CHAPTER 53
Problems in Bon Temps have spilled over into Shreveport and Sookie and Eric are left to deal with them one at a time.
SPOV
"Sookie!" Jason called out and his eyes shifted down to the ground. He turned to leave, but I stopped him from taking another step. I read his thoughts and now turned my attention to Sam; the reason for this interruption.
Sam faced the frozen Jason and I volleyed my light at the door, shutting it and preventing him from leaving. I disentangled myself from Eric and my lust, now burned with anger at Sam for telling my brother about my relationship with Eric. I had planned on telling Jason over the holidays, but now that was no longer an option. Eric remained seated as I approached Sam and he backed away from me. I called one of my chainmail gloves and it appeared in my hand. As soon as I put it on, I backhanded Sam, leaving an imprint on his face. He fell over to the floor grasping at the spot I had hit him.
"Stay on the fucking ground. You had no right." I yelled at Sam and released my brother from my hold. "Jason, I will explain everything, but please remain quiet and sit on the sofa."
He moved awkwardly toward the sofa and for the first time in my life, he actually looked fearful of me. I didn't want him to fear me, but I wanted Sam too. From Jason's thoughts, I had ascertained that he had just gone back outside to return to his friends, but was intercepted by Sam. Sam had asked Jason where I was and Jason answered that I was with Eric. Then Sam revealed to Jason that Eric and I were involved and he needed to speak with Eric. So Sam led them both back here unannounced; Jason came with him because he was shocked that I was dating a vampire and Sam wanted to speak with Eric immediately, because he needed help with a situation in Bon Temps. The fault lied with Sam and that was who was in my sights right now. I grabbed at his collar and dragged him over to one of Eric's chairs.
"Sit and ask what you came here to ask." I said to him and watched as he pulled himself up to the chair. His face swelling from where I had struck him. He was a shifter he'd heal.
I walked back around to Eric's desk and stood behind him at his side. Eric didn't say a word the whole time I was rearranging our uninvited guests, but I knew he was angry at their intrusion.
Sam was rubbing his face and avoiding eye-contact with me. I waited for him to talk, but Eric was impatient and spoke first, "Shifter, you come into my bar and barge into my office. Speak quickly or I'll break your jaw so you won't be able to scream when she hits you again."
He finally gave up trying to stall and said, "One of my waitresses is missing. The last time someone heard from her she was coming from this bar. I have checked her apartment and she's not there and hasn't come into work the past three days. I need your help in finding her."
"Are you seeking my help, because you believe a vampire did it?" Eric said and leveled an accusing stare at Sam. His fangs slowly emerged from his mouth adding to the threat.
"That is a possibility, but I also wanted to know if you had any video cameras to see if you could retrace her steps." Sam answered uneasily.
I whispered into Eric's ear and he said to Sam, "Shifter, you will wait in the bar until I have made a decision on whether or not to help you. If you leave you will leave with nothing, but the questions you came with."
Sam stood from the chair and left the office. I removed myself from Eric's side and went to lock the door. Once he had left, I saw Eric pull out his phone, I assumed to tell Chow to keep an eye on him. There was still ten minutes until the doors were to open, so it should be easy for Chow to corral him if necessary, unless he shifted into something bigger than a dog. I walked back to Jason and sat next to him. He looked like he was in shock.
"Jason." I said in a quiet voice. I heard Eric's chair move and he was about to stand, but I gestured with my hand for him to remain where he was. I also had a feeling he wanted to glamour Jason. Twice was enough.
"Huh, yeah." He said feebly and continued to attend to a spot on the floor.
"Jason. I was going to tell you about Eric and me. I just wanted to wait until Christmas to do so, but now I know I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry you found out this way." I said.
He looked up from the ground and chanced a look at Eric. Finally, he made eye-contact with me and said, "I've been a terrible brother and I know I've kept you at arms-length, because I have always been scared of that part of myself; that supernatural side you have embraced. I'm sorry that you didn't feel you could trust me enough to let me know. If you're happy with a vampire then I guess it's all right with me. I know you can take care of yourself Sookie and watching you do that to Sam just proves it."
