Author's Note: I just wanted to say how awesome I think you guys are! I have gotten an overwhelmingly positive response through favorites, follows, reviews, and even private messages. I am so excited that you all like my little story. You guys definitely make this story more fun!
Disclaimer: I own Gemma Leland and part of the plotline connected to her. The rest of the characters and plot belong to Alan Ball, creator of True Blood, based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.
Chapter 4
"Let me go!" I shouted, fighting against the hands holding me in place. Even as I watched Skylar's head loll to the side, her strength completely drained, all I wanted was more of that blood.
"Gemma, get ahold of yourself," Eric said gruffly, suddenly spinning me around so I was facing him, snapping me out of my frenzy. "You can't kill her."
I looked into Eric's eyes, becoming myself again. My shoulders slumped as I put my hands over my face. The magnitude of what I just did hit me with the force of a train. I had no self-control, I fed on living humans, and I could kill without a second thought.
I collapsed into Eric's arms. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes as Eric held me to him, seemingly trying to comfort me. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, while Eric awkwardly rubbed my back. Suddenly, Eric's hands disappeared from me and I looked up to see him pick Skylar up and carry her out of the room. Unable to move, I just stared at the open door in disbelief.
Eric Northman
I watched as Gemma sunk her teeth into the girl's neck, any inhibition or sign of humanity gone. It was a little shocking to see a sweet, innocent young girl transform so suddenly into a ruthless killer. This new side of Gemma was disconcerting, her beauty warped into a terrible mask of hunger.
I was so enraptured by her transformation that I almost didn't stop her in time. As the human girl's muscles began to go limp, I realized Gemma was sucking the life out of her. With a swift movement, I wrapped my arms around Gemma, yanking her away from the nearly lifeless body.
Gemma thrashed against me, desperate to return to her victim. It took nearly all my strength to hold her back. I spun her around and pinned her to my chest as she screamed, "Let me go!" I knew I had to calm Gemma down. I whispered in her ear to stop, that she couldn't kill the girl. Suddenly, she went limp in my arms. Looking down, I saw her hands fly up to her face, covering it in despair.
Emotions overtook me. Her anguish was tangible as I held her to me. I felt her pain almost as if it was my own and I felt compelled to try to comfort her, so I began to rub her back, a gesture that was very unnatural to me. After a few moments, she seemed to relax a little bit.
My reaction to her sudden emotion took me by surprise and I could not handle it. Without a word, I let Gemma go, walking over to the limp body of the human. I barely felt her as I picked her up into my arms and carried her out of my office.
I was angry with myself. I barely knew this girl, she was a thorn in my side, yet I was letting her get to me. When she was upset, I wanted to fly in and save her. When she looked at me with those trusting eyes, I felt like a god. I never felt emotions this intense for anyone, not even Sookie.
My mind drifted to Sookie Stackhouse. Her sweet face, her warm brown eyes, the melody of her voice as she said my name, it all made something stir in me. Sometimes, I thought it was love, but other times she made me so angry I wanted to rip her apart like the weak, pathetic human she was. There was a fire inside her, though, that turned me on. Also, I could not stand that Bill Compton. He wasn't what Sookie thought he was and I wanted to destroy him by stealing her away. It would be so sweet to see the pain in his eyes.
But then there was Gemma. She awakened in me emotions I haven't felt for a thousand years, since before I was turned. She was so vulnerable, so pure, yet there was anger bubbling under the surface: anger at the maker who abandoned her, anger at the wolves for attacking her, even anger at me for keeping her here when she wanted to go home. I wanted to protect her and keep her safe, yet there was a part of me that wanted to push her buttons, get her to fight back, to explode. I wanted to see if she had that fire I loved in a woman, without being so breakable the way Sookie was.
Infuriated by my thoughts, I stormed up to the bar. A single human male sat there, dressed in a similarly awful getup as Skylar. They had arrived together, hoping to get into the club, unaware that we were closed. Poor, unlucky souls.
"Excuse me," I said in a condescending tone. The young man, more of a boy in my opinion, turned and looked up at me. His brown eyes went wide when he saw me, then even wider when he saw the girl in my arms.
"What did you do to my girlfriend?" he demanded, trying to sound angry, but his voice deceived him, betraying his terror with cracks and squeaks.
"She seems to have enjoyed herself a little too much," I answered with a sneer. "I suggest you take her home and when she wakes up, make sure she gets plenty of water."
I dropped the girl into his arms, causing him to stumble and nearly drop her. Luckily for her, he regained his footing and, too afraid to look back, walked out the door. Relieved, I sighed.
"Your baby vampire get a little too enthusiastic?" Pam chided sarcastically, earning a murderous glare from me.
"Don't start with me, Pam. I had enough of this shit when I turned you, I don't want to deal with it from a vampire I didn't even create."
Pam scoffed, looking down at her perfectly-manicured nails.
"You have a soft spot for her, I can tell. And I thought you were infatuated with that Sookie Stackhouse. Funny."
I turned to Pam, positively fuming. "I am not infatuated with anyone, and I am only keeping this child with me because I have a duty as Sheriff. And let's not forget the Magister already has me in his crosshairs. I don't need any other reason to have him poking around here."
