Chapter 21

I heard a loud tapping on the glass and I jumped in my seat. I looked up and saw a woman with keys in her hand. She looked annoyed, but she also seemed afraid. I couldn't open the window without powering the car, so I turned the key and she started to yell.

"Get out of my garage."

"I'm really sorry. I was hiding, I'm sorry." I opened the window and began to apologize in earnest. "Someone was after me, I'm really sorry." My nerves were frayed, and I could barely get the words out. I must have looked a wreck, because she was suddenly sympathetic.

"Are you okay, Honey?" She had glanced at my ring and thought that I was running from an abusive husband. I didn't want to tell her the truth, but I couldn't do that to Eric.

"I'm okay. I'm in trouble. It's not what you think, someone killed my brother and now he wants to hurt me. I didn't mean to be in your garage. I'll go now."

I felt her weighing her options about helping me or sending me on my way. I turned to look out into the street to see if anyone was outside.

"Honey, come on inside. Let's get you something to eat and get you cleaned up."

"I can't bother you with my trouble. I'll be on my way." I really didn't have the emotional energy to try to fight this woman, but the questions would come and I couldn't answer those either.

"Come on in, don't worry about any trouble. It's just a meal and a place to rest. You look about as spent as a bad penny." I let her help me out of the car and into her house. She told me her name was Katherine Harcourt, but I could call her Kat, all her friends did. She was a third grade schoolteacher and had been living in Dead Branch, Texas before coming to Louisiana. Her husband, Jerry, worked on an oil-rig in the gulf and would be gone for another day or so.

I sat down at her kitchen table and she asked if I'd like a cup of tea. Nothing sounded better to me, and I sipped at it gratefully. She handed me two aspirin for my bruises, but I assured her that I wasn't in any pain.

My cell phone rang and I knew right away who it was. The sun was slipping down over the hillside. I debated not answering it, but I knew that he was only worried about me and it wasn't fair to make him worry.

"Eric, love, please don't be angry. I'm okay."

"Where are you? I'll come get you. Just tell me where you are."

"No, I can't. I went after Quinn, but he didn't kill Jason, honey, it was my great uncle Dermot. Dermot killed my brother then he came after me. He says I have something of his and I have to keep it from him. I don't want you to worry about me. I love you so much."

"Sookie tell me where you are. Baby, tell me." I had never heard him so tender, but I couldn't go home just yet. Dermot would look for me there, and that meant that Eric was in danger too.

"Honey, Dermot came after you. He's the one who drained you. Be on your guard, don't believe that I'm in danger if someone calls you and tells you differently. No one knows where I am. Please be careful. I love you. I mean it, Eric, I love you." I got choked up and I could feel his frustration with me. I had to hang up before he convinced me to come home. He was pushing me emotionally."

"Lover, this is madness, come home. I can protect you here. Tell me now."

"Eric, tell me you love me." I wanted to hear him say it before I hung up the phone. I needed to know that he loved me so that I could continue. "Please, do you love me?"

"Sookie, you know I love you. You sound as if you're ready to die tonight. Don't do this alone. Come home, NOW! I will find you if it takes me all night."

"Eric, don't look for me. Keep yourself safe. Go to work and I'll check in with you. Goodbye, darling." I hung up the phone and he called right back. I turned my phone off and stared at it on the table. Kat had been sitting quietly with her mug of tea.

"Your husband?"

"Yes, he's very protective of me." I finished my tea and yawned.

"He's a vampire. That's fascinating. How did you come to be married to a vampire?"

"That's a really long story. May I have some more tea?" I got up to make it when she nodded and I told her the short version of how Eric and I got together. Something about telling this stranger a long story helped to calm me down a little, and I was able to think more clearly. I needed to get myself somewhere where I could strategize. I thought about calling Niall, but he would tell me to go home too. The men in my life didn't understand that this was my kill. I had to end this on my terms. I was done being victimized, I was sick of being afraid and I wasn't going to do it anymore.

