Let Love In
By Terri Botta
Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor so don't sue.
Rating: M for later chapters.
Timeframe: Post-From Dead to Worse
Pairing: Eric/Sookie
Summary: Eric decides that it's time for him and Sookie to come to an understanding.
A/N: VILOENCE WARNING! SEXY BADASS!ERIC makes his debut. But there's blood and flying body parts. Read at your own risk.
Also, I have found a mistake in Ch 19. I completely glazed over the fact that Sookie now has her cousin, Hadley's old computer set up at her house and Amelia is paying for the extra phone line. I'd forgotten about that completely. Regardless, Eric is still going to get her the FIOS and the laptop. I'd also missed that Rhodes is on the shore of Lake Michigan, so Sookie has seen a Great Lake. Whoops. My bad. I will fix both errors in the master document and the corrected version will go up on my wordsmiths website when LLI is complete.
Chapter Twenty
The flight back was much more enjoyable than the flight to Isle Elena. Eric converted the two loveseats into the bed, then gave her a very long, detailed initiation into the Mile High Club. There were definite perks to having a private jet all to themselves, and she discovered that turbulence while making love at thirty thousand feet could be interesting. Eric had certainly enjoyed the extra gyrations.
Afterwards, he'd laughed and told a story about how he'd been in California at the turn of the last century, and he'd been having sex when an earthquake hit. Since the quake had started during a pivotal moment in their coupling, it had taken the two of them a few moments to realize that the earth really was moving. He snickered as he remembered getting himself and his partner out of the building before it collapsed on their heads. Neither of them had had much opportunity to get dressed, but thankfully they'd gone to her place, and his place was a house in Malibu that had survived the quake fairly well.
Sookie tried to imagine what it would be like to be in the middle of screwing her Viking when the walls started shaking. Yeah, it might take her a bit to realize she wasn't imagining it too. He'd roared with laughter when she'd said that and admitted that he hoped there would be more turbulence for them to make love through. She'd just rolled her eyes and stretched out on the convertible mattress.
"May I use your phone?" she asked during one of their snuggle sessions.
"Of course," he agreed, and slipped off the bed to rummage for the phone in his discarded jeans. He was still wearing the sweater she'd picked out for him, and his gorgeous butt cheeks peeked out from under the hem. She drew a sharp breath, and he noticed her admiration, grinning and presenting her with a better view. She groaned and licked her lips. He chuckled and returned to the bed, carrying his cell phone. She took it from him and flipped it open to dial.
"Who are you calling?" he asked.
"Sam. I need to get my work schedule," she answered, flicking back her hair to put her ear to the receiver.
"Hmmmm," her Viking replied, and she should have known the sound was bad news.
Sam picked up on the third ring. "Merlotte's Bar. This is Sam."
"Hi Sam, it's Sookie."
"Hey Sookie, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine," she replied.
Eric gave her a wicked look that chilled her to the bone, and she shook her head emphatically, but of course he wasn't going to listen to her. He leered and shoved her back on the mattress, making her land with a whomp. She gasped.
"Sookie? You okay?" Sam asked.
"Oh sure. I'm fine. Great even," she managed.
Her evil Viking vamp was pushing up her new sweater and suckling her breasts. He'd taken her bra off an hour ago. She gritted her teeth and yanked at his hair, but he didn't even pause.
"I'm calling to get my work schedule. We're coming back tonight," she managed, squirming as Eric began to kiss her down her stomach. Her free hand was flailing, but he just grabbed it and held it down.
"Oh, they got the runways cleared off?" her boss asked, a sly lilt in his voice.
"Y-yes," she stammered. Eric was at her center, cupping her under her hips to tilt her pelvis into the right position. "We got almost… two… feet of snow."
"Wow. Did you take pictures?"
"Y… Yes!" she forced out through clenched teeth. Eric was working his magic with his tongue, and she was finding it impossible to concentrate. 'Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!'
'No. No. No.'
"Sookie, are you sure you're okay. You sound really stressed out."
"I'm fine," she assured him breathlessly. Eric was now using his tongue and his fingers.
'He's my boss!'
'And I care about that why?'
"Is that blood sucker mistreating you?" Sam demanded. She almost laughed. Eric did, low and soft, his cool breath tickling the skin on her inner thigh.
