Hi! It's been so long it's not even funny anymore. I'll be updating again on Saturday, so stay tuned. I should have this story wrapped up soon enough since there are not that many chapters left. I'm so sorry for letting you all hanging for so long. My muse has been a tricky bitch.
Big thanks go to InvertedMeridian for being my lovely beta for this chappy, as always. And big thanks to anyone who's still reading this... love you all and I hope you'll have a great year ahead of you.
Silver
Despite my arrogance and the way I usually saw myself, I sometimes couldn't believe how lucky I was to have such an amazing woman beside me. The fact that this angel had chose me felt surreal somehow.
I could feel a change inside her and I somehow felt sad that the Sookie I used to know had died when I turned her, but she seemed at ease with the person she was now even if she was only just beginning to understand who she was.
As I held her in my arms and flew towards my other child, I couldn't help but be concerned about this entire affair. Why had Niall lied to her about being of his lineage? Why was Victor so eager to get his hands on me and her both? Was he simply annoyed we had slipped out of his grip, or was there a bigger picture and more political bullshit involved?
A sudden jolt of pain brought me back to the issue at hand and I set aside the issues running through my head. Pam was now conscious and she could feel the silver burning through her skin. I could feel it, too, and I knew we were getting closer since I felt everything even more intensely through our bond.
I wish there were a way for her to transfer all her pain over to me. I was used to it. Pain and I were no strangers, and living several hundred years with Appius meant I was more than accustomed to the way silver felt on my skin.
We landed silently to the side of the building, followed closely by Russell and Jason.
There were dozens of plans thought out in advance fit for any situation we might encounter since staying busy planning and plotting was the only way to keep me in the same place for any length of time when I felt Pam's distress.
She had been with me for over three centuries and she was the person I trusted most in the world, along with Sookie. I swore to myself the night I turned her that I'd do anything to protect her and make anyone who hurt her pay.
Sookie closed her eyes, but didn't let go of my hand.
"I feel 10 vampires, 8 weres, and Pam. She's being kept somewhere underground. I don't think Victor's here, though," she said.
We all shared a glance and took our positions. My sword was in my hands in an instant and Sookie gave me a quick kiss before launching into the air along with Russell. Jason quickly shifted into a panther, which was yet another impressive sight considering that he wasn't born into this.
The guards near the door didn't even see us coming. We slashed their throats before any of them could utter a word or scream for help.
The door to the warehouse had remained open so I took it as an invitation to enter.
Crates were piled together in a pattern that could easily be considered a maze. Jason's tail brushed my leg as he passed by me and with a feline grace jumped on top of the closest one to gain a better view of the room.
His head lowered and his tail stiffened. Someone was coming.
This time it wasn't a were. It was a vampire - a vampire I had seen several times by Victor's side, especially during negotiations regarding my employment under Felipe.
Surprise registered on his face as he noticed me, but a growl soon resonated from his throat. He lunged at me, but he wasn't fast enough.
Anger was boiling in my veins as I felt my child's discomfort.
Once more I dodged his attack and as I turned on my heels, the tip of my sword pierced through his body. The surprised look on his face would have amused me in other circumstances.
I quickly pulled the sword out and with a quick swoop, his head fell to the floor and his body turned to ash.
However, his growl had alerted the other guards and as soon as I raised my eyes I noticed Jason ripping into the throat of another were.
Two vampires were rapidly approaching me, the smirks on their faces taunting.
Just then the windows in the ceiling came crashing to the floor in flames and ignited some of the nearby crates. Sookie and Russell flew through the empty spots and it was glorious.
All eyes were on them and I heard a collective gasp as they made a show of throwing fireballs across the room.
Sookie chanced a glance at me and smirked, her eyes alight with the prospect of action. She had never shied away from a fight, but now she knew she could simply enjoy the rush running through her since she was invincible.
Suddenly, it seemed we weren't the only flying vampires in the room as two more guards flew to the ceiling, hoping to take the fight up a notch.
Sookie raised her hand, palm facing forward, and they stopped midair, afraid another fireball would hurl towards them.
She tilted her head to the side and I felt it in the bond when she came to her decision.
Her wings suddenly became visible and she spread them wide, making the display that much more dramatic. Their shadow fell upon the back wall of the warehouse as fire spread through the room, going from crate to crate.
The two vampires recovered from their shock, but they didn't get any smarter. Zipping towards Sookie, they were a few feet away from her when two fiery shots went through them, both Seraphim attacking at the same time.
My attention turned back to my own opponents as I made my way to the other end of the warehouse. Jason was close behind, occasionally taking on a were that didn't even have the juice to shift.
Sookie and Russell landed beside us once we reached the door we knew would lead us to Pam. There was no one else left alive in the building.
PPOV
I saw it coming, but there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. The crash sent the car tumbling to the side of the road.
I was more pissed off than anything. Couldn't this fucker look where he was going? I fucking swore I was going to drain him dry.
Of course, that thought fled from my head as I saw who opened my door. Fucking Victor. Fucking Bill Fucking Compton!
I knew I was in deep shit and I just fucking hoped Eric would do something about it.
There were three of them and despite the fight I put up, they managed to wrap a thick chain of silver around me.
Fuck!
I sure hoped Eric was paying attention to the bond and that he wasn't balls deep inside Sookie.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Victor's voice came thick as honey and I hated the sound of it. My clothes were fucking ruined and I could feel the power of the silver even if it didn't touch me directly yet.
"I thought you were dead. This is better. Where is your Master, bitch?"
