CHAPTER 56

Sookie demonstrates to Niall what she has learned from her training and prepares for the pack meeting at Fangtasia with her favorite vampires.


SPOV

I woke with a start and a cold sweat had come over my face. I sat up in my darkened bedroom and immediately latched onto Eric's body next to mine. He was deathly still, but I still took comfort in holding him. I had dreamt I was drowning and I couldn't reach the surface, I was clawing upwards toward the light above the water, but I couldn't reach it. I sank further and further down like there was something I needed to reach at the bottom, something important. I held more tightly onto Eric and settled myself from my nightmare. After my heart rate returned to normal, I kissed Eric's cool lips and left the bed to get a glass of water.

I walked out of the bedroom and looked at my watch to see it was a mere 7:00am in the morning. With my long nights, I had been waking up past 10:00am almost every day. Once I had retrieved my water, I turned on the TV monitor to get a glimpse of the outside. I panned the cameras noticing how the morning light made the scenery look so startling different than under the light of the moon. We had remained on the roof till I had my fill of my meal and we made love under the moonlight until the flames died down and the embers turned to ash. The image of a familiar form brought me out of my ruminating of the previous night. I ran back into my bedroom to change and popped outside to meet my early morning visitor.

"Great-grandfather!" I shouted to him at my approach.

"Your cousins told me I could find you here." He said looking past me at the house.

"I live here." I answered simply.

"Then it was wise of you to have Claudine ward it. It is very quiet, but also very isolated." He responded and walked up to me. He brought his hands up to my temples and ran his thumbs through my hair in a familial gesture. He looked at me closely and didn't say a word. I met his examining stare with one of my own and tried to decipher what he was doing. After a few more seconds past, he released me and turned away.

"Why did you do that?" I asked to his retreating form.

"Just making sure my Great-granddaughter is in good health. You look well even with all the training you have been doing." He answered, but I was sure that was only part of the reason for his inspection. "I would like to test the skills you have learned. It's been little over a week since you've begun training and I'd like to see how far you have come since then."

"What would you like me to do?" I asked, now trusting that this was all he came for.

"Everything, but you will come back with me to Faery to do so." He said sternly.

"Now?" I asked.

"Yes. Does the Viking have you tasked with anything that requires your immediate attention?"

"No."

"Then we will go. Now." He said.

I turned back toward the house and padded my jacket to feel for my phone and the chainmail underneath. "Please grant me a minute to let him know where I will be going."

"As you wish."

I quickly texted Eric to let him know of my whereabouts, because I was unsure on how long this evaluation would take or if there would be any additional tests or training involved. I sent my love through the bond and allowed my Great-grandfather to take me.

We arrived not in the normal location I had become accustomed to when entering Faery, but in my Great-grandfather's receiving room. Set out on a table was a simple breakfast for two. He beckoned me to sit and we partook in the food before us. I remained silent, while we ate, still tired from the night before. As we continued to eat, I felt better and realized how nourishing the food here was even in such small amounts. My spark was also nourished too; as it became fulfilled by my just being in my Great-grandfather's presence.

"Claude told me you were ill the other day. You don't seem to be now." He said.

"It was only a temporary illness. Something had upset my stomach, but I am better now." I answered and took another helping of fruit.

"Good."

"Have you been able to obtain any information from the dissenters?" I asked inquiring on Neave and Lochlan. I didn't want to say their names and acknowledge them.

"They are strong-willed, but they will break like others before them." He said confidently. I tried not to imagine what he would be doing to them. I had administered torture by my own hand and I didn't have the stomach or the disposition for it; but I knew it was something that needed to be done.

I cleared my plate and looked up to see my Great-grandfather looking at me closely.

"I know you would like to ask something of me. Please ask." I insisted.

He set his silverware on the plate and said, "You've bonded with the Northman."

"I have." I answered plainly.

"But not completely." He said with a questioning eye.

"No, but I am his even if we complete it or not."

"And is he yours?"

"I wouldn't accept anything less."

