Chapter Eight: Longest Night
It felt like I wasn't even breathing as I watched horrified as Eric dropped to his knees, his pained blue eyes resting on mine. I could already feel the tears streaming down my face as the blood began to pour out of his mouth, his body slumping to the side and becoming perfectly still. My heart lurched, my entire body shaking as I just stared at his lifeless form. No. No this couldn't be happening. He couldn't be dead, it wasn't possible. He was still in physical form. He wasn't dead. But he was lying there lifelessly, blood flowing out of both his mouth and the wound around the tree branch that was still shoved through his chest.
"You'll pay for that, you little bitch." I never realized the vampire had flashed before me until his hand wrapped tightly around my throat, lifting me right off of the ground.
I barely even put up a fight, my eyes never leaving Eric's unconscious form. I needed to go to him. I needed to heal him. He may not die, but he could find himself injured beyond repaired. I needed to do whatever I could to ensure that I did not lose him. Because I couldn't let that happen. He may have caused me pain. He may have broken my heart. But I still loved him and I always would. It didn't matter what occurred in the past, it only mattered that he was lying there lifelessly and bleeding profusely.
"You killed my friends." He growled, his hand tightening around my throat.
My eyes narrowed as I glared down at this vampire, pulling my attention away from my lover. I felt my body begin to violently shake, a power I couldn't comprehend overtaking me. It was flooding through me like it had never done so before. Not even in the warehouse had I felt this bundle of power, of strength that was just surging through my veins and erupting right out of me. A bright blinding red light, much like the one that had burned the last vampire, began enveloping both of us. The vampire began to panic, his hold on my neck loosening as I dropped to the ground. I steadied myself, staying on my feet as my eyes grew dark, the light only growing brighter. And then the screams began. It was slower than what his friend had endured. The flame ignited around his fingers, slowly moving up over his arms and down the rest of his body. The vampire burned before me in a slow and excruciating manner and I loved every single moment of it. This was the creature that had hurt my Eric. This was the one who had shoved a tree branch through Eric's chest, narrowly missing his heart. Oh he was going to burn in hell, I was going to make sure of it.
Once the vampire had burned to nothing but dust, the red light began fading until it had vanished completely. I felt the energy beginning to escape me but I held it together long enough to run over to where Eric laid and drop down beside him. I smoothed back his blonde hair, the tears multiplying as I prayed for him to just wake up.
"Please, Eric, please wake up." I sobbed, cradling his head in my lap. "Please, I need you to wake up Eric. You need to just wake up."
But no matter how many times I pleaded with his unconscious form, he never once opened those beautiful blue eyes. It tore me to pieces. My heart broke even worse than it had when he left me. I would rather take Eric leaving me a thousand times than to watch him die, to meet the true death. I just couldn't let it happen. So I wrapped both of my hands around the tree branch and with every ounce of strength I had left, I yanked it right out of his body and tossed it away. The blood only began flowing out of him harder, causing my sobs to grow louder.
"No, please Eric. Please wake up. I need you, Eric. I need you so much. Please don't leave me alone." I begged, trying to apply pressure to the bleeding wound that just wouldn't heal. He was supposed to be healing. He was supposed to be alright. But as I checked the wound, pushing up his stained shirt, there was no sign at all that he was healing. He needed blood, that much I knew. But how could I give an unconscious vampire blood?
"Damnit Eric, please don't do this to me!" I was crying out to no one as I pressed my hand harder into the wound, the blood now pooling around us. He just wouldn't wake up. He wouldn't open those eyes and my hope began dwindling.
But there had to be something. There had to be something I could do. I was a Phoenix, there had to be something...
And there was. A Phoenix could heal another. Hell, they could even heal death. I knew my blood had a quicker healing property for vampires than human blood did, but that wouldn't work in this case. Was there another way I could heal? Was it even possible? I knew Kyra had saved Godric, sacrificing herself as she did so, but that had been through her blood. She hadn't just magically saved him like I was about to try and do. But there was nothing else for me to try. This was my only option.
