Sookie bounded out of Gran's room, an extra spring in her step after finally learning some truth behind her family makeup. It had been a struggle up to that point to truly believe what anyone was telling her, even though deep down she felt at least some of their claims were true. She was anxious to get to the bottom of the fairy influence over Gran and with the help of Fergus and maybe even Niall, Claude and Dermot, she was confident things would get resolved in Gran's favor.
With Adele's written notes, still clutched in her hands, she went through the small house, looking for Eric. She could sense he was nearby and that he was blocking whatever emotions he was feeling. She thought that was a handy ability and one she should ask him about later.
After searching the inside of the house, she went outside and found him sitting in a law chair, his hands folded behind his neck and head, staring up at the night sky. He was recalling his early conversation with the Queen of Louisiana, replaying it over again, like a reel of film in his brain, searching for any further clues of deception on her part. After his brief meeting with Niall, he had called in to her service, as is customary each evening, albeit 10 o'clock in the evening, when he finally placed the call. He was shocked when he was transferred directly to her line.
"Northman, you have been a naughty boy," she started, in her childlike voice. Sophie-Anne LeClerq looked nothing more than an overly made up teenager, but she was several hundred years older than Eric and very dangerous if provoked. He didn't immediately reply, for her statement was meant to get a rise out of him as much as it was also letting him know that she had much more to say.
"I received a disturbing call from Russell Edgington this evening – well, more disturbing than usual. He claims you entered his state without authorization, gained entry to his private residence and stole a valuable asset of his. A young part Fae girl by the name of Sookie Stackhouse."
'Fuck!' Eric thought. He should have taken care of the Edgington problem as soon as he rose for the evening, instead of once again allowing his distraction with his personal Siren to override his common sense.
"No need to confirm or deny, for as you are well aware, I have spies everywhere. I've known you for a very long time and trust that your actions were necessary in order to preserve our State's well-being, so I'm not truly interested in the details. I had already been made aware that a girl fitting the Stackhouse girl's description had been seen taken away from Josephine's the night before and flown from a private airstrip, by a plane owned by Edgington. I am also aware of the ruckus you created after said incident. We will discuss your reparations later. What I can safely assume is that you went to Mississippi in order to return this girl to her rightful place. And I will also assume that she must still be in your care, for I know my Viking well. What I need from you now, is to bring this girl to me tomorrow evening, 10 pm. Someone will contact you with the exact location as soon as the sun sets. Don't disappointment me, Northman, by not showing up or showing up alone. I am solely interested in the girl. I'm just extending professional courtesy to you, as one of my most trusted Sheriffs. That is all." Following her monologue, there was a click and then the sound of dial tone.
Eric couldn't imagine what sort of state Russell had been in when he placed the call to Sophie-Anne and he could only assume the worst in that he told her everything he knew about Sookie. He wondered in hindsight, if he should have asked Niall to pay a visit to the Queen himself, but then shook off the thought. He could deal with the Queen, as long as she didn't try to separate him from Sookie. 'What a fucking mess!' he railed inside. Was it always going to be this way with her? One crisis after another? At least she was anything but boring. The old adage 'Beware what one wishes for…' came to mind. The monotony of his very long existence had been getting to him prior to Sookie's arrival in his life. Now, caring for her was like a Dead End Job, yet another idiom almost as old as himself.
Sookie cleared her throat unnecessarily, for he heard and felt her before she even saw him, but couldn't help stem the tide of thoughts and worries flickering his consciousness. She felt the setting looked so intimate that it was as though she were intruding on something by walking out there full of excitement.
"You received the answers you sought?" he asked, not moving from his current position.
"Well, I was given more than I had before. So, that's a start," she answered, walking cautiously towards him. He was acting strange. "I'm certain that some fairy has cursed my grandmother and now I'm determined to find him and make him reverse whatever he's done."
"Lofty goal. How do you plan on achieving this, my lover?" he asked, still unmoving.
"I figured I'd start with the closest source I have and that would be Fergus. I understand he's not fairy, but he is family and of the Fae. He must know something. And if he doesn't, than I'm going to go talk with Claude and Dermot."
With the mention of Claude and Dermot, Eric visibly stiffened. He pulled his hands down from behind his head and abruptly stood to face Sookie. The motion was so quick, it made her startle with a jump and she automatically took a step away from him. It was times like that, that reminded Sookie how very inhuman Eric truly was.
