A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and such, I love them :)
***WARNING: Curses. Thou hast been warned. *le gasp* ***
Chapter Twelve – Delusions
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."
- Max Lucado.
"I swear Tabitha, I ain't been bitten in a week. I'm goin' through withdrawals!" the woman complained.
I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything. Trust me, it was hard not to hear them, because they were purposely speaking so loudly in the hopes that I would turn, smile and bare my fangs saying 'Well ladies, you're in luck. I'm willin' to bite both of you right here and now'. I saw the disappointment in their eyes when I simply continued applying lipstick in the mirrors. Fangtasia had some nice bathrooms. I smacked my lips together. I loved make-up! It was fun. Pam, however, was very irritated with me when she found me sitting on the ground in these very bathrooms, having smothered myself in some of her face cream. She said it cost her an arm and a leg, and there I was wasting it.
She gave me the silent treatment for half the night, furiously scrubbing the cream off my face and teaching me how to actually apply the stuff. Eric found it very amusing. The two women – one named Tabitha, I had just discovered – were eyeing me up and down like I was some kind of dessert.
"Y'know Lily, the last vamp that bit me told me I had the best blood he'd ever tasted," Tabitha smirked.
Eric had told me that the fangbangers were getting curious as to why I didn't accept a few offers like I used to when I was first turned. I refuse flat out to hurt any humans now that I've lost my memories, so these women were wasting their time trying to tempt me. I put the lid back on my lipstick, shoving it into the pockets of my jeans. I wore a black hoody. I know, I know, not what the fangbangers were expecting at this place, because apparently I used to wear revealing dresses, but I just didn't feel comfortable in them anymore. Eric supported me either way, which was something I found very sweet about him. No matter what I did, he was always right there behind me to help me.
Sometimes though, I felt crippling sadness and guilt for Eric. He would start talking about some memory or something that had happened in the past, and quickly have to stop when he realized I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He still had to remind me to do certain things. I was very forgetful in general, even before I lost my memories entirely. I could ask some pretty stupid questions about humans.
The music in Fangtasia was always deafening. I never got used to it. It was some screaming man trying to sing, roaring about pain and emotions and death. Typical vampire music really. Eric said it was called 'heavy metal'. Apparently I hadn't liked it much when I had my memories either. Eric claims I liked the Swedish music he played, but I highly doubt that. I couldn't understand the wailing woman at all.
We still had no word from Sookie. I glanced at my watch. It was really cute. It had a cartoon Minnie Mouse on it with fangs and blood dripping down her chin with an evil smirk. Those cartoons about animated animals always made me smile. The things humans came up with! I loved the Disney films. Eric would visibly shudder if I asked to watch an adventure or romance film, the poor Viking, but he still put up with it.
Perhaps that's one of the reasons I loved Eric so much. He did a lot for me without complaining, you know? He loved me even if I wasn't the Ruby he began a relationship with. I liked how Disney always had a happy ending. That didn't seem to happen much in real life though. I sighed. A girl was allowed to dream though.
It had been three nights since we visited Sookie, and I met Arlene Fowler's kids. Eric had hired a new bartender, Chow, therefore replacing Longshadow. He's almost one hundred and fifty years old, and he knows about my 'condition'. He's not as chatty as Ginger, which I don't mind. The bonus is he definitely doesn't shriek like Ginger does.
He's nice enough to me, though I can tell he's worried about the witches. Heck, so are Eric and Pam, though they won't admit it. If they can take away my memories, what else can they do? My eyes searched the crowd for Eric, since he wasn't in his throne tonight. Pam was manning the doors. I found it funny when underage teenagers tried to get in. Pam asked everyone for I.D, because she can't tell a human's age anymore. The teenagers never got through. You can't bullshit with Pam.
"We gotta get out of here-…"
The rain pounded against the window. I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for my TruBlood to be finished in the microwave. Five more seconds. Four…three…two-
There were three sharp, abrupt knocks on our front door. I heard it over the buzz of the TV, the sound of the radio humming along with the microwave. That's vampire hearing for you. I let out a deep sigh. We rarely got visitors at home. Humans are wary to visit a vampire's house, of course. It's only logical that they fear us. Our home is quite large, and I hummed to myself as I made my way down the hall. I flung the door open, glad the rain didn't hit me. Whoa, I hadn't realized it was so heavy out, almost like a storm.
A human stood before me, shivering, soaked to the bone. His heartbeat picked up the moment he laid eyes on me. I didn't take much notice of it. Another human appeared, huddled in his dark grey jacket. I saw their truck down by the entrance to our driveway, off a beaten parish road.
"H-Hello…My name is A-Alex, and this is Jack…our truck broke down and we saw your lights…Could we use your phone or something?"
