The blond vampire flew across the empty halls of the building like a gust of wind, his eyes scanning every room carefully, his nostrils widened at the anticipation and his fangs out in a menacing way. He was already down to the 3rd underground floor, but to his utter surprise, he hadn't met even a single living soul, as if the building was completely empty. Eric growled to himself in dissatisfaction and wonder. He was sure there would be members of the Order here everywhere and he thought he'd meet some resistance.

Thinking back to it now, Bill and Sookie tried convincing him to wait for backup, but he was too excited at the prospect of a fight and too worried for the safety of Lily to wait any longer. It was a wonder how important Lily had become to him lately and biting back his arrogance and pride Eric admitted to himself he truly wanted her to be safe. She became a very important existence to him and he could no longer pretend that she was just someone interesting or fun to toy with. No, it was all different now.

The Viking bit his lip slightly in a sudden flush of anger and leaped across the next room with such force and vigor, it was only thanks' to his quick reflexes that he managed to avoid hitting the frail human that ran straight into him. The vampire whirled around and grabbed the human woman by her throat ramming her into the wall.

"Where is she?" He hissed, his eyes glaring down coldly and menacingly.

The woman whimpered and tears streaked down her cheeks.

"The mo… ns... ter… ter... de… de… mo.. n!" She gurgled and Eric let her go in an attempt to understand her words.

She slid down to the ground and let out a shriek, "THE DEVIL IS HERE!"

And then, she started weeping and mumbling, "God save our innocent souls, oh, pray to the almighty God! Pray!"

The vampire frowned in disgust and hissed out, "Tell me where she is, woman! What had you done to her?!"

But the human only shook and whimpered and then suddenly screamed in anguish, "She was consumed by the darkness! The demon showed its true face! The demon, the devil! Oh, Mary, the blessed virgin, save us all…"

Eric gritted his teeth in anger and charged forth down the stairs. On his way he passed a few more humans, all of them women and all of them whimpering words of prayers and screaming in horror of a demon let loose. He could no longer understand if the demon was merely a fruit of their own imagination or something real. And if it turned out to be real, what was it? A werewolf? A shifter? A vampire? What in the world has happened here?

He pushed open yet another door and then for a moment the blonde Viking just froze. So far he had passed only empty rooms, but this was different now… He took a few steps forth, trying to take in his surroundings and to understand what was truly going on. The hall was just like all the others he had run across – huge and void of any furniture, but differently from earlier, its floor was covered in something what seemed like bodies. Dead bodies. Or that's what he thought.

Eric stepped closer to one of them and bent down to take another glance. Surely, it used to be human. But now, its skin was a dark brownish grey colour and it was wrinkled so much as if the man was a hundred years old. Disgusted, Eric frowned and his lips parted in nausea. The stench coming out of it was the smell of death. There was not a living soul left in the room and it seemed as if life itself was sucked out of these people.

As the vampire contemplated on what exactly has happened here, he heard a heart-wrenching scream, which soon died down into a painful moan. Eric covered the remaining distance to the next door in one large leap and he pushed the doors, entering the room. The stench was almost unbearable here. The smell of rotten and burned flesh lingered in the air and it weighed down heavily on him. The sucked dry bodies were lying everywhere around and the majority of them was piled up into one huge mountain of human leftovers. And there, on the top of that heap Eric recognized a familiar figure. The figure of the one he came to cherish so much in the past few months.

She stood with her right side to him, her arm stretched out towards what once was a human and now nothing else but a lifeless shell. She was almost completely naked, only the remains of her former clothes hanging on her body, barely covering her figure. He could see recent scars and wounds closing up at the sight, her skin almost glowing with a reddish tint and a bloody red aura surrounded her body. Even more, it felt almost alive, he could actually see that strange red glow vibrate and hover around her like a huge shield. Her hair now fell in light blond waves all the way down to her waist and fluttered slightly in the air as if it had a will of its own.

