Chapter Twenty Eight: Russian Roulette

"What did you just do?" Godric's eyes widened as the fire died down, the candles suddenly dying.

I risked a glance over to the vampire, and I was surprised to see his red rimmed eyes. I hadn't realized breaking my bond with Eric and him would affect him this way. Our bond hadn't nearly been as deep as with my blood bond with Eric's, but none of that really mattered. Because it hadn't been our blood that had turned us into the friends that we were. We were bonded through so much more than just blood, didn't he realize that?

"Godric, I'm..."

I was cut off, however, by the sound of Godric's phone ringing. He held up a hand to stop me, his head shaking in disappointment as he slipped the phone from his jacket and began speaking in Swedish. I glanced at the others before catching the look of pure fear on Godric's face. My heart just about stopped as Godric turned his phone off and didn't even bother to mask the look on his face.

"Holly, I would suggest leaving if you'd like to see tomorrow." Godric warned her. "And I would leave now if I were you."

Holly shot Sookie and me a look, and we waved her off. Whatever was going on, it didn't involve her at all. She shouldn't be thrust into another war when she didn't need to be. Once Holly's car was out of sight, the night eerily silent, I risked speaking.

"Godric, what's going on?" My heart was still thumping in my chest wildly. But this time, it wasn't because of what I had just done, and instead, it was out of fear. "Who just called you?"

"Fangtasia is under attack." He wouldn't look me in the eye as his expression hardened. "Pam has locked the doors to keep those inside safe, but she's informed me that there are vampires waiting outside, surrounding the building, looking ready to strike at any moment."

"Oh my god." Sookie gasped, her eyes growing as wide as mine were.

"Oh shit." I breathed out. "What are we going to do?"

"You're going to get inside Sookie's house right now." Godric ordered, shooting Quinn a look. "Keep them in there while I hide the mess that you've created."

Quinn didn't risk arguing and quickly collected Sookie and me and hurried us towards the house.

"Oh and Elizabeth, we will talk about this." Godric called to me before he was suddenly just a blur, getting rid of any evidence of what we had done.

My heart didn't calm down at all as we piled into Sookie's house. We didn't bother to put on any lights, not sure why Godric had insisted that we come inside, but too scared that someone would know we were here. I had a feeling those vampires readying themselves to attack Fangtasia were the Nevada vampires. We were officially under attack, something I knew would have happened eventually. After we had taken Bill, and those vampires had appeared, I knew we had just sent Victor a message. And now they were sending a message right back at us. I was scared, and I wasn't sure if it was because I didn't want Pam to meet the true death at the hands of these vampires, or because I knew there were innocent people inside of that bar that didn't deserve the deaths that could come to them tonight. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

"You did a very stupid thing tonight, Elizabeth." Godric entered the house, locking the door behind him as he did. I couldn't see him at all, the house completely dark, but I could feel his presence beside me, his cold hand curling around my forearm. "What you've done...it's not forgivable by any means."

I hung my head, knowing he was right. I had hurt him, that was obvious, and I hated myself for that. I never thought of how he would feel when I had decided to do this. I had been thinking selfishly, and now I was beginning to regret everything that I had done.

"We will discuss this later, mark my words." He hissed in my ear before suddenly, his entire body tensed, his hand around my arm tightening.

I didn't need to see his face to know that something was wrong.

Something was terribly wrong.

"Should I turn?" Quinn questioned.

Godric never answered though, and only seconds later, I heard someone shuffling around, like they were taking off their clothes. My eyes grew wide when I realized what Quinn was doing. He was turning into a tiger, right there in Sookie's front hallway.

It was safe to say this house has officially seen everything now.

"What's going on, Godric?" Sookie asked in a whisper. "What..."

"We're no longer alone." Godric spoke before suddenly, lights began shining through the living room window.

I could dimly see now, and my eyes grew even wider when I found the large tiger sitting directly in front of me, still protecting me even in his very large and terrifying form. He turned his head towards me, and even as a tiger, he held those dark purple eyes that I found so unique. My hand slowly drew out to run through his soft fur, and he turned his head further into my touch. I glanced out the corner of my eye as Sookie snuck over to the window, peaking out.

"There are more vampires then I can count out there." Sookie looked at us in fear. "Some have fire, others have guns."

"Fuck." I muttered, shooting Godric a glance. "What are we going to do, we're practically surrounded."