I eyed them suspiciously. Eric wouldn't be back from Fangtasia for a while, but I could handle two humans by myself. I took in a deep breath, trying to smell their scents. The rain was making it difficult. Perhaps that's why I didn't smell the V on them at the time. The phone was in the kitchen. Along with my TruBlood. Mmm, TruBlood. Yum.
"Sure. You can use it."
I turned my back – big mistake. Scalding hot pain ran throughout my body as I fell to the ground. Silver chains! I knew it straight away. The man named Alex was sitting on top of me. Quickly, I reached my hands for his neck. Fuck the Magister, he couldn't blame me for murdering humans in self defense, could he? I was searching blindly, and the moment I found Alex's neck I snapped it, he fell over. He had still been clutching the silver, which ripped from my skin. I screamed in pain, knowing half my face had just gone with it. Ew, gross.
I staggered to my feet. I saw myself in the mirror beside the door. Yes, I was correct. Shiny, bloody skin stared back at me, the pattern of the silver chains covering my skin. I winced, touching it. It was healing though. Not too bad. My brown hair that had been in a bun – I hate to get TruBlood in my hair, it's a bitch to get out – had come undone, falling just an inch or two below my shoulders.
In a flash, I saw the silver before I felt it. When I fell, I screamed for the entire woods surrounding us to hear. How I hate silver! It's similar to being burned by fire for a human, only I feel it's ten times worse. Jack, wasn't that the other humans name? My fangs came out, because I would not go down without a fight. Eric had always taught me to defend myself, not to be some helpless baby vampire that depends on everyone else.
It was easier said than done. Unlike Alex, I couldn't get a grip on Jack. It was then I realized he must be on V. A human isn't naturally that fast, able to second-guess my moves as we struggled against each other on the floor. Another weakness was not being able to see what I was doing over the silver. All I could smell was my own flesh burning, so that did nothing to help either, it just made me panic more. My microwave was beeping in the distance. Dang, that been the last bottle of A Negative. Why the Hell was I thinking about that when I was being thrown around like a rag doll by a human? This was degrading.
I let out a triumphant yell when I got a grip on Jack's collar. It was soaking from the rain, and some drops ran down the length of my forearm. I lifted him with difficultly, because the silver was now stuck to me. I would need help getting it off, which would be an utterly painful experience. I slammed Jack against the white walls in our hallway. Eric would have felt my pain. He'd be here any minute now, and this would all be over. Jack screamed out in pain when I sunk my fangs into his neck. Aw, he was just a normal O positive. What a shame!
He was getting weaker. I still didn't feel any stronger though, even with his blood. In fact, if anything I was beginning to feel dizzy and weak. I snapped his neck, letting him crash to the ground. I staggered backwards, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Blood smeared across it. I need a God-damn shower. Oooh, I hope Pam bought that cocoa butter stuff! I certainly needed to relax after this…
I was such an idiot for not expecting more humans. The silver net was thrown around me as I was about to go get the phone, and down I went, crashing to the ground. Two more humans, one werewolf. I knew the scent of the werewolf. It was hard for the rain to wash away the scent of a dog! It only made it worse. I thought the humans' hearts would explode they were beating so fast. They were petrified. I couldn't fight against the net, not when I was already weakened.
But I still didn't give up. I kicked, thrashed, punched.
"We gotta get outta here guys! She's gotta Maker, the Fangtasia vampire!" Lou said. I knew it was Lou's voice.
"Just calm down," the werewolf growled. Rob. Rob, that was his name. I could see this happening like it were a film, like an outer-body experience. Like I was just a bystander watching the whole thing, so I knew who was who. "It'll take him a while, no matter how fast he can fly…"
Eric can fly? I couldn't remember if he'd told me that or not. It seemed like something I'd recall. I managed to throw the human off of me. Rick! It was Rick, I knew it from how he grunted as he hit his shoulder against the wall. Rob was on me now, holding me down. He gave me one clean punch, and I swear I saw stars.
Then I was being dragged by my ankles out of the house. I left a very dark trail of blood behind me. Rick had the courtesy to close the front door behind us, before I was hoisted up into the air by Rob and thrown into the back of the pick-up truck.
"Like I said, we gotta get out of here!"
"We gotta go now Mags, they're closin'. You already got your Fangtasia t-shirt. Let's call it a night."
Once again I had accidentally eavesdropped on two women talking about leaving, and it set off a memory of how I was taken. My skin still tingled as if the silver was still on me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. 'Mags', one of the women, was clearly drunk out of her mind and had to be dragged away by her friend. I watched them with a blank expression.
I went to the bar, sat down and closed my eyes, rethinking everything. The last of the customers had left when I opened them again, hearing Pam's high-heels clicking against the floor. She let out a long sigh, leaning against the counter beside me and rolling her eyes towards Chow, who dutifully began cleaning glasses and TruBlood bottles behind the bar.
"Humans are such idiots," she stated in a flat voice.
