PART TWO

Chapter 5

"So…..you must be the infamous Sookie….that actually married one of those freaks….and the most notorious around to boot?" Heather snorted as she got to her feet, her sister following suit. "Well, consider what I am doing a favor. You won't be treated like a free meal anymore, you can go out and live your life, no longer under the control of those freaks." Heather may have been clever and calculating, but it was quickly apparent to Sookie that this woman had no idea who she was dealing with and to prove her point, she brought out her own fangs, causing the two sisters to jump

"Apparently you didn't do your homework completely. So….what exactly are you trying to do here? Tell me and then you are going to undo this."

Heather regained her composure and laughed. "I want to purge the world from these monstrosities and by taking their souls, their true nature is unleashed. Because you and I know that that is all they can or ever will be. And with my help in arming humans with weapons that are quite effective, soon, the state will be vamp free and the more souls I take, the stronger the pendant becomes, so strong that I won't even need to leave my bed for the pendant to steal souls. It will be like a magnet, siphoning them from all over the world and humans will see the truth of what they are and retaliate. The streets will be full of vamp blood instead of human blood for a change."

She felt sick to her stomach at the plans of this woman and yet, Sookie felt that there was something of a reluctance within the younger sister and as she dipped into her brain, her suspicious were confirmed as she hear the thoughts of Parker. Parker wasn't looking to kill anyone and knew that not all vamps were wicked, murderous. But she feared her sister and her powers that were superior to her own. Parker felt trapped and obliged to go along with this, believing that her life would be at risk should she dare try to stop her sister. And as she left the mind of the younger sister, Sookie had a feeling that this girl was going to be instrumental in stopping this before things turned ugly. But before she could say anything else, screams stared permeating the night and the three women dashed to the edge of the roof and saw, dead center of the chaos, that there was a massacre in play, as Sookie saw, with regret, fear and worry, Eric and her friends-Pam, Jess, Willa and even, to her regret, Godric rounding on a group of teenagers, biting them as they tried fighting back with the silver blades and whatever else they had grabbed from the stash provided by the two sisters. Ignoring the gleeful laughter from Heather, Sookie flashed herself down to the street and managed to get herself between the teens and the attacking vamps

"Guys, come on…just…don't do this-" she tried pleading with them as there came a shouting voice from above.

"So long as they are separated from what I took from them, there is no reasoning with them. The only way to stop them is to kill them. " Heather sounded gleeful as she took in the sight of the desperate Sookie who had managed to urge the teens to run off instead, the eyes of her friends following before their feet gave chase as the teens tried regrouping, aiming pistols at the group and knowing that there had to be silver bullets…or worse, silver bullets with UV light in the core within them, she had to act and used her magic to create a shield between them and her friends. She took the time to blast the weapons from the hands of the teens, who took a look at her and as she lit her hands up with her magic, they seemed more scared of her and took off. Turning back to her friends, she took the shield and turned it into something of a containment shield, trapping them in a dome of her magic. Enraged, she cringed as she watched them try to get out of the place, slamming their bodies against this and she had never seen them act so primal before and it was upsetting, to say the least.

"Let us out of here." Willa shrieked as she glared at Sookie as the others shouted obscenities. "Let…us…out!"

"Not until I can figure a way to help you guys." replied the desperate Sookie as she watched as yet more vamps came out of the woodwork, attacking the armed townspeople. Turning back to where the two sisters had been, on top of the roof, she saw they had gone and she knew she needed to find them. Running through the streets, she followed the scent of the two, being grateful yet again that her senses had become so much more acute since she had become a hybrid. But she hadn't time to wax nostalgic. She kept running until something grabbed at her and she found herself in a diner, empty thanks to the attacks.

"Sorry…." Parker said. "My sister had to go check on supplies and left me to keep an eye on things….so I only have a few minutes. I don't like what she's doing and my powers….they suck compared to hers. But I can tell you that unless you can get a hold of that necklace, this is gonna spread faster and faster until there's wars everywhere. She has stockpiles of weapons and has sources that are helping supply her."

Sookie frowned at the frightened looking sister. But dipping into her mind again, she saw that she was telling the truth. "You have any way if destroying that thing, that necklace?"