'I dunno. Am I?'
'I'm going to kill you!'
'Already dead, lover.'
'ARGH!'
"No. He's been… fine," she answered, bright flashes of light going off behind her eyes.
'Just fine?' He punctuated his thoughts with a wiggle of his fingers.
"So, when do you have me scheduled?" she pressed, knowing Eric wasn't going to let up, and she wasn't going to be able to hold on to her sanity much longer.
"I have you working tonight and tomorrow night and Sunday lunch shift," Sam replied.
'Hmmm. Shifter thinks he can tie you up all weekend, does he?' her personal demon sent, his irritation coming across the bond.
"But I have Monday off?" she prompted.
"Yep."
"Okay." 'Monday is the day Fangtasia's closed…' she offered.
"So, how was your trip?" Sam asked innocently.
"Great. It was… uh… great."
'If you're still coherent, I'm losing my touch.'
Eric used two fingers, his thumb and a twist of his tongue. She couldn't hold back the moan.
"Sookie?" Sam asked.
Quick as a blink, her Viking grabbed the phone and growled into it. "She's still on my time, Shifter."
Then he flipped the phone closed, effectively hanging up on Sam, and tossed the phone across the cabin.
"That was rude," she scolded, trying to be angry when he looked at her that way, with those blazing blue eyes dark with lust.
"Like I care."
She would have answered, but he took that moment to thrust into her, making all thoughts fly right out of her head. He rode her hard, staking his claim, as if he was trying to imprint his mark on her enough for even Sam to feel it all the way in Bon Temps. She gasped and writhed under him, lifting her legs up to force him deeper, and that just drove him wild. A few frantic plunges into her brought them both to their peaks, and they both cried out as they climaxed. Eric hung for one moment in suspended animation, then collapsed on top of her.
"Do you think the pilot knows what we're up to out here?" she mused after they'd rearranged themselves. She was in her usual post-coital position with her head on his chest. He seemed to like that best for après-sex cuddling.
"Birds of prey have very keen senses," he pointed out.
"So in other words: yes."
He shrugged. "It's a good possibility. It's also a possibility that he's drowning out any sound from in here by blasting The Eagles on his iPod."
She let out a choked laugh and looked fondly at him. "You just said that to make me feel better."
"Of course."
"So… I'm working tonight and tomorrow night…" she commented with some regret.
"Me too. I'm sure there will be lots of things I need to handle that have built-up in my absence."
"Does that mean you'll be going back to your place after you take me home?" she asked, twirling her fingers in his hair.
"No. I'll stay with you the rest of the night and shelter at your house. If you work the night shift, you don't have to go in until later, so we'll have a little bit of time before we have to part, and then, per our agreement, I'll come back after Fangtasia closes on Saturday morning, and leave again after sunset Saturday night."
"Then I'll drive to your place on Sunday after my lunch shift and spend Sunday and Monday with you?"
"That sounds wonderful. I'll do my best to get all caught up on work so we can have Monday free. I will have to go into the bar on Monday, though, to go through the weekly manifests, but that won't take me long."
She sighed, the idea of doing mundane, normal things with him sounded appealing. Maybe they'd stay in Sunday night and watch movies on T.V.
"You're gonna have to give me directions to your house."
"And a key," he added.
"I should give you a key to my place."
"That would be nice."
"What's your house like?"
He shrugged. "Simple. Uncluttered. Full of fine quality furniture and modern comforts."
"Like a fireplace and a sauna," she recalled.
"Yes. I have a big whirlpool tub too, and a large shower that I think I will have converted into a double."
"Do that when you have the mirror installed above your bed," she teased.
He chuckled. "I wonder who will get the most enjoyment out of that. You do so love to look at my butt, my lover."
She snickered and let her eyes drift down to the curve of his hip. He was still wearing the sweater, and if anything that made him look even sexier with the warm wool covering just enough of him to give a peek at the treasures beneath. He saw where her eyes were focused and obligingly turned his pelvis to give her a tantalizing side view. She showed her appreciation by sliding her hand down to caress his hip, brushing her fingers along his cool skin. She loved the feel of vampire skin; it was silk and smooth marble. Normal skin felt rough and squishy compared to her Viking's hard flesh.
"I love this," Eric said suddenly.