"Thank you Jason." He turned on the sofa and opened his arms to me. I hugged my brother and felt a sense of calm come over me and I knew that was from Eric. He was relieved as well.
Jason stood from the sofa and walked toward Eric's desk. He offered his hand to Eric and said. "Please take care of my sister."
Eric rose from his chair and took Jason's hand to say, "You have my word, but in order to do so, you must keep this information to yourself as it is not common knowledge that your sister and I are linked. She is protected the less people know; especially from my kind."
"I will and I'm just happy that I get to know that my sister has someone special in her life." Jason said and turned away from Eric and the seriousness that had come over him slowly diminished until he was back to being my carefree brother. He clapped his hands together and said, "All right, I'm going to get my drink on and toast to new love. See you two out there." And with that he left the office.
I locked the door behind Jason and turned back to Eric sitting at his desk, "That went surprisingly well."
"I thought so." I popped onto his lap and all I wanted was for him to hold me. He indulged me and cradled me in his arms. "What do you want to do with Sam?"
"His problem and Jason's friend are one in the same?" He inferred based on my answer I gave him when Sam asked about his waitress. I had told him I knew where she was and he correctly guessed the reason for that was because I had read Jason's friend.
"Unfortunately they do." I said, confirming his assumption.
"What else do you know?" He asked.
My mind returned to the horrific scene, I had seen in his mind and I recalled what I knew to Eric, "Rene's holding her at his apartment chained to his bed. He hasn't been able to kill her yet, but he has been raping her. The initial rage over finding his sister with a vampire led him to kill and rape her and he is reliving the act with other women. He needs to be stopped."
"I will send Thalia to retrieve her. She will also wipe her memory and heal her as necessary. She does not need to live on remembering what has happened to her. Do you agree?"
"Yes. No one should have to remember that. How would you like to proceed with Rene?"
"I had bought you a ballistic gel dummy to play with, but I think he'll be a worthy substitute. He's got six more hours of life left in him; let's give him some false hope." Eric stood from his chair and kissed the crown of my head, gently placing me on the floor.
I straightened my dress and said, "I'll go get Sam."
I took a deep breath and walked out of the office to retrieve Sam to start another night of intrigue at Fangtasia. Never a dull a moment.
EPOV
I watched Sookie leave the office and considered what would have happened if we had not caught this murderer in time. Would he have gone after Sookie? I dismissed that thought, because I knew my lover would have been capable enough to handle such a useless, pathetic human such as him, but hatred was something that should not be underestimated and his issues ran deep. There was a knock on my door and I knew it was Sookie coming back with Sam.
"Enter." I echoed through the room and they came in.
This time Sookie remained behind Sam at the door and he returned to the chair he had previously occupied.
"I will help you with your problem, but you will owe me a favor." I said quickly.
"I did you a favor by not ratting you both out to the cops about the Rattrays." Sam said raising his voice to me.
Fucking shifter. I catapulted myself over my desk, knocking over his chair and him along with it. I wrapped my hand around his throat and began to squeeze, "Do you know what it's like to be drained of all of your blood? To feel your life slowly slipping away as your beating heart begins to sputter and the precious oxygen rich blood that feeds the synapses in your brain stop firing. I should drain you right now for even mentioning those useless excuses for life. I did you a favor, by wiping the earth of them. Don't ever forget that." I hissed at him, only inches from his face. I released his throat and retracted my fangs. "You'll have your waitress back by the morrow. Leave and don't you ever come into my office again unannounced or I will end you."
I waved him off and he crawled like the dog he was up to his feet. He rushed past Sookie and she promptly shut the door behind him.
"That was fun." Sookie said and lay down on the sofa.
I vamped over to her and lay my body on top of hers, "Not as fun as it would have been if he had not interrupted us." I kissed her neck with a promise.
