Chapter 36
Something sprang to life inside my mind; a little spark, that turned into a candle, and then a campfire, and finally it blazed with the power of the sun.
For a moment, a brief moment, I thought dawn had come and I would burn.
But it wasn't the sun I felt. It was Eric, through our bond, pushing his power into me, his life.
Eric was coming.
I fluttered my eyelids open and finally got a look at my attackers. They were three young men. They couldn't have been much older than me. And they looked perfectly normal. You wouldn't know they were drainers if you met them on the street.
One of them noticed me, and he frowned. "Why the fuck is she still looking at us?"
And at that moment, Eric flew in right through a window, glass flying everywhere.
"Get the fucking net!" one of the other guys yelled, and a second later Eric dove on top of him and ripped his head clean off.
The two other guys screamed and tried to run, but Eric was much faster, and he grabbed one of them by the arm and then decapitated him, too.
"Fuck man!" the last one yelled, and I could tell from his voice he was the one who'd touched me, who'd insisted the others touch me as well. Eric didn't kill him, though. He did break both his arms and both his legs, before he let him fall to the floor. The guy screamed but I hardly noticed it.
Eric was by my side and ripped the silver bonds off me with his bare hands. He looked at me in pure shock; I'd never seen that expression on his face before.
"Eric," I breathed in sheer relief.
"Sshh," Eric said, as he carefully pulled the needles from my arms. He picked something up and ripped into it with his fangs. He cupped the back of my head so he could hold it steady as he pressed something against my mouth.
I smelled blood, and I realized it was my own blood.
"Drink," Eric said, and I opened my mouth as best as I could and drank my own blood. Eric threw the bag to the side once it was empty, and replaced it with another full bag, and I drank again. He repeated this until all the blood the drainers had taken from me was back inside my body.
I still felt weak, though. So very weak. But Eric wasn't done yet. He picked up the screaming guy and manoeuvred him up and over me until his throat pressed against my mouth.
"Drain him," Eric said, and he didn't have to tell me twice. I doubted Eric knew what this guy in particular had done to me, but I knew, and I felt a sharp surge of sheer satisfaction as I sank my fangs into his throat and drank as deeply as I could.
"Fuck, man!" the guy cried out. "Don't kill me! We ain't never done this before, I swear!"
"And you will never do it again," Eric said, as I sucked and sucked, the guy's blood slowly warming my insides. I felt his heartbeat slow down just as his cries stopped, but I didn't care. I knew they'd have killed me if Eric hadn't come to my rescue, so for once I didn't care one bit I was draining a human to the point of death.
The guy's heartbeat stopped eventually, and Eric pulled the body away from me while I licked my lips. It fell to the floor with a dull thud.
I still didn't feel like myself, but at least I felt like I might one day recover completely.
Eric helped me to sit up and pressed my mouth against his throat. "Drink from me, my child," he whispered, and I sank my fangs into him at once. I was still hungry, even after having drained an entire human. Once Eric's blood flowed across my tongue I moaned in pure pleasure. This was my maker's blood and it was the best blood of all. Eric let me drink for longer than he'd ever let me before, but at some point he did gently pull my mouth away from his throat. I leaned against his chest, licking my lips, and I noticed that all the pain was gone now. All the silver burns I'd suffered had healed, at least.
"What happened?" Eric asked me softly as he stroked my hair. I wanted to cry, but I did my very best not to. I didn't want to lose anymore blood.
"Wal-mart," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Needed a camera for the blog. Van in parking lot. Didn't see them. Silver. No bond."
Eric held me closer and pressed his mouth against my hair. "I am so very sorry." His voice sounded oddly restrained. "I should not have cut you off."
"You promised," I whispered, because I needed to know why he'd cut me off after he'd promised never to do that again.
But Eric didn't say anything for a moment, just held me tight and kissed my hair and cheeks and lips. "I swear on my life I will never do that again, no matter the circumstances."
I wanted to believe him so very badly, but I couldn't. Not just yet. If Eric hadn't closed off our bond he'd have known the second I was taken, and he'd have come for me at once, and those bastards would never have had the chance to touch me or take my blood.
I hoped I could believe him some day. But now wasn't that day.
I was still weak and tired, and I leaned helplessly against Eric as he kissed every part of me he could reach. I must have zoned out for a moment, because the next thing I knew was Eric talking into his phone. I heard something about Chow and a cleanup crew and Pam and Wal-mart.
