Time frame: Years after "From Dead to Worse"

This is a companion piece following "Family", "Bowling for Vampires" and "Leather Underwear".

Disclaimer: I don't have any claim on any characters in the Sookie Universe. Please don't sue me. The other characters are my own creation and just wanted to play with them for a while.

A/N: Doesn't it just figure that right when I introduce something neat like the Illuminati, they have to make some movie featuring them. I have not read the book Angels and Demons, which is a sequel to the DaVinci Code. The historical version of the Illuminati started in Bavaria. They were a secret society of free thinkers who were rumored to have taken a huge part in overthrowing and influencing the governments of many European states since it was founded in 1776. This is not part of my mythology. I can't even begin to think of anything Bavarian other than the dessert, Bavarian Cream and even that isn't really Bavarian- it's Swiss. Yeah, yeah, I know. Nerd to the core.

My vision of the Illuminati will be rooted in magic, their origins starting eons ago. I basically picked the name because I thought it was darn cool sounding. I knew I wanted Merlin involved in there somehow and the thought of attaching his name with the group sounded hokey.

Just wanted to clarify that point before I proceed.

This whole chapter will be entirely from Bill's perspective.

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Chapter 25

This is...unusual.

I slump to the ground with the blade buried in my chest. I hear Ally scream in surprise, but no one is more astounded than I am. It's not easy to catch a vampire off guard and when it happens, most of my kind to do not appreciate it as much as I do.

Although I will never openly admit it, Eric and I do have something in common. We both are drawn to the new and unexpected. All vampires come across the novel and unique. Existence would be quite a chore if one didn't accept what was new, but I actually enjoy new things, new feelings, new pieces of information. It sets my inner geek, as Ally calls it, abuzz.

True I cling to my old ways and mannerisms most of the time, but I understand and utilize more of the modern trappings of this age better than others give me credit for. My only rival in that regard would be Ally. She is definitely one of a kind, so full of adventure and vitality. So full of life.

I've always resented the method that my human life was taken from me, that much is clear; but Ally has helped me realize that I would not have had the choices available for me if I had remained in that existence. The farmer's life held no interest for me. Still, my wife, children and I would have been happy in that life.

Caroline was a good woman but I confess that I never truly loved her. It was expected then to settle down as soon as possible and raise a family. The Hollidays were of a good background and my father was insistent that the Compton legacy would not end with me. Perhaps if my older brother, Robert, hadn't died...Sigh. Even at the ripe age of twelve, he wasn't spared from the random death that took down so many children back then. So I married Caroline and we started a family together.

Then I was enlisted to fight and I admit now that although I missed my family and I hated the brutality of war, I secretly enjoyed the prospect of encountering new people, of feeling new experiences, of learning new skills. When Lorena turned me, everything that was supposed to be my life ceased. I was thrust into a whole new world. It was a world riddled with new things to learn, to adapt to. Although she was often times cruel and sadistic she did allow me to venture out every now and then. When I finally broke free from her, new avenues opened up for me. There were new sexual experiences to enjoy. I was able to visit exotic lands and sampled various different cultures and traditions that I could only dream about in my former life. I drank it all in, the beauty and the strangeness. It was better sustenance than any blood could ever be to me.

Then the Golden Age of computers arrived and with that, the internet. So much knowledge from all over the globe on any given topic, all at my fingertips. I was in heaven.

I circle my fingers around the hilt of the dagger and pull. It makes a sucking sound as it leaves my chest. I note that there wasn't any pain either in the entry nor in the exit of the blade. When a foreign object slices into you, vampire or not, it is painful. As I horde this unusual piece of information for further review later, I feel my life force expand and then right itself. It was almost like breathing, from what I remember of breathing that is. Energy begins to pulse through me like a heart beat.

Breath, heartbeat- all signs of life. Is that what I am now? Am I...alive?

I look over at Miles who is smiling at me. He calls out to the Illuminati. He says the time has come.

Is he referring to me?

Could it be possible?