I finished my tea, and asked her if I could use her restroom. I checked to see if I was still spotting, but it had stopped for now. I vaguely wondered if I should ask her for a tampon. I washed my face and hands and looked at myself in the mirror. I was worn out. I had dark circles under my eyes. I'd slept on the plane, but it was fitful, un-refreshing sleep. I went out of the bathroom and asked Kat if she would mind if I took a quick nap. I couldn't believe that I'd been in France yesterday and that things had been so incredible. Kat told me there was a bedroom upstairs where I could rest. I thanked her, asked her to wake me in 20 minutes and went into the room after she opened the door. It was plainly furnished with a small bed, a smaller desk and a few books. This had been her son's room before he'd moved away to college. I couldn't believe how tired I was. It was as if Atlas shrugged his duties off onto my shoulders, and I felt weary through and through.

I took off my shoes and socks and pulled the sheets down. I climbed into the bed clutching my backpack to my chest. If Dermot wanted this statue, he was going to have to pry it from my hands. I didn't know what its importance was, but Niall had entrusted it with my Gran, and she would want me to protect it. I thought about Eric who was probably pacing the halls at Ravenwood, and ordering people around. I hated that I had to leave him out of this, but he would only ask me to stay home while he dealt with Dermot. I was kind of hungry and a little bit achy, but I was so very tired. I laid my head down, and was instantly asleep.

I heard talking but I couldn't tell if I was reaching out mentally, or if I was hearing them with my ears. Someone was having a heated debate. I didn't want to intrude, but the bathroom was in the hall. I put my socks and shoes back on, and grabbed my bag. The zipper was open, and I hadn't remembered leaving it that way. I got a little nervous and reached inside. The statue was still there, as was the coaxial cable, the duct tape that I'd used at Quinn's and the tools. But I knew that I'd zipped the bag. Ever since I'd been molested, I'd had a thing about putting things right. If I left a room, I had to close the door. If I opened a zipper, I had to close it. Someone had been through my things. Maybe Kat was curious about me, but I thought it was a little strange that she'd go through my bag. I went into the bathroom and cleaned up. I was very hungry now, and could only think about eating and getting on the road. I would use my own ATM card so that Eric couldn't track me, and I'd get a hotel room. I looked in my bag for my cell phone, but remembered that I had left it on Kat's kitchen table.

The voices grew louder and I tiptoed down the stairs. Kat was talking to a dark haired man with a thick moustache. He instantly thought about all the money he'd get when he saw me. I panicked a little, and turned to Kat. She looked stricken.

"Hi, this is Jerry. Jerry is my husband. I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"My name is Susan, Susan Compton." My instincts were telling me to lie, and no one, especially Eric would think of the name Compton. Jerry approached me cautiously; as if I were a rare bird that he was afraid would fly away if he got too close. I got nervous.

"Well, Susan. You must be hungry as a polecat. Kat, get our guest something ta eat. You been sleepin' for two solid days."

"Wait, what? Two days?" I panicked and looked at Kat. She nodded.

"You were a mess. I thought something was wrong with you, I tried to wake you to give you something to eat and it was like you were dead. I couldn't rouse you until right around sunset. Even then you've been delirious, calling out for Eric and talking to someone named Meshra. I've never seen someone sleep for two days, unless they were fevered, but you never did seem sick. I guess you were just plain exhausted."

I'd never experienced jet lag before, but two days was a lot, even for me. If what she was saying was true, it was now Wednesday and by the looks of the sky, it was Wednesday evening. I remembered Meshra saying that she had just gone to sleep for two days when she was turned. Had I become vampire and didn't know it? I guessed I would find out in the morning.

"I'm sorry to have put you out. I'll get going. Is my cell phone still on the kitchen table?" I began towards the kitchen. Jerry held up his hands, and again I had a flash from him that he was thinking about all the money he would get for me.

"Now hang on, you've got time for something ta eat, right? We can't turn you loose 'til you've had a proper meal, right Kat?"

"I really should be going. I have already been too much trouble." I sensed that Jerry did not want me to leave and when I scanned him, I became horrified as I saw him remember going through my backpack. I slipped my phone off the table and turned it on. I had 60 missed calls. I put it into the front pocket of my bag. Kat handed me a sandwich, but I was nervous about eating it. Eric had drugged me for my own good. I didn't trust Jerry to not try something similar to keep me here. But to what end?