I did come to completely when Eric picked me up in his arms. We were out of the building and into the air in moments, and I clung to Eric with unsteady hands as I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, Dr Ludwig was looking at me, and as I glanced around I saw I was lying in a bed in an unfamiliar room. Eric was sitting right beside me, holding one of my hands.
"She's well on her way to recovery," Dr Ludwig said with a firm nod. "But a little cocktail might be in order."
She disappeared out of view, and I looked up at Eric, wondering where I was. But Eric didn't say anything. He just held my hand and stroked my hair.
Dr Ludwig returned shortly and held a large glass of the sweetest smelling blood I'd ever had against my lips. I drank eagerly, draining the glass of every last drop. This was better even than Sookie's blood!
At once I felt better, so much better in fact that I threw my sheets aside and tried to get up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Eric asked, as he pushed me back against the bed.
"I'm going to fly!" I said with conviction. "I'm going to fly to the moon, and then to the stars, and I'm going to touch them all!"
Eric looked at Dr Ludwig with a quirked eyebrow. "You gave her fairy blood?"
"Just a little cocktail," Dr Ludwig said. "Mostly human, with a bit of Were and yes, a bit of fairy. It should do her good."
I cupped both of Eric's cheeks with my hands and pressed a loud kiss to his mouth. "I love you. And I don't care that you say you don't care, you insufferable man, because I know you love me, too. Even if you can't admit that because you're emotionally constipated." And I kissed him again, and again, though at this point Eric's lips had gone slack against mine.
Dr Ludwig laughed as she strolled out of the room.
"You need to rest," Eric said firmly, as he sat back. He kept one hand on my chest so I couldn't get up again.
"You love me," I said, grinning, and then I started giggling and couldn't stop.
Eric stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
"See, you're not denying it!" I said, pointing a finger at his face.
Grabbing my finger, Eric leaned a little closer. "I do not even know what that word means," he said, and tucked my hand back under the sheets.
"I will teach you," I said, at once extremely happy to have that opportunity. "You are so old, and you don't even know what love means. That's so sad, but I will help you, don't worry. I know what love means, because I love you."
Eric sighed and stared at the ceiling. Dr Ludwig's laughter rang throughout the hallway.
I looked at Eric and smiled, completely at peace. "I love you so much. I love the way you look at me, and I love the way you adore my breasts, and I love the way you teach me everything I need to know, and I love the way you always hold my hand, like right now, see! And I love the way you lick me, because you have the most amazing tongue in the universe, and I love the way you share me with Godric - oh, and I love him, too - and I love - "
Eric cut me off with his lips, giving me a hard kiss. "I get it. You love me. Now rest."
"Okay," I said, because I was rather tired. I closed my eyes and zoned out.
When I came to, Dr Ludwig stood beside the bed, holding a tray with two glasses of blood and a couple of bottles of True Blood. I glanced around the room quickly. "Where's Eric?" I asked, instantly worried my maker had left me again.
"The sun only just set," Dr Ludwig said while she placed the tray on the table beside the bed. "I'm sure your master will be here shortly. Now, I need you to drink these two glasses of human blood. The True Blood is optional at this point."
I nodded, and accepted the first glass Dr Ludwig handed me. I drained it quickly, and immediately accepted the second glass and I drank it just as fast. I was pleased to note I could at least hold the glasses with my own two hands, though I still felt a little weaker than normal.
"Drink the True Blood if you get hungry. I'll be back with some more human blood later," Dr Ludwig said. She loaded the empty glasses on her tray and strolled out of the room.
"Thank you," I called after her when I remembered my manners.
This had to be the clinic Dr Ludwig had mentioned to me when she'd given me her card. Eric had taken me to the hospital. Had I been in such poor condition?
Memories flashed through my mind. Memories of pain and despair, and of Eric and blood. So much blood. And then the clinic, and Eric holding my hand, and -
Oh my goodness!
I clapped both hands over my mouth as I stared at the door. Had I really said all those things last night? Had I really professed my love again and again, and claimed Eric loved me, too?
Dr Ludwig had given me fairy blood, apparently, and that had certainly loosened my tongue. Godric had once told me fairy blood had an intoxicating effect on vampires.
Well, he'd sure been right, hadn't he?
I lay down against my pillows and pulled the sheet up over my head out of sheer embarrassment. And that's how Eric found me ten minutes later.
"Turid?" he asked cautiously, as he slowly pulled the sheet back from my face.
I looked up at him with a nervous smile. "Hi!"
Eric grinned, and then he started chuckling. "The fairy blood has worn off, I take it?"
In response, I pulled the sheet back over my head, and now Eric laughed, the bastard.
