Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue. Most of the characters are Charlaine Harris's... but some are mine! All the mistakes are my own.
Chapter Nine:
"Master?" Pam's face had a look of concern. She looked as beautiful as ever in a light pink silk sleeveless shirt an a knee-length gray skirt. Her pink pumps made her legs seem even longer. Her long blond hair was in a long single braid. She was a sight for sore eyes and I could not have been more pleased to see her. I must say she has impeccable timing.
"Pam, let us talk inside." I said flatly. I was not sure if anything was lingering in the woods, but I would not take the chance. Unlocking the door, I motioned for her to enter. As she entered she looked around the room with a look of distaste on her face.
"Eric, this is not what I had in mind when I said I would move to Louisiana. I hope you are not planning on making this your permanent residence." Her voice made it clear she was not pleased with the accommodations. I could not argue, I was not happy with them either. If it had not been for the Queen's involvement, I would have never agreed to stay here. But this was not the time to speak of such things.
"Pam." I said in a serious tone.
"What is it master. What is going on?" She asked.
"The girl has been taken and her grandmother has been drained." I had thought long and hard about what to tell my child about my obsession with my little blond bombshell. At that thought I could not help but think of my Sookie dressed in that white dress Marilyn Monroe wore as she stood over the blowing vent. I thought of Sookie in her place and my thoughts digressed. I shook myself out of my fantasy and focused on the situation. I needed to get her back.
I was sure Pam would tease me mercilessly when she found out about my infatuation. I have never shown an interest in anyone like I have for my Sookie. I was certain it would become apparent to her soon, but I figured the longer I could withhold the information the better. I needed her mind, and my own, on the situation at hand.
"Who do you think took her? Was it the Sheriff or maybe the Queen?" Pam asked with a thoughtful look on her face. I motioned for her to follow me and I walked into the kitchen. I went the the fridge and pulled out two True Bloods to heat up in the microwave. When the microwave beeped I pulled them out and handed one to my child. She had taken a seat at the kitchen table and I joined her.
"I do not believe it is the Queen. I think she would have said something to me. She would not just take her like that. If she planned to do that, what would be the point of my involvement? They could have taken her from the beginning." I paused I was more sure now after thinking it through that Compton was involved. "I think the Sheriff is behind this. He has been over zealously trying wiggle his way into her life." I spat the words. The thought of his actions the past couple of weeks had me seething. "He has been sending Sookie flowers, showing up at her job, and spending time with her grandmother. He even agreed to speak at a meeting for my Sookie's grandmother, for a bunch of humans." I almost flinched when the words "my Sookie" came out of my mouth. I had said them without thinking. I had just slipped and claimed she was mine. 'Well fuck!'
Pam just raised an eyebrow at me. "You too Master?" she said with just a hint of a smile on her face. I growled at her and she wiped it away quickly. "What is it about this girl that has everyone fawning all over her? What is her appeal?"
I had not told her about Sookie's little gift. It was not that I did not trust her. It's just that I had not found it something that she needed to know up until now. I always let Pam know things when it was prudent for her to know. It was to protect her as well as myself.
"She is a telepath. She reads minds." I said carefully.
Pam's eyes went wide and she said, "I see...can she read Vampire minds?"
"No, Humans, Shifters, and Weres only it seems." I was ready to get on with this. Enough background. "The Sheriff is supposed to be at that meeting now. I think you should go to the church. See if Compton is there. If he is, wait for the meeting to end. Do not approach him. Call me and I will decided the next course of action." I gave her directions to the church and a description of Compton.
I handed her the keys to my corvette and Pam just nodded. "Nothing can happen to her Pam." I said in a low threatening tone. I wanted to let her know how serious I was that Sookie must be found and kept alive.
"I am going to track Sookie." I said as I got up from the table and grabbed up my long sword. I strapped it to my back and walked towards the front door. "Call me when you know something... and Pam..." I stopped in my tracks. The cat was out of the bag so to speak so I added, "She is mine." I did not look back to see my child's face. I just swung open the front door and took to the air. I had one thing on my mind...Sookie.
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I followed the pull of my blood towards where Sookie was being held. Since she had my blood, I was able to track her. I knew I would be able to find her. I could locate the general area where she was being held. Since the bond was not complete, I could not get an exact read on where she was, but I could pin it down to a single building. I was about ten minutes from Shreveport when my phone rang.
"Yes." I said with apparent irritation in my voice.
"Eric, Compton is here. He is speaking to the humans now. I can not believe what a douche bag this guy is. I am shocked that he is your rival." I could hear amusement in her voice and I was not happy.
"Pamela." I said sternly. "Call me when the meeting lets out." I hung up before she could respond.
