There hadn't been much to do for the past few hours. Layla had been sitting in a corner closest to the herbs. She liked the smell. It was pretty much the only thing keeping her from losing her mind. Her mind was flying in a million different directions. Thinking about Sookie and Eric, about herself and Eric, about the teeny tiny viking-vampire-humany thing cooking away inside her uterus. To say she was stressed out was the understatement of the years. As night began to fall, her anxiety was only increasing.
Marnie/Antonia looked out the front door of the shop and then came back into the back room, looking damn near amused.
"Vampires are outside with automatic weapons." she reported. "What idiots."
"Listen to me." Sookie said, stepping forward. "Bill and Eric are here to blow up the place if we don't get out of here, we are all gonna die."
"Oh my god, I gotta get out of here." muttered someone hysterically. Layla didn't look to see who. The self-righteous little prick who had become Antonia's lapdog walked into the center of the room with a manic smile on his face.
"Don't you get it?" he asked. "This is the Hotel California, baby. You can check out any time you want, but you can't never fucking leave."
Layla rolled her eyes. "Shut the fuck up, you little shit. Your life means may be shit, but I kind of want to keep mine."
"Roy is wrong." Marnie told them. "This is not a prison. You may leave at any time."
"Mhmm." Lafayette remarked dryly. Layla agreed with his sentiment.
As a show of good faith, Marnie/Antonia took the athame she had been wielding as a weapon and tossed it onto the floor. "You can use that against the Vampires. There's the door. Good luck." she said sarcastically.
"What do you think? This is funny? We're all gonna die 'cause of you, you fucking bitch!" Casey said, bolting for the door. she had barely taken a few steps before Marnie flicked her wrist, sending the dagger straight into the young girl.
"Marnie?" she asked quietly, before collapsing. Layla had been on her feet as soon as the blade had moved. She stared at the dying girl before glancing at Marnie, who actually looked pleased with herself for a moment before she began rocking and hugging herself.
"Oh great." Layla said dryly. "Now she's gonna have another fucking mental breakdown. Fabulous timing."
"Oh shit." Lafayette said suddenly, staring at Marnie.
"What?" Sookie asked.
"Marnie just puked the bitch out." Lafayette explained, pointing. Layla arched a brow.
"Come again?" Layla asked, looking mildly disgusted.
"What do you mean, puked her out?" Sookie asked.
"I mean, she came right outta her motherfuckin' mouth." Lafayette explained. "And I can see her."
"How the hell can you see any of this?" Tara asked.
"He's a medium. It's a gift." Jesus said.
"Since fucking when?" Tara asked quietly.
"What's she doing now?" Jesus pressed.
"She's dirty, dark hair- It's Antonia. The bitch wanna leave, but Marnie won't let her." Lafayette said. Layla stared at Marnie who was now chanting something.
"Oh, no." Jesus said quietly.
"Not what I want to hear, Jesus." Layla said, closing her eyes.
"What?" Holly asked.
"It's a binding spell. Marnie's binding Antonia to herself." Jesus told them.
"What does that mean?" Sookie asked.
"It's means Marnie's gone batshit." Jesus said. Layla scoffed.
"Gone? You mean motherfucking BEEN batshit." Layla noted.
"If she binds Antonia, we're al fucked." Jesus said. All of them looked to Lafayette who watched the invisible battle.
"She's pullin' the bitch towards her, but Antonia's fighting it." he said. After a moment he looked away. "Marnie won." he said. Layla felt like she had been punched in the gut and sank down onto her haunches.
"We're fucked." Jesus said. Layla cradled her head in her hands and tried to come up with a plan, any plan, that could possibly get her out of there.
Layla lost track of time as she ran through ideas in her head like football plays, plotting out defensive and offensive positions, trying to find one that might work. None of them did. It wasn't until Jesus spoke that he head snapped up.
"Oh my God. She's got a pulse!" he said, holding his finger's to Casey's neck.
"Do you want me to shoot her?" Roy asked.
"She does?" Marnie asked, stunned. "You see?" she said, smiling at the room of hostages. "I'm no murderer."
"Just an attempted murderer. Much better." Layla muttered sarcastically.
