Hello Hello my lovely readers. I finally have a new chapter for you! This one was in the pipes for a couple weeks now, and I've already started work on the next chapter.
Hang in there folks because we're nearing the end! Will Godric and Eric save Sookie? Will Athenia go down with out (too much of) a fight? We shall see! Thank you as always to my lovely beta MoonWolfRunner, whom I would be nowhere without. Thank you so much to all my lovely readers, and enjoy!
Present Day, Topeka
Godric glanced around the group and watched as the air began to shiver around the aggravated energies of his cohorts. He closed his eyes and took a deep, yet utterly unnecessary breath. He could hear the crunch of the dirt beneath anxious claws, and the smell of burning pecan wood far in the distance.
He turned to Eric and watched his body twitch in anticipation, choosing not to read the bond between them while attempting to read his emotions. Eric's usually crisp blue eyes looked dull, like the river on a snowy day. He was troubled, but then again there wasn't a man in this situation that didn't share the same mixed emotions; Eric only felt them more so because of his desire for Sookie.
Godric took a moment to examine the bonds he shared with the two most important beings in his life (though not a man among them would know this night that Godric shared a bond almost as sacred with another child, that was a story for much later).
The first, the bond with Eric, was pulsating wildly with his mixed emotions. He was extremely anxious, and given his history with Athenia I could understand why. He was also more terrified than I had ever felt in our time together – even as I found him on the battlefield he had never experienced true fear such as this.
I brushed over his bond, knowing that he could work out his own emotions and would not shy away from the battle. I then felt my bond with Sookie.
Though we were slightly farther away I could still sense her stronger than I knew Eric could. Our bond was much stronger than I anticipated. She was afraid, but I knew that she could sense my presence and her mood had lighten; there was even a hint of lust wrapped up in the fibers of the chord connecting our two souls.
Soon there was a nudge at my hand and the wolf I assumed was Alcide was telling me it was time to get a move on.
This was it. We had gone over the plan multiple times and with a signal, I sent the pack of wolves to the designated zones just outside the palace walls.
I grabbed the attention of the vampires that had been silently milling about, both egging each other for for the battle and trying to convince themselves as to why they were really here, ready to overthrow a monarch of the Vampire Authority. It was of no consequence when I told them that it was time to make our way on to the compound.
As we vamped to the very edges of the thick, ominous walls of the castle to regroup with our were counterparts, I could sense the human minds of a handful of guards on the other side of the wall. While it would be easy to simply vamp to the other side of the wall and snap their necks, I was convinced that there was more too their force than met the eye.
Eric and I shared a glance, and in turn he shared one with Fabri. We waited a few tense moments, listening to the heartbeats of the humans on the other side as they discussed the banalities of their daily post and security routines. Soon, the wolves were too eager to be held back anymore when I heard the topic of conversation shift to the new security measures that had recently been installed.
"She has been anticipating our attack" I mentally broadcasted to Eric. We both knew this based on my conversation with Sookie, but a new security system installed days before our strike against her, that indicated she had deliberately designed this scenario to draw us out. But why?
We hesitated once more as the guards described an electrified fence that was invisible to the naked eye, both above and just inside the great and seemingly impenetrable walls themselves. Seemingly, the fence was made with the electrified version of UV light, which instantaneously killed any vampire not encoded into its safety protocol. This was getting complicated.
Everyone could hear the conversation going on just through the wall and so Godric felt no reason to explain the situation to the others. He briefly contemplated sending Fabri over the wall to glamour the guards into disarming the fence, but that meant sending him to his death and he quickly admonished himself for coming up with such a basic thought.
Soon, he found no other option but to call out to Sookie once more.
He pictured a signal being sent out to the fairy just inside the castle that he had fallen so hopelessly in love with. "Sookie.." He called out softly.
He could feel their bond buzz with her response, her excitement sent a shiver through his bones.
"Godric!" she responded
"Sookie I'm afraid we're at an impasse. There is a UV light fence in place that we cannot cross, and we have no way to disarm it without giving away our position."
The two of them were caught off guard by a third voice joining the conversation.
"Godric, we could send a wolf." It was Eric. Outside of the 'vision', Godric's shocked gaze shot over to Eric. Eric himself was full of surprise when he realized that his thought had been heard by both Godric and Sookie.
"Was that Eric?!" Sookie chimed in..
"Yes." Both men responded simultaneously.
They heard sookie chuckle softly.
"Well that's not a terrible idea. You could have one of them shift into a human and cross over, take them by surprise and take them out?" Sookie fleshed out the mechanics of the makeshift idea but then was met with a complication.
"But that would leave them vulnerable to the guards, and besides how would you get them over the wall in the first place?"
Godric was taken aback by what an astute observation she had made on her own. "Very good my love. I had not considered this. Apparently having you in my life has lessened my military prowess" he joked. He heard Eric snort, seemingly in agreement.
At this point the lack of action had left the wolves restless and they began to paw at the ground and nip at one another, begging for some bloodshed. However the problem had not been solved and the issues of the guards remained at large.
Sookie piped in after a moment of silence.
