Chapter 9 – Inner demons

'It's okay, you can come down.' Eric was still wary of coming down into his resting place. Sookie had told me that he had built the cubby for himself while she was gone in one of her angry rants about how much she hated Eric. It would do for now. As long as Sookie didn't come looking for him. Or Bill for that matter. He was only staying for a couple of days at best. A spell like this didn't take long to reverse if you were a real witch, not one of those tree-hugging phoney ones. It was one of the only things I was really snobby about. Magic isn't something you toy with, especially if you don't know how to control it. I would probably have reversed it myself but these kind of spells always have to be reversed by the person who manifested the magic.

'Come on.' I said softly. Eric slowly climbed down after trying to look around the room. He looked so big down here and I wondered for a second about what he had planned on doing down here. It probably involved Sookie...

'Wow... this really is my house!' The bed was made of some leathery kind of upholstery. It had a blanket made of brown-ish fur. It didn't look like one particular animal and I really didn't want to think about it. I really was against killing animals for their fur. Maybe I could have a conversation with him about this once he got his memory back. It had two pillows made of the same fur as the blanket. It looked really uncomfortable. It probably wasn't...

'Yeah, but not for long...'

You live here,' he said slowly 'in my house?

'Yes'

'Are you mine?'

'No.'

'Do you belong to another vampire?'

No, that's -' disgusting. I managed to stop myself from saying that but I was pretty sure he got the message from my facial expression. I didn't want to be mean to him but the idea of a vampire biting me, sucking my blood, gave me the heebie jeebies. I almost didn't survive the other times... 'No.'

'Would you like to be mine?'

'Not really... I'm not into that kind of thing.' I mean sure I wanted him to touch me and like me but not bite me. He was CLEARLY in love with Sookie even though he couldn't remember. He would eventually. I decided to allow myself to think he was cute without any complications. I needed the distraction and besides nothing was going to happen between us if I had anything to do with it. I barely knew him and I wasn't about to take advantage of somebody as vulnerable as Eric was right now. Sookie had told me everything he had done in Dallas, with Russel Edgington and how he had saved her life numerous times. Sookie couldn't see that for herself and blamed him for and I quote: 'getting her into that shit to begin with', Sookie had really grown-up these last four years. She wouldn't have been caught dead talking like that while I lived with here. Guess a lot had changed.

Although I had had that vision I just couldn't see it happening and I really couldn't get messed up in that kind of a thing. I couldn't start liking him and constantly think about how adorable he was because he wasn't. Not really. I made to get out of there but suddenly he stood in front of me, blocking the exit.

'Eric... What are you doing?' He was really starting to scare me, he had that hungry look in his eyes.

'I just want to thank you for... for everything. That's all.'

'You're welcome... Please let me go now.'

'What are you?' He was leaning down to me and squinting his eyes a little. He was hungry. I could tell by the red rims that had started to form around his eyes. Even if I didn't know much about how vampires functioned I could distinctly tell. Anyone with an IQ over 50 would be able to.

'You don't want to know,' I half whispered. He really didn't and it would take to long to explain everything to him. I suddenly felt extremely tired and all my pent up exhaustion had come down on me like a bolder. I just wanted to crawl into my own bed and be dead to the world. 'Let me go.'

'Of course.,' he said, after studying me for a moment. He stepped aside to let me pass.

'Thanks.' His fangs shot out. I gasped and just about jumped three feet in the air. He quickly put his hands to his mouth but I could feel myself begin to panic. It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest and I was pretty sure he could hear it pounding. He looked at me apologetically: he was doing a lot of that lately.

'Sorry.' he moved further away from me and I practically skipped past him and and made my way out. He was leaning against the wall, watching me go. I quickly closed and locked the doors to the cubby. He could probably knock it down if he wanted to but I wasn't taking any chances

The sun beamed in through my window. I groaned and squinted my eyes at the light pouring in. I had been so tired that I had forgotten to draw the curtains shut. I was really feeling bad; like I was hung-over. I almost felt like throwing up. My stomach was clamping down but I knew I had had my period last week so it wasn't cramps. It didn't hurt, it just felt highly uncomfortable.

