A/N: Sorry for the delay my prettiest pretties. I had this written, but kept rewriting it, etc. Plus I had a migraine, so staring at a monitor is not on the list of "Awesome Things To Do While Your Brain Bleeds Out Your Eyes". Jus sayin. Anyhooses, I love you guys lots n lots. Thanks for all the comments and adds. You are my bestest banana buddys, ever. The next few chappys SHOULD be quicker to get updated, but we'll see. I'm always bummed when there are no lemons in a chapter, so I'll have to make up for it next chaps, otay? As always, rated MA for naughty business, CharChar owns all characters, except for my Trolly, Manuel, and a few others to come. *Throws chocolate coins out to an empty audience, falls off stage into orchestra pit*
Chapter 28
Waking up the next day, Sookie rocketed out of bed. She had a bad feeling and she couldn't shake it. The feeling had woken her up out of a strange dream, but she had no idea why or what was wrong. And something smelled off. It smelled...foreboding?
As she felt around for clothes and shoes, her body began to emit a white glow. It started out at her skin, then exited outward, a translucent barrier, conforming to her shape but about 6" from her body. She looked down at herself in awe. She desperartely wanted to sit back down on the bed and wake Eric up, but she had an urgent sense something was't right and she needed to find out what was going on.
Slipping on her dress from the night before and checking on Eric to make sure he was okay, she hurried down the stairs. She almost ran right in to Manny's back. He was at the base of the stairs, facing toward the front doors. He had a large wooden stick, like a gnarled branch from a tree; the top was a large geode crystal.
"Manny! What is it? What's wrong? Something's off-the air smells wrong."
Manny turned to look at her and his eyebrows cocked up at the sight of her new shield. Gingerly, he tapped it with his staff. The shield reverberated against it, but didn't allow it to penetrate. He nodded his head in approval and turned back to the door. Before he could answer her questions, there was a huge thump against the front doors and the glass panes shattered into a million pieces. A few seconds later, she heard a similar noise from upstairs.
Her eyes met Manny's, "Go upstairs, I will guard down here. Use your powers to guard yourself and your husband, if needed." She was running at full speed up the stairs before he even finished his sentence.
She threw open the first set of doors to their bedroom and barely had them closed before opening the second doors. When she entered the pitch black room, her eyes immediately sought out where Eric should have been-in the bed. But he wasn't there.
Panicked, she wanted to scream out for him, but an internal warning told her no. Focus. Be calm. Trust the powers. She involuntarily calmed and scanned the room. Surprisingly, she could see very clearly now and saw Eric flying near the ceiling. He was floating now, down to her. He had a blue barrier identical to hers around him, though his was more faint. As soon as they got near each other, their shields merged into one large one, very much like their bubble during sex, and got much thicker and less transparent.
She threw her arms around him, but still, neither one spoke. They exchanged looks that said what they couldn't, or shouldn't out loud. There was unknown danger around them. Sookie would later look back and laugh, because it reminded her of those silent hand signals that cops in movies made when they were trying to sneak up on a perp. They stood back to back, Eric with a dagger he got from god knows where and Sookie with her alleged, but unknown to her, powers at the ready. Her whole body tingled, but not in a necessarily pleasant way. It felt like energy was being pulled forward, from a reserve-like it was charging or being prepped to go off. Something internally told her to use her hands and eyes to force the power outward, if she needed to. She made a mental note to see if she could practice this later.
They heard Manny's voice call out, from outside the windows, on the balcony. "Senorita Sookie, the house and perimeter are secured. The threats have been extinguished."
"Manny, come to our room. I want a full report." Eric was in full authoritative glory. He turned on a bedside lamp, and brought Sookie to sit on a settee by the bed, while he paced, still naked.
