"Mercy, you have a visitor."
And Kate sounded entirely too happy about that fact. Mercy looked up from the papers on her desk to Kate standing in her doorway. Standing behind her was-Mercy mentally cursed.
"Was the shotgun really not warning enough for you?"
Sarah Newlin smiled brightly and sent Kate on her way with a thank-you. Mercy rolled her eyes at the perky smile suddenly directed her way.
"You know, it's been quite a job tacking you down Miss Wright. Especially since Mr. Harper said he wouldn't be able to help us anymore."
"And yet you still didn't take the hint," Mercy smiled tightly as she looked back at her desk, "I fired two shells at your husband not a month ago and you still came back for more."
"I wanted to apologize for Steve. He can be relentless for the Lord, and he has felt the calling to push forward with our new conference center. And God has led him to your home."
"Then Steve needs to go back and re-read his tea leaves, because God didn't give me that memo. My home is not for sale; it never was, and it is most definitely not for sale to the Fellowship of the Sun."
Sarah simply smiled at that and took several steps closer to Mercy's desk.
"This is a wonderful school. I know a lot of the parents who send their children here. When I asked about you, they absolutely sand your praises."
"That's always nice to hear, but if you don't have a point, now would be a good time to leave."
"God has something special for you, Miss Wright. I can tell. You could have an important role in the Fellowship. We need more people like you."
Mercy took a deep breath and muttered a quiet prayer for patience. If she prayed for strength, she'd deck the woman who seemed to have a love affair with clothes the same shade as her hair. It wouldn't be good to punch out Sarah Newlin in a school full of Fellowship attendees.
"Lady, your husband sent a suicide bomber into MY husband's nest, killing vampires and humans alike. I'm not sure what science fiction you're getting your gospel from, but MY God said not to commit murder. I don't' believe for a minute the God I love and worship would consider the atrocities you commit in His name to be anything but sacrilege. I will never join in your church, and I will see my house burned to the ground before I ever let one of your people set foot in it. Good day to you, Mrs. Newlin."
Sarah stared at her, speechless. Mercy returned her attention to the pile of work on her desk, and didn't look up until she heard the click of heels that indicated the other woman had left. This was turning into one heck of a day. Hopefully when they got home they would be able to Skype with Ethan. Ava had been having a hard time with her father being shipped to Kandahar, and the time zones weren't helping.
She wasn't terribly surprised when Kate came back not a minute after Sarah Newlin left. She'd probably been watching for the woman's departure from her own classroom.
"Did I hear you correctly, Mercy? Did you really pull a shotgun on Sarah Newlin?"
"No. I pulled a shotgun on Steve Newlin. Sarah just happened to be there when I did."
"How could you do such a thing? Reverend Newlin is a man of God!"
"Steve Newlin is a lunatic extremist, Kate. The man preaches hate and killing from the pulpit."
"The Newlins don't teach hate. They teach love for your fellow humans. You know it wouldn't hurt you to come with me one Sunday and hear it for yourself. You really need to get Ava into church."
"We already go to church, Kate. And my church doesn't preach that only humans should be shown God's love. I think Ava's much better off where we are thanks."
"Oh, Mercy. I wish you understood. The Newlin's are good people."
"Kate, you're my friend, so I really don't want to go full biatch on you, but we're never going to agree on this. Godric was a dear friend too, and Steve Newlin sent a suicide bomber to blow up my friend's house. That does not make him a good man in my eyes."
"Mercy—"
"Kate, for the sake of our twenty-six year friendship, leave it alone. Please."
Kate opened her mouth, and then closed it at the look on Mercy's face. Mercy was relieved when the woman left with no further comment. She had more important things to deal with. Like getting a five year old home and fed.
TB-TB-TB-TB-TB
"Mercy? Are you home?"
Isabel was here? That was unexpected. Mercy had only just gotten Ava tucked into bed after a long conversation with Ethan. She wasn't expecting any visitors. She hadn't seen Isabel since the night the Sheriff learned of Godric's return. Mercy unlocked the front door to admit the vampiress, who looked agitated.
"Isabel? What's wrong?"
"Someone saw Godric when he was here last week. Vincent knows he's back."
"Oh dear God, no."
"You need to leave. Tonight."