"At least we both got a few knocks in. Didn't we?" She said.
I pulled my head away from her neck and faced her, "Yes, we did lover. Now it's time to make sure our guest of dishonor has a good time tonight, before we make him squeal."
"All right, I'm going to go save Amelia and I'll see you on the floor." She said.
So I kissed my predator goodbye to go obtain her prey.
SPOV
I left Eric's office and found the little group from Bon Temps at a table near the bar. They all had drinks, but Rene needed something stronger and lucky for me his glass was nearly empty. I went to Chow and asked him in Japanese for something sweet for Rene. He obliged me and in addition handed me my usual tonic water, there would be no alcohol for me tonight.
"Hello, everyone." I said and saddled up next to Jason and Amelia, placing my drinks on the table. "Rene I noticed you needed a refill, it's a Lemon Stake, enjoy."
"Oh, thank you Susannah." He said and smiled at me in thanks.
I put on a happy smile and began to interject myself into their conversation. We talked about Pam, a lot, and I told them a fake story about how I knew her and spun a tall tale about her prowess with the male sex. Amelia was thankful from not having to talk anymore and she and Hoyt left the table to go dance. Eric came out onto the floor and the usual fervor at his appearance was notable with the Fangbangers present and Jason gave me a look.
"He's mine." I said to Jason, answering the question in his mind.
"What is yours?" Rene asked as he sipped the third cocktail I had given him.
"Oh I was talking about my Ducati outback." I lied smoothly; the motorcycle actually belonged to Maxwell surprisingly, "Nothing like having 800 cc of a powerful monster between your legs."
"I guess I could see the appeal." Rene said taking the hint I had just laid out for him and his mind revealed more and more of his crimes.
Jason looked at me curiously and continued to drink his beer deciding not to care that he was being left out of our conversation.
"So where are you from Rene?" I asked and began my interrogation.
He responded and lied every time. I was able to determine that after he had killed his sister, Cindy; he had changed his name and come to Bon Temps. The good thing about his name change and his lack of any family ties was that aside from the road crew he wouldn't be missed. We talked and Eric watched us interact. Rene asked me to dance with him and I told him that I am a terrible dancer and an even worse singer. By the fifth drink, his mind started to get hazy and I knew he was ready when his forehead hit the table.
"Rene, you okay man." Jason said with concern and shook his shoulder.
"Don't worry Jason, we'll call him a taxi and take him home." I told him and called Ginger over to me. I gave her a note to give to Eric.
Moments later Clancy appeared and picked up Rene and they disappeared in the direction of the basement.
"I'm going to dance Sookie, want to come?" Jason asked.
"No thank you, but I think Indira does. She's nice and she won't bite you, unless you want to of course." I said and gestured over to the sari-clad vampire at the edge of the floor looking over at us.
"Okay, thanks for a great night so far. I'm having a good time, especially because of the free booze."
"No problem Jason." I said and he left to go find Indira.
I walked casually through the crowd and down into the basement. When I made it to the bottom step I spied the unconscious Rene strapped to a metal table held at his wrists and ankles. His center was clamped down with a metal strap. Next to the table was a long box. Eric appeared behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Ready for your lesson tonight?" He said and walked past me to Rene on the table.
"More than ready." I said, even though I was unsure what he had planned. I knew whatever it was it would be of some use to me.
"That's what I like to hear." Eric said, "Any issues with our subject?"
"No he is literally a ghost. No one will miss him." I said from where I stood and crossed my arms over my chest waiting for Eric to instruct me on what to do.
"Good." he said and walked over to the box adjacent to Rene. He opened, extracting two daggers, one smooth and another with a serrated edge.
"Wakey, wakey Mr. Lenier." Eric said in a sing-song voice as he mildly slapped Rene's face to wake him up from his drunken stupor.
"What, what? Where am I?" He said as his eyes made contact with Eric.
"What happened to that Cajun accent?" Eric asked.