Manny appeared in the room, with a very strange "snap" sound, and it took all she had not to stare. In front of them was no longer the human-looking house servant she was familiar with. In it's place was a creature, still tall and thin and bald, but with brown, leathery skin, a huge nose and eyes on a broad face, flanked by huge pointy ears. It reminded her of a troll doll. If that weren't enough, his back now sported a pair of wings. Very thin, but leaf-like with what looked like moss and twigs worked in-like he had made them himself. And he was wearing a leather-looking shirt dress. She bit her cheek to keep from laughing at his transformation.
"Tell me all that occurred, from the beginning." Eric demanded, before anyone else could speak.
Manny set the bottom of his staff down on the floor and held it out at arms length, like a soldier with a rifle. "I was preparing Miss Sookie her brunch, when I detected trouble. I felt a shift inthe energies of the area and it smelled of Were. Little good can come from their kind." He and Eric nodded in agreement. "I stood sentry at the base of the stairs, to have better access to the upper and lower portions of the house. Miss Sookie came down, her shields were in place." Eric snuck a look at her, she shrugged. "The first Were was killed and thrown up on the front threshold, though we did not know for certain when we first heard the noise. Immediately following, we heard the noise up here and the Senorita came up hear to check on you. Once she ran up, I immediately checked the front door and saw the dead Were, flew the perimeter of the house and found the second Were, dead, on your terrace. Which is when I called out to you."
"Who killed them if you were both in here?"
He looked a little sheepish. "If you recall, I told you that I dispensed with the evil forest Duende of this area many years ago. In appreciation, The Little Ones, or, the lesser forest Duendes, Trolls and Wood Sprites pledged themselves to help me guard this area. They slayed them both and deposited them as a gift to me. The Duende killed the Were below with their poison daggers and the Sprites killed the one in the tress with their Trolls carried them, since they have brutish strength and tossed them up in an offering. However, Trolls often do not realize their strength, which was the source of the noise and windows breaking downstairs. The one at the front doors was found in the woods near the front gates. The one outside on the terrace was found high in the trees near the woods around the house. They were Were Panthers. But they smelled of vampire. I have the bodies in the underground garage. It is cool enough there to slow decomposition considerably."
The next part, he said with no small amount of pride. "I wasn't worried they would get in to the house. I knew they would be severely weakened if they had made it past the wards and talismans placed around the property. The first layer has energy draining factors in place, causing extreme mental and physical fatigue. The second layer, closer to the house, is a disorientation blanket, causing confusion to the point of complete amnesia for several hours, even days. They were easy prey and The Little Ones made quick work of them."
"I will see if I can detect any familiar scent. Is it possible for you to bring me an article of their clothing? I assume they have reverted back to their human forms, yes?"
"Yes, Senor, they have. I will return momentarily." There was that "snap" sound again, that was more like the snapping of a twig. He was back within seconds.
He had two articles of clothing: a plain white t-shirt and a silk shirt. Eric took them, sniffed them thoroughly and didn't find the scent of anyone he recognized. "Thank you, Manuel, for a job well done. You may go now and advise us of anything new."
He bowed and snap, crackled, popped out of there. There were finally alone. Their collective shields had been fading during the briefing and were barely noticeable now. The danger must be gone.
"Sookie, are you alright? How do you feel?" He looked at her tenderly and ran a hand across her forehead.
"I'm fine, baby. I was mostly worried about you. When I heard that crash, then ran up here and didn't see you...I can't believe you're up and what about our bubbles? Oh my gosh-so much craziness in the last twenty minutes." She was babbling. "It was like an impenetrable force field, wasn't it? Did you feel that? And when were close, it combined and got stronger, did you see that? Who do you think was behind those Weres coming up here? And-" she lowered her voice "I guess that's what Manny really looks like, huh?"
Eric made his way over to the bed, visibly tired. "Sookie, we have much to discuss, but I am afraid I can feel my body's need to rest pulling me under. I am sorry I cannot stay with you and talk over everything that happened. We will talk as soon as I awaken this evening, okay? Promise me you will eat now and rest if you need it. If anything else happens, I am confident I will wake up, but please try to wake me if you need me. Please do not leave the house. If you feel up to it, call Lucinda's shop and have them bring several dresses over here for you to try. But have Manny check them first to be safe and have him stay with you the entire time."