Wait a minute. What? Was she serious?
"Leave?"
"Mercy, I have no doubt that Vincent will come for you. Or send someone after you. You mustn't be here when he comes. Go to Godric. You will be safe outside of Texas."
Mercy couldn't believe it.
"Are you sure?"
"I am certain. I have friends inside Vincent's court. He is coming, so you must leave tonight."
She fought the panic threatening to set in. She couldn't afford to panic now; she had to take care of Ava. She wasn't surprised when her cell phone started ringing. Godric would no doubt have felt her terror. She answered it only long enough to toss the phone to Isabel, before heading to the closet to grab a bag. She would need to—
"There's no time for that!" Isabel hissed at her, "Take the child and go, now. Godric will meet you at the Texas border."
Oh God in heaven, this was really happening. Mercy left Isabel in the living room as she sprinted for Ava's room. The girl woke as Mercy lifted her out of bed.
"What-?"
"It's alright, baby, just go back to sleep. We have to take a little trip right now."
Isabel was waiting for her with her purse and keys in hand. She handed the child over to the vampire as she reached for the keys and shoved her cell phone into her pocket, calling for the dogs as she opened the front door. Isabel placed Ava in the car seat as Mercy ushered the dogs out before setting the alarm and locking the door. Both dogs jumped into the back, and in less than a minute Mercy was backing out of the driveway and tearing down the street.
She half expected to see Vincent bearing down on her as she flew down the highway. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out who could have seen Godric. And why would they wait a week to go to the King? None of it made any sense to her, but she knew without a doubt that Vincent would come after her. He would see her as the easiest way to get to Godric.
It was a tense drive towards the Texas border. She only pulled off the interstate when Ava woke up needing a restroom, and she needed gas. She was looking over her shoulder at every noise, worried that Vincent had managed to catch up with them. She nearly screamed when her phone rang, startling her. She ordered herself to calm down as she checked the Caller ID and saw that it was Godric.
"Where are you?"
She gave him the exit number and the gas station.
"Stay where you are. I will be there momentarily. I am not far."
Not far was relative for a man who could fly. Mercy wondered just how far away he was. To her surprise he arrived by the time she finished walking the dogs. He immediately pulled her into a tight hug, ignoring the animals now watching him.
"You're not hurt?"
"No. Isabel got us out of the house before anyone showed up. We're fine."
He was grateful to Isabel for coming to warn his human of the danger. If Mercedes had not been able to evacuate the house before this Vincent showed himself-he shuddered to think what might have happened.
"Come. I will drive the rest of the way."
With his supernatural abilities, he could get them to Shreveport, and the haven of Eric's house, much faster and safer. He didn't give her the chance to object, instead escorting her to the passenger seat of her car and putting the dogs in the back. As he slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, he noticed Ava staring at him. Surprisingly, she didn't look overly frightened. She looked as if she knew there was trouble, but trusted the adults to make everything better. He hoped Mercedes had that same trust in him.
They made it to Eric's home in record time with Godric behind the wheel. They arrived to find Heather standing in the doorway. Mercy woke from her light sleep to see the unknown vampire standing in front of a large house.
"We're home, Mercedes."
She ignored his word use. After all, it was his home. She just worried that now she was here, he might not let her leave, and that had to be a minor concern at the moment. There were bigger problems at play. She slid out of the car and stretched before opening the back door to let the dogs out. Godric retrieved a sleeping Ava before she could get to that side of the car, and guided the humans to the house.
"This is Heather. She works for Eric. Heather, please make certain Pamela knows that Mercedes and the child are our welcome guests for the foreseeable future."
He could hear the complaints of Eric's progeny coming from inside the house. He would not stand for her repeating such things in front of Mercedes. He also knew that she could hear him perfectly well, and would take the warning for what it was. Heather simply nodded her agreement and offered to take the dogs off Mercedes' hands as Godric led them inside.
As he took in the exhaustion on Mercedes' face, Godric decided a full tour would have to wait. He settled for pointing out the kitchen before taking them upstairs. The rooms occupied by vampires were acknowledged so that Mercedes and Ava could avoid them during the day. He could not keep them locked up while he and Eric slept. Once that was accomplished, he opened the door to a room large enough to hold two king sized beds. This room contained its own bathroom, which made it safer. They wouldn't chance running into Pamela or any other vampires that might show up too close to sunrise while looking for a restroom. Godric laid the sleeping child in one of the beds. Fortunately, she didn't even stir.