"Lily," he breathed out in a low husky whisper, but she must have heard it as her hand came down to her side and the body of the human fell down on top of others with a thud.

She turned to him slowly, cocking her head to her right side, her eyes averting to him and staring down at his blue orbs. Eric let out a short gasp as their eyes met and his fangs came out fully now at the sense of danger. Her eyes were but a void of pure darkness, both the pupils and the whites of it drowning in carmine red colour. And as he stared up at them, Eric felt as if he was sucked straight into their voidness and cast down into a bottomless abyss, a dark and empty ravine with no end or beginning. He had never experienced such strong and utter fear as he did now. He wanted to get away, he wanted to turn around and run, he wanted to look away from those hollow orbs, but he just could not. He simply could not.

"You," her soft and sweet voice rang pleasantly in the room, a hypnotizing tilt to them. The sound, nevertheless, woke him up from his frozen state, "are dead."

Eric shook his head, steeling himself, pushing down the fear. Whatever this being was, it was ancient, far older than anything he had ever met. Even so, he knew Lily, his Lily, was somewhere there, hidden underneath the façade of darkness. Once again, he raised his eyes and glanced up at the creature in front of him, this time avoiding locking his eyes with hers.

"Dead creatures," she continued with a tint of amusement and marvel in her voice, "are such a waste."

"Lily," he said huskily and the girl in front of him cocked her head to another side.

"Lily the flower?" She asked almost curiously. "Such graceful and innocent one."

Then, her stare hardened and her voice took a cold and indifferent tone, "I hate them."

Eric stood silent, his mind churning, running crazy with thoughts, in an attempt to think up of something. This creature, this monster, this demon was not Lily. But at the same time, it was. Everything that Sookie had told him before now came back to him.

Succubus. Lily was a succubus. An ancient being born as a goddess to this world.

"But I DO love," the creature in the form of Lily made a short pause and grinned, "tainting them."

Eric couldn't resist and looked up at her, finally realizing the true meaning of the word berserk. All of this was her doing, all because he had refused to listen to Lily, to trust in her. His Lily, his beloved Lily, was taken over by this primeval demon and he did not know how to get her back. He did not even know if he could accept her nature but he knew for sure he wanted his Lily.

"Tell me, dead one," suddenly, she spoke again, her voice soft and almost sickeningly sweet, yet, with obvious curiosity in it, "what do you seek in this place?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. Berserk or not, he was gonna get his Lily back somehow.

"Give her back to me," he growled in a low voice.

"Who?" She asked amused and then grinned, a row of perfect white teeth showing behind her bloody red lips. She talked in a slow manner, prolonging the words, as if she was savoring them. "Awww, did I consume someone you knew? You poor thing."

Eric snarled at her, his fangs showing through his parted lips, "Lily, wake up! I know you're in there! Do not let your urges rule over you!"

The woman furrowed her brows and glared daggers at him, "I do not like when men talk of other women in my presence. Not even dead men."

Eric leaped up and gripped her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. He felt scared, really scared. What if this ancient being took over forever? What if Lily, the Lily he came to know and… love… was never coming back? No, he couldn't allow that, he could never bear it. He needed her, he craved for her, even if she did not need him…

"LILY!" He shouted, his eyes staring down at the deep pools of red bravely, his spirit fighting the urge to run as far as he could. "Come back to me, you hear?! I know you're there deep down, I know you're not like this! Come back, I swear I'll protect you!"

"You," the woman hissed and her eyes now glared at him with such intense hatred Eric felt like shrinking down to a size of an ant. "You insolent dead soul! How dare you touch a Goddess!"

She raised her arms to push him away and he felt so much force in it, he knew right away he'd be cast aside as if a piece of paper even despite the fact that he was a thousand years old vampire. This thing in front of him was absolutely of different level. He could feel it with every cell of his body. She was stronger and older than anything else he had ever seen or met before.

