A/N: This chapter deals with the action at the Tolerance Festival. And, a little bit of action between Eric and Payton.

Chapter 16

I

"I can't believe that you're unable to control a few witches," complained Nan.

"This is not an ordinary witch," replied Bill. "Somehow the spirit of Antonia Gavilán has returned."

"Right, I'm supposed to believe that some witch here is possessed by the spirit of a witch who died during the Spanish Inquisition," said Nan.

"Believe what you want," hissed Bill. "But, I'm telling you that now is not the time to hold your Tolerance Festival."

"Let me make myself clear," said Nan. "I've had this set up for months. Everything has been given the green light. And this event is too politically important to cancel."

"You mean it's important to your career," replied Bill. "Are the powers that be not too impressed with your performance these days?"

"Listen, you whiny bitch," hissed Nan. "I gave you the crown and I can take it away just as easily."

"I want it officially recorded that I'm complying with your demands under protest," said Bill.

"Anything to please you, Bill," replied Nan. "Now, what's this about a witch on our side?"

"Eric Northman's human," said Bill. "So far, she's been the only thing that has been able to fight Antonia's power."

"Why is that Viking always in the middle of things?" said Nan with aggravation. "Make sure that Eric and his human are present at the event. Put Eric in charge of security."

"I run my own security," hissed Bill.

"Let's see do you possess the one weapon that we have against this witch?" sarcastically asked Nan. "No? Then, Eric is better qualified than you, isn't he?"

Bill simmered and Nan watched him with a glint in her eyes. "He's brain damaged," complained Bill.

"Even operating on half his brain cells, he's still a thousand year vampire," said Nan. "Does the fact that he is so much more powerful than you distress you, Bill?"

Bill glowered and said, "I'm his king."

Nan gave him an icy smile and said, "Maybe, the two of you should pull them out and measure them. But, I still think that you would come up lacking in that contest."

Bill sighed in aggravation and said, "What about the other sheriffs?"

"They are too dangerous if they can't be controlled," said Nan.

She stood up and gave Bill a cool gaze. "Now, I have a few details with my staff to iron out about tomorrow night. You have a simple job. Don't screw this up, Bill."

Bill watched as Nan breezed out of his office. It's too bad that she couldn't have a convenient accident tomorrow night, he thought. It was obvious that Marnie would show up tomorrow night. It would be too tempting a target for her to pass up. He wondered if he should call Eric, now. He also should have insisted that Eric and the girl stay here at his mansion. It would be easier to keep his eye on them that way. He decided that he would call Eric at sunset. He and his human were already in Shreveport where the festival would take place. He couldn't handle talking to Eric right now. There was only so much aggravation that he could deal with in one evening and, memory loss or not, Eric Northman was still a pain in his side.

He left his office and flashed up the stairs at vampire speed. He intended to spend a few moments before sunrise in more pleasant company. Just the knowledge that Hadley was upstairs and waiting for him was a calming influence on his nerves. He was relieved that she had returned of her own free will and he didn't want to make her question that decision. He found her dressed in her robe and slippers. An opened book was lying on the nightstand. Hadley came forward and took his hand as she brushed her lips against his in a kiss. He closed his eyes and kissed her back and felt her arms wrap around him. He ended the kiss and pulled back a little. He looked into her doe eyes and trailed his fingers over her cheek.

"That was some kiss," he said.

"There is more where that comes from," replied Hadley.

She leaned in and kissed him again and Bill wrapped his arms around her for a moment. He pulled back again and Hadley frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"It's just that I want to take things slow," said Bill. "This is too important to me to rush. And I want you to be sure that your feelings aren't misplaced gratitude."

"Most vampires wouldn't care," replied Hadley.

"You make me want to be different," said Bill.

Hadley kissed him again and said, "You are different. You've already shown me that."

Bill wrapped his arms around her and smelled the soft musk and vanilla scent that she wore. She had such faith in him. He didn't want to disappoint her because already he was having a hard time imagining his life without her in it. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the soft touch of her skin and the sweetness of her scent.

