CHAPTER 56
"I'm wondering if I will be able to believe anything that comes out of Dermott's mouth," I said to Amelia. "I mean, really, can I ever trust anyone that was involved in the death of my parents? Maybe I shouldn't even talk to him. What do you think?"
Amelia was playing with Claudine, holding up the little stuffed collie that had been a gift from Sam, and bouncing it around like it was running in circles. The baby kept her eyes focused on the toy and would make a squealing noise once in a while when Amelia would make the dog dive in the air. It was almost, but not quite, like Claudine was laughing. Soon, I thought.
"Amelia, are you listening to me?"
"What, Sookie? Oh yeah, sorry. This baby is so sweet. I can't take my eyes off her. She's as cute as a button."
"I know that, Amelia, but I need to figure out what to do."
"Well, if you're asking me, which you shouldn't -- I trusted Bob after all and look where that got us -- I don't know, Sook. I think all of the fairies are dangerous, well, except maybe your cousin Claudine."
"God rest her soul," I threw in. Not that I knew if fairies had real souls, and from what I had seen so far they didn't necessarily believe in the same God as the rest of us, but it was habit to say that.
"So, maybe Niall was just full of shit and everything he said isn't to be trusted either. Although, really, how much did he actually say? Not much. He pretty much kept you in the dark. But those fairies that hurt you, they blamed Dermott for your parents, didn't they? And why would they lie about it at that point?"
"I've accepted that Dermott had something to do with that, Amelia. That's not the question really. The question is whether he will give me the truth now. Jason says that Dermott is sorry about what happened, and now that he is left behind he wants to spill his guts or something. I don't know."
I was exasperated with the whole situation. The Britlingens hadn't been back and I was starting to doubt whether they would have any help for us. Although their witches hadn't given up, so it was still a possibility that they would come up with something. I had been looking online for anything I could possibly find out about angels and there really wasn't much.
"You wouldn't believe some of this stuff online, Amelia. There's someone who saw Jesus in a tortilla in Mexico, and all kinds of people that see ghosts in photographs. Actually they look a lot like the angel spots we saw on our pictures."
"Most of those people are a bunch of whackos, Sook. I think the ancient legends probably have more truth in them than most of that stuff. Look at the fairy tales. It turns out a lot of that might be true."
"I guess. Man, you can waste a lot of time on this computer. And each thing is more bizarre than the next. But really, there isn't that much about angels in legends either, so I guess I have to admit that no one really knows much at all."
"It really sounds like she's laughing, Sookie. Don't you think?"
Amelia had brought down an assortment of toys from the nursery to show Claudine. Now she was waving around a Tinkerbelle Barbie that Pam had brought home. Pam just loved Barbie. I think she was disappointed that she couldn't shop off the rack for Claudine, and now she was going to end up buying out all the Barbie outfits instead, to get her fashion fix.
"Did you take the shoes off that Barbie? She'll choke on them if she gets a hold of them, Amelia. I wish Pam would quit putting those in her room and wait until she's a little older. Pam just forgets about little things like mortality! Vampires!"
"She might not be mortal, you know, Sook."
"Of course she's mortal. You don't see any other angels around, do you? Something killed them off, so she's not immortal. I don't think anything is actually. It's just that some things live a really long time. Like redwood trees. Or vampires."
"I'm sorry that Octavia and I couldn't come up with something magical, Sook. But we haven't given up. It's just that we'd have to be so careful, it's not like we can experiment on her. Octavia's working with some chickens, but she says it's not working out so well. I just couldn't do that, even though Octavia says chickens get killed all the time for food. I guess she's eating a lot of chicken soup these days."
"Ewww, gross, Amelia! I wish you hadn't told me that."
"Sorry, hon. You should quit second guessing yourself. Eric thinks Dermott is the only source of information left. He'll make sure that you are safe. I've got that house warded every which way possible and there's no chance Dermott will get into the house unless you let him in. Even Niall said that the wards would hold out any fairies. Just keep him on the porch and everybody will be fine, so long as the vamps don't go nuts with the fairy smell."
"He can mask it, that's why Tray didn't know he was half fairy. Dermott wouldn't have agreed to let me bring my vamps if he thought they would have him for dinner. Everyone has agreed to a truce for this meeting."
I turned off the computer and went to join Amelia and Claudine on the floor. Claudine seemed to be getting more "interactive" every day, and was trying hard to vocalize. As much work as babies could be, I could see why so many moms hated to have their babies grow up too fast. She was just so darned cute at this age, interested in everything around her, but not mobile enough to be a nuisance or a real danger to herself. Before long I'd be chasing her round the house.