And so, Eric did the only thing he could think of. Before she could pull away, he grabbed her head with his hands firmly and pressed his lips to hers, his tongue looking for entrance. Perhaps out of shock or perhaps due to her nature, the Succubus parted her lips and Eric's tongue slipped inside, dancing a dance of pure passion and craving. A wild and lewd dance of sheer lust...

Waves of electricity ran across my body and in a startling moment, I was back to my senses. I could feel my arms and legs once again, and I could feel a soothing chillness pressed to my body, my burning cheeks getting cooled down by something so incredibly cold. My hands rose to grab those freezing lumps as I hold onto them while someone's tongue teased the roof of my mouth. I was… being kissed?

Confused and somewhat spooked I broke away, pushing with my hands against someone's firm chest. My eyes flew open and I gasped upon recognizing those steely blue eyes that stared at me with both care and fearful anticipation.

"Eric?" I whispered, my voice getting stuck somewhere in my throat. "Eric…"

I reached out to him, my fingers trailing along his jaw line. His skin was so cold to the touch, so pleasant…

"I didn't know I could dream," I said, my eyes watering with tears.

"This is not a dream," he replied and his hands gripped my naked shoulders with such strength I sure I'd be bruised.

"It sure seems like one," I whispered as my nose picked up the smell of rotten flesh and my eyes trailed away towards the corpses.

Eric followed my glance, but said nothing. Only his grip on me tightened and his right hand gripped mine, dragging me down from the pile of the bodies to the floor. I followed him obediently, my eyes darkening with mixed emotions.

"I did it again," I whispered and let out a muffled chuckle.

Eric did not reply, just led me across the hall towards the doors agape to the next room.

"I wonder, how many have I killed now?"

"It doesn't matter," he grumbled and glanced at me sideways. "They're just humans. And they were out to kill you, did you forget?"

"No," I replied and halted. He stopped in his tracks too, turning to me.

"They're only humans," he grumbled. "Forget those bastards. I would have killed them myself if you hadn't done so before me."

His fingers brushed my cheek, tugging my hair behind my ear gently.

"Don't say that," I shook my head. "Every life is precious, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem to you."

"Your life is the only one precious to me," he replied, his eyes darkening. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" I asked, looking up at him.

"What you were," he stared at me intently, his gaze locking with mine.

"And if I did, would it have changed anything?"

He kept quiet and I smiled knowingly. None of us can change the way we live and that's the fact.

"But I-" Eric started, but then stopped as if he realized he was gonna make a mistake.

I turned away from him and stepped forth across the hall.

"Lily," he whispered my name, longing hidden in his voice.

I ignored his call, my heart aching. I'd just have to forget all of this, to push it all from my mind and to continue existing, just like I've done before. History had repeated itself, after all, I thought as I raised my head to look forward. I will walk my road alone, once again.

But then, my feet froze in place and my mouth fell slightly agape, as my eyes locked with hypnotizing green ones, staring straight at me steadily. I breathed out heavily as my body shivered. It can't be… Was I hallucinating? How? Why?

I stared unable to tear my gaze away from the man standing in the doorway in front of me as I took in every single little detail. He looked the same as I remembered him eight hundred years ago, when we last met. His tall dark figure loomed on the other side of the hall and his lips carved into a smile as his green eyes lost the calm and now stared at me almost hungrily. I breathed in sharply, my eyes roaming along his handsome facial features, his jet black hair, falling to his shoulders in wavy curls, his muscular body, hardly hidden beneath the clothes he wore. Ha, even his sense of fashion had not changed. He was wearing classic black pants and white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, revealing his chest. He had a black coat slung over his shoulder and while I contemplated if he was really here or if I was delusional, he covered the distance between us in one fast leap and now stood in front of me, his lips still wearing the same self-confident smile.

"Ah, it seems I'm too late to be your knight this late evening," he said in his deep voice and I involuntarily stepped back.