He advanced forward. "You will not go to see those fairies without me or Fergus. Understood?"
It was Sookie's turn to act defensively. With hand on her hip, she retorted, "I've worked with them for over a year, ever since I started school last fall and they have been nothing but kind to me. Besides, as it turns out, they are family too. Why shouldn't I be able to visit them on my own?"
"Well, at least you didn't say you could take care of yourself," he replied half joking. Sookie rolled her eyes and was tempted to walk back inside, just to end this conversation. Obviously, Eric's dark and broody mood from earlier was back.
"I've told you before Sookie that Dermot and Jason look nearly identical, yet you couldn't see it. Now, you've learned that both fairies are your relatives, yet they never said anything to you. Don't you find all of that a little strange? You don't think it's unusual that Dermot hid his true form from you in order to keep their dirty little family secret? I do not trust them and will not let you back in their presence without some reassurance that they won't harm you in any way," Eric commanded.
"I don't think they mean me harm. I'm sure Dermot only hid his appearance, so he wouldn't have to let the fairy secret out of the closet. That would have been an awkward moment on both our parts. Besides, it's not like I would have believed him anyway. I didn't think anything supernatural existed, other than myself, before I met you. Regardless, if you want to be with me if and when I go see them, than be my guest. I just think you are wrong in assuming they are out to get me – that everyone is bent on my destruction and your unhappiness. What's wrong with you anyway? You seem – well – grumpy! You're acting like a grumpy old man right now and you're killing my buzz."
Eric laughed a sarcastic laugh before turning away from her, weighing his options. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed unnecessarily.
"OK. Now you've got my attention. What's the big bad?"
Sookie's perception was so impressive, her response almost brought a grin to his face – almost. He decided just to go with the truth. He had been keeping this news to himself all evening – since Niall's surprise visit and it's weight was distracting. "My Queen has summoned us to her court tomorrow evening."
The mention of vampire Kings and Queens made Sookie's stomach queasy, after her experience with Russell Edgington. The thought of any royalty in the United States would have previously made her laugh, but now she simply wanted to run for the hills. She wondered if they were all as crazy as the one in Mississippi.
"Why do I have to come?" she asked like a spoiled child.
"Because she wishes to meet you."
It was Sookie's turn to sigh. Why must he always play twenty questions. "And how is it that your queen has come to know who I am?"
"Edgington," he replied tersely.
"Figures," she said. "So, she wants to see the fabulous fairy with her own eyes, is it?"
"Something like that. I'm more concerned that she has learned of your telepathy, or that she'll find you a useful addition to her court, with your connection to Niall. She is even cleverer than I and a few hundred years older too. This is a very dangerous situation and one I wish could be avoided."
"Me too, by the sounds of it. What would happen if we don't show?"
"I am her Sheriff, Sookie. I enforce her will upon the remaining vampires in this area. If I don't obey her requests, how am I to enforce them on others? Besides, neither of us are cowardly. We will go, as requested, but we must go with a plan in place and a plan if that one fails and another if that one does and yet another."
"So, this is why you are so agitated? If she is so awful, why do you work for her? Why not go out on your own and let someone else be Sheriff?"
"I enjoy the power. I gives me advantages I wouldn't have being a lone vampire without any political connections. And now that we are bound, those advantages extend to you and yours. Besides, Sophie-Anne is fair as compared to some of the others. I just find her – unpredictable – and that is dangerous."
"Well, she is or was a woman. We're all unpredictable! So do you have any plans in the works or are you just going to mope around all night, 'cuz I have some plannin' to do of my own and I'd like your input, if possible."
"I think I should go. You prove too much a distraction for me to properly concentrate," he whispered as he closed the distance between them and placed his large cool hand on her soft warm cheek. He felt her disappointment in the bond and leaned down to give her a chaste kiss.
However, Sookie had more in mind and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a much deeper, more 'open mouth-insert tongue' kind of kiss. She didn't want him to leave. She hated that she distracted him and that he constantly struggled with it.
Breaking the kiss so she could take a full breath, she asked, "Why do you fight what you feel? I've been told several times recently to embrace what I am and what I can do. I think you should do the same. It seems to me that if you are constantly paddling upstream, you won't get very far. Let go of the oars and use your emotions to help guide you."
"Why are you talking about paddling?"
