Living Lockdown in Louisiana
Chapter 8
"Ugh!" Sookie mumbled when the door shut behind her, struggling with ribbons of her corset. She stumbled through Pam's bedroom toward what had to be the closet in a disoriented rush. The dress was so tightly molded that she wondered if fairy magic had sealed it to her skin. Sookie undulated her shoulders in an attempt to stretch the fairy dress like a magician trying to escape a coil of chains. The bodice loosened a bit just as Sookie's shoes met shining white tile, and she kicked her heels off into oblivion.
Bit by bit the ribbons came apart until Sookie was finally able to wiggle the dress below her hips. The garment fell to the floor in a feathery cloud, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She kicked the dress half-heartedly out of spite, and finally raised her eyes.
Pam's closet was a large marble oval. A twinkling crystal chandelier hung over a double-sided vanity in the center, and the walls were lined with delicately beveled glass cabinets. Sookie's grim mood evaporated as her bare feet padded along finely veined white marble. The tiles heated as she walked, and lights gently brightened to life overhead. She peeked into the individually lit windows of cabinet after ceiling-high cabinet displaying the finest of the fine. The left side of the oval was filled with collections of couture coats, designer shoes, silk dresses and cashmere twinsets. Pencil skirts and tweed blazers sandwiched a marble-topped bureau which displayed a tasteful assortment of fine jewelry. Tiffany and Cartier pieces were displayed in thinner, more elegant cabinets. Natural pearls and large diamond stud earrings were laid out upon a black velvet cloth, as though these things were used most often. Sookie found nothing suitable for a battle and moved to the right side of the room.
The architecture of the right side was the same, with the same marble and white cabinetry, but the wardrobe was completely different. As Sookie crossed the center of the closet, she noticed a faint change in scent. From a light aura of lemon and freesia, the air she moved into smelled of a sweet, sexy musk. The left side housed Pam's work clothes. Vinyl, leather and lace. Boots and heels, all in black or red. All the pieces were undoubtably expensive, but they looked cheap regardless. The alcove on this side had a ruby drop necklace displayed, and a pair of haunting, diamond encrusted skull earrings.
Finding that section equally unhelpful, Sookie sought the back of the closet. There she found the two least worn categories of Pam's wardrobe: Victorian ballgowns and modern activewear.
"Thank Jesus", Sookie moaned as she pulled open the cabinet door. The hinges squeaked as though they hadn't been moved in quite some time. Most of the activewear forgotten in the back of Pam's closet was either too long for Sookie or too narrow, but she finally found a pair of raven-black leggings and long-sleeved running shirt that would suffice. A deep purple down vest matched a pair of running shoes that fit snugly but well enough. She folded the pieces she had chosen and set them on the vanity in the center of the closet.
The oval vanity in the center was split into halves by a large mirror that afforded perfect lighting to both sides. Much like the room, the left side was the demure, more natural side with soft colors and natural products and the right side housed the severe and theatrical, boasting the deepest reds and blackest liners. Sookie sat on the right for fun and found a ruby red brush. Brushing her hair felt like a luxury after such a day, and Sookie helped herself to Pam's skin care products while she was at it. She doubted her friend would mind.
The gorgeously appointed bedroom went mostly unnoticed in the dark as Sookie made her way to the soft looking area she assumed was a bed. Eyes half closed, she pulled back the heavy covers and slept where she fell among the pile of decorative throw pillows.
The sky dress deflated like a Christmas decoration on the elegant floor of Pam's closet. Deprived of purpose, the garment evaporated bit by bit, star by star, until all that was left was a feather and a pile of glittering dust.
The sunlight was direct and strong, heating Sookie's exposed shoulders. She shifted on the velvet tufted seat as if the movement could create shade and ease her discomfort. Facets of crystal caught the sun and glittered in her undulating skirt of clouds. The white building facades lining the street reflected the midday heat directly on the parade float, and Sookie felt as though she were sizzling in an oven. She grew hotter and hotter until her skirts caught on fire. The flames were small and slow, eating their way up her dress inch by inch. When the tiny licks finally reached her knees, the train began floating away in spent flecks of carbon. A plume of ash rose up and drifted, trailing the parade float like a black flag.
Sookie could see the flames and watched as they came closer and closer to devouring her skin. She could not move a muscle. With the crowds cheering and the sunlight shining, she resigned herself to her fiery fate.
A hand was thrust into her vision and a voice rang out in her thoughts.
"Not you, Princess. Not you."
Sookie took the familiar hand and was yanked out of her dream and into Pam's bedroom. Sookie sat up like a shot out of a pile of pillows and felt her legs, which were most certainly not on fire. She breathed a short sigh of relief.
"All right, lover?" Eric asked. His armor creaked as he leaned over his wife, inspecting her for injury. Sookie could hear the point of his sheathed sword scrape through the fine area rug that surrounded Pam's canopied bed. A short sword lay across her hip as he bent closer.