She was tucking him in like a child and he gave her a weak smirk. "Yes, boss. Anything else?"
"Eat. Rest. See you soon, Love."
"Love you, bossy." She kissed him, but he was already out.
After staying with him a few more minutes, just needing to see him and be near him to reassure herself, she headed downstairs. Manny was there in the kitchen, back in his humanoid form, dishing out eggs and sausage onto a plate set up on the bar for her. She didn't think she would be hungry after all that commotion but she was famished. She sidled up on a stool and started eating. They were both quiet as she ate, he bustled around the kitchen.
She broke the silence first. "So, is it rude if I ask you some questions about yourself?"
"Not at all."
"So, which look is your true one-this more normal, human one or your Duende form? Sorry, that came out bad. I didn't mean anything other than human is abnormal-"
He interrupted her. "No need to explain. I understand. They are both my natural appearances. It is our nature to have such duality. It's necessary for our survival. Can you imagine hundreds of years ago, if we had cared for our inns and estates looking as my Wood Fairy appearance?"
"No, I guess that wouldn't have worked out too well. So, you can fly?"
"Yes, short distances."
"But you can cast spells and perform magic?"
"I can cast some spells, like the ones around the area here, but that is limited. Mostly, I call some of Nature's elements and utilize or manipulate powers that already exist to my advantage. If you consider that a type of magic."
"Like what?"
"I can call winds and weather systems. I can use things like magic crystals as my talismans or channels to increase and focus power. I can command things from Nature, say ivy or wildlife in the surrounding forests to assist me. Or use chemicals found in indigenous plantlife to my advantage. If the Little People had been unable to capture the two intruders, I could have called a flock of falcon to catch them up or kill them. Or I could have called up strong winds or rains to immobilize them. Or dispensed a thatch of ivy and Spanish moss to tangle them up. Or caused them great pain by conjuring the Stinging Nettle."
"Wow. That's pretty cool." He plated up her favorite fruits and she dug into that. "It's just so weird, when I think of all the creatures out there I never knew about. Or had the wrong ideas about. Like, I never would have pictured a cute little Wood Sprite slaying a big Panther with arrows, or Trolls, with poison daggers! I pictured a cute little Pixie with fairy dust and a wand. Or a little guy living in a giant mushroom or tree trunk, you know?"
"Miss Sookie, there are so many creatures in this world we will never guess at them all. And all creatures, humans as well, are more than capable of killing. It's an unfortunate part of survival. It is only humans that try to convince themselves it is not. Which is a luxury they can well afford, since their numbers are into the billions. But, when there are so few of so many creatures left, we must defend ourselves and survive. I am not saying killing is ideal, just sometimes necessary. Also, a Pixie is definitely different from a Wood Sprite. Pixies are devilish and completely untrustworthy and manipulative." He shivered.
"Good to know all Supes distrust each other, not just the Vamps, Weres and Fairies I know." She commented dryly.
"We have all been amongst each other for thousands of centuries-fighting for a secret survival in a predominately human realm. We have very much grown wary of each other through that time."
"Have you ever seen anyone with that...shield like I had, and Eric?"
"Only once before, a very long time ago. A very powerful fairy. It was rumored she was also a Goddess, incarnate. She was called upon to help bring peace during an especially long and bloody Supe war, many moons ago. You look much like her."
She didn't know what to say to that, but she did know she was suddenly exhausted. Glancing at the clock and seeing it was just after noon, she told Manny of Eric's idea about going to the dress shop. "But, after this morning, he thought it was not good to leave the house today. Maybe we can go tomorrow. I really just want to take a nap in the sun, honestly."
"Allow me to handle it, Miss Sookie. I know Miss Lucinda. You lie in the sun, preserve your strength. I'm sure it took a lot out of you to keep up your shields."