I heard Eric swoosh to stand beside me, his body tense, and I heard him hiss as he bore his fangs, no doubt, "Who are you?"

I gritted my teeth and took a grip on myself. This… This could not get any worse. I'd mourn for the murdered and regret my actions later, for now, there was a bigger problem at hand for there stood two vampires and both of them were my lovers…

The two men were staring at each other in silent challenge, the air thickening with tension and I wondered what in the world had gone wrong and when. Steeling myself, I pushed everything aside. The best course of action was to act cool and not show my confusion over my ex-lover, the infamous vampire lord Mircea, showing himself here out of the blue. And so I smirked and my hand rose to my hip as I retorted, "And where is your noble steed, oh knight in shining armor?"

"Those foolish Americans wouldn't let me take him on the plane with me," he replied smugly, his eyes finally leaving Eric and focusing on me. "So, I was forced to leave him behind, though he was incredibly eager to see you again, my dear."

I shook my head and let out a sigh as I thought back to his noble steed Maroon, which was turned into a vampire by none other than Mircea himself, because he was too sad to part with his horse. Please, don't ask me how he did it for I was quite grossed out by the sight of a horse drinking blood to actually ask Mircea all the details. The idea itself was and still is way too disturbing to me.

"But do excuse my bad manners," meanwhile, Mircea grinned, flashing his fangs at Eric. "I am Mircea of the Grand family. And you would be?.."

The question lingered in the air as the two vampires stared at each other as if trying to see through their masks. I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. This wasn't heading anywhere good, was it?

"Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area 5," Eric finally replied, stressing his position as if he wanted to draw some kind of a line.

Mircea merely cocked his brow and then smiled softly. Oh, I knew that smile… Nothing good ever came out of it.

"I apologize, but the local system escapes my understanding," Mircea continued smiling, but his eyes glittered coldly and I shivered slightly.

What he was really saying was 'I couldn't care less for your self-implied laws.' I bit my lip in hopes Eric wouldn't notice, but hey, he was Eric. How could he not?

Meanwhile, Mircea averted his eyes to me again and he took off his coat, flinging it around my shoulders and wrapping me in the soft and warm material.

"See, I came prepared this time. For no matter how tempting you look right now, I wouldn't want your fragile body to get sick, dear," he noted and got a scoff out of me. "It's truly a pity I was a tad bit too late."

He eyed Eric warily again and I felt Eric's hand clasp mine firmly as he pulled me closer and his arm snaked around my waist possessively. Mircea arched his brow and his smile widened, his gaze drifting away to Eric.

"Though it seems you gained a new life saviour," he said in a silky voice that sent shivers down my spine. "One that sucks too."

I gasped and pressed my free hand to my mouth, my eyes wandering to Eric. It couldn't get any more direct than this. And Eric was quiet. Too quiet.

"Looks to me I'm still more capable than you," Eric finally replied with a tint of arrogance in his voice and a smirk adorned his features, "in all fields. I'm not the one branded with an EX, after all."

The polite smile on Mircea's face did not even falter, but his green eyes blazed and in horror I saw the rims of his orbs redden with a crimson line. Not good. I repeat, NOT GOOD.

"Looks to me like you've been poking around where you shouldn't," Mircea said calmly and I felt Eric grit his teeth.

"At least I did not drain her to the last drop, no matter how sweet she is," Eric retorted coldly and Mircea's gaze deepened on him.

I, for once, shut my eyes, wanting to shut my ears too. What's with these two and all those hidden meanings?!

"ARGH," I grunted, finally getting their attention as both of them averted their eyes to me in surprise, as if they had forgotten I was even there.

I ripped away from Eric's grasp and leaped sideways, yelling out, "Enough, you two! ENOUGH!"

"Why, we're only getting started," Mircea grinned, showing the tips of his fangs and I shook my head fervently.

"No, no, no! Nothing is getting started here!" I practically hissed at him in my fury. "What are you even doing here? How did you get here?"

