching Eric, my cousin sat down next to us, saying nothing but rubbing my back in comfort. It was a surprisingly sympathetic gesture for Claude and I turned to look at him.
"He's not going to get better, Claude, is he?" I asked, sniffling. He shrugged his shoulders as if Eric's future was of no importance to him. And it wasn't, really; but it was enormously important to me. I tried to reach through our bond to send my love and regret, but the connection was almost as weak as Eric.
"How did you find me?" I asked Claude as I continued to stroke Eric's arm.
"Eric called me this morning before dawn. But I didn't listen to the message until this evening." He looked a little ashamed. "I saw the call was from your cell and I didn't want to answer it after what happened between us. I'm sorry, Sookie. I should have been here sooner." He looked away.
"No, Claude, I'm the one who is sorry. You were right about me using Claudine as an excuse to use the crystal again. It was a horrible thing to do," I said, crying again. I hated myself. Just thinking about the crystal brought back a flood of guilt, and I could almost feel those urges again -- the compulsion to hold it in my palm and look for visions of the future. The desire kept growing, in fact, as I sat there with Claude and Eric.
Claude didn't respond to my apology. "When I heard Eric's message, I immediately used the crystal to locate you and passed the information along to Eric. I agreed to meet him here as backup, but it was faster and easier to work by phone." And safer. If Eric had been conscious right now, this close to a pure fairy, the outcome for Claude wouldn't have been pretty.
"The crystal? It helped find me again?" I asked in disbelief. "Is it here with you now? Because I can feel it, Claude. It's calling to me," I said a bit entranced.
He brought the sparkling blue-white stone out of his pocket and then moved back to put some space between us. I looked at the crystal, longingly, my thoughts of Eric and his well-being put on a back burner. A moan of pain from my vampire abruptly brought me out of my trance. My addictive behavior seemed to set Claude to thinking; I could see the wheels of his fairy mind set in motion.
"Let me try something," Claude said suddenly, and he gestured me to move away from Eric.
I did so reluctantly but then watched in shock and amazement as Claude pressed the small stone against one of Eric's deep wounds. Immediately, the skin closed up and the gash was healed. He repeated the process over the many stab wounds on Eric's body, each time with the same miraculous result. Eric started stirring and his eyes fluttered open as Claude continued healing him. I rushed to be near Eric's side, but Claude warned me to keep my distance from the crystal. Given the rapid speed with which he was now working, Claude must have realized he was going to need to keep his distance from the vampire. He pressed against the last deep wound in Eric's side and then my cousin quickly retreated to a corner of the warehouse, crystal in hand.
Eric slowly sat up and looked himself over before meeting my worried eyes with his crystal-blue ones; he was confused for the moment by his surroundings and bloody condition. But then I felt joy and relief trying to work its way through the bond and when Eric smiled, I knew that my vampire had come back to me.