He chuckled and looked beyond me to his assistant standing at the entryway to the room. At the wave of his hand, the assistant collected the plates and we both stood from the table. We left the room and I followed him deep into the bowels of the palace. Many of the staff not accustomed to seeing me gave me curious glances. Some because I was with Niall and other's because they knew I was not full fae. I ignored them either way. Our journey came to a halt at an iron door and Niall opened it with a shot of his fairy light and we entered a well-lit corridor.

The sterile lighting gave way to rows and rows of bars. Bars I knew were iron, but to protect the guards were encased by silver. We were in the dungeon. I followed my Great-grandfather along the narrow hallway and guards flanked us on both sides. I wanted to ask him why we were here, but I knew better than to question him in front of all of the guards. They acknowledged us as we past, and then returned to their ready position as soon as we approached the next set. We came to the end of the hallway with two doors at the end. They were labeled with iridescent red triangles. Two guards appeared and they opened both doors simultaneously. I looked beyond the openings to glimpse the two figures that had filled my nightmares, Neave and Lochlan.

We stayed just beyond the doorway and Niall had the individual guards enter each cell to remove the metal gags from their mouths. Sensing that both of their doors were open the siblings called out to the other. I watched their mouths, empty of teeth, move quickly and with purpose. They were known to cap their teeth in silver; Niall must have had them removed and not just the caps, they took them all the way down to the root. Niall turned to me and I silenced both of them with my mind. He moved into Lochlan's room and he urged me to follow him. I observed the male water fairy before me, bound to the floor in iron shackles. His whole body stretched out at his ankles and his wrists. He looked like a shell of himself with his wicked form in tatters from the obvious torture they had inflicted on him. I kept my eyes on his and I could see the flicker of recognition come across them.

We stood at his feet and Niall signaled me to release him. His voice came out in a hiss, "What right do you have to lead us, when you bring that abomination here. She's the one who should be shackled." Then his eyes turned to me, "I should have killed your parents before you were even born…"

I didn't want to hear any more of his hateful words, so I quickly silenced him once more. I came closer to him and I felt the guards move in closer as well. I could see Niall's hands were alight and ready to do what he must to protect me. He still feared the assassin even in his disabled state. I crouched down at the side of his face and attended to his eyes watching me carefully.

My hands hovered on each side of his face and I said coldly in the ancient language of my people, "You killed my parents. You will not kill me." And I unleashed my light at his mind and he faded into unconsciousness. At the same time I released my hold on Neave and she started screaming in the next room. I knew the twins had a deep connection and his pain that he no longer felt, was transferred to her.

I stood from Lochlan's still form and left his cell, not looking to see if Niall would follow me. I came to the end of the hallway and he took my hand. I turned to meet his embrace and we disappeared from the palace.

When I looked up from his arms I saw we were in a snow covered field. I released him and he took a step back from me, feeling the iron on my body.

"Why did you bring me to see them?" I asked.

"I wanted you to see what you will be fighting against. Breandan may only be one useless excuse for a fairy, but his followers' strength of conviction runs deep."

"I am familiar with intolerance. You should know that."

"I do, but the threat is real and you must be ready to face the hate that will be coming for you. It is because of this that you must spend most of your time in the human realm, because I fear some of this hate has or will infiltrate my palace. I cannot always be with you here. It is because of this reason that you will be safer there."

I didn't want to argue his threat assessment. I wanted to stay with Eric as much as possible. "I find that agreeable."

"What weapons do you have on you?" He asked.

Even in my haste to dress, I still remembered my chain mail and my iron dagger from Eric. It had become automatic to always equip myself with some form of defense before leaving any of my homes. I unstrapped the leather bindings off of my waist and gave him the sheathed dagger. He took it from my outstretched hands and pulled a kerchief from his pocket. Taking the fabric he wrapped it around the handle and pulled to reveal the iron blade.

He held it up to his eyes and turned it in his hand, "This is from the Viking."

"Yes." I said folding my arms across my chest.

"It's as old as he." He said, still examining the blade.

"I believe so." I said. Eric had told me it was one of the few things he was able to recover from his time as a human.