Chow grunted in agreement. When I said nothing, they both looked at me. I didn't think humans were idiots. They fascinated me, but vampires were forever thinking they were the superior race, and I sometimes just agreed so I wouldn't have to listen to lectures on why we're so great. Humans had their good sides too. Pam's eyes narrowed.
"Did you have a memory tonight Ruby?"
I blinked, surprised. "How did you know?"
"I can read you like a book," she said, coming towards me. She put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes, with such an intense look it was like she was trying to Glamour me. Thank God I'm a vampire, so that isn't possible. "What did you remember? Anything about the witches we can use to our advantage?"
I shook my head, watching the disappoint appear in her blue eyes. Pam's hair had been tied into a pretty bun tonight, to show off her new sparkly earrings. Her tight black leather dress was new too, along with her blood red shoes and belt. Pam usually wore pastels, but tonight she was working and had to put on a show.
"Just the night I was taken," I shrugged tiredly. Memories wore me out. "Rick and Lou and Rob…"
I felt Eric's presence in the parking lot through our bond. Pam probably had too, but she didn't do anything, only let go of me and went behind the bar beside Chow. I don't know where Eric went tonight, but I could hear the car door slam. I sluggishly got off the bar stool and went to greet him, closing the door behind me. There he was, locking the car. I smiled when I saw Eric, just like I always did.
"Ruby, how is my favorite progeny this fine night?" he winked, joking with me. I was glad he was in a good mood.
I laughed. "Don't let Pam hear you say that."
He laughed too, and it's always great to hear Eric genuinely laugh. He rarely does it in front of humans. He had to bend down to kiss my temple while we walked back to Fangtasia, but he froze suddenly, eyes narrowed. His arm was around my shoulder, but he was tense.
"Eric?" I whispered quietly, but he hushed me very quickly.
"Do you hear that?" he asked, equally low and quiet.
I strained my ears to hear what he was talking about. Surely I would have heard something just like him?. Then again, he was a thousand years old, he probably knew what to look out for. Faintly I could hear a heartbeat, that was getting a little louder. We both turned at the same time, and there was Karen in front of me. The scarily bright red tips at the end of her hair were glowing in the streetlights, as were her eyes. But she was crying, sniffling like a child. I don't recall the red tips being so bright, but I had more important things to focus on.
Eric was frowning. I remembered that he had no idea who she was. In his eyes, she was just some human from the streets. Karen wore a black cardigan, a black tank top, and some black jeans. It contrasted with her pale skin. She had a tattoo on her left hand, something I hadn't seen before. It was intricately designed with swirls and circles and the symbol of a diamond in the centre.
"Eric…that's Karen," I whispered, suddenly terrified. You know it's bad if a vampire is afraid of a human, especially one looking as pathetically weak as Karen was right now, still sniffling and taking small steps towards us. She looked at us using puppy-dog eyes, cautious.
The moment I told Eric who she was, his fangs were out and he had vanished from my side, appearing in front of Karen and gripping her throat, growling from deep within his chest. She squeaked at his vampire speed. Her feet didn't touch the ground, because Eric held her as far out as he could. I gasped myself, just like Karen was doing now because Eric was holding her throat too tightly for her to get any oxygen. I rushed forward to his side.
She obviously had a reason for being here. She wouldn't put herself in so much danger. I scanned the rest of the parking lot to make sure she was alone. When I was satisfied that Karen must have a death wish to come here all on her lonesome, I put my hands on Eric's outstretched arm, seeing Karen was going red and having difficulty breathing.
"Eric, put her down right now!"
I was repeating exactly what Sookie had said to me nights before in what I hoped was the same strong tone. He grunted at me, only baring his fangs more, but he lowered her slightly, giving her some time to breath. She took in the oxygen gratefully, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She wasn't so red anymore.
"P-Please…I came here to help you…"
Oh, Eric was gripping her too tightly again. I had to squeeze his arm to remind him, and he was still growling.
"Do you think for one second I would let you anyway near my Ruby after what you have done?" he growled. Seeing him that angry actually scared me a little. "Do you think me stupid, human?" He shook her just for emphasis, before dropping her to the ground. She went down with a loud crash.
I quickly put myself between Eric and Karen, putting my hands on his chest. He didn't even look at me, keeping his eyes fixed on her. "Eric please. She came here for a reason. She's the only lead we got, especially if Sookie doesn't hear anything," I whispered quietly, making sure not to say Sookie's name too loudly. If Karen somehow got away and this was all a trick, she might go after Sookie if she could track her down. Never underestimate a witch.
He was considering it, I could see how torn he was between logic and wanting to rip Karen's head off. Slowly he straightened up and took a step back. Karen was still crying. I must admit I wanted to kick and stamp on her, make her feel how I did. Even then that wouldn't be enough.
"Fine. We'll talk," Eric barked, grabbing Karen roughly by her cardigan collar and dragging her along the ground. Kind of like how Rob had dragged me out of our house when they took me. I sighed once more before following them inside.