It was not long before I landed on the roof of the building next to Lorena's. I knew as I got closer that I would find her. 'I knew the asshole was involved. He just could not leave well enough alone and stay away. He has pushed me for the last time.' I crouched down hiding myself behind the low wall of the roof.
There were two Vampire guards standing on the roof of Lorena's. I was lucky they were too busy leaning over the side of the building, watching the gathering crowd of patrons waiting for the Saloon to open, to notice me landing.
"How the fuck did we get stuck with guard duty?" said the tall vampire. He had to be over 6'0" tall and had long black hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail gathered at his neck. He had on a pair of dark black sun glasses. I could tell by his demeanor that he was a young vampire. He could not even be a hundred years old. He was wearing a cheap black suit with a white shirt and black tie. I could not see any weapons, but I was sure there would be something hidden under the jacket.
"You would do well to learn to shut your mouth. Richard will not take kindly to your insolence." The shorter Vampire said sternly, clearly annoyed. He was about 5'10" and had sandy brown hair. He was wearing much the same outfit as his companion, but his suit was expensive, obviously fine tailored. I could tell he was much older than the other one. "You know Richard arranged it so Compton's loyal followers were not here tonight. We have to take up the slack. It is important that everything goes smoothly. Just do as you are told." 'Richard was trying to get rid of Compton? So this is Compton's fault. His infatuation with Sookie has lead her to be kidnapped.'
The younger vampire said nothing for a moment, he seemed to be properly chastised, then he changed the subject. "Who do you think Richard will choose as his second?"
"Who do you think?" The older Vampire scoffed as if there was absolutely no question to whom it would be that Richard would choose. "It was I who came up with this plan, I am owed. It was my contact that came across with the information. Once Richard gets Compton to kill the girl, the Queen will remove Compton from his position and the likely replacement will be Richard. She will reward him for capturing the culprit. Compton has no idea Northman is trying to obtain this girl for the Queen. We will hand over Compton to Andre when he arrives tomorrow. Both Compton and Northman will be punished for their incompetence, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak." The vampire said sounding smug.
I clenched my hands into fists as I tried to contain my fury. I was going to fly over and rip that fucking asshole apart. 'This plan had been his idea, to kill my Sookie and it seemed the Queen has someone in her retinue with loose lips. She will not be happy when she hears this.' I was disgusted that I was going ally myself with Bill Compton, but I did not see much of a choice. My racing mind was suddenly interrupted by a feint sound of scuffling. I glanced over the low wall to see if the other two Vampires heard it. They did not seem to, as they were still leaning over watching the crowd at the front of the building.
I peered over the side toward the back of the building. I was surprised to see Quinn dragging a body behind a dumpster. With only a glance back at the other Vampires, I flew down and landed a few feet from him. Quinn did not seem startled he simply said, "Northman, I was hoping you would show up." He barely glanced in my direction.
I was irritated that his statement. It did nothing to clue me in to whether he was on Compton's side or Richard's. "Where is Sookie...Quinn?" I said, my quiet voice was laced with venom.
"I overheard Richard and one of his minions talking about Sookie. He gave the order to kill Sookie's grandmother. I was hiding and listening to the conversation. I was not supposed to be here tonight. It's my night off. If I hadn't left my wallet here, I wouldn't have known until it was all over." Quinn sighed and continued, "I saw them drag Sookie in about ten minutes ago. She was alive but looked a little banged up. They took her down to the basement. There was nothing I could do about it without help. There were too many of them. I was sneaking out of the club when I came across this guy." Quinn kicked the body that was lying on the concrete. "I was planning on going to find the Sheriff."
At least now I knew what side he was on. "No need. I know where the Sheriff is. My child is watching him as we speak." I said matter-of-factly. Quinn just gave me a surprised look, before heading down the alley toward the street horizontal to it. Chloe Street was just four buildings down from Lorena's but it would get us out of earshot of the guarding Vampires and give us a place to rendezvous with Pam and Bill. I followed him.
As we turn the corner out of the alley, I saw a 1960 Chevy Corvette convertible sitting on the corner. It was red with white leather seats. I was slightly impressed with the Shifter. He seemed to have good taste in cars. Quinn walked to the back of the corvette and opened the trunk. He pulled out a falchion sword. It gleamed in the light from the street lamps. It was a singled-edged sword that resembled a scimitar with its slight curve on the blade towards the point, though it was more effective at hacking like an axe than slicing like a scimitar. It was quite fitting for a man who looked like a giant bald genie.
My phone vibrated then, "Yes" I said tersely.
"Master the meeting is letting out. What are your orders?" Pam said and I could hear the excitement in her voice.