"I could try and take over their minds... I'm not quite sure if I can do it, and last time I tried Athenia caught me, but it's better than nothing right?" Sookie's voice was nervous and unsure.
Eric and I debated it internally for a moment. There was a great risk that the power itself was impossible for Sookie, and the thought of Athenia stumbling on to their presence and Sookie's interference was perhaps too much to bare.
"I see no other way" Eric let out finally.
"I agree" Godric whispered with regret.
Sookie had been in the farthest corner of her cell when she had sensed Godric and, to a lesser extent, Eric nearby.
She was excited that they had actually come for her, despite knowing that the woman holding her was actually setting a trap for them.
Soon enough, she heard Godric calling out to her.
"Sookie.." His voice was soft like a whisper, yet held so much more emotion than she could even comprehend.
"Godric!" She answered back eagerly. This whole mental communication thing was becoming really handy.
"Sookie I'm afraid we're at an impasse. There is a UV light fence in place that we cannot cross, and we have no way to disarm it without giving away our position" his voice had a hesitation to it and Sookie knew that it was difficult for Godric to admit that the plan to rescue her – even in its earliest stages – wasn't going well.
As she was wondering what she could do to help, Sookie heard a familiar voice break through the hazy mental aura that she shared with Godric.
" Godric, we could send a wolf" Sookie could hardly believe that Eric could somehow share the conversation she was having with her bonded.
The imprisoned fairy was just overwhelmed at how many new things were happening for her. She was also unsure about the whole 'sacrificing a wolf' thing. She pondered a moment and put her feelings about the new ability to communicate with Eric aside, though she let out a light laugh at the way Eric had found a way to wiggle himself even into her most private moments. That was Eric for you.
"Well that's not a terrible idea. You could have one of them shift into a human and cross over, take them by surprise and take them out?" Though it wasn't the most friendly or nice idea she'd ever heard, and it might mean loosing one of her friends or really anyone for that matter, Sookie had to give credit where credit was due, especially when their backs were against the wall.
She soon found a flaw however; "But that would leave them vulnerable to the guards, and besides how would you get them over the wall in the first place?"
She knew based on her mental picture of the castle that surrounded her that it wasn't going to be simply as easy as walking right up to the guards and convincing them to surrender, and apparently it wouldn't be as easy as flying over the wall either.
'Goddamned vampires and they're tricky bullshit' she internally scoffed. It was then that she realized what he had to do. She had to try and use her fairy powers to push the guards to deactivate the system.
The idea wasn't without it's risks – the evil bitch that held her here had discovered her the last time and made it clear that the next time she tried anything, there would be undeniable consequences. But, anything was better than sitting here in this miserable cell waiting to be killed right?
Still not 100% sure of her plan, Sookie threw it out there to her vampires "I could try and take over their minds... I'm not quite sure if I can do it, and last time I tried Athenia caught me, but it's better than nothing right?"
There was a long, pregnant pause before Eric softly said "I see no other way." Sookie was only partially relieved. First, Godric hadn't really given his 'blessing' and second, Eric didn't seem all that confident in her abilities either. Soon though, Godric chimed in with a heartbroken whisper "I agree."
Without drawing out a long sentimental goodbye, Sookie broke her connection with Eric and Godric. She knew that if her plan were to work, she would see them shortly. And if not.. well she wouldn't even entertain the idea.
She quickly got to work casting a mental net, bypassing the several guards inside the house and down in the cellar she was being held in. Soon she found a cluster of guards – surprisingly human – near the voids she recognized as her mates and seemingly, their allies.
Sookie worked harder than ever before in her life, concentrating as hard as she could on isolating those guards and feeling out their minds.
As with most other humans, their thought patterns were scattered and boring. Most were thinking of stupid things, like how great their dinner had been that night or how badly they needed the weekend off to take care of their kids.
One in particular had a more dark and twisted thought pattern that Sookie had only encountered in two other individuals – her 'funny' Uncle Bartlett, and René Lenier. She focused first on this man's mind. She figured, if she could break him, she could break the rest.
Sookie emptied her mind of everything but her connection to her vampires, and a mental chord connecting her mind to that of her first target. She visualized a strong chain and, first as a pool surrounding her own mind and then a focused bubble of warm and soft emotions, a 'liquid' version of the thoughts she wanted the guard to feel.
The man, a racist "good ol' boy" from Arkansas, went by the name Calvin – though Sookie could feel through his mangled and angry mind that this was not his given name – was doing a pretty good job of convincing his buddies that he was just your average man working a security job for the Vampire Queen of Kansas, but deep down Calvin was a very deeply disturbed mind.
One small peak into his subconscious and Sookie felt so nauseous she couldn't continue. It appeared as though Calvin had a real grudge against vampires – something about his mother that Sookie simply couldn't stomach – and was really just biding his time until he could kill the 'wicked bitch of the west'.
Sookie went back to focusing her thoughts onto the chain that connected their minds. It was difficult to keep her mind blank, while somehow still forming specific thoughts that she needed Calvin's mind to accept.
She started with something basic "There's no threat here." Seemingly, that small idea worked. Calvin's mind lifted a layer of haze and he seemed to feel as though there was no danger around him.