"Yeah, you're a regular fucking humanitarian." Tara agreed beneath her breath.
"It's barely there. Marnie, please." Jesus said, looking at her beseechingly. "Please let me try to save her."
"Well, yes! I mean, you're a nurse, of course!"
Lafayette helped Jesus carry the body to the bathroom. Layla was left with Holly, Tara, Sookie and the other hostages. Holly and Sookie went off to speak to Marnie. After a few more long moment, Sookie came over to where Layla was crouched and offered her a hand.
"What?" Layla asked, staring at her like she was a leper. Sookie sighed and leaned down to whisper in Layla's ear.
"Marnie's going to negotiate. We're going with her."
"Uhm, fucking, why?" Layla asked, incredulous. She didn't want to go anywhere with either one of these crazy bitches.
"Just come on." Sookie said, pulling Layla up. The brunette swatted the blonde's grip away and straightened herself up. She was wearing the same pants she had worn to the hotel and they still had blood on them, paired with one of Jesus' old t-shirts under her leather jacket.
Layla followed Sookie and Layla outside. She saw Eric, Bill, Pam, Jessica and Jason. Sookie rushed out, as usual, all 'look at me, I'm a victim AND a hero'. Layla rolled her eyes.
"Bill! Eric! Marnie wants to negotiate." she called to them. Layla kept her distance from the witch and Sookie but stayed away from the barrier she knew was there. Marnie said something that made the Vampire Bill had been holding down go wild. Bill wasted no time throwing her into the forcefield where she hung suspended by magic, appearing to be electrocuted until she completely disintegrated. Layla watched with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open. That barrier was not something she wanted to test.
"Amazing, isn't it? The power of the sun, harnessed. The protection spell is impenetrable to most humans but not fatal. For Vampires one touch- death sentence." Marnie explained. Layla stared in horror. She wasn't sure if the forcefield would be able to kill her or not, but she had no urge to test it.
"It makes no difference what you hide behind." Bill said, stepping forward. "You have killed your last Vampire."
"How optimistic." Marnie said.
"Let the girls go." Bill demanded.
"Oh, so you'd like to negotiate?" Marnie asked.
"Let the girls go!" Eric demanded, sounding angrier than Bill. His eyes were fixed on Layla. He noted the circles beneath her eyes and the slump to her shoulders. He tried not to notice that she was wearing another man's shirt, but he did. Her hair was in tangles she looked wide eyes with fear.
"They can go. But I'll need something in exchange." Marnie said.
"What?" Bill asked.
"Anything." Eric echoed.
"Your lives." Marnie demanded. "Kill yourselves. They walk free. Both of you."
Layla opened her mouth and tried to swallow the swear words that wanted to come flying out. Pam laughed.
"Good one." she said.
"Don't laugh too much. Wouldn't want your lips to fall off." Marnie said, effectively wiping the smile right off of Pam's healed face.
"Come on." Sookie pleaded. "Let's make them a real offer. They'll listen, I know them-"
"I accept." Bill said. Layla stared at him hard.
"Fine." Eric agreed.
"Fuck no!" Layla shouted at the both of them. Pam and Jessica were staring at there makers, utterly bewildered by the sudden course of events.
"NO! No." Sookie screamed.
"Quiet!" Bill told her.
"You be fucking quiet! Have you lost your minds? Both of you? Dying for Sookie again?" Layla screamed.
"This isn't just about Sookie." Bill said, staring at her hard, and Layla felt a twinge of guilt for ever telling Bill about the baby. "I have your word you will set them free?" Bill asked.
"Free as a resurrected bird." Marnie said. Layla raised an eyebrow.
"That bird died." she said.
"Bill, you can't." Sookie said quietly.
"You realize if you renege you will never leave this building alive." Bill made clear. Layla was not at all happy with how they were actually acting like this was going to happen. It was insane. "Everyone that you ever cared for will be slaughtered without mercy."
Marnie only nodded in understanding. Layla was muttering a stream of obscenities, that didn't cast a single person there in a flattering light.
"Very well." Bill said, turning to Eric. "I will shoot you and then Pam, you will shoot me. Agreed?"