Dr Ludwig saved me as she stepped into the room. "Her condition is improving nicely," she said, and I slowly lowered the sheet again so I could look at her.
"I'd like to take her home tonight," Eric said, and for once he didn't sound like he was giving a command. He seemed genuinely interested in the doctor's opinion.
"That should be all right," Dr Ludwig said, and then gave Eric a stern look. "But she needs rest still, at least for a few more days. No hanky panky, Northman!"
Eric smiled charmingly at her.
"And she needs human blood, and lots of it. And if you are so inclined, giving her your blood would be good, too."
"That should be no problem," Eric said with a curt nod.
"She should be back up on her feet in a few days, but it may take a few weeks before she's back to her full strength." And now Dr Ludwig looked at me with a frown. "Take your time, witch. Don't rush your recovery."
"I won't. Thank you," I said sincerely. Dr Ludwig nodded at me and left the room.
"I brought some clothes for you," Eric said, holding up a plastic bag he'd brought with him. "Do you want to get dressed now?"
"Sure," I said, because going home sounded like a really good plan. Eric emptied the bag on my bed and then helped me into my clothes. He'd selected denim shorts, a powder-blue shirt and my flip-flops. No underwear, but I couldn't really care about that. Eric helped me sit on the edge of the bed, my legs dangling over the side.
"Ready to go home?" Eric asked as he studiously looked into my eyes. I nodded and tried to stand up but Eric was quicker. He scooped me up in his arms and proceeded to carry me from the room.
"Eric," I said in protest. "I can - "
"If you're going to tell me you can walk by yourself even after what the doctor just told you, I'm putting you back in bed and you can spend another day here," Eric told me with a hard look.
I wisely kept my mouth shut after that and graciously let Eric carry me out of the clinic.
As we passed Dr Ludwig, I said, "Thanks so much, Dr Ludwig."
Dr Ludwig stared after us. "A vampire with manners. Now that's a first," she said and shook her head.
I spotted Eric's Corvette, and Eric carefully put me down on my feet beside the passenger door. He kept an arm wrapped around my waist as he opened the door, and then helped me inside the car. He even fastened my seatbelt for me, which made me smile. I'd never seen Eric worry about seatbelts before. Eric got in behind the wheel and in seconds we were on our way home.
I stared out the window, unsure how to feel. I was happy Eric was here and didn't seem angry with me anymore, but I kept having these flashbacks that popped up for a few seconds each time. The scent of my flesh burning. The feel of fingers forcing their way inside me. All my blood draining from my body leaving me so very empty.
I heaved a deep sigh, and then remembered something else. I turned to look at Eric with wide eyes. "My car! And my purse! Shit, my credit cards were in my wallet. We need to - "
"Pam has collected your car and your purse," Eric said without looking at me. "Nothing was missing. She even found your new camera."
"Oh." I stared back out the window and wrapped my arms around my chest. More memories assaulted me. The complete feeling of helplessness. The inability to move even an inch of my body. "We never did train with silver," I whispered after a while.
Eric looked at me with a frown.
"When you made me touch that letter opener, you said you'd have me touch silver every day. But you never followed up on that."
"We have been busy with other things," Eric said neutrally. "Not that a few days of touching silver would have prepared you to fight off a silver net or silver restraints."
I stared at my wrists. I could still feel the silver burning my flesh. I could still smell it. "I want to learn," I said so softly I wasn't even sure if I was saying it out loud. "I want to learn to fight off silver enough that I can teleport. I couldn't even do that last night."
"If that is what you want," Eric said, and he still sounded a little bit detached.
"You don't think it's a good idea?" I asked, confused by his response. You'd think Eric would welcome me learning to teleport myself to safety even under such dire circumstances.
"No, it is a good idea," Eric said, and shifted in his seat as though he was restless. "But I don't enjoy seeing you burned by silver. It was Godric's idea to do it in the first place."
"Ah." I looked out the window again, and thought of Godric. He'd made Eric touch silver each day for a year after he'd turned him, so it made sense he'd want Eric to do the same with me. Except Eric didn't like doing it to me, apparently. And thinking of Godric made me wonder why he hadn't sensed my distress last night. When I'd been taken at the Fellowship of the Sun, my rather mild distress had woken up Godric two hours early. And why hadn't I thought of Godric earlier? Maybe if a child was in real danger, the only thing they could think of was their maker.
"What about Godric?" I asked, trying to understand his non-response.
"It's best if we don't tell him what happened," Eric said quickly.
