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Encroaching Darkness, Fading Light
Chapter twenty-five - Repercussions
Hours later Carla was sat leaning on one of the dancing poles in the bar, Eric was sat in a chair, with an area of floor cleaned of obstructions around him, while Pam leaned against the bar.
Eric particularly looked nervous about the situation, he was sat forward with his arms resting on his knees, looking towards the ground.
Nan walked in from the back, taking her leather gloves off as she walked toward Eric, he looked up to face her.
"The downstairs is clean" Nan informed him.
"Well i told you there was nothing" Eric sounded uninterested and full of self assurance.
"It's been wiped" Nan enunciated the last word, making it very clear what she was trying to imply.
"Well, i'm a Virgo, i like to be neat" Eric teased, maintaining his poker face.
"Your screeching fang cushion of a barmaid who's been glamoured so much she can't even remember her own last name, does know, that no one ever goes down there with so much as a mop and a promise" Nan explained, "Suddenly it's as sterile as an operating room" Nan raised her eyebrows.
"It doesn't prove anything" Eric lowered his gaze to the floor, seemingly uninterested.
"If only we had a Magister to decide that" Nan spoke up.
"What's that meant to mean?" Carla asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"Vampire business, nothing to do with you, whatever the fuck you are" Nan glanced at Carla with contempt, and then turned back to Eric.
Carla scoffed. "Fuck you too" She muttered, folding her arms.
Eric gave a warning glance, and no more.
Nan simply gave her a scowl.
After a moment Nan went back to business.
"I just need your official statement, that's all" She shoved her gloves in her pockets and reached into her other pocket and produced an earpiece.
The vampire sat down in a chair opposite Eric and inserted it into her ear.
Two soldiers came over and placed two webcams on tripods either side of her.
"Webcams, for the authority" She told Eric.
The webcams, as if on queue, rotating on their tripod bases to face her.
"Members of the authority, it's Nan, can you hear me?" She asked the camera. "Good, with regards to the matter of the disappearance of our Magister, last known whereabouts, this dump in Shreveport, Louisiana, you have before you Eric Northman, Sheriff of area five" Again the webcams turned, this time to face Eric.
"Smile for the camera's Eric" Nan chanted sarcastically, ginning.
Carla did her best to keep her muscles relaxed, but simply the sound of this vampire's voice made her want to attack.
Eric looked from Nan to the camera lens, and then back at Nan, rubbing his hands on the fabric of his trousers, nervous.
"There's a pattern, the Turks told stories of shape shifting jackals at the fall of Constantinople, the Aztecs were decimated by disease from the Conquistador's war dogs" Eric explained, still hunched over, Carla could concentrate, Eric's reminiscing was replaying these events inside his head, and since she recently had his blood, they were replaying for her too.
"Each time there's been wolves, fueled by vampire blood, i nearly found him in Augsburg in 1945, his wolves were in the service of the Wehrmacht" Images of Godric, a woman, a wolf, many wolfs, so much death and destruction reeled before Carla's eyes, she leaned forward, getting a painful feeling in the pit of her stomach, which threatened to remove the contents, if there were any.
"He disappeared after the war, and i... i thought he finally met the true death. Now he's returned" Eric finished, Carla rubbed her head, as images of Russel Edgington filled her mind from Eric's, his thoughts freely invading her space with their sheer force and emotional weight, Carla took deep quiet breaths, trying not to be seen.
"Do you know why?" Nan's voice questioned.
"In times of conflict, Russel Edgington inserts himself into the affairs of men" Eric explained.
"To what end?" Nan spoke again.
"He claims it's too prevent humans from destroying the planet and themselves, and thus our food source" Eric said.
"But true blood changed all that, humans are no longer food for us. The Great Revelation-"
"Russel opposes the Great Revelation, and he doesn't want to co-exist with humans he wants to subjugate them"
"The authority will not-"
"Fuck the authority!" Eric shouted, interrupting the vampire. "Russel's words. Verbatim" Eric added.
"This is why he killed the Magister?" Nan asked, her eyes a little wider and her body slightly more tense.
"No, he killed the Magister because the Magister defied him. He kidnapped Queen Sophie-Ann because she refused him. Now, if the authority or the AVL stand in his way, well..." Eric trailed off.
"These are treasonous allegations, why didn't you report this sooner?"
"Oh, i should have, but the authority has only existed for a few hundred years, my history with Russel Edgington goes back nearly a thousand" Eric answered. A wave of body shattering sadness and guilt pulsed through Carla's body from Eric's, his memories, of Carla assumed was his family, slammed into Carla's mind, a man and a woman lying dead, a naked man on the floor, blood everywhere, wolves retreating from the house, a cloaked figure in shadows with a could monotonous voice, a young Eric, fair skinned and alone.