Sookie swatted at him. "It's a metaphor you big oaf!" Eric growled at her name-calling and grabbed her hand, pulling her against him in a tight embrace. "What I'm trying to say is, you are so obsessed with blocking how you feel and concentrating on not feeling at all, that you have no energy left for anything else. Just feel! We can figure things out together! We're a team now! Don't run away. Stay here and let's work on things together."
"If I stay here, the only thing we'll be working on is how many ways we can have each other," he replied roughly, his eyes dark with lust.
"If that is how you feel, than there is no reason why we can't do that AND work on plans to meet the queen AND find my Gran's attacker. It's called multi-tasking!"
Without a word or a sound, Eric picked Sookie up and wrapped her legs around his waist, walking them back into the house. But, instead of going to her room like she anticipated, she found them going into the kitchen and through a door that had been a pantry only moments ago, but was now a secret passage way into a windowless cavern.
Eric took a couple of steps down and through a short hallway before depositing Sookie on his soft custom sized bed. He took the papers still clutched in her hands and placed them out of her sight. It was completely dark, with no more than a few inches of visibility for the human eye and its heaviness felt suffocating to her. While Eric was busy doing something nearby, she cautiously felt around her to become familiar with her surroundings. She could feel a rising panic in her chest from being disoriented by the dark.
"Do you have any lights in here?" she whispered into the dark, moving her head around to see if she could spot his vampire glow. Instead of an answer, all she heard was some rustling noises nearby and then a cool hard body next to hers.
"Has my blood's affects already worn off?" he hissed against her ear causing shivers to run up and down her spine. He followed those shivers with his lips, plucking away her clothes as he went.
She swallowed audibly and murmured some type of assent before feeling his hands slide up her bare legs and tug off her panties. "Perhaps I should give you some more or maybe I should use your slight vision disadvantage to my benefit, hmmm? Which would you prefer?"
Her mind had become a tangled mess of thoughts, none of which was coherent. She felt his mouth move down her arm, across her hand, which she had folded into her lap, and then a brush of cool breath between her thighs. She slowly laid back and settled into the softness of what she figured was his bed.
He worked his magic on her body with his skilled fingers and tongue, causing her to writhe and thrash about as if she were an epileptic. She cried out his name more than once, hoping that the room they were in had at least some sound proofing, out of respect for her Gran. Once he had his fill of her body, he positioned them so that they could exchange blood in a more intimate fashion.
With her legs wrapped around his back, Sookie sat facing Eric in his lap. He had leaned himself against his headboard, his hardness the only thing truly separating them. Sookie pressed her breasts into his chest and leaned forward seeking out his lips. "Where would you like me to bite you?" she asked softly, their lips still touching.
His Mr. Happy jerked in delight, rubbing her unexpectedly in just the right spot. He pinched and rolled one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, while wrapping the thickness of her hair around his hand. He bent her backwards slightly and kissed her deeply before responding, "Where ever it pleases you most."
She reached down between them and grasped the Gracious Plenty tightly in her hand, giving it two firm strokes. Then she turned her head to the side and wrapped her other hand around the arm that was holding her slightly away from him. Seeking out his wrist, she bit it with all her blunted teeth's strength, tearing at the skin and making it burst open with a pop.
Between her stimulation below and the sensation of her bite, Eric was lost in his own good moment for several beats of Sookie's heart. When he regained awareness, he leaned forward and sunk his fangs around the areola of Sookie's nipple. It felt as though he was drawing from much lower but at the same time, she couldn't help feel a natural sense of nurturing. After all, since the beginning of time, women have been providing sustenance this way, maybe not with blood... She hadn't felt closer to being a mother or being closer to him, than in that moment. "Baby," she whispered, cradling him to her.
Her mind began to drift on a sea of contentment and soon she was daydreaming of what it must have been like for the first vampire and his or her mate. Who was the first vampire and how were they made? Did they know about bonding with another? Did they feel love or were they truly just monsters? Did anyone know?
Once they have finished sharing each other's essence, Sookie could finally see shadows of her modest surroundings. The room was small and held only a bed and a small dresser in the opposite corner from which they entered. The walls and floor were made of concrete and reminded her of what a prison cell must feel like. This certainly was just a place to come if Eric needed a safe place to stay for the day.
While she was analyzing the room, Eric had rearranged them into a more relaxed position of him on his back, while Sookie laid across his chest, still half expecting to hear a rhythm that hadn't beat in a thousand years.
"Eric, do you know how y'all were created? Like who was the first vampire?"
