I know, I'm horrible. But honestly, I was having a difficult time. I could feel myself getting lost in Runa's character - she has such an overpowering personality and that was leading the scene a lot. It was making me feel almost lost and I didn't want to disrespect my readers or my characters by continuing on when I didn't have a proper hold on the characters. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for their patience and I really hope to hear from you guys! Reviews always make me so happy.
Chapter 15: The Man in the Cellar
It was the screaming that woke me up although my life had been filled with a lot of hysterics as of late so when I opened my eyes I felt more resentment than alarm. The second thing that woke me up was the overwhelming pain that was spiking through my back and shoulder. I had shifted in my sleep and now the leather was pressing against the raw skin of my bare back.
"TAKE ME TO HIM!" That was Sookie. I blinked, fighting back a yelp as I struggled to force myself into a sitting position. Groggily, I blinked around at the little alcove that I was shoved into. Fancy silk pillows and a plush, thick knit blanket was tangled around my legs. I had been moved into the far corner of the bar, into a darkened, more secluded section.
On a small, glass table near my little bed was a scarlet shirt - Ugh. Fangtasia merch - with a pair of black underwear.
For the pain, a small note in heavy script read beside a bright orange pair of meds and a water bottle.
A scream pierced the still air of a slumbering Fangtasia, bouncing off the walls and right into my pounding brain. This was going to be a rough day. Stifling my urge to scream, I hastily got dressed and popped a couple of pills. Hopefully, they were also dosed with something to make me pass out in a little bit.
You should have taken his blood, a small voice whispered to me. Why didn't you?
I gulped down my own self-loathing and shuffled my way across the bar, clutching onto tables and chairs as I rounded the corner to the area just in front of the front entrance. And… no Sookie.
"Shit," I muttered, looking around helplessly. From a bit away, there was the sound of a door creaking open. "That can't possibly be good."
I struggled forward, following the distant shuffles and sounds of whispered voices. I felt like I was intruding on this place - Fangtasia - like I was a child rummaging through someone else's property.
"Uncuff him!" The stairway that I found was hidden behind one of the backdoors and I recognized it from when Sookie and I had first been introduced to Eric. I had felt misery and pain when I had first come here and now it was still here - only distant. Like a shell with nothing inside.
"I don't have that key!"
It was dank and dark and it smelled like piss and rotten bile and mold. A dungeon is what most people would call it and as I made my way slowly, painfully down the stairs I got the impression that that was what Eric meant it to be. Even Vikings needed somewhere to store all of their enemies.
"I'm gonna get you outta here." I had reached the last flight, low enough to peer into the dark basement beyond where the spritish, blonde who had been so hysterical on that first encounter with Eric was currently being held at gunpoint. By my sister.
"Runa!" Sookie exclaimed as if she was surprised to see me. Her face glowed with a merry light, her wounds obviously healed. I grimaced, clutching onto the railing as a flood of clammy sweat dripped down my sides. Even the pain meds weren't enough to stifle how bad my injuries actually were.
"Runa?" the blonde fangtasia worker demanded, a hint of hysteria making her voice shrill. "Oh no. You're supposed to stay in bed. Eric told me specifically-"
I stared at her quizzically for a moment before turning back to my sister as the lady rambled on under her breath.
Sprawled out beside Sookie was-
"Layette?" He looked like shit and he smelled even worse.
"Eric's had him down here," Sookie spat out, her face twisting in rage.
You find your friend in some vampires basement that you already kind of hate, feelings are bound to be on the murderous edge. They're supposed to be. As I stared at the chapped, grimy face of one of my longest friends though all I could think was -
"What did you do?" I blurted it out before I could even think - the question boomeranging around the vast basement.
That wasn't the right response. I could see it from the way that my sister's face tightened up even more and Layfette's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?" Sookie snarled, her hands clutching at the gun until I thought that she might break it. "He's in Fangtasia. Eric owns Fangtasia."
"I know who owns Fangtasia, Sookie," I snapped, scanning over Lafeyettes clearly battered body. He had gone through hell and from what I had sensed not too long ago from this place, a whole lot of other people had gone through worse.