I threw the covers off of me and tried to make my way into the bathroom. I was sweating and had a massive headache. As soon as I set foot in the bathroom I stripped from my pj's and threw myself into the shower and set the water to cold. It felt amazing...

I eventually got out of the shower and went into my bedroom. I was working the lunch shift and had about two hours before I had to get to work. I threw on some clothes and went down to get some Advil. It didn't hurt as much anymore but it didn't feel natural to walk around or... do much of anything. I was hoping it would get better before my shift started or I would have to call in sick. And I really didn't want to do that.

I went down to the kitchen, took an Advil and grabbed everything I needed to make a sandwich. After I had made the sandwich and poured myself a cup of ice-tea I went out on the porch swing. A breeze blew my hair around my face and cooled my down. The pain slowly subsided.

I sat in the sun for a while before I saw a truck pull up the driveway. A scruffy-looking man stepped out of the vehicle. He was wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans a la Sam. They were really tight around the upper area. He had chocolate brown hair that fell around his face. He nervously ran a hand through it before he stopped at the bottom of the porch steps.

'Hi, I'm Alcide.' He pronounced it Al-ceed. I walked down the steps to face him, I stopped halfway down. He stuck out his hand for me to shake but I didn't take his hand. I didn't trust men right now and certainly not strange men.

'Can I help you?'

He looked a little flustered a first but quickly regained his composure.

'Yeah, I'm looking for Sookie Stackhouse.'

'Oh, um... and for what reason may I ask.'

'I'm her friend. I need to talk to her.'

'Well, she isn't home right now but I'll be sure to tell her you dropped by.' I put on my biggest and fakest smile and turned to go back inside. I wasn't about to tell some stranger that she didn't live here and I felt proud of myself for holding my own. That is until he grabbed my arm. It took everything in me to not use my powers on him but I think he felt a little jolt because he jerked his arm a little.

'Look, I don't know who you are,' he started 'but if you've done anything to hurt Sookie-'

'I haven't.' I cut in. 'I'm her cousin.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah, and Sookie isn't home right now so please let me go before I call the police.'

'Oh, yeah,' he said and let go of my arm.'Sorry.'

I stomped inside and slammed the door shut. I was shaking all over and felt tears start to well in my eyes before I slid down the door and plunked down on the floor, crying hysterically. For a moment I had though I saw Justin in his eyes. For a moment I thought I was going to get beat up or die. Deep down I knew he wasn't going to do that to me but Justin had gotten me all paranoid. The way he had grabbed me. Nobody had grabbed me like that since the night I left Justin, not even Eric when he bit me in the parking lot of Merlottes.

Time slowed down and when I finally looked up from where I sat on the floor I saw that there was less than 20 minutes before my shift began. I managed to gather myself enough to go into my room, put my uniform on and get my car keys off the kitchen counter. I was still shaking, but I pulled myself together and pulled out the driveway. Nothing had happened. Nothing had happened. Nothing had happened...

'Order up' Terry yelled from the pass at the window. I had gotten over my hysterical break down and was feeling better than I had in a while. I got my order and hustled over to place it at its table. Out the corner of my eye I saw Sookie coming in to start her shift. Great. That meant mine was over in 20 minutes.

'Hey Andy'

'Hey Sook, what's up?'

'Pack your things.'

'What?'

'Go home right now and get your stuff.'

'Sook, I thought we'd already been through this. I'm sorry I left the way I did. Can't we just leave it in the past?'

'No, it's not that. Eric's missing and I think he's trying to hurt Bill by getting to one of us.'

'And I have to pack my things because?'

'You're coming to stay with me and Bill in case he tries to hurt you.'

'Why would he do that?'

'I don't know. I think Eric is jealous of Bill's position as king. That's why he bought the house.'

'So he bought the house as part of a master plan to take over Bill's position as king whilst hurting me?.'

'Yes.'

'No offense Sook but that sounds kind of out there.'

'I- I...'

'Maybe you should go home and talk to Bill about this.'