Mircea merely shrugged nonchalantly, "I've been looking for you for hundreds of years, my dear Lily, surely, you know that."

I stared at him warily as Eric let out an animalistic growl. I ignored him.

"You're very good at hiding, my dear," Mircea continued, stalking towards me, however, he was soon intercepted by Eric who found it reasonable enough to get in between us.

The blonde's fangs were out, his stance dangerously defensive, "Not a step closer."

"My, what a feisty one you've found this time, Lily," Mircea commented, advancing forwards nevertheless until he stood chest to chest with Eric.

I heard more than saw his fangs slip out as Eric's large frame was preventing me from seeing Mircea fully.

"Stand aside, child," there was a slight hissing quality to the older vampire's voice now as he threatened Eric, "before I break you like a twig."

"No," Eric growled back, "Lily is mine now."

"THIS IS IT!" I screamed as I pushed Eric aside and, surprised at my strength, he stumbled sideways. "If you wanna go and tear each other's throats out, be my guests! When you're ready to talk like civilized people, then come and find me."

I glared at them both after my little tirade and stomped away, fuming. Men and their macho ways.

"Lily, where are you going?" Eric growled as he flashed stepped to me. I ignored him as I headed towards the stairs I could see at the end of yet another hall.

"To the nearest shower!" I bit back at him and soon heard Mircea laugh.

"Ah, that's why I love you, my dear!"

I ignored the growls and the noise of a body hitting something hard that followed in favor of climbing up as fast as I could. I was still pretty high on energy after killing all those people which was I still avoiding on thinking. Let the vampires deal with this themselves. I could always stake the one who survived, after all.

It was barely an hour later when Mircea found me. He was always good at knowing me and my ways, I guess. I ignored his smoldering green orbs as he sat on the edge of the white tub I was soaking in. His gaze raked through my lithe body, admiring the view and I let him with a soft sigh. It's not like I was modest, really.

"Hmm," Mircea mused, his hand coming up to brush at my cheek. "You do love that fledgling."

I frowned as I gave him a glare, "What would you know?"

"Well, for one, you have not yet skipped town," he replied, amusement coloring his voice and I snorted.

There was truth in his words.

"How did you find me?" I asked, my hands coming up to the surface of the water to play with the floating bubbles.

"You did say you were gonna look for the nearest shower," Mircea smirked. "It didn't take too long to check the nearby houses for you."

I gave him a half-hearted glare, "I was not asking about this."

"I bet that child vampire is still running around the nearby hotels like a headless chicken."

"Stop avoiding the question," I rolled my eyes, though the comparison of Eric and a headless chicken did bring a smile to my lips.

"Ah, there's that gorgeous smile I love seeing so much," Mircea commented and I glanced back at him, smiling even wider now. He did always know how to raise my mood.

"As for your question," the vampire became more somber. "I learned of the Order's plans for you and hoped to stop them before they reached you. I was too late, however."

I looked down at the water, watching the soap bubbles melt.

"I am sorry, Lily," Mircea whispered and out of the corner of my eye I saw him kneel beside the tub. "For every pain I caused you and for my inability to protect you, I am sorry, Lily."

"You don't have to say that," I shook my head as I glanced back at his remorseful eyes. "I know you are. You were young and I was foolish. We were lost in passion."

"I've wanted to apologize to you for many years," Mircea said. "Indulge me this one time, my dear."

I smiled at him and nodded my head.

"Now you listen to me, Lily," Mircea stared at my eyes, his own green orbs sincere and caring, "I do care for you. More than you can imagine. And so I will say this only once – do not let this chance pass. Take it and make it work."

"Mircea…"

"Give the fledgling a chance, Lily, give yourself a chance."

Involuntarily, I felt tears gather in my eyes and then roll down my cheeks. Mircea's cold fingers brushed them away gently and I felt his lips kiss my forehead. The touch was soothingly cool and soft.