"Hopefully she'll sleep until morning."
"You should rest as well."
She was practically asleep on her feet, but she shook her head.
"I need to figure out something for the dogs, and I've got to start making calls, and—"
Godric silenced her by placing a finger to her lips.
"Those things will be taken care of, Mercedes. You should rest."
He would have liked to join her, but she was in great need of sleep, and sleep was the last thing on his mind. She would not allow anything else, not with Ava sleeping in the next bed. Mercedes made no further objections, and he put her to be as he did Ava, even going so far as to kiss her on the forehead after removing her shoes. He closed the door and settled in Eric's office to await his child's return once the bar closed. He would not leave Mercedes alone in this nest.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mercy woke, momentarily disoriented at the absence of any natural light. It was much too dark; darker even than her bedroom at home when it was light-tight. And this wasn't her bed. Her sheets weren't satin. Oh. Right. She was in Eric's house. This was one of the Viking's guest rooms, and Ava was in the other bed. Using the dim light provided by the night light tucked in a corner; Mercy was able to locate a bedside table that held a lamp. It felt like a touch lamp; she couldn't find a knob to turn.
Eric really had his house up-to-date on the technology; one touch of the lamp base and the room was flooded with artificial light as all of the lights in the room activated. Someone had done an excellent job of getting the lighting to mimic real sunlight. She could almost get a tan under these lights.
In the next bed Ava was stirring, which brought to mind the practical necessities. Ava was wearing a Beauty and the Beast nightgown and had no other clothes to change into thanks to their impromptu evacuation. Not even a clean pair or panties. Mercy didn't have anything to change into either, and she couldn't' go around in the same clothes she'd been wearing, not in a nest of vampires.
First, though, they had to see if there was any food in this nest. She very much doubted that Eric had regular human guests over. The fact that the house had a kitchen didn't guarantee there was any actual food in it.
"Come on Ava. Let's see if there's any food in here."
She had to tug the child out of bed and herd her to the bathroom. It looked like today was going to be a challenge, with all the upheaval of the night before. After a struggle to comb out the child's hair with her small purse comb, Mercy finally got her into the kitchen. She was shocked to see a large man sitting at the table drinking coffee, glaring at Eric.
"Shouldn't you be in bed? You've got the bleeds."
"I'm aware. Mercy Wright, this is Alcide. He'll go with you while you go shopping today, to get whatever you and the teacup human need. There will be no argument on this."
She wanted to argue just on principle, but managed to stay quiet. After all, there was a reason she was in Shreveport, and while they should be safe outside of Texas, who could really tell? She just hoped that if anyone did show up, this Alcide would be a match for them.
"Lucky you, Alcide. You get to spend the day shopping for kid's clothes. Do you actually have anything to eat in here, or do we have to go out for that too?"
"Unless the child likes leftover Thai takeout, you should probably get something while you're out."
Mercy wasn't surprised by that declaration.
"Alright. Ava, let's get you something to eat, huh?"
At the girl's nod, she collected her purse, keys and phone from the kitchen counter where she'd deposited them.
"Um—where are my dogs?"
"My day man is walking them, a task he's competent to handle. Worry about yourself and the girl for now."
"Find. Alcide, are you ready to play bodyguard?"
At the large man's nod, she herded Ava out the door. When Alcide would have followed, Eric made him pause with a simple warning.
"If you let anything happen to her, you won't be dealing with me. You'll be dealing with Godric."
The wolf paled, but nodded his understanding. He didn't know what was so special about this human and her kid, but he would protect them. Dealing with Eric Northman was bad enough. He wasn't fool enough to tangle with Godric.
Eric waited until they were all out of the house to return to the room he shared with his maker. It had been pure instinct to move Godric in with him when he first came to Shreveport, after an eight month void. After it became clear his maker wasn't going anywhere, it was simply habit to share a bed. He was surprise to see Godric was still awake.
"You should be out."
"You let Mercedes leave the safety of the nest."
It had taken every ounce of his control to not rush to the kitchen and haul his human back in answer to the continued threat.