'I probably should...'

'Are you okay?'

''Yeah sweetie, I'm fine... Bill and I have just been going through a rough patch.'

'I see.'

'You should probably get going. Your shift is over.'

'Yeah, call me later an we'll talk.'

'I will.'

I walked out of Merlottes after grabbing my things. It was one of the cooler nights so I found myself breathing in and enjoying the moment as best I could. I made my way to my car but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw someone standing next to it. A vampire. I stared at him for what felt like an eternity, my heart racing and fear making me go numb. He slowly walked up to me, it looked extremely weird because I could tell he was trying to walk in a human pace and 'human' obviously meant painfully slow to him. He was wearing dress paints and a tank top, his long hair pulled into a pony tail and tattoos painted all over his muscular body. Or what was visible of it. He had a weird mixture of tan and pale skin and dark eyes.

'I'm Chow,' he said before handing over an overnight bag and a grocery bag he had held in his hands that I hadn't even noticed. 'Every thing the Master will need is in there.' His voice had a gravelly tone to it and before I knew it he was gone. No longer standing in front of me.

I got home a little after seven. I was nervous about seeing Eric and talking to him. We really hadn't had a chance to talk last night and I didn't really know anything about him except for what Sookie had told me. And I really didn't think I should share any of that with him because every other sentence included a swear word directed at him. Not exactly what you want to hear when you don't know who you are.

'Hello? Eric, I'm home.' No reply. I placed the Tru Blood that Chow had given me in the fridge. There were a lot of different ones, blood-type wise, in the grocery bag he had given me which seemed kind of weird. You'd think the people closest to him would know which one he preferred. I went over to the cubby and opened it slowly. 'Eric, you down there?' Still no answer. I didn't go down there lest I interrupt his sleep even though it was well after sundown. Maybe he was just catching up on lost sleep. He did have a rough night last night.

I went back into the kitchen and thought about what I would make for dinner. It really did suck, not having Sookie around, even though I hadn't had time to adjust to her moving out. It still bugged me that she had moved out so abruptly and after our conversation at the bar today something definitely seemed of. I couldn't see Bill forcing her to stay because I knew Sookie would die before letting anyone tell her what to do. That's why I always admired her. She was always the strong one, she didn't take shit from anyone. She always stood up for everyone and anyone who needed her help or she thought needed her help. I wished I had that kind of spunk but I didn't and I never would.

Suddenly I felt pinpricks on my arms and warmth enveloping me. My eyes glazed over for a second and goosebumps formed on my arms. It felt like I was dissolving, like those little bubbles in your soda when you pour it. It felt oddly comforting but all to familiar. I walked out onto the porch and breathed the scent of vanilla in. There was no point in running. She was here.

A light shone in the yard.

'Sophia...'

'I've come for you.'

'I'm not going anywhere with you.'

'Annabelle, I understand that what you saw in Spirit must have been frightening.'

'Frightening? You kidnap people! You made me do things I would never even think about doing!'

'We helped you develop you powers. We kept you safe.'

'Safe? When have you ever kept me safe?'

'Your father would have done much worse and you know it.'

'No... I don't'

'That night your father almost beat you to death I sent that boy to come and save you.'

'Some hero he turned out to be...'

'Sweetheart-'

'Don't call me that. Don't you dare.' I would rip her to pieces before I allowed for her to try and be sweet with me. That train was long gone. 'How come you never saved me form any vampires.'

'I can't risk it being what I am. Vampires would kill me and they will kill you. Now come with me while you still can!'

'Stay away from me.'

I had barely turned to walk inside before I heard Sophia scream. I turned and saw her lying on the ground with a shadow looming above her. It's head lowered to her neck, biting viciously into it. Sophia raised a shaking hand weakly, a blue light emitting from it before it disappeared along with her. She was gone. My eyes slowly moved from where her form had turned into dust to a vampire kneeling on the dirt-covered ground, blood dripping from his mouth. I felt a second of panic and untamed fear rush through me before I recognized the vampire. Fuck!

'Eric, you just killed my guardian angel!'