So I concentrated like I've never concentrated before. I held onto Eric tightly, my eyes closing as I did whatever I could to heal my beloved vampire. Time passed slowly and still nothing was occurring. Eric was still bleeding, and as I peeked through my closed eyes, he was still completely unconscious.
"Come on Eric, please. I love you. Please wake up." My tears were mixing with his blood as I leaned over him, hugging his lifeless form to me. He had to wake up, he just had to.
It was as if it was magic, and I suppose in some ways, it was. A soft glow began enveloping both Eric and I, a warmth beginning to spread through my entire being. I looked down at Eric in shock at what was occurring, not having a clue what was happening. But something was happening. Something was happening that I didn't understand but I just didn't care. Because the moment the glow faded, a gasp sounded from the vampire I had so desperately been praying to wake up.
"Eric?" My eyes grew wide as I cupped his cheek, my eyes searching the blue orbs that were slowly opening.
"What the..." he gasped out, his eyes quickly growing wide. "What the hell?"
"Oh my god." I was overjoyed. I didn't know what the hell I had done, but it worked. I looked down at his wound, and my happiness grew when I found the wound had closed, the bleeding ceasing. He was perfectly healed.
"My heart..." he stared up at me in shock. "It was beating."
"What?" maybe it worked just a little too well.
"For the briefest of seconds." He let out a long breath, his hand shakily rising up to rest over the heart that had somehow beat for the first time in over a thousand years. "What did you do?"
"I...I don't even know." I was amazed. I had been able to give Sophie-Anne a few seconds with her heart beating, but I hadn't realized completely what I had done. I realized now that by doing so, I had technically healed enough of her, treating death just long enough for her heart to beat and for my soul and life to remain intact. And it seemed I had done the same thing for a second time, only in this case, I had healed his wounds as well. "Wow."
"I never thought..." his eyes closed, a peaceful expression overcoming his face. "It's been a thousand years..."
"How do you feel?" I asked, my hand running over his chest to ensure that he was in fact completely healed.
"More alive than I've felt since I was human." He answered with a shake of his head. "You are truly remarkable."
I didn't feel so remarkable. In fact, the tears were still slipping down my cheeks, my emotions still running wild. It was just a testament to how I felt about him. I loved him, there was no denying it. I loved him more than anything and I would do anything for him. I just wanted to be with him. I wanted him in my life. I needed him there. I realized that tonight. The thought of him dying, of leaving me completely, that hurt more than a mere heartbreak.
"Ellie?" His eyes opened as he stared up at me in confusion.
"I'm fine." I shook my head, looking away as I tried to wipe away the tears.
He was sitting up in an instant, his hand brushing away mine as he used his thumb to wipe away the flowing tears.
"Why are you crying, my sweet one?" his voice was soft as he drew closer, one arm wrapping around my form.
I just melted into his embrace, my entire body falling limp as I clung to him. I sobbed into his bloody shirt, not caring at all. There were just too many emotions surging through me. It was overwhelming. Not to mention I had used too much of my powers tonight and I felt weaker than I had in a long long time. I just wanted to crawl into a comfortable bed, preferably with Eric, and never leave it.
"Shh, my love, please don't cry. I'm here, I'm fine now." He wrapped both of his arms around me, kissing the top of my head in assurance. "I'm here, Ellie."
"I was so scared." I sobbed out. "I was just so scared."
"I know. But you were remarkable, Ellie. You were outstanding." He ran a hand through my hair as he attempted to soothe me.
And it worked. Eventually my sobs became silent, the tears starting to dry up as my eyelids began feeling heavy.
"Well this is a mess." Eric sighed and I blinked away the exhaustion as I peeked over his arms to the wreckage that had been caused. Eric's car looked beat up as it just sat there in the middle of the road, facing the wrong direction. I shuddered as I caught sight of the blood of the vampire Eric had staked. I was tired; I was so tired of all of this. It was just one night after another. I was never able to rest, to process anything that was happening to me. The universe had to be against me, it just had to be.