"The wolf will keep her safe. We couldn't very keep her locked up, unless you wanted to chain her to a bed."
Godric knew Eric was right. It wouldn't have been difficult to keep Mercedes in with him if she was alone, he would simply fuck her into exhaustion, but with the child….better to let her go, protected, than to try to keep them all prisoner.
"You saw to it that she has enough money?"
Eric rolled his eyes. The woman had billions of dollars on her own now, yet Godric was worried she wouldn't have funds.
"I gave the wolf a credit card. They'll be fine. Although she'll probably want my head when she gets back."
"What have you done, Eric?"
The Viking avoided the question.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
"You have lost your ever-loving mind if you think I'm going in there!"
Mercy stood outside the store, a glare on her face for the sheepish-looking Alcide.
"I'm under orders to make sure you get your-um-personal things here."
"You can shove those orders where the sun doesn't shine! I'm not going to Victoria's Secret!"
She just knew that Eric was behind this. Godric wouldn't suggest such a thing. The Viking was in for it when she got back.
"He said if you don't get something from here, he'll order you something from Frederick's of Hollywood, and it won't be as tasteful as what you'll find in this store."
"Oh, I just bet he did."
In horror, she looked again at the famous store, with its mannequins in the windows too scantily dressed. She was really expected to go in there, and spend money on their flimsy excuses for underwear? Even worse, she was expected to wear this stuff in front of Godric? What could Eric possibly be thinking?
"I'm just gonna take Ava to the toy store while you shop," Alcide announced, interrupting her internal rant, "it's just two doors down. Yell if you run into any trouble. I'll hear you."
He handed her the platinum credit card, and she watched, slack-jawed, as Alcide walked Ava down to the toy store. She waited until they disappeared inside to turn back to stare down her nemesis. Steeling herself, she marched inside. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get the heck out of there and go back to Eric's nest.
"How can I help you today," the sales clerk asked brightly.
"I'm going to need to see the nicest, most expensive lingerie you have. And I'll need to see a lot of it."
Half an hour later, Mercy walked out of the store, loaded down with bags full of pink boxes. Alcide and Ava were standing outside, waiting for her, and it was that man's turn to stare slack-jawed as she returned the credit card.
"Do I want to know how much you spent?"
"As much as I possibly could, which still wasn't enough in my opinion. Now Ava, what do you say to a movie and then some food before we go back to Mr. Eric's house?"
Alcide just shook his head but accepted two bags uncomplaining. He wasn't about to try to argue with the woman. He knew better than to interfere with a grudge-holding female bent on a little payback. He was just glad he wouldn't' be in Eric Northman's shoes when they got back to the nest.
They were halfway through their dinner when Alcide smelled it—another Were. He straightened in his seat, sniffing as he looked around. It wasn't anyone he recognized. He was passingly familiar with most of the Shreveport pack; enough to recognize them when he ran into them. This was no one he knew. They smelled more feline than canine; it was no wolf. Maybe that should have been reassuring, but after dealing with his old pack in Jackson, it wasn't. Who was to say that some other Weres might not work for a vampire? He'd already seen that 'wolves did. As he watched, the Cat twitched, and turned to stare straight at him.
"We need to go, now."
Mercedes looked up at him, her eyes wide. He didn't have time to explain; he just pulled out his wallet and tossed sixty dollars on the table.
"It's time to leave."
When the woman sat, frozen, he stood to his feet and picked up the kid. She was quick to follow once he started moving. They made their way out of the mall and back to the car in record time. Alcide didn't relax his pace. He could still smell the Were, and he was following them. At least it seemed to be alone.
"Alcide, what's going on?"
He didn't answer her. He just pushed her into the back seat of the car and handed the kid to her, tersely ordering her to get buckled in. He didn't see anyone on the road as he drove, but that didn't matter. If they were followed to the parking lot, the Were could have seen her car. He remained tense and alert the entire drive back to Northman's nest.
It was only just growing dark when they arrived, and Mercy couldn't help but look for Godric. She saw him standing just inside the doorway, out of the sun's last rays as she and Ava were rushed inside. She had no idea what had Alcide so spooked at the mall that they had to run out as they did, but the look he gave Godric as he ushered them inside was intense, full of meaning. The adolescent-looking vampire nodded, serious and deadly.