Soon Sookie moved on to more complicated thoughts and focused the warm liquid on the chain links connecting her to Calvin's mind. "We could take it easy tonight, there's nothing going on."
Calvin was a little bit more resistant to this; it wasn't in his nature to be relaxed – especially when it came to work, but the more she 'massaged' the chain between them, the more control Sookie ended up having over his thoughts.
She evolved her ideas into something more complex; "If we turned off the fence, nothing bad would happen." This one was tough – Calvin obviously knew better than to turn off the main security system to his boss' castle, no matter how much he hated her and her kind. Sookie had to try even harder to implant this idea into Calvin's mind and she could feel her energy draining.
A small part of her brain focused on her links to Eric and Godric and feeling Godric's pride and strength gave her a boost of mental energy. Finally, she was able to convince Calvin that it would be ok to turn off the fence surrounding the property and she was confident she could count on him to do the job. Now, she simply had to slip out of his mind, convince the others in the group that turning off the fence and taking the rest of the night off was a totally reasonable thing to do – easy as pie.
Before slipping out of Calvin's mind, Sookie softly implanted the idea that he should seek counseling for his troubled past and though she didn't push it very hard, she could feel his mind start to consider the idea. Sookie smiled, "hey at least he might try and be better" she thought to herself.
Though she felt that she had been in Calvin's mind for hours, it had only taken her a few tense minutes to convince him to turn off the fence. She then went into the minds of the other guards patroling with Calvin and found that it was much easier to convince them of the same thing – once one or two had the idea planted, they were able to work out amongst themselves that they could simply turn off the power and call it an early evening – Sookie hoped the rest of the night was that easy.
She could feel the group of them walking towards the main security post where the fence's controls and turning off the power, and then collectively heading for the edge of the compound, seemingly to their cars to head home.
When she was satisfied that the problem had been dealt with, Sookie called out to her vampires.
"Godric, Eric. It's done. The fence is off."
She was met with warm buzzing emotions in her bond with both Eric and Godric and she smiled. They seemed.. proud? Happy? She wasn't sure.
"My love, your power is absolutely astounding." Godric's bond with her hummed against her heart.
Her weak bond with Eric felt as though he was smiling at her, and in turn that made Sookie smile even wider. Her viking chimed in.
"My my Sookie, you're always full of surprises."
She laughed "Yes so you've told me before." She heard him laugh and then their bond was suddenly shut off – like a faucet had been turned off – and her heart skipped a beat.
"Godric?" she wasn't sure what had happened to Eric. She couldn't feel him at all.
"I wanted to speak to you privately Sookie, and since I have control over Eric.." he trailed off without any real explanation.. made a mental note to ask him about that later..
"I just wanted you to hear it once more, with my own voice, that I am absolutely and overwhelmingly in love with you Miss Sookie Stackhouse. And if I should meet my end, then it would be my greatest joy in my 2000 years to know you." His bond with her took Sookie to a whole new level of emotion she had never experienced before – not even with Bill, who she at one time she had been convinced she had been in love with.
"Godric.. I.." She choked on the words as a tear came to her eye.
"I love you too. More than anything, anyone.." She trailed off again, unable to express herself truly.
"Godric I could spend the rest of my lifetime telling you I loved you and it would never be enough to truly show you how much." She settled on that because, well it was true!
She heard a soft purring like sound that reminded her of a cat. "Sookie. You are perfect."
They shared a warm moment, feeling each other through their respective bonds before Godric chimed in again.
"Eric wants to speak to you as well. I will.. see you shortly." He didn't seem convinced of the last part but Sookie didn't have time to argue before her bond with Godric had faded – not turned off as it had been with Eric, but more like.. put on mute. She thought that was a good analogy. She could still feel his emotions, but couldn't speak to him or hear him.
Her bond with Eric reappeared and soon she broadcasted to him.
"Eric.. I'm never sure what to say to you."
He laughed his beautiful, viking sex god laugh and Sookie blushed from head to toe.
"Nor I you, Miss Stackhouse." For some reason him calling her that really got Sookie riled. She felt a subtle humorous twinge coming from Godric and she knew he must have felt what she was thinking.
"Sookie I just wanted to say.. if I survive this. You have to do me the honor of sleeping with me. I hear it's quite the experience." Leave it to Eric to be a pervert even in a crisis! Sookie laughed, but hesitated when she realized her viking wasn't entirely sure that he would make it through the night.
"Eric, if I can confess, I've known I was going to sleep with you one day ever since I sucked that bullet out of your chest." He laughed again; Sookie felt her skin tingle.
"I've known since you walked into my bar." He trailed off and Sookie wondered how it was possible that even though he was facing his potential death he could still be so confident in his attempts to woo her.
"Ok Eric, if we survive, I'll sleep with you." She smiled.
"Ok then, it's settled. See you on the other side." He jolted at their shared bond and Sookie could tell he had been sensing her arousal as well.
"See you on the other side Mr. Northman" She heard him purr similarly to Godric and then she put her bond with Eric on mute as well.
"Ok bitch, it's time to party" Sookie said to no one in particular she she prepped herself for the battle of her life.