"We still need to get to New Orleans." Eric's arms shifted until he was able to lift me into his arms as he stood. I drove my head into the nook of his neck, my eyes dropping as he held me to him. I felt him lift into the air, travelling high above the tree line as he attempted to escape any watchful eyes. "We're still a good distance away."
"Don't drop me." I mumbled as I found myself oddly comfortable in his arms as he flew through the night sky.
"I'll never drop you, my Phoenix."
I woke to the feeling of something damp dabbing at my forehead. I winced at the slight pain as I slowly opened my eyes. I was more delighted to find Eric staring down at me with those captivating blue eyes than I think I've ever been in my life.
"What's going on?" I asked sleepily, blinking away the tiredness as I tried to figure out where we were. "Are we there?"
"We're close." Eric nodded. "I wanted to clean us up a bit."
"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow before realizing Eric was using a ripped piece of his shirt that had been dipped in water to dab at the small cut I hadn't even felt before now. I had been so focused with healing Eric that I hadn't taken account of any of my injuries. Thankfully besides a few small scratches from the glass, I was mostly just covered in Eric's blood and not my own.
"Does that hurt?" he wondered, staring down at me in concern.
"Feels nice." I shook my head, moving into his touch. My eyes dropped back close as I shifted even closer to him. Eric chuckled softly as he drew his arm around me, holding me in his lap. I still didn't know where we were, but I didn't care. I was with Eric, that's all that mattered.
"We're on the outskirts of the city." Eric must have read my mind as he spoke. "I glamoured a couple to give us water and something to wear."
I was so exhausted that I didn't even care that he had done so.
"I already changed you; I was just cleaning you up when you woke."
I knew I was tired when I didn't even care that Eric had undressed me.
"How are you feeling?" his cool finger slid down my cheek, tapping it lightly.
I moaned as my eyes opened just enough to see through my lashes. "Exhausted."
"I expect you used a great deal of power to heal me." Eric nodded. "It's to be expected."
"I just want to sleep." I curled into him, my eyes closing once more.
"Unfortunately we don't have time for that. The sun will be rising in another few hours and we need to search the site of the bombing." Eric sighed regrettably. "And then you can sleep for as long as you like, my love."
"Can't you do that alone?" I wasn't myself or else I never would have suggested this. But I truly was exhausted. My energy had been wiped and it was hard enough to just keep my eyes open. Searching the bombing wreckage wasn't going to be a piece of cake, that's for sure.
"I'm not about to let you out of my sight, Ellie." Eric's cool lips pressed against my forehead. "I need you to wake up, my sweet."
"But..." I trailed off only after the one word, too tired to think.
"I can give you some of my blood. It won't entirely energize you, but it should be enough to wake you up for a short period of time." He offered.
Part of me wanted to say no, to just go back to sleep. But the logical part of me knew that I couldn't. We had come here for a reason, and that was to find Godric. So I would just have to suck it up, at least for another hour or two until I could really sleep. Groaning, I nodded as I slowly opened my eyes to stare up at him. His fangs were out in mere seconds, ripping into the flesh of his wrist before pressing it again my lips. Unlike last night, I didn't fight as I willingly opened my mouth, allowing the blood into my system. I don't know how I managed to swallow mouthful after mouthful before I decided it was too much and pushed his wrist away. Even with the blood in my system however, I still felt unlike myself. I could keep my eyes open, and hold myself upright, but I still felt weak and exhausted. But I suppose it was enough to keep me alert while we searched for Godric.
"It won't be long, I promise." He assured, kissing my forehead for a second time. "We need to get going. It'll only take a few minutes to get to the wreckage."
I nodded as he lifted me back up into his arms and took off into the air. I forced my eyes open as we flew to our destination, knowing that if I did close my eyes, I would fall asleep in an instant. So I kept my stare firmly planted on Eric, lazily staring at every single flawless feature. He must have known I was staring at him because a smile crept its way across his lips.
"You're staring." He commented.
"I'm trying to stay awake." I mumbled.