Godric opened his mouth, but was cut off by Quinn growling lowly, getting to all fours and looking prepared to strike. I was just about to question what he was doing when a knock suddenly sounded at the door. My heart just about stopped as Sookie jumped in surprise, hurrying back over to my side and I didn't blame her one bit. I felt more scared than I had in a very long time, but there was something oddly comforting about being with one of the oldest vampires in the world and a very large tiger.

Another knock sounded at the door, though this time it sounded more agitated. I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. No one came charging through the door, not like any vampire could without an invitation.

"Who's there?" I found myself calling out. Everyone, including Quinn, shot me a look of surprise. I shrugged and kept my stare on the door. We could play this game all night until someone made the first move.

"It is I, Victor Madden." For a feared asshole, he sounded far more cheerful than I had been expecting.

Godric tensed though, and I thought he was going to rip my arm off by how tightly he was holding onto me.

"And you must be the famed Phoenix I've heard so much about." He sounded as if he were talking to friends, not the people he either wanted to capture for his own power gain or kill. "The one who has killed so many of my men."

"And enjoyed every minute of it." I shook Godric's grip off of me and crossed my arms. "What do you want?"

"Only to chat, my dear Phoenix." It was unnerving to hear how ordinary he sounded.

"Well then, please by all means, chat away."

"Is that any way to treat a guest?" he was scolding me like a parent would scold a young child.

I narrowed my eyes. "Why would we let you in?"

"I promise not to hurt you or those that accompany you, just as long as you swear not to attack my men."

I glanced at Godric, trying to figure out what was going on in that head of his. He looked at the door blankly before turning his head towards me. He looked me in the eye for the longest time, and I almost had to snap him out of it. But after a moment he sighed, the worry only growing in his orbs.

"He'll spare you." He whispered. "You are the Phoenix, he will spare you."

"Come now, can't we all be friends?"

"Godric?"

"There is nowhere for us to go, Elizabeth. We cannot leave, and they will not stand down." Godric sighed, closing his eyes. "We are trapped."

"Sookie?" I looked to her for an answer. "What do we do?"

"How do we believe you?" Sookie questioned.

"I'm an honourable man." Victor assured.

I snorted. "So honourable that you've tried to kill us countless of times?"

"But not you, Phoenix. I would never try and harm you." I didn't like the sound of that at all. I'd rather die than have him control me. I shuddered at the mere thought.

"Let him in." Godric spoke softly. "But only him. Be specific with the invitation."

"Are you insane?" Sookie looked at Godric like he had two heads.

"He's one vampire, Sook." I assured her, understanding why Godric had suggested doing so. We couldn't continue to stand here like this all night. Because eventually, the sun would rise, and we all know that Godric wouldn't be able to stay here. The vampires outside may have to go to ground as well, but who was to say that Weres wouldn't stop by once the vampires left, only to attack us like the vampires couldn't. No, it would be better to talk with Victor in a controlled environment. We could fight back if need be. And no one was a match for Godric; he could kill Victor with a flick of his wrist.

It was for that reason alone that I strode around Quinn, who was now glued to my heels, and flicked on the light in the front hallway before grasping onto the door handle. I inhaled sharply before pulling the door open, taking my first good look at the opposing vampire. It was even more surprising how ordinary and good looking he was. Sophie-Anne hadn't lied when she warned me not to be fooled by his good looks. He may have short curly hair and a striking face, and wore a business suit only like a model in a magazine could, but he was still a ruthless vampire that didn't seem to care who he killed just as long as he got what he desired.

"Ah, you look more beautiful in person." Victor flashed me a brilliant smile, his teeth perfectly straight and white. I had to keep repeating the phrase 'looks can be deceiving' over and over again in my head, reminding myself that this was a stone cold killer and not some average business man. "And look at that, an actual Were-Tiger. I thought they had gone extinct."

Quinn roared at the vampire from beside me, causing both Sookie and I to jump at the unexpected sound to come from his mouth. Victor only snickered as he stared down at Quinn, looking more intrigued than intimidated.

"Only you, Victor Madden, may come in." I spoke, and in a flash, Victor had taken a step into the house, moving so close to me that I had to crane my neck to stare up into those cool brown eyes. I felt our gazes meet, and I knew right away what he was trying to do. But my mental road blocks held steady, and immediately shoved him out in his attempt to glamour me. "I would appreciate if you didn't try that again. I might accidentally forget to not set you on fire."