"You are unharmed, yes?" Godric asked as he began checking her over for injuries. Mercy just nodded as she watched Eric's human employee—had he called him a day man?—retrieve their bags from the trunk. She saw Godric's eyebrows rise to his hairline as he took in the Victoria's Secret bags, and he fixed her with a smoldering look.
"I see you've been busy today."
"That reminds me; you may be down one progeny before the nights over. I'm going to murder Eric."
He smiled at that, even as he mentally pictured her wearing some of her purchases. This must be what Eric was alluding to this morning. He would have to make sure to thank his progeny later, after Mercedes put the child to bed (and perhaps convince her to model some things for him).
They were joined shortly by the Viking, who only smiled at the glare on Mercy's face. His focus was on the wolf who'd played bodyguard for the day. He hated to admit that Alcide was handy to have around.
"What happened?"
"Spotted another Were at the mall. It wasn't anyone I recognized. Smelled like a Cat. And he seemed unusually interested in us."
"Are you sure it wasn't just a random encounter?"
"I'm sure. If it was just a chance meeting—there was no reason for him to follow us. And I could smell him behind us all the way to the parking lot."
"Did they see which car was hers?"
"It's possible, but I'm not sure."
"Then we must act as if they did. We must assume the worst, until we can prove otherwise."
Clearly, Mercy was missing something. Nothing Alcide said made any sense to her, but Godric apparently understood it. What was this "Were" business they were talking about? Did she really want to know? She quite liked Alcide Herveaux, and once you knew something, it couldn't be unknown.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Eric's cell phone. The conversation was too quick for Mercy to understand what was being said, but from the look on Eric's face, it wasn't good.
"Wolf, take the humans to your home. Now."
"What?!"
The exclamation came from both Mercy and Alcide. Godric looked between the two of them, and then looked to his child.
"Eric?"
"That was Compton's progeny. Vincent is at the King's home. It's only a matter of time before he comes here. If he actually attacks the nest—"
Godric successfully suppressed a shudder. The idea of Vincent attacking a Sheriff's nest, outside of his own territory, was almost unthinkable. But he'd obviously followed Mercedes here. It should be unthinkable that he should pursue her so far. And he'd gone to the King of Louisiana. Gods only knew what lies he would tell Compton to try to sanction his actions.
"Mercedes, you must go. You will be safer with Mr. Herveaux if Vincent does come here."
Mercy paled. Vincent had followed them? What could he possibly want?
"Why can't he just leave us alone?"
They were supposed to be safe when they reached Louisiana. Vincent wasn't supposed to follow them once they left Texas. They were out of his territory.
"I don't know, Mercedes. But I will not allow him to harm you. Now go. Take your truck, Mr. Herveaux. Hopefully it won't be recognized."
Alcide nodded, and herded Mercy and Ava to the door. Mercy looked back at Godric as she was pushed in the opposite direction, to see that he was staring solely at her. She let Alcide manhandle her into his truck—he was a contractor? It fit him—and held tightly to Ava, since no one had bothered to remove the booster seat from the car before taking this unexpected side trip. She darted a glance at Alcide as he drove, and had to do a double take. His eyes were glowing yellow! That was not normal.
"Okay, so I didn't understand half of what was said back there, and I would love an explanation. You kept using the word 'Were' and Eric you 'wolf'."
She heard him growl under his breath.
"I really just need you to tell me that the conclusion I'm coming to is wrong, and I'm imagining things, because it really sounds like you're talking about werewolves."
"You're not imagining things," Alcide ground out.
She wasn't imagining things? She wanted to bank her head on the window and wake up from this Twilight Zone.
"Werewolves. I assume you are—"
He nodded.
Lovely. Well heck, why not? If vampires are real, why shouldn't werewolves be real? Why couldn't any number of other mythical creatures be real?
"So why is this vamp after you?" Alcide asked the question he'd been dying to ask all day.
"He's after me because the easiest way to hurt Godric would be to get me. Vincent has always been afraid of how powerful Godric is. Now that he knows Godric's alive, he's even worse."
He glanced over at her. He could tell there was more to the story, but didn't push. Mercy appreciated that. She thought she just might scream, or smack him, if he pushed right now.