"Hmm?" she asked, coming out of her almost meditative state of stroking his skin.
"You. Me. Just lying here holding each other. I can feel your pleasure at touching me, and hear you compare human skin to mine and find mine more appealing. There's no urgency, no upset, no stress. It's so easy being like this with you."
And she loved it when he shared with her. It made her feel so valued and important. "I love this too. Can we promise that it'll always be like this: comfortable and easy?"
"No. I'm in the habit of keeping my promises, and I couldn't possibly keep one as impossible as that. Ask me for the moon and the stars. That would be easier," he replied, his voice resigned.
She snuggled closer. "Then we'll have to promise to make it like this as much as we can when we're together because the rest of the world is going to make this so hard on us," she said, dread creeping into her voice.
He pulled her closer and nuzzled her. "I think you are worrying too much. As long as we are together, we will be alright."
"I'm still scared, Eric. We wouldn't have been given those things if we weren't going to need them."
"No. But we have them, and we will keep them close at hand, so when we need them we will know what to do."
She nodded, not entirely convinced but not willing to fight about it. If there was danger, she and Eric had to be on the same page with each other.
"Maria told me that we are much stronger together than we are apart," he told her.
"When did she tell you that?"
"The night of the snowstorm, when she and Izzy stopped me on the porch."
"Oh." She'd wondered what the Gypsy woman had had to say.
"She said that no matter what issues we had between us, we'd only find comfort from our pain if we were together. She told me that being apart would be more terrible for us so we had to see a way through our troubles."
"She's pretty smart, that woman," she commented. "It's funny because I don't think she's much older than me."
"There are a lot of rumors about her and her companion. A lot of dark secrets and whispers cloud around them. The boy is the focus. There are a lot of people very worried about him," Eric admitted.
She snorted. "I'll say. I saw him blast fireballs right out of his hands."
Eric nodded. "Yes. His power is impressive, especially for a child, but his father is infamous in demon circles, and there are quite a few individuals who would like nothing better than to kill Zolan and his son."
"Izzy hinted at that," she answered.
"Isabelle is the one to watch. She is the bodyguard. In a fight, she would be the one to do the most damage the fastest."
She nodded. She'd figured as much. Maria seemed so sweet and kind and loving. It was Izzy who had all the rough edges. She reached over and took Eric's hand, holding it the way the two of them had held hands on that infamous New Year's night when Eric had been cursed. She felt a sudden rush of contented pleasure through the bond and smiled.
"Of all the sweet things you did for me that night, letting me lie with you and holding my hand brought me the most comfort."
"I didn't believe it was possible for someone to fall asleep holding hands with a vampire, but we did," she said softly.
"You were the only thing that was real to me."
"You said that you were born the moment you were running down the road…
"And I was a void until you took me in. Yes, I remember," he said wistfully. "I was so frightened running down that road in the dark and the cold. And then, there you were calling to me, reaching out to me. In hindsight, Sookie how could you have been so reckless? A vampire running barefoot down the road in the middle of the night on New Years Eve? Didn't you realize the danger you were in?"
She shrugged. The conversation was turning much too serious for them considering that he was naked from the waist down and she wasn't wearing any underwear.
"I wouldn't have stopped for anyone but you. Well… maybe Bill… or Pam."
He snorted. "I had no idea who you were, woman. I could have torn you to shreds before you had a chance to flinch."
"I know, but… but I didn't think you'd hurt me. You were so scared and pitiful. I believed you when you said you wouldn't harm me."
He gave a short, mirthless laugh, and she sighed. "Yeah, I know, it was stupid, but it was you, Eric. I had to stop for you. I couldn't leave you all alone and scared like that."
Now it was his turn to sigh. "Like you were determined to save both me and the gas station clerk that night we were attacked on the way back from Jackson. Sookie, we need to work on your self-preservation skills."
"There's nothing wrong with my self-preservation skills, thank you very much. I haven't risked my life for…"
She stopped. Actually, she had. She'd allowed herself to almost blow up in a hotel to risk saving the very man who was lying next to her. She didn't need to finish her sentence because Eric had already heard and understood.
"I hate Hallow, you know," he said casually.
"Well, yeah, you would. She cursed you, tried to take your business, drained Clancy, and got Chow killed."