"Of course, aren't you a feisty one." He laughed, taking a small step back, his smile still plastered on his face. "Godric, it's been many decades. I was saddened to hear you were demoted as the Sheriff of Area 9."

"Victor." Godric's voice was monotone as he spoke. "Has business been well?"

"Oh yes, business has been booming as you can imagine." Victor's gaze flickered over us all. "You seem to be doing fine yourself. You've found yourself a part fae and a Phoenix. What luck you must have!"

Godric narrowed his eyes but didn't say a word.

"Shall we sit?" Victor suggested.

"We'd rather stand." I pursed my lips. "No offence, but I honestly don't like you."

"They have said you are a hard one to crack." My words didn't seem to affect him at all. "The Queen of Louisiana is dead, though I'm sure you and Godric aware of that as you were there."

My heart swelled as I remembered her screams before everything had gone silent. I shuddered at the memory before focusing on the present.

"And the Sheriffs of Louisiana and Mississippi?" Godric wondered.

"Oh let's see now," Victor tilted his head to the side before his grin grew. "Oh yes, all of them are dead. There were a few that gave us quite the fight."

My heart sunk. There really was no one else but us left. Only we were strong enough to stop Victor from taking over Louisiana, and right now, even that seemed very unlikely.

"I see many familiar faces. Are all of your men under your control, Victor?" Godric questioned with a hard stare.

"Why yes they are." Victor glanced at the line of vampires outside, and from what I could see, there was just shy of a dozen. If anything should happen and we suddenly needed to attack, there were just too many for me to take out all at once. I had only killed a few at a time, and even that had taken quite a lot out of me. So to kill nearly a dozen vampires, all at once to save us, I wasn't so sure I could do that.

"Fangtasia?" I asked, remembering that they too were under attack. "Are they..."

"My men are poised to strike, but they won't until they receive my word." Victor informed. "Though, one, a female, had managed to kill one or two before they had barricaded themselves in the bar."

I tried my best to hide my smirk. Differences or not, I couldn't help but silently cheer for Pam. She really was her maker's child. Eric would have done the same thing if he had been there. She couldn't have killed them all, not by herself, but she angrily had taken out those that she could, sending them a message that if necessary, they would fight to the death.

I just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

I wasn't sure what would happen here. I wasn't sure if Victor would end up trying to kill us all, or if by some miracle, we could come to an agreement. I knew the latter was unlikely, but I was confused as to why we were even having this conversation to begin with. Why was Victor here? He could have just attacked us. But instead, he chose to have a little chit chat.

"Why are you here?" I demanded to know. "Because your men, they look like they came for a fight. So why did you really come here Victor?"

"You're a perceptive one. You would do well at my side." His eyes drew over me completely, and his white smile faltered just a touch before his gaze raised back up to meet mine. "I was hoping to not have to start a war."

"You've already started a war." I crossed my arms back across my chest. "You bombed two palaces, killed countless of Sheriffs, murdered the Queen, and nearly killed all of us a dozen times. So why the hell are you here now?"

"For you to swear fealty to my King of course." His smile had been wiped from his face and replaced with a frown. "Of course, I could do without you, Godric, and the Were-Tiger has no meaning to me whatsoever."

"Oh so you were planning on killing Godric and Quinn but keeping Sookie and me alive." I rolled my eyes. "Somehow I don't believe we'll just let that happen."

"I assumed as much. Which is why I'm offering you a second option." Victor moved forward, only for Quinn to growl at the vampire until he stepped back again. "I will keep you all alive and in one peace."

"Only if we pledge allegiance to your king." Sookie commented. "What makes you think we would? Your king doesn't even have any ruling over the three of us."

"No, perhaps he doesn't. But my king can offer you protection from every other state."

"We have enough protection, thank you very much." Sookie shot back.

Victor didn't look pleased. "For now, Miss. Stackhouse, for now."

"So say, by chance, we agreed to this. What would happen?" I asked.

"You will free Mr. Compton, as I'm aware you're holding him captive. He will become Sheriff of Area 5 while I will become the regent for my King. He cannot be in three states at once. A colleague of mine will run Mississippi for Felipe while I oversee Louisiana." Victor explained.