II

Eric awoke at sunset and stayed a moment in bed. He had not been silvered since Payton was sure that her magic would protect him. He touched his chest with the back of his hand and he was still warm. It was a delicious sensation. It was tangible proof that her blood was very different. He wondered if he should stop drinking from her since there could be other side effects from her blood. But, her blood had healed him and restored some of his memories. His flesh was warm for the first time in a thousand years and he realized that he didn't want to give up this little piece of magic. He could not see any harmful intent from Payton's blood. So, why should he give it up?

He wondered if she knew what she was. She would be too afraid to confide that secret to anyone else, even him. He also knew that her difference had isolated her and made it hard for her to trust others. Very few humans tolerate those who are different from them. It was a reason why she belonged with him. With him, she could be what she was.

He rose and found her waiting for him upstairs. Gazing at her, he felt like running away with her and letting Bill fend for himself against the witches. What was really important to him? His child, of course, and this girl who was touched by magic seemed to be all that mattered to him. She turned her eyes to his and he knew the depth of her attraction to him. He strode to her and pulled her into an embrace as his lips hungrily sought hers. He felt a momentary resistance and then her body pliantly molded to his demands. He passed his hands over her soft curves and his lips devoured hers. He had wanted to wait, but he found that the lure of her body next to his was too overwhelming to resist. He slightly lifted her and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and covered any protests with his kisses. His enthusiastic kisses had caused her soft lips to swell and he tasted, licked and nibbled on them. His tongue explored the depths of her mouth without meeting any resistance and he moved to her neck. His hands pulled aside her blouse and he moved and mouthed her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra. She sighed and arched her chest against his lips until she realized what she doing. She pushed him back to arms length. Eric stared down at her.

"I want you," he said. "And my blood tells me that you want me."

Eric made a motion to return to her breasts and Payton held him in place.

"You aren't yourself," she said.

"I wanted you before," said Eric. "Just like you wanted me."

"You forget that I refused you," replied Payton.

"You refused me because you thought that I only wanted to possess you," said Eric. "You know that isn't true."

He leaned down and kissed her and whispered in her ear, "You're all I want."

He settled his body against hers and resumed kissing her swollen lips. Payton's arms slowly moved around him and he nudged aside the fabric of her bra and took a pink-tipped nipple in his mouth. He sucked vigorously on the hardened tip and Payton moaned. The phone on the bedside began ringing. Eric ignored it and sucked harder, causing Payton to gasp. The phone kept on ringing.

"The phone," breathed Payton with difficulty.

She attempted to reach for it and Eric held her down. His tongue darted over her nipple and silenced her protests. But, the phone continued to ring. In a fury, Eric paused and angrily picked it up.

"This had better be important," he hissed.

"It's Bill, your King, remember me?" said Bill. "I need you at the city center, now. And bring your human."

Bill hung up and Eric held the receiver in his hand and felt like crushing it in his grip. Payton reached for him as her hands slid down his body until they shyly moved over his rear. Damn that infernal Bill, he thought. He was in a state of almost painful arousal, coupled with a finally willing Payton. He reluctantly moved back from her.

"That was Bill," he said. "We've been summoned."

Payton closed her eyes and as she opened them, Eric saw her doubts reappear before his eyes. She quickly drew her blouse closed. He leaned down and kissed her, slowly and with passion. Under his persistent kisses, he felt her again relax and respond in kind.

"I'll make it up to you," he said. He kissed her again and got off the bed. He had a pressing matter to attend to.

"I'll be in the bathroom," he said, walking out of the room. "Taking a shower."

III

Pam and Eric stood at the front entrance of the auditorium of the city center complex. Payton took a position well behind them. Blackburn and Jessica manned the rear entrance. Payton had placed a protection spell over all of them and she hoped that it would keep the vampires from being forced into doing Antonia's bidding. She nervously glanced at Eric and he passed a reassuring glance back over her. She was slightly embarrassed over what had happened between them and Pam flicked an occasional glance between them as she seemed to be able to detect the sexual tension in the air. It's no use pretending that you didn't want it, she thought. Even without his ability to sense your emotions, he would know the truth. What are you really afraid of? Do you really believe that he isn't sincere about the things that he has said? Antonia's spell over him didn't change who he is. It just eliminated a little excess baggage that he carted around.