The nerve of this little shit. Eric'll skin him alive. I spat at him instead of answering.
The back of his hand hit my jaw and my head whipped back. I felt a tooth dislodge and I spat it out.
"I asked a question."
"He's dead."
"Bullshit. Where is he and where is my telepath?"
I nearly raised an eyebrow. His telepath?! Someone was going to have a field trip with this.
"Let me go and you may find out," I taunted. We both knew this wasn't going to happen.
Victor smirked at me, turned on his heels and told his men to bring me on. Fuckers shoved me inside the trunk of a car, silver still trapping my movements.
The fuckers must have taken the bumpiest road in existence, but it wasn't very long before we reached our destination. It was a hangar of some kind, full of crates. My eyes darted around, looking for an escape route. For the first time ever I wished I'd inherited Eric's gift for flying.
Fucking silver.
They pushed me through a door, down a flight of stairs and into an underground chamber. Scratch that. It was a fucking torture chamber. I snarled at Victor. They would all pay sooner or later.
It was too fucking late. Sookie wouldn't let Eric come here at this hour, nor would I want him to. It was too dangerous. I hoped she managed to talk some sense into him.
Victor tied me up with some chains and so the dance began. He'd ask the question, I wouldn't answer and then came the silver. FUCK! I struggled against the bindings, but to no avail. There was no getting away from this. My entire body was hurting.
And then came in the man I wanted to string up by the balls. Fucking Compton. He was acting all high and mighty now that I was tied up. He wouldn't have the courage if the playing field was even. Coward. He smiled a sickly smile at me and took Victor up on his offer to help along with the interrogation.
Let them do whatever the fuck they wanted. When Eric got here, they'd all die. To the last one of them.
I had never been happier for the coming sunrise than I was on that day. Victor and Bill went to their resting places and I was left with were guards at the door. They hadn't taken me down from the chains. Silver leafs were embedded in my skin all over my body.
When the sun rose, I drifted in and out of slumber, never quite resting fully. I tried not to move too much, but the silver burned still, knocking me out countless times.
Finally, I could feel them getting closer. I only hoped they were prepared to fight what was outside my door. I hoped Victor wouldn't ambush them in some way and that my nightmare would soon end.
I slipped out of consciousness again and woke to find that the silver leaf had nearly been etched into my skin as my body tried to heal. I screamed at the top of my lungs then. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! The blood was trailing down my neck from my ear, evidence I had barely rested through the day.
Eric was close. So close. I'm here, I thought to him. Come save me.
Light was coming from under my door but there were no shadows. My guards had left. I knew there were many of them, both vampire and were.
Suddenly, I could hear footsteps coming down the metal stairs and moving at a hurried pace towards the dungeon. The door slammed open and I saw a man, sword in hand, long hair wild around his face.
Eric. He'd come for me.
"Move, Eric!" Sookie's voice said from behind my Master, who was effectively blocking the entire room.
I could not see his eyes, but I knew he was looking me over for damage. Then he was on his knees in front of me and I could see the pain on his face.
"Oh, Pam," he said and I could feel him pushing love through the bond.
"I'm ok," I said hoarsely as Sookie and Russell made their way into the room.
Eric quickly moved to take off the cuffs around my wrists, breaking them open and then picking off the silver chains wrapped around my body. He carefully started picking out the flailing leafs from my skin, not once hissing in pain as he removed them.
"Eric, are you not burning?"
He looked up at me with a puzzled expression on his face, then looked back at his fingers. There was no burn there. Silver didn't hurt him anymore. Eric looked up at Sookie, who shrugged, but Russell quietly said that at least now we knew what that blast of light healed in Eric.
He resumed his efforts of cleaning up my skin while Sookie's hands lit up. As soon as my forearm was clear, she touched up my skin, making sure to cover the entire area. Instantly, I felt myself mending, healing as her light entered my flesh. I sighed in relief.
And so they worked until all my wounds were clear, Russell joining in and fixing me up when Sookie started helping Eric with his job. Her face was hard and I could tell she was blaming herself for all of this.
"Sookie, thank you," I said and she smiled, her lips closed tightly. "Stop blaming yourself. This wasn't you fault."
She said nothing, but kept on with her work.
"Victor?" I asked.
"No news of him. He wasn't upstairs," Russell replied.
"Bill?"
"Dead," Eric replied this time, satisfaction in his voice. I chanced a look at Sookie and noticed the corner of her lip was slightly pulled up.
I had to know everything that had happened, but it would have to wait. When they were finished cleaning me up, I felt as good as new, although my ego was still broken. Such a rookie move I had made, I thought with a shake of my head.
We all went outside, making our way between the smoking crates. It seemed Russell had taken care of putting out some of the flames before he came down. Jason, now shifted back and wearing a pair of low-riding jeans, ran up to me and hugged me.
"I'm glad you're ok, Pam," he said. I was left shocked by his actions. It seemed this touchy-feely crap ran in the family. Rolling my eyes, I awkwardly patted his back and told him I was fine.
Once he released me I turned to everyone. "It's too late to return to Russell's. Where to?"
"My place?" Sookie asked.
"It wouldn't be safe since you're no longer human," the King said.
"My place is free. We could go there," Jason piped in and we all nodded.
I loved this! It was exciting, and we got to see Pam being freed and healed. I'd love to have read a bit more about the fight, but I also loved how fast-paced it was, too. Great job! I'll get started on 18 tomorrow or the next day. Love it!