"Listen, I don't know-" Lafette started but I could tell that he was trying to be brave. His shoulders were hunched in defensively, his eyes wide and twitchy.
"See?" Sookie demanded petulantly and for a moment I had a flashback to when we were seven and she thought that the tooth fairy was real.
See? She had yelled, pointing to a wad of ones just beneath her pillow in place of her missing tooth.
"Sookie," I breathed, trying to contain my irritation. "Eric wouldn't just go out and grab some random nobody-"
"Hey!" Lafeyette protested and I shot him a glare. Yes. Because being popular with vampires was the preference in this situation.
"And haul him back to his basement torture chamber just because. He's not-" I stopped, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Why was I defending him? When had our relationship tipped to this side?
He's never given you a reason to doubt him, that same voice from before whispered.
"He's not what, Runa?" Sookie shouted, enraged. She jumped up, her cheeks reddening. "Cruel?"
I didn't say anything. She already knew my answer by the drawn expression on my face.
"Because HE IS," she went on, gaining ground. "Why didn't you take his blood last night, Runa? If he was a nice guy then wouldn't you have been just overjoyed to be completely healed?"
I flinched, my stomach sinking. The wounds on my back pulsed, turning all the regret and strange, unsettling feelings that were pulsing through me into words.
"He's not a monster, Sookie," I whispered. Those words were true. I had seen the way that my pain had unsettled him last night. And I trusted him. For better or worse, I trusted him. My eyes drifted to where Lafayette shivered on the floor. "What did you do, Lafayette?"
Beside him, Sookie spluttered out incoherent words of protest. I wondered what Bill had said to cause such rage to build inside her towards Eric. It was surprising - my sister wasn't the type to hold grudges this strongly.
"I-" Lafayette's dark eyes flicked around like a deer that had been spotted by a hunter. "It was just-"
"No!" Sookie snarled. "You aren't at fault. You don't deserve this. No one deserves this - to be chained like an animal in the darkness, sitting in their own waste!"
"He's a Viking, Sookie," I said, keeping my eyes trained on Lafayette. He reeked of fresh fear. "His ways aren't like ours."
"His ways are barbaric," she hissed and I shrugged. Barbaric and Viking translated to roughly the same thing in my book. "Who the fuck are you? He is a vampire, Runa."
"Bill's a vampire," I snapped. What the fuck did that even mean?
Sookie's cheeks reddened, her hands waving. "No. There are vampires and then there are vampires."
"You're not making sense," I snapped, growing tired of the conversation and I turned quickly to the blonde. "Hi, you. What's your name?"
"You're not supposed to be up," the blonde replied dumbly, picking at her hands frantically.
"What's your name?" I snarled, my patience snapping under my sister's continued glaring. It looked like I was going to be due for one of Sookie's lectures.
The blonde replied quickly in the face of rage. "Ginger."
"Well, Ginger." I smiled. "Since you don't have the key to our friend here, I'd say that Eric does. Could you call him up?"
Ginger's eyes went babydoll wide. "Oh, Mister Northman'll be here in no time anyways. The suns going down as we speak and the blonde one's vampire is probably already waking up. He's in a casket in the back."
"Bill's here?" Sookie perked up and the general lack of aggression made Ginger relax a little.
"Listen, this is all dandy and shit," Lafayette piped up, jangling the chains that were still firmly in place around his wrists. "But I'm still chained up."
"We'll get you a drink-"
"Oh, Mister Northman isn't going to like that," Ginger whimpering, curling into herself.
"And some food," I finished, turning to hobble back up the stairs.
"So we're just going to leave him here?!" Sookie shrieked and I rolled my eyes.
"You've got to be fuckin' kiddin' me," Lafayette groaned.
"Unless you have a fucking chainsaw to get those chains off him then I think we'll have to wait until your best friend gets here," I snapped, clutching at the railing.
"More like your best friend," Sookie snarled but I heard her start to make her way after me. "I bet you're going to suck his dick-"
"These hookers are about to leave me in a fuckin' dungeon," I heard Lafayette say with heavy disbelief.
"I bet he has a very magnificent dick," I mused, thinking about the chiseled planes of his chest and how tall he was. The man was hulking already.
"You're disgusting."