"That's true, but I hate her even more now. I hate her so much that, if she weren't already dead, I would hunt her down and kill her very slowly."
The rush of predatory glee that arced through the bond was unsettling and she shivered.
"Why?"
"Because not only did she steal me away from myself, she stole you away from me when her curse broke, and I didn't remember anything that had happened between us. I lost me twice," he answered.
"Oh." She'd never thought of it that way.
"There are nights when I am alone and I think on that time. I remember the little, tender things you did. The way you smiled, and the way I felt when I looked at you. She stole that from me: my happiness, my place at your side. I can never forgive her those losses. They struck too deep."
She rubbed her cheek against his chest and squeezed his hand. "It's okay. We're back together now."
"But the time we lost, and all of the things that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't forgotten…"
She shushed him. "We can't know any of that. We can't second-guess ourselves. You may very well have hated loving me and humbling yourself like that. Maybe you would have killed me to erase your guilt."
He kissed her temple fiercely, the very thought of his harming her making him shiver. "Never."
She had nothing to say to that, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She felt safe and cherished, and she closed her eyes, feeling grateful that he'd never given up on her.
"Thank you for never giving up on me," she whispered.
"As if I could," he answered teasingly.
She sighed and tucked her head under his chin. They stayed that way for several long moments, then Eric shifted and gently pushed her away.
"We should get dressed and put the loveseats to rights. We'll be landing soon," he said sadly.
She really didn't want to move, but she knew she had no choice. Still, there was one thing she wanted to do before they had to face reality. She pulled him back and kissed him tenderly.
"Thank you. This trip has been wonderful. You've made me very happy, and I'm grateful."
He smiled and held her close, letting his joy come across the bond to fill them both. "I don't have words to tell you how happy you've made me."
"It's okay. We don't need them," she replied.
"No. We don't." He kissed her long and deep until she was gasping for breath. "I love you."
"I love you too."
He gave her a happy grin and released her, sliding off the mattress to reach for his underwear and jeans. He made sure to present her with an excellent view of his backside right before he pulled up the boxers she'd left out for him. She whistled her appreciation and laughed when he grinned at her, giving her one last wiggle of his hips.
"Anyone ever tell you you'd make a great male dancer?" she commented.
"Numerous times. However, from now on my strip teases are only for you."
She raised her eyebrows. "You strip teased for others?"
He gave her a bland look. "Do you really want me to answer that question, my lover?"
She thought about it and shook her head. "Nope. Don't wanna know."
"I thought not."
"Where'd you toss my underwear anyway?" she asked, locating her bra. It was dangling haphazardly from the back of one of the plush chairs.
Her Viking cast about for the missing bit of clothing and found it crumpled near the minibar. He brought them to her, but unfortunately they were ripped. She gave him an exasperated look.
"What is it with vampires and ripping my underwear?"
He shrugged and looked innocent. "You could stop wearing it all together."
"You do not want me going into Fangtasia without any underwear on. Every vamp in the place would know I was au naturale in three seconds."
"True. But seeing their reactions might be fun."
"For all of two minutes before you started ripping heads off," she commented, wondering what she should do with the torn panties.
"Allow me," Eric offered, plucking the panties from her fingers. Then she watched as he brought them to his nose and took a deep, satisfied sniff before shoving them down into the crotch of his jeans with a lascivious look on his face.
She didn't know whether to be flattered or grossed out, but then she settled for laughter because he waggled his eyebrows at her and gave her a wicked grin that was so rogue and so Eric.
"That doesn't solve my panty problem. All of my underwear is in my rolling carry-on."
"You didn't put a spare set in your garment bag?"
"Why would I? We were headed home. If for some reason, something happened to our luggage, I still had lots of clothes at home."
He considered her answer and nodded, then he brightened and smiled again. "I think I may have the answer to your problem."
"I'm not wearing a pair of your underwear, Eric."
"Now that would be something," he quipped, going to the storage closet across from the jet's hatch.
Per his instructions, both garment bags and his sword in its sheath were in there, and she saw him open an outside pocket on the black garment bag and pull out a plastic shopping bag.
"What's this?" she asked when he handed her the bag.
"Something else I bought for you, but didn't have a chance to give you."
She should have known it was lingerie just from the size and feel of the items in the bag, but she wasn't expecting the delicate silk panties and matching underwire bra. Both were a light pink, almost a blush color, and very soft.