"Are my good looks helping with that?" He flashed me a smirk.
"Not well enough." I yawned.
Eric chuckled as he slowly began to descend down to the ground. He landed in a dark alley, or that was what I could make out through my tired eyes. There wasn't much light around us, but I trusted Eric to get us where we needed to be. I remained in his arms as he walked through the alley, taking a turn into another alley. This continued for a few minutes, and just as my eyelids began to drop, Eric came to a halt. I shifted slightly, looking around us as I took everything is. We were at the bombing wreckage, but I was happy to see that it didn't look nearly as horrifying at the Jackson bombing appeared. I attributed that to the strong walls the Palace had to ensure complete and total safety for the Queen. The mansion had just been an old house converted for Russell's needs. But the Palace, that had been completely built and created for the Queen herself. While walls were still missing, and everything looked just as charred and destroyed as it had in Jackson, the initial structure still looked somewhat intact. There was a chance that we might still be able to make out which room was which. The palace was also nearly twice the size of the mansion was, and therefore wouldn't be as destroyed from one bombing. I could only hope that perhaps Godric had been in a wing that hadn't been as destroyed. Or the Queen's office, where the entrance to the tunnel was located, had been salvaged.
"Can you walk?" Eric looked down at me, pulling my attention away from the wreckage.
"I think so yeah." I nodded.
He looked hesitant at first but after a moment he nodded and slowly set me down on my feet. I wobbled for the moment, my hands grabbing onto Eric's arm to steady me. Once I was as steady as I possibly could be, I took a small step forward to test my balance. I didn't fall right over, though I was still weak from my display of powers. But I had enough energy thanks to Eric's blood that I would be able to make it through this. I just had to remember that this was for Godric. We could find him tonight, or at least be pointed in the right direction.
"Where do we start?" I looked up at Eric.
He gazed around at the wreckage, sighing as a look of defeat crossed his face.
"Hey," I laid my hand on his chest. "We're going to find him. This doesn't look nearly as horrible as Jackson did."
"How could anyone survive this?" a look of pure sadness seeped into his eyes, breaking my heart completely.
"Godric, Eric. Godric could survive this. I just know it." I assured him. "Come on; let's just start looking for the tunnel, alright?"
He sighed but nodded, the look of sadness still resting in those blue orbs. I slipped my hand into his as we began sorting through the wreckage, making our way into what had once been a luxurious palace that I had admired. I still remembered the few days I had spent here. They had been the most confusing and dramatic days of my life. I found out what I truly was, my relationship with Godric nearly was destroyed, as was my relationship with Eric. But he had pulled through, just like he always did, and ended up saving me. He was always my saviour, no matter the situation, no matter the danger. He was always there for me, ready to swoop in and save the day. Even last night, when I thought I would never see him again, he saved me from those vampires. I didn't know what any of this meant. I didn't know if anything would change between us, if Eric would have a change of heart and decide to stay after all. But no matter what may happen, I knew my love for him would never fade. I would love him till my last days, should they be years from now or even centuries down the road. That would just never change.
About a half an hour into the search, I found myself beginning to tire. His blood, while it had helped a bit, hadn't been able to replenish the energy I had lost while using my powers tonight and it was beginning to show. I could barely move without wanted to just fall over. Eric had noticed this as we began searching the other half of what had been the first floor of the palace, the only possible location for the tunnel entrance to be located.
"Sit." He motioned towards a sturdy stack of rubble.
"It's dirty." My nose scrunched up.
"You're exhausted and can barely stay on your own two feet." He nudged me softly. "Sit, Ellie."
I was about to argue when another wave of exhausted washed over me. I wobbled on my feet, quickly making my way over to the pile of rubble and sat down. It was dirty, and smelled atrocious, but Eric was right. I couldn't stay on my feet anymore. I was too exhausted, too weak. My eyes were beginning to close, and it took all the strength in the world to keep them open. I just wanted to sleep for an eternity after this, god knows I deserved it.