"Just leave the baby home, Sook. I'll watch her."
"I thought about that at first. I just can't explain it, Amelia, but I think if he sees her, he will want to help. She has this way with everyone."
"I know what you mean. It's like she's magnetic, everyone who sees her, loves her. Kind of like your brother is with women. Well, most women anyway."
Amelia was one of the few women that hadn't fallen for Jason in any way, even though she fell for just about every other handsome man that fell into her path. Okay, that was an unkind thing to think, but it wasn't far from the truth.
"What is she doing, Sook? It's like she's trying to reach out for something."
Claudine was arching her back and turning her head, and it did look like she was trying to get somewhere. Her attention had totally left Amelia and the toys and she seemed very focused.
"Eric must be awake," I said and a moment later, I could feel him myself.
"Does she always do that?"
"Just the last few days. She feels him before I do. They have a blood bond too."
"Is Daddy up, angel? Let's go see him. He will be so happy to see his little angel," I said to Claudine as I picked her up. I could feel her excitement to see Eric. She was definitely going to be a daddy's girl. I made our excuses to Amelia and headed up to the bedroom, stopping off to change Claudine and pack up her diaper bag for our trip to Bon Temps.
Eric was partially dressed in jeans and boots, his chest still bare. He held a brush in his hand as if he had been about to tackle his tangle of wet hair when we walked in. He laid down the brush and held out his hands for Claudine who was wiggling and cooing at seeing her daddy. I handed the baby to Eric and gave him a quick kiss.
"My little beauty, have you been a good girl for your mother today?" Eric asked the baby as he snuggled her in his arms.
"She's been an angel today, sweetie. We both had a good long nap and she's been playing Barbie with Amelia."
Eric rolled his eyes at the mention of Barbie, or maybe it was the mention of Amelia. I didn't press the issue. I had a feeling he placed them both in the same category sometimes.
"Sit down and I'll do your hair," I told Eric as I picked up the brush. Eric's hair lay sodden against his muscular shoulders. I grabbed a towel from the rack in the bathroom and dried it a bit, then took my time to smooth out the beautiful strands with the brush while he tickled Claudine. Perhaps it was just a delaying tactic since I was so nervous about our upcoming meeting with Dermott, but this family time in our room together had become important to all three of us.
"Her hair is the same color as ours. I think soon I will be able to put it in little pig tails."
"Little girls usually wear those silly little pink bows in their hair these days, don't they?"
"I'm surprised you'd even notice something like that, Eric. I didn't think you paid much attention to children."
"I like children, Sookie, not that I see many of them. Their parents tend to keep them away from vampire haunts, of course, as they should. And most of them are long in bed by the time we are out and about."
"To tell you the truth, I would never have considered bringing a child around vampires either, if my child didn't have a vampire for her daddy. Did you miss being around kids?"
His chest moved a bit and a sound escaped him sounding almost like a sigh.
"Yes, especially at first, although for a new vampire, no human is safe around us and I avoided anywhere they might be, when I could. Over time, you no longer consider them at all, at least most of us don't. There are exceptions to every rule, and there are some few that would feed on children. Most of us would disapprove and I would kill any vampire in my territory that would feed on a child."
"I would hope so! Do you think I should just leave her home tonight, Eric? Amelia offered to babysit."
He stopped playing with the baby and held her close against him for a moment before he spoke.
"I believe that he will be more amenable to offer assistance if he can see her. She has some magic of her own and it may charm even a fairy."
He paused for a moment and looked down at Claudine, who was nuzzling against him, her lips making little sucking sounds against his chest. Seemingly without thinking, he brought one of his fingers up to his mouth, pricked it on his fang and put it to the baby's lips. She sucked on it contentedly. The aroma of his blood filled my nostrils and my body stirred instinctively in response. I moved away from him. Later.
"We have arranged the terms very carefully. He is to stay outside and you are to stay inside. He has agreed to have three vampires to stand with him, and three vampires inside. He will have your brother with him, although not as hostage, and obviously not as protection."
Jason might be a panther, but he was nowhere near strong enough to take on a vampire or a fairy by himself.
"I don't want Jason to be hurt, Eric."
"He knows that as well as I, Lover. He hopes that Jason's presence will discourage any one from getting too enthusiastic in their disapproval, if he should be considered….disrespectful. But I have given my word that no harm will come to him this night if he makes no move against us in any way, to abduct or to injure or to alter in any form that is not agreed upon. I do not think he would have agreed to the terms if he meant you or the child harm."