"Oh," she gasped softly.
"Pam bought them when she was getting your sweaters. She said they were your style."
"Pam bought them? She bought my sweaters?"
Eric looked miffed as if actually going to the store was beneath him. "She merely picked them up for me. I ordered them from a store in Jackson and sent her to get them. She said she'd passed the lingerie department on the way to parcel pick-up and thought you'd like them."
Hm. More like she was playing a big joke, but that was Pam for you. Still, she couldn't fault Pam's logic. They were just the kind of thing she'd wear.
"Well, they are very nice. I'll have to thank her when I see her on Sunday. What is she going to think about all of this, anyway?" she said, slipping on the panties but leaving off the bra because she still had the other one.
"About what?"
"Us? The blood-bond? How much are we going to tell her?"
"We don't have to tell her anything."
She gave him a look. "Eric, she's going to know. Do we tell her about what happened? Do we let her in on the fact that we can hear each other?"
His face grew hard and stony, and she stopped.
"We tell her nothing of the mental bond and nothing about the true nature of my Hammer," he said firmly.
"Won't she recognize it? I mean, I'm sure you showed it to her…"
"No. Pam never had my confidence or my affection. I never shared anything like that with her."
"Oh." Well, considering the circumstances of her creation, that made sense. Eric would have sex with her and share his body, including the little trick with the fingers, but he kept his heart locked away.
"I will tell Pam that we have renewed our bond, although that will be obvious. I will tell her that our bond is very strong and permanent, although that will also be obvious. I will tell her that you are now to be listed as Fangtasia's Events Coordinator and see about getting you on the payroll and our group health plan. And I will tell her that if you are visiting Fangtasia, and my office door is closed while we are in there, that she will suffer slow, painful death if she intrudes on us unless it is a dire emergency."
They shared a mutual amused look. Both of them knew how much Pam delighted in teasing Eric, and both knew that, without that edict, she would have done everything in her power to interrupt them.
"You have to let her have a little fun, Eric. She gets so little chance to amuse herself."
"You are a wicked cock-tease, woman," he chided.
She spread her legs and encouraged him to kneel between them, taking him by the waist and pulling him closer for a kiss.
"But don't I always make good?"
He smirked. "Only recently," he replied, caressing her thigh.
"If you rip this pair of panties, you will get none until tomorrow night."
He looked sulky, but he did slip his hand under the skirt to wiggle the panties down without damaging them. She gave a brief thought to how she'd just put them on, and how they'd already had sex three times on the jet, and how she wasn't going to be able to walk if they did it again and he didn't heal her up with some blood.
'Oh, you don't have to worry about that, my lover. I will always take very good care of you,' her Viking sent, just before he pushed her back to the mattress and claimed her again.
Forty minutes later the Learjet landed in Louisiana with nary a bump or a bounce on the runway. By the time the pilot touched the plane down, the cabin had been restored to order, and they were fully dressed and looking for all the world like they'd spent the last three-and-a-half hours playing checkers – except for the fact that her winter hose had been ripped beyond repair and were now discretely stuffed in the lavatory trashcan. Eric still had her underwear stuffed down his pants. Kinky vamp.
If Perin was aware that they'd been screwing like rabbits for most of the flight, he gave no indication, and he unsealed the hatch and let them out before going to retrieve their bags from the cargo hold. He'd parked the jet in the same hangar it had been in when they'd flown out to Isle Elena, and she was grateful for that because it was cold and, even though her long skirt covered her legs, the lack of pantyhose was chilly.
"Thank you so much for everything," she said to the birdman as she accepted her cranberry rolling carry-on from him. He hadn't bothered to shift his appearance this time and she took that as a compliment. He bowed his head and gave her a trill.
"Safe flight back home," she added.
Eric put his arm around her shoulder and guided her out of the hangar. He had both garment bags slung over his shoulder, and his sword was tucked into the strap on his black bag, which was set atop her rolling carry-on. They smiled at each other as they exited the hangar and made their way over to Eric's Corvette. He popped the trunk and began putting the bags in while she took a deep breath of Louisiana air. Moist and fragrant, even in winter. Nothing smelled like home.