"My family was massacred. All of them, by wolves. I managed to kill one, and i watched him change into a man at the end of my sword. And these wolves, they're the same. Sweden, Germany, here." Carla leaned forward, hiding her face from the vampire's around her, and tickling sensation ran down her face as tears were produced, bloody tears, and the stinging in her eyes worsened.
"With all respect, i did not report Russel Edgington to you because i want him to die at my own hands." Anger replaced the feeling of dread that welled inside her and she curled her hands into fists, she told them to stop, but they acted alone, like renegades attached to her body.
"I have waited a thousand years for this." Eric said to the cameras. They turned back to Nan with a mechanical whirring.
"Yes" Nan said into the ear piece, "Yes i understand, i'm flying immediately to Portland, thank you"
"What, is that it?" Eric asked, confused.
"The authority will review your statement against the frankly strong possibility that I've lost and entire night's worth of air time promoting the VRA in order to listen to a load of bullshit. But some do believe in a fair hearing. Americans." Nan shrugged, getting up to head to the door.
"Miss Flanagan" Eric stood up too, and Nan paused to turn around and face the vampire.
"Russel Edgington is a threat to out very existence" Eric warned.
"But he is a king, one who just donated a half a million dollars to the same American vampire league you say he's trying to bring down" Sudden realization hit Eric, and therefore hit Carla too. "Weird, huh?" Nan finished.
"Bring in a couple of spare coffins for Sheriff Northman and his... whatever you are" Nan said. "You need to stay too" Nan indicated Carla, who looked up, blood staining her face.
"Oh i don't plan on leaving" Carla got up and ignored the looks.
"You're on lock down, till the authority makes it's ruling" Nan told Eric.
Some guards remained in the club, two coffins were placed in the back.
Carla walked to the ladies, to wash the blood off her face, her head throbbed painfully.
"Weird" Eric walked in behind her, leaning against the door frame.
"What is?" Carla splashed water on her face, removing the last of the blood, leaning forward over the sink, her hand on either side, staring down as the water spun down the plug hole.
"Just a little bit of my blood and you can read my mind, see my thoughts, feel my emotions, you even cry like a vampire, how... weird" Eric stared at Carla's back.
"What did Clive tell you?" Carla grumbled.
"He spun me and Russel a rather amusing tale really, druids, secret societies, shape shifting abilities gained from a drop of blood, elements controlled by gifted humans" Eric said, standing up straight, Carla did too, looking at her face in the mirror, and the body of Eric behind.
Eric stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, rubbing the tension from her muscles, he lowered his head to her ear.
"Different specialties, and special markings" Eric whispered, kissing the back of her ear lobe, running down the back of her neck, to her shoulder, running his tongue back up her shoulder to her throat, just over her jugular.
Carla breathed out, tilting her head slightly to the side, without even telling herself to, her body know exactly what he wanted, and was hopeless to refuse.
Her eyes drooped as he nibbled at her throat, threatening to bite.
The marks on her body began to shine, dimmer than in the hotel room back in Dallas, but noticeable.
Eric stroked his hand over the one on her upper arm, tracing around it, the jagged lines that circled around her arm, seven of them, ending just before her elbow.
Carla came to her senses, swinging around, pushing Eric back slightly, so they weren't so close.
"So, you know everything, you know me, you know what i am, what are you going to do with it?" Carla demanded.
Eric chuckled.
"Why are these markings so much like Godric's?" Eric asked.
"Because Godric was part of the same clan, he was a druid also" Carla shrugged.
Eric stood up straight, inspecting the girl.
"Stop looking at me like that" Carla turned away and took a few steps away.
"Like what?" Eric asked, sounding innocent.
"Like i'm dinner" Carla glanced over her shoulder, with a harsh glare.
"I can't help it, when you look so delicious, when you ARE so delicious" Eric shrugged, leaning back against the wall.
"Stop talking about that, i'm not so cruel to leave someone alone while they are miserable" Carla shrugged, turning around.
"Oh but you liked it, didn't you?" Eric grinned his usual grin.
"So what if i did, as soon as Russel knows what you did, he will be after you, then me, then Sookie, then Bill, then the whole damn world probably, no matter where i go, i have a crazy vampire at my heels who's three thousand years old" Carla yelled back.
Eric was silent, his grin shrunk into serious thoughtfulness.
Carla sighed, feeling guilty.
"Listen, i'm sorry, i just, i haven't seen Clive in an awful long time, and him being back brings me memories i wish i could avoid" Carla shrugged.