"Kat, I'm just going to grab something on my way home. I'm going home to my husband now. Thanks for your hospitality." Kat's eyes were still wide and she looked fearful for me. I walked towards the garage door and Jerry beat me to it. His arm was outstretched and he held it closed. I wondered if I had enough strength to fight him off considering how long it had been since I'd eaten….or fed my mind added. I really was turned if I was thinking that way. I decided to try to reason my way out of this mess.

"I've heard of kindness, but this really is too much. I don't need to tell you that my husband is very worried about me. In fact, he could be here any minute. He's a vampire and you don't want to piss him off. He's only recently stopped killing humans for sport." I thought of Quinn's friend and mentally checked that as a white lie.

"I ain't so worried about no damned vampire. That's a pretty fancy car you got out there. I done looked it up on the internet and there's only about 20 of them cars in the whole wide world. So how did a pretty little thing like you get one of them Spyker cars?

"I stole it. It's not mine. I'm just a waitress from Red Ditch and I stole it from some guy. Please, there isn't any money. You've been through my bag, you know I don't have anything."

"I know you got somebody wit' money lookin' for you. I know that the man I talked to was only too happy to pay a pile o' money to get you back. See, I called the last number you called out, 'cause that's likely to be somebody important, somebody who would have an interest in gettin' you back. And don't you know, he said he'd be right over."

I thought about it briefly and had a surge of memory that the last person I'd spoken to was Eric, my heart skipped with joy that was just as quickly squashed when I realized that Eric had called me. The last number I'd dialed was Dermot. I really had to get out. I tried to move Jerry as the thought of Dermot walking in here and taking me sank in, but I was really weak from not eating. Jerry pushed me down into a chair and told me to sit. Kat looked desperately sorry to be involved and she kept apologizing over and over in her head. I knew she didn't have anything to do with my predicament. She made me a cup of tea, but I shook my head. She slid the sandwich that she'd made toward me and my stomach growled, but I couldn't eat it.

"Susan, it's okay. You can eat it, it's good food and you need to eat. Honey, you've not eaten in two days and you didn't look as if you'd eaten much when you got here." I shook my head and thought about how I was going to get away. "If you want, I'll take a bite and you will see that I didn't do anything to it." She got a knife from a drawer and cut a corner off the sandwich and ate it. I was unconvinced. I couldn't believe that she was going along with him. I was so hungry watching her eat that I felt tears coming. I wiped my eyes and she slid the sandwich towards me again. I felt defeated. If I'd been able to keep anything down, I might have had the strength to fight these people off, but the last thing I'd been able to keep down was a handful of almonds. I remembered the little bag and pulled them out. I ate the last of the three little nuts and felt my stomach throb with desperation. My throat was dry as I swallowed and Jerry came towards me.

"Suit your own damned self." He snatched the sandwich and began eating it in front of me. I started shaking with fear. Then I heard a car door slam. Dermot strode into the kitchen with a big grin on his face. Maybe if I just gave him the statue he would leave me alone, leave Eric alone and I could go home and live my life.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you just more trouble than you're worth?"

"Dermot, we can work something out. I'll just give it to you and you can leave me out of whatever it is that's going on between you and Niall." I reached for my bag, but he pulled me up out of the chair.

"There's no leaving you out of it. You're the key to something much bigger than yourself, little fairy girl." I knew bargaining with a psychopath was useless, but I couldn't help myself.

"Dermot, I just want to go home and live my life. I just got married. My husband is looking for me right now. Please, leave me alone and you can have it. It's right there in my bag."

"Let's go." He began dragging me towards the door and Jerry stepped to him.

"Now wait a minute, where's all the money we talked about on the phone."

