Dark Desire Chapter 21
January 4th, the next year.
The woman regained consciousness. Her face was against something cool and firm. Whatever it was, it smelled so good; she wanted to go on smelling it forever. She felt strong cool arms holding her and realized she was sitting astride a man's lap with her face pressed against his bare chest. He was rocking her back and forth slowly and crooning to her softly in a strange language. She didn't know who he was, but for a few seconds, it seemed so right that she be held by this man. She unconsciously moved her arms around him to hold him and splayed her hands against his back. He shivered at her touch.
She moved her head to the side a little and tried to open her eyes. She wanted to see who he was. Her eyelids felt so heavy, but after a few tries she finally managed it. All she could see was shadows swirling around the room. The rocking movement was making her feel dizzy and nauseous; she opened her mouth to ask him to stop.
Suddenly an agonizing pain shot through her. She gasped as every nerve ending in her body screamed in protest. She felt as if thousands of hot burning knives were slicing through her flesh, flaying her alive. Her head hurt so bad, and her body was on fire.
She felt his strong arms holding her so tightly that she felt like she was being crushed; she couldn't breathe. The pain was so strong she vomited over and over.
"Oh God! Where am I? Who am I? What's happening to me?" the woman screamed as she tried to focus her eyes. The shadows were lessening, but they were still there; they felt ominous to her.
"Amy, she's awake!" a deep mellifluous voice yelled and pulled her closer. He sounded relieved and elated for some reason.
"I can't breathe." she said, and the arms relaxed. She could smell her vomit; it made her nose sting on top of everything else.
She could hear a door opening and the footsteps of several people coming near. Voices exclaimed loudly as if some miracle had happened.
"Oh, Katy. Thank God. We thought you would never come back to us," another soft feminine voice said. She had no idea who it was, and at this moment she didn't care.
"Lay her down on the bed, Northman. I need to examine her." a stern, deep feminine voice said.
She felt every movement as the big man stood up, and carefully laid her down on a soft bed. His hands were big and calloused, but they were gentle as they held one of hers. His touch seemed familiar somehow, and his skin was cool; it felt so good against her burning skin. She raised his cool hand to her cheek.
Her eyes were clearly focused now as she looked at him. She saw a tall, large, blonde man standing beside her. He was so beautiful that he took her breath away. He was a stranger, but he looked familiar too. "I should know him," she thought, but the more she tried to remember who he was, the more her head hurt, so she stopped trying.
He looked down at her, and she could see that he was crying, but something was wrong with his eyes. Suddenly the woman was terribly frightened; it looked like the beautiful man was crying tears of blood. That made her own blood freeze.
"Who are you? What are you?" she whispered in a frightened voice.
"I'm Eric; your husband, Katy," he answered.
"Who is Katy?"
"You are, lover. You are Katy, and I am Eric, your husband. Do you remember?"
A different memory stirred, and she shuddered in fear. "No. I have a husband, but his name isn't Eric; it's Richard." The blonde man flinched at her words. As soon as she said the name, "Richard," a feeling of horror overwhelmed her. She remembered terrible pain, but it was not the pain she felt now; it was different and it was a long time ago.
"Enough now, Northman. Let me examine her." the deep feminine voice said. The voice belonged to a short, dark haired woman who looked like a dwarf. The blonde man let go of her hands and sat down in the chair he had been sitting on before. The woman could see vomit all over his bare chest; it was all over her gown too.
The doctor poked and prodded. Everywhere she touched, the woman's body screamed in agony. "Ah, I hurt so bad!"
"I'm sorry, Katy, but this is necessary," the doctor said as she stretched her eyelids and flashed a small light in her eyes, moving it from side to side. For some reason, the woman understood every movement, every poke and every prod that the female doctor made. She knew that she had made similar examinations many times, but she couldn't remember where or when.
"You won't hurt much longer, Katy, my love," the blonde man said. He was right. She felt the sting of a needle and in a few seconds, she felt blessed relief as the pain began to fade along with her consciousness. Just before she went under, the blonde man kissed her; his lips were feather soft. "Thank you, she managed to mumble before her world went dark.
Eric paced the bedroom. He was like a caged animal ready to explode "She was in so much pain. I can't stand much more of this, Amy," he raged; his face and bare chest were stained from his blood red tears. For three days, even though she was sedated, he had felt her pain through their their blood bond. He wondered how her frail human body could withstand such agony.
"This is good, news, Eric. She woke up after only three days. This is a good sign. She still in pain from the poison on their knives, but the tests show that it's almost out of her system now. She won't feel the pain much longer." Amy Ludwig, the most famous doctor in the supernatural world, spoke calmly, but firmly to the vampire that paced the room.
"But she doesn't remember who she is. She doesn't remember me. Why, Amy? How long will this go on?" Eric sounded like a broken man.
"She doesn't remember you because her brain was so swollen from the beating she took. It affected her memory, but it may not be permanent. I am going to test her again to see how much the swelling has gone down. You were lucky you got to her when you did, or she would have been beyond the point of no return. It will take as long as it takes, man. That's all I know. That's all anyone can know." The small doctor answered
"Will she ever remember me? I should have turned her when I found her with those two. Those bastards; I'm glad I killed them!" he raged. Eric Northman, King of the Vampires of Louisiana, felt helpless and more frightened than he ever had in his long, long life.
"No, Eric. It's a good thing you didn't turn her when you found her like that. They beat her so bad, her brain was severely damaged. You would have saved her, but I don't think she never would have remembered you then. Most likely she would have ended up like Bubba, and I know you don't want that. You have been giving her your blood, and it is slowly healing her. At least there is a chance now for her to recover fully, but it will be slow, so you must be patient. Be grateful for that, at least." Amy Ludwig, who didn't have a soft bone in her body, pitied the most powerful vampire in Louisiana.
Suddenly, Eric stood up and picked up the chair he had been sitting on and sent it flying through the large bay window in the bedroom. The force of his throw smashed the glass and the window frame to smithereens. He moved swiftly and a mighty fist smashed the mirror over Katy's dresser, cutting his hand; his blood driipped down his arm. His fists thundered, hammering the dresser and every other piece of furniture in the room, except the bed. Many of the larger pieces followed the chair through the broken window.
"This my fault! My fault! I should have gotten rid of those fucking fangbangers when she asked me. I wish those two were alive, so I could tear them to pieces again!" Eric roared. The pain and hatred in his voice reverberated around the room. He went on and on smashing things with his fists and his feet, until the only three things left standing were the bed, the night table beside the bed with a wedding picture taken only three days before, and and the metal IV stand that stood between the bed and the night table. Everything else was in the room was in pieces; it looked like a tornado had touched down. Katy lay in her drug induced sleep and didn't hear or see a thing.
Amy, Pam, Judith, Daniel, Sookie and Bill backed toward the door. They stood by quietly as Eric rampaged through the room. They didn't try to stop him. They knew there was no use. Finally, when he was spent, he knelt beside the bed cradling his head with one arm. He was facing downward with his other hand outstretched holding Katy's hand again. From the back, they could all see his massive body heaving with emotion; he seemed like a broken man.
They could hear his voice, he was talking softly to Katy in ancient Swedish. With blood tears in her own eyes, Pam turned and told them, "He's telling Katy how much he loves her. He's begging her to remember him. Come, let's leave them alone," she said. The three male and one female vampires, and the two part fae, part human females left the room, and shut the door.