"How did he die?" Eric asked out of no where, his eyes intense.
"Why does that matter, why does anything matter for that matter, i'll be dead soon, or worse" Carla shrugged.
Eric went back to being silent, and self consumed.
Carla gave in. "Come with me" Carla stepped forward and grabbed the tall vampire's hand, dragging him behind her towards his office, so they could have some privacy.
Carla laid down on the carpet, Eric simply stood there looking at her, confused.
"Lay down next to me" Carla ordered.
"Why?" He questioned.
"Well if you want to fall over and break your skull and stain your beautiful carpet, that's fine by me, if not, lay down next to me" Carla laid back, and after a few moments of recovering from being ordered, Eric did so too.
Carla laced her hand into Eric's, their arms touching with their closeness.
"Close your eyes" Carla told him, and he did so, she did the same, concentrating on something far away and already done.
"Now open them" Carla told him.
Eric opened his eyes to see a large carved cavern, lit with large wooden torches and braziers made of iron and steel.
The walls were well rounded, with the whole room looking like one half of a sphere.
Eric sat up, Carla offered him her hand to help him up, he accepted.
"Where are we?" Eric asked, looking all around, taking in the mighty room, with it's tall stone pillars which stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling, and the immense altar at the head of the room, adorned with fancy drawings and carvings, similar carvings were all over the floor, with complex patterns and letters, coupled with pictures of people carrying out many different actions, to hunting, what looked like spell casting and shape shifting.
"Inside my head" Carla explained, keeping hold on the vampires hand, preventing him from wandering. "This is the main hall, ritual area, ceremonial gathering, all of the above" Carla told him, her eyes fixed on the altar.
"Why are we here?" Eric asked, looking down at the women, she met his eyes.
"To show you what i cannot tell you" Carla explained simply.
As if on queue, a cloaked and leather clad man stroke into the room, holding a book that was tied closed.
The brown leather he wore was loose on his skinny, old body, but he walked very fast considering the age he looked.
He was closely followed by a congregation of similarly old men, grey hair, or white, clad in brown decaying leather and long heavy cloaks, all of them wearing slightly different but all extravagant head bands, leather bands with intricate and colorful weaving's.
The first man was the tallest but looked the oldest.
"That's Raymond, he's the leader of our clan" Carla explained, sucking in a deep breath, trying to quell her emotions.
The next two old men, were holding the wrists of a young boy, just too short to be a teenager, his light brown hair was short but soft and tufty, his face was a picture of pure horror, tears streaming down his face, wailing loudly.
The next six people to enter were all holding onto a young girl, only just an adult, she still looked very young.
The first man, Raymond, arrived at the altar, and walked around to the behind, the next two lashed the boy, kneeling to the altar, he tried to struggle free, but he was held tight.
Carla gripped Eric's hand harder, shaking, her brain telling her to run, run towards the boy, save him, save her son, her only boy, but she knew she was too late, way too late. Eric held her just as tight.
The men holding Carla's younger form stopped in front of the altar, lashing her wrists, making her kneel.
A lone man ran through the doors, sprinting to follow them.
"Wait!" He yelled, "He made a mistake, he is much better than that, it was one mistake, just give him another chance, he'll do it right!" Clive's voice yelled from the skinny sprinting man, he came to the altar, addressing the leader as he untied his book.
"Strange, if it was a mistake, then why was your wife found trying to take him past the barrier?" A bellowing voice came from the man as he pulled the book open to the right page, looking down at Clive with doubtful eyes.
Clive sighed, looking down at Carla, lashed on her knees, she didn't look back.
"Eric, my little boy, i am so so sorry, i have failed you, please baby... please... please" Carla's younger self muttered and whimpered, lowering her face, the boy lashed to the altar cried uncontrollably, wailing and terrified.
"Very well, if you have nothing to say, we will begin" The man took a deep breath, beginning to chant in a low and thunderous voice.
"Clive! Clive! You have to save him! Grab him and run! Please... Clive please!" Carla's younger self yelled over the chanting, begging Clive, he was stunned, staring down at her.
"Mummy! Mummy please, i'm so sorry, i couldn't do it, please don't Mummy! Help me Mummy!" Eric, the young boy cried out, screaming at the top of his small lungs.
The man left his book on the altar, and climbed up, walking in front of the boy, continuing his chant, that was chanting back to him by the other elders, raising slowly in volume into a crescendo.
Raymond drew a long, curved knife, and raised his arms, holding the handle with both hands.
The chant stopped.