Sookie trudged upstairs to put on her bathing suit. She really wanted nothing more than to curl up with Eric, but she knew she would kick herself if she went home without a really good tan. She took a quick slug of her scent masking potion.
Dragging herself back down to the pool, Manny had already set up a thick towel on a chaise lounge, a pitcher of ice water and a small radio. She plopped down on her stomach and was out.
Manny woke her a bit later, made her eat some kind of cold fish salad that she loved and she laid on her back and was asleep in minutes again. He woke her again, reminding her she didn't want to burn, so she went inside and lay with Eric.
She woke this time to Eric staring at her. "Hi." She mumbled groggily. He didn't answer right away. She rubbed her eyes, more alert now.
"Gods, Sookie. You are killing me. The smell of the sun and such a strong fae scent-it is taking every bit of reserve I have not to attack you."
Uh-oh. She must have kicked up her fairy scent a few notches with this morning's display. She saw he was almost trembling, clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides, pupils fully dilated, nostrils flared. "Uh...Eric, I know I must smell yummy, but you have to snap out of it. At least as far as hurting me or the baby, remember?" He closed his eyes and tried to collect himself. When he opened them, his eyes had cleared a little and he seemed more calm. She arched her eyebrows at him in question and he nodded. She climbed on top of him.
"Now, as far as helping ease some of your...need," She rubbed herself against his cock, "to feed and fuck, I can help with that."
A few hours later, they came downstairs to find Manny had prepared a huge buffet for Sookie. Pulled pork, chicken, more shrimp and scallops and of course rice, beans, plantains and yucca. Sookie dug in. They had done very little talking upstairs, so they started from the beginning.
Sookie told Eric her version of the morning. He knew most of it already, but she did tell him about that instinctual feeling she had to protect him, to be calm when she almost panicked, and that tingling sense of power she felt revving up.
He mulled that over, then told her his point of view. "The noise downstairs was what woke me. My light barrier was already surrounding me when I awoke. I must have been fairly wakeful, because I would not normally hear something like that in my daily rest. I am wondering if your distress is what kept me in a light rest. When I heard the commotion, I grabbed a dagger I put on the bedside table," Sookie stifled a giggle, "and prepared for attack. The rest you know, because you came back to the bedroom then. I noticed how our lights combined when you came in. That is useful to know for the future. I get the impression, when there is trouble, the powers that be want us together."
"I feel like that, too. I seem to remember a dream or thought I had about trusting our powers to keep us safe."
"That is a good thing, then."
"I wonder how the shield knew to protect us. And when to disappear. Does it work like Frodo's Sting sword in Lord of the Rings, that glowed when Orcs were near? Our shields pop up when danger is near? I just woke up and it was there."
He gave her a funny look, at her movie reference. "That may very well be, Sookie. We were both sleeping when it happened, so we would not have felt fear or danger at that time.
"Do you have any ideas who was behind it? The intruders, I mean."
"At any sign of trouble, especially when it involves both of us, I will always suspect Victor Madden or Felipe de Castro, though I cannot prove it in this case." He called out, "Manny. Did you find any more on those two?"
He came up behind them, even startling Eric a little. "Si, Senor Northman. Their car was found several miles away, hidden inside the forests. The car was a rental. There were bags with a few personal belongings in them and two Venezuelan passports." He handed them to Eric. "And several lengths of rope, a large canvas bag, big enough to carry a body and two sets of iron shackles." Sookie shivered.
"So, they were planning on taking you, Sookie." Eric ground out between clenched teeth, murder in his eyes. "If they were this sloppy, they must not have been very smart, or organized. But someone told them to come during the day, when they thought I would be at rest." He was thoughtful for a bit. "Did you dispose of their bodies?"
He cleared her plates and brought her some flan. "No Senor. I thought you might want to look them over, since you could not this morning."
Eric stood up. "Sookie, I am going to go into the garage for a moment. I am guessing you would like to stay here?"
"You guessed right."