"I'm ok", she said weakly. Sookie's breath caught as his fingers grasped her chin and stretched her neck, inspecting it from all sides. He purred deep in his throat and kissed her jaw. And then below her ear. And then her throat. His fine blond hair tickled her skin as his cool breath fanned over her collar bone. Her hips arched of their own accord.
"What time is it?" Sookie asked, trying to lean around the massive form of her husband to find the bedside clock. Pam's fine bedside timepiece was set in a halo of large glittering crystals, but with a digital face. Sookie found the juxtaposition hilarious for some reason. She could see the glittering display of light from the backlit crystal on the wall, but not the time.
Eric's voice was deep and delicious. "It is not too late, nor is it too early."
A faint clink signified the departure of the first bit of armor unstrapped deftly from his shoulder. Eric managed to kiss and loosen the belts binding the ancient metal plates from his body simultaneously. His lips paused in their journey down to her navel to unbuckle his greaves, and Sookie resigned herself to the impeding rapture. Even so, it was difficult to ignore the rather large pile of metal cast aside the bed.
She laughed breathlessly. "Is it worth it, taking off all this stuff?" She chuckled at his blank face. "You'll just have to put it all back on."
After a long moment, Eric smirked. "My love", he said, "every man, be he peasant or warrior, Viking or businessman, king or pauper, would so inconvieince himself gladly."
Sookie pulled the last layer, a rough cotton shirt, over his head. The muscled wall of his chest shined in the dim emergency lighting. Her thumbs traced the deep vee of his lower torso.
"Shut up and kiss me."
Eric suddenly loomed above her, and his arm shot under Sookie's knee. He brought it up to rest on his solid forearm, spreading her hips wide. She gasped. His breath was sweet and cool and his hair hung Eric's long fangs clicked down.
"As you wish, my lady."
"I had a dream", Sookie whispered into Eric's shoulder. The vampire licked a small drip of blood from the corner of his mouth before kissing the crown of her head. He stretched the arm and leg not supporting her weight.
"Hum?" He asked.
"It was the parade, and it went even worse than it did in real life. I caught fire."
"Hmm." Eric was looking away and patting the bedsheets for his phone.
Sookie persisted. "Somebody wanted to save me in the dream, and I think it is important. Their name is Marki."
Eric found his phone and dialed on speaker. He laid back and wrapped an arm around Sookie. The phone rang once.
"Ho HO! The Viking god resurfaces! What has it been – three, four hundred years? How have you been, my vicious friend?!"
Sookie was dumbstruck. Eric grinned at the phone.
"Five hundred and fifty, I think. I imagine you're more beautiful than ever."
Marki's laugh was low and musical. "Of course! But I can't imagine this call is to check in on my appearance. So I'll ask again, how are you my Viking friend?"
Sookie's eyes were harder than diamonds. "I am well", he chuckled. "I hear you have met my wife."
"Wife?" Marki gasped in mock horror. "Northman, I thought I would never see the day you set aside your armor for the fairer sex."
"Who said I set aside my armor?"
Sookie piped up. "You did it about an hour ago."
Silence.
"Sookie?"
"Hi Marki."
Sookie could all but hear the fairy shrink away. "Forgive me your majesty, but I must go."
Sookie grabbed Eric's phone and pled. "No don't! Please, Marki. I know our acquaintance was brief, but I thought… I'm being silly."
Marki spoke up. "It isn't silly, Sookie. I felt it too."
A shiver fell over Sookie, like a blanket of acceptance. It wasn't a feeling she was used to.
Marki laughed. "I suppose I should have guessed that you were married to Eric, but he's such a damn idiot. I didn't peg you for being a sucker for idiots, Sookie."
"I love you even more Marki, because only a person who hasn't seen his dick would think I'm an idiot!"
The phone vibrated with the fairy's laughter. "Oh darling, I have seen it! I commend your boldness, confidence and physical integrity!"
Sookie laughed Eric laughed. Marki laughed.
"Alright. Lets go to the point."
Alcide crushed out a cigarette on the crown of a crumbling headstone in Bon Temps Cemetery. Fortifications were strong on all sides, but he had a gut feeling. From what he heard, Sookie had traveled through a tear right in these trees, and he refused to leave any portal unmanaged, as it were. His wife stood by his side.
"Alcide, baby, why are we here? The pack is back on the line, where you commanded."
He sniffed the air. "Eric chose the position, but I am uneasy. I think they will come through here."
Callie snorted nervously. "If you think the attack will come here then call the pack."
"It is a hunch, not a certainty. If the Fae arrive through this portal our reinforcements will be but minutes away."
"Minutes?" She gasped. "How many minutes?"
A shimmering manifested in the heart of the cemetery, bending the air around it and warping the shapes of reality. An armored foot stepped through the rip in nothingness.
"Too many", Alcide whispered while swinging forth a large iron blade.
He spared Callie a glance. "Send the alarm. Bon Temps is under attack."