"There is a book she got the magic from….actually I was the one that got it as I am the book smart one…..I read a little but all I know for certain unless you have magic that is stronger than hers, you won't get your hands on that necklace. Its protected from being taken. She took no chances in this….what are you anyway? You clearly are no ordinary….well, your soul wasn't stolen…"

"Because I am the best of both worlds." came a cryptic reply from Sookie, who was not about to reveal the truth of what she was to this girl. Even in ordinary circumstances she wasn't gonna blab her heritage to anyone. "I think if I can get close to her, I can try getting the-" she was cut off by a loud noise and they looked out the window in time to see a splattering of blood streak across the window. And there, meeting her gaze was Pam, her face wet with blood and in the background, a smug looking Heather stood, her aura of magic evident around her, the pendant glowing bright as yet more souls were stolen.

Chapter 6

Parker had ducked out the rear entrance of the diner, careful o not let her sister see her associating with Sookie and though limited by magic, she was determined to help the girl get her friends back, to end things before there was any more killing. The body count was up to three, although the three victims were transients who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, seeing the three bodies was upsetting to her as she stood outside the diner, ready to face her own family and fight them if need be. She knew full well how deadly her power could be to vamps if she so chose and yet, she was troubled by the fact that Heather had been able to break the shield and release them back on the streets. They seemed to forger about her and instead were in a battle with some humans who were launching silver tipped darts at them and though it seemed to slow them down a bit, it was not enough to stave them off completely. Shots started to be fired from elsewhere in the town and having lost track of her kin in the melee, she couldn't help but wince when she came across some vamp remains, wondering if they belonged to someone she cared for.

And then a manhole cover opened up from under her and it was replaced as soon as she had fallen through. By a soft light, conjured by a finger, Parker had revealed herself to Sookie as well as a book in her hand. "Here…the answers are in this…everything you need to-" she was stopped as a knife blade swooped across her throat and a streak of blood blossomed at her neck.

"And I thought we were going to stand triumphantly together….." Heather said, shaking her head sadly, watching her sister's body as she kicked it into the flowing water to the side. Grabbing the book tightly against her chest, Sookie took a couple steps back from the woman and was prepared to try to get the necklace off her. But first, she needed to get the book somewhere safe, somewhere that this woman couldn't get it. And in a flash, the book had vanished, the villainess fuming angrily.

"I don't know exactly what you are but there is clearly something different about you…..you clearly are vamp…and yet you have magic I can't wield myself…" Heather was not enjoying feeling like she was ignorant, seeing this strange woman before her that was not only vampire but something else. Enough to keep her soul from being stolen. A freak of nature, even more so than the vamps, Heather thought to herself.

"Yeah..I am a freak….but this freak is gonna find a way to stop you from what you're trying to do." Sookie snapped, reading the snarled thoughts of the crazed woman before her. Knowing she couldn't go far without the necklace on her neck, she tried to blast it off her neck, to sever the chain with her magic.

"Funnily enough, only I or one of those whose soul I have stolen can remove the necklace… or someone who has been affected somewhat from the magic." Heather boasted and it was then Sookie felt something in her, saw there was a glow coming to life within her. And she knew what it was, and yet how she had managed to have it a part of her instead of the pendant was a big question she needed answered. But she knew that this was certainly a unexpected occurrence in her favor. The book was still necessary but at least for now, she could return at least one soul. But she needed to work fast. Vanishing from the depths of the sewer, she managed to track down who she sought out and before he could drain a human to the point of death, she took him by the arm and though he tried to fight her off, she vanished the two of them out of there, returning to their home. But she wasted no time, crafting a stronger shield around their home, hoping it would but her enough time to do what she needed.

She felt hands on her neck and yet, she saw there was something there in those eyes, recognition and she let loose what had somehow manifested into her own body. She struggled to breathe as his hands gripped her harder and he dove in to bite her. Hard, unforgiving. Ignoring the pain, she managed to allow instinct to guide her, fearing that somehow she could risk ruining the most precious thing she possessed at the moment. But with a last breath, she managed to wriggle herself to the point where she could position her mouth over his, kissing him rough and hoping she could release what she had been carrying within her back where it belonged. And there came a gentle vibration to the room, the room spinning around her as she fell to her knees, hoping for the best, bracing for the worst.

She felt nothing, no further assault and as she gasped for air, as she got to her feet, she managed to see the last traces of the white glow vanishing within his chest. And as if waking up from a dream, he took in the damage inflicted on her, seeing her neck bloodies and red, though the wounds were already healed up. "Eric…." she started, her back against the wall, her hands glowing, ready to attack if need be. But to her relief, she could see it, he was whole again, back to himself. "Are you…"

"You kept it safe for me….I honestly….never…" he stopped before gathering his thoughts. "I always believed I was damned….let alone the fact that I actually had a actual….tangible….soul. You kept it safe for me….I don't know how this happened, I felt it being taken but she didn't get it…."