"Huh?" Rene mumbled and then tried to move. His eyes bulged and he tugged at his restraints when he finally realized the predicament he was in. He was going to scream, but Eric raised his eyes to me and I stopped Rene with my mind.
"Do you know who I am?" Eric said to Rene and ran the tip of the serrated dagger along his face. "I'm your executioner Rene. You have committed crimes against humanity and there will be no judge or jury for you. Your fate has been sealed. You will die tonight, but before I end your miserable life, you will experience the helplessness of your victims; the feeling of not having control over your body, absolute and utter, helplessness." Eric stood from Rene and walked over to me. He handed me the smooth dagger and I held it in my hand.
He switched to Swedish and said, "Have you ever stabbed a person Sookie?"
"No." I said honestly.
"I want you to experience what it feels like to sink a blade into flesh. Show me the motion you would use." He said.
I flipped the blade around and made a stabbing motion in the air at an invisible foe in front of me.
"You must keep your wrist tight, because you may encounter bone or some other armor or impediment that will prevent the blade from hitting its mark. Again." Eric ordered.
I again thrusted the blade into the air, keeping my wrist stationary. I repeated the action stepping forward in my thrusts.
"Bra. Let's begin." Eric said and walked back over to Rene. I followed and stood alongside the side of the table. [Good.]
"Rape is about control; taking control over a person's body through penetration. It's a demoralizing act. Vampires pierce flesh with our fangs to take blood, but we do not do this to control, but out of necessity. You say we are monsters, but the only monster in this room is you." Eric said in a steely cold voice and popped his fangs at the frozen form of Rene.
Even with his body held by my control I could hear his heart beating rapidly and his thoughts as he confessed all of his sins. I cringed at hearing what he had done to his sister and the rage he still had even with his contrition. I gripped tighter around the hilt of the dagger and kept my face a mask to the thoughts that were searing into my brain.
Eric brought the dagger just above Rene's throat with the point pressed against his Adam's apple and held it there letting him see the blade in front of him, then just as swiftly he ran it down his center removing all the buttons on his shirt. Eric took a key from his pocket and unlocked the center strap exposing all of Rene's body to us. With the blade still in his hand, Eric expertly cut away at his shirt until his whole torso was bare of clothing. Eric moved to a point on Rene's body and with a flick of his wrist carved a shallow "x" into his skin.
Eric turned to me and said, "This is where the appendix is located, halfway between the upper pelvic bone and the navel. If you stab him here he will bleed, but he will not die. There will be no bones in this spot, just flesh and a useless organ. You are in control now." Eric instructed in a very clinical way.
I watched Rene during this entire speech and saw his eyes darting furiously around in his head. His fear of his imminent death was strong. I shut him out of my head and readied myself. With the blade in my hand, I moved in one graceful stroke, sinking it into the mark on his abdomen until I heard the sound of metal on metal. I pulled the blade out and the blood started to come in spurts from his body from both exit wounds. I hastily backed away from Rene, dropping the blade and it clattered to the ground. I leaned my back against the wall and watched as Eric healed the opening of the wounds with his blood.
I was in a haze and conflicted at what I had just done. I knew I needed to learn this lesson of being able to experience the feel of cutting into flesh and harming another, but it was such a strange feeling. It was more intimate than using my fairy light to cause injury. This was close and personal and I could see the result of my actions had come directly from my hand. There was no sense of detachment, like one feels from killing using a gun, this was different. Eric walked up to me and held me to him.
"It's okay, Lover. We can stop now and I'll deal with him myself." He said in a soothing voice.
I looked up at him as he caressed my back, "No. I just need to focus. Show me more."
Eric picked up the fallen blade and returned it to my hand. The rest of the night was spent learning how to pierce flesh and it was not Rene's body, but Breandan's that I imagined on that slab of metal, until Eric made a final cut and Rene was no more.
A/N: Sookie popped her 'human flesh piercing' cherry; which means there will be more weapons training to come.
Disclaimer: I do not own SVM or its characters; I do not make any money from writing this.