The terms were definitely in our favor. I had seen that vampires were a real threat to fairies. Granted, this fairy did not seem sensitive to iron and might not be stopped by a squirt gun filled with lemon juice, but six against one were killing odds.
"And he has given his word," I said, and it wasn't a question.
"Yes, but I do not completely trust any fairy, although they rarely will give their word and, to my knowledge, it is held sacred among their kind."
One thing I had learned, and I had had to learn it the hard way, was that Eric did very little that was not well considered. If Eric thought we were safe, then I would trust that decision, but it didn't mean I wasn't still a little afraid. I knew how frightening fairies could be, but then I was usually surrounded by vampires, and they weren't known for their gentle ways either.
Claudine had finished her little snack, and was resting her head against the cool skin of Eric's chest. I wished I could just spend the evening curled up in his lap. Picking up my emotions from our bond, Eric extended his hand to me and kissed the tips of my fingers, one by one.
"Later," he said and I nodded.
The ride to Bon Temps was uneventful. Eric didn't even protest when I took the time to get Claudine settled in her car seat. The evenings were getting cold and I had asked our tailor to fashion something warm for Claudine that might encompass her wings too. She was in what basically amounted to a sack with arms. The soft, lined blue fabric cocooned her body, zipping up the front and her little feet kicked against it, making a swishing sound in the car. The only other sound was Thalia, sitting on the other side of the baby, tapping her nails against the hilt of her sword.
Jason's truck was already parked at the house, and he got out of the truck and walked onto the porch carrying a beer as we pulled in. Eric turned to me in the back seat and asked me to stay put as he and Thalia exited the car. Jordun and Thomas escorted Amelia to the house, giving her a moment to check that the wards hadn't been altered before all of the vampires surrounded me and Claudine as we walked into the kitchen.
"Hey Sookie," Jason said as he gave Claudine a little peck on the cheek, and then after a moment, he gave me one too. He nodded to Eric, and then put on his chick magnet grin for Thalia, changing it to a wide-eyed stare when he saw her big sword. He looked alarmed when he noticed Jan, who had pulled a small cross bow out from under his coat and was loading it with an iron bolt with a wicked looking point at the end.
"How's it going, brother?"
Jason turned his attention back to me. "Okay, I guess. I'm not sure what this is all about, Sook, but Dermott said he was staying in the woods until I called him over. What's going on? I'm here like you asked me. You're not planning to take him out, are you?" Jason actually looked concerned. I was beginning to think that my brother might have developed true affection for the half fairy.
"Thanks, Jason. I appreciate that you came, and no, we aren't planning anything violent. We just want to talk to Dermott and get some information. He wants you to stand with him, so he will know we mean him no harm. He knows I wouldn't want to lose you," I said, smiling, to reassure Jason who was looking very concerned at this point.
"Well, hell, I hope not, Sook, I'm your only brother! But this looks kinda serious. He just wants to talk to you, Sis. You're his family."
"And so were our parents, Jason." Jason looked a little abashed at that statement.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but I don't think he wants to hurt you, Sookie. And he wants to see the baby. I told him about her wings and he says she's something real special, an angel he says. He says no one would want to hurt an angel. Especially this little angel," he said, chucking Claudine on the chin and smiling at her. "She's gotta be the cutest baby ever, Sis."
"Listen, Jason. Everything will be fine. You go out and call Dermott, then just stand with him. Some of the vampires will be in the yard, but they won't start anything unless he goes after one of us. We're going to stay in here by the door where he can't get in and we'll just talk with him."
"Okay, Sis, I guess I can do that. I'm just gonna get me another beer," he said as he polished off the first bottle, leaving it on the counter. I rolled my eyes. My brother really was one sandwich short of a picnic. Jason walked out to his truck, grabbed a beer, and headed to the edge of the woods.
A few moments later, Dermott walked with Jason to the edge of the porch. Daniel, Thomas and Jordun flanked them, looking dangerous with their swords unsheathed. I took a deep breath, looked once at Eric and walked over to stand by the door.
"Niece," Dermott said to me and nodded. He didn't even bother to look at the vampires, as if they were of no concern to him. Standing next to my brother, it looked like he and Jason could almost be twins except for the glow that seemed to hover over the fairy. I wondered if Jason could even see that Dermott glowed. Probably not.
"Uncle," I replied and nodded back. He looked from me to Claudine, puzzlement in his face for a moment, until I remembered that she was still in her little snug sack. I handed her to Eric, unzipped her garment, and pulled her free of its enclosure. She fluttered her little wings out to their full expanse and Dermott's mouth dropped open.
"Father was right all along," he said, and it was my turn to be puzzled.