Sookie and I exchanged looks, and neither of us liked this second option much better than the first. Bill as the Sheriff? We would all be screwed if that were to happen.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say fuck you." I spat at the vampire before us. I felt Godric's hand back on my arm, his silent way of telling me to shut up.

"If I were you, I would accept the second option." Victor was before me in a flash, causing Godric's fangs to click out and a hiss to emit his lips. Quinn on the other hand, leapt right into the action, his large teeth sinking right into Victor's leg. I was surprised, however, when Victor barely even made a single noise and only flicked his leg to the side, enough force being used to send Quinn flying right into the living room, a whimper escaping the tiger as he crashed to the floor. My entire body tensed, Sookie letting out a yelp in surprise, her hand covering her mouth. "I would seriously reconsider, Phoenix."

"And what will happen if we don't?"

"The vampires in Shreveport will have no choice but to attack Fangtasia. And they will destroy every single vampire and human in that bar until they're satisfied." Victor smirked down at me, his fangs on display. "And you four, well I can take care of you all rather easily."

"Godric is older than you are." I pointed out.

"And I have more men." Victor countered, his eyes flickering over to Godric. "Be practical, Godric. Tell your little Phoenix to stand down. Or I will kill all of you."

"Well you can try. I can't exactly die, sorry." I spoke before Godric could even open his mouth.

"Ellie." Sookie whispered to me, her eyes growing wide.

"And I'm pretty sure that I can kill all of you before you could even lift a finger." I threatened. "I recognize some of your men out there; they were at Bill's the other night. They all know what I'm capable of."

"You're very powerful." Victor nodded. "But you have yet to unlock your true potential. I can help you with that, Phoenix. I can teach you."

"And what can you possibly know about Phoenixes." I snorted. "You couldn't help me at all."

"Oh I know much more than you may think. Isn't that right, Godric?" Victor sent Godric a wide smirk. Godric only growled in response, glaring so darkly up at Victor that I was expecting him to just turn and run away in fear. But he didn't. He just stood there, waiting for us all to fall at his feet.

Well he had another thing coming.

"I would hold your tongue, Victor. I am your elder." Godric hissed.

"And I may very well be your authority." Victor scolded. "That attitude is very poor, Godric. I expected more out of you. Shouldn't our dear little Phoenix know?"

"Know what?" I frowned, looking between the two. "Know what?"

"Know just exactly how I know as much as I do about Phoenixes." Victor's smile had returned, and he almost looked gleeful. "Godric, would you like the honours. Oh no, never mind, allow me."

I shot Godric a confused stare, only he refused to look me in the eye.

"Did you know there was a whole library dedicated to mythological creatures?" Victor had drawn even closer, forcing me to take a step back and breaking the line Sookie, Godric and I had created. Sookie chose that moment to hurry into the living room to check on Quinn, and I was thankful for it. If anything were to happen, she was far enough out of the line of fine. Godric however, remained where he was, though his hand had dropped back down to the side and he was looking toward the ground sadly. "Your Queen of course had taken the liberty of keeping it all to herself, but I was able to take a few into my possession when I entered the New Orleans Palace with a few of my men that night. You remember that, don't you Godric?"

"What night?" I questioned.

"Why the night of the bombing of course."

"You were there?" My eyes grew wide in surprise. "But..."

"I'm sure your Queen and your precious vampire didn't tell you that." he chuckled. "Yes, I was there. I was hoping Sophie-Anne would reconsider and I wouldn't have to destroy the palace. It was quite a sight, wasn't it?"

I couldn't believe neither the Queen nor Godric had thought to tell any of us that Victor had indeed been there had night. We could have known who had been behind the bombings much sooner if Godric had just told us all the truth.

"I made her a new deal of course. If she handed over her strongest men, and allowed me access to whatever I might wish, I wouldn't invade her pretty little state." Victor's grin twisted into a smirk as he stared down at me with that predator look in his eyes. I realized that whatever he might wish, just happened to be me. "She refused. She was too attached to you, and I can understand why. You're very...delectable."

"Never going to happen." I moved backwards, but that only caused him to grow even closer. Godric wasn't doing a damn thing to stop him either. It was like he knew there was nothing he could do, which was the furthest thing from the truth.