They had about two seconds of warning. The first thing that happened was Eric's head came up in alarm. The second was she noted that there were six nulls in her awareness. The third was the Thor's Hammer suddenly blazing to life, glowing like a signal flare under Eric's sweater. The next thing they knew, a silver net was thrown over them and they were under siege.
Of course, none of their vampire attackers had any idea that Eric was immune to silver.
His big hand knocked her down as he literally shredded the net. Links and bits of silver fell in a metallic rain all around her head as she curled up, protecting her face.
"What the fuck?..." one cursed.
"Oh shit! He just ripped the net!" another one cried. "How the hell did he do that?"
'How many?' her bonded sent, his blip a pulsing ball of bright scarlet and black.
'Six!'
"Stop babbling and start dying!" her Viking snarled as he threw himself into battle.
The other vamps had no idea what hit them. A head fell at her feet. She tried not to look into the blank eyes.
'Five!' her lover announced gleefully.
Her extra-sharp "danger" sense went screaming into overdrive, and she ventured a glance up in time to see the stake flying through the air.
"STAKE!" she screamed.
Eric had enough time to turn, and the wood got him in the shoulder instead of his heart. She gasped and covered her mouth with relief as he grunted and yanked it out almost faster than she could see, turning it around and using it to kill another one of their attackers. His aim was true, but there were still four more, and they were coming at them from all sides, and Eric was fighting barehanded.
His sword. She hopped to her feet, ignoring his command for her to stay down. She saw the hilt peeking out from the sheath there in the trunk, and she lunged for it just as one of the vamps came for her. The moment her hand curled around the ancient handle, she knew what to do.
With an ease that shocked her, she slid the sword out of its sheath and swung, arcing the blade high and to the right. She felt it hit home, heard the disgusting sound of tearing flesh, and was shocked to see her attacker's head separate neatly from his shoulders in a single slice. Blood splattered on her as the body fell, landing with a dull thud on the asphalt, and she jumped back to avoid the growing pool on the ground.
'Whoa, this thing is sharp,' she thought, dazed, her fingers loosening on the hilt.
'Don't you dare drop my sword!'
She didn't. Instead she threw it. Eric's hand came up – he wasn't even looking at where she'd tossed it – and snatched the weapon right out of the air. He didn't even pause as he swung, slicing another vamp clean in two before decapitating him on the backstroke. He let out a war cry.
She'd never felt his battlelust so keenly, but the feeling was overwhelming. He was ecstatic, delighting in the rending of flesh and the heat of war, and she felt the power rushing through her own veins.
'Two left!'
'We need one alive!' she cautioned. To question, to find out why and how they had been ambushed. Her bonded agreed.
'Silver chain. Bottom of my trunk. Spare tire compartment.'
She frantically dug under the floor covering of the Corvette and found the chain in a cloth bag along with a pair of the necessary handling gloves a vampire would need to protect his skin from the silver. It was heavy, but she was flush with Eric's blood and his strength from the bond. She turned to see Eric fighting both vamps. One had a large knife, a machete from the looks of it, while the other was wielding a long stake, looking for an opportunity. She gathered the chain and threw it at the vamp with the stake; it got him around the neck, knocking him down.
'Excellent, my lover. Now bind him!'
She leaped, grabbing the vamp by the shoulders and wrapping the silver chain around his arms, trying to ignore his screaming and the stench of his burning flesh. Another quick glance to her Viking showed that he had sliced off the hand his opponent that had been wielding the machete, and his assailant was now attempting to fly away.
"Eric!" she cried, and tossed him the stake.
Eric grabbed the weapon and threw it with the same accuracy he'd thrown the darts on Isle Elena. The last vamp was disintegrating before he hit the ground.
It was over, but her Viking was vibrating with rage, the Thor's Hammer still glowing like a beacon under his clothes. He was standing there, half-crouched, holding his sword, fangs down, free hand curled into a claw as he scanned for more enemies. She cast out a mental net and came up with nothing.
"There aren't any more," she assured him.
A shriek resounded from inside the hangar, and her Viking vanished. She made sure the remaining vamp was well and truly bound before running to join Eric in the hangar. There they found what she hoped was Perin in his true raptor form, ripping what was left of a seventh vamp to pieces. The bird was monstrous, perched atop the headless body, talons embedded in the corpse as the wicked beak tore huge hunks of flesh off the dead vamp. She'd seen hawks eating rabbits and squirrels. The image was much the same only the victim was wearing black jeans.