"Can you break Antonia's hold over them?" asked Eric.

"I don't think so," replied Payton.

"Any ideas on how we're supposed to stop them, witchy-poo?" asked Pam.

"Unfortunately, I believe that only Antonia can reverse the spell or Marnie's death," said Payton. "It was stupid to hold this event. Who's bright idea was it?"

"That would be Nan," replied Eric. "There is no reasoning with her. At least, she conceded to stop the live coverage of the event."

"Yes, there's nothing like the sight of vampires killing defenseless humans to warm the American voting public to her cause," said Pam.

Suddenly, a blur of motion appeared that stopped in front of Pam and Eric. It was the female vampire sheriff, Kirsch. She gave a little crazy smile and bared her fangs at them. Payton touched Eric's arm and moved in front of him. He kept close beside her and bared his fangs at the vampire.

"Hear my voice, vampire," said Payton. "Kneel to my power."

The vampire hissed and Payton made a magical sign in the air. She held her arm out and pointed downward. The vampire jerkily lowered herself to her knees. But the movement appeared to have been forced upon her. She seemed to struggle against a force that held her in place.

"How are you doing this?" she snarled.

"I can do all sorts of things," replied Payton. "Renounce Antonia's power over you."

"I obey only Antonia Gavilán," she hissed.

"That's not totally true or you wouldn't be on your knees before me," said Payton.

"I will kill all of you after I have killed the King," she said.

"Okay, this conversation is over," said Eric.

He signaled a black van idling nearby and half a dozen black-clad guards exited and headed to their position. As the female vampire snarled and twitched in place they securely wrapped her with silver chains.

"Make sure she is secured in the van with more silver," said Eric. "And if she tries anything at all, stake her."

Payton watched as they dragged the vampire away and Pam said, "One down, one to go."

"I think Marnie will come herself," said Payton.

Eric checked in on a secure line with Blackburn. So far, there hadn't been any disturbances at the rear entrance.

At the rear entrance, Jessica cast a few sideways glances at Blackburn. He was very cute with blonde hair and youthful features, she thought. She had only ever dated Hoyt and had never really considered going out with a vampire. But, the idea was starting to look rather appealing. At least, she could behave like a vampire and not have to constantly apologize for what she was. She bit her lip and wondered what the sex would be like.

"Keep your eyes open and off me," said Blackburn.

"Sorry," muttered Jessica, turning away.

"You can admire me some other time," he said. "Perhaps, when I have the time to return your interest."

Jessica glanced back at him and saw him looking at her in amusement. She smiled before again glancing away.

"I just might do that," she said.

She looked down the alley and saw a brief flash of movement. "I don't think we're alone," she said.

Blackburn barely had time to send a signal to Eric before the other vampire sheriff was on them. He knocked Jessica into the wall and focused his attack on Blackburn. Twisting and turning in a whirl of motions, the two vampires struggled to gain the upper hand. Jessica watched the fast-paced action and waited for a moment that she could help. Suddenly, Blackburn flung Duprez against the wall and held him there. He was older and stronger than Duprez, although the spell-casted vampire fought with zealous fury that gave him more strength than normal. As Jessica watched, some force knocked Blackburn away and to the ground and in a flash Duprez jumped on him and attempted to rip out his throat with his fangs. Jessica jumped on Duprez's back and tightly held on as she sank her fangs into his throat. She ripped out a mouth full of tissue and severed his jugular vein. But, that didn't seem to slow him down and he stood up with Jessica hanging on and tried to dislodge her. She knew that he would surely finish her if he did that. She shifted her grip and slammed her fist into the back of Duprez's neck. She grasped his spinal column in her bloody hand and pulled viciously, trying to rip it in two. With a loud crunch she pulled a section of Durprez's spine out, just as Blackburn punched his fist through the vampires chest and pulled out his heart. Snarling and baring his fangs, Blackburn watched as Durprez's eyes rolled up in his head and he sank to the ground.