He pushed it back into the leather holder and placed it in the snow covered ground next to his feet. He closed his eyes and I was about to speak when we were surrounded by guards on all sides. I spun around to look at all of them standing there big and strong, all but one; Preston. He stepped out from their ranks and moved toward us. He stopped when he made it to the center and used his fae power to become an image of my nightmare. Preston's power was his ability to shift his form and now standing in front of me was Lochlan. I was ready for this test and was about to go after him, when my Great-grandfather grabbed my arm.

"You will not use your fae powers and neither will he. Show me what the Viking has taught you." He said and promptly released me.

I shed my jacket and a few gasps resonated from the guards when they saw what I was wearing. I thought Niall was going to have me remove the iron mail, but he let me keep it on. I could tell Preston was not amused and his eye twitched slightly at seeing my iron clad body. I already had the advantage, for I could feel his fear.

I didn't wait for my Great-grandfather to say we could begin; I charged at Preston, now Lochlan, through the snow and kicked up a wave of powder into his eyes. The icy cold particles effectively stunned him and he paused to clear his vision. In that moment I began my assault, pummeling Lochlan's body with my mail covered hands. His skin seared and burned, but I did not stop. Finally, he fell to the ground. I grappled with him and he shoved me backward and I fell hard on my back. Using my human senses I was able to hear him coming at me and I rolled my body, and he missed me by inches. I jumped back onto my feet and went for his head. Eric wanted me to protect my own, but Lochlan forgot to protect his, so I went for it. He was able to grab my leg and I threw myself backward dragging him with me into a snow bank. Lochlan was now on top of me and he punched at my ribs, I felt one of them fracture, but the pain didn't resonate in me. I kicked out his legs like I had done with Eric and sent my elbow barreling into his face. He howled in pain and I saw his blood splatter onto the white snow. I shoved him upward and kicked him squarely on his chest and he fell in a heap into the snow. I stood and kept circling my head with my hands, waiting for him to get back up. When I glanced down at my fallen opponent, it was no longer Lochlan's form, but Preston's. Niall appeared and checked on the prone fairy, I allowed myself to reach out to him with my telepathy and felt his mind. He was merely unconsciousness. I kept my ready position and watched as Niall stood and eyed his guards.

"Who here would like to fight my Great-granddaughter?" He said and all the men laughed. The only one that didn't was the one who was up next.

I fought this guard, but this time my Great-grandfather allowed me to use my powers and the field of snow was decimated as we used our light to fight each other. It melted at our feet and the ground became muddy. Who knew my mud wrestling with Pam could have been useful as I maneuvered out from my assailant time and time again. We teleported around each other and it became more of us evading than fighting, but eventually I was able to get ahead of him. I used my telepathy to track his movements and with expert timing I got him to teleport directly into my light and he fell to the ground. Niall swiftly called our session to an end and sent away all of the guards until I was left standing bruised and bloody in the muddy mock arena. I spit out the dirt and blood in my mouth. I needed water.

"Cave!" I said and disappeared from the field.

I appeared on the roof of my sanctuary and dove through the circular opening into the water below. The water was warm in comparison to the frosty climate outside. This difference in temperature was due to its location against an ancient volcano. The tepid water engulfed my body and I sank deeper and deeper to the bottom as it calmed my body still high from fighting. The nightmare I had this morning, came back to me, but this time nothing was pulling me down and I quickly swam to the surface. When I rose from the water, I saw my Great-grandfather waiting patiently for me with his arms crossed over his chest.

I emerged from the water, no longer caked with mud or blood, but still weary from the fighting. My side ached from where I had broken my ribs and I felt my other muscles scream at me for the exertion I had put on them. I slumped down onto a rock and shed my water-logged shoes. I twisted at my wet clothing trying to get as much of the water out as possible. The whole time I was trying to dry myself, my Great-grandfather just watched me intently. I winced as I removed my shirt and wrung out more of the water.

"You did well." He said and I looked up at him.

"Thank you." I said, feeling proud of his assessment.