"This is useless." Eric grumbled, kicking at some of the wreckage, charred rubble flying in all directions. "We're finding nothing."
"Just keep looking, Eric. We'll find it." I assured him.
"He couldn't have survived this. He's gone." Eric mumbled, looking more defeated than he had earlier.
"Don't say that." I shook my head, though that only caused my head to swim with dizziness. "Godric is alive, I know he is."
"Then where the hell is he?" He roared, his anger taking over him.
I cringed at the sound of his voice, but knew he wasn't angry with me. He was just angry in general. This was a shitty situation. Neither of us wanted to be here, looking through a bombing site for the one vampire we both so desperately needed. Godric was Eric's maker and Eric had almost lost him once before. And to me, Godric was just everything. I couldn't lose him, I just couldn't. He meant everything to me. He had been there for me, through thick and thin, for over three years. It couldn't just end like this, it just couldn't.
"We'll find him, I promise you we will." I had to stay strong for Eric, even in my weakened state. He was frustrated, and he had every right to be. This did seem impossible. But we couldn't give up hope. Because we would find Godric, I knew we would. We just had to remain focused.
"There's nothing here." He growled.
"Tell me what you see." He was a good few feet away from where I was sitting and my eyes were beginning to grow blurry with exhaustion.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He kicked at a few more pieces of rubble. "This is useless."
"Just keep looking, Eric. Tell me what you see around you. The tunnel entrance was in Sophie-Anne's office, remember. We just need to find where that room was and then we'll be able to find the tunnel."
"If it's even still there." he voiced negatively.
"Oh just stop it already Eric." I sighed heavily. "Godric is alive, stop thinking anything less. Now tell me what you see."
Eric sighed, and I knew he was trying to keep calm. I blinked a few times, trying to focus on the blonde vampire as he riffled through the wreckage until he lifted up what appeared to be a destroyed book.
"There were books in her office." I mused.
"There were books in more than one room." he threw it over his shoulder, discarding it immediately.
I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "What else is there?"
"Crap. More crap. Furniture scraps." Eric shrugged as he lifted an ornately carved piece of wood. It was charred, and hardly looked like much, but if I looked close enough, I could have sworn that looked like it came from the desk in the Queen's office. I voiced this to Eric and he looked at me as if I had two heads. "It doesn't look like much of anything."
"Just keep looking around there, Eric."
He sent me a glare before he looked around. There were only two and a half walls still around where we stood. There was no roof above us, no second story like I had remembered. But I stared at those walls, hoping desperately that I could remember what this room would have looked like if it was in perfect condition. I found a few sparks of gold, here and there, and my hope began growing. This room had to be the office. There were just too many piece of evidence to prove otherwise. Which meant it was here. The entrance to the tunnel was here, on one of these walls...
"That one." I pointed to the wall to my left. "I think that's the wall the door should be on."
Eric glanced between me and the wall, trying to believe what I was saying. The wall was covered with rubble, and you could barely even tell there was a wall there. It would take Eric a few minutes to rip away all the wreckage, but once he did, I was certain he would find the door there.
"There's nothing on the other side, Ellie. It can't be." He shook his head.
"Well then the entrance to the tunnel could be covered by junk then, I don't know. Just check it, please." I gave him a pointed look.
He looked like he was going to object, but after a moment, he sighed and got to work. I watched with a renewed hope as he pulled the rubble away from the wall. After a few minutes, I began seeing what appeared to be a door and I wanted to cheer. That was the door. The memory wasn't clear as day, but that door, that door I would remember anywhere.
"That's it, Eric!" I was awake immediately, no longer wishing for sleep like I had only moments ago. "That's it!"
Once everything was removed from in front of it, he tried the door, only for it to fall over the moment he touched it. I frowned as it joined the rubble on the other side of the wall, but I didn't give up hope. The entrance to the tunnel was there, we just needed to dig through the rubble to find it.
"I see a stair." Eric peered closely at the ground.
"I knew it!" I tried to stand, only for Eric to shoot me a look.
"Stay there." he ordered. "It's going to take me a bit to get through this. Just stay there and be alert."