"Huh?" I turned in my seat to look at Eric. "You haven't told Godric? But he should have sensed my pain, right?"
"Why?" Eric asked, nonplussed. "You are not his anymore."
"But I've had his blood," I said, and my voice hitched with some mild hysteria. Godric should have sensed my pain! Why didn't he come for me? Or why hadn't he at least called Eric to warn him?
"You've only had his blood twice," Eric explained patiently, yet he sounded just a bit more pleased than he should. "When you were human. Then I turned you, and now I am your master. He shouldn't be able to sense you at all, but because his blood is quite powerful, Godric can still sense your emotions when you are in physical proximity of each other, but not across state lines."
I pursed my lips and did a mental calculation. Godric had left right after sunset, and I had been taken by the drainers well after midnight. Godric had been back in Dallas at that point, none the wiser I was in such peril.
"We should tell him what happened," I said, not understanding why Eric didn't want him to know.
Eric glared at me. "I am your master and I forbid you to tell him!"
I bit my lip, and I started trembling, and then I started crying. "Oh, fuck," I said, and I tried to scoop up the tears and lick them from my fingers. I was making a mess off myself this way, but I didn't want to lose anymore blood. I'd lost enough already.
Eric pulled the car into the garage, shut off the engine, and leaned back in his seat.
"Why do you want to tell my maker?" he asked, his voice tight. "So he can punish me for almost getting you killed, because I wanted to hurt you? He'll never forgive me."
"Wait, what?" I asked, staring at Eric in shock. "You wanted to hurt me?"
"Not like this!" Eric snapped. "You said you were leaving me, and I wanted you to feel my pain and the only thing I could think of that would hurt you was to cut off our bond."
I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders heaving with sobs. Eric had done it on purpose. Not so he could examine his own emotions, like Godric had suggested, but merely out of spite, to hurt me.
"I said I was sorry," Eric whispered as he unlocked my seatbelt and pulled me close to him. "I never meant for you to get hurt like this."
"But I did get hurt like this," I said, curling up in a ball. I couldn't return Eric's embrace.
Eric sighed against my hair. "If I could take your place, I would."
I wasn't sure if I could believe him, or if I should. But then I remembered Godric's explanation of why he was leaving. He claimed my bond with Eric wasn't strong enough yet, and that his presence wasn't doing it any good. Eric had acted very oddly, hadn't he? One moment he seemed okay with sharing me, and the next he'd get all weird about it. Was this what Godric had meant? That Eric wasn't ready yet? He'd certainly lashed out in a way that would hurt me, by cutting off our bond. He just hadn't counted on any possible consequences of his actions, like me getting drained.
"I regret cutting you off more than I can say," Eric mumbled, and I pulled back a little so I could look at his face. Eric's expression was one of anguish, of pain. He seemed genuinely remorseful, but I wasn't sure if that was enough at this point.
"We have to tell Godric," I said, staring into Eric's eyes. "This is too big of a thing not to tell him."
"Fine," Eric said, his face becoming stony. "You tell him, and he'll come down here and tie me up with silver."
I gaped at Eric. "He wouldn't do that."
"Ha!" Eric threw his head back in mock amusement. "I've known my maker for a lot longer than you have, and trust me when I say he can be a vindictive little bastard. He wasn't always this cool and collected. I've seen him do things that would have you run screaming for the hills, my dearest child."
"Well," I said, unsure how to respond to that. "I'll tell him I don't want him to hurt you. That it would hurt me if he did that."
"Hm." Eric looked away from me for a moment and then gave a vague nod. "You make sure to tell him that."
"Okay." I opened the car door to get out, but Eric was out of the car and at my side in seconds. I sighed, but let him scoop me up in his arms anyway.
"You need to feed first," Eric said as he carried me inside the house and down the stairs to our lair. "Pam has stocked the fridge with human blood."
Eric put me down in a chair in his office, and opened the little fridge. I looked around him to see the fridge held only a few bottles of True Blood and the rest of the space was taken up by blood bags, the kind you would find in a hospital or a blood bank.
"How did you get those?" I asked, as Eric took two bags out, ripped them open, and poured them out into a large glass.
"We have our ways," Eric said, and popped the glass in the microwave until it was heated, and then he handed it to me.
I grasped it with both hands and drank the blood quickly. It tasted so good. Not as good as the fairy blood cocktail had, but still very sweet.
"Do you want more?" Eric asked, once my glass was empty.
"Is there enough?" I wondered how hard it was to get this much human blood.
"Don't worry about that," Eric said, with a fair amount of irritation. "Now, do you want more?"