Jessica stared at the vampire on the ground and asked, "Is he dead?"

"Not yet," replied Blackburn.

Blackburn dropped the heart to the ground and pulled out a stake from his jacket. He pierced the heart with it and Duprez's body collapsed in a puddle of gore.

Blackburn looked over at Jessica. Her hair was a wild mess and her mouth was bloody. Her fangs were still out and Blackburn couldn't help but notice how lovely they looked as they rested on her lower lip. God, she was beautiful, he thought. He usually didn't have the patience to deal with babies, but she might be worth making an exception for.

"Not bad," he said. "For a baby vamp."

Jessica blushed and dropped her eyes. That was when Eric and Payton arrived and took in the scene of carnage. Eric looked between Jessica and Blackburn and gave them a little smirk.

"I see that you were able to dispatch Duprez in between making goo-goo eyes at each other," he said.

Blackburn stiffened, but replied, "Well, you have to have your priorities."

Jessica looked back at him and fluttered her long eyelashes and Eric rolled his eyes. Payton turned in a small circle and seemed to be concentrating. Eric touched her arm and looked at her in concern.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I think Duprez was used as a distraction," said Payton. "I can sense the residue of magic in the air."

"Did you see anything else at all?" asked Eric of Blackburn and Jessica.

"No, nothing," Jessica replied.

Payton turned and said urgently to Eric, "I think she's already inside. Call Bill, now."

Eric called Bill who was in the auditorium. As it rang, Nan rolled her eyes and hissed, "Turn that off. You're up, now."

"This could be important," replied Bill.

"Doing what I tell you is what's important," said Nan.

Bill got up to walk to the podium in order to make his speech amid the sound of applause. The noise filtered outside and Eric took Payton's arm and they went inside followed by Blackburn and Jessica.

In a hidden alcove, Marnie and Roy watched the ceremony. Marnie smiled. That little witch thought that she had covered all the bases. The vampires guarding the outside had been protected by her magic, but there were three vampires inside. She passed her eyes over Bill, Nan and the vampire who was the sister of one of the human speakers. She began to use Antonia to cast the spell.

"I want to thank our guest speaker for her moving story about being reunited with her sister," said Bill with a smile. The noise of applause was again heard.

"But, I want to stress that not enough has been done to fight the fear and prejudice that still runs rampant in this country," began Bill. "We must all begin to come together to heal the wounds between our races and rebuild that trust which was so savagely broken by a rogue and deeply disturbed vampire."

At that moment, the vampire sister dropped her fangs and jumped on her sister who shrieked loudly in fright. As the stunned crowd watched, she flung her sister out over the seats.

"What the f*ck," hissed Nan.

She got up to move to the vampire when she heard the voice of someone behind her. Turning, Nan saw a frumpy looking woman almost hidden by a curtain at the edge of the stage. Once she looked into her eyes, she forgot who she was. This woman with the blazing eyes was telling her what to do and she found that she wanted to do whatever she said. It all made perfect sense to her. Kill the king. It was necessary and only she could accomplish such a task.

As the public bolted in fear to the exit and Bill stood at the podium, Nan bared her fangs and attacked him. Roy and Marnie watched from the wings.

"This is wicked awesome," said Roy with enthusiasm.

Marnie watched with a small half-smile. It was all going exactly according to her plan. The vampire sheriffs had been the perfect diversion.

The crowd had grown into full-fledged panic as the vampire sister had begun attacking random humans in the crowd. As Eric and Payton along with the other vampires came inside, they had to fight their way past the fleeing crowd. People were screaming and pushing and shoving. Those unfortunate enough to fall down were trampled underfoot. Eric called for Bill's security and moved to the crazed vampire. She had found her sister again. As her sister pleaded with her to stop, she bared her fangs and started to lunge for her throat. It was then that Eric began firing at her from an automatic handgun. The vampire dropped her sister in shock. With every bullet fired, she was knocked back and she cried out in pain. After several bullets, she faltered and fell to the floor where she groaned and writhed in pain.