"We already know where Lafayette is," I sighed as I reached the cellar door. "We aren't leaving without him."
"Are you sure your little Viking won't demand that he stays down here?" Sookie bit out.
I thought it over, reaching the top of the cellar doors. "There's a possibility. But Eric rarely gives up a chance for a favor. I'm sure we can offer him something."
"Oh joy," Sookie groaned. "More debt."
"LOVE YOU, LAFAYETTE!" I called back down, finally noticing that the little blonde was still down at the base of the staircase, biting at her knuckles in anxiety. "Come along Ginger!"
"FUCK YOU, BITCHES!" Lafayette screamed and I heard the rattle of chains. "YOU HOOKERS BETTER NEVER ASK ME FOR SHIT!"
I sighed. Lafayette rarely said things that he didn't mean. Sookie gave me a smug glare.
Sookie wouldn't even sit with me when we got upstairs. So I was left to sit at the bar by myself as Ginger attended to Lafayette. She didn't want to be anywhere near Eric when he came in although I was sure that she had already told him about our findings in his basement.
"Sookie," I called, toying with the bottle of pain meds that I had grabbed from my sleeping area. It had been only an hour and I already wanted to take another pair. Sweat beaded at my temple and even sitting was a study in agony. It felt like my body was rejecting my very own skin, the muscles pulling at the flesh stitches that had begun oozing this morning. Now sweat was trickling into the raw wounds, adding to my pain.
"Are you going to ignore me?" I felt feverish, the whole world cottony. My eyes stung as the urge to sleep beat down at me.
My sister didn't turn, her back straight and stiff. She could be a real pain in the ass when she wanted to be.
One of the back doors behind me burst open, Bill rushing out with a gleeful light in his eyes. His eyes were firmly glued to Sookie who turned just as he bound through.
"Yep," I sighed as they rushed together in a fierce hug. "I'm alive too."
Sookie pulled away from the embrace, her eyes narrowing. Yeah. I might as well not even talk. It was obvious that my existence was about as important as the bar stools at this moment.
"Are you still angry about our fight?" Bill asked, obviously confused by her coldness and I leaned back in my chair, watching the exchange closely. So that's what she had been stewing about for the last hour. "Sookie, none of that matters anymore."
I snorted. If anything about this morning and last night had taught us, it was that the petty problems that Bill and Sookie had experienced last night didn't really matter.
"You're right." Oh, it wasn't a good sign at all that she was agreeing with him. I stared down at the pills jingling around in my little orange bottle. Two more wouldn't hurt, would it? Just for today. Just to take off this stabbing pain. "I'm alive and in one piece." Sookie's voice grew venomous. "Unlike my friend Lafayette who Eric chained up like an animal and left to bleed to death."
My stomach cramped and I realized that I needed to eat something. I bit at my lip. I couldn't take another dose. For some reason, it just wasn't taking the pain away.
"What?" I heard Bill question, bewildered. I didn't look up but I could feel his eyes burning into my head like I could make it better.
"You better not have known anything about this, Bill Compton," Sookie barreled on. "Because if you did, I don't think I could ever forgive you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Eric's familiar scent of crisp, frigid sea air and fir trees, surrounding me before I turned and caught sight of his imposing figure as it stalked into the bar. His eyes drifted around in mild amusement, that infuriating smirk in place.
"She's referring to the human in my basement." Those arctic eyes drifted around lazily before settling on me. I stilled as he stalked toward me, his eyes intent on the bottle in my hands. Gently, he took it from me, his lips thinning as he eyed it. "How many of these have you had?"
I avoided the question. "What did he do to get placed in your basement?"
Eric gave a sigh, showing his obvious boredom at the whole situation. "He traded sexual services with a vampire in order to sell his blood." He quirked a brow, jingling the bottle of pills. "How many, little mare?"
"Four in the last three hours," I finally whispered and he gave a low growl in return, glaring down at me. For some reason, in the wake of his obvious disapproval, I felt embarrassed. "The pain isn't going away."
His eyes went stormy, his fingers tapping at the pill bottle thoughtfully.
"His name is Lafayette," Sookie snarled, jerking forward even as Bill reached out with a steadying hand to her forearm.