There were relieved tears in her eyes as she thought back to when he had been split from his soul. "I think perhaps the bond between us works in ways we never thought possible….that it is stronger than we ever thought it was…." she touched his face, which looked pained. "And I always thought vamps had souls…I know there are bad ones out there but….I always thought the ones I cared for and who have been good to me….that they most definitely had souls. And you are not and never will be dammed. You are better than you think you are and you've got to stop being so hard on yourself." she stroked his hair gently as she took in his clothes. What remained of them, anyway. "You were busy tonight but luckily I don't think you or any of the others killed anyone. Yet." she took to look at the book that she had gotten from Parker and as she went to open it, it dissolved into ash and she swore she could hear laughter from somewhere close. But there was one page that remained, a page with hastily scribbled writing on it.

"Parker…..she wrote this…..Heathers sister. She knew her sister would try to destroy the book if necessary but she used magic to preserve the one page we needed. The spell to remove the link of the pendant to Heather. Removing the spell will make it so we can take it off her. Apparently Parker was stronger with her magic than her sister knew….."

"What do we need to do? And also, a troubling thought…what if that magic tries taking-"

"I think if there was any chance of you losing your soul again, it would have occurred by now….though I do have a shield of magic around the house….." reluctantly, she pulled the magic back in, destroying the shield. They needed to know for certain. But there was nothing. No magic was affecting him. He was safe from being having his soul reaped again and that was certainly a relief to the both of them.

The paper that remained form the book had a simple incantation. But she knew that the spell required the user to have a sufficient amount of magic within themselves to make it work. "I have vamp and faerie magic in my veins, if that isn't potent enough then I haven't any clue what is." she proceeded to cast the spell and they felt nothing happen. But she knew she had done what she needed to do and in a flash of light she had brought them back to town. There in the melee, was the rest of their family and friends, some doing better than other at dealing with the humans who were defending themselves with anything they had been able to get from Heather's stash. "I can go try to get them under control. As for the other vamps…they mean nothing to me and I will kill them if need be." he said matter of factly. And she had always known he cared for few people in this world and a good portion of those people were out on the street. There was plenty of weapons on the ground and with a quick scan, there were injured humans on the street and some dead vamps….but it seemed contained to this town for the time being. But they dared not wait any longer. Ignoring the pain that came with grabbing onto two thick silver nets, the Viking went at full speed and in no time had restrained their family, their friends, hard as it was to do to those he loved. But seeing as they were immobilized and slowly weakening against the metal wrapping around them. Ensuring they were secured, he did as promised and laid waste to no less than a dozen other vamps that came out of the woodwork to attack the humans who were still holding their ground.

At first Heather was amused at seeing vamps killed….until she realized that it was a vamp doing the killing. Thanks to the pendant around her neck and her own power she was able to detect that somehow, this one had had his soul restored. And try as she might, she pendant wasn't taking it back again. There was another magic involved. A magic that just now was aided by something she thought destroyed to get the necklace off of her. Snatching the necklace that now had a broken chain, Sookie shoved it in her pocket and grinned in triumph as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind the dumbfounded woman.

"How dare you…what kind of magic do you have anyway? Heather shrieked.

"Magic that is clearly more powerful than yours….how does it feel knowing that your own sister helped me out…that she betrayed you." Sookie said with a grin.

Shrugging, Heather summoned magic of her own, flames licking at her fingertips. "No matter, I always get what I want! I was so close to taking this town back…for us! For regular people…." she took a deep breath and unleashed her flames towards her target but it was flung away with the light that came from the fingers of Sookie. "Fine. I will just do this one vamp at a time…starting with that cute one….pity he is a freak of nature just like you are…." she jumped off the building, landing safely on her feet without a sound. With the chaos that was still sparking up all over and he busy with yet more humans trying to bring him down, it was turning ugly-ugliER-fast. Heather was not about to quit and even though she lost the pendant, she was determined to take down someone with her and it was then she flung the fire she conjured in her left hand and aimed it straight for the back of the tall blonde vampire and at the same time, she had taken her right hand and sent a solid blast of air at the woman still trying to come at her. Time seemed to stand still and as she lay on her side, winded from the attack, she smelled the all too familiar scent of burning flesh and she heard the sounds approaching as she struggled to heal from the attack.

TO BE CONTINUED