I nodded, my eyes never leaving his form as he slowly began dig through what we now knew to be the tunnel entrance. I couldn't have been happier. We were getting closer and closer to finding Godric.
"How's it looking?" I asked after a minute.
Eric was working in a speed that I could barely keep track of. All I knew was that the rubble pile around us was beginning to grow larger as he dug out the tunnel entrance. And that's all that mattered.
"The tunnel itself doesn't look too destroyed." He wiped his dirty hands on his jeans. "I cleared enough for me to slip through."
"Okay, let's go." I used all my strength to push myself onto my feet.
"No." He shook his head, taking a step towards me. "You're going to stay here, Ellie."
"You really want me to stay here, all alone while you search through that tunnel?" I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to not letting me out of your sight?"
"The tunnel could be dangerous. It could collapse."
"And vampires seem to enjoy attacking us." I pointed out. "I think I would be safer with you in a dangerous tunnel than out here all alone. I can't protect myself in this state, Eric. I'm too weak. My powers won't work, not really. I'll be defenceless, you know that."
Eric sighed, knowing I was right. "Can you even walk?"
"Yes." I took a few slow steps towards him, though I found myself shakier than I would have liked. "I'll be fine, let's just go. The longer we wait, the closer to dawn it's getting."
"Fine. But stick at my side at all times." He grabbed me arm and pulled me to his side, steadying me with an arm around my waist.
I gladly accepted as he drew us over to the tunnel. I noticed the stairs right away, though half of them looked destroyed. Eric had been able to clear away enough rubble from the entrance though to be able to squeeze through and into the tunnel below us. Without a word spoken between us, Eric kicked away the last remaining pieces of rubble before lifting me just off of the ground so he could lower us into the tunnel. I squeaked as I held onto him tightly as he hovered us right through the wreckage and into the pitch black tunnel. I tried to peer around us, to get a look at the damage the tunnel had endeared, but I wasn't able to see a damn thing, much like with the tunnel in Jackson.
"How is it?"I grabbed onto what I hoped to be Eric's arm. "Does it look bad?"
"There will be some parts we'll have to climb over, but for the most part, whoever built this tunnel did an excellent job. Only the entrance was caved in." He explained, beginning to guide me slowly through the tunnel, keeping one arm around me at all times so I wouldn't fall.
I tried desperately to gaze at what was around me, but it was a futile attempt. I hadn't been able to see a thing when Andre and I travelled through here and I certainly couldn't see a darn thing now. But I trusted Eric with my life, letting him lead me through the tunnel, sometimes lifting me up to climb over some caved in rubble. Once or twice he would let go of me, instructing me not to move, while he moved some wreckage aside. But for the most part, I was happy to note that the tunnel had held up. I silently thanked whoever had built this thing for doing a fantastic job, and just hoped that Godric had been down here while the bombing occurred. He would have been safe down here at least. Or at least as safe as anyone could be.
What surged fear through me however, was when Eric suddenly just halted, not a word emitting from the vampire even as I questioned why we had stopped. He didn't move a muscle, and that scared me. He wasn't speaking, he wasn't moving, something was desperately wrong. Was it Godric? Did he find him? Was it something else? My heart was racing as I tried to grab Eric's attention, but nothing I said or did worked. Tugging on his arm, calling out his name, it was like he wasn't even there. The only reason I knew he was still there was because of the strong arm that was wrapped tightly around my waist. Almost a bit too tightly now.
"Eric you're scaring me. Tell me what's wrong, please." I begged him, hoping the vampire was just overreacting. What was spooking him so much?
"Blood." He breathed out.
My heart sank. "You see blood?"
"Lots of it." his voice was hardly above a whisper and I had to strain to hear it. His accent was usually hard to detect, unless he was speaking in Swedish or saying a term he was unsure of. But as he spoke those few words, his accent was clear as day. On any normal occasion, I would have found that appealing. But this was not the time for gushing over an accent. I knew something was wrong. I knew something was horribly wrong.