Dermot got that weird grin on his face that he'd gotten right before he stunned me with the ball of light in his hands. I saw Jerry's hands go to his throat and he began clawing at his neck as if he couldn't breathe. His eyes went wide, and he was gasping. Kat's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she was lifted from the ground. Dermot seemed to be focusing on them intently, and I slipped my arm out of his grasp. As I was turning to run, I saw Jerry's head split open and Kat's tongue lolled out as if she'd been hanged. I ran through the front door and was happy to see that I still had a little energy to run. I had no idea where I was or how I was going to outrun him, but I had to try. I could hear him laughing behind me and I kept running. I threw my backpack over a fence and scaled it quickly. Dermot grabbed at my shoe as I went over the fence, and I lost it. I landed on my shoulder with a thud, but rolled towards my bag and grabbed it. It was full dark now and I concentrated on Eric, hoping that he would be able to find me. Dermot was banging my sneaker against the side of his head as he chased me through several backyards. I tried to stay along the tree line where it was darker. I was counting on my vampire altered vision to be better than his fairy assisted vision. I had no idea how well or poorly fairies saw.

He called out to me as I ducked into a copse of trees.

"Sweet Sookie, I will find you, and when I do, I'm going to make it so bad for you for putting me through all of this."

I ran to the right of where I'd heard his voice. I was making a lot of noise, stepping on twigs and pushing past branches that hadn't seen rain in a while. I crouched down low and waited to see if he would go past where I was hiding. I felt a hand on my shoulder and tried to pull away. He laughed in my face and pulled me into the grass. I kicked at him and clawed at his face. I felt my teeth stir a little as I fought him. I bit at him and broke the skin, but couldn't get a good grasp on him. He tore my shirt and I slid away from his grip. I pitched headlong into a bed of pine needles, and he was on me again. I shoved the bag forward of me and he reached for it. I kicked him in the ribs as he stretched and I tugged the bag back from him. My lungs burned and my throat felt as if I'd drank acid. My legs were rubbery and weak, but I had to keep running. Dermot caught up to me and tried to tackle me. I darted left and he hit the ground.

I ran for a clearing in someone's yard and tripped over a sprinkler head. I landed on my knees and was stunned for a moment. I had never been so tired in all my life, but I had to get away from him. I crawled forward trying to catch my breath. I wouldn't die out here under some little kid's swing set. I heard him laughing again and saw a porch light come on.

"Is someone there?" A man's voice called out and then I heard a shot. I thought for a moment that the man would be my salvation, but as I turned to look, I realized that Dermot had shot him. Dermot had a gun and that made me need to get away even more. It was probably the same gun he'd used to kill Jason. I dragged my backpack up onto my shoulders and stood up to run. When I stood, he caught sight of me and I sprinted ahead into the woods again.

"Aw, come on Sook, don't make this harder than you need to. I'm going to have to skin you alive now. Come on, girl. Be good, and I'll give you something real nice. Yeah, real nice before I kill you." I didn't have to think too long about what he meant and that made me want to run even harder but I didn't have anything left in me. I leaned against a tree trying to catch my breath, and saw that I was on a fifty-foot precipice. It was steep and angled downward in such a way that it would be difficult for him to climb down if I jumped. I slid down to the ground and thought that at least I would go fighting.

I thought of Eric, and what would happen to him. I hoped that someday he would forgive me. I hadn't intended to get myself killed. I imagined that this must have been what it was like for him on the side of the road, watching his blood flowing away from his body. I didn't want to die, but I couldn't see another way out. Nothing I had was any match for a psychopath with a gun. I would never make it easy for him to take me, or the statue. I unzipped my bag and pulled the statue out. His eyes grew wide in the darkness and I saw his reverence for it.

I held it up so that he could see it. This statue had cost me my brother, and now my own life. "Here it is, asshole. Here it is. You got so close, but you're never going to have it." He ran towards me and it felt as if time had slowed down suddenly. I saw his expression change as he realized that I meant to jump. I didn't have far to leap, I only had to lean a certain way. I clutched the statue as I leaned out into the black crevasse and jumped. Time, fear, space and hope fell away from me as I soared downward. I saw a fluttering black figure grab Dermot as I began to cartwheel into the sky. I closed my eyes, sensing that at the moment of impact, I would just stop thinking; stop being, and it would be quiet. I felt my hair flutter around my face and I thought of Eric.

I was suddenly jerked up into the air rising upwards instead of pitching downward. I looked up into Eric's beautiful face and gasped.

"Gotcha!"