Eric, the vampire, pulled Carla's face into his chest, so she didn't have to see, though she had already seen, and it really made no difference.
The silence was filled with the wailing of the younger Carla, and the soft sobbing of the older Carla into Eric's chest, while he watched the last few moments of the memory.
The boy's body caught on fire, his skin evaporating into blazing dust, and then into air.
The younger Carla's body began to shudder and shake, as did the walls of the cavern, the men found it hard to keep their footing, the flames that had been on the boys body now snaked their way around the woman, her wrists were broken free and rocks began to separate from the rest of the cavern wall, tumbling down onto some men, who tried to run for cover.
Her body shone with bright light and the room faded into whiteness and nothing, it was just Eric and Carla in a vast nothing.
Eric still holding his strong arms around her.
Then everything faded, and their eyes slipped closed.
Carla was shocked upright, caked in sweat, her eyes had blood trickling down from them, nut because she was crying, but because her eyes were actually bleeding.
Eric slowly opened his eyes, pulling himself up right as well, slower than Carla.
"In my dreams i kill him, i kill them all, the rocks fall, the fire expands and they all die, every last one..." Carla said, her muscles shivering with a cold sweat.
"Do you know if you did?" Eric asked.
"I don't remember, the next thing i remember is walking towards the barrier, i saw Clive before i left, so i knew he wasn't dead" Carla said, sighing deeply, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I wasn't strong enough to kill him then, but now" Carla raised her hand and looked down at the palm. "I'm strong enough" Carla balled her hand into a fist.
Eric looked at her, feeling her guilt and sadness just as she had felt his, their bond becoming stronger and stronger on both ends.
"Do you miss him?" Eric questioned.
"Every single waking moment, i regret... no, i curse myself for not being a good enough mother, a good enough protector to save him, and to think that the elders just wanted me to continue to birth Clive's children, and hope that the rest were more gifted, i am sure the only reason he is here is because of his brother" Carla explained, Eric gave a confused look, as her words needed explaining.
"He has a brother, Rob, he is a element wielder, one of the best, in fact, he was also my rival during the teachings, he tried to kill Sookie and Alcide before Russel captured me, i don't know whether he was killed or he simply managed to escape" Carla shrugged.
Blood trickled down from Eric's nose, over his lips.
It caught Carla's eye.
"You should sleep" Carla told him, indicating one of the coffins, the one that wasn't already closed with Pam sleeping inside.
"I can't" Eric shrugged, crossing his long legs.
Carla tilted her head to the side, questioning the vampire.
"It's very likely that today will be my last day of life" Eric admitted, not looking at Carla, he felt her dread and worry.
"Why do you say that?" Carla asked, gripping his arm tightly with her hand.
"Well, just to say that if i were the authority, i would be the easier scapegoat, a vampire sheriff they already have in their custody, rather than a vampire king, three thousand years old and could be anywhere" Eric let his arms go limp on his knees, staring forward into space.
"You cannot be so hopeless" Carla knelt to his side, placing her hand on his face, making him look at her. "Have faith, i would sooner die than allow any of those soldiers even touch you, and trust me, it's very hard to kill me now" Carla turned around, seeing a white towel on the shelves at the side of the office, she grabbed it and dabbed the blood from under Eric's nose before it had a chance to dry.
Eric studied the girl's face, feeling her soft precise movements as she dabbed away the blood.
"Besides, you still haven't avenged your family, you can't die yet" Carla shrugged.
Eric took the towel from her hand, which shocked her, making her jump slightly.
The vampire leaned forward and placed his hand under her chin, holding her face still, he used the towel to wipe away the blood that had come from her eyes due to the sheer effort of the memory walk.
Eric traced his finger backwards, along her jawline, and laying it around her neck, pushing his fingers into hair at the nape of her neck.
She blinked quickly and nervously, a little jumpy after re living that memory, no doubt.
He pulled her head forward so their forehead's were laid together.
"Are you going to rest?" Carla asked him, a smile on her face, the sort of smile that showed peace and comfort. A loving smile.
Eric took a moment, closing his eyes, taking in her presence, her aura, her smell.
"I don't want to" He replied, letting out a deep sigh.
Thanks for reading!
Do you like my portrayal of Eric?
What about Carla? Is my OC interesting?
What about the 'memory walk'?
Tell me what you think! I love to hear what you guys think about my writing, so please share!
People will probably hate me for what is coming up in the next chapters, and i don't blame them, i almost hate myself for it, but unfortunately, it has to be done to progress the story, so i hope you guys can forgive me afterwards!
*Updates will continue whenever i can! Thanks for your patience!*
Until next time,
-Shad out