"Lafayette broke the law," I snapped, snapping around to growl at her and ignoring the slight widening of Eric's eyes. My sister's gaze was murderous. "You've seen the healing effects of vampire blood first hand. If this gets out then there will be vampire meat shops in every city."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" But she wasn't talking to Eric. She was talking to me, her eyes deep pools of anger and agony. She despised herself for allowing Lafayette to rot under Fangtasia for this long. She despised herself for not knowing and saving him sooner. My sister was gentle. Things like this wounded her so easily.
My sister was gentle. That was why it was so shocking to me when she took another step closer, her teeth bared in an ugly snarl. Her shoulders were tense.
"How could you sit there and defend this monster?!" She demanded and my lips thinned.
"He's not a monster," I whispered, trying to ignore the hulking man behind me as he shifted as if he was shocked.
"He kept our friend - YOUR friend - here for weeks!" She took one more step forward. One more and she would be within striking distance. My eyes drifted to her face. No. Not my sister. She would never do that to me.
"Sookie," Bill whispered softly and I saw alarm in his eyes as he watched her approach.
"How can you be so callous?" she snarled and for a moment I saw real hatred in her eyes. I didn't let the hurt show on my face.
My eyes locked on hers. "You know the consequences that would come from the distribution of v. Vampires would be drained just for their blood." My eyes moved to Bill - her precious Bill. "Your vampire would be hunted and hung for just a drop."
"Don't you dare bring Bill into this," Sookie breathed and her hands clenched at her side.
"Lafayette brought every vampire into this when he decided to sell their blood illegally," I whispered, trying to reason with her. "This is so much more than just a friend. Or just a random sell of blood. Did he even vet the people that he was selling to? How much did he tell them? You need to understand-"
It happened so fast. Too fast for even me to fully grasp. One moment I was staring into my sister's eyes and then the next, Eric was in front of me, my knees pressed to his back, his shoulders bulging as he restrained my sister. Her hand was still raised, her teeth bared. He shoved her back roughly.
"Don't you ever raise a hand to her again." Eric's voice was chilling, his body tense as he watched Bill drag her back. His jaw was hard, his eyes holding an eerie gleam. "If you allow your human to strike at her again, I will break you."
"YOU WILL LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW!" Sookie snarled, lurching against Bill's hold.
"Sookie, that is enough," Bill hissed, yanking her back once more as she tried to jerk free from him once more.
"No!" Sookie snarled. "It's not nearly enough. They've tortured him and bitten him and shot him and kept him down there in his own filth for weeks."
Bill's eyes widened and I stiffened. I hadn't seen any bullet wounds or bites. I hadn't gotten close enough. But… I suppose it wasn't surprising. Still, my heart sank, a sick twisting making me nauseous. Eric's eyes flicked to me briefly but he didn't move from his stance in front of me, his mammoth size blocking Bill and Sookie from me.
"Is this true?" Bill breathed.
"There are others who would have done far worse and you know it," Eric bit out, his hands clenching even as his tone hinted at a bit of condescension.
"You're going to let him go right now," Sookie snapped and I winced. That wasn't the way to talk to Eric if you wanted something. "Or I swear, I'm going to the police."
A low hiss was the only warning I got before Eric was stalking forward, his fangs clicking down. Quickly, I scrambled down from my stool, grasping his wrist quickly in an effort to stop him as he snarled down at my sister who jerked back, fear making her eyes wide.
"Eric," I whispered, fear making my heart beat unevenly.
"I do not respond well to threats," Eric growled lowly, his eyes livid as he stared down at my quivering sister. "And the only reason I don't tear your little human heart out is because you are Runa's sister and she has worked very hard to keep you and your brother alive."
"I-" Sookie rasped out, her eyes flicking uncertainly to me. I shook my head. Now was not the time to try and get out whatever she wanted to say.
"For that reason and that reason alone, I will allow you to live." His jaw slowly unclenched, a smile replacing it although his fangs were still clearly visible. "I'm sure that an arrangement can be made that would benefit both of our interests."
Nervously, I swallowed, not meeting my sister's gaze. Her actions were still at the forefront of my mind, stinging. And I had a sinking suspicion of what Eric wanted.
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