I did the best I could do with the restraints given to me. I hoped the next time I fought it wouldn't last as long as it did and I wouldn't have taken on so much injury, but it was a start especially since I had never fought any fae outside of my family.

"I might have to keep you here to guard me." He said and I turned to him with a stunned look on my face, "I only say that in jest."

"It's hard to tell when you are joking, for you are always serious." I said. It was true. He wasn't one to joke, but then again he did joke with the guards after I fought Preston.

I watched as he unwrapped his arms from his chest to reveal my sheathed dagger in his hand. He handed it back to me.

"You are the only one in the realm that can wield iron." He said and looked down at the weapon in my hand. I wrapped it around my waist and he continued, "Look at your dagger."

I pulled the dagger from its leather home and held it up to the minimal light in the cave. The blade looked the same as before, but at the base where before there was only a letter M was now accompanied with the symbol that I held most dear to me; the sign for air, the sign for the sky. The symbol now encased the letter and I looked at Niall for an answer.

"Do you know what the original inscription means?" He asked.

"It's a letter." I said. I had not had the opportunity to ask Eric about the meaning, but I had a feeling my Great-grandfather knew exactly what it meant and he was about to tell me.

"It is in the runic alphabet, but in modern English it would be the equivalent of the letter E." He answered and he held his finger up to trace the letter in the air.

"Why did you do this?" I asked, wondering what else he had done to the blade aside from marking it as mine.

"It's an old blade, I merely strengthened it. Always keep it on you Sookie and remember what I said. Be safe my child."

"You as well." I kissed my Great-grandfather goodbye and left Faery feeling battle-weary, but content.

EPOV

I rose for the night feeling pain, but it was a pain that wasn't my own. It was from Sookie. Opening my eyes, I found her lying on top of me with her golden hair cascading in waves across my chest.

"Sookie, what has happened?" I said, paralyzed below her.

"I went to Faery and my Great-grandfather had me demonstrate to him what I had learned this past week." She said weakly.

I sat up slowly, careful not to harm her further. Her body was covered in bruises and she had small cuts all over. The smile that came across her face when our eyes finally met eased my concern, but what she needed from me was not just kind words or a warm smile. She needed my blood. I bit into my wrist and offered it to her.

"Dryck nu." I pressed. [Drink now.]

She took my arm into her hands imprinted by chainmail and began to drink from me. The bruises began to fade from her body and I could not only see her body healing, but feel it as the pain slowly diminished from the bond. She drank deeply and I her color began to return to her. My wrist healed and I bit into it again and once more she drank to heal her body. Finally, she had her fill and I waited for her to take the last drops of my blood off her lips. I cradled her warm body closer to mine and held her to me.

"He was proud of me." She said in a soft voice.

"He should be my little warrior." I said and lifted her up to face me.

A renewed expression crossed her face and she began to recount to me what had happened in Faery. She told her tale with vigor and it made me proud of her to hear her tell it with the strength I knew she was capable of. She still had so much to learn, but she had bested not one, but two male fairies in this test. Her body was a testament to her need to continue to train for she needed to be more efficient in her fighting or get caught unawares when she was in a moment of weakness allowing her enemies to exploit that. She will get there soon, I hoped.

After she had told her tale, we started to get ready to go to Fangtasia. I needed to attend to some of my Sheriff's duties and to prepare Sookie for her meeting with the Weres of Shreveport tomorrow night. Sookie had received information about the meeting from Flood's assistant and she was tasked with reviewing that tonight. I decided to drive us to Fangtasia as to not further weaken Sookie in her fragile state.

We arrived before Pam, and Sookie quickly began to print and go over the information about the Pack. The email she had received was a simple agenda, but it did provide some information about the Pack and who each of the speakers would be. She began to research each of them now. I sat at my desk and began to review the vampires that were seeking permission to reside in my area when an incessant fist began to knock on my office door.

"It's unlocked." I said to Pam.

"Just checking, because someone didn't listen to me." She said as she peeked around the door, giving Sookie a hard stare.

