Streams of blood trickled down Persephone's face as she stood frozen to the spot; shock trembling through her, but slowly departing. Her tongue flicked out from the corner of her mouth and caught some of the blood mid-stream. Her eyes widened as the taste hit her; not human. Stan.
He had stepped in front of her at the last second, to shield her from the pieces of flying wood and silver. His actions had spared her life. But not his.

Her lip twitched as a massive wave of anger swept over her, drowning out all other senses. From a few feet away, Bill locked eyes with her and, without a moment's delay, they sped out of the room to catch the bastards that had aided the suicide-bomber on his death quest.

Two young men, both Soldiers of the Sun, scrambled into their white van after the explosion sounded from the house. None of their rigorous 'Light of Day Institute' training could have prepared them for what they were about to face.

"Go, go, go!" one of them screamed as the other started the engine and fiddled nervously with the gearshift.

A loud 'THUD!' told them that they hadn't moved fast enough. The passenger side door was yanked open and a powerful, cold arm reached through. The man seated beside the door screamed as the hand fastened on his forearm. He was pulled out of the moving vehicle.
The driver, breathing in sharp, panicky breaths, allowed himself to believe for a moment that he had been spared.
He was wrong.
In fact, his passenger was far better off than he was about to be.

Spotting a woman standing on the middle of the road ahead, he slammed on the brakes, sending the van into a sideways skid. Just when he thought he had hit her, his door was pulled off its hinges and tossed aside. Then, like his passenger before him, he was dragged out into the darkness.

Persephone threw the man onto the road, shattering most of the bones in his body. He still managed to let loose a blood-curdling scream of terror and pain, despite the sudden numb sensation engulfing his lower body. With the innate human instinct of self-preservation all he had to hold on to, the man tried to crawl away, his hands feeling around for anything he could use to pull himself forward.

Persephone observed him without emotion, allowing a minute for the pain to really set in before she brought her foot down onto his forearms; first the left, then the right. The bones snapped like dry branches.
Wailing as loud as his lungs would allow, the young man finally gave up trying to crawl, knowing he had no way to escape. But Persephone was not quite finished yet.

She picked him up by his left arm and leg, ignoring the screams he was emitting, before flipping him onto his back. Kneeling down onto his cracked ribs, she thrust her fangs into his throat and allowed the fast-pumping blood to pour into her mouth. When she'd had as much as she wanted, she took his head in both her hands and proceeded to rip it off, tossing it into the gutter.

Her chillingly barbaric cry of victory pierced the night air and echoed through the stillness of her surroundings. This was the side of Persephone rarely seen.
The true vampire.

By the time she returned to the nest, those that had survived the blast were beginning to move around, helping the wounded and trying to comprehend what had just occurred. Godric stood in the middle of the living room, his grey shirt splattered with blood, but seeming none the worse for wear. He was dazed, perhaps, by the fact that hadn't seen the attack coming, but seemed apathetic about it all. Isabel approached him with her assessment of the damage.

"Who's dead?" he asked her.

"Paolo, Catherine, two human companions. Stan."

They both looked over at Persephone, who was covered in blood, the majority of it dripping from her hands and chin. Her eyes slowly swept the area, taking in as much as she could. She noticed Bill over with Sookie, speaking aggressively to Eric who looked like a smug child. Sookie seemed fine physically, but with her arms crossed and her expression disgusted, she gave the appearance of someone emotionally assaulted.

"Everyone, please!" Isabel said, calling them all to attention.

"They may come back. Go to the Hotel Carmilla. They've been alerted and security is in place," Godric advised the survivors. He turned to Isabel; "Perhaps you would like to join them? Ensure they all arrive there safely, and then remain there yourself?"

"Sir, are you sure that would be wise?" she asked.

He gave a nod of assurance.

"Yes. Alright," she agreed, "but first I will contact the appropriate authorities. It would be better for them to hear about this from us, than from an indirect source."

While Isabel moved off, Godric approached Persephone. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gazed at the blood on her face and shook his head. Meeting his eyes, she was surprised to find a tiny hint of amusement in them, though it didn't show in his overall expression.

"You killed the humans that did this?"

"One of them," she replied.

He nodded slowly, finding her decision, in this case, to be acceptable.

"Will we remain here?" she asked him.

"For now," he replied.

Jessica had been ordered by Bill to return home after he had managed to slip away from Lorena. His request had come under very awkward circumstances, as he walked in on her and Hoyt making love in her hotel room. Hoyt had decided to purposely defy his mother and go after the girl he knew he really liked; he had driven all the way to Dallas to be with her.

They now stumbled into Bill's house, back in Bon Temps, kissing and eager to continue where they had left off in the hotel. Jessica pushed Hoyt down onto the couch and climbed on top of him, giggling as he grinned up at her.

"Sorry to interrupt."

Jessica gasped and turned around. A man she had never seen before was leaning casually against the door frame, a cigarette dangling between his lips. His black hair, long and flippy at the front, fell over his eyes as he bent his head forward to light it. He took a long drag before he looked back at them.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jessica asked, pulling her shirt closed as she realised how much skin she was showing in front of stranger.

"Name's Felix. Any idea where I can find Persephone?"