The bird lifted up when it saw them, spreading its wings, and shrieked again. Eric dropped to the concrete floor of the hangar and put up his hand in surrender.
"We mean you no harm, Perin. We only came to see if you needed our help," her Viking assured.
Yellow eyes blazed and Sookie prayed there was some cognizance in them otherwise they were both bird food, but Perin backed down and went back to picking at the corpse. Thankfully it didn't look like he was eating the vampire. She didn't know if she could handle that.
Eric took her by the arm and ushered her out of the hangar, bringing her back to their hapless victim. She could already see some of the things Eric intended to do, and she almost felt sorry for the guy.
"Who sent you?" her Viking demanded.
"Go to Hell," the dark-haired, ragged vamp spat.
Her bonded picked up a handful of the broken links from the net and held them in his palm, then he ripped open the other vampire's shirt and slapped them down on the man's chest. The vamp screamed bloody murder.
"Silver's not burning you!" he finally shrieked.
"You noticed that. Funny isn't it? Now who sent you?" Eric demanded again, pushing the silver even harder down. Sookie could see the flesh burning, blackening and steaming. The vamp kept screaming.
"Who. Sent. You?"
The vamp set his jaw, which was hard to do with his fangs out, and glared at Eric, defiant. Eric snarled and moved the silver to the vamps navel. The shrieking commenced again, even louder if that was possible. She put her hands over her ears, her head ringing.
"This doesn't hurt me a bit," her lover growled. "I can do this all night. Now tell me who sent you?!"
"Never! You can't break me!"
"I haven't even begun to torture you. No matter what, asshole, you are going to die tonight. The only say you have in the matter is whether you die fast or slow," he seethed, then he tore open the vamp's jeans and slapped the silver links right on his family jewels.
The screams echoed off the trees. She couldn't stand it anymore. She crawled over to the writhing vamp and clamped her hands on his head, closing her eyes and reaching the way Izzy had taught her.
'Eric help me!'
She felt his influence flood into her almost immediately, and she felt the barrier yield and break under the assault.
'I'm in! Ask him! Ask him now!'
"WHO SENT YOU?"
The face appeared in the vamp's mind even as his mouth refused to answer, and she almost screamed herself.
'Victor! It was Victor!' "It was Victor!"
"Victor Madden," Eric sneered, contempt in every syllable.
"You're not supposed to be able to read vampire minds!" the vamp cried, his brown eyes accusing.
"Surprise," she answered weakly.
"Too bad you won't live long enough to tell anyone," her Viking added, then staked the poor vamp so hard the wood drove right into the asphalt.
She rose to her feet, and they both stood side by side as they watched the body disintegrate. They were blood-splattered and disheveled, but uninjured. Eric was still seething, but he was calming down, his blazing battlerage cooling into cold fury, and somehow she knew that fury was more dangerous than anything.
The Hammer was still glowing, and Eric reached into his sweater to pull it out and cradle it in his palm. It was still bright silver, the chain around his neck blazing as well, gleaming in the light coming from the lamp above the hangar doors. He brought the Hammer to his lips and kissed it, and she heard him murmur a prayer of thanks to Hlin. Without Her amazing gift, the night would probably have ended much differently and much less happily. As Eric finished his prayer, the Hammer's glow faded and it once again cloaked itself as a pewter pendant on a leather thong. He tucked it back under his sweater and patted it fondly.
"So? What now?" she asked, shaken and uncertain.
"Now we find out if Victor was acting on orders of the King or if he was plotting on his own. You didn't happen to get any impressions about that while you were in his head?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry," she replied, feeling chagrined. She should have thought to look for that.
Her bonded sent comfort to her. He wasn't angry or disappointed. In fact, he was practically brimming with pride, and it made her feel very good despite her growing fear.
"That would have been helpful, but it is no matter. I'll find out soon enough," he said with deadly seriousness.
She took a deep breath and asked the question she didn't really want the answer to. "What do we do if he is behind it?"
Her Viking's face went still and hard as marble. "Well, my lover, if that is the case, and the new king is behind this attack… then I'm afraid it's war."
"How did I know you were going to say that?"
TBC