"Must have been my human hearing." Sookie smiled and returned to typing on her laptop from her seat on the couch.

"You can't use that as an excuse when someone sneaks up on you and rips out your thr..." Pam said and lunged at Sookie, but she popped across the room, "Damn, you're fast."

"Not as fast as the blonde twins out there, they want you to use your fangs to sign their breasts. Stay away from the redhead. She has Sino-Aids." Sookie advised to Pam.

"Glamour her appropriately, but do not harm the redhead. The authorities are tracking those humans and levy heavy punishments on any vampire that kills them." I ordered.

"There's also a man out there, dark hair and dark glasses. He's looking for you to swipe his fang-card. He's never been bitten and came all the way down here to have you be his first."

"Who needs a wingman when I have a Daywoman at my disposable? Thanks for the tips Fairy Princess. Before I leave to indulge in my buffet, is there anything you two need from me. I might be indisposed for the rest of the night."

"We're going on a field trip Pam!" Sookie squealed and frightened Pam slightly with her over-enthusiastic voice.

"You will go with Sookie tomorrow night to the Pack Meeting, but you are not to engage the Weres in any way. Sookie is supposed to be my liaison and if they feel she is only a figurehead they won't respect her. I need them to accept her and in turn accept this mutually beneficial form of cooperation."

"Protect the Daywoman, mouth shut, and hands to myself." Pam said back to me.

"Exactly." I said knowing my child would obey me in this regard.

"Contingency plan." She asked.

"If it all goes to hell, fuck my orders. Your number one priority is Sookie."

"Of course."

"Anything else to add, Lover." I said and looked over at Sookie.

"No, I think you've covered everything. Have a nice night Pam." Sookie said.

"Believe me, I will." Pam promptly left the office and shut the door behind her.

We both returned to our work and I would watch Sookie out of the corner of my eye in her fiery red dress typing away. Even though, I was angry at Colonel Flood for his lack of communication in regards to the witch, he was an organized and well-respected leader. He brought stability to his Pack and his military background kept them in line, for the most part. There were always those that wanted to bring trouble, but he was swift in his rulings and would not tolerate those that put themselves above the pack. It was even more important for the pack to be a unit, since the Weres had yet to come out in the open. If one Were came forward or did something detrimental to his kind, it may not just hurt the pack, but the entire populace of werewolves and other Weres alike. I didn't realize I had been staring at Sookie until she spoke.

"Do you think the Weres will behave tomorrow night?" She asked.

"Nothing to worry about, lover. Pam will be there and you have proven yourself time and time again that you can handle yourself. If they fall out of line, you can accommodate them like you did your friend Preston."

"That's always an option."

"Just monitor how much you reveal to them; the less the better." I said, hoping if she was called to fight she wouldn't have to open herself up to revealing all of her powers.

"Understood."

We returned to our respective paperwork and fell into silence. A few vampires would need to come into this office soon to make their claims for residency, so Sookie would need to leave. I was about to tell her that she needed to continue her work at home or in my booth, when I heard the door lock.

I looked up to see her at the door, gazing at me lustfully, "After I had fought this morning and I stood there bloody and bruised, all I wanted to do was you."

"That's bloodlust, Princess." I said and shut my laptop, still watching her carefully, waiting for her next move. She was so tempting standing there against the door as I imagined her in the throes of battle.

Her hands went to her back and she pulled down the zipper of her dress. She pulled it at the front and it fell in a puddle at her feet. Her naked body stood before me draped in chainmail, with the dagger I had given her securely wrapped around her thigh. She began to walk toward me in her red heels and the chainmail danced on her skin making a soft clinking sound as she moved. I didn't allow her to take more than two steps forward before I engulfed her in my arms and claimed her as my own to indulge in my own form of bloodlust.

God I loved this woman.


Clothes, Preston, and NSFW topless chainmail model: wwwDOTslickpicDOTcom/u/Alskl1ng/DayWOman/photo?&ref#1476731

Disclaimer: I do not own SVM or its characters; I do not make any money from writing this.