"Is it..." I couldn't say Godric's name out loud. I just couldn't. That would be admitting defeat, admitting that all of this had been for nothing and I just couldn't do it. Godric couldn't be dead.
"Some." Eric answered, his accent, if possible, growing thicker. "Not all."
I sighed in relief. That meant Godric had come down here for certain, meaning he had possibly escaped. I wasn't sure how much blood Eric was able to see, but maybe Godric just found himself hurt. The rubble was becoming more and more the deeper we found ourselves in the tunnel. But maybe he was fine now. Maybe he had escaped. That had to be the case, right?
"Who else?" I wondered, trying to gauge who had been with Godric when he had attempted to escape.
"I don't know." Eric's arm tightened around my waist. "Godric's is the only blood I recognize the scent of."
"Okay, well at least this means that Godric did come through here." I pointed out optimistically. "That's a good sign, right?"
"He's been hurt." Eric mumbled.
"But not enough that he's..." again, I just couldn't say it.
"No. Not enough."
"Thank god." I was counting my blessings now. "Should we continue on? Maybe we'll be able to tell where he went."
Eric didn't say a word, he just began guiding me along again. It wasn't long before Eric came to another sudden halt though.
"More blood?" I asked fearfully.
"It's caved in."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the vampire. "What's caved in?"
"The tunnel, it's completely caved in." Eric answered in agitation. We were getting so close and yet there was another road block in our way. "He couldn't have gotten out this way. If he got out."
"He's not here, is he? You can't sense him or anything?"
"No, he's not here. At least...I don't think so."
"Well then he had to of gotten out somehow then." I tried to remain as positive as possible.
"Or he was trapped underneath the rubble." Eric grew tense. "I can't sense him but..."
"He's alive, Eric." I intertwined my fingers with his. "He's alive, I know it."
I couldn't see him, but I could just imagine the look on his face. Eric and Godric argued and bickered like mad, understandable after a thousand years together. But they loved one another. I knew that, and they both knew that. No mattered what they may argue over, whatever they may hate one another for, it was just never enough to destroy the relationship they shared. Not even when I had been in the middle, causing the worst possible fight I could imagine the two having, had the two gone their separate ways. They stuck together, worked it out, and were closer now than ever before. I don't know what losing his maker would do to Eric, but I knew it wouldn't be good. I knew just how broken and destroyed he would be. And I honestly don't think I would be able to help him at all. Because I would be just as broken and destroyed as he would be.
"He's alive." I repeated in assurance. "Maybe he was on the other side when it caved in. or he was stuck but was able to get out on the other side. There's still hope, Eric."
"I hope so." It was a rare moment when Eric let his guard down. He didn't do so very often, and rarely even with me. But there were glimpses of his soul, of his humanity, of the side that he never allowed any other to see once in awhile.
"Is there any way through it?" I asked.
"No. It would take hours to deal with this, hours we don't have." He sighed heavily.
"Then we'll have to turn around. But this means that there's a good chance that Godric got out. Which means we just have to find him now." I squeezed his hand. "We'll find him, I know we will."
Eric didn't say anything, and instead only lifted me up into his arms without another word being spoken between us. I held onto him tightly as he used his speed to make our way back through the tunnel and up into the night air. He didn't stop at the ground, and instead flew us high up into the sky. I didn't bother to ask him where he planned on going now, and just let him fly over the city slowly, as if he was hoping he would just catch a glimpse of his maker.
"We will find him, Eric." I stared at the mask that had crossed his face the moment we entered the starry night sky.
He grunted but didn't utter a word. He just flew, holding onto me a bit too tightly. But I didn't mind. If Godric was gone, we were all that we had left. But I refused to believe that. Godric was very much alive. He had been in that tunnel, and while his blood may be in there, Eric himself even said there wasn't enough for it to mean that he had met the true death. Godric was fine. He had escaped and was just waiting for us to find him.