"I think you'll reconsider." He reached a hand out, his cold fingers caressing my cheek. A chill ran up my spine, and I tried to jerk away, only to find that I had walked myself right into a wall. Victor knew I had nowhere to go, and placed himself even closer. "But what was I saying? Oh yes. While I was speaking with the Queen, I instructed my men to collect whatever may be valuable. And I came across something very interesting."

Godric's head shot up, and I felt his eyes boring into Victor's back. But still, he remained in his spot, not making a single move to stop Victor.

"I found some very helpful volumes to aid me into understanding what you are. Did you know there were books written about your ancestors, Phoenix?"

There were books? I was here, confused as anything, and there happened to be books that I could have read to understand what I was, what my powers were? I looked over Victor's shoulder to where Godric stood, and there was a look of shame on his face. He had known about these volumes Victor spoke of, and he hadn't said a single word to me about them. I felt hurt, just as hurt as I was sure he felt that I had broken our blood bond.

"what's even more interesting though, is the reason why the Queen was holding onto these volumes so dearly, why she had brought your dear vampire to New Orleans in the first place." He had dipped his head down, whispering in my ear now. "Did you know it's possible to resurrect a Phoenix when their soul is trapped inside of another?"

My mouth dropped open in shock. Silence filled the house as every fell perfectly still.

"It's a shame that Godric didn't inform you. It is very handy information to have." Victor pulled away, smirking down at my gobsmacked reaction. "I'm quite surprised in you Godric. Do you hide information from those you care about often?"

I was beginning to realize that Godric had hid a whole lot from me now. He had hid what I was from me. He had hid the fact that I looked exactly like his former love. And he had done so again when I had lost my memory. And now this? He had hidden this from me? I knew how distraught he was over Kyra's death. Why hadn't he told me this was possible? I could have helped him; I could have aided him in whatever way I could. And instead, he kept this a secret from me.

"Is this...is this true, Godric?" I needed to hear it from him. I needed him to look me in the eye and admit that he had lied to me. I had only just asked him the true reason he had gone to New Orleans the other night. And he had looked me in the face and told me a complete lie. If he could do so so easily, what else was he hiding from me?

"Elizabeth I..." Godric searched for the words. "I was planning on telling you, I just..."

"You just thought you would lie about it." I looked away from him, and instead kept my focus on Sookie and the now human Quinn in the living room. Sookie sent me a look of sympathy as she covered Quinn's moving form with a blanket as she scrambled to find his clothes.

"I'm sorry."

"Well now that that's out of the way." Victor clicked his tongue, returning all of the attention back onto him. "Would you like to reconsider, Phoenix? Perhaps you and I could strike a deal of our own. You and I, we could be very powerful together."

"I have enough asshole vampires in my life, thank you." My face hardened as I glared up at him. "And my answer is still no. And I'm sure that Sookie and Quinn would agree with me. I don't know about Godric though, seems I don't know him at all."

Godric flashed me a pained look, but I ignored him as I stood my ground.

"Well then, that's too bad. I didn't want to have to kill you." Victor sighed dramatically.

"You can't kill me, remember." I stood before the vampire with narrowed eyes. He didn't realize who he was dealing with. He couldn't kill me, I was the Phoenix. Even if I did die, I would only be back here a split second later.

Victor's eyes roamed over me before setting on my chest where my heart was racing. I may have appeared all calm and collected, but I knew on the inside I was a nervous wreck. He must have known that as his smirk widened and he took a step forward. I saw Quinn move out the corner of my eye but I held my hand up to stop him. He would only get himself hurt if he tried to interfere again.

"I'd like to test that theory."

I frowned and opened my mouth to question him when in a blink of an eye, he had broken the hallway table and had one of the now sharp wooden legs aimed straight at my heart. There wasn't enough time for Godric or Quinn to interfere. Even as they rushed forward, the weapon was diving straight for my pumping heart, my life force. I braced myself for the contact, for the impending pain, but it just never came. I opened the eyes I never realized I had even closed when I heard a sudden gasp emit from Sookie behind me. My eyes grew as wide as saucers as I took in the scene before me. I thought I was seeing things. I thought that Victor truly had shoved that table leg right through my heart and I was dead, having hallucinations, anything. Because I couldn't be witnessing Eric Northman standing in Sookie's house, his hand wrapped around Victor's neck, looking read to kill him as he shoved him right into the opposite wall. My heart had stopped. It just stilled as I stared in shock at Eric, his fangs clicking out as he hissed in Victor's face.

"She is mine."