A/N: Hi all. I feel terrible, I faked a few people out and they thought the last chapter was the end. Sorry about that, we're going to 25 this time, so hang in there we're almost done but not quite! Thanks as always to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited you all Rock and you keep me writing!
And as always thanks to my beta Sheknitsnicely- you are the best!
Disclaimer: we all know I don't own them :(
Sookie's POV
When I wake the next night, it's to the sound of Eric's cell phone going off. I see Eric sitting up in bed beside me, eagerly hitting the accept button. He listens quietly for a moment and I can hear that there is a female voice on the other end, probably Pam. Just before he speaks I see a predatory gleam light his eyes and hear the sound of his fangs snicking down.
"Yes, good, we'll be home in two hours. Make sure they're ready." When Eric hangs up the phone he turns to me, consciously retracting his fangs and laying a gentle kiss on my lips. "We must hurry Lover. Pam has Newlin and I desire not to waste any more time. I want you to read him tonight." I feel a little frisson of fear pass through me at the thought of being in that man's head again for any length of time, but I know that there is no choice. We still need answers about how he discovered that I am a Fairy and whether or not he's responsible for the other missing Supernaturals that Eric's allies have reported, and there is no easier or more reliable way to find out than for me to speak with him.
Eric and I hurry through our showers and dressing, and then we head straight out to the airport and we're on the plane in less than an hour. When we land Bill, is waiting on the tarmac with his car to take us to Fangtasia. The ride is mostly silent, Vampires never being inclined towards small talk and me being in no mood to try and fill the silence. The club is closed when we arrive and we walk through the empty main room and down to the basement, single file.
When we reach the bottom, I'm taken by a moment of astonishment. Not because Steve Jr. is trussed up like one of the chickens my Gran used to keep when I was really small, or because he looks as though it's been a terrible few days for him but because, not two feet from him and also bound, but in much better condition, is a woman I instantly understand is his wife. I feel my stomach sink into my feet as I realize that there can only be one reason for her presence here but, for the moment, I push that aside and turn my attention to Steve Jr. Eric and I walk up to him and the man looks up at us with terror in his eyes. He says nothing, but his thoughts tell me that he knows who I am.
"Mr. Newlin, I believe that you and I are overdue for a conversation." Eric says, his voice chillingly devoid of any warmth or humanity. Newlin continues to say nothing but his eyes, which were wide with fear only moments ago, now narrow and I can hear in his head that he intends to tell us nothing. He might know that I'm a telepath and a Fairy but clearly, like so many other humans, he doesn't realize that he doesn't need to say a word and that, whether or not he wants to, he'll tell me everything that Eric and I want to know; trying not to think about it only makes my job easier.
"Let's start with my late wife, shall we, and we'll go on from there." Eric says. Over the course of the next hour Steve Jr. attempts to remain silent, yells profanities and lies with his mouth, calling me every unimaginative slur from Whore of Satan to Fangbanger to Jezabel. But despite his many tactics to keep us from getting to the truth, his mind tells me everything I want to know and it's utterly and completely sickening.
I already knew the things he'd done to Layla and the things he wanted to do to Eric. Now I find out the rest. In addition to his inner circle of bigoted scum, there is a central pastor in every city who receives his instructions and communicates potential targets to him. Lindsey's sister-in-laws's pastor is his 'commander' in the Shreveport area. When he went to Newlin with news that a Fangbanger waitress, with connections to one of Louisiana's most prominent Vampires, was willing to spy on them, it was like Christmas come early. Even though Lindsey never did more than relate conversations she'd heard while snooping between waiting tables, it was enough.
Newlin tells us that he recognized me on sight at the Fellowship center that day, something that I already knew, but if I didn't despise him so much I would give him credit for not letting his disbelief get the better of him as most humans would. They would dismiss it as impossible and seek to comfort themselves with reasonable delusions. Instead, Newlin had dear old Hal, who wanted to fuck me in any dimly lit corner, follow me at a distance. I was so distraught after leaving, that I never noticed , sure enough, Hal was witness to me destroying my hotel room with a burst of light and then simply disappearing into thin air. Since the few fae and part fae that still remain in this realm are known to humans, it didn't take long for Steve Jr. to figure out what that meant I was and, coupled with his knowledge of who I was, he simply put two and two together.