I nodded, and Eric fixed me another glass, which I drained quickly. I felt much better, much warmer, and I let Eric carry me to the bathroom without any protest.
"Let's get you cleaned up," Eric said, and he drew a warm bath, adding sandalwood oil. The smell of it calmed me, reminded me of so many good times I'd had with Eric. He undressed first me, and then himself, and he carefully helped me inside the water before he seated himself behind me. I leaned back against his chest and closed my eyes.
The memories were back, flashes of pain and anguish, now that I didn't have anything else to think about. "How did you find me?" I asked softly, because I really wanted to know that.
"I came home and you weren't there," Eric said, his voice impassive, but I didn't mind. I realized these memories weren't good ones for him either. "I saw your laptop and figured you'd gone out shopping. I opened the bond a little to see if you were okay."
"But I wasn't," I said, when Eric didn't say anything more.
"No, you weren't," Eric whispered. "I tracked you down as quick as I could."
I nodded. I knew the rest of the story already. Eric had wrapped his arms around me, and I placed one hand on his, trailing his fingers with my own. We sat like that for a while, Eric holding me close and me touching him softly. But then Eric moved a hand down my body and the moment it landed between my legs I shot out of his embrace, water sloshing over the sides as I curled up at his feet, my knees drawn up as high as possible.
"Turid?" Eric asked hesitantly.
"We're not supposed to do any hanky panky," I said, but that wasn't why I'd moved. I just didn't want to feel any hands there, not now, not yet.
"Did they touch you?" Eric asked, his face dark like a thundercloud.
I shook my head, and then I nodded. "They didn't - " I couldn't even say the word. "They didn't go all the way. Just touched me a bit. It was unpleasant."
"I should have taken my time ripping them apart," Eric growled, and I shrank back a little further, which made Eric blink and then sigh.
"Come here," he said softly, holding out a hand to me. "Let me wash your hair."
I looked at him for a moment, and then I accepted his hand and let him pull me closer. I knew Eric would never force me like that. An insensitive prick he may be at times, but he wasn't like that, and I knew that for certain. I dipped my head in the water to wet my hair thoroughly, and then relaxed as well as I could while Eric massaged shampoo into my hair.
"I won't touch you there again until you ask me to," Eric said, after he'd rinsed out my hair.
"Okay," I said, thinking that sounded like a good deal. That was, until I remembered yet something else from the previous night. "You won't go fuck fangbangers now, will you? Did you fuck a fangbanger last night?"
Eric looked at me with wide eyes. Apparently he hadn't been expecting that subject to suddenly prop up. "No, I didn't fuck anyone last night. And I already told you I'd let you know when I start fucking other people again. That hasn't changed."
I nodded, and then leaned a little closer and pressed a kiss to his lips. Eric smiled against my mouth. It seemed weird for me to worry about this after everything that had happened, but I couldn't help it. Thinking of Eric with someone else still made me want to kill something.
Eric washed his own hair; he denied my offer to do it for him, saying I shouldn't strain myself. After that we got out of the tub, and Eric dried me off quickly, and he kept an arm around my waist while I brushed my teeth over the sink. Then he carried me to the bed and tucked me in under the sheets. He got in on the other side and pulled me close.
"You cleaned," he said out of the blue. I nodded against his shoulder. "It looks good," he said, and he sounded a little unsure, as though he wasn't quite certain if he should pay me a compliment for it or not. I smiled up at him, and after a second he returned it.
"Oh," I said, as I looked at the closet. "I had clothes that need dry cleaning. Could you - "
"Bobby has already picked them up," Eric said. "You should have them back tomorrow night."
"Thanks," I whispered, and relaxed against Eric's chest. I closed my eyes, but I didn't have a chance to slip into downtime, because my phone rang. I sat up and located my purse on my nightstand. I pulled my phone out, and checked the screen. I had three missed phone calls, and they were all from Godric. And of course, it was Godric calling again.
I flipped the phone open and glanced at Eric as I held it to my ear.
"Hi," I said, in a very small voice.
"Turid," Godric said, and there was obvious worry in his voice. "Has something happened?"
I swallowed, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling now that I heard Godric's concern for me. "Please don't hurt Eric," I whispered.
Godric remained silent for a few seconds, and then he said in a steely voice, "What has he done to you?"
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A/N: Uh-oh. Eric's in for it now! He really messed up this time. But you're all going to have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens, and to see if Turid can ever really forgive Eric for his mistakes. Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Let me know what you think. Your reviews keep me writing!