"Pamela, go to Compton, approach him carefully. Tell him Quinn is on the phone and needs to speak to him. You will be meeting us near the Saloon." I commanded.
"Quinn? You have been busy making interesting allies Master." Pam said with amusement in her voice. I could hear her making her way across the parking lot and I could hear voices of the attendees to this meeting talking in the background. Then I heard her speak to Compton.
"Sheriff Compton. I am Pam. I have Quinn on the line and he says he urgently needs to speak to you," she said formally.
I did not wait to hear his response, I handed the phone over to Quinn. I was sure this would go over better coming from the Tiger since Bill and I were not on the best of terms as of late. It was only a moment or two later when Quinn said, "Sheriff, your second Richard is trying to replace you as Sheriff." Quinn paused then, listening to Compton's response then continued, I was too far away to hear his response. "Pam is Northman's child and he is here with me. Sookie is being held in the basement of the Saloon." Another pause. "She looked a little banged up but she was alive. She was pleading for someone named Jason." Quinn paused again, "There are two Vamps on the roof, two at the front door, and three plus Richard inside. He also has six Weres, as far as I could tell."
I knew who Jason was. Sookie's worthless brother. He is dumb as a box of rocks and trouble waiting to happen. I had the the sneaking suspicion that Richard used her brother against her to get her to call in to ask for time off from work. Having him there would keep her under his thumb. I just couldn't figure out why. 'If he was planning on killing her, why go through the trouble with her brother? Was this a plan 'B'? Or was killing her plan 'B'?' My frustration was growing by the minute.
"Yes Sheriff, we will. What's your ETA?" Quinn waited then said, "We are on Chloe near the alley." Quinn hung up then and handed me the phone. He pulled out a couple of Mark XIX Desert Eagle .50 caliber Action Express hand guns from the trunk. Now I was even more impressed with the Tiger. The Desert Eagles could blow off an arm. They were some heavy duty artillery. Quinn holstered the guns and closed the trunk. He leaned up against it. He was mumbling something about "Not supposed to be here today..." while he kept his gaze down the street.
I leaned up against the building near the car and started to wonder why Quinn was working for Compton. Since we had a few minutes, I figured I would ask. I wanted to know what his stake in this was. "Tiger, why do you work for an asshole like Compton?"
Quinn's mouth twitched for a second, like he was trying to contain a smile, then his expression became serious. "He owns my marker," he said flatly.
"But you were a champion in the pits. You must have made a lot of money. Could you not buy your marker back?" Normally I could give a shit about a Shifter, but Quinn was one of the few I respected. There was not one enemy that came up against him and lived in the pits.
Quinn huffed. "Like you bloodsuckers would let me buy my way out of debt. It's never that easy."
"How long?" I knew if he was in debt to a Vampire they most likely would want years of servitude in place of monetary gain, if he had refused to fight in the pits.
"Two more years, then I am out for good. Although, if I save Sookie, maybe he will let me out of my contract or cut some time off." Quinn shrugged. "He has a thing for your girl...she is beautiful." He got a wistful look in his eyes when he said that and I could not stop the growl from passing my lips.
"She is mine." I said in a deadly serious tone.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Quinn said sarcastically. "I was only stating a fact. She seems too much of a good person to be hanging around you Vamps." Quinn was lucky Pam and Bill pulled up, he was about to have his undefeated status changed for good.
"Master!" Pam said as she exited the corvette at top speed. She tossed me the keys and I pushed them into my pocket. She took her place at my side as we watched Bill walk up to Quinn. Quinn handed the sword to Bill and they walked over to where Pam and I stood.
"Northman." Bill said formally.
"Compton." I said flatly. I did not nod, bow, or give him one ounce of respect. He was the cause of all this, directly or not. It was his infatuation with MY Sookie that brought her to their attention.
"It seems we are on the same side in this." Bill said with a small smirk on his face.
"So it seems." I said keeping my expression blank. Working with Bill was the last thing I wanted, but if I wanted to get Sookie out alive, I would have to. Sure Pam and I could take them out, but it would be safer for all of us with more to help with the killing.
"So what do we know?" Bill said as if he was taking charge.
I rolled my eyes and then I thought, 'Maybe Bill will not survive this fight.' My mood lifted just a tad so I replied, "Richard plans to have you kill Sookie. How he plans to do this I do not know. They are waiting for your arrival. He plans to hand you over to the Queen and expects she will reward him with the position of Sheriff." I left out the part about me working with the Queen and Richard's plan to get me out of the way as well. I was not going to be the one to tell him. I knew my orders.
The whole reason I did not call the Queen immediately when this situation happened was because I knew I would be punished and this would be seen as a failure. If I could take care of the situation, the Queen would take it much better, finding out after the fact, if she had to find out.