"Niall? What do you mean he was right? Right about what?"
A deep sadness seemed to fall like a shadow over Dermott's face and he looked away for a moment. Claudine, always one to want everyone's attention, made a small noise and reached out towards the open door, catching my great uncle's attention. The baby beamed a smile in his direction and he responded in kind, almost grudgingly at first, but then with his whole heart.
"He said he would bring them back, and I didn't believe him," Dermott said, his hand reaching out as if to bridge the distance between himself and the child. A sword, moving too quickly to be seen, was at his throat the moment his foot moved.
Jason gasped at the sudden movement, and turned to look at Thomas. The vampire's attention was totally fixed on the fairy and his eyes held death. Thomas might sometimes seem like one of "God's fools" as Bill had once called me, but he loved Claudine and he wouldn't think twice about killing in her defense.
"Hey man," Jason said, stepping forward. "He's not going to do anything. Back off!"
I was a little amazed at Jason coming to Dermott's defense, and even more amazed that he would stand up to an armed vampire. But my brother, for all that he didn't have a brain in his head, had always been a brave man, even to the point of foolhardiness. He was out of his league in this group, and I think he knew that, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from a show of bravado.
"Stackhouse, don't be foolish. Thomas, lower your weapon," Eric said, and Thomas complied instantly. I took a deep breath. Dermott stayed where he was and Jason visibly relaxed.
"Perhaps you would care to explain," Eric said to Dermott.
Jan brought me a chair, and I sat down to listen as Dermott began his story. My instincts had said to just invite him in, but Eric, as if again knowing what was going on in my mind, pressed his hand to my shoulder and shook his head.
"The angels, in their true form, have been gone for thousands of years, existing now only in legend, or so we thought. Their images survive in art and sculpture and they were beautiful beings, their bodies as exquisite as their wings. It is said that they did not speak, but they whispered in people's minds, influencing them for good. Your world too has retained the legend of angels, although the humans believe that they were servants of your god."
I noticed that he called it "our" world, even though now it was his too, since he couldn't return to the fae lands. Perhaps he thought he might still, and I was sure he would get to that. But for now, I sat on the edge of my seat, hoping that he could tell us what we had been yearning to know.
"The angels were not rulers, neither were they servants. They moved between worlds, bringing peace and prosperity with them. Some believe that they created the first portals that allowed the fae to enter this world. They were messengers and sometimes guardians for those that traveled here, as the creatures of this world were savages and war and ignorance reigned upon the earth. They brought fire and the tools of civilization to the humans."
"But what happened to them?" Jason asked, his impatience showing as Dermott paused to collect his thoughts.
"They began to fall from the sky, and as they died, the boundaries of the fae world began to diminish. No new angels were born, and very few fae. The fairies, who had thought themselves immortal, began to die out. Their lives were still long by human standards, but they began to slowly age, and they also began to take sides against each other, and more died in the wars that followed."
"And no one knew what was killing the angels?" I asked.
"No. Some believed that it was contamination from this world, and that the portals should be sealed. Others said that we would die out completely if we didn't establish strongholds in other worlds before ours died. It is an old argument, and there has never been an answer."
"But that was what Niall and Breandon were fighting over," I said, " and you too."
"Breandon believed that our world would not heal until we closed ourselves off from the human world and that the angels' downfall began when they mixed their blood with the humans."
"The Bible talks about that," I told him. "When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown," I quoted. "And God punished the angels and locked them away until Judgment Day," I concluded, although I couldn't come up with a quote for that.
"We do not believe in this god of yours," he said dismissively.
"And what about Niall? What did you mean when you said that he was right all along?"
"He thought we could bring the angels back. There are those of our kind that carry a spirit with them. It is said that they are the angels' descendents and that the spirit is the soul of an angel. These he singled out to be guardians, and to practice the ways of the angels. He believed that if they could become one with that spirit, they might become angels themselves and with the return of angels, fairy would be healed."
"Claudine," I said, and he nodded.
"There have been others, too, and he set these guardians to watch over the descendents of the angels in this world. Others searched near the portals, and in places where magic seemed to linger, places like Bon Temps, where Fintan found your grandmother. Very few have been found."
"So Niall lied to me. Fintan didn't accidentally come upon my grandmother. He was sent to rape her."
"Oh no, child, Fintan would not have raped her. He would not have attempted to breed an angel with an act of violence. Perhaps Fintan used his glamour and without it, your grandmother would not have been so easily swayed, perhaps not. That we will not ever know. But he would not have taken her without her consent."