When the Fellowship center was destroyed that night, he knew that my visit hadn't been coincidence and therefore that I was connected to Eric in some way. He had my farmhouse watched and, when it was clear that I wasn't coming back, he had Lindsey keep her ears out at Fangtasia. It wasn't long before I was mentioned in any number of conversations between Pam and Eric. The flowers were actually not a genuine attempt to kill me, though I'm guessing if it had worked he wouldn't have been mourning at my funeral. It was rather an attempt to confirm his hunch that I was, in fact, part Fairy. The thugs in the parking lot at Fangtasia weren't, strictly speaking, an attempt to kill me either, just killing any of us off was never his goal. No, when Newlin thinks about what he actually had in store for me, it's far, far worse and it makes me so sick that I'm grateful I don't have anything in my stomach to throw up. He wanted to add me to his menagerie. Outside of Austin, Texas, in the desert, he has a camp where he's holding many other supernaturals, probably many of the ones that have gone missing, and using them as test subjects. He has been trying to find better ways to torture and kill us all. Since there aren't many Fairies left, he figured a half breed would do.
Strictly speaking, he wanted Layla for the same reason too, but of course there were all sorts of side benefits to her capture. Not only did it give him a half demon to play with, but it also silenced a prominent opposing voice, and hopefully sent a message to other Supernatural to shut up and stop fighting for their rights or it would happen to them too. When she put up a fight though, he knew that he would have to break her further before having her transported the long distance to Texas, which is why she never left New Orleans.
But the thing that he didn't know, the last piece of the puzzle, is perhaps the most astonishing thing, given his rather extensive knowledge of everything else Supernatural, and for once, when I hear this, I have to say that I'm completely in support of Vampires and their crazy secrecy. Steve Jr. didn't know who Eric was, or the extent of the power that he was taunting when he targeted Layla, Eric and afterwards, myself. He knew that Eric was a prominent businessman and an influential Vampire, but he never dreamed that the power structure and level of organization that the Vampires have, existed and he had no idea that he had messed too many times with a respected, revered, and feared Vampire King; a King with a great many allies and a great deal of power. He thought he could hurt and kill Supernaturals at his desire because they were too barbaric and subhuman to unite to defend themselves. When we have everything we need from Steve Jr. Eric and I head upstairs to discuss it all, leaving him and his wife alone with the guards.
"What are you going to do now?" I ask, as soon as we're inside his office with the door closed. Eric sits behind his desk and, even though I know Vampires can't get tired, his body language screams that he's bone weary.
"I and my allies will liberate the camp and destroy the Fellowship." He replies, his voice even, as though the answer is simple…inevitable.
"Eric, you can't do that. I have held my piece, but I can't anymore! If you destroy the Fellowship you'll turn the rest of the Humans against you and, by extension, the whole supernatural world. They won't know what really happened, they'll see you as a terrorist and as the one in the wrong. You're getting yourself in a deeper mess this way! Don't you see that? You'll turn a conflict with the Fellowship into an open war between Humans and Supernaturals!" Eric's hand slams down on his desk and the look he pins me with when our eyes meet is terrifying.
"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO?" He screams. "Would you have me sit idly by, while the Fellowship is given free rein to target and murder as they see fit? Will you have me stand by and wait until he is finally successful in murdering you? You heard him, Sookie, it is not enough to murder him or his inner circle; there are people everywhere, all over the country, who believe that they are doing God's work by handing over Supernaturals to be tortured, experimented on and killed. The man is little better than Hitler, and, like Hitler, he is achieving his goals by the active participation or silent complicity of a great many people!
I am a King! I have allowed this man to live this long, even though he captured and killed my wife- my Queen! If I do not destroy him, I will be seen to be weak and then I will be fighting the Fellowship and any petty usurper who thinks they have a shot at my throne!" I stood in silence while Eric said his piece, but I felt my anger rising incrementally throughout speech.
"That's it then. You're going to start a war that will affect the entire Supernatural and Human worlds because you're afraid of looking weak? You refuse to look for another solution, simply because your appearance of strength demands it? And what about Newlin's wife? Why is she here Eric? What part does she play in appeasing your ego?" Eric's eyes narrow to slits and his fangs slam down so hard that it appears they've broken the skin of his gums slightly.
"Appeasing my ego? Is that really your opinion of me? This has nothing to do with my ego, this has to do with vengeance, this has to do with justice! He killed my WIFE! He would kill you and anyone else he pleases for his sick beliefs! I am exacting the revenge my wife's soul demands and keeping my people safe!" He says the last with deadly ice in his voice, but I don't back down.