Bill looked skeptical, "Why would the Queen care about what happens to Sookie?" He paused then he seemed to get it "She knows what Sookie can do." Bill's face turned angry. "You told her about Sookie?" He asked frostily.
"I did nothing of the sort." It was true. She told me about Sookie not the other way around.
"I am to believe this Northman?" Bill said incredulously.
"I do not give a shit what you believe Compton. The answer changes nothing. This conversation is a waste of time."
"This is not over Northman, but for now you are right, it is wasting valuable time," Bill said almost inaudibly.
I decided I would take control. Bill was just a waste of space and I wanted to get going. Every second Sookie was in there she was alone and afraid. This is not something I was comfortable with. "Pam and I will take out the guards on the roof. Bill and Quinn, you take the two in the front. There is a crowd so you will have to lead them away. I am sure you can come up with something. Then we meet at the back and enter through the back door. Quinn do you know where everyone is stationed?"
Quinn looked at me approvingly then said, "I am not sure, I did not get a good look. I was kinda busy trying to get out without being noticed."
Bill looked miffed that I had taken over and he was looking to gain back control, so he said, "Fine when we meet again in the back of the club, we will send in your child to check it out. She will be able to slip in, if she is caught, they will not suspect she is with us, they do not know her." I was not sure I was happy with that plan, but he had a point. If she was caught, they might assume she was simply a new vampire in the wrong place at the wrong time. I looked over to Pam and she nodded. "After she checks out the situation and returns, we can devise a plan with that information. If all else fails, I guess we go in "guns blazing" as they say now-a-days." Bill concluded.
"Let's do this." Quinn said with determination in his voice.
I took that as a go and scooped up Pam, bridal style, taking to the air.
"Master, it's been a while since I have seen battle." She sounded excited.
I smiled down at her. I felt the same as well. I always liked a good fight. "Just like old times."
"Just like old times." She repeated.
We both fell silent as we approached the roof. I landed us quietly and set Pam down without a sound. The guards did not stir from their positions. Pam and I looked at each other and nodded, a smirk on both our faces. I slowly pulled out my long sword, and as I did, the two Vampires whirled and stared at us, having heard the unsheathing of my sword.
"Northman." The short one hissed as he pulled out a wooden stake. He looked at my long sword and then down at his stake. It was almost comical. I shrugged and smiled devilishly at him.
"I got the big one." Pam said as she took off full speed at the tall vampire.
I followed suit and lunged at the smaller Vampire. He turned to jump off the roof. He knew he was outmatched. "Fucking coward." But I was older and much faster and I swung my sword as he crouched to take a leap and sliced off his head as he began to launch himself in the air. His head dropped onto the roof, but I had to move quickly to make sure his body didn't fall over the side on top of the patrons waiting for entry. That would not have ended well.
I looked over to my child and she had the taller Vampire face down, his arms were obviously broken and pulled tightly behind is back. Pam was straddling his back and pinning his arms in place.
I looked at her questioningly and she said, "I thought instead of me going in there blindly to see where they were all are stationed we could just ask..." She paused and put her mouth close to the vampires ear. "What's your name?"
"Brian...my name's Brian." He shuddered, his voice filled with pain.
"Brian here is going to tell us all about what's going on in there... aren't you Brian." She said in a growl.
"Yes...yes...please my arms." Brian begged.
Pam just smiled gleefully and said, "Spill."
"Richard has one Were guard at the front and one Were at the back doors." Brian moaned. "Two more Weres are guarding the prisoners in the basement. Richard is in the office upstairs on the second floor. He has four Vampire guards guarding the floor along with two more Weres. That's all I know."
"Good." I said and handed Pam my sword. She stood up and straitened her skirt. Her shirt was spattered with a little blood and she looked pissed.
"You fucking asshole. Your blood stained my shirt! Now I will never be able to wear it again." She said and swung my sword with little effort slicing off Brian's head. We would leave no witnesses.
"Let's go. Hopefully Compton and the Tiger have taken care of the two up front." I walked to the side of the building facing the front and peered over. I did not see any guards, so I figured they took care of it. I grabbed Pam and flew us to the back of the building, landing us right at the back door. Not a second later Bill and Quinn strode up.
"One Were guard at the front and one Were at the back doors. Two more Weres are guarding the prisoners in the basement. Richard is in the office upstairs on the second floor. He has four Vampire guards guarding the floor along with two more Weres." Pam reiterated what Brian had told her.
Bill and Quinn both looked impressed with Pam. I was just feeling a bit smug that I had chosen such a resourceful child.
Just then, the back door swung open, and it was not someone who I recognized, but Bill obviously did. His face was a mask of horror. "Hello, William."
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