She took a tentative bite of her desert, and decided it was delicious.
"I will be right back."
"Mm-hmm." While she ate her flan, she thought back to a time when having two dead bodies, that had recently made an attempt to kidnap her, in the same house would have upset her. She certainly wouldn't be wolfing down food casually, while Eric went and sniffed them up. She felt no remorse and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. But they had been a threat to her and Eric and the baby, so they deserved none. She mentally shrugged and finished the last bite.
Eric and Manny came back in. "Anything?"
"Other than a stronger smell of whatever vampire was last in contact with them, nothing. They were at least smart enough to carry only pre-paid cell phones with a deleted call history. You may dispose of them now, thank you, Manny."
"Before I go, Miss Sookie, Senora Lucinda wanted me to say you may go to her shop any evening of your choice. She said to call this number and she would be happy to meet you there and help you find any clothing you need. She understands the special vampire hours needed and often makes this exception for tourists, especially those from Casa Noche."
"Cool! Thank you!"
"Shall we do this tonight Sookie? It would be a nice diversion from today's stress. Or did you have something else in mind for us?"
"No, that sounds fun. It would be nice to do something light after today, for sure." She stood and stretched. Eric was already dialing the number. He greeted whoever answered and told them they would be there in one hour.
He gave her his arm, "Take a romantic walk on the beach?"
"Why, yes! That sounds nice." He led the way.
They walked on the beach, but intentionally avoided talking about the day. They had talked about that enough.
Sookie noticed, while Eric tried to appear relaxed, he was hyper-alert; eyes constantly surveying the area, muscles tensed and prepared for defense. They strolled, Sookie talking about the Duende powers she had learned of from Manny.
She pulled on his hand to get him to stop. She sat them down on the sand, to look out at the water. It could not have been more beautiful. The moon, while a small sliver, appeared huge, just above the horizon; the water, accented by crashing waves. Being here, with him, damn what happened that afternoon; she was never so happy and she tried to push it through the bond to him. She babbled on about mundane things and Eric politely had the right responses, but he was too busy being on high alert to really be with her right then.
Turning to face him, she took his shoulders and shook him a little, or, as much as she could. "Eric. I know you are trying to protect us, and I love you for it, but stop. There is not a more skilled warrior, a better protector than you. That is enough. If someone comes to attack us, you can protect us. You always have, without fail. You have always been the first person to just enjoy the moment and this should be no different."
She felt his body relax and a shift in the bond she didn't realize he had been blocking. "I am sorry, Sookie. Since we found out about the baby, I have felt this over-protective drive to guard you like a hawk. I was doing a decent job of not allowing it to take over, but after today, it came back full force." He brushed a lock of her hair from her face and lifted her hand up to kiss it. "From this moment on, we will enjoy our time left here, at this oasis."
He bent her over to plant a kiss on her that made her toes curl and her panties melt off. Pulling back, reluctantly, "We have a date at a dress shop, so I will not begin something we will both want to finish." He pulled her in between his legs and he wrapped his arms around her, and they stared out to the sea. Rubbing his hands across her tummy, "My son will love the ocean."
She laughed, "You're sure? What if he gets sea sick?"
"Impossible. My son will be every bit the Viking his father is."
She patted his hands, just happy he was enjoying himself again. "Yes, baby. Just don't be too upset if he wants to learn ballet," she teased.
"Ballet can be very useful for choreography in sword play and athletics. I am not opposed to that." He scoffed back, indignantly. "Besides, it is a great way to meet women," he teased back.
They bantered on a bit more, their mood lifted. He stood and dusted them both off of sand. "Are you ready, my love? Lucinda awaits."
"Let's go." She was actually excited. She'd never shopped at a store when it was closed before.
"To warn you, I am buying every dress that you like and that looks good on you. Do not look at price tags. It is non-negotiable." He said in a tough voice.
She slanted her eyes at him, "Hhmph." He carried her back to the car, set her in her seat and they were off for their date at the dress shop.