"It is time to stop running, my dear."

And then, with a slight swoosh, the vampire was gone. I blinked, willing the tears to go away, and rose up from the tub. Mircea was right. I had found friends here, a sort of a family. Deep inside my heart, I knew I did not wish to leave, did not wish to abandon what I had here. Both my friendship with Sookie and my rocky relationship with Eric.

Yes, I nodded my head in determination. I will take this chance.

Eric growled as soon as he saw the elder vampire exit the building. Just what he needed. Another confrontation with the arrogant sucker. The last one had ended in a few broken bones and bloodshed. The vampire was strong and old. There was no way Lily could have met him recently. The little succubus sure knew how to weave her webs of lies. Still, Eric could not ignore his fascination and attraction to the woman.

He had flown around all the hotels in the area until he realized Lily did not go to a hotel. Apparently, she had seduced a man living practically next doors to where she was held and took his apartment. It was merely his luck he saw the dazed man wondering the streets and glamoured him to find out the truth. He had lost a few precious hours and it seemed Mircea had been the first to visit Lily. The latter merely smirked smugly as soon as he saw Eric and flash stepped to him.

Eric felt his fangs sprout. Despite the fact Mircea was far older than him, Eric would fight for Lily with all he had.

"My my, aren't we hostile tonight?" Mircea mocked and then rolled his green eyes. "Relax, fledgling, I'm not here to kick your ass."

"Oh, you could try," Eric hissed and Mircea snorted.

"I can see why Lily likes you," the elder vampire commented and then brushed past Eric nonchalantly. "I'm not standing in your way, child."

"You're… not?" the confusion in Eric's voice was apparent as he turned to stare at the elder vampire who stopped after a few steps to glance back at him.

"Of course not," he said airily. "If this is what Lily wants, then I will allow her this happiness."

"I find it hard to believe you are retreating as simple as that," Eric retorted, his eyes intent on the elder vampire.

A dark smirk took over the benign smile on Mircea's face as he practically purred at Eric, "Tell me, child, how long do you think you'll survive? Five hundred years? A thousand?"

Eric furrowed his brows, trying to understand where Mircea was going with this. The vampire flash stepped to him, his green orbs glinting in the dark and Eric tensed his body for a fight, if needed.

"However long you live, I will live longer. You will not survive forever, fledgling," Mircea whispered. "I am a patient man, a very patient man. I can wait."

And with these parting words, the elder vampire was gone, leaving Eric seething. If the vampire thought Eric would die soon, he was wrong, the sheriff thought as he turned on his heels and practically flew to the apartment. He could wait all he wanted, Eric was not letting go of Lily. Not now, not ever.

When he entered the apartment, the succubus was already waiting for him, a soft smile on her lips.

"Lily," he whispered, suddenly at a loss on how to start this conversation. There were many things he wanted to tell her and many more things he dreamed of doing to her but for the first time in his long life, Eric was unsure on how to start.

"I am a succubus and I feed on men," Lily, however, seemed to not have the same problem. She rose and came towards him and Eric steeled himself from jumping her right now and here. The enchanting woman was completely naked, the view of her body making him feel wondrous lust and passion once again.

"Can you accept that, Eric?"

He growled, an animalistic sound tearing from somewhere deep within his chest, "I do not share, Lily, I want you all for myself and no one else, but… I will find a way to make this work."

"And that is all I ask," she whispered and the next moment she was on top of him, pushing him down, her sudden strength surprising him. He shunned it to the corner of his mind as Eric wrestled her down, battling for dominance, taking her sweet mouth with his tongue. Once again, he felt her body heat up, the scorching heat clashing with his coldness and he knew this time it was not his imagination. The heat and the warmth was real and, finally, nestled in the supple body of his beloved succubus, Eric felt truly and completely satisfied.

Yes, he would find a way to make this relationship work and he would not let Lily go. Not now, not ever.

And so this is the end of the story. Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it :)