"You didn't answer my question. What is his wife doing here?" I say again. Eric stands up from his desk and walks over to me slowly, methodically, allowing me time to back away if I so choose, but I don't. When he stops, he's directly in front of me, invading my personal space as he does all the time, but this time there is nothing charged or erotic about the feeling of him so close. I feel, instead, a slight twinge of fear. The veil of humanity that he usually wears is very thin indeed right now and his monster is very close to the surface, brought out by Newlin's heinous plans, by the grief for his wife that Newlin's words have brought back up to the surface and by this argument. When he finally answers me, his words come out as slow and methodical as his steps had been.
"I will kill his wife, exactly as he killed mine. I will make her suffer every pain and every indignity and I will make him watch. And only when it is done will I take him to join her!" I don't realize at first that the gasp of horror that fills the room is my own. I'm too caught up in the vile pictures that I saw in Steve's head and my own disgust that the man I love, no matter how injured, no matter how angry, would willingly visit that kind of revolting torture on any woman, innocent or not. Without even thinking about it, I feel my hands come up and grab Eric's upper arms, trying to pull him to me. He comes into my arms with very little resistance, but he stands as still as stone once he's there.
"Eric, don't do this." I plead. "I know that your world is different than mine. I know that you're a King and, as much as I disagree, I'll support you in this war if that's what you think has to happen; you are the one responsible for the lives of others, not me. But please, please do not hurt her. Do not do to one more woman what was done to Layla, or what was done to me! No one deserves that, no matter what evil they've committed or what evil they've been complicit in. She isn't ignorant of what he's done, but she isn't a part of it either. Please don't do this!" Eric remains stoic and cold through my whole speech. I'm desperate to find a way to get through to him. If I thought that going down on my knees would help, I would, but I can feel through the bond that he is not receptive to anything right now. Still, I try once more.
"Eric I told you that I was proud to be yours last night; seeing you wield justice and be part of the good, no matter how different it might have been to me. But this isn't Justice. This isn't necessary. There has to be a better way-a better way to handle this war and a better way to mete out their punishment. If you do this to her, if you do to her what others have done to me, then I can't stand by you anymore. I can't forgive you for willingly doing to another what nearly destroyed me, what did destroy you wife. I love you, you know that, but I can't be complicit in that." Again, I get nothing from his face or from our bond and I know that there isn't any more for me to say. Bowing my head so that he won't see my tears, I flee from the room and, as I'm heading out the front door, I smack into something large and solid. Looking up I nearly fall over with shock when I see who I've run into.
"Niall? What are you doing here?" I say, my manners completely thrown out the window as my brain struggles to process one more surprise this night. My great-grandfather smiles kindly down at me and takes me in a gentle hug. I come without protest, too worn out to even try to understand.
"The Vampire is very resourceful. He found a way to contact me in Fairy and alerted me to some startling, but on the whole, welcome news about you, child." I just stare up at him for a long moment unable to figure out what he's talking about. Then it dawns on me that he's been utterly clueless about the onset of my powers and my apparent transformation. Part of me realizes that I don't have the option to turn him away, but another part of me just wants to curl into a ball, put my hands over my ears and try to drown everything out.
Niall is here to 'help' me, I may or may not have just broken up with Eric for the second time and he's probably down in the basement as we speak, torturing Ms. Newlin before killing her and her husband and starting a bloody conflict that could destroy the world. Niall seems to sense my distress and he takes my hand gently and looks down at me with kind eyes.
"Can I take you someplace more suitable for us to talk?" He says. I just nod and tell him that I'd like to go home, although how much longer Eric's house is going to be my home, I have no idea. Niall asks me to picture where I want to go, which I do, but it's his magic that takes us there. When we pop into the kitchen, I feel a great deal of gratitude that he spared me the energy it would have taken for me to do it myself. I just don't have any reserves right now.
"Thank you." I say softly, the relief evident in my voice. Niall only inclines his head slightly to let me know he has heard me. "Can I offer you something?" I ask. "I was thinking of making a pot of tea." Niall smiles brightly at my offer.
"A cup of tea would be lovely, thank you child." He says gently. When the tea is ready, I serve us and sit across from him at the dining room table. Niall takes a few small sips and then it seems he feels ready to begin our conversation.