"Speaking of the Magister," Pam drawled, speaking softly, "when are you going to have your little talk with Lafayette? You have enough you-know-what here to have all of us killed. You need to get it out of here. I'm not willing to face the True Death for Her Majesty."
"I don't have time to deal with him," I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Thinking quickly, I tried to come up with a decent plan for the predicament into which I had gotten Pam and myself. I looked over at Pam. "You go track down Lafayette. Let him know that it is imperative that he gets rid of the V by tomorrow. I will pay him a quick visit to make sure he gets it done."
"What will you do with the nasty creature in your office?" Pam asked. By the way she said "nasty creature," I assumed she was talking about Gemma.
"I'm going to take her to Sophie-Anne the minute she takes a shower. Maybe if we make her look presentable, the Queen will decide to take her off our hands."
With that, Pam turned, preparing to run to Merlotte's to find Lafayette.
"Pam," I said quickly. She turned and looked at me. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a check I had written earlier that night. "While you're out, give this to Sookie."
Gemma Leland
I had been sitting in Eric's office for an excruciatingly long time. In the silence, all I could think about was the uncontrollable bloodlust I had experienced when drinking from that girl. I had tasted blood before when I was human. It tasted disgusting, like warm liquid iron. Now, as a vampire, it tasted like a completely different substance. No words could describe the heavenly mixture of sweet and salt that was human blood. It was intoxicating, immediately addicting in a way no drug could be.
Trying to take my mind off of the blood, I looked down at myself. I was still filthy, my hair still in dirty knots, blood and dirt still staining every inch of my skin. To add to that, I could feel fresh blood drying on my chin. I knew I must have been a horrifying sight.
Unexpectedly, Eric came speeding through the door, making me jump.
"My God, you look terrible," he said, looking me up and down.
"Well, if you would let me shower, I wouldn't look so fresh from the grave," I countered venomously.
"No need to be so touchy," he said, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. "I am going to take you somewhere to get you all cleaned up."
Eric led me out to his car, his hand on the small of my back the whole time like he was afraid I'd try to run away. Once I was safely in the car, Eric got into the driver's seat and before I knew it, we were flying down the road into Shreveport. After a few minutes, we ended up in the parking lot of a hotel.
"Really?" I demanded, glaring at him. "You're going to make me shower at a hotel?"
"Well, dear Gemma, there is no shower at Fangtasia and I never allow anyone to see my house other than Pam for safety purposes, so there aren't many other options," he said sarcastically, flashing me an infuriating smile. I became so angry, if I were a cartoon, smoke would be pouring out of my ears.
Unable to fight him, I threw open my door. As I slammed the door behind me, I suddenly realized Eric was by my side. I gasped, grabbing my chest out of human habit.
"Jesus Christ, Eric, do you really need to use vamp speed all the time?"
Eric just smiled, obviously happy with himself. He was determined to get under my skin, that was for certain. From what I could tell, Eric's favorite pastime was aggravating those around him.
"Do you really need to come with me?" I queried, folding my arms over my chest in a childish attempt to show my dissatisfaction.
"You are not yet skilled in how to glamour humans," Eric answered stiffly, looking over at me. "Trust me, sweetheart, I'm not coming to watch you shower. How did you think you were going to get in a hotel room by yourself?"
We walked silently through the hotel doors, approaching the front desk. Eric turned to me, gesturing to me to walk to the other side of the lobby so no one would see the full extent of my grotesque appearance. I was perturbed, but I understood his reasoning, so I walked across the lobby, standing by a mirror so I could watch Eric discreetly.
A skinny man in a maroon vest stood behind the desk, typing on a computer. As Eric approached him, he looked up at him, flashing a million-dollar smile.
"How can I help you tonight, sir?" he asked, his voice overly-perky and high-pitched. Placing his elbows on the desk, Eric leaned forward, locking eyes with the desk clerk. At first, the man backed away, but soon enough his face went slack just like what happened to Skylar earlier.
"What is your name?" Eric asked in his soft, sultry glamour voice.
"Carver," the man answered dazedly.
"Carver, are there any open rooms tonight? My friend and I just need to use a shower."
"Yes, there is nobody in room 205."
"That's great. I'm going to need the key to room 205. Where is it?" Eric asked.
"There are no set room keys," the man answered. "You take the plastic card and put it in the machine and the computer does the rest."
"Well, Carver, you are going to make a room key for room 205, and then you're going to set it on the desk. After you do that, you will turn around and fix the buttons on your vest. You will forget you made the room key and that you ever saw us," Eric stated. After he said that, he broke eye contact with him, looking over to me. His eyes met mine in the mirror. He smirked at the amazed look on my face.
Looking as if nothing happened, Carver began typing something in the computer. Then, he grabbed a plastic card key from a pile next to the computer screen, stuck it in a little machine, pulled it out and set it on the desk, all without looking at Eric or me. Carver quickly turned his back to us, looking down at his vest and adjusting something on it. Noiselessly, Eric grabbed the key, gestured for me to follow him, and walked out of the lobby toward the rooms.