Well, an act of violence had certainly had something to do with producing my angel, although the rape itself might not have been the only contributing factor. It may have produced a child, a fairy child, but I truly believed that my cousin's act of sacrificing her own child to protect me had had something to do with Claudine becoming an angel.
"And how did he know that my grandmother might have angel blood?" I asked, but I suspected that I already knew – the fairies could see the angel spots.
"The spirit is sometimes visible, to those that watch for it," he said. And they didn't need a camera to see it, I guessed.
"But you didn't believe your father," I prompted.
"No. I thought we were weakening ourselves farther by mixing our blood with the humans, and that by broadening our interaction with the humans, we were hastening our end."
"But you are half human."
Dermott didn't reply to this, and my mind puzzled over what all he had said.
"Niall owned companies that did medical research. Did that fit into the picture somehow?"
Dermott looked surprised that I knew about that, but then he might not know that Niall had left those companies to me as part of his estate.
"Yes. Niall saw great promise in modern science. He hoped that the growing field of genetics might give him a tool to identify those that would have potential."
Like we were a bunch of plants and he was trying to breed insect resistant corn or something, I thought.
"Then he would breed them with the fairies that he chose," I said, my disgust at the thought leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
"Yes."
"And what about me? Did he have someone picked out for me?"
"He didn't know about you at first, about your gift. Fintan was able to keep your family hidden for many years, to protect you from Breandon, but it shielded you from Niall too. When Fintan was killed…"
I cut him off before he could finish that statement. I didn't really want to know anymore what Niall's plan for me had been.
"Did you help kill your brother?" I said in an accusing tone.
"No. I loved my brother, although I did not agree with him."
"But you killed his son, my father, and my mother too."
"I helped Breandon and his followers to do that. I see now that I was wrong." He looked again at Claudine, who had fallen asleep against my breast.
He didn't sound nearly apologetic enough to me, but then no amount of apology could make up for something like what he had done.
"I came here tonight to ask you to help Claudine, but I don't know anymore if I want your help. I don't know if I can ever trust any fairy ever again."
I was fighting back the tears --- tears of anger over the lies and betrayals, and tears of grief over all who had been lost. My cousin Claudine, my fairy godmother, must have known what the plan for me was, and she hadn't told me.
Eric had been completely quiet during this conversation, and I looked to him now to see what he wanted to do. If there was one person I trusted completely, it was Eric. He looked down at me, sending me calm and comfort before he took a step forward and addressed Dermott.
"What did you hope to gain from this meeting, fairy, that you would leave yourself in such a vulnerable position?" he said, and if he were a snake, venom would have shot out of his mouth with his words.
For the first time, Dermott acknowledged Eric, nodding his head slightly in a gesture of respect. I think it surprised Eric, although his face didn't show it.
"When first I heard about the child, I realized that my father must have been right after all. He would never have closed the portals if he knew about this, at least not without taking Sookie and the child. My life would be spared and I could go home if I came bearing this news. I know the secret of shielding her from the humans, and I hoped to trade that secret for the key, but now after seeing her…"
Only Amelia, Grace and Eric knew about the key, although Thomas looked briefly at the finger he had burned on it, and I could feel the wheels turning in his head. Eric made no acknowledgement that we had the key, and I followed his lead, controlling my facial expression. I'd had years of practice doing that. We waited for Dermott to continue, but he fixed his eyes again on Claudine and this time he looked ashamed.
"So, let me get this straight," Jason interjected. "Our great grandfather was going to whore out my sister to make these angels, so that you and your fairies could live forever or something. Is that about right? And you've just been hanging around with me, thinking you'd find this key or whatever, and you'd let those fuckers that raped my sister back loose on the world. I should kill you myself," Jason said.
The vampires as a group looked at Jason in surprise and with approval as he voiced the common sentiment. I was so proud of my brother that I didn't even yell at him for swearing in front of the baby. She was sleeping anyway.
"I think we are finished here," Eric said and I stood up, waking Claudine in the process. She whimpered and rubbed her face against my chest. It was probably about time for her to be fed, and I expected I would have to sit back down and nurse her before we began the drive home, but she had something different in mind. She arched her back, spread her wings and we all felt her magic as she reached out for Dermott.
"Claudine, no!" I said and tried to push her hands down, not wanting her to connect with my great uncle in any way, but it was too late. Dermott stood frozen, then dropped down to one knee and the magic spilled back in our direction, right through Amelia's wards.
"You have taken what I should have given freely," Dermott said to Claudine, bowing his head. "I offer you my loyalty and servitude, little angel."
The magic dissipated and there in my arms, looking for all the world like any other human child, Claudine smiled. Her wings had disappeared.