"I have often wondered that myself. In my long existence, I have encountered only a few dozen that are older than me. Either our race is truly not that old, or the old ones tend to not reveal themselves, or maybe they simply choose to be no more. But, none of them seem to have known the root of our existence. There are myths of course. Many of which point back to Egyptian times. I personally think we came before the Egyptians, back when magic ruled this earth and mingled with its primitive humans. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. It was just something I felt when we were sharing blood. I wonder if I took a sample of your blood and ran some simple DNA testing on it, if it would reveal anything beyond your human genetics?"
"Ahh. The scientist in you returns. Are you missing school, my lover?"
"Maybe."
They were silent for several seconds, as Eric considered Sookie's musings. "You know, Bill Compton was alleged to be building a database of vampires, cataloguing where each lived and tracing their vampire family tree. I wonder if he would be able to eventually surmise who the first one's origins were?"
"I suppose. But, it would be very hard, considering most of his data is coming from another's account and not scientific fact. That sounds like a very big project. How does an area investigator who seems to be in everyone else's business find the time and resources to do such extensive research?"
"A very good question and one I plan on discussing with the queen this evening."
The mention of the queen made Sookie's unease return. "What is she really like, this queen? Is she beautiful? Is she insane like Edgington?"
"She is about 1400 years old, maybe older and has several children that she created shortly after she herself was turned. She has this innate ability to keep them close to her when vampire children tend to have growing pains about 100 years after being turned. She arrived in New Orleans in the mid-1700's with some French fur traders she kept as human pets. She assumed control over Louisiana in the late 1800's after asserting herself as the strongest, most devious of vampires in the South. I did not meet her until much later, arriving in the area myself only about one hundred years ago. I don't know her story of how or when she was turned, but I've been told by several sources and judging by her appearance, she was probably no more than 14 or 15 when she became vampire. She is a hard worker and cares deeply for the culture of New Orleans and its people - all of them. Because of this, her retinue are very loyal. It is either because of her emotional immaturity when she was turned or due to her advanced age now, that she seems to have absolutely no morals or subconscious. She is what professionals nowadays describe as pathological. But, she is not without reason. She is absolutely diabolical when it comes to achieving or obtaining something she desires."
"And that is why you are so freaked out about her interest in me."
"Yes."
"If Russell contacted her, then he probably told her all about me and who my family was. Do you think she would risk pissing off the Prince of Fairies or any other Fae that could be in my background, by trying to harm me?"
"It's not that I think she would kill you – at least not in the permanent sense. But, if she knows of your true worth – your telepathy and the possibility of any Fae traits developing later, I wouldn't put it past her to keep you, bond you to her and then turn you when the time was right. With her ability to keep her children close, you would be a prisoner in your existence forever. I wouldn't wish that on anyone," and from the way Eric said that last part, Sookie feared there were some things in his past that identified with that fear.
"No one knows about my telepathy, other than your immediate circle and my family. Russell didn't let on that he knew anything about it, so I'm sure she has no idea regarding that. Maybe she has a Fae fetish and simply wants to taste me. We could guess all night, but the thing we really need to do, is come up with a plan where if either of us feels threatened while under her watch, we have a way of getting out unharmed. Do you even think that is possible?"
For once, Eric was thankful for fairies and their goddamned meddling magic. "For you, it is a certainty. Niall couldn't have bestowed on you a greater gift, other than perhaps immortality, than the ability to teleport. The minute you see things going south, you teleport out of there."
"And what about you? How would you escape?"
"That's the part I'm still working out."
Sookie didn't like the idea of leaving Eric behind in a potentially dangerous situation. "I could barely teleport out of my Gran's house without your help. You expect me to be able to reliably pop myself out of harms way with less than 12 hours notice?"
"Well then, other than discussing who in your family would want to harm your Gran, you'll need to get Fergus to help you practice teleporting, while I rest this day."
After another round of hot monkey sex and a few more conjectures on Sophie-Anne's motivations, Sookie fell asleep dreaming of teleporting, fairy curses and who the first vampire was. To state the obvious, it was a less than restful sleep.
A/N: Hello! I'm back with another chapter! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, etc last time. I apologize if I didn't get a response to you, but my writing time is limited these days due to hectic schedules. Last chapter was my least reviewed one thus far, so to help would motivation, if you are reading this one, could you drop me a line and let me know how I'm doing so far? Viking Hugs in the Dark