"Silver bullets," said Eric to Payton's questioning eyes.

He reloaded another magazine and turned his eyes to Nan and Bill. Something inside him seemed to whisper that letting them kill each other wasn't such a bad idea. It was enough of a temptation that he paused as he watched Nan fling Bill around like a ragdoll. Nan Flanagan was around eight hundred years old and she would make mincemeat of Bill in no time. As Nan straddled Bill and raised a broken piece of a chair overhead, Eric fired at her. A silver bullet to her heart flung her back and incapacitated her. He took his time walking forward and stood over her and aimed the gun again. She coughed out a gob of blood and clutched her chest. She snarled and as Eric watched, he could see the glint of silver amid the blood as the bullet worked it's way out. He fired another bullet into her brain and she lay still. Bill rushed to Eric's side and looked down at her. He gripped the broken piece of wood in his hand. Eric saw this and raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot her again," hissed Bill.

"She isn't going anywhere not with a silver bullet to her frontal lobe,' replied Eric. Bill yanked the handgun away and fired again.

"Bitch," he hissed.

"I think you have hostility issues, Bill," said Eric.

Payton had stayed away from that scene. She turned in a circle and took in the carnage. People lay hurt and stunned, but she didn't think anyone had been killed. Bill's black-clad security had taken over with herding the frightened public safely out and bringing medical aid to the injured. The other vampires were already glamouring the humans and making sure that the collateral damage was kept to a minimum. Looking to the rear of the stage, she saw Marnie and Roy still standing there and observing the results of their actions. She took a few steps to them. But Eric must have sensed her emotions, since he appeared quickly at her side. He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"Hello, demoness," Marnie said.

"That is not my name and not what I am," replied Payton.

"Are you so sure?" asked Marnie. "After all, who knows who your father really was."

Eric leveled his gaze at Roy and he flinched under that intensity and took a step behind Marnie.

"Scared, human?" he said. "You should be."

When Payton, felt Eric tense beside her, she gripped his arm in hers. He put a protective arm around her and guided her behind him.

"My money is on Marnie," Roy said.

"You bet on the wrong horse," replied Eric. "Because I will rip out both of your ribcages and lap the blood out of your dead bodies."

"Charming, isn't he?" said Marnie.

"You're one to talk," replied Payton. "Do you care how many innocent people that you hurt?"

"Sacrifices have to be made," said Marnie. "I consider them martyrs."

Eric bared his fangs and made a move to them, but Payton held him back. She leveled her gaze at Roy.

"I would keep my eyes open if I were you," she said. "You just might start to see things out of the corner of your eye."

"What do you mean?" asked Roy, in trepidation.

"Roy, she's only trying to rattle your cage," said Marnie.

"Am I?" said Payton. "Every action has a consequence. Dark magic cannot be wielded without a price. Both of you are about to find that out."

"I'm shaking in my boots," snickered Marnie. "Well, until later."

With a flourish of hands, both Marnie and Roy disappeared into thin air. Payton seemed to find herself exhausted with everything that had happened. She felt Eric's arm snake around her. She glanced up into his almond-shaped eyes and he touched her chin.

"Without you, many people, both vampires and humans, would have been hurt or killed," he said. "You were very brave tonight."

"You were at my side," replied Payton.

"Yes, but it was you who was protecting me," said Eric.

"I'm handy that way," replied Payton.

Eric smirked and said, "I'm handy in all kinds of ways, myself."

He smiled and began to pull her out of the auditorium, but he left her with Pam for a few moments before leaving. No one else noticed that he had words with one of the cameramen who had been recording the event. After speaking with the man, Eric flashed a satisfied smile as he escorted Payton home.

A/N: That Bill, he has a rotten sense of timing, lol. Jessica was showing a little vampire fierceness at the festival. I know Jessica and Jason were kind of cute this season, but maybe she should consider dating a vampire. The show needs some new vampire blood next season. It's a new rule in my stories: cute vampire sheriffs can't be killed off, so no true death for Blackburn.