But if that was the case, if he had escaped, why hadn't he come home yet? Why hadn't he contacted us? That prospect only worried me more. What if he was hurt? What if he was trapped somewhere, or injured to the point that he truly did need help? I wanted to find him, yes, but the idea of finding him in such a horrific state, that scared me to the bone.
"Blood." Eric muttered to himself, his forehead creasing.
"What?" I asked in confusion. "What about blood?"
"I can smell it. Lots of it." his nostrils flared.
"Someone is just probably hurt." I shrugged.
"No." He shook his head.
"Then a vampire is feeding on someone."
His head flashed to me and I knew immediately what he was thinking.
"There are how many vampires in the world, Eric? And New Orleans has always been a hot spot, hasn't it? The likelihood that it's Godric is..."
But before I could finish, Eric took off. I let out a yelp of surprise as I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched onto Eric for dear life. He was flying fast, so fast that if I had opened my eyes, I was certain I wouldn't be able to recognize a thing. I tried to get Eric to slow down, to listen to reason, but I lost my voice. I wasn't the biggest one for heights, and I've definitely had my quota for flying in the past 24 hours, that was for sure. I sighed in relief when Eric finally landed on the ground, in yet another alley much like before. But that relief quickly turned into concern when even I was able to smell the blood Eric had been talking about. My nose scrunched up in disgust at the smell, and my stomach began churning. Eric's blood smelt and tasted different than human blood. I could handle Eric's blood, but this, this just made me want to vomit.
"Stay here." Eric set me down on the ground, and before I could tell him to stop, he ran right out of sight.
"Seriously?" I called out to no one, shaking my head in disbelief. I tried to look around for where we were, but the alley looked the same as any other alley in the world. It was narrow and between two dark and possibly even abandoned buildings. Not exactly the warm welcoming setting that gave you a good feeling inside. I shuddered as I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to control my wandering mind. Every little sound, even just the wind beginning to pick up, scared the living daylights out of me. I jumped about a dozen times before deciding that just standing here, waiting for someone to come along and attack me, was the worst idea ever. "Oh screw this."
I began walking where I thought I had seen Eric run off to. I could have sworn he turned a corner, but I couldn't be sure. I began down to the end of the alleyway anyways, before I was met with a connecting one. I peered around the corner of the alley but couldn't see the end very clearly. There were no lights from the streets shining into the alley, not like this one. Oh this was right out of a horror film and I was setting myself up to get killed. But it wasn't like I had many options right now. The sun was going to rise shortly and Eric had just run off, leaving me in a dark alley where anyone could come along and find me. Not to mention, I was still weak, the exhaustion only going every passing minute.
"Damn you Eric." I muttered as I inhaled sharply before entering the new alley.
It wasn't long before I could hear voices, voices that I recognized.
"Let the girl go, we can get you blood elsewhere." Eric's voice came wafting through the alley.
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest as I stepped closer and closer to where the vampire was. The darker it became, the more worried I was. But Eric was there, I had nothing to fear. As long as he was there, no harm would come to me.
"Eric?" I let out a whisper, trying to locate the blonde. I could see a faint outline of someone who looked like Eric, but from the distance I was at, I couldn't be sure.
"I told you to stay put, Ellie!" Eric growled at me.
"You left me alone in an alley, Eric. I wasn't going to just stay there!" I argued back, my pace quickening.
"Stop!" he hissed out. "Stop there."
"Why? What's going on Eric?" I questioned, defying his order and stepping closer. I was able to see Eric more clearly now, his blue eyes nearly glowing in the dark alley.
"Stay back!" he threw his hand out to halt me, a flash of concern in his eyes.
I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, why he was acting like this, when a noise caused me to pause. I frowned as I looked around Eric's large form and my heart just stopped. I couldn't move, I couldn't even breathe as I just stood there, my eyes growing as wide as saucers as I took in the form before me. There a vampire stood, staggering slightly, with blood dripping down their face. At his feet, was a female girl, her throat just about ripped out. I felt sick to my stomach as I took in the sight, but it wasn't until I took another step forward that I realized who the vampire was.
"Godric?"