"If you shoot him I'll fucking murder you!" Layla screamed, realizing the idiocy in her plan but ignoring it. As Eric dropped to his knees he looked back at Layla.
"Northman, don't you dare!" Layla screamed, her face burning red as hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Sookie just stood and sobbed. Layla wanted to rush the barrier, but she was stuck in one spot, paralyzed. As Bill raised his gun Pam lost it.
"The True Death to save Bo Peep? I don't fuckin' think so." she said, disappearing, then quickly reappearing with what looked like a rocket launcher which she fired directly at Moon Goddess. Sookie and Layla ducked but the explosion was caught in the barrier. As it blew the ground shook, and inside Moon Goddess people began to scream. Marnie quickly escorted both Layla and Sookie back inside.
"Did you see that?" Marnie asked. "They don't care about you." she said. "And no negotiating with them."
"I saw a Viking Prince drop to his knees to save our lives, so fuck you very much, but you don't know shit." Layla spat.
"They see it as weakness." Marnie continued, ignoring Layla's comment. "I am not weak."
Layla ignored Roy as he praised Marnie's murder and even went in for a high five. It was disgusting to watch. Layla stood over near Holly and Sookie and Tara, only because it was the farthest away from Marnie, who was currently scrying using the puddle of blood on the floor. She jumped back from it suddenly.
"The Vampires are planning to murder us all. Quick, form a circle." she said, holding out her hands. Nobody moved, well except for the fucker Roy. Marnie walked over to were the others were huddled.
"They have no regard for our lives." she told them. "So just, join me now." she said waving them over like nothing was wrong. Everyone went, except for Layla and Sookie. Marnie looked at Layla.
"Layla?" she asked, holding out her hand.
"Up yours." Layla snapped.
Marnie walked over to where she and Sookie stood.
"I wish, for everyone to leave here alive." she said, glancing at Layla's stomach. "I don't guarantee it."
Layla took that as a threat, but as much as it chafed her pride she knew damn well that she was between a rock and a hard place, and so she joined hands with Sookie and Marnie. Layla felt the charge building in Sookie and before she could let go was blasted with light, the whole circle was. Sitting up off the floor where she had fallen Layla was pissed, but at the same time, slightly grateful. She had heard Eric and Bill and the others screaming, and glad whatever Marnie had been making them do had been stopped.
"You crossed me." Marnie screamed.
"No! I can't control it! Sometimes, it just happens!" Sookie scrambled to explain. "It happens when I get upset."
"It's true, I've seen it." Tara said.
"It wasn't her fault, Marnie." Layla found herself saying.
"She's telling the truth." Tara continued.
"Be quiet!" Marnie demanded.
"Marnie, I'm sorry." Sookie said.
"You have all betrayed me." Marnie said.
"I haven't." said a woman in the back. With a few muttered words Layla found herself being thrown back against the wall, and she watched as a ring of fire surrounded Sookie. Though a sick twisted part of her felt justified, the larger part of her was terrified. She didn't want Sookie to die, she just wanted her to stop sleeping with Eric, or talking or seeing him. The flames licked Layla's boots. Did she intend to burn to whole place down? Layla began muttering prayers to herself, bargaining with every single higher power that came to mind, begging them to get her out of this alive.
After agonizing moments, Marnie fell down and the flames dissipated. Marnie began to cry. Layla tested herself by pushing away from the wall. Her head hurt where she had slammed it. In mere seconds, Bill and Eric rushed in.
"Bill, don't shoot! They're innocent. Marnie was holding them hostage. I swear!" Sookie said, all trace of tears now gone. Melodramatic wench, Layla thought bitterly. As Roy attempted bravery and stood in front of Marnie, Eric rushed him and ripped his heart right out of his chest and drank from one of the ventricles like it was a juice box.
"Nobody lives forever. Not even you." Marnie said, right before she got lit up with bullets, inluding one that got her right between the eyes. Layla took a deep, relieved breath of air. The bitch was dead, and all was right with the world. Layla ignored Sookie, Eric and Bill and walked out of there, heading towards one of the cars they had called. She was going to head back to Bill's and go take a long and well deserved nap.