I've read about the Illuminati. The mystics conjured the first Illuminati from the blood of the Titan, Hyperion. Through careful mating and a great deal of magical assistance, the race of Illuminati flourished for a time. Highly revered for both their healing and in their wisdom, they were often commissioned as advisers to royalty or in other high and influential positions in society. A few select members have even transcended beyond the boundaries of men and have been rumored to have tapped into the source of magic itself. Very little text is written of those special individuals and the race as a whole was assumed to have died out long ago.

How would this odd man know of the Illuminati? In fact, how would Miles know anything that he seems to know?

Very curious...

A feel Ally's hand on my shoulder as she kneels next to me. "Are you okay, Bill?" she asks scanning my face with her eyes. They flash with power as she assesses what had just happened. I smile at her.

"I am...undamaged." I reply holding up the dagger in my hand. It is made of gold with a carving of an eye in the hilt. The metal vibrates with other-worldliness. It feels warm to the touch though a can't imagine the origin. I certainly would not be the supplier of it. Being a vampire, I would not emit body heat. She leans forward to look at the blade. We both gasp as my blood disappears into the strange metal. We both look at Miles.

"Come Bill, you have much to learn," he says offering me his hand. I look over at Ally and she seems confused but smiles at me encouragingly.

I help her up noticing her sudden surprise at my touch. She frowns for a moment, then reverts her face back to calm. I stand before him. "Who are you?" I inquire. I feel I should know, the answer nigling in my brain like a swarm of bees gathering nectar.

His demeanor changes and he suddenly looks more powerful, larger even. "I've waited a long time for you, Compton. You are the last of the us, my brother, but I now feel optimistic that the line will not end in you. I am here to lead you through the path of knowledge that you so eagerly seek. To answer your question my new apprentice, my name is Merlin."

My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. He smiles at us both.

"Bill. Ally. Follow me."

"Shouldn't I stay behind? I don't want to interfere in your training." says Ally taking a step back.

"No. You and Bill need to do this. Your tie is strong. You will both need that strength if I am to cram a lifetime of knowledge within a span of weeks."

We walk behind him slowly casting sidelong glances at each other as we move along a dark hallway. He stops in front of a plain oak door, gives it a knock and waits.

A rush of air hits us as he pushes it open. It smells of earth and trees and water and indeed we are surrounded by all of those things. Ally instinctively takes my hand then looks down at it. This is the second time she's reacted this way to my touch.

"What's wrong?" I ask her. She looks at me and steps towards me touching my face.

"What is it, Ally?" I prodded.

"Your skin feels different." she says softly her eyes never leaving mine.

"How do you mean?"

She holds my hand to her face. "Bill, your skin feels...warm."

My eyes open wide in amazement. It was true that I felt less contrast in our body temperatures. What does this mean?

Miles, I mean Merlin flicks me a glance. "The Titan's eye has strengthened your life force. In order for you to invoke the Words of Making, you must have a closer connection to the life energies or mana around you. I wasn't sure how that was going to work with your vampire physiology, but it seems to have found a way around that particular obstacle."

"Does this mean I'm alive?"

"Hardly. It just means that you are more than what you were." Then smiling thoughtfully he added, "I do wonder how the vampire in you will play in this though. Never in the history of the Illuminati has a vampire been given the gift."

"Why me? Why now?"

"To answer your first question, you are a descendant of Aurick Compton. It had been ordained long ago that one of his descendants will rise and take his place among us. I had hoped it would be you but when you were turned I thought all was lost." He shook his head.

"Now to answer your second question, 'why now?' It was foretold that the next in line would wield the Spark. It is a legendary power that even I could never hope to have. It is a divine force that can be channeled into your craft or used alone as a weapon." He steps forward and pats me on the back. I look at him quizzically.

"How did I suddenly get this power? Or did I have it all along?"

"Your power lay dormant within you until the right circumstances brought it out."

"What kind of circumstances?"

His eyes locked with mine. "The love of a goddess."

I start to ask who that would be when all of the pieces began falling in place. The amazing abilities of time, space, of healing. I look over at Ally who offers me a toothy smile.

I shake my head laughing softly. She's still smiling happily at me.

Ally will not die. We can be together always. She is powerful but now I will be too. I will no longer have to sit back helpless, I can do something. I can make a difference.

"Surprise!" she says throwing her arms around me.

God, I love surprises...

TBC